Skip to content Beth Jones - Who Does God Reveal Himself To Aug 9 · 24 min ...more
Beth Jones - Who Does God Reveal Himself To
August 9, 2022 · 24 min
Series Pray TV August 9, 2022 · 24 min · Pray TV
...more Show the full description Show less Support this leader Liking this video? Support this ministry.
Support this leader
Liking this video? Support this ministry.
Give
Support this leader Liking this video? Support this ministry.
613K followers
Beth Jones is a Bible teacher and founder of The Basics With Beth, a non-profit Christian teaching ministry dedicated to helping people learn the Bible basics.
613K followers
0:00 Welcome0:15 to the bases with Beth TV program, and we are having so much fun together getting a grip on the basics of the bible. And so for the last number of episodes, I'm0:27 taking you through a whole process where globally around the world, we are getting into the bible and really truly learning the basics, putting our roots down deep into god's word, and building a0:38 firm foundation. All you need is your bible and a notebook, and you can take notes and really dive in with us. Okay? But if you'd like to go through the book sort of the way we are going0:50 through it, it's this book, getting a grip on the basics. And this is a book I wrote some 30 plus years ago. And back in 19 89, I wrote the very first version of1:02 it, and it's been published all these years. And God has seen fit to touch it, and people have translated it now into over 15 to 18 to 20 languages around the world. With all of that, we're jumping1:14 in to how to develop our relationship with the Lord. And we talked in our last episode about getting to know God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, the Godhead,1:26 personally. Knowing God as your father, knowing Jesus as your Lord, your savior, your healer, your redeemer, and then knowing the holy spirit as your comforter, your counselor, your guide, your helper. So1:38 many ways we get to know the lord. Now, I wanna jump into this idea of, like, how do you seek the lord? You know, it's 1 thing to know about god, but then how do you know him personally? And it really comes1:49 by seeking. And the Bible says a lot about that. Of course, Jesus said a lot about that. In the Old Testament, we see the same principle. This idea that as we seek the Lord, he will be found2:01 by us. So before we do that, I wanna show you a demonstration, a little example. It's a visual aid, and and it does help. It'll help us, again, to see how we relate to God the Father, God the Son, God2:13 the Holy Spirit. So I'm gonna clear my desk, and I'm gonna show you a fun little illustration to drive this home. Okay? So stand by. As you can see, we've cleared the desk, and2:25 so now I wanna show you this illustration to really paint the picture of our relationship with God the father, God the son, God the holy spirit. Now I'm going to use espresso cups, okay, to depict this. I2:37 know that God, Jesus, and the holy spirit are not espresso cups. It's just an illustration. It's the best we could do. It's colorful, and I think you're gonna get the picture. Okay? So let me talk you through it, and2:49 then we'll explain as we go. Alright. God the father. Where is he located? The bible tells us that God is seated on his throne in heaven. Right? His throne of grace. And we can come boldly3:01 to the throne of grace through Jesus to have interaction with the father. He's seated on his throne of grace in heaven. Now where does the Bible tell us Jesus is located? The Bible says that Jesus, he was raised3:13 from the dead after going to the cross, has been raised up, given the name that's above every other name, and he's been seated at the right hand of the father. Okay? So there we go. Again, I repeat, for those of you3:24 tuning in, we know God is not an espresso cup. Okay? It's just an illustration. Alright. God the father, Jesus the son seated at his right hand, and then the holy spirit. Where does the bible tell us the holy3:36 spirit is located? The bible says Jesus said the holy spirit would be sent to us and located on Earth. Okay? I'm gonna make sure you guys can see all these. God the Father, Jesus, the3:48 Holy Spirit on Earth. And where are you and I located? This represents us, humans. Where are we located? We're on Earth. Okay. So making sense? So let me read you what the Bible says about4:00 this. Jesus said some really critical and detailed things about our relationship with the godhead. Jesus said John 16 verses 12 through4:12 15, this is from the classic amplified version. He said, I still have many things to say to you, to to his disciples and to us, but you are not able to bear them yet or take them4:23 upon yourself or grasp them. But when he, the holy spirit, the spirit of truth, the truth giving spirit comes, he will guide you into all truth, the whole full truth,4:35 for he will not speak his own message on his own authority, but he will tell you whatever he hears from the father. He will give the message that has been given4:47 to him, and he will announce to you and declare to you the things that are to come that will happen in the future. He will honor me, Jesus said,4:59 and glorify me because he will take of, receive, draw upon what is mine and will reveal, declare, disclose, and transmit it to you.5:11 Everything that the father has is mine, Jesus said. That's what I meant when I said that he, the spirit, will take the things that are mine and will reveal, declare,5:23 disclose, and transmit them to you. Did you all see that? Did you see that movement? The father, the son, the holy spirit. And then the holy spirit, like I said, is not just with us, he's in us. What a cool5:35 illustration. I know he's not a coffee cup, but what a cool illustration of this relationship you and I can have with the Holy Spirit. Get to know him for sure. With Jesus, get to know him for5:47 sure, and with the father. Okay. Now I wanna transition to another little illustration, so bear with me. I'm going to go ahead and slide some things around. Alright? And then we're gonna put this front5:59 and center right about like this. Okay. This represents us, but the Bible describes you and I as a 3 part being, spirit, soul, and body. First Thessalonians 5 23. We are a spirit. We have a6:10 soul. Here's our soul. And we live in a body. Our earth suit, our legal vehicle for being on earth. We are a spirit. We have a soul. We live in a6:22 body. Now the Holy Spirit lives in us, and he's with us. But he lives in us. We're gonna kinda join these 2 together. Alright? So God's desire is that we have a relationship with the Godhead, and6:34 that from our spirit, from our heart, he is transmitting, declaring, disclosing, revealing himself to us. And he wants our spirit man, our heart, our inner man to be strong. And6:46 really, the truth be known, he wants our inner man with the help of the Holy Spirit to dominate our soul, which is our mind, our emotions, our will, and to dominate our body, our6:57 flesh. But see a lot of us, myself included, a lot of us as we were growing up, we were dominated by our flesh, by our appetites. Whatever our flesh wanted to do is what our flesh did. If we wanna eat a bag of7:09 Doritos at 3 in the morning, that's what we did. If we wanna drink and party and do drugs and do all run around and sleep with all kinds of people, we did whatever we wanted to do because our flesh7:21 dominated. Or it's possible our soul dominated us. It's possible we lived a lot of our lives allowing our emotions and the drama and all the7:32 hysteria to dominate our lives or depression or shame. I mean, all kinds of emotional realm things or mental realm things. It may be we were very analytical, very7:44 logical. And if it did not make logical sense, we did not allow it into our lives because we were so dominated by intellect, by our mind. Now our physical body is a good thing. Our7:55 intellect, our emotion, it's a good thing. Our will, you know, some people are very strong willed. Some people are very weak willed. And if we allow a weak will or a strong will to dominate us, that's not the way god8:07 designed it. Those are all good things when they are in subjection to our spirit man, our heart. Can you see that? Can you see this little picture? Let me just do this. We are spirit, soul, and body.8:20 And once you become a born again Christian and your spirit's alive to God and the Holy Spirit lives within us, then man, we've got a majority here. Thank God the Holy Spirit helps us. He strengthens us. We're walking8:31 with God so that our spirit, our inner man, tells our soul, tells our body what to do. It gets in line, gets into alignment with God's will, God's purposes,8:44 because the Holy Spirit's leading us from the inside out. Can you see that? But can you also see that, man, a lot of us, and even sometimes as Christians, we spend a lot of time letting our flesh, our body, and our8:55 soul drive the train, dictate everything. And that explains the roller coaster Christian life. But what God wants is he just wants, like we've said, this ever increasing consistent Christian life, and the way that9:07 happens is right here. You and I in a relationship with the Holy Spirit, with Jesus, with God the Father. Man oh man. It'll just it's so basic. I know. But it'll so set you up9:19 for that victorious, fruitful Christian life God has for you. Can you see it? I hope so. Okay. Now let me clear my desk 1 more time, and we'll get back to our lesson. Alright?9:30 Okay. So did that whole illustration make sense? Did you get it? We are now gonna jump into how do we seek the Lord to get to know God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit better.9:42 Alright? So let's look at several bible verses, and let's dive into this basic. Let's start with Matthew 6 33. Of course, it's a very familiar verse to a lot of people, but let's just talk about it for a minute.9:54 Jesus said, but seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all of these things will be added to you. And he had described in that whole story, he had described, you know, you look at the the10:06 lilies of the field, and they grow so beautifully, and and you look at the birds of the air, and your heavenly father feeds them. And was not Solomon in all of his glory even better than they, and yet your heavenly10:18 father takes good care of them and feeds them. And he's and then on the heels of that, Jesus said, so you seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. Seek God. He will take care of you just like he does the10:29 lilies and the birds. And there's something about that, know, it's a principle, we'll see it here. When we put God first, when we seek the Lord, he is found by us. And Jesus said now here's interesting. Jesus didn't10:41 say seek only God. He knows you have kids, you have a husband, you have a life, and so he knows you have things you have to take care of, but he did say seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and everything else10:53 you and I need will be added. And I don't know how it works. I do not know how God does the math. But have you all ever found this? That you've got the busiest day ever, and you're thinking, I don't have time to spend11:03 with the Lord today, and so you skip it. And then that day, doesn't it just seem like your time evaporates and and it's not maximized like it maybe previously had been? And then on the days that it's just as busy of a11:14 day, just as much on the to do list, but you do take time to spend with the Lord and to seek him for wisdom and to hear from him for that day. Have you noticed that somehow or another on those days, he slows down the11:26 clock? Somehow or another, he causes the pieces of the puzzle to go together, and things just seem to work better because he adds all the things you and I need to us as we seek him. It's a principle. It's a truth.11:38 So that's how we get to know him, a, just by seeking him. Then let's look at this story in Luke chapter 10. Really familiar story, very well known. Martha and Mary. Let's take a look. So in Luke11:49 10, it happened as they went about a certain village that a certain woman named Martha welcomed him, Jesus, into her house. And she had a sister called Mary who also sat at Jesus' feet and heard his word. But Martha was12:01 distracted with much serving. Martha was distracted. She was busy doing a whole lot of stuff. She sounds like a lot of us in this culture. Right? We are busy. We have so many things going on,12:13 so many demands. We all do. Kids, jobs, maintenance of your home, you know, all kinds of to do list, shopping, paying bills. I mean, there's a lot. The information age, the Internet,12:25 this knowledge explosion, just so many things coming at us just like back in the day. Little different scenario, but very similar principle. And she was distracted by all this serving. And so12:37 then what happened? Well, then she had a sister named Mary. And she said to Jesus, Lord, don't you care that my sister Mary has left me to12:49 serve alone? Therefore, her to help me. And he answered and said to her, Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things, but 1 thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that13:01 good part which will not be taken away from her. This is the story that you and I have to get a hold of, and we've talked about it before, but just by way of reminder, don't be a Martha, be a Mary. But the Lord13:13 understands that Martha's got things to do. Martha's got places to go. Martha's got people to see, just like you and I do. But be Mary first. Mary chose to sit at Jesus' feet and to hear him,13:25 to hear his words. And Jesus said, hey, Martha. 1 thing's needed. I mean, there's a lot on your to do list, but really only 1 thing is needed. 1 thing is needful. 1 thing's gonna set you up for the desires of your heart13:37 to be fulfilled, Martha. And that 1 thing is not all the boxes on your checklist checked off. That's not it. The 1 thing is spending time with me, sitting at my feet. And the key was Mary had to choose it. What are we13:48 talking about? We're talking about getting to know God the Father, God the Son, God Holy Spirit. And here's the thing, we have to choose it. It's the 1 thing that's needful, and I'm guilty just like you, man. So many13:58 demands, so many things pull on us, and we think, oh, I'll read my bible extra tomorrow because I'm too tired tonight. And then the next day goes by, and it's just easy. It's easy to not choose it. It's easy14:10 to let other things oh, another episode of my favorite TV show. Oh, another thing on Netflix. And it's just easy to not choose it. So the encouragement is the basic encouragement is you gotta14:22 choose it. When in your schedule can you carve out time just to say, Jesus, I am choosing you. I'm choosing to sit at your feet to hear your word, to get to know you and the father and the holy spirit. And you'll14:34 find it's the 1 thing you need. It'll bring the joy, the peace, the wisdom, the clarity, the rest on the inside. What'd you do? You just sought him first. It was the 1 thing that was needful. Well, we see14:46 that for sure. What else do we see? There's lots of other verses we could look at, but let's just look at a couple more. I like this 1 in Revelation 15 16. This idea14:58 of seeking the Lord, not just seeking the Lord, but seeking the Lord with your whole heart. Did you know there's nowhere in the Bible, which is interesting, there's nowhere in the Bible ever where God15:09 has obligated himself to be found by those who seek him with half their heart? He he actually has promised and has obligated himself to be found by those who seek him with their15:21 whole heart. So this wholehearted thing, that's what I wanna talk about. Again, it's a choice, and it's easy just to slide. It's easy to coast. It's easy to get into maintenance mode. It's easy to live on yesterday's15:33 manna, old manna. It's easy to live on last year's testimony, but there's something about just stirring yourself up and going, God, I'm going to seek you. I'm going to choose to seek you15:45 with my whole heart. I'm all in with my heart. Revelation 3 verse 15 and 16, Jesus said, I know your works that you're neither hot nor cold. I could wish you were15:57 hot or cold. So then because you're lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I'm going to spit you out of my mouth. Well, I've shared my testimony about this verse before, but the principle in here16:09 and how God spoke it to me way back in the day is he'd rather you be hot for him, like all in 100 percent seeking with your whole heart or be cold. Be not into it. But he really16:20 does not like, and really to the point, it almost makes him sick. When you and I are lukewarm, we're just like half I mean, there's nothing worse, is there, than lukewarm milk, lukewarm tea, and they're just ugh.16:32 And that's what he's saying. He's like, ugh. I don't want that. I don't want you to be lukewarm. I want a dynamic relationship with you, So be hot for me. Seek me with your whole heart. What do we see in Jeremiah 29 13?16:44 Same principle. He said here, you will seek me and find me when you seek me with your whole heart. So just know that, I mean, I hope today's lesson is stirring you up to be like, yes, I'm gonna16:56 spend some time with the Lord. I'm gonna get in my prayer closet. I'm gonna go for a drive in my car. I'm gonna go for a walk and have a talk with the Lord. And from my whole heart, Do do you get the idea? Listen, you17:06 talk to the Lord from your whole heart. You just pour out your heart to the Lord, and you just go that direction with God, and man, he loves it. He will so respond, and he says, if you seek me with your17:18 whole heart, you'll find me. How cool is that? You find the Lord. You find the thing you're seeking. Have you ever lost something? Have you ever lost some money? Or your driver's license? Or an important17:29 document? Or a child? Have you ever lost a child in the store? Oh my gosh. I we lost 1 of our kids once in the store. Annie. We lost Annie in the store. And I was at the checkout counter. I was like asking the other17:41 kids, where's Annie? And they were all like, I don't know. I don't know. And I was like, I I didn't care who was around. I did not care who heard me. I started screaming with my whole heart at the top of my lungs, Annie.17:53 Annie. I mean, I am screaming at the top of my lungs. Why? Because I am searching for a lost child with my whole heart. Do you get the picture? I didn't say, Annie. Oh, well. I guess we can't18:05 find her. Let's go home. There's no way. There was a wholeheartedness to it. So this is what the Lord's saying, seek me all. Seek me with your whole heart. You'll find me, which was cool. We found Annie18:17 by seeking. And you know how happy we were? Really happy. And we found what we're looking for. When you seek the Lord, you find him. Matthew 5 verse 6. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst18:29 for righteousness, for they shall be filled. Listen. Here's the thing. Okay? Little little parenthetical thought. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst. Now I want you to think about a time in your life when you were18:41 really hungry, starving. Maybe you hadn't eaten in a while. A long time had elapsed between breakfast and lunch, or you maybe you missed lunch and you it's time for dinner, and you're starving. Do you know that feeling18:51 like, I'm hungry. Maybe it's been a couple of days, maybe you were fasting and now you're really hungry. You're hungry. When you are hungry, what does it take to satisfy you? Well, it's gonna take a lot of food. If19:03 you're starving, if you're hungry, it's not gonna be 1 saltine cracker that's gonna do it, is it? No. You need steak, potatoes, and carrots, and a really great salad, and a big dessert. You need a big old plate of19:15 food to satisfy hunger. Same thing with thirst. You ever been thirsty? You ever run a race or been sitting outside when it's really hot or took a hike in the desert, and man, your lips are19:26 parched? You just want water. I want water. I'm thirsty. Get me a Gatorade. Get me something to drink. When you are thirsty, what does it take to satisfy thirst? It takes a lot of water,19:39 a gallon of water, several bottles of Gatorade. Right? I mean, you're thirsty. Okay. Here's the spiritual principle. He said if you hunger and thirst, you'll be filled. You'll be satisfied. And here's the here's a19:51 little caveat. We will be satisfied to the degree that we're thirsty and that we're hungry. So, like, if you're really thirsty and really hungry, it's gonna take a lot to satisfy you, a lot of God, A20:02 lot of his word. You're so hungry for more of him, for a lot of him. Meaning, man, I wanna read my bible. I wanna pray. I wanna listen to some worship CDs. I wanna go to church and worship the Lord. I'm20:14 hungry. I'm thirsty. It's gonna take a lot to satisfy me, and the Lord loves that. If you say, oh, I don't need much. I mean, I go to church once a year, I'm good. If I read my Bible once a month, that's20:26 plenty. If I listen to 1 worship song a week, we're good. What you're what you're saying is, I'm not very thirsty. I'm not very hungry. And to the degree that we're hungry, to the degree that we're thirsty, Jesus20:37 promised, you will be filled. What are we talking about? We're talking about developing a relationship with the Lord, God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. Can you see, like, how this20:49 whole idea of seeking the Lord with your whole heart, being thirsty, being hungry, can you see the importance of that? And I hope today's lesson is stirring you up to go, okay. I'm gonna spend some time21:01 tonight reading my bible, listening to my bible, on my phone. I mean, there's so many apps. You can listen to your bible. Just for hours, can listen to the bible and it satisfies, and God reveals21:12 himself to us as we do it. Alright? Now let's wrap up by looking at a couple other things real quick. Let me share this verse. I love this. This is in second chronicles 69. The Lord said this, for the eyes of the21:24 Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth to show himself strong on the behalf of those whose hearts is loyal, 1 version says, fully devoted to him.21:36 And then it goes on to say some other things. So the point of this particular verse is the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth. Picture that. You know, wherever you're watching this program from,21:46 whatever part of the world, the Lord's eyes run to and fro throughout the whole earth. He's looking for you. Who's he looking for? To show himself strong21:58 on the behalf of those who are fully devoted to him, who seek them with their whole heart. Man, I don't know about you, but I want God's eyes to find me. Don't you? Well, what's the secret? Seek the Lord.22:10 He's looking for you. Okay. 1 more verse. Hebrews 11 6. Listen to this. Without faith, it's impossible to please him. For he who comes to God must believe that he is and that he is the22:22 rewarder of those who diligently seek him. Man, there's so much in this verse, but the thing I wanna point out at the moment is that God is the rewarder of those who diligently22:33 seek him. So in this chapter, getting a grip on the basics of what? Of developing our relationship with the Lord, God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. We know that if we diligently22:45 seek the Lord with our whole heart, he will be found by us, and he is the rewarder of those who diligently seek him. So the basics, I hope you're getting a grip on22:57 it. Getting stirred up, whether you're a new Christian, a young Christian, or a well seasoned believer. I hope all of us are getting stirred up and also to the point that we wanna help some other people as well get a23:08 grip on the basics. Alright? So I look forward to seeing you guys in our next episode on the basics with Beth TV. Hey. Thanks so much for listening to today's message. I hope you are23:20 encouraged. Be sure to hit the follow button so you can binge on all the bible basics throughout the week and stay encouraged in your faith. And don't forget to share these messages with23:32 your friends. If you'd like more information about our ministry, you can always go to the basics with beth dot com. That's the basics with beth dot com. It's been great to be with you, and I will23:43 look forward to seeing you next time right here on pray dot com.
Comments No comments yet. Start the conversation.
Comments
Keep it kind. Comments are public.