THE DISCOVERY OF GOD


A. "AND YE SHALL SEEK ME, AND FIND ME, WHEN YE SHALL SEARCH ME WITH ALL YOUR HEART" - JEREMIAH 29:13
  1. The prior fact is that God is seeking us:
    1. God, and not Adam, was seeking to restore that broken relationship - Gen. 2:8-9
    2. This fact is beautifully illustrated in the parables of the lost sheep, and the lost coin - Luke 15:4-10
    3. "For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost" - Luke 19:10
  2. But our text shows that there is another side to the discovery of God:
    1. It is man's part
    2. The separation was caused by man's disloyalty - Is. 59:1-3
B. LET US NOTE, PRAYERFULLY, A NUMBER OF IMPLICATIONS IN OUR TEXT
  1. God's invitation to seek Him is indicative:
    1. That some of us have lost touch or contact with Him. If that were not so, why seek Him?
    2. That sad and fatal separation may be indicated by our being completely lost in the cares of this world; Examples: The prodigal son and the far country - Luke 15:11-32; the rich farmer and his preoccupation with the things of this world - Luke 12:16-20
    3. Under such circumstances, so writes the Psalmist, "God is not in their thoughts" - Ps. 10:4
  2. God's invitation indicates, further, that He wants us to seek and find Him:
    1. He loves us and is anxious for us to seek and find Him - Matt. 11:28-30
    2. Said Jesus, "Seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you" Matt. 7:7-9
    3. In fact, He is standing at the door of our heart and knocks, all we need to do is to open the door and let him in - Rev. 3:20
  3. Conditions attached to seeking and finding God:
    1. We must put our heart into our efforts to seek and find Him
    2. But such efforts by men are dependent upon His love and affections for God
    3. Only when we truly long inwardly to find the Lord shall we put forth every effort in our search; Examples: Think of David's earnestness to seek and find the Lord "Early will I seek Thee" - Ps. 63:1; "As the heart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after Thee, O god. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God; when shall I come an appear before God" - Ps. 42:1-3
C. WHAT A LESSON, DEAR FRIENDS, FOR ALL WHO HAVE LOST CONNECTION WITH GOD, OUR CREATOR AND REDEEMER
  1. Can it be that we, who profess to know and serve God:
    1. Are not sincere enough in our prayers; Examples: The Pharisees prayed but how? - Matt. 6:5; Luke 18:10:1-14; of some, the Lord says, "This people draweth nigh unto Me with their mouths, and honoreth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me" - Matt. 15:8
    2. That we tend more to the outward form of our religion than to the heart
  2. Whatever our condition may be:
    1. "It is time to seek the Lord" - Hos. 10:12
    2. When we discover the Lord, we have made the most important discovery of our life
    3. That find is worth our every effort
    4. When we find Him, we find the source of heavenly abundance that supplies all our needs
    5. It is too sad that so many are not putting forth the effort that promises the greatest blessings possible - the one treasure of life, hope and peace
  3. Shall we heed Heaven's plea?
    1. What more can God do to bless us with His love and mercy
    2. Then let us seek Him with all our heart and all our strength


Design © John Bryant 2011