A teaching by Rev. Barbara Williams, President of the Ministry of the Watchman International
Week of November 9-13, 2020
MONDAY
Have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?
“My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; for whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives.”
If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. 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? 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. 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.
Hebrews 12:5-11
The Lord loves the ones He chastens. The word “chasten” means to train up, teach through discipline, as well as punish. Training is ineffective without some form of punishment. The word punish is from a root which refers to something that has a negative impact. We learn from negative impact.
If a behavior does not merit good fruit, then the bad fruit will show us that we went wrong. God therefore chastens us to let us know right from wrong. Good behavior is rewarded, and bad behavior is punished. God’s form of punishment often takes the form of a temporary cessation of blessing in some cases, or it may be enduring less than desirable provision for a season. His love tells us “This behavior will not get you the desired result. Don’t continue to do this.”
If you are in need of healing, there is good news! Proverbs 4:20-22 SAYS:
My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.
So there is life and health in God’s word. Since God’s word is medicine, we must take it like we would a prescription. I suggest three times a day, like you would your food. Remember, healing is the children’s bread. Consider this your “dose” for today. Remember, read, and meditate three times a day the following:
Rx: Hebrews 13:8 ~ Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forevermore.
“Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
2 Timothy 2:15
If you’ve never studied the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, we invite you to join us as we read through the Bible in a year. Read and meditate on these chapters this week:
November 9: 2 Kings 22, Hebrews 4, Joel 1, Psalms 140-141
November 10: 2 Kings 23, Hebrews 5, Joel 2, Psalms 142
November 11: 2 Kings 24, Hebrews 6, Joel 3, Psalms 143
November 12: 2 Kings 25, Hebrews 7, Amos 1, Psalms 144
November 13: 1 Chronicles 1-2, Hebrews 8, Amos 2, Psalms 145
November 14: 1 Chronicles 3-4, Hebrews 9, Amos 3, Psalms 146-147
November 15: 1 Chronicles 5-6, Hebrews 10, Amos 4, Psalms 148-150
TUESDAY
Have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?
“My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; for whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives.”
If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. 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? 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. 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.
Hebrews 12:5-11
So we are told to endure chastening. Were you ever spanked as a child? How about your attitude in it? How many of us really endured it? Not many. I was the type that tried to plea bargain my way out of the spanking. I told my parents how much I did what was right and this time I really didn’t do anything wrong, it was my older sister, as usual. I didn’t take it patiently, nor did I endure it. I was always somehow innocent of any wrongdoing. In the child’s eyes, earthly parents never seem justified in their punishment of their children. God, on the other hand, being perfect, expects us to receive both good and bad at His hand. He says that earthly fathers chasten us for their pleasure. He does it for our profit. We can trust God’s rod of chastening.
WEDNESDAY
Have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?
“My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; for whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives.”
If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. 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? 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. 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.
Hebrews 12:5-11
So the son is the one who takes the beating. Look at Jesus. He took the punishment that we were supposed to receive. The servant is not above his master, and if we are to be received as sons, we must endure chastening. We cannot be adopted without agreeing to live by the father’s rules. We are being groomed to be like Him in every way. This takes discipline. Discipline entails living by rules and a line must be drawn to let us know the boundaries that are allowed. The rod of discipline and chastening guide us back into the boundaries. It is for our profit that the Lord does this. The boundary of holiness is maintained, and we partake of His holiness once again.
THURSDAY
Have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?
“My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; for whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives.”
If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. 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? 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. 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.
Hebrews 12:5-11
If we are left without chastisement, then we are bastards and not sons. The bastard spirit is one that prevented the son from submitting to the father, thereby disinheriting him. When Isaac was born, Ishmael had to leave the house. The son of promise was not allowed to inherit with the son born of the bondwoman. The bastard was cast out of the father’s house, even though God gave the same promise to Ishmael as He did Isaac. He promised to make of him a great nation. The difference was that Isaac was to receive the inheritance from a loving caring father who chastened him and he partook of the father’s spirit as well as his goods. The difference is breathtaking. The sons of Ishmael comprise the Arab world of terrorism and religious extremism, although they supply most of the world’s oil. The sons of Isaac are the Christians and the Jews, who carry the evidence of the God of the universe.
FRIDAY
Have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?
“My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; for whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives.”
If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. 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? 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. 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.
Hebrews 12:5-11
Those who endure chastening become more like their fathers. Fathers are blessed when the children want to be like them. God loves it when we imitate Him. He blesses us to be partakers of His holiness. When we please the Father by enduring chastening, then we are received by Him as sons. What father is there among us who is not allowed to punish his child? If the father sees that the child is headed in the wrong direction, is he not allowed to help him change his course? So it is with God. The rod of chastening will not kill us. After we have endured for a while, it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness.