Why do militant Muslims kill themselves in suicide bomb attacks?
Because they have no hope in life except for the paradise promised by their religion for martyrs.
If they live a normal religious life, they live in fear that they will not be good enough to escape hell fire.
- Their only assurance of paradise is to die a martyr's death.
But they do not die only for themselves.
- They believe that when they die a violent death, their martyr's blood will also ransom their loved ones and kinsmen from hell.
They also lay down their lives for the future of the world.
- By dying for the cause of Islam, they are contributing to the conquest of the world for Allah.
They die in hope for the day when every human being will live in Dar-es-Salaam, the House of Peace, a time when every person will be at peace because everyone will be Muslim.
- Islamic martyrs die like this because they have no other faith and no other hope.
Muslims also respect Jesus.
They revere him as a great prophet of Islam, a forerunner of Mohammed, the messenger of Allah.
- Jesus appears in the Qur’an as the “son of Miriam” (Mary). The Qur’an speaks of Jesus (or Isa) as a worker of miracles and healings.
Nevertheless, the miracle working Isa is not the Jesus of the Bible.
- In the Qur’an, Isa did not die on the cross. He was not even an Islamic martyr.
He was a holy prophet who was taken up into heaven and another man took his place and died on the cross.
- The Islamic Jesus did not die to ransom us from hell. The only blood that can ransom Muslims from hell is the blood of Islamic martyrs who die a violent death in holy warfare against unbelievers.
When we read the Bible, we see an entirely different Jesus.
- Jesus was not only the son of Mary but also the Son of God. Luke’s Gospel tells us how the Archangel Gabriel appeared to Mary.
But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favour with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.
- He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. Luke 1:30-32 (NIV)
Mary was astonished. She could not understand what it meant that Jesus would be the Son of God, a baby without a human father.
The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
- So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Luke 1:35 (NIV)
In the mind of Muslims, this is blasphemy. Allah, the God of the Qur’an, is not a father and has no sons.
- To the Muslim mind, Christians must believe Mary had sex with God but this is not what the Bible says.
In the Bible, as in the Qur’an, Jesus was taken up into heaven.
- However, there is an enormous difference.
Before Jesus ascended into heaven, he died on the cross, not as a violent warrior but as a man of peace, the perfect Son of God, offering His blood to God to ransom us from hell.
The Muslim martyrs shed their blood to pay a ransom to Allah for their own sins and the sins of their families.
But Jesus had no sins of His own. He shed His blood so that even His enemies could be forgiven by God and receive the free gift of eternal life.
There is another vital difference between Jesus and Muslim martyrs.
- Muslims believe their martyrs go straight to heaven but the suicide bombers never return to their families to confirm this.
Three days after Jesus died, he returned from the grave and spent forty days with his disciples and friends. Only then was He taken into heaven.
All but one disciple was murdered for his faith in the resurrection.
- Men do not die bravely for a lie.
Jesus said ... "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.
- Do you believe this?" John 11:25-26 (NIV)
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV)
If you have been a church goer, you will be familiar with these words of Jesus.
You have probably heard a minister, a pastor or priest preaching from this text. It is often used as an appeal for people to put their faith in Jesus and commit their lives to God.
The tragic reality is that it is often the preacher who is most in need of this text himself.
Do a Google search for “pastors burnout rate” and you will find the horrible facts.
- Why are huge numbers of pastors underpaid, neglected, mistreated and abused by professing Christian church members?
- Why do some pastors overreact by becoming religious dictators and spiritual control freaks?
- Why are so many pastors leaving the ministry?
- Why do so many preachers’ children give up Christian faith?
- Why do we so often hear of Catholic priests who abuse children?
The sad reality is that for close to 1700 years, Christians have fallen into a very damaging form of idolatry.
Priests and preachers have been elevated to a position which rightfully belongs only to Jesus.
Does this mean we should no longer have any full time preachers or church leaders?
I am not suggesting that. There were some full time preachers in the New Testament and God blessed them.
However, the enormous superhuman expectations we place on full time preachers are quite wrong.
In New Testament times, the apostles and some other preachers led the church but much of the work of ministry was done by the so called ordinary believers.
- So many Catholic priests are destroyed by the false expectations of celibacy and unlimited duty of service.
- So many sincere Christians are crushed by the unbiblical expectation that they should unconditionally obey human church leaders.
- So many pastors are destroyed by being expected to know everything, do everything and control everybody and everything.
I am not suggesting that we completely walk away from every known form of church organisation. Christian groups which do that often become exclusive religious cults which destroy people even more effectively than unhealthy traditional churches.
It is time for Christians everywhere to rise up and be what the Bible says we are, a brotherhood of priests and spiritual kings, respecting genuine full time preachers and working with them to extend the Kingdom of God.
"'In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Acts 2:17 (NIV)
Inspired spiritual ministry is the calling of all believers.We must not unconditionally submit to any man on earth.
"But you are not to be called 'Rabbi,' for you have only one Master and you are all brothers. And do not call anyone on earth 'father,' for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. Matthew 23:8-9 (NIV)
On the other hand, we have no right to treat a pastor as an easy target to be exploited or bullied.
The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honour, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. 1 Timothy 5:17 (NIV)
The context shows that double honour does not mean unconditional obedience and submission to a separate and superior class of priests.
The true meaning is that we owe respect, appreciation and generous financial support to genuine and gifted preachers who serve well.
Elders who do their work well should be respected and paid well, especially those who work hard at both preaching and teaching. 1 Timothy 5:17 (NLT)
So what is the answer? We are all like sheep who need a shepherd.
Are you frustrated with routine prayer and bible study?
Have you ever gone for a quiet walk in the park and expected God to speak to your heart? Why not start today?
There are deep longings inside you. There must be something more to life. Something in you says:
“Is that all there is?”
Here and there some light bursts through the clouds of routine life and daily frustrations. Music lifts you up; a friend cheers you up; you enjoy some breakthrough or achievement; you fall in love or you have a baby.
But then the daily wear and tear returns and in some quiet moment the voice inside whispers again:
Where does this question come from?
- Where did you get the idea that their could be something far better than what you experience and what you see around you?
Every day you see unbearable tragedy. It is on the TV news every evening. You watch it but you only feel a little of the agony.
We are numb. Death is always there but we push it away. It is somewhere else. It is someone else.
From time to time we go to a funeral.
Somehow we feel there must be another world. That loved one must be somewhere up there looking down. It is so hard to believe in a final end.
“Dust to dust, ashes to ashes..” and that little voice asks again,
“Is that all there is?”
Some people try very hard to believe there is actually nothing more.
They make up a new religion called “ATHEISM.” That means NO-GOD-ism.
- It is so hard to believe in nothing but atoms and things, so hard that those people cannot find words to define their belief without using that word GOD, the God who loves them, the God they don’t want to believe in.
There was a young Jewish man in Romania. He was an atheist.
The faith of his forefathers made no sense to him. But he had an empty place in his soul. He had a spiritual hunger inside. One day he saw some traditional Christians in a church service and something inside him was drawn like a magnet. He joined the praying believers out of curiosity, or so it seemed to him.
Then he prayed, if you could call it prayer.
- “Oh God. I don’t believe you exist but if you do exist, it is not my duty to believe in you but your duty to make yourself known to me. If you exist, please show yourself to me.”
He went his way, with his lonely heart still unsatisfied. That question was at the back of his mind.
“There must be more than this. Is this life all there is?”
He didn’t hear the voice but somewhere in his unconscious mind he felt it.
One day he was on a journey in the country. He stopped in a village and looked for a place to sleep. He asked an old man who invited him to stay with him.
This old man deeply loved Jesus and for years he had cried out to God. He had prayed over and over for the blessing of leading a Jewish man to faith in the Jewish Messiah.
- When he discovered his young guest was Jewish, he burned with excitement. He treated his guest with the respect and kindness due to a king or to his own son. Then he gave the young man a Bible to read.
When the young man read the Bible, he felt such a love and such a spiritual power that he could not stop weeping. Jesus appeared in the stories as the most wonderful person he ever knew or could ever know.
If you have some doubts about God, why not challenge God Himself to make Himself known.
- If you are sincerely hungry for reality, he will hear you.
Are you willing to let the reality of God change your life? That is the question.
Jesus said:
"I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" John 11:25-26 (NIV)
When Martin Luther translated the Word of God into the language of his day, he was inspired by a Bible text which we still hold dear. THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.
Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because, "The righteous will live by faith." Galatians 3:11 (NIV)
If you could keep the commandments of God perfectly, you would be like Jesus Himself, the only eternal Son of God who came down from heaven.
- Jesus is the only human being in history who determined the time of His own birth. He was the eternal companion of the Heavenly Father who chose to become one of us, so He could save us from our mess.
Jesus lived in perfect love, perfect faith, perfect goodness and obedience to God. No other human being has ever done that.
- We cannot please God by our good works.
All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away. Isaiah 64:6 (NIV)
- We can only please God by humbly recognising our need for His mercy.
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:8-9 (NKJV)
God is just, so evil must be punished but God sent His son to suffer the punishment we deserved.
When Jesus died on the cross, He suffered the torment and death that God’s justice requires for our sins.
So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, "It is finished!" And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit. John 19:30 (NKJV)
IT IS FINISHED
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23 (NASB)
This message sounds old fashioned to many in sophisticated post-Christian Western society but in China, Africa, Indonesia and even in the Middle East it is quite different.
- Hundreds of millions of people are embracing this truth of God.
- People are discovering Jesus is God’s only answer to our problems.
In the philosophical movement we call The Enlightenment, French, German and some British intellectuals taught us to believe in reason, to believe in human goodness, to believe in science, to believe in progress.
What was the immediate result of this movement? The savage butchery of the French Revolution.
Modern humanism has led us down a blind alley to post-modern chaos. Post-modern thinkers no longer believe we can know ultimate truth. They teach that all human beliefs in truth are subjective and incomplete at best. My truth is a good as your truth.
- The word TRUTH itself has become as devalued as our inflated currencies.
- Words like FAMILY, JUSTICE, MARRIAGE or GOD can mean almost anything you want them to mean.
Most people respect Jesus as a man and as a teacher, even if most people have not seriously read and considered what He actually did and said.
Matthew 7:24-27 (ESV) “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
- And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.
And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.
- And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6 (ESV)
CHRISTIANITY IS A PERSONAL TRANSACTION BETWEEN YOU AND THE GOD WHO LOVES YOU.
Ephesians 2:8 (TLB) Because of his kindness, you have been saved through trusting Christ. And even trusting is not of yourselves; it too is a gift from God.
- You may belong to a family or a church but your FIRST priority is to know and love HIM, the God who loves you.
The second priority is to discover who HE created YOU to be and to find fulfilment in DOING what He designed you to do.
For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. Ephesians 2:10 (NLT)
For many people, involvement in church activities is the main thing in Christianity.
- Some church leaders help people to discover their callings and release them into a life of spiritual adventure.
- Sadly there are others seem to think the purpose of most Christians is to help build church organisations of which they are the leaders.
Bless others by discovering who you are. Find out who you are created to be and what your Creator designed you to do.
- Some Christians are especially gifted and called to build up other believers in their local congregation.
- Others have a special calling to build up believers in their workplace, on the Internet, in their extended family or in their city.
- Others have special gifts to win unbelievers to faith in Jesus Christ.
- Others have gifts to change the thinking and work practices in workplaces, companies or even whole industries.
- Some have gifts in politics, media, science, or intercession. They have God given gifts which can prevent wars or win wars, change nations or redirect civilizations.
It is so important to know where you are primarily called to serve.
- John Wimber had an apostolic gifting to plant and lead a major spiritual movement. He was also an amazingly gifted personal evangelist. Thousands came to faith in Jesus Christ through contact with him.
- When he was converted to Christ, he was working as a manager of popular singers and entertainers. He was a genuine Christian convert and committed himself to attending a weekly prayer meeting in the church where he was a member.
- Then he was offered the job of managing The Beatles on a tour of the USA. He turned it down because he felt obliged to attend weekly meetings in his local church.
What if he had managed The Beatles and God had used him to win them to Christ?
How many millions could have been influenced for Jesus instead of being seduced by drugs, Hindu mysticism and empty youth culture?
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet was without sin. Hebrews 4:15 (NIV)
We have a wonderful High Priest. He cares for you so much. He thinks about you all the time.
- All his thoughts towards you are kind and loving.
Your sins cannot stop Him loving you. When He died a terrible death on the cross, He paid the full penalty for all of your sins.
- He offers you a complete pardon.
There was a man in the USA who was sentenced to death for armed robbery. The President offered him a full pardon but he refused to accept it. The case went to the Supreme Court and the decision was terrible.
- The prisoner refused the pardon and he was executed.
To receive a pardon required admission of guilt.
- We are personally responsible for our sins, for our selfishness, for our lapses into dishonesty, for our anger and the way we hurt other people. We are personally responsible for the bad choices we make in life and the way our choices affect other people.
It is not so difficult to understand this but there is one great sin that we may not be aware of.
- There is a God who made us.
He made you and His deepest desire is to love you and for you to know and love Him in return.
- When we live as if He does not exist, it breaks His heart. He wants to have you back, to love and care for you as His own son or daughter.
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. John 3:16-17 (NKJV)
We know that our choices affect our destiny.
The Buddhists and Hindus believe in Karma. What goes around, comes around.
The Bible teaches the same thing. You reap what you sow.
Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. Galatians 6:7 (NKJV)
God saw the whole human race digging terrible graves for themselves.
- He saw them turning their backs on the only source of goodness and love, condemning themselves to frustration and disappointment in this life and everlasting sadness in the next life.
God also saw people trying to find their way back to Him by trying to be good, by being religious, by fasting and going on pilgrimages, by meditation in search of peace, by worshipping many gods.
God is real and He is who He is. There is only one God and He is the one and only Father of Jesus Christ.
- He has provided one way back to Himself. He offers you the only key that will unlock the door to Heaven. If you try using other keys, they will not work.
Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. John 14:6 (NKJV)
- ... "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.
And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?" John 11:25-26 (NKJV)
If you keep turning your back on God, there will come a time when God will let you reap what you have sown, eternity without love, without comfort, without peace and without goodness.
All good things come from Him.
- Right now you have the opportunity to recognise and accept the love of God.
He wants to give you a new life, a new start, a full pardon, an eternity of blessing and goodness in loving friendship with Himself.
Are you waiting for God to show Himself? He is waiting for you to come to Him.
- If you are confused or uncertain about God, ask Him to help you. He loves you and He wants to help you to find Him.
What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church. 1 Corinthians 14:26 (NIV)
Paul describes the ideal church meeting. It is interactive. Each believer contributes some inspired words using various gifts of the Holy Spirit.
- Why is this so completely different from our church services today? Even churches that call themselves Pentecostal are totally different. So who is wrong, Paul or ourselves?
But aren’t we biblically correct?
Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said. 1 Corinthians 14:29 (NIV)
In many Pentecostal meetings you will hear two or three prophetic messages.
But if there are 50 or 1000 people in a meeting, how can “everyone” have a word to contribute?
Part of the answer is that the churches in the New Testament met in private houses. The typical meeting was a house church meeting where everyone could in fact contribute. Obviously these meetings were much more informal and interactive than most of our meetings.
- But shouldn’t there be some order?
Paul wrote:
Let all things be done decently and in order. 1 Corinthians 14:40 (NKJV)
Most modern churches are strictly controlled and nobody speaks out without the direct permission of a pastor or elder.
Paul said everything should be done in order.
The first part of this text is: “Let everything be done...”
- The Holy Spirit wants everyone to contribute, for everyone to pray for the sick.
A conservative Pentecostal lady visited our rather free Spirit filled meeting. Afterwards she said to our pastor: “Do you mean you let just anyone and everyone pray for the sick?”
“Why not?” he said,”Doesn’t it say in the Bible, that believers should heal the sick?”
“But what if they make mistakes?”
“Of course they will make mistakes but we pray before the meeting that the Holy Spirit will be in control and He will do His work. Don’t you trust God?”
If the gifts of the Holy Spirit are only exercised by pastors and leaders, the rest of the believers will remain passive and never reach their potential in God.
Nearly 50 years ago Jesus started baptising Anglicans, Catholics, Methodists, Baptists, Presbyterians and Lutherans with His Holy Spirit.
- Ordinary believers began enthusiastically praying in tongues, prophesying and healing the sick. This was called the Charismatic Movement.
Then some ordained preachers became alarmed that immature and untrained believers were out of control. They started to teach that we all need a “covering.” That meant that everything and everybody must be directly controlled by ordained preachers.
The word COVERING is used in the Bible to talk about the COVERING of our sin by the blood of sacrifice animals. It is used to speak of how our sin is now COVERED by the blood of Jesus and the righteousness of Christ.
A husband is the COVERING of his wife, which means he protects her.
The word and the concept of COVERING is NEVER used to refer to the control of believers by pastors. It is a doctrine of men which nullifies the power of the word of God.
But don't we need leaders? Of course we do. Paul himself was an ordained apostle. But ordained pastors are given by God to release people into spiritual gifting, not to control everything and everybody.
My pastor says: "It is more difficult to lead free people than to control people but he would not have it any other way." Freedom is an essential characteristic of New Testament Christianity.
The fresh, God-inspired enthusiasm of the Charismatics was replaced by over organised Pentecostal churches where fewer and fewer believers actually said or did anything. The spiritual liberation of ordinary believers was replaced by the exaltation of “anointed ministries.”
Now the Holy Spirit is saying once more what He was saying in the 1960s. “Let my people go!”
