Pruning
August 20, 2020
00:00:59
The Hamilton Minute is a power packed 60 seconds where we tackle the issues of the day through the lens of God’s Word. You don’t want to miss a moment of it.
The Hamilton Minute is a power packed 60 seconds where we tackle the issues of the day through the lens of God’s Word. You don’t want to miss a moment of it.
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“Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.” John 15:2
No one likes to suffer difficult circumstances. In this era of easy believe-ism it's often conveyed, “If life isn’t always smooth we’re doing something wrong.”
The Scripture teaches us, however, that our LORD often meets fruitful branches with additional pruning. The pruning is not punishment. Its actually to make us even more fruitful.
If you’re in a rough spot right now, take heart. What may feel like the squeeze to end all squeezes could very well be the LORD’s pruning for additional fruitfulness.
When the LORD prunes us He does so for our good.
“Let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your ‘No' be 'No.' anything beyond these is from the evil one.” Matthew 5:37 (NKJV).
My name is Abraham Hamilton, III and this is The Hamilton Minute.
The term “Latinx” was invented online and in academia in the early 2000s in an effort to strip long established Spanish words of there inherent sex specificity.
I guess linguistic cultural appropriation is fine… as long as you’re imposing transgender inclusivity onto the Spanish language.
Well, according to a new poll from by Los Angeles Times, only 3% of people of Latin American origin in the United States use the term “Latinx.”
In fact, a large percentage of the native Spanish speaking poll respondents had never heard the term.
Cue my not shocked face.
“The LORD hates… haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood.” Excerpted from Proverbs 6:16-17 (NASB).
My name is Abraham Hamilton, III and this is The Hamilton Minute.
5 year-old Cannon Hinnant was playing outside of his father’s home in Wilson, NC when his 25 year-old next door neighbor walked up to little Cannon, produced a handgun, and blew him away at point blank range.
Cannon’s 7 and 8 year-old siblings witnessed his murder.
Doris Labrant, a neighbor from across the street also witnessed the murder.
The value of life is so insignificant to our society, that children are murdered inside and outside of the womb!
“By mercy and truth iniquity is purged; and by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil.” Proverbs 16:6 (KJV).
My name is Abraham Hamilton III and this is the Hamilton Minute.
We live in a day when churches are filled with people ready to hear and receive God’s mercy. Unfortunately, however, it is often accompanied by a de-emphasis or concealment of the truth of God’s Word.
Paul, the salvation-by-grace-through-faith Apostle, was asked if salvation is solely a product of grace what benefit then does the law provide. Paul responded, “Without the law, I wouldn’t have known God’s righteous standard and how far away from it I was.”
Any presentation of God’s mercy absent of God’s truth is no Gospel at all.
Iniquity is purged by mercy and truth.
Forever, O Lord, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens. Psalm 119:89 (ESV)
My name is Abraham Hamilton III, and this is the Hamilton Minute.
The American republic was founded on the principle that rights are given to us by God, not man. As a result, men nor government can take them away. That’s why our Declaration of Independence refers to our rights as inalienable rights.
Government’s role then is to protect the rights that God has given to us.
The first freedom listed in the bill of rights, which government is entrusted to protect, is religious liberty. The founders did this because they know that free exercise of religion is the fulcrum for all liberty.
Wherever the flame of religious liberty is extinguished, all liberty is imperiled.
“Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, 'Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.' This is a desert place” Acts 8:26.
My name is Abraham Hamilton, III and this is The Hamilton Minute.
At the height of a Holy Spirit outpouring in Samaria, where the Gospel was being preached with great power and droves of people were converting to follow Christ, the LORD instructed Philip to leave Samaria and head south to Gaza.
Philip didn’t know a divine appointment awaited him.
Through his ministry to the Ethiopian Eunuch, the Gospel would spread to Africa.
He left the crowd. To serve one.
I call this step down faith. It's easy to step up for the attention and applause of the masses, but do we have step down faith?
There were added that day about 3000 souls.
My name is Abraham Hamilton III and this is the Hamilton Minute.
The day of Pentecost concluded with 3000 converts being added to the initial body of 120 believers. Then that 3120 spent time together daily going to the temple and interacting in each other’s homes. They devoted themselves continually to the apostle’s teaching, fellowship, sharing meals together and praying together.
The 3120 that made up the early church came from Turkey, the middle east and Africa, and included Arabs and Romans. In addition to the geographic and ethnic diversity, they also spoke different languages. Yet they were made one family in Christ Jesus.
Scripture has the answer to the issues we face today.
“And Moses said, ‘I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned’” Exodus 3:3.
My name is Abraham Hamilton, III and this is The Hamilton Minute.
In the burning bush encounter Scripture records that it began as Moses kept Jethro’s flock Exodus 3:1.
“When the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, 'Moses, Moses!' And he said, 'Here I am'" Exodus 3:4.
Notice, God didn’t speak to Moses until He gave full attention to what God was trying to show him.
Diligent attention to daily duty is necessary. We must be careful, however, not to allow duty to become an idol. Are our hearts still sensitive to God? Can God still get our attention?
For just as the body is one and has many members and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For the body does not consist of one member but of many 1 Corinthians 12:12, 14 (ESV).
My name is Abraham Hamilton, III and this is The Hamilton Minute.
Look briefly at one of your fingers. You’ve just witnessed one of the greatest displays of God’s creative intent there is. No other person in all the world, even an identical twin, shares your fingerprint.
God specifically designed each of us to be unique. That means we shouldn’t try to carbon copy anyone else in the Christian faith.
If God made you an arm in His body or a kneecap, praise be to our glorious God for drawing us to become a part of His body.
How freeing it is to realize that we were never meant to copy anyone – but Jesus.
“Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward” Hebrews 10:35 (ESV).
My name is Abraham Hamilton, III and this is The Hamilton Minute.
Sometimes there’s a delay between crying out to God in prayer and seeing those prayers answered.
It is imperative for us in those times that we don’t waver in our confidence in our God.
The next verse goes on to say, “For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.” Hebrews 10:36 (ESV).
You see, the delay between supplication and delivered answer is one of the ways God develops endurance in us.
He desires that the roots of our faith grow down deep, that we become trees planted by rivers of living water … steadfast, immovable, always abounding in His work. In this we grow beyond superficial Christianity.
Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, what about this man?”
My name is Abraham Hamilton, III and this is The Hamilton Minute.
At the climax of the account when Jesus restored Peter’s personal relationship with him, and Peter’s call to ministry, He saw John following them.
Jesus had just predicted that Peter would give his life for the Gospel, when Peter said, “What about John, LORD?”
Jesus responded, “What does he have to do with your calling? You follow me.”
With those words, Jesus hit a consistent flaw of the human condition. We derive value and self-worth by comparing ourselves to other people.
Your ups, your downs, your failures, your victories were never meant to be compared to other people.
We have been called to serve an audience of One. The only approval you need is His.
“So Aaron took it as Moses said and ran into the midst of the assembly. And behold, the plague had already begun among the people. And he put on the incense and made atonement for the people. And he stood between the dead and the living, and the plague was stopped" Numbers 16:47-48 (ESV).
My name is Abraham Hamilton, III and this is The Hamilton Minute.
Often, when the concept of intercession is raised, we normally think about prayer and we should. Prayer is one form of intercession.
Here, we see another – living intercession.
At the climax of a plague, Aaron runs into the fray, armed with incense, and where he stands, the plague stops. Aaron literally stands between the living and the dead.
May God move us to be living intercessors for our day, and where we take our stand in Christ, the plague stops!
You shall have no other gods before me.
My name is Abraham Hamilton III, and this is the Hamilton Minute.
In 1954 Americans lived under constant threat of nuclear attack from the USSR.
When American children practiced duck and cover in classrooms across the country, President Eisenhower realized that our pledge had no distinction from any other republic.
After hearing a sermon on February 7th of that year, President Eisenhower signed a law adding the words “under God” to our pledge.
The president recognized the true source of unity, of indivisibility is unwavering submission to the God of the bible.
As we go about our day, let us all remember the only true source of national unity is submission to almighty God.
“Immediately He made the disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He dismissed the crowds” Matthew 14:22.
My name is Abraham Hamilton, III and this is The Hamilton Minute.
Here Jesus instructed His disciples to cross a lake and meet Him on the other side of it. As they went, they were met by a violent wind storm that halted their progress.
Often in our Christian lives we receive clear instruction from the LORD, only to be met by an obstacle that halts our progress. We must, however, recognize that the onset of a storm does not cancel out God’s instructions.
Halted progress does not equal denied destination.
When Jesus directed the disciples to go to the other side, He absolutely meant for them to get there.
Delay does not equal denial.
Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
My name is Abraham Hamilton III and this is the Hamilton Minute.
Statistics show that children who grow up without a father are 5 times more likely to live in poverty and commit crime. They’re 9 times more likely to drop out of school and 20 times more likely to end up in prison. Yet the percentage of children born to fatherless homes has skyrocketed in America. As of 2015, 25 percent of white, 53 percent of Hispanic and 73 percent of black babies are born into fatherless homes.
While Scripture teaches that the weight of raising children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord falls upon fathers, seems like we need a movement that says fatherhood matters.
"We must obey God rather than men.” Acts 5:29 (NASB).
My name is Abraham Hamilton, III and this is The Hamilton Minute.
California Governor Gavin Newsom ordered churches closed indefinitely in at least 32 counties in the state.
To which Pastor John McArthur and the Elders of Grace Community Church responded,
The biblical order is clear: Christ is Lord over Ceasar, not vice versa. Christ, not Ceasar, is head of the Church. Therefore, in response to the recent state order requiring churches in California to limit or suspend all meetings indefinitely, we, the pastors and elders of Grace Community Church, respectfully inform our civic leaders that they have exceeded their legitimate jurisdiction, and faithfulness to Christ prohibits us from observing the restrictions…
Amen Pastor McArthur. Amen!
“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.” John 15:18 (ESV)
My name is Abraham Hamilton, III and this is The Hamilton Minute.
A Florida man threatened AFA through Facebook saying he was “coming to Tupelo to kill every single person who runs your group. Yes, I literally mean killing all of you.” Why, because he didn’t like AFA’s commitment to the Biblical teaching on identity, human sexuality and marriage.
AFA reported the threats to Facebook but was told that the threat was not a policy violation. AFA appealed the decision to no avail.
The threatening man now sits in federal prison. Facebook said the threats didn’t violate their policy. A federal judge said the threats violated federal law.
Interesting isn’t it?
"A good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children.” Proverbs 13:22(a) (NASB).
My name is Abraham Hamilton, III and this is The Hamilton Minute.
John James, a veteran business man, combat veteran and current Michigan candidate for U.S. Senator, explained his family history alongside his father in a recent campaign ad.
James said his father was a storyteller. He told him how the son of a slave became a sharecropper, the son of a sharecropper became a mason, and the son a mason became an entrepreneur.
John James is that entrepreneur.
James concluded, the United States, is the “only country where you can go from slave to senator in four generations and from poverty to prosperity in one.”
That, folks, is the truth.
That is the United States of America.
"What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying to Me from the ground.” Genesis 4:10 (NASB).
My name is Abraham Hamilton, III and this is The Hamilton Minute.
Planned Parenthood of Greater New York will remove the name of Margaret Sanger, the national organization’s founder, from its Manhattan clinic because of her “harmful connections to the eugenics movement.”
Yeah, right!
What good does removing the woman’s name from a building do when you continue the practices that reflect her views? If you recognize that Sanger sought to “exterminate the Negro population,” sterilize those she called “human weeds,” and prevent those she deemed “genetically inferior” from reproducing you got to do better than a building name change.
You still kill babies! That’s her legacy.
“Wealth obtained by fraud dwindles, But the one who gathers by labor increases it.” Proverbs 13:11 (NASB).
My name is Abraham Hamilton, III and this is The Hamilton Minute.
Maryland officials have uncovered a massive identity theft scheme involving more than 47,500 bogus unemployment claims worth over $501 million, following the passage of federal Coronavirus aid.
State officials became suspicious, upon noticing a surge in out-of-state claims.
U.S. Attorney Robert Hur said people were using “stolen personal information to fraudulently attempt to obtain unemployment benefits.”
In spite of this and other massive fraud attempts, what is currently being debated in the White House… passage of Phase 4 legislation for more Coronavirus stimulus spending.
John Maynard Keynes’ views have become U.S. policy.
