Moslem Need part 2

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.

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.

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.

I love him.

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.

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.