Fruit of the Spirit

Fruit of the Spirit

Focus Word: Fruit of the Spirit
Focus Verse: Galatians 5:22-23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”
Declaration: The Spirit produces His fruit in me today; my character reflects Christ in every action.
God is more interested in fruit than gifts.
The New Testament talks about gifts of the Spirit and fruit of the Spirit that a believer must receive. Gifts demonstrate the Spirit’s power. Fruit demonstrates the Spirit’s character/ qualities. A believer may minister effectively yet still need growth in character.
Matthew 7:16 “By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?”
There are good trees and bad trees; bearing good fruit and bad fruit. This is how you discern between a true and false prophet.
John 15:8 “This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”
Colossians 1:10 “so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God”
Fruit outflows as good work.
God’s ultimate goal is not merely what we do for Him, but who we become in Him.
We are ‘human beings’ and not ‘human doings’. Who we are matters more than what we do.
Our character matters more than our ministry.
A mighty tree might look impressive, but what matters is the fruit that it produces.
Fruit is produced through abiding, not striving.
Fruit doesn’t appear because the branch struggles harder. It appears because the branch remains connected to the vine.
John 15:4,5 “Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”
Psalm 92:13-14 “planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green,”
It is when you stay rooted where God places you that bear fruit. You should stay rooted in one church and grow there spiritually. Many don’t bear fruit because they don’t stay rooted in one place. Be planted in the house of the Lord.
Jeremiah 17:8 “They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”
The secret of fruitfulness is fellowship with Christ.
The fruit of the Spirit is Christ’s character in us.
These are virtues in the Lord Jesus. These are qualities of Christ reproduced by the Holy Spirit in us.
Romans 8:29 “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.”
2 Corinthians 3:18 “And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”
Ephesians 4:24 “and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”
The Holy Spirit isn’t trying to make us better versions of ourselves, but instead to make us like Christ. He wants to mould us into Christ’s image.
Fruit develops gradually through seasons of life.
It doesn’t happen suddenly when you pray intensely, but it develops through different seasons of life- through trials, sometimes through your enemies, sometimes through new seasons, through your marriage, through obedience to parents, etc.
In 2 Corinthians 8, Paul vouches for the Macedonians for their commitment to the ministers and to the ministry when they went through trials. It is in seasons like this that your growth takes place, not suddenly during a prayer meeting.
Growth needs time, pruning, specific seasons, the right climate and patience.
James 5:7 “Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains.”
Hebrews 12:11 “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.”
Ecclesiastes 3:1“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens”
In our lives we all experience disappointments. But when we understand this truth, instead of despairing, we can have patience for the work that God is doing in our character through those seasons. Through every trial in your life, God works to bring more fruit in you.