People Who Ignore Discipline March 25 ,2015

Proverbs 15: 31 - 33     …31 He whose ear listens to the life-giving reproof Will dwell among the wise. 32 He who neglects discipline despises himself, But he who listens to reproof acquires understanding.33 The fear of the LORD is the instruction for wisdom, And before honor comes humility.

Proverbs 10: 16 - 18     …16 The wages of the righteous is life, The income of the wicked, punishment. 17 He is on the path of life who heeds instruction, But he who ignores reproof goes astray. 18 He who conceals hatred has lying lips, And he who spreads slander is a fool.…

Titus 2:8     and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us.

Proverbs 3:11-12    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.

Proverbs 15:5      A fool spurns his father's discipline, but whoever heeds correction shows prudence.

Remember the scene from The Color Purple where Shug Avery is hit by the Spirit and sings God Is Trying To Tell You Something? Tell the truth, could/can you hear your message?  Many of us allow our pride to dismiss the will and the correction of God; we tend to  treat the unction of the Spirit like we do people on the street, telling ourselves "He's not talking to me!"

The Scriptures speak of three major categories of "trouble" for the believer: 1) discipline, judgment, or rebuke from the Lord; 2) tests, trials, and suffering; and 3) temptations or attacks from Satan.

God uses chastisement as a last alternative. If all God needed to justify mankind to himself was a bigger cattle-prod, then Christ died for nothing! No, God's plan for the earth is love first, discipline last. To get us to listen and repent, he will use deep conviction, the reprimand of friends, coincident sermons, the hastening of Scripture, and every other means before disciplining us. But if we resist God's Spirit of light and mercy, we are promised the rod of correction. When God disciplines, the punishment fits the crime. Time and again, we realize that we cannot get away with unrepentant sin. God is sculpting us into holy vessels, and the process can be painful.