Who is the true seeker?

January 9, 2016

Worship: Redeemed How I Love to Proclaim It by Fanny Crosby (lyrics are from the Gaither Homecoming video and vary slightly from the original)

Redeemed, how I love to proclaim it!
Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb!
Redeemed through His infinite mercy
His child, and forever, I am

Chorus

Redeemed, redeemed
Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb
Redeemed, redeemed
His child, and forever, I am

Redeemed, and so happy in Jesus
No language my rapture can tell
I know that the light of His presence
With me does continually dwell

Chorus

I think of my blessed Redeemer
I think of Him all the day long
I sing, for I cannot be silent!
His love is the theme of my song

Chorus

I know I shall see in His beauty
The King in whose law I delight;
Who lovingly guards every footstep,
And gives me a song in the night.

Chorus

Read more: Gaither Vocal Band - Redeemed Lyrics | MetroLyrics 

Video: https://youtu.be/W8idr58JpxQ

Witness:

Redeemed how I love to proclaim it. What a joyous, comforting, and yes, convicting song. This is one of those songs to sing over in my mind to praise Him as I contemplate the awesome and humbling thought that He would “save a wretch like me”. It is also convicting because I don’t verbally proclaim this enough. I do pray that my life reflects it.

WORD:

Ps 24:1-6 24 The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; 2 for he founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters . 3 Who may ascend the hill of the LORD? Who may stand in his holy place? 4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false. 5 He will receive blessing from the LORD and vindication from God his Savior. 6 Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek your face, O God of Jacob.                                                                            SELAH NIV

Ps 24:1-6 The King of Glory A Psalm of David. 24  The earth is the LORD's and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein, 2 for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers. 3  Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? And who shall stand in his holy place? 4  He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false  and does not swear deceitfully. 5 He will receive blessing from the LORD and righteousness from the God of his salvation. 6 Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob.                                                                                                                                                                                                Selah ESV

In biblical terms a seeker is not so much someone looking for truth as it is someone who is specifically looking for the true God, the “God of Jacob”. In this passage before us, it refers to a redeemed people who seek to be in the presence of God. Many churches today tout the fact that they are seeker-sensitive but tend to tone down or avoid altogether the awesome (in the old sense!) holiness and glory of God as portrayed in this psalm. Certainly, from this psalm, we learn of our God’s power as Creator of the earth, as well as His sovereignty over it, including us. We also see that God is holy and righteous. For one to be able to come into His presence, one must be absent of idolatry and falsehood. We discover that God is a God of blessing and salvation. Is this the view that is presented in the Church today? Only the last verse is magnified in many churches today. God is sugar and spice and everything nice. But power? Yes, if we are speaking of what we can get from God and not what we can do for God by His power. Holiness? Not if it includes wrath and indignation towards the sin of the world. Sovereignty? Give me friendship, but leave out the Lordship, please. So, we order up a God according to our taste, like we do at our favorite fast-food restaurant. This psalm flies in the face of that kind of seeker. In fact, from Romans 3 we learn that no one really seeks God in their unredeemed state.

As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. Roman 3:10 – 11 NIV

But one might object and bring up Isaiah 55:6-7:

Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near. ⁷ Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts. Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will freely pardon. NIV

Is there a contradiction? Not at all. Paul is saying no one seeks the Lord as he should be sought. Sin has blinded them so they cannot see God in His holiness nor do they see their utter lostness and their need for the Savior. They cannot hear the good news of the healing from their blindness and deliverance from the penalty of their sins. They, with itching ears, follow after teachers that tell them what they want to hear (2 Timothy 4:3). Yes, Isaiah exhorts one to seek the Lord, but not in the way “seeker-sensitive” churches do. He calls the seeker wicked. He calls on them to repent of their sinful thoughts and practices and turn to the Lord and He will show mercy and forgive their sins. This happens only when God opens their hearts (Acts 16:14) and shines His truth in their hearts (2 Corinthians 4:6). Then they will see that all their “righteous acts are like filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6) and repent in abhorrence before our Holy and merciful God. God causes them to be born again (1 Peter 1:3) and they receive the gift of faith (Ephesian 2:8, Philippians 1:29). The seeker then discovers that it was not really so much that he sought the Lord but that the Lord is the one who sought them (Matthew 18:12-14)!

THE SEEKER’S PRAYER AND PLIGHT

Grant me fun O Lord to enjoy

Ask me not Your will to employ

A blessing, Lord -  a shiny new toy

But not holiness – that’s such a killjoy

Give me, grant me and I’ll be your boy

Such is the prayer spoke or unspoken

By many whose heart is not broken

Whose religion is merely a token

And whose desire is still frozen

To the path less chosen

See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end. As has just been said:

   “Today, if you hear his voice,
    do not harden your hearts

    as you did in the rebellion.”

Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies perished in the wilderness? And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed?  So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief. Hebrews 3:12 – 19 NIV