The Priceless Pearl

Matthew 13:44 “The kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hidden in a field; the which when a man has found it, he hides it, and for joy goes and sells all that he has in order to buy that field. v45 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: v46 Who, when he finds one pearl of great price, goes out and sells all that he has, and buys it”.

This scripture describes a precious pearl, called the pearl of great price. One day Cleopatra invited Mark Anthony to come down to Egypt and she held a banquet which in today's economy would cost about $400,000, just for this one meal, of course the meal sometimes would last for days. At the banquet she was wearing costly pearl earrings she had purchased. These were the two greatest pearls in the world at that time, in today's currency, each one would be worth a quarter of a million dollars.

During the banquet she took one of the pearl earrings off, which was a signal to the servants to bring her a golden bowl containing vinegar, which she dropped the pearl into and of course as all natural pearls would do, it began to dissolve. Then she drank the contents. She took the other pearl off and another servant came with another little container of vinegar and before she could drop it in, one of her generals snatched it away from her and said, "You can't do that. That's too much value to just waste so you can show your wealth." But that's how extravagant Cleopatra was.

This was the very costly pearl that Jesus had in mind in the bible parable, when Jesus told this story in Matthew 13 of the pearl of great price.

There are many lessons we can all learn from this pearl today and In this little parable Jesus outlined several secrets of success.

The first principle is that we must be willing to give all we have, to purchase the pearl of great price. Life is short and we only have a limited amount of time and opportunity to make a lasting mark on our generation. We want to do our very best, to achieve that goal and we can’t ever be satisfied with anything less than having this priceless pearl in our life.

A man bought a painting for $25.00, another man offered him a thousand dollars and he took it, only to find out that it was worth 20 million dollars! One understood the value and the other did not! Oh that people would understand what God is offering them before it’s too late…..

We all have some lofty goals that are beyond where we are, what we have and who we are today. God’s plan for us is certainly more than just going along every day, trying to make it through another day. If you're in school you want to get the best grades you can possibly get. You want to excel, and not just to get an 'a' in your teacher's book but excel to get an “a” on God's report card. We all want to make something out of our life as we stand on the shoulders and the sacrifices of those who have come before us.

The Second principle is….Have a definite purpose in life.

The Greek word for 'merchant' means a traveling wholesaler who is traveling throughout the world to seek the premium products that the world has to offer. So that he can have the best merchandise to sell. He's looking for the best pearls of value, not because he wants them just for himself, but to have them for his clients. Pearls are valued for their size, their shape and their luster. Those three things are what the merchant is looking for that causes the pearl to have value.

A person without purpose in this life cannot find real value. Without clear goals, you become restless and despondent. If you want to be successful you've got to have clear goals, because the true measure of a person is how high their ideals are.

If you're going to climb a tree, you've got to reach for the strong branches that will hold you up and don’t just grab for the pretty blossoms. I think too many of us are just reaching for the blossoms of life that fade and fall off so quickly. We must go for the solid and reliable principles and values that will stay firm and steady as we move toward our goals.

Following the path of least resistance, which is often what people do, is what makes crooked rivers and crooked people. Set a goal in your life. Chart the course and hold yourself to it and you will succeed. Have a purpose, and God will empower you to fulfill that purpose in your life. God will do in and through you that which you cannot do for yourself alone.

There is enough energy from the sun, on each acre of land in the United States that you could melt rocks that lie underneath the soil. So have you ever been walking along and noticed the rocks have melted? No….There is more than enough energy to do it but the energy is not focused and concentrated on one area. Likewise, If you were to focus your faith through the power of the Spirit within you, there is nothing that you can't accomplish with God. You can do it through his power.

The Third principle is, Commit yourself to high standards. Scripture tells us that if we judge ourselves, then others won’t have to judge us…The merchant in our scripture text, had the highest standards and wouldn’t settle for less than the best. The Greek word used here indicates that he was seeking pearls of excellence. He wanted the best pearls that money could buy. Seeking the biggest and the best is good when the things of God, are your pearl. We have before us a constant choice between the high road of surrender, or the low road of compromise…

The Fourth Principle is… Recognize true value and don’t be deceived by counterfeits. So many people will say “ When I bought that, I thought it was of better quality than it was”, or when I married him, or I married her, I thought they were different... Well, they didn’t have a correct sense of value. Good judgment, the right principles and using God’s word to measure everything along with good counsel, is how you get there.

While Satan is diminishing you, with “you’ll never do it”. “It’s way out of your league”, “you’ve set the bar too high”… The spirit of Christ, is raising your value with, “You are more than a conqueror”, “I will give you the desires of your heart”…. “Believe and you shall see”…. “Tell your mountains to move”!

God will give you the desires of your heart but you need to surround yourself with Godly, proven, time tested counsel and through these, God will help you to make wise and proper decisions in life.

All too often we conclude that something is valuable simply because so many people are chasing after it to get it. I've got to get me a pair of those boots. I've got to get me one of those electronic devices, because everybody's getting it. I've got to have a new body, and you get it and you’re still not happy because there was no change in character, outlook, personality and standards. Shoot for just anything and you’ll hit it every time…The crowd does not set your values. Your values are set by a higher standard that comes out of heaven, not from earth.

If you’ve ever fed chickens, you will understand this analogy… If you place a pile of scraps in an area, then call the chickens, and as they come running, begin to throw scraps of food in front of them, when a chicken grabs one of those big pieces and goes running off, A dozen others will go running after that chicken and they will leave a whole pile of food as they go chasing after that one scrap. Don't get caught up in the chicken chase. The chicken philosophy of life will limit you to what the other chickens have or what they do. We also know it as the rat race…

A proper sense of value chooses things, not because of the popularity, but because of their true worth. Be sure you’re not doing or wanting something, just because everybody else is doing it or wanting it.

Number five. Have a sacrificial spirit. If you're going to be able to do life well, you will need to sacrifice some things for something better. You've got to make time in your life and schedule, for what is really worth doing, not just what gratifies you at the time. Sometimes, you've got to lay everything else aside to accomplish something of greater priority. Learn to get to the bottom line. The merchant in our scripture went home after he saw those pearls and he sold all the things that he owned that were of lesser value, to have what was of greater value. He was willing to sacrifice the whole 9 yards to get what he wanted.

You've got to be willing to let go of some things that are unprofitable, to get other things that are good and profitable. We all have things which give us comfort and stroke our ego, but they do us no spiritual good. There are even things we hang onto because we don’t want to take the risk or because they actually have control of us. So often, the critical issue is not how much we own, but how much owns us!

Just remember, that it is because an oyster remains faithful through the thing that is irritating and uncomfortable to it, is what produces a pearl! The greater the irritation, the larger and more valuable the pearl that is produced! The best pearls are not cheap.

The largest pearl in the world is 9.45 inches in diameter. It weighs 14.1 pounds. It was found in 1934 and was found inside of a giant clam and the value today is $60 million. It’s one of a kind. (that was some irritation!)

A sacrificial spirit means that you are seeking an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ and you are willing to do whatever is required to establish that in your life. You're willing to make time for Bible study by turning off something, shoving aside something that is cluttering up your schedule and taking away from your time to pray and give time to your relationship with God. God's pearl will never cost you less than all you have and you will never hold title to it unless you are willing to give up whatever has become too important or of greater value to you than having it.

Why do we hold on so tight to our money, when God says give? Why do we hold on so tight to this world's goods, when God says it’s become too important? Why do we give so little of our means when He gave so largely and generously of His, and at the same time we claim that we want to follow Him and know Him better?

Matthew 13:45 is challenging all of us to experience a paradigm shift in our understanding. Matthew 13:45 says the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for pearls. This does not say the kingdom of heaven is like a pearl, it says the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking a pearl. In God’s grand purpose, the two objects…the merchant and the pearl become merged together…..in the kingdom of heaven….

We need to see that this parable has a dual application, as we think of Jesus as the merchant, then the parable is not just a picture of a sinner seeking Christ. It is a picture of Christ seeking the sinner.

Luke 19:10 says the Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which is lost and we are the pearl that Jesus is seeking. In the Greek, the word used here for 'seek' is (poon-than'-om-ahee, means “a quest, to leave one place and come to another place”. Jesus left heaven and came down here to this sin cursed world to gather up His pearls. We are the pearl of great price that Jesus to seek and find and He won’t stop until He has you.

Even in our failings and short comings, Jesus sees value in us. You may say well I'm ugly, this is wrong with me, that's wrong with me. But, Jesus sees the value in every one of us.

Zechariah 9:16 “And the LORD their God shall save them in that day as the flock of His people: for they shall be as precious jewels in the Master’s crown, lifted up as an ensign (naw-sas…a beacon, a search light, or a signal light) upon his land”. “Ensign” also has the meaning of a banner under which people can march together.

On October 13th, 2010 in Copiapo Chili, thirty three miners were brought safely to the surface and were rescued, after being trapped 2,300 feet underground for 69 days. Almost $1 million dollars per person was spent in that effort. Was it worth it? They were willing to spend $1 million each to rescue miners down in some dark mine, because they felt that these were of great value to their families, friends and country. Those miners who found themselves in that terrible condition, came out spiritually renewed. Folks came together to rescue those pearls. If people were willing to go to such lengths, think of what God is willing to do!

Jesus is the seeker who is bringing together every resource He has to purchase His pearls. We are the ones down in the mine. We are helpless. And in spite of our situation and circumstances in this world we are precious in the sight of God.

The most valuable pearls are found in the deepest depths of the sea, and they begin as an irritation in the oyster. A little grain of sand irritates the oyster and the oyster secretes a calcium substance to coat the irritation, a pearl is produced as a result of suffering and from much suffering an object of beauty and value is formed. As the little grain of sand in the oyster is ultimately clothed with a beauty not of it’s own.

The pearl is created from within a living organism. That makes it unlike any other jewel in the world today. A diamond is basically a human invention and most of us would not recognize a diamond in the rough. We take a stone we chisel it just right and we create it’s lovely facets… our value is not of human origin, but from the hands of God. It is God‘s love that has brought value into our lives. We are not the product of evolution or the rise of the fittest over the weakest.

The oyster lives in the unclean dirty depths of the sea. It lives among the scavengers. In the Bible the sea represents people. Like oysters, sinners are taken out of the depths of this unclean, wicked world and if you think about it, all the poisons in the ocean and heavy metals sink to the bottom and clams and oysters live and feed there. That's where the pearl comes from, where all that wicked, yucky stuff is on the bottom. That's how far Christ has searched as He dredges His people up out of the pit where we were trapped as captives. Our environment doesn’t have to determine our value!

Have you ever seen a pretty oyster? I’ve looked at some new born babies, and wondered how something so beautiful could be produced by two people that were so ugly! Aren’t you glad Jesus looks at inner beauty!!! Not one thing about us is beautiful in ourselves, but like an oyster diver, Jesus descended into the depths of sin in search of something of eternal value and when he finds it he brings it up because He sees the inner beauty that is being formed within you.

Our highest purpose is to showcase Jesus Himself, because it is said that pearls enhance the beauty, wisdom and importance of the owner. Well, we're the pearls and we're here to glorify, magnify and honor our owner, Jesus Christ. He has invested all He is and all He has to redeem us.

What is the part the pearl plays in all of this? Our part is to receive the covering which pours forth in order to turn the irritating thing into a thing of beauty. The test becomes our testimony, the wound becomes a wonder, The disaster becomes a deliverance, and the problem becomes a pearl!

We need to carefully choose what we treasure…There was a T-shirt with this message: If they don't have chocolate in heaven, I ain't going!.... Perhaps that was written to over-state a point, or simply for the sake of humor. But it illustrates what the Lord is talking about - that what we treasure has great power over us. Our heart ought to be controlled by heavenly treasures - which cannot be touched by the moth, the rust or the thief who breaks in to steal!

A pearl isn't much underneath the shiny surface. If you hit a pearl with a hammer you end up with a pile of lime-like chalk and it looks like white dust. It's only the covering that makes the pearl valuable. And what makes us valuable, is our God provided, God given covering.If you're covered with the robe of the righteousness of Jesus Christ, you're valuable, you’re eternal and you're priceless. In a real sense, we are the pearl of great price.

In Eden God covered man's nakedness, and at Calvary God covered man's sin. In both cases something innocent died to cover someone that was guilty. We can never afford the price that covers our ugliness. All we have to give is filthy rags in exchange for a robe of righteousness and that's all He asks of us….to come under His covering. To give up the filthy rags and receive His covering that will make you a priceless pearl, and a thing of beauty. It will make you into one of His precious jewels. Never underestimate or forget your value.

Romans 8:31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? v32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?

Jesus loves us because He sees in us a pearl that heaven was willing to give something priceless to salvage and put on display before the world.. May He be the thrill of your soul. May He be jewel of your life and may you sparkle in His kingdom.

When rare pearls go on the market, they become valued at what someone is willing to pay for them. Our value is not in a lot of things we might claim, things we own, which would make us worth anything…. But we are worth what someone is willing to pay for us….and Jesus out bid everyone and gave something priceless in order to give us value, for He gave his life and that makes us the most valuable thing He ever created. None of us are all that we could ever be at this very moment, but we can be glad that our Lord, allows us to have do-overs, second chances, and a complete make-over.

As Christians we should subscribe to 10 values which should define us that we can all endorse and pass on to others….Because truth will always remain as truth….

First, Change yourself. “You must be the change you want to see in the world.” If you change how you think then you will change how you feel and what actions you take as a result. So, the world around you will change. Not only because you are now viewing your environment through new lenses of thoughts and emotions but also because the change within can now allow you to take action in ways you wouldn’t have – or maybe couldn’t even imagine– while stuck in your old patterns.

Second, You are in control of your choices. “Nobody can hurt me without my permission.” What you feel and how you react to something is always up to you. You can choose your own thoughts, reactions and emotions to everything that intersects with your life. And as you realize that no-one outside of yourself can actually control how you feel you can start to incorporate this thinking into your daily life and develop it as a way of dealing with your world. When you truly understand this, life will be a whole lot easier and a lot more pleasurable.

Third, Forgive and let it go. “The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.” “An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind.” Spending your time rehashing and reviewing some negative memory won’t help you after you have learned the lessons you can learn from that experience. Learn it and move on! If you don’t forgive then you letting the past control how you feel, how you perceive things and how you act it out. By forgiving, you are declaring your freedom! Declare that your past has an expiration date! That’s the power of redemption!

Fourth, Without action you aren’t going anywhere. It’s suprising how much our old habits will fight any new action. Breaking old patterns will require dogged determination before they become automatic…I challenge all of us to start some new patterns of praise and worship, of practicing the word concerning healing, witnessing, giving and developing new skills and talents. There will be some inner resistance from the way it’s always been, but it will be worth it in the end. So, often we have really good intentions, with no follow up…

Number Five, Take care of this moment of time you are in. I do not always need to insist on knowing the future before I act. I need to be concerned with taking care of the present to the best of my abilities. God has given me no control over the moment following the moment I am in. The best way to overcome the inner resistance that often stops us from taking action, is to stay in the present as much as possible and to accept that we are there to make a difference and to transform what is, into what God has planned as our appointed outcome. When a person enters AA, they learn to tell themselves that they can stay sober for the next 5 minutes. That 5 minutes turns into weeks, months and years of sobriety.

So it’s important to keep in mind that everyone has greatness in them, and everyone has a mission and purpose to fulfill. The ground is level at the cross and the upper room. We are here to help one another connect with that greatness of His Divine purpose.

Sixth, Be Persistent… You know that Satan is going to use intimidation, opposition and things near to your heart to fight you if he see that you are gaining ground, but keep receiving and applying the Lord’s covering, and you will win.” In time the opposition around you will fade and fall away. Your inner resistance and self-destructive tendencies that want to hold you back and keep you the way you have always been, will grow weaker and be broken off.

Seventh, See the good in people and help them. “Look only to the good qualities of those you interact with, realizing that we are all developing and evolving. “We become great to the exact degree in which we work for the welfare and the betterment of those that intersect with our lives.”

Over time you tend to get what you give. And the people you help may feel more inclined to help others also. And so you, together, create an upward spiral of positive change that grows, expands and becomes stronger. The Lord said that the greatest among us are those who serve others.

Eighth, Be authentic to your true self. Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do, all come into harmony. You are an original, be the best you that is possible, not a copy of someone else! People seem to really like authentic people. And there is much inner enjoyment to be found when your thoughts, words and actions are aligned. You feel powerful and good about yourself. When these things are in alignment, people tend to really listen to what you’re saying. It has been said by many… “I can’t hear a thing you’re saying because of your actions”!

Ninth, Never stop growing and evolving. ”Constant development is the law of life, and a man who always tries to maintain his rigid dogmas in order to appear consistent, righteous or holy, puts himself in a tower that no one can measure up to.” Too many folks talk about things but never do anything to make it happen…stop waiting for something to happen and start where you are to make something happen….start a prayer group, start a witnessing team, start a hospital or convalescent home visitation team, the prisons need ministry, folks need transportation to shopping and church…..be that person and keep growing and evolving…..

Tenth, Re-evaluate your evaluations, time changes things, conditions change people change, and you have changed, so revisit your conclusions and maybe you’ll find they don’t fit anymore. What couldn’t happen before can happen now. What you couldn’t do before, you can do now!

Ecclesiastes 3:11 “tells us that He makes all things beautiful in His time!” I believe this is your time, you’ve never been here before…what couldn’t happen before can happen now…what you couldn’t do before, you can do now…

I close today with a scripture from Hebrews….

Hebrews 2:5 “For unto none of the angels did He put in subjection the world to come, whereof we speak. v6 But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that You are mindful of him? or the son of man, that You visit him? v7 You made him a little lower than the angels. You crowned him with glory and honor, and You set him over the works of Your hands. v8 You have put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that You put all in subjection under him, You left nothing that is not put under him”.