Guidelines for Conversational EvangelismEvangelism means engaging people indiscovery

Our first question

Does evangelism start with God?

Our second question

Should God reveal Himself for

evangelism?

The Bible says:The heaven declares the glory of

God (Ps.19:1) The glory of God will be

revealed, and all mankind will see it (Isa.40:5)

So, God’s aim in creation is to put Himself on display

The Qur’an and Islam say: Narrated Masruq: I said to 'Aisha, "O Mother!

Did Prophet Muhammad see his Lord?" Aisha said, "What you have said makes my hair stand on end ! … : Whoever tells you that Muhammad saw his Lord, is a liar." (Bukhari :: Volume 6 :: Book 60 :: Hadith 378)

It is not given to any human being that Allâh should speak to him unless (it be) by inspiration, or from behind a veil, or (that) He sends a Messenger to reveal what He wills by His Leave … (Q.42:51)

No vision can grasp Him [Allah], but His grasp is over all vision. He is the Most Courteous Well-Acquainted with all things (Q.6:103).

What we have, others are missing: Key of EvangelismGod of the Bible reveals Himself

He is personal, but Allah and gods in all other religions are impersonal.

In reality, an impersonal god does not exist, cannot create, evangelize, be heard, save, and accordingly cannot have any messenger or scripture.

Revelation is for creationGod is the Creator and the

author of lifeCould God create, touch and talk

without revealing Himself?He gave Adam and Eve life

through His personal touch. Creation does not happen

without the revelation of God.

Revelation is to fulfill His plansI will go before you and will

level the mountains (Isa.45:2)The God of the Bible is the God

of image. He has heavenly plan to

implement on earth.He is personal, relational and

active God.

Revelation is to give purpose to lifeGod has created the humanity for

a purposeTo give purpose to life, God’s

constant presence and supervision are necessary

God gives purpose and meaning to life through His holiness, justice and love.

Revelation of God is unavoidable

Revelation is to make God’s word relevant to us The Bible is the written word of God,

and Jesus is the personal Word of God How can the word of God be relevant to us if

the personal Word of God does not relate to us personally?

The written word of God is to prepare us to have a personal encounter with the personal Word of God.

Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth (Jn.1:14).

Conclusion:The God of the Bible is the revealing God but Allah is not

What does the revelation of God mean for us?

We have God but Muslims do not We know God and the Truth but Muslims do not We are saved and have the joy of salvation but

Muslims are missing both We are reconciled and submitted to God but Muslims

are not We are established in the absolute justice but

Muslims are not We have an heavenly identity but Muslims do not We are reconciled to the God of love and able to love

but Muslims are not We are living in the absolute peace and are peace-

makers but Muslims are not

Key questions arise for all these

Revelation makes God Accessible God is everywhere and wants to find

followers and dwell personally with them.

He wants to live not only among us but even within us at the very center of our existence In the NT the word “Immanuel” means 'God-

with-us‘. The word “us” indicates that we are God’s Temples and He is within us, having personal and intimate fellowship with us

He is accessible

Revelation makes God AccessibleHumanity is in chain and unable to

go to God, but God is able to come to us Every other religion in the world asks

the lost (who is in chain) to go to god, but God of the Bible comes to the lost in order to unchain him personally.

Revelation makes God Accessible If God comes, everybody,

therefore, can say: God is everywhere, and near me, I ,therefore, have a chance to call God

into my heart, When God is in my heart, Satan,

therefore, cannot have a place in me. This means; I am saved

ConclusionGod in the Qur’an is not revealed

to MuhammadGod in the Bible reveals Himself to

many peopleWho can then claim having God

and knowing the truth? The followers of the Bible

The followers of the Qur’an are without God

Revelation makes God knownGod is the source of truth. Only

through the revelation of God are we able to have personal relationship with Him and know His truth personally (Jn.1:14). Personal knowledge requires personal

relationship Knowing God is not only to know facts

about Him but also to know Him personally and trust in Him

Revelation makes God known Can someone proclaim God without knowing

Him? Those who do not believe in God’s revelation cannot

speak about God. Can someone call himself the messenger of a

non-revealing god? God revealed Himself to Moses and talked to him

personally (Ex.25:9; 33:11; Num.12:8) God did not reveal Himself to Muhammad and did

not talked to him personally Who, Moses or Muhammad, knows God personally

and is able to speak about the glory of God?

Conclusion Having God personally, listening and

talking to Him, and knowing Him personally affect all dimensions of our life and provides us with reasons to talk about Him

That’s why God reveals Himself in Jesus for establishing relationship, conversation and evangelism Jesus speaks and we hear God speaking.

Conclusion cont.… Jesus said, “They know with certainty

that I have come from you” (Jn.17:8) Through the church the manifold

wisdom of God should be made known (Eph.3:10)

“The One (God) whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you” (Acts 17:23c)

Revelation establishes salvationWho can claim being free from the

bondage of Satan without the interference of God?

The revelation of God is for the salvation of humanity. God desires humanity to be saved

here in this life If Satan reveals himself to corrupt

humanity, why shouldn’t God reveal Himself to destroy the work of Satan and save people?

Revelation establishes salvationGod does not leave salvation up to

humanity, as He is the only One who can overcome Satan. Revelation of God for salvation means

that each individual is looked after by God

Wouldn’t it be comforting to have God and the certainty of salvation in this life on earth?

Conclusion “For my eyes have seen Your salvation

which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, “A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel” (Lk.2:30-32)

“You are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household…in which God lives by his Spirit (Eph.2:19,22)

Conclusion cont.… No Salvation in Islam

… 'Aisha further said, "And whoever tells you that the Prophet knows what is going to happen tomorrow, is a liar (Bukhari :: Volume 6 :: Book 60 :: Hadith 378).

No soul can know what it will earn tomorrow (Q.31:34)

… nor know I [Muhammad] what will be done with me or with you. … (Q.46:9)

Conclusion cont.… Muhammad did not believe in the revelation of

God and therefore remained unsaved (Q.31:34).

Moses and Daniel believed in the revelation of God and was saved: This people have committed a great sin, and they

have made a god of gold for themselves. But now, if You will, forgive their sin, and if not, please blot me out of Your book which You have written! (Ex.32:31-32).

… there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation; until that time. And at that time your people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book (Dan.12:1).

Revelation establishes submissionIf God is not a personal and

revealing God, how then can the personal man submit to Him?You can only submit yourself to

someone who is personal and revealing in order to make the submission possible

Conclusion God has not revealed Himself to

Muhammad and Muslims; they, therefore, cannot call themselves submitted “Islam” means “submission”, and

“Muslim” means “submitted”. Logically, Islam cannot provide

submission. It is therefore illogic if Muslims ask others to submit to Islam since they are not submitted themselves

Revelation establishes justiceSatan, as the second most

powerful spiritual being, has revealed himself to establish injustice in the world.

Shouldn’t God, as the mighty spiritual being, reveal Himself to destroy the work of Satan and establish justice?

Revelation establishes justice If the establishment of justice is for us

as personal beings, then God must personally reveal Himself in order to make His justice relevant to us.

Revelations in the OT on the Mount of Sinai for writing the Tablets, or in the NT for residing in the hearts are the examples of God’s personal revelation to establish justice.

Revelation establishes justice Where did and does sin take place? Where does a just God deal with sin? Where should a man encounter God’s

justice? Can a just God leave the solution of the

present sin for the life after? If people are crying for or desiring God’s

peace, justice, salvation, care, etc. now, why shouldn’t God meet their present needs now, instead of leaving them for the life after?

Conclusion God revealed Himself in order to

establish justice (Matt.12:18-21; Isa.42:1-4)

God is the ultimate authority in the realm of morals. He is therefore personally committed to establish the truth from the beginning to the end?

Conclusion cont… A genuine and loving God must

overcome Satan now even if it costs Him a lot; …having disarmed the powers and

authorities (or spiritual forces of evil in Eph.6:12), he (God) made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross (Col.2:13-15)

The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work (1Jn.3:8b), establish justice in the hearts of nations (Matt.12:20-21), and create peace among nations and between nations and God (Col.1:20)

Revelation establishes heavenly identity for us God reveals Himself in order to change

His followers to be good in order to be able to do good: Being comes first not Doing. If people are not established in the

Kingdom of God first, they will not be able to do good.

In Islam (and all other religions) Doing comes first without Being good.

Conclusion“We are God’s workmanship,

created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do (Eph.2:10).

Identity: a comparison(God and Heaven)

Muslims’ heaven

In Islamic heaven man is not utterly released from the bondage of sin

Christians’ heaven

Man in Christian heaven is completely purified

Revelation establishes peace, unity and love Relationship commences with revelation, and

revelation ensures unity and love If God loves us, He must give Himself to us for

the full consummation of love. Have you ever loved someone without seeing,

hearing or touching? ‘to love’ or ‘to be loved’ is relational and without

revelation real relationship does not happen. With revelation, God reveals Himself as the

great lover of humanity. He reveals His love for reconciliation and unity

Conclusion “I passed by, and when I looked at you were

old enough for love, I spread the corner of my garment over you and covered your nakedness. I gave you my solemn oath and entered into a covenant with you, declares the Sovereign LORD” (Ezek.16:8)

“I (God) remember…how as bride you loved me (Jer.2:2).

The Spirit and the bride say, “Come” (Rev.22:17).

When one calls, the other comes.

Conclusion cont.… “For God was so pleased to have all his

fullness dwell in him (Jesus), and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross” (Col.1:19-20)

Conclusion cont.… Paul said: “He himself is our peace…He

came to teach peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near (Eph.2:14, 17); Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and share together in the promise in Christ Jesus (Eph.3:6)

Peter said: “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord (1Pet.1:2)

Do Christians need a reasoned approach to evangelism?

How can this ministry be strong and wide spread?

Is God calling you to play a role in this ministry?

Dr. Daniel Shayesteh

719-271-52277spirits@gmail.com