The Notes

This coming Wednesday night, October 21, 2026, we continue our message series on the topic - Fruit of the Spirit.  We are taking an in depth look at what it means for the nine fruits of the Spirit to be produced in our lives.  This week, we focus on the fruits: peace and patience.  Join us at 6:00 p.m. for an uplifting message and some mid-week encouragement for the soul. 

If you can't join us in person, you can always participate through our Facebook page.  We go "live" at 6:00 p.m., and you will have a front row seat.  If you can't join us live, there are 3 ways to watch the message later - on Facebook, on YouTube, or here on our website. (the "Past & Future Messages" page).  Watch anytime!  

This week, October 14, 2026, we continued our new message series on the Fruits of the Spirit with an in depth dive into each of the 9 fruits listed in Galatians 5:22-23 - "the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law."

As you recall from last week, this fruit grows from the Spirit’s indwelling presence in our hearts. The Holy Spirit produces this fruit and makes us more like God, and less like us, when we are willing to surrender to the Spirit's transformational process.  This happens as we give up our natural desires (the thoughts and actions of the flesh), and yield control to the Spirit of God.

It is one of the primary functions of the Spirit in our lives.

  2 Corinthians 3:18 says: “And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.”

So throughout this study over the new few weeks, keep reminding yourself that it's the Spirit who brings out God’s attributes in us through our surrender.  It doesn't happen because we are trying harder.

Of the 9 fruits of the Spirit listed, the first one is the most important.  Let's dive into love.   As Paul said in 1 Corinthians 13:13 - "the greatest of these is love."

No matter what else we do in life, it’s meaningless if we don’t have love.  It doesn’t matter what awards you win, what job you have, how much money in the bank, how talented you are, or whether you have superpowers, without love in your heart, what you have is nothing!  1 Corinthians 13:1-3 says it tis way:

 “If I could speak all the languages of earth abd of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.  If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing.  If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.”

Love is the foundation from which everything else flows.

When Jesus was asked about the greatest commandment, He answered: “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.” – Matt. 22:37.   It is the “first and greatest commandment” given to us. 

But here's the thing - our love for God comes as a response to His love for us.  We don't have to manufacture it; it's responsive.  1 John 4:19 says: “We love because He first loved us.”  Not only does our love for God come as a response to God's love, but it's also true that having love for others naturally flows from God's love as well.  When we surrender to God's love, He fills us with His love so that we are able to love each other.  It’s not always easy to love others, but that's because of the battle of our 2 inner spirits as we discussed last week.  We have the Spirit of God, but also our natural, human spirit.  Our human spirit says "mine," and the Holy Spirit says, "give it away."  Our human spirit says "that person hurt me" and the Holy Spirit says, "forgive as you have been forgiven."

Consider this truth - God is love.  That’s who God is, that's what God is, and that's how God responds - with love.

Romans 5:8 – “But God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

God is still love when we’re at our worst. God still loves when we’re wrong.  He loves us when we’re disobedient; acting out; rejecting Him; when we have failed.

He loves us when we sinners, and when we're saints.  His greatest act of love (Jesus on the cross) happened for us as sinners, before we knew Him.  And nothing can ever stop God from loving us, or showing His love.

Romans 8:38 says – “And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.”

Because God is Love, God shows love.  he shows it to the just and the unjust.  Matthew 5:44-45 – “But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!  In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.”  That means God is who He is no matter the person He is dealing with.  Can we say the same?  That we act in the same loving manner to all people equally?

This is where the Holy Spirit must transform us.  Because truth be told, we love most easily when people love us back.  We don’t love well at all when we’re mistreated; when our good deeds are met with grumbling; when we are disrespected; when we have felt rejected.   That's when we don't want to show love or be loving.

But 1 John 4:8 says – “But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.”  That tells us we have to love because that's who we are, just like God is love because that's who He is. 

1 John 4:7 - “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God.”  That means, we can still love others because the Holy Spirit is producing God’s love in us.  If we let another person's actions cause us to not be a loving person, then we are changed by that person and not changed by the Spirit of God.

Maybe that's why there is a saying, God is more interested in our reactions to life than our actions.  How we react shows which spirit is truly in control of our hearts.  Is it God's Spirit, or our human spirit?

Love is inside us, a result of the Spirit’s indwelling presence.  So if you’re willing for this fruit to grow in your life, it will.  You only need to feed it.  Fertilize it.  By that I mean, use scripture to set the course of your day and align your heart with God's heart.  Surrender you and be willing to be more like God.   

One more fruit we discussed in this second week - Joy.  

Joy is our response to God’s love, blessings, mercy, and grace.

Joy is knowing you’re loved, that you have a home being prepared for you, that you have a place at God's table!

Joy is knowing God fights your battles; He defends you.  Joy is knowing that all things work for good!  Joy flows naturally from what the Holy Spirit tells us is true.  And with that comes strength.

Nehemiah 8:10 - “Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”

The joy of the Lord is joy that doesn’t depend on our circumstances.  It’s joy that comes from knowing the Lord Himself . . . His forgiveness, His presence, His promises, and His faithful care for His people.  God’s joy allows us to live with an inner peace and strength that comes from a connection to the divine, rather than a temporary reaction to good circumstances.  Jesus said in John 15:11 – “I have told you these things so that My joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.”

Notice - it's His joy we receive; we don't have to manufacture joy.  And consider when Jesus said that.  Jesus spoke of joy right before His trial and crucifixion, events He knew were about to happen.

The way we have the Son’s joy is through the Holy Spirit.  Romans 15:13 - “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

“Overflow” is interesting because Jesus said our experience of the Holy Spirit would be like having “rivers of living water” in us.  John 7:38  - “Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”   What the Spirit wants to produce in us is joy that bubbles up, that flows like a river, and overflows to others.

Our lives need to reflect joy; they should reflect joy.  Don’t let the enemy steal your joy.  That's what he wants to do - he is a thief who wants to steal your joy and destroy your life.  Jesus said, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." (John 10:10).  How does the enemy steal our joy?  Through distractions.  Having us forget our blessings and God's goodness.  By causing us to have a wrong focus.  By causing us to dwell in a place of pain or grief.  But the Bible tells us - "Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning." (Psalms 30:5). 

Today, choose joy.  Choose to allow the Holy Spirit to produce more joy in your life.  Choose to surrender to God and let Him be Lord of your life.