Knowing You
by Graham Kendrick
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2 Corinthians 4:6 – “For God, who
said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his
light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the
knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.”
There
is a story that circulates from church to church and
sermon to sermon that has a deep message. It is the
story of Roger Sims had just left the military and was
anxious to take his uniform off once and for all.
He
was hitchhiking home and his heavy duffel bag made the
trip even more arduous than hitch hiking normally is.
Flashing his thumb to an oncoming car he lost hope
when he saw that it was a shiny, black, expensive car;
so new that it only had a temporary license in the
back window. Hardly the type of car that would stop
for a hitchhiker, but to his amazement, the car
stopped and the passenger door opened. He ran towards
the car, placed his duffel carefully in the back, and
slid into the leather covered front seat. He was
greeted by a friendly smile of a handsome older
gentleman with distinguished gray hair and a deep tan.
“Hello son. Are you on leave or are you going home for
good?”
“I just got out of the Army and I'm going home for the
first time in several years,” answered Roger.
”Well you're in luck if you're going to Chicago,”
smiled the man.
”Well not quite that far,” said Roger, “but my home is
on the way. Do you live there mister…?”
”Hanover, and yes I have a business there.”
And with that, they were on their way.
After giving each other brief life histories and
talking about everything under the sun, Roger, who was
a Christian, felt a strong compulsion to witness to
Mr. Hanover about Christ. But witnessing to an
elderly, wealthy gentleman, a businessman, who
obviously had everything he could ever want, was a
scary prospect indeed. Roger kept putting it off, but
as he neared his destination he realized it was now or
never.
“Mr. Hanover, began Roger, I would like to talk with
you about something very important.”
And then he proceeded to explain the way of salvation,
ultimately asking Mr. Hanover if he would like to
receive Christ as his savior. To Roger's astonishment
the big car pulled over to the side of the road. Roger
thought for a moment that Mr. Hanover was about to
throw him out. Well this is it, Roger thought, here’s
where I get out. Then a strange and wonderful thing
happened. The businessman bowed his head to the
steering wheel and began to cry, affirming that he did
in fact want to accept Christ into his heart. He
thanked Roger for talking to him, saying that this is
the greatest thing that's ever happened to me. He
dropped Roger at his house and traveled on towards
Chicago.
Five years went by. Roger Sims married, had a child,
and started a business of his own. One day, while
packing for a business trip to Chicago, he came across
a small gold embossed business card, which Mr. Hanover
had given to him five years earlier. When Roger
arrived in Chicago he looked up Hanover Enterprises
and found to be located downtown in a very tall and
important looking building. The receptionist told him
that it would be impossible to see Mr. Hanover, but if
he was an old friend he would be able to see Mrs.
Hanover.
A
little disappointed he was led into a poshly decorated
office were a woman in her 50s was sitting at a huge
oak desk. She extended her hand. “You knew my
husband?”
Roger explained how Mr. Hanover had been kind enough
to give him a ride back home. A look of interest
passed her face.
”Can you tell me what date that was?”
”Sure, said Roger, it was May 7th, five years ago, the
day I was discharged from the Army.”
”And did anything special happened on your ride,
anything unusual?”
Roger hesitated, should he mention giving his witness?
Had it been some source of contention between the two,
perhaps which resulted in a marital breakup or
separation? But once again he felt the prompting of
the Lord to be truthful. “Mrs. Hanover, your husband
accepted the Lord into his heart that day. I explain
the gospel message to him and he pulled to the side of
the road and wept and then chose to pray a prayer of
salvation.”
Suddenly, she began to sob uncontrollably. After
several minutes she regained enough control to explain
what had happened. She said, “I grew up in a Christian
home, but my husband did not. I had prayed for my
husband's salvation for many years and I believed that
God would save him. But just after he let you out of
his car, on May 7th, he passed away in a horrible
head-on collision. He never arrived home. I thought
God had not kept his promise, and I stopped living for
the Lord five years ago because I blamed him for not
keeping his word.”
How precious it is to know the name
of Jesus and to be able to go to Him in our times of
distress and sorrow. How wonderful is His love for
us, our everlasting source of strength, of comfort,
and of love. Our Provider, our Keeper, our Protector,
our Good Shepherd who places a newfound joy in out
hearts and provides us a cleansing from His blood on
the cross.
Often we forget the grace and mercy
of God. Often we lose our focus on what matters most
in life – Christ on the cross. Often we forget that
it is not by what we do, but by God’s grace that we
are saved. Even when we are not faithful to God, so
much more is God faithful to us.
So come to the Lord right now –
whether you don’t believe in Christ already or want to
rededicate your life to the Jesus. Pour out your
heart and let Him know what you’re feeling, what
you’re thinking, what you desire. It is in total
surrender that God speaks most clearly and let’s us
know His power and His glory.
Song Lyrics:
All I once held dear, built my life upon,
All this world reveres and wars to own;
All I once thought gain I have counted loss,
Spent and worthless now compared to this.
CHORUS:
Knowing You, Jesus, knowing You
There is no greater thing.
You're my all, You're the best,
You're my joy, my righteousness,
And I love You Lord.
Now my heart's desire is to know You more,
To be found in You and know as Yours,
To possess by faith what I could not earn
All surpassing gift of righteousness
Oh to know the power of Your risen life,
And to know You in Your sufferings;
To become like You in Your death, my Lord,
So with You to live and never die.
©1993 Make Way Music
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