“But 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 diligently seek Him.” Hebrews 11:6
How does one really define “diligently seek”?
This scripture presents many truths. Do you believe this verse? Do you accept the premise of it? Let’s dissect it a little. If you believe that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him diligently then you would seek Him diligently. But what does this word “diligently” mean? In the Greek there is one word that is translated “diligently seek” and that term is “ekzeteo” and means to seek with more than a casual effort. In the Old Testament, God put it this way, “You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13. “Seek me with all your heart” is pretty definitive, but there is still a quantitative element to it. How does one determine what “all your heart” means? Actually, Jesus addressed this issue in a kingdom parable, but let’s first put it in reality terms for right now. Suppose someone gave you a silver dollar. Most common silver dollars have a market value of between $2.00 and $5.00 so it has some monetary value and a certain level of reminiscent value since they are no longer made. If after being given this silver dollar you discovered you had lost it, how “diligently” would you try to find it? I’m sure you might have a level of diligence. You would probably check your pockets to see if you could discover it and not finding it you might check a few spots that you might have set it down. Beyond that you may shrug your shoulders and quit looking, thinking, “maybe it’ll show up”.
How about if you knew the facts of the coin and discovered that the silver dollar that you lost was one of the rare ones and had greater value. How much greater you might ask? Well suppose your silver dollar was one of the remaining six 1804 draped bust silver dollars minted in 1834 and that the match to it had sold for 4.14 million in August 1999. Now how diligently would you search for it? I dare say, you would try to search every inch of earth you had ever been to since you last remembered having it, and you wouldn’t stop until you found it or were too exhausted to go on. You would Seek it with “all your heart”.!!
Jesus had this to say about seeking God. “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” Matthew 13:44
That’s the “diligence that’s being talked about in Hebrews 11:6. This “sell all you have” theme is found often in Jesus’ messages.
The first part of the scripture that has to be evaluated and accepted in order to act on it is the thought that God is a “rewarder” of those who seek Him with all their heart. Do you believe this? Is the reward worth it? What value do you put on it? If you seek for Him with the same casualness that you might search for that common silver dollar worth a few bucks, then maybe you don’t understand the “rewards”. The bible is very clear about the “riches” of God and his willingness to give them to those who love Him and diligently seek Him. And please don’t denigrate the truth in this by lowering the value to some earthly trinket or coin. $4.14 million is a paltry amount next to the riches that are available to you in the kingdom. A part of the ‘riches’ I’m talking about is the ability to change the course of history and to eternally impact the lives of one or of many. I’m talking about “laying hands on the sick and they recover”. About finding yourself in the presence of kings for the purpose of saving a nation. I’m not talking about little rewards here. Paul impacted the world eternally because he did indeed “diligently seek” the Lord once he had found out the real truth. In the end, he presented the gospel to the highest ruler in the world and the end of it was Christians being impacted by his diligently seeking for two thousand years. Now that’s an inheritance! So who would apply it to something so mundane as new houses and fancy cars? Only someone who didn’t discern the “true riches” of the kingdom.
If the “rewards” of this verse in Hebrews seem too remote to relate to, then pray that the Lord will give you the “spirit of revelation”.
Ephesians 1:15-19 For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you and your love for all the saints, 16 do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers; 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him. 18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might.
Until you begin to understand the “riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints” you will not understand the concept of “diligently seek” or the concept of “sold all he had and bought the field.”
Being lukewarm (Revelation 3:14-22)
If the thought that comes to you is “What’s all the hoorah about? I love God and I’m saved and going to heaven, so why get all lathered up? I’ll take my leisure in Zion and enjoy the rewards of the kingdom when I get to heaven.”
It’s a little like hoping to be given a congressional medal of honor in peacetime military. It’s simply not going to happen. You’ve got to see action.
“So who cares?” you ask. “Isn’t an eternity with the Lord enough? Why knock myself out for these few years when I can enjoy the ‘world’ now and ‘heaven’ later?”
This is the “have my cake and eat it too” mentality. Unfortunately it is built on a false premise. The concept that all eternities are the same in the kingdom of God. This lie decries the concept of “a great falling away” of which Jesus spoke. Here’s a couple of scriptures you need to put in the mix if your thoughts take you down that road.
1 Corinthians 3:10-15 According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. 11 For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13 each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. 14 If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. 15 If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.
2 Thessalonians 2:3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition,
Matthew 24:10-13 “At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another. 11 “Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. 12 “Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold. 13 ” But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.”
Have you noticed that the love of most is growing cold? Have you sensed the nearness to the end of this age. Do you want to enter heaven smelling of smoke? I have no doubt that one day in His house would beat an eternity anywhere else, but I think if that is the extent of your hope in God, you have seriously limited Him. You might want to rethink your concept of heaven and what this life is meant to do. Everything that happens here prepares you for what lies ahead, and the glory He shares is linked to those things you enter into in this life. Your medals will come from the battlefield, not from the peace of heaven. I would like to testify along with Paul when he said in Romans 8:18
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
There is absolutely nothing that you give over to the Lord in this life that is worth comparing to what you get back – in this life and in the life to come. Nothing!
How diligently do you seek God? – Judge yourself
But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged . 1 Corinthians 11:31
How often this month have you assembled together with your brothers and sisters from your home church? (Hebrews 10:25) In our church this month, there were a total of 4 Sundays – 3 Wednesdays – 6 home fellowships – and 7 prayer gatherings for a total of 20 opportunities this February for “assembling together”. That’s 5 per week. How many were you at?.
How often this month have you contributed to the needs of saints at your home church either emotionally, spiritually or physically? (“every joint supplies” – Ephesians 4:16)
How often this month have you gathered together with another brother or sister from your church family in a “two or more agree” prayer time? (Matthew 18:19)
How often this month have you broke bread with your brothers and sisters in the Lord, as the example that was given in Acts? (Acts 2:46)
Outside of your job, have you spent more time pursuing worldly pursuits (TV, hobbies, family activities, relaxation, etc.), than you have pursuing God (bible study / prayer / meditating on the word / reading biblical material / listening to spiritually based messages, family study time or family fellowship time with God as the focus, etc.) In the month of February you have had 672 hours of time given to you. If you slept 8 hours a day that left you with 448 hours. If you worked and commuted 10 hours a day for five days each week that left you with 248 hours. That’s 62 hours per week left over. How did you spend it?
So how did you come out? How much time do you devote to seeking God? Ones involvement with the body of Christ brings one closer to Christ. In your church how often were you ministering / fellowshipping / learning / praying. If your ministry extends past the walls of your local church, then you were still ministering to the body of Christ, but that can’t replace the assembling that takes place within a committed church family.
Many times we convince ourselves that we are something we are not. James says to be a doer of the word and not just a hearer because the hearer only deceives themselves and think they are spiritual and they’re not.
James 1:22-25 But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer , he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; 24 for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. 25 But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer , this man will be blessed in what he does.
Luke 6:46-49 “But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say? 47 Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: 48 He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock. 49 But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great.”
Jesus said that the wise man who built his house on the rock was the one who heard his words and did them. He was a doer of the word. From the items listed above you can rate your own “doer’ quotient. I think many Christians, if they were really honest, would have to admit that “diligently” is not how they seek God. Hopefully if that is the outcome you had, when you looked at it – if it made you feel guilty (and guilty is a good way to feel when you’re guilty), you will not allow your flesh to put you under condemnation but instead you will act on the conviction. Conviction brings action and condemnation perpetuates despair. That’s how you can tell if you are responding to the conviction or getting condemned. If you do nothing but feel bad, you’ve settled for condemnation. In the kingdom, falling down is acceptable – staying there is not. Make a commitment to begin to change, keeping in mind that change is a process that takes time. Each time that conviction comes. renounce the works of darkness, confess them as sin, ask God to forgive you for your sin, and the blood of Christ will cleanse you from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9) This has to be “confessed”. In other words it must come out of your mouth. Not to some intermediary priest but to our high priest, the Lord Jesus Christ. You cannot just dwell in the futility of your mind as the Gentiles do. Ephesians 4:17. You can’t just imagine these truths in your mind but they MUST be in your mouth. You must let the “confession” come from the mouth and “declare” the outcome from the same mouth. Confess believe and declare. ‘Confess’ with the mouth, believe in your heart, and declare the goodness of the Lord,
Pray out loud something like this. “Lord Jesus, I know that I have sinned by being double minded – lukewarm – and I did not seek you with all my heart. Forgive me for this. I confess it as sin and I declare the promise you gave us, that your blood, Lord has cleansed me from all unrighteousness. Help me to walk in this moment of cleansing that I might remain clean. Convict me again if I stumble or fall.”
If this is not spoken out loud through your mouth it does not have the same effect on your faith or disarm the lies of the enemy. YOU MUST SPEAK IT!!! Remember the word says that with the heart one believes unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Romans 10:10. Not just some bye and bye – pie in the sky salvation that only takes care of your eternity but the resurrected power of Christ working in and through you NOW, to deliver you at that moment from the condemnation of the enemy. Salvation is for now! TODAY is the day of salvation!
In conclusion, you have a choice to make. Do you want to “diligently seek” or “simply survive”? The choice is up to you and no one can make it for you. I hope you understand the value of the kingdom and if you don’t, I hope you are willing to diligently seek him for the revelation of the value of it with the certainty that if God said it was worth your time – then it is worth your time “for God cannot lie.” Become a “doer’ and discover the glory that He gives to those who “diligently seek.”