Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto
treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for
joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. Again,
the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: Who,
when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and
bought it. Matthew 13:44-46
Picture a man working in someone's field! As he goes about his
daily toil in this field he happens on buried treasure. No one knows about that
treasure. He estimates its worth and decides it's of immense value. He buries it
up again and then goes and sells everything that he has in order to purchase
that field from its owner! He is willing to part with all he owns, because what
he will gain in return is far more valuable than all his previously combined
possessions!
Something
more precious than every other possession!
The merchant man is a seasoned entrepreneur. He knows his goods.
He understands value. You cannot fool him. He has been dealing in his
merchandise all his life, and he knows quality when he sees it! He's out
hunting for bargains to make a profit. He is prepared to pay as little as
possible for as much as he can get.
Then he sees the pearl! And he knows it for what it is! He must
have it. What he has already is nothing compared to what the pearl is! If it
means selling everything he has for the pearl, so be it, and so he sells everything
that he has! They no longer matter! The pearl has become the purpose of his
existence. He buys it!
So is the kingdom of heaven to be desired! All our possessions are
nothing compared to it! The things of this world go strangely dim in the light
of His excellence, and incomparable grace of His presence! We must have it!
Nothing else matters! This is the purpose of our existence! This is the reason
for our living! This is the conclusion of the whole matter! Get it! Strip the
non-essentials! Cut the binding ties! Throw the dead weight overboard! There is
the prize, the purpose, the point of it all! The power and the glory! The
righteous and the holy! Reach for it! Grab hold of it! Hold on to it! Secure
it!
The
rich young ruler simply did not get it! One
thing he lacked! One thing prevented him from that great prize, but he was
unwilling to pay the price! Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said
unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and
give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the
cross, and follow me. And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for
he had great possessions. Mark 10:21-22
He placed too much value on his earthly possessions! What he
prized and counted as precious became a barrier and stumbling block to his
possession of the Eternal Prize!
Abraham
saw it! Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my
day: and he saw it, and was glad. John
8:56. The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in
Mesopotamia, while in Ur of the Chaldees and he saw it! Almighty God opened
Abraham's eyes and gave him a vision. In the glory and light of that dazzling
vision, the noise and bustle of Ur disappeared into nothingness. The pomp and
splendor of the hub of civilization was suddenly dross, cheap, and tawdry
tinsel. For Abraham saw the city of God! The city that God built! God had laid
the foundations of that city, and how glorious it was! Unsurpassed by anything
man can build! The highest, most intense imagination of man could not begin to
comprehend that which God had shown Abraham! But
as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into
the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all
things, yea, the deep things of God. 1 Corinthians 2:9-10.
Abraham saw it all that day! Then God said Come to a place that I will show
you, and Abraham left with no regrets, no looking back, no turning again! He
left never to return!
His eyes constantly tracked the vision that he saw afar off! For he
looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. Hebrews 11:10 And
Abraham never built another house! He just kept on pitching his tents, for he
recognized the city had no earthly foundations. He was a pilgrim and a stranger
here! No ties! No permanent place down here,
for I see that city, he said. It is
constantly before me, so I see it in its glory and the splendor of God! It
beckons to me! it urges me on! I have no
time for permanent ties on this earth but must be ready to move at His command!
And he was called the friend of God!
Moses
saw it! He saw the magnificence and splendor of God! It makes men do
strange things- this vision! The world thinks you are mad, but they cannot see
what you see, what Moses saw! He was called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, an
heir to the riches and glory of the mightiest nation on earth! And
Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words
and in deeds. Acts 7:22
Egypt was his for the taking!
Then he came face to face with the reproaches of Christ! He saw Him
who is invisible! He had a vision, and when he placed the reproaches of Christ
side by side with the wealth of Egypt, it was no contest. All the wealth of
Egypt could not tip the scales in Egypt's favor! The reproaches of Christ won
hands down! Do not even begin to mention the glory and splendor and the riches
and rewards! Moses never turned back! He caught the vision and held on to it!
He spoke with God face to face! And
the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his
friend…Exodus 33:11 Of
Moses, God said, My servant Moses is not so, who is
faithful in all mine house. With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even
apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the LORD shall he
behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses? Numbers 12:7-8
Paul caught it
on the road to Damascus! He who was Circumcised
the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of
the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; Concerning zeal, persecuting the
church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. Philippians
3:5-6. But what men counted as a
plus and gain, Paul counted it loss for Christ! He cheerfully let it all go,
counting it all as nothing but dung! Something had gotten hold of him, and he
wanted to get a hold of that which had gotten hold of him! He wanted to know
more of that which knew him! He constantly pressed on, ever forward in his
spirit to know Him, just to know Him more!
Let's become
aware of what we have inherited in Christ, In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and
knowledge. Colossians 2:3. It
matters not, and profits nothing, if we gain this whole world but lose our own
souls, for there is nothing a man can give in exchange for his soul. Let's not
become so obsessed with a temporal longing that like Esau, who for one morsel
of meat sold his birthright. He treated the blessing as a light thing to be
despised while he pursued the flesh. Life was never the same for him again! For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited
the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he
sought it carefully with tears. Hebrews
12:17
But, beloved, we are persuaded better
things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak. For
God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have
shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do
minister. And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the
full assurance of hope unto the end: That ye be not slothful, but followers of
them who through faith and patience inherit the promises. Hebrews 6:9-12
Wherefore seeing we also are compassed
about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and
the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race
that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith;
who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame,
and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that
endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and
faint in your minds. Hebrews 12:1-3
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