Seeking the Face of Our Lord Jesus Christ
Seeking the King of glory.
Welcome back to our series on revealing the King of glory.
Revealing Him this Christmas and all year.
So far, the first four verses of Psalm 24 uncovered how both creation (verses 1-2) and holiness (verses 3-4) reveal the glorious kingship of Jesus Christ.
Only those with clean hands and a pure heart stand in the Lord’s holy place as He makes us holy.
Now, let’s look at the next two verses.
“He will receive blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation. Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob. Selah” Psalm 24:5-6 (ESV emphasis added)
Not only do we receive blessing and righteousness in our salvation, but we also continue to seek the face of our Lord.
Seeking the King
When we relentlessly seek King Jesus, it radically transforms us. And the enemy knows it. So he uses the world’s distractions to keep us from seeking after Jesus.
When we relentlessly seek King Jesus, it radically transforms us. And the enemy knows it. So he uses the world’s distractions to keep us from seeking after Jesus. #King #Jesus Click To TweetBecause we struggle with how living in this world clashes with not being of this world. Or, we experience the ongoing battle between our flesh and spirit.
Throughout the history of the world, the history of God’s people, and the history of the Bible, the choice always stood in place. Either seek after God or seek something else.
David penned these words in another Psalm.
“One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.” Psalm 27:4 (ESV emphasis added)
Further, there’s this message in Hebrews.
“And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” Hebrews 11:6 (ESV emphasis added)
Oh to really desire seeking after the Lord, gazing upon His beauty and believing in Him with firm faith!
Oh to really desire seeking after the Lord, gazing upon His beauty and believing in Him with firm faith! #King #Jesus Click To Tweet
Seeking the Kingdom
Christ also came to show us how to seek the Father’s kingdom through:
1. Praying, “Your kingdom come” (Matthew 6:9b).
2. Not becoming anxious about our needs, “But first seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Matthew 6:33 (ESV)
3. Humbling ourselves, seeking His face and praying, “If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14 (ESV emphases added)
Seek Jesus, He Seeks Us
How marvelous the King of glory, the King of kings and Lord of lords, seeks after us with a desire that we come to know Him as Lord and Savior.
“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Luke 19:10 (NIV)
Once we have been found, we seek after the King of glory—earnestly and always.
“O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.” Psalm 63:1 (ESV emphasis added)
“Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always.” 1 Chronicles 16:11 (NIV emphasis added)
How marvelous the King of glory, the King of kings and Lord of lords, seeks after us with a desire that we come to know Him as Lord and Savior. #King #Jesus Click To TweetA Prayer of Seeking
Lord, help me to seek You above all else; to seek You as King in my life and not seek after the things of this world, but Your kingdom alone. Create in me a desire to always and earnestly seek Your face. Thank You for seeking me and finding me. In the name of Jesus. Amen.
How did the King of glory seek after you? How do you seek His face?
Since next Thursday is Christmas Eve, the final article in this series will post on Wednesday, 12/23.
I hope you join us for the last four verses of Psalm 24 that describe the King of glory in beautiful detail, perfect for a few days before Christmas and my favorite part of the Psalm!
Sometimes I participate in these link-ups:
Legacy Linkup/Inspire Me Monday/Tell His Story/Purposeful Faith/Recharge Wednesday/Tune in Thursday/Heart Encouragement/Embracing the Unexpected/Candidly Christian, Faith On Fire and Faith and Worship Christian Weekend.
© 2020 by Karen Friday, All rights reserved
“When we relentlessly seek King Jesus, it radically transforms us.” It’s such a powerful and lovely thought to know Jesus seeks us too! Thanks, Karen.
Lisa, it is such a powerful thing that Jesus seeks us and then desires we spend our spiritual journey seeking His face!
To seek Him helps me to know Him more and more. When I get too busy and am not seeking Him, it is me that loses out on the great gift of knowing Him. Focusing is where I need to center my brain and my heart. Thanks for a lovely reminder.
Agree, Linda. Seeking Jesus’ face helps us know Him and make Him known…all year long!
Seek the Lord daily- great words of wisdom. I am really enjoying this series so thanks for sharing it. And I am looking forward to reading about the King of glory. This Psalm is very beautiful.
Thank you, Yvonne. “Lord, help us to seek You above all else; to seek You as King in our life and not seek after the things of this world, but Your kingdom alone. Create in us a desire to always and earnestly seek Your face. Thank You for seeking us and finding us. In the name of Jesus. Amen.”
Shouted “Amen” all throughout your post Ms. Karen. Moving post ma’am. Thank you and God’s blessings. Satan doesn’t bother with those already following his worldly schemes; he’s got them. His focus, he prowls like a hungry lion, is on disrupting the Christian’s walk in faith. I think my favorite meme/t-shirt reads “Satan saw me with head bowed and thought he finally had me again. Then, as he crept closer, he heard me say Amen.” 🙂
J.D., agree, the enemy is in hot pursuit of those committed and faithful believers who are loyal to the King of glory. May we pray against his schemes and not falter in our firm faith! And what a great meme! Thanks for sharing!
“Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always.” 1 Chronicles 16:11 (NIV)
May we earnestly seek the Lord, the King of Glory, every day of our lives.
Beautiful post today, Karen! Blessings!
Thank you, Martha!
Lord, help me to seek You above all else; to seek You as King in my life and not seek after the things of this world, but Your kingdom alone. Create in me a desire to always and earnestly seek Your face. Thank You for seeking me and finding me. In the name of Jesus. Amen.
Karen,
Thank you for these articles during this season. We should always seek Him, but especially during this time of the year. So we can be reminded why we celebrate. It’s all about Him, and His gift to us. I pray that others accept His gift of salvation and seek Him. When I started seeking Him in my life it changed everything for me! He came and showed Himself to me. Amen, oh to seek Him!
Appreciate your encouraging comment, Carla. Yes, it’s my prayer also. Not only that we, God’s people, seek His face always. But that the lost let the King of glory find and save them!
Thank you for this uplifting post, Karen! It’s such a joy to have a Savior who continually pursues us and seeks after us. That pursuit prompts our love in return, and we turn to seek after him as well. The tenderness of his wooing Spirit as he convicts and reminds and encourages draws us toward him. His face shall we seek! This relationship will carry us one day right into heaven where we will always be face to face with him, the search having brought us home. What a joy that will be when our Jesus we shall see!
Melinda, celebrated these thoughts with you, “This relationship will carry us one day right into heaven where we will always be face to face with him, the search having brought us home. What a joy that will be when our Jesus we shall see!” Hallelujah!
“O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.” Psalm 63:1 (ESV)
Ah, YES! This is key: that the enemy knows the transformation Jesus brings and he uses the world’s distractions to keep us from seeking after Jesus. I get SO distracted sometimes, and it’s an effort to push distractions aside, but realizing I’m really fighting the devil reminds me of why it’s so important.
It is key to remember who we battle with. The distractions, the world, the old self and our flesh constantly fight for our attention. But, oh, to “Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always.” 1 Chronicles 16:11 (NIV)
The enemy is trying to use many different moments in life to bring us down. We must turn away from the enemy and seek God in every moment of our lives. Distractions must not take us away from sharing time with the Lord and then, showing His love to others. Great message Karen. Merry Christmas!
Thank you for your words, Melissa. Well said. Lord, help us not seek the things of this world but you first and show your love to others! Merry Christmas, Melissa!
Love this, Karen: “Throughout the history of the world, the history of God’s people, and the history of the Bible, the choice always stood in place. Either seek after God or seek something else.”
I choose Jesus! Thanks for pointing your readers to Him post after post.
This has been a delightful series for the holiday season.
Blessings, sweet friend!
I choose Jesus, too, Beckie! There’s not a lack of things to seek after, those false hopes to place our faith in. But they will crumble and fall away! Our King of glory will stand forever.
I love this reminder, Karen. Right now so many distractions are swirling and vying for our attention. How comforting to remember that He is seeking after me! So humbling. May we turn our focus on Him alone and seek after Him. ❤️
Karen, it is so humbling that Christ seeks us out and continues to seek our heart…our complete loyalty. I pray to continually and earnestly seek the King of Glory.
Unfathomable really, to be sought after by the King of Glory…
So true, Michele. So thankful Jesus came to seek and to save the lost…me!
This post means more to me now than at any other time. The kingdom of God is our only hope. Nothing in the world will last or sustain us.
One thing I’ve learned, June. I may spend years building my own kingdom and then it often crumbles. And if it doesn’t crumble in this life, it will be of no value in the next.
Karen, I love how you have walked us through this scripture passage and pointed us to Christ in deeper ways. Beautifully done! This desire
to seek the Lord” is part of my daily prayers. I know He is my source and my strength, literally my very breath. He is my salvation and hope now and forever. May nothing else take His place in my heart as my greatest treasure. I love your scripture explanations and your ending prayer. May we seek Him more and more, come what may!
Melissa, I need to make the seeking prayer part of my daily prayer life. Because the enemy works overtime in this area for believers who are set on following Jesus with a whole heart and with all our heart, soul and mind!
Karen, your thoughts on seeking the Kingdom are well put, “Christ also came to show us how to seek the Father’s kingdom through:
1. Praying, “Your kingdom come”; 2. Not becoming anxious about our needs; 3. Humbling ourselves, seeking His face and praying.” Thank you for sharing!
You’re welcome, Lisa. Apppreciate you reading and commenting. So grateful our Savior came to seek and save the lost and to show us the way of seeking after the kingdom!
Karen, thank you for your insightful comments. I agree with your observations that there are so many temptations around us that can draw our eyes horizontally rather than vertically. It takes a daily, even hourly commitment to raise our eyes and focus on Jesus. And as we do, we are gradually transformed. Thankfully, Jesus relentlessly pursues us and desires to be in a relationship with us!
Hey Anne, I know this is true in my life, seeking the King of glory and His kingdom always transforms me more into His image than ever before! Merry Christmas!
Karen, so beautiful, encouraging, and insightful. Thank you got such a lovely post. Blessings and Merry Christmas.
Visiting from Inspire Me Monday #3
Thank you, Paula. I pray we seek after Jesus with ALL…all our heart, soul, mind, and strength!
Maybe it’s especially hard to seek Jesus during Christmastime, even though the season is about Him. Those who want gifts have many distractions. Those who enjoy new recipes or love to bake are in the kitchen more. Those who miss extended family spend time catching up. And we can’t forget the kiddos. It’s easily to overlook Jesus now and throughout the year. I hope this Christmas, perhaps with different challenges, causes us to seek Him more.
Stephen, this has been an epic year like none any of us have experienced. I pray it made an impact on our hearts for Christ and to purposfully seek after Jesus and God’s face like never before!