CERRO GORDO
CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN
March 9, 2025
The Fruit of the Spirit
Galatians 5:22-25
Last week we
looked at the fact that the Holy Spirit that was promised by Jesus Christ gave
gifts to believers. These gifts have multiple purposes from equipping the
church to be able to resist the lies of Satan to gifts that help believers
carry out all the things we should be doing for Gods kingdom. These gifts also make
life more enjoyable to, not only us, but also can be a blessing to others in a number
of ways.
Today we are
going to begin a look at what Paul calls in Galatians the fruit of the spirit.
There are 9 different “fruits of the spirit” that are mentioned in the 22nd
and 23rd verses of the 5th chapter of Galatians. Just
prior to those verses in Galatians are 15 different attitudes or actions or
sins that should not be part of a spirit filled Christian’s life. Over the next
several weeks, and it will take much longer than that, we are going to look at
the 9 positive characteristics of a spirit filled Christian.
We will be
taking the “fruit” mentioned one at a time to really get an understanding of
just how important each one is for the church as well as each individual
believer. I mentioned it could take quite a while to cover these because we
will officially begin next Sunday with the fruit Love, continue on with Joy
then take a break for a few weeks as we approach Easter.
When we
think about fruit what is the first thing that comes to mind? It is probably
your personal favorite fruit that you enjoy eating. During the winter months finding
your favorite fruit might be difficult depending on what it is. I personally
like a lot of different fruits. In winter, however I simply will not buy
certain fresh fruits. Peaches for example simply don’t seem to have as good of
a flavor when you buy them now as they do in summer, at least that’s my opinion
and I could go on and on about a number of other fresh fruits I simply won’t
buy in winter.
During Jesus
sermon on the mount, he used an easy-to-understand example to help the people
understand the importance of Gods people being Faithful and productive during
our time on this earth. In Matthew 7 the 17th and 18th verses
he describes Gods people this way: Likewise every good tree bears good fruit,
but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit and a bad
tree cannot bear good fruit.
So when we
see Paul talking about the fruit of the spirit it is clearly a continuation of
what Jesus was talking about in Matthew. In my Bible, the section beginning with
the 16th verse and going thru the 26th verse of Galatians
the 5th chapter is called “Life by the Spirit. Theses verses cover
both the “bad fruit” mentioned by Jesus and the “good fruit” he mentioned. I
encourage you to read these verses this week as we begin our time together looking
at the “good fruit” highlighted beginning once again with the 22nd
verse.
What a gracious
and Loving God we have. He wants us to have everything we need to live a
successful and abundant life. When the promised Holy Spirit was sent to the believers,
he provided us with every tool we need to live a victorious life. As we go thru
these fruits of the spirit it will give each one of us a chance to see just how
much each one of these “fruits’ are flowing thru us the way the Holy Spirit
intended.
The Lord is constantly
reminding me that I have been given everything I need to live a joyful abundant
life while I am here on this earth as I prepare to spend eternity with my Lord
and Savior. So, let’s get encouraged together as the Lord reminds us of each
one of the fruits of the spirit we have been provided with. Unlike the spiritual
gifts that we have been given that may be different for each one of us, all of these
fruits of the spirit are for each and every believer. So, one more reminder
next Sunday we will begin with the first one listed which is Love. Is this one
the most important or are all of the different fruits listed equally important
for us? That will be for you and me to consider and decide.
May the Holy
Spirit help each one of us to live the best life we can no matter what phase of
life we may be in. We have all we need to do just that through Jesus Christ our
Lord and the fruit of the spirit which has been given to each of us by the Holy
Spirit so we can be successful in all we do.
Pastor Larry
Announcements
March 16 One Great Hour of Sharing special offering
March 18 12:00 Women's fellowship lunch- meal provided- soups, etc.
March 29 District Potluck at the Peoria church
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