Embracing God's Truth: Love, Discipline, and Transformation

Summary

Today’s reflection centers on the difference between comforting illusions and the sometimes difficult but life-giving truth of God’s word. In Jeremiah 23, God rebukes the false prophets who tell the people what they want to hear—“peace, peace,” when there is no peace. These words may be popular, but they are empty, like straw compared to nourishing wheat. God’s true word, by contrast, is described as fire and a hammer: it burns away impurities and shatters falsehoods, even when it is uncomfortable or challenging to receive. Sometimes, the word we most need is the one that confronts us, not the one that soothes us.

This hard word is not given out of cruelty, but out of a deep, fatherly love. Just as a parent shouts to stop a child from touching a hot stove, God’s warnings and corrections are meant to protect and transform us. God’s discipline, as Hebrews 12 teaches, is not punishment for its own sake, but a means of shaping us into the likeness of Christ. Even the hardships and trials we face—whether the result of our own sin, the sin of others, or simply the brokenness of the world—are not wasted in God’s hands. He works through all things to conform us to the image of his Son, drawing us into his holiness and love.

Psalm 82 and Jesus’ words in John 10 remind us of the astonishing destiny God has for his people: to share in his own life, to become “partakers of the divine nature.” This is not to become God by nature, but to be so filled with his love, truth, and holiness that we reflect his glory. The process is mysterious and often painful, like a sword being forged in fire and hammered into shape. Yet, the end goal is nothing less than to become radiant images of Christ, fit for the purposes of God’s kingdom.

In all of this, the call is to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, who endured the cross for the joy set before him. He is both our example and our strength. When we encounter hard words or hard seasons, we are invited to trust that God’s purposes are greater than our present pain, and that he is at work to bring us into unimaginable glory with him.

Key Takeaways

- The Danger of Comfortable Falsehoods: It is tempting to listen to voices that tell us what we want to hear, but these are like straw—superficially similar to wheat, but unable to nourish or sustain us. God’s true word may be difficult, but it is the only thing that can truly give life and lead us into wholeness. We must learn to discern and desire the real word of God, even when it challenges us. [33:32]

- God’s Hard Word Is an Expression of Love: When God confronts us or disciplines us, it is not out of anger or a desire to see us suffer, but out of a fierce, protective love. Like a parent warning a child from danger, God’s hard words are meant to save us from harm and to burn away what keeps us from his purposes. Embracing these words requires humility and trust in his fatherly heart. [34:30]

- Transformation Through Hardship: Not all suffering is God’s will, but God is able to use even our failures and the brokenness around us to shape us for his glory. The purpose of discipline and hardship is not simply correction, but transformation—so that we might share in God’s holiness and become more like Jesus. This process is ongoing and often mysterious, but it is always aimed at our ultimate good. [38:10]

- Our Astonishing Destiny in Christ: God’s plan is not merely to forgive us, but to fill us with his own life, making us “partakers of the divine nature.” This is a reality so glorious that it defies easy explanation. We are called to become radiant reflections of God’s love and holiness, a destiny that should fill us with awe and humility as we consider both ourselves and others. [42:02]

- Fixing Our Eyes on Jesus in the Fire: The journey of sanctification is like a sword being forged—painful, confusing, and sometimes overwhelming. But if we keep our eyes on Jesus, who endured suffering for the joy set before him, we find both the example and the strength to persevere. Trusting God’s process, even when we do not understand, is the path to sharing in Christ’s glory. [47:53]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[17:59] - Opening Prayer
[31:30] - The Danger of False Prophets
[33:32] - Straw vs. Wheat: The Real Word of God
[34:30] - God’s Hard Word and Fatherly Love
[36:10] - Discipline, Hardship, and God’s Purposes
[38:10] - Sharing in God’s Holiness
[39:36] - Psalm 82 and Our Identity
[42:02] - Partakers of the Divine Nature
[44:38] - God’s Glorious Plans for Us
[46:21] - The Sword and the Smith: Embracing the Process
[47:53] - Fixing Our Eyes on Jesus
[48:56] - Prayer for Trust and Perseverance
[50:11] - Affirming Our Faith: The Nicene Creed
[57:50] - Communion and Thanksgiving
[01:18:07] - Sending and Blessing

Study Guide

Bible Study Discussion Guide

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### Bible Reading

- Jeremiah 23:16-29
(Focus: God rebukes false prophets, contrasts straw and wheat, and describes His word as fire and a hammer.)

- Hebrews 12:5-11
(Focus: God’s loving discipline and the purpose of hardship in shaping us into His holiness.)

- 2 Peter 1:3-4
(Focus: God’s promises and our calling to become “partakers of the divine nature.”)

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### Observation Questions

1. In Jeremiah 23, what is the difference between the message of the false prophets and the message God gives through Jeremiah? What images does God use to describe His true word? [[33:32]]
2. According to Hebrews 12, what is the purpose of God’s discipline in the lives of His children? [[38:10]]
3. In 2 Peter 1:4, what does it mean that we are called to be “partakers of the divine nature”? How does this connect to the idea of being transformed? [[42:02]]
4. The sermon compares God’s word to fire and a hammer. What do these images suggest about how God’s word works in our lives? [[33:32]]

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### Interpretation Questions

1. Why do people often prefer the “straw” of comforting words over the “wheat” of God’s true word, even if it is hard to hear? What are the dangers of only listening to what we want to hear? [[33:32]]
2. How does understanding God’s discipline as an act of fatherly love (rather than punishment) change the way someone might respond to hardship or correction? [[34:30]]
3. The sermon says that God can use even our failures and the brokenness around us for His purposes. How might this perspective affect the way someone views their own struggles or past mistakes? [[36:10]]
4. What does it mean to “fix our eyes on Jesus” during difficult seasons, and how does this help us endure? [[47:53]]

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### Application Questions

1. Can you think of a time when you preferred to hear a comforting lie rather than a hard truth? How did that affect you in the long run? What would it look like to seek out God’s “wheat” instead of “straw” in your life right now? [[33:32]]
2. Is there a “hard word” from God—maybe a Scripture or a conviction—that you have been avoiding or resisting? What would it take to face it honestly and trust that it comes from God’s love for you? [[34:30]]
3. When you go through hardship or discipline, do you tend to see it as punishment, or as God shaping you for something greater? How might you remind yourself of God’s fatherly love in those moments? [[38:10]]
4. The sermon uses the image of a sword being forged in fire and hammered into shape. In what area of your life do you feel like you are “in the fire” or “on the anvil” right now? How could you invite God to use this process for your transformation? [[44:38]]
5. The idea of becoming “partakers of the divine nature” is both mysterious and awe-inspiring. How does this change the way you see yourself and others in your daily life? Are there practical ways you can reflect God’s love and holiness this week? [[42:02]]
6. When you face a hard season, what helps you keep your eyes on Jesus? Are there specific habits, prayers, or people that help you persevere? How could you strengthen this focus in the coming week? [[47:53]]
7. The sermon says that God’s plans for us are bigger than we can imagine, and He won’t settle for less. Is there an area where you have been settling for less than God’s best? What step could you take to trust Him for more? [[44:38]]

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Devotional

Day 1: The Word of the Lord: Fire and Hammer

God’s word is not always what we want to hear, but it is always what we need. Like fire, it burns away the impurities in our lives, and like a hammer, it shatters the falsehoods and idols we cling to for comfort. Sometimes the truth is hard, even painful, but it is given out of love, to protect us and to shape us into something better. When we encounter a challenging word from God, we are invited to wrestle with it, trusting that our Heavenly Father sees what we cannot and desires our good. [34:30]

Jeremiah 23:28-29 (ESV)
Let the prophet who has a dream tell the dream, but let him who has my word speak my word faithfully. What has straw in common with wheat? declares the Lord. Is not my word like fire, declares the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?

Reflection: When was the last time you encountered a hard or challenging word in Scripture? How did you respond, and what might it look like to trust God’s loving purpose in that moment?


Day 2: God’s Discipline and Our Good

God sometimes allows us to experience hardship and discipline, not as punishment, but as a means of training us as beloved children. He uses even the broken and painful parts of our stories to shape us for our good, so that we might share in his holiness. While not all suffering is from God, he is able to redeem every circumstance, working all things together for the good of those who love him. Our calling is to pursue holiness, trusting that God’s ultimate purpose is to conform us to the image of his Son. [38:10]

Hebrews 12:10-11 (ESV)
For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

Reflection: Think of a recent hardship or disappointment. How might God be using this experience to shape you or draw you closer to his holiness?


Day 3: Sharing in God’s Holiness and Glory

God’s astonishing plan is to make us partakers of his own divine nature, filling us with his life, truth, and love. Though we are creatures and he is the Creator, he invites us to share in his holiness and to become radiant images of his glory. This is not something we achieve on our own, but a gift of grace, made possible through Christ. God’s purpose for us is far greater than we can imagine, and he will not settle for less than making us into everlasting splendors. [42:02]

2 Peter 1:4 (ESV)
By which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.

Reflection: In what ways do you settle for less than God’s purpose for your life? What would it mean for you to open yourself more fully to sharing in his holiness and love?


Day 4: Becoming Like Christ Through the Fire

Just as a blacksmith uses fire and hammer to forge a sword, God uses trials and his word to shape us into the image of Christ. The process may be painful and confusing, but God’s aim is to make us strong, beautiful, and ready for his purposes. If we could see the masterpiece he is creating, we might view our present struggles differently. Becoming like Jesus always involves surrender and the cross, but it is through this refining that we are prepared for glory. [46:21]

Romans 8:28-29 (ESV)
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

Reflection: What is one area of your life where you feel “under the hammer” right now? How might you invite God to use this season to shape you more into the likeness of Christ?


Day 5: Fixing Our Eyes on Jesus

When we face hard words or hard seasons, the temptation can be to give up or lose heart. But Scripture calls us to run our race with perseverance, fixing our eyes on Jesus, who endured the cross for the joy set before him. He has blazed the trail ahead of us and promises to bring us through suffering into unimaginable glory. By looking to him, we find the strength to keep going, one step at a time, trusting that he will complete his work in us. [47:53]

Hebrews 12:1-3 (ESV)
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.

Reflection: What practical step can you take today to turn your eyes to Jesus in the midst of your current challenges, trusting him to lead you through?

Quotes

But the delusions of the false prophets, that's the word Jeremiah uses, they're following the delusions of their own minds. This is how they really wish it was. They turn out to be pretty popular when the false prophets are giving the people the word that they really wanted to hear anyway. But the Lord says, what has straw in common with wheat? In verse 28. At first glance, straw might look like wheat, but it can't nourish you. It can't keep you alive like wheat can. You need, desperately, you need the real deal. [00:33:45] (34 seconds)  #StrawVsWheatTruth Edit Clip

Jeremiah 23, verse 29, the next verse, it says that the word of the Lord is like fire, like fire to burn away impurities. And then it says, like a hammer that can break rocks into pieces. The word of the Lord is capable of purging out the impure things that we are clinging on to. And the word of the Lord is capable of smashing the false ideas and pretenses and idols that we find very comfortable. But they're not real. They're not true. [00:34:33] (29 seconds)  #HardWordsFromLove Edit Clip

If you ever run across a hard word in Scripture, sometimes a hard word is just a word like I have no idea what this means, but sometimes a hard word is a word that really does challenge or condemn something in me, in my attitudes, in my behaviors. If you run across a word like that that challenges, that condemns, that's just trying to smash something that you're trying to hold together because you like it, and God's saying, no, when we encounter that hard word, we need to wrestle with it. When that happens, we need to pay attention, and we need to pay attention remembering that we are so often, like the little children, about to put our hand on the burner. We don't understand, but our Heavenly Father does. [00:36:10] (39 seconds)  #DisciplineForGrowth Edit Clip

Romans 8, 28, many of you probably know this verse, says, All things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to his purposes. And if you read to the next verse, Romans 8, 29, it tells us what that purpose is, that we should be conformed to the image of his Son, that we should be like Jesus, that we should be sanctified. That's his purpose. [00:38:10] (25 seconds)  #PartakersOfDivine Edit Clip

God wants us to share in the vast ocean of love that is his holiness. And he will even use the hard things in our lives to help us grow toward that, to help us be open to that, to help us actually have the motivation to, as it says in verse 14, to pursue that, that holiness. [00:38:35] (23 seconds)  #UnitedInGrace Edit Clip

And what Lewis is trying to say and what I think these passages are trying to say is that God's plans for us are so much bigger than we can imagine. God's final purpose for us, the great masterpiece he wants to make of each one of us is so much more glorious than we even have words to articulate and we can settle for so much less. But he won't. God's plans for you are bigger and he is going to work on you until you reflect his plan. That's God's aim and he's got the tools. [00:44:51] (31 seconds)  #RunLookingToJesus Edit Clip

And I was thinking about this this week as I was thinking about Jeremiah. What would it be like to be the sword? I mean, how would it feel from the sword's point of view? If the sword could talk, what would it say? It would probably be hollering complaints, right? Why are you burning me? Why are you beating me with this hammer? Why are you breaking little pieces of me off? What are you doing, man? Because he can't see. He's not the master. But the smith is making the sword strong, capable, bright, even beautiful if he's a very skilled smith. [00:45:56] (34 seconds) Edit Clip

There's a great scene in The Lord of the Rings where, if you've seen the movies, you know what I'm talking about, where this ancient broken sword of kings is being reforged by the elven blacksmith and it's in the fire and they're working it with the hammer and it's this beautiful moment. And this sword is going to be given to the king. He's going to carry it into battle against the forces of darkness and evil in a bid to save his realm and rescue his people. And I think, man, if the sword knew that that was what was going on, that that was the plan, maybe that might change the way it felt about the fire and the hammer. Maybe that might change the way it felt about the pain of the present moment. [00:46:30] (44 seconds) Edit Clip

``God wants you to become conformed to the image of Jesus Christ and all his glory and all his beauty and all his dazzling brightness. That is his plan for your life. And becoming like Jesus, becoming sanctified means, always it means, submitting to a cross every time. And it is really only from Jesus that we can find the strength to do that. [00:47:14] (29 seconds) Edit Clip

When we hear a hard word, when we go through a hard season, sometimes I think the temptation can just be to throw up our hands in frustration. Some people, I think, even give up on God altogether. But if we keep looking to Jesus, who endured so much, the scripture says, for the joy set before him. He shows us, he's blazed this trail, he has run this path already. He shows us where it leads and he will take us there if we look to him with faith. If we follow him, he will bring us through the hard stuff now into the joy that was set before him. That's where he'll take us we will follow. [00:48:05] (44 seconds) Edit Clip