SPEAKER_00: You're listening to the VFC Sermon Podcast.
SPEAKER_00: At the end of this episode, please take a moment to download our free VFC Thomasville app, where you can access all of our messages, sermon notes, announcements, and small group lessons.
SPEAKER_00: Our app is the easiest way to keep up with everything going on here at VFC.
SPEAKER_00: We hope that this message helps you in your walk with Jesus and encourages you to belong, believe, and become.
SPEAKER_01: Also, you may notice that our longtime friend Ernie the elephant is not with us today.
SPEAKER_01: Ernie's had some complications over the years.
SPEAKER_01: There was emergency surgery this last week.
SPEAKER_01: We are still hoping for an experimental surgery next week, but we may need to put Ernie out the pasture.
SPEAKER_01: We'll let you know what happens.
SPEAKER_01: If you don't know what's going on, this is our elephants in the room series, our annual series, where we tackle tough topics, sensitive subjects.
SPEAKER_01: We usually have a huge elephant on the stage, and he did not make it.
SPEAKER_01: But I'm so excited about this sermon series.
SPEAKER_01: Let me go over some of the ground rules.
SPEAKER_01: We're going to be talking about some very personal things as we go through this sermon series.
SPEAKER_01: I want to let you know a couple things.
SPEAKER_01: First of all, I am not targeting anyone.
SPEAKER_01: I never will do that.
SPEAKER_01: If I have something to say to you, I'll say it to you, not from the stage.
SPEAKER_01: Okay?
SPEAKER_01: So you don't need to worry about that.
SPEAKER_01: Now, if the Holy Spirit targets you, say yes, sir.
SPEAKER_01: Second thing, give me time to formulate points as we go through some difficult topics.
SPEAKER_01: It takes a while sometimes for me to work up to what I want to say.
SPEAKER_01: Some of these topics you have strong opinions on, and you're like, you better say what I want you to say.
SPEAKER_01: Just chill out, okay?
SPEAKER_01: We'll get there.
SPEAKER_01: We'll get there over time.
SPEAKER_01: I'll probably say something you agree with.
SPEAKER_01: I'll probably also say something that stretches you because that's my job.
SPEAKER_01: Not to tell you what you already believe, but to make sure you're paying attention to what the word says.
SPEAKER_01: Thirdly, you have not only the right but the responsibility to check up on me and make sure if I say the word says something, make sure it actually says that.
SPEAKER_01: And fourthly, if you disagree or get offended, please reach out to me personally.
SPEAKER_01: I'd love to talk to you about it.
SPEAKER_01: Just shoot me an email.
SPEAKER_01: My email address is Cynthia at bfctomasville.org.
SPEAKER_01: That joke never gets old to me.
SPEAKER_01: We're going to kick things off today by talking about the religion, Islam, and how it interacts with our faith, Christianity.
SPEAKER_01: You know, if you criticize Christianity, nobody blinks.
SPEAKER_01: We hear criticisms about our faith all the time.
SPEAKER_01: But if you criticize Islam, people immediately assume that you hate Muslims.
SPEAKER_01: Can I tell you something important this morning?
SPEAKER_01: Disagreeing with Islam is not the same thing as disparaging Muslims.
SPEAKER_01: Okay, we can talk about concepts without condemning people.
SPEAKER_01: I've known many Muslims.
SPEAKER_01: I've eaten in their homes, I've ministered in their countries.
SPEAKER_01: Some of the greatest hospitality I've ever experienced were in those countries.
SPEAKER_01: Some of the people I've met would literally give you the shirt off their back.
SPEAKER_01: But I've also been inside of mosques where the women were sent to the back of the room behind railings looking like cattle in cages.
SPEAKER_01: I've seen the religious persecution.
SPEAKER_01: I've seen personally what happens when religion controls government.
SPEAKER_01: So today we're not talking about whether Muslims are good people.
SPEAKER_01: Many are.
SPEAKER_01: We're asking, is Islam compatible with Christianity?
SPEAKER_01: Because there are millions of Muslims who have a sincere faith, but sincerely believing something doesn't make it true.
SPEAKER_01: So, really quickly, I'm going to give you a quick history lesson.
SPEAKER_01: Don't check out on me.
SPEAKER_01: I have a pretty picture behind me, so you'll pay attention.
SPEAKER_01: Okay?
SPEAKER_01: I'm going to give you a quick history on Islam.
SPEAKER_01: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are known as the big three monotheistic religions, mono meaning one, theistic meaning pertaining to God.
SPEAKER_01: So they believe there's one God as opposed to polytheism, that there are many.
SPEAKER_01: All three religions are Abrahamic because they trace their roots to God's covenant with Abraham in the Old Testament.
SPEAKER_01: Now, Christianity says that Jesus is the Jewish Messiah, the Savior of the world, and the final revelation of who God is.
SPEAKER_01: But Islam says that the prophet Muhammad is God's final and authoritative messenger.
SPEAKER_01: Muhammad was born in Mecca, which is why Muslims are required to pray five times a day facing Mecca, and at least one time in their life make a pilgrimage to Mecca.
SPEAKER_01: Islam has two major branches, the Sunni and the Shia, and their major disagreements about Muhammad's successor.
SPEAKER_01: The Islamic holy book is the Quran, the final revelation of Allah given to Muhammad beginning in the year 610 and communicated by the angel Gabriel.
SPEAKER_01: It's always an angel, isn't it?
SPEAKER_01: It's always an angel that's telling people extra special stuff.
SPEAKER_01: That's why Paul says, literally in scripture, if anyone tells you a different gospel, even an angel don't believe it.
SPEAKER_01: A mosque is a Muslim equivalent of a church building.
SPEAKER_01: And an imam is a rough equivalent of a Christian pastor or priest.
SPEAKER_01: There are two billion Muslims in the world making up just over 25% of the earth's population.
SPEAKER_01: Now, there's a concept that we like to talk about here at VFC, especially during the month of Elephants in the Room, and it's called the messy middle.
SPEAKER_01: I want to make sure that we all understand what the messy middle is.
SPEAKER_01: It's this idea.
SPEAKER_01: Truth can often be found by embracing two different truths, sometimes seemingly opposing truths, at the same time.
SPEAKER_01: Imagine a seesaw with differing truths on each end.
SPEAKER_01: The goal is for each truth to have the same weight so that you're in balance.
SPEAKER_01: We do this all the time, right?
SPEAKER_01: We'll believe on one side, I should work hard so that I have income to provide for my family.
SPEAKER_01: That's true, right?
SPEAKER_01: Here's another truth, though.
SPEAKER_01: I should rest and not work all the time so I don't get burned out.
SPEAKER_01: That's true as well, right?
SPEAKER_01: So we hold those two truths, hopefully, in balance.
SPEAKER_01: Here's another one.
SPEAKER_01: The church should confront sin.
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's one of the things that we do as a church.
SPEAKER_01: But also the church should welcome sinners.
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, absolutely.
SPEAKER_01: Or we couldn't be here.
SPEAKER_01: And so these two things, while seemingly very different from one another, are in fact both true.
SPEAKER_01: And it's the balance of the two.
SPEAKER_01: Now, if you add more weight than necessary to one side of these two truths, you no longer feel the tension because you've chosen a side.
SPEAKER_01: It's in the balance that you find the biblical truth.
SPEAKER_01: So this morning I'm gonna give you two true statements about Islam and Christianity, and we're gonna work our way through the balance of both statements.
SPEAKER_01: So here they both are.
SPEAKER_01: One, Islam is a false religion that promotes dangerous ideology.
SPEAKER_01: It's true.
SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna show you that as we continue.
SPEAKER_01: But also, this is true.
SPEAKER_01: Muslims are made in the image of God, they're loved by Jesus, and they need to hear the gospel shared with courage and love.
SPEAKER_01: We're gonna work our way through these two truth statements.
SPEAKER_01: Let's talk about the first half of the first statement that says Islam is a false religion.
SPEAKER_01: Islam and Christianity cannot both be true at the same time because they teach contradictory things.
SPEAKER_01: Maybe you've heard people say stuff like this.
SPEAKER_01: Well, all religion is basically the same thing.
SPEAKER_01: You ever heard people say that?
SPEAKER_01: That's a good way to let me know you know nothing about religion.
SPEAKER_01: Because all you have to do is a basic study of different world religions to find out they are very different from one another.
SPEAKER_01: If two religions describe God fundamentally differently, then they don't worship the same God.
SPEAKER_01: Imagine someone comes to you, a co-worker, and says, Hey, I met your pastor yesterday, Jamie Nunley, right?
SPEAKER_01: And you go, Yeah.
SPEAKER_01: And they say, Yeah, it was interesting.
SPEAKER_01: She was a very tall, blonde, very skinny, and not wearing plaid.
SPEAKER_01: That person may be named Jamie Nunley, but that ain't me.
SPEAKER_01: Because we don't have the same attributes, even though we have the same name.
SPEAKER_01: By the way, there is a woman named Jamie Nunley.
SPEAKER_01: She lives in Indianapolis.
SPEAKER_01: I've seen her on Facebook.
SPEAKER_01: In the same way, different religions may call their deity God or creator, but if they don't share the same characteristics, they're not the same God.
SPEAKER_01: Because of this, Islam and Christianity are not compatible and are not different ways to worship the same God.
SPEAKER_01: 2 Corinthians 11 4, Paul is getting on to the Corinthians.
SPEAKER_01: He says, you happily put up with whatever anyone tells you.
SPEAKER_01: Even if they preach a different Jesus than the one we preach, or a different kind of spirit than the one you received, or a different kind of gospel than the one you believed.
SPEAKER_01: Because there are different versions of Jesus, there are different versions of God out there, and you need to be aware that they can't coexist at the same time and both be true.
SPEAKER_01: Years ago, Tiff and I were in a taxi, and it was pretty obvious that the man who was the driving the car was Muslim, and he said, Hey, are you Christians?
SPEAKER_01: We said yes.
SPEAKER_01: And he said, Hey, you may not know this.
SPEAKER_01: I'm Muslim, but I love your Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: I love your Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: We we Muslims, we venerate Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: He's a wonderful prophet.
SPEAKER_01: He's a good man, a good teacher.
SPEAKER_01: We love your Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: And I didn't want to get into it because I was on vacation.
SPEAKER_01: But I simply said, yeah, but we believe Jesus is God.
SPEAKER_01: And he said, oh no, no, no, no.
SPEAKER_01: He's not God.
SPEAKER_01: I mean, Jesus is not God.
SPEAKER_01: And I just simply said, with a smile on my face, then he's not my Jesus that you're talking about.
SPEAKER_01: We're not talking about the same person.
SPEAKER_01: If Christ isn't God, you may have an idea of who he is, but he's not the God that I'm talking about.
SPEAKER_01: Now, I want you to brace yourself, because on the screen behind me is about to be a ton of information.
SPEAKER_01: Alright?
SPEAKER_01: Don't freak out.
SPEAKER_01: And in the app, if you follow along, you'll see all of this information in text form.
SPEAKER_01: But I'm going to work through this pretty quickly, but I want to make sure that we're all on the same page about some of the major differences between Islam and Christianity.
SPEAKER_01: I have three main categories we're going to talk about: the idea of God, the concept of who Jesus Christ is, and the method of salvation.
SPEAKER_01: And I'm just going to go through this really quick so there's no confusion.
SPEAKER_01: So, first of all, who is God?
SPEAKER_01: Well, first of all, in Islam they call God Allah, that's the Arabic word for God.
SPEAKER_01: In Islam, they believe God is the one unique God who is creator, sustainer, and judge of all.
SPEAKER_01: They believe he's absolutely one, singular, not a trinity.
SPEAKER_01: And they believe he has no son and cannot become incarnate or ever become a human.
SPEAKER_01: Christianity, on the other hand, we believe, as Islam does, that God is the one unique God who is creator, sustainer, and judge of all.
SPEAKER_01: However, we believe God is one being who exists eternally in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_01: We also believe God is love and became incarnate or flesh or a man in Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_01: He desires relationship with his creation and he interacts with us through his Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_01: So we see there's a pretty big difference between the concepts of God in the two religions.
SPEAKER_01: Alright, what about Jesus?
SPEAKER_01: Who is Jesus?
SPEAKER_01: Well, in Islam, Jesus, whom they call Isa, is honored as a great prophet and messenger of Allah.
SPEAKER_01: He was born the Virgin Mary by Allah's will and will return before the day of judgment.
SPEAKER_01: Isn't that interesting?
SPEAKER_01: If you talk to a Muslim, you say, hey, he was born of a virgin, he's coming back, they'll be like, yeah.
SPEAKER_01: They believe that.
SPEAKER_01: You're not going to shock them with that information, but then it really changes.
SPEAKER_01: In Islam they teach that Jesus was not crucified, another was made to appear like him, and Jesus was taken alive into heaven.
SPEAKER_01: This is a huge problem.
SPEAKER_01: Just not even theologically, but historically, the crucifixion of a man called Jesus of Nazareth, whether he was God or not, is one of the most widely attested historical facts out there.
SPEAKER_01: We have so much evidence that this person existed and was in fact crucified.
SPEAKER_01: The fact that someone would deny that is it flies in the face of history.
SPEAKER_01: They also teach that Jesus is not divine and plays no role in providing salvation.
SPEAKER_01: Now, I wish I had more time to talk about this, but I just I'll just say this.
SPEAKER_01: The Quran's teaching on Jesus, he's in there.
SPEAKER_01: If you were to read the Quran, you'll see Isa, you'll see Jesus mentioned throughout.
SPEAKER_01: However, Muhammad was illiterate.
SPEAKER_01: It's not an insult, it's just the truth.
SPEAKER_01: When he lived at the time, he couldn't read or write.
SPEAKER_01: Muslims know this, they actually point to this as a fact that it's a miracle he was able to produce the Quran.
SPEAKER_01: But since Muhammad was illiterate, guess what he couldn't read?
SPEAKER_01: He couldn't read the scriptures that talk about God, that talk about Noah, which Noah's, by the way, is in the Quran.
SPEAKER_01: They talk about Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: So what did he have?
SPEAKER_01: He had essentially campfire stories.
SPEAKER_01: He had stories about Jesus that were circulating at the time.
SPEAKER_01: And unbeknownst to him, when he put them in the Quran, these are word-for-word stories that are in what are called the Gnostic Gospels, or the rejected accounts of Jesus that were rejected because they were plainly and obviously not true to the people who were putting together scripture.
SPEAKER_01: So you see accounts of, like for instance, I want to count Jesus as a child and he blows on some clay birds and they come alive.
SPEAKER_01: So that's not in your scripture, you're right.
SPEAKER_01: I don't remember that part because it's not in there.
SPEAKER_01: It is, however, in a Gnostic gospel, it's also in the Quran because that was his source.
SPEAKER_01: Are you with me?
SPEAKER_01: So Christianity, obviously, we believe Jesus is God the Son, the second person of the Trinity.
SPEAKER_01: He became fully human through the virgin birth while remaining fully God.
SPEAKER_01: He died willingly on the cross for the sins of the world, rose bodily from the dead on the third day.
SPEAKER_01: He ascended into heaven and he will return again.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus himself declared that he alone is the way to the Father.
SPEAKER_01: Remember, I'm the way, the truth, and the life.
SPEAKER_01: No one comes to the Father except through me.
SPEAKER_01: What about salvation?
SPEAKER_01: Well, in Islam, salvation comes through submission to Allah and obedience to His will.
SPEAKER_01: It's based on a person's belief, good deeds, and adherence to Islamic practices, such as the five pillars.
SPEAKER_01: Now I don't have time to get into all this.
SPEAKER_01: There are five pillars of behavior that are expected.
SPEAKER_01: Faith in Allah and Muhammad, prayer, charity, almsgiving, fasting, and then pilgrimage going to Mecca.
SPEAKER_01: Those are the big five.
SPEAKER_01: Notice personal holiness is not in there.
SPEAKER_01: And that describes some of the behavior that we sometimes see.
SPEAKER_01: Ultimately, salvation depends upon if a person's good works outweigh their bad works.
SPEAKER_01: It's the idea that God is the judge, He's looking at everything you do.
SPEAKER_01: If you've done more good than bad, he'll show you mercy.
SPEAKER_01: They believe Allah is merciful.
SPEAKER_01: But if you've done more bad than good, you're sent to eternal hell.
SPEAKER_01: There is no, in Islam, there's no atoning sacrifice for sin.
SPEAKER_01: Each individual is accountable to his or her own deeds.
SPEAKER_01: In other words, God in Islam hasn't done anything to help you out.
SPEAKER_01: Like Allah, according to them, has given you his instructions through the Prophet Muhammad, but there's no mechanism of forgiveness.
SPEAKER_01: There is nothing that happens so that you might be forgiven.
SPEAKER_01: It's just the will of Allah and His mercy.
SPEAKER_01: There's no way to know that you're saved in Islam.
SPEAKER_01: There's no way to know for sure in Islam what's going to happen after you die.
SPEAKER_01: You have to hope for the best, unless if you die during jihad, you will 100% go to heaven.
SPEAKER_01: That's the belief.
SPEAKER_01: And that's why they can sometimes convince people to do terrible things like that.
SPEAKER_01: Christianity, of course, we believe salvation is by God's grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus' death on the cross provides the atoning sacrifice for sin, making forgiveness possible.
SPEAKER_01: Salvation is a gift from God that cannot be earned through good works, and those who repent and trust in Jesus as Lord and Savior receive eternal life.
SPEAKER_01: Guys, Islam has a different God, has different ideas about Jesus, and a different means of salvation.
SPEAKER_01: And I haven't even begun to touch on the differences of heaven, righteousness, sin, grace, prayer, the Holy Spirit, the authority of Scripture, the purpose of life.
SPEAKER_01: Christianity and Islam are not the same just because they're both monotheistic world religions.
SPEAKER_01: That's like saying FSU and Georgia are the same team because they both play college football.
SPEAKER_01: Just a few weeks, you guys, it's coming.
SPEAKER_01: It's just a few more weeks.
SPEAKER_01: Now, I also said not only is Islam a false religion, but Islam promotes dangerous ideology.
SPEAKER_01: I want to share some concepts embedded in the religion of Islam that lead, I believe, to immoral behavior and create significant moral problems in many Islamic cultures.
SPEAKER_01: The first one you've heard of is called Sharia law.
SPEAKER_01: Sharia law is the comprehensive legal system derived from the Quran, the Hadith, which these are sayings and teachings attributed to Muhammad, and the historic precedent of Islamic law from the past.
SPEAKER_01: So this is a very important point, and I hope that you take this away today.
SPEAKER_01: Islam is not only a religion, it's a way of governing people.
SPEAKER_01: It's not just a belief system, it's a way of living.
SPEAKER_01: Sharia addresses virtually every area of life: marriage, money, speech, blasphemy.
SPEAKER_01: What happens if someone blasphemes God?
SPEAKER_01: Criminal justice, concepts of religious conversion.
SPEAKER_01: It's all covered under Sharia.
SPEAKER_01: Now I want to be fair, there's a wide range of opinion about how sharia should be understood and applied throughout the Muslim world.
SPEAKER_01: But I need you to make no mistake.
SPEAKER_01: Most Muslim-majority countries not only consider sharia the ideal ordering of society for them to live by, but they believe it's their role to implement Sharia law for all people, sometimes by force.
SPEAKER_01: Consider how Sharia law affects women.
SPEAKER_01: Let me give you some stats.
SPEAKER_01: In Afghanistan, the Taliban enforces their strict interpretation of Sharia, and the result is banning girls from education beyond sex.
SPEAKER_01: Sixth grade, prohibiting women from working, and requiring them to wear full body covering.
SPEAKER_01: Under Taliban rule, women cannot drive.
SPEAKER_01: Which I'm just kidding.
SPEAKER_01: Trying to keep it light here, okay.
SPEAKER_01: This mentality regarding women makes sense to them.
SPEAKER_01: Because Islam's prophet and founder, Muhammad, embraced polygamy for all men, but especially for himself.
SPEAKER_01: He had 11 wives, some say twelve, at least one of which was a child when he married her.
SPEAKER_01: He even married his adopted son's wife.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus, by comparison, never married, never sinned, and elevated the standing of women.
SPEAKER_01: Christianity teaches that if you're in Christ, there's no longer male and female.
SPEAKER_01: We are all one in him.
SPEAKER_01: Now, obviously, biologically, there's male and female, but spiritually, we are one.
SPEAKER_01: Under Sharia law, freedom and basic human rights are threatened.
SPEAKER_01: Take, for instance, the plight of LGBTQ people.
SPEAKER_01: Twelve countries, directly or indirectly influenced by Sharia, have made same-sex activity punishable by death.
SPEAKER_01: Now, in Christianity, homosexuality is a sin.
SPEAKER_01: But Jesus said, go and sin no more, not go and live no more.
SPEAKER_01: And so even though we may say something is a sin, we don't see it as our job to take someone's life.
SPEAKER_01: In addition, in countries like Saudi Arabia, suspects of crimes are often punished in harsh and inhumane ways, like flogging and amputation.
SPEAKER_01: In addition, there's no religious freedom under Sharia law.
SPEAKER_01: In much of the Muslim world, blasphemy against Muhammad is punishable by death.
SPEAKER_01: Although governments often don't execute people for it, accusations of blasphemy have frequently led to mob killings and assassinations while the government turns a blind eye.
SPEAKER_01: This is the case in Pakistan, where VFC has three churches with physical buildings, over a hundred house churches, and thousands of small groups.
SPEAKER_01: When I go there because of this, I don't mention Muhammad.
SPEAKER_01: I don't talk about him.
SPEAKER_01: I don't compare and contrast Islam to Christianity.
SPEAKER_01: I simply preach Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: In addition, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Yemen, Qatar, Mauritania, Somalia, and the Maldives all have laws allowing for the death penalty for people who convert from Islam to another religion.
SPEAKER_01: It makes me wonder if it's true.
SPEAKER_01: Why do you have to threaten death with people who want to leave?
SPEAKER_01: On the contrary, the Christian church advances through the preaching of the gospel, making disciples, serving others, and willingly laying down our lives for Christ, not taking others.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus never commanded his disciples to rule the world.
SPEAKER_01: Another dangerous ideology promoted by Islam is the concept of jihad.
SPEAKER_01: The word jihad literally means struggle or striving.
SPEAKER_01: But many Muslims use the word to describe the inner spiritual struggle against sin, temptation, and selfishness, but there are also extremists who use the word jihad to describe armed conflict or holy war, where unbelieving infidels, that's you, must either convert or be killed.
SPEAKER_01: One example is ISIS, a self-proclaimed Islamic government, whose stated goal was implementing their interpretation of sharia worldwide.
SPEAKER_01: They cited passages in the Quran to justify beheadings, crucifixions, sexual slavery, forced conversions, and mass executions of Christians.
SPEAKER_01: Now, here's the good news.
SPEAKER_01: Nearly every Muslim scholar has condemned ISIS.
SPEAKER_01: Awesome.
SPEAKER_01: That's good.
SPEAKER_01: But ISIS did not claim to be secular, they claimed to be restoring Islam.
SPEAKER_01: Another example is Al-Qaeda.
SPEAKER_01: 2001, the 9-11 hijackers repeatedly described their actions as jihad.
SPEAKER_01: Osama bin Laden's writings frame the attacks as religious warfare.
SPEAKER_01: Again, this doesn't mean all Muslims are terrorists.
SPEAKER_01: I'm not saying that at all.
SPEAKER_01: But it does mean that those terrorists sincerely believed they were obeying Islam.
SPEAKER_01: Right now, today, Christians in Nigeria continue to suffer horrific violence from Islamic extremist groups like Boko Haram.
SPEAKER_01: Since 2009, Boko Haram has murdered tens of thousands of Christians, burned churches, and kidnapped thousands of Christians, including pastors, and in one particular instance, 276 schoolgirls.
SPEAKER_01: They specifically target believers in Christ, and they publicly declare they are fighting to establish an Islamic state governed by Sharia law.
SPEAKER_01: This makes sense to them because their founder Muhammad, while starting out peaceful, if you read the front of their book, is peaceful.
SPEAKER_01: It ended up, he ended up as a warlord, using war and personally killing people himself to advance his religion.
SPEAKER_01: Now, let me be fair.
SPEAKER_01: The majority of Muslims don't agree with this version of jihad.
SPEAKER_01: Okay?
SPEAKER_01: They would never do that themselves.
SPEAKER_01: Let me make a bold statement.
SPEAKER_01: If moderate Muslims remain silent concerning radical Muslims, their moderation means nothing.
SPEAKER_01: We Christians, let's be honest, we have our own crazies too.
SPEAKER_01: But if someone kills in the name of Jesus, we openly and immediately condemn them because it contradicts the teaching of Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: While jihad doesn't necessarily contradict the teaching of Islam.
SPEAKER_01: Unlike Muhammad, Jesus said, Love your enemies, pray for those who persecute you.
SPEAKER_01: He said, My kingdom is not of this world.
SPEAKER_01: When Peter wounded someone, he cut off someone's ear.
SPEAKER_01: What did Jesus do?
SPEAKER_01: He healed it.
SPEAKER_01: When Jesus was being crucified, he prayed, Father, forgive them.
SPEAKER_01: They don't know what they're doing.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus never told his followers to seize governments.
SPEAKER_01: Christianity is spread by missionaries, not armies.
SPEAKER_01: Unlike Muhammad, Jesus never commands his followers to implement our faith by force.
SPEAKER_01: Our goal is not to establish a Christian nation, but to work to make all countries a nation of Christians.
SPEAKER_01: Do you see the difference?
SPEAKER_01: I hope by this point it's incredibly clear that my statement, Islam is a false religion that promotes dangerous ideology, is true.
SPEAKER_01: When I say Islam has dangerous ideas, I'm not saying every Muslim is dangerous.
SPEAKER_01: I'm saying the ideas circulated in Islam have serious consequences.
SPEAKER_01: But we have another statement to look at.
SPEAKER_01: Muslims are made in the image of God, loved by Jesus, and need to hear the gospel shared with courage and love.
SPEAKER_01: Church, your anger, your arguing, and your politics will not fix the problems in Islam.
SPEAKER_01: It's not going to.
SPEAKER_01: It's preach, pray, and protect.
SPEAKER_01: Let's talk about preaching.
SPEAKER_01: In case you didn't know, this church, BFC, has personally led around 300,000 Muslims to Christ over the last 10 years.
SPEAKER_01: It wasn't done by the sword, it was done by the word.
SPEAKER_01: It was done through preaching.
SPEAKER_01: When I meet with Muslims, I preach the grace of God.
SPEAKER_01: A message so simple, most of you would be bored.
SPEAKER_01: I tell them who Jesus is, I tell them what he did.
SPEAKER_01: I tell them he will forgive them.
SPEAKER_01: He will deliver them, and he will give them his spirit to help them, and they can know what happens to them when they die.
SPEAKER_01: In our large festivals, we see around 70% of the people in attendance respond to follow Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: I was going to go to the end of this month, but because of the ongoing war in the Middle East, I'm going to stay here and do it over Zoom.
SPEAKER_01: Thank God for the internet.
SPEAKER_01: I expect at least 10,000 people to give their hearts to the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: The sermon will be replayed on satellite TV.
SPEAKER_01: We have a connection over there.
SPEAKER_01: And we'll potentially be seen by hundreds of thousands more people in the area, and even more will respond.
SPEAKER_01: If you're part of VFC, that is part of your church family legacy.
SPEAKER_01: And you should be proud of that.
SPEAKER_01: We are preaching the gospel to Muslims.
SPEAKER_01: I also said pray.
SPEAKER_01: Most of you won't ever go with me overseas to preach to Muslims.
SPEAKER_01: That's okay.
SPEAKER_01: But you know what you can do?
SPEAKER_01: You can pray.
SPEAKER_01: But what if you ended every night and just said, Lord, I pray that you would reach the Muslim people.
SPEAKER_01: Show them who you really are.
SPEAKER_01: What if you woke up every morning and repeated the same prayer?
SPEAKER_01: It costs you nothing.
SPEAKER_01: You should do that.
SPEAKER_01: I'll go.
SPEAKER_01: But please pray.
SPEAKER_01: Please pray.
SPEAKER_01: Pray for those believers that are living under persecutions.
SPEAKER_01: One of our pastors was shot.
SPEAKER_01: He lived.
SPEAKER_01: But it's when they choose to follow Jesus, they are choosing to their own detriment.
SPEAKER_01: There wasn't an emotional reply.
SPEAKER_01: Many of them get kicked out of their families.
SPEAKER_01: Pray for our pastors, pray for evangelists, translators, and church planters in the Muslim world.
SPEAKER_01: And lastly, protect.
SPEAKER_01: We should protect our families by knowing what we believe and why we believe it.
SPEAKER_01: We should teach our children that not every religion leads to God.
SPEAKER_01: We should never apologize for believing that Jesus is the only way to the Father.
SPEAKER_01: We should also protect the freedoms in this country that allow the gospel to flourish.
SPEAKER_01: Religious liberty matters because people should be free to seek the truth without fear of imprisonment or violence.
SPEAKER_01: We should oppose any ideology, whether it's secular, Muslim, or Christian, that seeks to coerce faith by law instead of persuading people with truth.
SPEAKER_01: And also, protect your heart from anger, rage, and hatred.
SPEAKER_01: Guys, Satan would love nothing more than for Christians to confuse their convictions about Islam with contempt for Muslims and cause us to begin to do the same things Islamic radicals do.
SPEAKER_01: The Muslim living next door, the Muslim at your work, in your school, they are not your enemy.
SPEAKER_01: Ephesians 6.12 says, for we are not fighting against flesh and blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in the dark world, against evil spirits in the heavenly places.
SPEAKER_01: This is a spiritual battle.
SPEAKER_01: People are not the enemy, they are the assignment.
SPEAKER_01: Deception, sin, and the devil are the enemies.
SPEAKER_01: Ideas can be false without the people who hold them becoming enemies.
SPEAKER_01: I want to leave you with one final thought.
SPEAKER_01: Muslims have traditionally understood themselves to be the descendants of Abraham through Ishmael and his son Kedar.
SPEAKER_01: Now, if you don't know, Ishmael was Abraham's son born from Hagar, his wife's servant.
SPEAKER_01: Guys?
SPEAKER_01: If your wife ever says, Hey, I can't get pregnant, have a child through my servant, tell her no.
SPEAKER_01: It's a trap.
SPEAKER_01: Don't believe it.
SPEAKER_01: While the Bible is clear that God's covenant came through Isaac, not Ishmael.
SPEAKER_01: Did you know God never abandoned Ishmael?
SPEAKER_01: In fact, God made him a promise.
SPEAKER_01: Some of y'all are going to be shocked by this.
SPEAKER_01: Genesis 17, 20.
SPEAKER_01: As for Ishmael, I will bless him also, just as you have asked.
SPEAKER_01: I will make him extremely fruitful and multiply his descendants.
SPEAKER_01: He will become the father of twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation.
SPEAKER_01: Interesting.
SPEAKER_01: Then hundreds of years later, the prophet Isaiah declared something remarkable about the coming Messiah.
SPEAKER_01: He specifically mentioned Ishmael's son Kedar, whom the Muslims trace their lineage.
SPEAKER_01: He says this, Isaiah 42, 10 and 11.
SPEAKER_01: Sing a new song to the Lord, sing his praises from the ends of the earth.
SPEAKER_01: Sing all you who sail the seas, all you who live in distant coastlands.
SPEAKER_01: Join in the chorus, you desert towns.
SPEAKER_01: Let the villages of Kedar rejoice.
SPEAKER_01: Guys, Jesus came to save the world, including the descendants of Ishmael.
SPEAKER_01: They're specifically named in the Bible.
SPEAKER_01: From the very beginning, God intended to redeem people from every tribe, every tongue, and every nation, including the nations that would come through Ishmael.
SPEAKER_01: Now, salvation is through Jesus alone.
SPEAKER_01: But they're included, they're invited.
SPEAKER_01: That's why something incredible is happening in our generation.
SPEAKER_01: I don't know if you've heard about this.
SPEAKER_01: Across the Muslim world, there are thousands of documented testimonies of Muslims encountering Jesus through dreams and visions.
SPEAKER_01: Have you heard of this?
SPEAKER_01: It's called Christophanes.
SPEAKER_01: They're seeing Christ in their sleep.
SPEAKER_01: They're seeing Christ as they pray.
SPEAKER_01: He's introducing himself to them.
SPEAKER_01: He's preparing their hearts to receive Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: Then a missionary, a pastor, a neighbor, or even a satellite TV broadcast tells them the rest of the story.
SPEAKER_01: Church, we have the privilege of being a part of that story.
SPEAKER_01: So let me remind you of the messy middle.
SPEAKER_01: Two truth statements, both true, held in tension and balanced with one another.
SPEAKER_01: Islam is a false religion that promotes dangerous ideology.
SPEAKER_01: And Muslims are people made in the image of God, loved by Jesus, and they need to hear the gospel shared with courage and love.
SPEAKER_01: We can never compromise truth, but we also must never stop loving Muslims.
SPEAKER_01: We must continue to share the gospel with them.
SPEAKER_01: We'll preach Christ boldly, we'll pray faithfully, we'll protect ourselves and our communities from false teaching and forced conversions.
SPEAKER_01: But we also must believe that the same God who met Paul on the road to Damascus is meeting people in the villages of Pakistan.
SPEAKER_01: He's meeting people in the streets of Iran.
SPEAKER_01: He's meeting people in the cities of northern Africa.
SPEAKER_01: God is moving.
SPEAKER_01: God's not afraid of Islam.
SPEAKER_01: He's still building his church and he longs to see the sons of Ishmael attend and add it to it.
SPEAKER_01: And he wants your help.
SPEAKER_01: And my question is, will you preach, pray, and protect so the gospel of Jesus reaches Muslims?
SPEAKER_01: Let's stand for prayer.
SPEAKER_01: The praise team is gonna come out.
SPEAKER_01: We're gonna sing a final song in a moment.
SPEAKER_01: Next week, we're gonna talk about prophecy and false prophets.
SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna ask Eric to give a false prophecy, and then you guys are all, I'm just kidding, it's a joke.
SPEAKER_01: Y'all are so quiet this morning.
SPEAKER_01: Like, ugh, he's talking about Islam.
SPEAKER_01: Hey, God is good, He loves you, He wants to use you, He is moving all over this world.
SPEAKER_01: We can cling to the truth and also love the people God loves at the same time.
SPEAKER_01: You can do that, but it's gonna take effort, it's gonna take understanding, it's gonna take surrendering and yielding to God's way.
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
SPEAKER_01: Close your eyes.
SPEAKER_01: Ask the Holy Spirit this question.
SPEAKER_01: Lord, how do you want me to either preach, pray, or protect when it comes to Islam and my faith?
SPEAKER_01: Be still.
SPEAKER_01: Listen.
SPEAKER_01: There may be a bounce back thought that you hear.
SPEAKER_01: That could be the Holy Spirit speaking to you.
SPEAKER_01: Thank you, Lord Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: I want to invite you, if you will, pray this prayer after me.
SPEAKER_01: Say, Jesus, I want to see your kingdom come and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
SPEAKER_01: I understand you came to give eternal life, forgiveness, and salvation to all people.
SPEAKER_01: That includes the people that aren't like me and the people that I don't like.
SPEAKER_01: So I ask you to change my heart.
SPEAKER_01: Help me see things through your eyes and give me a plan.
SPEAKER_01: I may not be called to travel the world and preach the gospel to Muslims or anyone else.
SPEAKER_01: But I can pray, I can support, I can protect my family and my community by lifting up Jesus so that you will draw all men unto you.
SPEAKER_01: I surrender this part of my life to you.
SPEAKER_01: In Jesus' name.
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: Thanks for listening to the VFC Podcast.
SPEAKER_00: If you live in the Thomasville area, we would love for you to connect with us in person.
SPEAKER_00: For more information about our weekly gatherings, including service times and directions, you can visit us at VFCThomasville.org.