DEFINING THE INWARD FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT
Fruit of the Spirit • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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DEFINING THE INWARD FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT
DEFINING THE INWARD FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT
INTRO:
WORKS VS. FRUIT
A machine in a factory works and turns out a product, but it could never manufacture "fruit."
When you think of "works," you think of effort, labor, strain, and toil.
When you think of "fruit," you think of beauty, quietness, the unfolding of life.
The flesh produces "dead works" but the Spirit produces living fruit.
22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!
MESSAGE:
When Defining the 9 fruits of the Spirit we can break them up into 3 groups:
Week 3: Inward Fruits
Love, Joy, and Peace
Week 4: Outward Fruits
Patience, Kindness, and Goodness
Week 5: Godward Fruits
Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-Control
INWARD FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT
FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT #1: LOVE
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love” (Gal. 5:22).
1. DESCRIPTION OF LOVE—1 Corinthians 13:4–7, 13, LB.
4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud
5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.
6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out.
7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
STORY: Bowen and Colton’s Race
13 Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.
Love is the essential fruit of all fruits: It can be seen in all of the other 8 fruits listed.
Joy is love exulting;
Peace is love in repose;
Patience is love on trial;
Gentleness is love in society;
Goodness is love in action;
Faith is love on the battlefield;
Gentleness is love at school;
Self-Control is love in training;
DWIGHT L. MOODY*
2. DIVINE LOVE
37 Jesus replied, “ ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’
A. Love that worships God. This love is shown in our attendance at church, in our Bible reading, in our daily prayer, and in our daily Christian walk.
24 For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.”
B. Love that waits on God—Isaiah 40:31. The love that causes us to wait on God will in turn cause us to receive strength and power.
31 But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.
C. Love that works for God—Mark 16:15. Love will cause us to fulfill the command of Christ. This command will be easy to obey.
15 And then he told them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone.
3. DOMESTIC LOVE
A. Love that shows—Ephesians 5:25–33. Husbands are to love their wives as Christ loved the church. Women are to love their husbands in the same manner. Love will bring respect and respect will increase love.
B. Love that shelters—1 Timothy 5:8. If a man does not provide for his family he is worse than an unbeliever. The husband should not only provide materially, but spiritually as well.
8 But those who won’t care for their relatives, especially those in their own household, have denied the true faith. Such people are worse than unbelievers.
4. DEDICATED LOVE
A. Love for friends—Matthew 22:39. Loving others as we love ourselves is love from God. The natural man cannot have such love.
39 A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
35 Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”
B. Love for foes—Matthew 5:44. We must love those who oppose us and show kindness to those who mistreat us. This may seem difficult, but with God’s help we can do it.
44 But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!
CS Lewis in his book Mere Christianity wrote,
“Do not waste your time bothering whether you ‘love’ your neighbor; act as if you did. As soon as we do this, we find one of the great secrets. When you are behaving as if you loved someone, you will presently come to love him. If you injure someone you dislike, you will find yourself disliking him more. If you do him a good turn, you will find yourself disliking him less.”
That is why the Bible says not to slander others because it only deepens the feelings of dislike or hate
FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT #2: JOY
“But the fruit of the Spirit is joy” (Gal. 5:22).
The Holy Spirit brings joy to believers, giving them an inner contentment and happiness which is not dependent upon external circumstances.
1. JESUS’ PLAN OF JOY
A. Jesus’ birth brought joy—Luke 2:10. Christ brought good tidings of great joy to all people.
10 but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people.
B. Jesus’ life brought joy—Acts 10:38. Wherever Christ went, He brought joy, through His teaching, ministry, healing, or miracles.
38 And you know that God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Then Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.
C. Jesus’ death brought joy—John 1:36. Because Jesus is the Lamb of God, we no longer need to make sacrifices. Through His death we have full forgiveness.
36 As Jesus walked by, John looked at him and declared, “Look! There is the Lamb of God!”
D. Jesus’ resurrection brought joy—John 14:19. Because He lives, we too shall live (cf. John 11:25, 26).
19 Soon the world will no longer see me, but you will see me. Since I live, you also will live.
2. THE POWER OF THIS JOY
John 16:24 (NLT)
24 Ask, using my name, and you will receive, and you will have abundant joy.
A. Joy in sorrow. Job’s life.
1. Job lost all that he had (Job 1:21).
21 He said, “I came naked from my mother’s womb, and I will be naked when I leave. The Lord gave me what I had, and the Lord has taken it away. Praise the name of the Lord!”
2. Job had faith in God (Job 12:15).
3. He knew God was alive (Job 19:25).
4. When Job was tried in life, he said he was like gold being refined in a fire (Job 23:10).
5. Even in times of sorrow, Christians may find joy in the Lord (Ps. 30:5).
5 For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime! Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning.
B. Joy in sickness. (Paul had a thorn in the flesh (2 Cor. 12:9). Paul knew that God had a plan and purpose in everyday happenings of men (Rom. 8:28).
C. Joy in suffering—2 Timothy 3:12. Persecution and suffering will come. Paul and Silas were in prison, yet they still sang praises to God (Acts 16:25).
25 Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening.
3. CAUSES OF LOSING JOY
One may lose the joy of the Lord. David prayed for God to restore the joy of salvation (Ps. 51:12). One may lose this joy by allowing:
A. Anger. When one becomes angry, he loses the joy of the Lord.
B. Criticism. Being critical toward others shows the lack of the joy of the Lord.
C. Sin. Sin always separates men from God, causing them to lose the joy of the Lord. David is an example.
D. Spiritual pride. This leads to criticism, as well as a fighting spirit.
E. Lack of patience. A patient person is a joyful person.
FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT #3: PEACE
“But the fruit of the Spirit is peace” (Gal. 5:22).
1. PEACE IS FOUND IN PRAYER
6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.
7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
2. PEACE IS FOUND IN SATISFACTION
9 Enjoy what you have rather than desiring what you don’t have. Just dreaming about nice things is meaningless—like chasing the wind.
Creating Margins in our life brings peace
3. ULTIMATE PEACE IS FOUND IN SALVATION
20 and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.
1 Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.
CONCLUSION:
These inward fruits are available at the moment of our Salvation