God's Purpose in the Trials

The Purging & Pruning Process by David Andrade

1 Cor. 3:13 Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. 

John 15:1 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. (husbandman) (2) “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away [purges]; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.  

The Holy Spirit employs trials to unveil areas that need our attention. These areas are open doors to the enemy that need closure, buttons the enemy uses to control our lives, wounds that say no to the love of Christ. Trials are the Holy Spirits spotlight focused on areas soon to be purged and pruned. Oh yes, this will be painful, yet one will never come to maturity (the nature of the Son of God) until the Holy Spirit has worked His work in us. Abiding is the engrafted life of the branch into the vine to receive the nourishment absorbed from the root.

Each part of the vine performs a task; the root takes in nourishment, the vine supports the branch with its life and the branch in turn produces the fruit. If the branch cannot produce fruit it is dead. Its ability to transform nourishment into life fruit has been terminated and so it is purged away as unwanted dead weight.

Pruning, on the other hand, is the removal of weighty shoots that absorb nourishment of the vine and though they flaunt a lot of pretty leaves will never produce any fruit. The eye of the skilled vinedresser knows the difference, so He takes those big shears and cuts away. This is painful to the branch that shows a slow recovery, then all at once springs forth into a stronger branch able to support larger and more plentiful fruit. So the branch must go through everything the vine goes through. So if you are a branch, hold on for your life: through the storm, winds, hail, heat and cold, and of course the purging and the pruning. 

THE PURGING PROCESS

The Spirit of God quickens one to give up that which is contrary to Him, to all that disallows His presence. We think, we are free because we exercise the liberty to say no. Yet real freedom will not come until after His purging and His pruning. The husbandman purges all the dead weight from the vine that is diseased or saps needed nourishment and strength from the branches. Nothing must obstruct the development of new fruit-bearing branches. Yes, what is about to be snipped may have been a vital, life-giving, fruitful branch in its heyday. We all like to tell our stories, pat ourselves on the back and hang our trophies on the wall for all to see, but the husbandman is not finished with us yet! No, He is only taking a few minutes to sharpen His tool. As we talk our talk, we may be uncovering the Holy Spirit’s next surgical removal. So don’t be surprised what is about to go-Ouch! 
 

SO TAKE HEART

He is skillfully shaping and fashioning you by the direction of the Father, into sons and daughters conformed into His image and in His likeness.  What is it that so easily besets you? What obstructs your ability to be fashioned into the fullness of Christ? What do you hold on to, that says “no” to the Spirit of God? The Holy Spirit may allow one to be purged, stripped beyond one’s ego until one cries “ruined”; --humiliated until Jesus is ready to perform His creative wonder in us. Humiliation may be His fine surgical instrument. You see, Holy Spirit administered humiliation is the Father letting one know who’s really in charge. Well if that’s what it takes,  “ Ruin me Lord!”

The Holy Spirit purges one to bear the fruit of righteousness. (Mal. 3:3, 2 Tim. 2:19-21) The Holy Spirit is purging our hearts from all that obstructs His ability to work His powerful living Word into our being. The Holy Spirit’s fruit has a godly appearance, It looks, smells and tastes like Jesus. From the first mouth-watering bite, its fruit is unmistakable. Its savor beckons one to pay the extra price to taste. The fruit bears the signature of its husbandman. One need not guess which fruit one has set their eyes upon; its packaging is unmistakable; its appearance awesomely remarkable; its taste is simply a heavenly out-of-this-world delight; it bears no appearance of death. And one bite of its nourishment bears forth its life giving virtue. So one who is fashioned by the master must submit to the hand of the Holy Spirit who plunges one’s life from fruitless and lifeless to vibrant life. To Those that surrender their old life, He in exchange, and without reservation infuses His new life into them. What a deal! One cannot live in that atmosphere long and not be changed! (2 Pet. 1:4-10)

THE HOLY SPIRIT AND TRIALS / EVERYTHING YOU DIDN’T WANT TO KNOW ABOUT THE PRUNING PROCESS. 

As a youth, did you ever have a life dream? One day you leave home to pursue your life’s labor. So with youthful vitality you diligently prepare your course of life. Four years in Bible College and beyond and now you’re ready, “Send me Lord, I’m your man.” You plunge your life into the work. You have finally found your joy, and the certainty of great benefit to the Kingdom of God. Then in a moment, “poof” it is torn from your grasp by some unforeseen event. Your inward searching reveals that all your motives were admirable. You have placed your best on the altar of God and for what?

A spiritual death has taken place. Any thought to travel that road again finds no place in mind, as your tattered soul says, “never again.” You have just met the precious trial of your faith. The vinedresser has just pruned you back all the way to the bare branch. All the beautiful leaf and incoming fruit lies on the ground to die. One peers upon it, lost, as the remains are carried away to be burned. What remains is the sense of betrayed abandonment and feelings that you have been ripped off. It is hard to believe that the Master would allow this to one of His own faithful servants. (1 Peter 1:7)

BUT TAKE HEART:

The husbandman is at work sowing into you His divine purpose. Further equipping you for the labor of your dream. Calculating His design and fashioning for further harvests for generations to come. Feel privileged because He has chosen you worthy, that is what I said, “worthy.” You have been planted into His special field. Enlisted as it were into His boot camp. You may as well relax because His fashioning may take a while. No, You have not done anything wrong. In fact this trial has come because of what you have done right. One is often drafted without warning. No, you are not out of the will of God. In fact you are so dead center. It is best to say, “Here I am, cut away Lord” and then sit back and praise and thank Him in it and through it. 

What can be expected is that the aftermath will bring His greater anointing, authority, sensitivity to His voice and fruitfulness in ministry. Alleluia.... The master knows that the fruit He desires of you is much greater than what you have ever thought possible. The master dresses each vine with His own personal creative touch, engrafting into the vine an intentional personality.

Henceforth taking on an instinctive conformed character. The vine’s branches spring forth in a disciplined manner, so as to form the desired rough, grow more stout and yield branches of greater volume mass for fruit bearing. Year by year the growth is easier to manage. Branches that have born tremendous fruit at the vines early planting are not spared. Nothing is left but a few choice sturdy branches on the vine. Even those that remain take on the appearance that they have been visited by the butcher.

But the visible appearance does not reveal the internal metamorphosis. Nourishment must flow to the chosen branches on the vine. The vine once glossy with leaf, fruit hanging in abundance, may look tattered, even crucified and naked as its remaining branches are tied to the stake. Consider if you will Jesus. (Heb. 5:7-9 Who in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto Him that was able to save Him from death, was heard in that He feared (8) Though He was a Son, yet learned He obedience by the things which He suffered: (9) And being made perfect, He became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey Him; 

SO TAKE HEART:

The vine will soon take on a resurrection; the vine will soon bare larger and more bountiful fruit at each harvest generation. At a chosen moment the vine will enlarge twice its mass in size, then again and again. The vinedresser is not only projecting for the seasonal fruit production, but is at work calculating the steady fruition for many generations yet to come. The healthy growth of each vine is journalized year by year, so as to produce greater fruit harvest than the year previous. The maturity of the entire vine must take place, so that one day this vine will provide planting that will fill the whole countryside with vine in its image and likeness. A sturdy vine must be fertilized, the hard soil softened and a hollow created for irrigation to catch the much-needed rain. 

THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT:

The vines roots must absorb both water and sunlight to expand its roots base. Thin vines that have not increased in productivity are pulled out by the roots, replaced with plantings from the most productive vines, which will yield a pure large juicy succulent grape. The fruit of each vine will be tasted to make sure that the constancy is compatible for the wine. The internal resurrection is profound as well, because the vine takes on a new nature. Instead of a disorderly growth of its virgin days it bears the instinctive fashion, which has been born into it by its dresser. (Heb. 6:7)

BEARING FRUIT COMES BY ABIDING IN CHRIST:

 (John 15:4-9) Branches that have been properly dressed will support 200 time their weight by volume in fruit. That is quite an abundance. Unlike a branch attached to the vine, a believer can walk away from the work of God at anytime they chose. We can disallow the Spirit of God to work His work in us. This is why many believers will never go beyond infancy. Yes, The Holy Spirit will continue to change one’s smelly diapers, bottle feed and give some attention when one whines, but ‘one’ will never see a day of blessing or maturity. Heb. 5:13-14  

OTHER SCRIPTURE REFERENCES ‘HOW TO ABIDE’

He who believes [piesto] trust in, rely upon, grasps unto, adheres to, have confidence in, believes upon, -- in Christ is abiding. One in whom the Spirit of God lives is abiding. (John 14:16) And I will pray the Father and He will send you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever.1 John 2:6 He that says [he abides] in Him ought himself to walk, even as he walked One who loves, unconditionally is abiding 1 John 2:10 He that loves his brother [abides in the light], and there is no occasion of stumbling in Him. 

One in whom the word of God lives is abiding

1 John 2:14 I have written unto you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the wicked one.  

One who does the will of God is abiding

1 John 2:17 And the world passes away, and the lust thereof; but he that does the will of God [abides for ever.] 

When we do not waver from our confidence in God we are abiding

1 John 2:24 Let that therefore abide in you, which you have heard from the beginning. If that which you have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, you also shall continue in the Son and in the Father. 

When we give ear to the leading of the Holy Spirit’s direction we are abiding

1John 2:27 But the anointing which you have received of Him abides in you, and you need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teaches you of all things,  When we learn to submit to the mentoring of the Spirit we are abiding and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it has taught you, [you shall abide in Him.]
 

Abiding builds our confidence in God

1 John 2:28 And now little children [abide in him;] that when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at His coming. 

When we live a life of holiness we are abiding

1 John 3:6 Whosoever [abides in Him] does not sin; whosoever sins has not seen Him, nor known Him. 

One who loves his brother is abiding

1 John 3:14 We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loves not his brother [abides in death.] 

One who lives a life of forgiveness is abiding

1 John 3:15 Whosoever hates his brother is a murderer; and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. 

One who keeps the Commandments of Jesus is abiding

1 John 3:24 And he that keeps His commandments dwells in Him, and he in Him, and [hereby we know that He abides with us,] by the spirit which He has given us. 

One who contends for the Doctrine of Christ is abiding

2 John 9 Whosoever transgresses, and abides not in the doctrine of Christ, has not God. He that abides in the doctrine of Christ, he has both the Father and
the Son. 

One who remains faithful to their call is abiding

1 Corinthians 7:24 Let every man, wherein he is called, therein abide with God.