RJ - The Proof is in the Pudding

REMEMBER - CHURCH WINTER PICNIC 3:30PM

Everyday Holy Spirit - last week

3 testimomies of Ist time Holy Spirit encounters

2 Corinthians 6:3–10 NLT

3 We live in such a way that no one will stumble because of us, and no one will find fault with our ministry. 4 In everything we do, we show that we are true ministers of God. We patiently endure troubles and hardships and calamities of every kind. 5 We have been beaten, been put in prison, faced angry mobs, worked to exhaustion, endured sleepless nights, and gone without food. 6 We prove ourselves by our purity, our understanding, our patience, our kindness, by the Holy Spirit within us, and by our sincere love. 7 We faithfully preach the truth. God’s power is working in us. We use the weapons of righteousness in the right hand for attack and the left hand for defense. 8 We serve God whether people honor us or despise us, whether they slander us or praise us. We are honest, but they call us impostors. 9 We are ignored, even though we are well known. We live close to death, but we are still alive. We have been beaten, but we have not been killed. 10 Our hearts ache, but we always have joy. We are poor, but we give spiritual riches to others. We own nothing, and yet we have everything.

Attacks on the Church

Endurance - longevity

The proof is the Church enduring through the ages

Oh to be that kind of Chrisitian!

THE PROOF IS IN THE PUDDING- The proof is in the pudding is an alteration of the older expression the proof of the pudding is in the eating. The earliest records of the original expression come from the beginning of the 1600s. The shortened version has been in common use since at least the beginning of the 1900s.

The word proof is used in the sense of a test of something—such as a test of quality, worth, truth, etc. However, it is now often interpreted as meaning the same thing as evidence. The word pudding refers not to the creamy dessert but rather is used in a sense that’s more common in the U.K. and other places—a type of savory dish involving a sausage-like mass of seasoned minced meat, oatmeal, etc., stuffed into a prepared skin or bag and boiled. The phrase the proof of the pudding is in the eating originated as a reference to the fact that it was difficult to judge if the pudding was properly cooked until it was actually being eaten. In other words, the test of whether it’s done is taking a bite.

Cold pie competition

The reality hits you pretty straight away

What do people taste from you when they take a bite?

What is our attitude when we serve God? Is this our attitude — endurance through suffering — or do we shy away from hardship and discomfort? How do you respond when things get difficult when you serve? How do you respond to rejection or awkwardness? How do you respond when people get difficult?

1. Live in Such a way!

Do you know you get a choice in this?

What the world needs to see, tast & experience is the everyday christian in partnership with Holy Spirit everyday

Ephesians 5:15–20 NLT

15 So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. 16 Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. 17 Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do. 18 Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, 19 singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts. 20 And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Verse 4 - IIN EVERYTHING WE DO - Holy Spirit is available for your everday

Verse 6 - We PROVE ourselves by our purity, our understanding, our patience, our kindness, by the Holy Spirit within us, and by our sincere love. We PROVE ourselves by the indwelling residence of Holy Spirit & His fruit in our lives

It is His fruit in our lives that prove our ministry - HIS FRUIT

Not FRUITS but FRUIT - 9 qualities of Holy Spirit that demonstrate we have Holy Spirit living in us

2. The Fruit of the SPIRIT

Galatians 5:16–26 NLT

16 So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. 17 The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. 18 But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses. 19 When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, 21 envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God. 22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. 25 Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. 26 Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another.

The bible speaks a lot about fruit:

God expects us to bear good fruit - John 15:8

John 15:8 NLT

8 When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.

You can identify a tree by its fruit - Matthew 7:15-20

Matthew 7:15–20 NLT

15 “Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. 16 You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. 18 A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. 19 So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. 20 Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.

Jesus cursed the Fig tree - Mark 11

Where you are planted matters

Psalm 1:1–3 NLT

1 Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers. 2 But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night. 3 They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do.

God is the gardener of our life

John 15:1–8 NLT

1 “I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. 3 You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. 4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. 5 “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. 6 Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. 7 But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! 8 When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.

It is by the Holy Spirit we prove to the world who Jesus is - by the full of life, fruit producing beauty of Holy Spirit.