A little bit of my story and knowing Jesus.
I was born in Memphis, TN in 1990. My dad was a medical officer in the military and my mom was licensed in education. We moved around quite a bit. By the time I was 11, we had moved 22 times. When I was in 2nd grade, we settled down in Chattanooga and we’ve been here ever since. When I was 3, I became a big brother. When I was 7, I became a big brother again. When I was 13, I became a big brother again. When I was 16, I became a big brother again. When I was 18, I became a big brother again. And when I was 20, I became a big brother again. I am the oldest of 7 children. A big loud family is what I am a part of and I love them.
My parents are both Christians. They have been ever since I was born. I grew up going to church every single Sunday whether I liked it or not. When I was in 2nd grade at VBS I heard someone talking about becoming a Christian and accepting Jesus into your heart. I had no idea what was going on but all my friends were doing it so it seemed to be the right thing to do. So I went forward, said I wanted to be a Christian and go swimming with the pastor for 45 seconds on Sunday morning. And that was that. From then until I was 13, I believed I was a Christian.
When I was in 5th grade, we began going to Silverdale for both school and church. I was there from 5th grade until after I graduated high school. It was my home. Troy was my youth pastor up until around my junior year of high school. When I was 13, Troy gave a message talking about growing up in church. He talked about what it really meant to be a Christian. I swear he was talking directly to me. He talked about what it meant to have a relationship with Jesus and to walk with Him. He explained that when you become a Christian, you change. The things you do change. The things you say change. Your desires change. To say you’re a Christian and look exactly the same as you did before you were a Christian, is not truly being a Christian. It’s living a lie. I knew at that moment, I had not changed since before I had gone forward in 2nd grade. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” I had not begun that new life! I was still living as if I had no clue who Jesus was or what He had done for me.
I went and talked to Troy after the service and said I didn’t want to keep living the way I was living. I wanted the new life that 2nd Corinthians talked about. So it was at that moment, in one of Silverdale’s chemistry labs, I became a new person. My new life had started. From then on, I started to pursue being a part of the body of Christ more and more. I started attending a small group and made a circle of friends who were serious about being Christ followers that I am still close with to this day. We’ve been close friends since our small group in 8th grade. I began playing guitar for the middle school worship and kept leading all the way through high school until now, a total of 8 years leading worship. God has used so many things in my life to steer me towards Him and I am eternally grateful for His blessings and His grace.
Now, I have messed up countless times. I have been angry with God. I have even run away from God, pursuing the pleasures of the world when I felt like the world would satisfy me more. Does that mean I was no longer a Christian? No. God is merciful and loving. He forgives us when we don’t deserve it. We are all going to struggle and fall. We’re still human. Becoming a Christian doesn’t mean you will always have everything together and not mess up. Ephesians 4:24 says, “put on your new nature, created to be like God- truly righteous and holy.” It uses the words “put on” because it is a choice and an action. It’s not something that magically happens when you become a Christian.
Being a Christian means disciplining yourself! It means making a choice to follow Jesus and give up the things that are natural for our sinful selves. Romans 13:14 says, “Instead, clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And don’t let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires.” This verse says to not let ourselves thing about ways to indulge our evil desires. The ESV says don’t make any provision for your flesh. That means don’t give it a chance or a way to sin. This means that naturally, we are going to want to indulge them but as followers of Jesus, we don’t allow it. We make ways to prevent ourselves from sinning. It doesn’t mean you won’t ever sin but it means that your desire is to not and be more like Jesus.
1 and 2 John are filled with depictions of what it looks like to be a real Christian. Now, these books are not something to say, “If you don’t have all of these things, then you’re not saved.” That is not at all what those are saying. It’s about the direction you’re going. You should be pursuing these aspects. You should be wanting to do these things for they are evidence of what God is doing in you. It’s part of being a new person.
Scripture is filled with instructions throughout it telling us to discipline ourselves to do certain things and to not do certain things. The ten commandments are a perfect example of this, as are 1 and 2 John. But, though we believe in following the ten commandments and other commandments throughout Scripture, they are not the only things to our Christian walk. We also have a relationship with Jesus Christ. A personal friendship with Him. We know Him. We can talk to Him and tell Him what’s on our minds. Psalm 142:2 says, “I pour out my complaints before him and tell him all my troubles.”
Hebrews 4:15-16 says, “This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.” We can see that Christ understands what we go through because he was like us. He became human and was tempted to sin in every way that you and I are. So, because of this, we can boldly and confidently approach and have a relationship with Him. What a comforting thought! That Jesus, the son of God, understands everything that I go through and everything that I struggle with because he was like us as a human.
The reason I’m saying all of this is because I want you to understand that our faith is about discipline just as much as it is about a relationship. But you can’t have one without the other. Your discipline doesn’t mean anything if you don’t have a relationship with Jesus. And you can’t have a relationship with Jesus without the desire to discipline yourself to be more like Him. It is the natural effect he has on everyone who has a relationship with Him. In Matthew 7:22-23, Jesus says, “On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘Inever knew you;depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’”
Think about this picture. It’s Judgment Day. You see Jesus standing there and you say, “Jesus, look! I went to church every single Sunday! I went to all our youth retreats and camps! I tithed from all my money! I never got drunk or partied!” And then Jesus looks back and says, “Yes but who are you? I don’t know you.” You never had a relationship with Him so He doesn’t even know who you are. That should terrify us! It definitely terrifies me. I also think of it from the other perspective. Where you get to Jesus and he knows you and welcomes you. That’s awesome! But I think we’ve talked about it so much in church that we don’t think about how amazing it truly is. Let me paint you another picture beside that.
One of the coolest people I’ve ever met is AJ Cheek. He’s played guitar for bands like Nevertheless and Revive. He has his own music project now, as well. One year, Nevertheless came to one of Silverdale’s camps and played a show one night. I met AJ and Josh and the other band members and they were all awesome. They played a great show and that was that. Now, fast forward 2 years or so. I’m at Hamilton Place Mall and I see AJ walking in my direction and I’m thinking, “Hey that’s AJ!” But I don’t want to say anything because I was just some kid at a show he met. He wouldn’t remember me. AJ saw me and smiled and said, “Hey! We’ve met before. You went to that Silverdale camp, didn’t you?” We talked for a few minutes and then he went about his business. He’s one of the nicest guys ever.
This was mind blowing. AJ remembered me. Someone I looked up to knew (somewhat) who I was and stopped to talk to me. The reason I tell you this story is because I want you to think about how it feels to be recognized by someone we look up to. It’s awesome! Now, think about when you get to heaven. Jesus looks at you and says, “I know you!” It pretty much takes my breath away. The Son of God who died to take away the sins of the world knows me! Who wouldn’t want that?
My question is do you know Jesus? Do you have a relationship with Him? Do you talk to Him? Do you listen to Him? Are you just doing the church thing? Are you trying to live the disciplines without having a relationship? Jesus longs to have a relationship with you. To talk with you. To listen to you. All you have to do is say, “Jesus, I want to know you!” Talk to Him. Listen to Him in His word and His spirit. He doesn’t disappoint. If you don’t think you’ve ever really become a new person like it talks about in 2 Corinthians and you want to, tell Him! Romans 10:9, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” By confessing with your mouth that God is Lord, you are not only admitting that He is the highest authority but also that you want Him at the front of your life leading you. You want to follow Him and to know Him. This isn’t about a magic phrase that saves you. It’s about a decision to enter into a relationship with Jesus and discipline yourself to be more like Him.
