Fruit of the Spirit
Notes
Transcript
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faith,
meekness, and self-control; against such there is no law.
We have been talking about the Holy Spirit. We have looked at who the Holy Spirit is and what his purpose is. We have looked at the baptism of the Holy Spirit, why it is important. Last week, we looked at the gifts of the Spirit and their purpose in our walk as Christians. Today, we are going to look at the Fruit of the Spirit.
Why “Fruit”?
Why “Fruit”?
When we say, “fruit”, we mean the things that grow out of our efforts or situation. Fruit are the natural result of what you are growing.
In order to have an apple, first you have to have an apple tree.
A good tree cannot bear evil fruit, nor can a corrupt tree bear good fruit.
Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
Therefore, by their fruit you will know them.
To help us understand what Paul was saying to the Galatians, let’s look back at Galatians, to the verses just before what we read.
For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh. These are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.
But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
Now the works of the flesh are revealed, which are these: adultery, sexual immorality, impurity, lewdness,
idolatry, sorcery, hatred, strife, jealousy, rage, selfishness, dissensions, heresies,
envy, murders, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you, as I previously warned you, that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
The flesh is our human nature. It’s the part of us that got messed up because sin entered the world. Our human nature is to want whatever will make us feel good for the moment. When we make our goal satisfying our human desires, it builds in us the attitude that what I want is more important than what God wants.
And that attitude builds walls between us and God. The things that are listed are called the works of the flesh—basically, the results of living according to your desires. If you really look at these works of the flesh, you see that they are all about losing self-control.
So, immediately after talking about these these that produce the wrong attitude in us and pull us away from God, Paul talks about the things that will build the right attitude in us and draw us closer to God. As we spend time with God, his Spirit ministers to our spirit, and it produces these fruit, these qualities:
Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.
Let’s talk a little about these fruit of the Spirit.
Love
Love
What are we talking about here?
This is the kind of love that really cares about another person. It’s a choice to do what is best for someone else, even if they don’t appreciate it at the time. It’s willingness to put their needs above your own.
This kind of love is not normal for us. Human love is conditional. In myself, there is a point where I cannot bring myself to love you. But God’s love is unconditional. God’s love is sacrificial.
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.
When the Holy Spirit of God resides in us, He can love other through us. As his spirit takes root in our lives, the seeds of his character begin to grow within us.
We love Him because He first loved us.
Joy
Joy
The more time we spend with God, the more real he becomes to us. When that happens, we gain this confidence, because we know that the things happening in our lives right now are only temporary.
We have good times, and we have bad times. The one thing that never changes is that God has good plans for us.
Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!
You might be in the worst mood ever, but if you will make the effort to tell God how good he is, you will find that the more you do it, the better you will feel.
Peace
Peace
Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
When Jesus gives you peace, fear goes away. Even though the problem might not go away, you can actually have peace anyway. I told you before about when I went to the country of Croatia during the time they were at war with Serbia. I was alone in my house when suddenly machine guns were going off all around me. I was terrified, but then I called out to God, and he gave me such a sense of peace that I fell asleep. He protected me during that time, and other times while I lived in that warzone.
I had peace because I knew God is in control. I have peace today because I know that whatever happens to me is part of God’s great plan to save mankind. If I live or die, I belong to Jesus.
Patience
Patience
‘The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but He will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generation.’
God is patient with us, working with us to help us recognize when we mess up and need his forgiveness. He could just judge us right away; it would be within his rights to do so, but he doesn’t. He patiently waits for us to grow in righteousness and maturity.
In the same way, as we spend more time with God, we become more like him. We remember how patient he is with us, and that helps us be more patient with others when they offend us or hurt us. We don’t need revenge; we will be patient and let God decide how to handle the situation.
Kindness
Kindness
Kindness is the choice to do good to someone.
David said, “Is there still anyone left from the house of Saul to whom I may show kindness on behalf of Jonathan?”
Remember how awful king Saul was to David? He chased him all over the place, trying to kill him because he was jealous of David’s popularity with the people.
Eventually David became king. Normally in those days, the new king would make sure to kill off every person related to the previous king. This was to eliminate anyone who could possibly make a claim to be a legitimate heir to the throne.
But even though Saul had been terrible to David, Saul’s son Jonathan had been David’s best friend. Jonathan knew David had been chosen by God to be the next king, and he was fine with that. So, now that David is king, he goes looking for Saul’s heirs, and he finds one last person, who happens to be Jonathan’s son. Instead of killing the young man, David pretty much adopts him.
Instead of reacting to Saul’s abuse with revenge, David chose to show God’s kindness.
Goodness
Goodness
This then is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you: God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all.
We know that God is good. What does that mean? Because a lot of people misunderstand it, and they don’t think God is good. Why? Because they think that a good God will do everything he can to keep them happy.
The problem is we don’t know what’s best for us. We see things that seem so good, but they can actually be harmful, like antifreeze. There used to be a problem when autos leaked antifreeze. Animals were drawn to it. They would drink up the antifreeze, because it tasted sweet. But antifreeze, even though it tastes sweet, is poison.
So imagine the animal, finding this delicious puddle on the ground. Before he can get a full taste, his human owner snatches him up and locks him away. That poor animal is now caged. He’s being punished, even though he didn’t do anything wrong. When he’s finally released, he goes to find that puddle, but it’s gone. That wicked human made the animal’s treat go away. It sure doesn’t seem good, does it? The animal may be sad or upset. He may wait for an opportunity to chew up his master’s shoes to show his dissatisfaction. If only that animal could have the mind of his master, to realize that the master was actually saving his life!
When we grow closer to God, his Holy Spirit works in our lives, and we begin to think like he think and want the things God wants. We start desiring good things, not just for ourselves, but for others.
Faithfulness
Faithfulness
Faithfulness is closely related to patience. Why do I say that?
Patience is about holding on, not giving up on a situation or on someone.
Faithfulness is about not quitting. A faithful person can be trusted to do the right thing whether he’s in a crowd or alone at home.
Do people consider you trustworthy, or untrustworthy? Do you want to be considered trustworthy?
Your faithfulness is for all generations; You have established the earth, and it is firm.
Gentleness
Gentleness
A bruised reed he shall not break, and the smoking flax he shall not quench; he shall bring forth justice faithfully.
This one might not seem like a fruit worth having, but why is gentleness on this list?
What is good about gentleness? Is it the same as being shy? Is it the same as weakness?
A soft answer turns away wrath,
but grievous words stir up anger.
Self-Control
Self-Control
Everyone who strives for the prize exercises self-control in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown, but we an incorruptible one.
So, therefore, I run, not with uncertainty. So I fight, not as one who beats the air.
But I bring and keep my body under subjection, lest when preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.
We live in world that tells us to be who we want to be and do what we want to do. Earlier, we read about the works of the flesh, and we saw what a disaster it is when we indulge our flesh. Jesus tells us to deny our flesh, take up our cross, and follow him. That is something we cannot do without the empowering of the Holy Spirit.
That’s why Paul said, in 2 Corinthians 12:9
But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will boast in my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
The Holy Spirit gives me the strength I need for victorious living.
The fact is, you are who you hang out with.
Make no friendship with an angry man,
and with a furious man you will not go,
lest you learn his ways
and get a snare to your soul.
If you become like the people you let into your life, then how much more will you become like the Holy Spirit if you allow him into your life.
I’m not talking about an occasional prayer. This is about making a point to fellowship with him regularly and deeply.
Remember that the Hebrew word for spirit is ruach, which means spirit, breath, and wind. Ruach moves. Ruach brings life. When ruach moves, it makes everything else move.
We need the Holy Spirit, the ruach of God, to move in us. Yes, we believe in the miraculous gifts that he can impart to us. But those gifts are meaningless if we do not exhibit the character of God. The only way to have God’s character is to have God in us. That’s why we need the Holy Spirit living in us. He IS God. As we make room for him in our lives, his spirit becomes our spirit. His character becomes our character. What is the fruit of the Spirit? It is the character of God taking form in us.
I want a Christ-like spirit living in me. I need the Holy Spirit living in me to birth in me his character. I want to be a living reflection of Christ to everyone around me. To do that, I need to be an imitator of Christ. And what did Christ do? He constantly spent time fellowshipping with the Father.
