The School Of Hard Knocks

The School of Hard Knocks is an expression that describes how consequences teach us lessons. You do something wrong, you get punished for it, and then you learn your lesson. God designed the world this way to train us to become who we’re meant to be.

Jesus commanded the Church to spread to all nations. Years after his return to Heaven, the Church still hadn’t left Jerusalem. So, God took them to the School of Hard Knocks. He allowed persecution to disperse missionaries according to his plan. Many early Christians learned their lesson and got to work. For example, Philip preached in Samaria to great success. When God commanded him to leave, he obeyed without question, even though it might have made more sense to stay put and grow the Samarian church (Acts 8). Philip understood that increasing the Kingdom is God’s plan, not ours. We’re supposed to follow the Spirit, not decide how to run things. God used Philip’s faith; his journey into the desert enabled him to convert an Ethiopian official and establish another church.

God has a plan for everyone, and he uses the consequences of our actions to shape us for it. Resisting God’s lessons only makes life more challenging. This was Saul’s experience. He angrily fought against God by persecuting Christians until Jesus struck him blind and then healed him through Ananias (Acts 9:1-16). Saul learned his lesson and turned his life around. He preached the Gospel to kings, wrote a third of the New Testament, and died as a martyr. That’s what happens when you obey God’s nudges. How many hard knocks does it take until you listen?

Watch the full sermon here.