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Over ten years ago, shortly
after we arrived here, we had a missionary friend visit.Today we support him, in China, and cannot speak his name on
the recording.He is not on the
website or even on the wall in the lobby, because it could endanger his
life, and the authorities there have caught him before, deported him, and
warned him that next time he would NOT be returned, and WOULD regret it.I am amazed at his courage and tenacity in smuggling Bibles to
underground churches and your missions giving helps him do his ministry.Well, he not only takes things into the country, but has been known
to return with pearls...large ones, very cheap.Is it legal?More legal
than the Bibles he takes into the country!He gave Kimberly a beautiful string of pearls, brought to the surface
by hand by Chinese divers.These
aren't 'minnie pearls', they are good sized!She is wearing them today.Faux pearls would look the same, but these are special because they
are real, valuable, and, I think...hot!Now your eyes are big and you are listening better than ever!
This parable is going to
sound a whole lot like the previous one we just studied on the hidden
treasure, but with a great twist that I know will be a blessing to you.
Common misinterpretation:The Pearl represents Jesus Christ, and the man is a seeking sinner
who gives all he has to obtain salvation.He turned his back on all he had to achieve heaven.
Much like the previous
parable of the hidden treasure, it is not a good idea to just naturally read
a parable at face value and apply common logic to it.
Reasons to reject this interpretation:
·Sinners aren’t
seeking Jesus, but rather, Jesus is seeking sinners.
It would be nice if the
lost were busting down our doors trying to find out how to be saved, but
they are not.What are commonly
known as ‘seekers’ today are most often seeking help, seeking social
contact, and seldom are they seeking truth.This is not to say that mankind isn’t looking for something real, but
they aren’t looking in Jesus’ direction, nor the church’s.
The Bible says we are dead
in trespasses and sins…and a dead man cannot seek anything.If you feel as though you were seeking the Lord, I don’t debate your
feeling, but I’d say that was the Holy Spirit drawing you, calling you,
wooing you to Him!
It’s the difference between
Christianity and religion.
Religion is man trying to reach up to God, but Christianity is God reaching
down to man.
Romans 3:11 There is none that understandeth,
there is none that seeketh after God.
·The
merchant-man bought the pearl.
Salvation is not of works,
and cannot be bought, but it is the gift of God!
·He sold all he
had to obtain it.
True discipleship, indeed,
asks us to give up things and put on Christ, but that is sanctification, not
salvation.
What does a sinner have
that is valuable enough that he can sell it and have enough to buy Christ?
If even our righteousness
[goodness] is filthy rags before God, then we have nothing to merit
salvation.
The true interpretation is
that the merchant man is Christ, and we, the church are that pearl which He
purchases at great cost…He gave His all!He seeks and saves that which was lost!
The special twist is the
illustration of the pearl:
The pearl is a perfect
picture of the church in that a pearl is one…a picture of unity.It is formed miraculously, and for the purpose of being presented
back to its maker.Its creator
is the owner, just as the church was founded by Christ and is His bride!
I.How the pearl was wrought.[came into existence]
There is very little to a
pearl.Crush it and all you’ll
have is lime…ordinary chalk.The
value of the pearl is how it comes into existence.It is not carved or cut like a diamond or ruby…matter of fact, if you
cut a pearl it becomes worthless.
It is created in the heart
of a living oyster, in the deep dark of the sea, as an irritant such as a
grain of sand is introduced inside the shell.It begins to cut and dig in to the tender inner tissues of the
oyster, and it is then that it secretes a substance called Nacre, aka Mother
of Pearl.Layer upon layer is
formed around that grain of sand until it is a beautiful pearl.
A pearl is formed by
accretion--not mechanically, but vitally, just as God gives the church new
life as souls are saved!"Upon
this rock I have built My Pearl!"
Think about it:the pearl is the
oyster’s answer to that which wounded it.The pearl owes
its existence to the oyster’s willingness to cover that which had
cut it.
What a beautiful picture of
salvation in Christ!Our part was the
cutting, and God’s part was the covering.
Adam and Eve lived in a
perfect world, but then sin entered as an intrusion…an invader to God’s
perfect world.Adam had an
amazing intellect…he named all 15,000 plus species of animals, and yet there
were 6 words Adam didn’t
know:
Death—there was no such
thing until sin brought it.
Nakedness—they were not
ashamed until sin came.
Curse—sin brought a curse
to the world.
Sorrow—sin brought this in
childbirth and everything else that follows childbirth during life.
Thorns—the roses had no
thorns until that day.
Sweat—he had to earn his
way thru life.
Man’s sin was an intrusion
that cut the heart of God.And
like that grain of sand, we were trapped, held captive with no way of escape
on our own.But while ours was
the cutting, God’s was the covering. [animal skins]
Thank God that Calvary covers it all!The cross was God’s answer to man’s sin!The innocent died for the guilty—both in the garden to cover man’s
body and on the cross to cover man’s sin.
Ill.—the
Ark of the Covenant is a beautiful picture of this:
There were 3 items inside
the ark:
1.Aaron’s rod that budded—the event surrounding
this was the rebellion of God’s people against the authority of Moses and
Aaron.
2.Jar of manna—Israel
complained when they received the manna from heaven… “we loathe this…”It was rebellion against God’s provision.
3.10 commandments—2nd set, because
Moses broke all 10 commandments [1st set] already!What was happening at the foot of Mt.Sinai
while Moses was receiving the commandments from God?They were breaking the commandments, having a drunken party.This was man’s rebellion against God’s commands.
So, inside the ark is man’s
rebellion against God’s authority, provision, and commandments.
Now, what was atop the ark?A gold slab w/ 2 cherubim, and the blood of the sacrifice was placed
on that slab, the mercy seat…so now as God looks down upon the symbols of
man’s sin and rebellion within the ark, He sees the blood there covering
that sin.That’s right!God looks at our sins THRU the blood.He doesn’t even see our sins, He sees the blood, and
passes over…only because He first
‘covered over’.
Layer after layer of God’s
love was poured out at Calvary in the form
of the blood as a covering for our sins!We have become His pearl of great price!
Revelation 21:21 And the twelve gates were
twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl:
As we walk into that city,
we’ll be reminded that we can only enter because we are His pearl of great
price!
II.How the pearl was sought.
The merchant man was
seeking, just as Jesus seeks the lost.
How?
A.Thru the Scriptures.
“Faith cometh by hearing
and hearing by the Word of God.”
Nobody is saved apart from
the Bible.I’ve seen MY converts
and they don’t make it.No one
can truly be persuaded w/out the powerful words of the Book!
B.
Thru the Spirit.
The
Holy Spirit has 3 functions:
1.
Calls.
2.
Convicts.
3.
Convinces.
The Spirit arranges
circumstances so lost sinners come into contact w/ the gospel.It is no accident!
The Spirit of God uses the
Word of God and makes it cut like the two-edged sword that it is!
Then the Spirit convinces
which is closing the deal…bringing us to faith and belief in the truth.
scriptures, spirit...
C.Thru the Saints.
…or, the soul winner.God chooses to use human vessels to carry the truth.We must use the Scriptures and be indwelt by the Spirit.
III.How the pearl was bought.
v. 46Again, this is the language
of the cross.“Jesus paid it
all…”
Ephesians 1:14 Which is the earnest of our
inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the
praise of his glory.
2 Corinthians 8:9 For ye know the grace of our
Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became
poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.
1 Corinthians 6:20 For ye are bought with a
price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are
God's.
You are His pearl of great
price, buried in a sea of sinfulness, lost, just a grain of sand, and He has
poured out Himself upon you until you have become His goodly pearl.
And we need to be shining
pearls.What has tarnished the
luster of your Christian life?
Let's go find more irritants for God to cover!
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