“Finding God”
Jeremiah 29:11-13
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”
It is a wonderful thing to experience the Love of God. To realize that God loved you so much that He gave His only Son for you; (John 3:16) To realize that God loves you so much that He desires an eternal relationship with you; To understand that God is working in our lives right now and making plans to bless us for eternity. He has worked in our past; He is working in the present; and He is working in our future right now! How awesome is that! Jesus said,
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” John 14:1-3
Is that not a wonderful thing to know? It is so wonderful that every Christian has the mandate to share it with others. The founder of the Nazarene Church, Phineas Bresee, said, “We are obligated to share the Gospel in the same measure as we have received it.”
Jesus said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20
We have received a wonderful invitation to become members of God’s families, adopted through the blood of Jesus. What a wonderful thing to know a little bit of our future destiny – eternal life and God preparing a place for us. But with great blessings come great responsibility. And we do have a responsibility to share the blessing with others. Every day we ought to be letting our light shine. (At Day’s End)
If we have believed the Gospel and put our trust in our Savior Jesus Christ, then every day that Gospel – that Belief – will rub off on others. It changes our lives. From inward to outward; from selfishness to self-sacrificing; from hedonistic and narcissistic to putting others first – Jesus changes us to become a blessing and a sweet fragrance to others.
Another way that our faith will change us; another way our love will change us, is in our passions. We used to love us first. We used to put ourselves first. We were passionate in getting the most pleasure, fun, excitement, etc. out of life. It was all about us. We were the ‘love of our lives’. Now Jesus becomes our passion. We surrender our will to His. We surrender our desires to His. We surrender our place to His. We seek not to be served – but to serve.
Our Scripture says, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:13) Jesus said,
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 6:33
“Jesus said, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’” Matthew 22:37
Most Christians want just enough religion to make it to heaven. They don’t want to give up ALL their time; not ALL their money; not ALL their will; not ALL their desires. God wants it all! When your will comes in conflict with His – YOU are to surrender willingly. He wants you to pursue Him above all else. He wants to be what you love most. He wants you to make him what you are most passionate about.
To do that is not easy. To make God first you have to die – die to self.
Paul said,
“Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.”
1 Corinthians 9:25-27
Notice two things in this verse. Two things stand out to me. First, it is not easy to walk the walk. It takes effort. It take discipline. It takes sacrifice. It takes self-control. Secondly, you can be disqualified for the prize. If you give no effort; no discipline; no sacrifice – if you don’t control yourself you can be disqualified.
This is the Word of the Lord. The world and the worldly Church will tell you that “God loves you. Jesus paid it all. You won’t backslide. You won’t lose you salvation. Half-hearted salvation is still salvation.” God says,
“The soul that sins will die!” “when a righteous person turns from their righteousness and does evil, and I put a stumbling block before them, they will die. Since you did not warn them, they will die for their sin. The righteous things that person did will not be remembered…” Ez 3:20
“So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” Revelation 3:16
We are to work our salvation out with ‘fear and trembling’. We don’t need to be afraid – but we need a healthy respect. We must not neglect so great a salvation. And it IS impossible with without the Lord’s help – but we need to put forth our best effort. The Scripture says,
“For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.
Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” 2 Peter 1:5-11
We need to make EVERY EFFORT. We need to control our bodies. We need to discipline ourselves. How are you at doing that?
When I was a new Christian a book that really helped me was “The Disciplined Life” by Richard Taylor. I knew I was so undisciplined. I was so lazy and self-centered. I found I needed to control my life. I needed to control my body and flesh. I needed to control my thoughts. (2 Corinthians 10:2; Romans 12:2)
When we were fallen we were slaves to sin. Our spirits were housed in carnal flesh and we were slaves to it. Our minds were enslaved to depraved and wicked thoughts. When we came to Christ we were forgiven – but the flesh remained and we were still slaves to it. Paul called that ‘carnal Christians’. Our sins were forgiven but we constantly and continually fell. We sinned and repented over and over. Spiritually we were up and down like a yoyo.
We needed something more. We needed to be free from sin. That is only possible through the power of the Holy Spirit. When we reached a place where died to self and allowed the Holy Spirit free and full rein (Acts 5:32) – our chains were broke. We were no longer slaves to sin. We didn’t HAVE to rebel against the Lord. We no longer were enslaved. With His power we could choose to walk in obedience and holiness.
Now, we are still housed in fallen, carnal flesh and we will still have temptations of the flesh. But we aren’t swept away by them. We are not overpowered by them. We can resist them. There is a way of escape from every single temptation. We will still have evil thoughts pop into our brains. We still have an external tempter – but we can control our thoughts and make them obedient to Christ. We don’t have to be ‘sinning Christians’ and we should not be.
The victorious walk calls for discipline and effort. Paul said that he beat his body. He controlled it. We need to do the same.
You would be wise to discipline yourself to get into the Word every single day. I don’t think it has to be a long, time consuming thing. But just a few minutes in the Scripture and calling on the Lord will strengthen you and enable you to face the day.
You would be wise to continually be working on memorizing Scripture and poems and writings that will encourage and strengthen you. When I first started my walk I started memorizing Scriptures like Philippians 4:13 and Romans 8:18. Then I continued to memorize the promises of God like Psalm 84:11 and 2 Corinthians 4:17; and 1 Peter 5:4. Psalm 23 is my go to Scripture when I get anxious or worried.
When God’s people pulled out of the world (Egypt) and began to follow Him He revealed His will for their lives. Ten important things - we call the ten commandment – but they are simply ten things that is God’s will for your life. They aren’t suggestions. They are instructions for those seeking God’s will. He gives them to protect us from the harmful consequences of sin. And the very first one says, “Don’t have any other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3). God requires first place in your life. IS He? Do you love Him more than anything else in life? And does your fruit back that up.
I am so afraid for our kids today. They are being pulled away from Jesus and the Church. I am afraid for Christians getting a watered down theology that allows them to live apathetic, complacent, self-centered lives. That is the norm in the Church today. Judgment begins at the House of God. We need to get on fire and engaged in the battle. If not – we are in terrible danger.
If you have discovered that you have slipped away from the cross; drifted from Jesus and cooled off in your zeal - would you pray a prayer like this;
Jesus, I confess. I have fallen from my first love. I have cooled off. My zeal has waned. Please forgive me. Rekindle that fire; ignite that passion; make me to hunger and thirst for more of you. It is only through your power and grace that will happen and as I make ‘every effort’ to pursue it. Give me the strength and the will to be on fire for you.
In Jesus’ Name,
