When Did Jesus Became More Than a Name to You?

There comes a moment when Jesus stops being just a name we’ve heard… and becomes the Savior we know. In this message, Pastor Anthony shares how Jesus moves from information to revelation, from a story you were told to a relationship you experience.

We look at Paul on the Damascus road, the disciples on the Emmaus road, and the moments in our own lives when Jesus becomes real, personal, and Lord.

If you’ve ever wondered “How do I know Jesus for myself?” — this message is for you.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:12

Hey, good morning. Welcome back to On the Road with Pastor Anthony. And I'm super pumped that you're here. And again, we are on location here in Danville Baptist Church in Danville, West Virginia. If you have not yet checked him out, get on there and do that. And but also before we get started and go inside and uh do our message, uh, would like to ask you to please subscribe to the podcast on whatever platform you listen to us on that you so you never miss an episode. And if you enjoyed what you hear, give us a thumbs up and share the podcast with your friends. And by joining us each week, you will discover practical ways to live out your faith and connect others with Jesus as we share Jesus in life one mile at a time. All right, y'all have a blessed morning and we'll see you on the inside. I remember turning this mic on this time. All right. Well, it's gonna be great if Danny comes in to be able to at least finally get the medium. I haven't got the medium yet, or at least I don't remember. I probably have at some point, but anyway, let's go ahead and go to the Lord in prayer. Father God, Lord, again, we just uh we come to you, and first we want to thank you for another opportunity to come uh amongst other brothers and sisters at a sister church, Lord, and just open your word. Father, we have a a list of prayer requests that's been mentioned this morning. And uh, Lord, also one that I had forgotten until just now, Jamie Fritt, uh good friend of mine, has just been battling some stuff and uh you know the deal. And uh Lord, we ask you that you touch and heal and be with him. And Lord also continue to be with Danny and uh Rita and uh as you know, continue to heal and touch there and comfort and Carl and uh Lord, and just you know, I can't remember all the ones that was mentioned, but Lord, we just we just want you to um have your will and touch and heal and comfort and and Father, just you'll be with the families that are are going through tough times. And Lord, our country, it's just you know, there's so much happening at so many at such a fast pace, Lord, it's hard to keep track of. But we just need uh uh you to just just help us stay focused on you and uh and not all the issues just going around and uh just keep us um moving forward. Lord, we love you and we thank you for all that you do in Jesus' name and amen. Yeah, I'm super glad to be able to come back and hang out with y'all again today. Uh seems like it's been a minute, but uh I guess you have to look at you know this next week too. So I'm definitely looking forward to that. Um but uh today the uh message is I was kind of thinking about what I was going to talk about, and I started working on one, and then I and then it was like God gave me this one here, brought this back up to me. But I did an episode and I don't remember, I don't know if I didn't share it with you all, but it was a message on uh out of Matthew uh 16, 13 through 17. We won't really have to go there today. Uh but it was who do you say that I am? And it was a question that Jesus had asked his disciples. And I was thinking about that because Jesus cuts to you know every opinion, every you know, rumor, every second you know, hand idea about him when he looks at the disciples and asks, Who do they say that I am? Because he was asking, Who do they say that I am? You know, and they gave some of the answers, and some of those answers we still hear today. You know, you're a prophet, you know, some say you're a teacher, some just say you're a good man. And everyone had an opinion, everyone had a version of Jesus that fits their perspective. But then Jesus made it personal. But who do you say that I am? Oh, that reference was Matthew 16, 13 through 17. I'm just kind of referencing it. I'm not going to like go through it because it's, you know, we'd take a little bit to get through that. And there's a lot there, but I'm just kind of getting where I'm the message that we're having today. And when I was thinking about that question, who do you say that I am? I started thinking about a lesson that I did with my youth group a while back, back when I was still enjoying youth ministry, and it's something that's always stuck with me. And that was the title of this message is asking a different question. When did Jesus become more than a name to you? Something to think about. I kind of want to go back a little bit in our memory, you know, just kind of think about when we experienced Jesus in a way that he became something more than just that name. You know, when we ask who does who do we say that he is, that changed, that perspective. So I want to kind of go back because Jesus doesn't become real in your life when you hear what others say about you know what others say about him. He becomes real when you answer the question for yourself. And then that the scripture of Matthew, Peter answered him, says, You are the Christ, you are the Son of the Living God. And Jesus makes it clear to him, he's like, Listen, flesh and blood didn't reveal this to you. In other words, you didn't learn this until God opened your eyes. And so today we're going to be talking about moments when Jesus becomes more than a name, more than a story, more than a belief you inherited. We're going to be talking about the moment he becomes Lord, the moment he becomes real, the moment he becomes your personal Lord and Savior. And so I think that's such a powerful just to kind of jog our memories and kind of take a step back down memory lane of when Christ became more than just a name. Let's go ahead and pray again and ask God to bless this message. Father God of Lord, again, we just wanted to come to you as we open your word and we looked at you know some different scriptures, Lord, to kind of build the narrative of what we're looking at today as we take us a step back and remember the days that you became our Lord and Savior, the day that you became more than just a name that we we've heard about during our lives. And so, Father, we ask that you bless our this time together. We bless the message and bless the reading of your word. Again, Father, we love you and we thank you for just you know all that you've done in our lives and what you're going to do, and and maybe you reach those who are watching on this uh later on you know on social media, wherever we're live at. But Father, we ask that you just touch the hearts in Jesus' name, amen. So the first thing we want to look at and kind of go back and remember is the time before we were saved, uh, Jesus was a name, just a name before he was our Savior. Yeah, I kind of wanted you. I got the way I did this, it structure this, it's like I found some scripture and I'm like, but I don't want to, you know, if we read all this, we'll be here until tomorrow. And so I but I think about the story in Acts 9 as a powerful truth, as a great example, as Paul knew the name of Jesus before he knew him as his Savior. He knew the stories uh circulating about Jesus, he knew about what the followers were preaching in Jesus' name, he knew the movement was spreading across Jerusalem, but he didn't know the name, the man behind the message. And scripture says, as he journeyed, he came near to Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven, and he fell to the ground and heard the voice saying, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? And that was in Acts 9 3 4. And that moment, Paul asked the most important question that can ever be asked. Who are you, Lord? I get chills when I think about that. The experience of what he was seeing or hearing. Who are you, Lord? That question marks the turning point the moment Jesus became more than a name, more than a rumor, more than religion, more than a story. He became Lord. And that's how it happened for us, too. Jesus becomes more than a name when he moves from information to revelation, from something you heard about someone, you know, you've heard someone you've met, from someone you know, you've actually inherited the truth. God has opened your eyes, you have experienced him. You've, you know, that uh the Savior, the Lord, you have now encountered him, and there's a difference there. The difference between knowing about Jesus and knowing him, you know, many people grow up hearing his name in church, they sing the songs, they you know, they hear the prayers and then culture, but they never experienced the life-changing moment when he reveals himself personally. You know, Paul had religion, he had passion, he had the discipline, he had the knowledge. I mean, this dude was you know top dog scholar. I mean, he knew the stuff, but he didn't have that relationship, and that's so true for many of us today. You can defend Christianity but still not know him, but the moment he speaks your name. I mean, think about it. Remember when Peter, you he starts when he's speaking to him, Peter, and Peter realizes who it is. He jumped out of that boat, and I mean when he's swimming up to him and Peter, yeah, and then they have that dialogue. It was that him speaking his name, the moment his presence becomes real, the moment your heart responds, everything changes. I mean, yeah, think about people who who know a celebrity name. I mean, we could use something like Donald Trump for example, not a political stuff, but I don't care who you are, you've heard that name. You know, and there's people, you know, and everybody's got an opinion about him, everybody think, you know, knows this, knows that, but we don't know him. I mean, at all. We just know what we see and the information we read, but we've never met him personally to build a relationship with him. You know, but I mean, it could be a NASCAR driver, football, I mean, uh, singer, anybody you can think of, you know. Uh we can know all the stats about him. We know all the, you know, we can we can talk about you know races and stuff. You know, me, I like that Cletus McFarlane on YouTube, and I can tell you all kinds of stuff about him. Never met the man, don't know anything about just what I know about him from seeing him on YouTube and things. And that's the difference between knowing somebody and having a personal relationship with him. You know, you know the facts, you know the headlines and story, but you don't have a relationship. And I think sometimes a lot of people treat Jesus that way. You know, I can tell you back when, you know, early on, um I could, you know, people would be talking to me about church and whatever, and I'd be talking about, you know, but you know, my grandfather was a pastor, so you know that immediately just got me on the inside. I knew who Jesus was. I was born or I was raised going to church. Didn't mean nothing because I didn't know him. But when Jesus becomes Savior, it's like the difference between reading about fire and actually feeling the heat. It becomes personal, it becomes undeniable, it becomes transformative. And so when Jesus, so the question we could ask is has Jesus became a name more than a name to you? Not do you go to church, not do you believe in God because the demons believe and tremble? That's what scripture tells us. Not do you believe the Bible stories, but he's has he became Lord? Has he confronted you? Has he called you? Has he changed you? Has he claimed you as his own? Because when Jesus becomes Lord, everything shifts in your priorities, your identities, your direction, your desires, your purpose. You know, I think about my, you know, when I finally got back into church, it was through my teenage daughter going to Andrew Jackson Middle School and hooked up with FCA, met the pastor of Genesis Fellowship, got saved, and next thing you know, I was back in church. And I mean, when God got a hold of me, it was no longer about me. It was about him. And all I wanted to do was spend time with him. I wanted, I mean, so everything in my life, the whole perspective, everything that I'd ever wanted to do, because my goal was me and my wife was at one point we were going to I was gonna jump in a tractor trailer and do heavy equipment, and me and her were just my life on the road. And no, that's not what God had in plan for me. You know, it wasn't too long after I was saved and baptized with my son. Uh, it was really cool, you know, that moment, but I felt God draw me into ministry. I didn't know nothing about ministry, teaching, preaching, any, but my perspective had changed because he called me. I was his. My whole life was built now. I wanted to please him. And so going into ministry, scary, absolutely, but I was ready to go, jumping in with both feet. And that's the way our lives are when God gets a hold of us. If you truly have surrendered your life to Christ, you're going to be different. I promise you. You know, Paul, we look at him, that example of him, he went from persecuting creature uh Christians to preaching Christ. I mean, imagine how he felt having to go around the very people he was trying to arrest. But that's what happens when Jesus becomes more than just a name. He becomes the one who interrupts your path, redirects your life, rewrites your story. You know, there's a guy, Kyle Ottoman of this series called Not a Fan, and one of the things that he had talked about, you know, was praying for Jesus to come into fear in your life. You're talking about, you know, something a little scary, you know, that's quite a prayer. Because when you do that, God's like, all right, game on. And he's gonna shake some things up. And I think that's just but when we allow him to do that, you know, we might be heading this direction thinking this is where his life's gonna go, and God's like, mm-mm, we're going this way. But it's always so much better when we when we just follow him. But it's those moments that we start building those relationships that Jesus becomes real. Paul writes in Philippians 3:8, says, indeed, I count everything as lost because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord. And we notice that Paul didn't say knowing about, here's that you know, that key word again, is but knowing Christ personally, relationally, you know, experiencing life with Christ. This is the literal heart of a Christian, you know, that's our life. It's beginning that you know, the relationships, that knowing him personally. And a lot of people like, well, we can't see him how we do that. Well, that's where it is comes in. We gotta spend time here, you know. And I uh used to know a person that's that they were teaching, and we were talking about prayer. They said they literally take a chair that's empty and take a chair here, and they sit in front of it and they talk to talk to the man, they talk to Christ, they talk to him, like you and I are talking. You know, that's that's how we build the relationship. It's because he is real, he's alive. I mean, we just celebrated Easter. We know he's alive. But those, and that's something that we have to consider as we live through this, you know, as he becomes real to us, those defining those moments, his presence breaks through our assumptions, our pain, our confusion, our pride. Yeah, because I think a lot of people they kind of put Jesus in this box, like he's this is what he's supposed to be. And I think we sometimes we do that, we confine him to, you know, yeah, everything is gone in the world. Well, we're just you know, all things are just in such a turmoil. None of this has caught him off surprise. I mean, he knows what's going on, he's he's in the end, and we just have to trust him. And if he's truly alive in our lives, truly we know he's real, we know that you know what he's capable of, we shouldn't be worrying. I mean, you know, it doesn't mean it doesn't put some stress on us a little bit, trying to figure it out, but we just know that we win in the end because you know God's ours and we're part of his kingdom. I mean, think about when you ask Christ to forgive you of your sins. The the weight that feels like it's lifted off of you when you truly surrender your life and it's like, all right, Lord, I'm done trying to do things on my own. I'm yours. And he wipes those sins away from as far as east is from the west. Nothing was too big for him to erase. And for others, there's some that uh it becomes real in grief, and his comfort shows up in a hospital room. You know, I can tell you the I I think I've told shared the story with you all of my second cousin who uh Belmadon Thomas, and you can look her up, she's all over some newspaper ads because they called her the miracle woman. She had three cardiac arrests, and the first one they were 18 minutes before they got to her, she had already started turning gray. And when they got her back, and they were they finally got a pulse, a little bit of a heart, but no brain activity. 17 and a half hours she was on life support, no brain activity. And the woman lived about another uh probably 15 years after that. She was they were it was unhooking her, pulling, they already turned the machine off. They were unhooking her, getting ready to take her down to do uh an autopsy. When one of the nurses had pulled one of the tabs on her heart monitor and told her that, and she's like, and she they said that she was just one of those ones that like to talk to her patients, and she's like, sorry, honey. And my cousin's like, that's okay, dear. I'm like, you tell my probably something that freaks you out. But literally, two days later, she was sitting in a chair in her hospital room with oxygen on her nose. No brain damage, no heart damage, perfect. And I mean, the the night that this happened, I watched three people hit their knees at her foot of her bed and surrender their lives to Christ because they seen what God was capable to do. He made himself real and made himself known. You know, and I think about those examples, and I still get chilled, and I mean I you know get a little emotional when I think about it because that was such a powerful moment for me because I was young in uh in my Christianity, in my walk with Christ. And for me to see God do something like that, I'm just like, oh my gosh. I was like, man, this thing knew anything. I mean, it was just you know, it was just a really an eye-opening moment for me. My faith is I mean, skyrocketing. But I mean, I just think about that, you know, how God becomes real and how he reveals himself. You know, sometimes this answer prayers, you know, and when they're in the dark, in a dark place. Yeah, I've heard many people come to Christ in the middle of a jail cell, laying on their face in the floor with nowhere else to go. You know, it's just those certain times that God just reveals himself. And so those are the moments that we can look back and just like that's when he came, became more of than just a name. You know, those storms in life, you know, sometimes they think that they can break you, but then when we feel God's presence, and I can tell you there's been times that walk along this for no particular reason, and just you just feel his touch and you just smile and like, thank you, Lord. Because you just like, yep, he's right here. I love the scripture in Psalm 34 18 says the Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the Christian spirit. Jesus often becomes more real when life becomes the most difficult. And I'm gonna tell you. The roller coaster ride I've been on for the past five years, and I mean I've watched him work and do things and you know navigate, and I just like it's just amazing to watch him. I love watching God work. Jesus, you know, he becomes real, you know, again in those difficult times when the bottom falls out and the plan collapses and the diagnosis has come and the relationship ends, and his presence seems to be become a concept. Instead of it being a concept, it becomes a lifeline. You know, there's a another book that Kyle Ottawa did, it's called The The End of Me. And that's when we really truly become, you know, that face to face with God and come to the end of ourselves and realize that life is, you know, God has so much more for us than what we see just in the day and that here and now, and some of the things that we have to deal with. And you know, we've, you know, and some of the things that I was reading shows that, you know, older believers carry a deeper and steadier faith because they've lived, you know, to see Jesus show up again and again, and they walk through valleys and and that you know, natives know that he's walking with them. You know, they've prayed the prayers that only God can answer. They survived seasons that could only be that would have never, you know, they would have never survived without him. And their testimony is simple. I don't know about him, but I know him. You know, imagine someone who has read a book about swimming. They've never touched the water. But they read all the stuff. They read all the dives and how the forms and the, I mean, they know the breathing technique, they know it all, but they've never touched the water. They've never actually been in the pool. And sometimes I think, you know, there's some people that do that with Jesus too. They'll read the Bible, they'll read all the Charles Spurgeons and all this stuff, but they've never had a one-on-one experience with him. But the moment they do, when they experience his presence, his forgiveness, his peace, everything changes. Because he becomes real, not through information, but through an encounter. So another question, what moment, you know, you you don't have something for y'all to think about, but what moment made Jesus real to you? Was it a moment of brokenness? Was it a moment of surrender, a moment of joy, a moment of rescue? And it's been an and if it's been a long time since you've had one of those moments, it doesn't mean Jesus has stopped moving. It may be simply he's inviting you to pay attention again. Yeah, I've had some of those reminders. You get so wrapped up in the in the stuff that's going wrong, and then you just kind of like forget, and you just kind of get blindsided with with life, and sometimes we we just lose focus. And I think that was the purpose of this message today was to kind of just jog our memories and remember, you know, we got something better, you know, than whatever life's throwing at us. Because Jesus still reveals himself, he still speaks, he still comforts his people, he still saves, and he still becomes real in the lives of those who seek him. You know, I had a friend of mine one time tell me that God didn't do miracles anymore. And I was like, Oh, really? And he's like, Yeah, he said, he said, it's in the Bible. And I was like, it is. I said, Why don't you show it to me? And every couple weeks he comes, I'm still looking for that, and I'm like, well, just keep reading. He said, let me know when you find it. I was like, you know, as long as he's reading his Bible, good enough. So, but I think about Jeremiah 29, 11 or 29, 13, you will seek me and you will find me when you seek me with all your heart. And that's the that's the cue. You know, you know, Jesus is there. We just got to seek him out. Jesus becomes real when we stop treating him like a concept and start seeing him like a real person. You know, I think about a you know, we just we talked mentioned briefly a minute ago about Easter, and I think about Luke 24, 13 through 32. Again, we're not gonna read it all of it, but we find two disciples. They're walking along the road to Enemus and after the crucifixion. They were discouraged, they were confused, they were trying to make sense of everything that has happened. And uh scripture says Jesus himself came near and walked with them in verse 16, but their eyes were uh restrained, and they so they did not know him. And this verse shows that we can walk with Jesus, talk with him, and even be taught by him, and still not recognize him. You know, the disciples were discussing the events of the cross, the rumors of the resurrection, and the disappointment they felt. And yet Jesus was right beside them the entire time. He listened to their pain, he asked questions, he opened the scriptures to him and explained everything concerning himself, but it wasn't until he broke the bread that their eyes were open and they realized it was him. And in verse 32 it says, And did not our hearts burn within us while we walked on the road? I think about that. Can you imagine being at that dinner? Yeah, you just walked in there and then you're sitting down, and all of a sudden Jesus, you know, everything becoming clear to you. They're probably like elbowing each other, you idiot! I told you there was something about him, didn't you? I mean, I mean, could you imagine? It's like he was with us the whole time and we didn't even recognize him. What in the world is wrong with us? I mean, I could only imagine, you know, the way they I mean, I know that's what I'd have been doing. I'd have been like, you idiot, you know, but you know, but that's I must take that, you know, what they were thinking at that dinner. I always try to put myself in that perspective. When their eyes were open, and it was like, didn't our hearts burn for I mean, I mean, how many times have you done you've had those moments where it's just like you look back and you're like, man, that was okay, that was Jesus there that helped me in that situation, or gave me the answer that I needed, or showed me the direction, and you're just like, you know, Eureka, the light bulb goes off. You know, this passage teaches us something deeply important. Jesus, Jesus is often closer than we realize. I mean, you think about a mirror in your car, you know how it says objects are closer than they appear? Well, yeah, that's Jesus. He's just always right there, right there with us. And sometimes we don't recognize him until you know we because we're overwhelmed with grief. Sometimes we don't see him because we're distracted with life, you know, and sometimes we don't sense him because we're spiritually tired and we're distracted by you know this things that's going on. And sometimes we, like the disciples, we're so focused on what went wrong that we miss the one who is walking with us. But Jesus doesn't abandon us in those moments, instead, he draws us near. He walks with us even when we don't see him, he speaks even when we don't recognize his voice. But sometimes, you know, even open scripture, and when our hearts, you know, they feel like you just we you know, we don't know which direction to go. And at the right moment, he will reveal himself, and then that reignites our faith. Because then he's like, okay, it's time for me to listen right here. I'm right, yeah, I'm with you, I got you. You know, he'll show you. You know, think about you're driving somewhere when you got the GPS on, you've had it on for so long, and it's sitting there spouting out and it's guiding you, but you just kind of like zoned out, and you're just doing the stuff, and then you're you know, then all of a sudden you realize that hey, you know what? This GPS has been guiding me all along. Well, that's Jesus, that's how it works, that's how he often works. You may not feel him in the moment, you may not recognize you know his hand in real time, but when you look back, you realize that he was guiding you, protecting you, and speaking to you the entire way. You know, that intimate story reminds us that Jesus is present even when we are unaware. So, where might be might Jesus be walking with you right now, and you're not realizing it. Something maybe you're going through. Yeah, I know there's something here, and that's probably something I should have mentioned in prayer request. You know, um back when I got started in the ministry, you know, and I started feeling like Jesus called me into being a youth pastor and stuff. Well, you know, Mark and I were talking and we were moving through, and we were, and he's like, You gotta go to the West Virginia School of Christian Studies. And I'm like, all right, so I started messing around in there, and I'm like, which one should I do? And he's like, go for all of it. So I did the you know, the pastoral diploma. Well, never in the Gazillian Julian years, you know, my thought process was I'm gonna be at Genesis Fellowship, I'm gonna be the youth pastor there, and then when Mark retires, I'll step in and just take his spot and just keep going. But um, well, again, that was my thought process, not God's, and he had different things. And so here I am today doing pulpit supply, and I'm traveling the road on podcasts and you know all this stuff, but I'm really earning. I want to, I mean, I want to preach somewhere, you know, I'd like to be a shepherd in a church, and you know, because I'm like podcasts is great, but you know, I want to do more. And uh, and so I've been looking, it's several different churches, and it's come to my attention that even though I've got over a decade of ministry experience, I've got a diploma, you know, in pastoral ministry, I've been ordained, none of that means anything because I haven't been to seminary, which is crazy. But so now I'm praying, I'm thinking, well, maybe I need to go on to seminary because I need to take that next step. So that's prayer for me for you all. And so that's kind of just uh a thing that God's been leading me, you know, taking those steps, and now it's time maybe to take the the biggest step of you know that I've ever did. So y'all be in prayer for me for that. But it's just like, you know, but I think that, you know, when we look at life and just how God weaves things and how he steps in and reminds us, and you know, and I think maybe the whole time that I haven't you know didn't do that then is it's because I wasn't ready. And he prepares us in those steps and he reveals things little by little as we can handle them. And I think maybe that's the way it's been with me, and he's been preparing me for something much bigger, and and so now I'm just getting excited. So, you know, about going back to school that I haven't been in school for years and years. So uh definitely prayer for me on that one. But and so but that's the kind of things I'm talking about when I say, you know, maybe Jesus is walking with you right now without you realizing it as there's something that you're dealing with or going through. You know, maybe he's been speaking through scripture, and maybe you've been too busy to notice, and maybe and I think that's some of my thing here. He's had to slow me down some. And maybe he's been confronting you with people that he's placed in your life, and maybe he's guiding you through closed doors or unexpected turns, and maybe he's stirring your heart during worship and prayer. Maybe he broke, maybe that bread that he broke is an example, you know, kind of for us, a familiar act. And sometimes for Jesus reveals himself in ordinary conversation, you know, I was messing last week, uh, or for next week that I've been uh kind of started building an outline on, you know, I was because I was going through like I, you know, I don't know what to pray, you know, do uh Memorial Day, and I want to do something, you know, it's gonna honor Vets and honor you, and and a song come on, and I was like, and they were talking about it, and I was like, there it is. And so uh it was actually skillet, and it said something about you know a hero living inside of me, and that's just jumped in there. I'm like, that's it. Don't know the rest of it yet, but we're gonna build off of that concept, you know, continue to pray for it. And so it's those types of things that we have, you know, you through something that God can get our attention through. He does it in so many different ways. I mean, he used a donkey to talk to somebody once. So, I mean, when God's trying to get our attention or tries to you know try to direct our past, he will use whatever he needs to use, and we just gotta be open to it. You know, um, when your heart you know feels that and he starts speaking and you recognize what he's doing, that's when that fire starts burning in your heart again. You're just like, oh, and then I mean, just like the warm, fuzzy feeling, and you get the chills, and you're just like, yeah, yo God, you know, I want some more. Let's talk. And so he does. He just reveals himself in moments that we don't expect. And that's when we look at this the next section here is that fresh encounter, not a fresh rebuke. Because sometimes we feel like God, maybe you're pounding on me just a little bit because I ain't been paying attention. And some, and sometimes it's just it's not that. It's just okay, we're taking a fresh look, and he's you know, that holding your feet to the fire a little bit, and sometimes we need that. You know, Jesus talks about uh in uh Revelation uh four chapter two, verse four and five. He speaks to the church in Ephesus, says, Nevertheless, I have this against you that you have left your first love. Remember from where you have fallen, repent and do the first works. And so, and a lot of us will read that as a harsh rebuke. We're like, man, he's just jumping on us here for that. But actually, he's just calling me back to the relationship. Because sometimes we, like I said, we there's so many things that happen that can uh pull our attention away. And next thing we remember, we're out in the pasture field wondering how we got out there. And and this is Jesus, you know, just calling us back, you know, to do to that relationship. Because he wasn't telling them that you were a failure, he was saying, just come back to me. I got stuff for you to do. I need you to remember your first love. And that's kind of the whole point of this message is calling us back to that remembrance of when Jesus became more than a name. You know, the tone of Jesus was not one of a disappointed judge, it was a loving Savior who wants his people to experience him again. And this is where the scripture says in James 4.8, it says, draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. You know, Jesus was always ready for a fresh encounter. You know, when we drift spiritually, Jesus doesn't push us away, he pulls us closer. You know, and I think about you know, there was an old story I heard about one time about a couple riding around an old pickup truck and had just a long bench seat in there. And uh, you know, whenever Dayton and first married was, you know, she was always like right here beside of him driving around, and then over the years she was over by the door, and uh she looks like she's and she was looking at him, she's like, You remember when we used to ride side by side? And she's like, he's like, Yep, I haven't gone anywhere. Well, that's the same thing it is with Jesus. You know, over time sometimes we start scooting over towards the door, and he's just going, Well, I'm right here. You know, you can scoot over anytime you want. So I think about that as an example is what Jesus is talking about, you know, that especially in that James. You know, draw near to God and He'll draw near to you. And so we can drift spiritually. Again, Jesus doesn't push us away, he pulls us closer. When our hearts grow cold, he doesn't scold us, he stirs us. When our passion weakens, he doesn't shame us, he invites us to return. This is the heart of God throughout the entire Bible. In Jeremiah 31, 3, God says, I have loved you with an everlasting God, therefore, with loving kindness I have drawn you. This is the tone Jesus uses towards believers who feel dry, who feel tired, who are distant. He draws you with kindness, not criticism. He calls with compassion, not condemnation. He invites us to experience him again, to relive our failure, not to relive our failures, but to rediscover his presence. And you think about a parent trying to teach their kid to ride a bicycle and they and they wreck. You know, the parents not gonna go up or to them and then start yelling at them. You can't believe he did that. You're a failure, you're never gonna learn to write. They don't do that. Pick them up, he dusts them off, and he's like, Oh, you got a boo-boo, that's okay. We'll put a band-aid on there and let's try it again. That's God, that's what he does for us. He doesn't scold us or beat us down. He just, okay, you failed. All right, that's well, now you know not to do that again. Let's try to do it this way. And yeah, and and to help and build us up. And that's how Jesus, I mean, it's just how he treats his people. He doesn't highlight the fall, he highlights the future. He doesn't replay the mistakes, he restores momentum. He doesn't say, Look how far you drifted. He says, Come walk with me again. A fresh encounter is not reliving guilt, it's about receiving grace. The moment you turn, he meets you with grace, warmth, and welcome. And so we just want to remember that you know that again, that scripture just calls us to come back to him. A call to remember and return echoes throughout scripture. Psalm 5112, David prays, Restore me the joy of your salvation. And notice he doesn't say restore my salvation, because if you have truly accepted Christ, you can't lose your salvation. It says nothing can pluck you from his hand. So if you have truly messaged, because I get that question, like, can't you lose your salvation? Well, no, not if God gave it to you, not if you were saved by Jesus, because now you're his, you know, and not even ourselves are you know are that good. We can't take it away from him. You know, so if we've not truly said accepted Christ, then well then, yeah, you can lose your salvation, but you never had it. And so that's but that's why David is saying, Restore to me the joy of your salvation. That's yours God's salvation to us. That's what Jesus is after the joy, the fire, the closeness, the tenderness of heart. Jeremiah 2 2, God says, I remember the devotion of your youth and how as a bride you love me. God remembers the early love of his people and invites them to remember it too. Not to shame them, but to awaken them, not to condemn them, but to call them back to a relationship that they once felt uh vibrant. Now think about the times that I've uh done some marital counseling with you know couples who were looking at separating, getting a divorce. One of the questions I first uh one of the first questions I asked them, how did you fall in love? I want them to remember what it felt like, what they experienced, what they seen. You know, I because sometimes the love can grow cold, you can drift apart, you know, you know, life can get in the way. But when you remember, it can cause your mind to kind of come around. You know, and then they begin to look at those old photos and revisit old memories and return to the place they first met. Something suddenly awakens. The love was always there, it just needed to be remembered. And that's what Jesus is doing with his church. He's saying, let's get back to where we started. Let's go back to the moment when your heart was soft, your worship was sincere, and your hunger was real, and my presence was precious to you. Jesus is inviting us to remember and return. Remember when he saved you, remember when he spoke to you, remember when he carried you, remember when he healed you, remember you when he met you at the altar, maybe it was in a car or hospital room. Mine was always in my bedroom, laying down in my bed, and it's just I mean, it cut hit me like a ton of bricks. But we gotta remember those times. Remember when he became more than a name, and then return to that. Return to prayer, return to worship, return to scripture, return to surrender. He's calling you back to a meeting. He wants to encounter you on that personal level again, like I was talking about the chair. Just set it down there and be like, all right, Lord, hearing, you got my focus, let's talk. He wants to reignite, you know, what life has tried to smother. And right now, life is heavy, you know, for a lot of us. And he wants to restore that time that is worn down. He wants you to turn around, he wants to meet you with open arms, fresh grace and a renewed fire. So as we kind of bring us you know to a conclusion the moment I want to bring back um your heart back to that question you know that's been guiding this message. When did Jesus become more than a name to you? Not when you first heard about him, not when you first went to church, not when someone else told you who he was, because I've had people tell me that, and I'm like, if Jesus, if somebody can talk you into following Jesus, somebody can talk you out. It has to be a personal, intimate relationship with him. And so it's not when you know those moments you went to church, you know, not when uh but when you but the whole thought process is when you encountered him personally, powerfully, and undeniably. And some of you, that moment is crystal clear, it's just as vivid today as it was the day that it happened. But then there's some that you know it's like, yeah, I'm not so sure I remember. And there's also you know, some that you know, it's just uh the memory has kind of faded over time. And for some, maybe it's watching you online right now that uh you have known his name for years, but you have never truly known him. And the beautiful truth is hey, Jesus is not asking you to to go back to you know or try to come back into something that you've never had. He wants to invite you into a meeting, he wants to encounter you, he wants to uh give you a new life for those who have never accepted him as into his life, you know, into your life, and made him Lord and Savior. You can do that today. So here's a call that remember and return. Remember when he saved you. And if he hadn't done that, you know, get a hold of the church if you're watching online, and he will definitely, you know, there are people here that can help you with that. But remember when he healed you for the rest of us. Remember when he he met you in your brokenness, remember when he became more than a name. And that return, return, return, just remember. You know, I think if we just go back and remember when Jesus saved us that that moment, I think that can just open the floodgates just like we've never seen before. So if God's tugging at you and he's pulling at your heart and going, Hey, I I need to get your attention here. I need you, I need you to focus on remember. You don't ignore that, that conviction, that call. You know, again, go back to those maybe who've never experienced Christ and you're feeling something right now that you've never felt before. Well, that's probably Jesus calling you, telling you it's time. Time for your Jesus appointment. And make him more than a name, make him your Savior. He is Lord, he is alive, and he's right here, ready to meet all of us, ready to restore, ready to ignite, and ready to walk with you again. Let's pray together. Father God, Lord, again we come to you and just we thank you. You know, sometimes we need a good reminder. And Lord, uh, and maybe today would be the day that someone heard this message and and realized that they don't have you as their savior. Or maybe they've drifted far away, and maybe some people are are now remembering the time that they've gotten saved. And for Lord, we thank you for that. Because we all can get something from this message, Lord, just just to help us remember and put a smile on our face. And Lord, so we just ask you to continue to guide us and teach us. And you know, sometimes you've got to challenge us a little bit, and we welcome that. So, Lord, again, we just ask you to continue to bless us and move us forward as we leave here today. Allow us to take this message and use it and talk with others about it. Father, we love you and we thank you again for all that you do in our lives in Jesus' name and amen. Thank you for joining us today. And if this message has encouraged you, don't forget to like and share it with a friend, and also consider subscribing and hit the little bell so you never miss what is next. And if you want to help others find this message, leaving a five-star review on your uh podcast platform really helps us reach more people with the gospel. And if you'd like to stay connected and be a part of what God is doing through his ministry, all the links are in the description below. And if you feel led to support the ministry, whether through prayer, sharing an episode, or giving through Buzzsproute or buy me a coffee app even. Thank you. I mean, it's uh really appreciated from the bottom of my heart, but your prayers mean more than you know, and your generosity helps us stay on the road, sharing the gospel and reaching more lives with hope. Again, all the links are in the description below. Thanks for being a part of this journey. And as always, continue to share Jesus and life one out at a time, and we will see you on the next one.