DRAW NEAR
Pastor Hollis Moore
Session 4: Known By Its Fruit
Introduction (Brief recap of our season)
- Level Up (May-June)
- Experiencing personal revival
- Eco System of Maturity (visit app to check out both series)
- Wake Up Revival (July)
- What revival is
- How to seek after Him
- THERE IS MORE
- Your Move (Aug- Sep)
- Our response to revival
- Our move IS His move
- Draw Near (Oct)
- What does the presence of God look like, feel like, and sound like?
- Practical signs of drawing near to Him
Which leads us to a brief run through of this series
- Pastor Mark- He taught us to abide in Christ and make Jesus the ONE THING. He taught us to discern His presence by
- Eliminate as much noise as possible.
- Spend time “listening”
- Place High Value on the Presence
- Brown- He taught us that we are all created to prophecy which means we are all created to hear and discern God’s voice. God’s voice will always bring
- Edification
- Exhortation
- Comfort
- Pastor JT- He taught us that we can experience God’s presence in the simplest things. It’s not always about the spectacular, but it’s about knowing Him in the supernatrual.
So today we are asking the question….
How do I know when I am in the Presence of God? How do I know that what I am feeling is Him?
We can easily identify people based off of their characteristics
Characteristic –
a distinguishing feature or quality
Facial features, tone of voice, particular smell, certain walk, wears a hat….
A tree is known by its fruit (Matthew 12:33)
Fruit is one of the primary distinguishing features and qualities of a tree
God has made it easy for us to know His characteristics because He has showed us His fruit
Galatians 5:22-23 (ESV)
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
How do you know you are in the presence of God, fully experiencing Him and communing with Him?
What fruit do you see?
Love- Zephaniah 3:17 (ESV)“The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save;he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love;he will exult over you with loud singing.”
Joy- Nehemiah 8:10 (ESV) “ Then he said to them, “Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
Peace- Philippians 4:6-7(ESV) 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Patience– Romans 15:5-6 (ESV) 5 May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, 6 that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Kindness- Romans 2:4 (TPT) 4 Do the riches of his extraordinary kindness make you take him for granted and despise him? Haven’t you experienced how kind and understanding he has been to you? Don’t mistake his tolerance for acceptance. Do you realize that all the wealth of his extravagant kindness is meant to melt your heart and lead you into repentance?
Goodness- Psalm 84:11 (ESV) For the Lord God is a sun and shield;the Lord bestows favor and honor.No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly.
Faithfulness– 2 Thessalonians 3:3 (ESV) 3 But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one
Gentleness- Matthew 11:28-30 (ESV) “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Self-Control– Matthew 4:1-11 (reference only)
-Jesus tempted in the wilderness
Us better recognizing the fruits of His Spirit in our lives is an indicator of relational growth with Him.
Just like every other relationship, we become more confident as we build familiarity through time with Him.
Psalm 27:4 “One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.”
Truly knowing God’s presence takes time spent with Him. We need to develop rich and meaningful history with the Lord.
God’s ultimate design for the world to know His presence is through us.
John 15:1-8 (MSG)
1-3 “I am the Real Vine and my Father is the Farmer. He cuts off every branch of me that doesn’t bear grapes. And every branch that is grape-bearing he prunes back so it will bear even more. You are already pruned back by the message I have spoken.
4 “Live in me. Make your home in me just as I do in you. In the same way that a branch can’t bear grapes by itself but only by being joined to the vine, you can’t bear fruitunless you are joined with me.
5-8 “I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you’re joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can’t produce a thing. Anyone who separates from me is deadwood, gathered up and thrown on the bonfire. But if you make yourselves at home with me and my words are at home in you, you can be sure that whatever you ask will be listened to and acted upon. This is how my Father shows who he is—when you produce grapes, when you mature as my disciples.
We are called to be part of the answer to the question, “How do I know I am in God’s presence”
When we draw near to the Lord and experience life intimately with Him, we begin to take on His characteristics.
If a tree is known by its fruit, then let’s get seed from the fruit of the tree of life. Let that seed be sown into the soil of our lives and watch our fruit bring revival to others