Holy Spirit - FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT
FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT
Today’s message came straight from Galatians 5, where the Apostle Paul writes like a spiritual father who loves his people enough to correct them, but is also frustrated enough that you can feel the weight of his words through every verse.
Paul planted those churches in Galatia, discipled those believers in Galatia, and taught them the gospel personally. These weren’t people who grew up in law-keeping tradition. They were Gentile Christians who met Jesus through Paul saying grace is enough, Jesus is enough, the Spirit brings freedom, and righteousness is received, not earned.
Paul didn’t write this letter because he heard they were weak. He wrote this letter because he heard they wandered. After investing in them, teaching them, baptizing some of them, and walking them through what freedom in Christ really meant… somebody else slid in later trying to remix the gospel.
Judaizers the loud religious influencers of that time, were stepping in saying, 'Jesus is good, but you also need the law of Moses to really belong to God.’
It was Jesus plus rules. Grace plus a checklist. Salvation plus control. Freedom plus restriction.
And Paul is like, 'Nope. We’re addressing this again.’
His affection is deep, so his frustration is deep.
He is shaking his head like all of us have done in our own homes a time or two. Like when you told your spouse to wash that cup yesterday, woke up today, and it’s still there. Or the weekend instruction you gave your kids to clean their room and now it’s Saturday again, and nothing moved. That ‘how many times do I need to repeat this’ frustration? That is Paul in this letter.
Paul loves them, but Paul refuses to let them drift farther holding onto a gospel that looks spiritual but collapses when tested.
Then we added our own visual lesson on the table today, a table full of Louis Vuitton bags, all placed silently and carefully before the teaching began. One minute of silence passed as the room admired them without context. Some looked real at a glance. Some good enough to almost fool you. And then the question hit
Can you spot the real one?
See, cheap imitation rips under pressure, wears out faster, and is easily replaced. And in that silence, before anything was preached, the lesson was already unfolding. Just like a counterfeit joy, counterfeit peace, or counterfeit self-control can look convincing publicly, but privately you’re still circling the same mess, same habits, same gossip, same addiction, same frustration.
Counterfiet bags don’t come with the store experience. They don’t come with tending. They don’t come with welcome. You get a transaction, not covenant. You get appearance, not craftsmanship.
And spiritually, the enemy plays the same game.
The enemy offers counterfeit joy, especially in money. It comes, then goes. You’re high for a minute, drained for a year. Kindness that you only reach for when others are kind to you first. Self-control that only shows up when the lights are on, but back home you’re unloading nothing and stewarding nothing.
But the difference shows up when you're surrounded by authenticness.
Jesus said the bold statement that everything hinges on
I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Not some. Not most. Not the spiritually gifted ones. Jesus said No one else goes to the Father except through me.
Jesus didn’t mask it. Jesus didn’t partner it. Jesus fulfilled it.
Which means Paul is not defending his own kingdom in this letter. He’s defending Christ’s kingdom. Christ’s freedom. Christ’s covenant. Christ’s Spirit. Christ’s harvest.
And then Paul gives today’s believer the truth that hit the room like a spiritual weight check
You can fake a gift, but you cannot fake fruit.
Fruit tells the truth.
Fruit reveals roots.
Fruit stands under pressure because it came from abiding in Jesus, not performing for people.
And today at The Hill, Paul’s letter became our lesson. Not legalism. Not lawlessness. But Spirit-led living. A real walk, not a fake costume. Fruit that points back to Jesus. Fruit that strengthens believers around you. Fruit that builds His kingdom, not yours.
So the question we left the room with today was this
If it always points back to you… it builds your kingdom, not His.
Because fruit grown from the Spirit always points to Jesus and builds Jesus’ kingdom.
And the enemy’s counterfeit always points to self and builds self’s kingdom.
The heart of today’s message was freedom. Not fake freedom, real freedom. The kind produced through Jesus, stewarded through the Spirit, lived out in public and private, and never carried in shame.
This is the fruit Paul wants for every disciple today. Not something you wear for a moment, something that grows from who you belong to.