July 17, 2008

• Things To Look for in a Church, 9: "Pearl Freaks" (a.k.a. a Kingdom-Obsessed People)

  
  I've gone round and round on this post. My original thought about the Church being a Kingdom-Oriented people was that all we do in terms of Church activities and events must be rooted in the Kingdom, otherwise we are no different than those who are involved in such groups as the local service club, neighborhood center, after-school program, book club, support group and so on. We can find the Church busily and actively involved in lots of activities (and most of them good things), but we must ask how much of what we are doing is intentionally focused on being part of the answer to the prayer, "The Kingdom come"?

  As I began to consider this more I realized that first and foremost we as members of the Church must be sold out to the Kingdom–that each one of us might have one "magnificent obsession." If we have such a single-eyed obsession for the King and His Kingdom, everything else will follow and fall into its rightful place. So I've changed the title of my ninth Thing To Look for in a Church from "A Kingdom-Oriented People" to "Pearl Freaks (a.k.a. A Kingdom-Obsessed People)."

  (You can find all the links to my posts about Kingdom-Obsessed People here.)

  * * *

  
  

  I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: 3 And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted. 4 Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Revelation 2:2-3.

  
  

  In his book "Magnificent Obsession," John White wrote:

  There is a magnificent insanity about the parable in Matthew 13:45. It has to do with a pearl freak–a merchant whose hobby was pearls. Evidently, one day he came across a pearl to end all pearls. Imagine him with staring eyes, quickly taking in his breath, licking his dry lips, then anxiously inquiring about price, haggling and pondering the tremendous cost of the pearl. You can also imagine him returning home and looking over the rest of his pearl collection. With shaking hands he would pick them up one by one and drop them into a soft leather pouch. Not only pearls, but house, slaves and everything would go so that the one pearl might become his...
  
  The way of the cross is a magnificent obsession with a heavenly pearl, beside which everything else in life has no value. If it were a case of buying it, we would gladly sell all we had to do so.
  
  But we cannot buy heavenly treasure. It is not for sale. The point of the parable is that having caught a glimpse of the pearl, we count all else of no value and pursue the treasure.[1]

  

  As the people of God begin to live out our birthright as Kingdom people, as we have such an "insane desire" to possess the one pearl, to seek after the King and His Kingdom without reservation, everything else will fall into place in the Church as a whole.

  Do we have a view of the pearl, of Christ and His Kingdom like the Psalmists did?

  As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. 2 My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God? 3 My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God? Psalm 42:1-3.

  My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the LORD: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God. Psalm 84:2.

  
  Do we find ourselves panting and thirsting and longing for the pearl, for the King and His Kingdom with all our heart, soul, mind and strength? Do we have an "insane desire"? Certainly the pearl is of the greatest price, the most wonderful treasure far and above all other treasures. Actually, true insanity might be defined as having gotten a glimpse of the pearl and not continuing to pursue it at all costs. After all, If we've found the pearl, if we've seen the priceless treasure, would it make any sense for us not to be obsessed over it and not to keep pursuing it?

  Let's look at the absolute demands King Jesus makes of those who will be in His Kingdom.

  No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Matthew 6:25.

  
  Have we caught a glimpse of the pearl or do we bow to mammon? We cannot serve God and mammon. We cannot pursue mammon and the pearl.[2]
  

  He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. 39 He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it. Matthew 10:37-39.

  Have we caught a glimpse of the pearl or do we continue to love others more than Christ? Have we caught a glimpse of the pearl or do we continue to avoid taking up our cross and follow after Him?

  From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. 22 Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee. 23 But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men. Matthew 16:21-23.
  

  Have we caught a glimpse of the pearl or do we continue to savor the things of men? When we savor the things of men Jesus tells us we are an offense to Him.
  

  And it came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. 58 And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head. 59 And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. 60 Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God. 61 And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house. 62 And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God. Luke 9:57-62.
  

  Have we caught a glimpse of the pearl or do we keep making excuses? Have we caught a glimpse of the pearl or do we keep looking back?
  
  These are not my words. They are not my demands. They are Jesus' own words. They are Jesus' demands. Our reactions to Jesus' demands betrays who and what we value. How we live and the daily choices we make reveal whether we're either obsessed with the Kingdom or not. Are we "pearl freaks" or not?

  I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: 3 And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted. 4 Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Revelation 2:2-3.
  

  Have we caught a glimpse of the pearl or have we left our first love? The Church can be engaged in lots of good works but what are they worth if we do not love Jesus with our heart, soul, mind and strength?
  

  
  

  Can we truthfully sing:

  Come, Thou almighty King,
  Help us Thy Name to sing, help us to praise!
  Father all glorious, o’er all victorious,
  Come and reign over us, Ancient of Days!
  

  Have we caught a glimpse of the pearl so we allow the King to take his rightful place, or do we hold back parts of our lives from Jesus' reign?

  Have we shown contempt for our Bridegroom by spurning Him? Do we live as harlots, obsessing over worldly trinkets and idols and being consumed with the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life? Or do we live as His devoted Bride, ignited by "one pure and holy passion" our King and His Kingdom and possessing one magnificent obsession for the pearl?

  In his book "Passion," Karl A. Olsson wrote about the need to detach from this world and its treasures so we can freely pursue the city to come and the pearl of great price at all costs:

  The things inside the vanishing city are not so important as the world which is coming into existence...
  
  I know a very great man and an able writer who at the age of thirty was a social darling. He owned a beautiful old estate not far from Stockholm, he was married to the daughter of an enormously wealthy banker, he had a brilliant circle of friends. At his estate there were festal weekends. good food, choice liquors, witty conversations, handsome young princes of business in elegant clothes, lovely and sophisticated women. All was light, airy, bon vivant. It was 1913, and everything was good in the best of all possible worlds.
  
  One summer evening when the gardens around the old mansion were filled with people all being courteous, vivacious, and perhaps just a little naughty, my friend slipped away from the laughter and the repartee and the clink of glasses and walked down the drive which wound through stately old chestnuts to the main road. As soon as he had left the crowd behind, a great silence came over him. It was an outside silence with the midsummer sun just over the dark green forest rim and only the dying twitter of a few drowsy birds. And it was an inside quiet. The jarring impact of hours of shallow chatter faded away within him and he heard nothing except the beating of his own heart. He walked to the main gate and stood looking down the road which curved off in both directions. He stood absolutely quiet. And a voice within him said, "You must go away from this. You must leave all of it behind you."
  
  The Christian faith when it has been truly vigorous has always had this kind of structured tentativeness. It never quite settles down. This does not mean it yields to a sickly otherworldliness which feels no responsibility for the world. On the contrary, it is precisely its detachment, its ultimate indifference about an earthly destiny, which makes its people concerned about existence. It was the poverty of Francis which enriches his time. It is the self-denial of Christian missionaries which has made life richer for millions of people.
  
  Paul says it so as to bring a catch to our throat:
  
  

  I mean, brethren, the appointed time has grown very short; from now on, let those who have wives live as though they had none, and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no goods, and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. For the form of this world is passing away (I Corinthians 7:29-31).

  
  It is people for whom the navel cord of this world has been cut who can give themselves most joyously to its redemption. That is why for the write to the Hebrews the disgrace of Christ is not only saying farewell to the vanishing world and seeking that city which is to come. It is also offering up sacrifices of thanks to God for the reality of existence in him. Above everything else, it is doing good an sharing, that is, being agents of his benevolence. It is the same writer who encourages us to leave the city behind and to come outside the camp who also writes:
  
  

  Let brotherly love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to stranger, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them; and those who are ill-treated, since you also are in the body. (Hebrews 13:1-3).[3]

  Are the things inside the vanishing city...not so important [to us] as the world which is coming into existence?

  The Sovereign King who bought the Church with His own body and blood has the right to make absolute demands of us; we are no longer our own. (See Romans 14:7-9; I Corinthians 6:19-20; II Corinthians 5:14-15; Psalm 116.) He has cut the navel cord of this world so we might live as citizens of His Kingdom.

  In redeeming us, God did what we could not do. We were born into sin. We were dead in our sins and transgressions, but God has breathed life into us...He loved us because He loved us. God has showered mercy on us in Jesus Christ not because of anything good that was in us. God showed mercy to us in the same way He showed mercy to the nation of Israel as we read of in Ezekiel 16 (ESV):

  And as for your birth, on the day you were born your cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water to cleanse you, nor rubbed with salt, nor wrapped in swaddling cloths. 5 No eye pitied you, to do any of these things to you out of compassion for you, but you were cast out on the open field, for you were abhorred, on the day that you were born. 6 And when I passed by you and saw you wallowing in your blood, I said to you in your blood, Live! I said to you in your blood, Live!
  

  Matthew Henry described God's amazing love for sinful Israel:

  God took them to be his people, not because he saw any thing in them inviting or promising, but so it seemed good in his sight. And it is a very apt illustration of the miserable condition of all the children of men by nature. As for our nativity, in the day that we were born we were shapen in iniquity and conceived in sin, our understandings darkened, our minds alienated from the life of God, polluted with sin, which rendered us loathsome in the eyes of God. Marvel not then that we are told, You must be born again.[4]

  Our King has cut our navel cord...so we can be free to pursue the Kingdom, the pearl of great price...

  ...but are we now doing all we can reconnect it?

  We have been translated out of darkness into His marvelous light. We are to be in the world but not of it. Having been raised with Christ into heavenly places, we are to seek those things which are above. As citizens of His Kingdom, we are to set our minds on things above not on things of this world. In Christ, we are free to present ourselves as servants to God and righteousness. We are to live no longer for ourselves and the things of this world but for our King and for His Kingdom. Having had our navel cord cut, we are set free to have one magnificent obsession–the pearl of great price.

  When we lose our passion to pursue the pearl at all costs, when we begin to look back in an attempt to reconnect our navel cord to the world, we begin to walk in the ways of the nation of Israel, who forsook God despite the great mercies He showered on her while she lay helpless and cast off. (Read Ezekiel 16.)

  God has lavished His love and mercy on His Church by sending His only Son to die for us while we lay helpless and cast off–while we were yet sinners, powerless and dead in our transgressions....Have we left our first Love? Are we now playing the harlot like Israel? Have we lost sight of the glory of the pearl? Are we no longer passionately pursuing the Kingdom? Are we looking back? Are we clinging to and relying on earthly attachments?

  The apostle Paul reminds us that our position in Christ brings with it a new outlook, a new perspective, that of seeing the pearl as the most glorious thing, far and above all earthly things and to be sought after above all things. And, as we seek the pearl above everything else, we are being prepared for glory:

  If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. 2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.  4 When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. Colossians 3:1-4.

  In the following verse, with a "therefore," Paul explains the next logical step: to put to death anything that keeps us from seeking the pearl of great price and setting our affections on it.

  What hinders us from running after the pearl with reckless abandon? What must we mortify to pursue the Kingdom at all costs?

  God sets the choice before us:

  Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the LORD's side? let him come unto me...Exodus 32:26.

  Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD. 15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve...Joshua 24:14-15a

  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. Romans 12:1.

  He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. 26 If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour. John 12:25-26.
  

  
  

  No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Matthew 6:24.
  

  Will we respond to Jesus' call like the rich young ruler....who went away grieved for he had great possessions...

  And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? 18 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God. 19 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother. 20 And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth. 21 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. 22 And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions.
  

  
  or will we respond like the merchant...who gained the kingdom because he had caught a glimpse of the pearl and counted all things loss to gain it...
  
  

  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 13:45-46

  Will we be obsessed over the world's fools' gold or the Kingdom pearl of great price?

  May God give us eyes to see the glory of the pearl and grow in us a "magnificent obsession" like the merchant–one "pure and holy passion" for our King and His Kingdom, so we become "pearl freaks" who pant and thirst and faint and long for and cry out for the pearl of great price.

  And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! 24 And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. 26 And they were astonished out of measure, saying among themselves, Who then can be saved? 27 And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.

  
  OBSESSION [5]
  
  the state of being obsessed with someone or something
  an idea or thought that continually preoccupies or intrudes on a person's mind
  
  some synonyms include:
  
  fixation
  ruling/controlling passion
  passion
  mania
  idée
  fixe
  compulsion
  preoccupation
  infatuation
  addiction
  neurosis
  

  
  
  

  The entire life of a good Christian is nothing less than holy desire.
  (St. Augustine)
  
  

  
  

  One Pure and Holy Passion [6]

  Give me one pure and holy passion
  Give me one magnificent obsession
  Give me one glorious ambition for my life
  To know and follow hard after You
  
  To know and follow hard after You
  
  To grow as your disciple in the truth
  This world is empty, pale and poor
  Compared to knowing You, my Lord,
  Lead me on and I will run after You
  Lead me on and I will run after You
  

  
  
  

  Commitment to Christ is commitment to the pursuit of the ultimate treasure.
  To sell all of our miserable bits and pieces is no sacrifice at all
  when he himself has become the consuming passion of our lives.
  (John White [7])

  excerpt from "The Motions"[8]

  I don’t wanna go through the motions
  I don’t wanna go one more day
  Without Your all-consuming passion inside of me
  
  I don’t wanna spend my whole life askin’
  What if I had given everything
  Instead of goin’ through the motions

  No regrets
  Not this time
  I'm gonna let my heart
  defeat my mind

  Let Your love
  Make me whole
  I think I'm finally feeling something

  Take me all the way
  Take me all the way
  Take me all the way
  

  
  

  “I have but one passion: ‘tis He, ‘tis He.”
  (Count Zinzendorf [9])

  ---

  
  You may also be interested in reading:
  

  • Philippians 3.
  • Postcards from God at Vail (and Madison): Leaving the Mountain Top for the City
  • John Wesley's "Upon Our Lord's Sermon on the Mount, 9," Sermon 29
  • "A Single Eye" (Talk from Urbana 1954) by Stacey Woods
  • Atlanta: Philip Ryken's Talk: Being a Mercy Woman of the Kingdom
  • Happy Mother's Day: Mary's Kingdom Availability and Kingdom Vision
  • Palm Sunday: What Happens after the Triumphal Entry
  • Leap Day 2008: How Are We Stewarding This Day...and Every Other Day the Lord Has Given
  • The Tragedy of Desiring a Great Family

  (Free online book)

  Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Holy Bible, unless otherwise indicated and except for those cited in the Olsson quotations, which are from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible.

  Scripture quotations marked "ESV" are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

  [1] John White, "Magnificent Obsession" (Downers Grove: IVP, 1976, revised edition 1990), 31-32.

  [2] Mammon isn't just money...One of our former pastors (Max Harris) defined mammon as "Anything that confers status on us, e.g.-wealth, performance, appearance, career success, marriage & child-rearing success; the pulpit; size of your church; jobs in the church, even status in giving up things for Christ. Mammon is own personal bag of things that confers status on us." This means what is mammon to you may not be mammon to me, and vice versa. Christ knows what's in that "personal bag of things that confers status on [each one of] us." Our job is to let Him search our deceitful hearts so we might see it.

  [3] Karl A. Olsson, "Passion" (New York: Harper & Row, 1963), 89-92.

  [4] Matthew Henry, "Complete Commentary on Ezekiel 16. Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible."

  [5] "Obsession" definition and synonyms from my Oxford American Dictionaries widget.

  [6] "One Pure and Holy Passion" by Mark Altrogge ©1988 PDI Praise/Dayspring Music, Inc.

  [7] White, 11. The book was formerly titled "Cost of Commitment." White comments on the title change in the Preface:

  Finally I wanted to change the title. The original book was less about the cost of commitment to Christ than about the glory of it, the wonder and exciting privilege of it. I thought of Commitment as a title, but was not satisfied. As I reflected on the pearl merchant and his insane desire to sacrifice everything he had to possess one great pearl, I used the phrase "magnificent obsession."

  [8] "The Motions," written by Matthew West, Sam Mizell, and Jason Houser © 2008 Word Music/Songs For Lulu/Simple Tense Songs/Wyzell Music/Songs Of Extreme/Cedar Sides.

  [9] See "Count Zinzendorf: Noble Birth."

  Lyrics are subject to US Copyright Laws and are the property of their respective authors, artists and labels. Commercial use prohibited.

  
  
  

  • 1:32 PM
  • Leave a comment