Disciple Up #51
Fruit of the Spirit #1
Love, Gal. 5:16, 18-22
By Louie Marsh, 4-11-2018
Intro – What’s coming up –
55 – 5-9- 1st Anniversary!
Don’t know what I’ll do – if you want to say anything about the impact of this podcast on your life in it’s first year e-mail, put it on FaceBook, etc.
New Series on Fruit of the Spirit – one every couple of weeks – to help with my new book.
“Funny” Love Quote:
“I detest ‘love lyrics.’ I think one of the causes of bad mental health in the United States is that people have been raised on ‘love lyrics.” – Frank Zappa
And, Possibly the Dumbest Thing Ever Said About Love –
Love means never having to say your sorry.
1) To become like Jesus I must CHOOSE SPIRIT over flesh.
16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. Galatians 5:16 (ESV)
- To live by the Spirit I must CONSTANTLY CHOOSE Spirit over my old nature.
- For this transformation to happen I must be committed to it 100%.
17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. Galatians 5:17 (ESV)
Greek has one word for both Spirit and flesh. It means a strong desire. God wants to us to be very passionate about our faith, but that passion must come from the Spirit not the flesh, otherwise disaster will occur as we’ve seen so many times.
15 And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. Luke 22:15 (ESV)
2) Real transformation comes when I TRUST GOD’S GRACE, not works.
19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love… Galatians 5:19-22a (ESV)
- The flesh makes me work, as a SLAVE TO MY DESIRES.
- The Spirit produces change in us as a result of GOD’S GRACE.
4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. Ephesians 2:4-7 (ESV)
QUOTES:
“Fruit is always the miraculous, the created; it is never the result of willing, but always a growth. The fruit of the Spirit is a gift of God, and only He can produce it. They who bear it know as little about it as the tree knows of its fruit. They know only the power of Him on whom their life depends”
― Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship
“A man does not have the character of God if he does not have the fruit of the Holy Spirit.”
― Sunday Adelaja
3) All you need is love?
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23 (ESV)
- I believe the fruit of the Spirit is
- The other qualities in this list help us DEFINE what love is.
4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never ends… 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a (ESV)
4) You know you are Spirit filled when you have GROWING FRUIT!
15 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, 19 addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, 20 giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. Ephesians 5:15-21 (ESV)
GIFTS ARE TOOLS TO USE FOR GOD’S GLORY – FRUIT IS WHO AND WHAT WE ARE!
Please Get In Touch! Email – louie@discipleup.org
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