On January 27th, 2021, AM Large Group Fellowship gathered together as Pastor Michael delivered the sermon coming from Matthew 13:44-46.

Last week, the bible students meditated on the Parable of the Hidden Treasure which was about the wise man who found and understood the value of the Kingdom of Heaven. The ‘treasure’ that is being referred to is Jesus. We become wise when we value Jesus Christ who came to us as true treasure.

This week, as they continue the Parables of the Kingdom of Heaven, the students looked at the Parable of the Pearl. The verses read,

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it. 

Similar to the Parable of the Hidden Treasure, there is a merchant searching for pearls and when he finds one of great value, he goes to sell everything that he had in order to buy the pearl. In order to understand this message, we must know the job of merchants. During that time period, merchants were people who traveled around and made their living by trading goods with foreign countries.

Here in this story, the merchant finds one pearl of great value, and his reaction was to sell every other item that he had found in order to have that one pearl. There was this desperate need in him to sell all his other items for the one pearl. This is the kind of desire that we need to have also. This parable is trying to teach us that the word of God is like the precious pearl and that we should be desperately searching and willing to give up everything to have it.

The Word of God is precious to us because it is the truth. Without the truth, we have a much bigger struggle than the merchant digging up to find pearls. “Wisdom is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her” (Proverbs 3:15). The wisdom that we gain from the word of God is far more precious than any other thing in this world. God wants us to seek after this truth diligently with all of our efforts.

“Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces. (Matthew 7:6)

The Word of God is very valuable. Everyone has access to it, but not many value it and appreciate it. God’s word is made available to many people in this world, however, not everyone responds to His truth in the same way. We want to have the image of the merchant and not the image of the dog or the pig. God’s word is very precious and we should have passion, energy, and a desire to know it.

The conclusion of both parables end in the same way, “he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.”

When a person gives up everything for the truth, they realize that they have gained so much more. We want to see the treasure in God’s word and find it. We should recognize the value of the truth and put all the things down in order to have it.

 “It is difficult to understand the kingdom of God. In a way, if you stop thinking about it, then it becomes easier. We worry so much about worldly desires when those things are temporary. We should think of the bigger picture and that is God. My patience is very low, but I have to have faith even though I can’t see it. It is so beautiful to know the truth. All you have to do is just let go. My life has been so much better when I focus on God and not on other things,” said newcomer Sean.

“Sometimes I take God’s word for granted so this message reminded me to approach his word with a different perspective. That has been one of my prayer topics for a while.  I think after studying the word for a while, I became nonchalant about it, but I really want to have the fire burning at all times when I hear God’s word. It is truly precious especially when God has called me out of everyone else he could have chosen to know his word. I am thankful for that, but I need to definitely give more effort like a merchant,” said Intern Staff Ashley.

May we all focus on what is the most valuable in this lifetime; Jesus and the word of God. I pray that we can all continue to seek both so that our joy can also be made complete.