June 23rd, 2024
by Oliver Leis
by Oliver Leis
Embracing the Fruit of the Spirit | Encouragement from Oliver L.
At some point, everyone struggles with exercising the fruit of the spirit under their own power. Unfortunately, one of the worst tragedies of turning to the flesh instead of the spirit is a church split. However, the Bible teaches believers to rejoice during tribulations and trials (Rom 5:35, 1 Thes 5:16-18). Being patient in Christ can be challenging, but believers are reminded to follow God during both the good and the bad. God’s word says, “if anyone desires to come after me let him deny himself and take up his cross daily, and follow me” (Luke 9:23). In Luke 9, believers learn from scripture about being faithful in all circumstances. Often, this is easier said than done, but it is through Christ that believers can embrace the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Another difficult aspect of the fruit of the Spirit is self-control, especially when tempted. However, (1 Cor 10:13) teaches, “no temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to to bear it.” Although there are many aspects to the fruit of the Spirit, this discussion will cover how believers can embrace the Spirit of God while applying the fruit of the Spirit to their lives by practicing patience, faithfulness, and self-control.
Patience is a challenging aspect of the fruit of the Spirit. Whether someone is working at a job with a terrible boss, or does not want to accomplish something that must be done. For example, at church there are new visitors all the time. I find it difficult to greet visitors, but I take a deep breath and remember being hospitable to them is for God, not for me, so I carry on with greeting. With that said, patience in the Spirit goes along with faithfulness, which brings me to my next point.
Faithfulness is an important aspect of the fruit of the Spirit. In 2020, my family moved to Florida. We found a great church up until the church experienced an awful split. The church split was difficult for my entire family, I lost a best friend, and I did not know why God allowed this tragedy to take place. Through this experience, and after much praying, I eventually came to realize this experience was testing my faith. After some time, God used this experience in my family by leading us to plant a church to continue spreading the Gospel and making disciples.
In addition to patience and faithfulness, self-control is an aspect of the fruit of the Spirit that will continually need focus in the believer’s life. For example, when things do not go as planned, believers are often tempted to follow their flesh when struggling with the temptation of snapping at others. The only way believers can keep from snapping at others when under pressure is by embracing the Spirit of God and responding with love, kindness, and gentleness. Thankfully, even when believers fail at embracing the Holy Spirit and exercising self control, they can approach God in repentance and receive grace upon grace as written in 1 John 1:9, “forgive us of our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
This discussion covered a few different aspects of the fruit of the Spirit to include patience, faithfulness, and self-control. Learning from God’s word and writing this discussion was edifying for me, and I hope it was edifying for you. Often, when we fail to embrace the fruit of the Spirit, it is because we have given into our own wisdom instead of embracing God’s wisdom. Although perfection is beyond our reach on this side of heaven, as believers we can strive to love our neighbor as ourselves and learn to embrace God and not our flesh. I hope you are encouraged to embrace Christ and rely on his Spirit instead of your own and that you continue to grow in your faith.
At some point, everyone struggles with exercising the fruit of the spirit under their own power. Unfortunately, one of the worst tragedies of turning to the flesh instead of the spirit is a church split. However, the Bible teaches believers to rejoice during tribulations and trials (Rom 5:35, 1 Thes 5:16-18). Being patient in Christ can be challenging, but believers are reminded to follow God during both the good and the bad. God’s word says, “if anyone desires to come after me let him deny himself and take up his cross daily, and follow me” (Luke 9:23). In Luke 9, believers learn from scripture about being faithful in all circumstances. Often, this is easier said than done, but it is through Christ that believers can embrace the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Another difficult aspect of the fruit of the Spirit is self-control, especially when tempted. However, (1 Cor 10:13) teaches, “no temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to to bear it.” Although there are many aspects to the fruit of the Spirit, this discussion will cover how believers can embrace the Spirit of God while applying the fruit of the Spirit to their lives by practicing patience, faithfulness, and self-control.
Patience is a challenging aspect of the fruit of the Spirit. Whether someone is working at a job with a terrible boss, or does not want to accomplish something that must be done. For example, at church there are new visitors all the time. I find it difficult to greet visitors, but I take a deep breath and remember being hospitable to them is for God, not for me, so I carry on with greeting. With that said, patience in the Spirit goes along with faithfulness, which brings me to my next point.
Faithfulness is an important aspect of the fruit of the Spirit. In 2020, my family moved to Florida. We found a great church up until the church experienced an awful split. The church split was difficult for my entire family, I lost a best friend, and I did not know why God allowed this tragedy to take place. Through this experience, and after much praying, I eventually came to realize this experience was testing my faith. After some time, God used this experience in my family by leading us to plant a church to continue spreading the Gospel and making disciples.
In addition to patience and faithfulness, self-control is an aspect of the fruit of the Spirit that will continually need focus in the believer’s life. For example, when things do not go as planned, believers are often tempted to follow their flesh when struggling with the temptation of snapping at others. The only way believers can keep from snapping at others when under pressure is by embracing the Spirit of God and responding with love, kindness, and gentleness. Thankfully, even when believers fail at embracing the Holy Spirit and exercising self control, they can approach God in repentance and receive grace upon grace as written in 1 John 1:9, “forgive us of our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
This discussion covered a few different aspects of the fruit of the Spirit to include patience, faithfulness, and self-control. Learning from God’s word and writing this discussion was edifying for me, and I hope it was edifying for you. Often, when we fail to embrace the fruit of the Spirit, it is because we have given into our own wisdom instead of embracing God’s wisdom. Although perfection is beyond our reach on this side of heaven, as believers we can strive to love our neighbor as ourselves and learn to embrace God and not our flesh. I hope you are encouraged to embrace Christ and rely on his Spirit instead of your own and that you continue to grow in your faith.
Posted in Blogs from the Church
Posted in Fruit of the Spirit, Holy Spirit, Flesh, Patience, Faithfulness, Self Control
Posted in Fruit of the Spirit, Holy Spirit, Flesh, Patience, Faithfulness, Self Control
1 Comment
Enjoyed!