Fruits of the spirit 3: Yet another look at love.

Galatians 5:22-23

King James Version (KJV)

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

1 Corinthians 13

King James Version (KJV)

13 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.

2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.
3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.
4 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,
5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;
7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
8 Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.
9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.
10 But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.
11 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.
13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

John 13:35

By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

We are living in a very selfish society. In fact, we are living in the age that scripture warned us about: "Because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold." (Mt 24:12)

The younger generations have been described as "the ME generation." In just a few short years, we've gone from "Ask not what your country can do for you," to "What's in it for me?" 

Almost all of our decisions in our society are based on that one concept. "What looks like it will benefit me the most in my opinion?" That last phrase, "in my opinion," is extremely important. We vote for who will benefit us the most. We jump from job to job based on what's best to us. We (and I'm not advocating this) jump from spouse to spouse because the new one looks easier to deal with, or looks more attractive (we think), or can provide us a better standard of living, etc. 

For the Christian, our motivations in life should start and end with, A) what does Jesus want me to do?, and b) LOVE. 

Our questions should be like these: "What benefits the kingdom of God more?" "What will benefit my family more?" 

Love doesn't change because we hit a rough stretch on our road of life. Love is in it for the long haul (Beareth all things, suffereth long, seeketh not her own, etc). Indeed, when we pray and hold onto each other through the hard times, it makes our love grow and makes the good times that much better.

I once heard a story. I don't know who wrote it (or I'd give them credit here). I don't know if it is true or an allegory. But, it illustrates true love to me like no other story I've ever heard,  short of Calvary. 

There once was a man who was the president of a large Christian college. In his time there, he had expanded the programs and had been personally responsible for helping to send many preachers and missionaries to the world.

However, his wife came down with Alzheimer's disease. Because of this, he tendered his resignation in order to take care of her. The board of regents and many Christian leaders implored him to stay on and not step down. 

"Just put her in a home," some said. Others said, "Put her in a hospice care." "You're not equipped to take care of her anyway." "You have a great ministry here. You can't give it up for her. Besides, she doesn't remember who you are!"

With tears in his eyes, the man looked at these people and answered them: "This woman has faithfully stood by my side for over thirty years. She birthed our children. She stayed beside me in good times and she stayed beside me in the bad times. She loved me when I was right, and when I was wrong. She may not remember me. But, I remember her. And I will care for her and love her till death do us part and beyond."

With that, he left the board room forever.

Love truly means putting others first, no matter how difficult that may be. If we love our spouses and families, we will do what we need to do in order to care for them. We will lead them in the ways of God because we love them and God. If we love Jesus we will keep his commandments. 

No matter how hard it may be, how much trouble it may cause us, how much effort we have to put forth, we are to love others. 

That means swallowing our pride. That means not worrying about who's right in an argument. That means being willing to die for them. 

This is why we need the spirit of God. We cannot love others the way the Lord commands unless we let him love them through us. 

Let us stay connected to the branch so that his love can be shed abroad in our hearts and we can bear the fruit of love. And when hungry people are seeking the Lord, they will be drawn to him through the love fruit they see hanging on our branches. 

Sometimes, real men need to sit down.

John 6

King James Version (KJV)

6 After these things Jesus went over the sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias.

² And a great multitude followed him, because they saw his miracles which he did on them that were diseased.

³ And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there he sat with his disciples.

⁴ And the passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh.

⁵ When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?

⁶ And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do.

⁷ Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little.

⁸ One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, saith unto him,

⁹ There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?

¹⁰ And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.

¹¹ And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would.

¹² When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.

¹³ Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten.

¹⁴ Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world.

My pastor preached "little is much with God" out of this section today. It was truly a very good message. However, I must confess that, as he read the scriptures, my mind went a slightly different direction. So, let's take a look. 

The first thing that caught my attention was the fact that it was NIGH Passover. In other words, it was very close to Passover. Without going into a great amount of detail, there was a lot of things that had to be prepared for Passover. 

             A) They had to find just the right lamb (unblemished in any way). This lamb had to be killed and prepared for their table in specific ways using specific herbs. 

            B) The unleavened bread had to be prepared (not a fast process, to say the least). There were also dipping sauces made with bitter herbs that had to be made. 

            C) The list goes on. 

Suffice it to say that to prepare for the Passover was not a microwave process. It could take days to prepare for this special and God-ordained day. 

Yet, what were these masses of people doing to prepare for this high Holy day? Following an itinerant preacher they knew little about because they had heard he was a miracle worker. 

Though this is a good place to start (Jesus did say, "Believe me that I am in the father and the Father in me, or else believe me for the very works sake." Translation, "believe what I say, but if you have trouble with that, at least believe the miracles.") but this should not be our stopping place.

Many follow Jesus for what he can DO for them. Indeed, to some, he's a spiritual candy machine: press the button (pray) and down drops the delicious treat. Again, Jesus says this is a good starting point. It's weak faith, at best. Those who follow him for what he can do, will soon stop following him because they didn't get the desired result when they pressed the prayer button.  

Back to our story. These people were following Jesus, but disobeying the law of God. Let that sink into your craw a minute. Jesus was (and is) God in the flesh, yet, on this day the masses that followed him were breaking the law because they were not preparing for the God ordained Passover meal. 

There were 5000 men (and who knows how many women and children) there who should have been out looking for that perfect lamb to use. The women should have been preparing the unleavened bread and sauces, getting the clothing ready, etc. Husbands and wives should have been using this as an opportunity to teach their young children about what God did on the first Passover, when he set his people free from Egyptian bondage. Yet, here they all were, following Jesus. 

Jesus, as the author of the law himself, had every right to condemn these people. He could have openly and strongly rebuked these folks. But, he didn't. He had a higher purpose in mind than the Passover formalities- though they were important. After all, he would soon fulfill Passover on a rugged cross. He was after their hearts and minds, not just mere legalities. 

Rather than rebuke or destroy them, he had mercy on them. He notices their predicament. These people need fed. So, knowing full well what he is going to do, he asks his disciples: Where we gonna get bread to feed all these folks? 

His disciples are flabbergasted! Are you kidding me Lord? All these people? Why even if we had close to 8 months of wages (a penny is a days wages in scripture. They had a 6 day work week. Do the math and that's about 33 weeks- or nearly 8 months- of wages), we could never feed this many, Lord.

Phillip had pointed out the lack of supplies to get the job done. Andrew then, showing a little more faith, points out that there's a young boy with 5 loaves and 2 fishes. 5 BARLEY loaves, at that. As my pastor pointed out today, Barley was the poor man's wheat and flower. The poor couldn't afford the good stuff. So, not only do they only have 5 loaves, but it's not very good quality stuff. Not much to work with, to be sure. 

Then Jesus decides this is enough for him (God almighty) to work with. He takes this little bit and feeds the multitudes with an abundance left over to boot. This little boy gave truly all he had, and God blessed it to bless thousands! 

But, there's something else he did first. He ordered the men of the multitude to sit down. Right there, in a field and on the side of a mountian. No comfy chairs. No Air conditioning. Just hard ground with a little grass to soften it slightly. These men should have been out providing the Passover meal for their own families. Instead, they are being told to sit down. In other words:

                          "Get out of my (Jesus) way and let me work! I'll have mercy on you and provide for your needs- even though you are disobeying me by being here in the first place." 

We men are told by God to provide for the needs of our families and help others with theirs. We are told, as preachers, to instruct and feed the flock of God diligently. Pray, work, give until it hurts (our all- not just money). 

But, sometimes, in spite of what we are supposed to be doing, God will find us in the wrong place, at the wrong time, doing (or not doing) our best to fulfill the burdens placed on us. Like these folks, we get sidetracked and find ourselves drawn away from what we should be doing. Before we know it, we're in a real fix.

Away from home and totally helpless. We try and hunt in vain for the provision we should give our families (physically and spiritually), to no avail. We are at the end of our rope with nowhere else to go. We will die, if there is no divine intervention. 

But Jesus, as he did for these men, calls to us men and tells us to....SIT DOWN. Take a load off. DO NOTHING. Leave it all to me.

If you find yourself in this predicament, take heart. Whatever your need, trust him to fulfill it. He will! He fed the multitudes full of rebellion and he will care for us and our needs, too.

These men could have thrown their hands up in the air and stopped following Jesus altogether. They could have struck out on their own, dragging their families behind them, in a desperate attempt to do what's right. If they had, they'd have been wrong- and they would've died apart from Jesus. 

We are the God ordained provider for our homes, but HE gives us what we need to give our families. Wisdom, food, shelter, godly instruction, it all comes from God to us. Our job is to do what we are supposed to do and follow Jesus. 

When we find ourselves hogtied by our situation though, our job is to pray and sit. Let him handle the struggle. He will come through in his mercy! 

When the Lord refuses a sacrifice.

15 Samuel also said unto Saul, The Lord sent me to anoint thee to be king over his people, over Israel: now therefore hearken thou unto the voice of the words of the Lord.

² Thus saith the Lord of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt.
³ Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.
⁴ And Saul gathered the people together, and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand footmen, and ten thousand men of Judah.
⁵ And Saul came to a city of Amalek, and laid wait in the valley.
⁶ And Saul said unto the Kenites, Go, depart, get you down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them: for ye shewed kindness to all the children of Israel, when they came up out of Egypt. So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites.
⁷ And Saul smote the Amalekites from Havilah until thou comest to Shur, that is over against Egypt.
⁸ And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.
⁹ But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but every thing that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly.
¹⁰ Then came the word of the Lord unto Samuel, saying,
¹¹ It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments. And it grieved Samuel; and he cried unto the Lord all night.
¹² And when Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning, it was told Samuel, saying, Saul came to Carmel, and, behold, he set him up a place, and is gone about, and passed on, and gone down to Gilgal.
¹³ And Samuel came to Saul: and Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of the Lord: I have performed the commandment of the Lord.
¹⁴ And Samuel said, What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?
¹⁵ And Saul said, They have brought them from the Amalekites: for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed.
¹⁶ Then Samuel said unto Saul, Stay, and I will tell thee what the Lord hath said to me this night. And he said unto him, Say on.
¹⁷ And Samuel said, When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the Lord anointed thee king over Israel?
¹⁸ And the Lord sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed.
¹⁹ Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the Lord, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the Lord?
²⁰ And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and have gone the way which the Lord sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.
²¹ But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God in Gilgal.
²² And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.
²³ For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king.
²⁴ And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.
²⁵ Now therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship the Lord.
²⁶ And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee: for thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord hath rejected thee from being king over Israel.
²⁷ And as Samuel turned about to go away, he laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle, and it rent.
²⁸ And Samuel said unto him, The Lord hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbour of thine, that is better than thou.
²⁹ And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should repent.
³⁰ Then he said, I have sinned: yet honour me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship the Lord thy God.
³¹ So Samuel turned again after Saul; and Saul worshipped the Lord.
³² Then said Samuel, Bring ye hither to me Agag the king of the Amalekites. And Agag came unto him delicately. And Agag said, Surely the bitterness of death is past.
³³ And Samuel said, As thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the Lord in Gilgal.
³⁴ Then Samuel went to Ramah; and Saul went up to his house to Gibeah of Saul.
³⁵ And Samuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death: nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul: and the Lord repented that he had made Saul king over Israel.


Saul was given great position, blessings, honor, and responsibility. He loved the position, blessings, and honor. But, he tried to circumvent the responsibility. Therefore, he lost out with God.

Popular teaching today says that "God always honors our sacrifices." Really? He rejected Saul's. He rejected Cain's. Why? He rejects all sacrifices that are contrary to his word and ways of doing things.

When God's word says for us to live one way, but we reject that and live another, how can we expect God to bless what we try to do for him?

We buy into the popular theologies of the day that tell us of God's love for us, his desire for us to prosper, and all the blessings he wishes to give us. But, a half truth is a whole lie. These "doctrines" don't give the whole picture.

Samuel told Saul, "to obey is better than sacrifice..." The Lord is looking for a people that will submit and obey him. Many are the people who try, like Saul and Cain, to reach God their own way- without following the whole counsel of God.

Jesus' response to this attitude rings loud and clear: "narrow is the gate that leadeth to life, and few there be that FIND it.."

God's not gonna force us to live for him. He died for us. He'll help us to live for him and make heaven. But, he won't force us to obey. That choice is ours to make. We can give all we own to the needy, and still not make it. We can sing or preach to thousands, but be lost in the end.

We MUST obey him. The christian life is simple, really. It's a walk of faithful obedience to God. No matter what come our way or who comes against us, we must stay the path. If we will choose to obey him in all we do, we will barely make it in. Peter said, "If the righteous SCARCELY be saved..."

So, what is our choice? To obey, or not to obey? That is the question. (Sorry Shakespeare) Do we try Saul's way and go through the motions but cut corners off that we don't like? Or, do we pray and study and follow what we find there?

Time will tell. "As for me and my house, we shall serve the Lord."

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Who knows better what's best for us: God or us?

Psalm 47

 ¹O clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph.

 ²For the LORD most high is terrible; he is a great King over all the earth.

 ³He shall subdue the people under us, and the nations under our feet.

 ⁴He shall choose our inheritance for us, the excellency of Jacob whom he loved. Selah.

The question has arisen anew for me in recent days. I have things I see that I would like to happen. Yet, as good for me as these things appear to be, every time I have reached out for them, something happens to stop them. Why? Does God not see how beneficial these things will be for me? Does he not see how bad things are where I am at and I need to get out of here? Does he take some perverse pleasure in watching me struggle? OR, does he have me exactly where he wants me and HIS way is better than my way?

This is an age old problem for us humans. Our arguments rise as our flesh rages: God gave me a good mind and he expects me to use it. I don't have to ask him about every little decision in my life. 

So, we look. We reach. We try to grasp hold of the things we want. We pray and ask God for them. We may even fast to try and force God's hand to let us have them. Then, we get angry when he doesn't allow us to have what we think we need. 

We seemingly never stop to ask some important questions. A) Does God want us to have the things we want to have? B) Why doesn't he want us to have them?

Psalms 47 teaches us that HE will choose our inheritance for us. Notice that it doesn't say that he will give us what we think we need or want. Yes, the scriptures declare that he will give us the desires of our hearts. But, this is only as we delight ourselves in HIM. OUR will must be submitted wholly and completely to HIS will. When this happens, OUR desires come in line with HIS desires. THEN and only then will he give us the desires of our hearts. 

We see the same pattern here in Psalms 47. We worship and praise him with all we are and have. We elevate him to LORD (supreme controller) and KING (ruler) of our lives- then HE decides what is best for us to have. The scriptures truly ring true. We have not because a) we ask not (I don't have to ask God about every little thing- or do I?) or b) because we ask amiss (We don't ask according to HIS will, but ours). 

If we will truly humble ourselves and submit to HIS Lordship over us, the scriptures teach that he will withhold NO GOOD THING from us. BUT, we must allow HIM to decide was is good for us, rather than insisting that our way is better. 

He knows all things. We do not. He sees the ends from the beginning. We do not. Don't bite into that fruit just because it looks good to you. Next time, listen to God. We don't want to repeat what our ancient parents did in the garden now do we?

A tale of three father's: Abraham

"Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee: ...So Abram departed, as the Lord had spoken unto him..." Genesis 12:1-4

There are many great men in scripture, but few stand out like Abraham. He is called the "Father of faith".

First of all, it must be pointed out that Abraham was not perfect. The great thing about scripture (and one of the proofs of it's validity. After all, if it were, as some suppose, written after the fact as a way to try and prove the validity of it's teachings, the many faults of the people would not be included. These things would've been left out as a way to show how great the religion was, not included.), is that it always speaks the truth.

The great Abraham, who left home, family, and friends behind at 75 years old, because God had spoken to him, made many mistakes (don't we all?). He lied to at least 2 kings to protect his own skin. He displayed an appalling lack of faith, as well as caused many a problem for people today some 4000 years later, by accepting his wife's handmaid as a second wife in order to try and raise up the heir that God seemed to not be bringing. The resulting child, Ishmael, was not the promised son through which the Messiah would come. Rather, he became the father of the Arab world that gives us and Israel such a hard time. Sin does effect others besides the one who sins, even 4000 years later.

So why is he called the Father of faith? He left his homeland on a promise that he would be given a special land of his own, but he wasn't told where it was or how long it would take to get there. He repented when he messed up, but never permanently lost his faith in God. Probably the biggest reason, however, is that he had so much faith in God that he was willing to sacrifice the very son of promise- Isaac- when he was asked to, believing that even if God didn't stop him from doing it, then God would certainly raise his son from the dead! (Hebrews 11:17-19)

As we discussed before, to get back on topic, Abraham and Job were both alive at around the same time period. We already know why God did not choose Job to be the Father of many nations through whom he would bless the world- his parenting style. Why then did God choose Abraham?

We've already seen that Abraham was not perfect. Seemingly, in some ways, he was not as devout a man as Job was, so why Abraham instead of Job? The answer is simple and wonderful. It is also attainable for us today! Not being the "Father of faith" or the "Father of many nations". Those titles will forever belong to Abraham.

We can, however, obtain the blessing of God for us, our children, and those we come in contact with. Abraham was told in Genesis 12:1-4 that God would bless those that bless Abraham and curse those that curse Abraham. Can we attain this promise for ourselves? Yes, I believe we can. But what was it about Abraham that qualified him for this promise?

"And the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I know him, that he will command his children, and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgement; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him." Genesis 18: 17-19

So what were Abraham's qualifications and what is the pattern for us to follow?

First, God said of him, "I know him..."! This is very important. God didn't say, I used to know him or I will know him, he said (present tense), "I know him". The first qualification is to be in current, active, and intimate relationship with God! When Adam and Eve were married, it says "and Adam knew Eve.." in reference to their intimate loving relationship together. God desires to "know" each and every one of us. He desires to have that spiritually intimate relationship with US! The first step of qualification is for us to "be born again". Acts 2:38 is the ONLY New Testament plan of salvation. It says for us to "Repent, and be baptized...in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." If you haven't done that, you will be unable to do the rest and you'll miss the blessings God has for you.

Second, God says of Abraham that "he will COMMAND his children and his household after him.."! The second key, father's, is that we are to BE THE HEAD OF OUR HOMES! We are not to cower to the wife and children and let them do whatever they wish and order us around. We are to be THE AUTHORITY in our home. A word of caution here is needed, however. This authority does not make us a dictator. If we are a dictator, we break 2 New Testament commands for us to follow and, therefore, disqualify ourselves as taking part in the promise we are studying today.

One is the command for us to love our wives as Christ loved the church and GAVE HIMSELF for it. This is not a dictatorship, but rather a loving and self-sacrificial leadership that puts her needs before his own, up to and including being willing to die for her safety!

The other command is the admonition to "provoke not your children to wrath". This, again is not a dictatorship. Rather, it is loving leadership that doesn't mind explaining why we do this and don't do that. A dictator will cause his children to become bitter and end up suffering the wrath of God.

However, it also is an attitude of "the buck stops here." The final decision maker in the home is the Father! The wife and children have the right to give input, but his final and prayerful decision MUST be followed by all in his home and he must love them enough to COMMAND that they not cross the line.

The final qualification is that his family will, as a result of his Godly leadership, "keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgement.." If we lead in a way that helps them to follow God's ways, then the result is a Godly home and Godly children!

But here's the real kicker, though: "...that THE LORD may bring upon Abraham (us) that which he hath spoken of him."! Even in this doing, God promises those of us who meet his qualifications, that he will help us to meet them and bring his blessings and promises to bear in our lives! What a promise and responsibility! God wants to bless us, our homes, and our family tree after us. What he needs is for us to lovingly submit to him in obedience.

Next time we will study, "An Isaac Faith". Until then, God bless!