Why Should We Seek God? (Part 2)
[ Preached by Pastor Kenneth Chin at Acts Church Malaysia on 9 December 2018 ]
In part one of the Seek God series, five points are described on how we ought to seek God via Price, Priority, Passion, Proximity, and Presence.
In the same five points, we now delve into why we should seek Him.
PRICE
We seek something priceless and valuable in life.
For example, when we leave our house and realised that we have left something behind, would we turn back for it? We might, if it is something valuable like a wallet or a phone, but maybe not for something that is of little value or could be easily replaced like a water bottle.
Read | Matthew 13: 44 – 46
In the same way, when one seeks God, it is because He is valuable. One seeks God because He is priceless and not because He is something common or replaceable.
We should place God as a high demand; abide in Him in a way that apart from Him, we can do nothing. There are times when I kneel before God in prayer and say, “You are my Oxygen, without You, I cannot breathe.”
Our heart is not beating on battery, it is at the will of God.
Ashes to ashes and dust to dust; our lives, everything, including all that we have, belongs to God. Once we acknowledge this, we will appreciate how valuable God is in our lives.
PRIORITY
God cannot take second place. God is our first love and we shall not forsake our first love.
In Matthew 6:33, it is stated that we should seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all things will be added to us. This clearly shows that God must come first as He has priority over all other things in our lives.
Read | 2 Chronicles 31:20- 21
Hezekiah, in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, he sought the Lord and he prospered. God can prosper you in every area of your life.
Seeking God is also offering Him our first fruits, of our day, our salary, our harvest. I always set aside my mornings for devotion and prayer first before attending to other matters.
We need to lift Him up and put Him to first place. Once we do this, we will taste and see His goodness in our lives.
PASSION
We must show God that He is important to us with the intensity of all our heart and mind and soul.
Read | Psalm 119:2
Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, who seek Him with the whole heart!
Read | Psalm 119:10
With my whole heart I have sought You; Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments!
Read | Psalm 63:1, Psalm 63:5
We seek God because we know He has something in store. We approached Him in a spirit of poverty towards His dependency, and in doing so, our soul shall be satisfied.
PROXIMITY
Have you ever thought to yourself that while God is here with us, are we actually with Him?
We can be in church listening to the message, but we may not be present as our minds and thoughts wander elsewhere. So when we come into God’s presence, are we really present?
If we want to hear God’s voice, then we first have to draw near to Him. Once we draw near to Him, He will draw near to us, and we will be close to His heart, to the point where we can even hear His breath.
Read | Psalms 14:2
The closer we get to Him, the more we understand God, and the more we will be free and be people of understanding.
PRESENCE
God’s presence is full of joy, and the joy of the Lord is our strength.
Read | 1 Chronicles 16:10-11
It seems like a promise that when people seek the Lord, they rejoice. You will find His strength when you seek Him. We may come into His presence sad, but we will come out with joy even when our problems are not solved yet.
Just a taste of His presence will change things.
Read | Zephaniah 2:3
God will hide you under the shadow of His wings during calamity and pain.
If you feel shackled or if you have a bad habit which you cannot escape, draw near to God and He will set us free. He is the way, the truth, and the life.
Read | Deuteronomy 4:29-31
When you seek God in times of distress, you will find Him merciful and find Him helpful. As long as God is there, I will be safe.
I will seek Him because where God is, is where I want to be.
Read | 2 Chronicles 14:6-7
No attacks of the enemy will succeed against you and there will be rest in your marriage, in your studies, and in your family. There will be no war or arguments among your relationships.
God wants to fight your battles and the victory is where you found God.
Why should we seek God? It is our job to seek Him.
Read | Acts 15:16-17
v17a So that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord.
Read | Acts 17:26-27
v27 so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us.
God will move away when you think you are strong and do not need Him any longer. Come to a place where it is just you and Him because He misses you.
Written by Writer’s Ink
Edited by Hailey Chung