Print this page

(For the first and other Sermons in series "I", please visist
our Website: http://www.diversitypress.com)

I-6. GOD CORRECTS US
(Psalm 119:67)

A rich lady was napping while a maid cared for her little boy,
just out­side the door, on the patio. The badly spoiled child
began to throw a tantrum. His mother instruc­ted the maid to,
"Give that child whatever he wants!"

Soon the volume of his yelling in­creas­ed. "Didn't I tell you
to give him any­thing he wants?" called out his mother.

"Yes'm," replied the maid. "It was a bee he wanted, and he's
got it."

Sometimes we're like that. We want things we don't need. We
want things with­out realizing their long-term consequences. A
Guidepost writer said, Once I was painting window frames and our
five-year-old son, Paul, watched with fascination. "Let me do
it." he begged repeatedly. "Mama, please let me do it." When I
had finished and there was a little paint left in the bucket, I
handed Paul the brush and said, "Okay, Son. Paint the
step­ladder. Try not to get paint on you or your sunsuit."

When the paint was gone, he came to me and I was appalled. His
naked arms and legs were white splotch­ed; his hair was clotted.
with paint; his clothes were ruined. The com­bination of
dripped paint and dry grass clippings covered the bottoms of his
feet.

"Paul! I said in shock, 'Why weren't you more careful." I kept
ask­ing that question as I applied cold cream, turpentine,
kerosene, Vaseline and elbow grease. His hide turned pink and
his whimpering increased to yelps and tears. "Why did you let
me do it?" he kept sobbing. "Why did you let me do it?"

"Honey," I reminded him, "I let you do it because you wanted to!
I'm sorry. I don't want to hurt you like this . . ."

Parents are not always wise. Human decisions are not always
right. But our Heavenly Father doesn't make mistakes. He
doesn't say "yes" when He knows our requests will hurt us.

God's rules are given because He doesn't want us to have to
learn the hard way. The laws of the universe as well as God's
moral principles are de­signed to punish wrong decisions and
reward right decisions. This is not for vengeance. It's for
the good of the whole. It's for progress. It's to en­cour­age
growth and positive accomplish­ments. If things were different
and evil was rewarded and good was punished, think how
destructive and inconsistent life would be. It's unfortunate
that some­times the only way we can learn is from our negative
experiences. The Psalmist said, "Before I was afflicted I went
astray, but now I obey your word" (Psa. 119:67).

So how are God's corrections pro­ductive?

I. FIRST, GOD'S CORRECTION KEEPS US SAFE.

Solomon said, "My son, do not despise the Lord's discipline and
do not resent his rebuke, because the Lord dis­ciplines those he
loves, as a father the son he delights in" (Prov.3:11-12).

A guidepost writer said, "One morn­ing after our Bible reading
had in­cluded the Ten Commandments, our 11-year old daughter,
Donna, rebelled. "Thou shalt not! Thou shalt not! That's all
the Bible ever says!" she protested.

My husband smiled and said, "One day you may feel differently."

Later that morning our family pack­ed a picnic lunch and
explored some nearby woods. On one old tree there was a sign
which said, "No Tres­passing!" Just beyond it a fence
sepa­ra­ted us from a sunny hill that led down to a pretty
little stream.

"Look at that!" Donna exploded. "This sign and fence are just
two more 'Thou shalt nots'!" Impetuously, she be­gan to climb
over the fence.

"Be careful," I warned. "That sign and this fence must have a
pur­pose." But she ignored the advice and ran down the hill.
Suddenly, from the woods about 50 steers burst forth, bawl­ing
and bucking. They seemed to be heading straight for Donna, and
we all had a few nervous moments before she was able to reach
the fence and roll under it, just in time. Our little girl
learned something that day."

God's laws are like that sign and that fence. They are wise
guide­lines for our own protection.

Dr. Robert Schuller said, "The Ten Commandments are not ten
rules to keep you from having fun. They are ten disciplines to
help you become a secure achiever."

Every Biblical injunction is given for our good: Observing one a
week day for rest and worship keeps us from burn-out and
materialism; Honoring parents is a good relationship principle;
refrain­ing from murder, adultery, stealing and lying helps
diminish conflict and viol­ence; avoiding covetousness makes us
better friends and citizens.

In fact, most of our social prob­lems are the result of people
breaking these commandments. God's correc­tion keeps us safe.

II. NEXT, GOD'S CORRECTION MAKES US PRODUCTIVE.

The Psalmist said, "Blessed is the man you discipline, O Lord,
the man you teach from your law" (Psa. 94:12).

It seems many people only learn when they have to. We only move
when we have to. Necessity is truly "the mother of invention."
In fact, they say approximately 95 percent of the world's most
important discoveries and inventions were made in times of deep
trouble. Tough periods and emergency situations make us look
for ways to turn crises into opportunities. One of the most
interesting laws of life is that the very same things can be
either stumb­ling blocks or stepping stones.

One writer says, "Burdens can become bridges." He recalls
watching an ant carrying a piece of leaf across an old sidewalk.
The leaf section was a huge burden for the ant, but it labored
on-until it came to a big crack in the con­crete. It paused.
The observer won­dered if the ant would turn back, or, perhaps
go down into the crack. But neither happened. Instead, the ant
maneuvered its leaf into position across the crack. Then it
simply walked across the leaf-bridge to the other side and again
picked up the leaf and went on its way.

The burdens we carry today may be building the character-bridges
we will need to cross the hard places to­mor­row. An old poem
says,

I walked a mile with Pleasure,

She chattered all the way,
But left me none the wiser,

For all she had to say.

I walked a mile with Sorrow,

And ne'er a word said she;
But oh, the things I learned from her,

When Sorrow walked with me!

Those children who have every­thing given to them, seldom become
real­ly successful. Those countries that have democracy imposed
upon them sel­dom become truly liberated. We must learn through
trial and error. We must grow through tough times.

God's correction makes us pro­duc­tive.

III. FINALLY, GOD'S CORRECTION MAKES US HAPPY.

The Psalmist said, "I delight in your law. It was good for me
to be af­flicted so that I might learn your de­crees. The law
from your mouth is more precious to me than thousands of pieces
of silver and gold" (Psa. 119:70, 71-72).

Ernest Hemingway said, "Moral is what you feel good after; and
im­moral is what you feel bad after."

Actually, well behaved children are much happier than frustrated
and rebellious children. In one study, re­search­ers found that
children played much better and had more fun when their yard had
clearly marked bound­aries than when it didn't. They knew where
the "limits" were and felt secure within them.
Disobedient children are not hap­py. A typical
fourteen-year-old com­plained: "My problem is one you prob­ably
don't hear much. My dad is a doc­tor and he's always busy. My
mother's a champ­ion golfer and she's at the club every
afternoon when I come home from school. On weekends they party.
But what really bothers me is how they let me do almost anything
I want to. They never tell me when to come in. I can go
anywhere I please. You might think I'm lucky; but that isn't
how I feel about it. It's scary, because I wonder if I'm all
that ready to decide everything by myself."

Doing hard tasks and overcom­ing difficult challenges gives us
more satisfaction than taking an easy way. It's true that too
many regulations lead to rebellion. But too few may be even
worse.

Overcoming obstacles and solv­ing problems gives us
self-confidence and a sense of satisfaction.

God's correction makes us happy.

The Scripture says, "Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can
I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are
there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there" (Psa.
139:7-8).

God is the one unchanging thing in a changing world. He's our
stand­ard; our ultimate role-model; our rock. His statutes and
principles are positive and beneficial. They are for our own
good. The writer of Hebrews said, "All discipline for the
moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who
have been trained by it, after­wards it yields the peaceful
fruit of righteousness" (Heb. 12:11).

There are three motives for obe­dience. We can obey because we
have to. We can obey because we need to. Or we can behave
because we want to.

A slave obeys because he has to. If he doesn't obey he will be
punished or killed.

An employee obeys because he needs to. He may not enjoy his
work, but he does enjoy getting his paycheck! He needs to obey
because he has a family to feed and clothe.

But a Christian obeys his Heav­enly Father because he wants to-
because the relationship between him and God is one of love.
"If you love me, keep My commandments" (John 14:15).

Saying "God disciplines us" means, He lets us learn through
natural consequences. He practices tough love. But He is with
us during the bad times.

One father explained that there is a law of life, that sin has
to be punished. As a method of punishment, the father told his
disobedient son that he must sleep in the attic. The boy didn't
say a word, but that night his parents were restless, and it was
after midnight be­fore they finally laid down to rest, but
neither could sleep. After tossing and turning for several
hours, the father said, "I can't stand this any longer. I'm
going upstairs and stay with our son." Climbing the attic steps
and quietly opening the door, he tiptoed over to the corner
where he found the sobbing child still awake. The father lay
down by his side, put his arms around him, and soon they were
both asleep.

God's correction is like that. It's a law of life that we must
live with the negative consequences of our actions; but we don't
have to do it alone. God is with us.

*****
(Word Count 1784)

These messages are from an unpublished manuscript © copyrighted
by Miles and Maralene Wesner, Idabel, OK. Please use them in
any way you think appropriate. The only thing we ask is that
you give credit for original material in published works.

EMAIL SERMON SERVICE is a free service from Diversity Press.

OUR RATIONALE:

We are not political! We are not against anyone. And we have no
doctrinal agenda. Rather, after many years of pastoring small
churches and teaching (especially college students, who
represent the next generation), we have chosen to emphasize
certain very relevant, neglected aspects of the Gospel-namely:
personal discipline (maturity and responsibility); family
relationships (marriage and child rearing); general life skills
and common sense.

Our social problems today prove that these characteristics are
so important. Young people need them and are asking for them.

We are semi-retired-still teaching and ministering on a part
time basis. All we're really interested in now is using our
experience to help others. If you would like our Sermon Service
or New Perspectives, please avail yourself of them. There is no
obligation.

We also have much of this information in books-provided to you
at cost while the supply lasts.

My ministry has been blessed immeasurably by reading other
people's sermons. When I started preaching 56 years ago, I
waited for "inspiration" (usually Saturday night, about
midnight) before I began my sermon preparation. Then, I
discovered it wasn't inspiration at all-it was sheer PANIC. I
would have welcomed this service.

Comments are always welcome. (Please indicate if you do not want
your comments to appear in New Perspectives).

Miles E Wesner