Last Sunday, we began our series “Forged Character”, and reflected on how God uses the pains and sufferings of life to shape our character. God does not send pain, but He uses pain and suffering to form the character of Christ in us and to make us more like Christ. Therefore, I want to encourage you: whatever you are going through right now, do not despise this season; God is using it for your development, especially to forge in you a resilient spirit and an unshakable faith!
Perhaps you look at the life of your pastor, who stands on the pulpit weekly, and you think to yourself: “My pastor has a wonderful life, without any problems, without going through deserts; after all, he is a man of faith!” Let me tell you: that is not the whole truth! Last week, I shared some of the difficult moments Fabiana and I have faced: unemployment, financial need, the lack of food on our table, and periods of intense pain. Today, I want to delve a little deeper into these challenges that have been and continue to be pillars in the formation of our character, in strengthening an unshakable Faith, and in the growth of this church.
One of the greatest crises and difficulties we faced occurred 18 years ago, at the time of our move to Ireland. When many of you came to Ireland, perhaps you were filled with expectations, with the joy of a new phase, envisioning a better life, a better job and salary, planning a promising future for your family. Our story, however, was quite different.
Fabiana and I were pastors of a vibrant church with over 5,000 members, with dozens of congregations in the city, almost 100 associate pastors, 500 Life Groups (cells), and hundreds of churches spread across Brazil and other nations. I served as one of the governing pastors of this church; we enjoyed a good salary, a great family home, and were surrounded by many disciples, friends, and family. In summary, we lived a period of great fullness and happiness, serving the Lord in Brazil.
However, amidst these blessings, God granted us a vision, a clear call to come make disciples here in Ireland. And so, we were sent by our church to this place. Our arrival in Ireland was a true desert, a period of tribulation and difficulties that few can imagine. It was not in search of material “improvements” or comfort, but rather an act of self-denial, of leaving behind what we considered our “best”. We left our prosperous church, our beloved family, our own home, our pastors, our disciples, to start everything from scratch!
At 40 years old, I felt ‘illiterate’ in a new land, unable to read, write, listen, or speak the local language. I went to school to learn English, began reading the Bible in English, and couldn’t preach. We left a church with thousands of members to start a congregation with only a few people. From a human perspective, our coming to Ireland was marked by a sequence of losses, difficulties, tribulations, and deserts. Our daughters suffered intensely with this change, paying a high price. And, throughout these years, we experienced the pain of seeing those in whom we invested so much of our time and resources abandon, betray, and distance themselves from us.
Why am I sharing this testimony with you today? To show you that: Pain and suffering are an intrinsic part of the Christian journey, but, even amidst them, God’s faithfulness sustains us.
Fabiana and I are immensely happy to be in this country, to be pastors and missionaries in this nation, to be Irish citizens today, to see this church flourishing, and, above all, to witness the Name of Jesus being known and exalted in this nation!
I am not wounded, I am not hurt, but I am happy because God uses all things for our good!
Do you remember Joseph, who was sold by his brothers, was wronged for not sleeping with Potiphar’s wife, and for being faithful to God went to prison and was tested in his affliction? When he met his brothers who sold and betrayed him, what did he say to them?
“You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people.” Genesis 50:20 NLT
I believe this is why God chose Joseph, because he had the capacity to bless someone who had hurt him, to love those who had humiliated him. Joseph did not become bitter over everything he went through; on the contrary, he said: You did evil against me, but because I serve God, this only served to help me, teach me, train me and get me ready to reach my destiny!
Beloved, when we are crushed by tribulations, we are not being destroyed, but rather purified and transformed.
“Life, at times, squeezes and compresses us, for nothing else possesses the power to extract the most valuable treasure hidden within.”
All of us are in a continuous process of transformation, constantly being moulded into the image of Jesus. As we journey through life, whenever God’s divine purpose encounters resistance, ‘PRESSURE’ often becomes the very instrument that liberates us from this opposition!
Consider the analogy of a pressure cooker: Even the toughest meat will never become tender without pressure.
In this spiritual parallel, ‘pressure’ refines us, making us tender and humble before God. Therefore, we must surrender fully to this process. The more completely we yield, the more profoundly we are transformed into His likeness.”
The problem is that we rarely preach about the “process”. Many pastors, (with good intentions), focus only on the “promises”!
This has created a generation of believers who eagerly seek the promises but refuse to go through the process.
You come to church on Sunday, you hear beautiful words about the great promises God has for your life. But when you encounter the reality of the process—with its difficulties and ‘deserts’—your immediate reaction is often to cry out, ‘God is not in this!’
At such times, you may feel like fleeing, you begin to complain, you close your ears to your leaders, and regrettably, some even abandon God’s call on their lives. All this happens because they refused to submit and humble themselves before God’s unfolding work.
I want you to engrave this deeply in your hearts:
GOD IS MUCH MORE INTERESTED IN THE PROCESS THAN IN THE PROMISE!”
It is through your submission and perseverance in the process that you will, in fact, take possession of God’s promises for your life.
I want to talk a little more about God’s process, which is very clear in God’s Word. If God is the Forger, He is also the Gardener. And as good gardeners know, for a plant to grow strong and bear much fruit, an essential process needs to happen: pruning.
Have you ever felt as if God was taking something from you, cutting off parts of your life that you thought were important or even good?
Have you ever wondered why certain doors close, or why certain things are removed from you? It is about this “divine pruning” that we will speak. It may seem contradictory, but often, to grow more, we need to have less.
- Understanding Divine Pruning: The Purpose of the Vinedresser
Let’s open our Bibles to John 15: “”I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.”John 15:1-2 NKJV.” John 15:1-2
Here Jesus reveals a profound truth to us: our Heavenly Father is not a passive observer of our lives. He is the Vinedresser, the experienced Viticulturist.
He does not prune out of cruelty, nor by mistake, but with a clear purpose: fruitfulness. The Father does not take away the branch that bears no fruit to punish, but so that the vine does not waste energy on something sterile. And what is most interesting: He cleans (prunes) the branch that already bears fruit, so that it may bear more fruit. Do you perceive the intention? It is always for our good and for His glory.
Illustration: The Rose Bushes
Let’s think of a rose bush in a garden, in one of the beautiful gardens here in Ireland. A careful gardener does not just admire the roses. He takes his pruning shears and cuts off dry branches, diseased leaves, suckers that drain the plant’s energy. To an untrained observer, it might seem like an act of destruction. But the gardener knows that these cuts are vital. By removing what drains energy, what is diseased, or what has already completed its cycle, he directs the sap and strength of the rose bush to produce more vibrant, more numerous, and more lasting roses.
Beloved, God acts with us in the same way. He loves us and desires our utmost fruitfulness.
- What Does Pruning Remove?
But what does God prune? What does He remove from our lives so that we may bear more fruit? In Hebrews, we are exhorted:
“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,” Hebrews 12:1 NKJV.”
God has a race, a plan for you to achieve, and for that, some pruning is necessary:
- Unnecessary Weights: These are not necessarily sins, but things that hold us back, distract us, or consume time and energy that could be used for the Kingdom. It could be an excessive attachment to material possessions, a hobby that becomes an obsession, relationships that do not build us up, or even an excess of commitments that draw us away from the Kingdom and prevent us from having time with God.
- Persistent Sins: Those ‘pet sins’ that seem so hard to give up. Pride, envy, addictions, murmuring, self-sufficiency, lack of forgiveness. Lack of commitment to God’s Kingdom, to services, to Life Groups, to prayer, the Word, etc. God, in His love, confronts us and, through situations that cause us pain, invites us to abandon these attitudes that prevent us from reflecting the image of Christ.
- ‘Suckers’: Things that seem good at first glance, but in reality, steal our energy and purpose. It could be enthusiasm without knowledge, personal ambition disguised as service to God, or excessive reliance on our own abilities, forgetting that without Him we can do nothing.
III. The Fruit of Pruning: For God’s Glory
What is the ultimate result of divine pruning? John 15:8 tells us:
“By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.” John 15:8 NKJV.”
Pruning aims for a life of greater fruitfulness that glorifies God:
- More Disciples: God is glorified when we bear fruit. A true disciple is one who produces disciples! Have you invested in people’s lives? Have you preached to your friends? Have you visited people? God is glorified when you bear much fruit.
- Greater Intimacy: By removing distractions and weights, we are compelled to greater dependence and communion with Jesus, the true Vine.
- Stronger Character: Patience, perseverance, kindness, gentleness – the fruits of the Spirit are matured and deepened in the seasons of pruning.
- Greater Impact: A more fruitful life is not just for us; it is to bless everyone around us. May our forged character, our resilience, our unshakable faith become a powerful testimony to our multicultural community here in Monaghan.
Conclusion
Beloved brothers and sisters, divine pruning is a painful process, but absolutely necessary. No one likes to be trimmed, to go through pain, through tribulations, to have something removed from their life. But we need to trust the Vinedresser. He knows what He is doing. His love for us is perfect, and His desire is for us to bear much fruit.
Perhaps you are in the midst of a pruning season right now. Perhaps God is removing a weight, a sin, or even something you considered good.
Do not lose heart. Trust. Submit to the process. Allow Him to cut what needs to be cut, to remove what needs to be removed.
Look to the future, not to the momentary pain. Look to the fruit that will come, to the forged character that will be revealed, and to the glory that will be given to God through a life that flourishes even after the deepest cuts.
May we, with faith and hope, surrender ourselves to the Sculptor of our lives, so that He may transform us into vessels of honour, full of fruit for His glory.
May the Lord bless us and keep us in His purpose.