Pearls Before Swine

SERMON: 2008-04-23--sm0849--pearls-before-swine SOURCE DURATION: 00:30:46.000 PROPOSED CUTS: 1 CONFIDENCE: 0.95 APPROVED: false REASON: The entire visible segment range constitutes the main sermon, starting with an introduction and continuing through theological exposition based on scripture. Acoustic segmentation found sustained music at the end edge and moved the boundary to the adjacent transcript segment. ACOUSTIC EVIDENCE: available ACOUSTIC MUSIC INTERVALS: 00:26:09.000-00:30:44.100 ACOUSTIC SPEECH OVERLAP: yes ACOUSTIC BOUNDARIES APPLIED: end Inline CUT markers identify each proposed audio boundary after the relevant word. --- ORIGINAL TRANSCRIPT WITH PROPOSED CUTS MARKED --- Let me begin then this morning by putting the verse of our text in its context. The context is Jesus' instruction to remove the log out of our own eye. Verse 5 of Matthew chapter 7 puts it this way, "You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye." And some weeks ago when we looked at that verse in some detail, we know that there are two things here. Jesus is pointing out two reasons for dealing with our own sin and with our own issues before we try to take somebody else on. The first is a refusal to deal with our own stuff while we are trying to fix up somebody else makes us hypocrites. We cannot condemn in somebody else's life what we're not prepared to condemn in our own life first. And then secondly, Jesus points out in this particular passage, the reason it's so important to remove the log from our own eye is then we can see clearly what the speck is in our brother's eye. And so having underscored for us the importance of clear spiritual vision, Jesus now goes on in this passage to give us a practical application of what this might look like in the real world. And that brings us then to the verse of our text, "Do not give dogs what is sacred. Do not throw your pearls to pigs if you do. They may trample them under their feet and then turn and tear you to pieces." As we take a look at that verse together in the time that remains this morning, I want us to know two things and then draw from that some practical implications for your life and my life. First thing I want us to notice is that there are some people in the world, says Jesus, who have no appreciation for the things of God. In fact, Jesus in this passage calls them what? Dogs and pigs. Do not give dogs what is sacred. Do not throw your pearls to pigs. Now dogs in scripture are often euphemistically used to describe people that are outside of the family. I mean, today dogs are valued household pets in many houses, but that was not true historically. They were wild animals who you had to try to avoid all the time. In most instances, dogs are another way of saying you're not part of the family. Pigs of course throughout scripture, particularly in the Old Testament, but also in the New, are unclean animals. And so when Jesus talks here about dogs and pigs, he is really talking about people who are outside of God's flock. In other words, people who are unbelievers and people who are worldly in their behavior. Now an unbeliever, as you know, is a person who doesn't have faith in God, doesn't trust him, doesn't bow before his authority, and doesn't submit to his will. A worldly person is a person who resonates with the here and now, shares in the characteristics of the world, which the New Testament tells us are the pride of life, the lust of the eye, and the lust of the flesh. And so this category of people that Jesus is talking about is a category of people who are not in relationship with God. They don't bow before his authority. They have no use for him. And their outstanding characteristic is that they are spiritually insensitive. Paul puts it this way, "The man without the spirit does not accept the things that come from the spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him. And he cannot understand them because they are spiritually discerned." There is a category of people, says Jesus, that does not appreciate the things of God. Very important to understand, because the tendency for all of us is to think that if only we could explain it better, if only we could preach louder and longer and take somebody by the hand and give their head a shake, then somehow or another their eyes would be opened and they would see the glory of God and the importance of a relationship with God. Not true, not true. Unless you're born again, unless the Holy Spirit comes to live in your heart and you learn to yield to the authority of Jesus, you cannot see the kingdom of God. Understand with me this morning, there's a whole category of people in the world who are insensitive. They are dead to the things of God. That's the first thing that Jesus teaches us here. The second thing that he teaches us then is that because they have no appreciation for the things of God, we by definition need to be very circumspect in how we deal with them. In other words, we need to be very careful in our relationship with them because again, notice how Jesus puts it, do not give dogs what is sacred. Do not throw your pearls to pigs. Now the word sacred means holy. It means dedicated to God. The opposite of sacred is what? It is secular. To be sacred then or to be holy means that one has a relationship with God and you value that relationship and so we talk about a holy Bible, we talk about holy communion. The sacred includes the whole realm of God so our relationship with God, our reflection upon his character, our walk with God, it's all part of what is sacred. And pearls of course in this passage represent the values of God's kingdom. Pearls by definition are valuable objects because they're rare, at least the natural pearls are rare and therefore they're valuable. Later on Jesus talks about the pearl of great price selling everything that you have just to lay hold of God's kingdom and God's kingdom promises. And so when you read scripture and God speaks to you, that's a pearl. When God answers a prayer, that's a pearl. When you have a moment of deep intimacy with God or a moment of deep intimacy with a fellow believer when you have that heart to heart connection, those are all pearls. Those are the valuable things of God's kingdom. And here's what Jesus says, don't give dogs what is holy and don't throw your pearls to pigs that is to say, don't take the valuable things of the kingdom of God and share them indiscriminately with those who have no appreciation for what they are. And then Jesus gives us in this text two reasons why this is important. Here's the first, because they lack appreciation for the things of God. Notice again how he goes on in the text, do not give dogs what is sacred, do not throw your pearls to pigs if you do what's going to happen. They may trample them under foot. What a powerful word picture. They'll trample them under foot. Why? Because they don't appreciate them. They live by worldly appetites. They have hungry needs. All they care about is feeding their bellies. Their God is their stomach, their pleasure, their personal satisfaction. And so there's a category of people that has no appreciation for the valuable things of God. You give them a Bible, a Bible that God says is his inspired record to show us how to live wisely in the world. What do they do with it? They throw it in a cupboard. I mean the Bible may continue to be the best seller in North America, but probably one of the least read best sellers. You give them a religious symbol and they throw it out of the trash or maybe hang it out of the back porch somewhere. You share an answer to prayer or talk about Jesus or you tell them to go to church. They roll their eyes and they, you know, exchange these knowing glances with their buddies and they have no understanding. They have no appreciation for what the Bible calls the pearl of great prize. Now understand that all unbelievers are like that and not every worldly person is like that but there is a category of persons who has no understanding or appreciation of the valuable things of God and they will trample underfoot that which is holy and that which is valuable. That's one reason the Lord Jesus gives us for not giving dogs what is holy and pearls to pig and then he has a second reason, it's this, they'll turn on you. For notice again how the passage goes on, do not give dogs what is sacred. Do not throw your pearls to pigs if you do. They may trample them under their feet not only, but then what will they do? They will turn and tear you to pieces. They will turn and tear you to pieces. Now, why would they do that? Two reasons. Number one, you're not giving them what they want and what they think they need so now they're unhappy with you because you're not valuing their hunger and their need and number two, you are giving them what they don't want and what they don't think they need. And so when you tell them about Jesus, when you try to point them to scripture, or when you try to share an answer to your own prayers, you're not only not giving them what they want, they think it's unrelated to their marriage struggles or to their struggle with their children or their struggles at work, you're giving them what they do not want. You're now getting under their skin and the more you press it home, the more annoyed and the more irritating they become. And so Jesus says, don't do it. Don't give dogs what is holy. Don't throw your pearl before swine. If you're going to get persecuted, get persecuted for righteousness sake, but don't drive it home to the point where you are eliciting that kind of response. It's one thing to suffer for Jesus. It's another to suffer because of our own foolishness and our own stupidity. The apostle Paul, by the way, later on in the New Testament, has exactly the same kind of teaching. He says, writing to Timothy in 2 Timothy chapter 3, but mark this, he says, there will be terrible times in the last days, people will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. Paul always likes to make sure he gets his point across, doesn't want to leave anybody out. And then he goes on to say this, they have a form of godliness, but they deny its power. And he ends that passage with these words, have nothing to do with them. The biblical teaching, generally speaking, is you admonish a person once or twice. If after that they are not responding to your admonishment, then scripture says, leave them alone. We'll talk more about that in just a moment or two. Now if you're with me on this, and this is clearly what Jesus is teaching in this passage to you and to me as his disciples, then of course this has some very practical implications. And in the time that remains, I want to try to spell those out for you. Implication number one, we should never speak lightly or indiscriminately about our spiritual experiences. Now there are some church traditions where as soon as a person becomes a Christian, he's encouraged to go out there and share his testimony with all his family and all his friends. And there's a place for that. Because some of the best evangelists in church are typically people who were recently converted. They are the most excited about their faith. They also have the most non-Christian connections, and so there is a place for sharing our faith. But I find it interesting that when you look at the Ministry of Jesus, who after all is our model and who models his own teaching with 100% integrity as you can imagine. If you look at the Ministry of Jesus, then when he heals people, while there is the occasional person whom he sends home to tell others what God has done for him, what does he do in most instances? He says, "Don't go and talk about what has just happened to you." Now they never listen to him, because they want to brag and they want to boast and they're so excited. And so are we, so are new Christians, and so are we when we have a new spiritual experience. But you see, when we run off at the mouth prematurely, we often do more damage than good. Because in that initial enthusiasm, it's often not about God, and it's often not about what's really good for the other person. We're just so full of it that it's all about us, and that can do a lot of damage. And it can in fact set people up against the things of God, because our zeal has exceeded our wisdom. And so Jesus says, "Don't throw your pearls before swine and don't give dogs what is holy." Now understand that doesn't mean we don't share our faith. Doesn't mean we don't share with one another or with the world our spiritual experiences. But we do it wisely as we are led by the Holy Spirit on behalf of God for the well-being of the other person. So don't speak lightly or indiscriminately about the valuable things of God. Because there's a category of people who won't understand, who won't be interested, who will walk all over it, and then who'll turn around and they'll take it out on you. Secondly, it means that we need to correct or challenge people wisely. Paul writing to the Galatians in the context of Christian community admittedly says, "Brothers, if someone is caught in sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself or you also may be tempted." There is the temptation for all of us is there not. When we see something in a spouse or in a kid or in a friend or in a neighbor and we know that it's out of whack and it is hurtful and harmful not only to them but also to other people, then there is the twofold temptation either on the one hand to withdraw and to say I'm not going to step in there until our frustration finally reaches such a level that we can't avoid speaking or else we jump in there both feet first and we just hammer it home and hammer it home and hammer it home and demand and expect that person to change. Don't give dogs what is holy and don't throw your pearl before swine. As I said a few moments ago, if a person is fundamentally an unbeliever and if a person is fundamentally in love and in tune with the world, then our obligation as believers is to warn them once or twice so they can never plead ignorance. Beyond that we are to leave them in the hands of God because to keep on pushing the issue is simply to provoke anger and frustration. The book of Proverbs puts it this way, as churning the milk produces butter and as twisting the nose produces blood so stirring up anger produces strife and one of the arguments that Paul uses in 1 Corinthians chapter 7 when he talks about marriage and the dissolution of marriage is that God has called us to peace and so if in a given relationship there is a constant ongoing conflict and turmoil then rather than fighting that out all the time and Paul is one who defends the sanctity of marriage, understand this, and Paul is not one who says that we ought to lightly or easily walk away but the context there is that of an unbeliever and a believer living together and if the unbeliever continues to resist the gospel and wants nothing to do with it then there comes a point where you say God has called us to peace and not to conflict and so I cannot stay in this relationship. Very complex and complicated teaching and it has all kinds of nuances that we need to be careful with. The point that I'm trying to make is that God is very concerned about correcting one another wisely. Now that doesn't mean that you just give up in the context of family or in the context of Christian community. The context here is dogs and pigs that is to say people who are outside of the family of God and who have no interest in our understanding of spiritual things. In the context of the family of God we need to engage each other as long and as hard as we need until we're on the same page and experience the grace and the forgiveness of God so don't speak lightly about spiritual things, don't correct or challenge unwisely and then we need to pray for discernment and I'll tell you why. If every dog looked like a dog and if every pig clearly looked like a pig, there would be no issue with that but you know just as well as I do that in the world and in the kingdom of God not everything that looks like a pig is actually a pig. Not everything that looks like a dog is actually a dog and the converse of that I got to tell you is also true, not everything that doesn't look like a dog is not a dog and not everything that doesn't look like a hog is not a hog. If you go on in the rest of this passage Jesus talks about false prophets who are wolves in sheep's clothing and one of the hardest things for us to get our head around in relating to the world and in understanding how things work is that things are not always what they seem because God looks on the heart and you can look very worldly on the outside and have a heart that is very much interested in the things of God and you can look on the outside like you've got it all together in the household of God and yet have a heart that is far removed from God. I'll never forget a number of years ago I got a call to a church and in considering that call I asked a friend of mine who was part of that congregation what kind of leadership potential was present in that congregation and he said he thought there was some really good leadership there and I accepted the call and then many, many years later after I had been there for a number of years he confided to me that when I had asked him that question there were two people that had come to mind and not to offend any of you Friesians here but they were both from Friesland and he said one of them he thought would give me a lot of trouble if I came to that congregation and the other he thought would be a great support and encouragement and so I came and I preached Jesus as best I know how and God began to work in the lives of that congregation and by the time I stayed there was finished guess what had happened? The man that he thought would give me the most trouble because he had a temper to beat the band and was legendary with his stubbornness had bent his knee before Jesus had his life totally and radically transformed and became one of the closest friends I have ever had a man who would give his life for me and I would give my life for him. The other man whom he had always thought was the epitome of spirituality turned out to have a heart that was extremely resistant to the gospel and turned away from the things of God and in fact gave me in my ministry in that congregation a considerably difficult time and I'm not commenting on his spiritual state or saying that he was wrong and I was right but I'm simply trying to tell you this morning that not every dog is a dog and not every pig is a pig. Man says scripture looks in the outward appearance but God looks on the heart and so how do we know what to give to whom when and how? We need to pray for spiritual discernment we need to not only remove the log out of our own eyes so that we can see clearly what is really there but we need to say Lord show me your truth and your wisdom and that's why Jesus then goes on in the next verse in this passage to talk this way ask and it will be given you seek and you will find knock and the door will be open to you and then he goes on to say everyone who asks receives he who [PROPOSED CUT 1 START at 00:26:09.000; remove through 00:30:46.000] seeks finds and to him who knocks [CUT] the door will be opened. Lord I come to you, let my heart be changed, renewed, flowing from the grace, filled with grace, that I found in you and Lord I've come to know the weaknesses I see in me will be stripped away by the power of your love. Hold me close, let your love surround me, bring me near, draw me to your side and as I wake I'll rise up like legal and I will serve with you, your spirit leads me on by the power of your love. Lord unveil my eyes, let me see your face. To face the knowledge that your love has to live in me. Lord renew my life as your will unfold in my life in living every day by the power of your love. Hold me close, let your love surround me, bring me near, draw me to your side and as I wake I'll rise up like legal and I will serve with you, your spirit leads me on by the power of your love. Hold me close, let your love surround me, bring me near, draw me to your side and as I wake I'll rise up like legal and I will serve with you, your spirit leads me on by the power of your love. [CUT] [PROPOSED CUT 1 END at 00:30:46.000; resume after this marked segment]