Last week we discussed being created in God’s image. His character.
I went home and that message began to percolate inside me.
That night, not long before we went to bed, I told Lisa “I’ve got nothing for next week”.
The next morning, my prayer was about Walking by the Fruit of the Spirit.
About 5 minutes after we got on the road to work, my phone rang.
I saw who it was and my immediate thought was “I don’t have the patience to deal with that today”. Don’t worry, it wasn’t any of you!
Realize that about two minutes before that, i Lisa and I were talking about fruit of the Spirit:
Love, joy, peace; patience, kindness, goodness; faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
Epic fail, two hours out of the box!
We laughed a little bit, but the sting was there for me.
A few minutes after that I told Lisa, it was just revealed to me what Sunday’s (today’s) sermon would be, and that it would be a 3 part series.
Paul’s letter to the Galatians was written about 47 A.D.
It was written after his first journey that included Galatia, with is now part of modern day Turkey.
The purpose of his letter was to refute the Judaizers(Ju-DAY-I-zers) (a faction of Jewish Christians) who taught that Gentile believers must obey the Jewish law in order to be saved and to call Christians to faith and freedom in Christ.
By most scholarly accounts, this was the first epistle Paul wrote.
Galatians is broken down into 3 parts:
Chapter 1-2 Paul presents the authenticity of the Gospel
Chapter 3-4 He explains the Superiority of the Gospel
Chapter 5-6 He lays out our freedom in Christ
Stand with me as we honor God while reading His word.
-Read from my bible-
When He leads us, He produces fruit in us.
The fruit of the Spirit is the spontaneous work of the Holy Spirit in us.
He produces the character traits that are found in the nature of Christ.
The evidence of the fruit of the Spirit is the mark of the progress in our sanctification.
John 15:4–5 “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”
If we are to produce fruit of the Spirit, we are to abide in Christ.
Let’s consider a couple of verses how Paul sets up verses 22-23.
Galatians 5:1 “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.”
Paul is writing of the freedom from belief that salvation is obtained by following Jewish law, and that yoke of bondage is sin in the flesh.
Galatians 5:16 “I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.”
Paul is writing with such conviction of the Holy Spirit here.
Walk in the Spirit, and you won’t fulfill the lust of the flesh.
Let’s look at:
Galatians 5:6–8 “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love. You ran well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? This persuasion does not come from Him who calls you.”
The Jewish Christians were teaching the Gentiles that only through circumcision, (part of Jewish law), can they obtain salvation.
Paul is condemning false teaching, and only Jesus brings salvation.
Listen how he begins the Epistle to the Galatians.
Galatians 1:6 “I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel,”
Before we unbox the first 3 listed of the fruit of the Spirit, let’s look at one more verse, the second part of v23.
Galatians 5:23 ... Against such there is no law.” Paul is telling the Galatians that no law can condemn one who has the fruit of the Spirit inside them.
For fruit of the Spirit to be produced in us, Jesus says this:
John 15:1–4 ““I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.”
John 15:5–8 ““I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.”
In those 8 verses, Jesus uses the word abide (or remain) 7 times! Jesus tells us we are to abide or remain in Him and He in us. This is not a passing thought, but a powerful reminder that it is a requirement of us as His followers.
Embarking on this journey, as I began to seek opportunities to produce fruit of the Spirit, I realize how many times I simply blow it.
I blow it when I have weak prayer life
I blow it when I don’t be still and listen to the Holy Spirit
I blow it when I don’t respond, when hear and feel the Holy Spirit stir in me
PAUSE and PRAY
Let’s examine the first 3: Love, joy, peace
Love, Joy, Peace
Love
It is appropriate that love is listed first, as the fruit of the Spirit. Love encompasses the fruit of the Spirit. Each of these characteristics listed after love, involve love.
To love is risky business!
C.S. Lewis wrote this:
To love at all, is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possible be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries, avoid all entanglements, lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket--safe, dark, motionless, airless--it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. The alternative to tragedy, or at least to the risk of tragedy, is damnation. The only place outside of Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers and perturbations of love... is Hell.
Worldly love is all about me. Godly love is all about others.
Time after time, Jesus teaches of the importance of being vulnerable enough to love others.
But Jesus wraps is up with a nice bow in:
John 13:34–35 “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.””
I believe this love Jesus speaks of, is not a natural affection, but a supernatural fruit of the Holy Spirit.
Paul puts it like this:
1 Corinthians 13:4–8 “Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails...
(close Love with this challenge)
Y’all have heard me say this before, but I say “I love you” to Lisa, literally all the time.
To your mom, to your spouse, your child, or a loved one try this:
In 25 words or less, say or write “I love you” without using the words “I love you”.
Here’s a starter for you:
Those jars on that table last week, looked like they were filled with delicious jellies, jams and other assorted goodies, but the truth is they were filled with LOVE.
Each jar said “I love you church”.
Joy
Greek transliteration in this context: calm delight
Over the last couple of weeks I have mentioned Psalm 51:10–13 “Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And uphold me by Your generous Spirit. Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, And sinners shall be converted to You.”
For me, it is so readily evident of those who hold joy in their hearts. It is a joy not of things, but the joy that is IN them.
Oswalt Chambers wrote this: Happiness depends on what happens, joy does not.
James wrote in James 1:2–3 “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.” (use this in part two)
I love what Billy Sunday wrote: If you have no joy in your relationship with Jesus, there’s a leak in your Christianity somewhere.
Paul Sailhamer wrote: Joy is that deep settled confidence that God is in control in every area
Transition statement:
For me personally, it is this kind of joy that leads to peace!
Speaking of peace...
Peace
As I was preparing the sermon this week, this came to me
UNREST.
We all struggle with it.
Try taking five minutes, no; two minutes, and focus on ONE thought. Tough to do. This is a result of an all out invasion of our Spiritual privacy.
The opposite of unrest is PEACE.
Paul wrote this is Philippians.
Philippians 4:6–7 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
Jesus knew this would be a major struggle for us as His followers.
I am leaving you with a gift — peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid. — John 14:27
Those who love Your instructions have great peace and do not stumble. — Psalm 119:165 “Great peace have those who love Your law, And nothing causes them to stumble.”
I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world. — John 16:33
In peace I will lie down and sleep, for You alone, O Lord, will keep me safe. — Psalm 4:8 “I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; For You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.”
There can be no greater peace than that which flows from our justification.
I think sometimes we equate peace with control. When we believe we have things under control, we will have peace.
Truth of the matter is this:
Peace comes when we surrender control.
Peace we gain when living a Spirit filled life.
If you don’t have this kind of peace in your life, ask yourself what is preventing you from experiencing peace that surpasses all understanding?
Closing
When we have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, He is constantly, incessantly working in us.
He works as our compass to instruct us, lead us, guide us and empower us.
This working in us, will create in us constant renewal, constant change, and constant re-submission.
I believe this is the process of regeneration, and sanctification as we grow Spiritually, while we produce fruit of the Spirit.
But we are constantly reminded of the weakness of the flesh.
Paul warns us in:
Galatians 5:16–17 “I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.”
We will revisit these throughout this series, but here are a couple proofs of a Spirit filled life.
2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”
Romans 6:22–23 “But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Jesus tells us:
John 14:26 “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.”
Here’s an admonition about resisting living a Spirit filled life:
1 Thessalonians 5:19–22 “Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies. Test all things; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.”
Next week:
Patience, kindness, goodness
