Diligently Seek Him

by Lahry Sibley, Sr.

John 17:17 Sanctify them [purify, consecrate, separate them for Yourself, make them holy]
by the Truth; Your Word is Truth.(Amplified Bible)

Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please and be satisfactory to Him. For
whoever would come near to God must [necessarily] believe that God exists and that He is
the rewarder of those who earnestly and diligently seek Him [out]. (Amplified Bible)

Jesus, the Son of God ever sought fellowship with the Father from infancy to ascension. When He was
not busy obeying the Father, He was alone with Him seeking Him for what to do next. This was His
lifestyle. This seeking and obeying was and is a key to His success in ministry as the God/Man. It is
the key to our success, not as man defines success, but as God defines it.

Success in the kingdom of God is to be separated by Him for Himself. That is what the Lord prayed
above for His disciples, that the Father would separate the disciples for Himself (2 Cor 6:17). Those
who are so separated, or set apart (sanctified) are done so by the revelation of Truth and God
empowered obedience to it.

God’s Word is Truth. To be separated for Him by Him is to become a “saint”, a “called out one”. It
happens not at a burning bush. It happens by and through the revelation of His Word. He said “the
Holy Spirit will lead us and guide us into all truth”. It is a work of God, front to back, start to finish.
However, God does not force feed us. We have to cooperate and obey.

Heb 11:6 says that without “faith” it is impossible to please God. Religion is all about man’s
understanding and man’s futile attempts to please God. Nowhere does it say that without “works” it is
impossible to please God. Faith pleases God. Faith in the Father, and in His great love for us as
revealed through the life and sacrifice of His Son Jesus. It is by faith that we begin to reap the
rewards of being in the family of God. When we begin to diligently seek Him, God begins a work of
reward in us.

Heb 11:6 - But without faith [it is] impossible to please [him]: for he that cometh to God must believe that
he is, and [that] he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

These rewards are not of this world. Jesus did not slip away to be alone with the Father for the
rewards of this world. The reward of God is the revelation of Himself (Gen 15:1). It begins with faith,
faith comes by hearing, hearing by the Word of God. (Rom 10:17)

So we begin to see a flower of truth blossom here. God Himself, His Son, and His people, all united in
one Holy accord by the Word of His Truth; and the revelation of His life begins to shine in us and
through us as His Word and His truth take hold in our hearts and we begin to become separated from
this world and find true rewards that can only be found in His kingdom.

So I must ask myself have I been seeking Him or have I been seeking His rewards? In all honesty,
must you ask yourself the same question? Personally, I don’t like the answer I had for me. You may
not like the answer that comes to mind for your question about you. That’s ok. It only means that we
both need to right the course and get back into the flow of God instead of the struggle of man. God
never struggles. Men who know God do not struggle. Encounter difficulties? Oh most certainly. But we
struggle not.

I’ve made up excuses for my lack of obedience to the leading of His Holy Spirit. I’ve found substitutes
for His Truth that satisfied the desires of my flesh. I have tragically fallen short of the Glory of His
Majestic Truth and the loss of reward is beyond description or measure. It is a loss that cannot and will
not be recovered because of the loss of opportunity that could have been mine but sadly will not ever
be again. Because to me, like so many countless others, there was a way that “seemed right”, but its
end has no reward, no true inner contentment, no peace, no joy, no presence of His glory in the way
of my own choosing that “seems right”. I often knew to do good, but did not do it….sin!

See, I’ve fallen short because I’ve left His Way and have chosen a way of my own design and
determination. It’s nothing new really. Did not Aaron and the Hebrew children fashion a “way” (golden
calf) that was not His Way? (Ex 32:24)

What is His Way? John 1:1 says that “in the beginning was the Word”. That means that before all else
as we know and understand it, the Word was, His Word of Truth. John says that “the Word was with
God and the Word is God”. Then just down the page, He states the Truth of God revealed to man, “and
the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). Who is this “Word that became flesh”? Is it
not the Christ?

So there is no separation to God without a revelation of His Word. His Word is Truth. In that Truth we
find His love. In His love we find His expression of His perfect love, His sacrifice in our place on the
Cross. The expression of His love is the Lord Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. The reward of seeking
Him is a personal and intimate relationship with Him in the Spiritual Realm (James 4:8).

Jesus told His disciples to preach that the Kingdom of God is “at hand” (Mk 1:14). What does that
mean to you? To me it means that it is ever before me and all around me, not in some cosmic
sanctuary billions of light years from us. God is omnipresent. Therefore His Kingdom is omnipresent.
It’s not some place I’ll go one day. It’s where I wake up every morning. It is where He has kept me
through the night. So if I want to diligently seek God, I don’t have to go to Israel to some man made
shrine. I don’t have to attend any special “how too” conference put together to glorify self proclaimed
men who have vainly attempted to establish themselves as the glory of God. I don’t even have to
clean the toilets at the local building wrongfully called a church. (The saints are the church) All I have
to do is seek Him. Where do I find Him? In His Truth. The Revelation of His Truth is in His Word. It is
the Word of His power (Hbr 1:3). I follow His leadership. He said the Holy Spirit is the One Who leads
and guides us into all truth. Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life”(Jn 14:6). If we are not
following Jesus alone, we are not going the right way.

Joshua 7:13 “Up, sanctify the people, and say, Sanctify yourselves against tomorrow: for thus
saith the LORD God of Israel, [There is] an accursed thing in the midst of thee, O Israel: thou canst
not stand before thine enemies, until ye take away the accursed thing from among you.”

I had to ask myself a question, is there an accursed thing in my midst? My reply, more than one. No
wonder my flesh is out of control. No wonder I live in such shame and deep down discontentment.
“Sanctify” means to keep oneself “apart or separate”. Separate from what? From the things of this
world that excite my flesh and cause it to rise up and demand attention and satisfaction.

Saints, this is nothing new to me. I’ve known this is what God has expected all along for a very long
time, much to my shame and loss. Romans 12 vs 1 would often times scream at me. “Are you
presenting yourself as a living sacrifice, Lahry?” I often ran from the answer, refusing to address it
head on.
Beloved, God does not play games. He operates much like a computer. You have to do things His way,
or you find yourself looking at a blank screen. The Holy Spirit is shouting “ERROR” in our heart. So
what do we do? We find something amusing, something entertaining, something that pleases the flesh
and gives us pleasure for a moment and accept the emptiness that can last indefinitely. Am I the only
one here?

So if we are to sanctify ourselves, there seems to me that some action is required on our part. We
have to clean our house, inside and out. Throw out anything and everything that is an occasion for
stumbling. Then, and only then will we find our Holy God that we so diligently seek.

2 Ch 29:5 And said unto them, Hear me, ye Levites, sanctify now yourselves, and sanctify the house of
the LORD God of your fathers, and carry forth the filthiness out of the holy [place].

God is Holy. We ask Him to have intimacy with us. God cannot be intimate with filthiness in His Holy
Place. We are His tabernacle, beloved. Right? You did say amen, didn’t you? Amen. Is there anything
there right now that needs to be tidied up? We do this by repenting. Then we put Romans 12:21 to
practice. We overcome evil, with good. See…if we are busy doing good things, we take away
opportunity for our flesh to demand that we do evil things.

Good things lead us into intimate fellowship with God, diligently seeking Him day in and day out. As
the glitz and glitter of this world begins to subside, we hear that still small voice more clearly. Then we
are able to obey Him. John 14:21 says that if we obey Him, we will be loved by the Father, and the
Lord Jesus Christ will manifest Himself to us. Is that “top shelf” or what? LOVED BY THE FATHER,
saints. God watches over what He loves. Jesus manifesting Himself in all His radiant glory to us! Wow!

We simply cannot serve two masters (Mk 6:24). The Words of the Savior demand a decision. One, or
the other. Which will it be. God or mammon. You cannot serve both. We are either diligently seeking
God, or chasing after rocks painted gold. We cannot have both.

So the Holy Spirit sets before us this Man called Jesus. As when the Savior was condemned, we are
asked to choose, Jesus or Barabas. Which will it be. You cannot serve both. Who will you serve? Or will
you crucify Him? What will you do with this Man called Jesus? Sanctify ourselves for Him, or turn Him
away and serve the flesh and embrace the rudiments of this world, all the while saying we are His.

It’s time to stop playing church and start being the church. It’s the sanctified church that the world
needs to see, beloved. They are looking for that glow that comes from being in His presence. Will they
see Him in us, or will they simply see a liar, pretending to be something he or she is not. Selah
(Pause, and think of that).

Way back in the Old Testament, Dt 30:19, God said, “I call heaven and earth to record this day
against you, [that] I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life,
that both thou and thy seed may live:”

We all have to make a choice. God does not hide the correct answer from us. He tells us “choose life”.
Life is in the blood of Jesus. He is the only choice that pleases our Holy God by imputing His
righteousness (right standing with God) upon each of us that “choose life”. He is the Way, He is the
Truth, He is the Life. Choose LIFE. Diligently seek Him.

Amen and amen.