Expecting Your Fruit | Wednesday Night Service

So I will be transparent. It has been a day. Anybody had that day today? Anybody? Okay, just a few of you.

Well, I feel like we're in this season of really busy. It's good, but it's busy because we've got one going into high school and two in now middle school. How am I that old? I don't know how I'm that old, but. And so here we are, and it's been crazy, and I feel really short with this pulpit.

I don't know why it's the normal size, but I'm short and all my kids are tall. Have you guys seen my oldest, Kylie? She's like, it's funny because we went to the doctor's today for the annual checkup for my son, and he's, like, biting at the bit to catch up with his sister. They're only 14 months apart, but she's, like, pushing 5 9, and he's like, my height. So he's like, this isn't fair, you know?

And the doctor was like, well, he's, you know, he's in, like, the 76% tower's height, and if he goes on this track, he's gonna be six foot. And you should have seen his face. He was, yes. And she's like, how tall are you? I'm like, five two.

She's like, how tall is your husband? I'm like, maybe five, six and a half. She's like, where are these kids getting these high? I don't know. I don't know.

Jeans are a funny thing. So there's your. Your comedic relief for tonight. We're going to dig right into Galatians, if you will go there with me. And tonight I want to speak to the fruits of the spirit.

I know we've covered this in many different forms throughout the years of the Refuge, but it's always a great reminder of what we should be portraying in our life. Right? If you want to know if somebody's a Christian, you look at their fruit, right? And so it's so important for us to constantly be inspecting our fruit. So that's what we're going to do tonight, is inspect our fruit.

Okay? So in order to do that, we need to read through Galatians 5, starting at verse 16. I know that a lot of you might be familiar with the fruits of the spirit, but I think that sometimes we don't go back and look at the contrast of what Paul was describing in Galatians when he talked about the fruits of the spirit. So I want to talk about all of it. Okay, so Starting at verse 16 of Galatians 5, it says, so I advise you to live according to your new life in the Holy Spirit.

Then you won't be doing what your sinful nature craves. The old sinful nature loves to do evil, which is just opposite from what the Holy Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are opposite from what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, and your choices are never free from this conflict. When I read that today again, I was like, man, that's heavy.

You know, like, we're never gonna be free from that. But it's also freeing to know that when you're battling, right? Because we're constantly going to be battling this until we get to heaven. So picking up at verse 18, it says, but when you are directed by the Holy Spirit, you are no longer subject to the law. When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, your lies will produce these evil.

Sexual immorality, impure thoughts, eagerness for lustful pleasure, idolatry, participation in demonic activities, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, divisions, the feeling that everyone is wrong except those in your own little group. Envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other kinds of sin. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the kingdom of God. I'm going to pause there for a second. You know, some of these sins seem like bigger sins.

I know we talk about that there's not really a big sin and a little sin, and all the sin is sin, right? But in our human, especially Western, mindset, we tend to classify sins even if we don't say it out loud, we all do it, right? And so some of these, you're like, oh, check, I don't have, you know, I don't participate in demonic activity. Check. Good there, right?

But then it starts talking about things like division, selfish ambition. And my favorite is the feeling that everyone is wrong except those in your own little group. I love the way it said that in the New Living translation. Because we live in a culture right now that feels like echo chambers everywhere, right? You, like, surround yourself with the same people that are gonna speak the same thing.

And unless you don't speak that thing, then you are wrong and we're not gonna talk to you. And we're right. I know none of you all do that. None of you all should do that. But that's what I feel like we're combating in this culture, right?

And so even those things that seem little, it says That's a warning sign. Your fruit is bad. Okay, so let's go to verse 22 that talks about the fruits of the Spirit. So when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. And there is no conflict with the law.

So there's that comparison that Paul gives as he contrasts between the two ways of living, right? One guided by the flesh, which is our old sinful nature, and one that's led by the Spirit of God. And at the heart of this specific passage, what Paul is doing is he's talking about the fruit of the spirit, right? Not fruits. It says fruit.

Why? Because they're collective. You shouldn't have one without the other. They should be working together in combination to showcase Christ in you.

That's the qualities that people are gonna look at when they see something different. It's that fruit that grows naturally in a life of someone surrendered to Jesus. But here's the key. Fruit is not manufactured. It's produced, okay?

You can't conjure up joy. You may think you can, but you can't. You can't fake real spiritual fruit for long. See, traits like love, joy, peace, patience, and so on, they aren't something we grit our teeth and try harder to do.

And it's not something that you're born with either.

They're the natural result of a life that's rooted and connected to. To the nourishment of Jesus. He is the vine, we're the branches. We're gonna produce fruit when we're connected to the vine. That's how all of those fruit that's described in Galatians is exposed in our life is if we spend time with the Lord, he will cultivate in us that fruit.

So it's not something that we can muster on our own.

See, Marcelo had touched on this back in February when he compared the fruits of the Spirit to the gifts of the Spirit. And he said we could replace the word fruit with result, right? Because that's what it is. It's the result of spending time with Jesus. It's the result of being Christlike, right?

So when we try to produce these fruits in our own strength, we end up with substitutes. They're those artificial versions that look real on the outside but lack spiritual power. It's like a GMO version of fruit. Now, I'm not going to go down the road of bioengineered and gmo, but you all know it's not good for us, right? They're fake ingredients.

And it's the same thing when it comes to the fruit of the spirit.

See, if it's genetically modified to appear perfect but lack the fullness of life, then it doesn't have the nutrients God designed it to have. The same way with us.

See, fake fruit might impress others for a while, but it won't nourish your soul or reflect the heart of Christ.

So we'll talk about joy for a second. Cause I already brought that up. And joy is, I feel like an easy one to compare, because we often settle for happiness and we think that is joy, but it's not. See, happiness. It's similar, but it's a cheap substitute for joy.

Happiness is the GMO of joy because it's circumstantial. Your happiness is dependent on something happening for you to feel that emotion, right? It's fleeting. I think about my teenagers who are going through all kinds of emotions, and one minute they are on cloud nine and they are happy, but literally the next second they are like, woe is me. I have the worst person.

That is not joy, my friend.

And so therein we're talking about joy and happiness. And we have to talk through those things, even in those hard emotions, right?

See, we need the real thing, not the counterfeit, right? One is temporary where the other is eternal. That's the difference. So that's why Paul also lists the work of the flesh in Galatians, because he's describing all of those dangers, those red flags, right? So it's not just counterfeit stuff that maybe, you know, looks like it.

It's also big red flags too. And that's why Paul wanted to discuss those things like sexual immorality, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, right? These aren't just the lists of sins. They're the warning signs that were disconnected from the vine.

So one question we can ask ourselves in inspecting our fruit is, do I see these kinds of reactions showing up in my life?

Do I feel those types of things when I think about a certain someone? Do I react with anger when a situation arises? That's frustrating, right? You start to inspect what is coming out of me.

Sometimes it's the counterfeit gmo, and sometimes it's this sinful nature. Either way, we've got to learn to inspect to see what is it and how can we counteract it, get down to the root, right, and replace it with the real thing.

See, Paul says our flesh and our spirit are constantly at war with another. So we must be on guard. We must be willing to inspect Our fruit, not just once, but regularly, all the time, daily.

None of us have arrived. None of us are holy completely. We are in the process of being holy. So we're all growing. So the most powerful way that we can mature in our walk with the Lord is asking these types of questions.

Another good one is the fruit that I'm seeing, is that spirit produced or self manufactured? What's growing in me, right? These are easy questions to be asking yourself, but some of the answers are not easy.

Tonight, as we walk through each of the nine aspects of the fruit of the spirit, I just want to explore each one and those counterfeit things that could come up so that we can all inspect our fruit tonight. Because the flesh, it tries, you know, Satan tries to sneak into our lives sometimes through these little cracks. And if we're not constantly on guard and inspecting, we're gonna miss it. And pretty soon we're gonna be producing nasty fruit and nobody's gonna want it. And I know that's not what we want as followers of Jesus.

So tonight we're gonna inspect. Sound good? All right, so let's start with the first love.

We all know that love is unconditional, right? Agape love, what it's talking about here is that sacrificial, unconditional love that God shows, the God kind of love. That's how I learned when I was young in Sunday school class, they called agape love the God love, right? It far exceeds any kind of love that we really as humans can comprehend. But we try, right?

And it's not based on feelings or mutual benefit, but a commitment to act for the good of others even when it costs us something.

Love is the foundation for all the other fruits. It's kind of. I don't think you could see any other fruit if you didn't have love. Like it's. That's why Jesus put such an emphasis on loving others, right?

First Corinthians 16:14 says, Let all you do be done in love.

So in a spirit led fruit, what we would see is that unconditional peace, right? That sacrificial part of us, that others centered kind of way. That is the inspection of a good love coming out of us, right? And that's combating that flesh led contrast, right? Which is selfishness, hatred, envy, right?

So that's how we can inspect the love piece fruit is, are we others driven or are we self centered?

Are we full of hatred or do we have unconditional love for no matter who it is?

So a good question to ask in this particular Fruit is am I showing Christlike love or is my love selective and self love serving?

I'm going to repeat that one more time for those that take notes. Am I showing Christlike love or is my love self selective and self serving?

So that's love. Okay, joy. We talked a little bit about joy, but joy is more than happiness. It's deep rooted. It's enduring gladness that comes from knowing God, trusting his promises, resting in his presence.

It's not dictated by circumstances. It oftentimes shows its true colors in a trial or struggle. That's when you can really see joy shine.

Nehemiah 8, 10 says, the joy of the Lord is your strength. So when you're looking for the spirit led evidence, it's deep gladness rooted in Christ. No matter what you're going through, the flesh led contrast to that is despair, discouragement, a constant craving for escape.

If you're trying to avoid things, that could be a little red flag there that you're not rooted in joy.

And a good question to ask for joy is, is my joy anchored in Jesus or does it rise and fall with my circumstances?

I can't talk about joy and not give a great example of joy that I've experienced in my life. I probably have shared this story before. I know I share it a lot when I speak elsewhere, but it's been a while if I have, so it bears repeating. You might need to remind. Might need the reminder.

I need the reminder. So back when the accident first happened, we had a guy who wrote a article about me and it was the front section of fakenewss storyoftheday.com and I remember my uncle Tony was the one who found it because he would Google my name constantly during those days to see what new things was reported about me. And he finds this article and he's frustrated and he calls my mom and of course my mom gets frustrated and she, he tells jj and JJ gets frustrated. And I'm upstairs, they think I'm sleeping. And I come downstairs and they're all talking about it and they're like, you know, like silent.

And I said, what's going on? They're like, well, there's this person that wrote about your story and they're calling it fake news. And you know, it's just silly, ridiculous. I'm like, that's stupid. Like, why are we even talking about this?

And so I told them, don't read it, just ignore it like this. Who cares what they think? You know, we all know it happened. It's fine. And so that was it.

I was done. I walked back upstairs and started to do a Bible study. And I felt like the Lord said, I need you to get on that article and scroll all the way down. I need you to comment on that article. And at first I was like, I don't want to do that.

Cause I didn't look at any of the articles that were posted. I didn't look at any feedback, like, you know, how you can comment things on any of the news stuff or even posts on social media. I didn't read anything because I knew I had to guard my heart. And so I wasn't going to let any of that stuff in during this very vulnerable time in my life, you know, So I was like, I don't wanna do that. But I really felt the Lord say, get on there and comment.

So I scrolled all the way down, got to the bottom and put, I'm Tiffany Johnson, you know, the person that you're reporting on. And I can. Up until now, everything that has been reported has come directly from me. And it is true, I was attacked by a shark and you know, blah blah, blah, blah, right? And I left my email and I said, you know, feel free to contact me later if you want to.

And that was it. He did reach out. And so we went back and forth on a few emails and since he had reached out, there was like follow up stories that had posted and different things. And so then he realized this is more than just a couple of things. So yeah, it's probably real, you know, so he apologized to me and then he said, I just wanna explain myself.

See, I'm a bit jaded cause I'm in the media world and I feel like a lot of times there's this push for a certain narrative and my whole sight is to like expose those things so that we're not misinformation. And he said, I saw an article that was released and there was a picture of you and your husband and you both had the most giant grin on your face. And I thought there is no way that somebody that went through this horrific thing that you're describing could look like that leaving the hospital. Like I was led to believe that was you leaving the hospital. There's no way, it's impossible.

So that's what kind of clued me in that this could be a fake story. And I did some research and you know, this is why I wrote the article. And so that was an open door for me. So I responded back and I said, well, sir, yes, that picture that you saw was us leaving the hospital just three days after attack happened. And that smile you see, it's not happiness, it's joy.

Because my happiness is circumstantial. But my joy, my joy doesn't fade. And I still have the joy of the Lord in me. And he sustained me and he rescued me. And I went on all this big tangent, probably not grammatically correct, but it was a way for me to minister to him about the joy of the Lord.

And he wrote back and he thanked me for responding. I told him that I forgived him, you know, like it wasn't, you know, for me, it wasn't really. I don't even know how many people follow his site, so whatever, it doesn't matter. But I told him, you know, I forgive you for making this, you know, misunderstanding about me. And he ended up writing a retraction article and posted it.

And I was able to plant some seeds in that season. But I remember after all the dust settled from all of that, I remember thinking, wow, they really can tell when something's different. He didn't know what it was. He actually misconstrued it right, but he could tell something's not right. Why would she look like that days after a shark attack?

And what he was seeing was the joy of the Lord on me. It's one of my favorite stories because it's something that I didn't conjure up. It wasn't something that I got up and spoke about. It was revealed in a picture by somebody randomly. That's the Christ that people are looking for in you.

They want to see that difference, even if they don't know exactly what it is. They are hungry for it. And that's what we can show them, that true joy.

So let's move on to peace.

Peace is the inner calm and assurance that comes from trusting God. It quiets anxiety and fear. It also extends outward believers. So that we're called to be peacemakers.

And we're supposed to live in peace with others. So it's not just peace within us. We're not always supposed to feel this inner peace type thing. Yes, sometimes we might. But we're also called to be peacemakers in our social circles in where we are, where God has us.

Isaiah 26:3 says, you will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast because they trust in you. So a spirit led indicator of peace is an inner calm, wholeness and confidence in God's sovereignty. It's that even if mentality I spoke a long time ago, I know it's Been a few years. But I talked about in fear. When you're addressing fear, you go from saying what if to even if, right?

Because it doesn't matter ultimately, because God is who he is and we can trust his character. So we can rest and know that even if the worst of the worst happens, we're going to heaven. So we win, right? So it's that even if mentality that gives us that true peace. The flesh led contrast to that is anxiety, turmoil, chaos, hostility.

So a good question we can ask ourselves to inspect whether peace is evident in our life is do I bring peace into situations or do I stir up tension and unrest?

And I know all of your minds are going to somebody in your family that likes to stir the pot a little bit. I know mine did. That's not peace, my friends. We're called to be bigger than that, right? We're called to not just have inner peace, but, but to peace make even in our families with those pot stirrers that we have, right?

We want to have peace all around us. That's the peace that God's given us to have.

Okay, so number four is patience. Some translations call it forbearance.

This is the ability to endure hardship, delay or provoking without becoming angry or anxious. That one is tough. If somebody provokes you, it is really hard not to respond in anger or anxiousness or avoidance. It's especially needed in our interactions with others to forgive, to wait, and to respond with grace rather than react with frustration. Patience.

It can also relate to long suffering in relationships and seasons.

So patience is a big one, right? It can show up in a lot of different ways. Usually in our relationships.

Ephesians 4:2 says, Be patient bearing with one another in love. So even in that example in Ephesians, it's talking about that relationship between one another. We have to be patient with each other.

We can't always assume that the other person is out to get us, right? Or that they know everything. We might need to take the time to explain, have patience with them.

Spirit led patience can show up when you see endurance under pressure or somebody that's slow to anger.

A flesh led contrast to that would be fits of rage, irritability, quick tempered responses.

When you can be quick with your tongue and sometimes you want to take all those words back, that's a warning flag that you're not showing patience.

So what question can we ask for inspecting for patients? That would be am I quick to forgive or quick to explode?

Quick to forgive or quick to explode? That can definitely show you whether you're being patient or not. And again, patience is not something that we're born with, right? That is something the Holy Spirit will foster in us. It's the result of spending time with him.

I am not a patient person by nature, but God has given me patience by spending time with him and learning his ways, right? That's how we become more patient. You can't grit your teeth and become more patient. That's actually counterintuitive, Right? Spend time with Jesus.

All right, number five, kindness.

Kindness is compassion in action.

It's treating others with tenderness, respect, and generosity, even when they don't deserve it.

True kindness reflects the heart of Christ. Kindness sometimes can feel like you're being mean, though. And what I mean by that is you. If I'm telling somebody the truth in love, then that's true kindness, right? I love them enough to be kind, to share them.

Right? They may not like me for what I'm saying, but that kindness is me sharing that truth with them in love, Right? It's gotta be rooted in love. But that's true kindness, right? So sometimes kindness can be frustrating.

To really show true kindness, spirit led. Kindness can show up by being thoughtful, gracious, and tender hearted. Ephesians 4. 32 says, Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. So it's the quick to forgive and to put others first on the contrast.

A red flag to look for is if you're being harsh, you use a lot of sarcasm or indifference.

And I know sarcasm can be funny sometimes. But if you are using it to dig into somebody, that's not kindness. You have to be careful. Cause that's toting a line. Sarcasm can tote a line very easily.

So it's a warning flag, right? If your response is automatically sarcasm, it's a warning flag. Inspect your fruit.

Question to ask is, do my words and actions reflect the kindness of Christ, even toward difficult people?

Whoo. That's a hard one.

Sometimes kindness is walking away and not engaging.

That's why it can be so frustrating sometimes. Because you have a word to say, but you don't want to say it. Because the Holy Spirit says, no, no, no, no. That's not kind of right. I've been there.

I don't know if y' all have been there, but I sometimes I struggle with my tongue. Whew. So kindness, that's the peace that we need to showcase Christ in a lot of circumstances.

All right, number six, Goodness.

This is moral integrity and the desire to do what is Right. In God's eyes, it's choosing righteousness over convenience or gain. Goodness involves living in a way that reflects God's nature. We sang about it. You know, if God is good and we're his children, then we ought to be good too.

And good isn't just getting an A on a test, Right? Good is looking at somebody and seeing integrity.

Good is turning down a really sweet deal at work because you know something's not right with it and you're feeling that inkling like something slimy is about to happen. I don't feel good about this transaction, so I'm going to walk away even though I might lose some money because of it. That's goodness.

Romans 12:21 says, do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

A spirit led goodness in us will look like moral integrity and righteousness in action.

The contrast of that is impurity, deceit and compromise.

You start to compromise in certain areas of your life. That is a red flag that your goodness is being attacked.

The goodness of the Lord is not going to showcase itself in you in if you are compromising.

So a question you can ask yourself is, are my private choices reflecting God's goodness when nobody's watching? Am I still good? Am I still doing the right thing?

That's the goodness of the Lord that He wants for us.

Number seven is faithfulness.

Faithfulness is loyalty and trustworthiness. It means being dependable, keeping your word, and staying true to God, even when it's difficult or unpopular.

Matthew 25:21 says, well done, good and faithful servant. Right? Faithful. Meaning that they were loyal to the end.

If we see trustworthiness, loyalty, and a consistency in our lives, that's a good indicator of faithfulness in us.

But if we see betrayal, unreliability, or flakiness, that's a red flag. We need to inspect our fruit. Our faithfulness could be in jeopardy.

So a good question to ask for faithfulness is, am I faithful to God, His Word and to others? Or am I ruled by convenience?

Because faithfulness is loyal regardless if it's hard or easy, right? It's not always going to be the convenient route. Most times it's not going to be the convenient route. It's going to take some grit in us to keep walking the walk.

That's faithfulness.

Number eight, gentleness.

Gentleness isn't weakness. It's strength under control.

It's the ability to respond to others with humility, care and grace. Even when confronting sin or dealing with conflict, gentleness can sometimes seem weak. That's why I love that definition of gentleness. It's strength under control. Right?

Because sometimes in the world we see somebody who's gentle and they just think, ah, you're weak, especially in a man. If you're a gentle man, you might be seen as weak by the world, but that is actually the complete opposite.