God’s True Children
Rev. Sean D. Lester
October 12, 2003
Text: Hebrews 12: 4-11
Introduction:
A. The heroes of the faith inspire me to want to follow Jesus Christ because I know that what these men and women did was good and that they proved that God is real and faithful. Something inside me feels an eager warmth that says, “I want to do that, too.”
I want to stare down a giant with only a sling. I want to follow the Lord into the unknown so that my descendants would bless the whole world.
I want to proclaim God’s righteousness to my country while shouting through the bars of a jail cell meant to keep me quiet.
I want to preach the good news that Jesus saves while godless men and women in power seethe with anger.
I want to lead the people of God into the promised land.
B. The introductions that open this chapter build my faith by telling me what to do in order to live by faith in Jesus Christ.
I can live for Jesus Christ if I will put aside my sin that entangles and complicates my life, and that if I am willing to simplify my life so that I have the time and energy to devote to Jesus.
I can live by faith in Jesus Christ if I keep my thoughts on Jesus Christ. He is the one who authored the faith and was the first to be perfected in obeying it.
I can live by faith in Jesus Christ if I am willing to endure the opposition sure to come from hurtful people.
C. But even though I know that it is possible to live by faith in the Lord, and even if I know how to live by faith, I have just one problem that confronts me, I am not always sure that I want to. I have read the accounts of what the people of faith have done, and I have come to the conclusion that:
Walking the life of faith in Jesus Christ is hard.
I don’t want it to be hard. Jesus said “My yoke is easy and my burden is light.’ I took that to mean that the life lived by faith in Christ would be easy. But a few persecution and a few hardships have caused me to rethink what Jesus said. Now, I know that Jesus meant that He doesn’t load people down with baggage. No runner carries anything extra, but that doesn’t mean that a race is easy.
D. There are two forces that work against your willingness to live by faith in Christ. One force is external, it is the opposition by people who don’t have faith in Christ, and will act to prevent you from sharing it. The other force is internal, it is your own will that has no desire to submit to the will of God. That internal resistance says two things whenever it is confronted by the Will of God:
1. “I don’t feel like it.”
2. “I don’t want to.”
That internal force also speaks up when something self-gratifying becomes available:
“I want to, I need to…”
That internal voice will never lead you into God’s will for you until it has been tamed. That voice that personal will cannot be tamed unless someone brings it under control. We call the process of taming the will and bringing it under God’s control “discipline.”
All people need godly discipline. If anyone didn’t need it, children wouldn’t need parents because they would have the ability to bring themselves under control. But, you know that they can’t. They need a disciplined upbringing.
E. Believers need Godly discipline, too. When we speak of discipline, we meant (from verses 5 & 6):
1. Tutelage or mentorship: The discipline of being taught and trained on an individual basis. Sunday School, Royal Rangers, Missionettes, etc.
2. Rebuke: That part of discipline where someone of recognized wisdom and authority that points out where you are wrong. It is not, “I rebuke you…”
3. Punishment: The traditional spanking or other non-destructive form of trauma. It is used to associate willful with rebellion with pain.
God uses all three forms of discipline to conform His followers to His will. Discipline is rarely easy, but it is always for your own good.
Proposition: God disciplines everyone He accepts as His own children.
Interrogative: What is Godly discipline supposed to do for the people the Lord has saved?
Transition: First of all, Godly discipline establishes the proper relationship between God and those He has saved.
I. God uses discipline to make people true children.
A. It is God’s purpose to adopt people as His own daughters and sons.
“Yet to all who received Him (Jesus), to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God---children born not of natural descent nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” (John 1: 12-13, NIV)
B. Adopted children become true children by submitting to God’s discipline. They respect their parents and desire to be like them. By submitting to discipline, they eventually take on the character of the adopted parent. Conversely, someone can be a blood-born child, but rebel against the discipline of his parents. In this case, they are not a true child, they make themselves to be illegitimate.
“When I was a child, my parents divorced. Although relieved that the fighting in our home had ended, my mother was not emotionally able to effectively train up my siblings and myself. Although I had to walk a couple of miles to get there, I went to church. Hastings Assembly of God accepted me, allowed me to participate in everything. They paid my way to camp and sometimes bought my lunch at quiz meets. Sometimes, I would be taken to task for misbehaving. I resented it at first, but I submitted. Sometimes I was questioned about life decisions that I was making. Always, I had people whose example and wisdom I could follow. I am a child of God because I was adopted into the family, and submitted to the discipline of those God appointed for that purpose.”
C. But, for many believers, they are in the family only as long as they don’t have to submit to Godly discipline. They reject correction as interference. They neglect mentorship on the basis of already having arrived at maturity. And when God does punish they are “under attack from the enemy.”
You will never grow up to be a fully mature believer unless you have a submissive attitude toward God’s discipline.
Here’s a warning you need to take to heart. Never complain about people in authority over you, even if you feel that you haven’t been treated fairly. If your children see you do it, it will instill an unresponsive attitude in them. If others see you do it, they will question your testimony. Remember, God is under no obligation to guarantee you fairness, He only promises to raise you as His child.
Transition: Secondly, Godly discipline forms character in the one God has accepted as one of His children.
II. God uses discipline to form character in His children.
A. God wants you to share in His holiness. That means that He wants you separated from sin and cleansed from it. But also, God wants you set aside for His purposes. That also means that God will treat some people differently than others, not because He loves some people more, but because each person needs specific preparation for specific tasks.
B. As I think back over the years, it occurs to me that I have never heard a farm-raised child complain that life is unfair. One would think that if anyone had a right to complain, they would. City people don’t have to get up at 5 am, they don’t have hard chores to do. They don’t have to be in bed by 9. For some reason, they don’t. Who have I heard whine? People who have life easy. And, I think it is unfair. They don’t have the experience of hard work that develops character. But, who does God use? People who have been buried by hard work.
I am inspired with Arnold Schwarzenegger’s background. He was from a well-off family, so he wouldn’t be expected to have the seeds of greatness in him. When he came to the United States, he had no money and no education. He submitted to the tutelage of Joe Weider the body-building impresario, and worked out for six hours every day. His discipline helped him win many body-building championships. When he retired from competition, he went to college and earned a degree in business and economics. Then, when he wanted to earn a living as an actor, he went to school and trained just like he did when he was a body-builder. Now, he has to figure out how to reform the state of California. But, I submit to you that the key to success he’s had is the discipline he developed early on in his life.
C. No believer should complain about how difficult the life of faith is. The greater the difficulty, the stronger the faith becomes. 1st Peter chapter four says,
“Therefore, since Christ suffered in the body, arm yourselves with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in the body is done with sin.
(1st Peter 4:1, NIV)
Transition: Finally, Godly discipline causes us to produce what God expects from those He saves.
III. God uses discipline to make you productive.
A. The whole point of training is to make the believer able to “produce a harvest of righteousnesss and peace.” What brings about righteousness and peace? The preaching and teaching of the Word of God by people who have the fruit of the Holy Spirit evident in their lives.
B. Northern Michigan’s economy is largely based on the fruit industry. The farmers need a good crop this year of they will be fighting to stay in business. Now, if they want a good crop, they will have to do more than just look at those tress all year and then pick the apples in October. A great deal of work goes into those trees throughout the year to prepare them to give a good yield. The trees need to be inspected and pruned. They need to be sprayed against destructive bugs. They need to be irrigated. A fruit farmer will make sure that an unproductive tree is cut down to make room for a productive one.
Just as a farmer can’t make money unless his trees produce fruit, so the Lord can’t expand the Kingdom of heaven unless you and I preach the gospel and train up believers in righteousness.
C. The less disciplined you are, the less effective you will be. God expects you to be both a discipler and a disciple at the same time. Discipline, at the time, is never pleasant. But the experience of raising up believers is never without reward.
Transition: Godly discipline makes you the person that God wants you to be.
Conclusion:
A. When you came to Christ for salvation, you had to acknowledge that He is God and that His ways are right. Based on your confession of faith, God accepted you as a son, giving you all the rights and privileges of sonship including the right to inherit eternal life. Not only that right, but the privilege and responsibility of the training as a son to carry out the Father’s will.
B. It is the privilege of Godly discipline that transforms you into a true child of God. One who is holy and trusted with the responsibility to possess the Spirit and power of God.
C. Your place in the family of God awaits your acceptance of the invitation to come. You are not a child of God until you submit to God, but when you do, you will be part of the most privileged family in the world.
