How to prosper in desert places

I want you to turn with me this morning to Psalms 63.

I don't know about you, but when people you love are hurting, I hurt.

I hurt.

I know.

And we have such a sweet fellowship here.

I tell you, say Satan doesn't like what's going on.

And I tell you something else, he knows what's fixing to go on.

And we're just getting started.

In Psalm 63.

What a beautiful psalm.

Probably one of the most beautiful Psalms in the book of Psalms.

And many of the great commentators say that because of what David does here.

It's very unusual.

In a lot of the other Psalms, he's crying out, how long?

He's crying out, Father, I need this, I need that.

And in this Psalm, he's in a situation that's probably the most difficult of all the situations he's been in.

Now he's been in some tight situations.

King Saul tried to kill him several times before he became king.

Yep.

So, and then all other, just battles after battles after battles after he became king.

But now in his probably fourth quarter of his life in ministry, toward the end, his, and I, this is just, it doesn't say it anywhere, but just through the context and studying of the situation with Absalom, one of his most favorite, if not his favorite son, Absalom, turns on his dad, tries to overthrow his kingdom, and tries to kill him.

Now, folks, it just doesn't get any lower than that.

But here in the midst of that context is when he writes Psalm 63.

He doesn't ask God for anything.

He doesn't ask God for help.

He doesn't ask God to restore his family.

In fact, when he left the kingdom, now listen to me, when he leaves the kingdom, he has to leave pretty quick.

And by the way, on top of his son turning on him, his most, should I say, confident counselor and Hithopel, that he had confided in him for years, guess what?

He turns on David and he goes with Absalon, his most trusted counselor.

Wow.

And almost be like Job's wife turning on him and say, Won't you curse God and die?

So in that midst, in that, here's David praising the Lord.

Not asking him to restore his kingdom.

Not asking him to, he had to leave his wives, his family, not bring my wives back, don't give me my kingdom back.

Don't take care of my son.

Don't don't kill my enemies.

He's just praising the Lord.

I don't know about you.

But that's special.

Think about.

Hello?

Amen?

Well, you better not be in the ministry long.

You'll have you'll have them turn real quick.

And isn't it amazing?

Usually some of those that hurt you the most are the ones you love the most.

Amen.

Hello?

So all that, think about that.

Some of you are already back thinking about it, yeah.

I don't know.

I'll kill that guy.

I mean, it probably, you know, if you if you're not filled with the spirit, even thinking about it, your hair bristles.

So in that midst, David praises the Lord.

And I've titled the message, How to Prosper in Desert Places.

In the Will.

Or here's another one, How to Prosper in the Wilderness.

Anyone need an outline?

This is going to be one of the all this all these are going to be ones that you want to go back and listen to again, especially when your going gets tough.

But let me tell you, and by the way, here next week, go ahead and give you another commercial for next week.

Psalms homework, Psalms 30.

Next week we're going to look at Psalms 30.

And I kind of uh, and the title's gonna be Ups and Downs.

Ups and Downs, or another way.

Hey, from mourning to dancing.

That'll be a good one.

Or from hurting to healing.

So that's next week.

Psalms 30.

It's gonna be good, I promise you.

If you had to pick a single word to describe our society right now or your life right now, I think I know what the word would be.

I think the word would be pressure.

Do you realize once you come into this world, I think we got our children with us, our kids with us, and I love you guys.

Thank you for being here today.

But just think about them.

When they turn five years old, uh-oh, the pressure starts.

They got to go to kindergarten.

That's a big deal.

Trust me, that's a big deal.

And then, secondly, they got a pass.

That's even a bigger deal.

Amen.

And then there's, hey, you then there's elementary school, then there's oh, the teenage years.

Pressure.

Oh my goodness.

Especially if you have girls.

I had a boy and two girls.

Boy, no problem.

None.

None.

Almost.

I only think I had to thank him three or four times.

There was only one bad time that Susan thought I was gonna kill him.

He was kind of worried.

But the girls, these girls have something they call this this attraction with boys.

And they start coming around the house.

I don't like that.

I'm joking.

Not really.

But pressure, oh my goodness, pressure.

And mine were real pretty, athletic, but I did, let me tell you what I did.

I learned how to, instead of the boy, them going off with the boys, I figured out how to bring the boys to me.

I my girls were basketball players, so I built a half-court basketball court taught in my backyard.

And every Friday and Saturday night, they were out there playing basketball, and guess who was doing the refereeing?

Hello.

And I built a pool.

We had a pool.

Well, we could control everything.

But pressure, and then you got the pressure of going to college, then you got the pressure of graduating, then you got the pressure of getting a job, then you got the pressure of keeping it.

Then you got the pressure of maybe a family.

Then you got the pressure once you have a family, is raising kids, hey, godly kids in an ungodly world.

And now you got the pressure of, hey, society itself, where somebody can be stopped by a police officer and he just starts shooting people.

And then not just shoot the kill the try to kill the cops, but he just starts shooting everybody passing.

That's pressure.

All that just builds up.

Am I close?

Does anybody in here have pressure on you?

And then the older we get, we have the pressure of sickness and we have the pressure of our kids coming back home after they're grown.

Something's wrong with this picture.

But there's always pressure.

I'd have to laugh to keep from crying.

So how in the world could David, under this kind of pressure, praise the Lord and ask nothing but praise Him.

Here's the word.

Two P's.

Pressure?

So how do you handle the pressure?

Second letter?

I meant second P word.

Priorities.

Are your priorities in order?

Because I'm convinced after all the in-depth study, the only way David could praise God in this situation is his priorities were in order.

And let me tell you something.

The one thing that will determine your destiny and the course of your life.

Don't you miss this?

It's worth you hearing this, what I'm about to say.

What's going to determine your destination and the course of your life will be determined by your priorities.

Major.

If your priorities are not clearly defined, you'll be swept downstream in life by various pressures quickly.

But if your priorities are clear and in order, you will be able to ward off all the attacks, dear, no unbelievable attacks that are going to come from Satan because your priorities will already have helped you establish the right decision to make when that situation comes.

And we see this.

So it's crucial that you have right priorities.

Your priorities, watch this.

I wrote this down to me.

And after 65 years, old now, I've got a little wisdom about this.

And here's what I said to myself and wrote down to share with you.

Your priorities always determines how you spend your time and who you spend your time with.

Your priorities determine that.

With whom you spend your time, and then how your priorities will also always direct how you make those decisions.

Your priorities keep you from being battered around by the waves of pressure and help you to steer a clear course for your life and for your family.

Priorities, godly priorities, are crucial.

King David was a man who knew what it meant to live under pressure.

As a king of Israel, he knew the pressure of leadership.

And by the way, let me say something.

The higher you go in leadership, the more pressure you're gonna have.

Amen.

Somebody said, I wish I could be the boss.

Okay, you want to be the boss?

Because let me remind you, when you're the boss, all those responsibilities and pressure come with being the boss.

Been there.

Had a$10 million budget that had to be met every year, and you were responsible for it.

Had 75 teachers and workers when I was the president of Tennessee Temple, and also at Liberty.

At Liberty, we about the same budget, about, well, seminary is about 15 million budget.

I'm just telling you, the pressure's there.

And the only way you can do that and be successful is to have your priorities in order and know what to do because you've already made, hey, you've already drawn a line in the sand that this is my number one priority, and that's what I'm gonna do when this situation happens.

Now, watch this.

David knew the pressure of problems.

David's son is about to throw him out of his own kingdom.

And so, today I want us to look at this beautiful psalm.

And by the way, you know, if you or I were under the kind of pressure David faced at this point right here in his life, I doubt that you and I would write a psalm or a song praising God.

Our song would be help.

I need help.

Where are you?

Please come now.

I'm a very patient person with God if He'll answer by tomorrow.

Anybody else like that?

Amen.

So this Psalm shows us David's priority.

And here it is.

Let's go.

This is gonna be good.

First of all, headlines with on your outline.

Seeking after God should be our most important priority.

No matter what pressure comes into your life and my life, we can handle them properly if we maintain this one priority above all the other priorities, and that's to seek God first.

And I know what you're already saying, because I thought that too.

I said, Lord, when I'm even working on this message, seek ye first the kingdom of God, his righteousness, and all these other things should be added unto you.

We know that verse.

We quote that verse, but I'm convinced most of us really don't understand that verse.

Because the day's outline is gonna consist of answering three questions.

Dealing with what it means to seek after God if we're gonna have our, which should be our number one priority.

First of all, question number one, what does it mean to seek after God?

Then we're gonna answer question number two, what does a person look like that's seeking after God?

And then number three, how does a person seek after God?

Pretty simple.

But I'm convinced very few of us are really doing it wholeheartedly if we look at what scripture says to answer these questions.

Number one, what does it mean to seek after God?

Psalm 63 allows us this opportunity as we begin to look at Psalm 63, it's beautiful.

Into the heart of a man.

And by the way, this man in Acts 13, 22, and I think I have it up there, the man was the son of Jesse, a man, God says, after my own heart, who will do the will, my will, totally.

Wow.

Wow!

What a statement.

Acts 13, 22.

It is an emotional psalm coming out of the depths of David's heart, no doubt about it.

And it would be an injustice to pick the psalm apart without understanding the priority and the feelings in David's life as he's doing this, and we've got to keep wondering about it.

That's important.

I want to talk about the telling of what it means to think after God.

To think up to God means to have an intimate, personal relationship with God.

Look at verse 1.

Oh God.

You are my God.

David, huh?

Hey, David knew God in an intimate personal way.

My God.

Not a God, not the God, my God, he said.

There's a vast difference between knowing about a person and really knowing a person.

You know about your pastor.

Some of you know me better than others.

But you know about me.

But how do you really get to know me?

Play pokeball with me.

No, that's not a good idea.

Spend time, Danny.

You might see the wrong side of me.

No.

Hey, but really, that's it.

You got to spend time with a person.

I mean, you can read about me, you can read my books I've written, you can do all that and know about me, but you'll not know me intimately and personally till you what?

Spend time with me.

And the more you're at church spending time with me or church fellowships or whatever we're doing in church, you really want to spend a lot of time with me?

Well, just hey, get involved in the church with us.

Because that's what I do.

That's my life.

That's who I am.

But that's the key.

And David, David, it was like knowing Dr.

Falwell when I was at liberty all those years.

One of the greatest, Billy Graham, no doubt, but Jerry Falwell would be in the top ten.

Uh, him, Adrian Rogers, James D.

Kennedy, all these guys that took a stand back in the 80s for this country for morality and biblical principles.

And a lot of people knew Dr.

Falwell on TV nationally all the time.

But they knew about him, but very few knew him.

But I had the privilege of knowing him.

Flying all over the country two and three times a week with him and staying with him for hours.

And I meant I got to know him, and everything that most of the people said negative about him, you know why they said that negative about him?

Well, first of all, they didn't like him, but the reason they didn't know him.

They knew about him, but they didn't know him.

I'm afraid a lot of us know about the Lord.

But we really don't know him.

Bible verse.

I think it's up there.

John 17, 3.

You've got to hear what Jesus said.

Jesus said, This is eternal life.

That ye may know me.

The only true God.

Well, God is saying.

And Jesus Christ, whom ye have sent.

God says, if you're going to know me, you've got to know my son in an intimate, mighty way, a personal way.

You can't just know about him.

You've got to know him personally.

You've got to know him personally.

And then you must develop your relationship by spending time with your new friend through the weeks and months and years and uh in a variety of situations.

In fact, I wrote this down, put a star, seeking after God.

Here's what it means that you are seeking to develop an intimate relationship.

With the God whom ye have met personally through his Son, Jesus Christ, and He has radically changed your life.

No change, no relationship.

Now you can, hey, you can make a decision and still know about him, but your life won't change till you know him personally.

Therefore, if any man be in Christ Jesus, he's a new creation.

Old things have passed away, behold, old things have become new.

2 Corinthians 5.17.

So, an intimate personal relationship with God.

B.

To seek after God also means to desire more Him.

Now, I know what you're thinking.

When I looked at verse 1, David said, I shall seek you earnestly.

My soul thirsts for you, my flesh yearns for you.

Now, didn't David know the Lord when he wrote this?

Absolutely.

Why do you know that?

Because he calls him my God.

Right here.

But he wanted more.

He wanted to go deeper.

Was he satisfied?

Absolutely.

But he was satisfied, but he wasn't satisfied.

You say, well, preacher, that's a oxymoron.

No, it's not.

Hey, let me ask you something.

Have you ever had a great meal?

Something that you just, I meant, for me, it's a hot mouth donut.

Oh, yeah.

And once you eat that donut, are you satisfied?

Yes.

But do you want more?

Yes! Now, don't laugh.

That's exactly the best way for me to explain that eager yearning for more of God.

You get saved.

You know the most exciting time to be around a person.

This is so so real, but it's so sad.

The most exciting time to be around a person is when they first get saved.

Because they're bouncing up, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, hey, come here, come here, let me show you what I found.

Oh, this is awesome.

Preacher, have you seen this?

Look at John 3.16.

For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting.

Oh, he loved me so much, he died for me.

Preacher, have you ever seen that?

And have I ever seen John 3.16?

No, it's good.

But I'm not about to throw.

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

I know that.

Anybody does you like that?

Just slap them.

No, don't slap them, but you ought to get excited with them.

Can't wait, they can't wait to show you verses.

Let me tell you what God showed me this week.

Woo-hoo-woo-hoo.

And guess what?

20 years later, for me, 40 plus years later, it ought to be that same excitement.

It ought to be that same joy.

It ought to be that same fervor.

In fact, it ought to be more.

The only way it could have been more with David was because it was real.

He has nothing to praise God about, everything to curse God about, but all he's doing is praising him.

Saying that I want more.

Oh, I'm so complacent.

I don't have that.

Do you have that?

Oh my.

We're so caught up with everything.

He had nothing.

He had nothing.

He just lost everything.

He just lost the kingdom.

Fixing to lose his life.

And he's praising him.

Woo! The word there.

The word translated seek earnestly.

Another synonym translation is early, dawn.

To seek early.

But it really means to early seek him earnestly, eagerly, diligently.

The point is to seek after God means to go after God with an intense desire.

How many of you watching Auburn come back on Oregon last night?

It's okay.

I'm not going to.

I watched it too.

I watched football all day.

I love college football.

I told you, I'm not against athletics.

What I'm against is athletics being our God.

Every Auburn fan had an intense desire for Auburn to come back and win that game.

Am I not true?

Is that not true?

And you didn't go to the, hey, you waited until commercial before you left to go to the bathroom.

Am I right?

If not, you tell a story.

That's what I'm talking about.

You're not going to miss.

I I I gotta I gotta see them win.

I gotta I gotta watch every plate, gotta watch every call.

Now that's an intense desire.

Same way with Alabama fans yesterday.

I know that.

But that's what I'm trying to talk about.

Do you have that same desire to get in the word every morning?

Oh, did you have that same desire?

And the ones that raised your hand, you did because you're here.

I can't wait to be in church anymore.

I can't wait to go praise him.

I can't wait for us to get into the word and see what God has for us.

Oh, I want more.

Call him Socrates.

Socrates, can I be your disciple?

Socrates willingly ignored him.

They're walking on the beach.

Socrates, Socrates, can I be your disciple?

And he kept on.

And finally, Socrates is walking right by the beach and he just turns and walks into the water, the ocean.

The guy follows him.

Socrates, I really want to be your disciple.

He gets a little deeper about his waist.

The guy's right on him.

Socrates, I really want to be your disciple.

Socrates turns, he grabs him, throws him underneath the water, the ocean, and holds him down.

I mean, until he knows, I better bring him up or he's gonna drown.

And he brings him out, and then the guy comes up and he's gasping.

He says, if you desire to follow me more than you do breathe that air, you can be my disciple.

Do we?

Do we really desire God that much?

That's the question.

Do we?

To seek after God means that there's always more.

Because God is infinite.

If you figure that you've reached a level of maturity in your Christian life where you can put up, hey, you can put your life in neutral and coast, you're in trouble.

David had walked with God for years, but he thirsted more.

I love Jeremiah 29, 13.

You shall seek me and you shall find me when you shall search for me with all your heart.

With all your heart.

Remember last week we said wholeheartedness.

And then look at C.

What does it mean to seek after God?

It means to pursue God alone to fulfill that vacuum in your life.

We all have a vacuum in our life that has to be filled.

There's that yearning desire that has to be filled.

And we fill that vacuum with something.

It can be, hey, it can be sports, it can be money, it can be people, family.

Hey, it can be good things.

Okay?

But we've got to fill that vacuum with something.

And I love what Psalms 107, verse 9, I think I have that on there.

Psalms 107:9

It says that he fills the hungry soul with goodness.

Oh, I love that.

Here we go.

He satisfies the longing soul.

He fills the hungry soul with goodness.

Woo! Now watch.

He satisfies the longing soul.

That means you haven't had enough.

And fills the hungry soul means you want more with goodness.

And then Matthew 5, 6, you know this one.

The Beatitudes.

Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after God, for they shall be filled.

That's what he's talking about right here.

That's what he's talking about.

Others, we can fill our life with possessions, with success, with a satisfying career.

Again, these are good things, but it's not the most important thing.

To seek him means to pursue him alone, to fill that God-shaped vacuum in your life.

Thou shalt show me the path of life, he says in Psalm 16, 11.

Watch.

Ye, God shall show me the path of life.

In his presence is the fullness of joy.

Isn't that good?

Wow.

Brings me to the second question.

What does a person look like who seeks after God?

Good question, isn't it?

A person who seeks after God is not a religious mystic.

Or not some weirdo.

Maybe me.

I'm weirdo.

Who's out of touch with reality?

Putting God in the center of our lives gives us balance and perspective in the crisis of life.

You know what I've learned?

If God has filled that vacuum, when your crisis come, there will be a peace.

That's it.

There will be a peace.

That passes all understanding.

You don't understand why there's a peace.

But the reason there's a peace, because the giver of peace is filling it.

Filling that vacuum.

So notice four things that characterize the person who seeks the Lord.

Here it is.

This is worth, if you didn't hear anything else.

Number one, or A, the person who seeks after God has inner satisfaction.

I was growing up, there was a song, satisfaction.

I can hear it now.

Inner satisfaction.

You know what that means?

That means when all hell is coming against you, there's a contentment and a peace of God that's controlling your life.

When everybody else is falling apart, you're steady.

You're calm.

Now that's the peace of God that passes all understanding, that will keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4, 7.

That's what it is.

That's the peace I leave with you.

My peace I give unto you, not as the world gives, but give I unto you.

Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

John 14, 27.

That's what he's talking about right here.

David felt, hey, hey, David had inner peace and calm.

B.

The person who seeks after God has what's this?

And by the way, he says, the verse that I should have read to you there, look at verse 5.

My soul is satisfied as with marrow and fatness.

In other words, right in this most tragic time of his life, he's got peace.

He says, I'm satisfied.

I'm at rest.

I'm at peace.

I'm content.

You know when you're really in the real will of God?

At least I can give you my answer for all the years Susan and I've been together in the ministry.

You know that you're in the perfect will of God when you have total peace with God where you are doing what you're doing.

Well, I don't ever have that kind of peace where you don't ever walk with the Lord like you should.

Because how could you walk with the Lord and God's promise you peace and you don't have it?

Somebody's not speaking honestly, and it's sure not God.

God can't lie.

It is.

Love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, meekness, temperance against such there's nothing to compare with.

Galatians 5, 22 and 23.

So, what's this?

Then he, hey, the person who seeks after God has inner joy.

Look at verse 5.

My mouth offers praises with joyful lips.

Look at verse 7.

Hey, in the shadow of your wings, Lord, I sing for joy.

Look at verse 11.

But the king will rejoice in God.

Rejoice again in the Lord.

Always.

Again I say what?

Rejoice.

You can't have the peace of God and have inner satisfaction without having inner joy.

That's why when I see people that there's no joy in their life, I know they're not satisfied.

I know that they're not satisfied with the Lord.

You cannot be, hey, you cannot but help be satisfied if you have the Spirit of God filling your heart and life.

Isn't that?

Don't you wake up in the morning and say, I can't wait.

Get me to the, well, grab my, get me to the coffee and the Bible right there together.

Simultaneously.

The joy.

And then look at the third thing.

The person who seeks after God has inner, what's this?

Stability and strength.

Look at verse 7 and 8.

For you have been my help.

Woo-hoo! Hello.

How many of you would like to have God's help this morning?

Can I get an amen?

Listen what he says.

For you have my help.

And in the shadow of your wings I sing for joy.

You know what he's saying?

He says, I may, it may look like I'm in trouble, but I'm not in trouble because I'm going right under the, hey, God's wing and his arm, and I'm just going to let him cover me up and just hold me, and I know everything's going to be all right, because he's promised that I am his and he's called me to be king, and I'm going to be king.

And I'm confident of this very thing that he which begun a good work in me will perform it.

And I really believe in his heart, David said, okay, if it's time for me not to be the king anymore, that's your will, God, but you've not told me that, and no one else has told me that, and what they've done's wrong.

So I'm clinging to you.

I'm hiding under your wing.

And not only that, look what else he says.

And he says, Not only am I hiding under your wing, your hand's gonna help hold me up.

Man, that's awesome.

David said, hey, he hid under God's wing as a baby chick hides for protection under the mother's hen's wing.

And then he says, God's powerful hand upheld me and sustained me.

He stayed steady in the storm because he had the inner resource of God's strength.

Finally, he says, I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me.

Philippians 4.13.

He knew Ephesians 6.10.

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might.

Which brings me to number four.

The person who seeks after God has inner, he has an inner perspective and balance.

Look at verse 9 and 11 through 11.

But those who seek my life to destroy it will go into the depths of the earth.

They will be delivered over to the power of the sword.

They will be a prey of jackals, but the king will rejoice in God.

He says, I'm going to rejoice in God.

Everyone who swears by him will glory, for the mouths of those who speak lives will be stopped.

You know what he said?

I am not going to stop and worry about my enemies.

I'm not going to blame others.

I'm not going to accuse others.

I'm just going to praise you because God, I know that avenge not yourself, for it is written, vengeance is yours, God's, you will repay.

He didn't waste his time bickering back or trying to blame Absalom or his counselor for underminding him.

That's hard for me to do, not do.

I meant.

Your first inclination is you want to get at them.

And here's why.

Because you know they're wrong and you know what they're doing's wrong and why they did it wrong and how it's wrong, and you just want to reveal it to everybody.

And you know why we want to do that?

You know, I finally think I'm old enough to admit it.

Because I don't want anybody to think I'm wrong.

And you know all that is is nothing but pride.

Nothing but pride.

Now listen.

I can say this.

After 40 plus years of ministry.

Let me tell you what I've learned.

I don't have to fight my battles.

Do I want to fight my battles?

Absolutely, sometimes.

In fact, I'd enjoy it.

But that's wrong.

That's the flesh.

But let me tell you what I've learned.

Susan's been with me most of these years.

Absolutely all of them.

It was right after I graduated from seminary.

My wife, Becky, died, and I married Susan a year later.

So she's really been, you've been through every battle we've been with me.

They never get mad at her.

It's just me.

I wonder why.

But let me tell you what I've learned over the years.

If you stay faithful and you stay true, the truth always comes out.

Maybe years later.

The truth always comes out.

You don't have to defend yourself.

But God will do it.

God will do it.

That's a good word for some of you.

Sure a good word for me.

You don't have to go talk to anybody about how somebody's mistreating you.

Just start praising him.

Now I know David had his times.

How long, O Lord?

And by the way, Psalms 3, I have to go to Psalms 3 and read it every once in a while.

David said, kill him, God, kill him.

He had his moments, but very seldom.

But now in the most crucial, look what he's doing.

Wow.

Which leads me, he had stability and strength.

He had the right perspective and right balance, but those who seek me.

David wasn't consumed with the thoughts of getting even.

As he considered his circumstance, he realized that God is just, God would judge fairly.

The wicked would not prevail in the long run.

David could commit the situation to the Lord and act with the right perspective and balance.

He would make it his business to rejoice.

In the Lord and let God deal with the enemies and vindicate him.

He knew his calling.

Look at verse 11.

He knew it.

And that God would not fail to accomplish all that concerned him.

Wow.

The point is the person who seeks after God will be a person of strength and stability, a person with inner resources to meet every crisis in life.

Now, for the last crucial question, and we're through.

How does a person seek after God?

Now, with that statement, you're assuming that you and I already know God personally.

I'm okay.

I did not fall.

No one seeks for God unless God first seeks for Him.

You agree with that?

Amen.

John 6 44.

God says, Hey, you didn't come after me, I came after you.

There's none that understandeth.

There's none that seeketh after God.

Romans 3.11.

Thus no one can boast.

We have only received God's undeserved gift by God's grace.

But once you and I have received it, how do we get on seeking after God?

Three things, and I'm through.

Number one, A.

You seek God by putting love for God at the center of your relationship with Him.

God's love, look at verse 3.

God's loving kindness was better to David than life itself.

Did you see what he said?

For David says then, look at verse 8, my soul clings to you.

My right hand, Lord, your right hand upholds me.

What a beautiful balance.

David clings to God, but underneath it, God holds him up.

Beautiful.

And why he says, I love this again.

David says God's loving kindness was better to him than life itself.

The Hebrew word there cleans means the point to loyalty, a loyal related affection.

That's what it means.

In fact, let me tell you, the same Hebrew word was used in Genesis 2, where he talks about a husband and wife shall cling to one another.

And it also was the same word that was used for Ruth clinging to her mother-in-law in Ruth 1.14, Genesis 2.24.

She didn't want, Ruth didn't want to part from her.

The idea is loyalty related to a strong feelings of affection.

The relationship with the Lord is comparable to the marriage relationship.

Marriage is a relationship that should have intense feelings for one another.

When you met your wife, you let me tell you how I know about this.

Talking about priorities.

Isn't it amazing how you've got your priorities set in order?

But when that love of your life happens to walk across the campus, next thing you know, you are making sure that there's time in those priorities to make a relationship with that beautiful creature.

Isn't that amazing?

Well, that's the same kind of priorities and desires we're talking about when you meet the Lord.

Just like when I met Susan.

We'd stay on the phone.

See, back then when my I couldn't date, date her because, you know, I was had a little boy and married, and I didn't want people to gossip.

So we talked a lot on the phone.

A lot, especially when she's at Lynchburg at uh and in North Carolina when she was at with her where her dad was.

Then I realized it would be cheaper for me to marry her than keep paying the phone bill.

Six hundred dollar a month phone bill, that's pretty good.

That's pretty expensive.

No, it wasn't free long distance then.

And we didn't have cell phones, so you had that long cord, you know.

Some of you are laughing on that.

Bringing back good old memories.

But that that intense desire to make sure that you spend time with that person.

That's exactly what we're talking about here.

Marriage cannot be built on feelings alone, but a commitment.

Seeking after God means keeping your passion for God alive.

And let me tell you something.

What happens with most marriages, first of all, they're not built on God's foundation.

But if they are, what can happen to a marriage is you lose the pathos, you lose the passion.

By the way, same thing happens with your relationship with God and service in the ministry.

The reason you quit serving God is because there's no pathos with God, no passion with God.

See, let me tell you why a lot of people quit serving, leave the church, they just quit going to church.

It's because they really never had a relationship with God.

They may know about God, but they never had that intense relationship with God.

Or maybe they did and they just walked away from that intense relationship.

Why do you think the church at Ephesus, the Lord writes, the best church out of the seven churches of Asia Minor was the church at Ephesus?

And if you were to read their resume, you'd think that was one of the greatest churches ever.

And it was at one time.

But now you go back to where Ephesus, the city of Ephesus, and all you see is the ruins of that church.

Why?

They lost their first love.

You go through it and you say, Man, that's great, that's great.

They're doing good, good, doing.

And then it stops there at verse 4, and he says, But yet I have somewhat against thee.

And here's what he says: What I have against you, you've lost your first love.

He didn't say you lost your works.

The works were there.

The ministries were there.

What he said.

You've lost your first love.

And then verse 5, he says, Repent.

And go back and do the first works.

You know what he's talking about?

Go back to that time where you couldn't, you weren't gonna go to bed without talking to that beautiful wife or girlfriend.

Or giving her something, talking to her.

You had to before you went to bed.

Same thing.

You gotta talk to the master before you go to bed.

You gotta talk to the master when you get up.

You gotta keep that intense, passionate relationship with God.

Gotta stay in the Word.

Gotta stay praying.

Gotta stay in church, Sunday school.

Serving God.

But serving God after you've had the relationship with God.

Because see, if all you're gonna do is jump in and start serving God and you don't have a relationship, you won't last long.

But if I get you plugged in Him and you have a relationship with Him, you'll be saying, Pastor, how can I help you?

Where can I serve?

You know why?

You got the can't help it, you can't help but serve and tell people the things.

You're getting in the Word, and He's talking to you about loving people, helping people, going see people.

Man, you gotta go.

If all I did was get up and try to go in the flesh, that'd last about two weeks because I know how I would be in the flesh.

I'd say, hit the road, Jack.

Don't come back no more.

But that's not what Jesus did.

It's not what the shepherds do.

Sheep wander, sheep go astray.

No, we don't say good riddance.

Go bad in another field.

No, we go love on them.

Try to get them back into the fold.

Sometimes they won't, sometimes they'll just keep going.

But at least we try.

But what I'm saying is, folks, you gotta have a pathos.

Are you getting it?

I think you're getting it.

That's why it's a little quiet.

Me too.

Man, I'm so convicted.

And then B, you seek God by spending consistent time alone with Him.

And I just told you how to do that.

Notice what He said, verse 1.

I seek, I shall seek you earnestly.

Look at verse 3.

My lips will praise you.

So I will bless you as long as I live.

I will lift the uh lift up my hands in your name.

Psalm 634.

Somebody said, You ought not lift your hands in church.

Who said that?

That's not what the Bible says.

You lift your hands seeking after God, praising God.

One lady said, You don't clap in church.

I said, Well, the Bible says it do.

Psalm 47, one, clap your hands, all you people shout on the.

Oh, shout.

Yeah, one lady said, we like it quiet around here.

Don't shout.

I said, and I looked out and there was a cemetery.

I said, they like it quiet out there, too.

Then go to the ball game with them and watch them.

Just a thought.

But now watch.

And then see.

You seek God by integrating him into every area of your life.

Every area of your life.

What?

Know you not that your body's the temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which you have of God?

For you bought with a price, his price.

So here's David, his kingdom in disarray, running for his life, seeking to protect his men.

Can you imagine?

It would be understandable if God was temporarily squeezed out of his picture.

But David is falling hard after God.

Hey, here's what he's saying.

David's, in fact, God was at the center of David's heart.

Look at it, present and his future.

No area was off the limits to God.

He had all these people with him that had left with him.

The priest, every, I mean, he had a, and he's trying to survive and keep them from being killed and him being for killed.

I mean, he had a lot on him, folks.

But because God was the center of his life, he praised him.

Now think for a minute.

If we really believe what I've just preached, that my God can do any and everything.

You believe that?

And if we believe he's our helper, that the Bible just says he is, and he's holding us up with this right hand, which the Bible just said he is, we can have that peace.

Because, ready, you know it.

We know.

We know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called.

Doesn't that really give you a kind of a peace that passes all understanding?

The older I've gotten, Susanna's hope will tell you.

I don't get nears upset anymore over stuff.

I mean, it'll hit me for a minute, but then I just we know.

Let me ask you this.

Here, let me ask you.

Do you really desire him this morning?

Like nothing else.

That intense desire now.

Not just desire, intense.

In other words, I can promise you, a lot of us right now, we have an intense desire to eat.

1126.

We're hungry.

I'm hungry.

What do we eat?

Oh my spaghetti and garlic bread.

Is it Russell's garlic bread?

All that, oh, you didn't put on.

It's got a lot of butter on it.

Okay.

But now, watch this.

I promise you, whether you eat with us, I hope you'll stay and eat, you're gonna go find something to eat.

Why?

Because it's that ending.