Seek the Lord while He may be found - Call upon Him while He is near.
Steve Burley
Good morning to you all. I do hope that you have been keeping mentally & physically well during this time of separation. I also hope that your spiritual lives have been healthy, and that you have been taking advantage of the joy we have through access to our living God – thanks to the grace & service of our Lord Jesus Christ.
It seems that Lockdown is coming to a close as we see things in our society returning to some kind of normality. This return may be tentative for many, not so much for others, but we must remember to trust our God always, as we venture out. Whether or not what we are returning to is a good thing as the ‘world’ opens up for business again, we can rest assured – our source of life as believers in Christ was, always has & will always be there and available to us by God’s grace & mercy.
Following the cancellation of his GCSE exams due to the Covid lockdown, my son Asher is hoping to embark upon his A levels. His intention is to study philosophy, and was asked, in preparation for his interview to complete a brief essay. He was given a choice of two essay questions, one of which was entitled ‘Should people believe in God?’
Having always had a keen interest in philosophy myself, he & I have had many discussions over recent years, and as you might imagine – this particular question, or things related to it, have often been at the core. Not least, because our Lord God is central to all life, all consciousness, and essential to the human condition. As I reflected on the question however, it occurred to me that perhaps the question should not be whether people should ‘believe’ in God, but rather should people ‘seek’ God? My answer to that question for atheists, agnostics & believers alike would be an emphatic yes!
The Word of God is strewn with the constant instruction to seek Him. So, I wanted to touch briefly upon some of those scriptures & share with you why I think it’s important – and necessary for us, as human beings, to seek God.
“But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all Your heart and with all your soul.” Deuteronomy 4:29
“You will seek Me and find me when you seek Me with all your heart. I will be found by you.” Jeremiah 29 : 13
For non-believers & those unsure, earnestly seeking God allows Him the opportunity to prove Himself, and He promises that if we seek Him we will find Him. Now of course, the Lord has no need to prove Himself. He exists whether we believe in Him or not! He is omnipotent, omniscient, indisputably sovereign, and the essence of all things, but in terms of human consciousness & our relationship to His holiness, our minds have been blinded by the god of this age, (2 Corinthians 4), and when one turns in faith to Christ, the veil is taken away. (2 Corinthians 3) So – our living God can in truth, promise that if we earnestly & genuinely seek Him with all our heart & soul, we will find Him, because He is there to be found – indeed, the Son of Man came to seek & save the lost. When we seek God, and call out to Him, He hears our voice and will respond.
I fear that because of the ever-increasing deception planted into the human psyche by the ‘god of this world’ people do not earnestly seek God out before wrongfully concluding that He does not exist. Those of us who believe, must therefore urge those around us who do not know God to seek Him. To give Him the chance to reveal His glorious power through the darkness of the veil concocted by the ‘god of this world’.
God is spirit, and the scientific world deals in the observable, physical realm by which our human consciousness is bound, so – it’s not for us to speculate as to how our sovereign God might have chosen to create all things, but I just wanted to share this thought with you.
Asher & I watched part of a lecture by Eric Lerner concerning the origins of the universe. As you are probably aware, the generally accepted ‘truth’ regarding this subject is the Big Bang Theory. As it stands, this theory is taught in education systems around the world as standard, and to the majority of experts & laymen alike is the current scientific explanation. Lerner, a renowned and respected physicist disputes the Big Bang Theory however. He argues that the evidence provided for the Big Bang has been too easily accepted by the scientific community without proper scrutiny. He offers an alternative in his 1991 book ‘The Big Bang never happened: A Startling Refutation of the Dominant Theory of the Origin of the Universe’ and in January 2020, having studied and scrutinised the same evidence available to all, Eric Lerner proposed the ‘Galactic Origin of Light Elements’ (GOLE) hypothesis, an alternative model to the Big Bang theory, to help explain the beginnings of the universe. Lerner’s arguments in his lecture are compelling, and although I have yet to read his 2020 book, I have read the book of Genesis, which explains the origins of the universe by stating that God said “Let there be light!” I’ll just leave that one with you…
Our living God seeks all souls, and He wants to be found by us, so has placed evidence of His glory all around us, including in His creation.
The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork. Psalm 19:1
For those of you who can, have a look at this:
God so loved the world, and He wants that world to experience His incredible love. Having reached down to us through Christ, He wants us to respond and seek Him out with all our heart. He wants us to study the plethora of evidence that He has provided, including His Word, His son, His disciples & the transformed lives of those who have found Him.
Our living God is the source of all good things. He is the only thing that humanity needs to seek.
For believers, faith in God, through Christ, is our first step in allowing Him to provide evidence of His existence and His incredible desire for our salvation. Faith opens up the possibility of restoring a spiritual relationship that had been destroyed by sin and is an expression that we are willing to seek God and His will – which, if we are earnest – God will honour. As followers of Christ we are targets for the evil one & are therefore constantly tested and inclined to stray if we do not cling to the Father, in devotion, seeking His counsel through prayer & study of His word. The testing of our faith and the trials that sometimes come may seem daunting, but this is God’s way of developing our faith & allowing Him to provide further evidence of His care for us.
As believers, we should continually seek the Lord. We should constantly seek His righteousness, His will, seek His instruction. Reconciled to the Father, through the glorious victory of our Lord Jesus Christ, we must cling to Him, constantly seeking to do His bidding. This is not an easy thing to do in a state where our nature is to seek our own will, our own desire. It is nonetheless essential to our salvation, our spiritual well-being and critical to any relevant power as witnesses of His truth. This is why, as believers, we must constantly seek. We can so easily get lost in ourselves. We must seek God in humility, reverence and subordination if we are to hear and obey His gentle voice, through the power of the Holy Spirit.
God can also be found in the transformed lives of countless human beings who have connected with the gracious, merciful and most glorious power of the Holy Spirit.
“I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. They looked to Him and were radiant, and their faces were not ashamed. This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them. Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!” Psalm 34
“Therefore, do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” Matthew 6 31-34
“Ask and it will be given unto you, seek and you shall find. Knock and the door will be opened unto you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds and to him who knocks it will be opened.” Matthew 7:7-8
“And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, who shall stand as a banner to the people; for the gentiles shall seek Him, and His resting place shall be glorious.” Isaiah 11:10
We are constantly deceived & tempted by ‘the destroyer’ to move away from seeking God, and in our sinful state as human beings we are compelled to rebel against God, and even as followers of Christ, it’s very easy to get caught up in this world’s trivialities when we are not focussed on Him and His will for our lives.
Earnestly Seeking God may take many years, something which I myself can relate to.
For those of you who are able, I would really appreciate it if you would take the time to read & watch this short video from a dear lost and found brother who sought the Lord:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-47211971
I have included a copy for those of you who don’t have access to a computer.
Robert says – ” I said to myself before I kill myself I’m going to try God and see if God has a plan for my life. I went to church one day and I lifted my hands and said: ‘God if you’re real, help me’. I was desperate enough to cry for help.”
I, myself, can also testify to this, having wandered in the world for years during a quest to discover whether or not what I had been bought up to believe was true or not. Searching everywhere, I found myself engulfed in an insidious twenty five year drug addiction, which had left me cynical, desolate & hopeless, and although I had sought the truth for most of my life, I finally cried out to Him in earnest & broken desperation. He heard my cry, came to my rescue, healed me, and has set me free in the most profound way. My life has been transformed and the scriptures that I had wrestled with for so many years were opened up to me.
I am sure we all have accounts of the Lord’s power at work in our lives, and countless souls have been saved through seeking & discovering the incredible power of the Holy Spirit, made available to us through Christ our saviour!
When we seek God in earnest repentance, we find a God who does not condemn & hate us for what we have done. We find a loving God who came in to the world to redeem us. We worship the living God of justice, forgiveness & salvation & His interest is focused on the good for our lives, despite our weakness. We have a God, who through Christ has suffered temptation of every sort, gone through trials of every kind, understands our dilemmas, our situations, our dire circumstances, our doubts & fears & has come to us in our depraved and hopeless state, offering us grace, mercy, pure love and compassion! If we seek this God – who lives, if we need His salvation, if we plead for Him – He will answer.
For thus says the High and Lofty One, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:
I dwell in the high and holy place, with him who has a contrite and humble spirit,
To revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.
For I will not contend forever, nor will I always be angry; For the spirit would fail before Me,
And the souls which I have made. For the iniquity of his covetousness I was angry and struck him; I hid and was angry, and he went on backsliding in the way of his heart. I have seen his ways, and will heal him; I will also lead him, And restore comforts to him and to his mourners. I create the fruit of the lips: Peace, peace to him who is far off and to him who is near,” says the Lord, “and I will heal him.” Isaiah 57:15-19
How can I truly be anything else but completely humble in the face of such incredible mercy? Such amazing grace, I do not deserve. Praise to God – most high.
“I waited patiently for the Lord; And He inclined to me, And heard my cry.
He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, Out of the miry clay,
And set my feet upon a rock, And established my steps.
He has put a new song in my mouth—Praise to our God;
Many will see it and fear, And will trust in the Lord.” Psalm 40 1-3
Seek Him & you will find Him. Look for the evidence & He will offer it to you. In John Ch.20, we read of the disciple Thomas who demanded evidence. Having then, the incredible power of almighty God revealed to him, required no more proof, but could only gasp in humble adoration – my Lord, My God!
Let us, ourselves, persist in seeking the Lord’s counsel and revelation in all we do, and urge our unbelieving friends & relatives, and those we converse with, to earnestly seek the Lord before making decisions about Him based on hearsay, popular science, or the actions of anybody else but Christ Himself.
Amen…
The Lockdown has given me the opportunity to eventually record a song so that I wanted to share with you.
I understand that the musical aspect may not be to everybody’s taste, but if that is the case, please turn the volume down & take the time to read the lyrics. It’s a song of praise to our God, which I hope you will receive in the spirit in which it’s offered. Inspired by God – for the glory of God.
Just as I started with Asher, I will finish with him, because I thank God for both of my beloved children, but I must express my genuine thanks to Asher for giving up his time & expertise to help me record & produce this song. Also, for his technical knowledge helping me get it up on YouTube. I couldn’t have done it without him.
Prayer
My Lord & Father, I thank you in the name of Christ my saviour for your incredible grace & mercy. The blessings that you bestow upon me, and my loved ones and your people are greatly received & humbly appreciated. Your glory shines in the darkness Lord, and your spirit lives. Help me Father to convey this fact to the world. All glory & honour to you – the God of salvation!
Thank you Lord, for the gift of reconciliation through the humble revelation of Your majesty through Christ. Thank you Father, that you did not send Your son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.
Lord – help me to seek you in earnest. Help me to seek Your counsel in all I do, and to listen to you’re your voice. Give me the courage to urge those around me to seek You out that they may discover, behind the veil of worldly deception, Your glorious gift of peace, justice, forgiveness & salvation.
For your service, and in the name of my Lord Jesus Christ – Amen.
2 thoughts on “Seek the Lord while He may be found”
A wonderful and powerful message Steve thank you. I like ‘Master’ too truly inspirational so well done to Asher as well – very professionally produced.
May we all continue to seek our Adonai, know His grace and rejoice in His mercies new every morning.
God bless you and your family.
Graham
Really enjoyed reading your message on seeking God. It brought to mind a book that my son gave me ‘ 12 rules for life’ by Patterson. I am not really into philosophy but this book led to a lot of discussion. Yes, we do need to encourage our loved ones to seek the Lord. He is at work in us. Loved the song too.