Grapevine Ministries
Messages from the bible to uplift and encourage those that need a word from the Lord, to strengthen their faith. Ps Phillip Barker is an itinerant pastor in Perth, Western Australia.
Grapevine Ministries
The True Meaning Behind Hardships and Faith
Do you ever feel like life’s challenges are a sign of divine punishment? Join us as we unravel this common misconception with insights from the book of Hebrews. We tackle tough questions around illness, rebellious children, broken marriages, financial struggles, and persecution, emphasising that these trials are not punishments but integral aspects of the Christian walk under the new covenant. Through heartfelt discussion, we examine how the original readers of Hebrews faced similar adversities, and we reaffirm that these experiences reflect a robust, living faith rather than a weak one.
Good morning, good afternoon, wherever you are in the world - Welcome to Grapevine Ministries.
Greetings and salutations this beautiful Saturday morning. Apart from doing my podcast, one of the other things that I do pastorally is I speak to a lot of people that have got challenges in their life, that are dealing with things, and if I hadn't made it clear to my listeners before, one of the other things is that at this particular point in time, I to myself are waiting for a healing to take place in my body, but I've heard it said a couple of times that it's okay, they don't mind suffering because they feel that God's allowing that to happen to them so that someone else can be healed that is more in need. And now I'm going to clarify a couple of things. And then I know we're supposed to be in the book of John at the moment, but right now I just felt the Holy Spirit telling me that this is something that I need to clarify Now. I think it was about a year ago I did a similar thing. Like you know, unanswered prayer, or God wants you well, something along those lines. So I've titled this message today is when it feels like God is punishing you. When it feels like God is punishing you, then it feels like God is punishing you. Now it can be a feeling, it can be a presumption and sometimes it can be doctoral incorrect teaching. So I'm not pointing the blame at anybody in particular, because it says in the word of God judge not yet ye be judged. But I think if I clarify this then it will help some of you out there that have a loved one or someone that you know or a relative that is struggling at the moment and they've been praying and believing healing for their life and it just has not manifested itself.
Speaker 1:So the first thing that I want to say is, as a Christian, or even a non-Christian because people pray for people that aren't born again and God can still miraculously heal them. He's the author and the finisher of our faith, so we don't challenge him. We don't ask him why. Well, we can ask him why Sometimes he'll give you the answer and other times he won't, why, well, we can ask him why Sometimes he'll give you the answer and other times he won't. But I think to remember the main thing is that when we experience a painful providence, like an illness, or we've got a rebellious child, or we've got a broken marriage, or we're going through financial hardship or persecution, a lot of people tend to wonder if God is punishing them for some sin that they may or may not have committed. And the reason I say may or may not have committed? Because, unless you are that good that you can clearly stick to the Ten Commandments to the letter of the law, we all do sins and we sin and we fall short of the glory of God every single day of our life. But sometimes people think that it's what I've been doing, or who I've been associating with, or the type of movies that I watch, or the fact that I listen to people when they tell dirty jokes. The range is wide and varied, and you also and I'll tell you a lot of you have probably heard this I said, oh, and you also and I'll tell you a lot of you have probably heard this I said oh, did you lie about that? And you go well, no, well, yeah, actually I did, but it was only a white lie. A lie is a lie is a lie is a lie. You can't say this one's white, this one is probably in the gray area and this one's definitely in the dark. We don't understand that.
Speaker 1:There are some very, very good news for you in the writings of the book of Hebrew. Now, this is not talking about an individual. This is talking about a community as a whole. The original readers of this letter had been experiencing persecution and affliction for some time. They were tired, they were discouraged and confused why was God allowing such hardship? And some were doubting. So, after some clarification within the word of God and some firm exhortation and a few sober warnings, so they were able to examine if their faith was real, the author of the book of Hebrews and the letters that they brought home are very important points to take into consideration. The readers are to be reminded that the difficulty and the pain they were experiencing was not God's punishment for their sins or weakness of faith.
Speaker 1:Chapter 7 to 10 beautifully explains that Jesus' sacrifice for sin was once for all believers, for all time. Now let me clarify that right. So what we're going to do is we are going to go to Hebrews 10.14. Now I'm going to read this so you can understand it. This is the NIV. For by one sacrifice he had made perfect forever those who are being made holy. Or you can look at it from the ESV for by a single offering he has perfected all for all time, those who are being sanctified. Clearly, here the scriptures are letting us know that this is very important, and we can also go to Hebrews 10.18. And I'm taking a little bit longer today because I want to read these scriptures and make sure that you really understand what is really really going on here.
Speaker 1:So let's go to Hebrews 10.18,. All right, I have to tell you a little bit of time here. I've only got like two hands, so we're trying to make sure I can do all this without, you know, getting the laptop or the computer going all over the place. Come on, okay, let's not worry about that for now. Then I will clarify that a little bit later, because he follows up in Chapter 11 with example after example of how life of faith has always been difficult for saints. In other words, as a born-again believer, if we look at this from the new covenant that we're under, it is easy to see that it's not that easy for you to actually be able to stay in the word and be obedient to such a level, whereas we're always under the protection of God. All right, so now let's go to Hebrews. Yeah, let's go to Hebrews. Yeah, let's go to Hebrews 10. Why am I in Ephesians? Because I'm in the wrong place. Let's go to Hebrews Hebrews 10.18, right, where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any suffering for sin. And you go into the NIV and it says where these have been forgiven, sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary. It's no longer necessary.
Speaker 1:God's fatherly discipline is so unique that if you try and look at yourself, if you're a father and a husband, you have a look at what you need to do with your children to keep them on the straight and narrow, and sometimes it's not as simple as you would think. So let's jump back to Proverbs 3, 11. Know, in these days and now I'm not going to get on my political soapbox here in any way, shape or form, but the thing is, a lot of people these days believe that disciplining your children is the wrong thing to do. Because you need to discipline them with words, because it says in the Word of God spare the rod, spoil the child. But everybody has their different way of disciplining their children and even if it's as simple as a timeout or standing in the corner, you're still disciplining them. So they're still being punished per se for not doing the right thing. And this way it's structured around trying to make them understand that what they're doing is for, you know, in their best interest, because everybody has to do it. You get it done at work. You may get it done when you're on the football field, you know, playing basketball or whatever. The coach is going to get there and say, hey, I don't want you doing that, I want you to do this, make sure you do this and make sure you do that. So you are being disciplined in so many different ways and it's how you categorize it. But also, people can't go too far.
Speaker 1:Let's now go to Hebrews 12, 5 to 6. And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? And I'm going to say sons, slash daughters, because it's basically it pertains to all of us. My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him, for the Lord disciplines the ones he loves and chastises every son whom he receives. You see the picture that I'm starting to form here. These are written to tenderly encourage and bring exhortation to the Hebrews. It is for discipline that we do this.
Speaker 1:These saints were not to interpret their painful experiences as God's angry punishment for their sins. That angry punishment was completely spent on Jesus once and for all, on the cross, rather, this was the message they were to understand from their hardships. God loves you, he has fatherly affection for you, he cares deeply for you. He is taking great holiness because he wants you to be as happy as possible and enjoy peaceful, fruitful righteousness, and it's a form of precious favour. You see, when we are actually talking about this, I just want to reflect on a couple of things that I've heard this week.
Speaker 1:This week, and also Pastor Gary, who's spoken on Grapevine Ministries a few times. He was actually talking about. You know, god has created us to use what is in our hands and I went a little bit further on that and is saying that we need to use what God has provided to us, what you by our Heavenly Father, because he loves us. This is why, as a father, whenever I discipline my children, I always try to make it clear to them that I am not paying them back for their sins. That's why I don't use the term punishment. I don't want them to misunderstand things and to think that I'm giving them what they deserve. That's God's job, and if they trust in Jesus, all their punishment was taken care of on the cross.
Speaker 1:Now there's many different, should I say, branches of Christianity. It would probably be an easy way to look at this. You've got the Baptists, you've got the Catholics, you've got the Protestants, you've got the Presbyterians, you've got Word of Faith people, you've got evangelical people, you've got those that are Pentecostals. You've got such a variety of different branches of Christianity. They all focus on different aspects of it, and I don't want to single any one in particular out, because then I'm going to get emails and letters from people saying oh yeah, but I've been this faith all of my life and I know that God loves me and everything else, so I'm not going to go there, I'm going to leave that alone. But the point that I really want to make is it's the same sort of thing that I do, you know, and instead of always using the term discipline or correction and explain that I love them and my intention even though the discipline is painful, it is to correct and train them, I want them to know that their father loves them, cares for them deeply and is taking great pains to point them towards the way of joy.
Speaker 1:It is crucial that we remember everything God feels towards us as Christians he's gracious, he's loving, he's kind, he is forgiving. You know grace through faith, even when God disapproves of sinful behavior and habits and thoughts, and disciplines us. It is a precious form of his favor. It's what a loving father does. It's what a loving father does. He is not giving us what we deserve because he cancelled, or just decided that you're no longer worthy of his love or grace or anything the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands, nailed it to the cross. And it talks about this in Colossians 2.14. Let's just quickly go to Colossians 2.14. Now it says by cancelling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands, us with its legal demands this he set aside, nailing it to the cross. And if you look in the NIV, it says having cancelled the charge of our legal indebtedness whatever that word is which stood against us and condemned us, he has taken it away and he has nailed it to the cross. Or if you look at the King James Version you know they do it a little bit better it says blotting out the handwriting of ordinance that was against us, the handwriting of ordinance that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way and nailed it to the cross. It's all been done, it's all been put on the cross. We don't need to worry about that anymore. We don't need to think that is oh, I'm going through this because God has actually done this to me. Instead, he is training us in righteousness because he loves us so very much.
Speaker 1:I remember when I used to work for the Department of Corrections. The Department of Corrections was basically the prison system and they did the same thing. They called it the Department of Corrections. It was no longer a prison because they weren't encapsulated in an area and just being punished for what they were doing. They were there to be corrected, so they were learning.
Speaker 1:The correct way of how to survive is probably the wrong word, but it's more along the lines is that if we are misbehaving at school, for instance, then it may mean that we need to be taken away from the group of everybody else that is doing the right thing. And that's why you find a lot of the times a lot of Christians hang around other Christians. They spend time in fellowship with other Christians because they actually see the benefit of being around like-minded people. If you're around like-minded people, then you have a tendency to behave the way that they do. It rubs off on you, because we need to actually, you know, because we need to actually learn that it's important for us to watch out for the way that we behave and what we do. The hope for health is through the word of God. Anybody that is out there that is going through some difficult, challenging times. I need them to know without a shadow of a doubt that God loves them and he is watching over us every single time. We don't necessarily go through troubling times because of other people's. It's our choice, it's our way of doing things, it's our way of being able to get through things, and that's why you find that we've got to worship in God's family.
Speaker 1:The writers of Hebrew hearken us back to the Psalms of David to illustrate family and the uniqueness of prayer. David's words of praise, spoken in the midst of the assembly of Israel, point towards a messianic fulfillment in Jesus, who came as the captain of Israel's salvation and the sacrificer of his Hebrew brethren. You can see what is going on through the book of Hebrews and look. To be quite honest, I personally would recommend that you actually read through this, because once you actually get a better understanding of Hebrews, you'll be able to boldly go into the throne room of grace. What a privilege Jesus has obtained for us Immediate access to God. He gave himself as a living sacrifice so that we can draw near to the throne of God. With bold confidence, he made it possible for us to have a personal relationship with God. He is our Father and we are his children. We come as children, walking through the open door, and he is ready to lavish his mercy and grace upon us. Rather than focusing on our frailties and unworthiness, let us look to Jesus. Who, who is our high priestess, that understands our weaknesses, and he tempted, just as we are, but he chose not to sin, knows not to sin.
Speaker 1:See, everybody out there right now needs to go and get a coffee and sit down and read through the book of Hebrews. Now, if you're one of my female listeners, it's your husband's biblical responsibility to actually go and get you a coffee, because it says in the word of God, he brews. I know it's a dad joke he brews, as in, he is the one that brews your coffee. All right, some of you may have got it, some of you may not, but the point that I'm making throughout the book of Hebrews, god is revealing his love, his grace and his mercy, and we know that the joy of the Lord is our strength. I want you to sit and pray and just come boldly in the throne room of grace today and stand before the Father and say Lord, I know the challenges that I have before me at the moment. It says in the word that we will have trials and tribulations, but we know this is not of you. Have trials and tribulations, but we know this is not of you. We know this is not of you. You did not make our financial situation worsen because of something we've done. You did not make us suffer a sickness or a disease that come upon our body, because we know that you went to the cross and you bore it all upon you.
Speaker 1:An easy way of looking at this and there's several scriptures in there relate to this as well. If your child asked you for a piece of fruit, are you going to give them a stone? You know, if they ask for a piece of fish, are you going to give them a serpent? The thing is, you are going to want to give good and loving things to your children, to express your love for them, and it's not going to be conditional. I will give you an apple if you go and clean your room. No, that's not it. You clean your room because you're the one that messed it up. You'll get an apple from me anyway, and I know there's people out there that haven't got a father in the natural, or perhaps they've had a father that hasn't treated them well in the natural.
Speaker 1:But your heavenly father loves you and he is pouring out that love on you every single day, and that's why it says in John 3.16 that God so loved the world, that's, all of us, every man, woman and child. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son so that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. Because we know that nobody comes through the Father except through the Son. Jesus has bridged the gap. That's why we are now under a new covenant. God loves you and he is not going to do anything to harm you. And he is not going to do anything to harm you, and sometimes, as we're going through challenges, it may be something that we ourselves have done or something that we need to correct in our life, but we know it's all in God's timing and I believe and I'm going to pray for every single one out there now, every single person that has any sickness or disease that is upon their body.
Speaker 1:Father God, I actually lift them up to you right now. I ask, lord, that you pour out your love, your blessings, your anointing, your grace and your mercy upon every single one of them. Your grace and your mercy upon every single one of them. And, lord, come and visit them in the still night hours. Let them know that you are the author and the finisher of their faith. You are the one that gives them good things, you are the one that loves them and cares for them, and you hold them in your hands until they get through this.
Speaker 1:It says in the word that, yea, I walk through the valley of shadow of death. I will fear no evil, for thou art with me. It's because we go through things and some of us may be in those valley experiences right now, but the time will come where we'll come out of the valley and we'll be up on the hilltop rejoicing and praising God for what he's done in our life, because he will never leave you nor forsake you. He is always with you, he is always watching over you, he is always taking care of you. So, father God, I thank you, lord, that you touch every single listener today and let them see and feel your love. We ask all this in Jesus' mighty name, amen.
Speaker 1:Well, bye for now. God bless you all, and I will see you next time and we'll be back in uh, the gospels, and we will continue with john, and then, obviously, by the time we've done, john will be leading into the festive season, and we just remember, this is all about jesus. It's not about you know presents. It's not about you know what you can get from your relatives. It's not about an excuse for a holiday. It is all about celebrating the birth of our Lord and Saviour, because he is the way, the truth, the life, and nobody comes to the Father except by him. God bless you all. Bye for now.
