The Spirit of Power, Bearing Fruit that Makes an Impact

Good morning, Happy Sabbath. Actually, I had to write down to remember to say good morning, because I was so afraid I'd say good afternoon like Rudy, where we usually attend in the afternoon, but it's great to be here with you. I also echo the warm welcome to everyone visiting online and here today. I know that we have the bells from Alaska also visiting. It's a little bit of a drive. Probably half an hour. Was it 45 minutes? A little bit more. I wanted to thank Rhonda also, while she left, I guess. But thank Rhonda for the special music. Mom and Dad always made sure that all four of us kids got piano lessons growing up, but I got always so incredibly nervous. That is why I don't play anymore. There's actually a funny story. Once Troy and I were doing a duet together, both playing on the same piano at the same time, side by side, and being the older brother, I was always critical of him. Making sure that we're going to be up there, we're playing together. Make sure you get this right, because you guys know Troy. He's just a big goof, right? He's out in California today, I can say that. But being the bigger brother, I was worried. What's going to happen here?

We start to play, it's recital time, we're sitting down, I get into about the first line, and my mind goes blank. I just stop playing. And here's Troy, just keeps on playing right on. And there's a point where the song kind of repeats about halfway through, and I'm like, okay, that's my reentry point. So I'm ready for it, it comes, I start in, I go blank again. Troy ended up playing the duet 95-98% by himself.

So, and that's why you don't see me on the piano.

With summer here, I'd like to start out with a baseball story. It's a story about a young man and his wife. This young man was a big baseball fan, and his team recently had made it to the playoffs.

And as tickets were being distributed, there was an option to where he could buy tickets to go to a baseball playoff game. And he's never been before, so this would have been his first time. And not only could he buy tickets to one game, but he had the option to buy tickets for up to three games. It was part of a five-game series. He could buy three home game tickets. Or three tickets worth of tickets to three home games.

His man mind starts thinking and says, Well, we can go to one game ourselves as a family, and then maybe I can make some money off these other two games. Resell the tickets, make the money back from what we paid for the first game, and maybe even make a little bit of a profit here. Maybe it's an opportunity for an investment. So he runs the idea by his wife, and she's listening, and she has no issues going to the one game as a family.

It would be a fun event. But she's a little... Are you sure you're going to be able to sell those other tickets? Because it is quite a bit of money, and we don't have any buyers at this time. And the young man said, Oh, it's a playoff game. We'll be okay. There's no way... Famous last words... There's no way these tickets... Somebody won't buy these tickets. So the season ends in about a month, and then they're excited about the playoff games, and they decide and they go to the first game.

They use the tickets for the first game themselves. They go and they have a good time. And that same day, he went ahead and he posted the other two games' worth of tickets to an online marketplace where fans buy and sell tickets. And so they go to the game, they have a good time, and the next day he's at work, and he's checking the online marketplace to see if he's sold these tickets or see what other prices are around his. And as the day goes on, he's noticing these tickets, they're not being bought by anybody.

He was able to find somebody in the office who was wanting to go, and they were willing to buy two tickets at face value, so he sold two tickets. But by the time the end of the day came, nobody had bought the other two tickets.

And so he decided just to go to another game. It's not the end of the world. I've still got four tickets left, he's thinking, to the last game of the series, maybe I'll be able to at least sell them and make my money back.

And so the next day comes, and he gets to work, and he logs on, and he's just wanting to see how the other ticket prices are going. And he gets a sinking, sickening feeling in his stomach, because he sees people starting to drop their prices on the tickets that they've also put on the site to sell.

People are starting to dump their tickets, and he realizes he's not going to make the money back that he originally thought. In fact, it's a high chance he's going to lose money on this one. So he's thinking, I've got to make that dreaded phone call home, and just to inform his wife, just so that she knows what's going on. And he's picking up that phone, and he's thinking to himself, wow, how's this going to go? Because in his heart, he has a reservation.

If the shoe was on the other foot, how would he have handled the situation? Would he be critical? Would he say, well, didn't we talk about this? Didn't I warn you that this could happen? And the phone's ringing, and the number... and she picks up, and he's explaining the situation. This is what happened. I've tried this. Other people are now dumping their tickets today.

There's no way anybody's going to buy it at face value, even. And he's walking through this, and he gets done, and he's waiting for the feedback. But what the feedback he got was not what he expected. It was a gentle voice on the other end of the phone, a kind voice, a voice of peace, a voice of love. And she replies back, understanding what's happened, and instead of attacking, she's trying to work through the problem with her husband. And he's still upset. He's still... because of the situation he put his family into, but she's reassuring him, sell him for whatever we can get.

Any money's better than no money. And they finished up the call, and he hung up, and he knew that that's what he needed to do. So he starts to drop his prices on these tickets, and as the day goes on, he continues to drop them. And by the time that they sold, they sold for a fraction of the cost he originally paid. And while he still had this sickening feeling, he was still upset about what he had done, what he put his family through, the decision that he made, because she said, it's up to you to decide what you want to do, he still felt horrible, felt bad.

But the one thing he couldn't get out of his mind was how she responded, because he, deep down in his heart, didn't know that he would have the ability to respond the way that she did if the shoe was on the other foot. And it just stuck with him. He kept just going over how she responded. It left an imprint on his life. It left a reminder there. It's one that he's always thought of for a really long time.

I share this story because it demonstrates a contrast in two approaches, between the demonstration of the fruit of the spirit and the own human nature that we have in our own lives. Each of us have two natures whirring inside of us. One is our human nature, and the other is the nature of God through his Holy Spirit. With God's Holy Spirit inside us, we are expected to heed its guidance and to grow fruit reflective of the character of God, the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ.

This fruit, while not containing a supernatural power, it's not the fruit we can't turn on or off. We can't give fruit to someone else. But it can impact others. The fruit can impact others in a very powerful way. Today, let's look at how the fruit of the spirit can leave a powerful mark on our own life, on others' lives, and the whole world.

How the fruit of the spirit can leave a powerful mark on our own life, on others' lives, and on the whole world. As a starting point, let's look at the power of the Holy Spirit. We understand that the Holy Spirit is given to those who believe in Jesus Christ, have repented of their sins, been baptized, and had hands laid on them by a minister of Jesus Christ.

We get this from Acts 2, verse 38, where it reads, And also in Acts 8, verse 14-17, The Holy Spirit was given to the apostles in AD 31, and was also given to others that followed after them and became baptized. And the same Holy Spirit has been given to us today, as we have been baptized and repented of our sins. As we have been baptized, as we have been baptized, as we have been repented of our sins. As we understand, the Holy Spirit truly impacts our lives in a very powerful way. Paul speaks to this in 1 Corinthians 2. Let's turn there. 1 Corinthians 2, verse 12. When thinking about the power that the Holy Spirit and the impact it has on our lives. 1 Corinthians 2, verse 12.

Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches, but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

The ability for us to read and understand God's Word is a miracle in itself. It truly is. There are biblical scholars who have studied and examined the Bible. They examined other related artifacts in history, and they know what the Bible says. They can even repeat, and by memory, some of what it says. But they don't have an ability to understand in a way that convicts their heart to change. They still go on with what they have and what they know, and they continue to believe what they believe. Being able to have our minds changed and being willing to submit to the Holy Spirit and to go in a different direction is a miracle from God. Because how many people know this, yet they choose not to follow the instructions that are in this book.

When we have the Holy Spirit working in us, and we study and we pray for understanding, we are able to read and understand things in a deeper, more meaningful way than ever before. Things come alive in a way that, at times, leaves us in awe of God and His greatness. That, for whatever reason, we understand it, and it comes to life, and then we say, we want to go and we want to do something different. We want to make a change.

The Holy Spirit is the power of God that can work in our lives to change our hearts, if and when we submit to it and allow it to lead us. Let's turn to Galatians 5.

Galatians 5. We'll start in verse 16. Galatians 5, verse 16. When thinking about the power of the Holy Spirit and the changes that we can make in our lives.

So that you do not do the things that you wish, but if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. And then down in verse 24.

It's a different mind that we have in us. It's a different spirit that is leading us, if we will submit to it. When teaching the apostles after His resurrection, Christ explained more about the Holy Spirit in Acts 1, and how the Holy Spirit would impact their lives. This is in Acts 1. This is after Christ's crucifixion and resurrection, and after He had sent it to the Father. He came back down for 40 days, and He taught and still continued to teach and instruct the disciples.

And this is towards the very end of that time, those 40 days, when He's with the disciples teaching in Acts 1.

We'll start in verse 4.

The word for power in the Scripture is Strongs 1411, which in the Greek is pronounced Dunamis. It's spelled D-U-N-A-M-I-S. It means force, ability, abundance, might, power, strength, or mighty, wonderful works. It's where we, in our English, the origin of our English words, for dynamite and dynamic. So it's this power. When somebody uses the word dynamic, there's something big going on, and we all know the effects that dynamite can have.

This is the dynamic power of God that exists inside each person who has received the Holy Spirit. It is the Spirit that Paul references when encouraging Timothy in 2 Timothy 1.

2 Timothy chapter 1, verse 6 and 7.

Paul says, Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

When we are baptized and we have the Holy Spirit, we have the power of God. We have the love of God.

We have the mind of God working in us, changing us. As Rudy was mentioning, it changes our lives. We behave in a different way if we submit ourselves to the Holy Spirit. This is in complete contrast to the nature that we have inside us. So the question is posed to us each and every day when we wake up. Which nature are we going to listen to and to submit our lives to?

Now that this framework has been laid, let's step into Galatians 5 again and read about the fruit of the Spirit.

Since the Holy Spirit inside us provides a power to help us follow God's ways, there is also a power in the fruit of the Spirit that can impact many people. And just to be clear, the fruit does not have a power of itself that can be turned on or off. It's a byproduct of submitting yourself to God in His ways. But that doesn't neglect the fact that the fruit of the Spirit can leave an imprint. It can leave a mark. It can leave a powerful mark on others in the world when they see it. And when we have opportunities to let it leave an imprint on others.

Let's look at the fruit of the Spirit as it relates to three groups of people. First, ourselves, as I mentioned, others we come in contact with, and also the world. In Galatians 5 prior to verse 22, Paul outlines what happens when we listen to our own human nature and the trouble that it gets us into.

Then in verse 22, he goes on to outline the fruit of the Spirit that is reflected in us when we submit to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Let's read verse 22 in Galatians 5.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, against such there is no law, and those who are Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

Here in Galatians 5, we have nine individual components that make up the character of God. Sometimes when we're thinking about the character of God, and somebody says quickly, quickly, give me a definition or explain to me what is the character of God.

The concept is too large for us to be able to narrow down and just say, well, the character of God is this.

It's kind of like trying to think of... somebody asks you to explain, well, explain to me the greatness of God. These concepts are such a large concept that we can't just understand or break it down to a quick sentence or a quick, here you go, here's your answer, because there's so much depth to it.

The fruit of the Spirit, and when you look at it, when you look at the character of God, it's too big to understand. But if you look at the fruit of the Spirit, it opens our minds to what the character of God is. We get nine individual components that we can look at and examine and think about and compare our lives to and say, okay, using this to paint a picture, I now understand more clearly what the character of God is.

An interesting analogy or visual picture is that of a prism. We've all seen a prism where light enters a prism and then it spreads out into the rainbow colors. It cascades out into the individual colors. And the white light that comes in at first, you can't see, it's just white light. But when it enters that prism and it spreads out into the blue, the purple, the orange, and we can then see each individual characteristic. Reviewing the fruit of the Spirit is kind of like the light or the power of God, the character of God entering that prism and breaking out into different individual attributes. Now we can look at and examine and say, okay, I see what this is now, and we can do a study, or we can reflect on our own lives and see how am I doing in this area or in that area. In 2 Corinthians 4, verse 6, we actually read about the light that comes from God. 2 Corinthians 4, verse 6. 2 Corinthians 4, verse 6. For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who is shown in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earth and vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. We were all once in darkness until we came to the understanding and God opened our minds and we became baptized to understand the differences that we can make in our lives through the Holy Spirit working on us, because we have that choice. We could choose to follow our human nature, or we can submit to the Holy Spirit and go down that route and follow God and to grow in character that was reflective of God. This is what's so powerful about each attribute of the fruit of the Spirit. These attributes radiate from us when we are close to God and when we're submitting to Him. And it radiates in a way that's just not natural. Again, like Rudy was saying, when we have an opportunity to be Christians and to be different from this world, and to this world, this doesn't look natural, it doesn't look normal, and that's why it stands out. And we can stand out, or we can just blend in. When people see these fruits radiating from us, they notice that we are different. How are we different? Let's look at point one and how developing the fruit of the Spirit affects our own lives in a very powerful way.

I think many times when people begin looking at the fruit of the Spirit and they begin examining them, and they start to say, you know what, these would be good for my life. They kind of look at it from an inward stance. I'd like to be more joyful, yeah. Who doesn't want to have a good time or to be happy? Or, yeah, if I had more peace in my life or gentleness, maybe I would deal with my children in a different way. And we view that kind of, I think, at first from an internal stance. And all this is true, and there's nothing wrong with that. One aspect of the fruit of the Spirit is the impact that it has on our own lives and the resulting peace of mind and our body experience. Drawing near to God and allowing fruit to develop does affect our lives. I know personally when I feel like maybe I've been offended by someone, a comment they made or something they did, and I start to give in to those feelings. And I can start to feel maybe my face start to turn red, or I can feel the adrenaline start to flow. I don't think I'm alone in that. My body changes. The chemistry starts to change. And I can maybe get a little agitated. And maybe I cross my arms and things like this. And I'm starting to give in and let my human nature start to take control. And this is not being tuned in with the Holy Spirit. This isn't being let into my fruits come out. I'm allowing myself to become offended. And sometimes then something comes out of my mouth that I can't take back. I regret what I say. And it's already too late. It's been done. Are these good changes that I'm allowing to enter my life? Of course they're not. The impact it has on my body, the impact it has on my mind are not positive impacts. Being in this state places undue stress upon my body and mind. And all too often I do regret allowing myself to get there and maybe for the words that I end up saying. To contrast this, what happens to my body when I submit to the Holy Spirit? Same example. I feel like I've been offended or something's been said. But this time I'm going to submit to the Holy Spirit. What impact does that have? Now, my mind and my body may still be starting to race and I start to bring that back down. And in my mind I start repeating, peace, patience, gentleness. Peace, patience, gentleness. Peace, patience, gentleness. My mind's working hard. My mind is working really hard. Peace, patience, gentleness. But it's not having the same effects on my body. And the end result is not the same.

Maybe I control my tongue this time. And you know what? Maybe I don't allow an offense that builds a wall between me and someone else. The two opposite ways that we can respond to this are in complete contrast. I know this is a basic example, but I think you can see the impact and power that the attributes of the Spirit can have in our lives. Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible, and that's the title. Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible has an interesting comment on gentleness or meekness and the effect it has on our bodies. This is one of my favorite quotes. Because it compares the two sides, the human nature side of not listening or not being meek, not being gentle, versus the contrast of when we are showing these attributes. The quote reads as this, It is proof of true greatness of soul. It comes from a heart too great to be moved by little insults. It looks upon those who offer them with pity. And then in the contrast, he says, As we read through the accounts of Jesus Christ's life on this earth, we don't see him getting his feathers ruffled over small matters. He maintains a peace and a calm, a gentleness, a self-control, even in the midst of attacks and insults. We see an instance of this in 1 Peter 2, where Peter describes the example we have in Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 2. And we'll break into the thought in verse 20. But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God. 2 For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that you should follow his steps, who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in his mouth, who, when he was reviled, did not revile in return, when he suffered, he did not threaten, but committed himself to him, who judges righteously.

We see another example of Christ's meekness and gentleness in self-control in Matthew 27. Let's flip back there. Matthew 27. I'm always in awe of this, because I truthfully don't know if I could handle it in the way that he did.

Matthew 27. It would really take me submitting, as hard as I could, to be able to do this. And so it's a great example that it can be done, though. Matthew 27, verse 11. This is when Jesus was standing before Pilate. Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, saying, Are you the king of the Jews? And Jesus said to him, It is as you say. And while he was being accused by the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing. Then Pilate said to him, Do you not hear how many things they testify against you? But he answered him not one word, so that the governor marveled greatly.

The governor saw something was different about Jesus Christ. Because if you were before the governor, if you were before Pilate, that wasn't a good thing. People who came before him and were being accused were looking for any way that they could get out of whatever they were being accused of. And so he, seeing somebody who held their tongue while being accused, was something that he had probably never seen before. He marveled, as it said, greatly.

What an example our Savior has given us! We must also strive for the same meekness, gentleness, and self-control. And we are encouraged by Paul in Philippians 4, verse 5, To let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. By submitting to the Holy Spirit, we draw near to God and reflect more of His character in our lives.

This allows fruit to develop, and this fruit is beneficial to our lives. So having the original thoughts, going back to the beginning, having the original thoughts of wanting to develop fruit in our lives for our own benefit, it is a good thing. But I hope to show you as we work through this message today that the even larger effect developing this fruit in our lives can have on others. So now let's look at point two, and how the fruit of the Spirit affects others around us in a powerful way.

We've all been around people that are just enjoyable to be around. They enter a room, and the room lights up. We've seen these people. Maybe they offer kind words. Maybe they are the pat on the back when you need that. They make us laugh. They're good listeners, and they provide helpful feedback. Or maybe they're just a really good card player, and every time you're on their team, you win more times than not. But there's something special about that person that leaves an imprint with you that you think about, that you walk away, and you feel different because of being around them. When we really stop and think about this type of a person and why they make us feel this way, it's because they are displaying the fruit of the Spirit coming out in their lives.

The attributes of it are making imprints on our own life. This is how the power of the fruit of the Spirit can affect others in a very large way. We know from 1 John 4, 12, that no man has seen God face to face.

However, we can see the image of God's character when we see the fruit of his Spirit being demonstrated in others. Maybe it's someone reaching out to place a gentle hand on your hand when you're going through a difficult time. Or maybe it's someone offering you kind words when all you've heard all week are harsh words attacking you. These are the outward expressions of the fruit of the Spirit, and they can't impact others in dynamic ways. Let's look at 1 John 4. I'll actually turn there. 1 John 4, verse 12. We'll read 12 and 13. No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and his love has been perfected in us.

By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Holy Spirit. This passage connects not being able to see God with being able to see him by experiencing his love abiding in ourselves and in each other.

When we see his love flowing outwardly from ourselves or from another person towards us, we see God through his love. I'd like to look at a situation from real life that many of us have gone through, and if we haven't gone through it, we've either helped somebody or we know somebody who has gone through it. I'm speaking of health trials. Health trials come in all shapes and sizes. All health trials are difficult, but sometimes they are very, very hard. They may be short-lived or they may be long-lived.

But coming to grips mentally and emotionally with a health trial is sometimes just as hard as the physical aspects of that trial. It weighs on our mind and our bodies. Let's think back to point number one for a minute. Drawing near to God during a trial will also bear fruit. We can have a Godly peace that calms our soul.

Let's read that, and we know this from Isaiah. Actually, I'll just reference it. It's in Isaiah 26, verse 3, where it says, You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind has stayed on you, because he trusts in you. We can have a Godly peace that calms us when we're going through trials when we draw near to God.

It can also give us strength when we have to be patient and endure for an undetermined amount of time. Whatever trials you may be dealing with, God has given you mighty power. He's given you dunamis through the Holy Spirit to rise up and to meet them head-on. If you're baptized, the Spirit is working inside you to give you encouragement, to give you motivation, to be the peace that comes inside. And if you're not yet baptized, it's working around you to guide and to encourage and to help your situations work out. It can strengthen our faith knowing that we are in God's hands.

The Holy Spirit works inside our heart to give us strength and to lift us to a better state of mind where we can have a Godly peace. Not only is it healthier for our minds to operate according to the fruit of the Spirit, but as we talked about earlier, it's also healthier for our bodies when we operate according to God's peace of mind, rather than allowing the thoughts of the trial to just run rampant in our minds. So let's think back now to point number two in relation to this example of health trials. So the health trial, when we draw near to God, is beneficial for ourselves. We can develop fruit. But now let's think about the same health trial, but how others are impacted as this fruit develops in our lives. When we allow the peace of God to rule our hearts, what happens with our interactions to others? How many times have we known of someone going through a health trial, and we decide I'd like to make a point to go up and encourage them, the Sabbath, or to do something, to have a conversation with them for their benefit? I'm going to give of myself. But how many times do we walk away the one that's encouraged from them? It's happened so many times that the person who's going through the trial is the one that's given us encouragement. And we walk away feeling uplifted. We walk away feeling better.

How does that happen? How does it happen? It's not normal for people in this world, and most of the time in our own lives, when we're going through a difficulty, to say, you know what, I'm going to turn and be the encourager. But so many times it happens. I'm reminded of Philippians 4, verse 6-7, where it says, How does it happen? It's because God allows it to happen when we draw near to Him, as it says, the peace of God which surpasses all understanding. It doesn't make sense, but it happens. It's a gift from God as we submit and draw near to Him that this peace can come over us. And so when those opportunities come, when we're talking with someone, that we can then be the encourager of them when we're going through a trial, when we're going through a difficulty, it's not all inward-focused. The fruit then comes out and is being able to be seen and affect others in a powerful, powerful way. In the midst of health trials, our human mind tells us to be scared, depressed, because after all, we are human. It's a natural feeling to have. But when we submit to the Holy Spirit and allow the fruit to develop, we can feel different. Instead of being inwardly focused, we can focus on others and leave them with joy, with kindness, and ultimately, we leave them with God's love. This doesn't make our health trial disappear, but it brings us to an uplifted state of mind where we can focus on others and allow the attributes of God's character to shine forth from our hearts. The fruit of the Spirit has an outward component that is so powerful. It's not just for me, but can have a huge impact on others. This is something that Apostle Paul realized when he found himself in the midst of various trials. Let's read in Philippians 1.

We'll read Philippians 1, verses 12-18.

The example that Paul going through his trial acknowledged the furtherance of the Gospel by him going through that trial, that others are seeing the way that he's handling things, and others are taking note, and they're being encouraged, and they're speaking about it. They're talking about it. It reminds me of also when you're encouraged by someone going through their trial, and they come back, and you're the one that was encouraged. You walk away the one encouraged. We usually don't just go home and don't think a thing about it. We usually share that with our family, that look at how strong this person is going through this severe trial, yet they're the ones that's encouraging me. And then we pray, asking God to help them even more. And we might tell other people, and it sits in our mind that says, maybe someday, if I'm ever going through that, I can be that encourager to someone else. And Paul finishes up in verse 19 and 20, and he says, For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my earnest expectation and hope, and nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. Paul acknowledged that the example he was leaving was leaving an imprint with the palace guards around him. Paul said it was evident to all that his chains were in Christ. He allowed this fruit to shine forth in our interactions with others, every day, with everyone. So now let's look at point three, and how the fruit of the Spirit affects the world in a powerful way. As I introduce this third concept, I'd once again like us to consider a specific trait of gentleness and meekness, as it's also translated. There are many definitions for meekness, but the definition I prefer the most is strength under complete control. Strength under complete control. Maybe it's a guy thing. I like the strong part. But strength under complete control. This applies both to mind and to action. God has given us a mind and an intellect unlike any other creature. We are able to think differently. We are able to reason. And He gave us this ability to allow our minds to work in that way. But when we give in to our human nature, we sin, which ends up hurting ourselves and hurting others. When we lose control of our strength, we fall short. That's where the Helper of the Holy Spirit comes in. When we submit to the Holy Spirit, we are in complete control of our strength. As we discussed earlier, Christ is our perfect example of meekness and gentleness. We could also fairly describe Him as having strength under complete control. Because Christ had all power and authority on this earth through God the Father. He could have called fire down from heaven, yet He did not. How did He handle His strength? Did He go around doing the actions of being a harsh judge? He had the power. He had the authority. He could have. But many times, we read and see the gentle ways that He handled children, those whom He healed and those whom He corrected. He corrected disciples in a gentle way, and He corrected sinners with the same gentleness. Let's look in John 8 at an example where He did use His gentleness in correcting a sinner. John 8, verse 3.

John 8, verse 3. Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, they said to Him, teacher, this woman was caught in adultery in the very act. Now Moses and the law commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do you say?

And then we dropped in verse 7. So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, He who is without sin among you, let Him throw a stone at her. And then in verse 10. When Jesus raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, Woman, where are those accusers of yours?

Has no one condemned you? She said no one, Lord. And Jesus said to her, Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more. We see a contrast in His gentleness that we didn't see in the scribes and the Pharisees. Now, did He sugarcoat the truth? Did Christ sugarcoat the truth? No. He instructed her to go and sin no more.

But He did it in a gentle way, where the scribes and the Pharisees' gentleness was not even on the forefront of their mind. We see how Christ handled a situation. He was approachable to many people, and many people sought Him out. He taught in a way that pointed people to God the Father. He encouraged and provided hope when teaching about the kingdom of God. Christ's actions were always done through the power of the Holy Spirit.

We have a responsibility to preach the gospel to this world. How we handle this responsibility greatly impacts how it's received. As we draw close to God and develop fruit, we develop an ability to preach the gospel in an impactful way. No, once again, we don't sugarcoat the truth, but we share it with others in a way that gently leads them to God and allows them to receive it. I'm reminded of an example I've seen demonstrated in this world, where preaching the gospel was done in a completely opposite way.

On many college campuses, the springtime brings forth beautiful flowers on the campuses and lush grass. It also brings forth, at times, the fire and brimstone preachers out on their soap boxes condemning the student body. At Ohio University, we had one such gentleman. His name was Brother Jed. He would come to campus, and he would bring his box, and he would shout almost insults to students as they would pass by, condemning them of their lifestyle, using harsh words, using direct words, using words that were, to some, offensive.

He had a preaching style that's termed confrontational evangelism. That's a term coined for the way that he would approach it. He would use words and condemn them to the lake of fire. He used a different, more descriptive word, but I'll stick with the lake of fire. He would, in his ways, just say that they will have no part with God, and if they don't turn, it's done.

And he would stand on there, and the crowds would gather. The students would gather. They weren't gathering because they were in awe of his words. They were gathering because they were just annoyed. It was, how could somebody be using the words of the Bible and attacking me? They would bring signs to protest. They would bring signs saying, oh, I can't remember all the different ones, but they would write out the signs with Scripture back at them. The church tried to just get an edge in, and they would shout other things back to him.

Have you never sinned? It was a fight. It wasn't edifying. It wasn't good. It was a fight. And he brought this to the campus, and this is how he was trying to preach God's Word to these students. But was it true? Was it a lifestyle that some of these students living? Was it sinful? For some it was. For some it was true. But what effect did Brother Jed's preaching have? Many times, as I said, students would argue. They would bring signs. Did the students leave the university with a changed heart or with a heart of stone? Was he using God's Word in a way to edify others or to condemn others?

Was he creating an environment where it was easier or more difficult for God to reach and change students' hearts? Let's look at how Paul describes the way he and others preached the Gospel in the power through the Holy Spirit. This is in 1 Thessalonians 1. 1 Thessalonians 1, verse 5.

For our Gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit, and in much assurance, as you know what kind. Paul allowed the Holy Spirit to be driving his words, to be driving the messages he was sharing. When we allow the fruit of the Spirit to emanate from our lives, we can positively impact others with the Word of God. We do this both on a church-wide level and on a more personal level. I'd like to share a few lines regarding Mr. Kubik's June 4th pre-Pentecost letter to the church. I found it really encouraging, the approach he took with this letter. This is breaking into his thoughts. If there is any time in the course of human experience that the Word of God needs to do its work, it's now. As it was necessary to have the resources and manpower and support in the start-up of Jerusalem Church to reach out to the world, it is likewise necessary for us to have the resources to reach our world. But notice that the growth was contingent on power that was to be given to it through the Holy Spirit. Power was not from the apostles or the people. It came externally from God, who had His purpose in doing His work. My prayers that the same power also be turned on our time for us to proclaim the Gospel as it was done after Pentecost, A.D. 31. He goes on, As God turns on the power of the Holy Spirit in stepping up our work, we all need to be prepared to provide a place for those whom God calls. I believe that we are ready. My prayer is that we step up to the challenge. He says, yield our lives to our Savior Jesus Christ and ask Him what He wants us to do. The day of Pentecost was a milestone of growth in the history of the Church. Can it be again? And He concludes, saying, I want to be part of something great that God is doing on this earth. But isn't this the same statement that we all want to say? That we all want to be doing our part on a powerful work on this earth. This is an exciting time to be part of God's Church. It always has been, because we have this fruit of the Spirit that is developing in our lives when we submit to His ways. And because of that, we have a natural excitement that comes out, and people can see it. It leaves an imprint with others. They see that something is different. They can almost taste that something is different about us, if we allow the fruit to develop. We can think about this, how it impacts the world on a personal level, every day. We leave an imprint, a mark, on most everyone we interact with, every day. When we explain the Word of God in an effective, edifying way, it removes some of the barriers that exist between others and God. But when used incorrectly, it can build walls that God has to remove or break down, either in this life or in the next.

We are given instruction on this in the New Testament, which clearly outlines how we are to approach others with the Word of God. This is in 1 Peter 3, verse 15. 1 Peter 3, 15.

But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you. We could end the Scripture there, and it would be a perfectly appropriate and good Scripture. But it goes on to say, with meekness and fear, we are given instructions to be ready with an answer in meekness, which is also gentleness, meekness and fear.

That's the approach that we should take when interacting and dealing with others. And in Galatians 6, 1, we're also giving another Scripture. And this is in concept with dealing with others that we know have sinned. Galatians 6, 1 reads, This is someone we know has sinned, and we're still instructed to be gentle, to treat them with gentleness. So today we have read about the dynamic, life-changing power of the Holy Spirit.

We've also talked about how the fruit of the Spirit, as it's developed in our lives by submitting to the Holy Spirit, can leave a powerful imprint and powerful mark on others around us, on our lives, on others around us, and on the whole world. We actually have, if this is your first time ever reading about or thinking about the fruit of the Spirit, or if you're just now starting to study it, we actually have a really great booklet. It's simply titled, The Fruit of the Spirit. It goes through each fruit of the Spirit in several pages. Most of it's written by Mr. Hoosier, a long-time writer and minister of the Church. But in it, it breaks down different scriptures, it breaks down different concepts, it focuses on love, it focuses on joy, on peace. And it's a great resource if you want to study into the fruit and to consider and think about how it can impact your lives. And not only that, but the lives of others that you interact with, because this fruit is truly powerful. People see it. People notice it. We're reminded by Paul in 2 Timothy 1, verse 6 and 7, that God's Spirit is a spirit of power and we need to stir it up to fan the flames. I think we've read this already, but let's read it again. 2 Timothy 1 It's got to be in here someplace. Yes, we did read this.

The Savior spoke these parting words in John 15, reminding us of the great purpose He has given the disciples and us today. John 15, verse 15 and 16 In the final scripture in Colossians 1, verse 10, Paul prayed for God's people, and by extension, he prayed for us.

He was His glorious power. In the power of the Holy Spirit, let's go out and bear fruit that leaves an impactful print on our lives, on the lives of others, and on the entire world.