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Hebrews 11:4-11 · Providence Baptist Church - Sermons

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Amen. Please take your copy of God's Word and join me in Hebrews chapter 12. Our sermon today will be a change from our plan.
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!
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Preparing to preach the following quote, I always find that I can preach best when I can manage to lie a soak in my text.
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I like to get a text and find out its meaning and bearings and so on, and then, after I have bathed in it, I delight to lie down in it and let it soak into me.
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It softens me, or hardens me, or does whatever it ought to do to me, and then I can talk about it.
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And so this week, the text that had been planned for before us was from John chapter 3, verse 22 through 36, the final kind of recorded testimony of John the Baptist by John the Apostle.
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And I have done the work of getting the text and finding out its meaning and bearings, doing that careful work, forming an outline, looking at language.
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But I have had a difficult time this week lying a soak in this particular text.
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There's another that my mind has gone to again and again and again, not just in this past week, but in the week before that as well.
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And so that's the text I would like to preach this morning.
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You know, a true thing about all shepherds is that they are also sheep.
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And I find sometimes, as the task falls to me to preach, that I also need to be particularly ministered to by the Word.
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And maybe it could be considered selfish, perhaps.
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But I think this is what I need to hear this morning.
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And my hope, then, is that it's also what you need to hear this morning,
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and that God will bless our time together in His Word.
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And so Hebrews chapter 12, verses 4 through 11 will be our text for today.
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And before I read it, I'd like to pray that God would bless our time in it.
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God, we thank You for Your Word.
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And we recognize that it was written long ago, that it had an original audience,
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but that it is a word to us this morning for us to take up and to read and to consider and to believe.
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We know that it was written for Your glory, that You would be known.
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And it was also written for our good.
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And so we ask this morning that You would help us as we take some time to consider it.
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that we believe its promises, obey its commands,
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that You would move our affections towards You as we look at it,
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and we would respond as we should to it.
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And we pray this for the glory of Christ.
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Amen.
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Hebrews 12, beginning in verse 4 and following.
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In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.
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And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?
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My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by Him.
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For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and chastises every son whom He receives.
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It is for discipline that you have to endure.
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God is treating you as sons.
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For what son is there whom his father does not discipline?
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If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated,
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then you are illegitimate children and not sons.
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Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us, and we respected them.
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Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live?
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For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them.
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But He disciplines us for our good, that we may share His holiness.
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For the moment, all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant,
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but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
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Some time ago, we studied through the book of Hebrews,
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and at the very beginning of that study, I read to you a quotation by William Lane,
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who's a contemporary, respected New Testament authority,
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and he said this of the book of Hebrews.
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Hebrews is a delight for the person who loves puzzles.
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Its form is unusual, its setting in life is uncertain,
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and its argument is unfamiliar.
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It invites engagement in the task of defining the undefined.
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Undefined are the identity of the writer,
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his conceptual background,
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the character and location of the community,
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addressed the circumstances and date of composition,
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the nature of the crisis to which the document is a response,
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the literary genre, and the purpose and plan of the work.
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Although these undefined issues continue to be addressed and debated vigorously,
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no real consensus has been reached.
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Lane then goes on to do a very careful work
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to give us the probabilities and the likelies in his commentary.
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But one matter is without contention.
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Lots of contention about this letter,
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but one is without it.
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The theme of Hebrews is the supremacy and the finality of Jesus Christ.
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Christ is greater than, the argument goes,
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the angels, priests, the old covenant redemptive economy,
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and Christ is the final word.
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We need no new revelation.
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The original audience of this letter were Hellenistic Jewish Christians,
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that's Greek speaking,
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that had not seen Jesus,
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but had heard the gospel and believed,
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and they were located most likely outside of Rome.
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They'd most likely been chased out of Rome and were on the outskirts.
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They were suffering, the book tells us,
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and they would suffer further,
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which is a fact that develops the letter's secondary theme,
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the necessity of faithful endurance.
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We just sang,
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O Lord, my rock and my redeemer,
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and in verse 2, the last three lines,
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my hope when tides of sorrow rise,
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my joy when trials are abounding,
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your faithfulness,
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my refuge in the night.
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And so these original Christians who would have received this letter
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had many trials all around them,
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and so this secondary theme sets on top of that primary theme
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that Christ is supreme and he is final.
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The hope, the confidence, the joy that they could have
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because of Christ,
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even in the midst of their trials.
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In the first three verses of chapter 12,
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the author uses the metaphor of a race
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to encourage these believers, right?
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To press on, to press on to the end, right?
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After a sweeping Old Testament summary of faithful endurance
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in chapter 11,
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he writes in Hebrews 12, verse 1 through 3,
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Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses,
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let us also lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely
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and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
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looking to Jesus,
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the founder and perfecter of our faith,
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who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross,
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despising the shame,
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and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
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Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself
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so that you may not grow weary or faint-hearted.
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And that sets us up for verses 4 through 11, right?
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The pressing here of the author is that we would endure faithfully to the end,
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even amidst all of the trials that this life will throw at us.
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Another Spurgeon quote,
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I go through a rotation of these coloring sheets for the kiddos,
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so if you haven't seen this one out there,
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this is a picture of Charles Spurgeon in a saddle,
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riding on the back of a snail.
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It's because he once said,
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by perseverance, the snail reached the ark.
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A bit of a picture of the Christian life, right?
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That we press on to the next thing,
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and sometimes it feels like applauding.
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We want to do this by the grace that God provides faithfully.
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We want to press on.
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And that's what he's doing in this section of Scripture, right?
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And so this will be our outline for this morning,
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and I will explain a little bit further
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why this text is where my mind has been going.
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Number one, we see a correction for faltering endurance.
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Number two, a challenge to sustained endurance.
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And number three, reasons for sustained endurance.
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So we see in verses four through six,
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firstly, a correction for faltering endurance.
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At the very outset of today's text,
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he begins with two corrections.
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First, he corrects them with the fact that
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while they had suffered,
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no one had yet been martyred.
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I think he's working here to give them a bit of perspective.
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In your struggle against sin, verse four,
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you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.
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There seems to be a shift in metaphor here
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from the Christian life being described as
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the race that is set before us in verse two
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to that of a wrestling match with sin.
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Truly, the Christian life is one that must be run with endurance.
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And it certainly is a struggle against sin.
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Now, in verse three of chapter 12,
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he has just exhorted them to consider him
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who endured from sinners such hostility against himself.
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Jesus had shed his blood.
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They had not.
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It is as if he is saying,
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quit being so dramatic.
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None of you has died yet.
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In your pursuit of Christ,
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your master and Lord,
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he died,
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but you haven't arrived there yet.
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And I find this a particularly striking correction
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for myself and for the church today.
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We have suffered so little
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compared to the death of our Lord.
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What trials we could list in this room, right?
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Don't quite measure up to martyrdom
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for the sake of our faith.
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If we are considering,
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mindfully thinking about him
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who endured from sinners
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such hostility against himself,
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then we also,
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the logic follows,
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should not grow weary
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or faint-hearted.
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That's the one correction.
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Second,
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the author corrects them
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because they had failed to remember
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and apply the scripture
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to their situation.
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He says in verse five,
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and have you forgotten
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the exhortation that addresses you
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as sons?
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They had forgotten.
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They had forgotten.
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So,
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he is reminding them.
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And ladies,
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do not forget that the Bible
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was written at a time
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when all of the inheritance
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of a father
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was granted to his sons.
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So,
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you want to be a son
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as the Bible expresses it.
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And,
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you are.
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Paul wrote in Galatians chapter 3,
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verse 26,
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in Christ Jesus,
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you were all sons of God
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through faith.
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Right?
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Inheritors,
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that's what you want to see
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in that place.
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So,
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with this in mind,
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hear the scripture
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that the author of Hebrews
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now cites.
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He said,
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have you forgotten this text?
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They had.
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So,
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he reminds them,
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still verse five,
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my son,
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do not regard lightly
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the discipline
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of the Lord,
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nor be weary
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when reproved by him.
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for the Lord disciplines
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the one he loves
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and he chastises
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every son
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whom he receives.
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They had forgotten
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the application
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of this text.
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In verses five and six,
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there are
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two negative
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implications.
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Right?
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Don't disdain.
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Do not regard lightly.
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Do not think wrongly
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about the discipline
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of the Lord.
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And,
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don't dismay.
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Don't be weary
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when reproved
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by him.
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Recognize the place
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of suffering
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in the life
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of a Christian.
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Don't disdain.
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Don't dismay.
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And,
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the opposite,
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therefore,
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the positive implications
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can also be found
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from those
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two verses.
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We are to
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regard rightly,
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to think correctly
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about
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the discipline
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of the Lord
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and we are to be
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refreshed.
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So,
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don't disdain.
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Don't dismay.
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Do regard.
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Do refresh.
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Or,
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be refreshed.
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The author wants us
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to see that the
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challenges that we face
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in this world
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are for
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our
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good.
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They are given to us
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by God's
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kind hand.
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Every single one of them.
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Whatever trial
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may come
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for the life
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of the Christian,
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it's given to us
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by God's
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kind hand.
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Why?
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It seems like
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I could come up
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with some better ways
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for God to express
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kindness
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towards me.
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Why does God
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do it this way?
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It's because
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He
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loves us.
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The Lord
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disciplines
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the one
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He
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loves.
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That's where my mind
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was going again
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and again
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and again
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over these past
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two weeks.
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Of interest,
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I've preached this text
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before
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and I had to
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grab the notes
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from someplace else.
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My study is
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displaced right now.
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I'll talk a little bit
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about why
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in a minute.
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I had to
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do some technological
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things I don't
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normally do
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and I grabbed
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these notes
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and I pulled
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them over
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to another place
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and I had to
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do some formatting
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and I did a
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control off.
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I selected everything
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and I went back
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to the standard
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formatting which
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took out all
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of my boldfacing.
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I like to boldface
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the text.
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You ever look
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at my notes?
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It's usually
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the only thing
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that's boldfaced.
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It's just the text
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that we're in
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and everything else
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is indented
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and I keep my head
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straight in other ways.
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But the text,
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the text,
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and it took
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out all of the
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boldfacing
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of the text
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and so this morning
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I'm reading through it
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and I'm making
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some little changes
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and I'm re-bolding
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the text
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and I got to
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the top of the
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second page
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and the only thing
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in this entire
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set of notes
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that didn't
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unbold itself,
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which is probably
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some bizarre
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formatting thing
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I did the last
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time I was doing
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this,
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but the only thing
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that wasn't unbolded
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was that phrase
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at the top of page
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two in my notes.
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The Lord
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disciplines
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the one
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he loves
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and I cried.
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It's where my
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mind had been going.
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It's what I needed
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to see.
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The Lord disciplines
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the one
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he loves.
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Why do trials
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come into our life?
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If you're a Christian,
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it's because God
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loves you.
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Being disciplined
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is a sign
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that you belong
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to God
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and that he
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is seeking
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your
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good.
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Do you believe
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this?
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Do you
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love
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the discipline
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of the Lord
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the way
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that you
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ought to?
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Or do you
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think that you
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know better
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that the
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challenges of
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your life,
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the things
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that seem
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to keep
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you from
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enduring
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faithfully
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are unfair
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and misplaced?
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That they
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couldn't
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possibly
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be
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kindnesses
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from God.
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I think
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we're all
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tempted
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to do
18:16
that very
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thing.
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So,
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this is my
18:21
anecdotal,
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this is why
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my mind
18:24
has been
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on this
18:24
text.
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My life's
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just been
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really chaotic
18:27
lately.
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Lately may
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not even be
18:30
the right term
18:30
for the past
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five years.
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Those of you
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who know us
18:34
well know
18:34
that we
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decided to
18:35
take on
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a big
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house
18:36
project
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where we
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built a
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house
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for my
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parents
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and now
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we're
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remodeling
18:39
a house
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and it's
18:40
taking
18:40
forever.
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And it's
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my fault.
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I chose
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to do
18:45
this
18:45
thing.
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It has
18:46
been a
18:47
major,
18:47
major,
18:47
major
18:48
task
18:49
and it
18:50
is making
18:50
me go
18:51
thin.
18:52
I'm just
18:53
running on
18:54
fumes all
18:55
the time.
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It's where I
18:56
spend any
18:58
extra energy
18:58
that I have
18:59
on working
19:00
on this
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project.
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And I'm
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grateful for
19:02
it for a
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lot of
19:03
reasons.
19:03
I think
19:04
there's a
19:04
lot of
19:04
good that's
19:04
going to
19:05
come out
19:05
of it.
19:05
I don't
19:06
doubt
19:06
God's
19:06
goodness
19:07
in it,
19:07
but has
19:08
it been
19:08
a challenge
19:09
chugging
19:10
away at
19:11
this thing,
19:12
trying to
19:12
get it
19:12
done.
19:12
So it's a
19:13
major area
19:14
of my
19:14
life that
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is just
19:15
incomplete.
19:16
Things are
19:17
just in
19:17
pieces right
19:19
now.
19:19
Even the
19:20
home that
19:20
I finished,
19:22
got a
19:22
CO4 so
19:23
that my
19:23
parents could
19:24
move into
19:24
it,
19:24
is not
19:24
really
19:25
finished.
19:26
My sweet
19:27
mom has
19:27
just been
19:28
opening her
19:28
kitchen drawers
19:29
without drawer
19:29
pulls on it
19:30
this entire
19:31
time since
19:31
the beginning
19:32
of January.
19:33
because I
19:34
still got to
19:34
put knobs on
19:35
the drawers
19:36
down at
19:38
their house.
19:39
It still
19:39
needs to be
19:40
painted,
19:41
things like
19:41
that.
19:42
It's not
19:42
quite done.
19:45
And then
19:45
two weeks
19:46
ago,
19:46
you all
19:47
were likely
19:48
aware that
19:48
the downstairs
19:49
of this
19:50
church building
19:50
flooded.
19:52
Septic system
19:53
backed up.
19:54
We had
19:54
remediators
19:55
come in
19:56
Friday night
19:56
and into
19:57
Saturday and
19:57
rip out two
19:58
thirds of the
19:59
flooring and
19:59
flood cut the
20:00
sheet rock
20:00
downstairs.
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Totally
20:02
displaced me out
20:03
of my study.
20:04
It was maybe
20:04
the one place
20:04
in my life
20:05
that things
20:05
were steady
20:06
and stable
20:07
because it was
20:07
the thing I
20:08
get to control,
20:09
my little zone,
20:10
my space that
20:11
I got to
20:11
hang on to.
20:13
And it got
20:14
thrown in boxes
20:15
and moved to
20:16
the other end
20:17
of the hall
20:17
down here.
20:18
And I
20:19
frantically
20:19
packed up the
20:20
things I
20:20
thought I
20:21
needed most
20:21
and set up
20:22
a folding
20:22
table at
20:23
the house
20:23
that I'm
20:23
trying to
20:24
remodel,
20:24
which is
20:25
pretty chaotic.
20:28
So I'm
20:29
juggling all
20:31
of those
20:32
kinds of
20:33
things.
20:33
We're finding
20:34
that we
20:34
didn't have
20:35
the flood
20:35
coverage that
20:36
we had hoped
20:36
for and
20:37
that the
20:37
work that's
20:38
already been
20:38
down there
20:39
is being
20:39
exorbitantly
20:41
charged for.
20:41
We're going
20:42
to have to
20:42
enter into
20:43
a whole
20:44
issue with
20:45
that company
20:46
trying to
20:46
get that
20:46
sorted out
20:47
and then to
20:48
get it all
20:48
put back
20:48
together in
20:49
some reasonable
20:51
amount of
20:52
time.
20:53
Where we're
20:53
living right
20:54
now is
20:54
being really
20:55
kindly provided
20:56
for by my
20:58
father-in-law.
20:59
They're so sweet
20:59
to us.
21:00
We're living
21:00
rent-free,
21:01
but we're
21:01
living in a
21:02
one-bedroom,
21:03
one-bath
21:04
apartment.
21:05
It's 640
21:05
square feet.
21:06
We've been
21:07
there for
21:07
five and a
21:09
half,
21:10
six years.
21:13
We've been
21:14
making it
21:14
work.
21:15
Praise God,
21:16
there's a lot
21:16
of good
21:16
things that
21:17
have come
21:17
out of it.
21:18
We've now
21:19
been there
21:19
long enough
21:20
and old
21:21
enough that
21:21
things are
21:21
starting to
21:22
fall apart.
21:22
So not only
21:23
do I have
21:23
projects here
21:24
and projects
21:24
out the other
21:25
house,
21:25
I have projects
21:26
at the place
21:26
that's supposed
21:26
to be free
21:27
and easy.
21:30
My father-in-law
21:31
did a cool
21:33
thing, I think.
21:34
It looks really
21:34
neat.
21:35
He used a
21:35
galvanized
21:36
tub for the
21:37
sink.
21:37
The bathroom
21:38
sink is this
21:38
galvanized
21:39
tub and it
21:40
looks neat,
21:40
but it just
21:41
doesn't function
21:41
very well.
21:42
And we
21:44
discovered this
21:45
week that it's
21:46
rusting through.
21:47
It has pinhole
21:48
leaks all over
21:50
it.
21:52
And I tried
21:53
to use some
21:54
roof flashing
21:55
to seal it
21:56
up just for
21:56
temporary and
21:58
it failed.
21:59
So the
21:59
sink is
22:00
leaking, it
22:01
needs to be
22:01
repaired in
22:02
some more
22:03
proper way.
22:04
That's why I'm
22:04
not totally
22:05
clean shaven
22:05
this morning
22:06
because I
22:06
really couldn't
22:06
use the
22:07
sink this
22:08
morning when
22:08
I got up.
22:11
So many
22:12
things going
22:13
on and on
22:14
top of that
22:15
for the last
22:15
couple of
22:16
months I've
22:17
discovered,
22:17
I've noticed
22:18
some, I'll
22:20
call it
22:21
unexplained
22:22
bruising on
22:23
my body.
22:25
The inside of
22:26
my forearms,
22:27
the inside of
22:27
my biceps,
22:29
ribs, wrapping
22:30
around onto my
22:31
back, up my
22:32
back, backs of
22:33
my knees and
22:33
legs.
22:35
And we're
22:36
running blood
22:36
work and
22:37
praise God
22:38
the things that
22:39
might be popping
22:40
into your mind
22:40
that it could be
22:41
not those
22:42
things.
22:43
Got a clean
22:44
CBC panel
22:46
back.
22:47
But we're on
22:48
this road now
22:48
trying to figure
22:49
out what in
22:49
the world is
22:50
going on, why.
22:51
I feel okay but
22:52
we're just not
22:53
sure what's
22:54
happening there.
22:55
Nothing, nothing
22:56
seems settled.
22:59
Nothing seems
23:00
stable.
23:02
On top of that, I
23:03
worry about you
23:03
guys.
23:04
There's so much
23:04
going on in the
23:05
life of our
23:05
church.
23:07
I can't disclose
23:08
details to you
23:09
but I got a
23:11
text this morning,
23:12
hey we won't be
23:12
here, rushing a
23:14
toddler to
23:15
CHOA, to the
23:15
emergency room,
23:17
passed out,
23:20
blue lips.
23:21
I mean, and
23:22
praise God, just
23:23
before I got
23:24
up here, I
23:25
prodded for
23:25
an update and
23:26
everything's fine,
23:27
she's doing
23:28
well.
23:30
Those types of
23:31
things, I mean, I
23:32
carry them, I
23:33
worry about you
23:34
guys and there's
23:35
so much going on
23:36
in the life of
23:37
our church.
23:42
It's a temptation
23:42
to lose hope in
23:45
the midst of all
23:46
of that.
23:47
There's a
23:47
temptation to
23:48
think it's
23:49
unfair, but
23:49
God, I'm doing
23:51
all the things
23:51
I think you've
23:52
had me do.
23:52
Why does it
23:53
have to be so
23:54
hard all the
23:55
time?
23:57
Beloved, if
23:58
our faith is
23:59
faltering, we
24:01
need this
24:01
correction.
24:03
We need
24:04
perspective and
24:05
we need the
24:06
promises of
24:08
God.
24:09
The Lord
24:10
disciplines the
24:12
one he
24:13
loves.
24:16
Take a phrase
24:17
away today, if
24:18
you just blank
24:18
out everything
24:19
else that's
24:20
said this
24:21
morning.
24:21
Let that
24:22
sentence just
24:23
catch in your
24:25
head and in
24:25
your heart.
24:26
The Lord
24:26
disciplines the
24:28
one he
24:29
loves.
24:32
To make the
24:32
point just a
24:33
little bit
24:34
further, I'll
24:35
give you one
24:36
more text.
24:37
This is Psalm
24:37
84 and
24:38
verse 11.
24:40
There it
24:40
says,
24:40
No good
24:41
thing does
24:42
he withhold
24:43
from those
24:45
who walk
24:46
uprightly.
24:47
good.
24:48
So if you
24:49
are in
24:49
Jesus Christ
24:50
this morning,
24:51
if you've
24:51
repented and
24:52
believed in
24:52
the person and
24:53
work of
24:53
Jesus, then
24:54
you are
24:54
clothed in
24:55
his righteousness.
24:57
You
24:57
therefore walk
24:58
uprightly before
24:59
God.
25:01
And as
25:02
such, he
25:03
withholds no
25:04
good thing
25:06
from you.
25:07
That is,
25:07
your life is
25:09
full of
25:11
good.
25:12
Every
25:12
circumstance
25:13
that comes
25:14
your way,
25:15
good.
25:16
It's a
25:16
good of
25:17
God's
25:18
defining
25:19
because it
25:20
is a
25:21
good that
25:22
is meant
25:23
for our
25:24
sustained
25:25
endurance.
25:28
Second
25:29
point, the
25:30
challenge to
25:31
sustained
25:32
endurance.
25:36
Verse 7
25:37
says,
25:37
It is for
25:38
discipline that
25:39
you have to
25:40
endure.
25:43
The author
25:44
has told us
25:44
that Jesus
25:45
endured,
25:46
verse 2,
25:47
and it
25:47
is imperative
25:48
that we
25:49
endure.
25:51
Culturally, we
25:52
tend to have a
25:53
negative view
25:54
of discipline.
25:55
You may have
25:56
either never
25:56
been disciplined
25:57
in your home
25:58
or were
25:58
possibly
25:59
disciplined
26:00
with severity.
26:02
The word
26:03
discipline simply
26:03
means to
26:04
teach or
26:06
instruct.
26:08
So you
26:08
could read
26:08
verse 7,
26:09
that first
26:10
part, it
26:10
is for
26:11
instruction
26:12
that you
26:12
have to
26:13
endure.
26:16
That means
26:16
that discipline
26:17
ought to be
26:17
viewed as
26:18
a positive
26:20
thing,
26:21
especially that
26:22
discipline which
26:23
comes from
26:23
the Lord.
26:25
Additionally,
26:26
the discipline
26:26
of God for
26:27
his children
26:28
never involves
26:30
his wrath.
26:34
Theodore,
26:34
I'm going to
26:36
spell his
26:36
last name
26:36
and not
26:37
try to
26:37
pronounce it,
26:38
L-A-E-T-S-C-H.
26:41
If you know
26:41
who this is
26:42
and how to
26:42
pronounce that
26:43
last name,
26:43
please tell me
26:43
later.
26:44
I want to
26:44
say Lech,
26:45
but I
26:46
don't know.
26:46
Theodore,
26:48
an Old
26:48
Testament
26:48
scholar,
26:49
put the
26:50
point this
26:50
way,
26:52
quote,
26:52
his plans
26:53
concerning
26:54
his people
26:54
are always
26:55
thoughts of
26:56
good,
26:57
of blessing.
26:59
Even if
26:59
he is obliged
27:00
to use
27:00
the rod,
27:01
it is the
27:01
rod not
27:02
of wrath,
27:03
but the
27:04
father's
27:04
rod of
27:05
chastisement
27:05
for their
27:06
temporal
27:07
and eternal
27:08
welfare.
27:09
This is not
27:10
a single
27:10
item of
27:11
evil in
27:11
his plans
27:12
for his
27:12
people,
27:13
neither in
27:13
their motive,
27:14
nor in
27:15
their conception,
27:16
nor in
27:16
their revelation,
27:18
nor in
27:19
their
27:19
consummation.
27:22
So we
27:22
should
27:22
endure
27:23
our
27:23
hardships
27:24
as
27:25
kindnesses
27:26
from God,
27:28
as
27:28
helpful
27:29
discipline.
27:32
This
27:32
discipline
27:33
takes
27:34
three
27:35
forms.
27:37
First,
27:37
corrective
27:38
discipline.
27:39
Sometimes we
27:40
need to be
27:40
shown the
27:41
error of
27:42
our ways.
27:43
We need
27:44
to experience
27:44
the temporal
27:45
consequence of
27:46
our sin to
27:46
keep us
27:47
mindful of
27:48
its eternal
27:48
consequence if
27:50
we are not
27:50
found in
27:52
Christ.
27:53
An example
27:54
of this is
27:54
found in
27:55
Paul's
27:55
letter to
27:55
the
27:56
Corinthians.
27:57
Some of
27:57
them were
27:58
sick and
27:59
some had
27:59
died because
28:00
of their
28:00
abuse of
28:01
the Lord's
28:01
Supper.
28:02
Paul writes
28:03
in 1 Corinthians
28:03
11,
28:04
verse 32,
28:04
but when we
28:05
are judged
28:06
by the
28:06
Lord,
28:06
we are
28:07
disciplined
28:07
so that
28:08
we may
28:08
not be
28:09
condemned
28:10
along
28:10
with the
28:12
world.
28:14
Discipline
28:14
also takes
28:15
the form
28:15
of preventative
28:16
discipline.
28:18
Sometimes we
28:19
need to be
28:19
kept from
28:20
sin by
28:21
discipline.
28:23
An example
28:24
of this is
28:24
humility God
28:25
worked in
28:26
Paul,
28:26
which he
28:27
speaks of
28:27
in 2 Corinthians
28:28
chapter 12
28:29
and verse 7,
28:30
where he
28:30
wrote,
28:31
so to
28:31
keep me
28:32
from becoming
28:34
conceited,
28:35
because of the
28:36
surpassing greatness
28:37
of the
28:38
revelations,
28:38
a thorn was
28:39
given me in
28:40
the flesh.
28:40
We don't
28:41
know what
28:41
that was,
28:42
specifically
28:43
what it
28:43
was.
28:44
He calls
28:45
it a
28:45
messenger
28:45
of Satan
28:46
to harass
28:47
me to
28:48
keep me
28:49
from
28:50
becoming
28:50
conceited,
28:52
to prevent
28:53
pride in
28:54
me because
28:54
of the
28:55
revelation
28:55
of God
28:56
shown to
28:57
me.
28:57
This
28:58
thorn
28:59
was given
29:00
to me.
29:02
The third
29:03
type of
29:03
discipline
29:04
that we
29:05
see in
29:05
the Bible
29:06
is
29:06
instructive
29:07
discipline.
29:09
Sometimes
29:10
we are
29:11
taught
29:11
lessons
29:11
proactively
29:12
through
29:13
discipline.
29:15
This was
29:15
the case
29:15
for Job
29:16
after enduring
29:17
much
29:17
suffering,
29:19
was neither
29:19
corrective
29:20
or preventative.
29:22
He then
29:23
declares,
29:25
I heard
29:26
of you
29:26
by the
29:27
hearing
29:27
of the
29:27
ear.
29:28
This is
29:28
chapter 42
29:29
verse 5.
29:30
But now
29:31
my eye
29:33
sees you.
29:36
I had
29:37
some
29:37
understanding
29:38
of you,
29:38
but now
29:39
I have
29:39
beheld
29:41
you.
29:44
And I
29:44
think
29:44
God
29:45
pushes
29:46
at us
29:46
in this
29:47
way
29:47
all
29:48
the
29:49
time.
29:51
We've
29:51
come to
29:51
the end
29:52
of ourselves
29:52
thinking
29:52
that we
29:53
have it
29:53
figured out,
29:54
thinking
29:54
that we
29:54
have anything
29:55
under
29:56
control
29:57
that we
29:57
would flee
29:58
to him,
29:59
find our
29:59
value,
30:00
our worth,
30:01
our joy,
30:01
our peace
30:02
in him.
30:05
Through
30:06
Job's
30:06
suffering
30:06
and following
30:07
dialogue with
30:08
God,
30:08
he reached
30:08
a new,
30:09
more complete
30:10
understanding
30:11
of God.
30:12
Because Job
30:13
was doing
30:14
well,
30:14
God allowed
30:15
suffering so
30:15
that Job
30:16
would do
30:17
all the
30:18
more often
30:19
instructed
30:20
through our
30:21
hardships.
30:23
God says,
30:23
good,
30:24
keep running,
30:25
endure more,
30:27
press on.
30:30
We must
30:30
remember
30:31
that the
30:31
challenges of
30:32
our lives
30:33
are discipline
30:33
that comes
30:34
in one of
30:35
these three
30:35
forms,
30:36
and we
30:36
must remember
30:37
that it
30:38
is loving
30:39
and it
30:40
is for
30:41
our good.
30:43
We have
30:43
options
30:44
when it
30:45
comes to
30:45
our
30:45
understanding
30:46
of God.
30:47
God
30:48
could be
30:48
good and
30:49
not
30:49
sovereign,
30:50
hoping that
30:51
things work
30:51
out for
30:52
his people,
30:54
or God
30:54
could be
30:55
sovereign
30:55
and not
30:56
good,
30:57
not enacting
30:59
his rule
30:59
over the
30:59
world to
31:00
bring about
31:00
the good
31:01
of his
31:02
people,
31:02
or he
31:03
could be
31:04
both,
31:05
and he
31:06
is.
31:07
And he
31:07
is all
31:08
the time
31:10
sovereign
31:10
and good.
31:13
James
31:14
Moffat
31:14
stated in
31:16
his commentary
31:16
on this
31:17
text,
31:18
to endure
31:18
rightly,
31:20
one must
31:21
endure
31:22
intelligently.
31:24
You must
31:24
take up
31:25
these truths
31:25
and know
31:26
them that
31:28
we might
31:28
endure.
31:31
Third
31:31
point,
31:32
and lastly,
31:34
reasons
31:35
for
31:35
sustained
31:37
endurance.
31:38
We picked
31:38
this up
31:38
in the
31:39
last half
31:39
of verse
31:40
7 and
31:41
on through
31:41
verse 11.
31:43
The author
31:43
gives three
31:44
reasons for
31:45
sustained
31:46
endurance.
31:48
Number
31:49
one,
31:49
a paternal
31:51
reason.
31:53
Halfway
31:54
through verse
31:54
7,
31:54
God is
31:55
treating you
31:56
as
31:56
sons.
31:59
The logic
32:00
goes,
32:00
if you are
32:01
sons,
32:02
then you
32:02
will receive
32:03
discipline.
32:03
discipline.
32:04
If you
32:04
are not
32:05
sons,
32:06
then you
32:06
will not
32:07
receive
32:07
discipline.
32:09
Because
32:09
this is
32:10
true,
32:11
we should
32:12
not regard
32:12
lightly the
32:13
discipline of
32:13
the Lord,
32:14
nor be
32:14
weary when
32:15
reproved
32:16
by him,
32:17
but should
32:17
rather be
32:18
encouraged to
32:19
press on
32:20
by it.
32:22
I am
32:23
being
32:23
taught.
32:25
Oh,
32:26
it's so good
32:26
to be taught
32:27
because it
32:27
proves that
32:28
God loves
32:30
me.
32:32
Secondly,
32:33
we see a
32:34
lesser to
32:35
greater
32:36
reason.
32:38
The logic
32:39
here goes,
32:40
if this
32:41
is so,
32:41
then this
32:42
must be
32:42
even
32:43
more
32:44
so.
32:47
He says
32:47
in verse
32:47
9,
32:48
besides this,
32:49
we have
32:49
had earthly
32:49
fathers who
32:50
disciplined
32:50
us,
32:51
and we
32:51
respected
32:51
them.
32:52
Shall
32:53
we not
32:53
much more
32:54
be subject
32:54
to the
32:55
father of
32:55
spirits
32:56
and live?
32:59
Now,
32:59
I recognize
33:00
that not
33:00
all of
33:01
you have
33:01
fathers who
33:02
disciplined
33:03
you or
33:03
disciplined
33:04
you well.
33:06
You may
33:06
not have
33:07
the type
33:07
of respect
33:08
for your
33:08
fathers that
33:09
the author
33:09
is here
33:10
implying.
33:12
If that
33:12
is the
33:12
case for
33:13
you,
33:13
I want
33:13
you to
33:13
know that
33:14
he is
33:14
speaking
33:15
in
33:15
generalities
33:16
and that
33:17
the lesson
33:17
he is
33:17
teaching
33:18
does not
33:18
have to
33:19
be lost
33:19
on you
33:19
because
33:20
your frame
33:20
of reference
33:21
is different
33:22
from the
33:23
one he
33:23
is
33:23
implying.
33:25
So here,
33:26
if you
33:26
have a
33:27
father who
33:27
disciplined
33:28
you and
33:28
you respected
33:29
him,
33:29
or if
33:29
you have
33:30
ever
33:30
noticed
33:30
a
33:30
father
33:31
who
33:31
disciplined
33:32
well and
33:32
you respected
33:33
him,
33:34
then how
33:34
much
33:35
more
33:36
should
33:36
you
33:37
respect
33:37
God?
33:39
Of course,
33:40
the answer
33:40
is much,
33:41
much
33:42
more.
33:45
His loving
33:45
correction
33:46
is always
33:47
perfect
33:48
and therefore
33:50
always
33:51
respectable.
33:56
We then
33:57
see a
33:57
sanctifying
33:58
reason.
34:00
I'll tell you
34:00
there were
34:01
three,
34:01
there was
34:01
actually
34:02
four.
34:03
A
34:03
sanctifying
34:03
reason.
34:04
Verse
34:04
10,
34:06
they
34:06
discipline
34:06
us for
34:07
a short
34:07
time as
34:08
it seemed
34:08
best to
34:09
them,
34:09
but he
34:10
disciplines
34:10
us for
34:11
our good
34:12
that we
34:13
may share
34:14
in his
34:15
holiness.
34:17
God's
34:18
discipline is
34:19
aimed at
34:20
making us
34:21
more like
34:23
him.
34:24
And this is a
34:25
great joy for the
34:26
Christian heart
34:27
that we would put
34:29
off the world and
34:30
put on and look
34:31
more like Christ,
34:32
that God would be
34:33
exalted in our
34:34
lives.
34:35
A parallel to
34:37
this is Romans
34:37
chapter 8,
34:38
verse 28 and
34:39
29.
34:40
Many of you are
34:40
very familiar with
34:41
verse 28,
34:42
and we know that
34:43
for those who
34:43
love God,
34:44
all things work
34:45
together for
34:46
good, for those
34:47
who are called
34:48
according to
34:49
his purpose.
34:50
Every Christian
34:51
loves verse 28.
34:53
I've not heard
34:53
anybody try to
34:55
argue against
34:55
what verse 28
34:57
means, but I
34:57
think they missed
34:58
some of the
34:58
point of it.
35:00
I think a lot of
35:00
Christians look for
35:01
the good, and
35:02
there are some
35:03
tangible things that
35:03
we can touch.
35:04
We can see how
35:05
particular things
35:07
are being produced
35:08
out of the good.
35:10
I'll go through
35:12
an intersection,
35:13
there's an accident
35:14
in, and I'll be
35:15
so thankful for the
35:16
delay that I had
35:17
earlier, because I
35:17
could have been in
35:18
the middle of that
35:19
accident.
35:19
I can see, oh,
35:20
that person that
35:20
pulled out in front
35:21
of me, who was so
35:22
annoying because they
35:23
were going so slow.
35:24
Oh, look at the
35:25
good God worked.
35:26
I wasn't in this
35:26
intersection when
35:27
this accident
35:28
happened, but we're
35:29
constantly doing
35:30
that kind of thing,
35:31
and the text doesn't
35:32
leave us guessing
35:33
what the good is.
35:34
It doesn't leave us
35:35
guessing.
35:36
Paul has something
35:37
very specific in
35:38
mind.
35:39
He goes on in
35:39
verse 29, for
35:40
those whom he
35:40
foreknew, he also
35:41
predestined to,
35:43
here it is, be
35:44
conformed to the
35:46
image of his
35:48
son, that we
35:49
would look more
35:51
like Christ, in
35:54
order that he
35:55
might be the
35:55
firstborn among
35:57
many brothers.
35:59
flesh.
36:00
So we're being
36:01
disciplined for
36:02
holiness.
36:06
And then
36:06
fourth, there's a
36:07
joy-filled
36:08
reason.
36:10
Verse 11, for
36:11
the moment all
36:11
discipline seems
36:12
painful rather than
36:14
pleasant, but
36:15
later it yields the
36:17
peaceful fruit of
36:18
righteousness to
36:19
those who have
36:20
been trained by
36:21
it.
36:22
The author
36:23
recognizes that
36:24
there is a
36:25
disconnect between
36:26
the experience of
36:28
this discipline and
36:29
the reality of
36:30
this discipline.
36:32
He notes in
36:33
verse 11, it
36:36
seems painful.
36:37
It doesn't seem
36:38
pleasant at all,
36:40
but by
36:40
implication it
36:42
yields
36:44
pleasantness,
36:45
which he calls
36:47
the peaceful
36:48
fruit of
36:50
righteousness.
36:52
Doesn't that
36:53
sound wonderful?
36:54
in the midst
36:56
of trial,
36:58
in the midst
36:58
of temptation,
37:01
we can be
37:02
steadied.
37:04
We are
37:04
steadied by our
37:05
loving God as
37:06
he trains us
37:07
to produce
37:08
the peaceful
37:10
fruit of
37:12
righteousness.
37:13
As we don't
37:15
forget the
37:15
promise that
37:17
calls us
37:17
sons,
37:19
as we remember
37:21
that he brings
37:22
things into our
37:22
life because
37:23
he loves
37:25
us,
37:25
because he
37:25
wants us to
37:26
look more
37:27
like Christ.
37:30
We're being
37:30
trained to
37:31
produce the
37:32
peaceful fruit
37:34
of righteousness.
37:37
Ah,
37:38
I want through
37:39
any trial that I
37:41
experience,
37:41
and through any
37:42
trial that you
37:44
experience,
37:44
even the suffering
37:45
that Christ
37:46
experienced to the
37:47
point of death,
37:48
to produce this,
37:49
right?
37:50
Unshakeable,
37:51
steadiness,
37:52
confidence in the
37:54
hope of the
37:55
gospel of Jesus
37:56
Christ.
38:00
So hold up
38:01
and hold on.
38:04
Regardless of
38:05
what you're
38:06
walking through
38:06
right now,
38:08
we have a
38:09
loving God who
38:09
disciplines us
38:10
for the sake
38:11
of faithful
38:13
endurance.
38:15
look to
38:17
Christ,
38:18
the author
38:20
and perfecter
38:22
of our
38:23
faith.
38:25
May we be
38:26
those who
38:26
declare,
38:27
Hebrews 10,
38:28
39,
38:29
that we are
38:30
not of those
38:30
who shrink
38:31
back and are
38:33
destroyed,
38:33
but of those
38:34
who have faith
38:35
and preserve
38:37
their souls.
38:39
Let's pray
38:40
together.
38:40
here.