The Treasure And The Pearl
"The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has, and buys that field. "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had, and bought it.” Matthew 13:44
What do the treasure and the pearl represent?
Anyone should know that they represent the Lord Jesus Christ. These parables are intended to show what it is like when Jesus Christ is really found. He captures the heart and soul of every man and woman, then carries it away from everything else in this world, nothing else is important.
What is meant when these parables both speak of finding a great treasure for our souls to possess? It is this -
That the person who finds this treasure recognizes its value.
That they are willing to lose everything else, in order to have this prize.
That upon the discovery of this great treasure they do something, they don't stand still, or just talk about the treasure.
Here it can be seen that unless people come to have a deep sense of their own spiritual sickness, they will not seek after Christ, and therefore will not find Him; He will not be a treasure to them.
Our soul sickness is not a “small” thing, it is the most important concern that we have in this world, we must attend to it or suffer an unspeakable destruction. So many people see no value in their own soul, they take care
of their bodies, but their souls are for the most part neglected. Foolishness of all foolishnesses!
I believe it is necessary for us to see the evil propensities in our lives, we will never realize the need for such a salvation until we see the absolute depravity of our lives! I don't believe anyone will even look for the treasure or the pearl, which both represent the same thing, until we discover that our lives are a veritable fountain of sin of all sorts, pride, envy, self-esteem, self-seeking, etc.
Don't Die Without The Divine Life In You
We are in no hell, but that which our own natural strength has awakened in us; we are bound in no chains, but of our own unbending, hardened spirits; and we were made such, by our renouncing, with all of our strength, all meekness, and subjection to God, and to His will.
"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls,” if earthly interests, and sensual pleasures, are still the desire of your heart, and only partly hidden under a form of Godliness, you can be assured, that you have not found the pearl of great price. For where Christ is born, and His Spirit rises up in the soul, there, all self, and self will , is denied.
Begin to search and dig in your own field for this pearl of eternity, this treasure hidden in a field, which in reality lies hidden in you; it cannot cost you too much, it is not too expensive, for it is everything, and when you have found it, you will know that all that you have sold and given up for it, was absolutely nothing in comparison. But if you turn from this heavenly pearl, this Heavenly treasure, or if you trample it under your feet, for the sake of being rich, or great, either in the Church or in the world, if death finds you in this kind of "success," you will think, that though you lost the pearl, you have found something of better value. For in that parting moment, the things, and the sounds of this world, will all be exactly the same; to have owned an estate, or only to have heard of one, to have lived in a castle twenty years, or only to have twenty times walked by a palace, will be the same amount of good, or the same amount of nothing to you.
Yes, while things in the world were going well for you, and Eternity seems so far away, you didn't want any change in your own nature to occur, you were not cognizant of any inward destruction in your natural temperament, no, didn't have any deliverance from the love of self, and the enjoyments of your passions; you liked your state, and your old nature being gratified, you liked wearing long robes and having your phylacteries broad, and people greeting you in the markets places. You didn't want to have your pride and self-love dethroned, your covetousness and sensuality to be subdued by receiving a new nature from Heaven. This is true blindness, pity all such people.
If you will not admit to the convictions of personal guilt, and will not let the light of God's Word shine in upon your heart, there is no hope for you. Self-blinded to your sin and consequent danger, you must go down to eternal darkness. For when God deals with us he wants us to use our minds, He wants us to think! He gives us His law as our rule, and asks us to study it and judge ourselves by its demands. Therefore, unless you make up your mind to know yourself, and are also willing to take the trouble and admit to your heart all of the truth, there is no hope for you. It is amazing to see how much self-delusion there is.
Another condition of feeling one's need of Christ is that you consider deeply what the Bible teaches respecting yourself. It is amazing to see how many read the Bible, over and over again, and yet, it never gets a hold on their attention, and, consequently, they never really receive a just conception of its greatest and most vital truths. " A man who had never heard the Gospel, said to God at the judgment, "Why didn't you tell me these things before? Even though he did have an excellent opportunity to hear and understand the Gospel. You see, he had ruled out listening to the Gospel. Again the man said, "Why didn't you tell me there was such a hell?" I did tell you; I have told you often and urged you to listen, but you wouldn't. The man returned, "No; but I didn't understand the importance of it." God told him, you would not try to understand.
Sometimes you have been preoccupied while someone was preaching a sermon, as if determined not to hear. Of course, you hear nothing to any good purpose, because you sit down to read a chapter in the Bible, in which are a great many precious things, but your eyes pass over everything, for your heart is not in it. You were not searching for truth and wisdom as worldly men dig for treasure. Can you see why men fail to understand the Gospel?
You must remember that heaven and hell, each have their foundation within you, they do not come into you from outside, but spring up from within you, accordingly as your will and heart are turned either to the light of God, or the kingdom of darkness. But when this life, which is in the midst of these two eternities, comes to an end, either an Angel, or a devil will be found to have taken a birth in you.
As soon as you are ready to hear this eternal speaking Word, It will speak wisdom and love into your inward parts, and bring forth a birth of Christ, with all His holy nature, Spirit, and temperaments, within you. It is there as an holy oil, to soften and overcome the wrathful fiery properties of your nature, and change them into the humble meekness of light and love. It is there as a speaking Word of God in your soul; and this pearl of eternity is the peace and joy of God within you, but it can only be found by the manifestation of the life and power of Jesus Christ in your soul. Christ cannot be your power and your life, until in obedience to His call, you deny yourself, and take up your cross daily, in order to follow Him, into regeneration. This is unconditional, it will admit of no evasion, it is the only way to Christ and eternal life.
But regardless of which Church or denomination you are in, if self is un-denied, if you live to your own will, to the pleasures of your own natural lust and appetites, senses and passions, in conformity to the vain customs, and spirit of this world, you are dead yet while you live.
The One Great Stumbling Block
You say all is well within you; you have no suspicion that anything is wrong; you look back at the time when you “Accepted the Lord” and it was at this time that you thought that your newness of life would begin, but, not much really changed in your life, and then you found wonderful spiritual books, and after reading them and having your eyes opened to many great truths, you believed that you had discovered the pearl of great price because you agreed with all of the truth that you had read in these spiritual books. This of course is ridiculous, it doesn't matter what you know or agree with, the only thing that counts is this –
Do You Own The Pearl?
It is indeed a great joy, that you have found the pearl of great price; but take notice, that it is not yours, you can have no possession of it, until as the merchant did, you sell all that you have, and buy it. Now, self is all that you have, it is your sole possession; you have no true spiritual things of your own, nothing is yours but this self. The riches of self are your only riches; but all of this self is to be parted with before the pearl of great price can be yours. Think of a lower price, or be unwilling to give this price for it, plead with your excuse, that you try to keep the commandments,
and then you have become that very rich young man, who went away sorrowful from our Lord, when He said, "If you will be perfect," that is, if you will obtain the pearl, "Sell all that you have, and give to the poor.”
Did you sell your all in order to buy it? Suppose you had been told, that up to this day you have lived in the grossest self-idolatry, loving, serving, honoring, and adoring yourself instead of God. That all your intentions, projects, pleasures, and indulgences, have been only so much labor to bring you to the grave in total ignorance of that great work, for which you were born into this world to accomplish. Suppose an Angel said to you, "Oh man awake; you have a great amount of work, your time is short, I am your last trumpet; the grave calls for your flesh and blood, your soul must enter into a new lodging. You must be born again: and if you are not born again you will become a devil."
To trust or pray for anything else other than the Life Of God, which is a birth of Heaven in our souls, is as useless to us, as placing our hope and trust in a graven image! To think of anything in religion, or to pretend to any real holiness, without totally dying to this your old man, is only building castles in the air, and can bring forth nothing, but Satan in the form of an Angel of light.
If you have not found Christ to be more to you than all of the other things in this world, you should understand that you have not made much of an advance in piety, if in fact you have made any at all. If you have not found Christ in such a spiritual way, in such a way that your soul is seized and held by Him, you ought to assume that there is something more for you to find, and that it is the Treasure, or you may call it the Pearl, they are the exact same thing! Please my friend don't pretend all is well, if in fact, Christ is not your ALL, your everything, your life!
Facts That Seem To Be Very Plain Today
How very few people seem to have found Christ and to have renounced everything for His sake. The Psalmist said -- "Whom have I in heaven but Thee? And there is none upon earth whom I desire besides Thee;" but, unfortunately, there are not many who feel in their hearts the same way the Psalmist felt.
Let me say this to every unpardoned sinner, “you need to find Christ as your all.” You complain of condemnation and bondage. If you will look for that treasure in the field, until you find it, you will be willing to part with everything else, seeing that they are of no importance in comparison with the worth of the Pearl of great price that you have found.
Who of you have found Christ? Have you found Him to be the Treasure, the Pearl? For if you have, you will say. “This treasure is much greater than I expected.” With every new understanding and sight of His glory, this will sink in deeper and deeper. To even think of living again for self, will seem like a nightmare to you!
This Scripture that we have been contemplating demonstrates that the one who truly discovers the Treasure, the Pearl, will sell all that he has to buy it. When you appreciate Christ in this way, you will say with Paul, "I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord." You will always find it this way, those who find Christ, will forsake all this world has to offer. If they don't it can only be that they still believe that something else besides salvation in Christ is the real pearl!
What About You?
What are you going to do with Jesus Christ? Have you found the Pearl? Are you ready at this moment to sell all that you have? Do you see Christ as being worth all that you own, yes and even more? If you are still hesitating about giving up all to Him, He who gave up His all for us, shame on you! Today, this very moment, truth has surrounded you. You must forcibly close your eyes in order not to see your duty. Now, if you do close your eyes to this very great truth, you may never again have an opportunity to hear the voice of God, look at what our Lord has said,
“And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper.” Romans 1:28
God's grace seems to be a deep well that can't go dry, and this is true indeed. You see it is not that God ever hides from us, or that He ever runs away from us; it is a fact that in every case it is we who have done the running, the hiding. And if we continue in this course there will come a time that we of our own doing will no longer be able to hear God. It will be for us as it was in times of old, Ezekiel 12:2. "Son of man, you live in the midst of the rebellious house, who have eyes to see but do not see, ears to hear but do not hear; for they are a rebellious house. Yes, this is what happens to us, our own rebellion and stubbornness prevents us from hearing the loving call of the Master.
You must understand this, God never changes, He is love, we are told in 1 Corinthians 13:8 that “Love never fails” What a truth we have here, God never stops loving us, He has commanded us to forgive our enemies, He has told us to keep on forgiving people, and so we can see His will in the matter. God does not have a double standard. He Himself lives by these same rules He has given to us.
If you end up in hell, it will be because you have resisted the love of God to the point of no return, and that has been demonstrated to be when our eyes, and ears are closed by our own rebellion!
Make The Right Decision!