The Key to the Good Things In Life, Part 2

Welcome to the intent not at the time Stanley Thursday, December 30. People spend a lot of time and energy pursuing what's called the good life, what exactly do find that kind of living for a believer in Jesus. Here's part two of the keys to the good things in life. What is it involved heart that caused me to want to seek the Lord early in life. I think oftentimes we who parents forget how very important a little something here and there and how it influences our children by grandfather is the one who said something to be that most influenced my desire to seek the Lord God of heaven. Do what it meant. Nobody told me to do and that was leaving the terminology he used but I understand as I look back to realize he's the one whom God used the even give me the idea that I could seek the Lord and that God and I could build an intimate relationship early in life, which I would be grateful all the days of my life. You see, most people to satisfy with a very surface, relationship with Christ. As long as this saved and they go to church and got answers a few prayers and gives them what they need, but I'm telling you that's not even the beginning of the believer, but rather to learn to seek him now if to seek the Lord is to desire a deeper relationship with him, yearning to know him as he really is and all of his fullness and will never know all that we get to heaven, but that is not satisfy what we know.

How does that begin as well. My my list of things that all simple that we all know, but I will say this in the beginning it is to do these with a purpose, and the purpose is to seek the Lord to know him to build this intimate, loving, wonderful relationship with him, not just to get something from them though. Learning to seek him and seeking him, I am going to get because he says they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing but it's doing it with a purpose. For example, it's one thing for me to pick up my Bible and read something in the mornings is something else for me to pick it up and say Lord I want you to show me something about yourself. God I want you to speak to me I will understand who you are. It's one thing to read two chapters a day for chapters a day to do a daily Bible reading, but it's something else for me to get on my knees or sit in the chair and asked the Holy Spirit speak to my heart. Show me the truth about yourself. Listen, you've heard me say before his one prayer. God always answers show me the truth. So in the word of God. What I have is a written description of the attributes and of the ways that God operates. So, if you will learn to seek God then open the book with the purpose of discovering who is this God, who is this Christ, who is this Holy Spirit living on the inside of me and living through me. The life of Jesus Christ. It is doing it with a purpose. A purpose that is motivated by a yearning, thirsting, hungering desire to know him and to build an intimate fellowship and relationship with. If you're in love with somebody you want to build a relationship if you're in love with someone you want to get to know them in real genuine intimacy barriers come down. Ignorance comes down and real intimacy is getting to know someone else on a deeper level than something that is physical even a deeper level than something that is emotional. It is learning to know that person's spirit. Usually when people have an intimate relationship. The job that had to be talking all the time explaining this at Nevins oval intimacy with the Lord Jesus Christ is something we build, and you see, to seek him. My goal is to build that relationship. I won this with him that I'm going to do that. Some things I have to do the purpose and I give you some Scriptures and among the buds want to go through the first of also getting the word with a purpose.

Secondly, my prayer needs to have the purpose behind it.

Lord just open my heart and speak to me and show me yourself Lord, and something else will Chambers taught me a long time ago how he said it is reading my utmost for his highest.

The one thing I learned from him was this the most important thing in my life is not my service, not winning people to Jesus and preaching sermons and being a pastor. The most important thing in my life is building a relationship with Christ. You see, I believe it is a crying shame for a person to be 4050 60 years of age and know little of the word of God have a very surface kind of relationship with God when that relationship could have been being built all these years and this was that you don't come the church to hear sermon come to listen to God speak to you about you and what he most to do in your life. That's why you to come with an open Bible and a pencil and a notebook don't calm and simply listen to sermon right down something that God says to you about you and about what he's trying to do in your life. Which leads me to the very thing that's this coming to worship the Lord. When you come to church, the purpose don't count because it's Sunday morning. That's not the reason I come the church, but you only come with a hungry heart, you will walk away with some truth that will vitally impact your life if you will hear it believe it accepted and applied to your heart and you see, the purpose and the purposes God what you want to do in my life when he was say to me is if you go to seek the Lord check purpose to do it. Here's the right attitude in seeking the Lord because it isn't something that's going to have you not going to drift into seeking the Lord to limit give your group of scriptures must start with first Chronicles chapter 22.

Look there for a moment that you just come out along the first Chronicles 22 and look at this passage and he says it clearly here. Verse 19 now set your heart and your soul to seek the Lord your God. That is the decision you have to make Lord. I choose to begin to seek you above everything else. It is a decision you make. Set your heart to seek and then if you turn to Psalm 119 versus one into listen to this. How blessed are those whose way is blameless to walk in the law of the Lord. How blessed are those who observe his testimonies listen. How blessed are those who seek him with all their heart, look, you have to make a choice to seek the Lord, and this is in some halfhearted devotion while you not pray in the mornings and read the Bible. No my friend you talking about the devil working you over you set your heart to seek the Lord to know him to build an intimate relationship with him to obey him. The filing of the devil will work.

You'll not halfhearted devotion.

You know what that means put some other things aside, what really counts is a relationship with him, warm, intimate Junior relationship listen to me. I'll tell you one thing 25 years from now you'll thank God you will thank God that somebody said to you sent your heart to seek the Lord.

I would swap places anybody the world and I'm so full of ignorance. It's amazing but I know just in the to so excite me about him that I want you to be just as excited about learning. Who is this God you believe illicit you've trusted your whole eternal future in his hand.

Who is he, what is he like how does he operate, and how do you build an intimate relationship. Sometimes you never get on the parade not going to feel anything necessarily without warning and those gentle wonderful overwhelming indescribable way that will be those visitations of the Lord Jesus Christ in your life that you cannot explain adequately nor fully to anyone else. You just know that something is happening is what you'll discover as you begin to seek him. You know what you'll do. He will encourage her. It's like after while you began to sense within your own heart. Something very wonderful is going on. That's about as it will explain you can explain what's happening is like a fellow woman falling in love when you start falling in love something begins to happen to you on the inside of some of this is what's happening so well I don't know why seek something different on your account as well. You what really happens when you begin the fall in love with someone, something happens on the inside. You begin to feel different, and you begin to act a little different. You might talk a little different than Shirley.

There's something glowing when you begin to fall in love with Jesus Christ and he is indeed true, genuine priority in your life friend you going to feel that you're looking for a feeling you to start seeking the Lord and God will give you those moments of visitation to assure you and to encourage you keep going. Then if you turn to first Chronicles chapter 16, there couple their first Chronicles 16 he says in verse 10, the first Chronicles 16. Let the heart of those who seek the Lord be glad listen when you begin to seek the Lord and he becomes the priority you begin the major on developing that relationship. You know it's going to happen, there's going to be a new joy in your life. Listen everything about your circumstances. Maybe the same. Somehow there's this awesome sense of joy.

You cannot describe.

Here's the reason as your intimacy with Jesus Christ begins to grow a ministry just about what happens, you begin to see things the way he sees and it's amazing when you're in a bad situation that there's no way out and nothing ever changes, but something begins.

The change in the inside that's what people say I can send along getting out. You may get out but you may lose your greatest opportunity. Don't get out of anything. God's put you in hanging in there until God does his full work in your heart.

We will discover a whole sense of joy. Verse 11 seek the Lord and his strength seek his face continually. So how long do I seek until Jesus comes onto the comes and takes you there when you get to heaven. I know that we don't know everything that I believe that for all eternity. We're still going to be discovering who is this infinite God whom we serve and home leave law that has taken us home to heaven with to seek him continually and then Psalm 63. If you look at that one for mom and I just want to give you these for you to think about your own devotion. Psalm 63 verse one says all God, thou art my God, I still seek the earnestly that is with enthusiasm and anticipation. And in that whole Psalm. You just may want to put that hold Psalm down and if you notice as a result he says in verse one.

Also, my soul thirsts for the back lash yearns for the Lemaster question, what does your flesh yearn for all what does your heart first for what is it that you think would really satisfy what you get up in the morning thinking about and wanting in life. Listen when you can say Jesus Christ and that's a good evidence that you really seek in the Lord and look in the same passage verse five is a real content menu says I'm coming back to this my soul is satisfied is with marrow and fatness in my mouth almost praises with joyful lips. You see when you not begin to seek him something happens on the inside of now let me give you about maybe four or five others in what happens when a person begins to seek the Lord will first of all, he not only brings us into that relationship where as we said the good things in life are all those things, it fitted to his will, his purpose for life and when you not begin to seek him will not want pretty good thing because he's not provided you give us the desires of our heart and my friend. One of the keys to success in life is seeking the Lord, would you return to second Chronicles 31.

Listen to what he says in verse 20 and thus Hezekiah did throughout all Judah and he did what was good right and true, before the Lord his God, and every work which he began in the service of the house of God in law and commandments missing this seeking his God. He did with all his heart and prospered. That's really what God said to Joshua in the first chapter Josh return there for just a moment he just says it a little different way and you recall that when Joshua took over Moses responsibility what God said to he said in verse seven only be strong and very courageous. Be careful to do according to all the law which Moses my servant commanded you.

Do not turn from it to the right or to the left so that you may have success wherever you go.

This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do all the things that are written for. Then you make your way prosperous, and then you have success because what he was saying is, as you meditate upon the law you going to understand my ways and my will and you got we got to build such a relationship that you go to do the right thing and you go make the right decisions and you gonna prosper you going to be a success.

My friend the key to success in life is not seeking position and power and prestige, and money and well it is seeking the Lord. Now I want to give you a cup of the Scriptures here because here's a good example turn the Proverbs 28 verse five, Proverbs 28. Listen to this verse because you think this could possibly be true. But God doesn't say anything that's not Proverbs 25 we say when we begin to seek the Lord. He says when I got a want for anything any good thing it gives the desires of our heart.

He is going to prosper us to look at this verse, verse five of Proverbs 28 evil man did not understand justice, remember this, don't forget this an evil heart is a cloudy heart. Let's put it this way, an evil heart is a cloudy heart and impure heart an evil mind is a cloudy mine impure heart and a cloudy mind and that evil life, evil heart means also rebellious spirit soul is turn the rent.

One who is seeking the Lord.

When you begin to seek the Lord. Here's what happens. Your heart becomes pure.

Your mind becomes clear and your spirit become submissive to look at this verse five evil men do not understand justice, but those who seek the Lord understand all things does that mean if you seek the Lord. He was know everything though, but it means that a person who seeks the Lord knows always listen. A person is seeking the Lord knows always what is morally right and what is morally wrong. So what he saying is is is you not learn to seek the Lord when I got a want for anything any good thing he's going to give us the desires of our heart.

He's gonna prosper us he's going to give us understanding, we would not have any other way will be able to discern things other people not being to discern why look at this. Why, because as the years go by and you and I learned to walk in oneness and fellowship with him and we learn to think the way he thinks we learn his way and we begin to see how God operates, we begin to be able to interpret God's actions in other people's lives, as we see them obey him and get blasted disobey him and be chastened or punished.

We begin to see things the way God sees them in our understanding becomes very clear. The heart becomes pure than the mind becomes clear and the spirit becomes obedient and submissive to him. I'm not saying that do not come sometimes when their difficulties and situations in learning to know the Lord's will because sometimes we just don't want to do it. But think about all the things he says here the good things in life. He's going to provide when you seek him, he says you give us the desires of our heart. When we see Cimino Whiting say that because we are seeking help. We only want what he wants and survive on what God wants that I'm going to get what God gives what I'm going to have the desires of my heart.

He says that's the way to prosper. That's the way to success he gives is understanding and we saw in Psalm 63. He says he satisfies us. There is a sense of contentment in the heart of a person who is seeking the Lord not on any other way to say this except this I can tell you this is a pure simple testimony. The most exciting thing in my life the most fulfilling thing in my life. Though I like lots of things places is to get on my face before God and to talk to him and the fellowship with him on it until you there is anything in the whole world. They will do for the human heart.

What that will once you begin to build a relationship. Thank you for listening to part two and the key to the good things in life. If you'd like to know more about our family were in touch ministries intense.org. This podcast is a presentation of in touch ministries Atlanta, Georgia