Prerequisites for Bearing Fruit - Galatians 5:16

- we're talking about the fruit of the Spirit from Galatians
five
- let's take just a minute and think about the major concepts
we saw last week
- remember, we said Paul didn’t communicate this truth about
the fruit of the Spirit in a vacuum
- instead, this information is part of an overall argument of
the book that must be understood in order to properly
understand the fruit section

- last week we said that, when Gentiles started being saved
and brought into the church, that created a potential
problem
- what was it? (that the church would be become a
libertine church - where everyone abused their new
freedom in Christ and exercised that liberty in a
sinful way)

- we said that that fear was justified in a sense
because Paul had had to write to other churches and
rebuke them for exercising their Christian liberty in
a way that was causing other brothers to stumble

- we also said that we see that same problem of
unrestrained liberty in our country where folks
want to talk about their freedom and their rights
without caring about how the way they exercise their
rights affects others

- INPUT - what is a current day example of this
problem?

- we also said that problem can be evidenced in a
church

- we made that point to say that a group rose in the church
to combat that problem called the Judaizers
- their solution was - make these Gentiles submit to
parts of the OT law (circumcision, Mosaic dietary laws)
- their idea was - make them godly by imposing a set
of standards on them that they have to obey in
order to be saved
- so instead of the libertine problem over here, now
we have the legalism problem

- Paul said, forget legalism, that would make the Christ's
death on the cross ineffective
- but we're not stuck with being libertines

- there is a third way - described in Gal. 5:13
- use your liberty to love and serve God and love and
serve others
- last week we charted out a number of ways in daily
living where that concept would apply

- now, you come away from verse 13 with this question
- what's going to control that?
- how can we be sure in the church that folks are avoiding
the extremes of legalism or libertinism
- more importantly, how can I be sure that I am going to
avoid those extremes?

- Paul is about to answer that question in the following
verses

- let me just give you an idea of where we're going with this
- this study will eventually get to where we're studying one
of the fruits each evening
- but I'm sure you recognize that there are some very
important introductory ideas that have to be covered

- tonight, we're talking about three pre-requisites for
bearing spiritual fruit

- first comes from verse 16 - read

I. Must Be Walking In The Spirit

- this is one of those kinds of phrases in the Bible that
we could spend several weeks on
- that’s not the thrust of this series, but on the other
hand I don't think we can just skip over it because of
its obvious connection to the fruit of the Spirit that
Paul is going to start discussing in 5:22

- point is that the only way you and I are going to be
able to do what Paul is commanding, that is use our
Christian liberty as a means of freeing us up to love
and serve God and love and serve others is if we're
walking in the Spirit
- now, an obvious question that flows out of that is:
what does it mean to walk in the Spirit?

A. Availability of the HS' ministry

INPUT - who possesses the HS and how do we know that?

1. I Cor. 12:13 - For by one spirit were we all
baptized into one body, whether we be Jew or
Greek, bond or free, and have all been made to
drink into one Spirit

2. Rom. 8:9 - "...If any man have not the Spirit of
Christ, he is none of His."

INPUT - what is the implication of that to a
person who's here tonight who has just recently
asked Christ to be his/her Savior?

B. Nature of the Holy Spirit's ministry

INPUT - if I asked you, what are some of the ways the
Holy Spirit can and does provide for your
growth
1. provided His Word - II Peter 1:20-21

2. enables believer to understand truth - I John 2:27

3. energizes or empowers - Eph. 1:19

4. blesses our efforts to please God - James 1:25

- point is that you and I could never develop fruit
of the Spirit unless we're walking in the Spirit
- unless we're allowing the Spirit of God to
take His sword and change the way we think
about life
- unless we're asking for His enablement

- we'll talk about man's part in the process a little
later, but at this point I believe it would be very
appropriate for all of us to thank the Lord not
only for providing salvation through His Son, but
for providing a growth process where His spirit
would take up residence inside of me and personally
energize and motivate the change process

- if you think about it in that sense, you see folks
around here all the time who are walking in the spirit
- we saw that at the stewardship banquet
- where folks listed ways that they would be willing
to serve and grow in the coming year
- why would anyone do that?
- because they're walking in the spirit
- because they want to keep growing and using
their liberty to serve and love God and serve
and love others

- that’s exactly what Paul says is the result of the process:

C. Result of the process

INPUT - what is the result according to verse 16?
(that we won't be fulfilling sinful desires)

- the Bible talks a lot about what we want
- find out what a person wants, and you've learned
much about that person
- often times we sin because we wanted the wrong
thing
- we wanted something more than wanting to please God

- now let me just ask you to be thinking about different
areas of your life, and whether or not that area is
characterized by the fruit of the spirit

- for example, if you're single, would your relationship
with your parents and with other friends by
characterized by the fruit of the Spirit
- love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness,
goodness, faith, meekness
- is that what your parents or friends would say
about you?

- if you're married, is your relationship with your
spouse characterized by love, joy, peace, ...

- at your job, would those who work with you...

INPUT - what are some other areas of life we should apply
that test to? (when you're with your in-laws, when
you're going through a trial, when the other person
doesn't see it your way)
- a related question would be, in what area of life is the
fruit of the spirit least evident?
- in that area, which particular fruit is least evident?

- the next question then would be - is it possible that that
is true because you have not been walking in the Spirit in
that area of life?
- maybe you haven't submitted to God's truth in that area
- you haven't taken time to find God's truth for that area
- you haven't prayed and asked God's help
- maybe you haven't even wanted God's help in that area

- according to verse 16, we would need to say, what have you
been wanting more than wanting to walk in the spirit in
that area?

- let's think through a couple of those areas and think about
what lusts of the flesh might be there:
- Pastor talked to the men in Men of Faith Saturday about
being a joy to live with
- of course several passages of Scripture teach that
that’s part of the husband's role including Ecc. 9:9
- that’s also part of the fruit of the Spirit

- let's say that a husband was here tonight and concluded, I
don't evidence much of that fruit at all around the house
- if my family was honest, they'd say, instead of being a joy
to live with, I'm a bear to live with

- INPUT - what are some things that man might be wanting
instead of walking in the Spirit?
- wife who does everything perfectly (illus - Ed
from Kokomo - wife told him how she had praised
him, he got mad - cause she doesn't do that
enough)

- let's take another example - let's say that a mom is here
tonight - and she looks at that list and says - I'm not
very gentle
- my children wouldn't use that word to describe me at all

- INPUT - what might that mom be wanting more than walking in
the Spirit?

- INPUT - Another question - if a person was here and said-
there are some areas where the fruit of the
Spirit really is not evident, how could they
change that? (change their desires by walking in
the Spirit)

- One more question and then we'll be done with this point:
- can you think of some areas where this would apply?
- if not, we're in trouble
- all of us ought to be able to think of some situations,
some circumstances, where my desires aren't right, and
I'm not walking in the Spirit, and as a result am not
evidencing much spiritual fruit

- one important pre-requisite for bearing spiritual fruit is
walking in the spirit

- a second pre-requisite is this:

II. Must Have The Proper Emphasis On "Being"

- one of the things we need to notice about the fruit of
the spirit is that each one is a character quality
- John Sanderson said this subject came up in a
university classroom, and the professor asked for the
name of a good man
- after a pause, the class wise-acre said - Joe DiMaggio

- when the laughter subsided, the professor pointed out
that that very answer was typical of American value-
standards
- Dimaggio was great because he hit home runs, among
other things
- other people are considered great because they excel
in one way or another

- the professor pressed them to name someone who was
good, period. Not someone who's value was measured by
something they had accomplished, but by the kind of
person they were.
- the class agreed - there weren't very many good men in
the world

- that professor had a point, did he not?

A. We often determine greatness by what someone does

- point is - some of us have a view of others or a
view of ourselves that is skewed because we're
using the wrong yardstick
- I'm not saying this is the only yardstick, but
surely one of the yardsticks that God uses in
determining how well a person is doing is whether
are not they are developing the fruit of the
spirit
- if their character is becoming more like
Christ

B. The Galatians were failing in this area

INPUT - since they were leaning toward legalism, what
are some of the yardsticks they would be using?

INPUT - What impact would that have on the church
family?
1) spirit of competition
2) checklist not based on the Bible
3) criticism of others who didn't meet their
lists
4) hot discussions over who was spiritual

there was a clear progression from zeal - pride -
frustration - rancor - bitterness

- that’s exactly what was happening in their church -
that’s why Paul said in verse 15 - "if ye bite and
devour one another, take heed that ye be not
consumed with one another"

- another way of saying that would be - if you keep
this nonsense up, you're going to destroy one
another
- you can just picture it - folks armed with their extra-
biblical lists of do's and don'ts
- going around biting on each other and declaring
everyone unspiritual who didn't conform to their
lists

- now we're not talking about confronting someone about a
definite, clear-cut area of sin in his or her life
- that’s not legalistic - often that’s one of the most
spiritual things a person can do for another brother or
sister in Christ
- in fact, as soon as Paul is done discussing the fruit
of the Spirit, restoring an erring brother is the next
item on the list

- but that’s not what the Galatians were doing
- they were biting and devouring each other over issues
that could not be proven by the word of God

- now let me just pause there and say - that kind of
thing can be devastating to a church
- I'm not aware of many cases like that around here, but
I'll tell you this, if it happens once, its too much

- there's always a danger in a church like ours that
teaches what the Bible says about confronting and
practices what the Bible says about confronting that
someone might get that all out of perspective and
manufacture their own set of extra-biblical tests that
determine spirituality and then go around confronting
folks about things that aren't in the Bible

- let me give you a hypothetical example
- let's say someone in our college or singles group gets
it in their mind that you should only date one person
at a time
- I didn't say they thought that was the best way to
handle it personally - I'm saying they have decided
that was the only way to date and anyone who did it
differently was sinning

- let's say that that same person got a little uppity
about that issue (which surely would happen), and they
start snubbing that person, talking behind that
person's back, confront them personally and tell them
they are in sin

- the Bible would call that legalism with a capital "L"
- (I want to be clear on this) - its important for us to
talk to each other about ways we need to change - we
better never lose that
- but the other side of that is, the Bible puts
some very strong controls on how that must be
done

- person must consider self first
- must go in humility
- must go in meekness
- only if its a true breach, a true area of sinfulness

- that’s especially true if we're talking about young
believers or folks just coming into the church
- we better be sure we're using the right yardsticks
- we better be sure we have the proper emphasis on "being"
- on that person developing godly character qualities

- its going to be all that new convert, or that new church
member can do to work on inner man issues, to work on
developing character qualities, fruits of the spirit
- we need to get it in our minds that they aren't going to
have all the right convictions about music, dress, some of
the other outer man issues
- if someone goes to them, with some extra-biblical list, and
blows them out of the water with, that person is in serious
trouble biblically
- you remember what Jesus said - He said we better not
offend these little ones, it would be better if we
tied a big rock to our necks, and jumped off the
nearest bridge

- point is - in order to develop the fruit of the spirit, we
must have the right emphasis on "being"

- now obviously, what I am and what I do are connected -
there's no way to absolutely separate that
- also, what I do is important to God as well

- but what we're saying here is that its wrong if the only
yardsticks a believer uses to determine how they are doing
are behavioral ones, performance ones, ones that deal with
the outer man

- now let me just ask you this question

C. How are you and I doing?

- Do you use that yardstick to the same degree that
God does?
- have you placed the right amount of emphasis on
developing character qualities, fruit of the
spirit? Or has it all been external evaluators?

- let's think about some different life situations
and how this material might apply
1) the person who's yardsticks all have to do with
whether or not he's succeeding on the job
- when might that especially show up?
a) by what he's willing to do to achieve
that success (get involved in unethical
practices)
b) by how he treats those who appear to be
in his way
c) especially...when he loses that job

- the person who loses his job but has been placing the right
amount of emphasis on inner man issues will make it -
because he can still work on developing those character
qualities, job or not
- but the person who hasn't very well could be
devastated if the job is lost

- we could look at that other ways:

2) wife whose yardsticks have to do with how successful
her husband is, or how nice their house is
- when might that show up? (at a time of divorce)
- I'm surely not saying that’s an easy time, but one
of the things that will make that bearable is
using the same yardsticks God uses
- if not, that wife will do about anything to
get that husband back
- she'll chase him all over the countryside
- let him manipulate her and use her to finance
his sin
- may very well turn her back on God and the
church
- we tell folks this all the time - you need to
get to the place where you tell your spouse
- honey, I'd love to put the marriage back
together, I'm willing to make any
biblical changes to see that happen
- but what's most important for me is
developing my relationship with God and
raising our children for the Lord, and
I'd like to do that with you, but the
bottom line is-with God's help I plan to
do that whether you come or not
- point is - the wife who has the right emphasis on "being"
can handle a situation even as difficult as a divorce

- INPUT - What other life situations can you think of where
this principle would apply?

(discuss - wife who stops work to stay home with kids)
(could also discuss this from the perspective of how we
view unsaved folks who are very successful)

- one of the questions we need to answer tonight is - have
you had the right amount of emphasis on "being" - on
developing character qualities like the fruit of the
Spirit?
- some of us might have to say: you know, a lot of the folks
around me wouldn't think of me when they thought of the
fruit of the spirit....
- love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness
- I wouldn't come to their mind if they were thinking
about those concepts
- is it possible that that’s true because we, like the
Galatians, haven't put the right amount of emphasis on
this important area?

- I just want to mention this third one tonight and we'll
weave it into some of the future messages on this subject

III. Must Recognize Your Part of the Process

- some folks haven't made the right amount of progress in
this area because they've view the phrase "fruit of the
Spirit" in a very passive way
- it would go something like this - well, its the fruit
of the Spirit, therefore, I can't have anything to do
with producing it

- I've got to let go and let God
- "all of him and none of me"
- there's something strange, though, I've been trying
that for years but the Spirit has produced much

- we're saying that this third pre-requisite is that we
must recognize our part in the process

- now you might ask - how can you prove that man would
have any part in this process?
- the answer is that parallel passages (and Gal. 5 is not
the only passage on the spirit's fruit) tell us we must
pursue the fruit of the spirit

I Tim. 6:11 - But thou, O man of God, flee these
things, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith,
love, endurance, meekness

II Tim. 2:22 - Flee also youthful lusts, but follow
righteousness, faith, love, peace, with them that
call on the Lord with a pure heart

- point is - we're not going to be able to develop the
fruit of the spirit without recognizing our part in
the process

- now we're not going to rename it - we're not going to
start calling it Andy's fruit
- its still the fruit of the Spirit and can only
genuinely be produced in co-operation with the Spirit
of God
- but like so many other areas of the Christian life, I
must be doing my part