"Fruit of the Spirit" Love and Joy - Chris Jones

it's it's interesting I say good evening because we've been here talking but when we go on Facebook live then I have to say good evening again and everyone here knows that I'm just doing I'm supposed to at the beginning huh but anyhow hey we gonna have a good evening tonight we've already been having some good stories we won't tell them over the Facebook live you have to be here in person to find out what was talked about by Barbara and Mell I don't know about their family oh oh and me too okay okay let's put it in perspective and we have wedding cake here but again you would have to be here to get some wedding cake and the ladies are eating wedding cake and celebrating weddings and wedding cake and so uh it's been a lot going on we've had eggs been delivered here we got cupcakes we got pretzels we have everything going on down here tonight uh but hey I'm glad to be here again this evening hopefully everyone last week had a wonderful Labor Day weekend maybe you just relaxed and took some extra naps maybe you were on the lake maybe you were wherever you were that's where you were you know that whatever you were you were there I know that's interesting but anyway but I know I got a lot of stuff I'm just full of it tonight Mark that's okay me too you you too well we can do this then we can do this girl she too so hey we're gonna look at we're gonna start tonight we're gonna pray and take offering and then we're gonna get started on our study that hopefully goes over at least at least another six weeks or five weeks uh depending on how quickly we Mo move through What the Lord Has for us but uh let's give the Lord if we can the fruit of our labor that he's enabled us and so that's one of the things we get to do we get to give the Lord the fruit of our our labors especially since we're going to talk about fruits of the spirit and God gives us the ability to give and I've said this a few times man since 30 years ago or so maybe a little less when I start on this Walk With Jesus man it's much easier to give than it was when I first started I won't even lie when I first started and people talked about giving and the Holy Spirit would put in pressure on my heart Marell I'm like oh no no I remember one vividly it was a part of my grant money I got from school it was the pale grant money I didn't have to pay that back but it was $1100 and I remember it took about 15 to 20 minutes for me to let that $100 go and I knew the Lord was impressed upon me you know when you hear the Lord you say let me pray again maybe that wasn't him and I prayed like three times and it was him each time but anyway as we grow we're able to release the fruit of our Labor uh because we know God is good and God's been so good and kind to us and so we love to give and we've had faithful people who's taken care of what we've given to the Lord uh James po has been so faithful throughout years and years and years years and years and years of taking care of what God has uh provided for us here to to minister to people to keep the lights on the air conditioning on and having different meetings and things such as they had last Friday night with the women of woven and things on the weekend for those that come out of substance use and and just so much that God has blessed us and so we just want to continue to trust him and give and so as we give tonight we give with thankful hearts and whatever we can give and and we know that he will uh just abound towards us in so much goodness and love and so that's great and so as we pray and as we give I'm just thankful I get to give I'm thankful I get to give so let's just pray father we thank you uh that you grow us that you mature us and you don't belittle us nor do you shame us when we have those day of Small Beginnings thank you for my day of Small Beginnings that I can share now that the time uh it was difficult making a transition but with the help of your Holy Spirit and your grace I was able to and we continue to make those Transitions and give financially and give up our heart in our time and you're so faithful in taking care of us you're so faithful in what you do we want to continue to honor your faithfulness and be thankful to you and as you open up uh truth to us out of your word tonight we say thank you all we love you and we thank you in Jesus name amen so I guess I'll put this here so James doesn't have to walk all the way look I'm not throwing money at Barbara I'm giving it to her Mary Mary it's maryy oh man oh so hey we we're gonna look at uh we're gonna go to the Book of Genesis I like Sunday nights because we we can take our time you know we can take our time and we can really open up and look at some scripture and I want y'all to have freedom to ask questions so anytime during my conversation with have you want to raise your hands and ask questions just raise your hands ask question have a comment uh because if Bible study are we breaking up open the word is just about me talking to y'all all the time it gets kind of boring I I like to be talk back to sometimes sometimes Wendy talks back to me I'm like I really don't want you talking back to me right now I like those other times you talk to me but not right now but anyhow so we're gonna go actually the Genesis chapter 1 and then we're going to make our way to John 15 1-8 if you want to get ready and then we're going to end up at Galatians 5 16- 26 where we actually get this whole blueprint of uh what we're talking about the Fruit of the Spirit uh God just does things intentional even when we don't know it's intentional uh and and I go back to Lorie speaking about kindness uh about over a month ago and it just tipped me off to say hm that was so good Lord H what are you saying and I'm like wait a minute kindness and then I was like wait the fruits of the spirit we need to know about that because at times we use the words fruit of the spirit and we just think after we read it a few times I got that covered and we really don't because there's so much gold and in different seasons uh we see uh fruit coming and going and developing and so it's good because uh uh one of the great things uh my wife was very attractive when we first started dating and she is so very she is more abundantly attractive now you see how I did that she was it wasn't a good say she was very attractive now she's more abundantly attractive they said amen they said amen it was all the women in here said good save because you GNA get when you get but but what I'm saying is she was physically attractive but I I can honestly say what kept me wanting to be with her and being with her for this many years is her character and the fruit that she possesses and if you think about that that we can be attractive but really what keeps us in deep relationship with people is the fruit because I've seen many people go after Attractive people and then when they get what they wanted they find out they don't want anym what they got because they found out the fruit that was coming from them wasn't as attractive as their physical attractiveness and I believe God does not want us just to be physically attractive and and and attractive he wants us to see the gifts of the Holy Spirit the power of God the presence of God the healing Deliverance of God he wants that but also he really wants to develop the fruit that goes along with the outward display of his power because it's really the fruit that he manifests that keeps us to continue going I've chased the power of God and the presence of God and I still long for the presence of power go but I'm saying I've chased the activity that I've seen uh by the spirit in charismatic Pentecost that you name it I've chased it but I also realized that there's something to it that if I'm speaking in tongues and prophesying and seeing healings done in church how do I lose it in my relationship ship at home something's wrong uh and you talk to people you realize that I can shout and jump and preach and teach but he really wants me to live and bear fruit that people want to be with you because the fruit that you possess like you can jump and shout and speak in tongues and all that and then be so unkind you so I'm kind you're the receptionist at the desk and you tell everybody about how you go to church every week but they don't even like being around you Monday through Saturday because you mean you short you're not encouraging you're critical and all those things and we have to start realizing that life developed by the Spirit Matters that he's wanting us more than having this the spectacular and the show and all that but he's like I want to produce something in you that's lasting that's more than just the physical Display of Power and stuff that's attractive I still want the physical Display of Power we need healing in Deliverance but what keeps me walking with him is his faithfulness his gentleness his kindness his goodness who he is and I believe he wants the same for us and so when we look at that let's look at Genesis chapter one because let's look at go back from the beginning one thing you need to understand that you were created to bear fruit yeah you and I we were created to bear fruit like like when he created us when he wired us it's to bear fruit the the fruit of some something that he built in us to be able to do and you see that in Genesis 1:26 listen to this in through 28 then God said let us make man in our image according to our likeness let them have dominion over the fish of the sea over the birds of the air and over the cow over all the Earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth so God created man in his own image verse 27 in the image of God he created him male and female he created them and listen in then God blessed them and God said to them be fruitful and multiply fill the Earth and subdue it have to me over the fish of the sea over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves on the Earth but what did he say be fruitful so he created this being like him in his image and his likeness us formed us fashioned us and he says be fruitful that lets me know that we have the ability all the time to be fruitful we were created to be fruitful and to replenish and to bring life in the earth and when God speaks of being fruitful he's speaking of everything that brings true life he didn't say be have pleasure which is good in his presence is fullness of joy as right hand there's pleasure forever more but he didn't say Chris have pleasure he says be fruitful why because he's fruitful he's fruitful and so in the fall of Man we've lost our fruitfulness and what we call when when I say fruitfulness is what God calls fruitful let's go to John chapter 15 God put two trees in the garden and both of them bore fruit one bore fruit that would continue to bring life and one bore fruit that will continue to bring that brought death because when you ate of that tree it meant that you were not going to trust in my design and ability to bear fruit in you you wanted to give try to bear fruit in your own power and your own authority when they ate of the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil Adam was trying to reach towards developing and bears something outside of connection with God that's what the tree every time we go to the tree knowledge of Good and Evil what we're doing is we're trying to do stuff in our own will and our own power for our own purposes and our own pleasure but the tree of life is continually about being refreshed renewed strengthened empowered by him and so Jesus says something in John 15 this is his dialogue 15161 17 is his dialogue with his disciples on that night where his the preparation of his suffering where he would bring Redemption to the world and so he is saying things that are on his heart that are so important and valuable because he would leave them but yet and still if you see in what uh uh the content of what we're about to read we can see Genesis 1: 12628 in this he starts off with this dialogue he speaks he says I am the True Vine and my father is a vine dresser every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away now actually a better translation is he lifts up he lifts up he lifts up so he's lifting it up because in the lifting up and I'm not don't know all about Vine dress and all that but one of the things I read when he lifts it up it helps it to Bear the fruit that it's intended to Bear he lifts it up and so so I know it says takes away that makes us think like he's taking you away from somewhere no if you look at it even in the Greek it means lift up and every branch that bears fruit he prunes anybody know about pruning cutting plants back we don't like pruning but if you're a Vine dresser and people who take care of vegetation and maybe uh different types of plants and stuff you know the pruning is what helps the the the tree the plant produce more so he says he prunes uh that it may bear more fruit you are already clean because of the word which I have spoken in you abide in me and I in you as a branch cannot bear fruit of itself again tree of knowledge good and evil I want to bear fruit on my own the tree of life it is the Living God that bears fruit in and through me it's it's unless it abides in the vine neither can you unless you abide in me I am the vine you are the branches he who abides in me and I in him Bears much fruit for without me you can do nothing all right he says so my fruit bearing is in correlation to me being connected to Jesus I talked about it briefly this morning we cannot learn to bear fruit so what that means is I can't teach you and you get enough knowledge that if I teach you good enough you're going to bear bear the fruit of the spirit it doesn't work that way fruit is a relational term when it comes to the kingdom fruit is only in connection so you and I will never know if we're growing in the fruit of the spirit if we are abiding by ourselves in our own home and isolated so so people who don't like being around people you'll never know if you're really bearing fruit because fruit is a connection word we're connected to him and then we're connected to others and so we have to be connected to him and then we're connected to others uh if anyone does not abide in me he is cast out as a branch and is withered and they gather them and throw them into the fire and they are burned now when he uses this this is different than when he said originally he takes it up because the fruit that wasn't bearing the branch wasn't bearing fruit that was still connected to him for some reason the branch wasn't bearing but it still had the potential so he lifts it up this uh portion of scripture he's talking about if you don't abide to me so that's someone who's rejected relationship with Christ he said if you want to be fully detached from me what's going to happen is you're going to be a branch you're gonna be withered and what they do to wither branches they throw them in the fire they're burned up if you abide in me and my words abide in you you will ask what you desire and and it shall be done for you so one of the fruits that you get from abiding in him that's Jesus is talking about as answered to prayer see that he saids if you abide in me and I abide in you you shall ask whatever you want and it shall be done for you in the same uh time he's talking about in the same context he's talking about fruit so prayer and communion with God is essential to bearing fruit so we need understand that so that means that as I'm praying and I'm I'm connecting to God I am going to bear fruit one of the fruits I'm going to Bear is answer to prayer someone bore some fruit to answer the prayer uh before we started tonight I was talking to Cheryl Cheryl was talking about a situation with a family member that turned around after marriage Retreat and is going better and I guarantee you they were in prayer about this for a while probably and you can say wow the answer to prayer because I can ask and it will be done and so now God wants us to do what bear fruit okay he desires for us to bear fruit it's in his will that we bear fruit like and if you read it because I'm connected to Jesus I can't help but what bear fruit I can't help but bear fruit it's not me trying harder I'm going to try harder I'm going to try harder no stay connected to him and what's going to be produce in your life and in your heart is going to be fruit so when I'm not bearing fruit there could be some issues to why I'm not bearing fruit because he's intent on causing me if I'm connected to him Steve he's like we're going to bear fruit we're going to bear fruit it's the byproduct of connection now I get in our culture we we say things like uh where you planning on having a baby and I get it you know they want to know if you was sitting down and thinking and said right now we want to have a baby but sometimes when I hear that I'm like well guess what if they was connecting to one another that's the byproduct it is josean zapor is the fruit of our love it's supposed to be the fruit of our love it's it's the byproduct it's like were you trying well there only one way they we're not trying so in order for them not to bear fruit they don't if they are never connected except for Mary but she was connected to the Holy Spirit but if you're never connected you ain't never gonna get pregnant yeah I said that right here that's the truth if you didn't know how that all that operates and that works and all that and I'm talking about just naturally that's the byproduct like when Adam and Eve had their first kid kids it was not like they had to think real hard to make their kids come no they were connected and she bore fruit because fruit is born by connection and so when you want to Bear patience it's a fruit of spirit I should ask you how connected are you where I'm connected to him okay stay connected patience is coming I don't know when I don't know where but it's coming you see that it's coming I'm he's not going to make you patient he's going to birth patience in you and then you will know it's birth because he will put you in relationship with people and you realize how patience is birthed in you because you will look back and said five years ago I have smacked them in the face like but now I'm so calm don't think it was all your great works or whatever but it was really your connection to him and the spirit birth patience through you your only job is to what your only requirement is to what to connect stay connected I it stay connected and he's so faithful the times where I've been falling off connection he's connecting and he's calling me to connection just stay connected like stay connected it's coming patience is coming Longs suffer is coming so we read on and so when we go through all these you know it's coming so it should be excited like oh this is what's gonna come if I decide to continue to stay connected and walk according to the spirit so when it says walk according to the spirit we're going to get to that that means stay connected in relationship with him which involves repenting which involves sitting before his word which is involves correction which in involves being wooed by him and loved by him and all that is staying connected and so when we look at that we see that his intention for you and I is to bear fruit and when we bear fruit H by this my father is glorified that you bear much fruit so you will be my disciples so before that he says you can ask what you desire it'll be done for you and he says when God answers your prayer when my father answers your prayer he's glor glorified he loves to answer our prayer that when I read that I'm looking whoa you're glorified by answered prayer so we're trying to twist your arms trying to talk you into doing things for us and you're like you act like I don't want to answer you but if you really truly knew my heart I'm glorified by answering your prayer when you're in connection to me it's not a task see sometimes when you ask me to do stuff it's a task when people ask you to do Stu ain't it just sometimes a task oh gosh it's a task Lord he wants me to do oh gosh it's a task but God does not see it as a task when we ask of him to do things that's on his heart to do he says oh I take pleasure I'm glorified so let's go to Galatians chapter five then I'm just going to talk and we're going to emphasize I know on on the on the theme it was saying or or or uh what we supposed to talk about is love and joy but we only gonna get to Love Tonight uh because as I was studying and putting stuff down I was like I probably ain't gonna get to Joy but joy is good but it probably ain't going to happen okay there we go thank you thank you there there you go she told me it needs his own day so it's G to have its own day that's confirmation even if it wasn't confirmation it's going to have its own day but sure it help me so let's look at Galatians 56- 26 I say then walk in the spirit and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh flesh for the flesh lust against the spirit and the spirit against the Flesh and these are contrary to one another so that you do not do things that you wish so the flesh lust the me me me me me me lust against the spirit the me me me me basically if you want to put that there that's the lust of the flesh me me me me me me me me me what I want me me me the desires but if you're led by the spirit you're not under the law now the works of the flesh are evident which are adultery fornication uncleanness leness adultery sorcery hatred contentions jealousies outbursts of Wrath selfish Ambitions dissensions heresies Envy murders drunkenness Ries and the like of which I tell you beforehand just as I told you in time past that those who practice those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God I'm glad it says those that practice there because it doesn't mean that there's times that some of you done had some Outburst wrath probably that doesn't mean that you're not saved that means you need some correction in that area and get to the bottom of that so God can bring about wholeness healing and even purifying but the practice of those things when you walk in those and there's a lifestyle it God said you're not inherit In My Kingdom but verse 22 who wants to read verse 22 who can read kind of loud I could read okay go ahead Cheryl but the fruit of the spirit is love joy peace patience kindness goodness faithfulness gentleness self-control against such there is no love so the fruit of the spirit that means the fruit of the spirit what it releases I can't take any credit for but the fruit that comes from my selfishness I probably take all the credit for it because it's in my willpower I had a fit I had an outburst I did this I did that that is not the fruit of the spirit the fruit of the spirit is love joy peace and longsuffering so what we can see our Rel ship with Christ produces life this life that is produced by our relational connection with Christ is revealed or expressed by fruit the fruit or the life that is produced by the Holy Spirit the spirit produces seven distinct fruits which are an expression of Christ in and through US understand these fruits are an expression of Christ in and through us love joy peace longsuffering kindness goodness faithfulness gentleness and self-control are produced only in relationship with Christ and by the Holy Spirit not your great efforts self-control or discipline it's better known discipline my discipline night life is produced by the spirit that brings life now we can discipline you can have your own discipline but the the discipline that produces life the Holy Spirit produced discipline in me so that I would be committed to one woman that's the fruit of the spirit because before my previous lifestyle I was not that was the work of the flesh I got born again redeemed delivered and then surrendered to the holy spirit in connection Mardell and he begin to produce the ability to manage my emotions in my mind that even if the flesh says that I'm going to go do this I can say oh no we're not it's the fruit of the spirit so the first thing so when we try and produce life outside of relationship with Christ we're actually producing death when we will we will produce fruit or death that is contrary to the fruit of the spirit and true life and so one of the first fruits that is talked about here is love now I'm this is just going to be highlights on what love looks like because we can go for weeks and weeks and weeks and weeks and begin to look at love and so many different dimensions we talked about the Burning Love of God this morning love is the first fruit listed the Holy Spirit causes us to produce love that will show up in our lifestyle love for God love for self and love for others so the first fruit of the spirit of Love is going to be love for God love for self love for others so there's no such thing as love without surrendering to the will and purposes of God because loving him is also walking in his truth in commandment in relationship with him so all this around us saying well if you love people you would let them do this and that you're not really loving them when you are holding them up to the standards that God called them to is cultural demonic love now are they trying to be possessed by demons or whatever no I'm just saying where the influence comes from what the endgame is it it is so when they try to say if you love me and you hear people say well I can't see why the god of love would ever discipline correct and bring Justice to those who are operating outside of his framework and it's interesting that people say that I don't believe he would condemn people people to hell but if you ask them where's Hitler at they won't say heaven oh so you have your own moral compass you so they won't say but but but you who doesn't want to surrender to his will you just okay he shouldn't discipline you or correct you and we should just go ahead and let you no love always wants to produce life so we come in conflict and confront that which produces death if I'm lying to my wife if I'm being mean and hateful and angry and bitter and provoking my children to wrath love will confront me in discipline it will not say well you just got to love Chris you just have to love him back to Christ well a part of loving people back to Christ is correction and confrontation ask Jesus and we'll get to that and so we need to understand that but if someone says they're acting in love and they leave you in a place of cond Nation they were not acting in love love will confront love will correct and will not leave you in a place of condemnation it will give you the answer of how to walk in freedom and liberty but it will confront it will it will warn danger is coming if you continue amen destruction is coming if you continue I don't want that for you but it's coming uh so love for God then love for self God wants to produce in our heart not just love for him you know what the holy spirit is working on producing your heart the fruit of love you loving you you love in your personality you Lov in your frame your human frame how he framed you you loving you and some of us say yes loving God you're right Chris and we say yes I'm saying but the fruit of the spirit birth and love in you is not over he's wanting you to love self and that's when yeah how we treat ourselves how we love ourselves he's he's going to continue to chip away at that and produce love for yourself the longer you you connect with him he's going to continue to confront when you have high low low thoughts about yourself even condemning thoughts about yourself he will confront and say that's not how I see you I love you I want you to start learning how to love you and then love for others and it goes in that way loving him being L and loving him loving self and loving others some of us try to skip the second one we try to go love others and we don't know why it's so difficult loving others because you're loving them while you love yourself and so if the enemy can get you to hate yourself so he couldn't get you to hate God cuz you're love loving God but now if he can get you to hate yourself sometimes we hate ourselves and use words and we call it hum humility and it's false humility it's not hating you so loving self and loving others and so we got to have that love for God love herself love for others love creates a place of safety so I want to just give you some insight and some some the expressions of love it creates a place of safety connection peace and Trust for everyone Jesus was an expert as creating places of safety and peace and Trust for everyone again that doesn't mean everyone got to act how they wanted to act he did correct he he loved that woman he expressed love to the woman caught in adultery but what else did he say to her go and sin No More Love makes everyone feel safe valued connected nourished protected pursued wanted known and understood so the holy spirit is producing in Christ to cause Wendy and Hosea and Zapora and people that come to his home to feel safe to feel valued to feel connected to feel nourished to feel protected to feel P pursued to feel warn wanted and known and understood and it's the work of the Holy Spirit developing the fruit of love in our hearts in our lives love isn't a feeling although you can feel it it's truly an action word it's truly an action you can feel love and we need to feel love but love being produced is going to produce action protecting is an action pursuing is an action making someone feel valued is an action honor is an action these are actions that is displayed that Jesus expressed perfectly all the time he pursued people he valued them he did he protected them he made them feel wanted even when they was dirty love empowers the human heart to trust and believe listen this love empowers the human heart to trust and believe God how do I know in Galatians 5:6 the same chapter we in in the uh for in Christ it says this for in Christ neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything that means the work of the flesh don't Avail he says but faith believing trusting in God that works by through love love empowers my heart to trust and believe that he's good that he's safe that he will provide for me it's love that's been developed and as I grow and mature I have more faith and trust in him uh let's read this famous parts of this famous chapter on love that we love to quote look I said love and we love the quote the love that we're talking about is not the love of food I love shoes I love food I love video games that's not the love that is talking about the spirit is producing it's talking about that agape love that love that only is produced by God so let's look at this 1 through 4 then 8 and13 though I speak with tongues of men of angels and have not love I become a sounding brass or clanging symbol and though I have the gift of Prophecy and understand all Mysteries and knowledge and though I have all Faith so that I can remove mountains but have not love I am nothing and though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor and though I give my body to be burned but have not love it profits nothing H wow so it tells me I can have all those things and still not be producing the fruit of love in my life wow so I can have the gift of Prophecy and still not be bearing the fruit of love sometimes a gift of Prophecy will come upon a person because it's God's desire to speak to the people that's in the room and that person's just willing at that time do y'all realize King Saul the first king of Israel he prophesied by the spirit of God the spirit of God come upon him he prophesy now how did he go in his life at the end of his life he is seeking a witch he's calling up Samuel and then he goes ahead and falls on his own sword don't mistake a gift for God saying they're developing there's fruit developed in their life don't mistake a gift that is powerful and mighty as saying God is okay with how a person is continually because it's a gift if you give a gift to a person they can use it how they want to and sometimes I'm just a beneficiary of God's oftentimes God's mercy and Grace is that God will use that person because they're making them available because he so loves people and he wants to touch people he says okay they're speaking I I want to grow them and mature them but they're still available for me uh let's look at four love suffers long and is kind H love does not envy love does not parade itself is not puffed up does not behave rudely speaks does not seek its own is not provoke thinks no evil does not rejoice in iniquity but rejoices in the truth Bears all things believes all things hopes all things endures all things H how many Y how many of us are kind of intimidated by what it said L does because you can see yourself well I'm not there yet well here let me help you out stay connected to him and you're going to get there because love will be produced in us that's where we're going this right here we're going to knowing the how we're going to not being envious anymore we're going to not parading ourselves and being puffed up we're going to not being rude and not seeking our own and just stay connected it's going to happen because he's going to produce love in you verse eight Love Never Fails Love Never Fails or their prophecies will fail tongues will cease knowledge will vanish away but love never fails and then verse 13 it says and now abide faith hope and love these three but the greatest of these is love what's been produced in the human heart love what's been produced in our relationship with Christ this is where you're going you should not look like those long face this is exciting he's going to produce love in me as I stay connected to him I'm G start loving people like I've never loved them before not because I'm so great and I read enough books and I listen to enough sermons although those things have its place but because I stay connected to him he says you're going to produce this in your life Chris but stay connected and walk with me I'm producing this in you stay connected to me is what he said and you were produced fruit and so that's exciting because I used to read that and be like oh look how short I'm falling and it's good for me to realize man I'm not there yet but then it's also like wow this is where I'm going as I stay connected to him he's going to produce this in me Ephesians 5 25-29 oh the book of Ephesians now I know he's speaking of marriage but I want us to see what he's actually saying also in this portion of scripture 5:25 it says this husbands love your wives just as Christ has Lov the church and gave himself for it that he might sanctify and cleanse her with a washing of Water by the word that he might present her to himself a glorious church not having Spar a wrinkle or any such thing but that she should be holy and Without Limits so husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies he who loves his wife loves himself for no one ever hated his own flesh but nourish it and cherish it just as the Lord does the church so there you see In Those portions of scriptures you see love also sacrifices it brings life through words we're Washed by the Water of the word and wants the best for people what he in his love towards us is going to bring us out without spot and wrinkle so when I'm engaging in the fruit of Love's been produced in my life sure when I'm in relationship with people I'm going to long for the best for them it's coming even if it's not fully there yet it's coming stay connected it's coming and I want to keep saying stay connected because I think when we look at the fruit of the spirit sometimes we think I have to produce this I have to work this I have to and what he said is abide in me listen to me walk with me and this will be produced walk with me and this will be produced almost effortlessly because it is it's that he's producing it in me we're just to be a surrendered V and it's been produced have you I wonder do you think a plant sitting there just straining but we do I gotta get there you're gonna get there stay connected no stay connected yeah and many different ways I stay connected reading his word sitting before him walking in relationship with other it's many different ways that we see connection but it saying stay connected and it will be produced love is expressed and experience through these things now listen to this some of you probably know what all these are uh but love is Express and experience through words of affirmation quality time acts of service giving of gifts and physical touch what am I talking about there yeah and that's how love is expressed and experience we experience love with one another experience that love God has for through those different Avenues probably so much more too but that's what that's what happens and so I step a take a a step of Faith towards someone when I realize Kimberly might be a physical touched person so if I'm in friendship relationship with her I don't withhold physical touch I don't withhold a hug or a high five or a pat on the back because I know how she receives I know how love is an action word to spend quality time is action to give words of affir there's action acts of service words uh that that's action physical touch giving of gifts that's action and God communicates to us in all those different ways and if I had time I can show you in scripture how God communicates to us in all those different ways that's why some of you really love prophecy you probably a word of affirmation love language person it's like oh that word is and it's like oh my goodness and he will speak speak to you in a prophetic word some of you is like oh my goodness God open up this door he gave me the ability to take care of this job this duty this is awesome Act of service oh I can't believe how the Holy Spirit came and just hugged me and touched me and held me oh for me it's Cloud 10 physical touch oh my goodness Look What the Lord gave me I didn't even ask for it receiving of gifts he's like I know how to speak how to speak oh what did you do for 30 hours I just spent time with the lord and there oh you spent yes quality time all those ways love is Express so understand as the spirit moves you to do these things for people and for yourself it's love being birth in the heart it's the fruit see it's not enough for me to say love and not give examples us examples of what it looks like and the dimensions of it and how it's practical because Jesus is very practical yet very powerful and so let's look real quickly at Ephesians not Ephesians we're going to Hebrews 125 and 6 because all that stuff that's great but love also manifests itself in correction not punishment correction there there's a big difference here's how how I'll expl well I'll read it first and then I'll explain what punishment and discipline looks like the best way I can explain it and if someone has a even better way and stuff that on it please do it so Hebrews chapter 12 verse five says this and you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to Sons my son do not despise the chassing or the discipling of the Lord nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by him listen to this for whom the Lord loves he disciplines and scourges every son whom he receives if you endure chasing God deals with you as with sons for what son is there whom the father does not chasten or discipline but if you're without discipline of which all have become partakers then you're illegitimate and not Sons furthermore we had human fathers who corrected us and we paid them respect shall we not much more rely be in subjection to the father's spirits and live for they speaking of the human fathers indeed for a few days discipline us has seemed best to them but he for our profit that we may be partakers of his Holiness now no discipline seems to be joyful for the present but painful nevertheless afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it so love brings discipline in order to strengthen connection how do I know that if he doesn't discipline you then you're illegitimate Sons but if he disciplines you you're Sons why is Hosea my son because we have what connection he's my son we're connected so discipline comes to strengthen Connection in the kingdom of God not to bring discouragement and to cut you off anytime discipline comes from me or anyone else and it cuts you off is not the discipline of the lord it's the discipline of the flesh that causes punishment and fear and condemnation discipline in the Kingdom strengthens connection because connection is being broken down and love says I don't want to be unconnected to you so I'm going to correct you what you're doing is hurting our connection David what you're doing is hurting the connection we had I'm going to confront you so that you would turn and walk with me because what you're doing is hurting our connection and I love our connection cuz you're my son and if I don't correct you I'll lose you and so there's times where we have to say some hard things to people but it's only hard some sometimes in the ears of a person who's unrepentant or not ready so so we trust the Lord to get people ready and sometimes they they're not ready and their heart is just Harden that's just how it is ain't no better way to say it because it says in the day that you hear your voice Harden not your hearts like they did in the provoke provocation where it talks about in the wilderness he says don't Harden your hearts like they did because I'm going to speak because I want to bring correction because I want to restore connection when connection is disrupted God is going to bring you correction not to tell you you're a bad kid God's connection is never to tell you that you're bad it actually is telling you you're worth it and you're my son and daughter so I'm correcting you so as we move in that love then as love is grown in our hearts when we have kids or friends and we got to bring that correction then it's going to come from the love that God has and it should flow from the fruit of love so now I should convey in my language and my tone whatever for connection to be restored and it should not be to make you feel condemned and cut away so uh and it also brings it uh so love brings dis order to strengthen connection a firm healthy relationship he's a firman you're my son you're my daughter I'm a firman I want this healthy relationship with you and bring us into living in righteousness or lifestyle in line with God's word and desire for course because it says it will yield the peaceful fruits of righteousness because we'll walk in righteousness again in Philippians 1:9 through1 you can write this down but Paul prays a prayer for the Philippian church about the fruit of love and he prays us this way I pray that your love may abound more and more see you remember at the beginning uh John chapter 15 he says I want you to bear fruit he says oh but I'm going to prune it back because I want you to Bear much fruit I want fruit to abound more and more be fruitful and multiply he was not just talking about their physical bodies he's wanting the multiplication of fruit in love and joy and peace he says I want this thing to multiply and fill the Earth with this so love is to abound in us more and more and the Lord wants us to abound in love now we're going to wrap up with one last verse of a portion of scripture uh first John 412- 21 then I want to be done is this helping is this giving some insight to what the holy spirit is doing in our hearts in our lives as we stay connected this is being produced I know at times you can get to places where we all go through that we feel like because we're so used to work work work at times there's nothing wrong with work but there's times like I got to produce this I got to do better I got to do better I believe having that sobering saying man I wanna I want to grow I want to mature is great but when I think I have to produce this I'm so horrible because I'm not producing this I'm just gonna say hey stay connected stay connected when someone's not producing this yes we need to look at it and examine it and then encourage those people hey stay connected well what's the REM stay connected to him start spending time with him start listening and being connected to him intentionally like me and Wendy are intentionally connected I'm intentionally connected to you and here it's intentionally it's not on accident it's intentional and so we can do intentional things to stay connected and he will lead and guide us uh so 1 John chap 4 verse2 let me read through it kind of quickly no one has seen God at any time if we love one another God abides in us and his love has been perfected in us or matured by this we know that we abide in him and he in us because he's given us his spirit and we have seen and testify that the father has sent the son as Savior of the world whoever confesses that Jesus is the son of God abides in him and he in God and we have known and believe the love that God has for us God is love and he who abides in love abides in God and God in him verse 17 love has been perfected that word perfected means fully matured Among Us in this that we may have boldness in the day of judgment because as he is who that strong word there so are we in this world there is no fear and love but perfect love cast out fear why because fear involves torment if I'm saying I'm loving someone and I'm manipulating them and controlling them by the torment or the punishment of rejecting them cutting them off I'll never talk to you again if you don't do this that ain't love love will say I'm knocking at the door if you let me in I'm coming but if not it's your choice uh we love him because he first loved us if someone says I love God and hates his brother he is a liar for he who does not love his brother whom he has not seen how can he love God whom he has he who loves his brother does not love his brother whom he has seen how can he love God who he has not seen and this commandment we have from him that he who loves God must love his brother also so in this verse love causes us to love God and trust him love casts fear away from the human heart punishment tells us you're not good you're bad go sit in the corner stay on probation for years and years and then when you get the right answer maybe you get receive back that's punishment punishment leaves you in in in fear in torment disconnected love correction says hey Chris you did this wrong hey Chris this is the right answer this is what you need to do hey Chris I'm right here to walk with you through this answer I'm not going to leave you alone in the room I'll sit in the room and we'll work this out together are you willing now that's when it becomes our choice if we're willing he will do it if we're not willing we're going to end up like Saul because God tried to tell Saul this is all you got to do I'm giving you the answer and I'm right here David when it looks like David did worse than saw as far as morally in the human standpoint he killed someone's husband someone's brother family member and did it maliciously but but God confronts him and tells them what he needs to do he also tells them this is what's going to happen your influence going to be lost in this area and David says okay I'm willing I'm willing to work walk this out that's what love does and so love causes us to stand confident before God even on the day of judgment because we know he loves us and we will not and he will not reject us when love is impr produced in us or perfected in us we are afraid of God and living in torment of condemnation it's that feeling on the inside he doesn't like me I'll never be enough for him that's that that lets you know the love is not perfected in you because that's the LIE of the enemy and that's the lie that your flesh is telling you this isn't the Lord's desire for us he wants us to stand confident in love love produced by the holy spirit will cause you and I to truly love one another not hate one another because it says if your truly love has been produced you're not going to hate your brother so love should cause me when it's being perfected God I know that I'm loved by you now do we have some examples of that yeah John's writings I'm the one that Jesus loves was he being arrogant no he's grown confident in love love was being produced I know that he loves me I believe what he said see he's want us to I know that that you love me I don't have to be afraid of your judgment destroying me I know that you love me it says those who grow confident in love they have the assurance that even on the day of judgment they are like Jesus in this world is the father condemning Jesus so he's not condemning you so if you're living in condemnation that's a lie of the enemy stay connected and say oh holy spirit produce love in me produce love love the last thing love makes all the other fruits of the spirit much sweeter love makes all the fruits of the spirit and we're going to find out all these fruits are so connected to that Foundation of love and so he's producing love in us we stay connected this love is going to pruce and so go on your own journeys of searching through the scriptures about different facets of love and just know as I stay connected if these things aren't here now they're going to come I might have someone that I have not forgiven yet and I know I need to forgive and love as I stay connected he's going to wrestle with me S to speak that's me speaking not necessarily him and saying oh this is going to be produced I'll forgive you I'll love you I'll speak kindly to you even when I'm feeling all this stuff that you're throwing at me because love has been tempered in our heart and it comes by our connection with him not by our strong efforts to produce it our call is to stay connected and he's going to produce these things love love love and the reward is of Love is guess what loving let's pray father I thank you that you are producing in our hearts right now you've been doing it for years Holy Spirit produce love in us help us to surrender to your leadership and your guidance because as we walk with you and are connected to you you have promised that you would bear in us love joy peace kindness faithfulness longsuffering gentleness self-control goodness we want this and we ask you Holy Spirit help us and we thank you for the fruits that we already see in our lives we thank you we want to produce more for you father so do it in and through us holy spirit we love you in Jesus name amen hey y'all have a good week good do we get to say anything you did say something you never raised your hand you see boy she's messing with I just to say that Romans 5 that suffering these things produce patience so you know you were saying how do you get to be patient self-control it's through suffering and it says that the holy spirit that God blesses so much that the Holy Spirit shed his blood abroad that's King James but he fills our hearts with