THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT

Galatians 5:22-23

Introduction Lesson

Introduction: The older I get, the more I found myself pondering my life. As I examine my life, I find myself asking this question like a young man did during the ministry of the Lord Jesus. It is in Gospel of Matthew. Let’s turn there. Matthew 19:16-21

“And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.”

I know this young man wanted to what he had to do to get eternal life. I am not trying to downplay his first question but his second question is the one that goes to the heart of the matter. “What lack I yet?” It was this question that made me ponder my life. What did I discover? I discovered the fruit of the Spirit is not being manifested or shown through me, as it should be seen.

I want to say this with an utmost honesty and transparency. There are many times the private Mike Walls is not the same as the public Mike Walls. Why? The fruit of the Spirit is not always evident in my life as it should be in my home as it should be. This is not less than hypocrisy. Without justifying my actions, I know that this is true of many people or should I say most people. It is my desire that that the Holy Spirit will make Himself more real in my life at home as I show in the public.

In the next few lessons, I want to teach lessons about the fruit of the Holy Spirit. He wants to produce some fruit in our lives.

Before going further on the fruit of the Spirit, let look at what is not the fruit of the Spirit in the previous verses. Too long we want to see how close we can come to the old life without seeming to be like the old life. Some people think ordering a fake strawberry daiquiri in a restaurant looks cool. After all, they are not drinking liquor but if a lost person walks by that knows them, they will assume that they are drinking a strawberry daiquiri. That is one example of walking so close to the works of the works of the flesh. Galatians 5:19-21

“Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 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.”

These works should be past. It should not be named among us. These seventeen sins are not to be a part of the child of God. Jesus can and does cleanse and change a person when they get saved.

There are a few thoughts I want to give you in regards to the works of the flesh that need to be made.

1. The biggest problem you have is your old sin nature. Dr. Tom Malone said this about our sin nature. “We dwell in enfeebled bodies.” When you were saved, you acquired a new nature. But the old nature never died. Martin Luther said that the lust of the flesh is not altogether extinct in us. Let me illustrate this. I was noticing that they were cutting down and cleaning up some land next to Jan’s Strawberries. They made a big pile of wood and brush and set it on fire. I noticed that for months the pile smothered and burned. About a month later, it was raining and I notice that there was a little smoke coming from the pile. That is exactly how your sin is. It does not matter how long you are saved, you are still going to have problems with the sin nature. What does the Bible say on this subject? Romans 7:14, 17-18, 20

“For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.” “Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,)dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.” “Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.”

1^st Peter 2:11

“Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul”

D. L. Moody said, “I have had more trouble with myself than with any other man I have ever met!”

2. Your sin nature is active. You can see this in verses nineteen through twenty-one. It will lead you into these sins that are mentioned here. These can be broken down into four categories.

a. It can lead you to commit SENSUAL sins.

Adultery is the Unlawful intercourse with the spouse of another.

Fornication is Sexual immorality of all kinds. The Greek word for fornication has as its root porn from which we get our word pornography. It is also the worship of idols also.

Uncleanness is moral uncleanness, lewdness, shameless in general.

Lasciviousness is depravity in its greatest state. It is readiness for all pleasure and one who acknowledges no restraints. We can name quite a few actors and actresses, past and present, that this can be seen. In the Greek it means unbridled lust, excess, recklessness, lasciviousness, depravity, outrageousness, shamelessness, disrespect.

b. It can lead you to commit WORSHIP sins.

Idolatry is FALSE worship, or worship of a FALSE god. Anything and anyone can become an idol. Many people are somewhere else than church today. They may be at games or fishing or something other than spending time in church. When this happens, that is nothing less than idolatry.

Witchcraft is sorcery, occult, drugs. The Greek word for witchcraft is the same as the word that we now us for pharmacy. In those days if a person would make a living mixing up potions and such, they were usually label as a witch.

c. It can lead you to commit SOCIAL sins.

Hatred can refer to hatreds of groups as well as to individual hatred for others.

Variance is contentiousness. This is desire to argue about every little thing.

Emulations are nothing less than old-fashioned jealousy.

Wrath is fits of rage, boiling anger.

Strife is that selfish ambition. It is seen fighting to win any cost.

Seditions are a standing apart or an active type of heresy or division within an organization.

Heresies are the divisions or factions. It differs from sedition in that heresy can be within a group, but sedition is when it causes the group to divide.

Envyings is the grudging desire for discontent at the sight of another’s excellence or advantages.

Murders
Drunkenness
Revellings is the partying and/or riotous behavior.

d. It can lead you to commit all types of sins!

"...and such like..."

This list that Paul gives here is not exhaustive!

All this is given so we can see the works of the flesh. We know all this but need to be reminded of this on a regular basis. I don’t to end on a sore note though. Let me give you hope.

3. Your sin nature is defeated. Galatians 5:16

“This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.”

You are no enslaved to it. I was reading an illustration. A preacher was looking in his mirror one day and thinking about a particular temptation that was strong in his life. He said to himself in the mirror, "Haven't you gotten the victory over that yet?" Then, after thinking for a few more minutes, he again said to himself, "No, but it hasn't gotten the victory over me yet, either!" Romans 7:24-25

“O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.”

You have the Power to Prevail over your sin nature. Paul told us to “Walk in the Spirit.” Walking is the continual, habitual and repeated action that we must do. How do we do this? Let me give you four quick thoughts.

a. You walk in the Spirit by listening to His promptings.

b. You walk in the Spirit by obeying His promptings.

c. You walk in the Spirit by seeking His wisdom.

d. You walk in the Spirit by acting upon His advice and wisdom.

You have the Spirit’s provision to prevail over your sin nature. What is this provision? I have said all this to bring you to this point. It is the fruit of the Spirit. Look back at the scripture text I read at the beginning. Look how it begins- “But”. This quickly lets us know that there is a contrast here. When you run across a word like this, you can know something big is going to happen. It is my desire that we will be stronger and more effective for the Lord Jesus by understanding the fruit of the Spirit in our lives. We can see the changes that need to occur for the Lord to use us greater than He has before this time.

There is a contrast in the two natures by comparing fruit and works. The Bible told us that our old nature was works of the flesh. But our new nature has fruit. So what is the difference? A machine in a factory works and turns out a product. But you cannot manufacture fruit. You may be able to imitate and counterfeit color, shape, smell, and even taste...but it is still a manufactured product.

Fruit is the natural result of proper growth. This is how the Lord set it up. Genesis 1:11

“And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good."

He commanded man to be fruitful and multiply. If a man and wife cannot have children, the concern is that there is something wrong.

The fruit of the Spirit is not worked up by our efforts. It is the natural result of an individual’s growth in the Spirit. The only thing you contribute is the desire for fruitfulness.

Psalm 42:1-2

“As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?”

Jesus dealt with this desire in His Sermon on the Mount.

Matthew 5:6

“Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.”

David gives us a promise from God in His Psalms.

Psalm 37:4

“Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.”

There are five lessons in the Bible concerning fruit.

1. Fruit is the outward expression of a hidden life.

Isaiah 37:31

“And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward”

You don’t see the seed that began the process. You know it is there because you see the fruit on the tree or vine. I know a pastor in the state of Washington that I have emailed back and forward for more than eight years. He used this illustration in regards to the proof of fruit of the Spirit. “I have a couple of cherry trees in my back yard. I have observed that the fruit is produced by the tree, not by self-effort. As far as I can tell, the branches never get together and say, “Let’s all work hard and see what we can produce for this guy, Hughes, because he likes cherries.” As far as I can tell, the branches that bear fruit just open themselves up to the sunshine and to the rain. A bloom appears, then the little green fruit forms, grows, and then ripens.”

2. Fruit indicates the nature of the tree. Matthew 7:16

“Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?”

3. Fruit is sweet tasting. Song of Solomon 2:3

“As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste.”

4. Food was given for food by God, which is for the benefit of man. Genesis 1:29

“And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.”

5. Fruit is self-reproducing. Genesis 1:12

“And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.”

It is no mistake the first virtue that is mentioned in this cluster of fruit is love. Love is the very nature of this fruit of the Spirit. 1^st Corinthians 13:4-7

“Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.”

Charity that we find in our King James Bible is love but it is in reality, love in action. If I tell my wife that I love her but do nothing to show it, then she will not believe me.

The division of the fruit is three divisions with three God qualities in each of them. Let me give you these three divisions.

1. The first set that is composed of love, joy and peace deals with our relation with the Lord.

2. The second set that is composed of longsuffering, gentleness and goodness deal with our relationship with others.

3. The final three that is composed of faith, meekness and temperance deals with our relationship with ourselves.

You can compare the fruit of the Spirit with a cluster of grapes. Each grape is slightly different the other grapes but it has the same unique qualities. Scientists tells us that the chemical analysis reveals that there nine ingredients in grapes. All are essential to the perfection of the fruit. If one ingredient is missing, then absolute perfection is no assured. The same is true in our lives. If one of these qualities is missing in our lives, then our spiritual maturity is not complete.

This is introduction of the fruit of the Spirit. Next time we are going to start looking at the first qualities. The first is love.

Some of these qualities seem to be natural to some people. Yet if it not the Holy Spirit doing the producing, then it is counterfeit fruit and can be spotted especially by the lost world.

Let me give you some ways to recognize counterfeit fruit.

1. It is possible for the flesh to counterfeit some of the fruit of the Spirit but not all.

2. But the flesh cannot produce the fruit of the Spirit!

3. When the Spirit produces fruit, God gets the glory.

4. When the flesh is at work, the person is inwardly proud of himself or herself and pleased when others compliment them.

5. The fruit of the Spirit is to make us more like Christ for His glory, not for the praise of men.

Conclusion: It ought to be the desire of every Christian to have this fruit of the Spirit in his or her life. If there is no fruit in your life, then it is strong possibly that you never got saved. Fruit trees take time to grow but they do produce fruit or the master gardener will discard it.

Working all nine of these traits into our lives seems impossible, and indeed it is. But the moment we became a Christian, the Holy Spirit began a divine work to produce Christ's character in you. Regardless of who you are, the Spirit works from the same model, Jesus Christ. The Spirit looks to Christ in order to find the blueprint for your character.

1. The Spirit will immediately begin helping you experience and practice the same love that Jesus had when He laid down His life for His friends. Another way to see this is LOVE is the caring of Jesus.

2. The same joy He experienced will now fill you. JOY is the celebration of Jesus. This is one of the main elements missing from American Christianity. Walking in the Spirit does not put on a long face.

3. The identical peace that guarded the heart of Jesus, even as He was being beaten and mocked, will be the peace that the Spirit works to instill in you. PEACE is the calmness of Jesus. Walking in the Spirit doesn’t worry or fret.

4. The long-suffering/patience Jesus had for His most unreachable disciple will be the patience that the Spirit now develops in you. LONGSUFFERING is the constancy of Jesus. Jesus is faithful and dependable.

5. The gentleness Jesus showed toward children and sinners will soften your heart toward others. GENTLENESS is the comforting of Jesus. Gentleness is not passivity or being docile. It is being kind and considerate.

6. There will be a goodness about you that is only explainable by the presence of the Spirit of God. GOODNESS is the charity of Jesus.

7. The Spirit will build the same faith into you that led Jesus to be entirely obedient to His Father. FAITH is the confidence and conviction of Jesus.

8. The Holy Spirit will blossom the same meekness that made Christ great. MEEKNESS is the consideration of Jesus.

9. The Spirit will teach you temperance/self-control so that you will have strength to do what is right and to resist temptation. TEMPERANCE is the constraint and control of Jesus.

May God help us to have this precious fruit in our lives!