KEY VERSE The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law (Galatians 5:22-23, KJV).                        LESSON AIMS As a result of experiencing this lesson the students:   Learn the fruit of the Holy Spirit as manifested in one's behavior.       Be able to reflect on the connection between grace expressed in faith and supporting others in the faith.      Be ecnouraged to support one another in the faith                       INTRODUCTION As Christians of African descent, many of us show various emotional expressions, such as shouting and weeping during worship services. We claim that when a person is doing this, he or she "has the Spirit" or is "in the Spirit". We would be the last to criticize this.  However. Paul qualified such expressions by suggesting that the Holy Spirit manifests Himself as fruit, not necessarily as demonstrative noise. Paul placed great emphasis upon the Spirit of God. In fact, whatever he learned of Christ came directly from Christ through a revelation, and not by way of any human teacher (see Galataians 1:11-12). Such is the essence of the current lesson.     THE PRINTED TEXT Galatians 5:22-26, (KJV) 22.     But the furit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,   23.    Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. 24.     And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. 25.     If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26.     Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another. Galatians 6:1-10, (KJV)   1.     Brethren, IF a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.  2.    Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. 3.    For if a man think himself to be something , when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself 4.    But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. 5.     For every man shall bear his own burden. 6.     Let him that is taught in the word communiate unto him that teacheth in all good things. 7.     Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsover a man soweth, that shall he also reap. 8.     For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. 9.     And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. 10.    As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.                  LESSON   APPLICATION          YOUR LIFE! When it comes to the power of the Spirit, how does the Spirit relate to a person who has publicly "blown it"?   How would ou relate to such a person?  What words of advice would you give?   YOUR WORLD! As we seek to make this lesson's life-giving message relavant, let us be clear about what the Spirit does in the life of the believer. Many sinners, to say nothing of the biblically weak Christians, possess misconceptions about the role of the Spirit.  Question: What are your thoughts about how the Holy Spirit works in the corporate life of the church?              Home Daily  Bible Readings Mon, Feb 27 "The Call of Wisdom"               Proverbs 8:1-11 Tues, Feb  28 "The Gifts of Wisdom" Proverbs 8:12-21 Wed,  Feb 29 "Before the Foundation of the World' Ephesians 1:3-10 Thurs, Mar 1 "The Handiwork of God" Psalm 8 Fri,  Mar 2 "The Firstborn of All Creation" Colossians 1:15-19 Sat  Mar 3 "Creation Awaits Glory" Roman 8:18-25 Sun,  Mar 4 "Find Wisdom, Find Life" Proverbs 8:22-35

ANALYSIS OF THE BIBLICAL TEXT     I. The Spirit's Fruit (Galatians 5:22-26)      In our National Baptist congregations, we often hear of the desire of new converts to "catch the Spirit," or to "catch the Holy Ghost."  Such workding and concepts are, biblically speaking, incorrect.  Jesus never told believers that they would "catch" the Spirit; He did say that they could "receive" the Spirit (see John 20:22 and Acts 1:8).  We receive Him when we are born again (see John 3:1-4).  Our friends of other denominational persuasions will often chastise us and tell us we must speak in so-called "tongues" - or as they would put it, "heavenly languages" - to prove to them that we are saved      The text provides a different picture as to how we are to know that a person has received the Holy Spirit. Paul taught that the proof of the Spirit's indwelling is for the believer to bear fruit (see verse 22).  Those fruits are identified in the verses assigned for this section of this lesson.  When a person possesses the fruits of the Spirit, there can be found no offense in the Law of  Moses (see verse 23) against him or her.  Those who belong to Christ have crucified everything that is not of the Spirit in the flesh (see verses 24-26).  Paul gave a list of the works of the flesh in Galatians 5:19-21.  Such works guarantee that the person possessing them or manifesting them will not inherit the kingdom of God (see Galatians 19:21).      It is important to recognize that a person cannot "obtain" the Spirit by trying to "develop" or "show" the fruit of the Spirit.  The only way to have the fruit of the Spirit is to allow HiIm to take over, to be in total control.  A person may exhibit self-control; however, unless it is Spirit-produced, it will be a passing action rather than an ongoing behavior.      Paul encouraged believers to walk by the Spirit so that we will not "carry out the desire of the flesh" (see Galatians 5:16).  In order to live above the level of our flesh, w need to walk/live by the power of the Spirit.  We need to stop trying to produce in ourselves that which on the Spirit can produce.      Another word of insight is this: people who are Spirit-led are not those who "have more of the Spirit."   It really is where the Spirit has more of them.  In order to "kill the flesh," we need to allow God to have more of us! If we desire to see the fruit of the Spirit in our lives, then we must relinquish control and leadership of our lives to the Spirit.  We must allow the Spirit of God to guide our steps, our thoughts, our habits, and our behavior; we will then begin to see His fruit become a vital part of our lives.   II.  Handling Sins and Burdens (Galatians 6:1-5)      According to Paul, if a believer is caught in a compromising situation, those who claim to be filled with the Spirit must restore the fallen Christian to the fellowship in a spirit of humility - knowing that he/she, too, has the ability to commit the offense.  Paul called for humility and self-control, because whatever we catch another person doing, we are just as susceptible to the same crime/sin (see verse 1).  This view does need to be qualified.  Should the person break the law, and is tried, convicted, and sentenced, he/she can still be restored, although legal sanctions such as fines and imprisonment may be invoked.      As we experience true fellowship, we bear the burdens of others.  We do so by providing biblically solid advice, or even sit with them as they weep the tears of confession to us and we listen non-judgmentally (see verse 2).  Paul had words for believers who may act as if they are better than others who have been publically humiliated due to their sins.  The message is that we are to be humble.  In fact, he taught the Romans to look upon their fellow believers as being better than themselves (compare verses 3-5 with Romans 12:10)     III. God is to Be Taken Seriously   (Galatians 6:6-10)    For a moment, Paul digressed from his commentary on restoration and instructed the Galatian Christians to share with their teachers in the Word the good things they had been blessed to receive.  Those teachers of righteousness were to be blessed by the recipients of their teachings (see verse 6).  Paul then gave a word of warning to the Galatians.  He told them not to fool themselves into thinking that they could mock God.  In the Greek, the word for mock is mukterizo (pronounced moo-kert-rizz-oh).  The word mukertizo means "to turn up one's nose and sneer at another person".  To make his illustration plain, Paul warned the Galatians that whatever they planted they would also harvest (see verse 7).       To shed further light on this subject, we see what Paul stated earler; if one cared for and nourished the fleshe, one would harvest corruption (see Galatians 5:19-21).  Conversely, if one planted and nourished the Spirit, the harvest would be eternal life (see verse 8).  Paul exhorted the Galatian Christians, whose zeal was beginning to lag, not to be weary in doing good - for in due season they would reap a godly harest.   He taught the Corinthian Christians the same (compare verse 9 with 1 Corinthians 15:58).  Finally, in line with his recommendation for preserving congregational harmony,  Paul taught the Galatians to look for opportunities to do good to fellow believers (see verse 10).                      A Closing Thought  While faith in something or someone must come first, actions that are beneficial to others will follow.  Why is it important to act in faith?  Paul said that faithfulness is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit and that, whenever possible, believers should work for the good of all, especially for those in the family of faith.     The Biblical Context Among the ministries of the Holy Spirit, Paul wrote in this lesson's Scripture concering two of them: redemption and restoration. First, he spoke to the issue of the Spirit's fruit, as in contrast to the flesh. This speaks to redemption (compare Galatians 5:16-21 with 5:22-23). Paul spoke of the maturation that grows out of the Holy Spirit's furith within the believer. He also spoke to the issue of Christian fellowship as it relates to the restoration of a backsliding or fallen believer. In regard to this, he wrote about the way Spirit-filled persons seek restoration for fallen brothers or sisters.       Closing Prayer "Father, we thank You for the outpouring of Your Holy Spirit and his ministry of bearing fruit in our witness.  Help us to be obedient to His leadership in our lives.  In Jesus' name we pray." Amen."