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Tom Stewart (1969)
Craig Mayfield
How do you know that no one knows about death, life, God and things spiritual? That is based on the assumption NOTHING is absolutely true, but that, once again, is just your opinion. There may be millions of people that absolutely know about life, death, God and the rest. There have been thousands who have willingly died for that belief, and why? Because they truly believed they knew.....and one has to at least consider the possibility they did...and do.
I was once a liberal humanist, and I studied all the major world philosophies and religions. In fact, I thought Christianity was the most boring, conservative, uninteresting religion on earth. The religion of the older generation. I didn't become a Christian because one day I was convinced, or I was pursuaded by some person, video, book, or movie, but rather because I believe I had a personal encounter with Jesus Christ. Those in the early church didn't preach a theology, but simply told people what they had seen and heard. Not a religion, but an experience and relationship.
Back in the hippy dippy Jesus Freak days we were pretty effective in leading people to our Lord and Savior. It was a time before we knew anything. We didn’t know the epistles from the Apostles, but we did know what Jesus had done for each of us. That is mostly what we told people, and it was amazingly effective. ALL that we are asked to do is to tell people what we have seen and heard. We all know the gospel of Jesus Christ or it is likely we are not saved. How can we be saved, redeemed, and forgiven if we don’t know the gospel?
It is time to get simple. Maybe we can set aside all the politics, theology, intellect, and philosophies and try the simplicity of personal experience. All I know is that I once was lost but now I’m found, was blind but now I see. Jesus is personal. Eternal life is personal. Freedom is personal. A broken heart that is healed is personal. Vision is personal.
John 9:13-27 They brought the man who used to be blind to the Pharisees. The day that Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes was a Sabbath. So again the Pharisees asked him how he received his sight.
"He put mud on my eyes," he told them. "I washed and I can see."
Therefore some of the Pharisees said, "This man is not from God, for He doesn't keep the Sabbath!" But others were saying, "How can a sinful man perform such signs?" And there was a division among them. Again they asked the blind man, "What do you say about Him, since He opened your eyes?"
"He's a prophet," he said.
The Jews did not believe this about him-that he was blind and received sight-until they summoned the parents of the one who had received his sight. They asked them, "Is this your son, the one you say was born blind? How then does he now see?"
"We know this is our son and that he was born blind," his parents answered. "But we don't know how he now sees, and we don't know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he's of age. He will speak for himself."
His parents said these things because they were afraid of the Jews, since the Jews had already agreed that if anyone confessed Him as Messiah, he would be banned from the synagogue. This is why his parents said, "He's of age; ask him." So a second time they summoned the man who had been blind and told him, "Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner!"
He answered, "Whether or not He's a sinner, I don't know. One thing I do know: I was blind, and now I can see!"
Then they asked him, "What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?"
"I already told you," he said, "and you didn't listen. Why do you want to hear it again? You don't want to become His disciples too, do you?"
ACTS 4:18-20 So they called for them and ordered them not to preach or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered them, "Whether it's right in the sight of God [for us] to listen to you rather than to God, you decide; for we are unable to stop speaking about what we have seen and heard."
ACTS 22:14 Then he said, 'The God of our fathers has appointed you to know His will, to see the Righteous One, and to hear the sound of His voice. For you will be a witness for Him to all people of what you have seen and heard. And now, why delay? Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins by calling on His name.'
1 John 1:1-4 What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have observed, and have touched with our hands, concerning the Word of life- that life was revealed, and we have seen it and we testify and declare to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us- what we have seen and heard we also declare to you, so that you may have fellowship along with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. We are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.
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