Seek, and You Will Find
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Luke 11:5-10
NKJV - "So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
Seek: zeteo (zee-tau-oh): "to seek in order to find; desire; endeavor”
1 Corinthians 4:2 KJV - Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.
Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful.
For us to seek something, we need to know WHAT we are seeking, WHERE it might be found, HOW to seek it, etc. We often do not INTENTIONALLY seek what we ought to seek. We claim “morality” and “law” without truly seeking what would provide the true basis of redemption and “right standing” before God.
Rom 7:19-25 - Trying to get it “right” will not work. We need so much more than that, and only God can provide it.
It also is not a general, undefined “seeking”.
From “Love Divine, All Love Excelling”…
Finish, then, Thy new creation;
Pure and spotless let us be;
Let us see Thy great salvation
Perfectly restored in Thee;
Changed from glory into glory
Till with Thee we take our place,
Till we cast our crowns before Thee,
Lost in wonder, love and praise. -??? I don’t believe we would ever use the term “lost” to define a Christian who is safe in heaven with God. We cannot allow the “seeking” to be general, to be “safe”.
We seek first the “kingdom” (Matt. 6:33), and that means searching and making an effort to secure our salvation in that kingdom.
Colossians 3:1-5 - we seek those things which are ABOVE!
WHAT do we seek, and HOW we seek it? The answers to these questions will determine what we find, and the Bible does not leave us without answers. WHAT we seek must be INTENTIONAL! So, what are we seeking?
If we seek, we will find...
Many Good, Spiritual Things.
Many Good, Spiritual Things.
Grace
Titus 2:11 NKJV - For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men,
For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men,
God’s grace has appeared to all, bringing salvation.
This grace has been made available to all mankind.
This is what God sought for mankind ever since the garden.
And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her Seed;
He shall bruise your head,
And you shall bruise His heel.”
Mercy
2 Timothy 1:16-18 NKJV - ...The Lord grant to him that he may find mercy from the Lord in that Day...
The Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain; but when he arrived in Rome, he sought me out very zealously and found me. The Lord grant to him that he may find mercy from the Lord in that Day—and you know very well how many ways he ministered to me at Ephesus.
We have the opportunity to not only appreciate the mercy WE have received from God, but also to desire mercy for our brethren. We seek their well-being.
The Way
Matthew 7:13-14 - Finding and walking the NARROW way requires intentional SEEKING.
“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.
Finding the “broad way” is easy. In fact, we can STUMBLE into hell!
Paul spoke well of the Way he found before Felix. Acts 24:14
But this I confess to you, that according to the Way which they call a sect, so I worship the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the Law and in the Prophets.
Paul did not find the Way by accident. Acts 9:1-2
Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.
Pasture
I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.
Seeking Jesus as the door, requiring that He is the way we “go in and out”, will bring us to good and fertile pasture (salvation).
Rest
Matthew 11:28-30 NKJV - "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. "For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."
Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
Come to Me - SEEKING requires approaching Jesus in our understanding.
Labor… heavy laden… - sin and wickedness is the great addiction and burden that we all suffer from!
I will give you rest - If we want REST from our burdens, we must SEEK.
Take my yoke… learn from Me - An INTENTIONAL, DEMANDING seeking of His ways and His teaching!
Glory, Honor, and Immortality
Romans 2:7-8 - We seek Honor in the Kingdom.
eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality; but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness—indignation and wrath,
Proverbs 15:33; 18:12 - In order to seek this honor, we must seek humility.
The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom,
And before honor is humility.
Before destruction the heart of a man is haughty,
And before honor is humility.
The Verse We Want.
The Verse We Want.
This is meant to spur us to stop and think about what we really want.
A Strong Desire to seek truth means you WILL find the truth.
Jesus answered them and said, “My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me. If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority. He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him.
Seek the truth and you will find it!
Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
However, if your conscience demands a verse to provide respectability for your doctrine/practice, you can also do that!
In doing so, you are no longer a truth seeker.
The Devil uses Scripture - Matthew 4
Faith only
Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.
There is more to this “story”, yet many grab that verse for their justification to abandon the concept of “works”.
Non-essential baptism
I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, lest anyone should say that I had baptized in my own name. Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas. Besides, I do not know whether I baptized any other. For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect.
Many take this verse to say that Paul did not make a big deal out of baptism. His body of work would argue very differently! Rom 6 for example.
“Fun, food, frolic”
So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.
Some take this example and make it an allowance to use the Lord’s money to provide common meals for the brethren.
Institutionalism
Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.
Some use this verse to excuse the building of human institutions to do the work of Christians.
The Excuse We Want.
The Excuse We Want.
If you don’t want to follow Jesus, you can find an excuse for it. Luke 14:15-24
Adam and Eve made excuses. Genesis 3:11-13
And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?”
Then the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.”
And the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”
The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
Aaron made excuses. Exodus 32:21-25
And Moses said to Aaron, “What did this people do to you that you have brought so great a sin upon them?”
So Aaron said, “Do not let the anger of my lord become hot. You know the people, that they are set on evil. For they said to me, ‘Make us gods that shall go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ And I said to them, ‘Whoever has any gold, let them break it off.’ So they gave it to me, and I cast it into the fire, and this calf came out.”
Now when Moses saw that the people were unrestrained (for Aaron had not restrained them, to their shame among their enemies),
We make excuses. Will we find the Bible passages to “back them up”?
“I have a lot going on right now.”
Excusing our need to do all we can in service to God.
“It will help them get into a good school”
Excusing the spiritual degradation of our children.
“I’m working to support my family”
Excusing the weakness of serving your boss more than serving the Lord.
“We’re getting married soon anyway”
Or worse, “we’re gonna get married as soon as that first spouse dies off.”
Excusing foolish romantic relationships.
“They’re just hypocrites”
Excusing my own sin by bringing up the sins of others.
“I don’t really know them”
Excusing my lack of love by dismissing my need to care for my brethren.
That Satan Seeks Us.
That Satan Seeks Us.
Luke 22:31-34 - He sought Peter.
Spooky, but the warning to Peter is clear for us as well.
1 Cor 10:13 - Satan uses tactics that are “common to man” - which is why we must be so vigilant.
No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.
1 Peter 5:5-11 - Peter taught us how to resist him.
That Jesus Seeks Us!
That Jesus Seeks Us!
Luke 19:1-10 - What a comfort it is that Jesus sought Zaccheus and brought salvation to his house. We are all “little” and “lost” like Zaccheus was. Seeking Jesus looks like Zaccheus in v.8.
Heb 4:14-16 - Jesus seeks us so that we can come to the throne of grace boldly and obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need!
That We Can Seek God!
That We Can Seek God!
Deuteronomy 4:29-35 - God’s prophecies of the captives in Babylon
If you truly seek God, He will not abandon you or forget the Covenant.
Jeremiah 29:9-14 - God’s promises to the Captives in Babylon
If you seek God, you will find Him when you search with all your heart.
Someone once told me they felt like God knocked at the door and he opened, but didn’t find anyone. It ultimately means he wasn’t searching with all his heart, but withholding part of it from God.
Amos 5:1-4 - Seeking God is the path to life!
2 Chron 15:1-8 - Asa took these encouraging words of Azariah the son of Oded and did great work to destroy the idolatry in Judah.
We can destroy our own idols if we trust in the Lord God and seek Him with our whole heart.
