A Fruitful Life

Galatians 5:16-26 “I say, then, walk by the Spirit and you will certainly not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is against the Spirit, and the Spirit desires what is against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you don’t do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, moral impurity, promiscuity, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambitions, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and anything similar. I am warning you about these things—as I warned you before—that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The law is not against such things. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.”

*I want to get back to Paul’s flesh vs spirit language before we’re done...

You don’t have to convince an orange tree that it’s an orange tree…neither do you need to convince anyone who sees an orange tree that that is an orange tree.

Why? …Because of its FRUIT!

Matt 7:15-17 ““Be on your guard against false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravaging wolves. You’ll recognize them by their fruit. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes or figs from thistles? In the same way, every good tree produces good fruit, but a bad tree produces bad fruit.”

When salvation comes, the Holy Spirit awakens the seed of God’s nature in your divine design…that begins the process in you that we call spiritual fruitfulness.

There is a character or nature of being a Jesus people and Paul is identifying what that looks like.

So the questions, How does is look to be a Jesus-follower?

She is loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, marked by goodness, full of faith, self-controlled, and gentle in nature.

Why don’t we see this fruitfulness in Christians at time?

Principle: The primary reason Christians fail to exhibit the natural fruitfulness of their salvation has everything to do with the environment and atmosphere you allow in your life.

I lived in South Florida with acres and acres of orange trees…orange trees need a lot of rain and a tropical climate…so they flourish in the atmosphere of South Florida and other tropical climates...

But if you plant an orange tree in the fields next to Lake Michigan....!!!!

The same is true for you...

It’s why the Psalmist in the very first Psalm reminds us ...

Psalms 1:1-3 “How happy is the one who does not walk in the advice of the wicked or stand in the pathway with sinners or sit in the company of mockers! Instead, his delight is in the Lord’s instruction, and he meditates on it day and night. He is like a tree planted beside flowing streams that bears its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.”

Gifts vs Fruits vs Manifestations

Over this series I want to look at the ways the Holy Spirit empowers our life. From Scripture we see that he moves in the church in three main ways...

Gifts are divine graces in each believer that uniquely work to build up the body of Christ and participation in the work of the kingdom

Manifestations (miracles) are the supernatural breaking in of the Holy Spirit in our lives that gives witness to the lordship of Jesus.

Our confession is that the miraculous power of God is alive and available today!

Fruit is the outward proof of your life that Jesus is your elder brother (Romans 8:29).

The difference between fruits of the Spirit vs gifts and manifestations of the Spirit is fruitfulness is the supernatural outworking of the nature of God through your life. It’s your born again DNA from your Heavenly Father on display for the world to see.

Illustration: My dad and his hairless shins and jagged ears.

Love as the foundation of all the fruits of the Spirit

Love is the nature of God.

John 13:34–35 (CSB): 34 “I give you a new command: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you are also to love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

1 Corinthians 13:1–3 (CSB): If I speak human or angelic tongues but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so that I can move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 And if I give away all my possessions, and if I give over my body in order to boast but do not have love, I gain nothing.

1 Corinthians 13:13 “Now these three remain: faith, hope, and love—but the greatest of these is love.”

Principle: The battle in your life is not carnal vs holy or the material world vs the spiritual world…it’s really the nature of LOVE vs the nature of FEAR/SCARCITY.

Paul’s flesh vs spirit living… Gal 5:16-18

*Early in church history some began to teach that the things of earth were the evil things and we all just needed to escape those things to be in the spiritual-realm. (called Gnosticism)

Early Pentecostals adopted that teaching and made it into an escapism world view…

Paul is relating “flesh” not to the physical vs the non-physical/spiritual… For Paul resurrection and the Holy Spirit has come to make all things new again; spirit, soul, body, and all creation!

Flesh would be better understood as the “shadow-self”..that image-based part of you that is always striving out of fear and anxiety, control and manipulation, lust and wontedness.

So to live by the spirit is to live surrendered in mind, soul, and body to the lordship of Jesus.

Principle: Salvation has come to make your body fruitful, your mind fruitful, your emotions fruitful, your politics fruitful, your work fruitful, your home fruitful, your family fruitful, your relationships fruitful....

How can I live the Fruitful life of Christ?

Plant yourself in a place where you can flourish and grow.

Surround yourself with people who are fruitful.

Listen for the Holy Spirit’s voice and obey.

Make prayer central to everything you do.