Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

• Ephesians 6:13-17

A voice says, “Cry out.”
    And I said, “What shall I cry?”
“All people are like grass,
    and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field.
The grass withers and the flowers fall,
    because the breath of the Lord blows on them.
    Surely the people are grass.
The grass withers and the flowers fall,
    but the word of our God endures forever.”

• Isaiah 40:6-8

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

• John 14:6

“ ‘What you just told the students was very interesting,’ she said. ‘But you are too narrow. I am an expert on world religions. I have traveled to many countries and have had long discussions with the leaders of many religious groups. I have discussed the road of life through time and eternity with Muslims, Brahmins, Shintoists, and many others. All of them know God, even though they do not believe in Jesus Christ. I am sorry to have to disagree with your talk this afternoon, but you put too much emphasis on Jesus Christ and do not allow that other religions are just as good as Christianity.’
“I was embarrassed.  Then I remembered something a friend had once told me. ‘You are not called to convince anyone,’ he had said. ‘You are simply called to be an open channel for the Spirit of God to flow through. You can never be anything else, even though you may think so at times. Follow the pathway of obedience, let the Word of God do its own work, and you will be used by God far beyond your own powers.’
“Therefore, I said to the woman, ‘Your argument is not with me, but with the Bible. It is not I who say these things, it is the Word of God. Jesus said that no man can come to the Father but by Him. (See John 14:6.) If you wish to dispute someone, dispute Him.’ …
“Sometime later a reception was held in Ottawa, Canada, for all who wished to meet Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands. It was a pleasure to see so many Hollanders together. The prince looked tired, but he was cheerful and kind to us all. I met many old acquaintances and then, suddenly, I was face-to-face with this same lady who had so adamantly disputed me some time before.
“ ‘I am glad to see you,’ she said genuinely. ‘I have never been able to forget what you said when you spoke at our university when you quoted Jesus, “No man cometh unto the Father but by me.” I have tried to argue with that from every angle, but am unable to get away from the fact that Jesus said it. I can argue with you, but I am having a difficult time arguing with Him.’
“ ‘How wonderful,’ I told her. ‘Now you are listening to the voice of God. Keep listening. He has much more to say to you.’
“ ‘Yes,’ she said. ‘I believe He does.’
“We parted and I have not seen her since, but I know the Sword of the Spirit is still doing its work in her life.”

• Corrie ten Boom, Tramp for the Lord (Edited slightly to eliminate one set of quotes since this is Tante Corrie telling a third party what had happened)

The conversation that leads up to this story is important to learn.  She was in India and her host admitted that he often gave his testimony, but he could not get anyone to accept Jesus.

She asked if he used the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.  The young man admitted that his mastery of the Scriptures was weak.  He would try to say something, but then he could never remember where that was in the Bible.

Then she said something profound.  She said something about …You need my First Aid course, a reduced number of Scriptures like a bandage that you can place on the wound until you have time to go to your Bible and search more Scripture to argue against the point that is being made against you.  They are not attacking you.  They are attacking God.  Then she goes into this story.

John 14:6 is a stumbling block for many who have a universalist idea that any religion is good enough.  Clearly Jesus did not think so.  He knew the other religions were not good enough.  Only through Jesus can we get to the Father.  Only through Jesus can we be saved.  No other religion provides a back door.

But the difference in her conversation with the Indian host and the average person of the laity today is that we fail in giving our testimony.  I got a comment not long ago from a pastor who was excited that I could remember the date of my accepting Jesus, for most people cannot make that claim.  But our reason for not giving our testimony is not that we do not have a testimony more than we have been brainwashed by the media that Christianity is not to be spoken in public.  In church, maybe, but not sure about that either unless it is the pastor.  But outside the doors of the church, you could offend someone, and Christians are these mice that are quiet so as not to offend.

Guess what?  If you believe all that or resemble bits and pieces of it, you are right where Satan wants you to be.  Sitting in the corner with two hands over your mouth.  It might prevent offense, but the greatest offense is having someone who is truly seeking Truth and answers to important questions and staying mute, preventing them from ever getting those answers.  Our selective mutism should be an offense to any true believer.

But once we say boldly that we will not be silenced, we need our First Aid Kit.  The memory verses from a Four Spiritual Law tract are only the start.  If anyone out there has a post on such a First Aid Kit, please share it with me.  I have a Bible search engine on my phone.  If I know a phrase from the verse, I can get the verse quickly.  I confess, in the words of one of my wife’s cub scouts, “I don’t have a good memory brain.”  At least, 90% of the memory verses that I practiced while on the lay witness trail have been forgotten, at least in part.  As one of my students said one time, “I crammed a lot into my brain and it’s a-steady leaking out.”  But then sadly, the 10% that I can recall is more than the average person that attends church each Sunday.

Corrie ten Boom only needed one verse.  She gave a rebuttal, but she did not argue.  It was clear that the argument would be between the other person and Jesus Himself.  Quoting what Jesus said shifts the argument away from you.

We need to recapture the narrative that we stand with God and God is Love.  To do that, we may quickly need every bandage in our First Aid Kit.

Lord, strengthen me.  Help us to be bold.  We need Your strength to do this in the first place.  Help us to prepare.  If we know the type of crowd that we are approaching, we should know verses that meet that crowd’s needs.  We cannot argue anyone into a saving faith, but in standing up for what we believe, others will notice.  They will hear.  And with Your Grace, they will listen.  In Your name I pray.  Amen.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.