Series: Pursue

Title: Pursue God, Seek and Unhide

Tara to start off talking about where we came from at the beginning of the year

Before we read our theme verse for the year let’s look at verse 1

Isaiah 55:1

Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters;

Isaiah was a prophet who in this case prophesies of Jesus the Christ who is the living water, and all those who are found in him are completely satisfied. We know that he is referring to Jesus because He declares that He is the source of living water.

            John 4:13-14

¹³ Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, ¹⁴ but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” 

The invitation is to all (Jews and Gentiles alike no one is excluded) that they would come and taste of the living waters.  The prerequisite for seeking the Lord is that you would be thirsty for Him.  Just as the prerequisite for winning a game is that you would be thirsty for a win.

Are you thirsty for Him? Are you wanting more of God in your life?

Is your walk with the Lord where you want it to be?

If you thirst, then there are waters awaiting to quench your thirst.  Come to the healing waters, Come to the living waters.

Now for our theme verse for the year:

Isaiah 55:6-7

“Seek the Lord while he may be found;
    call upon him while he is near;

The time to seek the Lord is now, because He is near.  But there will be a time when the door will be shut just as it was in the days of Noah.  God shut the door on the ark saving Noah and his family, while those who mocked God’s provision for their salvation were left on the outside when the floods covered the earth.  The same will be true at the end of the ages. 

Those who make a mockery of Christ, who is God’s provision for mankind’s salvation, will be shut out only to experience God’s wrath.

But there is no reason to experience his wrath because He is near.  We can seek Him and callupon Him and He is a very present help in time of trouble.  He is patiently waiting on us. 

⁷ let the wicked forsake his way,
    and the unrighteous man his thoughts;

Along with seeking the Lord comes a call to repentance.  You will see this throughout the scriptures.  Because sinful man cannot stand in the presence of a Holy and Righteous God.  The Only way we can come to Him and even come boldly is through the blood of Jesus Christ.

As a result of repentance and seeking Him we gain being in right standing with God and thereby our relationship is restored with Him.  That is what we should thirst for, because in Him is the fullness of life.  When we are sinful we are living separate from His provision and the fullness of His goodness.

John 1:4

 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 

We seek the Lord and obtain life.  Not only in the life to come but also in this present life. There is truly nothing else that satisfies our soul as the Lord does.

To those who are sinful they are encouraged in the following way:

let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him,
             and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

The encouragement that we have is that God will give us mercy and He gives us grace though we don’t deserve it.  Thus, we should seek the Lord with all of heart, with all our soul and with all our mind.

Mark 12:30

And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 

He wants us to find Him and He did not make it impossible to find Him.  He gave us the treasure map (also know as the bible) which teaches us how to find Him.  It starts with thirsting after Him, repenting of our evil ways, and seeking after Him.  Let’s commit to seek Him this year more than ever before. 

Vision for 2023

1. Prayer on Sundays (every 5^th Sunday) and Sunday morning prayer
2. Sharing on Social media once a week; Inviting one person to church a week
3. Bible reading plan and devotion
4. Join us in 21 day fast and continue to fast with us on Mondays.
5. Serve in some capacity at Hope Community
6. Commit to discipleship through bible study
7. Faithful Sunday morning attendance