Seeking: March 7, 2014

TODAYS WORD FOR FRIDAY MARCH 7, 2014.

SEEKING

DEFINITION:

To look for; go in search or quest of; to try to obtain.

SCRIPTURE:

For the Son of man came to seek and to save those that were lost. Luke 19:20

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. Revelation 3:20.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

We will talk today about two kinds of seeking.  The children of Israel began seeking to have a king like the pagan nations around them, so God allowed the Children of Israel to choose a king who would make their decisions for them. They were in the process of taking their eyes off of God. They choose Saul and it turned out to be one of the great tragedies in the Bible because Saul continually made his decisions seeking to obtain human favor for himself.

God told Saul to kill all of the Amalekites, but he chose to save the life of their king because he felt it would gain him favor in the eyes of his people. Saul had a divided allegiance. He was quite content to serve God as long as it pleased those around them. The failure in the life of Saul was his continual hunger for the approval of people around him. As King of God’s chosen people, he should have been seeking God’s approval. If he had been willing to seek he could have found it. Do you know people like that today that are associated with you? We all do.

In contrast to Saul who was seeking to obtain something for himself we have Jesus who came into the world seeking nothing for Himself. God created the world and all that is in it and all the world already belongs to Jesus. Jesus tells us in Luke 19:10 that He came seeking what was lost. All those who are without Christ are the lost. Because Jesus does not need anything there is only one thing we can give Him --- OUR HEART!

In Revelation 3:20 John tells us how Jesus is seeking us. First, He is pictured as standing at the door of our heart. Jesus takes the initiative and is willing to seek us even when we have erected a barrier.

Secondly, He is pictured knocking at the door. Jesus is knocking to get our attention and it may be through circumstances we may be facing, such as financial problems, painful hurts, broken relationships, illness or death of a loved one.

When someone witnesses to someone and asks him or her to accept Jesus they can be sure God is knocking loudly.

Thirdly, Jesus invites us to open the door. The door knob is on our side. We alone can open it. Jesus seeks us and He is omnipotent but never pushes His way into a relationship with us. We are the one that chooses, not Jesus.

Fourthly, Jesus enters through the door. If we open the door to Him He will come in. Through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in our lives we will actually partake of Christ’s divine nature and be transformed into His image.

Finally, Jesus will dine with us inside the door. When we allow the seeking Jesus to come into our heart nothing stands between us and Jesus. It is then we can begin to enjoy all the benefits of an intimate relationship with Jesus and be nourished by His Word.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in James 1:12.

Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.

PRAYER:

I am so grateful that You were seeking me out and continued to do so until I opened the door of my heart to let You in. Use me today to show to others that You are their seeking Savior, patiently waiting for them to open the door of their hearts.