( A jewel of gold )!

I found that jewel of gold! Here I was, buried in a slime pit of sin, Basically, without hope of ever having any way to crawl out of the life of sin I lived in. As you might have seen me, it was absolutely nothing that was special or note worthy about me. As far as this world was concerned, I fit right in! The way I talked, to things I said, the way I dressed, my whole life was a perfect picture of any person that was a part of this world. There is a place called hell that I was bound for and, at any moment in my completely ungodly life, there would be where I would spend eternity.

As I walked through this world, my mind and heart was all about me and, everything that please me. I didn’t even have the mental capicity to consider anything beyond this world and what it had to offer. I was completely void of any aspect of Jesus Christ or anything that concerned God. I realize now that I was simply just like every other person that is born and lives in this world without Jesus Christ. I was in a slime pit, a mud hole, a place of continual degradation. What made matters worse was the fact that I, myself was my own worst enemy. I was completely destroying myself, without any help from any other person. I could have been a poster child for ( the army of Satan ).

Then It happened! I seen and felt the very power of The Holy Ghost of God Almighty. I held it in my hand, I felt it in my heart! ( HE WASHED MY EYES WITH TEARS ) that I might clearly see all that he is! I found something that is the absolute most precious thing that will ever be found on the face of this earth. Most people call it salvation. I said; ( I found ). Do you understand that what I found I was not looking for at all? I went to Church one day, that precious gift started stirring within my very being. Here, I’m going to take the time to show you a verse of scripture that it took me some time to get a grip on what he was saying.

( Hebrews 6:4-6 )

For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, ( 5 ) And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, ( 6 ) If they fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucified to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to open shame.

When I was around twelve years old, we were members of a Methodist Church that was not far from our house. One night during a revival service; God spoke to my heart. Still today, I can take you to that Church, even show you the, pew, the place I was sitting when that took place in my life for the very first time. God’s convicting power was all ove me! I knew I was supposed to ask him into my heart. However, I left that Church; that night, just like I went in.

These verses in Hebrews is showing us a picture of what happened to me that night. I was enlightend to the fact that I needed salvation, I tasted the heavenly gift. I was made a partaker of the Holy Ghost. I tasted the good word of God and, the powers of the world to come!

All that; and I walked away from it! I cannot repent from that fact. From that very moment foward if any person had asked me if I had ever felt the ( Power of the Holy Ghost ), no matter how I answered that qusetion, whether I lied or not, the truth was ( yes I have ). If I would have died lost and undone without Jesus Christ and, one day, stood before him at the ( Great White Throne of Judgement ) and tried to tell him ( I didn’t know ). He would have taken me back to that little Methodist Church and said; ( you remember this night )?

Any person, like me can still be saved after that fact. God’s mercy will still draw conviction on your heart. As a matter of fact, about twelve years later, once again I felt that same conviction and yielded to the call of God. Thanks be to God for his Amazing Grace that reaches far beyond my sinful actions!

Could we agree that the act of rejecting God’s Spirit when he draws conviction on a heart is very simular to seeing a great chunk of gold laying on the ground in front of you and, passing right by without picking it up?

When people, just like me, feel the power of God, He makes us partaker of his glory; He takes to time to care about us, we actually taste just how good it is but, simply spit it out as if it means nothing to us, what a shame for me or any person to do any such thing to something as priceless as God’s Holy Spirit!

Now, something of this nature is one thing, I or, we all have a God given right to reject him and live in open sin if we choose to do. What a blessing to have and, know a God of ( second chances )! If that were not the truth I’d be bound for hell today!

However, In ( Proverbs 11:22 ) we see something that I believe is completely different than that. We see ( the art of Deception ). Here’s a ( fair woman ). Let’s say she’s a virgin, very beautiful to look upon. She would draw any man’s attention.

I’m going to share sometthing that happen to me once as a teenage boy. I don’t share this to make myself look good in any way, as a matter if fact; now I have made mistakes far worse that what she did to me. Thanks be to God for his amazing grace! I tell this only to make a point.

I had the priviledge to meet a very beautiful young woman. I almost, instantly was drawn to her. Her family was good friends with our next door neighbours. As youngsters we had played together for years. She was a little younger that I was. When I was old enough to get my driver’s licience, a friend and I actually went riding with this young lady and another young lady one Sunday afternoon. Neither of the young ladie’s parents knew they were riding with us.

This young lady and I sit in the back seat. At that time, I had never even kissed a girl. That whole afternoon, sitting beside all that beauty, I never did one thing beyond kissing her on the cheek. I sought to be a perfect gentleman to ( what I took to be ) a perfectly beautiful lady. She and I talked often on the phone, almost nightly. I had become very close to her. Not long after we went riding that day, a friend of mine asked me about my feelings for her. As we talked he told me she was actually giving herself to another young man. To be honest, this made my blood boil! I knew the young man, so I went to talk to him. As we talked he told me that he had been with her a number of times. He said he didn’t have a reason to lie about it and, at the same time it wasn’t any of my business.

After that converstaion, I called her and asked her if it was true? I could tell in her voice, by the way she answered, it was true! I told her, I’ll never call you again, you froget you ever knew me. I told her just how much I respected her and always sought to treat her with the respect of a lady, just as a gentleman should.

I could go on but, can you see the picture of ( a jewel of gold ) in a swine’s snout in that story? Often, beauty is destroyed by the actions of a young woman or, it can be by the ways she talks, the things she talks about. I realize, in it’s simplilest form, that’s what that verse is speaking of however, I’m going to give you a spiritual message there as well.

When we speak of a local Church, exactly what are we seeing or, saying? I’ll start this by making this statement. The Church I was born again in was nothing special to look at, just a very plain type of Church. However, because of Jesus Christ and his grace, from that Church to me, t became to most beautiful place I had ever seen!

Let’s say you have a Church close to where you live. Just to look at it, it’s one of the most beautiful buildings you have ever seen. For too often, we are impressed by the beauty of a woman or, that of a building.

However, back to the original question, what is a Church anyway? In reality, a Church building is supposed to be a perfect picture of the ( bride of Christ ) in all his glory! Every person in that building, every member is a person that, just like a ( submissive wife ) has completely surrendered themselves to the perfect will of God. In other words, the building might be very beauitful but, when you walk inside that building, you see more of what inhances the true beauty of that building. In that case, it actually doesn’t matter what the outside looks like does it? What’s inside that building is what the ( beauty of Jesus Christ ) is truly all about. That is, if every person there is sold out, surrendered to the very will of God.

When a sinner or any person that might be looking for a place to meet with God; stands in front of a Church building they might be impreseed with the beauty of that building and, even the amount of people that are in attendance to that building. Often, we are even drawn to a Church by what we hear about it’s beauty. I personally believe that what the true beauty of ( A Church ) is has been greatly diminished by man. The true definition of what it is has been redefined to make it more conformable to the eyes of the world.

Now, you women might not like this but, it needs to be said. When men see your beauty on the street as they might walk by you, is it real? Or, is it what you decided that you desire for them to see. Are you more concerned about them being attracted to how you look or, what is truly inside of you? Personally, I don’t have a problem with hair dye, make up, nice clothes and so on; as long as you are perfectly willing for every person to know who you truly are.

The Bible puts it this way: ( Matthew 23:27 )

Woe unto you, scribes and pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto a whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautifil outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness.

The woman that we are speaking of in ( Proverbs 11:22 ) is exactly this picture! A woman, period; is ( a type of the Church ). When men see you they need to see truth! Don’t misunderstand me. men also need to reveal, in every way what and who they truly are. Deception is a very wicked and terrible attribute, no matter how it is carried out.

A Church can be classified the very same way. When any Church, no matter how it appears on the outside does not reveal within all the true attributes of Jesus Christ then, that Church just took the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ; placed it on a Swine’s snout and, that pig just stuck it down in the nearest mudhole!

Many Churches are hypocritical by nature. They create their own salvation, they set their own version of righteousness and, there pastor’s abide by their version of ( The Church ). These people, this Church, the pastor has actually ( crucified to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put to an open shame ). ( Hebrews 6:6 )

In reality; whether we are speaking of a beautiful woman or a beautiful Church that is not real, who actually gets hurt in the end? What if I marry a fair woman that has me deceived all the way up to we are married? What if I become a member of a Church that keeps me deceived all the way to hell? I’d hate to stand in that pastor’s shoes or, be one of those Church members!

( DISCRETION ) The quality of having or showing discernment or good judgment: the quality of being discreet: ( circumspection ) the quality of being wary and unwilling to take risks; prudence. ( discreet ) careful and circumspect in one’s speech or actions, especially in order to aviod causing offence or to gain advantage.

Simply put ( truth )! Good judgment tells me that whatsoever I might gain on this earth, I lose in eternity! that is: unless I do all for the Glory of God!

Marshall Clayton

2 Timothy 1:7