Kingsport Sovereign Grace Church,
located at 905 Yadkin Street in Kingsport, Tennessee, would
like to invite you to listen to a message of sovereign grace
by their pastor, Gabe Stoniker. And now, Pastor Gabe Stoniker. Our message today is going to
come from Isaiah 55, if you would like to turn with me. Isaiah
55, and let's read verses six and seven. Isaiah 55, verse six
says, 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 us to look this morning at the subject of seeking
the Lord. Seeking the Lord, what it is
to be a seeker of the Lord. This is something that we all
must take a great interest in seeking the Lord. It's something
that every man and woman becomes when the Lord starts dealing
with him or her. If God begins to move on a center,
on one of his own, that's always the result. Always. This is not something that a
person plans on becoming. This is not something that a
person decides to become. This is not something that the
flesh naturally even cares about or wants. The sinful flesh of men and women,
they're not interested in seeking the Lord. Man is not naturally
drawn to and naturally prone to seeking the Lord. It's the
last thing that the flesh wants. To be honest with you, the flesh
would prefer doing anything but seeking the Lord. But when the
Lord seeks a sinner, this is where it starts. When the Lord
in grace and in mercy and in kindness, when the Lord seeks
a sinner, that sinner starts seeking the Lord. In turn, when
the Lord goes to work on his own, when it's the Lord's work.
When his grace starts to call his own. All of his own. become seekers of Him. All of
them do. That's the first thing that I
want us to understand about seeking the Lord. We only seek Him if
we do, if we become seekers of the Lord. We will only seek Him
because He first sought us. That's the only reason. That's
the only reason any sinner will seek Him. Any sinner. It's because He seeks the sinner
first. Over in Isaiah 65, this is what
our Lord said in verse 1. He said, I am sought of them
that asked not for me. They were not asking for me.
He said, 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. He said, I'm the
one who did the seeking first. That's how it happens. That's
how it happens. But His seeking of His own, it
does cause His own to seek Him in return. God's people do go
seeking. They do. They start seeking the
Lord. They know they are. They say, I'm seeking the Lord.
I'm seeking Him. I'm searching for Him. It's the
result of His seeking every single time. That's what David said
over in Psalm 27. HE SAID IN PSALM 27, VERSE 8,
WHEN THOU SAIDST, SEEK YE MY FACE, DAVID SAID TO GOD, WHEN
YOU SAID TO ME, SEEK MY FACE, HE SAID, MY HEART SAID UNTO THEE,
THY FACE, LORD, WILL I SEEK. THIS IS WHAT I WANT TO DO. I
NEED TO SEEK THE LORD. I'M GOING TO BE A SEEKER OF THE
LORD. His people become seekers. Right here in Psalm 27, verse
4, David said, One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will
I seek after. I'm gonna seek after it. What
is it, David? That I may dwell in the house
of the Lord all the days of my life to behold the beauty of
the Lord and to inquire in His temple. David said, I can't just
go on about my life indifferent to the Lord who sought me. I
can't just stay on my path without turning to him and seeking him. David said, I have to press toward
the mark. I have to. One thing have I desired
and I'm going to seek after it. What is the one thing? David
said it's him. It's him. It's him. I want to dwell in his house
just so I can behold his beauty and hear him speak. That's what
I want. When God makes a sinner a seeker,
that sinner starts seeking the Lord Jesus Christ. When a sinner
starts seeking, he seeks Christ, the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, I
want us to take just a minute and enter into the what, where,
how, when, and why of seeking the Lord. What, when, how, where,
and why. And we're going to spend a little
bit more time on the first one than the rest of them. Let's
start with what it is to seek the Lord. What it is to seek
the Lord from an internal point of view, from right inside here.
If God makes me to be a seeker of the Lord, what goes on in
the mind? What goes on in the heart? What
goes on in the will of a sinner when he or she is seeking the
Lord? What is it? What is it to seek the Lord?
There's a preacher of the gospel who many years ago, he gave five
statements that declare what it is, what goes on inside a
sinner who is seeking the Lord. And these are wonderful statements.
They are so, so true. They apply to every single child
of God. It's this way every time. Every
sinner that God has made to be a seeker of the Lord. And I want
to share these with you because you will find these to be a great
blessing if God is causing you to seek Him. You'll say, yes,
that's right. Amen. So what is it to seek the
Lord? First, this preacher said, it's
to realize that by nature, I don't have the Lord. That's the first
thing. I don't have Him. If you are
going to seek the Lord, then it means you've been made to
realize that in the natural condition of your flesh, as you are in
this world, you don't have the Lord. That's a scary realization. Men and women assume that they
do. They assume that he is in their
company. And it's a stark realization
when God opens the eyes and causes a man to see that in my natural
condition, in my natural sinful state, I don't have Him. I don't
have Him. That's something that a man has
to be made to realize. No man or woman will realize
that until God, in mercy, CAUSES A MAN TO REALIZE THAT. EVERYBODY
THINKS THEY HAVE THE LORD. YOU ASK ANYBODY THAT QUESTION,
DO YOU HAVE THE LORD? WELL, SURE I HAVE THE LORD. THEY'LL
SAY EVERYBODY HAS THE LORD. THAT'S NOT SO. PEOPLE THINK THAT
HE'S JUST STANDING THERE WAITING ON THEM AT THEIR BECK AND CALL. JUST WAITING ON STANDBY. People
think that he's trying to actively be involved with everybody. He's
trying to save everybody. People think he died for everybody. His blood is on the table for
anybody. People think that he's a good
luck charm. Everybody's good luck charm. Pull him out of your
back pocket when you need him. He'll be there. When God moves
on a sinner, this is what that sinner realizes. None of that's
so. None of that is so. He is not
waiting on standby for anybody. Nobody. He is not trying to save
anybody. He did not die for everybody. Every drop of His blood, every
single drop of His blood was a particular payment for a particular
people. All souls are in His hands to
do with as He pleases. He has everybody. He has everybody. But here's the thing. Everybody
does not have Him. Everybody does not have Him.
And this is the realization that God brings to a sinner when God
starts dealing with him. That sinner will realize, in
my natural, sinful, wicked condition, I don't have Him. I don't have
him. That's where it starts. What
is it to seek the Lord? First, it's to realize that in
my condition before God, I don't have the Lord. All right. The second thing is, it's a desire
in the heart that says, I need the Lord. I need him. I truly do need him. There are
some things in this world that I realize, I know, I don't have
them. There are things that this world
has to offer. There are some things that extremely
rich people own that I'll never own. There are some things in
this life that I do desire to own. There are some things that
I don't desire to own. There are many things that I
realize I just, I don't have it. But here's the thing. I'm
not seeking those things. I'm not seeking them. To seek
the Lord is not only to realize that in my sinful condition,
I don't have Him. Along with that, it's a desire
in the heart that cries, I need Him. I must have Him. I have to have Him. I want Him. The third very insightful statement
that this true preacher made was it's a willingness to have
him on his terms. Think about that. It's a willingness
to have him on his terms. It's a realization that I don't
have him naturally. But I need him. I desperately
need Him, and I'm willing to have Him on His terms. Whatever
His terms are, I'll take it. This is where man naturally goes
wrong. That's where he veers off the
seeking path. Man thinks he can have Christ
on his own terms. What are man's terms? What are
man's terms? Here they are. man says, my time. I may do it later. I'm not interested
right now, but I'll take him later. That man says, my time,
my will, my work, my way. It's my decision. It's my glory. Those are my terms. That's what
man says. What are Christ's terms? What
are Christ's terms? Here they are. Christ says, it's
my time, I do it in my time. When I say now, I mean now. When I say come, you come. Christ
says, it's my will, not yours, it's mine. Christ says, it's
my work, not yours, it's mine. Christ says, it's my way. He
says, it's my decision, it's my glory. Those are Christ's
terms. Those are His terms. If you ask
a true seeker, I mean a true seeker of Him, Him. If you ask a true seeker, do
you want your glory or His glory? This is what the seeker will
say. I want His glory. I want Him to get all the credit.
Put me in the dust of the ground. If you ask a true seeker, do
you want your work, your own works before God, or do you want
Christ's work before God? That true seeker will say, I
want his and his alone. All my works are dung. You ask
a true seeker, do you want your way or his way? Oh, give me his
way. He's the only way. He is the
way and it's the only way there is. Ask a true seeker, do you
want your righteousness or do you want his righteousness? His
righteousness alone. I don't want to have my own righteousness
before God. All my righteousnesses are filthy
rags. To seek the Lord is to realize
that number one, I don't have him, but I need him and I'm willing
to have him on his terms. His terms. Here's the fourth
statement on what it is to seek the Lord. It is a willingness
to part. To part with. It's a willingness
to lose. EVERYTHING THAT IS OPPOSED TO
HIM AND STANDS IN THE WAY OF HIM. STANDS BETWEEN YOU AND HIM. THIS IS WHAT THE APOSTLE PAUL
SAID CONCERNING HIS RELIGION. THAT'S THE NUMBER ONE THING THAT
STANDS BETWEEN SINFUL MEN AND WOMEN AND CHRIST THE LORD. IT'S
THEIR RELIGION. LISTEN TO THIS. IT'S RELIGION. THE NUMBER ONE STUMBLING STONE. THE NUMBER ONE MOUNTAIN IN THE
WAY THAT NEEDS TO BE REMOVED AND CAST INTO THE SEA IS MAN'S
OWN RELIGION, MAN'S SELF-RIGHTEOUS RELIGION. AND THIS IS WHAT PAUL
SAID CONCERNING HIS RELIGION, CONCERNING ALL OF HIS WICKED
WORKS OF SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS. THAT'S WHAT MAN'S RELIGION IS,
WICKED WORKS OF SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS. PAUL SAID, I COUNT IT ALL DUNG
AND I'M WILLING TO THROW IT ALL AWAY. Now let me ask you this,
are you willing to throw all of your own religion away? Everything
that has ever been of you, by you, through you, to you? By God's grace, I say in the
depths of my soul, I am. Paul said, I am. I pray you are. Cast it all away, get rid of
it. Get rid of your decision. Get
rid of your work. Get rid of everything you've
done that you believe commends you to God. Cast it all out.
All of it. Paul said, I must have Him. I must win Him. I must be found
in Him. It's not my anything. It's Him. It's Him. And that's the last
statement that this true preacher made on what it is to seek the
Lord. He said it's to seek Him. Not his. Him. Him. This person. This man. Not
what he has. Not what we can get from him. Him. I must have Him. While the world wants heaven,
true seekers of Christ want Him. They want Him. All right, now
that's the what of seeking the Lord. I said very briefly we'd
spend most of our time on the what and very briefly let's enter
into where, how, when, and why, okay? Where do we seek Him? We seek Him in His Word. If you are seeking the Lord,
seek Him in His Word. In John chapter 5, our Lord said,
in verse 39, search the scriptures, for in them you think you have
eternal life. and they are they which testify
of me." If you have a heart to seek the Lord, don't seek any
man, don't seek a doctrine, don't seek anything but the Word of
God. Search the scriptures. In verse
46, John 5, 46, he said, Had you believed Moses, you would
have believed me, for he wrote of me. All of the word of God
is concerning him. Back a few pages in Luke 24,
verse 27, it says, Beginning at Moses and all the prophets,
he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning
himself. It's all about him. Verse 44,
right there. He said unto them, these are
the words which I spake unto you while I was yet with you
that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law
of Moses and in the prophets and in the Psalms concerning
me. He said, it's all concerning
me. He said, if you want to search for me, search the scriptures. David said, when I'm seeking,
Your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. Peter
said, desire the sincere milk of the word that you may grow
thereby. If so be you have tasted that
the Lord is gracious. So where do we seek him? In his
word. We seek him in his word. All
right, now, how do we seek him? We know what it is to seek him
is to seek him. We know where it is to seek Him,
in His Word. But how exactly do we seek Him? How do we seek Him in His Word? Over in Acts 8, verse 26, it
says, The angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and
go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem
unto Gaza, which is desert. And Philip arose, and went, and
behold, a man of Ethiopia, and eunuch of great authority, under
Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her
treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship, was returning,
and sitting in his chariot, read Isaiah the prophet. Then the
Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot.
And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet
Isaiah, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest? And he
said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired
Philip that he would come up and sit with him. How can I,
except some man should guide me? How do we search for Him
in His Word? This is what the Word says. It
says faith, seeing Christ, resting on Christ. Faith comes by hearing
and hearing by the Word of God. The Word says it pleased the
Lord by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. This means right here, preaching
the word. The word says, whosoever shall
call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall
they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall
they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall
they hear without a preacher? And how shall he preach except
he be sent? Not just any preacher. A man
sent of God who will preach the word. Many, many preachers stand
up and think they're preaching, but they're not because they're
not preaching the word. They're preaching the word of
man. They're preaching the opinion
of man. A true God sent preacher will preach the word, the word
alone. We seek the Lord every time we
gather to hear the preaching of the word. He said, where two
or three are gathered in his name, I'm in the midst of you.
I'm in the midst. So where his word is preached,
that's where seekers will gather. Now, when should we seek the
Lord? When should we do it? Well, Psalm
63, verse one, David said, O God, thou art my
God, early will I seek thee. Early, early. David said, I'm going to seek
you early. I'm going to seek you and I'm
going to seek you early. First thing before every other
thing, seeking the Lord is urgent. IT IS URGENT. SEEKING THE LORD
IS A RIGHT NOW THING. IT IS A TODAY THING. BACK IN OUR TEXT, ISAIAH 55,
VERSE 6 SAYS, SEEK THE LORD WHILE HE MAY BE FOUND. CALL YE UPON
HIM WHILE HE'S NEAR. DO IT RIGHT NOW. DON'T PUT IT
OFF. DON'T PUT IT OFF. HE MAY STILL
BE FOUND RIGHT NOW. HE IS STILL NEAR. Seek Him. Seek Him. What? Seek Him. Where? In His Word. How? By gathering with His people
to hear the Word preached. When? Early. Early. Right now. At all times. Here's the last one. Why? Why should we seek the Lord?
Verse 7 in our text, it says, 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. Does anybody need mercy? Anybody? Does anybody need mercy because
of their sins? Does anybody need to be abundantly
pardoned for all their sin against God? Seek the Lord. Seek the Lord. I want to close
with this promise from him. Jeremiah 29 verse 13. He said, And you shall seek me
and find me 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, and I will gather
you from all the nations and from all the places whither I
have driven you, saith the Lord, and I will bring you again into
the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive. That's
wonderful news. Seek the Lord. Till next week,
may the Lord bless His word to our hearts. You have been listening
to a message by Gabe Stoniker, pastor of Kingsport Sovereign
Grace Church in Kingsport, Tennessee. If you would like a copy of this
message or to hear other messages of Sovereign Grace, log on to
our website at ksgctn.org. If you would like to come and
worship with us, our service times are Sunday morning Bible
study at 10 o'clock a.m., worship at 1045 a.m., and 6 o'clock p.m.,
Wednesday evening at 730 p.m. Please tune in next week for
another message of God's free and sovereign grace. you