Sunday, February 23, 2014

BIBLE STUDY INTRODUCTION PART 1 (2/18/14)

Bible Study "The Fruit of the Spirit"
[By Glenn Pease]
Date (2/18 /14) Introduction
Part 1


In our last study the Fruit of the Spirit was considered as a daily petition to pray because you are praying God's Word, and you are praying in the center of His will.  Specific biblical prayer petitions are definitely more powerful than general requests, such as "Lord, help me to be a better Christian."  Another great advantage of praying the fruit of the Holy Spirit is the fact that God uses such character words to immediately convict and correct His children. The important thing is that you bring your personal petitions to a greater focus on personal holiness as opposed to only praying for temporal needs.  We studied that in our last study!  God not only answers, but He cleanses and corrects as you briefly pause to consider each characteristic. List below are overview of each eight spiritual fruit, and a prayer.

These are prayers in the Fruit of the Spirit that can be prayed as led.

Love - Lord, we thank You for loving us so much that You sent Your only begotten to die for us. Show us where we are failing to love You with all our hearts, souls, minds and strength? Help us to pray in love for others.

Joy - Lord, we believe You to fill us with a supernatural joy that is unspeakable and full of glory. (1 Peter 1:8).  Show us how we fail to rejoice and give praise at all times (Philippians 4:4).

Peace - Lord, we trust You to fill us with Your perfect peace that passes all understanding and guards our hearts and minds (Philippians 4:6-8). Show us how we are choosing to worry and fret instead of trusting You.

Longsuffering – Lord, we believe You to fill us with the powerful ability to wait on You calmly endure hardships.  In what way are we impatient or complaining? Show us.

Gentleness – Lord, we trust You to fill us with kind and gracious attitude toward others.  Show us how we have been harsh or unkind to others.

Goodness – Lord, we believe You to fill us with a generous attitude that is always looking to help others.  Please show us how we've been selfish and oblivious to the needs of others.

Faith – Lord, we trust You to fill us with powerful mountain moving faith. Fill us with steadfastness.  Lord, show us how we have doubted You.

Meekness – Lord, please fill us with genuine humility, brokenness and a repentant, obedient spirit.  Show us how we have been proud, arrogant or rebellious.

Temperance – Lord, please fill me with self-control and discipline.  Please show us how we have been undisciplined, careless, or indulgent in any area of our life.  AMEN.

In this study we will discover that God desire us to walk in the Fruit of the Spirit, so we can experience His conviction and correction through His Holy Spirit.   

 

How to Daily Pray the Fruit of the Spirit:

As you pray through each spiritual fruit, you will discover this process becomes an opportunity for God to search and cleanse your life.

 
God will answer these prayers because you are praying His Word and you are praying in the absolute center of His will!
Another great advantage of praying the fruit of the Holy Spirit is the fact that God uses such character words to immediately convict and correct His children.
Pray through each fruit, then pause and ask God to show you how you are not living up to that character word.
If you ask God to search you at the point of each fruit, you will hear His voice and God will perform a deep cleansing work in your life!
This type of prayer is the very heart of pursuing God's holiness (Hebrews 12:14).
You are not required to pray all nine fruits each day.  Though it is certainly possible, you may want to focus on only one or two fruit each day.
 
 
SPIRITUAL FRUIT:
 
The "fruit of the Spirit" is a phrase that originates in
 
Galatians 5:22-23 "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, (23) gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law."
 
But the idea of spiritual fruit flows throughout the New Testament! Take a look…………..
 
 
Matthew 3:8-10  Therefore produce fruit consistent with repentance. (9) And don't presume to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I tell you that God is able to raise up children for Abraham
from these stones! (10) Even now the ax is ready to strike the root of the trees! Therefore every tree that doesn't produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
 
Matthew 7:15-20  "Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravaging wolves. (16) You'll recognize them by their fruit. Are grapes gathered from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? (17) In the same way, every good tree produces good fruit, but a bad tree produces bad fruit. (18) A good tree can't produce bad fruit; neither can a bad tree produce good fruit. (19) Every tree that doesn't produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. (20) So you'll recognize them by their fruit.
 
Matthew 13:23 But the one sown on the good ground--this is one who hears and understands the word, who does bear fruit and yields: some 100, some 60, some 30 times what was sown."
 
John 15:1-8  "I am the true vine, and My Father is the vineyard keeper. (2) Every branch in Me that does not produce fruit He removes, and He prunes every branch that produces fruit so that it will produce more fruit. (3) You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. (4) Remain in Me, and I in you. Just as a branch is unable to produce fruit by itself unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in Me. (5) "I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in Me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without Me. (6) If anyone does not remain in Me, he is thrown aside like a branch
and he withers. They gather them, throw them into the fire, and they are burned. (7) If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you want and it will be done for you. (8) My Father is glorified by this: that you produce much fruit and prove to be My disciples.
 
John 15:16  You did not choose Me, but I chose you. I appointed you that you should go out and produce fruit and that your fruit should remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in My name, He will give you.
 
Romans 7:4  "Therefore, my brothers, you also were put to death in relation to the law through the crucified body of the Messiah, so that you may belong to another--to Him who was raised from the dead--that we may bear fruit for God."
 
Ephesian 5:8-11 "For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light-- (9) for the fruit of the light results in all goodness, righteousness, and truth-- (10) discerning what is pleasing to the Lord. (11) Don't participate in the fruitless works of darkness, but instead, expose them."
 
Philippians 1:9-11 (9) And I pray this: that your love will keep on growing in knowledge and every kind of discernment, (10) so that you can determine what really matters and can be pure and blameless in the day of
Christ, (11) filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
 
Colossians 1:9-10 "For this reason also, since the day we heard this, we haven't stopped praying for you. We are asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, (10) so that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every good work and growing in the knowledge of God."
 
Hebrews 12:11-13 "No discipline seems enjoyable at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it yields the fruit of peace and righteousness to those who have been trained by it. (12) Therefore strengthen your tired hands and weakened knees, (13) and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but healed instead."
 
James 3:17-18  "But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peace-loving, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, without favoritism and hypocrisy. (18) And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace."

Because of the length of the introduction, I will be posting the entire introduction on my blog for reading. 

http://chosenforhisglory-chosendiasdesk.blogspot.com/

I really desire to study the "Fruit of the Spirit" but, because of the length of the chapter, I will have to on my blog or my reading club. I hope you can follow alone with me.  Part 2 is coming soon.
 

 

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