1144-What is God's Discipline#
1144-What is God's Discipline
(JP Text Group - Organized by Life Like an Eagle)
Let us pray together:
Loving Heavenly Father, we thank and praise You. Thank You for guiding us to receive Your words together. May the Holy Spirit lead us to understand Your revelations more, renewing our thoughts and intentions through Your words, and training us to use Your words in our lives. We believe that correct faith will lead to correct living; please help us during this time. We pray in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen!
Let’s look at today’s text, Hebrews chapter 12, verses 5-11,
5 "And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: 'My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; 6 for whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives.' 7 If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? 8 But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons.
9 Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? 10 For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. 11 Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it."
The topic we are sharing today is "What is God's Discipline?"
In fact, many people are fearful and trembling when they mention "discipline," especially God's discipline. This is because many Christians do not understand what God's discipline truly is. They think it is like how God treated the people of Israel; if they disobey, God sends plagues; if they disobey, God kills them. They believe that if they are disobedient, God will immediately send snakes to bite them, and so on.
If we still live today with an Old Testament mindset, we would be fearful every day. Because today, in many churches, there are also people telling you that if you go against God's will, God will discipline you. In fact, when they say this, they do not understand what discipline means, thinking it is God sending disasters and punishing people, etc. So today, we take this time to find out the truth from the Bible, for only the Bible is the standard of our faith.
First Point: God disciplines us because we belong to Him.
Thank the Lord, why does God discipline us? Because we belong to Him. In other words, if you are not a child of God, He will not discipline you. So if we think this way, is discipline good or bad? Today, many of us here have children; you will discipline your own children, but you would not meddle in the affairs of a child you do not know on the street.
God disciplines us because we are His children.
Verse 8 tells us, "But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons."
This means that as long as you are a child of God, you will inevitably be disciplined by Him. If we misunderstand the term "discipline," that would be troublesome. Anyone who believes in Jesus will certainly be disciplined by God. If discipline means punishment, isn’t that frightening? Who would dare to believe in such a Lord? Who would be willing to accept such a Lord today?
The Greek word for discipline means training. Because we are God's children, God is responsible for us, so He wants to train us, making our lives increasingly blessed.
The book of Romans tells us repeatedly that God's works are evident everywhere; we can see God's power and the marvelous works He has created. The things of God are known to man, for everyone knows there is a God in this world because He has revealed Himself to them. Since the creation of the world, though we cannot see God, the changing of the seasons and the changes in nature show us that there is indeed a God, but not everyone is willing to accept this God.
At the end of Romans, it mentions that some people deliberately do not acknowledge God, so God allows them to follow their own lusts and do vile things. People are willing to worship created things but are unwilling to know the true God. In fact, those things are all created by God. Some people indulge their lusts; why doesn’t God discipline them?
If people are unwilling to obey God's words, God's way is to "let them be," meaning, "Do as you please." Why doesn’t God want to discipline them? The Bible specifically mentions that because they deliberately do not acknowledge God, He does not discipline them.
Romans 1:24-25
Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
Just like when we see a child we do not know misbehaving or stealing, we actually have no right to discipline that child because they are not ours. The only children we can discipline are our own.
Because we are God's children, He must discipline us, which means training us. This enables us to live out the likeness of Christ and the glory of Christ.
As we read in Hebrews chapter 12, it begins with, "My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord," which is quoted from Proverbs 3:11-12, "My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor detest His correction; for whom the Lord loves He corrects, just as a father the son in whom he delights."
Because God loves, He will certainly correct. The audience of the book of Hebrews is primarily the Hebrews. What is their characteristic? They are very familiar with the Old Testament scriptures. So when the Bible mentions, "My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord," they understand.
We always emphasize that you are loved by God, you are blessed by God, you are accepted by God, etc., but many people seem not to experience these blessings, and their lives remain the same as before. The problem may lie in not being trained. Therefore, their thoughts and behaviors are still from the past. God wants us to be blessed, so He trains us and corrects us; this is discipline.
If we love our children, we will certainly discipline them. We will never let them grow freely.
Proverbs 23:12-14
Apply your heart to instruction, and your ears to words of knowledge. Do not withhold correction from a child, for if you beat him with a rod, he will not die. You shall beat him with a rod, and deliver his soul from hell.
Today, unfortunately, many people think of the word "discipline" only in negative terms, as if just saying this word makes people very fearful. But the word "discipline" in the original Greek means nurturing, training, and guiding.
How does God discipline His children? He trains us with His words, corrects us.
Why does God discipline His children? Because we are His beloved, He must nurture us. He must train us to become soldiers of Jesus Christ. No soldier is born a soldier; they need training, and God trains us this way because we are His children. He also guides us on the path we should walk.
After believing in the Lord, how should we walk to be most blessed? He must guide us to walk the right path. This is called discipline. There is no derogatory meaning in this. However, people have long been under the teaching of the law, thinking that discipline means God punishing people with sickness, disasters, and death, but that is not the case.
You must be sure that you are a child of God; God will certainly discipline you, and He will be responsible for you. He will guide you and train you. His discipline is because He loves you; you will be disciplined by God, but you will not be punished by God. Just as today you would discipline your own child. When your child is very young and knows nothing, you must nurture them to understand right from wrong.
When a small child just learns to crawl and wants to stand up, they may fall after standing up. At this time, an adult will train them, holding their hand to help them stand for a while and guide them to walk; this is called discipline. As they grow a little older, you will tell them what they can do and what they cannot do. This is disciplining them. Because we are loved by God, He is willing to guide us on the path ahead.
One thing we must remember is that God does not use sickness to discipline people.
Today's scripture mentions the relationship between father and son, which often illustrates our relationship with the Heavenly Father. If you are a parent of a child, when your child misbehaves, would you say to your child, "If you don’t behave, I will give you cancer, I will make you disabled"? Is there any parent who disciplines their child this way? No. We would not treat our children like that; how could our Heavenly Father treat us this way?
Matthew 7:11 tells us, "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!"
We are evil, meaning that today we still sin, and many times we have many shortcomings. We are particularly prone to sin, especially emotional, and easily angered. Even with our shortcomings, we know how to treat our children well! I believe all parents in the world are like this; even if they are not good, they still want to give good things to their children. How much more our loving Heavenly Father?
If a father wants to teach his child to stay away from danger, how should he do it? For example, when a child is very small, they do not know how hot boiling water is and do not understand the serious consequences. If they insist on touching boiling water, what should you do? You know the consequences, right? So when they get too close to the water, like during mealtime, they are very eager to reach their hand in. At this moment, would you deliberately put their little hand in boiling water to teach them that it will burn, and then say, "Child, do you know? I love you very much, and the reason I did this is to let you know that you cannot put your hand in there"?
Have you ever done such a thing? What do we call this? This is called bizarre and perverse! If we would not do this, then why do some people think of our Heavenly Father as so cruel? Many people say that if you disobey, God will send disasters upon you; if you do not listen to God's words, then God will bring sickness upon you. Look, have you been sick lately? Is this the consequence of not listening to God’s words, leading you away from God and into sin?
Some say that as long as we disobey God's words even a little, God becomes very angry and sends disasters, sickness upon us. We do not do this; why do we think of God this way?
Discipline does have a punitive meaning, but in what context is this word used? It is used in Isaiah 53:5,
"But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed."
Punishment, in the original meaning, is discipline; Jesus took on the part of punishment in our discipline.
In the Old Testament, God indeed sent disasters and diseases; many people fear God because they read the Old Testament and find it to be true. This is because at that time, God made a covenant with the people of Israel: if you obey My laws, I will bless you; if you disobey My words and worship other gods, then the plagues and diseases of the Egyptians will come upon you.
But we are no longer under the law of the Old Testament because, as we read in Isaiah 53:5, He was bruised for our iniquities; He bore our punishment; Jesus took on the punishment we should have received.
Through His discipline, we have peace; through His stripes, we are healed. Today, God will no longer discipline His people as He did in the Old Testament because through Jesus, God has established a new covenant with us.
Those under the law tell believers that if you do not confess your sins, God will remember them! God will discipline you with sickness, accidents, and death! If you do not repent before you die, you probably won’t even enter the kingdom of heaven!
Brothers and sisters, if you have people around you who often preach such a gospel, do not believe it, because such people are not even clear about their own salvation! We must know one thing: God no longer disciplines His people as He did in the Old Testament. Because Jesus Christ has already borne the punishment for our sins on the cross, all the punishment for sin has been placed upon Jesus Christ. So remember one thing: God will absolutely not punish you with accidents; God will absolutely not make you disabled to discipline you; this does not come from God.
At this point, many people will surely ask, then why do diseases and accidents still come upon Christians? Today, we will share two points with brothers and sisters:
First, because their focus is not on Jesus.
When people focus on others, they will inevitably become discouraged or angry. If our focus is not on Christ, we will deviate from His words, just like sheep leaving the flock; a lone sheep is very dangerous and most easily harmed. The devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
Who are the ones he may devour? Those who have left the Lord Jesus, those who have left the flock, who have no supply of the word, and are weak. At this time, the devil begins to attack people; diseases may appear, accidents may occur, and the devil deceives people into thinking this is from God, and people completely believe it. Brothers and sisters, this is incorrect; God does not discipline us with sickness or accidents.
Brothers and sisters, when such things happen to us, what we should do is: ask the Lord to save us. If you think this is from God, you naturally will not dare to pray to God; how could He possibly heal us?
God will absolutely not use such cruel methods to discipline His children. As long as we return to God's words, we will regain strength and be protected again.
Second, when we self-condemn or accept others' condemnation, such things will happen to us.
For example, if for some reason a believer sins, they may become weak for a period, unwilling to pray, unwilling to gather, and unwilling to read the Bible. At this time, if some diseases appear, people easily link these two things together, saying, "I sinned, so this is God's discipline."
If a legalistic person knows your situation, they will tell you that this sickness is because you sinned, so you should confess your sins before God. When you accept such condemnation from others, this problem will happen to you because the law tells us that the wages of sin is death. But legalists tell you that what comes after sin is discipline, disaster, and sickness. This is the consequence people must bear, but it does not align with biblical teaching.
There is a sister whose pastor, in order to prevent his flock, that is, his brothers and sisters, from going to other churches, told them, "Do not leave this church; if you leave, God will punish you, and you will encounter accidents." As a result, some people in their church moved far away, making it very inconvenient to attend.
They said, "Pastor, my home is too far from here; can I go to the church near my home?" The pastor said, "No, you cannot leave this church; if you do, God will discipline you." As a result, one sister did not quite believe it and left. You know what happened? The next day, that sister was hit by a car. This happened two or three times in a row. Later, other brothers and sisters became very afraid and said, "Indeed, God wants us to stay in one church; we should stay here for life, no matter how far we have to come; we cannot run around, or something will happen!"
Brothers and sisters, do you know why this happened to them? Because that person accepted wrong teaching and accepted this condemnation. Although they verbally said they did not believe it, they were still worried that such things would happen, and as a result, they thought about it all day, ultimately giving the devil a reason to attack them, just like Job.
Brothers and sisters, we must not accept others' condemnation. Do not self-condemn; do not believe that false information. Such things will not happen to you. If a person accepts such condemnation, they will easily be influenced by these teachings and instead be used by the devil.
For example, if you listen to a certain expert's health lecture, after listening, they will tell you that as long as you go through their expensive machine, you can find out if you have any diseases. As a result, after just one test, you will find that you have many diseases, and they will diagnose you, saying, "Oh, this disease is serious! If you don't treat it, it will get worse; it might even be cancer!"
You might say, "I don’t have money now; I won’t treat it." But the thought of condemnation has already settled in you. They say, "Go home and observe; after a week, you will find some little bumps on your body." As a result, you will check every day to see if any bumps appear. One day, you really find bumps! You hurry to listen to the expert and get treated! This is also a form of a condemning message! The devil uses people's condemnation to make them fearful and worried, leading to illness.
If a person's focus is not fixed on Jesus, it is easy to self-condemn, so you accept the condemnation from others. At this time, what we should do is to look up to Jesus Christ again; He is your protection, He is your supply, He is the answer to all your problems. Thank and praise the Lord!
We have an older brother in our church; this is a testimony from two weeks ago, and I will briefly share it with the brothers and sisters. He is from Northeast China, and once while harvesting corn, he suddenly had a heart attack. When he got to the hospital, he was found to have insufficient blood supply and arrhythmia; in short, all the symptoms of heart disease concentrated on him. Moreover, when he had an attack, he would convulse all over and lose consciousness, so he had to be rushed to the hospital. For two years, he was tormented by this illness. The doctors had no good solutions; they said, "There’s nothing we can do; when it happens, just rush him over." He had to be rescued several times, and his wife spent almost all her earnings on hospital bills.
Later, he came to our church to attend our gatherings. During my preaching, I told him not to believe the deceptive words of the devil; he should declare in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ that by His stripes, he is healed, and he is healthy. Every morning, he should speak healthy words to himself and declare over his body. As a result, after such declarations, one day he went to the hospital for a check-up and found he was completely healed! He now has no symptoms at all; it is truly miraculous that a single declaration made all his diseases disappear. Thank the Lord.
When problems arise, do not blame God; these pains, diseases, and accidents do not come from God. He is your protection; He is your healer. When you look up to Jesus, your problems will be controlled. As long as we accept God's discipline, which is to accept His training, we can overcome all circumstances through the Lord's words.
When your child is still very young, you must let them know what they can do and what they cannot do. This is discipline.
Of course, the Bible also tells us that he who spares his rod hates his son; but he who loves him disciplines him promptly. What does this mean? The Bible tells us not to think that using a rod to beat your child means you hate him. Not being able to bear to use a rod on your son means you hate him. But he who loves him disciplines him at all times; if he does not listen after repeated teaching, then you will use a rod to spank him.
But you must remember to use a rod to hit; never use your hand to hit, and do not hit the face. Because when God created children, there is more flesh on their bottoms, and hitting there does not easily cause injury; hitting other places with a rod can cause injury. So we need wisdom; God has given us very correct teaching methods. The purpose of hitting is not to hate him; it is loving discipline. You hope he does not do such things because they are not beneficial.
If you do not discipline him when he is young, when he grows up, society will certainly use a more severe "rod" to hit him. Brothers and sisters, this is something we must pay special attention to. If you do not discipline your child when they are young, the world's lessons may be more ruthless and cruel when they grow up. Today we do not discuss what those lessons are; I do not wish to make such prophecies because the consequences are certainly not what you want to see, as such lessons do not come from love. While there is still hope, use God's words to guide their path, and then you will no longer worry for a lifetime.
Verses 9-10 say,
9 Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? 10 For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness.
Do you think that sending disasters and diseases is beneficial to us? No. Brothers and sisters, we must remember this statement: God disciplines us for our benefit. We must read the context; many people do not correctly understand what discipline is. Discipline from God is certainly for our good. Sometimes God uses people, sometimes He uses circumstances to save us, but ultimately it is for our benefit.
For example, if you have a very irritable temper and no patience, and you get angry after just a few words, you know these faults and say you want to change, but you just cannot. When you encounter something that makes you angry, you cannot help it.
If one day you go to work at a company and meet a boss whose temper is even worse than yours, what happens? Because you are his employee, you will have to endure. You dislike him and say, "Why is this person's temper so bad?" In fact, when you say this, the Holy Spirit tells you that he is just like you used to be. At this moment, when you see this person, you suddenly see your own reflection and say, "Yes, why do I dislike him? Because I am like this; I have hurt many people like this!"
Brothers and sisters, this kind of realization can only happen when the Holy Spirit opens your eyes. When you see this, you will find the benefit! You will say, "Lord, thank You for preparing such a boss for me; if it weren’t for him, I would never be able to change my temper!" Thank the Lord. At this moment, you will pray to God, saying, "Lord Jesus, I thank You; You are my strength, You are my helper. You allow me to partake in Your holiness." This is what it means to partake in His holiness.
Today, it is not about us striving to let God discipline us to make us holy. You are already holy, but today God is saying that you should partake in His holiness. "Partake" means that through such things, you can finally control your temper. You say, "Lord, I understand; You are my strength, You are my holiness, You are my righteousness, You are my gentleness." When you declare this way, God allows you to benefit. Hallelujah!
This is God's discipline. He may use some things, some people, so discipline is not to make you disabled or to kill you; sickness is not to kill you, this is beyond doubt. But discipline, God's discipline, is to benefit us, to allow us to partake in His holiness.
Thank the Lord. Therefore, God's discipline ultimately allows us to partake in His holiness, ultimately teaching us to rely on God in any problem because this is beneficial to us. Hallelujah!
Verse 11 also specifically tells us that "Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it."
Thank the Lord, what fruit will discipline ultimately bear? The fruit of peace. Brothers and sisters, no one who has fallen ill will think this is the fruit of peace. Because the fruit of discipline is righteousness; it is the fruit of peace.
Sharing the second point: How does God discipline us?
God will not use sickness to discipline us, nor will He use death to discipline us. Because what benefit is there in dying? What ways does God use to discipline us? Let us briefly share three points:
First, God disciplines us with His words.
In Psalm 94:12-13 it says,
12 Blessed is the man whom You instruct, O Lord, and teach out of Your law, 13 that You may give him rest from the days of adversity, until the pit is dug for the wicked.
God disciplines us with His words; He uses His words to train us. Such a person is blessed because they will enjoy God's peace in the days of adversity! Hallelujah!
Many people do not have peace during trials; how can one enjoy peace in the days of adversity? It is because God wants to comfort us and renew us with His words. Keep God's words in your heart; when you are in days of trouble, you can enjoy God's peace and have good hope in adversity!
God's words are a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. Thank God, for He will personally guide us into His abundant blessings. Therefore, God first uses His words to discipline us.
We also raise children this way; when your child misbehaves, you will not directly hit them; you will tell them not to do that. First, you must teach them with words. God first disciplines us with His words.
Proverbs 19:18 says, "Chasten your son while there is hope, and do not set your heart on his destruction."
We discipline our children in this way; while there is hope, discipline your child. Do not let them do whatever they want, or they will ultimately walk the path of death. If there are no guiding words from God, we all tend toward death; we all tend toward sin. So to solve this problem, we must listen more to God's words and hear the true words of truth; this is God's discipline in our lives. He wants to guide us on the path of life. Hallelujah.
Second, God disciplines us through circumstances.
Some people rarely hear the word or read the Bible, and they hardly go to church. As a result, they naturally receive very little of God's words. Such people are certainly still children of God, but in life, they will not use God's words. This will lead to weakness, living like those without faith. Experiencing failure is inevitable, but this is not given by God. When these things happen, you can understand it as circumstances coming upon you. Some say that such circumstances are allowed by God; this is also correct. God uses these circumstances to bring us back to His words, relying on His words to gain victory.
If you happen to encounter similar situations, you will know how to act. It seems that nothing goes smoothly; setbacks increase, problems multiply; it seems that solving one leads to another, and it never ends. You may feel quite troubled. At this time, you need to repent before God and rely on His words to regain strength.
Jacob deceived his brother Esau, wanting to grab everything. As a result, he could no longer stay at home and ran to his uncle's house, where his uncle was even more powerful and cleverer than he was. As a result, he worked for him for twenty years. God used this environment to change Jacob. You find that after God changed his name to Israel, from that time on, he began to bless others. This person who liked to "grab" began to bless others.
Today, we should not return to God through such means. God wants us to rely on Him in all aspects of life, and we can experience His goodness and power. Thank the Lord.
Discipline is not to make us righteous, but discipline can allow us to bear the fruit of peace. It allows us to see God's abundant supply in any environment!
Lastly, the conviction of the Holy Spirit.
In fact, the "reminder of the Holy Spirit" is the best. Sometimes we clearly know that some things should not be done, but we still want to do them. Christians are no exception; do not think that after believing in the Lord, we all become saints. We do not; we still have some bad habits. Sometimes we indeed know that some things should not be done, but we cannot help but do them. At this time, because God loves us, the Holy Spirit reminds you inside: "Actually, you do not have to do this; if you do not do this, God will still bless you! Doing this is not good for you; do not do it!" This is the reminder of the Holy Spirit, the conviction of the Holy Spirit.
Proverbs 15:32 specifically tells us: "He who disdains instruction despises his own soul, but he who heeds rebuke gets understanding."
How do we gain God's wisdom today? It is by not rejecting discipline, not leaving God's words. When circumstances come, do not break the pot and smash it; this is to despise your own life. You should heed the rebuke. At this time, the Holy Spirit tells you: "Do not do this; it is not good for you." If you listen and turn back immediately, you will gain wisdom.
So I wish every brother and sister to always be able to follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and you will gain wisdom. You see, people in the world talk about inspiration; what does inspiration refer to? It refers to the prompting from the Holy Spirit. We call it wisdom; the Holy Spirit often gives you such wisdom. You need to hear the prompting of the Holy Spirit within you.
Revelation 3:19 particularly mentions: "As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent."
In chapters 2 and 3, it mentions some words spoken by the Holy Spirit to the churches. For example, the Holy Spirit also reminds them, saying, "You are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were cold or hot." This actually means that there are some things I need to rebuke you for. You have done well in other areas, but in this matter, you have not done well.
So the Holy Spirit says, "I need to rebuke you for this matter," hoping they will repent and experience victory, and ultimately receive the crown of victory. This is the purpose of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit ultimately wants us to receive His blessings. So even today, God's discipline does not change; it is to ultimately benefit us and allow us to receive His life. Hallelujah, thank the Lord.
The Bible tells us that all things are permissible, but not all things are beneficial. Today, as Christians, you are indeed under the grace of the New Covenant, and there are many things you can do, but not all are beneficial. What things are not beneficial to you? You actually know in your heart because the Holy Spirit will give you guidance and a reminder. When you really set your heart, you clearly know that this thing should not be done, but you want to do it. At this time, the Holy Spirit reminds you, saying, "Child, do not do this; it is not good for you."
Brothers and sisters, the Holy Spirit will not remind you of your past sins and how filthy you are. The Holy Spirit will guide you to remember the words of Christ, leading you to turn back. The conviction of the Holy Spirit is to show us God's love for us.
Now, let us pray together:
Loving Heavenly Father, we thank and praise You. Your discipline is to nurture us, to train us, and to guide us on the right path. Through Your words, I have gained a correct understanding of discipline. Your discipline is not for our death, but for our benefit, to allow us to partake in Your blessings and in Your holiness.
Thank You for disciplining us with Your words, so that in the days of trouble, in times when our faith is weak, we can enjoy God's blessings and experience Your peace. We can stand strong again through Your words. Hallelujah! Thank You, Jesus; thank You, Lord! All glory be to You! In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, we pray, Amen.