1 - Introduction - Living like a real Christian An introduction | Page 5

with, only you can answer, and that is simply,where do you want your reward? If you want your reward for your good works down here on earth, we’ll give it to you, but if you want your reward up in heaven then your reward here onearth may just simply be in knowing that you have stored up treasure for yourself in heaven. The second aspect of fruit bearing is found in fruit that is born from public good works. This may well sound like a contradiction to the first aspect, but Jesus speaks, in Matthew 5, of letting our light so shine before men that they may see our good works and glorify our Father in heaven. The picture that this conjures up in my mind is a picture not so much of individuals doing good things, but of the church united joining together and working passionately to right the ills of hunger, painand injustice. There are many areas in the world that have been blessed with the “arrival” of the church, where secret individual works of kindness are combined together to make a corporate impact in the realm of our fallen world. Jesus goes on in the passage to speak of the church being salt. Salt was something that was spread across a body of meat to prevent decay, could this not be a great picture for us as a church as we spread ourselves over the world to do just the same. The third aspect to do with fruit bearing is, for this series of sermons, the big one, i.e. the fruit born out of personal good character. Galatians 5 speaks of nine elements of the Fruit of the Spirit. I hope that as we spend this week looking at them you will understand that the power you need to bear this fruit is found in “abiding in the vine” (Christ Himself). Prayer Thought: Fruitfulness is, in God’s eyes, a big deal. Won’t you take a critical evaluation of your reactions and your responses just this past week and see if there isn’t some measure of correction that may need to take place. Won’t you pray that God will encourage you to know that it is possible to bear the Fruit of the Spirit and I pray that the secrets of “the vine” will unfold to you over the next few weeks. WEDNESDAY John 15 v 1 – 8