Fruit of the Spirit Study Facilitated by Scott Grant 1
What This Study Will Accomplish Personal discovery What does transformation look like What really is the fruit of the Spirit a close look Being filled with the Spirit and living there Community in Christ and Christ to the World Welcome thank you all for coming tonight and participating in this exiting journey together. We will personally discover our potential spiritual gifts. We will share what those gifts potentially are with those here and we will also share our skills and talents which are different with the spiritual gifts but can be used in conjunction with them. We will learn the difference between spiritual gifts and talents or natural abilities. We will learn about the spiritual gifts and how they manifest themselves in our lives. We will learn our own motivation for ministry and learn how to coordinate the ministry God lays on our hearts through community. [Pass out Syllabus and give quick overview. Put up slide of what the course will accomplish.] 2
Lesson Calendar Feb. 4 Transformation by the Holy Spirit Feb. 10 The Fruit of Spirit vs Fruit of the Flesh Feb. 17 Love Joy Peace Feb. 24 - Patience Kindness Goodness Mar. 4 Gentleness Faithfullness Self-control Mar. 10 Community and Christ to the World 3
What does God want me to do with my life? What does God command of all of us in scriptures? What does God want me to do with my life. Let s look at the scriptures. What does God want from every one of us? This may seem obvious to some but lets look deeper. His commandments to all of us is very clear. [Next Slide] 4
Matthew 22: 37 Jesus said, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. This is a scripture each of us should have embedded in our very souls which is beyond mere memorization. It becomes a driving force in our lives. Holy Spirit make it so! Meditate on it frequently and express God s love to those around you. This scripture is included in part of our liturgy. How do we love God this way? Jesus tells us how and it s a journey and a way of life: 5
John 15:4 Abide in me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine you are the branches. He who abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. Abide means to live. How can you live in Christ? Jesus says, live in me, die to yourself and let Him be your life. He says get to know me intimately, spend time with me, allow me through the Holy Spirit, to transform you and your life, your character, you re very being into my image. How do you have a deep relationship with anyone? Spend time with them. It s not just a quiet time or a time set aside just for prayer. It means being with Him often like all the time moment by moment. We do spend time in prayer, in study, in meditation, in worship, in fellowship with other Christians, and in conversations and time with others and in service to others, through sharing the Good News of Christ with others. But abiding in Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit means living with Christ each moment allowing the Holy Spirit to counsel us, guide us, empower us, comfort us, convict us its true discipleship in all its forms. And if we abide in Jesus Christ, He abides in us. And how will others know you are Jesus s disciple, by your love for one another John 13:35. 6
We are Being Transformed II Corinthians 3: 17-18 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Lord is, there is freedom. And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit. Paul wrote that being transformed into the image of the Son of God is a process a journey, and it takes time and is a constant struggle over resisting sin. So we see that is an ongoing process through our lives and journey with Him. We shouldn t grow discouraged because it takes time a lifetime, in fact we will never achieve a total transformation into holiness until He appears. Then we shall finally be like Him, or as John wrote: [Next slide] 7
We Shall be Transformed I John 3:2 We know that when Christ appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. Romans 8:29-33 For those he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son, in order that he might be the firstborn with in a large family. And those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom He called he also justified ; and those whom he justified he also glorified. Read - emphasis [Next Slide] 8
Romans 12:2 We Shall Be Transformed Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God what is good and acceptable and perfect. So we participate in this renewal or transforming of our minds into the mind of Christ by discerning what God s will is and by doing what He sees as good and acceptable, but someday God will complete this because we were predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, Jesus Christ. [Next slide] 9
Genesis 1:27 Made in His Image So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. When God created man, He made us in the image of God. That was the original plan of God, that we would be like God in may ways, that we should seek to do nothing but good. It was fine until the fall, but we still very much reflect the image of God in the sense that we seek justice and fairness and strive to find equity in life s situations. When we see evil go unpunished, we desire to see justice brought upon evil. When we see someone hurt another, we know that it s wrong. The time will come when God will judge the worl, but until then wemust understand that He will transform us into His likeness. All we need to do is behold Him and allow Him to do the transforming. 10
Conclusion God is transforming us today We shall be transformed completely at His appearing We are made to be Like Jesus Christ God is transforming us today into His image, and someday that transformation will be complete at His appearing. More than ever we will be like His Son, Jesus Christ, and then we can finally see Him as He is. Even though we struggle with sin, that s part of the Spirit working in us. For those who are not the children of God, that have no struggle with sin because they re not convicted by the Spirit. So we should thank God for His Spirit because He is tranforming us day by day into the likeness and image of Jesus Christ, for which we were originally created. Paul says it best in Galatians 2:19-20 [Next slide] 11
Galatians 2:19-20 Christ in Us! I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Dying to self is critical for us to be truly transformed. We want to be and do what God wants not what we want. So what does transformation have to do with Spiritual Gift? Let s look what else we are commanded to do by God? [Next slide] 12
Love God Love Your Neighbor Matthew 22:39-40 You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. Matthew 7:12 In everything do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law and the prophets. 13
LOVE What is God s Will for My Life What is God s Plan for My Life? Love God Love Others as Yourself Abide in Christ Live Life with God God s love is boundless He does not have any boundaries, except those of His nature. His plan is for us to love Him, love others as ourselves, to be transformed into His image. Part of that is sharing His love with others because He wants All to come to know Him. That s where the Spiritual Gifts come in. Ministry to others is building up the body of Christ and for the Common Good of the body. Building up the body of Christ means helping to share with others who do not know God, His love for them. If we do not share with our lives the presence of Christ in us the Hope of Glory, then we stagnate and die. The Spiritual Gifts are meant to make the body of Christ grow! This week we started with the question of What does God want me to do with my life? Its simple. He wants us to love and be transformed into His image to build up His body and bring others into His Kingdom. So next week we will discover more about the question Who I am? 14