|
Scriptures In This Study:
Galatians 5: 22-26
Romans 13:10
Romans 14:17-19
Matthew 5:9
James 1:2-3
II Timothy 2:24-26
Romans 2:4
Romans 5:1-4
Ephesians 4:1-7
I Corinthians 9:25-27
Ephesians 5:9-10
I Corinthians 5:11
Proverbs 18:19a
Our life should reflect the attributes of the Spirit. If these
attributes are not functioning in our daily life, we need to seek Him and find where there is lack in our walk and allow Him
to minister to us in that area.
We cannot achieve spiritual maturity until all of these attributes
are a part of our daily existance.
We cannot be obedient to the Lord if we are acting outside the
direction of the Holy Spirit.
All of us are at different levels of maturity in the Lord.
This is not to say you will become perfect overnight, it is to say these are the goals we should strive for.
We find the attributes of the Holy Spirit in Galatians 5:22-26.
If the Holy Spirit is abiding in us, then we will see these attributes at work in us and so will others.
To understand the attributes, we look to the Word.
Love
(or charity)
Romans 13:10
Love worketh no ill to his neighbor: therefore love is the
fulfilling of the law.
Since the Lord loves us with an unconditional love, we are to
love one another with an unconditional love.
We are not to judge or offend one another, but edify one another
and lift each other up in prayer.
This is called Agape love.
We are to speak this love into every life and when we do He
will put this love in our hearts. We should ask Him to show us the person through His eyes.
Joy
Romans 14:17-19
For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness,
and peace and joy in the Holy ghost. For he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God, and approved of men.
Let us therefore follow after things which make for peace, and things where with one may edify(Build Up) another.
To abide in God's kingdom, we must seek the things of the Lord. His
righteousness, His peace, His joy.
If we follow the Lord, He gives us an inner joy that the world
nor any circumstance can touch.
Peace
Matthew 5:9: Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be
called the children of God.
To be children of God we have to follow all of His directives.
Nothing in the Word that the Lord tells us to do is a suggestion. It
is all law.
When we become the children of God, we are to be the peacemakers,
not the trouble makers.
Through Him we abide in His presence even in the worst of times.
Longfsuffering
(or patience)
James 1:2-3
My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations:
Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.
The only way to learn patience is through having to be patient.
We may want our loved one saved today, but it will not happen
until the Holy Spirit calls them.
They may still have things to go through before they will stand
for the Lord. All we can do is pray for them and then stand on the Lord's Word that says we will be saved with our household.
Until the Holy Spirit leads them, they are not ready and there
is nothing that we can do.
If we nag or browbeat them we will drive them further away.
The Holy Spirit is not aggressive, He is a gentleman and to act within the Holy Spirit we must be the same.
We can help to win them by our life if we lead a Spirit filled
life. But, there is no other way to do it.
Gentleness
II Timothy 2:24-26
And the servant of the Lord must not strive: but be gentle
unto all men, apt to teach, patient, In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them
repentance to the acknoledging of truth; And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken
captive by him at his will.
If an enemy of God approaches us, getting into a heated debate
with them is exactly what the devil wants.
When we do so, not only are we defeating any chance to plant
seeds of deliverance in them, we have stepped outside of the Lord's will ourself and at that moment we are no longer standing
on the narrow path, but the wide one. We must be quick to repent. Whereas when these people approach us, we should do as Jesus
did in the wilderness. Only respond with the Word and do so with gentleness and love, to try to plant seeds of deliverance
in the person being deceived.
This is just as important when we are dealing with
a fellow Christian who may or may not be outside God's will at the moment or in some area of their life.
If we see them doing wrong, the Word says we are to take them
off alone, and in love, tell them that they are in danger of losing their way.
We never act outside of the Holy Spirit. If they persist then
we take witnesses, and try to persuade them, but still in love.
Goodness
Romans 2:4
Or despises thou the riches of his goodness and forebearance
and longsuffering; no knowing the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?
So, if we judge and bring accusation we are despising the goodness
of God when in actuality, it is this very goodness that will cause the sinner to repent.
Sometimes we only get one chance to reach someone. If we try
to scare them or force them we can cause more harm than good.
If we show the love and the acceptance of the Lord we will allow
the Spirit to touch their heart and the seeds of salvation to be planted.
Faith
Romans 5:1-4
Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God
through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope
of the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also; knowing that tribulation worketh patience. And patience,
experience; and experience, hope;
Being justified by faith gives us peace with God. Have you ever
felt that you were not at peace with the Lord?
When we were in the world we were not at peace with the Lord.
When we step out of His will, we feel unrest in our spirit and
know that the peace between us and the Lord has been disturbed. That is when we feel convicted.
There is a difference between conviction and condemnation.
If we feel condemned it is not of the Lord.
When the Holy Spirit convicts us, it is a gentle nudging that
can break our heart. We feel the need to bow before the Lord and if we do, His Word says that He is faithful to forgive.
Through faith we know this and as soon as we repent, it is done.
Any further guilt is of the devil.
The Holy Spirit never puts a spirit of guilt and accusation
on anyone.
The difference between conviction and condemnation is hope.
With conviction, there is hope, because we know that He will hear us and He will forgive us.
With condemnation, there is no hope.
When we condemn another we are in essence telling them that there is no hope for them.
Meekness
Ephesians 4:1-4
Therefore the prisoner of the Lord,(We are all prisoners of
someone, either the Lord or the devil) beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,(and everone
has a vocation, the Lord does not save us to sit on a pew ) With lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing
one another in love; endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace.
There is one body, and one Spririt, even as ye are called
in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and the Father of all, who is above all, and through
all, and in you all. But unto everyone of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.
So, we are all of one family and one Spirit and we all worship
one God, the Father. So, we are to show ourselves worthy by adhering to the attributes of Christ, which are also the attributes
of the Holy Spirit, which are also the attributes of God the Father, for they are all one; and they are all one with us that
are called according to His purpose.
Temperance
I Corinthians 9:25-27
And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in
all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly;
so fight I, not as one that beateth air: But to keep my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I
have preached to others, I myself should be cast away.(Rejected)
There are people in the world that bring their bodies into subjection
to win praise and acceptance. Like people in sports, models, actors and actresses, etc.
There are people that will go to drastic extremes to try to
achieve some goal that may or may not be based in reality.( re: anorexia, etc.)
Man is known to drive himself to extremes for the attention
the world offers, or to fit some ideal that the world has said is the acceptable way.
The Lord wants us to be willing to go to the extreme for Him.
Bring our bodies into subjection to Him.
All things we do to harm our bodies are an offense to the Lord
and our ministry.
It is hard for someone to put any faith in someone that
tells them about the Lord if they are not living in line with God's Word.
There is man we know that went into a bar to have
a beer and while there, the bartender started to tell him her problems and he told her that she needed to get into church
and turn her life over to the Lord.
How effective do you think his message was while he sat
drinking in that bar?
He is like a lot of Christians today that think they can obey
the parts of the Bible they are comfortable with and just ignore the rest.
On the other side of that issue is the importance of being supportive,
never pushy, toward someone who is struggling with an issue that may be outside the Lord's will.
Addictions are a prison and the Lord can and will free
us, but it is a private battle between the Lord and the sufferer.
As Christians, we are to hold one another up and not try to
push them before the Lord is ready.
God says that He is able to finish the good work He started
in us. That should be good enough for us all. Trust Him, He will make a way for us to be set free.
Ephesians 5:9-10
(For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness
and truth;) Proving what is acceptable to the Lord.
When people look at our lives, it should demonstrate the work
of the Holy Spirit. We should prove the way of God is right by our lifestyles. There should never be found among
us anything that would reflect badly on the Holy Spirit or the Word.
I Corinthians 5:11
But, now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any
man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolator, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner;
with such as one do not eat.(have social relations)
We are not to socialize with those that live outside of God's
will, lest it affect our message and that of God.
If we see a man preach or teach at our church and later see
him in a bar, what would the affect be on his message?
If someone we know to be a member of our church is standing
outside a store and yelling in anger at someone, what would be the affect on their message?
If we saw our pastor going into a hotel room with some strange
woman, what would be the affect on his message? So, this is one reason we are to put away even the appearance of evil.
Proverbs 18:19a
A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city.
If we say or do anything to offend our brother, it is that
much harder for the Lord to reach them. We should always approach each other with love and meekness and humbleness of spirit
lest we offend and by doing so cause offense to be taken against the Lord and the Word of the Lord.
So, in closing, let's review.
As Christians we are exhibit love, joy, peace, longsuffering,
gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance.
If any of these things are lacking in us, we need to repent
and ask the Lord to help us to line up with His Word that we be found acceptable to be called children of God.
| 