966. The Logic of Submission

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The school was founded in 1927 by the evangelist Dr. Bob Jones Senior's intent was to make a school where the focus will be on Christ. So he established daily chapel services today. That tradition continues with fervent biblical preaching from the University Chapel platform today on The Daily Platform.

Dr. Steve Pettit, long time evangelist and now president of Bob Jones University is continuing a study series entitled run the race, which is a study of the book of Hebrews chapter 12. If you would like to follow along in the study booklet you can get one on Kindle or you can order a printed copy from the website. The Daily Platform.com. Let's now listen to today's message were Steve will show us reasons why we need to submit to our heavenly father well is our semester is gone we are now in our 53rd day of a 100 a semester and so where over halfway through the semester before we will conclude for Christmas break. Eyeliner is making his way across the platform with the intention of finishing the race. And so that's our theme.

Run the race and I know many of you have thought that that metaphor in various ways. I was able to be out on Saturday morning to watch our cross-country team run and our men got first place her lady second place in everywhere. I was going.

Nearby was like quoting Romans 12 to MEC to Hebrews 12 to me and I run the race, and especially as they were grimacing coming into the final conclusion, giving it all that they got it so the Lord calls us to erase the Christian life is a race of faith were to run that race and this morning I'd like us to look at Hebrews chapter 12 can look at this passage of Scripture found in verses nine through 11 verses nine through 11. Throughout human history. God has called his people to do hard things. He's called us to do hard things. Job was called to suffer undeserved pain and loss.

Joseph was sold into slavery. Noah was asked to build an ark to preserve his family. Abraham had to leave his home for an unknown promise land.

Moses had to go back into Egypt to leave the children of Israel out of bondage in every one of these people of faith had to do hard things in order to follow God and if that's true of the people of God in the Scripture is true of the people of God today.

I think one of the hard things in the Christian life is what we looked at a couple of weeks ago. As we talked about the theme of chastening and in our last message. The writer of Hebrews is challenging us with the idea that in this race were having to endure rabbit stick it out and that's a part of the training that's a part of the education that's a part of chastening. We think of chastening.

We think of it in at in a negative way, but in reality is very positive is getting in shape it's it's learning is getting an education. So in verse seven of Hebrews 12 it says, for it is for chastening that you endure.

That is the process of endurance is the process of training.

So what you are having to endure is what you're going through right now and God is is helping you develop a stick it out faith to hang in there, even though there are tough experiences, even though their hard circumstances and even when you fall because one of the hardest things to deal with in your Christian life for your own failures, but a just man falls seven times, but he rides it up again. And even when you fail, it doesn't mean that you're out of the race. It means you need to get up and run again.

So how do you keep on going and in our last message I I touched on it. I like to just expand it before we really get into the verses this morning I read a number of years ago, one of the religious classics of the 20th century written by Dr. Dean Martin Lloyd Jones the name of the book was called spiritual depression.

It's a book I recommend for everyone.

For he addresses the way in which Christians should handle the mental and the emotional struggles of life and essentially his main application is to learn how to counsel your own self by doing two things. Number one by stop listening to your own heart or if I can say it this way.

Don't let your emotions control your life. The second thing is to start listening to God's promises and specifically you have to learn how to tell yourself the truth because the heart is deceitful and if you listen to your own heart. You may listen to actually yourself lying to yourself. So you have to tell yourself the truth you have to speak God's promises to yourself and essentially that's the fundamental idea of the book so last week. Let's apply it here the writer of Hebrews is reminding us that were having to endure.

It's hard emotionally. It's a struggle. So what do we speak to ourselves, what do we say to ourselves that is true we are to speak to ourselves the fact that if we are being chasten and it means God loves us what is it that we tell ourselves, is the fact that God is our father and we are his children and he loves us. We speak to ourselves three things. Number one I am God's child.

He is my father number two God loves me.

And when you don't feel like it and when you wonder about it.

You need to speak the truth to you to yourself because truth doesn't change and then number three you need to save yourself. God is changing me for good.

This is good. This is what God this is what God is doing in my life and how do you stay meant mentally and emotionally strong.

It is always true.

God's love. So, tell yourself the truth so that's essentially what we looked at last time and so now we come to verse nine and the writer takes us a step further and here he teaches us how to continue to respond to chastening and let's look at verse nine in Hebrews 12 and will read down to verse 11. Notice the word.

Furthermore, that is. This is something that is in sync with sequence he's following up the idea of speaking truth yourself about God's love and notice he says furthermore we've had our fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence, shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the father of spirits, and live for they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure, but he for profit that we might be partakers of his holiness. Now no chastening for the present seam at the be joyous, but previous. Nevertheless, afterwards it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness under them, which are exercise, thereby the word.

Furthermore, it is saying this here's the next thing I want to say that chastening so verses nine through 11 is the continuation of the fault that he started in verse five, and here's what he is saying I have reminded you that you need to remember that God loves you. Now I want to challenge you to actually do something and that is you need to submit yourself to your heavenly father's chastening.

You need to put yourself under his mighty hand and what's very interesting to me is that the writer of Hebrews is not commanding believers to do that, you know, when you study the Bible. You always look in the Greek language for the imperatives, the command, but in this passage of Scripture there. He's not giving us a command to submit it is not an imperative.

It's a statement of fact and what he is doing is almost like counseling a college student instead of just looking at the student and commanding you to do this. He actually does something different. He appeals to your logic, he appeals to your will through your mind. He is reasoning with you that you should be willing to submit yourself to the Lord. That's why I have entitled this sermon the logic of submission that is surrendering yourself to God is something you need to think through logically, but also thought of some alternative titles to the message like obedience makes good sense or disobedience is really dumb or stupid people don't submit however you want to look at it. So I'll let you choose this you choose the title but I Keep it up on the higher level and call the logic of submission and notice the process of logic that he uses.

It's the processes used to the whole book we call it. A fortiori it simply means to argue from the lesser to the greater like if this is true. This is definitely true or if you like this. You're really gonna like this or that's okay, but it has no comparison to this. That's the logic that he uses and we see the use of this logic, as the author gives three compelling reasons to motivate us to submit to our heavenly father and the first reason is because of who it is that is chastening, but if there's not.

Furthermore we've had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence at speaking about our earthly fathers, shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the father of spirits, and live. It's a it's a it's an argument from the lesser to the greater if you obeyed your dad.

Should you not submit to your heavenly father if your earthly father chastens you and you show them respect how much more should we put ourselves under, or submit ourselves to the authority of our heavenly father. How many of you had a father that corrected you, would you raise your okay now what did you do did you obey your dad. You said I handle my day my daddy was 6 foot five.

He weighed 300 pounds. He drank motor oil for breakfast in his favorite Bible verse was I brought you into this world and I can take you out okay so you baby. Maybe your dad wasn't like that. Maybe your dad disciplined you in such a way that you just had this warm sense that he loved you and this was for your good and you know he wants you to do well. He wants you to succeed and you may not see the immediate benefit of the discipline but you can trust him and us all good.

So whatever your motivation was at least we can say you obeyed him and here's the point. If you submit to your earthly father then how much more should you submit to your heavenly father and think about it.

There is not only a reward for obeying your earthly father.

But look at the reward for obeying your heavenly father knows what he says shall we not, but not much rather be in subjection unto the father of spirits and live. What's the benefit that comes to us to the father. It's called life. The book of Hebrews calls God the living God, the Creator of life. The one who's opened up a new and living way to heaven. He is the giver of eternal life. One writer said this way, those who live life to the fullest. Do not, but God's discipline, but rather, they embrace it and here's this point all of this discipline has a view to some spiritual benefit in this life you can say it this way. If we submit to God, we experience a full life, and if we rebel against God, we experience and it empty life so what are you going to do. Are you going to submit are you going to surrender because the logical thing is we should submit because of who it is that is chastening us.

It is our heavenly father.

Then he gives a second logical compelling reason why we should submit and that is not only because of who chastens us, but how he chastens us. Look at verse 10, for they speaking of your father.

Verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure, but he speaking of our father for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness not notice the logic the same logic a fortiori the process of the father's discipline is compared to God's discipline notice he says our earthly fathers process is fallible, that means it is capable of making mistakes, the writer says our fathers chastened us after their own pleasure. Now I remember when I first read that verse. That was a little confusing to me because I didn't really sense that my father was got great pleasure in disciplining me that's never been the case know you've heard the statement.

This is going to hurt me more than is going to hurt you. That doesn't make any sense and it doesn't mean that they do it so that they can be happy.

So the idea they do it for their own pleasure so that their kids don't drive them crazy and that's why they discipline you. The idea of the word pleasure means they did the best they could at the time.

In other words, the parents do the best they can with the knowledge they have in the background and the experience, but it best. It's fallible, that means they make mistakes, how many parents look back over the years as they raise their children and see the mistakes they made at times.

Discipline was too hard at other times it was too soft. I got used to travel on our team and I was I'm not his dad. I was his boss and I was part of any said to me one day he said brother Steve. He said you been hard on me than anybody in my life.

I thought to myself.

Your dad should be harder on you without having to do it now. Mistakes are made at times. Your parents acted very patient and other times they acted irritated, if you've ever seen your father man, you ever seen your mother, man, that's worse like fire flames, now they lightning bolts. My mother bless her heart. When she got mad she just sheet she took her hair, Brett, Brooke Russian. She was dangerous because if we were in swing in distance we got whacked in the head. Sometimes your parents get irritated they get angry sometimes they're moody. There are times that their judgment is swayed.

For example, if you grew up in a family of three or four or five children. Generally, the older feel like the younger get away with murder and had they done it they would been murdered or it seems like because of the nature of children that maybe wine is a little more manipulative or there the favored child or what ever.

Or or perhaps you got disciplined and your parents didn't have the full knowledge and they reacted in the got upset and I got mad with you, and you really want at fault. In other words, your parents make mistakes, but they did the best they could. And here's the point. Even with parents making having false as a child, you are required to show them respect and submit to your parents correction now if you're willing to do that for your mom and dad, how much more for your heavenly father for the heavenly father's process is not fallible. It's infallible, or the put it in simple terms is perfect. What is he say he does it for our profit, that is for our advantage that we might be partakers of his holiness. What is he saying God's correction has no false and no errors is either correct in its purpose or its application in both whatever struggles come our way. We can rest assured that that God's best we can say this way. The best the wisest and the most loving choice is being made for us by God. We can rest in God's goodness and sovereignty, and the ultimate profit is that we become partakers of his holiness or to simply put it this way, we become more like him. So as we submit to his chastening.

We are changed more and more into his likeness.

Little by little we enjoy more and more of his presence. We could say it this way. Father knows best and the point is, if we are willing to submit to our parents who only discipline us for a short period of time and it best in an imperfect way. How much more should we submit to a father who is always working everything for our best for most of you, your parents discipline is over. It took up maybe at the best 15% of the whole of your life but your heavenly father. He still working on you and he will be working on you until you enter into glory. So what's the logical thing to do. You don't fight God you sweetly and willingly and joyfully surrender to him. God I want your will. I submit to you. If it means I have to endure this if it means I have to stick this out. If it means I have to go through this thing. God, I will sweetly surrender to you because father knows best.

And then there's 1/3 and final compelling reason not only because of who chastens us and and and how it is that he chastens us, but finally because of what chastening produces in our life.

Notice verse 11.

Now no chastening for the present seems to be joyous, but grievous. Nevertheless, afterwards it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness under them which are exercised thereby. He begins by saying that the in the initial production of chastening in your life is not joyful. It's painful it's previous when your parents corrected you.

It was always painful. Whether it was a spanking or privilege removed, or possession taken away or an unwanted responsibility or a verbal reprimand or having simply to wait for your dad to come home. It's never joyful. However, most adults who were properly discipline can look back towards their parents with a sense of gratitude, respect and love because they know that this discipline had a payback. It's a blessing to you because of it because it taught you self-control.

It taught you respect it developed in your life, character, the experience of discipline, molded your life and enabled you to become who you are today. And so, though it was not joyful at the time it brought about a change in your life likewise likewise no chastening from God is joyful is a joyful experience. That doesn't mean you can't find joy in the process, but initially so if you would say this semesters been like super hard for me okay take it submit surrender yield.

Don't let your emotions control you, but trust your good good father knows best is not something that is joyful. It could be sickness, it could be financial stress. It could be a distressing situation you find yourself and somehow we think life is supposed to be perfect, but you don't develop character in perfect comfort you draw you grew huge growth character in your life as you go through conflict and struggle, but there is a payback and what is the Scripture say here, afterwards it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness under them which are exercised thereby. He uses the metaphor of agriculture. He says it yields fruit. What is this fruit is a quality of life that has a close walk with God and conforms to God's character.

What is the end result.

Often times of your struggle. You get close to God.

You know what when you go through trials. You pray more you seek God more.

You want to find answers, you find a greater joy in spiritual things as they comfort your heart. It changes you. You become a different person. It yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness. And then he concludes with an athletic metaphor. He says to those that are exercised thereby, and here's what the writer of Hebrews does he now takes us full circle. He began with with us running a race. It's almost like he went from us running a race to now is talking about fathers and sons and disciplines, but he actually brings us back to the race when he uses the phrase to those that are exercised thereby and what he is saying is this, I took a departure to show you what what is happening to you, you're running this race you are enduring and what is God doing is training you is educating you your learning you're being chastened and what you need to do is to to recognize that God loves you to get your head on straight and then this submit and then surrender and then he says essentially get back in the race. Any concludes in verses 12 through 14 and will look at that next week because in those verses.

He's telling us to get back in the race into run the race and this time run it with all your heart is like you get your second wind you go through a full semester, Bob Jones University. You start out like running a race and everybody's excited and think about halfway through and I don't think I got a make it or they will throw in the towel and somewhere if you stay with it.

You get your second wind you get up new fresh praying you get revived and is talking about how we experience revival. Let me challenge you to get in the race stay in the race states that get out. Don't go in the Dow don't quit. Don't give into your emotions, but learn to train your thoughts by understanding God's love. Father, we thank you for your word. Thank you that you give us strength through your word to run the race. Help us to be faithful in Jesus name, amen. You been listening to a sermon from Hebrews 12 by Dr. Steve Pettit president Bob Jones University.

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You can easily do that to the website. The Daily Platform.com. I'm Steve Pettit, president of Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina. Thank you for listening to The Daily Platform. If you're looking for a regionally accredited Christian liberal arts university. I invite you to visit our campus and see how God is working in the lives of our students. For more information about Bob Jones University, visit www.btu.edu or call 800-252-6363.

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