Fruit of the Spirit Part 3

Fruit of the Spirit Part 3  
Freedom

Review: I will continue to teach on this on Wed nights 6:30.

“I am the Vine, you are the branches. He that abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit. For without Me you can do nothing. You did not chose Me, but I chose You, and appointed you, that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain .  . .” John 15:5-6

Jesus used agriculture to describe spiritual life. You have been chosen, appointed and anointed that your life here on the earth will bear much fruit as a result of your union with Jesus.

The first thing God told Adam and Eve was to be fruitful then multiply and subdue the earth with the dominion authority God gave them.

What is this fruit God is looking for from us?

           God’s primary purpose:

“Let us make man in our image and our likeness.”

          “Image” = we are made spirit beings

          “Likeness” = capacity to think, talk, and act like Him which is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control.

The spiritual fruit of God’s likeness grows automatically while we abide in Him and fellowship with Him. It is not a result of our labor or hard work or obeying a strict set of laws. Out of our relationship with Him and our walk with Him through trials of this life the fruit appears.

Ill. Like one day you look at an orange tree and see only leaves. The next day you look and then closer see little buds among the leaves. Eventually the buds blossom into flowers releasing a fragrance that sweetens the air and then the flower blossom dies and falls to the ground.  But out of that place where the blossom was, is now new hidden life growing called the fruit. This process is a type of gospel presentation sign to the world of Jesus our Resurrected Lord.

“To everything (not some things or most things) there is a season and a time to every purpose under heaven. ” Ecclesiastes 3:1

Season – an appointed time by God.

4 seasons?

Psalm one declares if you will meditate (focus) on God’s Word you will be like a tree that you will bear fruit in it’s season.

God has fruit that will grow in every season. There is Spring time fruit – beans, peas, garlic. Summer time – cantaloupes, watermelons. Fall time – pumpkins, pears, apples, Winter time – oranges, tangerines. Some fruits grow in any season. So do the fruit of the Spirit. The point is no matter what season of life you are in you can bear fruit of the Spirit.

Also no matter what your circumstances or environment in your life, it cannot hinder the fruit of the Spirit from growing.

Categories of plants

Hardy – grows easily in this environment.

Half hardy – will grow here but with help.

Tender – the environment is hostile to it.

Messiah Jesus in Isaiah 53 “Who has believed our report? He (Jesus) would grow up before God as a tender plant, like a root growing from dry ground.”

          Look how fruitful Jesus’ life is and was for us. The environment was totally hostile towards Him, yet supernaturally He bore fruit that remains.

Nothing on earth, no demon from hell can hinder the fruit of the Spirit from growing in your life and your tough situations.

If you are going to have a garden or be a farmer you need to learn certain laws regarding agriculture. Laws of seed time and harvest. Time to plant – time to harvest. An almanac is a book with certain weather forecasts, tide and moon forecasts that tell you the best time to plant of harvest according to the historical record some things considered as laws of agriculture. If you abide by these laws you have 80% success rate supposedly. 

At the end of the famous list of the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5 there is this bold declaration from God for us. “But the fruit of the Spirit is L, j, p, p, k, g, f, g, self control,

“against such there is no law.” Gal. 5:22

The Fruit of the Spirit will come as we abide and walk with God through the various seasons of life. There is no rule of law or authority that can stop the fruit of the Spirit. There is no negative strong enough to stop. The Spirit can and will produce fruit in any environment or hostile situation. This is a place of freedom with no limitation.

Ill. What if every attack of the enemy is really about what part of the nature of God (fruit) does He want to manifest to me and in me and through me in this particular challenge?

What if every time the enemy attacked us we could turn it around and use it for good? What he meant for evil God uses for good.

Ill. What if someone angry with you – provokes you but you go to God alone to find out why He allowed this and how it can be used for your good or an upgrade in your life. Whoever irritates you has their own internal conflicts with God in the first place. They will have to go to God to get all that mess healed. But now their mess is messing with you.

          Why would you continue to choose anger, and frustration when you encounter gentleness and patience.  

When you choose to walk in the Spirit and not the flesh you are actually giving God His vengeance to carry out. HE said vengeance is Mine I will repay.

We simply can’t continue to surrender our identity to the enemy to drag it in the mud.

It is a choice – that’s all.

Ill. God is waiting for the day when the enemy uses the same old tactics but suddenly realizes he can’t get under you skin like he use to.

With every trial or challenge God has an opposite that is like acid poured on the enemy. Every trial has God’s provision already attached. Instead of a stumbling stone it can be a stepping stone. In a trial we should be asking, “Father, what fruit of the Spirit are You wanting to manifest through me now? How can I cooperate with You.

Life is our laboratory where we practice and try out all the equipment God has given to us. This life is where the fruit grows, even in the most hostile environment.

The enemy has a good history of our reactions to his tactics. He knows what has worked to get you to act out in the flesh before.

The opposite of the fruit of the Spirit growing in your life is the works of the flesh operating in your life.  “Walk in the Spirit and you will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. The flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh. These are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are these . . .”   Gal. 5:17-19

There are only 2 choices for a follower of Christ:

Walk in the Spirit OR works of the flesh

God gives you the freedom to make your own choice.

Every trial or problem we encounter has a great opportunity to manifest the fruit of the Spirit with it. God allows trials that He could stop because He is so confident in Himself that He can win in any situation. That is why in the bible He so often allows His people to be outnumbered, or have to face enemies larger, stronger, with more armor and weapons that they have. Many of these overwhelming odds He actually arranged for us to encounter! (thanks!) 

          How else will we discover and believe nothing is too difficult for the Lord? How else will we see how great and good is our God?

Ill. Recently a very knowledgeable man (an accountant and member of a school board who claimed to be a Xn) said according to statistics people who don’t graduate high school, born into poverty, and something else would spend their entire life in poverty. 

I listened and had never heard those statistics. I was surprised to hear what came out of my mouth next. I said there is one factor that changes all that and that is the grace of God.

          God is not intimidated by statistics or doctor reports or your lack of knowledge or experience. He does not want you to be intimidated by any of that either. He wants you to be confident in Him and in your circumstances. Abide in Him, choose to walk in the Spirit not the flesh and then

Jesus becomes your stance in your circumstance as you abide in Him.

He knows what you are facing and the challenges that will come in your future. He knows you have not been taught these truths or mentored  in them.

This is why you need to be renewed in your mind. In learning Jesus and abiding you can stop defaulting to the sin habits and the old self that was crucified with Jesus.

God must have a farmer or gardeners heart. He began civilization in a garden and taught Adam everything he needed to know through creation, animal and plant kingdom. Solomon the wisest man ever studied plants, trees, animals and related it all to the wisdom of God.

So many of Jesus’ teachings were parables about agriculture. Parable of sower and seed, parable of mustard seed. Parable of the Vineyard.

I think God loves the process of transforming us like a gardener loves to watch plants grow and produce fruit. He knows we are going to mess up sometimes. It is called falling short of the glory of God.

He has a glorious life for us in Him and in our circumstances now. Everything we need is in us in Him. His glorious life is in us. When we default to behavior that is less than He is and has for us, we simply need to repent towards the upgrade.

It sounds like this. “Father, thank You for the opportunity to walk in peace. I repent that I did not practice it. I ask You to give me another opportunity to as You see fit.

In the old covenant people repented for doing wrong. In the new we repent for not letting the glory of God, the life of Jesus shine through our trials.

Hidden inside every trial He allows is supernatural fruit waiting to blossom. For the fruit to manifest some things need to go through death, burial and resurrection. Fruit will come if you just abide and walk in the Spirit. Again, God gives you the freedom to choose which one you want in your life. It’s a choice Beloved! It’s your choice. You are free to choose now. What will it be?