2 Corinthians 6:1-10 And working together with Him, we also urge you not to receive the grace of God in vain— 2 for He says, “At a favorable time I listened to you, And on a day of salvation I helped you.” Behold, now is “a favorable time,” behold, now is “a day of salvation”— • God offers salvation to ALL PEOPLE. • Many put off making a decision for Christ thinking there will be a better time. • Sadly, many miss the opportunity all together, with that attitude. • There is No better time than the present to receive God’s forgiveness. • Don’t allow anything to hold you back from SALVATION today! “the devil knows your name, but calls you by your sin, God, however, knows your sin, but calls you by your name.” 1 Thessalonians 5:22-24a NLT 22 Stay away from every kind of evil… Song of Songs 2:15 Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards, our vineyards that are in bloom. TO BEGIN WITH, WE SEE THAT JESUS HIMSELF IS “THE TRUE VINE” John 15:1 that He said of Himself, “I am the true vine”. BELIEVERS, CHRISTIANS, ARE BRANCHES IN THE VINE. verse 5 – “I am the vine, you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” AS BRANCHES IN THE VINE, WE ARE TO BEAR FRUIT. in verse 4, “No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must…”; in verse 5, “He will bear much fruit…”; THE FRUIT WE ARE TO BEAR IS “THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT”. This is not “the fruit of the spirit” (small s), but “the fruit of the Spirit” (large S) – Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. This is the fruit we should be bearing. These are the graces which should characterize us as Christians. THE “LITTLE FOXES THAT RUIN THE VINEYARDS”, THAT HINDER THE GROWTH AND TAKE AWAY THE TENDER FRUIT, ARE THE SINS OF THE SPIRIT. 2 Corinthians 7:1 NLT Because we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit. And let us work toward complete holiness because we fear God. • The “sins of the spirit” are “the little foxes” that creep in almost unnoticed and spoil the vines and take away the fruit. • wrong things we think, • the wrong things we say and • the wrong things we do. These Lil Foxes rob our lives of the fruit that the Holy Spirit. What can we do with these little foxes? THE WAY TO DEAL WITH “THE LITTLE FOXES” IS TO KILL THEM. Galatians 5:24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there.Romans 6:11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. • If the little foxes are not put to death they will grow into big foxes! THE WAY TO KILL “THE LITTLE FOXES” IS TO RELY UPON THE HOLY SPIRIT. Galatians 5:16 – “Live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.” • Yield to the Holy Spirit, • Trust Him and • Rely upon Him to give you the victory. • Then there will appear in your life an abundance of fruit – “the fruit of the Spirit”. “RUN RUN FAST AS YOU CAN THE DEVIL CANT HAVE ME IM THE SPIRIT LEAD MAN!!!”
