Godly Pruning | Ps Glenn Bleakney

[00:00:01] Speaker A: Welcome to the Newman Church podcast. Wherever you are in the world, we are so glad that you've joined us. Our prayer is that this message will reveal more of who our heavenly Father is as we grow deeper in intimacy with Jesus. Enjoy the message. [00:00:14] Speaker B: Hey, good to see everyone. Thank you guys for coming today. I know you made the right decision by being here because the Lord wants you to be here. But do you know why he wants you to be here? It all has to do with things that we can only do in this life. You know, when Jesus said in Matthew 25, separating the sheep from the goats, and he made a statement, he said, there will be a point when I say to those who are faithful, those who are my children, he said, enter into the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. And when we enter into that kingdom that was prepared for us from the foundation of the world, there's not much that we're doing here on earth that we'll do there. For example, even ministry wise, okay? There won't be preaching, there won't be discipleship. There won't be any need to learn more because the Bible says we'll know as we are known. You know, we know in part now, but we will know fully then. All right? The other thing is, there will be no more opportunity to preach the gospel because the door is closed. The door is closed. If you didn't believe in Jesus and repent and make him your lord and savior in this life, you won't have the opportunity and those that we have the opportunity to share the gospel with, if we're not faithful to steward that in this life, we will not have the opportunity to do it again. That's sobering. That's very sobering. But there's a few things, really. One thing that we will continue to do, and that's to worship him. To worship him. And, you know, worship in this life isn't the end all in the sense that we just gather to worship. That's not it. There's people that need to hear the gospel. There's people that need to know how much Jesus loves them. There's territory to take in Jesus name. There's literally a place for each and every one of us to share the gospel and to reach out to others. And so I really believe that the Lord is calling us into the season, a season where he's just saying, guys, I really want the northern suburbs to experience an awakening. And we have a role and a responsibility in that. And I want to share some things. And over the next while, as opportunity is afforded. I want to just challenge us to really hear what the spirit is saying. The fact is sometimes, okay, so we have people that love worship, and they're not so keen on the word of. And then we have others who love the word. But, hey, worship, okay, there will be no more preaching or teaching of the word. There will be worship. There will be worship. Right? So can I just say, it's better to get used to it now, okay. Very important. And look, it's a place of knowing God, of knowing God. Worship isn't about just singing songs. It's about pouring out our love to him, acknowledging his supremacy, his greatness. And he loves us first, so we love him. It says in one John 419. So it's very important that we learn how to engage in that place of communion with him. Prayer is not just taking our trolleys in the heavenly aisles and saying, God, fill it up with this, this, this. And this prayer is first and foremost about knowing him and interacting with him, a person that doesn't pray, a believer. Now, if you don't know goddess, you see, think about it in the natural. If you had a child and that child wouldn't eat, what would you do? That child had no appetite. Manja. Manja. No, I'm gaming. The fact is, you would do everything you could to remedy that situation, wouldn't you? I mean, you're like, hey, that's not right. That's not normal. Child. If they continue, they'll languish, and eventually they could die. They could. So in the spiritual realm, if we don't have a spiritual appetite, that says something's wrong, right? Children are hungry, especially teenagers, right? They each have a house and home. But the fact is, hunger is normal. It's normal if we don't have an appetite for the things of God, for his presence, for his word, for prayer, for worship, all of those things, right? Then something's wrong. Something's wrong. Check your pulse. Hopefully you're still alive. If you're still alive, then let's get rid of whatever the parasite is or whatever it is that's preventing us from having that appetite. And I just want to say over this weekend, we've had what's known as revival conference, and it was very significant what took place. And for those of you who were there, really, the culmination of it was yesterday afternoon, and I really felt that the Lord did some significant things. We had the opportunity to hang out last night with Ben and Haley as a global leadership team and just hear their hearts. And I want to say that God isn't finished with Numa church. He is not finished. I mean, some of us may be finished. Can I be honest? There are times when I said, I'm finished and that's it. But God's not finished. It's his church, it's his bride, we are his people. And regardless of logos and branding and all that stuff, ultimately he looks at our hearts and he loves us all and he wants to do more in us and through us. And so at the end, I had the distinct honor and privilege to actually close the conference yesterday. And I had, you know, it was the last moment thing. Pastor Raf came up to me, said, glen, I want you to close a conference, whatever God tells you to do. So I just said, okay, holy spirit, give me a download. What do I say? And interestingly, I just saw this picture and it was a picture, like, of a tree. And the roots of the tree were above the soil, above the ground, and some of the roots were actually exposed. And I felt like the Lord was saying, you know, in the natural, a tree that has exposed roots is in a place of vulnerability. And if that's not dealt with, then eventually that could, you know, result in. In disease, in at least the nutrients, the ability to be rooted and grounded and all of that, so that that tree will not be able to be sustained long term. Right. So this morning I was praying about that and I said, okay, lord, what were you saying? Because I saw not just like, you know, we say take a shovel and just throw dirt over those exposed roots. And that's kind of a cover up, if you know what I mean. And sometimes we cover up things in our lives and we cover up things that God actually wants us to deal with. And I saw in the spirit, it was like this tree was pulled out of the ground and it was a hole had been dug, and this hole was quite deep. It was deeper than what I saw and in the initial vision, and the tree was replanted. So this morning I was praying into that and the Lord just reminded me that, you know, when you don't know the answer, the first thing you should do is ask God. But the second thing you can do is actually google or chat GPT or whatever. So I did this. I said, what are reasons why trees may need to be replanted? Number one is root congestion. Okay? Trees, as trees grow, the root systems can become congested and outgrow space available. Okay. All right, we need to make space for God. Right? Secondly, soil depletion. This one is very significant. Soil depletion. Over time, the soil around a tree can become depleted of essential nutrients. Replanting in fresh, nutrient rich soil can help rejuvenate the tree's growth. Yeah, there's more, but let's just say that's sufficient. And I just felt like the Lord said what I'm doing and wanting to do and what I did even in the weekend, in the hearts and lives of many of my people, was a replanting in the right soil. You know, the Bible warns us about a bitter root. Yeah. And that bitter root defiles many. And so there's a place, literally, the Bible talks about fallow ground, right? Break up the fallow ground. You know, the seed can be the best seed, but you just throw that seed on fallow ground, it won't take root, it won't germinate, and it won't bear fruit. And so there's a place of breaking up, plowing the follow ground. And I just felt sorry, not sorry, I just felt like the Lord said, this is what I want to do in my people. I want to break and heal my people. And this is a work of the spirit. And he wants to replant us in him, in the right soil. But we have to allow him to do that. We have to allow him to do that in our lives. We can run, we can make excuses, and, you know, like that tree with the root system that was exposed, we may thrive for a while, we may live, not die, but there's just something missing. And I really feel so strongly that the Lord is calling us to that place. I felt like healing, forgiveness, reconciliation, repurposing took place. And we all follow Jesus. We all have to be obedient to him. But ultimately, God wants to do more than just use us. He wants to do something in us which is so much more important than what we do for him. You know, there is a call to do good works. Bible is very clear about that. Right. But it's not just trying to do good things. There's actually a call to allow God to work in us first and foremost. You know, it says in Philippians, I believe it's chapter two, verse 1213. It actually talks about how God works in us to give us the will and the desire to do what pleases him. He's working in us, right? And there's a working in us that God wants to do. There's an outworking, a working through us also. But there's a working in us. And I believe so strongly that what God is calling us to here on the north is a place where we just submit to what he wants to do in us, first and foremost. And I feel we're called to step into a season of preparing the soil. And maybe there's some stuff that, you know, we just need to replant soil, past seasons, toxicity, you know, lack of nutrients, whatever it might be. We have to just forget about that and let God take us on a journey. Let God take us on a new journey, a fresh journey. And I want to encourage you to not make excuses or delayed I your obedience to what he's called you to, because it's good. It's amazing, and it's actually your journey. No one else. You know, while we were worshiping, I had had a vision, and I'm not sure who this man is right here. Is this family a friend? Yeah. I just saw. What's your name? Enzo. Thank you for coming, Enzo. Come on, let's give it up for Enzo. Yeah. Amazing. So I saw you, Enzo, and this is what I saw. It was like, I saw you kind of getting on a. It was like you're getting on a train or a tram, and there's people that you're going. You're getting on the tram with them, so maybe it represents you guys. You're getting on the tram with them, and you're like, yep, I'm getting on the journey with my friends, and I'm following my friends, and I'm going on the journey. And you're good. It's like, yeah, this is nice. This is nice. But then I felt like the Lord just said that he actually has a journey for you where you're not just following others, but this is your personal invitation to go on a journey with lord yourself. And that journey is going to be like, yes, lord, I'm going to follow you. I'll get on aboard the tram, and I'll follow you. And as you say yes to the Lord, Enzo, it's going to change your life. It's going to change your life, and you're going to see that God is going to do such an amazing work in you. And really the defining shift that is going to. It's like, you've been on this journey for a while, but it's kind of like, just things haven't really changed the way that you would want them or maybe even others would want in your life. And I really feel the Lord saying that what's going to happen is when you say, yes, lord, I'll follow you, and I'll get on the tram, and this is my journey. And it's not about you just going on the journey with others like, yep, I'll come along. This is your journey. And as you do that, everything's going to change in your life. There's going to be a massive change in your life. It's going to be so good. So Jesus just wants you to say, yes. He just wants you to begin to go on that journey with him. You may not know how to do that. That's all right. That doesn't matter. He's going to help you. He'll show you. But it is an invitation to trust him and to step out and begin to follow. Follow him in the unknown. Follow him in places you've never been before. And as you do, things are going to really change in your life. There's going to be change in your life. Joy, peace, opportunities. I see prosperity come into your life. I see prosperity come into your life. Changes things from the past and generational things broken off, and you're going to step into a place actually. Actually, I see, like the Lord has in you, even an entrepreneurial spirit. That spirit is going to actually cause you to prosper and to be a blessing to others. And so we don't want to limit God. You know, it says in psalm 78 that the children of Israel limited the holy one of Israel. They limited God. We don't want to do that. We want to say, yes, Lord, let's go on the journey. Let's follow you. And this word here is not just for Enzo, but you need to grab that and say, it is mine. It's like, hey, that's mine. I'm going after it. But this is for several of you that are in this room this morning, that this is a call for you to begin to go on the journey. Now I'm following Jesus. What do you want me to do? Where do you want me to go? What it looks like for you would be different than others. And God is really calling us to that place. And I know it's going to be amazing. He's telling us no more compromise. He's telling us no more excuses, no more complacency. But let's go all in. Let's go all in. And I know God is going to do amazing, amazing things, not only in us, which is necessary first and foremost, but through us as well. Do you believe that? Come on, let's stand together. We're going to pray. We need you, Jesus. We need you so much, Lord, without you, we can do nothing of lasting spiritual value. Lord, we need you and we love you. Because you first loved us. You gave your life to ransom us, to redeem us, Lord. [00:19:10] Speaker C: To set us free. And so, Lord, we just thank you. [00:19:13] Speaker B: For what you're doing. [00:19:15] Speaker C: We thank you, Lord, for this season, Lord. We pray for an awakening, Lord. An awakening, Lord. A deep awakening, a stirring, Lord God. A hunger, lord. Where all we want is you, Lord. Whatever it is that you have for us, Lord, we want. But we want you. Not just your gifts, not just your blessings. We want the blesser. We want the giver. We want the Lord. We want the king. We want the savior this morning. And we worship you, Jesus. We worship you, Jesus. We praise you, Lord God. We give you the honor and the glory, Jesus. Use us, Father. But, Lord, we thank you for wooing us and calling us, Lord, I to that place, Jesus. To that place, Lord, in your heart. Alongside you, Lord, your heart, your passion, your desire. [00:20:13] Speaker B: Have your way. Thank you, Jesus. Have your way. Thank you, Lord. Yeah, come on. Just begin to make that your prayer. Would you just say, Lord, I. I surrender. I give it to you. I surrender. I give it to you. I give everything to you. Everything to you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus. Everything that you have, Lord, I give to you. Everything, Lord, that I have, I give to you. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus. I want to just read this to you guys. A friend of mine in America posted this this morning on Facebook and I just felt my holy spirit just said, you should read this. Listen to this. Let this soak into your spirit. Listen, please. It says this. There are times in our lives when we have to realize our past is precisely what it is and we cannot change it, but we can change the story we tell ourselves about it. And by doing that, we can change the future. When we change the story of our past, understanding that his healing and loving grace was present in our pain, then we are able to see that he is very present today to deliver us, heal us and free us. Our future changes when our story changes, which frees us to join Joseph and sing harmony to the verse. [00:22:08] Speaker C: As for you, you meant evil against me. God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive as they are today. Healed wounds make beautiful scars. Healed wounds make beautiful scars. And so, Lord, we pray for the. [00:22:30] Speaker B: Things of the past. [00:22:32] Speaker C: Lord, we thank you, Lord, that no. [00:22:34] Speaker B: Matter what we've gone through, no matter. [00:22:36] Speaker C: Lord, how we've been hurt or how we've hurt others or how we failed you or even disappointed one another, Lord, even our family, Lord, we thank you, Lord, for healing. We thank you, Lord. That our past is precisely that. It is our past. And, Lord, we thank you today for the new things that you're doing. We thank you, Lord Father, for the new story that you've given to us, Lord, oh, Lord, we thank you for that. And we declare the narrative of God over each and every one of your children this morning. We declare your redemption story. We declare, Lord God, the narrative of heaven. Lord God, your purpose, Lord Jesus. And we thank you, Lord, for who you are and what you did at the cross. [00:23:22] Speaker B: Lord, you're so amazing. [00:23:24] Speaker C: You're so merciful. You're so beautiful. [00:23:27] Speaker B: Father. [00:23:28] Speaker C: And we thank you, Lord, for the. [00:23:29] Speaker B: Invitation to go on the journey with you, Lord, and to move ahead. To move ahead. To move ahead. And to forget about the past. Lord, we thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus. Even Paul said, you know what he said? I forget about those things that were in the past and I press forward. You know, when you think about that, it's not just the negative things. That's certainly a major part of it, guys, but it's also the good things. The good things, the places that we've been. Yes, that's great. But there's more. There's so much more. There's so much more that he wants to bring us into. So much more. And we are his children, and we are his family. And right now, in many places, people are even christians. Christians speak against God's wife. You know who God's wife is? The church. The church. And yet we hear people say things about the church. God's wife. How would you. What. What would you say, men? Someone said something about your wife, right? Not very happy. The church is his wife. As broken at times that it may be. The church is his wife. His bride. Lord, we pray for healing and forgiveness. Lord, we pray that your kingdom will prevail. The Bible says the gates of Hades will not prevail against the church. The bride of Christ. Lord, we thank you for what you're doing. How you intervene, how you invade our space, Lord, our thinking, Lord God. And you bring healing and reconciliation. [00:25:40] Speaker C: Have your way, Jesus. Have your way, Lord, and have your. [00:25:44] Speaker B: Way in our lives. Have your way in your church. Have your way, Father. Have your way. Be exalted. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Lord. Come on, let's just praise him for a moment. Let's just lift our voices and praise him. Just tell Jesus how much you love him. Just tell him how worthy he is. Thank you, Jesus. You're so worthy. You're so worthy. You're so merciful. Your mercy endures forever. [00:26:16] Speaker D: Lord. [00:26:17] Speaker B: Thank you Jesus. Your mercy endures forever. Lord Jesus. Thank you Jesus. Thank you Jesus. Have your way. Thank you Jesus. Yes Lord thank you Jesus. Thank you Jesus. Thank you Lord Jesus. Yes Lord Jesus have your way Jesus thank you, thank you Jesus. Yes Lord. Thank you Jesus. [00:26:48] Speaker D: You worthy of it all. You are the you deserve the glory you are in all worthy of it all. From you I belong, Jesus. You worthy you worthy of it all. From you for from you I rose, you said glory and I didn't center out day and night, night and day and center day and night, night and day and night, night and day, sense arise day night, day and night, night and day and sense arise day and night, day and night, night and day and night, night and day, you worthy of it all. You worthy of it all. From you I will enter for me you worthy of it all. You worthy you fall from you I feel you. [00:30:12] Speaker B: Thank you Jesus. [00:30:13] Speaker D: Yes thank you Jesus. It all beyond all the pray. What glory. All the rain allottez Jesus. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you Jesus. Thank you Jesus. [00:32:27] Speaker B: This is psalm 51. I just want to read it to you. It says, create in me a clean heart, o God, renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence. Take not your holy spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and uphold me with a willing spirit. Then I will teach transgressors your ways and sinners will return to you. David said, deliver me from blood and guiltiness, O God, O God of my salvation and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness, O Lord, open my lips and my mouth will declare your praise than this for you will not delight in sacrifice. I would give it. You will not be pleased with the burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart. O God, you will not despise. You will not despise. [00:33:35] Speaker E: Thank you for joining us. We hope that you enjoyed today's podcast and we realize that not everyone has had the opportunity to respond to the good news of the gospel. And for this reason, in all of our services and platforms, we want to extend to you the opportunity to follow Jesus. The Bible teaches us that we have been created for a relationship with God. However, sin, which is essentially disobedience, independence and disbelief, or us simply missing the mark, entered the world and separated us from God. Romans chapter six, verse 23 says that the wages of sin is death and a debt was owed. And the Bible tells us that he, Jesus demonstrated his love for us, that while we were still sinners he died for us, Jesus paid the penalty for our sin. John 316 says, for God so loved the world that he gave his only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. God so loved the world that he gave us Jesus, that whoever believes in him will be saved. All that is required of anyone is that they believe in Jesus. The son of God who came, lived, died and rose again so that we could be forgiven, made right and given the right to become children of God and to have life forevermore with him. Today you can begin a relationship with Jesus. To believe in him is to simply to respond with faith in our hearts and confess with our mouths that he is Lord and we do that through a simple prayer. Follow along with me dear Jesus, I believe that you are the son of God. I thank you that you love me and came to forgive me of my sin. I repent from my old way of life and I turn to follow you. I receive the free gift of eternal life and I ask that you fill me with the Holy Spirit so that I can live a life of following after you. I thank you that I am born again as a child of God and that I am a new creation in Christ Jesus. Amen. If you prayed this prayer for the first time, we would love to connect with you and connect you to your your next step and the local church in your area. You can contact us on our website at Numa Church thanks for listening.