God's Wanting to Bless Us!

And then, folks, God's wanting to bless us in all these curses and things that came on us in Hebrews 12. It shows us if you're without, in Hebrews 12 verse 8, it says, If you are without discipline, of which all, which means the Son of God, have become partakers, you are illegitimate children, and you're not sons if you don't receive discipline. But our earthly father disciplined us, so we can, and our heavenly father disciplined, because those he loves, he disciplines.

And I want to show you how that happens. I want to show you, we want to talk about how you put the death at ease of the flesh, because, see, we've always had it in our mind how we do it. But he disciplines us so we can share in his holiness.

In other words, have the same nature as he is, because it is written you're going to be holy as he is. In Matthew 5, 48, actually, it said, Jesus said in Matthew 5, 17, I've come to fulfill the law. I didn't come to abolish it.

And the very last verse of that chapter said, You shall be perfect because he is perfect. And then James 1, 2 through 4 says, Consider it all joy when all these trials come on you, folks. Consider it all joy when these trials come on you.

Because, you know, in verse 3, it says you're not really lacking nothing. You're going to consider it God's job, because through your endurance in these trials right here, these pressures and everything that come against you, through this endurance, you're going to be made perfect and you're going to be made complete. Because when the trials and the pressures come on you right there, you stand in them right there instead of hitting back with pride, anger, and all the things you hit back at someone else.

You stand right in those trials and you say, There's only one person I want to please. I don't want to please myself and I don't want to please the world or anybody around. I don't have to look good.

I don't have to hit back. I don't have to show him up. The only person I want to please is God.

So I stand there at Jesus' shoulders in 1 Peter 2 and 1 Peter 3, 1 Peter 4, and I stand right there in the trials and all the pressures. Don't look too good. Don't feel good.

For discipline is not joyful but sorrowful. That's a good verse to have on your refrigerator. It's sorrowful when you're dying.

You're putting the death and nature of Satan so you can have a renewed mind and have the mind of Christ. But as you're fully trained, as you've been trained to this discipline, you're going to bear the peaceful fruit of righteousness. You know what righteousness is? It's what's right in God's eyes.

God said, Love the Lord with all your heart and your neighbor as yourself. Jesus said, It's to my command that you love one another just as I have loved you. Greater love hath no one that you go ahead and lay down your life.

That's a thing that you're required and told to do. That's what repentance is, to lay down your life. There's no option.

And then you're trained by discipline. When you lay it down, you've used the love of the Lord with all your heart, then you don't mind giving it up. If you haven't repented from it, you're going to pick it back up.

A while ago we said, Whoever wishes to save his... If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross. That's suffering the flesh and seeking sin and then follow me because whoever wishes to save his life or save his flesh and his life and won't give it up, he's going to lose it. And you'll go back and read John 3, 16 and continue reading there.

Don't stop at John 3, 16. Go ahead and read. Jesus came to save.

A judgment of God's already on everybody. If you don't come to light, you choose darkness and a judgment of God's on you. Be sure and read the last verse.

So, you're going to bear the... As you receive this discipline and you go in and possess the land, you have a pure heart, then you're going to bear a new fruit. Instead of unforgiveness, resentment, hatred, criticism, false planning and gossip and all these things, the new fruit you're going to bear is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, goodness, gentleness, meekness, temperance of faith, which is the nature of God, because your heart is pure now.