The One Year Bible Club with Teaching
Commentary by Nick Boork
November 14
Commentary by Nick Boork
November 14
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November 14 – Hebrews 11:32 – 12:13
32 And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets: 33 who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. 35 Women received their dead raised to life again. Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. 36 Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented 38 of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth. 39 And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, 40 God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us.
Chapter 12 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. 4 You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin.
5 And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons:
“My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; 6 For whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives.” 7 If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? 8 But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. 9 Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? 10 For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. 11 Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. 12 Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, 13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed.
OKAY, HERE’S MY TEACHING COMMENTARY
In this portion of Scripture the apostle Paul ties together all the examples of the Old Testament saints that lived and died in faith with his present readers. All the old testament believers that had preceded this current generation had now passed into the glorious presence of God and we’re in his words now a great cloud of witnesses in the heavens. He paints a picture for us to understand that all of us that are believers in Jesus Christ are in a spiritual race with the goal of also joining those who have gone ahead of us. However, on the journey we need to lay aside every sin and weight that would distract us or hold us down from finishing the race! He tells us that Jesus Christ himself is our great example because the Lord himself had as a goal to be reunited with his father in heaven and in the process become the savior of the world as well. He encourages us to fix our eyes on Jesus because he alone is the author and finisher of our faith and he endured great persecution and resistance as the Son of God and we also will experience a lot of resistance both from the world and the forces of darkness.
For this reason he says we need to fix our eyes on Jesus and run the race with endurance and allow God to work his character and holiness into us in the process. It is with this goal in mind of transformation that he encourages us to not lose heart and become discouraged but to allow the Lord to bring correction into our lives with his loving discipline which causes us to repent and follow the Lord ever more closely on the journey to heaven. Don’t be surprised if you sense that the Holy Spirit is dealing with you to change in different areas of your living because that is the discipline of the Lord. One of the first times that I can remember hearing the voice of God to me personally while reading the Bible is in verses 12 and13 where is says; “Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed. When I read these verses of Scripture I felt like the Holy Spirit was impressing me to make a decision about going to Bible school so that the Lord could work on me and prepare me for the ministry.
In obedience to the leading of the Lord I enrolled in Christ for the Nations Institute in 1984 and continued to study the word of God for two years. During this time I experienced great change and deliverance from roots of rejection and the oppression of the devil. This was a time that the Holy Spirit set me free and brought deep emotional healing to my soul which allowed me to grow spiritually and pursue the call of God. I made a decision to make straight paths for my feet and the Lord met me with His grace and power to go to the next level in my walk with Jesus. I believe that there are a multitude of born again Christians that are stuck in their past which like a dislocated bone needs to be reset in order to be healed correctly. I want to encourage you to be strengthened today to take a hold of all that God has for you and make decisions to walk in his paths which will bring healing and the fulfillment of God’s destiny in your life!
WHAT’S THE BOTTOM LINE?
PRAYER TO APPLY THE WORD OF GOD TO OUR LIVES
ORDINATION
We provide Ministry Credentials and Ordination through Diamond Ministerial Association. Click to learn more and apply! http://www.diamondinstitute.org/ordination
ONLINE COURSES
For Bible courses and ministry resources see our online school Diamond Institute. Enroll free today! http://www.diamondinstitute.org/enroll
32 And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets: 33 who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. 35 Women received their dead raised to life again. Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. 36 Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented 38 of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth. 39 And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, 40 God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us.
Chapter 12 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. 4 You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin.
5 And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons:
“My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; 6 For whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives.” 7 If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? 8 But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. 9 Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? 10 For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. 11 Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. 12 Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, 13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed.
OKAY, HERE’S MY TEACHING COMMENTARY
In this portion of Scripture the apostle Paul ties together all the examples of the Old Testament saints that lived and died in faith with his present readers. All the old testament believers that had preceded this current generation had now passed into the glorious presence of God and we’re in his words now a great cloud of witnesses in the heavens. He paints a picture for us to understand that all of us that are believers in Jesus Christ are in a spiritual race with the goal of also joining those who have gone ahead of us. However, on the journey we need to lay aside every sin and weight that would distract us or hold us down from finishing the race! He tells us that Jesus Christ himself is our great example because the Lord himself had as a goal to be reunited with his father in heaven and in the process become the savior of the world as well. He encourages us to fix our eyes on Jesus because he alone is the author and finisher of our faith and he endured great persecution and resistance as the Son of God and we also will experience a lot of resistance both from the world and the forces of darkness.
For this reason he says we need to fix our eyes on Jesus and run the race with endurance and allow God to work his character and holiness into us in the process. It is with this goal in mind of transformation that he encourages us to not lose heart and become discouraged but to allow the Lord to bring correction into our lives with his loving discipline which causes us to repent and follow the Lord ever more closely on the journey to heaven. Don’t be surprised if you sense that the Holy Spirit is dealing with you to change in different areas of your living because that is the discipline of the Lord. One of the first times that I can remember hearing the voice of God to me personally while reading the Bible is in verses 12 and13 where is says; “Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed. When I read these verses of Scripture I felt like the Holy Spirit was impressing me to make a decision about going to Bible school so that the Lord could work on me and prepare me for the ministry.
In obedience to the leading of the Lord I enrolled in Christ for the Nations Institute in 1984 and continued to study the word of God for two years. During this time I experienced great change and deliverance from roots of rejection and the oppression of the devil. This was a time that the Holy Spirit set me free and brought deep emotional healing to my soul which allowed me to grow spiritually and pursue the call of God. I made a decision to make straight paths for my feet and the Lord met me with His grace and power to go to the next level in my walk with Jesus. I believe that there are a multitude of born again Christians that are stuck in their past which like a dislocated bone needs to be reset in order to be healed correctly. I want to encourage you to be strengthened today to take a hold of all that God has for you and make decisions to walk in his paths which will bring healing and the fulfillment of God’s destiny in your life!
WHAT’S THE BOTTOM LINE?
- All of the Old Testament saints have already passed into the glory of God and are a great cloud of witnesses gathered in heaven.
- Each of us needs to run our own individual Christian race and keep our eyes on Jesus the author and finisher of our faith
- Allow the Holy Spirit to bring correction to your life and yield to the discipline of our heavenly Father to work out of you every sin and weight.
- Decide to make straight paths for your feet so that whatever area in your life needs to be corrected can be healed.
- Take courage and the Lord will strengthen you to run the race and cross the finish line into the glory of God!
PRAYER TO APPLY THE WORD OF GOD TO OUR LIVES
ORDINATION
We provide Ministry Credentials and Ordination through Diamond Ministerial Association. Click to learn more and apply! http://www.diamondinstitute.org/ordination
ONLINE COURSES
For Bible courses and ministry resources see our online school Diamond Institute. Enroll free today! http://www.diamondinstitute.org/enroll