Skip to content Who Do You Think You Are Part 1 Apr 23 · 24 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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Transforming Your Self-Image 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 Hey. Welcome to today's program. I'm so glad you've tuned in. We're gonna talk about a really important subject today, who do you think you are? And we're gonna find out, this is0:59 huge. It is so important that we see ourselves the way God sees us. And so I wanna jump into it. If you got your Bibles, let's look at Proverbs 23 verse 7. And here's what it says, it says, as a man1:12 thinks in his heart, so is he. Listen, the way we think in our heart is how we is. It is how we are.1:24 And we're gonna see this principle over and over and over, and in fact, even in secular psychology, in the secular world, you know, this is something that's understood, the importance of what1:36 we think. And here's the thing, God thinks you're amazing, of course. He loved you so much He sent His only son. God thinks you're wonderful. Your family might think you're wonderful, your friends might1:48 think you're wonderful, but you know what? It really in in a in a way, it doesn't even matter what other people think of you if you don't think in your heart about yourself the way1:59 God sees you, because as a man thinks in his heart, so is he, that is how you will be. And we need to change it if it's not good. So let let me give you a couple thoughts. You know, when it comes to some secular terms2:11 again, words like self esteem, words like self image, okay? Well, when it comes to those kinds of terms, you know, sometimes Christians can poo poo those terms, you know, so to speak. Like, oh, we just need to see who we2:23 are in Christ, and that's true. But right at the same time, it helps to have a little understanding, on these terms and and the importance of them. For example, self esteem is basically the2:34 value you put on you. Now you wanna have a healthy self esteem. The Bible says don't think of yourself more highly than you ought, but also don't think of yourself more lowly than you ought. Just2:46 think of yourself as you ought. So self esteem is the value that you put on you, and that's important. But then self image is kind of this other thing. Self image literally is the2:58 image, the photo if you will, the picture, the image you have of you. There's something about this image that you have on the inside. And of course, at the end of the day, what we3:10 want, we want that image on the inside to match the image that God has of us. Well, he's created us in his image. So he thinks quite highly of you. He sees you, man, the3:22 snapshots he has of you in Christ are phenomenal. But if the snapshots you have of you aren't that, then we're gonna talk about the process to change it. Alright? So let me3:34 just give you a couple of illustrations here and get us thinking. It's sort of like this, it's sort of like all of us have a photo album on the inside. Now, I know these days with social3:46 media, it might be your Instagram account, you know, who knows? But we all have a photo album on the inside. And in that photo album, there are pages. And on those pages3:57 there are pictures, there are images that you have of you. So you have a page in your book and it is you as a man or as a woman, depending on what you are. You have4:09 pictures on that page that help you to see yourself as a man or as a woman. Well, we live in a very confused culture, and a lot of those pictures are all messed up for people. We have pages in our book that4:21 we see ourselves as a Christian or not. We have a page in our book that we see ourselves if we're single or if we're married. If you're single, you see yourself as a single4:33 person, you have some images of yourself as a single person. You see yourself as beautiful, as fun, as funny, as enjoyable to be with, or you see yourself as ugly and fat,4:45 nobody wants to be with me, kind of a thing. We all have pictures. Ya'll out there, we all have pictures in the book, We all have pictures in the photo album. You have pictures if you're married, of your marriage.4:57 Aw man, our marriage is great, we have fun together, I love being with my spouse, or you have pictures of like, Oh Lord Jesus, why did I marry this person? We're miserable together. You have pictures in the book. As a5:09 man thinks in his heart, so is he. So it's critical, the pictures we have in the book, you have pictures of yourself as an influencer, as an employee, as an5:21 employer, as an entrepreneur, as a minister, as a pastor, as a disciple maker, as a Jesus follower, I mean you have pictures in your book for every page, we all5:32 do. And the truth is those pictures become like a heat seeking missile. We are the missile, and those pictures are what our5:45 life hits. We hit the target. We hit the target of those pictures. They become the goal, the target of us, the heat seeking missile. Why? Because as a man thinks in his5:56 heart, so is he. Y'all getting this? I just want you to to ponder, what do the pictures in your book look like? Think about it just for a minute. How do you see yourself spiritually? You have pictures in your book,6:08 your spiritual life. Man, I just feel strong and close to the Lord, I feel like my prayer life with God is good, I feel like the Lord loves me, I feel good6:20 on that page, I see good things. Or no, on that page I see God's always mad at me, God's always disappointed in me, I'm just never doing enough, I'm not pleasing the Lord. You have6:32 pictures in your book on your soul, your mind, your emotions, your will, and you see yourself, I'm emotionally stable. Praise the Lord. Or no, I'm not, I'm so hormonal, I have hormonal pictures6:44 on my pages, potentially. You see yourself emotionally, you have pages. You see pictures in your book of yourself physically. I'm strong, I have energy. I'm gonna live a long life and be6:56 satisfied and live out the fullness of my day serving God. You have pictures in your book. The question, the million dollar question is, what do you do if you don't like how you is? What do you7:08 do if you don't like how these pictures are turning out to be your reality? How do you change the pictures in the book? That's what we're going to talk about. But before we do that, I want to show you a couple of things7:19 because I remember, now looking back, I can remember how important this little principle is. You know, back when I was in kindergarten, I remember I had a little boy that I'd walk to school, I'd pass him on my7:31 way to school, and I I remember 1 day he said to me, he looked at me, this is kindergarten, thank you very much, he looked at me and said, Are you a boy or a girl? And I'm like, What? You're so mean, you little7:43 freckle faced punk. I mean, I was just so hurt inside because I'm like, Obviously, jeez Louise, how mean can a little punk be? I mean, it was devastating. And I7:55 remember walking to school just inside just feeling you know, terrible, like he put a bad picture in my photo album that day. Well, then later, okay, I'm talking pictures in the book, then later, a couple of years8:07 later, I happened to see a picture, my kindergarten picture. I saw this picture, they're going to put it up on the screen for you. I saw this picture. This is my kindergarten picture. When I saw the picture8:18 yes. Okay? You taking a look? Yes. I said, oh, well, now it makes perfect sense because look look at that hair. Look at that outfit. I mean, seriously, I look like8:30 a little boy. In that picture, I have on a you guys can see it, I know. Okay. Hello. I have on a dirty blue turtleneck, a turtleneck for my8:42 kindergarten picture, and suspenders. Yeah, and a gray flannel skirt. And then how about the hair? Holy camo, look at those bangs.8:54 I mean, seriously, my dad was a barber. So I always had like a well, I always thought it was a girl's version of a boy's haircut, but apparently it was a boy's version of a boy's haircut. So, I mean, when I saw the9:05 picture, it made sense to me. Okay, well, then he wasn't such a punk. But pictures are really important, they're powerful. Well, finally my hair grew out, thank God. So by the time I got to second grade, the other9:17 picture you're gonna see is my second grade picture. Well, it didn't really improve very much. In fact, when my kids saw this picture years later, after we got married and had kids, our kids saw this picture, they go,9:26 mom, sheesh, you look like 1 of the Hanson brothers in that picture. You know, I got a bluish gray sweater of some sort, and my hair9:38 kinda does look like the Hanson Brothers. Well, what about that? Pictures are powerful. Listen, it didn't get a whole lot better. Let me just tell you. When I had my fifth grade picture taken, which I won't show you, but9:47 when I had that 1 taken, I looked like John Davidson, who was a famous singer back in the day. So, yeah, my dad was a barber. Did I say that already? Let me repeat. My dad was a barber. And, barbers, listen. If you're a9:58 barber out there, can you please cut the girl's hair to look like a girl? Okay. Just FYI. Let's get back to our message. Okay, so, we're talking about pictures in the book. How do you change the pictures in the book?10:10 How do you because it's true, as a man thinks in his heart, so is he. How do you change it? Go over to this verse, we're gonna get started in this and talk about this just a bit. Over in10:22 Romans chapter 12 verses 1 and 2. Romans 12 1 and 2, the apostle Paul says, I beseech you therefore, brethren,10:34 by the mercies of God that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be10:46 transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Romans 12 1 and 2. Now, again, for some of you,10:58 this is a very familiar passage, and you've probably heard many sermons on it, as have I. But I'll never forget the day, I'll never forget the day I was driving a girlfriend of mine down to Florida, she11:10 was moving from Michigan to Florida, and so we were packed up her car, was loaded up, and we're driving down to Florida so that she can move to Jacksonville, Florida. And we're driving through the mountains of Tennessee11:21 and Kentucky, and I was in a particular season in my life, this was after graduating from college, I was in a season in my life where some of the pictures in my book just weren't the greatest. I was in a difficult season11:33 trying to sort out, God, what do you want me to do with my life? And, you know, where are things heading? And I just was not feeling the greatest inside. Some of the pictures in my book, as it turns out, I realized11:43 needed to be changed. But I was in 1 of those seasons, and I know many of you will understand this, it's when you're kind of like just beating your head against the wall. Like, I knew I needed a breakthrough. Anybody out11:54 there? Come on. I knew I needed a breakthrough. I needed a breakthrough, and I wasn't looking, let me just say this, I was not looking for the Tinkerbell dust, I was not looking for the12:05 magic spiritual wand. Because A, I know it doesn't exist, there's no such thing. But I did want the real thing. I did want a real breakthrough, I did want a lasting12:17 breakthrough. So I was just crying out to the Lord, I was praying, I was crying out to the Lord about this breakthrough. And as we're driving through the hills and mountains of Kentucky and Tennessee, and12:29 I'm driving, I felt like the Holy Spirit gave me a little song, because we're going up on the mountain tops, down in the valleys, up and down through the mountains, and it was a partly cloudy, partly sunny day. And I got12:41 this little song in my heart and it was something like, you know, Partly cloudy, partly sunny. Some days are like that, isn't it funny? And the Holy Spirit began to speak to my heart, You're going down to12:52 Florida, under the clouds, through the mountains and the valleys. But as it turned out, I was going to be flying home from Florida, literally flying home from Florida in a jet. And he said, When you fly home, you fly13:03 above the clouds, you're in the blue sky. So while you're in Florida, I'm going to share some things with you that are going to help you from this point forward to learn how to fly above the clouds in the blue sky13:15 days. Now that was just a little word of encouragement the Holy Spirit gave me on the way down under the clouds when I'm seeking him for a breakthrough. So we get to Florida, right? We get to Florida13:26 and we're getting her unpacked, getting her moved into her place in Jacksonville, and so 1 day we go have lunch at Wendy's. So I'm walking into a Wendy's And I just wanna say, man, listen, be13:38 encouraged. God can speak to you no matter where you're at, no matter where you are located. Listen, God can speak to you. I'm walking into a Wendy's and I hear the Holy Spirit on the inside of me speak and13:50 speak these words, be ye transformed. I heard that word, be ye transformed. Well, I know that's from Romans 12. I know this passage, be ye transformed.14:02 And so I said, yeah, that's what I want. That's what I'm praying for. I'm praying for breakthrough. I want to be transformed. How? And I knew the rest of the verse was by the renewing of14:14 your mind. And I was like, yes, but Lord, how? I know that verse is in there, and I know that's the secret, but how? I don't know how.14:26 Okay? So I'm getting encouraged though. Thank God, listen, the Holy Spirit wants to encourage you. Whether you're driving under the clouds, in the mountains, in the valleys of life, or whether you're walking14:38 into a Wendy's, the Holy Spirit wants to encourage you on the inside. Have those ears of yours, those spiritual ears of yours tuned in, listening to what he wants to say to you. So14:50 that night, my friend and I go to visit a church. Again, she's new to Jacksonville. Let's go visit a church, see if we can find you a church home. We go visit a church this night and long story short, at the at the end15:00 of the service, the pastor came to visit with my friend and I because we we were the visitors. It was a small church. It was obvious we were the visitors. And so he says to my friend Michelle some things of15:12 encouragement, and then he looks at me and he says, now for you, he goes, it's been partly cloudy, partly sunny. And I was like, what? Are you kidding me? He says to me, I wanna give you some teaching15:24 tapes, a cassette tape series that I have taught. Now cassette tape, for those of you that don't know, is kind of like prior to CDs, prior to m p threes, there were these things called cassette15:36 tapes. And they were teach you know, people would teach, and you'd listen to cassette tapes, and hear hear God speak to you. Well, he gave me this series of messages he preached on cassette, I went and bought a cassette15:47 player, and I'm in Jacksonville, Florida, my friend goes to work and I go to the beach. And I listened over and over and over to these tapes he gave me. And do you know 1 of the series that he gave15:59 me? 1 of the series that he gave me was called Renewing the Mind. And man oh man, did I get encouraged. I'm walking into a Wendy's, God says, be ye transformed16:12 by the renewing of your mind. And I'm like, God, how? Yes, I want breakthrough, yes, I want transformation, yes, I know as a man thinks in his heart, so is he. Yes, I've got16:24 all kinds of pictures in my photo album I want to exchange. I want new photos in the book so so that those photos become the target for me, the heat seeking missile. And16:37 listen, he wants the same thing for you. And then lo and behold, this pastor gives me a series of teaching tapes called renewing the mind. So I laid on the beach in Jacksonville, Florida, and I listened and16:49 I listened and I listened and I hit rewind, replay, rewind, replay for the whole week over and over, and allowed the Holy Spirit to renew my mind. And I'm telling you, it17:01 was life changing. When I flew home from Florida, I literally did fly in a jet above the clouds, but do you know spiritually something changed? Something changed, there was a spiritual breakthrough, and this topic, as17:12 many of you know, is that important. If you feel like, man, I am just living the roller coaster Christian life all the time. I'm so dominated by all of these negative images on the17:24 inside. And maybe they're not negative, like terrible, but they're not the images God wants you to have from his word. It's not the victorious Christian life you heard existed. I'm here to encourage you.17:36 God wants to replace those pictures. He wants to help you renew your mind to replace some pictures in your book. And every single page, and of course this takes, you know, in essence our17:48 whole lifetime, really. But in every single page, picture after picture, the Lord can cause your life to be transformed. So let's talk about that18:00 word transformed for just a moment. And and let's talk about, like, how transformed are we talking? Okay, fine, yeah, right, God wants to help me, that's great. How much does he wanna help me?18:12 How how transformed can I be? He says, be ye transformed. Okay. So the word transformed is the Greek word metamorpho,18:24 from which we get the word metamorphosis. Right? So you understand what a metamorphosis is, most of us that took seventh grade science. At 1 point or the other, we studied, didn't we? We studied the18:36 caterpillar turning into a butterfly. We studied that whole process where the caterpillar goes into the chrysalis, the cocoon, and then something happens in there, something supernatural crazy18:47 happens in that cocoon. And after a short period of time, this little caterpillar thing comes out looking amazing like the most beautiful butterfly you've ever seen. Holy18:59 smokes! What happened in that cocoon? It was a metamorphosis. It was a trans transformation. Listen, you might feel like a caterpillar in areas of your life, you19:11 might be feeling very caterpillar ish in areas of your life, those pictures in your book. But how transformed can you be? You can be as transformed as19:23 a caterpillar going to a butterfly. Let me ask you this. Have you ever seen y'all ever seen a caterpillar? You know what 1 looks like? They crawl on the ground, they inch around all over19:35 the place, on leaves, on branches, on sticks, right? Have you all ever seen a butterfly? Okay, has anyone ever confused a butterfly with a caterpillar? Have you19:46 ever said, look, is that a butterfly or a caterpillar? No, you've never done that. Why? Because it's such a massive transformation, there is no doubt about it. That was a19:58 caterpillar, but that is a butterfly. There's just no doubt about it. There's no confusing the 2. People don't look and go, Oh, that was like a kind of a slight little change. No, it was a massive, dramatic,20:09 breakthrough, transformational change. And do you know in areas of our lives, it can be that dramatic? It can be that dramatic, y'all. Are you listening? It can be that dramatic. It's like people look at you and they20:20 they'll go, oh, you seem a little nicer. You got you got saved, did you? You seem a little nicer. No. It can be so dramatic, they can be like, who are you and what have you done with your former self?20:32 I like the new you. I like the butterfly you. You are so transformed. And listen, did the caterpillar strive to become a butterfly?20:44 Did the caterpillar just really earnestly strive and just work so hard to have this transformation? No, it did not. What did it do? It allowed the process20:57 of metamorphosis to happen. You say, what happens? What does happen after all, in that cocoon? Do you know what happens? Listen, this is kind of bizarre. When a caterpillar goes into the cocoon,21:09 while it's in there, it begins to turn into a gooey substance. Oh yeah. It begins to turn into caterpillar soup. A caterpillar21:21 soup is happening in the cocoon. And all of its structures are being reorganized and transformed. Completely reorganized. And when we21:32 allow this process of transformation to happen for us, somehow or another, we we go into the caterpillar soup season, and God begins to reorganize and restructure some things on the inside of us, those21:44 pictures get exchanged for the new ones, and then after a season, we come out without having been striving and working so hard ourselves, no, we allowed God's process to happen, and21:56 we come out on the other side transformed. I'm not trying to be transformed, I am transformed. I'm not trying to fly above the clouds, I am flying above the clouds.22:09 Y'all out there? Listen, this is the good news, this is the good news of the gospel. You can be changed because of what Jesus did, the price He paid. He has made it such that we22:20 are made in His image, and He doesn't want you living below what He has designed you to be. As a man thinks in his heart, so is he. Let's think like God thinks about us. Now,22:32 in our next session together, we're gonna talk about how. Okay, okay, I'm convinced, I want transformation, I want breakthrough. How? How do I renew my mind and exchange the22:44 pictures On the inside, on the pages of my book, how do I do it? Thankfully, the Lord has not made it a mystery. Thankfully, He's made it really practical, actually it's22:56 really practical. And it's fun, and at the end of the day, the outcome is what? Transformation. A metamorphosis happens. Y'all getting this? You getting23:08 encouraged? Come on, listen. What areas of your life do you need breakthrough? Don't be looking for the magic spiritual dust. Don't be looking for the Tinkerbell wand. No. Let's do this. Let's cooperate with God and23:19 allow us his process of transformation to go to work, guaranteed you will be looking pretty like a butterfly. Amen. For his23:30 glory, for his honor, but listen, for our benefit, as a man thinks in his heart, so is he. And all the people and23:54 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 basics with Beth dot com. That's the basics24:06 with beth 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 Transforming Your Self-Image
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