Becoming Produce People: Living by the Spirit

### Bible Reading
1. **Galatians 5:16-23**: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law."
2. **Matthew 23:25-28**: "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean. Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness."
3. **James 1:22**: "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says."

### Observation Questions
1. What are the two ways of living described in Galatians 5:16-23, and what are the outcomes of each? [01:03:31]
2. How did Jesus describe the Pharisees in Matthew 23:25-28, and what was His main criticism of them? [01:08:01]
3. According to James 1:22, what is the danger of merely listening to the word without acting on it? [01:14:49]
4. What are the three types of people described in the sermon, and what characterizes each type? [01:06:03]

### Interpretation Questions
1. Why do you think Paul emphasizes that the fruit of the Spirit cannot be produced by our own efforts but requires the Holy Spirit? [01:04:22]
2. How does the story of Jacob, who was destined to be a witch doctor but became a pastor, illustrate the transformative power of the gospel? [49:16]
3. What does it mean to be a "plastic person" in the context of the sermon, and why is this type of faith criticized? [01:08:01]
4. How can being a "peel person" lead to spiritual stagnation, and what does James 1:22 suggest as a remedy for this? [01:14:49]

### Application Questions
1. Reflect on your own life: Are there areas where you might be acting like a "plastic person," focusing on outward appearances rather than inward transformation? How can you address this? [01:08:01]
2. Think about the spiritual nourishment you receive. Are you sharing it with others, or are you keeping it to yourself like a "peel person"? What practical steps can you take to share your faith more actively? [01:14:49]
3. The sermon emphasized the importance of humility and surrender to God's work in our lives. What specific areas of your life do you need to surrender to the Holy Spirit? [01:10:35]
4. Identify one aspect of the fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, etc.) that you struggle with. What specific action can you take this week to cultivate this fruit in your interactions with others? [01:04:22]
5. How can you ensure that your faith produces visible, practical outcomes in your daily life? Share one specific way you plan to live out your faith this week. [01:17:43]
6. Reflect on the story of Jacob and the transformative power of the gospel. Is there someone in your life who needs to hear about this transformative power? How can you share this message with them? [49:16]
7. The sermon mentioned the importance of praying for our community. How can you incorporate prayer for your local community into your daily routine? [54:45]

Day 1: The Power of the Holy Spirit
Living by the Spirit produces love, joy, peace, and other beautiful qualities that we cannot achieve on our own. Our natural inclination is to live by the flesh, but the Holy Spirit empowers us to overcome this default mode and bear spiritual fruit. The fruit of the Spirit is not something we can manufacture through our own efforts; it is the result of the Holy Spirit's transformative work in our lives. When we surrender to the Spirit, we begin to see these qualities manifest in our actions, thoughts, and relationships.

The Apostle Paul, in Galatians 5:16-23, contrasts the works of the flesh with the fruit of the Spirit. He emphasizes that living by the flesh leads to negative traits like hatred, anger, and jealousy, while living by the Spirit results in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. This transformation is a testament to the power of the Holy Spirit working within us, enabling us to live in a way that honors God and blesses others. [01:04:22]

Galatians 5:16-17 (ESV): "But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do."

Reflection: In what areas of your life do you struggle to live by the Spirit? How can you invite the Holy Spirit to help you overcome these challenges today?


Day 2: Authenticity in Faith
The "plastic person" looks good on the outside but is empty inside. Jesus criticized the Pharisees for their outward religiosity but inward emptiness. True faith requires authenticity and a genuine relationship with God, not just external appearances. It is easy to fall into the trap of focusing on how we appear to others, but God looks at the heart and desires a sincere and authentic relationship with us.

In Matthew 23:27-28, Jesus rebukes the Pharisees for being like whitewashed tombs, beautiful on the outside but full of dead bones and uncleanness on the inside. This powerful imagery reminds us that God values inner transformation over outward appearances. Authentic faith involves being honest with ourselves and with God, allowing Him to work in our hearts and transform us from the inside out. [01:08:01]

Matthew 23:27-28 (ESV): "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and all uncleanness. So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness."

Reflection: Are there areas in your life where you are more focused on outward appearances than on genuine faith? How can you cultivate a more authentic relationship with God today?


Day 3: Sharing Spiritual Nourishment
The "peel person" consumes spiritual nourishment but doesn't share it, becoming spiritually obese. We are called to share the fruit of the Spirit with others, not just keep it for ourselves. Our faith should produce visible, practical outcomes that bless those around us. It is not enough to simply receive spiritual nourishment; we must also be conduits of God's love and grace to others.

In James 2:14-17, the Apostle James emphasizes that faith without works is dead. Genuine faith should result in actions that reflect God's love and compassion. As we grow in our relationship with God, we should also seek opportunities to share His love with others, whether through acts of kindness, words of encouragement, or sharing the gospel. [01:14:49]

James 2:14-17 (ESV): "What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, 'Go in peace, be warmed and filled,' without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead."

Reflection: How can you share the spiritual nourishment you have received with someone in need today? What practical steps can you take to live out your faith in a tangible way?


Day 4: Living Out Our Faith
The "produce person" lives out their faith and shares the fruit of the Spirit with the world. This requires practical application of what we learn, not just head knowledge. True Christianity involves both knowing and doing. It is not enough to simply understand biblical principles; we must also put them into practice in our daily lives.

In Matthew 7:24-27, Jesus tells the parable of the wise and foolish builders. The wise builder hears Jesus' words and puts them into practice, building his house on a solid foundation. The foolish builder hears the words but does not act on them, resulting in a house built on sand that collapses when storms come. This parable illustrates the importance of living out our faith through our actions, ensuring that our lives are built on the solid foundation of God's Word. [01:17:43]

Matthew 7:24-27 (ESV): "Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it."

Reflection: What is one biblical principle you have learned recently that you can put into practice today? How can you ensure that your faith is reflected in your actions?


Day 5: Humility and Surrender
To stop being a plastic or peel person, we must humble ourselves and surrender to God's work in our lives. This involves recognizing our need for the Holy Spirit and allowing Him to transform us from the inside out. Humility is essential for spiritual growth, as it opens our hearts to God's guidance and correction.

In James 4:6-10, the Apostle James urges believers to humble themselves before God, resist the devil, and draw near to God. He emphasizes that God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. Surrendering to God's work in our lives requires us to let go of our pride and self-reliance, trusting that He knows what is best for us and will lead us in the right direction. [01:10:35]

James 4:6-10 (ESV): "But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, 'God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.' Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you."

Reflection: In what areas of your life do you need to humble yourself and surrender to God's work? How can you invite the Holy Spirit to transform you from the inside out today?

Good morning! We're so glad that you're here today, and happy Father's Day to all of our guys. Thank you for being here. You could have been at the golf course, you could have been at home smoking your barbecue, but you came here today to worship God. You gave God first place today, and it's so awesome that you're here.

For those who are watching online, maybe you're at a distance and couldn't be here today, we're just so glad that you're watching. Thank you for joining us this morning.

As Tom mentioned, we've got these pocket knives. Let's see, I'm gonna try not to cut myself here. There we go. Hey, we have a knife for all the men here, so make sure you're on your way out after the service to help yourself to one of these. If you're under 16 and you want one, get your mom or dad to be with you to make sure they're okay with it. We don't want to just hand out knives to little kids. If that's okay with the parents, then it'll be okay with us. We have plenty of knives for all of us here, and just a thank you. These are real nice, and we like to hand out knives here at Lake Point Church, don't we?

It kind of reminds me of my dad. My dad loved to hand out knives, and I think I kind of carried that out. Yeah, he got his pocket knife out there. There he is! Hi! So, I was kind of stepping into his example there.

But hey, we are so glad you're here. If you're a guest with us, and I know I met some of you as you came in, thank you for being here today. You heard some amazing worship, and I hope you've been blessed by that. As you came in, you should have received a program. Inside that program, there's a little card that says "connection card." Don't just ask; it'll take a minute to fill that card out. Then, at the end, after the service, you can drop it on your way out in one of our offering boxes, or you can give it to me. I have a free gift that we'd like to give you as a thank you for coming today, and I'll be out here in the lobby. So make sure you stop by and see me after the service today.

Thank you for being here. I've got a couple of things I want to do today. We've got a message, and I want to wrap up this series. We've been in this series for nine weeks through Wishtrend, and we're going to finish that up today.

Before we do that, many of you know that a couple of weeks ago, I was gone to Tanzania. I was in Africa for about eight days. I’d say I was gone for eight days, and maybe in Africa for like six days. It took a couple of days to get there, and it took 18 or 19 hours to fly, with one layover, so that was nice, right in the middle. But that's a long flight.

When we got to Tanzania, we were in a major city called Dar es Salaam. It's a bustling city, people everywhere. There are five lanes of traffic, but on two lanes of roads. I mean, they make it work; it's crazy. Nothing is fast. If you want to get from the airport to the hotel, it took us two hours, and it was only 12 miles.

We get to the hotel and get a good night's sleep after a long flight. The next day, we have a 250-mile bus ride. That doesn't sound too bad in America; you think, okay, that's three, maybe three and a half, four hours, depending on the speed limits. It took us almost 12 hours, so that's an average of 20 miles per hour. You know, bumpy roads, some paved roads, and then every half a mile, there would be unpaved roads. You go through villages, and there are people everywhere. People are passing, and it's normal. No one gets mad out there.

With all the driving that we saw, I expected to see some accidents or somebody get hit, but everybody just goes with the flow. It's very different, and it made me appreciate the traffic around here. I thought, you know, traffic here in America is not so bad. I haven't really been complaining since I came home; the traffic has been great.

We get to our destination, and it's kind of hilly where we're staying, about the size of the Smoky Mountains, with beautiful landscapes. The next day, we visit churches. We go and see these new church plants that just started by the organization that we're working with.

The organization that we're partnering with is called the Timothy Initiative, and they are doing some incredible stuff, not just in Africa, but really in the unreached countries of the far side of the world. The Timothy Initiative wants to fulfill Acts 1:8. They want to get to the far reaches of our planet with the gospel.

We went there to see what they're doing, their plan, their strategy, and to see nationals, Africans, coming to know Christ. Then they turn around and get trained. They've got a two-year training program to teach them if they're interested in being a pastor. They train them to be pastors or church planters, and then within two years, they're out there, back to their villages, starting churches.

We went to this one village, and as we were walking into the village, you could hear the worship a half a mile away. I mean, they were just clapping, beating the drum, waking up the whole village. We started walking towards this makeshift church, which had blue tarps and some poles to hold it up. They were meeting in a little building next door, but they outgrew it, so they moved outside.

We got to be a part of that church service, and a young man named Pastor Justin, who seemed to be about 22 or 23 years old, started this church. We went to a couple of other churches that same day. The next day, we got involved in a baptism service and a graduation, watching 70 new graduates. They were so pumped and excited about the accomplishment of their two-year degrees.

Some of the graduates walked three hours one way to get to class the day before they arrived, so they could be in classes for three or four days, and then they would walk home. Classes are like every other week, and they would do that for two years, walking three hours one way just to learn so they could be equipped to go back and start a church in a village that doesn't have a church.

We see stories like this and get to be a part of a baptism. They invited me to baptize, and I got in the water. You'll see some videos in just a minute. I almost got baptized myself because I almost fell—not planned! You'll see that; please don't laugh. It wasn't the prettiest baptism ever, but we went and saw some other church planters.

I want to introduce you to a couple of these pictures. This is on the left, Pastor Samuel, and the pastor on the right is Pastor Alex. They are called movement leaders. I would say Pastor Samuel, the person on your left, is the Billy Graham of Tanzania. He has started more churches and trained more pastors than any pastor or anyone I've ever known.

Pastor Alex, on the right, was led to Christ by Samuel. Pastor Alex is now preaching the gospel and training leaders. They are in charge of basically all of Tanzania, making sure that every village is getting its church. I met Pastor Alex, and man, this guy is one of the sharpest-dressed African men in all of Africa. He's got nice black shiny shoes, polished. I mean, this guy was Mr. GQ!

I was talking to him, and he shared a story about one of the leading witch doctors in Tanzania. Tanzania is 17% believers, and the number one religion is paganism and witchcraft. It's very prominent. When you get to Dar es Salaam and some of the bigger cities, it's more Muslim, so there's a different pocket. But when you get out of the city and into the villages, it's paganism and demon worship.

Pastor Alex shared a story of a man he came across. This man's dad was the leading witch doctor in Tanzania. He was famous and had passed away. The young man was assumed to become the next witch doctor. They would tie his dead father's body to him for seven days for the purpose of transferring power from the dead body to his son. After that, he had to do something unfathomable to us: he had to sacrifice his entire family—his wife and kids.

This young man, whom we call Jacob, had been drinking and grieving because he had to do something he didn't want to do. But he didn't have a choice. Well, he had a choice, but in his mind, he didn't. Pastor Alex talked to him and over time led him to Christ. Now, somewhere in the middle of Tanzania, Jacob is not a witch doctor; he's now a pastor. That can only be by the grace and mercy of God.

These guys are just getting it done. The next picture is incredible. I want you to see it. You see Pastor Sam on your right. He led Pastor Alex to the Lord. Alex has led this next man to the Lord, who is now a pastor. The man next to him, the guy in the brown shirt, led him to the Lord, who is now a pastor. Then he led this lady in white to the Lord, and now she's a pastor.

She led the lady next to her, in a nice dark outfit with some flowers, to the Lord, and she's now a pastor. Then she led this lady in the white shirt on the end. She's 17 years old and knew Christ when she was 15. Right away, she knew to start a church. She went to a two-year Bible training and started a church in this village of 150 people. Just six months in, this is eight generations of Christians leading others to the Lord.

In this service, I got to be a part of, I got to preach. The 17-year-old daughter's dad came forward during the invitation and became number eight. Isn't that awesome? This is church; it's under a tree. It's real simple.

One more picture. This is my friend Sam. In fact, Sam texted me this morning, and we're praying for each other. Sam knows English; he was our interpreter. I invited Sam. One day, he could have come here and preached for us. He went to Bible college in Texas and is now ministering not just in Tanzania, but in Kenya, Ethiopia, and some other countries I don't want to say out loud due to our online presence. He's working to help get churches started in every village.

Sam asked me this morning how he could pray for me. I said, "Pray for our city." As many of you know, last night we had a random act of evil just a few miles from here. I believe nine people were shot. He's praying for us on the other side of the world. It's incredible to lock arms with believers of different tribes and languages, praying for God to overcome.

In just a minute, we'll show this video. But I'd be remiss if we don't take a minute here. Let's pray for our city. Let's pray for Rochester Hills and for what we've been going through the last 24 hours. Pray for God to heal the hurt and the trauma and the wounds of those in the hospital, those who have been shot.

Our Heavenly Father, we thank you that you are a God of comfort and a God of love. We thank you that we have Christians on the other side of the world praying for us, praying for our city. We don't understand the why behind the random act of evil that took place a few miles from here. So God, we ask you to be with those families that have been affected by this. Be with those who were injured, those who are in critical condition, still in the hospital.

God, we thank you for our law enforcement, for the quick response, and for handling the situation so well. We just pray for healing. We pray for Rochester Hills and all of us here. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.

Check out this video, and then you can be blessed by it.

Today, as we wrap up our series, I want to say one more thing about that trip. I saw the book of Acts unfolding in ways I've never seen before. It was an amazing experience. Thank you, church, for letting me go and for bringing you that report of what God is doing on the other side of the world.

So, Galatians chapter 5. We started the series 10 weeks ago, 9 weeks ago. Galatians chapter 5, verses 16 to 23. I don't have time to read all of this, but I wanted to look at verse 22.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things, there is no law. The Scripture teaches that there are two basic ways that we can live according to this passage.

We can be driven by the flesh, which comes out of hatred, anger, envy, and all those wicked things. Or we can be led by the Holy Spirit, which shows up as love, joy, and peace, and all those beautiful things that we just read. Unfortunately, our default mode, what comes naturally for us, is to live by the flesh. That's our default mode.

So if we want to overcome that default mode and live the beautiful kind of life, then we're going to need supernatural help. In other words, like we've said every week, the pull of sin is strong, but the living Christ is stronger. So open yourself to His Spirit, and you will bear His fruit.

We cannot perform the fruit of the Spirit on our own. We need the Holy Spirit. God has delegated the Holy Spirit to do this work in our lives 24/7. As a matter of fact, right now, as we're sitting, He's at work, producing and working the fruit of the Spirit into your life.

We don't get to pick and choose which fruit we want. God's goal is that all nine of these characteristics that we just read are a part of our lives. This is different from your spiritual gifts. Spiritual gifts show your ministries. They reveal your ministry, while the fruit of the Spirit shows your maturity.

You won't have all the spiritual gifts, but in our Christian walk, in our Christian life, you'll have all nine fruits, all nine characteristics. Today, for this final message, I want to do a quick fruit check.

Every one of us here today is one of three types of people. The question is, which one are you? The first one I want to give you is this: I'm going to give you a fruit. Ready to catch? That's a good catch. Is that real? No, it's fake. It's plastic, right? You can give it back to me.

The first kind of person is the plastic person. On the outside, they look great. They look real, but on the inside, they're empty. Jesus had to deal with some plastic people during his ministry here on earth. They're called the Pharisees. They were the religious people. They were great about doing all the religious stuff on the outside. They looked good.

The Bible said they had Bible verses attached to their sleeves. Some of them would wear a box on their forehead with scripture in that little box, a little scroll. They were styling in scripture and showing off. Jesus called them out in Matthew chapter 23.

Look at verse 25. He said, "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!" The word hypocrite means you're an actor. You're fake. You're not the real you. He says, "You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside your cup and dish, they're full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisees! First, you got to clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean."

He said, "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You're like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside, but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside, you appear to people as super righteous, but on the inside, you're full of hypocrisy. You're a plastic person. You're a plastic fruit."

They were not real in their Christianity. Look what Paul said to Timothy about plastic people. He said in 2 Timothy 3:5, "They were religious. They would have it all figured out religiously, but they would reject the power that could make them godly." Paul said, "Hey, you guys, stay away from them."

Because they're fruit, we'll call them fruit rot. Have you ever had a rotten fruit? They look great. You get an apple or a pear. A pear looks great, and then you take a bite. You bite into a pear, and it's rotten. Have you ever done that before? Maybe not with a pear, but with another fruit. You just think, "Oh, this is the worst fruit."

Paul said, "Stay away from plastic people." Plastic people come to church week after week. People who sign up, dress up for church. They look so good. From the outside, they look like they're producing love, joy, peace, all these wonderful things. But if you get up close to them, you'll see that it's just processed. It's not real.

They're the people who have hard hearts, callous hearts. They're the people who don't really have the infusion of these character traits, the fruit of the Spirit. They act one way on Sunday, right? But they act another way on Monday. They're the people who need to know Jesus Christ personally. They need to know that God loves them and wants a relationship with them.

Plastic people, how do you stop being a plastic person? I love what Peter says in 1 Peter 5:6. It says, "Humble yourself, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time." Humble yourself. Stop playing the games. Get real about the condition of your heart. Some of it's pride. It's the thing that's holding you back from a walking relationship with Jesus.

What will people think about me? I mean, I'm supposed to be this godly person, and on the outside, I am. But on the inside, I am not. Only you and God know. Some of you have to stop playing the games. Stop being a plastic person.

Here's a second type of person. We've got what I like to call the peel person. I'm going to eat a banana. I'm a little hungry. Mmm, good stuff here. Some of you are doing this right now. You see, you think the fruit of the Spirit is for your own self-consumption. You think it's only for your own good.

You don't produce it and give it away; you eat it for yourself. Now, you're a believer. You sit here week in and week out. You consume, you consume, you get, you get. You say, "Man, that's good preaching." Then you walk out of here.

The peel person thinks, "We're not to produce this and just eat it." See, there's a lost and dying world that needs the fruit. They need to see your fruit. But some of you sit and eat. It becomes spiritual. You're spiritually obese.

In fact, some of you say, "Man, I feel so tired. I feel like I'm dragging a barge, spiritually speaking. I don't know what's wrong with me. I go to 25 Bible studies a week." Right? I listen to K-Love from sunrise to sunset, and I just feel so full. You're not plastic, by the way. You're the peel person.

You consume and consume, and then you don't get involved. You don't serve. In fact, you're eating a lemon. You're sick, soaking sour. You're not going anywhere. You're just sick, soaking sour. Sometimes if you're a peel person, all you do is complain. You're critical.

I'm not going to eat this lemon, by the way. James 1:22 says, "Do not merely listen to the word and deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Obey." Jesus said in Matthew 7:19, "Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. By their fruit, you will recognize them."

Jesus said our faith should produce visible, practical outcomes. He said don't sit, soak, and sour. When I was in Africa, the faith of believers was so evident. You could see the joy on their faces. They were singing everywhere. We were walking through the village, singing as we were going to a baptism. They were singing as they were leaving. They were just evident of not being peel people.

So don't be a peel person. It's not for your self-consumption.

Here's the third person. Maybe this is you, and this is where I pray that you land at the end of this series: the produce person. They know how to produce the real stuff. I love what Paul said to the Colossian people. He said in verse 1, "The way you live should always honor and please the Lord."

By the way, that's a great question. It's the way that you live—not just on Sunday, but on Monday. It's the way that you live that should honor and please God. You have to ask that question to yourself. What you hear, what you do, what you listen to, does it honor? Does it please the Lord?

Then he said, "Your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better." You see the cycle? Growing spiritually and having knowledge should lead to practical living. Practical living goes back to wanting to learn more about Him.

Christianity is not just about head knowledge. You can know all this stuff. You know the farmer, right? The farmer is not a farmer if he only knows the stuff. If he sits and watches YouTube all day and says, "I know how to farm," but he doesn't do anything, he doesn't produce anything.

A good farmer knows the stuff, and then he goes out and does it. He lives it. See, knowledge without application is condemnation. It's not enough to just know it. We've got to live it out.

God's calling us to be produce people. He wants us to get it out. People need us. As you walk out in this world, He wants you to take the fruit and give it out.

Here, you can have an apple. The Honeycrisp—good apple. I'm going to have an orange. Who wants a banana? Oops! Someone wants a banana. You know, this is what we're called to do—not to self-consume.

You want something? What do you want? You want an apple? There we go. I have to find an apple. By the way, I got that from Nino's. You know it's good.

God is calling us to be the fruit of the Spirit and to live it out. The world is dying for some fresh fruit that's coming out of your life.

You say, "How do you become a produce person?" I'll close with this. Paul prayed this, and he said, "This is my prayer." Ready? It's on the screen. "This is my prayer, that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God."

You see, if you want to be a produce person, it all starts with Jesus. It begins with Him when He starts from the inside. When you ask Him to become your Savior, He comes into your life. Then the Holy Spirit, from the inside out, will make you a produce person.

Here's the question for you: What are you? Maybe you're here today, and you're a plastic person, or you've got the game down. On the inside, you're empty. Maybe today you need to know Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Humble yourself.

Maybe you're a peel person. You eat, you eat, you eat. You're a Christian, but you're just not giving it out. If you live that way, you're going to sit soaking sour. Is that you?

Or are you a produce person, living it out, living the way that God wants you to be, and giving out the fruit for the world to taste and see that He, and He alone, is good?

I pray today you leave here as a produce person. I pray today, as we wrap up this series, that it comes to fruition in your life to live this out for the rest of your days.

Our Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word. We thank you for what you're doing. God, you ask your helper not to be plastic, not to be a peel, but to be a produce person—to give it out, live it out, and to be the person that you want us to be.

Oh, Holy Spirit, we can't do it on our own. We need you. Help us to submit. Help us to surrender to you. Oh yes, it's a battle between the spiritual and the flesh. But God, with your help, we can overcome. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.

### Quotes for Outreach

1. "The Scripture teaches that there are two basic ways that we can live according to the passage of Scripture. We can be driven by the flesh. Which comes out of that, you know, hatred and anger, envy, all those wicked things. Or we can be led by the Holy Spirit, which shows up as love, joy, and peace. And all those beautiful things that we just read. And unfortunately, our default mode, what comes naturally for us, is to live by the flesh. That's our default mode. So if we want to overcome that default mode, and to live the beautiful, beautiful kind of life, then we're going to need supernatural help. In other words, like we've said every week, the pole of sin is strong. But the living Christ is stronger. So open yourself to His Spirit, and you will bear His fruit." [01:03:31](59 seconds)(Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




2. "You see, if you want to be a produce person, it all starts with Jesus. It begins with him when he starts from the inside. When you ask him to become your Savior, he comes into your life. And then the Holy Spirit, from the inside out, will become produce person. Here's the question for you. What are you? Maybe you're here today, you're a plastic person, or you've got the game down. on the inside, you're empty. Maybe today you need to know Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Humble yourself." [01:19:57](51 seconds)(Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




3. "You see, we're not to produce this and just eat it. See, there's a lost and dying world that needs the fruit. They need to see your fruit. But some of you sit and you eat. It becomes spiritual. You're spiritually obese. In fact, some of you say, man, I feel so tired. I feel like I'm dragging a barge, spiritually speaking. I don't know what's wrong with me. I go to 25 Bible study a week. Right? I listen to Kayla from sunrise to sunset. And I just feel, I just feel so full. You're not plastic, by the way. You're the peel people." [01:13:22](52 seconds)(Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




4. "Jesus said in Matthew chapter 7, verse 19. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. And by the fruit, you will recognize them. Jesus said our faith should produce visible, practical outcomes. He said don't sit, soak, and shower. Man, when I was in Africa, the faith of believers, man, they were so evident. You see the joy in their face? I mean, they're seen everywhere. We're walking through the village. We're singing, going to a baptism. I mean, they're singing as they're going to church. They're singing as they're leaving. I mean, they're just evident of not being peel people. So don't be a peel person. It's not for your self-conception." [01:15:36](47 seconds)(Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




5. "The way you live should always honor and please the Lord. By the way, that's a great question. It's the way that you live, not just on Sunday, but on Monday. It's the way that you live that should honor and please God. That should honor Him. And you've got to ask that question to yourself. But what you hear, what you hear about what you do, about what you listen to, does it honor? Does it please the Lord? And then he said, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better." [01:16:11](47 seconds)(Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




### Quotes for Members

1. "We get to our destination, and it's kind of hilly where we're staying, and about the Smoky Mountains, size mountains, and beautiful landscape, and we get there, and the next day, we visit churches, you know, we go and see these new church plants that just started, you know, by the organization that we're working with, and we go and see these new church plants, and we go and see these new church plants, and we go and see these new church plants, and the organization that we're partnering with is called the Timothy Initiative, and they are just doing some incredible stuff, not just in Africa, but really, in the unreached countries of the far side of the world, the uttermost, you know, the far reaches, the Timothy Initiative, they want to fulfill the Acts 1-8, we figured out Judea, Samaria, and Jerusalem, they want to get to the far reaches of our planet, with the gospel, and so we go there to see what they're doing, their plan, their strategy, and seeing, you know, nationals, Africans, coming to know Christ, and then they turn around, get trained, they've got a two-year training program, teach them if they're interested in being a pastor, they would train them to be pastors or church planters, and then within two years, they're out there, back to their villages, starting churches." [43:51](89 seconds)(Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




2. "I met Pastor Alex, man, this guy's one of the sharpest dressed African men in all of Africa, he's got nice black shiny shoes, I mean, polished, I mean, this guy was, you know, Mr. GQ, okay, I mean, this guy is it, and I'm talking to him, and he was sharing me a story, you know, one of the, one of the leading, well, first of all, Tanzania is 17% of believers, 17% of the population, the number one religion is paganism, witchcraft, it's very prominent, you know, and I when you get to Dar es Salaam in some of the bigger cities, it's more Muslim, so there's a, there's a different pocket, but when you get out of the city and out into the villages, it's pagan demon, demon worship, and, and, and Pastor Alex was sharing a story of a man that he came across, and his dad, this man's dad, was the leading witchcraft, or the witch doctor, Tanzania, he was famous, and he had passed away, and, and, and the young man, young man, the father who passed away, the witch doctor, was assumed that he would become the next witch doctor, the, the witch doctor of Tanzania, and so they, they would tie his body, the dead, dead father, the dead witchcraft, or the witch doctor to the son, they would tie them up for seven days, for seven days it was tied to his dead body, for the purpose of the transfers of power from the dead body to his son, and then after that happened, he had to do something that it's unfathomable, unfathomable in the way we think, and what we could even imagine, that he had to sacrifice his entire family, his wife and kids, and that's just, well, it's just unheard of here, so this young man named, we call him Jacob, Jacob, it's his real name, but Jacob, and Alex had come across Jacob, he had been drinking, grieving, because he had to do the thing that he didn't want to do, but he didn't have a choice, well, he had a choice, but in his mind, he didn't have a choice, well, Pastor Alex talked to him, over time led him to Christ, and now somewhere in the middle of Tanzania, Jacob is not a witch doctor, he's now a pastor, that can only be by the grace and mercy of God, so these guys right here, they're just doing it, just getting it done." [49:16](218 seconds)(Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




3. "I saw the book of Acts unfolding in ways I've never seen before. It was an amazing experience. Thank you, church, for letting me go and to bring you that report of what God is doing, what God is doing on the other side of the world. And so Galatians chapter 5, we started the series 10 weeks ago, 9 weeks ago. And so, Galatians chapter 5, verse 16 to 23. And I don't have time to read all of this, but I wanted to look at verse 22. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, and faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control against such things. There is no law. And the Scripture teaches that there are two basic ways that we can live according to the passage of Scripture. We can be driven by the flesh. Which comes out of that, you know, hatred and anger, envy, all those wicked things. Or we can be led by the Holy Spirit, which shows up as love, joy, and peace. And all those beautiful things that we just read. And unfortunately, our default mode, what comes naturally for us, is to live by the flesh. That's our default mode. So if we want to overcome that default mode, and to live the beautiful, beautiful kind of life, then we're going to need supernatural help. In other words, like we've said every week, the pole of sin is strong. But the living Christ is stronger. So open yourself to His Spirit, and you will bear His fruit." [01:02:46](103 seconds)(Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




4. "You know, the world is dying for some fresh fruit that's coming out of your life. You say, how do you become a produce person? I'll close with this. Paul prayed this, and he said, this is my prayer. Ready? It's on the screen. This is my prayer, that your love may abound more and more in knowledge, in depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes. Here's the key. It comes through Jesus Christ, through the glory and praise of God. You see, if you want to be a produce person, it all starts with Jesus. It begins with him when he starts from the inside. When you ask him to become your Savior, he comes into your life. And then the Holy Spirit, from the inside out, will become produce person." [01:19:05](80 seconds)(Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




5. "You see, knowledge without application is condemnation. It's not enough to just know it. We've got to live it out. And God's calling us to be produced people. He wants us to get it out. And people need us. People need us. And as you walk out in this world, He wants you to take the fruit and it out. Here, you can have an apple. The Honeycrisp. Good apple. I'm going to have an orange. Who wants a banana? Who wants a banana? Oops. Someone wants a banana. You know, this is what we're called to do. Not to self-consume. You want something? What do you want? You want an apple? Apple? There we go. All right. I have to find an apple. By the way, I got that from Nino's. You know it's good. We're all stressed. Isn't it? This one here. You can have an orange. Oh, somebody wants something. There you go. She wants a banana. Okay. There we go. You want a banana. Look. This is what God." [01:18:21](73 seconds)(Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)