There is a very powerful truth in Matthew 7:16. It says: “You will know them by their fruits.” When Jesus read the scroll in the Temple, it revealed His purpose. Luke 4:18 says: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are [j]oppressed.” Note how the anointing led Him to do GOOD WORKS! Many call themselves Christians, yet their fruit, or their works are evil or selfish as they are only interested in what can be done for them. They are not involved in any form of ministry, nor are they interested in doing so. Acts 10:38 says: “how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.” See once again how the anointing and power led Jesus to do GOOD WORKS. So the key here is not to say that you are anointed, but to manifest the anointing with good works, healing others, showing others the love of God by your actions and testimony, preaching and discipling others. If you are truly anointed, let your fruit or works speak, not your mouth!
Matthew 7: 21-23 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
The Lord Jesus said that we need to be born again. In John 3:3, it says: “Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” The Apostle Peter taught that we were born again by the incorruptible word of God: 1 Peter 1:23 “Having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever.” So, according to the Scriptures, we now have a new nature. We no longer live according to the dictates of the flesh. Our new nature and DNA comes from God’s Holy Spirit. Galations 5:25 says: “Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives”. Paul gave us a snapshot of the difference between the works of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit. Galations 5: 19-26 (NLT) says: “When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God. But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another.” It’s very clear and simple. The above verses clearly outline whether or not you are following the Spirit’s leading, or still allowing the old nature to control you. The more time you spend with God’s word and His Holy Spirit, the more the fruits of the Spirit will shine through you! We have a Spanish saying that translated to English is: “Tell me who you spend the majority of your time with, and I’ll tell you who you are”!
