Those Who Seek the Lord

Q: What does the Bible say about seeking the Lord?

The Bible teaches that we should seek the Lord with all our heart to truly find Him (Jeremiah 29:13). The Scriptures emphasize the importance of seeking the Lord sincerely and with all of one's heart. In Jeremiah 29:13, it is stated, 'You shall seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart.' This highlights that true seeking involves a genuine desire to know God, which goes beyond mere religious practice. The pursuit of God requires recognizing our natural inability to know Him and an earnest longing to establish a relationship with Him through Christ.

Q: How do we know that seeking the Lord is true?

Seeking the Lord is characterized by genuine repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, attesting to the truth of this pursuit (Acts 20:28). The authenticity of seeking the Lord is evidenced by a heart that is genuinely repentant and has faith in Jesus Christ. Acts 20:28 mentions that Paul declared the necessity of 'repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ' as God's terms for receiving sinners. This means that true seekers recognize their need for divine grace and turn to Christ as their sole source of salvation. The desire to know the living God correctly frames one's spiritual journey in the assurance of His promises of finding Him when sought earnestly.

Q: Why is seeking God important for Christians?

Seeking God is vital for Christians as it fosters a genuine relationship with Him and leads to spiritual freedom (John 8:36). For Christians, seeking God is not merely an act of devotion; it is foundational for cultivating a life in communion with the Creator. Seeking the Lord leads to spiritual freedom and fulfillment that cannot be found elsewhere. As John 8:36 tells us, 'If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed,' emphasizing that true freedom is found in a passionate pursuit of Christ. Furthermore, seeking God enables believers to experience His grace and favor in their lives, and empowers them to live according to His will, drawing them ever closer to the divine purpose for which they were created.

Q: What does it mean to seek the Lord earnestly?

To seek the Lord earnestly means to pursue Him with sincere desire, recognizing one's need for Him and coming to Him on His terms. Seeking the Lord earnestly involves an acknowledgment of one's spiritual state—the realization that by nature, we do not know God or have Him. It includes a sincere desire to establish a relationship with the living God, which can only be achieved through repentance and faith. This seeking must be done not on our terms, but according to God's terms, which include turning away from sin and wholly relying on Christ for salvation. The desire to walk in fellowship with Him indicates a heart that truly longs for His presence and grace in every aspect of life.

Q: How can Christians seek the Lord in their daily lives?

Christians can seek the Lord daily by praying, studying His Word, and striving for a relationship with Him (1 Chronicles 16:11). Christians are called to seek the Lord in their daily lives through consistent prayer, studying the Scriptures, and engaging in fellowship with other believers. Regular prayer is an opportunity to communicate with God, expressing both worship and needs. The Word of God is where we can discover His character and will for our lives, providing direction and encouragement. As expressed in 1 Chronicles 16:11, 'Seek the Lord and His strength; seek His presence continually,' believers are encouraged to pursue a relationship with God that permeates every part of their lives, leading to deeper intimacy and understanding of His grace and truth.

Last week I brought you a message
from 1 Peter chapter 4, in which the Apostle said, the end of
all things is at hand. Therefore, be serious, be sober,
and call on God. Call on God. I'm following that
message with the one today, entitled, Those Who Seek the Lord. Those
Who Seek the Lord. Those Who Do. Call on God. Those who do seriously, call
on God. And I want you to turn with me
to Jeremiah 29, verse 13. Jeremiah 29, verse 13. If you're
not following in the Bible, just jot the verses down and read
them later. Jeremiah says this. He's quoting
our Lord. He said, and you shall seek me
and find me. You shall seek me and find me
when you search for me or call upon me with all your heart. And I'll be found of you, saith
the Lord, and I'll turn away your captivity. You shall seek me and find me
when you search for me with all your heart. And I'll be found
of you, saith the Lord, I'll be found of you, and I'll turn
away your captivity. I know this is true. I ask it
in the form of a question, but the answer is yes, and you know
it's yes. Is it not true, is this not true, that what people
really, really want, they seek? Now is that not true? You know
it's true. If a person wants wealth, he seeks it. If a person
wants an education, why, he'll leave no stone unturned to go
to school. If a person wants a political
office, he'll seek it, he'll campaign, he'll put out all kind
of cards and advertisements. He seeks it diligently. He'll
give time, study, effort to attain. What a man wants, he seeks. If a person wants health, some
of you are on a health kick. You diet, you go to the doctor,
you read books, you take exercises. Why are you doing all that? Well,
you want good health and you're giving plenty of time to getting
it. If a person wants love and companionship
of another, he'll woo that person, he'll win that person's favor,
he'll do all within his power to gain the affection of that
person, because that's who he wants. He seeks it. What we really,
really want in this world, we go after it. And we go after
it with all our hearts, and with all our minds, and with all our
strength. Isn't that true? You know it's true, and I do
too. Well, I'm saying this. If a person really desires to
know the living God, if you really do, if you're serious about this
thing, in knowing the living God in true faith, if you're
really serious, you want to enjoy his presence, you want the riches
of his grace, you want his favor, Mary found favor with the Lord,
Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord, you want his favor,
you want his forgiveness, you want his mercy, do you really? Well, I'm saying if you do, you'll
seek it. You'll seek the Lord, just as you seek these other
things. You'll seek the Lord. The woman with the issue of blood
did. You know, she was dying. She'd had this disease 12 years.
She'd been hemorrhaging for 12 years. And she heard about Christ. Now, you talk about somebody
wanting something. This woman wanted His power. She wanted His grace. She wanted
to be healed. And she literally crawled on
her hands and knees. She said, if I can but touch
the hem of his garment, I'll be made whole. And she was made
whole. She sought the Lord. Blind Bartimaeus,
by the wayside, crying out, Jesus, thy son of David, have mercy
on me. This man was blind. Sitting in
poverty and dirt and filth and darkness. Sitting there hopeless,
helpless, sightless. And right out there was one who
could make him see, make him whole. You think he wanted him? You think he really wanted him?
The Ethiopian unit journeyed all the way from Ethiopia to
Jerusalem in a carriage. I don't know how far it was,
but I do know it was a long ways. Because he wanted to know God.
He read the scriptures, he wanted to know God. And he was seeking
the true and living God. And God sent him a preacher.
Cornelius, Lydia, the woman who washed his feet, the thief on
the cross. I could go on and on and on, but these people were
seeking the Lord. They were seriously seeking the
Lord. They wanted to know God. And
that's what our Lord's saying, if you seek me, you'll find me. When you search for me with all
your heart, and I'll be found of you. And when you seek me
with all your heart, I'll turn away your captivity. The woman
with the issue, Heal, like that. Bartimaeus, like that. All these people, they truly
sought the Lord. Our Master said, Seek ye first,
that's the way, with all your heart, first the Kingdom of God
and His righteousness. All these things will be added
to you. Well, I have two questions. The body of this message contains
two questions. I'm going to ask and answer two
questions. And I think they're a good question. I think they're
worthy of note. The first question is this. What
is it to seek the Lord? What is it to seek the Lord?
And secondly, how do we seek the Lord? Now see if I can get,
I can deal with both of those questions. What is it to seek
the Lord? And then how do true seekers
seek the Lord? Well, what is it to seek the
Lord? First of all, it's to discover that by birth, nature, and human
wisdom, I do not know God. In other words, when the Scripture
says, seek the Lord, what prompts a man to seek the Lord is that
he knows he doesn't have the Lord. Oh, he may have religion,
but he doesn't have a knowledge of the true God. I had religion
once, but I did not know God. I'd gone to preacher school.
I was raised in a church. I'd even pastored a church for
a short time, but I didn't know the true and living God. Like
Saul of Tarsus, you say, how could a man be deeply religious
and not know God? Saul of Tarsus didn't know God.
He didn't know Christ. Nicodemus didn't know God. Cornelius
didn't know God. You see, these were religious,
devout men, but they didn't know God. So, first of all, to seek
the Lord is to discover that by nature, I do not have God.
By birth, I do not have God. I do not know God. A man doesn't
seek what he already has. The Scripture says your sins
have separated you and your God. The Scripture says God dwells
in a light to which no man can approach. So, the first thing
about seeking the Lord is to discover that I do not have him,
I do not know him. I may have religion, I may have
morality, I may have the form and tradition and ceremony and
all the custom, but I do not have the living God. All right,
secondly, what is it to seek the Lord? It is secondly, it
is secondly to really desire to know him. An unwillingness
to be satisfied with a substitute or anything else other than the
living God. I must have the living God. I
can be satisfied with nothing short of Him. Fellowship with
Him. This is what Paul was saying
in Philippians 3. Oh, that I may win Christ and
be found in Him. Oh, that I may know Him and the
power of His resurrection. That's what I'm talking about.
It's not the benefits, it's the benefactor that we're seeking.
It's not the gifts. We're not satisfied with the
gift, we want the giver. If we have the giver, we'll have
the gifts. It's not the kingdom. I'm not seeking the kingdom,
I'm seeking the King. Our Lord said, you shall seek
me and find me when you search for me. That's what I'm talking
about. David said, as a hungry, thirsty
deer panteth for the water brooks. So panteth my soul for the living
God. The living God. And our Lord
said in John 17, verse 3, This is eternal life, that they might
know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast
sent. You see, my friends, salvation
is not in the right doctrine. That's not salvation. That's
not peace. That's not rest. It's not in the right morality.
It's not in the right ceremony, it's not in the right church.
Salvation is in a right relationship with the living God through Christ
Jesus. You see what I'm saying? Christ
in you, that's the hope of glory. Paul said, when it pleased God
who separated me from my mother's womb to reveal His Son in me,
in me. The living God, the Son of God,
the Redeemer, is not a myth, an historical character, someone
out of a book, or even a far-off, mysterious, unknown quantity. He's my Lord. You see what I'm
saying? What is it to seek the Lord?
It's to discover that religion is not knowing the Lord. Morality
is not knowing the Lord. The right church is not knowing
God. Having a theological system is not knowing God. It's to realize
that by nature I don't have God. I don't know God. And it's to
really desire to know Him. Really, really desire to know
Him. To know Him. All right, thirdly,
what is it to seek the Lord? It's to be willing. It's to be
willing to seek Him. and be accepted of him and fellowship
with him on his terms. Are you listening? On his terms.
You see, I can invent a God and I can lay down the terms of reconciliation. I can invent a savior. I can invent a benefactor or
a mediator and we can lay down. I can lay down through emotionalism
sentiment the terms of fellowship. My God does this and my God does
that. But the living God, the almighty
eternal living God, the one who dwells in a light to which no
man can approach, the holy God separate from sinners, that holy
God owes us nothing. He owes us nothing. He owes us
judgment and wrath for our sins. But God's not obligated to us.
We are the sinners. We are the ones that have offended
Him. We're the ones that are cast out. And we've got to be
willing to come to Him on His terms, and be accepted on His
terms, and fellowship with Him on His terms. You see what I'm
saying? That He may be just and justifier. Now if I come to God, If I want
to know the living God, and if I want to know a false God, I
can invent one, or find one somebody else has already invented and
try to improve on him, or whatever. But if I'm going as a sinner
to come to the living God, really want to know Him, really desire
to know Him, then I've got to find out from the Word of God
His terms, the terms on which He'll accept a sinner, the terms
on which He'll receive a sinner, the terms on which He'll embrace
a sinner. The terms on which he will open
the kingdom of God to a sinner, and he's laid down these terms
in Acts 20, verse 28. Paul declared them. He said,
I have declared unto you, from house to house, two things. Repentance
toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. Those
are God's terms. Repentance toward God, and faith
toward Jesus Christ. What is repentance? Has to do
with the heart. Has to do with attitude. Has
to do with the thoughts. God resisteth the proud. He gives
grace to the humble. I face this in repentance. I'm
a sinner. All that's sinned and comes short
of God's glory. I have no righteousness or goodness
in this flesh. God is holy and just to condemn
me. If thou, Lord, shouldst mark
iniquity, who shall stand? But there's forgiveness with
thee. So in my hands no price I bring. I come looking to Christ. I come grieving over my sins,
mourning over my sins, weeping over my sins, confessing my sins. I come empty-handed. I come with
a real sorrow for sin. And I come seeking mercy, repenting
of my evil thoughts against God, willing to be saved on God's
terms. Secondly, faith in Jesus Christ. What is that? It has
to do with seeing in Him, in Christ, all that God is, All
that God requires and all that redemption demands. It's seeing
in Christ. It's seeing in me nothing but
sin. Unworthiness. It's seeing in Christ all that
I need. In the fullness of time, God sent forth his Son, made
of a woman, made under the law to redeem them that were under
the law. Christ suffered for sin, the just for the unjust,
that he might bring us to God. God set him forth to be a propitiation
through faith in his blood. In him dwelleth all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily and you're complete in him. He of God is
made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.
Those are God's terms. Repentance toward God and faith
in Jesus Christ. Are you willing to come on those
terms? And I'll tell you this, repentance and faith leaves all
my religious tradition at the door. Repentance and faith leaves
all my self-righteous rags at the door Repentance and faith
leaves all my thoughts and ways at the door and I come to God
only in Christ on his terms The songwriter put it this way. I'll
go to Jesus though my sin Hath like a mountain rose. I know
his courts. I'll enter in whatever may oppose
I and prostrate I'll lie before his throne, and there my sin
confess. I'll tell him I'm a wretch undone
without his sovereign grace. I can but perish if I go, but
I'm resolved to try. For if I stay away, I know I
shall forever die." That's seeking the Lord. What is to seek the
Lord? Is to realize by nature, birth, whatever, tradition, custom,
religion. I don't have it. I don't know
it. It's to really want to know the
living God. And it's willingness, a willingness,
to come to God strictly on His terms, laid down in His Word,
through the merits of Christ, through the righteousness of
Christ, through the blood sacrifice of Christ, repenting of sin,
repenting of my thoughts even, Looking to Christ. All right
fourthly. What is it? What is it to seek the Lord?
Now listen to me it is to be willing now. This is this is
This is tough a lot of people It is to be willing to part with
everything and everybody That stands between me and a full
fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ Now like I said I said
a moment ago, if a person really wants something, he seeks it.
There's people who've given up home and country to seek a fortune
in another land. There are people who've burned
the midnight oil for 12 years to be a doctor. There are men
and women who have done all these things, they want wealth, they
want health, they want prosperity, they want degrees, they want
these, and they give themselves, and they part company with everything,
they give up sports, they give up entertainment, they give up
food, they give up everything to attain this goal. I must have
this thing I want. Well, our Lord said, you seek
me and find me when you search for me with all your heart. How
badly do you want Christ? How badly do you want eternal
life? How badly Do you want to know the living God? Well, the
preacher tells you just walk down, shake my hand, and I'll
see you in the glory land. There's more to it than that.
Listen to Christ. If any man will come after me,
let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. He
that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of
me. He that putteth his hand to the plow and looks back is
not fit for the kingdom of God. That's what he said. He that
saveth his life shall lose it. The rich young ruler stood before
him. He loved his money. He loved his taluses. He loved
his wealth. He said, what must I do to inherit
eternal life? Christ said, you go sell. Get
rid of these things and give them to the poor and you come
follow me. And he went away sorrowful. He
had many riches. If any man draw back, my soul
has no pleasure in it. What I'm saying And I just know
that it's so. What I'm saying is to seek the
Lord, to really truly with your heart seek the living God and
eternal life is to be willing to part with all that stands
between you and Him and a full relationship with Him. You see,
He'll be Lord of all or He's not going to be Lord at all.
That's just so. And to know Him is not just to
have religion on the side, it's to walk with God. Everybody's
got religion on the side. Everybody's got a religion. Everybody
I run into, they're something. They profess something. They've
got a sideline religion. They go on Easter or Christmas
or on Sunday once in a while, but Abraham believed God. He believed God, and he left his
home. Abraham believed God and he sojourned
in the wilderness living in tents with Isaac and Jacob looking
for a city. Abraham believed God and withheld
not his only son. Abraham believed God and sent
Ishmael and Hagar out into the wilderness. Abraham believed
God and gave Lot the choice land. Abraham believed God and died
in faith. He believed that God was able
to do all that he promised, and it was imputed to him for righteousness. And that wasn't written for his
sake alone. It was written for us also, to whom it shall be
imputed if we can believe on him who raised up Jesus Christ
from the dead. That's just so. That's just so. I think anybody who knows anything
about God's Word and about the very character of the living
God knows what I'm saying is so. A God that'll play second
fiddle to anybody is no God. A God that'll take your 10% and
your leavings is no God at all. A God that will suffer men and
women to hang on to Him with one finger while they give themselves
totally to the world is no God at all. No God at all. You can't serve two masters.
A man can't have two lords. He'll either love the one and
cling to the one and hate the other, or he'll despise one and
cling to the other. There's no way. And what I'm
telling you is the truth. What is it to seek the Lord?
It's to discover that by nature, by religion, by tradition, by
the ways of the world, I don't know the living God. I don't
know the true Jesus. Men and women do not know the
Christ of the Bible. Do not know Him. And it's the
desire to know Him, the living God. It's the desire to know
Him. Whatever the cost, it's the desire to know Him. To know
Him. And it's to be willing, to be
accepting on His terms. Somebody says, well, I'll trust
the Lord, but I'm not going to do thus and so. Who are you talking
to? Who are you bargaining with?
You don't lay down the terms of acceptance. He does. We don't
accept Him. He accepts us in the Beloved.
He made us accepted in the Beloved. We'll be saved on God's terms.
And God's terms are repentance. True, genuine repentance. Repentance. Except you repent,
you'll perish. And faith in Jesus Christ. Faith in Jesus Christ. And it's
to be willing to part with everything and anything and everybody and
anybody that stands between you and a full fellowship with the
Son of God, Jesus Christ. That's just so. You're not going
to take Jesus and put him up on the shelf with all your other
gods. You're not going to take Jesus and put him up on the shelf
and give him his time and his talent and his tithe and this
silly stuff, you know, and give a little bit of time to him once
in a while. He's going to be Lord. He's going to reign over
your home and your life and your job and everything you've got.
He's the Lord. Well, I'm not willing to do that.
Then you're not seeking the Lord. You'll seek me and find me when
you search for me with all your heart. All of it. And I'll be
found of you. And I'll turn away your captivity.
You don't know what real freedom is till you're free to serve
Christ. A man doesn't know what freedom
is till he's a bondservant of Jesus Christ. If the Son sets
you free, you'll be free indeed. If you know the truth, the truth
will set you free. Well, how do men seek the Lord?
Well, they seek Him. That's what I've been saying.
Secondly, they seek Him sincerely with the heart. It's a heart
matter. It's a heart matter. Thirdly, they seek Him continually.
That's what the writer of 1 Chronicles dealt with. He says those who
seek the Lord seek Him continually, continually, continually. A friend
of mine is a pastor in Africa, preaches, missionary in Africa,
Ivory Coast. A man came to see him on Tuesday,
wanted to talk to him about the gospel, and he was out of the
country. And that man stayed there, sitting
on his doorstep every day, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday,
and Saturday, when my friend finally drove up. And there he
sat, waiting, waiting, waiting. That's just an example of a serious
person. I tell you, if someone came by
to see us and we weren't there five minutes, they'd be gone.
Well, I didn't want to see him anyway. They seek him continually. You can't hurt their feelings
either. And then they seek Him in His Word. That's where you
find Him, in His Word. It's not every opinion that's
flying around from everybody in there. Every mother's son
is an expert on the Bible. Did you know that? And you can
get 10,000 opinions out of every 10,000 people. But you go to
the Word. That's where you seek the Lord.
I'll tell you another thing. They seek Him while He may be
found. Tomorrow is a fatal Fatal excuse. That's what the Roman magistrate,
our lawyer, Paul was preaching to. He said, you bother me. He said, when I have a more convenient
season, I'll send for you tomorrow. Boast not thyself of tomorrow.
And I'll tell you this, those who seek Him, seek Him with a
single purpose. One thing. One thing, have I
desire to the Lord, and that will I seek after, that I may
dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.

Those Who Seek the Lord

What does the Bible say about seeking the Lord?

How do we know that seeking the Lord is true?

Why is seeking God important for Christians?

What does it mean to seek the Lord earnestly?

How can Christians seek the Lord in their daily lives?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

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Those Who Seek the Lord

What does the Bible say about seeking the Lord?

How do we know that seeking the Lord is true?

Why is seeking God important for Christians?

What does it mean to seek the Lord earnestly?

How can Christians seek the Lord in their daily lives?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

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