How To Seek God? (Part 3)
[ Preached by Pastor Kenneth Chin at Acts Church Malaysia on 16 December 2018 ]
It is all about the HEART, the condition and posture of our heart.
Prepare Our Heart
Read | 2 Chronicles 12:14
And he did evil, because he did not prepare his heart to seek the Lord.
What does “prepare” mean? All of us have had to make preparations – be it for exams, presentations, job interviews, trips or events.
When we prepare ourselves for something important, there will be some things we need to say no to. In preparation, we might hear ourselves saying, “others can but we cannot”.
Similarly, when we prepare our hearts to seek the Lord, we will need to “set apart”, because preparation is more important than presentation. A marathon may only take a few hours but it takes months to prepare for it.
Preparing to seek God is setting aside time and telling God we want to hear from Him. It does take effort.
Humble Our Heart
Read | 2 Chronicles 7:14
If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
Read | Psalm 10:4
The wicked in his proud countenance does not seek God; God is in none of his thoughts.
Read | 2 Chronicles 33:12-13
Now when he was in affliction, he implored the Lord his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers, and prayed to Him; and He received his entreaty, heard his supplication, and brought him back to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord was God.
The proud do not seek God but the humble do. We need to humble our hearts when we come before the Lord.
With All Our Heart
Read | Deuteronomy 4:29, 2 Chronicles 15:15, 2 Chronicles 31:20-21, Jeremiah 29:13, Psalm 119:2, Psalm 119:10
The bible promises that God can be found when we seek Him with ALL our hearts.
Read | Proverbs 8:17
I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently will find me.
Read | Hebrews 11:6
But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
What does “diligent” mean? It means to be careful, focused, serious and detailed.
We may spend bits of time here and there with God while driving or doing other things, but the question is: are we focused? Devotion is God’s time; when we multitask, we are robbing God of our time with Him.
Diligence also has determination – keeping at it until we are satisfied that we have been in God’s presence. This then gives us confidence to face the challenges that lie ahead, because we seek God with diligence compared to seeking other people and other things.
Read | Matthew 7:7-8
Keep Asking, Seeking, Knocking
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.
There is the word ART in HEART.
Though seeking God is not a method or law, and more of the heart, but the heart will motivate us to seek God in several of these practices where we know we can be found with God:
Consult
When we are consulting God instead of others – that pleases Him. Even when the decision or choice seems obvious, let’s learn to consult Him anyway. This is because sometimes even “obvious blessings” like promotions, starting a relationship, or sending children to study overseas, can end up bringing more harm than good.
Ask
Read | 2 Chronicles 20:3-4
And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. So Judah gathered together to ask help from the Lord; and from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord.
Asking God for help is seeking Him. Even if it is at the last minute, ask God for His favour, just like the criminal who was crucified together with Jesus had asked Jesus to remember him (Luke 23:39-43).
Trust
Read | Isaiah 31:1
Trusting God means even if we do not get what we want, we will still choose to trust Him. God is a good God and He has the best for us; even if He allows us to miss a particular opportunity, He will make a way for us though there seems to be no way.
Depend
Read | Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.
Depend on God, not on our own strength or on other people. It looks like we need to acknowledge God first before we can see His path. It is almost as though if we do not acknowledge Him in the situation, God will not direct. So no matter whether the situation is good or bad, we need to acknowledge Him.
Sometimes we may not have the answers to our “whys” and “hows”, but God is the only answer we need and He is with us and for us – we need to acknowledge that. Even if we cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel, the important thing is that we can see God.
Give Thanks
Read | Psalm 100:4
Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.
A lot of us do not enter into God’s presence because we do not come to God being thankful. The way to enter into God’s presence is by giving thanks to Him – as we do so, there is a strength that builds up within us because thanksgiving is powerful.
Speak in Tongues
We should work out our spirit, which is our inner man, just as how we exercise our bodies. Speaking in tongues grows our spiritual muscles and causes us to have an awareness of God. Sometimes we do not commune and engage enough with the Holy Spirit – yet Jesus said it is to our advantage that He goes so that the Holy Spirit can come.
Honour
Giving our best such as honouring God with our tithes and offerings, observing His law and commandments, because that shows we have Him in our thoughts. It is not legalistic but true joy and privilege.
Read | Psalm 27:4
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.
Let’s focus on the Lord because when You said, “Seek My face,” my heart said to You, “Your face, Lord, I will seek.” (Psalm 27:8)
Written by Writer’s Ink
Edited by Hailey Chung
