You would go ahead and turn with
me to Jeremiah chapter 29. Jeremiah chapter 29. People seek
what they most desire. What people really want, they
will diligently seek after. It's instilled in the nature
of men and women. We can't help but to do it. For
example, if a person really wants and desires an education, an
education is what they'll seek. They may need a degree for their
line of work. It may just be a pursuit of knowledge,
but whatever it takes to get that education, whatever it takes
to achieve that degree, that person will dedicate themselves
to it. They'll pursue it with all their
heart. They'll go to school. They'll
fulfill the requirements needed. They may have to work at night
to attend classes during the day, or they may have to attend
night classes or do computer classes so that they can work
during the day. But if an education is what they
really want, what they really desire, they'll diligently seek
to get it. Because of the line of work Eddie
Marks was in, he went to school, and it took him 16 years, one
class at a time, to get his associate, and then bachelor, and then on
to his master's, because he had to work. Year after year, Eddie
dedicated himself to get that degree. I say that only because
if a man or a woman desires something, they'll seek it. You know it
so, and so do I. If a man or a woman desires health,
they'll diligently seek and strive to be healthy. They'll pursue
health. They'll read and research what it is to be healthy and
how to be so. They'll eat the right things.
They'll exercise. They may take vitamins. But what
folks really want, they seek after. If a young man desires
a wife, if he desires a lifelong companion, he'll seek her out.
And when he finds her, he'll court her and he'll romance her
and he'll send her flowers, maybe candy, showing his love for her. And maybe he'll send her cards
telling her how much he loves her because his most urgent desire
is that she might be his. Her interest will become his
interest. He'll show interest in her interest. Whatever it
takes, he'll diligently seek her hand in marriage. He'll pursue
her to be his bride. That's what the word seek means. It means to search for, to look
for, to strive for, to work toward, to aim at, to intend on. To seek means to solicit, to
request, even beg for. Whatever it takes to have the
natural desire of your heart, you'll diligently seek and pursue. To pursue means to follow, to
chase, to hunt, to stalk, track, trail, even hound to get. Whatever
men and women truly want and desire in this world, that's
what they'll pursue, seek, and go after with all their heart.
That's the point I'm trying to make. This is equally true when
it comes to spiritual things. Men and women do the same thing
in the spiritual realm as they do in the physical. Now, if a
sinner really wants to know God, if a sinner really desires to
have a Savior, if a sinner really sees his desperate need before
God, he will seek, he'll look, He'll strive, He'll solicit,
He'll request, and even beg if it need be for His Savior and
His salvation. He will pursue, He will follow,
He will chase, hunt, stalk, and track after the one who can give
them this eternal life. And that's exactly how they find
it. Look at verse 13 here in Jeremiah
chapter 29. The Lord says, and you shall
seek me and find me when, when you shall search for me with
all your heart. And I will be found of you, saith
the Lord, and I will turn away your captivity. What is it to
seek the Lord? Well, first we see that it's
to seek him with all your heart, just like any other area of life,
but even more so. If you really want to be saved,
you will seek the Lord. You'll seek the Lord with all
your heart. And if you don't, you won't.
For 12 long years, a poor woman with an issue of blood spent
all she had on doctors who could not help her, did not help her.
And the scripture says she grew worse. As she grew worse, she
grew more desperate. She wanted to be healed more
than anything. I mean, after all, she spent
every single dime she had to be made whole, but only grew
worse. Her money didn't mean that much,
I can assure you of that. Her sickness did, however. And
you know, in that narrative there, she never once mentioned the
money that she spent. She just wanted to be well. And
then one day she heard about the great physician. Have you
heard about him? His name is Jesus Christ. He
is the great physician. While he can heal any and every
disease and sickness, he's a specialist in every field. But in order
for him to treat you, you have to know first that you're sick.
You have to know that you have a great disease and you have
to seek him with all your heart. You see, those who are well,
they don't have a need of a physician. Those that are well, righteous
in their own eyes, they don't need a physician, but I tell
you who does, one that's sick, like this poor woman was. Those
who are sick and diseased know it, and the great physician can,
and he will, and he does heal them if they seek him with their
whole heart. That's what this poor woman did
in her weak, her frail, her diseased body, she sought him And I've
pictured her so many times crawling through that throng of people
saying, if I could just touch the hem of his garment, I'll
be made whole. No doubt she had heard the good
news God spake through the prophet Jeremiah all those many years
ago. And you shall seek me and find
me when you search for me with all your heart and I'll be found
of you and I'll turn away your captivity. What was this poor
woman's captivity? Well, it was an issue of blood.
It's the same with us. We have a blood issue. We are
polluted in and with our own blood. Those who work iniquity
are polluted with blood, Hosea 6a. A child of God seeks the
Lord when they see themselves to be as God showed Ezekiel. You remember that? God said,
when I passed by you and saw you polluted in your own blood,
I said unto thee, when thou wilt send thy blood, live. Yea, I
said unto thee, when thou wilt send thy blood, live. You know,
it's only because God commands us to live that we do. When I
passed by thee and looked upon thee, behold thy time, was the
time of love. And I spread my skirt over thee,
and I covered your nakedness. Yea, I swore unto you, and I
entered into a covenant with you, saith the Lord, and you
became mine." Now that's the only way that any sinner's ever
saved. If God makes us His. If he gives us Christ's perfect
righteousness, if he spreads that spirit of righteousness
over it, my, my, men and women won't and don't come to Christ
for one or two reasons. They don't want to be healed
or they don't think Christ can heal. blind, sitting on the highway
side, begging. A man named Bartimaeus one day
heard a commotion on the outside of Jericho and sitting there
begging, he inquired, what's going on? And someone told him,
Jesus of Nazareth is passing by, and Bartimaeus, in his darkness
and in his destitute state and in his poverty and desperate
need, he began to cry, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy
upon me. And at that moment, he sought
God without moving a muscle. Could it be that he too had heard
the words of God through the prophet? When you seek me, when
you search for me with all your heart, I will be found of you,
saith the Lord. Bartimaeus somehow, some way
saw with his blind eyes that Jesus of Nazareth was the very
Lord that he found that day to deliver him from his captivity. What was Bartimaeus' captivity?
His blindness. It's the same with us. We too
are blind. We can't see the kingdom of God.
We can't see the blessed Savior. And we too must seek and cry,
Jesus, thou son of David, God in the flesh, save me. Save me. Give me eyes to see. Heal me
from this issue of blood. Well, people told the old blind
beggar to shut up. They said, he don't have anything
for you. You're a beggar. You're worthless. That's who
he came to save. Worthless. Faithful, sane, worthy
of our acceptance. Christ Jesus came into the world
to save unworthy sinners. He came to give sight to the
blind. And that's what the Lord himself said. He said, the spirit
of the Lord is upon me because he hath anointed me to preach
the gospel to the poor. He sent me to heal the brokenhearted,
to preach deliverance to the captives and recovering of sight
to the blind, to set at liberty them that are broken. How wonderful
this is to hear. Because I'm in every single one
of those categories. Are you? I'm brokenhearted because
of my sin. I have an issue of blood. I've
spent all that I've had to be well. I've only grown worse. I'm incaptive to my sin, my sickness,
my disease. I'm bound by my iniquity and
I'm condemned by God's law. I'm blind, I'm bruised, I'm battered
and beaten by sin. Did Bartimaeus give up and shut
up? No. The scripture said he cried
all the more. He cried even louder. You see,
he would not be denied. He began to diligently seek and
pursue and strive for what he wanted most. You know what it
was. The Lord asked him the question,
what would you like for me to do unto you? And Bartimaeus said,
Lord, that I might receive my sight. Dear sinner, a cry for
mercy gets the attention of the one who has this mercy to give. Do you see that you're blind?
Many are blind to their own blindness. Do you desire to receive your
sight? Well, I tell you, there's none
blinder than those who refuse to see. Can you even imagine
how sweet the sound of these words were to old blind Bartimaeus? The Lord and Savior said, go
thy way. Thy faith hath made thee whole.
And immediately the scripture says, Bartimaeus received his
sight and he followed Jesus in the way. Are you following me? There was a wealthy Ethiopian
unit who was in charge of the Queen's treasury. There were
no planes and trains or automobiles in his day. I looked up on a
map the way that he most likely traveled to get to Jerusalem.
And it was across the desert and across the Red Sea to get
from Ethiopia where he was to Jerusalem. And most people would
ask, what would make him do such a thing? He desired more than
anything. I mean more than anything in
life to learn of God. He was seeking the Lord. Yet
while in Jerusalem, the Mecca of religion, he learned and discovered
nothing. Religion didn't help him at all.
Now he's heading home without finding that which he did diligently
seek. And most people would have been
discouraged and would have given up, but not this man. He was
seeking something that he greatly desired. In the scriptures, we
find him in his chariot, reading the word of God, reading the
writings of Isaiah. And what does God do? When he
least expects it, God sends him a preacher, and that preacher
shows him who he's reading about. He said, you know what you're
reading there? He said, I don't have any man to show me. And
God showed him through a man. That's the way God does it. By
the foolishness of preaching, what the world calls foolishness,
the Lord is pleased to save those that believe. If you're going
to be saved, it's going to be through preaching. Do you suppose
that that Ethiopian eunuch heard the message of God through Jeremiah,
who said, when you call on me and when you pray unto me, I'll
hearken unto you? Because the Lord certainly did.
When you seek me, you shall find me. When you search for me with
all your heart, I'll be found to you. That's God's promise.
Lydia, the thief on the cross, that woman who was a sinner,
who washed the Lord's feet with her tears and dried them with
her hair. They all wanted something desperately
and they each and every one sought it with their whole heart. They
wanted mercy and they would never be satisfied and they would never
rest until they had it. They sought it with all their
heart. And you know what? Every single one of them found
it. So the question this morning
is, do you need mercy? Do you desire mercy? Are you
seeking for mercy? Well, if you are, oh, I got some
good news for you. Be of good comfort. When you
seek Him with all your heart, you shall find Him. When you call upon the name of
the Lord, when you pray to Him who is able and willing to save,
you'll find Him. You'll find He who can put away
your captivity. What brings about this desire
for mercy? What causes a sinner to seek
His amazing grace? Well, really, that's another
one of those who questions, not a what question. Who brings this
desire? Who causes a sinner to seek?
Well, if you'll give me just a few more minutes this morning,
I'll call your attention to some things that I hope I answered
that. First, all spiritual blessings begin with God. Last week, we
talked about first things first. All spiritual blessings begin
with God. Salvation is of the Lord. Here
in Jeremiah chapter 29, look back at verse 10 with me, if
you would. All spiritual blessings begin
with God. Scripture leaves no doubt that
salvation is of the Lord. Verse 10, for thus sayeth the
Lord, that after 70 years be accomplished at Babylon, I will
visit you and perform my good word toward you in causing you
to return to this place. Now, did you notice that all
this love and mercy and grace was initiated by God? He said,
I will visit you. I'll deliver you. I'll perform
good things toward you. Didn't say anything about what
we do for Him. Why? Because we don't do anything
for Him. We can't. We don't have the ability to
do anything good. Now, when will God do this? After
70 years, He says. You see, God is the one who visits
the sinner. God is the one who delivers the
sinner. And God is the one who performs good for sinners. But
it's God who determines when that is. It's in God's appointed
time that He does all these things. In verse 11, God says, for I
know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts
of peace and not of evil to give you an expected end. That little
phrase, expected end, has just stuck with me. I've thought about
it so much. Do you know, child of God, that
you have an expected end? You can expect a good end because
of who your God and Savior is. And it's called the gospel. It's
called good news. The believer's expected end is
a very, very desirable one. It's an expected end where Christ
our Savior does for His people what God requires of them. And
an expected end where the Redeemer accomplished that perfect righteousness
that God demands that we have in order to be saved. God says,
I know my thoughts toward you. But you know what? God also knows
our thoughts toward Him. That's what makes salvation of
the Lord. And you say, well, how so? That's what makes our
salvation so undeserving because of what our minds are against
God. The scripture says that our carnal
minds are enmity against God. That word means hostile. We're
hostile towards him by nature. God says, I know your thoughts.
I know my thoughts towards you. I know your thoughts towards
me. Our thoughts are continued thoughts of hatred, rebellion,
and enmity. The Lord Himself said, only evil
continually. His thoughts toward us are of
peace. His thoughts towards us are of
good, not evil. And that's why we can have an
expected end of good, an expected end of mercy, expected end of
grace, and an expected end of Christ. Herein is love, not that
we loved God, but He loved us. But He loved us. and sent his
son to be the propitiation for our sin, 1 John 4, 10. We love
him because he first loved us. All spiritual blessings begin
with God. God's the fountain of mercy.
God is the source of all grace. God is love, we're hate. God
is light, we're darkness. God is truth, we're a lie. Let
God be true and every man a liar. That's what we are by nature.
God is good, we're evil. God is life and we are dead.
And if God doesn't save us, oh, hear me on this. If God doesn't
save us, we won't be saved. If God doesn't do something for
us first, we'll never seek Him with our whole heart. The scriptures
are clear. There's none that seek Him after
God. Not by nature, there's not. But
when God does a work of grace and puts life in a sinner's heart,
they'll seek Him He shows them their need. He shows them the
remedy for their sin. And He causes them and enables
them to seek Him with their whole heart. Are you seeking God with
your whole heart? Secondly, all spiritual blessings
come from God freely. Freely. Again, God said, I'll
visit you. I'll bless you. I'll come to
you. What is the believer to do in this? What is the child
of God to pay? That's the problem with works
religion. That's the problem with salvation
by works. You and I are dead in sin and
you and I can do nothing because we're dead and we can pay nothing
because of the same reason. Eternal life is the gift of God. We don't pay for it, we're dead
with nothing to pay. We don't earn salvation for the
same reason. We're dead with no ability to
work for pay. The wages of sin, which is the
only wages we have and deserve, are dead. But, oh, I love that
word. But, but, but, the gift of God
is eternal life. How so? Through Jesus Christ,
our Lord. We certainly don't merit salvation. You have to deserve praise or
reward to merit something. What has a dead man or woman
ever merited? Well, death, hell, and eternal
condemnation. That's what we deserve. We've
merited that. We merit the wrath and the judgment
of God. So our expected end must be a
free gift from the Lord and not giving us what we deserve. Isn't
that what mercy is? Redemption is the merit, worth,
and work of another, and that being the God-man, the Lord Jesus
Christ. Thirdly, All spiritual blessings
are in Christ Jesus. There are many serious, sincere,
and seeking people who never find God. You ever thought about
why? Why do so many zealous and even
moral people, people that you and I would consider good, much
better than we are, why is it that these moral people seek
and never find? Well, the answer is really quite
simple. It's not a popular answer, but it's a true one. They're
seeking God. in the wrong place. God is in
the Lord Jesus Christ. That's who you gotta seek. You
gotta seek Christ to find God. There's no way, I said this in
the first hour, and there's no way to have a relationship with
God apart from the Lord Jesus Christ. There's no love of God
for the sinner apart from Christ. There's no mercy to a sinner
apart from that which is found in the Lord Jesus Christ. There's
no grace. There's no gift. There's no faith. There's no nothing apart from
the Lord Jesus Christ. No man cometh through the Father,
but by me. No man knoweth the Father, save
or except the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him.
John said, this is the record God hath given us eternal life,
and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life.
He that hath not the Son hath not life. Paul said this, God
was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing
their trespasses unto them. God was in Christ. That's where
you're going to find Him. In the Lord Jesus Christ. That's
who we better seek. Everything that God has for sinners
is found only in Jesus Christ. It pleased God that in Christ
should all fullness dwell. And you are complete in Him,
which is the head of all principality and power. Fourthly and lastly,
we are in captivity to sin, just like that poor woman with the
issue of blood, just like old blind Bartimaeus. We're just
beggars begging for mercy. How are we gonna escape? How
are we gonna be made free from this captivity? The soul that
sins, it shall die. The only hope we have here is
that he who came into the world to save sinners saves us. were
shut up to the mercy and the grace of Christ himself. To every
child of God it is said, God hath from the beginning chosen
you to salvation. God, before the foundation of
the world, gave a people to Christ. The Lord Jesus said, all that
the Father giveth me shall come to me, and him that cometh to
me I'll in no wise cast out. That sounds to me like a sure
salvation. All that the father gives me
shall come to me. And if they come to me, I will
not cast them out. Do you believe one saved always? Christ did. All that the father
gave the son will call upon him. They'll pray unto him. They'll
seek him with all their heart and they'll find him and he'll
save them. Look at verse 14 here in Jeremiah
29. He will deliver them from their
captivity. Doesn't say that he'll make their
deliverance possible. No, he will deliver them from
their captivity. He will gather them from all
nations and places. Oh friends, it's out of every
nation, kindred, tongue, and people that God will deliver
and save his people. How will God save them? Peter
said, not with corruptible things, such as silver and gold, but
with the precious blood of Christ as a lamb without blemish and
without spot. That's how. It took the blood
of God to save you and me. When God sees the blood, He'll
pass over you. Not by works of righteousness,
which we have done, but according to His mercy, He hath saved us. Other foundation can no man lay
than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. You can't build
your spiritual house upon anything or anyone but Christ. He's the
solid rock, no other. He's the sure foundation. And
those that build their house upon Him shall not fall. The
storms of life will come. The rain will fall, the winds
will blow and beat upon that house, but it shall not fall.
Why? Because it's built on Christ the rock. The object of an awakened
heart is Jesus Christ. It's not to know a doctrine.
It's not to understand election. It's not to believe in predestination. It's to know Christ. Paul said,
I count all things but loss for the knowledge of election. No. For the knowledge of predestination?
No, it's not what he said. He said, I count all things but
loss for the knowledge of Christ, that I may win Christ and be
found in him. Salvation is that. I may know
him and the power of his resurrection. Christ is the object of the believer's
faith. Paul said, I know whom I have
believed. Salvation is not only in a person,
salvation is a person. I know whom I have believed.
That whom is Jesus Christ. Christ died for our sins. We're
chosen in Him. We're redeemed in Him. We're
called in Him. We're accepted in Him. We're being conformed
to His image. The child of God is. Men today
are seeking heaven, but they won't find heaven by seeking
it. You find heaven by seeking Christ. Jesus Christ is heaven. Heaven
is heaven because Christ is there. It's become painfully aware to
me that lack of interest is not why sinners don't seek God. It's
a lack of need. It really is. It's just a lack
of need. But if you ask God to show you
your condition, if you ask God to show you your need, if you
ask God to show you the only remedy, if you ask God to cause
you to seek Christ who is that remedy, if you seek Him with
all your heart, You shall find Him. That's our expected end. Find Him. Christ will be found
in you, which actually means that He found you. You see, He
wasn't lost, you were. Christ will be found in you,
and Christ in you is the hope of glory. Christ will turn away
your captivity. Christ will put away your sin.
Same thing. In Christ, God has thoughts of
peace for you. Now, I want you to take that
home and chew on it. Christ has thoughts of peace
toward you. God has thoughts of good toward
you. He's out to do you good, child of God. He's working all
things together for what? Good. To them that love God,
to them who are the called according to His purpose. Not everybody.
If you call upon Him, it proves that He called you. If you cry
out to Him, He'll hearken unto you. His promise is to do so,
and it's according to His own word, by which He can swear by
no higher. Best news this sinner ever heard.
That's why we call it the gospel. Good news for sinners. Are you a sinner? Come to Christ. Seek Him with all your heart,
and you'll find Him. You'll find Him. Oh, may God
be pleased to make it so for Christ's sake.