WHY Thirties, Sixties & Hundreds?

(If you have not read the first part of this article, it may bless you more if you read the first part before reading this one – The Hijacked Church). This is a long article and if you truly want to walk in the truth of God in this challenging world, you MUST read this article.

The Lord showed me this two-part article like a big house in the middle of a chaotic world. It was massive and I didn’t see how deep the house was. It had a beautiful surrounding, but on one side, some people occupied houses that were in the same compound, but they looked careless and irresponsible.

I saw someone I had known before (can’t even remember who it is now), and we chatted, but after a while, I noted that I was wasting precious time in that talk, so I excused myself. Almost immediately, I noticed a slightly elderly but young man by my side, like my friend, He had been patiently waiting for me to finish that chit-chat I was having.

He walked me into the building and I began to see different types of people. They were from all sorts of races.

We made our way into an area within the house that looked like a massive garden. I can’t remember seeing anyone else. Seemed we had left a crowd of people for a quiet place. We walked for a while and later sat on a boulder and began to chat. By this time, I knew it was the Lord, and our chat was not unusual. It felt like we were very good friends and did often meet up like this. Although the surroundings were beautifully set and looked fresh, somehow, it wasn’t really strange to me.

I have had a number of encounters with the Lord now, but for some reason, I can’t seem to remember His face. No, the pictures we see of a blue-eyed blonde man is too shallow to use in describing Him. Yet, I know full well it was Him.

Have you ever noticed that Jesus did not fully explain the Parable of the Sower to the disciples? He didn’t because they never asked. From my encounter with Him, I learned more, which is what I have been trying to share in this two-part article.

“And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.” [Mark 4:20]

Since it was the same seed and the same good ground, why the differences in the yields? I have been asking the question for some years.

As you may know, there are two worlds, heaven and earth. In reality, they are actually called Babylon and Zion in the spiritual realm. As a child of God, you should be aware that you live in these two worlds. If you still don’t understand, you need to listen to what Jesus has to say:
“And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.” [John 3:13]

Jesus was physically present with Nicodemus, but He still uttered that statement that “the Son of man which is IN heaven”. He revealed that as He was there, He was also in heaven. If you are a bonafide child of God, you are always in the two places at the same time – heaven and earth.

Those who grew up in the seventies and eighties may still remember the Western spaghetti movie, “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly”. Each of those characters had their distinct weird behaviours and human way of responding to confronting challenges. They surely portray human nature.

fruitful harvest

If you have not seen it or even know about the movie, don’t bother, let me summarize (I can’t remember the details but still remember some basic things from it) it for you to avoid all the cusses and bad language of the film. If you can remember the stories of the evil acts of the Amalekites who attacked the weak of Israel in their journeys, that is a representation of the Bad.

The vengeful behaviour of Levi and Simeon when they were offended stands to represent the Ugly. And you have someone like Potiphar in his attitude when Joseph was in his house, promoting him and later sending him to prison instead of killing him at the testimony of one person, representing the Good. These are the main characters in the world, actually known as Babylon.

I want to use this article to share the vision I had, as what stood out from the whole experience was the challenge to be the best God put before me. There was no ambiguity about what was expected of me. And I do hope you would see the vision through my words as well and make the vision yours.

In this article, we would be going the opposite direction to the three characters mentioned above. We want to use these to explore the three main characters in Zion. These characters also portray the least discussed part of Jesus’ first parable, the fields where the seeds were sown. The fields grew to yield thirty-fold, sixty-fold, and hundred-fold. Why?

These three sections of the farm speak of the Temple of God. Most people love to claim the hundredfold productive part of the land, but they want to ignore the work done that achieved such abundant return on the plantation.

You need to be sincere before God, as nothing is hidden from Him, to discern where exactly you are and know what you must do to advance in your walk with God. In fact, there are usually two enemies of growth in this vineyard, hypocrisy and pride. These two cause all kinds of serious problems in the vineyard, but they are also easy to deal with if you follow the Husbandman’s advice.

“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.” [Isaiah 57:15]

And Jesus added, “So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.” [Revelation 3:16]

The righteous, the holy, and the perfect are the dwellers in Zion, the City of the Great King. You may think God is content with having these three categories, but that would be a very wrong conclusion. His utmost desire is that ALL His children would be perfect!

“And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.” [Genesis 17:1]

It is easy to think that perfection is reserved for special people like Abraham and Enoch, but Jesus reiterated, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” [Matthew 5:48]

The Thirty-fold and the Righteous?
The first person God defined as being righteous was Noah. “And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.” [Genesis 7:1]

the way of the righteous

Most religious people always claim to be righteous, but God sees things differently if you have not taken the first step in His eternal redemptive plan of fallen Man.

Jesus expressed this when He said, “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” [Luke 5:32]. He had to be clear and unequivocal about who is righteous from God’s perspective. Of course, anyone can claim to be whatever they like. Herod was so pumped up that he was happy to be elevated by his peers as a god! You can claim whatever you want – righteous man, holy man, perfect man, superman, and so on.

Jesus said to a man who claimed to be rich, “Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked” [Revelation 3:17]

It is how God sees you and defines you that matters. All the attributes and titles you accord yourself or people accord you mean nothing before God.

While on earth, the rich man saw himself as an honourable and good man. Lazarus on the other hand was very poor and lacked the dainties of the rich man. But, when they both died the true attributes were revealed. Lazarus went to Paradise while the rich man went to Hell. It is what God sees and say about you that counts!

When a person leaves Babylon and steps into Zion, he is admitted as a righteous person. Not because of any good thing he has done, but for what Jesus did. I won’t spend too much time on the attributes of the righteous, so I will limit the definition to one who qualifies to be called a righteous person, especially since the time of Jesus Christ.

“But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” [John 1:12-13]

Anyone who has believed and received Jesus as their Saviour is bestowed the honour of sonship. Being a son of God makes you righteous. Again, I reiterate, it is not because of what the person did but because of what Jesus did on his behalf. He willingly gave up His righteous life for the sinner who desires to become a son of God.

“And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly; And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;)” [2Peter 2:6-8]

From the various explanations and descriptions in the Bible, we know that the righteous is also called the upright, the blameless, the godly, a saint, and similar attributes. But, he is not described as holy.

In fact, another translation of that statement by Peter in describing the righteous, says, “Although he was a man who had God’s approval, he lived among the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. Each day was like torture to him as he saw and heard the immoral things that people did.” [2Pe 2:8, God’s Word]

The righteous would not go out of his way to commit immorality directly to encourage it, but he pretends as if he doesn’t mind. That is, he turns a blind eye to immorality. If he is directly confronted to choose between Christ and the world, he struggles a great deal.

Peter was a righteous man and when Jesus foretold His death, he was angry with Him and even told Him off. “Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.” [Matthew 16:22] Can you imagine the scenario? Fallen Man rebuking and correcting God!

When he was confronted with the choice, he vehemently denied Christ, even swearing and cursing in the process.

“And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.” [Luke 22:61]

In addition, he struggles with the offence, especially when he is offended. He may struggle to forgive. Some may say it is easy to forgive. Really? What if someone raped and killed your teen child, would you easily forgive? Beloved, it is a walk of grace, and not one of wilful strength.

Before Lot arrived at Sodom, he exhibited a character trait, which you would find in the righteous but never in the holy or perfect – greed. You may read all about it in Genesis 13 with specific attention to verses 10 and 11.

“Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other.” [Genesis 13:11]

the sky looks heavenly

He took everything! 100 per cent! He didn’t even consider 10% for his uncle who had cared for him in the past. He chose ALL! Yet, the Bible still described him as righteous. Does that describe the real you? You may succeed in hiding the real person of your heart from me and the people around you, but you cannot hide it from God.

There is a revelation for the righteous to behold, “He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?” [Micah 6:8]

The righteous must experience this vision. Isaiah experienced this when he saw the Lord and fell upon his face and repented. Every believer must see this vision, too. If you haven’t or cannot see the true state of your heart in the same way God sees it, you must cry out to God like Peter when he was about drowning – “Lord, save me!”

The Sixties – The Holy Man?
The holy man would act differently from Lot. In fact, that was the act of Abraham in their dispute. His perspective was different. He took the path of humility, which the world calls stupidity.

“And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren. Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left.” [Genesis 13:8-9]

His statement was not superficial, he meant it because that was what was in the deep of his heart: “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.” [Hebrews 12:14]

David put it this way, “Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.” [Psalm 34:14]

Abraham noticed the strife between his workers and his nephew’s servants and by wisdom realized that things would become worse if he ignored the recurring incidences. He decided to seek peace – he pursued it.

In a world that is filled with all kinds of manipulations, betrayals, and treachery, the pursuit of peace, and all that is holy is frowned upon as a trait of weakness. And this is true. It is weakness in Babylon but strength in Zion. Ignorance of this truth has made the author of this article suffer unnecessarily.

Every saint must walk this Highway of Holiness.

Isaiah described it, “And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein.” [Isaiah 35:8]

The English Revised Version says it like this: “There will be a road there. This highway will be called “The Holy Road.” Evil people will not be allowed to walk on that road. No fools will walk on it. Only good people will walk there.”

Another translation says it like this: “There will be a highway there, called “The Road of Holiness.” No sinner will ever travel that road; no fools will mislead those who follow it.”

I was shocked when the Lord showed me the Scripture below regarding anyone who claims to be holy and still observing feasts He never appointed for His people.

Ezekiel 44:10  And the Levites that are gone away far from me, when Israel went astray, which went astray away from me after their idols; they shall even bear their iniquity. 
Ezekiel 44:11  Yet they shall be ministers in my sanctuary, having charge at the gates of the house, and ministering to the house: they shall slay the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall stand before them to minister unto them. 
Ezekiel 44:12  Because they ministered unto them before their idols, and caused the house of Israel to fall into iniquity; therefore have I lifted up mine hand against them, saith the Lord GOD, and they shall bear their iniquity. 
Ezekiel 44:13  And they shall not come near unto me, to do the office of a priest unto me, nor to come near to any of my holy things, in the most holy place: but they shall bear their shame, and their abominations which they have committed. 
Ezekiel 44:14  But I will make them keepers of the charge of the house, for all the service thereof, and for all that shall be done therein.

What are these unappointed feasts? Christmas, Easter, and Valentine. I used to think these were just okay for those who want to enjoy some party. But, the Lord asked me, “If I wanted my people to celebrate pagan feasts in this generation would that not make me an Unjust Judge? Tell me the difference between these and those who set up the golden calf? Answer Me, have My people observed all the feasts I appointed for them?”

I had to shut up and not try to put up a defence of Christmas carols, excited children and family time, because I understood at once what He was saying, but did not realise how horrible it was to Him.

He had been putting up with our indulgences for so long. Yet, He has been speaking and we had been ignoring Him. So, He walked away from the Outer Court and said leave it for them. God will not lower His standard for anyone, be it Abraham, David, Peter, Paul, me or you.

If you have been celebrating these feasts because they slapped the Name of Jesus on them, you have been deceived. God has no part in it. Jesus would not celebrate any of these feasts. However, not celebrating these feasts would make you look weird and foolish to the world. You are not alone, so were the sons of Levi when Moses called, “Who is on the Lord’s side?” (Exodus 32:26).

The acts of the holy man are foolishness to this world. The holy man is motivated by ONE thing – Godly fear. He fears God. This fear is not a negative fear, but that of love. He is the righteous man who through maturity has come to realise that “the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.” [Proverbs 9:10]

Abraham dealt with Lot by his knowledge of God. He knew that “In the fear of the LORD is strong confidence: and his children shall have a place of refuge.” [Proverbs 14:26] He knew that “the fear of the LORD is his treasure” (Isaiah 33:6).

The holy man KNOWS that “Better is little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure and trouble therewith.” [Proverbs 15:16]

Walk God’s Favourite Road

The holy man is not as weak as he is viewed to be, but rather the opposite. He is revered in Zion. God has respect for the holy ones, and even the angels acknowledge this. Daniel was often addressed with this expression as a man of honour in the courts of God.

“And he said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright: for unto thee am I now sent. And when he had spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling.” [Daniel 10:11]

God Himself spoke of the holy men to ever grace His presence, “Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord GOD.” [Ezekiel 14:14] God was saying, “I respect these men”. I would recommend that you do a case study of these three men mentioned by God.

The one who has attained being called holy by God has a special place in His presence. God is attracted to them, “for both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one” (Hebrews 2:11).

What is the desire of God concerning the righteous? “Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy.” [Leviticus 19:2, Exodus 22:31]

In fact, it is not just a desire of the Most High God, but a commandment. As a child of God, you are required and expected to pursue holiness. The Heavenly Father planned it before the world began. Paul expressed this truth when he wrote: “According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love”. [Ephesians 1:4]

lonely road

There are examples of holy men all over the Bible – Mordecai, Daniel, etc. God is always their defence. Did you notice how much Haman sought the destruction of Mordecai? At every attempt, this enemy of the holy man encountered God. The same can be said of Daniel, Job, Noah, and the many others who became holy.

How does the righteous become holy? The righteous man must acknowledge his erratic and spiritual waywardness by humbling himself to walk with God on the Highway of Holiness. In this world, Babylon, he would become weak, but that weakness would also be his strength – strength in Zion. For the Lord God shall occupy that region of weakness in his life.

He has to thirst and hunger for the holiness of God, seek and pursue it. As he does this, the Spirit of God would allow situations and circumstances to expose all those worldly wisdom, desires and ways, revealing things that are not acceptable in the City of God.

He would be full of repenting. Yes, as those imperfections are exposed, a little here and a little there, he would acknowledge and humbly turn to God for help to overcome those things.

“But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds” [Colossians 3:8-9]

You must put off the old man with his deeds. Paul bundled them together as “the lusts of our flesh … the desires of the flesh and of the mind” (Ephesians 2:3).

You are to be deliberate about this. You are to do this yourself. God is not the one who will do it for you, He will only give the grace to attain it, but YOU, saint of God, must actively PURSUE holiness before God – by knowledge.

Paul added that you should “put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him”. [Colossians 3:10]

You are to do the “work” of putting on a new nature. It is like the coat of Jesus, which was sown by God Himself, seamless (John 19:23, Mark 9:3).

In all these, the holy man is still prone to all sorts of mistakes. After Elijah had exposed the evils of Jezebel and caused a revival in the land, what did he conclude?

“But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers.” [1Kings 19:4]

“And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years. And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings. And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season.” [Luke 1:18-20]

As holy as Zachariah is, his words before God were found faulty. He was not a perfect man.

Who Is the Perfect Man?
The holy man usually is never satisfied with his estate because as he progresses in his walk he is made to see his repetitive flaws. He must advance in his walk with God and become perfect. There is only a slight, but huge difference between the holy and the perfect in Zion. Otherwise, their lives are almost the same.

The difference is their words, especially when under pressure; when they find themselves in distressing situations.

You would see this with the nation of Israel, you would see it in Moses, you would see it in Samson. You would see it with Paul, and Peter, and John. In fact, you would see this with Jesus Christ, when He was under severe pressure. No one is exempted.

Job experienced the worst of circumstances a man could experience – a billionaire in his time, he lost everything – business, staff, children, and even his wife. Yet he had this testimony, “In all this did not Job sin with his lips” (Job 2:10).

“Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.” [Ecclesiastes 5:2]

David spoke of the perfect man, “Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace.” [Psalm 37:37]

The words of the perfect come from a deep relationship with God. He cries like Job, “If I covered my transgressions as Adam, by hiding mine iniquity in my bosom.” [Job 31:33]

“Let your heart therefore be perfect with the LORD our God, to walk in his statutes, and to keep his commandments, as at this day.” [1Kings 8:61]

One of the greatest lies ever perpetrated against the Body of Christ is a satanic tree that most people eat from. It is a phrase, a very simple phrase that is carcinogenic! Seriously destructive to the believer who truly loves God, but believes this phrase is true.

“No one is perfect”.

No one is perfect

You can easily discern those who still eat from the tree by the expression: “I am not perfect”.

God knows you are not perfect, but He commands, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” [Matthew 5:48]

He commands it because He has made a provision for it. All you have to do is realize what you have to do to experience it in your life.

David prophesied, “God is my strength and power: and he maketh my way perfect.” [2Samuel 22:33]

James was probably the one who gave the best description of the perfect man. “For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body.” [James 3:2]

The perfect man does not offend God nor man by his words. Jesus was the perfect man. He spoke and “offended” the religious people of His time. In essence, the offence has to be discerned. Jesus, by wisdom, always spoke the truth.

Jesus’ words were always in accordance with Proverbs 25:11 which says, “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.” You will never find Him telling a lie or slander or falsely accusing. Not a single foul language went through His mouth.

How did He do it? His heart was pure. “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.” [Luke 6:45]

“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” [John 1:14]

You may want to say but that is Jesus, He was already the Word of God before time began. Not at all. He left that glory in heaven when He came among us. He lived like any other man and grew in the fear and wisdom of God, just as you are growing [Luke 2:40].

This was His secret: “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” [Psalm 119:11]

It was like building a house. The more word of God He hid in His heart the more transformed He became until every fibre of His being was the Word personified (John 1:14).

So, how do you become perfect? Suffering and your response to it. I wished there was an easier way of saying it, but there is none better. One other word you may have seen or heard is death. Yes, D-E-A-T-H. Self, or the flesh, must die. The death of the flesh is the triumph of the Spirit.

“The death of the flesh is the triumph of the Spirit.”

The process of death to self is suffering. Suffering is like the exam you have to write or pass through, and each time you succeed, you are promoted. Jesus went through the worst of sufferings – an innocent man having His righteous soul stripped off Him and the sin of the whole world loaded upon Him.

“Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.” [Isaiah 53:12]

And His children have to pass through a similar process. ALL God’s true saints pass through this road. They have to pass through the sword of the cherubim guarding the Tree of Life. That flaming sword cleanses them by killing the flesh in them. The more flesh that dies in a child of God the more of Christ that is revealed.

“But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.” [1Peter 5:10]

The Father does not hesitate to promote His son who lives and breathes His Son, Jesus Christ. The reason is simple, He sees Christ in them. Christ in me the hope of glory!

Writing to the saints in Rome, in Romans 5:3-5, Paul says, “We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment…” It only leads to perfection.

What is the joy or privilege of the perfect man?
As we sat in that lush garden of an incredible array of flowers, the Lord revealed to me as I gazed at His beautiful face, yes I saw His face; He smiled and said, “My son, from the seed by the wayside to the one on the good ground that yielded hundreds, one trait that set them apart from each other is the amount of nutrient available to the seed. Do you know what that is?”

He wanted me to think. Again, His countenance began to brighten, I looked at myself and noticed that I was being affected. Then I knew the answer, “Your Presence is the nutrient”. He smiled and in a moment, I was back to myself, awake from the experience.

It took a while to absorb the vision and reflect. Even till now, I don’t seem to remember everything, but it seems that with each passing day I remember in bits, “a little here a little there”. What an awesome God we have. I remember that He also told me why Isaac sowed and reaped a hundredfold in a barren land, a topic for another day.

“…. for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed” Genesis (32:28). Heaven is ALWAYS attentive to the words of the perfect man. When he speaks, it is as if God Himself spoke, and the words are held in high regard.

The perfect man walks the earth in a similar fashion as Jesus did. He speaks and heaven attends. Devils are afraid of him. Most importantly, the Father loves him dearly and honours him. The Father treats them as His jewels, and He shares His secrets with them.

“For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him.” [2Chronicles 16:9]

“Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words.” [Daniel 10:12]

You cannot be full of cussing and expect your words to carry weight in heaven. You must be careful with your words, watch your words and pray about them. To be perfect, you must seek purity of words, the words of your mouth. As I meditated on the vision, I knew I had to repent of certain things and get in shape with God. While I don’t cuss, my words are not perfect either – and what is the difference between someone who cusses like rain and someone whose words are found wanting? None.

Are you perfect? When under severe pressure are your responses perfect? The way you talk to people or the way you talk to God. Maybe you are not cursing God, but your words in prayer, “expressing yourself”, do they really show you respect Him? I want to be in the company of the hundredfold, but I need the grace to make my words perfect. I cannot afford to miss out on the best of God.

“But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.” [1John 2:5]

What should be your prayer today? David taught us in Psalm 141:3, “Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.”

When you speak too much, like a motormouth, you would make yourself vulnerable. In Ecclesiastes 5:2, it is written, “Let thy words be few.” It added in Proverbs, “In the multitude of words, sin is not lacking…”

Your lips cannot produce bad language or words if your soul is good, but then when you talk too much, sin will creep into it.

How do you keep a healthy soul? You submit it to the Lord, the Husbandman, for constant pruning.

“Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.” [John 15:2]

“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” [Philippians 4:8]

If your thoughts are pure, then your soul will be pure. If your words are pure, you won’t offend, if you don’t offend, then you are perfect.

Concluding, what does the Spirit say? “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.” [Revelation 22:11]

“Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time” [1Peter 5:5-6]

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