Rooted - Week 3: Prune

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Title:

Rooted - Week 3: Prune

Week 3: Prune

Big Idea:

A natural part of an organic relationship with God is the process of pruning.

Just as a plant is healthier after pruning and has revitalized growth, so a Christian experiences growth when unhealthy areas of their lives are trimmed or thinned.

Though this process can be painful in the moment, the outcome is divine and beautiful.

As a follower of Jesus we must see God’s work in our lives as something that has our best in mind and his glory at stake.

THINK:

God is the divine gardener who has our spiritual growth as his ultimate goal.

God will use anything in our lives to shape us into the people that he wants us to be.

If there is something in our lives that is unhealthy for us, God will want to prune it.

If there is something in our lives that is good but not the best, God will want to prune it.

FEEL:

Jesus is the source of all life and every person must be careful to remain connected to him.

To grow deep roots that will sustain us through anything we will face in life, we must receive acceptance, guidance and love as a branch receives from a vine.

DO:

We must make a conscious decision to welcome God’s pruning in our lives.

Join him in actively seeking out areas of our lives that he would like to effectively change.

Prayer:

“Our deepest desire is to grow in our relationship with you, God. Please search our hearts and know our minds and remove those things that will cause us harm.

May your divine work in our lives cause us to be faithful followers of Jesus. May our roots grow deep into your love and give us a solid foundation for our lives.”

Main Scriptural Text: John 15:1-5

Supplemental Scriptural Text: John 12:24, John 16:7, John 16:20, 1 Corinthians 10:13, Hebrews 4:12, Colossians 3:5, Hebrews 12:5-6, 2 Corinthians 4:17

Introduction

(Illustration idea)

Take the potted plant you’ve been using throughout the series, hopefully it’s still alive, and get a good pair of garden clippers/snips. To introduce the sermon, which is about pruning, cut off part of the plant.

Talk through the process, try to bring the illustration to life by talking about how hard it might be for the plant to lose a part of itself.

Highlight the point that as the gardener, you can see the bigger picture and you know that the part you cut off needed to go.

Last week we talked about growth and how it is God who brings growth and how we can all play a part in the process.

This week we will be talking about another aspect of growth called pruning. 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.”

(example of my pomegranate tree)

Like many aspects of our faith journey, pruning isn’t always easy, but it’s necessary in order for healthy new growth to occur.

Main Teaching/Body

To frame our time today we will be drawing from Jesus’ words found in John 15:1-5;

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 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. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 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. 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.” John 15:1-5

I. God’s Got a Green Thumb

John 15:1

Two things are communicated in the first verse of chapter 15.

First, Jesus makes it clear that he is the vine. He wants the listener 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.

Second, the one who is responsible for cultivating the growth in the lives of people is God.

There is no other more qualified to oversee the growth process than God.

God is a divine gardener and he is an expert at facilitating growth.

These two things are incredibly important to keep in mind as we talk about pruning.

It’s crucial to remember that God, The Diving Gardener, has the bigger picture in mind.

Romans 8:28 NKJV

28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

II. The Gentle Art of 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.

Often a plant will be hindered by a dead portion of it’s branches because that dead portion gets 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 have similar areas that are hindrances to us.

It may be sin that needs to be removed, it may be discipline in our lives that we need to accept, it may even be something good in our lives that is distracting us from something great.

The gardener will prune these things so we might have a better opportunity to grow.

If the earthly gardener is interested in fruitfulness and healthy growth

just imagine how much more so the Divine Gardener interested in the same thing.

II. When Talking About Pruning, Less Can Truly be More

Hebrews 12:1

The pruning that God does in our lives is not because he is angry with us and wants to punish us. Actually, it’s quite the opposite.

According to Hebrews there is a race that has been marked out for us that results in a heavenly prize.

In order to run this race well we have to remove those things that will disqualify or hinder us from reaching the finish line.

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us…” Hebrews 12:1

This is not an easy and comfortable process, but in the end as the things are removed that aren’t healthy for us

we find something more from life that could not have been found without the pruning.

(Illustration idea)

This could be an excellent place to share testimonials of people in the congregation or from the leadership team who had to give up something or leave something behind in their pursuit of discipleship. Try to highlight a situation where less became more which will help the congregation connect with the positive outcomes of pruning.

III. A Healthy Connection to the Vine will Produce Good Fruit

John 15:4-5

A Christian is someone whose strength comes by living in connection to Jesus Christ.

Galatians 5:22-23 speaks about nine fruits or products of the spirit that should be a part of our lives;

“...the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” Galatians 5:22-23

Think for a moment about the fruits listed in the Galatians passage. These are areas that most every believer has some desire to grow in.

The only way these fruits are able to grow day to day in our lives is for us to remain connected to Jesus through full surrender and unwavering faithfulness.

As we remain connected, the Divine Gardener prunes away the unhealthy and fruitless parts of our lives.

Remain in Him through adversity, through trial and hardships.

Remain connected to the vine and remember, apart from Him you can do nothing.

Conclusion

Spiritual growth does not and cannot happen by accident.

The Christian life is a process that we enter into when the seed of the gospel is planted and we open up our lives to God.

To grow in faith takes intentional effort, fierce determination, and 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.

What are some specific areas of your life that could use some pruning to allow for healthy growth to happen?

What are some areas that need to be completely cut off for the sake of future growth?

Are there areas in the past that you now recognize God pruned away in order for healthy new growth to occur?

Trust that God knows what he is doing and even though the process of pruning can be painful, it will also be fruitful in the hands of the Divine Gardener.

(Pastor -

setting a time aside for worship and response at the end of this sermon could be really powerful.

People in your congregation may need time to process and pray through the things that need pruning in their lives.

Give some space for the conviction of the Holy Sprit to set in.

Let’s pray together

Salvation:

The Word of God says in:

John 3:16 NKJV

16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Romans 10:13 NKJV

13 For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

If you’d would like to receive Jesus today, please pray this prayer with all of us:

Lord I believe that Jesus is the son of God, and that He died On the cross for my sins and His resurrection from the dead gives me eternal life. I ask forgiveness of my sins, and I accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior. Amen.

PastorDoc@FaithVision.org

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(Show Slide)

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Faith Vision Christian Ministries

Psalm 1:3 - Rooted!

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