Evening come to us from the fifth chapter of Galatians the same words that we have been considering and shall continue to consider together Galatians 5 verses 22 and 23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love joy peace long-suffering kindness goodness faithfulness meekness and self-control, there is no law. Thus far the reading from God's Word. Beloved, our Lord Jesus Christ says, by their fruits ye shall know them. And in the context that he says this in the gospel He's speaking about the wicked and about the good. And he's saying that a man who is wicked, a man who is not born again, a man who is not possessed by God, a man who does not know the power of the Holy Spirit in his life, will show it in the very way he lives. But he's saying at the same time that one who is a child of God, One who knows the indwelling of the Holy Spirit will also show it by the way that he lives, by their fruits. Ye shall know them. And for the Christian, these fruits, beloved, are the product, as we know so well, of the inner working of God's Holy Spirit in us. When He lives in us as He lives in every Christian, He is not just with Christians as He lives in Christians, there are marvelous results in our way of life, in our deportment, in our meeting with others, and in our own inner personal lives as well. We learn that God loves us, and this is the work of the Holy Spirit. We learn that joy alone is possible, and this is the work of the Holy Spirit. We know that we are at peace with God. We read, we learn from the Word of God that by the shed blood of Jesus Christ there is peace with God. And that's the working of the Holy Spirit in our hearts. Because we are born again, we have a new outlook on life. Our life is now characterized, as we learned last Lord's Day evening, by love, joy, and peace. To be sure, It's not always as it ought to be. We found out that that's not a deficiency in the working of the Spirit. It's because we are what we are, having the old men and sin within us. Nonetheless, we found out that there is comfort, because as the Spirit works, there is a desire that we love God more. There is a desire that we know God's love more. And there is that deep and abiding desire that we should know joy and peace as well. To be sure, the results of his inner working are seen in our lives. But there's much more when we consider the working of the Holy Spirit who lives within us. When we possess the indwelling Holy Spirit, his work makes a profound impact, congregation, on our relationship with our neighbor. Do you remember what God's demands were? Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and soul and mind. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Love God above all. We could not do that, we cannot do that, except God, by his Spirit, dwells within us. And when he lives in us, there is a most blessed and comforting relationship, because we know that God is teaching and leading and guiding us. But he also said, love thy neighbor as thyself. Can you love your neighbor as you ought? Can you? Can I? Can we love our neighbors as we ought, as God has demanded it? We find out, sadly, alas, we cannot love our neighbors as we ought. The old man is still there, and yet God's demand still stands. And we who are the children of God are taught in the Word of God that this is one way that we show that we love God and that God lives in us by His Spirit. And then we find that God, by His grace, so works that we learn day by day, in an ever so small portion, to love our neighbor as ourselves. And when we're born again, you see, the Spirit of God immediately begins to work in us. so that this second commandment is beginning to be seen in the way that we live. True, it's a developing thing. We don't always love our neighbors as we ought. We do not love them fully. There is still that old man in us, and this love for our neighbor is a developing thing, much like the fruit that is on the tree in the orchard. That fruit is there in principle, but you go out and you see it. You see first the flower. And then you see finally that the fruit begins to develop. And it's not in its full beauty yet. You can't reach up and take the apple or the pear from the tree and eat it as it's beginning to grow. And yet it's there! And the fruit of the Spirit in relation to our neighbor's beloved is in us by grace, much like that fruit is developing in the orchard. It's already there in principle. because we are born again, to be sure the Holy Spirit has an effect on our lives, on our relationships with others. So tonight, let's listen to what God says about this, because this is a very important part of our Christian lives, a very important part of this whole business of knowing the indwelling working of the Holy Spirit. Listen to God's word as it comes to us through Paul. But the fruit of the Spirit is long-suffering, kindness, goodness. And isn't it true that we all desire to know and to experience the fullness of the Spirit of God? Isn't it true that we all desire to walk in the Spirit? that we desire to know what it is to have our lives guided and directed by God through His Spirit and Word, then listen, the fruit of the Spirit, long-suffering, kindness, goodness. Let's consider this part of the Spirit-filled life, its effect on us as we meet others. Noting three things. First of all, This work of the Spirit is experienced by grace, something we never can forget. Second, this work of the Spirit is expressed in these words that we have before us tonight. Third, it is hindered in us as we grieve the Spirit. At the outset, let's make sure that we know there's only one way that these fruits are going to be seen in our lives. These fruits, long-suffering, kindness, and goodness, are not, I repeat, not ever present in the life of an unregenerate man. His whole way is characterized by himself. His desire his program, his plan, his motive. Oh, of course, he may be patient after a fashion, and it may appear that this man who is not a Christian is a very patient person. And of course he is, after a fashion, as long as it serves his purpose. But in the end, no one's going to run over him. is going to run his life. And do you know what happens? He will avenge. From time to time he shows a certain kind of kindness and a certain kind of goodness, too. But really only if this sure serves his purpose. He's not kind and good in the way we speak of kindness and goodness if it's not going to serve his purpose. If it's going to serve his purpose to be deceitful and underhanded, It is going to serve his purpose to be sharp and hurting. He's going to be that way. Because it all fits in to his unregenerate way. And you know, beloved, it's easy for us, we who are children of God, to imitate the unregenerate man. We have the rots of sin very deeply in us, as we've seen so often. And it's very easy for us to slip into those ruts. We're not perfect. Sin is still there. And there are many times when, by our way of life, we are not showing that we are the children of God. And if left to ourselves, we're only going to walk in the way of sin. We're not going to walk in the way of righteousness. The only way that we're going to see these fruits in our lives is by the grace of God. God must work them by His grace, by His Spirit. And because God works in our hearts and lives by His grace, our lives are going to be different in principle. This has always been the case. Study the history of the Church of Jesus Christ. It gives undebatable evidence of the fact that the Christian was a different person. The Christian was known for his long suffering, for his patience. The Christian was known for not reviling, for not striking back when it was so easy for him to do so. The Christian was known for his patience even as he went all the way to the stake or to the lion's den. for his faith in Jesus Christ. The Christian was known for his kindness. The Christian was known for his zeal, for something for which the world could not understand. What is this that the Christian is so zealous for, the world would say? What a silly kind of goodness this Christian is concerned about. But the world saw it. And the Christian was concerned for goodness as it grew out of God's Word, even if he was reviled. You remember reading about Onesimus, the slave, who ran away and he returned? The worldling looked at Onesimus and said, I can't understand how that man would run or would go back after he was able to get away. But Onesimus understood something. Onesimus understood that because he was a Christian, he was to work to the praise of God, and he returned. The world says that's a strange goodness. But the Christian was known for being very different from the way of the world. And don't think for a moment that the Christian deserved this. You and I don't deserve these gifts of grace either. We don't deserve these evidences of the Holy Spirit, for that's what they are. We don't deserve them. We are just as wicked as everyone else. But it is only by the grace of God, praise God, that we know them. You see, when we possess the Holy Spirit, he does work in us. just reviewing what we said last Lord's Day evening. He applies the wonderful work of the Lord Jesus Christ. He gives a new outlook on life. He lives within us. He teaches us the Word. He gives us a new outlook, a new purpose in life. We have a new way of living because we're born again. And this must grow. And as we grow, And as we learn, this becomes seen in our daily intercourse, in the way that we deport ourselves, in our contacts with our neighbors, in our daily walk in life, it will be seen. As we go to work, it will be seen that we're children of God. As we busily labor at home, ladies, doing the washing and the ironing, the cleaning, the baking, the cooking, and all of the other very tedious chores of home life, it will be seen in your life. And it will be seen in our relationships with our neighbors as we go about our daily tasks. Because we have a new life principle in us. We're alive. We know that abundant life. And it'll be seen at home. husband and wife, the relationship will be beautiful and praising to God. Parents and offspring, the relationship will be beautiful and praising to God as we grow in the Spirit. This is the evidence of the Holy Spirit dwelling within us. But just exactly what is this work of the Holy Spirit to be explained like in our lives as we live one with another? The Holy Spirit, by inspiration, has given Paul three words here, explaining what his work is in our hearts and lives. What he does as he works day by day. The first thing that we've come across is that the Spirit-led man, the Spirit-filled man, is characterized by long-suffering. What does that word mean? Long-suffering, or patience. Well, the word that's used here is this kind of long-suffering. You and I might be able to retaliate. We might be able to get back when our neighbor goes against us and does something that's harmful to us. But we don't. We refrain from getting back at him or at her as he has done something dreadful to us. It's not simply a patient realizing we have to suffer, and so we're going to suffer. We can't do anything else. It's the kind of patient endurance that comes as we face all manner of reproach. Someone goes against us, and we can react, but we don't. Because we know the love of the Lord Jesus Christ within our hearts. It means that we endure. Why? Because we know and are assured of the faithfulness of God. God is faithful. God is going to have his day. He will right the wrongs. And in faith we wait patiently for that day. We're not going to take from God's hand that power. We're not going to act in God's place. We're going to let it be in the hand of God. And he who experiences a life that is led by the Spirit, he who is born again, every Christian has this evidence to some extent or another in his heart and life. Why? Because he's been born again. And being born again, this means that we learn from our Savior. When we see that the Lord Jesus Christ is the only Savior from sin, we see so much more. We learn what He's done, and what a Savior we have, and what a picture of that Savior we have. We find that when Jesus was reviled, He reviled not again. He didn't react, He didn't talk back. We read that for the joy that was set before Him, He endured the cross, despising shame. Oh, He could have reacted He could have called the host of angels from heaven, but he didn't. He bore that shame. He bore that reproach. He endured that cross. And now you see, we see him as he patiently endures the sorrows that were his. We see him as he patiently endures the fickleness of his friends. Oh, how fickle they were. We see him as he is rejected by his own, despised and rejected of men. We see him as he is tortured on the cross, that cruel, cruel instrument of agony. He bore it all. Don't you see what that says to us? Paul, as he writes to the Philippians, says, let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. All too often we want to strike back, don't we? It's the way we are. We all have to admit it. We know that this is what is down deep in our heart. We want to get back. That neighbor has done us wrong. We don't think Wait a minute. But the fruit of the Spirit is long-suffering. What purpose did that striking back serve? Does that striking back teach us to rely more on God in life? Does that striking back teach us to trust more in God's wisdom and in God's way? Does that striking back give us an opportunity to exercise forgiveness? And where's our testimony when we strike back? The fruit of the Spirit, long-suffering. The fruit of the Spirit is kindness, too. And this is closely connected with the first, because, you see, when we're truly long-suffering, kindness will also be present. This kindness is an attitude, beloved, that penetrates our whole nature. The Christian is known for his kindness, not just that hollow courtesy and false politeness that characterizes the worldling, not that kind of thing. Anybody can be courteous and polite in the way of the world, not bad. It's the refinement of Jesus Christ. It's the refinement that we know as the Spirit of God works in our life and polishes us, as it were, with that rough sandpaper of experience. Maybe the most outstanding incident in the life of Jesus Christ that illustrates this kindness is that time when Jesus makes some comments to Simon the Pharisee. Remember the woman that came, the sinner that came and bathed his feet and dried his feet with her hair? The Pharisee was taken aback. How is it that that sinful woman can get anywhere near But Jesus was kind, forgiving. The very sins that that woman possessed were the kind of sins that would send Him to the cross. He was characterized by kindness and forgiveness. This kindness is to characterize our whole walk, you see, beloved. as we walk with the Spirit. He who knows being born again by the grace of God gradually learns, as God teaches him, gentleness, humility. Why? Because he learns all the more of his unworthiness. That's why. You know, when we don't think that there's anything wrong with us, When we begin to think that we aren't sinners, then we get problems. The Word of God teaches that we aren't sinners. We must always remember that. Sinners saved by grace, but sinners nonetheless. And if we forget that, we're not going to learn humility. We're going to learn pride. We're not going to learn kindness and gentleness. We're going to learn the way of wickedness and sin. In so many ways, as the Lord works in our lives, this kindness does away with the character of the old man. Kindness replaces irritability, something that we all possess. Kindness, by the grace of God, replaces that arrogance. that so much is within our hearts and minds. That kindness replaces that haughtiness that so often characterizes our way and our walk. It replaces sulkiness and harshness. Kindness. The fruit of the Spirit is kindness. There's more. The fruit of the Spirit is goodness. The Spirit-led man loves goodness. He loves the goodness. For the goodness he is zealous. We're not talking now about the goodness that the world speaks of. We're talking about the goodness that grows out of the revelation in the Word of God. Because the Spirit-led man loves goodness, because he loves righteousness and is zealous for it, there are times when he has to correct, when he has to rebuke, when he even has to chasten in his love for the Lord. Here's a good biblical example of this. Do you remember in the 23rd chapter of Matthew how we read about Jesus? You see, speaking there, telling his hearers to do as the Pharisees say, but not as they do. And then he goes on to speak woe of these Pharisees. Why? That's goodness. Because he knows that they are going contrary to God's way. There are times, beloved, when we must, in this goodness, speak in the same way. Goodness must always accompany kindness, else we're going to get a faulty understanding of what kindness really is. You know, it's possible to come to the point in our lives where we think that to really be a Christian and really be kind is to never speak a word of warning at all. and to always label this as kindness. Oh, he's such a kind man. He never says anything that we might think is hard. That's not kindness. Sadly, parents do this sometimes, you know. They want to be good to their children, and so they do everything that the children say. They want to be good to their children, and they never, never correct them. In the long run, this is not kindness, this is not goodness. This is harmful. There are times when you and I in our lives must also be very clear that we work out of the principle of goodness. We love the goodness of God as it's here. And as we live in that goodness, Our lives must also be characterized by kindness. But as we meet our neighbors, beloved, are we characterized as those who love the good and the right? Perhaps this is somewhat of a jarring picture. You say, if I had trouble last week seeing love, joy, and peace in my life, And now I have even more trouble. I don't see that long suffering as it ought to be there. I don't see that goodness and that kindness. Remember, beloved, in the Lord Jesus Christ, as Christians, we possess this fruit in principle. Remember, it must grow. And sometimes this fruit is hindered in its growth, isn't it? Cleverly the evil one works to fill our minds with seeking after other things and desiring things that are going to get our minds off of what God has said is Word. Other things are going to be there. We're going to desire that more experience of neopentecostalism, for instance. We're going to desire that emotional experience, and then we're going to say, ah, now we're spirit-filled. No, wait a minute. We better be careful. As Christians, the Holy Spirit lives within. The fruit is there in principle. These fruits do not grow as they ought. Well, in the fourth chapter of Ephesians that we read this evening, Paul has something to say about this. You'll notice that in the beginning of the chapter he's talking about long-suffering. At the end of the chapter he's talking about kindness, forgiveness, and the like. Briefly, what is this chapter telling us? Why did we read it? Well, a rundown of the chapter simply is this. We are to live and to walk as the children of God. We are to walk in God's way. We are to see as we live our oneness, our unity before the Lord, that unity of the Spirit. We are to understand why office-bearers have been given. And so we read in verses 11 and following the reason for this. So that you and I in the Lord Jesus Christ are going to be built up in the faith. So that we're going to learn God's will, so that we're going to know what God demands of us. And the Holy Spirit is going to work through that as it's proclaimed, so that you and I will grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. He goes on to say, don't live as the children of the world, alienated from the life of God in their ignorance, in their hardness of heart. Don't live like that. That does not please the Lord. In living as God's children, he goes on to say, Do not grieve the Holy Spirit who dwells within. Don't grieve Him. He's grieved when we're not truthful. He's grieved when we have the wrong kind of anger. He's grieved when we steal. He's grieved when there's corrupt speech proceeding out of our mouths. He's grieved. You know, beloved, This is exactly why sometimes we do not experience in our lives what we feel and know we must experience. And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God in whom ye were sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and railing be put away from you with all malice. and be kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving each other even as God also in Christ forgave you. What's he saying to us here tonight? Well, he's telling us there's a way in which we are to live as God's children. It's the way that's outlined in the law of God. It's the way that God has outlined for us. It's the way that is exposed in the Word of God as we read God's Holy Word. And when we depart from it, by slipping into the ruts of the old man, the Holy Spirit is grieved. And this grieving may become silence for a period of time. Because of sin, it may seem like there is no evidence of the Holy Spirit working in us at all. Not at all. Therefore, if we're born again, and if we truly desire us of experiencing the Holy Spirit's fullness in our lives, we're going to look at our lives our relationship with our neighbors in the light of God's holy word. Ah, but you say, I don't see long-suffering in my life, and I don't see kindness and goodness in my life as I ought. In fact, I lack them. They're not there. We look at ourselves and we say, Alas, how long-suffering am I? I'm not very patient. I'm not very long-suffering. I want to retaliate. How kind am I? Being a kind one to another, those words here in the last verse of Ephesians 4 got me to the very quick. Am I known for my goodness, for my standing for righteousness in the way of God? Woe is me! Where is the evidence of the Holy Spirit? Yet is our experience any different than the saints of God of any other age. Paul knew the working of the Holy Spirit by grace. He knew it. He preached, he proclaimed, he lived. He walked before the Lord. And yet, Paul was one who would say but the things that I should, I don't, The things that I should not, those I do, woe is me." Isn't that your experience? Perhaps that's your awareness. And you know, congregation, if you're aware of that, if we're aware of the fact that these things are not as they ought to be in our lives, and if it is that this eats away and causes grief within, It's there because the Holy Spirit is there. And we're concerned because we're not glorifying God as we ought. We're concerned because the fruit should be there and we don't see it. Because we're alive. We're a tree bearing fruit and sometimes we're terribly impatient in that. How are we going to experience this fruit? How are we going to experience this fruit in our relationships with others? How is it that we're going to grow in this long suffering? How is it that we're going to grow in this kindness and in this goodness? Well, let me tell you, first of all, we are never going to grow in these fruits of the Spirit by seeking some kind of exciting experience. That's what the Corinthians said. Read what Paul has to write to the Corinthians. They had that exciting experience, and they were proud! Were they long-suffering with others? No! There was constant bickering and fighting in that church! Were they kind and good? No, they held their heads high and said, you people that don't have it, oh, look at you! We have the gift of the Spirit! They sought some exciting experience. They had very poor relations with others. How are we going to know the fruit of the Spirit? Follow God's way, congregation. Use the Word of God. This is an old refrain as we're talking about the fruit of the Spirit, isn't it? But you know, it always has to come back to this. Use the Word of God! Read it! Study it! Learn what it says. Hear it preached. Faithfully, diligently, carefully, prayerfully listen to the word as it's proclaimed by those whom God has given that task. Hear what God has done. Hear what God has done for our soul. Be gripped of that by grace. Hear what God demands, what He requires. Pray by grace that that be applied to our lives. Hear the word. Pray. Confess our coldness. Confess the fact that we do grieve the Spirit of God. Let's not be too proud to admit it. Trust God to strengthen us, beloved. Trust God to strengthen us by His grace, causing that fruit to grow so that our whole lives are more and more to His praise. Amen.