Trinity Baptist Church

Back to the Basics

#4: What You Seek, You Find

Matthew 6:33

 

In this sermon series we are looking at seven basics that every Christian needs to know in order to live successfully.  I wrestled with what to call them.  They aren’t exactly doctrines or promises, nor are they rules.  I suppose a good word might be “laws” or “principles”.

 

Each one represents a major truth that Christians need to know. They are like pillars that hold up a large building. Here are the first three:

 

The first one is “He’s God and We’re Not”.  The second is “God Doesn’t Need Us But We Desperately Need Him”.  Then last week we saw that “What God Demands, He Supplies”.

 

Those three are actually a part of a theological foundation that prepares us for everything that follows. And my personal conviction is you will find it very difficult to accept them unless they are considered in that order.

 

They also lead us to three words of response: submitting, admitting, receiving. We submit because “he’s God and we’re not.” We admit that “we desperately need him.” And we gratefully receive what God supplies in order that his righteous demands might be fully met.

 

In fact, the third basic summarizes the entire gospel. We are so lost, so sinful, so desperate, that if God doesn’t intervene, we’re sunk. But he does.

And he gives us whatever we need for salvation, freedom from guilt, forgiveness of our sins, abundant life on earth, and a home in heaven when we die. Since grace is a gift, our most basic response is to gladly receive the gift God offers us.

 

Unfortunately, many will never come to accept what He provides because they are unwilling to admit they need Him what He offers and submit to Him.  Therefore, they live as though they are God, refusing to acknowledge His Sovereignty and Lordship, trying to do life independent of His provision and unfortunately, wind up dying and going to Hell to forever be separated from Him.

 

Now so far, we’ve been dealing primarily with theology, but tonight we turn a corner and move into the practical side of these basics with Basic #4 which says, “What you seek, you find.”

 

I don’t know if you’ve ever paid much attention to how much emphasis the Bible places on seeking and finding, especially seeking and finding the Lord. These are just a few examples:

 

Deuteronomy 4:29 says, “But from there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul”

 

I Chronicles 28:9 says, “As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a loyal heart and with a willing mind; for the LORD searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will cast you off forever”

 

2 Chronicles 26:5 records, “He sought God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding in the visions of God; and as long as he sought the LORD, God made him prosper”

 

The psalmist said in Psalms 27:8, “When You said, ‘Seek My face,’ My heart said to You, ‘Your face, LORD, I will seek.’”

 

Isaiah 55:6: “Seek the LORD while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near”

 

Jeremiah 29:11-13: “You will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart”

 

Matthew 6:33 is very familiar: “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you”

 

Luke 11:9-10,  “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. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened”

 

Hebrews 11:6 NKJV, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him”

 

And this list is just the tip of the iceberg. The whole concept of “seeking God” is an enormous biblical concept that touches our motivation, our priorities, how we spend our time, the goals we set in life, and our spiritual growth (or the lack thereof).

 

 

So in an attempt to be very practical, let’s begin by

 

 

All those verses actually boil down to three simple observations.  First,

 

 

We are all by nature seeking people. I think it stems from the dissatisfaction in our lives.  Some people seek for money, others for fame, others for pleasure, others for self-validation, others for sexual fulfillment, and others for worldly power.

 

We may seek a husband or a wife or we may seek children or a new job or a better education or a new home or new friends or a new church. The tragedy of our time is that so many people are wasting their lives chasing after three things that can never satisfy—money, sex and power.

 

We want money, so we sacrifice our families to get it. We want sex so we sacrifice our morals to get it. We want power so we sacrifice our friends to get it.  Then when we finally get it, it doesn’t satisfy.

 

As we meet, there is a football game being played.  Think about all the money and publicity and coverage that is given to the Super Bowl.

 

Way back in 1971, Duane Thomas, was one of the great running backs of the day who helped the Dallas Cowboys win Super Bowl VI.  He kept hearing writers refer to the Super Bowl as the Ultimate Game, so he asked the obvious question. “If this is the Ultimate Game, why do they play it again next year?”

That’s the way things are in the world. You climb to the top of the heap only to discover that next year you’ve got to start all over again. Everybody is seeking something, and unfortunately nothing in this life satisfies forever.  Here’s the second thing:

 

 

Here’s a simple test to help you discover what you truly seek in life. This test is absolutely foolproof. You tell me how you spend your time and your money and I’ll tell you what you are seeking.

 

You can say anything you like, you can come to church and look very religious, but your time and your money don’t lie. Time is life and money is nothing but the time it takes to make the money. Show me your calendar and your checkbook and I’ll know the truth about your priorities.

 

This week I read about a man who looked at his life and concluded that he was just like the Professor on Gilligan’s Island. “The Professor knew how to turn banana peels into diesel fuel and he could take algae and make chocolate fudge, but he never got around to fixing that hole in the boat so he could get off the island. Same as me. I spent my life learning to do amazing things that didn’t matter, and I ignored the hole in my boat. And that’s why I’m stuck where I am.”

 

That’s why this third observation is so important:

 

Listen to Matthew 5:6

 

This is one of the most stupendous promises in the Word of God. If you are hungry and thirsty for the righteousness that God provides, you will be filled.  It doesn’t matter how big your appetite or how ambitious your desire, the promise of Jesus is you can be satisfied.

 

By the way, the same is true in the area of unrighteousness.  You can go as far as you want to in discovering the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eys and the pride of life.  The world has plenty to offer and the divil is always happy to accompany you as far as you want to go.

 

But if you want righteousness, you can have it. I don’t think we appreciate the importance of that truth. Most of us are as close to God now as we want to be. We have about as much joy as we want, about as much peace as we want. We understand the Bible as much as we want to.  We know the will fo God as much as we want to.  We are as obedient and victorious as much as we want to be.

 

Abraham Lincoln said that “most people are about as happy as they want to be.” That’s true. We are the way we are because that’s the way we want to be. Either we’re happy that way or we’ve accepted that this is who we are and we’re not going to change. For the most part, you are where you are right now because that’s where you want to be. If you were hungry for something better from God, you could have it.

 

 

That means if you want it, you can have a close walk with God.

 

If you want it, you can have a better marriage.

 

If you want to, you can do God’s will.

 

If you want to, you can witness for Christ.

 

If you want to, you can learn to pray.

 

If you want to, you can grow spiritually.

 

If you want to, you can walk in the Spirit.

 

If you want to, you can become a man of God or a woman of God.

 

If you want to, you can change bad habits.

 

If you want to, you can break destructive patterns of behavior.

 

What we seek, we find. This is true in every area and realm of life. Unless we seek, we will not find. And what we seek, for good or for ill, we eventually find.

 

Now it seems to me our primary problem stems from the excuses we make. We don’t change and we don’t grow and we don’t seek God and we stay the way we are because that’s pretty much the way we want to be. We’ve learned to live with mediocrity and either we think things will never change or we’re happy the way we are.

 

 

 

So what do we do about

 

 

There are three primary excuses that keep us trapped. The first is the excuse of

 

 

I read this week of a man who had attained a position of importance and influence in his profession and was widely respected by those who knew him. But he lost it all through a series of serious moral failures.

 

When the truth became known, he lost his job, his reputation, his profession, and his means of supporting his family. In an attempt to put the pieces back together, he paid a visit to his pastor.

 

During that conversation, he told of a support group he had joined and what he had learned there.  He said, “They have one rule: No self-pity. No whining or complaining or moaning about what happened or how hard life is or how bad you have it or how if your wife had treated you better, you wouldn’t be in this mess.”

 

He went on to say, “I’ve discovered that self-pity is the enemy of spiritual growth.”

 

That’s right!  And as long as we mope around feeling sorry for ourselves, we can’t get better. And we’ll be stuck right where we are.

 

 

 

The second excuse is

 

 

You ever use that?

 

 

 

No, we’re not!  We’re just failing at doing whatever we say we’re “trying” to do.  We just say we’re trying because it makes us feel better for not doing what we need  or ought to do!  It’s just an excuse!

 

In one of the Star Wars movies, Yoda tells Luke Skywalker to use his powers to do something that seemed impossible. “I’ll try,” said Luke Skywalker. “No!” said Yoda. “Do or do not. There is no try.”

 

You’re either drinking or you’re not drinking.

 

You’re either reading through the Bible or you’re not.

 

You’re either paying off your credit cards or you’re not.

 

You’re either passing geometry or you’re not.

 

You’re either losing weight or you’re not.

 

You’re either swearing or you’re not.

 

You’re either using drugs or you’re not.

 

You’re either being faithful or you’re not.

 

You’re either forgiving that person who hurt you or

you’re not.

 

You’re either getting married or you’re not.

 

Don’t deceive yourself into thinking you’ve changed when nothing has changed.

 

The third excuse is simply saying,

 

 

If that’s your bottom line, then I really don’t have anything else to say to you. Until you want to change, you are doomed to stay exactly the way you are right now.

 

As with any Christian discipline, the great need is

 

 

A simple question will help us to do that.

 

Are you a God-seeking person?

 

How would you answer that? What evidence can you produce that you are truly seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness?

 

It is not enough to be religious or simply busy going to church events. As good as that may be, it’s not the same thing as seeking God with all your heart.

 

Maybe the best way to answer that question is not for you to ask yourself, but to ask someone who knows you well and ask them.

 

How would they answer if they answered honestly?  Not out to protect your feelings or caress your spiritual ego, but to just honestly give you their assessment when you asked, “Am I a God-seeking person? When you look at my life, do you see the qualities in me of a person who truly seeks God?”

 

And if you really want to know the truth, go to an unsaved friend or relative and ask them that question. You may be surprised at how readily they answer. Unsaved people may not understand the intricacies of our faith, but they know the difference between someone who seeks God and someone who is a hypocrite.

 

In some cases I think unbelievers can be less easily fooled than believers because believers are all playing the same game.  If I admit some fellow Christian is failing, then I might have to admit it about myself.  People who don’t know the Lord instinctively recognize a person who truly knows God and seeks him passionately.

 

So go ahead and ask them, if you dare!  Or ask your husband or wife or children or parent.

 

And I remind you again of the words of Isaiah 55:6, “Seek the Lord while he may be found.”

 

Life is so uncertain for all of us. No one knows what a day may bring forth.  Two weeks, not too far from here, a young other of 27 and her two children, 5 and 2, left this earth in a tragic car accident.

Little did they know when they kissed goodbye that morning, that young husband and dad would never see his family alive again.  “Seek the Lord”!

 

And don’t miss that closing phrase, “While he may be found.” That is specifically addressed to those who don’t know Jesus. Do not say, “Tomorrow or the day after I will come to Christ.” Come now. Believe now. Be saved today. You can’t be certain about tomorrow.

 

And to those who know the Lord, do not say, “Tomorrow or the day after I will seek the Lord.” No! Serve the Lord today. Seek him today. Honor him today. You don’t know if you will live to see tomorrow come.

 

So suppose you’ve decided to be a God-seeker.  Where do we start?  Let me offer you five

suggestions:

 

First, admit your need.

 

You cannot change until you admit that you need to change. If you are happy the way you are, then I have nothing to do say to you. But if you are tired of turning banana peels into diesel fuel while there’s a hole in your boat, then pay attention because your life could be radically changed.

 

 

Unfortunately, a lot of people have to hit rock bottom before they cry out for help.  I visited with a young man recently who shared his testimony of drugs and crisis and car wrecks.

All those things finally brought him to faith in Jesus Christ.  And while I rejoice in his testimony, I can’t help but think how much better to simply seek the Lord before we get nto those difficulties!  If you need the Lord, cry out to him today. Seek him with all your heart and you will find him.

 

 

You know who they are. God-seekers aren’t hard to spot. Find some friends who truly seek the Lord and glue yourself to them. Go where they go, do what they do. Follow their example. Eventually one of two things will happen. Either they will drive you nuts and you will leave them or they will rub off on you and you will become a God-seeker too.

 

And just as an aside to that, avoid those who aren’t.  There are some people I just don’t need to be around.  They ruin my spirit and sour my disposition.  I need to surround myself with those who love and serve and seek the Lord.

 

 

This is a hard discipline for most of us to practice. Our message to God is, “Give me patience, and give it to me right now!” We want spiritual maturity and we want it by 11:30 a.m. We’re not accustomed to waiting patiently on the Lord. But waiting has many positive benefits. The very act of waiting purifies our hearts and increases our longing to know the Lord intimately. As we wait and as we pray, we become like the deer panting for the water. Our souls grow hungry to know the Lord.

 

 

Immerse yourself in Bible study and prayer.  You may want to develop the discipline of fasting.  It’s almost too obvious to mention, but there is a direct connection between seeking the Lord and being with the Lord.   It just stand to reason that we will not fine the Lord if we are not spending time with the Lord. 

 

Thomas a Kempis, who wrote The Imitation of Christ, said, “Seek God, not happiness.” We have it all backwards. We seek happiness and hope to have God thrown in as a bonus. But we end up with neither.

 

The paradox of the gospel is that when we truly seek God, we find him, and we get happiness, deep fulfillment, lasting joy and the abundant life too. But it takes years for many of us to figure that out, and some of us never get it straight. To the very end, we pursue earthly happiness and our own agendas and we wonder why life leaves us frustrated and disillusioned.

 

I close with this final thought. Jesus’ appeal is always personal. He never says, “Come and join the church” or “Come and be baptized” or “Come and give money.” He simply says, “Come unto me.” When Jesus says, “You will be filled,” he means, “You will be filled with Jesus himself!”

 

If you are hungry, come and eat of the Bread of Life.

 

If you are thirsty, come and drink of the Water of Life.

 

If you are weary, come and find the Rest of life.

 

If you are guilty, come and be forgiven.

 

If you are far from God, come back home again.

 

Someone once said there is a “God-shaped vacuum” inside every human heart. Since nature abhors a vacuum, if we don’t fill it with God, we will fill it with something else. So many of us have filled our hearts with the junk food of the world. No wonder we are so unhappy. No wonder we jump from one job to another and from one relationship to another.

 

We’re like little children who won’t let go of the marble in order to receive a diamond. “No, I won’t give up my weekend affair for eternal joy” … “Trade a broken marriage and a failed career for peace and forgiveness? Forget it.” … “Give up my drug addiction and be forgiven for all my sins? No way, man.” … “You say I can replace my anger and bitterness with peace and contentment? I can’t take the chance. Sorry.”

 

No wonder we stay the way we are. We’re trapped in the pit of a thousand excuses. We’d rather have misery and pain than risk it all on Jesus.

 

Many centuries ago Augustine explained both the problem and the solution: “O God, you have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they find rest in you.” You will never be happy until you put God first in your life. And you can never do that until you surrender your life to Jesus Christ once and for all.

 

Let me give you some good news. In the kingdom of God, everything begins with a seeking heart! Salvation begins with a hungry heart. If you are tired of the life you’ve been living, you can make a new start.

 

In the spiritual realm, what you seek is what you find and knowing that is basic to living the Christian life successfully.

 

Let’s pray.