When You Encounter Jesus, Things Do Not Remain the Same!!

Salvation without transformation is impossible. If you are in Christ, and have the righteousness of Christ, it is impossible not to be transformed. It is also impossible for a Christian to receive salvation but never experience sanctification.

 The above statement is not in my words but is a good summation of fact when a non-believer encounters Jesus and decides to put his or her faith in Christ. This statement is also true for the believer who follows the promptings, convictions, and corrections the Holy Spirit regularly brings to a believer’s life. Much more than the pursuit of knowledge alone, it also at times is a tangible, physical/spiritual experience (found only in the presence of God). Allowing the Regenerative/transformative process to change you is a conscious choice and the only way to gain a clear understanding of who you are to become and what you can achieve through the Holy Spirit. It is the only way you or I can fulfill Philippians 4:13

This teaching was brought about by a recent conversation with an old childhood friend of mine. The question was asked "Do we still see radical transformative salvation experiences, as we often saw growing up? Or have we drifted into salvation without real “transformation” being accepted as the status quo? We both were blessed to have men in our lives (fathers and mentors) who had real "Damascus Road” experiences in their lives. Eight men, “manly, worldly men," all came to Jesus in a twelve-to-eighteen-month period of each other, with radical lifestyle changes, hunger, and pursuit of God's word and all things godly. Three became pastors and the other five became strong leaders in their churches and their communities always pushing the envelope of understanding and sharing a life of redemption and transformation with others. While some of what they learned came from the pulpit, 95% came from the pure love and desire for the knowledge of Christ. They did not wait for instructions to change, they allowed the Holy Spirit to make the changes, and when their minds, hearts, and motives came in conflict with God's will, they simply surrendered to this transformation process. Have you and I “lost the art of surrender?” Even worse, do we even see the need to surrender?

The born-again experience, “from death to life” is only a brief instantaneous moment in a Christian’s life. While it is monumental, it is just the starter’s pistol being shot to start the rest of the race that you are called to run. These men that I speak of did not have to wait for a pastor, deacon, or elder in the church to tell them what to do next. They had been imparted with a divine revelation that their next steps were to be different. Time spent in the presence of God changed habits, addictions, in some cases, were immediately gone, and desires of the heart were rewritten. What about you and your experience? To be clear here, I am not asking directly for a comparison, because the Bible instructs us against that. But what I am stating is that WHEN Jesus shows up and interjects Himself into a situation, THINGS WILL HAVE NO CHOICE but to change.

The Healing of the Gadarene Demoniac (demonic spirits)

They went to the other side of the sea to the region of the Gadarenes. When He had come out of the boat, immediately a man with an unclean spirit came out of the tombs and met Him. He lived among the tombs. And no one could constrain him, not even with chains, because he had often been bound with shackles and chains. But he had pulled the chains apart and broken the shackles to pieces. And no one could subdue him. Always, night and day, he was in the mountains and the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones. But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran up and kneeled before Him, and cried out with a loud voice, “What have You to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most the High God? I adjure You by God, do not torment me.” For Jesus said to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” Then He asked him, “What is your name?” He answered, “My name is Legion. For we are many.” And he begged Him repeatedly not to send them away out of the country. Now there was a great herd of swine feeding near the mountains. All the demons pleaded with Him, asking, "Send us to the swine, so that we may enter them." At once, Jesus gave them leave. Then the unclean spirits came out and entered the swine. The herd, numbering about two thousand, ran wildly down a steep hill into the sea and drowned in the sea. Those who fed the swine fled and reported it in the city and the country. And people went out to see what it was that had happened. They came to Jesus and saw him who had been possessed by the legion of demons sitting and clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. Those who saw it told them how it befell him who had been possessed with the demons and concerning the swine. 1.) Then they began to plead with Him to depart out of their region. This freed man departed and began to proclaim in the Decapolis what great things Jesus had done for him. 2.) And everyone was amazed.

These verses are full of so many observations, but three stood out. The man who was possessed (1) ran to Jesus, (2) called out to Jesus, and (3) knelt and surrendered to Jesus. He fought through his possession to be redeemed and healed. We too often focus on the conversation with the demons and overlook the tormented man’s posture when He saw Jesus, but all are key elements of a true transformation. When you encounter Jesus, what position do you take?  The result was a man who regained his right mind, was given back a grateful heart, and was immediately seated, properly clothed at the feet of Jesus!!  We also see two groups of people: Those who pleaded for Jesus and this healed man to leave the area because they were afraid, and then those who were amazed. One group was afraid of the power and manifestations of Christ, but not ready to change: the rest were just amazed. If we are not careful, we can be amazed by God but not changed by God! If you are only infatuated with God, if you only see God from the outward perspective, you will never have rest. You will remain CAPTIVE.

David Plays the Lyre for Saul (presence of the Holy Spirit)

Now, the Lord’s Spirit had left Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him. Saul’s officials told him, “An evil spirit from God is tormenting you. Your Majesty, why don’t you command us to look for a man who can play the lyre well? When the evil spirit from God comes to you, he’ll strum a tune, and you’ll feel better.” Saul told his officials, “Please find me a man who can play well and bring him to me.” One of the officials said, “I know one of Jesse’s sons from Bethlehem who can play well. He’s a courageous man and a warrior. He has a way with words, he is handsome, and the Lord is with him. “Saul sent messengers to Jesse to say, “Send me your son David, who is with the sheep.” Jesse took six bushels of bread, a full wineskin, and a young goat and sent them with his son David to Saul. David came to Saul and served him. Saul loved him very much and made David his armorbearer. Saul sent this message to Jesse, “Please let David stay with me because I have grown fond of him.” Whenever the spirit came to Saul, David would take the lyre and strum a tune. Saul got relief from his terror and felt better, and the evil spirit left him. 1 Samuel 16:13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed David in the presence of his brothers, and the Spirit of the Lord came on David from that day forward.

Do you seek and desire the presence of The Holy Spirit in your life? Do you walk in His anointing, or do you rely on your knowledge and experience alone?  It was key for David to be able to bring God’s presence to Saul. It was not the instrument, or the melody, or the skill of David’s musical abilities, it was the power, anointing, and presence of the Holy Spirit that brought relief to Saul's torment. Saul, a man once anointed and used by God, now finds himself on the sideline, being tormented by an unclean spirit sent by God. That will surely mess up the theology that Christians cannot be possessed or influenced by a demonic spirit. Christians should take note that without the presence of God, and a righteous pursuit of God’s will for your life is it possible that you could live outside the influence and anointing of the Holy Spirit?

Saul’s Conversion (Jesus' encounter)

ACTS 9:9-20 Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes, he could see nothing. So, they led him by the hand into Damascus. For three days he was blind and did not eat or drink anything. In Damascus, there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called him in a vision, "Ananias!" “Yes, Lord,” he answered. The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.” “Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.” But the Lord said to Ananias, "Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.” Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, and after taking some food, he regained his strength. Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God.

Saul who later became Paul lived his life before this encounter with Jesus doing what he thought to be God’s will for his life. Many times, referred to as the “Pharisee of Pharisees,” the keeper of the law, the master of all knowledge of God. Only to realize that his pursuit of knowledge had been in vain. After his encounter with the Holy Spirit, the scales fell from his eyes, and at once he began to preach!

When you encountered Jesus what scales fell from your eyes, and what revelations of truth, and knowledge became known to you? As Christians, these experiences should be more common than an occasional, almost rare encounter. For many Christians, experiencing GOD seems to be a non-starter, a non-existent event. Jesus died to give us access to all and more than just what we read about in the Bible. These things that we read about are to be events that we also walk in, experience, and call common. It is who we are to be in Christ. It says that we as believers have the very mind of Christ. "The mind of Christ" refers to the ability to discern and understand Jesus’ thoughts as they are revealed by the Holy Spirit. We can see what is spiritual and think as Christ thinks. The Christianity of the Bible is an uncompromisingly supernatural experience. If we take away the supernatural, we take away Christianity. Ask Saul about his experience while lying in the dirt. When was the last time you were walking in the supernatural? Or allowed the supernatural to manifest in your life?

The Bible makes clear that the presence and power of God is a central goal in God’s redemptive mission. All of God’s work ends with the Lord dwelling with and in man. And second, the presence and power of God is not only an objective, but it is also how the redemptive mission is fulfilled. God writes Himself into your life to bring salvation, transformation, and power. Knowing God is more than knowledge of Him. We should be as Moses when he said, “If Your Presence (power) does not go with us, do not bring us up from here. For how then will it be known that Your people and I have found grace in Your sight, except You go with us? (Exodus 33:15-16a). Or as in Acts 4:13 which says, “When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished, and they took note that these men had been in the presence of Jesus.” God’s Manifest Presence Is a Necessity for Life. 

The three passages that I have chosen all demonstrate the amazing power of Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and the manifest presence and power of God. All ended in the transformation from bondage, freedom from spiritual torment, and a redirection of an esteemed religious leader, all because Jesus showed up on the scene. While these verses' stories are miraculous, I present that they are no more miraculous than the stories of the eight men from my childhood, that I mentioned earlier. Transformed lives that began to immediately change but also began to affect change in others. No different than the Gadarene Demoniac, David with Saul, or even Paul on the Damascus Road.

Transformation and power are the goal, and this requires the presence of God. Sadly, the manifest presence of God is an element of change that is overlooked, demeaned, or completely absent in most churches today. Knowledge over experience dominates Western evangelism, and as a result, many believers neglect the essential part of the Trinity to their spiritual detriment. This has contributed to much of the modern church's difficulty in actively engaging with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit teaches us not just through cognitive learning, but also through experiences. That includes a direct relationship with the Holy Spirit and the transformative power that He brings. I would say that many have been culturally set up with bias against the Holy Spirit and sadly a pre-conceived bias toward the Bible.”

This bias has led to an over-intellectualized Christianity, where ministries can flourish and seem “successful” due to growing numbers and programs without an evident reliance on God’s presence and power. “It is very possible to do CHURCH without actually needing God to act in any clear or decisive way,” and this is where many American churches have drifted… to a “Salvation without transformation or sanctification, and little or no reliance on the power and presence of the Holy Spirit.” The experiential dimension is crucial for understanding scripture, it is an invitation to live out faith rather than merely study about it: “The Bible is not “a greatest hits” record of the most profound acts of God in the lives of only a few people throughout history. It’s an invitation to experience it fully and completely. We should read the Bible as people who are being called and invited to the very life that we see lived in the pages of scripture.”

1 Corinthians 2:4 And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, The demonstration of the Spirit's power refers to the tangible evidence of the Holy Spirit's work among the Corinthians, which could include miracles, spiritual gifts, and transformed lives.  No different than when Jesus shows up.

When was the last time your life imitated the stories and experiences that we see in the Bible? If not, then why not?