Updated:-2022-06-05
When Seeking God Is Not An Option!
As Christians, there will come times when seeking God is not an option. We need to seek Him for a wide scope of reasons.
Today, our book of Acts Bible Study comes from Acts 17:19-34. This is our main bible reference.
The men of Athens apprehended Paul. Then they brought him to Areopagus to learn the details of the doctrine that he was teaching.
“And they took him, and brought him unto Areopagus, saying, May we know what this new doctrine, whereof thou speakest, is?”
Acts 17:19
What is the Doctrine of Paul Concerning Seeking God?
In other words, they wanted Paul to explain to them how to seek God. This is an important doctrine of Christ.
They needed to understand it and we need to comprehend it too.
So, ignorantly, these Athenians were asking Apostle Paul to preach Jesus Christ and his foundational teachings to them.
Thus they explain,
“For thou bringest certain strange things to our ears: we would know therefore what these things mean.”Acts 17:20
“(For all the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing.)”
Acts 17:21
What Are The Important Features of Seeking God?
As a result of this, Paul conforms to their traditions and rituals for he stood and preached a new doctrine to them, the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
First, he made an observation concerning their lifestyle. He told them that they were “too superstitious” about everything then he explained what he meant (Acts 17:22).
“Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars’ hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious.”
Acts 17:22
Why did Apostle Paul inform the “men of Athens“ that they “ignorantly worship” the Lord God? (Acts 17:23).
“For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.”
Acts 17:23
We Must Know Who We Are Searching For
They didn’t know Him. They were ignorant of His name. So, to bring them to a point where they could believe his sermon, he gave them a brief history of some of the wonderful works of God.
To truly worship the Lord God we must know Him. We can never worship Him effectively in ignorance.
Ignorance is one of the worst enemies of salvation and eternal life with the Lord God. But who is God?
“God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands” (Acts 17:24).
Learn How Not to Worship God
Then, he exposes the truth that the Lord God is supreme. Next, he explains how not to worship Him and he supplies the reason for his claim.
“Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed [anything], seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things” (Acts 17:25).
I wonder if the racist people on the earth have ever read the following Scripture?
“And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation” (Acts 17:26).
Above, Paul clearly explains that “all nations” of people on earth are “of one blood”. We are all related by blood. And for that reason the blood of every human being on earth is red.
Seeking God is The Same For All
The white person doesn’t have blue blood and the black person doesn’t have green blood. No! All of us have red blood.
Additionally, please recall those two persons, a husband and wife team, who are the parents of all of humanity. Adam and Eve. From them came every nation of the earth.
Therefore, if we have the same parents we must possess the identical blood and we are all related.
Further, God has “determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation” (Acts 17:26).”
The Lord Determines The Time and The Place
The Lord God has set an appointed day for each person. That’s the day of our death. Similarly, He has also decided on the place or planet on which humanity should live and thrive. Earth!
Why has God done all these things? The Holy Bible provides the answers.
“That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us” (Acts 17:27).
Many Christians fell, I say “feel” that all they need to do to be Christians is just “believe”. It never dawns on them that they must “seek the Lord” first (Acts 17:27).
He does come to us because we “believe” but after we seek for Him. If we base our search for God on opinions and not on His Word then we have no guarantees that we will “find him”.
Why Seeking God is Important?
The Lord God wants us to seek and find Him. Why? This is the ultimate validation, for us, that He exists and that we believe His Words. Seeking for God pleases Him.
“But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him” (Hebrews 11:6).
If we don’t believe that He exists we will never seek to find Him. Doing so demonstrates faith in God.
When we hear His Word then we shall seek for Him. Moreover, if we seek God according to the Holy Bible we will find Him.
Then we will know and are certain that He exists and that He can be found because we found Him.
We never will find God if we don’t search diligently for Him.
All the precious and valuable stones and metals are hidden and require searching much less finding God.
The Chairman’s Advice and How it Relates to Seeking God
Recently, I came across the following writing on Facebook. It explains this point clearly.
“Two young ladies arrived at a Meeting wearing clothes that were quite revealing their body parts.
Here is what the Chairman told them: He took a good look at them and made them sit.
Then he said something that, they might never forget in their life.
He looked at them straight in the eyes and said; “ladies, everything that God made valuable in this world is well covered and hard to see, find or get.
Finding Any of these Requires Diligent Work
1. Where do you find diamonds? Deep down in the ground, covered and protected.
2. Where do you find pearls? Deep down at the bottom of the ocean, covered up and protected in a beautiful shell.
3. Where do you find gold? Way down in the mine, covered over with layers of rock and to get them, you have to work hard & dig deep down to get them.
How to Seek God
He looked at them with serious eyes and said;
“Your body is sacred & unique” You are far more precious than gold, diamonds, and pearls, and you should be covered too.
“So he added that, if you keep your treasured mineral just like gold, diamond, and pearls, deeply covered up, a reputable mining organization with the requisite machinery will fly down and conduct years of extensive exploration.
First, they will contact your government (family), sign professional contracts (wedding) and mine you professionally( legal marriage).
But if you leave your precious minerals uncovered on the surface of the earth, you always attract a lot of illegal miners to come and mine you illegally.
Everybody will just pick up their crude instruments and just have a dig on you just freely like that.
Keep your bodies deeply covered so that it will invite professional miners to chase you.
Let us all encourage our wives, sisters, friends, and daughters to dress well and decent!”
What We Must Know Before Seeking God
Therefore, to find God we must search “diligently” for Him. However, before we commence our search we must know who we are searching for. What is His name?
The Bible tells us that when we find God He will reward us. But it also informs us how to seek Him, (Hebrews 11:6).
Then after we have found God then He lives vicariously through us. Apostle Paul, our most prolific and brilliant apostle expounds this in the verses below.
“For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring” (Acts 17:28).
With all the above in mind, after we have found God, we are His offspring and as a result, we should never conceive of God, (the Godhead), as natural. He’s spiritual! (John 4:24).
“Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device” (Acts 17:29).
God Winks at Our Ignorance of the Godhead
However, God will ignore those episodes of ignorance if we heed his call to repent now!
“And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men [everywhere] to repent” (Acts 17:30).
Repent from what? We must repent now from the mindset that the Godhead is natural? Then he explains when, who, how, and why.
“Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead” (Acts 17:31).
As it was then, so is it now. The men of Athens mocked when they heard of the resurrection of the dead. Similarly, many are reacting similarly to this Word from God.
“And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked: and others said, We will hear thee again of this matter” (Acts 17:32).
“So Paul departed from among them” (Acts 17:33).
“Howbeit certain men clave unto him, and believed: among the which was Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them” (Acts 17:34).
Conclusion
However, when the Bible speaks about seeking God, it really is referring to the heart of a person searching for God (1 Chronicles 22:19).
Additionally, even if we should seek God with all our heart yet we don’t conduct it according to His Word, we will never find Him.
Seeking God must be done on His terms not ours. The same is true concerning our salvation, for we are saved only if we abide by His words concerning the saving of our souls.
Seek the Lord is a command the God gives to us, (Psalm 105:4). Then, how and why we pursue Him become two important components we cannot exclude, (Deuteronomy 4:29).
It’s a promise. If we seek for God we will find Him. But if we don’t we will never discover Him.
However, not knowing how and why seeking God is important and the correct manner to execute it render our seeking God as futile. We would never find Him.
First Principles of Seeking God
Consequently, before we begin seeking God here are a few first principles we must observe:
- Know your God. What is His name?
- Prepare your heart for seeking God (2 Chronicles 11:16; 12:14).
- Acquaint yourself with His procedure for pursuing Him, (Ezra 7:10).
- Seek God (Deuteronomy 4:29; Jeremiah 29:13).
- Find Him, (1 Chronicles 28:9; 2 Chronicles 15:2).
- Rejoice (1 Chronicles 16:10).
In closing, we should seek God to know the most appropriate decision to make relevant to our situation and needs.
This is not an exhaustive list but it includes decisions to wed, travel, work, education, moving, family, friends, children, spouse and so many more, (Ezra 8:21).
“As Christians, there will come times when seeking God is not an option.”
I strongly disagree.
Thanks, Geoff for reading and commenting. You are entitled to your opinion friend!