9 Fruits of the Spirit: God’s Personality Test

Well, good afternoon, Brethren. It’s great to see you. I’ve always been fascinated with personality tests. I think it’s because I’ve always been fascinated with people and how people think, and, you know, how our minds work, and personality tests are fun. They’re a way to measure a person’s character, their behavior, different traits that they may have, their psychological makeup, and they are, they can be fun. It’s like a quiz that by the end of it, you come out on the other end, if you took the test, knowing how you think. If someone shared their results with you, you know how they think, how their personality works.

Now, the first personality test that I took was the Myers-Briggs. And many of you’ve likely heard of Myers-Briggs and it measures personality. It puts it into sixteen different categories. And you answer a bunch of questions and by the end of it, you are given a certain personality type. And if you read my Myers-Brigg personality type, it describes me to a T. Actually, it’s kind of uncanny but it’s just a neat way to be able to measure the way that I think. But Myers-Briggs isn’t the only one. There are several. There’s the DISC assessment, D-I-S-K. Each of those letters stand for something. There’s also the Ocean Model and the Enneagram test. And there are many, many other tests, but that’s just a few.

But again, these tests help us to understand the way we think, the way our personalities work, our behaviors, the decisions that we make. But personality tests, as fun as they can be and as much as I enjoy them, they can be a challenge, especially for a Christian. Typically, a personality test will focus on psychology. And as Christians, we have to be careful when it comes to psychology. One of the main reasons is that it tends to be human-focused and it doesn’t adequately show the part that God plays in our lives and our thinking in the way that we should think.

And psychology can be a trap and something that we certainly want to be careful of. But it’s really because of that human focus instead of the spiritual focus. But human personality is actually affected by physical things as well as spiritual things. Those are both combined to make up the human personality. Now, did you know that God Himself, He has a personality? Now, we shouldn’t be too stunned by that. Maybe you never thought of it that way, but we all have personalities, and we were made in the image of God. So, if we have a personality, it’s only natural to think that God also has a personality, and He does.

Turn to Galatians chapter five. Galatians chapter five and we’re going to jump right into the fruit of the Spirit. Galatians chapter five. Starting here. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance.” Brethren, we just read nine aspects of God’s personality. Probably didn’t think of it that way. I know I certainly didn’t before studying this, but God does have a personality and we just read nine aspects of his personality.

Now, imagine if God gave us a personality test. It would almost certainly be based on these nine fruits. And unlike physical or the typical personality tests that measures physical traits or aspects of our personality, God’s personality test would measure the spiritual aspects of our personality and it would almost certainly be based on these nine fruits.

Now, we’re about eight weeks out from Passover, it’s in early April, and we’re about eight weeks out, and this is typically a time where we self-examine, where we take a spiritual inventory and

ask ourselves, some cases the hard questions of how we’re doing, how much are we growing? How much have we developed?

So I put this sermon together and I put it together in the form of a personality test. So if you’ve not taken one before, you will certainly by the end of this message, you will have taken one, but this personality test of course, will be very different than the ones that you see out in the world. This personality test will be based on God’s traits, the traits that God finds important.

So today, let’s take God’s personality test, and using each of the fruits of the Spirit as a measure, we want to measure our spiritual growth. Now, what I’m attempting to do today is very dangerous. I’m trying to cover nine fruits in one sermon. I did something similar to this in my early time as a speaker, and it didn’t go well. So, I certainly do ask that you pray for me. But the big difference is I’m not going to go deep into each of the fruits. Each fruit could truly be its own sermon. So that’s not my goal today. I’m not going to go deep into each fruit. I will, as we go through, I’ll define the fruit just to make sure we all understand what the fruit is. I’ll briefly talk about how God displays that fruit.

Then we’ll get into the personality test aspect of it. I’m going to have you rank yourself between one and ten, with ten being you display this fruit in abundance, and one being you’re really struggling with that particular fruit and displaying it in your life. Now, most of us will almost certainly fall somewhere in between, between one and ten so, and that’s okay. But I want you to rate yourself, and it’s between you and God. So be honest with yourself. If you choose to share your number with someone that you’re close to and you want to share it with them as a way to hold yourself accountable or just to share, that’s totally fine. But it’s mostly private. It’s mostly between you and God.

Now, I wouldn’t advise you to go around saying that you’re a ten in every fruit. That probably would get some strange looks. So I certainly wouldn’t encourage you to do that. But again, you can share it as you see fit, but it’s certainly between you and God, and you want to be honest with yourself. And the point of this message isn’t to make anyone feel bad, as you’re rating yourself and the number is lower than you want. The point isn’t to make anyone feel bad. It’s just an opportunity to show how you’re doing, to take that spiritual inventory. Again, we are heading into Passover. We have an opportunity for self-examination.

So it’s an opportunity to self-examine and use this as a tool and to really motivate you to change and to grow. Now, if there’s a reason that we focus on the Spirit. Turn to first Corinthians chapter two, first Corinthians chapter two. God will help us when it comes to the fruits of the Spirit. So if you’re falling short in any of these areas, I want to encourage you and remind you that God will certainly help you. God will certainly help me. Second Corinthians, chapter two, we’ll start in verse ten. Second Corinthians, two, ten. Amazing set of verses here.

First Corinthians. I said second. Let’s go to first Corinthians chapter two, verse ten. First Corinthians chapter two, verse ten. We begin, “But God has revealed them unto us by His Spirit, for the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.” So God’s Spirit, we’re reading here, searches the deep things of God. So it is by God’s Spirit that we know the deep things of God. “For what man knows the things of a man, say the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so, the things of God knows no man but the Spirit of God.” So if we have God’s Spirit, we know the deep things of God. That same spirit that searches God

searches us as well, just like our spirit, the human spirit searches each of us. “Now we have received not the spirit of the world but the spirit which is of God that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.” And those things, of course, would include the fruits of His spirit. “Those things are freely given to us. Which things also we speak not in the words which man’s wisdom teaches.” Thinking back to the typical personality tests that are offered and based on psychology.

“Man’s wisdom,” what it teaches picking back up, “But which the Holy Spirit teaches comparing spiritual things with spiritual.” So as we go through, as we assess ourselves, as we rate ourselves, we want to make sure we’re understanding where we stand and what the source of the spiritual growth where it comes from. We have the best teacher, when it comes to the fruits of the spirit, we have the best teacher in the universe, and that, of course, is God.

So let’s begin. We’ll start with the first fruit of the Spirit. Let’s go back to Galatians five verse twenty-two. Galatians five, twenty-two, and the first fruit of the Spirit is love. Now love is outgoing concern. That’s the best definition I’ve ever heard. I heard it when coming into the Church. Love is outgoing concern. And when you look at love in Galatians twenty-two, it’s selfless, it’s sacrificial, and it’s unconditional.

You’ve heard of unconditional love. It’s choosing to do what is best for someone even when it’s difficult, and we talk about conditions. It’s interesting, oh, you know, God does have conditions, but it’s unconditional and that it’s not selfish. It’s not based on the self. It’s based on outgoing concern, not incoming concern. Worldly love is different. It’s emotional. It’s truly conditional, and most of all, it’s self-serving. Bible love or biblical love does have an element of emotion, but it is outgoing concern, not incoming concern.

Now, what trips people up about love in the Bible is they think that it’s always going to be pleasant for the person receiving the love. Love according to the Bible is very different than that. Many times it is pleasant. When we receive a reward for good behavior, that’s pleasant. But love also entails punishment when we don’t do the things that we’re supposed to do, that still qualifies as outgoing concern. The concern is by you feeling the punishment or the pain. It’s incentive to do the right thing instead of the wrong things, and that, of course, still would be love.

Turn to First John four. First John four. Love is foundational to God’s personality. You notice that it’s listed first, but love is foundational to God’s personality. First John four verse eight. First John four, eight, “He that loves not knows not God for God is love.” Many of you have probably heard the following, but love is not something God does. Love is what God is. So love is so foundational to God’s personality. It’s described as what he is.

If we don’t show the love of God, we just read that we don’t know God because God is love. So to show the love of God is to know God. Love in Galatians five, twenty-two is agape and that’s love at the God level, there are other types of love, but love at the God level is agape. And you need the Holy Spirit, you need God’s spirit to be able to love at that level. It makes sense because God’s spirit, a fruit of His spirit is love. So to have the love of God, we need to have the Holy Spirit.

Now, for the first part of the personality test. We want to assess where we are in the fruit of love. Now remember, we’re going to rank ourselves on a scale between one and ten. Ten, meaning you consistently show the love of God and you consider yourself strong in the fruit of love. Or one meaning you’re struggling to show the love of God on a consistent basis and you feel like you’re weak in this area. Like I said, it’s private.

It’s between you and God or whoever you choose to share it with and we all almost certainly fall somewhere in between one and ten. Now, to help you determine your rank, I’m going to give you just a real-life example. Some of these things I’ve experienced as a minister, I’ve seen them upfront and personal, or I’ve heard stories about them. I tried to make these examples as real as possible so you can put yourself in the situation, but as you listen to these examples, they should help you rank yourself.

All right, first I overhear someone spreading false rumors about me. Instead of retaliating, I choose to forgive the person, pray for them, and continue treating them with kindness. So this is a ten. We’re describing a ten. So in other words, as a ten, you consistently show kindness, patience even toward those who frustrate or wrong you. You forgive easily and serve others without expecting anything in return. That would describe a person who is a ten when it comes to the fruit of love.

Now, the example of someone who is a one. My friend forgets to invite me to a get-together, even though they invited everyone else. When I find out about it, I feel angry and I cut off communication with them. I harbor bitterness instead of giving my friend the benefit of the doubt. In other words, as a one, you react negatively to others quickly. You hold grudges often, and you only show love to those who treat you well. So which of those describe you more? The ten or the one?

Probably, almost certainly somewhere in between but if love is something that you’re working on that you want to grow in, maybe you’re closer to that one but if you feel like this is something you have worked on and God has helped you to grow in it over the years, maybe you’re closer to the ten. Now, how can we grow in love? Because regardless of where you are, even if you do consider yourself pretty high up there, we can all still learn to grow. How can we grow in the fruit of love?

Well, one way is to pray for those who are difficult to love. Turn to Matthew five. Matthew chapter five, pray for those who are difficult to love. Matthew chapter five, verse forty-four. Matthew five forty-four, “But I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.” It’s easy to love someone who’s lovable. The challenge is loving someone who’s not very lovable.

God loves us, even though sometimes brethren, we could be difficult to love. Now, He doesn’t go as far as calling us as enemies, but the verse says, to love our enemies. That means we are to love those who aren’t always lovable. So one way to grow in the fruit of love is to pray for those. Pray for someone who’s hurt you. They hurt me. Well, God is saying pray for them. And the brilliance of that is it’s hard to hate someone you’re praying for.

When you’re praying for them, you’re praying for God to change your perspective about them and to help them. It’s hard to hate someone when you’re on your knees and you’re beseeching God on their behalf. That’s a great way to grow in love. Another one is to forgive quickly and let go of grudges. Let’s stay here in Matthew five or Matthew and go to Matthew chapter six. Matthew chapter six. Forgive quickly and let go of grudges. Matthew six, we’ll start in verse fourteen.

Matthew six fourteen. “For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.” That’s one of those conditionals. Remember we talked about love being unconditional? Well, God does have conditions. They’re just outwardly

focused. Verse fifteen, “But if you forgive, not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” So talk about incentive. One of the reasons we want to forgive others quickly is because we want God to forgive us quickly. I don’t want God to hold a grudge against me because I’ve transgressed His law. So we certainly don’t want to hold grudges against others.

So ask yourself. Ask yourself periodically, “Am I holding onto resentment that’s toward a person that’s keeping me from showing love to that person?” Ask yourself those questions, and those could be tough questions, especially if the answer is yes, “I am holding a grudge.” And being willing to admit that. So that’s the fruit of love. Love, as I said, is the foundation of God’s personality. But next on the list is joy. Joy.

Now, first of all, appreciate the fact that joy is listed as a fruit of God’s spirit. God is a joyful being. If you ask the average person to describe God, joy would likely not come up, either not be on their list at all, or it would be very low on the list. We just don’t tend to think of God as joy and think of joy. God gives joy. God wants others to be joyful, but we are seeing here, God himself is joyful.

Psalm sixteen. Psalm sixteen. It turns out God is the most joyful being in the universe. Psalm sixteen verse eleven. Psalm sixteen eleven, verse we heard about recently, Psalm sixteen eleven, “You will show me the path of life,” speaking of God, “in your presence is,” what? “fullness of joy at your right hand, there are pleasures forever more.” Fullness of joy. When something is full, that means it can’t take on anymore. When a cup is full, it can’t take on any more liquid, and God’s presence is the fullness of joy. Pleasure is forevermore. Joy is a key part of God’s personality. His joy is full.

The world looks at joy and they see it based on circumstances. It comes and goes. When things are going well, “I’m happy.” When things are not going well, “I’m not happy. I don’t have joy.” The joy of the world ebbs and flows, but the fruit of joy that comes from God’s spirit goes much deeper than that. Spiritual joy is a cheerful, calm delight, and it comes from trusting God completely, knowing completely that God has your back, that God has your best interest, and God doesn’t change. And because God doesn’t change, our joy shouldn’t change. The joy isn’t based on the situation. The joy is based on God and His Spirit, and knowing that in his presence is fullness of joy. What happens when we pray? We go into the presence of God. God is in us. His Spirit is in us. That’s the presence of God. In His presence is fullness of joy.

True joy comes from being close to God, not focusing on external situations. Now, for the test, another example. Where would you rank yourself on a scale of one to ten in showing the fruit of joy in your life? I’m going to once again give you a scenario to help you ponder, but we’ll begin with a strong example of joy. This is speaking of yourself. I just lost my job unexpectedly. Instead of falling into despair and depression, I pray and I trust that God will provide, and I start to look for a new job with a hopeful joy-filled heart. I remind myself that my security comes from God, not my job. In other words, as a ten, you remain optimistic and grateful, even in difficult situations, knowing that God is in control. So that’s a ten.

How about a one? I woke up late, the weather is bad, I got stuck in traffic and I’m having a bad morning. Instead of keeping perspective, keeping a good perspective, my whole day is ruined and I’m lashing out at people. My joy is tied to my circumstances. So as a one, your mood completely depends on your circumstances. If things are going well, you’re happy. If not, you’re miserable. Where would you rank yourself? Are you closer to a ten or closer to a one? How can we grow the fruit of joy, no matter where we rank ourselves?

Philippians chapter four. Philippians chapter four. How can we grow the fruit of joy in our lives? Philippians four verse four, “Rejoice in the Lord always. And again, I say, rejoice.” Brethren, we are to rejoice in the Lord in God always. God does not change. Our joy should be tied to God not our circumstances. That’s how we can say that we rejoice in the Lord always.

Another way to grow in the fruit of joy is to develop a habit of gratitude. Develop a habit of gratitude. First Thessalonians five. First Thessalonians five. We’ll start at verse sixteen. First Thessalonians five, sixteen, “Rejoice evermore.” We see joy is there. “Pray without ceasing.” That means me coming to God’s presence. “In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” We so often ask, what is the will of God? We just read the will of God. In everything give thanks, that is the will of God for each of us.

When we focus and we have this attitude of gratitude, we’ve heard the saying. It helps us be thankful for where we are. “Yes, I lost my job, but at least I have a place to live.

Now, I need to find a job quickly so I can continue to have a place to live.” But I lost my job today, but I have somewhere to go lay my head. “Yes, my car’s broken down, but I could catch the bus until I can get my car fixed,” or “Someone can come give me a ride.” Things can always be worse brethren, no matter how bad they get, things can always be worse, and we don’t want to forget that.

Finally, another way to grow in joy is to make joy your strength. You think of joy, but make joy your strength. Nehemiah chapter eight. Nehemiah chapter eight. Nehemiah chapter eight verse ten. Nehemiah eight, ten, “Then he said unto them, go your way. Eat the fat. Drink the sweet.” Sounds like joy. Joyful things to do. “Send portions unto them, for whom nothing is prepared for this day is holy unto your Lord. Neither be you sorry for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

Think about how you feel when you’re joyful. You feel invigorated. You feel strong. You feel like you can conquer the world. I’m filled with joy. Make joy your strength. Something that picks you up, helps you hold your head up high, helps you move forward through the trial, through the challenge that you’re facing. Joy gives us the endurance to continue in well-doing and not become weary in well-doing. Joy is the fuel that helps us to do that.

The next fruit on God’s personality test is peace. I gave a whole message on peace, so you certainly know how I feel about peace and what the scriptures have to say. But the fruit of peace is more than just the absence of conflict, it includes the absence of conflict. But peace, similar to joy, is an inner calm and it’s confidence. It’s knowing that God is in control of a situation no matter how chaotic and how much conflict is going on around us

you know, in a given situation, our peace is tied to the God of peace.

Turn to Isaiah twenty-six. Isaiah twenty-six. Isaiah twenty-six, pick it up in verse three. Isaiah twenty-six, verse three, referring to God, “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on you because he trusts in you.” So once again, we’re seeing this fruit, this aspect of God’s personality being tied to God himself, and God himself will keep us not just in peace, perfect peace, but our minds have to stay on God, and we have to trust him. Those things are required in order to have that perfect peace.

Perfect peace. Peace that is complete, peace that is not lacking in any way. So let’s assess ourselves. Let’s assess ourselves. Where do we rank ourselves when it comes to peace? An example of a ten, someone who’s doing well in this area. A close member of my family suddenly has to go to the hospital instead of falling into fear, once again, I pray. I trust God’s plan and I encourage others who aren’t dealing with it very well to stay strong, even though I understand their concern. So in other words, as a ten, you trust God completely. Even in uncertain situations, you handle stress calmly and encourage others to trust him as well. That’s a ten.

How about a one? I just received an unexpected bill in the mail, and I realized I don’t have enough in my bank account to cover it. I don’t have enough money to cover it. Instead of looking for solutions or trusting that God will provide, I immediately start to panic. I stress myself out, and I assume the worst. My thoughts spiral into anxiety and fear. In other words, as a one, I constantly worry, I panic easily, and I struggle to believe God will take care of my needs. Would you rank yourself closer to a one or to a ten? How can we grow in peace?

Philippians four. Let’s go back there. Philippians chapter four, how can we grow in peace? Philippians chapter four, verse six. Philippians chapter four, verse six. “Be careful or anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.” So don’t worry about, “Don’t be anxious about things, through prayer and supplication make your needs known to God.” The verse is saying, “And the peace of God, which... If we do this, the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” So instead of worrying about things, the scriptures are telling us to pray about it with thanksgiving, and God will give us peace in that situation.

There comes a point where sometimes there’s just nothing you can do about the situation, but you just have to give it to God. Worrying about it is not going to make it any better. It’s only going to make it worse because it makes you not feel very well. Others begin to worry because you’re worried, and it shows a lack of trust in God. It can happen to any of us Brethren, but an important part of God’s personality is peace. Turn to Proverbs three. Proverbs three, actually, no, Psalm fifty-five, Psalm fifty-five. Sometimes Brethren... And this is tied to how do we have peace? Sometimes we have spiritual amnesia, spiritual amnesia, Psalm fifty-five, and we want to avoid spiritual amnesia.

Psalm fifty-five, verse twenty-two

Psalm fifty-five twenty-two, “Cast your burden upon the Lord.” This is similar to the last verse. “Cast your burden upon the Lord, and He will sustain you. He will never suffer the righteous to be moved.” Those are some strong words. First of all, it’s a promise. “He will sustain you,” that’s a promise, and “He will never suffer the righteous to be moved.”

Brethren, sometimes we get spiritual amnesia. We go into a trial, we go into a situation, and we forget about the times God delivered us prior. Remember the last time God delivered you? I have to tell myself that. Remember the last time? But if we’re not careful, we can go into a situation and we have spiritual amnesia and we forget that God has delivered us in the past, and we don’t have peace as a result. So, when anxiety arises, remember times, remember the abundant times that God has delivered you.

The next fruit is long-suffering, continuing on here. The fruit of long-suffering. Now, the word long-suffering or the concept of long-suffering is not a difficult concept, it just means to suffer long. Just flip it around. Long-suffering means to suffer long. It’s similar to patience, but it’s patience at a higher level. It’s patience with the dial turned up. It’s enduring hardships, enduring mistreatments, or delays without becoming angry, bitter, or resentful, without wanting to give up.

It’s the ability to keep your composure and show mercy even when you feel like you’ve been done wrong. Long-suffering is the ability to hold it together. And Brethren, even God suffers. Turn to Second Peter chapter three. Second Peter chapter three. Even God suffers. Not shocking, it’s a fruit of His Spirit, long-suffering, but it’s interesting to read it when we read it. Even God suffers.

Second Peter chapter three verse nine. Second Peter chapter three verse nine, it says, “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise as some men count slackness.” Well, sometimes it can seem like God is taking a while, but “God is not slack concerning His promise, but instead, He is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”

That verse tells us a lot. That means when God sees people sinning and not coming to repentance, He suffers because of that. That causes Him to suffer. But instead of becoming resentful and bitter and giving up on us, instead of God doing that, He is long-suffering toward us, toward mankind, toward his creation, toward all of us who are made in His image because He wants all of us to come to repentance. Everyone.

Everyone in this room, all around the world, even our close and extended family members, people we don’t know, the billions of people who’ve ever lived, God wants all of them, all of us to come to repentance. And until we do, until the world comes around, it causes Him to suffer but He’s long-suffering. He doesn’t give up on us. How long are we willing to suffer?

All right. Let’s rate ourselves according to the fruit of long-suffering. On a scale of one to ten, ten, here’s an example of a ten. A coworker constantly takes credit for your work. Instead of retaliating or holding resentment, you pray for God to help you deal with it. You also pray for the person continually and you continue while you’re praying for them, as you’re praying for them and yourself.

You continue to work diligently knowing that they might take credit. You continue to work diligently and trust that God sees everything. You remain calm and do not let bitterness take root. As a ten, you consistently remain calm, patient, and merciful toward others even when they frustrate you or treat you unfairly, you endure trials with faith and not bitterness.

How about a number one? A number one. This is on the fruit of long-suffering. Does this describe, does this more so describe you? I was recently diagnosed with diabetes, and my doctor said I need to make major lifestyle changes. Instead of accepting this challenge, I feel frustrated and resentful. I resist the dietary and exercise recommendations, which makes me feel hopeless about my health. Instead of seeking God’s guidance, I let impatience and negativity take over. In other words as a one, you react to difficult situations with frustration, rather than patience struggling to endure trials and faith with perseverance.

Which one of those, Brethren, describes you more? Are you closer to a ten or closer to a one? A few ways to grow in long-suffering. James chapter one. James chapter one. One way to grow in long-suffering is to practice holding back immediate reactions. In other words systematically underreact. We’re going to talk about that. James chapter one. James chapter one verse nineteen. James chapter one verse nineteen. “Wherefore my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.”

I talked about systematically underreacting. As ministers, we are taught and we are trained to systematically underreact. Oftentimes in our profession, or us going about being ministers, we hear things. We experience things from God’s people. Things that can tend to be rather surprising. Maybe things that people are experiencing or decisions they’ve made that you didn’t expect. As ministers, we are trained to systematically underreact. We don’t lash out.

We have to systematically or consistently react less than you would typically do on the human level. Well, James is saying here, let every man do that. Swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath. Brethren, one way to suffer long is to not overreact. Not lash out in any circumstance, any situation. Does it happen from time to time? Sure, but the goal is for it not to happen. There’s a place for emotion. There’s a place to react, but it shouldn’t be everything, and it certainly shouldn’t be the wrong things.

So practice holding back immediately or practice holding back on overreacting. Another way to grow the fruit of long-suffering is to see trials as an opportunity for growth. Instead of a step back, see trials as an opportunity for growth. Romans chapter five. Romans chapter five. Romans chapter five. Pick it up in verse three. Romans chapter five verse three. “And not so only,” picking up in the middle of the thought here. “But we also glory in tribulations also.” Why? Because tribulations, we know that tribulation works patience, and patience experience, and experience hope.

Trials are an opportunity to start that process. Tribulation does what, works patience, long-suffering, and that long-suffering goes into experience. The things I tend to remember most, Brethren, are the stuff I suffered through. The scriptures say that Christ learned through the things which he suffered. That tribulation, it works that patience, it builds that long-suffering, and that adds to our experience. Once we have experience, now we become more hopeful.

Whether it’s knowing God will bring us out of the next trial, this current trial we’re dealing with out of future trials, knowing that God keeps his promises. All those things come as a result of trials if we allow them to work patience, which works experience, which builds hope. Next fruit of Spirit in your tool here, and just going through this personality test, looking at different aspects of God’s personality. I’m giving you a tool for you to use for self-examination.

The next route is gentleness. Gentleness. Now this word, gentleness is interesting. We know what it means, but one of the words it’s translated from is usefulness, so it’s to be useful. So I thought that was interesting, but it can also be translated kindness and care. So a person who is gentle is kind and they care about others. Now, the world often mistakes gentleness for weakness.

They see a gentle person and they tend to think that they’re weak, but the strongest people in the world, brethren, can be gentle. Think about God himself, the most powerful being that’s ever existed. The most powerful being in the universe describes an aspect of his personality as gentle or gentleness. Ephesians four. Ephesians four. Gentleness is the ability to be kind and considerate even when you have the power to be harsh.

Ephesians chapter four, verse thirty-two, Ephesians four, thirty-two. “And be you kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake has forgiven you.” So God is telling us to be kind and tender-hearted because he’s kind and tender-hearted, and kindness. Tender-hearted. God is telling us to be the same way. Can you, can I describe myself as kind and tender-hearted? Do I have a tender heart or do I have a stony heart when it comes to dealing with people or dealing with situations that may be unpleasant?

It takes spiritual maturity to be gentle. Without gentleness, brethren, we tend to be harsh. We can tend to be harsh or critical or insensitive to others. Our hearts are not tender, but gentleness allows us to be tender-hearted, to be kind, and to lead and influence people. Gentle people make the best ministers. They make the best parents, they make the best coworkers, they make the best friends. A person who is kind, who has a tender heart. Who wouldn’t want to be around and work with a person like that?

Who wouldn’t want to work for a person like that? Who wouldn’t want to have people under them like that? So how well are we displaying gentleness in our lives on a scale of one to ten, an example of a ten? As a parent, you correct your child who makes a mistake. Instead of yelling at them, you calmly explain the right behavior, reassure them that you love them, and teach your child with patience. The correction is firm but gentle. It’s not abusive. In other words, as a ten, you respond with kindness and patience, even in tense situations.

You correct others with care rather than harshness, or are you more like a one? You become frustrated with a store clerk for getting your order wrong, so they messed up your order. Instead of calmly explaining the issue, you snap at the clerk, you speak rudely to them, and you make a scene. So as a one, you often react with a sharp tongue, irritation, or criticism instead of handling situations with a soft, gentle spirit. Which one, brethren, describes you more? The ten or the one? Knowing, of course, you probably fall somewhere in between.

How can we grow in gentleness? Proverbs chapter sixteen. Proverbs chapter sixteen, verse twenty-four. Proverbs sixteen twenty-four. “Pleasant words are as a honeycomb, sweet to the soul, health to the bones.” Brethren, our words can make a big difference. They’re described here. If they’re pleasant, they can be sweet to the soul, health to the bones, especially when someone has done something wrong or maybe is showing some weakness, maybe has offended you in some way. But when we can speak to them with gentleness and pleasant words despite that, it’s health to the bones, it makes that person feel so much better. So, one way to grow in the fruit of gentleness is to be mindful of our tone and our words. Be gentle in the way that you speak. Ask yourself, is my tone gentle and respectful to others, even when I’m irritated, even when I’m frustrated? Another way to grow in gentleness is to follow good examples of gentleness.

Think of the most gentle person you know. We all know someone who’s just, when we see that person, you know what? That’s a very gentle person. Follow their example. Meditate on their example. Maybe ask them, you know what? You’re just such a gentle person. Why are you that way? You might be surprised. They may tell you. “You know what? I wasn’t always gentle. I actually used to be harsh, I used to be critical, but this changed in my life, or this happened to me or that happened to me and I became a much more gentle person.”

Or I read a book, or I meditated on this verse. You never know. You never know. But strive to have a similar attitude and approach to being gentle, even when it’s difficult. The next fruit is goodness. Now goodness is more than just being nice or being a nice person. All nice people aren’t necessarily good people. You could be nice, you could present like a nice person, but not necessarily be a good person. Biblical goodness is actively seeking to do the right thing. It’s pursuing righteousness and standing for truth.

So that’s goodness at the God level. Turn to Psalm one hundred. Psalm one hundred. Goodness is tied directly to godliness. The words even sound similar. Good and God. Psalm one hundred, verse five. “For the Lord is good. His mercy is everlasting and His truth endures to all generations.” So we see there, God is good and He’s good, partly because of His mercy and His truth. God is the ultimate example of good. Everything God does is good. He’s perfect at goodness, and He calls us to reflect that same goodness in our lives.

Romans twelve. Romans twelve. Romans chapter twelve. We’ll pick it up in verse twenty-one. Romans chapter twelve, verse twenty-one. “Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.” So God is telling us to overcome or defeat evil with goodness. So where do we rank ourselves? Where would we rate ourselves on a scale of one to ten when it comes to displaying goodness? An example of a ten, this is a strong example. Some of your coworkers are clocking in and out of work remotely.

So they have the ability to clock in and out and not have to be in the office. But because they can clock in and out remotely, it allows them to arrive an hour late for work and leave an hour early and still get paid full-time. They encourage you to do the same, saying that the boss doesn’t really care. However, you choose to clock in and out of work at your actual time because you value integrity over personal gain. So in other words, as a ten, you consistently choose what is right, you stand for truth and do good for others, even when it’s inconvenient or costly.

So that’s a ten. How about a one? You see your favorite coworker or classmate cheating on a test, but you don’t say anything to them because you fear that if you speak up, it might wound the relationship. Instead, you allow them to do wrong and you don’t encourage them to do the right thing. So, as a one, you often compromise on what is right, avoid standing for truth, or turn a blind eye to wrongdoing. So where would you rank yourself on a scale of one to ten? Some ways to grow in goodness. Proverbs twenty-one. Proverbs twenty-one. How can we grow in goodness? Proverbs twenty-one, verse three. Proverbs twenty-one verse three. “To do justice and judgment is more acceptable to God than sacrifice.” Now think of all the things we sacrifice. We sacrifice our funds and tithes and offerings. We sacrifice through our prayers. God is saying to do justice and judgment is more acceptable to Him than sacrifice. Than tithes and offerings, which we should be doing, brethren. Than prayers, which we should be doing, brethren.

But God is saying justice and judgment is more acceptable to Him than that. Why? Because He’s a God of goodness. So commit to do what is right even when no one is watching. But of course, God is watching. He’s always watching. Another way to grow in goodness is to be willing to stand for righteousness. Be willing to stand for righteousness. Psalm thirty-four. Psalm thirty-four. Psalm thirty-four, verse fourteen. Psalm thirty-four, fourteen. “Depart from evil and do good. Seek peace and pursue it.”

So there’s a lot of action there. First of all, depart from evil. So if you see something going on, make sure you’re not a part of it, even if you’re not doing it directly. Get away from it. Stay away from it. And that makes it a whole lot easier to do what? To do good. You don’t have that same influence. If you see wrongdoing, don’t ignore it. Either depart from it or fix it. But you have to do it with truth and wisdom. I’m not saying we’re going around and we’re being do-gooders. No one likes a do-gooder, someone who’s wearing their goodness on their sleeve.

But sometimes when you see wrongdoing, depart from it. Just stay away from it. Like the example with the co-workers, clocking in and out and stealing time, do you necessarily report it? You have to use wisdom. But you certainly depart from it. You certainly don’t participate in it. There’s a big difference. The next fruit on God’s personality test is faith. It’s one of the most important topics in the Bible, faith.

The fruit of faith requires trust, commitment, and reliability on God. But that’s hard to do, brethren. It’s hard to have faith when we don’t always know how things are going to turn out. Hebrews eleven. Hebrews eleven. Faith by definition requires us not to know how things are going to turn out and that’s what makes it a challenge. We don’t know what’s going to be the outcome. Hebrews eleven, verse one. Hebrews eleven, verse one. “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for,” so it hasn’t happened yet. “...and the evidence of things not seen.”

We can’t experience them with our five senses. That’s what makes faith such a challenge. But we have to have faith even when we don’t know the outcome. In fact, that’s what makes it faith by definition. If it’s already happened then it doesn’t require faith. And I don’t know what’s more amazing just understanding faith or the fact that God Himself has faith. God Himself has faith. Of course, He does. It’s a fruit of His spirit. It’s a part of His personality.

Deuteronomy seven. Deuteronomy chapter seven. A part of God having faith is knowing that He’s faithful, which is showing faith. God has faith making Him faithful or full of faith. Deuteronomy seven verse nine. Deuteronomy chapter seven verse nine. “Know you, therefore, that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God, which keeps covenant and mercy with them that love Him and keep His commandments to a thousand generations.”

So, God has faith and He’s faithful. He does what He says He’s going to do. And God shows that faith towards us. He’s faithful to His people. He will not turn his back on us. He will not let us down. Can we say the same? Will we let God down? He doesn’t let us down, but will we let him down? Are we faithful toward God? Well, let’s see where we rank in the fruit of faithfulness in our lives. Rating ourselves, of course, from one to ten. Here’s a ten. “I commit to pray and study my Bible every morning.

Even when things get busy, I keep my commitment, knowing that my relationship with God comes first.” In other words, as a ten, you are committed to God, you keep your promises and remain faithful, even when it’s challenging. When you fall short, you quickly repent and you strive to improve. Here is a one. “I began a daily Bible reading plan, but I quickly lost motivation. I pray inconsistently and only when life is difficult. When I’m asked to serve in the church, I commit, but I often don’t follow through, making excuses instead of keeping my word.”

In other words, as a one, I struggle to remain consistent in my relationship to God and others. I often make commitments but fail to follow through or let difficulties shake my faith. In other words, I am not faithful. Where would you rank yourself on a scale of one to ten with faithfulness in mind? Some ways to grow in faith. Luke sixteen. Luke chapter sixteen. One way to grow in faith, brethren, is to be consistent in your relationship with God. Be consistent in your relationship with God.

Luke sixteen. Luke chapter sixteen, verse ten. Luke sixteen, verse ten. “He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much. And he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.” Start small, brethren, when it comes to building faith and being faithful. Start small. This is one of the most helpful things that has helped me to change aspects of my life. Start small with daily commitments. Consistently pray, consistently study your Bible, and of course, consistently rely on God.

What the verse is telling us, if we’re faithful over something small, making sure we study every day, we pray every day, that we rely on God every day. If we start small and we’re consistent with it, God knows He can trust us with something much bigger. This gives you the confidence, starting small and doing it successfully, because you know what? I can do this, but it also gives God-confidence that we can do it as well. So it’s not necessarily the length of the prayer or the length of the study, it’s the consistent nature of the prayer, the consistent nature of the study.

That’s one way to build faithfulness. Be consistent in your relationship with God. Also, follow through on your commitments. Matthew five. Matthew five. Follow through on your commitments. If you say you’re going to do something, do it. Matthew chapter five, verse thirty-seven. Matthew five, thirty-seven. “But let your communication be yes, yes, no, no, for whatsoever is more than these comes from evil.” If you say you’re going to do something, do it. If you say you’re not going to do something, don’t do it.

If you say you’re going to do it and you don’t do it, that comes from evil. If you say you’re not going to do it and you do it, that comes from evil, just picking back up from the verse. Now, do we have expectations and we set out to do something and circumstances don’t allow us to do it? Yes, it happens. It certainly happens. And we know when those times are genuine. But overall, brethren, our intent when we say yes, we’re going to do something, we do it and if we’re not going to do it, we say something ahead of time or we certainly explain why we didn’t do it, and it needs to make sense why we didn’t do it. But faithfulness is about following through on our commitments. It builds reliability. People know they can rely on us. God knows He can rely on us. We want to be able to know we can rely on others that they’re faithful, that they’re going to come through. That certainly has to be a fruit of our personality, of our spiritual personality.

The next fruit is meekness, meekness. Now meekness is similar to gentleness. Sometimes people mistake meekness for weakness, but it’s just the opposite. Actually, meekness is great strength under control. It takes great strength to be meek, to show meekness. Meekness is choosing humility over pride. Is choosing to be humble over being prideful. Meekness is one of God’s greatest virtues. Matthew five. We can remain here, Matthew five, I believe you’re already there.

Matthew five, verse five, “Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth.” And that’s, I’ve always found that to be an interesting combination. God didn’t say blessed are the wise or the strong or the capable, God said, “Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth.” Meekness is entirely tied to inheriting the earth. How do those fit? Well, think about God, He’s an all-powerful being and He controls the entire universe and whatever is beyond the universe, it’s all under God’s control.

Yet, He describes Himself with a fruit of meekness. To be able to have strength under control. God wants to entrust the earth and eventually the entire universe to His people, a people who will have great power and authority, but power and authority that can be controlled. Lucifer couldn’t control his power and authority, and he became the devil. God wants to know that He can entrust the universe, the earth, as the scripture says, and eventually, the universe to people who have a spirit of meekness, an ability to control great strength.

Great capability, which we certainly will have as God beings. How well, brethren, how well are we doing with showing the spirit of meekness? An example of a ten, a strong example, you’re wrongly accused at work but instead of reacting angrily, you calmly explain the truth and trust God to handle the situation. You don’t seek revenge, you don’t create conflict, but you handle it with patience and wisdom. Even if you’re not allowed to explain the situation or people don’t believe you, you still move forward with meekness.

In other words, as a ten, you consistently respond with humility, patience, and a quiet, teachable spirit even when you’re challenged or criticized. Or are you closer to a one? You get into a heated debate and quickly become defensive, insisting that you are right and you refuse to listen to any other perspective. You allow pride to take control of your responses rather than responding with humility and understanding. So in other words, as a one, you tend to be defensive, quick to assert your opinion, and easily offended when you get corrected.

Are you closer to a ten or to a one when it comes to meekness? How to grow in meekness? First Peter chapter three. First Peter chapter three. How to grow in meekness? First Peter chapter three, verse four. First Peter chapter three, four, “But let the hidden man of the heart,” so this is the inner man, the part that everyone doesn’t see, the part that tends to be the true you. “...let the hidden man of the heart in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.” An ornament of a meek and quiet spirit. You think about an ornament, something that you wear, something that others can see. And here it says, “God can see it.” So, brethren, instead of reacting in anger or pride, pause and consider a humble response to a negative situation. This is something that Peter, the man who wrote this, this is something that Peter had to learn. Think about how Peter was. He was just a powerful man and he tended to just react.

But he’s telling us here that he learned unless he was a hypocrite, that he learned that meekness and having a meek and humble and quiet spirit is very valuable to God. And in fact, when God sees it, it gets his attention. In his sight, a meek and quiet spirit is of great price because God knows the power that it takes to remain meek, to be able to control the strength that you have. Another way to grow in meekness is to choose humility over defensiveness.

Titus three. Titus chapter three. Choose humility over defensiveness. Titus three, verse two. Titus chapter three, verse two. “Speak evil of no man, be no brawler, but gentle showing all meekness unto all men.” I think it’s interesting how gentleness you see it tied in there. Obviously, different than meekness. They’re both laid out there, but they’re tied together. But we’re told here to show meekness unto all men. Meekness means being willing to listen, admit you’re wrong. And if you aren’t wrong, you still hold it together.

You’re not a brawler. You’re not quick to fight and to lash out. Imagine if God did that. Imagine if God lashed out. He wasn’t. Imagine if God wasn’t willing to listen, would be serving a very different God. We will look at the final fruit on our list here. The final fruit of God’s personality in His personality test. And that’s the fruit of temperance. Now temperance is similar to meekness in that it involves control. You know, meekness is controlling strength, but temperance is a little different. It focuses more on willpower and discipline. Being disciplined.

But it goes beyond human willpower. This is spirit-led willpower or spirit-led discipline, and it keeps us from giving in to sin and temptations. It’s a big part of what temperance can help us do. Temperance, the fruit of it helps us to govern our thoughts, our emotions, and our desires, and make sure that they remain aligned with God’s will. First Corinthians chapter nine. First Corinthians chapter nine. The fruit of temperance. First Corinthians chapter nine. We’ll pick it up in verse twenty-five.

First Corinthians chapter nine, verse twenty-five. “And every man that strives for the mastery,” so to master something, “...that person is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.” Someone who’s a master at something has to be disciplined. Playing the piano and becoming a maestro at the piano, you have to be disciplined. To be skilled at building buildings or being an accountant with numbers, you have to be disciplined to master that subject.

And what Paul is saying here that to master spiritual things and those people do those things for incorruptible or for corruptible crowns, our crown is incorruptible. How much more temperate or disciplined should we be? Think of the temperance that Christ showed, Christ as God. God in the flesh. Think of the temperance he showed when he was tempted by the devil. He fasted for forty days, and the devil threw everything he had at Him. The devil threw his best at Him, but Christ overcame it. He had the spiritual temperance, the spiritual discipline to be able to overcome it. How would we react, brethren? How much temperance do we show in just a fraction of what Christ experienced? How much temperance are we showing in just a microdot of what He experienced? Well, let’s rate ourselves. Number ten, a ten in the fruit of temperance. You set aside time every week to do the things you’re responsible for.

Those include prayer, study, getting to work on time, working while you’re at work, spending time with your family and your friends, and having sufficient downtime with yourself. You have the discipline or the temperance to do all those things. And even when you don’t feel like it, you stay disciplined and keep your commitments to God and others in your life. So in other words, as a ten, you exercise control over your thoughts, your emotions, and your actions.

You are disciplined in your spiritual life and your physical life, and you don’t allow temptations to overpower you. That’s a ten. Or are you closer to a one? As a one, you feel stressed and turn to unhealthy coping mechanisms such as overeating, excessive entertainment, or losing your temper. You allow your emotions to dictate your actions instead of exercising self-control. And when you get off track, you have great difficulty getting back on track again.

In other words, as a one, you often act on impulse, you struggle with self-discipline, and you find yourself frequently giving into bad habits or temptations. Brethren, are you closer to a one or closer to a ten? How can we grow in temperance or self-control? One way is to strengthen your spiritual disciplines. First Corinthians chapter nine. First Corinthians chapter nine. Stay here in Corinthians. First Corinthians nine, twenty-seven. “But I keep my body and bring it unto subjection, lest that by any means when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.”

We read a description of someone says who keeps their body and brings it unto subjection. They force themselves to do the things that they need to do. In this case, Paul, doing the things that he needed to do. Brethren, be disciplined to do the things that you know you have to do even when you don’t feel like it. Christianity is hard, but it’s also simple. It’s simple. It’s not always easy, but it’s simple. Be disciplined to do the things you know you have to do. We all know what we have to do. We all know what we have to do. We just have to do it.

You self-control to do what you have to do both physically and spiritually. We should not have our nose in our Bibles twenty-four hours a day. It’s impossible. You have to sleep, but you also have to go to work. You can’t have your nose in your Bible while you’re working. You have to spend time with family. Spend time with friends and fellowship. Spend time with yourself. All those things require time and require discipline. Another way to grow in temperance is to identify your weak areas and set boundaries around those weaknesses.

Matthew twenty-six. Matthew chapter twenty-six, verse forty-one. Matthew twenty-six, verse forty-one. “Watch and pray that you enter not into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” We can all relate to that. There have been many times, brethren, the spirit was willing, but the flesh was just weak. Be honest with yourself. Be honest with your struggles. Whether it’s anger, if you have an anger problem, be honest with yourself.

If you have a problem with food, you eat too much. You have a problem with entertainment, you’re watching the wrong things, or you’re watching it too long and too much, and it’s keeping you from doing the other things you know you have to do. If you have any kind of unhealthy habits, unhealthy spiritually, unhealthy physically, be honest with yourself. And what did it say? Watch and pray. Now that was in the context of in the Garden of Gethsemane. Christ is telling the disciples, but it applies to our temptations. Watch and pray. Watch for those temptations. Pray about them. The spirit is willing, but acknowledge that the flesh is weak. Sometimes those things are hard to overcome. Identify them and put boundaries around them. That way we can overcome them and we can avoid falling into temptation.

Brethren, we looked at all nine of the fruits, we got through it. Looking at my time, I think I’m okay. We got through all nine of the fruits and we learned to see them as aspects of God’s personality. I don’t know about you. Maybe it’s just because I like personality tests that added a new or a different element or way to look at them. These are all qualities of God’s personality, and these are fruits that not only describe God’s personality, but they’re fruits that He wants us to have in our spiritual personality.

He wants us to cultivate the fruit. I don’t think it’s a mistake that they’re called fruit. Cultivate those fruits in our lives. My purpose, as you’ll recall, was to create a tool to help you assess your level of spiritual growth. This is one of many tools you’ll hear about over the next several weeks, or the sermons, articles, things to help us prepare for the Passover. The Passover is only about eight weeks away. Use this message and other tools that we offer for self-examination and spiritual reflection.

We’ve heard so much about being ready and getting ready for the return of Jesus Christ. Of course, a message like this would help us with that as well and get creative. Get creative. Maybe you focus on one fruit per week between now and Passover. Now you’re going to have to double up. There’s eight weeks, but by the time you hear all of this and there’s nine fruits, so you may have to double up, but maybe you focus on one fruit per week and you study it, and you ask yourself the tough questions. Go back through your ratings.

Or maybe what you can do is put all nine fruits in order ranking from the strongest to the weakest, and focus on the bottom three. Focus on those bottom three fruits that you really want to grow in and that you really want to get better at. Or maybe there’s ways to combine different fruits. Combine gentleness with meekness or faith with love. Have fun with it. Combine them for study. Combine them for actions. You know what? I’m going to do an act of faith today. I’m going to show an act of love today.

You know what? That person rubbed me the wrong way, but you know what? I’m going to show gentleness. I’m going to be kind and not lash out. I’m going to systematically underreact. Figure out all kinds of ways. Brethren, there’s all sorts of ways to use all that we covered in this message. As I close, let me remind you, it’s not about achieving perfection in all nine fruits overnight. First of all, you can’t do it overnight and we can’t ever do it at this side with having flesh.

Remember, the spirit is willing with the flesh is weak. It’s not about perfection so much as it is the fact that God expects us to grow and cultivate these fruits. He expects us to grow, to acknowledge these fruits exist, that they’re a part of his personality. They should be a part of our spiritual personality, and He wants us to grow. So actively work on increasing God’s spirit in you. As you increase God’s spirit, all nine fruits will increase because they’re the fruit of His spirit.

As we often say. I often heard it said God’s spirit has a job to do. Ask God to increase His spirit in you. He’ll do it, and from there his spirit has a job to do. It’ll lead you to be able to grow each of these fruits. The more we work on building the Holy Spirit in us, the more we will be like God, the more we will reflect His personality. If we commit, we will not only grow in the fruits of God’s personality, we will also be able to prepare ourselves for the Passover and the return of Christ.