Sermon Central
-
Fruits Of The Holy Spirit
Contributed by Norman Bernad on Jul 20, 2023 (message contributor)
Summary: When we bent over a plant to pick its fruit, we didn’t expect apples or oranges or kiwi to be attached to the plant. We knew that strawberry plants always bear strawberries.
Fruits of the Holy Spirit
2. John 15:1-5
First of all, a fruit plant or tree will only produce one kind of fruit.
When we bent over a plant to pick its fruit, we didn’t expect apples or oranges or kiwi to be attached to the plant. We knew that strawberry plants always bear strawberries.
A. Second, the source of the fruit was the plant it was attached to. – Fruit doesn’t just appear out of nowhere; it’s the outgrowth of something it grows out of.
B. Furthermore, we knew to pick fruit off live plants, because those not attached to the fruit are already dead, or was in the process of dying.
Illustration
In one of his meetings, D.L. Moody was explaining to his audience the truth that we cannot bring about spiritual changes in our lives by our own strength. He demonstrated the principal like this: “Tell me,” he said to his audience, “how can I get the air out of the tumbler I have in my hand?” One man said, “Suck it out with a pump.” But Moody replied, “That would create a vacuum and shatter it.” Finally after many suggestions, he picked up a pitcher and quietly filled the glass with water. “There,” he said, “all the air is now removed.” He then explained that victory for the child of God does not come by working hard to eliminate sinful habits, but rather by allowing Christ to take full possession.
“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.2 “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.3 “You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.4 “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
The Christian life is a supernatural life. No Christian, of themselves, has what it takes to live it. Jesus couldn’t have put that more clearly when He said, “without Me you can do nothing.” We could interpret that to mean “without His help, or “without His blessing” but that is not what Jesus meant. He meant HE ALONE is the source of a fruitful, abundant, spiritual life. As a branch will wither and die without the sustaining life of the vine, so all our attempts to produce Christian character will be fruitless and frustrating apart from a continuing, need by need abiding in Christ.
The words of John 16 should be familiar to you by now. Jesus is sharing with his disciples, possibly on the very night he was to be betrayed, and He begins to teach them about the Holy Spirit. Let’s look at these words together one more time. John 16.
On the basis of those words, we have been exploring this “advantage” of the Holy Spirit. We have looked at who the Holy Spirit is. What the Holy Spirit does, some of His activities throughout the Word of God, and all history.
So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. 17 For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.
What is the Importance of the Fruit of the Spirit?
“Fruit of the Spirit” is a term found in the Book of Galatians, which is where the Apostle Paul is talking to the Churches in Galatia, who have been led astray from the Gospel of Christ and reverted back to the Law of Moses.
As Paul explains that we are justified by faith in Jesus Christ, he brings in the Fruit of the Spirit which is how we are to live as redeemed Children of God.
If you look at the last half of Galatians 5: 23, of our key scriptures,
It says “against such there is no law.” This means that when you live by the Fruit of the Spirit, there is no need for the law. Now this is not the governing laws of our country (which we should obey), but the law of Moses that was nailed to the tree when Jesus died for our sins. Jesus replaced that law.
If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.
