WHEN LOVE HURTS
BIBLE PASSAGE: JEREMIAH 25:3 -14
Picture taken from Google
Lesson Prepared by: Krisha of
Solomon’s Wisdom FB page
Lesson
taken from: https://desirejesus.com/blog/2018/2/27/gods-discipline-is-proof-of-his-love
FEBRUARY 27, 2022
MEMORY VERSE
For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and
scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
HEBREWS 12:6
INTRODUCTION:
Still, our topic this fourth Sunday
of February is about love. Based on the sermons from our preachers, pastors
and lessons in our Sunday School, I know you’ll agree that love really matters,
right? Not just we all want to love and be loved, it’s a command. Imagine this
world which is filled with false views about love (mention some). Maybe you
heard the news about this beautiful woman, Miss Cheslie Kryst, who won the 2019 Miss USA pageant and worked as a
correspondent for the entertainment news television show “Extra,” reportedly
committed suicide Jan. 30. Authorities said the beauty queen, jumped to her
death from her 29th floor New York apartment. Based on the media source, one
of her articles and interviews is linked to that fear of getting old. She
mentioned, “Each
time I say, ‘I’m turning 30,’ I cringe a little. Sometimes I can successfully
mask this uncomfortable response
with excitement; other times, my enthusiasm feels hollow, like bad acting. Society has never been kind to those growing old,
especially women.
(Occasional exceptions
are made for some of the rich and a few of the famous.)” Maybe this quite
hallow reason for some of us but humanly speaking it’s a big deal especially to
a person without Christ in their hearts. Her last post in Instagram is this, “May this day bring you rest and peace.” According to
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data for 2019, before the
coronavirus pandemic, suicide is the second-leading cause of death in the
United States among those age 25 to 34, and the 10th-leading cause among adults
in the United States. I am in fond watching videos who are searching for people
underwater; some of those are accidents, crimes and most are suicide. One of
those is a teenager who had relationship problem, and his solution is to take
his life and drowned himself with his car. This world makes you feel unloved
and without purpose. My question is this, “ARE YOU LOVED?” Let us recite John
3:16 and Romans 5:8. It’s not a question anymore if you are loved therefore
don’t waste your time being emotional. There are lot of evidence, and the Bible
says so. Focus on our purpose; we have something to do – LET OTHERS KNOW THAT
THAT THEY ARE LOVED BY GOD (Share the Gospel).
We are now
reminded the love of the world versus the love of God. We are now Christians
and sometimes there are still some questions in mind why God let us experience
sufferings in this journey of life. Because of these sometimes, thoughts come
to our mind, “Does God really love me?” These thoughts are easy to be answered
by the word of God and we already knew the answers; these thoughts only snap in
our minds because of problems and sufferings. Before we go to our first point,
another question I need to ask, “DOES THE LOVE OF GOD HURT?” (Pause for a while
and let the audience respond)
LESSON OUTLINE:
1. A LOVING GOD DISCIPLINES HIS CHILDREN
WHEN THEY DON’T LISTEN TO HIS COUNSEL (HEBREWS 12:6; PROV.3:11-12)
For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and
scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
When you hear the word
"discipline", what thoughts come to your mind? Do you think about the
concept of practicing personal disciplines like eating healthy foods and
getting exercise? Do you think about incorporating the spiritual discipline of
prayer and the reading of Scripture into your daily routine? Or do you
primarily associate the word "discipline" with the word
"punishment"?
When
you were a child, it's likely that you didn't get too excited about your
parents disciplining you. Likewise, if you're a parent, I can just about
guarantee that some of the most unpleasant moments of your experience with
raising children have involved discipline. But the truth is, when you're
seeking to shepherd a young life, the enforcement of discipline is actually
evidence of love.
In Jeremiah 25:3-7 From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon
king of Judah, even unto this day, that is the three and twentieth year, the
word of the Lord hath
come unto me, and I have spoken unto you, rising early and speaking; but ye
have not hearkened. And the Lord hath
sent unto you all his servants the prophets, rising early and sending them; but
ye have not hearkened, nor inclined your ear to hear. They said, Turn ye again
now every one from his evil way, and from the evil of your doings, and dwell in
the land that the Lord hath
given unto you and to your fathers for ever and ever: And go not after other
gods to serve them, and to worship them, and provoke me not to anger with the
works of your hands; and I will do you no hurt. Yet ye have not hearkened unto
me, saith the Lord; that ye
might provoke me to anger with the works of your hands to your own hurt.
God loves His
children too much to allow them to continue to ignore His counsel. In this
portion of Scripture, we're told that at this point, Jeremiah had been
preaching to the people of Judah for twenty-three years. And interestingly, he
wasn't the only prophet the Lord had sent to these people to instruct them. But
the people, stubbornly, refused to listen. They went their own way. They
embraced idols and worshipped false gods. They devoted the work of their hands
to rebellion against the Lord, and their lack of faith produced widespread
disobedience.
How does a
loving God respond to something like this taking place in the lives of those He
has set apart as His own? It's true that the Lord is patient, and it's also
true that humanity seems adept at testing His patience in every way possible.
But just as the Lord is patient and kind, He is also perfectly just and loving.
It grieves His heart to see people who could enjoy the blessings and benefits
of walking closely with Him, choosing to go their own way and rejecting His
involvement in their lives. Knowing that this situation wasn't going to improve
on its own, the Lord intervened with some loving and uncomfortable
discipline.
https://desirejesus.com/blog/2018/2/27/gods-discipline-is-proof-of-his-love
If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as
with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?
(Hebrews 12:7)
In
Hebrews 11:35-38 we can see how great heroes of the faith suffered terrible
hardships, along with their victories (Hebrews 11:33–35). The greatest example
of these was Jesus, who was entirely sinless (Hebrews 4:15) and yet endured
hatred and violence (Hebrews 12:3). The
writer has been careful to point out that hardship is not a sign of God's
abandonment. On the contrary, this is evidence that God is working to
"train" us to be more like Him. Jesus was able to see His suffering
as part of God's plan for future joy (Hebrews 12:2). The Old Testament
itself had already pointed out that a truly loving father—like God—uses
"discipline" for a child; this
is not a sign of hate, but of love. The specific quote from the prior verses
comes from Proverbs 3:11–12, “My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord; neither be weary of his correction: For whom the Lord loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he
delighteth.”
Personally,
with this lesson, what I see is the attitude upon the discipline of the Lord.
Sometimes or most of the times, Christians don’t see that they are in a
discipline process. It’s a good reminder that we should be aware of chastening
of the Lord by keep on meditating His word. Sometimes Christians instead of
becoming humble, they become have more pride in their hearts and don’t submit
to the disciplining process. They get angry and make their own way. It’s better
to talk to God and open your hearts and ask, “Lord, what do you want me to do to this struggle or problems?”
How skillful are we at
listening to God's voice? How long has
He been trying to get our attention? How far have we attempted to stretch His
patience? Has He shown us patience for so long that instead of listening to Him
when He speaks, we've grown complacent with His grace?
When
Jesus called us unto Himself, He told us that His desire for us was that we
would listen to, and joyfully obey, His teaching.
2. BY NATURE, DISCIPLINE DOESN’T FEEL
PLEASANT (HEBREWS 12:11; JER. 25:8-10)
Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but
grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of
righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.
Through Jeremiah, the
people of Judah were being told that life as they knew it was about to change
drastically (severe). They were about to experience the direct discipline of
the Lord, and it wasn't going to feel pleasant. The truth is, by nature,
discipline doesn't feel pleasant. It pushes us out of the unhealthy patterns or
routines we've adopted and forces us to walk in a new direction.
During the
course of the year, there are certain milestones we've become used to. There
are various holidays we celebrate. There are specific times of year when we
intentionally get together with our families and close friends. We attend weddings
and other celebrations. At these times of celebration, we enjoy food,
conversation, take pictures, tell jokes, and probably make a little too much
noise. But it's nice, and it's a welcomed break to our typical routine.
Imagine,
however, if all of this was taken away from us. That's what the Lord was
telling the people of Judah to expect. That's what He was revealing to them was
about to become their reality. He was about to use foreigners as His instrument
of correction upon this group of people. Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon,
was going to be brought against the people. He would invade the land, make its
leaders and people subject to him, and take many of the people back to Babylon
as captives. For the people of Judah, the sounds of wedding celebrations,
conversational joy, and grinding their grain in freedom would be replaced by a
season of darkness and gloom. They had abused their freedom and would now
become slaves. Imagine now the people in Ukraine, Russians has started to
invade the land they’d used to live.
Understandably,
this would have been devastating for the people living at the time. But God is
sovereign and was still at work among them. This discipline wouldn't feel
pleasant, but it would serve its divinely ordained purpose.
Does God's love hurt? Yes, it is. When God allow painful circumstances into your life for your own
best. Does it hurt to be left by your boyfriend, girlfriend, loved ones, wives
or husbands? Does it hurt to be betrayed by your friends? Does it hurt to lose
your job? Does it hurt to pay 1 million pesos which is not personal debt? Does
it hurt to lose a case, and you need to pay? Does it hurt moving from a big
house to a room rent? Does it hurt to stop from your studies because no
financial support expected anymore? Does it hurt to? Yes, all of these are
painful, but God allow these things for a reason.
3. GOD’S DISCIPLINES ONLY LAST FOR A
SEASON (HEBREWS 12:10; JER. 25: 11-14)
For they verily for a few
days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we
might be partakers of his holiness.
Tagalog:
Sa loob ng maikling panahon, dinisiplina tayo ng ating mga magulang para sa
ating ikabubuti. Gayundin naman, itinutuwid tayo ng Diyos sa ikabubuti natin
upang tayo'y maging banal tulad niya.
This portion of Scripture
references a time span of seventy years. What do you think about a period of
time like that? Does seventy years sound like a long period of time or a short
period of time to you? If you were told that the roof on your house was guaranteed
to last for seventy years, would you consider that good or bad? If you were
told that you were going to live to be seventy, would that seem too long or too
short? If you were told that you were going to prison for seventy years, would
that seem like a long or a short time?
The people of
Judah were told that they were about to spend seventy years living as captives
in Babylon. I don't know if they believed this information when they first
heard it because they had a tendency of ignoring and questioning Jeremiah's
preaching, but nonetheless, that was exactly what happened to them.
There are multiple ways to look at something like this. In one sense, it seems tragic. In
another sense, it seems disciplinary. And in another sense, it seems merciful.
This generation of people embraced idolatry, stopped listening to the Lord, and
modeled their lack of faith to their children. Now the Lord was going to take
them out of their land for seven decades. In that time, this generation would
die off. The idols they worshipped would be stripped from them.
Our human
fathers “disciplined us for a short time based on what seemed good to them”
(Heb. 12:10). (What seemed good to them is an acknowledgement that
they didn’t always get it right, even when their intentions were right.) In
contrast, God always disciplines “for our benefit, so that we can share his
holiness … it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been
trained by it” (vv. 10-11)
It was
painful for the people of Judah to be in captives for many years, but this
happened for a purpose. The good thing is upon the disciplining process, God is
there. We just need to be humble to the Lord and submit to His will.
CONCLUSION:
If you've ever experienced a season of the Lord's discipline,
what were your impressions of it? Were you able to see it as evidence of His
love or did you despise Him for interrupting your comfort? Looking back on it
now, can you thank Him for blessing you with His intervention and care?
For many of us, we can
testify to the fact that a season of divine discipline was precisely what has
convinced our hearts that we truly need Jesus. We need His power, comfort, and
presence just as much today as we ever did. Sometimes it takes a jolt or a
God-ordained season of pruning to help us recognize that truth.
In any instance of suffering, we do well to ask
two questions: What is God wanting to do in me through this?
How can God get the glory in this?
Job 5: 17 Behold, happy
is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of
the Almighty: 18 For he maketh sore, and bindeth up: he
woundeth, and his hands make whole.
Tagalog:
Mapalad ang taong dinidisiplina ng
Diyos na Makapangyarihan, ang pagtutuwid niya sa iyo'y huwag mong ipagdamdam.
Ginagamot niya ang kanyang
nasugatan, pinapagaling
niya ang kanyang nasaktan.
The good news is that just as is the case with our
earthly fathers, the discipline from our Heavenly Father only lasts for a
season.
Jerry Bridges put it this way “The purpose of God’s discipline is not to punish us but to transform us.” Billy Graham once said: “God does not discipline us to subdue us, but to condition us for a life of usefulness and blessedness.
