God Seekers 2025
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· 20 viewsOur church is committed to seeking God each and every day in every single way.
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Celebrate Bill Collins
A man went to his doctor and told him that he hadn’t been feeling well lately. The doctor examined the man, left the room, and came back with three different bottles of pills.
“Take the green pill with a big glass of water when you wake up,” he said. “Take the blue pill with a big glass of water after you eat lunch. Then just before going to bed take the red pill with another big glass of water.”
Startled to be put on so much medicine the man said, “Oh, Doc! Now you got me worried! Exactly what is my problem?”
The doctor replied, “You’re not drinking enough water.”
The basics really do matter.
Every year I like to spend the first weeks talking about the basics - our six core values:
God Seekers - seeking God’s face (Ps 27:8)
Big Believers - faith that moves mountains (Matt 17:20-21)
Love Givers - defined by the grace and mercy we’ve received and freely give (Gal 1:3)
Truth Tellers - we speak the truth of God’s word in love. (Eph 4:11-16)
Go-Getters - we are doers of God’s Word (James 1:22)
Open Handers - generosity is who we are. We give from what we’ve been given with a pure heart. (2 Corinthians 8:1-5)
Values are important because they are what guide our decisions, actions, and determine our culture.
Today we are going to focus in on what it means to be a God Seeker. For me, this is the first and most important foundational value of my life.
Jesus says that we must:
33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.
In my own life, everything changed when I read the words of David, a man after God’s own heart when he said these words:
8 When You said, “Seek My face,” My heart said to You, “Your face, Lord, I will seek.”
God called out to us first and opened the door for us to know Him in a personal way, and everything in us should cry out to God and say, I WANT to KNOW you! I will seek you with my whole heart.
There are so many places we could study seeking God in scripture, but I feel the Lord leading us to Isaiah 55.
The book of Isaiah is often called “The Gospel of Isaiah.” Here we can see God’s plan of salvation made clear. This chapter was written 712 B.C. The book of Isaiah was written between the years of 760–698 B.C. This book has 66 chapters just as the 66 books in the Bible. The first 39 chapters are like the Old Testament and the last 27 chapters are like the New Testament. The Prophet Isaiah is quoted often in the New Testament. And it’s incredibly clear that Isaiah was a man of faith who heard from God. He spoke to people who needed to hear about God’s plan for salvation.
We need to hear his words today. His words will encourage us to seek God for salvation! Not just for eternity, but for a victorious life here and now.
1 “Is anyone thirsty? Come and drink— even if you have no money! Come, take your choice of wine or milk— it’s all free!
2 Why spend your money on food that does not give you strength? Why pay for food that does you no good? Listen to me, and you will eat what is good. You will enjoy the finest food.
3 “Come to me with your ears wide open. Listen, and you will find life. I will make an everlasting covenant with you. I will give you all the unfailing love I promised to David.
4 See how I used him to display my power among the peoples. I made him a leader among the nations.
5 You also will command nations you do not know, and peoples unknown to you will come running to obey, because I, the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, have made you glorious.”
We can Seek because He Calls
We can Seek because He Calls
Now, I know we just had a big ol’ blizzard, but I want you to remember a time in our distant past called Summer. And then I want you to go way back to your childhood memories of summer. Can you remember a day when you were outside in the heat just CRAVING a drink of cold water? And then, maybe it was you or a friend, but you had the brilliant idea of getting a quick drink straight from the water hose?
Before people cared about filters, and chemicals in the hose, there was a time when we wouldn’t mind drinking from the hose. For me, it was AMAZING to drink that cold hose water. In the moment nothing could have been better.
Isaiah is reminding us that we are spiritually thirsty people. Every person I’ve every spoken to has asked the question, “Is there more to this life than what we see?” We have a spiritual thirst. Every person wants to quench that thirst. They do it through all sorts of ways.
Some people work hard for the things this world offers. Isaiah talks about money and food which represents what people find valuable in life, but don’t offer anything lasting.
This scripture is telling us that we have a great invitation to seek God. We can come to Him because He invites us to come. EVERYONE is allowed. No person will be turned away.
Verse 3 promises that a messiah was going to come through the line of King David and we know that His name is Jesus.
When we read about Jesus, He offered the most personal invitation to humanity – Himself. Jesus did not turn crowds and individuals away.
37 On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me!
38 Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’ ”
Here’s the truth: A life without Jesus as the foundation is a life lacking true lasting fulfillment. He is the only one who can satisfy.
Thankfully, we have this WONDERFUL invitation to seek Him. But this invitation comes with a warning.
Maybe this warning is neglected because we believe we have more time.
Seeking God MUST happen Now
Seeking God MUST happen Now
6 Seek the Lord while you can find him. Call on him now while he is near.
7 Let the wicked change their ways and banish the very thought of doing wrong. Let them turn to the Lord that he may have mercy on them. Yes, turn to our God, for he will forgive generously.
8 “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.
9 For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.
10 “The rain and snow come down from the heavens and stay on the ground to water the earth. They cause the grain to grow, producing seed for the farmer and bread for the hungry.
11 It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.
The greatest lie of the enemy, to me, is that we have more time.
Jesus but it the best when he said:
44 Always be ready! You don’t know when the Son of Man will come.
The enemy lulls us into complacency with the seductive lie that we can postpone our spiritual readiness. We must stay vigilant, living with intention and urgency, knowing that tomorrow is not guaranteed.
What would you do today if you KNEW that you didn’t have tomorrow? If you knew that tomorrow you’d be standing in the presence of Jesus, how would that affect they rest of this day?
I’ve been around long enough to know and to witness that people meet Jesus in very unexpected ways. None of us are promised tomorrow.
We need to seek the Lord NOW. Isaiah is saying that we need to Seek the Lord.
Here’s a word of wisdom from Proverbs 29:1
1 If you keep being stubborn after many warnings, you will suddenly discover you have gone too far.
When God speaks, obey His voice. He may never speak to you again!
What I love love love about this passage is that Isaiah KNOWS God and He knows God’s wonderful mercy for those who have turned from Him.
7 Give up your crooked ways and your evil thoughts. Return to the Lord our God. He will be merciful and forgive your sins.
This week, the Lord reminded me that He gives us the authority through Him to leave our sin in the past and walk with Him in Victory.
When I was attending ORU, I applied to be a Dorm Chaplain. Really, I applied for the wrong reason. I needed the money to stay in school! ORU was and is EXTREMELY expensive.
Well, my application landed me an interview with the man who ran the program. His office was in Christ’s chapel. This building is amazing.
Christ’s Chapel ORU
Inside
It was VERY intimidating. So, I go into his office. He’s sitting far away behind a big desk, surrounded by the other chaplains. And he asked me a couple of questions. 1) He asked if I was a reader, and what book I was currently reading. I answered yes, and the book I was reading was called “Go and sin no more” by Michael Brown.
Well, the guy said, really…what sins are you struggling with. And my answer was - ALL of them!
I didn’t get the job.
I was being honest. It can feel like we never have victory, but that’s a lie from the enemy. What that book taught me was to look at the words of Jesus to the woman who was caught in her sin. Everyone wanted Jesus to condemn her, but he didn’t. He had mercy and compassion.
Let me read what happened right at the end of their conversation. If you hear it, and have a heart that wants to Seek God NOW then you will be encouraged.
10 Jesus stood up and asked her, “Where is everyone? Isn’t there anyone left to accuse you?”
11 “No sir,” the woman answered. Then Jesus told her, “I am not going to accuse you either. You may go now, but don’t sin anymore.”
ok - Now, let’s go back to Isaiah, because he’s talking about Salvation too…
7 Give up your crooked ways and your evil thoughts. Return to the Lord our God. He will be merciful and forgive your sins.
Jesus says, STOP doing what leads to destruction. Isaiah says, STOP being crooked and evil.
Why would the Bible tell us to turn from sin if it wasn’t possible? Friends, it IS possible.
Sin is ALWAYS a choice.
Being saved means that we have been rescued from the dark things and God has placed in us a NEW heart that desires to seek Him above our earthly fleshly desires.
BUT HOW!??? I am SO glad you asked because Isaiah already told us exactly how.
8 The Lord says: “My thoughts and my ways are not like yours.
9 Just as the heavens are higher than the earth, my thoughts and my ways are higher than yours.
Guess what? WE don’t know how. But God does! We seek God and we can find Him. He is ready, willing, and able to sustain you in your times of weakness. Could it be that the problem isn’t that you don’t have victory in your life, but that you are not trusting the Lord for that victory?
If we can’t save ourselves, how do you think you can free yourself from the bondage of your own human nature? We can’t - we need to seek God.
And here’s His promise:
11 That’s how it is with my words. They don’t return to me without doing everything I send them to do.”
Signed, sealed, delivered. God does what He says he will do. His words are TRUE for you right now.
What has God said? You have to seek him to find out!
4 The Lord your God will fight alongside you and help you win the battle.”
57 But thank God for letting our Lord Jesus Christ give us the victory!
33 I have told you this, so that you might have peace in your hearts because of me. While you are in the world, you will have to suffer. But cheer up! I have defeated the world.
13 You are tempted in the same way that everyone else is tempted. But God can be trusted not to let you be tempted too much, and he will show you how to escape from your temptations.
13 You are the one who gives us victory and crushes our enemies.
37 In everything we have won more than a victory because of Christ who loves us.
4 Every child of God can defeat the world, and our faith is what gives us this victory.
In your life you MUST seek God while He can be found!
WE ARE A CHURCH OF GOD SEEKERS. I won’t settle for anything less than God’s will in this church and in your life. We must give up our sinful desires and turn to God.
We seek because He calls, Seeking must happen now, and here’s my final thought for you today.
Seeking God is the BEST thing EVER!
Seeking God is the BEST thing EVER!
Isaiah ends this little section with a wonderful promise that I hope you claim in your life today.
12 When you are set free, you will celebrate and travel home in peace. Mountains and hills will sing as you pass by, and trees will clap.
13 Cypress and myrtle trees will grow in fields once covered by thorns. And then those trees will stand as a lasting witness to the glory of the Lord.
Isaiah is prophesying about the day when Jesus returns to earth and reigns for a 1000 years, but it also can be individualized because the kingdom of God has come to the hearts of those who have surrendered and made Jesus they Lord of their lives.
Because of the redemption of God, His people and the rest of creation will break out in joyful singing, and wilderness terrain will turn into lush forests.
I’ve always thought church is a weird thing - there aren’t too many places that we gather and start the meeting with singing. Can you imagine showing up to a City council meeting and before they started we just sing a few songs? It would be strange.
So why do we do it here? It’s because singing flows from our heart. It erupts from a place of gratitude and worship. Done right, it is almost involuntary.
You might not feel like singing today, but that’s because you don’t understand your place in God’s family. If you could pull back the curtains of the spirit you’d see that Jesus has given his people a position they couldn’t earn. We are standing in grace and mercy. We have something to praise Him about!
Isaiah said that there were fields covered with thorns, but NOW they are cleared and are a testimony of God’s redemption story.
Were are you at today? Are you seeking God? Are you far from Him? Are you lost in sin and needing to repent and turn back to Jesus. What ares of your life is He asking you to surrender?
Let’s make 2025 the year we Seek God first!
