LOVE

SERIES: THE FRUIT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

TEXT: GALATIANS 5:22-23

Today we start a new series of messages on “The fruit of the Holy Spirit.” The first fruit that the Bible speaks is love.

This is a very important series. I really appeal to you to attend all the series.

Once there lived a pig farmer. This farmer had a pig which had a wooden leg. A man was visiting the farm and he noticed the pig with a wooden leg. He asked the farmer, “how did this pig lose his leg?”

The farmer responded by saying that the pig with wooden leg was very special pig. He said, “one day the barn caught on fire and the pig ran into the barn and chased out all the horses. He saved their lives-he is very special pig. The visitor said, so that is how it lost its leg? The farmer said, “no that is not how he lost his leg!”

The farmer said, “that pig is very special because one time I was driving my tractor by the pond and I got too close to the edge and my tractor turned over. I would have died that day but that pig swam out to where I was and saved my life.”

• The visitor said, “so that is how the pig lost its leg?”
• The farmer said, “one time I was underneath the car working on the muffler and the jack gave way. The car fell on me and that pig went for help and saved my life.”
• The visitor said, “so that is how the pig lost its leg?”
• The farmer said, “no, that is not how it lost its leg.”
• The visitor said, “well, how did your pig lose its leg?”
• The farmer said, “mister, that pig is very special pig, you don’t expect me to eat it all at one time.”

Well, “the fruit of the Spirit” we are not going to eat them all at once in one massage, we are going to eat this fruit one at a time.

Many Bible readers say when it comes to salvation Paul and James contradicted each other.

• Paul taught that we are saved by grace alone.
• James says that when we are saved by grace, grace is not alone, there will be works to show we have been saved by grace-James 2:17-18.
• James is not teaching salvation by works (auto-salvation). He is simply saying that if you have been saved by the grace of God, your life will reflect that you are “a new creature in Christ.”
• When you place the writings of Paul and James side by side you will see there are no contradictions in their writings.
• God knows that a man is saved by what he sees in the heart.
• Man knows a man is saved by what we see in his life.
• We are saved by grace for good works.
• The first fruit of the Holy Spirit is LOVE.
• The lost would talk about love in a variety of ways:-

• Affection love.
• Sexual love.
• Romantic love.
• Puppy love.
• Friendship love.
• Permanent love.
• Infatuation love.
• Passionate love.

• The Bible teaches us that there is another love which is called AGAPE LOVE.
• Agape love is the purest love. It is God’s love. God is Agape love.”
• When we talk about the love of God we are talking about AGAPE LOVE.
• This world talks a lot about love, but knows very little about love.
• A man came into the bedroom and asked his wife-
• “Darling, if I were disfigured, would you still love me?”
• She answered ‘darling if you were disfigured I will still love you.”
• How about if I were crippled?
• Don’t worry darling I will still love you.
• He asked again, “how about if I lost my job as vice-president?”
• She replied I will still love you darling.”
• Husband finally asked “what if I no longer brought you six figure salary (1000,000-999,999 sh)?
• The wife looked up at her husband and said “I will still love you, but I will really miss you.”
• The first fruit of the Holy Spirit is LOVE. Let us learn:-

THE MIRACLE OF THE FRUIT-Gal. 5:22-23.

• In Galatians 5:22-23, the Lord lists 9 fruit of the spirit every christian is supposed to bear.
• This is the fruit each christian is supposed to produce.
• But notice in Galatians 5:19-21, God first shows us the bad fruit we bore before we were saved.
• Today they have programmes on T.v called “extreme makeovers.”
• “Extreme makeovers” is when a person was one thing before and now looks different.
• Before Christ saved us we were Galatians 5:19-21. Now in Jesus Christ we become Galatians 5:22-23.
• The Lord saw that we were in a sorry state, He saved us and made us new creatures in Christ-2nd Cor. 5:17.
• In the christan life there must be two pictures-

1. Life before Christ-BC
2. Life after Christ-AC

• Something happens when Christ comes into our lives.
• A certain wife said-

1. Before marriage, a man will live awake all night thinking about something you say.
2. After marriage, he will fall asleep before you finish saying something.

• Paul is telling us something has happened in our lives for better.
• Once we bore bad fruit, but now as christians we bear God fruit.
• The fruit of the Holy Spirit is a miracle of salvation.

THE MINISTRY OF THE FRUIT.

• The fruit is the fruit of the Holy Spirit-Gal. 5:22.
• The fruit of the Holy Spirit is in singular.
• Here is only one fruit of the Holy Spirit but it comes in 9 flavors like ice cream.
• The Holy Spirit can do in us, for us and through us what we cannot do for ourselves.
• The Holy Spirit takes a sinner and saved by grace and produce a beautiful fruit in his life.

THE MANIFESTATION OF THE FRUIT.

• If your life is still filled with the same kind of fruit that the lost world is producing, it could be because you have never been made a “new creature.”
• Look again at the works of the flesh-Gal. 5:19-21.
• The fruit of the Holy Spirit is none other than the Holy Spirit manifesting the reality of Christ in our lives!!
• God is love-1st John 4:7-10.
• “He that loveth not knoweth not God. For God is love.”
• Many of us we don’t know what love is.
• The Greek had three main types of love-

1. Eros-This is sensual love, the kind of love that a man may have for a woman and vice versa.

• This is love based on attraction and sexual pull to one another. It is based on what I can get.

1. Phileo. This is blood based love. It is also called brotherly love, sisterly love.

• It is the kind of love we have for parents, brothers, sisters and friends.

1. Agape love.

• This is the unconditional love of God.
• The love of Jesus Christ is so unconditional and so giving-John 3:16.
• The love of God is cast abroed in our hearts by the Holy Spirit.
• God has given us love for each other we don’t have to pray God give us love.”
• When we are saved, we can love others by faith.
• Agape love is forgiving. It pays the cost because the forgiver pays the whole cost.

CONCLUSION

• When the love of God comes into your life, you are no longer the same.
• Let us know the miracle of the fruit, the ministry of the fruit and the manifestation of the fruit.
• Agape love is giving love, love always gives, no one can love without giving.
• The price of love is what love has given.