The Notes

This coming Wednesday night, October 14, 2026, we continue our message series on the requested topic - Fruit of the Spirit.  Last week was the introduction and overview, but this week we begin taking an in depth look at what it means for the nine fruits of the Spirit to be produced in our lives.  Over the next 3 weeks, we will cover 3 of the fruits in our Bible study.  This week: love, joy, and peace are the fruits of our focus.  Join us at 6:00 p.m. for an uplifting message and some mid-week encouragement for the soul. 

If you can't join us in person, you can always participate through our Facebook page.  We go "live" at 6:00 p.m., and you will have a front row seat.  If you can't join us live, there are 3 ways to watch the message later - on Facebook, on YouTube, or here on our website. (the "Past & Future Messages" page).  Watch anytime!  

This week, October 7, 2026, we began a new message series on a requested topic - the Fruits of the Spirit.  Just what are fruits of the Spirit?  The Bible says in Galatians 5:22-23 - that "the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law."

If you're wondering where you get these fruits, well, it's not at the local grocery story.   Point #1 - the Bible says that this fruit is already inside us because this fruit grows from the Spirit’s indwelling presence in our hearts.  I Corinthians 3:16 says:  “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?”  The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is the fulfillment of God’s promise to us as recorded in Ezekiel 36:26-27: “And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.  And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations.”  Along with those to verses we have the fact that Jesus promised He would send the Holy Spirit to us.  John 14:16-17 says: “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you.  He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you.”

Perhaps you are asking just when we get the Holy Spirit?  Well the Bible gives us that answer as well.  We receive the Holy Spirit at Salvation, upon accepting Jesus as Lord.  Ephesians 1:13-14 tell us that “having heard and believed the word of truth—the gospel of your salvation—you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the pledge of our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession.”

Many Christians have a gap though; a space between what we believe and how we live.  We believe in and want to follow Jesus Christ’s teachings, but to be honest, we don’t always respond as Jesus would.  The work of the Holy Spirit  is to close that gap and make us more like Christ and the God, the Father. 

Point #2 - although we have the Spirit as Christians, we still have our natural desires, too.  There is a battle inside us; the Spirit should be in control if we’ve allowed God to be Lord of our lives, but sometimes our human nature tights to stay in control.  The Apostle Paul wrote about this in Romans 8:9 – “You, however, are controlled not by the flesh, but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.”  The Bible explains that we have 2 natures in us -  our original sinful nature (often referred to as “the Flesh”) and a Spiritual nature (the work of the Holy Spirit).  Galatians 5:17 – “The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other.”

Native Americans have a story that conveys this same idea.  It's called the Tale of Two Wolves:

One evening, an elderly Seminole Indian told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said, ‘My son, the battle is between two wolves inside us all.   One is evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.  The other wolf is good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith.’  The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked, ‘Grandpa, which wolf wins?’  The wise Seminole replied, ‘The one that you feed.’  

Our question is - which nature are we feeding?  The flesh, or the Holy Spirit. 

Paul points out when the Flesh is in control (showing us which we have been feeding) in Galatians 5:19-21 - “When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these.”

Notice the results show in our actions.   It’s outwardly obvious what’s inside.  But when we focus on activating what is already inside us – feeding the Holy Spirit - it closes (or removes) the gap.  

Activating the Fruit of the Spirit is allowing it to grow from the Spirit’s indwelling presence, and when we do, it will show what leads our lives: Flesh or Spirit.

Point # 3.  Activating the Spirit is part of Spiritual Maturity.  It is the natural result of feeding the Spirit so that it grows and produces fruit.  The Christian journey is a life-long process of surrender . . . growth . . . and maturity.  We begin this journey as infants; but over time, we mature.    Many of Paul’s writings bemoan the fact that those reading his letters are still infants.  Look at Hebrews 5:12-14 – “In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food!  Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness.  But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.”

It takes effort to grow & mature.  Willingness & surrender are key.

Some people fight it.  They hold on to the right to be mad, to point out the injustice in their lives.  They live with no forgiveness for those wrongs.  You can stay there if you choose.   You can hold onto those feelings.  But if you’re tired of sleepless nights, stress, stomach problems … surrender to the Holy Spirit inside you.  Let the Spirit have control.  Let the Spirit produce its fruit, the fruit of Galatians 5:22-23 – “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”

Point #4.   How does the Fruit get produced?  Get activated?   It’s not about trying harder to produce Fruit.  You can’t do it on our own.  You can’t will yourself to do it . . . that is living in the Flesh and depending on self.  Instead, Jesus tells us the way to bear fruit.  John 15:5 - “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

So it’s not about trying harder.  It’s about  staying close to the source.  It’s learning to yield to the Holy Spirit who already lives inside you.  It’s taking a moment before responding to ask – What Would Jesus Do?  Here is a truth to keep in mind - believers who are transformed aren’t the ones with the most willpower.  Instead, they are the ones who have learned how to fully surrender.  To be transformed and produce the fruit of the Spirit simply requires us to cooperate with what God is already doing in us.

Producing the fruit of the Spirit is not a checklist you muscle through.  It’s the natural overflow of a life connected to the vine of Jesus Christ.

Another truth is that some Christians don’t mature because they don’t stay connected to the vine.  Instead, they take breaks; they work in Jesus here and there, when it's convenient.  Jesus is not a priority.  Some others don’t mature because they are unwilling to change and be transformed.  They say, “This is just who I am.”  But that ignores what Scripture teaches – that we are to put on the new self, to have our minds renewed, to become more like our Heavenly Father – righteous & holy.  

The process of activating the fruit is not passive, it’s “cooperative surrender;” it’s offering your whole being to God . . . allowing Him to be Lord.  We'll be focusing on how to do that more over the next three weeks.  But here is an action plan to go forward:

 1 – Begin each day with a prayer of surrender:  “I yield my day to you.  Let me respond as Jesus would. Produce fruit in my life.”  There really are no magic words, just surrender and desire to be attached to Jesus's vine.

2 – Get into scripture to guide your mind and feed the Spirit.  Get a devotional book.  Read a chapter a day from the Bible.  It's through Scripture that God speaks to us.  Psalm 119:105 - “Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.”  

3 – Be honest in evaluating how and when you fall short; when your response or actions were not what Jesus would have done.   It is true that we can’t improve what we don’t acknowledge.  So evaluate ways you don’t produce fruit, when you have bad reactions, no filter, are angry, have no patience, etc.   That’s the flesh, not the Holy Spirit.  But over the next few weeks, we will focus on feeding the Holy Spirit so that the fruit inside us grows and matures.  Join us in this journey!