From: Beverly French [frenchb@vcss.k12.ca.us]
Sent: Sunday, July 27, 2003 6:55 PM
To: Ted Enke
Subject: Fw: Blessings 

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Beverly French" <frenchb@vcss.k12.ca.us>
To: "Heritage" <gheritage.ga@verizon.net>
Sent: Sunday, July 27, 2003 6:22 AM
Subject: Blessings

> "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, 
> goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  Against such 
> things there is no law."  Galatians 5:22-23
>
> Taking this Scripture from last weeks message, let's look into this 
> spiritual fruit a little more.  Scripture tells us: It is produced in 
> all periods of life: "Those who are planted in the house of the Lord
>  Shall flourish in the courts of our God.
>  They shall still bear fruit in old age;
>  They shall be fresh and flourishing."  Psalm 92:13-14
>
> It is perennial:
> "Along the bank of the river, on this side and that, will grow all 
> kinds of trees used for food; their leaves will not wither, and their 
> fruit will not fail.  They will bear fruit every month, because their 
> water flows from the sanctuary.  Their fruit will be for food, and 
> their leaves for medicine."  Ezekiel 47:12
>
> It is grown upon good ground:
> "But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some a 
> hundredfold, some sixtyfold , some thirtyfold."  Matthew 13:8
>
> It is without defect:
> "(For the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness 
> and
> truth.)  Ephesians 5:9
>
> It is the product of heavenly wisdom:
> "But the wisdom that comes from above is first pure; then peaceable, 
> gentle and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, 
> without partiality, and without hypocrisy."  James 3:17
>
> Scripture also tells us the conditions of this fruitfulness as we see 
> in
the
> following:
> Fruitfulness requires contact with the Living Water:
> "He shall be like a tree firmly planted by the streams of water.  
> Which yields its fruit in its season,  And its leaf does not wither;
>  And whatever he does, he prospers."  Psalm 1:3
>
> Fruitfulness requires spiritual receptivity:
> "But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word 
> and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a 
> hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty."  Matthew 13:23
>
> Fruitfulness requires death of the old life:
> "Verily, verily, I say unto you, 'Except a corn of wheat fall into the 
> ground and die, it abideth alone; but if it die, it bringeth forth 
> much fruit.'"  John 12:24
>
> Fruitfulness requires pruning:
> "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."  John
15:2
>
> Fruitfulness only comes from abiding in Christ:
> "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."  John 15:5
>
> As we can see, therefore, it is only as we are conformed to Christ in 
> the power of the Holy Spirit that this fruit is manifested.  THIS 
> SPIRITUAL FRUIT IS THE RIGHTEOUS CHARACTER OF CHRIST JESUS, THE LORD!
>
> Hallelujah and Amen!
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