(Preached by Rev Ivan Foster in the home of Mr Milos Solc, FP missionary to the Czech Republic.)

"Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking savour: so doth a little folly him that is in reputation for wisdom and honour," Ecclesiastes 10:1.

The ointment of the apothecary was a sweet-smelling ointment or balm, chiefly used in the preparation of the dead for burial. 2 Chronicles 16:13-14 illustrates this. But I believe it presents us with a wonderful picture of the work of the Holy Spirit in the believer. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ through the working of the Holy Spirit transforms the dead sinner into a saint, 'a holy one', perfumed by the fragrance of the Saviour. But our text speaks of the marring of the perfume. We will consider today how the child of God may lose the sweetness of the Saviour's fragrance in their lives.