Seek God
Key Passage: James 4:8
Date: June 7, 2024
James chapter number four in God’s word, James chapter number four in God’s word. And we’re just going to really focus on one verse for a bit this morning. I want to assure you I will not twist it used against the rest of the Bible.
But we are going to pull out of verse. Really a little bit of a phrase out of the Bible this morning and focus on it. James chapter number four and verse number eight, James four, verse number eight. By the way, for the internet, the title will be just simply, seek God, seek God. James chapter number four and verse number eight. If you’re there, would you say amen? Amen.
Now, I’m worried because, nowadays they’ve got these people that are reading their Bible on their phone, you know, or at least they say they are. I’m not sure. Kentucky’s not playing, so I think Brother Matt maybe really has the Bible open, you know. And then now we’ve got these people, Brother Patterson, who’s telling me this morning he’s got these new hearing aids and he adjusted with his phone. So he…
I said, Brother Patterson, we know better. You’re going to be ordering at lunch while you’re on the phone. You know, we know better than all these things. But man, they’re trying to confuse me nowadays with all these things. But James chapter number four, verse number eight, if you would please. Would you please stand as we read God’s word together just to show it respect? And we try to honor his word. It’s worthy of it. By the way, doesn’t it speak volumes to you sometimes these people have?
See any video years ago. I think with some folks in China, they got just boxes of Bibles and how they just wept and cried and kissed them and whatnot. It reminded me of that Friday night when those two Arabic guys got those Arabic New Testaments, they started kissing them. And sometimes we can just kind of be too casual with God’s word. Praise the Lord, we have his word. And he’s just awesome.
And what a wonderful book. So we try to show a little understanding when we read the text verse. James chapter 4, verse number 8 right there. And God says, “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners, and purify your hearts, ye double-minded.”
Would you say that little phrase, that first phrase, “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you,” out loud with me, please? Here we go: “Draw nigh to God and he will draw nigh to you.” One more time, please: “Draw nigh to God and he will draw nigh to you.” I hope that promise just resonates in your heart and your mind today. God promises it. Draw nigh to God and he will. He will draw nigh to you. Just for a bit, let’s focus on that promise right there.
Lord, we come. Father, I know this is the direction you want. It’s the verse, Lord, and I believe the phrase. We’re all the specifics I had to get there. Lord, you guide in it, please. Lord, would you give me the hearts and the minds’ attention of these dear people? And then, Lord, I pray you to take a simple preacher in your word. And, Father, big thing, your spirit, would you apply it to their hearts in a special way? And thank you for promising us this. Help us to live it out. Father, we ask for this in the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen. Thank you so much for standing. You may be seated.
My brother and sister-in-law had a, for years, they don’t have it anymore. They had a little Jack Russell Terrier. How many of you know anything about Jack Russell Terriers? Yeah. How many know they can be like fixated on things? I mean, this dog would get, he would get fixated on his ball. Had a little tennis ball, I think it was. And I’m telling you, every inch of his attention was focused on that ball. To the point, literally to the point, he just couldn’t get that ball out of his mind. They would have to take the ball, you know, and hit him over the head while they’re taking it, whatever, you know, and they’d have to hide it.
And it’d take him hours and hours to kind of even get, all right, you know, he wasn’t just fidgety. He just, he was all about that ball. Now, if you’re just, you know, kind of young and naive like I was, then dumb, maybe it’s the best word for it. I would go over there and that dog would have that ball there, and I’d pick it up and throw it. But that’s a mistake. If you’re there eight hours, you’re going to have eight hours of that dog hounding you to take that ball and throw that ball. Anybody ever have a Jack Russell Terrier, you ever have one in here?
A couple of you have. Do you agree with this thing or not? They’re like, yeah, yeah. I mean, they’re just, they’re just OCD, whatever you say about it. They’ll just get one thing, and they’re just after it. I mean, they just, they… Now, he did. The only thing that would divert his attention is a squirrel. That would get him. But he was a quick little dog. In fact, I was over there one day, and they had squirrels in the neighbor’s yard, they’d have to come over, you know. And that’s the only thing that would give that dog’s attention. He was quick, though. And I never remember, never forget, my niece just stripped, and he got a squirrel. Amen. No more squirrel. We had squirrel in eggs for breakfast the next morning. No, we didn’t do that.
Been there before, but that wasn’t that time. But literally, literally this dog, man, he is just—I mean, that ball is everything. It’s amazing to me. Wednesday or Wednesday nights we do these series often. We just finished a bit ago on the life of David. David had a lot of problems.
I mean, maybe to me, and I know you’re like, well, what about this thing here? There are a lot of things. You probably know a lot of them. But one thing, I really think David was a sorry father. I really do. Poor family man. He had an affair later on that’s supposed to know about, and then the husband of the wife that he had an affair with, he had him murdered or killed in combat. I mean, David had some flaws.
You understand, these aren’t little bitty things. I mean, these are some major flaws. Do you all agree with me out there? He got some issues. Some—this is interesting—but some say David had PTSD from combat and Saul and all these things. It’s interesting. David had problems.
And yet David, David is noted by the vast majority of the world as being the greatest king that Israel ever had. I mean, David was—I mean, God used David to pen a little over half of the Psalms.
David, he was greatly used by God. Jesus Christ comes from the lineage, the line of David. Jesus is going to sit one day in the millennium reign; he’s going to sit on the throne of David one day in Jerusalem. David, this man had all these flaws, but problems. He was so greatly noted by God and used by God.
In fact, the name David is mentioned more in the Bible than any other name. That’s pretty amazing. David. But the thing that scripture, in my opinion, just gives us an overview, maybe the prevalent thing about David. It says it twice that David was a man after God’s own heart.
It was kind of like he was a Jack Russell Terrier in seeking after or no longer being close to God. He was after God’s—that was the day that he was always trying to get close.
David is the one in Psalm 42. Everybody thinks he’s the one dependent for the most part, though it doesn’t say it directly. But he’s the one, and it talks about a heart. It’s kind of like a deer, as a deer or a heart panteth after the water brook. Deer—we’re going to just use the word deer there for that. Maybe a little bit different in the Middle East, the animal there, but just for deer. Here, deer, they run very fast. Used if I go out in the woods to walk every morning, every morning. I see deer, and my dog Dixie is with me, and Dixie will chase deer all day long. But the deer, they’re used to it. They kind of laugh because Dixie is not near as fast as those deer. She’s a golden retriever. She’s a lot faster than me. She’s got four legs. I mean, that’s cheating, you know. Deer fast, but they don’t have longevity. They can’t run very long.
And man, after dogs have been chasing, they’ve been running very hard, and they’ll get a water brook, and they’re just panting. And you know, if you see them early in the morning, if it’s cold, you can see that the mist coming off of them or maybe their breath, you know, and they’re just panting them. And they want so bad some water. They’ve been running. And David said, that describes me how I want God—like a deer that’s just panting. I’ve got to have a drink of God.
David is the one that God used to pen over in Psalm 63. He says, “Early will I seek thee. My soul thirsteth for thee. My flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land where no water is, to see thy power and thy glory.” So as I have seen in the sanctuary, David says, man, I want to—I’m so thirsty for you, God. Hey, maybe that’s why God could take such a flawed man and use him in such a great way.
We’re studying now. We just started last ministry on the life of Moses. And Moses, you know how many have seen Charleston? I mean, you’ve seen Moses, you know? See, what a great man Moses was. He’s the one that God used to deliver the children of Israel out of Egypt. And he went over there to the most powerful man in the world, put his finger and said, “Hey! Let God’s people go.” Now, he wasn’t quite as bold at the beginning, but he ended up being that bold. But Moses, and God used Moses to deliver the children out of Egypt. You remember the ten plagues? And then eventually the Red Sea, and he held his rod out, and while the Red Sea split, they walked over on dry ground, and then in the desert. And at one point Israel was in war. They were in a battle, and Moses, Moses, he would just raise his hands and Israel would win. Moses would lower his hands, Israel would lose. Man, wouldn’t that be nice to have power like that? Wow. Come on now, you know, especially at a football game. Come on now, you know. That’d be a good deal there, you know. But Moses, wow, what a man. God used him so greatly. Moses. We mentioned it when he said that, but God—it’s the only man that the Bible records that God said, “I’ll bury Moses myself.” God carried out Moses’s funeral. He buried him. What a great man Moses was. He fed millions—excuse me, he gave them a drink of water out of a rock. God used Moses to do that. There’s some of the things about—what a great man. He gave us the law through Moses, and the Ten Commandments. Said, Moses, what a greatly used by God man.
But can I be honest about Moses? We’ll study it only tonight, but Moses was a messed-up man. I mean, you talk about maybe—I don’t know, I don’t know—maybe shouldn’t use this word—but you talk about sometimes like a split personality. And you’ll understand a little bit as you study the life of Moses, but wow, Moses, he had problems. Moses, I mean, meek man, yeah, but a time, boom, he had a temper just flashed out. That’s a pretty major flaw in my book. How about y’all? You know, I mean, he’s a messed-up man, Moses. He didn’t want to do things God’s way. I mean, he just kind of, “All right, I’m supposed to do this, this way I’m going to do it.” And I said, “No, you ain’t, bud.” Moses had some problems.
But you know, just talking about Moses, you know, I think maybe the prevailing thing about Moses in my mind that the Bible tells us about Moses. The Bible says the Lord knew him. Some places talk to him, but he knew him face to face.
I compared it when you tonight. Oh, Ezekiel, Lord, I want to see you, I want to see in your glory. And Ezekiel had these visions of the wheels, you know, and the wheels inside of the wheel and the faces. Anybody know what I’m talking about? Anybody understand all that, every bit of that? Brother Tim, you need an exigent later on to me. Tim’s like, “No, no.” Man, that’s like pretty tough to understand all that. But when Moses talked to God, they just talked very openly, very frankly. “Hey, Moses, I’m so sick and tired, I’m about to kill them all.” “Lord, don’t do that. What about your name? Your reputation, everybody knows you’re the leader. You can’t do that.” “All right, Moses, I won’t do it.” I mean, they just talked face to face. I mean, Moses, he would go up in the mountain and spend forty days and nights in the mount with the Lord. Moses, not seeing me, but he knew the Lord face to face. Now here’s them.
Maybe that’s why God could use such a flawed man as Moses in such a great way because he knew the Lord. Here’s what I’m getting at. Our promise that we’re focusing on, “Draw nigh to God and he will draw nigh to you,” that is really the key to your life. You can say amen right there.
And these men were so flawed, and as I study people in the Bible and even great Christians that I love and I get close to some of them, I’m like, man, they’re so great, but I realize, men, they’re flawed.
But friend, the people that God has used the greatest have really focused on the relationship of the Lord. Drawing nigh to God and He will draw nigh to you. And so as people that sought after the Lord, they were focused on living for the Lord and knowing God and walking with God.
By the way, someone said, if you weren’t missing fingers, you wouldn’t know what to joke about or talk about. If I didn’t have missing fingers or dogs, I wouldn’t know what to preach on, folks. I’d tell you what we’d… But our little bit of Yorkie, you know, Belle, we call her, you know. Belle, we’ve had her thirteen, fourteen years. And Belle, sometimes she just gets so—it’s either Tammy or me, either one. You just never know who. But she has got to be close to you.
I mean, if you get up and you go to another room, she’s going to be right behind you. And then you go to another room, she goes. I mean, we’re at all day long. I mean, it’s to the point sometime I’m sitting down here and I’m like, “Belle, I’m going to go over there to the kitchen and come back. And I’m going to get that Reese’s peanut butter cup in the kitchen.” Somebody say, amen, right there. No, we’re not going to go there now, you know. I mean, I’m going to get that spinach pie over there. Amen. Come on now, you know.
But, you know, I said, “I’m going to come right back. You don’t have to leave.” But it doesn’t matter. Man, she follows me right in the kitchen and all the way back. You don’t matter how to get a dog like that? Now, people that are like that with God—those are the ones that God uses. You just, you’re always after God, you’re seeking for the Lord. Can I just ask you? Do you have a desire for God like that? Do you want to know God? Do you thirst? Do you want to be close to him? Do you—are you always—yes, you backslide like all of us—but I want to know God. I want to draw nigh to God.
God here promises: “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.” God that cannot lie. He cannot lie, the Bible says. He promised us that. He never forgets his promise, friend.
We had a little girl, she goes to a Christian school, and Thursday in chapel, we sing a lot of times, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.” You know all these things about it under you, you know, and the boys sing their part, the girls sing that part. And Thursday, I don’t know. You know, you ever just say something without thinking, you know? You don’t know about it. Brother Frank says, “No, I’ve never done that before. I’m going to ask Ms. Wanda about that. See what she says.”
When I had said Thursday, I said, “All right,” and we never say the reference where it’s found at, you know, we just sing the song, you know, and trying to learn a Bible verse that way. And Thursday, just, oh, you know, not thinking, I said, “All right, I’m going to give you a challenge. And if anybody learns where that’s found out in the Bible, I have something special for you next Thursday in chapel,” you know. And I said, “You can ask your mom or dad to help you with it, you know, if you can tell enough of the verse your mom and dad where they can find it, that’s fine, you know.”
Well, one of the girls who were at a Family Harvest Day, Saturday it was, and she came up to me and she said, “Pastor Paul, you remember the Bible Challenge?” I was like, “No, no, Bible Challenge?” Literally I said, “Has Ms. Chisgar given you all a Bible challenge to learn some Bible verses in school?” And she was like, “Oh, that dirty rat,” you know. And then it popped to my mind: Oh, chapel Thursday, you know. And I said, “Yes. Okay, I’m on board now,” you know. And praise the Lord, she knew Matthew 6:33. And so I put a note down: Man, better have something for her because she’s on it, you know. She knows what’s going on.
God’s never like that. God said, “You draw nigh to me, and I will draw nigh to you.” He never forgets. He never says, “Oh, man, what am I going to do now?” God doesn’t do that. And God gave us a promise in His Word. He’s always going to do it.
Now, let me ask you. Look right here for just a second. When’s the last time you went to God instead of God? I know I’m not doing a real good job, but you know, I’m trying to draw it out of you. And I’m trying. I’m failing. I know what I’ve got problems, but I’m trying to draw them out of you. And you said, “If I draw it out of you, you’ll draw out of me.” Lord, I’m counting on that. Friend, that will never disappoint. God longs for you to do that. That’s why he saved you so you can be with him and him with you for all eternity. He wants you to claim that promise.
And here’s the wonderful thing about this promise. There’s something else about it. Just this phrase here, this point: Did you notice there are no stipulations? He doesn’t say—he doesn’t say, “If you have a master’s degree, if you draw nigh to me, I’ll draw nigh to you.” He didn’t say that. I mean, half of us didn’t pass the third grade. Come on now, I do.
There’s no information. He doesn’t say, “Draw nigh to me and I’ll try to you.” If you have a hundred thousand or a million in the bank, he doesn’t say that. There’s no stipulation. He doesn’t say, “Draw nigh to me and I’ll draw nigh to you if you’ve got everything just right. You’ve got all your eyes dotted and your T’s crossed, you’ve got everything just right in your life.” All right, it doesn’t say that. There’s no stipulation. It’s an open promise.
He didn’t say, “Well, if you look so good or you’ve got this personality, everybody knows about you, you’re strong or you’re good looking at all.” It doesn’t say. He just puts an open statement out there. I mean, it’s God’s word: “Draw nigh to God and he will draw nigh to you.” No stipulations on it. And I’m grateful for that. He just says—by the way, we’ve already talked about, isn’t it amazing how God uses messed-up people?
Can I give you my thought on that? This is Pastor Paul-ology, all right. Y’all ready for this? Pastor Paul-ology, one on two, here it is right here. I think so often one of the reasons—yes, we know from verse Christians that way he gets the glory—but can I add a little thought to that? My thought to that? Because sometimes when you know you’re messed up and you admit you’re messed up, you’re just—something inside that wound creates this thing where you’re like, “I’ve got to have God.”
So-and-so might be able to make it, and praise the Lord if they can. I’m not against them. And they got this and they got that and they’re pretty talented, and they’re all this. And I need you so bad. I’m not going to make it without you, Lord. I’ve got to know you. I’ve got to draw nigh to you. Lord, I’m not going to make it without you. I think maybe that’s how David and Moses, they were after God’s own heart, and they knew him face to face. They were pretty messed up.
Friend, if you let the wounds in your life—you say, “Well, my parents were divorced, and I was abused,” and I’m not making a light of these things, whatever it may be in your life. I got this, and I’m not making a lie, but, friend, if you let that cause you to, man, you just have a drive: “I’ve got to get to know God.”
You know, God can bring those curses into blessings. God can turn that. Man and the devil meant it for evil, but God meant it for good, amen. Genesis 50. I mean, because I know I need God. Can I just say this? Every flaw in your life, every problem in your life, would you let it just chase you and drive you to get to know God? Every little bit of issue in your life, everything that has—whether it’s finances, whether it’s, you know, relationships, whether it’s emotional, whether it’s sickness—just let all those things say, “It’s just, I’ve got to have God.” And God promises: “You draw nigh to him, he will draw nigh to you.” It’s God’s promise.
Moses later on—I don’t think it was like when he was young, but I’m maybe getting ahead of my head on at the cell phone on Wednesday nights—but Moses later on in life, he couldn’t even talk right. Not always, not always, but usually many times that comes from some major trauma. Moses was a messed-up man. Yeah, boy, he knew God. The Bible over in Deuteronomy says it’s like no other prophet because God knew him face to face. I think all these problems just drew him where he was seeking after God.
What about Joseph? Just talk about these great Christians in the Bible. How many think Joseph was a great Christian in the Bible? I think he was a great Christian. Yeah, Joseph. I mean, he had eleven brothers and he survived through that. That’s a great Christian. Maybe, you know.
But he did. Now here’s the deal. Joseph, he did. He had eleven brothers. He was the twelfth, you know, or one younger than anybody was twelve, you know. But you know what? Ten of those brothers were from a different mother. You know that causes problems? Now, blended families can work by the grace of God, but man, you talk about creating problems. And they weren’t necessarily, you know, first mom passed. And by the way, they were having them. I mean, they were all together at one time. You know what I’m saying? And they weren’t Mormons either, Amy. Come on now.
I’m just saying that’s the family Joseph grew up in. And man, there were major issues and major problems. I think it created problems in Joseph. In fact, the Bible says his dad—remember his dad? Joseph was the favorite one. Remember that? The coat of many colors. You know what I do? And the Bible says his brothers hated him. That’s the Bible. King James Bible uses that word, hated him.
Wow, that’s not good family dynamics. I mean, the brothers hated him. Don’t you think that created problems? Yeah. I mean, eventually his brothers—some of them brothers, the majority of them brothers—sold him to these like servant or slave tracts. They sold him and then slave trafficking. They really did. They sold him and took him down to a foreign country and they sold him off over there.
But you know the Bible, that time, what was it, thirteen years? I think about it. Joseph was in prison and all these problems going on. The Bible says this statement—if I remember right, four times—the Bible says, “The Lord was with him.” I think Joseph let all that things just draw: “Man, he’s just, God, I’ve got to have him. My family is so messed up. My brothers, they hate me.”
Remember his sons? When I asked me for him? The first one, what did it mean? Forgetting. I’m trying to forget all that that happened.
Friend of me is saying, these things cause problems. And yet if you let all these problems drive you to God, “Lord, I’m after you, I’ve got to have you, I need you, I want you, I want you, I want to be close to you”—it’s so great it can turn into a good thing. I think so many wounded, messed-up people are used by God because they let this thing drive them to God.
And the wonderful thing, God says, “You draw nigh to me? I will draw nigh to you.”
Now, let me just give you a little problem here with all—what happens? Satan, he sees, he knows the promise. By the way, Satan knows the Bible very well. I mean, do you know when Satan was tempting Jesus, he used the Bible? Satan used the Bible. He’s pretty good at it, friend. He’d been around for a minute there, you know?
But anyway, so, now where was that? Oh, okay. I almost often. So Satan knows that promise: “You draw nigh to God, he’ll draw nigh to you.” And he knows sometimes spiritually wise, mature Christians of these problems—not always spiritually wise, but somebody that’s wise enough, we’ll say it that way—when they have wounds and problems, it’s, “Man, I’ve got to get to know God.” And Satan sees all these things happening. So you know what Satan does? He offers counterfeits. Satan always—that’s always one of his things—he offers counterfeits. So you get a messed-up, wounded person. By the way, all of us are somewhat like that. And hopefully that’s creating a desire: “I got to know God. I’ve got to draw nigh to you.” And Satan says, “Well, let me tell you what, I have some other things that can kind of soothe that problem in your life.” And so we don’t draw after God like we ought to.
Can I tell you probably the greatest one? Y’all ready for it out there? Greatest counterfeit God—Satan offers instead of God. Y’all out there? Help me out. You’ll know it. You’ll know it. You’ll know it. For the love of what? Is the root of all evil. Now notice, not money, but the love. Who are supposed to love the most in the supremacy? Who is supposed to love most? I guarantee, your friend, because it’s the root of all evil, so many, so many, especially in our society of abundance, has… has kind of counterfeited this chasing after God, seeking after God for chasing, seeking after money. That’s why the Bible says twice, “You cannot serve God and Mammon.” It’s as clear as day. And yet Satan says, “Let me give you something. You got to chase after something. You’ve got problems and it’s just creating all this. Let me give you something to chase after.”
Friend, money is a counterfeit. It won’t give you what you think you need. God’s the only one that can really heal and fill the void and give you what you need. God is. That’s why Satan, he’s walking about seeking whom he may devour, and he’s trying to find anything that will draw you away from seeking after God.
Now this is going to be rough on all of us, on me for sure. It could even at times be food. Brother Anthony says, “Man, he’s going to come to the altar. Man, he’s having a tough time with that there.” But it could be. It could be. It could be the bottle. So many times he’ll offer us these other things that kind of soothe us. And a lot of times they lead to addictions: drugs, pornography.
Can I say something here? This is going to be a rough one. This may be a whole lot worse than food, but sometimes when you just—you know you need something instead of seeking after God—if we’re not careful, Satan will offer us this thing: it’s called screen time. Whether it be the TV and movies or whatever, or social networking or just scrolling for hours and days. And I’m not saying it’s wrong to always do these things, but if I’m not careful, these things can take the place of when I just really need to draw nigh to God. But I’m so caught up on—don’t talk about—there’s a man that plays pickleball with us sometimes, and his wrist was—you say, “What in the world is pickleball?” You go out on this arena and you eat pickles, amen. That’s what it is. If you don’t know what it is, look it up on the internet, amen. Syria or whatever, you know, it’s a crazy game. Anyway, and a guy, his wrist was messed up literally, and I was like, “Alan, what happened to your wrist?” He said, “Honestly, I think I just did this for hours and hours too long.” He messed my wrist up.
I’m just saying that’s the society we’re in. And I’m not saying it’s wrong. I like some good funny videos. Anybody out there like those? I mean, Sarah’s good at finding this. And I’m like, “If you find a real good funny one, man, save it for me.” And, you know, I want to see it. I like those, you know. But if I’m not careful, all these things—I probably didn’t mention the thing—but Satan is always trying to offer us counterfeits instead of us drawing nigh to God. And he wants to divert us because he knows: “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.”
Can you note something here? We’ve got to hurry along here. Wow, times are going quickly here. I want you to note something here. Look back at that verse, if you would, please. Would you look back at the verse? James 4, verse number 8. James 4, verse number 8. I want you just notice the arrangement, the order of the verse. Okay? Would you note the order of the verse, please? James 4, verse number 8. He says, “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you; cleanse your hands, ye sinners, and purify your hearts, ye double-minded.”
Now here’s what I want you to know. Notice the order. This is what we think. Sometimes we think, “All right, cleanse yourself, then you’re drawn nigh to God.” That’s not what he says. The order is: I draw nigh to God, he draws nigh to me. Then I have the capability of cleansing my hands. By the way, typically if I just start off cleansing my hands, it is so superficial. So things, surface, doesn’t get very deep at all. It’s just so list-oriented. I’m not against lists. I mean, there’s a lot of thou shalt’s in the Bible, but I’m just saying it gets so—so don’t do this, this, this, you’re all right. No, when you draw nigh to God, and he draws nigh to you, he points out flaws and things deep down in your heart you never knew were there. And he begins to change things. By the way, notice the order: notice, you draw nigh to him, draw nigh, he draws nigh to you, you cleanse your hands—that’s interesting, the outside—and then it starts getting in your heart. And I say this, and it’s true: Well, he changes your inside and then the outside. Well, sometimes it doesn’t always work like that. Sometimes he says your hands—that’s the outside—then you’re inside. But it all starts with drawing nigh to him. That’s where you get—that’s where you get—“Well, when I get everything right, I need to get straightened out, and then I’m going to get back in church.” You’re not going to get straightened out. Get back in church, and then draw nigh to God. Then he gives you the strength to cleanse your hands and purify your hearts.
You know, there’s been people in jail, and I understand. I’ve dealt with them. You’ve dealt with them. Well, they’re in jail. Of course they’re going to get right. What happens when they get out? But they’re in jail, and they’re messed-up people, but they just have a hunger in the heart and drawing nigh to God. That’s not a bad thing. Don’t kick them in the head. They’re trying. Yes, I understand when they get out, that’s such a crucial time. But just—I’m talking about messed-up people. They just start drawing.
They may still be doing drugs and looking at wicked things. They may still be drinking. I’m not for any of those things, but friend, if something inside their heart starts drawing nigh to God, we’re on the right track. And don’t kick them when they’re down. “Well, if you’re really getting close to God, you don’t be doing all that.” Friend, you let them draw nigh to God and God draw nigh to them. Then the next step happens. That’s God’s order. It’s so important, just draw nigh to God. He will draw nigh to you. By the way, when he offers you counterfeits, say no.
You know, here’s the counterfeit the devil will offer sometimes instead of—you know, we’re just—something’s going on, and man, it’s just, “God, if you’d go the right way, I need God, I’ve got to have you.” You know, something’s—the counterfeit the Satan will offer you: pity party. Go on the corner, suck my thumb, my nub, you know, and we don’t seek God. Or we’re trying to incite everybody’s pity on us. “Look how bad I have it.” Draw nigh to God.
Now, here’s the wonderful thing about it, and we’ve got to hurry along. Wonderful thing about it. Basically, we’ve talked about the first part of the verse, basically, drawing nigh to God. Here’s the wonderful part: “And he will draw nigh to you.” That’s a great thing. Let’s see here. Oscar, would you help me out a little bit, man? Would you help me out? Come on up, Oscar, if you would, please. I don’t know. Oscar’s getting tall, so this isn’t going to be perfect. And Oscar’s got long legs, too, man. I’ll tell you what, this might not be a perfect illustration. Oscar, if you stand over there a little bit, please, sir, and face me, would you face me? All right, good deal. All right, Oscar, would you just take a step towards me?
Now, Oscar, I’m pretending I’m God. I know I’m a poor representation here, but Oscar just took a step to God. He’s drawing nigh to God. And what does the Bible say? Drawing nigh to God, and he will what? But here’s the thing: my steps are pretty small. But God steps? Man, when he steps, he steps. Oscar, would you take a step? Don’t make it huge because you’ve got long legs. Thank you. I appreciate that.
He took a step this way. Hey, good thing. Draw nigh to God, and he what? God can move some territory, amen. One more step on your place. Thank you. I appreciate that. And God, when he steps, hey, the big thing about the promise: “And he will draw nigh to you.” That’s the best part of you. Thank you, Oscar. I appreciate that. I wouldn’t say I’d give you something, but I’ll probably forget about it. I tease him with you, Oscar.
That’s the good thing about it. That’s what it means over there in Hosea 10:12: “Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the Lord till he come and reign righteousness upon you.” That’s God stepping to you. Until he come and reign righteousness upon you. The wonderful thing about the promise is: “Draw nigh to God, and he will.” Now, yes, yes, yes. After you’re drawing nigh to him and he starts stepping to you, he’s going to say, “All right, got to get that cleaned up.” He’ll help you. He’s the one that gives you the strength to win. Purify your hearts. I don’t think there’s a person here that can purify your heart. God does that. Your heart’s deceitful above all things. He is desperately wicked; who can know it? The Lord that tries the reins. He’s the one that knows your heart. The key is you draw nigh to him. He draws nigh to you. He’ll clean you up. He’s very capable.
Now, here’s the thing about it. God’s already encouraging you to come to him, like a mom telling that little child, “All right, come to Mom, come to Dad.” God’s doing that to you. He’s been doing that to you. He encourages you three ways, very quickly, and probably other ways, but more specific ways in your life. One is from creation. Just from creation, according to Romans 1:20, you know there’s a God. The fool can say in his heart, “There is no God,” but he’s a fool, and he’s saying it in his heart.
But in that heart, he can say, “There’s no God, there’s no God, there’s no God, there’s no God, there’s no God.” Let him get hit by a car first thing out of himself: “Oh, God, help me!” He knows in his heart there’s a God. God’s already drawing him by His creation. “The heavens declare the glory of God; the firmament showeth his handiwork.” So just from creation, God said, “Hey, let me make something beautiful. You know there’s a God just for this creation I made for you. Why don’t you get to know me? You have no excuse,” he says.
You know there’s a God. The Holy Spirit, he reproves the world of sin, John 16. Why? Because I believe not in Jesus. He reproves the world, every person in the world, he draws them. John 12:32 is a wonderful—by the way, if you ever get tempted by Calvinism, look this verse up, or if you somebody want to argue it, take them over there. John 12:32: “And I, Jesus,” and I, if I be lifted up—he’s talking about lifted up on the cross—“if I be lifted up, I will draw all men unto me.” Every single person on the planet, 7.5, 7.7, whatever it is, billion, he’s drawing them.
Salvation, yes, that’s the main draw, but then beyond day to day, he’s wanting you to get close to you. To the point, he extends the invitation. He says, “You draw nigh to me? I’ll draw nigh to you.”
Now look, friend, our drawing nigh to him starts at salvation. That Holy Spirit said, “You got sin. You got sin. You got sin. You got sin. You got sin. You got sin. You got sin. You got sin. You got sin.” And then I tell you like, “Man, I need a Savior.” And you’re drawing nigh to God. You can’t draw nigh to God apart from Jesus, for him. That path between me and Oscar right there, when I draw nigh to him, that’s all paved with the blood of Jesus. Jesus bridged the gap. He’s the one that made a way. He is the way. So all Jesus—you try some other way, you’ll never get there. You won’t draw nigh to him. You’re too sinful. All of us too sinful. But Jesus, he came to seek and to save that which was lost. Now, I didn’t come to the righteous. I came to the sinner, those that need repentance. That’s what he came for: to give us a way to God.
It starts at salvation. Then it’s a daily drawing nigh to him. The greatest Christians I’ve ever seen, they’ve been messed up just like all the rest of us. But they’ve been saying, “God, I’m going to try my best to draw nigh to you. You promised me. I know I’m messed up. I’ve got problems, but you promised me, I draw nigh to you, you’ll draw nigh to me.” God, I’m going to do my best to draw nigh to you. Those who knew God, God uses them in a great way.
Would you bow your heads and close your eyes, please? Our heads are bowed, eyes are closed.
I’m going to ask you, would you seek him? Just a minute here. I’m going to invite you down to the altar. You obey whatever he wants, but would you seek him? Don’t worry about the time, all that. Methodists are already at the restaurant. Forget about that, friend. Would you just seek him? Would you just seek him? We won’t be long, five, ten minutes, probably the most. Would you seek him in the next few minutes?
Lord, I want you. I’ve got to draw nigh to you. Would you just spend these next few minutes? Brother Anthony will lead us in a song, but don’t get too caught up in that. Would you just seek him, seek him, seek him? “I need you, Lord. I need to draw nigh to you.”
Next few minutes, we draw nigh to him. Next few minutes, would you just determine, “Lord, all the problems in my life, I’m going to do my best to let them drive me to you. All my problems, whatever they may be, my wounds, my flaws, my problems, my disasters, the things battling right today, I’m going to try to use every one of those things to draw me nigh to you.” Would you tell him that?
If you hear this morning, and you have never, never went to Jesus for salvation, you’ve never drawn nigh to God through Jesus at salvation, just a moment—would you come down? There’ll be a man standing here, or I’d be glad—I’d be glad to meet you down front, shake your hand. I’d love to be a help. These men would be a help to be a help to you.
Boy, this morning, let’s all—would you just, let’s all just as a church family, let’s draw nigh again. He promises he’ll draw nigh to you. Would you please stand? Would you please stand? I’m going to have a quick prayer. Man, just as a church family, let’s draw nigh to him in a real sincere way. Let’s draw nigh to the Lord.
Lord, thank you for this promise. I need it, Lord. Thank you, Jesus. You’ve paved the way with your blood. I can have access. I can come boldly. Thank you, Jesus. Help us during this time, Father, to sincerely in a real way draw nigh to you. Lord, if there’s one here not saved, let them know we love them. We love to be a help in the process and this thing of them drawing nigh to you and getting saved. Help us be a help to them. Let them know we love them. Bless these few minutes we have left, Lord, please. Put your hand on it. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
Would you spend some time just drawing nigh to him? Go away from—would you draw nigh to him? Time over history when God’s people have drawn nigh to God. You’re drawing nigh to God? Been a time historically when God’s people just sought after Him. Would you do that? Did you seek after Him? When you’re drawing nigh to God, what I need you: “I got problems. I’ve got a habit. I can’t make it without you. I don’t understand myself, Lord. I need you. I need you. I need you. I got to have you.”
What a promise, what a promise. You draw nigh to him, and he promised—God promised that—and he will draw nigh to you. Friend, that’s the best thing that ever happened to God drawing nigh to you. It’s wonderful, refreshing, encouraging, give you everything you need, and he draws nigh to you. Would you just—one more verse, we’ll be done, nobody comes. Would you draw nigh to him? He’ll draw nigh to you. Would you do that? What is it? “Draw nigh to me, and I what?”
Original File: Pastor Paul Chisgar - - Seek God - Sunday AM 10162022