THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT: MENSA OTABIL – SUNDAY SERVICE, 10TH JANUARY, 2021

SUNDAY SERVICE BY DR. MENSA OTABIL (GENERAL OVERSEER INTERNATIONAL CENTRAL GOSPEL CHURCH (ICGC) ACCRA, GHANA)

TOPIC: THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT.

DATE: 10TH JANUARY, 2021

TEXT: GALATIANS 5:19-23.

AMEN! Please join as we make our DECLARATION OF FRUITFULNESS in this Year of FRUITFULNESS:

Are you ready to make your DECLARATIONS? Say with me:

The Eternal God is our refuge. He opens rivers in desolate Heights.The Lord makes the wilderness a Pool of water.

The LORD God is my Sun and Shield; The LORD gives Grace and Glory.

Therefore, I delight myself in Him. Those who are Planted in the House of the LORD
shall be fresh and flourishing.

Though the Earth be shaken; the Name of the Lord is my Strong Tower. By Faith I affirm that: In Christ alone is my Salvation. In Him I live, And move And have my being.

It is written: The Righteous are like trees Planted by the waters; bearing fruits in its Season.

So I boldly declare: As for me, my God has made me EXCEEDINGLY FRUITFUL.

In this Season, my Spirit bears fruits of Righteousness, my Talents make way for me. With my hands, I will Plant, I will Build, I will Harvest – Day by day, Step by step.

In Jesus’ Name – Amen!

Last week I Preached on the Topic: “I WILL BE FRUITFUL” – And I believed you are Fruitful and God is making you Fruitful in every areas of your life – Amen.

DMC NOTES: You can access the Full Text of this Message on this Link:

https://discoverymediacrew.com/I-Will-Be-Fruitful-Pastor-Mensa-Otabil

I trust that the Lord will cause you to Produce Results in every aspects of your life – Amen; that you will Plant, you will Build and you will Harvest to the Glory of God – Amen!

So today, I’m speaking on one of the most important areas where we need to be Fruitful.

Fruitfulness in this one area will give you a Testimony to the world, that you are truly a child of the Most High God.

So I’m speaking today on: “THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT.”

If you Pay attention to the DECLARATION we made (above) – Getting to the conclusion, it says: “My Spirit bears FRUITS of Righteousness,”

And that is what we are addressing today: “THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT.”

… Many of you have heard the Phrase before, and we are going to explore it!

Galatians 5:19-23 (NKJV) will form the basis of our discussions this morning.

And it reads:

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.

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

23 Gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

‘THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT’ is set out in opposition to the ‘WORKS OF THE FLESH’;

“The Works of the Flesh” are numerous but inconclusive; as you can see in the Passage – “AND SUCH LIKE:”

There are Seventeen (17) WORKS set out within the Passage (Galatians 5:19-22). But not conclusive.

Any of these aforementioned WORKS are Works of the Flesh.

So, if you look at the Passage you will find that the “Works of the Flesh” is set out in PLURAL; while the ‘FRUIT of the Spirit’ is set out in SINGULAR.

So, the FRUIT of the Spirit is not a Plural word, it is a Singular word. And the WORKS of the Flesh is Plural.

Basically, it means that the Fruit of the Spirit is not something that you can choose or pick – It is one (1) Manifestation of the Spirit.

And the WORKS are many and continue to be many in MANIFESTATION.

The Greek word that is used and translated as WORKS mean something that you put energy into; something that you put effort into.

And as most of you might have had the experience: The WORKS of the FLESH require work.

… I know you don’t want to respond to that!

You can also listen to the audio here: Fruit of The Spirit – Pastor Mensa Otabil

Anybody who is committing adultery knows it takes a lot of effort to commit adultery – A lot of Planning, a lot of Skimming, a lot of lying, a lot of hiding.

By the time the act is over you are exhausted and afterward continue to work to hide your Sins.

The same way; fornication, murder and all the WORKS of the Flesh.

But that is not what we are talking about!

Although I can sense your nervousness as you are reading now on the label of DMC. You say Pastor, Please leave it there.

I will come on it one day!

Since we are talking about the FRUIT of the Spirit, I will focus on the Fruit of the Spirit.

The word that is used and describe as FRUIT in the English is from the Greek word “Capus”.

And “Capus” is used not only in relation to the Spirit but it is used to describe all kinds of fruit from a plant, or from a tree – It simply means the RESULT of an Action.

And as I said, note that the word FRUIT is in Singular – FRUIT of the Spirit and not ‘Fruits’ of the Spirit.

… The Fruit of the Spirit.

So, in the context that it is used in this Passage:

1. It means something that is PRODUCED.

So when you say the Fruit of the Spirit, it means something that the Spirit PRODUCES.

A Fruit naturally, comes out of something – Fruits don’t just appear, they appeared on something.

So there is always a relationship between the fruit and the thing that produced it – An orange fruit for example is produced from an orange tree.

So, there is a relationship between the tree and what it is Producing.

So, when you say the Fruit of the Spirit, it is the Spirit making the Production – NOT the flesh but the SPIRIT that is PRODUCING the FRUIT.

2. Secondly, the word FRUIT also means something that is REVEALED.

… A fruit is not hidden, it is seen!

You can also attest to it: Fruits are seen!

You are walking by, you see a mango tree and it is bearing fruit.

It is evident you can see the fruit of an orange tree, even if it is a root bearing fruit – When you uproot it you will see the fruit.

It is something that is REVEALED.

And because the fruit is seen:

3. It can be JUDGED.

You can judge it to determine whether it is a Good Fruit or a Bad Fruit – Fruit that is useful or useless.

So fruit can be JUDGED; It is something that is REVEALED.

Now if you take note of the Passage, Apostle Paul in the Scriptures is saying that those who Produce the Fruit of the Spirit: “Against such there is no Law.”

That simply means there is no Law against such People.

Nothing can be against you when you Produce the Fruit of the Spirit.

No Law, whether it is in the Old Testament or even in the New Testament can come against you when you Produce the Fruit of the Spirit.

So, when we Produce the Fruit of the Spirit, we are stepping out of the Law, from the condemnation coming against us; to create its MANIFESTATION upon our lives – Something that has no argument against it.

So just a couple of questions we need the answer:

WHAT IS THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT?

Basically, the Fruit of the Spirit is a Character of Christ that is Produced in the Believer.

If Christ is truly in us, then this is His CHARACTER; The Fruit of the Spirit is the real Proof that Christ is in US.

So, when we receive Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour; read the Bible, we Pray, we go to Church; we Worship, we Sing, we Dance;

All of these are Good!

But none of them shows that you are a Christian.

What shows you are a Christian is the Fruit of the Spirit.

Not our dancing or Prayer (as Good as they are); not even Speaking in Tongues – The Manifestation that when we are Christians, is the Fruit of the Spirit.

It’s the Character of Christ Produced in the Believer!

When Christ comes to live in us, He imparts His Character in us.

It is similar to what happens in a Piece of metal, nail or pin gets attracted to a block of magnet – If you have conducted that experiment before.

There is an attraction!

The Piece of metal goes to where the Magnet is and it’s attracted by the Magnet.

And when they stay in contact for a very long time the nail or the pin rubbing against a Magnet, it is glued to the Magnet.

After sometimes, the nail itself becomes Magnetic, and then it is also able to magnetize other things.

The Magnet imparts what it has to the nail.

That is what happens when we are connected to Christ; when we stay with Him for a very long time – Over time we acquire His Properties, we acquire His Character, we acquire His Nature.

The Fruit of the Spirit is a Character of Christ manifesting in the Believer.

And it is not only the Character of Christ manifesting in the Believer; the Fruit of the Spirit is a Character of the Believer REVEALED to the world.

The world knows we are Christians by how much of Christ we REVEAL.

Not when Churches are full and it is Good! – I will rather Churches our full than Drinking Pubs, Nightclubs being full.

So, the People are going to Church in their numbers (that is Good) – If People are attending Churches in numbers, that is Good. Churches are full on Sundays, that is Good!

But that is not all there is; something must happen to those who are going to Church.

If they are encountering Christ and the Character of Christ in them manifested must be revealed to the world – People must say that we are a different kind of People!

We are their co-workers, we have their Cousins, we have their brothers, friends, wives and husbands; but that is not all.

They are to see that something in our life is different from the rest of the world – It is a Character of the Believer REVEALED to the world!

So, the question you want to ask yourself in this YEAR of FRUITFULNESS is:

WHAT DOES THE WORLD SEE IN ME WHEN THEY LOOK AT ME?

When I am in the office and I am working and I tell everybody: “I go to Church, I’m a worker, I attend all Church Program: Is that all that they see? Or there is something else they see that shows you are a Christian?

And what they see must be the Character of Christ REVEALED to them – So People can say of a truth, this Person is a Christian.

Not because you brag about it but because you demonstrate with your Character.

So, if you are a Christian Boss and you are seducing People in order to give them a job; whose Character are you really revealing? – The Works of the Flesh or the Fruit of the Spirit?

… Of course that is not the Fruit of the Spirit.

If you are a Christian and you are in a Marriage, and your Marriage is not different from an Unbeliever, what Fruit are you showing? For the Fruit of the Spirit is important.

It is not enough for us to claim the blessings of God, the favour of God, the breakthrough of God, and turn around – Which are all Good!

Oh, you must manifest Christ and the world must see that we are Children of God!

And the Lord Jesus Christ warned us very clearly in Matthew 7, when he talks about Prophets.

Although we attempt to apply it only to Prophets, but it applies to every Believers – Not just Prophets.

He said: Beware of False Prophets!

So Jesus Christ is saying what they Produce shows who they are.

So, if somebody is Prophesying and Preaching and manifesting the WORKS of the Flesh, then it means it is of the FLESH, this not the Spirit.

Because, by their FRUIT you will know the tree that they are of!

If you are driving by and you see a tree that you can’t identify (maybe it is night); you can’t tell what tree – Whether it is an orange or a mango or a pear or a guava tree.

But then you look at the FRUITS and you see mangoes, then you will know that the tree is a Mango tree.

If you look at the Fruit, it is an orange Fruit; I can’t see the tree well but the Fruit shows that it’s an orange tree!

In the same way, Jesus says if you can’t tell whether a Person is of God or not, check the FRUIT.

And the FRUIT He is talking about is THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT.

In Matthew 7:17-20, Jesus says:

“Even so, every Good tree bears Good fruit, but a Bad tree bears Bad fruit. 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.

And Please, don’t just apply this to Prophet, apply this to yourself: “By their fruits they would be known.”

So, the question is: WHO PRODUCES THE FRUIT?

There is a big debate as to whether the ‘SPIRIT’ in this verse is the Spirit of the Believer or the Holy Spirit.

In other words, Who Bears the Fruit, is it the Spirit of the Believer or the Holy Spirit?

So, when we say: “THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT” is it the Holy Spirit or the Spirit of the Believer?

The Lord Jesus answered that question in John 15:5:

“I am the Vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”

Here Jesus is talking about the VINE, the BRANCH and the FRUIT; and normally, when you look at a Tree and its Branches; you see them as one and the same.

But for the Purposes of this, Jesus talks of the differentiation:

The VINE is His stem, and He says: “I am the vine.” The BRANCH is the Believer.*

And the FRUIT therefore, comes from the Branch (from the Believer);

… But Jesus also says: “Without ME you can do Nothing”.

That means the FRUIT is not only commissioned by the Believer, it is also through the Spirit of Christ.

So, answer to the question WHO BEARS THE FRUIT is:

The Spirit of the Believer in UNION with the SPIRIT of CHRIST.

… The BRANCH is joined to the VINE.

And it is because it is joined to the VINE, it Produces FRUIT

… “Without ME you can do Nothing.”

To Produce the Fruit of the Spirit therefore is not an hard work; you know I talked about the WORKS of the Flesh – The effort it takes to SIN.

Once we submit to Christ He is free to manifest in our lives.

Whereas as it takes WORK to Produce the Works of the Flesh; it takes GRACE to Produce the Fruit of the Spirit.

… “Without Me you can do Nothing!”

And all the work He said we should do is – ABIDE IN ME.

… Stay with Me, trust Me, believe in Me.

So, you don’t go through your life squeezing your face and say: “I’m determined, I will never SIN.”

That is just you trying not to sin. Because if you are going to do it by yourself, YOU WILL SIN.

But if you are going to trust Jesus Christ and stay close to Him, then you will find that day by day, He gives you the Strength to bear THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT.

… It’s not of you or your Strength- IT IS OF GOD.

It is not something for us to boast in, it is something for us to thank God for because it is by His Grace that we manifest the Fruit of the Spirit.

The Fruit of the Spirit is Produced together; you don’t Isolate them.

You cannot say: “As for me, I like Joy (because my wife is Joy). I don’t like longsuffering; I’m Impatient, I can’t wait for anything – I want it now.

Well, Longsuffering and Patience are also FRUIT of the Spirit.

You can’t say: “As for me I like Faith and Faithfulness, but I don’t like Gentleness.

Because where I was raised, from where I came from, nobody is Gentle – “If you are Gentle People will take advantage of you.”

… Well, the Fruit of the Spirit is Gentleness.

Gentleness is not a Weakness; Gentleness is Sensitivity to other People.

I have said it before, that when you are given something delicate – Like you are carrying a crate of egg in your hand or you carry a lot of eggs in your hand; you are very GENTLE with the eggs, you walk gently, you are careful when you hold it.

Why are you Gentle?

It is not because the egg is Strong – No! it is because the egg is WEAK and you are STRONG. And you are trying to Protect it with your STRENGTH.

Protectiing something that is WEAK; that is what Gentleness is all about!

Gentleness is using your Strength to Protect what is Weak.

Husbands, you are Strong – Protect your wives.

… I will say it again for the avoidance of doubt: Husbands, you are STRONG, protect your wives.

Somebody says: “If you are GENTLE, the wives will think they are stronger than you”.

The egg never thinks it is STRONGER – It appreciates the Strength that is Protecting it:

So, it never cracks, it never breaks (clapping!!?)

When you are a Leader, you are in a Powerful Position; you will Protect the weak.

That is what Gentleness is all about and it is a FRUIT of the Spirit; and the Fruit of the Spirit of the Believers as well.

The Fruit of the Spirit matures as we mature in Christ. As we grow in Christ the Fruit of the Spirit matures in us.

Like every Fruit, a Fruit can be unripe, and ripe – So there are People who Produce the Fruit of the Spirit but it is UNRIPE Fruit of the Spirit.

And the Bible says: “When you eat an unripe fruit your teeth will be set on edge.”

It is like somebody who loves you, but is insensitive. So he can visit you at 5:00am in the morning.

Why are you here?

“Oh brother, I love you, I was just Praying for you last night and I felt I should come and share Fellowship with you.”

5:00am? – He is in love, but you have to be mature!

So, sometimes, he shows LOVE which sets People’s teeth on edge; sometimes he shows JOY which set People’s teeth on edge.

Like somebody is bereaved; somebody goes there and say – REJOICE, hallelujah! Jesus is LORD.

… That is true, but it is ilImmature Joy.

It is going to set People’s teeth on edge!

So the Fruit of the Spirit must not be Produced just in its RAW, UNRIPE Stage; you have to mature into the Fullness of Christ so that when it is manifested, it can be consumed and it can be a Blessing. (clapping!!!)

My Final Scripture, Exodus 28 33-34; it is describing the garment of the High Priest.

The High Priest had a Garment called the Ephod and this is how it is described:

“And upon its hem you shall make pomegranates of blue, purple, and scarlet, all around its hem, and bells of gold between them all around: a golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, upon the hem of the robe all around”.

… This is the description of the Ephod of the High Priest.

And the High Priest Ephod; it was like a tonic, it is like almost similar to what I’m wearing (flowing Babriga).

And here, it is not like a jacket. This is a Garment that has a Place where you put your head.

Now at the helm of the Garment of the High Priest, there was an embroidery that is applied.

And the Passage says the High Priest Garment will have pomegranates and a bell.

Pomegranate is a FRUIT, a bell is fabricated (a Golden Bell).

And you have it all around.

So all around you have FRUITS and a GOLDEN BELL all around it!

And one (1) of the reasons is so that the BELLS doesn’t jump into each other. The bells ring when the High Priest moves.

… And they don’t have to be making noise and hitting each other!

So, each Bell has a FRUIT, and so all the bells are making a unique sound together and they don’t make a noisy sound that cannot be discerned.

… And that is why they have a FRUIT and a BELL.

The Pomegranate speaks of a Godly Character REVEALED in us.

The BELLS represent God’s GIFTS demonstrated through us.

So for the GIFT that God gives us – Which is the bell; there must be a FRUIT to cushion it.

For every GIFT, there is a FRUIT

If you are “Supremely Gifted” by God but there is no Fruit of the Spirit showing in your life; you Produce something that People do not like.

It is not that you don’t have a GIFT, it is just that you don’t have the FRUIT to insulate it from making an “Indiscernible Sound”.

So, if God gives me GIFTS (whatever the GIFTS are) – Whether it is Speaking in Tongues or Healing or Prophecy or Word of Knowledge or Word of Wisdom; all of this GIFTS will be supported by FRUIT.

You will see in the GIFTS of the Spirit, as set out in 1 Corinthians 12; and the FRUIT of the Spirit, as set out in Galatians 5:21-22; there are Nine (9) GIFTS and Nine (9) GIFT.

One (1) GIFT, one (1) FRUIT – All around!

And this is how the Apostle Paul describes when we have been given to the FRUIT – 1 Corinthians 13:1:

“Though I speak with the tongues of men and of Angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.”

Speaking in Tongues (GIFTS) and Love (FRUIT).

So, Paul is saying: if I have the GIFTS and I have no FRUIT, I become a sounding brass a tinkling cymbal”.

What does that mean?

It means I am making a lot of noise, but I’m not Producing Sound.

So if God has GIFTED you – There are some of you who are Gifted by God. You are Gifted so well by God: You see Visions, you Dream, you Pray for People and things happen; but your characters are Bells around the end of the garment; everywhere you go a lot of noise but nobody really senses Christ.

I mean, if your GIFT has the FRUIT of the Spirit, then People will hear your Sound – not just a noise.

It is “Discernible Sound”, it is music, it is harmony, it is blending, it is a blessing.

Unfortunately, there are many People with GIFTS, no FRUIT.

And when you do that, People actually MOCK your Gift, they diminish your Gift.

… Because there is no FRUIT.

So for every Believers; God has called us not only to be GIFTED, but to be FRUITED.

For every Believers, you must Produce the Fruit of the Spirit – We must Produce: Love, Joy, Peace, Long-suffering, Kindness, Goodness Gentleness, Faithfulness and Self-control.

So, ask yourself: How much of the FRUIT is in my life? How much of my life shows: LOVE? How much of my life shows the Peace of God, Longsuffering, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-control?

This is not a List for Pastors – This is a List for EVERYBODY who has Christ as their LORD and Saviour.

In this “YEAR of FAITHFULNESS”; as we set out to BUILD things, to PLAN things, to do MIGHTY things; let us begin right, with the FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT.

Because, where there is the “Right Fruit”, your mind will bear Fruit, your hand will bear Fruit, your Talent will bear Fruit, and all of that!

And your Talent must match with the Fruit of the Spirit to become the Greatest Testimony for Christ Jesus, in this YEAR of FAITHFULNESS – Amen.

And may the Lord make us a Testimony, make our life a Testimony – Amen!

Wherever we are as Pastors, as Congregation Members, as Business People, as Corporate Leaders, as Politicians, as Teachers, Doctors Nurses – Wherever we function; may God help us to PRODUCE FRUITS that identifies us truly as children of Most High God – Amen!

Let us Pray!

CLOSING PRAYER.

Heavenly Father, we Thank You this morning for Your word to us. And we Thank You for the challenge You Present to us.

And we know Lord, by ourselves we cannot PRODUCE FRUIT because we don’t have what it takes!

But because we are Planted in Christ Jesus; because we are the Branch of the VINE, we have the ability.

So, help us Lord to get rid of the WORKS of the FLESH manifesting in our lives.

That wherever we go, the aroma of Christ would be spread abroad!

That wherever we go People will see us; they will see our FRUIT and they will Glorify our Father Who is in Heaven.

Make your Fruit be manifested in each one of us Lord, and may Your life be seen in our offices, in our homes, in our School, in our Churches.

Wherever we go, let the Character of Christ demonstrate His Presence in our midst.

… In Jesus’ Name we Pray – AMEN!!!

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