Spiritual Gifts part 180: 'I am the Vine, you are the branches.'

Spiritual Gifts Part 180: “I am the Vine, you are the branches.”

What is discernment?

Discernment is being able to determine what is coming from the thinking of Christ and what is coming from doctrines of demons, 1TI 4:1.

When it comes to spiritual discernment, the Lord tells us that the way to know the real source of things is by examining the fruit.

Thoughts become motivations. Motivations lead to decisions. Decisions lead to actions.

MAT 7:16
“You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they?”

In Luke 6:43-45, our Lord makes it clear that the production in your life results from the thoughts in your soul.

LUK 6:45
“The good man [tree] out of the good treasure [seed] of his heart brings forth what is good [fruit]; …

and the evil man [tree] out of the evil treasure [seed] brings forth what is evil [fruit]; for his mouth speaks [fruit] from that which fills his heart [seed].

GEN 1:12
The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit with seed in them, after their kind; and God saw that it was good.

The first thing the Bible tells us about fruit is that fruit has seed inside.

The seeds inside the fruit are after the same kind as the seed that originally went into the ground.

The ripened reproductive body of a seed-bearing plant , containing the seeds and occurring in a wide variety of forms.
 

The Bible uses seed as a metaphor for the word of God.

1PE 1:23
for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God.

LUK 8:11
“Now the parable is this: the seed is the word of God.”

The kingdom of darkness sows bad seed, as the Lord Jesus tells us in the parable of MAT 13:24-30.

MAT 13:24
Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field.”

MAT 13:25
“But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away.”

The Bible has a lot to say about trees as well.

The presence of leaves indicates there should be fruit.

Why would Jesus curse a tree that was not supposed to be in season anyway?

The leaves on the tree advertised that there were figs there as well, but it was a false advertisement.
(Allen Ross)

Those who put on a show to draw others in by being outwardly religious but in fact have no spiritual life will be under discipline for that.

Beware of those who will devour widows’ houses but do not heal the spiritually blind or lame.

In the garden, the woman was deceived by the TREE (not the fruit).

The tree is what someone or something APPEARS to be.

They were hypocrites. He is saying to them, why don’t you at least stop the charade and dress up like the wolves you are!

The tree with leaves represents the image that somebody wants to project.

So don’t go by first impressions.
Don’t buy everything somebody is selling.