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There is no greater achievement in spiritual growth than to reach the ìhigh callingî of the Lord, which is the revelation of the life of Christ in the individual who truly believes on the Lord Jesus. The Apostle Paul set the fulfillment of the manifestation of Christ in him as the ultimate objective of his life. Having clearly established the fact that there was a place in Christ where the same perfection found in the Lord could be known by him, he began to press toward the mark. Phil. 3:14 Pressing toward the mark cannot be a hit and miss situation. It demands strong, persistent, consistent seeking after. There must be an all consuming desire and a great love in order to gain the prize.
Just how desperately should we seek the Lord? That depends upon how sincerely one really wants to do the perfect will of the Lord. Take for instance the reaction of Asa (healer) the king of Judah when Azariah (whom Jehovah helps), by the inspiration of the Spirit confronted Asa with a message from the Lord which holds true, even for today. It is simple but factual. If you serve the Lord, He will be with you. If you abandon the Lord He will abandon you. 2 Chr. 15:2 When the left Him, they were soon in trouble. Then returning to Him, He in His mercy was found of them.
2 Chr. 15:4 Does that somehow have a familiar ring to it? Under such sloppy spiritual conditions, there was no peace. 2 Chr. 15:5 Asa responded to the words of the prophecy and cleaned up their worship. The Word changes conditions, with change there is going to be a great difference. So earnest was Asa in his purpose of returning to the Lord that he passed a law containing the sentence of death on all who would not seek the Lord. Incidentally, that automatically takes place when we fail to seek the Lord, there is spiritual death. 2 Chr. 15:13.
May their reaction be that of the modern day church. They all entered into a vow with loud shoutingís and instruments promising to seek the Lord. They gladly received the words of the king and promised with all of their heart and their whole desire that they would diligently seek the Lord. So simple, yet the results are profound. 2 Chr. 15:14 The peace of the Lord, the joy of the Lord, the blessings of the Lord are all still available to those who will give Him first place in their lives and will whole heartedly seek the Lord. In that day the Lord gave them rest, no disturbances with the neighboring countries. The rest, the peace of the Lord is evident in the life of those who diligently seek the Lord. Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you. Mat. 6:33 Simple but true.