Someone asked me this week, is
Grace Gospel Fellowship a seeker church? And I've been thinking
about that, wondering maybe what exactly they meant. I think to
some degree I know. I hear so much these days about
the seeker church. Supposedly, a church where those
who are on the edge can find whatever they're seeking without
being offended. Today, you may be offended because
I'm going to tell you as I tell you each Sunday that salvation
is of the Lord. It's not something you do. It's something he does. So much
talk about the purpose-driven life. What is it that drives
the Christian or the seeker? And I wondered this week, what's
behind all the talk? Maybe we ought to, maybe I ought
to, as pastor of this church, proclaim again just three simple
things. Who the primary seeker is not. Who the primary seeker is. and what is the seeker's goal. The verses that Greg has read
in your hearing today tells us about one who is coming, who's
been anointed. In other words, he's been sent
by God. That's Jesus Christ. And He's been anointed to preach
good tidings to the meek, to bind up the brokenhearted,
and to proclaim liberty. Wherever you're under legalism,
you know you're not hearing the gospel. Jesus has come to proclaim
liberty. There's such liberty in Jesus
Christ. If the son sets you free, you're
free indeed, right? Liberty in Christ. Liberty to
the captives. Liberty to the captives. In other words, he's going to
come and set the captives free. He's going to set the captives
free. And the opening of the prison. Oh, my. How many of you were
in prison? Not literally. We had a majority here raise
their hand. I'm at spiritual prison. Somebody told me that had visited
our church this week too. You guys are so different. Yes, we are. The opening of the prison to
them that are bound. to proclaim the acceptable year
of the Lord, that you are accepted in Jesus Christ. Irregardless
of the best about you or the worst about you, has nothing
to do with your acceptance. God has accepted you in his son,
Jesus Christ. And it just continues to get
gooder. to appoint unto them that mourn
in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes. What a bargain that
is. To make something beautiful out
of you. That's what God does. Marred vessels. He makes something
beauty. The oil of joy for mourning. There's no reason in this place
for you if you are a Christian to be unhappy. The joy of the
Lord is our strength. May it break out today. The garment of praise for the
spirit of heaviness. Have you ever been in a church
service where it was just so heavy? I've been in thousands
and thousands of those. There was no clapping. There
was no smiling. There was no hallelujah. There
was no praise God. I don't know how people endure
that except they're depending on that to get them to heaven.
But you ought to go to heaven with a little heaven in you.
A little heaven on the way to heaven. I love this. We are the planning
of the Lord that he might be glorified. And then it says this,
they shall build the old waste. They shall raise up the former
desolations and they shall repair the waste city, the desolations
of many generations. You want to understand that?
That's you. That's us. That's us here in Pontiac. Reforming
blocks of houses, seeing centers converted. And I'll tell you,
and I'm not bragging, but I'm bragging on God. Grace Gospel
Fellowship and Grace Centers of Hope have been used of God
to turn this city around. Now, I want to ask you, where did
God find you? Where did God find you? His name shall be called Jesus,
for He shall save His people from their sins. The Scripture
says, Jesus Christ has come to seek and to save that which was
lost. So let's find out, first of all,
who is the primary seeker? I want to tell you, it's not
you. It is not you. When we begin to consider salvation,
we must begin with God Himself because salvation is of the Lord.
It is absolutely of the Lord. If you're saved, you've been
saved by the unmerited favor of God, by the grace of God. Amen. The Bible makes it so clear.
He who hath begun a good work in you, he who hath begun a good
work in you, he will complete that good work that he has begun
in you. He's the Alpha and Omega of salvation
and everything in between. He's the author and the finisher
of our faith. You see, Jonah got his theology
right in Whale's Belly University. Jonah was swallowed by a large
fish and there he got his doctrine. When God got through educating
him in Whale's Belly, he said, salvation is of the Lord. And it is indeed. The Apostle
Paul said to the Thessalonians, we are bound to give thanks to
God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath
from the beginning chosen you to salvation. Who is the primary
seeker? You've been chosen from the beginning
to salvation. And well now pastor, I don't
believe that. Then you don't believe the word of God. I mean,
we have absolutely no choice with regard to salvation in this. Now hear me well, because some
of you are already on the free will kick. Remember this, God
makes it very plain in scripture that he's the author, that he
chose you. You didn't get saved by lotto
luck. You got saved by the amazing
grace of God. You say, well, pastor, that verse
in Thessalonians, that's only one passage. Well, let me give
you another one. Ephesians 1.4, according as he has chosen us
in him before the foundation of the world. Isn't that something? Now it sounds like to me that
God is the primary seeker. John said, here in his love,
not, you know, that used to be a very popular thing. People
used to go, not. Well, that started with John. Here in his love, not that we
love God, but that he first loved us. Jeremiah, you're such a coward. I want to give you something
to give you a backbone, Jeremiah. Before I formed you in your mother's
belly, that was a long time ago. Before I formed you in your mother's
belly, I loved you and Ordained or predestined you. Oh, he said the curse word in
church predestination No, my friend. I'm gonna tell you this
if you know the Lord today God did it God did it Make sure your testimony is not
a bragamony about something you've done give him all the glory and
the praise and the honor so What would you do with Isaiah 65 one? I am found of them that sought
me not. Well, you know, I can remember
as a young preacher in Isaiah 65 one, I read that passage and
I said, that makes absolutely no sense. I am found of those
that didn't seek me. One thing for all of us to remember
here is that God is not lost. You and I are lost. I found the
Lord. He wasn't lost. He's the primary
seeker. It is true. You can say, I found
the Lord because it, when you're drawn to the Lord and you discover
the glories of Christ and trust him alone, you can say that,
but don't make that the primary thing. Make the primary thing.
He came to me. He came to me when I would not
come to him. He came to me. He found me. Romans 3 11 says there's none
that seeketh after God. You're going to have to fight
with Scriptures. You know, God has to conquer you and I. He
really does. And when he does, we give him
all the glory. Psalm 14 said, the Lord looked
down from heaven. Now that's an awesome thing.
The Lord looked down from heaven through history and he was looking
to find a good man. And here's what the scripture
says, to see if there were any that did understand and seek
God. And here's the conclusion. They
are all turned aside. They are all together become
filthy. There is none that doeth good. No, not one. Isn't that
something? He couldn't find one person that
was seeking him. Either God's lying or you're
lying. You know, dead men don't seek
the Lord. Dead men have to be sought, they
have to be found and resurrected. They have to be given life. The
only problem with what many churches preach about God knocking on
the heart's door and is begging you to get out of bed and let
him in, The problem is not with God. The problem is on the inside,
there is a dead person who cannot see, who cannot walk, and who
doesn't give a hoot. God must knock the door down
and come in and cause you to be willing in the day of his
power. Oh, you say, pastor, I wanted to be saved. I'll tell you back
when I was, you know, that's because God had already found
you and done something on your insides. Amen. He had quickened you and given
you life. That's what Ephesians 2 says. And you hath he made alive who
were dead. And when we hear the word, so-and-so
is dead, Billy Graham is dead, we know Billy Graham is no longer
alive. I have had people actually ask
me, well, what does dead mean? It means dead. If you hear that
Pastor Clark got on the M59, had a car wreck and wrecked his
new car and was killed, you can just expect I won't be here next
Sunday. You won't say, I wonder if he'll
be at church. He's dead. Who is the primary seeker? Well,
it's not us. That's what I'm saying. It's
not us. Say, well, you ought to have
a seeker church. What are they seeking for? Who are the seekers? Only God makes seekers. And I
guarantee you, if God has made you a seeker, you in coming here
have become a founder. because this place points to
Jesus Christ who is the end of the road. I'll tell you, the primary seeker
couldn't be the devil. And I've heard people say that.
You know, there was three voting parties. God had a vote. The
devil had a vote, and I have a vote. And get this, I've heard
preachers say this, God voted for me, the devil voted against
me, and I cast the deciding vote. Well, hoopty-doo for you. That
means you get the glory. You were the end decider. That's not the message of this
Bible. The message of this Bible is that Jesus Christ came to
seek and to save. My message is that whatever Christ
came to do, He did it, He accomplished it. I mean, it's got to mean
something when from Calvary, He said, it's finished, it's
accomplished, it's done. The price has been paid. Say, well, pastor, that's, yes,
I believe that, that Christ redeemed everybody. Really? Now you're going to get disturbed
here a little bit this morning. Well, if he paid the price for
everybody's sins, then we all got to go to heaven. I mean,
if the debt is paid, there is no hell for me, right? I'm counting
on this, that Jesus Christ paid for my past, present, and future
sins. They're gone, gone, gone. Yes,
my sins are gone, buried in the deepest sea. That's good enough
for me. I shall live eternally. Praise God, my sins are gone. That's what we used to sing at
church, in children's church. Here's what Isaiah 62, 11 says,
and they shall call them the holy people, the redeemed of
the Lord, and thou shalt be called sought out. Kurt, your name is
sought out. Space, your name is sought out.
All of you former drug addicts, your name is sought out who've
come to know Christ. You've been sought out. You did
not save yourself. He saw you in the heroin house.
He saw you in the crack house. One of the reasons most of you
aren't dead in this congregation is because God had a hedge of
protection around you. He saw you down in the hood and
the rest of us self-righteous Pharisees who were in church,
many of us had to be saved out of church. He found many of you
in the bar. He found me in church. It's a
great thing when God saves us from religion. The Old Testament talks about
a double darkness, the natural darkness of our own depravity
and then the darkness of religion. People say to me all the time,
I'm Catholic. I'll tell you, I'll be a Catholic till I die.
From the womb to the tomb. Yes, and you will go to hell
if you trust in the Catholic church, Baptist church, Lutheran
church, or any other church. Salvation's not in a church,
salvation's in a person, and God brings you and draws you
to the person of Jesus Christ alone. So when people ask your name,
go, I'm sought out, sought out. It's a good witnessing tool.
Well, what does that mean? That means God sought me out.
I was down in Lodibar. I was lame on both my feet. I'd
been messed up in the fall. I had a sinful nature. I was
a dead dog like Mephibosheth besides the road. And the king
said, fetch him out of the hood. Fetch him out of Lodibar. God
has fetched you out. You have nothing to boast in
yourself. There were ninety and nine safe
in the fold. There was one sheep lost, one
lost sheep. Jesus said, all the Father giveth
me shall come to me. Him that cometh to me, I will
in no wise cast out. There was a lost sheep. He left
the ninety and nine. Remember the story in the gospel?
He left the ninety and nine. He followed that crazy insane
lost sheep. You know, you can drop a dog
off five miles from home and he'll beat you back to the house.
But a sheep is as dumb as an ox. If a sheep ever gets lost,
it cannot find its way back. Wandering sheep. And I think
that's why the Lord in scriptures talked about sheep. We weren't
a dumb goat, those of us that have come to Christ. We were
sheep, but we were stupid sheep. We were sheep that found ourselves
using drugs, using heroin, attempting to get high, seeking money after
a claim of this world. Crazy folks. This is the most
unusual church I believe in the state of Michigan. Just look
at us. We have former preachers here. We have Some have been deacons
who attend here. And then we had the former prostitute
here. And, you know, the crack addict
here. And all of us are crazy. Except this, God has drawn us
to himself and made us saints. No man can come to me, Jesus
said, except the Father in heaven draw him. Have you been drawn? I'll tell
you this, the testimony of every drawn person in here is that.
I was lost, I was undone. Why, I can remember times when
I sat in the back of the church over at Grace Gospel and had
my phone on, sending messages to other people. I said that
because I know you have your phone back there. I could care less what Pastor
Clark was saying. You know, it was so wonderful.
I went bird hunting, pheasant hunting yesterday. There were
at least 600 pheasants. Boy, I had a great time today.
My shoulder's black and blue, but I had a great time. And we got the car mud. We had Shannon's Jeep. And we
went through such mud holes. And Dave said, well, let's stop. We were up north a little ways.
Dave, my son-in-law, said, let's stop and wash it. And I said,
OK. So we pulled into this car wash,
went around, and came through the car wash. And there's this
guy that's drying the car off. Said, knocked on my window. Pastor
Clark, I know that's you in there. Roll down your window. And he
just threw his arms around me and my son-in-law's going. What's the chances of that happened?
One of the guys that had been saved here years ago, I didn't
even hardly recognize him. You know what a joy that was
for me? What a joy that was. You see, God in sovereign grace
gives life to the dead. He came to where you are. And
unbeknownst to you, strange things began to happen deep inside of
you. Crack can't make you happy. Heroin
can't make you happy. Whoring around can't make you
happy. Money can't make you happy. Church can't make you happy. And then God begins to do a work. And actually what happens, you
were converted long before you came to Christ. Inside, God quickened
you. Can you, you were kind of like
Lazarus. Remember when Jesus went out to where Lazarus was
buried, Lazarus, come forth. It's a good thing he said Lazarus,
if he hadn't, everybody in that cemetery would have got up. That's
the power of Jesus. But the Bible says, Lazarus came
out of that grave bound from the top of his head to the bottom
of his feet. And Jesus said, loose him and
let him go. You and I were converted. We didn't understand it all.
We're not theologians, thank God. Theologians don't make good
church members, it's people who know Christ. Anyway, Lazarus
came out of that tomb bound and Jesus said, loose him. And you
know what I do every service here? I'm trying to loose you.
You know how many people in here have had abortions? You know
how many people have been drunk? You know how many people in here
have committed fornication, adultery, cheated, lied, stolen? Just a
whole bunch of us. I'm here to comfort you. Christ
came. He's the balm of Gilead. He's
the healing power. Loose him and let him go. You
know how many I sat and looked at this morning and you, what
a beautiful name it is. So many hands going up like this.
And I think to myself, you once were lost, but you've been found.
Amen. And that's what you think to
yourself. I am found of those who sought
me not. What a miracle it is. And so
here's what happens in the preaching of the gospel. You know, Jesus
is not just sitting in heaven waiting on you. He's walking the aisles of this
building today. Say, I don't get that. Well,
you would if he ever begins to touch base with you. And suddenly,
maybe for the first time in your life, The thought hit you. I am a sinner. I'm going to face God. I'm without
God. I'm without Christ. If there's
a hell, I'm going. You begin to think that way.
When you begin to think that way, something has already happened.
You don't know it. You say, I don't believe that
at all, Pastor. Well, let me ask you this. It's called the
new birth. Let me ask you this. How many of you in here remember
the exact moment you stuck your head out of your mother's womb?
You remember when you were born, right? You said, well, I have
no recollection. You know, I was raised in the
Baptist church, so I've heard all my life. You better know
the time and place. Let me tell you this, I can't
remember my first birth and I don't believe I can remember my second
birth. All I know is this, I know it
happened and I came running to Jesus Christ. I did experience
that. Now when he borns you again,
you're coming to the Lord Jesus. And then what ought to happen
is this, all the days of your life, You ought to be thinking
this. I once was so lost. I once was
so lost and he came and found me. Because if you don't know
that, your flesh is going to act out. Your flesh is a wild
ass's coat that cannot be tamed. In my flesh dwells no good thing.
Remember this, your flesh doesn't get any better. It gets worse. I thought by the time I was 73,
I'd be near perfect. My flesh doesn't get any better,
but in my spirit, I have grown in grace. I know it's marvelous
grace. It's wonderful grace. It's sovereign
grace. It's where sin did abound, grace
did much more about. Otherwise, I wouldn't make it,
folks, because I have to live with myself and I can't help
you unless I acknowledge that. What a bunch of hypocrites we
have produced in the church. They have to be. You can't tell
somebody about many of your sins because they will judge you.
Because in that particular environment, you have to be sanctified. God is sanctifying me. In fact,
the truth is my new nature doesn't sin. But I'll tell you, that
old flesh, it does enough for me and you. In my flesh dwells
no good thing. Let me just say this to you.
All you have to do this morning to know that what I'm saying
is true, if you're sitting here and you are converted, is to
just think about this week. Count your many sins, name them
one by one, and it will surprise you what you've done. In my flesh dwells no good thing,
but I have a greater savior than I am a sinner. He's a great savior. Those sheep
that are mine, I'm not going to lose any of them. He's the
one that found us. He's the one that keeps us. He's
the one that works in us. Some of you carry so much guilt
every day. You have suitcases full of stuff
and you are so weighted down. Let them go. Turn loose of them. Jesus said, come unto me, all
ye that labor and are heavy laden, I'll rest you. You can't sleep
at night because of something you did 12 years ago. You've
been clean five days and you can't sleep because of something
you did five days ago. lay it down at Jesus' feet, surrender,
confess your sins, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou
shalt be saved. That's what the scripture says.
All right. Now, I want to ask you this.
Did you get set free today? I know he spoke to somebody today.
And I know a whole lot of you in here are going like, I like
what that preacher said today. That it was not me who found
him, he found me. Yes, we're a seeker church. Are
you seeking life? It's in Jesus Christ. Come to
him just as you are.