Hello everyone! So this week I preached my first sermon to our Bible students! One of my online Bible studies talked a little bit about this topic in December, and I really felt the Lord wanted me to continue deep-diving into this topic. So, here are my sermon notes I wrote, and wanted to share!
I. We carry the fruit of the Spirit.
Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. Galatians 5:22-23.
i. Love-strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7.
Love drives everything we do. It should drive everything we do. Out of love God sent His son for us, and we are called to be like Him. John Piper defines love as this: “Love is the overflow and expansion of joy in God, which gladly meets the needs of others.”
ii. Joy-a source of cause or delight. The word source stuck out to me in this definition, so I looked it up. Source: a point of origin or one that initiates, AUTHOR. That took me to Hebrews 12:2. Joy is the natural response and reaction to the work of God.
iii. Peace- a state of tranquility and quiet. When I asked the Lord what He wanted to me to learn about peace as a fruit, I was taken to the story where Jesus calms the storm in Luke 8: 22-24. Jesus lives inside of us, ad will always calm the storms of life every time we ask Him to. God also took me to Pslam 46:10-God commands us to be still, He alone is the force that changes the world. He chose us to be the vessels for that power. Ephesians 2:!0.
iv. Patience: bearing pains or trials calmly or without complaint..steadfast despite opposition, difficulty, or adversity. In Romans 8:31, Paul encourages the church that everything will happen in God’s timing, regardless of what we do to try and change or stop it. No amount of worrying, planning, or doing will change it. Oswald Chambers describes patience as this:
Wait on God, and He will work, but don’t wait on spiritual sulks because you cannot see an inch in front of you! Are we detached enough from our spiritual hysterics to wait on God? To wait is not to sit with folded hands, but to learn to do what we are told.
v. Kindness-the quality of being friendly, generous, and considerate. It is manifested in what we call “common grace”. God is kind to all He has made, even when His creatures are ungrateful and wicked. Matthew 5:43-47
vi. Goodness-The nutritious, flavorful, or beneficial part of something. Matthew 5:13-16. This is during the Sermon on the mount when Jesus is talking about us as His followers being the salt and light of the earth. We are supposed to stand out, like a light in a dark room, or salt in a blander dish. When I first read this definition I was like…what? But how beautifully does the Lord tie everything together?
vii. Faithfulness-full of faith, an allegiance to duty or a person. It is the result of the Spirit working in us. Faithfulness is believing that God is who He says He is and continuing in that belief despite the trials we face in life. We trust our situation on earth is nothing compared to our future in heaven,
viii. Gentleness: mildness of manners and disposition. 2 Samuel 22:36. I think we as humans don’t automatically associate gentleness with greatness. We think of greatness as success. But the Lord so clearly wants us to be gentle like Him.
Story time: When I was around 5 years old, I hated swimming. Read: I was terrified of the water and drowning. My godmother, Sherry, is the most gentle soul I know. She encouraged me into the water in a way only she could. She told me she would be there the whole time, she wouldn’t dare let anything bad happen to me. I trust her.So, I followed her into the pool. When I calmed down and got used to the water, she took her arms and gently lifted my legs until I was in a floating position, the whole time looking me in the face and telling me,” I’ve got you.” Her disposition was so calm, and I didn’t look away from her. Little did I know a few minutes later she lifted her hands and showed them to me…I was floating on my own!
HOW MUCH MORE does the Holy Spirit lead us so gently to the places we are terrified of. We possess that same kind of gentleness to extend to others. Gently lead them to Him, treat everyone around you with that grace that opens doors all around the world.
ix: Self-control-restraint exercised over news impulses, emotions, or desires. 2 Timothy 1:7 and Proverbs 25:28 (Like a city whose walls are broken through, is a person who lacks self-control.). We can NOT afford to be defenseless. We are constantly in a battle, and it takes discipline and self-control daily to take up our armor, especially as we come under pressure.
II. So what comes out as we come under pressure? If
I squeezed an orange? What would come out? Hopefully orange juice right? We should be the same way. When we are squeezed, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control should come out. What is inside us WILL come out. Matt. 12:34, Proverbs 4:23, and Luke 6:45.
When life gets hard, and things don’t go our way…our reaction should be the same as who we claim to be.
III. How do we do this? By keeping in step with the Spirit. The passage talking about the fruit of the Spirit is literally surrounded by Two passages telling us to keep in step. When you spend time with Him, listen to Him…I promise you….HE WILL change you. He will grow you in each of these fruits. I have one more definition for you.
Fruit: A product of plant growth. And He is the Vine. Abide in Him. Let Him abide in you, and good fruit juice will come out.
