Class Lesson July 14, 2013

Hey Gang, 


We continue this week with Bible stories that fit together to tell one story – God’s Story. This 13-week study helps us understand the Bible’s story, our place in the story, and its implications for our lives today. Why are we studying this series? Because it can lead us not only to understand the Bible’s overarching message but also to encounter the Lord God who is its ultimate Author. After all, it is His story.



The lessons in this series are:

1. June 2 - God Begins the Story
2. June 9 - God Chooses a People
3. June 16 - God Delivers His People
4. June 23 - God Instructs His People
5. June 30 - God Dwells Among His People
6. July 7 - God Establishes a Kingdom for His People
7. July 14 - God Disciplines His People
8. July 21 - God Restores His People
9. July 28 - God Promises the Messiah
10. August 4 - God Sends His Son
11. August 11 - Jesus Is Crucified and Raised
12. August 18 - Jesus Commissions His Church
13. August 25 - God Completes the Story

“My child, don't ignore it when the Lord disciplines you, and don't be discouraged when He corrects you. For the Lord corrects those He loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights.” (Proverbs 3:11-12)

Life Goal

Accept and benefit from God’s discipline. 

I heard about a young boy that went off to one of the extremely expensive universities. The bills were coming in monthly to the parents and they were struggling to keep their head above water to keep their son in school. One day the mother received a letter from the son that read like this:

DEAR MOM: I’m writing to inform you that I have flunked all of my courses. I also had an accident and I think I’ve totally wrecked my car. Oh, and I owe the clothing store in town about $2,000 for some clothes I needed and guess what? The school is saying that they are going to suspend me for the next semester because of some misconduct. So, I am coming home, would you prepare Dad. 

His mother wrote a one line letter back to him that just said this: 

DEAR SON: Dad is prepared – now, prepare yourself! 

Some people are drawn to obey because of love. Some people are drawn away from disobedience because of punishment. As adults we can choose to obey God for both reasons.
Israel chose to abandon God’s ways. They cultivated the calamity that hit them in 722 B.C. The Assyrian empire invaded and decimated the Northern Kingdom. We can learn from them and avoid calamities in our own lives. Discipline is an expression of God’s love. He doesn’t want us to plunge headlong into disaster and catastrophes. Not everything bad is discipline from God, but when something bad happens, asks, “God, is this from You? What do You want me to learn?”





I. PEOPLE REBELLED – 2 KINGS 17:7-11

7 This disaster happened because the people of Israel had sinned against the Lord their God who had brought them out of the land of Egypt from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt and because they had worshiped other gods. 8 They had lived according to the customs of the nations that the Lord had dispossessed before the Israelites and the customs the kings of Israel had introduced. 9 The Israelites secretly did what was not right against the Lord their God. They built high places in all their towns from watchtower to fortified city. 10 They set up for themselves sacred pillars and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every green tree. 11 They burned incense on all the high places just like those nations that the Lord had driven out before them. They did evil things, provoking the Lord. 


Do you ever out grow the need for discipline? When you become a Christian, aren’t you supposed to be immune to punishment?


Why did disaster come to Israel?

• The people of Israel traded their loyalty to God for the worship of other gods. Whoever or whatever we worship shows in our behavior.

  

HIGH PLACES INSTEAD OF THE MOST HIGH: Pagan worship occurred on elevated locations with stone pillars for Baal, god of weather and fertility, and carved wooden poles for Asherah, goddess of fertility. Worship was actually pathetic attempts at bribery. People sacrificed produce, animals, even children, to try to persuade the gods to restore order and prosperity. Sex with male and female prostitutes was considered an act of worship that encouraged Baal and Asherah to have sexual relations that would result in fertile wombs and crops. How were the gods of the high places similar to gods worshiped today – whether things, relationships, status, or something else? Do we know we’re doing wrong or do we feel we must do certain things to get certain things? 




One current refined and subtle manifestation of Baal-worship is the cult of self-love. Through a clever manipulation of Scripture, the love of self has been transformed into a virtue.

How does the folly of Israel relate to us today? What can we learn from Israel?

• Devotion to God benefits us, those around us. When we’ve stepped out of bounds from God’s ways, we must quickly move toward repentance. We must turn back to observing God’s ways as soon as possible.
• Spiritual pluralism, like Israel’s, wreaks havoc. It is non-committal and disloyal to God. It might feel inclusive, but it’s very dangerous.

Why is so much bad stuff happening in my life – am I being punished?

• The Scriptures speak of three major categories of "trouble" for the believer: Discipline, Tests, trials, and suffering; and Temptations or attacks from Satan.

So when trouble comes, what type is it? Some kinds of trouble can be avoided and some cannot. Each requires a different response from Scripture! So how can the type of trouble be discerned? Is this God directly moving to correct me, or am I being tested for my faith, or is Satan behind this trouble? 

God’s people were judged for breaking the covenant. They were conquered and taken into exile. God does not tolerate sin.


What does God’s discipline tell you about your relationship with Him?

• Those who are able to consistently sin and not be rebuked by God are not His children. Those who have been born again are seized by deep conviction when they sin, and if they do not repent they are always "taken to the woodshed" by God for it. If you are one of God’s children, before you get through this life you will make more than one trip to the woodshed.
• Is this true in your life? Do you pass the family test?
• The people of God are not to become captivated by the thinking and practices of a godless culture.
• The Lord is fully aware of the sinfulness of His people.
• All sin is against the Lord, even if it involves other people.
• In His time, the Lord will act in judgment against sin.

II. THEY IGNORED WARNINGS – 2 KINGS 17:12-15

12 They served idols, although the Lord had told them, “You must not do this.” 13 Still, the Lord warned Israel and Judah through every prophet and every seer, saying, “Turn from your evil ways and keep My commands and statutes according to all the law I commanded your ancestors and sent to you through My servants the prophets.” 14 But they would not listen. Instead they became obstinate like their ancestors who did not believe the Lord their God. 15 They rejected His statutes and His covenant He had made with their ancestors and the decrees He had given them. They pursued worthless idols and became worthless themselves, following the surrounding nations the Lord had commanded them not to imitate.

I WARNED YOU! 

• On April 14, 1912, telegraph operator Cyril Evans on the SS Californian warned the RMS Titanic of icebergs.
• John O’Neil, an FBI agent in the 1990’s, warned that Al-Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden were major threats to the U.S.
• In the early 2000’s, Brooksley Born, head of the Commodities Futures Trading Commission, warned an unregulated derivates market threatened the U.S. and world economies.
• In 2006, professor and seismologist Katsuhiko Ishibashi warned Japan’s nuclear power plants in earthquake prone areas that they were vulnerable to meltdowns.

What do these warnings have in common? Compare the responses and results to these warnings with the responses and results of God’s warnings to His people in the past and present.

• People pick and choose the commands they want to follow.
• God’s Word is not a buffet line where you can choose meat and desserts and ignore the vegetables. (see 2 Peter 3:9-15)

By what methods did God warn Israel? What happened to them when they ignored God?

• God used every possible method to warn the people of Israel. He spoke directly to them, used prophets and seers, and gave His Law, which was very clear about right and wrong.
• God didn’t immediately punish Israel. He went overboard giving ample warnings.
• The warnings and commentary in 2 Kings 17:12-15 are directed at both Israel and the Southern Kingdom of Judah. Judah would fall to the Babylonian empire in 586 B.C.

How does God typically warn you?

• We have the prophets in written form, as well as the rest of the Bible to guide us in the discernment of right and wrong.
• We also have the Holy Spirit working inside us continually, showing us truth (see John 16:7-11).
• Constantly seek sound biblical instruction and spend time with Christians who obey God.

God uses discipline as a last resort. If all God needed to justify mankind to Himself was a bigger cattle-prod, then Christ died for nothing! No, God's plan for the earth is love first, discipline last. To get us to listen and repent, He will use deep conviction, the rebuke of friends, coincident sermons, the quickening of Scripture, and every other means before disciplining us. But if we resist God's Spirit of light and mercy, we are promised the rod of correction. When God disciplines, the punishment fits the crime. Time and again, we realize that we cannot get away with unrepentant sin. God is sculpting us into holy vessels, and the process can be painful.

• Job 5:17-18 (NIV) "Blessed is the man whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty. For he wounds, but he also binds up; he injures, but his hands also heal."
• 1 Cor 11:32 (Phi) But when God does judge us, he disciplines us as his own sons, that we may not be involved in the general condemnation of the world.
• Prov 20:30 (NIV) Blows and wounds cleanse away evil, and beatings purge the innermost being.
• Rev 3:19 (NIV) [Jesus] "Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent."
• Rom 11:22 (Jer) Do not forget that God can be severe as well as kind...
• Heb 10:31 (NIV) It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

1. The Lord faithfully declares His expectations and provides instructions for faithful living.
2. The Lord may not immediately judge those who sin against Him but extends to them opportunities to turn back to Him.
3. The Lord calls out individuals to declare His Word and exhort people to faithful living.
4. Those who choose to pursue useless ways will become useless to the Lord.

III. THEY RECEIVED DISCIPLINE – 2 KINGS 17:18-20

18 Therefore, the Lord was very angry with Israel, and He removed them from His presence. Only the tribe of Judah remained. 19 Even Judah did not keep the commands of the Lord their God but lived according to the customs Israel had introduced. 20 So the Lord rejected all the descendants of Israel, afflicted them, and handed them over to plunderers until He had banished them from His presence. 

God became angry with His people and removed them from His presence by allowing invaders and plunderers to take them away.


Why do parents discipline their children? When is it a sign of love? When is it not? Why is a lack of discipline more painful in the long run?

• Proverbs 3:11-12 (NIV) My son, do not despise the Lord's discipline and do not resent his rebuke, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.
• Proverbs 15:5 (NIV) A fool spurns his father's discipline, but whoever heeds correction shows prudence.

What is the meaning and significance of God’s anger and removal of His presence?

• Companionship is a God-given need. We need it from humans and from God.
• Being removed from His presence meant being vulnerable to enemies.
• God didn’t arbitrarily choose to abandon Israel. They abandoned Him. God simply gave Israel over to their own devices.
• God tried to protect Israel for a long time (roughly 100 years), but they chose trust in themselves and other gods.
• Judah had not yet totally abandoned God.
• God wants to guide us personally.
• God’s discipline is meant to bring good response. If we seek His help, He will come. If we turn from Him, He will sadly oblige us (2 Chron. 7:14).

Does God sometimes use evil to accomplish His plans? But what about the other guy?

• God may use human instruments like the Assyrians and Babylonians to discipline His people, but He does not excuse their brutal behavior. Isaiah warned Assyria they were not off the hook for their arrogance and inhumane treatment of Israel. The prophet encouraged God’s people that His justified wrath against their sin would eventually turn on their oppressors. Meanwhile they were to depend faithfully on the Lord even through the pain (Isa. 10:12-26). How can we focus on learning from our own deserved discipline rather than insisting God fix the other guy?

• Habakkuk 1:5-11 - is a prophecy in which God relates His intention to raise up Babylon, a “ruthless” and “dreaded” nation, to achieve His purpose. This raises the question, Does God sometimes use evil to accomplish His plans?

• There is an important distinction to be made between God controlling evil and God creating evil. God is not the author of sin, but He can use sinful men to attain an objective. Romans 8:28 says, “For those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” “All things” includes both good and bad things. God can use struggles, heartbreaks and tragedies in ways to bring about His glory and our good. Such events, even though we don’t understand the reason for them, are part of His perfect, divine plan. If God could not control evil, He would not be God. His sovereignty demands that He be in control of everything, even “dreaded” nations such as Babylon.

• At the same time, the Bible is clear that God does not sin and He performs no evil. James 1:13 teaches, “God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.” Deuteronomy 32:4 says, “The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice” (see also 2 Samuel 22:31; Psalm 18:30; and Matthew 5:48).

We may struggle with questions about God’s methods as Habakkuk did. How God chooses to operate is up to Him. At times, He intervenes miraculously. Other times, He works behind the scenes. And, yes, God may even allow a certain measure of freedom to evil forces in our world to bring about His design. Like Habakkuk, if we view life from God’s perspective, our response will be to worship the Lord, knowing He is in control of all things.



1. The Lord will bring judgment on the unfaithful who refuse to repent.

2. Sin prevents the intimacy of relationship the Lord desires with His people.

3. Disobeying the way of the Lord brings negative consequences.

4. We need to learn from the mistakes of God’s people in the past.



There are three ways God could deal with us when we sin:

1. God could condemn us – even after a person is saved, the first time they sin God could just go ahead and send them to hell. But the Bible says in Romans 8:1 “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.”
2. God could condone us – He could just stick His head in the sand and ignore our sin and overlook it. But the Bible says that God is holy and righteous and just and therefore let’s no sin go unpunished.
3. God could correct us – this is the way He chooses to deal with us. Why, because He loves us for the Bible says, “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten.” Revelations 3:19

So, God whips His children, but God whips only His children!

• If your kids are playing in the yard with the neighbors’ kids, and they begin to misbehave and get into a fight, whose kids do you discipline? Well, certainly not the neighbor’s kids! At least if you’re smart, you discipline your own. I know some parents are like the mother who brought her little boy to school one time, and she said to the teacher: "Now Johnny is a little bit nervous and slightly hyperactive, if he misbehaves, you just slap the boy next to him and he’ll straighten up." Well, God does not whip the devil’s children, He only whips His! But He does whip His, and He does so because they are His children.
• Now you may be sitting there thinking, "Well, I’m a Christian, God never whips me. I’m living just like I want to and it doesn’t bother me one bit. I don’t believe I’ve ever been to God’s woodshed. How do you explain that?" There’s a very simply explanation ... You’re not a Christian! If you have never been to God’s woodshed, you are not a child of God! I can tell you right now with complete confidence, if there is unrevealed, unrecognized,unrepented sin in your life that has caused you neither guilt nor grief, you are lost and you need to be saved!
• The problem is when their sinning does not bother them! The church today has single Christians who are sleeping around, and married Christians who are running around; they’re wallowing in sin like a pig in slop! You try to talk to some of them and they’ll just smile and say, "Well, I’m just a backslider." Did you know, a lot of these so-called backsliders are going to slide right into hell when they die because they have never been saved! There’s a thin line between being backslidden & being lost and that thin line is the discipline of God! If you are truly backslidden, you’re miserable, and God will take you to his woodshed and whip you until you slide back into place.
• Discipline corrects our iniquity! We had better learn this lesson and learn it well: Nobody gets away with sin, whether it is a saint or a sinner, whether it is a saved person or a lost person, you may get away from your sin, but you’ll not get away with your sin. Please understand that discipline is not a sign that God does not love you, it’s a sign that He does!
• I heard one time about a family of wayward members of a church, who at one time were very active in their church, but they had fallen away and lost interest. They were true backsliders, that is, they were saved, but they had just gotten away from the Lord. Well, some deacons went and talked to the father and his three sons, Jim, John, and Sam, about their condition, but they had no success. Then the preacher went to visit with them. They didn’t listen to him either! Some of the other brethren went and visited with them, and tried to get them back into the church, but they were rejected. One day when all of the boys were out in the pasture, a large rattlesnake bit John. He became very sick. They called the doctor, and after an examination he said to the family: "There is nothing that I can do! About all you can do now is just pray." The doctor left. Well, this father immediately called for the preacher, and asked him to come. He told him of John’s condition. He said, "Preacher, would you please pray for my boy that he would be healed." I want you to listen to how this preacher prayed: Oh wise and righteous Father, we thank Thee that in Thy wisdom thou hast sent this rattlesnake to bite John in order to bring him to his senses. He has not been inside the church house for years, and it is doubtful that in all of this time he has even felt the need of prayer. Now we trust that this will be a valuable lesson to him, and that it will lead him to genuine repentance. So now, Oh Father, wilt thou send another snake to bite Sam, and another one to bite Jim, and a big one to bite the old man.
• This story is humorous, but it does illustrate a point! God will use anything from snakes to scorpions to discipline His children and to bring them back to a place of repentance and holiness and love.

Now I have told you why God disciplines us, but how does God discipline us? Hebrews 12:5-12:11


We are told very plainly here that there are three ways that God can discipline His children, and each one is more severe than the next.

1. Internal Conviction - The first thing God will do is to rebuke us - v.5! Now when God rebukes us, He convicts us through the Holy Spirit that we are wrong - If you are truly saved, you have had the experience of having done something wrong or said something wrong, and immediately you felt that little twinge of guilt. You felt that little prick of your conscience, and immediately you knew that you had done something you should not have done, and that God was not pleased. Well, that is internal conviction! God has a way of speaking to us in that still small voice to our heart to let us know when we fall out of fellowship and sin against Him. I believe that is the way that God prefers to discipline His children. As a matter of fact, that is the way any good parent likes to discipline their children. Wouldn’t you much rather use a word than you had a whip? Isn’t it great when you can just speak to a child and see that child straightened up, and to know that, that child has been properly disciplined? But as you well know, the problem is many times children won’t listen, they won’t hear you. You tell them not to do something, and then they will make up their minds to do it no matter what. They just won’t listen. That’s when you have to take the next step.
2. External Affliction - After the rebuke of the Lord, there is the chastening of the Lord - v.6 Now the word chasten there literally means "to discipline." It refers to training a child. Now this is when God spanks. First God speaks, and then God spanks. Now God has all kinds of ways He can spank us when we sin. For example: He can refuse to listen to our prayers. Ps. 66:18 "If I regard iniquity in ..." Or God could also use His presence by removing His presence from us. Evidently that is what happened to David, for when he finally came to God and confessed his sin with Bathsheba, he said to God in Ps. 51:11a "Cast me not away from thy presence." Another way that God can punish us is by taking away our power. Again David said to the Lord in Ps. 51:11b "And take not thy Holy Spirit from me." Sometimes God takes away our privileges. God can spank us through sickness, through causing us to lose our job, by bringing trouble into our business, by allowing discord into our families. Did you know that what a lot of people call bad luck is really good discipline. Now that is not to say that every time something bad happens to you, God is disciplining you or God is trying to punish you. On the other hand, keep in mind that when you are punished, when you are spanked, you feel it and you know it. I never received a whipping from my Mom that somebody had to tell me I was getting one. The same thing is true of God.
3. Eternal Infliction - Now after the speaking & the spanking, comes the scourging - v.6 The word "scourge" literally means to "flog with a whip." It refers to a very severe and painful beating. This is the most serious type of discipline that God inflicts. There comes a point when God realizes that His discipline is of no affect, and the only other step is death. Do you know that you can rebel against God to the point that death is the only remedy. That is why v.9 says, "Shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of .......?" The Apostle John tells in 1Jn.5:16 that there is "sin unto death." There were people in the church at Corinth who were dying right & left because they were abusing and misusing the Lord ’s Supper. Some church members must be lost, because if they were saved God would kill them the way they are living! Our God is a jealous God, and He is jealous over His children. God will beat you to death if you keep on refusing His call to get your heart right with Him. I want to say it again, as plainly as I know how, if you are a child of God, you cannot sin without experiencing the rod of His discipline.

THE PROPER RESPONSES TO DISCIPLINE!

Now I say again, nobody is going to escape God’s woodshed, because nobody is perfect. As God’s children, you cannot escape discipline. v.7 tells us that as children of God we are to "endure chastening." So the question now is asked: How will you respond to God’s discipline?

• You can resent it - v.5a! "My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord," Now the word despise means "to treat lightly." You see, you can get bitter when God disciplines you. You can get mad at God when He takes you to His woodshed.
• You can reject it - v.5b! "Nor faint when thou art rebuked of him." That is, you can just quit, you can just give up. When God disciplines you and life gets a little tough, you can just totally desert God’s army and drop out of God’s school! You can say: "Well God, if this is the way you are going to treat me, I’m just not going to serve You anymore." But I want to remind you of something that the great Nazarene preacher, Uncle Buddy Robinson said. He said: "If the Lord is your Shepherd, then you are the Lord’s sheep, and he has a perfect right to shear you any time he needs wool and you have no right to bleat.”
• You can receive it - v.7 The word endure literally means "to accept" or "to receive." You see, when trouble comes into your life, you need to ask the question: "Why is this happening to me?" Or, "Lord, what are you trying to teach me?" For the purpose of discipline is to train us and to teach us! In v.11 we are told that we are to be "trained" by the chastening of God. Job 5:17 reminds us: "Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty:" Now discipline may be a bitter pill to swallow at first. Because "no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous , but grievous:" v.11 But like bitter medicine it will be good for you in the end.

Life Goal: Accept and benefit from God’s discipline.

The Lord expected His people to live by a higher standard than the other nations. The Lord is not satisfied with His people just being a step better than other people. He is looking for them to live with the goal in mind of being completely faithful to Him and modeling before the nations what it means to live in right relationship with the Lord God. That is why He called them out from the other peoples of the world.


Any of us who call ourselves people of God have His same expectations on us. Thus, is we fail the Lord, we too can expect the Lord to discipline us.


Psalm 119:105 - The Christian life is often compared to walking on a path. God’s Word is the lamp that sheds light on that path. The Bible offers guidance and protection for life, both for today and the future. We can learn God’s will for our lives as we read the Bible and apply its truth to our lives. When you live in obedience to God’s Word, you are acting in agreement with His will. He is able to bring good from your life as you surrender to His will.

Prayer of Commitment

Lord, thank You for caring so much that when I fail You, You reach out in grace to discipline me that I might be restored to a right relationship with You. Amen.

Well, greetings as we return from our vacation over the 4th of July!

As you can see, Baxter is our family presenter!

We have really missed everyone and I want to thank Mark Krohl once again for teaching the past two Sundays while we were away. Thanks Mark!

We continue this week with a subject that many struggle with - God's Discipline!

I like this lesson mainly because of the "family test" - I never thought about it quiet like that.

See you on Sunday!

In His Love,

David & Susan