1. God Showing Through
A little girl on the way home from church, turned to her mother and said, "Mommy, the Preacher's sermon this morning confused me." The mother said, "Oh! Why is that?"
The girl replied, "Well, he said that God is bigger than we are. Is that true?"
"Yes, that's true," the mother replied.
"He also said that God lives within us. Is that true too?" Again the mother replied, "Yes."
"Well," said the girl. "If God is bigger than us and He lives in us, wouldn't He show through?"
2. That is really the essence of the idea of the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5.16-25
a. Contrast works of flesh and Fruit of Spirit
b. Vivid declaration of whether or not God is living in a person
3. Today we will begin a short series of lessons on Elders in the hope that we will be able to add some Shepherds to our leadership team.
a. In the series we will speak of the role of Shepherds as in Acts 20
b. We will make reference to the qualifications or qualities of elders in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1
c. However, a more basic set of qualities is found in what we refer to as the "Fruit of the Spirit."
4. A Fundamental Qualification/Quality for a Shepherd is to be a Man of the Spirit
a. This does not mean he is so heavenly minded that he is of no earthly good.
b. It does mean he is in touch with God and man
I. Fruit of the Spirit is the Expectation of Shepherds -- Galatians 5.22-25
A. God's Leaders have been Shepherds of his people
1. Some have been Good shepherds -- David; Hezekiah; Jesus
2. Some have been bad -- Ezekiel 34
B. There is a Serious Contrast with the Works of the Flesh -- Galatians 5.19-21
1. Not an occasional stumble -- there are no perfect people
2. It is a lifestyle issue
3. It involves victory over the evil inclination -- 5.24
C. There is Significance in Fruit Inspection
It's All in the Fruit
John Chapman, better known as "Johnny Appleseed," is remembered for planting thousands of apple trees in Pennsylvania and states farther west during the early nineteenth century. But planting apple seeds is like buying a lottery ticket; apple trees do not bear fruit identical to the seed that was planted. In Chapman's day, when a tree was found that bore a desirable apple, branches from that tree would be grafted to rootstock to continue getting the desired fruit. In other words, a tree was deemed to be good only if its fruit was good.
On more than one occasion, Jesus said the same thing: Bad trees produce bad fruit, and vice versa. That is, "a tree is recognized by its fruit" (Matthew 12:33-35: 33 "Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit. 34 You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil.).
1. Examination
2. Not Condemnation -- Matthew 7.1
3. Fruit reveals the connection --
a. It's Seen in the Fruit
In Hampton Court near London, there is a grapevine under glass; it is about 1,000 years old and has but one root which is at least two feet thick. Some of the branches are 200 feet long. Because of skillful cutting and pruning, the vine produces several tons of grapes each year. Even though some of the smaller branches are 200 feet from the main stem, they bear much fruit because they are joined to the vine and allow the life of the vine to flow through them.
b. John 15.5 -- 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
II. The Fruit of the Spirit is the Expression of Shepherds
A. This Fruit is the Spirit's (not Ours)
1. Holy Spirit is sent to Jesus' Disciples -- John 14.15-17; Acts 2
2. Holy Spirit is to Teach and Remind -- John 14.25-26
3. Holy Spirit is to Convict -- John 16.7-11
B. This "Fruit" is Singular
1. Generic use as in "Fruit and Produce Dept." of a Grocery?
2. OR, is the one fruit of love demonstrated in the other 8 qualities?
C. This Fruit (Love) is the Source of Life
1. WHAT'S GOD GOT TO DO WITH IT?
If you "Google" the word love, and you have to be very careful doing this, you will find all sorts of websites,120,000,000 to be exact. Here are some examples that you will find:
I love Dogs.com
I love Cats.com (Although this one is a plea to spay or neuter)
I love Cheese. Com
I love Lucy.com
We love the Iraqi Information Minister.com
True Romance Dating Service.com
Love Test.com
Matchmaker.com
The Love Calculator.com On this site you type in your name and your mates name and it gives you the odds of your relationship lasting.
The interesting aspect is that on all these sites, love is seen as almost an entirely human endeavor.
2. Love Goes deeper than human effort alone
a. 1 Corinthians 13.1-8a
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. 4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never ends.
b. Charles Swindoll:
"Kindness is a language that deaf people can hear and that blind people can see."
3. Love is the Key.
Joy is love singing. Peace is love resting. Long-suffering is love enduring. Kindness is love's touch. Goodness is love's character. Faithfulness is love's habit. Gentleness is love's self-forgetfulness. Self-control is love holding the reins.
1. Think of these qualities in the lives of our Shepherds as you consider who to invite to become part of our Leadership Team:
a. Love -- John 3.16
b. Joy -- Luke 15
c. Peace -- a Great Mitzvah (commandment) among Jews; Matthew 5.9 -- peacemakers/sons of God
d. Patience -- 1 Peter 3.20 -- God's patience in the days of Noah
e. Kindness -- Matthew 5.7 (merciful)
f. Goodness -- Matthew 5.8 -- Pure in heart shall see God
g. Faithfulness -- Emunah/steadiness; Matthew 5. 10 -- persecuted have kingdom of God
h. Gentleness -- Matthew 5.5 -- Meek to inherit the earth
i. Self-Control -- (also meekness; "He could have called 10,000 angels")
2. Joy in Jesus
I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth. 3 John 4
Every Christian parent knows this: Nothing brings the kind of joy that comes when parents see their children walking faithfully with Christ. Why does that knowledge bring joy to a parent? Because it means everything that a parent wants for a child is happening--progress toward maturity, deep-seated contentment and joy, and a decreasing attachment to the things of this world.
That's what the apostle John felt when he wrote his third letter to his friend Gaius. John confessed that nothing brought him greater joy than to hear that the Christians he had influenced were walking in the truth. John was joyful because he knew that his spiritual charges were joyful in Christ as well. When a believer is experiencing joy in his life, those who have influenced him are joyful as well. If a spiritual teacher or leader is joyful, it is often because he knows those he has influenced are also joyful. In short, walking with the Lord becomes a great source of joy and maturity in the Church.
The deeper one's walk with Christ, the deeper the joy. Let joy become the measure of your faithfulness in Christ. When joy ebbs, look for an area of life that is not wholly set apart for Him.
Whatever is your greatest joy and treasure, that is your god. Charles H. Spurgeon
