The Father’s Discipline (Part 1 of 2)

We commit ourselves to Jesus as Lord and Savior God becomes our father, we are counted as one of his children. But how can we be sure that were actually part of God's family today on Truth for Life. Alistair Begg examines a classic expression of our father's love. Our study begins in Hebrews chapter 12 verse five.

It is often the most diligent of men who feel the greatest challenge they're trying to please their bosses and respond to their customers that trying to live up to the high standards in fulfilling the role of a biblical husband.

They also want to be the spiritual leader in their homes and therefore recognize their responsibility for their children, and in many cases there living on a fault line with the growing fear that the big earthquake make on at any time and engulf them as fathers this morning. There are certain things that are inescapable truths to us. I know these in here under the section of the role of a husband and I wrote these from somewhere with myself and views some time ago. I find them distinctly challenging number one. I am my dad is fact number one, even on the mornings when I don't feel like it. Even when I know I blew it. Even when I think I'd rather be doing something else. The central fact of my existence is that I am a husband and a father. Secondly, the home is the single most important influence on my family. I can delegate a lot of my responsibilities at work but I cannot delegate my hopes for my family because of its inherent difficulty and importance fathering is the most dignified role I will ever play the dignity of fathering has been eroded. Television is pretrade fathers as buffoons, absentee workaholics or permissive nice guys who don't have a significant value or ethic in their heads is no wonder that many men have ceased to devote the kind of time and energy. The task of real fathering demands for being a parent is one of the greatest sources of joy. We can ever know. Five. We can all improve on what were doing six everybody's unique. Our children and so are we, therefore, must learn from one another and seven. It is generally difficult to be a good parent. There are no magic formulas no special potions. One of the great myths and society is that we can be parents without real investment of time and energy, the great truth is that there is no substitute for the investment of time and effort which was this morning as fathers can then invade the challenge that is before is a whole generation is growing up around us who have no knowledge of fatherhood et al., not because their fathers are gone. The fathers are present by their fathers are not fathers there. Everything else but father, and it is because in many cases we have missed the great essential distinguishing factor of what it means to be a child in a home and a father.

Overall home of all the characteristics of the writer of Hebrews may have used to describe the fatherhood of God. Here in chapter 12.

The one that he isolates, and it's not unusual in the course of the Scriptures is that of discipline. Discipline verse seven, endure hardship as discipline God is treating you as sons. In other words, the classical expression of a father's love is discipline.

It's not the provision of what the child desires. It is the provision of what the child requires all kinds of people can meet the desires of our kids, but only to the pairings and in this case, primarily, and, particularly, is given the responsibility of jurisdiction over the discipline and the forming of their lives.

If our children are to come to maturity. Then we neglect this to our panel.

Another context in the Lancer is simply this, that these individuals would become God's children through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, which is the way in which an individual becomes a child of God. We are all the children of God by creation.

Insofar as none of us exist physically without his creative handiwork. But we become his children his spiritual kids if you like by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and these people to whom the letter has been written had hair the preaching of this good news and they had turned from their previous way of life and did embrace Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and Master and friend undying and he had sent out on the journey of following him.

They hadn't gone very far down the road until they began to meet with some significant roadblocks when they began to find out that this was not a cakewalk. When they began to hum to themselves is aware, the country-western June, I beg your pardon. I never promised you a Rose Garden along with the sunshine. There's going to be a little rain sometimes. And these people were set a little rain is like it's gonna rain forever. Is this what it means to follow Christ. Is this what it means to have God as your father. Is this what I signed up for is the spirit of pliable in the very beginning of Pilgrim's progress when pliable leaves the city of destruction along with program and having gone very far in the end up in the slough of despond and there in this dreadful money predicament and their sinking and farther and farther and pliable. You may recall, turns to Pilgrim and he says, is this the kind of thing you promised to me. Is this what it means to have God as your father. I'm getting out of here and I'm getting out on the side of the slough that is closest to my home and so Bunyan describes how Pilgrim got out on the side. On the way to the destination pliable got out on the far side and retreated to his house and the readers of this letter were tempted to retreat tempted to go back and that's why from chapter 10. He's been saying were not the kind of people retreat where the kind who continue if you want to know what it's like to continue take a walk through the portrait Gallery of Hebrews chapter 11 and then he says as he comes into chapter 12. By the way, you may be tempted to focus so much on these individuals that you failed to keep your eyes on the right person to the right person of Jesus.

What did Jesus do, he endured all these things all the opposition of sinful men, and he says if you keep your eyes on him. Then you won't grow weary and lose heart.

But it is a necessary reminder and so he says in verse four in your struggle against sin, you haven't yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood you think this is bad. He said you're still alive and where there is life there is hope.

Others of diary. The second half of chapter 11 you are still going, but it is a struggle and anybody who sells you Christianity or God is your father is some kind of soft soap, wishy-washy journey for Mandy pending nitwits, then they don't have a Bible in front of them, because it will take everything in you as a man to live for Jesus Christ and will take this drive and have every sin you and then you to resist the influences of those around us who Mark is. In our day who deny the truths of God's word, the nonsense that spews from various poop it's all around us here in the city, such as I was listening to this morning, and driving here from someplace that visited the name Adam in Genesis 1 is not Adam it is Eric person and he is the first dark person and he was introduced to another person and there is no gender between them save that which is externally established and so much nonsense you could never imagine within within 10 or 12 miles of where I'm standing right now that you understand up and affirm the truths of God's word and live for Jesus Christ. Then there's going be a struggle that you face. So he says I want you to figure on the struggle you're facing and I want to remind you. Verses five and six of the Scripture. You're forgetting because you're forgetting to read your Bibles and you see when we forget to read our Bibles. Things start to go wrong because it is by our Bibles that we are given the food for the journey and were given the map on the way. He says you haven't been reading the book of Proverbs.

If you been reading the book of Proverbs.

He said he would remember the verse is my son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline because the Lord disciplines those that he loves so he says I know your circumstances are difficult. I know that life is not been going particularly tranquilly for you.

I know that is not a walk in the park but I want you to remember something you been forgetting you haven't yet shed your blood on this journey and secondly you haven't been paying attention to the Bible as you should let me summarize what he says here in verse five and six this in a couple of phrases.

Number one he says don't be careless. Don't be careless.

That's the phrase do not make light off see the danger lies in failing to recognize that God's hand is at work both in our struggles as in our successes that have made greater progress, small though it may be in times of tear pain, difficulty, disappointment, disenchantment than ever the progress that I've made when my spirit is be lifted up within me and yet I still am foolish enough to see all was that which lifts me up sets me up and sets me on and in seeking to shun trials.

I failed to receive blessings and the danger is that I'm just careless in relationship to the Lord this when I make light of it, I see. Well it's not. It's not really there. We're sits there it is there for the purpose secondly says don't be crushed by it. The first danger is that we would be casual or careless in relationship to it. The second is that we would be crushed by it. That's the phrase in the second half of verse five.

Do not lose heart.

Don't lose. I see this is a very very important word to these people because they were in danger of being completely overwhelmed the adversity of life was such that they were loaded down with all kinds of troubles in their natural tendency and let's be honest, as is ours was simply to think of their father given up on that somehow or another. Now they were left to their own devices that God had the phone off the hook. Is it where and he'd gone away to look for something and and all this was taking place while he was gone and it would seem that he wasn't coming by to pick up the phone and we were left with all these other all these unanswered questions at the end of line he said now don't you be crushed by the Lord's discipline don't be casual or carefree about it but verse six. Be clear and what is the clarity that he wants us to have. Willie says I want you to be absolutely clear that the Lord disciplines those he loves he disciplines those he loves. What other verb would be perhaps a food would be tempted to put all kinds of herbs and there the Lord provides for those he loves the dots the Lord protects those he loves. Course he does. And so we could fill it in with all kinds of things, but the distinguishing feature here for the writer of Hebrews is if you want to know that you're a child of God. You know it, because the Lord disciplines you he doesn't discipline those to whom he is indifferent and his affection for his children. Those whom he has accepted or adopted there the end of verse six does not overrule his purpose for us.

He is not about to overlook our faults and our foibles. Because of these very things most stun our spiritual growth and therefore as in earthly parenting week. He cannot let his kids away with it because if he does we will turn out less than that which he desires for us, which is to be mature in the face of the struggle if he were to simply wink's eye at sin. If he were simply to allow us always to live in tranquility and in these if you were simply to provide for everything we asked of the time that we asked and to be some kind of cosmic genie in the sky. Then there would be no reality in this partnership that is described here. Don't be crushed will be careless to be clear, God uses discipline in order to cuter us. I'm using Q are there in the way in which tobacco is cured, nor have they skewered our ladder is skewered and goes through a certain process in order that it might be more useful at the end and it was in the beginning. See most of us want to be really useful without being cured most of us want to be strong without doing the exercise. Most of us want to get soft and tender eyes without ever having that which makes us cry and weep and breaks our hearts. Most of us want to be able to minister to others out of the fullness of our experience but we don't want the fullness of experience gives us the ability to minister.

We want to present but may press button being Christian kind of experience and is certainly not in the Bible and the writer says I want to tell you about fatherhood and I want to give it to you in one word, on the one word is discipline. I mentioned to somebody this morning. He said were you speaking on is a Hebrews 12. I said yes she said and what is it I said disciplines that I don't like that topic. I understood what you meant by that I don't really like it myself but I want to say three things about discipline. I said I don't. I want to show you three things that the writer says about this in the very simple number one the privilege of discipline the privilege of discipline in Jew or hardship is discipline. God is treating you as sons. It is a sign of our son ship that we might use son ship generically here so that ladies do not feel left out nor should you because in the context in which the writer is describing these things. He was, not limiting this simply to the male gender people would have understood the generic news in a way that is an example to us if we were really God's children.

Some of these people were saying then we wouldn't have to face these things ever said that you know if God really love me.

Then I this wouldn't happen to me.

I visited in the hospital this week somebody describe the situation in the intensive cardiac care unit where one man had died and another man and lived in the person started to explain to me what I must be that God loves this one I need is love that will or it must be the one who lived was doing a lot of good things in the one who died was doing a lot of bad things said well it's easy enough to say when your guys the one that lived in a difficult when he's the one that passed away and I said you really believe that God would operate on that can scale we had a wonderful opportunity to talk but in the very heart of it all was this flawed understanding. If God really loves me I wouldn't go through this. Know the reverse is the case because God really loves me.

I am going through it.

I have gone through it or I am about to go through it said it down as a fixed point in your life that if you and I are going to follow wholeheartedly after Christ ever going to live as children within our father's house. Then discipline will be an ongoing part of our experience and it is by that very experience of discipline that we are in marked out as his sons and his daughters indeed he says in verse eight, the absence of discipline is not an expression of blessing.

The absence of discipline indicates that we are illegitimate where illegitimate children. If you are not disciplined, then your legitimate kids.

If you come up with some approach to this Christian life whereby it's all smiles and laughter. It's all sunshine and springs.

Then he says the chances are you don't even know what it is to be a Christian because this privilege of discipline distinguishes the believer from the unbelief on verse nine. You see, he moves from the lesser to the greater, he argues from human experience. Moreover, he says we've all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it.

That's the normal course of events.

That's how it's supposed to be discipline your children and the respect you for if you don't discipline your kids. They won't respect you, or they may think you're a big cozy dozy character, but it won't respect you. Proverbs chapter 29 verse 15 the rod of correction imparts wisdom, but a child left to himself, disgraces his mother just take the teenage circumstances of our contemporary culture look at this. You're not allowed the European Parliament has legislated not simply about the punishment of children in schools for the punishment of children in homes they want to take away from parental jurisdiction. The very thing that safeguards the culture in a coming generation because it is the rod of correction imparts wisdom and the child left to himself will be a disgrace to his mom why are you screaming ranging from fiendish little Rascals organizing supermarkets all over America. How can we close the place down with such amazing ability we juice the mothers to tears and T.J. Maxx high when the big book on the big book. I want the big below mother's going to this and I want the baboon guy one of our Lord take the big boom not on that can get here take long to get the word of correction out Julio Meijer 10 years away from a total nightmare getting his teachers going to fix this court so fix this. Hey dad, step same thing. Discipline your son he will bring you peace. He will delight your soul failed to heal bring you anguish and agony somewhere in here I have I have a quote from it from the newspaper they are going from and lender was a letter by a father to his son when like this dear son, as long as you live under this roof you will follow the rule in our house.

We do not have a democracy. I did not campaign to be your father. You did not vote for me.

We are father and son, by the grace of God I consider it a privilege and I accept the responsibility and accepting it.

I have an obligation to perform the role of a father.

I am not your pal, the age difference make such a relationship impossible. We can share many things, but you must remember that I am your father. This is 100 times more meaningful than being a pal. You will do as I say as long as you live in this house you not to disobey me because whatever I ask you to do is motivated by love. This may be hard for you to understand at times, but the rule holds you will understand perfectly. When you have a son of your own until Len trust me. Love, dad returned to the pages of Scripture and it is their right before our gates. He says we all had human fathers who disciplined us if we did, we should arise and call them blessed and we respected them for it.

And so we ought how much more then he said if that is the case on an earthly basis.

Should we then submit to the father of our spirits and live through our earthly pilgrimage we granted him honor and respect to those who are our physical appearance. How much more then should we bow and give that same honor and obedience and respect to our father, who is the author not only of our physical lives, but also of our spiritual lives. Indeed, we should pity than the child whose father has assumed that love demands that he allow his son to do what he likes half what he wants and to come and go as he pleases. And I want you to know that this is a challenge for me so I said I'd I wrote this for myself courses Alastair back with a message titled the father's discipline your part two of this message tomorrow you're listening to Truth for Life. If you're enjoying listening to our current series titled Pixar eyes on Jesus, we want to encourage you to make this study your own study covers the entire book of Hebrews is available on a single USB drive.

Visit Truth for Life.org/store or look for the study on the Truth for Life at as were learning in the study of the Christian life is not always easy life's challenges can leave us discouraged, we can experience feelings of loneliness can be overwhelming, but were not alone. So we need to be reminded that God is with us reminded of his presence and his promises.

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Hope you can join us again tomorrow as Alastair explains how discipline which is often challenging for us to endure is actually for our good and for God's glory. The Bible teaching of Alastair Begg is furnished by Truth for Life learning is prolific