Hebrews 11:06 What Does it Mean to Seek God? audio

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Text: Hebrews 11:6

Introduction

A. A right relationship with God does not happen by accident — it requires deliberate action We need to make more careful decisions about God

B. In the last lesson, we saw that we must BELIEVE that God is

C. In this lesson, we will focus on the word SEEK — God is “a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him”

1. “Seeking” God has become somewhat of a fad in recent years

2. Unfortunately, much that is called “seeking God” is little more than an exercise in self-gratification

D. What does it mean to seek God?

Body

I. WHAT SEEKING GOD IS

A. First, let’s consider some things that seeking God is not (These things will certainly accompany seeking God, and if things like these weren’t present in a person’s life, that would indicate a deficiency in that person’s seeking But by themselves these things don’t necessarily mean that a person is seeking God)

1. Church membership, attendance

2. Bible study, prayer

3. Helping others

4. Doctrinal soundness

5. Personal evangelism – Matthew 23:15

6. Spiritual feelings – Romans 10:2

B. What seeking God is:

1. Growth in OBEDIENCE

2. With a desire to LOVE and HONOR God MORE each day

C. A deep longing to be closer to God — closer to Him than our sins have allowed us to be in the past!

D. A conscious, deliberate goal that we reach for – Philippians 3:13-14

E. Some similar expressions in the Scriptures

1. Desiring God: A fervent longing – Psalm 27:4

2. Loving God with all our hearts: A wholehearted affection – Matthew 22:37-38

3. Calling upon the Lord: An earnest appeal – Isaiah 55:6

II. WHY SEEKING GOD IS SO IMPORTANT

A. God desires fellowship only with those who deeply desire such fellowship – John 4:23

B. Seeking God is a “first-principles” issue

1. Having to do with the heart, this is surely among the “weightier matters” – Matthew 23:23

2. Some “first-principles” passages – Micah 6:8; Matthew 22:37-40; Acts 24:25

3. Much more fundamental than many of the “basics” that we emphasize

C. God’s promises to the seeker:

1. “Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you and you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart” – Jeremiah 29:12-13

2. “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” – Matthew 7:7-8

III. ARE WE SEEKING GOD OR NOT? A SELF-TEST

A. Our need for an honest self-inventory – 2 Corinthians 13:5

1. Are we seeking to fill our minds more and more with the KNOWLEDGE of God?

2. Are we seeking to bring our thoughts, words, and deeds more into line with the WILL of God?

3. Are we seeking more and more to engage in WORSHIP unto God?

4. Are we seeking more and more to be with the PEOPLE of God?

B. God is seeking those who are seeking Him – John 4:23

Conclusion

A. Many of us have grown up in sound, faithful congregations and never learned a real desire for God Himself

B. Religion is not only about serving God — it is also about desiring Him

C. “One thing I have desired of the LORD, that will I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in His temple” – Psalm 27:4

D. Having a DEEPER DESIRE FOR GOD every day is what this life is all about!