“While we run from God and seek him not, he pursues us through his Holy Spirit, his Holy Word, and his Holy Church. And with sovereign ease, in his own timing, we, who are lost, are found. Friends, aren’t you glad God is the Master Seeker and his church is a Seeker Driven fellowship?”

I am so thankful that God seeks worshipers. Jesus promised such in his discourse with the woman from Samaria:

But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.”     (John 4:23)

I am so thankful that Jesus seeks sinners. Jesus spoke of this in his dialogue with the man from Jericho:

He entered Jericho and was passing through. And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”     (Luke 19:1-10)

Friends, isn’t this a major theme in the Bible? In the Garden of Eden, Adam plays “hide and seek” with God and is graciously found by his Redeemer. In the Torah, God searches out and collects Abraham, Moses, and the Israelites. Throughout the prophets and the writings, God seeks for worshipers in Israel, Egypt, Jericho, Nineveh, and Babylon. And in the Gospels, God in human flesh proves to be on a glorious hunt for his elect. Before his ascension, Jesus’ commissions his Apostles and disciples; they are commanded to be international and multi-ethnic fishers of men. And following his departure, his disciples dutifully obey; they operate with God in seeking out and saving sinners.

Then there is our story. While we run from God and seek him not, he pursues us through his Holy Spirit, his Holy Word, and his Holy Church. And with sovereign ease, in his own timing, we, who are lost, are found. Friends, aren’t you glad God is the Master Seeker and his church is a Seeker Driven fellowship?

However, there is a question that should be asked at this point:

God believes in the Seeker Driven Church, and through his Seeker Driven Church he sought you out. However, do you believe in the Seeker Driven Church?

Are we fishers of men and hunters of the elect? Have we a great commitment to the Great Commission? Are we like the woman from Samaria who sought more worshipers in her village or the tax collector from Jericho who sought more worshipers in his territory? God would have us join with him in building and being a Seeker Driven fellowship. Let us worship him appropriately in the sanctuary, and let us worship him appropriately in the streets. Let us come together to offer him appropriate, scripture-regulated worship, and as we do so let us seek to bring with us the lost and hurting who may be being sought out by the Seeker. Then, after our worship service, let us go out into the neighborhood and marketplace and live like Jesus. Let us become more and more proficient and passionate in being seekers. Let us build a Seeker Driven Church and please the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit who sought us out.

Joseph A. Franks IV is a minister in the Presbyterian Church in America and is Pastor of Palmetto Hills Presbyterian Church in Simpsonville, South Carolina.  This article first appeared on his blog, and is used with permission.