Let's take our Bibles and turn
with me to the book of Proverbs, chapter 11. Proverbs 11. You know, hadn't it been good? In
all the scriptures. But in this book here, especially
that so often is There's a picture of Christ in
the Proverbs. It's veiled. But He's there. He knows He's
there. And to remember the words of our Lord when He said the
reason He preached in parables is because it was given unto
His people to know the mystery of the kingdom of God. And to
them it's not given. But to see Him in the Proverbs,
that's our desire. This morning, Proverbs chapter
11, I'd like to look at one verse of Scripture. Verse 27, Proverbs
11, 27, He that diligently seeketh good procureth favor, but he
that seeketh mischief, it shall come unto him. Now, you know, the good news of the
gospel And when we say the good news,
this is what we were talking about just a few minutes ago.
This is good news. God Almighty saves sinners. He saves them. The good news
is that God was not going to let mankind perish. that Almighty God has declared,
ìDeliver them from running down to the pit. Iíve found a ransom.î He found that ransom everlastingly. Heís always found
the ransom. Heís always been a ransom, always
been a Savior. Good news is good news when God
Almighty reveals to a man his helplessness. That's good news. Good news is good news when I
know truthfully, and I don't know it, I realize that, as it
truly is. I don't realize the depth of
my rebellion. I can say I see myself to be
a rebel, but I'm going to tell you something. What I am by nature,
that's what Christ was made to be. I'll tell you, how bad is
it the Father forsook Him? Almighty God, as Luther says,
God, forsaken God. How can this be? Man by nature. He's evil. That's what the Scripture
says. God saw in Genesis 6-5 the wickedness
of man was great in the earth and that every... Listen to this. Every imagination
of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. You mean to tell me that there
is not at one time a man as he is born in Adam? There's not
one moment? There's not one thought? You
mean to tell me there's not anything that he thinks that's not wicked? No. Now, how bad is a man? He's evil. And Proverbs 17.11 says, An evil
man... I told you what evil was. We
looked at it last week. John 3. John 3.20. Just look
at it again. Here's evil. If you want to know
what evil is, you know, it's not all the Saddam Husseins. It's not all the mass murderers. It's not all that. That's not
evil. If you want to know what evil is, and this is evil, not
what man calls evil, this is what God calls evil. Here's evil. This is evil right here. John
3.20, Everyone that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh
to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. Do you want
to know what evil is? It's to not come to Christ. That's
evil. Evil hates the light. People say, well, I just don't
see it being that deep. Well, we just don't see it right
then. This is what God says. And I'll
tell you this, God says that His Word is not going to pass
away. Man and woman stands before God
and God Almighty declares them to be evil. Do you know what they are? Evil.
You sit there and try to justify it all day long. Evil. For men to seek anything other
than rebellion, an evil man Seeketh only rebellion. That's what Proverbs
17, 11. As I've said before, the problem
today is that man by nature does not realize where the lines are. Man thinks he knows. I'm doing the best I can. An evil man, according to John
3, an evil man is those that hate the light, will not come
to the light, won't come to Christ, will not. That's evil. An evil
man seeketh only rebellion. This is what every man, every
woman, apart from Christ, this is what they're doing. All they're
doing is rebelling against God. You know, when all this is going
to be made light in the day of judgment, that's when all of
a sudden everybody is going to say, you know what? As God says,
it is. That's the way it is. The evil
man seeketh only rebellion. For men to seek anything other
than rebellion, God Almighty must do something for that man.
He's going to have to give him a new heart. He's going to have
to give him a new nature, a new will to seek after God. And here's the thing, God does
not wait for men to seek Him first. No man seeks after God. Here, sitting under the sound
of the gospel, what can I do? Marvin, what can I do? Get under the sound of the glory
of God in Christ. Get under the message that glorifies
God Almighty and gives man no confidence in the flesh. Get
under the sound of a message that honors the Son. He that
honoreth the Son hath life. He that honoreth not
the Son, what do you mean to honor the Son? This is what I
mean. Is salvation all of grace? Is salvation of the Lord? Is
salvation that which Almighty God has purposed and accomplished
and told you about it? And He didn't wait on you. We just read just a few minutes
ago, He puts no trust in His saints. He don't trust you. He
don't trust me. Trust us? You can't even tie
our shoes right. You say, oh, yes, I can. Just
give you a few more years. Just wait a few more years, if
God permits you to live, and tell me if you can even tie your
own shoes. If you can bend down and slip
them on. If you don't have to get somebody to help you just
even get up. He puts no trust in His saints. Almighty God to give a man a
heart that seeks Him, when God gives a man a new heart in spite
of him. And here's the thing, as I said
before, does it matter what you hear? Yes, it does. Yes, it does. What if I'm going somewhere where
the gospel is not preached? They're lying to you. They're
lying to you. David said in Psalm 27, 8, When
thou saidest, Seek my face. When God said, Seek my face,
David said, My heart said unto thee, Thy face, Lord, will I
seek. Do you know what I know just
happened right there? God Almighty, according to Ezekiel 36, had given him a new heart. He
said, I'll give you a new heart. A new heart, I'll write my law
on your heart. I'll be your God, you'll be my
people. Proverbs 11, 27. He that diligently
seeketh good procureth favor. That verse right there gives
instruction concerning the new heart, the searching heart. A heart that seeks the very opposite
of what the evil heart seeks. This is the promise to the man
that seeks good. Now, listen to this. He that
diligently seeketh good. Now, let me tell you this. To seek good is to seek Almighty
God Himself. For there is none good but God.
He that seeks God. And Almighty God is going to
be found one way in the person of His blessed
Son. And the Son is going to be known one way by the Spirit
of God blessing the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord
said, I'm the way, the truth, the life. No man comes to the
Father but by Me. And the Spirit of God does not
bless a lie on God. He blesses the Gospel. Paul said,
I'm not ashamed of the Gospel. It's the power of God. I had
somebody tell me one time. He said, you know what, Marvin?
He said, I don't care where you go, you know what Scripture you're
in. And he said this as a slur. I
mean, this wasn't a compliment. He said, I don't care where you
are in the Bible. He said, you know what, you end up preaching
the same thing every time. I said, I'll take that as a compliment.
He didn't mean it that way. He meant to tell me that I was
not preaching the whole counsel of God. We thought you were going
to preach the whole counsel of God. Well, let me tell you something.
The whole counsel of God is right here. Let me give it to you.
OK, you ready? Here it is. I'm going to give you the whole
counsel. You know what counsel is? Okay,
I'm going to give you some counsel. I'm going to give you a word
of advice. I'm going to give you some instruction. The whole counsel
of God. Here it is. This is my beloved
Son in whom I'm well pleased. You hear Him. There's the whole counsel of
God. And I'm telling you, from the beginning to the end, these
are they, the Lord said, that testify of Me. If I stand up
here and I do not set forth the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ,
then I have lied to you. He that diligently seeketh good. The Lord asked that man who came
to Him, good master, why do you call me good? There is none good
but God. He wanted to know what this guy
was going to say. There is none good. How do we seek? How do we seek? He that diligently... You know the thing that I know
about God's Word is that God Almighty does not put words in
there that don't need to be there. So if that Word is there, obviously
it's for our good. It's for our admonition. It's
for our instruction. It's for our correction. He that
diligently seeketh good procureth favor. He that diligently." Look the
word up. It means early seeking. Early seeking. He that diligently. Early seeking. Psalm 63. Oh God, Thou art my God. Early will I seek Thee. My soul
thirsteth for Thee. My flesh longeth for Thee in
a dry and thirsty land where no water is. Early seeking. Now, let me tell you what the
word early seeking does not mean. It does not mean at the time
of dawn, early, like in the morning. Now, I'm not saying that early
in the morning is not a good time. In fact, I would say, as
for me, that's the best time. The best time, the first thing,
first thing, Whatever time you get up, get up earlier than that. The best time for me, I don't
know, early morning is just a good time. Get up. Get up earlier.
And wake up. Get you a cup of coffee, whatever
you want to. Wake up. Wake up. And just have some time. I just get alone. That's scriptural. When you pray, Enter into your
closet and pray to your Father which hears you in secret. And
He that hears you in secret, He's going to reward you openly.
Now what does that mean? I don't know. But I tell you
this, He will withhold no good thing from you. He'll reward
you openly. Whatever is going to be for the
good of His people, He's going to reward you. He'll supply your
need. What's that going to be? Whatever
you need it. But this word diligently seeking
does not mean at the time of dawn. It means earnestly. That's what it means. Earnestly.
Painstakingly. Diligently seeking sets forth
the thought of eagerness and immediateness. That's what it
means. He that diligently seeketh good. That man, that woman that Almighty
God has truly given a heart that longs for Him. Lord, I need You. I need You. I need You. Lord,
I have no comfort outside of You. Lord, I can't even keep
a straight thought. I just, in myself, am just worthless. He
that diligently seeketh good. It means that seeking that is
eager for God's presence. Well, you know what? You think
about that. If God Almighty would give me
a heart to eagerly seek Him, Just God Almighty, give me a
heart. And I'm just bearing my heart
here. If He gives me a heart to eagerly
seek Him, and just if it be but a fleeting moment, Gary, just
a moment, and just for a moment, just give me a heart that realizes
in this fleeting moment, God Almighty, would bless me with
a heart that would truly, diligently, eagerly seek Him. Immediately,
your mind would probably go to that Scripture where David said,
Lord, take not Thy Spirit from me. Lord, would You allow me
just to stay here for just a minute? Can I just stay here for just
a second? Lord, would You allow me the
privilege just to be able to eagerly seek You? Lord, I have
such struggles. Would you help me? Lord, I know
in the next moment my mind can be off somewhere. Lord, He that
diligently, earnestly, immediately. The Lord said in Matthew 6.33,
Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. All
these things will be added unto you. I know this. I know that seeking
Him diligently, seeking Him with a heart of immediateness. I just can't drum that up. I
mean, I just can't work it up. I just don't have, I just can't
do it, Sean. I mean, I just, if Almighty God
doesn't give me a heart, I know He's the way, the truth,
and the life. I know no man comes to the Father
but by Him. Or what would you have me to
do? I go back to the thinking of
making much of the means of God's grace. You know, we do diligently
seek Him when the hearing of the Gospel is a priority. Let
it be a priority. Let the hearing of the gospel
be a priority. Who knows? I know this where His Son is
ordered. Who knows? He may give me a heart
to diligently seek Him. If He doesn't give me a heart
to diligently seek Him, I'm not going to seek Him. As I said,
you try to drum it up. You try to do as people say,
you know, I just prayed through. I pray down heaven. I don't know. Listen, I'm going
to tell you something. You're just a little bit more spiritual,
I guess, than me. But I'm going to tell you something.
You're talking to a struggling sinner right here. One that struggles
and struggles and struggles and just feels... We diligently seek Him. Immediately
seek Him. When we do, seek Him in the Scriptures,
longing to hear His voice in every line. Lord, I'm going to
take this Scripture today and I'm going to deal with Proverbs
11.27. Lord, I know You're there. Would
You be pleased to open those Scriptures to us? Lord, would
You bless this Word to our understanding and help us this morning? He
is diligently sought when we seek Him. as we said a moment
ago in prayer. And I'll tell you this, I believe
that a man has been blessed by the Spirit of God to diligently
seek. And again, don't think that that's
something that you've drummed up. I'm telling you, if you thought
that you could drum it up, do you know the first emotion that's
going to rise up? It's pride. Man, I tell you what,
I'm a prayer warrior. No, you're a fool. You're a fool. Lord, have mercy. Lest you become as little children.
And while we're seeking, diligently seeking good, the Scriptures
reveal something else that we're going to have. He that diligently,
immediately, earnestly seeketh good procureth favor. Now, I'll tell
you this one thing I know. I know that we're not going to
procure favor because we've earnestly sought
the Lord. I know that. Because favor before
Almighty God has been established by God in Christ But it's the
sense of having a knowledge of God's favor. That's what you
procure. That's what God allows you to
have. He allows you, He teaches you of His favor in Christ that
He's given. He that diligently seeketh God
in Christ. procureth, has a knowledge of,
has some understanding about God's favor. And he finds delight
and pleasure in understanding something. You mean to tell me
that Almighty God has had mercy on me? You mean to tell me that
God has taught me that it's not by works of righteousness that
I've done. I'm so glad for that. I'm so glad for that. It's not
by works of righteousness that I've done because you know a
believer is honest about it. He's going to be honest. An unbeliever
is going to try to lie to you because he's trying to lie to
himself. He's trying to convince himself he's okay. But I know this, he that diligently
seeketh good Procureth, has an understanding of, is taught something
about God's favor toward him in Christ, and he'll sit there
and he'll muse on that. Lord, I'd like to think on that
for a minute. Listen to this promise, Jeremiah
29, 13, You shall seek me and find me when you search for me
with all of your heart. Based on that word right there,
those that seek Him find Him. They do find Him. They find Him
as He grants them His presence and He allows them by faith to
have communion with Him. I entitled this message, Men
Have What They Seek For. We find what we seek after. That's
what it was. We find what we seek after. You think about the
blessedness. of a man seeking after God and
finding Him, hearing Him. His people are favored with fellowship
with Him as their God in Christ. And they realize all the while
they're frail. They know that. Find Him when
they search for Him with all of their heart. Now let me tell
you what that means as I close this message out. You shall seek
Me. And find me when you search for
me with all of your heart." Boy, that's a tall order. It
doesn't mean with a heart of perfection because there's nobody
here in themselves that's got one. We all have that plague Sin is
present with it, but it's a heart of sincerity. All of your heart. You'll seek me and find me when
you search for me with all of your heart. Sincerity. Sincere. Sincerity does not set
forth perfection in yourself. We're plagued with the presence
of sin. But it's a heart of need. That's
what all of your heart. I need you. A heart that's honest
toward Him. That's what all of your heart.
Lord, I'm needy. I'm honest about it. I'm honest. I know something of my need.
But Lord, if You don't help me, I don't have anything. Diligently seek Him. Seek Him first above all else.
Oh, that He would give me a heart to do that. But He that seeketh
mischief. He that seeketh mischief. That word seeketh there is worship.
He that worships mischief. Listen to this. It shall come unto Him. He that
diligently seeketh good Procureth favor. Has an understanding of
God's favor. But he that seeketh mischief,
it shall come to him. Evil doesn't even wait to be
found. It'll find you. That's what he said. It'll come
to him. It'll meet a man. Diligence. Early seeking. It takes a new
heart. When a man seeks after God in
Christ, That man's honest. He's needy. He's helpless. And he finds the Lord when he
seeks the Lord. My question is this. Do you need
Him? Do you want Him? Do you want
Him? Do you have a heart to seek Him? If you do, I'll tell you,
that heart It is not from you. That is a new heart. If He gives you a new heart to
seek Him, He has been pleased to allow you the privilege to
have an understanding of His favor toward you in Christ. David said in Psalm 34, ìFor
I sought the And He heard me. And He delivered
me from all my fears. May Almighty God bless these
words to our heart. Seeking the Lord. That has such
a sound of sweetness. A tenderness. I know this. For man seeks after God. Diligently
seeks Him. Seeks Him early. Seeks Him earnestly. Seeks Him sincerely. Seeks Him
immediately. Seeks Him with a sense of need. He's going to find Him. The Lord
found Him. The Lord drew Him. That's what
He did. He drew you to Himself. He caused
you to come. You didn't come first. He blessed
you. He was the one that initiated
the meeting. And when you realize that, you
think, Lord, thank You for that. Oh, if God gives me a heart to
seek after Him, what a blessing! For Christ's sake. Amen.