Fruit of the Spirit

The message was brought by Rev. Eddie Foster on Feb 18, 2024.

Galatians 5:19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

I want to challenge you as I go through this message. Answer the question. What kind of fruit are you bearing?  The things listed in verses 19-21 are not practiced by Christians. Do we fail?  Sure, we do. But we must go to God and ask forgiveness.  We do not practice these things.  I want to go through the fruit of the Spirit one by one.  This is a singular word. We possess and should practice these in our daily lives.

Love:  it’s the most dominant attribute. Whatever we do needs to be done out of love. In First Corinthians 13 Paul used the word “charity” for love.  He tells us that without love the other things we do profit us nothing.  Everything else is useless without love. If I am trying to live out the fruit of the Spirit in my life I will love you no matter how cantankerous you are.  A kind word is much better than a piece of my mind.  It may just be what someone else needs.

Joy: this is more than happiness, why by the way depends on circumstances much of the time. Joy can be retained on the inside despite the circumstances.  Joy in the heart cannot be stolen.  Read these passages from Philippians and see what Paul says about it.  We need to rejoice in the Lord.  God is good! (1:4; 2:2; 4:1).

Peace: the worst war on our soil, the Civil War, may have ended but peace has never come. The Bible speaks here of inward peace placed there by God. The world can’t take it away. This brings us together for a common purpose.  We’re all different. We won’t see eye to eye on everything, but in a church we can still love each other.  Our cause to reach the lost for Christ. We can do it in peace with a purpose.

Longsuffering: this isn’t a word we use much anymore. We use the word patience. I’ll confess I need more patience. I believe most of us can admit that. It’s having a long temper, not a short one. Don’t let your fuse be too short. Walk away from situations if you need to.  Cool off. Don’t blow up. If you fail, always remember to go ask forgiveness.

Gentleness:  be kind. Seek to do good even when wronged. It’s a tall order but Jesus told us to love our enemies and do good to those who despitefully use us.  Without the fruit of gentleness that comes from God we cannot do this. It’s our natural inclination to get even. That’s not what Jesus said.  We must still love.

Goodness: this is generosity to others. Jesus said if we give a cup of water in his name we will be rewarded. Some are not as fortunate as we are. Shame on a dad or mom that won’t provide for their family. But we can’t let kids go hungry because a deadbeat parent won’t provide. Matthew tells us to remember that when we do these things we do them unto the Lord.

Faith:  this is a life yielded to Christ. Spiritual immaturity shows a lack of faith. We need to grow as a child of God. We have a responsibility to the Word. If we refuse to obey it, we are not being faithful.

Meekness: in the minds of many this denotes weakness. Jesus was meek but he sure wasn’t weak. This is true humility; things are done unconsciously. The person who is humble doesn’t really realize it. It’s not something you advertise.  It’s a gentle strength.

Temperance: do you have a problem with your temper?  This is all about self control whatever issue in life it’s about. No outside influence should control you. We need to be temperate in all things. (I Cor 9:25)

The Holy Spirit in us goes where we go. He activates the fruit of the Spirit to make us a beautiful Christian. He’s still working on me.  He intends to produce this fruit in us. There must first be a displacement of self so that the fruit can be plentiful. So…I ask you again.  What kind of fruit are you bearing?