Galatians 5:1, 16-18 “Stand fast
therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be
entangled again with a yoke of bondage. I say then: Walk in the Spirit,
and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts
against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to
one another, so that you do not do the things that you
wish. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.”
Concluding Pastor Kyle's message on abiding in Christ, he states that on this side of heaven, fallen
humanity can expect spiritual battles, but there are two types of spiritual
fruit God wants to see in every Christian. (1) The Fruit of obedience. 2
Corinthians 10:4-5 tells us,
“For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal
but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down
arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God,
bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.” God said
in Exodus
19:5 “Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice
and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me
above all people; for all the earth is Mine.” (2) The fruitfulness in the kingdom. Philippians
2:12-13 says, “Therefore, my
beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now
much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and
trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to
do for His good pleasure.” 2 John 6 explains, “This
is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment,
that as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it.”
John 15:9-11 “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved
you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My
love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. These
things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you,
and that your joy may be full.”
Three rules in Spiritual
Gardening 101, (A) If you’re disconnected from the church, get reconnected. If
you’re connected, remain connected by abiding in Christ. Like in a vineyard,
actual vine growth requires an outside support structure – the church. Hebrews
10:25 says, “Not forsaking
the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but
exhorting one another.” Some people stop coming to church, some come
back and get reconnected. The Christian church is the body of Christ with Jesus
as the head. The congregation is people connected with the Lord, their God, in
order to bare more fruit in kingdom work. In talking about the church body of
Believers, the Apostle Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 12:4-7, “There are diversities of gifts,
but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the
same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who
works all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to
each one for the profit of all.” God does not want us to grow alone,
but connected to Jesus (the Vine), working with fellow faithful followers, pruned
and dressed for maximum fruitfulness and growth.
Galatians 5:22-25 “The
fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,
self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have
crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the
Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.”
If it hurts when the
unfruitful areas of our lives was cut out, then it very well might have been
God doing the trimming for the dressing of the vine. We do not have surgery
performed on ourselves for fun, but because we need to cut off or cut out
something that doesn’t need to be in our body, in order to repair and increase
productivity in an active life. The end result of pruning is always more fruit
and joy. The divine ax is not at the root of the child of God, but there are
pruning sheers at the deadwood in our lives. Abide in the vine and thrive.
In Christ, Brian
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