Unbolt The Door To Your Heart

Tag: teaching

  • Fruit

    “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith.” Galations 5:22 KJV

    The first thing to notice about this verse is that it is singular. Fruit not Fruits. All of these listed traits are one fruit.  You do not get to choose one and not another.  The Holy Spirit brings them all together on one plate and not A La Carte. This Fruit or Trait is available for every believer if they will accept it.

    What is missing from this list is also very important to understand.  Preaching, Teaching, Spreading Doctrine are not a fruit of the Spirit. They are listed as Gifts of the Spirit in other bible verses.  Gifts of the Spirit are only given to a few people and not to everyone. Gifts of the Spirit are given to certain people at the Holy Spirit’s discretion.

    “Don’t be in any rush to become a teacher, my friends. Teaching is highly responsible work. Teachers are held to the strictest standards. And none of us is perfectly qualified. We get it wrong nearly every time we open our mouths. If you could find someone whose speech was perfectly true, you’d have a perfect person, in perfect control of life” James 3: 1-2 The Message.

     There is a big distinction between Fruit of the Spirit and Gifts of the Spirit.

    Scripture defines the fruit of the Spirit as internal character and relational virtues rather than verbal declarations and theological knowledge. The Fruit describes traits in a person’s inner transformation and how they treat others.

    A person can memorize scripture, articulate perfect theology, and preach eloquently while lacking love, patience, or humility. Scripture warns that gifted speech or knowledge without love amounts to “a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal”.

    The Holy Spirit equips some believers with gifts like communication and teaching to serve for the benefit of the glory of God, but the fruit is the evidence of the Spirit’s reshaping of human nature.

    We are to focus on a relationship with Jesus and then take that relationship and show it in how we relate to every human being we encounter. The fruit of the Spirit is the natural overflow of abiding in Christ and letting His life work show through us.  

    We tend to focus on verse 22 and not look verses 23-25.

    “The Spirit, however, produces in human life fruit such as these: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, fidelity, tolerance and self-control—and no law exists against any of them. Those who belong to Christ have crucified their old nature with all that it loved and lusted for. If our lives are centered in the Spirit, let us be guided by the Spirit”. Galatians 5: 22-25 JB Phillips Translation

    The Fruit of the Spirit only comes to those that have crucified their lives to Jesus. The old nature, old habits, old behaviors, old way of thinking, and control issues are put in the past and forgotten. You are a new creation in the Spirit and should be guided by the Spirit.

    The most important trait missing from the list of fruit or gifts is the act of condemnation.

    “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world”. John 3:17 KJV   Condemnation in any format is the work of Satan and is not related to any gift from God.

    Sinners would not have been transformed while eating and drinking with Jesus if he had condemned them over lunch. Condemnation is a fruit of the flesh and not a fruit of the Spirit.

    God knows that the best way to accomplish His great commission is through one’s actions and relationships than through any words that you can utter.  That is why the fruit of the Spirit is relational features and not preaching.

    Today, show people what God has done for you by how you treat them.  Your words are worthless if you do not show love and compassion for them and their lives.

    Remember it is not a religion it is a relationship.

    Prayers and Love for all.

    Larry 

  • Parables

    “Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable. So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet: I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world.” Matthew 13:34-35 NIV

    Jesus spoke in parables because He wanted to know who would take the time to dig deeper and find the true meaning and purpose of the parable. Many times, the disciples would turn to Jesus and ask what he meant by what he just said.  This would lead to a special time in the evening or mornings where they would sit and listen to Jesus giving them a deeper spiritual insight.

    Many of the people and leaders would hear the words and turn away from the teachings. It did not fit their belief, it was too hard to understand, it required of them time and energy which they were not willing to give. They thought they were special and had all the gospel teachings.

    Parable teaching is essential to the development of character. The disciples and all the Jewish nation grew up under a defined set of beliefs or rules in their religion. They thought that the Messiah would bring about a political solution and overthrow the Roman occupation.  There are many religions today that have a certain belief about God, His ways and the way they are supposed to believe and act. Jesus could have just plainly said truths to the people and the church leaders, but they would have rejected them immediately because it did not agree with their religion.  

    Jesus spoke in parables to give those that desired to increase in knowledge and wisdom an opportunity to ask questions, study, and pray.  Then let the Holy Spirit work on the inside to change their thoughts.

    “As the works of God are studied, the Holy Spirit flashes conviction into the mind. It is not the conviction that logical reasoning produces; but unless the mind has become too dark to know God, the eye too dim to see Him, the ear too dull to hear His voice, a deeper meaning is grasped, and the sublime, spiritual truths of the written word are impressed on the heart”. COL 24

    “On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?” John 6:60 NIV

    “From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him”. John 6:66 NIV

    I find today there are many people who come to the table with baggage that they are not willing to unpack or walk away from. They are not willing to dig deeper and place their feet on the solid rock. 

    The religious leaders believed that they knew it all and there were no new truths to unpack and understand. When a new person brought about a new truth, they dismissed it immediately and started searching for a way to silence the new truth.

    Jesus was trying to teach that the way to heaven had nothing to do with doctrine or religious habits.  The way is through total surrender to Jesus.

    “I am the way and the truth and the life.” John 14:6 NIV

    Remember it is not a religion it is a relationship.

    Prayers and Love for all.

    Larry