The Character and Fruits of a Christian

Stewardship

1 Corinthians 4:2  

Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.

2 Corinthians 9:6-7  

6 Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.

7 Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

Trust

Psalms 37:3-5  

3 Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.

4 Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.

5 Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this:

Proverbs 3:5-6  

5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;

6 in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

Truth

John 14:6  

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

John 17:17  

Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.

Ephesians 4:14  

14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.

15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.

Philippians 4:8  

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

Victory

1 Corinthians 15:57  

But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 John 5:4  

For everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.

Examples of Repentance

Peter

Matthew 26:75  

Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken: “Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly.

Luke 22:62  

And he went outside and wept bitterly.

Corinthians

2 Corinthians 7:9-11  

9 yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us.

10  Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.

11  See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done. At every point you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter.

Thoughts on this verses..

Psalms 34:5

Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.

Thoughts on this verse…

We are like the moon; the glory we show is the reflection of the greater life in our lives that does not originate in us but is a blessing to others through us. Look to God for your hope, your strength, your values, your foundation, your security, and your light.

Ephesians 1:4-5

4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love

5 he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—

Thoughts on Today's Verse....

God wants us as his holy children. That was his plan for us even before the world began. God paid the huge price of our adoption into his family — the sacrifice of his Son Jesus. God's motive in doing this? His desire and delight in loving us.

Avoiding Satan’s Snares

1 Peter 5:8

Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

Don’t Stray

Psalms 119:67

Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I obey your word.

James 4:7-8

7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

Don’t Strut

Proverbs 16:18

Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.

John 12:42

Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue;

43 for they loved praise from men more than praise from God.

James 4:10

Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

Don’t Stoop

Romans 12:21

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Don’t Stop

Matthew 10:22

All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.

Romans 8:37-39

37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,

39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

J E S U S

Things that happened while Jesus was on earth

79

A blind man is healed at Bethsaida

Mark 8:22-26

80

Peter says Jesus is the Christ at Caesarea

Matthew 16:13-20      Mark 8:27-30              Luke 9:18-20

81

Jesus tells of His death, first time at Caesarea

Matthew 16:21-28      Mark 8:31-38              Luke 9:21-27

82

A look at what Jesus will be like at Caesarea

Matthew 17:1-13        Mark 9:1-13    Luke 9:28-36

83

A boy is healed at Caesarea

Matthew 17:14-21      Mark 9:14-29              Luke 9:37-42

84

Jesus tells of His death second time at Galilee

Matthew 17:22-23      Mark 9:30-32  Luke 9:43-45

85

House of God tax at Capernaum

Matthew 17:24-27

86

Teaching about faith as a child at Capernaum

Matthew 18:1-35        Mark 9:33-50              Luke 9:46-50

87

Jesus and followers leave Galilee at Judea

John 9:51-56

88

The seventy sent out to preach at Judea

John 10:1-24

The Character and Fruits of a Christian

Joy

Luke 10:20  

However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

John 15:11

I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.

Kindness

Colossians 3:12-13

12 Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

13 Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

Forgiveness

Mark 11:25-26 

25 And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.’”

26 “But if you do not grieve, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses”.

Ephesians 4:31-32 

31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.

32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

Freedom

John 8:31-36 

31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.

32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

33 They answered him, “We are Abraham's descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?”

34 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.

35 Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever.

36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

The Call of God

The teaching by the Master is accomplished in a variety of ways:

By practice

Matthew 17:14  

14 When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before him.

15 “Lord, have mercy on my son,” he said. “He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water.

16 I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him.”

17 “O unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.”

18 Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed from that moment.

19 Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn't we drive it out?”

20 He replied, “Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

In need

John 6:1-14  

1 Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias),

2 and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the miraculous signs he had performed on the sick.

3 Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples.

4 The Jewish Passover Feast was near.

5 When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?”

6 He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.

7 Philip answered him, “Eight months’ wages would not buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!”

8 Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, spoke up,

9 “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”

10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and the men sat down, about five thousand of them.

11 Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.

12 When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.”

13 So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.

14 After the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus did, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.”

The Character and Fruits of a Christian

Watchfulness

Mark 13:34-37 

34 It's like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with his assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch.

35 “Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn.

36 If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping.

37 What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’”

Worship

John 4:23-24  

23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.

24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”

Zeal

Romans 12:11  

Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.

Humility

Philippians 2:3-11

3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.

4 Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:

6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,

7 but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.

8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross!

9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,

10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Answered Prayer

John 14:12-15

12 I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.

13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father.

14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

15 “If you love me, you will obey what I command.

John 15:7

If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.

John 15:16

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.

John 16:23-26

23 In that day you will no longer ask me anything. I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.

24 Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.

25 “Though I have been speaking figuratively, a time is coming when I will no longer use this kind of language but will tell you plainly about my Father.

26 In that day you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf.

Hebrews 11:6

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

James 1:7-8

7 That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord;

8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.

1 John 3:22

And receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him.

1 John 5:13-14

13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.

14 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.

Similitudes of Believers

Salt

Matthew 5:13  

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.

Light, City and Candle

Matthew 5:14  

“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.

Wheat

Matthew 3:12-13  

12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John.

Babes

Matthew 11:25  

At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.

Fish

Matthew 13:48  

When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away.

Servants

Matthew 25:21  

“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!’

Building

1 Corinthians 3:9  

For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building.

Runners

1 Corinthians 9:24  

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.

Things blessed by God

Isaac

Genesis 25:11

After Abraham's death, God blessed his son Isaac, who then lived near Beer Lahai Roi.

Genesis 26:12

Isaac planted crops in that land and the same year reaped a hundredfold, because the LORD blessed him.

Jacob

Genesis 35:9

After Jacob returned from Paddan Aram, God appeared to him again and blessed him.

An Egyptian

Genesis 39:5

From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the LORD blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the LORD was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field.

Israel

Deuteronomy 7:14

You will be blessed more than any other people; none of your men or women will be childless, nor any of your livestock without young.

Deuteronomy 12:7

There, in the presence of the LORD your God, you and your families shall eat and shall rejoice in everything you have put your hand to, because the LORD your God has blessed you.

Deuteronomy 14:24

But if that place is too distant and you have been blessed by the LORD your God and cannot carry your tithe (because the place where the LORD will choose to put his Name is so far away),

Deuteronomy 15:14

Supply him liberally from your flock, your threshing floor and your winepress. Give to him as the LORD your God has blessed you.

Deuteronomy 16:10 Then celebrate the Feast of Weeks to the LORD your God by giving a freewill offering in proportion to the blessings the LORD your God has given you.

Don’t commit sin

Romans 7:24

What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?

Romans 7:23

But I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members.

Romans 7:5

For when we were controlled by the sinful nature, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, so that we bore fruit for death.

Please read Romans 7:1-25, Romans 3:1-31

Romans 2:17-23

17  Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and brag about your relationship to God;

18 if you know his will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law;

19 if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark,

20 an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of infants, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth—

21 you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal?

22 You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?

23 You who brag about the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law?

Romans 2:16

This will take place on the day when God will judge men's secrets through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares.

Acts 2:38

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.

John 15:22

If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now, however, they have no excuse for their sin.

John 12:43

For they loved praise from men more than praise from God.

John 9:41

Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.

Luke 12:3

What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs.