“For the Joy of the Lord is your Strength” Nehemiah 8:10

“Jesus The Author Of Our Faith” by Pastor Fee Soliven Psalm 105:1-4 Sunday Morning July 7, 2013

Psalm 105:1-4 1 Oh, give thanks to the LORD! Call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples! 2 Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him; Talk of all His wondrous works! 3 Glory in His holy name; Let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the LORD! 4 Seek the LORD and His strength; Seek His face evermore!

What does it mean to seek the Lord?

Why should unbelievers seek the Lord?

1. They need a Savior because sin has separated them from Him.

Isaiah 59:2 "But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear"

Psalm 37:3-5 3 Trust in the LORD, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. 4 Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart. 5 Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass.

2. God’s wrath is upon those who suppress the truth.

Romans 1: For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them.

3. Those who refuse to acknowledge the Lord have a depraved mind.

Romans 1: And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; 29 being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness,

covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, 30 backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31 undiscerning, untrustworthy,

unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; 32 who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.

4. The wages of sin is death.

Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord"

Why should Christians seek God?

1. God intends for us to grow in our Christian lives.

Romans 8: For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30 Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.

2. The Lord wants us to know Him intimately.

Philippians 3: But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. 8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ

9 and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; 10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of

His sufferings, being conformed to His death, 11 if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

Romans 8:28 "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose"

3. God reveals Himself to us when we observe how He works.

Philippians 3: Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

15 Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. 16 Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind.

4. If we really love the Lord, we’ll pursue Him.

What is required of us?

Matthew 6: But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Proverbs 8: The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverse mouth I hate. 14 Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom; I am understanding, I have strength. 15 By me kings reign, And rulers decree justice.

16 By me princes rule, and nobles, All the judges of the earth. 17 I love those who love me, And those who seek me diligently will find me. 18 Riches and honor are with me, Enduring riches and righteousness.

1. Seek Him wholeheartedly.

Jeremiah 29: And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you, says the LORD, and I will bring you back from your captivity; I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places

where I have driven you, says the LORD, and I will bring you to the place from which I cause you to be carried away captive.

Isaiah 55:6-9 6 Seek the LORD while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near. 7 Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the LORD, And He will have mercy on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon.

8 "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways," says the LORD. 9 "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.

2. Seek Him diligently.

Proverbs 8:17 17 I love those who love me, And those who seek me diligently will find me.

3. Seek Him continually.

Hebrews 2:1-4 1 Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away. 2 For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward,

3 how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him, 4 God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will?

4. Seek Him confidently.

Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

5. Seek Him humbly.

Psalm 10:4 "The wicked in his proud countenance does not seek God; God is in none of his thoughts"

1. If you lack the diligence to search for God, what is holding you back?

2. What person or other interest is interfering in your pursuit of seeking intimacy with God?

“For the Joy of the Lord is your Strength” Nehemiah 8:10