Signs & Wonders of Christ's Arrival - - Not All Who Seek Him Find Him

 

Matthew 2:3, 4

3. When King Herod heard this, he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.

4. And when he had assembled all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. 

He asked not out of good intentions, for his heart was evil. 

In these next few verses, Matthew 2:5-8 and 16-18, we see the result of Herod not finding Jesus. Jesus had only just arrived; it was not His time yet to be found by those whose sole desire was to kill Him.

#Strong's Ex. Conc. No. 5015

Disturbed: agitate, stir up, trouble

From the Greek word 'tarassó' (pronounced tar-as'-so). To put in motion (to agitate back-and-forth, shake to-and-fro); (figuratively) to set in motion what needs to remain still (at ease); to "trouble" ("agitate"), causing inner perplexity (emotional agitation) from getting too stirred up inside ("upset"). 

The result of Herod not finding Jesus where He was said to be was that all boys two years old and younger in Bethlehem and it's surrounding areas were immediately murdered by Herod's men. Sadly, this fulfilled another prophecy from Jeremiah 13:15 "This is what the LORD says: “A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping, Rachel weeping for her children, and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.” (Matthew 2:17, 18) 

Who knows the intentions of the heart better than God? for the heart is what He looks at when He looks in our direction. Are the hearts of men/women in this day and age still looking for Him to worship Him or to seek His destruction? We can only answer for our own hearts. 

Having been unable to take out Jesus at His birth, the devil tries to destroy Him during His ministry, but it wasn't time. When the time did arrive, the devil's plans backfired: for the crucifixion of Christ overcame for once and for all all of the devil's stratagems.  Joy to the world, indeed. Now, through Christ, we too can overcome the enemy of our souls. 

Seek Him with a desire to know Him and He will surely reveal Himself. He does not hide Himself from the people who truly desire to know Him, love Him, adore Him.

Choose wisdom. Follow after it like the gold seekers of times past, for the wisdom of God is a far greater treasure than any earthly treasure that could be gained. 

The reason so many people do not understand the Bible, and why many misinterpret it, is because they do not want to know the God of the Bible. They are looking constantly for ways to deny Him, His existence. Some believe theories instead of facts because facts obstruct their beliefs. But what is a theory? Conjecture, speculation, assumption, ideology, philosophy are but a few words that mean the same thing as theory. ( I looked in the Thesaurus). 

Conjecture is 'what if'. Speculation is 'maybe'. Assumption is assuming something to be so without actual facts to back it up. Ideology is 'the body of belief or doctrine upon which a person or persons builds their life'. The dictionary has several definitions of Philosophy, none of which contradict each other, but the main theme is that Philosophy is the study and basis of rational thought, rational existence and conducting one's life with studious thought on how to behave. 

Theory is not fact. A fact is known entity. A theory is an unknown entity. Not the same. Wisdom of God is a known entity. The wisdom of men changes with the wind: for whichever the wind blows, man in and of himself, allows himself to be bent by the winds of heresies, false doctrines and the false prophets who spew them into the hearing of the hearts that reject Christ as Lord and Savior of their souls. 

Whose voice are you hearing today? Whose steps do you follow in? Who is your king?Where is your heart? I know where my heart is. For the Bible says, "Where your treasure is, there your heart is." (Luke 12:34) And my heart is with Jesus. 

O Come Let Us Adore Him by Elevation Church

 

Signs & Wonders of Christ's Arrival - - Seeking Jesus

 

Luke 2:15, 16

15. When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherd said to one another, "Let us go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us." 

16. So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph and the Baby, who was lying in the manger.

*Strong's Ex. Conc. No. 429

Found: to find out; I find by seeking out

From the Greek word 'aneuriskó' (pronounced an-yoo-ris'-ko)

SEEKING JESUS

Before we can find Jesus, we have to want to find Him. 

The cry of the heart is, "Show me Jesus!" It is a gut-wrenching cry, a pitiful sound that God hears and then sends someone to show the Way, to be the Light that shines into the darkness and leads that person crying out for Jesus to see Jesus.

Matthew 2:1, 2

1.  Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,

2. Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen His star in the east, and are come to worship Him.

Wise men. Wise men came from a far distance seeking the newborn King. Are we wise men? We have come from a far distance, too. After all, Jesus came a long way to meet us: all the way from heaven, a place so vast and distant we cannot comprehend its entirety in our own human understanding. 

Darkness is separated from Light. The distance there is a chasm so deep and wide that one can only cross it by believing on the Name of  The Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. 

To cross this chasm one must first see clearly the cross where Jesus died for us; and second, walk through the blood that it may be applied to us and go beyond the cross, to position one's self behind it. "Hide me behind the cross, Lord." And He does. 

LONGING FOR GOD'S PRESENCE

Our journey here is short, though our days may appear to be long, years quickly fly by. Yet in these days we yearn for the eternal presence of God. Our hearts, now filled with His Word, but not replete, hunger with an even greater hunger for God: to be near Him, to see Him.

Isaiah 26:9

My soul longs for You in the night; indeed, my spirit seeks You at dawn. For when Your judgments come upon the earth, the people of the world learn righteousness.

Psalm 63:1

A Psalm of David when he was in the wilderness of Judah. O God, You are my God; Early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You In a dry and thirsty land Where there is no water.

Luke 10:23, 24

23. Then Jesus turned to the disciples and said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. 

24. For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.”

LISTEN TO OUR HEARTS 

NOT FOUND

Not Found By The Unbeliever

Not everyone who seeks for, looks for, will find Jesus. Because their hearts are not in the right place when they go looking for Him. Only they who seek Jesus with a desire to know Him fully will find Him. But people who seek Jesus to destroy Jesus will never find Him; for their hearts are not sincere in seeking Him out. 

Luke 2:3-18 describes the secret intent of King Herod, who wanted to kill the new baby King.

The people who do not believe on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ for their salvation will never find Him.

John 7:34

"You will seek Me and will not find Me; and where I am, you are not able to come."

Not Found By The Believer

And when Jesus spoke on this subject with His disciples, He reiterated what He had said to the Jews earlier.

John 13:33

Little children, I am with you only a little while longer. You will look for Me, and as I said to the Jews, so now I say to you: ‘Where I am going, you cannot come.’Where Jesus went in His death, the believer cannot go in their death. For in death Jesus Christ conquered death and the grave. There is now no more death and grave for the believer in Christ. Death is swallowed up in Victory (1 Corinthians 15:54; Isaiah 25:8). Therefore, the believer cannot go to death and the grave! 

So, we must ask ourselves and search our hearts: Why are we seeking Jesus? What is our motive? On which side of the coin are we hoping to find Him? 

SEEK FIRST

THE MORE IS SEEK YOU

 

Early Will I Seek Thee

I used to be a morning person. I loved being awake before the sun rose, sitting on the back porch and watching the sun come up over the trees, sipping my coffee.
Now, even though my eyes are open, and I can semi-function, I am not really awake until 10 A.M. And then I eat. I try not to make any important decisions before I am fully awake, either. Regrets are for the impatient. Patience is waiting until the perfect time arrives to do the right thing, regardless of what I am contemplating doing.

But, did you know that God is a morning God? He created the mornings, when He created the daytime and the night time - Genesis 1:1-5 1. "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 2. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And The Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. 3. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. 4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. 5. And God called the light Day and the darkness he called Night And the evening and the morning were the first day."

The psalmist reminds us in Psalm 63:1 that seeking God early is beneficial to the body and the soul - "O God, Thou art my God; early will I seek Thee: my soul thirsts for Thee, my flesh longs for Thee, In a dry and thirsty land, where no water is."

Knowing this, I must begin to embrace the morning again. That God might be glorified in my life, through my words and my actions. Knowing this, I must trust that Father knows best for me. Knowing this, I must surrender daily to His perfect will for my life. For I am one of them. One of them who is called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28), not my own purpose nor my own will/wants.

Knowing this, I must seek Jesus while He may be found. For some day, The Holy Spirit will take the Bride of Christ, His Church, out of this concept of time: Day and Night, and bring her to His side. You think the world is changing now? Just wait.

Or don't wait. Let Jesus into your hearts, and ask The Holy Spirit to start changing you now. Before it's too late.