The Fruit of the Spirit

Context for the New Series

We will be in this series all summer.

• Sometimes along the way we give up or burnout. Following Jesus is hard.
• We are not going to keep a checklist about how to do the fruits better.
• We are going to examine ourselves, and see if we are lacking any fruit. If we are lacking, then we may not be abiding in the fruit.

"Why does a tree bear fruit? Not because there is some law of nature that says it must. But simply because the life within it, rising up from the soil and water that feed its roots, and flowing in the sap through every branch and twig. A tree does not bear fruit by keeping the laws of nature, but simply because it is a living tree, being and doing what a tree is and does when it is alive. "

Christopher J. H. Wright

The Flesh

So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses.

Galatians 5:16‭-‬18 NLT

When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

Galatians 5:19‭-‬21 NLT

• Paul calls out "other sins like these" because it is not all about the specific sins he lists
• The flesh brings coping mechanisms for life apart from God
• Satan wants to normalize these acts of the flesh
• it's easy to point out things going in in the culture, but not realize how these things show up in our own lives

Living by the flesh:

1. License - do whatever feels right
2. Law - follow all the rules, but live Jesus along the way

Living by the law feels okay, but it can be just as far from God.

Fruit

• Sometimes we settle for a counterfeit fruit
• The spirit wants to produce a deep-rooted peace within us
  • we try to produce a counterfeit peace, by blinding ourselves from parts of the world that go against our views
• self-control 1 is a fruit of the spirit, willpower is a counterfeit fruit
  • self-control 1 is so much deeper

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control 1. There is no law against these things! Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.

Galatians 5:22‭-‬25 NLT

• Paul is illustrating the difference between what will show up in your life if you are not in-step with God versus if you are in step with God
• the spirit sets the tempo
  • we need to stay in step with the Spirit

Practical Questions

Am I yielding to the spirit?

• Am I surrendering myself to his work within me?
• My day is yours, my money is yours, my children are yours, etc.
• How can I yield to you today.
• Am I submitting to cultural norms?
• look at your fruit, this will show what you are yielding too
• slowing down
  • is there space to abide?
  • is there time for spirit-led interactions

How am I doing at dying?

Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there.

Galatians 5:24 NLT

For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live.

Romans 8:13 NLT

• Jesus has dealt with our sin
• we have to practice telling ourselves no
• abstain from something for a period of time to train yourself
• fasting
  • separate ourselves from bodily needs to focus on spiritual needs
  • our flesh wants to normalize that this is weird, even though it has been a central Christian practice for centuries

How am I cultivating a friendship with God?

I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me. You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name.

John 15:15‭-‬16 NLT

• gotta know how to read music to play music in School
• contrast that with a Jazz musician
  • the music is so deeply embedded in their bones, they just play off of the tempo and the beat
  • it is relationship, instead of instruction

Conclusion

• The fruit that Jesus wants to produce in our life is not for us.
• Have you ever seen a tree eat its own fruit?
• It is for people around us.

Here is another illustration Jesus used: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed planted in a field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but it becomes the largest of garden plants; it grows into a tree, and birds come and make nests in its branches.”

Matthew 13:31‭-‬32 NLT

• perhaps the spirit wants to produce fruit in our lives for the relationships around us
• we may not see where the fruit will go, but we know it is needed