Sermon Central
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#1fruit Of Spirit Love Series
Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on May 29, 2002 (message contributor)
Summary: We begin to study the Fruit of the Spirit, #1LOVE.
#1 STUDY OF THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT: LOVE
By Wade Martin Hughes, Sr.
Kyfingers@aol.com
TEXT:
Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
23. Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
LOVE NEVER FAILS! 1 CORINTHIANS 13:8
1 John 4:8 He that loveth not knowth not God; for GOD IS LOVE.
John 13:34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another as I have loved you, that you also love one another.
WE ARE STUDYING THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT
There is great debate whither there is nine fruit
or is there one fruit of the Spirit?
What can we do to produce a great amount of fruit?
We can study and develop a love and an appreciation
and an awareness of fruit and it’s production!
We have broken the nine into three groups.
1. Inward: love, joy, peace
2. Outward: longsuffering-patience,
gentleness-kindness, goodness.
3. Godward: faith-faithfulness, meekness,
temperance-self control.
Today’s study of love IS OUR 1ST STUDY, THE FIRST OF THE INWARD GROUP.
With eight more to follow.
FRUIT will always be a product of growth.
No roots no fruits.
All fruit bears within it seed, reproduction enveloped within.
No thing great is created suddenly, any more than a bunch of grapes, or a fig. If you tell me that you desire a fig, I answer you that there must be TIME. Let it first be a blossom, then bear fruit, then ripen. Epictetus.
Weakest kind of fruit drops earliest to the ground
Fruit always grows out on the limb.
TEXT on Fruit:
Love is the parent of all the other fruit. All Spiritual fruit grows out of the soil of love. Forgiveness grows out of the soil of love.
Without love there is little accomplished and God is not present.
1 John 4:8 He that loveth not knowth not God; for GOD IS LOVE.
GREAT IS THE YIELD OF THE FERTILE FIELD.
Matthew 13:23 some 30 fold, 60 fold, some 100 fold.
Today we hear much about the gifts of the Spirit, but the real focus must be on the FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT.
As Christians we glorify the Father and prove that we
are followers of Jesus, as we produce the Fruit of
the Spirit. There is more effort given to produce
fruit than no fruit.
More fruit requires better planning and effort than
growing just fruit.
To produce much sweetfruit requires much sweat and
effort.
As we produce the fruit of the Spirit the GIFTS
will operate with much more effectiveness.
The gifts of the Spirit are supernatural enabling
for greater spiritual service.
The fruit of the Spirit is to birth a Christ like heart and mind.
As the blossom goes before the fruit, so faith must go before the Spiritual fruit!
Physical fruit is the outward evidence time and of the inward work of God and the vine or tree.
DEFINE LOVE!
WEBSTER SAYS:
-- STRONG AFFECTION FOR ANOTHER
--feeling of kinship
--affection --tenderness -- admiration
-- enthusiasm --
-- warm attachment --devotion -- unselfish loyalty
-- concern for another -- cherish -- passion --
But after pondering all of this, this no more defines love --- for the words cannot tell!
FRUIT PRODUCTION IS NOT OPTIONAL, IT IS A REQUIREMENT...
John 15:8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.
Fruit bearing LOVE involves a blend of trust, patience, obedience and more patience and dependence.
Obedience because we are commanded to bear fruit.
LOVE NEVER GIVES UP, LOVE NEVER LOOKS BACK
Luke 13:7 Why cumber the ground?
A fruitless tree is not part of the father’s plan.
LOVE IS NOT EASY!
Luke 13:8 Please Lord, give this tree another
chance, I will work it,
I will fertilize it, maybe all it needs is another
chance?
LOVE must be the first and foremost of the all
spiritual qualities.
Love is basic to all of the spiritual fruit.
THE BIBLE LIST THREE TYPES OF LOVE
1. EROS -- EYE ATTRACTION, SENSUAL.
2. PHILEO -- BROTHERLY LOVE AND KINDNESS
3. AGAPE -- COMPLETE LOVE, GIVING LOVE, GODLY LOVE
Love is three-directional:
1. We must love ourselves.
Matthew 19:19 --- LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS THYSELF.
You have a great value to the Father.
You are unique, and God SO loves you.
He knows you by your first name.
John 13:34 A new commandment I give to you, that
you love one another as I have loved you, that you
also love one another.
2. How do we love others will be your testing zone.
1 John 3:14 We know that we have passed from death
unto life, because we love the brethren. He that
loveth not is brother abideth in death.
