Episode Transcript
[00:00:01] Little is much if God is in it truly is a message for each of us. Doesn't have to be great, doesn't have to be big, but yet it's important that the Lord is in it.
[00:00:16] I would like to emphasize just for a few minutes concerning the insert that you found in your church bulletin this morning.
[00:00:29] And if you did not get a bulletin, you did not get the insert, why I'll be standing at the door with it. I'd like for you to have it receive one before you leave today.
[00:00:43] The past years, at least last year, in a way, there was only one fun that your church had. And that was a local fun.
[00:00:53] And due to the many things, activities that the church had, everything came out of that one fund. Well, the.
[00:01:04] In other words, we ended up spending considerable more than we received at our last business meeting. We established various funds for the various things.
[00:01:18] In other words, we establish a benevolent fund instead of the food bank.
[00:01:27] And we established a committee to administer that fund.
[00:01:34] But brethren, all the money that they'll have to give to the needy is what comes into that fund.
[00:01:41] No money will be taken out of the local fund to support that.
[00:01:48] So you and I, if we're in sympathy with that fund, we need to support. Support it systematically.
[00:01:59] And what comes in will be, will be credited to that fund.
[00:02:09] And also we established a building fund and we have a loan on the church now, or the church has a loan rather, and we want to pay that loan off.
[00:02:21] So if you'd like to be a part in helping to pay off that loan, then we need to give to the building fund.
[00:02:30] To the building fund.
[00:02:33] The local fund will still have considerable expenses that will be coming out of it. Our utilities, our insurance and various other expenses that will be coming out of the local fund.
[00:02:51] And I just wanted to emphasize that we might need to change our way of giving to some extent. And I wanted to explain to you about that.
[00:03:02] But I will be giving or I will have an insert. If you did not receive one, let me know as you go through the door after the service.
[00:03:16] It seems that we as a people, we always have our eye open for something that's free.
[00:03:24] If we see something that's free, then we read the.
[00:03:29] The insert or the advertisement, whatever it might be. We want to find out what's free.
[00:03:41] Even the church is quite concerned about giving things out that's free. Not our literature. When we advertise it, we always tell the public it's free, take what you want.
[00:03:55] And so we are a people that we like to find things that are free.
[00:04:07] I don't know if you ladies are like my wife or not, but she likes to go through the papers and find the coupons.
[00:04:15] And many times it's quite helpful.
[00:04:19] You know, I heard a man say. And he spoke from statistics.
[00:04:26] He says, brother Walker says, do you know who the greatest businessman is?
[00:04:33] Who the. Maybe he used the word individual.
[00:04:36] Who is the greatest business individual that you know of?
[00:04:42] Well, I really don't know.
[00:04:45] He said, it's our wives.
[00:04:50] It's our wives.
[00:04:52] He said, when a man that is in produce, he has to research and he has to be acquainted with what the housewife will buy and what she will not buy.
[00:05:14] And he quoted various instances. He said, you put a chicken on the market, if it's too heavy, housewife will not buy it.
[00:05:24] He was talking in generalities now, and he said, if it's too small, she won't buy it either. It's not enough for the family.
[00:05:32] So he says, the greatest business individual is our wives.
[00:05:40] We, as Christians, we need to realize the value of certain things.
[00:05:52] And as we read in the scriptures of things that are free, it catches our eye.
[00:05:59] It catches our eye.
[00:06:01] In Romans, the fifth chapter, in Romans, the fifth chapter and the 15th verse, Paul says, but not as the offense.
[00:06:13] So also is the free gift or free gift.
[00:06:19] What is he talking about? If it's free, I'm interested.
[00:06:23] And so we read about this free gift that is extended to mankind.
[00:06:33] And from the standpoint that Paul is talking about, it is free.
[00:06:39] But yet when we realize the cost of it, it's not free.
[00:06:47] A very high price was paid, first of all, for this gift to be offered.
[00:06:58] A very high price was paid the life of an individual.
[00:07:05] But also, brethren, from the standpoint of you and I, it's not free either.
[00:07:12] It's going to cost us something.
[00:07:15] It's going to cost us something.
[00:07:18] Jesus alluded to it in Matthew the 13th chapter.
[00:07:25] In Matthew the 13th chapter, beginning with verse 45, he says again, the kingdom of heaven.
[00:07:34] He's talking about the kingdom of heaven.
[00:07:39] The kingdom of heaven is something which we all want to be a part of.
[00:07:45] We want to be in it.
[00:07:48] That is our goal, to inherit the kingdom of heaven.
[00:07:55] Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in 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.
[00:08:13] Then in the next verse, it says again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchantman seeking goodly pearls, who, when he found one Pearl of great price. Went and sold all that he had and bought it.
[00:08:33] He realized the value that existed here, and he wanted to have it.
[00:08:41] He wanted to receive it.
[00:08:43] And it says that he went and sold all that he had.
[00:08:51] What is the pearl of great price?
[00:08:55] It's the gospel.
[00:08:58] It's the kingdom.
[00:09:02] But he had to dispose of something to receive it.
[00:09:08] What was that?
[00:09:11] Self.
[00:09:13] He had to dispose all that he had that was contrary to the will of God before he could receive the pearl of great price.
[00:09:25] And if you want to be a part of the kingdom of God, brethren, it's going to cost you something.
[00:09:33] It's going to cost you something.
[00:09:39] This individual thought that it was well worth what it was that he had to give up.
[00:09:46] He thought it was well worth to dispose of that which he possessed, that he might receive this pearl of great price.
[00:10:00] Seemingly, he never hesitated.
[00:10:04] Never hesitated.
[00:10:09] You know what has been a dream of mine all my life now?
[00:10:17] Someone that has grown up in the church.
[00:10:21] Give their heart to the Lord. That's a. That's. That's a wonderful thing.
[00:10:26] That's a glorious occasion.
[00:10:31] But I have had a dream all my life that somebody, some Sabbath morning, that someone would just walk in.
[00:10:41] Perhaps they'd seen a sign on the outside. Church of God, seventh day. And they saw all the cars parked in the parking lot. I never heard of this church.
[00:10:53] Wonder what kind of church it is. And he had the courage enough to come in and sit down.
[00:10:59] And there he hears the gospel as we know it for the first time.
[00:11:04] And without any hesitancy on his part, he receives.
[00:11:11] That's my dream of seeing someday.
[00:11:15] Haven't seen it yet, but it would be a glorious sight.
[00:11:24] Someone, without any hesitation at all would be willing to dispose, be willing to give up, be willing to cast aside, to sell all that he had that was contrary to the will of God.
[00:11:42] And to receive the Gospel.
[00:11:48] In Matthew the 19th chapter, we find another.
[00:11:56] I always refer to him as a young man, but he may not be so young. I just get the impression that he's on the younger side.
[00:12:05] Of course, with me Today, anybody under 60 is young.
[00:12:12] But he comes to Christ.
[00:12:17] You'll find that in the 16th verse he says. And behold, one came and said unto him, good Master, what good things shall I do that I may have eternal life?
[00:12:29] Whatever it is, you disagree with this individual. There is one thing that you have to give him credit.
[00:12:41] At least. He's inquiring.
[00:12:44] He wants to know.
[00:12:48] And there's multitudes in the world today that doesn't even care that's not inquiring. They don't want to know.
[00:12:57] But at least he's inquiring.
[00:13:00] So let's give credit where credit is due.
[00:13:05] We may not agree with his reaction, but at least he's inquiring.
[00:13:17] Then in the 21st verse, Jesus saith unto him, if thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven and come and follow me.
[00:13:37] But when the young man, why, he was a young man, wasn't he?
[00:13:41] But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
[00:13:51] There was something he didn't want to give up.
[00:13:59] There was something that he did not want to dispose of.
[00:14:06] To receive the kingdom of heaven, to receive the pearl of great price.
[00:14:16] And you might be an individual that has come Sabbath after Sabbath, month after month, year after year, you know what you ought to do, but you have just never yet fully and completely surrendered.
[00:14:37] This young man, even though that he had great possessions.
[00:14:44] God is not asking anything of him that he's not asking of us.
[00:14:53] Anything that stands in the way of you and God needs to be disposed of.
[00:15:04] Anything that's standing between you and God, you're going to have to give up.
[00:15:19] The message is no less to one than another.
[00:15:26] God is impartial.
[00:15:30] He doesn't care who you are, he doesn't care what you have.
[00:15:38] He just simply stating, if you want and desire the pearl of great price, if it's worth that much to you, then you're going to have to give up. It's going to cost you something.
[00:15:55] It's going to cost you something.
[00:15:59] You might say, well, brother Walker, I would really respond today, but my friend, family just wouldn't understand.
[00:16:08] Just wouldn't understand.
[00:16:12] It may cost you your family as far as their respect is concerned.
[00:16:28] There was an individual the one time that wasn't willing.
[00:16:38] His wife stood between him and making decision for the Lord.
[00:16:46] He says, brother Walker, he said, if I accept, he said, I agree with you. I studied with him. I went through the basic teachings of, of the gospel.
[00:16:58] He says, brother Walker, I agree with you 100%.
[00:17:04] But he said, if I accept and start attending the church of God, he said, my wife will lead me, leave me.
[00:17:14] Well, I'm not there to make a decision for him. That's up to him. He has to make that decision.
[00:17:23] He didn't make that decision.
[00:17:27] And he and his wife ended up separating anyway.
[00:17:31] Not over religion, but other matters.
[00:17:40] I could be wrong.
[00:17:43] I could be wrong, but I Believe firmly in my mind that if he had gone ahead and explained to his wife, he says, honey, I love you, but I must follow the Scriptures. I must follow the gospel. I must accept the Lord and live for him as I understand the word of God.
[00:18:07] I believe God would have worked it out between him and his wife, but he put her between him and God.
[00:18:17] There's no way that God could help.
[00:18:22] And so many times we underestimate the power of God.
[00:18:32] You might say, well, Brother Walker, I understand what you're saying, and I would really like to respond, but I would lose my job.
[00:18:42] I would lose my job.
[00:18:48] And in my ministry, I have seen people make a decision and they have lost their jobs.
[00:18:57] But I have yet.
[00:19:00] I have yet to see anyone lose their job for the sake of Christ that hasn't received one either equal or better than the job that they had.
[00:19:15] This individual that I have in mind did not necessarily receive a better employment, But he heard the gospel as we understand it.
[00:19:30] He accepted.
[00:19:36] He was a caterpillar operator.
[00:19:39] He went to his boss and he told his boss, well, he said, I'm not going to be able to work on Saturdays anymore.
[00:19:47] He said, I've become a Christian, and I understand that the Sabbath ought to be kept as part as my responsibility to God. And his boss said, well, he said, I'm sorry, I can't use you then.
[00:20:05] So he laid him off.
[00:20:07] The man hunted for work for a few weeks. I don't know how many weeks it was.
[00:20:15] Couldn't find employment.
[00:20:18] I don't think his faith ever wavered.
[00:20:21] The story that was told me it was actual circumstance.
[00:20:29] But one morning he was sitting on his front steps of his home wondering, well, where should I go to look for employment today?
[00:20:38] And he seen a car drive up in front.
[00:20:42] The individual got out, and it was his former boss come up to him. He said, are you employed yet?
[00:20:50] The man said, no.
[00:20:53] He said, well, go back out and get on that caterpillar. He said, I haven't found anybody as good as you.
[00:21:03] I wonder who it was that impressed his boss to come back and rehire him.
[00:21:11] But the young man went away. Sorrowful, but not sorrowful enough.
[00:21:19] Sorrowful in the wrong way. He was not willing to give up the thing that stood between him and God.
[00:21:30] Now, brethren, possession is nothing wrong. It's nothing wrong to be rich.
[00:21:36] It's just wrong to allow those riches to come between you and God.
[00:21:45] There's many individuals in the Bible that was rich.
[00:21:51] I don't know how they figured it, but I read in a book One time.
[00:21:59] This individual said that John Rockefeller and those at least us older ones, have heard of him.
[00:22:10] One of the richest men in the United States.
[00:22:15] He said Rockefeller would have been just a good shoe shine boy compared to the wealth that Abraham had.
[00:22:24] Yet Abraham is a father of the family of God.
[00:22:31] He's highly spoken of of God. Abraham didn't allow his riches to come between him and God.
[00:22:43] He wanted the pearl of a great price. The pearl of a great price was worth more to him than his riches. They were secondary.
[00:22:53] But God didn't take his riches from him because he used them, I'm sure in a way that God was pleased. So having riches and possessions, there's nothing wrong is how we allow them to affect us in our life.
[00:23:19] In Galatians, the first chapter.
[00:23:23] In Galatians the first chapter, Paul again relates to our message today.
[00:23:33] He speaks even from his youth.
[00:23:41] In Galatians, the first chapter, verses 15 and 16, he says, but when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb and called me by his grace.
[00:23:54] Now Paul was a grown man when he accepted the Lord. Now why did he say that the Lord separated him from his mother's womb?
[00:24:06] Simply because he could look back in his life and he could see the hand of God in his life, leading him, training him, preparing him for the work that he was called upon to do.
[00:24:25] When he became a man.
[00:24:28] God separated him from his mother's womb. He says, to reveal his son in me that I may preach him among the heathen. He said, immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood.
[00:24:43] What does it mean?
[00:24:45] He said, I didn't dwell upon it. I didn't ponder it. I didn't argue with myself or debate with myself whether I ought to or not. I didn't confer with myself. I heard it. I realized what the Lord wanted me to do and I responded. He says, can you say that?
[00:25:08] I hope you can, but I can't.
[00:25:17] When I realized that the Lord was laying upon my heart to go into the ministry, I fought it.
[00:25:25] I fought it.
[00:25:29] I gave the Lord every excuse under the sun.
[00:25:36] Didn't have too high an education.
[00:25:42] My children were just coming on and I wasn't sure I could support them or not.
[00:25:50] Guess I was put to the test right away there because when I finally entered the ministry, I took $150 a month cut.
[00:25:58] I guess the Lord wanted to see if I was sincere or not.
[00:26:05] And close to 40 years ago, brethren, $150 went a long way.
[00:26:13] But that feeling would not leave.
[00:26:18] I finally had to Surrender. But what I'm saying is I was not like the apostle Paul. I conferred with flesh and blood.
[00:26:29] I really didn't think I could do it.
[00:26:33] But he responded.
[00:26:37] And I do believe that it cost Paul something.
[00:26:44] As I read the life of Paul before his conversion. Now, you might get. You may not get this impression. This is my impression.
[00:26:55] Somehow I get the feeling he's somewhat arrogant.
[00:27:00] He's just a little man, not too big.
[00:27:05] Now, I'm not getting mixed up with who climbed up the sycamore tree, huh? I'm not getting mixed up with Zacharias. Now, the scripture says Zacchaeus was a small statue. But somehow I get the feeling that Paul was a small statue too.
[00:27:23] He was highly educated.
[00:27:27] And I get the feeling he was somewhat arrogant. And he was certainly self righteous.
[00:27:35] He thought he was doing God a service. When he was putting those people to death, he was a murderer.
[00:27:46] But he said, I've received forgiveness because I did it in ignorance.
[00:27:51] Goes to show, brethren, you can do something with sincerity and still be wrong.
[00:27:58] He said, I received forgiveness because I did it in ignorance.
[00:28:05] But he, when it came to the gospel, when it came to the pearl of great price, he conferred not with flesh and blood.
[00:28:15] He responded immediately.
[00:28:17] In Proverbs the 23rd chapter, Proverbs the 23rd chapter, the wise men tells us about the word of God.
[00:28:36] In the 23rd verse, he says, buy the truth and sell it, not buy the truth?
[00:28:46] How can you buy truth?
[00:28:50] Can you buy truth with a check or a dollar bill?
[00:28:57] No, you can't.
[00:29:00] Solomon is telling us here when he says, by the truth, he means to dispose in your life the things that are contrary to God's will.
[00:29:11] There's things you have to give up. There's things you have to discard.
[00:29:16] There's things you have to dispose of.
[00:29:23] That's buying the truth.
[00:29:27] And sell it, not hold on to it.
[00:29:33] Don't let it go.
[00:29:36] Don't let it go.
[00:29:41] There was a man that sold the truth.
[00:29:45] There was a man that sold his birthright.
[00:29:49] He's called Esau. In the Scriptures, he came in from hunting one day, very, very hungry, almost to the point where he thought he was going to die. He apparently had gone many hours without anything to eat.
[00:30:12] And so he sold his birthright for a bowl of porridge, for some food.
[00:30:22] And In Hebrews the 12th chapter, Hebrews the 12th chapter tells us what he did.
[00:30:31] His response after he sold his Birthright.
[00:30:36] Hebrews the 12th chapter, verses 16 and 17, it says, lest there be any fornicator or profane person as Esau, who for one morsel of meat or food sold his birthright, Calls him a profane individual, very.
[00:31:13] Apparently individual who really didn't think things through, didn't stop and consider the value what he had.
[00:31:27] And so he sold it for something that was so temporary.
[00:31:34] But then in the 17th verse he says, for you know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected.
[00:31:43] For. For he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.
[00:31:50] Oh, he was sorry for what he had done.
[00:31:57] He was sorry, sorry, sorry. He wept, he cried, he pleaded.
[00:32:05] But it was too late.
[00:32:08] It was too late.
[00:32:12] He couldn't turn things around because he had given up that which he possessed at one time that was so valuable, so valuable even Jesus himself. And this is my concluding text. In Luke the 13th chapter and Luke the 13th chapter and verse 28, Jesus said, There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth when ye shall see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God.
[00:32:55] And you yourselves thrust out.
[00:33:03] What does it mean when he says, you shall see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob?
[00:33:08] I've never met Abraham, Isaac or Jacob.
[00:33:14] I don't think I'd recognize them if I saw them.
[00:33:20] In Galatians 3 it tells us, it said, if ye be Christ, then you are Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise.
[00:33:30] Many times in the Scriptures, when it speaks about the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, it means the God of God's people.
[00:33:42] And I do believe, brethren, that the wicked is going to get a glimpse of the kingdom of God.
[00:33:52] They're going to see God's people going in and they themselves thrust out.
[00:34:00] And they're going to weep and they're going to mourn. They're going to plead too late, too late.
[00:34:13] But I hope that there's none today will fall in that category.
[00:34:20] If you know that you're not ready to meet the Lord, come today and make a commitment.
[00:34:29] If you feel that you have failed, come make things right.
[00:34:38] Because the pearl of great price, there's nothing compared to it. It's the most valuable thing that we can possess, that we can purchase, if we haven't already purchased it.
[00:34:55] But I just hope that we're willing to dispose of that which is not worth anything as far as our salvation is concerned, whatever it is that stands in the way of our making a commitment that we will be willing to sell it, that we'd be willing to dispose of it so that we could receive the pearl of great price.
[00:35:20] May the Lord bless you this morning.
[00:35:24] May God be with you as we go through life.
[00:35:28] That we'll always hold unto that precious and wonderful pearl that we have purchased through Christ. God bless you.
