can someone give me a personal example of how God pruned them for the purpose of growth? thanks- dennis

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Dennis

Dennis,

how much time do you have? :-)

In Him, Chanin

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Chanin

It usually comes as a trial that challenges your beliefs in what you think you know already.

For example, in my life about 6 years ago. I have a friend in my Church that was born in the Philippines, She set my wife and I up to get married. It was in April that I sent her a letter to introduce myself; it took her two months later to call me with no communication between that time. After that call, I asked her to merry me in our next conversation. I went to the Philippines that August 11 and we got married a week later. We hade a whole two weeks of being married until I had to leave her so that I could petition for her Visa to enter the U.S. That petitioning to the I.N.S took 18 months. Think about being away from you newly wedded bride for 1 ½ years. During that time, I went through the biggest test, trial, or dessert, what ever you want to call it. My belief on everything from prayer to church its self was challenged. I had to rethink everything. I ended up saying to God that I don’t know anything. But in that process, everything that was left in my faith and knowledge of Him was confirmed. Everything that was confirmed is being built upon from there up.
Luke 6:48 He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock.

More of Him and Logic,

Thank you two for the encouragement you both are and for what you've both personally have written to me, to keep my Spirit up and not be grieved beyond measure.

You both have a burden to exhort and build up HIS Church, and no greater blessing could be found here on SI, then to find folks Like you.

God Bless His Church, in Jesus Precious Name.
Amen and keep on with both your Blessed gifts.

We need exhortors now, more than ever before.

This is where the "pruning" begins sometimes.

Love,
Annie

Annie,

thank you for the compliment. I have never really thought of myself as an exhorter, but i have gone through the list before: teacher, ect... But now that i look at it, i guess I would be an exhorter. :-)

Dennis,

Here are few posts that show some of my "pruning"- in other words: the fruit of affliction.

[url=https://www.sermonindex.net/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=4374&forum=35#29622]Brokenness again[/url]
[url=https://www.sermonindex.net/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=2677&forum=44#17003]God Used a Doctor to Speak to me[/url]
[url=https://www.sermonindex.net/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=5414&forum=44#39315]An Affair not to Remember[/url]

I hope I put the URLs with the right posts :-o

In Him, Chanin

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Chanin

I sometimes need pruning and clensing from all baggage that is not going to heaven namely sin!! and all the other baggage. Like a flower I need pruning so I can become for like Jesus!!

Lu 8:8 - Show ContextAnd other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Re 22:2 - Show ContextIn the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

Le 25:3 - Show ContextSix years thou shalt sow thy field, and six years thou shalt prune thy vineyard, and gather in the fruit thereof;

Le 25:4 - Show ContextBut in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest unto the land, a sabbath for the LORD: thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard.

I was trying to find the verse, which I cannot find but hopefully will find!! Pray for my clensing!!! and to be like Jesus!!

I want Jesus to bare much through me because he is the vine and branches dont bare much fruit!! I need to speack to a horticulturlist about this subject to see if he knows anything !!

God bless

Dominic

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Dominic Shiells

I Love these verses and thank the author of this thread, for bringing up such an edifying topic ....

Joh 15:1 "I am the true vine, and my Father is the farmer.
Joh 15:2 Every branch in me that doesn't bear fruit, he takes away. [u]Every branch that bears fruit, he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.[/u]
Joh 15:3 You are already pruned [u]because of the Word[/u] which I have spoken to you.
Joh 15:4 [u]Remain in me, and I in you. As the branch can't bear fruit by itself, unless it remains in the vine, so neither can you, unless you remain in me.
Joh 15:5 I am the vine. You are the branches. He who remains in me, and I in him, the same bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do NOTHING.[/u]

~ Chanin, I read these links you gave above.

Some time ago I was at a home that had a very large and beautiful grapevine that would start fruit in the spring yet in the fall there was nothing on it. By reading gardening material I found out different things that needed to be done to the vine to get it to bear fruit. There was a spray to use but even with the spray you had to do other things so there would be fruit. In the month of March, you are to break the branches at the knuckles on the vine branches. You prune the vine so there is new growth on the vine. The new growth bears the grapes. It is also important to take away any dead wood from the vine to get rid of disease. You must remove and burn any dead wood or old droppings underneath the grapevine also. This keeps disease from coming back to the vine.

This doesn't just speak of a personal pruning in our lives so that we bear fruit. Just as Jesus cursed the fig tree, many of the professing church will see a pruning and go into the fire. The same fire as when the sheep and goats are divided. Some are sent to the fire prepared for the devil and his angels. It’s also the same fire spoken about when Jesus said it is better to cut off a hand or pluck out an eye than for the whole body to be cast into hell.

The grapevine produced much fruit the next year once all that dead stuff was gone.

In Christ,
GaryE

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Gary Eckenroth

Pruning is a process that reshapes,but does not destory the life.
It is always God's desire that we be first and foremost, saved. It is always God's desire for us to become more and more like Jesus. I'm sure you've noticed that the lifesytle of Jesus is much different than that of Donald Trump. In fact, upon closer scrutiny, you will find that Jesus' lifestyle is much different than what is held before the church as leadership today.
God is not interested in our material welfare. He is interested in our spiritual growth into ambassadors of Jesus Christ and His kingdom.
The first step in the process is the death of flesh. The old man must go to the cross inorder for new life to be established. That old man, though dead by faith before God, hangs around the new life, hoping that it can be resurrected. Before God, it cannot. But it can sure cause us some grief.
Pain and suffering are the taskmasters of the child. Growing as spiritual children, God often has to allow pain and suffering into our lives to help us differentiate between the leading of the spirit and the leading of the flesh. Then He sets before us life and death and reminds us to choose life.
As someone here has already spoken, it's the new growth on the vine that bares the fruit. This is very important to understand. Breaking away the old is often painful. Oh but the life that springs forth from the new is something to behold indeed. Alleluia.
Some believers have such an unrully nature that they must be held in place by circumstances in order to keep them in line with God's will.
If you know anything at all about sheep, you know that the shephard will break the leg of a sheep that continually wanders off, so that the sheep must stay close to the flock. This leg breaking is not welcomed by the sheep. It is painful indeed. But the wisdom of the shephard sees that a broken leg is better than being eaten alive by wolves.
I know a man who was in the wrong place at the right time and was shot through the neck, very close to his brain. He lost eyesight in one eye. He could not walk for quite sometime. He had difficulty talking. His wife and children left him. He had no where to turn too, but new life. New life in Christ Jesus. I asked him, "Bill (not his real name), if you had not gotten shot, do you believe you would be saved today?" His answer? "Absolutely NOT!"
The flesh is destined for the grave. But our new man will live on and on. Too often our emphasis is on what is perishing, the old branches, while the vine dresser is hoping we will let those old branches go to the grave now, so the new fruit can come forth. There are no shortcuts. It is a natural process that must be adhered too if there is to be any fruit.
We must come to the end of ourselves, place no confidence in our flesh and rely on God in good times and bad to help us become like Jesus.
We can help the process by studying His life carefully, and prayerfully desiring to be like Him.
It is impossible to be like Him, unless we are willing to be obedient. The bibles says that Jesus was obedient in all things, even unto death on the cross. John 14:21 says that if we love Jesus, we keep His commandments. More, He also says that in that process, we will be loved by the Father. A father loves an obedient child. Jesus goes on to say that He Himself will manifest Himself to us. Glory to God. How good does it get?
Our biggest struggle is trying to keep the old man alive without offending God and quenching the Spirit. That is like trying to serve two masters. There is no success in it. In order to have the new life, death must come to the old. The old branches must be pruned, to let the new life come forth. It is God's design, it is the only one that works. Let us ever yield to His careful vinedressing, even though it puts our flesh to pain and death death. May we each abound in new life that brings forth fruit, that will nourish others, and encourage them to be fruit bearers also.

Growing in grace,

Lahry

wow. what great responses from you all. thanks. so, is it safe to say that pruning and trials are the same?

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Dennis