Loving Beyond Reason Series

“The Fruit of the Spirit”

- Part 1

June 22, 2003 AM,

Danny Williams

1 Cor 13:4-10

Gal. 5:22

Now we have a generation today that talks a lot about love,

but to be frank we have a generation who knows perhaps less about love than any generation since the time of Christ.

It just amazes me how the word love has been twisted, perverted, mis-used and abused, today.

People just don’t understand what love is.

Many people think Love is an inexpressible emotion.

Sort of a outward express ability of an outward all overishness

They just don’t know what it is,

You know,

Ocean’s of emotions.

That is just feeling.

That is not what love is

Love is not feeling, it may contain feeling, it may result in feeling, but love is not primarily a feeling nor an emotion.

I’ll tell you why>>

Because the bible commands us to love.

And you cannot command a feeling.

Think about it,.

The bible commands us to love,

I’ll tell you something else,

it is not an uncontrollable passion.

People have the Idea today that it is just something that happens to us and we are more less victims of it,

You know, the saying,

We fall in love or fall out of love,,,,,,,,,

You know it just sort of happens.

We don’t have any choice over it,

But, wait a minute, the bible says

Husbands love your wives.

That is not a suggestion, not a request, that is a command.

Love involves two things,

Choice and conduct

You can chose to love, and love is not how you feel,

It is what you do.

Don’t tell me you love me and treat me badly,

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Now the reason we are more confused about is because we use one word for love.

The Greeks’ we more exact, they used three words.

For example.

1. Erous- the Greek where we get the word Erotic- meaning the kind of love a man has for a woman and a woman for a man, It is romantic love.

This love is for the one person in your life,

YOU better get the right one.

Example:

Herby said to Susie, will you please go out with me?

Susie said no, Herby said, is their somebody else?

Susie said there has got to be.

One man one woman that is the erotic love.

2. Philo- which means friendship love, Brotherly love

Comradeship,

But the word we are studying today is:

3. Agape- and it is God like love.

And that is what this world needs,

And that is what I want to talk to you about this morning,

But let me talk to you single folks for a moment.

Love in relationships goes in reverse order,

Agape, Philo then erous….

Now,,,,,

Look at vs. 19-

If we were going to display a diamond,

We would probably put it on black velvet, if we wanted it to show up,

That is what God has done with agape love,

He put it on the black velvet of the works of the flesh.

Gal. 5:19-

Vs. 22

There are nine qualities in the fruit of the spirit,

And by looking at these nine,

not only are you going to examine the fruit,

but you are going to examine your self.

You will find out whether you are a mature and a spiritual, Christian.

But let me say

Now, we live in a generation that talks about the gifts of the spirit,

Like, Prophesy, Tongues, Miracles, And helps

And people say, this is my gift, what is your gift?

How can I use my gift?

Fine, wonderful,

But, I want to tell you that no gift is a sign of spiritual maturity or spirituality.

Paul’s most carnal church the church at Corinth, he said you come behind in no gift.

If I want to know if you’re a mature Christian, I don’t examine the gift, I inspect the fruit.

The mark of spiritually and maturity, is what kind of fruit do you bare?

THE fruit of the spirit is the mark of spirituality,

In fact Jesus said in

Matthew 7:20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

Not, a spiritual gift.

Now there are three things I want you to notice about agape love.

First of all I want us to look at

1. The description of this love, what qualities does this love have?

How would we describe this love?

How could I tell someone else about this love?

How do we describe it?

Well, thank God there is already one given in the bible

Turn with me to ---------------------------------------------------------------------

I Cor. 13

Where the apostle Paul gives a description of Agape love.

I want us to look at the ten qualities of agape love.

This is Love: or what the King James Version sometimes calls charity.