Roots by the River

  “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness , faithfulness” (Gal. 5:22). “He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord” (Acts 11:24). Barnabas was full of the Holy Spirit. He was also a good man. This is not surprising, since the fruit of the Spirit is goodness. Goodness is a characteristic of being filled with the Holy Spirit and a characteristic of effective preaching. In Acts 11, Barnabas preached, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord. Preaching the content of the Good News without being good is contradictory. “Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did” (1 John 2:6). If we are going to talk the good news, we must walk the good news. How we live our day-to-day lives is part of our witness for Christ. Our lives are a gospel, read by everyone who interacts with us. *Excerpted from Weapons & Tactics . To purchase, visit ccmbooks.org/booksto...

  “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness , goodness, faithfulness” (Gal. 5:22). Kindness is one of the greatest weapons in kingdom warfare. It is God’s principal instrument for leading people to repentance. “Or do you show contempt for the riches of His kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you towards repentance?” (Rom. 2:4). God used Paul to give Timothy instruction on how to witness and how not to witness: “Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. And the Lord’s servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will” (2 Tim. 2:23–26). People do not usuall...

  “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness” (Gal. 5:22). Patience in evangelism starts with God: "The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance ” (2 Pet. 3:9). We think God is slow when He is just patient. He tells us to wait patiently too, because that means the salvation of more people: “Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near” (James 5:7–8). In personal evangelism there is a time to plow, to disc, and to harrow the ground. There is a time to plant. There is a time to wait for the autumn and spring rains. Then there is a time to harvest. Everything prior to the harvest requires patience. When the harves...

  “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness” (Gal. 5:22). “When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; if not, it will return to you” (Lk. 10:5–6). “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 5:1). Peace with God is the result of justification. The fruit of the Spirit is peace, and the first words we are to use in house-to-house evangelism are, “ Peace to this house.” We fight the spiritual war with the weapon of peace . Jesus said to Pilate, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place” (Jn. 18:36). We do not use weapons of physical war in evangelism, and that is good. But we also do not consistently present the good news in peace, which we should. Many evangelists present the gosp...

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness” (Gal. 5:22). Joy is difficult to contain. It overflows. Here is an example of what happened when David’s sin caused him to lose his joy: “Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners will turn back to You” (Ps. 51:12–13). Joy is attractive. When it is restored, sinners are converted. Before I received Christ, I was not happy, but I wanted to be. I saw men who seemed to be happy. They were not happy; they were joyful . I did not know the difference, but I wanted what they had. If you are a Christian and are not joyful, you are under the chastening of the Lord because of unconfessed sin. Confess your sins and your life of joy will be a witness . “Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto th...

  “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness” (Gal. 5:22). “A new command I give you: Love one another . As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (Jn. 13:34–35). We are told to love our brothers in Christ. This love tells all of the non-brothers that we are followers of Jesus Christ. This is indirect evangelism. “ Love your neighbor as yourself” (Mt. 22:39b). Our neighbor may not be a Christian. We are to love him because he is a neighbor. “But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies , do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them d...

  The fruit of the Spirit is true evidence that someone has the Spirit. It is possible to be baptized “into the name of the Lord Jesus” but not be baptized into the body of Christ by the Holy Spirit. Water baptism is meant as a sign of salvation, but it does not save you. The fruit of the Spirit is essential to evangelism. It is part of our arsenal of weapons which are not carnal. Without this fruit it is impossible to preach and pray in the Holy Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is given to each new Christian at the time he receives Christ. It is the primary evidence of life in Christ. The Christian has it, and he is commanded to express it. If someone does not have the fruit of the Spirit, he is not a Christian. If he has it and does not express it, he is a disobedient Christian. *Excerpted from Weapons & Tactics . To purchase, visit ccmbooks.org/bookstore .

  "Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit , said to them: 'Rulers and elders of the people! If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed, then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. He is "the stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone"'" (Acts 4:8–11). It is possible to preach the gospel without being filled with the Holy Spirit. It is better to be scared enough to pray for a Holy Spirit kind of boldness. With Holy Spirit boldness comes power . *Excerpted from Weapons & Tactics . To purchase, visit ccmbooks.org/bookstore .

  “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel ” (Eph. 6:18–19). Praying for saints and sinners is a major part of the proclamation of the gospel. What are we to pray? For the saints: “For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in ...

  “Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more” (John 16:7–10). The Helper, the Holy Spirit, convicts men of sin. This conviction is one of the states that precede repentance. *Excerpted from Weapons & Tactics . To purchase, visit ccmbooks.org/bookstore .

  I became a Christian when I was 20 years old, during my second year at the Naval Academy. However, my conversion was set up for me beforehand, because I learned two things prior to becoming a Christian: authority and obedience. I learned these in bootcamp, and I learned them in plebe year. When I received Christ my sophomore year, I already knew what authority and obedience were. I could see them everywhere in the New Testament. The New Testament is full of commands that are very clear. But I see that Christians do not pay much attention to them. Here are a few of these commands: “In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you” (1 Thess. 5:18). “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17). “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I say—rejoice! Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God; and the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your he...

  Many years ago, I was talking with a young woman, and I asked her what she thought of Jesus. Her reply was a good answer but qualified with this phrase, "but I don't think he was very polite." The more I read the Gospels, the more I am convinced that her qualification is a true one. The problem was that, to her, politeness was a high virtue, and since Jesus was not polite, He was not perfect. Many of us, like this young woman, interpret Scripture in the light of our cultural mores. We do this because obedience to the text as it is might mean crossing or offending our Christian and secular friends. The issue is clear in a place like India or Japan where the religious culture is so opposite to the claims of Christ. If a person does not follow Christ there, he knows he does not, and he knows why. In our society, we have compromised for so long that we think we are following Christ when in reality we are only following the evangelical American culture. One good way ...

  There is so much in Scripture about the relationship of the Holy Spirit to our presentation of the gospel that we will take up the subject in sections. In Divine Power “I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Mt. 3:11). “All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them” (Acts 2:4). “Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God—the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures regarding his Son, who as to his human nature was a descendant of David, and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. Through him and for his name’s sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentile...

"I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you" (Psalm 119:11). There are many kinds of Bible study: reading, synthetic Bible studies, group Bible studies, Old Testament references in context, subject studies, and more. There is a kind of Bible study that goes beyond these. It is meditation. Meditation is more mystical and more practical than these other types of Bible study. In order to explain this, let me tell you first what meditation is not . It is not looking for a deeper, hidden meaning in the passage. It is not numerology or looking for a codified arrangement of the text. It is not saying that the plain meaning of the text is not the right meaning. Meditation does not have to do with our understanding of the text, but rather where we understand it. Studying generally results in head knowledge. If we memorized Matthew 5:38-48, we might come up with all the right answers on a written exam about it. Would we do as well if we were put in...

  "Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Serve the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs" (Psalm 100:1-2). In this world there are sad songs, love songs, and battle songs, but the songs of salvation are all songs of joy and gladness. David knew this when he wrote Psalm 51. In it he sings, "Restore to me the joy of your salvation" (Psalm 51:12). Salvation means joy, and joy means singing. Psalm 126 is about release from physical captivity, but it is also a great picture of salvation: "When the Lord brought back the captives to Zion , we were like men who dreamed. Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, 'The Lord has done great things for them.' The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy. Restore our fortunes, O Lord, like streams in the Negev . Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy. He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, wi...

"Others went out on the sea in ships; they were merchants on the mighty waters. They saw the works of the Lord, his wonderful deeds in the deep. For he spoke and stirred up a tempest that lifted high the waves. They mounted up to the heavens and went down to the depths; in their peril their courage melted away. They reeled and staggered like drunken men; they were at their wits’ end. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he brought them out of their distress. He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed. They were glad when it grew calm, and he guided them to their desired haven. Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men. Let them exalt him in the assembly of the people and praise him in the council of the elders" (Psalm 107:23-32). There is nothing more tranquil nor more violent than the sea. Psalm 107:23-32, Luke 8:22-25, and Acts 27:14-44 all describe violent storms. Ships were caught i...

  God has granted us a great range of powerful weapons. Another is the name of Jesus. “‘Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.’ … Peter replied, ‘Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call’” (Acts 2:36–39). “They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: ‘By what power or what name did you do this?’ …. ‘Then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed.’ …. They called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name Jesus” (Acts 4:7, 10, 18). “Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servant...

  Here are a few suggestions on how to handle gossip: 1)     Draw the gossiper’s attention to Romans 1:29-32 and 2 Corinthians 12:20: " They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them" (Rom. 1:29-32). "For I am afraid that when I come I may not find you as I want you to be, and you may not find me as you want me to be. I fear that there may be quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, factions, slander, gossip , arrogance and disorder" (2 Cor. 12:20). Romans lists gossip among the characteristics of unbel...

Love has first priority in the Bible. It is the most important and most comprehensive fruit of the Spirit. It is the first commandment, and it is the second commandment. All the other teachings of the Bible fit into it. God is the source of all love, and He expresses His love to the world by giving. Giving is preached much more than it is practiced. Perhaps this is because the preaching is prompted by the desire to receive rather than the desire to give. Many churches and radio and television programs teach giving by encouraging people to give to their ministry. The emphasis is, “You are to give so that I can receive.” It is a veneer to hide covetousness. Another reason giving is taught more than practiced is that we are not taught how to give lovingly by example. If godliness were widespread, it would not be necessary to teach giving. People would give themselves and their money, rather than giving their money instead of themselves. They would also give their money to the rig...

  As Scripture describes it, another great weapon in our arsenal is the blood of Jesus Christ. “The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him. Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: ‘Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Messiah. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death’” (Rev. 12:9–11). “They” are “our brothers” (v. 10). The “him” they triumphed over is “Satan” (v. 9). Their weapon was the blood of the Lamb, the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. The blood of Christ works in our salvation, our redemption, and for our continual cleansing: “And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, ...