I'm doing a mini series based around John 15. Last time, I talked about how God shapes us to be beautiful, so we can bear much fruit. Today I'm going to discuss what it means to grow fruit. This doesn't mean that an apple is going to sprout out of your head. When John 15 says "fruit" it is talking about fruit of the Spirit. Galatians 5:22-23 describes what the fruit of the Spirit are, "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." This is the kind of fruit that God is trying to grow in all of us. When we grow these fruits in us, then people around you can start to see them as well. Below are just someways that you could show each of the fruits of the spirit.
Love- A great example for this is by loving your enemies. If someone really is on your nerves, or they bully you, you have the choice to continue to love them. This could be as simple as talking to them when you see them, or just giving them a polite smile.
Joy- When life is difficult, and everyone in your class is down in the dumps, and they complain 24/7; you could smile and have a positive joyful attitude to raise people's spirits
Peace- In the middle of all that you are going through, just taking time out of your day to pray, and read the bible, and ask God to just provide you with peace, you will seem a lot less stressed out.
Forbearance- This is also known as patience. If you have to explain something a couple of times and you keep your cool, and patiently explain it again, you are then really good at forbearance.
Kindness- Giving someone who doesn't have any lunch, or a coat to stay warm, is a good way to be kind.
Goodness- You can show goodness by just doing what your parents/teachers ask of you.
Faithfulness- By staying loyal to a friend and not spreading rumors about them throughout the school shows how faithful you are to them.
Gentleness- Instead of getting angry or annoyed with a situation, you could approach it with a calm/gentle heart.
Self-control- When you want to go up to someone to curse them out, and you hold back, this is really good self-control.
You can only grow these fruits if (1) you are connected to Jesus by believing in him and the fact that he died on the cross for your sins, and (2) if you let God prune you with tests and trials so that you know that the fruit that you will bear will be good fruit, pleasing to the Lord. This won't happen over night, but with time each of the fruits listed above will start to grow. Some will grow faster then others, but you need to make sure that if you are lacking in any fruit that you ask God to help you grow that fruit.
Love- A great example for this is by loving your enemies. If someone really is on your nerves, or they bully you, you have the choice to continue to love them. This could be as simple as talking to them when you see them, or just giving them a polite smile.
Joy- When life is difficult, and everyone in your class is down in the dumps, and they complain 24/7; you could smile and have a positive joyful attitude to raise people's spirits
Peace- In the middle of all that you are going through, just taking time out of your day to pray, and read the bible, and ask God to just provide you with peace, you will seem a lot less stressed out.
Forbearance- This is also known as patience. If you have to explain something a couple of times and you keep your cool, and patiently explain it again, you are then really good at forbearance.
Kindness- Giving someone who doesn't have any lunch, or a coat to stay warm, is a good way to be kind.
Goodness- You can show goodness by just doing what your parents/teachers ask of you.
Faithfulness- By staying loyal to a friend and not spreading rumors about them throughout the school shows how faithful you are to them.
Gentleness- Instead of getting angry or annoyed with a situation, you could approach it with a calm/gentle heart.
Self-control- When you want to go up to someone to curse them out, and you hold back, this is really good self-control.
You can only grow these fruits if (1) you are connected to Jesus by believing in him and the fact that he died on the cross for your sins, and (2) if you let God prune you with tests and trials so that you know that the fruit that you will bear will be good fruit, pleasing to the Lord. This won't happen over night, but with time each of the fruits listed above will start to grow. Some will grow faster then others, but you need to make sure that if you are lacking in any fruit that you ask God to help you grow that fruit.
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