What are the goals of God’s chastening?
§ To provide for us assurance and safety. Through discipline God desires to give His children exhortation: «And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons…» (Hebrews, 12:5).
Discipline is one of the ways how God transforms His children into the image of Jesus Christ
We can miss many important and useful opportunities in life if we underestimate what is going on in our lives. God’s discipline is one of these opportunities. Believers have a tendency to despise the discipline of their Heavenly Father. Yet in the Epistle to Hebrews The Lord is calling us to resist the wrong attitude of some believers towards God’s discipline. It says in the Bible: « My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him» (Hebrews, 12:5).
The believers that are focused on comfort usually are indifferent towards the truth of God disciplining them. Some of them aren’t even bothered by their sins or irresponsibility. People like that want to be blessed by God, yet they despise God’s discipline.
The Bible also tells us that punishment is profitable for us and not God.THE GOAL OF DISCIPLINE IS REPENTANCE OF PRODIGAL SONS AND THEIR RETURN TO HOME
«As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent» (Revelation, 3:19).
Repentance is the right reaction to discipline!
Sin never is just one’s personal business, so to speak. Sin is not something you do to yourself; sin is something that inevitably affects others.Suffering as a method of discipline III
God can exhort or teach us through punishment and pain, so we shouldn’t refuse or avoid it. God’s chastening can cause wounds, pain, defeat and misfortunes in our lives, but God does it all in love. And when the goal of God’s chastening is reached, He takes all these bad things away and heals us.
Suffering as a method of discipline II
My responsibility is to live a worthy life and to walk in obedience before the Lord. If I become disobedient, then according to the Bible my Heavenly Father corrects and disciplines me. To discipline is to correct for moral perfection. That is why the Bible says:
«As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent» (Revelation, 3:19).
Suffering as a method of discipline
One of the reasons God allows suffering in the lives of His children is that He desires to draw our attention to Himself, to correct and discipline us. We know that God mostly corrects us by His Word: «All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work» (2 Timothy, 3:16-17).
How to develop a habit of prayer in our life? II
Prayer is relationships of love between a man and The God as we determined it earlier.
It´s nothing else but the love of God, that prompts people to pray and spend time with Him.
A desire to know Him and His will in our life is a kind of food to keep our life in prayer alive.
The only way to know His will is to come to see Him and ask Him about it. This desire keeps our life in prayer alive. We have to have such desire to be able to pray continuously.
The evangelism and discipleship II
«Arise, cry out in the night, at the beginning of the watches; pour out your heart like water before the face of the Lord. Lift your hands toward Him for the life of your young children, who faint from hunger at the head of every street» (Lamentations, 2:19).
This is not a routine call to ordinary prayer, but a call to cry out to God to send a revival and deliver our children and the next generation from inevitable disasters and tragedies. Every serious revival has started with people’s heartfelt cry directed to God.
How NOT to give up, when problems and trials are all around IV
We continue our discussion about how not to give up at the time of troubles and temptation. Yesterday we spoke about the necessity to know that when we are walking through the problems in our life God keeps all our situations under control having already prepared a solution for us. Today I would like to continue this topic and show you that temptations or trials are a kind of test or exam. It can either put a shame on you and take the Spirit of glory away from you or you will rejoice and get excited of the honour to pass this test.
How NOT to give up, when problems and trials are all around III
«No temptation has taken you except what is common to man. God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted above what you are able, but will with the temptation also make the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.» (1 Cor 10:13).
