Seeking God

• Commanded.

  Isaiah 55:6 Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:

  Matthew 7:7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:

• INCLUDES SEEKING
• His name.

  Psalm 83:16 Fill their faces with shame; that they may seek thy name, O LORD.

• His word.

  Isaiah 34:16 Seek ye out of the book of the LORD, and read: no one of these shall fail, none shall want her mate: for my mouth it hath commanded, and his spirit it hath gathered them.

• His face.

  Psalm 27:8 When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, LORD, will I seek.

  Psalm 105:4 Seek the LORD, and his strength: seek his face evermore.

• His strength.

  1 Chronicles 16:11 Seek the LORD and his strength, seek his face continually.

  Psalm 105:4 Seek the LORD, and his strength: seek his face evermore.

• His commandments.

  1 Chronicles 28:8 Now therefore in the sight of all Israel the congregation of the LORD, and in the audience of our God, keep and seek for all the commandments of the LORD your God: that ye may possess this good land, and leave it for an inheritance for your children after you for ever.

  Malachi 2:7 For the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts.

• His precepts.

  Psalm 119:45 And I will walk at liberty: for I seek thy precepts.

  Psalm 119:94 I am thine, save me; for I have sought thy precepts.

• His kingdom.

  Matthew 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

  Luke 12:31 But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you.

• His righteousness.

  Matthew 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

• Christ.

  Malachi 3:1 Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.

  Luke 2:15-16 And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. 16 And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.

• Honor which comes from Him.

  John 5:44 How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only?

• Justification by Christ.

  Galatians 2:16-17 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. 17 But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid.

• The city which God has prepared.

  Hebrews 11:10 For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

  Hebrews 13:14 For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come.

• By prayer.

  Job 8:5 If thou wouldest seek unto God betimes, and make thy supplication to the Almighty;

  Daniel 9:3 And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:

• In His house.

  Deuteronomy 12:5 But unto the place which the LORD your God shall choose out of all your tribes to put his name there, even unto his habitation shall ye seek, and thither thou shalt come:

  Psalm 27:4 One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in his temple.

• SHOULD BE
• Immediate.

  Hosea 10:12 Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.

• Evermore.

  Psalm 105:4 Seek the LORD, and his strength: seek his face evermore.

• While He may be found.

  Isaiah 55:6 Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:

• With diligence.

  Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

• With the heart.

  Deuteronomy 4:29 But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.

  1 Chronicles 22:19 Now set your heart and your soul to seek the LORD your God; arise therefore, and build ye the sanctuary of the LORD God, to bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and the holy vessels of God, into the house that is to be built to the name of the LORD.

• In the day of trouble.

  Psalm 77:2 In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord: my sore ran in the night, and ceased not: my soul refused to be comforted.

• ENSURES
• His being found.

  Deuteronomy 4:29 But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.

  1 Chronicles 28:9 And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the LORD searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever.

  Proverbs 8:17 I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me.

  Jeremiah 29:13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

• His favor.

  Lamentations 3:25 The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.

• His protection.

  Ezra 8:22 For I was ashamed to require of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the way: because we had spoken unto the king, saying, The hand of our God is upon all them for good that seek him; but his power and his wrath is against all them that forsake him.

• His not forsaking us.

  Psalm 9:10 And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.

• Life.

  Psalm 69:32 The humble shall see this, and be glad: and your heart shall live that seek God.

  Amos 5:4 For thus saith the LORD unto the house of Israel, Seek ye me, and ye shall live:

  Amos 5:6 Seek the LORD, and ye shall live; lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and devour it, and there be none to quench it in Bethel.

• Prosperity.

  Job 8:5-6 If thou wouldest seek unto God betimes, and make thy supplication to the Almighty; 6 If thou wert pure and upright; surely now he would awake for thee, and make the habitation of thy righteousness prosperous.

• Being heard of Him.

  Psalm 34:4 I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.

• Understanding all things.

  Proverbs 28:5 Evil men understand not judgment: but they that seek the LORD understand all things.

• Gifts of righteousness.

  Hosea 10:12 Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.

• Imperative upon all.

  Isaiah 8:19 And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead?

• Afflictions designed to lead to.

  Psalm 78:33-34 Therefore their days did he consume in vanity, and their years in trouble. 34 When he slew them, then they sought him: and they returned and inquired early after God.

• None, by nature, are found to be engaged in.

  Psalm 14:2 The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God.

  Romans 3:11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.

  Luke 12:23 The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment.

  Luke 12:30 For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things.

• SAINTS
• Specially exhorted to.

  Zephaniah 2:3 Seek ye the LORD, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD'S anger.

• Desirous of.

  Job 5:8 I would seek unto God, and unto God would I commit my cause:

• Purpose, in heart.

  Psalm 27:8 When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, LORD, will I seek.

• Prepare their hearts for.

  2 Chronicles 30:19 That prepareth his heart to seek God, the LORD God of his fathers, though he be not cleansed according to the purification of the sanctuary.

• Set their hearts to.

  2 Chronicles 11:16 And after them out of all the tribes of Israel such as set their hearts to seek the LORD God of Israel came to Jerusalem, to sacrifice unto the LORD God of their fathers.

• Engage in, with the whole heart.

  2 Chronicles 15:12 And they entered into a covenant to seek the LORD God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul;

  Psalm 119:10 With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments.

• Early in.

  Job 8:5 If thou wouldest seek unto God betimes, and make thy supplication to the Almighty;

  Psalm 63:1 O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;

  Isaiah 26:9 With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.

• Earnest in.

  Song of Solomon 3:2 I will rise now, and go about the city in the streets, and in the broad ways I will seek him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not.

  Song of Solomon 3:4 It was but a little that I passed from them, but I found him whom my soul loveth: I held him, and would not let him go, until I had brought him into my mother's house, and into the chamber of her that conceived me.

• Characterized by.

  Psalm 24:6 This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face, O Jacob. Selah.

• Is never in vain.

  Isaiah 45:19 I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth: I said not unto the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain: I the LORD speak righteousness, I declare things that are right.

• Blessedness of.

  Psalm 119:2 Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart.

• Leads to joy.

  Psalm 70:4 Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: and let such as love thy salvation say continually, Let God be magnified.

  Psalm 105:3 Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the LORD.

• Ends in praise.

  Psalm 22:26 The meek shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the LORD that seek him: your heart shall live for ever.

• Promise connected with.

  Psalm 69:32 The humble shall see this, and be glad: and your heart shall live that seek God.

• Shall be rewarded.

  Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

• THE WICKED
• Are gone out of the way of.

  Psalm 14:2-3 The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. 3 They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

• Prepare not their hearts for.

  2 Chronicles 12:14 And he did evil, because he prepared not his heart to seek the LORD.

• Refuse, through pride.

  Psalm 10:4 The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts.

• Not led to, by affliction.

  Isaiah 9:13 For the people turneth not unto him that smiteth them, neither do they seek the LORD of hosts.

• Sometimes pretend to.

  Ezra 4:2 Then they came to Zerubbabel, and to the chief of the fathers, and said unto them, Let us build with you: for we seek your God, as ye do; and we do sacrifice unto him since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assur, which brought us up hither.

  Isaiah 58:2 Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God: they ask of me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching to God.

• Rejected, when too late in.

  Proverbs 1:28 Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me:

• They who neglect denounced.

  Isaiah 31:1 Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help; and stay on horses, and trust in chariots, because they are many; and in horsemen, because they are very strong; but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the LORD!

• Punishment of those who neglect.

  Zephaniah 1:4-6 I will also stretch out mine hand upon Judah, and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place, and the name of the Chemarims with the priests; 5 And them that worship the host of heaven upon the housetops; and them that worship and that swear by the LORD, and that swear by Malcham; 6 And them that are turned back from the LORD; and those that have not sought the LORD, nor inquired for him.

• Exemplified.
  
  Asa,

  2 Chronicles 14:7 Therefore he said unto Judah, Let us build these cities, and make about them walls, and towers, gates, and bars, while the land is yet before us; because we have sought the LORD our God, we have sought him, and he hath given us rest on every side. So they built and prospered.

  Jehoshaphat,

  2 Chronicles 17:3-4 And the LORD was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the first ways of his father David, and sought not unto Baalim; 4 But sought to the LORD God of his father, and walked in his commandments, and not after the doings of Israel.

  Uzziah,

  2 Chronicles 26:5 And he sought God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding in the visions of God: and as long as he sought the LORD, God made him to prosper.

  Hezekiah,

  2 Chronicles 31:21 And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart, and prospered.

  Josiah,

  2 Chronicles 34:3 For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet young, he began to seek after the God of David his father: and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem from the high places, and the groves, and the carved images, and the molten images.

  Ezra,

  Ezra 7:10 For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments.

  David,

  Psalm 34:4 I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.

  Daniel,

  Daniel 9:3-4 And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes: 4 And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments;