Fruit Of The Spirit (Bible Study) – Longsuffering And Kindness Series

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This week’s study will give you a thorough understanding of why we should never pray for longsuffering (slow to anger, patience), or any other fruit in our lives. Once we learn to use the other fruit, patience and kindness is easy! We’ll study that all this week.

Next week will probably be the last, depending on how the Holy Spirit leads. I hope you already feel excited and ready to allow the Holy Spirit to lead you into producing more fruit. Once you live life as a very productive Christian, you’ll never want to go back! Even just having a willing heart and desiring change will bring a blessing; because the Holy Spirit steps in, strengthens you, and helps you. Also, I’m believing with you and praying over you that you’ll build on this revelational knowledge in your own life and use it to minister to others.

But first, who did their homework?

- Did anyone pay attention to their thought life? It’s a very important part of following Christ and growing.

- I’m going to assume everyone followed the New Testament saying, “If you can’t think anything nice, don’t think anything at all.” It is very difficult at first, but once you’re determined to set that love rule in motion the Holy Spirit jumps in and helps you.

- What about claiming blessings on past situations? Did you notice a difference?

Let’s jump into this week’s study, but first our fruit scripture!

Galatians 5:22-23 NKJV

22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

Longsuffering, no one I know likes this word! The Greek word for longsuffering is makrothumia and means patience, and it’s sometimes translated to slow to anger. That’s a little easier to accept. We’re told in Psalm 103:8 that God is “slow to anger and abounding in mercies.” While any verse describing God’s Character should describe us, we have our flesh nature to deal with.

Anger isn’t necessarily bad. The Bible does say in

James 1:19-20 NKJV

19So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; 20for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.

The Original Hebrew manuscript says, “For the anger of the sons of man does not do that which is good before Yahweh.” There is such a thing as righteous anger. It you find out children are being harmed, and you’re angry and want to protect them, that’s righteous anger. If you find out someone in the church is stealing money from people one by one and you become angry, that’s not a wrong or bad response. Now, if you decided to take a baseball bat and take matters into your own hands, it’s a problem before the government and the Lord! The rule to anger is…

Ephesians 4:26 NKJV,

“Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath,

Anger is bad when we become emotion ruled, anger ruled, as opposed to being spirit ruled. Human anger is like poison. Righteous anger for example, takes the matter before the Lord to inquire how to solve the problem. Human anger, as we read in James, “anger of man does not do that which is good before Yahweh,” isn’t good because it wants or better yet demands a punishment. Normally, it’s something worse than the crime! You wouldn’t go around randomly thinking, “I want to kick you in the butt. I want to bash your heads in.” Oh no, we love Jesus and a bashed in head is a serious deadly life altering injury. If someone makes you mad enough, then you might say, “I want to bash their head in. I want to beat them with a baseball bat. I want to kick ‘em in the butt… to the middle of next week.” We’re all guilty of human anger at some point.

Let’s be honest, we all have something called “pet peeves,” a low tolerance for someone or something that agitates us. I looked up some common things that agitate people: chewing noises, repetitive tapping, interrupting, texting during a meal or while talking, scraping teeth on a utensil, scratching a chalkboard, speaking in typing shortcuts (TMI, BRB, POV), someone driving slow when you’re late, too much perfume/cologne, typing in all caps, and not replacing toilet paper. While those are silly things that agitate us, except the toilet paper, there are more serious offenses like gossip, slander, theft, lying, betraying, and other hurtful behavior we have to endure. Dealing with pet peeves, or these little unimportant things, that agitate us will help us grow so when a difficult situation arises, we’ve already trained for it.