1. The Fruit of the Spirit balances the Gifts of the Spirit
Galatians 5:22-26
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self- control. Against such there is no law.
a. If you live this way, you will not break a single commandment. This is what he means by there is no law. You can either focus on rules or character. If you focus on rules you may break one. If you focus on character, you won’t break the laws. (rules)
24 And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.
a. Live in the spirit – private spiritual life.
b. Walk in the spirit – public life
c. Conceited, provoking, and envy – This is what some people do when they think they are more spiritual than others.
A. All of the fruit of the Spirit come out of love. It is the real fruit of the Spirit. God is love.
B. Gifts are given but fruits are not given, they are developed.
1. We have the seeds of the fruit within us, but character is something that comes from disciplines in your life.
C. We admire people’s gifts more than their fruit sometimes and that is not good. We get overly concerned about our gifts and what we can do, but we are not nearly concerned enough about our character.
D. Our gifts are given to differentiate us, to distinguish us one from another. They cause us to need each other
E. Gifts – we focus on spiritual gifts, but every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father.
a. Some people are naturally slow and some are fast – we need both.
b. Some work with their hands, others with their mind – we need both.
c. Some are gifted to work on cars. Some to clean houses. Some to work with numbers. Some to cook.
d. Is there anyone here who got all the gifts? No – we need each other.
F. Even spiritual gifts are not limited to manifestation gifts. There are several passages of scripture that refer to spiritual gifts. There are gifts of administration, there are gifts of helps, there are gifts of hospitality. There are spiritual gifts. But all of these gifts are kept in balance by the fruit of the spirit.
G. Years ago there was a lot of teaching about the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. You can get out of balance with anything. Today there is not enough teaching about it because things got spooky and many people got out of balance in their teaching and practices of spiritual gifts. Some even got abusive. That is what happens when you have a gifts that is not leveraged properly with spiritual fruit.
If you have great spiritual gifts but have no spiritual fruit, it can actually be dangerous to the body of Christ. People become conceited and controlling in their gift.
Have you ever seen people who exercise great spiritual gifts but have no love, no long suffering, no gentleness and no meekness?
2. Be Naturally Supernatural
1 Corinthians 12:4-11
4 There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. 6 And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. 7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: 8 for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.
A. These gifts are not for public show and display. They are used in your everyday life. We have to learn how to be become naturally supernatural.
B. When you have to display your gift publicly in order to prove a point, you run the risk of grieving the Holy Spirit.
C. In the body of Christ we got unbalanced and immature in our practice of spiritual gifts to the point that some have made a mockery of the Spirit of God. People who value the gifts of the spirit more than the fruit of the spirit can become abusive in the operation of their spiritual gift.
D. When God gives us in a spiritual gift, we don’t need to pat ourselves on our backs, and say, God loves me more. And we also don’t need to look at other people who have gifts and say, because I am not like them, God doesn’t love me as much. God’s plan for all of us is not exactly the same. Some people get healed of cancer, some have surgery. Does that mean one is more spiritual than the other?
E. I think we need to learn how to be naturally supernatural. Use a spirit gift as naturally as we would have a conversation with someone.
F. People may not see your spiritual gift, but that doesn’t mean that God doesn’t see it. There are people in this room today that are more famous in heaven than any of us will ever be in our lifetime.
