Behold Him Nights Vol.2 | Beholding the Lord

In a world full of distractions, there is one invitation that changes everything: Behold Him.

This first Behold Him Night is a time of stillness, prayer, and reflection centered on the person of Jesus Christ. Join us as we spend time in His presence through instrumental worship and a teaching on the question that every person must answer:

Who is Jesus?

Jesus is not merely a teacher to admire, but a King to surrender to. He is God revealed, the Savior of the world, and the One worthy of our complete devotion.

Whether you're listening during prayer, driving, studying, or simply seeking to draw near to God, our prayer is that this time helps you fix your eyes on Jesus once again.

"And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image..." — 2 Corinthians 3:18

Connect with Malik:
Instagram: @malik_brookins, @beholdhimmovement

YouTube: @Malik Brookins

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

And I really want to start in 2 Corinthians 3.18. And I promise you I'm gonna try to be like nine minutes or however long the Holy Spirit leads. 2 Corinthians 3.18. And it says, and we all with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. And as as I was reading this, I just kind of get re I got reminded of the gospel. And a lot of the times I'm being I'm a victim of it. Um I always feel like we can read more, or we can pray more, or we can serve more, we can evangelize more, we can go out and lead more. But as I read this, I I get reminded of the first invitation of the gospel is to behold him. It is to behold the Lord. And um, if we can all turn to we're gonna be all over the place. Um Mark 3 13, because I really want us to see this, and I thought this was cool as I was doing a little studying. Mark three thirteen. And it says, sorry, yeah, 313 through 14. It says, and he went up on the mountain and called to him those who he desired. This is Jesus, and they came to him, and he appointed twelve so that they might be with him. I was reading this and I was like, oh man, so it wasn't for them to go and do anything extreme. Like the first thing he calls them so that they might be with him, and then it says, and he might send them out to preach and have authority. So I'm reminded, okay, the gospel message is I behold Jesus, like I I come to him, I see him, and I'm reminded of when um Peter, um, before he even preached at Pentecost and 3,000 got saved, he was with Jesus for three years. Like he was with the Lord, and from there he got the boldness to speak. Um, I'm even reminded in like Acts chapter, I believe it was Acts chapter four, when um Peter and John healed a man, then the the Sadducees were coming against them because they were preaching the gospel and they got arrested. And if we could turn there too, I think that's Acts chapter Acts chapter four. Yes, Acts chapter four. Um they accused Peter and John of raising this man in verse uh seven, and and then in verse eight it says, Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, rulers of the people and elders, if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this mess has been healed, let it be known to all of you and to all of the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by him this man is standing before you well. That comes from when we behold Jesus and we spend time with him. And I love in verse 13 it says, Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, they perceived them that they were uneducated common men. They were astonished, and then they recognized that they had been with Jesus. But then he's filled with the mission. And I feel like sometimes, and I'm a victim of it, I've I've gotten it all wrong. Like the the timeline and how it should go for all of us being Christian, wanting to preach the gospel, should be first to behold Jesus, become like him, then preach his word. So for so many, for so long, I feel like I've done it backwards. I've I've wanted to represent him so well that I've missed him. Like I wanted to do ministry so bad that I forgot the John 15 of abiding in him. Like I wanted the fruit, but didn't abide. Like I wanted to have influence so bad and didn't have a burden for a nation, didn't have a compassion for a people. And I feel like sometimes when we get the order of beholding, becoming, and representing, we miss who he really is. Like we try to do it backwards, we try to represent him first, then become like him. Then it's like, oh, I'm I'm I'm in this position. Now, now let's see if I can behold him. And I feel like the Lord just put this message on my heart of, man, we have to behold him. We have to behold him. There's such a, there's such a there's such oil when we know who Jesus is. And um and we can turn to Psalms 27. This is what David writes as he is surrounded. Um in the beginning it says, The Lord my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is my sh is the stronghold of my life, and whom shall I be afraid? When evildoers resell me to eat up my flesh, my adversaries and foes, it is they who stumble and fall. Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear, though war rise against me, yet I will be confident, and this is so important. One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple. And I love this verse by David, because as he's surrounded by armies, he could ask for so many things. He could have asked for victory, he could have asked for saving, he could ask for rescue, he could ask for deliverance, but the one thing he acts for in the midst of him probably feeling really anxious and really scared, he asked to see the Lord for his gaze to be upon him, which show which shows me like beholding the Lord is more important than we think. And I love when Paul um says, But we all with unveiled face beholding the glory of the Lord. It's it's important because when we behold the glory of the Lord and have an understanding of that being the greatest thing, then everything else will be in its proper place. And looking back at um 2 Corinthians, when he is saying, And we all with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord are being transformed into the same image, he is he is referencing in this verse Moses um in verse uh I think it's Exodus 33 and 34, when Moses would go and see and be in the presence of the Lord, and when he would leave the tent, his face would be so radiant and so glowing that when Moses when he left he would have to wear a veil because the Israelites, one, were afraid, but also I believe this veil that Moses wore, I believe Paul is bringing this up in this passage because it's also like a spiritual veil that the Israelites wore, because that spiritual veil was the spiritual blindness, it wasn't a hardened heart, was a people not willing to surrender everything to the Lord. And with that, all of it plays into effect when he says, Now with unveiled face, because we can only see Jesus rightly because of what he has done. Like Moses had this temporary glory that faded, but because of Jesus in Matthew 27, 50, when he's saying, I I yielded up my spirit, like Jesus says, I he yielded up his spirit, and the veil was torn from top to bottom. And I love that passage so much because I I when I look at when he says he yielded up his spirit, it's like if I if I ever hear anyone ever say, like the devil sent Jesus to the cross, that's a lie. He didn't. Like Jesus chose the cross because of love, like he chose the cross. And even after that, we see when he yielded up his spirit because of love, and God and the and the veil was torn from top to bottom. We see that's an act and a sign from God saying, Now come draw near. Like you didn't have to do anything. Like I opened this to have communion with you. And then when we look at this, and he says, Beholding the glory of the Lord. So now we have unveiled face, and now we're beholding the glory of the Lord. What is the glory of the Lord? The glory of the Lord is God's character. In Exodus 33, um, Moses acts to see the glory of the Lord. And what does the Lord respond to him? The Lord responds with his character. Um, we can read that actually. It's in Exodus 30, Exodus 33. Exodus 33, verses 18. And he says, Moses says, Please show me your your glory. And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before you, and will proclaim before you my name the Lord, and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and whom will show mercy, on whom I will show mercy. Right, he says this, but then if we go down to chapter 34, verses five, he says, The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there and proclaimed the name of the Lord. And he said, The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgressions and sin. But who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers, the fathers on the children and the children's children to the third and fourth generations? So we see through this, right, Moses acts to see the glory, he sees the glory of the Lord. Then going through uh some of the Old Testament, Isaiah and Isaiah 6, Isaiah witnesses the glory of the Lord. Then in John verses 1, um, John 1 14, John is saying, And the word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen him in the Son, the only begotten Son, um, full of grace and truth. So we see that the glory of the Lord is in Jesus. In Hebrews 1:3, it says, Jesus is the radiance of God's glory. He is the radiance. Then in 2 Corinthians, is what we've already read. It's like the glory of the Lord is in the face of Jesus. It's in the face of Jesus. It is nowhere seen clearer than in Jesus. Because when you see Jesus, you see the Father. And it's like, what are we beholding? Like we're beholding his holiness, he's never sinned, he's welcome sinners. We're beholding his humility. The creator washed the fruit, the feet of his creation. We're beholding his compassion. He moved to people, everyone ignored. We're beholding his authority, demons that tremble at his name, storms that bow down to him, death surrendered. Like we're beholding his obedience, delightfully doing exactly the will of the Father. We're beholding his beauty. Everything beautiful about God is perfectly revealed in Christ. So in this, we become what we behold. So whatever we give our attention to, that's where our affection is. And wherever our affection is, that's where our desire is. And wherever our desire is, that's where our worship lies. And wherever our worship lies, that's who we become, that's our identity. So so basically, like our attention is what we look at, which becomes our affection, what we love. And then what we love becomes our desire, what we long for. And then what we long for becomes our worship, what we live for. And then our worship becomes our identity, what we live for will become what we worship will become who we become. Like that's what it is. And and we see it so many times in today in the world, it's like people harp over success and and money, and that always leads to achievements, or cars and finances, which can become like materialistic, or fear, which becomes anxiousness, or or uh offense, which becomes bitterness. It's like we see how these things in our life take a toll, but when we behold who Christ is, we become more like Christ. And I love it because uh Paul writes, He is the one that transforms us, and we go from glory to glory. So it we don't have to do anything. The Bible is not uh a self-help book, it is not a behavior modification book. It is we behold Christ, and as we behold Christ, we are transformed into his image. We don't have to do anything. Um, the more clearer we see him, the more we love him, the more we love him, the more naturally we become who he is. And I and I think it's simply that. Like beholding the Lord, it's so special, and I want us to understand it. But this is my last thing. Um, I think the cross is the highest revelation um of the glory of the Lord. And I was studying this, and I wrote down, we see we see so many things of God's character through the cross. So we see God's justice against sin because it couldn't be ignored. He had to send his one and only son for us. We see God's love for sinners because it says, While we were yet still sinners, Christ died for us. We see God's wrath satisfied. So if you've ever felt like God is upset at me. God, I like I can't do anything wrong. I'm just so bad and the Lord is mad at me. His wrath was satisfied from the cross. Jesus drinks the cup we all deserved. God's mercy is extended. We see the guilty are welcomed home. We see the holiness of God upheld. God remains perfectly righteous while forgiving sins. And we see the grace of God overflowing, to which He forgave us, He adopted us, He called us sons and daughters, and He gave us the Spirit and brought us back into communion. All of this is in the cross, which is why I understand why Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 2 2, like I decided to know nothing except Jesus and Him crucified. In the last point, Paul says we go from glory to glory, and this is, I believe, is hope. It is hope. He is transforming us, and to see the glory of the Lord, the character on who he is, sometimes it is very slow, and sometimes it is in the waiting, and sometimes it is in suffering, but it's all to conform us into the image of Christ. It's all to conform us into the image of Christ. So let's pray, Lord. Thank you for blessing this time. Um we are humble servants, wanting to know you, wanting to see you, Lord, and to be known by you. Thank you for this time of beholding you and knowing you rightly, Jesus. You are our Prince of Peace, you are the King of Kings, you are the Lord of Lords, you are the Alpha and Omega, you are the beginning and the end. We love you so much, we love you so much, we love you so much, Lord. We love you, we we want to behold you, we want to become like you, Lord, and we want to represent you so well, Lord. We are a generation hungry for truth, we're a generation who who want to rightly divide the word, and we want to see you rightly, Lord. We want to see you so rightly. So Lord, I thank you for the time to where we've gotten to sit in stillness and just in reverence. Lord, I thank you for what you've spoken to me, even as I was playing, and those in the room and those watching. Lord, we're so thankful and we're so grateful and honored, Lord, that each and every day you continue to be with us. You continue to be with us, Lord, and that you love us so much. Lord, we give you this time. Lord, and we just we just ask, Lord, that from this time there's a seed that is planting it in our hearts, that reaps a good harvest, and that harvest is communion with you, and that harvest is knowing you. Lord, let this moment teach us to be still and not to move so fast and to see you. We love you, Lord. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. Amen. Um, thank you guys for watching online. Um, everything else will be in the descriptions um to keep up to date with what we have going on. And thank you to everyone who came to our home and and did this with us. This is so cool and so amazing. So uh love you guys so much. God be blessed.