Fruit of LOVE - Fall Series pt. 2
This week we continue our Fall series on the different characteristics of God, (the Fruit of the Spirit) that He has planted on the inside of us. These ‘fruits’ nourish our spirits, our hearts, our souls, our lives. They will help nourish our walk of faith, as we grow in our relationship with the LORD. Come on! Tune in and get some LOVE!
Diana’s Notes
Welcome to Heartfelt Conversations with Diana! I am super excited that you have taken time out of your busy life to tune in!
Last week we began our Fall Series on Fruit-Grain-and Water. Sounds like a cleansing diet doesn’t it! HAHAHAHAHA
Last week, we tied in our Summer Series of Fixing our eyes on Jesus with Episode 1 of our Fall Series, and now we are learning to sow into our faith, the different characteristics of God that will help nourish our faith walk, as we daily grow in our relationship with the LORD.
We kicked off the series with the story of the Prodigal Son out of the book of Luke in the New Testament of God’s Word, the Bible. In the story of the prodigal son, we talked about how a young son left the protection and provisions of his fathers house and set out for a distant land where he partied and squandered his entire inheritance until one day, he was eyeballing the pigs slop, thinking it looked mighty good right then. He was starving. Hungry. Have you ever felt so hungry you would eat just about anything?? He could have been having a T-Bone steak or Lamb Chops or Baby back ribs if he was at home under his fathers roof, but nope! He just had to take off and blow all his money! In a blink of an eye, he went from being the life of the party and the money source for everyone’s good time. But, the money ran out and so did his so-called friends leaving him to stare at the pigs' food.
Let’s revisit Luke 15:17-19
17 "That brought him to his senses. He said, 'All those farmhands working for my father sit down to three meals a day, and here I am starving to death.
18 I'm going back to my father. I'll say to him, Father, I've sinned against God, I've sinned before you;
19 I don't deserve to be called your son. Take me on as a hired hand.'
But do you remember the response of his father?
Continuing with verse 20
20 He got right up and went home to his father. When he was still a long way off, his father saw him. His heart pounding, he ran out, embraced him, and kissed him.
21 The son started his speech: 'Father, I've sinned against God, I've sinned before you; I don't deserve to be called your son ever again.'
22 "But the father wasn't listening. He was calling to the servants, 'Quick. Bring a clean set of clothes and dress him. Put the family ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.
23 Then get a grain-fed heifer and roast it. We're going to feast! We're going to have a wonderful time!
24 My son is here - given up for dead and now alive! Given up for lost and now found!' And they began to have a wonderful time.
The number one fruit of God’s Spirit, the first characteristic of God listed in Galatians 5:22 is LOVE
Today, we are going to be chatting about the Fruit of LOVE
Just like the father in this story, God loves us more than our mistakes, our bad decisions, our self-seeking desires that creep up into our hearts and minds if we are not aware of the enemy's tactics to distract us with shiny new things.
The father could have turned a cold shoulder. He could have been offended by his son's disrespect and lack of honor towards him, but he didn’t. He was so excited, so overwhelmed with joy that nothing else mattered to him other than the fact that his son was home!
Listen to an overview on a summary of the first fruit of God’s Spirit - LOVE
It is Unconditional: Love is a gift from God that is unconditional, meaning that there is nothing we can do to earn it!
It is Selfless: Love is selfless in that it looks out for the best interest of others
Love is based on the 2 greatest commandments Jesus tells us to live by - Love God with all your heart, mind, soul and love your neighbor as yourself.
Love is an action, not a feeling. We can choose love, God’s love towards others, even people we do not know.
Love is forgiving: Love, God’s kind of love in us can and will forgive others even without ever receiving an apology.
Love, God’s love requires humility, God’s grace,AND maybe - a lot of prayer! LOL!!
And a heart fully surrendered to the LORD, because if we love based upon our feelings and not God’s character, God’s Spirit in us, we will never know His kind of Love for ourselves or others. And we will never know stability, calm, relaxation, complete inner wholeness.
I can’t explain the fullness of healing you receive, to feel like a whole person, you know, that feeling that likes to hang around and tell you that you are not enough. That you have to achieve something, be something, measure up to the standards of success according to the world’s standards. But once you come to live a fully, trusting, believing, surrendered life, in some miraculous way, as you intently seek to know Jesus as your Savior and learn how to follow Him; little by little His love begins to work internally within your own being.
From ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides You, who acts on behalf of those who wait for Him
For me, that is so comforting, to know that when I trust in Him and wait on Him, He will act on my behalf. He says so in His Word, and God does not go back on His Word!
The New Testament book 2 Corinthians tells us about learning to shift our thinking from this world and onto His ways and when we do we will behold His glory and begin the beautiful process of being transformed from within. In the deep inner chambers of our heart and soul.
2 Corinthians 3:18 tells us:
And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.
And as your confidence in God’s love for you deepens and matures and you begin to understand the magnitude of what was spiritually achieved on the cross when the precious Son of God became SIN, Actual SIN before God, so all the wrath of sin and death was poured out on Jesus by God, our Judge. One day God will have to destroy evil, wickedness once and for all. He will pour out wrath and judgment. He would not be God if He didn’t deal with evil. God is the exact opposite of evil, God is good and good and evil cannot travel, exist together. There cannot be a mix of good and evil.
In the Good News Translation
Psalms 5:4
You are not a God who is pleased with wrongdoing; you allow no evil in your presence.
But God’s main characteristic is LOVE. It is the very first “fruit” listed in Galatians.
The New Living Translation says this:
Romans 12:9
Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good.
God doesn’t pretend to love you. He doesn’t tolerate you in some wishy washy kind of love, No! God loves us so much that He poured all of His judgment against evil onto His Son so that He would not have to put His wrath on you or me one day when that day does come. The only thing required of us to receive eternal life and not eternal judgment ( which is death) is to believe in His Son Jesus and Receive Him as our Savior. To confess we are sinners on our own merit and we know Jesus paid the price for every single sin. And choose to receive Him as your Lord and Savior.
Think about what Jesus went through. He didn’t just lay down His life and allowed Himself to die. That alone is amazing! But Jesus actually became the very thing God cannot exist with. Jesus actually took onto Himself, onto His Personhood every single sin, every single evil, horrific, violent sin a human being could ever commit and it was placed on Him while He hung on that cross, willingly absorbing every single sin of every single human who was alive, already dead, and those of us yet to be born. For all generations both living and dead, Jesus took it all! Imagine the wrath God had to judge His Son with in order to make sure every sin was paid fully and completely for so that when that day of judgment comes anyone who chooses to receive the free gift of salvation will be found innocent and not guilty by God’s verdict because He will only see the Blood of the Lamb, our Messiah, Jesus.
Remember last week -
Romans 5:1 in the Amplified Bible says:
Therefore, since we have been justified ( that is, acquitted of sin, declared blameless before God) by faith, (let us grasp the fact that) we have peace with God ( and the joy of reconciliation with Him) through our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One).
One Definition of acquitted is:
Free ( someone) from a criminal charge by a verdict of not guilty.
“She was acquitted on all counts”
He will find us “not guilty” of all charges! Nothing was left unpaid for. There is nothing left to be settled between God and man. Jesus took care of that. But it is up to each and every single person to receive or reject.
God will not force anyone to receive Jesus as their Savior. God does not want forced loyalty or a bunch of little robots with no soul, no heart, no emotions. He desires a relationship with us because He created us. Just like you have characteristics of your parents, people might tell you that you have similarities to your mom or dad. Well, God created us in His image
Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
So, God’s spirit in us helps produce -the character of God from within us. His fruit of the Spirit, which are 9 charactisctic of God that should be evident in the lives of those who follow Jesus, because as we fix our eyes on Him, His fruit is being developed within us, and as our fruit grows deeper roots and produces healthier fruit, that helps us in our spiritual growth, moral guidance, open our hearts, convict us( not condemn us), guides us in understanding the Word and transforms us to be able to become more like Jesus
We develop these by spending time in the Word, developing an intimate personal relationship with our Father and keeping our eyes fixed on learning how to become more like Jesus.
When our love bucket seems to be low we can replenish Through worship, gratitude, praise,
The Holy Spirit comforts us, and stirs up all of the good stuff God placed in each and every one of us. We just have to learn how to access the fruit - the evidence- that God’s spirit flows through us. And it doesn’t stay just within us, eventually we should be filling up with so much of God’s fruit that it overflows into every area of our lives and into and onto the lives of those around us. At home, at work, wherever we go, God’s fruit should be evident there as well.
So we talked about the fathers reaction to his son’s return which was LOVE, unconditional LOVE, but what was the reaction of the older brother?
Picking up with the other son's reaction to his father’s response to his little brother's return in Luke 15: 25-32.
“Meanwhile, the older son was in the fields working. When he returned home, he heard music and dancing in the house, and he asked one of the servants what was going on. ‘Your brother is back,’ he was told, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf. We are celebrating because of his safe return.’
“The older brother was angry and wouldn’t go in. His father came out and begged him, but he replied, ‘All these years I’ve slaved for you and never once refused to do a single thing you told me to. And in all that time you never gave me even one young goat for a feast with my friends. Yet when this son of yours comes back after squandering your money on prostitutes, you celebrate by killing the fattened calf!’
“His father said to him, ‘Look, dear son, you have always stayed by me, and everything I have is yours. We had to celebrate this happy day. For your brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found!’”
God is Good - God is Love, what is the opposite of Good and Love
Evil and Hate - Jealousy, Rebellion, Bad Attitudes
The older son had a really bad attitude!! He was behaving badly by dishonoring his father in a different way, but we often don’t see our faults, but we can zero in on the faults and shortcomings of others!
God is LOVE and Love is foundational, the first good fruit and when you fully experience and know personally the LOVE God has for YOU! Then with that fruit blooming inside, other fruits begin to pop up and sprout- joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,faithfulness, gentleness, self control.
When we are full with God’s love then we have the capacity to love, to forgive, to be happy for someone else even if we think we deserve what they are getting. joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
Why? Or how can we be happy for someone else? Because we are beginning to learn and understand that it isn’t a competition with God. He loves all His children the same, and we can never earn anything. He gives because He loves us and because He loves us, He knows the right time to give us the desires of our hearts.
And when we surrender to trusting Him, even if He doesn’t give us what we want, we trust it is for our good. Maybe there is something we can’t see or know that would bring us heartache, disappointment, harm. The world is complicated, we, people, can be complicated. There are so many factors, it is impossible to know them all - BUT GOD does. So, we learn to trust because we know He loves us, and then when that fruit of LOVE develops, then our fruit of joy begins to grow and develop because we no longer worry as much, we are trusting God so some of the pressure is off. And when JOY begins to produce fruit into our lives, PEACE will soon begin to produce fruit, and so on. Can you see how it begins with LOVE?
The older son didn’t understand his father’s love that was already there for him. That he already had it. He didn’t have to earn it. The older brother told his father that he had “always slaved for him” . He was trying to earn his fathers love by constantly working, slaving away. But Anything he wanted or needed was there for him the whole time. But rather than having a close relationship with his father, he made presumptions about his worth to his father. At least that is how I see it. I think the older son was jealous because he was a hard worker and his punk brother who was always looking for ways to get out of chores, took off, made a fool of himself and the family reputation and had the nerve to come back after losing everything and his dad is just going to let it happen. That his brother is just going to get off scotch free with no punishment at all!!!! What the heck??? And I am sure the older brother was just plain ticked off because his little brother was not punished.
Sometimes, our natural reaction when someone does something wrong is for there to be punishment. And that is why we have laws and boundaries and borders for our countries, for our businesses, for our lives, cities and communities. All these things keep balance and order rather than chaos and disorder. So, there are times when there must be punishment. Justice. But oftentimes when we are ruled by emotions, our desire for punishment is greater than our desire for healing, restoration, redemption. I am grateful that God is Who He is and He sees our hearts, that His ways are higher than our ways and that He is a fair and just God, otherwise, the punishment I deserve for all of my wrongs would probably be what the older brother thought his brother deserved - be cut off from the family, humiliated, spit on, kicked out, rejected by his father as a traitor and nothing more than scum trying to worm its way back into the family inheritance.
The older brother wanted his younger brother punished and his little brother did deserve it, because he was selfish and foolish - but he was also repentant. He realized what he did was stupid, selfish, reckless. So he went back to his father and did not EXPECT to even be welcomed home as a son. He knew he did wrong, he was sorry and he asked his father for forgiveness. He was humbled.
Listen to the Mercy of God for anyone who will just simply humble themselves so that they can receive His FREE Gift
Ephesians 2: 1-10
Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. 2You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world.a He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. 3All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else.
Listen to verses 4-6
4But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much,
5that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!)
6For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus.
7So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus.
8God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.
9Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.
10For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.
His dad didn’t want to beat him up, tear into him like a hot-headed impatient man, No, this was his son and for that reason alone he was glad to see him, but to hear his son say father, I have sinned against you. How proud he must have felt, that his son was growing, developing, maturing into a young man and putting his selfish ways behind him.
God isn’t looking to beat us up either. All He desires is for us to return home like the young brother, the son, and say Father, I messed up, I am sorry. And He will throw up His open arms for us to be embraced in and He will tell all of heaven put a ring on their finger and a robe around their shoulders, throw a party, my child has come home. The first thing we receive when we repent is not God’s anger, NOT His wrath, but His LOVE.
Let’s focus, meditate upon, this seed of God’s Spirit within us and Learn to let LOVE be the Guide to which we choose to live by. Us, me, you. That we make a determined choice, decision to live this way.
LOVE is the True North of our heart. The compass that has set the course for the life we will surround ourselves with. It is not what someone owes us, it is not selfish, or rude, but Love, God’s Love Always believes the best, hopes the best, sees the best. Love brings good soil into our heart so that God can plant other good things for us to be nourished by.
1 John 4:18 says this about love:
There is no fear in love [dread does not exist]. But perfect (complete, full-grown) love drives out fear, because fear involves [the expectation of divine] punishment, so the one who is afraid [of God’s judgment] is not perfected in love [has not grown into a sufficient understanding of God’s love].
If we struggle with fear, anxieties, anger, shame, guilt, jealousy, just darkness stirring trouble up inside… Then we do not fully understand God’s LOVE for us. It “has not grown into a sufficient understanding of God’s Love” like we are told in 1 John. This might be the root cause why we struggle with trust, why we get jealous so easy, why we feel insecure and struggle in these areas, and if everything you have tried doesn’t bring relief - try spending time reading or listening to what God’s Own word says about the depth of His Unfailing Love for you, and for me. For the entire world!
When we learn to navigate our life with God’s kind of love, our relationships, our lives, everything around us begins to bloom and flourish. Love is the foundation for unity, understanding, and mutual respect. Without Love we can’t build strong bonds. God’s love is a love that heals, reconciles, and uplifts, promoting peace and harmony and brings balance to your heart, mind, body, soul, and spirit.
Colossians 3:12-14 tells us
So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It’s your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it.
Colossians 3 tells us how to dress for success! How to have a good day God’s way.
Love others because we know GOD LOVES us! Just as we are!
So - Keep your Chin Up - Our Eyes fixed on Jesus!
A spirit-led life that lines our perspective up with what God’s word says, not the world. That is walking by faith. Trusting God
The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing -
Zephaniah 3:17 ESV
When you feel alone, remember
Psalm 3: 3-4
3But You, O LORD, are a shield for me,
My glory [and my honor], and the One who lifts my head.
4With my voice I was crying to the LORD,
And He answered me from His holy mountain. Selah.
(Pause, and calmly think of that)!
God Bless!! See Ya next time on Heartfelt Conversations with Diana!
Songs to inspire you
Big Daddy Weave - Let It Begin (Official Music Video)
TobyMac - I just need U. (Lyric Video)
Chris Tomlin - Indescribable (Lyrics And Chords)
Scriptures from This Weeks Podcast
Romans 3:24 NLT
Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He (God) did this through Christ Jesus (His Son) when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.
Romans 8:11
The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, He will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living in you.
Matthew 22:37-40
Jesus replied: “You must Love the LORD your GOD with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.”
Romans 5:1 in the Amplified Bible says:
Therefore, since we have been justified (that is, acquitted of sin, declared blameless before God) by faith, (let us grasp the fact that) we have peace with God (and the joy of reconciliation with Him) through our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One).
Psalms 17:8 tells us that we are always under God’s tender care and His Love
The Amp Bible reads it like this:
Keep me in Your affectionate care, protect me, as the apple of Your eye. Hide me in the protective shadow of Your wings.
Luke 15:11 - 13
11 Then he said, "There was once a man who had two sons.
12 The younger one said to his father, 'Father, I want right knowing what's coming to me.'
13 It wasn't long before the younger son packed his bags and left for a distant country. There, undisciplined and dissipated, he wasted everything he had.
Galatians 5: 22-23 in the New Living Translation it reads:
But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives:
Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
There is no law against these things.
Foundation Verse
Romans 8:11
The Spirit of God, Who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Chrisr Jesus from the dead, He will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living in you. “
Additional Resources
Prayer of Salvation
Jesus has given salvation, healing, and countless benefits to all who call upon His name. These benefits can be yours if you receive Him into your heart by saying this prayer:
Heavenly Father, I come to You admitting that I am a sinner. Right now, I choose to turn away from sin, and I ask You to cleanse me of all unrighteousness. I believe that Jesus rose again from the dead so that I may be justified and made righteous through faith in Him. I call upon the name of Jesus Christ to be the Savior and Lord of my life. Jesus, I choose to follow You, and I ask that You fill me with the power of the Holy Spirit. I declare right now that I am a born again, child of God. I am free from sin and full of the righteousness of God. I am saved in Jesus’ name. Amen.
This prayer and the comment above, were taken out of the book:
Secrets to Powerful Prayer - Discovering the Languages of the Heart
By Lynne Hammond and Patsy Cameneti
If you have just received Jesus as your Savior, please write Lynne Hammond Ministries at:
PO Box 29469
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55429-2946
Or, email one of the ministries listed on the Additional Resources Tab and let them know that you are a brand new christian and need some direction on the next steps for your new life in Christ.
Or email us here at Heartfelt Conversations with Diana and we will pass along your information for you.
Congratulations if you are a brand new Christian or if you have Returned Home! Welcome!!! Get in God’s Word and get it into you!
Diana’s Home Church:
Valley Family Church - Pastor’s Eric and Alexa Jones
www.valleyfamilychurch.org
Other recommended Jesus-centered churches who teach the True Word of God:
Elevation Church - Steven Furtick
https://elevationchurch.org/
Joseph Prince Ministries - Joseph Prince
https://www.josephprince.org/
Joyce Meyer Ministries
https://joycemeyer.org/