Why Seek God?

Written by Ed Allen
Sunday, 14 February 2010 09:00

General Sermons

Sermon Outline

1. Why should we seek God?

2. Because He’s seeking us

1. Deuteronomy 7:7 – the Lord chose you because of Himself
2. Isaiah 62:12 – the name of the people when God restores them: “Sought After”
3. John 15:16 – “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last.”

3. Because when we seek Him we find Him

1. Jeremiah 29:13 – “you will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”
2. Matthew 7:7-8 "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.”
3. Isaiah 6 – this is Isaiah’s experience
   1. Time of national tragedy
   2. Seeking God’s direction or peace or guidance, but what he gets is God Himself
   3. Oswald Chambers “The meaning of prayer is that we get hold of God, not of the answer.”

WHAT DID ISAIAH FIND WHEN HE FOUND GOD? – 5 critical truths about God

• God is singularly alive – not contingent on anything
• God is absolutely authoritative
  • Notice He is sitting – never hurried, not worried, not cutting his grass
  • In control – He’s on a throne
  • He has authority over everything whether we like it or not
  • And His throne is high
• God is resplendently glorious
  • His train filled the temple
• God is awe-inspiring
  • The heavenly creatures covering up and living to honor Him
• God is holy
  • If we would know anything about God we have to start by knowing His holiness.
  • Different category
    • Psalm 21 “you thought I was altogether like you.”
    • Isaiah 55:8 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD.
    • This is what we saw in Jesus (when he calmed the storm).

4. Because when we find Him, He changes us

1. Verse 5
2. This is where change begins – we recognize who we really are
3. My experience with Phil Ford
4. Recovery begins with recognizing our spiritual poverty.
5. This is not a diminishing experience. It is a freeing experience.

5. Because He alone can animate our lives with vision and purpose

1. Real vision begins with recognizing the vision impediments. I couldn’t see well without an optometrist diagnosing my current vision status. This is what an encounter with God does. It shows us who we really are. It gives us a clear picture of reality (verse 5).
2. But God’s purpose is not to dismantle or diminish us. His purpose is to promote us, to animate our lives. HE SET ISAIAH FREE FROM GUILT. HE FORGAVE HIM.
3. Then He calls Isaiah to be his prophet!

6. Because it’s worth it.

1. Isaiah 45:19-25

• The next morning after working through this chart, I read Psalm 40 in my devotional reading. (Verse 12) “For troubles without number surround me; my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see. They are more than the hairs of my head, and my heart fails within me.” This is always where I end up when I pursue sin – maybe not right away, but always! My heart fails! But when I seek God, I always end up in a place of rest and peace.
• Then I read Isaiah 50
  • Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the word of his servant?
    Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God. But now, all you who light fires and provide yourselves with flaming torches, go, walk in the light of your fires and of the torches you have set ablaze. This is what you shall receive from my hand: You will lie down in torment.
• When I seek God, I am guided; I live with a sense of meaning. When I pursue my own way, I end up tormented and despairing.
• Later that day I read Mark 6 about Jesus walking on the water and then calling Peter to walk on the water – and I realized that when I seek God He animates my life with adventure and purpose.
• I SEEK GOD BECAUSE I’M SELFISH