New topic: Pray with Us for Struggling Christians and Persecuted Church. Remember you can still pray for Families and the Church.
Good morning.
Lately we’ve been talking about light and darkness and living by the Spirit doing His bidding, or by the sinful nature doing its bidding.
Many people struggle to bear the fruit of the Spirit and it becomes a life-long challenge. We would just like to be more patient, goodness seems to take much effort and not to even talk about self-control. We love selectively, struggle more with worry than having peace, finding gentleness an effort and faithfulness in today’s busy life impossible. With all these struggles it’s almost impossible to be friendly all the time.
I’ve heard Bible teachers trying to teach people how to bear the fruit of the Spirit; such as the fruit is present within us as seed if we are filled with the Holy Spirit, and all we need to do is develop it. So we go about working hard to develop it. I still remember years ago I stopped my car on the way home from work and pleaded the Lord to teach me how to love. It was only recently though, after years of my own effort, that I discovered the secret behind bearing the fruit of the Holy Spirit.
If we have to work at the seed in our spirit to turn it into fruit it means our focus is on the fruit and the effort is ours. Once we’ve managed we can take credit for it. Let’s look again at Galatians 5: “So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. 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,” (V16, 17). “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit,” (V22-25).
In our message entitled ‘By What Do You Live?’ we’ve seen the fruit of the sinful nature. Why is it so easy to bear the fruit of the sinful nature? It comes so naturally. It’s because we are the sinful nature, born into it and one with it. Our tree is called sin and therefore we will bear sin fruit.
The fruit of the Spirit belongs to the Holy Spirit. It’s He that bears that fruit. He is the tree called holiness bearing holy fruit. We can’t make ourselves bear the fruit that belongs to Him. We just need to get into Him, let Him envelop us from within and without. We need to get rid of the sinful nature (V24) – crucify it and keep in step with the Holy Spirit (V25). When He becomes all to us by us obeying Him, the fruit that He bears will manifest through us. The only ‘work’ we have to do is to stay in touch with the Holy Spirit.
When I eventually decided that I’m fed-up with trying to please both my flesh and the Holy Spirit and surrendered unconditionally, the fruit of the sinful nature faded away and the fruit of the Holy Spirit started to manifest automatically in my life. It was awesome, the battle was over, but it did cost me. I had to e.g. stop writing secular stuff, which I used to enjoy, I had to cut on my secular entertainment, which I’m still reducing, spending more time with the Lord and I had to gain the courage to obey regardless. Most importantly, our attitude have to become like that of Jesus (Philippians 2:1-11 http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Philippians%202:1-11&version=NIV1984).
Lord, it’s worth it to surrender completely. Please show me how.
Thank you Lord that your Word went out from your mouth, via your servant’s pen, and it will not return to you empty, but will accomplish what you desire and achieve the purpose for which you sent it.
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