The Product Of Love Series

Humor: Fertilizer Helps!

The Sunday school teacher was teaching a class of children about creation. “Now, children,” she said, “Who can tell us what makes the flower spring from the seed?” “God does it,” answered one little girl, “but fertilizer helps.”

INTRODUCTION:

We have been looking at “What the World Needs is Love, God’s Love!

In this morning’s message we want to look at the Fruit of Love.

Paul taught that the Love of God is shed abroad in our hearts through the Holy Spirit (Romans 5), so… What should God’s Love Look Like?

What is the by-product or the Fruit of Love?

Text: Gal. 5:22-23

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

THE CONTEXT: Gal 5:16-26

(1) This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. (17) For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. (18) But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.

(19) Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, (20) Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, (21) Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

(22) But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, (23) Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. (24) And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. (25) If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. (26) Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.

Illustration: What’s Outside should Reflect the Inside

Have you ever bought a cake mix, followed the instructions and what you end up with is nothing like what you see on the box?

Have you ever bought seed, followed the instructions, and not end up with the items you see on the package?

For example, I heard of one man who bought what he thought were snap peas, but once they were planted and he thought were ready to eat, he found out they were Lima Beans.

When we are saved, God plants His Agape love in our souls through the Holy Spirit. What should come out of our lives should be the fruit of Love.

Humor: Many Christians spend six days a week sowing wild oats and then come to church and pray for crop failure.

I. THE CLARITY ABOUT OF LOVE Galatians 5:22A

But the fruit of the Spirit

Love is not an emotion, not a feeling, it is an act of one's will.

To have LOVE and to love is made possible through the Holy Spirit.

1. The only approved fruit that should come from our lives is that of the Holy Spirit ... and that fruit is a singular thing: LOVE!

In the Greek, the word "fruit" is singular, not plural!

The list that follows is a list of the characteristics of "love."

The "fruit" of the Holy Spirit is the fruit of love!

2. You may have heard “That too much of a good thing is not good for you. Not so with LOVE!

The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations lists this phrase as proverbial and dates it from the late 15th century. The earliest example in print is from Shakespeare.

3. Unlike most things which are harmful if too much of it comes, there is no excess with love:

Illus: The desire of power in excess caused the angels to fall; the desire of knowledge in excess caused Adam and Eve to fall, but in love there is no excess, neither can angel or man come in danger by it! -- (Francis Bacon)

3. Fruit verses Weeds: Galatians 5:19-21

Here “The Fruit of the Holy Spirit” is contrasted by “The fruit, by-product of the Flesh, “WEEDS” or the natural “spirit of man.”

How different the two are, that which flows from our nature is selfish in nature, but the fruit of the Holy Spirit which is love is just the opposite!

4. One cannot possess the Holy Spirit and not demonstrate the fruit of the Holy Spirit!

a. This is Paul's point here!

b. Jesus made a similar contrast in Matthew 7 in speaking about False Prophets

Mat 7:17-18, 20 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. (18) A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. (20) Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.