THE FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT

WE are not dealing with mysticism, philosophy or meta-physics. We are dealing with realities. It is not something that the human reason has wrought out through observation or physical sensations, but we are dealing with the basic laws of man’s being, the great spiritual laws that govern the Unseen forces of life. There are several great forces that emanate from the recreated human spirit. They are to the spirit realm what iron, copper, gold and other metals are to the mechanical realm.

Faith

The first force of the recreated human spirit is faith. Faith is not the product of reason. It is the babe that is born in the human spirit. God is a faith Spirit. He brought the universe into being by faith. He created the metals, gases, oils, and all that goes to make up the physical world, by faith. fly faith He brought the stars. sun and moon into being, as an artist brings a colorful landscape to life upon a drab canvas. He is a faith God. He works by faith. As recreated men and women, we are to work and live by faith. Jesus said, “If a man had faith as a grain of mustard seed, he could say to yonder mountain, “Up, be hurled into the sea, and the mountain would obey him.” We know that the sea, the wind, the fish, and the laws of nature obeyed the faith voice of the Son of God.

We know that reason did not govern Jesus, but His Spirit, which is above reason, ruled, for Jesus did the most unreasonable things. He stood by the tomb of the rotting body of Lazarus and said to that body, “Lazarus, come forth,” and the spirit of Lazarus came from Paradise. entered into that physical body and it was renewed, made perfectly normal and healthy, by faith. It a. as the voice of faith. Words filled with faith dominated the laws of death. and subdued the forces that have ruled the human since the fall of man.

It was the same voice that spoke to the water and it became wine. It was the same voice that said to the sea, “Peace, be still.” When one realizes the source of faith, then he will be able to develop it. When one learns what produces faith, the kind of food and activities that are necessary to develop it, he has arrived. Faith is a product of your spirit, just as wisdom is a product of your spirit, faith is developed and wisdom is enriched by meditation in the Word of God.

This Word came to man through the human spirit, God communicating it to man’s reasoning faculties. Man’s spirit was governed by God’s spirit, enabling him to bring God’s message to man’s consciousness through this Revelation. By the same token, faith is developed in the human spirit by the Word of God. It comes by acting on the Word. That is your exercise. Every time yon act upon the Word, faith becomes stronger. You could lie in bed until, our limbs lose their ability to bear the rest of your body. So it is with faith, it must be continually exercised in order to develop it.