January 25, 2004 Galatians 5:22-23
“The Spirit-filled Life”
INTRODUCTION
Every person is going to produce fruit.
If a person doesn’t produce the expected kind of fruit, it’s because:
- he’s not the right kind of tree OR...
“...A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit.” Matthew 7:18 (KJV)
Fruit is something produced because of what we are. You can’t force an apple tree to produce oranges. You can’t force an orange tree to produce walnuts. One of the main reasons that people in churches are not producing the fruit of the Spirit is because they have never received the Spirit to begin with. They are still one of those bad trees, trying as hard as they can to produce good fruit, but being frustrated every time because they have never received the Spirit who changes them and empowers them to produce a different type of fruit.
- he’s not planted in the right place
“He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season... Whatever he does prospers.” Psalm 1:3 (NIV)
“...just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in Him...” Colossians 2:6-7 (NIV)
In order to get the right kind of crop, you’ve got to have both of these components – the right tree in the right place where it can receive the right nourishment.
The wrong tree planted in the right place is not going to produce the expected type of fruit.
The right tree planted in the wrong place is not going to produce the expected amount of fruit.
Every Christian is going to produce the whole fruit.
A friend of mine was ordering breakfast during a recent trip in the South. He saw grits on the menu, and being a Dutchman who spent most of his life in Michigan, he had never been very clear on the nature of this item. So he asked the waitress, “What exactly is a grit?” Her response was a classic. “Honey,” she said (in the South, waitresses are required by law to address all customers as “honey”), “Honey, they don’t come by themselves.” Grits don’t exist in isolation. – Everybody’s Normal till you get to know them by John Ortberg, p. 18, 19
1. Love is the motivation of the Spirit-filled life.
“If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing” 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 (NIV)
The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbor as yourself." Galatians 5:14 (NIV)
“If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? ...let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.” 1 John 3:17-18 (NIV)
“And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us.” 1 John 3:23 (NIV)
“...live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” Ephesians 5:2 (NIV)
“God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.” Romans 5:5 (NIV)
2. Joy is the strength of the Spirit-filled life.
“Splendor and majesty are before [the LORD]; strength and joy in his dwelling place.” 1 Chronicles 16:27 (NIV)
“...the joy of the LORD is your strength.” Nehemiah 8:10 (NIV)
When you think about it, it makes sense that joy and strength go together. Do you know what one of the most telling signs of depression is? It’s being tired all the time. If you have no joy, then you have no energy.
“...the God of my strength... God my exceeding joy... Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.” Psalm 43:2-5 (KJV)
One of the sweet Christians in church history was a little guy named Billy Bray. He was a Cornish miner. He had one of the most remarkable salvation experiences you ever saw in all of your life. Billy Bray was so happy — he shouted all the time. He bothered people. He had so much joy, just shouting all the time. And somebody said to him one time, “Billy Bray, why don’t you tone down some? You’re just too happy. You’ve got too much joy all the time.” Billy Bray said, “I can’t help it. God saved me and I can’t help it. When I put down one foot it says hallelujah, and when I put down the other foot it says glory to God.”
And they said, “Billy, suppose you’re mistaken? Suppose when you die you find out that you’re not going to Heaven after all, you’re going to Hell.” Old Billy said, “Praise God, I’ve been having a wonderful time in the Lord all through the years. Jesus has been good to me and if I die and go down to Hell, then I’ll be thankful for the joy Jesus brought me in life. I’ll shout all over Hell and they’ll have to send me up to Heaven because they can’t stand that kind of joy down there.”
“...do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God...” Ephesians 4:30 (NIV)
“...even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy...” 1 Peter 1:8 (NIV)
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds,
because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.” James 1:2-3(NIV)
On a balmy October afternoon in 1982, Badger Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin, was packed. More than 60,000 die-hard University of Wisconsin supporters were watching their football team take on the Michigan State Spartans. It soon became obvious that MSU had the better team. What seemed odd was that, as the score became more lopsided explosions of applause and shouts of joy burst forth from the Wisconsin fans. How could they cheer when their team was losing? It turns out that seventy miles away the Milwaukee Brewers were beating the St. Louis Cardinals in game three of the 1982 World Series. Many of the fans in the stands were listening to portable radios--and responding to something other than their immediate circumstances. Greg Asimakoupoulos, Naperville, Illinois. Leadership, Vol. 15, no. 4
“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” Philippians 4:4 (NIV)
In Decision, Joni Eareckson Tada writes: “Honesty is always the best policy, but especially when you’re surrounded by a crowd of women in a restroom during a break at a Christian women’s conference. One woman, putting on lipstick, said, "Oh, Joni, you always look so together, so happy in your wheelchair. I wish that I had your joy!" Several women around her nodded. "How do you do it?" she asked as she capped her lipstick.
"I don’t do it," I said. "In fact, may I tell you honestly how I woke up this morning?" "This is an average day. After my husband, Ken, leaves for work at 6:00 A.M., I’m alone until I hear the front door open at 7:00 A.M. That’s when a friend arrives to get me up. While I listen to her make coffee, I pray, ’Oh, Lord, my friend will soon give me a bath, get me dressed, sit me up in my chair, brush my hair and teeth, and send me out the door. I don’t have the strength to face this routine one more time. I have no resources. I don’t have a smile to take into the day. But you do. May I have yours? God, I need you desperately.’"
"So, what happens when your friend comes through the bedroom door?" one of them asked.
"I turn my head toward her and give her a smile sent straight from heaven. It’s not mine. It’s God’s. And so whatever joy you see today was hard won this morning." I have learned that the weaker we are, the more we need to lean on God; and the more we lean on God, the stronger we discover him to be. [Joy Hard Won, Citation: Joni Eareckson Tada, "Joy Hard Won," Decision (March 2000), p.12
“For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit,” Romans 14:17 (NIV)
3. Peace is the stabilizer of the Spirit-filled life.
"Let not your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me.”
John 14:1 (NASB)
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true...think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me--put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”
Philippians 4:6-9 (NIV)
“...the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God.” Romans 8:6,7 (NIV)
Tony Campolo tells a story about being in a church in Oregon where he was asked to pray for a man who had cancer. Campolo prayed boldly for the man’s healing. That next week he got a telephone call from the man’s wife. She said, "You prayed for my husband. He had cancer." Campolo thought when he heard her use the past tense verb that his cancer had been eradicated! But before he could think much about it she said, "He died." Campolo felt terrible.
But she continued, "Don’t feel bad. When he came into that church that Sunday he was filled with anger. He knew he was going to be dead in a short period of time, and he hated God. He was 58 years old, and he wanted to see his children and grandchildren grow up. He was angry that this all-powerful God didn’t take away his sickness and heal him. He would lie in bed and curse God. The more his anger grew towards God, the more miserable he was to everybody around him. It was an awful thing to be in his presence.
But the lady told Compolo, "After you prayed for him, a peace had come over him and a joy had come into him. Tony, the last three days have been the best days of our lives. We’ve sung. We’ve laughed. We’ve read Scripture. We prayed. Oh, they’ve been wonderful days. And I called to thank you for laying your hands on him and praying for healing."
And then she said something incredibly profound. She said, "He wasn’t cured, but he was healed." (Tony Campolo, "Year of Jubilee," Preaching Today Tape #212) (The Timothy Report, Swan Lake Communications, Swanlake@jam.rr.com September 30, 2002)
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13 (NIV)
CONCLUSION
