September 9, 2007 - The Gifts Of The Spirit- Part 1

Scripture Meditation: Galatians 5:22-26

INTRODUCTION

• Well folks- it's that time of year
• And I'm not talking about the beginning of the football season
• I'm talking THAT time of year
• Early September
• When the process of selecting a leadership team for the new church year begins
• Even now:
• The Nominating committee is recruiting people to serve on our committees, organizations and Purpose teams
• And- as we noted earlier- the deacon nomination process began this morning
• Typically churches approach this process by trying to fill slots
• Any idea who we can put on the Evangelism committee?
• Didn't Sarah do a good job on the Kitchen committee? Maybe she'd do it.
• Folks- that's a TERRIBLE way to pick church leaders
• Rather than trying to fill slots
• The Bible says we should look for the people:
• Who've been gifted by the Holy Spirit
• And possess a burning passion for the mission and ministry of the church

TRANSITION

• Which is why I want to take today and next Sunday to focus on the gifts of the Holy Spirit
• Ordinarily sermons on the spiritual gifts tend to focus on spectacular things...
• Like-
• Speaking in tongues- gifts of healing
• Miracles- prophecy
• And inspired preaching and teaching
• But that's not what we're going to do. Above all- these sermons are designed to be practical
• For instance- next Sunday we're going to talk about...
• The gifts- and talents- the Holy Spirit has given to every born-again child of God
• And how these gifts are to be used for God's glory in the church
• This morning- we're going to focus on the fruits of the Holy Spirit. See- the thing is:
• If these fruits are not present in your life
• You.../Because you...
• Can't effectively serve God and minister to others
• Aren't the person God created you to be
• So with all this in mind- let's read Galatians 5:22-25

THE ACTS OF THE SINFUL NATURE

• Now to fully understand this passage of Scripture you have to read it in the context of what came before
• So let's look at Galatians 5:19-21
• The key to understanding this passage of Scripture is the word 'acts'- the acts of the sinful nature
• In this case 'acts' carries the idea of an automatic- reflexive- involuntary behavior
• In other words:
• You don't plan the acts of the sinful nature- you probably don't even want them in your life
• These things happen because of who you are
• Here's where you need to remember what the Bible says about human nature
• Essentially God's Word says we're not the sweet, innocent, good-hearted people we like to think we are
• The Bible says that by nature we are wicked, rebellious creatures who are compelled to sin against God
• Romans 3:10-17
• Now getting back to Galatians 5-
• The sins listed here aren't intended to be all inclusive
• Instead they represent a life lived under the control of the old sin nature
• Look at what it says:
• The first three sins- sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery- are representative of all forms of sexual sin
• The next two sins- idolatry and witchcraft- represent religious sin
• Trying to find God
• Apart from a relationship with Jesus Christ
• Hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy- are all characteristic of sins against other human beings
• And finally- drunkenness, orgies, and the like- reflect ungodly, pagan practices
• All-in-all- it's a pretty sickening list
• But that's the kind of life you were doomed to live before you became a Christian
• And the kind of life you'll continue to live unless you give the Holy Spirit control of your life
• Which brings us back to verses 22-25 and the fruits of the Holy Spirit

HOW SPIRITUAL FRUIT IS PRODUCED

• OK- let's see if you're smarter than a fifth grader
• Hold up an apple
• Where does this come from?
• And please don't say 'the grocery store'
• The correct answer is- an apple tree
• Here's the point:
• This apple didn't spontaneously happen on its own
• It was produced by its attachment to something else- in this case an apple tree
• The same principle is at work in the spirit life. Spiritual fruit-
• Is produced by your attachment to SOMEONE else
• And that someone else is Jesus the Christ
• Please read John 15:4-5
• Let me explain what Jesus is saying here
• This piece of fruit grew on a branch of an apple tree
• But the branch had to be attached to the trunk of the tree
• See if you cut off a branch- it may live a few days- it may even sprout a few leaves
• But apart from the trunk it will NEVER produce a piece of fruit
• In the spiritual life this principle can be expressed very simply:
• A Christian who does not stay in close, intimate fellowship with Jesus
• Will NEVER be able to produce supernatural fruit in their life
• At this point you may be thinking: 'Wait a minute Steve!'
• I thought we were talking about the fruit of the Holy Spirit.
• But it sounds like you've stopped talking about the Holy Spirit- and started talking about Jesus!
• Well- you're right. But don't get confused- we're talking about the same thing:
• To have a faith-relationship with Jesus means the Holy Spirit automatically dwells within you
• In turn- the Holy Spirit is the One who will lead you- and guide you- into genuine Christ-like living
• Please read what Jesus says in John 14:16-17 and John 14:26
• Here's the bottom line:
• If you know Jesus as your Savior the Holy Spirit lives in you
• Through the Holy Spirit- Jesus wants to produce an abundant crop of spiritual fruit in your life

THE FRUITS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

• Well let's talk about this spiritual fruit
• The first fruit the Spirit wants to create in you is LOVE
• The Greek word is agape
• Agape is used in the New Testament to describe the unique, sacrificial, all-encompassing love that:
• Defines the character of God
• And must be characteristic of His children
• The perfect definition of agape is found in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7
• Now I want you to notice something:
• The fact that agape-love is listed as a fruit of the Holy Spirit means it doesn't come naturally to human beings
• In other words:
• Apart from Christ it's impossible for human beings to practice this kind of love
• Agape-love has to produced in you as a result of the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit
• You can think of it like this:
• God's perfect love flows down and fills you up
• So that you can share its overflow with others
• The second fruit of the Spirit is JOY
• The Greek word is chara
• Which is somewhat similar to the word for happiness- with one difference
• Happiness is.../ But joy is...
• Always conditioned on external things
• For instance- if the Panthers win today
• It will make me happy
• Based on something inside- something that isn't shaken by circumstance
• And that something is created by the Holy Spirit
• Who reminds you that God loves you- that Jesus died to save you- and that as a Christian you have the absolute assurance of eternal life
• Romans 8:35-39
• The third fruit of the Spirit is PEACE
• Peace is a translation of the Hebrew word shalom
• In Jewish thought.../ In Christian terms...
• Shalom is a gift God gives to mankind
• God's peace is a result of Jesus' sacrifice on the Cross
• Again- remember what the Bible says about sin
• Ultimately sin is about rebellion against God
• When you sin you declare war on God
• God- I reject Your right to rule my life.
• From now on I'm going to go my own way- and do my own thing- and be my own god.
• Folks- that's a war you can't win
• You may think you're hurting God- but really you're destroying yourself
• Romans 6:23 puts it this way: 'For the wages of sin is death'
• The question is: What did God do about your decision to go to war against Him?
• He created the terms of peace by sending Jesus to die on the Cross for you
• 2 Corinthians 5:19 puts it this way: 'God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them.'
• Do you begin to see how all this fits together?
• While you were busy waging war against God
• He created a peace treaty with you through Christ Jesus
• This shalom-peace God established can do awesome things in your life. Having this fruit of the Spirit leads to-
• Peace with God
• Peace with yourself- as in peace of mind
• And peace with others who know Jesus as their personal Savior and Lord
• The fourth fruit the Spirit wants to produce in you is PATIENCE
• The Greek word is makrothumia
• Makrothumia literally means 'long-suffering'
• This is the spiritual fruit that turns:
• A short-fused, prone-to-anger kind of person
• Into a loving, slow-to-anger child of God
• Patience is the fruit that lets you-
• Cope with adversity
• Deal with the annoying people in your life
• And face whatever happens knowing that God is always with you
• Psalm 37:28 says: 'For the LORD loves the just and will not forsake his faithful ones. They will be protected forever...'
• The fifth fruit of the Spirit is KINDNESS
• The Greek word is chrestotes
• Chrestotes.../It's...
• Refers to the loving-kindness God demonstrates toward each of us
• The quality that causes the Bible to declare that 'God is good'
• So get the picture here:
• The Holy Spirit wants to create IN you
• The same kind of loving-kindness God has demonstrated TOWARDS you
• Which bring us to the next fruit of the Holy Spirit- GOODNESS
• The Greek word is agathosune
• Which is a difficult word to define
• Essentially goodness is what happens when kindness jumps into action
• It's a spirit of generosity and self-sacrifice that causes people to do extraordinary things for others
• Over the years I've had the opportunity to witness numerous acts of Christian goodness
• People will hear of a need- come by my office- put money in my hand and say: Steve- give them this money- because they need it
• But then they'll swear me to secrecy: Don't ever let them know where it came from!
• Folks- I don't violate confidences
• But I don't mind telling you where it comes from
• It comes from a spiritual fruit called 'goodness'
• The seventh fruit of the Spirit is FAITHFULNESS
• The Greek word is pistis
• Pistis literally means 'trustworthiness'
• It's the same word Jesus uses to describe the character of a faithful servant in Luke 16:10-12
• The point here is that the Holy Spirit wants to mold you into the kind of person:
• People can trust
• And more importantly- GOD can trust to minister to others in His name
• The eighth fruit of the Spirit is GENTLENESS
• The Greek word is prautes
• It describes a person who is always:
• Angry at the right time
• And never angry at the wrong time
• I know that sounds weird- so let me explain
• According to the Bible anger- in and of itself- is not a bad thing
• In fact- some things that happen in this world should make you angry
• For instance when Moses.../ When Jesus...
• Came down from the mountain and saw the Israelites worshipping the Golden Idol- He got angry
• Entered the Temple and saw the merchants and moneychangers plying their trade- He got angry
• Folks- a person who exhibits the fruit of gentleness
• Is so Spirit-filled that they only get angry with things that anger God. Things like sin-
• And unrighteousness-
• And immorality-
• And injustice
• They don't get angry just because things don't happen to go their way
• Which brings us to the final fruit the Spirit wants to produce in you- SELF-CONTROL
• The Greek word is enkrateia
• It refers to the power that gives a Christian victory over sinful desires and temptation
• Enkrateia is what lets you...
• Live in the world without being of the world
• Say 'No' to what is wrong- and 'Yes' to what is right
• Unfortunately- translating enkrateia as 'self-control' is somewhat misleading
• See- there's no way you can't have a victory over sin and temptation through SELF control
• You can only claim a victory over sin and temptation through SPIRIT control! PERIOD!

CONCLUSION

Galatians 5:22-23

• I want you to turn to a loved one sitting close to you and ask: 'Would you enjoy living with me more if these fruits of the Spirit were in my life?'
• I'll guarantee you the answer is going to be 'Yes'
• See- the Holy Spirit wants to produce a harvest of spiritual fruit that will bless EVERYONE you come in contact with
• Tony Evans puts it this way: 'The Holy Spirit wants to produce fruit in your life so that your family and friends will be able to take a bite out of your life and say: 'Oh man! That was GOOD!''
• So how do you do it? How can the Holy Spirit produce a harvest of spiritual fruit in your life
• First- and foremost- you've got to have an intimate love-relationship with Jesus
• Then you've got to let the Holy Spirit do His work in your life
• And finally- you've got to want it so bad:
• You'll say 'No' to self
• And say 'Yes' to the Lord
• How bad do you want it? Let us pray