Scripture Text: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law." Gal 5:22-23 (KJV)

It was not by accident that the Lord led me to begin this portion of the Manifestations of the Spirit-filled life with Peace. We have, in the last three devotional broadcasts, discovered that peace comes from a heart and life that is in tune with Jesus. You will not experience a spirit-filled life unless you are living in the "peace of the Lord". Not one of the 9 fruits of the spirit will be evident in your life until you have first experienced that peace that comes from a surrendered heart. If you are immoral, impure, indecent, Idolatrous, into sorcery or witchcraft; if you are filled with enmity and strife, filled with jealousy and anger (or have an ill-temper); if you are selfish, or causing dissension in your family or amongst your peers; if you are envious, a drunkard, have a carousing spirit, or have anything to do with the like - you are not experiencing the "spirit-filled"  life. I didn't say, that God did!

How many just said, "Well you can count me out - I can't keep my mouth shut!"

Well that's the point! You can't and I can't , but look at the words to that verse again. Maybe you never saw this before and it will be a RHEMA word for you.

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance:"

Did you see it? Read it again a little slower.

It is the fruit or works of the Spirit that causes these things to manifest in your life and mine - when we are surrendered to the Father's will. Now get this here, you might be the worst "slipper-upper" that's a Missouri word for - "You messed up, and you did it big!"; but even the worst "slipper-upper" can have the workings of God the Holy Spirit or the FRUIT of the Spirit to be manifest in them if they will allow Him to.

Do you hate someone and you just can't forgive them? Tell it to Jesus - then surrender it to Him and lay it at the cross. Now, once you have done this . . . to God, that sin doesn't exist any more. It's covered by the blood! You can't hate that person or harbor bad feelings against them anymore, or your insulting God. Your telling Him that what His Son did on the Cross of Calvary wasn't good enough to save you. Your telling Him that what His Son did on the Cross of Calvary couldn't cover the anger that you're feeling right now. Well, friend, you're just a hypocrite! You didn't let go of anything there at the Cross! You're a liar and God sends Liars to hell!

Now, I know someone's going to take exception to that, but that's Bible. You see, that's walking in the flesh and not in the Spirit, and the Word says that "if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." (ref., Rom 8:9)

So it's important to see here that the fruit of the spirit is not something that comes by breathing a few words in an unknown tongue. I know several who have done that and the next day would never even think of doing it again. They were more set against it than they were before. Can you imagine? God giving them such a blessed experience and they turn around and want to have nothing to do with it the next day?

The Fruit of The Spirit is the works of the Spirit in a life who has surrendered their heart and life to the workings of the Spirit in their lives, and we're going to talk more about them individually tomorrow, but for now let's pray.

Father: Help me to decrease as I peel away the facade of my life and reveal who I truly am. Help me to see how utterly naked and wretched and blind that I am without you and then fill me with your Spirit. O Jesus, make me more than I ever thought I could be for you - by the workings and the Power of God the Holy Spirit. In Jesus' Name I Pray, Amen.