“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples." (John 15:1-8)
During the coronavirus pandemic, around the world, our brothers and sisters were facing great trials as the coronavirus restrictions had shut down churches, cut off income, and loomed with the threats of health and/or economic disasters. In all this, the Lord also cleansed His Bride, the Church, by putting His finger on worldliness, secret sin and vain idols. His goal was not to destroy, but to purify and strengthen His people. He is the gardener who cuts off the fruitless branches so that we may bear the fruit that will bring Him joy and glory.
In that time of trial, the Lord was in our midst, exposing hidden sin and faithlessness. His goal is not to harm us, but to purify us in difficulty. As the Word says:
The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but the Lord tests the heart. (Proverbs 17:3)
Difficulties are analogous to the fire that a gold or silversmith uses to melt down the precious metals. When these metals are melted down, the heat brings the non-precious contaminants to the surface (called "dross" or "slag"). Then the dross can be removed from the gold or silver, thereby purifying the precious metal.
This is the same method the Lord uses in our lives. When God sends or allows difficulties to come, these are the "furnace" He uses for our purification. Then, to the surface, comes our bad tempers, our worldly desires, our wrong views of God, our false hopes, and so on. It is at this point our Father's intention is, by us surrendering these things to Him, to remove these things from us, making us purer and purer in the image of Christ His Son.
In that time, a friend sent me an email about the story of Nehemiah, speaking of Tobiah and the cleansing of the Temple by Nehemiah are all pointing to the same thing. The Holy Spirit is making it clear to us that our Father is working in our midst in a special way to prune us of sin and worldliness, not to harm us, but to make us healthier, purer, and stronger in Jesus. But, sadly, when we cling to these things that the Lord is looking to remove, we are then ourselves pruned from the Vine.
Brothers and sisters, I want to complete this entry with the application point: The Lord Jesus tells us exactly how we should respond to the pruning work of God the Father: "Remain in me."
That is the simple response we need. Not to panic that we may fall away ourselves. Not to soul-search ourselves to death. Not to grow embittered with brothers and sisters who’ve clung to sin and worldliness, but to look to Jesus. To stay in Jesus.
Our Lord Jesus is the one whose touch cleansed lepers and healed the sick, and whose word cast out demons and raised the dead. His touch and word can free us from sin, cleanse our hearts for God, and cause the fruitfulness of the Spirit to abound in our lives. He is the Way. He is the Narrow Path. It is He we wake up each morning to seek...we deny ourselves and pick up our crosses daily, not as ends in themselves, but so that we may follow Him. He is the great treasure we've found and "sold everything to buy the field.
Friends, stay in Him.
Let Him cleanse you.
He is worthy of our lives.
For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. (2 Corinthians 5:14-15)
Essene Press Team
