ARTICLES ON WISDOM

DATE:  26 January 2003
SPEAKER:  Pastor Tayo Adeyemi
TITLE: The pearl of great price - understanding the quest for meaning in life.
TEXT:  Matthew 13: 44-46

Over the past few weeks we have been looking at the subject, "Pressing Towards the Mark"; and have been considering principles that would help us in the pursuit of our vision.
Recognising that we are primarily spiritual and eternal beings, todays message seeks to add an eternal dimension to all that we have been sharing.
Jesus was a master at using parables or "parallels" to communicate eternal truths. The word "parable" simply means to lay alongside. So, Jesus used everyday concepts to communicate kingdom truths. He told at least 26 parables during His earthly ministry (some scholars say up to 40). Of these, 19 of them made direct reference to the kingdom of heaven. Here in Matthew Chapter 13, we find 7 of such parables - and they are specifically known as parables of the kingdom.
Three of these seven parables are extremely short and here today we want to consider two of them found in Matthew 13: 44-46. These two parables are underscored by the discovery of something very valuable. In both cases, the discovery was made by someone who was on a quest, someone looking for something.
EVERYBODY IS LOOKING FOR SOMETHING
Whether you admit it or not, there is a longing inside you that motivates you to do the things that you do. And the deeper the longing, the higher the price you are willing to pay to satisfy it. Some people are in touch with that longing - they know exactly what it is. Others even know what they must do to fulfil it.
For most people though, they just find something to connect that longing to, so they don't appear to be lost or confused. Some want to be rich, others want to be beautiful, yet others want to be healthy or learned or honourable or famous or accepted.
These are all simply different expressions of the deep longings within all of us. Psychologists tell us that all human beings, at one stage in life or another, and to varying degrees of intensity, are pre-occupied by four overwhelming questions:
1.Who am I?
2.Where did I come from?
3.Why am I here? (How did I get here)
4.Where am I going?
It is these unanswered questions that lead us on a quest for adventure. The answer to these questions is what Jesus describes in these two parables as treasures in a field and the pearl of great price.
When these men make these discoveries, they are willing to give up all that they had - everything that they had ever lived or worked for up till that moment, just to acquire the treasure. Verse 44: "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field". The word treasure in this verse refers more to a gold mine, than it does a treasure chest. Now, notice two things about this treasure:
1.It is hidden
2.It is in a field
The field is an open space - an accessible expanse of land. People are passing through it, playing on it, working in it all the time. Yet right there, great treasure is hidden. The greatest treasures of the kingdom are available to all - but only those who seek will find it. Jeremiah 29: 11-13, Proverbs 25: 2
In Ephesians 3:9, Paul talks about a mystery which had been hidden from the beginning of the ages. Hidden for us, not from us. They were hidden, so they could be found. When Jesus said "seek and you shall find", it was because there was something to be found. There is a joy that comes from finding.
As children, when we play hide and seek, the fun of the game was in finding the person hiding. When a person hid sow ell that nobody could find them, the game soon became boring.
This parable sets the stage for the next one: Verse 45: "The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls. The word merchant here describes an entrepreneur, who customarily travelled especially by sea in order to seek merchandise to buy and sell.
The word "seek" means to search for with intent to find: to find out by thinking, meditating or reasoning; to enquire into; to aim at; to strive after. Now, note that this merchant was already accustomed to looking for pearls - he already was on a quest. He wasn't looking just for ordinary pearls. His mind was set on finding beautiful ones. The word beautiful here means excellent, eminent, choice, commendable, admirable, genuine, beautiful by reason of purity.
We all are set on a journey because there is a longing within us - a sense that something is missing. You only desire what you don't have - you don't long for something that is already within your reach. So, you're searching because you don't have it. But also, you are searching because you know it exists. If it doesn't exist, why go looking for it? This merchant was looking for pearls.
Now, pearls are not found on the surface. They are usually in the depths of the ocean - usually about 120 feet below the surface of the ocean. And usually, they are hidden in an oyster that doesn't even look attractive.
Deep down inside everyone is an oyster that doesn't look like much. Yet it contains a pearl of great price. Now this merchant has sailed out to the high seas; and is searching. He is not specifically looking for this one pearl. He is simply looking for pearls of excellent quality. Little does he know that on this occasion, he will stumble upon a discovery that will totally change his life. He is about to find the most precious of pearls, the ultimate pearl; the world's greatest treasure………………..BY ACCIDENT!
Most of the greatest discoveries in history have been by accident: Isaac Newton, Madame Curie, Louise Pasteur, Archimedes, Alexander Fleming, George Washington Carver. But all these people were on a quest.
Many times, you encounter your greatest dreams while looking for something else. But nevertheless, you're looking. Who qualifies to find this pearl of great price? Someone who has a longing deep enough to touch the bottom of the ocean.
How is a pearl found?An oyster sits at the bottom of the ocean, protected by strong tightly sealed shell, which keeps away all kinds of intrusion. But there is a current at the bottom of the ocean, which forces a tiny grain of sand to break through that shell. That grain of sand becomes a painful intrusion.
A seemingly insignificant grain of sand now causes the oyster untold and unbearable pain, because small as it is, it touches the deepest, most tender, most sensitive place in the oyster. The oyster in response releases something to soothe the pain. This secretion begins to form layer upon layer around the grain of sand. When the process is complete, what caused the oyster unbearable pain now makes it extremely valuable. The pearl is the only precious stone that comes into existence by pain.
Your greatest pearls will be formed out of your greatest pain. Pain causes stuff to come out of you that you did not even know was there. Your greatness will come out of what you release when the intrusions and temptations of life touch you at your most tender place.
When you find this pearl of great price you will be ready to give up everything you have ever had in order to get it. And what's more? Once you buy it, the pearl increases in value. This pearl now becomes your access into the future. Revelation 21:21
IT'S TIME TO GO ON A QUEST
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