What is worth your Pearl

The Pearl

Matthew 13:45–50 KJV 1900

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind: Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

In this passage of scripture Jesus is telling a parable highlighting the value of the salvation he came and would ultimately die to give us. Im sure if I asked anyone in this sanctuary today what their salvation is worth they would say some variation of priceless. Even though that’s the answer I would most likely here I want to provide some clarity on not what our mouth would say but what our life's actions would say in answer to that question.

The price of perfection

Matthew 19:16–22 KJV 1900

And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.

Lets think about this scripture for a moment. Do you think Jesus was saying you have to be perfect to walk with him. At face value it would seem that way as he says If you want to be perfect do this and then follow me. But I don’t think that was really what Jesus was saying. God never expects perfection from us. If he thought we were capable of perfection he wouldn’t have had to have a plan from the beginning for redemption. I find it extremely interesting that if you look Jesus first says keep the commandments. The mans response is bit puzzling as he asks which ones. As if he knew well maybe I haven’t quite been following them all and those don’t matter. When I read the scriptures I find sometimes Jesus does the same thing that my parents would do to me as a child when I asked a question. He doesn’t always give a straight answer but leads you to find it. You see here Jesus didn’t mention all the commandments he leaves out a few but even though he doesn’t mention one in particular he calls attention to it with the statement he makes. That statement is Sell all you have. You see the first commandment is Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Jesus knew that the young man loved his things more than he loved God. When you place your love of something by choosing it over God you have just made that thing a god in your life.

God will test your love

Genesis 22:1–14 KJV 1900

And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him. Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off. And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you. And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together. And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together. And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. And the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me. And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen.

This scripture seems crazy when reading it. The willingness of Abraham to take his son up a mountain and do what God asked of him to the point of sacrificing his own son. In comparison to Abraham the things God may ask of you pale in comparison. The main thing God wants from us is our time. Time spent in prayer, reading the Word, and time worshiping him. In this scripture God was testing Abraham to see how much he trusted him. In the end God did provide once Abraham proved he was willing to trust God completely. Sometimes God may test your will by asking you to give up something you love but when you follow his urgings the reward he will give you is worth so much more than the thing he asked you to give up. Abraham came out of this not only not losing his son but he came out with a testimony of Gods provision.

John 21:1–6 KJV 1900

After these things Jesus shewed himself again to the disciples at the sea of Tiberias; and on this wise shewed he himself. There were together Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two other of his disciples. Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, We also go with thee. They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing. But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore: but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus. Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat? They answered him, No. And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes.

These men were fisherman. They knew how to catch fish. Yet it says they fished all night and caught nothing. They trusted and where rewarded with more fish than they could pull in the boat. When we put our faith in God he will always provide.

What's the cost of betrayal

Matthew 26:14–15 KJV 1900

Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests, And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver.

Judas walked with Jesus the three years of his ministry witnessing signs, miracles, and wonders. Yet in the end he allowed his greed to become his god and chose to betray the messiah for what amounts to $450 worth of silver in todays economy. I know all the times I have read this story and thought about Judas it always boggled my mind with how he could make this decision yet at times in my life I have chosen short term pleasures over my relationship with Christ and that made me think am I any better than Judas?

Our Relationship with Christ

Ephesians 5:30–32 KJV 1900

For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.

The churches relationship with Christ is described in these verses as that of a husband and wife. If you read all of the scriptures concerning husbands and wives and how we are to conduct ourselves you will see that God takes marriage very seriously and has specific ways that he expects us to behave with each other.

For those that are married in here what do you think a healthy marriage is built upon? 1st would be the relationship needs to be centered around Christ but I believe a close second is compromise. Now compromise often sounds like a negative thing like compromising you morals or ethics but thats not what Im talking about here. No one in here is perfect so for a marriage to work we have to overlook certain characteristics in each other that we dont like for the sake of harmony in the marriage. Sometimes that may be due to different upbringings. Ill give an example (Santa).

With our relationship for Christ its a bit more difficult because he is perfect. If we want to build a strong relationship with Christ there are some things we may have to give up to strengthen that relationship.

I remember many times in my life where ive been in a service and ended up at the alter praying God I want to be closer to you change me so I can be more like you. There where times during those prayers in the back of my mind I was subconsciously thinking God dont ask me to give up BLANK. Even though part of my heart was aching to be closer to God there was a part of me I wanted to hold back because I enjoyed it too much.

CLOSING

Story of Corey and football games. Dad would’nt go.

Today in closing I would like us to think “What does our 30 pieces of silver look like?”. In your life what are you putting before God? Is it something as simple as well the World cup is on tonight and its okay if I miss one Wednesday night. Maybe its volunteering for that overtime knowing you'll have to miss church. Do you not trust that God can provide?

Romans 12:1–2 KJV 1900

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Philippians 4:8 “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.”