Weak Hands

Silicon Valley Reformed Baptist Church

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Please turn to Isaiah 35. We're gonna be continuing in Isaiah 35 this week

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Looking particularly at verses 3 & 4 When you have Isaiah 35, please stand for the reading of God's Word and I'll go ahead and read the whole chapter

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The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus

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It shall blossom abundantly and rejoice with joy and singing the glory of Lebanon shall be given to it

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The majesty of Carmel and Sharon they shall see the glory of the Lord the majesty of our

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God Strengthen the weak hands and make firm the feeble knees Say to those who have an anxious heart be strong fear not

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Behold your God will come with vengeance with the recompense of God. He will come and save you

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Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened in the ears of the deaf unstopped

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Then shall the lame man leap like a deer and the tongue of the mute sing for joy for waters break forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert the burning shins shall become a pool and the thirsty ground springs of water and the

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Haunt of jackals where they lie down the grass shall become reeds and rushes

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And the highway shall be there and it shall be called the way of holiness The unclean shall not pass over it.

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It shall belong to those who walk on the way Even if they are fools, they shall not go astray

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No lion shall be there nor shall any ravenous beast come upon it they shall not be found there, but the redeemed shall walk there and The ransom of the

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Lord shall return and come to Zion with singing Everlasting joy shall be upon their heads.

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They shall obtain gladness and joy and sorrow and sighing shall flee away

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You may be seated Dear heavenly father.

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We are a people with weak hands with feeble knees with anxious hearts in need of your strength

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We ask that you would strengthen us through this message You would grant us all the conviction that is needed in order to be faithful servants of Jesus Christ In his name we pray.

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Amen So the Christian life is a difficult one is one that requires strength and we are people who are weak

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Says in 1st Corinthians 1 the God did not choose the the wise and the strong of the world

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But he chose the weak and the foolish things of the world in which to make his glory known and so we are not just a people who are weak because of our

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Own humanity, but in particular the Bible communicates to us that if we are

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God's then we are actually Especially weak and especially need of help because this is whom he has chosen is chosen the weak things of the world

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So we need strength Bible speaks about What gives strengths here and is this message this message of hope and the vengeance of God?

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So I want to spend a little time before we go to prayer Communicating to you about this need for strength and the message of vengeance that comes from the hand of God and How that can be your strength and that as we go to God and we pray to him and we ask him for things

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We can ask him for one strength and we can ask that Through his strength. He will accomplish his purposes in this world.

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So consider first of all Consider it first of all who it is that needs strength

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So strengthen the weak hands make firm the feeble knees say to those who have an anxious heart be strong fear not

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It's the weak hands. It's the feeble knees. It's the anxious heart You know people are weak

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Especially when it comes to the onslaughts that we have in this world. There are many temptations.

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There are many things that the Enemy attacks us with and the need that we have is one of strength

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Bible describes This is weak hands and feeble knees if you imagine one who is in battle having weak knees not being able to make the

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March to the next location Not being able to carry the things that need to be carried

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That is one who is need of strength and when it speaks of one who is anxious

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Speaks of one who is fearful is not sure about the battle of ahead whether or not it will result in victory whether or not

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The Lord will will grant victory whether or not they will be destroyed Now it's interesting too because many people

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Read this passage and I think they think about this as Sometimes they think about this as the weakness being part of themselves

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Right, you have weak hands. You have feeble knees. You have an anxious heart So you need to strengthen your hands.

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You strengthen your knees. You need to strengthen your heart But I don't believe that this is what this is really getting at Especially not when you look at it in the context of Hebrews 12 as we will later that I believe this is speaking communally speaking of people as the weak knees as the feeble hands as ones with anxious hearts

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It is people in particular Who have these things obviously, but as the people in particular who are be considering being considered as these things that If you imagine as the

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New Testament does the people of God being a body There are different body parts that have different needs and some are in particular need of strength now every every single person and Among God's children is in need of strength has weakness

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But some are in particular need so it is important as one application from this to identify those who are in particular needs don't just come to be part of something to to receive but also to give it is more blessed to give than to receive as Jesus said as reported by Paul and It is the case that There are many that you should be giving to a lot of people are mostly concerned about what they can get from religion

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But they can get from church or their worship experience. They aren't necessarily concerned about what they need to give

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Well, this is a command to you Not merely to get not merely to get strength, but to strengthen others

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So the first step in doing that is to identify who needs that and as I said that applies in some way to everyone

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But especially to some who are struggling So consider that, you know as you go home today as you're considering things or even now in the pew

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I think about who it is in the body of Christ. It is Especially weak right now.

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Who is it that? maybe that we can't or that feeble knee or have that anxious heart and Ask yourself whether or not you have been supplied in such a way to be able to encourage that one and How is it that we are to encourage?

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Verse 4 says say to those who have an anxious heart be strong fear not We are supposed to encourage by Speaking to them a message of courage a message of boldness

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So once again Not only about this Bible speak about the need of weakness

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But it talks about how God is using and commanding even his people to strengthen each other to encourage each other

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This is a command for you to be doing this to be identifying brothers and sisters who are in need of strength and to be

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Strengthening them you'd be strengthening them by this message here. And it is a it is a mark of It is a mark of maturity is mark of to use a phrase

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I used in the Previous sermon a mark of Christian greatness to be encouraging one another

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You know Hebrews 5 says that many of you ought to be teachers by now. All right, and so Yes, it is good to be taught

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But then as you are growing and and learning Ultimately that has a tell us tell us being a purpose or an end in being able to teach others and so The great benefit is not so much being taught but to be equipped to even teach and the same thing it says about Encouraging one another it says in Galatians It says in Galatians 6 1 brothers if anyone is caught in any transgression

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You who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness Keep watch on yourself lest you to be tempted

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So one who is spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness, what does it mean to be spiritual it means to be spiritually strong to be equipped to be the one who strengthens the weak hand feeble knee and Consider these words that were spoken of to Joe by Eliphaz the

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Temanite He said of Joe behold you have instructed many you have strengthened the weak hands

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Your words have upheld him who was stumbling you have made firm Feeble knees and so him in describing

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Job's greatness as a man of God Describes him in this way. You are one who have strengthened weak hands.

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You're one who have strengthened feeble knees So this is a this is a mark of of Christian greatness

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As I said earlier if you want to pursue greatness, which you should Then this is a way to do that is to not just be strengthened yourself but to be strengthening others as Jesus explained to the disciples

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The way to be first is to be last He did not he was not one who came to be sir

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But to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many we are called not to receive but to give

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Even though we are ones who received so much So we have that passage in Job we have that passage in Galatians these things that let us know that strengthening is a

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Is an act of of great maturity. It's now that does not mean that it's restricted to only those who are mature

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All of us are called to pursue that maturity and there are all always someone who is in need of what you have

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So I do not think that this is excluded to a few. This is just for the pastors to be doing for others

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No, this is something that you are called to as well when it says strengthen the weak hands and make firm the people knees It's not talking to just a few it's talking to all

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To all the people of God strengthen the weak hands and make firm the feeble knees And how is it done it's done by this message be strong fear not behold

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Your God will come with vengeance with the recompense of God He will come and save you

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That's a surprising message on one hand. It's not surprising you strengthen people with the message of salvation

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He will come and save you. Okay. This is this is the source of the Christian strength is hope and God specifically

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Hope and what the New Testament has revealed which is Jesus Christ. The one who is saved sinners from their sin

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Purchased a wonderful inheritance for them. You encourage them with that. Hope you remind them that it's true them

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But they may know it's true We are people who need to hear it over and over and we need to hear it in ways that are

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Applicable to our own situation and this is why This task at hand is more than typically it's more than just Reading this line as a formula as some magic incantation that will imbue someone with strength

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But rather it is having an understanding of God's truth So that you are able to apply the word rightly to someone's life that they might be strengthened by it

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And the Holy Spirit will work through it One being Responsive to the

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Word of God to do what it is said in strength the other and the other being responsive to the Word of God and receiving that strength and consider the significance of this passage in The context when it speaks of vengeance, so it speaks of vengeance.

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It speaks of how that salvation comes out salvation It comes through judgment It is not possible for one to be saved from an enemy without that enemy being defeated so it speaks of vengeance

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Consider this in context later on in chapter 40 if you've never really studied

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Isaiah or read Isaiah Knew this that most people Thematically break up Isaiah into two major sections.

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There's everything before chapter 40 in chapter 40 and onward Okay, so that's kind of like the second half of Isaiah's chapter 40 and onward and in fact you

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Unbelieving scholars will often even say that Isaiah didn't even write the second half of the book that it's somebody else That's how that's how distinct these are.

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I don't think that that is the case. I think it's very clear. That's still Isaiah speaking but These are these two units

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However, there's something that ties this chapter together with chapter 40 and that is this repeated

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Call to strengthen through this message of salvation this message of vengeance Isaiah 40 verse 9 says go up to a high mountain

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Oh Zion herald of good news lift up your voice with strength of Jerusalem herald of good news

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Lift it up fear not say to the cities of Judah Behold your God Behold the

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Lord God comes with might and his arm rules for him behold his reward is with him in his recompense

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Before him, you know his recompense his vengeance his repayment to evil Now this is interesting.

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Why does? chapter 35 You know have this statement and we're ending a major section of Isaiah With that and then we're gonna take a brief break

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And we're come gonna come back to that very same thought about the need to declare behold your

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God to declare That he is coming with recompense Okay.

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So what's the what's the connection? What are they wrapping up? What's in between this and we will see this as we walk through Isaiah But chapters 36 through 39 are about the nation of Assyria it switches back to narrative and the nation of Assyria comes against Israel and Because of their wickedness not because of Israel's righteousness

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Hezekiah confesses they have there's no reason why God should protect him Other than the fact that Assyria is evil and if he allows that evil to stand his own name would be tarnished and so he calls for God's justice on the basis of a

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Serious sin and so what is the people's hope? What is the people's hope of salvation? Not Themselves not their own goodness, but rather God coming with vengeance against that which is evil and coming against Assyria.

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So you see There is a there is a real connection between these two sections between Isaiah 35.

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We have some narrative about Assyria Coming and then God bringing vengeance on them 800 ,000 dying in a single night when the angel

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Lord comes against them and then a restatement of that truth That This message of strength behold your

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God. He is coming with recompense So, how do you encourage someone not just saying you don't just tell someone be strong, right?

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Like James says you don't just say be warm and be filled But you point them to the real hope that they have and that hope is the vengeance from God It shouldn't be something we shy away from that.

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We're afraid to speak about or afraid to speak about Hell or evil or wickedness and we only talk about about God's love and his salvation in a sense that Denies anything that would need to be saved from But rather we embrace the truth that there is something to be saved from and there's something to be saved to That both of these are true.

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Behold your God is coming with vengeance. Every wrong will be made, right? And if you know that your

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God is good and he is coming with repayment You have every reason to stand firm. You have every reason to on one hand stand firm

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Resisting temptation that you not be Identified as the evil one when he comes with vengeance and to that you'd be willing to stand firm so that you would not

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Knowing that whatever evil is against you it will not finally win But you have a guaranteed victory that is accomplished in the

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Lord And of course that has been accomplished in the Lord has been accomplished in the Lord Jesus Christ God has made he has prophesied the salvation and he has actually provided this salvation providing atonement in Jesus Christ that this has been

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Accomplished and will become fully manifest on that last day when Christ returns You know, how are we supposed to get through until Christ's final return?

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It is reminding each other of Christ's final return What is what is that return when he comes it is vengeance.

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He's going to come with a sword Beaks in Revelation 19 of a sword coming from his mouth and him destroying his enemies

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And I don't know what exactly this will look like when it takes place But it is the case that every last one of his enemies will be destroyed that That victory that he has accomplished on the cross

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The fact that death has been defeated it is not fully manifest yet But every last enemy will be placed under his feet and then the end

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And so we encourage each other To be strong in this intermediate period how by pointing them to the fact that Christ is returning with vengeance

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He's not just returning but he's returning with vengeance Now I would like for you to also consider

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How Hebrews 12 uses this passage, please go ahead and turn to Hebrews 12 and we'll take a look there

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So many of you may be familiar with this phrase about strengthening weak hands and feeble knees particularly not because of Isaiah But because of its presence in the book of Hebrews so in Hebrews 12 speaks of Jesus and It speaks of the need for endurance.

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So let me go ahead and read the beginning of the chapter Therefore since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses

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Let us also lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely Let us run with endurance the race is set before us looking to Jesus the founder and perfecter of our faith

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Who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross despising the shame and a seat at the right hand of the throne?

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of God Okay, so that part of the important context there is we're running a race where we need to do that with endurance

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Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself So that you may not grow weary or faint -hearted and your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood and Have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?

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My son do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord Nor be weary when reproved by him for the

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Lord disciplines the one he loves and chastises Every son whom he receives it is for discipline that you have to endure

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God is treating you as sons for what son is there whom his father does not discipline

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If you are left without discipline in which we have all participated then you are illegitimate children and not sons

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Besides this we have had earthly fathers disciplined us and we respected them Shall we not much more be subject to the father of spirits and live for they disciplined us for a short time as seen best to But he disciplines us for a good that we may share his holiness

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For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant But later it yields a peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

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So he talks about training through discipline that in order to in order to endure through this race one needs discipline now, we usually think about discipline as Someone has done something very bad wrong and so they need to be punished for that thing or maybe like a child is a

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Discipline so that he is corrected Painfully for something wrong that he has done and it is indeed the case case that all of God's Discipline directed towards us is because of our sin, but this is a another way of thinking about discipline that is also right

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Which is as the runner is trained as his body has imperfections He needs to be disciplined in order to be able to endure the race a runner who doesn't have discipline who sits on the couch and eats a

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Little Debbie snacks all day is not going to be ready for the race that is at hand. So God sends discipline

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Okay Now having given all that context about endurance the need for endurance this race to be won

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At the end of Hebrews after everything else, you know, the author of Hebrews encouraging people for the race that needs to be run verse 12

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Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees and make straight paths for your feet

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So that what is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather healed Strive for peace with everyone and for the holiness without one which no one will see the

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Lord See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God and that no root of bitterness

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Springs up and causes trouble and by it that many be defiled that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau who sold his

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Birthright for a single meal for you know that afterward we desired to inherit the blessing He was rejected before he found no chance to repent though he sought it with tears and so here it's talking about what is the

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Application was the implication of needing endurance for running this race. Well, it is discipline and it is strengthening one another

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And consider how much one anotherness is going on here Strive for peace with everyone, you know, this is about our relationships when each with one each other

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See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God So see to each other that no root of bitterness springs up and causes trouble and by it many become defiled

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If we had more time I would take you to the passage in Deuteronomy that is quoting because a lot of people think about the root of bitterness is

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Something that grows up once again, like the feeble knees and etc It's something that grows up in their own heart and they have to squash it real fast before it grows more than that Deuteronomy when it speaks about this root of bitterness is not speaking about something within a person

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It is speaking about a person themself is one who is secretly worshiping other gods in the camp, right?

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And so what is what are we to be doing? We are to be watching out for the root of bitterness Certainly, you can watch out for yourself, but it's talking about making sure that we are keeping an eye on each other as well strengthening each other

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Who may one who may be a root of bitterness? Secretly turning away to other gods.

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Let us encourage each other to stay strong and to not deviate from the path at hand

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So, um Yeah, if There's much more to this too There's just a lot in hebrews 12 that lets us know even though people tend to read it very individualistically about you know training yourself strengthening yourself is about actually strengthening others and Keeping an eye out for others in their endurance and their preservation so as you consider this passage in isaiah and as you consider how

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Hebrews 12 lets us know that this is something that still has application long after assyria long after babylon

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There are still weak hands. They're still drooping knees or feeble knees

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And there are still um anxious hearts That need to turn and be healed That we must deal with that By saying be strong behold your god

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He is coming with recompense. He is coming with vengeance Do not give up now do not give in to temptation do not succumb to the evil one because when god returns

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When the lord returns he's coming with a perfect vengeance and every wrong will be made

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Will be made right? He will fix every last thing and if that's the case Then there is no reason to give up because the victory is already assured and is assured through the work that christ has done

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It's done on the cross and it will be fully manifest on that last day Well, let's go ahead and pray before we uh before we sing

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Dear heavenly father. We thank you for uh this encouragement from your word. We pray that you would

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Strengthen us through this message and that you would enable us to strengthen others that we would not Hesitate to share the message with each other that you have given us

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You've given us a gospel to give to the world, but you've also given us a gospel to give to each other So we pray that You would fill this message in our mouths and our lips and that it would be strength to those who hear it