Canaan Fellowship

Are You Seeking God?

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Canaan Fellowship
Canaan Fellowship
Are You Seeking God?
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Bruce opens with a Mother’s Day reflection, honoring mothers and exploring Eve’s example as “the mother of all living.” He transitions into the main topic about actively seeking God, explaining why it matters and how believers can do it individually and corporately.

  • [00:00] Honored mothers present and those who have gone before, sharing how his mother’s faith influenced him and his siblings
  • [00:51] Read Genesis 3:20: Adam named his wife Eve because she was the mother of all living; the Hebrew word Eve resembles the word for living
  • [01:14] Mothers carried us for nine months and endured pain in childbirth as a result of the fall — we should honor them
  • [02:13] Eve acknowledged God’s help when she bore Cain, saying “I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord” (Genesis 4:1)
  • [02:58] When Seth was born, Eve said “God has appointed for me another child instead of Abel” (Genesis 4:25), showing she attributed childbirth to God
  • [03:27] Encouraged mothers to have a personal relationship with God because so much comes to children through that
  • [04:07] Scripture doesn’t record Adam talking to God after the fall, highlighting the importance of fathers also having a relationship with the Lord
  • [05:15] Urged parents not to delegate faith to the church but to bring the Lord into the home through prayer, reading the Word, and sowing seeds of faith in children

Are You Seeking God?

  • [06:00] Posed the question “Are you seeking God?” noting that many churches would be puzzled by it
  • [06:17] Being a Christian is not equivalent to attending church — one can attend without truly seeking God
  • [07:52] Being saved and going to heaven is not the primary message of the Bible; Jesus taught to pray “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10)
  • [08:40] Four reasons to actively seek God:
    1. [09:37] It pleases God
    2. [09:44] Love makes us want to spend time with the one we love
    3. [09:59] We miss out on God’s greatest blessings if we don’t seek Him
    4. [10:39] Others around us, especially family, miss out when we don’t seek the Lord

How to Seek God — Interactive List

  • [12:50] Read the Bible — spending time in God’s Word renews our mind and transforms us (Romans 12:2)
  • [13:23] Study and meditate on the Bible
  • [13:43] Prayer and fasting
  • [14:04] Fellowship with other believers — Hebrews 10:24-25 encourages stirring one another up and not neglecting to meet together
  • [14:47] Prayer — enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise (Psalm 100:4)
  • [15:13] Examined the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13) as a pattern: begins with adoration, prays for God’s agenda first, then personal needs, confession, and deliverance from evil
  • [17:36] Forgiveness is crucial — “forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors”; shared a personal story about forgiving his father
  • [21:59] We need protection from the devil; like a roaring lion, he seeks to trip up Christians (1 Peter 5:8)
  • [23:28] Worship — individual and corporate worship is for God but also good for us
  • [24:14] Time alone with God — more likely to be neglected because nobody is watching
  • [25:07] Practice gratitude — enter His courts with thanksgiving
  • [26:28] Service — those who serve the Lord grow spiritually
  • [27:37] Friendship and brotherhood (accountability) — more joyful than a formal “accountability partner”
  • [28:11] Obedience to the Lord
  • [28:20] Times of retreat — taking time apart corporately, like pilgrimage in ancient Israel

Examples of Seeking God from Scripture and History

  • [29:17] The Great Awakening — revival through preaching by George Whitefield, Jonathan Edwards, and Charles Wesley

  • [30:01] Examples from Scripture: Jesus alone in the wilderness 40 days; Paul away for three years after conversion; Jesus praying alone on mountainsides; all-night prayer meetings

  • [31:18] David strengthened himself in the Lord when Ziklag was burned and his men spoke of stoning him

  • [31:44] The early church prayed for boldness when threatened with persecution (Acts 4)

  • [32:05] Earnest prayer for Peter in prison led to his deliverance (Acts 12)

  • [32:53] Paul and Barnabas’ missionary journey began with leaders praying and fasting (Acts 13)

  • [33:23] The blessing comes in doing what we know — individually and corporately

  • [33:54] Challenged the church to consider how much they are praying together, including all-night prayer meetings

  • [34:27] Quoted Hosea 10:12: “Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap steadfast love, break up your fallow ground; it is time to seek the Lord that he may come and rain righteousness upon you”

  • [35:13] Closing prayer: desire to seek the Lord with all heart and hear “Well done, good and faithful servant”

Scripture References

  • Genesis 3:20
  • Genesis 4:1
  • Genesis 4:25
  • Matthew 6:9-13
  • Romans 12:2
  • Psalm 100:4
  • Hebrews 10:24-25
  • 1 Peter 5:8
  • Hosea 10:12

Generated by AI model deepseek-chat