Bear Much Fruit

From: Leading The Way Ministries - Michael Youssef

Galatians 5:22 "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control."

When we are sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked as one of God's children, and when we daily seek to be filled by the power of the Holy Spirit, then we will bear the fruit of the Spirit. Jesus said, "Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit." (Matthew 12:33) We will only find spiritual wholeness if we manifest the fruit of the Spirit—not through false spirituality found in meditation, self-help books, or motivational seminars.

When we do not seek the Holy Spirit's filling each day, we become more and more influenced by our sinful nature. Paul warned the Galatians: "So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature." (Galatians 5:16)

The fruit of the Spirit is about our character, not our behavior or conduct. The fruit of the Spirit is about being not doing. The fruit of the Spirit is the likeness of the Spirit. We need to stay connected to Him in order to bear His fruit. If we begin to shut God out of our hearts, we will cease to be fruitful. Jesus cautioned, "Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me." (John 15:4)

John 15:8 "This is to My Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be My disciples."