Why do the wicked prosper while
the righteous suffer? Why do ungodly men live in ease
while godly men often have no earthly comfort? Those facts often trouble the
hearts of believing people. Many godly people have felt much
like David when he wrote the 73rd Psalm. David saw the wicked
prospering, and he was envious, and his heart was disturbed by
the fact that the wicked prospered so much. It appears that the
wicked always prosper in this world and always increase in
riches. In Psalm 73, David said in verse
three, I was envious at the foolish when I saw the prosperity of
the wicked, for there are no bands in their death, but their
strength is firm. They are not in trouble as other
men, neither are they plagued like other men. He said, when
these men are around, it seems that nothing harms them. Nothing
disturbs them. When plague comes, it seems to
pass them by. They have riches constantly increasing. When death comes, they're not
disturbed. There's no bands of their death.
He says in verse six, therefore pride compasseth them about as
a chain. Violence covereth them as a garment.
Their eyes stand out with fatness. They have more than heart could
wish. They're corrupt and speak wickedly concerning the oppression.
Concerning oppression, they speak folly, or speak loftily. They
set their mouth against the heavens. Their tongues walketh through
the earth. Therefore his people return thither,
and waters of a full cup are rung out from them. That doesn't
make sense, does it? They speak with pride and loftiness
against the God of heaven. They speak with pride and loftiness
of oppression against men. Therefore, his people return
hither, and waters of a full cup are rung out to them." There,
that's a fact that we observe. But the righteous, those who
fear God, those who seek the glory of Christ. Those who are
robed in the righteousness of Christ, those who believe God,
the righteous, are often cast down. Virtue is often dressed
in rags. Godly hearts are usually weeping
hearts, and those who seek the glory of Christ in this world
seem to reap the most of the world's sorrow, pain, and reproach. I'm frequently asked, How can
this be? How can it be that the wicked
prosper so, and the righteous suffer so? How can it be that
men believing God are in adversity, while men opposing God are in
prosperity? I know that most people cannot
understand this apparent paradox in Providence, and I realize
that apart from the revelation of God himself, No man can understand
the ways of God toward his people. Human reason says prosperity
is the result of diligence, wisdom, and thrift. Poverty is the result
of laziness, ignorance, and vice. But that's not so. That's not
so. I know men who labor hard who are poor men. I know men
who are brilliant men who are poor men. I know men who are
moral men who are poor men, and I know some lazy sluggards who
are unwise and anything but thrifty, and yet they're wealthy men.
So human reason doesn't give us any answer. Human religion
says happiness, health, and prosperity are the signs of God's favor.
And the whole religion of this age seems to be built upon health,
wealth, and prosperity. The preachers on television and
radio are promising you that if you'll give to them and you'll
keep them on radio, keep them on television, buy their diamond
rings and their Cadillacs, God will prosper you. And they seem
to tell us that these things are signs of God's blessing and
God's favor upon men. If you're healthy, it's because
God's blessing you. If you're rich, it's because
God's blessing you. Not necessarily. Not necessarily. We are told that sorrow, sickness,
and poverty are signs of God's displeasure. That was the problem
with Job's three friends. They came and sat down before
Job and couldn't speak. They were astonished at his terrible,
terrible trial. His children were gone. His riches
were gone. His house was gone. His fame
was gone. His reputation was gone. His
health was gone. They said, Job, what have you
done? What have you done? Job, God won't afflict a righteous
man. Job, don't you know that man's
ways are right before God? God will not treat him like this.
What have you done? What have you done? And that's
generally the attitude which even true believers are likely
to take. Very often true believers fall
into the error of the ungodly. We are all apt to think that
if God lifts a man and raises him up and exalts him, then God
is pleased with him. And if God cast a man down and
humbles him and strips him and afflicts him, then God's angry
with him. I want you to look in Revelation
chapter 3 and verse 19. Hear these words of the Lord
Jesus Christ and learn the truth. Our Lord Jesus says, as many
as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Be zealous therefore and repent. Our Lord rebukes us and chastens
us because he loves us. Will you write that down somewhere?
Underscore it? Ask God to teach it to you? Ask
God to make you remember it? Our Lord rebukes us and chastens
us because he loves us. If we would learn this fact in
our hearts, it would put an end to our murmuring, our complaining,
our griping against God's providence. We would say with the psalmist,
it is good for me that I have been affected. If we learn that
our affliction comes from the hand of God's love. William Cowper
expressed in a hymn what I want to tell you in this sermon tonight.
He said, "'Tis my happiness below, not to live without the cross,
but the Savior's power to know, sanctifying every loss." Trials
must and will befall. If you haven't found it yet,
if you're a believer, if you're God's child, if you have faith
in Christ, trials must and will befall. Just hold on to your
seat. They're coming. They're coming.
Trials must and will befall. But with humble faith to see
His love inscribed upon them all, this is happiness to me. God in Israel sows the seeds
of affliction, pain, and toil. These spring up and choke the
weeds that would else or spread the soil. Trials make the promise
sweet. Trials give new life to prayer. Trials bring me to Christ's feet,
lay me low, and keep me there. Did I meet no trials here, no
chastisements by the way? Might I not with reason fear
I should prove a castaway? Bastards may escape the rod,
sunk in earthly vain delight, but the true born child of God
must not would not if he might. Our Lord says, as many as I love,
I rebuke and chasten. Now I want us to look at that
text in a few minutes, but first I want to make a few statements.
Whenever you see the prosperity of the wicked and the sorrow
of the righteous, Whenever you who believe, whenever you who
are righteous, being made righteous by the hand of God's mercy, having
the righteousness of Christ imputed to you, whenever you who believe,
suffer adversity, and whenever you suffer sorrow in this world,
while ungodly men and women seem to live in ease and luxury and
comfort, remember these three things. Remember these three
things. Your sorrow in this world is
not really that great. Now that may sound like it comes
from a callous man. You know me better than that.
I believe I truly enter into the sorrows that you experience. When you weep, I weep with you.
When your heart aches, my heart aches. I'm one with you. I truly am one with you. Whenever
you have difficulty, I have difficulty. But will you hear me? Your sorrow
in this world is not nearly as bad as you think it is. It's
not nearly as great as you might suppose it to be. Turn over to
2 Corinthians 4. 2 Corinthians chapter 4. The apostle Paul in this passage
of scripture tells us that from the day he was converted, he
was constantly troubled on every side. He tells us that he was
distressed. He tells us that he was perplexed
and persecuted. He tells us that he was cast
down. He tells us that he bears about in his body the dying of
the Lord Jesus. He tells us how that he was in
the sea and he was in shipwreck tossed to and fro by day and
by night. It comes down to the end of this
thing and he says in verse 17, our light affliction, our light
affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far
more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." How could he say that? How could he say our light affliction?
Well, our afflictions in this world are light, whatever they
are. If they're compared with what
we deserve, they're light. You and I deserve eternal damnation. You and I deserve the wrath of
God forever. We think about our troubles in
this world. We think about difficulties you
have on the job or difficulties you have with your neighbor or
difficulties you have in your home. And you think, what terrible
woes. Oh, they're nothing compared
with what you deserve and what I deserve. Nothing compared with
that. More than that, our afflictions and our trials and our troubles
here are very light. compared with what our Lord endured
for us. The Son of God was made to be
sin for us. The Son of God suffered the wrath
of Almighty God in our stead. The Son of God endured the just
penalty of God's holy law for us. And we complain because we
got a backache. We complain because we're having
a little trouble meeting payments this month. We complain because
we're having some trial in this... Oh, what is that? Our afflictions
are light, Lindsay, compared to what he suffered for us. What
do we got to complain about? Our afflictions are light compared
with what many of God's children have suffered in the past. I read of some of the things
men and women have suffered for Christ in the past, and I think
to myself, Don, you ought to bite your tongue if you ever
think about complaining about what you suffer again. You ought
to bite your tongue if you ever think about murmuring against
God again. This man Paul that we read about, Job, David, That
man, anointed of God, the king of Israel, that man after God's
own heart, was hunted like a wild beast by Saul. His reputation
was drug through the mud. He was counted to be the offspring
of the earth. He was the man after God's own
heart. And we murmur and complain because somebody said something
bad. Somebody didn't think to do this, didn't think to say
that. We get so easily offended during the days of terrible persecution which once
swept over this world. Men were faithful unto death. The young people in the church
used to go out to the fields where they burned their pastors
at the stake. I'm going to ask where they're
going. They said, we're going to go
learn how to die. We're going to go learn how to die. It was
a way of life. And we can play. We can play. Oh, God forgive our ingratitude. Our afflictions, I'm telling
you, no matter what your affliction is right now, no matter what
it is, I know somebody who suffers worse. And you do too. You do
too. I know somebody who's got worse
woes than you do. I know somebody who's got worse difficulties
than you do. I get upset, you know, because
I've got a headache. I've had a cold for the last
week. I get irritable with my wife and irritable with my daughter.
And I'm not too irritable with you, but you're not with me all
the time. And I think to myself, I've got a friend who can't hardly
move a muscle. I've never heard him complain
in his life. I've got friends who, with every movement, their
joints, Ache. Ache. Never complain. And I complain because of a little
discomfort. And compared with the glory that
awaits us, our afflictions are very light. Very light. Not only
that, but our afflictions in this world are only temporary.
They're only momentary troubles. Whatever they are, they'll soon
be over. and our afflictions are working
for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. Then
remember also that this world is not the place of punishment
for the wicked. When you see the wicked prosper,
remember that as a general rule, God allows the wicked to go on
in their wickedness. As a general rule, God throws
the reins on their necks. He allows them to go on in their
unbridled lust. He leaves them alone in all the
woe of that man whom God leaves to himself. But all the while,
he's preparing them for destruction. All the while. Turn over to Psalm
92. Psalm 92. God has set their feet in slippery
places and they'll slide in due season. Here in Psalm 92, the
psalmist is again dealing with this matter of the prosperity
of the wicked. And he's talking about how he
ought to give thanks to God for his goodness to him. He says
in verse six, a brutish man knoweth not, neither doth a fool understand
this. When the wicked spring as the
grass and when all the workers of iniquity do flourish, when
they're flourishing in the earth and they're prospering and everything's
going the way they want it to go, it is to this purpose that
they might be destroyed. Do you see that? It is to God
laid the reins on their neck. God turned them loose, God left
them alone that they might be destroyed forever, but thou,
Lord, art most high forevermore. And remember too, this world
is not the place of our reward. In his wise providence, God often
cast the righteous down. The believer is often afflicted. The waves of trouble roll frequently
over the heart that is sanctified by the grace of God. And with
those things in mind, I want us to look at these words which
our Lord gives in Revelation chapter 3. Our Lord says here
in Revelation 3, 19, as many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Be zealous, therefore, and repent. Now here are four things revealed
in the text. First, here is a fact to remember. As many as I love, I rebuke and
chasten. Our heavenly father is a wise
as well as a loving father. And as a wise and loving father,
he disciplines his children. He rebukes and chastens his own. Let me show you some scriptures.
Turn back to the book of Job. Job chapter 5. Now these are
things taught throughout the word of God. Our heavenly father
chastens his own because he loves us. In Job chapter 5 and verse
17. Behold, happy is the man whom
God correcteth. Therefore, despise not thou the
chastening of the Almighty, for he maketh sore, and he bindeth
up. He woundeth, and his hands make
whole. Look in Proverbs chapter three.
Proverbs chapter three, the wise man Solomon remembered the afflictions
of God, and he gives us instruction. In Proverbs three and verse 11,
My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord. Oh, that's
a word of wisdom to you. Children of God, don't despise
God's chastening. Don't murmur at God's providence. Don't despise what God's doing
in your life. Don't despise the sorrow that
God has sent. Despise not the chastening of
the Lord. Neither be weary of his correction. For whom the Lord loveth, he
correcteth, even as the Father the Son, in whom he delighteth. Now look in Hebrews chapter 12.
Hebrews the 12th chapter. The Apostle Paul takes up right
there where Solomon left off. Hebrews chapter 12 and verse
5. And have you forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto
you as unto children? My son, despise not the chastening
of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him. For whom
the Lord loveth, he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom
he receiveth. If you endure chastening, God
deals with you as with sons. For what son is he whom the father
chasteneth not? But if you be without chastisement,
whereof all are partakers, then you're bastards and not sons.
Your religion's a farce. The Apostle James says, Blessed
is the man that endureth temptation. For when he is tried, having
been proved by God, God will give him a crown of life. God
will honor him, for God has tried him. God has chastened him. God
has proved him. God has been honoring him all
along. Now, before the Lord chastens
us with the rod, he tenderly rebukes us for sin. Someone said
God always warns before he wounds. And I expect that's accurate.
And if we were more sensitive to his warnings, we would not
so often need to be wounded. And we would hear his rebukes.
We would not so often feel his rod. God rebukes us in a lot
of ways. Turn back to the Song of Solomon.
You who are familiar with this passage of scripture, you'll
remember that Throughout the Song of Solomon, you have the
Church of God under various experiences of trials and afflictions and
revivings and refreshment and trials and afflictions and reviving
and refreshment, a whole lot like you and I experience. Here
in the Song of Solomon, chapter 5, you are familiar with that
passage, I sleep but my heart wakens. My beloved put his hand
in by the hole of the door, my bowels removed for him. Finally
she arose and opened to him. He was gone. Now look in verse
seven. The watchman that went about
the city found me. You know who the watchman are,
don't you? That's the preacher. That's the messenger of God.
The watchman that went about the city found me and they smoked
me. They wounded me. The keepers
of the walls took away my veil from me, that is, they exposed
me. That's what God does by the preaching
of the Word. As I preach to you, as I'm preaching
to you tonight, it may be that God in heaven is speaking a word
of rebuke. The Word wounds and the Word
smites and the Word exposes what we really are. Hear the rebuke
of God. Don't turn a deaf ear to it.
If God speaks to you, don't act like he's talking to somebody
else. Hear his rebukes. God rebukes his own by the tender
influence of the spirit who dwells within as well. Not only does he take the word
and pierce our hearts, But he who resides within rebukes. In your private, secret chamber,
when you're alone with God, he who rebukes, when he does hear
him, hear him respond to the word of the Spirit in your own
heart. And God often rebukes his children indirectly by the
incidental events of providence. Have you ever been rebuked by
a child? Boy, that's humiliating. But
sometimes they'll do it. Alexander McLaren, that famous
expositor, he told a story once of how that his daughter used
to meet him every day. He'd be coming home from the
office and She'd run out to meet him, and she'd walk down the
block with him, and they'd chat together. She'd hold his hand,
walk by his side, and they had a good time. One day, she didn't
show up. He missed her. He thought something
was wrong, so he hurried his pace, and he went to his wife,
and he said, what's wrong with the daughter? Is she ill? The
wife said, no, she's upstairs in her room. Went on like that
for a couple of weeks. He didn't see his daughter, she
didn't meet him, and he was concerned. She came down one evening, it
was his birthday or Christmas or something, I don't know what
it was, and she brought him a present. She had been knitting him a pair
of mittens, and he said, he said, honey, is this what you've been
doing these days rather than meeting me? She said, yeah, Daddy,
I want to do something for you. He said, don't you know that
I'd whole lot rather have you just be with me by my side than
do anything on earth for me? And he said immediately, the
rebuke came. My father said, don't you know
I'd rather have you with me by my side than anything you can
do for me? He rebukes us incidentally, just
by the various experiences of providence. Our Lord takes the
lilies. He said, you worry about what
you're going to wear. Look at the lilies. They don't toil and they
don't spin. And Solomon in all of his glory
never was dressed like that. You worry about what you're going
to eat tomorrow. Look at the raven, that unclean bird. God feeds him. You worry about
what you're going to have today or tomorrow or the next day or
at the end of your life? Look at the sparrow. Two of them
aren't worth a penny, but God feeds them. God protects them. God watches over them. You're
of more value than many sparrows. Oh, faithless generation, when
will you believe? And so God rebukes us in many,
many ways. But when the rebukes fail, When
the word preached, when the pricking of the spirit, when the rebuke
of providence fails to awaken us and fails to correct us, our
Lord will take out the rod to chasten his own. God has a lot
of ways of chastening. He has a lot of ways of chastening.
I can't begin to tell you all, but he has a lot of ways by which
he teaches his sons obedience. Sometimes God will give you what
you think you want, just to let you know you don't want it. He'll
do it. Israel had been fed every day
in the wilderness with manna from heaven. Every morning, go
out and the manna would be on the ground. Every day. God had
been providing for us. They said, we sure would like
to have some meat. God said, well, bud, stand back. You're
going to get some meat. And he sent quail two feet deep,
within a mile all the way around them, and they had flesh in their
teeth when judgment fell upon them. God will often give you
what you think you want. Want that new car? Got to have
that new car. Got to have that new car. Want
that new car more than anything on this earth? You get a thing,
transmission falls out, tire blow up, the engine goes kapooey,
You think, man, I wonder how I get rid of this thing. That's
just trivial. God does it. God does it. Sometimes he teaches us patience
by sorrow. Oh, God, teach me patience. Be
careful. Be careful. Job was a patient
man. that he learned to be patient
only through many tears. Sometimes the Lord teaches us
our weakness by allowing us to fall. Peter said, Bob Ponson
may forsake you, but not me, buddy. They all may forsake you,
but I'll stay with you. This day you're going to deny
me three times." Sometimes he teaches us humility
by giving us a thorn in the flesh. I don't know what Paul's problem
was. He had a thorn in the flesh and
he prayed three times, God take it away, and God said no. God
said no. He said, my grace is sufficient
for you, but you're going to live with that thorn. Paul said
it was a messenger of Satan that constantly beat me in the face,
lest I should be exalted above measure. Sometimes the Lord teaches
us obedience by letting us reap the consequences of disobedience. David wants Bathsheba, wants
her so bad. And God lets him have her. And
then he said, now this is the consequence. David's heart is lifted up with
pride and he wants to number Israel. And Joab said, David,
God will add many folks to the nations he wants here. Don't
be so foolish to number Israel. He said, go number them. God
said, okay, David, here they are. Now here's the consequence. You live with it. Very often our Lord withdraws
the light of His presence to teach us to seek Him. He hides His face so that we
might cry, oh, that He might show Himself through the last.
Oh, that He might embrace me. That He might bring me again
to His banqueting house. our Savior takes away our earthly
comfort, those things that are most delightful to us here, so
that we might learn to lean upon Him. This is a fact to remember. The
Lord rebukes and chastens His own. Now, here's a reason to
ponder. As many as I love, I rebuke and
chasten." That's the reason, buddy. That's the reason. If
you're God's child, you will be chastened by him. And when
you're chastened by him, don't despair, because his chastisement
is but a proof of his love and a demonstration of the fact that
you're his child. The reason God chastens you is
because he loves you. I picked this thing up this evening,
and when my daughter saw it, her eyes got big as sausage.
She's very familiar with it. It's the best 39 cents I ever
spent in my life. When she was about six months
old, I decided this was too big to hit her with, so I got something
smaller. And used it frequently. Used it firmly. Used it as often
as I thought it was needed, without hesitating. Because I love that
girl. Because I love her. A loving father will see to it
that his children obey him. He'll see to it. A loving father
will chasten his sons and daughters. I wrote down on the back of this
thing, Never to be used in anger. Oh no, not because I'm angry
with you. Love makes the father's rod bearable. You know, I never saw any hostility
from her because of using that rod. Never one time. Never knew
her to be angry at me. She may have been, but she hid
it well. She hid it well. Never had any hostility. Love
makes it bearable. Consistency. That's my part. That makes it effectual. That
makes it effectual. Obedience makes it disposable.
It's about being disposed of. I'll hang on to it and she can
use it when she gets one, you know. What are you saying, Pastor? Our Father loves His children
and He disciplines His children. He chastens His children because
He loves them. Wes, if you love those two boys,
you make them mind you. It's that simple. Oh, but I couldn't
stand to see little Johnny cry. Phooey. You don't want little
Johnny to be mad at you. You're selfish. You love yourself
more than you love that child. Oh, but I couldn't do that to
one of my children. If you love them, you will. If you love them,
you will. I don't care what the philosophy
of the age is. This book is so. Well, I have
a wiser method. You're not as wise as God yet.
Not yet. It is God's intention to make
us better by using the rod. It's his intention. Look again
in Hebrews chapter 12, Hebrews 12, verse 9. Furthermore, we've had fathers
of our flesh which corrected us and we gave them reverence.
Shall we not much rather be in subjection to the Father of Spirit
than live? Look in verse 10. For they verily
for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure. Every now
and then I'd do or say the wrong thing and my daddy would give
me one of these and I'd find myself picking myself up off
the floor. Now, the reason he did it was
not to do me any good because he was mad and he wanted me to
know he was mad. That's not the chastening that
does good. That's not it. We gave them reverence. They chastened us for their pleasure
to satisfy their anger, but God chastens us for our profit that
we might be partakers of his holiness. Now, no chastening
for the present seems to be joyous. It doesn't seem to be too delightful
while you're enduring it. It's grievous. Nevertheless,
afterward, it yieldeth a peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them
that are exercised thereby. Fire refines the gold. The furnace purifies the silver. The pruning knife restores health
to the tree. and the rod matures the son. Why does God chasten his children?
Basically, there are two reasons. God chastens us either to correct
sin in us or to prevent sin in us. One of the two. God does
not chasten us in anger to punish us for sin. Don't ever think
that. Don't ever look at your circumstances
and say, You gotta reap what you sow.
It's what I was. That's what my boy is. That's the consequence of it.
Don't ever think God's punishing you for sin. I'm not fearful
of God treating my daughter ill because of the ill that I did
when I was her age. I'm not fearful of that. God
punished my sin in Christ. God punished my sin in a substitute. God satisfied His anger, His
wrath, and His justice in Christ for me 2,000 years ago. He'll never bring it up again.
Never. But rather, God chastens us to correct us. To correct us. When our Lord
lays the rod of love on our backs, It is that he might break our
pride, our self-sufficiency, and our self-will. When God lays the rod of his
love on our backs and makes us tingle with the pain, it is that
he might wean us from the love of this world. He's going to do that. He's going
to do that. Our inordinate affections must
be subdued. They must be subdued. Oh, love your wife. Don't love
her too much. Love your husband. Don't love
him too much. Love your children. Don't love
them too much. So as to allow them to stand
in your way of worshiping and serving and obeying Christ. Don't
do it. God lays the rod to our backs,
as here in Revelation 3, to awaken us from slothful indifference. I'm glad he does, aren't you? I'm glad he doesn't let his own
perish in that sloth and indifference, that he awakens God lays the
rod to our backs and takes us through trials, heartaches, afflictions,
and troubles so as to make Christ precious
to me. I don't know why it's necessary
except for our sin, but somehow we just will not And I suppose
cannot appreciate our Savior as we ought until he walks with
us through a dark, rough, tempestuous valley. And you start through that dark
valley and you scrape your knees along the way and you're terrified
with the storm. And all the while your heart's
heavy and your soul's heavy and your mind's doubtful. And you
wonder where is Christ now? Where is he now? Why won't he
hear me now? But when you get on the other
side and you see his smiling face, And you realize that it's
he who led you through and protected you and directed you in the valley.
And all he's done is he's been refining his silver and purifying
his gold and nurturing his child. He said, boy, I appreciate it. When I was first married, I was
a boy of 18 years old. And you know I loved that blonde-headed
girl I was married to? I did. I just head over heels
in love. But now we've been married for
nearly 18 years. And we've been through some valleys
together. And we've been on some mountaintops together. And she'd
been faithful. And I've learned to love her.
You see the difference, what I'm saying? Our Lord chastens
us to teach us the preciousness of Christ. Let him do whatever he will,
whatever he will, that Christ may be precious. You see, our
God knows that in order for his child to grow, he's got to go
through some rough places. He knows that sometimes it's
got to look as though to that child he's turned his back upon
him. And it must look as though to that child that his father
has turned against him in anger, but all the while the father's
showing his love, his gracious discipline. The Lord lays his rod upon our
backs to strengthen our faith. He lays the rod on our backs
to make us useful to others. God puts us through difficulties
and trials to prepare us for the difficulties
and trials ahead, and so strengthen our faith. And he puts us through
trials and difficulties to prepare us for service to his people,
make us useful to them, so that we can be tender and sympathetic
rather than being hard and mean like we usually are. And the
Lord God lays his rod on our backs to conform us to the image
of Christ. As our Savior learned obedience
by the things which he suffered, even so must we learn obedience
by the things that we suffer. God rebukes and chastens his
own. And the reason for the chastisement
is that he loves us. Now, thirdly, here's a comfort
to sustain us in the midst of our trials. As many as I love,
I rebuke and chasten. Though he chastens us, our Father
loves us still. Turn over to Isaiah 54. Several years ago, I was going
through a time of depression. languishing, and my soul was
heavy, my heart was dull. And I got a card from my friend
Charlie Payne. His thoughtfulness was used of
God so greatly, all he did was said, hello, thinking about you,
and he signed this verse of scripture below his name. Isaiah 54 and
verse 7, verses 7 through 10. Oh, what a refreshing it was. The Lord God says, for a small
moment have I forsaken thee, but with great mercies will I
gather thee in a little wrath. Did you see that? In a little
wrath. I hid my face from thee for a
moment. But with everlasting kindness
will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer. For this
is as the waters of Noah unto me. For as I have sworn that
the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth, so have
I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee. For the mountains shall depart,
and the hills shall be removed. But my kindness shall not depart
from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed. Sayeth the Lord that hath mercy
on them. While he rebukes and he chases,
but he loves us still. And though he chases us, our
Lord will not forsake us. Back in Isaiah 43, if you want
to turn there, And verse 2, he said, when you
pass through the water, you're going to get into the
deep water. You're going to. You're going to. If you belong
to him, you are. But you're going to go through
the water. And he said, I will be with thee. And when you pass
through the river, thou shalt not overflow there. When thou
walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned. Neither
shall the flame kindle upon thee, for I am the Lord thy God, the
Holy One of Israel, thy Savior. I killed Egypt for your ransom,
I killed Ethiopia and Sheba for you, for you're precious in my
sight. Thou hast been honorable, I've
made you honorable, and I've loved you. Therefore will I give
men for thee and people for thy life. Fear not, for I am with
thee. And though he chastens us, our God is doing us good. He's
doing us good. I read a statement by Thomas
Brooks. Let me give it to you. I hope
it means as much to you as it did to me. He said, God would not
rub so hard were it not to fetch out the dirt and the spots that
are in his people. God wouldn't rub so hard if there
wasn't much dirt in us, if it weren't his intention to fetch
it out. He's doing us good. He's doing us good. Now, fourthly, when our Lord
rebukes and chastens, here's a counsel to obey. He says, as
many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Be zealous, therefore,
and repent. Turn to Hosea, Hosea chapter
6. Hear this word of instruction. The surest way to put an end
to the rod is to bow to it. To submit to God's hand. And snuggle up as close as you
can to the one who's holding the rod. You ever try to whip
one of those girls while she's hugging your neck, buddy? That's
hard to do. That's hard to do. correcting my daughter, I'd take the paddle and I'd go
to work. Before I got done, she had about
convinced me that she was really sorry. She'd hug my neck and
kiss me and tell me she loved me and she was sorry. And man, I'd break down and cry
like I'd been beat. Hard with the child that's hugging
your neck and kissing you and loving you in repentance. Hard
to do that. And our Savior responds to repentance. He does
that. He responds to love. He responds to a tender heart,
and he responds with a tender heart. Look here in Hosea 6. Come, this is my counsel, come,
let us return unto the Lord, for he hath torn, and he will
heal us. He hath smitten, and he will
bind us up. Come on, come on, return to him. He's the one who tore, he'll
be all. He's the one who's smitten, he'll
bind you up. Look in chapter 14 of Hosea. O Israel, return unto the Lord
thy God, for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity. Take with
you words of repentance and turn unto the Lord. take away all iniquity, and receive
us graciously, so will we render the calves of our lips. Lord
God, take away our sin, and graciously receive us, and we'll give you
the praise of our lips, the praise of our hearts. Our Lord says,
as many as I love, I rebuke. cases. Be zealous, therefore, and repent. Amen.