Godly Men University:

In preparing a preach to our local Church from the text in Hebrews 12 below. I want to answer how does discipline take us to another level?

HEBREWS 12:5-11
5 And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: “My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; 6 For whom the Lord loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives.” 7 If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? 8 But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons.⁹ Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? ¹⁰ For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. ¹¹ Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

Scripture says here that the sons who the Father disciplines – He receives. I do not want to be an unrecieved or rejected son! This issue plaques men for years, even for life if they never felt the acceptance or validation of a Father before he died! How much of man’s problems with himself and with relationships and then societies problems have come from this root identity issue of feeling rejected by Father?

Verse 10 tells us that God the Father chastens us for our profit (It is worth mentioning that we never discipline our children from a place of anger, or to some how prove a point – it is always to help them grow) – so that we may be partakers of His holiness! ….After the chastening it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

This discipline ultimately leads men also to a place of peace. As they have the correct right and wrong understanding in their mind and heart and they are living as well as they can by that code. This leads mankind to be at peace with himself and with his maker. When we violate what we know to be wrong (even known since childhood) it causes us to deep down resent our actions and situations around us.

So the Father disciplines to bring the son to a place of right standing with Him. This brings the utmost peace in to a mans life, when he knows that He is right with his Father God. When he knows that the power of God is working in his life and that he can present his requests before this Holy God and know that He hears him.

This is why we must embrace discipline – in what ever form it comes at us, whether it be from the Word of God, whether it be in prayer, even through Elders & Pastors that God has ordained in the local Church, or with those we have made our lives accountable to and yes if you are under 18 / or living in their home – to our parents. Though we live in an age where we RUN from correction. We like to think we are OK, and that God will over look are ‘problems’ – in Edwin Louis Cole’s book Maximised Manhood – he clearly makes the point that though the world has labelled sin – ‘problems’ to God they are still SIN!

But we RUN! And most of us don’t like the idea of opening up and being transparent with elders either, oooh, we are sure that word will get out and everyone will know! We even trick ourselves in to thinking that we are the only ones with ‘problems’ – oops I mean SIN. Yes shock horror even your Pastor sins, there will be areas of his life that he on occasion falls in. The great Apostle Paul said he hoped to overcome sin and become perfect – but chances are that will have to wait till Heaven.

So every man has problem with sin! Most men have some degree of issue with lust – it is common to men! We see a beautiful women walk down the street and the mind is captured for a moment – men are wired by God to be visually stimulated – so it is going to happen – what we think on and do after is what is important and what God is concerened about – I believe He knows you are going to appreciate what you see. But the lustful thoughts you have to capture and deal with so they don’t grow in your imagination. So every man has SIN.

But because we often allow the devil – the deceiver and accuser (that’s all he really has – deception and accusing thoughts) to think that we are the only one, who might have struggled with Pornography for example – and everyone else sorted that when they left college or got married. We are then SCARED to be vulnerable and admit we are struggling. Men will rather let the issue lead to cheating on their wife before admitting to a Pastor or Elder that they can’t leave Porn behind! Sin will kill us! Sin wants to Kill us and our marriage, family, generations to come – our legacy and all!

So moral of the teaching – don’t allow the lie to think your alone with sin – we all have sin we must repent of and forsake, be wise, be brave and be a man and go to elders in your local Church – make that apointment – join a mentoring group – and get the support you need to leave that behind before it grows. The power of sin is in it’s secrecy!

We have to be on a journey away from all sin and going to Righteousness and Holiness that is the Christian walk. That is why the Father sacrificed His Son – so that we could live a blessed life with Him free from those ropes that once bound us.

Do you recognize there are sins in your life that you have allowed to fester and you’ve simply lived with?

Is there anything you have been afraid to share and confess?

Who will you speak to and open up to and confess your sins to?

Go and do it now. And talk to your Heavenly Father now!