JN 15:1 "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 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. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, and I will 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.

JN 15:5 "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

You have probably noticed by now, that in the wilderness, you are getting pruned all the way down to the roots, and boy does it hurt sometimes. Every root of selfishness, pride, dishonesty, idolatry, lust, bitterness, and unforgiveness, is laid bare for the Master Gardener to heal and fertilize. You may feel very vulnerable during this time, and those things you used to be able to keep stuffed down inside you, just come out anyway. If this is happening, just remember, God is doing this for your good, and it will not last forever. God just wants what we give to people in ministry, to be safe and truly full of Him.

You are being prepared to have God pour out His power, anointing, and resources into your life, and into the work He has called you to, and this means that everything in your life that has not been bearing good fruit will have to be cut off. Ouch. And God can't be manipulated, or bargained with, you are kind of like Jonah in the fish without much of a choice, but it was in that state that He received some critical revelation about himself, and God. Also remember, that after all these energy draining sucker vines are clipped away, and the wounded area is healed, you will have so much more energy to devote to things that really do bear good fruit, and the avenues to your heart for torment will be shut for good.

God may, or may not allow you to do a lot of distractive ministry during this time, or He may suddenly shut it all down, and ask you to walk away. This can be a real tough test because usually we get a lot of purpose gratification from our giftings, and also people pressure us to "perform", so saying "no", can be really hard. Don't worry, God only shuts things down for a season, so that He can work on you. You are kind of up on spiritual jacks, much like your car getting worked on at the garage. Sooner, or later, the lift will descend back down, and you will be back on the road; only safer, and more super-charged.

I have been involved in what many would consider the highest levels of ministry, and I learned a lot about what real ministry is, and what it is not. I'm just going to be blunt, I think most of us here, are fairly mature Christians, otherwise you probably wouldn't be in the wilderness. God is sick of fleshly, self-centered, manipulative, carnal ministry. We have all done this kind of ministry at some point, but as you have probably noticed, the churches are emptying out, and God is through supporting anyone, or anything that does not allow Him to direct and lead. God wants to flow through us in power to help people.

I know this may sound like a strong word, but it is the truth. You may have noticed that some of the top ministers and ministries in the Kingdom, are suddenly being exposed for practicing serious secret sin for years. I have had to deal with one of these situations personally, and it made me understand that God wants true holiness in us all, and He doesn't care about our reputations, He cares about us, and the things that have kept us bound and hurting. We must support each other and understand that God is helping us all to prepare ourselves for this great harvest of souls, and also for His soon coming. We have a choice right now, we can either fall on the Rock, or have the Rock will fall on us.

Change only comes through the Holy Spirit's work of transformation, and with our daily cooperation. There really is no "white knuckling it", to stay free, it just doesn't last. But understand this dear friends, God has a plan specifically designed for you to help you to get free, and you will be completely free and holy when this is over. When you heal the root, you heal the fruit that the tree produces.You may have struggled for years to purify yourself in the flesh, but God can do it in mere weeks, with His revelation, conviction, and grace as we agree with Him, and cooperate with Him. So embrace this great work of purification that is happening to you; there is a new freedom and anointing just ahead.