Beloved radio, friends, in the precious and the worthy name of our Savior, the Lord Jesus, we are happy to greet you again, bringing with gladness of heart, as well as consciousness of the high and holy privilege, the Word of God for your soul. Our desire is to meet the need, the inmost need, the eternal need, the spiritual need of every one of our listeners. And thus as we continue, the subject before us regarding the family of God and the responsibilities of his children, we do earnestly pray that the study will enable all of us who belong to him to become better children of God in character as well as in conduct every day, and also that the Spirit of God might convince any person that is unsaved how much they need the Savior. We go again to the eleventh chapter of the book of Hebrews, or rather the twelfth chapter, if you please, and we would read concerning the chastening experiences, the disciplinary experiences, that God the Father places upon his children and why. May we begin reading, please, at verse eight, if you please, or verse seven, if you please, in this chapter of Hebrews, the twelfth. Then he read through verse eleven. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons. For what son is he that the Father chastenedeth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards and not sons? Furthermore, we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence. Shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits and live? For they, that is our earthly fathers, they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure, but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous. Nevertheless, afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. May God bless the reading and hearing of his word. May we repeat what we have already stated, that there are difficulties in the path before every child of God. There are weights and there are sins that we certainly know are in the path of every one of us. And we're encouraged to run with patience that race. And with the example of the Lord Jesus before us, knowing what he suffered, though he was without sin, yet he suffered far more than we will ever suffer. in the path of life below. But we have noted in verses five through seven, the Father disciplines, corrects, he chastens the believer in his Son. And not one of us are exempt from the chastening ministry of God the Father. As we notice in verse eight, if we be without it, And then he adds, Wherein or whereof all our partakers, every child gets some form of chastening. For if we do not, he said, Then you're not a son. Then are ye bastards and not sons. And we are reminded in verse nine, particularly as well as verse ten, in the opening part, we have had earthly fathers. They have the correctors. We gave them reverence. And we submitted to their correction, how much more should a Christian... submit to the dealings of God and the correction of God? Whatever form the chastening may take place. Now let me point out very briefly right now, what should be the attitude of a child of God toward the Father's chastening hand? There are three things in our Scripture section of Hebrews eleven that we can mention. In verse five, if you please, right in the center of the verse, the writer declares, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord. Now one thing we may realize we can despise him. When God puts upon us a trial, a difficulty, a sickness, a problem, a perplexity, and permits it to rise in our path, don't blame the Father. Don't despise him for doing it. For if you despise it, you'll pay even worse in correction and chastening. But not the same verse says, Not only we can despise it, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him. We can faint under it. May I repeat my exhortation to my fellow believers, whatever form of chastening comes in your path and in mine, don't despise it. Say my father placed it upon me. Submit to it and acknowledge it. He would never come except the Father's hand permitted it. And then remember too, don't faint under it. Don't give way as though there were no hope at all. Don't faint underneath the burden, which we can do. But what is the best thing to do? Not to despise it, not to faint under it. And now you have it in verse seven. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons. The endurance is what is the most important. In other words, bear it. Put up with it. Say, Father, you placed this upon me. Do you remember the words of the Lord Jesus in the agony of Gethsemane? When the copper sin and judgment was being placed to his holy lips, and as he neared the cross with all of his darkness, sorrow, sin, and shame, and particularly the judgment and the holiness of God to fall upon him, who was the sinless one, when he became our sacrifice. Do you remember his prayer after praying three times? Oh, my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. But do you remember, nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done. And thus he confessed, the will of his Father must be submitted to My beloved child's submission should be your part and my part when we are chastened of the Lord. But then, don't ever forget, as we noted in verse six, that chastening is the evidence of the Father's love. For love will not spare the rod and spoil the child. God's love is perfect, and he understands the correction we may need. He permits whatever happens to be for his purposes. And what should we say when such things take place? Father, what are you trying to teach me? What is the lesson for me to learn? Now, please note as we go further down to the eleven verse, and I wish you to see it, that in verse eleven, there's a blessing ahead, and for the purpose of bringing us into a place and condition a blessing, the Father chastens its children. Now, no chastening for the present seems to be joyous, but grievous. and the Spirit of God acknowledges, when we feel the chastening hand of the Father upon us because of the circumstances that He freely believes are necessary to be brought upon us. They're not pleasant. They're not grievous. It may be a bereavement. It may be a sickness. It may be a financial trial. It may be some other kind of difficulty. Name anything. that comes in the path of a child of God. My beloved listen, I'm not fatalistic, but I fully believe that God has a purpose in all things that come into our lives. Well did Paul say in Romans eight twenty eight, all things work together for good to them that love God and so on. Not some things, all things. And here in the eleventh verse, please note true discipline. The discipline of the Father upon his child is to bring that child into a place under condition where he can bless him even greatly. And though the trial may seem to be grievous, not joyful, nevertheless, please emphasize that word, nevertheless afterward, there is an afterward. Look forward to it. Father, what you have placed upon me You can bring me through it to a place that it will prove to be a blessing. Afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness. Practical living. The afterward of blessing. The peaceable fruit of righteousness. On to them which are exercised or concerned thereby. I would like to ask a simple but a profound question I know. My beloved fellow believer. Do you and I take particular notice? what the how the Father deals with us and what the Father brings upon us in the path and do we realize that everything that comes in the path he is seeking to deal with us as his child and if it be rough if it be difficult if it be chastening if it seems to be the form of correction that's very difficult and grievous to bear nevertheless The purposes of the Father is to make you a better child of God. Let me go back to verse ten in our closing moment. In verse ten, the Apostle wrote that our earthly fathers, verily for a few days, chastened us after their own pleasure or their desire, as they saw we needed it. But our heavenly Father chastened us for our profit, that we might be partakers of His holiness. Did we not see in the Epistle of Peter chapter one that the children of God are called to a life of holy living? Now let me please state that life of holy living does not immediately develop when one becomes a child of God. You become an infant, you're a babe in Christ. You must grow and we have noted that in the family of God in our past studies there are little children, there are young men, There are fathers, speaking of the grades of spiritual development. My beloved, may I state, one way the father seeks to make his children grow more and more in his likeness is through his chastening placed upon us from time to time, that we might be partakers, be more like him in our holy character. And though the chastening is not pleasant, Though it is not joyous, but very grievous, God will work it to become a blessing, a spiritual blessing, for his child afterward. Oh, my beloved, what joy to realize after the storm, there will remain the brightest fruit on the vow, the peaceable fruit for your hands to pluck, whatever your sorrows now, whatever your suffering, oh, my friend, whatever the load you bear, After the storm, the golden fruit of the land will be waiting there. God is an actor with a blessing for every one of his children who are passing through trial, difficulty, chastening, whatever the burden in its form may be. God loves his children, and he will not neglect one of them. May you and I submit ourselves to all that he does. Father, bless the truth. In the Savior's name we pray. Amen.