Sermons of David Chadwell

THE SEEKERS

Click here to listen to this sermon read by Greg McAbee.

One of the most amazing realities in our world are the eyes of a child. Children see everything! Little escapes their attention. They dumbfound us with how observant they are. Because of their uncanny ability to observe, we adults who have small children attempt to "childproof" our homes. We deliberately go around our homes trying to see what a child might see. Then we remove or place out of reach anything that might harm a child. I guarantee you that when we adults try to see everything a child might see, the child will still see and approach things we did not notice.

This incredible ability to observe motivates most children to play the game of "one million questions." Place a child anywhere and he or she will see things to ask questions about. He or she will see things we adults passed for years and never saw of thought about.

The child's ability to see combined with his or her curiosity grants him or her the ability to take almost anything apart. Rarely is there a parent who is not amazed at how gifted children are at dismantling things.

Children have this amazing power of observation because they really see. Their thirsty minds absorb everything. Adults both see and do not see at the same time. Adults take things for granted. Adults see what they expect to see. If we adults are not thinking about it, we likely will not see it. Only what we find unusual will distract us and cause us to notice.

However, children constantly see wonders, curiosities, beauties, and fascinations lost to the majority of adults. It is that ability to allows children to learn at an incredible rate. Very few adults rival the learning rate of a child. One reason most children learn faster than adults is this: children constantly search to discover while adults are content merely to look. Children never see anything that is not there for adults to see.

A spiritual quality Christians should develop is having the observant eyes of a child. Christians need to be seekers. We need to observe the will and ways of God, not just look at them. I am not talking about seeing the mysterious that is veiled to the eyes of others. I am talking about seeing the ways of God that others often overlook.

1. Seekers have always been a great source of blessing.

   1. Consider early scientific and technological advances.

      1. Several hundred years ago a man named Columbus saw something with inquiring eyes.

         1. The vast majority of people devoutly believed the world was flat.

         2. The majority thought if ships sailed too far away from land, they would fall of the edge of the world.

         3. Columbus noted ships in the distance sank into the horizon rather than fading away.

         4. His observation eventually led to the discovery of the 'new world.'

         5. He dared try to prove what he observed.

      2. Sir Isaac Newton noted something that happened from the time of creation.

         1. One day an apple fell and hit him.

         2. Things always fell!

         3. Yet, he said there must be a reason for this happening.

         4. As a result of his observation, he discovered the law of gravity.

         5. Gravity always had been there!

         6. But he noticed it and sought to understand its existence!

      3. Alexander Fleming opened the door to amazing wonder drugs.

         1. A petri dish he planned to use in an experiment was contaminated with mold.

         2. He set the dish aside planning to clean it later.

         3. Later, when he started to clean the petri dish, he noticed the mold killed the bacteria.

         4. That observation forced him to ask how and why.

         5. As a result, he discovered penicillin.

         6. Penicillin was not new--he just observed it for the first time.

      4. There are two points:

         1. To see truth, you have to open your eyes and observe honestly.

         2. To see truth, you must seek to understand what cannot be explained.

      5. Seeing truth is often unpopular.

         1. Most people thought Columbus was crazy for thinking the earth was round--he even had difficulty in getting sailors to go with him!

         2. People did not immediately applaud Sir Isaac Newton for his observation!
            Fleming's observation bordered on the unbelievable!

         3. It always has taken courage and honesty to "see" what others fail to "see."

          

2. Scripture declares people who belong to Christ must be seekers.

   1. Jesus stressed the importance of seeking.

      1. In his sermon on the mount, he stressed it twice.

         1. Matthew 6:33 But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

         2. Matthew 7:7,8 Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.

         3. The kingdom is for seekers; spiritual discovery is for the seekers.

   2. Paul also stressed the value of seeking.

      1. Romans 2:7 "... to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life;"

         1. Eternal life is for those who seek glory and honor in Christ.

         2. A vital difference between the rejected and the accepted in judgment will be found in the courage to seek.

      2. Colossians 3:1-3, Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

         1. The Colossian Christians needed to keep on seeking in Christ.

         2. The person who belongs to Christ must seek existence in Christ.

   3. The writer of Hebrews stressed the importance of seeking with these words:
      Hebrews 11:6, And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.

      1. An important expression of faith is trusting God to reward the seeker.

      2. It is not enough merely to believe God is.

   4. Jesus spoke plainly about those who refused to find the way to God through him.
      Matthew 13:13-15, Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. In their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says, ‘You will keep on hearing, but will not understand; You will keep on seeing, but will not perceive; For the heart of this people has become dull, With their ears they scarcely hear, And they have closed their eyes, Otherwise they would see with their eyes, Hear with their ears, And understand with their heart and return, And I would heal them.’

      1. The courage to follow Jesus must include the courage to seek.

      2. Jesus can guide if we will have the courage to understand.

       

3. The critical importance of seeking is illustrated in Jesus' ministry.

   1. Most of Jesus' teaching were public teachings.

      1. Jewish people heard and saw the same things when they heard and saw Jesus.

      2. Jewish people witnessed the same thing when they saw his miracles.

   2. Yet, the seekers looked with honest, open eyes and the courage to believe what they saw.

      1. They saw God's undeniable power in Jesus.

      2. They saw evidences of Jesus being God's son.

      3. They saw the fulfillment of prophecy concerning the promised Messiah.

      4. They saw life and hope.

   3. However, the skeptics saw none of those things.

      1. They saw a crazy story teller.

      2. They saw a prince of demons, a political disaster, an impostor, and a rival.

      3. They saw a traitor to Israel.

   4. What people saw was greatly influenced by a willingness to seek--only those with courage and honesty could see what really happened as they saw Jesus for who and what he was.

    

4. Why is it so hard to be an honest seeker?

   1. Let's be honest:

      1. Many in the Church of Christ are not seekers.

         1. We are tempted to be comfortable, satisfied belongers.

         2. Many of us do not want to find things that lead to responsibility.

      2. Most religious people are not seekers.

         1. It is dangerous to seek.

         2. The religious often seek contentment, not courage.

   2. It is hard to be an honest seeker.

      1. Seeking requires an open mind that is not afraid to learn and understand.

      2. Seeking demands a willingness to abandon old views for a new understanding built on better knowledge.

      3. Seeking demands a willingness to accept newly understood realities that have proven themselves true.

      4. Seeking demands the courage to change.

   3. It is difficult to be an honest seeker because it is simple to seek the wrong things.

      1. Many sought Jesus for the wrong reason--they wanted benefits rather than forgiveness and repentance.

      2. Many still seek Jesus for wrong reasons--they want eternal insurance or conscience ointment rather than the destruction of sin within them.

Followers of God and Jesus Christ must be seekers because God and Jesus Christ are seekers.

Luke 19:10, For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.

John 4:23, But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.

Are you a seeker? What do you seek? Do you have a child's eyes that see everything to be seen? Or, are you content to walk through life always looking but never seeing? If you seek Jesus, is it not time you become simply a Christian?

David Chadwell

www.westark.org/chadwell/sermons.htm
sermon posted 8 August 2006

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