1061. God is Seekable and Findable

Welcome to The Daily Platform, our program features sermons from travel services at Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina. Every day students are blessed by the preaching and teaching of the Bible from the University Chapel platform today on The Daily Platform with your sermon preached by the Chancellor Dr. Bob Jones the third who is the grandson of the founder, Dr. Bob Jones Senior why are there some here this morning were running and hiding from the author of creation, the Lord of every man, the Redeemer and Savior.

In the intercessor. Such a God, as we have who is knowable, why do not want to knowing I would ask you please this morning in the interest of our brief time together to turn to Jeremiah 2113 what each of you do that please I would like you to read this Jeremiah 2913 God says you shall seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart and I will be found of you set the Lord. If God were not findable, he would not tell us that he is searchable.

Why is it mankind is God of verse why we running and hiding from them, why are believers who save the professing believers only desirous of knowing him on the saving level and not the sanctifying level.

Why is there not more intensity driving purpose in our lives. To know God well I think it's in our DNA. That's why our parents in the garden. Upon sending tried to hide from God, and we their progeny are just like them.

God is sinkable and God is findable.

I like what someone 053 says let the heart of them that seek the rejoice. Some of you have heavy hearts Hannah who prayed for us this morning has a heavy heart. When we prayed for, who lost her father has a heavy heart.

You have heavy hearts that are only known to you and God. Perhaps you have fearful hearts trouble despondent, desperate, discouraged. The Bible says in this 105th Psalm, the third verse that the heart of those who seek the Lord are Mary hearts. Why would you not seek the Lord to give in him. The seeking of him. The heart is made.

Mary, you don't have to have the kind of heart that some of you have this morning doesn't have to stay that way doesn't mean you don't acknowledge discouragement or knowledge, and grief, but it means that behind it all, there's the hopefulness that causes us to transcend the grief and the discouragements the disappointments, because in seeking the Lord and growing in the Lord.

We have very Mary hearts that can't be found anywhere else. So I ask you this morning what drives your life. What is it you are seeking. If you are not seeking the Lord, the Lord said in Matthew chapter 6 that we are to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto us. I'm speaking to people this morning who have already determined your likes going to be about seeking things and you got it all backwards.

God says seek me first and I'll take care, of the things the essentials of life are from me. So seek me and believing me find out for me how trustworthy I am and how dependable and how much I want to care for you. Therefore, things that God's put on my heart that I've been meditating on for weeks now because God because the verse to jump off the page at me from the Psalms. Seek the Lord and his strength seek his face or his countenance forever, or continuously will talk more about that in a moment I couldn't get that off my heart for weeks begin to ponder what these things mean.

I like to share with you what God has taught me about seeking him for things that we seek God for for things we see God for their more, therefore, for us this morning the first thing is found in the book of Amos Amos the prophet in the fifth chapter. It's recorded said to the people of God.

God says, seek me, and you shall live a keep in mind he spoke that to living people so what did God mean when he said to living people seek me, and you shall live well because each of us while enjoying earthly life is just weird is walking around spiritually dead people dead in our trespasses and sin.

So I did God say seek me and live because he's the author of salvation is found nowhere else. But in him. In him we live and move and have our being. Isaiah put it this way in the 55th chapter, seek ye the Lord while he may be found calling upon them while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts and let him return unto the Lord and he will have mercy upon him, and to our God will abundantly pardon the invitation from God to spiritually dead people here today unconverted people is the same as it's been throughout the ages. Seek me, and you will live on the God of life.

When you departed for me in sin created a chasm between you and me you became spiritually dead because I'm the God of life you're without me your dead in trespasses and sin.

But seek me because when you do. I have life to give you why would you not seeking my friend dear seeking. So God says incline your ear, and come unto me, and here and your soul shall Isaiah the prophet is recorded in 55th chapter of his book. Seek me, and you will live.

Incline your ear, I'm speaking to you.

God says turn your ear in my direction, and here and get the life that I alone can give you your just walking around dead people today. If you have not Jesus Christ.

The invitations open to every thirsty soul again in Isaiah 50 50.

Everyone that thirsted come you to the waters, he that hath no money coming by and eat some and buy wine and milk without money and without price. And Jesus said to the woman at the well is recorded in John chapter 4 whosoever drink it of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst. I think the reason that there are some here that are still dead in your trespasses into never never in your life thought that you needed anything more than to be a walking around in person never dawned on you that you don't have life you've heard it, but it never, never incline your ear. You know, when God seeks us. He does seek us and tells us to seek him, but he seeks us unless he seeks us.

We can't really have an inclination to seek him some of you here say because over a period of years, as he did with me and it is growing up in a Christian home and knowing the Scripture and being able to quote it in. I began to seek God because I realize I only had a Christian family in an intellectual knowledge of God and I did not have God the father is my own personal Lord and father sometimes in a moment of time, like the apostle's I like Saul on the way to wreck havoc with the church in Damascus to persecute them greatly using done other places. He was intersected by God. There, in a moment.

God said to him, Saul. I am your Lord and from that day his life was ever different. He was not seeking God. He thought he knew God, but he didn't know God son, the Messiah, and without Christ, the Messiah, God's own son, the second person of the Trinity.

We can't know God was at a funeral Saturday afternoon dance lay one of our graduates businessman the community passed away, and in the course of the funeral that showed a video that some family members made of him one Christmas when his 19 grandchildren. The rest of his family were all around them somebody asking to give his salvation testimony in a nutshell, because time is short. Let me give it to you because it illustrates what I'm trying to say about God seeking us and how without God doing that will never seek him. If you found yourself under conviction for a long time and wishing that God would just leave you alone. You better be glad he hasn't. Or if you've never felt God seeking you. You've never felt inclined that you really need him.

Life is pretty good okay at this point in a moment of time when God does seek you. You will seek him dance lay that I was out of the Christian home, what I strayed far from the Lord. I went Australia and went to New Zealand found a bunch of buddies. We went over there we live it up life or just a party.

After a while we came back to California where he lived. We bought an old Cadillac junker and the five of us guys headed out to the Margo to the Mardi Gras in New Orleans we were going to go from there up the East Coast to New York have some more fun going to cook across the ocean lead our buddies from over there in Australia and we're going to reconnect. We were just going to keep on living doing our thing. He said as we were driving across the desert of Nevada on dark night on our way to New Orleans. He said one of the guys laughed and said hey you know what there's a lot of experimental aircraft stuff going there a lot of sightings of UFOs in the desert. We don't know well is it but would it be something of you have just landed and just took us on boarding is out here we begin to live our lives somewhere else. They laughed and then all of a sudden one of the guys said yeah but would it be something if Jesus came and took four of us and one was left dance. Lay said my heart just was terrified.

He'd had enough of the gospel in his heart to growing up.

He knew what was going on and he said I was scared to death all the way to New Orleans and got to New Orleans.

We got to our hotel. We decided that we would hit every bar between our hotel and where the Mardi Gras was being staged and he said it was impossible. Of course there about 200 bars along that street but we started in which I said in the middle of one of those. We were drunk and a big fight broke out in the bar. My buddy's head was split wide open with a bottle that somebody put across his head. This is my back was cut with a razor and I was so drunk I didn't even know until afterwards and I realize my pullback was soaked in blood and he said all of a sudden, when the fight was over. My buddy said I'm going to seek God I need God. And Dan said yeah I do to sit right there in that setting with our minds still crazy with alcohol just got down called out to the Lord save us week we knew enough to know that we needed Christ. We did back in our hotel the next morning we woke up and he said buddy and I looked at each other and we smiled and we said something happen to us last night where different people are always key how how we sure are.

And they said goodbye to their friends that you take the car you go where you think you gotta go, where getting on an airplane were going back to California where different people. The Lord saw them that night and they sought him on the spot that could happen to you today.

Secondly, we must seek those things which are above, where Christ it it's on the right hand of God and set our affection, that is, our interests are regards come on things above, not on things on the earth. Colossians 3 wanted to. You've already had preaching about that since you're in Colossians right now.

On the Monday chapels. What is it mean to seek things that are above what is it mean to seek heavenly things. It means to seek the kingdom of God and the king of the kingdom whose throne is there above seek to embrace what you believers already possess. You possess the kingdom of God. You possess the inheritance of eternity and glory that comes with the redeemed who are made part of the kingdom of God. You know what happens, though, friends we the song today was about reaching the world across the world across the lands for Christ. We will never do that until we first leave the world.

By that I mean we seek God and not the world, neither the things that are in the world, its values, its its kingdom, its enticements to Lorman's material things until we stop seeking that we will never seek God with a passionate heart that takes us beyond just having sought him and found him as our Savior and some here are very content to have no more than that, because truthfully you're scared of God. You're afraid of getting too close to him as Israel was at Mount Sinai. They didn't hear God speak and they said to Moses you talk to God and then you tell us what God has to say we don't want to get too close to God. Some of you are just scared to death to grow in the grace and the knowledge of Jesus Christ. You don't want to get too close to God because of the implications of giving up yourself and letting him ruin your life and enjoying that which he gives you an gives you to delight in the world cannot give you seek what the natural man knows nothing of, nor can know because he can't he scorns it, and he feels threatened by Jesus says to the citizens of his kingdom to stop making material things, what we seek live leave the essentials of life in the hands of the king of your kingdom. Matthew 633 seek first the kingdom of God. You know, astronomers eyes astronomy fascinates me. Astronomers seek the heavens with their telescopes ever more powerful they can seek more and more, but the problem is they can never seek high enough there trying to discover the secrets of the universe, but they don't go high enough telescopes will never get to God's heaven. The psalmist said in Psalm 97 you, Lord, are most high, over all the earth, your exalted above all, God, my friends, those who live in this world, seeking answers from this world will never get the answers that they really need because they don't seek God. He's out of this world. Jesus said in John eight to the Jews. You are of this world, but I am not of this world. He left that kingdom came here and went back where he rules it.

Have you ever been in a place where you were so lacking in what you desperately had to happen. You had no way of finding or getting yourself is it's a scary place to be in. But it's a wonderful place to be in quick illustration years ago after the Iron Curtain felt it had been opened Russia and all the satellite countries had been open only about two months for five of us preachers went over there. Two of us took our lives. Nelson took his white guile and I took my Bennett. We went over there for 12 days and we ministered in the churches of the pastors who'd been imprisoned for years, many of them in the gulags in Siberia and these people were just now coming into freedom that they had never known for 70 years.

That's what Marxism that shuts down the freedom makes the state God and only let people do what the state can tell them they can do Windows awful help Kelly system, but that's what they had been under for almost 70 years. Now they were free. We went to try to encourage them at the end of it better than I got on the train back to Moscow and overnight train. We arrived at the train station we had vouchers take us from the train station to the airport yet about a 17 hour layover. We wanted to go to Red Square, which we seen on television for all the issuers and their marching parades military show and we ride this train station. They told us that these vouchers could be redeemed at the that one and only travel agency inrush of the official travel agency called into her is we knew what the sign looks like we went to the train station was immense much huger much huger in this oratorio. We went around at about four times looking for the into her. Scott yelled. Nobody spoke English. There were no English that was knowingly signage everything was Russian.

We couldn't find the symbol anywhere, what are we going to do.

We don't know we can't talk to anybody when we go to benefit were to stand right here to pray until God. We are desperate and we have no means of helping ourselves.

We've already tried to help ourselves. God, please send a somebody to speak English and tell us what train to catch the get to Red Square and from there get us to the airport about 10 minutes later this man walks up to the beautiful blue suit man about early 30s.

He said can I help you said yes. We pray for you. You can help us. Here's our dilemma.

He said well I'm from down in in in in Belarus and it was a terribly dark place and then one of the worst places and he said I'm on vacation and I thought you were English speaking people. So I'll help you.

He went away as a benefit that was an angel dress up as a businessman on the way to a vacation. People who been under communism and living for 70 years that comes they don't go on vacations like we take vacation but I said, regardless of whoever he was, he was sent of God to us. We were desperate we sought the Lord have you been desperate enough that she just had nowhere else to turn.

You know he should be the first place. We turn not where we go in desperation only, but the first place. I have another point here, but time doesn't permit it but I want to make one point from the hundred and fifth Psalm the fourth fourth fourth first that I prefer do seek the Lord and his strength seek his countenance continually.

What does that mean how do we seeking what his word is where he puts himself on display. His face, as it will. The God who is knowable, makes himself noble through his word. Psalm one 1910 with my whole heart ICQ. Let me not wander from your commandments.

Why did he say let me not wander from your commandments because God that's how I know you. That's how I see your face is how I know what you look like you reveal yourself in your word. What you have spoken and you know what when we see God's face we see a gracious God, knowable, gracious God, why would you be afraid of likely to be running and hiding from him in the prayer of Aaron the high priest and number six the Lord bless you and keep you.

The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you. The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. You may be fearing. You may be dreading. You may have also does nervous disorders, depression, that's what you're bound to get if all you can look at for your help and hope is this world, but there's joy greater than the farmer feels when he has a bounteous harvest which you and I can get by seeking to know what God looks like. Dear friends, make the knowledge of God. The ruling desire of your heart, get into God's presence into his word into a church that makes God knowable. No churches were to be a church. It's totally fraud New London and misnamed. It's not the church of the living God. If it doesn't bring us as we join collectively in God's worship there into the knowledge of God.

That's why we go to church to find out what God looks like.

At a deeper level and that Psalm we read in the hundred fifth Psalm it says to seeking continuously continuously daily in all times and all the experiences God requires that, my friend. I would suggest to you that what you desperately need.

Not only for your life here, but for all of your life.

If your life is to be worth the living, and you claim to be a redeemed child of God seeking the Lord daily. Make it an all day experience. Just as he said seek my face can tenuously something that begins when you get better in the morning and the dawn appears and continues until we go to sleep I pray that somehow God would put that passion so you can live the redeemed life with all the joys and satisfactions. Blessings that he has in store for you and your heavenly father. Dear God, please help us. The world is too much with this it's too much. Our passion.

We are pursuing that which is going to be burned up. One day in the fires of your judgment and you've given to us eternal life through the son. Jesus, God forgive us for the sin of goring you and seeking everything but you pray in Christ name name you been listening to a message preached by Dr. Bob Jones of third Chancellor of Bob Jones University.

Thanks again for listening. We hope you'll join us next time. As we study God's word together on The Daily Platform