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How to seek God with all my heart?

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, I greet

you all in the glorious name of our Lord
and Savior Jesus Christ.

Grace and Peace to you from God our

Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. AMEN!

{I want to take this time to thank and

appreciate the choir for that meaningful
anthem}

Dearly beloved let us turn to the scripture

portion that was read to us.

The book of Jeremiah Chap 29 V10 thru 14

REPEAT
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Jeremiah 29: 10 – 14

I’ll read V13 - You will seek me and find me

when you seek me with all your heart. 

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Probably we can also read it like this, if we
seek Him with all our heart, we will seek
and find Him.

Let’s Pray

God our loving Father and Mother, even as

we meditate on your words, speak to us
through your words that is a lamp and light
to our path. I pray that You will open the
eyes and ears of our hearts to see the hidden
truths of your word and to what You want us
to learn today. Help us that we will stand
firm in your words.
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In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Questions??

Sometimes we ask within ourselves that

 Oh! I’ve prayed so much……

 But even after praying and waiting for
so long, There’s no answer yet!
 What happened?
 Why there’s still no solution to the
issues that I am facing in my life.

Is HE not happy doing this good thing to

me?
Why isn’t HE showing up?

A lot of times we might have these questions

in our hearts. Some of us even stop praying
coz we feel tired of unanswered prayers.
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If we look at the background of the read

verse Jeremiah 29: 13, People of Israel were
having a tough time as slaves in the land of
Babylon.

Will I end my life as a slave in captivity?

Will slavery be our fate forever?

Our fore fathers lived as slaves in the land of

Egypt and we are slaves in the land of
Babylon today.

Should our children spend their life in

slavery?
Will this be the end of road for us and
our generation to come?

Questions like these would have haunted the

lives of the Israelites in captivity and they
were tired with their prayers, it is at this
time word of God reaches to them through
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prophet Isaiah that if you seek me with all

your heart,

You will find me.

You will get answers from me.

Dearly beloved, these beautiful words that

Jeremiah prophesised in the 6th century BCE
stands as a testament of HOPE for us in the
21st century and God is encouraging us
through these words today that

If we seek Him with all our heart,

We will find Him.

We will get answers from Him.

Let us meditate on how to seek God with

whole heart. But,

 What is seeking God with whole heart?

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 What would be the right way of seeking

Him?
 What does it mean to seek the Lord with
whole heart?

Now as we look answers for these questions,

Exodus 10: 12.

1. Fear the Lord & Walk in His ways

Dearly beloved Deuteronomy Chapter 10

and Verse 12 says

 Fear the Lord Your God

 Walk in His ways
 Serve Him with all your heart and with
all your soul.
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BACKSTORY – Moses getting Tablets 2nd

time

Dear friends if we ask this question, what is

this Fear of the Lord? Proverbs 8: 13 gives
the answer for it. The fear of the Lord is
hatred of evil.

 King Solomon who was known for his

heavenly wisdom gives us the answer
that hatred of evil is fear of the Lord.
 Which means anyone who seeks God
should have hatred for evil.

 Anyone who tries to seek God should be

ready to hate evil in search of Him.

 There shouldn’t be anything that upsets

the creator.
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Dearly beloved the Bible speaks of a king

named Hezekiah, who met with a life-
threatening illness. That sickness looked
like the end of road for Hezekiah and
Prophet Isaiah visits him at that time.

2 Kings chapter 20 speaks of this incident.

Prophet Isaiah stops by to caution Hezekiah
that he should set his house in order that he
will die and would not recover. The message
was very clear that the earthly race of the
king is going to end.

We can see this incident in 2 Kings 20 and

verse 3.

 He turned his face toward the wall and

he prays a beautiful prayer very
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earnestly. He reminds the lord of his life

through that prayer.
 Lord, I have walked before you in
faithfulness with whole heart and have
done what is good in your sight.
 If there was someone who held fast to
the Lord and did not stop following God,
it was Hezekiah.
 There was no king like Hezekiah who
hated evil.
 There was no one like him among all the
kings of Judah. Bible Testifies it.
 He was in the forefront of the kings who
feared the Lord and hated evil.
(2 Kings 18: 5)

 He confessed that and prayed that.

God, your servant has come to me and
announced me of my end. But remember
me o Lord.
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 I have walked before you in faithfulness

with a whole heart and have done what is
good in your sight.
Reminds God of his faithful life and how
he did it with all his heart.

 As he prayed that faithful prayer, the

word of the Lord came immediately to
prophet Isaiah even before he crossed
the middle court…. My son reminded me
of his faithful life, Go and tell him that
I’m adding 15 more years to his life.

Dearly beloved as prophet Isaiah spoke

that over Hezekiah’s life. Hezekiah was
blessed with 15more years of earthly life.
 It’s very important that we hate evil and
seek God with all our heart and that’s
exactly what the life of Hezekiah teaches
us this evening.
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 If I expect God to do good things for me,

If I want to see Gods mighty hand at
work in my life, if I want to experience
the grace of God, then I should be ready
to do good and hate evil that upsets God
and seek God with all my heart.

 As the people of Israel were captives in

Babylon they were huge in number. So,
they thought they might rebel and get
back to Israel.

It is at that time; the word of God came

to the people of Israel through prophet
Isaiah…… Don’t think you can rebel,
disturb peace and get back to your land.

Seek the lord with all your heart.

Today, in the beginning of this year, may
we recommit ourselves to do good and
seek the lord with all our heart.
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As we do that we’ll find God actively

working in our institution, our families,
and in our personal lives as well.
So, the first thing we learn as to how we
seek him is to walk before Him in
faithfulness with whole heart and doing
what is good in His sight.

2. Love the Lord and serve him with

all your heart. (Joshua 22: 5

Secondly, what is this seeking the lord

with all our heart?  Joshua 22:5 says

Here, Joshua the leader insists the

people of Israel that you must Love the
lord your God and serve Him with all
your heart.
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✓ Fear the lord with all your heart

 Love the Lord with all your heart

Dearly beloved, this is very important and

its essential that realize this spiritual truth.

(Matthew 22: 36) Once an expert in the law,

asked Jesus a question to test
him. 36 “Teacher, which commandment in
the law is the greatest?

Jesus answered him, ‘You shall love the

Lord your God with all your heart and with
all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This
is the greatest and first commandment.

 How’s our experience of Loving God?

 Do we really have such experience?
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A love that has no expectations

Love that is unconditional
Love that is true.
This is very important.

In (2 Timothy 1: 7) Apostle Paul reminds us

that God has given us the spirit of Love.

 The God we worship is not someone

who’s just all mighty and all powerful.
 He’s also a God who expresses His love
for His people and expects that love from
us.
 What a loving God you and I have?
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Most people Love God for their needs. It’s

like a List they bring to the shopkeeper.
We’ll give him money and he’ll give us the
things in the list.

 There’s no relationship between us and

the shopkeeper.
 Our love for God and our relationship
with Him should not be like someone
going with a list to a shopkeeper.

Instead it should be like how the psalmist

writes in (Psalms 42: 1)  As the deer longs
for flowing streams, So my soul longs for
you.

Story of the DEER SEEKING WATER

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LUKE 19: 1 to 10  Zacchaeus

 He wanted to see Jesus coz of the

love he had for Him. Probably
because he might have heard a lot
about Jesus.
 So, he ran ahead of Jesus and
climbed a tree.
 Not that Jesus Should see him.
 But his intention was so simple that
he wanted to see Jesus.

 When we seek Him with love, Jesus

doesn’t simply pass by rather He
stops to reciprocate that love back to
us.
 WE FIND GOD when we seek him with
our Love.
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 This love is not just VERTICAL but

Horizontal too!!
 We see Jesus teaching this truth in
Matthew 22: 39  Jesus says in
response to the Pharisee (expert in Law)
 Not just loving God vertically but show
that love to your neighbor as you love
yourself.
 As Zacchaeus realized that Love, He gave
back twice in return.


STORY – BEGGAR & JESUS STADING

OUT

DO WE SEEK GOD WITH SUCH LOVE

TODAY?
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Do we love God with the same love we show

towards our loved ones?? Or Is it like taking
a list to God?

 Fear the lord and seek Him with all your

heart.
 Love the Lord and seek Him with all
your heart.

3. Trust in the lord and lean not on

your own understanding.

Proverbs Chap 3 Verse 5 says we should

seek Him by putting our “Trust in the Lord
with all your heart and lean not on your own
understanding.
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 How is it even possible? All We have is

one understanding that we have on our
own.
 The Psalmist answers it “I afflicted my
soul with fasting”

When I fast,
 I put to an end to the thoughts of my
flesh
 I become selfless by killing all our
human thoughts.

Scripture says the king of Nineveh, his

people and even the animals fasted when
Prophet Jonah Prophecies against the
Nineveh

God changed His mind as He saw His people

fast. Because they sought Him without
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leaning on their own understanding. That

really changed Gods mind.

They completely surrendered themselves

leaving their own desires and their own
ways. James 4: 6 says He gives grace to the
humble.

People of Nineveh found the grace of God as

they sought Him with all their heart.

If we seek Him with all our heart, we will

find Him.

Illustration

River Iguazu Falls, on the border of Brazil

and Argentina. It is a spectacular waterfall
system of 275 falls as it runs along 2.7 km
(1.67 miles) of the Iguazu River.
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Etched on a wall on the Brazilian side of the

Falls are the words of Psalm 93:4, “Mightier
than the thunders of many waters, mightier
than the waves of the sea, the Lord on high
is mighty!” (rsv).

Below the verse these words are writtens,

“God is always greater than all of our
troubles.”

The roar of a waterfall is truly majestic…

Even when we might be facing troubles in

our lives similar to the roaring sea or

problems as louder as the falls.

In such situations, we have Someone to turn

to. He is the Lord, “who is able to do
immeasurably more than all we ask or
imagine” (Eph. 3:20)

for He is greater than all our troubles.

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As we seek Him with all our heart, I’m sure

we’ll find him carrying us safe throughout
this year because He is Powerful and
Greater than any trouble that might come
our way.

Lord, I know that You are powerful and greater than any trouble that might come
my way. I trust You to carry me through.