EDENVALE 17TH FEB 2008 HOSEA 10:12 TIME TO SEEK THE LORD CELL GROUP NOTES |
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INTRODUCTION
This book from which the text
comes is the 2nd book of the O.T. which bears the name of Jesus,
viz. Joshua and Hosea. The prophet’s experience with his unfaithful wife Gomer
represents figuratively how God feels in his relationship with
WHY SHOULD WE SEEK THE LORD?
- Urgency of the Time
Desperate times call for desperate measures.
- A Time will come when it is too Late
Is 55:6 – Seek the Lord while he might be found, call on him while he is near.
My Spirit will not always strive with man. Harvest will come, no more time then to break up your hard ground. His patience will run out.
- Be in Time
Life at best is very brief; Like the falling of a leaf; Like the binding of a sheaf;
Be in Time!
For if in sin you longer wait; You might find no open gate; And your cry be just too late;
Be in Time!
Acts 17:32 – Some Sneered; Some Procrastinated; Some Believed.
WHEN SHOULD WE SEEK THE LORD?
- Today is the day of salvation
2Corinthians 6:2… now is the day of salvation.
- Now is the appointed time
I tell you, now is the time of God's favor
HOW SHOULD WE SEEK THE LORD?
- With a Prepared Heart
Sowing and reaping principle. How’s your soil. Hard or soft.
Jer 4:3 - Break up your unploughed ground and do not sow among thorns. Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, circumcise your hearts. Separate yourselves to the Lord. Soften your soil so that God’s seed can be sown into our heart.
the soil into which you are sowing?
“Ants
Hilvania” – Prodigal ant (
First you pull the weeds then you rake and hoe; Then you plant some seeds that’s the way you sow; Just you wait and see, everyone will know; What you’ve planted there, when they start to grow.
Seeds make flowers and shrubs and trees; seeds make ferns and vines and weeds; what you plant is what you grow; so be careful what you sow.
You must choose your seeds with care; what you sow will blossom there; what you plant is what you grow; so be careful what you sow.
How’s the garden of your heart?
Bottomley/Churchill – Sewing nail bags – Reaping Mr. Churchill
Plough your heart – put in the hoe deep. Pull up sin by its roots. Pluck it out. Don’t sow righteousness among thorns.
- With a Whole Heart
Parable of the Sower – Hard hearted; Faint Hearted; Half Hearted; Whole Hearted.
Jer 29: 13 – You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord
Deuteronomy 4:29 - But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul.
- With all Diligence
Heb 11:6 - And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who diligently/earnestly seek him.
Prov 2,3 – Wisdom (Christ) Look for it as for silver; search for it as for hidden treasure….More profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold…..
More precious than rubies.
Seek
First - First Priority - The
- With a Willing Mind
1 Chronicles 28:9…and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts.
- With Tears of Repentance
Jeremiah 50:4…In those days, at that time,
declares the LORD, the people of
WHERE SHOULD WE SEEK THE LORD?
- Not in Empty Tombs.
Peering into empty tombs.
Lk 24:5 – Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen. Men and their opinions. Looking in all the wrong places.
Psychology of positive thinking; Techniques; Religious Technology; Experiences; Signs, Wonders and Miracles. Success
- In His Word
Look; seek; study; peer into His Word – diligently search for him – He is alive
Isaiah 51:1"Listen to
me, you who pursue righteousness and who seek the LORD: Look to the rock from
which you were cut and to the quarry from which you were hewn. Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob; Moses crossing Red Sea etc. Context is of
- In Prayer
Seek him on your knees!! Camel Knees!!
- In Fasting.
Every Wednesday (or other, depending on when your cell group meets) from 06:00 to 18:00. (Details of fast for cell groups to decide).
WHAT RESULTS FROM SEEKING THE LORD?
- We Find Him.
Prov 8:17 – I love those who love me, and “those who seek me find me”.
Jer 29:13 – You will seek me and “find me”, when you seek me with all your heart. “I will be found by you”, declares the Lord.
Mth 7:7 – Ask and it shall be given; Seek – find; knock - opened
Deuteronomy 4:29 - But if from there you seek the LORD your God, “you will find him” if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul.
1 Chronicles 28:9…If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever.
HOW LONG SHOULD WE SEEK THE LORD?
It’s time to seek the lord…until he comes and showers righteousness on you