Rejecting Correction: A Barrier to Spiritual Growth

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Hello, and welcome back to the Diary of a Black Woman podcast.

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I'm your host, Connie Morris, and we are at games number 12,

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Rejecting God's Correction, the games we play with God.

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Today's episode is called Rejecting God's Correction. None of us enjoy being corrected.

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It can feel uncomfortable and often even painful. How about even embarrassing, right?

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But God's correction is one of the greatest expressions of his love.

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When we reject it, we miss opportunities for growth, healing,

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and alignment with his will.

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Today, we're going to explore the story of King David, who accepted God's correction

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after his sin with Bathsheba and contrasted with others in scripture who resisted God's discipline.

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If you ever struggle to embrace correction, this episode will challenge you and encourage you.

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So let's check out David's first response to God's correction.

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You know, a lot of times when we are as adults, we don't want to be corrected

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and we refuse to be corrected.

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And it's really correction by the Holy Spirit.

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If the Holy Spirit can't get to you, you know how many times people get embarrassed

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on national TV or in some kind of prophecy because they don't allow the internal

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spirit of God to correct them.

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And so many times God wants to kind of have a private correction with you,

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but if you don't let him privately correct you, he's going to make that correction known.

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And so you want to avoid the public corrections. Amen.

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So let's check out 2 Samuel 12, 1 through 7. Of course, I won't be reading the

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whole scripture, but you can.

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So 2 Samuel 12, 1 through 7.

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It's after David has sinned by committing adultery with Bathsheba.

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In arranging the death of her husband. God sent the prophet Nathan to confront

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him. And it just caught my mind.

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Her name was Bathsheba. What was she doing?

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She was on the top roof taking a bath.

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So God named this lady right.

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So let's read. It said, then Nathan said to David, you are the man.

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This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says.

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I am anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul.

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Why did you despise the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in his eyes?

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So this was a point where David was corrected by the prophet Nathan about his actions.

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He gave a story of stealing a sheep or a lamb from a person that was poor.

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And we know that David was king.

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And if he was at war, he wouldn't have saw Bathsheba taking a bath on the porch, but he wasn't.

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His eyes wandered on the porch. And was Bathsheba knew that the king could see her?

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Did she do that purposely? Was this a setup by Bathsheba?

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You know, we don't know. We just know this was in the Bible for a reason.

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But David was actually caught by the Lord.

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Why? Because the Lord sees everything.

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And so David could have rejected Nathan's rebuke, but instead he responded with humility.

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David was busted.

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He was busted in his action of sleeping with this man's wife.

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And then he said, when he was caught in his act, he said, Then David said to

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Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord, 2 Samuel 12, 13.

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David's willingness to accept correction allowed him to be restored by God through

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worse, but there were still consequences for his actions.

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There's always consequences for your actions. Let's kind of back this up a little

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bit. But we see here that David was confronted by a prophet,

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Nathan, because God sent him.

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And God was, you know, this was the man's wife. He was sleeping with this man's wife.

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Matter of fact, you had other people, because David couldn't knock on the door and go pick her up.

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He had to have other people part of his sin.

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So he had to send his servants, go grab that lady off the porch.

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I want to meet with her, bring her in to meet.

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She had sex. now to get her back to the house quietly so nobody would see her.

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We know that. I think Bathsheba ended up pregnant.

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And so it's a lot of things that's happening here that when we think about sin

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and all the consequences of sin and how David had to plan this whole thing out,

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we don't want to make it sound so simple and easy.

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But David said, okay, I want to say I have sinned against the Lord.

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Let's move on. It says accepting God's correction is the first step towards

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restoration and healing.

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So we knew all the planning and plotting that David did.

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But one thing he did realize that that sin wasn't against Bathsheba, it was against the Lord.

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So his first step is saying, yes, I've sinned.

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So many times, I always keep saying many times, but when you are confronted with a sin that...

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Don't make an excuse about it. You got busted and you said, I have sinned against who?

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The Lord, because he doesn't miss it. He's watching you.

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He's got an eye on his children. He's a father.

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How do you respond when God reveals areas of your life that need change?

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That's a good question. That's a good question. You know, we are at different

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levels of glory to glory to glory.

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And so you might have like, dang, I stopped doing that. And then you go to another

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level and God wants you to stop doing something else.

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Right? So you're like, dang, I got to give that up too. I got to give that up

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too. I got to give that up too. Remember, it's the games we play with God.

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The closer you get to God, the more holy he wants you to be.

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Why? Because he's holy. He wants you holy.

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And he does it in such a loving way. Just layer by layer by layer by layer.

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But many, maybe, I keep saying many, but if we want to keep our sin,

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and that prevents us from coming closer to God.

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So how do you respond when God reveals area of your life that needs to be changed?

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Many of the devotions I write are really personal story, my personal walk with God.

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I mean, I'm at 226.

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So there's layers of layers of how God wants us to get closer and closer to him.

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And they come through spending time with him.

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I mean, he has the word of God. That's the Bible, right?

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And so he's always talking. He's always talking and he's getting you fit and ready for heaven.

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If, think about this, if we read that heaven, we walk on, what, gold?

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You know if gold is the standard.

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Oh my gosh, you know the rest is like holiness, and holiness is the standard.

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So there's a lot, and we live on this earth full with sin. He's still purging us from some stuff.

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And so when a holy God tells you, I need you to let that go,

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I need you to stop doing that, layer by layer by layer, how do you respond?

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Let's continue. First of all, let's talk about the danger of rejecting God's correction.

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Rejecting correction doesn't just stop growth, spiritual growth,

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even physical growth sometimes. it can lead to destruction.

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So let's contrast David's humility with King Saul. We covered that in other

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episodes, but he's a good example.

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When Saul disobeyed God's instruction, he refused to take responsibility,

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making excuses instead of repenting.

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1 Samuel 15, 22 reads, but Samuel replied, does the Lord delight in burnt offering

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and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord?

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To obey is better than sacrifice and to

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heed is better than the fat of rams so

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sanya was like i need you to obey i didn't

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need you to try to make up a story saw refused to accept correction cost him

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his throne and legacy there's some people who repent right away there's some

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people who make up excuses we know those people right away which one are you.

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David said, I have sinned against the Lord. Samuel was like, is it better to obey?

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It's better to obey than make sacrifices. What he's saying is you should have

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obeyed instead of making these excuses. That's what I need you to do.

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So you're coming up with a lot of excuses and you, I just need,

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you only had like, yes, I always like this saying, you only have one job and that's to obey.

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So Saul refused to accept correction, cost him his throne and legacy.

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What would that cost you when we refuse to obey?

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Rejecting correction keeps us stuck in patterns of sin and prevents us from

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walking in God's purpose.

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It puts a barrier between us and God when we keep making up excuses about why

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we keep doing the things we do.

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I just spoke about God's trying to get us to this holy standard so we can walk

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with him in his holiness in his place of holiness.

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So are you going to be like, David, Lord, I've sinned against you and deal with

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the consequences and get close and deal with consequences.

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Don't get me wrong to deal with that and clean up his life and get closer to

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God or like saw who it cost him, his throne,

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his legacy, and even, you know, read the rest of the story, his life and say,

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We see here also noted that when you reject the correction, you stay stuck.

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And we know people who stay stuck in these sin patterns, right?

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I mean, Mike, I told you I was a retired police officer. I'm a retired police

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officer. I said, well, still is, still retired.

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But when you teach corrections, when you're in this field, you see people,

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even in the health and human services, which I spent a little time in,

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People stay stuck in patterns of sin,

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patterns of trauma. Why?

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You have to repent of that sin. First, identify it and then find ways to get

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rid of it. Don't keep doing it.

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It's not helping you, right?

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So my question to you is, are you resisting God's correction because it feels

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uncomfortable or inconvenient? Right?

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Because you can always tell a person who's going to repent or going to kind

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of, they're going to make excuses.

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Not kind of make excuses, they're going to make excuses. Just when they get

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caught. It wasn't me, it wasn't me.

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You didn't see me on, got cameras everywhere these days. You got cameras everywhere.

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I don't know if you take a moment, every now and then I like to watch a little

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crime show on YouTube. and these people, right, the police got,

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they have you on camera and you're going like, that was not me.

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Your phone was there. Everybody was there, but that wasn't you.

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You know, so two things here is, are you resisting God's correction because

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it feels uncomfortable or inconvenient?

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God's correction, listen, isn't about punishment. It's about love.

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Hebrews 12, 5 through 6 reminds us that my son, do not take it lightly, my son or daughter,

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do not take it lightly of the Lord discipline and do not lose heart when he

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rebukes you because the Lord disciplines

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the one he loves and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.

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So just like your parents give you a spanking, the Lord gives you a spanking. Why?

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Because he loves you.

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So here's why God's correction is essential. Number one, it protects us.

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God corrects us to keep us from the path that leads to harm. It refines us.

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Correction helps us to grow in character and spiritual maturity.

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It aligns us with his will. Through correction, God redirects us back to his purpose and plans.

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So we see here it protects us. It refines us and it aligns us with his will.

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Hebrews 12, 11 reads, no discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful.

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Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those

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who have been trained by it.

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I can go a lot longer on that one, but let's move on. how to embrace God's correction.

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How do we stop playing this game of rejection, rejecting correction,

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and start embracing it as part of God's love? Here are three steps.

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How do we stop rejecting correction? We all at one time had to be severely corrected by God.

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And a lot of many, I say many times, it brings you closer to God.

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I remember my time when I was like under severe correction.

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I think it was like two years I made a decision and my consequences lasted about two years. My goodness.

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And I was like, wow, that was one.

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I learned a lesson right there. and that lesson taught me you do not play games with God at all.

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You just do not play games with the Lord.

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I don't even know I was a new Christian, but at the end of the day, God protected me.

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He refined me and he aligned me with his will and then he called me,

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to the ministry because I passed that difficult test.

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So how do you allow God to correct you?

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How do you not play games with this correction game here?

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Number one, you want to humble yourself. Humble yourself.

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Recognize correction is like love.

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God's guarding you. He's protecting you. He's saying, don't do that,

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my son, my daughter. I love you.

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That's not where I want you to go.

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And it can be done by him. He can use someone to do it.

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I remember as a police officer, you arrest someone and you're on your way to the jail.

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You're saying if they're not

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too drunk or intoxicated, you might have an opportunity to speak to them.

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Or maybe you're just being nice to them and they're like, dang,

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because people who get arrested and those cuffs are medical.

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Cuffs. So they're not soft, cuffy, fun.

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You're locked in the back on a rubber.

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It's not a fun ride, let's say. You're not comfortable back there.

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And so you remember that event. You remember like, this is not where I want to be ever again.

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That's a correction in itself. That right there is a whole correction in itself.

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And that could be a humbling experience.

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You didn't die in that event. So that's a plus, but you were very humbled in that event.

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And so recognizing that correction is a gift, not a punishment.

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So number one, you humble yourself.

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James 4.10 says it clearly, humble yourself before God and he will lift you

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up. Number two, ask for wisdom.

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And James 1.5 says, If any of you ask, lacks wisdom, you should ask God who

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gives generously to all without finding fault and it will be given to you.

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So pray for the ability to discern and apply God's correction.

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So he gives you correction and you go like, okay, can't do that.

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How do I not get in trouble with that again? Some people take a couple of corrections to get it right.

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Some people only take one. It took me one time. Hello.

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Number three, take action. Don't hear God's, don't just hear God's correction. Act on it.

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James 1.22 says, don't merely listen to the word and so deceive yourself.

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Do what it says. So don't just read the word. Do what it says.

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You know, so God has a way of saying, don't do that. And you go like, was that the Lord?

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Then you go do it. And then there's consequences. So number one,

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humble yourself, ask for wisdom, and take action.

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How do we reject this game of correction, playing the game like not receiving correction from God?

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We humble ourself. We recognize that God loves you so much that he's taking time out of his life,

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his time out of his busy schedule to say, son, daughter, I love you so much

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that I'm going to stop you from doing that.

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I want to correct you. Yeah, you have some consequences, but you didn't die from that incident.

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My desire is that you draw closer to me.

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So you might be a little upset, but that's okay. I'm a father and I love you.

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And when you get over your upsetness, that's a word, I'm here for you. Ask for wisdom.

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Lord, I keep making these same dumb mistakes. I need your help.

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Why do I keep being drawn to the same, doing the same stupid stuff over and

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over? I need some new friends.

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Help me find new friends. First of all, help me get rid of the old ones because

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they keep getting me in trouble.

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But help me find some new friends.

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And number three, Lord, you told me not to do this. Show me how not to do this. Take action.

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You show me how to not do this, but show me how.

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Maybe you have an addiction to something and you need help on how to not have

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an addiction to something.

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You know, your flesh has grown accustomed to having this thing part of your

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life. It can be video games.

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It can be pornography. It can just be sex. It can just be whatever it is that

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your body likes but God doesn't like.

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And he's trying to cut you apart. It could be food. It could be certain kinds of foods.

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Right? And so you want to be able to ask God, how do you want me to do this? I need your help.

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He doesn't just correct you. He wants you to ask more questions, right?

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So you can get it right. And so it's a partnership. If you really handle the

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correction like David did, he handled it well.

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Remember Bathsheba ended up pregnant.

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The baby was sick. Then the baby, he fasted and prayed.

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Then the baby died. He got up, took a shower, and it was done.

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They were like, wow, this is the time you should be crying.

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He said, no, I'll see my baby in heaven. But God did what he,

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this was God's, this was the result of the consequence that I,

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that I, this was his correction in me.

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He knew, and he got up and he moved on, you know?

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So we have to understand how God works. So let's decree on how to embrace God's correction.

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Number one, I decree that I will welcome God's correction as an expression of his love and care.

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I decree that I will respond to correction with humility and a desire to grow.

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That's powerful right there because once you actually allow that correction to happen,

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you receive it, you say, okay, God loves me, I can no longer do that,

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and you put it into work in your life.

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You're going to see yourself grow. I'm telling you, he can use you in so many

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different ways when you allow that to take effect.

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You know, David's life changed. My life changed.

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I know many other people have testimony of how you stopped doing a thing and

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then you saw your spiritual life grow,

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your physical life grow, your financial life grow, because God wants to bless

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you because you're going to be an example for his kingdom.

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And the final decree, it reads, I decree that I will act on God's guidance,

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trusting that his discipline leads to righteousness and peace.

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We want that peace. Nothing like a good night's rest.

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Nothing like not looking behind you, waiting, watching. Nothing like just peace.

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You know that. Just able to just rest in perfect peace.

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So this week, reflect on how you've been responding to God's correction.

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Ask yourself, am I resisting correction or am I embracing as part of God's refining process?

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Don't think it's going to be a one-time thing.

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Once you get past one, he's going to refine. He's refining you for a holy purpose.

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And it's not just for you, I find out, because someone else is going to need

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what you just got through.

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What steps can I take to align my heart and actions to God's will?

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It does take a heart change.

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It does take you getting your heart right.

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Because we're thinking, I don't know what we're thinking, but sometimes we may

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think, like, is it really worth

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it to walk in this holy life on earth when everybody else is doing it?

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We always think everybody else is doing it, but we only think about it.

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It's only you and your friends right now. It's only the people you see.

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Get out of that world that you see and you'll find out everybody is not doing it.

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Everybody get off of that YouTube

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feed. Get off of those things that you think everybody is doing it.

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I'm sorry, everybody is not doing it.

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So find a different group of friends. Everybody is not doing it.

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It's just you and your friends, you and your crew, you and the people on the

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feed, because we attract the way we are. You ever notice that?

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And the one thing, another challenge that can really help you,

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and even if you are, maybe you feel like you're the only one that's being holy.

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Maybe it may be looked that way for a minute, but then you're going to start

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to attract people who are actually doing what you're doing.

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So spend time in prayer and journaling.

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Journaling is really so good because it helps you to put God's voice into words

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on a page, asking God to reveal areas where you need his correction.

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So before he corrects you, It was kind of like going to your mom saying,

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Lord, going to your mom saying, Mom or Dad, you know, I need help with this. Can you help me?

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And, you know, they were like, you know, yes, I can help you because we're about

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to talk to you about that.

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So it was before they asked, before they get to you, right?

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Before the punishment. And God said, you know, I need help with this.

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So good. I was going to talk to you about that. So always kind of being ahead of the game.

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And then write down one step that you can take to align yourself with his guidance this week.

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So one thing you want to do is spend time in prayer and generally asking God

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to reveal areas where you need his correction.

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Write down one step you can take to align yourself with his guidance and put it to work. Right.

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So let's close this out. Heavenly Father, thank you for loving us so much.

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Loving us enough to correct us when we go astray. Help us to see your discipline

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as a gift that protects, refines, aligns, and even calls us to your purpose.

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Teach us to respond with humility and obedience, trusting that your correction

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leads to righteousness and peace.

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In Jesus' name, amen.

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Thank you for joining me on this episode in our series, The Games We Play With God.

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Today's message is, if it challenged or encouraged you, share with a friend

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and subscribe for more inspiring content.

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Until next time, stay humble. Stay on God's corrected side.

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Stay obedient and be blessed. Amen.