Developing Fruit that Lasts

Introduction

The fruit of the Spirit has been the launching pad for many conversations and conflicts through the years

how many are there, what each mean, and how we produce individual fruit are questions many ask

Today I’m throwing a curve ball. We are going to look at the fruit of the Spirit, but we are not going to address any of them individually.

We are going to look at how we get them into our lives.

God wants you to bear fruit

John 15:8 “8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.”

Fruit is the evidence of life.

Dead things produce no fruit

John 15:6 “6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.”

The root determines the fruit

Galatians 5:16–18 “16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.”

cultivating good roots takes work

prepare and use (land) for crops or gardening; break up (soil) in preparation for sowing or planting; raise or grow (plants); try to acquire or develop (a quality, skill, etc)

we are cultivating either to the Spirit or to the flesh

walk by the Spirit

gratify the fleshly desires

Growing fruit takes time

Galatians 6:9 “9 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.”

in a instant-gratification society, we want results now

your McD’s burger may come to you in 3 mins, but the bun, veggies, cheese, and cow took much longer to prepare for your ingestion

investing grows with time and patience

Bamboo is fastest growing plant, up to 35 inches per day

Saguaro Cactus one of slowest, 1” per year, 75 years to grow first “arm”

Pruning is necessary for growth

John 15:1–2 “1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.”

pruning is done on both healthy and unhealthy plants

pruning (cutting) removes what is unhealthy; pruning removes what is unwanted. There is a difference in the two

Jesus is the source of spiritual fruit

John 15:4–5 “4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”

not behavior modification but spiritual transformation

fruit is a byproduct of our proximity to Jesus:

the more/closer we walk with him

the more/better fruit we bear

Conclusion

If the goal is to bear spiritual fruit—and it is—then the only way it will happen is a close and consistent walk with Jesus

Your walk Christ should bear the 3 C’s:

Close - proximity leads to familiarity; you become like those you hang with

Compliant - obeying and applying what Christ tells us; he says “Jump”; you say “How high?”

Consistent - regular, meaningful time with the Master; wishy-washy commitments are worthless