April 19, 2009
WALID’S STORY
Mark 16
Mk 16:1 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary
the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint
Jesus’ body.
Mk 16:2 Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were
on their way to the tomb
Mk 16:3 and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance
of the tomb?”
Mk 16:4 But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large,
had been rolled away.
Mk 16:5 As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe
sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.
Mk 16:6 “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene,
who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid
him.
Mk 16:7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into
Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’ ”
Mk 16:8 Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb.
They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.
19After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God. 20Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.
INTRO
Sometimes I think we leave the Easter story too quickly. I, like you, believe Easter changes everything. Life finds new definition and meaning in the resurrection. Celebrating, and reveling in the risen Christ are an appropriate act on more than just Easter Sunday.
Because we believe in the resurrection certain things follow:
[1] JESUS IS NOT A FIGURE IN A BOOK BUT A LIVING PRESENCE.
It is not enough to study about Jesus like he is a great historical figure;
we may begin that way but we must conclude by MEETING HIM! Jesus is not a memory
but a presence. Memories fade and vary with time. Not so with the one who is
called “The Way, the Truth, and the Life.”
[2] A CHRIST-FOLLOWER IS NOT SOMEONE WHO KNOWS ABOUT JESUS BUT
ONE WHO KNOWS JESUS.
There is no bigger difference in the world than these two. The greatest scholar
in the world who knows about Jesus is less than the humblest Christian who knows
Jesus.
The resurrection is not meant to be debated as part of history. It is the hope of redemption as well as the appropriate motivation for life and ministry.
[3] THERE IS AN ENDLESS QUALITY ABOUT THE CHRISTIAN FAITH.
It should never stand still. Our Lord is a living Lord – there are new horizons
and truths to be discovered all the time.
By far the best proof of the resurrection is the existence of the Church – namely the early church – nothing else could have changed discouraged and fearful people into flaming witnesses with joy, courage and a willingness to die.
The church is never left alone to do its work. THE GOSPEL FINISHES WITH THE MESSAGE THAT THE CHRISTIAN LIFE IS LIVED IN THE PRESENCE AND POWER OF HIM WHO WAS CRUCIFIED AND ROSE AGAIN. THE SON OF GOD!
A dead Savior cannot save anybody. And there is evidence of the resurrection in the lives it has changed … both those who saw him face to face and those to follow afterwards.
May I share a story with you? A timely story about the power of the Risen Christ to change lives … Walid’s Story.
Walid's Story
(Taken from http://www.answering-islam.de/Main/Testimonies/walid.html
and edited for length)
Walid was born in Bethlehem, Israel. He was born on one of the holiest days to Islam, the birthday of the Muslim prophet Mohammad.
Walid’s father was a Palestinian Muslim who taught English and Islamic studies. His mother was an American who married his father during his studies in the United States in the year of 1956.
Fearing the impact of the American way of life for their two children they left to live in Israel in 1960 which was called Jordan at that time.
When Walid began school he learned a song that would color his perspective for much of his life. It was titled: "Arabs Our Beloved and Jews Our Dogs."
As he grew up in the Holy Land, he lived through several battles between the Arabs and the Jews including the Six Day War, the PLO resistance, the Jordanian Black September civil war, the bloody wars in Lebanon, and the war of Yom Kippur.
Walids’ father enrolled him in an Anglican-Lutheran school so he could learn English. He and his brother and sister were the only Muslims in the school. Despite all the mocking and racial bigotry Walid stayed there three years and studied the Bible with others in Bible class.
Later, he was transferred to the Government school where I grew in the faith of Islam.
During his youth, he gave himself to Islam and offered his life to 'Jihad' or 'Holy War'.
During school riots at the government school, against what he called “the Israeli occupation”, Walid would prepare speeches, slogans, and write anti-Israeli graffiti in an effort to provoke students to throw rocks at the armed Israeli soldiers. We shouted, "No peace or negotiations with the enemy! Our blood and our souls we sacrifice to Arafat! Our blood and our souls we sacrifice to Palestine!" and "Death to the Zionists!"
He vowed to fight my Jewish enemy believing that I was doing God's will on earth. He remained true to my word.
In Walid’s words,
“The simplest way to describe myself is that I was one of those one would view on CNN throwing rocks and Molotov cocktails in the days of 'The Uprising'. I was one of those who Jews would call a terrorist. The interesting thing is that I was not only terrorizing but I was terrorized by my beliefs which required me to gain enough merit and good deeds to go to heaven. But I never was sure if my good deeds would outweigh my bad deeds in the scale when I would be judged by God. Of course to die fighting the Jews would ease Allah's anger towards my sin and I would then be secured a good spot in heaven.”
Walid’s mother tried to teach him a different idea at home that she called God's plan. She spoke to him about the Bible.
His mother was influenced by an American Missionary couple who she asked secretly to baptize her. When she refused to be baptized in a pond full of green algae, the missionary priest had to plead to the YMCA in Jerusalem to clear the pool of men, and my mother was then baptized.
Many times his mother would take me on trips to museums in Israel and he fell in love with archeology. In his many arguments with her, he would bluntly tell her that the Jews and Christians had corrupted the Bible. She responded by taking him to the Scroll Museum in Jerusalem and showed me the scroll of Isaiah, still intact. There was no one taking pictures of any Biblical errors to prove of any corruption and he could not respond to my mother.
Walid resisted and tormented his mother by calling her an "infidel" and a American Imperialist who claimed that Jesus was the Son of God.
After high school, Walid’s parents sent him to the United States to seek a higher education.
In his words:
With Hitler being my idol, and Mohammed my prophet, I went on with my life with little regard for Jews, Christians, or anyone who was not a Muslim. … I'll be honest, all my life, I was terrified every time I read the Koran, as, after every other verse, there was always threats of hell fire for this sin and that. All I wanted was to reach out to my Maker to say I am sorry, forgive me, give me another chance. … I always wondered about my destiny. Lost in my fears and doubts, I really hated the idea of killing for my salvation and, in reality; I never had the heart to kill a rat! How then could I kill a Jew!
Sometime in 1992, I read a book about Biblical prophecy. Some of the things explained in this book had many detailed prophecies about Jesus: his birth, life, death and resurrection. Many of these prophecies came to pass just as God put them down in the Bible! What also amazed me was to find out that the chances for a man to predict hundreds of historic events written hundreds and thousands of years before their occurrences are one in zillions. What is more fascinating is that the margin of error had to be zero. This kind of evidence had to come from a divine origin that origin had to be God Almighty.
The struggle began. I was puzzled.
I had to read the Bible to know who Jesus really was, to find out for myself. God finally led me to get to the bottom line as I started reading what Jesus said:
"I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, who was and is to come, the Almighty." Revelation 1:8Christ or Mohammed had to be the Redeemer and Intercessor for mankind. The Bible or the Koran had to be correct. One of them was pure gold and the other had to be a fake, but which one...?
Vowing to make a decision for "The Truth", I stayed up late many nights comparing many details between the Koran and the Bible. At some point during my study, I prayed saying: "GOD, you are the Creator of heaven and earth, the God of Abraham, Moses, and Jacob, you are the beginning and the end, you are 'The Truth', 'the only Truth', the Maker of the true Scripture, the one and only word of God. I suffer to find your truth, I want to do your will in my life, I long for your love and in the name of 'The Truth' I ask. AMEN!!!"
I wanted real gold and would not settle for an imitation. I had to scratch very hard to look beyond the surface of the world's plastic religions.
The Lord began to show me the satanic influences which affected my way of thinking. Regardless of my Islamic background, I used to think these influences were from God.
I was led to a new view of the world and the meaning of life and saw the need for salvation. Today, we all can see man's goal for a world government waiting for the Devil to be the king!I also learned that Jesus, the man from my hometown, was a Jew and that even my hometown was Jewish
Yet, He died for my sin. I had never heard of an enemy who died for another enemy and loved him so much that he allowed Himself to be beaten, spat on, mocked and finally crucified. Would your enemy die for you? Yet He said:
"Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you." -- Matthew 5:44.
The Truth was in front of my very eyes, knocking constantly on my heart, and wanting to come in. I called on The Truth and He answered, I was blind and sought the truth, and now I see. He knocked on my door and I opened, and now had set me free! Christ said: "I am The Way, The Truth and The Life, no one comes to the Father except through Me." -- John 14:6
My way of thinking, my feelings, and my goals in life began to change.
Knowing the truth transferred my way of thinking from believing in Hitler to believing in Christ, from believing lies to knowing the truth, from being spiritually sick to being healed, from living in darkness to seeing the light, from being damned to being saved, from doubt to faith, from hate to love, and from evil works to God's grace through Christ.
I accepted Jesus the Messiah who died for all of our sins as my Lord and Savior; to Him I submit.
Thank you, Lord Jesus, for fulfilling your promise.
CONCLUSION
A dead Savior cannot save anybody. But a living Christ can break down barriers as strong as hate and brainwashed indoctrination.
A dead Savior cannot save anybody. But a living Christ can break down barriers as strong as any hate.
And with this we come full circle in the book. We are back where Mark 1:1 begins because it is the resurrection of Jesus Christ that created "the Good News about Jesus Christ, the Son of God." (1:1).
And you and I, living on this side of Easter, can take seriously the power of God to not only change us … but the whole world!
GO, TODAY, IN THE POWER OF CHRIST SPIRIT AND WITH THE NEWS OF THE RESURRECTION
ON YOUR LIPS!
This Sermon is provided by Dr. Kenneth Pell
Potsdam Church of the Nazarene
Potsdam, New York
www.potsdam-naz.org