Sermon Tone Analysis

The Bible has much to say about fruit.

It is mentioned some 106 times in the Old Testament and 70 times in the New.

Spiritual fruit is the evidence of a life changed by and controlled by God.

Even under the covenant of law, a believer produced good fruit only by God’s power, not his own.

/“From Me comes your fruit,”/ the Lord declared to ancient Israel (Hos.

14:8).

In the New Testament such things as praise of the Lord (Heb.

13:15), winning converts to Christ (1 Cor.

16:15), and godly work in general (Col.

1:10) are spoken of as spiritual fruit produced through believers.

As we begin this sermon series that I’ve entitled: Attributes of the Spirit-filled Life I want us to discover the real evidence of the filling of the God’s Holy Spirit.

It evidenced not by the fantastic, but by the fruit.

With due respect to our Charismatic brethren, I believe that much of what passes for the filling of the Holy Spirit these days is deceptive, demonic, and dangerous.

But love, and joy, and peace, and patience, and kindness, and goodness, and faithfulness, and gentleness, and self-control—these are the real indicators of the Spirit’s filling.

Tonight we plunge right in by looking at the first manifestation of the Spirit-filled life.

It is characterized by love.

Love has become a confusing word in our language.

When we say, /“I love “X”/—and you fill in the “X” what are expressing.

Is love an sensation?

Is love an ardor?

Is love an feeling?

The use of the word has become so polluted in our society.

We use the word to refer to affection and compassion, to devotion and emotion.

We say we love God, love our spouses, love Mexican food, and love football.

What does the word mean for us as Christians?

For the believer, the best place to go to find an explanation of love is the timeless authority of Scriptures.

In the last intimate encounter between Jesus and His disciples on the last night of His life, He told His disciples: “A new command I give you: Love one another.

As I have loved you, so you must love one another.

35 By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another,” (John 13:34-35, NIV).

That is how people will know we are His followers.

According to Jesus, love is the distinguishing mark of discipleship and the most important of virtues that believers need to develop and cultivate.

For the first three centuries of the Church, mutual affection was the characteristic the pagans most closely associated with the early Christians.

“My, how they love each other!” they would say.

In this evening’s text, the Apostle Paul paints the most remarkable image of love that has ever been penned by man.

!

I. PAUL WRITES THAT LOVE IS ESSENTIAL

#. the saints at Corinth considered five characteristics essential in the Christian’s life

#.

Paul refers to these elements in the first three verses

* /“If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.

If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.

If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.”/

(1 Corinthians 13:1–3, NIV84)

#. do you see them?

#. oratory

#. prophecy

#. miracle-working

#. philanthropy

#. martyrdom

#.

Paul told the Corinthian believers they could have all of these qualities, but if they did cultivate the virtue of love, all those other things didn’t matter

#. life minus love equals zero

#. emotionalism ... intellectualism ... activism ... humanitarianism and asceticism are worth absolutely nothing if love is not the motivation behind them

#.

what are the qualities the seem most important to our culture?

#. the five pursuits that seem essential to citizens in our society today include

#. money

#.

pleasure

#. health

#.

education

#. power

#. in our culture, attainment of one or more of these elements are considered ingredients for success

#.

Paul’s conclusion is pointed and clear ...

#. even if we have all the money in the world ... even if our nights are studded with pleasure ... even if our health is excellent ... even if we have a Ph.D. from the most exclusive university ... even if we have power over men and machines, if we do not have love, we have nothing

#. all other virtues, all other characteristics, all other qualities, all other spiritual gifts, all other attainments are nothing without love

!! A. LOVE IS ESSENTIAL FOR LIFE

#. but how do we define love?

#. true Godly love is a divinely infused virtue that inclines the human will to cherish God for His own sake above all things, and to cherish other men for the sake of God

#. the biblical passage that best defines this virtue is Matthew 22:37-40

#. in response to a question about which is the greatest commandment, Jesus responded: /“ ... “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’

This is the first and greatest commandment.

And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”/

(Matthew 22:37–40, NIV84)

#. notice that in my definition, I said that love inclines the human will not human emotions to cherish God and men

#. the true seat of love is not centered in our feelings or our emotions, but is centered in our will—our rational conscience decision-making process

#. does love affect our emotions and our sentiments?

#. of course it does—and sometimes intensely—just watch any teenager going through their first real love affair

#. but Godly love, biblical love, is almost always defined by verbs and not nouns

#.

Godly love, biblical love, is not a state of feeling, but a state of doing

#. love that does is absolutely essential for developing moral excellence

#. how so?

#. love that does seeks to be obedient to God in all areas of life because that brings glory to our Father in heaven

#. love that does seeks what is best for the other person—regardless of who they are – regardless of the cost to us

#. just ask that man who has been immortalized in Scriptures as the Good Samaritan

#. love is absolutely essential in human relationships

#. love has an awesome power for strengthening and straightening out our interpersonal relationships

#. in fact, I believe that our inability to love or to receive love is at the root of most or our personal and societal problems

#.

love is the essential ingredient for healthy living, a healthy home, a healthy community, and a healthy society

!! B. LOVE IS ESSENTIAL TO THE CHURCH

* ILLUS.

Thomas Aquinas, a gifted Catholic scholar of the medieval church, once called on Pope Innocent II.

He found the pope counting a large sum of money.

“You see,” said Innocent II, referring to Acts 3:6, /“the church can no longer say, ‘Silver and gold have I none.”/

To which Thomas Aquinas replied, /“That is true, your holiness, but neither can she now say, ‘Arise and walk.’”/

#. the Church has lost much of its spiritual power and thus its influence upon society

#. we have lost our spiritual power because we have often been more concerned with gaining material wealth, and building bigger buildings, and asserting political influence than simply loving a lost world for the sake of Christ

#. we have lost our spiritual power because we have often been more interested in denouncing each other’s theology and methodology than in proclaiming a Gospel that asserts, /"For God so loved the world . . .

“/

#.

CDs’ in the bank, prestigious building, well-planned programs, talented leaders, and correct theology do not draw sinful men and help them put their broken lives back together

#. love does

#.

take away love, and the church is a failure

#. take away love and life is a drag

#. take away love and our eloquent words become meaningless noise

#. take away love and our lives become a tomb

#. take away love and we have nothing