“Take delight in the Lord,
    and He will give you your heart’s desires” (Ps. 37:4).

Whenever we follow our ‘natural’ desires the outcome will be any number of the following: “sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, witchcraft, hostility, quarrelling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these” (Gal. 5: 19-20 NLT). However, we don’t have to live with such outcomes. God’s Spirit resides within those who truly belong to the Father–He is there to spark new, dynamic, ‘unnatural’ desires that produce different outcomes… outcomes that facilitate blessed lives.

When a believer permits God’s Spirit to be the dominant influencer of their thoughts and heart, this is what He produces in their lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Gal. 5:22-23). These godly characteristics are called ‘Fruit of the Spirit.’ Note: Singular, not ‘fruits’ plural!

When the Lord examines our lives, it matters not to Him how long we have been believers or how much Bible head-knowledge we have stored away, but how much fruit we’ve allowed His Spirit to produce in our lives. God is in the business of fruit production! Our primary business in life should be the righteous positioning of our lives with God that we may ‘be’ fruit bearers… His character! Why? There are several reasons: Divine fruit is what authenticates our belonging to Jesus. Divine fruit is God’s character reflected to the world in attractive, non-religious ‘street clothes.’ Divine fruit is what convinces the ungodly of our belief in the self-existing, Holy God.

Four essential requirements for fruit bearing:
1.Examine yourself and be certain you are a child of God… a grafted branch– connected to Jesus, the Vine… created to bear fruit. Jesus says, “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in Me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from Me you can do nothing” (Jn. 15:5).

2. Invite and permit the Holy Spirit to be ‘the’ Influencer and Controller of every area of your life (Gal. 5:16-26). When you do this, fear and doubt will be banished from your life. God’s only interest is steering you away from anyone and anything that prevents or limits the production of His character in your life… influencing a life of satisfying singleness/marriage, parenting, career, social, and recreation.

3. Dedicate yourself to being a life-long Investigator of God’s truth… diligently seeking to discover divine light that will enable you to ‘see’ clearly, safeguarding you as you journey through this dark, devilish, damaged… soon to disappear, corrupt world (Ps. 119:105).

4. Be quick to follow every instruction, regulation, commandment God has/will reveal to you. Obedience is the ‘power’ key that permits the Holy Spirit to continue in His work of transforming you, inside-out. Note: Fruit ripening-to-maturity is not instantaneous, but is a life-long process.

Friends, while human effort can make you ‘look’ glamorous… outward, fading and temporary, the Holy Spirit is the only One who can make you truly beautiful… inward, intensifying and lasting. I therefore urge you to permit God’s Spirit to transform every part of your life that is ‘artificial’ that you may become a ‘genuine’ fruit bearer.

Because of what Jesus accomplished for you and me on the cross, and through the power of the Holy Spirit, we are being re-created to ‘be’ bearers of attractive, flavoursome fruit… re-created to be human reflectors of our Righteous and Holy God.

Jesus chose you and me and appointed us to be bearers of lasting fruit (Jn. 15:16)… the convincing condition that authenticates us as being His true disciples… the condition that brings great glory to our Heavenly Father (Jn. 15:8).

Bill Joukhadar
March 6, 2024