Road Trip Series: Speed Traps

Hook

Tonight we are going to talk about the topic of discipline.

If we are honest, there is probably no better area of life in which discipline is needed than that of a parent/child relationship.

All of our parents have their “go-to” form of discipline, dont they?

What are some of forms of discipline that you have experienced in your life journey so far ? [Allow for Responses]

All of you know what form of discipline your parents use, but how many of you have ever wondered how your friends parents disciplined them when they were little or even how they discipline them now? [Allow for Responses]

“As a humerous way to get started tonight, let’s watch this quick video in which a comedian discusses the discipline his father used when he was little.”

No one likes discipline.

Lets gets your reactions to a couple of hypothetical discipline scenarios. Here is the first one.

Scenario 1: You walk into the house 5 minutes past your curfew. You are met at the door with a “Where have you been , mister? Do you know how late it is? And then for the next 10 minutes, you are peppered with all sorts of questions about your night. Finally, your dad says you’re not allowed to go to your friend’s batch this weekend because you broke your curfew.

How would you feel if you received this discipline? [Allow for Responses]

Scenario 2: You have a school project that you have known about for atleast a month. It is now the night before it is due and panic sets in. Despite your parents warnings not to wait until the last minute, you plead with them for help. But they dont help. You stay up all night finishing your work, but you still failed.

How would you feel if you received this discipline? [Allow for Responses]

Now just to be clear - those scenarios were just made up for the sake of our illustration - but all of them created a feeling inside of you, didnt they? When we are on the receiving end of discipline, there can be so many emotions that go through our minds. And let’s be honest, the first emotion that you felt after hearing each scenario was probably not joy or gladness.

One thing for sure is this: dsicipline is not easy. It is not easy for the person who gives it and it is not easy for the person who receives it. But here is an idea that we will wrestle with tonight: Discipline is never easy, but it is alway good.

Now before I continue, we need to make a distinction between discipline and punishment. you may think they are the same thing, but there is a slight difference. Punishment wants to make a person suffer for the wrong they did. Punishment does involve love. Discipline wants to help make a person better. It’s main desire is to help a person grow and change. Discipline involves love.

Tonight, we are concluding our series called Road Trip. Over the last few weeks, we have been on a road trip of sorts and we have already learned a lot on this journey.

We learned that we should pay attention to the warning signs in scripture so that we grow in our walk with Christ.

We learned that if we are headed in the wrong direction, we should make a U-turn by repenting of our sins so that we can get back on the path towards God and holiness.

We learned to avoid picking up “sin-hikers”. We should put the sin in our life to death daily.

Throughout this series we have learned about how Holy Spirit works to make us more like Jesus. Sometimes, Holy Spirit uses discipline in our lives to help us be more like Christ.

Last Saturday, I was travelling back Hanmer Springs. I noticed these blue and red flashing lights coming from behind. My realization became my worst nightmare. It was a police car behind me and I was definately speeding. So, what happens? I got pulled over, got a speeding ticket and I was sent on my way. As I pulled into the driveway at home, I collected my thoughts and went inside.

I felt so frustrated with myself because I “never’’ speed, but the one time I did, I got caught.

I was so angry with the police officer because of his trap that he set up.

Getting a ticket resulted in me experiencing so many different emotions but i didnt really think to myself, “You know, it’s really a good thing that the police officer pulled me over and gave me a ticket.” But if im honest, getting that ticket gave me the opportunity to change and grow. It has helped me be more alert. It may have saved me from an accident and perhaps even saved my life. Sure, it wasnt easy dealing with getting a ticket, but it really was good.

What we are going to see through God’s Word is that God will use discipline to bring us back from sin and into fellowship with Him. It is the Lord’s discipline that can help us make the U-Turn we need to make and help us rid oursleves of the sin that has come into our lives.

Lesson Content

Many of us , at one time or another, have asked God something like this:

Why am I going through this trouble?

Why am I going through this heartache?

Why am I going through this illness?

Why am I going through this pain?

These are all valid questions to ask, and God wants you to come to him with all your questions. Dont worry, He is big enough to handle them. But if we are wise, we will seek His word to help know His will. The New Testament Book Of Hebrews gives us some insight that we would be wise to learn from. The Book of Hebrews was written to a group of Jesus followers who were being persecuted because of their faith. Many of them struggled with the price they were having to pay of being a follower of Jesus. What we find in this letter is an answer, not an easy one, but one that is good for us today.

[Get a volunteer to read Hebrews 12: 5-6]

“And have you forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you as his children? He said, “My child, don’t make light of the Lord’s discipline,and don’t give up when he corrects you. For the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he disciplines each one he accepts as his child.” (NLT)

When it comes to God, it is easy to forget His love for us. You cant see God visibly standing in front of you. So, it becomes easy to forget how much God loves you. This is why it’s so important to preach the Gospel to yourself every day because it reminds you of how much God loves you! “For God so loved the world.” Yes, and that means that “God so loved ( Insert a few names)! Never forget that truth!

What these verses teach us is that God disciplines His own children.

1. God Disciplines Because He Loves You ( Hebrews 12: 5-6)

A few months ago, I found myself struggling with burnout and negelecting my spiritual well being while pouring all my energy into ministering to others. Despite knowing the importance of self-care , I pushed myself beyond my limits, thinking i could handle it all on my own. However, God’s discipline came in the form of physical exhaustion and emotional emptiness, forcing me to slow down and evaluate my priorities. Through this challenging time, I learned the importance of taking care of myself so that I could better serve others, and I grew closer to God as i leaned on him for strength and guidance.

So, if we believe in Him, then He will discipline us when we do wrong. As His children, he lovingly disciplines us to bring us back to Himself and make us more like Christ.

In the Old Testament, the Israelites were referred to as God’s Children. We can see throughout Scripture how God disciplined them through testing to see if they would remain faithful to Him. The sufferings they would go through were always designed for their good.

[ Get a volunteer to read Deuteronomy 8:2]

“Remember how the Lord your God led you through the wilderness for these forty years, humbling you and testing you to prove your character, and to find out whether or not you would obey his commands.” (NLT)

What we see in this verse is that God led His children through the wilderness for 40 years. Did you catch why? So that God could humble them and test them. Their wilderness wandering was a direct result of their sin. God wanted to see whether or not they would follow him. He was testing their faith. It wasn’t easy, but it was good for them.

The Write of Hebrews reminds us that in the midst of discipline, we are to have the proper response.

2. The Proper Response to Discipline ( Hebrews 12:5)

Verse 5 is really clear. Dont make light ( despise) of the Lord’s discipline and dont give up (feel discouraged) when he corrects you.

a. Dont take the Lord’s discipline lightly.

When we are being disciplined by God, we must realize that He has our best interest in mind. We must not take that discipline lightly. Discipline is never easy, but it’s always good. God has our best interests at heart. God is always kind; He is always good; therefore, it follows that everything He does is always kind and always good. If you are disciplined by the Lord, don’t take it lightly. Allow it to cause you to stop and think about how it will change you for the better.

The second thing we are told not to do is be discouraged when God corrects us.

b. Dont be discouraged by God’s correction.

We are not supposed to become discouraged when God corrects us. Well, that is not an easy thing to do, is it?

Have you ever heard anyone say, “I just love it when I am being disciplined by my parents”? Of course not! The easy thing to do is to become discouraged and upset because of the consequences you have received.

In these moments, it is easy for us to become discouraged because we have forgotten God is still in control of our circumstances and have forgotten that He loves us; He only wants what is best for us. We can become discouraged because we can’t always see the big picture. Sometimes, we lose sight of our journey and only see the circumstances that present themselves right in front of us. The final destination is holiness, and discipline can help keep us on the path toward holiness. So, when God disciplines, don’t be discouraged.

3. The Good of God’s Discipline ( Hebrews 12:10)

[ Get a volunteer to read Hebrews 12:10]

“For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness.” (NLT)

a. We Share God’s Holiness

God desires that we would be holy and live a life of holiness. That is why we are teaching this series. Holiness is the destination of the road trip that we are on in this series. Since God desires us to be holy, when we are traveling in the opposite direction of holiness, it is God who works to get us back. In essence, He is trying to win us back so that we can share in His holiness.

Connection

If you have ever experienced anything quite like getting pulled over by a police officer, you typically have a range of emotions that flow through your body. Anxiety, check! Frustration, check! Scared, check! Upset, check! Angry, check! Most police officers are not out to make your life miserable. They are there to help you obey the laws and keep you safe.

He is not out to get you or to make your life miserable. God is the one Who saved you from your sin. And He is the one Who is continuing to work in you, and sometimes that means that He must discipline you so that you can become more like Jesus. Discipline is never easy, but it’s always good.

Think about it this way. After a baby is born into this world, are they just left to fend for themselves? No! Someone feeds them, cleans up after them, nourishes them with love and affection, and corrects them.

In the same way, once we place our faith in Christ alone, God does not leave us to fend for ourselves. God is with us every step of the way helping us to become more like Jesus. This is sanctification. Paul tells us in Philippians 1:6 that we can be confident and know that God will not stop working on us until we are complete one day in Heaven with Him.

Choice

Don’t answer this out loud, but where is God challenging you to grow? [Pause for students to think.]

It is your choice how you will respond to God’s discipline. Will you respond with anger, disappointment, frustration, or anxiety, or will you respond with joy and be reminded that you are a child of God? So, when you are experiencing the discipline of the Lord, how are you going to respond? Take a moment to talk with God about this right now.

Pause for a moment for students to talk with God and then pray for them and any decision they made.