Hebrews 12:3-11 — Don McClure

Hebrews’ Jewish Believers and the Trials of Faith

Well, once again, remember here as we're looking through the book of Hebrews, we are reading a book that was written to the Jewish believers who had come to Christ out of Judaism and all the the explanations there of how Christ is the fulfillment of all of the things in the Old Testament.

Then the necessity of those things and how that these people had they had come to Christ as wonderful as it was to become God's children and have faith in Christ and and to be growing. They were also though People that were going through a lot of struggles.

They were undergoing some very very difficult times born and raised in Judaism now having effectively rejected Judaism. For Christianity is the fulfillment of Judaism. They were being persecuted they were going through a lot of trials and a lot of struggles and Be because of the people that they had now essentially walked away from who were now, you know.

Trying to pull them back into Judaism and who had now actually given them some great Trials as well in their life because they had walked away from it back in chapter 10 in verse 32 and 3. He says there it reminds him of the former days.

He says when after being enlightened after you'd come to Christ you endured a great affliction of sufferings partly Being made a public spectacle through reproaches and tribulations and partly by becoming sharers of those who were so treated but here The writer of Hebrews says, you know you when you came to Christ you entered some trials when you became enlightened to Christ.

You said has suffered some great affliction and some great sufferings. Some of the trials were social. We're relational were with family. Some of them were economic some had even been imprisoned. They're told as well in chapter 10 about it.

But all of them were in some form or another seemingly of pressure. And there were some of them even almost wanting to give in to it. You say, you know, this is I didn't know this is worth it all of this and maybe we just ought to go back to Judaism back to the you know, the old ceremonial law and and These other things of the Old Testament and these trials had no doubt caused some believers to wonder why?

God, you know wasn't giving them a greater victory in these things. Why God with all of his power and all of his capacity to do anything you wanted? Why was he allowing them to suffer? And doing seemingly nothing about it.

Well, he attempted to answer some of those questions and struggles in chapter 11 when he told them that those You know Those struggles were the very things that refined their forefathers the purified that strengthened that that increased the faith of their fathers and that made them such phenomenal men and women of God in the Old Covenant anyway, and That now he leads into an exhortation for them to be strong as well and to receive the discipline That they need in their lives as well, and he gives us this exhortation and he reminds them as well of a couple of things.

There that the Saints of the Old Covenant of the Old Covenant. They knew very very well what it was to suffer they faced warfare weaknesses of all sorts of ways and beatings imprisonment stoning Destitution all sorts of afflictions and just because of their trust in the Lord.

This was not a new thing these trials That they had and not only that it was also something that now he goes on to tell them. But now you are to be able to go through this and as you do it. Be looking unto Jesus somebody they really couldn't even see like you can see you're to be looking unto Jesus The author and the finish of our faith who for the joy that was said before him He endured the cross despised the shame and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Considering Jesus in Weariness and Discouragement

And here is he's telling them there. He reminds him now here in verse 3 He says therefore consider him who endured such hostility from sinners against himself lest you become weary and you become Discouraged in your souls.

He realized they're the writer. He said I know sometimes When you're wanting to grow and you're truly committing your life and commending, you know. Your walk to God wanting to be very sincere about it.

There will be times in your life that you'll become discouraged. You'll become weary. It's a part of the aspect of a disciplined life and anybody who knows any sense of discipline knows that. Anything at all worth anything in this life.

It always comes with some measure of discipline. They care whether you want to be an athlete. You want to be a musician? You want to be a doctor or a lawyer or something that it whatever it is a career?

It is that somebody may have the better. They're at it the heart of the discipline there was. When somebody there wants to be an athlete and everybody else's schools out I'm going off and there's a party going on and you're out there.

You know, you're working out. You're in the gym. You're training you're trying to you're buffeting your body. You're disciplining your body. You're bringing in subjection there to realizing there that you want to go out on that field and you want to perform and you want to perform well and The the reward of discipline is what you are looking for.

So you discipline yourself when everybody else is going off and hey Let's go do something. But you're up burning the midnight oil and you're learning, you know Biology or chemistry or whatever else it is and studying these things, you know.

So that you can know medicine and while the other people are off saying hey. You don't I'm just gonna be a drug dealer, you know you can prescribe them as they ought to but hey, I know a shortcut to it and I can be very successful both deal in drugs, you'll just Be smarter than me, but some people but the one who disciplines themselves and gives themselves.

You know and puts themselves in under the the disciplines of life is the one that reaps the reward of it. Well, so also in the Christian life. When there is somebody there that they really say I want the greatest life experience I can have I want to have the most wonderful experience on this planet that there can be afforded to a human being and he says well.

Then you've got to know what it is to be disciplined by God to look there within your heart and you within your life and he says I know with the person that anybody that does this just like the athlete or the student or whatever else that gives themselves to some higher degree of training and Discipline they will have times where they're weary.

They'll have times where it says here that they could be discouraged and sold this thing is this worth it. I'm tired. I'm gonna go to bed. I don't need this and In all these these things, but when they overcome the that with the discipline to say no, I want it one day.

They'll reap the reward of it. They'll have that and they'll be that, you know, the athlete maybe that they want to be there'll be that, you know musician there'll be that doctor there'll be that lawyer or whatever else it is if you want to be a lawyer, but the Nothing actually I was just doing a conference this weekend and the pastor Biggest paradox in the world the pastor of the church where I'm doing it.

He's a lawyer. I said You're a Christian and a lawyer. He said yes. I said that's amazing. I was quite impressed. Then I said, I'm just kidding wouldn't kind of but anyway I did if I then the next I had we slept in the same room where we're at this conference and it was a Neat men's conference we're at but I woke up the next morning I'm thinking this is the most humbling night of my entire life and he says why and I said well to tell you the truth I spent my whole life thinking that lawyers were the lowest thing in the world and here I slept under a lawyer all night he was on the upper bunk, but anyway, God humbled me tremendously, but.

But the disciplines of life when we know what it is to want to achieve something by all you godly Christian lawyers I don't know if there's all many some whatever. What am I going this morning? I gotta wake up.

But anyway. But the the disciplines that's what I'm talking about. In a very undisciplined way I did not do this first service. But anyway, but the disciplines of life when we realize there that I want them the word discipline in this section of Scripture.

We just read it's repeated nine times. Discipline discipline discipline discipline discipline over and over he is telling them you want to achieve something. And he says then the disciplines of life have got to become a part of your life.

And it's very very important and here he gives us in this section three things three aspects of discipline. He's gonna tell us the purpose of discipline. First of all, and the discipline honestly has a purpose.

The Purpose of God’s Discipline

We should all know that but he reminds us here in verse 25. He says he says and you've forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons my son. Do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord nor faint when you are approved by him.

Here he tells us he's a discipline has a purpose there and and in life. He says don't and don't ever forget that. Realize they're all the Saints of old. There was a great purpose when God Disciplined them and he says have you forgotten the disciplines that God gave them when you look at all of these Old Testament Saints the things that they essentially You know had gone through and he went through chapter 11.

And all of these things are the disciplines that they had to go through. He says have you forgotten these things? Do you have you forgotten that God cannot be pleased with anything less than faith and a trust in him and God?

Disciplined them to hone their faith to deepen their faith to strengthen their faith to bring them out of this Realm of just human thinking and feeling into a dimension of life where their entire life had been disciplined by faith.

I want to live and walk and talk and breathe and live and love and care by faith. I want it to be the powerful aspect of life and the struggles and the disciplines they went through God's choices. Saints suffered many disciplines he says don't forget that and Wanted to remind them so, you know that they're this suffering.

There's nothing new about it. Essentially. It isn't new to you. It's not new to me. It's gone through God's Saints of old and being disciplined by God is not new. At all. God has been disciplining people forever because there is sons, but he tells him He says my son do not regard lightly the discipline in the Lord nor faint when you are reproved by him and here The writer of Hebrews tells us in discipline There's two things that can happen when discipline is being applied that will ruin its effectiveness.

That there's two things that when somebody is disciplining somebody else that if the person that is being disciplined Allows either of these two things to happen. Forget it. Discipline will not work an exhortation there you ways that you can learn nothing through discipline and yet you can go through it.

Many people they repeat discipline over and over and over again. They they go through the same Supposed lessons, but there's two things that happen to them that that remove the ability to learn Indiscipline and so they just have to repeat it and the first thing he tells him He says my son do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord.

The first thing he says there is many people when they are being disciplined. They regard it lightly that is. There is something there that they that when the discipline comes. Something they're sent by God for their good like hopefully even any parent as he goes on the text when a parent takes his son Aside and he disciplines him He wants to tell him there is a message there that I've got to give you there's something I want to achieve may hold Their face and say look this is what has happened.

And this is what you got to do. And this is where you're wrong. It is for your good. But if when the discipline comes you regard it lightly. It will not work a lot of people what happens when they're being disciplined is they regard heavily the Experience, you know that they are actually going through and they regard lightly the message that they're trying to be taught.

In the sense, they'll be going through something and all they know is is the idea. They weigh heavily the experience the trial the problem. I'm being spanked. It hurts. I don't like being spanked. This is terrible and rather than being able to emphasize know what is the message you're trying to communicate when you're disciplining me.

When I am being spanked how many times as parents do you look at your child? And when you discipline you realize they are regarding it lightly even though their tears and their pain. You know, but they are regarding heavily, you know the pain heavily the spanking but you realize they didn't learn anything.

They did not get the message there isn't something with it, right? I got it. You know, I didn't hear it when you said it, but I when I felt it I Understood it now, you know, you don't want me to do this.

Bingo, I've got to stop doing that. Is that what you're trying to tell me through this pain? Yes. But if people don't get that and they just walk away and says I you know, they're just mad at this the situation I'm mad Johnny told on me and got me in trouble and I got a spanking and they regard lightly the lesson heavily the trial.

How many people there go through repeatedly through the years marriage problems marriage problems marriage problems. It's that woman I'm stupid. There's so much tension in the home that woman now gave us me.

Where did I get this woman? She there's so much tension. There's heartache there's hostility and there's this constant discipline and sense of pain and struggle rather than ever stopping and Saying God.

Are you trying to tell me something through this woman? No, that couldn't be you know this it's the woman or it's the job. I said boss. This is not fair. This is not right the way they treat you. You can't treat people that way and so God disciplines us through the wife.

Disciplines through the marriage through the children through the job. There's pain. There's discipline their struggle, but rather there than listening and stopping saying God is there something you you're trying to teach me that I can grow.

That I can hear that I can change my behavior my thoughts. My relationship. I can develop as a human being and I can mature in this struggle in the home struggle at the office struggle with the finances struggle with whatever else it is and So often many people they just they they take the discipline lightly.

They regard it lightly. They miss the message and thus they're going through it again and again and again. How many times do we rather than really stopping and regarding it heavily or as we ought to? And yet they can go through a very difficult time and learn nothing and Sometimes they can even not only that they can even harden themself to it.

Another thing that can happen when you when somebody does repeatedly get disciplined they repeatedly get things they'll actually first they can start off just you know regarding it lightly and then they can actually get hardened to it and just I hate this job.

I Hate this woman. I hate this man. I hate these children. I hate whatever else it is. That's causing this pain in my life and they can get hardened to it and blame God and all sorts of things. I wonder right now how many with you know.

When you look at the things hundreds of thousands of people have just gone through with these hurricanes. Lost you know their homes lost everything they own all lost their jobs. Lost their children's schools lost all of this and what a painful thing to go through.

I wonder how many of them are either angry and they're callous and. And upset and I want to know how does why and this is what and they're looking at people. It's the government. It's the mayor. It's the Governor, you know or the president or it's this Commissioner.

Where were this and where were that and everything's everybody else's fault rather than sitting there saying God. Is there something through the issues of life that you can teach me that's gonna make me better and stronger deep in my faith.

Enriching my experience with you. That's a person there. That's learning the right sort of a thing. And then another thing can happen if we regard discipline lightly. We'll get careless in the sense that we'll find ourself there, you know, where we just lose care.

We can have enough, you know, God will discipline us anybody when you get married, you'll go through disciplines. You don't realize how selfish you are till you get married. Do you you know, I mean all of a sudden there's somebody else there, you know.

Who shares the same refrigerator same thermostat same house same clock same everything and I thought I was a very nice Wonderful Christian till I got married, you know. And I didn't think I was selfish at all till I got married and then all of a sudden there's this woman in the way.

You know of all the time. Every day is seemingly in there how God uses these things to show me. Don there nothing wrong with her. You're just extremely selfish. The world does not revolve around you. Do you know what it is to care for her know what she's going through?

No. You know, but then you either you learn to respond to that or you'll get careless one day. You mean you have struggles in marriage. She'll say stuff to you like that hurt. Well. So, you know or whatever, you know.

You you'll just either you'll you'll respond and you'll learn something or you'll get hostile. You'll get angry or you'll get judgmental and then if you repeat it over a period of time with within a certain period of time.

Oh one day you don't care anymore. You will not read because you do not regard the chastening of discipline in. Regard it lightly the next thing, you know, you'll look at marriage. You say, you know, so I didn't care anymore.

I don't care for this woman. I don't care for this marriage. I don't care for these children. I don't care for this job. I Care for anything. You actually are so callous and hardened instead of somebody there that literally knows what it is to regard.

Discipline the discipline comes their ears open up and they say God. What are you wanting to teach me in? This discipline in this struggle. That's the person that's always gonna come out the better because of it or a second thing that can happen as he tells them.

Secondly, he says he it would discipline you can either Regard it lightly or he says nor faint when you are reproved by him. Here in the issues of life. I mean God never that never spanks anybody directly never disciplines anybody directly.

He does it through the issues of life, doesn't he? He does it in our relationships. He does it in our career. He does it with their health. He does it with our finances. He does it in the marriage and with the children and here when somebody is going through these things and God's reproving them He's disciplining them.

He's teaching them. You really want to be in my image. You want to be the son of your father in heaven? You want the love in you that is in me? You want the maturity? You want to think like me walk like me talk like me love like me care like me be conformed to my image.

Then I've got to show you where you don't love you don't care. Where you're selfish where you're arrogant where you're demanding where you're hostile where you're angry and then it'll come out in these places in life.

And he says either you'll regard it lightly and you'll learn nothing or secondly you can just faint. You can just become faint hearted in the sense there. You can allow it just to overcome you in such a way that you just think you just give up.

You just say ah, I just give up. And Usually when we do it say I've tried and tried and tried what we haven't tried but we say that. You know, but we tried the wrong way. So he just said what's the use I give up.

I just give up. How many times do we do that that we walk out, you know on somebody and say? You are you're whatever say and then as we walk out I give up. I'm exhausted. I'm Fainting, you know, this is just can't go on and that's also you can become weary you can become discouraged here as he tells us in this text and Discipline if you don't know what it is all about and respond to the right things in it even David when God was Disciplining in him when he was training him.

And it was and he found himself weary in it and discouraged in it and he said in one of his psalms He says why art thou disquieted within me? Oh my soul. Why have you become disturbed within me? He asked there he's looking he's speaking to himself.

He says why are you so down? Why are you exhausted? Why are you weary? Why have you given up? He asked himself that. But then who wonderfully knew the answer and he turned there and he responds a couple verses later.

He says hope thou in God I'll yet praise him and He'll be the help of my countenance. He looked there and he says God you lift me up and you get me back in the battle. Yes, I'm tired. And yes, I'm weary, but it's a noble thing life is I Want to go on with it, I want to succeed at it and when we can just look at life at the difficulties of where we're banging heads and where we're struggling and striving and realizing could this possibly be God's discipline and Could this be God there?

Who's really it is my husband my wife my children my parents my job my career and all these other things God you or what you what are you telling me and when I can step back from that and say what are you saying?

What in the world is it that you're doing. And when and I don't want to take it lightly and I don't want to be discouraged. I want to faint I want to learn the lesson. I want to subject myself to it and grow.

That's the person that's gonna find their whole life. I believe dramatically affected when we can look there and Relieve all the rest of the world, you know and being mad at the stick that God used to spank us.

You know me I remember when we had we had a first started training we had a Doberman for years and when you take it and you'd use a newspaper or Something there to spank the dog with well. Then when it found that stick or it found whatever you used it tear it up chew it up.

It was so mad at that thing. Look you caused me the pain, you know, and that I felt there. You know and but rather than way to know that was just what was in my hand. I did it. And when somebody can look and say God it isn't people it is my job.

It isn't this you're the one the sovereign In life, what are you trying to tell me? That person is always going to come out the better for it instead of taking it lightly. We just we determined I want to seriously look at it.

Discipline as Preparation for Endurance

I've read a story of a fellow named Lord Joseph Devine. He back a hundred years ago. He owned a very famous art Company in New York and went all over the world gathering his things and in 1915 he sent one of his best experts to go check out some works of art and things for him to England and So he booked a passage for him on the Lusitania.

But soon after that they found out after he'd booked the passage that the German Embassy issued a warning that the Lusitania might be Torpedoed. Well Devine gets a hold of his guy and he says I can't take the risk of you being killed On this thing.

So we're gonna hold the trip To that. He said to his young employee, but his employee said no, I Already heard about it and I heard it could be torpedoed and it could go down. And he said sin, but he says don't take me off the ship.

He said I'm a strong swimmer. And he told him he said ever since I heard that report. He says I've been getting sitting in a barrel of ice every day. And he said at first I could only do it for a couple of minutes.

He says this morning I sat in it for two hours as I've did as he disciplined his body and he says I'm ready to go with the Lusitania was Torpedoed it did sink and five hours after it sank. The man was in great health in the freezing waters where others had frozen to death.

He determined I want I rather than getting out of the trials in life out of the difficulties of life. I Want to be disciplined for them and to me when somebody looks at somebody. They're just to go check out a piece of art in England is willing to go through this.

How much more should a Christian when they look at their marriage? They look at their family. They look at the difficulty things that may be out there in life to say God discipline me. Equip me to be the one that can go through this and grow in it and stay in it and stand through it rather than Oh, I can get out of it.

How? Don't have to do it. Great. No discipline required. Wonderful. You see we live in a day and age sometimes or Christianity. We want all we want an exciting life a rich life a wonderful spiritual life.

God’s Discipline Proves Sonship

You know with no discipline God, I want to be a great Christian just no discipline. Okay. What do you think? I want a happy fun Christian life. No trials. Sorry, never invented one of those. Every one of my children he says here twice in this every one of them a discipline.

He's a it and it's God's way. He has a plan. He has a program and discipline and the oh, but there's also proof of it. He goes on here in verse 6 and he says for those whom the Lord loves loves. He disciplines and he scourges every son whom he receives.

Here he looks there and he goes on he says without discipline. You're illegitimate. You don't even have a father if you don't have any discipline and he says but rather than that everyone that he loves he disciplines.

And he scourges that proves his son that I love you that proves that I'm your father. There's something there within our that. As soon as God brought us into his family and adopted us and we say God I want to be like you.

He says, okay. He rose up his fleece. We got some discipline in a do we got some work to conform you into my image and either today. You are in his image. You have your field with his love. His kindness is generous as patience as peace.

You are literally, you know. Nothing difference between you and your heavenly father. You're the same or to the degree that you are not is the degree you need to be disciplined. God says well, I've got a disciple you you want to be my child.

You want to be like me? You want to be in heaven with me forever? You like what you see when you see me you like that power and that joy and that love. I can do that. But I got to train you and while others are out partying and doing this and that you I you know I wanted you to be looking at your own heart in your own life.

I want you to be equipping yourself. I want you to be praying seeking me. Learning my word when you see something that's wrong in your life that other people can live with that. You say, you know something my arrogance or pride or my ability to be nasty and angry and hostile.

It's got to go. I got to get that out of my life. Discipline me God Teach me Not to talk like that behave like that. I want to have this right this wonderful relationship you. I want to have something a marriage.

That people look at and admire to say you two deeply love each other. Say yes, we do and a lot of the few trials along the way and God used us to whip each other and Scourge each other and you know to bring some sense into one another at time through these processes as iron sharpens iron and and Sandpaper, you know one against the other but it's God's obligation to us.

He says because you're my child. I'll discipline you and. And because you're my child, I'll train you up. I'll raise you up here. It says there that he scourges every son now that word scourge. It refers literally there and this is every single child.

God says you wanna be my child. I'm gonna discipline you. As a matter of fact, I'm going to scourge you now the word scourge. It's a flogging with a whip. God says you want to be my child. I'm gonna take the whip to you and If you do you still want to be my child?

I'm gonna you know, I you will be scourged you will be flogged and it is something there is extremely painful. Sometimes God puts us through things in life in our relationships in our home that are extremely difficult.

Extremely painful will test us sometimes the limits of our humanity of where we look there and God says will you stay the course? Will you stay the standard? Do you want my image so much there is you will go through any pain and struggle you may have to go through.

Will you be flogged? Will you be whipped if that is here what it may, you know feel like God says I do that to all my children. Proverbs 13 24 says he who spares the rod hates his son. And he who loves him disciplines him diligently.

God says I love you, and I will diligently Diligently be working in your life diligently speaking to you. If you really want to be in my image, you really want to grow. I will be working night and day.

Helping your love grow your maturity grow your patience grow your kindness grow your tenderness grow your pay your merciful heart grow. I'll be teaching you all sorts of things about myself. Do you want to learn them or not?

And when as a child, hopefully we sign on and say yes, I do. But on the other side Proverbs 29 15 says a you know, a child who gets his own way brings shame to his mother. Somebody there that God doesn't discipline just like a parent that doesn't ever discipline their child.

They bring shame and so also I will shame God my untamed undisciplined heart or mind behavior anger hostility. Lust, you know envy it will shame heaven. But when I look there and say God I want these things To go.

I want you to discipline me. I want to be your son and None of us easy says in the text. Nobody likes it never met anybody. Have you ever met anybody that like discipline if you ever met somebody there?

Well, like, you know, I got to go home I'm late already. I told my dad I'd be home two hours ago. And you know, I just really feel bad about this and I need to go home and get some discipline, you know I just this is very undisciplined to me.

I told him I'd be home I lied and I'm just gonna go home and say dad. Give me a weapon, please. I need it. I mean, I've never met one of those but yet that's precisely what they need in one way or another perhaps and Here, you know I can remember when I growing up.

Very well when we grew up where our neighbors across the street. There is three boys in our family three boys in their family. Actually, we had my sister as well in ours. They didn't have a sister, but they're the between the six boys.

We were all within six months of each other and so there were like this little gang and we were all into sports very much and we did everything like this and One time I will never forget this and this is how it was all the time at their home though.

We're out in the street playing playing football and their dad Yells at him. Hey mow the lawn. I want you guys to come home and mow the lawn. We're out playing now. You gotta go and one of them turned is that yelled back at his dad mow it yourself and He did.

He moaned at himself for watching this thing as he's mowing the lawn and we're just thinking is that the coolest dad or what? You know, I mean, why couldn't my dad be like that? Why can't everybody had no wonder?

I mean, that's this is home. This is family, you know sort of but this was just a young kid. You're just envious of this and we actually talked amongst us that our three boys. Can you man is he cool or what?

He's the coolest dad in the world because we talked could you just imagine one of us? Saying that my dad comes out and says you mow the lawn. Oh Yourself. I mean to us that would have been on our tombstone in a week famous last words mow it yourself and I mean we just did we.

You didn't even you wouldn't have even some more. Yeah, I mean Let me say I'll pay you whatever you want. You say it. It was just something you just knew that was the end but the thing was my dad loved us.

I Had cared and he looked there at a responsibility. Or the other thing that is possible is he also said the text here he says even your earthly father's. Discipline you and sometimes just for their own mentality.

He says sometimes it's just easier for them. I don't want to mow the lawn you mow it but sometimes they say no my job is to discipline you. My job is to see your life come under disciplines because you will have many Tendencies through the rest of your life where you'll have an impulse to go on playing in the street.

When it's time to come home and do your duties. When it is time to be a husband it's time to be a father. It's time to do other chores in life that if you do them and do them. Well, the rewards will be tremendous.

But if you keep on playing You'll lose everything and Here just through the disciplines God is looking there in life. And when I'm disciplining, you know, I'm teaching you and I'm showing you. They will all have an impact later on in in the other aspects of your life and of your growth and your maturity.