The Pain of the Process and the Purpose of Destruction
Could it be that right now God is destroying your life? It may be that the Holy Spirit brought you into this teaching just for this very time, and you feel as though everything is falling apart. You feel as though you can’t get your mental and emotional footing. There’s a lack of clarity and the older you is dying out.
The old you is being destroyed for a reason. Your suffering is not pointless. The trials will yield results. There is a brighter future for you. God has plans for you—plans not to harm you, but to prosper you. And as you go through what you’re going through, you will sense this transformation. You have been called for such a time as this.
Holy Spirit, I pray you help that one receiving this now to know this truth, to not just receive the information, but that they would be given the revelation by the spirit of the mysteries of the supernatural realm of the things that are occurring right now beyond that veil in the realm of the spirit, things that they cannot see. Give them that understanding right now in Jesus’ name.
The Gardener and the Vine: Understanding Spiritual Pruning
Now, the process of pruning was something that gardeners would use to help improve the health of the plant so that it could continue to produce fruit and produce even more. But that pruning involved cutting. And so it can be painful when we experience pruning. But it’s a sign to us that we are bearing fruit. Look at what Jesus says again: He prunes the branches that do bear fruit.
Sometimes we in our human reasoning think just the opposite—that if we’re doing well, God is going to make everything very easy for us. Now let me be clear. The Bible does talk about persecution. The Bible does talk about the fact that God can use suffering to bring forth the stronger character of Christ in us. So he prunes the branches that do bear fruit. Why? So they will produce even more.
“You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. Remain in me and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.”
Now notice here that when you belong to him, he doesn’t cut you off; he prunes you. So you belong to him, and as you abide in him, there is this holy union out of which you begin to live.
Shedding Layers of Self for the Divine Life
“Lord, let my hands be your hands. Heal through them. Lord, may my eyes be like your eyes. I would like to see people and things as you do. Let my mouth be your mouth. I want to speak your truth. Let my ears be your ears. I want to hear your voice. Let my feet be your feet. Guide me to where you want me to be. Let my heart throb as one with yours. Let my being be your being. Crucify my will and in its place resurrect your own.”
And this is what’s happening when there’s the destruction of the older you. There are layers of self that are shed as you continue through this life. There are layers of self that fall off as you are processed in the fire. And out of this holy union, we experience the divine life.
The spirit of God dwells in you. If you’ve received Christ as your Lord, the Holy Spirit dwells in you. Yes. But are you accessing that power? Are you surrendering to that inner influence? Are you experiencing that divine life?
That flow of divine life begins to become stronger from the inside out. So out of that union that you already have with God, you experience this overflow of God’s life, and you become more like Jesus.
When people watch your actions, they can watch Jesus in action. That compassion, that mercy, that love, that grace, that confrontational evangelism and truthtelling—all of it is an expression of that divine life that God has given to you.
And so, we can’t be so selfish as to tell God, “Lord, I don’t want to go through this processing process.” Because when you go through this processing process, yes, there will be pain in times, but that is going to alter everything for you, not only in your life, but that is going to enable you to do some altering for the sake of the lives of your spouse, your children, and your friends and coworkers and your fellow classmates.
And maybe you can see that now. Maybe you feel like often the places you go, you just kind of stand out. There’s just something slightly different about you. I’ll tell you what that is: That’s the divine life of God in you. That’s the nature of Christ being revealed little by little, day by day, moment by moment, surrender by surrender. Every act of obedience removes from you a layer of self, allowing that image of Jesus to more brightly shine through. So maybe God is using the things around you to process you, to transform you.
Walking Closely with God: The Example of Enoch and Moses
The Example of Enoch
Genesis 5:21-24 says:
He knew such closeness with the Lord that he simply was not. When I first read that, I lifted my hands. I said, “Lord, I want to be a ‘was not,’ too. I want to be an empty space in which you can have your influence. I want to be a portal through which heaven can invade earth. I want to be empty that you might fill me. I want to move out of the way that your light might shine through.”
You see, Christ is that light, that marvelous light. Now, you and I can reflect that light. But only when we face him can we become reflections of him. Only when we look toward him can we too shine that light coming from him.
God made you you for a reason. What I am saying is that the character and the nature of Christ is what must shine through. Now, there is a variety to the nature of God, and you and I are proof of that. He made you different than from the way he made me. He made you different from the way he made your friends. And all of us are an expression of the love of God in some way. But all of us must share in the character, the core nature of who Christ is.
Moses on the Mountain
“Then Moses climbed up the mountain and the cloud covered it… And the glory of the Lord settled down on Mount Sinai. And the cloud covered it for six days. On the seventh day, the Lord called to Moses from inside the cloud. To the Israelites at the foot of the mountain, the glory of the Lord appeared at the summit like a consuming fire… Then Moses disappeared into the cloud as he climbed higher up the mountain.”
To Moses, who had known closeness with God, his view of God became a cloud inviting him deeper. To the people who did not make that climb, the presence of the Lord looked like a fire. So to the people who did not know him, God looked more fearsome; there wasn’t very much of an invitation there. I wouldn’t approach fire, but Moses saw a cloud.
As I read the New Testament, specifically the Gospels, and I look at Jesus, I so often find myself saying, “There are so many ways that I’m not like Jesus. I look at his mercy, his compassion, his patience, and I say, there are so many ways that I can improve. There are so many attributes of Christ that I could do a better job of reflecting.”
And everything that is in me longs to be changed so that I may conform to the likeness of Christ. Watching Christ in action, reading the Gospels, I see love in action, power in action, assurance in action, authority in action, identity in action. And all I say is, “Holy Spirit, change me into the image of Christ. For I want to become like Christ, my Savior and Lord. For he is our object of affection, our heart’s desire, our goal.”
Abiding in the Vine and Producing Fruit
“I am the true vine, and you are the branches; whoever abides in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing.”Everyone who doesn’t remain in me is cast aside like a useless branch and withers… but if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you will ask me for anything you want and it will be done. You will bear much fruit. And so will be my disciples. In this way you bring great glory to my father. I have loved you, as the father has loved me. Remain in my love”
When you are united in that way and you walk in that truth, your prayers become empowered. You begin to bear fruit.
And I live now not by my strength but by the strength of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
The Bible quotes Jesus as saying, “Whoever sees me sees the father.” May it be said of you and me that if they see us, they see the son. Less of me, more of him. May the Holy Spirit cause us to be empty of ourselves that we might be full of Christ.
No longer I live, but Christ lives in me. And you give him that expression through your surrender. You give him that expression through your willingness. You give him that expression through everyday acts of obedience. And you have no idea what kind of an impact that’s making in this earth.
How does that happen? It happens through his people. It happens through you allowing that light to shine through. And it becomes a testimony.
Through your life, transformation becomes visible:
- Where there was once anger, people now see patience.
- Where there was once hatred, people now see love.
- Where there was once perversion, people now see holiness.
- Where there was once cruelty, people now see mercy.
- Where there was once selfishness, people now see compassion.
- Where there was once weakness, people now see divine power.
- Where there was once emptiness, people now see and experience the resurrection life of the living God.
The Removal of the Veil and Experiencing Freedom
2 Corinthians 3:14-18 explains:
“But the people’s minds were hardened and to this day whenever the old covenant is being read, the same veil covers their minds. So they cannot understand the truth. And this veil can be removed only by believing in Christ… But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. You can see in the spirit now where the Lord is the spirit and wherever the spirit of the Lord is there is freedom.”
And the Lord who is spirit makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.
Is God destroying your life? Absolutely. He’s destroying your old life. He’s destroying the former you so that the new, refined, Christ-like, mature, complete, empowered you can come forth. May we surrender to that process.
A Prayer for Redemption, Healing, and Liberation
Bend us to your will. We willingly lay our lives down for your use. Spend us for your glory. Do in us whatever you desire.
Cause us to bear the fruit of the spirit. Cause us to reflect the nature of Christ. Cause us to act in the character of the Lord Jesus. We surrender, and we pray: Less of us, more of you. Less of us and more of you. May your light shine through us that when people see us, they see Jesus.
And Father, I pray also for those who are believing for healing in their body. And I pray that your healing virtue would begin to flow to them even now. I command every cell in your body, receive this prayer now. There’s healing virtue flowing. I command every cell in your body to respond to the frequency of God’s voice in the name of Jesus. I command every cell in your body to obey the will of the heavenly father. Be made whole in the name of Jesus.
And Lord, deliver your people. Break every demonic bondage, every addiction, torment of the mind. I rebuke it now in the mighty name of Jesus we pray. Receive that freedom. Receive that healing. And I want you to say it out loud. Type it in the comments if you believe it. Amen.
Biblical Generosity and Kingdom Stewardship
Now, I want to talk to you for a second. Maybe you’ve been led to believe by religious preaching or by the enemy or by your own emotions and negative thinking that God intends for you to struggle financially for the rest of your life. And look, I understand we will face trials. I understand that we will go through circumstances that are not ideal. And I do understand that we’ll face persecution. But it’s also true that biblically speaking, God desires you to be financially free.
In this case, the society can tell you that you can never buy your own house. The society can make you feel that you can never earn anything to be able to marry and start a family; you will only remain at this job and struggle for your survival. “Let God be true and every man a liar.” God prospereth, and He does not add sorrow thereto.
Paul the apostle wrote clearly that if you sow sparingly—that is, if you sow a little bit—you reap a little bit. But if you sow bountifully, you reap bountifully. We as believers in this generation need to recapture this revelation of sowing and reaping. We need to recapture this revelation of honoring the word of God when it’s received by financially supporting the ministry that delivers that word of God to us. That is absolutely biblical.
And so I believe that as you learn biblical generosity, as you allow the old nature to die—because there’s that part of us that likes to cling to our resources; every time the topic of finance comes up, we cling out of fear or we cling out of greed or we cling out of skepticism and cynicism, whatever it may be—that part of us needs to die and we need to learn to trust God.
This is something that my wife and I have practiced for our entire marriage. We would like to say that if there’s a need, you plant a seed. And so, every time we’ve come up against a challenge, we’ve sown as a ministry. We practice the same. And I can tell you biblically speaking and from experience, this works. But you have to do it faithfully, and you have to do it according to the will of God.
Now then, this is my challenge to you – that you take this leap of faith. No more settling for what your adversary says you should settle for. It’s time to stop settling for what society tells you you have to settle for. God is in control, and he has plans to bless you and to prosper you. With that said, I’m challenging you now to give to this ministry.
However, perhaps you are one of those people who is saying, “Yes, I’m having a difficult time.” Okay, you do as the Holy Spirit leads you, but do something. And maybe you’re a business person who’s succeeded, an investor who’s succeeded, someone who’s doing really well, and the Holy Spirit’s putting an amount on your heart that you think might be a little too much. Obey the Holy Spirit. And all of us together sacrificing in proportion to where we are—that is what moves the mission forward.
I need your help, brethren. I need your help to carry out this ministry. Opportunities are coming in our way everyday. We are growing at such a fast pace that I need your help to cope with all this. I don’t want to have to say no to the nations. I don’t want to have to say no to this country. I don’t want to have to say no to all of the projects that God is calling us to do. God has called us to do them, and he’s called us to do them together. He uses you to help push them forward.
