PASTOR EMMANUEL DANSU
JOHN 7:37-39: ” 37 In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. 38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. 39 (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)“; ROMANS 8:1-16
We have been called into a life in the Spirit where carnality has no place. Life in the flesh has to give way for Spirit living. The Christian life can only be enjoyed when we are open to the Holy Spirit. The flesh in this context is not the literal skin but the sensual and animal instinct in man that is opposed to the things of God. The flesh is always on a mission to get all the pleasure it can get but God has called us to live life to the fullest. He wants us to acquire everything he has prepared for us.
The rivers of living water can only flow in us when the Holy Spirit is fully operational in our lives. If you are not thirsty, it means you are missing out on something in the Spirit. When the rivers of living water flow in us, God will have opportunities to work in us. When the rivers flow, fruits are produced and gifts are imparted. The Holy Spirit is meant to lead us, produce fruits in us and bless us with gifts. We must learn to balance our disposition towards fruits and gifts. If we are balanced, we will not have many of the problems we have. Holding on to gifts at the expense of fruits will make us spiritual monsters. Holding on to fruits at the expense of gifts will make us dull. A balanced handling of fruits and gifts will put us at the cutting edge of what God is doing at every point in time.
GALATIANS 5:22-26: “22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. 24 And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26 Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.“; [biblegateway passage=”I CORINTHIANS 12:1-11″ display=”I CORINTHIANS 12:1-11”];
The Gifts of the Spirit are the Word of Wisdom, the Word of Knowledge, Faith, the Gifts of Healing, the Working of Miracles, Prophecy, Discerning of Spirits, Divers Kinds of Tongues and the Interpretation of Tongues. The fruits of the Spirit are Love, Joy, Peace, Longsuffering, Gentleness, Goodness, Faith, Meekness and Temperance.
People are more drawn to the gifts than the fruits because gifts can easily make them famous and rich. Fruits have to be borne while gifts can be simply given us by the Holy Spirit. With desire, gifts can be imparted but fruits require time and processes to be produced. People are often in a hurry so they can hardly wait to bear fruits. The church will be a boring place without the gifts of the Spirit. Also, the church will be a lawless place without the fruits of the spirit. Gifts are needed for effective harvest while fruits are needed to preserve the harvest. We have to desire the gifts passionately while we patiently bear the fruits. Our experience will be lopsided when a component is not in place.
God is not just interested in bringing in the harvest. He is also interested in preserving the harvest. As such, we need more than gifts. Fruits are very crucial if the harvest must be preserved. The fruits of the Spirit are not negotiable, you cannot select some and leave the others. You must have them all together. On the other hand, it may be difficult to function in all the gifts of the Spirit. You can only desire and operate in some of them. Despite the fact that producing the fruits can be like passing through fire, we have to make up our minds to go through the processes so that we can bear these precious fruits.
[biblegateway passage=”LUKE 12:16-23″ display=”LUKE 12:16-23″]
Very often, when harvest comes, we often think it is by our making and we start acting like the foolish rich man. We must learn never to arrogate glory to ourselves when God gives us bountiful harvests. We should enjoy the blessings giving all the glory to God. Our God is the Lord of the harvest and the best we can do is to keep in steps with Him. We must not go ahead of Him or trail behind Him.
GALATIANS 5:25: ” 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.”;
COLOSSIANS 2:6-7: ” 6 As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: 7 Rooted and built up in him, and established in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.”
It is possible to live in the Spirit and not walk in the Spirit. We can receive Christ and not walk in Him. We can be God’s children and not become sons. This happens if we accept Jesus as only Saviour and not as Lord. If you are not rooted, you will have problem being built up. God has made Spiritual Gifts and Fruits available for us so that we can become all that He has designed us to be.