Part Two – The Great Price
In part one I have tried to share with you the object of our attention, that is, The Pearl or the Treasure. This is nothing less than Christ in you, the hope of glory (Col. 1:27). This is Christ glorified, Christ magnified, and Christ multiplied through a vessel. And that vessel is His Body, Bride, House, Assembly, New Creation, New Jerusalem, New Adam. The Church!
However, the only way that you can spiritually apprehend and appreciate that great Purpose is by a God given revelation. But you must seek this revelation with all of your being. God is just waiting for you to seek this revelation. But be careful what you ask for! There is a huge price tag for this revelation and even more so for the actual realization of this Pearl of Great Price. Personally, I believe that any believer who has a mind-blowing, Spirit-born revelation of God’s eternal purpose (the Pearl) will have to make one out of two possible decisions.
1.) Either they will try real hard to forget that revelation and bury it (which is very difficult but possible).
2.) Or, they will be radically changed in their whole being and seek out the reality and expression of the Pearl with all that they are and have.
Okay, so if you (the person reading this right now) go the route of #1 above, you will have an incredibly difficult time. Your life will be one frustration after another. You will never be fulfilled by making other things your “pearl”. There is only one Pearl and that is Jesus Christ in His Church. You can continue to ignore the Pearl and pretending that everything is alright but deep down in your spirit you will never be fulfilled.
But if you choose #2 above then I can guarantee two things will happen with you. First of all, you will never be “successful” in the eyes of this world system. Secondly, you will experience many trials, tribulations, and missunderstandings in this world and especially with the “Christian religious system”. You will be viewed by many as some kind of spiritual freak, trouble maker and outcast. But why would this happen to you?
Because both systems lie under the power of the evil one! (see 1 John 5:19)
So, you see, this is just part of the Price… persecution!
Some of these folks who come against you may be some of your closest companions.
But what are some of the other aspects of this incredibly high price tag to acquire the Pearl?
EVERYTHING!!!
Please remember that our friend in Matthew 13 went and sold all that he had to acquire this incredibly precious Pearl.
Now, I realize that many of you reading this blog right now are thinking to yourselves; “oh yeah, no problem, I will gladly give all that I own to get this Pearl.” But dear reader, this is not just about your possessions, it is about your whole life. This man in the story sold all that he owned. And herein lies the key.
This man had possession of his own life!
So, you see, this everything included himself. In order to get this Pearl he had to give away all ownership of his own life. You see, that’s what it means when you make Jesus Christ the Lord of your life. The word “Lord” means owner, ruler and sovereign. You no longer have any rights to that thing that you used to call “my life”. It now completely belongs to Him!
That means that now He decides what happens with what you used to call “my Life”. He decides where you live, who you marry, if you marry, where you work, what you do with “your” time.
Now… you may be thinking…
But Milt, that sounds like some kind of weird oppressive cult thing!
And you would be right except for one simple thing…
You are so glad to pay any price for the Pearl because you realize how incredibly valuable He is! In other words… you love your Lord more than anyone or anything else. So let me ask you one simple question:
Is that You?
If so, (and you are seriously serious) we would love to hear from you. We will help you in any way that we can. We have lots of materials and tools that can help on your journey. Perhaps we can connect you with a group of believers who are moving towards this way of life. Perhaps we can help you to start a new group in your area.
The BIG question is this:
HOW DESPERATE ARE YOU?
“From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force. Matthew 11:12
If you are desperate. If you mean business with God then He will mean business with you.
Because dear Saints:
It’s only the violent that take the kingdom!
If you are one of those seriously desperate and violent radicals here are some resources to help you:
A Radical Invitation: http://www.therebuilders.org/special_invitation.html
Some Materials that will help:
Books: http://www.therebuilders.org/books.html
Articles: http://www.therebuilders.org/articles.html
Audio Messages: http://www.therebuilders.org/audios.html
Blog Posts: http://www.miltrodriguez.com
If you have a group or want to start a group contact me here: milt@therebuilders.org