Pearls, Pigs, Prayers, and People, Part 1

We've often heard it said that words have the unusual capacity to form work to heal words inflict damage or they accelerate recovery and all of us know what it's like to be on the receiving end of either extreme. When were suffering. There's nothing like a compassionate friend brings words of hope today on Insight for living. Chuck Swindoll continues her study about Jesus renowned sermon on the Mount, in particular looking at a section that underscores the astonishing power of words title today's message pearls, pigs, prayers, and people turn please to Matthew chapter 7 Matthew seven were going through Matthew together and we have, these last number of weeks to the sermon on the mount which is chapters 5, six and seven covered so well through the gospel by Matthew removing toward the end of that sermon and we come to verses six through 12 on this seventh chapter of Matthew, Matthew seven verse six not give what is holy to dogs and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under their feet and turn and tear you to pieces.

Ask and it will be given to you seek and you will find knock and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds into him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there among you who when his son asks for a loaf will give him a stone or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake will be if you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask and everything therefore treat people the same way you want them to treat you for this is the law and the prophets you're listening to Insight for living to study the book of Matthew Chuck Swindoll. Be sure to download his searching the Scriptures study by going to Insight world.or/studies another message from Chuck title, pearls, pigs, prayers, and people thought lately about the significance of words about the significance of one word sometime one word can make the hair on the back and neck stand up sometime. It'll make your spirit soar.

Other times, one word all religious. Drop your emotions seems always to the bottom just one word but think for the next few moments about the power of one word in certain situations you're sitting in your oncologist office waiting for the results of the biopsy. She walks in sits down and smiles and you hear the word benign or she says other things but that's the word you hear and you will remember it for months, perhaps for years to come.

Benign you're standing in a courtroom, it's been a lengthy lengthy trial you've been the one on trial, the foreman of the jury stands and you wait for the word and you hear it innocent great is that word at that moment.

What a relief it bring following a bloodied warrior and exhausted soldier in war travels across the landscape. Word travels across the landscape, and you hear it for the first time word from the enemy surrender how great is that word is another your recent graduate from Senior high school had your heart set on University go to the mailbox. You pull out the envelope in the corner of the envelope is the name of the school you tear open the envelope you open the page and you read the word accepted, you don't read much else but you read that word accepted for the moment the great word you been married for number of years your prayers continued for a baby your long to have your own little baby you're at the office. Your wife calls you hear the word pregnant but never sounded better. Or you may have 10 kids and she calls to say not pregnant.

How great is not in a moment like that. Just one word you love baseball and you're sliding into home full speed.

It's the last of the ninth and the score was tied sliding across the plate in the cloud of dust. You hear say oh that better than I will say Solomon writes words fitly spoken or like apples of gold in pictures of silver as a new ring of gold and Feingold so is a wise reprove her on an obedient ear. Solomon had at his disposal of vast vocabulary.

The sacred text says is the wisest man who ever lived, and he says a word fitly spoken look at the picture like apples of gold in settings of silver through the Old Testament, we come across words. Words that mean so much. The serpent deceived me, and I ate said Eve. Just a word I give it to the gym today and from that moment on sin entered into the world, and death by sin and through that death through that sin all have sin. One word God spoke to Abraham and said take now your son, your only son upon the altar and sacrificing you and I cannot imagine our son were to take up a mountain building altar place our son on the altar and sacrifice one word changes everything you get into the New Testament we read of the good news of great joy was born to you this day in the city of David. What a Savior long awaited weighted prophecy predictions one after another Messiah. Messiah is coming Eddie's disease, Savior.

Paul writes, for by grace are you saved through faith and that not of yourselves is the gift of God not of works, lest anyone should boast grace, faith, say powerful great words. It was Mark Twain who wrote the difference between the right word and the almost right word is a difference between lightning and lightning bug.

Not good. Just a word, JB Phillips, one of the early ones to write a paraphrase of the Scriptures wrote. If words are to enter another's heart and bear fruit. They must be the right words shaped cunningly to pass the defense's and then explode silently within another's mind that happen that that happened so many times I remember sitting in a classroom at the feet of some of the finest teachers in the Scriptures that was alive at the time and I remember hearing hearing the man scholar here.

There's say something that just wrapped me this day I can give you the very words they spoke. We were in a classroom and we were dealing with justification and all my life, Christian life. I've been told what it really means just as if I'd never sin justified and he said it means so much more is the sovereign act of God whereby he declares right is the believing sinner while were still in the sending state. Those were she was poured out of never forget that I wrote in my notes and committed them to memory and imported them for over 50 years.

The sovereign act of God, for he declares this sinner righteous while I'm still in the sending state magnificent definition words, words, I forgot a word earlier, I should mention you're driving too fast a car behind you has flashing lights, you're pulled over a very well-dressed man in uniform walks up hello ask for your driver's license and fumbled around to find your driver's license and he looks at it doesn't write anything down and uses the word warning. How good is that word to give you a warning. Today I'm going to give you a warning to warn you, at least to begin with about dogs and pigs and pearls and tracers there found right here in this sixth verse of Matthew seven were told not to do something now a member the first five verses in this chapter, Jesus was telling his listener and indirectly telling us. Don't judge.

The judge mental don't have a negative mentality toward all people lose this suspicious spirit. Don't operate your life like that.

We were in that again and again and that in that previous message in and he warns us about about living like that and then he comes to something here that's altogether different. Here he talks about when you're in a situation where you really need to discern something in the right. Since you have judge your audience you pay attention to the people or the person you're talking to what he said do not give what is holy to do all do not throw your pearls before swine stop there because I know as soon as I read those words you're thinking of your little dog the little one that's flagged his little tail you walk in jumps up on your lap LOL online all over you and little puppies a PLO you you got them in your arms. I said to people that they stay puppies would have 15 of them in our home but they all grow up to be dogs so we'll have an I like when a little puppies.

This is not a cute little cuddly.

These are while box the dogs in Jesus day REM impacts they were not only dangerous, they were disease you watch yourself when you are out and there were dog packs of dogs nearby exhibit attack one word to use, but is not referring to dogs as literal dogs, but people with doglike nature. Those who resist to the point of attack. In other words, they are there hostile against the truth of the gospel. So be careful. You just indiscriminately give the treasurer that which is holy and try to force-feed all and then he goes to the next illustration and throw the pearls before swine that understands the people have potbelly pig pits.

Sorry, can't figure that one out obscene pictures of it. Don't invite me if you have one. These are not little cute little potbelly pig that you wash up and put a ribbon on these. These are filthy swine that lived belly deep in slop and remembers audiences Jewish you and I for the most part, I would imagine our listening audience right now here would be mainly Gentile or if you choose but you and if you are Jewish you know immediately what I'm where I'm going, but Jesus uses a term that that that is alive with meaning. It is, it is the repulsive.

It is disgusting. It is inevitable.

No pork is found in the Jewish home. I'm probably the only tourist that when we all went to Israel and we were served scrambled eggs. I asked where's the bacon only did that one time I got a scar back here. The shift made it clear there is no swine in any of our establishment and nobody got called us swine being fed pearls you feed you feed swine best acorns in the swine of the day with long trusts and a mean-spirited nature would attack you if he found out that it wasn't acorns is pearls cares about pearls. I'm hungry once in the way that I can enjoy that you get the picture is a principal in all of this. I don't want you to miss this has to do with discernment. So write down the principal discernment must temper our declaration. Discernment must temper our declaration. Don't give what is precious and treasured to someone who stiff arms you and says I'm not interested please. I was sitting with a physician.

A number of years ago in another time in my life. I got to know him fairly well. It didn't think he was a believer and I've never seen evidence of it, but he has was helping with a member of our family and and I went to lunch with him and more. We talked for my began to think what if this would be a good moment to share the gospel to do it carefully and and simply is a brilliant man and I submit share with you something your course he knew what I did for living in and out. I turned the napkin over and I will paper napkin out onto a cliff over here on one side and the clip side talked about we who are removed from the living God, who is holy and righteous. This is big chasm between us, but the Lord is built a bridge drew across to span the two cliffs you could go across in a row in the name of the horizontal beam Christ not explain how one who was without Christ sinful by nature can come to know God, who is holy and righteous by coming across that chasm through the cross.

He snatched the napkin out of my hand and waited not in a million years can I believe nonsense like that. I was talking to her dues, one with the doglike nature or hog like appetite, so don't make it a literal dog or hog he's talking about. One, it was a nature like that music minister, reformer, church, Holly Stephenson used have a cute saying never try to teach a pig to sing it waste your time and it annoys the pig never try to force-feed a hog or a dull you won't ingratiate yourself, you will become offensive will be an annoyance saying more or talking louder or drawing. Another illustration will not make it better leave it leave it you discern that this is priceless information and you know this is time to be quiet. I like what Spurgeon wrote seats are not judges but Saints are not simpletons either be a student of your audience. I know you love to share Christ.

And I know many of you were very good at that.

But when you sense a stiff arm respected is not the right time not the right place. I found also that by sharing the gospel graciously and clearly briefly. It's like tossing a low log on a frozen lake. It may lay there for months. But when the warm weather comes in the late fallenness, low sink in. Who knows, but what that physician friend of mine one day came to a very, very tough place in his life for his hardness softened for the frozen response, followed he remembered something that was said remembers the simple illustration so we got it. Discernment must temper our declaration. The next several verses 789-1011 obviously, this is about prayer. You see it clearly in verse seven that you could easily memorize the verse because asked seek and knock when you take the first letter of each of the three you spell ask ask and it shall be given to you seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be open in fact all three are present tense in the original language, meaning you can add keep on before every verb and ING at the end of each word.

Keep on asking. Keep on seeking keep on knocking. Meaning, the Lord often come boldly. Don't be reluctant. Don't be hesitant. Don't be shy, come again come again if the situation intensifies, with intensity back Paul himself prayed three times that the authority would be removed from him and he heard it know it's time you kept coming, kept coming, I heard people say what you told the Lord arrest the Lord for something you need. That's all you needed a model read that here every keep on asking.

Keep on knocking. Keep on seeking, so let me urge you to do that. Don't think that because a dancer doesn't come that afternoon.

The Lord is saying no. He may be saying I want to know how sincere you are in this request. I want you to reveal how great is the need. So ask and it shall be given see if I can. One of the Psalm says 6618 if I regard iniquity in my heart. The Lord will not hear me sortie to have a clean heart. If I expect my prayer to be affected at the same time James says in James 516, the effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much love and there's fervency and end of the avails not to get a lot accomplished.

Don't be afraid to go. Lord with energy Lord, Lord, I plead with you about this. There's a sense of urgency and the repetition of ask and seek in the ridges midway through a message from Chuck Swindoll titled pearls, pigs, prayers, and people. Please keep listening because there's much more to learn from the surprising passage in Matthew chapter 7. This is insight for living and to learn more about this ministry.

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