Seeking Failure

Introduction

One thing I love about that song we just sang is the way it’s written forces you to sing it with conviction. And in the resurrection morning we shall rise. And hopefully, that is your conviction that drives you in your faithful devotion to God and your service to Him. And in the nature of the things that we’ll be talking about even this evening. When Mike mentioned learning things on Facebook, I didn’t know he was going to go to Owen. I thought instead he was going to mention the Olynx, the other Olympic, Sean and family whose van just so happened to burn up this morning. And so that’s going to be a particular difficulty to a family that large as their vehicle has been destroyed. So let’s remember them in this difficult time.

Welcome to everybody tonight. As advertised, tonight’s lesson is entitled Seeking Failure. And I realize that can be looked at in more than one way. Who really sets out in life to be a failure? You know what I’m going to do in life? I’m going to be a failure. My life’s going to be a total disaster. I guess someone might approach life that way. I don’t really want to see that train wreck unfold. But most people do not anticipate life being a failure. But sadly, a lot of people go decades throughout their lives and they look back and it’s not gone very well. There’s not a lot to be proud of. It’s just been a waste. Hopefully, the kinds of things that we focus on in God’s Word and the encouragement you receive in this place will cause your life to be a success in many areas, most importantly, spiritually.

You could be a failure simply by doing little or doing nothing. Or you could be a failure by making incredibly poor choices. Now, Lot wasn’t a failure overall. But when he chose, as he did by sight, the well-watered plains. That led to a series of circumstances that ended up being very costly to him. I preach a sermon about that called Lot’s Unwritten Goals. And sometimes by the choices that we make because they are poor, failure’s sort of built in to some degree. And the extent of that failure depends upon how long we pursue that choice or whether we ever come to our senses. My goal in the preaching of the gospel, my goal specifically in this lesson tonight is to help you and me avoid spiritual failure.

1. Biblical Examples of Seeking Failure

But the failure I’m talking about is a failure to seek the Lord. It’s that simple. This is not a really in-depth concept tonight. It’s a very replete concept throughout the scripture, and that is the need that you have, the need that I have, the need that you should take very seriously to seek the Lord. What does that mean? What does it mean to us as a church as we seek the Lord together? What does it mean for you to seek the Lord tomorrow? Or the day after that. Lord willing. I want to give you some biblical examples at the very beginning of seeking failure. Whereas people did not seek the Lord. This relates to the words of David, but it has to do with the transportation of the ark.

And that’s a story that a lot of us know, right? When the oxen stumble, and the ark of the covenant begins to fall.

And David’s first response was anger and upset and frustration at the result of that. But notice what he says here, as the ark is finally being moved to Jerusalem. And he says, You are the heads of the fathers’ households of the Levites. Consecrate yourselves, both you and your relatives, that you may bring up the ark of the Lord God of Israel to the place that I have prepared for it. Verse 13. Because you did not carry it at the first, remember they’d put it on a cart, the Lord our God made an outburst for us, for we did not seek him according to the ordinance. So the priests and the Levites consecrated themselves to bring up the ark of the Lord God of Israel, and the sons of the Levites carried the ark of God on their shoulders with the poles.

There we go. There it is. Thereon, as Moses had commanded, according to the word of the Lord. This time they seek the Lord according to the ordinance. There’s something to be learned there about our seeking the Lord. Let’s look at another failure in 2 Chronicles chapter 12 and verse 14. In the days of King Rehoboam, the son of Solomon. Now King Rehoboam in verse 13 strengthened himself in Jerusalem. And he was 41 years old when he began to reign, and he reigned 17 years in Jerusalem, the city which the Lord had chosen from all the tribes of Israel to put his name there. But the tragic story of verse 14. And he did evil because he did not set his heart to seek the Lord. Moving forward.

He commanded Judah to seek the Lord God of their fathers and to observe the law and the commandment. And they defeat a very large army as a result. In 2 Chronicles 15 and verse 2, Azariah, the son of Obed, comes to Asa. Listen to me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin. The Lord is with you when you are with him. And if you seek him, he will let you find him. But if you forsake him, he will forsake you. I spent a lot of time with the Asa story a couple of years ago. That ends extremely tragically. When Hanani, the seer is sent to Asa and reminds him that he is not now at this moment in his life turning to and seeking the Lord like he had done before.

He is now relying upon men rather than God. And then this famous statement occurs in verse 9 of this text, for the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth to strongly support those whose heart is completely his.

Indeed, from now on, you will surely have wars. So often we’ll go to this verse as I have through the years and encourage people to have a heart like that. So God will strongly support us, those whose hearts are completely his. But in the context of 2 Chronicles, Asa is not now possessing such a heart. How did Asa respond? Not very well. He was angry with the seer, threw him in prison. He was enraged at it. It’s hard to hear. A message that convicts. He even lashed out at some of the people at that time. Oh, but he recovered, right? That’s the end of the story. No, that’s sort of the end of the story. Except for verse 12. And in the 39th year of his reign, Asa became diseased in his feet.

His disease was severe. Yet even in his disease, he did not seek the Lord, but the physicians.

As the psalmist summarizes in that historical Psalm in Psalm 106 and verse 13, they quickly forgot his works and they did not wait for his counsel. Israel failing to seek the Lord was a continual snare and problem to them. Isaiah 9, verses 13 and 14. Well before the final epitaph is written, oh, I guess final in some sense, but I’m talking about the extreme judgment that he would bring upon Israel by the Assyrians, and then the following judgment that he would bring upon Judah by the Babylonians, Isaiah 9 and verse 13 anticipates these problems. Yet the people do not turn back to him who strengthen, nor do they seek the Lord of armies. For as my translation says, the Lord of hosts. So the Lord cuts off head and tail from Israel, both palm branch and bull rush in a single day.

2. Seek the Lord and His Strength

It would behoove us then to not experience as the Lord’s people today a seeking failure. So many admonitions in Scripture to seek the Lord. Write these down, come back to them later. I’m going to try to go through some of these quickly tonight. Seek the Lord. All you humble of the earth who have carried out his ordinances, seek righteousness, seek humility. Perhaps you will be hidden in the day of the Lord’s anger. David himself, shortly after the ark story of 1 Chronicles chapter 15 that we just read, says these words seek the Lord and his strength. Seek his face continually.

Hope it’s interesting anyway. Seek the Lord and his strength. Seek his face continually. That was David’s recommendation. What does that say? First of all, seek the Lord and His strength speaks to our dependency on Him. If David felt and experienced such a need, should we not also seek the Lord and His strength? It speaks to intimacy in our seeking. Would you describe your relationship with the Lord as intimate? Seek His face. That’s the most intimate kind of communication. No, we can’t see God’s face literally, but it is speaking to the point of intimacy, just like the woman that you love, or that girlfriend, that boyfriend, when you have all these butterflies, and you look at their face, and they’re absolutely perfect in every way. And your heart is fluttering.

I guess you’ve experienced that, or you will shortly. Okay, there’s Jared Meredith. They’re getting married soon. They’ve experienced it recently. Intimacy. Face to face. And then there’s constancy. Seek his face continually. Without that, seeking failure is a problem. Dependency, intimacy, constancy. This graphic actually comes from 2 Chronicles 7 and verse 14, where the words seek, pray, and turn. Sometimes it involves turning when our behavior is not what it should be. But in this text, this promise is made if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways. Then will I hear from heaven and forgive their sin and heal their land, which goes to the point that we were making this morning from Psalm 81.

I will feed you with the finest of wheat and provide honey for you from a rock. I will heal their land was the promise. Good things will come your way. Would you say your life, your day-to-day life is characterized by seeking the Lord? It’s a continual refrain. I’m only giving you some of the passages. Do a search.

I’m giving you maybe a third of the passages. I started getting into this, and I’m going, there’s just so many. How can I incorporate all these? But it wouldn’t have been as effective if I just gave you every verse on seeking the Lord. I picked some highlights, tried to group some of them together. It’s all over the place.

3. Why People Don't Seek the Lord

A lot of people don’t seek because they don’t believe. It’s that simple. They don’t believe. Or they may acknowledge that they believe. I believe in God. But not to the extent that they seek him. Some would not seek him because they don’t really believe he’s there. A severe kind of unbelief. I don’t really believe he exists. If that’s where you are, you could be in an assembly like that’s where you are. You need to sit down and study with someone right away. There’s a lot at stake here. If you are struggling to believe that he’s really there, you need to talk to someone. But there’s another aspect of this that’s also a sign of a lack of belief. And that is you don’t seek him because you’re not really convinced that prayer does anything.

The prayer changes circumstances in your life. Or affects relationships or solves problems. Perhaps you believe somehow God is handicapped, an omnipotent God who’s proved himself time and again, not just by miraculous works, but through providence. Not by a flashy display of the suspension of nature, but he’s working in the lives of his people. We see it all throughout the Old Testament. He’s working in the lives of his people. We see it in the New Testament. He is able to do exceedingly abundantly beyond all that we ask or think. Do we believe that the effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much? What’s troubling you? What are you anxious about? What’s negative in your circumstances? What’s less than what you think it should be? What’s causing you pain?

Have you sought the Lord? Do you believe he could make a difference in his time? I think sometimes we do not seek because we take God for granted. Sometimes we do not seek because we turn everywhere in desperation. But unto him. You still in Isaiah? In Isaiah chapter 30, verses 1 through 3. Woe to the rebellious children. You know, we might, oh, he’s talking about the heathen and the infidel. No, he’s talking about his covenant people. Woe to the rebellious children. Remember, we talked about silly, stubborn rebellion this morning. Woe to the rebellious children, declares the Lord, who execute a plan but not mine, and make an alliance, but not of my spirit in order to add sin to sin, who proceed down to Egypt without consulting me.

Asa struggled with that at the end of his kingly campaign. How many other kings of Israel and Judah did the same? Oh, we’re in dire military circumstances. We have all of these threats. And so they turn to some other king. They made an alliance with some other king for the help that they needed. Turn to the Lord, who proceed down to Egypt without consulting me to take refuge in the safety of Pharaoh. Like he’s the answer, the end all and be all of your problems. To seek shelter in the shadow of Egypt. Oh, he, let’s make a pact with Egypt. We’ll survive then. Therefore, the safety of Pharaoh will be your shade, and the shelter in the shadow of Egypt your humiliation. Who or what are you dependent on other than God when you should be seeking him?

Where do you go instead? I love the example of Jehoshaphat. I could take the next 30 minutes to talk about 2 Chronicles chapter 20. Jehoshaphat faces an encounter that is larger than he can handle. He faces an opposition that seems so daunting and so large. There was fear in him and in the people. And Jehoshaphat directs the people to the Lord. We’ve got to take this to the Lord. And because they took it to the Lord, because they sought the Lord, the Lord says, I’m going to fight the battle for you. And he stations those who engage in song. The priests in front of the warriors. I mean, you put the priests out front. That’s not normally a sound battle strategy, is it? But as they’re singing and as they’re praising, God ambushes the enemy and destroys them without them lifting a weapon.

4. Why You Should Seek the Lord

But they had a weapon, didn’t they? And that is their faith. So that’s why people don’t seek the Lord. Why should you seek the Lord? Some thoughts quickly. Number one. You should seek the Lord, because only God has unlimited resources. That’s simple, isn’t it? God has unlimited resources at his disposal. Where everyone else that you might turn to, like Egypt, everyone else is limited, and there are things beyond their control. There isn’t anything beyond God’s control. Whatever you need, talk about that this morning. Whatever you need, God has the ability to supply. If it’s just strength, if it’s just wisdom, if it’s just the ability to endure whatever has come your way, God has unlimited resources. Don’t ever forget that. And he gives. He only gives what is good.

As was said this morning, every good and perfect gift, James chapter 1 and verse 17. But in Matthew, in the Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew 7, seek, wait, there’s our word. Seek and you shall find. Ask and it shall be given to you. Knock and the door shall be opened. And then he says, with an illustration about how fathers know how to take care of their children. You know, if you ask for a fish, a good father doesn’t give his son a rock. He feeds him, he cares about him. How much more, in contrast to men who are evil in the sense that they’re not perfect and completely good like God is, how much more shall God give what is good to those who ask him.

And then, of course, I love the Luke 11 version of that, where he says, He gives the Holy Spirit to those who ask him. And that would be a very involved explanation of, and of course, everything that emanates from the Holy Spirit to us, whatever God intends the Holy Spirit to be to us, whatever the Holy Spirit gives to us is obviously good. Because he is God.

David’s own experiences obviously were troubling at this time. He wasn’t just anticipating the suffering of the Messiah on the cross. If you go to Psalm 22 and all you see there is Jesus suffering, surely that’s involved. Surely that’s the biggest intent ultimately of the Psalm. But David’s going through difficult times. He has enemies, he has troubles, and yet he affirms that he will speak the Lord’s name in the midst of the assembly, verse 22. And then he reminds his audience and himself in verse 26 the afflicted shall eat and be satisfied. Those who seek him will praise the Lord.

Finding opportunities to worship and praise the Lord when they are constantly seeking him. When they realize what God can provide. Proverbs 28 and verse 5. Flip over a few pages. Proverbs 28 and verse 5. Evil men do not understand justice, but those who seek the Lord understand all things. Interesting. You seek the Lord, you know calculus inside and out. Wait a minute. Maybe I’m not seeking the Lord because I don’t know calculus. I avoided that like the plague. I got through trigonometry and I was done. All things, we have access to all things that matter that pertain to life and eternity. We have understanding in regard to the most important knowledge that there is how to live, how to walk, how to survive, how to know our Creator.

That’s why we should seek the Lord. And as we saw on Wednesday night, even though men are wishy-washy and become unfaithful and are not always dependable, not our God. He remains faithful always. He is reliable and dependable. Well, here’s the tenor of the Psalms. The tenor of the Psalms, we can look at 50 passages probably. He is a refuge and rescuer of his people. And that would imply that our circumstances don’t always go the way that we would like. We find ourselves in dire circumstances, but the Lord can redeem our lives from the pit. It’s what he’s good at. He can bring us to higher ground and safety. And those who walk in his ways. Those who traverse the highway of holiness, everlasting joy will be on their head.

And I may suggest to you that these seven things, oh, nice, a package of seven. These seven things are simply the short list of all that God provides for those who seek.

Oh Lord, as we have briefly examined what seeking you is all about. Help us to understand it and appreciate it better. I pray for everyone here tonight, every single person. That all of us would be seekers of your face continually and the strength that you provide. We need you, God. Help us to perceive our need. Help us to see the ways that you can work in our lives. Help us to trust you in the midst of our pain, in the midst of our joy. Help us to seek you when the sun rises tomorrow, if it be your will. Our Father, we pray that you help us as a congregation of your people to collectively seek you. Be with our elders as they guide us and shepherd our souls toward seeking you.

5. Seek Him With All Your Heart

May we help each other and embolden each other and strengthen each other for seeking you. Help us to know the pleasant peace and the eternal joy that will be ours when we seek you. Help the Olympics as they’ve lost their vehicle and all the troubles that brings to their circumstances. I pray that you would help them to seek you. Be with our sister Hattie, who is very aged and struggling with her health. Help her to continue to seek you all the way to the end of her journey. Our God, we need you. Go with us. Go with us always. In the name of Jesus. Amen. There’s a remarkable passage in Deuteronomy chapter 4 and verse 29. But from there you will seek the Lord your God and you will find him if you search for him with all your heart and with all your soul.

That’s like those love passages. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, with all your shape. But from there, you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find him if you search for him with all your heart and all your soul. The cool thing about this verse, and I had to share it in the sermon, is the context. The context of Deuteronomy 4.29 are those who have been unfaithful to the Lord. And they have been scattered by the judgment of God here, there, and yon, for their spiritual failure. And he says, Come back to me. Seek me. And you will find me. If you invest your heart and your soul. So I want to tell you, wherever you’ve been, this is cool.

You’ve been in a rut spiritually. You’ve been away from the Lord. You’ve not been walking with him. You might be attending services, but you’re not walking with him like you did before. Failure is not yet fine. It’s all about you and your choice. Another passage. I’m almost done here. Be steadfast to the source. Seek the Lord in his strength. Seek his face continually. What do you know? There in Psalm 105 and verse 4, we have the quotation of David’s words in 1 Chronicles 16. Here they are again. Same concept. Seek the Lord in his strength, seek his face continually. Did you get those three words I wanted to repeat that? Dependency, intimacy, constancy. But from there you will seek the Lord your God. I thought I deleted that slide.

But there it is again. Thought I deleted that at about 4.15. Hosea 3 and verse 5. They will come trembling to the Lord and to his goodness in the last days. Again, a marvelous context. Speaking of the time of the Messiah. How do you come to the Lord? How do you seek the Lord? Work out your salvation with fear and trembling. They will come trembling to the Lord and to his goodness in the last days. And that’s exactly what Daniel practiced. So I gave attention to the Lord God. Give him attention. I gave attention to the Lord God to seek him by prayer and supplications with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. Perhaps we need to seek him in a little more serious way than we have before.

Conclusion

Two thoughts and we’re done. Isaiah 55, verses 6 and 7. Don’t presume that this open invitation is yours indefinitely. In fact, I can’t can’t, I can’t guarantee you anything beyond right here and right now. Seek the Lord while he may be found. Call upon him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way. Return to the Lord, and he will have compassion, and he will abundantly part. One more thing.

Totally forgot about it till yesterday. And I said, this would have been a disaster without this verse. Gotta have. Any verse in Hebrews pop into your mind. How about Hebrews 11? Verse 6. And without faith, it is impossible to please him. For the one who comes to God must believe that he is. Well, there you go. And that he is a rewarder of those who seek him. Seeking begins. And seeking continues by an attention given to carrying out his ordinances. Come to him on his terms. Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus for the remission of your sins. Rise to walk in newness of life. A life of seeking the one who can do for you what no other person can. If you need to respond, come now as we stand and see.