Works of the Flesh versus the Fruit of the Spirit

 The Works of the Flesh versus the Fruit of the Spirit 

"Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires." (Galatians 5:19-24, NKJV)

The works of the flesh are the manifestation of the sinful nature whereas the fruit of the Spirit is evidence of the character of Jesus. The works of the flesh are opposed to the fruit of the Spirit. It is impossible to walk in the flesh and in the Spirit at the same time. The two paths are diametrically opposed to each other. 

Jesus displayed the fruit of the Spirit throughout His ministry on earth. Anyone who is not totally surrendered to God cannot manifest the fruit of the Spirit. If the Holy Spirit is not fully in control, the fruit of the Spirit cannot be evident. The fruit of the Spirit does not belong to anyone but the Holy Spirit who testifies of Jesus here on earth. To bear fruit, the believer must abide in Jesus. In John 15:1-5, the Bible says, “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing." (NKJV)

No one can bear fruit without abiding in Jesus. The attributes of the fruit of the Spirit cannot be experienced by wishful thinking or by might. They will manifest only when the believer loses himself or herself in Jesus. Jesus is the Vine, believers are the branches and just as the branches must be completely rooted in the vine, so believers must be totally rooted in Jesus to manifest the fruit of the Spirit. The one who demonstrates the fruit of the Spirit has crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. The Bible says that in Romans 8:6-8, "For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God." (NKJV)

Wow. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. The Amplified Version of the Bible renders Romans 8:7-8 this way:

"the mind of the flesh [with its sinful pursuits] is actively hostile to God. It does not submit itself to God’s law, since it cannot, and those who are in the flesh [living a life that caters to sinful appetites and impulses] cannot please God."

Hostility to God is a fulltime activity of the mind of the flesh ~ the carnal mind. No wonder the mind of the flesh (the carnal mind) cannot please God. It is just impossible. Works of the flesh tell a story of carnality whereas the fruit of the Spirit indicates true spirituality rooted in Jesus, manifestewd by the power of the Holy Spirit and glorifying God 24/7.

So the question to be asked is simply this: Are you glorifying God? Is  love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control evident in your life. I watched someone on YouTube say something very profound. He asked what juice would come out of an orange when pressed, when presseure is applied to it? Noone in his or her right mind would expect coconut water from a sqeezed orange. Even without notice, the result of applying pressure to an orange or any other fruit would be the juice associated with it. Nothing more or less. 

The question we have to answer is what will come out of us when we are squeezed? when we face pressure? when things are not going well? when our expectations are not realized? You know Jesus said in Matthew 15:11

"It is not what goes into the mouth of a man that defiles and dishonors him, but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles and dishonors him." (AMP)

So what comes out of you? What do people see or feel when they contact you? ~ the works of the flesh or the fruit of the Spirit. A thriving relationship with Jesus will put you on the right side - God's side and you will no longer be at enmity with God. I want to end this message by stating that the one who is at enmity with God cannot win. God can never be defeated. 

May the Word of God dwell in you richly and bring forth His blessings into your life as you heed His Word. God bless you. 

The Great Commission

 The Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20)

18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. (Matthew 28:18-20, NKJV)

Commission is defined as "an instruction, command, or role given to a person or group." (Oxford Languages Dictionary). Jesus gave an instruction/command to His disciples before His ascension into Heaven. That instruction/command is called The Great Commission which focuses on making disciples in all the nations.

Considerations from The Great Commission:

1. All authority has been given to Jesus.
2. The Command is to GO for all disciples irrespective of position or status within Christendom. The disciple maker must of necessity be a disciple.
3. The tasks given are
• Making disciples
• Baptizing the disciples
• Teaching them all that Jesus taught
4. The continuous presence of Jesus through the Holy Spirit is with those who are obedient to The Great Commission.

Believers have a guarantee for fruitfulness in Jesus - “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me." (John 15:1-4, NKJV)

To be fruitful in what we have been commissioned to do, we must abide in Jesus. 

In John 8:31, the Bible says "Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed"  (NKJV). Abiding in Jesus means abiding in God's Word. It follows that one who makes disciples must be a student of God's Word ~ reading, studying and meditating on the Word of God. This is a loose aspect of the life of the one commissioned to make disciples; it is of utmost importance and of topmost priority. 

What does it take to make a disciple of Jesus? It is important to remember that we cannot give what we do not have. In other words, it is only a disciple who can make another disciple. Jesus stipulated some conditions for discipleship that are as relevant today as they were 2000 years ago.

1. Denying Oneself: “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it" (Luke 9:23-24). This implies giving up things that are  legitimately yours for the expansion of the Kingdom of God. It goes without saying that it will involve sacrifice.
2. Hating One's Life and Bearing One's Cross: “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple." (Luke 14:26-27). This means loving Jesus more than anything or anyone to the extent of laying down one's life for Him. It is not possible to bear one's cross without surrendering one's life to Jesus. Finally there is a cross to bear because the Christian race is not a walk in the park. There are challenges and tests of faith that the disciple of Jesus will have to face.
3. Forsaking All:  "So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple." (Luke 14:33). The disciple of Jesus cannot afford to be tied down by anything. Jesus said, "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Matthew 6:19-20). In other words, nothing on this earth has the power to distract the disciple. It is impossible to lay treasures in Heaven if one's heart is on earth.

Discipleship requires a heart that is genuinely prepared to give up everything in a literal sense if Christ so requires. Stewardship not ownership is the underlying principle. This, my friends, is the challenge of the Great Commission. Many people talk about it but they are unable to obey the Great Commision because their hearts are not in the right place. Many are so earthly bound that they are unable to be functional in the Kingdom of God even though they know a lot of Christaneze. It is impossible to be a disciple of Jesus if sacrifice is not embraced. 

The Great Commission is not about saying, "Do as I say, don't do as I do". The disciplemaker must of necessity be a disciple of Jesus. So the Great Commission speaks to us individually in the first instance and invariably asks the question ~ Are you a disciple of Jesus?

It can be said without a shadow of doubt and/or fear of contradiction that the reason many are not making disciples is that they are not disciples of Jesus. It is impossible to be a disciple-maker if you are not a disciple. This is something to think about. 

What we need to do is to examine ourselves to check whether we are disciples. From all indications, the disciples of Jesus as well as other members of early church made disciples. They did not expect people to flock to the assembly of believers without going out to minister to them. That is why discipleship and evangelism are connected; they go hand in glove. Evangelism is the first part in the process of discipleship. Discipleship is a lifelong process. To make a disciple, become one yourself.

May God minister to you as you ponder over this.

Leaving All To Follow Jesus

Leaving All To Follow Jesus

"So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets. Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat. When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.” And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!” For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken; and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men.” So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him." (Luke 5:1-11, NKJV)

Simon lent Jesus his boat so that He could teach the people. We are not told how long Jesus spent teaching the multitude. We are told that they "pressed about Him to hear the word of God,". When Jesus stopped speaking, He instructed the fishermen including Simon to launch into the deep and cast their nets down for a catch. Remember Jesus was a carpenter by profession. These seasoned fishermen must have wondered what Jesus was really saying but Peter responded humbly recognising the Person and authority of Jesus, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.” The command of Jesus was a seemingly senseless command but with God nothing is impossible. In other words, when God commands, no matter how odd it sounds, we should obey. The fishermen obeyed and they caught so much fish that they signaled to other fishermen for help to load the boats with the fish they had caught after a night of fruitless labour. Really amazing!

They caught so much fish that the boats began to sink. What a haul of fish; enough to compensate their disappointing and fruitless outing and more than sufficient to boost their depleting money accounts. Interestingly, the amount of fish they caught moved Peter to fall down on his knees before Jesus and acknowledge his sin. "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!”, he said. 

Have you acknowledged your sin and repented of it before Jesus? Have you received Jesus as Lord and Saviour? The Bible says, "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:" (John 1:12, NKJV). Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life (John 14:6) and He can set you free from sin today. Only Jesus can deliver you from the bondage of sin and the lies and deception of Satan. Come to Jesus today!

One would have thought that Peter and his colleagues would have rejoiced after catching so much fish and that they would have sold them to make a lot of money. Instead, the Bible says that they forsook all and followed Jesus. Jesus was more important to them than all the fish and money in the world. Fish and money will come to an end but the Word of God will never pass away. Remember that Jesus is the Living Word of God. Peter and his partners were astonished at the amount of fish they caught; that brought Peter to his knees and consequently led to him following Jesus wholeheartedly. A close encounter with Jesus produces a radical transformation in an individual. 

Fulfilment does not come from material things. The very thing that Peter had toiled for all night unsuccesfully was presented to him miraculously but in the end he forsook all to follow Jesus. Jesus is worth more than all of us and our possessions put together. At the end of the day, the question to answer is ~ Whose side are you on? Jesus' or Satan's? Jesus will never lead you astray and that is why it is worthwhile following Him unreservedly just as Peter did. 

The English say, "You cannot eat your cake and have it". Seeking fulfulment in life and staying in your comfort zone is a contradiction in terms. Something has to give. Peter discovered that sustenance is derived from the Source (Jesus); the catch of fish was a miracle and rather than settle for the miracle, he went after the miracle-maker, Jesus Christ. It made a lot of sense. It is often said "Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man To fish, and you feed him for a lifetime". The encounter Peter had with Jesus opened his eyes to God's high calling for his life ~ catching of men. It would be fair to say that Peter reasoned that if at the command of Jesus, fish could be caught in such abundance, then the higher calling would be a great possibility. Don't allow the devil to rob you of your destiny. Respond to the calling of God upon your life to the ministry of reconciliation. This is what the Bible says about that.

" Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation." (2 Corinthians 5:18-19, NKJV)

You have been given the ministry of reconciliation and the word of reconciliation. Go and preach the Gospel to all creatures (Mark 16:15) and go and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:18-20). As you forsake all to follow Jesus (just as His disciples did), the blessings of God will be your portion in Jesus' Name. May God richly bless you today and always in Jesus' Name.

The Reality of Hell (Luke 16:19-31; Mark 9:42-28)

The Reality of Hell (Luke 16:19-31; Mark 9:42-28)

 19 “There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. 20 But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, 21 desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom." (Luke 16:19-23)

42 “But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea. 43 If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having two hands, to go to hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched— 44 where ‘Their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’ " (Mark 9:42-44)

The subject of hell is a controversial one but the existense of hell cannot be ignored or disregarded. One does that at one's peril. It is not a comfortable subject but it is a subject that demands great attention. It is not a subject that many people want to talk about but it is one that impacts everyone's life. Some people will avoid hell because of their positive response to the hope of salvation and redemption yet others will languish in hell because of their obstinate, prideful, irrational rejection of the hope of salvation and redemption. Let me state without any fear or favour, without any hesistation that Jesus is the Hope of salvation and redemption (John 14:6). He is the only Way to God the Father. 

 In fact He alone is the One who died for mankind on the cross of Calvary; He bore our sins, was crucified not because He committed sin but because He loved us so much to die for us. Oh, what love demonstrated, what courage displayed, what sacrifice given for unworthy individuals like you and I. The crucifixion of Jesus is not only recorded in the Bible (Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) but in the writings of secular historians like Tacitus, a Roman historian and Josephus,  a Jewish historian.  Hear what the Bible says:

21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (2 Corinthians 5:21). 

Jesus became sin for us so that we could become the righteousness of God not by compulsion but by our freewill. In other words, no-one is cajoled into becoming a believer, it is the individual's choice whether or not to accept Jesus. You would agree that there are consequences for the choices we make.

Before I go any further, I would like to state that the words in the biblical passages quoted above were spoken by Jesus. Would Jesus lie? No way. Furthermore, if Jesus said it, it was and still is very important. Someone once said, "if you miss Heaven, you cannot miss hell". This means that there is no middle ground; there is no purgatory; there is no straddling of the fence. 

Every decision we make leads to a final outcome - where we spend eternity. It's either hell or Heaven. The question that arises is not really about the existence of hell but why it exists in the first place. Hell was prepared for satan and his demons. However, when an individual decides to pitch his or her tent in the devil's coutyard, what is the right reward for such an individual? And by the way, hell can be avoided. No one needs to go to hell but unfortunately many have made up their minds to go there. Once in hell, there is no escape from it. 

The Bible says,

“Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion." (Hebrews 13:5)

Come to Jesus not just for the avoidance of hell but come so that you will have peace that surpasses all understanding; come so that you will be delivered from the bondage of sin and the devil; come so that your life will be a fruitful one ~ meaningful, productive and in line with the plan and purpose of your creation; come as you are for God loves you. God, who created you has a purpose for your life. Will you allow Him to guide you into that wonderful plan for your life?

Instead of us wasting time debating on hell which is a reality, let us come to the throne of grace, where love abounds, where mercy flows, where divine purpose is enshrined and pursued. Jesus died for us on the cross of Calvary so that we would be saved from the plight of the devil and his demons - eternal damnation. 

The rich man was in torment in Hades, a terrible holding place pending the final casting away into hell. The irony is that while he was on earth, he had numerous opportunities to turn away from his sinful, self-absorbed way to God but he refused. What a sad story! Opportunities wasted; deception embraced; pride enthroned; temporary comfort magnified; eternal consequences disregarded and finally a life lost forever in eternal damnation. All that could have been avoided.

The final question is, "What is your decision?"

May God bless you abundantly as you do what is right in Jesus' Name.