Bread From Heaven

Fruits of the Spirit - Introduction

Dear Heavenly Father,
Guide us as we learn what it means to bear much fruit in a spiritual sense. Cultivate us, and prepare our hearts to receive your word in good ground. Help us to pull the weeds of sin out of our lives, and be like the tree planted by the rivers of water that brings forth her fruit in due season and her leaf does not wither.
In Jesus’s name I pray,
Amen

Fruits of the Spirit

Galatians 5:22-26

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
24 And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
26 Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.

Once we have truly repented and are truly saved, our lives begin to change. We begin to experience and give love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance. We experience these things because we work toward denying the flesh and living for Christ.
John 15:1-2 ▼

1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.

Many people live a passive Christianity. I did for many years. I would party hard Saturday night and be in church Sunday morning with a hangover. (Oh, and FYI, don't ever sing a special in church with high notes in it when you have a hangover. That is no fun. I don't suggest it. I cringe at the memory.) Anyway, the point I am trying to make is that there is more to complete salvation than saying a prayer of asking for forgiveness of your sins.

There are many “Christians” who are deceived and still living a life of sin. They only read their Bible when it is convenient. They pray every now and then when they need something from God. They go to church almost weekly. They still fornicate, drink to get drunk, do drugs, curse, gossip, lie, and hate others. I am sorry to inform them, but their heart is not right with God.

To have a right relationship with God is not to willfully sin. Sinning out of ignorance is one thing, but sinning willfully is a whole other ball game and it is about the condition of what is in your heart. God wants us to be holy because he is holy. He wants us to strive for holiness. Until we strive for holiness, there won't be much of the fruits of the spirit in our life.
1 Peter 1:13-16 ▼

13 Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
14 As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance:
15 But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;
16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

Romans 10:9 says, “For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness.” True repentance and true salvation take place inwardly at the heart level. God wants us to not only serve him, but he wants us to serve him and pursue him passionately, with all our being.

For those of you who are in love relationships, do you want your soulmate to pursue you passively or passionately? I don't know about you, but I want to be pursued passionately. Our Relationship with God is compared to the relationship of a marriage. Wives are to submit themselves to their husbands and husbands are to love their wives like Christ loved the church and gave himself for it. God wants us to love him with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength.
Ephesians 5:22-32 ▼

22 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.
23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.
24 Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.
25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
28 So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.
29 For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:
30 For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.
31 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.
32 This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.

Mark 12:30 ▼

And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.

Do you want to produce the fruit of the Spirit in your life? Pursue God passionately. We pursue God passionately by spending time with him in prayer, reading/studying the Bible, working to weed sin out of our life. However, we must also have the presence and power of the Holy Spirit to back up all these actions. We can not do it fully on our own efforts. However, God is glorified when we produce the fruits of the spirit in our lives.
John 15:8 ▼

Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.

When we pursue God passionately with everything in us, then we will notice our lives begin to change for the better. Our thought, will, attitudes, and actions begin to align more with Christ-likeness. This will lead to spiritual prosperity and success.
Joshua 1:7-8 ▼

7 Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper withersoever thou goest.
8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.

When we delight ourselves in the Lord, he gives us the desires of our heart. When we seek him first in or lives, we are promised everything we need. Everything else will fall into place. God will establish us. And if God be for us who can be against us? We are more than conquerors.
Psalm 1:3 ▼

And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper

.

Over the next several weeks, I would like to go over each fruit individually, and take a closer look at it. We can examine ourselves to see if we are producing the desired fruit and how we can encourage others to do the same. We can identify our own strengths and weaknesses and work towards improving the areas where we fall short of God's glory.

If you are not actively seeking God in your life right now, I invite you to do so today. If you have never asked Jesus to enter your heart and life, please do it now. Jesus loves you and gave himself for you not just so you can barely live, but so you can live life abundantly to its fullest. Seek God first, no matter what. Your life will truly change. For the record, I said seek God, not religion. Religion will fail you. People will fail you. Even I may fail you, but God doesn’t fail. He did not make a mistake when he made you. He has a good plan and purpose for your life. Praise his name!

Start absorbing God's Word into your heart and soul today! Don't wait another minute. Enter into fellowship with God the Father through the blood of Jesus Christ the son and the power of the Holy Spirit. Start living a victorious spirit-filled life. Stop living a life of defeat! God loves you. Jesus gave himself for you. The Holy Spirit wants to guide you. Give your all to God today! Taste and see that the Lord is good.
Psalm 34:8 ▼

O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.

If you would like more information about having a relationship with Jesus Christ, email me. I would be happy to talk to you about it.

Resources ▼

https://dailyverses.net/search/Fruit%20of%20the%20spirit/kjv

https://dailyverses.net/holiness/kjv

https://www.theodysseyonline.com/fruits-spirit-actual-fruits

Jesus is my permanent anchor!