SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the Spray United Methodist Church podcast.
SPEAKER_00: My name is Hoyt, and I'm grateful you're here today.
SPEAKER_00: Let's take a quiet moment to breathe, to slow down, and to remember that God is often working in ways the world never notices.
SPEAKER_00: One of the dangers in the Christian life is confusing performance with fruit.
SPEAKER_00: Performance wants to be seen.
SPEAKER_00: Performance wants applause.
SPEAKER_00: Performance wants people to say, look how spiritual they are.
SPEAKER_00: But fruit is different.
SPEAKER_00: Fruit grows quietly.
SPEAKER_00: A tree does not strain to convince the world it is alive.
SPEAKER_00: It simply stays rooted, and over time fruit begins to appear.
SPEAKER_00: And I think sometimes we place pressure on ourselves to look spiritual instead of allowing the Holy Spirit to truly change us from the inside out.
SPEAKER_00: The fruit of the Spirit is in Galatians chapter five.
SPEAKER_00: The Apostle Paul writes, The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
SPEAKER_00: Notice something important.
SPEAKER_00: Paul does not say the performance of the Spirit, he says the fruit of the Spirit.
SPEAKER_00: Fruit is evidence of a life being changed by God, not perfectly, not instantly, but genuinely.
SPEAKER_00: Now recently I had several frustrating days dealing with problems involving a tire on my car.
SPEAKER_00: Years ago, that situation would have produced stress, frustration, maybe even anger.
SPEAKER_00: But something was different this time.
SPEAKER_00: I still felt the inconvenience, I still felt the pressure.
SPEAKER_00: But deep inside there was peace.
SPEAKER_00: Not forced calm, not pretending everything was fine, just peace.
SPEAKER_00: And afterwards I realized something.
SPEAKER_00: That was fruit, not performance.
SPEAKER_00: No one was around applauding me.
SPEAKER_00: No audience was watching.
SPEAKER_00: The Holy Spirit had quietly changed how I reacted.
SPEAKER_00: And honestly, I did not even notice it at first.
SPEAKER_00: That is how fruit often grows quietly.
SPEAKER_00: What fruit really looks like.
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes we imagine spiritual growth as a dramatic moment, but often real fruit looks like choosing gentleness when anger would be easier, choosing patience when frustration is rising, choosing peace in the middle of stress, choosing kindness when nobody expects it.
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes the holiest moments are not louder moments at all.
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes they are simply moments where we realize God is changing me, not into a performer, but into someone who reflects Jesus a little more than before.
SPEAKER_00: The danger of performance, performance is exhausting because performance constantly asks, how do I appear?
SPEAKER_00: But fruit asks a different question.
SPEAKER_00: Am I staying close to Christ?
SPEAKER_00: Performance depends on attention.
SPEAKER_00: Fruit depends on connection.
SPEAKER_00: And the beautiful thing is this fruit does not have to force itself.
SPEAKER_00: When we stay rooted in Christ, the Holy Spirit slowly produces what we could never manufacture on our own.
SPEAKER_00: So today, maybe the prayer is not, Lord, help me look spiritual.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe the prayer is simpler.
SPEAKER_00: Lord, grow good fruit in me.
SPEAKER_00: Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, self-control.
SPEAKER_00: Not for attention, not for applause, but so that the others might quietly see Jesus through the way we live.
SPEAKER_00: Let us pray.
SPEAKER_00: Holy Spirit, thank you for the quiet work you do within me.
SPEAKER_00: Forgive us for the times we have changed appearances instead of closeness with God.
SPEAKER_00: Teach us to stay rooted in Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Grow in us the fruit that only you can produce.
SPEAKER_00: When we are angry, grow gentleness.
SPEAKER_00: When we are anxious, grow peace.
SPEAKER_00: When we are impatient, grow kindness.
SPEAKER_00: And when we are tempted to make life about ourselves, teach us humility.
SPEAKER_00: Let our lives point toward Jesus more than ourselves.
SPEAKER_00: And help us remember that true spiritual growth is not performance, but transformation.
SPEAKER_00: In the name of Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: Thank you for joining me on the Spray United Methodist Church podcast.
SPEAKER_00: If you do not have a church home, we invite you to worship with us at Spray United Methodist Church, located at eight oh three Morgan Road in Eden, North Carolina.
SPEAKER_00: We are a loving family who loves God and loves people, all people.
SPEAKER_00: May you your path be clear, your day be close with God, and may you have a blessed day.
SPEAKER_00: In Jesus' name I see this.
SPEAKER_01: Amen.