Our text word for today urges us to walk circumspectly in our life, which means that we should walk being alert at all times, we should have our eyes open at all times, and we should be looking at all times for the opportunity to fulfil the word of God in our life. We should not become careless, otherwise we can be led away from the true path very easily, but if we are alert at all times, we will see the opportunity that we can do in our life to prepare our soul for the coming kingdom of God. We will see opportunities to help our brothers and sisters when they are in trouble.

The Apostle Paul said that while the sun is shining on our life we should seek out the good things because he said that evil times were coming into the world. Already in his day he saw it coming, and certainly in the world today we see evil coming in everywhere. We should make full use of the blessings of God, the word of God, the sacraments that God gives us, the forgiveness of our sins, the blessings of being able to come together and share love with each other, because as time goes on all these things will begin to be prevented.

In the markets we can see many stalls everywhere, but we should take our time to go from stall to stall to be sure that we buy the best that is available. It is no good buying fruit that is rotten before we get home. It is no good buying an article of clothing if it does not fit us. So it is in our Christian life. We have to seek out the best things that can help our Christian life.

We must take the best of what God has to offer us. Our Lord spoke a parable, we must find where the treasure is and forget everything else. Our Lord also gave a teaching at that time which offended the Jewish people. He was warning them that they would lose the kingdom of God, but it is a great teaching for the Christian church.

We find it written in Matthew Chapter 13 verses 45 and 46: Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.” The Jewish people who heard that teaching became very offended at the Lord’s words because we know that a pearl is made out of an oyster. The Jewish law had clean animals and unclean animals, and the oyster was an unclean animal. The Jewish people were not allowed to use oysters, and yet our Lord said that you will liken the kingdom of God unto a merchant that found the greatest pearl. He also taught the Apostle John in the Book of Revelation, when he showed him the elect or the spiritual temple of God, and each door was a pearl. That is why sometimes today we still hear about the pearly gates that we can go to when we pass from this life. What our Lord was teaching us was that He would become the greatest pearl. He would create the church as the greatest pearl.

If we take the oyster shell; it is fixed to a stone in the ocean, and it opens its shell, and it relies on the water and the waves to bring it food. It does not run here and there looking for food. This is how the church must be. The church must be built solidly on a stone Jesus Christ, and we must open our hearts and rely on God to bring us our food; not running here and running there to false Christs but allow the Holy Spirit to bring the bread of life and the food of life to us. Every now and then in the water comes a grain of sand, and that grain of sand lodges in the oyster. The oyster could reject that, but it does not. Even though it aggravates it and annoys it, the oyster puts around that grain of sand, a special covering. This covering grows and becomes strong, and finally becomes a precious pearl. That represents our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. He came to this earth to save the people, but they were like a grain of sand. They aggravated Him, they made Him a mockery, but He did not reject them. He took His life and He slowed that aggravation to make something good come out of that bad. He created what is like a big pearl. The aggravation of man covered in the love of God to make a great and precious pearl.

The church has to take the place of our Lord. We too are like the oyster. We have to wait for the blessings of God to come to us. Sometimes the grain of sand comes, and sometimes people aggravate us. We can reject them but that is not what the Lord wants us to do. “Do good to them that use you”, he said. Return love for hatred and we can put a coating of love around that aggravation and turn that aggravation into a precious pearl in the sight of God. We can see what our Lord meant by this parable. If we wish to go into that pearly gate and into the new Jerusalem, then we must also find pearls in our own life. In a description of the holy temple there are many gold and silver and ruby and precious stones of all kinds but none of them come from a living thing. The only one mentioned that comes from a living thing is the pearl. Christ is living. The church must be living. Then we can bring forth the pearl from this living Jesus Christ.

Remember to always acquire the best that is available, the righteousness of Christ, and we will be sure that we will be invited into the Kingdom of God.

God’s truth contained in this verse, and in other places in scripture, should always be at the forefront of our spiritual awareness. In summary, it tells us not to put anything above God in our lives – not even ourself. The Holy Bible, the world around us and our own lives prove these words are an inbuilt aspect of our human nature.

When questioned by the Pharisees, Jesus confirmed the Father’s desire for mankind to get this in the right order. Matthew 22:37-38, “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment.”

The previous two verses in this chapter are meant to be examples of aspects of life that are common to humanity across time and by highlighting them we should seek to avoid the same pitfalls today.

Verse 23 tells us that making an idol out of any natural aspect of this world that we can see corrupts our thinking and leads us away from placing God above all. In the time of Paul’s writing, he referred to statues or images of creatures / animals we can see. Today we can see this same shift of priorities when the created world is given more worship than the God who created it.

Verse 24 adds to the creatures from the animal Kingdom the awareness that we too can become a creature of our own worship. If we submit to the bodily lusts, that come from our human nature without maintaining control and the ordinance of God, we will follow our own desires rather than God’s purpose. It is then that we require the Holy Spirit to assist from within so we are able to submit our will to God’s will for our lives.

Jesus also dealt with this order of priorities when giving His sermon on the mount. Matthew 6:33, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”

The choice to be lifted up in honour versus broken down in destruction would seem to be an easy one to make. Yet the way to make the right choice is contrary to our human nature. We have an inbuilt desire to strive for gain but a sad indictment on our human condition is that if we achieve some success our heart is soon inclined to haughtiness.

King Solomon spoke both of a haughty heart (Proverbs 16:18) and a haughty spirit (Proverbs 18:12) showing they were an internal part of us as a result of pride and arrogance. It results from attributing success to one’s own effort and skill.

Isaiah 57:15, “For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.” The original Hebrew word (‘gabahh’) when applied to the Almighty God as the high and holy one finds a suitable fit but when mankind takes on this demeanour be prepared to witness a fall!

Recognising that our blessings are from God under the Grace of His Son, is a much more truthful way to live our lives. Within this era of Grace, both Apostle James (James 4:6) and Apostle Peter (1 Peter 5:5) used this proverb to teach the people how to get their heart and spirit ‘right’ in the sight of God. Of course, the fulfilment of this scripture is embodied in the birth, life, and death of Jesus Christ on earth. Philippians 2:5-8, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”

He chose to be born as a child, in the likeness of man to humble parents. His life and teaching was at all times fulfilled in humility and obedience to His Father. His death on the cross saw Him despised and rejected by mankind. However, it was this humility that was then replaced by the honour bestowed upon Him by His Father giving Him a name above all names. Philippians 2:9, “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name.”

Our call to become ‘similar to His image’ should ensure this humility is a visible trait within the household of God. Embracing humility and obedience to the Heavenly Father during our life will ensure that God will also honour His church in due time.

As Apostle James wrote, the tongue is a small part of our body, yet it wields great power. Like a small rudder that steers a large ship (James 3:4-5). Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth. Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!” Great power can be used for good works, or for bad works. The same applies to a tongue, it can bring good words, or bad words (James 3:10). “Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.”

The Bible tells us clearly what not to say. Don’t swear or curse, don’t use God’s name in vain, don’t lie (bear false witness), don’t cause hurt, don’t provoke anger, don’t tempt. Exodus 20:7 “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.” Exodus 20:16 “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.” Proverbs 15:1 “A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.” Colossians 3:8 “But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.” James 1:19 “Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.”

Bad words are spoken as a result of inner feelings like wrath, fear, jealousy, pride, and envy. Controlling our feelings and what we say is an essential part of being a new man or creation in Christ. Apostle Paul’s writings in Colossians 3:10 and onwards tells us what this means. “And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him”.

Jesus Christ teaches on the different ways we can speak, and that it is the inner man (our heart) that dictates this. Matthew 12:35-37. “A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.  For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.” The words we speak reflect where our hearts are. They are like fruits that show what kind of tree.

This Word of Life text, Proverbs 25:11, likens a word fitly spoken to a fruit so splendorous that it can only be described as an apple of gold set in silver. Rather than telling us what not to say, this proverb is prompting us to say something good and appropriate and timely (when it is needed).

The golden apples we need to be ready to share are many and diverse: words to encourage, to make peace, to share joy, to comfort, to testify of our Faith.

• Proverbs 15:1, gentle words to stop a disagreement turning to violent words or actions.
• James 4:15, display humbleness and testify our dependence on God in all things.
• James 5:16, say sorry
• Proverbs 15:23, share joy
• 1 Peter 3:15, be ready for those opportunities to testify of your hope (Jesus Christ), do this in a loving way. It need not be a sermon.
• 1 Thessalonians 4:18, comfort those who mourn, or those who dread the happenings in this world.

Timeliness is so important; we all miss opportunities. We walk away in silence, later a voice inside tells us, “You missed a chance to help with some simple words”. If we reflect on this in sincere regret, pray to God and He will provide us another opportunity to use His Word.

We see the Apostle has likened the sword of the Lord to the word of God which is powerful, and it has the power to even divide between the soul and the spirit, and that is a very narrow line. We know that within each of us is the eternal soul, God given unto us, and we all have a spirit which leads us in our life. Sometimes it is a wayward spirit. Sometimes it takes us away from the word of God. Each time that happens those deeds of darkness enter into our soul, but with the word of God and the power of the Holy Spirit, and allowing that word of God to be a sword forever moving between our soul and our spirit we can discern that which is from God and that which is not from God.

That sword then, can do battle with the evil that is trying to contaminate our soul. It is so powerful that it can end that battle. We have to heed and hearken, and allow this spirit, this word of God to enter within our lives as this strong sword, and everything we hear and everything we do and everything we say we should always call on that sword to go between our soul and our spirit and tell us, advise us if it is from God, and if it is not from God then we should not partake of it. Nothing is hid from God. We cannot deceive God. The Spirit of God is there, and it will witness what we do within our lives.

The Apostle also said that we have been given this gift of a High Priest in Heaven who understands our infirmities. He was here on this earth. He lived and walked, and He was tempted more than any of us. He was cursed. He was spat upon. He was crucified. He knows how we feel. In His kingdom preparation He has set up a throne and that throne is called the throne of grace and we have access to that throne of grace. The Apostle wrote that there is yet a day of rest for each and every one of us.

We have access to that kingdom through that throne of grace, and He urges us to come boldly to this throne of grace every day of our life and seek the grace of God in the day that stands before us, seek His blessings, seek His guidance, and we have the assurity that He who is sitting at the right hand of God, He who has that sword girded, He who has been on this earth, He who is full of love and compassion, He who is looking for the preparation of this bride will dispense His grace to each and every one who asks it of Him.

Titus 3:7 “That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”

We see the Pharisees who were in the period of Gods’ dealings where all walked by sight.  They had to see to believe.  They wanted Him to show where this would happen and then they could take the honour and glory by telling others.  They had become high minded and believed it was reserved for them.  He then prophesied that it would only come to those that walked by faith in their life.  Those who always believed and prepared themselves for this coming from within.  Matthew 5:8 “Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.” Matthew 6:21 “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

Their hearts would be reconciled to God, and they were not concerned where or when.  Our Lord also taught it would be seen when He comes in glory.  All those prepared will see and know.

Mark 9:1 “And he said unto them, verily I say unto you, that there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power.”

We have to learn the lesson, not to become as the Pharisees, become high minded and believe in ourselves, that we will be the only ones to receive the promised Kingdom.  This is not the way to have the Kingdom of God within us. 2 Corinthians 10-12 “For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves:  but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.”  The Apostle Paul taught that we should measure ourselves against the life of Jesus Christ and if we do this sincerely we soon realise the great need of His Grace to keep our hearts pure.

Luke 24: 32 “And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened up the Scriptures.”

Romans 10:9 “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thy heart that God raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”

1 Corinthians 2:9 “But it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the thing’s which God hath prepared for them that love him.”

When our Lord was on the earth, He said to the people, search the scriptures for in them ye think ye find eternal life, but they are they which do testify of me and ye will not come to me. We must understand at the time our Lord gave this teaching, the only Scriptures that were in existence was what we call the Old Testament today, the New Testament had not yet been born, because the testator had not passed away. He was referring them to the Psalms and to the books of the prophets. We can read in the Scriptures that in the forty days, after He came from the grave, He taught His disciples of the mysteries of the Kingdom of God, He unravelled unto them the meaning of all of the Psalms and all of those things that were in the prophets, and they could not understand these things prior to that, because they were written by the power of God, the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit had not yet came upon them, but when He entered into locked doors and said “Receive ye the Holy Ghost”, they, then, during that forty day period, gained an understanding of what the Scriptures were foretelling for the future, for all.

Psalm 24 virtually tells the fullness of His plan, which began with His Father as the Creator, who created all things and everything therein, and He owned everything and He told them of the plan that the creation was made so that he could bring within the world, a generation of people who would look up unto God and be prepared to partake of the highest of heavens at the appropriate time. He spoke to them in that Psalm about the downfall of man, how man had allowed himself to be tempted into sin and as a result of this, there was now division between God and man. ,”He gave hope in that Psalm, that there would be a day of coming when God’s will would be fulfilled and He would once again be able to take mankind and give him the promise that was created for him.

He spoke about a holy city, a holy place, He was not speaking about the city that those people could see at that time, He was giving hope of something for the future – the Kingdom of God. He spoke and told them that the Kingdom of God was being prepared and that they, if they followed and partook of the blessings offered unto them, that they too, could be partakers of this Kingdom of God. We inherit that promise today.

Many Christians in the world today, have lost track of what the object of our faith is, to be part of this Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God is a period of time on earth where for a thousand years, God’s blessings will be given in peace and as partakers of this Kingdom of God, where there will be no death, no sickness, no sorrow, no troubles, no problems in the world, we will be fed by God and we can live with Him in this holy place, at peace where His will can be done, as He showers us with His blessings, and from there we go to eternal life. That is why He gave specific instructions to His Apostles that they had to go forth and preach the Kingdom of God. He came to tell us of the Kingdom of God and we must never lose track of this kingdom. He told us the way to the kingdom, He gave instructions to the gates, to the doors, He said, “Look up 0 ye gates, look up, 0 ye everlasting door”, which means we must look to the power of God and we must ask ourselves what is this everlasting door.

If we look at the temples of man, they do not last forever, but Christ Himself, taught us of this everlasting door, He said, “I am the door to the sheepfold.” He has become the everlasting way through which we can enter into the Kingdom of God, and we must never take that door away. He said that if we wish to understand the way to the Kingdom of God, then we must call and hear His words to the people and He said, 0 Jacob.

Now we know that in symbol form, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, represent Abraham as the Father, Isaac as the Son that was to be sacrificed, and Jacob as the power of the Holy Spirit. Jacob had twelve sons, representing the twelve fold Apostle ministry, and through the power of the Holy Spirit, would take this Word of God into the world, so that we could understand it. That is why we and all Christians, recite in the Apostle creed, that we believe in the Holy Ghost, the Holy Spirit, we believe in the Universal Apostolic Church, we believe in the communion with saints, we believe in the forgiveness and remission of our sins, we believe in the resurrection to life everlasting. This Holy Spirit tells us to continue to believe that in a troubled world, where we see so many things happening within the world, that are sent to break down this faith and this belief. We have this spirit within us and it will urge us at all times to believe in the Kingdom of God, to believe in God’s word and to trust in it and then we can go through life fulfilling those things that the Psalmist said that there would be righteousness come into the world, righteousness through Christ, that would reconcile us to God, that would show us humility to wash our hands, there would be the ability to have a pure heart and then we will say, “Who is this God of glory?”

This God of glory that will come into the world to take all of those who are prepared and be ready and waiting for this great event to take place. We will be able to answer The Lord, “He is The God of glory.” Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, we will all witness and see Him coming and He will take us to His Kingdom, He is the promise, He is the Word of God, He is our hope, He is what we yearn and live for, and we have to be careful that we are not side tracked in any way from this.

The Jewish people understood what the former rain and latter rain meant, for when they went into the Promised Land, they were also promised by God, that if they worshipped Him only and did not turn to false gods, but gave unto Him all honour, He would answer their prayers and He would grant unto them blessings. When they wished to plant their crops, they did not even have to pick a season, because they were under the blessing of God. When they were ready to plant, they came to the temple, they acknowledge God as the Almighty Creator and they asked Him for the rain and that was given enough moisture for them to go and then plant their crops, and they knew that would happen for a loving Father had promised them. We know that in time, that blessing was taken away because they doubted God, and we can read the report of that in the Scriptures, where, when they doubted God and started to complain that this rain was coming and they weren’t quite ready for it. They didn’t want it this week, they wanted it next week, and we unfortunately, still hear this today amongst those upon the land. God then showed His power and He sent them a hail storm which destroyed and left everything in a state of disrepair, and from that day they lost the blessing of that former rain. Now we in the Christian church were also given a former rain of the Holy Spirit, and that former rain came into the world on the day of Pentecost. It filled the people and it allowed them to bring forth the springing up of the fruits of the Holy Spirit. The gifts of the Holy Spirit became manifest and through those gifts, the church was edified and we must remember that a gift from God is an accumulating gift. He began with sending the Holy Spirit, that Holy Spirit brought forth the gifts. Those gifts were used and brought forth among the members to edify others and that then converted itself into the fruits of the spirit and the church became productive as we today, must also be productive, for that is why the gift is sent. During the former rain, the church brought forth much fruit and much faith, and we can read that in history, but once again we can also read in history, how mankind began to complain, how man wished to take the honour and glory to himself, how man wished to lead the church by his own wisdom not by the power of God. Once again God showed as He did with the children of Israel, He withdrew those benefits, He sent a storm into the church which was then scattered hither and thither and we can read the history of the church on how it became divided and through the terrible dark years, things were done because the darkness was again coming into the world. This spirit of God was no longer functioning the way God intended it.

The latter rain in the days of the children of Israel, once their crops were grown and the seeds headed, then it required rain to form that seed head into fruit and in their day they just simply believed. They took the first fruits, which were those seed heads that grew above the others. They took those first fruits into the temple where they offered them to God. They thanked Him for His creative powers and He sent unto them the latter rain and the latter rain came across the whole land and their fruits set seed and they were blessed with enough fruits to last them for the next year and they gave thanks to the Almighty God. Once again we can read in the scriptures where they began to select the fruit they would give back to God. They began to say that they were growing the crops, but forgot that it was God’s work and He withdrew from them also the latter rain, so that there were recordings in the scriptures of great famines as God tried to show them that this latter rain was required and the means of it were to bring Him thanksgiving for the former rain and the fruits. Now in the Christian church, God also, as the prophet said, would send the latter rain, and we know that it came about as devout men, everywhere in the world, realised that there was something missing out of the church. This latter rain came about as the second outpouring or regeneration of the Holy Spirit, but according to the prophet Joel, it came in a different way. It was the former rain and the latter rain, both sent at the one time and the church received not only that spirit which would allow it to grow, it received that spirit that will bring it to maturity, and that is what we live for today. To witness the maturity of the church so that on this third day, the church can also be risen from the grave, the church can come alive again. The day of refreshing the Apostle Peter referred to it as, when all things will be made new again and we will live with the Lord forever, and that is what we believe in our faith. We see therein that there is a requirement and that requirement is that we must have the Holy Spirit working within our midst. Without this Holy Spirit, we cannot be guided the way of God, we will be guided the way of man. That is why we believe in the anointing of the Holy Spirit, so that it will be given as a gift to that person. That person then can bring forth the fruits of the Holy Spirit. Those gifts can be edified within the church and the church then can bring forth the fruits of the Holy Spirit, which are many and listed in the scriptures. The world can then see that this body of people are being led by a different spirit, not being led by the ways of the world but being led by this spirit of God, that has the power to take us onto this great day of refreshing. It is the only power that can take us there. We can do nothing on our own, and that is why we must keep this active within our communities and around the world.

The Spirit of God is fed by the partaking of the body and blood of Christ, for the Spirit of God is part of the God-head. Christ is part of the God-head, our Father is part of the God-head and that is why our Lord said that if we partake of this worthily, He is then within us and we are within Him. It is a spiritual connection and we must maintain that spiritual connection, because our Lord said that He and His Father are one and they agree in one. We must have this connection to be going to our Heavenly Father, who can keep this accumulating effect going within the communities around the world.

We too, must at all times, hold up before God and always be prepared to place before Him, that first fruit, to ensure this rain is not taken away from the church. Apostle Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15:20 “But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them that slept”.

We must at all times, display our faith in Christ to the world. (John 5:24).