The Fruit Of The Holy Spirit Series

The Fruit of the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit Part 5

Galatian 5:16-23

(From Steve Meenho Kang, Live by the Spirit (Bloomington, IN: Westbow Press, 2022)

Currently we are going through the message series, “The Holy Spirit.”

During this series, we are examining the work of the Holy Spirit.

First week, we talked about the person of the Holy Spirit.

Second week, we talked about the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

Third week, the filling of the Holy Spirit.

Fourth week, the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

And today, we will talk about the fruit of the Holy Spirit.

The original disciples were not the typical candidates for turning the world upside down for Jesus.

They were ordinary people.

They wanted to be powerful and famous.

They even abandoned Jesus when He was arrested.

Then how can we explain their transformations?

Did they take a seminar on leadership?

No.

Did they start to think positively?

No.

Were they placed in a better environment?

No.

What was it then?

It was the arrival of the Holy Spirit that transformed them.

The Holy Spirit alone transformed wimpy, untrained, selfish individuals to godly people who turned the world upside down.

Once they were baptized and filled by the Holy Spirit, they were never the same.

They were transformed from people who used to bear the works of the flesh into people who bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit.

They did not look any different physically.

They did not suddenly become educated.

They did not acquire special skills.

No, they were transformed by the Holy Spirit.

They were changed from deep within.

The Holy Spirit alone transformed them.

It was the Holy Spirit and nothing else.

Some of us need radical transformations in our lives this morning.

We need radical transformation in our marriage, family, friendships, attitudes, personalities, habits, health, career, and our relationship with God.

Therefore, if we claim to be Christians, we must think about it.

After we received the Holy Spirit, do we live a transformed life?

Or do we have the old life that is not changed?

We too must be transformed from people who used to bear the works of flesh into people who bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit.

However, bearing fruit does not happen automatically.

We must do what the Apostle Paul told us to do to bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit.

I. We must consciously follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit (v. 16).

Verse 16 says this.

So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

The fact that we are forgiven does not mean that we will never sin again.

Once we are saved, we enter into a war that we never had to face as non-Christians.

We become engaged in a fierce battle between the Holy Spirit and the flesh.

And this battle will not end until we go to heaven.

Our every emotion, thought, choice and act will feel the pressure caused by these two forces.

In other words, we have dual natures in us.

When we committed our lives to Jesus, we experienced the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit came into our lives, and He now resides in us.

And because of Him, we have the spiritual nature in us.

However, we still have the fleshly nature within us.

Our fleshly nature is not completely dead, and it is still in us.

Therefore, on one side is our fleshly nature; on other side is our spiritual nature.

One is dark and the other light.

One is evil and the other righteous.

One is full of deadly desires and the other is nothing but life.

But we cannot control our fleshly side on our own.

We simply cannot.

But the good news is that the Holy Spirit resides in us.

Therefore, we must walk by the Holy Spirit day by day and moment by moment.

Then the Holy Spirit will guide us through our battle with the flesh.

We must choose to follow His lead and walk along with Him.

Therefore, you must ask yourself these questions:

Am I walking with the Holy Spirit?

Am I allowing the Holy Spirit to lead my life?

If your answer is ‘no,’ there are two possible reasons.

Either you do not have the Holy Spirit within you (i.e. you are not a Christian), or the Holy Spirit is there but you prefer to live your life on your own.

If you have the Holy Spirit within you but are not allowing Him to transform your life, why not?

Allowing the Holy Spirit to control your life may seem risky… but it is the best place to be.

In fact, it is the only way to live.

We must consciously follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit.