Who are you seeking? Seek, Ask, Knock
Theme: The Holy Spirit
Theme Verse: "'Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit', says the LORD of Hosts." Zechariah 4:6
Readings: John 1: 29-42 (NKJV, see end of lesson), Luke 11: 5-13,
Optional: Psalm 27:8, Proverbs 8:17, Isaiah 55: 5-7, Jeremiah 29:11-13
Memory Verse: "So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you." Luke 11:9 (Pre-K to grade 3)
Look first at John 1. John's calling was to prepare the way for revealing Jesus to Israel as the Messiah. Part of the purpose of the baptism of repentance was to prepare people's hearts to respond to the revelation from God. This was revealed, not something John figured out. In vs. 33, it says that God the Father told him what to look for. God prepared John so that he was watching and waiting for the one God was sending. Word received: I want you to be watchful, just as John was alert and watchful. Part of seeking is watching.
God reveals himself and we only find him as he reveals himself to us. John wouldn't have recognized Jesus unless God had told him (vs.31, 33). But as we see in this lesson, God is seeking us and longs for us to seek him so he can reveal himself to us. Think of Jesus as the Good Shepherd going out looking for lost sheep. Think of God sending Moses to bring his people out of Egypt and God (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) sending Jesus into this world to bring salvation to those who received him.
Repentance is the preparation for receiving what Jesus wants to give us. Many of the religious leaders of Jesus' day rejected God's purpose for themselves by refusing the baptism of John (Luke 7:30). As our hearts are set to seek God, he will reveal to us what is really true and where we need to repent (turn around, change). Prayer: Father, grant us eyes to see Jesus and repentance so that we will be able to receive your purpose for us.
Because John was listening to what God was showing him, he recognized Jesus and was able to point others to him. John points to Jesus as the one who existed before he did, as the Lamb of God, as the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit and as the Son of God. Word received: Jesus wants our love for him to shine through our lives so that all will know him. Part of loving God is listening to him and for his voice.
"I did not know him, but that he should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing." (John1:31) Word received: I want you to follow my directions as John did so that I will be revealed to people around you. "And John bore witness saying, "I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and he remained upon him." (John 1:32) Word received: I desire to come on you too and fill your heart with my love. Word received: I want my Spirit to come down on each and everyone of my children just as he did on my son, Jesus. "I did not know him but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, 'Upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining on him, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.'" (John 1:33) Word received:John did not know me at first but the Holy Spirit's coming revealed to him who I AM. I want my people to receive the Holy Spirit so that they can know who I AM. "And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God." (John 1:34) Word received: When the Holy Spirit intervenes, you too will be able to testify about me.
Because of John's witness, two disciples followed Jesus and they brought others. Word received: Jesus wants our love for him to shine through our lives so that all will know him. Notice also that Andrew pointed and brought his brother to Jesus and Jesus gave him a new name that shows what God is going to do in his life. God desires to give us new life in him. (But we have to respond and choose him. God will not force us.) (Also notice all the different ways people come to Jesus. There is no "cookie cutter")
Notice also that Jesus is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit (vs.33). Remember that Jesus said he would ask the Father to send him to be with his disciples. (Jesus' baptism is one of the places where we see the Trinity working.) Jesus, though he was filled with the Spirit from him conception, received an anointing of power from the Holy Spirit for his ministry. We can only do the ministry God calls us to through that same power of the Holy Spirit. We have to ask for it, but first, we need to surrender our lives to Jesus and become God's sons and daughters. (An example of the need to ask is the light switch on the wall. The power is there and available to us, but we have to choose to click the switch to get light, to act.)
What do you seek? Notice what Jesus does with the two disciples of John who have heard John's witness and are following along behind Jesus without saying anything. Jesus knows they are there and "smokes them out" and turns it into a personal encounter. He bluntly asks them, "What do you seek?" That is a question God asks us also. Are we seeking more of God or something that we want or need? God knows what we need before we ask but he wants us to desire him above all good things. Jesus invites the two disciples to "come and see", to spend time with him.
The Bible is full of verses about seeking God. Psalm 27:8 "When you said, 'Seek my face,' my heart said to you, ' your face, LORD,. I will seek.'" Word received: I want you to seek me; make the choice to seek me. God wants us to seek him with all our hearts (and not be double-minded or ambivalent.) The word "seek" implies a goal-oriented search and not just a casual looking without a set purpose. God will find, reveal himself to those who seek him with all their hearts. What is distracting us from our search for God or for more of him?
(Proverbs 8:12) Word received: Ask for my Holy Spirit to help you find me.
Prayer: Lord, thank you for your encouragement and your care.
(Read Isaiah 55: 6-7) "Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon." Word received: My heart's desire is for my people to turn from their ways to my way, I long to forgive them. "Seek ye the Lord while he may be found..." God's desire for his people is always repentance, turning to him so he can forgive. God has his times of visitation. There are times that God has arranged for his people, a time of availability. They can choose to waste and miss that opportunity. Jesus weeping over Jerusalem's refusal to turn to him is an example. God is righteous and does have times of judgment for sinful and evil ways but he longs for people to take advantage of his offers of forgiveness and new life.
Read Jeremiah 29:11-13. Prayer: Thank you for the plans you have for me. Encourage me to seek you and to follow you. Thank you for your love and patience.
God wants us to completely rely on him. He will listen to us. He loves us and wants his good plans for our lives. But the key for us is to seek him and call on him with all our hearts. We have a choice here. He wants us to find him.
Now look at Luke 11. Jesus is teaching his disciples here and they had just asked him to teach them to pray as they saw him doing. God's character, seen here, is that of a loving Father who desires the best for his children. The startling word in the parable (in Greek) is "importunity" meaning "impudence". It is also translated boldness and persistence. Jesus and the Father want us to come to them with boldness and persistence because God is a loving Father who wants to give us good gifts, especially his Holy Spirit. Hebrews 4:16 says, "Let us come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need." Word received: Don't be afraid to seek and ask me for what you need. I want you to ask, I want you to seek. I want a relationship with each and every one of you.
In verse 10 there is a promise. Word received: This is a promise you can stand on -- the truth of my word. God promises to hear our prayers and reward those who seek him. It is NOT, however, God as a celestial Santa Claus. He is a loving Father who would not give a snake or a stone to his child, even if the child asked for one. "Daddy, can I have a rattlesnake as a pet?" Also we are not to try to manipulate God into doing our will as people do with pagan gods or spirits of evil. (Example: the smallpox god in India or the occult.)
Jesus is addressing his disciples here. Oswald Chambers comments that Jesus is talking to God's sons and daughters, those who have surrendered their lives to him. Jesus says elsewhere, "whatever you ask 'in my name'…", which is shorthand for -- according to his will. As we receive the Holy Spirit and are led by him, we will more and more know what God wants and, if we don't, to ask for his good and perfect will to be done. Jesus was always determined to seek and do the will of his father in Heaven.
John 1:32-42 (New King James Version)
32And John bore witness, saying, "I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and he remained upon him. 33I did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, 'Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.' 34And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God."
35Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples. 36And looking at Jesus as he walked, he said, "Behold the Lamb of God!"
37The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. 38Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, "What do you seek?"
They said to him, "Rabbi" (which is to say, when translated, Teacher), "where are you staying?"
39He said to them, "Come and see." They came and saw where he was staying, and remained with him that day (now it was about the tenth hour).
40One of the two who heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. 41He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, "We have found the Messiah" (which is translated, the Christ). 42And he brought him to Jesus.
Now when Jesus looked at him, He said, "You are Simon the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas" (which is translated, A Stone).
Teaching Ideas for Lesson 04
Please read the Study Guide first. Go over Memory Verse to make sure the children understand it and then if they have memorized it.
Remind them their parents need to sign a report slip monthly if they have read the lessons, so they will get credit at the end of the year.
Make sure they know what happened in the story. Get them to tell you.
Basic points of the lesson for little ones:
1.God loves us and is seeking us, because He wants a relationship with us. He wants to send His Holy Spirit to each one of His children and fill our hearts with His love.
2. God wants us to seek Him. He is faithful, and will always answer us.
3. God wants us to ask Him questions. He wants to answer us. He wants us to listen to Him with our hearts. Part of loving God is listening to Him and for His voice.
4. Whenever we seek the Lord, ask for His help, and then follow through and knock; the Lord will always answer. Our God is faithful. Ask for God's Holy Spirit to help you come near to Him. Invite Him to come into your heart.
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