Welcome. We're going to continue the talk from last week. If you did not get the handout from last week, I can give it to you. I have some extra copies. But also you have a handout for today. Now, this is just the Bible verses that we're going to be looking at looking at today.
And so what we're going to be doing is looking at how is God changing Muslims and bringing them to Christ? What is God doing and how you can be involved?
Remember the question that we read last week was in Mark 4.41. And the disciples are saying, who is this that even the wind and the waves obey him? A great question, as I said. You want everybody to ask that question.
And that's the question you want Muslims to ask. Who is this person? Who is this Jesus? And if I can see it, if a Muslim asks me that question, I say, great. And then we can start talking about what the Gospels say about him.
So look at Romans 10. It's on your sheet. It's 1 through 4 and 9 through 15. Now we have a lot to cover, so we have to read further quickly, but listen carefully.
Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved.
For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.
For being ignorant of the righteousness of God and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness.
For Christ is the end of the law, for righteousness to everyone who believes.
Because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.
For the scripture says everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame, for there is no distinction between Jew and Greek.
For the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him.
For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed?
And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard?
And how are they to hear without someone preaching?
And how are they to preach unless they are sent?
As it is written, how beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news.
Now in these verses, Paul is talking about, in the first few verses, he's talking about the Jews.
But as I was reading this a number of years ago, I thought, wait a minute, this sounds just like Muslims.
Exactly.
Because the description of the Jews sounds just what the Muslims are thinking themselves.
Almost exactly.
See, Muslims are indeed zealous for God.
But zeal for God cannot make you right with the Holy God.
Zeal can be misdirected.
You know that.
See, the problem is, their zeal is not based on knowledge.
Something is missing here.
And it's very, very important.
See, according to verse 3, they do not submit to the righteousness of God.
They are trying to get to heaven by their own works of righteousness.
I can do it.
It's my righteousness, they're saying.
But that is not the teaching of the Bible at all.
But the Bible says we cannot get to heaven by doing righteous or good things.
We are all corrupt and under God's just judgments because of our sin.
The only way to know God is in trusting the Lord Jesus Christ alone for salvation.
On the cross, Jesus took our sins upon himself and he died in our place.
And he gave us the gift of his righteousness.
No one can come into a relationship with God except through the saving work of the Lord Jesus.
Which he secured on the cross in his resurrection.
It is for those who are trusting in him alone.
Remember this, my friends.
You become a Christian not by doing something.
But by believing in a person.
The person is the Lord Jesus Christ.
It says in verse 13 that we just read.
For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
Notice who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
Sadly, my friends.
The Muslims know none of this.
None of this.
A few years ago, a group of us from our church went to the mosque.
And we were there because the Muslims are going to talk about what they believe.
And we also talked about what we believe.
And I want you to listen to what the Muslims said.
Listen very carefully.
He said,
I honor Jesus.
I love him.
And when he returns,
I will hug him and kiss his hand.
That's what the Muslim teacher said.
Is that good?
Or is that not good?
My friends, it is not good.
And this is what you must understand.
The Jesus of Islam is not at all the Jesus of the Bible.
So I went home that day.
And I looked up and found out what is he saying?
What do they really believe about Jesus?
And listen to what I found.
It is very disturbing.
He didn't say this.
I found this later.
This is what Islamic theology says.
Jesus will descend to the earth.
When you see him,
you will recognize him,
a man of medium height,
reddish hair,
wearing two light yellow garments.
He will fight the people
for the cause of Islam.
Did you hear that?
He will then break the cross to pieces.
He then will kill the pigs.
Because Muslims don't import.
That's what Jesus of Islam will do.
And then it says,
Allah will perish all religions except Islam.
Jesus will destroy the Antichrist
and will live on earth for 40 years
and then Jesus will die.
The Muslims will pray over him.
And it says this,
Jesus, son of Mary,
will come down to the world.
Now it says he will get married.
He will live for 45 years
and then die.
He will be buried with Mohammed
in his grave.
Then I, that is Mohammedan,
Jesus, son of Mary,
will stand up in the grave
and ascend to paradise hand in hand.
Now, is that the Jesus of the Bible?
Not at all.
Muslims have no idea who Jesus is.
In fact, what I just read to you,
this was written over 700 years
after the time of the Lord Jesus Christ in the mind.
But look again at Romans 10, 14.
How then will they call on him
in whom they have not believed?
And how are they to believe in him
of whom they have never heard?
And how are they to hear
without someone preaching?
Someone needs to say something.
They don't not know.
They must come to know the Lord Jesus
as Savior and Lord and Son of God
to be saved.
Last week I mentioned to you
that there are thousands of Muslims
coming to know the Lord today.
And that is very true.
Despite the great differences
between Jesus of Islam
and Jesus of the Bible,
many Muslims are now
confessing Jesus as Lord and God
and Savior
and Messiah and Son of God.
God is doing great work
in the Muslim world.
Now, I want to share with you
two testimonies if I have time.
I'm the only time to do one,
but I'll try to do two of them.
And I want to read one of them
from this book.
This is an amazing book.
It says,
From Cairo to Christ,
It's Egyptian to become a Christian
from a Muslim background.
Now, listen to what he said.
It's so good
because he's telling you
what he was thinking
before he became a Christian.
And that's what's good about it.
What led him to become a Christian?
He's telling you here.
Now, listen carefully.
I kept having internal conflicts
and continued to raise questions.
Most of them had to do
with the behavior of the Christians
I was getting to know
in comparison to that
of the Muslims I had long known.
There's a saying in Arabic,
only a rotten orange
produces rotten juice.
So if Christianity is so rotten,
why were the Christians
I had gotten to know
so good?
How then was this rotten orange
of Christianity
producing such good juice
while the perfect orange of Islam
was producing rotten juice?
See, he's thinking.
He's thinking.
He says this,
The Christians,
they loved their God
and one another.
A Muslim like me
didn't love or yearn for God.
We feared and obeyed God.
The Christians turned to their God
as if he were their dearest
and most beloved friend.
Isn't that good?
For them,
it was almost a romance.
For me,
such a romance
was a scandal.
What do you mean
you love God?
You know,
they said,
listen,
don't say that.
They were shocked by that.
What's that mean?
He said,
in Islam,
the goal
is to submit
to the guidance
of the prophet,
that is,
Muhammad,
their prophet.
Not to understand
more of God's love.
In contrast,
now listen to this,
what he says.
In contrast,
the Christians
I don't think to know
weren't worried
about getting everything right.
Isn't that good?
Let me read that again.
The Christians
I was getting to know
weren't worried
about getting everything right.
They were pursuing
a relationship
with a person,
like we said,
the person of Christ.
And that person
loved them
really enough
to give up his life
for them.
I began to wonder,
how much of what
I have learned
about both Islam
and Christianity
is wrong.
So this was
very difficult for me.
It brought about
an identity crisis.
Could everything
my family and society
taught me
about Islam and Christianity
be untrue?
My whole sense
of reality and truth
was collapsing
right in front of my eyes.
What would I do
if my whole belief system
were a lie?
I came to recognize
that I would never
become perfect
by following
all the rules
of Islamic law.
I could never be sure
if my book of good deeds
would be heavier
than my book of evil deeds
on judgment day.
For I believed
Christ could make me perfect.
See, man,
he's talking about Jesus.
Come here, dear.
Since he was perfect,
I could claim
his perfection
as my own
if I accepted him.
I was about to
commit
the unpardonable sin
that is
blasphemy
putting someone
or something
at the level
of God,
namely Jesus Christ.
Would it be worth it?
Should I risk death?
I became a Christian
on Christmas Day
in 1977.
I was baptized
into Christ.
I chose
the Christian name
of Stephen,
the first martyr,
suspecting
that my own martyrdom
might not be far off.
Now, how many of you
changed your name
when you became
a Christian,
fearing that your martyrdom
may not be far off?
He trusted Christ
and God changed his life.
There's two important truths
we need to know
after reading this testimony.
That God
used the lives
of Christians
to begin
his journey
from Islam
to Christianity,
from Islam
to Christ.
He met some Christians
and saw their love
for each other
and for the Lord Jesus.
These Christians
were different.
He watched
and listened
to them.
And number two,
he wanted to know
why they were different.
And this is important.
Why are these Christians
different?
And then,
why they believed
in the Lord Jesus.
For him,
it was the kindness
of Christians
that caused him
to start thinking
about the Lord Jesus Christ.
Remember, my friends,
that Muslims
who visit your church
or even those
that you know
in your neighborhood,
for them,
you may be
the very person
who God used
to begin
their questioning
about
who is this
Jesus
that God
can use you.
See, my friends,
evangelism
is always done
in relationship.
It's also done
in community.
The community
of God's people.
God uses
his people
of the church
as a witness
to the truth
of the Christian faith.
See, mostly,
whether you think
so or not,
Muslims are watching you.
They're watching me.
They're listening.
Who are you?
How do you act?
What do you say?
How do you treat
your children?
How do you work?
They're watching you.
Whether you think
so or not,
they are watching you.
May God
bless us
and sharing
with words
and with our life
the goodness
of Jesus.
I'm going to do
one more testimony.
We've got a few
more minutes
and then we'll
end with that.
There was a lady
from Iran
who visited
our church.
She came
to the church
to know more
about British
culture
since she was
now a student
in the UK.
In other words,
she's in Britain.
I'm from Iran.
I know nothing
about Britain.
I've got a little
church to find out
about British culture.
That's why she came.
She even told us
that's why she came.
Okay?
A couple of ladies
met her
and started chatting
with her.
She did not live
far from the church
so one of the women
met with her again
and asked her
if she would like
to read
some of the Bible
stories about Jesus.
Now this woman
from Iran
said yes.
And so when she
met with one
of these women
she brought
a list of
questions to
ask her.
These questions
had come from
what she had
learned about
Christianity
when she was
in Iran
from Muslim
sources.
The first question
was
did Jesus
preach
when he was
a newborn
baby?
That sounds
bizarre to you
but in the
Quran
immediately
after Jesus
was born
he started
preaching.
and this lady
said
it didn't
happen.
And so she
said
what do you
mean it
didn't
happen?
But then
this lady
said
I'm only
going to
tell you
what God's
word says
and nothing
else.
And the woman
was impressed
by that.
What does
God's word
say?
She's okay
just tell me
that.
And she
was pleased
with that.
But her
next question
was how
can Jesus
be the
son of
God?
How can
God have
children?
She didn't
understand all
about Jesus
being the
son of
God.
Well they
talked about
that issue
a little bit
but mainly
they started
reading through
the gospel
of Mark.
And she
was amazed
at what
Jesus said
and did.
Remember
she never
read the
gospel.
Almost
99% of
the Muslims
have never
read the
gospels.
They have
no idea
again who
Jesus is.
She started
reading the
gospels and
her impression
was wow
Jesus is
different.
Yes
Jesus is
different.
How can
you not
see that
reading the
gospels?
And her
heart began
to change.
And what
made the
biggest change
for her
she saw
how Jesus
cared for
women.
She says
I have
never heard
anything like
this before
in my life.
She says
I want to
know who
this Jesus
is.
Isn't that
good?
Isn't
that great?
So one
night
our church
there was
a baptism
of a
young
lady
and
after the
baptism
the lady
from Iran
said that
she wanted
to be
baptized.
She said
well you
need to
believe in
Jesus to
be baptized.
She says
I want to
be a
father with
Jesus.
So she
prayed to
receive
Christ
and then
she was
discipled
for a
while and
then she
was baptized
at a
later date
and she's
now still
following the
Lord Jesus
Christ.
See
God did a
great work
in her
life.
She may
have come
to church
for the
wrong
reason
but God
changed her
heart.
And also
these two
Christian
ladies loved
her enough
to talk
with her
about the
Lord Jesus.
she was
amazed at
how much
Jesus cared
and loved
others
especially
women as
I said.
She came
to see her
own sin
and her
need of
a savior.
And throughout
this entire
time many
many people
were praying
for her
in the
church.
And God
opened her
heart and
she is now
a follower
of Jesus.
Wish you
could meet
her one
day.
See both
of these
testimonies
began with
God moving
them
toward a
location
where
Christians
were
present.
Now it
also means
that God
moves us
toward a
location
where
most of
them
are
located.
But in
these
testimonies
they came
and met
Christians.
They saw,
they listened,
and God
used that
to convince
them there's
something
different
about the
Christians
which led
them to
think about
why are
they different
and that
difference
is Jesus.
And so
we all
need to
have a
philosophy
of ministry.
Like I
have a
philosophy
of ministry.
Here's what
I do.
This is what
I keep
in my
head and
hopefully in
my heart
is that I
want to
listen well,
I want to
love well,
and speak
well,
and pray
well.
That's what,
that's my
ministry.
Listen,
love,
speak,
and pray.
And you
can do
that.
That's
what God
has called
you to
do.
Well,
we're not
going to
have time
to look
at those.
I want
to look
at one
more thing
in Matthew
9,
before we
end.
Jesus
says in
Matthew
9,
he says,
Jesus went
throughout all
the cities
and villages
teaching in
their synagogues
and proclaiming
the gospel
of the kingdom
and healing
every disease
and every
affliction.
When he
saw the
crowds
he had
compassion
for them
because they
are harassed
and helpless
like sheep
without a
shepherd.
And I
love this,
that Jesus
is walking
around and
he's looking
at people
and we
need to
learn to
look at
people.
Look at
them,
greet them,
see them,
have that
compassion for
them.
They're all
like sheep
without a
shepherd and
they all
have great
needs.
Everyone
struggles
with fear,
guilt,
and shame
and they
keep it in
themselves
and they
don't say
a word.
But once
you start
getting to
know a
Muslim and
sitting down
with them
developing a
relationship,
things start
coming out of
their heart,
they'll start
talking.
They're all
hurting,
just like you
and me.
They want
somebody who
will listen
to them and
of course share
with them about
how they can
have peace
with God.
Now,
I'm going to
close reading
from this book.
It's a
testimony of a
Christian.
It's an
amazing
testimony.
Listen
carefully
to what he
says.
And then
see how
God
says your
heart.
He says
the
Reverend
Subrani,
he was in
Holland.
And while
he was in
Holland,
he,
after
Theo van
Goh,
was murdered,
all these
mosques,
this is back
in 2004,
and all
these mosques
and churches
even were
being burned
down.
I mean,
Muslims were
being attacked.
The thing
was,
this pastor
cared nothing
for Islam.
He didn't
like Muslims.
He didn't
care anything
about Islam
at all.
And it
says,
he's a very
conservative
Christian.
Pastor
Subrani
firmly
insisted that
Jesus is
the only
way,
the only
truth,
and the
only life
worth having.
He
insisted that
Islam was
a false
religion,
and he
called Allah
a desert
demon spirit.
For peace
sakes,
what's he
doing?
But that's
what he's
saying there.
Well,
who is this
guy?
But then
something
happened.
Sobrani
stood up
and walked
to his
neighborhood
mosque.
He knocked
firmly on
the door
and to the
shock of the
Muslims
huddled
inside,
he declared
that he
would stand
guard outside
the mosque
every night
until the
Dutch
attacks
stopped.
But why?
Why was he
doing this?
He hated
his slum.
What possible
reason would
this conservative
Christian give
to explain
his actions?
What could
have motivated
him of all
people to
do this?
He showed
no appreciation
for Islamic
culture,
clothing,
or food.
He recounted
no stories
of past
friendships
or dialogue
with Muslims.
He couldn't
care less
about Muslims
you think
by reading
this.
But listen
to what
happened
to his
heart.
When I
pressed him
to explain
his actions
to give
some account
why he
would defend
a religion
he so deeply
disliked,
here is what
he said.
Jesus,
Jesus commanded
me to love
my neighbor
and to love
my enemy
too.
That's why
I do it.
Why?
To love
your neighbor
and to love
your enemy.
That's what
we as the
church are
called to do.
Let's pray.