The Spirit of Power - Bearing Fruit That Makes an Impact

We bring greetings from Cincinnati. Many people, when they hear we're coming up this way, wanted us to make sure we said hello.

So, warm hello from everyone back home. It's home for now, but not for much longer.

We're in the process of trying to sell our home still and to find a home up here. We've contacted realtors in both areas. We've got a mover lined up. So now all we have to do is to sell and to buy. So, any prayers that you can offer up, we would much appreciate. We know in his timing it always works out. And, Laura's finishing up ABC right now. Kelsey's finishing up school. And then, of course, I'm busy helping out Steve Myers in the home office every day. He can definitely use a hand. And so, when everything settles down from God's standpoint, then I know he'll open up doors up here. And so, looking forward to that. I did mention our daughter Kelsey. She did not make it last time we were here. She is with us today. And she's been super excited to come and meet everyone here in this congregation. So, you'll have to say hello to her. So, now that I've embarrassed her and everything. Well, we're not into summer quite yet. But, as every year always starts, we're into baseball season. About 20 games in and my Cincinnati Reds are already in fourth place. They started off strong first. And, yeah, that didn't last too long. But, hey, we're still into baseball season. And with us in this season, I'd like to start off with a story this afternoon. It's a baseball story. There was a young man who was a big baseball fan. And his team made the playoffs. And he'd never been to a playoff game. And so, the professional team allowed anybody to submit an online thing where you could get your name put into a hat. And if your name was drawn out, you'd have an opportunity to buy a playoff ticket. So, this young man did that. Got his name put into the hat. And his name was drawn. And so, when he logged on to buy the tickets for the game, he realized he had an opportunity to buy three games worth of tickets. It wasn't just one game. And the first thing that kind of popped in this young man's mind was, Oh, this could be a great opportunity to make some money. So, as many people do, you buy tickets, you place them on an online marketplace. This young man thought, and maybe we can make some money. And as a good man often does, he said, I'll seek some wise counsel. So, he called home to talk to his wife. And while she was supportive of him buying the one game, because it's kind of a neat opportunity in life, she had her doubts about the other two games, because it was a lot of money you're putting up front to hope that you get some money back. And so, the young man reassured his wife, it's like a locked up deal. There's no way that these tickets won't sell. Right? And so, season wraps up. The young man takes his family, and they go to the first playoff game, and they have a good evening, even though the team doesn't win.

Later on, the next day, he's putting these tickets online to sell on the marketplace, and he realizes that prices aren't as high as he was hoping. In fact, some of them are even below face value already for the next games. And he realizes he's got himself in a little bit of a situation. But, he goes ahead and proceeds. He lists them, and they don't sell for most of the day, the first set, for the second game he had.

And then, through the day, he did find somebody he'd be willing to buy two of the tickets, but the last two, he didn't find a buyer for. And so, but there's still one day left, one third game, that maybe he can break even at least. Maybe he'll still make a couple bucks, right? And so, the third day comes around, and the tickets are online, and when he logs on for the first time in the morning, he realizes he wasn't the only one that had the bright idea to buy tickets to make a quick buck.

And most people have now started to drop their prices on their tickets to dump them. And he gets a sinking feeling in his stomach, because he's now recognized the mistake he's made in thinking that this was going to be a wise thing to do. So, he calls home to notify his wife, and his phone is ringing, and his sick feeling in his stomach, wondering how this is going to go.

And his wife picks up, and he starts into the explanation of what's happened, that he didn't expect it. Nobody expected it, but it's happened. And when he finished up the words, he was expecting a response that he probably would have given had he been, the shoes been on the other foot. But on the other side of the phone was a calm voice, an encouraging voice, an understanding voice, that while the situation didn't work out the way that they both had hoped, there wasn't the accusatory, there wasn't the blaming. It was, how do we get the best out, make the best out of the situation? And they talked about it and realized, you know, any money is better than no money, so do what you need to do to just sell these tickets. And so the young man hung up the phone, and he started dropping his price, and kept dropping, and kept dropping. The last game did finally sell, but at a fraction of what the man had originally purchased the tickets for. And so the day went on, and he was discouraged and kind of still sick to his stomach because of the situation he put his family in. But the thought that he couldn't get out of his mind was his wife's reaction, because it was like not what he would have done, most likely had the shoe been on the other foot. But that, because of that, it resonated with him, this impact. And it's one that stuck with him for a very long time. The moral of the story is, baseball will get a man into trouble.

It's actually not, but I share this story because it demonstrates a contrast and approach between the demonstration of the fruit of the Spirit and our own human nature. Each one of us has two natures warring inside of us. One is our own human nature, and the other, of course, 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 supernatural power in itself, the Holy Spirit is the power behind the fruit, but the fruit itself can impact others in a very powerful way.

So today, let's look at how the fruit of the Spirit can leave a powerful mark on our own life, others' lives around us, and on the whole world. This is how the fruit of the Spirit can leave a powerful mark on our own life, others around us, and the whole world. At a starting point, let's review the power of the Holy Spirit from Scripture. Let's turn to Acts 2, verse 38. As we're turning, we all understand that the Holy Spirit is given to those who believe in Jesus Christ, who repent of their sins, who are baptized, and have hands laid on them to receive the Holy Spirit. Here in Acts 2, verse 38, we see part of this described.

Acts 2, verse 38. Then Peter said to them, Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Let's flip a few chapters ahead to Acts 8 to get a little bit more insight to this process. Acts 8, verse 14.

Acts 8, verse 14. Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the Word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, who, when they had come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. For as yet it had not fallen upon none of them, they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit that was given to the apostles on Pentecost AD 31 was also given to those who were added to the faith after them. And it has also been given to all of us today who have repented and made the same commitment. As we understand, the Holy Spirit truly impacts our lives in a powerful way. Paul speaks to this in 1 Corinthians 2.

Let's turn to 1 Corinthians 2.

And we'll read verses 12 and 13. 1 Corinthians 2, 12 and 13.

Now we have received not the spirit of the world, not man's wisdom, not man's logic.

We haven't received that, but we have received 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 and of itself.

The signs have been opened to Scripture that many other people know. We could go out to schools, we could go out to colleges where professors have studied God's Word. Most of them have memorized large portions of His Word. Yet they have not been convicted to follow the Word as we have been drawn and convicted to follow ourselves. This ability to understand truly is a gift from God. When we are working in us, we study God's Word 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. How many times have we read over Scripture and then read over it later on and read over it maybe eight times? But that ninth time, something jumps out at us that's never occurred before. It could be a situation in life that we're at now that prompts that. It could also just be... The focus that we had at that time was different. But either way, it's amazing how, no matter what time in life we are, as we read through Scripture, as we study God's Word, things pop out to us and leave a mark with us. It's powerful. And at times, you just have to sit back and almost shake your head at the wisdom that we have in this book. The Holy Spirit is the power of God that can work in our lives to change our hearts and live and when we submit to it and allow it to work in our life. Let's turn to Galatians 5. We're going to be flipping back and forth into Galatians 5 a little bit today. So you can maybe put a mark in your Bible if you feel like it. But we're going to start off here in Galatians 5, and we're going to start in verse 16. This is Galatians 5. We'll read verses 16. Well, we'll just start in verse 16 here. I say then, walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh. And these are contrary to one another, 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. This is the penalty of the law. We are not under the law in verse 24. 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.

When teaching the apostles after his resurrection, Christ explained more about the Holy Spirit, and what the power it would have in their lives. Let's turn back to Acts chapter 1. Because the apostles are told here about a power that comes from the Holy Spirit. It's the same power that you and I have today. This is in Acts 1, and we'll start reading in verse 4. Acts 1, verse 4.

The word for power here in this scripture is Strongs number 1411, which in the Greek is pronounced Dunamis. It's spelled D-U-N-A-M-I-S. Dunamis. It means force, ability, abundance. It can also mean might, or power, or strength, or mighty, wonderful work. It's the origin for our English words, dynamic and dynamite. When we think of dynamite, we think of power. It's not a little small firecracker that just goes off. We think about a force in a stick of dynamite that can do a lot of damage, or even move mountains. This is that power that it's speaking to here.

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, verse 6. 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. The Holy Spirit impacts to us the power of God, the love of God, and the mind of God.

This is in complete contrast to the nature of man that we also have inside of us. So the question is posed to each one of us each and every day. Which nature will I listen to and submit my life to? It's one that we must ask ourselves every single day. Now that this framework has been set, let's step into Galatians 5 and read about the fruit of the Spirit. This is in Galatians 5 again.

Since the Holy Spirit inside us is a power to help us follow God's way, there's also power in the fruit of the Spirit as well. And once again, just to be clear, the fruit of the Spirit does not contain a form of power in of itself, but is a byproduct of the Holy Spirit working and living in our lives. However, the fruit of the Spirit is still dynamic and it impacts our lives and others' lives in a very powerful way.

So as we start into this message, let's look at the fruit of the Spirit as it relates to three groups of people again. Ourselves, others we come in contact with, and the whole world. In Galatians 5 prior to verse 22, Paul outlines what happens when we listen to our own human nature and the works that flows from that. 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. Galatians 5 verse 22, But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, wrong-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Against such, there is no law, and those who are Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and its desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Here we have displayed for us nine individual components that represent different attributes of the character of God. Sometimes when we think about the character of God, it's almost too big of a concept to describe.

Imagine trying somebody's new and you want to tell them about the love of God or the greatness of God. Where do you start? It's a huge topic. So if somebody was to say, tell me about the character of God, it's another big topic. Where do you begin? But here, in Galatians 5, we have the nine individual components broken out for us. In these types of instances, it's good to take an opportunity to examine each one of these characteristics and to understand better what is the character of God that we have represented here. Examining the fruit of the Spirit provides us insight to this character.

An interesting analogy would be that of a prism. We've all seen prisms. Maybe we have one in our kitchen that's by the window. And light enters that prism and it breaks it out into a display of the rainbow where we can see nine individual colors of the rainbow. And we can see that because the light enters through that prism. As that white light enters in, it just breaks out and you have that rainbow on the opposite wall or on the table. In this analogy, God's character is the white light that enters that prism.

As God's character passes through a prism, the different attributes of his character is displayed for us to analyze, to look at, to consider. So as we have these individual aspects of his character here in Galatians 5, we can see them more clearly.

In 2 Corinthians 4, we read about the light that comes from God. This is in 2 Corinthians 4. And we'll read verses 6 and 7. 2 Corinthians 4, verses 6 and 7.

We were all in darkness at one point in our lives, but our minds have been open to see and understand the light that comes from God. As God's light enters our heart, the attributes of God are also written on our hearts as we submit more and more to his way of life. This is what is so powerful about each attribute of the fruit of the spirit. These attributes radiate from us in a way that are just not natural.

Have you ever had somebody come up and say, there's something different about you? Or people that you go to church with? There's something different about this group. What is different? Are we just a special, good-looking bunch of people? We are, but there's something different, too, isn't there? This is the power of the Holy Spirit working in our lives. When people see these fruit radiating from us, they notice that we are different. We have been set apart to be different. When we first begin to understand the fruit of the spirit, we start out by viewing each description normally. I'd like you to take yourself back to many years ago, the first time you read through Galatians 5, maybe. I can't remember for myself. But I tried to envision what I would have thought, because it's probably exactly what I would have thought the first time I read through it. I would have read through those attributes and probably said, you know what, this is probably pretty good for me to have in my life. Sure, I'd love to be more faithful, because life is tough at times and I know I need more faith in God. Or, who doesn't like to be around a joyful person? I'd like people to want to hang out with me and enjoy their company with me. I'd like to become more joyful. And these thoughts are fine. These thoughts are good. Because many times we do start off at that point of wanting to incorporate these attributes to our lives. And we want to build our lives around God's Word. And so part of His Word is to say we should have these in our lives. And so we are motivated to put these attributes into our life. Drawing near to God and allowing fruit to develop does truly change our lives. I know personally when I've been annoyed or bothered by someone and I let my human nature side start to run a little bit rampant, I usually can feel my blood pressure start to rise. Sometimes you can even feel your heart beating because you can just feel that adrenaline start to release into your body. And then maybe my face would maybe contort a little bit because you're starting to get pretty annoyed with someone. I might even cross my arms. Some of us have done that. These are not good attributes to displaying. These are not good feelings to be bringing into my body. Yet I do it. It's because I'm not yielding to the right spirit, the right nature inside of me. I'm giving myself over to my own human nature. But if you take that same scenario, that same annoyance, that same problem, but instead you start thinking, okay, I recognize what my way is starting to come in and I'm going to have to deal with that right now. And you decide, I'm going to push that out. No more of me right now because this is... I know where me leads. Me doesn't lead to where I'm happy and where I'm satisfied with the outcome. Because when I go my way, after those feelings rise, sometimes the words then come out, don't they? Sometimes we say something that we then can't take back. Something that gets out. And it hurts us. Sometimes it hurts the other person, too. But yet when we let the fruit of the spirit work and live inside of us and we start to feel those feelings come in, we can push those out. And it may still take work. It doesn't just come naturally. You don't just say it's automatic.

You have to work at it. And you may be repeating a phrase in your mind of peace, patience, gentleness, self-control. Peace, patience, gentleness, self-control. Peace, patience. You may have to repeat it a lot of times to work through that. But we can work through that because we're going to draw on this power to help us through, not our own nature. It's much healthier to draw on these attributes in a poem.

Blood pressure doesn't spike. Anger isn't pouring forth out of our mouth. These are the ways that we want to live a better life. And I know this is a basic example. But I think we can all see that this is the contrast of the power that we have between the power of the Holy Spirit and our own human nature.

Barnes Notes on the whole Bible has an interesting comment on gentleness. And it also can be translated meekness and the effect it has on our bodies. So this is from Barnes Notes on gentleness or meekness. Meekness produces peace. 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. This is the part I really appreciate in the quote. He that is constantly ruffled, that suffers every little insult or injury to throw him off his guard and to raise a storm of passion from within, is at the mercy of every mortal that chooses to disturb him. He is like the troubled sea that cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. It is a powerful analogy to think through, that when we don't have the meekness that we should, that things occur inside of us that we wish didn't. Because this describes the effect of human nature can have on our lives. On the flip side, when we overcome this, the effects that the fruit of the spirit can also have on us. So as we read through the accounts of Jesus Christ on this earth, we read accounts one time after another, after another. We don't see him getting his feathers ruffled over little things. He maintains a peace, a calm, a gentleness, and a self-control, even in the midst of great attacks and of insults. In 1 Peter 2, we have a description of this. 1 Peter 2, verse 20. Here we have Peter describe the example that we have in Jesus Christ.

We'll break into the verse here a little bit. When you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God. 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 in Matthew 27. This one always strikes me as such a powerful example. Because I put myself in Christ's shoes at this moment, and I have to admit, I feel like I would probably have failed.

It's a difficult situation we find here, but here in Matthew 27, verse 11, we have an instance of Christ's meekness, his gentleness, and his self-control while he was standing before Pilate. Matthew 27, verse 11. 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. Put yourself in the governor's shoes for a moment. He'd never probably seen someone come before him whose life was in his hands, who didn't have some sort of excuse. Even if that person was guilty, people always have an excuse, or they're trying to come up with some way to get out of it. But here we have Christ, who was not even guilty, yet he uttered not one word, and it marveled, and the governor marveled greatly. Pilate was just taken back. It's a powerful example that Christ leaves for us. What an example our Savior has given us. We must also strive for the same meekness and gentleness and self-control in our own lives. By submitting to the Holy Spirit, we draw near to God, and we 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 of wanting to develop in our lives, the fruit of the Spirit, it is a good thing. It's not bad. It's not selfish motivated. It's a good thing to have this fruit develop in our lives. But I hope to show you that the even larger benefit is the impact that it has on others around us. Let's look at the second point of how the fruit of the Spirit affects others around us in a powerful way. We have all been around people that are just a joy to be around. They brighten up a room when they walk in. They see us, and a smile pops on their face, and there's nothing that we can do to stop ourselves from running over and being part of their joy for the day. Maybe they are great at cards, and every single time you play with them, you always win. Maybe that's the type of person this is, and you just have a great time playing cards with them. But this person brightens our day. This person is a joy to us. And when we really stop and think about it, what is it that makes that person a joy? What is it that makes us want to draw near to them? Are they not displaying the fruit of God's Spirit in their own lives? And now has it not now left an imprint on our own life? This is how the fruit can impact people in a powerful 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 displayed in others. Maybe it's someone reaching out to put a gentle hand on your arm when you're going through a difficult time. Maybe it's kind words that you receive from someone when all you've had all week were negative words thrown at you. From work, maybe even from family.

We've all had moments when we've gone through difficulties and somebody was there to help us through them. Let's look at 1 John 4. Let's go ahead and turn there. 1 John 4, verse 12.

Because it's through the fruit of the Spirit being displayed in people's lives that we can dramatically impact people's lives. This is in 1 John 4, and we'll read verses 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 his Spirit. He has given us his Spirit.

This passage connects not being able to see God with being able to see God 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 that love. I'd like to look at another situation from real life, one that many of us have gone through, and that is health trials.

Health trials are never an easy thing to go through, and more times than not, they're extremely difficult. They could be short-lived or they can last a long time. They may come to a conclusion or they may last the rest of our lives. Coming to grips mentally or emotionally with a health trial is sometimes just as hard as the physical impact it has on our life. It weighs on our mind and it weighs on our body. Let's think back to point number one for a moment, how the fruit of the Spirit can impact our lives in a powerful way.

As we draw near to God through a health trial, we can seek the help that we need through the fruit of the Spirit as it works in our life. We can have a Godly peace that calms our mind and calms our body. Let's look at Isaiah 26, verse 3, because there are many passages, more than we could go through in a sermon, about the hope and the encouragement that we get, the peace that we can receive from God when we're going through difficulties.

This is in Isaiah 26, verse 3. It's never a bad thing to turn to a few of these scriptures, even though we know a lot of these and we know the peace that we get from God, but it's always good to look at a few. This is Isaiah 26, verse 3. You will keep Him in perfect peace. Think about that for a moment. Not mediocre peace, not a small amount of peace, not worldly or man's peace, but perfect peace. This is a perfect peace that only comes from God.

And notice how. Whose mind is stayed on you because He trusts in you. You will keep Him in perfect peace. Whose mind is stayed on you because He trusts in you. It's a powerful passage to consider when we go through difficulties, when we're battling health trials, or we're trying to support one who is going through a health trial, but we can have perfect peace because we cast this trial onto God because He will see us through. We keep our mind on Him and we never take it off. It can also give us strength when we have to be patient and endure for an undetermined amount of time.

Because, like everyone, I want a trial to end quick. But it's done. I'm tired of it. I'm ready for it to go. But it doesn't always work that way. And sometimes the results we get back from a test isn't what we hoped for. It wasn't what we prayed for. But where do we go? What do we do when these things happen? We always have to go back to God. We always have to place it back with Him. Because in our human world, we try to grasp and hold on to everything we can.

We try to grab the steering wheel of the health trial and to drive it where we think it needs to go. And it is good to go see doctors. It is good to go get test results and do the things that we have in our capabilities. But we have to be able to hand that over to God and say, I can't fix this. I can't make this work out.

And when we do, a peace comes from that. An understanding comes from that, that we're not alone. That the God of the universe is helping us and He's along with us. And it's power that we receive when we do that. Paul also suffered from infirmity. Let's look at 2 Corinthians. 2 Corinthians, and let's look at chapter 12.

Here Paul is speaking of words, a message that he received from Jesus Christ. And this is Paul saying what Christ said to him in 2 Corinthians 12, verse 9. And he said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Therefore, most gladly, I would rather boast in my infirmities, than that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore, I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, and in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. Granted, this is easy to read when you're not going through a health trial, or you're not going through a difficulty.

But these are the scriptures that we must reach out for and find when we are having problems. Because in our weakness, in our health trial, we can still have the fruit of the Spirit working powerfully in our lives, to give us a course, to set our path forward, to continuing to work through and to continue to get up daily. 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 meet them head-on.

If you are baptized, then the Holy Spirit is working inside of you. It is in you. It's contained with us. But if you're not yet baptized, the Holy Spirit is still working with you. It's working around you. It's leading, and it's guiding you as you submit, and seek out wisdom from God's Word. It can strengthen our faith, knowing that we are in God's hands, always, 100% of the time. It's not that He went on vacation and we're here by ourselves now for a week.

He's never far from us. We must never forget that. The Holy Spirit works inside of us, and it gives us that strength to lift us up to a better state of mind where we can have Godly peace. Not only is it healthier for our minds to operate according to the fruit of the Spirit as we go through health trials, but as we talked about earlier, it's also healthier for our bodies when we operate according to God's peace rather than allowing the thought of our human nature to run rampant.

Because we know where our thoughts run. They run all over the place, and they lead us usually down some pretty dark paths if we allow them to. But God's Word provides a way of hope, a way of promise, a way of the future, regardless of what the outcome of a trial is. His way is sure. So now let's think as we're working through this health trial analogy. Let's think about point number two in relation to this health trial example. When we allow the peace of God to rule our hearts, what happens with our interactions with others while we're in the midst of our own trials? What happens? How many times have we talked with someone who was going through a severe trial? Our purpose was to go over to encourage them, to try to see if there's anything we can do. But so many times, we walk away the encouraged one. Too many times more than I could count, that's happened. And you walk away shocked. I don't know why we should still be shocked. It's happened so many times. But we still are, we walk away shocked because we don't know where that's like. How can they be the one encouraging me when I should be the one encouraging them? It is powerful when we see people letting the fruit of the Spirit work inside of them in the midst of a heavy trial. Let's turn to Philippians 4.

Philippians 4 verse 6.

Because here we're given instructions.

And we understand that if these instructions are followed, knowledge not from us will come forth. Not from our manly human wisdom. But there's wisdom. There's something that will surpass understanding as we're about to read here in Philippians 4 verse 6.

Philippians 4 verse 6 reads, Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, that your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. This peace that comes from not trying to grab the steering wheel of life comes, and it's beyond understanding, just like you go to encourage someone going through a health trial, and you walk away the one in courage. That's beyond understanding, but that person is doing something special. This is what is so powerful about the fruit of the Spirit living inside of us. We are seeing and sensing in that person the power of God in their life, God's character, which is beyond human comprehension, and it's beyond human logic. But this is what the person has in their life. In the midst of health trials, our human mind tells us to be scared, to be depressed, because after all, we are human. We are human. Our minds naturally want to go there. But when we submit to the Holy Spirit and allow its fruit to develop, we can feel different. Instead of being inwardly focused on the difficulties and the weights that we're going through, we can focus on others and leave them with joy, leave them with kindness, and ultimately, we can 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, and it's not just for me, but it can have a huge impact on others. This is also something Apostle Paul realized when he found himself in the midst of various trials. Let's turn back a couple of chapters to Philippians 1. Philippians 1, verse 12. But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the Gospel, so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard and to all the rest that my chains are in Christ.

And most of the brethren in the Lord have become confident by my chains, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. So God end this. But Paul's saying that mighty works have been done because of his trial, of him being in chains. The Gospel message has been pushed forth. That doesn't sound logical. How's that possible? How could somebody going through a health trial actually be pushing out encouragement? And how could we then, what do we do when we normally hear somebody encouraging us when they're going through a tough time? We usually go and we find other people we can tell of how encouraged we were when we walked away from that person, that they're leaning on God. They're getting the help that they need. And that's just powerful. And then we spread their example onto others of how we're seeing the fruit in their lives.

Paul acknowledged that his trials had truly resulted in the furtherance of the Gospels. And because of it, we see that others were more bold to speak of Christ without fear. The example Paul left with the palace guards was an image of God's character working strongly in his life. And Paul said it was evident that his chains were in Christ. He placed his trial in Christ's hands and said, This is fine. I'm okay with this. It doesn't take away the trial. It doesn't make it necessarily easier just in the moment. But that's what he did. We can allow the fruit to shine forth in all of 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 like to consider the specific trait of gentleness or meekness as it is also translated. There are many definitions for meekness, but I personally prefer strength under complete control. Strength under complete control. Many have used the word meek to view to be the same as weak, saying that Christ was meek, therefore Christ was weak. And that is not true. That is not true at all. But Christ had strength under complete control. I don't know if I like this definition partially because I'm a man. I like to be strong or to appear strong. But strength under complete control. God has given man a mind, an intellect, unlike any other creature, anything else in creation.

We have a mind and an intellect. But when we give into our human nature, we sin, which ends up hurting ourselves, and oftentimes, more times than not, actually, hurting others along the way as well. 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 describe Him as having strength, as I mentioned, under complete control. Christ had all power and authority to do great works and impact lives. And how did He handle this strength?

Did He go around calling down fire from heaven? He could have. He knew He had that power. But how many times do we read and see the gentle ways that He handled children? Those whom He healed and those whom He corrected. He always had His will in perfect alignment with the Father's will.

It was never going to vary. It was never going to be off. He had His strength under complete control. He corrected the disciples in a gentle way, and He corrected sinners with that same gentleness. We all know the story of the woman caught in adultery. Caught. It wasn't an accusation. It wasn't just something else that somebody didn't understand the full situation. She was caught. And those who brought the scribes and the Pharisees that brought her before Christ had something in mind. They wanted to test Him. But what happened?

Christ struck them to their heart and said, Have we not all sinned? He didn't compare Himself to them, but He made sure that they understood that they had all sinned and fallen short. And they cut Him to the heart, and they all walked away. They were not willing to stand anymore around. And then what did Christ say to the woman? Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more. He didn't sugarcoat the truth. He said it was a sin. But He said, Go and sin no more. He knew the approach that she needed, and He handled it the perfect way.

He was approachable, and many people sought Him out. He taught in a way that pointed people to God the Father, and 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, working mightily in His own life. We have a responsibility to preach the Gospel to the world. How we handle this responsibility greatly impacts how it is received.

As we draw close to God and develop fruit, we develop the ability to preach the Gospel in an impactful way. No, 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 His truth and to implement it in their own lives. I'm reminded of an example I've seen many times when I was back in college. The spring flowers about this time of the year and the green grass comes up nice on the College of Greens.

But also, what shows up is the fire and brimstone preachers that want to show up and stand on the sidewalk and condemn the entire student body. Back where I went to school, we had one such gentleman that would show up every spring. He literally had a box to stand on, and he would stand on the sidewalk, and he would hurl just whatever came to his mouth towards these students about their sin, about their transgressions, about everything that they were doing in their lives, about their failure to repent.

He was strong, and he would just shout at this over and over. He used a preaching style term, confrontational evangelism. Think about that for a moment. Confrontational evangelism. It's an actual term. You can Google it.

He would shout that their lifestyles were leading them to the lake of fire. I'll put it that way. He used other words, and lake of fire, but that's what he was shouting them. That their lifestyle, their choices that we're making, he used very descriptive words, shocking words, to grab their attention, and he went over and over how their lifestyles were going to lead them away from God. Was it true? Yeah? For a lot of them, it was true. The behavior of college campuses today is not the place you go to find God normally.

In fact, it's usually pushing God out of the picture. Were they making choices in the evenings? Were they making choices with alcohol that was not going to lead them towards God? Many were. So was it true? Yeah, some of it was true. But what outcome came out of that? What fruit was shown? Because many times, the students, this isn't the first time that he's shown up on campus, so when he would show up, now it's turned into almost a game for a lot of the students.

What can we say back to this preacher? They would show up with signs, with his name on it, and other verses. They would argue and stand there and shout back that Jesus loves me. They would think up anything that they could to argue his points. So he would get a crowd, he would get a gathering, but what fruit was coming out of it? What progress was being made in their lives? 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 in 1 Thessalonians 1, at an example Paul uses to describe how he, the way that he and others, preached the gospel. This is 1 Thessalonians 1, and we'll read verse 5. Verse 5, For the gospel to be further preached through his own personal example, 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, but also on a personal level.

A couple years back, Mr. Kubik, who was president of the church at that time, this is from June 4, 2014, so a couple years back, he wrote a letter around this time of the year, and it's titled, The Amazing Events of Pentecost. And I'd like to just share a few excerpts from this letter that he wrote three years ago. If there is any time in the course of human experience that the Word of God needs to do its work, it's now.

Couldn't he have just written this last week as well? It's now. As it was necessary to have the resources and manpower and support in the start-up 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 prayer is that this same power also be turned on in our time for us to proclaim the Gospel as it was done after Pentecost, A.D. 31. As God turns on the power of his 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. And he finishes up saying, we must 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 church history of the church. Can it be again? I want to be part of something great that God is doing on this earth.

I think we can all agree that we want to be part of something great that God is doing on this earth. What an exciting time that we have before us in the church. That we have this opportunity to be part of something so great that God wants to do. He is still doing a work. This work isn't stopped. We're not going to stop doing a work. And we have an opportunity to be part of that. And part of it is letting the fruit of the Spirit develop in our lives and then to flow out of us so other people see it and other people notice it.

And then we can draw on that power to impact lives powerfully. We can think about how we can impact the world personally every day on our own level. We can leave positive marks on others that we interact with in school or in work. When we explain the word of God in an effective or an edifying way, it removes some of the barriers that existed between others and God. It starts to show a different side of God that maybe they've never considered before. Or lies that they've been told their whole life.

They're seeing now from God's own word. Wait, that doesn't add up to what I've been taught or what I've been told. But when used incorrectly, it can build walls that God has to remove or break down, either in this life or in the next for this person.

We are given instructions on this in the New Testament, which clearly outlines how we are to approach others with the word of God. Let's flip back to 1 Peter chapter 3.

1 Peter 3 verse 15.

Because this is how we are to approach others with the word of God.

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. And then place a period there, right? Because that's a perfectly nice sentence if you put a period right where that comma's at. It would be adequate. It'd be great. Now it doesn't stop there. It goes on this as in with what? With meekness and fear. Be ready to give a defense for the hope that lies in you. Once again, strength under complete control. Sharing God's word in an effective, in a positive, in an uplifting way. Not sugarcoating the truth, but doing it in a way that leaves an imprint on their lives. That they can't deny that something is happening with God's word. That this is truth. And to do it with fear. The proper reverence that we did not come up with this logic. This is not our words. It's not our theories. It's not our logic. It's not man's logic. This is God's logic. So we approach the way that we use his word with fear and reverence, recognizing that this belongs to him. But that we do share it with strength, with power, under complete control. That's what we're shown here in 1 Peter 3, verse 15. We also see another example in Galatians 6, verse 1.

Brethren, if a man is overtaken by any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in the spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. Many times we use this in reference to our own people, among ourselves. That if somebody is caught up in something that they shouldn't be, that we are to spiritually restore them in a way of gentleness, considering that we might not be also tempted in the same problem. It's this aspect of going to them with using God's word in a gentle way, in an encouraging way, in an edifying way, not to cut them down, not to just tear them down so that then they feel so little that now God can work with them. Because that's his job. We tell the truth, and we state it the way that his word has it, and the instructions that we're given, and then God does the change. God makes the change start to happen. We don't sugarcoat the truth, but we do it in a way that is effective and edifying for their lives. So in this way, we can impact the world powerfully through the fruit of the Spirit that is developed from the Holy Spirit inside of our life. So today, we have read about this dynamic, life-changing power of the Holy Spirit. We've also talked about how the fruit of the Spirit, working powerfully in us, can leave a mark on our own life, on others around us, and on the whole world. The Church has a great booklet online. It's an e-booklet. I printed it off, or we have copies, the Home Office, and it's an e-booklet. But it's written primarily by Don Hoosier, where he goes through each one of the fruit of the Spirit, and he dives into it and looks at it from different angles. It's on our website, if you want to find it. It's a wonderful book. And if you'd like a paper copy, let me know, and I'll be sure to get some sent up this way. But it's a great book for your own reference, if you'd like it, or it's online as well. As Paul reminded Timothy in 1 Timothy 1, verse 6, we've already turned there, but God's Spirit is a spirit of power, and we need to stir it up. We need to fan the flames.

Verse 6 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 sound mind. And just before his betrayal and arrest, our Savior and our friends spoke these parting words in John 15. Let's turn there. John 15, and we'll read verses 15 and 16. Here we're reminded of the great purpose he has given to the disciples at that time, but he's also in turn given this to us today. 1 John 15, verse 15. No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing, but I have called you friends. For all these things that I have heard from my father, I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you, that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain. In the power of the Holy Spirit, let's each one of us, let's all of us, go out and bear fruit that remains. So as a powerful mark can be made on the entire world, on those around us, and personally in our own lives.