WEBVTT 00:00:03.149 --> 00:00:08.349 A progressive prayer, Lord, speak, teach, fill, 00:00:08.529 --> 00:00:12.929 and use. We open the Word of God today to the 00:00:12.929 --> 00:00:19.789 book of Galatians and the fifth chapter. We're 00:00:19.789 --> 00:00:22.449 going to begin focusing on verses 22 and 23, 00:00:22.769 --> 00:00:28.890 the fruit of the Spirit. But the fruit of the 00:00:28.890 --> 00:00:34.820 Spirit is love, joy, peace. patience, kindness, 00:00:35.280 --> 00:00:40.960 goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self -control. 00:00:41.679 --> 00:00:47.799 Against such things there is no law. Every person 00:00:47.799 --> 00:00:51.700 in the world is dominated by something or someone. 00:00:52.880 --> 00:00:59.219 There is no such thing as absolute freedom. Every 00:00:59.219 --> 00:01:03.159 person... Every person in the world is dominated 00:01:03.159 --> 00:01:08.579 by something or someone. The unsaved person is 00:01:08.579 --> 00:01:14.340 dominated by his sin nature. He is dominated 00:01:14.340 --> 00:01:19.780 by the world system of which he is a part. And 00:01:19.780 --> 00:01:23.540 ultimately, he is dominated by Satan in whose 00:01:23.540 --> 00:01:29.439 kingdom he is a citizen. Likewise, the saved 00:01:29.439 --> 00:01:32.680 person. The regenerate person is a dominated 00:01:32.680 --> 00:01:36.319 person. The saved person is either dominated 00:01:36.319 --> 00:01:41.299 by sin working through the flesh or by the Holy 00:01:41.299 --> 00:01:47.200 Spirit in his new nature. One who thinks that 00:01:47.200 --> 00:01:52.120 he is freely doing his own thing without regard 00:01:52.120 --> 00:01:56.459 to what I've just said is sadly deceived. Every 00:01:56.459 --> 00:01:59.310 person is dominated. And that includes every 00:01:59.310 --> 00:02:03.370 person sitting in this room today. Whether saved 00:02:03.370 --> 00:02:07.090 or unsaved, we are all dominated by someone or 00:02:07.090 --> 00:02:11.789 something. Now our subject relates primarily 00:02:11.789 --> 00:02:15.990 to the child of God. How can we know which is 00:02:15.990 --> 00:02:21.810 in control, the flesh or the spirit? You say, 00:02:21.830 --> 00:02:25.349 I'm in control. Then the flesh is the one who 00:02:25.349 --> 00:02:28.710 is really in control. The flesh is the one who 00:02:28.710 --> 00:02:30.830 is really dominating you, though you may think 00:02:30.830 --> 00:02:34.849 you are in control. We are a dominated people, 00:02:35.030 --> 00:02:37.689 either by the flesh or the Spirit. How do we 00:02:37.689 --> 00:02:43.430 know which one is in dominance? The answer to 00:02:43.430 --> 00:02:48.969 that is by the manifestation of either the flesh 00:02:48.969 --> 00:02:53.409 or the Spirit in the saved person's life. You 00:02:53.409 --> 00:02:58.069 see, the flesh produces works. As verse 19 says, 00:02:58.330 --> 00:03:02.770 now the deeds or the works of the flesh are evident. 00:03:02.849 --> 00:03:06.909 They're obvious. They may be seen. We all understand 00:03:06.909 --> 00:03:10.830 what they are. And he lists 15 items and then 00:03:10.830 --> 00:03:17.330 says, and other things like these. They may be 00:03:17.330 --> 00:03:21.650 visible or invisible, actions or attitudes, but 00:03:21.650 --> 00:03:26.110 these deeds or these works manifest the fact 00:03:26.110 --> 00:03:33.750 that the flesh is dominating the Christian. The 00:03:33.750 --> 00:03:36.069 Holy Spirit, on the other hand, produces fruit. 00:03:36.449 --> 00:03:40.590 That is the verse that we read in verse 22. Note 00:03:40.590 --> 00:03:44.870 that the fruit of the Spirit is not synonymous 00:03:44.870 --> 00:03:48.729 with the gifts of the Spirit. The gifts of the 00:03:48.729 --> 00:03:51.969 Holy Spirit have to do with those... special 00:03:51.969 --> 00:03:55.889 abilities that he gives the child of God by which 00:03:55.889 --> 00:03:59.969 he can serve the Lord acceptably and fruitfully. 00:04:00.930 --> 00:04:03.490 Those are the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and the 00:04:03.490 --> 00:04:06.430 gifts of the Spirit are quite controversial these 00:04:06.430 --> 00:04:11.050 days. Perhaps the emphasis needs to be upon the 00:04:11.050 --> 00:04:13.469 fruit of the Spirit rather than the gifts of 00:04:13.469 --> 00:04:16.649 the Spirit. For the fruit of the Spirit has to 00:04:16.649 --> 00:04:19.740 do with the quality of living. The gifts have 00:04:19.740 --> 00:04:22.180 to do with what one can do, the fruit of the 00:04:22.180 --> 00:04:25.819 Spirit with what one is. And that certainly is 00:04:25.819 --> 00:04:29.399 more important. Notice it is not called these 00:04:29.399 --> 00:04:32.720 things the fruits of the Spirit, but it's singular. 00:04:33.660 --> 00:04:38.519 That suggests that what he's going to list actually 00:04:38.519 --> 00:04:43.199 are cohesive. It suggests a harmony in the life 00:04:43.199 --> 00:04:46.930 when these things are being manifested. When 00:04:46.930 --> 00:04:49.170 the fruit of the Spirit is being evidenced, there 00:04:49.170 --> 00:04:53.250 is a oneness to the life. There are no glaring 00:04:53.250 --> 00:05:00.649 contradictions, no disharmony or discord. The 00:05:00.649 --> 00:05:05.569 fruit is the result of the life of Jesus Christ. 00:05:06.410 --> 00:05:10.189 Warren Wiersbe has said, A machine can manufacture 00:05:10.189 --> 00:05:16.500 works. Only life can produce fruit. And so the 00:05:16.500 --> 00:05:20.300 blessed fruit of the Spirit is the life of Jesus 00:05:20.300 --> 00:05:23.939 Christ being expressed in the members of his 00:05:23.939 --> 00:05:30.540 body, revealing his likeness to the world. He 00:05:30.540 --> 00:05:33.000 does that through his children in whom he lives. 00:05:33.279 --> 00:05:37.199 The fruit of the Spirit is not the flesh reformed, 00:05:37.199 --> 00:05:42.720 for God has no plans to reform the flesh. It 00:05:42.720 --> 00:05:46.879 is not His intention to improve the flesh. One 00:05:46.879 --> 00:05:50.959 day, indeed, He will remove the flesh from us 00:05:50.959 --> 00:05:56.019 when we are with Christ. That which is of the 00:05:56.019 --> 00:05:59.379 flesh is fleshly and is therefore unacceptable 00:05:59.379 --> 00:06:03.600 to God. God is not dealing with the flesh to 00:06:03.600 --> 00:06:08.360 try to improve it or reform it. Our flesh may 00:06:08.360 --> 00:06:11.959 be cultured flesh, but it's still flesh. It may 00:06:11.959 --> 00:06:15.980 be educated flesh, but it's still flesh. It may 00:06:15.980 --> 00:06:20.319 be sincere flesh, but it's still flesh. It may 00:06:20.319 --> 00:06:23.920 be religious flesh, but it's still flesh, and 00:06:23.920 --> 00:06:28.420 therefore unacceptable to God. It is only the 00:06:28.420 --> 00:06:32.720 Spirit's fruit which God finds acceptable in 00:06:32.720 --> 00:06:37.220 our lives. God's plan is that this new man that 00:06:37.220 --> 00:06:40.180 has been created in us, which we are in Jesus 00:06:40.180 --> 00:06:44.100 Christ, This new man which has been created in 00:06:44.100 --> 00:06:48.920 the righteous and holy likeness of Jesus be revealed 00:06:48.920 --> 00:06:54.620 in and through us. And since that is God's plan, 00:06:54.740 --> 00:06:58.500 he works by the Holy Spirit in us to establish 00:06:58.500 --> 00:07:04.800 a new pattern of attitudes and actions to reflect 00:07:04.800 --> 00:07:09.860 the Christ life. This new pattern of attitudes 00:07:09.860 --> 00:07:12.639 and actions is not forced on us from without. 00:07:13.620 --> 00:07:17.079 It is not a legalistic code of man -made rules 00:07:17.079 --> 00:07:21.560 that we are to obey. But this new pattern of 00:07:21.560 --> 00:07:26.279 attitudes and actions is rather a power working 00:07:26.279 --> 00:07:30.480 from within. It is a transformation which the 00:07:30.480 --> 00:07:34.800 Holy Spirit produces in our lives as we walk 00:07:34.800 --> 00:07:39.060 in His power. He expresses these new attitudes 00:07:39.060 --> 00:07:45.439 and actions in the fruit which he produces. You 00:07:45.439 --> 00:07:48.620 will notice in our text that the fruit is ninefold. 00:07:49.639 --> 00:07:53.899 Nine words are used to describe various aspects 00:07:53.899 --> 00:07:58.920 of the fruit. Please understand that the fruit 00:07:58.920 --> 00:08:02.420 of the Spirit does not come in pieces and parts. 00:08:03.379 --> 00:08:09.439 By that I mean it's a single. fruit. It has been 00:08:09.439 --> 00:08:14.240 compared to a cluster of grapes, but I think 00:08:14.240 --> 00:08:17.000 perhaps a better comparison to the fruit of the 00:08:17.000 --> 00:08:21.740 Spirit might be an orange, for an orange comes 00:08:21.740 --> 00:08:27.959 in segments, not in individual pieces. The segments 00:08:27.959 --> 00:08:32.559 together form the one fruit, and so it is with 00:08:32.559 --> 00:08:36.259 the fruit of the Spirit. All of these aspects 00:08:36.259 --> 00:08:42.159 together form the fruit of the Spirit. Therefore, 00:08:42.279 --> 00:08:47.100 we do not manifest a few aspects of the fruit 00:08:47.100 --> 00:08:54.019 with no manifestation of others. By that I mean 00:08:54.019 --> 00:08:58.460 that we do not manifest, let's say, joy and goodness 00:08:58.460 --> 00:09:03.429 with no manifestation of gentleness. or self 00:09:03.429 --> 00:09:07.830 -control or faithfulness. That's impossible because 00:09:07.830 --> 00:09:10.529 the fruit of the Spirit doesn't come in pieces 00:09:10.529 --> 00:09:15.429 and parts. It comes as a whole. All aspects of 00:09:15.429 --> 00:09:19.870 the fruit of the Spirit are revealed at once 00:09:19.870 --> 00:09:25.250 in the believer's life when the Holy Spirit is 00:09:25.250 --> 00:09:30.669 dominating. Do you understand that? All nine 00:09:30.669 --> 00:09:35.570 aspects. of the fruit of the Spirit are revealed 00:09:35.570 --> 00:09:40.610 at once in the life of the believer under the 00:09:40.610 --> 00:09:44.830 Spirit's domination. Now having said that, I 00:09:44.830 --> 00:09:48.870 want to go on to say that at any moment there 00:09:48.870 --> 00:09:52.769 are some aspects which may be more visible or 00:09:52.769 --> 00:09:57.830 obvious than others because the situation would 00:09:57.830 --> 00:10:02.509 require that. And I think it's also important 00:10:02.509 --> 00:10:07.250 to recognize that both personality and maturity 00:10:07.250 --> 00:10:11.750 level may affect the degree to which any aspect 00:10:11.750 --> 00:10:15.210 of the fruit might be apparent in our lives. 00:10:16.269 --> 00:10:21.330 In other words, one's level of maturity, one's 00:10:21.330 --> 00:10:24.330 temperament or his personality may affect to 00:10:24.330 --> 00:10:28.590 some extent the degree to which any aspect of 00:10:28.590 --> 00:10:34.750 the fruit would be apparent. in one's life. It 00:10:34.750 --> 00:10:39.909 is interesting that in the New Testament there 00:10:39.909 --> 00:10:43.409 are commands or exhortations which correspond 00:10:43.409 --> 00:10:48.289 to each aspect of the fruit. Let me illustrate 00:10:48.289 --> 00:10:50.490 that and we will as we work through the list. 00:10:51.570 --> 00:10:54.350 It says here the fruit of the Spirit is love. 00:10:55.090 --> 00:10:58.889 What does that mean? It means the Holy Spirit 00:10:58.889 --> 00:11:03.370 produces love. in the life of the one where he 00:11:03.370 --> 00:11:07.570 is dominant. On the other hand, we are told, 00:11:07.750 --> 00:11:12.409 love one another. You see, there is a command 00:11:12.409 --> 00:11:17.710 that we are to obey which corresponds with what 00:11:17.710 --> 00:11:21.970 God says is the fruit of the Spirit. Now, there 00:11:21.970 --> 00:11:23.809 are those who would respond by saying, well, 00:11:23.830 --> 00:11:27.299 that's a contradiction. On the one hand, God 00:11:27.299 --> 00:11:29.700 says it's the fruit of the Spirit in our lives. 00:11:29.759 --> 00:11:33.019 He produces it. And then on the other hand, it 00:11:33.019 --> 00:11:36.279 says we are to do it. We're to love one another. 00:11:38.340 --> 00:11:42.299 Well, in fact, this is not a contradiction. These 00:11:42.299 --> 00:11:47.279 two complement one another. It is an illustration 00:11:47.279 --> 00:11:51.000 of how we must cooperate with the Holy Spirit. 00:11:52.220 --> 00:11:56.879 You see, He leads. But we follow. He initiates, 00:11:56.879 --> 00:12:02.200 but we respond. So we are responsible to love 00:12:02.200 --> 00:12:07.759 one another. But in fulfilling that command, 00:12:07.919 --> 00:12:12.019 in keeping that command, we must depend upon 00:12:12.019 --> 00:12:16.379 the Holy Spirit to work through us. When we say 00:12:16.379 --> 00:12:20.080 that we are going to love that difficult person 00:12:20.080 --> 00:12:24.269 that we have to work with, We cannot love that 00:12:24.269 --> 00:12:29.070 person in our own strength. We can by faith say 00:12:29.070 --> 00:12:33.909 to the Lord, Lord, I will love her. Though she's 00:12:33.909 --> 00:12:36.549 a miserable wretch to work with, I will love 00:12:36.549 --> 00:12:43.669 her. And the Holy Spirit then takes that obedience 00:12:43.669 --> 00:12:48.490 by faith on our part as a signal. He begins to 00:12:48.490 --> 00:12:51.850 work in our lives to enable us to truly love. 00:12:52.750 --> 00:12:58.029 that unhappy person in our office. The Holy Spirit 00:12:58.029 --> 00:13:02.490 works with the commands that we obey to produce 00:13:02.490 --> 00:13:05.590 the fruit of His presence and dominance in our 00:13:05.590 --> 00:13:10.830 lives. The Holy Spirit produces His fruit in 00:13:10.830 --> 00:13:16.990 the life of the believer under His control. Now 00:13:16.990 --> 00:13:20.549 this morning I had intended to study through 00:13:20.549 --> 00:13:25.940 three. aspects of the fruit of the Spirit. However, 00:13:26.139 --> 00:13:28.940 I have been persuaded by the Lord that we should 00:13:28.940 --> 00:13:33.000 not do that. He's given me too much to say on 00:13:33.000 --> 00:13:36.139 love, and so today we're just going to talk about 00:13:36.139 --> 00:13:39.299 love. And then after the Missions Festival, we'll 00:13:39.299 --> 00:13:41.779 pick it up there and talk about the other aspects 00:13:41.779 --> 00:13:45.299 of the fruit of the Spirit. Let's talk this morning 00:13:45.299 --> 00:13:49.080 about love. The fruit of the Spirit is love. 00:13:50.480 --> 00:13:53.139 There are some who understand this verse to say 00:13:53.139 --> 00:13:58.159 that love is the fruit of the Spirit, and that 00:13:58.159 --> 00:14:02.000 the other eight words actually magnify or draw 00:14:02.000 --> 00:14:06.340 out the meaning of love. And that is certainly 00:14:06.340 --> 00:14:10.059 possible. There's some truth to that. And we're 00:14:10.059 --> 00:14:12.840 going to look at a text in 1 Corinthians 13 which 00:14:12.840 --> 00:14:16.120 will seem to illustrate that truth. And yet in 00:14:16.120 --> 00:14:20.559 the list as it is given here, It seems in Galatians 00:14:20.559 --> 00:14:24.220 5 that the Holy Spirit is trying to tell us that 00:14:24.220 --> 00:14:26.659 the fruit of the Spirit, while it begins with 00:14:26.659 --> 00:14:30.740 love, love heads the list. It goes on to embrace 00:14:30.740 --> 00:14:36.000 other beautiful attributes as well. How do you 00:14:36.000 --> 00:14:40.879 describe love? Love is... How would you complete 00:14:40.879 --> 00:14:47.970 that sentence? Love is... The word love in the 00:14:47.970 --> 00:14:52.409 Greek language means agape. It is a kind of love 00:14:52.409 --> 00:14:55.970 that is reserved for God and God alone. That's 00:14:55.970 --> 00:15:01.289 why John says what he does in 1 John 3. Beloved, 00:15:01.289 --> 00:15:06.169 now are we the sons of God. He says, behold what 00:15:06.169 --> 00:15:12.110 foreign kind of love the Father has bestowed 00:15:12.110 --> 00:15:14.509 upon us that we should be called the sons of 00:15:14.509 --> 00:15:18.759 God. What foreign kind of love. In other words, 00:15:18.779 --> 00:15:21.899 it is a kind of love that cannot be manufactured 00:15:21.899 --> 00:15:28.399 by a mere human being. Agape love is God's kind 00:15:28.399 --> 00:15:32.820 of love. And it's the kind of love that he sheds 00:15:32.820 --> 00:15:36.740 abroad or floods into or overflows the heart 00:15:36.740 --> 00:15:41.539 of the believer with. It might be defined with 00:15:41.539 --> 00:15:45.129 a phrase like this. It is sacrificial care for 00:15:45.129 --> 00:15:50.529 another, irrespective of the response that it 00:15:50.529 --> 00:15:56.529 may bring. Sacrificial care for another with 00:15:56.529 --> 00:15:58.769 no thought about whether the person will say 00:15:58.769 --> 00:16:04.889 thank you or even appreciate it. 1 John 4 .8 00:16:04.889 --> 00:16:10.519 is a significant verse, I think. It's one of 00:16:10.519 --> 00:16:13.200 the few places in the Bible where a very simple 00:16:13.200 --> 00:16:17.240 statement is given regarding the nature of God. 00:16:20.059 --> 00:16:23.679 In the Gospel of John, John says, God is spirit. 00:16:25.539 --> 00:16:28.139 And they who worship Him must worship Him in 00:16:28.139 --> 00:16:33.279 spirit and in truth. In 1 John chapter 1, he 00:16:33.279 --> 00:16:38.759 says, God is light. And in Him there is no darkness. 00:16:39.389 --> 00:16:42.909 at all. There's a third statement which John 00:16:42.909 --> 00:16:46.610 gives in the fourth chapter, the eighth verse 00:16:46.610 --> 00:16:52.870 of this first epistle. The one who does not love 00:16:52.870 --> 00:16:59.990 does not know God, for God is love. Now there 00:16:59.990 --> 00:17:02.070 are some who try to reverse that equation and 00:17:02.070 --> 00:17:06.609 they say love is God, and that cannot be done. 00:17:08.170 --> 00:17:13.410 But it is true that God is love. In other words, 00:17:13.589 --> 00:17:18.750 agape love, this kind of sacrificial care for 00:17:18.750 --> 00:17:25.750 others, is so descriptive of the very essence 00:17:25.750 --> 00:17:31.490 of what God is that it can be said that God is 00:17:31.490 --> 00:17:36.759 love. It is a simple yet profound statement of 00:17:36.759 --> 00:17:41.859 God's very nature. This kind of love seeks the 00:17:41.859 --> 00:17:46.079 welfare of its object, even though that object 00:17:46.079 --> 00:17:50.140 may be totally unworthy. And of course, that's 00:17:50.140 --> 00:17:53.000 how we see it illustrated in what God has done 00:17:53.000 --> 00:17:56.839 for us. Let's talk for a moment about illustrations. 00:17:58.059 --> 00:18:00.839 We've talked about a description of love, but 00:18:00.839 --> 00:18:05.279 let's think about an illustration or two. I would 00:18:05.279 --> 00:18:08.640 like to point out one on a human level. As is 00:18:08.640 --> 00:18:10.920 found in the book of Romans, in the 10th chapter. 00:18:12.200 --> 00:18:14.940 Here's an illustration of agape love that I think 00:18:14.940 --> 00:18:19.740 is worth noting. The word love is not even used 00:18:19.740 --> 00:18:24.779 here. And yet we see the spirit of love, agape 00:18:24.779 --> 00:18:34.349 love, in Paul's words. He says, brethren, My 00:18:34.349 --> 00:18:39.289 heart's desire and my prayer to God for them, 00:18:39.450 --> 00:18:43.990 that is for his fellow Jews, is for their salvation. 00:18:44.970 --> 00:18:48.750 Notice that he has a desire in his heart. That 00:18:48.750 --> 00:18:52.529 desire is for the nation of Israel, his fellow 00:18:52.529 --> 00:18:57.029 Jews who were in unbelief, those who had rejected 00:18:57.029 --> 00:19:01.339 their Christ. And he says, it is my heart's desire, 00:19:01.519 --> 00:19:05.839 it is my prayer to God that they might be saved. 00:19:07.819 --> 00:19:10.440 Back in chapter 9, he says something further 00:19:10.440 --> 00:19:13.900 about this, which gives us additional insight 00:19:13.900 --> 00:19:17.460 into his heart. He says in verse 1, I am telling 00:19:17.460 --> 00:19:23.859 the truth in Christ. I am not lying. My conscience 00:19:23.859 --> 00:19:26.660 bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit. Do you 00:19:26.660 --> 00:19:31.230 notice how he... He phrases this. He says, I 00:19:31.230 --> 00:19:33.349 want to make a statement which you're not going 00:19:33.349 --> 00:19:37.450 to believe. But he says, I am telling the truth 00:19:37.450 --> 00:19:42.250 in Christ. He says, I am not lying. My conscience 00:19:42.250 --> 00:19:44.829 bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit that what 00:19:44.829 --> 00:19:49.990 I am about to say is really the way I feel. He 00:19:49.990 --> 00:19:54.309 says, I have great sorrow and unceasing grief 00:19:54.309 --> 00:20:01.640 in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were 00:20:01.640 --> 00:20:07.059 accursed, separated from Christ for the sake 00:20:07.059 --> 00:20:10.400 of my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh, 00:20:10.480 --> 00:20:14.740 who are Israelites. You know what Paul is saying 00:20:14.740 --> 00:20:22.259 there? Paul is saying, if it were possible, I 00:20:22.259 --> 00:20:27.500 could wish that I could lose my salvation. and 00:20:27.500 --> 00:20:31.140 spend eternity separated from God and Christ 00:20:31.140 --> 00:20:38.359 in hell, if somehow in doing that, my brethren, 00:20:38.640 --> 00:20:41.799 my kinsmen, according to the flesh, the Israelites, 00:20:41.960 --> 00:20:46.859 could come to the truth. Oh, if the nation of 00:20:46.859 --> 00:20:50.220 Israel would only come to their Messiah, he says. 00:20:51.900 --> 00:20:54.240 Now, who are the people that he says this about? 00:20:56.240 --> 00:20:59.160 They're the ones who have attempted to kill him 00:20:59.160 --> 00:21:04.460 already. Those who have put out a contract on 00:21:04.460 --> 00:21:09.299 his life. Those who had caused him to be sent 00:21:09.299 --> 00:21:14.839 to Rome for trial. Those who persecuted him. 00:21:15.599 --> 00:21:19.279 And as we will study tonight, those who perhaps 00:21:19.279 --> 00:21:23.059 even did actually murder him in the city of Lystra. 00:21:23.960 --> 00:21:27.990 An experience from which... Paul was apparently 00:21:27.990 --> 00:21:33.130 resuscitated by the power of God. Those are the 00:21:33.130 --> 00:21:36.849 people that he prays this for. People who hated 00:21:36.849 --> 00:21:41.549 him. People who despised him. A people who yet 00:21:41.549 --> 00:21:46.269 to this day carry that same feeling of hatred 00:21:46.269 --> 00:21:52.089 for Saul of Tarsus. But in his heart, he says, 00:21:52.349 --> 00:21:58.170 I would be willing to go to hell. if somehow 00:21:58.170 --> 00:22:02.470 they could come to Christ as a nation. My friend, 00:22:02.490 --> 00:22:08.829 that's love. That is self -sacrificial care for 00:22:08.829 --> 00:22:12.809 someone else, irrespective of their response. 00:22:15.869 --> 00:22:18.490 But of course, there is a greater illustration 00:22:18.490 --> 00:22:22.450 of this love, and that is in God's love for us. 00:22:23.329 --> 00:22:33.170 I'd like to go back to 1 John 4 once again. This 00:22:33.170 --> 00:22:35.410 time, verse 9. We'll pick it up. After it says, 00:22:35.470 --> 00:22:40.289 God is love, it says in verse 9, By this the 00:22:40.289 --> 00:22:44.490 love of God was manifested in us, that God has 00:22:44.490 --> 00:22:48.349 sent His only begotten Son into the world, so 00:22:48.349 --> 00:22:52.910 that we might live through Him. In this is love, 00:22:53.029 --> 00:22:57.329 not that we loved God, but that He loved us and 00:22:57.329 --> 00:23:02.180 sent His Son to be the propitiation. for our 00:23:02.180 --> 00:23:08.119 sins. How is the love of God illustrated? It 00:23:08.119 --> 00:23:14.359 is in this, that the Father sent the Son. The 00:23:14.359 --> 00:23:22.579 Father sent the Son. Why? To reveal God? Yes. 00:23:24.019 --> 00:23:27.299 So that the one who has seen the Son has seen 00:23:27.299 --> 00:23:32.079 the Father. The fullness of all that God wants 00:23:32.079 --> 00:23:34.680 to say is found in the person of Jesus Christ. 00:23:34.819 --> 00:23:40.220 He came to reveal God. Yes. The Father sent the 00:23:40.220 --> 00:23:47.480 Son. Why? To show us a perfect example of living 00:23:47.480 --> 00:23:52.440 in obedience to God. That's true. He lived a 00:23:52.440 --> 00:23:56.990 life that was absolutely sinless. Neither in 00:23:56.990 --> 00:24:00.029 thought or in deed or in word did Jesus ever 00:24:00.029 --> 00:24:10.250 once sin. The Father sent the Son for that purpose. 00:24:11.809 --> 00:24:15.309 My friend, the thing that manifests the love 00:24:15.309 --> 00:24:20.809 of God is neither of those. The thing that manifests 00:24:20.809 --> 00:24:23.250 the love of God is that the Father sent the Son. 00:24:24.460 --> 00:24:30.900 to be the propitiation for our sins. Notice, 00:24:30.960 --> 00:24:35.519 first of all, it drags out what we are. Our sins, 00:24:35.539 --> 00:24:44.480 our unloveliness, our repulsiveness, our hostility 00:24:44.480 --> 00:24:50.059 against God, our disobedience to the commands 00:24:50.059 --> 00:24:55.160 of God. It draws out first what we are, showing 00:24:55.160 --> 00:25:03.259 how unworthy we are. We are sinners. We are the 00:25:03.259 --> 00:25:06.059 reprobates of God's universe that He has created. 00:25:08.119 --> 00:25:13.359 He exposes us. But He says that the Son has come 00:25:13.359 --> 00:25:19.619 to be the propitiation for us. Propitiation. 00:25:19.619 --> 00:25:23.900 What in the world is that? Well, the simple idea 00:25:23.900 --> 00:25:32.059 in propitiation is satisfaction. God's holiness 00:25:32.059 --> 00:25:37.140 was offended by our sin. Because God is light 00:25:37.140 --> 00:25:40.039 and there is no darkness in Him at all, God cannot 00:25:40.039 --> 00:25:44.539 be in the presence of sin. He must judge it. 00:25:44.900 --> 00:25:47.839 He must condemn it. He must deal with it in His 00:25:47.839 --> 00:25:52.769 holiness and justice and righteousness. We understand 00:25:52.769 --> 00:25:58.109 that. I don't think there's any of us who has 00:25:58.109 --> 00:26:01.630 a tough time understanding why a sinner deserves 00:26:01.630 --> 00:26:06.569 judgment. That communicates. But the amazing 00:26:06.569 --> 00:26:10.529 thing, the truly amazing thing, is that that 00:26:10.529 --> 00:26:16.430 same holy God who demands justice came into the 00:26:16.430 --> 00:26:20.500 world in the person of His Son. And he himself 00:26:20.500 --> 00:26:29.220 paid the price of justice. He satisfied the holy 00:26:29.220 --> 00:26:33.859 demands of his justice by becoming the propitiation 00:26:33.859 --> 00:26:41.359 for our sins. Unworthy and unlovely and disgusting 00:26:41.359 --> 00:26:49.019 and repulsive as we were. Death. is the greatest 00:26:49.019 --> 00:26:53.240 illustration of agape that could ever be pointed 00:26:53.240 --> 00:27:00.660 out. In light of that, there are a couple of 00:27:00.660 --> 00:27:02.680 exhortations that we need to take a look at. 00:27:06.720 --> 00:27:10.980 Exhortations which, when obeyed, will allow the 00:27:10.980 --> 00:27:14.359 fruit of the Spirit, which is love, to be manifested 00:27:14.359 --> 00:27:19.880 in our lives. The love that we are to display 00:27:19.880 --> 00:27:24.759 as a fruit of the Spirit is to be sent in two 00:27:24.759 --> 00:27:29.359 directions. First, a vertical direction toward 00:27:29.359 --> 00:27:33.259 God, and then a horizontal direction toward others. 00:27:35.539 --> 00:27:38.220 We are to love God. In fact, we'll just stay 00:27:38.220 --> 00:27:40.019 right here in this chapter. Look at verse 19. 00:27:42.160 --> 00:27:46.000 The thrust of this verse is that we love. God, 00:27:46.000 --> 00:27:52.920 we love Him because He first loved us. Or we 00:27:52.920 --> 00:27:56.339 could turn to Matthew 22, verses 36 through 38, 00:27:56.500 --> 00:27:58.819 when Jesus was asked, what is the greatest of 00:27:58.819 --> 00:28:05.619 the commandments? His enemies thought they had 00:28:05.619 --> 00:28:07.220 Him because there were hundreds of them, and 00:28:07.220 --> 00:28:09.099 whatever He would say would disbelieve somebody. 00:28:11.440 --> 00:28:14.099 He said, the greatest of the commandments is 00:28:14.099 --> 00:28:20.799 this. You shall love the Lord your God with everything 00:28:20.799 --> 00:28:26.500 that you are. That's it. That's the greatest 00:28:26.500 --> 00:28:31.839 commandment. How is the fruit of the Spirit, 00:28:31.960 --> 00:28:34.859 which is love, to be manifested in our lives? 00:28:35.880 --> 00:28:41.259 It is by our loving God with everything that 00:28:41.259 --> 00:28:51.509 we are. We say to God, I love you. But is there 00:28:51.509 --> 00:28:59.710 not a one of us that who would have to say, my 00:28:59.710 --> 00:29:05.630 love for God is so shriveled and so immature 00:29:05.630 --> 00:29:12.069 and so imperfect. Love God with all that I am? 00:29:12.980 --> 00:29:16.180 All that I have, all that I could be, love God 00:29:16.180 --> 00:29:20.839 that much? That's what the commandment is. We 00:29:20.839 --> 00:29:25.539 are to love God. You say, how is that measured? 00:29:26.240 --> 00:29:29.400 It's measured, Jesus said, by keeping his commandments. 00:29:29.819 --> 00:29:33.339 He said, he who has my commandments and keepeth 00:29:33.339 --> 00:29:40.460 them, he it is who loves me. You see, the measure 00:29:40.460 --> 00:29:43.799 of our love is the extent, to which we keep His 00:29:43.799 --> 00:29:48.500 commandments. So we can say that we love God, 00:29:48.660 --> 00:29:50.900 but the real measurement of that is not the words 00:29:50.900 --> 00:29:54.579 we use, it's the way that we live and whether 00:29:54.579 --> 00:30:00.299 we keep the commandments. Not keeping them in 00:30:00.299 --> 00:30:05.420 some legalistic, harsh, brutal fashion, but keeping 00:30:05.420 --> 00:30:09.420 them out of glad, willing surrender, a desire 00:30:09.420 --> 00:30:14.799 to please the God who has so loved us. I have 00:30:14.799 --> 00:30:17.160 to move ahead to the second of the exhortations. 00:30:17.559 --> 00:30:22.680 It too is found here in 1 John 4. He says in 00:30:22.680 --> 00:30:28.019 verse 7, Beloved, let us love one another, for 00:30:28.019 --> 00:30:31.319 love is from God, and everyone who loves is born 00:30:31.319 --> 00:30:39.380 of God and knows God. This is the horizontal 00:30:39.380 --> 00:30:45.279 direction of love. Excuse me. We are to love 00:30:45.279 --> 00:30:50.759 one another. This is the force that motivates 00:30:50.759 --> 00:30:55.880 us to take whatever action is necessary to help 00:30:55.880 --> 00:31:00.900 another with no concern about the cost to us 00:31:00.900 --> 00:31:06.380 personally. I wish we had time to read chapter 00:31:06.380 --> 00:31:13.039 3, verses 9 through 18, because he tells us there, 00:31:14.829 --> 00:31:18.529 That this is what manifests who the real children 00:31:18.529 --> 00:31:27.549 of God are. They love. If a person hates and 00:31:27.549 --> 00:31:30.930 has the fruit of hatred in his life, it is evidence 00:31:30.930 --> 00:31:33.809 that the love of God is not in him, says the 00:31:33.809 --> 00:31:40.609 Bible. John says in verse 16, we know love by 00:31:40.609 --> 00:31:44.599 this, that he laid down his life for us. And 00:31:44.599 --> 00:31:48.359 we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. 00:31:49.740 --> 00:31:54.200 But whoever has the world's goods and beholds 00:31:54.200 --> 00:31:58.180 his brother in need and closes his heart against 00:31:58.180 --> 00:32:03.519 him, how does the love of God abide in him? Little 00:32:03.519 --> 00:32:07.440 children, let us not love with word or with tongue, 00:32:07.640 --> 00:32:13.500 but in deed and in truth. We are to love one 00:32:13.500 --> 00:32:17.460 another, and that love is to be manifested by 00:32:17.460 --> 00:32:25.880 the way we treat others. The idea of love includes 00:32:25.880 --> 00:32:31.619 deep affection, tenderness, readiness to assist, 00:32:32.059 --> 00:32:37.220 promoting another's welfare, doing nothing to 00:32:37.220 --> 00:32:41.619 offend or maliciously hurt. It means being forgiving. 00:32:43.980 --> 00:32:46.740 I remember when I was in grade school and saw 00:32:46.740 --> 00:32:50.319 a prism for the first time. Do you remember that 00:32:50.319 --> 00:32:54.039 experience? When some teacher or perhaps even 00:32:54.039 --> 00:32:56.339 another student brought out one of those prisms 00:32:56.339 --> 00:33:01.799 and for the first time you saw the sunlight broken 00:33:01.799 --> 00:33:07.000 into the spectrum of its colors. That is fascinating 00:33:07.000 --> 00:33:14.569 to a child. I'd like us to take the ray of sun 00:33:14.569 --> 00:33:19.589 from God, the sunlight of his love as it shines 00:33:19.589 --> 00:33:25.390 down this morning, and hold up the prism. This 00:33:25.390 --> 00:33:31.670 is it. And let's allow that prism to break down 00:33:31.670 --> 00:33:36.390 the love of God so that we can see various aspects 00:33:36.390 --> 00:33:40.660 of it. The prism is found in 1 Corinthians 13. 00:33:50.759 --> 00:34:01.299 We'll begin with verse 7. Excuse me, verse 4. 00:34:02.700 --> 00:34:08.019 He says, love is patient. Well, shall we stop 00:34:08.019 --> 00:34:15.280 there? How do you know if you love that roommate? 00:34:18.360 --> 00:34:22.300 How do you know if you really love your husband 00:34:22.300 --> 00:34:28.599 or your wife? Teenager, how do you know that 00:34:28.599 --> 00:34:34.519 you love your parents with agape love? It is 00:34:34.519 --> 00:34:38.699 when you are patient. The idea behind patience 00:34:38.699 --> 00:34:42.019 is that it bears with difficult people and circumstances. 00:34:45.380 --> 00:34:48.519 We can say we love, but if we're not patient, 00:34:48.679 --> 00:34:52.840 it's not the love of God we're talking about. 00:34:54.480 --> 00:34:59.400 It goes on to say love is kind. It is it obeys 00:34:59.400 --> 00:35:03.940 the golden rule. It's courteous. It's thoughtful. 00:35:07.150 --> 00:35:11.590 For brother and sister love each other. It means 00:35:11.590 --> 00:35:16.989 that they're kind and thoughtful. It means that 00:35:16.989 --> 00:35:21.849 the husband opens the door for his wife. It means 00:35:21.849 --> 00:35:25.130 learning to say simple things like please and 00:35:25.130 --> 00:35:29.650 thank you. Love is kind. It chooses its words 00:35:29.650 --> 00:35:34.329 carefully. And then it places those words in 00:35:34.329 --> 00:35:42.239 the tone of voice. that communicates love. Love 00:35:42.239 --> 00:35:46.440 is not jealous. It does not want what is rightfully 00:35:46.440 --> 00:35:49.320 someone else's, whether it be position or possessions 00:35:49.320 --> 00:35:53.840 or power or whatever. Love does not brag and 00:35:53.840 --> 00:35:58.500 is not arrogant. Pride cannot fester in the heart 00:35:58.500 --> 00:36:06.880 when that heart is washed by love. Love does 00:36:06.880 --> 00:36:09.900 not cause one to elevate his own gifts or abilities, 00:36:10.159 --> 00:36:16.599 but rather to evaluate them accurately. The attitude 00:36:16.599 --> 00:36:20.460 of being a show -off, or talking about oneself, 00:36:20.960 --> 00:36:24.719 or trying to top the story of somebody else with 00:36:24.719 --> 00:36:27.960 what happened to you. Have you ever been in one 00:36:27.960 --> 00:36:31.179 of those situations? Where everybody's got a 00:36:31.179 --> 00:36:34.119 story that's a half an inch more thrilling or 00:36:34.119 --> 00:36:37.800 more daring. or more exciting, or more awful 00:36:37.800 --> 00:36:42.960 than the next person. Love doesn't brag, and 00:36:42.960 --> 00:36:47.820 it's not arrogant. It does not act unbecomingly. 00:36:47.820 --> 00:36:50.219 It knows how to act under the circumstances. 00:36:51.079 --> 00:36:55.579 It does not seek its own. It's not provoked. 00:36:57.679 --> 00:37:02.000 Are you provoked at somebody? Are you aggravated? 00:37:04.329 --> 00:37:06.730 Love doesn't take into account a wrong suffered. 00:37:06.889 --> 00:37:12.230 It's not a bookkeeper. There's no ledger that 00:37:12.230 --> 00:37:17.869 love keeps. It doesn't say, that's one for you. 00:37:20.329 --> 00:37:23.489 It does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices 00:37:23.489 --> 00:37:26.630 with truth. This kind of love we're talking about 00:37:26.630 --> 00:37:30.929 is not wishy -washy love. It's not a love that 00:37:30.929 --> 00:37:35.199 compromises. It is a love that rejoices with 00:37:35.199 --> 00:37:41.659 the truth. It bears all things, even with that 00:37:41.659 --> 00:37:47.280 driver in front of you. It believes all things. 00:37:47.340 --> 00:37:49.719 That does not mean that it's stupidly gullible. 00:37:50.659 --> 00:37:54.340 It means that it believes the best about people 00:37:54.340 --> 00:37:59.639 rather than the worst. It hopes all things. It 00:37:59.639 --> 00:38:05.329 has great aspirations. and expectations. It endures 00:38:05.329 --> 00:38:07.789 all things, and that brings us back full circle 00:38:07.789 --> 00:38:11.730 to patience once again. That's love. That's the 00:38:11.730 --> 00:38:16.309 prism of love. If you look at your life in the 00:38:16.309 --> 00:38:19.809 light of God's prism, is the fruit of the Spirit 00:38:19.809 --> 00:38:29.329 being manifested? There was a man in England 00:38:29.329 --> 00:38:33.639 who was praying. In the prayer meeting he said, 00:38:33.699 --> 00:38:37.579 Lord, we can't hold much, but we can overflow 00:38:37.579 --> 00:38:44.519 lots. How can the world, can you and I love God 00:38:44.519 --> 00:38:49.079 with everything that we are? And how can we love 00:38:49.079 --> 00:38:55.500 other people with all of their faults? The way 00:38:55.500 --> 00:39:02.699 that God tells us to. Only When we choose to 00:39:02.699 --> 00:39:05.639 do it and allow the Holy Spirit to enable us, 00:39:05.659 --> 00:39:10.599 that's the only way. Would you bow with me, please? 00:39:13.719 --> 00:39:18.219 Our time is gone and the Spirit of God has spoken 00:39:18.219 --> 00:39:24.000 to my heart and I trust to yours. What do you 00:39:24.000 --> 00:39:29.460 want to say to the Lord? Maybe it's a prayer 00:39:29.460 --> 00:39:33.179 of confession for the way that That you've thought 00:39:33.179 --> 00:39:38.639 about another person. Or acted toward another 00:39:38.639 --> 00:39:49.159 this morning. Or last night at that party. Or 00:39:49.159 --> 00:39:55.400 yesterday in the game. It may be a prayer of 00:39:55.400 --> 00:40:00.119 confession. But certainly wouldn't it be from 00:40:00.119 --> 00:40:02.809 all of us who are the children of God. a prayer, 00:40:02.809 --> 00:40:11.969 an appeal, saying, Lord, I want to love. I want 00:40:11.969 --> 00:40:14.090 to love you with all of my heart, and I want 00:40:14.090 --> 00:40:20.090 to love others. By your Spirit, enable me to 00:40:20.090 --> 00:40:25.150 do that. Lord, fulfill that prayer in our lives. 00:40:27.289 --> 00:40:33.500 Write it upon the tablets of our hearts. Do not 00:40:33.500 --> 00:40:37.380 allow us to escape the point of the Holy Spirit 00:40:37.380 --> 00:40:41.260 this morning, that the fruit of the Spirit is 00:40:41.260 --> 00:40:46.699 love. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.