28.Feb.2010 Fruits and Gifts
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Luke 6:43-45 (NLT): A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. A tree is identified by its fruit. Figs are never gathered from thornbushes, and grapes are not picked from bramble bushes. A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.
Galatians 5:16-18 (NLT): So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses.
Galatians 5:19-24 (NLT): When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God. But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there.
The passage in Luke is a potentant statement that gives believerts a unique look into the heart of God. God sees everything we can be–not what we think we are or what the world says we are. When we believe what the world says we should be because of what we have experienced, chosen, been through, etc…we sell ourselves short; God gets frustrated when we sell ourselves short! It is this frustration that sparks the passage in Luke. He is telling us just how important our hearts are to who we are and who we can be, as well as to Him. He, as stated above, knows what we can and will be if we submit our lives to Him.
Spiritual fruit is grown. It is not a gift given. Jesus wants to grow this fruit in our lives. It is a challenge. Ground must be churned; rocks and thorns must be delt with; seeds must be planted and cultivated; weeds must be uprooted; and time must pass before the fruit comes to fruition. The House of God is a place where this process can happen. The House of God is a place where life is cultivated and learned through living what the Bible says and not just by memorizing what it says. God’s will is released in our lives when we submit to the cultivating process. He makes us strong–body, soul, and spirit.
Paul continues on the theme of the heart in Galatians. This is where the classic Christian passage about the fruits of the spirit is found. Prior to the famous passage, he points out a poignant truth. There are two natures in our hearts–the sin nature and the Spirit nature. The Spirit nature is implanted in us the moment we accept Jesus. One day, we are living for ourselves, doing all the things listed in Galatains 5:19-21; the next moment, we are living verses 22-24. With the help of the Spirit, we begin to deny the nature of our flesh. However, the flesh fights back. There is a constant battle in our hearts and minds over what we should do. Paul says that it is like wanting to do the right thing but not doing it. The sin nature urges us to do wrong, be selfish, follow the easy path into death; the Spirit strengthens us to submit to God’s will and the use the fruit that is being grown within us.
In order to win this battle, we must be submitted to the Spirit. We must let Him lead us. We do this by hanging out with Him, soaking Him in, and letting Him change our hearts. He sets us free from the Law. The Law dictated that one little mess up was rewarded with a long list of punishments. In the Spirit, there is only grace. Mess ups are met with forgiveness, grace, and the urge to try again. The Spirit gives us victory over our sin nature and grows the fruits that begin to define our personalities.
So, when you are in conflict of the mind and heart, STOP and know that He is God. Pray. Let your spirit language flow. That’s why He gave it to you, to battle against the mind. The mind does not understand the Spirit language, thus praying in the Spirit stiffles the attacks of the mind. And when you pray, the Spirit comes on you, and the fruits begin to grow. Love comes in, followed by joy and peace and patience. One by one, the fruits over power the flesh until, finally, self-control finishes the mix, allowing you to forgive, forget, and move on with your life. That is the joy of submitting to the Spirit and letting Him cultivate fruit in our lives.
