Power Source Part III
Bearing Fruit
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. – Galatians 5:22-23
“When we repent and put our faith in Jesus, the Holy Spirit comes to live in us, and we are a new creation. But we still have our old human nature that wants to rear its ugly head and have us go back to our old sinful ways. The problem is that the more we set ourselves against our sinful habits, the less victory we have. The only way to overcome the sinful impulses of our old nature is not by self-effort, but by yielding control to the Holy Spirit. The Bible tells us that the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance (patience), kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Notice that it’s not our fruit; it’s the fruit of the Holy Spirit, and only he can produce it in us. The only way to live a victorious Christian life is to be plugged in to our power source, as we pray, ‘Holy Spirit, run my life, flow through me and produce your fruit in me.’”– Pastor Cymbala
- What is the old nature?
- Share about a time when you tried to give up a wrong habit or wrong attitude through self-effort. What was the result?
- How can we live the Christ life once we become Christians?
- Discuss the various aspects of the fruit of the Spirit.
- Why is it only the Holy Spirit who can produce this fruit in us?