Lessons from the Garden pt. 4

This past week, I was once again perched upon my porch as I periodically do in the wee hours of the pre-dawn, pondering and praying, wondering how to precisely bring our Lessons from the Garden to a perfect and permanent pause. As I prayed, I poured over the passage in and pondered the purpose of pruning.

Previous pastors have often preached that our heavenly Pater often prunes His people only to pluck from them that which is paltry and pestilential, painting the picture of God’s process of pruning in a negative pigmentation. And being that we are a pugnacious people, we often pullback, impeding or preventing God’s plan of perfecting our souls.

But I would present to you that we need to praise God for His persistent pruning, for in this perpetual process we find the positive love and nurture of our Father, who only plans what is best for His people.

So, without prolonging the preaching any further, let us proceed with The Perspective of Pruning and then 7 Principles of Pruning.

Some of you may be wondering what the heck did I just say. I have no idea, but I do know this – the idea of pruning often focuses on the removal or cutting away things from our lives. Technically, that is precisely what pruning is – it is the cutting away of that which is dead, diseased or unproductive. But, we must keep pruning in proper perspective.

Practically speaking,

We need to look at the pruning process in terms of relationship more than we do in terms of religion.

It’s all about the relationship. When God desires to cut off that which is sinful, that which is potentially harmful and that which is simply unproductive, which sometimes might be something good, it is all centered on our relationship with Jesus Christ. Pruning is not just dos and don’ts, but it’s dos and don’ts with a purpose.

Furthermore,

We need to look at the pruning process holistically.

Think body, soul, spirit. Think physical, mental and spiritual.

It’s in those areas, that God desires to prune that which is sinful, harmful and unproductive. He desires to cut off anything that prevents us from becoming all that He created us to be and do. For example, physically there might be a harmful habit or substance that is unhealthy for your body. If you are not taking care of your body, it will effect what God desires to do in you and through you. Mentally, you might be holding onto and feeding negative thoughts about yourself or others or even God. Spiritually, God might be dealing with you on a particular sin, or He might want you to rearrange your schedule for a greater work He has planned.

– because, what happens in one effects the whole. It’s in those areas, that God desires to prune that which is sinful, harmful and unproductive. He desires to cut off anything that prevents us from becoming all that He created us to be and do. For example, physically there might be a harmful habit or substance that is unhealthy for your body. If you are not taking care of your body, it will effect what God desires to do in you and through you. Mentally, you might be holding onto and feeding negative thoughts about yourself or others or even God. Spiritually, God might be dealing with you on a particular sin, or He might want you to rearrange your schedule for a greater work He has planned.

Lastly,

We need to look at the pruning process in terms of lesser / greater.

As we look at pruning relationally and holistically, understand that as God prunes, He will either take away the lesser and replace it with something greater. In other words, put that down so you can pick that up. Or, He will take away the lesser so you can dedicate more time and energy to the greater. You’re carrying 3 items, God says put one down.

Again, perspective is imperative - we must look at pruning relationally, holistically and in terms or lesser/greater. Now, as we keep those perspectives in mind, I believe there are

that I believe God wants us to understand. I’m not going to spend a lot of time explaining these, but just enough to give us something to consider during the week.

Principle 1) Pruning can be Pricey

Look at verse

John 15:12–13 NIV

My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

- 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.

Luke 9:23–24 NIV

Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.

As we daily surrender our lives to Jesus Christ - and as God prunes, if we allow Him, we will become, as Scripture says, a peculiar people. We will live as aliens and strangers in this world. We will look different, behave different, we will talk different. As we live by faith, God will ask us to do things that do not make sense.

Ultimately, being a disciple of Jesus Christ is pricey. It will cost us our lives, our money, our resources, our time, our energy, our calendars - sometimes it will cost us our family, our friends, our jobs, our comforts etc.

…. to love people in general is difficult. But as God prunes and calls us to love Him and others unconditionally; to love as Jesus loves; to love the unlovable often comes with a price and we can often get hurt in the process.

Principle 2) Pruning can be Painful

Remember, the goal of pruning is to bear more fruit.

John 15:2 NIV

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.

We know that as God prunes, He often cuts away things that we have become accustomed to or perhaps want to hold onto. And even things that we know are bad for us, can be difficult to let go.

But there are times, when God must cut deep to remove that which is deadly or harmful, that hinder us from reaching our full potential in Christ. And that deep pruning process can take years and be incredibly painful. E.G. after I surrendered my first District License in 2000, Susan and I knew that if we were going to have a healthy godly marriage, we would have to talk openly. We agreed that we could ask each other any question and we would have to answer completely and truthfully. That is painful.

On top of that, during my 6-year ordination process, the credentials board, every year would ask a question about that event and it would reopen the wound, and bring back the shame and guilt and pain. Every year I had to relive this and I’m thinking, when will this end? And I even considered dropping out.

Over time, we realized that God was pruning; He had a plan. He was stripping away my defenses, exposing things I was trying to hide - not only to heal our marriage and our souls, but so that we could bear fruit.

Pruning can be very painful, but if you keep it in perspective of relationship with a Savior who only wants what is best, you will understand that God is attempting to get rid of the lesser for the greater.

Principle 3) Pruning requires Perception

To truly understand God’s pruning of His people, we must think spiritually. We must look at events in our lives, good and bad, through a spiritual lens. If we truly believe in the sovereignty of God, and that He is working with us in every situation for our good, then we cannot live with blinders on. We must be spiritually perceptive of what is happening in our lives and in the lives of others.

1 Corinthians 2:14–16 NLT

But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means. Those who are spiritual can evaluate all things, but they themselves cannot be evaluated by others. For, “Who can know the Lord’s thoughts? Who knows enough to teach him?” But we understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ.

Principle 4) Pruning requires Patience

Philippians 1:6 NIV

being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Principle 4) Pruning requires Patience

- … being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Pruning is a lifelong journey of transforming the disciple into Christlikeness, and it calls for a tremendous amount of patience. tells us to be patient with everyone - that’s patience toward others and toward self.

Principle 5) Pruning has a Prize

Philippians 3:7–9 NIV

But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.

But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him ….

Philippians 3:7–8 NIV

But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ

Phil.

According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.

1 Thessalonians 4:15–17 NIV

According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.

If that doesn’t excite you …

I believe the last two principles are the most important.

Principle 6) Pruning is to Prepare

Hebrews 13:20–21 NIV

Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

The word Equip (katartizō, καταρτίζω) means to make someone completely adequate or sufficient for something.

And we know that from

Listen carefully, good works is plural. So get out of your mind that God has only one big work or calling for you to do. There may be one primary work, but even within that there are multiple works to do. So understand that God has plans for you; purposes for you; tasks for you - again, all in the context of relationship, but regardless of what the works are, there is always a season of preparing.

Ephesians 2:10 NIV

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Listen carefully, good works is plural. So get out of your mind that God has only one big work or calling for you to do. There may be one primary work, but even within that there are multiple works to do. So understand that God has plans for you; purposes for you; tasks for you - again, all in the context of relationship, but regardless of what the works are, there is always a season of preparing.

Principle 7) Pruning is to Purify

In my opinion, this is the most important one. I could quote a bunch of Scripture about the call to purity and holiness. You can do the homework, you can open nearly any page in the Bible and you’ll find something about purity.

There is a huge need in our world for Christian men and women, young and old to regain a pure and moral character and image. No doubt God desires our moral and spiritual purity, and He will prune to get us there. However, I think there is something we often miss when it comes to the purpose of pruning.

When God cuts and prunes and removes things from our lives, for the purpose of purity,

He is attempting to restore the Garden of Eden in our souls.

He is attempting to restore our innocence. Not just talking sexual innocence, but complete holistic innocence - emotional, mental, physical and spiritual purity. There was a time when man and woman could walk through the garden naked - with no corrupt thoughts, corrupt will, or corrupt behavior.

Now, we know that all have sinned and fallen short of the moral standards of God. No one is innocent in God’s sight. That is the primary reason we need a sinless Savior - one who can cleanse us from all guilt, and save us from all sin, and who can justify us before a Holy God.

Now, putting that aside for a moment ….

For some of you, your innocence (again, think holistically) was ripped away from you …. For others, you surrendered your innocence. For some, maybe it’s both … and where you’re at on that pendulum, only you and God know, but know this … whenever God cuts away, it’s for the purpose of healing, wholeness and restoring purity.

When it comes to my own children, children in general, it angers me when innocent little children, see and experience what children should never see and experience. And as parents, sometimes we need to prune away some junk in an effort to restore purity.

I think all pruning that God does, if we put it into the right perspective - relationship, holistically and lesser / greater, can be summarized under those last two principles - to prepare and to purify.

What now?

If you have never trusted in Christ Jesus …

John 3:16 NIV

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Romans 10:9–10 NIV

If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.

Look at little differently at your circumstances …

If you have trusted in Christ, then ask the Holy Spirit to tell you what He wants you to know.