Do You Know Jesus?
A Moment with David Platt from IF:2023
Psalm 23:3 NIV – “He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.”
I've spoken to many people who have been discouraged or disillusioned by the level of division in the Church in recent years. And I'm zealous to say we're created for more than this. We're created for otherworldly beauty and all-filled wonder in Jesus, and we can experience Him.
God loves leading His people in ways that show the greatness of His name and His glory.
And I’ve been beyond blessed to see that play out in my life and within our church family.
Isaiah 55:1 NIV – “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.”
We need to call out to God for more of Him. We want and need more of God. Never has this truth been as clear as it is now. We need to seek Him. I witnessed our growing need for God in our church family in recent months.
In the wake of the Asbury Outpouring, our church held a series of weeknight gatherings. Our usual 11 o'clock Sunday gathering continued until almost 4 p.m., with people just praying, confessing sin, worshiping, and repenting for all kinds of things.
After my time with the Lord the following morning, I started thinking about the day before. I wondered if we were supposed to seek God together again that night. I reached out to our pastor and a couple of other pastors to run the idea past them, and they all agreed.
A lot of people showed up on Monday night when we held a 7:30 p.m. gathering. We didn't have any plans for the night. At most, we thought we’d just sing one or two songs and be done with the evening. But that gathering led to almost three hours of prayer, confession, repentance, and worship. There was so much zeal in the room. So, we decided to gather again the following night, which eventually led to more evening gatherings until Thursday.
In those few days, I saw God in a way I've not seen in my life. I saw people come to Christ. People we had prayed for or about one night would be saved the following evening. We saw people confessing in different ways. One guy just broke down confessing about addiction to drinking. That led to former addicts in the church gathering around and praying for him.
We prompted other people struggling with addiction to come forward for prayer, and they started pouring down. People were praying over each other against addiction, depression, suicidal thoughts, and a host of other issues. We prayed for healing and encouragement. We prayed over marriages.
Some of our teenagers and young adults were speaking over their peers about anxiety, depression, and different things. And I was stunned as they were sharing. I had never seen such an outpouring of God’s Spirit until those few nights. During the Wednesday gathering, we asked if everyone had a personal relationship with God through Christ Jesus.
I invited those who said they weren’t saved but wanted an intimate personal relationship with God through Jesus to come to the front. For a moment, nobody moved. Then one guy in his 20s ran down to the front. His grandmother on the other side of the room joined him. Suddenly, more people were coming, and we began praying over them.
Victoria, a lady who was praying for her mom’s salvation on Tuesday night, was joined by her mom for the Wednesday gathering. She said her mom was encouraged by her atheist husband to come. When we invited people to accept Jesus, Victoria's mom came to the front. This is further evidence of God’s plan at work. This is what happens when we seek God and cast our burdens unto Him.
The purpose of everything we do is to meet with God and to taste Him. Do we want more of him? Is this really the goal or is He just a means to an end for us?
Jesus is the perfect shepherd of our souls. So, let's seek Him. We have countless needs, and there are millions of people across the world walking through dark seasons. God sees it all, and He loves you. He is inviting you to His kingdom.
Come to the waters and drink. Incline your ear to Him and live. Seek the Lord while He may be found. He is near now. At this moment, I invite you to repent. This is our chance to pour out our burdens to our God, who can end, heal, restore, and forgive them.
Isaiah 55:V – “For He is full of compassion, and He will abundantly pardon.”
You get freedom from all your sins when you confess to God because of Jesus, who laid down His life for us. He laid down His life to make it possible for us to know God and all His glory. And so, I want to encourage you to confess your sin and repent, no matter how that needs to look for you.
God is inviting you to follow Him for the first time in your life or maybe for the first time in a long time. In this holy moment, Jesus is opening the gate to the abundance that awaits you when you accept Him as your savior. There's safety and security in this pasture that will last forever for you.
There is forgiveness, joy, and hope that nothing in this world can steal from you in this pasture. You can trust this Shepherd. So, I want to invite you to follow Him. If you knew Jesus and had an intimate relationship with God through Jesus at some point, His love for you has brought you to where you are. Come back to Him as your Shepherd.
If you want to follow or be restored to Jesus, I invite you to seek Him. Stand up where you are and put your trust in Jesus Christ. Do not hold back from what God is speaking to you. He's inviting you right now, and He runs toward you. Respond to His name calling out to you. Jesus reminds us that He’s the good shepherd. And a good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. He loves you, and He promises to satisfy your soul in His pastures forever.
Today, I want to encourage you. I don't think the Spirit of God was only moving for that night in our church gathering. He continues to move in a way that led to this moment in your heart. The God of the universe is pursuing you. He’s speaking to your heart. If you know Jesus and are in relationship with God through Him, He reminds you of the vitality of His Spirit in you and the depth of His love for you.
I hope you're encouraged to walk with Jesus and with the leadership of His Spirit in your life flowing from this moment. If you've never trusted in Jesus or are realizing that you don't really have a relationship with God through Jesus, this is the moment.
God's Spirit is speaking to your heart. I encourage you to respond to Him. Say you trust Him as the Savior and Lord of your life. Express that you want an intimate relationship with God through faith in Jesus. Then, you’ll enter into a life that will never end of intimacy with God. I pray that might be so, maybe for the first time at this moment or in a long time.
This was an edited inset from David Platt’s speech at this year’s IF:Gathering. We pray that this has encouraged you to invite or re-invite God into your life through Jesus.
