Kingdom Authority Podcast | Knowing Jesus Personally: The Power That Changes Everything

Who is Jesus to you?

In this powerful episode of the Kingdom Authority Podcast, Pastor Aaron and Tony Tanner dive into one of the most important questions every believer must answer: Who is Jesus—not just to the world, but to you personally?

A true revelation of Jesus Christ changes everything. When we understand Him as Savior, Lord, King, Shepherd, Healer, Deliverer, and Friend, our identity is transformed, our faith is strengthened, and we begin to walk in the authority He has given us. Christianity is not about religion or head knowledge—it is about a living relationship with the risen Christ.

Join Pastor Aaron and Tony as they unpack the biblical truth that knowing Jesus intimately unlocks bold faith, unwavering confidence, spiritual authority, and a deeper understanding of your purpose in God's Kingdom.

In this episode you'll discover:

• Why your personal revelation of Jesus matters.
• How intimacy with Christ produces Kingdom authority.
• The difference between knowing about Jesus and truly knowing Him.
• How your identity is rooted in who Jesus says you are.
• Why a deeper relationship with Christ changes the way you live, pray, and lead.

 If this episode encourages you, subscribe to the Kingdom Authority Podcast, leave a review, and share it with someone who desires to know Jesus more deeply. The greatest authority you'll ever walk in comes from truly knowing the King. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:10

Hey guys, welcome to Kingdom Authority Podcast. We are excited to be here, and as always, we want to open with prayer. We want to invite you to pray with us. Father, we thank you. We love you. We praise you. As we get into today's segment, God, just get in the middle, guide our conversations. We love you in Jesus' name. Kingdom Authority Podcast is all about living in the authority that Christ died for us to have. So many people live under the uh the power that God gave us. They live without ever walking in that true authority. And I want to welcome Tony. Tony's a regular on our podcast. You know, Tony, we um we say this a lot in our in our world, um, that ministry happens um sometimes when you're least expecting it. Um kind of happened earlier. We were getting ready to uh film this podcast, and and we had a we had a guest just kind of walk into the church and need to have a conversation. And that's that's just what ministry really is. Yeah, it is. Um, you know, I was during that conversation, I had stepped away. Tony was in here getting everything ready, and as I began to listen, the question that I kept feeling in my spirit to ask this person is who is Jesus to you? Um, I think that is the most important question a human being could ever ask themselves. Who is Jesus to me?

SPEAKER_00 1:54

Yeah, a lot of times we look, we look at Jesus, we read the stories, we all of the things, but Jesus asked the disciples, who do you say I am? Not what does everybody else say, who do you say I am?

SPEAKER_01 2:13

Come on.

SPEAKER_00 2:13

It's so it and we we gain we gain knowledge and understanding from other people on who they say Jesus is. Who what has he done in your life? How has he changed? How did he save you? Not how did he save other people? There you go.

SPEAKER_01 2:35

It's having that tangible experience uh with the God of the universe. Um, you know, in this conversation that I was having just a few moments ago, I'm I'm still reeling from that conversation. But we brought up, he brought up Buddha and Muhammad. And in one of the conversations was about a it was, and I never I never got to the answer of what this was, but in that he was talking about a friend of his that followed some uh religion that was telling him that fear and happiness, joy and misery are all the same thing. And I think there's just so many people out there that are just looking, they're searching, you know, and there's always this God-given draw inside of us, drawn to God, but we're looking, we always start looking in weird spots, you know. Um, and I told I I as he was telling me this, I'm smiling, and he kind of looked at me and I was like, well, let's just back up and get some perspective on this.

SPEAKER_00 3:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 3:53

So if if fear and joy and happiness and hatred are the same thing, what's the point? You know, if it was like a light bulb went off, you know, like, oh thinking, man, you know, yeah, and it and it makes sense that we have that that longing for him.

SPEAKER_00 4:16

He created us. So we're we're going back to, you know, it's it's like a dog always goes back to its mom. That's where, you know, as as we're growing up, we feel pain or suffering, we go to our mom to seek for that comfort. We we go to our parents for that, and that's what that's what we do. I was listening to a speaker on the way here, and he's like, you can't understand, like, if I have this tablet right here, I don't know how to operate it, I don't know how to take it apart unless I know how it's made and I have an understanding of what is in it. Come on, come on. Yeah, it it so when we understand who created us and his purpose for us and the plans that he has for us and the identity that he gives us, we start walking in that and we start understanding that's who Jesus is.

SPEAKER_01 5:12

Man, I you know, I was I was just sitting here. I I honestly, you were here, I just kind of opened my Bible, and as you were sitting here talking, I'm looking at 1 Corinthians 12, and it says, you know, Paul is writing and he's saying, now concerning the spiritual gifts, brothers, I don't want you to be uninformed. You know that when you were pagans, you were led astray to by mute idols. We have these things that are in our lives that that have they have no deity, they have no, they're they're not God, but they seem to be a God in our lives, you know. Um we we talk about this so much about the voices that you listen to. Oh, come on. And you know, um, I you've heard me say this, and I know, I know you have, because we will have people. It was during that conversation earlier, I was talking to that young man, and he said, you know, I've been a fail, I'm a failure. I and I said, Who told you that? And he stopped and looked at me like I had four foreheads, but it was true. I'm like, who told you that? Where did you get that? Yeah, and you know, that's what that's what people don't understand sometimes is we hear things or we think things, but who really told us that? Was it was it the God of heaven? Because I'm telling you right now, the God of heaven never tells you you're worthless. Yeah, because he created you on purpose for a purpose.

SPEAKER_00 6:52

He doesn't make mistakes, he doesn't make mistakes. And I've had conversations with people in the occult, witchcraft, people in general. Yep, we hear voices, all sorts of different voices, but it's not until we come to Jesus that we we hear less of that, less and less of that because God is not going to tell you. Let me back up a little bit.

SPEAKER_01 7:16

Well, Jesus says, My sheep know my voice. Yes, it's knowing his voice that changes everything. We we we hear these voices, and and what I always and I just I just advised that young man earlier, I said, Do you have a Bible? Yeah, I said, Do you read it? Not really. I said, Okay, then how are you going to know what God is saying to you? I said, when I hear those voices and I take them, if it's not in the word, it's not him. Because he never he never changes off of this ever.

SPEAKER_00 8:00

Um, but anyway, you know, so many times people will be like, it's hard for me to understand what God is saying about me. Yeah. But it's so easy for us to believe what the enemy is saying about us. Oh my gosh, yes. And and you know, I you know, I shared a testimony last night, you know, and that and that's something that I had to come against. But we look at those things as you know, we hear them and you're not worth anything. Yep, you're a failure. Yep. God's not gonna tell you those things. You've got you you've got to cast them out immediately.

SPEAKER_01 8:40

You do. Um, but it was it was such a it was such an interesting conversation. And I I I know we kind of seem like we're just kind of dancing around on this podcast, but it's such a it's such a uh a conversation that if you are a believer, you need to know how to share the gospel and who Jesus is to you. Um, the most important question that I ever asked myself is who is Jesus to me? Yeah, you know, and is like what we were talking about when we started, not what he's done for somebody else. We should share our testimony.

SPEAKER_00 9:12

Correct.

SPEAKER_01 9:13

We should all the time, and I and I know that we do, but until a person knows who Christ is to them, and that's what you're doing when you're sharing your testimony, you are showing them Christ got into your life, he changed things for your good. Yeah, see, we we have this thought pattern that everything is good, now he's changing it for your good. You're still gonna have issues because you've got things to work out. Yeah, you know, um, when you when you if you get a cut and you don't doctor that cut and medicate that cut correctly, it's going to get an infection, and then it's going to get you have to, you know, but you've got to peel all that out to get in down to what we would call white meat.

SPEAKER_00 10:03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:03

Get in there and get it cleaned out. That's painful. And and a lot of times God has got to deal with these things, and you've got to allow him to walk those things out. I was, you know, and I'm not anti-therapy, but listening to that young man, he was talking about he's he's been in therapy for 14 years. And I looked at him and I said, Where's the off-ramp? He said, What? So, where's the off-ramp? I'm like, and he started naming all these therapies and talk therapy and stick therapy and MDR and all the stuff. And I'm like, Did you try Jesus? You know, I couldn't help but think about that little boy. Um, you know, little boys preaching the gospel. He said, in 2025, y'all tried everything, but you didn't try Jesus. And that's what I was thinking about. You know, when are when will people, what does it take for people? You know, it took um, it took me coming to the end of me, understanding, all right, Aaron, you you've made a mess of everything and you're the problem.

SPEAKER_00 11:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 11:12

You know, that's that's what it took for me. And I know everybody's journey is different, but I think even though they're different, they're all the same. You have to come to the end of you. That's where Christ shows up. Because as long as you're doing it in your own power, you're gonna make a mess of it.

SPEAKER_00 11:30

Yeah, you you 100% are, and you just look at the words, he says, I am the way, GPS, direction, the truth, yes, and life. And we try and go throughout life trying to navigate on our own when he's just saying, He's right, he's the little blue arrow, right?

SPEAKER_01 11:55

He's the little blue arrow on the GPS. You know, we we Victoria and I recently went on a trip, and she gets so frustrated at me because she will plug the GPS into the car, but I don't pay attention to the GPS sometimes. Yeah, you know, it's not that I'm ignoring the instructions, I don't watch the screen, I'm watching the road. And and you know, she's like, here's a curve. I didn't see the curve, but that's the thing. That's what Christ is. He is that GPS, he is that positioning system in our lives that's showing us, hey, look, follow this, do this. I am the way. The way, the way to what? Okay, that I I shared that scripture a while ago. The the way to what? Well, the way to joy, happiness, fulfillment, purpose, peace, comfort. This is what he's saying. I am the way to this. Yeah, I am the truth in all of the lies that you've been hearing. You know, that that moment of uh he he he made that statement that you know he's a failure. And like, who told you that? Yeah, you know, this is the truth in the in the in the chaos of lies that are going around. Um, and that's what he was asking me a while ago, he goes, like, what's the purpose of life? You know, I think there's a lot of people in this world. What is what is my purpose? What's the meaning of all of this? Um and it's it's through him that you find the meaning. Yeah, it's it's through him that you find your purpose, it's through him, you know, and I say that, and and that sounds very generalized, I guess. You know, it was through him that I found my purpose in being a husband. Yeah, it was through him that I found my purpose in being a father, it was through him that I could be a godly husband and a godly father. Yeah, you know, the most important thing in my life is not pastoring a church. Yeah, most important thing in my life is being a son of the king and being a husband to Victoria, yeah, and being a father to our children. That is my purpose. The pastoring comes from the overflow of spending time with him. It's I'm grateful that he called me to that. Yeah. But it's not my it's not everything to me, you know, because if it becomes everything, then that's that's all I'm shooting for is that platform. Then you're married to your ministry. And I I've told you this a hundred times. The best piece of advice, and and for anybody that's listening, all of our listeners today, uh, especially our men, but it will apply to women too. Don't let ministry become a mistress. Um, and when I say that, is what I'm saying is this it's so easy to get so caught up in you know church activities and doing this and doing that, but if I'm neglecting Victoria, this ministry is a mistress. Yes, and what will happen is she will build a resentment. And you I've seen this over the last several years, following you know, ministries and seeing how um things work. See a lot of divorce rates.

SPEAKER_00 15:34

You know why ministry became a mistress, and I think it's it's that's a very true statement, but also when you have a ministry and you are in a ministry with your spouse together, you start to become not husband and wife, not that covenant, you start becoming ministry partners. So when it's just you two, you you don't know what to do, you're just you're talking about the ministry, you're not asking her, hey, how was your day? Come on, how are you doing? Like, how can I improve? How you know it happens in that way as well, and that's you never want that resentment, no, because it's it's not it's not just towards you, but it's it's happened in our marriage, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 16:28

You know, we being the pastors of a church, sometimes it's not, and it never is intentional, but you begin to focus on everything else. And you know what has made Victoria and I what Victoria and I are is putting God center and then mine and her relationship, everything else flows from out of that stream. If we get into a different vein, a different stream, everything starts getting chaotic. And um, you know, I it's it it always goes back to what we started this question with who is Jesus to me? If you if you ever lose focus of who Jesus is to me, you're aimlessly wondering, you're taking a shotgun approach at life, and that will never work.

SPEAKER_00 17:30

You know, our ministry is not within four walls.

SPEAKER_01 17:36

Come on.

SPEAKER_00 17:37

So if if we don't know who Jesus is to us when we're outside of these walls, how can we bring someone to him? So good. So good. We've got we we've gotta know in here and it's gotta come out.

SPEAKER_01 17:55

Yep, it will, you know, uh Christ says, from your belly will come living water. And and and we last night we sat under a word that was so powerful at Freedom Fire Church, and but Christ changed everything. When Jesus burst onto the scene, everything from that point had been external. In you had to sacrifice and do and uh and go to these temples, and then all of a sudden you become the temple. Yes, and so now it's inside out instead of outside in. And that is that's when that moment of who is Jesus to me becomes real, uh becomes tangible, and then you can begin to share from experiences. Sorry, my phone's going off. You you you can you can share from experiences of what God has done in your life. It's it's by when we give our testimonies, and it's not, you don't have to Bible thump, you don't have to, hey, look, I was at point A. My life was a hot mess. I surrendered my life to Jesus, and since then, these are the roads that he has taken me down and he's shown me, and he's pointed me on and put me on a path and a purpose of life. So um it that that conversation well ago, I on my way here, I was I was praying about this podcast, and I wanted to make sure that God is always glorified in everything we do. And as I was walking to go talk to that young man, I was thinking about, you know, how how ministry is in the interruptions of life. We we get so focused on like what you were just saying, the four walls. It's X, Y, Z, and it's not. It's taking that time to go and just be a presence in somebody's life. And so um, I want to encourage you guys to never get so laser focused on everything you're doing to miss what God is trying to do. Um, I want I want to invite our listeners. Uh, I I would love this today. Um, if you would just jump in a comment. Jump in a comment and tell me who Jesus is to you. Um because I would it's always a good reminder in our lives of who is Jesus to me. Yeah, um that should be a question we ask every day. Who are you to be? And so uh we love you guys. We we are grateful. Keep tuning in, share this with somebody, um, and and and thank you for all the support that you guys give us. Uh we are grateful. If you ever want to partner with us, just reach out. We would love uh to just be a partner in your life, to walk life with you. Uh we're gonna close. Father, I thank you. We love you, we praise you, we give you glory. Thank you for being the truth, the way, and the life in my life. God, I thank you for all of our listeners. We thank you for it. Ask you to bless them in Jesus' name. Amen. Love you guys.