We eagerly seek things we desire.
We humans have this extraordinary capacity to seek after the things we desire. Think about what happens whenever you get hungry. Your stomach begins growling. Your energy level begins dropping. Your hands start to tremble. You start feeling nauseous and light-headed. The end of the world is at hand!
Soon your stomach convinces your mind that nothing in the universe is more important than seeking your teeth into that next hotdog or hamburger. And so your mind kicks in high gear. "What time is it? How much longer until lunch? What do I feel like eating? How much money do I have? Is there any food in this building? Is there any food in my co-worker’s desk? How long has this stuff been sitting in the breakroom refrigerator? If I scrape the mold off that bread and cheese and eat what’s left, will I still get sick?"
Soon the mind and the stomach have the whole body in an uproar. The hunt begins. If you’re in your car, you press down on the accelerator. If you’re walking down the street, you pick up your pace. Your eyes begin trolling high and low, far and wide. You read every sign. You scan every billboard for restaurant locations. You study every building. You drive down streets you’ve never driven down before looking for something to eat. You consider eating in places that would probably never pass a health inspection.
Now Lara, my wife, is especially gifted at seeking things. You should see her in action. About a month ago I casually told her, "I’ve loved the Chicago Bears my whole life. Someday I would really like to go and watch a Bears game at Soldier Field." After saying that, I didn’t think much more about it. But then there was Lara with her new life mission. She was focused, determined, and consumed with finding Bears tickets. But she didn’t just find any old tickets. She found first row tickets. And she didn’t just find first row tickets, she found first row tickets on thethirty-eight yard line! Hey, I didn’t care. You could put me up in the nosebleed section.I just wanted to be there.
I was feeling pretty good. My wife loves me so much that she got those tickets. She spent all that time searching on the internet, making phone calls, typing e-mails, skimming message boards, and researching. It feels so good to be loved that much.
But then she said, "Jon, I just want you to know it is a Bears-Cardinals game, and we are going to be on the Cardinals' side of the field." In the back of my mind I was thinking, "That’s okay. No big deal. It was still a good effort. Maybe she couldn’t find any tickets on the Bears' side of the field. Everything is cool. No harm!"
And then she said, "Jon, you know plays for the Arizona Cardinals, don’t you?" I was like, "The Cardinals? Isn’t that some God-forsaken baseball team?" (Note to reader. At this comment, half the congregation cheers and the other half boos!) But Lara said, "Kurt Warner plays for the Arizona Cardinals." Suddenly it hit me like the Fridge charging a quarterback. My wife doesn’t love me. That isn’t why she got those tickets. She got those tickets because she loves Kurt Warner! So there I sat on the first row all night, at thethirty-eight yard line onSoldier Field, at my first ever Bears' game, sitting next to Kurt Warner’s number-one fan. She did get his autograph, and both of us had a great time.
God has given us the capacity to seek so that we would seek him as our creator.
But we humans have this extraordinary capacity to seek after things we desire, whatever that thing is. It may be food, football tickets, a boyfriend or girlfriend, car, house, or job. A problem is that we forget that God has given us this capacity to seek. And we forget that God has given this capacity so that we would seek him as our creator.
Sometime, just sit down and make a list of everything you're seeking in life. Is God at the top of your list? Is he second or third? Is he in the top ten? Is he on the first page? If you were seeking God first, what would change about your life? And what would stay the same?
The lost.
As I studied the words of Zephaniah the prophet, I came across this haunting statement which describes the people of Judah during Zephaniah’s day. Zephaniah 1:6 (NIV) describes, "those who turn back from following the Lord and neither seek the Lord nor inquire of him."What an incredible tragedy that our entire heart, mind, body and soul are consumed with seeking anything less than the living God, the creator of heaven and earth. Yet that is exactly what happens, even among Christians.
In the book of Zephaniah it happened among God’s chosen people, Judah. It happened within God’s holy city, Jerusalem. It happened even among the priests in God’s temple! In Zephaniah 1:4-5 we find the priests bowing down and worshiping false gods. But then, those very same priests would show up at God’s temple and bow down and swear by the name of the Lord God Almighty! Instead of seeking God alone, their hearts were divided among lesser gods, like Baal and Molech.
Our God is a jealous God. He doesn’t want a divided heart. He wants us to seek him with all of our heart, all of our mind, all of our body, and all of our soul. He wants us to bow down, worship, and serve him alone. He does not want us to serve all the lesser god-replacements we set up for ourselves. Nowadays we don’t worship gods like Baal and Molech. So what do we worship?
We tend to seek and worship created things.
In Romans 1:25the Bible describes how people worship and serve created things rather than the creator who is forever praised. Romans 1:25 (NIV) says, "They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator- who is forever praised. Amen." For us, an idol is any lesser thing we allow to take the place of God. Idolatry is the act of worshiping and serving anything less than our creator, who is forever praised.
In our day, work trumps God. School trumps God. Activity of any sort trumps God. Family. Television. Pleasure. Relationships. The internet. Shopping. I-pod. Games. Sports. In our day, God is so much less interesting than created things. God is so much less interesting than the hundreds of things consuming every ounce of your energy, every minute of your schedule, and every moment of your thoughts.
When we stop seeking God, we turn to things of lesser value.
Being lost means loving created things more than our creator. Being lost means seeking the things of this world instead of seeking God. Being lost means turning back from following the Lord because of all the other gods competing for our affection and dividing our hearts. The moment we stop seeking God, we begin turning to things of lesser value.
Listen to what God says through the prophet Zephaniah in Zephaniah 1:7 (NIV). "Be silent before the Sovereign Lord, for the day of the Lord is near. The Lord has prepared a sacrifice; he has consecrated those he has invited." What great advice! Be silent before the Lord. The Lord has a prepared a sacrifice. He is setting us apart from the world. Through Christ, he is inviting us into a relationship with himself. He wants us to seek him with all our heart, mind, body, and soul.
The complacent.
Every single one of us needs to establish the priority of seeking God in our lives. As I studied, I came to Zephaniah 1:12 (NIV) where the Lord says, "At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps and punish those who are complacent, who are like wine left on its dregs, who think, 'The Lord will do nothing, either good or bad.' " What intrigues me about this verse is how God begins probing a little bit deeper. It wasn’t just that the people of Judah, the people of Jerusalem, or even the priests had stopped seeking God. The deeper problem was that they had grown complacent.
Complacency is another word for being satisfied, comfortable, and content. I can think of no greater enemy to seeking God than complacency. In Zephaniah’s day the people were experiencing a crisis of complacency. God describes them as wine left on its dregs. Dregs are the remains, the residue, the sediment, and scum that is left at the bottom of a cup when the wine is gone. The people of Judah were content. The way they saw it, their cups were full. They were full of God and full of knowledge. They were indifferent. They had lost all sense of expectation. "God’s not going to do anything either good or bad.(YAWN)" In reality, they were like wine left on its dregs.
Does your life show signs of complacency?
I want you to consider what signs of complacency that might exist in your life. Over the past year I have been watching our worship attendance grow. By the end of this year we could, and should, be averaging over three hundred people in worship. We should all work together to invite our friends and accomplish something our congregation has never accomplished in its forty-year history. Wouldn’t that be exciting?
But back to the point. Even though our worship attendance has grown, participation in our adult Bible school has been on a steady decline for decades. You should ask, "Is a thirty minute sermon enough to satisfy my spiritual appetite for whole week?" Do you recognize the importance of studying God’s word in a structured manner so that over a period of two to three years you become acquainted with the whole counsel of God?
Our Life Groups provide an additional opportunity for you to seek the Lord and inquire of him. In our Life Groups, people learn together, pray together, encourage one another, and cultivate critical habits like Bible study, daily devotions, and prayer. A congregation our size should easily have twenty to thirty of these groups, but we don’t even have a half-dozen. Church experts say we should besatisfied if just a tiny fraction of people get involved. Let’s not fool ourselves. One hour with God on Sunday morning isn’t enough.
We offer a number of classes here at Lakeside. The classes last about four to six weeks and are offered at convenient times. But so few people actually show up to learn and grow! And so we have to ask ourselves these questions. Am I comfortable? Am I satisfied? Content? Full? Do I hunger and thirst for the living God? Do I pursue God with all my heart, mind, body, and soul? Do I wake up with God, spend the day with God, and fall asleep thinking about God? Do I crave God’s word? Do I inquire of him? Am I taking advantage of every opportunity to deepen my walk with him? Or am I just coasting along, surviving on the dregs, having no need to seek God further? Have I stopped believing that God is ready to work in and through my life in mighty ways?
Consider what God says to the people of Judah in Zephaniah 2:3 (NIV). "Seek the LORD, all you humble of the land, you who do what he commands. Seek righteousness, seek humility; perhaps you will be sheltered on the day of the LORD’s anger." There is no room for complacency among God’s people. Humility is denouncing self-sufficiency and seeking God.
The rebellious.
After reading about Judah’s spiritual complacency, I noticed that Zephaniah speaks to the ungodly nations surrounding Judah including Phillistia, Moab, Ammon, Cush, and Assyria. These nations represent outright rebellion against God. Rebellion where not only does a person stop seeking God, but he actually hardens himself against God. In Zephaniah God points out what the future holds for those who do not seek God.
Zephaniah 2:4 (NIV) says, "Gaza will be abandoned and Ashkelon left in ruins. At midday Ashdod will be emptied and Ekron uprooted." Zephaniah 2:5 (NIV) says, "Woe to you who live by the sea, O Kerethite people; the word of the Lord is against you, O Canaan, land of the Philistines. I will destroy you, and none will be left." Zephaniah 2:10-11 (NIV) says, "This is what they will get in return for their pride, for insulting and mocking the people of the LORD Almighty. The Lord will be awesome to them when he destroys all the gods of the land. The nations on every shore will worship him, everyone on its own land."
The rebellious will be humbled by the arrival of God.
Awesome means overwhelming, grand, awe-inspiring, astounding, and humbling. On the day of the Lord those who seek lesser gods, those who have grown complacent, those who actively set themselves against God, will be humbled by the awesome and overwhelming arrival of God. In Zephaniah 3:8 (NIV) God speaks directly to those who harden their hearts. "Therefore wait for me, declares the Lord, for the day I will stand up to testify. I have decided to assemble the nations, to gather the kingdoms and to pour out my wrath on them— all my fierce anger. The whole world will be consumed by the fire of my jealous anger." God’s word to the rebellious is, "Just wait. Your day is coming." Nothing is gained by seeking lesser gods, being satisfied and complacent, or rebelling against God! But we don’t have to wait until the day of the Lord to discover this!
The redeemed.
In Zephaniah 3:9-20 (NIV) God lays out his promises for those who seek him. "Then will I purify the lips of the peoples, that all of them may call on the name of the LORD and serve him shoulder to shoulder. From beyond the rivers of Cush my worshipers, my scattered people, will bring me offerings. On that day you will not be put to shame for all the wrongs you have done to me, because I will remove from this city those who rejoice in their pride. Never again will you be haughty on my holy hill. But I will leave within you the meek and humble, who trust in the name of the LORD. The remnant of Israel will do no wrong; they will speak no lies, nor will deceit be found in their mouths. They will eat and lie down and no one will make them afraid. Sing, O Daughter of Zion; shout aloud, O Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O Daughter of Jerusalem! The LORD has taken away your punishment, he has turned back your enemy. The LORD, the King of Israel, is with you; never again will you fear any harm. On that day they will say to Jerusalem, 'Do not fear, O Zion; do not let your hands hang limp. The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.' 'The sorrows for the appointed feasts I will remove from you; they are a burden and a reproach to you. At that time I will deal with all who oppressed you; I will rescue the lame and gather those who have been scattered. I will give them praise and honor in every land where they were put to shame. At that time I will gather you; at that time I will bring you home. I will give you honor and praise among all the peoples of the earth when I restore your fortunes before your very eyes,' says the LORD."
Seek God's kingdom and righteousness first.
A pretty cool thing happened at the Chicago Bears game. As Lara leaned over the rail to get Kurt Warner's autograph,then thanked him for his willingness to tell people about his faith in Christ, he wrote, "God Bless. Matthew 6:33." In that passage Jesus talks about how pagans run after all kinds of different things. Food, drink, clothing, and all the worries of this life. We’ve all done a lot of running and seeking after the wrong things. But in Matthew 6:33-34 (NIV) Jesus says, "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."
What are you seeking first in your life? Are you seeking God?