Growing Fruit: Fruit of the Spirit Part I

Welcome/Intro/Prayer/Scripture Reading

Greeting:

Good Morning Church! How is everyone doing this morning?

Series Refresher:

The Series that We have been going through the past several months has been called Growing Fruit, for most of this series we have been focusing on looking inwardly as a starting point for producing outward fruit. We are going to be wrapping up this series in the next two weeks as we move into the season of advent. I have really been shaped and challenged by this series to ask God daily to shape me from the inside out that I would bear fruit for his kingdom.

Prayer: Would you pray with me as we prepare our hearts for what God will speak to us through his word today.

Scripture: Reading: Galatians 5:22-23 (CEB)

Intro:

When we read that list does it make us feel good? If were honest, we quite often think about how we are behind on this list. As Elsie said, last week the fruit of the Spirit often functions as a mirror.

If we look at this list of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, goodness and self control, we may see it as a checklist asking do I have these?

On any given day, we might think, today I might be peaceful, kind and good but Im lacking on self- control.

We might say to ourselves I dont have the fruit of patience and think God help me grow in the fruit of patience. (Ask frank sometime about praying for patience)

But these are not the fruits of the spirit, but one fruit. it is the fruit of the Spirit.

Paul says in Eph 1:13, that we are in Christ we have the seal of the Spirit. As one pastor put it you were stamped with the Spirit.

The question remains: if we are in Christ and have the stamp of the spirit, why dont we automatically have these things?

Wether our conversion was gradual or a 180 degree change, how come we dont see the fullness of the fruit of the Spirit in our lives?

Transition: Before we actually unpack the fruit in depth of the fruit, I want to unpack this analogy that Paul is using and then walk through the larger context of Life in the Spirit.

Walking Through the Scripture Text

The Analogy of Fruit and Why its so Important!

Paul uses this analogy with intentionality and purpose! We can also think about fruit like vegetables in a garden.

How many of you have a garden? Raise your hand!

This year, Jess and I had our first full garden! I wish I had a picture.

Our neighbor came over with their rototiller and turned up the soil for us, they even gave us free hot peppers!

We planted cabbage, beans, peppers, cucumbers and what else Jess?

We planted flowers to keep out animals, we used our compost from the previous years, We did weeding and all the upkeep that goes into garden.

Our garden even survived a wild dog running through it over the summer!

Our cabbage failed, but we got plenty of cucumbers, hundreds of Jalapeno peppers, we had peppers coming out our ears.

Transition: Why is this important?

Well, did Jess and I produce those cucumbers and peppers? NO

Things like the Sun, Photosynthesis, the Carbon cycle, water cycle all the things we learned about when we were in elementary school, those where the forces that produced those peppers.

In the same way, could Jess and I have done things to hinder the fruitfulness of our Garden? Yes!

This is the same way with the fruit of the Spirit!

Its not our fruit, but the Spirit’s fruit in us! That is perhaps the most beautiful and freeing thing that we can hear!

It teaches us that its only by God’s grace and the Spirit’s work in our lives can we manifest this fruit!

our moral guide is the Spirit because everything good in our life is the result of God’s work on our behalf.

Yet, on the other side of things, It tells us that just like the gardens there are ways that we can hinder our own fruitfulness.

I started with this point because it is nothing we do that makes us produce fruit, but we have a role in the process!

Transition: Now that we have deeper understanding of what comes as a result of the Spirit lets take a step back and look at the larger context of the passage. Lets take a step back and look at this passage starting at verse 16. Read Gal 5:16-25 on Screen.

Two Ways of Living: Flesh and Spirit

Unpacking the Flesh. Sometimes we create this dichotomy between Spirit and Flesh.

When Paul says flesh, he does not mean our physical bodies- Gen 1 says that we were made very good. But in Gen 3, sin and evil vandalized what God called good and made what was whole broken.

What about the Spirit then is Paul talking about? Well, we've adopted the greek idea of that we are made of spirit and flesh, that our soul is spirit and our body is flesh, but thats not what the bible actually teaches, The Bible says that the spirit in us is in fact God’s Spirit. So we must keep these two things in mind when addressing this passage.

Guided by God’s Spirit and you wont carry out your selfish desires. Our desires are set against the Spirit and The Spirit is set against the selfish desires.

They are two forces that are apposed to each other. Whichever one we let guide us will lead us accordingly.

illustration: Dad, pulling me magically in the pool.

Paul talks about the fruit of “the flesh” the things that are produced if you are guided by your selfish desires. idolatry, drug use, spells, hate, fighting, obsession, losing your temper, competitive opposition, conflict, selfishness, group rivalry, jealousy, drunkeness, and immoral behaviour.

If these things are what you see in your life, it is the flesh that is pulling you more than the spirit. These are all things in the law that leave us condemned. How do we stop this spiral?

Give more weight to the Spirit over the flesh, like the story of the two wolves that live inside of us.

Yesterday, as I was finishing up my sermon, i was discouraged. God where are you in this? I felt God say, where have you made space for me? Then, Femi praying with me!

Fruit of the Spirit: What you will see if your lead by the spirit, if you give weight to the spirit. then what will we see in our lives.

love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.

Why does Paul say there are no law against this? Well, because these are things that will only bring life and freedom. When we see this as the Spirit’s work in us, by grace these things are laws or a list that we have to work to be better at, but a bi-product of the Spirit’s work in our life.

Paul hits this idea out of the park in verse 26 saying if we live by the Spirit dont just allow the spirit to influence you. but follow the Spirit.

Paul even addresses how sometimes we can let pride turn the fruit of the Spirit into something rotten!

if God’s working in your life, dont become arrogant.

How many of you have come across someone who is arrogant about the Holy Spirit in them?

Someone has told us, “I am anointed with God’s spirit I cant do wrong, as they literally fail to show love” Paul says dont do this.

I think its also important that he adds dont be jealous!

It can be hard sometimes to see God working in the life of someone else, and be tempted to jealousness.

Dont be jealous, but be thankful! A great example is the life and praise of my friend Femi!

Final Encouragement:

Application: What is God Calling You to Next? Share. Reflect. Share.

Share with your partner from last week about how is it going with what the Lord challenged you with last week?

Reflect:

What is step I need to take this week to walk away from the fruit of the Flesh in my life?

This can be a sin you know you are struggling with, or a tendency to treat someone, God will reveal it to you.

What is a step I need to take this week to allow more space for the Spirit to influence my life?

Restart your prayer life, (Come to prayer meeting)

Daily Bible Reading

Meditation

Again God will tell you, Let him lay on your heart.

Share: What God brought up in your heart to be working on this week with your partner!