Counterfeit Faithfulness

(excerpts from Desperate Dependency by J. Kirk & Melanie D. Lewis)

The New Year lies ahead of us. Will you enter 2012 trusting Christ and relying on His truth, or is your anxiety revealing that you are attempting to counterfeit faithfulness?

In Galatians 5:22–23 (NLT) God assures us, “The Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” if we “follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives” (Gal. 5:25 NLT). The fruit of the Spirit encompasses the distinctiveness of God. No human plantation can create a vineyard such as His. God is the divine husbandman. He plants the vine and prunes it precisely to produce the fruit He wants. This fruit completes His portrait so the watching world can see a glimpse of Christ through our lives.

In this current series of blog posts we are assessing the fruit God wishes to produce through His Spirit. But in our desire for independence we attempt to counterfeit God’s fruit with our own design. Desiring all He has for us but not willing to give all we are to Him, we endeavor to circumvent His plan by producing our fruit of the flesh. Our miserable efforts culminate in disastrous results: emptiness, futility, turmoil, and frustration to name a few. Obtaining an education as a fruit inspector will prepare us to distinguish between the authentic fruit of the Spirit and the counterfeit fruit of the flesh.

Faithfulness > Pretense > Anxiety
Magnificently, Christ sent the Holy Spirit to fill our lives with faith. Faithfulness is the fruit that enables us to trust Christ and rely continuously upon His truth. This fruit of faithfulness is not about our being worthy of trust, but recognizing God as being worthy of trust, which leads to a constant reliance on Him.

The faith given by the Spirit is intricately involved in connecting to God. It is essential to pleasing God and possessing His power. Through this divine fruit we can accomplish His purposes. Here again we see the reciprocal relationship of divine enablement leading to personal empowerment: “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me” (Phil. 4:13 NASB).

In our human declaration of independence, we confidently communicate we are full of faith. But the faith we possess is faith in ourselves instead of faith in Christ. Perhaps we attempt to convey we enjoy a significant relationship with Christ, but no impact is evident.

“People may be right in their own eyes,
      but the LORD examines their heart” (Prov. 21:2 NLT).

Without a connection to truth that is facilitated by the Holy Spirit and the Word of God, we cannot even be aware of our pretense. “For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires” (Heb. 4:12 NLT). God wills for us to know the truth and He is constantly revealing truth. But when we demand our independence, we persist in the lies and perpetrate the pretense.

Too often we choose to counterfeit faith when we pretend we can handle everything. A crisis quickly exposes the pretense when anxiety invades. In the midst of anxiety we give mental energy to the resolving of our own problems as opposed to trusting God to resolve our problems. Our feeble attempts are lacking without genuine trust in Christ. Trust either waits on God to provide direction or it acts on what God has already instructed. If you find yourself experiencing the symptom of anxiety, consider what means of pretense you may be employing to counterfeit God’s fruit of faithfulness.

“You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times. . . . They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly” (2 Tim. 3:1, 5 NLT).

We will evidence the fruit of faithfulness when we lay aside our pretense and its resulting anxiety in exchange for trusting Christ. “And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him” (Heb. 11:6 NLT).

Insight Journal:
Describe a situation in which you used pretense instead of relying on the Spirit’s fruit of faithfulness. How would this situation be described differently if you were relying on the Spirit’s fruit of faithfulness?

Counterfeit Goodness

(excerpts from Desperate Dependency by J. Kirk & Melanie D. Lewis)

Are you on the naughty or the nice list?
Don't settle for just being nice when you can be overflowing with goodness!

In Galatians 5:22–23 (NLT) God assures us, “The Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” if we “follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives” (Gal. 5:25 NLT). The fruit of the Spirit encompasses the distinctiveness of God. No human plantation can create a vineyard such as His. God is the divine husbandman. He plants the vine and prunes it precisely to produce the fruit He wants. This fruit completes His portrait so the watching world can see a glimpse of Christ through our lives.

In this current series of blog posts we are assessing the fruit God wishes to produce through His Spirit. But in our desire for independence we attempt to counterfeit God’s fruit with our own design. Desiring all He has for us but not willing to give all we are to Him, we endeavor to circumvent His plan by producing our fruit of the flesh. Our miserable efforts culminate in disastrous results: emptiness, futility, turmoil, and frustration to name a few. Obtaining an education as a fruit inspector will prepare us to distinguish between the authentic fruit of the Spirit and the counterfeit fruit of the flesh.

Goodness > Exploitation > Inadequacy
Goodness is the fruit of the Holy Spirit that enables us to exemplify God’s moral nature. When the Holy Spirit is resident in our lives, His qualities transform us into God’s image, enabling us to treat others with holiness. That is goodness. It can only reflect what is godly. It bears no ill will and concerns itself only with the mind and mission of God to humanity.

Identifying Jesus as a good man, the rich young ruler was met with the following retort: “‘Why do you call me good?’ Jesus asked him. ‘Only God is truly good’” (Luke 18:19 NLT). Because only God is good, only His Spirit can produce goodness in our lives. Goodness is a trademark of a life exhibiting the character of Christ. Apart from a relationship with Him, goodness cannot be concocted.

The fruit of the flesh equates goodness with being nice. Unaided by God’s Spirit we calculate how to behave in the most socially acceptable way to subtly access and use life resources to meet perceived needs. Like a wolf in sheep’s clothing, exploitation conceals itself in the disguise of being nice. Exploitation thinks in terms of how the world benefits self. People, positions, and possessions are evaluated based on their utility for personal gain. Goodness operates without sinful intent, not violating others’ God-given rights, with no hidden agendas, and springs from a relationship of purity. Exploitation concerns itself with the mind and mission of self to accomplish the four goals of the flesh.

• Promote the best interest of self
• Procure the greatest pleasure for self
• Promise the most comfort for self
• Produce the maximum control over self

The ultimate conclusion of attempting to accomplish these goals is the culmination of inadequacy. A sense of insufficiency seizes control when failure to achieve satisfaction highlights our weakness. The reality of this inadequacy mocks us with the folly of our way. We are inadequate in the role of God. We have no power to produce change within ourselves apart from the enabling of the Holy Spirit. Only through God can we exemplify goodness; otherwise we settle for merely being socially appropriate. If you find yourself experiencing the symptom of inadequacy, consider what means of exploitation you are employing to counterfeit God’s fruit of goodness.

We will evidence the fruit of goodness when we forgo exploitation with its resulting inadequacy in order to exemplify Christ in all that we do. “Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too” (Phil. 2:3–4 NLT).

Insight Journal:
Describe a situation in which you used exploitation instead of relying on the Spirit’s fruit of goodness. How would this situation be described differently if you were relying on the Spirit’s fruit of kindness?

Counterfeit Kindness

(excerpts from Desperate Dependency by J. Kirk & Melanie D. Lewis)

During the holiday season, we run a high risk of counterfeiting kindness with manipulation.

In Galatians 5:22–23 (NLT) God assures us, “The Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” if we “follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives” (Gal. 5:25 NLT). The fruit of the Spirit encompasses the distinctiveness of God. No human plantation can create a vineyard such as His. God is the divine husbandman. He plants the vine and prunes it precisely to produce the fruit He wants. This fruit completes His portrait so the watching world can see a glimpse of Christ through our lives.

In this current series of blog posts we are assessing the fruit God wishes to produce through His Spirit. But in our desire for independence we attempt to counterfeit God’s fruit with our own design. Desiring all He has for us but not willing to give all we are to Him, we endeavor to circumvent His plan by producing our fruit of the flesh. Our miserable efforts culminate in disastrous results: emptiness, futility, turmoil, and frustration to name a few. Obtaining an education as a fruit inspector will prepare us to distinguish between the authentic fruit of the Spirit and the counterfeit fruit of the flesh.

Kindness > Manipulation > Anger
Kindness is the fruit of the Holy Spirit that enables us to show God’s love. Since love is distinguished by how it treats others, then kindness is the essence of that treatment. When the fruit of the Spirit evidences kindness, it ministers sacrificially to the needs of others for no higher reason than to benefit another for God’s glory. It is seeking another’s best interest, not about getting what we want. Sacrificial giving is impossible to manufacture. It can only come as a fruit of God’s Spirit in our lives. To surrender to the best interest of another moves in opposition to the very nature of our fleshly desire to promote and preserve self. Although we may appear altruistic, too often our actions are for a personal secondary gain.

Kindness is the means through which God transmits His love and goodwill to those in need. As we, by the power of the Holy Spirit, share kindness to others we are in essence giving them the very nature of God’s love. The vital riches of God flow through kindness as it touches the needs of the heart.

But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus. (Eph. 2:4–7 NLT)

As a counterfeit, manipulation is the process of managing people, posturing into a position, and utilizing possessions as a means of achieving control. The objective of manipulation is to bring life resources (people, positions, possessions) under our domain of influence to promote our personal agenda, leading to what we believe will make us complete. Webster’s defines manipulate as “to manage or utilize skillfully; to control or play upon by artful, unfair, or insidious means especially to one’s own advantage.” Although manipulation is negative in intent, it may not always appear harmful.

We constantly swing between feeling in and out of control, drained by the stressors of manipulative living. Only for short intervals of time do we feel secure with the control fostered. Repeatedly we find ourselves hurt as a result of our attempts to manipulate others by producing kindness from our own resources. A downward spiral of anger, resentment, bitterness, and hate is produced because we did not receive the anticipated response as we look to others for our love, significance, and security. We desire affirmation for our efforts that have depleted our resources. Anger rises up within us in response to our thwarted efforts and is the indication that our expectations have not been met. Believing ourselves to have been devalued, we are left with hurt feelings. We fear we will never be satisfied and view the delinquent response to our manipulative efforts as depriving us of what is rightfully ours. We feel angry.

If we truly give from the overflow of kindness the Holy Spirit produces in our lives, the abundant supply would never run dry. Furthermore, because we are enjoying the Spirit’s fruit, we no longer need to look to others for our love, significance, and security. We are complete in Christ. We can be free from the bondage of requiring constant affirmation to feel good about ourselves. If you find yourself experiencing the symptom of anger, consider what means of manipulation you may be employing to counterfeit God’s fruit of kindness.

So how do we evidence God’s kindness that the Holy Spirit instills in our lives? To show God’s love we must give up our manipulation that results in anger. Colossians 3:12 reminds us again that we are to put on the garments His love has graciously supplied to us so we may share with others: “Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.” (NLT)

Insight Journal:
During the holiday season where can you see yourself falling into manipulation instead of allowing God's gift of kindness to pervade?

Counterfeit Patience

(excerpts from Desperate Dependency by J. Kirk & Melanie D. Lewis)

Too often patience is obviously missing during the holiday hustle and bustle. But you don't have to be lacking patience!

In Galatians 5:22–23 (NLT) God assures us, “The Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” if we “follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives” (Gal. 5:25 NLT). The fruit of the Spirit encompasses the distinctiveness of God. No human plantation can create a vineyard such as His. God is the divine husbandman. He plants the vine and prunes it precisely to produce the fruit He wants. This fruit completes His portrait so the watching world can see a glimpse of Christ through our lives.

In this current series of blog posts we are assessing the fruit God wishes to produce through His Spirit. But in our desire for independence we attempt to counterfeit God’s fruit with our own design. Desiring all He has for us but not willing to give all we are to Him, we endeavor to circumvent His plan by producing our fruit of the flesh. Our miserable efforts culminate in disastrous results: emptiness, futility, turmoil, and frustration to name a few. Obtaining an education as a fruit inspector will prepare us to distinguish between the authentic fruit of the Spirit and the counterfeit fruit of the flesh.

Patience > Control > Frustration
Patience is the fruit of the Holy Spirit that enables us to persevere under pressure. Patience maintains the virtues of love, joy, and peace when faced with the pressures of wrong, mistreatment, or taxation. When pressed, patience does not retaliate but rather addresses the underlying motivations of the soul. By His fruit of patience, the Holy Spirit moves us to look to Jesus for strength, giving the ability to forbear in circumstances that would otherwise deplete our resolve.

“Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others” (Col. 3:12–13 NLT).

The clothes we are to put on are tailor-made to fit our lives by the Spirit. Dressed in His power we are divinely enabled to accomplish the task He asks us to undertake. We cannot create our own style of patience; instead we are to put on His personally designed and custom-fitted attire. The royal garments of the King identify our position of servitude apart from personal ambition. We exhibit patience because He empowers us to do so, not because we have created it ourselves for our purpose.

When we attempt to counterfeit the Holy Spirit’s line of designer clothing, our wardrobe quickly fills with costumes of control. With masks of all shapes and sizes we create the illusion that we are in control and are capable of controlling all that is around us. But inevitably life is a process of losing control. Even though our patience is so often taxed and love, joy, and peace seem unattainable, we still choose to strategically control all aspects of our lives. We believe we can have patience when our expectations are being met. Therefore, the desire of the controlling heart is to guarantee a favorable outcome, maintaining self-interest, pleasure, and comfort through manipulation and exploitation of people, positions, and possessions.

Control must not be stereotyped as mean, hateful, angry, or limited to an aspect of gender, age, or population group. Control may be a little old grandmother who is terrified of one of her grandchildren getting hurt, so she seeks to use guilt, shame, and fear to limit their activities. Control may be an abusive husband who threatens to harm the wife if she tells anyone about the abuse. Control may be a rebellious teenager who climbs out the window at night to rendezvous with his choice of defiant activities. Control may be seen in homes, businesses, or even pulpits. If we are not living by the power of God, we are most certainly seeking to supply our own control.

Even though we try to control what we are incapable of controlling, we continue striving only to end in frustration. When we can’t get what we want and want more than we have, the dissatisfaction motivates temper tantrums. After all, “I deserve what I want”; “I should be able to have what I want”; “You should give me what I want.” Our self-centered world will inevitably come crashing down.

Solomon admonished, “Patience of spirit is better than haughtiness of spirit” (Eccles. 7:8 NASB). Therefore, Paul advised, “Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace” (Eph. 4:2–3 NLT). The ability to accomplish this mission only comes through patience supplied by the fruit of the Spirit when we let go of our control and its resulting frustration. If you find yourself experiencing the symptom of frustration, consider what means of control you are employing to counterfeit God’s fruit of patience.

Consider:
What have I been trying to control?
What were the results?