"Seeking God"

West Greeley Baptist Church

December 9th 2001

“Seeking God”

Proverb’s 2: 1-5

Pastor Mark Hensley

“My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.”

Introduction: Following the news of ex-Beatle George Harrison’s death, "Today" show anchor Anne Curry interviewed Anthony DeCurtis, a writer for Rolling Stone magazine. DeCurtis talked at length about Harrison’s search for a meaningful spiritual life. Curry said, "Apparently Harrison was the most spiritual of the group [speaking of the Beatles]; in a recent interview, he said, ’Everything else in life can wait, but the search for God.

Transition: A search a quest if you will for God is the most important of life’s decisions! While I appreciate the intent of George Harrison I am concerned that is ultimate discovery was for him horrific. He chose to pursue Eastern mysticism and in doing so missed the truth he seemed so desperate to discover!

Today in a message titled: “Seeking God” we will be reminded that God can be known! And that’s a search that we must pursue with complete and total devotion! Proverb’s 2: 1-5

“My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.”

Notice the markers that are on the path that leads to ultimate truth and knowledge of God.

Acceptance

Insight

Treasure & Knowledge

I. Acceptance: “My son, if you accept my words”

Have you ever thought about how much of life is not a choice? We can’t choose our parents or often the home we live in as children or the color of our eyes or hair or height or shape! Ok Ok…some things you can choose and heredity though playing a part can be masked! Other choices are made when we eat too many burritos’ Pizza’s or okra!

A lot of life….is thrust upon us and we become the product of our choices whether there good or bad. Sometimes we must choose between the good and the best, and at those times we often wonder if were doing the right thing.

My dear friend there is one choice that we must make and that’s to accept the Word of God! To get to know the author, to believe that God not only is someone to discover but someone who already knows us! And in that knowledge there is a plan, marvelous plans that unfold’s moment by moment….for the one who:

“Accepts His word’s” The writer of Proverb’s likens the instruction given as the council of a Father to a son. Isn’t it comforting to know that God wants to relate to us in a Fatherly way?

“A young boy was about 12 years old when a new preacher came to his church. I would always go in late and slip out early. But one day the preacher said the benediction so fast I got caught and had to walk out with the crowd. I could feel every eye in church on me. Just about the time I got to the door I felt a big hand on my shoulder. I looked up and the preacher was looking right at me.

“Who are you, son? Whose boy are you?’

I felt the old weight come on me. It was like a big black cloud. Even the preacher was putting me down.

But as he looked down at me, studying my face, he began to smile a big smile of recognition. “Wait a minute,” he said, “I know who you are. I see the family resemblance. You are a son of God.”

With that he slapped me across the rump and said, “Boy you’ve got a great inheritance. Go and claim it.” Ben Hooper would later say “That was the most important single sentence ever said to me.” Ben Hooper would one day be elected and re-elected Governor of Tennessee. Jamie Buckingham, Power for Living.

“My son, if you accept my words”

The right road begins with acceptance it continues with insight!

II. Insight: “My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding.