09-09-2020, 05:17 PM
*RESTORATION TODAY*
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2020
*TOPIC: SEEKING THE FACE OF GOD*
"I intreated thy favour with my whole heart: be merciful unto me according to thy word.” Psalm 119:58
*MESSAGE*
The Psalmist writes: ‘I intreated thy favour with my whole heart’; but what does it mean for us to intreat God’s favour? It is to seek God’s face. In Hebrew, the word for ‘face’ can also be translated as ‘presence’. So the Psalmist is talking about seeking God’s presence. And it’s something that we’re called to do, too.
Sometimes it can feel like we’re longing to find God, to experience His presence, and when we don’t find it quickly we start to doubt. But Jeremiah writes: ‘And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.’ (Jeremiah 29:13). Notice those words, ‘all you heart’? When we seek God with all our heart, He promises that we’ll find Him.
Seeking God’s face with all our heart means that we do so with everything we have, that our priority is seeking Him and spending time with Him. It is desiring Him above all else in the world. This can be so hard in a world where we face distractions from all sides. Sometimes the distractions are outrightly bad things which take us down the wrong path. Other times they are good things like serving in the church, building relationships and helping others. But when anything gets in the way of us trying to seek God and His plan for us, we need to assess our priorities and make sure our heart is fixed on seeking God first.
Psalm 63 begins with: ‘O God, thou art my God; 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’ (Psalm 63:1). It’s clear the Psalmist desperately longs for God’s presence, to see His face. Their whole being longs for God. Can we say the same about ourselves?
*ACTION POINT*
?️ What has been distracting you from seeking God with all your heart? Write the things down and resolve to put seeking God as your priority.
*SCRIPTURES*
Psalm 63:1-11; Jeremiah 29:13
*PRAYER POINTS*
1. Lord, thank You for making Yourself available to me.
2. Father, help me to prioritise seeking Your face above all else in the name of Jesus.
3. Father, as many as are seeking Your face for a good job, a godly spouse, the fruit of the womb and other blessings, provide for them speedily in the name of Jesus.
*THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR*
1 Kings 1, Jer. 9, Eph. 3
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2020
*TOPIC: SEEKING THE FACE OF GOD*
"I intreated thy favour with my whole heart: be merciful unto me according to thy word.” Psalm 119:58
*MESSAGE*
The Psalmist writes: ‘I intreated thy favour with my whole heart’; but what does it mean for us to intreat God’s favour? It is to seek God’s face. In Hebrew, the word for ‘face’ can also be translated as ‘presence’. So the Psalmist is talking about seeking God’s presence. And it’s something that we’re called to do, too.
Sometimes it can feel like we’re longing to find God, to experience His presence, and when we don’t find it quickly we start to doubt. But Jeremiah writes: ‘And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.’ (Jeremiah 29:13). Notice those words, ‘all you heart’? When we seek God with all our heart, He promises that we’ll find Him.
Seeking God’s face with all our heart means that we do so with everything we have, that our priority is seeking Him and spending time with Him. It is desiring Him above all else in the world. This can be so hard in a world where we face distractions from all sides. Sometimes the distractions are outrightly bad things which take us down the wrong path. Other times they are good things like serving in the church, building relationships and helping others. But when anything gets in the way of us trying to seek God and His plan for us, we need to assess our priorities and make sure our heart is fixed on seeking God first.
Psalm 63 begins with: ‘O God, thou art my God; 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’ (Psalm 63:1). It’s clear the Psalmist desperately longs for God’s presence, to see His face. Their whole being longs for God. Can we say the same about ourselves?
*ACTION POINT*
?️ What has been distracting you from seeking God with all your heart? Write the things down and resolve to put seeking God as your priority.
*SCRIPTURES*
Psalm 63:1-11; Jeremiah 29:13
*PRAYER POINTS*
1. Lord, thank You for making Yourself available to me.
2. Father, help me to prioritise seeking Your face above all else in the name of Jesus.
3. Father, as many as are seeking Your face for a good job, a godly spouse, the fruit of the womb and other blessings, provide for them speedily in the name of Jesus.
*THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR*
1 Kings 1, Jer. 9, Eph. 3