The Fruit Of The Spirit
Part 6 - Goodness
Galatians 5:22-23: “The Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!”
We Will Be Known By Our Fruit (John 15:1-16):
Matthew 7:16-20 “By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit…by their fruit you will recognize them.”
Fruit #6: Goodness
Greek Lexicon “Goodness”:
Uprightness Of Heart & Life, Active Goodness, Usefulness.
Goodness is “uprightness of heart & life”. It is when God takes all the places that have been knocked down and He sets them back up again. He takes the bad places and makes them good. He takes the knocked down places and makes them upright again. We all have “knocked down” places in our lives.
What Does God Make Right In My Life?
2 Corinthians 5:21 “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
You are already good! Salvation is not a reward for the good things you’ve done. It is 100% by His Grace. So there’s a part of goodness that you can’t earn. You already have it because Jesus paid for it with His blood:
Ephesians 2:8-9 (NLT) “God saved you by His grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.”
But why do we have so many areas of our lives that are still not good? Because even though your sins are paid for and you are perfectly clean and good before God, growing goodness in your life on earth is a process. Salvation takes a moment, but transformation is a process. We develop the Fruit of the Spirit of goodness here in this life, which determines my quality of life and usefulness on earth.
God Has More For Me
Ephesians 2:8-10 (TPT) “For it was only through this wonderful grace that we believed in him. Nothing we did could ever earn this salvation, for it was the gracious gift from God that brought us to Christ! So no one will ever be able to boast, for salvation is never a reward for good works or human striving. We have become his poetry, a re-created people that will fulfill the destiny he has given each of us, for we are joined to Jesus, the Anointed One.
Even before we were born, God planned in advance our destiny and the good works we would do to fulfill it!
There’s an instantaneous righteousness. But then once you’re saved and you’re secure for eternity as a believer, God takes you on a process of what you can become. This is the fruit of goodness.
2 Corinthians 5:21 God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us so that we might become righteous:
Righteousness: The state of a person as they ought to be; integrity, virtue, purity of life. Living your full potential.
That’s why as a church, we have a clear VISION With 4 Parts:
1. We
2. We
3. We
4. We
That’s our VISION: There’s this moment where you experience Christ. And in that second, you’re perfectly good in God’s sight, but He’s not done yet. You then embrace people. You grow goodness progressively happen in your life the more you experience God so that you are equipped & empowered - and equip & empower others - and then do something amazing with a group of people that makes a difference. The goal of Christianity is to become good:
o Philippians 2:12-13 “Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.”
Growing Goodness:
1) Goodness Grows Through
Goodness happens in the context of Relationships. That’s why the Bible says that as a mirror reflects what you look like, your relationships show what you are really like Proverbs 27:19 “A mirror reflects a man’s face, but what he is really like is shown by the kind of friends he chooses.”
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” Also Judges 18:27-28.
I Corinthians 15:33 “Bad company corrupts good character.”
Three Trusted Relationships:
1. Relationship with a
2. Relationship with a
3. Relationship with a
2) Goodness Grows Through Honesty
God is attracted to Honesty , not perfection. Goodness grows through honesty. God is very attracted to people who say: “I NEED HELP!” Be honest before God:
Psalm 51:1-4 “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil…”
Proverbs 28:13 “Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.”
1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
God is NOT expecting your perfection. He can make you good, but you have to be honest. And if confess your sins, God is faithful and just and will forgive you your sins and purify you from unrighteousness.
Be Honest With:
1.
2.
3.
We go to God for Forgiveness. We go to God’s people for Healing.
3) Goodness Grows Through
Ezekiel 36:26-27 “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.” The Holy Spirit’s role is to teach you goodness from the inside out.
There is a prayer for 4 things that we can pray daily to help us here Psalm 139:23-24 “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” Search me, know me, test me, lead me. The fruit of goodness comes as you invite the Holy Spirit into your life in a deeper way.
The Holy Spirit Transforms Us:
2 Corinthians 3:17-18 “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory…”
The Holy Spirit Empowers Us:
Ephesians 5:18 “Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.”
John 7:37-39 “…Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” 39 By this he meant the Spirit…”
The Holy Spirit grows Goodness in us…
- All scripture is from the New International Version unless noted otherwise. *