The Ultimate Pursuit
Notes
Transcript
What is Our Greatest Pursuit?
What is Our Greatest Pursuit?
What is our greatest pursuit? What should we run after in life more than anything else? What is the greatest end goal that we can look forward to? If you said to yourself that there is nothing more important in life than life itself, and if you then thought that must mean that the greatest end result of life is eternal life, or simply put, heaven. And if you think you will achieve that goal of going to heaven, or you at least hope and pray you will enter heaven, then what are you most looking forward to about heaven? When you think of heaven what are you most thankful for? Is it that you are most thankful that there will be no more pain? No more sickness? No more death? Are you most thankful that you just get to keep on living after this life, that you won’t just cease to exist? Are you most looking forward to seeing loved ones who placed their faith in Christ who have gone before us? What are you looking forward to the most?
The thing that we should look forward to more than anything else is to be in the presence of God Himself. There is nothing greater in the universe than the one who made it. There is no one who deserves your love more than the one who has loved you the most and who loved you so much that He created you and gave you existence and died for you so that He could adopt you as His son or daughter forever. To be in the presence of the Lord is the greatest pursuit anyone can ever undertake. That presence that we so desperately yearn for that cost God so dearly to purchase was once unbroken, but was taken for granted.
God Walked With Man
God Walked With Man
Life was perfect in the garden in the beginning. God and mankind were in perfect relationship with each other and walked together in the garden in each other’s presence…until we sinned.
8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
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But there is another word here in the Hebrew that the CSB doesn’t translate into English. That word is
pā·ně(h) — It means front, or face, it is translated many different ways into English depending on how it’s used in a sentence but it is used here and in many other places to signify the presence of God. The Hebrew Scriptures will often talk about the face of God in the sense of the presence of God. This word is present in the Hebrew in this verse when it says that they hid from the face of the Lord God, or hid from the presence of the Lord God, but the CSB decided just to translate it as they hid from the Lord God. Other translations do put it in. Here is the KJV
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8 And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.
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And here is the NASB
8 They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
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My point is this: Adam and Eve walked in front of God, or walked in the presence of God. God did not hide his face from them, or in other words, hide his presence from them. But after they sinned, that is what we see happen. First they were banished from the garden, where they were in perfect relationship. Their perfect fellowship together was destroyed, but God made a way for them to be forgiven through faith and repentance.
Even though Adam and Eve were not allowed to enter into the garden again without being atoned for by Jesus’ blood, God came out to them. We see Can and Abel living outside of the garden, performing sacrifices to God because of their constant state of sin, but we also see God talking directly with them. Cain was as lost spiritually as lost could be, but we see God coming to him and talking directly with him. What we see is Cain is not pursuing the only thing worth pursuing…God. What we see is God is pursuing Cain. But when Cain murders his brother Abel, God curses Cain and banishes him from His presence.
13 But Cain answered the Lord, “My punishment is too great to bear! 14 Since you are banishing me today from the face of the earth, and I must hide from your presence and become a restless wanderer on the earth, whoever finds me will kill me.” 15 Then the Lord replied to him, “In that case, whoever kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over.” And he placed a mark on Cain so that whoever found him would not kill him. 16 Then Cain went out from the Lord’s presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden.
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To be cut off from God’s presence is to be cut off from God. The chapter ends with this verse:
26 A son was born to Seth also, and he named him Enosh. At that time people began to call on the name of the Lord.
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Here we see almost immediately, that people realize that they are cut off from God, but don’t want to be and they know that they can’t justify themselves and make things right between them and God and therefore begin to call on the name of the Lord for Him to save them. They want to be in his presence again. They want to walk with Him like Adam and Eve once did in the garden. And immediately God lists Adam’s lineage and of all the descendants of Adam one stands out and his name was Enoch. The scripture says that Enoch walked with God. Enoch does what everyone wants to do, walk with God.
21 Enoch was 65 years old when he fathered Methuselah. 22 And after he fathered Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years and fathered other sons and daughters. 23 So Enoch’s life lasted 365 years. 24 Enoch walked with God; then he was not there because God took him.
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The author of Hebrews said
5 By faith Enoch was taken away, and so he did not experience death. He was not to be found because God took him away. For before he was taken away, he was approved as one who pleased God. 6 Now without faith it is impossible to please God, since the one who draws near to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
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And so goes the pursuit. We desire to walk with God. We desire to draw near to him, and to please him. And it is impossible to do without faith. He rewards those who seek him, or should I say he rewards those who pursue him. We must pursue Him just like Enoch did. And we must not settle for anything less than his presence just like Moses. Moses stood in the presence of God in the tabernacle, and once he experienced God’s presence, from then on he could settle for nothing less. He told God that if God’s presence didn’t go with them that he did not want to go into the promised land without Him.
9 When Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and remain at the entrance to the tent, and the Lord would speak with Moses. 10 As all the people saw the pillar of cloud remaining at the entrance to the tent, they would stand up, then bow in worship, each one at the door of his tent. 11 The Lord would speak with Moses face to face, just as a man speaks with his friend, then Moses would return to the camp. His assistant, the young man Joshua son of Nun, would not leave the inside of the tent. 12 Moses said to the Lord, “Look, you have told me, ‘Lead this people up,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. You said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found favor with me.’ 13 Now if I have indeed found favor with you, please teach me your ways, and I will know you, so that I may find favor with you. Now consider that this nation is your people.” 14 And he replied, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” 15 “If your presence does not go,” Moses responded to him, “don’t make us go up from here.
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Moses never wanted to leave God’s presence.
And David cried out to not be banished from God’s presence:
9 Turn your face away from my sins and blot out all my guilt. 10 God, create a clean heart for me and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11 Do not banish me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore the joy of your salvation to me, and sustain me by giving me a willing spirit.
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And Paul longed to be in the presence of God:
21 For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. 22 Now if I live on in the flesh, this means fruitful work for me; and I don’t know which one I should choose. 23 I am torn between the two. I long to depart and be with Christ—which is far better—
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And the apostle John said this:
25 And this is the promise that he himself made to us: eternal life.
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3 This is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and the one you have sent—Jesus Christ.
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11 And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
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20 And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding so that we may know the true one. We are in the true one—that is, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.
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Eternal life is to know God and Jesus forever. For this was His desire for us from the beginning
26 From one man he has made every nationality to live over the whole earth and has determined their appointed times and the boundaries of where they live. 27 He did this so that they might seek God, and perhaps they might reach out and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.
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30 “Therefore, having overlooked the times of ignorance, God now commands all people everywhere to repent,
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God doesn’t want any person to be separated from Him for ever, but wants every person to repent and be saved.
9 The Lord does not delay his promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance.
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God is pursuing you, are you pursuing Him?