Week 4 – Diligently Seeking God

Nov 27, 2010 Gary Henry B - Right Relationship

“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” (Hebrews 11:6).

There are very few ideas that come close to being as important as the idea of seeking God. Seeking God must be at the center of any discussion of character and conduct. If we’re not diligent seekers of God Himself, then nothing we do in life will stand the test of time. Even our religious acts of “worship” and “obedience” will be empty exercises if we’re not truly seeking God in our hearts.

Unfortunately, we don’t desire God or seek Him as we should when we’re comfortable and life is going as we want it to go. Usually it takes some kind of difficulty to remind us how much we need God. That’s why God sometimes allows us to suffer hardship (Deuteronomy 8:3; 2 Corinthians 12:7-10). Often, the best thing that can happen to us is to undergo an unpleasant experience that bursts the balloon of our self-sufficiency (Psalm 83:13-18).

One important thing to remember is that we’re most secure in life when we’re seeking God. It’s the seeker of God who’s best equipped to deal with the ups and downs of life. David said, “Those who know Your name will put their trust in You; for You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You” (Psalm 9:10). See also Psalm 22:26; 34:8-10; 69:32; 119:45. But another thing is that we’re most joyful in life when we’re seeking God. “Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; and let those who love Your salvation say continually, ‘Let God be magnified!’” (Psalm 70:4). See also 105:3,4.

Many make the mistake of waiting until they are older to seek God, but seeking God is much too important to postpone (Ecclesiastes 12:1). David is a good example of the strong spiritual character that results when a young person seeks the Creator. The truth is, we never take any greater step in life than when we recognize our need for God. When we find growing within us a genuine desire for God and we commit ourselves to seeking Him, we’re making the best kind of progress a human being can make. At any age, we ought to be developing the kind of attitude reflected in Psalm 73:25,26: “Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You. My flesh and my heart fail; but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”

“Glory in His holy name; let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the Lord! Seek the Lord and His strength; seek His face forevermore!” (Psalm 105:3,4).

Monday: Psalm 42:1,2

Key Idea: Our deepest NEED is for the God who created us.

1. To what does this Psalmist compare his desire for God?
2. Although as creatures of God we have a built-in need for our Maker, is it ever the case that we don’t consciously recognize our need for what it is?
3. Give some serious thought to this: how does our desire for God sometimes appear to be a desire for other things? In other words, what are some other things that we seek when, in reality, the thing we’re really needing is God?
4. What are some practical things we can do to increase our awareness of how much we need God?

Tuesday: Psalm 27:4,8

Key Idea: Our greatest DESIRE ought to be for fellowship with God.

1. What is the “house of the Lord”? Do you think David is here speaking of dwelling with God in this life or in the life to come?
2. Give some thought to David’s statement that he desired to behold “the beauty of the Lord.” At the very least, wouldn’t this mean that God’s presence is something good to be desired, rather than something bad to be feared? What is said to have “beauty” in 1 Chronicles 16:29?
3. In v.8, what commitment did David make to God?
4. How do you think “desiring” God is different from “seeking” God?

Wednesday: Psalm 63:1,2

Key Idea: Our most diligent effort should be to SEEK God.

1. What does David mean when he speaks of seeking God “early”? Do we get the impression that seeking God was something extremely important to David? What did David say to his son Solomon in 1 Chronicles 28:9? When did Josiah begin to seek God, according to 2 Chronicles 34:1-3?
2. What is the “sanctuary” David speaks of in v.2? What two aspects of God’s nature does David long to “see”?
3. Read what Jesus said in John 6:26,27 to those who were following Him. What should be our motive in seeking God? If we seek Him in order to receive certain blessings in this life, what’s likely to happen once we have received them? If we quit seeking God after He removes some “problem” in our life, what does that say about what we were really seeking in the first place?
4. In Hebrews 11:6, what kind of seekers are said to be rewarded by God?
5. What assurance is given in Matthew 7:7,8 to those who seek God diligently?

Thursday: Psalm 119:155

Key Idea: One of the most basic distinctions between the righteous and the wicked is that the righteous genuinely seek God and the wicked do not.

1. With regard to God, what do the wicked not do? See also Psalm 10:4.
2. In Psalm 24:6, the people of “Jacob (Israel)” were described as what kind of “generation”? How does this verse apply to us today?
3. Many people have the idea that it doesn’t matter what we actually believe and practice as long as we’re “sincere” in seeking God. But as important as it is to sincerely seek, isn’t it also important that we seek the truth about what God wants us to do? Give some thought to passages like Ephesians 4:13-15. What description of false teachers is given in 2 Timothy 3:7?
4. According to Psalm 14:2, what kind of people is God looking for? See also John 4:23,24. Isn’t it true that God seeks those who seek Him? In 2 Chronicles 15:2, who are those who will find God? What does Proverbs 8:17 say?
5. What does 1 Samuel 16:7 indicate about the importance of inner character and integrity? Is there anything more important to our character than being a seeker of God?
6. What does Jeremiah 9:23,24 say about what’s really important in life? In what does God “delight”? Also give some thought to Deuteronomy 10:12,13 and Micah 6:8.
7. Isn’t it likely that David’s sincere seeking of God is a part of what made him a “man after [God's] own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14)?

Friday: Psalm 119:2

Key Idea: Our seeking of God must be wholehearted.

1. What are some of the things that would be involved in seeking God with our “whole heart”? What are some other words or expressions that mean the same thing as wholeheartedness?
2. What was said about Amaziah in 2 Chronicles 25:2? Contrast with Josiah in 2 Kings 23:25.
3. According to Deuteronomy 30:1-3, in what manner would Israel have to “return to the Lord” in order for Him to bring them back from their captivity? See also Deuteronomy 4:29 and Jeremiah 29:13.
4. For what three things had Ezra “prepared his heart,” according to Ezra 7:10?
5. In Matthew 5:8, who are those who will see God? On the reward for the pure in heart, consider Revelation 22:4,5. In James 4:8, who are those who are instructed to “purify” their hearts?

Putting It All Together

Nothing is more important than seeking God, but what’s important is seeking God for His own sake and not just for the blessings we want to get from Him. We need to seek God in good times, as well as hard times. And we need to seek God in our youth, as well as our old age. Our seeking of God must be diligent and wholehearted.

Gary Henry – WordPoints.com

Week 5 – Knowing God

Nov 26, 2010 Gary Henry B - Right Relationship

“And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent” (John 17:3).

In sin, we’re cut off from God. As sinful beings, we can’t “know” our Creator. Thus our most important concern in life is to seek God that we may be set free from our sin and come to know the God from whom we’ve been estranged. Eternal life means knowing God, partially right now and completely in heaven.

Sometimes we confuse knowing God with knowing “about” Him. The two are related, of course. We can’t know God without the truthful information that’s been revealed to us about Him. But, as we’ve seen in a previous lesson, God is a “personal” being. When we deal with God, we’re not just shuffling ideas around or playing with interesting information. We’re dealing with a Person: God Himself. God desires to have a personal “relationship” with us. In the Bible this “fellowship” (1 John 1:3) is based on the truthful communication that takes place between us, but it also requires that we deal with God as a real Person. Having obeyed the gospel, we come to know God when we (1) listen to Him (in Bible study), (2) communicate to Him (in prayer), and (3) share the experiences of daily life with Him. As with any other personal being, when we communicate and share experiences, we come to know the other person, in this case God.

If we’re serious about coming to know God, we’ll grow in our knowledge of Him. Our knowledge will become richer, deeper, and more “real.” We’ll pass from theoretical information to practical knowledge and wisdom. We’ll go from having heard about fellowship with Him to the actual experience of that fellowship. Our confidence and certainty of God’s trustworthiness will become more solid and stable. Could there be a more exciting prospect than that of actually knowing the God who made us? This is the stuff that real life is made of!

When all is said and done, knowing God ought to be our highest priority and our most valued treasure. “Thus says the Lord: ‘Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, let not the mighty man glory in his might, nor let the rich man glory in his riches; but let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,’ says the Lord” (Jeremiah 9:23,24).

“Oh, continue Your lovingkindness to those who know You, and Your righteousness to the upright in heart” (Psalm 36:10).

Monday: Psalm 79:6

Key Idea: The wicked do not know God.

1. On whom is the wrath of God to be poured out? In the last part of this verse, what expression is parallel to “do not know You” in the first part?
2. What kind of “generation” arose in Israel, according to Judges 2:10.
3. Romans 1:28 speaks of those who “did not like to retain God in their knowledge.” Look at the context of this passage in 1:18-28. Isn’t it the willful ignorance of God that constitutes wickedness? In considering this, think about the difference between Samuel and Eli’s sons in 1 Samuel 2:12 and 3:7.
4. In 2 Corinthians 10:4,5, what does human wisdom “exalt” itself against?
5. In 2 Thessalonians 1:8, on whom will the Lord’s vengeance be taken? Can we know God without having obeyed the gospel and received the forgiveness of our sins?

Tuesday: Psalm 76:1

Key Idea: God’s people are those who have begun to know Him truly.

1. According to this verse, among whom is God known? Today, what group of people constitute the “commonwealth of Israel” (Ephesians 2:11-13). On “Judah,” see Romans 2:28,29.
2. In 2 Chronicles 30:22, what was it that the Levites “taught”? When we truly seek wisdom, what is it that we will find, according to Proverbs 2:1-5?
3. Although we can’t know God completely, we can know Him truly, can’t we? How are we to worship God, according to John 4:23,24? What did Paul say to the Athenians in Acts 17:22,23?
4. Read Romans 11:33. Nothing can be known of God except what He reveals to us. In 1 Corinthians 1:21, what is the world unable to know by means of its own “wisdom”? Consider also 2:11.
5. Read John 8:19 and 14:7-9. Where has God made the complete and final revelation of Himself to mankind? What does Hebrews 1:1-3 say about the revelation of God through His Son? Compare John 1:18; 2 Corinthians 4:6; 1 John 5:20; etc.
6. If it’s so important that we come to know God through His Son, Jesus Christ, where can we go to learn about Jesus? What did Jesus say in John 5:39?
7. In Jeremiah 31:31-34, what did Jeremiah say about the “new covenant”? Consider also 24:7.
8. Look at Philippians 3:8. What is the thing that Christianity is all about, the thing that’s worth giving up everything else in life to enjoy? In 2 Peter 3:18, in what are we to grow?
9. In Ephesians 4:17-21, how does Paul describe the difference that Christianity had made in the lives of his readers?

Wednesday: Psalm 100:1-3

Key Idea: If we know God, we will be gratefully reverent toward Him as our Creator.

1. The more deeply we know God, what changes do you think will take place in our attitude toward God and our feelings about Him? Consider Isaiah 6:1-8.
2. What are we urged to do in Psalm 46:10? What did the Psalmist say he knew about God in Psalm 135:5?
3. In Exodus 14:4,18, what were God’s mighty deeds intended to teach?
4. In Romans 1:21, what mistake was made by certain ones who “knew” God?

Thursday: Psalm 9:9,10

Key Idea: If we know God, we will put our trust in Him.

1. According to v.10, what is the basis of our trust in God? What has proven to be true about God over and over again in this world?
2. Trusting God is more than a “feeling,” isn’t it? Don’t those who know God have to consciously and deliberately choose to put their trust in Him, based on the evidence of His trustworthiness?
3. What trust or confidence was expressed by the Psalmist in 119:75?

Friday: Psalm 143:8

Key Idea: One important part of knowing God is knowing and following the path He wants us to take.

1. In this verse, what “way” did David pray God would help him to know? Compare this verse to Psalm 5:8. What “understanding” is prayed for in Psalm 119:125?
2. Concerning the knowledge of God, what was the problem of those mentioned in Romans 10:2,3?
3. Think about the relationship between “knowledge” and “obedience.” What do James 1:22-25 and 4:17 say? Do you agree that those who know God (1) seek to learn all they can about God’s will for them, and then (2) obey all that they learn? In Titus 1:16, what were some said to do?
4. What does God “desire,” according to Hosea 6:6? In Jeremiah 22:15,16, what did God say that knowing Him consisted of?

Putting It All Together

Obeying the gospel and knowing God are the principal concerns of human life. Through Jesus Christ, God offers us real fellowship with Him. This means that we can not only know truthful things about Him, we can actually live our daily lives conscious of His real presence with us. As we come to know Him more fully, we’ll rejoice in our knowledge of the path He wants us to take in our lives.

Gary Henry – WordPoints.com