The Fruit Part One
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04-26-2020
Fruits of the Spirit
This morning we will begin our study on the fruits
I did a great study on my bible app
If you will recall last week we ended with the fruits of the spirit
And we understand that as believers in Jesus as children of God we are to produce fruit
We are to do the things of the spirit
And with last weeks sermon we explain that through scripture that the things of the flesh are at odds with the things of the spirit
Church let me be clear
If you are a child of God then there should be evidence
ie there should be the fruit of the spirit in your life
As believers you have given each of us permission to hold each other accountable and so we should be fruit inspectors
So if we should be producing fruit in our own lives we should know about the fruit of the spirit
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.
These are the fruit
It should be noted that they are different than spiritual gifts
The reason is because the gifts can be used outside of the spirit
They can be used in the flesh
The fruit cannot be separated from the spirit
It should also be noted that not everyone will be a preacher or a worship leader
But everyone who is a child of God should produce the fruit of the Spirit in their lives
This morning we will look at 3 parts of the fruit
Love
As we look at the fruit of the Spirit the first part is love
At first glance it is love that separates us and drives us
It is our love for others that separates us from everyone else
Last week if you will recall that Jesus explained the entire law can be summed up in the 2 commands to love Jesus and to love others
Then at another particular time Jesus says in
35 “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
They will know you are a child of God by the love you have for them
Do you understand that the first part of the fruit listed is the part of the fruit that will define you and I
It is what separates us
Jesus literately says that people will know you are a Christian by the love you have for them
Paul gives us some direction as to what love is and we often only use this verse when we are talking weddings or when we are talking about our spouse
But it would also make sense that this is the type of love would be the type of love that Jesus talks about that people will know us by
1 If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing. 4 Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, 5 does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, 6 does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away.
Do you understand that this love is more than just love between married couples
This is the type of love that you and I as children of God are to share with others
We are to love others as we love ourselves
that means that we put our desires on the back-burner and think of others first
because we love others we are to be patient and kind to others
we are to not puff out our chest and say look at me
This type of love does not poke the bear, and it does forgive, listen to me, this type of love that sets us apart from the world does forgive
This type of love that is produced because you have a personal relationship with Jesus Himself is not fleeting,
it is not a wishy washy type of love but a deep spiritual type of love that will be there through it all
Church as children of God this is the type of love that you and I should be producing only because we have a personal relationship with Christ
It is the love that separates us from the world and the only reason we have that love is because Christ lives in us
now we move onto the next part, notice we are not saying piece of fruit
It is one fruit with different parts
Joy
Joy is not the same as happy
Although I do believe that Christ wants us to be happy just like I want my kids to be happy but it doesn't always happen just ask them
Happiness seems to be more temporary and Joy seems to be deeper and more sustaining
Joyful does not depend on our current situation
It is because of a personal relationship with Christ that you can and should find contentment through whatever situation you are in
you might sit there and say but you don’t know my current situation, you are right I might not but Christ does
And you are not going to be joyful because of a relationship with me, but you can find joy because of a relationship with Christ
Joy does not always mean that you will be in a good mood all the time but when difficult times happen you also don’t bottom out
10 But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at last you have revived your concern for me; indeed, you were concerned before, but you lacked opportunity. 11 Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. 12 I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. 13 I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.
Paul is sharing with the church that because of Christ he has learned to be joyful in any and every situation
Church I wonder how many hands would go up if we asked you to raise your hands if you need to learn this
These situations are only temporary
This to shall pass
And often times we miss so much of what Christ wants to teach us because we are so upset or so focuses on a current situation
because church it is in the valleys that growth happens
Paul had every right to be upset
He was in jail because he was preaching Christ
But through every situation Paul was able to rejoice because of Christ
Even in vs 13 Paul explains that the only way to be joy in any and every situation church is because of Christ
4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!
We are to rejoice in the Lord
This part of the fruit church is only produced because of a personal relationship with Christ
there is no joy in lost people
now we move to Peace
Peace
I know this is all something right now that we would greatly desire to have in our lives
Peace is something that you know when you have it and you know when you don’t
church we have preached on this
peace is standing on the promises of Christ
Peace is tethering yourself to the anchor when the storm comes
Peace is finding rest in the midst of the storm
Church that only happens through a personal relationship with Christ
Peace does not come from your bank account or how many friends you have or how popular you are on social media
Peace only comes from the creator of the universe and as Children of God He lives inside us
Church to stand on the promises of Christ
you need to know the promises of Christ
which means church you have to be reading the Bible
Each of you have a Bible and if not email me and we will get you one
But we need to be reading it and re reading it and re reading it and re reading it
4 “Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! 5 “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 “These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. 7 “You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. 8 “You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. 9 “You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
Church we are to be talking about the Bible all the time
We are to be teaching it to our children anytime the opportunity arises and if you talk about it all the time, that opportunity arises a lot
Emma and I were watching God’s not Dead and I had to pause the movie a few different times to explain to her Gods plan
And how often times we only see a small part of it
But that we can trust in God because He sees the bigger part of the plan
We should be looking for opportunities to bring it up in conversation
Church that only happens through when you read it
There is no way around it
There is no cliff notes to the Bible
I look at Spiritual Giants in my own life and when they send me verses or when they ask me questions about scripture and begin to share
I sit there and go wow how do they know so much and how to do they remember so much
You know why
I am going to share the secret with you
Because they read it
11 Your word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against You.
we are not only to read it but memorize it and dwell on it
The only way it will come up in conversation is if you have spent time with it
finally church
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
peace only comes through a personal relationship with Christ
and the peace that Christ can and will give you is nothing this world will be able to explain
Right now as believers we have an opportunity to be sharing the Gospel with everyone because of our current situation
Because church we are producing fruit because of our relationship with Christ
For the church this morning this is not a check list but a guide to begin to ask yourself questions
Am I producing fruit in my life
What areas of my life do I need to allow Christ to do work on
Which parts of the fruit am I producing and which am I not and why
then after you have asked those questions be quite and allow God to answer them and then this is key
Begin to do what God has told you so that you can produce the fruit!
For those of you who are joining us and are not a believer in Christ
You cannot produce this apart from Christ
It is Christ in you that produces this fruit
You might begin to argue with me and say thats not true, I can love and I have be happy and I can be at peace
The short honest answer is no
You can love but not a true and deep love
You can be happy but you will not be joyful and content is any and every situation
You may have moments of peace but just like happiness it will be fleeting and it will be dependent on something else
It is only through a personal relationship with Christ that you can begin to produce these things
This fruit and the parts of the fruit
This morning we want to invite you who do not have a personal relationship with Christ to begin a personal relationship with Christ
If that is you would you pray this prayer
Dear Jesus,
I know I am a sinner
I know that you died for my sins
Please forgive me for my sins
Jesus I am turning from my sin and running to you
Jesus please come into my life and be Lord of my life today
Thank you Jesus for saving me
In Jesus Name Amen
Praise the Lord if you just prayed that you have begun a personal relationship with Christ
You are a new creation this morning
If you prayed that prayer would you email me so that we can connect with you and talk to you about your relationship with Christ
Or maybe you already had a personal relationship with Christ and you made some other decision would you email as well
Church I want to encourage you to begin to study the Fruit and begin to look for it in your own life
Let me Pray