1 HEADLINES: ISIS AT THE DOOR EPHESIANS 6:10-18 JUNE 7, 2015 Whether you watch the news on TV, read the newspaper, or get your news online, you ve heard of ISIS, which stands for Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. They re best known for beheading groups of Christians and burning to death a caged Jordanian pilot, all on video. They are the violent group that has seized 1/2 of the territory of Iraq and 1/3 of the territory in Syria, and now have affiliated groups in several other countries in the region, and have inspired others to do violence right here in the U.S. Their goal is to established a caliphate, a Muslim theocratic state, ruled by their caliph, Abu Bakr al-baghdadi. But ISIS is just the latest and greatest manifestation of what has been called Islamic extremism. There are plenty of other groups whose names we ve learned in recent years. There is Hamas, Hezbollah, al Qaeda and their affiliates, Houthis, Al Shabaab, Boko Haram, and more. It s quite a stew brewing these days. We are told they are extremists, radicals, and hijackers of a religion of peace. I m going to offer you some of the teachings of their Scripture, the Quran, and let you decide what to call them. There s a lot of disturbing material in the Quran, but I m going to focus on the passages relevant to the violence we re seeing in the news today. First, some historical background for Islam and the Quran. Living in the Arabian peninsula, Mohammad started receiving his revelations in 610 AD., and continued to deliver them for the next 22 years. His primary message was there is only one God, Allah, and Mohammad is his prophet, so all definitions of right and wrong were determined by Allah and spoken through Mohammad. Early in his prophetic career, when outnumbered by polytheists who were not thrilled with his message, the prophet Mohammad delivered the words of Allah that, There is no compulsion in religion. (2:256) When trying to convince Jews and Christians to join him, he called them People of the Book. He said that Adam, Noah, Moses, Abraham, Jesus, and other biblical figures were actually prophets of Allah, and that the earliest Jews and later the earliest Christians had received Allah s words. But through the ages religious leaders had altered those words, and what was now found in the Old and New Testaments was so corrupt as to be useless and even dangerous. But Mohammad would correct that by bringing the pure words of Allah. The message was not well received. The polytheists of Mecca harassed and threatened him for denouncing their polytheism. Mohammad was illiterate,
so he learned Old Testament stories from story tellers, and could not read them for himself. In retelling them he messed them up terribly, and the Jews mocked him for it. And Mohammad s revelations began to change in flavor, turning toward revelations about violent jihad against nonbelievers. For instance, I shall cast terror into the hearts of the infidels. Strike off their heads, maim them in every limb! Thus We punish them because they defied Allah and His apostle. He that defies Allah and His apostle shall be sternly punished Believers, when you encounter armies of the infidels do not turn your backs to them in flight. If anyone on that day turns his back to them, except it be for tactical reasons, or to join another band, he shall incur the wrath of Allah and Hell shall be his home: an evil fate. (8:12-16) And there is the famous Sword Verse of chapter 9, Slay the infidels wherever ye find them, and take them (captive), and besiege them, and prepare for them each ambush. (9:5) And who are these idolaters and infidels who are to be slain? A few verses later in the same chapter we read this: Fight against such of those to whom the Scriptures were given as believe neither in Allah nor the Last Day, who do not forbid what Allah and His apostles have forbidden, and do not embrace the true faith, until they pay tribute out of hand and are utterly subdued The Jews say Ezra is the son of Allah, while the Christians say the Messiah is the son of Allah. Such are their assertions, by which they imitate the infidels of old. Allah confound them! (9:29-34) Jews and Christians, idolaters and infidels. We have a target painted on our backs by Mohammad. And Jews even more so, as several of Mohammad s revelations label them as monkeys and pigs. The Quran is littered with such passages. And they have no historical context in the Quran itself. Oh, in the Old Testament we have stories of wars and entire cities being wiped out. But those are always specific to one place and time. But in the Quran there is no storyline. The commands to violent jihad are free standing commands that some Muslims read as the words and will of Allah for all times and places. So ISIS and the others are doing what Mohammad taught. And, actually, they are following Mohammad s own life example. The hadiths, authoritative traditions of Mohammad s life and teaching, tell us he led his men into numerous battles against non-muslims, enslaved the widows of dead combatants, 2
3 and presided over the beheading of hundreds of captured enemy combatants. So I do not call them extremists or radicals. I call them fundamentalists. Now, I ve got to emphasize that many Muslims don t believe this way. Many Muslims participate in the various rituals of their religion and even learn to recite large portions of the Quran by memory. But it is always in Arabic, because that s the language spoken by Allah. And since they do not speak Arabic, they do not know the meaning of the words they recite. They are discouraged from reading translations. So they do not know most of the content of the Quran. That could be as many as half of all the people who call themselves Muslim. It makes me wonder how many people who call themselves Christian have little or no idea what is the content of the Bible. The best estimates by experts suggest that perhaps 30-35% of Muslims worldwide are supportive of the terrorists and jihadists. No more than 15% of Muslims are actively involved in that activity. The numbers vary from country to country, but the overall rate is about 15% of Muslims. But 15% of 1.3 BILLION Muslims is a lot of people to worry about! So governments have ramped up all sorts of activities to try to keep their populations safe. Intelligence is heightened, trying to keep an eye on communications with people known to be active in jihadist activities. Law enforcement personnel, from local police to area sheriffs to the FBI, are being trained in this field. And, of course, our military forces are engaging throughout the Middle East, northern Africa, and Central Asia. But we have a role to play, as well. The challenge for us is to approach this, not just out of fear or anger, but as followers of Jesus. First, as believers, we need to know what fundamentalist Muslims believe and how that guides and motivates so much of what we see going on today. We need a basic understanding of their religious ideology. There are a couple of good books in the church library, and I ve got lecture series audios on the church web page. Make sure of the resources available to you. Second, we must remember Muslims are, first and foremost, human beings created by God, created in the image of God, but marred by sin. just like us. That means we are called to I know this may sound crazy, but it is the words of Jesus himself We are called to Love your enemy and pray for those who persecute you. (Mt.5:44) Believe me, I ve argued with Jesus over that one a bunch. But so far I ve not been able to change his mind. So I ve just got to tell you what he says. Love your enemy and pray for those who persecute you. Our military bases often provide training for military personnel from Muslim nations that are U.S. allies.
These young men are assigned sponsor families who help them adjust to living here. It is a powerful and positive influence when they experience warmth and acceptance. And some of them even hear about Jesus. There are Muslim owned and operated restaurants here in town. A group of Christians decided to frequent one of those restaurants. They show friendliness to the Muslims there, pray over their meals in Jesus name, and tip well. They are showing the Muslim owners, employees, and other patrons that Christians are nice people worth knowing. They are slowly building relationships. We need to live out the love of Christ where they can see it and experience it. That does not, however, mean rolling over and playing dead. We ought to pay close attention to and follow the advice of the apostle Paul when he wrote about engaging in what is called spiritual warfare. Not guns and missiles warfare. Though that does have its proper place in a sinful, fallen world. But as a church, as a community devoted to following Jesus, our particular call is to engage in spiritual warfare. EPHESIANS 6:10-12 The government s intelligence, law enforcement and military capabilities are vitally important in pushing back against the destructive forces loose in the world and providing protection to societies worldwide. But the primary enemy is not flesh and blood. At the foundation of it all, the primary enemy is Satan and his demonic spiritual forces of darkness at work in the world, deluding millions of people with a false, evil religion. And the equipment we need to fight at that level is spiritual armor and weaponry. EPHESIANS 6:13-18 Notice Paul did not say, Put on a piece or two of the armor of God. He said, Put on the FULL armor of God. Paul names truth, righteousness, faith, salvation, which suggests the importance of real spiritual growth taking place in our lives. Are you doing anything to promote your own spiritual growth? Are you reading the Bible, spending regular time in prayer, engaging in relationships that encourage your growth, serving others in the name of Jesus, doing any significant self-examination, confession and repentance? There s nothing more damaging to the gospel than fake or shallow Christians whose lives reflect nothing of Jesus beyond their location on Sunday mornings. And there is no more powerful witness than a life empowered by his Spirit, showing forth his character, and doing his work. This is more important than many people realize, especially if we are to reach our Muslim neighbors for Christ. 4
5 Many Muslims, particularly those who are recent immigrants, assume everything American is Christian. The junk they see on television they think is Christian. The less than desirable things in our culture they think is Christian. So it s up to us, through the way we live, speak and act, to show them the real Jesus. Paul mentioned readiness to go share the gospel, which is sharing the love of Christ with others through words and deeds. Because it s not enough to stay in our holy huddle and think, Us four and no more. It s his command to us, to ALL of us, that we be his witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. (Ac.1:8) And take the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. The one piece of equipment that can be used both defensively and offensively. If you will spend time getting to know the Bible, the Holy Spirit can draw that like a sword, to help you live a Christ-like life, to guard you against temptation and to equip you to share the good news with others. And, of course, prayer. Pray in the Spirit. That is, pray according to the will of God. Pray for the safety and success of our military personnel who are in dangerous places, serving our nation s interests, and defending innocents against those who would harm them. Pray for Christians who face danger from Muslim fundamentalists who would kill them simply for being Christian. Pray that Muslims will come to know Jesus as their Savior and Lord. Pray, Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as in heaven. Pray, pray, pray. Let me tell you what happened to an acquaintance of mine. His name is Daniel Akbari. Daniel was an Iranian Muslim. He was once training to be a sharia lawyer. While in law school, a Bible, in his native tongue of Farsi, was quietly given him by a friend. It was dangerous to have such a thing, so he kept it hidden. He was curious about Jesus, and so he began to read the Gospels. The Quran makes numerous mentions of Jesus as a prophet of Allah. But Daniel wanted to know more. The more he read, the more he was fascinated by this Jesus. The more he read, the more he realized he was more than a man, more than a prophet. The more he read, the more he was struck by Jesus sense of intimacy with God. It seemed that God was not a distant, unapproachable deity like Allah. This God was not watching for opportunities to condemn and crush people, but called to them to himself lovingly.
6 Daniel saw that somehow God was actually present with Jesus and in Jesus, that... Jesus WAS God in the flesh. He became a follower of Jesus, a very risky thing to do in Iran. When it was discovered, he was imprisoned and tortured, all in an effort to get him to abandon his new faith. Somehow he escaped, and eventually made his way to the United States. Now he writes and speaks to tell others the truth about fundamentalist Islam, the Quran, and sharia law. And he calls on everyone to pray, to pray that Muslim men and women will come to know Jesus as their savior and Lord. All to say Spiritual warfare, through the Bible, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, reached him and won him over. And in the long haul, that is the only thing that will finally win this war. Because it is, at its foundation, spiritual warfare. Scriptures cited: Matthew 5:44; Ephesian 6:10-18; Acts 1:8