Title of the Sermon : SEEK THE LORD
INTRODUCTION :
What does it mean “to Seek the Lord”? To look for Him. To search for Him. To be in need of Him. It is to long for Him. To be wanting to spend time in His presence. To be ready to read God’s Word eagerly, knowing its importance. To happily commune with Him in Prayer. We will seek the Lord only when we know who God is. We will earnestly seek the Lord only when we put our hope and trust ONLY in Him.
We are going to see 9 verses from the Bible which talk about the SEEKING THE LORD. We are going to learn why, when, what and how we should SEEK GOD.
1). Seek GOD with a “loyal” HEART and with a “willing” MIND :
1 Chronicles 28:9
As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a loyal heart and with a willing mind; for the Lord searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will cast you of forever.
The first instruction which the father David gave to his son Solomon, was to know GOD. We should know the value and the importance and the urgency of knowing GOD. We should have the desire to know and understand HIM. Only when we know HIM, we will live our life in order to serve HIM. And we should not serve HIM with a wrong intention. We should serve the LORD whole-heartedly and with a loyal heart. We should serve HIM with a willing mind and not out of compulsion or just to please HIM or to look more pious. We can never cheat the Lord who is Almighty, All-powerful, All-knowing; He is Omnipotent, Omniscient and Omnipresent. We cannot treat God like the way we cheat man. We cannot pretend to live a life that is pleasing to Him. He is a God who searches all our hearts and understands all the motives of our thought.
To know God and to serve Him, we should seek Him. Only if we seek Him with a loyal heart and with a willing mind, we will find Him. But if we take our relationship with God lightly, then He will cast us of forever. And then when disaster strikes and then, when we go to Him, it will be too late. He is a loving God who is so patient but we should know who our God is. He is a righteous judge. That’s the reason, the father David says to his son Solomon, my son first you know God. Only when we read HIS WORD daily, we will know HIM more. Spend time in reading God’s Word and in Prayer and seek Him with a loyal heart and a willing mind.
2). Seek GOD’S KINGDOM & HIS RIGHTOEUSNESS :
Matthew 6:33
But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added to you.
When we should seek HIM … First, and not after, at the end when we have tried everything with our own strength, knowledge, influence and manpower. What we should seek … The Kingdom of GOD (we should be Kingdom-minded and NOT worldly) … and HIS righteousness (we should have right standing with GOD). Why we should seek God’s Kingdom and His righteousness … then all the things that we need when we live on this earth, will be given to you. The LORD knows our need … HE knows when to give, what and how much. HE knows everything that we need. Only one thing HE expects of us and that is to seek HIM and be KINGDOM-minded and to live a life that is holy and pleasing to HIM.
3). Seek GOD’S STRENGTH & FACE :
1 Chronicles 16:10,11
Let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the Lord. Seek the Lord and His strength. Seek His face evermore.
Our hearts rejoice and we will be joyful Christians if we seek HIM. Sadness will not be found in the soul of the one who seek the LORD.
We should seek the Lord’s Strength and not man’s. Many times, we rely in our own strength, the education that we possess, we put our trust in our Bank Account or in our Salary, or we put our trust in our family. Many times, we do not rely on God but on our own strength. But the Bible is reminding us that we cannot do anything on our own strength. We should seek and depend on God’s strength.
We should seek HIS face ALWAYS and not only at a particular moment when we are in trouble or when we need HIS favour and success. In times of need, we seek man’s favour and help. We will be tempted to think that this person or that person will help us but we get disappointed to know that he is not available nor capable of doing those things for us. The Bible teaches us that we need to seek God’s face all the time.
4). Seek GOD’S WORD :
Ezra 7:10
… Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the Law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel.
Preparation of the heart is important before seeking the LORD. GOD looks into our heart. HE knows our intention / motive. With the right motive, we should seek HIM. Not for our selfish motive, for our worldly pleasure, for our fame or position. With all our heart, mind, soul and strength, we should seek the LORD. To seek the LORD, we should come into HIS presence to read His Word and to commune with Him.
We should have the habit of having a Personal Devotion. We should read HIS Word not just to please HIM or out of compulsion. Reading GOD’s Word should be a time of joy, because we are going to listen and understand the life-giving words from HIS mouth. We should know the value of reading GOD’s Word. If we know the value, then we will find pleasure when it’s time to read and listen to GOD’s WORD.
It’s not enough if we just read GOD’s Word, we should do everything according to HIS Word. Our Lifestyle, our talk, our actions, our behaviour, our thinking, our walk, everything will change because GOD’s Word has power to change us completely. We should not be selfish just enjoying reading GOD’s for ourselves and for our own good and future but we should teach and share GOD’s Word to others … what we have learned and we should teach others to have a closer with the LORD. So that other believers and non-believers would also enjoy the relationship that we have with the LORD.
5). Seek GOD’S WISDOM & UNDERSTANDING :
Psalm 14:2
The Lord looks down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there are any who understand, who seek God.
Our LORD desires that we have a relationship with HIM. The LORD is looking down from heaven on us like the father of the Prodigal son. The children of men … means on everyone in this world … not only believers. The Good News is preached everywhere in these last days through Internet and other Media.
GOD is searching and wants to know the people who have understood HIS Amazing Love, the vastness of HIS Mercy and Grace, HIS Sacrifice for Mankind, HIS Pain bearing the CROSS, HIS Path climbing the Mount Calvary, HIS Forgiveness, the Power of HIS Precious Blood, HIS Gift of Salvation and the Hope of Eternal Life with HIM. If only we KNOW and UNDERSTAND HIS Love, HIS Mercy, HIS Grace, HIS Sacrifice, HIS Pain, HIS Path, HIS Forgiveness, HIS Blood and HIS Gift of Salvation that HE offers, we will seek HIM with all our heart, our mind, our soul and our strength. Will you be that one person who understands the value of having this wonderful relationship with HIM? Will you be that one person who seeks HIM every moment of your life?
6). Seek GOD’S SUPPLY & PROVISION :
Psalm 34:10
The young lions lack and suffer hunger; But those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.
Lion is the known as the king of the jungle. They can kill and eat anything they want in the forest. The young lions are stronger than the older one to catch the prey and nothing can escape from them because they are so strong.
GOD’s Word says that even the young lions may lack food and will go hungry without anything to eat. But the people who seek GOD will not lack any good thing. We need to understand what do we mean by good thing … both Spiritual and material things that will be good for us to fulfill GOD’s plan and purpose for our life. We should never imagine the good things for our own life but we should leave them into GOD’s hand because HE knows what is best for us, for our family and for our future.
7). Seek GOD’S THINGS :
Colossians 3:1,2,3
If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.
Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
As God’s children, we should always seek those things which are above. We should seek heavenly things or spiritual things from above where Christ is and we should not be seeking earthly things or carnal things of the world. In other words, we should set our mind on things above and not on things on the earth.
We should never compare our lives with others who do not have a relationship with Christ. We belong to Christ and not to the world. We should be Kingdom-minded and not carnal or worldly like people who do not know Christ. The Bible teaches on what we should think, on the things of God, heavenly or spiritual things. The Bible also teaches that we should not think on the things of the world. We should not be worldly like people who do not belong to Jesus. Because our lives should be different. We should know who we are in Christ Jesus. We do not belong to the world. But we have died to sin and the world and now our life is hidden with Christ. So, here we learn that we should seek the things which are above and not be worldly.
8). Seek GOD’S PRESENCE :
2 Chronicles 15:2
The Lord is with you while you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you;
But if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.
The LORD’s PRESENCE is for sure if we seek HIM. The LORD will make HIMSELF available for us if we seek HIM. We will find HIM if we seek HIM. Only when we have a closer walk with HIM, we will enjoy HIS friendship and can enjoy HIS Presence. But HE forsakes us if we forsake HIM. If we don’t seek HIM, we will miss the LORD’s Presence which is the most precious thing. If we don’t seek HIM, along with HIS Presence, we will also miss the LORD’s Blessing, Help, Protection, Favour, Prosperity, Peace, Promise, etc.
9). Seek GOD’S REWARD :
Hebrews 11:6
But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
When we SEEK the LORD DILIGENTLY, our FAITH and BELIEF in GOD increase. We should live a LIFE which PLEASES GOD. The Bible says that without Faith and Belief in God, it is impossible to please God.
In this verse, the Bible teaches how we should seek the Lord. We should seek Him diligently. The opposite of being diligent is to be lazy or being very casual and not serious. We should never take the relationship with God lightly. We should seek Him diligently. We should have a lot of interest in building our relationship with the Lord. We should give our utmost highest to the Lord. We should give first priority to the Lord. We must give so much of importance to seek God, to spend time in His presence, in reading His Word and praying to Him. And there’s Good News mentioned in this verse. It says that GOD REWARDS you because you seek Him diligently. He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
Conclusion :
Dear Friends, we have learned the IMPORTANCE of SEEKING GOD and WHAT, HOW, WHEN and WHY we should SEEK GOD. Let’s try to examine ourselves WHETHER we SEEK GOD in the way HE wants us to seek HIM. Can we start SEEKING HIM in a way that is pleasing to GOD?
If the LORD has spoken to you through this Sermon, please remember that HE is reminding you one more time of the IMPORTANCE of SEEKING HIM. Perhaps, we have been SEEKING HIM for so many years, but the LORD is expecting us to SEEK HIM more than ever before. I’m sure that the LORD has spoken to you as HE has spoken to me and reminded me. Let us go gladly into HIS presence everyday to read HIS WORD and commune with HIM in PRAYER. May the LORD help us all to have a closer walk with HIM every day and to live our life in a way that is pleasing to HIM.
