PRODUCING GOOD FRUIT – BEING GRAFTED AND PRUNED

PART TWO OF THE BOOK REPORT: VICTORY OVER THE DARKNESS​

The Great Horticulturalist

God the Father is the great horticulturalist. Anderson uses the horticultural concept of grafting to explain our position in Christ. Grafting is the process of fusing one type of plant with another. Anderson notes that the only way to tell the difference from a grafted tree and a normal one is the fruit it produces. Jesus is the vine and we are the grafted-in branches. We are recognised as His by the fruit we produce. Another key horticultural technique is pruning. Pruning stimulates growth and optimises fruit production. Both of these techniques have the end result of producing better fruit. Our fruit will serve to either build ourselves and others up in Christ, or tear ourselves and others down. Our fruit is what differentiates us at grafted into Christ.

Pruning is optional

Over the years we may have produced some shoots that are either producing bad fruit or no fruit at all and just impeding those shoots that are producing good fruit. With our permission, the Lord is willing to prune those shoots, however the choice is ours. At the end of the day, spiritual growth and healing are a personal choice and responsibility. We need to come before the only one who can really help us: our Father God.

Shoo shoots

Some of these shoots are based on false perceptions we have been believing. Anderson argues that, “You are not shaped by your environment as much as you are by your perceptions of your environment”. When our perception is based on a lie we rob ourselves of peace and our fruit (our behavioural choices) are affected. False perceptions (lies) can stem from hurtful events, hurtful comments or they can be fed to us by Satan. Lies can distort our understanding and perception of our self-worth, our assurance of salvation or our perception of others. There are lies we are aware of and there are lies that are buried deep in our psyche. Pruning these lies from our thought patterns will free us to produce more and more good fruit.

Red-alert

To assist with the pruning process, we were created with a red-alert system, our emotions. When we have a negative emotion, it is a red-flag that either there is a lie that we are believing or a grudge that we are bearing. When we leave our negative emotions unchecked, our behavioural choices (our fruit) will be very inconsistent. Rather than reacting to the emotion, we need to use it to identify the lie or the grudge so that we can bring it before Jesus. We can ask the Holy Spirit to help us follow our negative emotions to identify the lie or the grudge fuelling them.

Abiding in Christ – staying grafted-in

As we spend time reading and hearing the Word and communicating with Jesus, we position ourselves for pruning and breakthrough in our lives. The choice is then ours, to choose to forgive those who have offended us; or, to choose to receive the truth that exposes the lie. We then find the corresponding Bible passage which speaks truth to that lie and memorise and meditate on that passage in order to assimilate it and internalise it. When God the Father prunes off the offending shoot it results in a renewed sense of liberation, peace and joy. We are then positioned for renewed spiritual growth and we are empowered to bear better fruit.

​Title:        Victory over the darkness – realising the power of your identity in Christ.

Author:    Neil T. Anderson

Publisher: Regal Books, 2000                                 ISBN:       0-8307-2564-4