The Seekers Heart

Plans, strategies, programs; not bad things in and of themselves, but what we really need is God's presence. If that's not our chief concern then all those other things will be in vain.

He comes to those who seek him, and with all their heart at that. It's that simple. If we're missing his presence it's because we're missing a seekers heart.

Jeremiah 29:13 says this: You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

Interestingly enough, when researched in the original Hebrew, the word seek here...well it means 'seek'. That's right, it means exactly what it says.

Herein lies the issue I believe. The fact is we are such a busy, give it to me now, microwave oven kind of culture that we just don't have time for things like true seeking anymore. Honestly, it would be easier if we could just go about our lives, doing our own thing and when we need God for something just wink and he be there, ready to do our bidding. Unfortunately, we are probably all guilty sometimes of treating God kind of like our own personal Genie in a bottle.

Funny thing is we still tend get upset with God when he doesn't seem to show up on cue. Often we find ourselves in the middle of a crisis, not seeing God, not feeling God, and honestly not sure he's even there and wondering why.
Maybe our church services even feel a little slack on his presence lately. The glory is just not tangible and manifest like it once was. The Holy Spirit doesn't seem to have the time to interrupt our routine these days...maybe that's it, or maybe it's this: maybe God is just looking, anxiously waiting even, for someone who will diligently seek him with all their heart again. Maybe he desires a people who won't just run in and out of service on their own time schedule, looking for a quick pick me up. Maybe he wants to connect intimately, deeply with those who will sacrifice their precious time for his priceless presence...those who know what it means to persevere in prayer.

After all, if he just handed out all his goodness like candy to everyone who stretched out their needy hand, wouldn't everyone in the world be on board. I mean that's easy, the way we like it. The truth is God's mystery revealed, the depth of his character, his heart and heartbeat...they were never really meant to be known by the casual pew warmer, or anyone who takes such a great and holy presence so flippantly. No, he's much to jealous a God for that. He wants our time and affection. He wants our undivided attention and he's reserved an immeasurable amount of goodness for those who are willing to truly seek him.

No More Clapping

      The room erupted with clapping and affirmative shouts and amen’s. Immediately I joined in on the affirmation. Apparently, the Pastor had reached a climactic point in his sermon and I wanted to be sure that he knew I was with him. Then a thought struck me, I had no idea what he had just said. It seemed I had allowed my mind to wander off for just a moment and missed one of the main points of the sermon. I had no idea what the point was, but there I was clapping and nodding my approval whole-heartedly. Wow, how many times had I done that before and never even realized what I was doing? Furthermore, how many people in that sanctuary were just like me? My intentions were good, I thought, and I trusted this man, after all he was my pastor, but what if? What if what he had just said did not line up with scripture? What if there were hundreds of people in that room who were just taking him at his word and I was only deepening the impact by applauding in confirmation of its truthfulness. The Holy Spirit continued to nudge me, gently rebuking and teaching, as he so often does. Are we living out our Christian lives in like fashion, simply ambling along, nodding, receiving what we have been taught, and never really searching it out for ourselves in scripture? Even the most well intentioned, God-loving men are fallible. We are all capable of being in error, even mislead sometimes by our own opinions and emotions. God’s word, in contrast, is infallible, everlasting and never changing. That is why we must seek out contextual evidence in scripture for every teaching.

I believe this is what God meant in his word when he said, “work out your own salvation, with much fear and trembling.” I’ve often seen people use this bit of scripture as some kind of justification for sin that they just don’t want to let go of, saying things like ‘well I’m not convicted about that and God said for me to work out my own salvation, so I feel this is just between me and him.’ I actually see no evidence in the context of this scripture that points in anyway to such a meaning. Instead I believe what the Lord was saying is this; get into my word yourself, seek me and my truth out for yourself and do so fearfully. Don’t let a man alone direct your path but let my word be a lamp unto your feet and a light unto your path. I pray I am not misunderstood here, God gave us pastors to be our shepherds and to help guide us in the right way but Jesus is the great shepherd and ultimately everything must line up with the truth of scripture.

            I heard a message given by Francis Chan in which he shared a story that I would like to share with you. He told of a time when a couple of Jehovah’s witnesses came by his home seeking to share their beliefs. He said they went back and forth for a while sharing teachings and why they believed them to be true. One of their beliefs was that Saint Michael the Archangel and Jesus were one and the same. Finally, Francis looked at them and said, look me in the eyes and be honest with me and tell me that you’ve read the bible and come to this conclusion for yourselves, or is this something you believe just because you’ve been fed it. He then says they went away saying that they did need to study for themselves and they thought they would do so. Francis said as they left he was feeling pretty good about his point until he begin to think, was I fair to them? I mean have I truly read and proven everything I believe thru scripture or am I also believing some things that I’ve just been fed?

            This is a dangerous time we live in, to just take what we are told at face value.. Our beliefs are being questioned at every turn, our Christian faith is being labeled as old-fashioned and intolerant and God’s word is being twisted and perverted even by many who claim to be his messengers and followers. It is especially dangerous for those who are not personally well grounded in God’s word, for if you build your house without a good foundation it will surely fall. His word warns us that, in the last days even many of the elect, if it were possible, would be deceived. How could this be? Could it simply be because his word is not hidden in our heart. Even King David himself understood this necessity when he said, ‘hide your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.’

            With more and more false religions, false teachings, and hypocritical preachers who seek only to please men and tickle their ears, we must be ever vigilant in standing guard. Let us say that we will not suffer the defilement of his true and holy word, not on our watch. We must know his word in order to proclaim it and we must proclaim it without relent for it is the power of God unto the salvation of men.

            The God of the universe is sending us a wake up call, his message: no more clapping. Stop sleepily clapping and nodding away, it’s time to wake up and address the deception. There is no time for apathy, no room for compromise. His word is uncompromising, and sovereign. It is not, nor will it ever be subject to man’s will or opinion.