FaithWalk Radio

Ron Susek: I was awakened at 5:30 this morning and felt very compelled to bring this particular message. It may be just for you. Stay tuned. I'll be right back.

Narrator (Male): Finding and knowing God is a faith walk. The Bible says that without faith it is impossible to please God. Our hope lies in the coming Messiah, who will establish God's peaceful kingdom on earth.

This is FaithWalk with Ron Susek. Dr. Ron is an evangelist committed to encourage and equip your faith walk as we pass through these turbulent end-time days, awaiting the soon-coming kingdom. Here again is Ron Susek.

Ron Susek: A lot of people want to be healed by God, want to be blessed by God, or want to be delivered from some serious crisis. But not many people really want to do it on God's terms. And many times God is doing something in our lives that we don't really recognize or understand because we're thinking in one direction and God is thinking in another direction.

I want to talk to you today about the chastening of God. Very important subject because everyone must go through this. Now, God is not punishing today; he's purifying. Punishment comes when the wrath of God falls in the Book of Revelation and in the Tribulation, and then at the Great White Throne Judgment. That is when punishment comes, and punishment is forever.

And by the way, it's not because God loves to punish. It breaks his heart, but it's because you choose not to obey God that you may be in the lake of fire forever. That's your choice, not God's choice—your choice. But listen carefully. If you say, "Ron, I know God," or "I want to know God," or "I'm drawn toward God," then my friend, he's not today punishing; he is perfecting. He is developing and purifying our lives.

God must be purifying you in order to prepare you for his purpose in this life as well as his eternity awaiting you. Now think about this. Jesus came to earth and was perfect, yet he proved that perfection by what he suffered. Now, if the one who was perfect had to prove his perfection before his father to be qualified as the savior of the world whose blood could now take your sins and mine away, how much more do you and I need to be willing to undergo the purification process of God?

Yes, he makes us pure by the blood of the lamb, and then he develops us in that purity, often through great suffering. The Bible calls it chastening. What good thing in life does God seem to be withholding from you and you are wondering, "Why God? Why? Why don't you make me wealthy? I'll give a lot of money to people that are hurting and people that are poor. God, why don't you give me great health? I will only expend it for you."

We try to make deals with God. We bargain with God, and it never works. And I'll tell you why. God loves you so much he knows that you and I will not keep up our end of the bargain. We just don't. Israel did not in the Old Testament. We do not in the New Testament. We need to walk in the grace and the mercy and the kindness of God.

First Peter chapter four, verse 17 reads this way: "For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?" Now judgment does not mean condemnation. It simply means discipline in this context.

Judgment begins with you. You are part of the household of God if you're a believer. Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. You are part of the household of God. And in that light, expect the fact that God is not only going to allow, he's going to cause very difficult times in your life. Why? Because he is not punishing—lock that in your mind—he is purifying.

He is perfecting his work in you because he has a great purpose for you in this life and a great purpose for you in eternity. I remember one time I was watching a video of Dr. Billy Graham being interviewed and, of course, so many millions of people viewed him as a flawless wonder, and he was a great man of God—no question about that. A real standard-bearer.

So I was somewhat surprised—and I forget the question that was posed to him—but I remember him giving this answer. He said, "One time I thought I was dying, and my life began to flash before my eyes, and I could only think, 'Oh God, I need the cross. I need your forgiveness. I need your mercy.'" I don't know what battles Billy Graham fought, nor do you, and it's not our business. That was between Billy Graham and God.

But what I do know is that God loved Billy Graham enough to discipline him tenaciously because God was using him in such a marvelous and beautiful way. But that is not because Billy Graham was just some favorite child of God and God said, "Well, let's really bless him." No. Billy Graham obviously was willing to undergo the chastening and the disciplines of God needed for God to be able to bless him with the great ministry that he had worldwide.

It is very, very important to be ready and willing to let God do that in our lives. I remember when I was young in ministry—maybe about 21 years of age—I went to Jamaica, West Indies, to do some crusades in a couple of small country churches in the hill country in Jamaica. When I landed in the airport in Kingston, Jamaica, no one was there to get me.

And I remember I called the pastor's wife who was supposed to be there to pick me up and take me to his country church, and I said, "This is Ron Susek," and she said, "Who?" I said, "Ron Susek." "Who are you?" So I explained who I was and she said, "Well, my husband is out of the country." While I was flying to Jamaica, his letter of cancellation was coming to America.

There I sat as a young man in an airport in Kingston, Jamaica, wondering why did God allow this to happen. I remember sitting down on a bench, and I began—I thought, "Well, I've got a whole week to sit here and read." So I began to read the Bible: 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings. And as I read, hour after hour, I could hardly hold back the tears. I was so profoundly moved because as I read, I was seeing far more of Saul's arrogance in me than David's humility.

And I had a time of great confession right there, sitting alone in the airport in Kingston, Jamaica. I went up into the restaurant late in the evening to have dinner, and a waiter came over. He had a towel draped over his arm, and he was not really permitted to speak to me as a tourist in those days, only to serve me. And so he was looking out the window, but he said, "Who are you and what are you doing here?"

I had my Bible lying beside me, and so I explained to him my situation and I said, "I came down to preach the gospel in a couple of little churches in the hill country, but nobody was there and nobody will be here." He said, "Well, I sing in a gospel quartet. We're singing at a crusade tonight, and I would like you to come." And he told me how to do that, so I got on a bus that night and went to the crusade, and there he was singing in a quartet.

It was a great evening. And at the end of the evening, he introduced me to a man named Curtis Cole. And Curtis Cole said, "I want you to preach in my church this coming Sunday, and I'll take care of your hotel bill for the week." Wow, what a relief. And that Sunday, I preached in his church, and I'll never forget the title of the sermon. It was "Ghost Town Religion," where you have the structure of religion but it's dead.

And I gave a public invitation for people to come forward and deal with God if they desired, and the altar was flooded. A revival struck. He invited me back a year later and hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of people came to an area-wide crusade held on the grounds of his church, and several hundred people came to Christ for salvation.

Where did that begin? Sitting on a bench in that airport a year earlier, weeping before God, confessing the pride that he was revealing in my heart. God does not chasten out of anger; he chastens out of love. Lock that in your mind: God does not chasten out of anger; he is chastening out of love.

If you are going through a very difficult time in life—physically, mentally, emotionally, relationally—whatever way you may be facing great difficulty, it is not because God is angry. He's not marginalizing you. He loves you. And this is how he prepares you and me for greater works of service, to more fully fulfill the purpose he established just for your life.

This is extremely important to really drill into your thinking and hang on in those agonizing days when Satan lies to you and tells you God is angry, God is done with you, God is not interested in you, God doesn't care. Those are lies from hell. All the love of heaven is being poured out upon you when God is chastening you or chastening me.

Proverbs chapter three, verse 12 reads this way: "For the Lord reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights." I'm going to just pause for a second here. Let that sink in. What powerful words these are to you. And then we come to Hebrews chapter 12, verses five to nine, and it reads this way: "And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? 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 chastens every son whom he receives. It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated—every one of us—then you are illegitimate children and not sons. You are illegitimate children and not sons."

Interestingly, the King James Version is very direct. This might shock you, but if you read the King James Version, he uses a correct word. He said if you're not being disciplined by God, it's a sign that you're a bastard, meaning you're a fatherless child. You do not belong to God. That is serious. Then verse nine goes on to read, "Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the father of spirits and live?"

Think upon these things. Filter them through your mind. You may have heard them a million times, but right now, you are the one that God awakened me this morning to address. And you are the one that God orchestrated the very day that this program would be aired because he wants to talk to you because you may be on the verge of losing it, of walking out on God, giving up on God, or believing God doesn't love you or care for you.

When all the while, all the eternal love of God in heaven is being poured out upon you as he's disciplining you for greater works of service and a deeper relationship with him. Do you know that when you go to heaven, you will recognize Jesus by his scars? Will he recognize you by your scars? How important that we understand the importance of God's discipline in our lives.

God judges his children—lock this in your thinking now, write this down—God judges his children to bless, not to oppress. God judges his children to bless, not to oppress. God cannot bless—and I want you to mark this one down—God cannot bless until we confess. Now, do you get that? I want you to write these things down. Put them in your Bible.

God is not disciplining his children to—he is doing it to bless you, not oppress you. And God cannot bless you until you confess. It is so difficult, I think, for all of us to finally come to the place where we recognize we've been justifying our sins and failures rather than disciplining them and dealing with them.

And so when God begins to chasten us, we're confused by it, rather than saying with David, "Search me, O God, and see if there be anything in me that is not acceptable and pleasing to you." You may be amazed at the extraordinary answers to prayer awaiting in the wings for you to simply deal with God on God's terms. He loves you. He's disciplining you.

He is not wanting to oppress you; he's wanting to bless you. But his good and perfect gifts can only come when you are prepared to handle them well, or you will self-destruct in those glorious gifts of God. To confess—think about this—to not confess—and I want you to mark this down—to not confess is to conceal. To not confess is to conceal.

And the sin that you do not destroy will someday destroy you. The sin that you do not destroy will someday destroy you. Proverbs 28:13 reads this way: "Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper." Oh, get hold of that. Don't miss that one. "Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy."

Psalm 32:5 reads: "I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity. I said, 'I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,' and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah." Think about that. This is David speaking. "I did not cover up my sins. I confessed them by name to you. I murdered my precious strong man Uriah. I committed adultery with his wife. I lied for a year to my nation. God, I am guilty and I confess it by name."

And God so blessed him that the Messiah will reign on that man's throne. My friend, the worst lie we can accept from Satan is that we need to cover up and hide. The worst thing you can do is to believe the lie of Satan that you need to join Adam and dress yourself, cover yourself, hide yourself. "God is coming. I don't want to go to church. I want to stay away from that."

Oh my friend, all the while, if you would just lay yourself open before God and confess, he is more than ready to bless as he did with David. Psalm 66, verse 18: "If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened." Look at me. Think about that. God crucified his son on the cross that he may hear your prayers and answer your prayers.

But what will block that is when we will not confess the iniquity of our hearts that he reveals to us. That is serious. And so I think that when we think of healing and deliverance and blessing from God, rather than saying, "Oh, I command it," no my friend, there's a place for everything. But let's start where it really matters for every single one of us, you and me: confession.

Search me, O God. Reveal to me what is in me that I don't even recognize, I don't realize it. I'm very good and righteous up here on the surface, but I don't know what's hiding in me—the secret intent and motives. Your word searches out those thoughts and intents. It divides bone and marrow. It divides soul and spirit. It knows me through and through, but I don't know myself through and through.

Socrates said, "Know thyself." You can't. There are hidden areas in you that are hidden from you. And those only God can search out by his word. And as he does, and he brings pressure on you through circumstances of life, confess them by name because God is not purging—he is purifying. He's not punishing; he's purifying you.

God cannot release until we repent. We must confess and then repent. We don't confess and then gain God's blessing and then return like a dog to the vomit. The Bible talks about that: people who return like dogs to the vomit. God wants to set you free that you may be free indeed. Free now to go on in life in the liberty from that thing that was once a bondage.

Now you are free to serve the living God, free to be filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit, free to know the peace of God reigning in you, free to be able to love people with the purity of God's love, free to be able to forgive. Oh my friend, all this awaits when we are willing to deal with God on his gracious and wonderful terms.

Chastening roots out hidden sins. Hebrews 4:11 to 13 reads this way: "Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intents of the heart."

"And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give an account." My friend, there is one thing that is important to God above all else in your life. Not how rich you are and how famous you are. Not how likable you are. God is concerned primarily about how much are you like his son, Jesus.

Romans 8:29 reads this way: "For those whom he foreknew he predestined to conform to the image of his son." That's the process God is working in your life, to conform you and me to the image, the likeness of his son, the Lord Jesus. Because my friend, that's the only likeness that can enter heaven. That's the only likeness that can give you fullness and wholeness in this lifetime.

Chastening leads to good and perfect gifts. God wants to shower you with gifts. He loves to give. He is an incessant giver, a lavish giver. But he must prepare you to be a worthy recipient, able to handle those good and perfect gifts. So don't run from the chastening. Don't despise it. Don't curse God. Run to him.

Ask him to reveal and expose that you may confess and consent and repent, and God will be more than happy to bless you. There's a story told of a man some years ago who, his son was graduating from an expensive college, and this man was wealthy, and his son wanted a very expensive sports car for a graduation gift. Instead, his dad handed him a Bible for his graduation gift.

And the son was so bitter—he didn't want a Bible, he wanted a sports car. He was so bitter that he never spoke to his dad until his dad died. After his dad died, he went to his place of business years later and decided to open this Bible that his dad got him. And he opened it, and there in the Bible were the keys to the expensive sports car that had been awaiting him all these years at a car lot.

My friend, put first things first. Put God first. Let God unfold the blessing in your life. Now, one more thing. A story is told of a lighthouse one time that, during a horrible storm, people on the shore were able to hear people in the lighthouse crying and screaming for help as the waves were pounding against the lighthouse and the tide was rising as the storm was driving the waves in.

And they saw the lighthouse begin to bow over, over, over. People screaming and shouting for help. Nobody could get to them, and finally, the lighthouse fell into the ocean and the family perished that was living in the lighthouse. What happened? Upon repairing the lighthouse, a workman failed to release a cable that was attached to the top of the lighthouse and fastened to a boulder beneath the ocean.

And when the water rose, it pulled the lighthouse over. When violence comes into your life, it's going to be that one cable that may be the sin that you would not confess, you would not turn away from, that will then pull your life over to your destruction. Confess that you may receive. Repent that you may receive. Don't run from this process. Go at it headlong.

I'm going to say a prayer with you. You may have never come to God for the first time and you want to today. Say, "I want to begin. If God loves me this much, I'm ready." Or you may be a saint saying, "Ron, I'm beginning to understand more of what's happening in my life." Let's pray this together.

Dear God, on the basis that Jesus died for me, I'm trusting your forgiveness for all my sins. I'm going to be silent for a couple of seconds. You confess them by name to God. And I'm asking you for the power to live committed to you, obedient to your will, from now until I meet you in heaven. I pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

I hope, my friend, that you're part of our one-in-a-million club and that you're standing with us in telling the world about the gospel before the Lord returns very soon. God bless you. See you in the next program.

Narrator (Male): Thank you for your gift to help Dr. Ron in building lives by advancing the teaching of God's word through the programs of FaithWalk. You may never know until heaven whose lives you've impacted somewhere around the world.

So please accept and enjoy your copy of God Will Answer as our personal thank you for standing with us at FaithWalk. You'll be encouraged and inspired as you open your gift book, God Will Answer, by Dr. Ron Susek.

Each week throughout the year, within the pages of this rich 52-chapter hardcover edition, you'll discover compelling spiritual truth and biblical insights, content that will enrich your life and challenge your heart to go deeper in your faith walk with God.

This has been FaithWalk with best-selling author, pastor, and evangelist Ron Susek. Well, thanks for being with us today, and we hope you'll join us again next week as we find courage for the journey in our faith walk.