Tuesday, October 2, 2018

CHRISTIAN EXTENSION SERVICE


FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT
Tuesday, October 02, 2018

   1Thessalonians [GW] 5:16-22 … Don't put out the Spirit's fire. Don't despise what God has revealed. Instead, test everything. Hold on to what is good. Keep away from every kind of evil. [Also note examples of in Revelation 2:29 thru 3:1-22, a passage beginning and ending with “Let the person who has ears listen to what the Spirit says to the churches."]
   James 1:22-25 Do what God's word says. Don't merely listen to it, or you will fool yourselves. If someone listens to God's word but doesn't do what it says, he is like a person who looks at his face in a mirror, studies his features, goes away, and immediately forgets what he looks like. However, the person who continues to study God's perfect teachings that make people free and who remains committed to them will be blessed. People like that don't merely listen and forget; they actually do what God's teachings say.

  The fruit of the Spirit is: love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith, meekness, self-control; those belonging to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth, proving what is acceptable to the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather we are to reprove them. (Galatians 5:22-25; Ephesians 5:9-11. I encourage you to read all in context.)
  That which is not according to God’s Word is not good and is contrary to all goodness. Not living in provision that God has revealed to us in Holy Scripture suppresses the fruit of His Comforter and brings loneliness with its companion fear. This may be acted out in a 2Timothy 3:7 seekers’ treadmill life.
  Without the Word-centered devotional life of reading, study, prayerful thought time, and seeking application in all facets of life with implementation of His love regardless of our feelings is to dwell apart from our John 1:12 kinfolk. Devoid of Biblical holy exercise (1Tim.4:7-9) we will not nor will others by extension enjoy familial fruit of the Spirit. (1Cor.7:14; Heb.4:12)
  Let us not hinder the Spirit of God by seeking fulfillment in joining associations, societies, guilds, fraternities, clans, tribes, ethnic group, teams, troupes, troop, faction, gangs, support groups, corporations, charitable organizations, ministries, religions, churches, marriage, having children . . .  in the hope to fill a basic need to belong; all of which can never fully sate our hunger to actually belong for there is only one Authorized family that can do so. (Jn.1:12)
  “I belong to Jesus, Jesus belongs to me” is an absolute purchase specification for believers. (Rom.5:8-11) Fruitful familial fellowship is not so, for it depends on devotion in thought, manner; instance and event. Let us beware looking to God for heaven but to the world for fraternity; for in doing so we compromise our John 1:12 childhood.
  Our blessed responsibility is to serve Him all our days in all ways. Join, yes, but as service extension of our identity in God’s family, “[Living] decent lives among unbelievers. Then, although they ridicule you as if you were doing wrong while they are watching you do good things, they will praise God on the day he comes to help you.” (GW 1Pet.2:12) 
EBB4


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