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KNOWING JESUS CHRIST AS LORD By Larry Kreider TOTAL TRUST: PURCHASING THE PEARL Jesus tells us an amazing story in Matthew 13:45-46. "Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it." Suppose I come to you and want to buy a pearl that you own. "How much do you want for it?" I ask. "Everything," you say. So I give you my wallet, savings, home, wife, job, hopes, pleasures, past, present, future - everything! I surrender it all and you give me the pearl. Then you say, "I'll give you back your home and family and money but whenever I want them, you must give them to me. They are mine. They all belong to me." That is what it means to give everything to Jesus. We then realize that we are managers of these things that we have instead of owners. He is the owner! My family belongs to Jesus. My bank account belongs to Jesus. My house belongs to Jesus. My car belongs to Jesus. Sometimes I stop to pick up a hitchhiker because my car belongs to Jesus and I believe He wants me to help those in need. Juan Carlos Ortiz tells the story of people in Argentina who became Christians and gave their homes and cars to the church. The church gave them back and said, "These all belong to Jesus; use them to serve Him. When someone needs a house to stay in or a ride in a car, we will contact you." God has called us to do the same. When Jesus becomes our Lord, we realize that everything that we have is no longer ours; it is His. We are only managers of His possessions. 
QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER: Purchasing the Pearl: Read Matthew 13:45-46. What does the Bible compare the kingdom of God with? How much was the pearl worth? How do we apply this truth to our spiritual lives? How do we practically give everything to the Lord? __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________
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