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Good morning, everyone. Today
is the 1st of March, Sunday morning. I hope you all are having a good
weekend. And if I were to entitle this
devotional, if I were to give it a title, I would call it The
Fruit of the Spirit is Love, Not Intelligence. The Fruit of
the Spirit is Love, Not Intelligence. A lot of people have the idea
that the fruit of the spirit is intelligence. The higher their
IQ, the better they are at doing research, the more they are able to find
out things that no one else knows. The more contacts they have in
the intelligence community, is a spirit, is evidence of the
spirit. But intelligence, it is a gift
of God, but the fruit of the spirit is love. There's a contrast
between relying upon one's intelligence and relying upon the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is the one who guides us into all truth. Just because we have information
doesn't mean we have truth. Just because we have a high IQ
doesn't mean we have the fruit of the spirit. And I think that oftentimes we
get that mixed up. God is love, and he that dwelleth
in love dwelleth in God and God in him. The love of God is shed
abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. The Holy Ghost isn't given to
everyone, okay? There are a lot of people out
there that know the Bible intellectually, know the history of the Bible,
know the history of religion, know the history of the Christian
faith, but have not the Spirit. The love of God is shed abroad
in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. Unto
you which believe, he is precious. We love him because he first
loved us. Galatians 5.22, 1 John 4.16,
Romans 5.5. The love of Christ constraineth
us because we thus judge that if one died for all, then we
were all dead and that he died for all that they which live.
should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which
died for them and rose again. Ye yourselves are taught of God
to love one another. This is my commandment, that
ye love one another as I have loved you. Above all things,
have fervent charity among yourselves. where charity shall cover the
multitude of sins. Walk in love as Christ also has
loved us and has given himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice
to God for a sweet-smelling savor. 1 Thessalonians 4.9, John 15.12,
1 Peter 4.8, and Ephesians 5.22. If God be for us, who can be
against us? Welcome aboard Rick Matorik.
Good to see you this morning on this first day of March. The
Lord is on our side. We will not fear what man can
do unto us. The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is
the strength of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid? Though
a host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear.
Though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident.
Behold, God himself is with us for our captain. The Lord of
hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge. Romans 8, 31, Psalm 118, 6, Psalm
64, Psalm 27, 1 and 3, and 2 Chronicles 13, 12. Now, look at the contrast. Again,
we said that the fruit of the Spirit is love, not intelligence. The fruit of the Spirit is love,
but look at the contrast. We find, of course, in Psalm
2, why do the heathen rage and the people imagine a vain thing?
He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh, the Lord shall have
them in derision. Take counsel together, it shall
come to naught. Speak the word and it shall not
stand, for God is with us. When we are born again by the
Spirit of God, everything changes in our perspective. Welcome aboard,
Alcila France Perez, and welcome aboard all the rest of you who
have joined us on YouTube, as well as on Facebook and the other
channels. uh, and the ones that will hear
this later on. But the point that I want to
bring out today is that I've heard people get up and say,
you know, I've even heard a pastor say one time, you know, my, my
family was always amazed at how smart I was. Well, you know,
being smart is one thing, but having the fruit of the spirit
is something else. You know, have you ever had someone
tell you you're about as sharp as a marble? You know, that person that is
saying, be able to discern someone else that is not sharp. But that
is not having the fruit of the spirit. That's not being loving,
chiding someone else. That's the problem with so-called
science today. these scientists, these doctors
of science, doctors of physics and physiology and chemistry
and microbiology and anthropology and sociology and psychology
and all the other methods of learning as it were,
you know, lack one thing, and that is the Holy Spirit. Because they are relying upon
things that are not true. Evolution, Darwinian evolutionary
theory is a lie. Astrophysics is a lie. The Bible is true. Let God be
true and every man a liar. The foolishness of God is wiser
than man. We're told in first Corinthians
one, the wisdom of this world is not the fruit of the spirit.
The politics of this world is not the fruit of the spirit.
We can see all of the backbiting and contention and finger pointing. by just watching the debates.
We can see that this is not an exhibition of the fruit of the
spirit. The fruit of the spirit is love, charity, long suffering, kindness,
joy. Those who have not the spirit
are full of all subtlety and pride and malice and anger and
rage and hate. But those of us who have been
born again by the spirit of God, we don't trust in our intelligence.
We trust in the one who made us, our creator. We don't worship,
we worship the creator, not the creature. What a contrast between those
who are born of the Spirit and those who are dead in their trespasses
and sin. What a contrast between those
who are loved and those who are full of rage and hate. Why do
the heathen rage and the people imagine a vain thing? Why? Because they have not the Spirit
of God. David prayed, take not thy Holy Spirit from me. Blessed
is the man whom God chooses. And we are blessed with all spiritual
blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, who walk not
after the flesh, but after the Spirit, who mind the things of
the Spirit, not the things of the flesh. And so let us remember that the
fruit of the spirit is not intelligence. I'm not saying that God has not
given us a mind to use our mind. But without the spirit, we will
not be able to think clearly because the Holy Spirit guides
us into all truth. Mysteries. Mysteries of the earth,
the moon, and the sun. Mysteries of many things that
are invisible to see. Mysteries of eternity and the
relationship between the father and the son. Mysteries of magnetism,
light, and electricity. Mysteries of the afterlife and
eternity past. Mysteries of the future looking
through a dark glass. Mysteries of heaven. and what
it will be like. Thank you for revealing to us
the mystery of your son, Jesus. You know, the mind of man is
really something to think about with all its functions in the
five senses. What a wonderful creator to create
the human brain. It causes great contemplation
and we can't refrain from thinking about this divine creator and
his majestic perfection. by contemplating on Him and how
He's given His people divine protection. It's an even greater
thing to contemplate how He saved us from death and hell. Yes,
He took us out of the horrible pit and now we contemplate on
Him and in heavenly places sit. Well, you know what, the fruit
of the Spirit also is having spiritual understanding. There
are many things that I don't understand, but this one thing
I do know, I know Christ who has the world in the palm of
his hand. I may not know much about physics or chemistry. I
may not know much about electronics or electricity, but I do know
the one who stills the wind and calms the sea. I may not know
Hebrew or Greek or quadratic equations, but I do know the
one who gave me eternal salvation. I may not know important people
or celebrities, but I know the one who created them all as well
as you and me. I may not know economics or how
to get wealth, but I do know the one who grants spiritual
health. I may not know false science and heliocentricity,
but I do know the one who shed his blood on Calvary for me.
I may not know Latin, French, or Portuguese, but I do know
the one who made the stars and the trees. I may not know medicine,
herbs, and plants, but I do know the one, to me, who forgiveness
grants. So if you think you're wise in
all worldly things, only Christ can bring knowledge the world
cannot bring. Well, what is the result of being given the Holy Spirit of God?
What is the result of that? Well, we long for a cool cup
of water that will quench our spiritual thirsts. Christ gives
us that living water and it never runs dry. He bought it with His
blood, we're the apple of His eye. When we're in need of comfort
and we're in need of care, we cry out to our Abba Father and
He's always there. When friends and family forsake
you and me, we can always know our precious loving Savior, how
He loves us so. Thank you, Lord, for placing
us where the cool waters flow. Well, when we look toward the
future with just our natural eyes, the future looks dim and
we do it despise. But if we look to the future
with spiritual eyes, there's nothing grander for us to surmise. Eternal life with Christ, I find
a wonderful thought. Oh, what a glorious future for
God's people He has wrought. All sorrows, tears, and sufferings
will forever be gone, and in paradise with Christ our Savior,
we will forever live on. So, this morning let us realize
that the fruit of the Spirit is love, not intelligence. God's works are marvelous and
great to think upon. His mercy and His grace, on His
mercy and grace we can rely. Our eternal future is better
than any past memory. The communion and fellowship
with Him in the great by and by. Even though our fellowship
is sweet now, even though clouded by a world of sin, just think
how much more precious it will be with Him then. not having
this battle between the spirit and the flesh and the devil,
but in the new Jerusalem, never again having to contend with
evil. And this is all made certain by God's mighty work of redemption,
granting us forgiveness and giving us admission into the greatest
paradise we could ever imagine. He says he's preparing for us
a place in heaven. His preparations are perfect
and without any taints of sin, thinking on God's works from
beginning to the end. is a marvelous exercise for those
who are born again. You know, there are many things
we can't understand, how God created the world in six days,
holds the world in the palm of his hand, how our salvation was
planned by him before time began, how Satan and evil were all a
part of this plan. To reveal unto us His Son, being
born in a manger and dying on the cross to save our souls from
danger, of being cast into hell, fire and
loss, reconciling us to His God, His death, what a tremendous
cost. Yes, there are many things we
cannot fully understand, but for God's people, He has revealed
His Son in them. Well, I want to encourage everyone
today to remember, always remember that
the fruit of the spirit is love, not intelligence. People kind
of have it mixed up, don't they? Growing up, Jesus was known as
a carpenter's son. helping his father work with
wood that Christ had created from trees that he had made.
We're told in the beginning, God created heaven and the earth.
All things were created by him. Even the tree, even the trees,
Joseph the carpenter worked with as a part of his trade. But Jesus
is the greatest carpenter that ever lived, building an eternal
kingdom with his hands, not with wooden stubble as this kingdom
made. but with the precious blood of Jesus, when he freely laid
his life down on Calvary for all of God's elect, the ones
that the Father for him did select. The carpenter's son was the greatest
builder that could ever be, giving eternal life for all of the elect
family. Well, may the good Lord be with
you today is my prayer. And let us always remember that
the fruit of the Spirit is love, not intelligence. God bless. you.
The Fruit of The Spirit is Love, Not Intelligence
Series Devotional
| Sermon ID | 31201472718 |
| Duration | 18:51 |
| Date | |
| Category | Devotional |
| Bible Text | Galatians 5:22 |
| Language | English |
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