04/30/2023 Church service

周日礼拜

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  SEEK
Luke 11:5-13
I read the personal testimony of a man names Alexander Chu.
His family had immigrated from Asia, and the home he grew up in was still very steeped in the traditional practices and values of their original homeland.
When it came time for Alex to go to university, he found himself in a very new environment, making new friends who were also of Asian descent, and learning more about Christianity from his new college aquaintences.
Growing curious about Christianity during his sophomore year, Andrew asked a friend if he could join him at an IVCF gathering. There for the first time he heard God’s promises declared in worship songs and saw men and women praising him. He joined GIG (Groups Investigating God) and began studying the Gospel of John. Andrew said, “The authority with which Jesus spoke amazed me; it’s as if his words jumped off the pages, addressing me directly.”
Before I could place faith in Jesus, I needed to know there was a rational basis for Christianity’s foundational truths. I attended a retreat sponsored by InterVarsity, where I took an apologetics track. I heard well-founded explanations of the inspiration of Scripture, the problem of evil, and the uniqueness of the gospel. I found that Christianity was the most intellectually stimulating worldview I had ever encountered.
During my junior year I started reading John Stott’s pamphlet “Becoming a Christian.” While reading, I grew convinced of my sin and need to be forgiven. I knelt down committed my life to Christ. I had grown up in a sea of deities, yet never had a relationship with any of them. On that day, I experienced the living God, Emmanuel: “God is with us.” A peace overtook me. That night I became the first Christian in our family’s lineage.
Alexander was seeking the truth – and that search led him to Jesus Christ
Jesus: “And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.”
Psalm 119:2: Happy are those who keep his decrees, who seek him with their whole heart
Seek: verb attempt to find (something).
o attempt or desire to obtain or achieve (something).
o ask for (something) from someone.
The purpose for my message today is to stress the importance of seeking God Seeking God with our whole hearts.

Not based on feelings or our own worthiness, but seeking Him by faith.
Question: How much are you seeking God in your daily life?
Isaiah 26:9: At night I long for You with all that is in Me. When morning comes, I seek You with all my heart.
Psalm 27:8: You have said, “Seek my face.” My heart says to you, “Your face, LORD, do I seek.”
If you are a believer, there was at least certainly a time when you felt God’s Presence in a powerful and very real way. You hungered for me, too.
…and maybe, like me, there have been times in your Christian life when you gradually drifted away – distracted somehow by the cares of this world - and then woke up one night realizing how very far you seemed to have drifted (can anyone else relate?)
"If in doubt, recall that first feeling which attracted you to this new way in the first place, for that feeling knows for sure you are doing right."
I remember a time in my young adult life when I had not been going to church, not been spending quality time in prayer and Bible reading. Not been seeking God’s Presence in my daily life.
When I finally “came to myself” and realized this was painfully missing in my life, I went to a trusted Christian friend for help.
He advised me just to spend time seeking God in silence. Seeking Him with my whole heart. Not seeking God’s hand – but simply seeking His face.
When we are seeking God, we do it through the completed work of the cross. Jesus paid the price for us to come directly to God.
The substitutionary death of Jesus gives us access
seeking God. Seeking God with our whole hearts.
Not based on feelings or our own worthiness, but seeking Him by faith.
Heb 11:6 - It’s impossible to please God apart from faith. And why? Because anyone who wants to approach God must believe both that he exists and that he cares enough to respond to those who seek him.
Whoever goes to God must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

sometimes we get wounded – or offended – by someone at church that we looked up to, and that caused us to step back.
…but we can no longer use that as an excuse to not press into God and seek His face
Isaiah 55:6: Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:

Seek the Lord – in your current state. Just as you are – right where you find yourself now
- While you still feel abandoned
While you feel unworthy (struggling with guilt)
- While you are overcoming your past hurts and disappointments
Even while you may feel content in your present situation (?)
Seek the Lord while He may be found
Here is a simple roadmap to seeking God:
S.E.E.K
S – Start. Just begin. Determine you will get beyond your own carnal mind and seek Him with your whole heart
E – Engage. Use what you have now to begin this new journey of faith. Right believing is what we put it – and well as what we confess
We may not “feel it” at first – but we must engage by faith and believe what God’s Word says. Believe it is true for YOU.
“he rewards those who seek him.”
David prayed (Psalm 63:1) O God, you are my God, and I long for you. My whole being desires you; like a dry, worn-out, and waterless land, my soul is thirsty for you.
E – Expect. Jesus said, “Seek and you will find.”
Believe that is true – and expect it to be true for YOU.
K – Know. Know your objective. Know your outcome. Know that it is the will of God for you to be close to Him. To know His voice and follow Him.
Luke 11:9,10: And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.
We are very familiar with the scripture that says, “they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength.”
God’s Word also says (1 Chron 26:11) Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his presence continually!
The renewed strength we need for this new day comes from spending time in His Presence – seeking His face.
Adjust your schedule.
Reset your alarm clock.
Cancel some distractions.
Whatever it takes.
It’s up to you to decide.
Deut 4:29: “…you will find Him when you seek Him with all your heart and all your soul.”
Eph 5:8: “In the past you were full of darkness, but now you are full of light in the Lord. So live like children who belong to the light.”





  

Hillside United Methodist Church
3739 US 80
Phenix City  AL  36870
United States
Pastor: Mike J Koger

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