Seek While He May Be Found

The following is from Montrose Baptist Church's AM worship service on November 8, 2009.

As we come to our time together this morning, I am going to begin a little differently. Rather than telling a story or opening with some other illustration, I want to ask you a couple of questions.
Please don’t answer these aloud, but truly consider them. Be honest with yourself. Your life depends on your honesty here.
Do you recall the time when you surrendered your heart and life to Jesus Christ? Do you remember the conviction of the Spirit, and your decision to yield? Do you recall your obedience through baptism? Is your life producing fruit that evidences your conversion?
Are you certain of God’s salvation in your life, or are you playing the church game? Are you keeping up appearances so that others will think you’re a good person? Do you wear a mask that only lasts until the end of service? Do you ever wonder what is missing in life?
What camp are you in?
If you have never experienced new life that comes in Christ, if you have never allowed Jesus to reign on the throne of your heart, I would invite you to note Isaiah’s words with me.

Read text. (Isaiah 55:6-7)

I am going to spare you a typical outline. We are not going to employ alliteration or try to create an acrostic. Rather, I believe that God’s Word is sufficient- and in this case, is best served by being preached without manipulation.
I’m afraid that the greatest act of disservice of any pastor toward the church body that he is called to serve is found in an assumptive attitude. It is too common that we approach the pulpit having made the assumption that everyone in the congregation has already made a decision to follow Christ. However, I do not believe that we can still make that assumption any longer. I am not trying to speak in a judgmental, condemning manner. I am not calling into question the authenticity of any person’s decision for Christ. However, I do believe that at times we are guilty of insisting that church members and attendees are saved because they are familiar faces and have been active in the body for so long. But we must reconsider.
There is a recent study out by renowned researcher George Barna. In this survey, Barna discovered that at least fifty percent of church-goers across America are probably lost. Approximately half of the current church could not recall a personal decision to follow Christ. Rather, they equated salvation with doing good works and following the Ten Commandments.
I believe that we would be well served to look at God’s invitation through His prophet Isaiah. I believe that we must honestly consider whether the day has ever come when we surrendered our lives to Christ.
If you are here this morning, and you have no idea what I am talking about- stick with me. If there is a void, something missing, in your life, this is for you. If you cannot remember a time when you gave your heart and life to Christ, listen to Isaiah’s words. We begin with…

6) “Seek the Lord while He may be found, Call upon Him when He is near.”

The first thing that we need to understand this morning is the urgency of salvation. We are exhorted to seek God while He may be found. We must call out to Him while He is close by.
When I read this, I immediately thought about my limited experience in the garden behind the church. As you’ve heard before, Mr. RB planted a garden out back this past year. He grew a little of everything possible. And because of his work, my family enjoyed the fruits of his labor. We ate peas and potatoes, squash and tomatoes. We had watermelon and corn. There was a plethora of options that kept finding themselves on our back porch.
And while I still understand relatively little about growing a garden, I did learn this: There are times when you can find and enjoy certain vegetables, and then there are times when they simply are not there. For example, if I went seeking a watermelon on the vine, it would not be found right now.
While God is not a vegetable, there are times when He is available, and then a day will come when He is not. There will come a day when people will look for God, but He will not be found.
Presently, God’s availability for decision in our lives is limited by the breath in our bodies. God is close by. He is near so long as breath has not left our lungs. As long as there is life in our bodies, He is ready and waiting for you.
Hebrews 9:27 reminds us, “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.” We only have one life to live. We only have one chance to make a decision for Christ. And following our earthly lives, we will stand before God and His judgment.
We will determine who we live for, and we will answer for it one day. The only problem in that statement for the unrepentant unbeliever is that phrase “one day.” Our reality is that we simply don’t know when that day will come.
Just think about the atrocity this past week at Fort Hood in Texas. The victims of that day ranged from 62 years of age to just 19. A twenty-one-year-old PFC was three months pregnant at the time of the shooting. It is apparent that she was anticipating a family. I am certain that all of these intended to live long meaningful lives. However, their opportunity- their time for God to be near came to an early end.
We are told to call out to God when He is near. We must call while we still have opportunity.
While we are given that instruction, I want to make certain that you understand He is near this morning. We are told in 2 Corinthians 6:2, “Now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.”
We must call out while God is near. The time is pressing, but then Isaiah also explains the process.

7) “Let the wicked forsake His way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord…”

In addition to understanding the urgency of a decision, we must understand the mechanics of that decision as well. We must grasp the process.
Salvation is not equivalent to us merely understanding our need. It is not an elaborate personal attempt at behavior change. Rather, it is repentance.
It is a combination of the recognition of the true depravity of our sin with a willful determination to seek God’s help in changing our sinful lifestyles.
Before we can forsake our way, we must recognize that it is errant. Over and over again, I have heard the excuse, “Well, my life is not that bad. It isn’t as bad as other people around me.” Yet, Scripture teaches us differently. Romans 3:23 tells us, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” And then Romans 6:23 warns us, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
When we examine our lifestyles, as bad as they may not seem to us, our actions demand the death penalty- and not just physical death, but eternal spiritual death.
That hatred that you have is equated to murder in God’s eyes. Lust is the same as adultery. Every lie, wayward word, evil action demands the full wrath of God.
Yet, we have the opportunity to escape that judgment. We must understand the truth of our sinful lives, and then we must repent.
Let me resort to a question in the FAITH outline. If we were driving down the road together and I asked you to turn, what would I be asking you to do?
(I would be asking you to change direction)
In Scripture, that is exactly what repentance is. It is changing direction. It is determining that the direction of your life is leading to a place that you don’t want to experience. It is making the decision to abandon your way and to go God’s direction.
Now, I realize that this is a scary process. To be quite honest, there are things that we find in our lives that are not going to be pleasant to try and rid ourselves of. In fact, it may prove painful and difficult. It may take more than what your physical power can muster. But that is where the beauty of this exhortation lies.
Isaiah begins by encouraging the people to seek God while He may be found and to call Him while He is near. And what we find is, when we are faithful to call out to seek God’s face and to call out to Him in need, He provides the strength we need, and He encourages and provides the transformation He desires.
The change in our physical actions will prove difficult, but then we may question: can we really change our thoughts?
Once again, it is possible because God is the provider and deliverer.
Romans 12:2 says, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
Who do you think renews your mind? Who allows your thought processes to change? It is God that produces the changes in our lives when we call out.
We note the pressing time frame. We understand the process. And when we are faithful to call out, to repent, to seek God’s face, then we find pardon.

7b) “And He will have mercy on Him; and to our God, For He will abundantly pardon.”

When we are faithful to seek the face of God, when we are willing to acknowledge our sinfulness and we come in humility and repentance, we find the promise of great mercy. We find that His grace is great enough to pardon our pasts.
Over and over again, I have talked with people that have insisted that God could not forgive their pasts. They have claimed that their sins were too big, their actions too evil and heinous for God to excuse.
However, we find in God’s Word, a promise that if we will call out to Him and turn from our evil actions and thoughts, He will abundantly pardon us.
He will settle the debt that we owe. He will restore us- and give us a fresh start.
Even with that promise apparent in Scripture, I know that there are those that would still be hesitant. But if you have difficulty trusting words in black and white, look at the examples we find through Scripture and life.
Paul, the man that authored the majority of the New Testament, was initially introduced to us as he held the coats of those that were stoning Stephen, God’s faithful witness. He was the one that was arresting and imprisoning Christian people, yet God changed His life and made Him the apostle to the Gentiles.
Simon was a zealot. He supported the idea of aggressive, violent overthrow of the Roman government. Yet God called him to serve, and he became part of the group closest to Jesus Christ.
I even have a distant relative that will remain nameless here. But, years ago, he was convicted of a crime that most would consider one of the worst things possible. He was found guilty of murder. He stabbed a man to death. And while society as a whole may have written him off, God didn’t. When he called out to God, God abundantly pardoned him. Now, he is not a murderer in a jail cell. Rather, he is an adopted child of God and the pastor of a growing church in our state.
There is nothing in this world bigger than God’s pardon and forgiveness. When we call out in need, God is faithful to hear our cry. He meets our confession with forgiveness and regeneration.
Perhaps this morning, you have been avoiding this confrontation between God’s desire to grant you new life and the necessary change that He demands. Maybe you have been running, believing that you could eventually avoid the topic long enough that God would simply cease to care.
If that is you this morning, then you need to hear this story.
In 1981, a Minnesota radio station reported a story about a stolen car in California. Police were staging an intense search for the vehicle and the driver, even to the point of placing announcements on local radio stations to contact the thief. On the front seat of the stolen car sat a box of crackers that, unknown to the thief, were laced with poison. The car owner intended to use the crackers as rat bait. Now the police and the owner of the VW Bug were more interested in apprehending the thief to save his life than to recover the car. So often, when we run from God, we believe that we are doing so to escape punishment- like this thief. But what we are actually doing is eluding His rescue.
If you are running, if you have never surrendered your heart and life to Christ and you keep claiming that you have plenty of time to make that decision, you are not escaping the penalty of your actions. You are merely dodging the hope of rescue.
Perhaps this morning, you are tired of running. Maybe you are ready to finally surrender. Perhaps you are seeking a rescue from life’s disappointments. All you have to do is call out to Him, repent, and receive His pardon.
Years ago, George Miller was convicted of robbing the US Mail Service. He was sentenced to be hanged for his crime. President Andrew Jackson issued him a presidential pardon, but Miller refused to accept it. This created a problem that required the input of the Supreme Court. After considering the case, the court ruled that a pardon was an opportunity, a slip of paper, but it was meaningless unless it was received.
Jesus has issued your pardon, but it is of no consequence if you refuse to accept His mercy.
As we come to our time of invitation, if you have never surrendered your heart and life to Christ, now is that time. Because of the sacrifice of Jesus, the debt of your sin has been paid. Your pardon has been issued. However, it must be claimed. It must be received.
I would invite you. If you have never surrendered your life to Christ, I would love to pray and talk with you. Perhaps you claimed God’s pardon years ago, but you have failed to continue to seek Him and to serve Him, let me encourage a fresh commitment.
Maybe you have surrendered your heart and life and you are looking for a place to serve, if that is the case, we would love to have you. Whatever the decision you need to make, now is the time.