Hanging on the Vine   8-17-08

       Fruit of the Spirit

       Do we have any collectors in the room today?   Besides my sweet wife that is, I already know about her.  She is a collector of collections. Of course every time I bring this up she immediately responds, “How many guitars do you have?”  I ask you do 12 guitars constitute a collection. I want to talk today about a common misnomer concerning the Fruit of the Spirit today. Those 9 elusive qualities that we wished we all had possessed more of.  Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  We’ll be spending a lot of time in Galatians 5 verses 22 &23 today, found on page 826 of your pew bibles, as we take a look at the fruit of the Spirit today. When we commit our lives to Christ, when we come believers, the Holy Sprit come in an actually takes up residence in our inner most being and when we refer to the fruit of the Sprit we are referring  to these Godly attributes which we all posses in varying degrees. I would like to address a common misnomer or misconception concerning the fruit of the Sprit. What I’m talking about is the tendency we all have of separating the fruit of the Spirit out like they are some sort of collection, which we can accumulate, like spoons or cups.   Does anyone remember when Pepsi had the bottle cap game?  Collect all 50 states and win a fabulous trip to Hawaii or something. 49 of those caps were readily available, but there was one state that they only made 3 of.  I don’t know how many hundreds of thousands of Pepsi they sold to people looking for the South Dakota cap. I remember an ad in the Buy and Sell offering to share the prize if anyone had the missing state. Because they had the other 49. We all had the other 49. Sometimes we approach the fruit of the Spirit like this.  I have gentleness going on I’m looking for that ever elusive patience.  Sometimes we think we can split up the collection and figure if we have 5 out of 9 we are doing exceptional.  Not so when we commit our lives to Christ we get all of Him, and each one of these qualities are to be present in our lives, and as we grow in grace and knowledge these will all increase as well.  Growing in Christ means just this; there will be more of Him and less of us, all of him.  Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control is our Christian character, and it’s so important to work on our character because we all know right character produces right conduct, and we all want to live lives that are pleasing in his sight.  You’ll notice that this section in Galatians V.23b ends with, against such things there is no law. Right conduct never needs laws, we will live in such a way as to be model citizens, model friends, model husbands and wives, fathers and mothers, employees and employers, model children, everything. There will be more LJPPLGFG S-L and less lust, greed, envy, pride, hatred, and concede, Fruit of the Sprit. I even heard that Muslim men were encouraging their wives to convert to Christianity because Christian women made such good wives. When the fruit of the Spirit is evident in your live, people will notice.

So the simple truth is that the fruit of the Spirit is tangible proof of a living and true faith.  Too often we look to the spectacular and fantastic as proof of Christ in a person’s life.  Some churches even look at the finical records of a person to see if they are blessed by God.  It’s a real problem trying to discern true faith, because many false prophets have gone out in sheep’s clothing.  So how do you discern true living faith? Is it by the size of the church, has the pastor written books, do people speak in tongues, and are people healed?  People are naturally drawn to the spectacular, but Jesus spoke about this when He said, a wicked and perverse generation asks for miraculous signs.  The proof of a true and living faith is found in these 9 qualities manifest in our lives. I want to go through all these today to keep a sense of continuity because the Holy Spirit can not be divided up. We get all of Him.  If I cover each attribute in 10 minutes I should be done by 1:30, so please bear with me.

       So first off, how is your love life?  Because love is the first and may be the most important attribute mentioned, and the glue that holds the rest together.  In a sense these are attributes of Jesus, and if we abide in Him they will be seen in us.  How much does Jesus love? (Hold fingers a little ways apart) This much? (Holding hands a foot or so apart) This much?  (Spread arms wide, like stretched on a cross) This is how much Jesus loves and how much we are to love others.  This is my commandment, Jesus said, “that you love one another.”  This is a great example of self sacrificial, Christ like love. I realize that when we use the word love there is a lot of confusion. The Greeks had several words which we translate love.  It starts with Eros, from which we get erotic, so this is basically lust.  Then philo, love of friends, storga, and love of family and finally agapa, which is the love Christ, showed to us. This is the love we are to have for others. A love that wants what’s best for others.  This is the standard God has set for us.  For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son. This is the love we are to have for others and will be evident when we have Christ in us, when we are living our lives controlled by the Holy Spirit.  We could never hope to love like this on our own power.  This kind of love is not based on what a person can do for you, how they can make you feel. Not based on friendship or any emotion, it goes way deeper than this. It’s a level of commitment that doesn’t even depend on the other person’s worthiness, or what they can contribute to the relationship.  You want to see this kind of love in action, watch how a Godly person treats a homeless beggar.  This type of love wants what’s best for the other person, it sees them as through our Father’s eyes, and loves them through His power. It loves them where they are, but loves them too much to leave them there.  This kind of love is a choice, it’s a commitment. This kind of love is also a verb.  So how’s your love life really? Do you just love people who will love you back, who makes you feel good, your family and friends? Can you love everyone? We have a long way to go.

       Next on the top 9 list of attributes of Godly character is Joy. James tells us consider it pure joy my brothers whenever you face trials of various kinds.  So what kind of joy is he talking about here? We think of joy as an emotion, holding your baby, or grandbaby, finding a treasure in a thrift store, or one of those other warm fuzzy moments we have in life.  But James is giving us a glimpse of what Spirit produced joy looks like, and it’s not based on any warm fuzzy feelings which fade.  Holding your new born baby has way faded by the time your child in 13. In fact many of us who are adamantly opposed to abortion might reconsider if they would do them in the 42^nd trimester.  We confuse joy with happiness, and how it makes us feel, but he joy of the Lord transcends this.  There is a little acrostic for joy.  An acrostic is where each letter represents a word. Picture in your mind, or write the letters J-O-Y down the side of the page and next to J write Jesus. O writes other, and next to Y writes you. Real joy is found when Jesus is first in your life, other is second and you are third.  Getting our priorities right. Joy is the deep down sense of well being that says, “It is well with my soul.”  Things are good between me and my Lord.  Joy like this is not based on circumstances. For the Joy set before Him Jesus endured the cross.  The apostles were beaten and put in chairs, in prison and considered it all joy.  The joy of the Lord, which is our strength as is found in the unshakable confidence that God is in control.  We can never determine how other people act, but we can control how we react.  A joyful person will be a happy person because they won’t be affected by the ups and downs of life.  If we live our lives in such a ways as to glorify God, we can consider it pure joy to face the trials with a smile on our face.  This will speak volumes to the unsaved world around us which needs Christ so badly.

       Peace is the next evidence of the Holy Spirit in our lives and it follows close behind Joy.  Whereas joy refers to the knowledge that God is in control, peace is the tranquility of mind that accompany this. In the 14^th chapter of John, the comfort chapter, Jesus tells us, “Let not your hearts is troubled. Trust in God. Trust also in me.”  This is where peace is found; in the knowledge that God can cause all things to work together for good to those who love the Lord and are called according to His purposes. The joy of the Lord is my strength.

These attributes of God, which Jesus demonstrated for us, are to be a pattern of how we live our lives. Does it seem impossible yet? I should because in and of ourselves we could never hope to achieve the type of behaviors listed so far, and we have only covered the first 3. We have 6 more to go.  I’ve heard it state that the first 3 attributes pertain as to how we relate to God, the second 3 deal with our relationship s with others and the last 3 impact our character. That being said we’ll more on to everyone’s favorite.

Patience, It really should be a favorite. Not that I love practicing it, but I’m sure glade it’s an attribute of God.  Think of what our lives would look like had it not been for God’s patience with us.  None of us would be here, but thankfully God is slow to anger. He is patient with us and He expects us to be patience in our dealing with others. Especially with other believers, remembering we are all under construction.  I heard a cute story about patience. If any of you parents ever have a colicky baby? You can relate. There was a man in the grocery story with a screaming baby in his cart.  He kept saying over and over, “Keep calm Albert, Albert keep calm.”  A woman went over to him a commended him on his great patience in dealing with baby Albert. He turned on her, and growled, “Madam, I’m Albert.” Patience, God is in control and none of us are perfect, we are all under construction.  And thank goodness our Father is also patience in His dealing with us, maybe a little more than Albert. And we too are to manifest this Godly attribute to the world around us, especially our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Does everybody know what they want to be when they grow up? That is of course assuming that we all are going to grow up. How about for our kids?  If there was only one thing we could pick for our kids to be when they grew up, what would it be?  A doctor, lawyer, after all these guys make tons on money. How about president? No, the one thing I’m talking about is within the grasp of all of us. I want to be this, when I grow up too. I want to be kind. Kindness is next in our list of Godly attributes. Someone once said it is the door holiness enters through.  The Greek word for kindness, kar-ees-to-tees (Remove dark type), curettes, means tender concern. Sounds a lot like our English word caress.  That’s the idea which it conveys, tenderness. Just like Jesus.  You want to be a success in life, work on being kind.  The great American novelist Henry James was saying good-by to his young nephew. He left him with these words of wisdom which the nephew would never forget. Your pencils ready? Here are some profound words from the master novelist himself. There are three things that are important in the human life, he said. “First is to be kind. The second is to be kind. And third is to be kind.”  We never know when our kindness could change the life of another person. Practice kindness, and you never know, holiness may one day come take up residence in us.

Next is Goodness and it could be translated, love in action.  Love with skin on. Moral and spiritual purity shown in acts of kindness.  Paul mentioned in Roman that for a righteous man one would hardly die, but perhaps for a good man one might dare to die. Paul makes a distinction between being morally pure and the actual attribute of goodness.  It’s not just about being morally straight, or righteous, it goes beyond that. In the parable of the Good Samaritan Jesus explained the difference. The priest who walked by the guy who was beaten and robbed was morally pure, but he was not the hero of the story. The guy who actually helped the poor bugger was the real hero. Goodness is love in action. Jesus didn’t come suffer and die for us to sit in church, and listen to sermons and sing songs. He wants us to use the new life we have found to influence the world around us. Goodness, love with skin on.

Faithfulness, we know that without faith it is impossible to please God. Faithfulness as used here is what keeps us loving the unlovely, seeking the lost, shepherding God’s people, if keeps us on the path for not just a few fleeting years but for the rest of our lives. Faithfulness is loyalty and dependability.  We are committed to Jesus for all eternity.

Gentleness would first and foremost be a submission to God’s will.  We accept His dealing with us as good and for our benefit, and it is this humble spirit that when dealing with men, bears any offense without any desire for revenge or retribution.  The Greek word used here for gentleness also implies a teachable spirit, and considerate. God is shaping and polishing us, just like he is shaping and polishing Charlie. Submit to God’s will.

Last but not least, self-control.  The word means to get a grip on, or take hold of.  We are not going to be able to grow as Christians until we deal with our passions and desires. First thing a person must do to get a grip on their lives, taking control over the desires of the sinful nature, and us to submit to God.   God will never force himself on us, He’ll sure show us where we fall short but it’s up to make the necessary adjustment. It wears us out living with conflict over what you know you should do, God’s will and what you want to do? Get a grip and show some self-control, and do what’s right.  John Maxwell wrote, “In reading about the lives of great people, I’ve found that the first victory they won was over themselves.” The flesh is weak.  Self-control is submitting to God, saying no to my desires and yes to HIs

$64 question for today is why is it so important for us to cultivate this fruit in our lives? What made an impression on you today?

God wants us to cultivate these qualities in our lives. For us to become less, as He becomes more.  We could never do this alone it takes a total commitment of our lives to Christ, letting his Spirit take control, and committing our lives to reflecting Christ to a world which need him so badly.  Second thing is we need other people, if we are to grow in these Godly attributes.  It would be impossible to grow in these areas if we were never around other people.  How could you practice loving the unlovely if they were not around, developing patience if you never had to wait for anyone?  We are the salt of the earth, not the salt in a salt shaker. We must be in the world but not of the world. And the third thing we are to do to cultivate the Spirit of God in us is to crucify the sinful nature, with all its unhealthy passions and self serving ways. Living a life to glorify God is about a transformation whereby we are turned into little Christ’s.

And together may we all live in such a way that the world may know that, I have been crucified with Christ and it is no longer I who live but Christ lives in me.

Jesus spent a lot of time around notorious sinners. Of course we know that we’re all sinners, but He used to hang out with the lowest of low, tax collectors and prostitutes. These people were drawn to Jesus.  Somewhere down the line we’ve gotten away from this and we’ve made Christianity a nice clean religion and sometime these friends of Jesus feel like they are not welcome.  I read a neat book on the way to Africa, Pastor Ruddy, about a guy who had a church in a poor part of a big city and he actually paid homeless people to come to church so his congregation would have a healthy love for their less fortunate neighbors. Great first step, to make them feel welcome here in God’s house, if we are to have any hope of loving them into the kingdom.

Like I said somewhere we’ve gotten away from welcoming sinners in the love of Christ, and often the church is seen as judgmental and harsh. If we would concentrate on growing in these attributes of the Holy Sprit the LJPPKGFG S-L people would see Jesus in church again.  I heard a horrible story last week; a pastor was ministering in the ghetto, in the US. A woman came up to him desperate for help. She was and drug addict and prostitute and said she had tried everywhere to get some help. She didn’t know where to turn  she was so desperate she actually rented out her 2 year old daughter for men to have sex with just to get enough to support her habit, and survive.    The pastor asked her if she had tried going to the church for help.  She replied, “I feel bad enough about myself already, why would I want to go there and have them make me feel even worst?” Something has gotten out of whack.

If we have the fruit of the Spirit in our lives, people will see Jesus in us and they will come to us when they need help, and be healed. Not be made to feel like pond scum.  If we are in fact little Christ’s, everyone should feel welcome around us, and they can if we have Christ in us and we cultivate this precious fruit of the Spirit which He has given us. As we abide in Jesus we can bear much fruit.

Let’s pray: Father I just thank you for all the precious gifts you have given us and may we always remember that they are not ours to keep but to pass on in your name. Create in us a clean heart oh Lord and renew a right spirit in us, a Spirit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, that we may live lives that glorify you. Lord Jesus comes live in us that we may live for you. Amen