Ministry in Words

Seek Him – Part 1

寻求他 – 第一篇

Jeremiah 29:13

耶利米书29:13

You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

你们寻求我，若专心寻求我，就必寻见。

Introduction
前言

Through the prophet Jeremiah the Lord gave the Israelites who were in exile in Babylon this promise: that they will seek God and find Him when they search for Him with all their heart. I wonder why God didn’t say that they will seek God and find Him when they search for Him with all their eyes or ears, with all their observation and attention.  This is because our God is a spirit so He is not normally visibly or audibly observable.  Besides, we cannot find Him on our own. If not for Jesus the Son of Man who came to seek and save us who were lost, we would never be able to find Him. It takes our heart that is in touch with His heart to find Him. When we seek Him as a response to His seeking us, we find Him.
神通过先知耶利米给流放在巴比伦的以色列人这个应许：就是他们寻求神，若专心寻求神，就必寻见。我觉得奇怪为什麽神并未说他们寻求神，若用眼睛或耳朵，就是用观察力或注意力寻求神，就必寻见。这是因为我们的神是一个灵，所以他通常并不是在视觉或听觉上可以查觉到的。并且我们凭自己不能寻见他，若不是耶稣这位人子来寻找拯救我们这些失丧的人，我们就永不能寻见他。我们需要有一颗摸着他的心之心方能寻见他。当我们以寻求他来回应他寻找我们的时候，我们就寻见了。

Searching for Him with all our heart means searching for Him with a totally dedicated heart. Let’s consider what constitutes our search for Him with all our heart by looking at the account of the magi who searched for the baby Jesus.
专心寻求神的意思就是全心全意寻求他。让我们看博士寻找婴孩耶稣的故事来思想专心寻求神是什麽样子的。

1. Search with the right reason
一、 以正确的理由寻求

First, searching with all our heart is searching with the right reason, the right motive. Let’s look at two passages in the Gospel of Matthew.
首先，专心寻求就是以正确的理由或动机来寻求。让我们来看马太福音的两段经文。

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?  For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him." (Mt 2: 1-2)
当希律王的时候，耶稣生在犹太的伯利恒。有几个博士从东方来到耶路撒冷，说： 那生下来作犹太人之王的在那里？我们在东方看见他的星，特来拜他。〔太2:1-2〕

When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. (Mt 2: 10-11)
他们看见那星，就大大的欢喜；进了房子，看见小孩子和他母亲马利亚，就俯伏拜那小孩子，揭开宝盒，拿黄金、乳香、没药为礼物献给他。〔太2:10-11〕

In Matthew 2:1-2, the magi declared that the reason they searched for Jesus was to worship Him. What is recorded in Matthew 2:10-11 proves that worship was their true motive. Their deeds matched their words. When they found Jesus they prostrated themselves and worshiped Him.
在马太2:1-2博士声称他们寻求耶稣的理由是要拜他，而马太2:10-11的记载证明了他们真正的动机就是敬拜。他们的言行一致，当他们找到耶稣他们就俯伏拜他。

On the other hand, during Jesus’ life time there were many people who searched for Him for various reasons other than their dedication to Jesus:
另外一方面，在耶稣的一生中有许多人并非为了对耶稣献身而寻求他，而是为了各样不同的理由：

>King Herod searched for baby Jesus in order to kill Him due to his own insecurity.  Failed to find Him, he even ordered the slaughter of all boys age 2 and below to make sure that the new born king was eliminated.
>希律王因为他自己感到不安全因而寻找婴孩耶稣来杀害他。但他找不到，就下令屠杀所有两岁及以下的男孩，要肯定那新生王被灭绝了。

When we seek God but will not let Him rule in our life, we are, like Herod, wanting to be in control ourselves.
当我们寻求神但又不愿意让他掌管我们的生命，我们就像希律一样要自己掌握一切。


> After the crowd, numbering 5000 of men alone, were fed miraculously, they searched for Jesus in order to crown Him so that they might always have their fill.
>那群众中光是男人就有五千，他们神奇地得到喂饱後，就寻求耶稣来推他为王好让他们永远得饱足。

When we look to God only for our physical needs, we may miss the greater spiritual blessings. Jesus said that our physical needs are important, “but seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to [us] as well.” (Mt 6:33)
当我们只为了我们肉体上的需要来仰望神，我们就有可能失去那更大的属灵福气。耶稣说我们肉体的需要是重要的，但「[我]们要先求他的国和他的义，这些东西都要加给[我]们了。」〔太6:33〕

To be continued next week.
下周待续。

May we seek Him with all our heart so we may find Him.

愿我们专心寻求他，好让我们寻见他。

Tom and Tehwan Tso
仲谋与德菀

“The outcome of your faith is the salvation of your souls.” 1Peter 1:9

“信心的果效， 就是灵魂的救恩” 彼得前书1：9