“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.” (Galatians 5:22-25)
Last week, we took inventory of our lives and did some internal power washing with the Holy Spirit. As you confessed and renounced sin in your life, you replaced the areas where you had allowed sin to reside with the Holy Spirit. Now you get to partner with the Holy Spirit in changing how we think and live. When the Holy Spirit is in charge, we see evidence in our lives. We are no longer being ruled by our flesh, rather we are ruled by the Holy Spirit. As you read over Galatians 5:22-25, you may look at some of those fruits and think, I’m doing pretty well with those. Others may stand out as areas we need the Holy Spirit to help us develop. Some of those fruits may be in seed form, waiting to sprout. Others may be young shoots or trees on the cusp of producing. Or you may have some fully mature trees growing and producing fruit in abundance. The Kingdom of God is a kingdom of multiplication. Everytime we express the attributes of the Holy Spirit to others, they get to taste and see the goodness of God. You extend an expression of the Holy Spirit to be experienced, reproduced and multiplied in others. The Holy Spirit has an endless supply to give away, so as you abide in the Holy Spirit, you will never run out. When you pray for and minister to others, what you carry on the inside is reflected in what you give away. That’s why it’s so important to keep short accounts with the Lord through confession and the renewing of your mind, allowing the Holy Spirit to mold us and develop his attributes inside of us. Your transformation becomes your testimony and a breakthrough for others. Their breakthrough creates soil for the Holy Spirit to come in and bear more fruit. One of the great gifts my mom gave my sister and I was teaching us the importance of prayer. One of the ways she did this was by praying with us every day as we drove to school. It is something I do with my children now. Everyday we ask the Holy Spirit to help us grow and develop the fruit of the Spirit in our lives. Sometimes that comes in the form of pruning off the things in our life that are dead. Last week, you gave God the opportunity to prune the things from your life that were hindering your growth. Pruning can be painful, but when you allow God to remove the things that bring death, the reward is greater freedom and the capacity for the fruit of the Spirit to increase in your life. Other times it means watering us and developing our roots. You do this through reading the Word and worshiping. Other times it means him healing our wounds and damaged branches. You do this through forgiving yourself and others, releasing the painful emotions and memories to Jesus, and inviting him in to heal. Ephesians 4:14-19 says, “For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” When you comprehend and feel loved, you can express and give love. We want to be so filled with the Holy Spirit that out of the overflow of our hearts, in every circumstance, whether deserved or undeserved, is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control.
Listening Prayer:
Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal any area in your life that is not bearing good fruit. Write down what you hear. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you areas where you are bearing fruit. Record what he shows you.
Prayer:
Holy Spirit, thank you for being my teacher and my guide. Thank you for never leaving me as I am, but for constantly pointing me to the Father and lovingly redirecting me in ways that allow me to remove the things that are not life-giving. Thank you for teaching me how to grow and multiply your attributes in my life. Holy Spirit, I desire to be filled with more of you. I want my life to be a reflection of you and bear your fruit. I give you permission to remove the things in my life that are holding me back. Specifically, I give to you____________(say what he showed you in listening prayer). I ask that you cut these things off of me so I am no longer hindered. I also give you all my painful emotions and memories including ____________, and I ask you to come and heal the wounds in my soul. Thank you for the areas in my life that are growing and bearing good fruit. I ask that you would help me to grow and develop in my life love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. Help me to give them away generously as I encounter those you love. In Jesus’ name.
Resource: Bible Verses on the Fruit of the Spirit
“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)
“Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.” (Romans 12:12)
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” (Romans 15:13)
“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:4-7)
“Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.” (Colossians 3:12-15)
“Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.” (Galatians 6:7-9)
“Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.” (James 1:12)
“I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” (Ephesians 4:1-3)
“For an overseer, as God’s steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined.” (Titus 1:7-8)
Worship Song:
“Set a Fire” by Jesus Culture
“Jesus Loves Me” by Chris Tomlin