GOD’S ENDLESS QUEST
2 Chronicles 16:9

A. Wonderful words of comfort and beauty. Filled the with joy and confidence of being loved.
1. All of that just because it put a spotlight on the face of God. It Reveals Him as the eternal seeker of mankind.
a. If it lights up the face of God. It also sheds revealing light on the face of mankind.
(A) Tells what we’re prone to forget. That despite all the faults, sins, shortcomings,
Man is a grand and noble creature.
(1) Ever in pessimistic mood. Want to say something mean, spiteful about man?
(a) You can do so without over stating your case. Agree with cynic, “I could
believe in humanity if it weren’t for people” Carlyle, “The world is made up of
millions and most are fools.”
No ugly word you can speak without speaking the absolute truth. No trust man has not betrayed, crime not committed, depth of moral infamy he has not sounded. At his very worst he seems to be a son of the Devil.
(2) But if you want to be an optimist. Do so and be just as correct as the pessimist.
If nothing you say is to bad. It’s equally true, there is nothing you say is to good.
No danger not dared, Height not attempted to scale, sacrifice not glad to make.
(B) One mark of man’s Greatness is his insatiable hunger for God. Other creatures are
content if their physical needs are met. Not so with man.
That fact is illustrated in Luke 15:11-32. Story of the Prodigal Son. Ended up feeding with the swine. Had something in common. Both had to eat. But that’s where the similarity ends.
When the pigs ate they were satisfied. Impossible for the Prodigal. He was
still haunted by the voices and memories of home.
And so it is with all of mankind. We were made for God. Can not rest as long as we are separated from Him. That’s the mark of our greatness.
But the supreme mark of greatness is not our hunger for God. God’s hunger for us.
God has always sought man before man sought God.
That truth caused the writer of Chronicles to say, “The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong in behalf of those whose heart is truly seeking Him.” God is seeking us.
Jno. 4:23. And we seek because we are being sought That’s what we are told in 1 Jno. 4:10, “We love because He first loved us.”
It’s this love, seeking, endless quest that constitutes man’s claim to greatness
2. Even David found it hard to believe that God could love such an insignificant creature. How could we be of worth to the creator of all the galaxies, Psalms 8:3-6.
1. Not only are we of worth, but we are what God loves most and what He seeks most.
2. So precious that even at our worst. Our worth to God out weighs all else in the world.
B. God’s endless quest for man is the central theme of the Bible. That story is found on every
page of the Bible.
a. It began in Genesis when Adam turned away from God. When Adam broke from God he
was restless and afraid. Not seek God. The opposite. He ran from God and hid.
It was not Adam who cried out, “God, My God, where are You?” It was God for Adam.
(1) Through the centuries it’s man who hid and God who always began the search.
(1) We find Him searching on the first page of the Bible, and also on the last page.
(2) Now we see His face and understand Him more clearly.

(3) And it’s the same quest, plea, cry. Hear His call in Rev. 22:12.
(2) From beginning to end, first page to last, God is on this endless quest, His arms are wide open and He is calling, “Come unto me all you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke on you for My yoke is easy and My burden is Light.” No matter where you go God will pursue and seek you.
(1) David had such an experience and wrote about it in Psalms 139:7-10.
(2) Climax of that persuit reaches it’s fulness as Jesus dies on the cross for our sins.
Luke 19:10.
(3) Luke 15:4-7. Story of shepherd who left the 99 to search for the one lost sheep.
(1) Vs. 7.
(2) What’s significant is that there is no price God is not willing to pay.
(4) Just look at the Cross. More than just a historical fact.
(1) Jesus on the cross is God on the cross. Saying, “I love you that much!”
(b) Tells of God’s heartache as He goes on this endless quest for mankind.
(c) Poem: “None of the ransomed ever knew, How deep were the waters crossed,
Nor how dark was the night the Lord passed through, Ere He found His sheep
that were lost.”
b. This God of infinite love is seeking you. Make you strong, enable you to stand on your
feet and give you the victory over self and sin.
(1) His invitation is always there, Revelation 3:20.
(2) 2 Chronicles 16:9.
(3) Acts 20:32.
(4) He calls, He seeks, He invites while we stand and sing.

Spur - 4/22/2001 am Bob Martin