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Where there is FRUIT, there is a ROOT!

I want to look at a few things that may need adjustment in our life.  One of the greatest truths that we find in the Bible is found in the fifth chapter of Galatians, verses 22 and 23.  Here we see that most of our problems can be avoided if we follow the simple instructions found in God's word.  Much of our lives are made up of things we bring into being.  It is such a temptation to place the blame for our disappointment on other people or on circumstances and in a lot of cases we blame our problems on things we simply cannot define.  In any case we do not want to take a realistic look at where the real problem may lie.

May the Lord help us as we begin our journey in bringing back into our lives the peace and order that we want.  It will not be easy because it demands that we take action.  It will not be easy because it will require us to break habits and patterns in our life that have deep roots.  But it can be done!  Let us not get discouraged as we begin to make these necessary adjustments and changes in the way we approach the challenge of change.

"But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance:  against such there is no law"


Remember!  Where there is FRUIT, there is a ROOT!  The root comes from a seed planted.  Whatever we want the fruit to be is always determined by the seed we plant.  The law of Genesis is very clear concerning this.  the fruit contains the seed that will produce the exact same fruit.  "Be not deceived:  God is not mocked:  for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap:"

If we want to reap the fruit of the Spirit, we must plant the fruit of the Spirit!  It is foolish to think that we can plant any kind of seed that we want:  and then to expect that seed to produce something contrary to the law of Genesis.  In the natural, it is understood that if we plant corn seed we need not look for a harvest of grapes.  In the Spirit, it is just as clear..... "What YOU plant, YOU harvest!"  Remember, you do the planting, you also do the reaping.  No-one can reap your harvest but YOU!  In other words, you and I are now enjoying the harvest of the seed we have planted.  The size of the harvest is determined by the amount of seed we have planted.

Jesus spoke of seeds several times.  He knew the importance of sowing the RIGHT seed.  We cannot bypass this set law of sowing and reaping.  We have the privilege of choosing the seed we sow in order to reap the harvest we desire.  What an awesome responsibility that places on us.  The Lord said in one place,  "I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing:"    " YOU choose!"  In the light of this statement the Lord Himself made, plus what we know about the law of sowing and reaping, we now have to accept the responsibility for a large part of our circumstances.

It is true that a lot of things come our way that we really had little or nothing to do with.  Things can and do happen.  But at the same time we must face the fact that sowing and reaping do make up the greater part of our circumstances.  There are may times that we allow other people to plant their seeds into our lives without our realizing it.  We must be careful to guard against this.  One quick example........  We pick up other people's attitudes and feelings.  If someone we know is having a bad day and they come around us, we may join in their feelings and begin to be as negative as they are and in reality we are allowing them to plant those seeds in us.

Do you know what you want your harvest to be?  Then plant those kinds of seeds.  Remember, what YOU plant, YOU reap!

Now let us see if we can find some practical way to understand this principal of sowing and reaping.  How can we put all this to some day to day use?  Religious interpretation falls far short in giving us practical application.  Also, we must use caution in arriving at our own conclusions.  We must draw from Biblical truths in order to uncover the power of this law of sowing and reaping.

God is love.  That is what the Bible says.  The Bible reveals that the Lord loves His creation.  It seems fair to say that the Bible is the final word concerning God's attitude toward mankind.  His very nature is LOVE!  would it be fair to say that the Lord wants us to take on that very nature?  We best reveal the heart of Jesus when we love people.  Love that is not premeditated... is unconditional love.   Love that is not provoked... does not need to be stirred up or exited or prompted in any way... is unconditional love.  Love that is giving and free, not demanding and controlling.  Love that gives expecting nothing in return.  In all that we may do LOVE should be the motivation.  We need to learn to express LOVE in order to more clearly express the nature of our Lord.  That means that we must learn much about LOVE!

Having said all that, please allow me to illustrate this in a simple way.

 JOY - is LOVE rejoicing, exulting, celebrating.

PEACE - is LOVE in response to daily life.

 LONG-SUFFERING - is LOVE on trial, being severely tested.

GENTLENESS - is LOVE in society, remaining even in uneven times.

GOODNESS - is LOVE is love in action.

 FAITH - is LOVE on the battlefield.

 MEEKNESS - is LOVE at school, learning to do things His way.

TEMPERANCE - is LOVE in training, exercising spiritual dynamics.

LOVE is the best atmosphere in which to plant any of the fruit of the Spirit.  Jesus said, "By this will all men know that you are my disciples, that you have love one for another."  "For God so loved the world that He gave" ... LOVE is giving.

When we sow our seed, let it be seed that will produce the fruit of the Spirit in our life and in the lives of all the people in our sphere of influence.

Discipleship means severe discipline.  We, as Christians, are in training.  Our first lesson is the lesson on LOVE.  We cannot afford to fail this most important of all lessons that we can learn.  It is not always easy.  It is not always fun.  But, it is our most necessary lesson in life.

Remember, LOVE can also be planted like a seed.  A seed is a small thing.  Small acts of kindness are like seeds of LOVE that we plant.  It is the little things that mean a lot.  Why wait until some opportunity to do a great act of LOVE comes along?  Plant those small seeds (acts of kindness) as readily as you would do some great act of kindness.  Find a suitable spot to start planting your seeds.  It will not be so noticeable at first but, sooner or later it MUST produce after itself.  If you plant seeds of LOVE, the fruit that you will harvest from your garden will be LOVE.  the fruit is always larger than the seed that has been planted.  Also, remember, the fruit contains the seed, that will perpetuate the fruit.  Another truth we find in the Bible is this, "Give and it (whatever you give) shall be given you..."  "For whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap."  the return is always bigger than the investment.

PLANT YOUR SEEDS WITH GREAT CAUTION!


Pastor Jerry Mercer

Church of New Beginnings
2673 Nursery Road
Blackshear, GA 31516
912-283-0343
All Bible Studies © 2003 Jerry Mercer