WHAT DO YOU SEEK?
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"WHAT DO YOU SEEK"??
THE GOSPEL OF JOHN, CHAPTER ONE, VERSE 38
"Jesus turned round, and seeing them following
He asked them,
"What do you seek?"
Powerful,
Profound,
Deep,
Heartfelt,
Intense and
Complete!!
What a simple and gentle winning question!!
These were the first recorded words
Spoken by our God
And our Savior
At the very onset of His public ministry.
"What do you seek" ?
Two men who were about to become disciples of Jesus Christ
Had just heard John the Baptist proclaim;;;;
"Behold! The Lamb of God! Who takes away the sins of the world!!" Immediately they left John;
And began to follow Jesus.
Now, Jesus did not ask them 'Who' they were seeking,
nor did He ask them 'What' they were doing.
He did not ask them
'Why are you following Me'?,
or 'What do you want?"
Rather His question was
'What do you seek'?.
I fully am convinced that this is the very same question that the Spirit of our Living God and Savior Jesus Christ asks of every one of us.
Every day of our lives.
One time that He asks this is when we first turn our hearts to Him
And throw open wide the door of our heart,
Answering the Call of the Holy Spirit,
The Call that is Spoke of in
Revelation 3:20; Where we Read
" Behold, I stand at the door and knock"
Yes indeed, The risen Christ is patiently waiting
Outside the door of each heart;
Of Every Person;
Ever Born.
His Spirit is Gently Knocking on the Door to Their Very Heart,
Desiring that Each Person Respond to this Knock,
Throw open wide the door to their heart,
And to their Life,
And Invite Him In.
For it is Written;
"Even so, it is not the Will of your Father who is in
Heaven that one of these Little ones should perish."
The first question that Jesus asks;
As one opens that door to their heart;
Is ;
"What do you seek"?
This question is identical;
As any Believer sets his Heart to Pray ,
And Seek the Lord
In Humble Supplication.
The Lord God,
Who searches the Hearts and the Minds
Inquires of the Believer again,
"What is it that you seek" ?
" Where is your heart"??
"What are your motives"??
Now;..... pay close attention!
Whatever you do; do not let this crucial question of God miss its mark!
For I tell you the truth,
The Great I AM;
The Alpha and Omega,
The First and The Last,
The Beginning and The End,
Does not need us to respond to Him pertaining to this Question,
For He is Omnipotent,
That is;
He is all powerful,
Creating heaven,
Earth
And all that is in Them;
With nothing more than a
Word.
He is Omnipresent,
Which means that
He is not Limited by Time
Or Space
As we understand it,
He is fully Capable of being in All Places, at All Times.
He is Capable of being right there, Present with All men,
Simultaneously,
And He is Literally Standing Right Here,
Among Each of us,
Even now,
With His arms open wide,
Hoping we will Allow Him to Encircle each of us
In His everlasting Love.
Most importantly for what I am telling you today;
Our God is OMNISCIENT.
The One who made the heavens and the earth,
The Divine Creator
Who knitted each individual together in their mothers womb,
He who has the very hairs of your head numbered,
Knows your every thought;
Even before you think it!!
He is Intimately Aware of your every motive!!!
He need not ask you
"What do you seek"
That He may be informed as to your motives;
for in His Omniscience,
He is indeed all seeing
And All Knowing ,
He Already knows the deepest truth to this Crucially divine question,
And; He is vividly aware of the response that you will give!!
This Question is Clearly Directed to You.
It is directed to your Heart.
Answer for yourself,
Truthfully Respond to this Statement
And All Important Question that is Asked by Jesus.
It may very well indeed be the
Single
Most important question
That you ever ask of yourself.
Let the Grand Searchlight of His Holy Spirit
Search the Very Depths of your heart,
For it is Written
Within the Blessed and Divinely Inspired pages of the Holy Bible
"Seek ye first
the Kingdom of God,
and His righteousness,
and then,
all these things
will be added unto you"
So I will ask you even now
WHAT DO YOU SEEK??
I would like to draw a picture if I may.
First, I would draw your Attention and minds
To Remember the Scribes and the Pharisees;
Who Jesus,
While He was Among Mankind,
Often Rebuked.
These Elite of the Elite in the Jewish Culture were an interesting lot.
Their self exalted lifestyle stood in opposition
To All the Things
That a Most Holy God
Calls His Own to Be.
Jesus told us to Be Humble!
Matthew 18:4 says
"Whoever humbles himself as a little child
will be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven"
And in
1 Peter, chapter 5,
We are told to
" Be clothed with humility,
because God resists the proud,
but bestows His Grace upon the humble"
"Therefore humble yourselves UNDER the mighty hand of God,
that He might exalt you in the due time"
Quite in opposition to this, The Pharisees had a sickening
'Holier than Thou'
Attitude and Lifestyle.
They were steeped in Greed and Pride.
They were consumed with 'Observing the Law'
They separated themselves from anyone
Who was not a part of their
'Elite'
Little group.
The Answer that Jesus clearly saw in His Question
"What do you Seek";
Was that their Desire was to Exalt Themselves
In their 'Pseudo Holiness,' Above all Others.
They had fallen prey to the Self Same Self Exaltation
That resulted in satans expulsion from Heaven!!!
The devil had an "I" Problem.
His focus was upon himself.
The thing that Consumed his Every Thought and Desire
Was his Own Exaltation.
His answer to the Question
"What Do You Seek"
Was
'Well, What Is In It For Me?"
The Account of this is found in :
Isaiah 14:12-15
"How art thou Fallen from Heaven, o Lucifer, Son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations.
For thou hast said in thine heart 'I' will ascend into Heaven' "I' will exalt 'my' throne above the stars of God: 'I' will sit also upon the Mount of the congregation, in the sides of the North.
'I' will ascend above the heights of the clouds; 'I' will be like the Most High.
Yet thou shall be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit."
I; I; I; I; ME; MY; I; I; I;
You get the point.
He had a Serious 'I' Problem.
And let us not forget Judas Iscariot.
It is Undeniable that Christ Jesus is Omniscient.
He Clearly Knew the Very Depths of the Heart of Judas.
It is written in John 6:70
" Have I not chosen you twelve,
and yet one of you is a devil"?
And in John 6:64, it says
"But there are some of you who do not believe."
Jesus Knew from The Beginning who it was that did not Believe,
And Who it was that would Betray Him."
The Disciples had quite a few Names for Judas
That are Recorded in the Scriptures.
Matthew and Mark call him The Betrayer.
Luke calls him the Traitor,
While John; calls him a Devil.
The Story that is found in John 12:1-6
Gives us a Clear Picture of the Heart of Judas.
This is the same Picture that I was drawing of the Pharisees.
Lets read that account,
For it is here that we see clearly
The Knowledge of Jesus Christ ;
When He asked Judas;
"What do you Seek"?
" Jesus, however, six days before the Passover, came to Bethany, where Lazarus was; whom He had raised from the dead. So they gave a dinner there in honor of Jesus, at which Martha waited at table, but Lazarus was one of the guests who were with Him. Availing herself of the opportunity, Mary took a pound weight of pure spikenard, very costly, and poured it over His feet, and wiped His feet with her hair, so that the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. Then said Judas (the Iscariot, one of the Twelve--the one who afterwards betrayed Jesus), said; "Why was not that perfume sold for 300 shillings and the money given to the poor?" The reason he said this was not that he cared for the poor, but that he was a thief, and that being in charge of the money-box, he used to steal what was put into it."
Judas was a Thief.
The Thing that he Sought was not the Presence of the Promised Messiah, Nor was it his Desire to Truly Know Jesus.
If we were to Discern Clearly
The Answer that Judas would give
To Christs First Words to him,
If that answer were to be Uncompromisingly True;
It would be something to the effect of .........
'Well, 'I Want' Whatever I can Get'!!
'What is in it for Me?
'I Want' to be Exalted,
'I Want' the Self Gratifying Honor
Of being Glorified
And Dignified
Because 'I' am Great,
And if People Know 'I'm' on Your Side,
'My' Promotion Among Others will be Sure'!
Now, I will ask each of you again......
WHAT DO YOU SEEK?
You may Fool Others;
You may even Tell the Same Lie so many Times
That you Fool Yourself.
But I Tell you The Truth,
God Knows your Heart.
The question He asks you
As you turn your Thoughts towards Heaven,
And The Blessed Assurance
That True Followers of Christ Jesus Have;
Is not that the Almighty God may have an Answer.
No.
He already Knows.
This Question is Meant for you.
To give an Answer to yourself.
Check your Heart.
Check your Motives.
What do you Seek?
In the Lords Prayer after First Giving the Glory;
And the Honor;
That is Due The Most Holy Name of God,
We Pray
"Thy Kingdom Come,
THY WILL BE DONE"
It is nothing less than
The 'Will'
Of A Most Holy God
That we Should Seek.
His Will is Perfect.
He has nothing less than the Very Best for His Children in Mind,
and if it is His Will that we Truly Are Seeking,
Then;
We can Rest Assured
That only the Best of a Loving Father is in store for us!
What is the Will of Jesus for us?
We see Clearly His Deepest Heartfelt Desire for each of us Written
in John 17:3
As Jesus is Praying in the Garden of Gethsemane ;
He lifts His eyes towards Heaven ,
and He Prays................................
"Father, the hour has come.
Glorify your Son,
That your Son may also Glorify You.
As You have given Him authority over all flesh,
That He may give Eternal Life
To as many as You have given Him.
And this is Eternal Life,
That they may Know You,
The only True God,
and Jesus Christ,
Whom You have Sent."
The Will of our Living Savior ;
Is nothing less
Than that we come into
A Living,
Close,
Personal
and Intimate Relationship
with Him!!
This prayer continues with Jesus asking the Father that we
(That is; All who Truly Believe in Him)
May be as One;
Even as the Father is in Jesus,
and Jesus is in the Father,
That we, may be One in Them.
That we may be as One,
Even as They are One.
This is The Perfect Will of He who is Faithful and True;
That we may
KNOW HIM!!!
For this Close,
Personal
and Intimate Relationship
To Become a Reality in our lives,
We Must First Ask of ourselves
The Very First Question
That our Lord asked at the onset of His Ministry.......
We MUST ask ourselves
WHAT DO I SEEK?
Then we must be 100% Certain
That the Most Truthful Answer to this All Important
And Crucial Inquiry
Is Nothing Less,
And Most Assuredly Nothing More
Than This......
"It is the Perfect Will of God that I Seek."
" I Seek Nothing more
Than the Splendor
Of His Majestic Presence
Within my Heart
And Within my Soul."
"Absolutely Nothing Else Matters."
"I Seek The Almighty King of Kings
And Lord of Lords
To be Seated Upon the Very Throne
Of my Heart
And my Life."
' I Seek for this Old Man,
Who is Indeed Perishing,
And Indeed Corrupt
To be Crucified with Christ,
That He and He Alone
May Reign Within This Mortal self."
"I seek that Through This Life,
That Christ Alone May Be Glorified."
" I Seek The Promise of His Holy Spirit,
For Within This,
I Believe that Lord God Almighty
Can Fulfill All that He Desires
Within my Life.""
"And I Seek that I May Be Able to Personalize,
And to Echo
The Eternal Words
Given to the Apostle Paul,
Through the Power of The Holy Spirit,
When he Penned In
Ephesians, chapter 3
"For this reason,
On bended knee
I beseech the Father,
From whom the whole family
In Heaven
And on earth
Derives its name,
To grant to me--
In accordance with The Wealth of His Glorious Perfections--
That I may be Strengthened by His Spirit
With Power penetrating to my Inmost Being.
I pray that Christ may make His home in my heart
Through FAITH;
So that having my Roots Deep
And my Foundations Strong,
In Love,
That I may become Mighty to Grasp The Idea,
As it is grasped by All God's People,
Of the Breadth
And Length,
The Height
And Depth--
yes,
To Attain to a Knowledge
Of the Knowledge-Surpassing Love of Christ,
So that I may Be Made Complete
In Accordance with God's Own Standard of Completeness.
Now to Him who,
In exercise of His power
That is At Work Within me,
Is able
To Do Infinitely Beyond
All my Highest Prayers or Thoughts--
To Him be the Glory
In the Church
And in Christ Jesus
To all Generations,
World Without End!
Amen.
To 'KNOW' Christ.
That word in the Original Language is
'Ginoso'.
And it implies NOTHING LESS
Than a Close,
Personal,
Intimate Relationship
With Jesus.
All of the Wealth of His Glorious Perfections!
All of the Strengthening of His Spirit!
Power that Penetrates to the Depths of your Innermost Being!
And the Intimate Knowledge
Of the Undescribable Love of Christ!!
Completeness
In Accordance to even Gods Standard of Completeness!!
His Power Within us!!
Even far,
Far
Beyond our Highest Prayers or Thoughts!!
Even the Peace that Christ Promised to Give.
A "Peace that Surpasses All Understanding!"
Yes, My Friends,
This is a Lofty Goal Indeed,
And it is Only Attainable
Through the Power of His Holy Spirit,
Promised by Christ,
And Available TO ALL who Truly
'Know' Him.
Jesus told us that This Very Promise of The Spirit is Available to us,
If we would but Only
Surrender
Our Hearts
and Our Lives
to Him.
John 16:15 says
""He will glorify Me,
for He will take of what is Mine
and declare it to you.
"All things that the Father has are Mine.
Therefore I said
that He will take of Mine
and declare it to you."
The Holy Spirit Whispers to your Heart.
He says Things like
"Be of Good Cheer,
There is One who Died for you!
Behold His Wounds!
There is your Purchaser!!
You are Secure!!
He Loves You with an Everlasting Love!!
But wait;;;;;
There is a Scriptural Prerequisite however
To this Comfort,
And this Peace,
And these Blessings in your Life.
This Prerequisite is also a Work of The Holy Spirit....
Have you been Convicted of Sin??
Have you ever Felt your Guilt before God?
Has your Soul been Humbled at Jesus Feet?
Have you been made to look to the Cross of Calvary
ALONE
For your Refuge?
If not;
You have no Right whatsoever for Comfort,
No Right for the Peace that Surpasses All Understanding.
I tell you the truth,
The Holy Spirit comes to convict us of sin first,
The Holy Spirit cannot impart a single blessing
Upon us
Until.......
We have a clear Conviction of our Unrighteousness,
and Our Filthiness
Before a Most Holy,
Perfect
and Pure God.
Then,
and Only Then
Can we Heed
The Leading of The Spirit
To Accept
The Cleansing Power
Of the Shed
Blood of Jesus.
OFFERED FREELY TO ALL WHO WOULD ONLY BELIEVE;
Then,
And Only Then
Can The Spirit Bring
This Blessed Comfort and Peace.
Do you Know The Comforter?
Let this Solemn Question fill your Entire Being.
Let it Consume your Soul.
Because If you do not Know The Comforter,
Then
You will know the Judge.
If you do not Know The Comforter on Earth,
Then you will Know The Condemner on the Other Side of this Life.
Which will it be?
????????????
Do not let yourself be Deceived.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Let Conscience have Its Perfect Work in you.
If you do Know The Comforter,
Then You Will Have Joy!
His Spirit fills us,
He Baptizes us,
He Appoints us,
He Sends us out,
He Directs us,
He Sanctifies us,
He Teaches us,
He Helps us in our Infirmities,
He Creates,
He Renews,
He Convicts us of sin,
And to have Your Name
Written
Within The Pages of the Lambs Book of Life,
He must Dwell WITHIN You.
YOU MUST BE
'Born of the Spirit.
John 16:13-14
""However,
When He,
The Spirit of Truth,
has come,
He will guide you
Into All Truth;
Into...........
Mark that word.
Into.
I Have Been Able To Tell You The Truth Today.
I Have Been Able To Bring You
'To'
The Truth.
Now, you need to Begin to Live
In Continual Dependance
Upon God The Holy Spirit,
And to Draw Fresh Supplies from Him.
Continually.
Get Inside It.
Like A Snail,
Who not only Carries his Shell on his Back,
But Lives Inside Of It.
Like a Sponge in the Water,
Not only Surrounded by It,
But Literally Saturated by It.
If you have a Lantern,
You cannot Make it Shine by Simply Polishing the Outside.
You Must First Put a Light Within It.
The Same is True with you.
You Must Have The Shining Light
of the Holy Spirit of God
Placed Within You!
The Almighty God promised you. !!!!!!!!
It is up to you now
To Accept,
And Then Rest in His Promise.
Ezekiel 36:26-27
""I will give you a new heart
and put a new spirit within you;
I will take the heart of stone
out of your flesh
and give you a heart of flesh.
"I will put My Spirit
within you
and cause you
to walk in My statutes,
and you will keep My judgments
and do them."
Do you Have the Peace that is Promised by God?
Promised that He would Impart Upon You Through His Holy Spirit?
Do you Have the Comfort that is Available to you.....
In its Fullness?
It is available.
If you Believe in Jesus Christ,
And have Accepted Him
As your PERSONAL
Lord
And Savior,
If you have Invited Him
To Come Into Your Heart,
Admitted your Sinfulness
And Guilt
Before His Holy Throne of Grace,
Asked Him for the Power
Of His Shed Blood
To Cleanse You
From All Unrighteousness,
And are not Experiencing the Power
Of The Holy Spirit in your Life,
Then I will Encourage You,
Even Now
Ask The
King of Kings and
the Lord of Lords
To Fill You With His Spirit.
Plead With Him
For The Baptism
Of His Spirit
That He So Desires That You Have.
He Has Said
"You have not, Because you Ask not"
Perhaps;
You have never Acknowledged Him
As Lord
And Ruler
Of your Life.
As was Stressed Earlier,
YOU MUST
I Will Repeat;;
YOU MUST
Be in Submission
To Him
As The Lord of your Life
Before
You will be able to Receive His Blessings.
Ask Him
Now
To Flood your Life;
With Himself.
He is Right there with you,
Waiting
For your response.
Perhaps you are not in Possession of the Comfort,
Not Experiencing the Peace
That He has Promised,
Even Though
You have Made your
Honest Confession of Faith,
And Look to Him.
Then I will tell you that in some way,
You have Taken The Reigns of your Life
And your Heart Back,
And He is Not
Seated Upon The Throne of your Life.
I Encourage you ........
Recommit your Life
And your Heart
To Him Even Now.
His Promises are True. He is Here.
What do you seek?
