Apostle Allison Smith Conliff delivers the First Fruit Service sermon discussing the necessity of active faith over merely seeking increased belief. Using the biblical story of the ten lepers, the message highlights that while all were healed through obedience, only one foreigner returned to demonstrate true gratitude, which ultimately made him whole. The sermon warns against mocking God or relying on earthly riches, illustrated by the account of the rich young ruler who could not sacrifice his wealth to follow Christ. Listeners are encouraged to exercise their faith like a muscle, maintaining a child-like trust and a spirit of thanksgiving to achieve spiritual breakthroughs. The service concludes with prophetic healing prayers and a call for congregants to live holy, set-apart lives that remain connected to God beyond the church walls.

Key Points:

Earthly achievements and riches can hinder spiritual progress by creating barriers of pride, self-sufficiency, and a reluctance to fully surrender to God. According to the sources, these hindrances manifest in several specific ways:

• Pride in Personal Accomplishments: High academic achievements or significant worldly success can make an individual feel "so high" that they believe they cannot, or do not need to, serve God effectively. This sense of self-importance can prevent a person from acknowledging that God is the ultimate source of everything they have accomplished.
• A Lack of Childlike Faith: To enter the kingdom of God, one must have childlike faith. Great earthly wealth or intellectual status can sometimes make it difficult for a person to maintain the humble, trusting attitude necessary to believe in and accept God's will.
• The Difficulty of Surrender: Spiritual growth often requires a surrendered life, which may involve giving up earthly treasures to follow a divine call. The Apostle cites the example of a rich ruler who became "very sorrowful" when asked to sell his possessions, illustrating how a heart tied to wealth can lead a person to choose their riches over a commitment to God.
• Misplaced Priorities and Ingratitude: Riches become dangerous when a person does not recognize who provided them. Furthermore, an obsession with earthly gain can lead to ingratitude, where individuals focus more on what they lack or what they have earned themselves rather than stopping to thank God for what He has already provided.
• The "Needle’s Eye" Barrier: The Apostle emphasizes that it is "easier for the camel to go through the needle's eye than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven". This suggests that the heavy "weight" of earthly wealth and the choices required to maintain it often act as significant obstacles to spiritual advancement.

While the Apostle clarifies that there is nothing inherently wrong with earthly treasures, it's stressed that these treasures must not come before serving and thanking God. To illustrate this, the difficulty of a rich person entering the kingdom of heaven is compared to a camel trying to pass through the eye of a needle; the sheer bulk of worldly attachments makes the passage nearly impossible without divine intervention and a willing spirit.

Rec. Date: 12th Feb, 2023