how do you know?
Just a couple of weeks ago I was doing some outside yard work, and I noticed two young men coming down my driveway dressed in white shirts with black ties. My first reaction was probably the same that you may feel when you open your front door to two strangers similarly dressed when they visit your house. I wanted to get rid of them as fast as I could, but do it in a friendly manner. But something inside of me actually admired the fact that they were bold enough to come right up to me as I worked in order to share their religion.
I decided to talk with them for a moment, and invite them back for a future in-depth discussion. They were very surprised by the comment that I made about my visit years ago to their temple area in Salt Lake City, Utah. I told them about my visit to their genealogy research room, and watched the movie about their religious movement from the beginning to the present. They were impressed and wanted to know why I visited there. I told them that a business trip took me to Salt Lake City, and I wanted to watch the Mormon Tabernacle Choir perform live. I had read in the local paper that the choir was practicing that night, and visitors were welcomed to attend. I also commented that at that time I was at the beginning of my calling of God, and I was seeking direction for His purpose. The very truth is at that time I knew nothing of the Mormon religion. I grew up listening to the beautiful music of their choir on many old Christmas albums, and figured that we were all on the same page as far as religion goes.
I exchanged phone numbers with the two young men, and invited them to come have dinner with me soon. They are the same age as the college students in a ministry that I help direct at Kennesaw State University, so why wouldn’t I be just as concerned for their eternal destiny as I would for my students? I am! I am just as concerned for your eternal destiny. Please understand that the Holy Bible teaches that religion won’t get you into heaven no matter how devoted you are to doing good works for your belief. Jesus warned the teachers of God’s Law that even though they were more religious than most: "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men's faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to” (Matthew 23:13-14 NIV). So, as I pondered through what I might say to my new friends upon their next visit with me the thought came to my mind to ask myself, “How do you know that you’re right?”
If I sat down in front of you right now and I looked at you and said, “How do you know you’re right?” What would your answer be to me? Think about that just for a moment. As I thought about my own answer to this question, I thought about men of the Bible. How did they know for sure? How did King David know for sure? The Bible says that David was a man after God’s own heart: “After removing Saul, he made David their king. He testified concerning him: 'I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do’” (Acts 13:22). I am especially fond of David because, like me, he made mistakes in his life, but God continued to watch over him and ultimately blessed him with a good life. Very much like me, David knew that God was with him, but he still had many trials in his life. If you ever wonder why as a believer God would allow you to go through a difficult period in your life then read Psalm 42 and 43. Here we have David, a man who God says is after His own heart, but is so distressed he writes: “Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me?” (Psalm 42:5). Have you ever asked yourself why you felt so down in your spirit? You’re in good company, because all of us have. In this same psalm David writes, “My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? My tears have been my food day and night, while men say to me all day long, "Where is your God?" (v. 2-3). This is comforting to me. You may ask, “Robby, why would David’s crying all night asking where God was in this stress be comforting to you? It seems he’s ready to just give up and go be with God.” I say it’s comforting because I feel that way sometimes too. If the David of the Bible went through trials like this, then I’m not in bad company. Fortunately, I can turn the page and see that he was rescued from this feeling. But I ask: how did he know that he was right in his thinking about God? Did he ever see God? (The answer is no, so how did he know?)
When my Mormon friends come over for dinner, I will share from my Bible because the Bible is the sword of the Spirit: “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). I will be sure to use my King James Version because that’s the only one they will listen to, but do you think if I only read from my Bible it will make a possible difference in their belief? I know that God can work this way, but this method would not show why I know that I’m right. My answer is the same if my unbelieving friend, whom I’m thinking about at this very moment, were to come over to visit me today. If you had an unbelieving friend to ask you about your faith, what would you say? How do you know?
Several years ago I was bothered by a statement I heard in church one Sunday. The statement was that your most powerful tool for sharing your faith is your testimony. I was thinking at that particular moment, “I don’t have a testimony.” Oh I could tell you that when I was a young boy, I believed in my heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, and I confessed with my mouth that Jesus was my Lord, but I would have a difficult time explaining God’s calling of me at that time in my life. I’m not sure if this story from my youth would convince you why I knew I was right about my faith. If you have to think a moment about what your testimony would be, then I would like to encourage you. You may be where I spent many years of my life. I was a believer, and I can look back and see where the Lord gave me protection, but I never truly submitted my life to His lordship. It was not until I truly submitted my life to Him, by loving Him, did I begin to see His miraculous work in my life. You may think, “I love Jesus.” But the true test is by His words: “If you love me, you will obey what I command” (John 14:15). Do you truly love Him?
How do you know? I can tell you how David knew. He never visually saw God, but he knew! The Bible tells the story of the giant called Goliath. He was the Philistine warrior whom the whole camp of Israel was terrified of. The Bible says, “On hearing the Philistine's words, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified” (1 Samuel 17:11). But David fought against the giant because he had a testimony: “David said to Saul, ‘Your servant has been keeping his father's sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.’ Saul said to David, ‘Go, and the LORD be with you’" (v. 34-37). I know you’ve heard this story before. You may know it so well that you may have just skipped over actually reading the Scripture above, but it is our own testimony that we must remind ourselves of when we go into times of despair. In many of the psalms of David he not only called out for help from the Lord, but as he spoke of his trials he would remember his victories. He writes: “Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders you have done. The things you planned for us no one can recount to you; were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare” (Psalm 40:5). This is what I have to remind myself of when I go into a trial and wonder where God is. I actually think sometimes that this faith in something that we’ve not seen seems crazy, but then I go through the things that I KNOW God has done for me. I, like David, would have to say, “Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders you have done.”
If you don’t have a testimony, I would encourage you to draw nearer to the Lord. You must finally submit your life to His direction, and that means giving up anything involved in your life that does not glorify the Lord. (I’m speaking from experience here.) It was at that time small, minor blessings started lining up for me. Then I started seeking His face and the small blessings turned into larger blessings. So many occurred I had to write a book entitled Things Don’t Just Happen. Do you possibly think that I have the natural talent to write a devotional book that is now sold all over the world? You may ask: “Robby, what do you mean by seeking His face?” In Psalm 27 David was in one of his difficult periods in his life, and as he prayed to the Lord, the Lord spoke to David through his heart: “Hear my voice when I call, O LORD; be merciful to me and answer me. My heart says of you, "Seek his face!" Your face, LORD, I will seek. Do not hide your face from me” (Psalm 27:7-9). God Himself explains the meaning better in 2 Chronicles: “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14). The “healing of your land” may be broken relationships, financial loss, job security, addictions, and any other difficult trials that you may be under.
When I meet with my Mormon friends, I look forward to asking to hear their testimonies. I will then share, in a loving manner, how my beliefs differ from theirs. But most importantly I will share my testimony. They may easily disagree with my interpretation of the Bible, but they can’t deny the Lord’s miraculous work in my life. I know I won’t see any change during our visit. My only job is to plant a seed. I’m very certain in the Bible story found in John 9 there were some unbelieving Pharisees with a different theology who became believers after a testimony was given. The Bible actually says that they became “divided” in their belief. This clearly shows that a testimony can change hearts. They summoned a man who had been blind from birth to give an account to what was going on. As hard as they tried to grill the man and his family over what happened, based on their theology they couldn’t deny his testimony. They summoned the man a second time and he gave the most powerful testimony that I’ve ever heard. I will often share this as a part of my testimony when I witness to others. The man said, “One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!" (John 9:25). That’s how I know that I know. The apostle Peter tells us to: “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15). I encourage you to get “prepared” if you are not ready to give an answer for the hope that you have. Seek His face! If you will earnestly practice doing this, then you too will also have an answer for anyone who may ask, “How do you know?”
Robby
