Sunday Message Summary, 23 October 2022
GOD loves us and He wants to have fellowship and a relationship with us. However, if we want to come to GOD, we have to seek Him. This is a spiritual principle. GOD wants to reveal Himself to us, but He wants us to seek Him (Psalms 27:8). The seeking of GOD therefore does not come from man but from GOD Himself. We can’t say we are desperate for GOD yet not seek Him. Instead, our hearts must be willing to seek the LORD, and we must demonstrate that we want Him by seeking Him. GOD will not reveal Himself where He is not wanted, invited, or sought after. How can GOD reveal Himself if we do not pray? When we pray, we register our dire need for GOD.
Everyone can say they are seeking GOD, but are we really seeking? The key is not what we say, but what our hearts say (Matthew 15:8). GOD promises to avail Himself when we seek Him with all our hearts (Jeremiah 29:12-13), so it is impossible to seek GOD without heart involvement. Any seeking without heart involvement is therefore in vain because from the heart comes conviction. Our hearts must be in our prayer, so prayer must emanate from within. GOD wants us to seek Him with all the heart and with all the soul (Deuteronomy 4:29), so it is an issue of our volition and will. GOD is looking for the sincerity and genuineness of our hearts, so He wants us to seek Him with humility (2 Chronicles 7:14), not bringing anything before Him, but coming as we are, making ourselves vulnerable.
There are prayers GOD doesn’t hear. Instead, GOD hears our humility and repentance. We can’t be seeking GOD and be sinning at the same time (2 Chronicles 7:14). This way He will never manifest Himself. We must turn, repent, and stop doing the deeds we have been doing. We must break our hearts and prepare them to seek the LORD, in order to receive the Word of God (Hosea 10:12). Unbroken hearts cannot receive the Word and cannot obey it. When we seek GOD how He wants us to seek Him, there is a guarantee that GOD will hear from Heaven, and He will come through for us (2 Chronicles 7:14). What makes the difference is the heart involvement.
How long do we seek the LORD? Until He answers (Hosea 10:12). By our action of stopping, we void the seeking. When we stop before GOD answers, we lack patience, perseverance, persistence, and the conviction to keep going. We must imitate those who through faith and patience obtain the promises (Hebrews 6:12). When we seek the LORD, He does not tell us when He will come, and He does not tell us when He will answer (Luke 24:49), so we should seek until He comes and answers. Elijah, for example, prayed with conviction of faith, intensity, and persistence. He prayed and never stopped until the LORD answered Him (James 5:16b-18). The master key in prayer is persistence and importunity (Luke 11:5-10). When we do so, GOD will give us in abundance.
Every child of GOD is a city set on a hill, called for generations (Matthew 5:14). As long as we are His, we have a role to play in the Kingdom of GOD. However, for us to know what to do we must seek the LORD. Our prayer and the answer to our prayer could be what our generation is waiting for. When GOD truly reveals Himself to us, people will seek us out. This world has endless needs, so we need to do our part. Real needs need the real GOD, not gimmicks.
When we pray, we register our dire need for GOD.
0 Comments