“A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.” Matthew 7:18-20

We are living in a dark world. We need the lamp of the Word of God to shine light on our circumstances so we can understand how to handle them. The Word of God will pull us through difficult situations. The Word of God created everything that is seen and unseen, and it is living and powerful.

• Hebrews 4:12 New King James Version – For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 

By reading the Word of God we begin to learn about the fruit of the Holy Spirit, which describes the character of God. We cannot produce the fruit of the Spirit from our flesh. It takes the power of the Holy Spirit to develop these characteristics in our lives. The fruit of the Spirit help us to look like and act like our Heavenly Father.

• Galatians 5:22-23 New King James Version – But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

One of the most beneficial fruit of the Spirit is peace. Jesus had peace even in the middle of a storm. Jesus gave us His peace so we too can have peace in these stormy times.

• John 14:27 New King James Version – Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

The fruit of the Holy Spirit is so different from what the world has that if we have the fruit of the Spirit operating in our lives, people will know we are Christians by our behavior. The fruit of the flesh or the worldly person are obvious too.

• Galatians 5:19-21 New King James Version – ¹⁹ Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, ²⁰ idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, ²¹ envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Our perspective of our situation can rob us of our peace. If we have the wrong focus, we will succumb to every disturbance the enemy throws our way. We shouldn’t meditate on our problems, we should keep our minds on the Word of God and His promises. If we keep our focus on the LORD, who is all-powerful, we can stay at perfect peace no matter what comes our way.

• Isaiah 26:3 New King James Version – You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You.

Peace is not the absence of conflict, but it is a state of well-being that comes from God. Peace originates from God and His will for your life. We can have peace right in the middle of conflict. Even when a situation doesn’t look good from the outside, if we know we are in the will of God, we can stay at peace. Peace according to the Bible, means completeness, soundness, welfare, quiet, tranquility, contentment, and friendship with God.

Our duty is to keep our mind on God and trust Him. We can bring physical fatigue and mental fatigue on ourselves because of a lack of peace. When we believe what God has promised, we are at peace. A lack of peace is a sign of unbelief. We can put our faith in God or we can put our faith in worry.

We have to be watchful over our peace. It is our job to choose peace and stay in peace.

• Matthew 26:41 New King James Version – Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

If we want to stay in peace, we will have to fight for it. Jesus gave us His peace, but the enemy is not going let us just have it unchallenged. We must fight in the Spirit using the Word of God as our weapon to protect our peace.

“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

John 16:33 New King James Version

There are approximately 7.8 billion people on the planet. And all 7.8 billion people need salvation through Jesus Christ. There is no way we can reach all those people without help from the Holy Spirit.

• Acts 1:8 New King James Version –  But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Life is full of difficulty–it is hard. But the Bible says the way of the transgressor is hard. When believers go through trials, God is with us, helping us overcome every obstacle. One of the primary tasks of the Holy Spirit is to empower believers to be witnesses for Jesus Christ. As soon as we receive Christ, we receive the gift of God’s Holy Spirit. Through the Holy Spirit we can overcome every obstacle of resistance when it comes to witnessing.

Ask yourself: “If I have the Holy Spirit in me, why am I not witnessing?”

The Gospel is the best news for every human on the planet. When we have good news, we naturally want to share it with someone. We are called to take good news to a “drowning” world. We are all drowning in sin and need to be saved. People are hurting, disillusioned and angry. They have no peace and they need good news. The answer to every problem is JESUS. The Holy Spirit will help us share Jesus with others.

• Matthew 9:37-38 New King James Version – Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”

God needs our availability more than our ability. Wherever we fall short, God can give us wisdom to overcome our weaknesses. Be willing to witness every time you go out. We need to make ourselves available to go out daily and be a witness. We should want what God wants. God wants all men to come to repentance and be saved.

• 2 Peter 3:9 New King James Version – The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

We also need to make sure we share the Gospel with our children. This is not a one-time event. We have to continue to teach them the Word of God and encourage them to have a relationship with Jesus Christ over and over again–the same way we train them to do everything else in life.

Reach out via a phone call or a text. Just let that person know that they were on your mind and that Jesus loves them. Use your cell phone to spread the Gospel, not gossip.

Reach out in your everyday conversations and point that conversation to Christ. Ask them about their relationship with the Lord. Invite them to know Christ–leave them a tract or lead them to the Lord yourself. Invite them to your church. Then pray over the people you interact with in your personal prayer time. Pray that God will order your steps. God wants us to share the Good News of salvation and warn people about the consequences of rejecting the Lord too.

• Ezekiel 33:1-6 New King James Version – 1 Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, speak to the children of your people, and say to them: ‘When I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from their territory and make him their watchman, ³ when he sees the sword coming upon the land, if he blows the trumpet and warns the people, ⁴ then whoever hears the sound of the trumpet and does not take warning, if the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be on his own head. ⁵ He heard the sound of the trumpet, but did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But he who takes warning will save his life. ⁶ But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at the watchman’s hand.’

Pray for wisdom and boldness to reach people for Jesus.

“Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word.”

Acts 4:29 New King James Version

If you had a plant holder with dirt in it, it only takes one seed to make a change. Every act of obedience to the Lord makes a difference. We must have faith to continue to water what we don’t see. If the seed is in the ground, then that seed will grow if you water it. You must give faith time to display what is already done. The seed must develop roots before it brings up roots. The roots are the source of nourishment. A plant that grows fast without roots will not last.

When that plants comes out of the ground, he must deal with something he has never dealt with before. The plant must deal with storms, extreme heat, extreme cold, and pests. During all these challenges the roots are what keeps the plant nourished during adversity.

We must plant spiritual seeds and not worldly seed. Worldly seeds produce worldly roots. We must plant God’s seed first every day. The Word of God is a seed we must read every day to be rooted in Christ. Another way we grow in God is to share the Gospel (the Word of God) with others. We can’t just go to church and come back home. Share what you have learned with others. You must say more than hello and be kind to your neighbors. That is not the kind of witness God wants. God wants us to share the Gospel with our neighbors.

WE NEED THE HOLY SPIRIT’S HELP TO DO THE WILL OF GOD.

• John 16:5-7 New King James Version – The Work of the Holy Spirit – ⁵ “But now I go away to Him who sent Me, and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’ ⁶ But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. ⁷ Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.

We can’t just serve God mentally. We must serve Him in spirit and in truth, doing the will of The Father. Some of the primary functions of the Holy Spirit are to lead us, teach us, remind us of everything Jesus taught, convict us of sin, comfort us and to transform us into the image of Christ. But the primary role of the Holy Spirit is to help us to take on the ways of Jesus. When the Holy Spirit is planted as a seed in our heart, change will come. The question is–Are we nurturing our relationship with the Holy Spirit?

The Word of God can help us stop sinning, display self-control and change our attitude. Imagine a caterpillar becoming a butterfly. The change is so dramatic, if we didn’t know caterpillars turn into butterflies we would never believe it was the same creature. When we plant the Word of God into our hearts and nurture our relationship with God through the Holy Spirit, we will experience metamorphesis as dramatic as that of a caterpillar that crawls on the ground to a beautiful creature with wings that can fly!

The changes that God wants to make in our lives takes time. We must be patient. Transformation doesn’t happen overnight. God wants us to get to a place where we trust Him enough to take a leap of faith, no matter the circumstances. When we obey the Voice of the Holy Spirit we will be on the path to transformation. It’s God’s job to move obstacles out of our path. It is our job to obey Him. We need to take our hands off the wheel and let the Lord drive the direction of our lives.

• Romans 8:14 New King James Version –  For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 

Sometimes the Lord will take us a way that we wouldn’t go. But, the Lord knows exactly what He is doing in our lives. If we trust Him, everything will work out for our good.

• Proverbs 3:5-6 New King James Version – Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; ⁶ In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.

God will not move the obstacle until we get there. The Red Sea did not part for the Hebrews leaving slavery in Egypt UNTIL they reached the Red Sea. Don’t move ahead of God’s timing–TRUST GOD!