WEBVTT 00:00:06.369 --> 00:00:08.730 Proverbs chapter 3, we're going to look at two 00:00:08.730 --> 00:00:13.130 more verses today. Proverbs chapter 3, verses 00:00:13.130 --> 00:00:21.309 11 and 12. That's going to be in the Old Testament, 00:00:21.510 --> 00:00:23.730 kind of close to the middle of your Bible. If 00:00:23.730 --> 00:00:25.730 you can find Psalms right there in the middle, 00:00:25.890 --> 00:00:28.710 Proverbs is going to be pretty close nearby. 00:00:28.850 --> 00:00:32.560 If you just keep turning. I would encourage you 00:00:32.560 --> 00:00:34.780 to read through the Proverbs. A lot of good instruction, 00:00:35.000 --> 00:00:37.700 a lot of good wisdom. In this particular part 00:00:37.700 --> 00:00:42.000 of the Proverb, Solomon is writing to his son, 00:00:42.100 --> 00:00:45.159 giving his son instruction. That's so important 00:00:45.159 --> 00:00:47.500 for those of you who are parents and grandparents 00:00:47.500 --> 00:00:51.640 to instruct your children and guide your children 00:00:51.640 --> 00:00:54.740 and let your children know right from wrong. 00:00:55.020 --> 00:00:57.479 Try to put them on the right path because somebody 00:00:57.479 --> 00:01:00.200 in this world and this life is going to be guiding 00:01:00.200 --> 00:01:02.909 your children. And it'd be far better if it were 00:01:02.909 --> 00:01:05.969 you than allowing somebody else to do it. And 00:01:05.969 --> 00:01:09.670 so it's good for us to give instruction to our 00:01:09.670 --> 00:01:11.609 children and to our grandchildren. And that's 00:01:11.609 --> 00:01:14.730 what we see here in this Proverbs. Proverbs chapter 00:01:14.730 --> 00:01:22.489 3, verses 11 and 12. We'll read these two verses, 00:01:22.569 --> 00:01:27.909 then we'll pray. Do not despise the Lord's instruction, 00:01:28.250 --> 00:01:32.760 my son. And do not loathe his discipline, for 00:01:32.760 --> 00:01:36.459 the Lord disciplines the one he loves. Just as 00:01:36.459 --> 00:01:40.340 a father, the son, he delights in. Let's pray. 00:01:41.340 --> 00:01:43.319 God, we come to you. We thank you for these good 00:01:43.319 --> 00:01:46.319 words. I pray that you would help us to focus 00:01:46.319 --> 00:01:49.680 on you today. There are a lot of stresses and 00:01:49.680 --> 00:01:52.680 worries and stuff that compete for our attention 00:01:52.680 --> 00:01:55.400 and maybe even some good things, dear Lord, that 00:01:55.400 --> 00:01:58.180 are competing for our attention today. But I 00:01:58.180 --> 00:02:00.340 pray in these few moments that your Holy Spirit 00:02:00.340 --> 00:02:03.480 would be in this place, that you would hide me 00:02:03.480 --> 00:02:05.400 behind the cross, that I would preach and teach 00:02:05.400 --> 00:02:07.760 in a way that brings glory and honor to you. 00:02:08.659 --> 00:02:11.240 Dear Lord, I pray that you would help us to pay 00:02:11.240 --> 00:02:14.219 attention when perhaps you're trying to get our 00:02:14.219 --> 00:02:17.680 attention, dear Lord. God, you give us instruction 00:02:17.680 --> 00:02:20.139 not to keep us from having any fun, but dear 00:02:20.139 --> 00:02:22.400 Lord, so oftentimes the things that seem fun 00:02:22.400 --> 00:02:27.110 to us are not good for us. So let us know, God, 00:02:27.210 --> 00:02:29.930 let us know today that you love us and what you 00:02:29.930 --> 00:02:32.909 command us to is because you love us. So let 00:02:32.909 --> 00:02:35.169 us seek to follow your commands and live in obedience 00:02:35.169 --> 00:02:39.229 to them. And I ask these things in Jesus' name. 00:02:39.969 --> 00:02:45.569 Amen. Has anybody in here ever got a whooping 00:02:45.569 --> 00:02:48.810 before, a paddling? Has anybody in here ever 00:02:48.810 --> 00:02:51.270 got, I see some hands going up. I suspect that 00:02:51.270 --> 00:02:54.500 some of us have. I don't know that that's even 00:02:54.500 --> 00:02:56.639 a thing in schools these days. When I was in 00:02:56.639 --> 00:02:58.400 school, you could get a paddle, and I don't expect 00:02:58.400 --> 00:03:01.340 you can get a paddle in these days. You did something 00:03:01.340 --> 00:03:05.919 wrong, and it wasn't any issue. Parents had told 00:03:05.919 --> 00:03:08.199 the school or the principal, hey, if he does 00:03:08.199 --> 00:03:10.039 something that's wrong, and you tear him up. 00:03:10.460 --> 00:03:14.780 And sure enough, your parents would find out 00:03:14.780 --> 00:03:16.740 before you got home, and you'd get two whippings. 00:03:17.240 --> 00:03:19.020 Because you'd get a whipping at school and you'd 00:03:19.020 --> 00:03:21.780 get a whipping at home. And for some young folks 00:03:21.780 --> 00:03:23.560 today, maybe even some in here, I don't know, 00:03:23.620 --> 00:03:25.699 that's all like foreign language. They don't 00:03:25.699 --> 00:03:28.319 even have a clue what I'm talking about. But 00:03:28.319 --> 00:03:32.460 there was discipline that took place. And I think 00:03:32.460 --> 00:03:34.780 that that's a good thing. I think that the Scripture 00:03:34.780 --> 00:03:38.780 says that that's a good thing. We see Scriptures 00:03:38.780 --> 00:03:42.560 that speak of that in Proverbs 22, verse 15. 00:03:43.800 --> 00:03:46.219 Foolishness is tangled up in the heart of a youth. 00:03:46.889 --> 00:03:50.150 The rod of discipline will drive it away from 00:03:50.150 --> 00:03:54.210 him. In Proverbs 13, 24, the one who will not 00:03:54.210 --> 00:03:58.229 use the rod hates his son, but the one who loves 00:03:58.229 --> 00:04:02.729 him disciplines him diligently. Now these are 00:04:02.729 --> 00:04:07.229 not very popular verses in our world today. There 00:04:07.229 --> 00:04:11.689 was a time in our culture that physical discipline 00:04:11.689 --> 00:04:14.949 was accepted, but nowadays it's sometimes referred 00:04:14.949 --> 00:04:18.389 to as discipline. child abuse. And there is a 00:04:18.389 --> 00:04:22.610 lack of discipline, I believe, sometimes in our 00:04:22.610 --> 00:04:24.490 world today. And I don't think that that's a 00:04:24.490 --> 00:04:29.649 good thing. We kind of tend to shy away from 00:04:29.649 --> 00:04:32.850 discipline or attempt discipline in a different 00:04:32.850 --> 00:04:37.170 way, perhaps. Used to, when I was young, it was, 00:04:37.170 --> 00:04:41.269 if you did good, then nothing would happen. But 00:04:41.269 --> 00:04:43.389 if you did bad, you were going to be disciplined. 00:04:44.009 --> 00:04:48.199 Now, The code for me when I was a kid was, do 00:04:48.199 --> 00:04:50.480 we need to go to the bathroom? If I was somewhere 00:04:50.480 --> 00:04:53.139 and I was misbehaving, which was very rare because 00:04:53.139 --> 00:04:57.339 I was a pretty good child, my dad would look 00:04:57.339 --> 00:04:59.920 at me and say, do you need to go to the bathroom? 00:05:00.800 --> 00:05:02.779 Now, I knew what was going to happen when I went 00:05:02.779 --> 00:05:05.699 to the bathroom. And there were a few times that 00:05:05.699 --> 00:05:07.939 I had to get disciplined, that I got a whipping, 00:05:08.040 --> 00:05:10.819 that I got a spanking with the belt. Now, it 00:05:10.819 --> 00:05:12.879 wasn't abusive. It didn't cause any problem. 00:05:13.500 --> 00:05:16.420 It was done out of love, but nevertheless, I 00:05:16.420 --> 00:05:20.300 didn't like it. And we don't really see that 00:05:20.300 --> 00:05:22.860 these days. It was, you go and you do good, you 00:05:22.860 --> 00:05:25.079 say yes sir and no sir and yes ma 'am and no 00:05:25.079 --> 00:05:28.439 ma 'am, and everything would be fine. But if 00:05:28.439 --> 00:05:31.379 you didn't do good, you got disciplined. Well, 00:05:31.399 --> 00:05:33.860 now we see kind of a different shift in our world. 00:05:33.920 --> 00:05:36.920 For better or for worse, you can decide. Nowadays, 00:05:37.160 --> 00:05:39.819 it's, well, we're not going to discipline a child 00:05:39.819 --> 00:05:42.399 for doing wrong. We just ignore them when they 00:05:42.399 --> 00:05:45.589 do wrong. but we reward them when they do good. 00:05:45.769 --> 00:05:48.149 That's a whole different type of mindset. So 00:05:48.149 --> 00:05:51.250 just don't acknowledge the wrong and reward the 00:05:51.250 --> 00:05:54.509 good, and that will teach kids to do good all 00:05:54.509 --> 00:05:57.089 the time. And I don't know that that's a good 00:05:57.089 --> 00:06:00.430 concept. I don't think the Scripture teaches 00:06:00.430 --> 00:06:02.389 that. Now, there are a lot of people today that 00:06:02.389 --> 00:06:04.670 say, well, we discipline our children, but we 00:06:04.670 --> 00:06:07.540 don't discipline them physically. So be it. We 00:06:07.540 --> 00:06:09.339 still have these scriptures you have to do something 00:06:09.339 --> 00:06:11.819 with. You, as a parent, I'm not a parent, but 00:06:11.819 --> 00:06:13.519 as a parent, we have to read these scriptures 00:06:13.519 --> 00:06:15.879 and we have to say, well, these are command of 00:06:15.879 --> 00:06:18.879 God, so we have to do something with them. If 00:06:18.879 --> 00:06:23.240 some physical discipline was good when God had 00:06:23.240 --> 00:06:25.560 these words penned, then perhaps there is some 00:06:25.560 --> 00:06:30.420 good in it today. But as a society, as children, 00:06:30.639 --> 00:06:34.759 as adults, discipline helps us to respect authority. 00:06:36.199 --> 00:06:38.379 And I believe that that's a big problem in our 00:06:38.379 --> 00:06:41.600 world today. I think when I look around, I see 00:06:41.600 --> 00:06:43.560 a lot of people that don't respect authority. 00:06:44.500 --> 00:06:47.240 And perhaps that stems from a lack of discipline. 00:06:47.740 --> 00:06:50.019 That when children were growing up, that they 00:06:50.019 --> 00:06:53.180 didn't receive any discipline. That they did 00:06:53.180 --> 00:06:55.319 what was good and they got something for it and 00:06:55.319 --> 00:06:57.800 then they get into the real world and somebody 00:06:57.800 --> 00:07:00.139 does discipline them and say you're wrong and 00:07:00.139 --> 00:07:02.439 they don't know what to do. They say, but I do 00:07:02.439 --> 00:07:03.980 good. You should give me something for that. 00:07:04.040 --> 00:07:05.800 No, we do good just because it's the right thing 00:07:05.800 --> 00:07:11.720 to do. But in our world today, we don't see as 00:07:11.720 --> 00:07:15.220 much discipline perhaps as we should. And I think 00:07:15.220 --> 00:07:18.779 part of a result of that is there's a lack of 00:07:18.779 --> 00:07:22.319 authority. We don't respect that authority anymore. 00:07:23.100 --> 00:07:25.360 And when people do show authority, we have a 00:07:25.360 --> 00:07:28.589 hard time submitting to that. And so this sermon 00:07:28.589 --> 00:07:30.509 is not necessarily about how you discipline your 00:07:30.509 --> 00:07:33.889 kids, but that does have an effect in how we 00:07:33.889 --> 00:07:37.350 turn out in life. Because I think that that discipline 00:07:37.350 --> 00:07:42.189 that we experience as a young person helps us 00:07:42.189 --> 00:07:46.329 to begin to respect our parents. And even more 00:07:46.329 --> 00:07:49.170 so, that carries over into our respect for God. 00:07:49.930 --> 00:07:52.389 That in that discipline, that that teaches us 00:07:52.389 --> 00:07:56.199 that there is a higher authority. That there 00:07:56.199 --> 00:08:00.279 is one that we answer to. That there is a right 00:08:00.279 --> 00:08:04.759 and a wrong. That wrong is punished. That sometimes 00:08:04.759 --> 00:08:08.959 good is rewarded. But our motivation to do good 00:08:08.959 --> 00:08:11.540 should not just be that, man, if I'm good this 00:08:11.540 --> 00:08:14.279 week, I'm going to get a new Lego set. That shouldn't 00:08:14.279 --> 00:08:16.939 just be our... Our motivation to do good shouldn't 00:08:16.939 --> 00:08:19.500 just be, what are we going to get from it? Our 00:08:19.500 --> 00:08:22.759 motivation to do good is... God is the creator 00:08:22.759 --> 00:08:25.139 of the heavens and the earth. He is the authority, 00:08:25.319 --> 00:08:28.500 and he gives us instructions and commands that 00:08:28.500 --> 00:08:31.699 are for our good and for our well -being. And 00:08:31.699 --> 00:08:34.440 if we follow those things, blessings will occur, 00:08:34.600 --> 00:08:37.860 maybe not physically or financially, but just 00:08:37.860 --> 00:08:41.139 knowing we've made the right decision. Man, that 00:08:41.139 --> 00:08:43.840 feels good to know that you've done what's right. 00:08:44.240 --> 00:08:46.440 It's a certain sense of peace that comes along 00:08:46.440 --> 00:08:51.320 with that. And so we see... Passages like these 00:08:51.320 --> 00:08:54.139 in the scripture. It talks about discipline. 00:08:54.799 --> 00:08:59.820 It talks about the Lord's discipline. Did anybody 00:08:59.820 --> 00:09:04.039 in here ever, when they were young, enjoy, those 00:09:04.039 --> 00:09:06.220 of you who have gotten one, enjoy getting a whipping? 00:09:06.340 --> 00:09:09.659 Did anybody ever enjoy that? Don't think so. 00:09:09.820 --> 00:09:11.940 Praise the Lord. I didn't see any hands go up. 00:09:12.240 --> 00:09:14.720 Now, some of you got a lot of whippings, but 00:09:14.720 --> 00:09:17.220 we never enjoyed it. Let me ask you another question. 00:09:17.769 --> 00:09:20.169 For those of you who were on the giving end as 00:09:20.169 --> 00:09:23.990 parents whipping your children, did you ever 00:09:23.990 --> 00:09:27.370 enjoy it and just long and say, man, I hope my 00:09:27.370 --> 00:09:29.629 boy messes up at school today. I can't wait to 00:09:29.629 --> 00:09:31.909 get to bed. Did any of you parents ever do that? 00:09:32.789 --> 00:09:35.669 Praise the Lord, there's no hands. So nobody 00:09:35.669 --> 00:09:39.190 likes to receive discipline. And I'm not a parent, 00:09:39.250 --> 00:09:41.789 but I got a little puppy. And when she was young, 00:09:41.789 --> 00:09:44.769 she was bad. And now she's really bad. And it 00:09:44.769 --> 00:09:46.450 might be because we didn't discipline her enough. 00:09:47.070 --> 00:09:49.370 Because it's hard. We did discipline her some. 00:09:50.070 --> 00:09:53.409 We tried to at least. But it's hard, right? You 00:09:53.409 --> 00:09:58.330 see this life form that you love and like all 00:09:58.330 --> 00:10:00.710 you want more than anything, I'm guessing, I'm 00:10:00.710 --> 00:10:03.350 speaking, you can correct me. I say this a lot 00:10:03.350 --> 00:10:04.950 when I'm talking about parenting because I don't 00:10:04.950 --> 00:10:08.970 know. But I imagine that probably what you want 00:10:08.970 --> 00:10:10.990 more than anything in this world is for your 00:10:10.990 --> 00:10:14.830 children not to suffer. You want to try to take 00:10:14.830 --> 00:10:17.029 all suffering out of their life. You want them 00:10:17.029 --> 00:10:20.269 to avoid suffering at all costs, and especially 00:10:20.269 --> 00:10:25.429 at your hands. And so discipline is hard. It's 00:10:25.429 --> 00:10:28.269 a hard thing that we don't like to receive and 00:10:28.269 --> 00:10:31.129 that we don't like to give, but as hard as it 00:10:31.129 --> 00:10:35.610 may be, it's necessary. It's necessary, and I 00:10:35.610 --> 00:10:38.090 think God's Word is pretty clear on that in a 00:10:38.090 --> 00:10:40.450 physical sense as to how we raise our children. 00:10:41.159 --> 00:10:44.179 And I think God's word is clear on that in our 00:10:44.179 --> 00:10:48.919 relationship with God. And that's what this verse 00:10:48.919 --> 00:10:54.039 says. Do not despise the Lord's instruction. 00:10:55.679 --> 00:10:58.899 Okay, what is instruction? Instruction is do 00:10:58.899 --> 00:11:02.179 this or don't do this. Now, what is instruction 00:11:02.179 --> 00:11:06.059 for? Well, here's what happened. One day, years 00:11:06.059 --> 00:11:08.759 ago, there was a group of parents and they got 00:11:08.759 --> 00:11:11.429 together. And they said, we have kids coming 00:11:11.429 --> 00:11:14.710 up, and we don't want them to have any fun whatsoever. 00:11:15.509 --> 00:11:18.110 So we are going to make rules that we are going 00:11:18.110 --> 00:11:20.769 to tell our kids that they cannot stay up late, 00:11:20.950 --> 00:11:23.470 that they cannot eat sweets all the time, that 00:11:23.470 --> 00:11:25.850 they cannot jump off the roof onto the trampoline. 00:11:26.029 --> 00:11:28.509 Anything that looks fun, we're going to ban it. 00:11:28.590 --> 00:11:31.529 And we are going to call each other at night 00:11:31.529 --> 00:11:33.090 when they go to bed early, and we're going to 00:11:33.090 --> 00:11:35.269 say, can you believe how much fun we have kept 00:11:35.269 --> 00:11:38.860 them from? That's not what happened. That's not 00:11:38.860 --> 00:11:40.700 why parents give instructions. It seems like 00:11:40.700 --> 00:11:43.100 that as a kid. Oh, my parents don't want me to 00:11:43.100 --> 00:11:46.100 do that fun. All my other friends get to do this. 00:11:46.759 --> 00:11:48.799 Jimmy's dad lets him jump off the roof on the 00:11:48.799 --> 00:11:51.639 trampoline. We say this kind of stuff, right? 00:11:52.019 --> 00:11:54.580 And as kids, we just think our parents, they 00:11:54.580 --> 00:11:57.639 must just not want us to have fun. But that's 00:11:57.639 --> 00:12:00.840 not the truth. Now, why might your parents say 00:12:00.840 --> 00:12:03.299 don't jump off the roof on the trampoline? Well, 00:12:03.340 --> 00:12:06.580 you might kill your fool self. You might fall 00:12:06.580 --> 00:12:08.779 off and trip and hit your head. The trampoline 00:12:08.779 --> 00:12:10.720 might bust. You go to the ground. You might hit 00:12:10.720 --> 00:12:12.460 the trampoline and bounce up to the moon. You 00:12:12.460 --> 00:12:14.899 don't know where you're going to go. Now your 00:12:14.899 --> 00:12:19.159 parents are pretty wise and they know that it's 00:12:19.159 --> 00:12:22.120 not good to do that because they did that when 00:12:22.120 --> 00:12:24.200 they were a kid and they busted their head open. 00:12:25.159 --> 00:12:27.740 When I was young, some of you kids and adults 00:12:27.740 --> 00:12:30.240 too may have got this instruction. Don't jump 00:12:30.240 --> 00:12:33.470 on the bed. Well, jumping on the bed is pretty 00:12:33.470 --> 00:12:35.710 fun. It's cushy. It's springy. What could possibly 00:12:35.710 --> 00:12:38.269 happen? I was jumping on the bed one day just 00:12:38.269 --> 00:12:40.830 having a big time. You know what happened? I 00:12:40.830 --> 00:12:42.710 got too close. I fell off the edge of the bed, 00:12:42.850 --> 00:12:44.809 hit the corner of the dresser, busted my head 00:12:44.809 --> 00:12:46.710 open. There's a scar there today probably still. 00:12:46.769 --> 00:12:50.029 You can see it. Now, why did my parents tell 00:12:50.029 --> 00:12:54.250 me not to jump on the bed? Because they knew 00:12:54.250 --> 00:12:58.399 that something like that could happen. And so 00:12:58.399 --> 00:13:00.539 the instructions that we get from our parents, 00:13:00.620 --> 00:13:03.000 we may not understand it, we may not like it, 00:13:03.059 --> 00:13:06.700 but there's a good chance that the reason why 00:13:06.700 --> 00:13:08.940 our parents are telling us not to do some of 00:13:08.940 --> 00:13:11.360 the things they tell us not to do or to do some 00:13:11.360 --> 00:13:14.460 of the things they tell us to do is because they 00:13:14.460 --> 00:13:18.860 want what's best for us. They want to eliminate 00:13:18.860 --> 00:13:23.750 as much suffering in our life as they can. And 00:13:23.750 --> 00:13:26.070 the same is true for God. Now, we read God's 00:13:26.070 --> 00:13:30.070 word and, man, our human natural tendencies are 00:13:30.070 --> 00:13:32.950 to want to do some things that feel good and 00:13:32.950 --> 00:13:35.309 that seem good and that don't seem like they 00:13:35.309 --> 00:13:38.490 have any negative impact on us. But what the 00:13:38.490 --> 00:13:40.570 Lord knows is that there are some things that 00:13:40.570 --> 00:13:43.990 are not good for us. We see that throughout the 00:13:43.990 --> 00:13:46.610 Old Testament. God gives us all kind of commands. 00:13:46.889 --> 00:13:49.070 Hey, don't do this and don't do that and don't 00:13:49.070 --> 00:13:52.240 do this. And these things we say, well, maybe 00:13:52.240 --> 00:13:54.259 it's okay if we do a little bit of this and a 00:13:54.259 --> 00:13:57.539 little bit of that. But God's instructions are 00:13:57.539 --> 00:14:01.000 good. And he gives us these instructions because 00:14:01.000 --> 00:14:05.539 they are good for us. So what's the instruction 00:14:05.539 --> 00:14:07.720 that Solomon gives to his son here? He says, 00:14:07.919 --> 00:14:13.019 don't despise the Lord's instruction. The Lord's 00:14:13.019 --> 00:14:14.860 instruction is scripture. You say, what is the 00:14:14.860 --> 00:14:17.679 Lord's instruction? It's the Bible. We have to 00:14:17.679 --> 00:14:20.299 read the Bible. We have to read and say, okay, 00:14:20.399 --> 00:14:23.299 what is God instructing us to do? How does God 00:14:23.299 --> 00:14:26.179 want us to live? What are some things we need 00:14:26.179 --> 00:14:28.240 to be careful about? What are some things we 00:14:28.240 --> 00:14:31.820 need to stay away from? And if the Lord's given 00:14:31.820 --> 00:14:34.980 us that instruction, then we need to try to follow 00:14:34.980 --> 00:14:38.379 that instruction. Do not despise the Lord's instruction, 00:14:38.580 --> 00:14:44.779 my son, and do not loathe his discipline. Now, 00:14:45.899 --> 00:14:48.950 none of us like to be disciplined. When we're 00:14:48.950 --> 00:14:50.509 younger, we probably don't even like it much. 00:14:50.529 --> 00:14:53.230 When we're older, in whatever form, shape or 00:14:53.230 --> 00:14:56.470 form that discipline takes, we don't like that. 00:14:56.850 --> 00:14:58.809 Maybe when we were younger and we got a whipping 00:14:58.809 --> 00:15:01.190 from our parents, we thought, man, I can't believe 00:15:01.190 --> 00:15:04.450 my dad did that or my mom did that. We don't 00:15:04.450 --> 00:15:06.850 like that because we don't understand that. We 00:15:06.850 --> 00:15:09.909 can't comprehend as a child, as we grow into 00:15:09.909 --> 00:15:14.179 adults, especially as we grow into parents. Maybe 00:15:14.179 --> 00:15:16.820 we begin to understand that a lot more. I didn't 00:15:16.820 --> 00:15:20.740 care for a weapon when I was a kid. But now that 00:15:20.740 --> 00:15:23.700 I'm 42, I think, man, I probably should have 00:15:23.700 --> 00:15:25.879 got a lot more weapons than I got. It probably 00:15:25.879 --> 00:15:28.299 would have been better for me. There were a lot 00:15:28.299 --> 00:15:30.600 of things that my parents let me get away with 00:15:30.600 --> 00:15:32.740 that they shouldn't have let me get away with. 00:15:32.799 --> 00:15:34.799 Things that probably would have helped shape 00:15:34.799 --> 00:15:37.320 me to make better decisions and do better things. 00:15:37.480 --> 00:15:39.879 And I didn't understand that as a child, but 00:15:39.879 --> 00:15:43.470 I understand that. the more I grow into an adult. 00:15:44.629 --> 00:15:49.330 And we don't like discipline. And I guess that's 00:15:49.330 --> 00:15:53.429 why this has to be stated to us here. Don't loathe 00:15:53.429 --> 00:15:56.529 the Lord's discipline. The Lord is disciplining 00:15:56.529 --> 00:16:00.769 us for a reason. What does it say? For the Lord 00:16:00.769 --> 00:16:04.850 disciplines the one he loves just as a father 00:16:04.850 --> 00:16:09.129 the son he delights in. Now that seems contradictory. 00:16:10.500 --> 00:16:12.460 I love you, therefore I'm going to whip you. 00:16:13.240 --> 00:16:15.500 Your parents might say something like this. This 00:16:15.500 --> 00:16:17.379 hurts me more than it hurts you. Oh, really? 00:16:18.240 --> 00:16:20.720 You're the one that's got the belt. How is this 00:16:20.720 --> 00:16:24.019 hurting you? And you say those things as a parent, 00:16:24.080 --> 00:16:27.639 and it's true. It does hurt you more than it 00:16:27.639 --> 00:16:31.419 hurts the child. What does the Lord say? The 00:16:31.419 --> 00:16:36.639 Lord disciplines the one he loves. Now, do you 00:16:36.639 --> 00:16:39.649 love your child? Well, hopefully you love your 00:16:39.649 --> 00:16:42.750 child. Do you want your child to be a productive 00:16:42.750 --> 00:16:45.750 citizen? Do you want your child to be safe? Do 00:16:45.750 --> 00:16:49.629 you want your child to make good decisions? Well, 00:16:49.750 --> 00:16:55.230 that comes about by disciplining them in some 00:16:55.230 --> 00:16:57.429 way, shape, or form. Maybe you say, I'm not using 00:16:57.429 --> 00:16:59.190 physical discipline. So be it. That's between 00:16:59.190 --> 00:17:02.470 you and the Lord. But there has to be some discipline 00:17:02.470 --> 00:17:08.769 that takes place. Because if there is not, It's 00:17:08.769 --> 00:17:12.210 trouble. If a child grows up and gets everything 00:17:12.210 --> 00:17:15.269 they want and gets to do everything that they 00:17:15.269 --> 00:17:18.250 want, and I would imagine, I'm not a parent, 00:17:18.309 --> 00:17:21.109 I would imagine that the temptation to try to 00:17:21.109 --> 00:17:23.970 give your kid everything that they want and to 00:17:23.970 --> 00:17:26.390 take all suffering out of their life, I would 00:17:26.390 --> 00:17:30.490 imagine that temptation is super strong. But 00:17:30.490 --> 00:17:36.009 that comes with some very bad consequences. Because 00:17:36.009 --> 00:17:39.150 if a child doesn't learn discipline, doesn't 00:17:39.150 --> 00:17:41.450 learn correction, doesn't learn right from wrong, 00:17:41.630 --> 00:17:44.390 and always gets what they want when they're young, 00:17:44.730 --> 00:17:49.910 guess what? One day they're going to be 40 years 00:17:49.910 --> 00:17:52.849 old, and they're going to be pouting, and they're 00:17:52.849 --> 00:17:54.410 going to be whining, and they're going to act 00:17:54.410 --> 00:17:56.769 just like they did when they were 8 years old. 00:17:57.670 --> 00:18:01.009 Because what they have learned is if this is 00:18:01.009 --> 00:18:05.349 how I act, this is how I get what I want. Now, 00:18:05.369 --> 00:18:08.369 discipline takes care of that. Train up a child 00:18:08.369 --> 00:18:10.690 in the way he should go. When he is old, he will 00:18:10.690 --> 00:18:13.289 not depart from it. Praise the Lord. That's good 00:18:13.289 --> 00:18:16.710 if you're training up a child in good ways. But 00:18:16.710 --> 00:18:20.509 I think it also is applicable if you train up 00:18:20.509 --> 00:18:24.450 a child in bad ways. However you train up your 00:18:24.450 --> 00:18:28.849 child, that's how he or she will be when she 00:18:28.849 --> 00:18:32.589 gets older. Children don't just grow out of these 00:18:32.589 --> 00:18:35.900 things most of the time. If they get away with 00:18:35.900 --> 00:18:37.859 everything, if they have everything, and you've 00:18:37.859 --> 00:18:42.160 tried to protect them from all suffering, then 00:18:42.160 --> 00:18:44.680 all you are doing is preparing them for an even 00:18:44.680 --> 00:18:49.519 greater suffering. And praise the Lord, He doesn't 00:18:49.519 --> 00:18:52.619 do that for us. Now, we may look at God and say, 00:18:52.680 --> 00:18:54.839 man, God's just a big meanie. He don't want us 00:18:54.839 --> 00:18:57.500 to do anything good. Okay, maybe that's true. 00:18:58.880 --> 00:19:01.779 Or maybe God only wants what is good for us. 00:19:02.339 --> 00:19:06.049 That's what Scripture says. God only wants what 00:19:06.049 --> 00:19:09.630 is good for you. So God has a way of getting 00:19:09.630 --> 00:19:12.990 our attention. Now, a good example of this, if 00:19:12.990 --> 00:19:15.910 you've never read in the Bible the story of Jonah, 00:19:16.069 --> 00:19:18.130 you can find that story, a real short book of 00:19:18.130 --> 00:19:21.009 the Bible. Go read it. It's only four chapters. 00:19:21.230 --> 00:19:24.930 It's a great little story. God called Jonah to 00:19:24.930 --> 00:19:28.650 go preach in Nineveh, and Jonah said, not going 00:19:28.650 --> 00:19:31.390 to do it. Not going to do it. I'm going to get 00:19:31.390 --> 00:19:34.230 in the boat, and I'm going to go the other way. 00:19:34.170 --> 00:19:38.930 away. And guess what God did? God disciplined 00:19:38.930 --> 00:19:42.849 him. God says, here's what you should do. Here's 00:19:42.849 --> 00:19:45.390 what I've called you to do. You've chosen to 00:19:45.390 --> 00:19:48.829 not listen to me. And so therefore, I'm going 00:19:48.829 --> 00:19:50.869 to make things hard on you so that I can get 00:19:50.869 --> 00:19:52.650 your attention so that you'll do what's right. 00:19:53.789 --> 00:19:55.890 So he's out of the boat. Storm comes through. 00:19:56.559 --> 00:19:58.519 Nobody can figure out what's going on. Jonah 00:19:58.519 --> 00:20:01.039 says, it's me. It's me. I know why these things 00:20:01.039 --> 00:20:03.500 are happening. I've been disobedient to the Lord. 00:20:03.599 --> 00:20:07.200 Throw me overboard. He gets ate by a big fish. 00:20:07.400 --> 00:20:10.259 He's in the belly of this big fish. And he says, 00:20:10.319 --> 00:20:12.579 God, a beautiful prayer. In Jonah chapter 2, 00:20:12.740 --> 00:20:16.319 he says, look, God, I need you. I have done wrong. 00:20:16.619 --> 00:20:23.180 God, help me. Beautiful prayer. It's a good example 00:20:23.180 --> 00:20:26.269 of what it means to... experience the Lord's 00:20:26.269 --> 00:20:29.769 discipline. And maybe there are some things in 00:20:29.769 --> 00:20:33.470 our life that have happened or happening right 00:20:33.470 --> 00:20:36.430 now or will happen in which the Lord's trying 00:20:36.430 --> 00:20:39.849 to get our attention. Some consequences to the 00:20:39.849 --> 00:20:43.289 bad decisions that we make that God says, okay, 00:20:43.430 --> 00:20:46.569 I don't want you to have to go through hard times, 00:20:46.589 --> 00:20:49.210 but I want to get your attention. So that you'll 00:20:49.210 --> 00:20:51.630 do what's right. We see that time and again in 00:20:51.630 --> 00:20:53.769 the Old Testament. God gave his people all kind 00:20:53.769 --> 00:20:56.069 of good instructions to keep them safe and healthy. 00:20:56.390 --> 00:20:58.890 And man, they would just blow through the stop 00:20:58.890 --> 00:21:01.690 sign and just go do what they wanted to do. And 00:21:01.690 --> 00:21:04.289 God would, he'd turn them over to their enemies. 00:21:04.609 --> 00:21:06.789 He would allow them to go through hard times. 00:21:07.309 --> 00:21:11.990 Why? So that he'd get their attention. He didn't 00:21:11.990 --> 00:21:14.789 just bless them in their evil. He didn't just 00:21:14.789 --> 00:21:17.150 bless them in their sinfulness and say, ah, those 00:21:17.150 --> 00:21:19.369 Israelites, those kids of mine, kids will be 00:21:19.369 --> 00:21:22.210 kids. He didn't just turn a blind eye to it. 00:21:22.230 --> 00:21:24.789 He said, look, if they continue doing these things, 00:21:24.930 --> 00:21:28.009 it's unhealthy for them. They'll die apart from 00:21:28.009 --> 00:21:30.910 me. They'll get into all kind of evil. There 00:21:30.910 --> 00:21:33.630 will be all kind of horrible junk in their life. 00:21:33.930 --> 00:21:36.269 And so he says, I must crack the whip and get 00:21:36.269 --> 00:21:39.009 their attention. And he'd allow them to go through 00:21:39.009 --> 00:21:41.880 some hard times. And guess what they'd do? They'd 00:21:41.880 --> 00:21:43.859 say, oh, Lord, we are sorry. We've done wrong. 00:21:44.039 --> 00:21:45.980 We'll never do this again. God, just help us. 00:21:46.519 --> 00:21:48.859 And God, being a good father, he'd help them, 00:21:48.900 --> 00:21:51.359 and they'd mess up again, and he'd have to discipline 00:21:51.359 --> 00:21:54.579 them. Not so unlike you and I. That's what this 00:21:54.579 --> 00:21:57.079 example is. That's the example of the comparison 00:21:57.079 --> 00:21:59.880 that's being made. Hey, don't loathe the Lord's 00:21:59.880 --> 00:22:03.000 discipline because he's just like a father disciplining 00:22:03.000 --> 00:22:06.200 a son. He doesn't do it because he hates you. 00:22:06.240 --> 00:22:09.630 He does it because he loves you. And he wants 00:22:09.630 --> 00:22:13.630 you to grow into a strong man, into a strong 00:22:13.630 --> 00:22:16.730 woman that knows right from wrong, that respects 00:22:16.730 --> 00:22:20.930 authority, that respects God, that seeks God 00:22:20.930 --> 00:22:24.849 before we make a decision. And so we see plenty 00:22:24.849 --> 00:22:28.150 of examples in the scripture of God disciplining 00:22:28.150 --> 00:22:33.769 his people. And the scripture says that God disciplines 00:22:33.769 --> 00:22:38.420 those he loves. In Hebrews chapter 12, verse 00:22:38.420 --> 00:22:41.960 11, it says this, No discipline seems enjoyable 00:22:41.960 --> 00:22:45.799 at the time, but painful. Later on, however, 00:22:45.940 --> 00:22:49.039 it yields the fruit of peace and righteousness 00:22:49.039 --> 00:22:55.619 to those who have been trained by it. Now, when 00:22:55.619 --> 00:22:58.519 we make boneheaded decisions, and we're going 00:22:58.519 --> 00:23:01.079 through hard times as a result of those decisions, 00:23:01.500 --> 00:23:05.779 maybe we should pause for a moment. and say, 00:23:05.839 --> 00:23:08.500 God, maybe you're trying to get my attention. 00:23:08.839 --> 00:23:11.339 Now, I'm not suggesting that every bad thing 00:23:11.339 --> 00:23:14.119 that happens to you is God getting on to you. 00:23:14.200 --> 00:23:17.079 I'm not suggesting that at all. Sometimes life 00:23:17.079 --> 00:23:19.380 just happens. Sometimes bad things happen. I'm 00:23:19.380 --> 00:23:21.279 not saying that everything you do is because 00:23:21.279 --> 00:23:25.099 of the Lord, but I believe, I believe that in 00:23:25.099 --> 00:23:27.200 our heart, we kind of know when we do wrong. 00:23:27.819 --> 00:23:31.559 I think our conscious convicts us of that. And 00:23:31.559 --> 00:23:33.880 sometimes maybe there are things that we do and 00:23:34.269 --> 00:23:36.150 And maybe the thought that comes to our heart 00:23:36.150 --> 00:23:39.809 and mind is, maybe the Lord's trying to get my 00:23:39.809 --> 00:23:41.970 attention. I remember when I was a kid, I'll 00:23:41.970 --> 00:23:43.950 never forget this. This is such a simple story 00:23:43.950 --> 00:23:46.670 and not much to it, but I still remember it for 00:23:46.670 --> 00:23:49.390 whatever reason. When I was in elementary school, 00:23:49.670 --> 00:23:52.549 one of my friends, he said something to me, called 00:23:52.549 --> 00:23:54.309 me a name or something. I don't even remember. 00:23:54.430 --> 00:23:56.690 I don't even remember what he said, and I didn't 00:23:56.690 --> 00:23:58.430 even think anything of it at the time. But after 00:23:58.430 --> 00:24:01.329 recess was over, I was at the water fountain 00:24:01.329 --> 00:24:04.029 getting a drink of water. And he come up to me 00:24:04.029 --> 00:24:07.950 and he said, he had skinned his arm or scraped 00:24:07.950 --> 00:24:09.549 his arm or something. It wasn't nothing serious. 00:24:09.890 --> 00:24:13.029 And he said, I want to apologize to you. He said, 00:24:13.109 --> 00:24:15.630 because I got hurt today and I think it's because 00:24:15.630 --> 00:24:18.529 I called you that name. Now, whether or not that 00:24:18.529 --> 00:24:20.490 was God getting on to him or not, I don't know 00:24:20.490 --> 00:24:23.349 if that was the Lord's discipline. But in his 00:24:23.349 --> 00:24:27.710 heart, he associated those two things. In his 00:24:27.710 --> 00:24:30.049 heart, that action, that consequence, that pain 00:24:30.049 --> 00:24:32.869 that occurred. And that triggered something in 00:24:32.869 --> 00:24:35.710 his heart that said, wait a minute, I did something 00:24:35.710 --> 00:24:39.910 I should not have done. And this thing that's 00:24:39.910 --> 00:24:44.289 happened to me has helped me to see that. I don't 00:24:44.289 --> 00:24:47.269 know if that was the Lord or not, but I believe 00:24:47.269 --> 00:24:50.490 that the same thing happens in our life. I believe 00:24:50.490 --> 00:24:52.130 that there are times that we do wrong and we 00:24:52.130 --> 00:24:55.609 know we're doing wrong. We need to read God's 00:24:55.609 --> 00:24:58.500 word to know what he calls us to. There are times 00:24:58.500 --> 00:25:00.339 that we do wrong and something happens and maybe 00:25:00.339 --> 00:25:03.779 that's the first thought to our mind. Maybe the 00:25:03.779 --> 00:25:06.420 Lord's trying to get my attention. Okay, well 00:25:06.420 --> 00:25:09.180 that's a good place to be. That's a good place 00:25:09.180 --> 00:25:12.059 to be. Because if we get there, we need to remember 00:25:12.059 --> 00:25:17.380 this passage. God disciplines the one he loves. 00:25:18.000 --> 00:25:21.819 That's good. We don't like discipline, but when 00:25:21.819 --> 00:25:24.119 you are disciplined, you know you are loved. 00:25:24.259 --> 00:25:28.259 I think even kids... like discipline in some 00:25:28.259 --> 00:25:31.579 way. Some of you may have experienced this before. 00:25:31.680 --> 00:25:35.019 There are some kids that don't ever receive any 00:25:35.019 --> 00:25:37.220 discipline, any instruction, any encouragement. 00:25:37.339 --> 00:25:39.799 Those of you who teach kids or have dealt with 00:25:39.799 --> 00:25:43.440 kids in any way, maybe you've seen this. They've 00:25:43.440 --> 00:25:45.480 never had anybody to get on to them and say, 00:25:45.579 --> 00:25:48.160 that's wrong and I expect better of you. You're 00:25:48.160 --> 00:25:51.019 better than that. That's not good. They've never 00:25:51.019 --> 00:25:53.750 had anybody say that to them. And they just run 00:25:53.750 --> 00:25:55.829 around doing all kinds of bad stuff because they've 00:25:55.829 --> 00:25:58.269 never been disciplined. They don't have any respect 00:25:58.269 --> 00:26:01.470 for anybody. But you may be surprised that when 00:26:01.470 --> 00:26:05.809 you set a kid down and you say, I'm disappointed 00:26:05.809 --> 00:26:10.329 in you, that's not right. And we don't do that. 00:26:11.089 --> 00:26:14.190 And you give them some form of discipline. I'm 00:26:14.190 --> 00:26:15.990 not saying it has to be physical, but you kind 00:26:15.990 --> 00:26:18.990 of hold their feet to the fire. You might be 00:26:18.990 --> 00:26:22.210 surprised that that child doesn't hate you more. 00:26:23.049 --> 00:26:25.490 that that child may have a much greater respect 00:26:25.490 --> 00:26:27.509 for you than they have for any other adult in 00:26:27.509 --> 00:26:30.750 their life because nobody else has ever loved 00:26:30.750 --> 00:26:34.950 them enough to say that's wrong and you're better 00:26:34.950 --> 00:26:40.509 than that. I think kids need discipline. I think 00:26:40.509 --> 00:26:44.289 we need discipline. We need God to show us his 00:26:44.289 --> 00:26:47.269 word and to call us out and say, look, I know 00:26:47.269 --> 00:26:49.690 that temptation to sin and do wrong is strong, 00:26:49.869 --> 00:26:53.400 but I want better for you. I want you to receive 00:26:53.400 --> 00:26:55.700 my blessing. You keep living in sin and doing 00:26:55.700 --> 00:26:58.500 this junk. The consequences you're going to experience 00:26:58.500 --> 00:27:02.700 are going to be full of pain and heartache, and 00:27:02.700 --> 00:27:05.359 I don't want you to have that. And so therefore, 00:27:05.519 --> 00:27:07.920 I'm going to shake you up a little bit. I'm going 00:27:07.920 --> 00:27:10.619 to let you go through some hard times in hopes 00:27:10.619 --> 00:27:14.740 that you would seek me and come back to me. That's 00:27:14.740 --> 00:27:17.940 what God wants, is for us to seek him and to 00:27:17.940 --> 00:27:19.759 come back to him and to live by his commands. 00:27:21.640 --> 00:27:24.039 So maybe today you're experiencing some discipline 00:27:24.039 --> 00:27:28.059 in your life. Maybe God wants us to examine how 00:27:28.059 --> 00:27:30.000 we discipline our children or our grandchildren 00:27:30.000 --> 00:27:34.400 to help teach them that there is a right or a 00:27:34.400 --> 00:27:38.240 wrong. To help teach them that there is one that 00:27:38.240 --> 00:27:41.720 we need to respect. And that one that we need 00:27:41.720 --> 00:27:45.440 to respect is God. And if a child won't respect 00:27:45.440 --> 00:27:48.960 their parents, then it's unlikely that they will 00:27:48.960 --> 00:27:53.319 respect God. And so these words are good for 00:27:53.319 --> 00:27:57.779 us. They're a good reminder for us. No one likes 00:27:57.779 --> 00:28:02.000 discipline. No one likes pain. And I don't think 00:28:02.000 --> 00:28:04.359 there are many people, except for some really 00:28:04.359 --> 00:28:07.720 evil people, who like doling it out. And I certainly 00:28:07.720 --> 00:28:11.299 don't believe that God finds any enjoyment in 00:28:11.299 --> 00:28:16.440 disciplining us, but he does it because he loves 00:28:16.440 --> 00:28:21.619 us. God so loved the world, he gave his only 00:28:21.619 --> 00:28:25.680 begotten son. That's love. There is no greater 00:28:25.680 --> 00:28:28.140 love than this, the scripture says, that a man 00:28:28.140 --> 00:28:32.640 would lay down his life for others. The greatest 00:28:32.640 --> 00:28:36.420 discipline that we see in scripture that should 00:28:36.420 --> 00:28:39.579 have been reserved for us was poured out on Jesus 00:28:39.579 --> 00:28:41.740 Christ, that he suffered and bled and died, that 00:28:41.740 --> 00:28:44.619 he was nailed to a cross so that our sins could 00:28:44.619 --> 00:28:49.660 be forgiven. That's love right there. That God 00:28:49.660 --> 00:28:53.980 would sacrifice his only son? And you want to 00:28:53.980 --> 00:28:55.720 say, God, you're being a meanie because I'm having 00:28:55.720 --> 00:29:00.579 to suffer? No. Jesus knows what it means to suffer 00:29:00.579 --> 00:29:03.259 and die. The Lord knows what it means to sacrifice 00:29:03.259 --> 00:29:07.980 his only son. That's a God who loves you. And 00:29:07.980 --> 00:29:11.480 if a God loves you that much, that he would send 00:29:11.480 --> 00:29:15.660 his only son to die for you, then maybe he's 00:29:15.660 --> 00:29:19.089 a God we need to listen to. Maybe if we don't 00:29:19.089 --> 00:29:22.390 read his word, we need to say, okay, God, if 00:29:22.390 --> 00:29:26.710 you love me that much, I want to hear what you 00:29:26.710 --> 00:29:29.869 have to say. God, I want to try to live by it. 00:29:31.630 --> 00:29:34.569 So maybe today we feel the Holy Spirit working 00:29:34.569 --> 00:29:38.529 on us. Maybe today the Lord has disciplined us 00:29:38.529 --> 00:29:41.829 in some way. Maybe this week we've had that conviction 00:29:41.829 --> 00:29:43.650 that there's been some stuff that's just not 00:29:43.650 --> 00:29:47.400 good, not right, that we've been doing. And we 00:29:47.400 --> 00:29:50.519 need to stop doing that. If the Lord has been 00:29:50.519 --> 00:29:53.819 disciplined in you, then rejoice in him today 00:29:53.819 --> 00:29:57.980 because you can know that he loves you. Listen 00:29:57.980 --> 00:30:00.900 to his discipline. Repent of your sinfulness. 00:30:01.220 --> 00:30:03.579 Turn from your evil ways. Know that he has your 00:30:03.579 --> 00:30:06.779 best interest in heart. Turn to Jesus Christ. 00:30:07.420 --> 00:30:10.359 Know that your sin can be forgiven and you'll 00:30:10.359 --> 00:30:12.940 find the peace and the love of God. Let's pray. 00:30:14.160 --> 00:30:16.240 God, we come to you. We thank you for this truth. 00:30:16.799 --> 00:30:19.259 Dear Lord, these words are kind of hard to think 00:30:19.259 --> 00:30:21.259 about and comprehend and wrap our heads around, 00:30:21.380 --> 00:30:23.740 dear Lord. We talk about discipline and what 00:30:23.740 --> 00:30:26.099 your commands are and discipline our children 00:30:26.099 --> 00:30:28.240 and what that looks like and how that works, 00:30:28.299 --> 00:30:30.940 dear Lord. I pray that you would just guide all 00:30:30.940 --> 00:30:33.000 of these parents and grandparents to let them 00:30:33.000 --> 00:30:35.400 know what that needs to look like and how that 00:30:35.400 --> 00:30:39.299 needs to take place, dear Lord, but that we can 00:30:39.299 --> 00:30:43.099 learn to discipline as hard as it is. It's not 00:30:43.099 --> 00:30:46.200 a bad thing. But it's a necessity, dear Lord. 00:30:46.359 --> 00:30:49.579 If we love our children, we cannot allow them 00:30:49.579 --> 00:30:52.259 to do things that are dangerous, that are not 00:30:52.259 --> 00:30:55.319 good for them, dear Lord. And if we're a parent 00:30:55.319 --> 00:30:57.960 that lets our kids do anything, dear Lord, we 00:30:57.960 --> 00:31:02.200 really have to look at our life, dear Lord. So 00:31:02.200 --> 00:31:05.039 I pray that you would help us to be those who 00:31:05.039 --> 00:31:07.539 would love and care for our children and discipline 00:31:07.539 --> 00:31:11.420 them in the ways that are necessary, God. I pray, 00:31:11.480 --> 00:31:14.039 God, that we would see that connection. between 00:31:14.039 --> 00:31:16.980 this and between your love for us, dear Lord. 00:31:18.079 --> 00:31:20.460 God, you wouldn't be a very good God if you just 00:31:20.460 --> 00:31:22.480 let us get away with everything and let us do 00:31:22.480 --> 00:31:26.019 whatever we wanted to do. God, you know that's 00:31:26.019 --> 00:31:29.019 not healthy for us. And so we thank you for loving 00:31:29.019 --> 00:31:32.640 us enough to give us instruction. And most importantly, 00:31:32.640 --> 00:31:34.680 we thank you for loving us enough to give us 00:31:34.680 --> 00:31:38.140 Jesus Christ, that our sins may be forgiven. 00:31:39.259 --> 00:31:42.079 So dear Lord, maybe there are some today that... 00:31:42.410 --> 00:31:44.569 or parents or children that struggle with discipline, 00:31:44.730 --> 00:31:47.730 that you would just help them to see love in 00:31:47.730 --> 00:31:51.910 that. God, maybe there are some today that they 00:31:51.910 --> 00:31:54.509 just feel the conviction. They know that there's 00:31:54.509 --> 00:31:56.910 some stuff that is in their life that shouldn't 00:31:56.910 --> 00:31:59.950 be going on. Maybe some of the situations they're 00:31:59.950 --> 00:32:03.970 in now are a result of just not making good decisions, 00:32:04.089 --> 00:32:06.490 not being obedient, not doing what you say, dear 00:32:06.490 --> 00:32:09.390 Lord. When we are disobedient to you, we find 00:32:09.390 --> 00:32:12.670 ourselves in a mess. And you could keep us from 00:32:12.670 --> 00:32:15.930 those messes, but dear Lord, you allow us to 00:32:15.930 --> 00:32:18.349 suffer sometimes, to discipline us, to get our 00:32:18.349 --> 00:32:21.910 attention. So God, I pray that if there's one 00:32:21.910 --> 00:32:25.369 like Jonah today, maybe they've been disobedient 00:32:25.369 --> 00:32:27.130 and run from you in a lot of ways, and maybe 00:32:27.130 --> 00:32:30.730 today they're just in the mess that they're in, 00:32:30.809 --> 00:32:33.029 I pray that like Jonah, they'd call out to you, 00:32:33.049 --> 00:32:35.890 that they would seek you, that they would repent, 00:32:36.130 --> 00:32:37.710 that they would turn to you, that they would 00:32:37.710 --> 00:32:39.910 turn to Jesus Christ to know that their sins 00:32:39.910 --> 00:32:43.369 can be forgiven. That they would experience that 00:32:43.369 --> 00:32:46.910 love and discipline, dear Lord. That when they 00:32:46.910 --> 00:32:48.809 come and submit to you, dear Lord, that they 00:32:48.809 --> 00:32:51.269 would experience the peace that comes from that. 00:32:52.049 --> 00:32:55.390 And I ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen.