God's Spirit in Us

As I mentioned before, we are on this time of Pentecost weekend, which means two Sabbaths in a row. One is a weekly Sabbath, and the other one is an annual Sabbath. So tomorrow we'll be celebrating the third of God's holy days, the third feast of the year, which is very important in His plan of salvation. It helps us to maintain our focus on these seven great events that each year we rehearse. They're very important because God is the one who established them, not man. These are not man-made holidays. This wasn't established by a council of men. Actually, this was established even before the creation of man. God had these holy days in mind. And so, of course, on the day of Pentecost, it's famous because in Acts chapter 2, we read about the Holy Spirit coming down. Precisely on that day of Pentecost, you would think that a church that follows the Bible and follows the example of Jesus and the disciples would be keeping that feast of Pentecost. And yet, hardly anybody is doing it. And so what happened was that the church and its teachings were detoured. They were deviated. They were changed over time. And people in their ignorance have no idea how important it is to keep these original feast days established by God, kept by Jesus Christ and the apostles and the early church. And one of the key subjects or themes of this Pentecost weekend has to do with the Holy Spirit. It was mentioned here in the first message, but now we're going to go much deeper into this subject of God's Holy Spirit in us. What is it? How do you receive it? When do you receive it? And how does it work? Those are questions that when I was 17 years old and came across the church for the first time and attended, I was absolutely ignorant. I had been attending the Catholic Church since I was a baby. And yet, I didn't know anything about these feasts. I didn't know about the Holy Spirit. Actually, in the Catholic Church, it's just a ritual that you go through. At seven years old, you go through what they call the confirmation. You're baptized when you're eight days old, and they just sprinkle some water, and you're supposed to become a member of the church at that time. And then at seven, oh you take first communion at seven, and then at 11, you have what is called confirmation, which I also went through. And that's when they're supposed to say, now the Holy Spirit is confirmed in you. I had no idea what the Holy Spirit was, what I was supposed to be doing, but all of a sudden somebody laid hands on me. They're the bishop, and I was supposed to be a converted person. And I was about as converted as an alligator.

Somebody just got killed this past week, waiting in the water, and the alligator got them first. So alligators are not very converted creatures, are they?

Now the topic of God's Spirit actually spans the entire Bible. It starts in the first chapter of Genesis with God's Spirit hovering over the waters. The creative power of God was about to intervene and bring order from what had become disorder. And so it talks about God's Spirit as His creative power. And then in Revelation 22, at the very end, in verse 3, it talks about the Spirit, God's Spirit, and preparing people for that new Jerusalem. Of course, in one message, this is such a broad topic that it's impossible to cover all the facets. So I'd like to focus on one particular facet, and that is God's Spirit in us. How it works, what is it, and how we are to use it. These are very important topics to talk about. Why? Because it tells us, in Romans chapter 8, we can go there in verse 8 and 9, that if we don't have God's Spirit, we are not His. We simply are not true Christians. Romans chapter 8, verse 8 and 9, it says, So then those who are in the flesh, talking about unconverted, how we're born, we're not born with God's Spirit inside us, cannot please God. You can be a wonderful person, but God's Spirit is still not in you. He says, but you are not in the flesh, in the way of life, of the carnal world, is talking about, but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now, if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. Notice here that it talks about the Spirit of God, talking about the Father and the Spirit of Jesus Christ. It doesn't talk about a third person here either, but it says that if we don't have that Spirit of Christ, He is not His. He is not a true Christian. And so, it's easy to get confused by this. People think, well, sure I have God's Spirit. I've been attending church. I was baptized at a certain time, but it's important to analyze what it means to have God's Spirit in us. So, I'd like to cover first five scriptures that summarize what the Holy Spirit is in us. Five key scriptures. And I'll go ahead and give you the definition that comes from these scriptures and others as well. What is God's Spirit? It is the power and the personal loving relationship God establishes in you. So, it's two things. It's a power because He will give gifts. He will give strength to a person. But at the same time, it's a special family relationship that He establishes with us. And it's so important to realize both parts of this because a person can have power and have strength. But if he doesn't have that personal relationship with God, something is missing, that intimacy with God. At the same time, you can have a certain relationship with God. But if you're not obeying Him, that's not going to work either. God is not going to honor that. We need both in order to please Him. And so, let's go to the first part, which is about power. Notice in Acts chapter 1, verses 6 and 8. Here, it's Jesus Christ after He was resurrected. And He explained to His disciples what they were going to receive from the Holy Spirit that was going to be sent. Acts chapter 1, verses 6 through 8. It says, Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? This time of the kingdom of God to come, to establish a reign of peace for a thousand years? They know about that. And He said to them, It is not for you to know times or seasons when this is going to happen, which the Father has put in His own authority. Only the Father will decide when He'll intervene in world affairs, when He will say, Enough is enough.

But You shall receive what? Power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and You shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, in all Judea, in Samaria, and to the end of the earth. So this power was not something to exercise on their own. It was a power to capacitate them, to enable them with boldness and courage and conviction to go to the world with the true gospel of the kingdom of God. So that's part of what a person receives, a certain strength which fortifies, which gives them strong convictions.

And these come as gifts to the person. There are fruits involved that God gives the person.

Secondly, not only do we receive power, but we receive this connection with God the Father and Jesus Christ through that Holy Spirit. In John chapter 14, in verse 15, John chapter 14, verse 15, Christ said, If you love Me, keep My commandments. Now when He's saying His commandments, of course, it's dealing with how He magnified God's laws. He didn't do away with them. He said, I did not come to abolish, but to have them fulfilled. To fill them to the maximum is the term. It's used for fishing nets of those days when it talked about that term fulfill. It meant filling up the nets to the maximum amount of fish. And so Christ filled the law in that way, enriched it with that spiritual knowledge and meaning that people were not aware of. He goes on to say, And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another helper, and it should be it may abide with you forever, the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees, it should be it nor knows it, because it's in the neutral term. Spirit is not masculine, but this was changed because of the Trinity. But you know it, for it dwells with you and will be in you. Notice here, it wasn't with them yet, and He had told them, He said, the Spirit is with you. So when a person is called to the truth, God starts opening a person's mind to his truths. The relationship starts working, but it's with you, not in you yet. It happened to the disciples.

He goes on here to say, A little while longer, and the world will see me no more, because of course they were going to kill Him. But you will see me because I live, you will live also. Christ was going to be resurrected and be with them. At that day, you will know that I am in the Father, and you and me, and I and you. He who has my commandments and keeps them, it is He who loves me.

Keeping Pentecost is part of that commitment. God tells us all through the Bible about His feast days and about these holy days. They are not any more than these, and that is part of God's commandments.

So if we are a true Christian, we are going to be keeping this day of Pentecost, because that's what God and Jesus Christ expect of us. We cannot truly love and follow Him if we are disobeying His commands. It's as simple as that. We have a choice. Are we going to obey Him, or are we going to go our way and have our own style of Christianity, which isn't the right manner? Going on, He says, here in chapter 14, Jesus is not as scary as said to Him, verse 22, Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us and not to the world?

Jesus answered and said to Him, if anyone loves Me, He will keep My word, and My Father will love Him, and we will come to Him and make our home with Him. So you see, it's not just a power. It's also God establishing that intimate connection, making a family connection, calling us His children, and we should be able to call Him Abba, Father.

Now, it's not something that we can earn. You can't pay a million dollars, not even a billion dollars to have it. You cannot put a price on this, but to receive God's Spirit is God's presence in us, and establishing that connection to walk with Him the rest of our lives. He wants to be there. He wants to participate in our lives through that Holy Spirit.

And then we see the result of that power and that personal relationship in Romans chapter 5, verses 1 through 5. Romans chapter 5, 1 through 5. Here are the results of that intimate relationship. It says in verse 1, Therefore, having been justified by faith, having our sins forgiven and blotted out, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Peace. I remember when I was baptized, I was only 18 years old, but I was actually chasing the minister around. I was hounding that minister because I realized I still had my sins on me. I did not want to have those sins on me, just like you'd be carrying some backpack full of sins.

I want to get rid of that backpack. I don't want to die in my sins. I want to have those removed. Just be very honest. I just didn't feel comfortable at all. I did not feel at peace until I was baptized, received his spirit, and what was the result afterwards? I had peace. That burden had been taken off me. Now I could live a life where I didn't have the law accusing me, condemning me, and having the death penalty over me. Yes, that was a great relief to go through that.

And then he goes on to say, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace or favor 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. We're going to be tested.

God wants to improve us, and there's no way to improve us unless we are tested. There might be some beautiful material that you create in a factory, and you say, oh, this is a good piece of metal. I'm going to put it into this machine, and it fits in everything. But guess what? When you turn the thing on, maybe it won't. It'll crack under pressure. It's the same way. God has to test us to see if that faith that He provides for us, that power, everything, is it going for good use?

Is it producing good results or not? Only by being tested. And so nobody looks forward to testing, but we're going to be tested. And guess what? We're going to be tested whether we're in the church or outside the church. The tests are still going to come. I'd rather have God on my side when I get tested. But we're all humans.

We are all frail. We're all going to go through sicknesses, and nobody is going to come out of this alive unless Jesus Christ comes back. And guess what? We're all going to learn what it is, aging process, sickness, and eventually death, so that no person will glory before God. Yeah, we're going to be humble before we end this life. So we don't go before Him and just feeling like this whipper snapper and feeling like your oats and, yes, God, I can do all these things.

I don't need you. No, nobody's going to go in His presence that way. He goes on to say in Romans 5, he says, now hope does not disappoint because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

It should be which again, it's not a person. It's God's influence, power, and relationship inside the person.

The next scripture is in Romans 8, verse 14, just a couple of chapters over. Romans 8, chapter 14. It says, for as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. There is a relationship that is established now. We were not sons of God when we were born. We don't have that intimate relationship with God unless we receive God's Spirit. But through that Spirit, it tells us then that these are the sons or children of God. For you did not receive the Spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, Abba, father. Abba is a very tender term. It means daddy. Just like a child would talk to the father or mother, they have affectionate terms for them. So we can have affectionate terms toward God because of that connection, that relationship that God establishes with us. And then the fifth scripture, the last one, 2 Timothy, chapter 1, verse 7. Basically, this is a good summary of what we have been talking about, the characteristics of God's Spirit. 2 Timothy chapter 1, verse 7. This is the way the Apostle Paul summed it up in verse 7.

It says, For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power. We've talked about that element of God's Spirit, of love. We've talked about that.

And of a sound mind.

So power is what gives us spiritual strength, which doesn't come from us. But it gives us that courage. It gives us this boldness, strong convictions.

And the love is the love of God in us to love God, to love others, and to love God's truths above all things. Yes, we're pretty square. We're pretty old-fashioned. We just want to do things God's way, not our way. It's not what we decide is right or wrong. It's what my father tells me, my daddy. I'm going to follow him. I'm not going to try to figure out whether I should cross that street or not. He's saying to us, this is the path. Don't run into the traffic. Don't go against my laws. They're going to do you harm. They're not going to ever truly benefit you.

And so we have that love. And what does that produce? A sound. Another translation would be a converted mind. A mind that has been converted by God. It starts out like a child, that first love. You begin with that openness and a certain innocence and a certain childlike attitude. I just want to do what God tells me in his word. That's what I want to do more than anything else. You begin with that, and then through the years it matures. You become a spiritual adolescent. Then you become a spiritual young adult, and eventually you become a spiritual elder in the church. You learn how God's Spirit works. Conversion has to be deepened. It's not something that immediately happens. We start out at a very immature level, but then we grow. As it says, to grow up into that full maturity that Christ wants us to be. Notice a couple of translations. The Amplified Bible has for 2 Timothy 1.7, it says, for God did not give us a spirit of timidity, of cowardice, of craven, cringing, and fawning fear, but he has given us a spirit of power, and of love, and of a calm, well-balanced mind, and discipline, and self-control. That's what you learn. You learn God's Spirit actually tones us down. It doesn't cause us to emotionally react to everything, or to every slight that you receive, or anything. You have that spiritual element that cushions you from all of these things that can cause a person to lose their temper, or lose their control over things. In the New International Reader's Version, it says, God gave us his spirit, and the Spirit doesn't make us weak and fearful. Instead, the Spirit gives us power and love. It helps us control ourselves. It helps us to not go to extremes, and to have a more even-keeled type of mind where you're not just going to fly off the handle. So, let's go over these main characteristics of God's Spirit and go even deeper into them, hopefully to give you encouragement and instruction on how to develop it more, and what are the dangers that we face. Once we have God's Spirit, it's a great responsibility. It can be lost. It's not just permanently set. So, let's go over the first of the two main characteristics, power, which is the spiritual strength that God gives us through certain gifts. Gifts of courage, of boldness, the firmness in God's truths. I think that's one of the strongest ones. I know in my life, I couldn't pick up any more weight than I did before baptism. I didn't become a Samson. I didn't become this Solomon of wisdom. But boy, there was something it stiffened my back to where now there was no compromise. There was no turning back. You were going to follow God no matter what it took.

And I had to give up friends, family. I had to give up at that time my job. I was working on the Sabbath. And I had to give up my former faith and a girlfriend that I just started to get to know. I had to get the whole thing up. And it wasn't me. It was something in me that just would not allow that to happen. And so this is what occurs. And there's also in that power a spirit of service. You want to participate. You want to serve others. It's not about serving self. And so these are all gifts from God. They are given. They can be increased, or they can be taken away from us. We can completely be removed from these gifts. And we can go back into the world like nothing ever changed. In the New Testament, oh, I wanted to, in the Old Testament, we see this power when the Holy Spirit came upon certain men with Moses. Well, he had the power of doing miracles. He was given the power of humility. He was a meekest man on the earth. He hadn't been.

Seemed to have a problem with his temper at times, but God gave him that spirit, which calmed him down. Self-control and also understanding of God's Word. The Israelite Benaiah was the one that God gave gifts of being able to construct a tabernacle. These were physical abilities that he was able to design all of it. God said, look, I'm looking around. There's no artisan that can do this. There's no way they can build the ark. They can build all of these tremendous metallic objects. And so God said, well, I'm going to call this fellow. Yeah, he has a good heart. I can see he can do that. And God gave him the Holy Spirit, and this man was able to produce works of art like no one ever did before. We have Samson. He received power, and it was through physical strength. Not too many of them, because usually you abuse that. But Samson is actually the Hercules of the myths, and all of these strong men actually come from one person, and that was Samson, because the news spread all over that Mediterranean, and all of a sudden they had all these mythical, strong heroes. It all started with Samson. And then Solomon received great wisdom and understanding more than any man. So God's Spirit can manifest itself in many ways. It's not just power and strength. In the New Testament, in 1 Peter 4, verse 10, it talks about the different gifts of God's Holy Spirit as He provides in the church. 1 Peter 4, verse 10. In verse 10, it says, As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. See how they are a gift? They're not something we earn. It's not something of ours. There are a lot of people that have natural gifts, but don't confuse them with godly gifts.

It says, verse 11, If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, in whom it belongs, the glory, and the dominion forever and ever. I'd like to read the same verse, verses 2, verse 10 and 11, in the contemporary English version. It makes it a little clearer. It says, Each of you has been blessed with one of God's many wonderful gifts. Each one has some gifts to be used in the service of others.

So use your gift well. If you have the gift of speaking, preach God's message. Don't preach your own or your own pet theories about something. Preach God's word. If you have the gift of helping others, do it with the strength that God supplies, with that enthusiasm. Everything should be done in a way that will bring honor to God because of Jesus Christ, who is glorious and powerful forever. So these are the gifts that a person receives. And of course, it depends on the circumstances of each one. How much power can be given to a person because there are limitations. There are certain things that if a person is called at a very elderly age, it's going to be hard for them to do more than serving others, praying for others, supporting what you can. But the most productive points in a person's life have already gone by. So it depends on the youth. It depends on circumstances. Who you marry. Who's going to allow you to serve more or less. It depends on many different things. But each one, God knows exactly how to custom-made the fruits of God's Spirit. Notice in Romans chapter 12, which also talks about the gifts of God's Spirit, Romans chapter 12 verses 3 through 8, it says, For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them. If prophesy, again the term here has to do more with preaching, let us preach in proportion to our faith. I have here the Good News Bible version says here, if our gift is to speak God's message, we should do it according to the faith that we have.

Or ministry, which means to serve. If it is to serve, let us use it in our ministering. If it is to serve, says the Good News Bible, we should serve. He who teaches in teaching, he who exhorts, which is mentioned here, if it is to encourage others, the term here exhort means to encourage. We should do so. He who gives, whoever shares with others should do it generously. It says, New King James, liberality. He who leads, whoever has authority with diligence should work hard. He who shows mercy with cheerfulness, whoever shows kindness to others should do it cheerfully. And so we see here how God operates in the body, the different fruits of God's Spirit, and also the gifts that he provides for all of us. All that is in the section of power. Now let's go to this personal, loving relationship that God establishes with us.

First, it's interesting that one of the best scriptures which deals with that relationship with God is not in the New Testament. It is in the Old Testament. Jeremiah 9.23. This is a verse that should be memorized because it is so important and the best definition of knowing God. Jeremiah 9.23. It says, Thus says the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom. Oh, if a person is very smart, don't glory in your intelligence or ability. Let not the mighty man glory in his mind. Maybe you might just be a bodybuilder and feel very powerful and flex your muscles and show off. He says, Don't do that, nor let the rich man glory in his riches. If a person is rich, he's always thinking about his bank accounts and all the success he's had in the material world. He says, That's not important in comparison to what God is going to say. He says, But let him who glories, if you want to be proud of something, glory in this, that he understands and knows me. There is a special personal relationship with God that is intimate, that is private, that is between a child of God and his father and his elder brother, Jesus Christ. That I am the Lord, exercising loving kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these, I delight, says the Lord. That's what God loves to do.

And of course, that's the right image that we should have of God himself.

Now let's go to John chapter 15, talking about that personal relationship. Christ used an analogy here. John chapter 15 verse 1. He said, I am the true vine, and my father is the vine dresser. It shows the functions they both have. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit, he takes away. Talk about spiritual fruit. And every branch that bears fruit, he prunes that it may bear more fruit. Sometimes he has to correct. Sometimes he has to work with the person because he sees productive, but there are some hindrances in the way. There are obstacles to remove so they can be even more effective.

Goes on to say, you are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. And as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. We draw that spiritual force and power and relationship by going before God, strengthening that spiritual relationship. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, bears much fruit. Again, talking about the fruits of God's Spirit. For without me you can do nothing. Oh, people can act a certain way. But here it's a full life that is laid down with the foundation of loving God's truths, putting them first in a person's life. And then building upon that relationship with God as we please Him, He blesses us. He gives us more of His Spirit. Verse 6, if anyone does not abide in me, if you cut off that relationship, he is cast out as a branch and is withered, and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. So without that connection we can spiritually do nothing. In Galatians chapter 2 verse 20, another classic description of that personal intimate relationship with God, Galatians 2 verse 20, Paul says, I have been crucified with Christ. This has happened to him at baptism. You take on a spiritual kind of a death where you die to the world and its ways. I've been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me in the life which I now live in the flesh. I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. So it is God living in a person, and of course a person has to yield to God for him to act. We have to give him the space. If we're so full of ourselves, God can't really be involved very much. We have to constantly yield and make sure God can work more in us. We are more flexible. We are able to yield to his will. And so every Sabbath we have to yield our will to him, each one of the Holy Days. It's something that we have the world with all of its activities and all the pressures around. And I'm not saying that's the only thing we do, but that's the first thing we have to do. That's the foundation to build upon so that we can have the fellowship and the spiritual growth. How are we going to learn if we're not where we're supposed to be? For somewhere else? Doing something else? We're not going to be spiritually fed by God's Word.

Let's go on to the next scripture in 1 John 5, verse 2. 1 John 5, verse 2, it says, By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep his commandments. So again, commandments are just the basic elements. They're like the instructions. If you learn to be a good driver, you learn all of the traffic laws by memory. And you know what should be done. It takes years of practice to know when to yield, when to stop, when to go, when to switch lanes, when to make sure that you're going to have enough time to turn off somewhere, to practice defensive driving so that you can see a person's coming ahead. They can have a crash. Something can happen. I'm going to move out of the way at times. See, all of those things are learning basic rules. And then as you grow into it, you become more expert at it. It's the same way. God has basic rules. Just because you know all the rules doesn't mean you're a good driver either. You have to learn how to apply it. So it says here, verse 3, For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome. They're not a weight on us to keep the Sabbath, or to keep the feast days, or keep the food laws, or keep the tithing laws, things that are basic to us. But God first says, are you doing the fundamentals first? Afterwards, come and talk to me. It's like the coach, that you're learning basketball, and there are all kinds of things that you have to learn to do first. You have to learn how to properly have a layup on the right side, how to do it with your left hand, how to dribble on either side, how to properly throw a pass, how to throw the long pass, how to do a chest pass, how to do a bounce pass. Now, after you've basically covered that, then the coach says, okay, now we'll see if you can make it into a game. Yeah, now we're going to put it into practice. Well, it's the same way. If the person's not doing the basics, then there's always going to be weaknesses. There's going to be all kinds of flaws that are not going to produce the right techniques. And so this is what John is telling us here, that his commandments, God's rules, are not burdensome to us.

In 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, we're winding down here. 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, this is a key scripture to know what God's Spirit does in us, starting in verse 9. It says, the coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders. And Satan certainly still has power, and he can do signs and lying wonders. He says, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. That's part of God's Spirit. We receive the love of the truth. And of course, the Church has been tested, hasn't it? The past 40, 50 years, we're the ones who are going to be keeping these laws, keeping these feasts through time. You don't have to worry about that. They're going to die one day in their beds, hopefully not too much, but they're going to be keeping these things to the very end of their lives. It's not negotiable for them. In James chapter 4, verse 8, how can we grow spiritually? Here's a basic rule. James 4 verse 8, draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. You have to make the effort. God will come closer to you, but if you're not making the effort, it doesn't say God's going to draw near to you, and then you can draw near to Him. It's the opposite. We have to draw closer. How? Well, through prayer, Bible study, meditation, fasting, and acts of service. That strengthens a person, too. God loves to see a person serving others, helping others. He gives them more of His Spirit. But what are the dangers?

And I'll be finishing here in a minute. Second Timothy chapter 1.

I can summarize this part.

As I say, I'm coming to a hard stop. Second Timothy chapter 1.

Verse. Let's see. Starting in verse 6, it says, Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hand. Stir it up. It's like a fire that you have to keep it burning. Stoke it because it can go out. It tells us 1 Thessalonians 5.19. Don't quench the Spirit. It can be put out. Don't take it for granted. Keep it just like also a garden where you have the fruits of God's Spirit. You have to work on that garden. You have to take the weeds out. You have to water it. You have to nourish it for it to produce the right fruits of God's Spirit. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, meekness, temperance. Those fruits that we need to produce. But I'll tell you, the weeds are just as hard to get out as it is to tend the good fruit. That's why it says that the Spirit fights against the flesh and the flesh against the Spirit. So let me just finish with one scripture. James chapter 3. James chapter 3. And verse 13 through 18. I'm going to read it in the New Living Translation. It's clear. It says, if you are wise and understand God's ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you are bitterly jealous and there is selfish ambition in your heart, don't cover up the truth with boasting and lying. For jealousy and selfishness are not God's kind of wisdom. Such things are earthy, unspiritual, and demonic. For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there will be disorder and evil of every kind. But this is from God's Spirit. The wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace-loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere. And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness. Yes, brethren, this is a good summary of what this Pentecost weekend is all about. Of God's Spirit in us.