The Pearl of Great Price
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Scripture Reading
Scripture Reading
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
(Slide-Off)
Introduction
Introduction
Good morning again!
Thank you Shauna for reading this morning.
Nex
Children (or adults ) if you would like to read the scriptures during our main service let me know.
How Great is our God!
How Great is our God!
I was reading this week that the “observable universe” is estimated to be about 46.5 billion light-years
Have you asked yourself, what is a light year?
The distance light travels in one year, which is nearly 6 million million miles
So the observable universe is 46.5 * billion * 6 * Million * Million miles
Or a really, really big number!
That is what our God created, on the fourth day.
Or at least what we know so far about what He created.
How small are our Brains!
How small are our Brains!
How big is the average human Brian?
Put your two fists together (big hands)
The average length of a human Brian is about 15 cm.
So, Is it any surprise God uses pictures throughout the Bible.
Think about that.
We Worship a God who created at least 46.5 * billion * 6 * Million * Million miles.
We are trying to understand God in our 15 cm brains.
The one who created 46.5 * 1000 * 6 * Million * Million, into 15 cm
No matter how many letters you have after your name!
Parables are verbal Pictures
Parables are verbal Pictures
(Emphasis) So, is it any surprise that God uses pictures and parables throughout the Bible to try and covey truth about himself and his kingdom to us, into a 15cm space!
To covey spiritual truth
Parables are verbal pictures.
How great is our God!
How small are our brains.
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
(Slide)
The Pearl of Great Price
The Pearl of Great Price
The Pearl of great Price
The Pearl of great Price
Today we will spend some time looking at a picture Jesus paints to tell us about the Kingdom of God.
We read it earlier.
It is on the screen.
The Kingdom of Heaven is like.
This is an extended metaphor.
This Parable follows the Parable on the Hidden Treasure.
It makes the same spiritual point but in a different way, hence we read the word “Again”.
Whenever we see “Again” or “Therefore”, we should also looks at what is “Before” it.
Do you have the book, Christ Object Lessons. The chapter on this Parable can be found on Page 115. That is your homework.
Three Points, The Pearl, The Merchant, The Worth.
The Pearl
The Pearl
(NKJV)
In our natural, sinful state, the Kingdom of God is hidden from us, we are in spiritual darkness.
We call this one of the results of Total depravity.
Prevenient grace (or enabling grace). The grace before the grace.
Why a Pearl?
Parable of the Pearl of Great Price
The IVP New Testament Commentary Series: Matthew A Prosperous Merchant Seeks Pearls (13:44–45)
Jewish accounts of finding expensive pearls typically emphasized the finder’s piety; thus a Jewish tailor pays an outrageous price for a fish because he needs it to keep the sabbath, yet finds in it a pearl that supplies his needs the rest of his life (Pes. Rab. 23:6). Jesus, however, emphasizes only the value of the pearl and the joy of finding it (Jeremias 1972:199).
45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, 46 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 a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
In ancient Rabbinic literature there is a well known parable that tells of a tailor who pays an outrageous price for a fish because he needs it to keep the sabbath, yet finds in it a pearl that supplies his needs the rest of his life (Pes. Rab. 23:6).
What is the focus of such a story?
It is so subtle but it is such a misrepresentation of God and God’s favour.
The focus is all on the piety of the person buying the fish and his reward for that Piety.
We do not know if that Rabbinic parable was known at the time of Jesus.
But that kind of teaching was!
It is subtle and dangerous because it places the emphasis in the wrong place.
It is so subtle but it is such a misrepresentation of God and God’s favour.
Do we have the same subtle problem today in our thinking?
Subtle teaching that
After all did not this man have to sell all he had to buy the kingdom of God
Yes we have saved by grace but we have to keep it by our works or obedience.
After all did not this man have to sell all he had to buy the kingdom of God
After all did not this man have to sell all he had to buy the kingdom of God.
Is that what this Parable is Teaching?
hmmm
Jesus is the Pearl
Jesus is the Pearl
The focus here is the cost and the piety of the person buying the fish.
We do not know if that Rabbinic parable wasd known at the time of Jesus
But the kind of teaching was!
Can we all agree that the focus of this Parable is the Pearl?
It is what is being earnestly sought by the merchant.
What is the Pearl?
And in that context the Merchant who seeks beautiful Pearls.
Mrs White writes (on your bulletin), “The blessings of redeeming love our Saviour compared to a precious pearl. Christ Himself is the pearl of great price. In Him is gathered all the glory of the Father, the fullness of the Godhead. He is the brightness of the Father’s glory and the express image of His person.”
What is the Pearl?
What is the Pearl?
Jesus is the King
The Kingdom of Heaven or The Kingdom of God
The Kingdom of God
The Pearl is Redeeming Love.
The Kingdom of God is all about Redeeming Love.
Redeeming love that was ultimately shown in Christ at the cross.
Where Jesus is, that is the Kingdom of God.
It is about the Person of Jesus more than the Place
Jesus is our inheritance. The actual place is secondary.
It is not so much a place as person.
Where Jesus makes his home, that is the Kingdom of God.
That person is Jesus.
The Kingdom of God is Jesus
As one writer put it, “If Jesus were in Hell, it would be Heaven. If Jesus was not in Heaven, it would be Hell”
“The Kingdom of Heaven is like..”
What is the Kingdom of Heaven?
The phrase the “Kingdom of Heaven” is used 33 times in the NT. All in Matthew.
The phrase the “Kingdom of God” (which means the same) is used 70 times in the NT.
So we have over 103 references to the “Kingdom of Heaven” or the “Kingdom of God” in the NT.
Jesus uses many pictures and parables to try to convey truth about Himself and His Kingdom.
The Kingdom of God
The Kingdom of God
“The Kingdom of Heaven is like..”
The phrase the “Kingdom of Heaven” is used 33 times in the NT. All in Matthew.
The thinking is that it appealed to his Jewish readers in particular.
The phrase the “Kingdom of God” is used 70 times in the NT.
These phrases are interchangeable. That is, they mean the same thing.
So we have over 103 references to the “Kingdom of Heaven” or the “Kingdom of God” in the NT.
Jesus uses many pictures and parables to try to convey truth about Himself and His Kingdom.
We are invited
We are invited
The Kingdom of God is Like
The Kingdom of God is Like
(Look at how many times/ways Jesus makes a comparison)
Let us consider some,
What about the Kingdom of God and each one of us?
(Slide)
We are told to seek first the Kingdom of God
To seek it first
But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you.
(Slide)
We are told that the Kingdom of God is within us.
nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.”
(Slide)
We are told that the Kingdom of God should be received like a little child
Seek it First (
The New King James Version Chapter 18
and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.
Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.
Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.”
(Slide)
We are told that it is very difficult for the Rich in this world to enter the Kingdom of God
For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
Are we Rich?
BTW, 64% of the world population have a net wealth of less than $10000.
We are part of the “Rich”.
(Slide)
We are told that we must be born again to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
(Slide)
And We are told that we must be born of Water and the Spirit to enter the Kingdom of Heaven
Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
The Already and the Not Yet of the Kingdom of God
The Already and the Not Yet of the Kingdom of God
What we have with the Kingdom of God is the Already and the Not Not.
Today, the Kingdom of God has come to all who have faith in Christ.
It is inside us.
Jesus is the king of such
Hopefully inside the church.
And it is all around us, in the providence and sovereign working of God.
But at present it can only be seen by Faith.
That is the Already.
But there is also the Not Yet.
Soon, the Kingdom of God will be fully revealed.
Soon, Faith will have her reward.
Soon, we will see Jesus, the King of this Kingdom.
And that Kingdom is not from this world
Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.”
On the The Kingdom of God.
The worth of finding Jesus Himself!
Paradox. Salvation is priceless, Jesus is Priceless, the Pearl, Salvation is free, God’s grace in Christ is free, yet it costs everything!
Paradox. “For you are free, yet you are God’s slaves”.
The Merchant
The Merchant
The merchant was a seeker.
The list goes on and on, over 100 times.
And in the Parable of the Pearl, we see that the Kingdom of God is worth everything we have.
Nothing cam compare to it.
The key truth of the Parable is the worth of Jesus
Eric Liddell
Eric Liddell
(Slide)
This is Eric Liddell.
Have you heard of him?
Also known as the “Flying Scotsman”.
Part of his story is made famous in the film The Chariots of Fire.
In the Paris Olympics of 1942, He refused to run in the final of the 100 meters because it fell of Sunday, which he kept as a Sabbath. Despite all kinds of pressure to race.
Despite all kinds of pressure to race.
On Friday, July 11, 1924 Liddell ran in the final of the 400 metre race. Not his preferred event. The pipe band of the 51st Highland Brigade played outside the stadium for the hour before he ran . The 400-metre had been considered a middle-distance event in which runners raced round the first bend and coasted through the back leg. Inspired by the Biblical message (he who honours me, I will honour), and deprived of a view of the other runners because he drew the outside lane, Liddell raced the whole of the first 200 metres to be well clear of the favoured Americans. With little option but to then treat the race as a complete sprint, he continued to race around the final bend. He was challenged all the way down the home straight but held on to take the win. He broke the Olympic and world records with a time of 47.6 seconds.
“I ran the first 200 meters as fast as I could and then I ran the second 200 meters even faster with God’s help!”
After the Olympic games, he left for China as a missionary:
“Christ for the world, for the world needs Christ!”
During World War 2 Liddell was put into a Chinese Prisoner of War camp
“You will know as much of God, and only as much of God, as you are willing to put into practice.”
We finish his story not on the Olympic Field of Glory, but on God’s Field of Glory, the mission field, with a tired worn man in His forties, being held captive in a prison camp in the frozen reaches of Northern China. Here he was this former Great Olympic Champion, a father of 3 beautiful children, being held captive with 327 children and several thousand Non-Chinese like himself. Sick and suffering from some illness that he was unsure of, with no health care, he patiently and lovingly continued to witness and live for the Lord.
Then one day a wonderful thing happened, word came that Eric Liddell was going to be released and returned to Scotland. Winston Churchill the Prime Minister had bartered a prisoner exchange to set the famous Olympic hero free. But no one took the time to ask Eric Liddell. When presented with the wonderful news, this man of exceptional courage and faith refused to take the free ticket, but instead re-negotiated the deal for a young mother who was pregnant to take his place. Off she went and there remained Eric Liddell in the prison camp. As the weeks and months passed Eric got sicker and sicker and sicker and finally under the strain of it all, with no proper medical attention, he died aged 43!
One of his famous quotes says,
“You will know as much of God, and only as much of God, as you are willing to put into practice.”
The Worth of the Pearl
The Worth of the Pearl
Eric Liddell knew the value of the Pearl.
Eric Liddell knew the worth of the Kingdom of God.
Eric Liddell knew how much he owed to the Redeeming Love of Jesus.
Eric Liddell went out and gave all he had, including his very life, for that Redeeming Love.
Eric Liddel took hold of Jesus with all he had, because Jesus first took hold of Him.
We read the same thing time and time again in the letters of the Apostle Paul.
The sequence and motive is critical!
It is the difference between Legalism and true Christianity.
The Apostle Paul’s life testifies the same. Read his letters.
The focus in the parable of the Pearl is the worth of the kingdom.
Paradox. Salvation is priceless, Jesus is Priceless, the Pearl, Salvation is free, God’s grace in Christ is free, yet it costs everything!
Paradox. “For you are free, yet you are God’s slaves”.
The focus is on Jesus
The key focus here is the worth of the kingdom, not the cost to buy it!
It is so valuable that it is worth sacrificing anything.
Not to gain it, but because we have it, it is Jesus Himself!
The point is not that the man purchased a place in the kingdom of heaven through his works, but rather that entering the kingdom is worth giving up everything.
It is a Paradox. Salvation is priceless, Jesus is Priceless, Salvation is free, yet it will costs us our very lives!
We are not our own anymore.
It is a Paradox. “Christ sets us free, yet we willingly chose to be God’s slaves”.
Do you see the difference?
Not because of guilt, not even firstly because of duty, but because of Love. Redeeming Love.
May God help to make this abundantly clear in our minds!
Morning and Evening Morning, January 31
If saved by imputed righteousness, we shall greatly value imparted righteousness.
(Slide-Off)
True Merchant
True Merchant
We cannot close without thinking a little more on the Merchant.
The Parable of the Hidden Treasure
The Parable of the Hidden Treasure
In the parable of the Hidden Treasure, the man happens across the Kingdom of Heaven, but it changes his life.
Conversion can happen like that.
There is not just one path to the cross.
Personally I more relate to that experience.
Not really looking, yet stumbling across the priceless treasure.
True Seekers
True Seekers
But here the merchant searched diligently for the pearls of great beauty.
The merchant represents genuine seekers.
Though all are in need of Christ, only some search for Him.
I believe there are many genuine seekers today.
Yes here in Britain.
Yes here in Great Yarmouth.
Yes here in Laodicea Great Yarmouth.
Laodicea Great Yarmouth.
Sometimes going from church to church.
From one religion to religion.
From group to group.
But somehow, still, not finding the “Pearl” of Redeeming Love that changes everything.
A?
Maybe even coming to church week after week, and yet the Pearl has somehow alluded them.
Can such a thing happen?
But here is the promise.
(Slide)
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.
All who look
Jesus is the Pearl.
Salvation is free, but it will cost you your life.
It is a Life for a life.
(Slide Off)
Dead Man Walking
Dead Man Walking
The death penalty is still a reality in many parts of the USA.
A total of 25 death row inmates were executed in the United States in 2018.
Which State had the most?
Can you name the state that has put the most people to death in the last five years?
Texas, with 13 or 52% of the Executions.
There is a name for those on death row.
“Dead Men Walking”
It is also an apt description of a person outside of a relationship with Jesus.
The earliest reference I could find to that term was to a poem by Thomas Hardy from 1909,
“The Dead Man Walking”:
THEY hail me as one living,
But don’t they know
That I have died of late years,
Untombed although?
I am but a shape that stands here,
A pulseless mould,
A pale past picture, screening
Ashes gone cold.
Not at a minute’s warning,
Not in a loud hour,
For me ceased Time’s enchantments
In hall and bower.
There was no tragic transit,
No catch of breath,
When silent seasons inched me
On to this death….
Morning and Evening Morning, February 2
All men are on a level as to their need of him
All are dead men walking outside of Jesus.
And sin must be punished
Remember Life for life.
Redeeming Love.
Eternal Life.
For all are dead in their sins outside of Jesus.
What price will you put on Redeeming Love.
And sin must be punished.
For a Dead Man Walking.
God’s justice demands it.
The New King James Version Chapter 9
without shedding of blood there is no remission.
The Day of Judgement draws ever near
Even today many will pass refusing eternal life.
Final Words
Final Words
But let us not dwell of judgement.
Rather let us dwell of Redeeming love.
The Pearl.
What is the Redeeming Love of Jesus to thee?
Is it precious beyond all Else?
Let our words of testimony tell forth of Jesus great Redeeming Love.
When my sins were as red as crimson, his redeeming love made me whiter than snow.
When all seemed lost, his redeeming love found me.
When I fell down, his redeeming love lifted me.
When my foot slipped, his redeeming love placed me on the solid ground.
When I went astray, his redeeming love came after me and brought me home again.
His banner over me is Redeeming Love.
His rod of discipline to me is Redeeming Love
He is Redeeming Love.
The precious pearl.
Precious Redeeming love.
Let that consume all thoughts.
For then it will consume all of life.
cannot buy his freedom or clemency!
The worth of such clemecy is priceless.
It is I, be not afraid, be of good cheer.
The worth of that
Precious Lord Jesus, give us a fresh drink of thy wondrous redeeming love.
And come follow me.
Morning and Evening Morning, February 2
“Oh! how sweet to view the flowing
Of my Saviour’s precious blood;
With divine assurance knowing
He has made my peace with God.”
The last step is the appeal to the Governor of the State.
Final Words
Final Words
Outside of Jesus people are “Dead Men Walking”.
Even if they do not know it.
The Parable of the Pearl is all about the value of The Kingdom of God.
The worth of Jesus!
It is not a guarantee against hard times.
It is actually a guarantee of harder times in this life.
The merchant had to give up everything.
Is Jesus asking you to give up something?
The bigger picture, the long term view.
COL, Page 115