Beloved radio friends, we greet you in the ever-precious and the worthy name of our beloved Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Humbly but very earnestly, we acknowledge God's great privilege that he has given to us to bring before you the truths of his precious word. Our present subject, the great theme of God, the Father and his family, we earnestly beseech God. He will make a blessing to all of his children. And to those of you who may not be the children of God, may the Holy Spirit bring you to realize you need to be born again, and by faith in the Lord Jesus and his precious blood become a child of God. We continue in regard to the subject of our preceding messages, and that is concerning the Father's discipline in the lives of his beloved children upon the earth. We would go today to a scripture that is found in the twelfth chapter of the book of Hebrews. For in the first thirteen verses of this chapter, we will find more detailed record as to how the Father disciplines or chasens his beloved children. May I give a word of interpretation regarding the word discipline. Do not be afraid of it. The word really means training or correction. And we have a father who is seeking to train his children. And when necessary, to correct them, to keep them, or even to bring them back to the path of obedience that will please him in their godly living. So we go to the book of Hebrews chapter twelve. May we please note, that in the opening of the chapter we have these words that certainly will remind us of the difficulties that are in the path of a child of God. Wherefore, seeing we are also encompassed about by a great cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every week, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, let us run with patience or with endurance the race that is set before us. Here we find God presenting the path of a believer as a race. We are running in this race, and as we go to verse two, we certainly may recognize in verse two that there is a finishing of that race brought before us, as well as an example for us to follow. Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of faith, who for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. Now, if you may have noticed carefully in verse one, some of the difficulties in the children's path are called by two names. There are those things that God calls weights. A weight is a hindrance when one is running. And then there is another thing that he calls sin. A weight may never always be a sin. But there are weights. that can hinder a child of God making spiritual progress. And we confess readily that sin will always hinder us from making spiritual progress. But the responsibility is ours. Let us run. Let us keep going on. Let us go on with endurance in this race. And we have an encouragement and an example for runs in the person of the Lord Jesus. Who is the leader? And who ran the race before runs? and finished it, thank God. And when he ran the race, there was joy that was before him, the joy that was set before him enabled him to endure the cross, and to despise lightly the suffering that was his, and ultimately brought him to the victory when he was set down at the right hand of the throne of God on high. And this is a great example. I know it's unattainable, but nevertheless, when you and I think of what Christ went through for us, how we should certainly realize, though His suffering far surpassed ours, He is an example. And if the Lord Jesus could endure the cross to save you and to save me, may you and I be willing to suffer anything that may be in the past before us for Him. Now as we come to verse five and through seven, which we would like to speak of particularly, We come now to the recognition as well as the revelation of the Father's discipline and its chastening upon the path of its children. And ye have forgotten. I will read, if you please, verse three from verse three. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest she be weary than fainting your minds. You have not yet resisted unto sin, striving against, unto blood rather, striving against sin. and ye have forgotten the exhortation, which speaketh unto you as unto children. Now please note, here are words reminding us there is an exhortation, words that are spoken unto us as the children of God. Now listen to the words. They are quoted from the Old Testament book of Proverbs. My son, despise not thou the chastening or the correction, or the discipline of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him. For whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth and scourgeth every son whom he receiveeth. If he endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons. For what son is he whom the Father chasteneth not? Now let us recognize something very precious that we should take to our souls. When the father chases his child, it is the training, the child training he is seeking not to pour out his wrath upon us, but rather his correction. To correct us where we are wrong. The training in the education of children, even in life today, relates to the cultivation of their mind as well as their morals. and it involves for them commands they should obey admonition it involves reproof and sometimes even punishment now God wants to educate his children and whatever he even in us he may see he seeks to correct when necessary for he wants to cultivate the soul by correcting the mistakes we make by controlling and restraining the passions of our being by instruction which will aim at the increasing of holy living and virtue. For God the Father chastens us for the evils that are in our lives. But as you may note, he does it for our prophet. And please note, if I may point out in verse six, please, whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. Now note the words at the end of verse seven. For what son is he whom the father chastened, if not? May I raise a question, a very practical one. Have you ever found a perfect child in an earthly family? Would it not be wonderful if we could all have perfect children? But we know that could never be the case. Every one of us had been born in sin and shapen in iniquity. The motions of sin can be found in every human heart and life. And I'm sure that we can readily realize that children in an earthly family, one of the greatest methods of training them to grow up properly, as those who should mature in the right way and educate them morally and spiritually, every child is in need of discipline. Well, did the proverb writers say, train up a child in the way that he should go? The word train means there, discipline. In whatever and in every way possible, teach that child. It involves teaching. It involves discipline. It involves correction. It may even involve punishment. But likewise with the father, and let us be reminded, with his family, There's not a son, there's not a child in his family. May I say to you, if you feel that you're getting chastened by the Father, you ought to thank him that you belong to him. For chastening is one of the evidences that we are the children of God. You may not find God correcting the children of the devil. He is seeking to convince them and convict them of their sin. He is seeking to bring them to find their need of a Savior. But when he looks at his children, it may often be the case that we may think that the children of God are more afflicted with chastening than even the ungodly. That is exactly what David in the seventy-third psalm thought long ago. Read the thirty-seventh of the seventy-third psalm rather. And you will note that David noted that the ungodly had less trouble in life than the righteous. And he couldn't understand it. He thought it was unjust on the part of God until he went into the presence of God to inquire about it. And in the presence of God, God showed him where the ungodly would wind up in hell. Then David apologized to God. He said, I was like a beast. For he said, you are going to guide me with your counsel through life. And afterward you're going to bring me to glory. And my beloved Christian, when it comes to God correcting you and correcting me by circumstantial dealings that may put upon us burdens, trials, sickness, whatever form they may take, please ever remember these are indications we are his children. for he will never permit to be placed upon us more than we need and are able to bear. And whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and he scourges every son whom he receiveeth. Now I might make a statement right here. There's not one Christian. I don't care who they are. Who can be exempted from chastening? And we may realize when God chastens us, it is because we are his children. And he does it to take the evil and the dross out of our lives that it might be for our spiritual as well as our holy prophet. All that we may realize, the farthest disciplinary action upon the paths of his children is for our blessing and that it is an evidence of the Father's love. A beloved child of God, whom I highly respected and loved, came under much discipline, I noted at the hand of God, and I knew that he needed it, because of his departure from God and the coldness of his heart. And when I saw him upon a hospital bed, after many other experiences I said to him, Oh, the Father really loves you. He's been chastening you frequently. My beloved Christian, remember he loves us when he chastens. Father, make the truth real to our hearts and glad in our souls for the Savior's sake. Amen.