Participants: Jill Morikone
Series Code: HLFT
Program Code: HLFT000022A
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00:25 Hello and welcome to Heart Lift.
00:27 I'm Jill Morikone, and I'm so glad that 00:29 you have joined us today. 00:31 We're in the midst of a journey toward hope, toward healing, 00:35 toward the transformation that the Lord Jesus wants to work 00:39 in your heart, and in mine, as woman, as daughters of God. 00:44 If you're just joining us, we're in the middle of our 00:47 section on transformation. 00:49 Last program we discussed the washed heart; how God wants to 00:54 wash our heart with the washing of the water of the word. 00:59 How the word of God transforms us. 01:01 The word of God empowers us. 01:04 The word of God sets us free. 01:07 Today's program is, A Pruned Heart. 01:11 Our Scripture is in John 15. 01:13 We're going to spend some time in John 15. 01:19 The Bible says: You did not choose Me, but I chose you, 01:24 and appointed you, that you should go and bear fruit, 01:29 and that your fruit should remain; that whatever you ask 01:33 the Father in My name, He may give you. 01:37 Father I just thank You right now that we didn't choose You. 01:44 We didn't seek after You. 01:46 You were the one who came to seek and to save 01:50 that which was lost. 01:51 Thank You, Lord Jesus, for choosing us. 01:54 Thank You for coming after us, and for rescuing us 01:58 from the mire of sin that we are in. 02:00 Right now we open up our hearts to receive what You want 02:06 to share with us from Your Word. 02:08 And we thank You in the precious, 02:10 and the Holy name of Jesus, Amen. 02:13 My husband Greg grew up in the hills, and the hollars, 02:19 in the little mountains of West Virginia. 02:22 He and his little sister, Janelle, they're a couple years 02:26 apart, they made mud pies and played in the creek, 02:30 they climbed up in those hollars, and went ginsenging; 02:34 had a wonderful time in the country. 02:36 Now one of the things that you know, if you grew up 02:41 in the country at all, is you would want a swing. 02:45 Maybe in the city you say, Well, I can't get a swing. 02:48 I can't get whatever, you know, I don't have any yard. 02:51 But if you're in the country, you say, I want a swing; 02:54 a rope swing, a tire swing, something. 02:57 Well, you know what they had? 02:59 They had a grape vine swing. 03:01 What they did, there was a grape vine that was growing 03:05 on the side of one of the hills, and it went quite a ways, 03:09 all the way up into this tree. 03:11 In fact, Greg tells me, I asked him the other day, he said that 03:16 the length of that grape vine from the top of the tree where 03:20 it was hooked in, all the way down to the root system, 03:23 he said was forty feet. It's pretty long. 03:26 He said it was only, not real thick, but it was very long. 03:30 What they did is they cut it off at the roots. 03:32 Then they would jump on it. 03:34 They would swing out over the valley. 03:37 They would come back to the little mountainside, 03:40 and then the next person; jump on it, 03:43 swing out, and come back. 03:46 They did this for some time, and they loved 03:48 their grape vine swing. 03:50 Now you probably know where this story is going. 03:54 One day some friends came to visit. 03:56 And all the kids of the parents, they all got together the kids. 04:01 And Greg said they went out to play. 04:04 They said, We have got a grape vine swing. 04:07 You've got to try it. 04:09 So Greg said he jumped on, and he swung out over the field. 04:12 And he came back, showing the other kids, this is what we do. 04:16 Then a little boy went out, and he said, I'm going to do it. 04:20 So he jumped on the grape vine and he swung over the field, 04:24 and it broke. And he went flying, and he hit a stump. 04:29 Not a very big stump, but a little stump, and it knocked 04:35 the breath out of him. 04:36 Praise the Lord that he was not injured. 04:38 So that is a big, Praise the Lord! for that. 04:41 When I think of that story, Why did the grape vine break? 04:47 You know why it broke? 04:48 Because it was disconnected from its source 04:52 down in the bottom. 04:54 It was disconnected from its root system, 04:56 from its nutrient system, from the water. 04:59 And the grape vine; it eventually rotted, 05:01 eventually it broke. 05:03 John 15, we want to look at the first five 05:07 verses here in John 15. 05:10 We're talking about the vine. 05:12 We could say grape vines, but in this case it is the vine. 05:16 I am the true vine, and My Father is the vine dresser. 05:21 Every branch in me that does not bare fruit He takes away: 05:26 and every branch that bears fruit He prunes. 05:31 That's our word for today. 05:33 He prunes that it may bring forth more fruit. 05:37 I'm in verse 3. Now you are already clean because of the 05:41 word which I have spoken to you. 05:42 Abide in Me... Jesus says, Abide in Me, and I in you. 05:47 He says, Stay connected to that root system, 05:51 otherwise we're going to break. 05:53 Abide in Me, and I in you. 05:55 As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, 05:59 except it abide in the vine; no more can you, 06:02 unless you abide in me. 06:04 Verse 5. He says, I am the vine, and you are the branches: 06:09 He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears fruit; 06:12 for without Me you can do nothing. 06:15 We abide in Jesus in order to produce fruit. 06:19 We abide in Jesus in order to remain leafy and green, 06:23 and to keep from rotting and breaking off. 06:26 We abide in Jesus. 06:29 Notice it said the branch that bears fruit He prunes, 06:34 that it may bring forth more fruit. 06:38 We're talking today about the process of pruning. 06:41 I have over here on my little desk, 06:44 a pair of Greg's pruning shears. 06:47 I don't know if you can see my pruning shears here. 06:49 These pruning shears work specifically... 06:52 This is not for clipping grass. 06:53 This is specifically cutting trees, clipping, pruning. 06:58 If you're trying to prune a tree, maybe a fruit tree, 07:03 maybe an apple tree, something like that. 07:05 What is the purpose of pruning? 07:08 We're going to discuss six purposes of pruning, 07:11 and then we'll get briefly into the process. 07:13 What is the purpose of pruning? 07:15 If you had, say an apple or a peach, or a pear, or some type 07:19 of tree, or an oak, what would be the purpose of pruning? 07:22 1. It's to remove the bad. Remove the bad. 07:27 If you prune a tree it removes the dead, diseased, 07:31 or the broken limbs. 07:34 You know what? In my heart God says, 07:37 Jill, I want to prune your pride, 07:42 or your condemnation, and your shame. 07:44 I want to prune your bitterness, and your inability 07:47 to forgive someone else. 07:48 I want to prune your anger, and your fear, and your lust, 07:52 your sadness, your shame. 07:54 I want to take off those things that are keeping you from 07:59 bearing abundant fruit. 08:01 Now who prunes us? 08:03 Who does the pruning? 08:05 I think we're pruned through several different aspects. 08:08 The first, we're pruned; God prunes us. 08:11 We're pruned through the work of God. 08:12 Hebrews 12, jumping over here to Hebrews, Hebrews 12, 08:19 the Bible says, verse 11: I like it in NIV. 08:24 I'm going to read it in that version. 08:25 No discipline, or we could say pruning, seems pleasant at the 08:30 time, but it's painful. 08:32 Nevertheless later it produces a harvest of righteousness, 08:38 and peace for those who have been trained by it. 08:43 Later the discipline isn't pleasant, it isn't good, 08:47 but later it's going to produced a harvest of 08:51 righteousness and of peace. 08:54 I can think of, in my own life, times when I've gone through 08:58 painful experiences and I thought, God, I have 09:01 no idea what's going on. 09:02 And He said, Just trust Me; trust Me. 09:06 In the midst of this I'm breaking off a little diseased 09:09 limb over here, and I'm taking off something that's broken 09:12 here, because I want to make you whole. 09:17 I want to make you whole. 09:19 Not only does God prune, but also our choices prune. 09:23 What do I mean by that? 09:25 Galatians 6:7 talks about, We reap what we sow. 09:33 Whatever we sow, if we sow to the flesh, 09:36 we're going to reap of the flesh. 09:38 If we sow to the Spirit we're going to reap of the Spirit. 09:42 We reap whatever we sow. 09:45 God can overturn those consequences. 09:49 And I believe that with all my heart. 09:51 Joel 2:25. He tells us, I will redeem... God speaking. 09:57 I will redeem the years that the locust has eaten. 10:02 And then He goes through the different types. 10:03 But He's just saying, I'm going to redeem. 10:05 I'm going to redeem your past, whatever those issues are, 10:09 whatever that pain is. 10:10 I'm going to redeem that. 10:12 However, sometimes we still face some of those consequences. 10:16 Remember David and his sin with Bathsheba. 10:20 God forgave him. Absolutely! 10:23 Even after the sin God said he was a man after God's own heart. 10:27 God used Solomon to become the next king. 10:31 And Solomon was the fruit of he and Bathsheba's union. 10:34 However, there were still consequences that did remain. 10:39 Remember he lost sons. 10:41 There was disunity in the royal family. 10:45 Absalom died, there was other pain, 10:48 other son's death because of that. 10:50 Now we know God prunes, sometimes, if we're in a trial, 10:55 if we're in a painful place. 10:56 Why is this happening? 10:58 Maybe it's God doing something in my life. 11:00 Maybe it's a consequence, or result of choice. 11:03 Maybe its simply neither: its the result of sin. 11:08 Its the result of the sinful world that we live in. 11:13 However, God can still work out whatever it is. 11:16 He can still work it out for good. 11:18 I think of the story of Joseph. 11:20 Remember, he was sold as a slave by his own brothers, 11:25 and then years later he saw his brothers, and he forgave them. 11:29 But yet when their father died, the brothers were still a little 11:32 nervous. Oh, maybe now Joseph is going to revenge upon himself. 11:38 You know what we did to him all those years before? 11:41 They were nervous. 11:43 And Joseph said to them in Genesis 50:20, he says, 11:47 What you meant for evil, God intended for good. 11:53 Romans 8:28 holds true, all the time. 11:57 We know that all things work together for good, 12:00 to those who love God, to those who are called 12:04 according to His purpose. 12:07 Of course it doesn't mean that all things are good. 12:09 It doesn't mean that the trials that are in your life as a 12:12 result of just the world of sin we live in; it doesn't mean that 12:15 that is good, but you know what it means? 12:18 It means that God can, and He will, 12:21 work all those things out for our good. 12:25 So 1. God prunes, or our choices are the results of sin. 12:31 But the pruning happens to remove the dead, 12:35 or the diseased limbs. 12:37 2. It opens us up for light. 12:41 1 John, turn with me over to 1 John. 12:46 If you prune a tree, it opens up the tree canopy for more 12:51 light from the sun to penetrate down in, and to filter in. 12:55 Light is essential for flower bud development, 12:58 and optimal fruit flavor and quality. 13:02 Pruning, likewise, opens up our own hearts to receive more 13:07 of the Sun of Righteousness, Jesus Christ, 13:10 into our hearts and lives. 13:13 In addition, pruning enables us to walk with each 13:17 other in fellowship. 13:18 This is our verse in 1 John 1: 5-7. 13:23 Not only does pruning open us up to receive light from God, 13:27 it opens us up to receive more fellowship with each other. 13:30 The Bible says, This is the message, which we have heard 13:33 from Him, and declared to you that God is light, and in Him 13:38 is no darkness at all. 13:40 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, 13:43 and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not practice the truth. 13:48 But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, 13:52 we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus 13:56 Christ His Son, cleanses us from all sin. 14:01 What is John saying here? 14:02 If we walk in the light, if we walk in Jesus, we're going to 14:06 have closer fellowship with each other. 14:09 Pruning opens up my heart to receive more of Jesus, 14:13 and it also opens up my heart so that I can fellowship, 14:17 being closer bound in unity with my brothers and sisters. 14:21 Pruning also enables me to witness more 14:25 effectively for Jesus. 14:27 I believe witnessing is a direct outgrowth of the light of God 14:31 shining into my heart, and into my life. 14:34 Isaiah 60, Isaiah 60:3. 14:39 Woops, I almost had it there. 14:42 I like this promise. 14:44 There we go. It says, Arise, shine, for your light is come, 14:50 and the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. 14:53 That's the light we're talking about, the light from Jesus. 14:56 For darkness covers the earth. 14:58 And, you know, in the world we live in, 15:00 there's a lot of darkness. 15:01 And gross darkness, deep darkness the people. 15:04 But the Lord will arise over you. 15:07 His glory will be seen in you. 15:10 Verse 3 is the crucial one. 15:13 Gentiles shall come to your light, and kings to the 15:17 brightness of your rising. 15:20 You know what it says? 15:21 Verse 3 comes after verse 1 and 2. 15:24 After the glory of the Lord has shown into my heart, 15:28 and into my life, you know what's going to happen? 15:30 Other people are going to take notice that you and I 15:34 have been with Jesus. 15:37 Witnessing opens us up to receive more 15:39 of Jesus from above. 15:41 It opens us up to walk in greater fellowship with our 15:44 brothers and sisters. 15:45 It also opens us up to shine, to be a greater witness. 15:51 1. Pruning removes the bad. 15:55 2. Pruning opens us up for light. 15:58 3. Pruning opens us up for air. 16:03 John 3, John 3 is a story of Nicademus. 16:10 If, in the physical world, we say pruning opens up the tree 16:15 for air. What does that mean? 16:17 It promotes rapid drying of the leaves, and that minimusizes 16:21 disease infection. 16:23 So when we say, It opens it up. 16:25 It can get more air through the tree, and that minimizes 16:29 the risk of disease. 16:30 Pruning allows the Holy Spirit to work more freely 16:36 in your life, and in mine. 16:38 Remember in John 3, Nicodemus went to go see Jesus by night 16:42 because he was afraid. 16:44 He was afraid of what the rulers of the Sanhedrin would think, 16:47 what the Pharisees would think if he went to go see Jesus 16:51 by day, so he went by night. 16:54 And in John 3:8 we find the Bible saying here, 17:00 Jesus had said, You must be born again. 17:03 And Nicodemus said, I have no idea how to do that. 17:06 And Jesus said, Marvel not that you must be born again. 17:09 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, 17:13 but you can't tell where it's coming from, or where it goes. 17:18 So is everyone who is born of the Spirit. 17:23 You notice how Jesus connects the wind. 17:27 It's imperceptible, unless it's really blowing. 17:30 But we don't see it; we see its effects. 17:35 We see the leaves as they rattle, as they move. 17:38 You might see if its a hurricane; 17:40 whole trees bent over. 17:43 It depends. You can feel if, it's a light breeze, 17:46 you can feel the wind on your face. 17:48 If it's a strong breeze you can really feel it. 17:51 You can feel the effects, but we cannot see the wind. 17:54 So with the work of the Holy Spirit. 17:57 We see the effect. 17:58 We see the effect of the work of the Holy Spirit in our life. 18:02 We can't see Him, but you can definitely see when He is 18:06 working in someone's heart, and in someone's life. 18:10 John 20:22. Remember it says, Jesus breathed on them 18:16 and He said, Receive the Holy Ghost. 18:20 There again the Holy Spirit is connected with air, 18:24 so first we prune to remove the bad. 18:28 Second we prune to open up for light. 18:32 Third we prune to open up for air. 18:36 Fourth we prune to open up for, you could say water, 18:41 or a pesticide spray. 18:43 Now we're not getting into organic, so I'm just using this 18:46 as an illustration, okay? 18:48 I'm not saying GMO, Non, or pesticide, whatever. 18:51 But it opens up the tree so you can get more of that inside, 18:55 whether it's water, whether it's pesticide spray. 18:57 It allows the spray to penetrate all the areas of the tree. 19:03 Pruning allows the word of God to wash us. 19:06 We talked last program about the washing 19:09 of the water of the word, that's Ephesians 5:26, 19:13 and how God wants to wash us. 19:16 He wants to cleanse us through His word. 19:20 Hebrews 4:12. Our last program we discussed that a little bit. 19:25 Hebrews 4:12. The word of God is living, powerful, and sharper 19:30 than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing 19:33 asunder of soul and spirit, and joints and marrow, and is a 19:36 discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 19:39 Sometimes in my own experience if I read the word of God 19:44 and it starts to cut me, I shy away. 19:46 I don't want anything to do with that, because it hurts. 19:49 But if you read a passage, and you feel the cutting of the word 19:53 of God, study that passage more. 19:55 Don't shy away from it. 19:57 Get into that passage. 19:59 5. Pruning grows more fruit even faster. 20:05 If you prune a tree in the physical world, you're going to 20:09 get a higher quality fruit, and it's going to come earlier. 20:14 Likewise, when God prunes you and I, it yields more fruit. 20:20 When even the consequences of our choices, or the result of 20:25 sin in this world, prunes you and I. 20:28 God can still overturn that in order to yield 20:32 more fruit in our life. 20:34 John 15:2, Jesus says, Every branch that bears fruit, 20:38 He prunes it that it may bear more fruit. 20:43 What are the fruits of the Spirit? 20:45 Galatians 5:22, 23. 20:48 That's what the Lord Jesus wants to work 20:50 in your life and in mine. 20:52 The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, 20:57 or patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 21:02 gentleness, self control. 21:05 Hudson Taylor, the Christian author, missionary, said this: 21:12 Fruit bearing involves cross bearing. 21:21 In other words, sometimes it's very painful. 21:26 Sometimes pruning hurts, absolutely it hurts. 21:30 But in the midst of that God is growing more fruit in my 21:37 heart and in my life. 21:38 First God prunes us to remove the bad. 21:41 Second He prunes us to open up for light. 21:44 Third He prunes us to open up for air. 21:47 Fourth for that spray. 21:50 5. To grow more fruit faster. 21:54 And 6. for a beautiful life now. 21:58 I think about a well shaped tree. 22:00 It's very aesthetically pleasing. 22:03 Would you agree with me? 22:05 It looks nice. The shape is nice. 22:06 Pruning enables us to look more like Jesus; to be beautiful 22:10 on this earth, and in the earth made new. 22:13 Those were the six purposes of pruning. 22:16 Now what about the process? 22:18 What if you're in the midst of being pruned now, and you say, 22:20 Jill I hurt. What am I supposed to do with this? 22:24 Two points I want you to remember in closing. 22:27 First surrender. Surrender gives God permission to come, 22:33 and even in the midst of that pain, and to work. 22:37 Surrender is simply choosing God's way every time 22:40 I'm faced with a decision. 22:43 Just saying yes to Jesus every time I'm faced with that. 22:47 What does God ask me to surrender? 22:49 1. My way, my will, my selfishness, my pride, 22:54 my bitterness, my anger, my fear, my shame. 22:58 Sometimes my entertainment, my choices in entertainment, 23:02 my choice of friends. 23:03 It might even be where I work, who I marry, where I live. 23:08 God asks us to surrender this so that the pruning process can 23:12 be effective in your life and in mine. 23:16 2. As we look at the process of pruning, 23:19 is to accept the trial with joy. 23:23 Accept the trial with joy. 23:27 James 1:2-4. He says, My brethren, count it joy. 23:34 And when I read that I think, God, how could I even do that? 23:38 Count it joy when you fall into various trials knowing that the 23:43 testing of your faith produces patience. 23:46 But let patience have its perfect work, 23:48 that you may be perfect, and complete, lacking nothing. 23:53 Count the trial as joy. 23:56 Can we do that? Absolutely not in our own strength. 24:00 But we can go to God and we can say, God, in the midst of this 24:03 pain, in the midst of what ever I'm dealing with right now, 24:07 I choose to trust You. 24:09 I choose to surrender my way to You. 24:13 I choose to give thanks. 24:15 Remember we talked about walking by faith, not by how we feel? 24:19 I choose to give thanks, and know that You're 24:22 going to bring joy, You're going to bring deliverance, 24:26 You're going to bring a beautiful fruit in your time. 24:30 In just a moment we're going to take a break, 24:33 and when we come back, we want to do our practical 24:35 application for this week. |
Revised 2016-05-05