More…Where our hunger meets His Promises

By Jimmy Pruitt 

Ephesians 5:18 NLT 

– Week 7 – 

 “Spiritual Fruit or Spiritual Gifts”

Whenever a fisherman throws a hook in the water he expects something to happen, and every time we show up to meet God as the body and bride of Jesus Christ, it could be the day when revival breaks out – where spiritual awakening happens, either in our own hearts and lives or in those around us, throughout our community. That’s what we pray for. We pray for spiritual rain. We put our hook in the water and expect God to show up on our behalf.

So, we’re excited about Jesus – about this Life that we have that lives in us, through us, and even upon us. As we continue in our series called More, we understand that, as we grow, God gets more of us. When we were born again, we received all God had for us – everything we needed at the start. However, there is this “knowing” that happens through the years – called sanctification. When we walk through that process, we’re growing in the knowledge of who he is. 

We get to know him for the rest of our lives – so we catch new facets and nuances of his character, his personality and who he is – and we get to plumb the depths of what is available for us as sons and daughters of a Good Father – and getting to know the person, the work, and the power of the Holy Spirit is very much a part of this – where we get to know him more. 

We have him, but now we’re getting to know him – we’re getting to know more of him – and he’s getting more of us. As the Holy Spirit comes to take up residence in us, and not just in us – he also lives his life through us – and he also comes upon us, according to Scripture throughout the Book of Acts (Chapters 2, 10, 13, 15 17…), talking about being whelmed over by the Holy Spirit. 

Pastor Jimmy said prophetically last week that “people are going to be strangely drawn to you.” We walk by faith and not by sight, but every once in a while, he said, something breaks through – you’re going to go out where you live, work, and play and people are going to be strangely drawn to you – they’re going to want to tell you their story – tell you about their life – their “stuff”, and you will say “What is different?” – and it will be the Presence of God on your life – that you’re now submitting yourself to as you learn and grow to a deeper revelation of the Holy Spirit and how he works in us. His Person, Power, and Presence in us, through us, and upon us to draw people – like moths to a flame. That has been happening to some of us lately. Something happens when we begin to yield and surrender to the Presence, the Person, and the Power of the Holy Spirit, as we get to know him better. 

As we say it, believe it, and thank God for it – we will experience the Holy Spirit in our daily lives. Never underestimate the value of a beautiful exchange of Life with a total stranger out in some random place, because you never know what God is doing in and through that – on you to them, and that is you leaking out. If you fill two buckets up and you just start walking – you can’t help but spill out everywhere you go. And that is what the ministry and the Life of the Holy Spirit does in us – he enables us to go out into where we live, work, and play – and literally “leak out” Life. 

We can’t help it – and the more bumps along the way, the more Life we leak out. The more things that happen to jostle us – bump us – move us – cause us to abruptly stop – or abruptly start – whatever is happening in our life actually creates more movement, and more Life spills out onto everyone that is around us. That’s what it means to walk enabled and empowered by the Holy Spirit – and when that starts to happen and we begin to lean into it – begin to recognize it – we have our “radar” on – it happens more and more and more.

 At that point, Life begins to happen, and that’s exciting. When God breaks through the veil of this world and suddenly shows up in reality – that’s the ministry and the Life of the Holy Spirit, as we begin to get to know him in fresh and new ways so that we walk with him.

“The fruit of the Holy Spirit puts God’s character on display. The gifts of the Spirit put God’s Power on display. As his representatives on earth, we need to develop both.” (from The Purple Book, page 44)

The Holy Spirit enables and empowers you to live out of the overflow of his Person, Presence, and Power. 

1 Corinthians 13:1-3 NASB 

“If I speak with the tongues of mankind and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and know all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give away all my possessions to charity, and if I surrender my body so that I may glory, but do not have love, it does me no good.” 

We must lay the groundwork before we talk about gifts and fruit, or else none of it works – none of this will be a reality in our lives. If we don’t have Love, we’re just making noise – we’re nothing – it profits us nothing. 

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 NASB 

“Love is patient, love is kind, it is not jealous; love does not brag, it is not arrogant. It does not act disgracefully, it does not seek its own benefit; it is not provoked, does not keep an account of a wrong suffered, it does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; it keeps every confidence, it believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails…” 

Galatians 5:18-23 ESV 

“But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. [22] But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience [long suffering – the ability to suffer long with someone], kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”

 Romans 12:3-10 ESV

“For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment [with clarity], each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. [4] For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, [5] so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. [6] Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; [7] if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; [8] the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness. [9] Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. [10] Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.” 

The body is meant to be together – to be integrated – to be whole. The Gifts are practical – they produce something. They are spiritual gifts, not natural ones: “The fruit of the Holy Spirit puts God’s character on display. The gifts of the Spirit put God’s Power on display. As his representatives on earth, we need to develop both.”

“The Holy Spirit enables and empowers you to live out of the overflow of his Person, Presence, and Power.” 

The gifts and the fruit of the Spirit are literally like your right and left hands – they work together – they coordinate together – function together – flow together, so that you can handle, pick up, and produce things. So, if you have one working without the other, it is greatly, greatly diminished. Don’t show people your gifts until you’ve shown them your fruit – the fruit of the Spirit. Talk about spiritual gifts – but before that, talk about spiritual fruit – and before that…

talk about Love.

Prayer 

Dear Lord Jesus, we celebrate You – we honor You – we lean into You. We declare that we are Your sons and daughters, and You are a Good Father. And we take the this time to receive the fullness of Who Your Word says You are. Lord, fill us up – re-fill us – re-charge us. Renew, re-fuel, and re-generate us once again. We posture ourselves to receive Your goodness in our hearts and lives today – even in this moment. Lord, we receive Your fullness – Grace – Mercy – the filling and empowerment of Your Holy Spirit. 

Father, in the name of Your Son, it is our privilege to honor You – to worship You – and, Holy Spirit, be our Teacher – be our Guide – our Director. Give us great Grace as we continue to learn and grow in Who You are. In Jesus’ name.

 Amen

Jimmy Pruitt is a believer and follower of Jesus Christ. As an idealist, his words are filtered through his spirituality with the expectation that he will encourage and inspire people to “Live Up in a Down World.” He is committed to being an authentic person in all he does. Because everyone has been through something, or is currently struggling, Jimmy believes the proper response to life is humility; it is the signature of Jesus bringing forth both pain and glory. He and his way better half, Annette, have been married for30 years. Agreeing their family is amazing, placing “Fun” in dys-Fun-ctional. They have three adult children and seven grandchildren that bless their lives beyond what they could ever dream. He is currently Lead Pastor at Bridge Church Fredericksburg, TX, and has started a new podcast titled: “Living Up in a Down World – Making Faith real for the rest of us.”