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TODAY IS ALL ABOUT BRANCHES!

1. Branches Don’t “Pull” Life — They Receive It

Science: Branches do not generate energy. They don’t pull water upward. Life moves through them via capillary action and transpiration, driven by evaporation at the leaves.

If a branch is severed:

  • Water flow stops immediately
  • Photosynthesis halts
  • The branch dies even if it “looks alive” for a while

The branch doesn’t work for life; it abides, and life works through it. (John 15)

Beloved, we must abide, and all those “works” that we desire to do, will flow from that place.

NKELE - is a word used in Mozambique that means to stay/abide/remain in. A powerful word birthed from the persecuted church. We must ABIDE

 

  1. Fruit Grows at the Ends, Not the Trunk

Science: Trees produce fruit at the tips of branches, not near the trunk. Growth happens far from the center, but only because connection remains intact.

  • Fruitfulness is not about proximity to structure
  • It’s about connection to the source

 3. Pruning Triggers a Biological Survival Response

Science: When branches are pruned:

  • The tree redirects nutrients
  • Dormant buds activate
  • Fruit production increases
  • Unproductive branches drain resources

This is not damage…this is optimization.

John 15:2 – “Every branch that bears fruit He prunes…”

Friends, what feels like loss is often God reassigning life!

4. Branches Grow Toward Light Automatically

Science: This is called phototropism.

Branches bend toward light without effort, intention, or awareness.

They are wired to seek light.

As we have read, Jesus is the “light of the world” (John 8:12)

 

Beloved, a healthy branch doesn’t chase darkness; it bends toward light!

 

5. Dead Branches Stay Attached Until the Season Changes

Science: A dead branch can remain attached for a long time.

It often takes:

  • Wind
  • Storm
  • Seasonal change
    • to expose what is already dead.

So what can we take away from this:

    • Outward attachment ≠ inward life
      • Going through the motions isn’t going to cut it!
    • Revival seasons reveal reality
      • And here’s the thing, beloved:
        • STORMS DON’T KILL BRANCHES…THEY REVEAL WHICH ONES WERE ALREADY DEAD!
  • (if you are reading these, please come find me Sunday and let me know )

6. Branch Networks Share Resources (Trees “Help” Each Other)

(I LOVE THIS ONE!)

Science: Through mycorrhizal networks (“wood-wide web”), trees:

  • Share nutrients
  • Support weaker trees
  • Send chemical distress signals

The simple fact: stronger trees support weaker ones

  • 1 Corinthians 12:26 – “If one member suffers, all suffer…”

Friends, HEALTHY BRANCHES DON’T HOARD LIFE, THEY DISTRIBUTE IT.

NOW, with that said, sometimes we need our brothers and sisters to help distribute strength because we are weak, but God, in His time, will allow us to be the strong and healthy tree to help others. 

IF there is something I know The OAK tries to do well, it is to have a mycorrhizal network.

Let us be the branches connected to the VINE (the Righteous Branch Jeremiah 23), that strengthen each other in all things! GLORY!