HEBREWS 12 HOW TO RUN WITH ENDURANCE2026 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Hebrews 12 How To Run With Endurance

You are listening to Fervent Word, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry B. Simmons in 2026.

When I was a kid, I would have given anything, anything, to be trained by Mr. Miyagi.

I don't know if this is the right demographic for a 1980s karate movie, but boy, the karate kid, that was instrumental, powerful. And his unorthodox methods, unusual training methods, seemed to be so effective.

Anybody remember some of the methods that Mr. Miyagi used in teaching Daniel?

Wax on.

Wax on, wax off.

Paint the fence up and down.

Yeah, paint the fence up and down, paint the house side to side, sand the deck, right?

I did end up learning some karate.

I think advanced to about a third-degree white belt and not quite as easy as it seemed to be on the screen. As kids watching the movie, we thought the crane kick, it's unstoppable, right?

Yeah.

And then Karate Kid 2 came out. I don't know if you were there for that. I don't know if you experienced it like I did, but.

Well, stop.

When Chozen defended against the crane kick with, again, Daniel tried to kick him in Okinawa and it was a fight to the death and Chozen blocked the kick and it shattered our worldview because that kick was unstoppable.

But I would have given anything to be trained by Mr. Miyagi. And I bring up that, I think, through that with you today because this idea of being trained is really what we're talking about here in Hebrews chapter 12. When the scripture here uses the word chastening,

you and I, if you're like me, our minds go straight to punishment. The spanking, spare the rod, spoil the child, right? That's chastening. But the word actually for chastening doesn't actually mean only that. And I want to be clear, it does include that for sure.

Punishment for

wrongdoing is included and correction must be applied. But also the word can be summarized. The basic concept of it is training, not just punishment, but all of the training that's involved. In fact, in Acts chapter 7, verse 22,

it tells us that Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was mighty in words and deeds. When it says that Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, that's the same word. That's the same idea. He was trained in all the wisdom of the Egyptians. He didn't just get the punishment of the Egyptians, but he got the education.

He learned the discipline that the Egyptians followed. He learned to have the practices and learned how to read and learned how to speak and learned how to think and learned how to study. He was trained by the Egyptians. Later on in the book of Acts, Acts chapter 22, Paul says, as he's sharing his testimony, he says, "I'm a Jew.

I'm born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but I was brought up at the feet of Gamaliel, taught according to the strictness of our father's law, and was zealous toward God as you all are today." As he's giving his testimony, he says, "I was taught at the feet of Gamaliel." In other words,

he was trained by Gamaliel. He didn't just get corrected by Gamaliel, although he probably did that. There were probably instances in Paul's life, hard for us to imagine, but he needed correction and so correction was applied. But also he was trained how to study, how to read, how to think. He was trained and taught.

And so you can think about this concept of training across a wide variety of things. Some among us are about to go into basic training, right? I don't know if Nehemiah is battle ready. I don't want to fight you, so you're battle ready as far as I'm concerned.

But whether or not you think you're battle ready, a couple of weeks from now, you're going to be battle ready through the training that is going to be applied. If you sign up to run a marathon, there's going to be some training. There's going to be some things that you need to do. If you want to learn karate, if you want to learn guitar, if you want to anything in our lives,

new careers, paths, whatever, there's going to be that training that is necessary. And training can involve all kinds of things like improving skills, learning new skills, maintaining skills so that the things that you learn don't grow old and decay. Training also is important for preventing injury,

to continue to learn how to do things correctly. And training also includes the punishment of harmful behavior. And so here in Hebrews chapter 12, we're talking about this idea of training in order to run with endurance the race that God has set before us. And so how does God train us?

It's a good question to ponder. It's a good thing to think about. How does God train us? And I could summarize it maybe this way. There's a lot of things that we could talk about, but there's an easy way and there's a hard way. And the easy way, we considered last night in Second Timothy chapter 3, verse 16 and 17,

"All scripture given by inspiration of God, it's profitable for doctrine, reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness." And so there the Apostle Paul tells us, here's the easy way. We have the Word of God given to us to train us.

In fact, in verse 16 of Second Timothy 3, when it says instruction in righteousness, that word instruction is the same word used for chastening here in Hebrews chapter 12.

This training of the Lord, we can receive, as you've already been encouraged multiple times this weekend already, by receiving from God through His Word. It would be nice if we just learned every lesson that we need to learn just by reading, taking it seriously, and applying it to our lives.

The reality of life and the reality of our sinful condition is we often don't receive that way. We often reject. Just as you might have experienced, you know, perhaps you as a parent or you as a child heard the stove is hot.

But I don't believe that the stove is hot just because you tell me the stove is hot. I need to find out for myself.

And so we don't always just read the scriptures and now we're trained. That'd be great. And we should. And we should endeavor to do that and receive as much as we can. But we also need to recognize there's another aspect of training that God uses. Another element of this word to train is a training that is by deed,

by action. There's other words that are used that are strictly training by verbal instruction only. But this word not only includes verbal instruction, but also includes drop and give me 50 or whatever else may be. Run two miles. No, run five miles.

Now run seven miles. And there is the training that is necessary. And we can look all throughout the scriptures at how God trained His men. There's an abundance of examples. In fact, in the previous chapter, Hebrews chapter 11, we have what we call the Hall of Faith.

And there's a whole list of men and women who believed God and trusted Him at His Word through incredibly challenging circumstances and difficulties. How did God train David? Well, He had him wax all of his cars.

Wax on, David. Wax on. No, it was, dodge the spear, David. Run for your life, David. Years in the wilderness, years on the run, years out on the hilltops with the sheep, defending the sheep against wolves and lions.

God trained David through an abundance of life experience. How did God train Joseph?

By making him a slave.

Betrayal, slavery, rejection, injustice, false accusation, imprisonment. How did God train? And you can kind of go through the list. But here's the point. It's not that God was punishing Joseph and so those bad things happened to him.

Those challenging things happened to him. It's not that God was punishing David. It's that God was training them. He was preparing them for future things as well as greater things that are probably beyond our normal scope of consideration. And so this is one of the reasons why the scripture tells us in multiple places,

but the basic idea of James chapter 1, verse 2, "My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. And let patience have its perfect word, that you may be perfect and complete,

lacking nothing." And so Second Timothy 3, all scripture has been given so that you may be complete and lacking nothing. And then also, brethren, count it all joy because those various trials are part of God's work in producing in you that completeness where you lack nothing.

They're both aspects of God's training in our lives. But it's a hard subject because it deals with the subject of suffering. And there is, of course, the infamous problem of suffering that so many struggle with.

But then it also takes it another step and it's the problem of suffering in my life. And listen, when it comes to the idea of suffering, there's some really bad doctrine around the subject of suffering.

And we're not going to go through everything, of course, but I am going to try to call out as we walk through the passage a little bit, as we walk through the message that God has laid out for us today, some areas where we need to be a little bit on guard, that understand there's some really bad ideas,

some false doctrine around the idea of suffering and even the idea of whether or not a Christian should suffer is one of the challenges. And there are Christians in churches, in Calvary chapels. When I was a Calvary chapel pastor inside my church, there were Christians, not because I would teach that, but because they believed that, very bad things about suffering.

And so you need to know there's some really erroneous thoughts and ideas and you need to catch those so that you don't continue to walk down that path. Any kind of training that is easy, I would suggest, is not very effective. And that is why, in addition to talking about chastening here in Hebrews chapter 12,

there's another key word. He mentions it three times in those first few verses that we read. It's the subject of endurance. Chastening, training is challenging. It takes effort. It challenges our motivation. It challenges our will. It challenges our doctrine, our beliefs.

It challenges our strength. It challenges our capacity for pain. It challenges us. And so here the author of Hebrews says, you need to run with endurance because every one of us have a course that is set before us, a course that has been set by God.

But that course is not going to be, hey, everything is just going to fall into place where there is no road. It's just going to magically appear as you take a step.

No, you might have to dig and lay the groundwork and then pour the concrete and set the footings for the road that God is going to have you walk on, that there is some work ahead in this path that God has set for you. And so you need, I need to learn to run with endurance.

The author of Hebrews is writing to people who are struggling to endure. And the very fact that God has us camped out here this morning in this passage suggests to me there are some here in this room who are struggling to endure.

Amen.

And for those of you who are struggling, for those of you who feel this perhaps a little bit differently than the person next to you might, you need to understand that you are not alone in the struggle.

And no matter how deep, no matter how painful, no matter how crazy the doubts and the thoughts get, you need to understand there is solution for you. There is help for you to run with endurance. We're coming up on three years now.

Three years ago, my life was turned upside down, shaken violently. My foundation ripped out from under me. My whole life changed overnight without warning.

I share that to say you're not alone in this.

The last three years have been the most painful years I've ever experienced in my whole life. I still experience pain every day. I'm working through the emotions. I'm working through the things that me and my wife experienced.

And it's a daily endeavor to get up, get back on the track, and run with endurance the race that God has set before us. And so this morning, I want to encourage you as a fellow struggler, as one who knows pain.

I'm not trying to compare. I'm not trying to say I have the most or the worst, not even by a long shot, but just to say, as it's kind of often been said of evangelism, right? Like you're just a beggar who found food telling other beggars where to find food.

Let me share with you as one who knows a little bit of pain, some things that can help us endure in the race that God has set before us. And so four things I'd like to share with you this morning from Hebrews chapter 12, four things to help us run with endurance. Now,

as we talk about this, we also need to consider the alternative. What's the other option? To not run with endurance. I think we should all learn to say, like Peter, where else would we go? What other option is there?

Amen.

Lord, you alone have the words of eternal life. And so even though chastening, training is challenging, even though God allows and uses incredibly challenging circumstances in our life, even though all of that is true, the other option, other than walking with the Lord through those things, the other option is far, far worse.

And so don't believe the grass is greener on the other side because it is dead and worthless. He alone has the words of eternal life. Well, how are we going to then run with endurance in this training, in this life that we have? Point number one, we'll look at in verses 1 through 4. Here's what it says. Consider what Jesus endured for you.

Here's the first step. Here's how we begin to get the endurance that we need to run the race, to live with the difficulty, the challenge, the cane, the pain, whatever it may be. Here's where we find the source. We start by considering what Jesus endured for you.

In verse 2, he says, looking unto Jesus. In verse 3, he says, for consider Him. We need to camp out on Jesus daily or regularly, consistently, in order to have the endurance that we need. Well, verse 1 and 2 again says this.

Therefore, we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross,

despising the shame, and is sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Here the author of Hebrews says, therefore, connecting this thought, therefore, what? We also, after he lists in Hebrews chapter 11, this Hall of Faith, these men and women of faith, and how they had faith,

they believed God, they trusted God, and they worked through challenges, and they walked with God until the end. Therefore, we also were surrounded by this cloud of witnesses, these men and women who ran their course, who trusted God, who overcame, who endured. Therefore,

we also, he says, let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. But then he begins to equip us with how to do that. How do we do that? Where do we find the source of strength and endurance that we need to make it the next leg of the race? He says, looking unto Jesus in verse 2.

By looking unto Jesus, we begin this journey. We begin to receive what we need. He says, Jesus, for the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross.

We have the example of the Old Testament believers in Hebrews 11, but we have the ultimate example now in Jesus who endured the greatest injustice the world has ever known, the greatest injustice of all history, the most pain that anyone has experienced in all history.

Jesus endured the cross

for the joy that was set before Him,

for the joy of what the cross would accomplish, for the opportunity of salvation, for the idea of eternity with you. Jesus endured the cross. I like what Pastor Jack shared last night. We must pursue God in the same way that He pursues us. Relentlessly, He pursues us.

We must relentlessly pursue Him. He loved us so much that He was willing to suffer, to be, although He is God, became man to humble Himself to the greatest degree, infinite humbling, like we can't even imagine.

There is no amount of humbling of ourselves that we could ever do to begin to compare to the humbling that Jesus brought on and invited in His own life,

than walking this life, enduring what He endured, and finally enduring the cross. In verse 2, he points out that He despised the shame. That word despised speaks about a contempt.

Don't ever think of the cross as an easy thing for Jesus. He knew He was going to rise again. He knew that the next three days, you know what I mean? Like we can begin to think that way, but no, He despised the shame. He hated the shame. He hated the idea of the cross. There in the Garden of Gethsemane,

He said, Father, if there's any other way, but He went through, He endured the cross, despising the shame. He says, I don't care that I hate it. I don't care that it's going to be painful. I don't care that it's going to cost greatly.

It's going to be worth it for those who will have the opportunity of life on the other side. And having endured the cross, at the end of verse 2, it says that He sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. And it establishes this pattern that we see over and over and over again with Hebrews.

The pattern is that there is this course to run, there is this great difficulty to endure, and then there is the glory that follows. And you could, if you wanted to do an exercise, walk through Hebrews chapter 11 and think about each of the members of the Hall of Faith and to think about the course that God set before them. Some of it's listed out there for us in Hebrews 11,

the difficulty that they had to endure, but then the glory that was the result, that was the fulfillment of the promises as they endured and received the things that God had declared for them. And the pinnacle of all examples, Jesus. He had His course to run. He's the author and finisher of the faith,

experiencing the cross, enduring the cross, the great difficulty which resulted in great glory as He's back at His rightful place, sitting at the right hand of the throne of God. And so look at Jesus, the author of Hebrews tells us, and consider Him.

As He goes on in verse 3, it says, for consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. You have not yet resisted to bloodshed striving against sin.

When we are experiencing any kind of difficulty or challenge or pain,

it is very tempting to think that our pain is the greatest, think that it is unfair and unjust what is happening to us, think that it is the worst that anybody has ever experienced. It is easy to exaggerate.

And so here the author of Hebrews helps bring us back down to reality a little bit. You have not yet resisted to bloodshed striving against sin. Your battle is not yet to the level of the battle that Jesus endured. Consider Him who endured such hostility. He says,

look to Jesus, consider Him. We don't have time to get into all of the life of Jesus, but there is so much there that you can spend time considering. And it's a great exercise, especially as you're walking through a challenging season. Of course, there was the crucifixion. There was the beatings and the scourging that Jesus experienced,

the full night of trials that were illegal and the injustice that was done towards Him, the bearing of judgment for all sin as He died upon the cross for us. But there's other aspects of Jesus' life that are worth considering in this considering of Him who endured. He lived 30 years of natural life before He began His ministry.

And sometimes it's, you know, we don't think about that too much, but God became man and lived a normal life. And of course, Jesus is sinless, but I would challenge you to understand that doesn't mean He never had feelings and never had that He never had emotions. Some might argue with me.

Pastor Jack, you can correct me afterwards, okay?

No.

Perfection. Jesus was sinless, but in some ways, you need to understand Jesus wasn't perfect. That is, He didn't hit the nail in on the first try every single time without fail. Or if I was talking to kids, I would put it this way. That doesn't mean He would nail the skateboard trick on His foot. He doesn't do a kick flip just first try, no problems.

He just does it. I would suggest to you, Jesus became man and He tried to do a kick flip and He hit His shins just like the rest of us and it hurt and He limped for a couple of days. He experienced life.

It's very reasonable to understand that Jesus probably experienced the loss of His father, Joseph, in His early years, absent in the later years as far as the scripture account is concerned. He knows what it's like to lose a father. He knows what it's like to be hungry, to be thirsty.

He knew heartache. He felt physical pain. He understood emotional pain and the things that we go through. He experienced annoying people around Him called the disciples. He endured false accusations, disrespect. I mean, just go down the list. Earlier in Hebrews, Hebrews chapter 4 tells us, Hebrews 4:15,

we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are and yet without sin. And so Jesus, He uses a double negative here in Hebrews 4:15. Here's what He's saying.

Jesus can sympathize with our weaknesses because He has endured in all points as we have, even to a greater degree because we only endure to a certain point. And then if we cave into the temptation, if we cave in under the pressure,

then there is a little bit of that temporary relief that we experience. But Jesus never sinned. He never experienced that temporary relief. He experienced temptation, difficulty, challenge, emotional stress and pressure to a far greater degree than any of us could even begin to imagine. So consider what Jesus endured for you.

Pastor Warren Risby says, Christ is both the exemplar and the enabler. As we see Him in the Word and yield to His Spirit, He increases our faith and enables us to run the race. He's our example and He's the one that we also look to for the source. And so we need to cry out to the Lord.

We need to rely on Jesus. We need to run to Jesus. Also in Hebrews chapter 4, the author there says, let us come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need, that it's in those very times of weakness and need that we run to the throne of grace.

We go boldly,

relying upon Jesus, calling upon Jesus. If we're going to run with endurance, we need to consider what Jesus endured for us. We're going to move on to verses 5 through 8 for point number 2, and that is, take courage in your sonship. Take courage in the fact that you are a son of God.

Let's read verses 5 through 8. It says, and you have forgotten. You need endurance. You're discouraged because you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to 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 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.

Here we get into the core of it. Chastening in verse 5, chastening in verse 6, chastening in verse 7, chastening in verse 8. We're talking about chastening, training through the Word of God, through the things of life.

It includes learning discipline. It includes learning things that will help protect us to prevent injury. It includes the spanking, the rebuke, the correction to get us back on track where we have drifted and strayed. Here the author of Hebrews quotes from Proverbs chapter 3, verse 11 and 12.

To help His readers understand their position, He says, look, remember who you are and be encouraged because it says, my son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord. Because whom the Lord loves, He corrects.

It's the one that He delights in that He corrects and chastens and trains. And He allows things in our lives that we don't understand and we can't imagine how good could come from it. And yet He allows it so that because of His love for us,

He can work in us the things that we desperately need. And here He's writing to the Hebrews who are discouraged and He says, look, you've forgotten the exhortation. You've kind of forgotten your place. You're consumed with the challenges that you're facing and the persecution.

The Hebrews were seriously tempted to move away from Jesus and to go back to their old covenant, back to the temple system, the sacrificial system. They were second guessing their new walk of faith in the Lord Jesus. And this whole book, the author has been seeking to persuade them to not quit.

Don't quit. What you have in Jesus is better. Don't quit. Don't give up. Make it to the end. He said earlier in chapter 10, you have need of endurance that after you may enjoy the reward, that you got to make it through. You got to get through and over these challenges and difficulties.

But one of the reasons why you're so shaken and you're so tempted to give up in this race that has been set before you is you've forgotten your position. You are a son of God. You are a child of God.

He speaks to you as to sons. My son, He does this to every son whom He receives. This is not just a convenient illustration. You know, it's kind of like we're children of God. It's kind of like we're God's sons. This is a reality.

In John chapter 1, verse 12, it tells us, as many as received Him, Jesus, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name. Those who believe in Jesus have the right, the legal standing as children of God.

It is the reality. It is not just a vague concept, a convenient illustration which then kind of breaks down over time. It's not like that. It is the reality of who you are. You have believed in Jesus Christ. You are His child. In Romans chapter 8, Paul says it this way in verse 15,

you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, Abba, Father. He goes on to say, and if we are children, that means then that we are heirs.

We are heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ. Again, it's our legal standing. It is our actual position. It is the reality. You are a son of God because you have believed in Jesus Christ. And so you have this position.

And so, my son, He says,

don't be discouraged when you're rebuked by the Lord.

If we forget that we are sons and we experience rebuke, it has a completely different effect on us than if we remember our position, His love for us and His care for us.

And so we're chastened. We're rebuked. The word rebuke here means to be proven wrong and thus to be ashamed.

And so training has a lot of positive elements to it, but it also has this. There's times where it is appropriate for us to be ashamed at what we have done because God has brought the reality of our situation, of our disobedience to light. And now I'm ashamed.

But God brought that shame because we're sons, because He loves us. Whom the Lord loves, He chastens. Out of love for us, He brought to light that issue so that it could be addressed and dealt with,

so that we do not persist and continue on and cause more damage to our lives.

And so if you endure chastening, if life ever gets hard, if there's pain, if there's rebuke, if there's things where it's brought to light and you are ashamed of what you have done, God deals with you as sons.

He goes on to make the point in verse 8, if you're without chastening, of which all have become partakers, so nobody is really without chastening, but if you're trying to make the statement, I'm without chastening, I don't experience those things, He says, well, then you're illegitimate. You're not really a son.

But the reality is all have become partakers because even unbelievers who are not yet believers who are then sons by legal right, even they, God is using the Word and the circumstances of life to call them to repentance. He's training them.

It's still just a question of if they're going to receive it or not.

This is really important truth for us to consider because, again, there is some bad doctrine and there is some bad doctrine that might be living in your head because it is very easy for us to see hardship and to immediately think of it as a punishment for sin,

as if that's the only option, especially in the lives of others. We like to think of it that way, but also sometimes in our own lives. Sometimes, well, I would say it this way, Job's friends are alive and well. Job was a righteous man, experienced incredible,

intense hardship that none of us would ever want to experience. His friends came and they just made things worse, continuing to insist throughout the book, there must be some sin that Job needs to repent of. Look at this hardship. It must be a punishment for sin.

Now, I don't want to misstate and say hardship is never God dealing with sin in our lives.

But there's a couple of things here.

Just because we experience hardship like Job or, better example, like Jesus, doesn't mean that there is some sin issue that God is directly trying to correct. There's also other things that God is working in our lives. But we need to understand, first of all,

that it's not punishment for sin, even when there is sin. And I don't mean that there's not correction or that God doesn't allow us to experience the consequences of sins, but we need to grasp hold firmly of the truth. The punishment for sin Jesus received at the cross.

And if God was going to punish us for sin, it would not be the things that we face in this life that God uses to punish sin. That's not the punishment of sin.

Old commentator A.W. Pink says, when a believer is smarting under the rod, let him not say, God is now punishing me for my sins. He says, that can never be and that is most dishonoring to the blood of Christ. On the cross, Jesus said, it is finished. The punishment, the judgment for sin is paid in full.

The grace of God

is abundant in our lives and we are spared from the punishment that we deserve. If God allows punishment in our lives for sin, it is not to appease the wrath of God. That has been accomplished. It is finished at the cross. Amen.

But God does allow consequences and He does allow and bring circumstances in our lives to help us deal with our sin. But it's not the punishment. It's not God trying to get back at us for some sin. It's not God trying to extract from us some penalty.

It's God trying to train us and shape us and conform us into the image of Christ. There's another bad doctrine that kind of floats around. It's the idea that weakness is cause for shame. And there are many Christians who try to pretend so much. They're trying to pretend like they don't struggle.

They're going through the hardest things that they've ever experienced in their lives, but they don't know how to express it. They can't express it. They feel like people will not receive it. And sometimes we, as a church, do a terrible job of that. People are hurting the worst that they've ever hurt in their lives and we are not compassionate and we have no empathy. And that should not be.

But weakness is not something to be ashamed of. A time of weakness and struggle and battle in our lives is not cause for shame.

Paul experienced this in Second Corinthians chapter 12, where he's talking about that passage where he is experiencing the thorn in the flesh and he prayed desperately for God to remove it. But God said, my grace is sufficient. My strength is made perfect in weakness. And so Paul said, so I learned.

I learned to boast in my infirmities. I learned to take pleasure in my infirmities, in my reproaches, in my needs, in my persecutions, in my distresses. For when I am weak, then I am strong. Weakness, suffering, battling, physical,

emotional, financial, familial relationships, it's not cause for shame.

Take that internally, but also take that as you interact with one another.

There's the bad concept sometimes in our minds that God is angry that the circumstances in my life reflect God's heart towards me. No, you are His son. It's quite the opposite. Chastening is the evidence of His love. Pastor Warren Weirsbeer reminds us,

Satan wants us to believe the difficulties of life are proof that God does not love us, but the opposite is true. And you can also see that in the life of Joseph. Although he experienced such hardship throughout his time, as you read through his story in Genesis, it tells us, in each phase,

in each segment, in each season, the Lord was with Joseph. God is not angry, not trying to pay you back for sin. He is seeking to train you, to develop you, to be the child of God that He knows you can be.

So consider what Jesus endured for you. Take courage in your sonship. And thirdly, trust God to make it worth it. Trust God to make it worth it. As we go through things, we need to hold on to this reality. There is a promise ahead that is so good, that is so great,

that we will in eternity look back with the Lord and say, "Hey, Father, look at this, that area of my life, that situation of my life. I didn't understand it at the time, but now I'm able to say thank you.

I'm glad I trusted you." Or maybe, "I'm sorry, I didn't trust you, but now I can see you were working something good. It was worthwhile." And we can trust the Lord to make it all worth it. I'm going to start back at verse five again. It says, "And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as sons.

My son, notice this, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you're rebuked by Him. Do not despise the chastening of the Lord." Jump to verse nine. "Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect.

Shall not we 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." He tells us in verse five, "Do not despise the chastening of the Lord." This is a different word, despise, than what we saw earlier.

This means to consider something of little value, no value. And sometimes we despise God's chastening, God's training in our lives. Sometimes we despise it because, "Well, I don't think I need it.

I don't think I deserve it."

And so we can start to become bitter against the Lord because of what He's allowed in our lives, that I don't deserve. That is far greater than I should be experiencing.

I'm thinking little of the chastening, not recognizing and understanding the work that God wants to do through it. Another way that we can despise chastening is to think that God is not in it. "Well, you know, I just got a flat tire.

It's just a flat tire. It's meaningless hardship, meaningless suffering.

I just got the medical diagnosis. It's just what happens. We live in a fallen world. God doesn't try to teach me anything in this." Do not despise the chastening of the Lord, the Scripture, and the trials. Don't think little of it.

There is much that God is doing through every aspect of our lives. Commentator Albert Müller says, "People tend to think that things happen to them by chance. The truth is that things come into our lives by the sovereign intention and purposes of the Lord.

Amen. Not all things are good," he says, "but all things are for the good and edification of those who love God." Don't despise it. God has good in mind for you through it. To paint this picture a little bit,

he gives a contrast of human fathers versus the heavenly Father. "We had human fathers who corrected us," he says, "and we paid them respect." It's maybe a little bit less true today than it was when the author of Hebrews wrote it, right? But parents, good parents,

do their best and they correct and they train their children. But even if you think of the best case scenario, the best parents who want the best for their kids, who are doing their best, those parents in that best case scenario, they get it wrong sometimes. I mean, I think everybody knows this.

It's just a fact. The first child is just one big experiment, right? I can say that as being a first child. So I got all the experimental lessons and disciplines and experimental curriculum while I was homeschooled. And then my sister got the easy life. My parents are like,

"We learned all of our lessons, so she's going to have it the easy way." I'm exaggerating, of course. But even the best of the best parents, they train their kids with some misguided and harmful ideas. And sometimes they bring correction, but they correct the wrong child.

It was the other one who actually was the problem, but you corrected that one because, well, that's what you thought at the time, but you didn't know all the facts. Some rules and regulations and corrections that parents bring are for the convenience of the parent. I'm going to make a rule about silence because I have a headache and I want you to be quiet,

not because it's what's best for you eternally to be quiet right now. Although if you speak up right now, it will be best for you eternally to be quiet because I have a headache and you don't want to mess with me while I have a headache. But you get the point.

Parents, the best of the best, they don't even rise to the level of the way the Father disciplines us because He knows all the facts. He knows what's best. He knows the future. He wants what's best for us for all of eternity.

And so the author of Hebrews says in verse 10, "He for our profit that we may be partakers of His holiness." He chastens us, He trains us, He rebukes us, He corrects us, He works through these circumstances of our lives for our profit.

What is the profit that He has in mind? We all know Romans 8:28. We know that all things work together for good, to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. But it's also good to read the next verse, "For whom He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son,

that He might be the firstborn among many brethren." This is His goal, for us to be conformed into the image of His Son. He's working in our life. He's using the Scripture. He's using the circumstances that we face. He's bringing correction where we need it.

He's training us and teaching us and protecting us so that we can become like Jesus. And He knows the end result is worth it. But for us, it doesn't always feel that way. And so He says in verse 11, "No chastening seems to be joyful for the present." And we all understand that immediately.

No explanation is needed. Yes. Amen. Moving on. It's painful. But notice, afterward, it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness. Again, we see the pattern. There is the present and there's challenges and there's pain and there's difficulty. But then afterward is the receiving of the promise and the glory.

It's painful now, but there's fruit later. Painful now, fruitful afterward. Jesus endured the cross for the joy that was set before Him. He sat down in glory. That is the way of life. That is the race that we are called to run. It is part of the process.

Pastor Jonathan mentioned the butterfly in Romans chapter 12, the word transformed. And getting out of the cocoon, if you were to see the cocoon and you think, "I need to rescue that creature and remove the cocoon," that butterfly would not have the strength to fly, even if it was finally fully formed.

But it's the breaking out of the cocoon process that develops the strength so that then, once it's out of the cocoon, it's able to fly. In a similar way, it's working through the process of this life that develops us into the image of Jesus Christ.

If we could do it all the easy way and just read the Scripture and receive it and adopt it 100% and apply it to every aspect of our lives, we should endeavor to do that. Because as much as we can take the easy way, boy, do we need the easy way in our lives, right? But we also need to accept the hard way. God's using it.

He's developing us into the image of Jesus.

Sometimes we have this bad doctrine, though. Christians are not supposed to feel that way. You'll hear this a lot. Maybe you say this, "I know I'm not supposed to feel that way. I think that's a bad concept. I think you need to think through that a little bit more." Because it's not the feeling that is the issue.

Emotions and feelings are part of who we are and part of how God has created us. And the Psalms are full of examples of that. The key thing is, what do we do with those emotions? How do we let those emotions maneuver us and dictate our lives? And we shouldn't, is the point. We should take those emotions to the Lord. But it's not so much like,

"I should never feel angry." It's that, "Lord, I feel angry, and so I'm taking this anger to You and I'm telling You, 'This is how I'm feeling. This is what I'm experiencing.'" But you can bring any emotion to God. You can bring anything that you're experiencing through God to God and ask God to help you with it. No chastening seems to be joyful for the present,

but painful. And I remember one guy, good brother in the Lord, but he was going through this really rough season, and he had this idea in his mind that he can't let other people know that he's struggling because Christians are not supposed to feel that way.

And so he ended up isolated and alone and now lonely because he won't face the reality of what he's going through. He had the idea, "I have to pretend even other Christians aren't supposed to know that I have any kind of struggles or these things in my life." We get bad ideas about suffering and pain in our heads,

guys, and we need to come back to the reality. That's why I love the Psalms. The Psalms is a great example of we can cry out to the Lord, the example of Jesus. We see Him experience emotion and call out to God and say, "Not my will, but Your will be done." And so He walks through those things just as He calls us to.

One last bad doctrine thing to address, and that is, I can explain right now why you're experiencing that. Some will look at the life of Job and say, "Here's why." Look, at the end of Job, look at this verse right here. See, he had doubled the sheep. At the end, he had...

Can you look at the number here, then go look at the number at the beginning? Look, he had doubled the sheep. That's why God allowed that suffering in his life. And I think, wow, what a cheap argument to make. If you were to try to present that to Job, he would say, "That's cheap. That's empty.

That's not worth it to get double the stuff,

the worst suffering in my life." Sometimes we simplify the result or what we think is the result. See, God let you crash your car so you can get a new car. That's why you're suffering right now because God wants to give you a new car.

Listen, God is caring for your eternal soul. And things in this life are real and they mean something and they have value. But if God is doing something in this life, it's for a thousand reasons. And maybe you can list one of them,

but don't be shortsighted and say, "This is why. It's because I needed a new Bible and now I got a new Bible. It's because this, and so I got a new job." You know, that's shortsighted, I would suggest. There's so much more. You're being conformed into the image of Jesus and the new car,

the double the sheep. That's not a big aspect of that process. God blesses us. I don't want to water that down, but also let's not be so shortsighted. God's going to make it worth it. In the end, in eternity, Paul says in Romans 8:18,

"I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." We're going to agree with that. We're going to, in eternity, look back and say, "I agree. The sufferings that we experienced in this life are not worthy to be compared with what God had in store for us.

He's going to make it worth it." So look unto Jesus and consider what He endured for you. Take courage in your sonship. Trust God to make it all worth it. And I promise this one will be short. Readily subject yourself to God. Readily subject yourself to God. Look at verse 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." Again, the contrast. Parents do their best. They still fall short. God doesn't have that issue. He's perfect. He has perfect knowledge. He knows the future. He knows what's best.

So he makes the argument, "Shouldn't we, like, be readily accepting what the Father has planned for us? Shouldn't we be excited about..." I like the word enthusiastic that Pastor Jack was sharing last night. "Shouldn't we be enthusiastic about subjecting ourselves to the Father of Spirits? Look,

you have the One who loves you the most, who knows what's best and has the capacity to make it happen. Yeah, submit yourself to Him. He can do what He promises to do. And everything that He does will be done in perfect measurement with perfect love. And yes, it's going to include struggles and difficulties and challenges,

but it's all going to be worth it. He promises." In the end, we will all be grateful for His work in our life. Readily be in subjection to the Father of Spirits. Many of the things that we face in this life, we get out of it according to what we put into it.

It's the attitude that we have as we approach it. You sign up for a class and then you barely show up and don't pay much attention. You're not going to get a lot out of the class. You sign up for a gym. You're going to get out of it according to what you put into it. You show up at the workplace. You're going to get out of it according to what you put into it.

You sign up for a retreat. Listen, you're going to get out of this according to what you put into it, your approach to it. If you're here to hear from the Lord, God is going to speak to you. In a similar way, as we approach this life, we need to submit ourselves to God fully. It's guaranteed to be worth it.

And so we should be rushing to, running to, lay down our lives at the feet of the Lord, like Jesus saying, "Not my will be done, but Your will be done." And so He says in verse 12, "Therefore, strengthen the hands which hang down and the feeble knees." Get into this, then.

Strengthen the hands which hang down and your feeble knees. It's a vivid picture of discouragement. But the author of Hebrews is saying, "You don't have to live in that condition." But I don't understand and I don't know, and it's so hard and I'm suffering so much. I want the promise that it'll be worth it. We have the promise.

He works all things together for good. Count it all joy when you face various trials. No, no, but like, I want to know specifically what it is that God's doing so I can decide if I agree that it's good and then it's worth it. Sorry, it doesn't work that way. God knows what's best.

He keeps His purposes to Himself, but He has promised. So strengthen those hands. You don't have to let them hang there. You don't have to walk with those wobbly knees like, "I'm such a fragile Christian." How do you strengthen anything? If you want to get strong, you want to strengthen any part of your body, what do you do?

You exercise that part of your body. I want to have strong arms. Guess what? You're going to have to exercise your arms. If you have hands that are hanging down, you know what you need to do? You need to start lifting up your hands. If you got knees that are feeble, you know what you need to do? Get on your knees and start spending some time with the Father.

You got to start doing those things, and God will be with you as you do, and He will develop in you the endurance that you need to run the race. But it's also a warning. When you're hurting and struggling, make sure that you clear the path to God because there is a danger.

He says that whatever is lame may not be dislocated. You could go from bad to worse if you don't readily subject yourself to the Father. And you think it's bad now, but if you resist this season of struggle, if you resist this time of pain,

if you resist this work that God is seeking to do, you're going to go from bad to worse. And what's lame is going to be dislocated. But God wants you to be healed.

And so make sure that you clear the path, make straight paths for your feet, and strengthen the hands which lay down. Remove any obstacles that keep you from the Word, that keep you from fellowship, that keep you from walking with God. Remove any sin that you're aware of, especially in these seasons of difficulty.

Listen, when you have food poisoning, you know 100% what I mean when I say you need a straight path to the restroom. That's not the time where you want to do the, you know, dance through your living room of trying to get over all the hurdles to get to the bathroom. No, no, you need a straight path. In a similar way, listen, when the heat's turned up in your life,

clear out all the clutter and make sure you have a straight connection to God. You have abundant opportunity to know God, to hear God, to walk with God, to fellowship, to be in fellowship, to be part of the work that God is doing.

Readily subject yourself to God when you face difficulty. Embrace it. You can't get out of it. You can't get around it, but with God's help, you can endure through it and continue on with the race that God has set before you. We don't have a lot to say about what we experience in this life,

but we do get to contribute to how we experience this life. And we don't get to say what trials we're going to get, you know, be part of and what things we're going to face, what hardships we'll encounter. We don't get to choose, but we can choose sometimes the duration of those, the intensity of them,

by how we respond, by how readily we subject ourselves to God. I know I used up all the time, so we'll skip the worship song. But I want to close with one last verse, Psalm 32:8.

The Lord speaking, says, "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go." In other words, I'm going to train you. I'm going to chase in you. He says, "I will guide you with my eye. Do not be like the horse or like the mule, which have no understanding,

which must be harnessed with bit and bridle, else they will not come near you." The Lord says, "I want to train you. I want to do what's best for you. I want to conform you into the image of Jesus. Don't be stubborn. Don't be set in your ways.

Don't be relying on your own understanding. Don't be resisting. Don't make me force you to draw near to me. Readily subject yourself to God." This is how we run with endurance. We consider what Jesus endured for us. We take courage in our position of sonship.

We trust God to make it all worth it in the end, and we readily subject ourselves to Him and His wisdom. Let's pray. Lord, we come before You and we recognize the battles, the challenges, the difficulties, the pain.

We recognize, Lord, that sometimes we respond poorly to those things and sometimes we respond really well. But Lord, we come before You now, and You can just pray along with me if it's the condition of Your heart, if You agree.

Oh, Father in heaven, I invite You to do whatever You need to do in my life, no matter how much it costs, no matter how much it hurts. Father, bring me into right relationship with You and teach me to stay there. Amen. Amen.

God bless you, men. We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of His Word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.