Flourishing in Fruit – The Fruit of the Spirit

    So far in our study of ‘Flourishing in Fruit’ we have learned about the need to bear good fruit – by which God is glorified and we show ourselves to be disciples of Jesus (John 15:5, 8) – and that we need to work to keep our hearts pure because that is where our fruit develops (please read and consider Matthew 12:33-37). We have also taken a closer look at the fruit we bear: our conduct (fruit of repentance: Matthew 3:8, fruit of righteousness: Philippians 1:9-11, 2 Corinthians 9:10, and fruit of good works/generosity: Colossians 1:9-11) and our words (Hebrews 13:15, Matthew 12:33-37). These two areas of our lives – what we do and what we say – reveal our heart to others.

    Now, I would like you to open your Bible to Galatians 5:16-26 and take the time to read this passage and consider the fruit that the Spirit bears in us. 

    There are two types of fruit depicted here: the fruit of the flesh, and the fruit of the Spirit. The fruit of the flesh is developed by serving self in selfish pursuits and the fruit of the Spirit is developed by serving God in godly* pursuits

*godly = worthy (Colossians 1:9-11), profitable (Titus 3:8, 14), kind (Philippians 2:3-4; 4:5), pious (2 Timothy 2:22), reverent (Hebrews 12:28)

“And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” (Galatians 5:24 NKJV)

    Jesus tells us in Matthew 16:24-26 that we are to deny self, take up our cross, and follow Him. The apostle Paul echoes this when he gave instruction to “present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God” (Romans 12:1, and think on his statement in Galatians 2:20). When we are baptized we bury the old man of sin and we rise to “walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:3-4), we “put on the new man which was created according to God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:17-24); it is not about us and our selfish wants and desires anymore, we devote ourselves to God and serving Him acceptably (Hebrews 12:28, Ephesians 5:15-17). This is a daily endeavour, a determination we make from the moment we open our eyes each morning, and one that we remind ourselves of throughout our day.

“For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth) finding out what is acceptable to the Lord.” (Ephesians 5:8-10 NKJV)

    When we live in the Spirit and walk in the Spirit (allowing God’s word to transform us, Romans 12:2, James 1:21-25, 1 John 2:15-17), and when we work continually to identify and remove the debris of selfishness/selfish ambitions/lusts (Hebrews 5:14), then our hearts will be a good soil (Matthew 13:23) in which the Spirit can develop and bear His fruit.

“…the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22-23 NKJV)  

• Love: 1 John 3:16-23; 4:7-5:5, 1 Corinthians 13:1-13
• Joy: Philippians 4:4 (the whole letter to the Philippians is filled with joy), John 15:9-17
• Peace: Philippians 4:6-9, 1 Timothy 2:1-4, Romans 12:18
• Longsuffering: James 1:2-4, Colossians 1:9-11, 1 Peter 8-11
• Kindness: John 15:14, Romans 12:9-21, Philippians 2:1-4, 1 Corinthians 9:7-8, Ephesians 4:29-32
• Goodness: Psalm 16:2, Galatians 6:9-10, Ephesians 2:10
• Faithfulness: Matthew 24:12-13, Hebrews 10:35-39
• Gentleness: Philippians 4:5, Colossians 3:6, 1 Peter 3:1-4, James 1:21
• Self-Control: 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, Hebrews 13:4, James 1:19, 2 Peter 1:5-11

    Please reread Galatians 5:16-26. Are these fruit developing in your heart and visible/becoming visible in your life? Or are you allowing selfishness and selfish desires to impede the development of the Spirit’s fruit? We need to be clearing the soil of our hearts, allowing it to be nourished by the Light (John 1:1-14; 3:19-21, 2 Timothy 3:16-17) and the living water (John 4:14, Matthew 5:6) so that the Spirit can bear His fruit in our lives! Are you preparing your heart for His fruit? 

It is worth every effort and every sacrifice!

You can do it! So can I!! 

Flourishing in Fruit – Our Words Are Our Fruit (Part 2)

    Jesus tells us plainly in Matthew 7:15-20 that a tree is known by its fruit, and in Matthew 12:33-37 He explains that our words are our fruit. Our words are drawn from the storehouse we each curate: our hearts, so we need to be vigilant concerning what we allow into our hearts/minds (read and consider Philippians 4:8).

“Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat of its fruit.” (Proverbs 18:22 NKJV)

    I would like you to take a look at the fruit in the lists below – some are from good storehouses, well-curated and full of the treasures of wisdom, knowledge, and righteousness (Colossians 2:2-3, Ephesians 5:17, 2 Timothy 3:16-17, Hebrews 12:3-11) while the others are from storehouses that are neither guarded by their keepers nor guided by God’s good and perfect will; they are in desperate need of a thorough cleaning and a careful restock – as you read through these lists please take an honest look the fruit you have borne recently – have your words come from a storehouse that is full of God’s light or from one where the light is dimmed by dust and decay?

“I will guard my ways, lest I sin with my tongue…” (Psalm 39:1a NKJV)

 Our Words Are Our Fruit:

• True words (Ephesians 4:25, Philippians 4:8)
• Edifying and gracious words (Ephesians 4:29, Proverbs 16:24)
• Words seasoned with salt (Colossians 3:10)
• Gentle words (Proverbs 15:1, Philippians 4:5, Titus 3:2)
• Patient words (Proverbs 15:18, Colossians 1:9-11, James 1:19-20)
• Fitly spoken words (Proverbs 25:11)
• Wise words (Proverbs 4:1-27; 18:4, James 1:5; 3:13-17)
• Words that teach good things (Titus 2:3-5)
• Discreet words (Titus 2:3-5, 1 Peter 4:8)
• Humble words (Micah 6:8, Philippians 2:1-11, James 4:7-10
• Words that proclaiming God’s praises (1 Peter 2:9, Psalm 63:3-5, 104:33)
• Words that magnifying God and declaring His greatness (Psalm 34:1-3, Romans 15:4-6, Jude 25)
• Words of thanks and gratitude (2 Corinthians 9:15, Ephesians 1:3-14, 5:20, Colossians 3:17, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
• Words of warning (1 Thessalonians 5:14, James 5:19-20)
• Praying words (Matthew 5:44, Ephesians 6:18-19, James 5:13-18, 1 Peter 4:7)
• Singing words (James 5:13, Ephesians 5:19, Colossians 3:16)
• Words of comfort (2 Corinthians 1:3-4, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, 2 Thessalonians 2:15-17, Romans 15:4-6)
• Words spoken in the name of Lord Jesus (Colossians 3:17)
• Merciful words (Matthew 5:44, Luke 23:34, Acts 7:60, Ephesians 4:32, 6:14-15)
• Trusting words (Proverbs 3:5-6, Philippians 4:4-7, John 6:68)
• Trustworthy words (Proverbs 10:9, Matthew 5:37)

………..

• Grumbling and complaining words (Philippians 2:4, 1 Peter 4:9, Jude 16)
• Complaining words against government and authorities (Exodus 22:28, Titus 3:1-2, 1 Peter 2:17)
• Back-biting and deceitful words (Proverbs 25:23, Romans 1:28-32; 3:10-14)
• Words of gossip and slander (Proverbs 16:27-30, Ephesians 4:31, 1 Timothy 5:11-16)
• Great swelling words and flattering words (Psalm 12:1-4, Proverbs 20:19, 26:28, Romans 16:17-18, Jude 16)
• Cruel and reviling words (Psalm 64:3, Proverbs 15:1, 1 Corinthians 6:9-10)
• Lying (Proverbs 26:28, Colossians 3:9-10, Revelation 22:15)
• Idle words (Psalm 12:1-4, Matthew 12:36-37, 1 Timothy 5:11-16)
• Angry words and outbursts of wrath (Psalm 4:4-5, Ephesians 4:26; 31 Colossians 3:8)
• Cursing, swearing, and lewd words (Ephesians 4:17-24: 5:1-7, Colossians 3:8)
• Speaking God’s name flippantly and without thought (Exodus 20:7, Matthew 6:9)
• Sharing coarse and rude jokes (Ephesians 5:1-7)
• Proud words (Proverbs 6:16-19; 11:12, 16:5, Luke 14:11)
• Words of discord (Proverbs 6:12-19, James 4:1-2, Titus 3:9-11)  
• Envious words (Titus 3:3, James 3:14)

“He who would love life and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips from speaking deceit. Let him turn from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayers; but the face of the LORD is against those who do evil.” (1 Peter 3:10-12 and Psalm 34:12-16a NKJV)

    God’s peace is to rule in our hearts – our storehouses – (Colossians 3:15) and we are to love Him with our whole heart, our whole soul, and our whole mind (Matthew 22:37). Let’s take careful inventory of our storehouses and prayerfully replace the evil we may there with what is good (Romans 12:9, 21) so we can “continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name” (Hebrews 13:15)!

You can do it! So can I!!

Flourishing in Fruit: Our Words Are Our Fruit (Part 1)

    Over the past few weeks we have looked at how our conduct is our fruit:

• Fruit of repentance (Matthew 3:8) – making the changes that prove that we have turned our backs to ungodliness and worldly lusts (Titus 2:11-12, 2 Timothy 2:22) while clinging to what is good (Romans 12, John 14:6)
• Fruit of righteousness (Philippians 1:9-11, 2 Corinthians 9:9-11) – doing what is right in God’s sight, according to His commands and instructions (James 1:21-25, 1 John 3:7)
• Fruit of good works (Colossians 1:9-11) – doing good for others, generously sharing our blessings with them (Psalm 68:19, 2 Corinthians 9:7-8)

    Now, I would like you to consider another fruit we all produce: words, “the fruit of our lips” (Hebrews 13:15)

    We live in a world in which communication has become everything. While most communication devices were at one time tethered to a wall in our houses, technology has advanced to a point where we now carry these devices with us at all times – you may even be reading this post on your device. There was a time when we only had phone calls during the daylight hours, a time when we were content to wait for mailed letters to arrive, and a time when television stations shut off all programming after the 11 o’clock news, but now we have access to all sorts of communication on our devices twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, and when emails or texts are sent, instantaneous replies are now expected no matter the time of day or night.

    In Part 1 of this series I would like you to consider the fruit you bear online, because if you type it, it’s your fruit, and if you click ‘share,’ ‘like,’ or ‘love,’ you are endorsing it, and it becomes your fruit as well, as it is seen by others. Think about the things you look at and the things you post, like, and share, are they things that God would approve of? Are they befitting a Christian?

    Every person with access can now communicate to the world whatever is in their heart – and those words are not always good, yet they are still put on display and even promoted in the seemingly endless ‘fruit’ market of social media. What sort of fruit are you taking to this market? Are you trying your best to post (and share) things that will uplift others, and/or shine God’s light? Or are you using social media to share rude humour, complain, vent, or rant? We need to be mindful of the words we share!

“With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so.” (James 3:9-10 NKJV)

    Christians are commanded to meditate on what is true, noble, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous, and praiseworthy (Philippians 4:8), we are to purify ourselves (1 John 3:3) and keep ourselves pure (2 Timothy 2:19-21), and be holy in all our conduct (1 Peter 1:15-16) – this includes our time online. We need to be especially careful of what we allow into our minds and hearts as we scroll through posts and videos because what we allow to be communicated to us will, in turn, become what we communicate to others (consider 1 Corinthians 15:33, Psalm 1:1, Proverbs 26:22). Our words are our fruit and development of that fruit begins in our heart (Matthew 12:33-35) – we bear fruit as we communicate online.  

“A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak. They will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” (Matthew 12:35-37 NKJV)

    What are you consuming in the world’s fruit market? Are you finding the fruit that is good and wholesome; fruit that will nourish your soul and give you a healthy storehouse from which you draw your words? Or are you grazing your way through the buffet of filthy fruit that will deteriorate your storehouse and cause you to form bad thoughts, words, and habits?

    Think on these things this week! Our words are important – God knows every single one of them – so, from this very day, determine to be even more mindful to use your time wisely (Ephesians 5:15-17) and be watchful of the words you ‘bear’ online!

You can do it! So can I!! 

Flourishing in Fruit: Our Conduct is Our Fruit (Part 3)

Fruit of Generosity and Good Works

    So far in our ‘Flourishing in Fruit’ series, we have learned that God expects us to develop fruit (John 15:8, Matthew 12:33); He has provided all the knowledge, sustenance, and nourishment we need to do just that (read and think on Isaiah 5:1-4). We have learned that we need to be aware of what buds (or springs up) in our hearts/minds, being careful to identify and pluck out the bad thoughts so that they do not develop to fruit (words/action, Matthew 12: 34-35). From this we came to understand that our conduct is our fruit, it is the end result of our thoughts and intentions: our repentance of past sins will become obvious to others as we make changes and remove bad habits from our daily routines (Matthew 3:8, 2 Corinthians 7:9-11) and in the process of aligning ourselves with God and the Truth our righteousness will become evident to others (Philippians 1:9-11, and consider 1 Timothy 4:15, 3 John 3, 12).

    Now, let’s look at one more way our conduct is our fruit: good works. Paul referred to the generosity of the brethren as their “fruit” in both Romans 15:27-28 and Philippians 4:15-17. Doing good works are beneficial (Titus 3:8) and oftentimes visible to others, they are the end result of our heart’s intent and they are our fruit.

    Side note: We don’t do good just to be seen by others (Matthew 6:1-4), but to show others the goodness of God and give Him the glory (Matthew 5:16).

“And God is able to make every grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.” (2 Corinthians 9:8 NKJV)

    God blesses us abundantly (Psalm 68:19) so that we can generously give to others. It is always our hope that those who receive these good things will give glory to God and be thankful to Him for it (Matthew 5:16). Read and consider Matthew 25:34-46 and Romans 12:3-8. We all have differing abilities, but God gives us all ability to use them to do good: sometimes it may be the giving on our time (2 Corinthians 12:15a), giving the work of our hands (Dorcas, Acts 9:36-43, Proverbs 31:20), sharing of our goods (the brethren, Acts 4:32-37), or simply sharing God’s comfort to others in their troubles (2 Corinthians 1:3-4). When there is a need, think on what you can do to alleviate it.  

"And let our people also learn to maintain good works, to meet urgent needs, that they may not be unfruitful." (Titus 3:14 NKJV)

    Paul prays about this fruit as well, in Colossians 1:9-11, expressing his hope for its development and his desire that the brethren in Colossae may flourish in good things:

• That they may be filled with the knowledge of God’s will, in all wisdom and spiritual understanding (knowing the true value of God’s will and wisdom, v9)
• That they may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him (practicing righteousness, v10)
• Being fruitful in every good work (v10)
• Increasing in the knowledge of God (v10)
• Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy (v11)

    What you do is your fruit. What are you doing?  

    Are you looking out only for yourself or do you love your neighbour as yourself; gladly sharing with them what God has blessed you with? Do you look for opportunities to do good (Galatians 6:9-10, 2 Thessalonians 3:13)? God does His part, are you doing your part? Do you bear the fruit of generosity and good works?

You can do it! So can I!!