The chastening of the Lord (Quality: Poor, incomplete)

[0:00] But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the Word.

[0:12] But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the Word. One of the greatest blessings that the children of God can ever know is that God's chastened hands.

[0:35] Some will sometimes put it as being that hallmark which makes the child of God to know that he is such.

[0:49] If we can see that God has chastened us out of his love and out of his mercy, then we have that which we have already read.

[1:02] God dealeth with you as with sons. Most points that we brought forward this morning, from doubtless, have been points that one and all, at some time or other, have been guilty of and fallen under.

[1:23] And it requires more than the correction of men to deliver us from those things which blind us to the glory and beauty of the Lord's body and cause us to be weak and sickly and sleepy in our condition.

[1:47] It is indeed a good mark if we begin to judge ourselves. And as we drew to our conclusion this morning, we refer to a case of a man that was brought before others to already confess that he was guilty.

[2:13] When we are in so much trouble is when the hardness of our hearts will prevent our admitting that we are guilty.

[2:28] The children of God have to follow a different course from that which the world follows. It is customary, as you know, that in our law courts, for the most part, the guilty person pleads not guilty.

[2:50] Knowing very well that they are guilty, just now and again, you will find that person that will plead guilty. Now, with these children of God, when God brings us to judgment, then grace, work in our hearts, love to him in our soul, will make us ready to plead guilty in all that is laid upon us.

[3:27] Indeed, we shall not need or waste to have that charge or any charge laid against us before we are willing to confess our guilt before God.

[3:43] It is a miracle for any person, really, to confess that they are guilty at all, and especially guilty before God.

[4:02] Ever since the days of Adam and Eve, when they fell in the garden, there is the tendency, and the strong tendency, to make an excuse. Or to pass the blame onto somebody else.

[4:18] And I am sure because we are of the same nature of Adam and Eve, we know that side of things. Well, we would do anything rather than plead guilty.

[4:31] Now, God has a way of so dealing with his own children, that they are willing to confess their guilt, that they are willing to fall down before him.

[4:49] Yea, more, they are willing to cast themselves upon him. One of our poets puts it like this, A guilty, weak and helpless work.

[5:00] On thy kind arms I fall. Be thou my strength and righteousness, my Jesus and my all. And if we are really convinced that we are brought in guilty, then what can we do to put matters right?

[5:17] You see, once we have sinned, whatever it is, that's a thing done. And it can never be put out of sight.

[5:30] We can never say, well, we never did it. Neither can we say, even that we never wished to do it. Well, therefore, what shall we do?

[5:44] When we are conscious that we are guilty of certain things, and many of these things is a guilt before God, not a guilt before man.

[5:57] There are many things which men allow, which God does not allow. And so in that circumstance, you would not feel guilty before man.

[6:09] Against thee, the only of thy sin, says David, and done this evil in thy sight. Now, what a work of the Spirit is that when we feel that conviction by the eternal Spirit in our own souls of that which other people may know nothing about.

[6:35] Hidden from them. That is the secrets of our heart. The envy. The hatred. That might have arisen up. And God shows us.

[6:49] Causes us to feel by a strange work upon us that we are guilty. No. We are, but when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord that we should not be condemned with the world.

[7:06] You see, the Lord chastens his people, but it's so very, very different from anything else you will ever know.

[7:19] In the chapter that we read, reference was made, and also a comparison made, in respect to the correction of an earthly father, and that of the father of spirits.

[7:37] Furthermore, we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence. Shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the father of spirits and live?

[7:51] For they verily for a few days chastened us after their pleasure. That's the earthly father. But he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.

[8:08] Our profession, as the children of God, must be a profession of holiness. And because of the opposition which we sadly proved from what we refer to as our old nature, there is a continual attempt to bring about that which is unholy.

[8:36] And how we feel the force and the truth of one's description that we are unholy needs no proof. we far sorely feel the force.

[8:51] But then, in the chapter that we read, there was also these words, Without holiness, no man shall see the Lord.

[9:04] Now, do you want to see the Lord? Do you feel this is incumbent upon you? Is there that secret drawing from heaven that you do want to see him?

[9:17] And you find this great hindrance on holiness. And you find this very clear directive in the scripture, Without holiness, no man shall see the Lord.

[9:30] Then, how is this holiness to be produced? produced. This holiness is produced by the life of faith in the soul.

[9:43] The word of God tells us that that which is not of faith is said. So therefore, when we believe, oh, when we believe, then that is unholy holiness.

[10:01] And God, in his mysterious chastening, in his wonderful judgment and working, brings us to this place to believe.

[10:16] Believe that Christ has holiness to sanctify us all. We are chastened at the Lord. Sometimes, God works this in us.

[10:30] Indeed, it is invariably the case that he works it in us. There was an occasion in Daniel's life when he was found fasting and chastening himself before the Lord.

[10:56] And therefore, he describes this to us and the result was wonderful.

[11:11] Now, just you think as you might feel that all you can do is to lay before God and open his mercy because of your sin that you should have a vision.

[11:27] Yet heard I a voice of his words and when I heard the voice of his words then was I in a deep sleep on my face and my face was toward the ground. And behold, an hand touched me.

[11:41] A hand touched me which set me upon my knees and upon the palms of my hands. and he said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the word that I speak unto thee and stand upright.

[12:01] For unto thee am I now sent. And when he had spoken this word unto me I stood trembling. Now, by the power of the Spirit of God, Daniel, and we would surely say Daniel was a holy man.

[12:19] Here he was in the midst of that eastern country where he opened his window daily and prayed three times in the day when there was an edict which said that no prayer should be offered to any God or man apart from the image that had been set up.

[12:42] How did he pray? Was it just going through a routine? Surely he prayed in a holy way. That is, he prayed with faith in his heart.

[12:55] He prayed with trust in God as he trusted in God. Surely there was no other solution. And we read that he chastened himself in these things.

[13:11] Now, this chastening of himself was the result of the work of the Spirit of God in him. And how blessed it is if we should be favored with this mysterious work of God when we feel guilty and we chasten ourselves God and yet God is in it.

[13:34] When we are judged we are chastened at the Lord. In chastening, the chastening of the Lord there is no vindictiveness.

[13:44] And this is what distinguishes divine chastening from the chastening of men. It is very difficult to explain these things to you.

[13:59] But I am satisfied that when God deals with you and you feel that with all your sins and with all your bad speeches and with all the hardness of your heart.

[14:15] And with all well I was going to say your disgraceful behavior as you may feel it sometimes. Yet the Lord touches as only he can touch.

[14:27] And when the Lord touches there is communication. Communication is not always by lip. Cannot we find instances in our own lives just think of the touch of one that we love.

[14:45] A word may not be said but a communication is past and a communication of love. A communication where we feel that that one dear to us is for us and not against us in spite of all that we might feel in ourselves and the guilt that we might have on our conscience.

[15:13] How much more so when the Lord speaks in heaven. Yea, not speak perhaps but touches us.

[15:24] Now you see this is a spiritual touch and it is a healing touch. we often may think upon those reverse occasions when like the woman who said if I could but touch the hem of his garment.

[15:46] Now that's wonderful but sometimes you need God to touch you and the Lord touched the leper and he was cleansed and if God touches you then you'll feel the cleansing power of that touch and God has communicated and maybe he has communicated at a time when you never expected him to.

[16:14] Seemed as though you were overwhelmed with the conviction of your sin and everything that you seem to have done you look through the day and you can see nothing else.

[16:29] But that which was wrong you couldn't see anything of faith in it. Now God perhaps hasn't spoken. But why is your heart registering this what we have in the 31st verse?

[16:44] For if we would judge ourselves we should not be judged. God is already preparing us. So that when the Lord comes we shall fall under it.

[16:55] the Lord Jesus said Father forgive them for they know not what they do. I've often felt what a wonderful petition that is from the Lord because in how many things we would have to come into that category.

[17:17] We know not what we do. We do not know what the end is going to be. It looks so trivial to us but we do not realize the immensity of it in the sight of God.

[17:31] And oh to hear those words coming forth from heaven. Father forgive them for they know not what they do. Now the word is not spoken directly to anyone but will you hear these wonderful words between the son and the father speaking about you and you discover that you are the person because you say that's me.

[18:02] I've done so many things and I didn't realize what I was doing. I didn't realize I was offending against his love. I was quite blind to it and I thought it didn't matter and now God has brought me into the concave of heaven just on the outskirts as it were but sufficient to hear these words father forgive them for they know not what they do.

[18:33] Now forgiveness is a joyful sound to malefactors doomed and die. Guilt upon our conscience will often bring death before us but pardon how wonderful pardon is.

[18:53] See we may well look over today look over the week past look over the year past and see many things which will disquiet us and many things which had we not by blood to believe each sight would sink us to despair.

[19:21] Now God is working. Chastisement is not always devised in some demonstrative or dramatic manner.

[19:38] Sometimes people come to a very wrong conclusion. They may look upon people and suddenly some adversity overtakes them.

[19:53] Some affliction falls upon them. some tragic circumstance takes place and people have been foolish enough to think that this is God's judgment and God is chastening them for certain things that such accusers think they have done but God's chastisement you know it's not like that at all.

[20:23] God's chastisement is not like a child in a classroom being brought to the front and before all the rest being corrected as in my days with the cane.

[20:42] No. What is your experience of God's chastisement? Has he not taken you to one side and filled your heart with love which of course we cannot do and we felt the love in his tone of voice and we've been humbled in a moment when we are judged we thought about confessing our guilt before our heavenly father came in or before we came into his presence but when that love of his holy presence was shed abroad in our hearts then we were overwhelmed when we are judged we are chastened of the Lord you see the Lord corrects us corrects us in the soul shows us what is wrong what is right which is a great thing to have dealings with God and for

[21:53] God to have dealings with you which is the only way that you can ever get to heaven and when God deals with you as with sons and daughters you will not need any rules and regulations because you will know something of the perfect law of liberty which is motivated by love to God himself but maybe before we enjoy the greatness of that blessing there will be many occasions when we need to be corrected you see we have natures which are entire are all the while going against God and maybe God shows us the right way and then we say yes we'll keep that right way and here we are there we've gone back to the old way again then we remember these words if my brother offend against me how much shall I forgive him seven times but the

[23:16] Lord said they shall forgive him seventy times seven if he come and repent see sometimes people may say well he said he was sorry but he's gone and done the same thing again well God teaches his people though they have the will to repent and they do repent they haven't the power to keep themselves in the right way why did Jesus say that to Peter because he knew what Peter was he knew that unless he was kept on course he would be of course now do you think that's true of you because if you feel afraid that you'll be of course then how much you will value the part of the tits of the helm and keep putting you back on course now what is the course looking unto

[24:21] Jesus now that's the end of the way we continually have to look to that way looking unto Jesus now do we always look to Jesus because of the fallen condition of our heart we look elsewhere well why do we look elsewhere because after all the word of God is plain the word of God tells us that we should not trust in ourselves put that confidence in a guide or in a friend but we do and then God graces you see we may get some bad advice from anyone else but God himself because all of us are kind and we have to work into our kind of mind so therefore we may sometimes say that's alright when it isn't that won't hurt you when it will but God looks down from heaven in the greatness of his mercy and corrects chastens with a look just think of that wonderful instance when the

[25:46] Lord turned and looked upon Peter that's all it was but there was communication and sufficient communication for Peter to go out and we weep bitterly and they were not tears like Esau wept and never found repentance but they were tears of repentance and Peter was sorry for his sin but you see it had been done this is the path if we could only have washed it out maybe some of us could look over our lives and we could think of one day or one hour or several days or maybe longer and if we could only wash them out well they are washed out but they're not washed out by anything that we can do now if we see and feel the chastening of the

[26:47] Lord and that there is love in it we shall see also this we have gone astray like a lost sheep but the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all you know that will keep you and me the Lord might in some respects keep us and we say well the Bible said I shouldn't do this and I shouldn't do the other and we might reluctantly fall in but when the Lord whispers in our ears we have all gone astray like a lost sheep and we know that's true and then for this to come in and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all now that will bring us to cleave to Christ when the Spirit of God makes us feel the love that is in the Father's heart that he should have taken the iniquity of you and of me and have put it upon his beloved

[27:53] Son who was holy harmless undefiled and separated from sinners and then we shall chasten our own spirit and then we shall love our love to chasten our own spirit love in such a way if I can put it like this to set up our own guards and guides how good when the Lord brings us back to himself when we are judged now we shall justify God in his judgment and we shall justify God in his chasing couplet in our hymn book has often been used by the saints of God compared with what my sins deserve how easy are my pains when you think of pain yes it may be pains of body but it may not be it may be pains that you have to endure from your own heart and the the scorning of your old nature it may be pains from what you hear from others oh we are all guilty in one way and another of saying those things which have cut others to the heart maybe we are not being aware of it we haven't needed to be aware of it because it was

[29:39] God's purpose that we should be paid and that we should realize that we deserved it how easy are my pains or how many many are the ways in which God causes his people to feel pain we meet with many of love from sinner and from saint now blessed with the tender fear of God these things will have a reaction they will have a reaction anyway they may have a reaction which will stir up the old man on the other hand as grace is given they may have the reaction of humbling you before God you know if you should ever get a view of

[30:41] Christ suffering in your place instead it will break your heart to pieces I shall not forget the occasion when I sat listening to the ministry of God in the course of his sermon he referred to sins back slidings then he said it is as though for every one of those sins and every one of those back slidings now the father said one last stroke to my son's back and my faith saw the bent back of my beloved saviour bearing all these strokes and my very body was nearly torn asunder now you see one spirit is chastened because of what

[31:45] God reveals to us if you love a person you won't willingly want them hurt will you we may sometimes unwillingly cause them to be hurt but you won't willingly want them hurt and if you love Jesus Christ then we shall not willingly want him hurt we shall not willingly say well it's just another stroke but he's able to bear it what a sad lack of grace that would demonstrate no the souls of the people of God under divine chastening they are sorry for their sins all that I've not done that it's just another stroke another lash that my beloved has had to bear from me when we are judged now just let us revert to the beginning of our discourse this morning for this cause many are weak and sickly among you and many saints now you see these conditions can be passed over but they're all sins and they're all sins that have to be atone for and they're all sins that cause our saviour pain and anguish of spirit so therefore shall we count them as little matters shall we be chafed when our attention is brought to it because we just counted as well just one of those things or will

[33:29] God in his infinite mercy bless us with that love to himself so that we might fully enter into the words of our opening here oh that the Lord would guide my ways to keep his statutes still still the testimony of the saints of God is to more the keeping of God's statutes God chastens us that we might keep his statutes in love you see we are not driven to keep God's commands we are drawn to keep God's commands hence we find that blessed word in Jeremiah I have loved thee with an everlasting love therefore with loving kindness have I drawn thee some seem to almost indicate that well

[34:36] God has loved me and I believe he's loved me and they'll criticize you if you wonder whether he's loved you but you know God doesn't love you or me without giving us some indication of it positively and that is by his loving kindness drawing us mid this hymn is generally well known awake my soul in joyful days and sing thy great redeemer's praise he prays he justly claims a song from thee his loving kindness though how great and then it goes through verse by verse as it were stage by stage in the experience of the godly so that they get various views of

[35:39] God's loving kindness and maybe God has taken you along that path and shown you his loving kindness first of all when he saw you ruined in the fall was it not loving kindness of God and he took you in hand and drew you out from an ungodly world then there were the mighty foes and those foes were from earth and hell but he leads my he safely leads my soul as on his loving kindness oh how strong now we should not think that the way to heaven is simple we should not think that we should never divert this way or that because we have a nature to will the exaltation of the scripture lies in just this by the truth and sell it not now you may recall in the pilgrim's progress that when christian and faithful went through vanity fair there was all sorts of where on the left hand and on the right which were proper to them and if they would only take it

[37:08] I'm sure we might say they'd have given it away free now you know the world and the flesh and the devil they'll make no chance to you if you only take it because they know this that if you take it that you may well be destroyed by it but no there was that principle there was that chastening hand of God within their hearts which corrected them with the words that I've just mentioned by the truth and said it not now this is the answer is it the truth is something proper to us are we asked to buy this are we asked to purchase that then let us first examine it with God's chasing hand in our spirit by the truth and when you bought the truth sell it not you say well who will want to buy the truth except those that are true

[38:17] Satan will endeavor to rob you of the truth if we turn to the revelation we find these words hold that fast that thou hast let that no man take thy crown and so there's something that you have to hold on to be the truth because if you can be robbed of it then be assured that Satan and whoever he works through they'll rob you of it sometimes never works himself personally sometimes he works through people and they're all the while trying to rob you of the truth so then if you have the truth you've got to hold on to it and the only way in which you will hold on to it is when this word is heard with all the numerous hosts of mighty folks by the truth sell it not prove all things hold fast that which is good the truth is not just only in words but it is in the experience of the soul and in matters in we find another experience which is discovered to those taught of the spirit as they pass through this word he near my soul has always stood his loving kindness oh our good now have you found that

[40:01] I believe we mentioned this morning or sometime today anyway of Paul writing to Timothy he said at the first no man stood with me but God was with me and why did God stand by the apostle Paul he near my soul has always stood his loving kindness oh how good now do you not think that there were many many powerful urges in the apostle so well you must give up all these people have gone against you are standing alone no by the grace of God and the power of God and the inward chastening of God upon his spirit and the grace of God he stood first and what from whence did that come the loving kindness of God and so we go back to

[41:01] God's proof of love I have loved thee with an everlasting love and this is a valued portion in the hearts of some but have you got the proof of it I can say yes I have the proof because he has drawn me with his loving kindness and you know the greatest experience that you can have is for God to draw you when once a sinner knew despair to your astonishment you sought his mercy seat by prayer mercy saw and set you pray and that mercy came to me you know there are many people that know something about guilt and conviction of sin upon their heart that they despair but you say well why don't they come to Jesus Christ they do not come to Jesus Christ because there's no loving kindness of the father to draw them there so they go on not being of

[42:11] God they go on and the word of God here is very much to the point when we are jacked we are chastened of the Lord God to con come to have him and do