SEEKING GOD IN SPIRITUAL AWAKENING

2 CHRONICLES 7:14

      In 2 Chr. 7:14 God spoke the seven words of spiritual awakening: 1) humble, 2) pray, 3) seek, 4) turn, 5) hear, 6) forgive, and 7) heal. The words are in logical order.

•          You do not humble yourself until God disciplines.

•          You do not pray until you humble yourself.

•          You do not seek His face until you pray.

•          You do not turn from your wicked ways until you seek His face.

•          God does not hear until you turn.

•          God does not forgive until He hears.

•          God does not heal until He forgives.

      Seeking His face is different from prayer. Prayer is asking. Seeking His face is adoring. Seeking His face is entering the presence of the Lord (2 Chr. 7:3).

      Spiritual awakening comes from the presence of the Lord (Acts 3:20). R. B. Jones wrote concerning the Welsh revival in 1904, “If one were asked to describe in a word the outstanding feature of those days, one would unhesitatingly reply that it was the universal, inescapable sense of the presence of God. Revival is the exact answer to such a sigh as that of Isaiah 61:1, ‘Oh that Thou wouldest rend the heavens, that Thou wouldest come down that the mountains might flow down at Thy presence.’ In 1904 the Lord had literally rent the heavens, and had scattered the satanic foes entrenched therein. The Lord had come down! The mountains were gloriously melted down in His presence. A sense of the Lord’s presence was everywhere. It pervaded, nay, it created the spiritual atmosphere. It mattered not where one went the consciousness of the reality and nearness of God followed. Felt, of course, in the Revival gatherings, it was by no means confined to them; it was also felt in the homes, on the streets, in the mines and factories, in the schools, yea, and even in the theaters and drinking saloons.”

      Spiritual awakening will not come until there is a turning from wicked ways. God’s people will never be convicted and turn until they enter His presence by seeking His face. It takes seeking His face to see our sin (Ex. 33:20; 2 Sam. 21:1).

•          Humility can be false.

•          Prayer can be selfish.

•          Seeking God’s face strips man of pretension and melts the mountain of pride.

      The fallen nature flees from His presence (Gen. 3:8; Lk. 5:8). If we are not seeking His face, then we are avoiding His presence (Ex. 34:29-35; Is. 31:1). His face is hidden when we sin (Ps. 30:7, 34:16, 51:9, 143:7; Is. 54:8, 59:2, 64:7; Ezek. 39:23-24-29; Hos. 5:6-15).

      When have you been in the presence of God last? Many have lost Him at church (Amos 5:4-6; Lk. 2:45-49). What do you want when you come to church. . . a good offering, good singing, a good teacher, a good time? Seeking His face is when you do not want anything but Him. Spiritual awakening is just wanting Him.

      It is not seeking His hand but His face. It is not wanting His help but His heart (Ps. 27:4-8-9, 63:1; Prov. 8:17; S.S. 3:1-2; Col. 3:1). You want the hearing of His ears (2 Chr. 6:40; Neh. 1:6). You want the favor of His eyes (2 Chr. 6:20, 7:15; 1 Kg. 15:11; 2 Chr. 16:9; Ps. 34:15).

•          Penetrating eyes (Rev. 1:14)

•          Convicting eyes (Lk. 22:61)

•          Sorrowful eyes (Mk. 10:21)

•          Wet eyes (Lk. 19:41)

•          Approving eyes (Acts 7:55)

•          Guiding eyes (Ps. 32:8)

      Revival comes when God’s people seek His face (2 Chr. 15:2-4-12-13, 20:3-4, 31:21, 34:3; Ezra 7:10, 8:21; Hos. 10:12). Until then, you will not seek the lost (Ezek. 34:4-16; Mt. 18:12; Lk. 15:8, 19:10).

  I. Seeking His face is to seek Him alone (Mt. 13:45).

      Seek Him first and nothing else (Deut. 4:29; Ps. 119:2; Jer. 29:13; Mt. 6:33). Seek His pleasure (1 Chr. 16:11 [Ps. 105:4]; Ps. 40:16; Heb. 11:6). Seeking is “one’s inner active search and hunger for the truth, presence, and power of the living God . . . . All other cravings are treasonous.” In his early years A. B. Simpson sought experiences until he discovered, “Once it was the blessing, now it is the Lord.” Bernard of Clairvaux (b. 1090), a deep mystic, wrote of his love for Christ, “Jesus, the very thought of thee with sweetness fills my breast.”

Once earthly joy I craved, sought peace and rest;

Now Thee alone I seek, give what is best;

This all my prayer shall be; more love O Christ, to Thee,

More love to Thee! More love to Thee!

 II. Seeking His face is to seek Him, alone (Ex. 33:7; Dan. 9:3).

      Charles H. Spurgeon wrote of Jerome, “He laid aside all pressing engagements and went to fulfill the call God gave him. . . to translate the Holy Scriptures. His congregations were larger than many preachers of today but he said to his people, ‘Now it is necessary that the Scriptures be translated; you must find you another minister: I am bound for the wilderness and shall not return until my task is finished.’ Away he went and labored and prayed until he produced the Latin Vulgate which will last as long as the world stands. So we must say to our friends, ‘I must away and have time for prayer and solitude.’ And though we did not write Latin Vulgates yet our work will be immortal: Glory to God.”

      If you seek God with all your heart, you will find Him (1 Chr. 28:9; Is. 55:6). You will find Him seeking you (1 Sam. 13:14; Ezek. 22:30; Jn. 4:23).

Job 42:5 [CEV]. I heard about you from others; now I have seen you with my own eyes.