Episode #366 What the Holy Spirit Is Already Doing in You – Real Peace, Secure Faith

Hey, friend. Are you trying to willpower yourself into spiritual maturity? If you are, there's no judgment here. I have been there and I'm excited to talk with you about this because I have learned a lighter way.

Today we're talking about how real spiritual growth happens. And the good news is that it is not purely up to you. I used to think it was up to me to transform myself, to make myself more into Christ's image. I thought it was now my job to prove to God how devoted I was and how grateful I was. And that it was my job to try and change myself into being more like who he created me to be. That was false. That was fake news.

We get to receive salvation and that begins relationship with God. That establishes right relationship because of Christ. And then we don't have to take everything on for ourselves. Instead, we get to walk step by step as God does his transforming work in us.

Today I'm gonna read for us a passage from Galatians 5:22-23. And it's describing the fruit of the Spirit. But before we get there, I used to misunderstand the fruit of the Spirit. I heard this list of the qualities of what God's Spirit produces in us as a list of requirements that I was supposed to have the appearance of in and of myself. I would think about it as if I was trying to duct tape fruit to my exterior. I wrongly thought, “I'm supposed to show that I'm a Christian by the love or the patience or the kindness or the faithfulness that I have. How can I have more of this? Because I don't have enough.”

I thought it was up to me to produce this fruit and I would be worried about what would happen if I was found out to not have the genuine thing. I felt like I had to fake it because I wasn't sure I could actually have the real Holy Spirit empowerment that the Bible talked about. But the good news is I could and you can because abiding (living with God, living connected to him) grows in us what effort in and of itself cannot.

Formation is quieter than performance.

And the Holy Spirit's role is not to make you impressive. It's to make you like Christ, and that is something that he is able to accomplish in you. And yes, there is partnership with him. God will accomplish his transformation in you. He will renew and transform your heart and your mind and your life. And you get to yield to him. You get to stay connected to him, and then as you do, his fruit will be produced in you as a byproduct.

If you think about healthy plants, out in nature or maybe in your backyard. I do not have a green thumb, but if you think about a healthy plant as it grows, it doesn't have to focus really hard to make fruit blossom. It simply stays connected to the source. It receives the nutrients that it needs, and the fruit grows as a natural byproduct.

So our passage today, Galatians 5:22 and 23 says:

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law."

Real spiritual growth actually happens when we say “yes” to the Holy Spirit. We say “yes” to walking in, and responding to his instruction in obedience.

His formation is often very quiet. And so as you're listening or watching this episode right now, the fact that you are here tells me that you want to stay connected to God as your source. It tells me you want to grow in relationship with him. You want his formation in you.

And so today, the approach we're taking into this conversation is to ask God to show some of the fruit that's already been quietly forming in you. Talk with God about this topic in other ways, in other aspects, if there's questions or concerns or ideas that are sparking for you right now. But the invitation, the question I wanna leave you with is to ask God what he's already been doing. That he would clue you in a little bit on the work his Spirit has already been carrying out in you. Maybe God is even gonna draw your attention to a circumstance you're navigating right now in this season, in this day, and how he wants to use it to help form his Spirit's fruit in you. Enter that conversation with God and follow it wherever he leads.

So here's our question:

Holy Spirit, what fruit are you quietly forming in me?

Have a good talk. 

And if you've been encouraged by this content, please share it with a friend and help them grow in their conversational relationship with God too!

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