The Fruit of the Holy Spirit

So, brethren, since you and I have learned of God's fruit, what kind of fruits are we producing in our lives? Are we developing and exercising the fruit of God's Holy Spirit? And I was very meticulous and careful in the words by saying, what kind of fruits, plural, are you bearing in your lives? And how are you using the fruit, singular, of God's Holy Spirit?

So it is important to understand that. Turn with me, please, to John 7. John 7, the Isis scripture, when Christ said, and I don't want to go into the timing of it or when He said that, but I just want to bring the value of what He said here in John 7, verses 37-39. On the last day, on that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, if anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. So, Christ talking about a very important principle, come to me and drink.

For he who believes in me, as the scripture has said, out of his heart. And we heard a lot about the heart today in various messages. We'll flow rivers of living water. Are rivers of living water flowing out of our hearts? He who believes in me, as the scripture has said, out of his heart, we'll flow rivers of living water. What was Christ talking about? Well, we don't have to doubt, because the very next verse tells us what it is. But this he spoke concerning his spirit. Christ's spirit, God's spirit, the Holy Spirit, whom those believing in him would receive, for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

So God's Holy Spirit, as you and I receive God's Holy Spirit, is to flow through us, and to flow like rivers of living water. Then, just a chapter before, in John 6, verse 63, I made reference to this verse yesterday in the sermon in Lexington. And in 63 it says, He teaches the Spirit who gives life. It's God's Holy Spirit that gives eternal life, the flesh prophets matter. And then Christ says, the words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. These words, right here, Christ spoke to us, which is God's word, the word, which is the Bible, are life, and they are spirit.

So, brethren, as you and I read and study, and as we receive God's Holy Spirit, it's supposed to flow out of us through deeds and actions, through proofs, actions we do to others. And look at how Isaiah, the prophet, described this in Isaiah 55, verses 10 and 11. Isaiah 55, verses 10 and 11. Isaiah 55, verses 10 and 11. For as the rain comes down and the snow from heaven. And do not return there. I mean, you haven't seen the rain going back up, have you? Well, if you have, you need to talk. And do not return there. But water the earth and make it bring forth and bud that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater.

And look at verse 11. So shall my word, and we see the word is spirit, right? So shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth. Christ's words are spirit, are life. And they come from God's mouth to the word which became Jesus Christ through him and by him.

And it says, it shall not return to me void. But it shall accomplish what I please. And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. And as we heard in the sermon this morning, we are to use God's Holy Spirit in acts of service, of ministry, of serving one another. Every joint supplies as in a body.

I mean, your mouth cannot do much without the stomach and everything else, part of the body working together. Because if you have a terrible headache, or if your stomach is giving you extreme pain, or if you have terrible arthritis on your knees or on your hips, you can hardly think straight, much less talk straight. So the whole body provides something for the function of the mouth. And so we all, as brethren, help the functioning of the body, which is the church. So, brethren, it says, My word shall not return to me void.

It shall accomplish what I please. And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. And so, God's words don't come back to Him empty like the rain produced fruits. God's fruit in us, which is the Holy Spirit, has in use it, we bear fruits in action, in good deeds to us.

And so, God's Holy Spirit, as it flows through us, it is to bear fruit. As we heard earlier on today, God gives His Holy Spirit to those who are bailing, x5-32. But looking Psalms, chapter 1, always describes the same thing as we read in Isaiah, but in a different way. Psalms, chapter 1, verse 1-3. Psalms, chapter 1, verse 1-3.

And it says, Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the Godly, nor stands in the path of sinners. So, yes, we receive God's Holy Spirit because we obey, and so because we obey, we're not walking in the path of sinners. Right? Nor sits in the seat of them, of scornful, but His delight is in the law of the Eternal. And in His law, He meditates day and night. Brethren, if you suffer from insomnia, and you struggle sometimes to go to sleep, a good thing. Think about God's law, and meditate about it, how you can apply specific things. You'll find that sometimes it will really give you the peace that you need, and it will help you. Meditate day and night. And if you do that, in verse 3, He says, He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, nothing water that's flowing through us, which is God's only Spirit, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaves also shall not wither, and whorever it does, shall prosper. Brethren, as we heard in the sermonette about having Godly sorrow, and changing our lives to bear fruit. Well, to bear fruits, to bear good deeds. That is our job. But we do need to have God's Holy Spirit, because you and I cannot do it by ourselves. And this is where we come to a very important scripture that I want to use as the center of my sermon this afternoon, which is in Galatians 5, verse 22 and 23. Galatians 5, verses 22 and 23.

Also talking about the works of the flesh, and yes, those are works, plural, but then it gets into verse 22, it says, But the fruit, singular, the fruit, singular, not plural, singular, of the Spirit is, and then gives nine verses. Describes nine verses. I have put them in the simple table to help you, and I'm going to refer to it occasionally, because it's love, joy, peace, long suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, and self-control.

These are nine verses that they all have to be present so that the fruit is the Holy Spirit. Let me explain it in a different way. If I told you I've got a fruit in my hand that is yellow and reddish, maybe a bit yellow, maybe a reddish, or maybe orange-like, what fruit is it? Maybe you need to open it up and see a few more characteristics about it.

It's actually a great fruit. But you might have thought there was something else, because just some of its attributes that you look at, you may have concluded it's something else. I'm going to ask you, I've got two of you. They look identical, but they're not, because one is a nectarine, the other is not a nectarine. I don't have to say any more, but it's bringing a point across. Sometimes, by looking at them, okay, you've got to shop and you read the label, but you can identify it by cutting it open and looking at various attributes of the fruit, because just one attribute of it will not define what fruit this is.

It's like this. What is it? In South Africa, you may call it a nachi. In the iron, you call it a tangerine. But, you know, it could be an orange, right? Or whatever. So you have to look at other attributes of the fruit to know what fruit it is. And so today, brethren, we want to look at the fruit of God's Holy Spirit in all nine verses. And obviously, I'm not going to spend time and do an in-depth analysis of each of the virtues of the fruit, singular, of God's Holy Spirit.

But I want to show you how they all interrelated and interconnected, making a whole fruit, a complete fruit. And therefore, when we have the fruit of the Holy Spirit in us, we should have all these components to really be the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Because if you just have a few, or some of the characters, those virtues, let's call it this way, it might not be God's Holy Spirit. It might be your own, maybe, your own genuine skills or talents that God has given you or abilities.

But you need more to have them all together. And then, with these all together, you do works as it flows through you and I, and you produce fruits. So it is important for us to understand that in this point. So by analogy of a fruit, a physical fruit, and I'm not limiting God's Holy Spirit to an example of a physical fruit, please understand it. But I'm just using analogy of that.

If you look at a fruit, typically it's got an outside layer, maybe it's a skin, maybe it's a way it looks, a touch, maybe a certain odor. And then when you peel that outside layer, you have, let's call it the part of the flesh, typically speaking, that you eat, that you enjoy, that you eat. And then, they have a seed. And maybe some of them, maybe you just swallow the seed, but others, like the peach, you might not be able to swallow it.

But, you know, they have a seed which has part, which is part of identifying what that fruit is, and it's got a value in it as well in the original in it. And so, as I mentioned to you, I'm going to use that analogy of a fruit by saying, and please, I'm just giving it as an analogy, that the first tree at the top is like the outer layer of the skin, the part that you see. The three in the middle is like the flesh, that meaty part that you eat.

And the three at the bottom are like the seed or the inner core value of that fruit. So, I'm just going to use it as that. And I'm going to start from the last of the nine, which is self-control, or temperance, as in other biblical versions may state, or self-discipline, or mental self-discipline. We read some scriptures already in Corinthians, but I want you to look at 1 Corinthians 9, verse 27. 1 Corinthians 9, verse 27. We were talking about repentance earlier on, and we went into Corinthians, but now I want to go to 1 Corinthians 9, because Paul is now saying a point that sometimes we as elders, and in fact we all need to watch, because it's easy for us to be preaching, and we've got to be careful that we are practicing it as well.

And so, Paul, he says in verse 27 of chapter 9 in 1 Corinthians, he says, But I discipline my body. In other words, I bring self-discipline, self-control to my body and bring it into subjection. So, one of the virtues of the fruit of God's early spirit is that enables us, gives us extra strength, extra help in exercising self-discipline. And it says, because that's one of the characteristics of, as we read in Galatians 5, verse 23, one of the characteristics is self-control.

And it says, in verse 27, But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I preach to others, I myself should become disqualified. So, Paul is saying, we need to be careful that we are reserved to do the right thing. That we really do our best to obey God with our whole mind thinking, our mind, our thinking, our control, which in a sense is ruled by our mind. And you know, the Bible does say, you shall love the Lord your God with the whole mind, with the whole heart, and with the whole soul. So, in a way of saying by analogy, it's like, this is your whole mind, this is your whole heart, and this is your whole body. So, look at it in those dimensions by analogy. So, yeah, self-control is a thing of the mind, and therefore you need to work on that and be exercising that whole heartily. We also, in the sermon this morning, we heard about Timothy, and yeah, in 1 Timothy chapter 4, I think we... The scripture was quoted this morning, I stand to be corrected on that. But 1 Corinthians chapter 4 said, But reject profane and old wasp devils, and exercise yourself towards Godness. We need to exercise ourselves. We need to discipline ourselves towards doing and practicing and living God's way. And so, let me, as I lead into each one of these sections, let me just leave you with a simple self-evaluation question about that point. Do I need to personally do or put some additional focus in my life in this specific area of self-control? In other words, do we need to put more of a mental effort and self-mental decision and commitment to be temperate?

But then, we need to engage our heart on this set of core values, like I was referring to as the seed. As we engage the core values of the seed, the next one is meekness. Meekness or gentleness, which is an inner core value of the heart. Basically, it's very tied to the intents and the motives of our heart, which is the slide bar at our attitudes sometimes. Look at how it puts you in James 3, verse 13-19. James 3, verses 13-19. Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in meekness of wisdom. So, there is a wisdom which is based on meekness. This is a very profound structure that has made me think a lot about meekness of wisdom, because it's not just wisdom, but it's meekness of wisdom. It's a wisdom that has meekness in it, that has gentleness, that has this fruit of this capability of just being teachable and humble and gentle. And that's a very strong type of wisdom. Some people are very wise, but they don't come across with gentleness, with a spirit of teachability and being malleable, because we all need to be malleable in the pot of hands, as it says elsewhere. But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your heart, it goes on into this area of worldly wisdom. But then look at in verse 17, it says, but the wisdom that is from above, its first pure, then peaceable and gentle, willing to yield, that's been teachable, being meek, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness is so in peace by those who make peace. So we have here a wisdom with the motivation of the heart, which is the nikliss of wisdom, which has a degree of gentleness. Now, gentleness is not weakness. You see, Moses was very meek, or very... nikliss is not weakness. Moses was very meek. But he was courageous. Christ was meek. But he used to rule the world with a rod of iron. So, brethren, there is a lot for us to think about meekness and gentleness, but it's not weakness. Look at 2 Corinthians chapter 10. In 2 Corinthians chapter 10, 2 Corinthians chapter 10...

Look at how it describes the earth about Christ's meekness. Look at it. 2 Corinthians chapter 10 verse 1. Now I, Paul, myself am pleading with you by the nikliss and gentleness of Christ, who in presence am lowly among you, but being absent, I'm bold toward you. So this, we need to have a nikliss, a gentleness, like Christ has. But that's not weakness. So, nikliss does not mean you get walked over all the time. But nikliss is next to self-control because it is a virtue of how we come across to other people. And you know, they're one of the Beatitudes. Blessed are those that are meek, for they will inherit the earth. So, we need to be meek, we need to be gentle, we need to be malleable, so that you and I can rule with Christ as King and Lords and Arena. So we're not going to rule with an arrogant type of attitude, which is not gentle, but we're going to rule with meekness and gentleness. Because that's a core value that we have in the being, in our heart. It's a matter of the heart. And so again, leaving you with a little self-evaluation question, you know, what do I need to personally put some additional focus in this area of our life?

How are we leading with our hearts, with our motives, in our actions? Are we examining our hearts, are we examining our hearts and our motives, our attitudes? Am I coming across as malleable, teachable, gentle, but not weak? Still firm, but in a way that represents this virtue of God's only Spirit, which is meekness. The next one in line that we get to is the one that we use our self-control. We use this heartfelt gentleness, and then as the whole being, as a whole person, we have a drive to be faithful. Faithfulness. That we can be trusted. You see, if you are faithful, you a person can be trusted, then we become trustworthy. Just like Christ and God is absolutely trustful. He's true to His Word. He never lies. If He does, there will be no hope for us. But His Word is true. It's sure. And for you and I to be sons and daughters of God, we have to have that inner core value, that inner core virtue. Because we're talking about those basic virtues that we need to have, and this is with our whole being, we need to be faithful. Look at Hebrews 11, where He talks about the 5th chapter, Hebrews 11.

And in verse 1, He says, Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Faith is that absolute, sure trust of what we hope. We have that guarantee and trust that it's going to be self, because God's next up. That's it. And we can trust Him. We can have absolute faith. And in a sense, it's an evidence. It's our evidence. It's like saying, it's our proof of what we cannot be seen. Our faith. It's proof. And what can't be seen will happen, because we, our faith, our trust, proves that it will happen. And that's an amazing statement to think about. And then a little later, in verse 6, it says, Now without faith, it is impossible to please God. And it says, you know, whatever you ask from Him, you'll receive it, because you keep His commandments and do what's pleasing in His sight. One of the things that is pleasing in God's sight is absolute faith towards what He's saying. And that's what He says. Without faith, it's impossible to please Him. For He who comes to God must believe absolutely that God is, and there is a rewarder of those who do not gently seek Him. In other words, we have to believe, we have to trust Him that His reward, that His promise, you and I, will happen. And that's faith. Absolute trust. So faithfulness is therefore an in-call value, which you and I receive as a gift, as part of the Holy Spirit. Sure. You and I are saved by the faith of Jesus Christ. Yes, you and I need to believe in Christ, so we need to have faith. But as third dimension of faith is, it's a fruit. It's part of the fruit of God's Holy Spirit. So, we must absolutely trust God that He will fulfill His promises, because that's who He is. He's trustful. He's faithful. And likewise, you and I need to be faithful. We need to be trustful, particularly to the commitments that you and I have made. For He said, you made a commitment at marriage. It pains me when I see people that are in the church that end up splitting. It should not be so. It says something about your word. Just say it. You committed before God in good and bad till death do aspire. That's a commitment. That's a vow, a vow that you made before God. Another vow you made is a baptism. But that's not till death do aspire. That's for eternity. It's a vow you made for God. I will not leave you, God, for eternity.

So, are we faithful to keep our promise? And that's a virtue of the total being led by God's Holy Spirit.

We also know that Scripture, that Christ said, about He that's faithful in a little will be faithful in much.

For instance, whatever little thing it is. And you know what? Being cold is not enough. Being chosen is not enough. Why? Because you and I read in Revelation 17-14 that when Christ comes with Him will be those that are cold, chosen, and faithful. That means they stick with it, with their promise, till the end. Through good and bad, or through thick and thin.

So, you and I need to be faithful till the end. We need to obey God with our whole being and strength. So, again, back to one of those self-evaluation questions. Do I need to personally put some additional focus in my life in this area?

Now, think about a fruit. Okay? So, we're talking about different attributes. And sometimes, a fruit, like a peach, it is a peach. Right? It's a peach tree. It is a peach. And you pick it up. And you bite on it. And if it's not ripe, it doesn't taste good. But it's full of peach! The question is, are we ripe? Well, I'll probably say that you and I are not ripe yet. So, we need to mature a little bit more, attached to the tree, until Christ comes. So, when I ask, do we need to personally put some additional focus in this area of our life? In this area of our life, I would probably say that none of us isn't quite mature yet.

And so, like that fruit in the tree, needs to ripen a little bit more.

And so, am I a faithful person? Can others rely on me? Do I fulfill my promises? Am I a person of my word, even when it hurts me? Sometimes it's better to not commit until you check your diary first.

You know, sometimes you say, ah, I'll do it! And then you go back to your diary, oh! So, let's sometimes feel it, just say, well, let me check, but let our yes be yes, and our no be no. Because anything else, as you know, is evil. Let's be faithful. So, now we move on to the next layer up in the analogy that I'm using, which is how we interact with others. How we treat others. Or, it's that part of the fruit that you eat, and you chew, and you digest, and you enjoy it. Right? So, it's that part that has got interaction with us.

And so, the first one is goodness. How we good to other people when we deal with others, regardless of how they treat us.

Oh, yeah, sometimes they don't treat us well. It's easy to snap and not come across with goodness. So, what do we need? You need self-control and think about it to practice goodness. Right? It's a thing of your mind. And you've got to think about it. And you've got to exercise the control to exercise goodness. Look at Romans 15, verse 14. Romans 15, verse 14. Whereas I said, I'm not looking at an exhaustive study on each one of these virtues. I'm just showing you how they interrelate, and they make up a whole fruit. Romans 15, verse 14. It says, Now I myself am confident, concerning you, my brethren, that you also are full of goodness, full with all knowledge, also able also to admonish one another. So, yeah, it always encourages these brethren that, yeah, they are full of goodness. They are bearing this fruit of goodness when they deal with others. All you and I are weak when we deal with others. Having a skill of, let's call, interpersonal relationship skill, a virtue which requires self-control, which requires mental discipline of being good to others. And so, back to that self-evaluation question. How is my interpersonal relationship with others? When things don't go well, do I still strive to do good acts to others? Does this fruit look good, or is it a little bit rotten inside? And only comes out when you under pressure, when things go wrong. Do we need to do a little bit of work in this area with the help of Karsali's spirit? On the other side, the virtue from your heart of gentleness and meekness leads you to acts of kindness to other people. So, if your heart is gentle, that leads to an attitude, a virtue of kindness to other people through that gentleness, regardless of the situation as well.

Look at Joel 2.

Joel 2. Verse 13.

So, raise your heart and not your garments. So, we don't hear about a matter of the heart of repentance. Not just an upside thing to show. It says, return to the eternal, your God, as we heard in the sermonette. We really gotta return. For He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness. God is of great kindness, and He relents from doing harm. Because brethren, in reality, we have not treated Him well, quote-unquote, but He still is kind towards us. All we need to do is to rend our hearts and work in changing our hearts, and He only wants to share and give us kindness. And interestingly enough, in this set of virtues, it's right in the center. It's right in the center of them. And it's centered to our relationships with others.

And so, let's lead to a self-evaluation question here. As far as how's my interpersonal relationship with others, when others don't treat me well, am I still kind to them? And I must admit, I've got a lot to grow. I've got a lot to grow.

I know. I know sometimes I'm not kind. And I'm going to change. And I think we all need to analyze ourselves. I know I need to get there on this, because are we, in a sense, like a bruised apple? You know, just kind of uncut. Or are we falling the bead of God's own Spirit? Having self-control to do good. Having the gentleness of the heart to be kind. And then, our whole being, in this situation, to suffer long when others hurt us. And that requires our whole being desire to be frightful. And therefore, that frightfulness brings us to long suffering, but so do the others. We see how they all interconnected, and we need them all together. And this attitude of suffering wrong, suffering wrong when others do wrong, is an attitude from God. Look at 2 Peter, chapter 3, verse 9. 2 Peter, chapter 3, verse 9. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some can't slack it. But he is long suffering. God is long suffering. You know, he is very patient towards us.

You know, many of us say, why are all these problems, and why doesn't God intervene? Why is God unfair? People look. Well, God is not kind or merciful.

Well, he is. But he is long suffering. He is a lot more patient than you and I. That's what he is. Because he is patient, he is long suffering. Why? Not willing that any should perish, but should come to repentance. In other words, God is giving these people a little bit more time in the hope that they will repent.

So when you and I ask, well, why is God not acting? Because he is long suffering in the hope. That those people will repent. And you and I are not as long suffering as God is. And so, we need to put on a little bit more long suffering in us. A little bit more patience.

So, let's go back to that self-evaluation question. When others hurt us and cause pain to us, are we long suffering towards them?

Does the fruit of God's only spirit look good in you? Or is it like a better lemon?

Brethren, we need to look at ourselves and have a look at how all these virtues need to be interacting in us. And we need to ask them all.

And then we get to the end results or outcomes, or the final layer, what it looks from outside, which is usually the three that we normally remember. We often don't remember the others. But I think hopefully with this sermon you might actually start remembering the others a little bit more. I mean, it's helped me think about it to actually remember the others a little bit more. Love, joy and peace. With a self-controlled mind, a mind that using that self-control is doing acts of goodness, the end result is that you are a peacemaker. Was that discipline, mental discipline, to actually produce good deeds when others treat you bad? That's a stepping stone towards making peace. Look at Philippians 4. Philippians 4, verse 6 through 9. Philippians 4, verse 6 through 9. And it says, Rejoice to the Lord, and I say rejoice, let your gentleness, let your meekness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. So you can see that all ego related. The anxious for nothing. And in everything with prayer and thanks... and supplication and thanksgiving, let your request be known. And the peace of God. And the peace of God. Which surpasses all understanding. Will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. And then it says, keep your mind on good things. You know, may they take on these things in verse 8. And it says in verse 9, There are things which you have learned and received and heard and saw in me these two, and the God of peace will be with you. When you and I, with discipline, with self-control, do acts of goodness, we produce peace. We are peacemakers. And therefore, not only are we peacemakers to others, but we are at peace with God internally. And we have this peace of mind that surpasses all understanding. And you know what I'm talking about. I know that you know what I'm talking about. Because you have experienced situations when you have done something and you know it was right. That you were led with God so spirited, you did the right thing. And at the end of that, you know, in your heart and in your mind, that you have this peace, internal peace that surpasses all understanding. And with 1 Peter 3, so if you turn with me to 1 Peter 3, in verse 11, and it says, turn, let internal wife from evil and do good, as we earlier sermon ate. We're going to turn away from evil. We're going to repent. And then it says, let him seek peace and pursuit. It's a discipline. It's an act of self-control to pursue peace. And so, in the area of self-evaluation questions, let me ask, are we peacemakers? Do we strive for peace and unity to be one?

And so, brethren, when we have that peace, because we've done what's right, and we are also from the heart showing kindness to others because we are gentle, the end result of that is inner joy, which is a matter of the heart. Inner joy is a matter of the heart. Look at John 16.22. This is Christ saying, just before he died, before he suffered, in John 16.22. Some amazing bits of section of Scripture, yeah, from John 13-17, which we read every year at Passover, but we should be reading that section like many others, but that specific section is so powerful. But yeah, in John 16, verse 22, if I can just get to it, John 16 verse 22, it says, It says, So, brethren, there is an outcome of living God's way, of being led by God's Holy Spirit, that this fruit of God's Holy Spirit gives us an inner joy. And we are joyous, and people can see that joy, that peace, with us.

And so, back to the little self-evaluation question. Are we really full of joy inside? Or do we need to work a little bit more on that? So, brethren, all these virtues put together, as we are led by God's Holy Spirit, as a whole, as the whole man, will result in the end, in acts of outgoing concern and love towards us, even to our enemies. So, this whole being, virtue of love, is key.

Love, brethren, is not just an emotion. Yes, it is an emotion, but it's more than emotion. It's a verb. It's an action. It's an act of doing. Look here in Luke 6. Turn with me, please, to Luke 6, verse 27. Look, chapter 6, verse 27.

But I say unto you, who here love your enemies and do good to those who hate you. That's not an emotion, because an emotion, by default, will not laugh at the enemy. That's an action, which requires all the other things, requires mental control and self-discipline, requires the attitude of goodness, requires a heart of gentleness and kindness, requires faithfulness and commitment and prepared to long suffering. All these things work together to the ultimate, which is an outgoing concern for others.

Love, even towards your enemies. Look at verse 35 of the same chapter. It says, But love your enemies, do good, and learn, hoping for nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be the sons of the Most High. For each kind to the unthankful and evil. We know that Christ loved us by giving us his life for us. Quite often we only think of a human life and the other human being giving life for another human being.

But you know, Christ, before he became a human being, he was the Word. As you read in Philippians 2 verse 5 through verse 9, he emptied himself of that power from being in the form of God, as it says in Philippians, to be in the form of man, to the point of death. Do you know that he was prepared to give up not only his physical life, but his eternal life for you and I at his final? But he didn't fail. And he knew he wasn't going to fail, because his heart, and his mind, and his mother, and his old being was right.

So he knew he wasn't going to fail. Well, Satan was kind of, wow, he's going to fail. How am I going to happen? Well, Satan was aging his beds, but he wouldn't, because his heart, his mind, and his old being was committed to love God above all things. So he wasn't going to fail. But he put his neck on the line, not physically alone, but his spiritual life as well. And that is an enormous act of love. In other words, that is an amazing willingness to sacrifice himself. And so love is an action. As we read, for instance, in Philippians, they've got an Ephesians part of it, where it talks about the man to love his wife and to give himself to the wife.

Those are acts of sacrifice, like Christ's sacrifice for the church. And so you and I need to have that same aptitude of sacrifice. And that does not mean that you and I are saying, well, I'm going to die. But what it means is that you're going to love to sacrifice.

And that's what it talks about in Romans 12. Turn with me to Romans 12, verses 1 and 2. That is love in action. It says, I beseech you, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a loving sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

So it gets back to this self-control. Renew your mind and from self-control all the mind and the heart and all these virtues together to be long-suffering and through their long-suffering to provide or do a living sacrifice, which is the end result of outgoing love. So, as a self-evaluation question and the last one I'm sharing with you today is, do we serve? Do we sacrifice for others? Do we give? And I've learnt a lot from other people.

I don't want to mention the name, but there's one very close to me that ideally that has taught me to sacrifice for others. And that's an act of love. God's Spirit in us sheds on our hearts and our minds and our whole being, love. Love covers all things.

Look at chapter 13 here, very briefly. Look at chapter 13 of 1 Corinthians. 1 Corinthians 13. Starting in verse 4, love suffers long. It's long-suffering. Love is kind, has kindness. Love does not envy. Love does not parade itself, does not pass up, does not behave rudely, does not sink its arm, does not easily provoke when others treat you badly, thinks no evil, does not rejoice when people sin in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth. There's all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.

You know, love covers all these attributes, and in a sense, that's why it says God is love. Because all these virtues culminate into one, which is love. As I mentioned to you earlier, do not be discouraged if your fruit of God's Holy Spirit in you is not right yet. Because it isn't. Mine isn't. But we mustn't be discouraged. Or rather, we should be encouraged that God is working with us, and that we are trying, and we connect it to the vine, and that fruit is ripening on the tree.

And that is so encouraging, and should be encouraging to you and I.

Are we more mature than last year? Or maybe two or three or four years ago? I think you can look back, and look back a few years back, and see there has been some growth. You have matured a bit. We all have matured a bit. And that's good. And so, let us stir up the gift of God's Holy Spirit. Do not quench that spirit, that still small voice that helps us to mature in these different virtues. God has not given us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, of love, and of temperance of self-control, from one end to the other, covering all these attributes of the fruit of God's Holy Spirit. So, brethren, as we are young, the value of Pentecost is celebrating the giving of the Holy Spirit. Let us use the fruit of God's Holy Spirit, all its virtues. See how they are interconnected. And then, using that, let us bear fruits in our actions to others. Let us do good words to others. Let us bear fruit, because by our fruits we shall be known.