Seek – Page 6 – Praying Pint

Seek and Save

“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

“And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.”

“For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.”

Joh 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

God gave a gift of eternal life to all who would believe. Eternal life with out pain, suffering, darkness and yet people will still choose to reject this gift. Judgement and condemnation awaits them. How true these words ring true still today-“people loved the darkness rather than the light” Share the gift of God and light of Christ each day. We never know when God will open a heart and mind to understand this gift. It is up to us to proclaim it and the promises of God for eternal life.

Seek and to Save

“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

“And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him.”

John 1:43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

These comments are not mine but I found interesting and share them with you. All are called but many reject the calling outright. It is not a slight thing to refuse the summons of God through his messengers. God will hold those who refuse that summons responsible on Judgment Day. There is a more subtle way to refuse the summons. One may pay lip service to the external call but never truly embrace Jesus internally as offered in that call. This refusal subjects us to God’s just judgment. The bad news is we have no power in ourselves to change our rebellious hearts. The good news is God is pleased to change rebellious hearts by the invincible power of his Spirit. If we have responded to the external call in repentance and faith, it is only because God has first been at work in us to turn us to himself in Christ. Salvation is truly by grace alone. This truth is unsettling, but Jesus unsettles us for a reason. He wants us to find salvation and life in him alone, by grace alone. And only in Christ may we find an everlasting, unshakeable foundation.

I send My messenger

John 1:6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.

John 3:28 You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him.’

Isaiah 40:3-5 A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

Malachi 3:1 “Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts.

Matthew 3:1-11 In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.’” Now John wore a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

Mark 1:1 And he preached, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

Acts 13:24 Before his coming, John had proclaimed a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.

John came to prepare the way before Christ and preached repentance and baptism. He bore witness to Christ. John’s purpose was to prepare the way for Christ (the anointed one). It is important to note that there were those who were cut to the heart by what they heard. Some, who were so moved, confessed their sin, repented and were baptized. Others who were also so moved did not. They chose to deny the conviction in their heart and became stiff necked and hard hearted to the hope being offered. Not much has changed with mankind. Their are still those who believe and those who do not. We were given a great command – go into all the world telling them the Good News (gospel) making disciples. We are to be a reflection of the light of Christ – A reflection of the hope, love, grace, mercy, joy, peace, power, strength, and might of God. Each day we have opportunity to read His word and reflect this light. Each day we have opportunity to speak of these. Look for this opportunity today.

Fountain Opened

Zechariah 13:1 “On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness.

Psalms 51:2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!

Psalms 51:7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

Isaiah 1:16 Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause. “Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.

Ezekiel 36:25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you.

John 1:29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

1 Corinthians 6:11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

Titus 3:5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

1 John 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.

Our hope is built on promises from God. The hope of forgiveness, complete cleansing from sin, salvation, and eternal life. This is offered to all and God, not wishing any to perish, gave the promise of eternal life to all who would believe in the complete cleansing through the redemptive sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Peter in light of the grace and mercy from God through Christ, and seeing that all of this world will pass away, asked a question “Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness” How should our lives be lived out this side of eternity? Are we to be complacent and lukewarm in our commitment to this great act of Love? Being lukewarm and complacent manifests in a life that seldom speaks of Christ, lacks confidence in being cleansed, thinks about performing acts of goodness to overshadow the sin in their life, loses sight of promises of God, does not have contentment/peace, seldom sees God’s hand at work in their life, rarely hears the whispers of God, lacks confidence in God’s purpose and plan for their life. This all can hit home to anyone but the good thing is, if God is convicting your heart there is the promise “if we confess our sin He is faithful and just to forgive us” This means it is gone forever to never be remembered again. Believing and knowing without doubt is hard if the promises of God are not in your life. Satan is a liar and will speak lies into our lives. You’re not good enough, you’re to far gone, there is no hope for you, or on the other hand you are good enough, you are to busy, you are doing enough, compare yourself with others, blah, blah, blah. These struggles are common when our lives are more committed to this world, what it has to offer, and the cares surrounded by it. Know that your sin is forgiven by the work of Christ, repent from whatever it is that is holding you back from committing to humbly serving, honoring, following, and obeying Him. Make time to spend in His word with the purpose of knowing Him. Listen for His whispers of leading. Today is the day you can commit to Him and ask Him to open His word to your heart and mind.

Turned their back to Me, not their face

Zechariah 11:15 Then the LORD said to me, “Take once more the equipment of a foolish shepherd. For behold, I am raising up in the land a shepherd who does not care for those being destroyed, or seek the young or heal the maimed or nourish the healthy, but devours the flesh of the fat ones, tearing off even their hoofs. “Woe to my worthless shepherd, who deserts the flock! May the sword strike his arm and his right eye! Let his arm be wholly withered, his right eye utterly blinded!”

Lamentations 2:14 Your prophets have seen for you false and deceptive visions; they have not exposed your iniquity to restore your fortunes, but have seen for you oracles that are false and misleading.

Ezekiel 13:3 Thus says the Lord GOD, Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing!

Isaiah 6:10 Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.”

Jeremiah 2:26 “As a thief is shamed when caught, so the house of Israel shall be shamed: they, their kings, their officials, their priests, and their prophets, who say to a tree, ‘You are my father,’ and to a stone, ‘You gave me birth.’ For they have turned their back to me, and not their face. But in the time of their trouble they say, ‘Arise and save us!’

Matthew 15:14 Let them alone; they are blind guides. And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.”

We are given so many examples of the sinful nature we are born with and the consequences of it. I can’t recall the last time I have heard preaching/teaching warning us of the consequences of a life that is not fully committed to God. It seems as though all we hear is about God’s grace, mercy, love, and our place in heaven. These are all true and foundational in our reason for repenting and turning away from sin to God’s redemption. It seems as though through His great and steadfast love we come to Him for a moment in time and then live as though we are one and done on the decision to follow Him with our whole heart. We give no thought to what it means to commit with our whole mind, soul and heart and live each day to humbly serve, honor, follow and obey. Note the scriptures this morning -“As a thief is shamed when caught”….They know they have done wrong in their commitment to God. Note the choice made – “they have turned their backs to me not their faces but in time of trouble they say save us”. We are not to take our walk with God lightly. This walk requires constant time in His word, courage, patience, faith, hope, commitment, heart deep desire to hear and be led by God. Make God the first thing you commit to each day.

Fallow Ground

“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 the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.”

“Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you.”

Zechariah 10:1 Ask rain from the LORD in the season of the spring rain, from the LORD who makes the storm clouds, and he will give them showers of rain, to everyone the vegetation in the field.

James 5:16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.

Deuteronomy 11:14 he will give the rain for your land in its season,

Isaiah 30:23 And he will give rain for the seed with which you sow the ground, and bread, the produce of the ground, which will be rich and plenteous.

Jeremiah 14:22 Are there any among the false gods of the nations that can bring rain? Or can the heavens give showers? Are you not he, O LORD our God? We set our hope on you, for you do all these things.

Amos 4:7 “I also withheld the rain from you when there were yet three months to the harvest; I would send rain on one city, and send no rain on another city; one field would have rain, and the field on which it did not rain would wither;

Psalms 65:9 You visit the earth and water it; you greatly enrich it; the river of God is full of water; you provide their grain, for so you have prepared it.

Hosea 10:12 Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap steadfast love; break up your fallow ground, for it is the time to seek the LORD, that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.

I wonder if we believe God is the supplier of the rain we receive. Or, do we think it is by chance and nothing God gives thought to. Scripture is full of examples of those who either believed or not that God supplied it. We see examples of people believing and then praying in line with that belief to God. It seems to me that we have become complacent in thinking about what God is supplying. Like rain. But there are hosts of other things we are complacent in acknowledging God as well. Our days on this side of eternity are to be purposed in humbly serving, honoring, following and obeying God. I wonder if we are not in the practice of acknowledging Him for the things we take for granted, will we be able to see those that are more complex to understand. I this is why Hosea spoke about breaking up the fallow ground in our mind. Take time to reflect on all that you take for granted. Spend the day adding to this list. It is good to see God’s hand and handiwork.

Even now return to Me

“ Seek the LORD, all you humble of the land, who do his just commands; seek righteousness; seek humility; perhaps you may be hidden on the day of the anger of the LORD”

“Yet even now,” declares the LORD, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;”

Zechariah 1:1 In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, son of Iddo, saying, “The LORD was very angry with your fathers. Therefore say to them, Thus declares the LORD of hosts: Return to me, says the LORD of hosts, and I will return to you, says the LORD of hosts. Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets cried out, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, Return from your evil ways and from your evil deeds.’ But they did not hear or pay attention to me, declares the LORD.

Ezra 9:6 saying: “O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift my face to you, my God, for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has mounted up to the heavens. From the days of our fathers to this day we have been in great guilt. And for our iniquities we, our kings, and our priests have been given into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plundering, and to utter shame, as it is today.

Nehemiah 9:26 “Nevertheless, they were disobedient and rebelled against you and cast your law behind their back and killed your prophets, who had warned them in order to turn them back to you, and they committed great blasphemies.

2 Chronicles 36:13 He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by God. He stiffened his neck and hardened his heart against turning to the LORD, the God of Israel. All the officers of the priests and the people likewise were exceedingly unfaithful, following all the abominations of the nations. And they polluted the house of the LORD that he had made holy in Jerusalem. The LORD, the God of their fathers, sent persistently to them by his messengers, because he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place. But they kept mocking the messengers of God, despising his words and scoffing at his prophets, until the wrath of the LORD rose against his people, until there was no remedy.

James 4:8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

Hosea 6:1 “Come, let us return to the LORD; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up.

It is a slippery slope away from God when your heart is not seeking to honor and glorify Him. Many hearts have hardened and call foolish that what God has revealed to man about himself, sin, redemption, and eternity. With great boasting they defy God, His existence, and His purpose for mankind. In this boasting many are pulled away and lack encouragement to hold the course. Our lives should be filled with words and actions that honor God, encourage others, and shine light into the darkest corners of the hearts of those lost and without hope.

Remember and Rejoice

“ I will greatly rejoice in the LORD; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,”

Psalms 70:4 May all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you! May those who love your salvation say evermore, “God is great!”

Psalms 5:11 But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them ever sing for joy, and spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may exult in you.

Psalms 35:27 Let those who delight in my righteousness shout for joy and be glad and say evermore, “Great is the LORD, who delights in the welfare of his servant!”

Psalms 40:16 But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; may those who love your salvation say continually, “Great is the LORD!”

Psalms 97:12 Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous, and give thanks to his holy name!

Isaiah 65:13 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: “Behold, my servants shall eat, but you shall be hungry; behold, my servants shall drink, but you shall be thirsty; behold, my servants shall rejoice, but you shall be put to shame; behold, my servants shall sing for gladness of heart, but you shall cry out for pain of heart and shall wail for breaking of spirit.

Lamentations 3:25 The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.

“You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy.”

Remembering who God is and the blessings that come from Him alone are the reasons for rejoicing. Those who seek Him will find Him and be blessed. Their heart will see reasons to rejoice and be glad. On the other hand those who do not seek Him will not find Him and will not have joy or peace or gladness in their heart. These are the ones we are to show God’s love. These are the ones we are to pray for. These are the ones who we can be used by God to reach. Remember we too were just like them, lost and without hope. Rejoice in God and be willingly to be used by Him.

Walking Blameless

“Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God.”

“When Abram was ninety-nine years old the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless,”

“there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord.”

“And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.”

“ They shall teach my people the difference between the holy and the common,”

Malachi 2:7 True instruction was in his mouth, and no wrong was found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness, and he turned many from iniquity. For the lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts. But you have turned aside from the way. You have caused many to stumble by your instruction. You have corrupted the covenant of Levi, says the LORD of hosts, and so I make you despised and abased before all the people, inasmuch as you do not keep my ways but show partiality in your instruction.”

Hosea 4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to me. And since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.

Jeremiah 23:22 But if they had stood in my council, then they would have proclaimed my words to my people, and they would have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their deeds.

Acts 26:18 to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’

James 5:19 My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

Psalms 37:30 The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks justice.

2 Timothy 2:15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness,

Titus 1:7-9 He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.

What does it mean to walk blameless before God? How do you know if you are? How do you know if you are a worker who has no need to be ashamed? How do you know if you speak wisdom? What is a persons life like if they have wondered from the truth? What does it mean to stand in the council of God? What is proper instruction? These questions come to mind when reading these scriptures today. The answers to these are as many as the stars in the sky. However the foundation for answering them is found first in believing in God, having reverence for Him, knowing you are a sinner and in need of redemption, looking to and trusting in the redemptive work of Jesus Christ, repenting and truing away from sin, and choosing to humbly serve, honor, follow and obey God. Staying in His word will continue to refine the answers asked above.

I will hear

“Before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking I will hear.”

“All the nations you have made shall come and worship before you, O Lord, and shall glorify your name.”

Psalms 65:2 O you who hear prayer, to you shall all flesh come.

Psalms 66:19 But truly God has listened; he has attended to the voice of my prayer.

Psalms 102:17 he regards the prayer of the destitute and does not despise their prayer.

Psalms 145:18 The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desire of those who fear him; he also hears their cry and saves them.

1 Kings 18:37 Answer me, O LORD, answer me, that this people may know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.”

2 Chronicles 33:13 He prayed to him, and God was moved by his entreaty and heard his plea and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD was God.

Jeremiah 29:12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.

Luke 11:9 And I tell 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 the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.

1 John 5:14 And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.

Psalms 22:27 All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you

Isaiah 49:6 he says: “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”

Isaiah 66:23 From new moon to new moon, and from Sabbath to Sabbath, all flesh shall come to worship before me, declares the LORD.

John 12:32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”

Sometimes I wonder if we have confidence in God and His promises. I wonder if we know Him personally enough to know He is near and that He will answer our cry, pleas, and requests. I wonder if we know what it means to seek Him. I wonder if we know what it means to seek Him with all our heart, mind, and soul. Do we spend enough time with Him to know Him? Do we live each day with a single purpose to humbly serve, honor, follow and obey Him? Are we growing in our knowledge of Him? I think there are times when we have sought Him and know the presence of God. I think there are times when we totally forget Him and live our life for other purposes. When I think about this I realize one clear truth. If we purpose to humbly serve, honor, follow and obey Him, and if we stay in His word for this purpose – I know His presence and Holy Spirit occupy our heart and mind. Our day is not filled with the worries and cares of this world. Our focus is on Him and serving Him however He leads us in this world. Another truth I know is true. If we spend no time in His word there is little chance of us hearing His whispers leading, guiding, directing, and using us. His word has no root in our being and we lose connection with Him seemingly content with drifting further and further away from Him. Choose to stay in His word and seek to humbly serve, honor, follow and obey Him.