Good evening and
welcome to A Sharper Focus.
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My name is Jill Morikone.
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We're so glad
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that you have
joined us this evening
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and so glad
that each one of you,
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our 3ABN Family
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and Thompsonville
Seventh-day Adventist Church
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are here this evening.
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What a privilege it
is to open up God's word
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to spend time
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in the midst of the
busyness of the week
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and spend time
with our Lord Jesus.
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So we are so glad that
you have joined us today,
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tonight for the
special study of God's word.
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Tonight's topic
is "Pruned in Mercy"
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and we want to
encourage you to check out
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A Sharper Focus website,
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that's ASF.3ABN.org.
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That's ASF.3ABN.org.
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There's videos,
there is study guides
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and all kinds of
wonderful things there,
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but first before we
get into God's word,
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let's have a word of prayer.
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Father, we come before
You in the name of Jesus.
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We thank You for this time
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we have together
to open up Your Word
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and to see what You have for us.
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Thank You that
Your Word is anointed,
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and right now I just ask
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that You would hide
me behind the cross,
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that You could be
seen and uplifted,
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and You would open up our hearts
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to what You have for us,
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and we thank You
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in the precious and
holy name of Jesus, amen.
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My husband Greg
grew up in West Virginia,
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the hills of West Virginia.
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He grew up in the--
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what we call it the hollers,
that's what they call it,
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but it's really
the little hills,
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go back in the little
hills there in West Virginia.
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He and his sister Janelle,
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they were way
back in the country.
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It's wonderful
growing up in the country.
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Here at 3ABN
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we live in the
country, don't we?
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We really do live in the country
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and it's a blessing
to be in the country.
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They grew up in the country
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and one of the
things that they like to do,
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they love to play outside,
they would play in the stream.
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They would work in the garden
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and they had a
rather large garden.
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And they spent many
hours pulling weeds, digging,
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doing things in the garden.
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They would go
ginsenging in the hills,
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digging for ginseng
and you can sell that.
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They did all kinds of things,
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but one of the
things that they did,
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they did not have a rope swing.
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But they decided they
wanted to swing anyway.
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So they went in the
woods and there was a,
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you know, the hills
comes down like this,
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there is the flat valley
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and the hill goes
up on the other side,
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there is kind of
narrow valleys there.
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And so here with the
hill coming down like this,
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they found a grapevine.
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The grapevine had
grown up a long ways
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and it was connected at the top.
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You know what they did?
They cut it off at the bottom.
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They cut it off
right down at the root
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and then they said,
we have a rope swing.
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Now you probably imagine
where the story is going.
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What they did,
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they would start on
the side of the hill,
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they would grab
on to the grapevine.
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They get a good running
leap and jump into space
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and what happens?
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You swing out over the valley.
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You come back and
you had a great time.
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And so Greg says,
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he and his sister
Janelle would do this.
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They swing out and come back.
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They swing out and
come back and they loved it.
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Well, one day they had company.
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Some people came to
visit his mom and dad.
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They came to visit and--
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they had kids, and so they said,
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you have got to
see what this is like,
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we love our grapevine swing.
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It's so much fun to swing on.
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So Greg says,
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they grab the
swing, they showed them,
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this is how you do it.
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They swung out, they came back.
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It was perfect.
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They grabbed it
again, swung out,
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and then they said,
you try it, it's your turn.
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And guess what happened.
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The kid grabbed it,
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he swung out and
you know what happened?
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It broke, you're right, Laurie.
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It broke
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just when he was on
the length of the swing
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right out over that that valley,
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it broke and they went smashed.
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Knock you wind out for sure.
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Praise the Lord, nothing broke,
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that would be painful.
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Turn with me to John 15.
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This is our opening scripture,
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we are talking about
"Pruned in mercy" here tonight.
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John 15,
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can you find it, Cowen?
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John 15
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we're going to
read verses 1 through 5.
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John is one of my favorite books
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of the Bible.
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I love the Book of John.
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I just like the way
John expresses his thoughts
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and especially John 13 we
know it's the last supper.
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That's when Jesus
had the last supper
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with the
disciples in the upper room,
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He washed their feet
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and then after that,
remember what happened?
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He gave them counsel.
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John 14, 15, 16 and 17
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is kind of like
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his last
counsel to His disciples
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before He went to the cross.
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You know if you ever
had a son or a daughter
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that was going away to war.
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You think what if I
never see them again?
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What would be the last words
I would want to give to them?
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What if someone
you love is sick,
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and you think, I don't
know if they're gonna make it?
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What would be the last
words I want to say to them?
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That is kind of how I think
about John 14, 15, 16 and 17.
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It's Jesus' last
words to His disciples
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before He went to the cross.
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We are in John 15,
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I am sorry John 15
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we're gonna read
the first five verses.
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The Bible says,
"I am the true vine,
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and My Father
is the vinedresser.
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Every branch in Me
that does not bear fruit
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He takes away
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and every branch that
bears fruit He prunes..."
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That's our word,
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tonight we're talking
about "Pruned in mercy."
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"Every branch that
bears fruit he prunes
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that it may bear more fruit.
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You are already clean
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because of the word
which I have spoken to you."
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Verse 4, "Abide
in Me, and I in you.
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As the branch cannot
bear fruit of itself,
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unless it abides in the vine,
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neither can you,
unless you abide in Me."
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What is Jesus saying?
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We can't bear fruit
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if we are
disconnected from the vine.
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Remember when
Greg and his sister
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cut the
grapevine, what happened?
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Eventually it died.
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It rotten,
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no life giving
sap coming through,
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eventually it died.
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Jump with me to verse 16
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Jesus is still
speaking John 15:16,
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"You did not choose
Me, but I chose you."
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This is one of
my favorite verses
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in all of the Bible,
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Jesus chose us.
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"I chose you and appointed you
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that you should
go and bear fruit,
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and that your
fruit should remain,
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that whatever you
ask the Father in My name
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He may give you."
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Tonight, we are talking
about the process of pruning.
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If you're taking notes,
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we're gonna look
first at the six reasons
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for being pruned.
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We're gonna look
at the purpose first.
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The purpose of pruning,
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now just even the concept
of pruning sounds painful,
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does it to you?
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To me, it sounds painful.
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You see what I have here.
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Anybody tell me what these are?
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Yeah, that's right.
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Ivor's pruning shears,
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so if I open this, what happens?
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You could go and
you can cut something.
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And Garland and Donna Blanton
gave Greg and I a holly bush
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and they are beautiful.
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Nice green leaves, they
have little red berries.
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Guess what happened?
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The first few years it
rooted in and it did well,
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but you know how
it looks like now?
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It needs to be pruned.
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Greg and I drove in the driveway
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and I said sweat
heart, that bush over there,
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we need to prune that bush.
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You know why?
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Now most of it is a nice shape
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and there is two or
three scraggly branches
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sticking straight up.
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It needs this pruning
shears, it needs to be pruned.
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Before we get in
into the six reasons
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for being pruned or the
purpose for being pruned.
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Then we're gonna look
at the process of pruning
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and what we're to do in
the midst of those trials,
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in the midst of the
pain that we experience?
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But before we do any of that,
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I want to ask you a
question, who prunes us?
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Yannick said Jesus.
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Anybody else prunes us.
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Is it just Jesus
who does the pruning?
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Holy Spirit, I like that.
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Anybody else prune us?
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We're gonna look at just
briefly as we get into it.
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You're right, God's prunes
us, the Holy Spirit prunes us.
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We saw that in
John 15, didn't we?
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Verse 2 because Jesus says,"
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Every branch that
does not bear fruit,
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He takes away,
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and every branch
that bears fruit,
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He prunes."
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Not something else Jesus,
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God, is the one
who does the pruning.
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Turn with me to Hebrews 12.
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This is right after the
faith chapter Hebrews 11.
00:10:06.57\00:10:09.74
We're looking in the
next chapter Hebrew 12.
00:10:09.77\00:10:14.14
We're going to look at
a couple of verses here.
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Verse 6,
00:10:17.25\00:10:18.58
this whole section is
on the discipline of God,
00:10:18.61\00:10:21.12
that's what it says in my Bible.
00:10:21.15\00:10:22.75
Verse 6 says,
00:10:22.78\00:10:24.12
"For whom the Lord
loves He chastens."
00:10:24.15\00:10:30.79
Does it feel good, Aniela,
00:10:30.83\00:10:32.16
if you have to get the spanking?
00:10:32.19\00:10:33.53
It doesn't feel
so good, does it?
00:10:38.13\00:10:40.24
I can remember,
00:10:40.27\00:10:41.60
now I'm thinking it
was very kind of my mom.
00:10:41.64\00:10:43.74
"For whom the Lord loves,
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He chastens" or He prunes.
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Going down a little
bit, He talks about,
00:10:50.28\00:10:52.38
" fathers do that to their sons
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or mothers do that to their sons
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or daughters..."
00:10:56.22\00:10:57.55
Keep going down, verse 10.
00:10:57.59\00:10:59.35
We're in Hebrews 12:10
00:10:59.39\00:11:01.79
"For indeed they..."
00:11:01.82\00:11:03.16
Meaning the father, the
parents, natural parents.
00:11:03.19\00:11:06.73
"They did it for a few days,
00:11:06.76\00:11:08.80
they chastened us
as seemed best to them,
00:11:08.83\00:11:11.37
but He meaning God, He
does it for our profit,
00:11:11.40\00:11:16.07
that we may be
partakers of His holiness."
00:11:16.10\00:11:20.04
Then verse 11,
00:11:20.08\00:11:21.48
"Now no chastening, or
we could say no pruning,
00:11:21.51\00:11:24.98
for the present is joyful,
00:11:25.01\00:11:27.42
but it's painful,
00:11:27.45\00:11:29.18
nevertheless, afterward
00:11:29.22\00:11:31.75
it yields the
peaceable fruit of righteousness
00:11:31.79\00:11:36.02
to those who are trained by it."
00:11:36.06\00:11:38.29
Now this, my Bible here
is New King James Version
00:11:38.33\00:11:41.10
and the NIV Bible it says,
00:11:41.13\00:11:44.27
" No discipline seems
pleasant at the time."
00:11:44.30\00:11:46.77
We could agree with that.
00:11:46.80\00:11:48.14
It's not, does
not seems pleasant
00:11:48.17\00:11:49.50
but painful.
00:11:49.54\00:11:50.87
Later on, however,
00:11:50.91\00:11:52.24
it produces a
harvest of righteousness
00:11:52.27\00:11:55.31
and peace for those who
have been trained by it.
00:11:55.34\00:12:00.02
My friend always like to say,"
00:12:00.05\00:12:01.82
God uses the
gentleness means necessary
00:12:01.85\00:12:07.12
to get our attention."
00:12:07.16\00:12:08.92
God uses the
gentleness means necessary
00:12:08.96\00:12:12.63
in order to gain our attention.
00:12:12.66\00:12:14.20
And you know what? I
think I'm pretty stubborn.
00:12:14.23\00:12:17.33
And I think I can
be kind of hard headed,
00:12:17.37\00:12:21.10
because I can remember
many experiences in my life.
00:12:21.14\00:12:25.34
One time in particular,
00:12:25.37\00:12:27.11
where God brought me
through the same experience,
00:12:27.14\00:12:29.64
the same lesson He
wanted me to learn not once,
00:12:29.68\00:12:34.52
not twice,
00:12:34.55\00:12:36.38
but three times.
00:12:36.42\00:12:38.65
Three times, you know why?
00:12:38.69\00:12:41.76
I am not learning the lesson
that He wants to teach me.
00:12:41.79\00:12:44.96
So yes, God does prune us.
00:12:44.99\00:12:47.26
Another thing that
prunes us is our own choices.
00:12:47.30\00:12:51.60
Have you ever experience that?
00:12:51.63\00:12:53.40
What if your mom
says, don't touch the stove,
00:12:53.44\00:12:56.10
then I go over
and touch the stove,
00:12:56.14\00:12:58.77
what's gonna happen?
00:12:58.81\00:13:00.18
You get burn,
that's right Aniela,
00:13:00.21\00:13:01.74
you get burn.
00:13:01.78\00:13:04.21
Is that my mom's fault?
00:13:04.25\00:13:06.18
No,
00:13:06.21\00:13:07.55
she told me
don't touch the stove.
00:13:07.58\00:13:10.15
It was my own choice.
00:13:10.19\00:13:13.02
Sometimes our own choices
00:13:13.05\00:13:15.79
do some pruning
work in our lives.
00:13:15.82\00:13:18.43
On Monday nights
we go to the jail,
00:13:18.46\00:13:20.70
visit with the girls
there, do Bible study
00:13:20.73\00:13:23.37
with the women
there in the jail.
00:13:23.40\00:13:25.33
And this particular girl,
00:13:25.37\00:13:27.04
she was there several,
this was a few years ago,
00:13:27.07\00:13:30.57
we'll call her Sarah,
00:13:30.61\00:13:31.94
that's not her real name
but we'll call her Sarah.
00:13:31.97\00:13:34.41
And every time
when we go to jail,
00:13:34.44\00:13:36.11
we have prayer time and we say,
00:13:36.14\00:13:38.25
what prayer needs
are on your heart?
00:13:38.28\00:13:40.52
And they share and
then we stand in a circle
00:13:40.55\00:13:43.35
and we have prayer together,
00:13:43.39\00:13:45.29
so this particular time
this girl we'll call her Sarah,
00:13:45.32\00:13:49.89
she said crying, crying,
00:13:49.92\00:13:53.90
pray for the Smith family.
00:13:53.93\00:13:56.26
Now I made up their last
time. Pray for the Smith family.
00:13:56.30\00:13:59.87
You know why?
00:13:59.90\00:14:01.44
Sarah had been
involved in a car accident,
00:14:01.47\00:14:06.07
she hit a car that
Mrs. Smith was driving
00:14:06.11\00:14:09.98
and you know what happened?
00:14:10.01\00:14:11.91
Mrs. Smith died.
00:14:11.95\00:14:14.65
Now you would say that happens.
00:14:14.68\00:14:16.69
That happens in this world,
00:14:16.72\00:14:18.05
but in this case,
00:14:18.09\00:14:19.42
there were some sort
of drugs involved as well,
00:14:19.45\00:14:20.89
and that's why she was in jail
and later she went to prison.
00:14:20.92\00:14:25.59
Now for the Smith family,
00:14:25.63\00:14:29.13
they lost a mom.
00:14:29.16\00:14:31.13
You're right, Yannick,
forever they lost a mom,
00:14:31.17\00:14:34.07
they lost a wife,
they lost a daughter,
00:14:34.10\00:14:37.51
that was a consequence
of Sarah's choice, right?
00:14:37.54\00:14:43.14
It was a consequence
00:14:43.18\00:14:44.51
but the beautiful thing
00:14:44.55\00:14:45.88
is God never
looks at us and says,
00:14:45.91\00:14:47.65
okay, Jill, these
are your consequences,
00:14:47.68\00:14:49.58
these are the choices you made.
00:14:49.62\00:14:50.95
These are your consequences,
00:14:50.99\00:14:52.32
therefore you're stuck for life.
00:14:52.35\00:14:53.99
He never does that.
00:14:54.02\00:14:55.92
Romans 8:28, what does he say?
00:14:55.96\00:14:58.43
All things,
00:14:58.46\00:14:59.79
not some things, not a few.
00:14:59.83\00:15:02.16
All things can
work together for good
00:15:02.20\00:15:05.43
to those who love God,
00:15:05.47\00:15:07.27
to those who are called
according to His purpose.
00:15:07.30\00:15:12.84
Turn with me to Joel, Joel 2:25.
00:15:12.87\00:15:18.01
Old Testament book,
00:15:18.05\00:15:19.68
minor prophet,
00:15:19.71\00:15:21.45
Isaiah, Jeremiah,
Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel.
00:15:21.48\00:15:27.86
Joel 2,
00:15:27.89\00:15:30.03
we are looking at verse 25.
00:15:30.06\00:15:33.13
Joel 2:25,
00:15:33.16\00:15:36.30
God speaking, He says,
00:15:36.33\00:15:37.87
"I will restore to you the years
00:15:37.90\00:15:40.44
that the locust has eaten."
00:15:40.47\00:15:42.87
Now New King James
lists a lot of locust,
00:15:42.90\00:15:46.44
the swarming locust,
00:15:46.47\00:15:48.51
the crawling locust,
00:15:48.54\00:15:50.38
the consuming locust,
00:15:50.41\00:15:52.38
the chewing locust.
00:15:52.41\00:15:54.48
Now to me, that
covers all the locusts
00:15:54.52\00:15:56.22
I have ever heard of.
00:15:56.25\00:15:57.59
It covers them all, He says,
00:15:57.62\00:15:59.32
"I will restore to you
those mistakes in the past,
00:15:59.35\00:16:03.26
those, those
things that you have done
00:16:03.29\00:16:06.03
in the past if you turn to me.
00:16:06.06\00:16:09.06
God can work even
the pain out for good.
00:16:09.10\00:16:14.07
The third thing that prunes us,
00:16:14.10\00:16:15.64
God prunes, our choices pruned,
00:16:15.67\00:16:18.24
or consequences of
our choices pruned.
00:16:18.27\00:16:20.64
The third thing is
the results of sin.
00:16:20.68\00:16:24.21
We live in a sin sick world.
00:16:24.25\00:16:26.05
Many times people get sick,
00:16:26.08\00:16:29.08
people suffer through
no choice of their own,
00:16:29.12\00:16:31.95
and not even a
choice from some one else,
00:16:31.99\00:16:34.16
it's simply the result of sin
00:16:34.19\00:16:37.73
and even in this sin sick
world we live in, God says,
00:16:37.76\00:16:40.86
I can even work
that out for good
00:16:40.90\00:16:44.93
to those who love me,
00:16:44.97\00:16:46.47
to those who are called
according to God's purpose.
00:16:46.50\00:16:50.67
Remember Joseph,
00:16:50.71\00:16:52.31
he was sold
00:16:52.34\00:16:53.68
through really
no fault of his own,
00:16:53.71\00:16:55.71
maybe he was a little spoilt,
00:16:55.74\00:16:57.08
but really through
no fault of his own,
00:16:57.11\00:16:58.75
he was sold as a
slave into Egypt.
00:16:58.78\00:17:01.48
Remember, what did
he do there in Egypt?
00:17:01.52\00:17:03.65
He worked in Potiphar's house.
00:17:03.69\00:17:05.22
He did his very best job,
00:17:05.25\00:17:08.06
and what happened?
00:17:08.09\00:17:09.42
Ten years
later, he went to jail.
00:17:09.46\00:17:12.69
You got it. He went to jail.
00:17:12.73\00:17:14.53
He was falsely accused
00:17:14.56\00:17:17.17
and he went to prison
for something he did not do.
00:17:17.20\00:17:21.10
Now, he could
have gotten bitter,
00:17:21.14\00:17:22.50
he could have hated his brothers
00:17:22.54\00:17:24.67
but he didn't.
00:17:24.71\00:17:26.04
He chose to forgive,
00:17:26.07\00:17:27.91
and at the very, toward the end,
00:17:27.94\00:17:30.01
not that very end but
toward the end of his life,
00:17:30.05\00:17:31.91
remember,
00:17:31.95\00:17:33.28
his father and
brothers came to Egypt
00:17:33.31\00:17:35.05
after his father died,
00:17:35.08\00:17:36.72
the brothers got
scared and they said,
00:17:36.75\00:17:38.45
now you're gonna revenge
00:17:38.49\00:17:39.85
what we did to you
all those years before.
00:17:39.89\00:17:43.16
And he said in Genesis 50:20,
00:17:43.19\00:17:46.66
"What Satan intended for evil,
00:17:50.17\00:17:53.44
God worked out for good."
00:17:53.47\00:17:56.37
So even in this sin
sick world that we live in,
00:17:56.40\00:17:58.71
what Satan intends for
evil, God can turn for good.
00:17:58.74\00:18:03.81
Now that we have that
foundation out of the way,
00:18:03.85\00:18:06.48
we're going to look at
the purpose of pruning.
00:18:06.51\00:18:09.82
These is six
reasons for being pruned.
00:18:09.85\00:18:14.19
Number one is to remove the bad.
00:18:14.22\00:18:19.19
First purpose of being
pruned is to remove the bad.
00:18:19.23\00:18:24.07
Pruning, if
you're pruning a tree,
00:18:24.10\00:18:26.13
say you were
pruning a fruit tree
00:18:26.17\00:18:28.47
or something in your orchid,
00:18:28.50\00:18:30.71
something in your
yard in ornamental tree.
00:18:30.74\00:18:33.07
If you were pruning,
00:18:33.11\00:18:34.44
you would cut,
what would you cut?
00:18:34.48\00:18:36.14
Anything dead.
00:18:36.18\00:18:38.31
Anything diseased.
00:18:38.35\00:18:41.08
Even maybe
something that's broken,
00:18:41.12\00:18:44.42
you would cut that.
00:18:44.45\00:18:46.15
Now, the purpose of it
would be to remove what's bad,
00:18:46.19\00:18:49.06
what's dead, what's
diseased in the tree.
00:18:49.09\00:18:53.43
You know,
00:18:53.46\00:18:54.80
God wants to do the
same thing in my life
00:18:54.83\00:18:57.70
and in your life and
in your life at home.
00:18:57.73\00:19:02.57
You know I
think God comes to us.
00:19:02.60\00:19:04.51
I know He comes to
me and He says," Jill,
00:19:04.54\00:19:07.54
you got some
anger going on there
00:19:07.58\00:19:09.64
or maybe frustration,
00:19:09.68\00:19:11.05
maybe someone
cuts me off in traffic
00:19:11.08\00:19:13.21
or the light turns
green and what happens?
00:19:13.25\00:19:16.08
Hurry up, why don't you go?
00:19:16.12\00:19:18.52
The person in front
right, I am in a hurry,
00:19:18.55\00:19:20.62
God says,
00:19:20.66\00:19:21.99
I want to take that
frustration out of your life.
00:19:22.02\00:19:24.83
God says,
00:19:24.86\00:19:26.19
I want to remove
your fear of other people,
00:19:26.23\00:19:29.56
your fear of the future
00:19:29.60\00:19:31.10
or relationships
over the unknown.
00:19:31.13\00:19:34.97
I want to remove that fear.
00:19:35.00\00:19:36.64
God says,
00:19:36.67\00:19:38.01
I want to remove
your guilt and your shame.
00:19:38.04\00:19:40.58
1 John 1:9
00:19:40.61\00:19:41.94
"If we confess our sins,
00:19:41.98\00:19:43.31
he is faithful
00:19:43.35\00:19:44.68
and just to
forgive us of our sins
00:19:44.71\00:19:46.05
and to cleanse us
from all unrighteousness."
00:19:46.08\00:19:50.12
God wants to
remove that condemnation
00:19:50.15\00:19:52.35
that Satan heaps on our head.
00:19:52.39\00:19:54.76
That comes from Satan,
he wants to remove that.
00:19:54.79\00:19:57.73
He wants to remove my pride
00:19:57.76\00:19:59.63
and create in
me a humble spirit,
00:19:59.66\00:20:02.96
a heart like Jesus.
00:20:03.00\00:20:05.03
He wants to remove my bitterness
00:20:05.07\00:20:06.84
or inability to forgive Yannick,
00:20:06.87\00:20:09.47
which I don't need to do
00:20:09.50\00:20:10.84
because Yannick
hasn't done anything,
00:20:10.87\00:20:12.21
but my inability to
say to forgive someone.
00:20:12.24\00:20:15.78
God wants to
remove that from my life.
00:20:15.81\00:20:18.95
He wants to make me pure.
00:20:18.98\00:20:21.02
He wants to take out that shame.
00:20:21.05\00:20:23.32
He wants to remove this
sadness and give me His joy.
00:20:23.35\00:20:28.02
I don't know tonight
00:20:28.06\00:20:29.39
what's diseased in your life,
00:20:29.42\00:20:31.49
what's feels
broken in your life?
00:20:31.53\00:20:34.53
What feels dead in your life?
00:20:34.56\00:20:37.10
God says allow me,
let me get out the shears.
00:20:37.13\00:20:41.24
Let me do some pruning work
to remove that from your life.
00:20:41.27\00:20:45.57
Number one, God prunes.
00:20:45.61\00:20:47.51
The purpose of
the pruning process
00:20:47.54\00:20:50.11
is to remove the bad.
00:20:50.15\00:20:51.48
Number two
00:20:51.51\00:20:52.85
is to open the
tree up for light.
00:20:52.88\00:20:56.15
If you prune,
00:20:56.18\00:20:57.52
it opens the tree
canopy up for life penetration.
00:20:57.55\00:21:02.02
You think if you
go in a thick forest,
00:21:02.06\00:21:04.03
what happens to
everything on the bottom,
00:21:04.06\00:21:08.13
you don't have a lot
of undergrowth, do you?
00:21:08.16\00:21:09.83
If it's thick
00:21:09.86\00:21:11.20
and the tree
canopy is really thick,
00:21:11.23\00:21:12.67
you can't get a lot
of light coming down.
00:21:12.70\00:21:15.14
At the very bottom
00:21:15.17\00:21:16.64
you don't have a
lot of undergrowth.
00:21:16.67\00:21:19.17
But if your forest is open
and you can get the light down,
00:21:19.21\00:21:22.01
there is a lot of undergrowth.
00:21:22.04\00:21:23.48
It opens up in the tree,
it opens it up for more light.
00:21:23.51\00:21:27.02
Light is essential for
flower, bud development.
00:21:27.05\00:21:30.42
It's essential for
optimal fruit flavor
00:21:30.45\00:21:33.09
and quality.
00:21:33.12\00:21:34.76
Who is the light
in your life and mine?
00:21:34.79\00:21:38.13
God, Jesus, that's right.
00:21:38.16\00:21:39.96
He says, "I am the
light of the world."
00:21:40.00\00:21:43.26
Pruning opens our heart
up to receive more of Jesus.
00:21:43.30\00:21:47.30
It opens our heart up to
receive more of who he is.
00:21:47.34\00:21:51.07
Now we know 2
Corinthians 4 says,
00:21:51.11\00:21:53.01
God who commanded the
light to shine out of darkness
00:21:53.04\00:21:56.18
has shined in our life"
00:21:56.21\00:21:57.55
so he wants to pour His light.
00:21:57.58\00:21:59.88
He wants to pour
Himself into our lives.
00:21:59.91\00:22:02.95
But in addition to that,
00:22:02.98\00:22:04.32
there is another
purpose for the light
00:22:04.35\00:22:05.69
not just that
Jesus wants to fill us,
00:22:05.72\00:22:07.62
but there is another purpose.
00:22:07.66\00:22:08.99
Turn with me to 1 John,
00:22:09.02\00:22:11.66
1 John...
00:22:11.69\00:22:13.33
We're going to Chapter 1.
00:22:16.73\00:22:20.14
We're not gonna look at verse 9
00:22:20.17\00:22:21.80
which is one of
my favorite verses,
00:22:21.84\00:22:23.17
but we're gonna
look at 1 John 1.
00:22:23.20\00:22:25.61
We're gonna look verse 5-7,
00:22:25.64\00:22:28.51
1 John 1:5-7
00:22:28.54\00:22:32.35
" This is the message
which we have heard from Him,
00:22:32.38\00:22:34.72
Him meaning God,
00:22:34.75\00:22:36.08
Jesus,
00:22:36.12\00:22:37.45
and declared to
you, that God is light."
00:22:37.49\00:22:40.59
There is our word, God is light.
00:22:40.62\00:22:43.32
"And in Him is
no darkness at all.
00:22:43.36\00:22:45.49
If we say
00:22:45.53\00:22:46.86
that we have
fellowship with Him,
00:22:46.90\00:22:48.23
and walk in darkness,
00:22:48.26\00:22:50.67
we lie and do not
practice the truth."
00:22:50.70\00:22:54.44
Verse 7 is the one I
want to really focus on.
00:22:54.47\00:22:57.94
"But if we walk in the
light, that's in Jesus,
00:22:57.97\00:23:01.44
as He is in the light,
00:23:01.48\00:23:04.01
we have
fellowship with one another,
00:23:04.05\00:23:07.25
and the blood of Jesus Christ
00:23:07.28\00:23:09.78
His Son cleanses
us from all sin."
00:23:09.82\00:23:14.29
Pruning enables us
to walk in fellowship
00:23:14.32\00:23:18.49
with each other.
00:23:18.53\00:23:19.86
I think my sister Zida here
00:23:19.89\00:23:21.40
is one of the most
perfect examples of that.
00:23:21.43\00:23:24.63
She grew up in a
country that was communistic,
00:23:24.67\00:23:28.77
and they served
God under persecution.
00:23:28.80\00:23:33.01
And she can tell you story
after story of the closeness,
00:23:33.04\00:23:37.28
The unity,
00:23:37.31\00:23:38.88
that they formed as
brothers and sisters in Jesus
00:23:38.91\00:23:42.72
because of the pruning process,
00:23:42.75\00:23:44.69
because of the
pain that took place.
00:23:44.72\00:23:46.42
It opened up their hearts,
00:23:46.45\00:23:48.52
their tree canopy you could say,
00:23:48.56\00:23:50.06
their hearts to
receive more Jesus.
00:23:50.09\00:23:52.43
And if we have more
Jesus, if we walk in the light,
00:23:52.46\00:23:55.53
we automatically
come into fellowship
00:23:55.56\00:23:57.90
with each other.
00:23:57.93\00:23:59.27
We automatically have unity.
00:23:59.30\00:24:01.00
There is one more
purpose for the light
00:24:01.04\00:24:02.60
and that's found in Isaiah 60.
00:24:02.64\00:24:04.91
Turn back to Isaiah 60.
00:24:04.94\00:24:08.68
We're gonna look at the
first three verses of that.
00:24:08.71\00:24:12.81
Isaiah 60:1-3.
00:24:12.85\00:24:17.39
The Bible says, "Arise,
shine, for your light has come."
00:24:17.42\00:24:20.99
There is our word light, Jesus.
00:24:21.02\00:24:23.79
"And the glory of the
Lord is risen upon you.
00:24:23.83\00:24:26.26
For behold, darkness
shall cover the earth,
00:24:26.29\00:24:29.13
and deep darkness the people."
00:24:29.16\00:24:31.93
We're in a dark world,
would you say that's accurate.
00:24:31.97\00:24:35.00
Oh, it's dark.
00:24:35.04\00:24:37.31
People lost and alone dying
00:24:37.34\00:24:41.81
without Jesus, without hope,
00:24:41.84\00:24:44.61
without knowledge of the gospel.
00:24:44.65\00:24:46.82
We're in a dark world,
but it doesn't stop there.
00:24:46.85\00:24:50.55
It says, "But the
Lord will arise over you,
00:24:50.59\00:24:54.89
and His glory
will be seen upon you.
00:24:54.92\00:24:58.06
The Gentiles shall
come to your light,
00:24:58.09\00:25:00.96
and kings to the
brightness of your rising."
00:25:01.00\00:25:03.77
Did you catch that.
00:25:03.80\00:25:05.13
Gentiles, those
people who don't know Jesus,
00:25:05.17\00:25:08.84
who don't walk with Jesus.
00:25:08.87\00:25:11.04
What's gonna happen?
00:25:11.07\00:25:12.41
They're gonna come to the light,
00:25:12.44\00:25:14.51
that's Jesus,
not us, that's Jesus.
00:25:14.54\00:25:17.85
Pruning enables us to witness
more effectively for Jesus.
00:25:17.88\00:25:23.92
So number one, we said,
00:25:23.95\00:25:25.29
pruning removes the
bad, the diseased, the dead,
00:25:25.32\00:25:28.26
the broken places in our lives.
00:25:28.29\00:25:30.33
Number two,
00:25:30.36\00:25:32.23
pruning opens us up for
light for more of Jesus.
00:25:32.26\00:25:35.40
Number three,
pruning opens us up for air.
00:25:35.43\00:25:39.87
It opens the tree up for air.
00:25:39.90\00:25:41.87
It allows more air
movement through the tree
00:25:41.90\00:25:45.07
which promotes
more rapid drying,
00:25:45.11\00:25:47.21
there is more
disease resistance,
00:25:47.24\00:25:49.01
all of that stuff, it
opens the tree up for air.
00:25:49.04\00:25:51.51
Now who do you think
the air is represented by?
00:25:51.55\00:25:56.42
Yes, that's
right, Brother Richard,
00:25:56.45\00:25:58.45
the Holy Spirit.
00:25:58.49\00:26:00.86
Turn with me to John 3, John 3.
00:26:00.89\00:26:04.76
Many times when
Jesus met with people,
00:26:04.79\00:26:08.53
He met with a
leper, He met with women,
00:26:08.56\00:26:12.33
He met with gentiles,
demoniacs, outcasts of society,
00:26:12.37\00:26:18.14
but in this case in John 3,
00:26:18.17\00:26:20.71
Jesus met
00:26:20.74\00:26:22.08
with a pretty
upstanding member of society,
00:26:22.11\00:26:24.91
he was a Pharisee.
00:26:24.95\00:26:26.28
Verse 1,
00:26:26.31\00:26:27.65
"There was a
man of the Pharisees
00:26:27.68\00:26:29.02
named Nicodemus, a
ruler of the Jews."
00:26:29.05\00:26:32.45
He met with Nicodemus
00:26:32.49\00:26:33.82
and we won't
read the whole thing
00:26:33.86\00:26:35.19
but remember Nicodemus
came to Jesus with questions
00:26:35.22\00:26:38.36
and Jesus said,
"Unless you're born again..."
00:26:38.39\00:26:41.43
In the Greek it
means from above.
00:26:41.46\00:26:43.23
"Unless you're born from above,
00:26:43.26\00:26:44.97
you cannot see
the kingdom of God.
00:26:45.00\00:26:47.14
And Nicodemus said,
"I don't understand that.
00:26:47.17\00:26:49.64
How can you be born again?
00:26:49.67\00:26:51.41
How can you enter
into your mother's womb
00:26:51.44\00:26:53.48
a second time
00:26:53.51\00:26:54.84
when you are old,
when you're fully grown?"
00:26:54.88\00:26:57.91
Verse 5,
00:26:57.95\00:26:59.28
Jesus answered, "Most
assuredly, I say to you,
00:26:59.31\00:27:01.65
unless one is born
of water and the spirit,
00:27:01.68\00:27:05.15
he cannot enter
the kingdom of God.
00:27:05.19\00:27:07.52
That which is born
of the flesh is flesh,
00:27:07.56\00:27:09.89
and that which is born
of the spirit is spirit.
00:27:09.92\00:27:12.39
Do not marvel
that I said to you,
00:27:12.43\00:27:14.20
'You must be born again.'
00:27:14.23\00:27:16.10
The wind blows where it wishes,
00:27:16.13\00:27:20.24
and you hear the sound,
00:27:20.27\00:27:22.10
but you cannot tell
where it's coming from
00:27:22.14\00:27:24.27
or where it's going.
00:27:24.31\00:27:25.94
So is everyone who
is born of the Spirit."
00:27:25.97\00:27:30.15
You can't see the Holy Spirit,
00:27:30.18\00:27:33.28
but we can see his work,
00:27:33.31\00:27:35.98
we can see his effect.
00:27:36.02\00:27:40.06
The pruning
process opens up our heart
00:27:40.09\00:27:45.06
to allow the Holy
Spirit free your access.
00:27:45.09\00:27:47.66
Allow the Holy Spirit
to work more in our lives.
00:27:47.70\00:27:50.60
Number four,
00:27:50.63\00:27:51.97
now if you're into organic food,
00:27:52.00\00:27:54.14
I hope this doesn't offend you.
00:27:54.17\00:27:55.60
The pruning
process opens the tree up
00:27:55.64\00:27:58.04
for more pesticides spray
to reach all those leaves.
00:27:58.07\00:28:01.74
Now I understand it's
important to try to eat healthy,
00:28:01.78\00:28:05.38
we're not talking about that,
00:28:05.41\00:28:06.75
this is just for the
purpose of illustration,
00:28:06.78\00:28:08.35
but it opens the
tree up for more of that,
00:28:08.38\00:28:10.82
enables it to
permeate all the leaves.
00:28:10.85\00:28:13.09
What represents water?
00:28:13.12\00:28:16.06
The Word of God.
00:28:16.09\00:28:17.46
Ephesians 5:26 what does it say?
00:28:17.49\00:28:21.30
He cleanse us.
00:28:21.33\00:28:22.66
It's talking about...
00:28:22.70\00:28:24.03
that's a passage
about husbands and wives,
00:28:24.07\00:28:26.74
it's a passage about
Christ and the church
00:28:26.77\00:28:29.20
and he says, he cleanses them
00:28:29.24\00:28:30.57
with the washing of
the water of the word,
00:28:30.61\00:28:33.98
in order that he can present it
00:28:34.34\00:28:35.68
through himself
a glorious church,
00:28:35.71\00:28:37.25
not having spot or
wrinkle or any such thing,
00:28:37.28\00:28:40.92
so pruning opens us up to
receive more of the washing,
00:28:40.95\00:28:46.35
more of the word of God,
00:28:46.39\00:28:48.56
gives the word more
access into your heart.
00:28:48.59\00:28:51.73
Have you ever read
something in the Bible
00:28:51.76\00:28:53.73
and you didn't
really want to hear that?
00:28:53.76\00:28:56.73
Anybody want to be
honest? Has that ever happened?
00:28:56.77\00:29:00.10
Okay, one or two.
00:29:00.14\00:29:01.50
I know for me it has.
00:29:01.54\00:29:02.87
Sometime I'll read
something and God says,
00:29:02.90\00:29:05.64
oh, you've to
forgive, but I don't want to.
00:29:05.67\00:29:09.24
I want you to go
over here and love,
00:29:09.28\00:29:11.71
but I want to
hold on to self pity.
00:29:11.75\00:29:13.85
I want you to give
up that TV program,
00:29:13.88\00:29:19.22
movie, that book.
00:29:19.25\00:29:21.69
No, but I like it.
00:29:21.72\00:29:23.22
It feels good.
00:29:23.26\00:29:26.23
Sometimes when we
read the Word of God,
00:29:26.26\00:29:29.26
it cuts.
00:29:29.30\00:29:30.63
The Bible says it does.
00:29:30.67\00:29:32.00
Hebrews 4:12,
00:29:32.03\00:29:33.37
"The Word of God
is a life living,
00:29:33.40\00:29:35.44
and powerful, and sharper
than any two-edged sword,
00:29:35.47\00:29:38.47
a sword can be painful.
00:29:38.51\00:29:40.81
piercing even to the dividing
a sunder of soul and spirit,
00:29:40.84\00:29:44.58
and of the joints and marrow,
00:29:44.61\00:29:45.95
and is a
discerner of the thoughts
00:29:45.98\00:29:47.42
and intents of the heart.
00:29:47.45\00:29:49.52
"You know, I heard a
pastor say once the word
00:29:49.55\00:29:52.09
that you study that hurts,
00:29:52.12\00:29:55.12
that's the word
you need to study more.
00:29:55.16\00:29:58.09
Don't shy away from it.
00:29:58.13\00:29:59.46
When you open up God's
word and something hurts,
00:29:59.49\00:30:01.26
don't say, uh,
00:30:01.30\00:30:02.63
throw that book across the room,
00:30:02.66\00:30:04.07
I don't want to read that.
00:30:04.10\00:30:06.23
Let God's word cut,
00:30:06.27\00:30:10.21
that's his purpose.
00:30:10.24\00:30:11.71
Let it cut but at
the same time it heals.
00:30:11.74\00:30:14.94
It's not
cutting for destruction.
00:30:14.98\00:30:16.95
It's not cutting for pain.
00:30:16.98\00:30:21.42
Its purpose is to
cut to heal, cut to heal.
00:30:21.45\00:30:25.12
First cut,
00:30:25.15\00:30:26.49
the purpose of
pruning is to remove the bad.
00:30:26.52\00:30:28.42
Second to open
us up for the light
00:30:28.46\00:30:30.13
which is Jesus,
the light of the world.
00:30:30.16\00:30:32.93
Third to open us up for air
00:30:32.96\00:30:34.46
which is the work
00:30:34.50\00:30:35.83
of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
00:30:35.86\00:30:38.20
Number four,
00:30:38.23\00:30:39.57
for the pesticides
spray or even water
00:30:39.60\00:30:40.94
that would be the Word of God,
00:30:40.97\00:30:43.24
the work of the
Word of God in our life.
00:30:43.27\00:30:44.97
Number five, it
grows more fruit faster.
00:30:45.01\00:30:51.18
Remember that was in John 15,
00:30:51.21\00:30:54.48
John 15:2 he says,
00:30:54.52\00:30:57.75
" Every branch in Me
that does not bear fruit
00:30:57.79\00:31:01.92
He takes away
00:31:01.96\00:31:03.29
and every
branch that bears fruit
00:31:03.32\00:31:04.76
He prunes," why?
00:31:04.79\00:31:06.73
"That it may bear more fruit."
00:31:06.76\00:31:09.60
That's right,
Cynthia, more fruit.
00:31:09.63\00:31:11.97
It may bear more fruit.
00:31:12.00\00:31:14.40
God wants His fruit.
00:31:14.44\00:31:16.50
Man, he wants it to
develop in our lives.
00:31:16.54\00:31:19.47
Fruit of the
spirit, Galatians 5:22,
00:31:19.51\00:31:23.01
"Love, joy, peace, longsuffering
00:31:23.04\00:31:28.32
or if we can say
patience, kindness, goodness,
00:31:28.35\00:31:32.82
faithfulness,
gentleness, self control.
00:31:32.85\00:31:37.36
J. Hudson Taylor
went in as a missionary
00:31:37.39\00:31:39.16
to the China Inland Mission.
00:31:39.19\00:31:41.03
I am sorry,
00:31:41.06\00:31:42.40
he went as a missionary
to China for over 50 years,
00:31:42.43\00:31:44.57
he founded the
China Inland Mission,
00:31:44.60\00:31:47.80
and he wrote a
statement that I love.
00:31:47.84\00:31:50.07
It says, "Fruit bearing
involves cross bearing."
00:31:50.11\00:31:55.61
Fruit bearing
involves cross bearing.
00:31:55.64\00:31:59.18
Number six,
00:31:59.21\00:32:01.38
purpose of pruning,
00:32:01.42\00:32:03.89
it makes a
beautiful shaped tree, right?
00:32:03.92\00:32:07.66
This is esthetically beautiful.
00:32:07.69\00:32:09.02
We few have like
our holly bush up front
00:32:09.06\00:32:11.16
is not esthetically
beautiful at the moment,
00:32:11.19\00:32:13.09
it has two or three
branches that just stick out,
00:32:13.13\00:32:16.16
but if it was pruned,
it would be a nice shape.
00:32:16.20\00:32:18.93
Pruning enables
us to reflect Jesus,
00:32:18.97\00:32:21.74
to look like Jesus,
00:32:21.77\00:32:23.71
to have the
beautiful character of God
00:32:23.74\00:32:27.54
revealed in our
hearts and lives.
00:32:27.58\00:32:30.15
And the balance of time
we have here this evening,
00:32:30.18\00:32:32.71
we want to look at five
steps in the process of pruning.
00:32:32.75\00:32:36.82
We talked about
the purpose of pruning.
00:32:36.85\00:32:39.52
Now we're gonna
look at the process.
00:32:39.55\00:32:42.49
The process of pruning,
five steps in the process.
00:32:42.52\00:32:45.79
Number one is to surrender.
00:32:45.83\00:32:49.76
Now I know Pastor Mitch
works in our pastoral department
00:32:49.80\00:32:53.40
and he says,"
00:32:53.44\00:32:55.10
Surrender is a
little hard concept
00:32:55.14\00:32:56.64
to grasp some times."
00:32:56.67\00:32:58.34
I don't know if may be
women understand things,
00:32:58.37\00:33:02.08
obviously we know that,
00:33:02.11\00:33:03.45
women understand
things different than men,
00:33:03.48\00:33:05.51
but sometime surrender
is a hard concept to grasp,
00:33:05.55\00:33:07.98
but I believe
00:33:08.02\00:33:09.35
that surrender is
simply saying yes to Jesus
00:33:09.38\00:33:14.82
every time I am
faced with the choice.
00:33:14.86\00:33:17.39
Surrender is just
saying yes to Jesus,
00:33:17.43\00:33:21.06
every time I'm
faced with the choice.
00:33:21.10\00:33:23.47
So I get up in the morning
and all of a sudden God says,
00:33:23.50\00:33:27.40
"Go over there and
pray with so and so."
00:33:27.44\00:33:30.47
Now I can say yes to Jesus.
00:33:30.51\00:33:33.07
I want to pray
with my sister Renice,
00:33:33.11\00:33:35.48
or I can say I
don't have time for that.
00:33:35.51\00:33:37.48
I want to do my own thing.
00:33:37.51\00:33:39.08
I don't want to pray.
00:33:39.11\00:33:40.68
God can say, "Go
apologize to so and so."
00:33:40.72\00:33:43.15
And I can say yes to Jesus,
00:33:43.18\00:33:46.49
I'm gonna
apologize or I can say no,
00:33:46.52\00:33:48.62
I don't want to apologize.
00:33:48.66\00:33:50.23
I was right and they were wrong,
00:33:50.26\00:33:51.69
I don't want to apologize.
00:33:51.73\00:33:53.16
I remember when I was
probably nine years old,
00:33:53.19\00:33:56.73
when I grew up I was...
00:33:56.77\00:33:58.20
My parents were
not very wealthy.
00:33:58.23\00:34:01.27
In fact I was ten years old
00:34:01.30\00:34:03.04
before I had my
first store bought outfit.
00:34:03.07\00:34:07.18
We always wore hand-me-downs.
00:34:07.21\00:34:09.04
My cousins,
00:34:09.08\00:34:10.71
two female cousins were
older than my sister and I,
00:34:10.75\00:34:13.31
we always wore their clothes.
00:34:13.35\00:34:15.88
Occasionally my
grandma who like to sew,
00:34:15.92\00:34:18.82
she would sew something for us
00:34:18.85\00:34:21.22
and we would get
then something new
00:34:21.26\00:34:22.96
because she had made it for us.
00:34:22.99\00:34:24.96
So when I was nine
years old my parents went,
00:34:24.99\00:34:27.16
and I don't know
where they got it, I don't,
00:34:27.20\00:34:28.83
it was not new
but I don't remember
00:34:28.86\00:34:30.37
where they got it,
00:34:30.40\00:34:31.73
but they got the
cutest pair of white shoes.
00:34:31.77\00:34:35.37
Now they were heals
00:34:35.40\00:34:36.74
and for a little
girl that was exciting
00:34:36.77\00:34:38.47
'cause I never had heals before.
00:34:38.51\00:34:40.61
And so they were heals
00:34:40.64\00:34:41.98
and I still
remember to this day,
00:34:42.01\00:34:43.35
they had a little
strap around the ankle,
00:34:43.38\00:34:45.65
one of those
fancy like Easter shoes
00:34:45.68\00:34:47.58
or you'd wear in the summer.
00:34:47.62\00:34:48.95
They were white
00:34:48.98\00:34:50.32
and they had a
little black mark on them.
00:34:50.35\00:34:52.99
My dad had taken something
00:34:53.02\00:34:54.49
and I don't know what he
put on but something white,
00:34:54.52\00:34:57.56
so that you
couldn't see the black mark
00:34:57.59\00:34:59.33
and they looked
like brand new shoes.
00:34:59.36\00:35:02.16
Now I was proud of my shoes
and I put them on, I was nine.
00:35:02.20\00:35:06.53
We went into church,
it was the first Sabbath,
00:35:06.57\00:35:09.44
I got to wear
my brand new shoes,
00:35:09.47\00:35:11.77
and I was so excited.
00:35:11.81\00:35:13.27
And I remember
walking in the aisle
00:35:13.31\00:35:15.04
and I thought
00:35:15.08\00:35:16.41
everybody is
looking at my new shoes.
00:35:16.44\00:35:18.51
Now off course probably
nobody even noticed them,
00:35:18.55\00:35:20.88
but in my little
girl's heart, it was exciting.
00:35:20.92\00:35:23.89
And so I had my little shoes
and I was so proud of them,
00:35:23.92\00:35:26.76
I sat in the pew.
00:35:26.79\00:35:28.19
You know what the
sermon was on that week?
00:35:28.22\00:35:31.46
Cynthia says pride.
00:35:31.49\00:35:32.99
No, it was on,
00:35:33.03\00:35:34.53
is there anything
in your heart in life
00:35:34.56\00:35:37.63
between you and Jesus?
00:35:37.67\00:35:39.37
Is there anything that
you love more than Jesus?
00:35:39.40\00:35:44.77
And I sat in there pew,
I couldn't touch the floor,
00:35:44.81\00:35:48.24
my beautiful
white shoes swinging,
00:35:48.28\00:35:52.58
and I thought,
but I like my shoes,
00:35:52.61\00:35:54.88
but it's the
first time I wore them,
00:35:54.92\00:35:57.02
but they are not
expensive, but they are new.
00:35:57.05\00:36:00.46
And the minister said,
00:36:00.49\00:36:01.82
"Is there anything in your
life between you and Jesus."
00:36:01.86\00:36:06.26
And we went home,
00:36:06.29\00:36:08.50
and I remember I took
off my beautiful white shoes
00:36:08.53\00:36:11.50
with a little
strap around the ankle,
00:36:11.53\00:36:13.90
and I gave them
to my mom and I said,
00:36:13.94\00:36:17.11
"Why don't you take
these shoes to goodwill."
00:36:17.14\00:36:22.98
A parent
00:36:23.01\00:36:24.48
who was may be a
lesser parent than my mom
00:36:24.51\00:36:27.78
would have said,
00:36:27.82\00:36:29.15
"No, you should
keep those shoes.
00:36:29.18\00:36:31.82
After all you love those shoes.
00:36:31.85\00:36:33.76
Those were shoes you
wanted, you should keep them,
00:36:33.79\00:36:36.12
but my mom had a lot of
wisdom and she knew that...
00:36:36.16\00:36:39.83
We laugh now, it's
just a little story,
00:36:39.86\00:36:42.30
it's just a little shoe
00:36:42.33\00:36:44.33
but she knew then
principle of not having anything
00:36:44.37\00:36:48.80
between us and Jesus.
00:36:48.84\00:36:50.67
She knew that some day
the decisions will get harder.
00:36:50.71\00:36:53.61
They would get
bigger as I grew up
00:36:53.64\00:36:56.58
and it was so important
00:36:56.61\00:36:58.01
that when I was
faced with the decision
00:36:58.05\00:37:00.62
to always say yes to
Jesus, even if it hurt.
00:37:00.65\00:37:05.15
So I don't know
00:37:05.19\00:37:06.52
what God is asking you to
surrender right now tonight.
00:37:06.55\00:37:10.99
Maybe it's your will and way.
00:37:11.03\00:37:14.33
Maybe it's pride.
00:37:14.36\00:37:15.70
Maybe it's bitterness, anger,
00:37:15.73\00:37:17.93
gossip, strife,
selfishness, lust.
00:37:17.97\00:37:24.24
Maybe it's entertainment
and the movies you watch
00:37:24.27\00:37:27.08
or the TV you look at.
00:37:27.11\00:37:28.44
Maybe it's the
books on your bookshelf.
00:37:28.48\00:37:30.78
Maybe it's the friends
00:37:30.81\00:37:32.15
that you are
choosing to hang around with,
00:37:32.18\00:37:33.75
or the person
you're looking at marrying
00:37:33.78\00:37:36.25
who is not a Christian.
00:37:36.28\00:37:39.05
Maybe it's a
choice of where you work
00:37:39.09\00:37:40.69
or where you live.
00:37:40.72\00:37:42.42
Following Jesus is not fluff.
00:37:42.46\00:37:47.46
You know what I'm saying.
00:37:47.50\00:37:48.86
Following Jesus is not...
00:37:48.90\00:37:50.47
Okay, God is love and
I'm just gonna be happy.
00:37:50.50\00:37:53.03
Yes, there is joy.
00:37:53.07\00:37:54.50
Yes, there is peace.
00:37:54.54\00:37:56.04
Yes, there is God's presence,
00:37:56.07\00:37:58.17
but at the same time
00:37:58.21\00:37:59.54
following Jesus
requires a choice.
00:37:59.57\00:38:03.18
It requires a choice.
00:38:03.21\00:38:04.75
It requires saying, am
I gonna say yes to Jesus
00:38:04.78\00:38:07.98
when He asks for something
I don't want to give up,
00:38:08.02\00:38:10.35
and every time
we say yes to Jesus,
00:38:10.39\00:38:13.52
He pours in
more joy, more peace,
00:38:13.56\00:38:18.66
more blessings that I say,
why didn't I say yes sooner?
00:38:18.69\00:38:23.00
Why didn't I surrender sooner?
00:38:23.03\00:38:25.43
Sometimes you might not know
00:38:25.47\00:38:27.67
what is God trying
to prune in my life.
00:38:27.70\00:38:29.50
I know sometimes
that would stress me.
00:38:29.54\00:38:31.37
God, I don't know
what's wrong in my life
00:38:31.41\00:38:33.54
and how do I know
you're gonna take care of it
00:38:33.58\00:38:35.54
as if I can do
anything about it.
00:38:35.58\00:38:38.11
It's all God's
work, He is on the throne.
00:38:38.15\00:38:40.62
Remember Philippians 1:6 says,
00:38:40.65\00:38:42.42
"Being confident
of this very thing,
00:38:42.45\00:38:44.35
that He who has
begun a good work in us
00:38:44.39\00:38:47.96
will carry it
forward to completion."
00:38:47.99\00:38:50.76
So trust God to finish the
work He has begun in your life.
00:38:50.79\00:38:56.60
My sister has four boys.
00:38:56.63\00:38:59.00
Now when this story happened,
it was three years ago,
00:38:59.03\00:39:01.27
and her boys at this
time were six, four, two
00:39:01.30\00:39:06.14
and the baby was just born.
00:39:06.17\00:39:07.84
Every time she has a new baby,
00:39:07.88\00:39:09.34
I always fly out to
North Carolina for a week,
00:39:09.38\00:39:12.18
spent time with her
because a new mom needs help,
00:39:12.21\00:39:15.48
and a mom with
three boys and a new baby
00:39:15.52\00:39:17.92
definitely needs help.
00:39:17.95\00:39:20.09
So I was there
00:39:20.12\00:39:21.56
and she was with a
baby in the bedroom
00:39:21.59\00:39:24.19
and I was playing hide and
seek with the three older boys.
00:39:24.23\00:39:27.56
Now, they love hide and seek.
00:39:27.60\00:39:29.70
The two older boys
were old enough to know
00:39:29.73\00:39:31.83
that the purpose of
hide and seek is what?
00:39:31.87\00:39:34.50
To remain hidden.
00:39:34.54\00:39:36.67
Now the two year old
hadn't grasp that concept yet,
00:39:36.71\00:39:40.84
so I was in the
kitchen, closed my eyes,
00:39:40.88\00:39:43.71
starting to
count, one, two, three,
00:39:43.75\00:39:46.65
I could hear
00:39:46.68\00:39:48.02
the boyish chatter
recede and the stocking feet
00:39:48.05\00:39:50.29
as they scampered away.
00:39:50.32\00:39:52.05
Four, five, six, the baby cried,
00:39:52.09\00:39:56.19
I could hear my
sister in the bedroom
00:39:56.22\00:39:57.99
as she tried to sooth him
00:39:58.03\00:40:00.56
seven, eight, nine, ten
ready or not, here I come.
00:40:00.60\00:40:04.20
And just as I said
that, I heard a little voice.
00:40:04.23\00:40:07.64
Caleb here,
00:40:07.67\00:40:10.87
I smiled that would be Caleb.
00:40:10.91\00:40:12.64
Remember he is two,
00:40:12.67\00:40:14.04
so I went into the living room
00:40:14.08\00:40:15.48
and I looked the
front hall closet.
00:40:15.51\00:40:17.35
Maybe Caleb's in
the front hall closet.
00:40:17.38\00:40:20.42
Caleb here.
00:40:20.45\00:40:22.48
I heard coming
from down the hall.
00:40:22.52\00:40:24.49
I went into the bathroom
00:40:24.52\00:40:25.85
and through open
the shower curtain,
00:40:25.89\00:40:27.49
you know to peer in the tub.
00:40:27.52\00:40:29.22
Maybe Caleb's in the tub.
00:40:29.26\00:40:31.43
Caleb here.
00:40:31.46\00:40:34.20
I went into the
laundry, opened up,
00:40:34.23\00:40:36.80
maybe Caleb's hiding
by the washing machine.
00:40:36.83\00:40:40.07
Caleb here.
00:40:40.10\00:40:42.24
He was beginning
to sound insistent.
00:40:42.27\00:40:45.27
I went in the
bedroom and there he lay,
00:40:45.31\00:40:48.24
head tucked underneath the bed,
00:40:48.28\00:40:52.75
arms,
00:40:52.78\00:40:54.28
trunk,
00:40:54.32\00:40:55.65
legs,
00:40:55.68\00:40:57.02
you guess it's
sprawled out in plain view.
00:40:57.05\00:40:59.35
His eyes were
really tightly screwed,
00:40:59.39\00:41:01.69
screwed shut.
00:41:01.72\00:41:03.06
Well, I pretend not to
see him and I went over,
00:41:03.09\00:41:05.69
I said may be Caleb's hiding
behind the chair over here,
00:41:05.73\00:41:09.13
so I peek behind the chair
00:41:09.16\00:41:12.73
and I heard giggles
from underneath the bed.
00:41:12.77\00:41:14.50
You know why?
00:41:14.54\00:41:15.87
He was proud of his hiding place
00:41:15.90\00:41:17.24
and the fact Aunty
Jill couldn't find him.
00:41:17.27\00:41:19.84
I went into the closet.
00:41:19.87\00:41:21.68
Maybe Caleb's in the
closet, more giggles.
00:41:21.71\00:41:25.78
Finally I couldn't
think of any other place
00:41:25.81\00:41:27.58
to look in the bedroom.
00:41:27.62\00:41:28.95
So I said there is Caleb.
00:41:28.98\00:41:31.35
He is hiding right
underneath the bed.
00:41:31.39\00:41:34.52
And so he came out,
00:41:34.56\00:41:36.02
he was so proud of
himself and I gave him a hug,
00:41:36.06\00:41:39.69
but you know two years
olds, he is on the move,
00:41:39.73\00:41:41.96
so he got up
00:41:42.00\00:41:43.33
and he started
toweling off to hide again.
00:41:43.37\00:41:46.70
And all of a sudden as I
sat there in his bedroom,
00:41:46.74\00:41:50.07
God spoke to my heart
00:41:50.11\00:41:51.84
and He said, " Jill,
that's what I think of you.
00:41:51.87\00:41:56.85
I thought of all the
times I had surrendered,
00:41:56.88\00:42:00.78
made a choice to
say yes to Jesus.
00:42:00.82\00:42:03.12
I had surrendered
00:42:03.15\00:42:04.49
what I thought
was my all to Jesus,
00:42:04.52\00:42:06.12
little realizing
00:42:06.15\00:42:07.56
that the bigger part of my life,
00:42:07.59\00:42:09.82
arms, trunk,
00:42:09.86\00:42:11.43
legs sprawled out in plain view.
00:42:11.46\00:42:14.50
There was a lot of junk,
00:42:14.53\00:42:16.13
a lot of sins
00:42:16.16\00:42:18.47
I did not know existed
left stuck in my heart,
00:42:18.50\00:42:22.70
but yet God had
never scolded me,
00:42:22.74\00:42:24.71
not once, not ever.
00:42:24.74\00:42:27.04
He never said, you know,
00:42:27.08\00:42:28.41
there is a whole mess
00:42:28.44\00:42:29.78
that you're lining
out here in plain view.
00:42:29.81\00:42:31.18
Couldn't you grow up, Jill.
00:42:31.21\00:42:33.15
Instead he showed me my heart
00:42:33.18\00:42:36.38
day by day, week by week,
00:42:36.42\00:42:39.79
month by month,
00:42:39.82\00:42:41.56
there is some pride here.
00:42:41.59\00:42:43.16
Oh, wow,
00:42:43.19\00:42:44.53
and I began to
dig until I realized,
00:42:44.56\00:42:47.56
it's receding itself,
00:42:47.60\00:42:50.00
it's receding
itself, it's multiplying.
00:42:50.03\00:42:53.10
God, I can't remove
it, will you take it?
00:42:53.13\00:42:55.97
And He said, "I was
waiting for you to ask."
00:42:56.00\00:42:58.61
Then all of a sudden He said,
00:42:58.64\00:43:00.04
"There is some bitterness
here that's buried so deeply,
00:43:00.08\00:43:02.54
you didn't know about it."
00:43:02.58\00:43:04.31
And I said, "Oh, I got this God.
00:43:04.35\00:43:05.78
I know, I couldn't
get the pride thing,
00:43:05.81\00:43:07.15
but I got the bitterness.
00:43:07.18\00:43:08.52
Yank, yank what happened?
00:43:08.55\00:43:11.39
Nothing.
00:43:11.42\00:43:12.85
He said I got
this too if you let me.
00:43:12.89\00:43:15.42
Okay, God,
00:43:15.46\00:43:16.79
I want to say yes to Jesus,
I choose to give it to you.
00:43:16.83\00:43:22.00
That's the
beautiful thing about God.
00:43:22.03\00:43:24.93
He knows
00:43:24.97\00:43:26.30
there is nothing
ourselves we can do,
00:43:26.33\00:43:28.47
but we can make a
choice, that's key.
00:43:28.50\00:43:31.41
The first step
00:43:31.44\00:43:33.88
in the process of pruning
is just to surrender to Jesus.
00:43:33.91\00:43:36.98
To make a choice
to say yes to Jesus.
00:43:37.01\00:43:39.91
The second step
is to behold Jesus.
00:43:39.95\00:43:43.28
Turn with me to
2 Corinthians 3...
00:43:43.32\00:43:47.16
2 Corinthians 3,
00:43:50.16\00:43:53.29
we're going to look at verse 18.
00:43:53.33\00:43:56.23
2 Corinthian 3:18,
00:43:56.26\00:43:59.60
The Bible says, "We
all, with unveiled face,
00:43:59.63\00:44:03.37
beholding as in a
mirror for glory of the Lord,
00:44:03.41\00:44:07.48
are being
transformed into the same image
00:44:07.51\00:44:12.25
from glory to glory,
00:44:12.28\00:44:14.58
just as by the
Spirit of the Lord."
00:44:14.62\00:44:18.42
We're changed,
00:44:18.45\00:44:19.79
we're transformed in
the midst of that pruning
00:44:19.82\00:44:22.89
and in the midst of the
trial, in the midst of pain,
00:44:22.92\00:44:25.89
we are changed
by beholding Jesus.
00:44:25.93\00:44:28.96
Now I don't think
00:44:29.00\00:44:30.33
God is talking about
our momentary glances.
00:44:30.37\00:44:33.67
Something where, huh,
I'm almost late for work,
00:44:33.70\00:44:36.64
let me open my
Bible, God loves the world.
00:44:36.67\00:44:39.04
Oh thank you, God.
00:44:39.07\00:44:40.41
And we go off to work,
00:44:40.44\00:44:41.78
that's not what
he is talking about?
00:44:41.81\00:44:44.98
Beholding Jesus is a constant
00:44:45.01\00:44:48.28
beholding not
just in the morning
00:44:48.32\00:44:51.29
not just at noon, or at night
00:44:51.32\00:44:54.02
but all throughout the day
00:44:54.06\00:44:58.13
is looking into
the face of Jesus.
00:44:58.16\00:45:00.23
Now I know we're not
called to be hermits,
00:45:00.26\00:45:02.93
we're called to live
00:45:02.96\00:45:05.33
amongst our
brothers and sisters,
00:45:05.37\00:45:07.07
we're called, we were busy,
00:45:07.10\00:45:08.84
but in the
midst of that busyness
00:45:08.87\00:45:11.77
bring our mind,
00:45:11.81\00:45:13.34
our mind flow back to
the Lord Jesus Christ.
00:45:13.38\00:45:18.61
My husband Greg is probably...
00:45:18.65\00:45:20.98
This is a biased
opinion so forgive this.
00:45:21.02\00:45:23.69
Probably one of
the best drivers I know
00:45:23.72\00:45:26.52
and then you're gonna say,
00:45:26.55\00:45:27.89
I know many good driver
and I am sure that's true,
00:45:27.92\00:45:30.09
but he is my husband
00:45:30.13\00:45:31.46
so I guess I think
he is a good driver.
00:45:31.49\00:45:33.56
He does not,
00:45:33.60\00:45:34.93
you know, some drivers
start and stop in a hurry
00:45:34.96\00:45:37.07
like
00:45:37.10\00:45:38.43
and then they
stop and I get car sick
00:45:38.47\00:45:40.54
and that's just
not very pleasant.
00:45:40.57\00:45:42.34
Other drivers
may be are aggressive
00:45:42.37\00:45:45.21
but Greg is very
defensive when he drives.
00:45:45.24\00:45:47.18
He is always
looking at his surroundings,
00:45:47.21\00:45:49.34
always making sure,
00:45:49.38\00:45:50.71
you know, we're okay
00:45:50.75\00:45:52.31
and he is very
steady and I just feel safe,
00:45:52.35\00:45:55.32
when he drives I feel safe.
00:45:55.35\00:45:57.29
Now he's told the story
00:45:57.32\00:45:58.75
so I can share
it with you at home.
00:45:58.79\00:46:01.62
He was driving one
time by himself in the car
00:46:01.66\00:46:05.69
on a highway.
00:46:05.73\00:46:07.06
Now here in Southern
Illinois, we're very flat,
00:46:07.10\00:46:11.00
not a lot of change,
right, so the roads are flat.
00:46:11.03\00:46:14.90
When we drive in
Southern Illinois,
00:46:14.94\00:46:16.47
there is a sameness to the road.
00:46:16.50\00:46:18.21
Would you agree like the
dotted white line zips fast
00:46:18.24\00:46:21.84
and there is not a
whole lot of traffic,
00:46:21.88\00:46:23.48
there is not a lot of
things to occupy the mind,
00:46:23.51\00:46:25.51
they're just monotonous,
maybe that's the word.
00:46:25.55\00:46:29.02
And so, Greg said,
00:46:29.05\00:46:30.39
he was driving
along and all of a sudden
00:46:30.42\00:46:32.09
right in front of
him was a pot hole,
00:46:32.12\00:46:35.76
and he thought, I
can't hit this pot hole,
00:46:35.79\00:46:38.33
he turned the
wheel relax probably
00:46:38.36\00:46:40.50
and avoided the pot hole.
00:46:40.53\00:46:42.36
Now the story would
have ended differently
00:46:42.40\00:46:44.17
if it had ended
there but it didn't.
00:46:44.20\00:46:47.17
He thought I want to
see how the driver behind me
00:46:47.20\00:46:52.34
is got to fare.
00:46:52.37\00:46:53.98
Are they going to
avoid the pot hole
00:46:54.01\00:46:56.85
as well as I
avoided that pot hole?
00:46:56.88\00:47:00.28
You know what happened?
00:47:00.32\00:47:01.68
He looked in
the rear view mirror
00:47:01.72\00:47:03.28
to look behind him
00:47:03.32\00:47:05.12
to see how the
driver was gonna do.
00:47:05.15\00:47:09.29
And just when he looked
in the rear view mirror,
00:47:09.32\00:47:11.29
you know what happened?
00:47:11.33\00:47:13.50
He hit an even bigger pot hole.
00:47:13.53\00:47:16.23
There were two
pot holes in the road.
00:47:16.26\00:47:17.93
The one he avoided,
00:47:17.97\00:47:19.30
the second he hit dead on
00:47:19.33\00:47:21.24
because he was
looking behind him.
00:47:21.27\00:47:24.47
When God calls
us to behold Jesus,
00:47:24.51\00:47:27.28
we're not called to look behind.
00:47:27.31\00:47:29.11
Look behind at
our past mistakes,
00:47:29.14\00:47:32.21
at our past sins.
00:47:32.25\00:47:34.48
We're not even called
00:47:34.52\00:47:35.85
to look behind at
the past victories.
00:47:35.88\00:47:38.72
We're not called to look behind
00:47:38.75\00:47:40.39
that our brother
and sister is insane.
00:47:40.42\00:47:42.86
I'm so glad
00:47:42.89\00:47:44.23
that I am further
along than so and so.
00:47:44.26\00:47:47.73
We're not called to look behind,
00:47:47.76\00:47:49.30
neither are we
called to look to the side.
00:47:49.33\00:47:52.17
I wonder if Hanna, she
is behind the camera there.
00:47:52.20\00:47:54.67
I wonder if Hanna is
keeping pace with me.
00:47:54.70\00:47:57.17
Maybe I am a
little head of Hanna.
00:47:57.21\00:47:59.17
Maybe I am fallen
behind, I have to run faster.
00:47:59.21\00:48:02.14
No, none of that matters.
00:48:02.18\00:48:04.91
We're called
just to look to Jesus.
00:48:04.95\00:48:09.12
Look to Jesus.
00:48:09.15\00:48:11.62
Number three in
the process of pruning,
00:48:11.65\00:48:14.96
first we surrender,
00:48:14.99\00:48:16.32
we just simply say yes to Jesus.
00:48:16.36\00:48:18.36
Number two, we behold Jesus.
00:48:18.39\00:48:21.90
Number three,
00:48:21.93\00:48:23.26
we accept the pruning,
00:48:23.30\00:48:25.60
the pruning process with joy,
00:48:25.63\00:48:29.80
that's the hard one.
00:48:29.84\00:48:31.27
We accept the
pruning process with joy
00:48:31.31\00:48:35.21
and I'm just being
honest with you here tonight,
00:48:35.24\00:48:37.41
there's times I've kicked,
00:48:37.45\00:48:39.58
times I've cried,
00:48:39.61\00:48:42.12
times I've not accepted it
00:48:42.15\00:48:45.02
as God would have me accept it.
00:48:45.05\00:48:46.96
But every time
00:48:46.99\00:48:49.02
I have made a choice
to accept it with joy
00:48:49.06\00:48:52.99
God wants me to that
has changed my heart.
00:48:53.03\00:48:56.36
as It has changed
my experience with God.
00:48:56.40\00:49:00.24
Turn with me to James,
00:49:00.27\00:49:02.34
James 1,
00:49:02.37\00:49:06.04
we're gonna look at verses 2-4.
00:49:06.07\00:49:08.24
Now here in
James it actually says,
00:49:08.28\00:49:10.88
" Count it all joy
when you fall into trials."
00:49:10.91\00:49:12.85
Anything that
we're being pruned out,
00:49:14.15\00:49:16.28
you can call it a trial
'cause pruning is not painless.
00:49:16.32\00:49:19.79
Pruning is painful,
00:49:19.82\00:49:21.29
so we could replace that
with the pruning process.
00:49:21.32\00:49:23.93
James 1:2-4,
00:49:23.96\00:49:27.30
"My brethren, or my
sisters, count it all joy."
00:49:27.33\00:49:32.63
Now in the Greek
00:49:32.97\00:49:34.30
the word for joy
means pure unmixed joy,
00:49:34.34\00:49:39.01
so we're not talking
about count it joy as in okay,
00:49:39.04\00:49:42.94
count it,
00:49:42.98\00:49:44.35
huh, it's okay
that I'm being pruned,
00:49:44.38\00:49:47.22
that I have now joy,
00:49:47.25\00:49:48.68
pure unmixed joy
that's a lot of joy.
00:49:48.72\00:49:52.49
Count it all joy
00:49:52.52\00:49:55.16
when you fall
into various trials,
00:49:55.19\00:49:57.49
or afflictions,
00:49:57.53\00:49:58.86
or trouble or tests
00:49:58.89\00:50:02.00
when you get
pruned, count it joy.
00:50:02.03\00:50:04.67
Knowing that the
testing of your faith
00:50:04.70\00:50:07.34
produces patience.
00:50:07.37\00:50:10.54
But let patience
have its perfect work,
00:50:10.57\00:50:14.74
that you may be perfect
and complete, lacking nothing.
00:50:14.78\00:50:20.22
When God looks at us he say,
00:50:20.25\00:50:23.18
"You're princess, you're prince,
00:50:23.22\00:50:25.45
I want to create
my character in you
00:50:25.49\00:50:30.13
and you know one of
the ways he does that,
00:50:30.16\00:50:32.43
through the pruning process.
00:50:32.46\00:50:34.40
When we chose,
00:50:34.43\00:50:35.76
when something is
painful or difficult
00:50:35.80\00:50:38.00
we want to fight it,
that's the natural human heart.
00:50:38.03\00:50:40.80
We want to
fight, we want to soak,
00:50:40.84\00:50:42.70
we want to throw a kitty party,
00:50:42.74\00:50:44.14
we want to go against
it, we want rebellion,
00:50:44.17\00:50:47.01
I've been in
all of those places.
00:50:47.04\00:50:48.71
God says accept it with joy,
00:50:49.51\00:50:53.98
count it as joy.
00:50:54.02\00:50:55.62
Andrew Murray,
00:50:55.65\00:50:56.99
I like the
writings of Andrew Murray.
00:50:57.02\00:50:59.15
He has a book called
Humanity and Absolute Surrender.
00:50:59.19\00:51:04.63
There is a quote in this book.
00:51:04.66\00:51:05.99
I want to read to you.
00:51:06.03\00:51:07.36
It says, "Accept
with gratitude..."
00:51:07.40\00:51:09.06
That's joy we're
just talking about that.
00:51:09.10\00:51:11.27
"Accept with gratitude
everything that God allows."
00:51:11.30\00:51:17.21
We're not talking one thing
or if it's something I want,
00:51:17.24\00:51:20.04
something I like.
00:51:20.08\00:51:21.84
Accept with gratitude
every thing that God allows
00:51:21.88\00:51:26.68
from within
00:51:26.72\00:51:28.42
or from without
00:51:28.45\00:51:29.78
and I know I've
had trials from within
00:51:29.82\00:51:31.92
my own junk coming up.
00:51:31.95\00:51:34.12
Sometimes it's from without,
00:51:34.16\00:51:35.49
from someone else
who said something to you
00:51:35.52\00:51:37.56
or did something to you,
00:51:37.59\00:51:38.93
or hurt even some fashion
through no fault of our own.
00:51:38.96\00:51:42.36
Accept with gratitude,
00:51:42.40\00:51:44.83
everything God allows
00:51:44.87\00:51:47.37
from within or without
00:51:47.40\00:51:49.50
from friend or enemy
00:51:49.54\00:51:53.27
in nature on in grace
00:51:53.31\00:51:56.64
to remind you of
your need for humbling
00:51:56.68\00:52:01.08
and to help you to it.
00:52:01.12\00:52:03.22
What's he saying?
00:52:03.25\00:52:04.59
Everything that comes to us,
00:52:04.62\00:52:06.42
the pruning process
00:52:06.45\00:52:07.79
whether God is the
one who is pruning,
00:52:07.82\00:52:09.96
whether it's my own consequences
00:52:09.99\00:52:11.99
of my choices that's pruning,
00:52:12.03\00:52:13.90
whether it's just
simply the result of sin
00:52:13.93\00:52:16.53
that's causing the pruning.
00:52:16.56\00:52:18.17
Accept it with gratitude
00:52:18.20\00:52:20.00
knowing that God is working
00:52:20.04\00:52:23.00
in our lives to change us,
00:52:23.04\00:52:26.01
to make us more like Jesus.
00:52:26.04\00:52:29.48
Number four,
00:52:29.51\00:52:31.38
spent time in prayer.
00:52:31.41\00:52:34.98
In the midst of the trial,
00:52:35.02\00:52:36.79
in the midst of
the pruning process,
00:52:36.82\00:52:39.25
spent time in prayer.
00:52:39.29\00:52:42.09
Be honest with God.
00:52:42.12\00:52:43.76
He already knows how we feel.
00:52:43.79\00:52:46.59
He knows that.
00:52:46.63\00:52:48.16
One of the things
00:52:48.20\00:52:49.53
that has
revolutionized my prayer life
00:52:49.56\00:52:51.30
more than anything
00:52:51.33\00:52:52.67
is actually
praying the Word of God
00:52:52.70\00:52:54.70
back to Him.
00:52:54.74\00:52:56.07
Praying the
scripture back to Him.
00:52:56.10\00:52:59.77
It opens up,
00:52:59.81\00:53:01.14
there is power
in the Word of God.
00:53:01.18\00:53:02.68
But beyond that,
00:53:02.71\00:53:04.05
it just opens up
our thought and mind
00:53:04.08\00:53:06.65
I think to
receive more of Jesus,
00:53:06.68\00:53:08.78
so if you were to pray
this passage we just read,
00:53:08.82\00:53:11.89
we're in James 1:2-4
00:53:11.92\00:53:14.46
and it's not complicated.
00:53:14.49\00:53:15.82
You don't have to say,
00:53:15.86\00:53:17.19
I don't know how to
pray the scripture back.
00:53:17.23\00:53:18.56
I don't think I can do that.
00:53:18.59\00:53:20.66
It's quite simple.
00:53:20.70\00:53:22.03
All we do is take
it and thank Jesus.
00:53:22.06\00:53:25.50
My brethren and
if we are praying
00:53:25.53\00:53:27.84
we could say," Father,
00:53:27.87\00:53:29.20
thank You that you
called me as Your brethren.
00:53:29.24\00:53:31.87
Thank you for that.
00:53:31.91\00:53:33.54
Right now I am
going through a hard time,
00:53:33.58\00:53:36.14
but I want to count it as joy.
00:53:36.18\00:53:38.91
Please work your joy in my life.
00:53:38.95\00:53:42.85
Right now I'm
going through this trial
00:53:42.88\00:53:44.75
but I am believing
and claiming by faith
00:53:44.79\00:53:47.19
that the testing of my faith
is going to produce patience.
00:53:47.22\00:53:51.53
I'm believing and
claiming that my faith.
00:53:51.56\00:53:54.66
Father I want to let patience
00:53:54.70\00:53:56.40
have its
perfect life in my heart
00:53:56.43\00:53:58.40
and right now I
know I am running.
00:53:58.43\00:54:00.17
Right now I know I am
stressed or I am struggling,
00:54:00.20\00:54:03.51
I want to allow your
patience, this patience,
00:54:03.54\00:54:06.64
you trying to work in my heart,
00:54:06.68\00:54:08.48
I want to allow it to
have its perfect work.
00:54:08.51\00:54:11.88
God allow me to be still
00:54:11.91\00:54:13.62
and allow this to
have its perfect work.
00:54:13.65\00:54:15.98
Thank You
00:54:16.02\00:54:17.35
that You are making
me perfect and complete.
00:54:17.39\00:54:19.29
Thank You there is
nothing I do of myself.
00:54:19.32\00:54:21.69
Thank You that you
are the one working in me.
00:54:21.72\00:54:24.79
Thank You that in
You I lack nothing.
00:54:24.83\00:54:29.56
It's just taking
the words in the Bible
00:54:29.60\00:54:32.50
and changing it into a prayer.
00:54:32.53\00:54:34.47
Changing it into thanking God.
00:54:34.50\00:54:37.57
Number one, we
just simply surrender.
00:54:37.61\00:54:39.91
Two, we behold Jesus.
00:54:39.94\00:54:41.94
Three, we accept the trial
00:54:41.98\00:54:44.41
or the pruning process with joy.
00:54:44.45\00:54:47.25
Four, we spent time in prayer
00:54:47.28\00:54:49.68
and number five, the last one,
00:54:49.72\00:54:51.92
we claim his
word over our lives.
00:54:51.95\00:54:56.59
J.D. Quinn works in
the pastoral parliament
00:54:56.62\00:54:58.83
he likes three-by-five cards
00:54:58.86\00:55:00.23
writing out Bible promises
on a three-by-five card.
00:55:00.26\00:55:04.20
You know,
00:55:04.23\00:55:05.57
I am not always as
organized I should be for that
00:55:05.60\00:55:07.84
and sometime I
just take a posted note
00:55:07.87\00:55:10.71
or I take the
back of my bulletin
00:55:10.74\00:55:12.07
when I am in church
00:55:12.11\00:55:13.44
and God shows me
a certain promise
00:55:13.48\00:55:15.21
or my notes or
something I take something.
00:55:15.24\00:55:19.48
I used to put the
posted notes in the car
00:55:19.51\00:55:21.28
until Greg said,
00:55:21.32\00:55:22.65
"Jilly, that's not
very safe when you driving,
00:55:22.68\00:55:24.19
you're trying to
memorize scripture,
00:55:24.22\00:55:25.55
so maybe you should
think about doing some notes.
00:55:25.59\00:55:27.92
So I kind of have
posted notes by the bed
00:55:27.96\00:55:30.73
when you go to sleep at night
00:55:30.76\00:55:32.09
the last thought in our
mind is the Word of God.
00:55:32.13\00:55:37.20
For me when I'm doing dishes,
00:55:37.23\00:55:38.67
I like to think about something
00:55:38.70\00:55:40.04
when I'm washing dishes
or on my computer at work.
00:55:40.07\00:55:43.27
Whatever it is,
00:55:43.81\00:55:45.14
find promises in the Word of God
00:55:45.17\00:55:47.74
and claim his word,
00:55:47.78\00:55:50.28
claim those
promises over our lives.
00:55:50.31\00:55:54.88
Tonight we talked about pruning.
00:55:54.92\00:55:56.92
Pruning is not
always, I shouldn't say that.
00:55:56.95\00:56:00.96
I don't think
pruning is ever painless.
00:56:00.99\00:56:03.66
I haven't found that to be so.
00:56:03.69\00:56:05.99
But the result
00:56:06.03\00:56:07.36
that God wants to bring
in our hearts and lives.
00:56:07.40\00:56:09.86
What He wants to do is amazing.
00:56:09.90\00:56:12.80
Number one,
00:56:12.83\00:56:14.17
we looked at the
six purposes of pruning.
00:56:14.20\00:56:17.51
It removes the
diseased and the dead places
00:56:17.54\00:56:20.31
from our hearts and lives.
00:56:20.34\00:56:22.31
It opens our hearts up
to receive more of Jesus,
00:56:22.34\00:56:25.61
the light of the world.
00:56:25.65\00:56:27.88
It opens us up for more air,
00:56:27.92\00:56:31.95
the work of the Holy Spirit,
00:56:31.99\00:56:33.66
for the water,
00:56:33.69\00:56:35.02
the washing of
the water of the word.
00:56:35.06\00:56:36.89
It produces more fruit
in our hearts and lives,
00:56:36.93\00:56:40.83
sweeter fruit,
00:56:40.86\00:56:42.20
more the fruits of the spirit.
00:56:42.23\00:56:44.77
It produces a character
that's esthetically beautiful,
00:56:44.80\00:56:47.70
that looks like Jesus.
00:56:47.74\00:56:49.87
So tonight if you're
going through a pruning process
00:56:49.90\00:56:53.64
and I think
everybody goes through pruning.
00:56:53.68\00:56:55.84
If you're going
through a pruning process,
00:56:55.88\00:56:58.35
if you're hurt,
00:56:58.38\00:56:59.75
if you say God I
don't even understand
00:56:59.78\00:57:01.48
what's going on?
00:57:01.52\00:57:02.85
Number one, surrender
00:57:02.88\00:57:05.49
whatever you're
dealing with right now
00:57:05.52\00:57:07.42
chose to say yes to Jesus.
00:57:07.46\00:57:11.29
Give that pain, give that hurt,
00:57:11.33\00:57:13.33
give all of that to
the Lord Jesus Christ.
00:57:13.36\00:57:16.06
Number two, behold Jesus
00:57:16.10\00:57:19.03
when you wake up as you
goes throughout the day,
00:57:19.07\00:57:21.94
when you're driving in
the car, when you're at work,
00:57:21.97\00:57:24.07
when you're
talking with your friends,
00:57:24.11\00:57:25.54
behold Jesus.
00:57:25.57\00:57:28.71
Number three, accept the pain.
00:57:28.74\00:57:31.95
Accept the trial with joy.
00:57:31.98\00:57:34.12
Only God can do that.
00:57:34.15\00:57:35.82
Allow him to give you his joy.
00:57:35.85\00:57:39.35
Number four,
spent time in prayer
00:57:39.39\00:57:42.96
and spent time
in the Word of God.
00:57:42.99\00:57:46.59
Know that we here at 3ABN
00:57:46.63\00:57:48.33
and each one of our
Thompsonville family here,
00:57:48.36\00:57:50.70
we love you at home.
00:57:50.73\00:57:52.13
We are praying God's blessing
and anointing of your life.
00:57:52.17\00:57:56.67
Don't get discouraged.
00:57:56.71\00:57:58.47
Don't give up, God loves you
00:57:58.51\00:58:00.74
and He wants to
produce His fruit in your life.
00:58:00.78\00:58:04.01