Are you bearing the fruit of the Spirit?

Scripture: Genesis 1:12, Galatians 5:22-23

Notes: Notice that fruit, not trees, reproduce fruit.  The function of the tree is to reproduce itself. When a child of God bears the fruit of the Spirit, the seed is in the fruit. You cannot bear more fruit without the Spirit, for the Spirit produces the seed so we can bear more fruit. When you recieve the Holy Ghost, for instance, you receive all the qualities of God, but you must be born of the water and the Spirit to bear fruit.  The word is also the seed. You can’t separate them because they are all one – that’s understanding John 1 and the oneness of God.

The church of God is a living organism that is capable of reproducing itself through the personal testimonies of its members. “We are helpers one of another … we overcome by the word of our testimony … faith comes by hearing the word of God.” The more you hear about how God has brought somebody out, the more your faith is going to increase. You help somebody else when you tell them what God has done for you. It is vital for you to not hinder the process, but allow the Spirit of God to work through you.

Love (agapēs in Greek)
Nothing can separate us from the love of Jesus. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. .. Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8: 35-39). That’s the kind of love we want. You can’t duplicate it. You have to battle to keep this kind of love, because the enemy will try to keep it from you and get you to turn your back on God. If you don’t have the Holy Ghost then you don’t have the love. And once you are filled you can’t hinder Him, but you have to allow Him to work through you. When Paul got a taste of the Holy Ghost, he was persuaded. You have to come to that point. This love that is in you that is produced by the Holy Ghost is divine.

Joy
“With joy we draw waters from the wells of salvation … The joy of the Lord is our strength … In the presence of the Lord there is fullness of joy.” We cannot measure a person by emotions.  Everybody expresses themselves differently, so we cannot judge them by our standards. Joy is gladness, and is a quality that is produced by the Holy Ghost. Joy is defined as happiness or delight, or the source of delight. It comes from the Holy Ghost.

A portion of Bishop’s lesson will be available on our Facebook page at Facebook.com/GraceApostolic. Stay tuned for the rest of the series in next week’s Bible Study class. God bless!