Introduction

While most of us may have realized that we have weaknesses in our characters, all too few of us have realized that in our own selves we are powerless to overcome these weaknesses. This is why we keep making resolutions and this is why our resolutions keep failing.

Let’s assume that your particular weakness is an irresistible urge to commit a particular "sin." You might have prayed about this sin, you may have heard the minister in your church preach about this sin, you are absolutely convinced that what you are doing is wrong, and yet, try as you may, you cannot keep yourself from committing this sin.

Yet there is an easy solution - easy indeed - but only for those who understand that the only reason we sin is because we are sinful. Once we accept this simple fact, we then can appreciate that our real problem is not with the things that we do, but with the thing that we are.

And that is why our resolutions usually fail - for resolutions usually only focus on what we do, and what we do is only ever symptomatic of what we are. 

For the sake of good measure let us repeat that thought: Resolutions fail because so often they focus on what we do, and what we do is only ever an indication of what we are. 

If we really do wish to stop doing something, therefore, our real need is not simply for a change in what we do, but for a change in what we are.

So here is some really good news. If you have a character weakness, stop worrying and fretting about it, for this will never help - in fact it will only make you weaker. There is a better way, and this better way is outlined below.

The simple programme that follows has helped a great many people throughout the ages. Take the time to study what follows - preferably on an empty stomach - maybe before breakfast - and the time you spend with this document could prove to be a high point in your life.

The Call

Speaking to people just like you and I, Jesus once stated . . .

`This is to my Father's glory that you bear much fruit.' (John 15:8)

What does Jesus mean by this term `fruit?'

Paul answers this question for us. He tells us that . . .

`The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.' (Galatians 5:22)

Well, who of us would not like to be "fruitful?" Who of us would not like to be loving, joyful, peace-filled, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle and self-controlled people?

The million-dollar question, of course, is how do we become "fruitful?" Do we stand in front of the mirror and try and persuade ourselves that we should never again get angry, that we should not allow our appetites to rule over us, that we must now force ourselves to love someone who has an uncanny knack of irritating us?

Many of us have tried that method - and it fails time and time again. And with every failure we are reminded of the message that once was sent to king Jehoiakim . . .

`Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots? Neither can you do good who are accustomed to doing evil.' (Jeremiah 13:23)

Clearly, therefore, we are not capable of changing our characters; we simply are not able, by way of our own single-handed efforts, to turn ourselves into "fruitful" people. 

But there is a simple solution. All that is needed is an understanding of the factors that bring forth fruit on a fruit-tree, and we will have discovered how the fruits of the Spirit may come into our lives.

The Route to Fruit

Once you understand what follows, you will realise that God designed nature to serve as a perpetual reminder of the principles that make us "fruitful." Once you have completed this study you will never again look at a fruit tree without being reminded of these simple principles.

The first lesson, one with which any fruit-farmer will agree, is that if you want a fruit-tree to bear fruit, you must not concentrate on the fruit, but on the tree. Jesus taught this very principle when He said . . .

`Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad.' (Matthew 12:33)

This is a hard and fast rule because, according to the Master Teacher, . . .

`No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit.' (Luke 6:43)

In our quest to improve our characters, therefore, we should never focus our energies on becoming more loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle and self-controlled. Rather, we should do all that we can to make of ourselves "good trees"- for "good trees" always bear "good fruit."

So just what can we do to make "good trees" of ourselves? 

Paul answers this question in the book of Romans. He gives us the assurance that . . .

"If the root is holy, so are the branches." (Romans 11:16)

Confirmation of this is found in the book of Proverbs where we read that . . .

`The root of the righteous yields fruit.' (Proverbs 12:12)

The way to make a good tree, therefore, one that is adorned with healthy branches - branches that are laden with delicious fruit - is to make "holy" roots.

But this leads us to ask yet another question. If the way to make a fruitful tree is to make holy roots, how do we make holy roots? In the parable of the wise gardener Jesus supplies the answer to this question . . .

'A man had a fig tree, planted in His vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any. So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, "For three years now I've been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven't found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?" '

' "Sir," the man replied, "Leave it alone for one more year, and I'll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down." ' (Luke 13:6-9)

The owner of the vineyard was of the opinion that this fig tree would never bear fruit, that it was worthless - a hopeless case. Yet the gardener knew otherwise. He knew that the problem was not with the fruit, nor with the branches, nor with the roots, but with the soil. This is why the gardener suggested that they leave the tree alone. He understood from years of experience that the problem with a fruitless tree is not necessarily with the tree itself, but most often with the soil in which the tree is planted.

This principle is alluded to repeatedly in Scripture:

By the word of Scripture itself, therefore, we have the guarantee that if the soil is good, the roots should be good, and if the roots are good, the tree should be good. Then, if the tree is good, we can rest assured that the fruit will be good.

This is exciting for, if we can establish from a spiritual viewpoint what the soil is, we will have discovered the key to Christian fruit-bearing - the key to character development - the key to victory - the key to overcoming our weaknesses.

The Soil

If the soil plays such a critical role in fruit-bearing in real life, what, in the spiritual sense, is the soil?

We have been told that . . . 

"The human mind is represented by the rich soil of a garden." (4T442)

This means that just as the conditioning of the soil will encourage the development of fruit on a tree, so it is that by conditioning our minds we can play our part in the development of the Christian fruits in our characters.

This means that if we feed our minds on truth, and we shield our minds from all that is out of harmony with truth, then "the truth will make us whole," our minds will be healed, and we will soon find the good fruits of the Spirit developing in our characters. 

In short, therefore, and in the plainest and simplest of terms, . . .

"The character is built up from
the food given to the mind." (RH08-13-01)

So if we have been fighting for years to overcome our character weaknesses, and if we have been having a real battle with our appetites, and with our spiritual experience, and if we have been struggling to love people who are a little "less loveable," the good news assures us that we can stop struggling against these human weaknesses and start concentrating instead on the food that we give our minds. 

Sure, it is true that we cannot change our characters, but we can change the things that are influencing our characters - we can change the things that we are looking at, reading, and listening to. By thus doing, we will be heeding the wise counsel of Paul who once wrote, . . .

"Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things." (Philippians 4:8)

Then, when we are feeding the mind with these good things, we have the absolute guarantee that our characters will change and that we will become "fruit-bearing trees" - laden with the fruits of love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, faithfulness and self-control. Then we will discover for ourselves that . . .

"Our religious experience is of exactly
the same quality as the food we give our minds." (SpM57)

When we guard our minds from evil, and we feed on the good and the pure and the uplifting, the good side of our natures will gain the ascendancy over the evil side of our natures and we will soon find that we will gain the victory over those things that once held us in bondage.

"Let us, then, feed upon Christ. Let the mind dwell upon the subjects which are of eternal consequence. If we will feed upon Him we shall become new creatures in Christ Jesus. The power of Christ will work to sanctify every part of the being, diffusing life, activity, and soundness through the whole, and developing spiritual efficiency." (RH08-13-01; TMK106)

This, in fact, is the Christian warfare; this is how we root ourselves in His love; this is how we abide in the Vine; this is how we eat the flesh and the blood of the Lamb; this is how we partake of the bread of life and the water of life; this is how we nourish our souls; this is how we become lamps for God, this is how we become the salt of the earth; this is how we "dwell in the secret place of the Most High" and this is how we "abide under the shadow of the Almighty." (Psalm 91)

In this day especially, with so much in the news and in the media that is focused on the corrupt, the vile, the evil and the violent, . . .

 "Unceasing care is needed in cultivating
the soil of the mind." (RH01-30-13)

So let us take courage from the fact that our daily struggle is not against our sins, but against the evils of this world that are all around us, and that are ever-threatening to invade our minds. Our struggle is against everything that keeps us from beholding the truth that makes us whole - against everything that keeps us from beholding the Lamb of God who takes away our sins. 

In short, our struggle is against everything in our world that can enter the ear or the eye and that can thus pollute the soil of the mind.

'By feeding the mind upon exciting stories of fiction, man is bringing to the foundation "wood, hay, stubble." He loses all taste for the Divine Guidebook, and cares not to study the character he must form in order to dwell with the redeemed host, and inhabit the mansions which Christ has gone to prepare. A mind educated to feed on trash is unable to see in the word of God the beauty that is there. Love for Jesus and inclination for righteousness are lost.' (FE451)

Without and Within

Clearly, if the corrupting influences without can change the soil of the mind, then we must assume that the corrupting influences within are just as able to change the soil of the mind. This is why Satan would simply love us to keep our minds focused on our weaknesses and our sins. If we are changed by the things that we look at, it stands to reason that we will only become worse if we keep our minds focused on our sins and our weaknesses.

Oh yes, `each one will have a close struggle to overcome sin in His own heart. This is at times a painful and discouraging work; because, as we see the deformities in our character we keep looking at them, when we should look to Jesus and put on His robe of righteousness.' (9T182)

Clearly, therefore, we cannot even afford to become absorbed with our own weaknesses. If what we behold is what we become, then beholding our weaknesses will only make us weaker. This is why Jesus has invited us to cast all of our cares upon Him. We must give our problems and our weaknesses to Him and let our minds become absorbed with His loveliness rather than with our unloveliness - then it will only be a matter of time before the precious fruits of love start to bud and to grow.

For those who understand these precious principles, there is only one resolution that is worth making and trying to keep - and that is the resolution to spend more time with Jesus every day in prayer, in meditation, in praise, in Bible study, and in seeing to the needs of the less fortunate and the lonely. This resolution will require that we pay strict attention to the things that we look at, that we listen to, and that we think about. This is absolutely vital because . . .

`Those who would not fall a prey to Satan's devices must guard well the avenues of the soul; they must avoid reading, seeing, or hearing that which will suggest impure thoughts. The mind must not be left to dwell at random upon every subject that the enemy of souls may suggest. The heart must be faithfully sentineled, or evils without will awaken evils within, and the soul will wander in darkness.' (1MCP228)

The Challenge

God has promised that there will be a revival before Jesus comes. As is characteristic of all revivals, this final revival will be accompanied by a marked reformation of character. 

We can rest assured, however, that this revival will not begin with some great preacher coming from afar to stir our sleepy hearts - or some dynamic broadcast to all the world via satellite. It will begin when simple, ordinary people like you and I decide to tear our minds away from the defiling and the corrupting influences of the world. 

The Old Testament spells out clearly what it is that will bring this revival to fruition:

May God give us grace, therefore, to change those things that we can change, so that the Holy Spirit will have opportunity to change the things that we cannot change and may we ever bear in mind that . . .

`Physically we are built up from what we eat. And so it is with the mind.’ (2SAT147.2)

As such, let us think very carefully as we consider what we are seeing, reading and hearing. With so much that is filthy and untrue being screened on the television we have to ask ourselves whether we can afford to have such a device in our homes. 

In view of the principles outlined in this document, it is obvious that the world's people are being slowly corrupted by the things that absorb so much of their time - not to mention the horror videos, the adult movies, and the great majority of advertisements that invariably appeal to the weaker side of our natures. 

If we are serious about fulfilling our appointed task on earth, and about getting to heaven at last, we have to make some very serious decisions - for our own sakes and for the sakes of our loved ones.

"Today, more than ever, we need to be careful about the input we allow to form our beliefs. With TV, music, movies, and the rest of the media often presenting sinful life-styles and unwholesome values, we find ourselves constantly bombarded by attitudes and beliefs that are totally opposed to the Bible. Be careful about what you allow to form your opinions. The Bible is the only standard of truth. Evaluate all other opinions in the light of its teachings." (Life Application Bible on Romans 1:25)

As we consider these things, let us bear in mind that we have been called to do somewhat more than merely go to church once a week. It is time, therefore, for us to hear the words of Jesus: 

"You did not choose Me, but I chose you to go and bear fruit - fruit that will last." (John 15:16)

In the light of this challenge, therefore, let us never forget that . . .

"It is a law of the mind that it gradually
adapts itself to the subjects upon which
it is trained to dwell." (PP596)

If we cherish the idea of living forever, and we consider ourselves to be religious, let us never forget that . . .

"Our religious experience is of
exactly the same quality as
the food we give our minds." (UT57)

If you have ever wondered what "religion" is all about, let me assure you that the bottom line of religion is all about love - about a loving God who gave us the ultimate demonstration of love by dying for our sins - a loving God who wants to change us into loving people. Isn't it sad, therefore, that so many do not realise that in rejecting religion they are rejecting love - and that in doing so they are rejecting the only opportunity that they will ever have of becoming truly loving people?

Nevertheless, we do not have to be rocket scientists to understand that we will never become loving people by beholding all the evil, the murder, the horror, and the bad news that receive so much free publicity in the media today. God knows that the things we look at have a profound effect upon the mind. Hence his loving invitation, . . .

`Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth:
for I am God, and there is none else.' (Isaiah 45:22)

In the light of the above, the reader is urged to consider the practical, life-changing plan that is outlined in Part Two of this utility.