to

 Chapel

Our Series for Chapel this week is:

Enjoying and Living the

The Fruit of the Spirit

Day 2, continued

Fruit:  LOVE

"All Fruit of the Spirit Comes Through
Christ to the Christian"

Day Verses 2

"And this I pray, that your love may abound
more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; that ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ; being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ,
unto the glory and praise of God"
Philippians 1:9-11

If, through our own efforts, we had to be loving and joyous and full of peace and all the other fruit of the Spirit, we'd fail miserably.  But, praise the Lord, we don't have to rely on our own puny strength or wisdom to be what we ought to be.  Christ Himself has promised to give to all believers who really want it, HIS love, HIS joy, HIS peace, and all the other fruitful character traits that He wants Christians to have.  This He does through His Agent, the Holy Spirit, who constantly reminds us of Christ and encourages us to be more like Him.

Now, I want to share some Bible verses with you some Bible verses which prove that each fruit of the Spirit is Christ's own gift to us Christians:

LOVE

"As the Father hath loved Me, so have I loved you:
continue ye in MY LOVE."
John 15:9

How much does Jesus say He loves His followers?  Try to imagine it--as much as the Father loves Him!  Then, what does He ask us who believe in Him to do?  Yes, to continue or to keep on in His love.  Notice, Jesus says, "Continue ye in MY LOVE."

Do Christians ever have to be cold or selfish and not care for God's Book, the church which is God's house, and people whom God has made?  No, because Christ Himself gives us His own wonderful love as freely as we care and dare to take it.

JOY

"These things have I spoken unto you, that MY JOY
might remain in you, and that your joy might be full."
John 15:11

Doesn't it thrill you to realize that our Savior gives to believers in Him, His own always-abiding joy?  He says to you and me who love Him, "MY joy should remain in you."  If we let Christ give us His joy, the kind that lasts even during sorrow, we'll understand what He meant by full joy.  No reason for our ever being down in the mouth, is there?

PEACE

"Peace I leave with you, MY PEACE I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you.  Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."  John 14:27

What is the next heavenly character-gift which the Lord Jesus generously bestows on His trusting children?  Listen thoughtfully as I repeat His comforting promise, "Peace I leave with you, MY peace I give unto you."  Jesus makes us sure that His marvelous gift of peace is nothing which we can manufacture or get from any worldly source.  HIS peace is "not as the world giveth."  No wonder we never need to have a troubled heart or be afraid!  Jesus' peace is LASTING!

LONGSUFFERING (Patience)

"Strengthened with all might, according to HIS glorious power, unto all patience and LONGSUFFERING with joyfulness."
Colossians 1:11

Yes, we who love the Lord have the superlative privilege of exchanging our natural weakness for Christ's supernatural strength.  We can be patient and longsuffering--according to what?  Yes, according to Christ's own glorious power!  And there's no limit to that!

GENTLENESS

"Thy GENTLENESS hath made me great."
Psalm 18:35

When the Apostle Paul wanted the backslidden Christians in Corinth to listen to his testimony, he started out, "Now I Paul myself beseech you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ" (II Corinthians 10:1).  And the verse you just heard, written by the psalmist long years ago, assures us that it is our Savior's gentleness that makes us great in God's sight.  Do you think that gentleness is any less powerful a gift than are love and joy and peace and longsuffering?  No, it takes as much of God's great power to make us gentle--for we aren't gentle, naturally--as it does to make us loving and longsuffering.

GOODNESS

"Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of HIS GOODNESS, and the work of faith with power."
II Thessalonians 1:11

The Apostle Paul prayed much for the new converts to Christ in the wicked Greek city of Thessalonica.  Those newly-born Christians had "turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God" instead of the false and lifeless idols they had been worshipping (I Thessalonians 1:9).  And Paul encouraged them by assuring them of his prayers.  Paul asked the Lord to count them worthy of their high calling as Christians and to fill them full of His goodness. Any goodness we believers have in our make-ups comes directly from the Lord Himself.

FAITH

"It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto Thy Name, O most High: to show forth THY LOVING-KINDNESS in the morning, and THY FAITHFULNESS every night."  (Psalm 92:1-2)

"Faithful and True" are names by which the Lord Jesus is called in the book of Revelation (19:11).  And He expects us who belong to Him to show forth His faithfulness to all whom we contact.  As we do this, our hearts will warm with the glow of being true witnesses for Christ.  We'll say with the same enthusiasm that the psalmist did, "It's a good thing...to show forth Thy loving-kindness in the morning, and Thy Faithfulness every night."  Yes, it is our faithful Lord who enables us to be faithful.

MEEKNESS

"The Lord Jesus said, "Take my yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I AM MEEK and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls." Matthew 11:29

"Showing all MEEKNESS unto all men."
Titus 3:2

There's more to being a Christian than merely taking only good things from the Lord.  The Christian life involves taking upon oneself Jesus' "yoke", also.  A Bible "yoke" as you know, was a frame of wood joining two oxen or other draft animals for working together.  Thus, a yoke suggests service--steady working together.  Thus, a yoke suggests service--steady working and pulling together.  But think of the One with whom we Christians are yoked--none other than the Lord Jesus Himself!  And it is not hard to "pull" with Him--for He is in no way a balky or uncooperative team player.  On the contrary, He is meek and lowly.  And because He is, and because He gives us His very life, we too, can show forth "all meekness unto all men."

TEMPERANCE (Self-control)

"The Lord Jesus 'knew no sin."
II Corinthians 5:21b

Though there is no Scripture verse which specifically states that Jesus was temperate, we know that our Savior could not have been intemperate--He was perfectly God-controlled and therefore self-controlled, or temperate.  Does He give us who trust in Him this gift also?  Yes, in II Peter chapter 1, we read that His divine power has given us "exceeding great and precious promises" just in order that we may share His very nature.  Then He urges us to add to our faith in Him all the fruit which makes for noble character.  And one important fruit is temperance or self-control.

Listen as I read from Weymouth's modern translation of the New Testament's II Peter 1:3-8:

"His divine power has given us all things that are needful for life and godliness, through our knowledge of Him who has appealed to us by His own glorious perfections.  It is by means of these that He has granted us His precious and wondrous promises, in order that through them you may, one and all, become sharers in the very nature of God, having completely escaped the corruption which exists in the world through earthly cravings. But for this very reason--adding, on your part, all earnestness--along with your faith, manifest also a noble character...knowledge...SELF-CONTROL...power of endurance...godliness...brotherly affection...love.  If these things exist in you, and continually increase, they prevent your being either idle or unfruitful in advancing towards a full knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.  II Peter 1:3-8-Weymouth)

Surely by diligently studying God's Word, faithfully talking to the Lord in prayer, and moment by moment seeking the help of the Holy Spirit to live out in us all His precious promises, we will not be unfruitful Christians, but will increasingly show forth all the fruit of the Spirit.  As we abide in Christ, the Holy Spirit is able to love through us.  Then the Christ-like character that the Lord produces in us will reach out to bless others, not only in own country of America, but even to the uttermost parts of the world.

"To the east, to the west,
To the north and the south
We must go, we must go
With the Gospel of Christ.
To the black, the white,
To the yellow and brown,
We must go, we must go
With the Gospel of Christ.