This past Sunday we began a new series: Taste-What Kind of Flavor are you packing? Looking specifically at the fruits of the spirit. What are the fruits of the spirit? Well lets look at Galatians 5:13-24:
For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love.For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”But if you are always biting and devouring one another, watch out! Beware of destroying one another. So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves.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.But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses. When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures,idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division,envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God. But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there.
The fruits of the spirit are what come out of your life when you are walking with God. Paul encourages us to live in freedom and to serve one another in love. We waste our lives if we are not living out the love we are called to. Because of the sin in this world we must be very careful not to destroy one another, especially with our words.
Isn't it crazy how you are never taught to sin. It is just our nature. That is, it is our nature before we have a relationship with Christ. From then on it is the Holy Spirit that guides us. It is like our life's GPS. The Holy Spirit will NEVER lead us astray, however, when we do things our way we often go down paths He had never intended for us to travel.
Whether you are following the Holy Spirit or yours, both choices have results you can see in your life. When it is the Holy Spirit you are following you see the fruits of the spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,gentleness, and self-control. When you it's you you're following you'll see something completely different.
The question we ask ourselves now is: What is coming out of your life?
