Go ahead and get into the message this morning. Children can be dismissed for children's church. Children can be dismissed for children's church. And if you take your Bibles and find Hebrews chapter 12. Hebrews chapter 12 and yes, we'll also be in Proverbs chapter three but I'm going to put those verses on the screen for the moment and I'm going to read from Hebrews chapter 12.

Guidance from the Lord. We've had a lot of guidance from the Lord in Proverbs chapter three. It's just chapter just full of God's advice and instruction on dealing with life and more importantly, being rightly related in dealing with him. God tells us not to let go of, to forget his law, to embrace truth, and mercy, to trust in the Lord with all our heart. To let's see what was the next one I looked at.

To honor the Lord with our substance and this morning, not to despise the chastening hand of the Lord. So, up here on the screen, my son, despise not the chastening of the Lord, neither be weary of his correction, for whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth, he correcteth, even as a father, the son, and whom he delighteth. Let's go to the Lord in prayer and then we'll read from Hebrews. Dear heavenly father, thank you Lord again for your word. Pray that you would use it in our lives that your holy spirit would open up our hearts and understanding to receive it and to apply it and to use it that we might bring glory to our father in heaven and we pray if there's one here today that's never trusted in Christ as Lord and savior that they would do so this very day.

In Jesus name, we do pray. Amen. Now, over to Hebrews chapter 12 Hebrews chapter 12 and we're going to begin reading here in verse five of Hebrews chapter 12. And I think you'll see that this chapter has something to do with these verses, okay? Verse five, and you have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children.

My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord nor faint when thou art rebuked of him for whom the Lord loveth, he chasten it and scourgeth every son whom he receive it. Clearly, the writer of Hebrews is referring back to these verses in Proverbs chapter three but he continues on in chapter 12 of Hebrews. If you endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons. For what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if you be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then you are bastards or frauds and not sons.

Furthermore, we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us and we gave them reverence. Shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the father of spirits and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure but he for our profit that we might be partakers of his holiness. Now, no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous but grievous. Nevertheless, afterward, it yielded the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.

So, back to the title of the message this morning, accepting God's what? Insecting, accepting, receiving God's chastening. As the writer of Hebrews says, it all, it comes to all of us at times. It is a necessary part of our growth as children of God but it only helps us if we will receive it humbly. If we will learn from it as we will see today.

When we were young, we did many foolish things out of ignorance and stubbornness and curiosity. In Proverbs 2,215, it says, foolishness is bound in the heart of a child but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him. Children are naturally ignorant. They are naturally foolish in many ways. They do not take on responsibility well.

They are not particularly trustworthy when they are young. They are often strong willed and that requires discipline and chastening in order to help them to grow out of that child childish mindset and ways hopefully to grow into a trustworthy, responsible, God fearing adult. Thus, the Lord who made us gave us parents, imperfect as they may be but most loving, wise caregivers whose responsibility it was to train us that we should go in the way, in God's way. I thank the Lord for my parents. I was blessed beyond some others with two godly parents who love the Lord They were not perfect and neither am I.

But they did their best. To train me in the way of the Lord, to help me to grow, to protect me, all things that parents are supposed to do. Two of the tools that they used to do that were chastening and correction. Chastening, that is discipline and correction being reproved, rebuke, and reproof. As God points out in Matthew seven eleven, I have that up here.

If you then being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children. How much more shall your father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him? Now, if you know the passage here, this passage starts with verse seven, ask and it shall be given unto you, seek and you shall find, knock, and it shall be open unto you and God then goes on to relate that to if you ask your father, your parent, for a fish, is he going to give you a serpent? If you ask him for bread, is he going to give you a stone? No.

He's going to give you what is necessary for life. He loves you. He cares about you and will give you good things. If our parents on earth give us good things that we need, do we not think that our heavenly father who is far more holy and perfect and pure in his motives than our parents will do the same for us and the answer to that is yes. If you need something and you go to the Lord, he is going to give to you good things and blessings that you request and that you need.

Why? Because he loves you and he cares about you. If our self centered sin cursed parents care enough to provide for our needs, why should we think for a moment that our holy heavenly father does not know what we need and will withhold it from us. You say, pastor, what does this have to do with discipline? Well, Guess what?

One of the things we all need is what? Discipline. Chastening. And if our parents loved us enough on Earth to chasten us. Don't you think our heavenly father in heaven who loves us more?

Will chasten us when it is necessary. He will. Why? Well, as pointed out here, in Hebrews 12, because he loves you. Because he loves you.

And because he doesn't want you to wander astray. As the song we sang, prone to wander, Lord, I feel it. We still have that flesh tugging at us. Wanting us to wander but the Lord our heavenly father wants us to stay in the path of blessing and sometimes in order to get us to stay there, it requires chastening. The Bible says, Proverbs 14, there's a way which seems right unto a man but the end thereof are the ways of death.

Therefore, the Lord uses discipline and correction to help us to stay in the way of blessing and not in the path of destruction. Because if you let a little child do whatever the little child wants to do, they're likely to end up dead before they become an older child because they don't know better because they're foolish and they're they're thinking is not alright yet because they're children. In respect to God, we're all still very much children. Spiritually, we're still learning. We're still growing and in some ways, we still are ignorant and sometimes can be quite foolish And we will only bring destruction and misery into our lives.

If we follow particularly the flesh and we do not walk in the spirit. And sometimes when you're doing that, it requires God's chasing. I'm reminded by my own children of of my own foolish youth, my stubborn and selfish ways, even some of which I still struggle with as an adult. When I was a kid, I didn't want to get up in the morning. My mom would come in and yell at me and time to get up and she'd come in again the second time.

Time to get up and she come in the third time and she, Raymond, why aren't you up yet? And I go, I don't know. Have you been in here before? I don't remember. I didn't want to do my schoolwork.

I didn't want to work in the garden. I still don't want to work in the garden. I hope that economy doesn't go so bad. I have to do a garden because garden not my thing. I didn't want to come in from playing when I was called or stay in the areas I was supposed to be in.

I definitely never wanted to go to bed when I was told which was probably one of the reasons I didn't want to get up in the morning either. My parents often had to resort to something called discipline and correction when I didn't cooperate and so does our heavenly father, all of his children. Some more than others but all of us regularly. We are so prone to wander. We need his loving and firm hand to bring us back around.

Sometimes, it is both humbling and hurtful but it is necessary and it is good. All things work together for what? For good to them that love the Lord. Particularly, his chastening hand. Thus, Solomon declares in Proverbs three, please do not despise or reject the chastening hand of God.

Do not resist it because it is for your what? Good. Recognize it. Learn from it. Please do not be weary or faint or turn away from the correction of the Lord.

Because our path needs often to be what? Corrected. Because sometimes we're just ignorant. And other times we are stubborn. And we need God's chastening his discipline and we need his correction and we need to be sensitive to it and not hard towards it.

This isn't just something we we struggle with in regards to God. It's something we struggle with in regards to whatever authority God has put in our life. It is human nature to resist rebuke, to resist chastening, to resist change. We want to stay the way we are. We don't want to be pushed back in the path.

We like the direction we're going. We don't like to be confronted by others. We don't like to be humbled. We don't like to be told we're wrong. And we certainly do not like chastening.

Especially when it is painful. But we who are children of God are new creatures in Christ Jesus. The Holy Spirit lives inside of us and we must learn by his grace and strength and wisdom. That when God's chastening hand comes to receive it. And when others for our good rebuke us.

We need to be willing to humble ourselves and receive it and learn from it and grow rather than always getting defensive and hardening ourselves against it. Step one in this process as we look here is chastening. The first, well, the first step in the process of chastening is teaching and instruction. In Proverbs chapter three, we've already seen a lot of that. He starts out Proverbs three with do not forget my what?

Do not forget my law. Let your heart keep my commandments. What are those? That's God's instruction and teaching. Step one is teaching and instruction.

In most cases, with your children, you instruct them, I don't want you to go out into the road, okay? I want you to stay in the yard. Do not run out into the road. You give them instruction. If they do not keep the instruction and they run out into the road, then, that requires what?

Discipline. So that they don't do it again and get hit and run over. You tell them, don't stick the fork into the light socket in the wall. If they do or they try to, then comes the what? The discipline.

So, this process starts with instruction. The Lord instructs us through his word, his spirit, and other Christians right from wrong. God's way versus the world's way and when we are faced with choices, he expects us to apply the knowledge he has given us, the guidance he has given us, and choose the right path. So, a few verses on that quickly. Proverbs twenty three twelve, apply thine heart unto instruction and thy and thine ears to the words of knowledge.

Hear you children the instruction of your father and intend to know understanding. Proverbs four one. Proverbs one seven and eight. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge but fools despise wisdom and instruction. My son, hear the instruction of your father and forsake not the law of thy mother.

Take to heart God's wisdom and instruction in your life. Do not ignore it. Hide God's word in your what? That your heart that you might not sin against him. Amen.

Because with the sinning often comes the chastening. Particularly, when we do not recognize it and confess it. Listen to his instruction. Take time to read it, to study it. Not just when you're five and 10 in Sunday school but also when you're 40, 50, and 60.

Lest you forget what you learned when you were five 10 in Sunday school. And learn more. As we grow closer to our eternal home. Schools have handbooks for students that they are required to read and sign so that they will know what is expected of them. Your workplace may have rules of conduct and job requirements that must be met.

What if you don't follow the instructions of your parents or your school or the policies of the workplace? What happens next? Chasing. Discipline. The best thing as Samuel said to Saul back in first Samuel 15.

What does God desire? Obedience or sacrifice? He desires obedience. For obedience is more desirable than sacrifice. God would rather you just obey the first time rather than to have to bring a sacrifice to get right.

So, heed God's instruction Step number two, if we don't heed God's instruction, then comes the chastening. Then comes the discipline. Now, chastening is just another step in learning and maturing process thanks to the flesh. It is should not surprise us when it occurs particularly when we have been warned of the consequences of our disobedience. So many Christians just are really seem utterly surprised when God's chastening hand is in their life.

When they for years have been ignoring his what? His instructions. If you're ignoring your heavenly father's instructions, then, you should expect why? His chastening hand. Don't be surprised when it comes into our lives.

Sometimes, there are even sins that we are committing, things that we need to learn, that we're not even aware of at times and God brings chastening in order to open our what? To open our eyes so we will see. That what we are doing is wrong. What we are thinking is wrong. Or that we should be doing something that we're not doing and that is wrong.

And often, one of the tools he uses is chastening. It is not a pleasant part of the process and guess what? It is not meant to be a pleasant part of the process. Chastening is to again to get our attention so we'll get back on the right path so to speak. It's not supposed to be pleasant.

We respond unfortunately often to pain in one form or another. If it were always pleasant, we would not see the need to avoid it. It is meant to get our attention as to our failure and it is meant to bring us to a point of repentance in our life. Second Corinthians seven nine through 10, Paul wrote the church at Corinth. He says, now I rejoice that you were made sorry but that you sorrowed to repentance.

For you were made sorry after a godly manner that you might receive damage by us in nothing. For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of but the sorrow of the world worketh death. Why does God bring chastening into our lives? To draw us closer to him. That we might see the error of our ways.

He does that in the lives of his children. He does that by means of conviction in sin in the lives of the unsaved to open their eyes to their need of what? Of salvation that they might be saved, that they might repent and trust Christ as savior. But even as God's children, sometimes we still struggle. Oftentimes, we do.

We don't need to get saved again. But we might need to get right again. Confess our sins. So that we can experience the full joy and peace and power of God. In our lives.

And God may have to make us sorrowful. For a time. In order to bring us to that very needy, necessary point. In general, people do not respond to needs in their life until often God has to humble them that he might build them back up after they repent. And come to him.

It can come in many forms to us. A paddling. I used to get those when I was a kid. I didn't get them often. I rarely got them from my dad but the couple I got from my dad, I remember.

They were necessary for me. A ticket. I picked up a couple of those in my time driving. Didn't like it. Try to avoid it.

Do not like the money I have to give. Do not like the humiliation of sitting beside the road with a police car beside me. A demerit. In college, they gave demerits. Got a few of those.

When I was in college, Bob Jones University, they had something called the Discipline Committee. And the Discipline Committee was formed in order to exert, to make this process as painful as possible. Because if you broke certain rules, you didn't just get a demerit and you went on your merry way. No, you had to go at a certain time, certain times of the day, the discipline committee was open. You had to go stand in line in a very public place in the discipline committee line and sometimes it would take an hour of your time to get into the room to humiliate yourself in front of a teacher or a cohort to explain why in the world you did what you did and for them to give you appropriate demerits for it.

I didn't like spending time in discipline committee or in the line. You know what that helped me to do? That helped me to stay out of it by behaving myself. These things were meant to be at least a little bit humiliating and painful and chastening is. God's chastening hand may come to us in a myriad of ways.

In sickness. Now, as we know, not all sickness is chastening. There are other reasons that God allows some of these things in our lives but sometimes, it is definitely the chastening hand of God. In the case of Nebuchadnezzar, it was the chastening hand of God that drove him insane for seven years and before he would humble himself and acknowledge that God was God of all. It was God who gave Uzziah leprosy because he usurped the position of a priest and walked into the temp, the tabernacle.

Sometimes, God's chasing hand comes in loss. Saul lost his kingdom. David lost his child. Samson lost his strength. Sometimes, it comes in the form of loss.

Sometimes, it comes in the form of removal of a blessing. Moses was so looking forward to going into and stepping into the what? The promised land. But God took away that blessing in this life. Because Moses disobeyed the command of the Lord and struck the rock when he was supposed to speak to it in anger.

God's chastening hand may come in exposure and humiliation. Abraham, for lying about his wife to Abimelech. Judah, for his adultery. These people's sins were exposed publicly. It's brought them humiliation.

Humbling them In forty years of wandering in the desert for the children of Israel, In obstacles, and I have down here Balaam. Balaam, that I'm I want to go with these prophets. I I want to take this money and do what they say. God said, no. Balaam said, I want to go.

God said, okay, go ahead but you're only going to come say what I tell you to say. And then he got on his burrow and he went to go out and guess what? The burrow got mad, bound, crushed his leg, and then the burrow, he when he shouted at the burrow, the burrow what? He talked back. And said, what do you talk about?

There's an angel standing right in front of me here. What do you expect me to do? He put obstacles in Balaam's way. Balaam at any point could have humbled himself and said, Lord, you know, this isn't the right thing. I'm going back.

He puts obstacles in our path to try to keep us from going the wrong way. We need to be sensitive to that and recognize some of those obstacles. God's chastening often often includes suffering and humbling experiences. What is often the the response of fallen man to most of these situations? What is human nature's response?

Anger and defiance? Frustration and depression? Running away? But Solomon tells his son, as God tells us here, don't despise the chastening hand of God. Don't run from it.

Receive it. I know when my mom said, okay, come in the room. I told you not to do that. The last place I wanted to go was in the room. That's where I needed to go because I needed to what?

I needed to learn. I needed to learn and we need to learn and if we're always running from God, ignoring his chastening hand, despising it, then, we're not going to learn. A few verses on the screen, Proverbs ten seventeen and twelve one. He is in the way of life that keepeth instruction. He that refuses reproof, error.

Whoso loveth instruction, loveth knowledge, but he that hateth reproof is brutish. Proverbs thirteen eighteen, poverty and shame shall be to him that refuses instruction, but he that regardeth reproof shall be honored. Proverbs fifteen, five, and 10, a fool despiseth his father's instruction, but he that regardeth reproof is prudent. Correction is grievous unto him that forsaketh the way and he that hateth reproof. When God's chastening comes, when God reproves and rebukes you, don't stick your fingers in your ears and go, I don't want to hear it.

Receive it. Humble yourself before God and he will do what? He will exalt you. He will lift you up. Don't be angry Don't be despondent.

Learn. Draw close to the Lord. Why? Because he loves us. And chastening is but an evidence of that love And because it is good for us.

To receive discipline and to respond humbly from it. So, endure it. Thank God for it. Respond to it by recognizing repenting of your failure. Failure thus running to God and not away from him.

And the final step is instruction. I mean, is correction. So, we had step one, instruction. Step two, chastening. Step three, correction.

In other words, God is chastening you in order to do, in order to correct a problem. So, when God's chastening comes, humble yourself. Don't get angry but then, correct the error. In response to it. That's why it says back here in Proverbs three again, it says, my son, despise not the chastening of the Lord, neither be weary of his correction.

Neither be weary of his correction. Correction is the next step. You did wrong. Now, you have to listen and follow through with the correction of your erroneous thinking, choosing, or acting. I had to take a class to get points off my license when I got a ticket.

That wasn't fun. But I wanted the points off my ticket. So, I took the what? I took the class and hopefully, I also learned to drive a little more what? Carefully.

When I was in college, they had hair check, hair check. What's that? Well, they had a hair code. My hair couldn't be so long this way, that way, whatever. When I got caught, I got demerits and then, I had to get my hair what?

Cut. It never made any sense to me. I had so very little hair to begin with. Anyway, but it curls. When it gets down here, it curls and I I'd always get in trouble.

I had to learn to clean my room. Or else I got room demands. If you learn and you correct it, then you don't keep getting the what? The demerits and God doesn't have to chasten you over that anymore. Once we correct by his grace, the problem, the error.

The admonition here is not to faint, be wearied, cut it short, loathe or detest or to turn away from the hard work that is necessary to fix it and sometimes, it is hard work to fix it. If you're a sloppy person by nature, it seems like hard work to fix and be neat. But it is profitable. It is profitable. It is profitable to learn to drive defensively and cautiously so you do not hurt other people, including the people in your car.

These are good things. It is good for us to learn, to stay away from all those things and those lists in scripture that do not belong in the life of a Christian because they are dishonoring to our God and they are destructive to our life, our testimony, and to our joy. So, when one crops up and God chastens us, do what is necessary to correct it. Sometimes, that means changing some of our habits, changing some of our friends in order to correct those things, in order to avoid those temptations. In life.

Fix them because in the end, we will profit and we will grow which is the purpose of chastening. Because it is necessary and it is right and God deserves it. God deserves our obedience. God deserves children who learn from their mistakes and are willing to put forth the effort to fix them. And it's because it is his will.

To follow in his steps. So, will God's chastening hand come into your life? It will. Some people more than others. Some of us have to learn more things the hard way than the easy way.

But when it does, ask God to help you see. Why it is there? Ask God to help you now to have a soft heart so that when his chastening hand comes, you will recognize why it is there and be willing to respond in humility and in faith. And finally, as with most every other sermon, I I want to finish by reading this verse that applies to Christians and also applies to those who aren't. It says in first Peter one seventeen, and if you call on the father with who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work past the time of your sojourning here in fear.

For as much as you know that you are not redeemed with corruptible things, As silver and gold from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers but with the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. As Jesus shed his precious blood and gave his life on the cross of Calvary for you. Be thoughtful, be careful be humble be willing to change, repent, and following him in your life as a child of God. The word fear doesn't mean to be in terror. He loves you.

He showed it to you on the cross. But the price that it cost him do, does he not deserve for us? To show him honor and respect, and fear him as you would a father. His discipline and do what is right and if you're here today and you've never received the precious blood of Christ and his sacrifice in your behalf. There is a more permanent punishment for all those who reject him and it is called the Lake Of Fire but you can avoid that today.

If you will trust in Jesus Christ as the Lord and savior of your life. Let's pray. Dear heavenly father, we thank you Lord for all that you've done for us. Forgive us for our sins. Forgive us for our hardness of heart.

Help us. To humble ourselves and to receive your discipline when it comes. Open our eyes to give us understanding that we might see where we have failed and be willing to correct it by your grace. Thank you Lord for the opportunities that you have given us. To grow and to learn, for your mercy and grace and patience with us, Lord.

And Lord, we pray if there's one here that's never trusted Christ as the Lord and savior of their life that they would see. By whatever means necessary. That you might open their eyes to help them to see the goodness of God. In Jesus Christ, who died for them on the cross and receive you as the Lord and savior of their life for the forgiveness of their sins. For everything else pales in comparison to eternity.

Lord, may they make sure of that today. In Jesus name, we do pray. Amen.