September 30th, 2018 1 FAMILY 5th SUNDAY Fruit of the Spirit Terry Baldwin [ TITLE SLIDE ] - EXPLAIN FAMILY 5th SUNDAY / Kids learned Fruit of the Spirit - SET UP FRUIT OF SPIRIT... FIRST... Who are we?? FAST WHO ARE WE?? After GOD created everything [ Genesis 1.26-27 NLT ] Then God said, Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground. So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. - You are NOT an animal & You did not come from animals...you were created in GOD s image We are distinct from animals... HOW??? ( EXAMPLE: Bring up Youth, Clothes & Hat ) They say The Clothes makes a man - Just like Clothes are NOT YOU - Your BODY is NOT Real You [ 1 Thessalonians 5:23 NLT ] Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. We are both MATERIAL (matter like the animals) AND... We are IMMATERIAL (spiritual like GOD)
- Your Spirit & Soul Think & Reason / Creativity & Imagination / Communicate / Personality / Hope & Dreams / Emotions / Will - YOU can KNOW God - YOU can LOVE Him / WORSHIP / SERVE / FELLOWSHIP with Him 2 - Our Body will die and decay... BUT our Spirit & Soul will go on FOREVER!!... ( Youth sit down ) BUT... SIN!! GOD HATES sin because it is Very Opposite of who GOD is [ Isaiah 59.2 NIV ] But your iniquities (Immoral or grossly unfair behavior / lying - rudeness - disobedience - hatred ) have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear. - Sin causes our SPIRITs to die... separated from GOD... for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die. [ Ephesians 2.1-6 / 8 NLT ] Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. 2 You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. 3 All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. 4 But (BUT!!!) God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, 5 that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God s grace that you have been saved!) 8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. - Born Again - SOMETHING HAPPENED TO US WHEN WE BELIEVED JESUS... GOD made our Spirit ALIVE!! [ 2 Corinthians 5.17 NLT ] anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! [ Romans 8.16 NLT ]
For His Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God s children. 3 [ Romans 5.5 NLT ] For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit [ 1 Corinthians 3.16 NKJV ] Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? GOD wants to make a DIFFERENCE in us... Be like Jesus So GOD Gives Us Holy Spirit To Make That Change [ Galatians 5:22-23 NLT ]... the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.... GOD wants us MORE like Him and LESS like the world BE HONEST... - Pastor Terry, I ve been Christian for some time and I m not like all this - Maybe you re like Paul said: I want to do what is right, but I can t. I want to do what is good, but I don t. I don t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. WHY??...YOU still have your Flesh and it can NOT be saved [ Galatians 5.17 NLT ] The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. Way To Overcome Flesh / NOT By Fighting It...
But Surrendering To Holy Spirit - It s NOT you suppressing your wrong desires... BUT yielding to Holy Spirit that gives you victory 4 - Cling to H.S. then you begin to DETACH yourself from your Flesh ( EXAMPLE: D.L.Moody with Glass jar / How to get air out of it ) The only way to overcome sinful tendencies is to Walk in the Holy Spirit Walk in the Spirit, and you wont fulfill the lust of the flesh. - Galatians 5.16 NLT A Deeper Relationship with H.S. is only antidote to REPEATED SIN - Rules / Requirements / Fasting... ALL GOOD... BUT - Only thing can change our sinful nature is Relationship & Intimacy with H.S. Something happens when you BECOME AWARE of H.S... YOU CHANGE - When Goal is no longer to be Holy, BUT closer to One Who is Holy... You ll become holier than ever before - Don t seek holiness / Seek H.S. and holiness will become natural...i m talking about INTIMACY with H.S. Intimacy Is You Becoming Aware, Holy Spirit is REAL - When you become aware it CHANGES YOU - We KNOW H.S. is in us but we don t live Aware of Him
We need continual moments of AWARENESS - If we live Routine Christian life... w/o Intimate moments... We will live in the flesh INTIMACY CAUSES REAL CHANGE!! - Causes sensitivity to things that are wrong - MOMENTS of Awareness changes our behavior automatically ( EXAMPLE: Aware of Police Officer causes Holiness ) 5 Routine Prayer is GREAT... - There has to be Moments when you get in touch with Holy Spirit - Linger longer in prayer - Pray as you walk through Creation - Pray on Knees - Spend time in Worship!!! Sometimes we Grieve Holy Spirit by how we live Carelessly.. do not bring sorrow (grieve) to God s Holy Spirit by the way you live... - Ephesians 4.30a Holy Spirit is a PERSON... He is NOT a formula - He is NOT say 24 hail Marys - Reciting LORD s Prayer - GOD will forgive in an INSTANT / BUT.. Intimacy may take little time - Draw Nearer and wait... Your sensitivity to SIN becomes sharper NEXT TIME: When you speak unkind to spouse... YOU WILL BE AWARE OF HOW WRONG - Your spouse will see you are DIFFERENT!!!
- That Awareness comes from INTIMACY with H.S. 6 SOMETHING ABOUT FRUIT of the SPIRIT... - It s FRUIT that comes from being with H.S... - It s NOT WORKS If you have to WORK at it, it s Flesh - I work on my character... - Flesh - Jesus told Disciples to Follow Him... Build intimacy, I ll change your Character - Cultivate Relationship with GOD... Your Issues CUSSING / CONTROLLING / ANGER / PESSIMISM...Holy Spirit will Work on - It s a FRUIT of the SPIRIT - NOT WORKS LASTLY: FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT GROWS... Fruit starts out Sour & becomes Sweeter - ABIDE in God / CULTIVATE INTIMACY with Holy Spirit (Aware He s there) - Trust Holy Spirit to Change you
- His Fruit will begin to GROW in you... ( Example: Movie Evan Almighty - Morgan Freeman plays God Let me ask you something. When someone prays for patience, do you think GOD gives them patience? Or does He give them the opportunity to be patient? If he prays for courage, does GOD give him courage or does He give him opportunities to be courageous? If someone prayed for their family to be closer, do you think GOD zaps them with warm feelings or does He give them the opportunity to love each other? 7 HOW DOES FRUIT OF SPIRIT GROW?? - If GOD wants to grow Fruit of Patience, - He will put you in heavy traffic - He ll give spouse who ask for 2 more minutes, and takes 20 - He ll give you children who won t sleep at night - If GOD work out Anger - He ll allow opportunities for you to respond with GENTLENESS God does not ZAP us with FRUIT... He Develops them in us CLOSING: [ Galatians 5:22-23 NLT ]... the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. CLOSING: BALLOON DEMONSTRATION