Nine Fruits: Love Series

Galatians 5:22-23

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Introduction:

Fruit Illustration....

The purpose of both the fruit of the Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit is to enable and to empower the church to supernaturally impact the world.

The spiritual fruit and gifts are an outgrowth of a

Spirit-filled person.

Paul still urges us to develop them,

That shows me we must cultivate our hearts

And allow that working of the Spirit to take place

Flesh vs Spirit

In his letter to the Galatians, Paul provided a vivid contrast between the works of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit.

Galatians 5:19-23

19 The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery;

20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions

21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Although he listed seventeen works of the flesh,

the list certainly was not a comprehensive list.

A person gains nothing positive through any of these fleshly works

The result or effect always is negative for each of them, eventually resulting in spiritual death and eternal loss.

On the other hand, the nine aspects of the fruit of the Spirit are positive, and they bolster and build a person spiritually.

Love Defined

The first and most important fruit of the Spirit is love.

Love is the virtue of brotherly and sacrificial love.

It is a love that seeks the good of others.

Paul’s order of placement, as well as his other use of the word tells us that it is the greatest of the fruits. (1 Cor. 13)

Other New Testament writers such as John and Peter emphasize love as one of the greatest features of the kingdom of God.

Definition:

Love is not based on emotions or feelings.

It is a decision to be committed to the well being of others without any conditions or circumstances.

Need For Love

We live in a world that desperately needs love.

And even though society glorifies the subject of love,

there is so little evidence of love around us today.

Why is that

Well first, I think we’re misguided as to what love is.

We see a young couple locked in an embrace

And hear them say “I love you”

Society seems to equate romance, desire, attraction with love. But often times, love is not in the picture.

Others think that indulgence is love.

We have children & we buy them all kinds of things, expensive clothing, $200 athletic shoes.

We get them new red convertibles when they turn 16,

& think that is love.

It is a good and honorable thing to provide for your family

But lavishing spending does not equal love

We go out to a restaurant and we hear someone say

“I love fajitas!”

We overhear others say “I love... (basketball team)”

Love is often said,

Not often lived

Love Lived Out In Jesus

God has lived out love for us

Time and time again in the Gospels

It will tell us that Jesus was moved with compassion

In Matthew 14, Jesus had just learned about the death

of his cousin, John the Baptist

And he wanted to get away by himself

It said that he went to a desert place, apart, by himself

But the multitudes followed him...

Could you imagine, trying to get away and mourn...

Yet they follow, I would be annoyed...

But Jesus was not annoyed,

The Bible says

When He saw the great multitude

He was moved with compassion toward them

And healed the sick among them

He was moved with compassion

In Matthew 20

He was teaching to a great multitude

Yet they passed two lowly blind beggars

And they began to interrupt Jesus

And cry out

Thou Son of David, Have mercy on us!

The Bible says that the Disciples

Began to rebuke the blind beggars

Telling them that they should hold their peace

But they cried all the more

Saying it over and over again

Thou Son of David, Have mercy on us!

Jesus stops and walks over to them

Bible says He had compassion for them

He asked them, what shall I do for thee?

What can I do for you?

They answered “That our eyes may be opened”

Jesus touched their eyes

They were opened

They began to follow him from that day forward

He was moved with compassion

Of course we know John 3:16