PEARL OF GREAT PRICE

one do that in regards to spiritual matters?
SEARCHING FOR “THE PEARL OF GREAT PRICE”
We need to follow the example of the Ethiopian Eunuch and be a student of the Scriptures, we need to apply the Scriptures to the best of our understanding and be open to what others may have to share concerning the Scriptures. We could also follow the example of the Bereans Acts 17: 10-11l Again, be open to what others may to share but apply diligence (i.e., "readiness of mind") to understand what others are saying and in the end, let the Scriptures be your final authority and demonstrate it by "searching the Scriptures daily"
CONCLUSION
Like the Ethiopian eunuch, the Bereans, Cornelius, Lydia, and many other religious people we may be lost in our present state of understanding of God’s will but if we will search like that ’merchant’ did, and have the desire to understand and please God like these people did then we can trust in God’s Providence to lead us to the truth, and to that ’pearl of great price’! The blessings of the kingdom are not limited to the life hereafter; as Jesus reassured Peter, there are hundredfold blessings even in this time- Mark 10:28-30

SERMON—THE PEARL OF GREAT PRICE
Matt 13:45-46
IS THIS FOR YOU
He had it all, at least on the surface. He had good business, a fine family, status in the community, he had everything it would appear, but not quite enough. Some men craved after gold or silver or jewels not this man those things were all so cold and inanimate, forged and moulded deep inside an unfeeling earth. Instead he sought after pearls. Those beautiful gems that began their existence as a simple irritant, a piece of grit or sand buried deep in the mantle of an oyster. And then a miracle, slowly ever so slowly the oyster began to secrete nacre, the very substance that made up its shell. One layer was added to the grit, and then another and another until finally a lowly piece of sand had become one of the worlds most beautiful gems.
PEARLS
They were almost a gift from God, well almost; they still had to be paid for. And then one day he found it, the most incredible pearl he had ever laid his eyes on. Everything about it was perfect, the size the shape the colour, everything was perfect. He had to have it, it had to be his, and so he sold everything that he had so that he could buy this one exquisite pearl. So was he happy well we don’t know that but this story was told by Jesus in Matt 13:45-46 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. 46 When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.
The fact that Jesus had used a pearl as an illustration for the Kingdom of God might be lost on us in the year 2001, but it was an illustration that would have struck home with the men and woman who made up Christ’s world back in that first century. The reason for this was that pearls were valued not for their monetary worth, but also for their aesthetic qualities and for their beauty. Because of that many of the people who bought them did so just to have them, not as an investment, not as something to be bought and sold. Instead they were seen as something to be held and admired.
THE MERCHANT
I now want to look at this merchant who was so intent on having a pearl like no other pearl that he had ever seen. It is obvious that he was not satisfied with what he