Sunday_Service

Good morning everyone, from Hilo, Hawaii to the rest of the world, welcome to The Church Ministries and our 144th church service assembly with our world wide church that has over 32 flags now in communication and members, we are incorporated and we now are a non-profit 501(c)(3) Public Charity Status, that is in section 170 and tax deductible. We welcome all of you, any size and shape, we have so much love to give every man and woman across the face of this planet, I Pastor Paul have been sick for over 33 months and still have not been diagnosed. The sickness has been getting worse and my energy has gone down everyday, to where I have no energy even to write a sermon any more. We still are going strong and we picked up some more links for everyone and it is a blessing for people to share with us and we thank Sis Shanna who helped us all out with her ministry. Plus we still have the mission praying for us and of course Susan Jones, this week I am going to change the prayer for the candlelight prayer that I finished up Monday and the last Sunday morning was the worst attack ever, so we are just going to add on to 13 pages and we have a button to flip on ahead and it will be basically the prayer from Monday but I have to make some changes, we have already had one crash and I had to start over, I am having trouble now with the pluming, but what else is new it just does not end every Saturday night. Then I typed two pages again I won’t even use. We are here to touch thousands of lives, to bring the good news to a land that still many worship 12 other gods old (Hawaii). So in turn I came here as a missionary to preach the love and resurrection power of Jesus Christ, and in turn I hope to capture the audience of the locals and the world, also our entire congregation throughout all the different countries and to all the friends and members we have across the globe. I thank my God that most of us that are here today or any day that we can share the love of God and the fellowship of our Lord Jesus. I myself have suffered a few tears this week but it has been not so good, but I will feel better then the last few weeks, even though I am suffering greatly and have been confined to my home and church office for almost 3 years in November, I still was able to convey a lot of love and prayer to many reaches of the world. I also wish to thank all of the prayer ministries that by us helping everyone on their lists, for the people that are suffering, we find joy by helping others, also I have been able to receive many gentle notes of thanks, prayers, added strength and joy through all the emails that have been sent back to us. Now two ministries want to join up with us and carry the name, I am not sure what to do with that situation, I think I have to write the board and ask them what everyone thinks, plus there are so many ministries and churches that use all our text anyway so we don’t know who has been sharing what and with who, I would have to go over all the emails and make a large list to find out how many churches and ministries and even pastors that are using our writings and text and sermons plus all the prayer letters and other writings on the main pages, I added the Luther’s 95 Theses which is on the End Times Today page, or hit new on this page, so that is a nice addition. And the new links are on the Bible Creed page and they are great, they feature a site that has whole books you can read, so check them all out. And please pray for me I found a doctor but it isn’t till the 4th of November and I asked for a cancellation so I can see this guy sooner. He is the one that fixed a woman up after an ENT worked on her for 2 months, me I am just getting changed when I realized that it has been so long sitting in this house and working on the ministry and just studying the word. So everyone welcome and Praise the Lord we are here together one more time, and thank God I am still alive and can still type. So we will all be meeting at different times and different days because some countries are like 18 hours ahead of us. God bless all of you.

My obligation while living in the valley

Please open your Bibles to the Book of Job Chapter 1 verse 6

6 One day the angels came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them. 7 The LORD said to Satan, "Where have you come from?"

Satan answered the LORD, "From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it."

8 Then the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil."

9 "Does Job fear God for nothing?" Satan replied. 10 "Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. 11 But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face."

12 The LORD said to Satan, "Very well, then, everything he has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger."

Then Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.

13 One day when Job's sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother's house, 14 a messenger came to Job and said, "The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing nearby, 15 and the Sabeans attacked and carried them off. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!"

16 While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, "The fire of God fell from the sky and burned up the sheep and the servants, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!"

17 While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, "The Chaldeans formed three raiding parties and swept down on your camels and carried them off. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!"

18 While he was still speaking, yet another messenger came and said, "Your sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother's house, 19 when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on them and they are dead, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!"

20 At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship 21 and said:

"Naked I came from my mother's womb,

and naked I will depart.

The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away;

may the name of the LORD be praised."

22 In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing. Job 1:6-22

It has been said that Job lost everything during his time of affliction. It is true that he lost his family, his finances, his fitness and his friends, yet through it all, he never lost his faith or his relationship with the Lord. When the bottom fell out of Job's life, he still maintained his confidence in the Lord. In doing so, he demonstrates to us what our obligation is to God while we pass through the valleys of life.

Everyone reading this sermon goes through difficult times. In fact, there has never been a human life that was free from burdens and cares. This shouldn't surprise us because the Bible tells us that things are going to be this way, ["Man born of woman

is of few days and full of trouble.] (Job 14:1) Yet man is born to trouble

as surely as sparks fly upward.] (Job 5:7) ["I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."] (John 16:33). Augustine put it this way, "God only had one Son on this earth without sin, but none without suffering."

When these times come upon us, we can react in one of two ways. We can either move toward God, or we can move away from Him. I have seen trials produce both reactions in the people to whom I have ministered over the years. Joseph Lincoln caught this attitude when he said, "Trouble affects folk differently. Trouble is like hot weather, it sours milk, but it sweetens apples." It is my conviction that trials come to help us grow in the Lord, [And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.] ( Rom. 8:28) [I have seen the burden God has laid on men.] (Eccl. 3:10.) If this is the case, then it stands to reason that we are expected to carry out certain duties while we are in the valley. What I mean is that our times in the valley are not times to be passive, but they are times to be pro-active. God has certain expectations when it comes to our attitudes and behaviors while in the valleys of life.

For this message, I would like to draw from the experience of Job. I would like to show you that Job performed certain duties while in his valley that stand as a testimony to you and me. I believe that what Job did is what we are supposed to do. As we look into this passage, let me share with you the experience of Job, and in doing so I would like to speak for a while on the thought: How we live and love in the valley

THERE MUST BE A DEVOTION TO GOD

At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship and said: ["Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart.

The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised." In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.] (Job 1:20-22)

How could Job hide his grief, he couldn’t, but as a good man he had not lost his faith in God. Would You? Has anything bad happened like this to you? I see people get all upset over loosing a job at work. Job’s emotions came out and showed that he was a human not superman, and he did love his family.God made us to have emotions, and it is not sinful to let them come out. In any physiological book it will tell you to express your feelings, if you have a deep loss, or have gone through some type of hurting frustration, or just a broken heart, you should admit your feelings and open yourself up and don’t hold anything in, to others and to yourself and you should grieve. The thing is when there is not anyone to talk to or anyone around to tell what has happened to you hurts even more, and I have met many Christians that don’t even want to here it. I had a friend a best friend that I used to work a food bank with, and load, pack, pick out the product, and use my own truck, and my gas for two years for a church and this friend. Then on Friday or Saturday we would hand out the food to about 60-70 families, and when I got sick, and moved to Hawaii his last email was I don’t want to write anymore because I will sound like Job’s friends, he didn’t even want to listen. Talk about a broken heart, why don’t we crush it on top of everything else. 2 days a week, I worked for free, used my truck and my gas, just to bring home a box of food for myself; I was also going through ministry school at the time. The good part was on the way to the big food bank, I would get anointed by the Holy Spirit and the tears came down so heavy sometimes I had to stop or pull over, the anointing was so intense, and then I knew I was doing what God wanted me to do. We would unload my truck, and on the same day another truck with can goods would come and me and this 85 year old man who was my best friend, we were so close, would unload that truck and put away everything and get it ready to hand out the next or the day after. And he writes me an email like that. It was 2 years of work and friendship and it didn’t mean a thing. We even went to church Sunday night and Monday night bible study together. We sat together most of the time. I was devastated when I read that email and it was only a few months down the road, look at me now? Close to 3 years latter still sick and have not heard from him since. Then I had another friend here, I met who would never want to here anything about being hurt, so sooner or later there was nothing to say, I could not tell him anything that had happened to me, so there was nothing to talk about anymore. He didn’t want to hear about doctors and pain and swelling and skin changing color etc. He just didn’t want to listen, and I needed someone to talk to, one Bishop from another ministry we talk for hours and he enjoys our talks, and he wants to call more often, the same with the Secretary who lives in Buffalo, N.Y. and we pray and talk and pray and talk. We have to live and learn and just get used to living in the valley with a broken heart after a broken heart from all the people I don’t hear from. Anyway Job had lost all his possessions and family, in the first test of Satan, but Job reacted rightly toward God and he knew God’s sovereign authority, and realized everything that was given to him in the first place. Satan lost, and Job passed the test that was brought before him, that you love God for who He is not for what he gives to anyone.

Look at all that Job lost! Many of us would have reacted in anger and frustration. Many would have turned on the Lord and cursed His name. Not Job! I don’t know many people that would turn on God at all. His response was to go before the Lord in worship. He shaved his head and torn his clothes. Both of these acts were signs that Job was in mourning and that he was devastated, but the fact that he worshiped proved that he was not broken,

We ought to ask ourselves what it would take to make us turn against God. When Job considered this, his response is recorded in this scripture. [Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him; I will surely defend my ways to his face.] (Job 13:15). Job says that even if the Lord takes his life, he will still trust in the Lord. What about you? How could you answer when you are in a totally different situation.

We need to remember that the pearl, which is so prized and valued, is the product of suffering. There would be no pearls were it not for pain. So it is in the Kingdom of God. God's brightest stars are those who have endured the most suffering. When trouble comes, be like the vine clinging to the tree. If the wind blows one way, you will be sheltered from its force. If it blows the other way, it will only serve to press you closer to the Lord. In other words, never quit!

What we really need to do is to stop and consider all that Jesus suffered for us and great price that was paid for our redemption. When these things are kept in the forefront of the mind, then it is impossible to quit on the Lord. ["Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness and who seek the LORD: Look to the rock from which you were cut and to the quarry from which you were hewn;] (Isa. 51:1.)

When Job opened his mouth, it was not to complain or to whine. When He spoke, it was to praise the Lord and to declare his continued dependence upon the power and will of God.

When we are traveling through the valley, it would do us well to remember a few truths that are easily forgotten by us. Allow me to refresh your memories.

God's ways are not our ways, so we will never figure Him out - ["For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isa. 55:8-9).

We can produce nothing through self-effort, so we must trust Him for everything. ["I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.] (John 15:5-8) But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. (Matt. 6:33). (This doesn't mean that we are to sit down and do nothing. It does mean that we are to seek the Lord's will then actively pursue it until the Lord gives us something else to do.

We can accomplish nothing through worry. [Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.] (Phil. 4:6-7) (Remember what Mark Twain said: "I am an old man and have known many troubles, but most of them never happened.") Too often we beg for trouble by worrying about things we simply cannot change. {{Trust is the only option we have, and it is the only option that will work!}}

Every trial, no matter how bad it is, is a good thing for you [And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.] (Rom. 8:28) [For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.] (2 Cor. 4:17) [I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.] (Rom. 8:18). {God is merely molding you in His image.}

One day a preacher, who had lost his entire family in a fire, was walking through his city, discouraged, depressed and defeated. He was trying for understanding God's purpose in allowing him to suffer such a great loss. As he walked, he passed a construction site where a great cathedral was being built. He watched as a stone cutter chiseled a small triangle out of stone. Curios, the preacher asked him what he was doing. The stone cutter stopped his work and pointed to a spot near the top of the towering structure and said, "Sir, do you see that tiny opening at the top of the cathedral?" "Yes", replied the preacher. "Well", said the stone cutter, "I am cutting out this piece down here so that it will fit in up there." In an instant, the preacher realized that this was what God was doing in his own life. He received peace and was able to return to his ministry with a renewed trust in and zeal for the Lord. You see it is the little things that God shows us, to let us know He is there, God is awesome, He knows everything we ever could need, like this story it is one of the finest poems in old or modern literature. Job may be the oldest book in the whole bible, and the teaching behind it to trust in God no matter what comes our way and for how long there is that old scripture in James [Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.] (James 1:2-4 NASB) It covers most of all the bases and it is teaching us as we learn of the power of God. [Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.] (Heb. 12:1-2) Christ is ever getting us ready for something we all must handle, or a situation in our future we are being trained for, we will be rewarded in the end, so every time something bad happens to us we should be jumping up and down and cheering, but it is hard, my life has so many mazes into the pathway to the Glory of God. [The word of the LORD came to me: "Son of man, if a country sins against me by being unfaithful and I stretch out my hand against it to cut off its food supply and send famine upon it and kill its men and their animals, even if these three men Noah, Daniel and Job were in it, they could save only themselves by their righteousness, declares the Sovereign LORD. (Ezek 14:12) "Or if I send a plague into that land and pour out my wrath upon it through bloodshed, killing its men and their animals, as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, even if Noah, Daniel and Job were in it, they could save neither son nor daughter. They would save only themselves by their righteousness.] (Ezek. 14:20) You see Job really existed if you don’t believe that then you still have Noah and Daniel. So the bible is true and the people are real and the people have gone through each part with their intense lives. All with different strength and different personalities for our learning, that is why God is so full of Life, Love and Wisdom. God gave us each His word; we should all be reading it.

In the blackest night, God is working out His plan for your life. Remember how Ralph Waldo Emerson spoke and said it this way, "When it is dark enough, men can see the stars." {If it takes you’re walking through a deep, dark valley for you to grow in the Lord, then in the long run it will be worth all the pain and suffering you are called upon to endure.} That is what keeps me going, there is many times that people just break my heart, You see I came here to build a mission everything was going well the gears were turning then all of a sudden, one day at the flea market on Saturday in downtown Hilo, a wave of fear came over me, and all I was doing was offering prayer and handing out literature and this wave of fear hit me like a wall, and later I found out that the whole area that I wanted to rent a building at, talk was that it was all demonic. And now as I look back on it, I might have caught this affliction not on that day at Queens Hospital when I put my teeth into a glass the day before this all happened, people don’t even get the timing down, the glass could have been dirty, or someone with a disease from another country drank out of it, and that was the only time I had contact with my hands in my mouth or a germ could have slipped in on my dentures, and then the stress of the plane ride and me biting down on my denture, but people made me bit down on the denture, because they would not let someone on a plane before them with a giant cut across the neck and a breathing apparatus in a wheel chair, isn’t that enough to let them go ahead of you, wouldn’t you not wait an hour for the next plane to help a person from suffering in that condition? It happened three times running from gate to gate pushing the wheelchair with everything on it. Then I just gave up, I was stressed out and with prayers, nothing worked and then we got a blanket, then we were aloud to sit in the first class room, to wait the rest of the three hours, for the last plane out. That right there told me I made a mistake to come here to Hawaii, and it has been going over and over in my mind, I never thought I would come across a place with so much prejudice, and just like no love or care for each other. No compassion for someone that looked like they just got off the operating table.

You can depend on God. He will never fail you nor forsake you, [Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."] (Heb. 13:5). He will come through for you. Many people live by this motto, "Why trust when you can worry?" Yet, the Bible teaches a far different approach. The Bible asks, "Why worry when you can trust?"

There Must Be A Devotion To God

There Must Be A Dependence Upon God

THERE MUST BE A DILIGENCE BEFORE GOD

[Then Job took a piece of broken pottery and scraped himself with it as he sat among the ashes. His wife said to him, "Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!" He replied, "You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?"

In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.] (Job 2:8-10)

While it is true that men are to trust in the Lord for everything, we are still expected to do all we can. Notice that 2:8 finds Job sitting in the ash pile scrapping his sores with a piece of broken pottery. He can't do much, but even in his valley, he is doing all that he can, [Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.] (1 Cor. 15:58). Never allow your problems and trials to cause you to quit on God. Be diligent in your walk with the Lord and He will surely bless and use you for His glory!

A salesman got lost on a side road, so he stopped to ask directions from a ragged and bare-foot man sitting in front of his dilapidated house. After receiving the information he needed, the salesman asked, "How is your cotton coming on?" "Ain't got none," replied the farmer. The traveler continued, "Did you plant any?" To this the man responded, "Nope, afraid of boll weevils." The visitor persisted, "How is your corn doing?" "Didn't plant none. Afraid there wasn't goin' to be any rain." Undaunted, the stranger made still another query, "How are your potatoes?" Again the reply came, "Ain't got none; scared o'potato bugs," Somewhat puzzled, the salesman made one final inquiry, "Really, what did you plant?" The answer was, "Nothin', I just played it safe." Sounds like a lot of Christians doesn't it? Too afraid of what might happen to make anything happen."

Notice that Job used a piece of broken pottery to scrape himself. Contained in this image is a very great blessing from the Lord. The lesson is this; those who have been broken can be used by the Lord to help others who are being broken. When you have been through the valley, you know how to help others who are coming along behind you. Remember, when you are in the valley to learn all the lessons which God wants to teach you. Then, when you come out the valley, you will be able to help others. [As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools.] (Psalm 84:6)

There Must Be A Devotion To God

There Must Be A Dependence Upon God

There Must Be A Diligence Before God

THERE MUST BE A DECLARATION ABOUT GOD

[He replied, "You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?"

In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.] (Job 2:10)

Throughout his ordeal, Job never badmouthed God. He never stopped praising the Lord, even during the darkest hours of his trial. This great faith is on view in and said: ["Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised."] (Job 1:21) [and He replied, "You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?" In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.] (Job 2:10).

We would do well to remember that one of the surest ways out of the valley is to exalt the name of the Lord. {The saint who learns to praise the Lord even when in the midst of trials and difficulties is a saint who probably isn't aware of the valley!} {People who focus on their problems are people who have many problems.} {However, people who focus on the Lord are people who walk through their valleys with grace.} {These people have problems, but their focus is on the Lord and not the valley!} This is what we all should be doing and thinking!

Please note that the devil's intentions were to get Job to turn against God, [But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face."] (Job 1:11) [But stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse you to your face."] (Job 2:5). He squeezed Job expecting to get some old sour, mean and hateful reaction. Yet, every time he applied pressure to Job's life he only {produced sweetness and praise to the Lord.} Folk, when the devil squeezes us he expects to get lemon juice. He expects us to badmouth the Lord, bellyache, cry, complain, whine and talk about how bad things are. He expects to get the old "Oh woe is me!" attitude. If we could just learn that when the devil puts the squeeze on us, that instead of {giving him what he is looking for,}{ we just praised the Lord,} pretty soon he would stop squeezing us. {Nothing will change your circumstances faster than changing your attitude about your circumstances.} {If we really believed the Bible, we would shout when hard times came around, because we would know that God is about to do something big in our lives!}

Are things rough around your place right now? Are you in one of life's deep, dark valleys? If so, then I trust you know what to do. You need to bring that need and that burden to Jesus and let Him take care of it. But please, let Him take care of your attitude concerning it as well. Lost friend, you have nowhere to turn in tough times. You need to come to Jesus and receive Him into your life. There is no better time to do that than right now. Whatever the need, will you come to the Lord and let Him have it? He cares and He will fix it, and you, if you will let Him, Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.] (1 Pet. 5:7).

Let us now consider the "pearl" itself, and admire the accuracy, beauty, and fullness of this figure that Christ selected for portraying His Church. First, notice its unity. "A Merchantman was seeking goodly pearls, and when he had found one pearl of great price." Let us observe, however, that this Merchantman had several pearls. He was seeking goodly pearls, and, of course, if He sought them He found each one. Yes, Christ has several pearls. There are quite a number of distinct companies among His redeemed. The Old Testament saints is one, and so on. But attention is here focused on "one pearl" in particular: the unity of God’s saints of this present dispensation is what is referred to. "In Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek, bond nor free, male nor female, for we are all one" (Gal. 3:28). Now, it is a significant fact that a pearl is the only gem whose unity cannot be broken without destroying it. I may take a diamond and cut it into two, then I have two diamonds. I may take a lump of gold and divide it into two, and I have two lumps of gold. But if I take a pearl and cut it into two, I have nothing: I have destroyed it! A pearl significantly stands for the unity of the saints of this present dispensation.

In the second place, a pearl is the product of a living creature, and it is the only gem that is. Not only so, but it is the result of suffering. Away down in the ocean’s depths there lives a little animal encased in a shell; we call it an oyster. One day a foreign substance, a grain of sand, intrudes, and pierces its side. Now, God has endowed that animal with the faculty of self-preservation, like He has all others of His creatures, and it throws out, exudes, a slimy substance called nacre and covers the wound, repeating the process again and again. One layer after another of that nacre or mother-of-pearl is cast out by that little animal on the wound in its side, until ultimately there is built up what eventuates in a pearl. So that a pearl is the product of suffering. How wonderful the figure! How accurate the emblem! The Church, the saints of this dispensation, are the fruitage of the travail of Christ’s soul. The pearl, we may say, is the answer to the injury that was inflicted upon the animal. In other words, it is the offending particle that ultimately becomes the object of beauty: that which injured the oyster becomes the precious gem. The very thing that injured the animal, the little grain of sand that intruded, is ultimately clothed with a beauty that is not its own and covered with the comeliness of the one that it injured. How manifestly is the Author of the Bible and the Savior of our souls the Regulator of everything in nature. Yes, He saw to it, when He created the oyster, that it should furnish an appropriate type and figure of His Church.

In the third place, the pearl is an object that is formed slowly and gradually. It does not come into existence in a single day. There is a tedious process of waiting while the pearl is being slowly but surely formed. And so it has been with the Church. For nineteen centuries now that, of which the pearl is the figure and type, has been in process of formation by the power and grace of God. Just as the oyster covered the wound in its side and that which pierced it with one layer after another of the beautiful nacre, constantly repeating the process, so out of each generation of men on earth God has called a few and added them to that Church which He is now building for His Son.

In the fourth place, notice the lowly origin of that which is a type of the Church. That beautiful pearl originally had its home in the depths of the sea, amid its mire and filth, for that is where oysters congregate. They are the scavengers of the ocean. Down in the ocean’s depths, amidst the mire, is that precious gem being formed. What a lowly origin! Yes, and that is to remind us, and to humble us with the remembrance of it, that we, who have by sovereign grace been made members of Christ, had by nature our origin in the filth and mire and ruin of the fall. Compare Ephesians 2:11, 12.

In the fifth place, the pearl, as it is being formed down there in the ocean’s depths, is not seen by the eye of man. It is a secret formation; none but God witnesses its building up. In like manner, that Church which Christ is now building, that body of His which is now in process of formation, is unknown and unseen by the world. I am not speaking of the visible churches, I am talking about that Church, which is now being built (see Ephesians 2:21; 4:16, etc.), and which as it is being formed, like the oyster, is unseen by the eye of man. Your life is hid with Christ in God (Col. 3:3). Significant, too, is the fact that just as the pearl is found not in the mines of earth, but in the sea, so the Church of this dispensation is composed mainly of Gentiles—the "waters" figuring such, see Revelation 17:15.

In the sixth place, we learn from this figure that in the eyes of God that Church is an object of value and beauty. That little object, hidden from the eyes of men, is being fashioned into a precious gem, which shall yet reflect the light of heaven and become an object of beauty and admiration in the eyes of all who see it. Turn to 2 Thessalonians 1:10, "When He shall come to be glorified in His saints (not only in Himself), and to be admired in all them that believe." That is speaking in the language of the pearl. First, the Lord Jesus will "present to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing; but it shall be holy and without blemish" (Eph. 5:27); second, when He returns to the earth itself, He will bring with him His complete and beautified Church and it will be an object of admiration to all who behold it. To a wondering universe Christ will yet display His glorified Church.

In the seventh place, see how in the figure Christ here selected, we have an intimation of the honorable and exalted future that the Church is yet to enjoy. That little object in the ocean’s depths, unseen by the eye of men, which is being gradually built up, ultimately has a position and a place in the diadem of the king. That is the destiny of the pearl of great price: it becomes the jewel of royalty; for this it has been made. And so we are told, "When Christ, our life, shall appear, then shall you also appear with Him in glory" (Col. 3:4). And again, "That in the ages to come (that is yet future) He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us" (Eph. 2:7). Ah, my friends, many of God’s people today may be poor and despised and hated by the prominent and great of this world, but just as surely as the pearl of great price of lowly origin ultimates in a position of dignity and honor and glory, so those who now are last shall be first.

In closing, let me sum up in two words of practical application. First, to the unconverted. O my unsaved friend, let this parable show you once and for all the utter impossibility and the needlessness of attempting to purchase your salvation, of seeking to win God’s approval by some works and doings of your own. The pearl in this parable is not a Savior whom the sinner has to "buy." "By grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God . . . not of works lest any man should boast."

And what is the word to those of us who by the grace of God have been saved? This: the pearl has been purchased by Christ: we are the purchased property of another! You are not your own, but "bought with a price" (1 Cor. 6:20). To what extent is that Divine truth regulating our lives? How far is that fact dominating our daily walk? We are not our own; we belong to Christ! Do we realize that? Are we living day by day as though we realized it? Does our walk manifest it? Not our own—the property of another! Then should we not say, "For me to live is Christ?" Can any of us truthfully say it? "For me to live is Christ?" Is it true that I have only one aim, only one desire, only one ambition; all my efforts concentrated on the honoring, obeying, magnifying of Christ? O my friends, the poor preacher cannot honestly say it. By the grace of God he may say that is his desire. But O how far short he comes of attaining to it in his daily life. May God help all His people to realize in their souls that they are not their own: no longer free, no longer have the right to plan their own life, to say what they will do or what they will not do: no longer any whatever—the purchased property of Another. Our answer to that ought to be, "For to me to live is Christ." O may Divine, enabling grace be granted to us so to live!