DIVINE CHASTENING

TEXT: HEBREW 12:5-13

Key Verse: “For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.” (Hebrew 12:6,8)_

Trials, stated Charles Spurgeon, make room for consolation. “There is nothing that makes a man have a big heart like a great trial. I have found that those people who have no sympathy for their fellows – who never weep for the sorrows of others – very seldom have had any woes of their own. Great hearts can only be made by great troubles. The spade of troubles digs the reservoir of comfort deeper and makes more room for consolation. God comes into the heart – He finds it full – He begins to break our comforts and make it empty; then there is more room for grace. The humbler a man lies, the more comfort he will always have.”

Christians should welcome chastening from the Lord. Though the chastening may be presently unpleasant but afterwards will yield the peaceable fruits of righteousness. So, partakers are to make straight path for their feet; and allow those hands hanging down and the feeble knees get healed.

Challenges are tools in the refining process through which the Lord brings out the best in a Christian. These may come in the form of wrong accusation even from close associates, deprivation of lawful entitlements, discouragement, disagreements in marriage, church or home. God allows them so as to bring us to higher levels of usefulness and growth. He uses trials as an opportunity to prove to Satan, the world and ourselves, the depth of our commitment to Him.

As a partaker of His holiness, whatever you are experiencing might bring transient sorrow and heaviness of heart, but they are meant to refine, purge and purify you ultimately. Trials are part of the necessary training of legitimate children of God. Note that God’s best are often produced in the furnace of afflictions.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: God brings men into deep waters, not to drown them but to cleanse them.
COVER to COVER: PSALMS 17;35;54;63.

Clarifications:

God will never chasten His child with what His Son did not experience on earth.
God will never chasten His child with what Jesus directly died or paid the price for on the cross.
Sin, sickness, satanic oppressions are never God's instruments of chastening of training.
What are other words for chastening in v5,6,9?
What are the effects of chastening for those who are ignorant of God's purpose? v3,5,12.
What are the effects of chastening to those who understand the purpose of God? v10,11.
What is the right attitude for those passing through chastisement? v2, 4,5,7,9,12.
"No chastening, no sonship." Can you get verses that support this in the text?

HYMN: More Holiness Give me (GHS 219)

1 More holiness give me,
More striving within;
More patience in suff'ring,
More sorrow for sin;
More faith in my Savior,
More sense of His care.
More joy in His service,
More purpose in prayer.

2 More gratitude give me,
More trust in the Lord;
More pride in His glory,
More hope in His word;
More tears for His sorrows,
More pain at His grief;
More meekness in trial,
More praise for relief.

3 More purity give me,
More strength to o’ercome;
More freedom from earth-stains,
More longings for home;
More fit for the kingdom,
More used would I be;
More blessèd and holy,
More, Savior, like Thee.

PRAYER POINTS:

Praise God for whatever chastisement/rebukes, discipline, corrections, denials etc you may be passing through. It is an evidence of sonship.
Ask God for grace for the right attitude and the purpose of the chastening to be fulfilled in your life.
Ask God for more growth, more knowledge and deeper walk with God in the midst of your trials.
Pray for those passing through trials or difficult times in the Church. Grace upon grace, glory upon glory.