Title: God Seeking Man
Scripture Reading: 1 Samuel 13:14, 1 Samuel 16:7; Ezekiel 22:30-31; Isaiah 63:5
But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the Lord hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the Lord hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the Lord commanded thee.
But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.
And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.
31 Therefore have I poured out mine indignation upon them; I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath: their own way have I recompensed upon their heads, saith the Lord God.
And I looked, and there was none to help; and I wondered that there was none to uphold: therefore mine own arm brought salvation unto me; and my fury, it upheld me.
In these few portions of scriptures, the word, ‘sought’ or ‘looketh’ is used several times. Since the beginning of creation, from the time of Adam and Eve, down through the Old Testament history, even the period of the New Testament, culminating in our era, before the return of Jesus Christ, God is always seeking.
- What is God seeking?
God is looking for a man.
1 Sam 13:14 says, ‘The Lord hath sought him a man after his own heart and found that man to be David.’ I personally believe that in our era, God is searching again.
God told Samuel not to judge by a man’s face or height, for this was not the way God made a decision.
A man’s face shows beauty or handsomeness.
A man’s height represent stature, position, place in society.
God look at a man’s thoughts and intentions
God’s method has always been a man or a woman
I Samuel 16:7 is both a statement of fact and an exhortation to godly thinking.
- First, it is a statement of fact. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart
- It was also an exhortation to godly thinking.
I am not saying that if you are seeking God, life will be easy. Well, David’s life was not easy
God found that he could trust this man. And God finally exalted him. He was always regarded as the greatest King of Israel. God more often than not was called the Son of David. Jesus himself said, ‘I am the root and offspring of David.’
The Christian walk is not a sprint race. Rather it is a marathon. Jesus said, ‘If any man having put his hand on the plough and turn back is not fit for the Kingdom of God.’
- What was God seeking for?
God was looking for a man after his own heart.
A man after God’s heart honors the LORD. He is more concerned with God’s will than his own will.
A man after God’s heart enthrones God as King.
A man after God’s heart has a soft, repentant heart.
A man after God’s heart loves other people
- Why is looking for such a man
Eze 22:30 says, ‘And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.’
The reason God looks at the heart is because He needs this man to stand in the gap. There are people in this world that are groaning beneath their burdens, who are in deep trouble because of the slavery to sin and weeping bitterly. God is looking down from heaven and He knows the time has come for their rescue and he has heard their cry.
Today God is crying God, ‘Who will I send’? Who is willing? Will you say like Isaiah, ‘Here I am, send me.?
When Sodom and Gomorrah were sinning, God impressed upon Abraham to plead for Lot and delivered his family out of the judgment of God. God had to put Jonah for three days and three nights in the big fish to convince him to plead for Nineveh to repent before the judgment of God fell. God had raised Moses to deliver his people out of slavery of Egypt.
To stand in the gap is to intercede in prayer in behalf of someone. The good news is that YHWH seeks intercessors! He wants to be convinced to withhold judgment. He wants to forgive but no one stood in the gap and as a result people did not repent.
Brothers and Sisters, the world is in a desperate condition. Let’s just concentrate on Iloilo City where God has placed us. Their defense is broken down. And God is ready to rush in through the breach with devastating vengeance. But he is loath (he hates) to do so, and though his is the threatening power, yet in a wonderful clemency God looks for someone to fill the gap and so to save a city. Unhappily no such man is to be found. The sinners in Iloilo City have set themselves against God with a brazen face (iron face) and makes the stoutest fence of worldly precautions wherewith to protect themselves. Trouble has come, misfortune has fallen on the self-complacent sinner. Or it may be that he has suffered from severe sickness that has weakened the energies of his body. Possibly his mental faculties have begun to fail. He receives unpleasant warning of his mortality. There is a breach in his hedge (wall). And no man is found. God looked to see if there was any to save, and wondered that there was no man. Then his own arm brought salvation. Finally, there came a man. Christ came as a man. A man was wanted. God coming in wrath against mankind must be met by a representative man. Jesus was that representative man. Christ came into the world. He stood in the breach and met the fury of the storm. He was made sin for us. And faced the curse of the cross. Christ came in the might of God. And today he has made possible for us all to be that same representative man. When he conquered death and sin, He has empowered us to be able to be that man and woman. And he has empowered us to likewise be equally like him. And he has sent us to be the breach; to stand in the gap and save souls from the pit of hell. All power is given unto us on heaven and earth because of Jesus. We as a church as to stand in the gap. We have more power than we actually think we have. We have more authority than we actually think we have. Satan is more frightened of us than we actually believe. Because of Jesus Christ, all have become possible for us to stand in the gap.
You want a true estimation of what the 21st century man has become. It is going to be very difficult to be a Christian. For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be proud and boastful, seething at God, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful to them and thoroughly bad. They will be hardheaded and never give in to others. They will be constant lairs and troublemakers and will think nothing of immorality. They will be rough and cruel and sneer at those who try to be good. They will betray their friends, they will be hot headed, puffed up with pride and prefer good times to worshipping God. They will go to church; yet, but they won’t really believe anything they hear. Don’t be taken up by people like that. They have dirty minds, warped and twisted and have turned against the Christian faith. Someday their deceit will be down by all. So how to handle these children of the last days. When Jesus died on the cross, all powerful, miracles, signs and wonders, strength, supernatural ability has been given us to stand in the gap for this hour. When sins abound, God has given us more grace, more power and heavenly gifts to break through and save souls. If only we believe and let God work through us.
- Why is God seeking man?
Revelation 22:12-17 says, ‘See, I am coming soon and my reward is with me, to repay everyone according to the deeds he has done. I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning, and the end, the first and the last. Blessed forever are those who are washing their robes, to have the right to enter in through the gates of the city and to eat the fruit from the tree of life. Outside the city are those who have strayed away from God, and the sorcerers and the immoral and murders and idolaters and all who love to lie and do so. I Jesus have sent my angel to you, to tell the churches all these things. I am both David’s root and his descendant. I am the bright morning star. And the Spirit and the bride says, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come, And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will let him take the water of life freely.
Why is God seeking man? Because of the second coming of Jesus and there is a coming judgment.
I want to touch on verse 15. It says, outside the city are those who have strayed away from God. Another translation put those who have strayed away from God as dogs. It means that there is a group of people that were once children of God but strayed away and became dogs.
