From The Vine
"I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me,
and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit:
for without me ye can do nothing." John 15:
Fruit n. - The effect or consequence of an action or operation.
"Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you just as I have forewarned you that those who practice such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law." Galatians 5:19-23 (New American Standard Bible)
"Even so, every good tree bears good fruit; but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will know them by their fruits." Matthew 7:17-20 (New American Standard Bible)
Fruit, it's tasty isn't it. Ok, that's not the type of fruit I'm talking about. The type of fruit I am talking about comes from a relationship with God that is exemplary in everyday living, or better put, our lifestyle. One thing that definitely should separate people who call themselves "Christ-like" and have received the fullness of the Holy
Spirit is by what kind of fruit we produce in our own lives "for" those around us.As we grow in our relationship with God, which for each one of us is unique, different, and special, we should begin to take on the qualities of God's character. God is love, so as we begin to become more like Him everyday we should love more and have the attributes of love: "Love is patient, kind, is not jealous; does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails;" 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (New American Standard Bible)
The same goes for joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. God is all of these things so therefore if we are becoming more like Him everyday, then these should be our attributes.
These things are not for us though. They are for others. God doesn't grow joy on us (we are trees, YAY!) just so that we can have joy and be happy all the time. It's so other people can eat also. God gives us seeds to sow, fruit to grow, and tools to use. Not for ourselves to become all high and mighty, but so we can effectively help other people who need what God has given us to use. Most of us sow seeds into other people's sowing ground, eat our own fruit, and just polish our tools to make them look nice for everybody.
If we are not having these things develop in our lives, then maybe we need to do a little checking of ourselves to make sure that we are exactly where we need to be with God. These are the qualities of the Spirit of God. They are foundational. We as Christians can flow in the power of God and not have our character right with God, but where does that put us. It would seem like a pretty miserable state. Gifts can be
received. Any person in relationship with God can use them. Character takes working on.
What I've found is that when it comes to character, mostly we are selfish. I'm not just talking about, "I want! I want! I want!" either. We seem to be so consumed with self that we forget who God really is, and if we even made Him "Lord" over our lives in the first place. It seems we want God to be our spiritual department store. "Sale on 'Working of Miracles', isle nine." We ask God for the signs and wonders, but He wants us to love one another. We ask for the power to cast out demons when all He wants is someone to pray. I really think that if we measured the weight on a scale between signs and wonders and character that character would weigh heavier.
As leaders we must understand that gifting attracts people to follow, but character keeps them following you!!!!
Your Fire Breathing Lover of God,
Joshua Sandefur
fbcm16@juno.com
Don't forget, God made you special, why try to be like everyone else.
"The Husbandman