The Hidden Treasure & the Pearl of Great Price (04/09/2000)

Turn with me to Matthew chapter 13 this morning. It's interesting when you get in the study and you get in the

Word What I try to do is share with you my personal Time with the

Lord, I don't try to make up sermons but What is interesting is to try to take and transfer the

Excitement and the the glory that you had when something got revealed to you in the study

And have it come out the same way here So I hope it does and it may or may not I've heard brother

Otis say before how he has that happen He'll be studying. He'll be all excited and he gets up in front of the class and teaches and he looks around there all going so You Know that not that that really happens

But sometimes it's just hard to transfer it from the study to the to the place where everybody's together

But I pray that that's what will happen this morning because let's start with Matthew 13 verse 44 we're still we we preach last

Sunday on verse 44 and And Three four five. I've got about one two, three, four five about six lines in my

Bible and we got one sixth of the way through it Last Sunday, so we're still gonna be in verse 44 but I want us to read verses 44 through the end of the chapter because these are

Not the end of the chapter but down through verse 52 Because these parables kind of go together

These particular parables we've been teaching in case you're visiting this morning We've been teaching through the parables of our

Lord in Matthew chapter 13 And these particular ones are unique in the sense that they were not told to the multitudes

Jesus brought his own into a house into a place a private place and taught these to them which indicates to me that perhaps there is some meat here that Maybe the general group the large group of people that had come to hear him preach just weren't able to bear

But he taught this to his own and so these are very special We're very

Fortunate that God has given these to us and that he shares these with us And so let's read starting with verse 44

Matthew chapter 13 Again the kingdom of heaven is likened to treasure hidden a field the which when a man hath found he hideth and For joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath and buyeth that field

Again, the kingdom of heaven is likened to a merchant man seeking goodly pearls Who when he hath found one pearl of great price went and sold all that he had and bought it

Now these two certainly have to be studied together. The problem is we don't have time this morning to study them together

So we're gonna study Finish with verse 44. We may bring in to view a little bit of verse 45

And 46 as we go this morning and look at the next one again The kingdom of heaven is likened to a net that was cast into the sea and gathered of every kind which when it was by the way,

I read one commentary that that Commentator that said that this particular kind of net

Which was used over the Middle East Sometimes was almost a mile wide and they would drag it between boats large boats and Obviously, they were not able to put those into the boats but they would drag it all the way to the shore and bring the net right up on the shore and so you can imagine it would gather everything that was there and which when it was full they drew to shore and sat down and gathered the good into the vessels that Cast the bad away so shall it be at the end of this age the angels shall come forth and Sever the wicked from among the just and shall cast them into the furnace of fire

There shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth Jesus saith unto them. Have you understood all these things and then they lied to him

They said yay Lord that lion Okay, well, how would you answer that?

Just what we read already. Do you understand it all now? Can we go home to lunch?

Yay, David, let's go Then said he and to them therefore every scribe brother

Otis Every scribe which is instructed and to the kingdom of heaven is likened to a man that is an householder

Which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old There aren't a whole lot of Bible teachers that I have been attracted to in my life

But I'll tell you what Jesus said if a man is walking with God and studies with the

Lord in his study He's gonna bring forth not only the old things that you've heard a million times

She's gonna be some new in there for you And if you got a teacher where you're not getting that something's wrong

What is the new is it means it's some new discovery. No, we're not talking about private interpretations reinterpreting the

Bible we're talking about just Nuggets that have been in the word for the complete whole word for almost 2 ,000 years nuggets of truth and and revelation that God gives us and so Sometimes we can put new clothes on an old truth by simply finding it in a different passage than you're used to studying it in But there's got to be a newness to it.

That's what makes it fun And that's what makes it where you your curiosity just kills you and you got to go home and look it up Find some more stuff.

That's really the way Bible studies should be when we study together Well now let's go back to verse 44

Again the kingdom of heaven is likened to treasure hidden a field The which when a man hath found he hideth and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath and buyeth that Field.

Well, let's review a little bit for those of you who weren't here last time and it'll be beneficial to us as well

Because I learned new things as I reviewed it this week But first of all, let's talk a little bit about the symbolism.

What did the Lord say the field is? The world now when we we have to be careful with this word world because Sometimes we have preconceived notions of what the word world means

For example when we take John 3 16 we talk about the world a lot of us have been conditioned to believe that that means every human being in the world

That's normally not what world means certainly not what it means in this parable and And One thing that this parable does along with the parable in verses 45 and 46 is it does shed light on the proper?

interpretation of John 3 16 So that we may get into a little bit of that this morning.

Now, who is the man that's doing the The that found the treasure

Jesus now do you realize there are a lot of commentaries you can go read That will tell you that the pearl is

Jesus and that we that the the merchant man is us and That we're looking for that pearl and we go sell everything we have and we buy

Jesus. Do you think that fits? Everything, you know about the Bible. I Don't think so For one thing.

Are you looking for Jesus when you're lost? Bible says there's no man that seek of that for God For another thing, what do you have that you could sell?

So that you could buy salvation and Then thirdly is salvation for sale.

So that interpretation doesn't fit but you'll find it by some some older commentaries

Where it is interpreted that way the problem is it doesn't fit the Bible. So you have to throw that one out

Check out J. Vernon McGee and some of some others. There's some very wonderful men of God who?

who have interpreted it in my view the proper way and Obviously the pearl is going to be the church

Now what's interesting about the treasure in verse 44? Let's see if we can figure out if that is

I mean, is that the church or is this it's a subtle difference here Let me give you a couple of Old Testament verses

Exodus 19 in verse 5 Exodus 19 5 and then also

Psalm 135 for Exodus 19 5 says then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people

For all the earth is mine. Now. Let me stop for a moment there. And obviously

I'm pulling out this phrase peculiar treasure And this is speaking of who?

In the Old Testament, who's that talking about? The Israelites They are called a particular

Peculiar wonderful treasure to the Lord and saw stay right there I'm gonna read the one in Psalm, but I want to come back to this one

Psalm 135 for says for the Lord hath chosen Jacob unto himself and Israel for his peculiar treasure

You see how it calls Israel the treasure. Therefore. I believe verse 44 in our parable is specifically primarily talking about Israel The Israelites that the

Lord is going to save and I believe verse 45 is talking about the church Which is predominantly a

Gentile Church So you have that's why you have two parables Otherwise, you only need one because they say the same thing seemingly the difference is verse 44 is predominantly pointing at Israel and the

Old Testament Saints and Boy, I just wish I had three hours this morning. We get into some stuff about how this is

Talking about how Jesus saved the Old Testament Saints and we will cover it.

Let's just take four or five Sundays now verse 45 talks about how he saves the church and It's special and unique It's different a lot of people say salvation has always been the same same in the

Old Testament as it is in the New Testament There is a sense in which that's true Salvation is by faith whether you're in the

Old Testament or the new Abraham Had faith in the Lord and was counted unto him as righteousness

But there are ways in which the salvation is different because they're on different sides of the cross and the cross means everything

Now, let me get back into this Exodus 19 5 a minute. It says Then you shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people for all the earth is mine

That word earth in the Hebrew There in Exodus 19 is a very good

Scripture that can come over and help us with what the world word world means in John 3 16 in other places in the

New Testament Many times the word carries with it the meaning.

Well it the actual word in the New Testament is cosmos Which does not mean?

Just people it means The the world that God created it pictured is the planet earth floating there in space the beauty of it some of the pictures you've seen from The astronauts as they went to the moon and looked back at the earth remember

Back in those days those first pictures we got of the earth from that perspective. They were awesome, weren't they?

That that is this earth where it says that the earth is mine

The father says But he says within that earth is a peculiar treasure

Now I wanted to bring that picture to your mind God brings it to us right here in the scriptures when he says the earth is mine because he talks about a man who?

knows that there's a particular treasure In a field and the field is the world but not the world in the sense of every human being

It's the world in the sense of that earth that Earth that I made is mine and within that is buried a treasure

And I want that treasure now that's going to help you in a minute when we get to to back into Matthew 13 44

When you go into Matthew 13 44 where it talks about this treasure that is hidden in the field this

Greek word treasure is They sorrows which means the now get this

It means the place in which good and precious things are collected a coffer or receptacle

So you have to understand in the language here where it says again The kingdom of heaven is likened to treasure hidden a field.

It's not just talking about the treasure It's talking about the thing that holds the treasure The coffer the treasure box

And he sees the treasure box and Notice that he says at the end of verse 44 that he goes and buys

That field the word that is very important because it signifies there are other fields

Otherwise, it would say the field but it says that as in that particular field is the one that he bought

Now when you go into verse 45 and this may be all we get to get into verse 45 But I want to show it to you.

Notice that when we're talking about the pearls, which is the church It does not say that he went and bought

The the entire earth to get the pearls. Look what it says at the end of verse 46 He went and sold all that he had and bought it

Now what does it refer to? Pearl He bought the church

All right now let's go back into verse 44 and You see there there is a slight difference

Between in verse 44 when we're talking about the Jewish Nation or at least the saved

Jews out of that nation. You realize there's a nation within a nation You have the physical Jewish nation

But then you have those who are circumcised in heart and that's the nation within the nation Well, it's kind of the same way in the church

If you think about that's what the parable later on where it talks about the net that's got all these fish good fish and bad fish

Not everybody that goes to church is saved. We know that don't we and And yet the

Lord knows who they are And it says very clearly at the end of time that the bad fish are going to be separated out

The good fish are gonna be put in my vessel. That's something we don't even have a clue what that how wonderful heaven is.

Is it? The wheat is going to be gathered under my barn And the tares are going to be bound and bundled and cast into fire and so We see here that he has this kingdom within a kingdom the nation of Israel the saved

Israelites and he talks about them being as a treasure That's hid in a field.

Do you remember last week when we talked about this phrase hid in the field? it's very interesting because It's the

Greek word krupto, which means concealed Hidden concealed within the field, but it's interesting because when it says that these were hid

It is past perfect tense and it's passive now past perfect Let me read this.

I like this particular definition and this is what past perfect means in English as well

It means completed in the past once and for all

Never to be repeated again Let me read it to you again completed in the past once and for all

Not needing to be repeated again When the Bible says that this treasure was hid in the field.

It is something that happened in the past It is passive which means God did it to the treasure.

The treasure didn't hide itself. God hid the treasure It was done in the past never to be done again

You know why that is because God is in the eternal present tense from our vantage point in time this happened in the past from God's point of view, it's done and This treasure has already been hidden in this field.

And what is the field it is the earth God's world God's cosmos and So we see this picture of the fact that God's already planted it here

Now when the man comes looking who is that man is that the father

Who is the man that's looking the merchant man Well, who is it that came down here snooping around?

Jesus the son of man. Oh, this is this is beautiful. This is salvation in three verses

I mean, this is God's plan of salvation from eternity past before anything was made before Before there was nothing

God created the concept of nothing. You didn't even have enough. You didn't have no nothing yet Sorry Deborah, I know that's bad grammar, but it sure is good doctrine

Before you had no nothing God had already hidden that treasure in the field. Are you with me?

Modern Theology does not like this doctrine They don't teach this parable a whole lot

And when they do they say that the pearl is Jesus and we're looking for him. Is that backwards or what?

I Found Jesus. How many of you seen that bumper sticker? Well, you know, I understand and there's a way in which you did but only before only after he found you first, right?

Because that treasure was hid before the foundation of the world now

Let's go I want you to look at a couple things let's go into John 3 16 for a moment

I want to show you what it doesn't mean and I think this parable will help us understand what it does mean And you say why is it why is this important Are you just picking on modern theologians and modern churches and the way they teach things that are

Different than the way people taught a hundred years ago even said even 50 years ago Because it was really about the year 1950 when a lot of things started changing doctrinally, especially among Baptists and I know more about them than anybody else

And are we just doing this to pick? No, I'll tell you what. Did you know truth is important? Did you know that Jesus said it is truth that will set you free

There are some things in this scripture that can set you free this morning If you hadn't seen it before can set you totally free where no matter how bad things get in your life

No matter how bad persecution may get our trials may get our trouble comes into the life this truth can set you free when you understand that you were a

Treasure hid in a field before the foundation of the world and that Jesus came for you now

Look at John 3 16 For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten

Son that whosoever believeth in him Should not perish but have everlasting life. Let me give you the modern interpretation

That the modern interpretation is that God so loved every single human in the world

Now go with me God so loved every human person in the world

That he gave his son for every human person in the world so that they might believe and be saved

There is a doctrinal problem with that interpretation. It doesn't fit half the

Bible is the problem But let me show you how you can easily get light on it by just simply reading the very next verse look at verse 17

For God sent not his son into the world to condemn the world But that the world through him might be saved now.

Let me ask you a question If your interpretation of the word world is every single human person

Then is verse 17 true Well is every single human person going to be saved

But it says that he came that that might occur if what if the word world means every single person

Verse 17 says that Jesus came so that every single human person through him might be saved

Now you have to understand that the word might be in the English is not the rendering in the

Greek. It means would be Would be saved Now that is not going to happen

We know it doesn't happen the very parable we're studying today along with ones before it and the one coming after it where it talks

About the dragnet has good fish and bad fish in it the bad fish will be cast into a lake of fire where there's weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth and We previously studied a parable where it has wheat and tares and it says that the

Son of Man Came and sowed the good seed by day That's the seed of the

Son of Man and that the enemy came by night and sowed the seed of the tares

It says they grew up together But the angels came at the end of the age and took the tares and bound them in bundles and burned them

So is every single human person going to be saved? So did Jesus fail in John 3 16?

He certainly did not It's the problem is in our definition of the word world

The word world does not mean every single human person Let me show you a little bit of how we can know that look at Matthew chapter 25 in verse 32 and Before him shall be gathered all nations

And he shall separate them one from another as a shepherd divided his sheep from the goats now

We're going to have two different groups just like we did in the wheat and the tares And the good fish and the bad fish now we have sheep and goats

And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left

Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand come ye blessed of my father

Inherit the kingdom prepared for you Does not imply this prepared for everybody but for these sheep

From the foundation of the world now, let me ask you this when was this prepared? Same time the treasure was hid

Because it's telling the same story Now this was prepared before the foundation of the world for you.

Who is the you? The sheep all right now he goes on and look in verse 41

Then Shall he say also unto them on the left hand depart from me.

He cursed and do everlasting fire Prepared for the devil and his angels

I might point this out if you take the word cursed in verse 41 and you look at the grammar past perfect What does that mean?

Past perfect Passive It's been done when

Once and for all never to be what? Repeated the very grammar of the

Bible. The Bible is a mathematical book folks Someday God may reveal to you you could study it numerically because the

Hebrew and the Greek letters represent numbers as well. It's perfect you can't mess with it and The grammar in verse 41 both in the

Greek and in the English Showed it clearly shows that these people who were cursed were cursed at some point in the past Before anything happened the same time we call it time.

It was not time It was the other side of time before it started the same time that God took the treasure and hid it

These were cursed. That's why Jesus could look at them straight to their face and say where I am going

You cannot go How do you know that because he's the one that did the hiding in the field and the one that did the cursing

Cursed he says then shall he say unto them on the left hand depart from me. He cursed into Everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels now

What happened to the group when they came to him and they said Oh Lord Lord, but we've done many wonderful things in your name

What do you say to him? But what did he say then I never was He said you never did good stuff for me, or you never believed me.

What'd he say? Never knew you is it possible for God not to know someone

I Thought he knew all things Well, he does know all things the word know and the

Bible carries the connotation of a loving knowledge Says Adam knew his wife

And Jesus said I never knew you so there are people like that and these parables are talking about them

Again, and again now, let me show you Go back in Matthew All the way back to chapter 1

You say well, this is this is kind of a negative message. Let me let me say this. This is not a negative message but if you did not have

Negative you would know positive If there were not a hell and if there were not problems and tribulation on this earth could we ever appreciate the street of gold when we see it the first time we see it and We have to put the background in here before we can understand what?

Is said about the treasure and about the pearl which is you? Now look at Matthew Chapter 1 and Verse 21

And she shall bring forth a son and thou shalt call his name Jesus for he shall save The whole world from their sins

Who is people Don't have time to get into it this morning maybe next time but I've done a study on the word is and on the word people and Just suffice it to say that this doesn't mean a group in general

This means a specific group of people his people from their sins now

This does not fit what's being taught today When we go into John 3 16

God so loved the world. Everybody says that's every human is ever born in the world. That cannot be true

It refers to his people Verse 17 says that the definition of the word world in these two verses means the world of his people

That's the only sense you can make out of it either logically or scripturally For God sent not his son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved

Now, let me say this there is a sense in which the cosmos world if you want to think of it as the earth is saved

By the death of Jesus on the cross Because it will be restored to the state that it had in the

Garden of Eden So in that sense even the planet that he even died for the planet, but he died for the planet

Yes, but he also died for his people Which were a treasure hidden in a field in this world among other fields, which has

Satan's children in it as well Now, let me give you one other this is interesting first John 5 19 because if you go out of here all excited about These scriptures and you tell your neighbor

You're gonna get slapped right in the face So, I know what you'll do you say well

David said that Blame it on me And they're gonna say don't the word world always has to mean the whole world well, let's look at first John 5 19

And we know that we are of God and The whole world lieth in wickedness.

Now. Let me ask you. What is the word whole mean? I'm tricking you now. I'm gonna tell you ahead of time.

What does the word whole mean? Means all of them. What is the word world mean?

Every living human person and Not only that but it's modified by the word whole so now it surely has to mean every single living human person, doesn't it?

But it doesn't mean that does it? Because it says the whole world lieth in wickedness and you and I are not and I'll tell you

Wickedness in the Greek means the wicked one. So it literally says the whole world is in Satan Just like we are in Christ Is that true?

If it means the whole world that means you and I are in Satan too. Also, are we or have we been delivered?

Have we been delivered from Satan in his kingdom? Have we been taken from darkness into his marvelous light?

Have we been baptized into the body of Jesus Christ? So are we in Satan?

Then this doesn't mean the whole world even though it says it do you see my point when you interpret the

Bible? You've got to use brother Rogers Interpretative methods.

They're not his but he he's learned them There is a well -known way of studying the

Bible where you use proper rules Interpretation if you use them, you will come to the same conclusions.

You'll come to God's conclusions You know what? One of my favorite one is let the

Bible interpret the Bible if you take John 3 16 in connection with Matthew 13 44

Or in connection with John 3 17, which so few people or will even read the very next verse

It's kind of like the verse over in first or second Peter where it says he's not willing that any should perish

If you just read one verse above it It's talking about the elect and if you read the first verse in the whole chapter is talking about we the brothers

The whole chapter is written to Christian people. Certainly. He's not willing that any Christian people perish

He is not willing that any bit of that treasure that was hid should perish Let's go into John chapter 10

John chapter 10 and then I want to go to John chapter 17 I don't see how anyone can miss this if they take if they go through the scriptures that all

Fit together to understand the concept of what Jesus is doing when he came and he died for the world.

What was happening? John 10 14

I Am the

Good Shepherd and I know my sheep is it say he knows any goats there by the way Doesn't say that does it

I know my sheep It doesn't even say he knows other people's sheep does

Does he know Buddha's sheep? Does he know Muhammad's? He says

I know my sheep and I am known of mine now, let me ask you who is it in the world

That's going to ever know Jesus His sheep why because they're gonna hear the voice of the shepherd

Did you know that in the real world of? Sheep that a sheep will not recognize the voice of another shepherd of a block of different sheep

But when their shepherd comes they can call in it. It'll pop up Same way we are when

Jesus called you You were lost you were blind You were deaf

You were dead and trespasses and sins But you know what? You weren't a goat.

You were a lost sheep and When he called you whatever day that was in your life your head popped up those ears went

You could hear his voice because he was your shepherd you might have been right in the midst of Jehovah's Witnesses him or Mormonism You might have been right in the midst of just pagan idolatry

Americanism is what I would call that But when that shepherd called your voice that day your ears perked up Why didn't the guy sit in the car with you?

Why didn't his ears perk up? Well, either he was a goat or he's a sheep and she's gonna call him in there later you don't know which but Jesus knows

My sheep hear my voice I Know my sheep and am known of mine as the father knoweth me

Even so I the father and I lay down my life for the sheep. Does it say he laid his life down for the goats?

And so John 3 16 doesn't say he laid his life down for the goats either folks and other sheep

I have Now he's talking to a bunch of Jewish sheep. So who do you think these other sheep are?

He's talking to the treasure first then he comes and he's gonna talk about the pearls Other sheep

I have for that. There's something that that's better than eating lunch today. That's better than fried chicken What if the only sheep he had ever had were

Jewish sheep, wouldn't we be in trouble? Most of us in here. Anyway, I don't know everybody

But most of us are Gentile sheep Other sheep I have which are not of this fold

Them also I must bring there is no choice here. Why because it was hid before them.

Listen Jesus is the merchant man Sent here by the father to do the father's will the father had buried the treasure.

He said go get it. I must bring There is no choice in this issue

There is no choice on the part of Jesus as far as to who he is going to say He is going to save the treasure that was buried he's going to save the pearl of great price

He is going out and he's going to find those that were lost of the father's

Sheep because the father gives them to him He says and other sheep

I have which are not of this fold them Also, I must bring every little word is important and they shall hear my voice.

You've heard Of Calvin's idea of irresistible grace and Baptist nowadays just go bad.

No, I don't buy that I'm just a three -point Calvinist don't believe it's irresistible. Every man has a choice Well, every man does have a choice

But I want to tell you something every every sheep also has an ear that hears the voice and every sheep has an ear that hears the voice of love that is

Absolutely irresistible That agape that you heard the first time when

Jesus said you're mine You're not going to resist it you want if you want to debate on whether you could or not

Go to bake somewhere else because the question is you won't you won't resist it And as far as from God's point of view, it says that Them also

I what? Must bring does Jesus have a choice on the matter?

So do you really? Do you think you really have do you think that your will is so big and powerful and sovereign that you could choose to make?

Jesus disobey the father on that issue Let's take a hypothetical God chose you before the foundation of the world just like a feast in chapter one says

He chose you before he made anything to be his going to Deuteronomy 7 verses 7 and 8

He says I set and it's past perfect I set my love upon you not because you're anything but because I set my love upon you.

I Didn't choose you because you're anything. I chose you because I set my love upon you and it's always been there forever

Because you're my sheep and then he puts you and he hides you in this world of Satan with the little g -god

Satan's world he thinks it's his and the world thinks it's his and you're hidden treasure in this world and The father tells

Jesus now go down and get the treasure and he says, okay I will and he comes down to get the treasure and he finds one of the sheep

The father hid and that sheep says ain't going. I Hear the treasure you've turned the light on I've seen the face of Jesus.

I know he's mine I know I was his forever, but I'm not going Jesus comes back to the father and says well,

I brought them all but one The father said but I said you must bring them all Is that gonna happen that scenario?

I'm not gonna debate whether you have a choice My debate is whether your choice is more sovereign than God's choice or not.

That's the debate John 17 verse 6 Look at John 17 6.

I Have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me Now, where did these men come from out of what?

Out of the world. This is the cosmos the earth the planet that the astronauts saw floating on nothing

And there's a treasure hid in that world in that field And right here.

Jesus says that the father is now giving that treasure to him Thine they were

Were is what tense So that apparently goes back before a time when you made your quote

Decision, didn't it? And you did make a decision. I'm not belittling the decision

But I'm just saying we love God because he loved us first. Hallelujah and he goes and he says thou

Dine they were and thou gavest them to me and They have kept thy word that is the one of the greatest symptoms of salvation in the world

Did you ever have a time when you started loving the word and you remember time when you didn't? Then you don't need to doubt your salvation

Now they have done that all things whatsoever thou has given me are of thee for I have given unto them the words which thou gave me and they have received them and Have known surely that I came out from thee and they have believed that thou didst send me

Now look at verse 9. I Pray for them.

I Pray not for the world Do you see how the word world has a different meaning many times and you have to define it by the context of the passage

In John 3 16 the Bible teaches he dies for the world of his own

Now Jesus in verse 9 says I don't pray for the world. So that's obviously a different world. That's the world of Satan's own and They're both in this world

If what you mean by the world is the cosmos including the planet earth and all of God's creation They're both in this world

But God's treasure is hid within the field which also includes

Satan's people but when Jesus wants to really get down to it and help us interpret these things

He says well, listen, there are two groups here. There's a group I pray for and there's a group. I don't pray for I pray for them

Which are the ones thou had before the foundation of the world and that thou gave to me and I don't pray for the world

Now does that world include the Christians no It does not include the

Christians So, can you see that we have worlds within worlds here? We have like if you ever remember in math part you hated in school where they talked about Sex and they draw this big circle say that's a set they put two or three little ones in there.

Those are subsets They're within the larger set And so we have the word world used at least three ways the word the big set which includes the earth the planet and The subsets the world of the elect and the world of the non -elect are the world of the sheep the world the goats the world of God's children the world of Satan's children the world of the wheat the world the tears the world the good fish the

World gap the bad fish. They're all within the big Context of the whole world. How are you gonna know what the word means?

When you see the word world you can only tell by the context that is found in and by your understanding of the whole

Bible And the fact that Jesus does not pray for every single human person in the world

He prays for them which God gave him is very clear in verse 9. I pray for them I pray not for the world

Let me ask you a question just a logical question if he died for every human person if that's what you think

John 3 16 means Then why would he not pray for every single human person? Would he then die in vain?

That makes no sense. I Pray for them. I prayed not for the world but for them which thou hast given me for they are thine

Now, let me tell you what's really amazing is when you look at what the prayer is. He's praying What prayer is it that he is praying for one group, but he's not praying for the other group

He's praying for one world of people But he's not praying for the other world of people

Well, let's follow it down and look look at verse 11 And now

I am no more in the world, but these are in the world now That's now which world would you think that means from the context?

the cosmos the globe All right, and he says but these are in the world and I come to thee

Holy Father keep through thine own name those whom thou has given me now.

This is the prayer Remember how he said I don't I pray for these but I don't pray for the world. This is the prayer

He says father. I want you to keep the ones That you gave me so that they may be one as we are

While I was with them in the world. I kept them in thy name Those that thou gavest me

I have kept and none of them is lost now that is sovereign That is irresistible grace that Calvin taught

Calvin was right on that None of them is lost but the son of perdition Why was he lost that's

Judas? Why was Judas lost because he was the son of perdition. What does perdition mean? Utter annihilation in hell.

He was one of Satan's seed That the scripture might be fulfilled now look at verse 15

I pray not that thou should take them out of the world, but that thou should keep them from the evil

That's the prayer now. Why is it that Jesus prayed for one group? Father keep them from the evil one

And he says but I don't pray that for the world of the lost or the world of the goats the world of the tears

Because his prayers gonna get answered that's why There's never a prayer that of Jesus Christ.

It was not answered Even the one he prayed in the garden where he said take this cup from me was answered because they didn't put a period at The end of it.

He said comma nevertheless. I will be done There was never a prayer of Jesus not answered

And so in this case, he says I don't pray this for the whole world. I pray this for those that you gave me

Now It's interesting that God has written the

Bible in such a way that a person really has to study sometimes to see the meanings of things and Sometimes we do study, but we have to study for years.

We have to study next year We cannot live based on what we learned last year

Because you know what? Let me tell you what happens when we live that way We form what we call a box that we put

God in And if anyone attacks your box you get upset about it. You get emotional about it because you say well, that's my doctrinal position

It's personal to me And yet that doctrinal position probably was set on something you studied maybe five ten years ago

You need to keep studying your doctrinal position needs to be set on what you studied five or ten years ago, but what you studied today as well

Now let's we've gone about as far as we can go this morning, but let's go back into Matthew 13

And I'm gonna begin my first close so Matthew 13 verse 44

Do you remember how he says this treasure was hid in a field Let me just read you a couple of verses here

It does speak of The Jewish nation, especially the the ones who are going to be saved of the

Jewish nation But it also speaks of the pearl that we're going to study when we get to the next parable

But in Acts 15 14 and for sake of time, let me just read these to you Simeon had declared how

God at the first did visit the Gentiles to take out of them a people for his name

And That a beautiful phrase to take out of all the whole world You won't talk about the cosmos the whole world he takes out of that of people for his name

Those are the ones that are hid now he says this agrees with the words of the prophets and David said after this

I will read They're in the field and you go into Titus 2 14 and a couple of other

New Testament verses Then it's gonna talk about the pearl. It's talking about the saved Gentiles Titus 2 14 says who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify unto himself a peculiar people

Zealous unto good works. Remember how they said his name shall be Jesus for he shall save his what?

It's people from their sins This is who the people are first Peter 2 9 says but you are a chosen generation

It's interesting because in the Old Testament it called the the saved Jews a chosen generation a chosen nation

New Testament calls the saved Gentiles the same thing But you're a chosen generation a royal priesthood a holy nation a peculiar People that you should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous

Light God's elect nation the Old Testament saints together with us

The New Testament Saints were hid from eternity past Deuteronomy 7 7 the

Lord did not set his love upon you nor choose you because you were more in number than any people for you

Were the most nothing of nothingness but because but he chose you because the

Lord loved you past perfect agape love and Because he would keep the oath which he had sworn to Abraham Isaac and Jacob Isaiah 45 for for Jacob my servant's sake and Israel mine elect

I have called thee by thy name. I have surnamed thee Though thou has not known me

Colossians 3 10 and I have put on the new man Which is renewed and knowledge after the image of him that created him where there is neither

Greek nor Jew This brings together the parable in verse 44 together with the one verse 45 and 46

Circumcision nor uncircumcision barbarian scythian bond nor free but Christ is all and in all put on therefore as the elect of God holy and Beloved bowels of mercies kindness humbleness of mind meekness long suffering

Ephesians 1 3 blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of The world that we should be holding without blame before him in love having predestinated us

He predestinated us in love you get hung up on whether he chooses chose us or rather.

He knew us That just dropped that because what he did was he loved us. There's the whole answer having predestinated us in love

He predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself according to the good pleasure of His will to the praise of the glory of his grace wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved in whom we have

Redemption through his blood the forgiveness of sins the removal of sins according to the riches of his grace wherein he hath abounded

Toward us in all wisdom and prudence. I like this closing having made known unto us the mystery of his will

According to the good pleasure pleasure, which he hath purposed in himself way back then when he hid that treasure

Now what we'll do next time Is we will see how there is a slight difference between the salvation of the

Old Testament Saint and the New Testament Saint and It's because they're on different sides of the cross now

There's a similarity in the sense. They're all saved by Jesus and by his death on the cross So don't put anything in my words in my mouth

I'm not saying but there is a subtle difference between The actual method and actually what

Jesus did and it's really really wonderful and we just ran out of time But we'll talk about that next time but think about this

Next time the old devil's after you Next time the world system is just piling it on top of you

And next time things aren't just going quite right in the family Or at work

You're hid And Jesus came Snooping around and he found the field you were hidden in that's why in Proverbs It says from eternity past he delighted in this earth and in the sons of men

His affinity has always been for human beings Jesus Jesus Christ His affinity has always been for that treasure in that pearl of great price

Do you know what the price of you is? You know how valuable you are if you're Jesus is this morning

Well, I'll tell you this whatever it means to say that God sold everything he had