FRUITFUL LIVING

WELCOME TO FRUITFUL LIVING – LESSON 1 (listen to audio to get complete teaching)

WHERE WE ARE ALL GOING TO LEARN HOW TO BEAR FRUIT...THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT FOUND IN GALATIANS 6

LOVE JOY PEACE PATIENCE KINDNESS GOODNESS FAITHFULNESS GENTLENESS SELF-CONTROL  

This week we will begin our journey together.  The goal of the trip is genuine freedom – freedom that comes only thru a life filled with the Holy Spirit! Such a life displays the character traits the Bible calls the fruit of the Spirit that I just mentioned.

Some of the material Robbie and I (we are team teaching this class) will be using comes from a study that Beth Moore put together quite a few years ago as well as our own personal study and resources.

So… in order to start this journey and get to a place of fruitfulness, we have to start at the beginning.  We must build a firm foundation.

BUILDING THE FOUNDATION

The first of several ingredients to build our foundation is….

1. KNOWING WHY CHRIST DIED FOR US:  let’s look at what God’s word says:

 Galatians 1:4  ⁴ who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,

1 Pet 3:18  ⁸ For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit.

John 3:16  ¹⁶ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Rom. 5:8     ⁸ But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

4 Major Reasons Christ died for Us:

1.  He died to RESCUE us.  Remember what that was like?  Even now there may be times where you needed a Rescuer?

2.  It was HIS FATHER’S WILL, an act of obedience

3.  RESTORE us to relationship with the Father – like 1 Peter 3:18 says.. to bring us to God

4.  Because He LOVES US – think about it .. the God of the universe is madly in love with YOU!

The second ingredient to building our firm foundation is understanding/

2. KNOWING WE ARE EASY TARGETS & doing something about it – HOW? WHY are we easy targets?

§        We do not know the TRUTH – there are many dusty Bibles on Christian’s shelves.  We must study and know the truth so we can identify the counterfeit – just like the dollar bill.. they study/ memorize every facet of the bill so they clearly see a false / counterfeit bill.  We cannot recognize a lie if we don’t know the truth. Ignorance of God’s word will always make us an easy target for false teaching.

§        Possibly BOREDOM – if you are, you must find a way to fan the flame!  Do you ever feel bored of the Christian life?  If so.. there could be something else at the root – thrill seeker, addicted to excitement?

§        Galatians 1:10 reveals another major characteristic that makes us targets:  ¹⁰ Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ. - APPROVAL SEEKING:  Few things on earth cause as much unhappiness as trying to win the approval and affirmation of people. The Greek word for please here means: to fit, to gratify, to accommodate oneself to, or to be acceptable to. Honestly, some of the worst mistakes I have made and I bet you have made were a result of seeking someone’s approval and acceptance … a desire to fit in.  Can you think of a time when seeking someone’s approval ultimately proved to be a very negative influence in your life?

Interesting that this verse has seeking approval at the beginning and ends with being a servant of Christ as the opposite. The truth is: we become slaves to the person(s) from whom we seek approval. How can we be a servant of Christ if I am a slave to someone else?  I can’t. My attention and allegiance is not fully on the Lord.. it is on others.

Let’s talk for a moment about legitimate needs – especially emotional needs (List/ handout)  What we have to understand is that when these needs are not met growing up, we will find any way possible to get them met – this is oftentimes where approval seeking is born.  If our past does not get addressed, we often stay stuck in the ways we developed to get our needs met and never ‘out grow them’ or realize they really don’t work or…they are not healthy.

The third ingredient to building our firm foundation is:

3.KNOWING WE HAVE CREDITED RIGHTEOUSNESS

Gal. 3:6 “Consider Abraham: He believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness”.

The 2 crucial building blocks for our foundation are faith and grace. Abraham ‘believed’ God, that’s faith.. we ‘believe’ and let us not grow casual or take for granted the salvation we received by faith and grace.

There will be a definition of the Greek word grace on the screen.. as we read this together, jot down the words that specifically speak to your heart – you’ll have an opportunity to share those in your discussion group time tonight.

Greek word grace means:

That which causes joy, pleasure, gratification, favor, acceptance, for a kindness granted or desired, a benefit, thanks, gratitude. A favor done without expectation of return; the absolutely free expression of the loving kindness of God to men finding its only motive in the bounty and benevolence of the Giver; unearned and unmerited favor. Grace stands in direct antithesis to works, the two being mutually exclusive. God’s grace affects man’s sinfulness and not only forgives the repentant sinner, but brings joy and thankfulness to him. It changes the individual to a new creature without destroying his individuality.

The final ingredient to building our foundation is:

4. KNOWING GOD AS OUR ABBA, FATHER

Gal 4:6  Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba,^[a] Father.”

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Have you ever wondered where the doctrinal basis for ‘inviting Jesus into your heart’ came from?  Now you know…  Gal 4:6… we ask and invite the Spirit of God’s son, Jesus Christ, to come into our hearts, live/ reside in us and His Spirit enables us to cry out in intimate, loving relationship to our Abba… we have been adopted into God’s holy family.. entered into the kingdom of light out of the kingdom of darkness.   Now that’s something to get excited about!!!  Let’s thank Him and praise Him!!!

FRUITFUL LIVING –  GROUP WORK

BUILDING THE FOUNDATION

1.    Of the four major reasons Christ died for us, which resonates the most with you personally?

2.    Based upon what we learned tonight, do you consider yourself an easy target for buying into false teachings?  Discuss each together as a group: - don’t know the truth, - boredom, - approval addiction

3.    Discuss the emotional needs list – any surprises?  How have you made attempts in the past to get these needs met?

4.    Share the words you wrote down from the Greek definition of grace.

5.    Are you currently experiencing the kind of relationship with God where you feel free to call him your Abba?  If not, why?  Discuss some ways we might become more relationally close to God in this way.