“From the Heart” teaching by Drs. Rodney & Adonica Howard-Browne.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
Galatians 5:22-23 KJV
When we are born again and we receive Jesus Christ of Nazareth as our Lord and Savior, the Spirit of God transforms our heart and makes us a brand new creature. We no longer have the same sinful desires or motivation. If we allow the Holy Spirit to continue the work in us that He has begun, we will find that we are changed from glory to glory. Instead of the works of the flesh being manifested in our lives, the fruit of the Spirit is manifested. We become blessed and a blessing. The Agape love of God is a fruit of the Spirit.
And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. Romans 5:5 KJV
The Holy Spirit is the one who deposits the Agape love of God in our hearts and the one who works in us to strengthen us in the love of God. If we don’t have the love of God flowing through us then we have nothing. Without love, even all the wonderful gifts and talents that God has given us, are nothing but hollow and noisy.
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.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 1 Corinthians 13:1-8 NIV
Some things, like the gifts of the Spirit, are only useful to us here on the earth. We will no longer have any need of them when we get to heaven. But the love of God will always endure. We will always need the love of God and we will always walk in the love of God, in heaven and throughout eternity. When the Holy Spirit lives big on the inside of us, He guides us into all the truth and we choose to walk in love instead of the way the world walks.
“But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you.
“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ lend to ‘sinners,’ expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Luke 6:27-36 NIV
We demonstrate the true love of God, not when we love those who love us, but when we love those who hate us, despise us, use us, abuse us and who try to take advantage of us. The manner in which we conduct ourselves under these difficult circumstances is the measure of the fruit of the love of God that is developed and manifested in our lives.
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34-35 NIV
When the fruit of the love of God is manifested in your life by the way you love others, then people will know that you are a child of God and a follower of Jesus. It is not what you say that counts as much as what you live and what you do!
