The Need of Seeking God - Part 2 of 2

The Baptist Bible Hour now comes to you under the direction of Elder LeSaire Bradley, Jr. O for a thousand tongues to sing, my great Redeemer's praise! The glories of my God and King, the triumphs of his grace! This is LeSaire Bradley, Jr. inviting you to stay tuned for another message of God's sovereign grace.

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Simply save that message and listen to it as many times as you like. We're thankful for the multiple opportunities to platform the message of God's sovereign grace, your local radio station, our website at BaptistBibleHour.org, and the Baptist Bible Hour podcast. We continue today with the message entitled, The Need of Seeking God. The text is Psalm 27, verse 8, When thou saidst, Seek ye my face, my heart said unto thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek. Can we all say that with the Psalms today, Thy face, Lord, will I seek? Certainly if we recognize our own weakness and unworthiness, we know how important it is to be seeking the Lord continually. And I pray that the message today will be an encouragement to you to do just that.

Sometimes that's difficult. We take our burden to Him. We know His promise that He says He cares for us. And yet we somehow pick the burden back up and continue to carry it. Put your burden upon Him. Cast thy burden upon the Lord. And then Psalm 102 describes in some very descriptive language what it is when one is depressed. Hear my prayer, O Lord. Let my cry come unto thee.

Hide not that face from me in the day when I'm in trouble. Incline thine ear unto me in the day when I call upon thee. And then it says in verse five, By reason of the voice of my groaning, my bones cleave to my skin. I am like a pelican of the wilderness. I'm like an owl of the desert. I watch and I'm as a sparrow alone upon the housetop.

That paints a bleak picture to me. You think of one little sparrow up on the roof of the house. He's subject to the blowing of the wind, to the falling of the rain, to all kinds of difficult situations. And he feels alone. I am like the sparrow alone upon the housetop. Have you ever been in that plight where you felt very much alone? You may have been around people, but you said nobody can really understand where I am.

Nobody can understand the depth of my burden. Yes, he describes a state which we would certainly have to define as being depressed. But look what he says in verse 17 of the Psalm. He will regard the prayer of the destitute and not despise their prayer.

I've counseled with people trying to encourage them to seek the Lord's face and that they would find help and hope in Him. And we'd look at some of those passages where Jesus says, Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God. So you're cast down. You feel to be poor in spirit. They'd come back and say, well, I'm probably not poor enough. My heart's probably not right.

I don't know that he would hear me. Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness. Well, I don't know that my appetite for righteousness is as strong as it ought to be. And everything I'd give them, they'd try to find a way around it.

I said, I found one verse you can't get around. He will not despise the prayer of the destitute. So you can say I'm destitute of the hunger I ought to have and the sense of poverty I ought to have, but you can't get under this one. He will not despise the prayer of the destitute.

And so when the destitute goes to him for help, help is found. And then we need to understand the importance of seeking his face in time of loss and sorrow. When loved ones are claimed by death. I read a book one time and a man was saying, when loved ones depart, there are no words.

There are no words to which we can turn. And I immediately thought of this passage in 1 Thessalonians 4, verse 18, where he says, Wherefore comfort one another with these words. God has provided words to give comfort when our loved one has gone on to be with the Lord.

In the 16th verse it says, Wherefore the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

So here's the comfort God himself has provided. Where then do we look? We look to the philosophies of men. We look to the Lord himself. And we could go on to say that in every part of life this is crucial. The Lord says, Seek ye my face. And our response needs to echo that. Thy face, Lord, will I seek in your home.

Do you seek the Lord there? Colossians chapter 3 verse 17 says, And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him. And then immediately following, there is specific instruction given to wives, to husbands, and to children. That wives are to be submissive to their husbands. Husbands are to love their wives, they are to not provoke their children to wrath, and children are to be obedient to their parents. Well, sometimes home life can get to be a little rough. There can be conflicts and differences of opinion.

What do you do under those circumstances? The Lord says, Seek ye my face. Seek his face and come to understand that whatever you do, whatever you say, in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks. Oh, there's so much emphasis in scripture on giving thanks to God.

We can so easily neglect that. Unless we have a thankful heart, we're not going to find peace and joy in the Lord. And then in the same chapter, Colossians chapter 3, it tells us that seeking the Lord is something that ought to be done in your work. And whatsoever you do, do it heartily as to the Lord and not unto men.

You might be in a situation where you're not happy in your job, but as long as you're there, you're to give it your best. Here's the information God provides you. Do it heartily. Whatever you're doing, you do it heartily to the Lord. So you seek his face in the workplace that you may serve and do things in a way that is honoring to the Lord. And certainly then, that's true in the church. In the same book, Colossians chapter 1, verse 18. And he, that is, of course, speaking of Jesus Christ, is the hand of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he might have the preeminence.

Now he's given him the preeminence, but from a practical standpoint, if he's going to have the preeminence in our church, we need to be doing exactly what he said in our text. The Lord says, seek ye my face. That's where we will find the help we need for the church to be what it ought to be, to the praise and glory of his name. Are you consistently going to the Lord, seeking his face, asking his blessings upon the church, that we might be a body that is united in love and commitment to serve Jesus Christ, and that our testimony might be given, and that we can carry out the commission we looked at in a message a few weeks ago from the book of Matthew? Well, then let's think about something of a guide for this seeking. What are some things we need to think about if we're going to be seeking the face of God?

First of all, from a negative point of view, it must not be just a formality, not lip service only. It must be from the heart, and that's exactly what it was with David. As he was called upon to seek the Lord, he responds that he would seek the Lord with his heart. It's to be a continuous thing, not just an occasional exercise in a time of crisis, but following the pattern that the psalmist set for us here. There was no delay. When the Lord said, seek ye my face, he didn't say, I'll have to give that some thought.

I'll have to try to fit that into my schedule. They immediately responded, thy face, Lord, will I seek. And that needs to be our response. Jeremiah chapter 28 verse 13 says, and ye shall seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart. So if it's something that's just casual, if it's something that's just words we can't expect, we're going to find him. But when you seek for me with all your heart, you will find me.

When David responds, there was no limitations of time, place or condition. He just said in all seasons, under all circumstances is implied, I will be seeking thy face. And may that be a lesson that each of us could take home with us today and make it a part of our life on a daily basis. So from the positive standpoint, it is to be with fervor and zeal. Psalm 63 1 says, O God, thou art my God, early will I seek thee.

This is something that's first and foremost, immediately I'm going to do it. My soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land where no water is. To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary. Verse 8, my soul followeth hard after thee, thy right hand upholdeth me. Yes, he says here, I'm going to put this matter of seeking thee first, I'm going to follow hard after thee. He's going to do it earnestly. We looked earlier at the passage in Hebrews chapter 11 verse 6 that says, the Lord is the rewarder of them that diligently seek him. So it is to be with diligence and it is to be with importunity, which means that we continue. We don't give up.

Luke chapter 18 verse 1 says, and he spake this parable unto them to this end, that men are always to pray and not to faint. Now I'm sure you remember what that parable was about. The woman goes before the unjust judge and requests, avenge me my adversary. He was unjust, he didn't care about what was right, he didn't care about this woman. But she persisted, she continued to make her request, she wouldn't go away. And finally he granted the request just to get rid of her. You might say that seemed like a strange lesson, but the good news is we don't make our request to an unjust judge, we make our request not to our Heavenly Father, one who loves us and cares for us.

So the lesson of that chapter is this, the woman was heard because of her importunity, because she wouldn't accept no, she just kept going. And he says that this is for our benefit that we are always to pray and not to faint. Do you sometimes feel like giving up when you've been praying for something for a long time and it doesn't happen? You say, I just don't know if the Lord hears my prayers or not.

Well, we have to be submissive to his will of course, but we are to pray without ceasing. And then we think of the blessing, the blessing of seeking. It's a blessing to know that if God says, seek ye my face, you don't have to wait for an appointment, he's already invited you. So you can say, thy face Lord, will I seek? He's commanded it because he's ready to hear.

He's ready to hear us when we call on him. Jeremiah 33 says, call unto me and I will answer thee and show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not. And then we look at Psalm 9 and verse 9. The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble, and they that know thy name will put their trust in thee for thou Lord has not forsaken them that do what? Seek thee. The Lord has not forsaken those that seek him. Now, we must recognize that while the Lord calls on us and commands us to seek his face, that God himself will determine how he's going to answer our prayer. He decides what blessing we need. Paul prayed three times, Lord, remove the thorn in the flesh. He was one that had a good relationship with the Lord. It wasn't a problem in his life that would keep God from hearing him. He prayed three times. Did God hear him?

Yes. But his answer was, I'm not going to remove the thorn. I have a purpose in you experiencing this difficulty. But my answer is, my grace is sufficient for thee. So sometimes we may think, well, the Lord hasn't heard my prayer. But he's answered in a way that's pleasing to him and in a way that he knows is best for you.

And you haven't been able to deserve it. So we have to be surrendered and submissive to his will. And David concludes the psalm in the 14th verse by saying, Wait on the Lord, be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart, and he says it again, Wait, I say, on the Lord.

That's an area where we many times have difficulty. We feel like, I prayed this morning, I ought to have the answer this afternoon. Well, many times God's timetable is not in sequence with what our desires are. But we have to pray, Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven.

I'm going to bow to his will. Wait, I say, on the Lord. And then one final thought, that God will hear sinners. I read a book one time, probably the most depressing book I ever read, where somebody was saying there are human beings for whom there is no hope.

Their life, their thinking is so distorted there's no hope, there's no help for them. I thought, how wonderful to know that there is no sinner who's sunk so deep into sin, no one in such a confused state of mind, no one so deep into addiction, but what the God of heaven is able to reach them. Jesus said, he came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. And that's illustrated in the parable of the publican and the Pharisee. The Pharisee brags on himself, the publican smites upon his breast and says, God be merciful to me, the sinner.

And he said, this man went down to his house justified. I'm talking to somebody today who admits, I am a sinner. I have broken God's law. He doesn't owe me anything. If he dealt with me according to justice, I'd be under his wrath forever. But I'm not happy with that situation.

I'm not happy with my life and where I am. Here's encouraging news, that he heard that publican who cried out for mercy. He heard the thief on the cross who said, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said this day, thou shalt be with me in paradise. Romans 10 13 says, for whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Obviously the one who calls in sincerity, the Lord has called on them.

Because we love him because he first loved us. But the fact is, if I speak to someone who is struggling and questioning, is there any hope for me? He says, whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. And let me say to all today who would say, yes, I have found relief from the burden of sin.

I believe that Christ died for me and I'm trusting him for my salvation. But can you say that you are continually, perpetually seeking his face? Here's the Lord speaking to the psalmist, seek ye my face.

Now did he respond immediately, positively, thy face Lord will I seek. As we leave here today, may all of us go saying, I want to be more diligent, more faithful in seeking his face. Do we not desperately need him in every area of life? In all that we do, we need him on a daily basis.

And he would have us seek him because he's promised to supply our need. I need thee every hour, most gracious Lord. No tender voice like thine can peace abhor.

I need thee, oh, I need thee, every hour I need thee. Oh, bless me now my Savior, I come to thee. We have seen in this message entitled, The Need of Seeking God, that the psalmist responded in a positive way. When the Lord said, seek ye my face, he says, thy face Lord will I seek. May that be the response of every one of us today and be earnestly seeking the Lord our God to bless his kingdom, his church, that it may prosper and the gospel may go forth freely with the glory of his name.

Till next week at this same time, may the Lord richly bless you all. I need thee, oh, bless me now my Savior, I come to thee. The Baptist Bible Hour has come to you under the direction of Elder LeSaire Bradley Jr. Address all mail to the Baptist Bible Hour, Cincinnati, Ohio 45217.

That's the Baptist Bible Hour, Cincinnati, Ohio 45217. I need thee every hour, most holy one. Oh, make me thine in thee, thou blessed Son. I need thee, oh, I need thee every hour I need thee. Oh, bless me now my Savior, I come to thee.