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The
Fruits of the Spirit
From a Sermon By Henry Anderson
The Pharisees were chastised by Yahshua in Luke 11:42 and
Matthew 23:23 for their pickiness in keeping certain aspects of the Law, while ignoring the weightier matters of
the Law, such as judgment, mercy and faith, as well as the Love of Yahweh toward their fellow man.
The lesson for us is, Yes, do these things, but don't let the more important things go undone. Without the spirit
of Yahweh to guide us, all these things we do amount to nothing. We are told in Leviticus 23:33-37 to assemble
ourselves on the First and Last days of the Feast of Tabernacles. These are holy convocations, when no work is
to be done. Yahshua Himself kept this Feast (John 7), setting us an example (1 Peter 2:21, John 13:15).
In those times, Yahweh had placed His Name in Jerusalem - at the Temple. That was His earthly home.
(1 Kings 9:1-7 KJV) "And it came to pass, when Solomon had finished the building of the house of Yahweh,
and the king's house, and all Solomon's desire which he was pleased to do, {2} That Yahweh appeared to Solomon
the second time, as he had appeared unto him at Gibeon. {3} And Yahweh said unto him, I have heard thy prayer and
thy supplication, that thou hast made before me: I have hallowed this house, which thou hast built, to put my name
there for ever; and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually. {4} And if thou wilt walk before me, as
David thy father walked, in integrity of heart, and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded
thee, and wilt keep my statutes and my judgments: {5} Then I will establish the throne of thy kingdom upon Israel
for ever, as I promised to David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man upon the throne of Israel.
{6} But if ye shall at all turn from following me, ye or your children, and will not keep my commandments and my
statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods, and worship them: {7} Then will I cut off Israel
out of the land which I have given them; and this house, which I have hallowed for my name, will I cast out of
my sight; and Israel shall be a proverb and a byword among all people:"
Of course, they failed miserably to do what Yahweh required of them. So He carried out His threat to destroy the
Temple and the city of Jerusalem, and disperse the people into foreign nations. After their return, the Temple
was rebuilt. But why was it destroyed in the first place? For disobedience to Yahweh's Laws. They did not have
the Holy Spirit. It was not yet available to the general public. Only Yahweh's prophets and a few of the righteous
kings had it in the Old Testament dispensation. The availability of the Holy Spirit and how we can have it was
one of the things Yahshua came to reveal.
(John 14:15-21 KJV) "If ye love me, keep my commandments. {16} And I will pray the Father, and he shall give
you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; {17} Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot
receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be
in you. {18} I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. {19} Yet a little while, and the world seeth
me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also. {20} At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father,
and ye in me, and I in you. {21} He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he
that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him."
(John 16:7-9 KJV) "Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go
not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. {8} And when he is come,
he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: {9} Of sin, because they believe not on
me;"
The Comforter is the Holy Spirit, which He did send on the Day of Pentecost, Acts 2. It is this Spirit that we
must have in order to obey Him.
(Acts 5:32 KJV) "And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Spirit, whom Yahweh hath
given to them that obey him." (Heb 5:9 KJV) "And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal
salvation unto all them that obey him;"
We have to emulate His life in our own. How did He live? What were His attributes? He exhibited, every day of His
life, the "fruits of the Spirit," which are these: Gal 5:22-23 "But the fruit of the Spirit is love,
joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law."
We call ourselves Believers and claim we have the Holy Spirit...but do we know what being Believers means? Are
we exhibiting these "Fruits" in our own lives? Really? Do you love Yahweh with all your heart? Do you
love your enemies? Some of us can't even love our brothers - or our parents or children.
Are you filled with joy? Are you at peace with yourself, your Heavenly Father, and your neighbors? Are you "longsuffering"
(patient)? Or are you like the man who prayed, "Lord, give me patience, and PLEASE HURRY!" Are you gentle,
and good, and faithful? Meek and temperate? Paul says, "against such there is no law."
You do not truly have all these attributes unless you have the Holy Spirit dwelling in your heart (mind). And
one of the conditions of receiving it is that one has to repent - there is more than just proclaiming we believe
on Him. We must have the Holy Spirit in order to have the love of Yahweh in us, and we must sincerely desire to
please Yahweh before we can come to repentance, not just have a fear of Him alone.
One who truly repents comes to see that the way of the love of Yahweh is the only way that leads to peace and to
happiness. The love of Yahweh is expressed in His law and commandments. We must LIVE it, not just talk about it.
It must become a part of our daily lives. We must subjugate every thought to His Will. Ask yourself, "What
would He do in this situation? Maybe I had better go ask Him." Then do it. Stop and pray about the problem.
Then DO what He reveals to you. Note: If what you think He reveals to you is not in accord with Scripture, then
forget it. You have just been subjected to an attempted deceiving by Satan.
The Old Testament says, (Eccl 12:13 KJV) "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear Yahweh and
keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man."
The New Testament says, (Rev 14:12 KJV) "Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the
commandments of Yahweh, and the faith of Yahshua."
Both parts of this Book agree. Do you agree with it?
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