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Introduction
We may think that discipline and correction are specifically for those who have done something wrong or illegal.
For those who have broken the rules.
Yet, discipline can be for more than that.
It can be for anyone who wants to grow and develop.
It can be for anyone that another seeks to grow and develop.
Look at the military.
Basic training is done to discipline civilians into soldiers.
The men and women who are entering basic training did not do anything bad, at least most of them did not, yet they get disciplined on a regular basis.
They are taken from being a regular citizen, even if they were committed to living clean and working out regularly, to a soldier who is capable of much.
They have been disciplined to not do certain things and disciplined to do certain things.
Take for example a great uncle of mine.
He went to basic during WWII.
He was standing in line with the other men.
One of them did something and the drill instructor slapped him hard enough to knock him off his feet.
My relative flinched and the DI did the same thing to him.
He hated him the whole time he was in basic training.
He hated him after he got out of basic.
But he loved him when the doors dropped on the Higgins boats.
That slap and possibly much more discipline tactics caused my relative to not flinch anymore when something sudden happened.
When those doors dropped a lot of things suddenly happened.
He did not flinch from the men dropping around him and the bullets flying but he reacted and moved forward and survived.
That discipline he received was for his betterment and for him to become something that would be useful and good to the United States military.
The discipline we receive from the Lord is to do the same for us for Him.
Just as my great uncle was thankful for the discipline and corrections his DI gave him; we should be thankful for the discipline and corrections God gives us.
Let us read the text today.
Hebrews 12:1-13
We can be thankful for the discipline and corrections given us by the Lord by doing several things.
One of which is to:
Look to Our Examples (1-4)
When we read this section and reflect back on chapter 11 we may be tempted to say something like, yeah but those people were gifted or blessed more than I am.
What this statement fails to realize is that they were not any better than we are.
Some of them were massive mess-ups.
Samson was not very faithful and he failed to honor God always yet he is in the hall of faith.
Abraham was an average man who lied twice that is recorded in the Bible.
David was a firm believer in the Lord but he committed adultery and murder.
Moses was afraid and gave many excuses why he could not do something for the Lord.
Enoch we only know he walked with the Lord then he was taken.
He was just a faithful man.
As were all the others in that chapter.
But many if not most of them messed up regularly or in a very severe manner.
Yet, they were considered faithful.
They were because they rested in the Lord and took His discipline and corrected their behaviors.
That is what we need to do.
We need to look at them but more importantly, look to our savior who suffered more than all and He never did anything wrong.
We look to the great cloud of witnesses for sure but most importantly to Christ Himself.
The cloud of witnesses suffered for the Lord and they stayed faithful because they knew that God had something better for them than this world.
They trusted in His promises and endured through many things.
Some were killed in terrible ways.
Some were beaten and all died before the fulfillment of the promises were seen.
They trusted the Lord and knew that no matter what happened they could rely on Him to be true and righteous.
Take David for example.
He mad an egregious mistake in doing a census of Israel for his arrogance and wanting to know what he had power over (2 Sam.
24 and 1 Chron.
21).
God sent the prophet Gad to David and offered 3 things for David to choose what punishment would be sent.
3 years of famine, 3 months of devastation from enemies, or 3 days of pestilence on the land from the Lord.
David said, 1 Chron.
21:13 “Then David said to Gad, “I am in great distress.
Let me fall into the hand of the Lord, for his mercy is very great, but do not let me fall into the hand of man.”
David wanted his punishment to come from the Lord rather than man because he knew the Lord is good and merciful.
God is merciful but people are not.
Look at Christ.
He suffered at the hands of people.
He was nailed to the cross by people.
Some of which had just a few days before he was nailed to it said they loved Him and that He was Hosanna their king.
Jesus endured that pain and humiliation for us.
That is the joy He had in His suffering.
The joy that many would be brought in by His sacrificial death and resurrection.
He endured the sinners and hostility for us.
He did it as our substitute but also as our example.
Jesus did not waver or weaken in what happened to Him.
He went to the cross joyously for us knowing the pain to come and the evil to be felt.
Yet, he did it.
He did this and we have not even struggled to the shedding of blood for Him.
The recipients then had not yet either nor have we.
We have struggled and strained but we have not resisted to the shedding of blood.
We have no excuse to waver in anything because we have not experienced anything like what those men and women had nor what Jesus did.
But when we do we need to look to them for strength in our struggles.
Look to them when we are being disciplined or corrected.
Remember discipline is not just punishment but training.
When we face persecution and difficulties, we are facing discipline and strength training.
When this happens we need to look at the Lord and know as the first part of Heb.
12:5 says, “And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?”
If you are in Christ you are a child of God.
As a child we need to know that:
Discipline is for Our Good (5-11)
It is for our growth and maturing.
God allows tests and struggles to happen because He loves us.
He will test and discipline us for our good and to be more like Christ.
If we think that is too much for us, look at Jesus.
Not the cross this time but further back.
In Matt.
4:1-11 we see that Jesus was in the desert and fasted for forty days.
He was hungry and thirsty and to make it worse Satan appears to tempt Him.
Jesus Christ tempted and tested.
Satan tries multiple ways to get Him to fall, but Jesus never does and He challenges Satan too.
So, if Jesus is not too good to be tempted and tested and face discipline, then neither are you or I.
Our discipline is like what happened to my great uncle I spoke of earlier, it grows us and matures us and prepares us.
It allows for correction when we have done wrong, and endurance for adversity.
It strengthens us to be faithful and committed followers of Christ.
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