Sermon Tone Analysis

Discipline is Love

Intro: Mark taking his cat to the vet.

"God’s wounds cure—sin’s kisses kill".-William

Gurnall

If we do not receive the the Lords curing discipline, the disease of our sin will corrupt, decay, and ultimately kill any semblance of Joy and Righteousness.

-Discipline is a big deal.

This past weekend there were 600 kids and they were learning about what it means to sit under the discipline of the Lord.

-Kevin Young talked about "Waiting under pain" Also known as endurance

-We did a lot of hiking in Colorado, when we came back, there was a lot of waiting under pain... it would have helped if I were in shape...

(ESV)

11 My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline or be weary of his reproof, 12 for the Lord reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights.

Pray

1. DO NOT DESPISE GOD'S DISCIPLINE, BUT RECEIVE IT

Proverbs 3:11a My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline

Despise = Reject

Two levels of rejection...

1. Passionate refusal

a. God may give us over to our flesh

b.

Thy will be done (man to God)

c. Thy will be done (God to man)

a.

When this is done, man is given to the woeful corruption of sin.

-My fear is that this is where our culture is beginning to fall into.

But I will let God take care of that.

2. Ignoring discipline

a. Instruction as light/ don't pay attention

b.

We forget that God uses all things to teach

c.

He is in control of all things

d.

Become an omnivorous observationist in your pain by asking the question "What is God teaching me through this?"

Discipline = Instruction

How does God discipline us today?

1. Scripture ()

-All scripture is God breathed and good for reproof

2. Community ()

-Process for discipline and restoration of a brother

3. Ultimately the Holy Spirit ()

-Conviction of Sin, Righteousness and Judgment

It is the Spirit alone that can mortify sin; he is promised to do it, and all other means without him are empty and vain.

How shall he, then, mortify sin that has not the Spirit?

A man may easier see without eyes, speak without a tongue, than truly mortify one sin without the Spirit.-

John Owen

-Holy Spirit helps us receive God's discipline in a way that brings him glory.

Not only should we not ignore God's discipline and therefore loose the lesson in it, but we should also not overreact and grow weary in His discipline.

2. DO NOT GROW WEARY IN HIS REPROOF, BUT BE ENCOURAGED BY IT

Proverbs 3:11a My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline

Proverbs 3:11b or be weary of his reproof,

How does one grow weary?

by overexertion.

If we are overexerting ourselves trying to unfold the complex wisdom of God, searching for every last detail as to why were being disciplined, we will grow weary.

Overreacting to God's discipline will lead us to growing weary.

If we are always thinking that we have done something horribly wrong and now that is why were being punished then we have the wrong view of Gods discipline.

We grow weary when we are constantly looking down at ourselves, but we can be energized when we look to Christ.

When we pull our eyes off of ourselves, we can consider Christ, that is huge... Christ bore discipline, so we can endure in it because his Spirit is living within us.

The writer of hebrews tells us to consider Christ when he says this...

Hebrews 12:3-7a

3 Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.

4 In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.

5 And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?

“My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him.

6 For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.”

7 It is for discipline that you have to endure.

When our gaze is fixed on Jesus our drooping hands and feeble knees will be strengthened to endure with courage through a time when were experiencing God's discipline.

When we realize that Jesus is with us, we can cease to grow in our weariness, and lift our head in Christ exulting encouragement.

Why should we be encouraged??? Well... Were getting there...

3. WE ARE DISCIPLINED OUT OF LOVE

Proverbs 12a for the Lord reproves him whom he loves

Why does God discipline us?

Because he loves us...

And because we cannot do it on our own.

It takes a lot of love to press through the pain and push back the darkness in the human heart.

Remember the John Owen quote

it is only the H.S. that can mortify our flesh

Were closer to seeing without eyes or speaking without a tongue than we are to killing our sin without the help of the Spirit

If you are receiving the discipline of the Lord, he is doing something in you that you would never be able to do by yourself.

Ray Cortese of 7Rivers always says "What do you know about a turtle on a fence post?

It didn’t get there by itself."

God not only opens our eyes to known sin, he opens our eyes to our blind spots.

This is so loving and kind of someone to do.

If you ever see someone who is self aware, they didn’t get that way on their own, were fairly naturally self centered.

They’re a turtle on a fence post.

Sitting in your sin is like standing in front of an oncoming freight train completely unaware that its heading right for you...

++Bring them into the story++

God's discipline is what shoves you off the track.

Ya, you fall down, it hurts, you might wind up a little scuffed up and bloody, but by that discipline you’ve been given life.

At that moment between you and the Spirit of the Living God the freight train passes between you two, and your eyes are opened.

Isn't it funny that it is always in hindsight that we see the Spirit pushing us off the track? in the moment we may get angry, but after we are thankful.

"It is better to go bruised to heaven than sound to hell."-

Richard Sibbs

-This is what God is saving us from in that moment... HELL...This is why he disciplines us, and this discipline is such wondrous love!!

(ESV)

32 But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.

If God doesn’t want our condemnation, then he must want our restoration.

He loves us!

For some they feel pain and they may think that is them falling out of favor with God, but this Proverb shows us that we haven't fallen out of favor, we are experiencing more deeply our sonship as God shapes us into His image.

So you've recieved the discipline of the Lord, you have been given life, what now?

We live in obedience to God because he delights in us.