Sermon # 135           Series: Isaiah

 

Title:  Encouragement From What God Has Not Said

 

Text:  Isaiah 45:19

 

Scripture Reading:  Luke 9:1-11

 

Subject:  Seeking the Lord

 

Date:  Sunday Morning – November 1, 1992

 

Introduction:

 

The title of my message today is Encouragement From What God Has Not Said.  Read my text with me and you will see why I have chosen this title for my message- “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.”

 

I have prepared this message with one specific group of people in mind.  I want to minister to those poor souls who have been deluded by satan into thinking, “There is no need for me to seek the Lord, I cannot be saved, God will not hear my prayers,” or “There is no need for me to seek the Lord.  If God has chosen me he will seek me.  If Christ has redeemed me he will seek me; If I am one of the elect, I will be saved, if not I cannot be saved; so I will just wait and see what God does.”

 

Many timid souls have been vexed by the imagination that there may be something in God’s secret decree, that there may be something in the book of Divine predestination that shuts against them the door of hope.  They imagine that if they did seek the Lord he would not be found of them.  My text this morning is a complete refutation of that idea. God says, “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 vain1”

 

Many false prophets, in an attempt to discredit God’s truth in an effort to deny God’s sovereignty in election, predestination and grace, tell sinners that if predestination is true then there is no need for them to seek the Lord.  Our text completely refutes that lie.  The decrees of God were spoken in the secret counsel chambers of eternity.  They are written, as it were, “in a dark place of the earth.”  Yet, in our text God himself declares that he has said nothing, even in his external decree of predestination, which can be interpreted to mean “Seek ye me in vain!”

 

At the very outset of this message, I want everyone here to be fully persuaded of these three facts:

 

  1. God almighty commands you to seek him- “Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near” (Isa. 55:6).  That makes you responsible to seek him!
  2. No one will ever be saved who does not seek the Lord.  I know that you will never seek the Lord until he has sought you out; but if God calls you will seek him.  And if you do not seek him, you will die in your sins (Pro. 1:24-26).
  3. Every sinner who seeks the Lord, who seeks God through Jesus Christ, will be saved- God himself declares, “Ye shall call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.  And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.  And I will be found of you” (Jer. 29:12-14).  It is an absolute impossibility for any sinner to seek the Lord in vain.

 

God speaks in righteousness.  He declares things that are right.  There is no equivocation in him.  He says…

 

Let every need soul take heart and find Encouragement From What God Has Not Said.  He has not said, “Seek ye me in vain.

 

Proposition:  In our text the Lord God assures us that none shall ever seek him in vain – You will find its counterpart in John 6:37.  Where these words fall from the lips of the Lord Jesus Christ – “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.”

 

I.  What is it to Seek the Lord?

 

God promises that all who seek him shall find him.  We are admonished, over and over again, in the Scriptures to seek the Lord.  But what does that mean?  What is it to seek the Lord?

 

I know this – To seek the Lord involves something more than a decision for Jesus, repeating the words of a prayer, or saying, “Lord Jesus, come into my heart.”

 

A.  Those who seek the Lord Feel their Need of Him!

 

            Illus:  The Woman with an Issue of Blood

                        The Leper – The Canaanite Woman.

 

No body ever seeks Christ until they need him.  But, if ever you feel the wrath of God falling down from heaven upon your head, feel hell rising up to meet you, if ever you feel the fire of hell in your soul, you will seek him!

 

  1. None but the sick need a physician.
  2. None but sinners need a Savior.
  3. None but debtors need a ransom.
  4. None but the guilty need a pardon.

 

B.  Those who seek the Lord Seek Him in Truth. – (Ps. 145:18).

 

Our Savior said, “Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  He said that saved folks are those who “worship God in Spirit and in truth.”

 

Maybe you ask, like Pilate, “What is truth?”  How can a person find out the truth…

 

 

Go to the Word!  What does God say?  “Let God be true and every man a liar!”  I urge you to search the Scriptures with an open heart, willing to learn the truth.  Christ is the Truth!

 

C.  All who truly seek the Lord seek Him with a Sincere Heart (Jer. 29:13).

 

“Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart.” (Ps. 119:2).

 

D.  Those who seek the Lord Seek Him Continually-  (I Chron. 16:10-11).

 

This generation has heard little about seeking the Lord.  We are in such a hurry to get people saved and on the road to heaven as quickly, as effortlessly, and as painlessly as possible.  Uncle Ben has given us instant rice, Quaker Oats gives us instant grits. Betty Crocker give us instant potatoes.  And the 20th century church has given us instant christianity.  But instant christianity is a false christianity, a satanic delusion!  Christianity is not a decision; it’s a life!  Faith in Christ is not an event in life; it’s a way of life!

 

  1. Some get religion on the weekend.
  2. Some get religion over the holidays.
  3. Some get religion during special revivals.
  4. Some get religion when they get sick.
  5. Some get religion when someone dies.
  6. But those who seek the Lord seek him continually.

Illus:  Caleb- “Faithful Dog!” (Num. 14:24).

 

E.  Those who seek the Lord Seek Him With a Single Purpose (Ps. 27:4, 7, 8).

 

No one can have two supreme goals, two masters, or two lords!  To seek the Lord is to lose your life in Christ.  It is to be absorbed with, consumed by, devoted to knowing Jesus Christ (Phil. 3: 7-10).

 

Thou, O Christ, art all I want!

More than all in Thee I find?

 

“Whom have I in heaven but thee?  And there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee!”  (Ps. 73:25).

 

F.  Those who seek the Lord Seek Him While He May Be Found. ( Isa. 55:6).

 

“Today is the day of salvation!”

Illus:  Bartimaeus- “Jesus of Nazareth Passeth By!”

 

Reach out and touch the Lord

As He passes by!

You’ll find He’s not to busy

To hear your heart’s cry.

He’s passing by this moment

Your needs to supply,

So reach out and touch the Lord

As He goes by!

 

G.  Those who seek the Lord Seek Him Only In Christ (John 14:6).

  1. Christ is the Door; you must enter in by Him!
  2. Christ is the Way; you must walk in Him!
  3. Christ is the Truth; you must learn of Him!
  4. Christ is the Life; you must live in Him!

 

Jesus Christ is able, by his blood, his righteousness, and his intercession, to save to the uttermost all who come to God by him- (Heb. 7:25).

 

II.  What Encouragement Do I Have To Seek The Lord?

 

This is the encouragement given by God in our text- “I said, not unto the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain!”  “Those who seek God through Jesus Christ, in God’s own appointed way cannot, by any possibility, seek him in vain…Earnest, penitent, prayerful hearts, though they may be delayed for a time, can never be sent away with a final denial.”-  (C. H. Spurgeon).  I want you to see this – It is not possible for anyone to sincerely seek mercy, grace and eternal life from God by faith in Jesus Christ, and not find it.  You will never seek grace from the God of grace and be refused!  Let me demonstrate this in these six arguments drawn from Holy Scripture.

 

A.  Suppose it were possible for men to seek the Lord in vain – Why Then Are We Exhorted To Pray?

 

Do you imagine that God, who commands men to pray and faint not, to pray without ceasing, would bid them do so, if no harvest could be gained by it?  None of us would be so unmerciful as to advise a thirsty man to pump a dry well- God is more gracious than you and me (Matt. 7:7-11).

 

God may require importunity, but importunity will not be ignored by him – (Lk. 11:1-13).

 

B.  That which distinguishes Jehovah from the gods of man’s making is the fact that He Answers Prayer (Ps. 115:5-9).

 

A god who does not respond to the cries of his worshippers is “profitable for nothing” (Isa. 44:10).  One of the standing proofs of the Deity of Jehovah is that he hears and answers the cries of his needy people.

 

            Illus:  Elijah and The Prophets of Baal- (I Kings 18).

 

C.  God’s Promises to Those Who Seek Him Would Be Meaningless, worse, They would be Lies By Which He Mocked Our Souls, If It Were Possible to Seek Him In Vain.

 

“The hand of God is upon all them for good that seek him” (Ezra 8:22).  The veracity of God is at stake here, as well as his goodness!

 

John Bunyan used to say; “Unbelief has as many lives as a cat!”  Let me see if I can stay them all by the word of God.  Here are God’s own promises- Twelve Promises!

 

1.       “Call upon me in the day of trouble:  I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me” – (Ps. 50:15).

  1. “He shall call upon me, and I will answer him:  I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him” (Ps. 91:15).
  2. “Weep no more!  He will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry; when he shall hear it, he will answer thee” (Isa. 30:19).
  3. “And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear” (Isa. 65:24).
  4. “They shall call on my name, and I will hear them:  I will say, It is my people; and they shall say, The Lord is my God”- (Zech. 13:9).
  5. “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock and it shall be opened unto you” (Matt. 7:7).
  6. “All things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive” (Matt. 21:22).
  7. “He shall pray unto God, and he will be favorable unto him; and he shall see his face with joy” (Job 33:26).
  8. “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Joel 2:32; Rom 10:13).
  9. “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you” (James 4:8).
  10. “If thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul” (Deut. 4:29).
  11. “If thou seek him, he will be found of thee” (I Chron. 28:9).

 

After having made these twelve promises and many, many more, if God should fail to hear and answer any who call upon him in truth, where is his truth, veracity, and faithfulness?   Certainly, in the light of God’s promises, that are all in Christ Jesus yea and amen, we are assured that he never said, “Seek ye me in vain!”

 

D.  If it is possible for Sinners to Seek the Lord in Vain, I Have No Gospel To Preach.

 

Following the logic of inspiration, as Paul said of Christ’s resurrection, so I say with regard to this matter- If God Almighty does not hear and answer prayer, if he does not save all who call upon him in faith, “Then our preaching is vain, and your faith is also vain: ye are yet in your sins!”

 

We are sent to tell men that “though their sins be as scarlet, they shall be as wool, though they be red like crimson, they shall be whiter than snow,” if they turn from their evil ways and seek the Lord- If it is possible for any to turn to God by faith in Christ and yet not be accepted, then I renounce more commission and apologize for ever having spoken in the name of Christ, for I have no gospel to preach!

 

If prayer offered in the name of Christ is not accepted of God, then Christ is not accepted!  If a man can plead with God “for Christ’s sake,” and not be heard, then Christ is not heard!

 

E.  If it is possible for sinners to seek the Lord in vain, where is the Believer’s Hope?

 

The happiest saint in this world, in his most blessed moment, would be as miserable and wretched as the damned in hell, if he could be convinced that God did not, would not, or could not hear and answer prayer.

 

 

F.  Hear this word of grace and be encouraged from what God has not said, to seek him- “I said unto the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain!”

 

God does hear prayer.  God does receive sinners.  “He delighteth in mercy!”  He will be found of all who seek him!

 

  1. It is consistent with all the attributes of his nature.
  2. It is consistent with all his past actions (Ps. 107)
  3. It is consistent with the mission of his Son. (John 3:14-16).

 

If you could look to Christ and yet perish, then Christ died in vain!

 

Application:

 

I am trying to persuade you to seek the Lord, and strip you of every imaginary excuse for not doing so.

 

 

I know that God is free; but his promises bind him.  God may do what he will; but he always wills to do what he says he will do.  We have no claim upon God; but God makes a claim for us, and urges us to use it (Isa. 43:25-26).  God cannot violate his own word of promise.  His honor as well as his veracity bind him to his promise.

 

 

Bring the crucified Savior to the gracious Lord God.  Point to the blood of Christ and say, “God be merciful to me!”  Plead with God as a man pleading for his life.  Cling to the horns of this Altar, and you shalt not die!

 

            Illus:  The Farmer who lost his Check!

Seek Him, and you shall Find Him, because he has not said, “Seek ye me in vain!”