Table of Content. Chapter One FRUIT NEVER LIES..5 The Character Test of Fruit The difference between flesh and fruit

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1 Table of Content Chapter One FRUIT NEVER LIES..5 The Character Test of Fruit The difference between flesh and fruit Chapter Two THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT IS SUPERNATURAL...21 Chapter Three FRUIT TOWARD GOD Fruit reveals the heart Fruit of Faithfulness Fruit of Goodness Fruit of Meekness Chapter Four FRUIT TOWARD OTHERS Fruit of Long-suffering Fruit of Gentleness Fruit of Love Chapter Five FRUIT TOWARD OURSELVES.. 97 Fruit of Joy Fruit of Peace Fruit of Temperance Chapter Six BEARING MUCH FRUIT About the Author 135

2 Chapter 1 Fruit Never Lies Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. - Matthew 7:15-20 Fruit is quite remarkable when you think about it. It has a quality and distinction all of its own. For instance, among all the different kinds of fruit, each one has a different shape, a different texture, and most importantly, a difference taste. When you pick up a banana you know immediately what it is you have in your hand.

3 You re not surprised that it doesn t tastes like an apple. However, just because you know what the fruit is, and what it is suppose to taste like, the one thing that you can never be certain about is whether or not the fruit is ripe. Some fruit may appear ready to pick but turn out bitter. If fruit remains on a branch for an extended period of time, it will over ripened and lose its flavor. Many different conditions can affect the way fruit looks and tastes. The only verifiable fact is to taste it. Jesus talked a lot about fruit. Mostly, because there is something inherently characteristic about fruit that makes it such a good object lesson. One in particular is the fact that fruit never lies. When you plant an apple tree, you can expect apples to grow on it. When you bite in to an apple, you know immediately you are eating an apple. Jesus understood this truth and therefore, used it to explain a spiritual lesson. Just as fruit grows on trees and produces after its own kind, the Christian s life is like a tree whose fruit reflects who they are. Fruit does more than define the tree. It reveals the condition of the tree.

4 Similarly, the fruit of a Christian s life reveals the condition of their heart. It can also determine the validity and legitimacy of a person s character their motives, and even their ministry. Fruit can tell us a lot about people that we would never know otherwise. The Character Test of Fruit In our opening text, Jesus talked about fruit. In this passage, he describes fruit as a means of detecting the true nature of a prophet or, in a negative sense, the signs of a false prophet. You may not be able to read a person s mind or tell what is in his heart, but the fruit of his life will tell you more about them than anything else. Luke gives a very similar example, but in this particular passage he describes the fruit of the Christian s life. Can the blind lead the blind? Shall they not both fall into the ditch? The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is perfect shall be as his master. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother s eye, but perceivest not the beam that is in thine own eye? For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bringeth

5 forth good fruit. For every tree is known by his own fruit (Luke 6:39-43). Jesus used this illustration regarding both false prophets and the relationship between two Christian brothers, because it shows that even in hard to discern conditions fruit never lies. It always bears the truth. It always reveals what is happening on the inside! Good fruit and bad fruit are the product of the seed. Whatever is planted will eventually show up on the vine. You can t hide it, disguise it, or cover it up. It is what it is! Just like the story of Solomon where two mothers were fighting over the life of their children. One mother laid on top of her child while sleeping and the child died. When she awoke at midnight and realized what had happened, she switched her child with the other mother s child. In the morning, each mother was holding a child that was not their own. Of course, the mothers knew immediately, but the one who accidentally smothered her child refused to admit the one she was holding was not her own. When they both came to Solomon to decide the matter, his answer was, Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other.

6 The real mother quickly responded by asking for the child s life. O my lord, give her the living child, and in no wise slay it! The other mother wanted the child divided. Solomon recognized who the child belonged to by judging the maternal instincts of mercy. It was the fruit of a mother s love that decided the whole matter (I Kings 3:16-28). The Difference between Fruit and Flesh In Luke 6, Jesus made the statement, A corrupt tree cannot bring forth good fruit (Luke 6:43). Did Jesus mean that if there is any evidence of corruption in a person s life that means they are not saved? For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes (Luke 6:44). Is it possible for a person who claims to be a Christian to demonstrate bad fruit? If they are unfruitful, what evidence is there of their faith? People can make wrong choices in life. Even good people can make poor decisions completely contrary to the teachings of Christ. Paul warned of this occurring.

7 Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned: From which some having swerved have turned unto vain jangling; desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm (1 Timothy 1:5-7). Later, in this same chapter, he added: This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare; holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck (1 Timothy 1:18-19). Here we find Paul acknowledging the fact that a Christian can get off track and depart from a life that they once embraced. You have to ask yourself, at what point is a person deceived and needs some spiritual guidance from someone who has really left the faith and is no longer interested in the things of God? Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils ( 1 Timothy 4:1). Obviously, it s true from this statement that people will depart from a place in their Christian life where they may have once held some strong convictions.

8 The question is, To what extent did they embrace their belief if it s true they were once committed? Did they ever really know the Lord or did they just presume to know him. Christians can be deceived. James said, But be ye doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves (James 1:22). He was speaking directly to the Jewish Christians who were scattered during the Diaspora. Will deception cause a person to depart from the faith, and does someone s relationship with Christ fail because they are a victim of deception or, can it be the result of someone who never really developed a relationship in the first place? To know the answer to the question can make all the difference in the world as to whether or not a person s behavior reflects a poor foundation from someone who has never become founded at all. How do you know whether something is flesh or bad fruit? Does a sudden outburst of temper point to something wrong in their fruit or is it just the act of some random, carnal impulse? In the same way, does an extraordinary act of mercy reflect the character of a person or could it be an

9 unexpected act of kindness unassociated with who that person really is deep within? Can a person do good and be unfruitful? Can they do wrong and have a good heart? Where do you really draw the line in knowing what Jesus meant when he said, a corrupt tree cannot bring forth good fruit? Every Christian can yield to the flesh. If corrupt fruit is equivalent to yielding to the flesh then who among us would qualify as a good tree? Certainly, no one would. There is something much deeper than yielding to the flesh that defines the fruit of a person s life. The one distinctive characteristic to fruit is that it is the product of the nature and character of a tree. Paul tells us that bad fruit corrupts good manners (1 Corinthians 15:33). When someone consistently bears bad fruit it is a sign of a lifestyle governed by the flesh. It is not merely the impulse of the lust of the flesh. It is a corrupted lifestyle. There are incidences in the Bible where the Church is warned to avoid those who have a corrupted lifestyle. Among those who are weak and give in to the flesh, the Church is admonished to forgive and be forbearing. How do you know where to draw a line between the two?

10 Peter said, And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins. (1 Peter 4:8). But if you read 1 Corinthians 5:11, it says, But now I have written unto you not to keep company if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such a one, no, not to eat. Wouldn t you call the things Paul lists here as sin? How do you know what sins are to be covered, and when should you separate yourself refusing any fellowship? There is scripture that tells us, And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ s sake hath forgiven you (Ephesians 4:32). Yet Romans 16:17 says, Now I beseech you brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. Any sin is contrary to the doctrine of Christ. Cannot sin divide and be offensive? If we are to forgive as God for Christ s sake has forgiven us, then wouldn t that include all sin? Which sin should you remit, and which sins should you retain? Certainly, there are brothers in Christ that once followed after sin when they were in the world and God forgave them. Why shouldn t we show the same forgiveness toward a brother just as God has showed to those who were sinners? If you didn t understand what

11 was being taught along these lines you might think God is saying forgive some but not all. Why would He be so emphatic about marking one and covering the sin of the other? Is there a difference? There has to be, because God doesn t show favorites! Sin is sin, but what lies at the heart of sin is a different story. Everyone deals with the flesh. And in most cases, the flesh is a weakness that has not been brought under the control of the Holy Spirit. Romans 8:13, says, If ye live after the flesh ye shall die; but if ye through the Spirit, do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. The flesh will ultimately lead to death. It is destructive. It can kill relationships. It can destroy churches. It can ruin ministries. If left to itself it has the potential of doing as much damage as any bad fruit. But flesh is mostly a flash-in-the-pan emotion that comes and goes. Fruit is different. It takes time to grow. Fruit is something that grows out of the soil of corruption and is rooted in a lifestyle that consistently bears evidence of a deeper, more penetrating problem. Fruit doesn t just go away. Whereas, the flesh will constantly come and go, at least until it is brought under the control of the Holy Spirit.

12 Bad fruit corrupts and can spread throughout the body. That is why it must be dealt with differently than with the flesh. That is not to say that the flesh is acceptable. Any activity that opens the door to the enemy is damaging. And if it is left unchecked it will eventually grow into a problem that can corrupt. Where else does bad fruit come from but living a life that is contrary to the teachings of Christ! We are taught in the Word of God to, Be perfect even as our Father in heaven is perfect (Matthew 5:48). That does not mean you will never miss it again. Jesus was teaching about motives of the heart not the perfection of the flesh. Take for an example, a person can suppress his true feelings by acting differently than he really is inside. Someone else might show an outburst of the flesh that is really not who they are at all. God looks at the intention of the heart where man looks strictly at the activities of the flesh. Without knowing what God sees, the person who exhibits an outburst of the flesh might be thought of differently than the one who is suppressing his true feelings. One way that has been successful in determining whether or not a situation is flesh or whether it is bad fruit is by recognizing how the Holy Spirit responds.

13 Generally, when something is flesh the Holy Spirit is grieved. There is a sense of disappointment your spirit is let down. This is an indication that God s heart is grieved. When something is bad fruit there is a feeling of resistance your spirit wants to pull away and have nothing to do with what it feels inside. The Holy Spirit knows what is going on with every situation. If you will learn to be sensitive to Him, He can teach you how to tell the difference. One way the Holy Spirit works that is a quick way of understanding the heart of God is by recognizing how He responds differently to humility and pride. As a pastor, I found myself drawn to help certain people. There was something about their lives that would cause compassion to rise up in me. Even if what they were doing was wrong. And then there were others who just seemed to make it very difficult for me to find that compassion. My Spirit was more apt to resist them than have compassion for them. One day I asked the Lord, Why are some people easy to minister to and others are hard to minister to? He said, You re just responding to what the Holy Ghost in you is feeling. And He gave me this scripture. For God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. (I Peter 5:5). When I went back over the different individuals that I remembered having these different reactions toward

14 it made sense. The ones who were humble were the ones the Holy Spirit wanted to reach out and minister grace to. The ones who were proud were the ones the Holy Spirit was resisting. When you find yourself in this kind of situation where your spirit is drawn to have compassion, then realize that you are probably dealing with the flesh. If there is nothing in you that draws your spirit to them, and you know you are submitted to the Holy Spirit, it is probably because something much deeper is going on that you cannot see. If the Holy Spirit doesn t take hold, it s because He knows something you don t know. He isn t likely to move you when that individual has deeper issues they are unwilling to resolve. NOTE: If you want to read more of this book, please click on Harvest Library and order your copy today.