Slide 1-- The Fruit of the Spirit I: His love, His joy, His peace in Us
Slide 2—The fruit of the Spirit are the recognizable evidence of Jesus in us:
“Love, joy, and peace are the initial fruit produced in the soul of one saved by Christ and led by His Spirit. We make all kinds of litmus tests for finding out who are the legitimate disciples of Jesus. However, when God looks into a person’s heart and finds no love, peace, or joy created there by heart faith in Christ, it does not matter what other credentials a person may have (religious training, Bible knowledge, position in the church, etc.), that person does not pass the legitimacy test. You are not “in the Spirit” if the fruit of the Spirit is not in you to the degree that not only are you aware of it, but others are as well.”
Slide 3—Why did so many join the church in the first three hundred years of its existence? By believers being “the leaven of the kingdom”--
· Not great buildings and amazing meetings
· Not the worldly wealth and success of the believers
· Not the promise of prosperity or political favor
· But by the “extraordinary” Christlike characters of the Christians
o Their attitudes and actions of humility and love
o Their simplicity of dress and lifestyle
o Their radical generosity
o Their non-compulsory offer of Jesus and community
o Their care for all in the community, and those outside –rescuing babies from the dump
o Their refusal to kill others, even if they themselves were persecuted and killed
o Their display of the fruit of the Spirit under all circumstances and their assurance of eternal life with God no matter what
o The regular manifestation of signs, wonders, and miracles –especially exorcisms and healings: The baptism of Emperor Constantine (340)—“he was astonished at the supernatural manifestations that occurred at his own baptism”
Slide 4—The Nine Fruit: Galatians 5:22-23—“But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”
Slide 5-- Fruit Number One: Love (agape: God’s love, not dependent on the loveliness of the beloved)
“And the greatest of these is love” 1 Co. 13:13 -- Opposite: Fear/hate – a cutting off from the other—a complete rejection, demonization of “the other”
Not feeling but action: Matt. 20:28—“Whoever wants to be first among you must be your bondservant (slave). That is what the Son of Man has done: He came to serve, not to be served.”
Slide 6--Putting others first, yourself second-- Philippians 2: 1-11 – “maintaining the same love” –“with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves,” do not look out (only) for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others”
Phil. 2:4—Common English Bible—“Instead of each person watching out for their own good, watch out for what is better for others.”
NRS: “Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others.”
1 Co. 13:3-7 (The Message)—“If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don’t show love, I’ve gotten nowhere. So no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love.
Love never gives up. Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.
Love doesn’t strut, doesn’t have a swelled head.
Love doesn’t force itself on others, isn’t always “me first.”
Doesn’t fly off the handle, doesn’t keep score of the sins of others.
Doesn’t celebrate when others grovel.
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always, always looks for the best,
Never looks back but keeps going to the end.
Love never dies.
Slide 7-- Fruit Number Two: Joy – a natural outflow of practicing love—
Joy—the product of “helper’s high”
Loveless people are joyless people – The Helper’s High: “the state of euphoria reported by those engaged in charitable activity – selfless giving”
“Responding to pain with compassion, care, and generosity is the key to a joyful life.”
“I give myself the pleasure of pleasing others.”
Giving of self to others in the forms of time, money, and effort releases endorphins in the brain that provide a mild version of a morphine high. We are wired for compassion and compassionate actions—we are wired to experience pleasure when we have attitudes and take actions of love toward others.
Slide 8—Joy--biblical joy is internal happiness/gladness that is not dependent on our circumstances; derived from God’s joy in us
Opposite—joyless: unhappy, affording or causing no joy or pleasure—lugubrious; sad, depressed, miserable, dejected, dispirited, downcast
Zephaniah 3:17—“For the Lord your God will take delight in you with gladness…He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.” –Holy laughter is right and good!
Nehemiah 8:10-- “The joy of the Lord is my strength.” His joy in me equals my source of spiritual strength!
Phil. 4:4—“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice!” – note the focus on our joy—the Lord—we have joy because of Him and all He does and is doing—testimony, miracles, insights from Him give us joy!
Slide 9—Fruit Number Three: Peace “eirene”—life without conflict; wholeness, tranquility, calmness, restful, undisturbed, conflict-free (stress related)
God’s own peace in us—
“My peace I give to you. I do not give you as the world gives.” John 14:27
Eph.2:14—“For He Himself is our peace..”
Slide 10-- Peace in our spirits from the Spirit
1) rules/guides us—is indicative of God’s will-- “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts.” Col. 3:15
2) guards—our thoughts and emotions from attack Phil. 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 comprehension, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”
Slide 11-- 3) heals—our bodies, souls, and spirits from harmless effects of prolonged stress (conflict) Isaiah 52:7—“How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring news of good things—of salvation—who say, “Our God reigns!”
Opposite: Restless, unquiet, unsettled, agitated, belligerent/militant, unsettled – never make a major decision in this state of heart!
“No Jesus, no peace. Know Jesus, know peace.”
Slide 12-- How does the fruit of the Spirit grow in us?
Answer: Fruit grows as we abide in Him via “the fellowship of the Holy Spirit”
2 Co. 13:14—“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.”
Ga. 5:5,18,25—we are to “live in” the Spirit, “be led by” the Spirit, and “walk in (keep in step with) the Spirit” – as we do this, His gifts and fruit manifest in and through our lives!
Slide 13—How do we abide in the Spirit of Jesus?
John 15:4—“Abide in Me, and I in You. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.”
Abide—to live in, to maintain intimate connection with, to dwell with
As we “abide” in the Vine—in Jesus!—in Him we are enfolded in the arms of the Father (John 1:18—Jesus is enfolded in the very being of the Father and has revealed Father to us), and through Him we live in His Spirit via gifts and fruit--
Slide 14—We Abide in the Spirit of Jesus in 6 ways--
· By Soaking--Intimate connection via rest/quietness/time spent alone or with other just being with Him -- “they had been with Jesus”
· By Praying—two-way communication; tongues praying; expression!
· By Feeding on His word—His life flows to us via His scriptures/anointed literature – intaking His “life and truth”
· By Worshipping (Loving Him)—one-to-one connection – pointing our hearts toward Him in love/thankfulness—absorbing Him – we absorb what we concentrate/focus on/ Lord’s Supper—mystically “eating” and “drinking” Him into our beings
· By Fellowshipping with other believers—embers burn brighter and hotter when gathered together—His life flows through us to one another
· By Serving/Giving of Self (Loving Others) – spiritual connection between touching Jesus and serving “the least of these”
Matt. 25:35-40—“For I was hungry, and you fed Me. I was thirsty and you gave Me a drink…I was sick and you cared for Me; in prison and you visited Me. “When you did these things to the least of these, you did them to Me.”
Slide 15: Fruit Number Four: Patience makrothumia – “long-suffering-- a compound word combining “long” and “temper or passion”
--the ability to endure under hardship or over time without expressing complaint or anger or inappropriately using force to bring change
“the quality of self-restraint, of not giving way to anger in the face of provocation”—
"the capacity to accept delay, trouble, or pain without becoming upset or complaining”
Slide 16-- Scriptures:
Prov. 14:29—“The one who is patient shows great understanding; but one who is quick-tempered displays foolishness.”
Ps. 37:3—“Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways—when they carry out their wicked schemes.”
Eph. 4:2—“bearing with (being patient with) one another in love”
Slide 17-- Opposite: acting on the desire to revenge; inability to wait for an outcome without engaging in agitated action—literally, “short-tempered” – having a hair trigger; inability to restrain one’s anger because of unanticipated hardship
Personal application: Schedule interruption!
How does patience grow in us? Romans 5:3-“tribulation – stress and difficulty—produces patience”
Classic admonition: never to pray for patience because God then uses afflictions to produce patience in us!
Slide 18-- Fruit Number Five, Six, and Eight: Kindness/Goodness/Gentleness—also translated meekness, humility, mildness – a cluster of very similar words – indicate an attitude toward others that conveys help and upbuilding, not harm and tearing down
Colossians 3:12-14—beautiful summary of the inter-personal virtues grown in us by the Spirit: “So, as those chosen who have been chosen by God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.”
Slide 19--
Kindness--chrestotes Hebrew: chesed – a primary virtue in Jewish thought, from which all other virtues originate—“lovingkindness” associated with “repairing the world” – God “repairs the world” through the virtue of His kindness.
Anglo-Saxon/German root “kind”: “kin,” kindred,” kindergarten” – showing caring affection toward a child, a family member, or even an animal—a warm-hearted, considerate way of dealing with others
Mother Teresa: “Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are endless.”
Slide 20--
Scriptures:
Eph. 5:29,32—“Allow no rotten word to proceed from your mouth (bitter, anger, shouting, slander)…Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ has forgiven you.”
Luke 6:27—“Do good to those who hate you” – “Overcome evil with good.” Ro. 12:21
Romans 15:14—“you are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able to admonish one another.”
Slide 21--
Gentleness: – humility— “humility of mind” – focus on this. Phil. 2:3—“Do nothing with an attitude of contentiousness (argumentativeness)…but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves.” “I could be wrong; you might be right.” –giving equal validity to the ideas/opinions of others
Opposite: imposing one will intellectually or in decisions upon another; being “pugnacious;” insisting on being right always (pride of mind) – constantly challenging and arguing with others. The autocratic husband/wife/father/mother/leader who “lords it over” those under him or her.
Personal Application: Marriages/family/all interactions--political
Slide 22--
Fruit Number Seven: Faithfulness – another inter-personal virtue
Two meanings of “pistos” – faith, ability to believe/trust; and reliability, able to be trusted to do what one has committed to
Opposite: untrustworthy; irresponsible; cannot be counted on to carry out commitments
Scriptures:
1 Co. 1:9—“God is faithful”—in the context—to bring us into the completion of our salvation
1 Thess. 5:24—“He who calls you is faithful. He will surely do it.” –
Lamentations 3:23—“They (God’s mercies) are new every morning. Great is Your faithfulness!”
Matt. 25:21—“Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things.”
Slide 23--
Personal application—Be people of our word: if we say yes, mean it, and carry through with our commitments; keep appointments unless there is a compelling reason not to;
Is the means to advancement/promotion spiritually and in careers; Downside: can continue doing something out of loyalty when the life has gone out of it.
Very important in marriage—vow to faithfulness to one person protects the covenant of marriage and matures it through difficulties
Slide 24--
Fruit Number Nine: Self-Control – both internal and inter-personal virtue – self-mastery; self-restraint; self-discipline
“Ekkratos”—Literally means: “Mastery/dominion in the sphere of self” – having the internal ability to control and direct one’s personality elements – such as emotions, thoughts, and decisions –
--fueled (enabled) by the Holy Spirit –
--the virtue of one who masters his desires/passions, especially his sensual appetites (food, intoxicants, sex, tiredness, laziness, pleasure-seeking)
Note: in KJV, translated “temperance,” which refers in common usage to the practice of drinking little or no alcohol; moderation – a quality for a church leader—“temperate” 1 Tim. 3:2
Opposite: Self-indulgence; inability to control one’s desires or appetites; out-of-control; inability to deny the passions of self
Slide 25--
Scripture:
2 Peter 1:6—“Now, applying all diligence, to your faith add goodness…(.6) and to your knowledge add self-control, and to your self-control add perseverance… note here the connection between self-control and perseverance (the ability to continue on without giving up): we will often be tripped up by our “passions” and fail to continue on doing what God has called us to do, so self-control is required to enable us to complete a task.
Personal application:
For us all: battles against loss of control--- need power of the Spirit to maintain self-control—overcoming fleshly habits formed outside of Christian influence—
Areas requiring self-control: Sexuality, food and drink, Bodily addictions like food and drink, smoking, snuff, materialism, Thought-life; Emotions
Key: The will strengthened by the might of the Spirit to choose the desires of the Spirit, not the desires of the flesh