Recently, I heard a message by the Rev. Stewart Briscoe, in which he used an event in his early life as an illustration. Years ago, it seems, he and his wife were traveling through South Africa on a preaching tour. The woman leading them asked if they wanted to see the world's largest man-made hole. Not even knowing such an attraction existed in the area, they agreed—just out of curiosity.
Sure enough—when they arrived, they were duly impressed. It was at least a mile in circumference and over a 120 feet deep. They were told that it didn't even start out as a hole—in fact, it was a substantial hill. When the pastor and his wife asked how it ever came to be, their guide told them the story. It all started with a couple of young boys with their shovels. As they dug, one of the youngsters uncovered a rather unusual rock. You see, this rock was rather sparkling on the one end. Yes, diamonds—the diamonds of South Africa! All it took to dig that hole—by hand—was motivation, and they certainly had that!
Now motivation comes in all sorts of shapes and sizes, colors and textures. One great motivation in the world today is greed—and not just for the criminal and his get-rich-quick-schemes and scams. No, throughout the business psyche of our society, greed and getting ahead is often the motivational force. But in the Christian mindset, it is to be an entirely different thing. As the world scrambles after precious jewels and gems, wealth and recognition of all kinds, the true Christian recognizes Jesus as the greatest prize of all. Matthew 13: 45-46 records Jesus saying, "Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it." Jesus, the living Word of God, is that pearl of great price—nothing is more valuable and worthy of possessing. A little later, the disciples were asked, "...But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." (16:15-16) Following this great declaration, we are told—"From that time forth began Jesus to show unto His disciples, how that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day." (vs. 21)
Elsewhere, it says that Jesus had set His face like flint towards the Cross—very purposed, very determined, very motivated. Yes, but motivated by love, not greed, for that is the heart of God! And, Praise God—Jesus was and is God! Oh sure, lots of people would argue with that, but that is because they don't want to come under His authority. Pride and haughtiness get in the way, and people demand their own interpretations. Perhaps I can illustrate this with something that was recently in the national media. A few weeks ago, there was much ado over Dan Brown coming out with a new book. I don't have any idea what it is about, or even its title—I couldn't care less. As far as I'm concerned, it is much ado about nothing!
You see, the world thinks much of him because of his book back in 2003—The DaVinci Code. It sold millions of copies, was translated into dozens of languages, and it made its author a multi-millioniare. The New York Times described it as a, "riddle-filled, code-breaking, exhilarating, brainy thriller." Other reviews were much less flattering— "pretentious, posturing, self-serving, self-congratulatory, condescending, glib, illogical, superficial, and deviant." From what I know, I would tend to agree with the latter. Oh, there might be some truth in some of the subject matter and even the plot, but I couldn't care less about any of that. I take issue with its assertions concerning my Jesus—heavy duty issues, in fact, it's blasphemy. The book suggests that the gospel accounts of Jesus that we have today are not the originals. Supposedly, the stories we have of Jesus, revealing both His humanity and His divinity today, are not what God gave. Hogwash! There is absolutely no evidence for such a ridiculous assertion. There was never an earlier form of Christianity—Jesus Himself made it very clear who He was, but people are just too proud to come under His authority. Specifically, the DaVinci Code manufactures a Jesus who was married to Mary Magdalene, and the two of them had a daughter named Sarah. And if that doesn't rewrite the gospel accounts, supposedly their descendants became the kings of France. Absurd!!!
What a fanciful fairy tale! Not only that, the Holy Grail, usually thought to be the chalice Jesus used in the Upper Room, is now—believe it or not— identified as the womb of Mary. Sick! Oh, many could just write it all off as fiction, but the problem with that is that many people are buying into it. Dan Brown, at his own web site states that it is, "my belief that the theories discussed by these characters (in my book) may have merit." He does not actually state that they are accurate or true, but he disagrees with those who come against them. He describes himself as a Christian, but distinguishes himself from those who "accept the Bible as absolute historical fact." He says, "We're each following our own path of enlightenment. I consider myself a student of many religions." And that is supposed to be Christianity?
Truth or fiction? What is going to motivate you? How precious is the true Jesus to you? Are you going to live by His Holy Word, or by the world's fiction? Your answers will very much depend on what you know to be truth or fiction. T.T. Lynch shares the famous story about the pastor who asked David Garrick why it was that the words of an actor are considered more powerful than the spoken word from the pulpit. The actor replied, "Ah, my dear sir, You of the pulpit often speak truth as if it were fiction, but we of the stage speak fiction as if it were truth." That fear that causes this wimpy stand for the truth actually stems out of pride and haughtiness. The seed, however, that all of this germinates from is a refusal to die to self and live for God. Martin Luther, the eminent reformer was adamant about this—"Pride is really the haughtiness of Satan against the name and word of God. People who claim to be wise in matters of faith pompously exalt themselves, regarding God Himself as nothing, and all others, in comparison to themselves, as mere fools. When this happens, there is no humility and no fear of God. In fact, they are destitute. Such people are enemies of God and must be overthrown, for they have excluded themselves from the Kingdom and grace of God."
I think G. Campbell Morgan, the great preacher, hit the nail right on the head—"I believe one of the reasons for the condition of the Church is the aloofness of Christians from sinning men and women. We still build our sanctuaries the way we want to, set up our standards the way we want to, and make our arrangements the way we want to, and say to the sinning ones: 'If you come to us, we will help you.'" But I ask you, what power will there be in that—we make up what is truth and what is fiction, and then think somehow that is going to present a good direction for others to follow—"If you come to us, we will help you." Jesus already laid out the truth—go to Jerusalem, suffer many indignities from those that call themselves religious, but are far from being truly spiritual, and die to self with the glorious result of being raised to new life—the resurrected life of Jesus!
Antony Flew, a strong 20th Century advocate of atheism, argued that one should presuppose atheism until empirical evidence of God surfaced. He signed the Humanist Manifesto in 2003, but the next year, he claimed to have changed his mind—now he believed in God! And the world was in a stir—the atheist is now a Christian! No, he was a deist, claiming to now believe in the god of Aristotle—no mention of Jesus whatsoever, and without the true Jesus, there is no salvation! Charles Darwin, tragically influencing untold millions to NOT believe in God through his blasphemous evolution, before his death, admitted he was wrong. Well, that's good, but not enough—without the true Jesus, there is no salvation! Dr. Morgan made another interesting related point—"People today never seem to think that passionate and sacrificial devotion suggests madness in any realm except the spiritual. No one suggests the athlete, who gives himself totally to his sport and sacrifices all for the sake of physical prowess, is beside himself. No one imagines that the businessman, who is devoted to amassing wealth that he even shortens his life through the stress of it, is beside himself. No, that suggestion is retained only for those whose service for the souls of men and women is sacrificial. Let all such servants be comforted. They are in a holy comradeship!" Just watch that you don't end up digging your own hole—your way. Seek the resurrected Lord, for He is truly the Pearl of Great Price—what a motivation!!!
