Galatians 5.22-23 Fruit you can't Fake

Summary Sentence: The Christian life is proven by the fruit we bear, and God calls us to grow beyond what we’ve been comfortable with.

I used to not like fruit at all. I am still working on developing a taste for it. I have told you my story before. I was in the 4th grade with Miss Mullineax. I can picture the class room right now with the stage and everything. In the back of the room our backpacks sat, and Miss Mullineaux who was probably one of my favorite teachers ever gave me one of my worst days in school. We had international food day. Now you know about me and food. I don’t like strange food, I don’t like mixed food, and at the time I did not like fruit. Miss Mullineaux I remember very clearly made all kinds of good food for the class and I was terrified that I would have to eat it. I desperately in my heart did not want to disappoint Miss Mullineaux so I went to the back of the class room and took my fruit and I remember especially the bananas and hid them in my back pack. I believe I lied to my mom and told her that I wanted to bring some home to her. Ugg today I eat some fruit. I wish that I ate all fruit. But that mirrors my Christian life.

There was a time that I didn’t bear the Fruit of the Spirit in my life. I probably hid the truth as best I could but if we are being honest I need to work on it.

Today I am bearing fruit, but I have some work to do. I need to get a taste for the Spiritual fruit and have my life get spiritual fruit in it.

He’s still working on me. I need to expand my palate.

So today as we look at the fruit of the Spirit I ask you this, where are you in your Christian Journey

Are you a 4th grade Scott Willson Spiritually, scared of real fruit that is so good for you, you don’t want it and you are hiding it from Heavenly Father but He knows the truth even if you are trying to hide it.

Are you with me. Spiritually maturing and growing in the fruit You eat Bananas Apples Watermellons Grapes, but you are still scared of peaches and pears even if you know that you want to eat them and you know they are good for you yet but you need God to increase your pallette.

Or have you achieved Spiritual Success? Have you arrived and you are an expert in all of the fruit of the Spirit?

You want to know what I think. Some of you are the first, Most of you are in the second, and if you think that you are in the third group you probably aren’t

The Fruit of the Spirit

Galatians 5:22–23a But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.

1 Love - God’s Agape Love

John 15:12–13 This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.

I find it very interesting that Jesus in John 15 on the night before He died on the cross when He said

I am the Vine and you are the branches bear fruit. That is what Christian do bear fruit. So if you are like me in the fourth grade and hiding fruit and pretending you like it but you aren’t bearing it, and you don’t like it and it is not evident in your life, you should be asking the question am I a Christian but the focus of Christ fruit bearing is LOVE

CHRIST’S LOVE on the cross is the greatest and most important fruit.

1 Corinthians 13:13 And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

There is another list of fruit of the Spirit but Paul clearly states that the most important of these is love. It is the apple of the Spiritual world the one that you need every day to keep the Devil away

2 Joy - The harvest of this fruit should be bountiful.

John 15:11 These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.

I am going to back to the I am the Vine passage. I believe that the most important passage about Christian Living in the Church is John 12-18, Jesus teachings to the apostles in the moments leading to the cross. Acts is the spreading of the church and Paul in the epistles encourages us to live what Jesus taught. But it should surprise no one that Jesus spoke of the Fruit of the Spirit when He said you have to bear fruit abide in the vine and that He is the vine. Joy needs to be great harvest. If Love is the most important than Joy is the most bountiful. So how are you doing? Do you walk around church, WOE IS ME!!! I did! But today the closer I get to the LORD the more Joy I get! Ask my wife 29 days out of the month I dance around the house in the joy of the LORD. But I still need to work on this because I get down. I don’t believe that’s natural. That is the fruit of the Spirit. I am naturally a Debbie Downer but when I laugh have the Joy of the LORD it is a miracle.

3 Peace - In a dark world, we have peace because of Christ.

John 16:33 These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.

Will you have problems in this world? YES OF COURSE! But the miracle of the Spirit is to have peace through it all. Bad days will come but Christians have peace. Peace is so good for you body mind and soul. I will tell you this. I run a half marathon every week. I get depleted. I hurt but when I eat a banana I can feel it refreshing me. I used to be scared of bananas but today I crave them when my body is in trouble. The same is peace to the soul. Our natural reaction is to cave to the chaos, God wants you to have peace

4 longsuffering - the patience to endure difficult situations

1 Timothy 1:15–16 This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life.

I get upset when people say. Now don’t pray for patience because you know what that means. My mother said that all the time. I said a minute ago… I want to eat peaches. I am scared of eating peaches, honestly if you try to give me peaches after church today, I am going to discreetly try to get out of it, because I am afraid that I will put in my mouth and gag. But that was the way I felt about bananas and strawberries as a child and I eat them today because I know that they are good for me. That is the way you should feel about patience. I may not like it, but I need it. LORD help me. In this passage it says that....

Jesus is the example of longsuffering.

Matthew 26:40–41 Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “What! Could you not watch with Me one hour? Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Jesus in the Garden is the example of longsuffering while the disciples were sleeping he was praying. Don’t give up pray, serving, reading, loving.

Longsuffering is worth it.

Romans 8:25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.

Don’t give up on that loved one that has walked away from the LORD or that child because if they make it to heaven that is all that matters.

5 Kindness - Genuine tender concern for others

Matthew 19:13–14 Then little children were brought to Him that He might put His hands on them and pray, but the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.”

You have to be kind. That is part of the fruit of the Spirit. We have to develop suprernatural kindness. I picture One man who stands at our concerts and fatihfully greets everyone who comes in. Another lady who calls on the widows, the homebound and hurting, another who actively makes meals every chance she gets, the man in our church who almost waits like a German Shepherd by the door for someone who needs help ariving to church. Helping those who need help with the door or getting things out of their car. I don’t picture the person who tells people, you aren’t welcome in this church, the man who belittles his wife everyday, the person who yells at customer service. That last one may take supernatural kindness sometimes.

6 Goodness - moral and spiritual excellence

2 Thessalonians 1:11 Therefore we also pray always for you that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of faith with power,

When Jesus was on His way to the cross did He comprimise His goodness. No He wasn’t a pompous jerk to Pontious Pilate. He didn’t spit back at those who spit at Him. Jesus was Good.

7 Faithfulness - loyalty and trustworthiness

1 Thessalonians 5:24 He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.

Jesus makes a promise and He keeps a promise

Over and Over He promised that He would come back from the dead and He did. There is power in His name. His word will not return Void. The gates of Hell will not stand against the Gospel and the Church.

His best promise is that He is coming back. He will be faithful.

We are called to be just as faithful as Christ was faithful.

Revelation 2:10 Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.

There are 5 crowns in the New Testament. I am striving for all 5, I hope that you are too, but this one, The Crown of Life sometimes called the Martyrs crown, or is it the Faithful's crown. Good question, but I can not control if I will be a martyr or not but I can control being faithful like Christ. I am going to rely on the Spirit to keep me faithful. You need him. How many of us had to tried to be faithful disciplined for a diet, for some new year’s resolution only to fail. To be faithful to the LORD takes

Let God make you faithful.

Philippians 2:13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.

The discipline comes from him changing your life not you doing it on your own, these are the fruits of the Spirit

8 Gentleness - meekness: An iron fist with a velvet glove.

James 1:21 Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

Man I want to be meek, I don’t know where I am with meekness am I good at it or not, I don’t know. But it is strength under control. I wish we would have a church full of meek men. STRONG CONFIDENT IN OUR LORD, BUT Humble thoughtful kind, the kind of men who will change a community. I think it would be something for all of us men in the church to strive for.

Meekness is not weakness.

Matthew 5:5 Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth.

Moses was the most meek man other than Jesus and neither one of those men were wimps. No but they had compassion. They didn’t roll in like a bull in a candy shop tear everything down and leave a mess in their wake. God wants people with tact, who will tackle difficult problems with strength under control.

9 Self- Control - restraining yourself against passions of the world

1 Corinthians 9:25 And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown.

This is the gift of being able to say no, controlling your tongue and not going with the crowd, doing right even when it isn’t popular. This is more than just saying no to a cookie at a party. This is guarding your tongue when you want to give that person what for. Some of us need self control

I have given you all the Fruits of the spirit today. If you have none of them evident in your life, that’s a problem. You need help. Maybe your like me and you need to Grow, you aren’t there yet, but God is still working on you. I ask you this today, which one do you want to TRY! To gain that to your repitoure of fruit that appealing to your palate. I will tell you I believe that God has given me supernatural JOY and KINDNESS. I want God to work on me with Longsuffering and Goodness. I am asking you to search your heart, what has fruit does the Holy Spirit say you are producing this fruit, and what two does He want does He want you to work on? Please tell me. These sermons aren’t just for you to hear and go about your business, they are for you to look in the mirror and make a change