Pomegranates and Bells....

Your gifting and anointing can take you places but you need to bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit in order for God to be glorified in your gifts. Exodus 28:33-34 reads “And on its hem you shall make pomegranates of blue, and purple, and scarlet, all around its hem. And bells of gold shall be amidst them all around. There shall be a golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, upon the hem of the robe all around”.

God instructed that there should be bells and pomegranates all around the hem of the Priestly garments. The bells represent the 9  Charismatic Gifts and the pomegranates represent the 9 Fruit of the Spirit .The pomegranates made from cloth are there to cushion the noise that comes from the bells so that it’s not irritating. 

When we got born again and became God's 's royal priesthood, we received gifts from the Holy Spirit (bells) to wear but so that our gifts are not just clanging and empty sounds, God has given us the fruit of the Spirit (pomegranates) to balance our gifts. The nine fruit (note it’s not fruits) are components of the Fruit of the Holy Spirit. We need them because a fruit is not complete without all its components. 

The Hem of a Priestly garment with  Pomegranates and Bells

The Fruit are: “....love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith, meekness, self-control; against such things there is no law” (Galatians 5:22).

When we operate in the gifts that we received from the Holy Spirit and cushion them with the fruit of the Holy Spirit which are equal to the number of gifts, we bring glory to God. 

Paul makes it clear in 1 Corinthians 13 that one may speak in tongues of men and angels but if one does not have love which is one of the nine components of the fruit of the Holy Spirit, then one becomes a sounding brass or clanging cymbal. God does not want us to be clanging cymbals through the gifts that the Holy Spirit gave us but desires for us to be effective and edify the body of Christ. The gifts we received are not for us to get puffed up or arrogant but they are for the body of Christ. 

If you want to see how disastrous operating in the gifts of the Holy Spirit without the Fruit of the Holy Spirit is, read the whole book of 1 Corinthians and see how a church that was blessed with the Gifts of the Spirit went chaotic without the fruit of the Holy Spirit. The fruit which is supposed to cushion the gifts, like the pomegranates were supposed to do to so that the  bells on the Priestly garments would not make noise in the Old Testament.

God works through the patterns and principles that are all set in the Old Testament. Here, the pattern and principle for how to operate in the gifts of the Holy Spirit has been set. So let him who has ears hear and he who has eyes see

Your character is more important than your charisma. Doesn't matter if you can "say it"...but can't live it." Nothing will draw nonbelievers and believers alike to the Lord than a truly sanctified saint in the Lord who is walking and operating in all 9 fruit of the Holy Spirit. If you are willing to allow the Holy Spirit to work and transmit all 9 of these fruit up into your personality to some appreciable degree in this life – you will then become a light that will literally radiate the presence of God Himself through your soul and personality. You have no idea how many people you will be able to save, touch, witness to, and help disciple if you have these fruit operating through you. 

These fruit will give you a credibility with God and with other people that no degree or title can give you in this life. This sanctification process is the ultimate, highest aim and goal with God for our lives. For those of you who are not afraid to let God begin this deeper sanctifying work in your life – keep these 9 fruit of the Holy Spirit directly in front of you – and work very closely with the Holy Spirit once He starts to manifest these fruit up into your personality.

These fruit will be coming directly from God. They will be His love, His goodness, His joy, and His peace that will start to flow into you. But you will still have to do your part in all of this. Once these divine attributes start to be released into your personality by the Holy Spirit – your job will then be to start to walk and operate in them.