
Pursue God in His Word
Sunday 29 January 2017 – Riaan Sinden
(Isa. 55:11); James 1:19-25 AMP; Luke 10:38-42; (Isa. 64:6); Matt. 13:18-23; Prov. 20:12; Jer. 29:13; Jer. 31:33-34; Isa. 65:1; (John 1:14); (2 Cor. 3:3); (Matt. 24:35 & Luke 21:33); Job. 23:12; Jer. 15:16; Ps. 19:7-11; Acts 2:42
We are very blessed in this house that we have a deep revelation of the kingdom Word. The Word has been broken and given to us. We fed on it, became consumers of it but it is time to become dispensers of the kingdom Word. It is our responsibility to have a strong Word foundation. We do have a strong Word in this house. God is faithful, God is true, God is His Word and His Word will not return void to Him (Isa. 55:11). … with a humble spirit receive the word [of God] which is implanted [actually rooted in your heart], which is able to save your souls. But prove yourselves doers of the word [actively and continually obeying God’s precepts], and not merely listeners [who hear the word but fail to internalize its meaning], deluding yourselves [by unsound reasoning contrary to the truth]. For if anyone only listens to the word without obeying it, he is like a man who looks very carefully at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he immediately forgets what he looked like. But he who looks carefully into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and faithfully abides by it, not having become a [careless] listener who forgets but an active doer [who obeys], he will be blessed and favored by God in what he does [in his life of obedience] (James. 1:19-25 AMP). There is a danger in just hearing the Word week after week and not doing anything about it; not allowing the Word to become flesh in our lives. Then we will be filled with knowledge but no spirit. We hear the Word often but we need to practice it, otherwise the Bible says we are deceiving ourselves. This is the responsibility of the hearer; a responsibility to allow the Word to grip us and become flesh in our lives. Hearing seems like the easiest thing to do but still a lot of people lack the ability to really hear. We need to actively train ourselves to hear! We have become a generation of multitaskers. We get easily distracted with a lot of things that demand our attention, but when it comes to God’s Word we have to make time to sit in His presence. It can no longer be just be a five minute deal before we go to bed. That is the challenge, we get busy (Luke 10:38-42). Sometimes we are just busy being busy! But when it comes to sitting at Jesus’s feet there need to be a hunger; there needs to be that drive within us to come into His presence and spend time with Him. Some try to sooth their conscience by saying they are busy with the work of God but do not include God in their plans. They are busy with things but God is not part of it. When last did we just sit at his feet? When last did we just ask, “Speak to me God. Let Your Word become part of me”. We can be busy working for God and end up just doing good works and God will say that your good works have become like dirty rags in His face (Isa. 64:6). He wants to be the centre of it all!
What type of soil are we? (Matt. 13:18-23). How do we prepare our heart as we come into the meeting? How do we prepare our heart for the Word? People who hear and embrace it will produce a harvest beyond their wildest dreams and there is a great demand on God’s people to hear accurately. The hearing ear and the seeing eye, The Lord has made them both (Prov. 20:12). He is talking here about the two senses that are used to receive. Sometimes we need to quieten down and allow God to speak to us. Sometimes the Word does not find entrance into our hearts; the Word does not become flesh in our lives. We become copycats and we emulate what others say and do. We need to go and search the Scriptures, pursue God in His Word. Search for Him in His Word, this is our responsibility. It is not a one sided relationship. He loved us first and sought after us first. All He asks is that we will do the same. Do we have a revelation of God? Do we have a relationship with God? Do we know Him or do we know only about Him? We must have a relationship with God that means spending time with Him, reading and hearing His Word, talking to Him. Then when we come together it is like iron sharpening iron. We speak Word to one another; we speak words which are alive into one another because we can hear the same sound in each other, burning on the inside. How much time do we spend with God? I let Myself be sought by those who did not ask for Me; I let Myself be found by those who did not seek Me. I said, ‘Here am I, here am I, ’To the nation [Israel] which did not call on My Name (Isa. 65:1). God initiated this relationship. He came to us first and He is entirely dedicated to us, He is mindful of us. We need to be careful and thoughtful listeners. We need to be doers of the Word. Once you have come into His presence and God has revealed Himself to you, the Word is alive in your heart and you must become doers of the living Word. How do you do that? The Bible says, “The Word became flesh and dwelled amongst us” (John 1:14). That is the call on every one of us that Word will become flesh in our lives. We will take that Word and invade our neighbourhood because people are tired of more sermons. They want to see a manifestation of the Word of God. We are letters that people read; living letters and the words in these letters are not written in ink but by the Spirit of the Living God, not on tablets of stones but on our heart (2 Cor. 3:3). Once that Word has gripped you, you will go out and it will be manifest in the world. We need to have knowledge; we need to meditate in the Word until it becomes manifest in our lives. If you can demonstrate a relationship with God, it will be attractive to the world. We need to submit to the dealings of the Holy Spirit in our lives. It is not always easy but the Word comes and cuts away all the thoughts and areas that are not in line with the image of God until only God remains in our lives. When people look at us they will bring glory and praise to God.
It is when we look in the mirror of the Word of God that we start seeing who we really are. Our true identity will be revealed when we look intently at His Word and not just take a glance. The Word will reveal what is in your heart. How can you look in a mirror and turn around and forget what you saw? (James 1:23-24). It is unlikely that he is referring to a forgetful person but rather to a preoccupied person; someone who is so busy that even if he looks, he does not see, his mind is full of things that add no value to his life. Are we so busy that the Word does not have place in our lives? We do not want God to sit us down to explain the rules of this relationship. Incline your ear to His Voice! Spend time in his Word! Sometimes we do not know where to start reading, we open our Bible and we cannot hear anything. All that is needed is that we commit to Him, to His Word and everything else will come into line. Spending time in His Word is fundamental. It should be our prime objective. We need to search for Him, pursue His Word the same way He is pursuing us. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart (Jer. 29:13). God is not hiding, He is not lost but we need to seek Him in His Word. He will reveal Himself to us, He will change our lives. There is a desperation needed in searching after Him. We need to be quick to hear and slow to speak and the Word will change us. My prayer this morning: More of You Lord, more of You Father, so that we will not do our own thing but we will be attentive to your Word. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more (Jer. 31:33-34). That is the cry of my heart that we will know Him because He is a jealous God. He is jealous over His Word and He will defend it in our lives. We should protect the Word that we have received. He is true to His Word. Submit to God’s Word! Allow His Word to change you! Heaven and earth will pass but His Word will remain (Matt. 24:35 & Luke 21:33). I have kept the words of His mouth more than my necessary food (Job. 23:12). Your words were found, and I ate them, And Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart” (Jer. 15:16). The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, Yea, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. (Ps. 19:7-11). This is the Word of God. We need to spend time in His Word. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers (Acts 2:42). Is that the desire of our hearts? The apostles’ doctrine was the Word of God. Peter is quoting Scripture and it changed people’s lives. Three thousand people gave their heart to God and continued steadfastly in that Word. I pray that the Word will cut us open this morning and that we will incline our ear to His Word; that we will commit to God’s Word, that we will allow it to change us and become demonstrators of God’s Word.