If these are helpful, praise God! This particular message originated at West Marion Baptist Church on November 11 of this year. (JSH)
Will you turn with me to Paul’s letter to the Galatians, the FIFTH CHAPTER?
Let’s read together, beginning at VERSE 13, through VERSE 25:
13 For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. 14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 15 But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another. 16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. 18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. 24 And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
If you were able to be with us last week, you’ll recall that Paul is writing to the church at Galatia, which lay in Asia Minor, what is today Turkey.
...and Paul is writing at a time when the JUDAIZERS are swaying many people.
Now, the Judaizers were that group of Jews who said that, in order to be CHRISTIAN, you first had to be a JEW.
Reasoning that JESUS was a Jew, and that Jesus kept all the Jewish Law perfectly, it was their opinion that you had to first be a BAR-MIZVAH (that is, a “son of the covenant”) in order to become a Christ-follower.
And Paul writes to dispel this notion among the church at Galatia, most of which was made up of those who had come from non-Jewish backgrounds.
And Paul writes:
...brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another….
Instead of putting the focus on circumcision or on being Jewish or on any other practice, Paul wants to focus the Galatians on the matters of practice that are important to GOD:
...love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness,
goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance…
Paul argues that what matters to GOD is not whether you’re Jewish or not, but whether you have God’s HEART or not—whether you’ve been REBORN and have the Holy Spirit of God dwelling inside you, Who YIELDS FRUIT in the life of every true believer.
Paul OUTLINES these Spiritual Fruits, and he challenges the Galatians to focus on YIELDING FRUIT instead of
OBSERVING RITUAL.
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Now, let me ask you something: When we come to church—to this building—what are we DOING?
That’s RIGHT! We’re observing a RITUAL.
Now, let me state up front that all rituals are not BAD—by no means!
In fact, GOD instituted man rituals Himself.
The difference in GOD’S RITUALS and MAN’S RITUALS is that MAN’S RITUALS are often meant to “sort out” who’s a “true believer” and who’s not—who’s “holy enough” and who’s not...
...but God’s RITUALS are meant to lead us into
RELATIONSHIP!
...and in RELATIONSHIP with God and His Holy Spirit, we will find that we are CHANGED—EVERY ONE OF US!
So, Paul tells the Galatians that it is not PERFORMANCE OF RITUALS that proves or indicates the New Birth that Jesus taught.
Rather, it is the PRESENCE of the Holy Spirit, living in the believer’s heart.
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Now, at this point, let me say that I have heard the opinions of many people who say that the EVIDENCE of the Holy Spirit’s work in a believer’s heart is in his ability to SPEAK IN UNKNOWN TONGUES or to WALK ON HOT COALS or to HANDLE VENOMOUS SNAKES without being injured.
(Let me tell you something: I’m trained as a biologist, and I have spent years donating my time to schools, universities, scout troops and other organizations, teaching kids about wildlife.
I have taught using a variety of SNAKES. I have a permit from the North Carolina Wildlife Resource Commission that allows me to trap and use one Timber Rattlesnake at a time for the purpose of educating people about them.
I have hiked out of the woods with venomous snakes in my backpack and driven down the road with them in my car.
...but I have NO intentions of handling one without the proper equipment, and I have SEEN what they can do to people.
I don’t believe that God has called us to handle venomous snakes as a TEST of whether we’re saved.
I don’t believe that tongues-speaking or seeing visions or shouting or running the pews or “being slain in the Spirit” or ANYTHING else is given to us by God as a TEST of our salvation!
Now, many among our Pentecostal and Charismatic brothers and sisters would argue that the gift of tongues is PROOF of salvation and that without it, you don’t have the filling of the Holy Spirit.
My answer to that is simple: SHOW ME THAT IN THE SCRIPTURE!
...because nowhere in God’s Word are we told that any outward expression of the Holy Spirit’s working is a TEST or a PROOF of our relationship with God.
Rather, tongues-speaking and healing and prophecy and all the other things that go with them are described by the Scripture as GIFTS of the Spirit.
What we ARE told to use as a criterion to judge our own standing with God and that of others is the FRUIT of the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives.
Jesus says in Matthew 7:16, speaking of those who follow Him:
by their FRUITS you will know them
So, GIFTS DO NOT and CANNOT define salvation.
FRUIT is the evidence of salvation, the Bible says.
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Last week we talked in GENERAL about the fruits of the Holy Spirit, and this week I want us to ZERO-IN on ONE FRUIT:
LOVE!
...and there are THREE THINGS I want us to consider about the LOVE that the Scripture describes:
#1...LOVE is SUPREME
#2...LOVE is an ACT OF THE WILL
#3...LOVE always TRANSFORMS
So, let’s examine those THREE THINGS about LOVE:
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First, LOVE IS SUPREME.
Jesus said of His disciples in John 13:35:
By this shall all men know that ye are My
Disciples, if ye have love one for another.
So, again it is a FRUIT, not a GIFT of the Holy Spirit that Jesus says is the mark of the true disciple.
...and of the gifts we read about in Galatians 5…
love gentleness
joy goodness
peace faith
longsuffering meekness
temperance
...out of that list of FRUITS, it is LOVE that is chosen to be the identifying quality of those who follow Jesus Christ with their lives!
Again, read what Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 13, a very familiar passage of Scripture—but notice the emphasis on LOVE:
Though I speak with the tongues of men and angels,
but have not LOVE, I am become as sounding brass
or a tinkling cymbal…
...and though I have all faith, so as to remove
mountains, but have not LOVE, I am nothing…
...and though I give all my worldly goods to the
poor and sacrifice my body to be burned, and have
not LOVE, it shall profit me nothing…
...and now abide faith, hope, LOVE, these three:
but the greatest of these is LOVE.
LOVE is SUPREME.
All the GIFTS and all the FRUITS of the Holy Spirit’s presence are to be valued and honored, but NONE so much as LOVE!
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Now for the SECOND thing about LOVE…
#2...LOVE is an ACT OF THE WILL.
When Jesus was approached by a teacher of the Law, who tried to TRICK Him by asking a question that seemed impossible, this was the conversation that took place:
Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked Him a question, tempting Him, and saying,
Master, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?
Jesus said unto him, “Thou shalt love the Lord Thy God with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is
the first and greatest commandment.
And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
On these two commandments hang all the Law and Prophets.
What Jesus told this man who was INTIMATELY acquainted with the fine points of the Jewish Law was this:
LOVE GOD.
LOVE OTHERS.
...if you do these TWO THINGS, you will thereby
accomplish everything else that pleases God.
Now, let me ask you a question:
Can I command you to LIKE somebody?
I mean, I could TRY, but could I SUCCEED in commanding you and making you LIKE someone else??
Of course, the answer is NO!
You might ALREADY like that person, or you might GROW to like him—but there is a significant possibility that you would NEVER come to the point of liking him.
If you introduced me to Adolph Hitler or Idi Amin or Nero, and told me to LIKE them, you’d just be wasting your time!
I could no more LIKE someone who is a murderer, liar and cruel dictator than I could make myself a purple petunia!
...and so God’s command is NOT to “LIKE”...because LIKING someone is a matter of FEELING, isn’t it?
However, God clearly commands us to LOVE—both God Himself and one another.
So, apparently, if we can’t COMMAND emotions, then there must be a lot more to LOVE than an emotional feeling, right?
The fact is that LOVE IS AN ACT OF THE WILL.
LOVE is a CHOICE.
LOVE is a RESPONSE.
LOVE is the act of putting another person’s best interests above your own on your personal list of priorities, and praying that God will be glorified when you do!
...and thus it is that God COMMANDS us to love.
Do you know that failing to obey God’s commandment is SIN?
That’s what SIN IS...failing to OBEY!
And so, if we FAIL to LOVE one another in an ACTIVE, WILLFUL way that influences our CHOICES, then we must not lie to ourselves—WE ARE IN SIN!
Who don’t you LOVE?
C.S. Lewis said “If you find it very difficult to love a person, the very best thing you can do is to go right on treating that person as if you DID love him. And bit by bit, you will come to find that you truly DO love him.”
That’s a very profound piece of advice!
Jesus didn’t say it, but it sure sounds like He COULD have!
So, when you’re faced with an annoying co-worker or neighbor or family member who TRIES YOUR PATIENCE TO THE VERY LAST NERVE…
...when you’re struggling to get along with the person God has given you as your Husband or your Wife…
...when you are OUTRAGED by someone else’s actions or their opinion that disagrees with your own convictions…
...you must CHOOSE to love that person in Jesus’ name!
For, in loving our friends, God is not glorified—that just comes naturally, Jesus said…
...but when we love our ENEMIES, then God receives glory from your life!
LOVE is an active choice—an ACT OF THE WILL.
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...and THIRDLY, LOVE ALWAYS TRANSFORMS!
Take the example of C.S. Lewis’ quote: If you find it hard to love someone, just go on doing whatever it is you do for people you DO love, and pretty soon, you’ll find that the love is there and it’s for real!
WHO does that act transform?
ME!!
Sometimes love transforms ME!!
If I make the CHOICE to love others by giving my time to help carry meals to shut-ins or distribute toys to needy children at Christmas time, WHO gets transformed by that act?
Certainly, there is the potential for the life of a child or a parent or an entire FAMILY to be impacted for Christ, if I do it right…
...but the one person it’s GUARANTEED to change is ME!!
When I EXPRESS Christ’s love to others, I come to better UNDERSTAND Christ’s love for ME!
When I SERVE OTHERS in His name, I remember how HE came to SERVE and DIE for my sake!
SOMETIMES, our choice to love transforms SOMEONE ELSE
Husbands, here’s a good one for US…
Does your wife HONOR and RESPECT you?
The Bible says she SHOULD—it’s HER COMMANDMENT from God.
...but the Scripture ALSO says that we’re to LOVE our wives and SACRIFICE for them, just as Jesus gave Himself for HIS bride, which is the True Church.
So, if you feel that your wife doesn’t HONOR you—if you don’t feel that your wife RESPECTS you, as God has said she should…
...what can YOU do about it?
Well, let me tell you, husbands: Your wife’s ability to RESPECT you and follow your leadership is proportionate to how you LOVE HER!
If you want more RESPECT from your wife, trying giving more LOVE to HER!!
You’ll be AMAZED at the impact this can make!
What are some OTHER WAYS love can transform other people?
Try it on your ENEMIES!
You say, “Steve, I don’t HAVE any enemies!”
Well, I’m willing to bet that somewhere in the world, there’s somebody who is always arguing or picking on you, someone who just doesn’t CARE for you.
Try loving THAT person!
Try PRAYING for God’s blessing on THAT person!
Try KILLING THEM with KINDNESS, and see if that doesn’t transform that person’s heart!
We read in the Scripture that if we have an enemy, we should offer a cup of cold water to him. And it says that in so doing, we “help coals of burning fire atop his head”
...in other words, NOTHING is so irresistible in this world as BEING LOVED.
Got a wayward child? Lavish LOVE on him or her!
Got a wound in your family that’s not healing like it should?
Try LOVING that brother or sister or Mom or Dad in Jesus name, and watch the Holy Spirit transform that person’s life.
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THREE THINGS ABOUT LOVE:
#1...Love is SUPREME
#2...It is an ACT of the WILL
#3...It ALWAYS TRANFORMS
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The Holy Spirit dwells in us to YIELD the fruit of love for God’s glory!
So now, let me ASK you: Can you see the fruit of the Holy Spirit’s work in YOUR life?
Do you find yourself LOVING PEOPLE more and more?
...or is your heart growing hard and cold?
...do you find yourself CYNICAL and JUDGMENTAL, quick to CONDEMN OTHERS and always CRITICIZING and DISAGREEING?
If you’re a parent, do you LOVE your children with feelings only?? Or do you love them in ACTION—by CHOICE—as God has commanded?
If you’re a HUSBAND, do you TREASURE your wife?
Do you HONOR her?
Do you LOVE HER AS CHRIST LOVED THE CHURCH AND GAVE HIMSELF FOR HER?
Are you SACRIFICING EVERY DAY for your wife’s sake, so she can know the love of God in her life??
If you’re a WIFE, do you HONOR and RESPECT your
husband?
If he’s HARD-HEARTED, do you love him all the more?
Are you letting the love of Christ shine in you so its power can break down barriers in your husband’s life and he can see the love of God firsthand?
What about those you DON’T know?
Do you LOVE the POOR?
Do you LOVE the AIDS VICTIM?
Do you LOVE the UNWED MOTHERS and the DRUG ADDICTS and the PROSTITUTES and the GODLESS who live in your neighborhood enough to take them the life-changing Gospel of Jesus Christ??
Is love GROWING in your heart?
Is your spiritual “tree” bending down with the fruit of the Holy Spirit in LOVE??
If NOT, then today is YOUR DAY!
If you need to BEGIN a relationship with God through Jesus Christ…
...or if you need to STOKE THE FIRE of a love grown cold…
...COME as we sing and invite God to FILL your heart with LOVE!
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