Open with me, if you would, back
to Isaiah 55. Isaiah 55. Let's all look at this together.
Two verses. Verses six and seven. Seek ye the Lord while he may
be found. Call ye upon him while he is
near. Let the wicked forsake his way,
and the unrighteous man his thoughts. And let him return unto the Lord,
and he will have mercy upon him. And to our God, for he will abundantly
pardon." I want to speak to us today on the subject of seeking
the Lord. Seeking the Lord, the importance
of it, the urgency of it, what it means, what it actually is
to seek the Lord. I want to speak to the adults
I want to speak to the children. I want to speak to myself. I pray that the Lord might cause
us to understand that this is critical. This is important. A lot of times children come
thinking, well, our adults will pay attention and I'll pay attention
down the road. This is critical. This is critical. Seek the Lord while he may be
found. It is critically important that
we seek the Lord. So I want us to understand what
it is to seek the Lord. And here is the reason why. Something
happened to me this week that confirmed in me that men and women who are lost
in false religion not holding to the truth. They are just as convinced that
they are holding to the truth as those who hold to the truth
are. I'm gonna repeat that just in
case it was confusing. Something happened to me this
week. I knew this already, but something happened that just
confirmed it in me. Poor souls, poor men and women
who are lost in false religion. If a person wants to be lost
before God, one of the best places to be is in false religion. You
can't get any more lost than you are in false religion. The
gutter, the bar, that's not nearly as lost as false religion. But
men and women who are lost, not holding to the truth, they are
just as convinced that they are holding to the truth as those
who are actually holding to the truth are. Everybody is convinced. Everybody is convinced. Now, here's the truth. There is only one truth. There is only one. People do not know that because
men have stood in pulpits and lied to people telling them there's
more than one. That's okay, there's more than
one. Long as everybody gets there, it's okay. You take your way,
I'll take mine. You have your truth, I'll have
mine. You believe what you believe,
I'll believe what I believe, everybody will be okay. That's
not so. That's not so. There is only
one true message. Lots of messages out there, but
there's only one true message. There's only one true gospel. There's only one true way. There's
only one true hope. And if we are not holding to
that one truth, we're not holding to anything, nothing. Close to the truth is still a
lie. Those of you parents who have
children, if your children are old enough to speak, then you
have experienced lies from them. I did it as a child. I expected
it out of my children. It starts as, well, this is what
happened. And then you find out, well,
that's, you ask some questions. And this and that, well, no,
actually that's not exactly what happened. You say, so you lied
to me then. Well, no, most of what I said
was true. You lied to me then. Close to
the truth is still a lie. It's still a lie. For some reason,
people accept religion to be close to the truth as being good
enough. Nowhere else do we do that. Nowhere
else. The only other place I could
think of was the Weather Channel. They're never right. I keep looking
at it anyway. But honestly, nowhere else. But
in religion, well, that's okay. Close is close enough. That's
the only place that it matters. It's the only place that it matters.
You have religions out there and denominations out there that
are the exact opposite of the truth. You have religions and denominations
out there that are half truth. And you have religions and denominations
out there that are so close to the truth, if it were possible,
even the very elect of God would be deceived. Our Lord is the
one who said that. So what that tells us is close
won't cut it. Close won't cut it. If we want
to be made free, then we must know the truth. We must know
the truth. What absolutely struck me right
between the eyes this week is that every person with a religious
conviction is adamantly convinced that he or she is holding to
the truth. Globally, all over this world,
It's estimated that there are 45,000 different Christian denominations. And that's just the ones in the
Christian category, the Christianity category. 45,000 different registered
opinions on what the truth is. Now, let's acknowledge one more
time, there's only one truth in every matter. If two people
have a car wreck and then the police officer shows up, well,
he did this and she did that. There's only one truth. I mean,
it doesn't matter what it is. There's always only one truth,
always. If there are 45,000 different
opinions on it, somebody has to be wrong. At least 44,999 of them have
to be wrong because there's only one truth. And somebody's going
to say, well, let me guess, Gabe, you believe you're the one who
has it. No. Absolutely not. I put three exclamation
points after absolutely not. I believe God is the one who
has it. I believe God is true and every
man is a liar. Who said that? That's why we're gonna have to
seek the Lord. That's why we have to seek the
Lord. We need the truth of this matter. Therefore, we need to
seek the Lord while He may be found. We need to call upon Him while
He is near. Oh, I pray that the Lord might
cause us to do this early in our youth before the days come
that we say, I don't have anything for this. This is urgent. Right now, He
is still near. I have good news. Right now,
He is still near. Right now, He may still be called
on. There's going to come a point
when He won't be near this world anymore. And His truth may not
be found anymore. Just like in the days of Noah.
After the ark was finished, Noah sat there in the ark with the
door wide open for seven days. Day 8 was too late. Day 8 was
too late. You say, Gabe, it sounds like
you're preaching works. I'm not. I'm not. I'm preaching God's Word. Let
me show it to you, okay? Turn with me to Luke 13. Luke
13. Christ speaking. Luke 13 verse 24 says, Strive to enter in at the straight
gate. For many, I say unto you, will
seek to enter in and shall not be able. When once the master
of the house is risen up and hath shut to the door, and you
begin to stand without and to knock at the door saying, Lord,
Lord, open unto us, and he shall answer and say unto you, I know
you not whence you are. Then shall you begin to say,
we have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught
in our streets. But he shall say, I tell you,
I know you not whence you are. Depart from me, all ye workers
of iniquity. There shall be weeping and gnashing
of teeth when you shall see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the
prophets in the kingdom of God and you yourselves thrust out. Do we see how serious this is? These were people who thought
they had it right with God, but they didn't. Lord, please don't
let that be us. Let's cry that. Please don't
let that be us. Please don't let me just assume
that I have the truth and know the truth and we're good. Please don't let that be me.
Look with me at 2 Corinthians 6. 2 Corinthians 6, verse 1. We then as workers together with
Him beseech you also that you receive not the grace of God
in vain. Paul said, we beseech you that
you receive not the grace of God in vain. For He saith, I
have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have
I succored thee. Behold, now is the accepted time. Behold, now is the day of salvation. He said, do not hear this truth
in vain. Right now is the time. Today
is the day of salvation. Call on the Lord. Seek the Lord. Seek the Lord. Seek the Lord. For what? Mercy. Mercy. We sinners need mercy. We need mercy. Somebody will hear that and will
say, OK. How? How do I seek the Lord? Here is how, if anyone is interested
in seeking the Lord. Here is how. Turn with me to
Isaiah 65. Isaiah 65, verse 1. The heading at the top of my
page here says, the church prayeth for the presence of God. That's
what's happening in chapter 64. The church is praying for the
presence of God. And in chapter 65, the Lord God
answers the church. This is Christ speaking to the
church, okay? Verse 1. He said, I am sought
of them, that asked not for me. I am found of them that sought
me not. I said, behold me, behold me
unto a nation that was not called by my name. Do we have any heart to seek
the Lord? Any desire to seek the Lord? How? How does a sinner
seek the Lord? He said, I am sought of them
that asked not for me. I am found of them that sought
me not. I said, behold me. Behold me
unto a nation that was not called by my name. If a sinner is going
to seek the Lord, That sinner is going to have to be made by
God Almighty to seek the Lord. And if God Almighty makes a sinner
seek the Lord, that sinner will seek the Lord.
If God makes a sinner seek the Lord, that sinner will seek the
Lord. Turn with me to Psalm 27. This is how it works. This is how it happens every
time. Psalm 27, verse 7, it says, Hear, O Lord, when I
cry with my voice, have mercy also upon me and answer me. Well, what's your plea, David?
What's your cry? He said, hear me as I cry. Hear
me as I beg. What are you crying for, David?
What is your plea before God? Here it is. David said, this
is my hope. This is what I'm clinging to. Verse eight. When
thou saidst, seek ye my face, my heart said unto thee, thy
face, Lord, will I see. When you did it, I responded. Let's make sure that we are very
clear on this right here. We do not seek the Lord in order
to be saved. We seek the Lord because we have
been saved. End don't turn, but in John 17,
the Lord prayed, Father, the work that you gave me to do of
accomplishing salvation for my people, I have finished that
work. That work is finished. Every
soul that you placed in my hands to keep, I have kept and none
of them is lost. It is finished. That work is
finished. Their eternal security and salvation,
I finished that. That's done. We do not seek the Lord in order
to be saved. We seek the Lord because we have
been saved. And every soul who has been saved
by the blood of Jesus Christ, and every soul who has been called
by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, will seek the Lord. All of them
will call upon Him. All of them will. Somebody's going to hear that
and they're going to say, then why is it so urgent? Why did you start out saying
what you did? If God is the one who has to
do it, If no man can come to the Lord
Jesus Christ except the Father draw that man to the Lord Jesus
Christ, which is what our Lord said in John 6, 44, no man can
come to me except the Father which has sent me drawing. If
that's the case, and if all that the Father has given to Christ
shall come to Christ, then why is it urgent? Why is it so critical? Here's
why, here's why. It's because every soul that
Christ has done this for, this is it. Every soul that Christ
has done this for sees himself or herself to be the absolute
worst sinner that this world has ever known. Every one of
them. and they struggle to believe
that God's goodness and God's mercy could possibly be purposed
for them. I see God has an elect people
and I see that it could be all of them, but I don't believe
it's me. I don't see how it could be for me. But because God has
given life to them and has given them ears to hear the Word of
God, they hear. It's implanted in their heart
that all who ask, receive. A dead man can't hear that. A
dead man doesn't have that implanted in his heart. But all those who
have been given life hear this word that says, every soul who
asks and cries out, receives. All who seek, find. All who knock, it's open to them. Every single one. They hear that
and they know that right now is the accepted time to ask,
seek, and knock. And because they've been caused
to see that they don't have any good works of their own to offer
God, They don't have anything in them that makes them acceptable
to God. And because they've been caused
to see that Christ is their only hope, His blood and His righteousness
is their only hope before God, they can't put it off. They just cannot put it off.
Like their sinful father, Jacob, they have to lay hold of him
as their all. And they have to say, I cannot
let you go except you bless me. I know this is all of you. I
know you start this work and finish this work. But that's
what you said in your own word. So I'm seeking, I'm asking, I'm
knocking, I'm laying hold. Please include me. Please include me. Tomorrow won't
do. What if there is no tomorrow?
I gotta have you right now. Today, right now, it has to be
today. Would tomorrow have been good
enough for blind Bartimaeus? Would that have been good enough?
That poor, blind beggar, sitting on the highway side, begging
for years. All of a sudden, this is what
he hears. He said, what's going on? They said, Jesus of Nazareth. Nazareth is passing by right
now. He's literally walking in front
of you right now. Did he say, well, I'm sure he'll
come back at some point. He started crying, Jesus, thou
son of David, have mercy on me right now, right now. Have mercy on me right now. Everybody around that man said,
he doesn't have time for you, hush. You're the least important
person here. Hush. He cried out even louder,
Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me right now. I love how it says God Almighty
stopped in his tracks. So bring that man to me. Seek the Lord while he may be
found. Jesus Christ is passing by right
now. Right now, call on him in your
heart while he's near where two or three are gathered. There's
going to come a point when he's not near men and women on this
earth anymore. Where two or three are gathered
in his name, he's in the midst. Call on Him right now. If He's revealed to you that
you are a sinner, call on Him right now. I need a Savior. If He has yet to reveal to you
that you are an utter, wretched, worthless sinner, call on Him
right now and say, reveal that to me right now. And then put
a heart in me to cry out to you right now for mercy. Every chosen
sinner, that God has purposed to bring salvation to will do
that very thing. Every one of them. How can I
know if he has chosen me to salvation? How can I know if I'm a purposed
to salvation sinner? How can I know? Here's how. If
he has chosen me to salvation, I will have one desire. I need
to run to Jesus Christ as fast as I can. I need to get to that
man as fast as I can. Now, I want to show us exactly
what it is. I want to finish our time here
showing us what it is exactly to seek the Lord. What takes
place in the experience of responding to salvation and seeking the
Lord. Turn with me if you would to
Jeremiah 29. Jeremiah 29 verse 13. It says, and you shall seek me
and find me when you shall search for me with all your heart. Seeking the Lord is something
that takes place in the heart. If we are going to seek the Lord,
we are going to have to get the mind out of it. We're going to have to get the
mind out of it. And we're going to have to get into our hearts.
You cannot seek the Lord with the mind. That's a pretty dogmatic
statement. Let me repeat it. You cannot
seek the Lord with the mind. Out of the heart, are the issues
of life. What does that mean? We'll go
back to our text, Isaiah 55, and I'll be brief here, but Isaiah
55, verse 6. It says, Seek ye the Lord while
he may be found. Call ye upon Him while He is
near. To seek the Lord is to seek the
Lord. It's not to seek a denomination.
You know how some people start in a denomination and they just
stick with it to the end. This is what I grew up in. I
think I better just stick with it. This is what we do. No, no,
no. Seek that man. Seek the Lord. To seek the Lord is not to seek
doctrine. People say, well, I understand
that your doctrine is different from my doctrine and different
from that doctrine. And I think I'll stick to my
doctrine. Don't do that. This is our doctrine. The Lord
is our doctrine. To seek the Lord is not to seek
the teaching of a particular man. Men gain some recognition
and they gain some popularity on a large level or on a small
level. Well, now my pastor says this, who cares? Who cares what Gabe Stoniker
says? What does God say? If Gabe Stoniker
is not telling you what God says, don't listen to Gabe Stoniker.
I'm not interested in what Gabe Stoniker thinks or says. Only what God says. I don't trust
me. I know enough about me where
I don't trust me. To seek the Lord is to seek the
Lord. It's to seek His Word, not mine
or anybody else's. It's to seek His Word. It's to
seek His will. It's to seek His way. Not my
will, but thine be done. Have thine own way, Lord. Have
thine own way. Verse 6 says, Seek ye the Lord
while He may be found. Call ye upon Him while He is
near. Let the wicked forsake His way. Who's that? Who is the wicked? Me, that's you in our flesh. To seek the Lord and to call
on the Lord is to say in our hearts, I'm a sinful, wicked
man or woman. Who needs you? Verse seven says,
let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts.
Who's that? Me and you. Unrighteous. There's
a way that seems right to a man, but the end of it is destruction. Let the wicked forsake his way
and the unrighteous man his thoughts and let him return unto the Lord. And he will have mercy upon him.
And to our God, for he will abundantly, pardon, turn to Christ. Look to Christ, cry out to Christ
for mercy. That's what we need. Mercy in
the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. He said, every soul who truly
does that in the heart, will show the evidence of the fact
that God has shown mercy and will show mercy to that soul.
Every soul who has that desperate cry for pardon, pardon, please
pardon me, shows the evidence that he has been pardoned, she
has been pardoned. Abundant pardon will come from
the Lord. So let me leave you with this.
All of us right now, let's seek the Lord. Let's seek the Lord
by saying in our hearts, Lord, I'm a sinner. I know that that's
shocking to hear. I know that's shocking
to the flesh to hear. But if the Lord has revealed
that it's so, then let's be honest with Him, truthful with Him and
say, Lord, I'm a sinner. I need a Savior. I'm calling on You. I forsake
my way. I forsake my thoughts and I come
to you. You're my only hope for mercy
and pardon. He said every soul who seeks
that way will find who and what he seeks. Every soul who seeks that way.
Let the wicked forsake his way. Let the unrighteous man forsake
his thoughts. Let him return unto the Lord
and he will have mercy on him. and to our God, for he will abundantly
pardon. Seek and you'll find. May the
Lord cause us to do it. All right, Brother Eddie, you
come.