Juicy Fruit

Sermon Bumper: Juicy Fruit Commercial

// Recap

Week 1: Where are your roots?

The Parable of the Sower (really the parable of the soils)

The Seed = the word of God

The Path = people hear, but are so beaten down by life, they can’t receive anymore.

Rocky Ground = people hear, are excited about the word, but haven’t owned for themselves. They find their salvation through friends, parents, pastors.

Thorny Ground = people hear God’s word, but also the world’s word. Their ground is too fertile, allows everything to grow.

Good Ground = people hear, produce 30, 60, 100 times what was planted.

** Not about how much we produce, but simply that we are producing

The first root to break through is the radicle

We are changing the fundamental way we have been doing things, in order to get somewhere we haven’t been!

Week 2: Dormant Destruction

Seeds need 3 things to grow:

Light, Food, Water

Seeds are dormant! Meaning they are inactive and can be awakened simply by adding a little water!

Jesus is...

Light of the World

Living Water

The Woman at the Well

We understand again, that as we are rooted in Jesus, it is not meant for us to keep for ourselves only.

Dormant Destruction

Inaction = we remain dormant and the destruction comes to us

Action = we activate ourselves and become a destruction to the enemy

Week 3: Remain

Jesus is…The Vine

We are…The Branches

Remain:

We live in an instant society, and it is becoming increasingly hard for us to “abide/remain”

If we are going to grow deep roots, it’s not going to happen overnight, it’s going to happen through a process of remaining

Pruning & Removing:

Jonah: was pruned and given another chance

Judas: was removed

>> Introduction

>> Introduction

Galatians 5:16–26 ESV

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. 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

Walking By The Spirit

Tonight’s Message: Juicy Fruit

We will be in

Galatians 5:16-26

Galatians 5:16–26 ESV

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. 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

1. Walking By The Spirit

Key Verse:

Galatians 5:16 ESV

16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

Big Idea: “Juicy Fruit comes when I truly love God”

1. Walking By The Spirit

Your “Being” Makeup

Body - physical body, your skin and bones

Soul - mind, will, emotions

Spirit - faith, where God dwells

When we are “walking by the spirit” we are saying we are following the leading of God. We are not doing what we instinctively want to do, which most of the time is evil, not good, bad behavior.

Three Results of Walking by the Spirit

The Holy Spirit lives in you

This is the idea of us abiding in God and Him in us.

We are open and sensitive to the influence of the Holy Spirit

This means we are aware of what God is saying in our life.

When we have a feeling that something is wrong, we follow that feeling and stop.

When we feel God leading us to bless or take care of someone, we do it.

We pattern our life after the Spirit’s influence

Patterning is making something a habit, which becomes a behavior, which ultimately will become your character (who you are)

Evidence of Walking by the Spirit

You are going to look like Jesus!

Did Jesus...

Yell at his parents

Cuss at others

Brag about who He was

Live Selfishly

Have bursts of anger

Gossip about others

Instead we see Jesus...

Loving on others, having compassion

Bringing joy to communities

Being patient with very frustrating people

Constantly displaying kindness and goodness

The Battle

Forces of Equal & Opposites

If you have equal push or pull on an object it wont move.

If one is stronger than the other, the stronger force will always win.

Galatians 5:17 ESV

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.

There is a battle going on for control of your Spirit.

Your natural desire is directly opposed to what God wants you to do.

For us to wake up each day and not be intentional about our relationship with God - we are setting ourselves up for failure.

Ephesians 6:12 ESV

12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

Where are the boundaries?

In the OT, the boundaries were the Law of Moses.

It was incredibly detailed to every aspect of life; what made a person “unclean” or “clean” in the sight of God.

In , it tells us that if we are led by the Spirit, we no longer have to live under the law.

Child & Parent:

Wren's Happy Heart

This is the idea that if you are doing right, no one needs to tell you you are doing right. When Wren is obeying and doing great, I don't need to tell her what not to do. Instead, as a good father, I encourage her in her right doing and she is rewarded.

This is the idea that if you are doing right, no one needs to tell you you are doing right. When Wren is obeying and doing great, I don't need to tell her what not to do. Instead, as a good father, I encourage her in her right doing and she is rewarded. In the same way, our Heavenly Father will reward us with good gifts (fruit) as a result of our Spirit-led life.

In the same way, our Heavenly Father will reward us with good gifts (fruit) as a result of our Spirit-led life.

God essentially writes the law on our hearts.

We no longer will have to ask, “is this okay to do?”

We will know in our hearts that it is not right.

In most cases, if you have to ask, you probably shouldn’t do it!

2. The Core

…it’s all about LOVE!

Flesh Fruit

Adultery & Fornication

Fornication = Greek: porneia — meaning, use of a prostitute

These are sexual sins — all desiring love, but finding it in all the wrong places

Uncleanness (opposite of purity)

This covers other sexual sins as well as impure speech

Sensuality

Another word is, Lewdness

Meaning = “ready to sin at any time”

This is the person that gains attention from doing sinful things, they post it on social, they talk about it at school as if it is an achievement

Idolatry

This is putting anything above God

Sports, Relationships, Media

Sorcery

This is worship to the occult or other spiritual powers apart from the One True God

Sorcery = Greek: pharmakeia — we het our word “pharmacy” from this word

In the ancient world, and time of Paul writing this, people would take drugs as a way of interacting with the occult

This is trying to find peace, but looking in the wrong places

Hatred

This is deeply rooted in the heart and displays itself through actions

It is an inner motivation to poorly treat others

Enmity (Contentions)

Originally meant to rival for a prize, but drifted into a rivalry in which combat and argument is introduced

This is the person that is always finding an argument, even if it’s not their argument — they enjoy the battle

Jealousy

Jealousy = Greek: zelos — which is where we get our word, zealous.

Being zealous is a positive things, however

In context, this means to have something someone else has with wrong desire

Fits of Anger

Greek: thumos — a sudden flash of anger

This person can’t control their actions when they become angry about something — they are unable to be reasoned with.

Selfish Ambitions

Started out to mean "work for pay”

Over time, it began to mean the kind of work that is done only for the sake of money or reward

Dissensions

This is divisions — out society is full of dissensions and divisions more than ever.

Heresies

This is a more harsh version of dissensions

This person believes they are right, in turn making everyone else wrong!

Envy

This is like jealousy, but on a deeper level.

This person doesn’t want what others have, but instead is mad at the person because they have something

Drunkeness

This is not simply being “falling over drunk” but more of a heart motive

This is the person that drinks with the intention of becoming impaired (not functioning to their full ability)

Orgies or Revelries

This is the person that loves to party and is obnoxious about it

Things like theses...

Paul concludes by leaving the list open-ended — this is not an exhaustive list, but it sure feels like it.

As you walk with the Spirit, He will reveal the areas that need pruned in our lives

Galatians 5:21 ESV

21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Galatians 5:

“…those that do such things...” — means people that “practice”

This is an encouragement, because at some point we are going to fall into one of these, but that should be out of weakness, not intentional sinning.

Spirit Fruit

Fruit of the Spirit — notice the singular use here

It is not fruits that we can pick and choose which to have — it was meant to all be inclusive, one, a package deal!

Love

Really every item after this will be a sub category of love — they are the actions of love

Types of Love:

Eros — romantic & passionate love

Philia — love for friends & family close to us

Storge — affection & care

Agape — this is a decision, a matter of both heart and mind; it chooses to love even those that don’t deserve to be loved

All of the Flesh Fruits are the result of looking for love or acceptance in all the wrong places or just flat out the opposite of love

Joy

We aren’t dependent on situations around us to make us happy — the Spirit gives us an overflowing amount of joy, it becomes simply who we are

Peace

We have peace with people and peace with God

Patience

We continue to love others and love God over time

This is the idea of abiding/remaining

Kindness & Goodness

These are virtually the same thing, with the exception that Goodness has to do with generosity — going above and beyond

Faithfulness

This is a person that is reliable, you can count on them

Gentleness (Humility)

This person is teachable, not prideful

This isn’t someone that gets run over by a bully, but someone that is confident in who they are and who God says they are

Self-Control

The only control God ever gave us was the ability to control ourselves — and we struggle to get that right most of the time

The choice has always been ours

The Choice

When God created us, he gave us the ability to have free-will — the ability to choose.

Next Steps

Salvation

The Problem

We’ve All Sinned ()

The Consequence

Sin’s penalty is death ()

The Solution

Jesus took on our sin, and died in our place ()

Our Response

We must confess Jesus as our Lord (Master and Controller) & Savior (The One that Saves Us) ()

Share the Gospel (Plant some seeds)

How many shared the gospel with at least one person this last week?

Goal: have a conversation with 1 person this week about God.

Share your testimony

Ask them if they need prayer for anything, then pray for them

Reading Plan

Join our YouVersion reading plan - get the link in the Fortress Hub (bit.ly/fortresshub) No app, no problem: Read 5 minutes a day in the book of Mark — take a Mark Life Book at the Red Table

Memorize Key Scripture

Memorize the key scripture of , recite it in your Huddle NEXT WEEK, get a free cafe item!

​ ESVAs the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.