Participants: Jill Morikone
Series Code: HLFT
Program Code: HLFT000022B
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00:01 Welcome back. We talked today about the process of pruning.
00:04 I know that pruning is painful, and pruning is definitely not 00:08 pleasant, but it produces in you and in me, an abundant 00:13 harvest of righteousness, and of peace. 00:16 It produces more fruit. 00:17 It opens our hearts up to receive more of Jesus, 00:21 more of the air, the Holy Spirit, more of the washing 00:25 of the water of the word. 00:27 That is a beautiful thing. 00:29 At the end it's a beautiful experience. 00:32 I have here my journal open before me. 00:35 And for this week what I would encourage you to do is to take 00:39 your journal and to write down three different things: 00:43 1. What area of my life is God pruning right now? 00:48 Go to God and ask. 00:50 You might already know. 00:51 In the past, one of the programs in the past, I shared with you 00:55 Greg and I, our own struggle with infertility. 00:59 So I put that down as 1. 01:01 It might not be for you. 01:02 Whatever it is for you, you put it down. 01:04 That might be my trial, or my struggle, infertility. 01:09 Then figure out what is God asking you to surrender? 01:13 What does He want you to surrender? 01:15 For us it was surrender the desire for kids; 01:18 surrender the desire to be parents; to have that. 01:24 Then look at the end result. 01:27 What good could come out of that? 01:30 What is God trying to work? 01:32 In our experience, it gave us more time to devote to ministry. 01:37 It gave us more empathy with other people. 01:41 It developed in me a closer walk with God, 01:45 and an even tighter relationship with my husband. 01:48 But maybe that's not your battle. 01:49 Maybe, my next point here, maybe its a child who's left Jesus. 01:54 And God says, Surrender my control over their choices; 01:58 Surrender your control over their choices. 02:00 What could God work out of that? 02:02 Maybe deeper faith and trust in Jesus, a stronger prayer life, 02:06 more empathy with other people who suffer, maybe a decision to 02:10 follow Jesus regardless of even if my kids do. 02:13 I'm following Jesus regardless. 02:15 Maybe more doors open to ministry to other people 02:19 in similar circumstances. 02:21 Whatever it is, identify what God is asking you to surrender. 02:26 Surrender that to Him, and try to look ahead and see what God 02:30 is working in your heart and in your life. 02:33 Our next program has to do with the spirit filled heart. 02:37 As always, in conclusion our Scripture is Romans 15:13. 02:41 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace 02:44 in believing, that you may abound in hope 02:47 by the power of the Holy Spirit. |
Revised 2016-05-05