WORD WORKS: THE PEACEABLE FRUIT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS
Renner Ministries teaching

Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but
grievous; nevertheless afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of
righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.
HEBREW 12:11
If you are going to be mightly used by God, your flesh must
be disciplined so it can become an instrument through                                                                                                                                                                          which the Holy Spirit can flow. You have to pay the price of
crucifying the flesh in order to have the resurrection power
of Jesus Christ expressed through your life.
CHASTENING” GREEK, paideia = instruction for the
education or instruction of a child. This also includes adults.
In Luke 23:16 & 22 the verb form of the word paideia is
translated as the word “chastise” and refers to Jesus being
whipped or scourged as punishment.
Hebrew 12:11 refers to disciplinary attitudes and action
that lead to one’s betterment in life or to ones education.
So when this verse speaks of “chastening” in
Hebrews 12:11, it refers to disciplinary attitudes and
actions that lead to one’e betterment in life or to one’s
education. The word “grievous” is the word lupe, the Greek word
for pain, distress, trouble, grief, or sorrow.
Although the discipline itself is good for us and
provides us with the means to change, the flesh hates it
when discipline is forced on it!
Hebrew 12:11 says that this discipline will yield “…the
peaceable fruits of righteousness unto them which are
exercised thereby.” The word “exercised” is the Greek
word gumnadzo. This word depicts radical discipline! It
was the word the ancient Greeks used to portray the
athletes who exercised, trained, and prepared for
competition in the often barbaric athletic games of the
ancient world. It is where we get the word gymnasium.
In order to have progress, you will be required to do
more than you’ve been doing. You will have to say no to                                                                                                                                                                          your flesh, denying it’s appetites and disciplining yourself
to do what God says, even if your flesh doesn’t want to do
it. Let Holy Spirit exercise His discipline in your life.

Para Theou para means along side of, and it depicts
a very close, side-by-side, intimate position next to
someone else. The word theou. Is the Greek word for
GOD. These two words together in this verse, pictures
a person who comes right along side of God, 

who comes as close to God as possible, who stands 
side-by-side with Him.
JAMES 1:5 Actually tells us in the Greek Tense
God actually commands us to come to Him when we
need wisdom. The word indicates God wants us to be
firm and resolute when we request wisdom from HIm.
But there is a condition, “If any of you lack wisdom, let
him ask of God…”
That condition is found in the phrase, “of God.”
In this statement, God’s requirement of us before He
will give us the wisdom we need. If we want wisdom,
we must come right alongside of God in order to obtain
it. God wants a relationship with us. He doesn’t want
to just freely hand out answers to our problems. He
wants us to come to Him where He can love us and
fellowship with us and where we can feel and
experience His love. He wants us to spend time with
Him. The moment we get side-by-side with God He
opens His hand and reveals everything we need to
know and understand about the situations we are
facing.

It’s early, just after dawn. I plunge my spade into the blackest of soil, and grin as I hear that rowdy rooster from down the lane. He sounds extra energized this morning. Perhaps it’s the slight nip in the air? I hold my seemingly meager seeds and smile, pondering their potential and the transformation they’ll undergo.  

I ready them for their slumber, covering them with their blanket of darkness.  I tuck them in tight as a cool hint of anticipation dances on the breeze, softly brushing my ponytail aside, reminding me the change of the season is here. Autumn. The season of transition, nudging us from a summer that was most likely too hot for many of us to a winter that will most likely be too cold for most of us.  

I gently pat the bed and tell them to sleep well. Will these seeds I’ve sown yield a harvest I’ll be pleased with? I wonder what these months of transition and change will yield in my own life. Change. That word makes me so uneasy. So much uncertainty in this next season of my life.

My anticipation turns to anxiousness as the ‘what ifs’ parade through my mind. Will I yield fruit? Will my potential be made known? Will this season of my life be one of hurting or healing, absence or abundance, hardship or happiness?

I close my eyes and pray. I am comforted when He whispers Truth to me: No matter the changes that come my way, He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He is eternally unchanging and faithful—no matter the season, no matter the circumstances.