Seeking God

Good morning, children of God! What a blessing to be here today! I am grateful for each of you. You inspire me to be the best version of myself I can be! I hear the stories of Jesus working in and through you, and it is amazing!

I wanted to spend this morning talking about what it means to “Seek God.” We talk about “seeking God,” but what does it really mean? I think we say we are seeking God at times, but never really dig into what it means.

I experienced a family situation last week that got me all kinds of bound up in my head and in my heart. Have you ever been so upset about something that you go to bed thinking about it, you wake up throughout the night thinking about, and you get up in the morning thinking about it? Yeah, one of those.

Well, I am sitting there, trying to pray, and I am feeling all the things, and I am thinking all the things. Yeah, YOU know the things! It was driving me mad! Is it safe to assume that others here and online have been there? As I am sitting there, seething and festering, a verse pops into my head:

Luke 11:9 NKJV

9 “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.

Well the part of the verse that popped into my head was “Seek, and you will find.” Let me tell you, I WAS LESS THAN INSPIRED BY THAT! I said, “LORD, what does that even mean?” “What does that have to do with how I am feeling right now?”

Well, it turns out that this verse has a lot to do with our fickle human emotions. It is always “cause and effect” with people. Something happens, “the cause,” then we feel and we react a certain way. That is “the effect” that the “cause” has on us. Something happens, and we are happy. Ten seconds later, something happens, and we are mad. Give it another few seconds, and we will find something to get upset about. Brothers and sisters, our feelings are not reliable. Our feelings do not dictate the Truth. God does. We find Truth in His Word and in prayer.

When we read His Word and we pray, we are seeking Him. Prayer is simply talking with the Father. That’s it! We are to seek Him in ALL THINGS, including “those” moments. We have to learn and practice taking those “Cause and Effect” moments in our lives, and adding something smack in the middle of them:

Cause > PRAYER > Effect

Prayer. What would happen if we disciplined ourselves to PRAY EVERY TIME! I mean, when the situation is good, when it is bad, when we have no idea what’s going on, when we are confused, when we are hurting., when we are sad, when we are glad!

When we pray, something happens. We become more focused. We are talking to God! Have you ever wondered why scripture tells us to pray out loud? It is because God wants us to hear and listen to what we are saying to Him.

As we talk to God, we gain clarity of thought, we sense Him, and we know that we are in the presence of our heavenly Father. Then, Holy Spirit begins to speak to our hearts and minds, because we have made ourselves vulnerable to Him. We find peace as He speaks to our hearts and minds.

I will share that the prayer I started praying during my recent situation was not very good. I am embarrassed to say that it started out horrible. It was something like this: “GOD, LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING! I am really angry right now!” “Let me tell you how wrong this person is, and why I am right!” “If they would just do what I tell them, if they would stop being selfish and stupid, then everything would be fine!”

I know I can’t be the only one who has gone into prayer like that! Or maybe I am. God can handle it. God will redirect our hearts and minds when we are open. Like I said, the LORD gave me Luke 11:9 while I was saying those things to Him. Let’s put Luke 11:9 back up on the screen.

Luke 11:9 NIV

9 “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.

Right off the rip, JESUS CHRIST says, “NOW, LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING.” “Yes Sir.” See, Jesus is telling us to never stop praying! Sometimes we pray the same prayer multiple times a day, that’s good! I have had folks tell me NOT to pray for the same things over and over when I pray. That is ridiculous and it is NOT what Jesus said! He tells us to remain steadfast and persistent in prayer, but, and there is a but, we have to pray with a right heart.

All the asking and all the knocking in prayer require that we seek God first. Not selfish ambition, not because we want to win an argument, not to see someone suffer, and not because we want to be right. We must develop a Christ-like attitude in prayer. Remember, the first thing scripture records Jesus saying from the cross was a prayer, and he was not even praying for himself. “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.”

We have to ask ourselves, are we righteous in our prayers? James tells us in James 5:16:

James 5:16 NIV

16 ... The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

I want powerful and effective prayers. Do you want powerful and effective prayers? Biblical righteousness has nothing to do with being better than anybody else. I remember early in my walk hearing the word “righteous” in church and thinking, “Oh, so you're better than everybody else!” That is not what it means.

Biblical righteousness is dependence on God in everything. We live a life centered on the Word of God, prayer, and seeking to be more like Christ every day. It does not mean that we are sinless or perfect; righteous means living a life of grace and mercy. Grace and mercy that are part of our daily lives, and our prayer lives.

Everything begins and ends with our relationship with God. If we are not seeking God, what are we seeking? The approval of others? The things of this world? What do we put before God in our lives? It is a tough question that many of us have had to answer at different times in our lives. I still get distracted by things that end up consuming my mind and my time. I don’t do it on purpose, I am still practicing and learning how to seek God in all things. Cause, PRAYER, Effect.

I love what King David says in Psalm 27:8.

Psalm 27:8 NLT

8 My heart has heard you say, “Come and talk with me.” And my heart responds, “Lord, I am coming.”

God is constantly reminding our hearts to “go see Him first.” When we talk about “seeking God,” it is not because He has gone anywhere or is nowhere to be found. It is our pride, our ego, or worldly desires that get in the way. That is until things get bad or we need something from God.

Does anybody have that friend or family member that you only hear from when things are bad or they need something? You see the name on the caller ID, and you just kind of cringe? THAT IS NOT THE RELATIONSHIP WE SHOULD WANT WITH GOD. There are many people who pray only when they desperately need something from God. That is not fellowship with the LORD.

The reason scripture says that David, the writer of Psalm 27:8, was “a man after God’s own heart” is that he regularly sought God. If you know anything about David, he was rough, not really a stellar human being. He had successes and some significant failures. But David’s voice was a familiar voice to God. Through the good, the bad, and the ugly. Is your voice a familiar voice to God? Does God know your voice this morning? I don’t know about you, but I want the LORD to know my voice so well that He says “It’s Bob again,” with a smile.

Like David, our heart's desire should be fellowship with the LORD. Not because we are sinless or perfect, but because we are not perfect and we depend on Him. He will not make us, but He wants us to commune and fellowship with Him. He is not going to make us love Him or talk to Him. He wants us to love Him and talk to Him.

Many of us are familiar with Jeremiah 29:11

Jeremiah 29:11 NLT

11 For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.

How many of us believe that this morning? That God’s plans for you are so much more than your plans for yourself? Amen! So what gets in the way of His plans for us? What is it that stops us from living out the good and wonderful things He has planned for us? We do!

God has plans for us, but if we are not seeking Him, WE WILL NEVER KNOW WHAT THOSE PLANS ARE! God said HE KNOWS! We must seek and talk to God for those plans to be revealed to us! Look at what the LORD says just two verses later.

Jeremiah 29:13 NIV

13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Has God gone into hiding that we must seek Him? No. When we read in scripture that “God’s face was hidden from His people,” it means that WE have stepped out of fellowship with Him. We are the ones who turn away. God has not and will not go anywhere!

(SHORT ILLUSTRATION WITH A VOLUNTEER).

Our Father says to “Seek Me WITH ALL YOUR HEART.” That means that He is the ultimate authority in our lives. It wasn’t until Jeremiah continued to SEEK God that he accepted the call to be a prophet. One fascinating thing about Jeremiah is that he was never taken into Babylonian captivity. Many of the Babylonians respected him, but a bunch of them thought he was crazy, coocoo for coco puffs crazy.

Brothers and sisters, as we continue to seek the LORD, the world is going to think we are crazy, because we do not align with what the world says is right. We don’t believe what the world believes. I love it! You want to be a rebel? Be a Bible believing, God seeking, Spirit filled, follower of the Way, Jesus Christ.

Again, everything begins and ends with our relationship with God. That relationship comes through faith in Jesus Christ, there is no other way. Jesus is the way, the Truth, and the life. God revealed Himself in Jesus Christ so that the whole world would know Him. Look at what the write of Hebrews says in Hebrews 11:6.

Hebrews 11:6 NLT

6 And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.

Most of us have had times we have thought: “Maybe God does not hear me because my faith is weak.” “Maybe God does not answer my prayers because I have too little faith.” I went through a period in my walk when I questioned if I had faith at all. “Is God even real?” “If God is real, does He even hear my prayers?”

A hard reality I had to face is that I viewed God as “the fixer.” I spent very little time in prayer or devotion. When He did not do what I wanted, when He did not fix things, He was the one to blame. I would read His Word, but never spent time with the Author. I was not truly seeking Him. The more time we spend with God, the more we know Him.

The more we seek Him, the more we find Him. Our Christian walk doesn’t end until we are with Him. A person grows in faith and in power all throughout their walk. Christ tells us how to diligently seek the Father:

To “hunger and thirst after righteousness” (Matthew 5:6)

To “ask… seek… knock” (Luke 11:9)

To “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness” (Matthew 6:33)

To “pray and fast,” that is to persevere in prayer (Matthew 17:21)

The prayer that I was praying when Holy Spirit interrupted me, it ended a little different than it started. I repented of my terrible attitude. I asked the LORD to create a clean heart in me. I asked Him to show me, through His eyes, the things I do not understand. I thanked Him for never forsaking me, even at my worst. In the name of Jesus.

Worship Team/Alter Call

Maybe you are here today and the LORD has led you to invite Jesus Christ into your heart as your Lord and Savior. Do not let another moment pass, it is a matter of eternal consequence. You can come forward right now, or you can come see Pastor Paul or me after service.

Maybe you are here and want to recommit yourself to the LORD today. We would love to pray for you and with you.

Perhaps, this is the day you finally decide to leave something at the foot of the cross. Something you have been carrying far too long. LET IT GO! The alter is always open at Vision of Hope. The LORD is waiting to take that burden from you, but you have to be willing to give it to him, and leave it with him.

I am moved to ask that we all go into prayer this morning, the worship team as well. I encourage you to pray out-loud this morning. You are in the company of brothers and sisters this morning. Go to the Father, bring your thanksgiving and petitions to Him. Don’t worry about what anybody else thinks. Focus on Him and talking to Him. He has shared His heart with you. Share your heart with Him this morning.

I am going to ask that our prayer warriors stand and offer intercessory prayer over all of us and prayer for yourselves this morning. If you are lead this morning, stand and pray, kneel and pray, do not ignore the prompting of the Spirit. Remember, “The prayers of a righteous person are powerful and effective! We are all growing in our faith and in the power of the LORD.