Read: Matthew 7:15 - 23 and Galatians 5:16 - 23
Text: Galatians 5:22-23
Theme: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.
When we attend the supper of the Lord, we must attend it in the correct way. In the Word we see how we should repair ourselves celebrate the breaking of bread and the sharing of wine.
In Matthew's 7, Christ teaches the people to detect true or false prophets. Today we can use this concept to determine if you are a true Christian. Christ teaches us to look at the fruit of the profits. The fruit is that to refer to is the works/attitude of a person. Christ explains this by using a simple metaphor. A thorn tree doesn't have fruit and a fruit tree doesn't have thorns. Thus a person who walks in the light of Christ would not show the elements of the bad fruit and vice versa.
Which one are you?
A fig tree bears fruit that is figs, that is how we recognize the tree by its fruit. We could not call a fig tree, a fruit tree if has thorns.
What happens to a tree with no fruit or bad fruit? Christ explains in Matthews 7 that that tree must be cut down and throws it in to the fire. The fire reverses to the hell that will be its destination.
How do you determine if you have bad or good fruit? In the Word God list the qualities of both fruit. You can read about it on the above listed passages.
The bad fruit are referred to as the works of the flesh and the good fruit refers to the works of the Spirit.
The one who has the bad fruit thus the works of the flesh does not inherit the Kingdom of God.
The list of bad attributes can be broken into four groups:
sexual sin (adultery, fornication, uncleanness, and lasciviousness),
fake idols (idolatry, witchcraft),
bad behavior to your fellow man/kin (hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envying, and murders)
and gluttony (drunkenness, reveling).
To follow is the list of the good fruit the works of the Spirit and by applying these you can inherit the Kingdom of God:
love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.
We must let the Holy Ghost lead us to use these attributes.
But now we realize that we all have at least one of the working of the flesh in our lives. What now? Thankfully God knows that it is the humans nature to follow the sins of the flesh, He has send His son Jesus Christ. He paid for our sins by giving His own life on the cross. All we have to do is to repent our sins, with all our heart. We then do good deed out of thankfulness because He forgave our sins. If you fall just get up and repent. This does not give you a 'get out of jail card' you must do your best to not let the sins of the flesh pull you down.
Who is welcome to the table of God? Is you have the fruit of sin and does not repent you are not allowed; when you break bread with you kin you will bring God's wroth over you. Those who know that they sinned, but truly repent and ask Christ to forgive them they are welcome. Christ didn't come for the people who were already saved; He gave up His live for sinners that want to get saved.
The Supper table is for everyone that feels that the Word has touched them. They must come and repent.
Amen.
Other references:
Proverbs 6:16-19, Romans 13:13-14, 2 Corinthians 12:21, 1 Peter 4:3, Revelations 17:4-5
***************
Please feel free to give your comments and ask questions.
English is not my home language so please indicate any errors. Thank you.
