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ship by turning to psalm 119 psalm 119 I'll read verse is 65 to 70 to you have dealt well with your servant o Lord according to your word teach me good judgment and knowledge for I believe your Commandments before I was afflicted I went astray but now I keep your word you are good and do good teach me your statutes the proud have forged a lie against me but I will keep your presets with my whole heart their heart is as fat as Greece but I delight in your law it is good for me that I have been afflicted that I may learn your statutes the law of your mouth is better to me than thousands of coins of gold and silver amen well please take your Trinity hymnal and turn to number 219 him number 219 will stand as we sing together Oh you Oh you Oh Oh a man will let us pray a blessed God in our Holy Father we gather again on the Sabbath day to call upon you in prayer and to sing praises to you to acknowledge your Majesty in your glory and we would pray that you would guide us tonight and help us as we sing as we pray as we look to holy scripture that in all things your name would be hallowed and glorified and praised we know that you are great and greatly to be praised and you are the God who made this world the God who governs all this creatures and all their actions and you are the God who has orchestrated so great a salvation in the lives of your people we give all praise and glory unto you tonight and pray that you would be found in the midst of your people here we asked it through the preaching of your da spol throughout the earth your kingdom would come we know our Father that the lord jesus said to men the very beginning of his own earthly ministry repent for the kingdom of God is at hand we would pray that more and more sinners by the grace and power of the Holy Spirit would repent from their sins and would look to the lord jesus christ for so great a salvation we look forward to that day as well when Jesus will come and glory to judge the living in the dead we look forward to that consummated Kingdom and we thank you Lord God that by your grace we have an inheritance and that that Blessid reality we also pray our Father that you would be pleased to just look with favor upon each and every one in this congregation and cause us to seek first your kingdom in your righteousness knowing that other things will be added to us we pray father that you would help us to be obedient to the divine will we know our God that your Scripture speaks to each and every area of our lives the confession say it's sufficient for all matters of faith and practice and we genuinely an earnest li want to do those things that we find here in we pray for the power of the Holy Spirit to guide us and to aid us and to direct us so that we may indeed comply with these blessed instructions with your blessed truth we ask as well our God that would just be pleased to cause us to rejoice in the presence and the power of the holy spirit that does enable us in these things we pray as well our God that you would have mercy upon the nations of the earth our Lord taught us to pray that your will be done on earth as it is in heaven not just in the churches and not just among believers but on earth as it is in heaven and God we pray for the preaching of the gospel to go forth we pray for opportunities to evangelize sinners we pray for those engaged in apologetics and and in the defense of the Christian faith and we would ask God in heaven that more and more people would come to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and we would pray that sinners and redeemed at sinners on this earth would do those things which are pleasing in the sight of God we know as well father there are many national sins things that are continually can perpetrated in in godlessness and in unrighteousness and in our own nation we consider that the sin and the crime of abortion and sodomy and euthanasia recent ruling even on bestiality and our Father in Heaven we can only cry out to you that you would move the hearts of men and turn the hearts of men from their useless idols to the true and the Living God and may people embrace righteousness and justice and those things which the psalmist said are the foundation of your holy throne we pray our God that you would be merciful in this nation be merciful in the United States and throughout the world we pray for believers and countries where they suffer great persecution for the cause of God and truth and we would ask that you would just watch over them she would bless them and that you would give great grace and strength to each and every one of your suffering servants that they would know the nearness of God as their good that they would reflect upon what we've read tonight that you are good and that you do good and Lord God may you sustain your people in the midst of the trials and the difficulties that they face we ask our Father as well that you would look with favor upon each and every one in this local assembly we pray that you would forgive us for all of our sins in our transgression we know that we have not lived as we ought we have not lived in obedience to that holy law of God nor has our conduct been worthy of the gospel so how thankful we are that we have an advocate with the father even Jesus Christ the righteous so we would pray that you would just forgive us and cleanse us from all sins and transgressions we pray for any and all that attend this local church that are not forgiven those who are dead in their trespasses and sins that they would come into saving contact with the Lord of glory that through the power of the Holy Spirit by the word of truth you would bring forth souls that you would bring them forth to to taste and see that the Lord Christ is good that they would know the forgiveness of sins the remission of sins and redemption through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ do this Lord God for your glory sake do this for your honor and for your praise do this for the good of your church we would pray as well our God that you would continue to watch over each and every one in this congregation in the temporal realm we know that many have illnesses many have ongoing physical trials many difficulties and in this world and we would pray that you would watch over each of the brothers and the sisters in this assembly that you would enable us Lord God to persevere to run with endurance the race that is set before us and to do so in a manner that is consistent with Holy Scripture we pray God in heaven that you would just watch out for each and every one of us she would protect us that you would lead us not into temptation but you would deliver us from the evil one she would watch over each and every one in our in our temptations and in the various things that we encounter in this world grant a spiritual strength and bigger grant us grace Lord God to use the means that you've ordained for our good and for our protection and benefit and may you truly help us to press on and may he truly help us Lord God to shine as lights in this crooked and perverse generation and may you cause us to hold forth the word of truth we would ask tonight that you would bless our time together that you would just look with favor upon each and every one here be with those who are unable to attend worship tonight we pray that your comfort and your mercy would be upon each and every one and we pray these things in and through the name of our Blessed Lord Jesus Christ amen well please turn with me again in your Trinity hymnals to number 481 number 481 will stand as we sing together you I we can turn to the prophet Ezekiel chapter 17 for our scripture reading this evening Ezekiel chapter 17 I'll begin reading in verse 1 the word of the Lord came to me saying son of man pose a riddle and speak a parable to the house of Israel and say thus says the Lord God a great eagle with large wings and long pinions full of feathers of various colors came to Lebanon and took from the cedar the highest branch he dropped off its topmost young twig and carried it to a land of trade he set it in a city of merchants then he took some of the seed of the land and planted it in a fertile field he placed it by abundant waters and set it like a willow tree and it grew and became a spreading vine of low stature its branches turned toward him but its roots were under it so it became a vine brought forth branches and put forth shoots but there was another great Eagle with large wings and many feathers and behold this vine bent its roots toward him and stretched its branches toward him from the garden terrace where it had been planted that he might water it it was planted in good soil by many waters to bring forth branches bear fruit and become a majestic vine thus says the Lord God will it thrive will he not pull up its roots cut off its fruit and leave it to wither all of its spring leaves will wither and no great power or many people will be needed to pluck it up by its root behold it is planted will it thrive will it not utterly wither when the east wind touches it it will wither in the garden terrace where it grew moreover the word of the Lord came to me saying say now to the rebellious house do you not know what these things mean tell them indeed the king of Babylon went to Jerusalem and took its King and princes and led them with and to Babylon and he took the Kings offspring made a covenant with him and put him under oath he also took away the mighty of the land that the kingdom might be brought low and not lift itself up but that by keeping his covenant it might stand but he rebelled against him by sending his ambassadors to Egypt that they might that they might give him horses and many people will he prosper will he will he who does such things escape can he break a covenant and still be delivered as I live says the Lord God surely in the place where the King dwells who made him king whose oath he despised and whose covenant he broke with him in the midst of Babylon he shall die nor will Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company do anything in the war when they heap up a siege mound and build a wall to cut off many persons since he despised the oath by breaking the Covenant and in fact gave his hand and still did all these things he shall not escape therefore thus says the Lord God as I live surely my oath which he despised and my covenant which he broke I will recompense on his own head I will spread my net over him and he shall be taken in my snare I will bring him to Babylon and try him there for the treason which he committed against me all his fugitives with all his troops shall fall by the sword and those who remain shall be scattered to every win and you shall know that I the Lord has spoken thus says the Lord God I will also or I will take also one of the highest branches of the High cedar and set it out I will crop off from the top most of its young twigs a tender one and will plant it on a high and prominent mountain on the mountain height of Israel I will plant it and it will bring forth boughs and bear fruit and be a majestic cedar under it will dwell birds of every sort and the shadow of its branches they will dwell and all the trees of the field shall know that I the Lord had brought down the high tree and exalted the low tree dried up the green tree and made the dry tree flourish I the LORD have spoken and have done it a man will let us pray our Father we thank you for the reading of Scripture we thank you for your giving of scripture to us and God as we continue in the prophet Ezekiel we see the reality of your judgment toward those who continue to rebel against you may we in the church learn the lessons from these prophetic books and may we see Christ's threats to the churches in Asia Minor and may we take these things to heart and may we seek by grace through faith in our beloved Savior to be faithful to do those things that you call us to and to continue on until the very end we thank you for your enabling grace and we thank you for the power of the Holy Spirit we pray that you would continue to supply him to us and we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord amen well for our final him you can turn to hymn number 80 again in your Trinity hymnals him number 80 will stand as we sing together Oh Oh Oh we can turn in your Bibles to Hebrews 12 I thought we'd complete this section that we started a few weeks ago we had first and encouragement to run the race secondly an encouragement to look unto Jesus and tonight and encouragement to consider the father's purpose in our lives specifically verses 32 11 but I'll begin reading in chapter 12 at verse 1 therefore we also since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross despising the shame and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God for consider him who endured such hostility from sinners against himself lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls you have not yet resisted to bloodshed striving against sin and you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as two sons my son do not despise the chase inning of the Lord nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by him for whom the Lord loves he chastens and scourge is every son whom he receives if you endure chase inning God deals with you as with sons for what son is there whom a father does not Jason but if you are without chase inning of which all have become partakers then you are illegitimate and not sons 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 for they indeed for a few days chase and assess seemed best to them but he for our profit that we may be partakers of his holiness now no chase inning seems to be joyful for the present but painful nevertheless afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who I've been trained by it therefore strengthen the hands which hang down and the feeble knees and make straight paths for your feet so that what is lame may not be dislocated but rather be healed pursue pursue peace with all people and holiness without which no one will see the Lord looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble and by this many become the file lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau who for one morsel of food sold his birthright for you know that afterward when he wanted to inherit the blessing he was rejected where he found no place for repentance though he sought it diligently with tears a man who let us pray our Father in Heaven we thank you for the written word and we pray now for the Ministry of the Holy Spirit God we acknowledge our absolute and utter dependence upon you apart from Christ we can do nothing we cannot study but the Bible we cannot worship you we cannot do anything you call us to so we pray that you would supply him to us now she would guide us as we consider this passage of Scripture on a topic a situation that many of us find difficult when we go through trials and when we go through afflictions very often we forget that word of exhortation that the Apostle calls us to remember we pray again for the forgiveness of sins and all unrighteousness and we pray for cleansing in the blood of the Lamb and we would pray God in heaven that your word would find its mark in our hearts and that you would see us through to the very end cause us to reflect upon your purpose for our lives and may we indeed be partakers of your holiness and we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord amen well if you remember a few weeks ago we considered the command that was given by the Apostle the specific duty stated let us run with endurance the race that is set before us that's the author's concern there had been some sluggishness there had been a tendency to drift away there had been stagnation in the churches that he's writing to and so his primary concern is to call them to faithful perseverance to the end run with endurance the race that is set before us he surrounds this particular imperative or command or duty with a whole host of incentives the first is this great cloud of witnesses we need to reflect upon the runners who went before us and listen to their unanimous testimony that God is indeed faithful but as we run we're not looking unto Abel we're not looking under anak we're listening to their testimony but we're looking unto Jesus and Jesus is described in a whole host two blessed ways for our consideration as we run as we look in faith to him he highlights the person of Christ the work of Christ the resolve of Christ the suffering of Christ and the exaltation of Christ this is the primary incentive for you as you run the Christian race looking unto Jesus and tonight as we consider thirdly the purpose of the Father we are to run with endurance the race that is set before us remembering God's will for us as his people remembering God's disposition toward his children that's what's covered for us in verses three to 11 and in light of this the therefore a verse 12 comes with reef an invigorating freshness therefore based on these things strengthen the hands which hang down and the feeble nahi bhoole knees and make straight paths for your feet so that what his lame may not be dislocated but rather be healed he wants them to run he wants them to be faithful he wants them to endure to the end so he calls them to consider this cloud of witnesses looking unto Jesus and remembering what God's purpose is in their lives so I want to look at the verses three to 11 under three considerations first the prelim preliminary consideration in verses 3 and 4 secondly the presence of divine discipline in the believers life vs. 5 to 10 a and then the purpose of divine discipline in verses 10 B and 11 but note first this preliminary consideration based on what he has said in terms of looking unto Jesus describing who Jesus is that we are to look unto notice that he gives another duty verse 34 consider him that's what we need to do we're looking unto Jesus and it's not just what we have been told but we also need to consider him we need to consider what he or who him who endured such hostility from sinners against himself the believer must consider the one who endured the believer must look to him and consider how he endure he did so faithfully he did so perseveringly he did so with faith in the father and in his promises and in his purposes and note the specific reasons the apostle gives for this consideration consider him who endured such hostility from sinners against himself in the first place last you become weary and discouraged in your souls he wants to promote spiritual stamina spiritual stamina something that we need a great big dose of because it's very easy after a season of difficulty or hardship or perseverance or endurance we want to just give up we get battle weary we got beaten down we get bruised and broken and we want to go with Elijah and we want to sit under the broom tree and we want to say to God take us out of this mess I cannot continue the apostle however says to us that you or I want you to consider Christ lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls again this has already happened such sure has already happened in this particular book in to 14 15 12 to 14 and six eleven and twelve the author is cautioning the people of God from falling prey to this weariness and discouragement in the soul is anybody relate to this you ever get spiritually weary do you ever get spiritually discouraged you ever get to the point where you feel like you cannot go on any longer well you're not the only one these Hebrew Christians were facing something like that and so the Apostle takes pen to paper he sets forth the superiority and the supremacy and the majestic excellency of the Lord Jesus Christ and then he calls the people of God to look under this Jesus to consider him who endured such hostility from sinners against himself last you become weary and discouraged in your souls in other words consider what Christ went through consider how Jesus stood up consider the fact that he persevered that he endured that he was in being praised and worshiped and glorified as he ought to have been he was slapped and he was spat on and he suffered and he died and he was mocked and he was all these things and so the author is pointing us to Christ not only to his person into his work but as well to the manner in which he endured these particulars so that we don't become weary and discouraged in our souls and it is as well he wants to promote a sober assessment look at what he says in verse 4 you have not yet resisted to bloodshed striving against sin this is an interesting statement again remember the context chapter 12 is not divorced from the rest of the book he's already highlighted the fact turned there for a moment to chapter 10 that they had suffered for their commitment to the Lord Jesus notice in verses 32 to 34 says you have not yet resisted the bloodshed striving against sin the actual language employ you have not yet resisted indicates that they had suffered some in some sense or other was not to the point of bloodshed but they had indeed suffered so he's causing them or calling them to sober assessment you need to reflect upon the past notice in verse 32 of chapter 10 but recall the former days in which after you were illuminated you endured a great struggle with suffering partly while you were made a spectacle both by r approaches and tribulations and partly while you became companions of those who were so treated for you had companion on me in my chains and joyfully accepted the plundering of your goods knowing that you have have a better and an enduring possession for yourselves in heaven you see what he says they had they had had their goods plunder they had had their stuff taken they had known something of the suffering involved with identification with the Lord Jesus Christ but the way that he says verse 4 you have not yet resisted the bloodshed that also gives them cause to reflect on the future you have not yet resisted to bloodshed but the in the possibility of such a thing maybe in your future you've not yet resisted to bloodshed that point that trial that d that hardship may be coming down the pipeline in your life you see brethren it's not just the fact that we have suffered in the past it may very well be we will suffer in the future if suffering is not your thing then Christianity is not your thing because when we sign the dotted line by God's grace to join with price to join the kingdom of God part and parcel of our existence in that Kingdom is a degree of suffering and trial and tribulation and we see that God has a purpose in this and will unfold that as we move along tonight but very specifically he says you have not yet resisted to bloodshed the potentiality the reality the possibility of such a thing exists but then notice what he says striving against sin striving against sin Owen says it was not their persecutors directly but sin in them that they had to conflict with all other words we always have that issue whether we have persecutors whether we have this sort of bloodshed in our future in terms of the physical we always have describing against sin in our future so the preliminary consideration consider Jesus the one who endured such hostilities from sinners against himself now notice secondly the presence of divine discipline several things we ought to observe here first the problem secondly the appeal thirdly the demonstration and fourthly a comparison note the forgetfulness of God's people verse 45 and you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you is two sons you see this is a problem we often forget what God's Word says to suffering believers and it's amazing how all our knowledge all our information all the data all the sermons all the Bible reading all the Spurgeon we have read goes out the door soon as trial hits us we just flounder and we flail and we say I don't know what's happening what really haven't you read scripture haven't you seen what happened to Jesus haven't you seen what happened to Paul haven't you seen what happened to Israel in the wilderness haven't you reflected upon the reality that the ones whom the Lord loves he chastens he scourge as he disciplines Paul here specifically highlights the problem of God's people you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as two sons the verb with the preposition indicates they had forgotten entirely this is one of the primary reasons that runners in the Christian wet race want to give up as soon as trials comes as soon as difficulties calm as soon as our goods get plundered as soon as the potential for bloodshed becomes a reality we forget what the Bible says it's because we get preoccupied with ourself we get preoccupied with our circumstances and with our situation the very point of passages like these is to cause us to reflect upon God's work do not forget Scripture be like the psalmist in Psalm 119 who's able to muse and say it was good for me that I was afflicted because prior to my affliction I was going astray from the Lord God but as soon as that affliction came my way I turned back to him this is the emphasis of the apostle here you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as two sons O'Brien says the members of the community may have wondered why God's people suffer insult rejection and persecution at all these experiences are enough to make them doubt God's love and lose heart now you don't need to raise your hand and you don't need to sign a card you don't need to stand up and say yeah that describes me but when affliction comes or when trial comes or when difficulty finds you are you ever tempted to say well where's God what's God doing how come God isn't you know seeing me through all of this the way I think he should why isn't God delivering me from all of these hardships in these heartaches why is it God just causing me to you know to ascend into heaven without any difficulty or any any rebuffed along the way brethren this is something symptomatic of God's people and the apostle addresses it here you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as two sons the discouragement of the recipients of this letter is attributable at least in part to a false reading of the situation in which they find themselves this is Philip used in other words they are in this situation for various reasons one of them is they forgotten the exhortation they have forgotten the written word they have forgotten what Deuteronomy says they have forgotten what proverbs say they have forgotten the lessons that they have learned in their study of Scripture all along the way and if this describes you brethren then you need to study scripture you need to hide scripture in your heart so that when trials befall you you do not forget the word of exhortation you ought to be able to pull from your memory banks those tax that deal specifically with the heartaches and the situations you face this is why the book of Job is provided you know a world of comfort to God's people throughout the ages because it speaks to suffering Saints in the midst of trial and difficulty and it gets their eyes off of circumstances to behold their God isn't that ultimately where god leads job at the very end I mean the end of it all is Joe behold your God that is the tonic for suffering Saints in the midst of their trials and their difficulties Hill Hughes goes on to say such hardship and affliction as they have had to endure in consequence of their Christian profession does not mean as some seemed to have assumed that God is unconcerned for their welfare and has left them without his aid and comfort so the problem is the forgetfulness of God's people and don't you love the way the author speaks in verse 5 you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as two sons do you understand the import of that proverbs 3 speaks to you as two sons proverbs 3 speaks to you as two sons God's Word to you as sons and of course daughters if you happen to be of the feminine persuasion I don't know if that's accurate if you happen to be female I want to say feminine persuasion that could be open to interpretation in our society so I don't want to do that but you see the scripture speaks to you the scripture is for you therefore don't forget the word of exhortation if God goes to the trouble and it's not trouble with God but if God uses Solomon to paint pen the Proverbs he does so for a particular reason so that you won't forget that word of exhortation that speaks to you as two sons one man says the writer regards proverbs 3 as God's personal word to those who enjoy sonship through the mediation of Jesus who inaugurated the new covenant another says the utterance of Scripture is tia is treated as the voice of God conversing with man do not forget that word there's a lot of things you perf you have perfect liberty to forget you can forget some of the things you read today or the some of the things that you heard today sure not to forget the voice of God as it comes to you in the scriptures you're to take it in your to recall it you're to keep it at ready access for those instances when you suffer so in the first place the presence of divine discipline he addresses the problem note secondly the appeal to proverbs Allah 3 verses 11 and 12 you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to his sons as two sons and then he highlights proverbs 3 11 as well my son do not despise the chase inning of the Lord nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by him for whom the Lord loves he chastens and scourge is every son whom we receive several things we ought to consider in the first place the author assumes what believers often forget the father child relationship because of grace through faith in Jesus I think that's something we tend to do as soon as something goes wrong for us we you know forget that God is our Father God's against me God's got a problem with me God's angry with me God's getting me he's your father he's the psalm 103 God he knows your frame he pities you he knows that you're but dust as a father pities his children so our father pities us the author wants them to remember that divine or that father-son relationship they have because of the grace of God as well the author reminds the believer what is oftentimes forgettin or forgotten the father disciplines his children that's just a reality again this is something that we don't embrace we need to understand that God disciplines us and it's tough isn't it if you're a new believer and you haven't gone through this you know bully for you just stick around you're going to have some difficulties somewhere down the line I'm not a prophet and I'm not the son of a prophet but I know what scripture says and all those who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution there will be trials there will be difficulties there will be hardships but you need to look through the trials you need to look through the difficulties you need to look through the hardship to the father who has orchestrated these things for your good this is the point of the passage this is what proverbs 3 11 and 12 indicate this is what God says to Israel in Deuteronomy 8 after highlighting the fact that man shall not live by bread alone verse 5 Deuteronomy 8 you shall know in your heart that as a man Chasen's his son so the Lord your God chastens you this is a given this is an assumption this is the word of exhortation that speaks to you as two sons remember that divine relationship or that the relationship that you have with the divine father through the mediator Christ and realize that the father disciplines is children as well the author instructs the believer on the appropriate response do not despise it I think it's just here as well I think this you know passage in many respects I I think finds at least some of us out do not despise the chase inning of the Lord what do we do when the chasing comes we despise it don't we we get upset we get grumpy we get gloomy we get down cast we get solon we get bitter this is probably what was happening in the context of these Hebrew Christians and the author says don't do that do not despise the chasing of the Lord do not rail against him who does all things for his glory and for your good adversity suffering and hardships are the means that he uses to bring his people to faithful obedience this is a primary emphasis in Scripture we see it with Jesus in Hebrews 2 at verse 8 we see it in Hebrews chapter 5 and verse 8 he learned obedience through suffering if Christ learned obedience through suffering then we will learn obedience through suffering and we are not to despise the chase inning of the Lord and then notice what he goes on to do in versus seven to eight he demonstrates God's fatherhood from proverbs 3 11 to 12 he highlights the reality that whom the Lord loves he chastens he scourge as every son whom he receives and now notice in verse is 78 seven and eight if you endure chasing it note that word it comes up a lot doesn't it run with endurance the race that is set before you Christ endured the cross we are to consider him who endured hostility of sinners and we are to endure chase inning if you endure chasin and God deals with you as with sons the presence of divine chastisement is the demonstration of God's fatherhood if you take one thing home tonight take that home take proverbs 3 and what he says after home the presence of divine chase inning is the demonstration of God's fatherhood in your life if you are not being disciplined if you are not being tried if you are not engaged in some sort of difficulty in your life then note what he says you are illegitimate and not sons you see the believer oftentimes interprets trial and difficulty in hardship as a sign that God is abandon him the Apostle however says that trial and difficulty in hardship is in evidence in a manifestation that not only has God not abandoned you but God is present and God is even inflicting this up on you so that you will be conformed unto the image of his beloved son he has a plan for you he will conform you onto the image of his son and that oftentimes involves discipline hardship scourging chasin a trial suffering and pain you see we interpret God's chase inning hand as the absence of God Paul says the chase inning from God is the proof and demonstration of his love for us and his fatherly concern chrysostom says see it is those very things in which they suppose they have been deserted by God that should make them confident that they have not been deserted you are to run with endurance the race that is set before you you are to be looking unto Jesus and all the while there's going to be this hardship along the way don't immediately conclude that God is not with you if we listen to our apostle accurately when those hardships are there we will immediately conclude that God is with us that God is doing something in the midst of these trials and difficulties and that God is about exercising his love toward us now note the comparison with earthly fathers I love this his argument in this whole section notice in verses 9 and 10 he says furthermore we have had human fathers who corrected us and we paid them respect that's countercultural isn't it for a man or a woman to discipline their children is just a terrible invasion of the privacy and the the beauty of that now we respect those who love us enough to do hard things we respect those who love us enough to discipline us and to tell us when we get out of line faithful are the wounds of a friend and this is the emphasis here we have had human fathers who corrected us and we paid them respect what's his point if we paid our earthly father respect because he loved us enough to scourge us and chasing us and keep us from the sorts of wickedness that we would have happily pursued shall we not render respect and love and adoration and honor to our God shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the father of spirits and live if we kiss the rod in inflicted upon us by our earthly fathers not literally but metaphorically we embrace the reality that they have done this for our good and we have indeed respected them for this why do we get so upset about God why do we flip out and flail about it I can't believe this is happening I can't believe you're doing this to me if we understand the argument righteously or we understand it correctly we will say thank you Lord God most high it was good for me that I was afflicted it was good for me that I had this difficulty it was good for me that I had this chip what does Paul do in second Corinthians he has this thorn given to him he pleads to the Lord to take it away and he then rest content in the reality where God says my grace is sufficient for thee my strength is made manifest in your weakness you see we need to honor the one who does things for our good our human fathers corrected us and we respect them for it notice he says in verse 10 for they indeed for a few days chasin doesn't seem best of them but he for our profit that we may be partakers of his holiness they do it for a few days don't they I mean from the time you know whenever you start disciplining your children the father said break their will when they're young if you don't have their will broken by age two you've lost them did you know that so they said that's what they said but it's from 22 you know they get married in 18 or 19 it's a few days right that's how they operate that's what earthly fathers do for they indeed for a few days chase and us as seemed best to them but he for our profit God chastens us now for eternity it's not just for this temporal life but it's unto our place in heaven and notice our fathers are human fathers chase and us as seemed best to them I've always taken great comfort in this particular clause as a human father who has had to discipline children and kids look at that what he says there your father's chasing you as seemed best to them sometimes they make mistakes sometimes they do air sometimes they don't actually catch the culprit and they might punish the innocent but they do their best right I mean you don't write off your dad you don't write off your mom because they made a mistake no you understand they did it seemed best to them because they're imperfect creatures they're fallible beings I don't know if this goes on in a six-year-old but this is how you should think they did it as seemed best to them right take heart parents you don't always do everything perfectly you have creaturely and sinful limitation you will never do all things perfectly it's just the nature of the case but you do things as seemed best to do for off for this few days of chasing but God's chase inning is perfect consistent and always right he doesn't make mistakes he doesn't mess up he doesn't inflict the trial or a scourge or chasing upon some poor slob and oh I meant that for the other guy I just don't know what I was doing there that's not what God does anything you get comes from the hand of a perfect God anything you get comes from the hand of a perfect father he does it for our profit is what the Apostle says now notice in the third and final place in terms of the overarching concern of the passage versus 10 B and 11 note the purpose of divine discipline 10b that we may be partakers of his holiness see this is why God does what he does this is why we suffer this is why there's chasing this is why there's difficulty this is why there's trial and hardship it's so that we may be partakers of his holiness again Romans chapter 8 specifically in verse 29 for those whom he foreknew he predestined to be what to be conformed onto the image of his son if the Son of God learned obedience through suffering then the sons of God will learn obedience through suffering we will grow in our in our pursuit of holiness we will be partakers of his holiness as a result of his chase inning of us that's the emphasis in this passage that we may be partakers of holiness notice we need to be reminded that divine discipline is painful verse 11 now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present but painful just love it it's just true right you're not running through this race and you get smacked on the rear end you just have a big grin onion yeah no it doesn't seem joyful for the present but painful it hurts I'm not minimizing and I'm not suggesting that we you know paint on a big phony smile when difficulty sees us in our lives we understand God loves us we understand that he's Courage's us we understand that this validates our demonstrates the father-son relationship that we bear to him we need to keep it in our mind brethren I think I tried to bring this out this morning at least in the the confession study sacrifice implies pain or deprivation to some some sort or other know that in other words when you sacrifice something that means you're depriving yourself of its use and benefit and giving it to someone or something else well the same is true a discipline it it implies pain doesn't it there's a hurt there's a soreness there's a trial involved and we need to be reminded of that now no chase inning seems to be joyful for the present but painful turn to John 15 for a moment John 15 where Jesus teaches essentially this message to his disciples using the analogy of the vine and the branches John 15 and verse 1 I am The True Vine and my father is the vine dresser every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away and every branch that bears fruit he prunes that it may bear more fruit now for those who have been here for some time i preached john's gospel many years ago and i think it was at this particular place that i used a personal illustration of my ability to prune we rented a house in palmdale california and in the backyard it was overgrown with rose bushes i'm not talking about a little you know a little bit of a bush that i mean there was just as long as the wall was there were big meaty rose bushes just full of branches and thorns and just a whole horrific thing now the manner in which i prune those rose bushes was with the chainsaw I took a chainsaw in the heat of the day and I went out there and I just started hacking I had never been trained on pruning I don't still think I struggle with the concept I I think i understand it at least in terms of the the theory of it but in terms of practice I took the chainsaw and I hacked as many particular branches off of those bushes I know my brothers who are in this field ago now you don't do that with a chainsaw but it was overgrown and it needed pruning now I like to think that somewhere out there some lady has a bonnet on on that same beautiful sunny day and she has her little clippers or nippers or whatever they call those and she's out there pruning them delicately and you know talking to them as she does it you know spraying them with water as she goes about it and you know what Jesus is saying here every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away and every branch that bears fruit he prunes that it may bear more fruit now I illustrate this where I use this illustration to suggest this there are times in our Christian race there are times in our Christian life there are times and seasons where it is the case that God deals with us as that woman who's wearing the bonnet using her snippers to get away the rough patches of the branches that are no longer fruitful in our lives other times he sends a man with a chainsaw to take in to hack away particular branches that are faulty particular branches that are restricting growth the same purpose is in view the same trials are or the same end result is in view but the trial and the pain associated with that pruning might differ in degrees the chainsaw causes more and the snippers less and I think we need to appreciate about that about the Christian life God doesn't always just prune us with these little snippers sometimes it takes a chainsaw to get our attention I'm not suggesting God actually brings a chainsaw and starts hacking our lives up but there are trials and there are difficulties brethren that you have to confess or have to acknowledge that seem a bit more difficult than others that we have to remember that God's purpose remains the same that we may be reminded that divine discipline is painful no chase inning seems to be joyful for the present but painful and then he goes on to say and final an end the section nevertheless afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it this is God's purpose for your life is to be training you for the peaceable fruit of righteousness it is to produce growth it is to cut away dead branches so that you may indeed bear fruit and bring glory to God honor to the Saviour and happiness to your own situation well in conclusion as we survey this larger section 12 11 there are reminders with reference to the Christian race the believer must act upon the command to run with endurance the race that is set before us if you have been lazy if you have been sluggish if you have drifted away you need to get renewed in your vigor to run with endurance the race that is set before you you need to run with endurance the race that is set before you listening to the consistent testimony of the Old Testament Saints that declared God is faithful and when you run with endurance this race you need to be looking unto Jesus the author and the finisher of our faith the one who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross despising the shame and he has sat down at the right hand of God and you need to consider the purpose of the Father the presence of discipline in your lives does not mean the absence of God the presence of discipline and your lives means the presence of your father in your life bless a beautiful concept that we need to wrap our minds around as well the believer must guard against becoming weary and discourage notice in verse 4 you have not yet verse 3 lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls you know what one of the big sins the Apostle deals with in Hebrews is it's called apostasy apostasy means an utter falling away from faith in Jesus Christ it means to defect from or to turn away from or to turn back from following Jesus Christ do you think it happens that a man a woman a boy or girl professes faith in Christ wakes up on a Tuesday morning and the facts apostatize azure rejects everything they've ever heard about Christianity not typically not ordinarily you know what the precursors to apostasy are there are things like weariness they are things like discouragement there are things like bitterness there are things like you know not appreciating God's purpose for your life we need to understand the first uprisings toward apostasy are to be dealt with severely if you're weary get some rest if you are discouraged get some encouragement and this is absolutely necessary for Christian runners if you are weary God doesn't yell at you to take some rest what does Jesus say to his disciples he says come apart and rest awhile what does God give you at least one of each and every week to rest you to refresh you and to help you God is all for this and we need to embrace it if there's a weariness that is settling in if there is a discouragement that is settling and do not entertain it get some rest get some refreshment get some things that will help energize you so that you may run with endurance the race that is set before you I love that scene when Elijah the Tishbite engages in this great victory over the profits of bail in the next scene we see him we see him under the broom tree and he is discouraged he is cast down and I don't think it's a sign of mental you know not inability or in compensate incompetents I think there's some other things going on in that passage that we really haven't reckoned with and you know if you stay here on Wednesday night someday we'll get to 1st Kings chapters 18 and 19 it's going to be a little while away but that's that the point is is that when he is discouraged and when he is weary what does God do he feeds him and tells him to get some rest it's not beautiful isn't the fix in the Christian life so often so simple that we just completely neglect it I'm so we read then get some extra rest I'm so discouraged and read Spurgeon you know there are simple fixes in the Christian life that we oftentimes neglect to the detriment of our souls the answer to weariness isn't just throw it off neglect it and pretend like it's not there and just keep running the answer to weary miss may be taking a nap the answer to weariness maybe you know seeking refreshment with some food and some rest the answer to discouragement is not to give in to it not to start whining and sniveling and crying but to actually seek by the grace of God to encourage your heart in the scripture and as well a reminder with reference to run the race we must listen to the exhortation which comes to us as two sons and then finally the purpose of the Father the difficulties we face are ordained by God for our good see romans 8 28 needs to get off of the refrigerator magnet and into the heart romans 8 28 needs to get off the bumper sticker and into our heart God does work all things for good to those who love him to those who are the called according to his purpose that is a settled reality that's why the psalmist says what the psalmist says in psalm 119 in the context where he's dealing with his own a flake said what does he say you are good and you do good he affirms that theology proper because in the midst of affliction one of the things that goes out the door is our understanding of theology proper so we need to appropriate romans 8 28 we need to keep it near and dear to our heart secondly the discipline we undergo is designed to conform us unto christ romans 8 29 he conforms us unto the image of his son the presence of discipline thirdly confirms that God is our Father Hebrews 12 7 if you are not being disciplined then arguably you are illegitimate but if you are disciplined don't conclude God's not with you but realize that this is God's mean for means for your life and then fourthly the process of discipline is not enjoyable but the fruit of it is good the actual process the difficulty the pain involved and associated with that we don't say thank you God may I have another Lord just keep pounding no that's not the way that person's respond but we need to understand the peaceable fruit of righteousness is yielded by it and then finally and I think very necessary the believer must resist the tendency to despise discipline the believer must resist the tendency to despise discipline this is what Solomon says my son do not despise the chase inning of the Lord do not rail against him do not complain against him do not argue with him do not begin to rebuke him but realize that he has your best purpose in view and as a result he will take you to the woodshed as necessary to scourge you in order to conform you onto the image of his son well let us pray our Father in Heaven we thank you for your word and we thank you for your purpose in our lives and we pray God that you would help us to take these things to heart help us to listen to the word of exhortation that does come to us as two sons and may we reflect upon these truths and if it's the case that now we don't have much by way of trial and difficulty maybe we nevertheless hide these things in our heart for such an occasion and may we see that your purposes are most glorious and most wondrous and most excellent and may we embrace these things for your glory and honor and praise go with us now and watch over us in this coming week and we pray through Jesus Christ our Lord amen we'll close with the pre-final medication