SEEK YE THE LORD WHILE HE MAY BE FOUND

Isaiah said this to the nation Israel. But it applies to you too. It says you must seek the Lord now, in this time, because you can find Him, and He is near, close to you now.

This implies that there will come a time when the Lord is not near, not close, and you can’t find Him. That did happen to Israel, and it will happen to you. There will come a time when you can’t find God, when you can’t be saved, even if you might like to be.

Most people think you can come to God any time you want. Most churches teach the same thing. That causes people to think they can wait as long as they want. That’s why some people want to wait until they are dying. But that’s not what the Bible says. There will come a time when you can’t find God even if you want to.

But how could that happen? That’s what I want to talk about today.

I. First, you may step back from God.

You may say, “I would never step back from God.” Maybe you’re interested in Him now. Maybe you’re thinking about trusting Jesus now. But it won’t always be that way. In fact, the window of time when you’re seriously interested can be quite narrow.

Think about it. In the past, you went through years and years without seriously thinking about your sins. Without seriously thinking about trusting Jesus. Oh, you believed that God exists. You believed that Jesus exists. But it wasn’t a priority for you to trust Jesus and be saved.

If it was that way in the past, it could be that way in the future. Why not?

In fact, you can’t be on the edge of trusting Jesus all your life. Nobody can. It’s too important. It’s too much of a yes or no. At some point you either do it, or you don’t. You either trust Jesus and go forward – or you step back or you don’t.

Have you ever jumped off a diving board into a swimming pool? I have. Many of you have. But all of you know what I’m talking about. It can be scary if the board is high above the water. Imagine you are standing at the end of the diving board and the water is below. You can’t stand on the end of the diving board forever, and you won’t. Before long you will either jump, or you will step back. And that’s the way it is with trusting Jesus. You can’t stand on the edge all your life. You either trust Jesus or you step back.

I trusted Jesus when I was 23 years old. I remember that night. In fact, I remember the exact time. Many times before, I had backed away from trusting Jesus. Once some people got me on my knees to pray with them. I stood up and said, “I can’t do it.” I pushed Jesus away many times. I wanted to sin. I wanted my independence. But finally, one night I decided to give in and trust Jesus, and I did.

But what if I hadn’t? Would I really have lived on the edge for years and years more – for all my life? No. Let’s face it. Sooner or later, I would have gone on to other things. I would have gone on to my career, to achievements, to money.

Sometimes I wonder if that Friday was the last day for me, the exact day. I won’t know the answer until I get to Heaven. But for sure, for sure, if I had gone on two or three more years without trusting Jesus, I would finally lose interest. And I would never be saved. Oh, I would think about it once in a while. But that would not be my focus. It would not be my main priority. I would go on to other things.

Nobody can be on the edge like that forever. Nobody can be in that psychological state forever. Nobody can stay in that intense state at the border of decision forever. At some point you will either go forward and trust Jesus, or you will back away. That’s for sure.

Oh, you will still believe in God. You will still believe about Jesus. You may still go to church. But the urgency won’t be there anymore. You’ll be used to things. You’ll be used to yourself.

When is that day for you? I don’t know. But you don’t know either! That’s why you need to come to Jesus now, before it’s too late.

“Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near” (Isaiah 55:6).

II. Second, God may step back from you.

You may say, “God will never step back from you. He loves me and He will always be there.”

Sorry, but that’s not true. Remember that God is a person, not a machine. You are a person, aren’t you? You have thoughts and feelings. Well, God is a person Himself. You probably admit that. And God has thoughts and feelings too. He’s not a machine. He has the right to step away from you if you keep turning Him away. And He will.

Think about it. A young person applies for a job at a company. They turn him down. They reject him. How long will he keep applying there? No, he will step back and look somewhere else.

Think about it. A young man asks a woman for a date. He likes her. He’s interested in her. So, he asks her for a date. But she says no. Never mind why. She says no. He may ask her again later. And she says no again.

He won’t go after her for the rest of his life. No, he will step away and think about someone else. That’s just the way it is.

And so it is with God. He’s a person too. If you go on and on saying no, He will step away from you. You keep saying to Jesus, “No.” “Not now.” “Maybe later.” “Go away, at least for now.” “Leave me alone.” “I won’t trust you now.” “Let me have my own life.”

How long can you keep hurting God? How long can you keep refusing Jesus? How long can you keep insulting Him before He steps away? He can and He will. It makes perfect sense.

“Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near” (Isaiah 55:6).

Would God ever do that? Yes. He has done it many times, and He will step back from you too. In ancient times many people stepped away from God. Listen to the Bible.

“Even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind” (Romans 1:28).

They didn’t want God. So God gave up on them. He gave them up. They went on to do all kinds of sins.

Reprobate means rejected, given up, useless, thrown away, a wicked person who God finally lets go. And that will happen to you.

You may live for many years. You may do all kinds of things. But it will be too late for you. God has stepped away from you and given you up. That’s why the Bible says,

“She that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth” (I Timothy 5:6).

You will go on with your life until it ends. But you will be dead – dead to God, dead to salvation – even while you are still living.

“Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near” (Isaiah 55:6).

III. Third, what you should do.

Look at Isaiah 55:7. It’s the next verse after our main text. Page 762 in the Scofield study Bible.

“Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon” (Isaiah 55:7).

There it is! Get serious about your soul. Repent. In the Bible, “repent” means “change your mind.” Change your mind about your sin. Change your mind about yourself. You’re not good after all. In fact, you are a bad sinner. Wake up! Wake up!

Change your mind about your wicked ways. Think of how bad they are. Think about your thoughts. Think about your priorities. Think about your selfishness. Oh, yes, turn to the Lord.

Come to Jesus. Trust Him. Even though you are a bad sinner, He loves you. He died on the Cross for you. He paid the penalty for all your sins, inside and outside, past, present and future. He gave His Blood to wash your sins away. Then,

“He will have mercy upon [you]… [and] he will abundantly pardon” (Isaiah 55:7).

That’s all. Turn to Jesus. Trust Him. He will have mercy on you. He will pardon you. He will forgive you. All you need to do is trust Him. Oh, please! Trust Jesus! I hope that you will. Amen.