lesson 15 muslims come to christ

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Equipping the Saints: Understanding Islam Muslims Come to Christ! 1 A Special Topic Course Presented by: www.IslamicStateOfAmerica.com Understanding Islam: For Such A Time As This Lesson 15: Muslims Come to Christ!

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Page 1: Lesson 15  Muslims Come to Christ

Equipping the Saints: Understanding IslamMuslims Come to Christ! 1

A Special Topic CoursePresented by:www.IslamicStateOfAmerica.com

Understanding Islam: For Such A Time As This

Lesson 15: Muslims Come to Christ!

Page 2: Lesson 15  Muslims Come to Christ

Equipping the Saints: Understanding IslamMuslims Come to Christ!

Review: God Is At Work!• More Muslims are accepting Christ than at any other time in history

– More in the past ten years than in the entire 1400+ years of Islam’s history• Church planting and baptisms are up in Muslim countries

– "In every hour, 667 Muslims convert to Christianity. Everyday, 16,000 Muslims convert to Christianity. Ever year, 6 million Muslims convert to Christianity” (Source: Sheikh Ahmad Al Qataani, President of The Companions Lighthouse for the Science of Islamic Law in Libya, during interview on Al-Jazeerah network, May 7, 2007)

• Borders are opening and Islam is “reforming”• Saudi King Fahd approved translation of the Arabic Qur’an into indigenous

languages… which has exposed misinterpretations of Christianity by Imams, questioning their integrity and character

• More tools than ever are available to present the Gospel – Jesus Film, Internet, radio, Faith Comes By Hearing

• B2J Movement – Back to Jerusalem– Chinese home church movement determined to bring the Gospel back to the Middle East

from whence it originated• Dreams and visions of Jesus Christ for millions of Muslims every year

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Page 3: Lesson 15  Muslims Come to Christ

Equipping the Saints: Understanding IslamMuslims Come to Christ!

Review: Three Essentials

• Build relationships– Fellowship, meals, sporting events, invitations to family events– Care for people, answer questions, be a friend– Invite to spend time with you

• Tell Jesus stories– Remember that Jesus has essential role in Qur’an… 93 times!– All Muslims believe in Jesus… He is the bridge to a conversation

about the hope within you• Pray

– Pray that God will soften his/her heart for the Gospel– Pray that God will reach him/her with a vision of Jesus

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Page 4: Lesson 15  Muslims Come to Christ

Equipping the Saints: Understanding IslamMuslims Come to Christ!

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBsoNnzQKNU

Video: A Growing Number of Muslims Convert to Christianity After Visions of Jesus in Their Dreams

Page 5: Lesson 15  Muslims Come to Christ

Equipping the Saints: Understanding IslamMuslims Come to Christ!

How Muslims Come to Faith In Christ - 1

• A Bible is placed in their hands– “The Word of God is powerful. Let the Holy Spirit use the Bible to do the

work of winning hearts to Christ. As Charles Spurgeon said, the Bible is like a caged lion. When it is attacked, we do not need to defend it; we simply need to let it loose.”

• They see love in a Christian community– The Muslim community, or ummah, is close-knit, but it is built on shame

and reciprocity. Those who leave the ummah face ostracism, persecution, or even death. Christians can offer an alternative community, one founded on grace, acceptance, and forgiveness. Most Muslims have never seen this, even in their own families. A great way to show this to Muslims is to invite them into your homes.

– As Francis Schaeffer famously said, “Love on display is the most effective apologetic.”

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Page 6: Lesson 15  Muslims Come to Christ

Equipping the Saints: Understanding IslamMuslims Come to Christ!

How Muslims Come to Faith in Christ - 2

• They are visited with a supernatural dream or vision– “I am naturally skeptical of supernatural dreams and visions. But I have

seen too many Muslims come to faith as a result of dreams and visions to deny that it is a work of God. For whatever reason, God often uses supernatural dreams to push Muslims to investigate Jesus, to find a Christian, or to read the Bible.”

– “This should humble us and remind us that the power for salvation comes from God alone. When we do not know what else to do, we ought to pray. Pray for your Muslim friends. Pray with them as well. Then stand back and give God a chance to work.”

• By Pastor J.D. Greear, June 19, 2012– http://www.jdgreear.com/my_weblog/2012/06/how-muslims-come-to-faith-in-christ.html

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Page 7: Lesson 15  Muslims Come to Christ

Equipping the Saints: Understanding IslamMuslims Come to Christ!

David Garrison Research

• David Garrison, Worldwide Missiologist– Traveled 250,000 miles throughout the Muslim world– Conclusions about research shows that Muslim converts to Christianity

are reaching other Muslims in remarkable numbers– Results published in his new book

• A Wind in the House of Islam: How God is Drawing Muslims Around the World to Faith in Jesus Christ

– "What did God use to bring you to faith in Jesus Christ? Tell me your story.”

• More than 1,000 face-to-face interviews. In his background research, he documented 82 historic Muslim movements to Christ, consisting of either at least 1,000 baptisms or 100 new church starts over a two-decade period.

• The first sizable movement of Muslims toward Christianity did not occur until the mid-19th century. 69 of these movements today are still in process.

– Documents Muslim conversion movement in nine areas of Islamic world

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Page 9: Lesson 15  Muslims Come to Christ

Equipping the Saints: Understanding IslamMuslims Come to Christ!

Church Movements Today

• In Algeria, after 100,000 died in Muslim-on-Muslim violence, 10,000 Muslims turned their backs on Islam and were baptized as followers of Christ. This movement has tripled since the late 1990s.

• At the time of the 1979 revolution in Iran, about 500 individual Muslims were following Christ. Garrison projects that today there may be several hundred thousand Christ-followers, mostly worshipping in Iranian house churches.

• In an unnamed Arab nation, an Islamic book publisher Nasr came to Christ through satellite broadcast evangelist Father Zakaria. Sensing a call to evangelize, Nasr started a local ministry that in less than one year baptized 2,800 individuals.

• In total, Garrison estimates that 2 to 7 million people from a Muslim background worldwide now follow Christ.

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Page 11: Lesson 15  Muslims Come to Christ

Equipping the Saints: Understanding IslamMuslims Come to Christ!

Jesus Is At Work!

• How did your encounters with Muslims change you personally?– “I've traveled to 100 countries over the years. The thing that changed

me, as I look back on it, was finding that the living Christ has already been in these places. I was hearing from Muslim-background believers that they had met Jesus. Sometimes we as Christians feel we take Jesus to people. What we forget sometimes is that we're attesting to a living Christ who continues to break into people's lives, into their dreams, into their visions, and into their prayers.

– “Jesus answers those prayers, and he meets with them, and it shakes them up. From West Africa, North Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, Central Asia, Indonesia, I met people whose lives had been shaken and rattled by their encounter with Christ. They were not persuaded by logical doctrine or a better civilization, but by that encounter with the living Son of God who changed their life and world. They can't go back to life as usual. That changed me. I had my own faith renewed. We serve a living God, a living Christ, and a living Lord.”

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Page 12: Lesson 15  Muslims Come to Christ

Equipping the Saints: Understanding IslamMuslims Come to Christ!

CRI Article: Witnessing to Muslims• Share your testimony

– 1 John1:3: “We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.”

– Muslims believe that Allah has not spoken to man since Muhammad’s time. Your testimony will take them by surprise, but the testimony is thoroughly biblical.

• Provide strong support and encouragement. Muslims who study the Bible will be under suspicion. Stand by your friend. – John 15:13 “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life

for his friends.”• Minister to the human needs of your friend (Matthew 25:31-46)• Realize that this work is not an intellectual exercise. God is at work

through the Holy Spirit.– Trust in God’s work, cultivating your trust through prayer and faith

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Page 13: Lesson 15  Muslims Come to Christ

Equipping the Saints: Understanding IslamMuslims Come to Christ!

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gccio1vE41MVideo: Kamal Saleem—A Muslim Cries Out to Jesus

Page 14: Lesson 15  Muslims Come to Christ

Equipping the Saints: Understanding IslamMuslims Come to Christ!

Kamal’s Lessons for Your Witness

• Build relationships• Share Jesus stories• Pray!

• Share the love of Jesus through your relationships and actions

• Put a Bible in the hands of a Muslim friend• Trust that God is at work in your friend and He will

accomplish a marvelous work

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Page 15: Lesson 15  Muslims Come to Christ

Equipping the Saints: Understanding IslamMuslims Come to Christ!

What’s Next?

• Where do I go from here?– Open your eyes to Islam around

you and in the world today. – Strive to understand the issues

• What can I do to make a difference?– Share Jesus without fear!– Help others to learn about Islam– Speak up about Islamism

• How can I learn more about Islam?– See other resources on

www.IslamicStateOfAmerica.com– Research the Internet, with care

and discernment

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Page 16: Lesson 15  Muslims Come to Christ

Equipping the Saints: Understanding IslamMuslims Come to Christ!

Thank You All!• 2008

– George Fox University Internet seminar on Understanding Islam• 2008-2009

– 52-hour class at First Baptist Church, Huntsville– Multi-week study at multiple churches in Alabama and Arkansas

• 2012– Multiple 1 through 6-week classes at First Baptist Church, Huntsville AL– Multiple presentations to Huntsville and Madison community groups

• 2013 – 6-week study at Aldersgate United Methodist Church, Huntsville AL

• 2014– 12-week, 30-hour course (with movies) at First Baptist Church, Huntsville AL

• 2016– Multiple presentations on Islamism. Launch of www.IslamicStateOfAmerica.com– 16-week, 20-hour study at First Baptist Church, Huntsville AL– 8-week, 12-hour study at Willowbrook Baptist Church, Huntsville AL

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More Than Dreams

• For your final video(s) please visit one or more of the films at the site below. These videos will amaze and inspire you as you discover how God is at work in the hearts of Muslim people all over the globe– Primary web site with descriptions and trailers

• http://morethandreams.org– The Story of Ali (Turkey)

• http://morethandreams.org/the-dreams/the-story-of-ali/– The Story of Dini (Indonesia)

• http://morethandreams.org/the-dreams/the-story-of-dini/– The Story of Khalil (Egypt)

• http://morethandreams.org/the-dreams/the-story-of-khalil/– The Story of Khosrow (Iran)

• http://morethandreams.org/the-dreams/the-story-of-khosrow/– The Story of Mohammed

• http://morethandreams.org/the-dreams/the-story-of-mohammed/

Page 18: Lesson 15  Muslims Come to Christ

Equipping the Saints: Understanding IslamMuslims Come to Christ!

Go into the world and tell people about Jesus.

We only have a little time.

Use it wisely.

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