Seek the Lord NOW Before It's Too Late – Urgent Gospel Message

[0:00] What are you searching for? Our brother just read a psalm that talks about a cry of a man who says, I sought the Lord.

[0:13] ! And when you think of it, really everyone is searching for something. You search for your keys. Usually when I get in the car and I start filling my pockets, oh what, and Julie says, what did you forget?

[0:25] Whether it was my phone, my keys. You're searching for something, aren't you? You're searching for meaning, searching for approval, searching for love, for success, for happiness, for peace.

[0:36] Everyone's searching. But beneath it all, your heart cries for something deeper. And what is it that you truly long for? It's a big question. A happiness that lasts.

[0:47] A purpose that endures. A peace that holds you steady. A love that will not leave. And the truth is truly that every human heart is searching for what only God can give.

[1:02] The tragedy, spending your whole life searching in the wrong places. While the one who searches for you stands waiting. And God's word tells us this, as we go to Hosea 10, looking particularly at this truth here of Hosea 10 verse 12.

[1:24] God's word says, Lord, Let us pray.

[1:39] Lord, we thank you that we come to your word. We seek your face. We seek to pray. We seek your scriptures, Lord. We seek your will. Your purpose. Lord, minister, we pray to every heart.

[1:52] Help us to catch something of this truth today. And to apply it to our own lives. Our own circumstances. In Jesus name.

[2:03] Amen. It is time to seek the Lord. And the truth is that really God seeks you first. God seeks you first.

[2:15] As far as the truth of seeking the Lord goes, There's about approximately 150 verses that speak of seeking God.

[2:26] 150 verses speaks of seeking God, seeking his face in prayer, in faith to seek our God. The first point tonight is that the truth is that God seeks you first.

[2:44] Sometimes we think, we imagine God as hiding. Playing hide and seek. And he's the one who's hiding. But actually it's the opposite. That God is the one who seeks you first.

[2:55] And you see that right back at the beginning. In the book of the beginnings. Genesis. Genesis 3 verse 9. And the Lord called unto Adam and said unto him, Where art thou?

[3:07] Where art thou? It wasn't confusion or curiosity from God. He knew exactly where Adam was. But it's his father's cry. To sinners hiding in shame.

[3:19] Where art thou? He calls us out of hiding and into healing. And we think of that truth that God is seeking us.

[3:30] Man's natural inclination is not to seek God. Yet he does command us to seek him. And what he commands us to do, he enables us to do. As we'll unpack a little.

[3:42] And so, as far as the truth of God seeking us. It's why Jesus came. It's his mission. He says, the Son of man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.

[3:54] It's his very mission why he came. And the Lord Jesus didn't come as a sightseer. Just as you might go holidaying somewhere to check out the sights. He came as one to save souls.

[4:07] As the soul saver. As the rescue operation. And Luke 15 shows somewhat of how God seeks us. We see in the different glimpses there of God seeking.

[4:19] In the chapter of Luke 15. For example, you see the shepherd. And what does he do? He leaves the 99 sheep. For that one lost lamb.

[4:30] He traipses through the mud and the rocks. The darkness. Into that hidden away place where the lamb has strayed. And he comes back rejoicing.

[4:42] Comes back rejoicing. When he finds the lamb. And he throws a party. And the Lord Jesus shows us that's how God feels about you.

[4:53] He says, Rejoice with me. For I have found my sheep which was lost. The rejoicing of the shepherd. And another example in Luke 15 is the lost coin.

[5:06] The woman and her lost coin. She searches every corner for the one lost coin. Relentless. And of course she finds it. She takes a woman's look.

[5:17] And it's like, when I need something Julie finds it for me. And we see that the woman searches for that lost coin. Just maybe a tiny coin. And she throws the house into chaos while she searches every nook and cranny.

[5:34] Until she finds that coin. And it's a picture of God searching, isn't it? Again. And then we know, of course, God is pictured as the father.

[5:45] He sees his prodigal son. Returning from a distance. He doesn't wait for an apology. As much as the son had prepared one. He runs to him.

[5:57] To his son. And he embraces him. And throws a party again. And this truth that there is joy. In the presence of the angels of God.

[6:09] Over one sinner that repents her. What a blessing to see the joy of the father. To see the rejoicing amongst the angels.

[6:21] And it's God who does the seeking there. In the truth of it. That the boy did nothing other than. And he came to his senses.

[6:32] And he changed his attention to return to the father. And joy came. From that. Ministry there.

[6:44] And. The joy of the father. It pictures God as the one who truly seeks. And he runs to us. And so why must we seek him. If God is so actively seeking after us.

[6:57] Why does he urge us. To seek him. And because seeking is our response. It's our response to the father's heart. And his pursuit. Demands our pursuit. His searching.

[7:08] Cause for our surrender. As the picture of the shepherd. He searches us. And he saves us. As the woman. Finds the coin. And.

[7:19] There's rejoicing. As the father. Sees the returning prodigal. And he runs to him. And. There's a rejoicing in heaven. Think of how.

[7:30] He pursued you. To the very cross. And. Orden we. To pursue him. Orden we. To seek after him. So some thoughts about seeking.

[7:41] After God. God. And firstly. Seek God now. Our text tells us that. It is time to. Seek the Lord. It is time. Now.

[7:53] Oft times. We can say. Well. We'll get around to it. But. Oft times. When we say. That we're going to do it later. It becomes never. And you get that often.

[8:04] When you're reaching folk. And. You say. Trust Christ. Receive Jesus. And. They back off. They won't. Commit.

[8:15] They won't. Put their heart's trust in him. They'll say. Later. Come back. And. The reality is. That they're not. Ever. Going to trust him.

[8:26] And. The picture there. Of this fallow ground. In our text. It reads that. We should break up. Your fallow ground. What a vivid picture again.

[8:37] Think of fallow ground. Neglected. Hard. Dry. Cracked. Ground. Good for nothing. Nothing. Grows there. God says.

[8:48] Break up. Your fallow ground. He's speaking about. The fallow ground. The hardness. Of our heart. That neglect. That apathy. Where. There's.

[8:59] A spiritual deadness. And. God wants us. To break it up. Break up. The hardness. Our heart. And. The promise is clear.

[9:10] As we seek him. It says. He's going to rain. Righteousness upon. Those who seek him. And he's going to bring. Life. And growth. And blessing. As we. Open up our heart.

[9:21] And. Get things right. If we refuse. Our heart. Or remain barren. It'll be. As that fallow ground. Really. Not producing. Seek God now.

[9:32] The window. Is open. But not forever. Seek God. It's a repeated theme. As I say. Many verses. It tells us. To seek. God.

[9:43] To seek. After God. And. Seek God. While you have time. To seek God. While you have time. To seek God. It's no casual suggestion. It's a command.

[9:54] It is time. To seek the Lord. And it's a matter of life. And death. Heaven. And hell. Verses such as this one. Seek you the Lord.

[10:05] While he may be found. Call upon him. While he is near. Notice the word. While. Seek you the Lord. While. While he may be found. There's a window of grace.

[10:17] It's. A limited time. Where. That scope of while. Is. Present. In other words. The time will come. When it will be too late.

[10:28] To seek him. The door is open today. That. Door of grace. And it won't stay open. Forever. Verses such as this one. Tell us about.

[10:39] Concept of time. Of the accepted time. As Paul tells the Corinthians. Now is the. Day of salvation. Not yesterday. Gone. Not tomorrow. Uncertain.

[10:50] Not when convenient. Now. And. The danger. Of delay. The danger. Of delay. Should. Be. Something.

[11:02] We. Are prompted. By. The danger. Of delay. The Lord. Jesus. Spoke. Of the rich man. In Luke 12.

[11:13] He called him. A fool. This rich man. That he had more time. He had more time. He busied his life. He filled his schedule. He crammed his life.

[11:24] With all of his. Activities. All of his preparations. Getting everything sorted. As far as his comforts. That then he's going to sit back. And enjoy.

[11:35] All of his labor. He assumed that he had plenty of time. To get things right. To seek after God. But God. Tells him.

[11:46] Thou fool. This night. Thy soul. Is required of thee. The danger. Of delay. God says. Seek you. The Lord. While he may be found.

[11:57] Call upon him. While he is near. Another example. Of delay. Is the man. Felix. As Paul reasoned. Of righteousness. Temperance. And judgment.

[12:08] To come. Felix. Trampled. And answered. Go thy way. For this time. When I have a convenient season. I will call for thee.

[12:19] The Holy Spirit. Was grabbing a hold of this man. He trembled. But he says. When I've got a convenient time. I'll think about it.

[12:31] He never had one. He never found one. He never found a convenient time. Time. Time ran out. Also for Noah's neighbors. They thought they had time.

[12:42] Noah was preaching to them. For years and years. Time ran out. For Noah's neighbors. As it tells how the. Animals entered.

[12:53] And then God commanded. Him. As he commanded him. To enter the ark. They went in. And the Lord shut him in. The Lord shut him in. God said. Time's up.

[13:04] God shut the door. Of the ark. And. It was too late. For. Those who delayed. You don't know how much time you have left. To seek. After God.

[13:15] Tomorrow isn't promised. Life is short. Windows close. Doors shut. Hearts harden. Death comes. Judgment. You don't know when the door of grace.

[13:27] Is going to close. Those. Just waiting for the. That door to slam shut. You don't know when that door's going to. Bang. Shut. And time's up.

[13:39] Every day. Without Jesus. Is a wasted day. If you're outside of Christ. Every day. Without Jesus. It's a wasted day.

[13:50] And life changes in a heartbeat. You get that call. An emergency. Someone's. Someone's. On their deathbed. Or already gone.

[14:01] A diagnosis. A car crash. Life changes. Bang. Out of nowhere. Eternity is closer than you think.

[14:12] And there's no telling how much time you have. If you're sitting on the fence. Hell is full of people who. Planned. To seek God. Later.

[14:23] Later. I'll seek God. One day. Later. They put it off. Don't be one of them. The Bible urges us. Boast not thyself of tomorrow.

[14:34] For thou knowest not what a day. May bring forth. Don't say tomorrow. Say today. Trust him now. Now. Thank God.

[14:45] There's examples of seekers who did find. God. The Bible is filled with people. Who found. Salvation. And their stories give us hope.

[14:56] Can think. Of the example of Zacchaeus. He was short. Wealthy. Hated. But he was desperate. To see Jesus. And of course we know him.

[15:08] Short in stature. The crowd was. Around the Lord Jesus. He couldn't get close enough. His. He couldn't. Stand on his. Tippy toes. High enough. To see Jesus.

[15:19] So. He ran ahead. And jumped up into the tree. What a spectacle. He swallowed his pride. As he. Climbed the tree. This grown man. And Jesus.

[15:30] Stopped. And looked up. Into the tree. And said unto him. Zacchaeus. Make haste. And come down. For today. I must abide. At thy house.

[15:41] The Lord Jesus. Invited himself. To a meal. At Zacchaeus's house. Zacchaeus. As a seeker. Who found him. And we could think. How can we go out.

[15:52] So to speak. To see Jesus. And he. If you do. He'll notice you. As he noted. Zacchaeus. Another example. Of a seeker. Who found. The saviour.

[16:03] Is the bleeding woman. The woman. With the issue of blood. Suffered 12. Long. Years. Broke. Sick. Shamed. But she pressed through the crowd.

[16:14] Thinking. If I may touch. But his clothes. I shall be whole. If I may touch. But his clothes. I shall be whole. She had the. Faith.

[16:25] To. Reach out. To extend. A hand. To touch. Just the hem. Of his garment. If I may touch. But his clothes.

[16:36] I shall be whole. And she touched. His garment. And power flowed. And he said unto her. Daughter. Thy faith. Hath made thee whole. She's a seeker.

[16:48] Who found. The grace of God. By faith. Her desperation. Brought deliverance. Another example.

[16:59] Of a seeker. Is Nicodemus. We can think of Nicodemus. In John 3. Tells of him. Religious. Respected. Yet lost. He came by night.

[17:10] Like under cover. Of darkness. Wrestling. With questions. And one conversation. Planted a seed. As that secret seeking. Became.

[17:21] Bold discipleship. Later. We read of him. That he sought. The body of. The Lord. At the cross. That he was not. Afraid. To be identified. Amongst the believing.

[17:33] And we see Nicodemus. His heart was changed. That message of. You must be born again. Then. It. Sunk in. And so. His seeking. God met him.

[17:45] As he sought. The Savior. And we can bring our questions. To God. As we seek him. Like Nicodemus. And. Be honest. Before God.

[17:56] And. Reach out to him. As Nicodemus. Somewhat timid. Somewhat. I suppose. Trying to keep it. Quiet. That he was seeking.

[18:07] After Jesus. Yet. He found. The answers. That he sought. And another example. Is Bartimaeus. The blind Bartimaeus. The beggar. Bartimaeus. When he heard.

[18:18] That Jesus. Was passing by. He shouted out. For mercy. He shouted. When others. Shushed him. Yet. He shouted. All the more. And Jesus.

[18:29] Stopped. And healed him. And. People here tonight. Jesus. Jesus. Will hear you. If you cry out. Simply cry out. To him. He always stops.

[18:41] For the seeking. Heart. And he stopped. For Bartimaeus. In that crowded. Time. He heard. Bartimaeus. Cry. And he'll hear your hearts. Cry.

[18:52] If you. But. Reach out to him. So there's. Many examples. Here. We could cite. As we would. Seek him. And another example.

[19:03] Even the thief. On the cross. He had only minutes. Left. Think of the thief. On the cross. He brought nothing. Nothing. But. His sin.

[19:14] So plain. For the world. To see. His. Getting crucified. For it. And he had only minutes. Left. Eternity. Opened. For him.

[19:25] As he sought. The savior. It's never too late. Until it is. It is. Every seeker's story. Shows God's mercy. Extends.

[19:36] If you move towards God. He will move towards you. So think then. Of this seeking. Of this searching. What are we to seek? And how? I know.

[19:47] I can recollect. As a younger man. There was a TV program. At the time. called the long search. And if people might remember that one. it portrayed different religions of all kinds all kinds of religions and a long search people are searching they're searching for something searching for faith searching for truth searching for god and what matters is that we find the answer i'm not sure that program ever did come to a resolution but we know the long search the true search of every man of every woman as much as we're inclined not to seek him the answer is jesus isn't it and we see what are we to seek seeking first first this the kingdom of god and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you seek him seek the savior seek after his kingdom and his righteousness not his gifts or not success not comfort not human plans or engineering or philosophies but the rule of his rule of his righteousness in your life if you can just run to the father and know his grace not just the presence that he can give but the very love of god as the prodigal ran into the father's arms and was embraced by him and we can run to the father or we can think of the father as he's got the cookie jar he's got the things that i want so i'll search after him because of what he can give me but no it's about relationship with him isn't it he is everything our father run to the father and seek those things which are above not the things which are on earth set your affection on things above and that will truly bring joy not earthly trinkets or passing pleasures but to seek him to seek christ how then are we to seek him you could think of different examples different opportunities of how we are to seek after our lord a classic beautiful scripture is jeremiah 29 13 where his promises you shall seek me and find me when you shall search for me with all your heart do you search for god do you seek after god to seek god with your whole heart he wants you to with all of your heart the half-hearted seekers will miss but if we can search after god seek after god with our whole heart we can seek for god through his word as he tells us to seek through the scriptures to search the scriptures to dig deep to take it in to to want to delve into the depths of it to uncover the truth of it to hunt truth like treasure to seek through scripture also we can seek after god through prayer for whosoever shall call upon the name of the lord shall be saved if we were but have that heart to pray that heart to seek after god i mean to seek after god to seek god it speaks of prayer doesn't it they want to seek him we want to seek his face we want to call upon him confess cry cling to him to seek god through prayer and then seek through repentance that sense of clearing out that which is obstructing that which is in the way let the wicked forsake his way to find what it is that's in the way that's stopping that connection to stopping that relationship that we can seek after him and clear out anything that is obstructing from that search from that grabbing hold of him and also seek with persistent

[23:48] faith as matthew 7 tells us our lord speaking there about prayer he says ask and it shall be given unto you he says seek and you shall find knock and it shall be opened unto you for everyone that asketh receiveth and he that seeketh findeth and to him that knocketh it shall be opened it's got the sense of ask and keep on asking sink and keep on seeking knock and keep on knocking sometimes we got to do that when we do the door knocking you just knock and i know some people knock it they just got that so no give it a good hard knock you know wake the people up make sure they can hear keep on knocking till i answer the door it's the thought isn't that really because especially in some houses where they're long their bedroom could be right at the back of the house you've got to knock and keep on knocking it's that truth isn't it how we should seek after god to have that persistence if the door didn't open yesterday keep knocking keep on knocking that door keep on knocking on heaven's door in the sense of that you want to reach out to seek after him without earnestness and what does god give to those who seek he gives peace that passes understanding he gives joy unspeakable he gives guidance in the confusion of life he gives strength in all of our weakness he gives righteousness which is from above his very own righteousness that he trades for our ranks of filthy righteousness and the certainty of eternal life he gives it he grants it to those that would seek him so think tonight of the wonder of it all that it tells us that there's a reward there's a joy there's a blessing there's something he offers in exchange for us seeking after him it says but without faith it is impossible to please him for he that come to god must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him diligently seek him do you have that heart to seek after god that's a diligent thing yeah i really want to get serious i want to take this very seriously that this matters this is important and god rewards the diligent seeker he says he is a rewarder he promises reward he promises to give to you that seek after him with diligence so can i exhort you today to seek him to seek god see god it's this recurring theme right through the book to seek his face to seek his will to seek after him to seek his purpose what are you really searching for we can search for so many things and really they can be distractions can't they the next notification there's something we want to purchase some distraction of this or that but seeking after god should be that which obsesses us to seek after god should be that which is dominant in our thinking in our considerations of life to seek after god should be that which occupies our first priority are you seeking the god who made you that's precious isn't it to seek the savior who died for you isn't that important and the holy spirit is calling you to seek after god he's a rewarder of them that diligently seek him if not what's holding you back if you're not seeking after god of course if you are lost without christ call upon his name trust him yield to him as you've been chasing empty things come to the savior who's really seeking for you we can only respond to his seeking and as we trust him to call on him to save us

[27:48] we can know his grace to forgive us to make us brand new and if you are a believer perhaps you've grown cold maybe you used to seek him more than you're seeking him now how can we refresh that that our heart would more diligently seek him that we get diligent about it again that we might perhaps take his word more seriously to read perhaps a chapter of the gospel daily to have some moment in prayer to even if it's just even five real minutes even if it's just that as a start that you can pray and keep on praying morning and night as you can confess a specific sin that you've been tolerating you can seek after god to get those things resolved you can take that step of obedience of maybe something you know you've been avoiding to get that sorted to seek god to seek god by spending time with godly believers he'll build your faith but that's important as you seek god so ask yourself today what am i clinging to instead of christ am i seeking first first the kingdom of god and his righteousness is that my priority to seek after god or am i clinging to something else instead of christ what sin do i need to uproot today is there some tardiness some slackness some compromise what is god calling me to do right now to seek the lord now it is time to seek the lord and god is seeking you right now he's the one who relentlessly pursues us he urges us he commands us seek me and as much as we're inclined not to if he can enable you you can trust you can reach out you can seek him in obedience to his command to you to seek him and seek him while he may be found there's a time limit there's a while it's a bracket of time the while and if we leave it we'll miss that opportunity and seek him until he reigns righteousness upon you there's a blessing that comes from seeking his face so i urge you tonight as we think about these truths to seek god seek god seek the mind of christ can we have that thought yeah i'm going to see what is god's mind the mind of christ because can i seek his leading as i pray about the future of things i'm contemplating of his callings am i seeking his leading am i stopping with the distractions that will get in the way that will hinder that seeking of god am i seeking his face talks about the people of god seeking his face am i going to him in prayer that's a real opportune way to seek after god is to pray am i seeking his will not my own will that the kingdom of god and his righteousness that's what matters am i seeking his righteousness not my own or am i laying claim to my own righteousness as if i'm making it happen by what i do rather than what he's making me am i seeking god it's truly revival isn't it as we know this verse is one that has been used as really a verse that speaks of the reviving of the people of god revival happens when we seek the lord when we let his work happen that barren dry hard deadly barrenness of our fallow ground is broken up and we yield to him so that his reign can fall and

[31:52] bear fruit it's revival to seek god not out of duty but because he is worthy shouldn't we seek him the one who seeks after us as the shepherd would seek the sheep as the shepherd would search and go out into the thickets and grab that sheep that's caught there that's going to die i know we've got some sheep and there was an occasion where one of the sheep got stuck in the fence and that's deadly it's really it's deadly julie likes me to say well if you counted the sheep today and it's a real thing it's a real thing yeah one two three four oh one of them's missing so we send out a search party and wonder where's that sheep gone that's all we like sheep have gone astray we're inclined to and we go and find that sheep it's usually jumped the fan saw it's got stuck stuck somewhere and that's the shepherd isn't it his heart he goes searching for us when we get in those quandaries where we're stuck in the fence where we're where we're not meant to be and we get out of really where he wants us to be and he's such a loving shepherd and can we seek god to know who he is to truly know him to seek god to know his best for our life he knows best what is his best he wants you to know his best so seek his face for that and seek the purposes of god the plans of god seek his will i pray that you'll trust him trust him let us pray lord we thank you that you are truly the searcher of the lost you come and find us and retrieve us from our straying paths that we're inclined to have lord and we know as your word tells us that it's at times that there's none who seeks after you there is none who seeks after god and yet we know you prompt us you call us to that and you enable us to seek you in return but you're the one who goes searching for us first lord and thank you that you searched for us such that you took the steps to calvary such that you laid down your life to bear our sin and penalty and pay for our salvation there that we can know our sins forgiven a home in heaven lord as we search from the depths of our soul that we can reach out to you as others have reached out to you as as nicodemus as blind bartimaeus as the bleeding woman lord we can see that yet you open those doors you open that window while it is time we can seek you lord help us if we have to trust you for the first time that will call upon your name and know your salvation by your grace know your saving know the sins forgiven as you've washed it away by your precious blood lord thank you that we can seek you also as your people as you tell us time and time again that we should seek you as we see examples of those who sought the lord lord that we be amongst their number that we've been god seekers that we'd be god pleases that we'd be god fearers help us to be such a people lord that we know your blessing too as you help us lord to break up our fallow ground that deadness that is our inclination that barrenness that complacency that apathy that dryness spiritually lord help us to break it up to get the pickaxe out and till that soil such that when we do seek you you will rain righteousness upon us it will be like the rain from heaven your very righteousness will come and we can know your

[35:54] blessing lord help us to be a people who continue to seek after you help us to pray help us to be persistent in prayer that we'll ask and keep on asking we'll seek and keep on seeking we'll knock and keep on knocking and lord we know that you'll hear our prayer as we seek you we'll see your blessing help us lord we pray in jesus name amen