There is a big difference between believing something because someone told you and believing because of your own personal experience. When Jesus revealed He was the Messiah to the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4), she was so excited she actually left her water pot!
She had encountered Jesus face-to-face so she ran to the men of the city and told them what had happened to her. John 4:39 (NASB) says, “Many of the Samaritans believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified.”
These people then went to find Jesus so they could see for themselves. After meeting Him and hearing the truth from Him directly, they told her, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this One is indeed the Savior of the world.” (v. 42)
Secondhand knowledge is inferior to firsthand revelation. There comes a time in each of our lives that we must know Jesus by revelation knowledge – by personal encounter – rather than simply believing because someone else told us about Him.We don’t get saved or enter heaven based on someone else’s beliefs.
Have you had a definite encounter with Jesus which causes you to never go back to the way you were? The Samaritan woman did, as well as the Samaritans that came to meet Him.
Saul (later known as Paul) had a dramatic encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus that caused him to go from killing Christians to writing much of the New Testament. His life changed so much that he actually gave His life for the cause of Christ.
I had a divine encounter with Jesus when I was almost 19 years old that forever marked my life. I can never go back or forget that moment that He came into my life. He made Himself so real to me that I can never deny His presence and goodness. He has kept me by His grace and mercy.
If you can’t say with assurance that you know Jesus in this way, you can! Ask God, our Father, by His Spirit, to reveal Jesus to you in a fresh and new life-changing way. You can know him firsthand – not just through secondhand knowledge.
