Psalm 27:8 “When You said, “Seek My face,” My heart said to You, “Your face, LORD, I will seek.”
The call of God is unique. There is nothing in the world as comparable. For those who have heard the call and responded in faith, the joy of knowing the One who embodies love has no equal.
How does a man or woman come into the Kingdom of God?
Can a someone just want to know more about God and so they read the Bible and claim to be an expert? People have been studying the Bible in depth for thousands of years and they seem to never find the end. The depths of God’s glory has no bounds.
The Word of God is as deep as God is mighty. The miraculous moment a sinner is redeemed from death to life is not a decision that comes without a cost. When the Father’s love beckons a lost sinner to Christ’s redemption, the hope of every longing soul is answered.
Sadly, not every person who hears God’s call responds in faith.
If we could look into the heart of one who longed for God and found Him, we would see the elements of what the journey entails.
Turn with me to the Word and see what happens when the love of God permeates a heart and the heart responds accordingly.
A Call is given
The desire for God begins with the Father. The call of the Lord is a call toward the Son of Man. For those who lived before Jesus’ great and awesome advent, the only righteousness that could be had was to be found obedient to God’s law. When the offender came before the altar of the Lord, a sacrifice was necessary for sin.
Hope was kept in anticipation of a coming Messiah.
Psalm 119:74 “I long for Your salvation, O Lord,
And Your law is my delight.”
Davids prayer was one of anticipation. He couldn’t achieve salvation on his own, he needed a redeemer. Mankind cannot be redeemed from sin through sheer effort, even so, the Lord delighted in those who yearned for God’s righteousness.
For the those who know God, the confirmation of His presence inspires confidence.
Psalm 27:1 “The Lord is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the strength of my life;
Of whom shall I be afraid?”
The world walks in darkness. Eventually, the weight of regret, the sorrow of unfulfilled hope, and the prick of longing draws many to seek something more.
Psalm 27:7 “Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice!
Have mercy also upon me, and answer me.”
Today, when someone turns to God in faith and belief, the Spirit of God fills their hearts and seals them with God’s abiding presence.
John 16:13 “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.”
The means by which the Father guides His people is through the work of the Holy Spirit and faith is what He inspires.
When people sense a longing for God, it is the evangelist who God uses to speak the Truth in love. Relating the gospel doesn’t need to be complex, it just needs to be concise. People don’t know they are sinners until they understand the meaning of sin.
Conviction of the Heart
To sin is to offend God’s Moral law (10 commandments).
1 John 3:4 “Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.”
The law makes the necessity for a Savior critical. Since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, no one can be justified apart from Christ. The Lord died for the sins of the whole world, but the individual sinner must receive the grace afforded them or they remain under judgement.
People have the choice to either accept the freewill offering of grace or reject it. God doesn’t determine someone’s life by making the sinner follow Him, He provides the means to salvation and leaves the choice up to them.
Some may say this takes away from the work of Christ but I completely disagree. The work of Christ was accomplished by Him alone, there is nothing anyone can add to or take away from His glory. The Father simply calls people to partake of the finished work of Christ and faith is the means of acceptance, belief is the evidence of that faith.
Romans 10:9 “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”
Once the lost sinner comes to a knowledge of the Holiness of God and believes, a love relationship begins.
Drawing Near
As the faithful follower of Christ searches the Word, the Word begins to reveal something unexpected. The depth of the beauty of God’s love is revealed to the heart and the one who seeks after Him finds new life.
Psalm 27:4 “One thing I have desired of the Lord,
That will I seek:
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.”
The beauty of the Lord is made evident to the hearts of those who yearn for Him.
Draw near to the Lord, spend time in the scriptures and you will see beyond the letters and into the heart of God. The Spirit calls, the heart yearns, and the Lord fills. Joy rises in the life of the redeemed, for they know the goodness of God.
Psalm 27:6 “And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me;
Therefore I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle;
I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord”
All condemnation is silenced before the Throne of God’s grace. The world may bring accusation but only condemns itself. Judgement is reserved for God alone and God has made a way for sinners to be redeemed.
Psalm 27:5 “For in the time of trouble
He shall hide me in His pavilion;
In the secret place of His tabernacle
He shall hide me;
He shall set me high upon a rock.”
The Rock is none other than Christ Jesus.
Built upon the Rock
Sinners cannot seek God on their own. Mankind is utterly depraved. There is not an ounce of goodness that dwells in the heart of the sinner. There is not an iota of light that appears in the depths of darkness. The world may claim there is truth and light, but the world judges by a standard that is corrupt and lacks wisdom.
Psalm 27:11 “Teach me Your way, O Lord,
And lead me in a smooth path, because of my enemies.”
True desire for God comes from God. He calls and the heart of faith responds in repentance.
Do you want to know the depth of God’s goodness? He gives you the choice to either accept or reject His call. It is by His mercy that He perseveres your life until that day comes.
When grace appears, pursue the Lord with all of your strength. You were made to know Him, to be united with Him, and you will then dwell with Him for eternity.
All because of Jesus.
U.T. 