Glynlea Grace United Methodist Church l Southside l Arlington l Jacksonville Florida

Scripture

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. ¹⁷ For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you would. ¹⁸ But if you are led by the Spirit you are not under the law. ¹⁹ Now the works of the flesh are plain: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, ²⁰ idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, party spirit, ²¹ envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. ²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, self-control; against such there is no law. ²⁴ And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. ²⁵ If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. ²⁶ Let us have no self-conceit, no provoking of one another, no envy of one another.

Summary and Function

Summary: As we seek to 'walk by the Spirit', the Holy Spirit will develop within our hearts the 'fruit of the Spirit'. This fruit consists of 9 characteristics that identify us as followers of Christ. We are known by our fruit. As this fruit develops within our hearts, our quality of life improves. We become more Christ like. This enables us to be better spouses, parents, workers, bosses and friends. As far as it depends on us, our relationships will improve. When this happens, we become more useful to God. We find ourselves doing extraordinary things to spread the Kingdom of Heaven throughout the land. Do you want this fruit? Then trust Jesus as Lord and Savior and allow the Holy Spirit to transform your heart. It will change your life!

Function: To encourage the members of the congregation to look for the 'fruit of the Spirit' to develop within their hearts as they walk with Jesus.

The Sermon

I. Introduction: What marked us as Boy Scouts

A. As most of you know, I'm an Eagle Scout.

· Joined Boy Scouts when I was 11 and stayed through my 18^th birthday

· Out of all my youth activities, the Boy Scouts did the most to shape my character. There were adult leaders who showed me how to make ethical and moral choices.

B. Wherever we went, we wore our uniforms

· Our uniforms served an important purpose: They helped to instill a sense of unit cohesion

· Our uniforms, however, were only an outward symbol of who we really were.

· It's not the uniform that truly identified us as Scouts.

C. The thing that truly identified us as Scouts

· Our ability to live up to the values of the Scout Oath and Law

· We were a bunch of young kids who wanted to be known by how well we lived up to the ideals of the Scout Oath and Law.

D. In a much more profound way, this is also true for Christians.

II. How Christians are identified

A. Many people believe Christians are identified by:

· Church membership records

· Baptism

· T-shirts, bumper stickers and tattoos

B. Like the Boy Scout uniform, these things are important but they do not truly identify us as Christians.

C. So, what identifies us as Christians?

· Answer: 'The fruit of the Spirit'

· Galatians 5:22-23: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, self-control; against such there is no law.

- The 'fruit of the Spirit' consists of 9 characteristics that the Holy Spirit develops within our hearts.

- The more this 'fruit' is developed within our hearts, the more we become like our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ.

· If we live a life that exhibits the 'fruit of the Spirit', then people will know that we are Christians.

- Galatians 5:24: And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

- John 13:35: By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."

· If you tell someone that you are a Christian and your life exhibits these nine characteristics, then they may actually believe you.

· If, however, you tell someone you are a Christian but your life doesn't exhibit the 'fruit of the Spirit' then either they will

- Think you are a liar or

- Think Christians are hypocrites

III. Not only will the 'fruit of the Spirit' identify you as a true Christian, it will also improve

your quality of life

A. As the Holy Spirit develops this fruit within our hearts, we become more like Jesus.

· We begin top see the world the way Jesus sees the world

· We begin to love others with the same type of love God has for us

B. As we become more like Jesus, we begin to do our part to improve our relationships

· We're empowered to forgive or repent, depending on what we need to do to heal our relationships

· We become better

- spouses

- parents

- siblings

- employers

- employees

- friends

· As the Holy Spirit develops the 'fruit of the Spirit' within our hearts, Romans 12:18 becomes a reality: If possible, so far as it depends upon you, live peaceably with all.

C. The more we become more like Jesus, the more God can use us to spread His Kingdom throughout the land. There is no higher purpose for our lives

IV. Conclusion: Receiving the 'Fruit of the Spirit' begins with repentance and faith in

Jesus. If you desire this fruit, receive Jesus into your heart as Savior and Lord.