We just finished a three-day conference at out church entitled Unveiling Islam. We had two guest speakers who brought us a reality-based view of this religion that encompasses about 20% of the world’s population and represents the majority population in about 25% of all nations. One of our speakers was Stephen Mansfield who is a New York Times Best Selling Author and has a close connection to the Kurds, one of the Muslim groups fighting ISIS. Our second “speaker” was actually a missionary couple who live in the Middle East and minister to Muslim refugees from Syria.
Both of our speakers acknowledged the danger of radical Islam in the world and the need to tenaciously oppose ISIS and all the other terrorist organizations but also brought encouraging news that more Muslims are coming to Christ today than at any other time in history. For the most part, they are not being converted by anyone pointing out all the flaws of Mohammed or the Koran but through supernatural encounters with Jesus who is visiting large numbers of Muslims in dreams and visions and these men and women are giving their hearts to “the man in white.” These new believers include leaders of Mosques and members of ISIS.
On the Day of Pentecost (see Acts 2), the promise was restated that in the last days God would pour his Spirit out on all men and women who would dream dreams and see visions. The promise was for those present that day and for those who were far off. The promise was primarily for those who had already come to Jesus but we are also seeing that God is using dreams and visions to draw men and women to Jesus. A closer look at the New Testament reminds us that Saul of Tarsus (Acts 9) and Cornelius (Acts 10) also had supernatural encounters with Jesus through dreams and visions before coming to faith. Others are coming because of healings in the name of Jesus and because they are asking God to speak to them… and He is.
Our missionary couple told us that their main approach to Bible study is to simply read a passage and then ask the Muslims to ask God what it means. That is a revolutionary approach for Muslims who have rarely studied the Koran (the majority of Muslims in the world cannot read) but have simply been told by the leaders of their mosques what the Koran says (or supposedly says). When these Muslims ask God to speak, he does, and it is changing their hearts and lives.
Remember that most followers of Islam in the Middle East are descendants of Ishmael, the first son of Abraham, born through Hagar who was Sarah’s handmaid. Although Hagar was driven into the wilderness by Sarah’s jealousy, God did not forsake her nor her son Ishmael. Two verses tell us a great deal about Ismael and his descendants. The first says, “The angel of the Lord also said to her: “You are now with child and you will have a son. You shall name him Ishmael, for the Lord has heard of your misery. He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone’s hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers” (Gen.16:11-22). The second verse tells us, “And Abraham said to God, “If only Ishmael might live under your blessing!” Then God said, “Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation. But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you by this time next year” (Gen.17:18-22).
Interestingly, God made Ishmael into a great nation and told us that he would live in hostility toward all his brothers or, at least, his half-brothers who would be the sons of Isaac – the Jews. Although there has been almost constant warfare between Israel and the descendants of Ishmael from which Islam has sprung, God still has purposes for the 1.2 billion people who are born into that faith. Most have not chosen Islam. They were simply born into it and have never had an option. Yet, on the Day of Pentecost their ancestors were in the crowd hearing Peter’s sermon. I believe that God is preparing a great harvest among the Muslims, if for no other reason, because these are the sons of Abraham (through Hagar) and through the centuries God has done many things on behalf of the patriarchs. But the harvest is coming as well because God loves these men and women.
The harvest is beginning through the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit and, as our church stood and prayed for the Muslim world last night that God might continue to release his Spirit and that the “man in white” might become famous among all Muslims, I hope you will pray for the supernatural move of God in the Muslim world as well. I believe it is a prayer God greatly desires to hear.
