Supernatural Lifestyle - 3

Supernatural Lifestyle - 3

We have spent some time looking at the gifts of the Holy Spirit. It is great to be empowered. But we also need to allow the fruits of the Spirit to grow in our lives too. 

The Holy Spirit Changes Us!

Yes folks, as annoying as I am, this is the new, improved version!

We are told to walk by the Spirit: Galatians 5:16: So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

Living by the Spirit is a real challenge in today’s world. 

Growing The Fruit of the Spirit.

Sadly, some Christinas who claimed to have the power of the Spirit do not display the fruit of the Sprit. It can be really frustrating when Christians who profess to move in the gifts, do not move in the fruits. 

I want to let you know that the Holy Spirit is more concerned with your character than He is with your gifts! 

To use an old phrase: “Your gifts write cheques that your character cannot cash.” (Ed Cole)

God calls us to live holy lives. To be holy means to be separated, set aside for specific use, that is holy. 

1 Peter 2:9: But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

1 Peter 2:9: [The Message]: But you are the ones chosen by God, chosen for the high calling of priestly work, chosen to be a holy people, God’s instruments to do his work and speak out for him, to tell others of the night-and-day difference he made for you—from nothing to something, from rejected to accepted. 

When we talk about the fruit of the Spirit we are talking about that holiness being displayed in us and through us by the power of the Spirit.

This is not about the things we don’t do, although that is part of it - we do not live the way we used to (Galatians 5: 19-21; I Thessalonians 5:22 - abstain for every form of evil (KJV). Some versions have ‘appearance’.)

Living in the Sprit is to do with the transformed lives and the things we do that are different to the world.

A Fruit-filled Life

Galatians 5:22-25: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.(ESV)

Notice these are one fruit with nine expressions, it is not a list of alternatives. 

Love, joy peace are the most famous of the nine. When we show these people will be drawn to Jesus.

God wants Christian fruit not religious nuts.

A Loving Lifestyle

Back in the day we had some cheesy songs. There was one where we’d all join hands and sing over each other: 

I love you with the love of the Lord.

Yes, I love you with the love or the Lord.
I can see in you the glory of my King, 

And I love you with the love of the Lord.

Now at times that was sweet and nice but at other times it wasn’t true. If we were upset with someone it was sung though gritted teeth! But also, it is easy to sing that with people in church who are our friends. What about those who do not know Jesus yet?

An early Christian theologian. Tertullian (AD160-220), wrote about what the non-Christians of the day were saying about the church “Look… how they love one another and how they are ready to die for each other” (Tertullian, Apologeticus, section 7).

We should not be surprised. Jesus commanded it:

John 13:34-35: A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.

Now the word Jesus used for love is not affection (phileō), it is not romantic (eros), but agapē. We don’t have a single word for this. It is the an active, self-sacrificing, unconditional love of the will. It is the determined love of God, for He loves us with complete agapē. It is God’s love displayed through us. It is the fruit of the Spirit.

Love is the hallmark of the Christian faith.

It should not surprise us that the Apostle Paul made a gift-love-gift sandwich in 1 Corinthians 12-14. Chapter 13 is called the love chapter. If we are using the gifts without the love of God we are a clanging symbol (1 Corinthians 13:1). 

1 Corinthians 13:4-7: [The Message]: 

Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.
Love doesn’t strut,
Doesn’t have a swelled head,
Doesn’t force itself on others,
Isn’t always “me first,”
Doesn’t fly off the handle,
Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn’t revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.

The test of love comes at life’s extremes. Love can be hard. It can be tough. We need to forgive, often, keeping short accounts (1 Corinthians 13:5c: no records of wrongs). 

We do not collect the baggage of unforgiveness in our lives.

A Joyful Lifestyle

Pentecostals are a joy-filled people.

This joy is not as a result of my wonderful jokes. It is a deep well that overflows from within. 

There is a link between being baptised in the Holy Spirit and the joy of the Lord!

Charles Spurgeon: ”I have sometimes thought that certain unfriendly friends must have been baptised in vinegar instead of water, from the sharp acid of their temperament." 

Chuck Swindoll: “You are not baptised in lemon juice.”

Hebrews 1:8-9: 8 But about the Son he says… “God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy.”

This is not just a good-time feeling. Right before He went to the cross, Jesus said: “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.” (John 15:11)

Anne Lamont: “Laughter is carbonated holiness”.

Real joy is not based on the values of the world or the stuff we have in our lives. Some of the most joyful people I have come across were those in impoverished African villages when I served as a missionary. Worship, church, fellowship, was always filled with such joy and exuberance. 

I know we are a multi-national church. If you are not from the UK originally we love the fact you are here! But please do not become British in your joyfulness. We British have joy so deep we need an archeologist to dig it up!

Joy is not short-lived. It stays in our darkest times. 

Joy is uncovered in studying the Bible:

Psalm 19:8: The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes.

Joy is found in His presence:

Psalm 16:11: You will show me the path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. [NKJV]

Joy is enjoyed in His promise:

Psalm 30:5b: Weeping may endure for a night,
But joy comes in the morning. [NKJV]

A Lifestyle of Peace

Have you ever been in circumstances that make those around you panic, but you just have something from God that helps you remains centred? That’s peace. When the world is falling apart, you are held together.

It is not simply stoicism. 

Just before going to the cross, Jesus gave this promise to His disciples:

John 14:27: Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

We know the word shalom is commonly understood to be peace.

John 14:27 the word for peace is eirēnē, which reflects the Hebrew concept of Shalom. Now this is used as a greeting or farewell - just peace be with you. But the shalom that Jesus promised carries more than being peaceful. There are 14 meanings to the word, the last one is the most radical!

Completeness: The state of having all necessary parts; a finished work.

Wholeness: Being unbroken or undamaged; total integration of life.

Health & Physical Well-being: Soundness of body; being free from sickness.

Welfare & Safety: Security and protection from external dangers or harm.

Soundness: A solid, unblemished condition of mind, body, or property.

Tranquility & Quiet: Freedom from disturbance; inner stillness.

Prosperity & Success: Flourishing financially, socially, and materially.

Perfectness / Fullness: A state unmarred by any type of defect or lack.

Rest: A deep sense of relief, comfort, and cessation of struggle.

Harmony: Living in unified agreement within oneself and with others.

Contentment: Emotional satisfaction; being completely at peace with what you have.

Covenantal Relationship: Peace built on mutual alliances, justice, and friendship with people and with God.

Absence of War: The traditional definition—the cessation of societal or international conflict. 

The 14th Radical Root Meaning

Full Restitution / Paid in Full (Shalom): The 14th application stems from the verbal root, meaning to pay back a debt or restore what was lost until someone is made whole. In ancient Hebrew culture, you do not just "wish" someone peace; you actively create shalom by paying a fair wage or making full restitution for an injury. 

When Jesus promised His peace He was saying He is about to pay the debt of our sin - IN FULL.

We enjoy the peace of God - the fruit of the Sprit - because our sin debt is paid in full.

Now, we have looked at the ‘famous’ fruit of the Spirit. Time will not allow us to delve into the others: Patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control. Check out the BLOG BONUS.

Landing:

Do you need more fruit of the Spirit on display? Need more love, joy and peace? 

Let’s pray for you. Prayer for these is like watering the seed of this fruit in your life.

———

Blog Bonus:

Taken from https://bibleproject.com/articles/fruits-spirit-and-their-meanings-bible/

Patience

Imagine someone with a nose stretched out like a flute, or perhaps an elephant’s trunk. This bizarre picture can help us visualise the idiom “long of nostrils,” which is a key image in the Hebrew Bible that represents patience. But what does “long of nostrils” have to do with being patient?

Like cartoon characters with smoke shooting out of their ears, in the ancient Hebrew imagination, smoking anger comes out of a person’s nose. And having long nostrils means that the angry smoke takes longer to appear. In other words, that person doesn’t immediately act in anger.

So the Hebrew idiom “long of nostrils” is often translated as “slow to anger” (see Exod. 34:6; Prov. 15:18), and early Greek translators used the root makrothum, or “patient,” to communicate the idea.

The New Testament says God is patient in bringing judgment because he is “not wanting for any to perish, but for all to move to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9, BibleProject Translation). As God’s Spirit helps us see others like God does, we can find strength to also treat people with divine patience.

Rather than exploding with judgment or anger, we can participate with God and cultivate the spiritual fruit of patience, extending mercy to all, forgiving, and supporting people as they grow.

Kindness and Goodness

These next two spiritual fruits overlap. Early Greek translators used both khrestotes (“kindness”) and agathone (“goodness”) to represent the Hebrew root tov, which describes what is good, beautiful, right-functioning, and just.

Khrestotes is a narrower term, referring to “active goodness” directed “toward others.” God shows his khrestotes, or kindness, by offering humanity true life through Jesus (Eph. 2:4-7) and also by doing good to “ungrateful and evil people” (Luke 6:35).

So we can reflect God’s khrestotes through acts of love and generosity, especially toward those whom we may not believe deserve it.

Agathone, or goodness, is more generally about acting in ways that are pure and right, or following God, who is truly good (Mark 10:18). When God creates the universe, he sees that the world is tov, or good, at every stage of completion (see Gen. 1:4; Gen. 1:10; Gen. 1:12; Gen. 1:18; Gen. 1:21; Gen. 1:25). The spiritual fruit of goodness, in the biblical imagination, flows from the original nature of God’s entire creation, especially humanity. After God sets humans within his creation, he calls everything he has made tov me’od, which means “very good” (Genesis 1:31).

So when we trust and follow our creator’s instruction, we are cultivating the spiritual fruit of God’s original goodness breathed into all creation.

Faithfulness

In the New Testament, the Greek word pistis often refers to “trust” or “faith,” and it can also mean “faithfulness” (see Rom. 3:3). For biblical authors, faith and faithfulness are two sides of the same coin, capturing ideas like fidelity, reliability, trustworthiness, and allegiance.

Having faith does not mean simply believing in or agreeing with statements about God (see Jas. 2:19). Faith is active, and it requires dependence on God, a sense of trust so deep that one chooses to walk in God’s ways.

Early on we said that the fruits of the Spirit describe God’s own character, and biblical authors consistently portray God as faithful, dependable, and trustworthy. God is never depicted in the Bible as random, chaotic, or motivated by changing passions. So when we receive God’s Spirit and learn to depend on his way of life above our own fluctuating passions, we also become more trustworthy and faithful.

When Jesus prays in the garden of Gethsemane before he is put to death, he expresses his good human will to avoid suffering and death. Jesus pleads: “take this cup from me,” which is his way of asking to be relieved of the painful responsibility he faces. And yet, his choice to remain faithful is greater than his desire to survive, so he concludes his plea with a commitment: “not my will, but yours be done” (Luke 22:42).

Jesus chooses to do God’s will, whatever the cost, and this might be the clearest picture of faithfulness in the Bible. When we choose to walk the same path as Jesus by submitting our own will to God’s will through the power of the Spirit, we cultivate the spiritual fruit of faithfulness too. As God has been faithful to us (1 Cor. 1:9), we respond with faithful commitment to God and to others.

Gentleness

The Greek word prautes is translated as “gentleness,” which involves acting tenderly or softly and having an attitude of humility. The biblical authors often portray God with images of superior strength and sovereign power. But they also use images like a mother bird protecting her chicks under her wings to suggest that, while infinitely powerful, God’s strength can be seen in his gentle and tender care for his people (Ps. 91:4; Isa. 31:5).

Isaiah 40:11 shows us God’s tenderness as a shepherd who gathers lambs in his arms, carries them close to his heart, and leads the nursing mothers along. And when the prophet Elijah encounters God, he expects the divine presence to show up in a powerful earthquake or glorious fire; instead, he finds God in a gentle “whisper” (1 Kgs. 19:12).

Later in the New Testament, when God takes on human flesh as Jesus of Nazareth, he does not announce his kingship with trumpets or grandiose fanfare, with soldiers or war horses. Jesus enters Jerusalem as a “gentle” (praus, related to prautes) king, riding a young donkey (Matt. 21:5), as foretold by the prophet Zechariah (Zech. 9:9).

And when Jesus speaks to weary and overburdened people about life with him he says, “Come to me … and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle (praus) and humble in heart, and you will find rest” (Matt. 11:28-29).

Jesus reminds us that true power is revealed not by dominating others with violent might but by caring for others and setting them free—giving peaceful, healing rest by treating people with gentleness.

After Jesus departs, God’s Spirit continues inviting people into a way of gentleness. The Apostle Paul, for example, draws a contrast between visiting the Corinthian church “with a rod” of correction versus coming “in love and a spirit of prautes,” or gentleness (1 Cor. 4:21). Paul chooses gentleness (in this case at least). And just a few verses after outlining the fruit of the Spirit, Paul calls people to confront wrongdoers not with force but “in a spirit of prautes” (Gal. 6:1; see also 2 Tim. 2:25).

When we choose paths of gentleness, we benefit from—and offer others—true spiritual fruit that God produces within us.

Self-Control

Successful athletes model self-control by avoiding desirable things that would harm their bodies. While they may crave the satisfaction associated with cookies or cake, they discipline themselves to eat vegetables and lean protein instead. They may desire relaxation, but they push themselves to train hard. By exercising control over their bodies, rather than allowing their desires to control them, they prepare themselves to compete well.

Paul encourages the Corinthian church to apply that same kind of disciplined self-regulation when pursuing God’s ways (1 Cor. 9:24-27). We exercise self-control when we turn away from what Paul calls “works of the flesh,” that is, futile attempts to find self-fulfilment by prioritising our own desires while neglecting our neighbours (Gal. 5:19-21).

Pursuing satisfaction for our own desires often looks like the best path to freedom. But without self-control, we end up getting controlled by those ever-changing desires. Jesus and the New Testament authors see the good life as found in living with love for God and neighbour in every situation. Although it may seem counterintuitive, exercising self-control gives us true freedom.