Our Great Commission
God’s Spirit
Part 10: The Fruit of Faith
Pastor Bruce A. Shields
House of Faith – http://www.ps127.org/ http://www.truthdigest.org/
ANNOUNCEMENTS
6:00PM Evening Service at the church –
“Seminary Students will be preaching”
Monday 5:00PM Bible Study
Tuesday Women’s at Lori’s 5:00PM
Men’s on Friday at the church 8:00PM
WHERE WE ARE AT
† Maturing in Christ
† Understanding in Christ
† Love of God
This Series: God’s Spiritual Fruit
Previously:
God’s Spirit with us / in us
The Fruit of the Spirit
The Fruit of Love
The Fruit of Joy Part I
The Fruit of Peace
The Fruit of Long Suffering (patience)
The Fruit of Kindness
The Fruit of Goodness
TODAY’S SERMON: Our Great Commission
God’s Spirit
Part 10: The Fruit of Faith
SCRIPTURE READING
Galatians 5:16-25
16So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. 17For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. 18But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.
19The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. 25Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
Both our Flesh and God's Spirit produce fruit.
Good fruit and bad fruit.
Luke 6:43
“No Good tree bears bad fruit, and no bad tree bears good fruit”
We need to decide which fruit we are going to allow to be produced in our lives.
If we belong to the Lord, then we need to allow His fruit to be produced.
I. THE THREE FAITHS
a. A Measure to each person
Romans 12:3
For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.
Why are we given a measure?
Because God’s Holy Spirit dwells in believers, if we do not yet belong to the Lord, His Holy Spirit will not dwell within us, and we cannot have the Spiritual Fruit of Faith.
Without Faith, no one can be saved.
So God gives us each a measure to lead us to Him.
† Each of us is given a measure of Faith
† This is not the Spiritual Fruit of Faith, or the Spiritual Gift of Faith, but a seed which is planted by God to grow in us, and that we are to judge ourselves with.
† This measure of Faith guides our growth.
We can choose to ignore it, and never get closer to God, or we can listen to it and recognize where we are falling short of god’s glory and calling for us in our lives, and make adjustments.
b. The Faith that Saves
This is the “Faith that saves”
The measure that is given to every person to lead them to God.
Luke 7:50
Jesus said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace."
Ephesians 2:8
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—
These are examples from the scripture of Faith that saves…
Faith that is given by God to lead mankind to Him.
But Spiritual Fruit of Faith is different.
The GIFT of Faith that is a gift not given to all.
The Fruit of Faith is a Characteristic of God.
c. The Gift of Faith
The Gift of Faith is Faith beyond Faith.
Although it still comes from God’s Holy Spirit, it is a Faith that is beyond what some can even comprehend.
The Fruit of Faith is the Faith that replaces the measure when we become saved.
II. SPIRITUAL FRUIT IN ACTION
a. In the Word
Remember, the Faith that saves is given to all mankind so that we may judge ourselves and grow closer to the Lord.
The Spiritual Fruit of Faith is different, although given by the same Holy Spirit, it is given to some who belong to the Lord for the building and edifying of the Body of Christ.
Some examples of the Spiritual Gift of Faith in the scriptures are;
† Noah, by faith warning man and building the Ark
† Abraham forsaking his home land by the command of God
† Abraham believing the promise of many descendants
† Philip when questioned by Jesus as to how the multitude would be fed
† Shadrach, Meshach & Abednego when told to worship the idol
We see many examples of Faith beyond Faith.
A Spiritual Gift of Faith that is given to some to build and edify God’s People.
The Spiritual Fruit of Faith is what replaces our measure that saves us, and is for us to measure ourselves and grow in the Lord.
But if God calls us to a specific task which calls for Faith beyond Faith, He will grant unto us the Spiritual Gift of Faith.
b. Examples in Life
If we ask God in prayer to increase our faith, He will.
This increase comes directly from the Holy Spirit.
And when He does something in our lives, even if it only lasts a moment, we can call back on the memory and remind ourselves what God has done.
God wants us to do this, to remind ourselves of His Glory, Power and might, and to dwell on the great things He has done for us in our lives.
This is one of the reasons God developed the Holy Days.
Terri prayed for an increase in Faith during a Bible Study.
And God answered.
III. DEVELOPING AND GROWING THE FRUIT OF FAITH
a. In our Thoughts
We need to cultivate and allow this Spiritual Fruit in our lives.
We all begin with the measure of Faith that God gives all to call them to Himself.
Once we accept the Lord and we become His, that measure is replaced when God’s Holy Spirit enters us.
The Fruit of the Spirit (Faith) is now part of us and our Character.
We begin to change our thinking, and we begin to have Faith in the Lord and His Word.
b. In our Words
Once we have accepted the Lord as our savior, and our thinking begins to change, we will see a change in our Words.
We begin to speak Words of Faith.
Where there was doubt, it is replaced with Faith.
Where there was fear, it is replaced with Hope.
Where there was disbelief, there is now nothing but belief in our Lord.
c. In our Deeds
As we speak this Faith into our lives, our actions and deeds will reflect our Faith.
We will live out our Spiritual Fruit of Faith, and it will continue to grow in our lives.
