Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and forever.

Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

Things will ever change, but God will never change. If you have the fruit of the Spirit, the Holy Spirit still moves powerfully in the church.

In the Laodicean age, God brings the Gospel and people get saved. God is in control of everything. If He is still in control, there is still the power of the Holy Spirit in the churches. Revival only happens by the power of the Holy Spirit. For example, DL Moody was a great revivalist, yet he was humbled by one old lady who told him that he needed the power of the Holy Spirit. Jonathan Edwards wrote a classic sermon that is now embedded in literary history.

It is the power of the Holy Spirit that brings the fruits and the results.

Love

It’s the first thing that we should all have; a love for lost souls. Romans 8 – Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ Jesus and how he died on the cross for us. When you have love, you can keep the church going. If you lack love, you will become complacent in your Bible reading, prayer, and soul-winning.

Joy

Grumbling and complaining do not help in making your life any better. Are you making the best of disadvantageous situations to find joy? True joy happens you can still find happiness, no matter the bad situation you are going through.

Find joy in Jesus Christ. (John 16) Pray to the Lord.

Peace

Do you have peace in your life?

God doesn’t want you to hear what makes you uncomfortable, you will find peace in your Bible and spend some time to pray to the Lord, to bring your troubles to him. Have some peace in Jesus Christ.

Long Suffering

Be patient. In a hard situation, you need long-suffering. If you do not have it, God cannot bless you and the church. You need to wait for God’s timing and trust in the Lord. Joseph was patient for 30 years and he became a powerful man in Egypt. Abraham became the father of the nation of Israel through long-suffering. Jesus suffered long on the cross.

Be patient, and the gain and rewards will come.

Gentleness

As Bible-believing Christians, we need to be strong and not compromise with our faith. We are reminded to be gentle and not to respond in anger or frustration, because God has put up with our sins for 2000 years.

Goodness

Why should you give goodness to others?

Because God has been good to you, and He wants you to display this to others. Romans 12 says that when the enemy persecutes you, be good to them. Is there goodness in your life? How good has God been to you?

Show goodness to your family and church, reconcile with them if you have been bitter toward them.

Faith

This is the time that you need faith.  Our faith is not that God takes care of us by just giving the good things, but also giving bad things. Your own way of doing things doesn’t always work, but God’s way does.

Meekness

We need to be meek. There are situations in life that humble us – it just takes a small situation to humble us. We should bow on our knees, pray to God, and admit that we are nothing without Jesus Christ.

You must empty yourself so you can make more room for the Holy Spirit.

Temperance

What the Christian church especially lacks today is temperance.

Temperance is self-control. A Bible-believing Christian can suddenly lose zeal and be more focused on themselves and their family. Temperance is the self-control that keeps things consistent. You need to learn to be consistent and faithful in your Christian walk or else the next crisis will send you backsliding again.

Someone once asked John Wesley, “If the rapture happens tomorrow, what would you have been doing?” His reply was, “the same things that I always do; wake up, do a little gardening, and eat.”

The point of this illustration is that Wesley was consistent in what he was doing; the things that the Lord appointed him to do. He didn’t increase it tenfold – he was consistent, he had temperance. He had built his spiritual walk with God to the point where it did not fluctuate.

Unlike Wesley, most of us have fluctuating spiritual lives. Some think the rapture is coming in 2020, so now there’s an extra push to pray, read the Bible, and soul-win. If it doesn’t come, the person then backslides.

So, what are we supposed to do?

Do something for the Lord! Pray for the Holy Spirit of God. Memorize Galatians 5, apply it to your life, and let the Holy Spirit fill you and guide you.