Desiring God

Desiring God

Text: Psalm 42:1-2 (KJV)

1 As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. 2 My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?

I. Life’s greatest pursuit is to know God.

* To the world, life’s greatest pursuit is our own happiness.

* To the Christian life’s greatest pursuit is knowing God.

A. There are many noble pursuits with which man can occupy himself with.

B. Martin Lloyd Jones saw the pursuit of God greater than the medical profession.

1). Martyn Lloyd Jones was the pastor of Westminster Chapel in London for almost 30 years. He was the assistant to G. Campbell Morgan, the great Bible scholar of the early 1900’s. He was friends with men like Charles Spurgeon and F. B Meyer.

2). MLJ the day before MLJ was to become G. Campbell Morgan’s successor at Westminster Chapel, world war II began.

3). MLJ was an outstanding young medical student at Bartholomew’s Hospital in London.

4). When he was only 23 he had earned the London MD, a real medical doctorate.

5). By the age of 25 MLJ has amassed a string of medical and post graduate qualifications, including MRCS, LRCP and MRCP.

6). MLJ was a brilliant thinker with exceptional skills of analysis, logic and orator.

7) MLJ earned his MD at 22 and immediately became the assistant of the Royal Physician of England, Sir. Thomas Horder. Horder later refered to Jones as “the most accurate thinker I ever knew.”

8). MLJ was assured of a prominent medical career. He was one of the most well know doctors of his day.

9). MLJ wrestled with what would be the greatest use of his life- healing men and relieving pain, or healing the disease of sin that plagued men’s souls.

10). MLJ and his wife shocked the medical community and left their medical careers to move into a little house and start the ministry in a small church of less the a hundred members.

11). Listen in his own words what Dr. Jones had to say about leaving the medical field to be a preacher:

It is not often that I make any kind of personal reference from this pulpit but I feel this morning that I must speak of an experience which bears on this very subject. When I came here, people said to me: ‘Why give up good work – a good profession – after all, the medical profession, why give that up? If you had been a bookie, for instance, and wanted to give that up to preach the gospel, we should understand and agree with you and say that you were doing a grand thing. But medicine – a good profession, healing the sick and relieving pain!’ One man even said this, ‘If you were a solicitor [lawyer] and gave it up, I’d give you a pat on the back, but to give up medicine!’

‘Ah well!’ I felt like saying to them, ‘if you knew more about the work of a doctor, you would understand. We but spend most of our time rendering people fit to go back to their sin!’ I saw men on their sick beds, I spoke to them of their immortal souls, they promised grand things. Then they got better and back they went to their old sin! I saw I was helping these men to sin and I decided that I would do no more of it. I want to heal souls. If a man has a diseased body and his soul is all right, he is all right to the end; but a man with a healthy body and a diseased soul is all right for sixty years or so and then he has to face an eternity of hell. Ah, yes! we have sometimes to give up those which are good for that which is the best of all – the joy of salvation and newness of life.

C. We are satisfied knowing about God and stop short of having a relationship with Him. (We know him legally, but there is no relationship)

D. Believing in God, with out knowing God is like a marriage without a relationship. * Illustration of a marriage without a relationship

II. God desires to reveal himself to you.

A. As Adam knew Eve, God wants you to know him intimately.

B. The problem that hinders our knowing him.

1). We are too busy telling God what we want Him to be.

2). Many times in our relationships with others we create our own version of what we want them to be.

3). Some of us are shocked to know that who we married are not who we wanted them to be.

4). Many people are angry at God because “He will not be what they want them to be.”

* Illustration of the beautiful opera singer.

* Couldn’t wait for honeymoon night-

* Glass eye, wig- bald, false eye lashes, false teeth, (Uppers and lowers), wooden leg-

* She stood there staring at him looking like Mr. T in a night gown.

* He says “I think you better start singing”

5). We cannot know who God really is, because we have made Him to be a god created in our own image, (our imagination of who we think God should be), becomes our idol.

a). We create a god who will overlook our sin.

b). We create a god who does not require us to make him lord over our lives.

c). We create a God who is always loving and kind an never judgmental or angry.

d). We create a god who doesn’t mind if we are friends with the world.

e). We create a god who doesn’t require us to do anything that is hard or unpleasant to please him.

f). We create a god that will accept anyone as long as they are religious.

g). We create a god that believes that our happiness is the greatest goal in life.

6). The “True God” will destroy your god!

1 Samuel 5:1-5 (KJV)

1 And the Philistines took the ark of God, and brought it from Ebenezer unto Ashdod. 2 When the Philistines took the ark of God, they brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon. 3 And when they of Ashdod arose early on the morrow, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the earth before the ark of the LORD. And they took Dagon, and set him in his place again. 4 And when they arose early on the morrow morning, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of the LORD; and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off upon the threshold; only the stump of Dagon was left to him. 5 Therefore neither the priests of Dagon, nor any that come into Dagon’s house, tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod unto this day.

III. How bad do you want to know the real God?

A. The Holy Spirit creates in us a thirst for God.

Psalm 42:1-2 (KJV)

1 As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. 2 My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?

1). Moses asked to see God.

* He saw God speak out of a burning bush.

* He say God turn his staff into a snake.

* He saw all the plaques of Egypt.

* He way God part the Red sea.

* Even with all this Moses still wanted to see God.

Exodus 33:13-23 (KJV)

13 Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, shew me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people. 14 And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest. 15 And he said unto him, If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence. 16 For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? is it not in that thou goest with us? so shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth. 17 And the LORD said unto Moses, I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken: for thou hast found grace in my sight, and I know thee by name. 18 And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory.

19 And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy. 20 And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live. 21 And the LORD said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock: 22 And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by: 23 And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen.

2) Jacob wrestled all night with God and wouldn’t let Him go.

C. Are you willing to please Him? (obedience)

D. Are you willing to trust Him? (Faith)

E. Are you willing to seek Him? God will reveal his most intimate secrets to those who “diligently” seek Him.

Hebrews 11:5-6 (KJV) 5 By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God. 6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.