Intro:
In our series, Rooted, we discussed the seed as a symbol of God’s word. We emphasized that the issue is not the seed itself but the condition of the soil — the receptivity of our hearts to God’s word that determines the fruit we produce. In our previous message, we explored some of the agents God uses to foster growth in our lives. Today, we will focus on one of God’s main agents of spiritual growth: The process called pruning. Spiritual Growth does not end with the seed and the soil but continues in the process of sanctification.
Pruning is defined as “to trim (a tree, shrub, or bush) by cutting away dead or overgrown branches or stems, especially to increase fruitfulness and growth.”
Psalm 1:3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.
Quote:
Oswald Chambers
“If God has made your cup sweet, drink it with grace. If He has made it bitter, drink it in communion with Him. Either way, the pruning is to prepare you for greater usefulness.”
Focus:
We must welcome God to prune what needs pruning, deeping our walk with Jesus and make ready our lives for the seasons of harvest. (Jesus communicates this message in our main text today)
Scripture:
John 15:1-5 NIV
15 “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, 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. 5 “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.
Four Spiritual Lessons On Pruning
1. God Sees The Big
- (Vs 1)
Two things are communicated in the first verse of chapter 15.
First, Jesus makes it clear that He is the vine. He wants us to understand there is no life apart from him. Just as all the nutrients needed for a plant to grow travel through the roots to the limbs by the trunk/stem, so all we need for life, life to the full, comes by and through Jesus.
John 14:6 Jesus said, “ I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father except through me.”
Second, the one who is responsible for cultivating growth in our lives is God. There is no one more qualified to oversee the growth process than the one who is the author of life. God is a divine gardener, and he is an expert at facilitating growth in our lives. He strategically positions us for transformation. God knows precisely what is fruit-producing and what is unproductive in us.
It’s incredibly important to keep these two things in mind as we talk about pruning today. God, the divine Gardner, has the bigger picture in mind: “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28)
If you love Him and you are called, Pruning is going to take place in your life.
2.
, Elimination and Cultivation
Think back to our definition of pruning, “to trim (a tree, shrub, or bush) by cutting away dead or overgrown branches or stems, especially to increase fruitfulness and growth.”
One of the main jobs of a gardener is to remove dead, fruitless, or broken limbs from a plant.
Dead branches and dead portions get in the way.
- Sometimes a plant will waste energy and nutrients to help branches that don’t produce any fruit.
In our lives, we often encounter similar areas that hinder us.
a. Sins that need to be removed.
b. Discipline in our lives that we need to accept.
c. Something good that is distracting us from something great.
- The gardener will prune these things so that we have a better opportunity to grow.
- If an earthly gardener is interested in fruitfulness, then how much more is the Gardner of the universe interested in the fruit that we are producing?
3.
Can Truly Be More
Hebrews 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,
God’s pruning is always with purpose-
a. To Run Well.
b. To Remove Hinderances.
c. To Reach The Finish Line.
The reward will always outweigh the discomfort of the process.
What are you still holding on to? (Sin, Fear, Frustration, Unforgiveness)
Quote:
Henry Blackaby
“When God prunes you, He is not rejecting you. He is preparing you. He is clearing the clutter so that your life may reflect His glory and bear much fruit.”
4. A Healthy
to the Vine will Produce Good Fruit - Vs 4-5
4 Remain/abide ( to take up residence) 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. 5 “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.
- A Connected Christian is a fruit-producing Christian.
Galatians 5:22-23 tells us that the fruit of the Spirit is - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”
If we were all transparent today, these are the areas where we are all desperately in need of spiritual growth.
We must remain in Christ through adversity, trial, and even hardship, for apart from Him we can do nothing. ( We have often become too self reliant / My righteousness is as a filthy rag)
Quote:
Andrew Murray “The great hindrance to abiding in Christ is the desire to manage things ourselves. God must often cut away even good things—so that our life may be wholly in Him.”
Conclusion:
Spiritual growth does not and cannot happen by accident.
To Grow In Faith Takes -
a.Intentional Effort
b. Fierce Determination
c. The Unquenchable Grace Of God.
It is true that God loves us just as we are, but it is equally true that he doesn’t want us to stay that way.
Response:
a. Will you surrender to the process of pruning today?
b. Is there something that God has been trying to cull out of your life?
c. Do you long to produce the fruit of the kingdom?
d. Do you need more love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, the Fruit of the Spirit in your life today?