Fruits of the Tree of Life

Thank you so much. These are beautiful hymns that we have, very encouraging. That's one of the purposes of coming to services, to become encouraged and to encourage others as well. Normally, brethren, we have many problems that occupy our lives. But for a moment, can we project ourselves into that future time when all will be made good and perfect? That's what God's Word is about, about encouragement, that no matter what we're going through, what difficulties in life, He has worked things out for good. Things are going to work out in the end. Let's look at this scene from the Bible and want to focus on a particular description that is given.

I'll go ahead and read it. It's found in Revelation 22, verses 1 through 3. Revelation 22 is the last chapter of the Bible. This scene takes place when the New Jerusalem has come down, where all people that have accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior and received God's Spirit, they've all by now been resurrected to eternal life. They have spirit bodies that do not wear down or away.

They will never have to face death. And they finally will be together in that New Jerusalem with God the Father. Notice Revelation 22, verses 1 through 3. It says, And He showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb, in the middle of its street, and on either side of the river was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month.

The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. So here we have the concluding scene. Everything is peace, harmony, love. We're all together as one big spiritual family. The amplified version adds a point here that is not clear in the New King James version.

It says, Through the middle of the Broadway of the city, also on either side of the river was the tree of life, with its twelve varieties of fruit, yielding each month its fresh crop. And the leaves of the tree were for the healing and the restoration of the nations. Did you get this? Twelve varieties of fruit, not just one type. So we have all kinds of trees that can produce one type of fruit.

We can have a whole orchard with many types of trees. But here we have one tree that each month produces a different fruit. This tree can produce twelve different types of fruit during the year. There's no such tree on earth, but in the New Jerusalem there is going to be. Notice also God the Father is with us and also Jesus Christ, described as the Lamb. But there is no third person. You only see two beings here. Of course, angels are there as well, but there's only two beings that have been divine for eternity, God the Father and the Son.

And if there was a third person, you would have the Holy Spirit as a person that can speak, that can do different things that's there. His presence is clear to everyone. That would be such an insult if there were three. And here in this final scene, you only see two. And so it is wrong to teach that the Holy Spirit is a person. It proceeds from God the Father and also from Jesus Christ, but it is not a person. It is not a being. Now this New Jerusalem that is described is 1,400 square miles. This is a huge city. It would go from the border of Canada all the way down to the border of Mexico in a square comprising a good part of what is a continental United States.

But that's only the bottom part of it because it is also 1,400 square miles high. Now that boggles the imagination. If you have basically about 10 to 12 feet per story, as you do in a regular building, you would have 600,000 stories. In comparison, the Empire State Building, one of the highest buildings on earth, is 102 stories. What is that compared to 60,000? Nothing! Not even 1%. Not even 1,000. 1,000 percent. Now the Empire State Building is about a quarter of a mile high. It's only two acres across or square, 400 feet square.

So in comparison, we have this huge building that is 1,400 square miles high. And as you enter it, in the vestibule, that front area, you have this Tree of Life. You have God the Father. You have Jesus Christ. And it shows us what God wanted to give us from the start. He wanted for us to have access to that Tree of Life. And when we become spirit beings, we're going to be able to take of that fruit. It's going to be producing abundantly, month in, month out, a different fruit every month. And we can take of the leaves.

And the term for healing here comes from the Greek word where we get the word therapeutic.

There are tales. And it just means something that restores a person. It strengthens them. It gives them vitality.

And so it means that if you take of these leaves, because there's not going to be any sickness anymore, but it is going to be refreshing. And it's going to give you a boost.

Now, that's what God says that even when we are spirit, we can receive by taking of those leaves this spiritual boost. It refreshes us. It gives us more vigor in one way or the other.

That's the way God has planned things. Now, it is interesting that God's Spirit is described as producing certain fruits. Notice in Galatians chapter 5 verses 22 and 23.

I'll read it here. It says, but the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

And since the tree of life in the Garden of Eden represented receiving eternal life, and by it we would have God's Holy Spirit, this tree can symbolize the different fruits of God's Spirit as well. Now, it's not limited to just these nine. Those are just mentioned in Galatians, but this is what the Holy Spirit should produce in one. My question is, are we eating of these fruits, or are we eating of some other fruit, the forbidden fruit? That's what Adam and Eve took. I don't want to dwell on that second aspect. I want to dwell on that first aspect, which is so encouraging. It should strengthen us as well. So let's go over these fruits of God's Spirit to see what God wants to see growing in us. And I brought some fruits just to give it a little more variety and color. So let's go to the fruit of love. Number one, it is the first, it is the most important, which basically means unselfish, living and giving. Unselfish, living and giving. Now, I equate it with this fruit, the apple. As you know, the old saying, I think it was Ben Franklin, an apple a day keeps a doctor away because it is so complete. It gives so much health to a person eating an apple. Doctors still prescribe it as something very healthy, very good, very helpful to a person's health. It's good at any time, and it is a basic fruit. Notice in Philippians chapter 2, starting in verse 1, this section here says it all here, 1 through 8. This is looking at this apple, which gives you health, is one of the basic fruits to eat. It says, therefore, if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord of one mind. Love is a healer, a unifier, a forgiver, and a helper. He says, let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit.

But in lowliness of mind, let each esteem others better than himself.

That's selfless living and giving. You're thinking about the other people first, not yourself.

And then he goes on to say, let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. So again, this is the attitude of love, which was in Jesus Christ. If he had not been filled with love, he would never have sacrificed so much for all of us. It says in verse five, let this mind or this focus be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God did not consider it robbery to be equal with God. It wasn't something he was grasping and wasn't going to give it up because it was his.

So he wasn't selfish, but made himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bond servant and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. So God knows what it's like to have love. God the Father had to have the same type of love, giving up his only begotten son, the one who had been with him forever. And he was willing to give him up for three days and three nights. Jesus Christ did not exist as any type of a being. He had to be resurrected. He removed that immortality that he had. He was willing to do that.

So this is why it is the first characteristic of God's Spirit.

And why God will suffer so much for this desired end that he has. He's willing to put up with so much because he sees the end result is so good. It's so beneficial. It's going to be so wonderful. He's willing to sacrifice his own well-being.

Just think, how much heartbreak has occurred because we were selfish, we put our desires and pleasures first. Can everybody here say, I know there was a time, and I paid a deep price for that, for being selfish, for putting my own interests first, for not looking out what is of God and what I should have done.

So a lot of the heartbreak in this world is because of the selfishness of people.

Notice in Philippians chapter 3 verses 7 through 15, Paul had lived in his selfish way before.

He repented of that. He changed his mind and heart. Philippians chapter 3 verse 7.

He says, but these things, what things were gained to me, these I have counted lost for Christ. Yes, he had been a very important Pharisee. He was admired. He had a powerful position.

But then he realized he wasn't rightly motivated. Verse 8, he says, yet indeed I count all things lost for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish that I may gain Christ. I want to be there in that kingdom. I want to eat of that fruit of the tree of life one day. He says, and be found in him not having my own righteousness, just like what he lived before as a self-righteous and carnal Pharisee and Jew.

He didn't want to live that way.

So he says, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, trying to keep the law perfectly on your own, that bred self-righteousness. But that which is through faith in Christ, it's someone else building that righteousness in us. Now we have to cooperate. We have to do our part, but it is God's glory. It is his spirit that is changing us. It's not us trying to manipulate the law so that we can be seen as righteous before men. It says, the righteousness which is from God by faith, that I may know him and the power of his resurrection. He's talking about the first resurrection that he wants to be a part of.

And the fellowship of his sufferings. You have to go through things if you're going to live like Jesus Christ here. Being conformed to his death if by any means I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I've already attained. He wasn't saved already.

He was in the process of being saved. Yes, there is a salvation that takes place when we are baptized and we receive God's Spirit. We are saved from our dead works, from our past actions. Those are forgiven. We are saved. Those things can no longer punish us. There's no guilt or no consequence from God. It's been erased. It's been wiped out. But then we start what is called the process of sanctification, which is we are in a process of being saved. And then at the resurrection, that is when we will have the final salvation, which is a total and unconditional or unconditional salvation. So he goes on to say, not that I have already attained or I am already perfected, but I press on that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus had also laid hold on me.

Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended or to have already achieved it, but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind those past problems and sins and just you already have overcome that. It's already been forgiven. He says, and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. He's pressing forward just like a runner. He hasn't finished. He hasn't crossed the finish line, but that's what he's pressing forward. He's making sure he's not going to fall short of that goal. So we take now a step further and look at the second fruit. This is the fruit of joy. Now, this is a result of having love. And what does that love produce? It produces an inner state of contentment and happiness, an inner state of contentment and happiness.

Now, the fruit I relate to is the fig. We had a member of the church here, Sharon Ma. She had a big fig tree, and she would bring us figs and put those in the refrigerator. And is there anything quite as delicious as those nice ripe, cold figs from the refrigerator? I mean, I could eat them. I had to stop myself because it's like the potato chip. But you can't eat just one. It was just so good, and it gave me a boost to eat those figs. Now, we have to be careful as you get older, right? But figs are sweet, very pleasant. You can eat the whole thing. You don't have to peel them.

And they're just delicious. Well, Christ talked about having the fruit of joy and wanting us to have it as well. In John chapter 15 and verse 1, John chapter 15 verse 1, let's see. No, John chapter 15 verse 11 is what I wanted.

This was his sermon during the Passover, and he said here in John 15 and verse 11, he said, These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.

So he was concerned that we have this fruit of joy.

This means that although many times the exterior of a person's life, the things that are going on the issues, the problems, they might appear to be like storms on the seas, and there are all kinds of churning and waves going back and forth. Many times we can't control the circumstances, but we can control how we act toward those circumstances. And just like in the ocean, many times it's tossed to and fro, there's a storm, but if you go to the depths, it is absolutely calm and tranquil. And so as you have this inner joy, yes, there are going to be things on the surface that are going to be churning and difficulties here and there, but at the bottom, you have that inner joy. You have that contentment and happiness that nobody should take from you.

Nobody else should be able to control your own happiness. You have to maintain that joy through the moments of joy and the moments of sadness. And if your life is fulfilled, it's rich in your own relationship with God and what you're doing. If you're satisfied, you're finding profitable things to do, then someone else, because of what happens around you, is not going to take that joy from you. You're still going to have it. Jesus Christ still had that joy despite the sufferings that he had. He was still thinking about others. There he was bleeding on that stake and going through such suffering, and yet he was concerned about who was going to take care of my mother.

So he asked John to take care of her. And he was concerned that God might just send a bolt of lightning and just completely destroy everybody. And so he said, Father, they don't know what they do. Please forgive them. So he's always thinking about others. And even at the very last, it says that he said, it is done. I have finished the ultimate sacrifice.

Though God's plan is going forward, and it has been accomplished, this toughest part of it.

Believe me, that's been the toughest part of the whole thing.

Now Jesus Christ is at the right hand, never to be separated, and they're carrying out their will.

And so we need to have that same positive, hopeful, enjoyable state of mind despite the circumstances. Even Job did not curse or abandon God in his trials, but was patient until that external part was restored. But he still had an inner joy. Notice in James 5, verse 11, he still had his relationship with God. He never cursed God despite all the suffering he was going through. James 5, verse 11, it says, Indeed, we count them blessed, who endure, who persevere.

You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord, that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful. Yes, Job was restored. He passed the trial. Sometimes we're not going to survive that final trial, but joy should still be there to the end. That takes us to the third fruit of God's Spirit, peace. And this is the result of having the first two. If you have love, if you have joy, you are going to have that inner peace.

Do you know what fruit that reminds me of?

The symbols of grapes. Because this is one of the symbols of peace in the Bible.

Everybody will sit under his vine and under his fig tree. And so this is a symbol of peace.

Notice in Micah 4.4, I'll go ahead and read it to you.

It says, But everyone shall sit under his vine and under his fig tree, and no one shall make them afraid, for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken. Now while we lived in Chile, we lived 21 years there, we had in the back patio, we had all of these vines, grape vines.

And in the springtime, they would all bud and we would have for the summer, all of these grapes hanging down from the patio. And the big leaves would cover up. We didn't need to have any type of plastic or canopies because that vine, all these vines would make a canopy. It was refreshing. It was enjoyable. And of course, in the Bible, it talks about being able to go outside.

And be with your family and not be afraid of some enemy coming in. Instead of having to eat all the time inside and under the dress and with protective walls that you have to eat outside because you don't dare come outside and be totally at ease. So it is a symbol of peace.

First, you have to find your own peace and then with others. If a person doesn't have peace, it's not going to help that others have peace around them. Something like that has to be built from the inside out. Notice in Romans chapter 5 where we start getting that inner peace.

We have to make peace with God first. Romans chapter 5 verse 1. It says, Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance and perseverance character and character hope. And so we have this peace with God. We have made our amends. We have repented. We have washed our sins with the blood of Jesus Christ. And now we can start a new life, putting all our past sins in the past, and that produces peace. Now, the good thing is that your baptism isn't only for the past.

It also, all of these benefits, apply to the present and to the future.

So God's forgiveness is not just up to baptism. It does extend forward, but with the condition that we have to repent, we have to confess our sins to God, ask for that forgiveness, and He will grant it to us. This is the state of being under grace or being under the favor and forgiveness of God. But it is a conditional state.

It is something that we can lose. If we turn, we start going the way of the world and sinning and going back to what we had done in the past. Then that state of grace is finished. It is removed until that person finally wakes up, if ever, and comes back into the good graces of God. And so we have this fruit of peace. Notice, once we have that, in Romans 12, verse 18, it says, If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. In other words, don't be a brawler. Don't be one of these people that is stirring up conflict and difficulties and constantly producing trouble. Now it tells us if it is possible, as much as depends on you, because sometimes it doesn't depend on you. Maybe somebody's just there harassing you all the time and causing you problems, and you might not be at peace because this person is doing that.

But the thing is, don't get involved with that person. Don't bring up the conflict. Don't just deal with it in a civil and patient way. I remember when we lived in Chile, at the beginning, we had good neighbors. But as the years went by, of course, you're always changing neighbors. And we had these neighbors that came in, and they had two sons, and they were these punk rockers. And they had this loud music, and they didn't care what time of day or night.

Over there, you don't have the rights as you do here to complain. Yeah, we would sometimes maybe call the police that don't. But they were afraid to do something. And finally, I just had to say, I'm going to fast and pray about this. And guess what? These people, all of a sudden, they told us, well, we're moving out. You know what? Things didn't work out here, and they moved out. So that was the way we were able to restore that outer peace. Now, my inner peace was still there, but they were certainly disrupting it. So it tells us here, as long as it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. Don't be a brawler. Don't stir up dissension. And finally, in James chapter 3, we see here the fruits of peace.

James chapter 3 and verse 17.

It says, But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. Now, the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. That has to be one of our characteristics.

Producing that peace first in us and then toward others.

That takes us to the fourth fruit of God's Spirit, long suffering. Long suffering comes from a beautiful word in Greek, a hupomone, which means the ability to persevere and not give up under duress.

So it means one that you just don't give up, you're persevering, you have endurance.

And for that, I have a very curious fruit here.

It's the pomegranate.

Pomegranate. This is the fruit that many people don't like because it's so hard to eat.

How many have never eaten pomegranate? Raise your hands. Yeah, a couple, not too many.

They're pretty good, but they've got so many seeds, and you've got to just eat around the seeds.

And so it takes a very long time, and it reminds me of endurance. It takes a while to persevere. This is not one of my favorite fruits to eat. I like fruit that I can just peel and eat real quick. This one, it requires patience. It requires endurance to do it. But it is rewarding at the end.

Most of you have eaten it, and it seems like you enjoy it.

And Christ told us in Luke 21, verse 19. Luke 21, verse 19. It's a short verse. It just says here, by your patience, possess your souls.

That means long suffering, that hupomony I was talking to you about. The message Bible says, staying with it, that's what is required. Stay with it to the end. You won't be sorry, you will be saved.

And so it's going to take patience. Some fruits take longer than others to develop. The one on patience, long suffering, is not easy to do. It takes a long time to develop this.

Another word that is synonym is longanimity. I like that because, again, it's this long suffering. In Spanish, we call these linked hot dogs longanistas. And it reminds me of longanimity, which means that it's not just one. It's a whole series of links. You're going to have to go through a lot to finally get to the end of it. That's the way it works.

And then we'll go to the fifth fruit, which is kindness. You can summarize kindness with the term courtesy to others.

And this reminds me of the pear. It is soft. It is delicious. It is easy to eat. In Philippians 4 verse 5 in the God's Word version, it says, Let everyone know how considerate you are. The Lord is near.

So this means being willing to yield to others for the general good. Kindness. Think about others first. The empathy. Feeling what people are going through.

I know it's hard sometimes for us men to have that kindness. You're impatient.

Somebody calls you. You just like to say, what's up? Yes, what do you need?

Well, that's not the way to be kind. You should start it. Hello. Being kind to the person, being courteous, and then going on to whatever needs to be covered. I know when I have to write letters to all the different ministers in Latin America, consciously keep in mind, I'm not going to start with what the business at hand is. I ask for them how the family, how they're doing, and then go to the next step. Paul is that way in his epistles. He doesn't just start out teaching doctrine. He's talking about, brethren, how you're doing, and my prayers are with you, and I'm hoping everybody's doing well, and through these difficulties you're going through. Remember, I'm here. And so this is the part of kindness, and it applies to men as well as women.

So being willing to yield to others for the general good.

And that takes us to the sixth fruit, goodness.

So you don't just have courtesy, but now you have to actively help others for their welfare.

So it's not just a gesture. Now you have to follow through with some action.

Now the fruit I remember that is related to goodness is one that we usually think is a vegetable, and it isn't. It's the avocado. It's classified as a fruit. Now we love it here in Southern California. Actually, the Haas avocado came from Southern California. It was this hybrid tree in the sense that grew, and the Haas avocado is one of the favorites. And it's very healthy.

I have here from a website. It says about avocados. It says avocados have another trick up their green sleeves to help reduce high cholesterol, phyto-sterosis, phyto-ster-oy-s.

What I want to say. Plant-based phyto-ster-oy-s are similar enough structurally to animal-based cholesterol to block its absorption during digestion. Having avocado with a meal containing cholesterol like eggs or meat may help reduce some of the amount you normally absorb.

It's good to add a slice of avocado to your hamburger, hot dog, omelet, etc.

Phyto-ster-oy-s found in avocado like beta-cyto-sterol have also been linked to a reduction in the symptoms of diseases of inflammation such as arthritis and osteoporosis. So avocados are good for us. Hopefully the price will continue going down because they're pretty expensive, but they're well worth it. In Galatians chapter 6 verse 10, Galatians chapter 6 verse 10, it says, Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith. Talking there about the church, but don't just exclusively do things for the church. Also, as you can, do good for others.

In Romans chapter 12 verse 21, we have another scripture along that line.

Romans 12 verse 21, it says, Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. It's a very important point.

Don't pay evil with evil. Pay evil with good. Don't change your standard of life just because somebody else is doing wrong things. Don't get in the mix with them and doing the wrong thing to them. Now, we all have rights. We shouldn't be doormats if people just run over us, but there are ways to be courteous, to be respectful, but also ask that people respect our rights as well. When Paul was about ready to be beaten at one time, he stopped him and he said, Did you know I am a Roman citizen?

And so they all got scared because it was illegal and they had already beaten him and they were going to continue. And so he stood up for his rights, but he didn't go around now saying, Okay, now I'm going to get you guys with my whip or lash. He didn't do that. So we have to have a good balance here and just realize, as we have the opportunity, let us do good to all, actively helping others for their welfare. That takes us to the seventh fruit, which is faithfulness, carrying out what we have told God and others we will do.

Abraham is an excellent example. He was faithful to God. God didn't have to wonder if Abraham was going to follow through. He did. I call these men and women in the Bible that were faithful the, Here I am, servants. God called them. Many times they didn't know for what? But when he called them, they said, Here I am, Lord, what do you want me to do? In one case, he said, build an ark.

And as some kidded, he said, Fine, Lord, I'll do it. But I want to know what is an ark? I've never seen one. He wasn't there saying, Well, God, this is going to take me about 100 years.

I don't have the money. We're going to get to all the resources. And it's never rained this way. Are you sure you can do this? Are you sure you're powerful enough? Shouldn't you get a group more? Are you just going to ask me and my family to do something like this? He could have found all kinds of excuses, but he was a Here I am, Lord. He knew by faith, God was going to work it out, but he was going to put his whole heart into it. He was going to give his whole being for whatever God asked him to do. He wasn't half-hearted. So what about faithfulness? It reminds me of a kind of a humble fruit, but it's the one that's always there. Whole faithful, the banana, right? Now what do you do when you've got to go out to work someplace? You don't have time to do anything else? You get a banana. A banana gives you strength. It provides potassium, which avoids cramping. So before I do sports, I always take a banana with me. I don't take any other fruit, but the banana is one that I take with me because it avoids cramping. And I've had some times in the past where I didn't have a banana and I started with cramps later on because I was just sweating so much, especially in the summertime. You get rid of a lot of vital vitamins and the potassium goes out in the sweat and all of a sudden you start cramping. And so bananas are all faithful.

You almost don't need anything else.

So it is this faithfulness to carry out what God said. Remember what Jesus Christ mentioned in Matthew 22 about the importance of faithfulness? A lot of people might have all kinds of different problems, but as long as you're faithful, God truly respects you. Notice in Matthew 22.

Let me see here. This is one that I was just getting out of the top of my head. So it's the one where the parable of the two sons. See if somebody can help me there. I thought it was Matthew 22.

I don't see it here. Here it is. It's Matthew 21. Okay. Verse 28. He said, But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, Son, go work today by vineyard. He answered and said, I will not. But afterward he regretted it and went. Then he came to the second and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir, but he did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father? They said to him, the first.

Jesus said to them, Assuredly I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him. The tax collectors and harlots believed him, which they followed.

John, they repented. And when you saw it, you did not afterward relent and believe him.

And so you might not have the best attitude, but if you are faithful, you're going to do your best to obey God, to follow His commandments, to follow His way of life. That is faithfulness.

That takes us to the eighth fruit, gentleness. Other translations have it, which is a bit closer to the original, which is meekness, which means humility toward others.

Now, the one that comes to mind is one that we don't see too often, but it's kind of a humble fruit, which is the kiwi. Now, the kiwi doesn't look too hot, does it? And it's kind of rough. It's also something that is not just going to devour right away, but it's full of vitamin C. It's very nutritious. And that's the way, in a sense, meekness is. It doesn't look so much good on the outside, but it produces grapefruit on the inside.

It's not the sweetest, just like this gentleness is not easy to do, but it yields good fruit. Notice in 1 Peter chapter 3, verse 3. Here it talks about first women having that meekness.

First John chapter 3, verse 3 and 4.

It says, do not let your adornment be merely outward, arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel. As we know, women can be obsessed with their looks, with the way they look, and they can spend a lot of time just looking good outwardly. And they could just focus on that. And he's just saying, look, dress nicely. You should. But he says, I'm more concerned about what's in the inside, the inside qualities. Verse 4.

Rather, let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God. Other translations have a meek spirit, which is a type of humility that's very enjoyable to see in a woman as well as in a man. Now, verse 7, it talks about the same attitude, which has to do with meekness. Verse 7, it says, husbands likewise dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife as to the weaker vessel, not because she is somehow inferior, but she can be emotional, she can be more sensitive to things, she's more fragile, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered. So that meekness is important for the man, especially in trials. Be meek with children, with spouses, be understanding. That takes us to the last fruit, which is self-control. This is what binds all the fruits together. And this reminds me of the orange.

It has a high vitamin C content, and if you open it, each one has a little cell.

It's not just one fruit, it's all separated into different cells, and it works together.

Self-control is the same way. It coordinates the emotions that a person has, puts them in its proper place. This fruit is so essential that you can avoid scurvy, which is a disease of loosening of the teeth, because you're lacking essential vitamins. And oranges, as well as lemons, are very important in this. And self-control is something that needs to be developed through God's Spirit. Notice in Proverbs 16, verse 32. Proverbs 16, verse 32, says, He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city. Self-rulership is more important than being in charge of a city.

A person that can rule his own spirit, can keep cool under pressure, can keep his emotions in check and expressing the right emotions. There's a time to be happy and joyful. There's a time when you have to weep for others that are weeping along. There's every season for every circumstance there's a right emotion. Notice in Proverbs 25, verse 28.

It says, whoever has no rule over his own spirit is like a city broken down without walls. People can just enter it, ravage it. A person like that is always going to be exposed to anger, to brawling, fights, because they have no defenses for their emotions. They fly off the handle so easily. In Titus chapter 2 verses 11 and 12, Titus chapter 2 verses 11 and 12, we are finishing up here. I'm going to read it in two different versions.

Titus 2 verses 11 and 12, it says, for the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. I have another translation here which tells us that we are to live self-control. We're supposed to live self-controlled lives.

Now, this is so important because this coming kingdom of God and that new Jerusalem will bring the fruits of God's Spirit in a worldwide way. It's going to spread.

These are fruits that will be produced and will be given to others.

And also, brethren, let's not forget, one good thing is we are eating of this fruit in a limited amount right now through God's Holy Spirit. Yes, it doesn't completely fill us. We still have this human nature, but we have God's Spirit working in us, and it produces those nine fruits of God's Spirit.

We are to increase them in our lives, staying close to God, prayer, Bible study, meditation, occasional fasting, and staying away from the dark territory of Satan.

So let's finish in Revelation chapter 21. This is right before the introduction to the tree of life.

This is what it says. Revelation 21, 23, it says, But I saw no temple in it, talk about the new Jerusalem. For the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminates it. The Lamb is its light, and the nations of those who are saved, those who are spirit beings, shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth, now it's all talking about the kings today, talking about those future kings and high priests, the ones that come out of God's church, bring their glory and honor into it. Its gates shall not be shut at all by day. There shall be no night there, and they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it. They are serving Jesus Christ, and they bring the glory and honor to God. But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life, those, brethren, that are producing the different fruits of God's Holy Spirit.