This sermon from Apostle Allison Smith Conliff uses the biblical narrative of King Solomon to warn believers against the dangers of spiritual compromise. While Solomon began his reign with divine wisdom and immense wealth, the Apostle highlights how he eventually allowed unauthorized relationships and foreign influences to lead him into idolatry. The message emphasizes that personal holiness and obedience to God’s word must take priority over earthly desires and material success. By contrasting Solomon’s failures with the faithfulness of King David, the message encourages the congregation to maintain a strong relationship with Christ. Ultimately, the sermon serves as a call to fix hidden sins and reject any worldly influence that threatens one's commitment to faith.

Key Points:

Solomon’s narrative serves as a profound illustration of the tension between divine wisdom and human folly, demonstrating that even the most gifted individual can fall if they fail to activate their wisdom in their personal choices.

Solomon is described as the wisest man to ever walk the earth, a status he achieved because he specifically asked God for wisdom rather than riches or honor. This divine endowment resulted in:

• Supernatural Abundance: God added "fantastic and fabulous" abundance to his life, including gold, silver, and precious jewels that exceeded the fame he had acquired.
• Exceptional Order and Influence: His wisdom was visible in the order of his kingdom, from the "meat of his table" to the apparel of his ministers. This order was so overwhelming that it "blew out" the spirit of the Queen of Sheba when she witnessed it.
• Spiritual Recognition: Even pagan leaders recognized that Solomon's success was a direct result of the Lord's delight in him, showcasing God to the unsaved world.

Despite his divine gifts, Solomon's life illustrates the "folly" that occurs when human desires override spiritual alignment. The Apostle highlights several key aspects of this tension:

• Failure to Activate Wisdom: Although Solomon possessed God-given wisdom, there came a time when he did not activate it to make the choices he needed to make. Instead, he "played the fool" as his wealth and influence increased.
• The Influence of "Strange Women": Solomon’s primary folly was his love for "strange women" from nations God had expressly forbidden him to intermarry with. Despite God's clear instructions that these women would turn his heart toward foreign gods, Solomon "clave unto these" anyway.
• Spiritual Misalignment: His folly led to promiscuity and infidelity, as he took 700 wives and 300 concubines. Eventually, his wives "turned away his heart," leading him to build high places for abominations such as Ashtoreth, Chemosh, and Molech.

The narrative warns that walking out of alignment with God, no matter how much wisdom one possesses, leads to severe pain and an eventual "crash".

• Divine Anger: Because Solomon chose to honor his wives' gods over the Lord, who had appeared to him twice, the Lord became angry with him.
• The Loss of the Kingdom: The ultimate price of his folly was the rending of the kingdom from his lineage. God declared He would give the kingdom to Solomon's servant, sparing it during Solomon's lifetime only for the sake of his father, David.
• Stirred Adversaries: In his later days, God "stirred up an adversary" against Solomon as a direct consequence of his disobedience.

Solomon’s story is presented as a lesson for believers to "contend for the faith" and never allow their eyes to drift from Jesus, regardless of their past accomplishments or current level of wisdom. Apostle Allison emphasizes that one can start well and "run well," but still be hindered by the voices and influences allowed into one's personal space.

Rec. Date: 6th August, 2023