Recently I had a vision. In this vision, there was a pastor holding up a dead branch. He was in front of a congregation and was waving the dead branch at the congregation yelling, "It's your fault you know! If you all would get sin out of your lives, this might bear some fruit!"

Then an intercessor grabbed the dead branch and began striving earnestly in prayer. "If we all just pray harder," the intercessor yelled, "this will bear some fruit!" And the person begin to travail, "laboring" over the dead branch with moaning and groaning.

Then a prophet grabbed the dead branch and said, "I prophesy life to this dead branch. Fruit will come forth NOW!" But the dead branch remained a dead branch.

(While I watched this scene playing out, I wondered why no one was speaking up. Why wouldn't anyone point out the obvious? It was a DEAD BRANCH.)

Then a worshipper came and waved a banner over the dead branch. Nothing happened. A dance team danced around the branch. The branch was picked up and marched around the sanctuary and lifted high, but still, no fruit.

No one was willing to call the DEAD BRANCH a DEAD BRANCH. No one was willing to speak the truth. So the dead branch remained, and the people were being told to continue to strive to bring fruit out of a dead branch.

I feel that the Lord is saying, "Condemnation won't bring forth fruit. Striving won't bring forth fruit. Presumption won't bring forth fruit. Drama won't bring forth fruit. Where is the honesty? Where is the humility? Where is the one who will say, 'Oh Lord, we don't know what to do, but our eyes are on You?' For I tell you the truth. It is My mercy that thwarts men's efforts to produce fruit separated from the vine. Abide in Me. If I have pruned the branch, if I have cut it off and cast it aside, who are you to retain it? Do you think by your many efforts you will produce fruit? I am searching for the people who get their life from the living Vine. I am calling those who will not call those things that are not as if they are. I am looking for those who walk in TRUTH."

It is time to stop calling presumption - "faith". It is time to stop calling condemnation - "conviction". It is time to stop calling witchcraft - "worship".

BIOGRAPHICAL INFO AND FURTHER COMMENTS ON THE DEAD BRANCH VISION

I have been married for 12 years and I'm the mother of 5 children. I live in Okinawa, Japan, where our family is stationed with the U.S. Air Force. We fellowship at Kadena Community Church International - a non-denominational church with a primary focus on the prophetic, intercessory prayer, and evangelism.

Our pastors originally led us to the Lord 11 years ago when we all lived in Colorado Springs, CO.

As far as my interpretation of the vision, I had the opportunity to answer two people that had a negative reaction to the word. This is part of my response.

I am not against faith, hope or love. I am not against mercy. I am not against the prophetic. I think the word was more a response to manipulations that look "religious". I think it was an exhortation to truth in the inward places. I believe the place that we go wrong with dead branches is when we *do not* look to God or trust Him for life. So we agree on this point. (in trust and faith we rely on God to bring forth life) The main point I think was that we can not manipulate or coerce life from the dead branch.

I believe this word was dealing with the presumption of acting apart from hearing, of having a form of godliness with no power, of following a formula that may have once obtained results, but is no longer what the Lord is doing.

As one who is in the prophetic/charismatic/revival type movement, I do not have any axe to grind about the validity of prophecy, or tongues, or intercession, or any of the things in the vision. I do not wish to speak from a critical spirit and feel that it is important that you know my background so that you know I'm not a dispensationalist railing against the gifts of the Spirit. Thank you for offering me the opportunity to do that.

God bless you,
Susan Hook, Okinawa, Japan

PS - it occurs to me that I did not have the interpretation of what the dead branch is. I'm sorry. This remains closed to me. I haven't heard the Lord tell me what it is specifically.