1. The Vine - #7 - The Cleansing John 15:3 ye are clean through
the word The one item in the vineyard where the husbandman spends
the most time is in the cleaning, or pruning. If the ground is
properly prepared prior to the planting of the vineyard, as our
earthly husbandman demonstrated, then it will need very little
attention. However, if the vine is to bear good fruit, the pruning
(also called cleaning or purging) must always be done with care and
diligence. That's why it was so appropriate for Jesus to bring this
principle up right at the beginning of the parable. John 15:2
...and every branch that bears fruit, he purges it, that it may
bring forth more fruit. Let's watch this short video about the late
winter/early spring cleaning. (Pruning to avoid Eutypa Spores,
8:37) The live link is on last page of Slide Share articles. Click
the link *1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iduHtVYBJDE
2. What did we learn? First off, we are fortunate that the True
Husbandman knows exactly what we need in our lives in order to grow
in a way that it will benefit all those who will taste the fruit.
He also knows what we don't need; the things in our lives that
would hinder the growth and maturation of the fruits. Michael J.
Neal, our earthly husbandman, shows that leaving just two buds per
spur, or two 'eyes' per branch, is the best way to start out each
season. All the rest of the branch is removed. This reminds me of
the principle taught about how 'SELF' can get in the way of our
spiritual growth, which can result in stunted growth, or even in
the death of the branch. Self interests can absorb our time to the
extent that we 'just don't have time' for a real, vibrant, growing
relationship with God. The husbandman considers every factor that
affects the fruit before the actual cleansing begins. The soil,
irrigation practices, fertility practices & plant health are
all items that factor into the decision on how the pruning will be
done. This makes me think of the many differences of the countries
in which Christians live, and how that must affect the things that
God does for His branches based upon their environment.
3. Proper pruning techs include the proper spacing between
spurs to allow for adequate growth and maturation, attempting to
avoid the overlapping of fruit. When fruit overlaps then additional
work is required to correct the problem. Give me some space, is an
expression we often hear, and although it is usually expressed in a
negative situation, every individual needs a certain amount of
'their own personal space'. The goal is to eliminate crowding, to
provide plenty of space for the branches to grow and space enough
so that the fruit doesn't overlap and detract from the growth of
some other fruit. The True husbandman knows what needs to be
eliminated from our lives in order to prevent crowding, which
distracts or interferes with the maturing of the fruit. Every vine
is different and unique like snowflakes, but the good husbandman
knows exactly which branch should be kept an which should be
eliminated. We all want to be a branch that is kept so that we can
bare more fruit during the coming season. That is why we want to
grow strong in our relationship with Jesus. Did you notice that; It
is the weaker branches & the ones that are growing off in the
wrong directions that get eliminated! Pruning too early causes
potential for problems since it is drier & the wounds take
longer to heal over. It gives more time for the 'evil spores' to
enter the wound & lodge their. We can count on God's perfect
timing!
4. Eutypa spores kill the vine from the branch backwards. They
are air driven & can land on the 'wound' created from pruning
the canes (branches). This is why cleaning the vines is being done
more during the early Spring now than in the mid Winter. The sap
'bleeding' from the wound helps to keep any spores from actually
landing & staying on the open wound. These insidious spores can
take up to 5 years to actually begin to destroy the vine. Pride is
insidious, just like the Eutypa Spores. The sap (Holy Spirit)
bleeding from the wounds reminds me that God's Spirit working in
our lives will safe guard us from 'the evil spores' that try to
enter our lives an kill our life saving relationship with Jesus,
the True Vine. Pride in what we perceive to be our own
accomplishments (our own good deeds or righteousness) tempts us to
live on our own accolades. Pride can creep into your life slowly,
almost imperceptibly, and if unrecognized or unchecked, it can kill
your relationship with Jesus, the True Vine. If we would always
give God the credit for doing all the work that produces the fruit,
as we should, then pride would never be a problem. That's why I
love this natural principle, that at least 90% of the old branch
must be removed every year for the new sprouts to shoot forth to
produce new fruit, each and every new year.
5. A quote from Andrew Murray ~ There are two remarkable things
about the vine. There is not a plant of which the fruit has so much
spirit in it... And there is not a plant which so soon runs into
wild wood that hinders its fruit, and therefore needs the most
merciless pruning. End of Season (Winter) Pruning from SF Gate dot
com. [*3.] 1. Grapes grow 6 to 20 feet of new cane every year. 2.
About 90% of the wood should be pruned off each winter so the vine
is not supporting excessive leafy growth and old wood, because
Fruit is produced only on 1-year-old canes (branches). 3.
One-year-old canes should be cut back or removed so there are just
40 to 80 buds per plant. This can be 20 buds on two to four canes
or five to 10 buds on eight to 10 canes, depending on your training
method. Fewer buds mean larger grapes. Here we see that SF Gate is
confirming what Michael J. Neal has presented while giving us the
reason why most of the old growth is removed. It is that fruit ONLY
grows on the new growth! This shows us that we need to constantly
be growing fresh new growth daily in order to continue to bare more
fruit every year.
6. When we allow God to work in our lives, He will always
remove just what we don't need; just what would get in the way of
our development of those things that will produce even more fruit.
We can also count on Him to Protect The Wounds that we may receive
during the cleansing. Here is how & why Michael protects the
wounds. Click link [2] to watch this very short (1:25) video. [2.]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rumaSPuDFQ4 I'll close this out
with one more quote from Andrew Murray: Blessed cleansing, God's
own cleansing! How we may rejoice in the assurance that we shall
bring forth more fruit. I have paraphrased a few more thoughts
below. Paraphrased: We use our natural gifts of wisdom, eloquence,
influence, or zeal in working for God, and yet as these gifts are
developed, we are in an ever growing danger of depending upon the
gift instead of on the 'gift giver'. This is why, after each
'season of work', God has to bring us to the end of ourselves.
Allowing God to remove all of us out of the equation, leaving just
enough to receive the power of the life-giving sap of the Holy
Spirit, reduces man to a level that God can use once again. All of
the Holy Spirit's efforts can once again be applied, in
concentrated measure, to the fruit baring branch. [*1.]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iduHtVYBJDE (8:37) Pruning to avoid
Eutypa Spores [*2.] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rumaSPuDFQ4
(1:25) Michael J. Neal explains why he uses VitiSeal after pruning
grapevines [*3.]
http://homeguides.sfgate.com/trimming-grape-vines-produce-bigger-grapes-55810.html
Article: Does Trimming Grape Vines Produce Bigger Grapes?
7. When we allow God to work in our lives, He will always
remove just what we don't need; just what would get in the way of
our development of those things that will produce even more fruit.
We can also count on Him to Protect The Wounds that we may receive
during the cleansing. Here is how & why Michael protects the
wounds. Click link [2] to watch this very short (1:25) video. [2.]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rumaSPuDFQ4 I'll close this out
with one more quote from Andrew Murray: Blessed cleansing, God's
own cleansing! How we may rejoice in the assurance that we shall
bring forth more fruit. I have paraphrased a few more thoughts
below. Paraphrased: We use our natural gifts of wisdom, eloquence,
influence, or zeal in working for God, and yet as these gifts are
developed, we are in an ever growing danger of depending upon the
gift instead of on the 'gift giver'. This is why, after each
'season of work', God has to bring us to the end of ourselves.
Allowing God to remove all of us out of the equation, leaving just
enough to receive the power of the life-giving sap of the Holy
Spirit, reduces man to a level that God can use once again. All of
the Holy Spirit's efforts can once again be applied, in
concentrated measure, to the fruit baring branch. [*1.]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iduHtVYBJDE (8:37) Pruning to avoid
Eutypa Spores [*2.] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rumaSPuDFQ4
(1:25) Michael J. Neal explains why he uses VitiSeal after pruning
grapevines [*3.]
http://homeguides.sfgate.com/trimming-grape-vines-produce-bigger-grapes-55810.html
Article: Does Trimming Grape Vines Produce Bigger Grapes?
