Focus: What Do You Know? (Pt.2)

Text: Heb.10:34

"For ye had compassion of me in my bonds, and took joyfully the spoiling of your goods, knowing in yourselves that ye have in heaven a better and an enduring substance."

What do you know that can keep you going when you find yourself in the middle of nowhere, when crises arise or hit you in the face, or when life lies to you? What do you know that will sustain your faith in God when the budget is not bulging, when your back is against the wall, or when things in your life suddenly go awry?

While here on earth our Lord Jesus Christ said some things that can help us grasp the importance of knowledge. He says, "But I KNOW him: for I am from him, and he hath sent me… For I KNOW whence I came, and whither I go… I know him, and keep his saying… Jesus KNOWING that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God" (Jh.7:29; 8:14,55; 13:3). Christ Jesus had a sense of identity and destiny. He had an intimate relationship and constant fellowship with the Father. He was never in doubt about where He came from and where He was headed to. He knew what He came to the earth to do, and was never going to let contrary situations or life's contradictions to derail Him. He knew someone - His Father, and He knew something - His identity and destiny. 

He had a sense of purpose and urgency. He made no room for empty fascinations or needless distractions, and He didn't surrender to temptations. He knew something.

Jesus Christ says to the woman of Samaria, "Ye worship ye know not what: we KNOW what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews" (Jh.4:22). He says to His own disciples, "I am the good shepherd, and KNOW my sheep, and am KNOWN of mine… As the Father KNOWETH me, even so KNOW I the Father… But I KNOW, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee" (Jh.10:14,15; 11:22). I ask you again, What do you know? 

Life's treasures yield to those who know. God answers prayers, not Christ knew it. Daniel tells us that "the people that do KNOW their God shall be strong, and do exploits" (Dan.11:32). What you know not only matters, but it also makes a big difference.

In John 9, the blind man said to his spiritually blind leaders, "One thing I KNOW, that, whereas I was blind, now I see" (Jh.9:25). This is an encounter-based knowledge. Something happened to him. Someone touched his life, and his vision was restored as a result of that touch. A man who was blind from birth instantly gained his sight when Christ miraculously touched him. He spoke from the place of personal experience and personal knowledge. 

Paul says, "For I KNOW whom I have believed, and am PERSUADED that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day" (2Tim.1:12). Child of God, what do you know?

by Bishop Moses E. Peter