Be Fruitful
"But the fruit of the Spirit is...." - Galatians 5:22-23 (NASB)
I began a new series yesterday morning with the above mentioned title. For the next few weeks we will be looking at Spiritual fruitfulness according to Paul's listing in Galatians. However, we did not look at any among the itemized list yesterday. We began by looking establishing a simple fact of Scripture: God wants His people to be fruitful, or productive, in our life of faith. One major point that we drove home yesterday is the fact that bearing fruit is conditional. By conditional, I mean that we are going to bear fruit, either of the Spirit or of the flesh. The kind of fruit we bear is conditional upon the environment we establish for our lives. If we choose to make the things of God (Scripture, prayer, worship, communion with other believers) a priority, then we will bear Spiritual fruit. If we neglect those things then we will ultimately bear carnal fruit.
The reason I am informing you of all this is so that I can make one important point this morning. We tend to approach the fruit of the Spirit as a standard that we are to meet, much like a checklist. The problem is that we cannot, and will not, ever meet this Biblical standard in this manner. The fruit of the Spirit is just that, fruit. It is the result of abiding in Jesus. (see John 15:1-6) The closer we walk with Jesus, the more fruit will come to bear in our lives. Yes, we can temporarily exhibit portions of the fruit by willpower. For example, we can choose to be patient with those individuals that are difficult, but it will only be temporary. The only way to continually and habitually display the fruit of the Spirit is to abide in Jesus. If you want to be more patient, then spend time with Jesus. If you want to be more loving, then spend time with Jesus. If you want to be more joyful, peaceful, or gentle, then spend time with Jesus. He is the source of all Spiritual fruit. When Jesus said, "I am the vine," it was no coincidence.
I began a new series yesterday morning with the above mentioned title. For the next few weeks we will be looking at Spiritual fruitfulness according to Paul's listing in Galatians. However, we did not look at any among the itemized list yesterday. We began by looking establishing a simple fact of Scripture: God wants His people to be fruitful, or productive, in our life of faith. One major point that we drove home yesterday is the fact that bearing fruit is conditional. By conditional, I mean that we are going to bear fruit, either of the Spirit or of the flesh. The kind of fruit we bear is conditional upon the environment we establish for our lives. If we choose to make the things of God (Scripture, prayer, worship, communion with other believers) a priority, then we will bear Spiritual fruit. If we neglect those things then we will ultimately bear carnal fruit.
The reason I am informing you of all this is so that I can make one important point this morning. We tend to approach the fruit of the Spirit as a standard that we are to meet, much like a checklist. The problem is that we cannot, and will not, ever meet this Biblical standard in this manner. The fruit of the Spirit is just that, fruit. It is the result of abiding in Jesus. (see John 15:1-6) The closer we walk with Jesus, the more fruit will come to bear in our lives. Yes, we can temporarily exhibit portions of the fruit by willpower. For example, we can choose to be patient with those individuals that are difficult, but it will only be temporary. The only way to continually and habitually display the fruit of the Spirit is to abide in Jesus. If you want to be more patient, then spend time with Jesus. If you want to be more loving, then spend time with Jesus. If you want to be more joyful, peaceful, or gentle, then spend time with Jesus. He is the source of all Spiritual fruit. When Jesus said, "I am the vine," it was no coincidence.
The fruits are missing for many. I agree. We need to have that prayer life like we once did. Then people will change. Fruits will be flourishing. Good article. Read my new post at wait4myking.com
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