We see it. I wonder if we are seeing it at the present time. We have seen some tremendous cracks in the fabric of false prophecy over recent times. Look at the secular scene just very briefly. When I was younger Christians used to say, the final battle between antichrist and the church will probably be through communism. That seemed to be the big threat, and many Christians – not all, but many – thought, it’s going to be communism; antichrist will come through that. The Reformers thought it was the church of Rome. Maybe they'll turn out to be right. But earlier, in recent history, it was communism. Then it was Islam – sudden scare about this. The east west great religions are going to be in conflict, and the antichrist will use Islam. Then after that it was rationalism, and many Christians are saying, oh communism is going; it's been battered; it's received cracks. So has Islam. It has got itself split, and half the world is frightened of it, and only part of the world is enamoured by it. And now it’s the stranglehold of the militant atheists in the schools and the colleges, the universities, everywhere. You're a fool if you're not an atheist, and an evolutionist. And the polls of ten, fifteen, twenty years ago had ninety-five percent of people under thirty no longer believing in religion, but rather in a rational explanation for creation and everything. We are all atheists! Now we see things changing again. People are not being converted necessarily, but you have got thirty percent of youngsters rejecting evolution, in the polls anyway. It seems that Satan is having to look for an instrument, the beast out of the sea, because he is taking knocks, and every possible powerful instrument of his seems to be taking a great blow and tottering one after the other. Is it an indication of this next step? That the powers of hostility are beginning to be shaken? Perhaps. It would be wonderful for a last awakening to come before the end, and the final hostility of Satan, when his nominee will finally appear, but be very short lived and be destroyed by the brightness of the coming of Christ. Well this is a great sign.
The wonderful words in verse 13 have been a favourite text for gospel preachers. There are those who are concerned about the manner in which they should seek the Lord, and the primary reason for concern is that, as far as they know, they have been seeking him, yet without finding him. The word of God is full of such promises: that God is the rewarder of those who diligently seek him, and yet some seem to be frustrated in their search. It is our task to help those facing such difficulties. Start with the brighter side, if you are a seeker, there is a lot to be said for you. Something of the naivety which affects every one of us by nature, is by the grace of God beginning to be removed. The rose-tinted spectacles have slipped off. Our optimism for this world is fading. We are ready to recognize the obvious: that the invisible things of life are not available to the worldling. The great invisible blessings and benefits of life belong only to those who realise their need of pardon. We have seen that we need peace of heart, and it isn't available in this world, and so we are seeking it. We come to seek communion with God. We understand we have got no moral strength by ourselves. We' see that we need to understand the meaning and purpose of life. We need perhaps security beyond the grave. These things that we have got to seek are life's great invisibles. In the past we behaved as though there was no soul, no spiritual dimension, no eternity. We thought we could produce happiness and fulfilment for ourselves from purely material things. The seeker is beginning to see through that. The word of God teaches us that if we become seekers, it is only by the grace of God; God beginning to open our minds, but nevertheless, it's a tremendous place to be. But the word of God also teaches that to be a seeker can be a very dangerous position to be in. You are not there yet and the position of a seeker is a very slippery one. It is easy for somebody who is seeking the right things to slip from that position and to grow cold. If you have feelings within you that you want to find God, don't take them for granted. With the passage of a few months you may not be seeking at all. Then the deadness and indifference towards the things of God may be much worse than it ever was before. Your lot may be worse than it ever was before. Had you never been a seeker, you would be judged only for the things you had done and said and thought, but if you have become a seeker, you have got extra judgment because you probably have found out a certain amount about what the Lord Jesus Christ would have done for you, and yet you have turned away from him.
Why are you seeking Christ, and yet not making any progress? It may have gone on for weeks, months, years. ‘Ye shall seek me and find me when ye shall search for me with all your heart.’ The promise is that if you really seek him, you will find him, and you will find him immediately. Are you seeking the Lord? Are you seeking him personally? If you are seeking benefits and blessings, you are not going to find the Lord. All these blessings and benefits are only for those who find the Lord. You've got to find him. You won't find the Lord if you're looking for knowledge. If you're seeking, don't put the wrong thing first. You've got to seek him because it is only by him that you can have these blessings. But then the verse says you must seek with all your heart. As soon as you do, you will find him. You don't really want to change nature. You would like security beyond the grave, but you don't really want God to change you. The promise of God is that he will make a new person out of you, and you don't want that; not enough. Maybe you are still seeking because you will not wholly yield up to him as your Lord. You won't give yourself to Him. Maybe you won't give up the world. There are certain things you want to keep hold of. Maybe are still trying to solve all your own problems.
The word of God teaches that you cannot do anything to earn your salvation, but on the other hand you have got to be earnest. You've got to mean business. Strive to enter, it says. Lay hold on eternal life. If you're not doing that, how can you call yourself a real seeker? How can you be in earnest when you can leave it another four weeks before you come to the house of God again? Pray. Praying isn't hard. Praying simply means that you ask God. If you're seeking, ask God to help you. Ask God to lead you. But I don't know how to pray to him. I don't feel he's there. No, but don't you see, the Lord Jesus Christ said this, knock and it shall be opened. He understands this. He understands that you come to him and you can't feel his presence. You see, he is on the other side of the door. You need to be converted. Before you're converted, you can't feel him there. But you knock. Your first prayer is bound to be a prayer in which you feel outside. You trust that he is there at the other side of that door. He is there because he has promised that he is waiting for you to make that prayer.
If you are really seeking, be ready to give up your sinful habits. You may not be able to do it in your own strength, but be ready to with God’s help. As you go to God say, ‘Oh God, I want to find you. I want to seek you. I want pardon. I want to know the Lord Jesus. I want to be converted’, and as you go, give up your sinful habits. If you are not prepared to, you cannot be saved. You see, God will help you to do it. Before anything else, the Lord Jesus is a Saviour from sin. He can wash away your sin.
Think of him as the Lord who died for sinners on Calvary. Think of him with all his tenderness and his love. Think of him as he looked at great crowds of people and said, come unto me. When you think of him like that, it's very much easier to approach him. Then as you go, think of all the people who have been before you, the millions of people who have gone to the Lord Jesus and have asked him to forgive them. And he has. They have been able to say afterwards, he came to my soul. He changed me. I was born again.
Remember that you have an obligation to go now. You may shop around for the best deal, but don't bring that kind of thinking to the things of God. That is absolutely fatal. You have an obligation to believe, and to believe now. What are you saying to the Lord Jesus in your delay? Every moment you delay, you are in effect saying, I'm not so sure that it's much good being a child of God. I'm not really so sure that a life with the Lord Jesus Christ is as good as my present life.