Louie Giglio, well-known pastor, author, and speaker, encouraged the Momentum Youth Conference audience Thursday evening to be resolved to know Jesus in the pages of the Word.
“A few things are going to have to be true,” he said, holding up a well-worn Bible. “We understand the miracle we hold in our hands. Scripture is not just ink on a page, it’s God’s breath on the page.”
“This Scripture we are holding is not a book, it not one of many books,” he stressed. “It is God’s own revelation of Himself breathed out through the Holy Spirit using normal men and women like you and me, onto pages like we are holding in our hands.”
He noted that it is 66 books, but it’s one story all about one name — Jesus.
“This breathed out miracle of God is one story, that story is all about one name,” he said. “God is wanting to give you a revelation and that revelation is Jesus.”
He added that the Word is a lifeline from heaven.
“God is extending a lifeline. He sees you,” he said.
“Keep eating this, breathing its breath off its page, even if life puts you underwater, guess what it will become to you. It will become air from heaven,” he said.
Earlier in the session, Dustin Zerwas, youth pastor a Gulfview Grace Brethren Church, Port Richey, Fla., shared the story of his son, Randall. The 13-year-old died in December after battling cancer. A video filmed not long before Randall’s death showed the young man thanking everyone for praying for him.
“His story does not end in cancer, does not end in death, does not end in heartbreak,” said Dustin.
“What is your story?” he asked. “If redemption is not the central theme of your life, the Redeemer is not the central figure of your life, your story is not worth telling. If the Redeemer is the central figure of your life, your story is worth telling.”
When Giglio took the stage, he told about meeting Randall and the Zerwas family. Giglio, who was in Tampa for a concert, took his Passion Band to the hospital to meet Randall when Randall wasn’t able to attend the concert.
He said he asked the young man how he could pray for him.
The response? “Pray that others will know Jesus because of my illness.”
So he asked again. “How else can we pray?” Giglio said he asked.
Randall responded, “My illness has been really hard on my brothers. Would you pray for them?”
“He made a mark on my life as a 12- and 13-year-old,” Giglio said. “I’m here in honor of Randall and I’m here to be a partner with his family to say it doesn’t matter how old you are. That is something that has been sold to you. You can have an impact in this world right now. As a 12-year-old, you can have an impact on the people around you.”