Islam Blown Away by the Gospel

April 2, 2005 will not be a day I'll never forget, nor will two Islamic men who attended the Salsa Festival in Indio, CA soon forget it. Both they and I had come to contend for our faith. They had setup a table with Islamic Literature for sale and to tell people of Allah; and we of Wayside Harvesters/Minister Where You Are were there to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord, and give away God's word. When I heard from one of our laborers for Christ that they were there, my heart quickened and I knew God wanted me to talk with them. I have to admit, my flesh was reluctant and tried to convince me I was not prepared enough and too young in the Lord.

Then said I Ah, Lord God! Behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child. But the Lord said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak. Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord. Jeremiah 1:6-8

That verse came to mind and I knew I had to go, in His strength. I was surprised to discover that they studied the Old Testament; yet quickly found out that they took many historical facts as "stories" like the parables of Jesus. They believed Jesus was a prophet and that Mary was a virgin; but denied Jesus as God and denied He actually died on the cross (somehow taken off before He died). The fact that they took historical record as "stories" made discussing the Old Testament harder. One of the men, "Raymond" as he said I could call him, was in fact constantly chastising my belief in the historical facts and miracles as fact rather than "stories". This point came to an amazing conclusion an hour into our conversation as we discussed Moses parting of the Red Sea.

They knew from our discussion that I was a scientist as well as a "person of the word". Knowing this Raymond asked, "Please tell me you don't really believe that Moses parted the Red Sea?" I immediately said that I believed that Moses stretched out the staff and God parted the Red Sea, to his amusement as he actually laughed at me. He said that Allah had placed them there at the time of a really low tide, and again laughed at me.

It was then that I looked him right in the eyes and asked "Is your god so weak that he can't part the sea? I told him, my God is the Creator God of all things, and all of creation is subject to Him!" With that a gust of wind lifted their 10' x 10' pop-up off the ground about 10' in the air; flipped it over backwards; and cast it behind them on the sidewalk. No one else's pop-up even moved.

I looked at them and said, "I rest my case!"

I told them that I would help them put it back, and if they agreed to be nice to me, I would even ask my God to not turn their pop-up over again. Needless to say, these two Islamic men where blown away by the gospel! Raymond was silent for the first time in an hour. As for my fellow laborers in Christ and myself, we were greatly encouraged in the Lord, as I hope you are as well upon hearing about the greatness and faithfulness of the Lord towards those He sends. God was truly with me to deliver me, and He will do the same for you. Therefore, go where He sends you and preach the gospel as He has commanded you, even when Satan tries to tell you shouldn't or that you are too young in the Lord. If you need evangelism training to put some shoes on your feet (Ep. 6:15) please contact us. ministerwya@aol.com

Jack Jackson - Bondservant of Jesus Christ