Sunday, December 23, 2018
What Are You Seeking?
Matthew 7:7
Nevertheless, the concept of seeking and finding is much broader than
just spiritual matters.
There are many in this life who are seeking for something.
The only question is: What?
Tonight, I would like to notice a few things the Bible addresses
about what we are seeking.
a.
Romans 10:3 – do NOT
seek to establish your own righteousness.
Paul grieved for apostate Israel, his brethren.
They had rejected Jesus, and thereby God as well.
They THOUGHT they were doing the right thing, simply because of
their zeal.
But they engaged in all sorts of ungodly conduct – persecution of the
godly, lies and deceits, hatred, twisting the word of God, etc.
They had decided for themselves that they were righteous (doing
the right thing). The only
problem was, they set their own standard.
Far too many today are seeking to establish their own righteousness.
IF you were to ask the average person if they were going to hell,
they would say no. But they
have come to God on their own terms and expect Him to change His laws to
appeal to them. It
doesn’t work that way!
b.
1 Corinthians 1:22 –
after wisdom (of men) – Paul described men who reject the gospel.
The Jews wanted more signs (divine proofs), while Greeks seek
after wisdom. Associated
with our previous point, far too many today are more interested in what
man says than God.
In fact, far too many are ready to dismiss God for the philosophies of
men. As Paul noted in the
next verse, 1 Corinthians 1:23 – preaching Christ was a stumbling block
and foolishness. We see this
in Acts 17 when Paul mentioned God raises the dead to the Athenians
(Acts 17:32).
Romans 1:20-21 describes how men became futile in their thoughts and
their foolish hearts were darkened.
c.
Self-gratification or justification. We are
living in an incredibly selfish society.
For far too many, it is all about them.
And that is what our society has raised – a selfish generation.
This is NOT the way of the Bible 1
Corinthians 13:5 – love does NOT seek its own (it is not selfish)
James 3:14-16 – self-seeking is earthly, sensual, demonic, etc.
James doesn’t just describe it as
worldly, but of the Devil and evil.
d.
Galatians 1:10 – to
please men (as opposed to God).
Also, we are living in times of great compromise – where we are
afraid to offend others with the truth.
While we should never be hateful in our demeanor and even the defense of
the truth, we should not shy away from defending it either (1 Peter
3:15). That is the great
problem with compromise of the truth.
e.
Philippians 2:21 –
all seek their own.
This is a summary of the points we have made.
While in context Paul is not saying EVERYONE is self-seeking, but
far too many are. They are
in the overwhelming majority.
And if we are honest, do we have a degree of self-seeking fault
in us?
a.
Psalm 10:4,
The wicked in his proud countenance does not seek God; God is in none of
his thoughts.
b.
IF we were to summarize
what we are to seek after in one phrase it would be, “Seek after God”.
This would include everything else.
And the Bible continually tells us so.
c.
Psalm 14:2,
The Lord looks down from heaven
upon the children of men, To see if there are any who understand, who
seek God. A psalm that begins
by describing the atheist (and agnostic) as a fool.
Paul in Romans 3:10-11 begins a list of scriptures that convict us all
of sin with this text.
God is LOOKING for the select few, e.g. the remnant, who seek after Him.
d.
Matthew 6:32-33
– Seek first the kingdom of God.
As we have noted, Jesus is telling us that God is to be our
PRIORITY (singular). All
else is subservient to this.
We seek God AND things concerning His kingdom.
IF God is what we are genuinely seeking, then all things
associated with Him will be included.
Matthew 13:45-46 – the
kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls.
When he finds that one pearl of great price, he sells ALL that he
has to purchase it.
e.
Colossians 3:1
– those things that are above – vs. 1, we seek those things that are
above. And when we find
them, we set our mind upon them.
Spiritual matters ought to be the motivation behind our conduct.
f.
John 5:30 –
Jesus did not seek His own will, but the will of the Father.
He is the ultimate example of this.
Hebrews 5:8-9 – He learned obedience by the things which He
suffered.
John 6:38, Jesus said, For I have
come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who
sent Me. Thus when God
spoke, He said, “This is My
beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:17, 17:5)
a.
When we are seeking God
first, it will affect everything we do, what we look for in this world
and HOW we perceive our temporary time while here.
b.
God all around us
- Acts 17:27 –
so that they should seek the Lord – we find Him in creation and in the
laws of nature. Romans
1:19-20 – when we look at this world we see the design of God all around
us. The question is,
are we really looking? Far
too many look to the world to disprove God.
But there is far too much evidence of His creative power
(intelligent design, wisdom, etc.) to honestly deny Him.
c.
The well-being of others - 1 Corinthians 10:24 –
Let no one seek his own, but each one the other’s well-being. While
we are certainly called upon to work out our own salvation (Philippians
2:12), we are continually reminded in scripture that it is not just
about us. The Christian life
seeks the wellbeing of others.
That was Paul’s point in this text – even if something is lawful
for you to do personally, you must think about others when you do it.
That was Paul’s point in Romans 14:1, 13, 15, etc.
Proverbs 29:10, The bloodthirsty
hate the blameless, But the upright seek his well-being.
Philippians 2:3-4 – Paul
is clear about our need to look out for the interest of others.
He also addresses our attitude of humility in this.
Philippians 4:17 – while Paul was grateful for the gifts the Philippians
shared with him, what meant more to him was,
the fruit that abounds to your
account.
A study of the life of Paul bears this out.
And even more so, consider the life of Jesus! (Matthew 20:28)
d.
Peace
- 1 Peter 3:11 – seek peace and pursue it.
Peter is describing some things that will help us properly think
about others. We ought to be
seeking peace with others.
We should not be the trouble makers, just for the sake of it.
Romans 14:19 calls for us to PURSUE the things that make for
peace…; Romans 12:18, as
much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.
e.
Wisdom
- Proverbs 2:4-5,
If you seek her as
silver, And search for her as for hidden treasures; Then you will
understand the fear of the Lord, And find the knowledge of God.
Proverbs 15:14, The heart of him
who has understanding seeks knowledge, But the mouth of fools feeds on
foolishness.
We need the wisdom from above to please God and to live properly in this
world. James 3:17-18
f.
The reward He offers - Hebrews 11:6 – when we diligently seek Him by faith, He
rewards us.
There are rewards of this life, but there is the ultimate reward of
eternal life.
Romans 2:7 – eternal
life awaits those who seek for glory, honor and immortality (and are not
self-seeking)
Hebrews 13:14,
For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come.
Hebrews 11:14-16 – the “heroes of faith” sought a homeland, a heavenly
country, which God has prepared for them, AND for us – cf. 2 Timothy
4:7-8
WHAT ARE YOU SEEKING
FOR?