BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

Nothing the devil comes up with can defeat you when you’re walking in the fullness of the fruit! As author Greg Zoschak puts it, “There is not any situation, trial or temptation that a child of God will face that one of the fruit of the spirit will not enable him to overcome.” If the devil tries to stir up trouble in your relationships, for instance, forces like love and kindness will come to your aid. If he tries to discourage you with contrary circumstances, forces like faith and patience will see you through. If he tempts you to get into pride because you’re excelling on the job, or to get into fear and turmoil because you’re in danger of being laid off, the fruit of humility and peace will protect you. On the other hand, if one of the fruit is not operating in your life, you can’t be totally successful because that particular area will be the place where the enemy will concentrate his attack. Without the force of self-control, for example, even though you may have all the other spiritual fruit in operation, without that fruit to help you rein in your natural desires, you’ll be vulnerable to getting pulled off course by the lusts of your flesh. That’s why, throughout the New Testament, God tells us continually to cultivate all the fruit of the spirit! He loves us and wants us to be overcomers. And that’s what the fruit empower us to do. I first began learning about the fruit of the spirit in 1988, a few weeks before our annual West Coast Believers’ Convention. I’d been fellowshipping with the Lord in preparation for the meetings and, as always, I asked Him, “Lord, what do You want me to preach?” It usually takes a few days for me to discern what He’s saying. I have to listen to my spirit for a while until I’m sure I’ve heard clearly from Him. But that morning was different. He spoke to me so powerfully, I heard Him right away: 'I want you to teach on the fruit of the spirit,' He said. His answer totally surprised me. I’d never taught just on the fruit of the spirit. So I began an organized, in-depth study on it. I knew I’d received the Lord’s direction, so I dove in and got started! I began searching my Bible, looking at the many scriptures that talk about the fruit of the spirit, and I got some wonderful books on the subject. Then, with all my resources piled around me, I read and prayed—hour after hour, day after day—and let the Holy Spirit teach me what you’re about to read. What the Lord showed me not only blessed me, it changed my perception in a way that has impacted my life ever since. THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT WILL PRODUCE A STRONG FOUNDATION FOR VICTORY. I don’t know about you, but I want to finish my life as a winner. When reward day comes, I want to hear Jesus say, “Well done, My good and faithful servant!” I’m sure you do, too. For that to happen, though, we’ll need to keep growing consistently in the fruit of the spirit. Partakers of the Divine Nature “How exactly do we go about walking consistently in the power of the fruit of the spirit?” you might ask. The first thing we do is go to the Bible to see what God has to say about the subject. One passage I’ve studied quite a bit is 2 Peter 1:3-11. It says that God: "[By] his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these [we] might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust" (verses 3-4). These verses help us understand the process by telling us that godliness (which is another way to describe the fruit) comes through the knowledge of the Lord. GOD HAS ALREADY PROVIDED EVERY BORN-AGAIN BELIEVER WITH EVERYTHING IT TAKES TO BEAR SPIRITUAL FRUIT. The better we get to know Him, the greater revelation we’ll have of His divine nature that’s already inside us. The better we understand His nature, the more we can partake of it, and the freer of this world’s corruption we become. 28 : BVOV

• Cover