Skip to content I Want To Make A Difference Apr 23 · 25 min ...more
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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.
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Faithfulness in the Basics 0:00 Hi, guys. I'm Beth Jones, and welcome to the Basics with Beth, where learning God's word is a joy. And I just want to say we are so honored to be with you right here on Pray0:12 dot com. In every message, we will do our best to teach you the Bible basics in such a way that it strengthens your faith foundation. In addition,0:24 I want to empower and equip you so that you have confidence to share these Bible basics with others. So lean in and listen with your heart. If you'd like to know more0:36 about our ministry, just go to thebasicswithbeth dot com and get all the scoop. With all of that said, now let's jump into today's message.0:48 Today, we're gonna talk about the idea of, I want to make a difference. How do I do that? And, you know, I would guess that for all of us, we would know internally, every single 1 of us would0:59 know internally there is this desire to make a difference with our life. People ask that rhetorical question all the time, does my life matter? What difference does my life make? What's the purpose for1:11 my life? Vanity, vanity, all is vanity, said the writer of Ecclesiastes. Meaningless, meaningless. It's all just meaningless was his woe in the book of Ecclesiastes.1:23 And so it is part of just our human nature to ask those kinds of questions, like, why am I here? What's my purpose? How can I make a difference? And we're gonna get into, you know, some of the things that God wants us to1:34 understand, how it works, how it doesn't work in some ways. Of course, it's a huge subject. But it's internally built into us. The Bible says that God has divinely implanted a sense of purpose inside1:46 the heart of each and every person, and nothing under the sun, but only God himself, can satisfy what he's put in us. He's the only 1 that can scratch the itch. And the way he1:58 does is with your purpose. It's with this sense of satisfaction and fulfilment that he put in you to want to have when you and I walk out our purpose. But sometimes I think, we think, at least I know I have2:10 over the years, thought that fulfilling the purpose or the destiny or God's calling or whatever was like this finish line. Get to the finish line and do this thing. But it turns out we're going to see it's2:22 not just the finish line. There is there is, you know, kind of like, ta da. You know, there is that. But it's actually the journey. It's actually the whole process along the way is your purpose.2:34 It is your destiny, and you are making a difference all along the way. Well, let's get into, I want to make a difference. How do I do it? Number 1, be faithful in the basics. If you've got your2:45 Bibles, go over to first Samuel 16. We're gonna take just a kind of a hopscotch look at a story in the Bible looking at a person and his journey, and that person is David who became King David. But let's look at his2:57 journey. What is it we can learn about how he stepped into his destiny, his purpose? He made a difference. But what was the journey that test those seasons along the way that are very much like what God will take3:09 us through? Number 1, be faithful in the basics. Alright? First Samuel 16 verse 1. Now the Lord said to Samuel, how long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel?3:21 Fill your horn with oil and go. I'm sending you to Jesse, the Bethlehemite, for I have provided myself a king among his sons. Alright? Verse 1. So Samuel was a prophet.3:33 And up until this time, prior to Saul being king, there was just 1 king of Israel and that king was God. God was the only king. He was their king. But because the other3:44 nations had a king, the Israelites began to ask God for a king. We want a king. Well, they had a king. God was their king. But the Lord eventually responded to their unbelief and to their3:56 plea and gave them a king, King Saul. So King Saul was the first king of Israel. And the Bible tells us that when Saul was little in his own eyes, God liked that. He said, Saul, when you were4:08 little in your own eyes, I was able to select you out to become a king. There was something about humility, something about being small in your own eyes, something about not thinking you're all that that the Lord likes.4:20 And he picked Saul to be the first king. But then Saul got big in his own eyes. Then Saul thought he was all that. And so then he lost the kingdom. The Lord rejected him as king. And now God's getting ready to pick king4:31 number 2. King number 2 is going to be David. David at this time is around, they say, between 10 and 13 years old. And he's 1 of the sons of Jesse. And Samuel, the prophet, is going to4:43 go to Jesse's house to see about which 1 of these boys might be the king. So that's where we pick it up, verse 6. So it was, when they came, that he, Samuel, looked at Eliab and said,4:55 surely the Lord's anointed is before him. For the Lord said but the Lord said to Samuel, do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, for I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man5:07 sees. For man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. So I'd never forget that. That's that's a basic. That's a big basic. The Lord always looks at the heart. Man looks at5:19 the outside. Man looks at all the natural things. But the Lord is always looking at the heart. What's going on in that person's heart? What's their character like? What's their humility like? Humility like? What's going5:30 on in the heart? Verse 8. So Jesse called Abinadab. Another son made him pass before Samuel. He said, Nope, the Lord has not chosen this 1. Then Jesse made Shama pass by. He5:41 said, Neither has the Lord chosen this 1. Thus Jesse made 7 of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, the Lord has not chosen these. So all the sons of Jesse pass in front5:53 of Samuel, and the Lord says, nope, it's not in any of these boys. He says, are all the young men here? Then Jesse said, well, there remains yet the youngest, and6:05 there he is keeping the sheep. And Samuel said to Jesse, send and bring him, for we will not sit down until he comes here. So he sent and brought him in. Now he, David, was ready with bright eyes and good6:17 looking. And the Lord said, arise, anoint him for this is the 1. Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. And the Spirit of the Lord came upon6:29 David from that day forward. So you get a lot going on in this story, but a couple of things we can learn. Be faithful in the basics. Well, a couple of things. The Lord sees differently than we see. The Lord is6:41 looking at the heart. And Samuel comes to Jesse's house and Jesse does what would be obvious. Well, here's all the older boys. Here's all the older brothers. They're big. They're good looking. They're talented.6:53 And Samuel takes a look and the Lord says, no, it's none of these. It's funny with the Lord, we found this to be the case. It was the case in this story, but many of you will find this to be the case in life. It's funny,7:03 the Lord sometimes helps us, allows us to go through a process, even leads us in a process sometimes, where he helps us discover what it isn't7:15 before he tells us what it is. In other words, the Lord knew all along it was David. He knew David was out in the field tending sheep. Why did Samuel have to go through this whole process of going through all7:27 the sons to know which 1 it isn't? Until he said, oh, it is David. Why the process? Probably a lot of reasons. Maybe David needed to know that. Maybe David was insecure and would have been intimidated.7:39 Like, why me? It should be my older brothers. Maybe he needed to know, no, the Lord already said it isn't any of them. Maybe the older brothers needed that. Maybe the older brothers needed to know it isn't any of us.7:49 It's David. And it could be a host of reasons, but sometimes we have found the Lord lets us discover what it isn't by letting us experiment sometimes with options,8:01 a potential job, a potential city, a potential relationship, a potential whatever the case might be, calling, major in college, you know, travel experience, and you have that8:13 and you're like, no, that's not it. Nope, that's not that's not the person. Nope, that's not the job. Nope, that's not the city. Sometimes you have to get it out of your system. I don't mean through sin. I just mean8:24 through life. You have to get some things out of your system so that when you do land on it, there's no regrets, there's no looking over your shoulder, there's no second guessing. It's like, no, rock solid, right smack8:36 dab where God wants us. This is it. This is it. So David, he's being faithful in this season until the time of his appointing. What's going to happen during these years? Number8:48 1, he's faithful in the basics. For him, what did that mean? He was a shepherd boy. He was tending his father's sheep. He was being faithful to his dad. His dad asked him to there was a need, something natural had to8:59 be done. It wasn't very glamorous, wasn't very exciting. It was smelly, it was stinky. As you know, sheep are dumb. So as a shepherd, you're always trying to round up sheep, find lost sheep. Had to protect the sheep9:11 because the bear and the lions we read about would try to come and kill the sheep or snatch the sheep away. And David had to kill a lion and a bear, the Bible tells us. Had to be pretty proficient9:23 with the sling, got really good with the sling. He was just faithful out in the field. And maybe all of his friends, maybe all of his other friends, they were off doing really exciting things because there was so much9:33 stuff going on in these other places but there is nothing going on in the field except these dumb sheep. It could be tempting to leave the place of faithfulness in the basics. Now here is the9:45 thing, God knew how to find David. David was not lost. God would be right where he was. And you and I, we have to rest in that. We have to find some comfort and rest.9:57 Lord, you know what you called me to do. You know the assignment, the destiny, the purpose. You know how you want me to make a difference. And so right now, God, I can make a difference for these sheep. I can make a10:07 difference at this job. I can make a difference volunteering with the kids. I can make a difference on the worship team. I can make a difference in the traffic team. I can make a difference somewhere in my community.10:19 I can be faithful in the field. You know right where I'm at. I am not lost. And the Lord was able to get to David. That's the cool part. I mean, Samuel and Jesse did everything in their10:31 power to keep David hidden. Nobody is even aware there is a younger son. They tried to do everything, and sometimes people inadvertently, but sometimes people can almost do everything to keep you10:43 invisible. But the Lord knows where you are. He knows how to call you out of the field and put his finger on you at the right time. You have to rest in that. You have to make your own way. You don't have to be all10:53 frustrated, like, oh, we have to go do something because things are happening everywhere and we're just here with the dumb sheep. Stay with the dumb sheep because the Lord needs to find you there to be11:04 faithful in basic things. How does that translate for you and I? Because obviously, we're not a lot of us aren't sheep herders, although a few in the church are. But for the rest of us, what do we do? It just11:16 means be faithful in the areas of your life, in your job. Be faithful at your job. Be faithful with your spouse. Be faithful with your kids. Be a faithful mom. Be a faithful dad. Be faithful to the Lord, be faithful in11:28 your time with the Lord, be faithful to pray, be faithful to seek God and get his opinion on things first before you have an opinion. Lord, what's your opinion? Because my opinion is going to be11:40 yours. That's being faithful in something really basic. Being faithful with your emotions. When you just feel like having a meltdown and being a drama queen, be faithful to control it. Lord, we're not going to do that.11:52 That is what you do when you're in middle school. That's not what you do when you're 50 or 30, or 40, or really any other age other than middle school. Right? That's12:03 being faithful in basic things, get a grip on yourself. But it's true, I remember so many seasons over of our lives when the Lord said, I need you to be faithful in some basics. It might be paying your bills. It's like,12:15 Hey, pay your bills. Hey, get a job. Hey, clean your house. Hey, clean that bathroom. Hey, mow your lawn. Those are basic things. You think, That's dumb. Nobody cares about that. God does. Because you are12:27 a witness for Christ. You are an example of somebody watching you. Well, the Lord is, but so are people around you. They are watching. What kind of a difference is Christ making in your life? And the12:38 basic test is 1 you've got to pass. Because do not pass go, do not collect 200 dollars is what happens if you don't pass that 1. You just keep going around the mulberry bush. Being faithful12:51 with your money, faithful with your diet, faithful with your health, faithful with your mind, faithful with your spiritual life. And all the people said, So David, what's he doing in the field? He's being13:03 faithful. Just being faithful to all those natural things, all those boring, natural things. But 1 thing he did do, we know for sure, he had to have spent time slinging that sling. He had to have13:15 spent time practicing. Back in the day, in the military, they had people that did different kinds of, manoeuvres, different kinds of military exercises, and 1 of the groups of people were called slingers. They literally13:26 would use a slingshot with rocks and they got really, really good at it, like sniper good. And you have to imagine David is out there and he's like, I'm going to hone my craft. I'm going to hone some gifts I have. I'm13:36 going to practice with my sling. And he probably would try to hit trees and branches and leaves and birds and rabbits. Probably practiced a lot with that sling to get just super precise. He probably practiced a lot13:48 on his harp. The Bible says he was a worshipper. He was a musical songwriter. A lot of the Psalms he wrote. He's just getting practical and faithful in basic things14:00 because those are the very things God was eventually going to use. And listen, young people, millennials in particular, but all of us, really, listen, the season you're oftentimes in the longest is this 1.14:12 This is the 1 you want out of the quickest. This is the 1 you're like, okay, are we done? Are we cooked? And the Lord is like, nope, I still have some areas I want you to work on because your effectiveness is only going14:24 to be as good as the degree to which you have been faithful in the basics. Those of you in construction, you know you can only build a skyscraper as high as the foundation will support. You can be a mushroom in 614:35 months, you can be an oak tree in 30. It takes time for roots to go down. It takes time for character to be developed. It takes time for you to pass tests and14:47 become mature, spirit, soul, and body, in your physical health, financially. Your reputation. The Bible has a lot to say about your reputation amongst the people you work with, the people you live next to. There's14:59 something about our reputation. God cares about it. And you might say, oh, man, my reputation is terrible. I need to move to another town. Well, it's possible the Lord might move you. But what if he doesn't? Awesome. You15:10 have the opportunity to show the people that see all you have seen over the years your bad reputation. You have the opportunity now to say, this is the difference Christ makes. This is what Jesus does. I am just being15:22 faithful in some basic things here. So David, faithful in these basic things, now he gets an opportunity because there is a giant named Goliath who has been15:34 taunting the children of Israel, and David now gets an opportunity to be the guy to kill the giant. Nobody else would step up to the plate. And David is like, what? Is there not a cause? He got15:46 stirred up, he got passionate about doing something to honour the name of the Lord God who the Philistine, Goliath, was demeaning, was blaspheming. He steps up to the15:58 plate and all he's got is what he's been doing in the basics. He's got a harp and he's got a sling. And he takes that sling, and as the battle goes, you know you guys know the story, goes down into the battle, he's gonna16:08 face Goliath, takes that sling and boom, shoots that rock out of his sling. And experts say it was literally like a bullet, like a 45, and had the stopping power to drop a bear. Well, Goliath was a big bear.16:22 David practiced all that when he was being faithful in the basics. Don't ever despise that season. Hone your craft. Do you have a gift? Do you have a talent? Do you have a skill? This is the time to hone it. This is the16:32 time to get expert at it. Do you have a family? All of us do at some level. This is the time to develop those relationships with your family, make sure it's all good with the family, your16:44 emotions, your mind, your spirit, as we have mentioned. Then what was the next test, the next season that David experienced? It was the season of being faithful with the bullies. Because here's what's interesting. If you16:56 get your Bibles, 1 Corinthians sixteen:nine. Here's what happens. God comes along, he anoints David. He's going to be the guy just like he's called you. He's got a destiny and a purpose for you, something and you get17:07 stirred up. But 1 of the very first things that happens is opposition. First Corinthians sixteen:nine, the Apostle Paul wrote this. He said, For a wide door of17:19 opportunity for effectual service is open to me. There, a great and promising 1. And there are many adversaries. He's saying, man,17:31 there's a great door of opportunity to preach the gospel. The apostle Paul's got this big door opened up and there are many adversaries. And just be be aware, be mindful that as the Lord17:43 opens up doors for you, as opportunities come along, while you're being faithful in the basics, you're just living your life and then a wide door of opportunity opens up. God calls you to something. His hand is on you.17:54 You sense the call. You sense mission. Be advised almost immediately the enemy will send an adversary or a tribulation or a trial. There are many adversaries.18:06 For example, many of you know when we tried to get into building this building here on this property, we were over 9 95 Romans Road, it was a great building, a wide door of opportunity opened for us to buy this property,18:18 the Cathedral, and 30 acres. And we were excited and thrilled and just elated for about a minute. Because immediately there were adversaries, immediately the enemy18:29 stirred up all kinds of things to try to shut down the project, to try to shut down the construction of this building. And I just wonder, I'm like, Lord, thank you so much for the grace and18:41 the support we could press on through because if we hadn't pressed on through, how many of you wouldn't be sitting here? Well, all of us because this building wouldn't be here. You've got to press on through but there18:53 will be adversaries. So don't be discouraged by that. Take it as a compliment. If you feel adversarial things coming against you, it's like, Oh my gosh, I can't get a break. Things just come at me. Number 1, check19:03 yourself and go, Lord, am I causing this? What am I doing wrong? Do I need to make some adjustments here in the basics? And number 2, Lord, I will take it as a compliment. The enemy must be threatened enough. He is19:13 trying to shut me down. He is trying to close these big wide open doors that you just opened. But I will stand strong in Jesus' name, faithful in the basics. And all the people said. Then come the19:25 bullies. Okay? Well, the bully, in this case, David had conquered Goliath. So Goliath, it turns out, wasn't the bully. The bully, it turns out, was Saul, someone he knew quite well, the 119:37 that he had replaced, the 1 who had sent him to fight Goliath. Let's look at this, being faithful with the bullies. First Samuel 18, 6 through 12. Now it happened as19:48 they were coming home from the battle with Goliath, when David was returning from the slaughter of the Philistine, that the women had come out of all the cities of Israel singing and dancing to meet King Saul with19:58 tambourines, with joy, with musical instruments. So the women sang as they danced and said, 'Saul has slain his thousands and David his 10 thousands.' Then Saul was very angry, and the saying20:10 displeased him. And he said, they have ascribed to David 10 thousands, and to me they have only ascribed thousands. Now what more can he have but the kingdom? So Saul eyed David from that20:22 day forward. That's a big phrase right there. He eyed him with jealousy. And it happened on the next day, Interesting. The very next day, a distressing spirit from God came upon Saul. God had to20:34 permit this distressing spirit to come upon Saul, and he prophesied in the house. So David played music with his hand as at the other times, but there was a spear in Saul's hand. You want to make20:46 sure that music is always in your hand, not a spear. And Saul cast this spear, for he said, I will pin David to the wall. But David escaped his presence twice. Now Saul was afraid of David because the20:58 Lord was with him, but he had departed from Saul. So we get this picture here. They've come back from the triumph of defeating Goliath, and everybody's excited. And they're singing, David has killed21:10 Goliath. You know, he's got his 10000. Saul has thousands. So Saul is getting kudos. It's just not enough kudos. Why are they giving this young punk kudos? They say at this point,21:22 David might have been 16 or 17 years old when he killed Goliath. Okay, so a few years now into his anointing, if you will, his calling, making a difference. And now Saul is21:33 jealous and envious of David getting all these kudos, all these praise. It's like, I'm the king, I killed thousands, I killed 10 thousands. Who is this kid getting all this credit? The difference21:45 between envy and jealousy, let's just talk about it for a minute. The evil twins, envy and jealousy. Envy says I want what you have. I have a painful or resentful21:57 awareness of an advantage you enjoy. We live in a world where it's really easy for people to see what's going on with everybody. And envy and jealousy are probably at an all time high in22:09 the culture and sadly even in the church. Jealousy. I don't want you to have what you have. You're my rival. I'm hostile22:22 towards you having what you have. Envy. I want what you have. Jealousy, I don't want you to have what you have. They're both bad. They're both selfish.22:33 They're both they're both as if God isn't the God of more than enough. They're both as if God is not the God of surplus. They are both as if he is not the God of John 1022:45 10. I have come, Jesus said, that you might have life and that you might have it to the full in abundance until it overflows. It's as if those that get caught up in jealousy and envy have22:57 forgotten that he is the God of the overflow, of the too much, of the more than enough, of you're in the same line. Amen? You're in the same line. Well, they23:09 got theirs first, but you're in the same line. Maybe they passed the test sooner. Maybe God's been watching them for a longer amount of time in the field being faithful in the23:21 basics than he's been watching you. Maybe, maybe, and maybe. A lot of maybes. But our job isn't to be concerned about what this man shall do, our job is to be23:33 concerned about what we shall do. Amen? And so what you want to do is you don't want to have a spear in your hand and have an evil eye towards people and be jealous of their life, their marriage, their kids, their job,23:44 their money, their house, their vacations, their stuff. Yeah. Come on, somebody. You want to celebrate and cheer on and rejoice with those who rejoice,23:56 the Bible says, knowing you're in the same line if you're a person of faith and if you're willing to be faithful in the basics and with the bullies. And all the people24:08 said24:10 Hey, thanks so much for listening to today's message. I hope you were encouraged. Be sure to hit the follow button so you can binge on all the Bible basics throughout the week and stay24:22 encouraged in your faith. And don't forget to share these messages with your friends. If you'd like more information about our ministry, you can always go to the basicswithbeth dot com. That's the24:34 basicswithbeth dot com. It's been great to be with you and I will look forward to seeing you next time right here on pray dot com.In this video 0:00 Faithfulness in the Basics
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