Girls Gone Bible - From Allah to Jesus (Muslim Conversion w/ Dr Faisal Malick) | Girls Gone Bible

Episode Date: January 12, 2024

Get a 30-day free trial at https://www.shipstation.com/ggb. Thanks to ShipStation for sponsoring the show!  sweet sweet GGB family. we are so happy to see you ♡ join us as our good friend Dr. Fai...sal leads us through his emotional and intense testimony of converting from Islam to Christianity. he describes in detail his supernatural and miraculous encounter with Jesus that changed the course of his life forever. he gives insight on the religion of Islam, muslim culture, and the fall-out of coming out as a Christian in a muslim family. we hope this conversation encourages and blesses you. we pray you receive this message with an open heart. who the Son sets free is free indeed. thank you Jesus. https://www.faisalmalick.com https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFuUepoG_VygiLD_2tbf8fA?app=desktop www.instagram.com/faisalmalick www.facebook.com/FaisalMalickOfficial (Dr. Faisal Malick is a best-selling author, keynote speaker, pastor, educator, podcast creator, and accomplished entrepreneur.) we love you so much. Jesus loves you more. -Ang & Ari if you’d like to support Girls Gone Bible 🙏🏻🕊️🤍 Paypal- https://www.paypal.me/girlsgonebibleinfo Venmo- https://www.venmo.com/u/girlsgonebible

Transcript
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Starting point is 00:00:00 In Jesus' name. Amen. Beautiful. Ooh. Okay. Hi, guys. Hello. My name is Angela.
Starting point is 00:00:12 I'm Ari. And this is Girls Gone Bible. This is a faith-based podcast where we talk all things Jesus, the Bible, spirituality, mental health, anything to do with life. And we just want you to know, whether you're a Christian or not, no matter who you are, where you come from, you are welcome here, and we want you to stay. It's a safe place. We love you guys.
Starting point is 00:00:31 So we have something really exciting happening today. One of our really good friends, his name is Dr. Faisal Malik. Yay! Hi, Dr. Faisal. Family, you guys. Yes, family. I'm so excited to be here with you, too. It's amazing to see what God's doing with you around the world.
Starting point is 00:00:48 We love you so much. So a little back story. We know Fasso because, as you guys know, we did that conference in Vancouver, the Relationship by Design, God's Plan for Your Love Life at CLM Church in Vancouver. And Dr. Fasso, we didn't know him or we had met in L.A. You and your niece, Haya, came out to LA and we went out to lunch together. And within, tell me, you guys know about these divine encounters that God puts together. We meet, we had no idea who they were. They didn't know us.
Starting point is 00:01:17 It was our first time meeting. We sit down and there's just tears. We're telling testimonies. We're telling stories. We're all sharing how we all came to Jesus. And me and Ari are bawling our eyes out at Faisal's story and his testimony. It's one of the most beautiful things I've ever heard. So we have the pleasure, the honor of having you on Girls Gone Bible today. And I believe that the conversation we're going to have is truly going to set people free. And it's really important what we're going to talk about. I wanted to really quickly just give a little background. So Dr. Faisal Malik, you are a bestselling author, keynote speaker, pastor, educator, podcast creator, and accomplished entrepreneur. Faisal was born in Pakistan. You are a former devout, sunny Muslim. Like all Muslims,
Starting point is 00:02:02 you believe that Jesus was no more than a prophet, that he was only second to Muhammad until a divinely granted experience with God, until you had a divinely granted experience with God at a business convention that drastically shifted your life from Islam to Christianity. Wow. Absolutely. Yeah. I mean, that's a mouthful, isn't it? But it's so important. I did also want to say, so a lot of our viewers might not know this, but I actually have some Muslim roots. My dad's mom is Greek Orthodox Catholic, and my dad's dad is Muslim. Now, none of them ever practiced, so I have Muslim lineage in my family. And I believe
Starting point is 00:02:46 that that's why I have, I really have a heart. I have an inclination towards conversion. I really have a heart for conversion. And so when you started telling me your story about how you were Muslim and you found Jesus, and it's this really incredible testimony, it spoke to me so much that I asked you, like, can I come to your conversion conference? Like, it just incredible testimony, it spoke to me so much that I asked you, like, can I come to your conversion conference? Like, it just, it means a lot to me. And I think that could have something to do with it. Absolutely.
Starting point is 00:03:13 Yeah. And I remember when we were sitting down over lunch, it really touched both of you. Yeah. And sometimes we don't realize that our destiny is connected to our heritage. Like God's a premeditated God. Yeah. And he knew where we'd be born. He knows the geography of our life,
Starting point is 00:03:26 the family we come from, but he still is working out his plan. So he's put something in your hearts. And really there's 2 billion Muslims around the world today. From a population point of view, that's a huge demographic of people. And so God loves the Muslim people.
Starting point is 00:03:41 God loves the Jewish people. God loves people that are followers of Jesus. He loves everyone because God is love. And so when we look at things from that lens and perspective in the current structure of our world today, that helps us to see, you know, what God's all about. And so, yeah, I'm just grateful to God that I actually get to know Jesus. Yeah, let's get into it. I just, I want to start with,
Starting point is 00:04:05 please just start from the beginning. Tell us your background. For me, I think about it as a Muslim, I grew up with a totally different concept of culture. And I was born in Pakistan. And I remember I would come home from school, and I'd study the Quran for three to four hours at the special school. And the purpose was to understand the Quran, study it, recite it. You pray as well, several times a day, five times a day as Muslims. I was a Sunni Quran, study it, recite it. You pray as well several times a day, five times a day as Muslims. I was a Sunni Muslim, which is representing 85% of Muslims in the world are Sunni Muslims. And so that was the intention. And then I came to, you know, Canada and the United States really when I was 17 years old. And the purpose was I wanted to make my
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Starting point is 00:06:50 and family and sisters and so forth, that kind of thing. Come here to do something great with my life and get involved in business. And in that process, some of the business people I knew, some of the associates happened to be Christians. Now this started, you know, debates. We're arguing, we're debating. And I'm basically telling them, hey, listen, the Bible has been changed. It's inaccurate. And you're deceived as a Christian, because that's what I believe. And that's what Muslims believe all around the world. The Bible's been changed. And so here I'm having these debates with them. And you can imagine them as Christians, they were somewhat kind. And they're trying to understand where I'm getting this from. And I tell them, listen, Allah is the one true God. And Muhammad is his only messenger, final messenger. And the Quran
Starting point is 00:07:34 is the final book that came from God. The other three books that, by the way, formed the Bible today were all changed. And so I'm telling them about the Quran. We're arguing and having debates. And that's kind of how it all started for me. And obviously I was a bit intense. I would say they were a little bit more peaceful than me. They were more kind. But I was intense. That's just my personality. And so one of these guys said to me, hey, listen, why don't you come to church with me? I said, I don't go to church. I'm a Muslim. I'm not going to go to your church. And he looked at me and he said, okay.
Starting point is 00:08:04 Then he said, hey, listen, why don't you come to a business convention that's taking place in the States? I was living in Canada at this time. And he said, there's going to be successful people there talking about how to become successful in life. And if you want to be successful, learn from somebody who already is. I said, yeah, that makes sense. So I go to this business convention here in the States, 20,000 people in the audience. makes sense. So I go to this business convention here in the States, 20,000 people in the audience. And on the Saturday night, they tell me, hey, listen, on the Sunday morning, there's going to be an interruption to this convention. And there's going to be a non-denominational Christian
Starting point is 00:08:34 service. Now, I didn't know what that was, obviously. But they said, listen, we'll give you a front row seat. And you can keep the seat after this service for the remainder of the business convention. So I thought to myself, that's a great idea. And I thought, how bad, you know, could it really be? Because it's not a priest that's going to be speaking or a pastor. I'm not even sure if I knew what a pastor was back then, but it's just a businessman that's going to be talking. So I thought, we're not in a church building, which doesn't look like a church. It's just kind of doing something. I'll take my seat. So I show up the're not in a church building. This doesn't look like a church. It's just kind of doing something. I'll take my seat.
Starting point is 00:09:07 So I show up the next morning. And from the night before, they cleared up the first 30 to 40 rows in front of the stage. So I was a little concerned. And I walked over to somebody and I said, hey, listen, why don't you put more chairs out? Because I want to sit closer to the stage, to the front. And they said, oh, no, sir, we can't do that. I said, well, why not? There's all this empty space. They said, no, sir, something is going to happen front. And they said, oh, no, sir, we can't do that. I said, well, why not? There's all this empty space. They said, no, sir, something is going to happen here. I'm thinking, well, what's
Starting point is 00:09:30 going to happen? I asked. And I said, don't worry, sir, just sit down and you're going to find out. Now, obviously, I didn't know what was going to happen, but I kept my eyes on that front area because I was like, OK, whatever is going to happen, I don't want to miss it. And then up walks this businessman. And this guy was a billionaire. He had 31 companies that he owned. And he walks up to the stage. And the first thing he says, Jesus is the son of God. And I'm like, whoa, because as a Muslim, the greatest sin you could commit is to confess Jesus is the son of God. I mean, to the point today that the Dome of the Rock that dominates the skyline of Jerusalem today, it actually says on there that God is not a father and he has no son.
Starting point is 00:10:10 Basically, that Jesus is not the son of God. Yeah. That's how big a deal this is, right? So it's the biggest sin to profess that Jesus is Lord, that he's God. It's like past killing or anything ever. Anything, yeah. Interesting. That's like unforgivable blasphemy.
Starting point is 00:10:24 Wow. Wow. And basically teaching, you know, because the Muslim perspective or my perspective and Muslim's perspective is really simply this, that Jesus is only a prophet. So there's a tremendous respect for Jesus. I always respected Jesus as a prophet, second to Muhammad, you know, the prophet of Islam, but never could comprehend him ever being God or the son of God. That was something that was way beyond us. And that's the greatest sin a Muslim could ever commit is to confess or believe that. And so can you imagine me as a Muslim hearing this guy boldly telling everybody that Jesus is the son of God?
Starting point is 00:10:55 I'm like, wow, what's he doing? And then he says that if you believe on Jesus, you can have eternal life and you can go to heaven. He goes, but if you reject or deny Jesus, you can have eternal life and you can go to heaven. He goes, but if you reject or deny Jesus, you will burn in hell forever. How did that make you feel? I was like, I'm getting more upset now. And I'm thinking, how could this guy be so bold and confident about this? You guaranteed salvation. Because as a Muslim, there's no guarantee for eternal life.
Starting point is 00:11:24 There is no guarantee for salvation. We try to do good works and basically, you know, earn air miles, so to speak, to make it to heaven one day and rely on the mercy of God. And so you can, there's not any point in Islam where you say 100% I'm going to heaven? There is no guarantee. to heaven? There is no guarantee. There is obviously some belief in certain sects of Islam that if you are a person that commits jihad or dies as a martyr for the sake of Islam, you're guaranteed heaven. So that's kind of like the closest thing way to get to heaven in itself. And so, but there really is no guarantee. What is jihad? Jihad is like go to war for or struggle. It means struggle. Or you fight for the sake of Islam to protect the religion
Starting point is 00:12:05 or the faith. And if you do that, and that's why that's some of this ideology comes from where you see people that are suicide bombers. That's not all Muslims, of course. Some people take this and, you know, feed it to a group of young people that are disillusioned, you know, so they can move forward an agenda, so to speak. But in the process, for me, I'm hearing this guy talk about Jesus. And then he says this, and this really upset me. He says, he held up the Bible in his right hand and he goes, there's only two books that claim to be the written word of God. He said the Bible is and the other one is not. So now I know he's talking about the Quran. So I'm even more angry now. And so I'm thinking this guy is totally confused
Starting point is 00:12:47 he's misinformed I need to talk to him I need to straighten this guy out and so then he began to give an invitation for people to come to the front now I didn't know what he was doing obviously he was giving what they call an altar call but I still didn't know what that was right
Starting point is 00:13:04 so when he began to give the invitation I thought this was my way to go talk to him. So I got up. I ran to the front. I was like the first guy there. You went to the altar call. I ran. So good. And when I ran to the front, I noticed other people started getting up and running to the front as well.
Starting point is 00:13:19 At first, I thought they're coming to ambush me, right? I'm like, oh, my gosh, they're going to capture me. I don't know what they're going to do. So by the time I get to the stage, there's so many of them. Like imagine 2,000 to 3,000 people trying to fit in this stage open space area. So now I'm literally stuck to the stage. Like I can't go anywhere. I was thinking I better get out of here, but I can't go anywhere.
Starting point is 00:13:38 And I remember looking at this businessman on the stage, and he had tears coming down his eyes looking at all of us. And he asked everyone to repeat this prayer after him. And again, he starts this prayer by saying, I believe Jesus is the son of God. And I'm like, no way. I ain't saying no prayer like that. This guy's insane. So I said my Kalma, which is the Muslim statement of faith while he's praying, you know, his prayer of salvation, if you will. And then I left there and I finally started to head back to my seat. And a couple of friends came to me and gave me a hug and said, congratulations. I said, what for?
Starting point is 00:14:15 And they said, well, you went to the front and you became a Christian. And I said, are you crazy? Don't you ever call me a Christian. I'm a Muslim. I said, the earth can shake, the mountains can move, but there's nothing on this planet that can make me confess that Jesus is the son of God. And they looked at me a little puzzled, like, oh, who's this guy? You know, what's happened to him? But that's kind of where I was. I didn't know what they were doing.
Starting point is 00:14:41 Then fast forward, I end up hanging out with business people again, come back to another convention. Again, they give me a front row seat. Jesus is chasing after you. Something's happening, right? And they give me a front row seat. Again, this businessman gets up and he says, Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through him. And he was so confident about it. And he would say things like, you're created in the image of God. And that if you put your trust in Jesus, you'll have eternal life. And he's talking about this. And then he gives this
Starting point is 00:15:15 invitation again. So I thought, again, this guy's still messed up. I'm going to go talk to him again. So I got up and ran to the front. Again, people started getting up. And that's when I realized when all these people came, I said, aha, they're using their business platform to represent Jesus to people and give them the opportunity to become followers of Jesus. I said, well, if they can do that for Christianity, I can do that for Islam. And I can help these deceived Christians that have changed the Bible, that are misinformed to follow Islam, believe in Allah, and believe in the Quran. And I can do the same through business and so forth. So I made that decision at that altar. I left. And now I'm familiarizing myself with the terminology of Christians. I kind of think I know what they mean, you know, when they say things about God and they're children of God and so forth. And I'm like, okay, I learned in business,
Starting point is 00:16:03 if you want to be successful, learn from somebody who already is. Well, these people are getting 2,000 to 3,000 people to follow Jesus at a time. Obviously, they're getting some success. I don't know how they're doing it, but they're doing something. You know, let me figure out what they're doing. So now I come back to another convention. It's almost a year now this is going on over a course of a year. Can I ask just one question? So throughout this year, and like, obviously God is pursuing you
Starting point is 00:16:30 and he's knocking on the door and he's trying to, he's coming after you. Did you feel any stirring in your heart? Was there any, would you open, had your mind opened at all to the idea of Jesus or were you still hardened? No, I was hardened. The only thing was though, I would hear the word of God, not knowing it's the word. So for example, someone would make a statement like, you know, walk by faith and not by sight. And I'd be like, wow, that's scripture for you? No, not that specific one, but in general. That's the scripture for me also. Yes. Yes. I can't believe that. Yeah. And it was that little, those little words that just hit home for me also. Yes. Yes. I can't believe that. Yeah. And it was that little, those little words that just hit home for me. Right. It's amazing how when we hear the word in a non-religious fashion, authentic way, it really touches our hearts because it goes into your heart. It's
Starting point is 00:17:18 light. It brings light to your heart. Right. And so I would hear things like that. And on some Christians faces, I noticed there was a certain peace about them. I could tell. I have goosebumps. And I wasn't on all of them for some reason. Yeah. But on certain ones, there was a peace on them. And I could tell.
Starting point is 00:17:36 I was like, oh, there's interesting peace about them. So I did notice that as a Muslim about them. But, you know, it wasn't something that was going to make me believe in Jesus, right? But those are things I observed. Can I ask you something? Sure. Did you have a piece in your heart when you would read the Quran? Well, as a Muslim, you know, you understand as part of who we are, we have a conscience. So anytime we try to do a God thing, because we were taught since I was a child, like when I was born, my uncle prayed the call to prayer, which is called the azan, into my ear. We do that for all the children. So right from a child, I was programmed with the
Starting point is 00:18:09 Quran. I was programmed with hearing the call to prayer. I was in a country where I heard the call to prayer five times a day minimum. You're raised in that culture. You're reciting the Quran. There's a poetic side to the Quran. So you kind of recite it in a memory way and you're saying it all day when you pray, that you're studying it several hours a day. So you can only imagine this was already in me from a child. So you're not sitting there aware of this kind of peace. But in a general thing, whenever you did something good or when you pray, you feel good as a human being because you, in your conscience, are doing something to be obedient or follow God. So regardless of what any religion someone follows, there's a sense of a conscience being appeased,
Starting point is 00:18:50 but not the level of peace that you will experience when you get to know Jesus. That's a whole other level of peace because Jesus is the prince of peace, the source of true peace. But yeah, you know, good question. But that's kind of the journey in terms of where I was coming from. But, you know, then I'm at this final convention. Yeah. And again, this man begins to preach and talk about Jesus.
Starting point is 00:19:14 And he says, if you believe on Jesus, he will give you the right to become sons of God, even if you believe upon his name. And so he says that. And then he asks everyone to stand. So 20,000 of us, we stood up. And at this point, I know I don't need to respond because I supposedly figured out what these Christians are doing. And I remember while I was standing there, suddenly the living God showed up. I remember as I stood before him, ladies, the presence of God went right through me, went right around me. And I was overwhelmed with God in his presence. And I'm telling you, my entire existence as a Muslim meant nothing. As a human being was nothing. I mean, everything I
Starting point is 00:19:57 ever was, everything I ever learned, all my life as a Muslim, everything I recited, all the prayers, it was nothing compared to who the living God is. And while I stood in his presence, I had all these questions for him because I couldn't understand why would God come and manifest himself amongst people that are blaspheming him by worshiping Jesus, right? I'm trying to figure this out with a Muslim mind. And all these questions are in me. But all these questions began to like dissipate. The longer I was in his presence, the longer I stood before him, my questions began to get answered. Like the presence of God began to answer my questions. But I had this one burning question. I said, God, what are you doing here? I thought these
Starting point is 00:20:41 are the bad guys, meaning the Christians. And he spoke to me and he said, no, these are my children. And he said it again, no, these are my children. And a third time, as if I didn't hear him the first two times, he says, no, these are my children. But when he said that, I instantly knew that Jesus is the Son of God. In fact, it was as if anything else I ever knew was nothing. The only reality and truth I know is Jesus is the son of God. It happened that very moment. And when I knew that, I said, that's it. I need to walk forward. And I said, Jesus, I believe you were born of a virgin. You died on the cross. You shed your blood for me. You rose
Starting point is 00:21:22 again from the dead the third third day, would you come into my heart? Would you take away this cold, hard, stony heart? And would you give me a heart that I can love the Father just like you? And that was a Sunday at 1245 p.m., I'm telling you. And it was July 3rd. And I'm telling you, my life was literally changed that day. I came back out of that place and I knew something changed inside of me. Oh, man. I'm telling you, that's what happened. I mean, I can't get over that thing.
Starting point is 00:21:49 That is awesome. And then from there, did you just start reading the Bible? And how was that? Well, actually, what happened after that was interesting is my family kind of got word. I was starting a house for them in Ontario. I was living in Ontario at the time, in the Toronto area. And they got word that I was starting a house for them in Ontario. I was living in Ontario at the time in
Starting point is 00:22:05 the Toronto area. And they got word that I was hanging around Christian people. And they thought this guy's going to get messed up. And so- How old were you? I was about 19, 18, 19 years old. Wow, you're a kid. Yeah. And I was just, I was living on my own since I was 17, right? 16, 17, really. And so now I'm, you know, working and trying to do things and business and all kinds of other stuff. But now I come home and the house has been sold from underneath me because they gave power of attorney to someone. Wow.
Starting point is 00:22:34 And I started living in my car. Wow. And it was winter. I remember this. And I would park my car in a hotel parking lot and turn the heat on a little bit. And then when it would get warm, I'd go to sleep. It'd get cold.
Starting point is 00:22:46 I'd wake back up. I'd go shower at the YMCA, go shave at a McDonald's kind of thing. And I was trying to rebuild my life. And at that moment, my friends, Muslims, Sikhs, Hindus, you know, everybody was just making fun of me. And they said, the God of Islam is judging you for turning your back on him. And I said to them, I said, listen, I don't understand all that, but I know this. Whether I live in a car or I live in a mansion,
Starting point is 00:23:09 I know Jesus is the son of God. Because that was the only thing I knew, right? And so not knowing that, how do you overcome the world? By confessing and believing Jesus is the son of God. I obviously didn't know that, but that's the reality. So that's how real this became to me. So yeah, son of God. I obviously didn't know that, but that's the reality. So that's how real this became to me. So yeah, sometimes you go through struggles when you put your trust in Jesus. You girls have gone through the same thing. That's why you have so much empathy. Right? Because it's a big deal, especially as a Muslim when you come to Christ. It's huge. Yeah. I just want to... So can we go back a little bit? So your family, it created a lot of tension in your family. And this is typically because I know that we have a lot of Muslim brothers and sisters that watch us.
Starting point is 00:23:49 We get a lot of messages. And I just, can we talk about the fallout that potentially and usually does happen, especially within a family of the Islam faith, is that, I mean, people get disowned. Right. And so what exactly happened with you and your family? I mean, people get disowned. Right. And so what exactly happened with you and your family? In my case is that I knew I needed to tell my family, but I didn't want to tell them over the phone, right, kind of thing.
Starting point is 00:24:13 I wanted to be before them. So finally, after a few years after coming to know Jesus, the time came. Yeah, it wasn't right away. Years, wow. Because they were in Pakistan, and I was in Canada. Yeah. And out of respect, I wanted to at least see them face to face. Yeah. And so finally, I sensed a peace from God that I can go to Pakistan and I went back.
Starting point is 00:24:29 So I was with my family one day just hanging out. And they had been told by a relative of mine, once again, he's still hanging out with Christian people. They were spying on me somehow. And so and he said, when he gets to Pakistan, tear up his passport. Do not let him leave the country. And so I didn't know this at the time. So here I am, you know, on he gets to Pakistan, tear up his passport. Do not let him leave the country. Wow. And so I didn't know this at the time. So here I am, you know, on my way to Pakistan. I get at the airport.
Starting point is 00:24:51 And my stepdad, so my dad died when I was young. So now my stepdad, a great man, is a brilliant attorney. He has a huge law firm with multiple lawyers and never lost a case in his entire firm history. So he's also a criminal lawyer. So he's really good at reading people. So he sees me, you know, at the airport picking me up and he turns to my mom and says, look, our son is nothing like what they're telling you. He looks like a holy man of God.
Starting point is 00:25:15 That's what he says to my mom. So it puts them at ease. Okay, we shouldn't tear his passport off. So here we are at home hanging out after a few days. And my mom and some of my siblings are sitting with me and my mom turns to me and she says, I smell the stench of Christianity from you. That's what she says. And she says, say the Kalma, which is the Muslim statement of faith. I said, I'm sorry, I can't do that. She goes, what do you mean you can't do that?
Starting point is 00:25:45 She goes, then what can't you say? I said, I can say that Jesus is the son of God. He was born of a virgin. He died on the cross. He shed his blood for me. He rose again from the dead. And now he lives on the inside of me through the Holy Spirit. And they looked at me like, what?
Starting point is 00:26:01 They're like, what are you saying? And I told one of my siblings, go grab my Bible from my room. They said, you have a Bible? I said, yes, I do. And I began to answer a lot of their questions. And so they began to see that Jesus is real. But the long and short of it is, my family said this, they said, we love everything that's changed about you except the Jesus part. And I said, well, without Jesus, you have nothing else because he's the only way, and it's all about who he is. And that's really where that thing got left off. And, yeah, so there was tension between me and my family for several years. It was really tough.
Starting point is 00:26:36 I was here. They were over there. But eventually our relationship became very respectful. There was always love and honor, one for another. My family was not to the extreme of wanting to do and honor one for another. Yes, that's beautiful. My family was not to the extreme of wanting to do an honor killing, though they were asked to do that. What is that?
Starting point is 00:26:53 Well, honor killings do occur sometimes, not in all Muslim cultures, but to protect the honor of the family, sometimes the family is considered obligated to, if their children don't repent and turn around, to kill them. And in certain sects of Islam, you'll see that. Not every Muslim believes this, but certain people do. And so this dynamic can also take place. So there's different extremes.
Starting point is 00:27:13 They can disown you. I mean, I was left with nothing in my sense. I was living in a car, as you understand. And the family wasn't, my family had no evil intent. They just were hurting that their son is completely deceived in their mind based on what they believe. And I understand that because I believe like them. And I was a Muslim, and I understand how Muslims feel about what I'm sharing. It's very difficult for them.
Starting point is 00:27:41 But the reality is when you experience Jesus and who God is, that's the only way you can come to the realization of what this truth is all about. And so for me, it was like that. I have a great relationship with my family today. Thank God there's an honorable relationship with them, one with another. We've met each other, of course, several times over the years. But it's not easy not having family around you. For any person that's out there, we all need family. And sometimes when Jesus said that I didn't just come to bring peace at home, I came to bring a sword between mother and brothers and fathers and sisters and in-laws and outlaws. Basically, he says, I'm going to cause conflict. When you put your trust in Jesus, some family members are not going to be happy about it. And he says,
Starting point is 00:28:17 sometimes your enemies will be members of your own household, he said. Sometimes that happens. But when you're raised a little bit, maybe in a sheltered community in the West, you don't know this. But any foreigner that puts their faith in Jesus, whether it's a Jewish person, a Hindu or a Sikh or a Muslim, they may experience these type of dynamics. It can break up the family and it can be very, very difficult. But Jesus said it this way. He said, you know what? If you deny me before men, I will deny you before the Father. And he goes, if you confess me before men, I will deny you before the Father. And he goes, if you confess
Starting point is 00:28:45 me before men, I will confess you. And Jesus made it clearly said, never deny me. Boldly declare who I am and I will be with you. I will never leave you. I will never forsake you. You won't be abandoned, but he will be with you. And you'll recognize how awesome he is as you walk through these challenging situations. And the important thing is to know that Jesus is always with you. And we might go through challenges, and we will most likely. But in the end, Jesus is going to have his way in your life. And we need to realize he's real. That's the difference.
Starting point is 00:29:15 Jesus is real. He's a person. I have a relationship with God. It's real. You have a relationship with God. It's real. And we might be imperfect. We're in a journey of learning, but Jesus is real. And that's what's different about having a relationship with God versus just
Starting point is 00:29:31 following a bunch of rules and things that you may be raised with. But once your eyes open to who Jesus is, you'll never be the same. Your life changes. You know it. It happened to you girls. Go ahead. No, I just, I know how hard conversion is, especially in the Muslim culture, but it's just so worth it. I mean, look how much your life has changed. It's so beautiful. It is amazing. And I'm so grateful I wouldn't change anything I've been through in my life. And, you know, I remember I had this other experience early on.
Starting point is 00:30:04 Like, this is what God will do. When you're going through a rough time, he'll come spend time with you. So I was going through a really rough time. I remember I was living in a car. My friends were making fun of me. I was trying to read the Bible, but I would kind of read it for a little bit and get tired, kind of fall asleep, you know. And so I remember one morning I finally moved out of my car and I moved into what you call a basement of a basement, kind of a, not a legal dwelling. Everybody on the street was smoking something. And, you know, here I was living in this little basement of a basement. And I remember that morning, I woke up
Starting point is 00:30:37 at 730 in the morning, it was a Friday, and the Holy Spirit came into that little place. And I didn't know God would ever come visit. He didn't take one-on-one meetings, so I thought. I only thought he comes in large crowds. So now he came in that room. And I remember that the only way I can explain it to you, I experienced this river and waves like of an ocean, but also like a river that began to move through me,
Starting point is 00:31:03 the tangible presence of God moved through my being. I sensed it. I felt it. I felt it. I experienced it. And I remember the father spoke to me and he said, I love you, son. I love you, son. I love you, son. When he said that, it's like I never heard words like this all my life growing up as a Muslim. And when he said, I love you, I sensed love for the first time in this measure.
Starting point is 00:31:22 I'd never known love. And this happened for three hours. And after three hours, about 1030 in the morning, now I'm like, okay, three things specifically changed for me at that very moment. Number one, I suddenly had more love and a desire for God than I'd ever had in my life. I just leveled up in love. Number two, I had a love for people more than I had before. Just love people more. And number three, I had a love and a hunger for the Word of God.
Starting point is 00:31:50 I wanted to know. Just like you, Angela, when you're asking questions, you're like, you want to know things. I wanted to know. And for 36 hours straight, I could not sleep. I could not eat. And I read the whole Bible in 36 hours. That's supernatural. You can't do that in 36 hours.
Starting point is 00:32:06 And as I read it, I remember I would look at a passage or a paragraph and it would jump off, literally go into my heart and explode. And I have understanding. And the Holy Spirit began to teach me. I didn't even know what was happening. But as this happened to me and the word of God became so real to me, prior to that, I was drowning in life. Circumstances. I'm like taking a breath and I'm like, oh, I'm back in a situation. And then I'm like back in a situation. But now I began to walk on the water, so to speak, in life, you know. I love that. Something changed as a result of that, you know.
Starting point is 00:32:37 And that's what happens when we hang out with Jesus. Yeah. Right? Yeah. And we hang out with Jesus. Yeah. Right. Yeah. And we hang out with them. And you know, and the fruit of that was 1500 people in my life, my realm of circle that I knew business, otherwise friends, associates, approximately 1500 people gave their lives to Jesus over the next three years, not by me going and knocking on anyone's door, but they would just be at a business meeting with me
Starting point is 00:33:01 and they start talking about God and ask me questions. And the presence of God would interrupt our conversation. And lo and behold, they would say, how do I make this Jesus my Lord? And I would take them to my car. We used to call it the save mobile. That's awesome. And then we would pray with them. And I saw God do this kind of thing right off the bat. And just incredible things for Muslims, for Jews, for Hindus, for atheists, for Sikhs,
Starting point is 00:33:24 all kinds of people, all kinds of age brackets, because God loves everyone. He does. I have a million questions. One thing about us in FASL is that every time we're with him, this poor guy has to sit for hours and hours. Me and Ari just bounce back and forth. I love it.
Starting point is 00:33:39 Because when you meet somebody, especially when you're where Ari and I are at in our faith, and it's like somewhat just a few years in, when we meet somebody like you, you are truly one of the most anointed speakers I've ever met in my life. I imagine when they hear it through the camera, that'll be one thing. But to be with you in the flesh is you feel it. There is a say. We've always said this. So whenever Faisal is in Canada, we text him all the time and be like, we miss you because you are safety. A true man of God.
Starting point is 00:34:08 Thank you. That's the grace of God, right? You have the Holy Spirit flowing through you, and we feel so safe just being around you. And you're a well of information, of knowledge. It's never ending. So we have so many questions. Wow. Okay, here we go. I am wondering, so just in terms of your spiritual life when you were a Muslim compared to, I imagine because you're very gifted spiritually,
Starting point is 00:34:31 and I do want you to explain the gifts you believe you have in the spirit and what you tend to operate in throughout the day, and just the difference between your gifts now and when you were a Muslim, if you had any, if you could tap into that then. Well, as a Muslim, I don't remember having any obvious gifts that I could tell. I mean, I do know that I was a creative kid, you know, and, you know, intelligent in a sense. But I wouldn't say that's a gift. I mean, that's a blessing of God, obviously. And I did have a hunger to know God. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:35:02 The only thing I can remember is when I was about six years old sitting on the couch, I was just kind of wondering about God a little bit. And I had this sense that God is a good God. And it was just like a fleeting moment. Yeah. And I didn't have that again. Wow. And so I do remember that, but I wasn't kind of aware of anything spiritually in a sense,
Starting point is 00:35:21 in a gift sense for me as a Muslim. I mean, I was spiritual. I mean, I was doing everything you gift sense for me as a Muslim. I mean, I was spiritual. I mean, I was doing everything you're supposed to do as a Muslim, but there is absolutely, like for me, when I experienced and experienced God, there's no such thing as ever as a Muslim, ever, ever, ever experiencing God like I did. And by the way, I was a Muslim that moment when I encountered God, remember? Yeah, yeah. When he revealed Jesus. And when you encounter the Father, he's the one who reveals Jesus to our hearts. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:35:48 And, you know, there's no way to know God outside of Jesus, right? He says that he's the way, the truth, and the life. There's no name given amongst us, amongst humanity, by which we can know God except Jesus, right? But I didn't know that stuff, obviously, as a Muslim. So no, really, Angela, short answer, that there was a vast difference,
Starting point is 00:36:04 humongous difference between the two experiences for me. Once I became a follower of Jesus, everything changed. And, I mean, we can experience the presence of God every day. That's amazing. And people of other religions can't experience what we experience. They may not, but they can. I mean, remember, God loves all people. In fact, the Muslims, you know,
Starting point is 00:36:27 they find their roots and heritage in Ishmael, right? Yes. Okay, go for it. I'm sorry. Recently, so we read the story of Sarah and Abraham recently, and Abraham had a son, Ishmael, with the maidservant, Hagar. And then Sarah and Abraham had a son together named Isaac. And I learned, and I texted you at two o'clock in the morning, and I said, is this true that the lineage of
Starting point is 00:36:51 Christians are through Isaac and then the lineage of Muslims are through Ishmael? Is that true? Yeah. So it is true. So here's how it really works. So people that follow Jesus are Christians, So here's how it really works. So people that follow Jesus are Christians, are the spiritual children of Abraham and Sarah, right? But the physical descendants of Abraham includes three groups of people. So there's the Jewish people, of course. So you have Abraham, Isaac, and then Jacob. And the 12 sons of Jacob form Israel, the nation of Israel, the Jewish people.
Starting point is 00:37:24 That's where the Jewish people find their roots. But Ishmael, who's Abraham's first son with Hagar, is where he had 12 sons. And the second son's name is Kedar, or was Kedar. And through his lineage, Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, is a direct descendant of Kedar. So that's why Muslims revere Ishmael. And in fact, Muslims believe that Abraham, when he was asked to offer his son, remember, on Mount Moriah, that he offered Ishmael, not Isaac. That's the big difference. And why do they think that? That's what they believe. It was Ishmael that he would be the one that was going to bring this prophet Muhammad. And he's this promised seed, so to speak.
Starting point is 00:38:06 Muhammad and he's this promised seed so to speak and the Jewish people and the Christians believe it was Isaac according to the Torah and the Bible so they know this very clearly and these ancient manuscripts and scriptures predate the Quran you know and so there been there's documented and so it's Isaac that was offered but Muslims believe it happened to be Ishmael so this is where the differences begin. And this is a primary and main difference. So then if we look at the Ishmael, for example, there's something really unique about him in the Bible. And I say it this way, that God talks about his plan for the Muslim people in the Bible. And that freaks people out.
Starting point is 00:38:40 They're like, what, really? Because Ishmael was the first person to be named before birth in the Bible, first ever. And there's only seven people that have ever been named before birth by God. And Ishmael was number one. And of the seven, only four were named by a divinely granted appearance of God himself or an angel of the Lord. And mind you, when God named Ishmael, the angel of the Lord is mentioned for the first time in that process. Wow. So the story goes, as you know, Hagar has Ishmael and Sarah's jealous and she's angry. So now she leaves and she's running away from home. She's like, I can't do this anymore. Then the angel of the Lord meets her and says,
Starting point is 00:39:25 you're pregnant with a child, and I shall make a great nation of him. And his name should be called Ishmael. And you need to go back home to Sarah. And so God tells a lot about him. He says he's going to be at war with everybody around him. There's always going to be conflict surrounding Ishmael's life, but he named him. And you might say, well, why would God name somebody
Starting point is 00:39:45 before they were born? Because God's, when he named somebody or changes a name, it has to do with their destiny, that people group's destiny. Like remember, Abram was called Abram. Then God called him Abraham. Abraham means father of many nations. And today, Abraham is truly the father of many nations. He is next to God the father. He's the next father in heaven that's going to have more children than anybody else on this planet. Because all Christians are the spiritual children of Father Abraham. And so are his descendants, including the Muslims and the Jewish people. And so here you have this dynamic where Ishmael is now growing up at home, okay, and God's named him before he was born, and something's going on with his life. There's a destiny for the Muslim people hidden in the naming of Ishmael.
Starting point is 00:40:36 And that's important to understand, even for Muslims, that there's hope for them. Even in the midst of all this conflict around the world, God made a promise that he would respond to the Muslim people to the point of does God answer prayer, right, of people that don't know Jesus. But he's promised something to Ishmael. And if you look at it this way, in Genesis 21, Ishmael is now about 14 years old, 15 years old, and Isaac has just finished nursing.
Starting point is 00:41:04 He's been born now, the son of Sarah and Abraham. And Ishmael is kind of mocking him, making fun of him a little bit. And that's it. Now Sarah loses it. She says, that's it. Ishmael will not be an heir with my son, Isaac. He's going to receive no inheritance. Goes to Abraham and says, that's it. I want him gone. Abraham says, do what you wish with her and him. And so Abraham prays about this and goes to God and says, God, what do I do? I love my son Ishmael. And God said, hey, listen, your seed and covenant will be established through Isaac, as I've promised you. But I've already blessed Ishmael for your sake. He's going to become a great nation and he's going to be all
Starting point is 00:41:41 right. Let him go. Listen to your wife. He says, okay. So he goes to Ishmael. Imagine this. In me telling this story, I want you to think of the Muslim people, 2 billion Muslim people. And imagine this is their history, that their father, Abraham, who was a prophet of God, a friend of God, who knows God personally, comes to the son and says, hey, son, listen, God told me I need to let you go and you're not going to receive an inheritance from me. Here's a bottle of water. Here's some bread.
Starting point is 00:42:09 Here's your mother. It's time for you to go. And don't worry. God will take care of you. Then Ishmael is left in the wilderness. He's crying. His mother is crying. They're abandoned.
Starting point is 00:42:19 They're rejected. They don't know what's going on. And they're wondering, who am I? Ishmael is going through an identity conflict. Am I the son of Abraham, this prophet, this friend of God? And so if he knows God, whoever this God is, he can't be a father. He'd never tell him to throw out a son. Right? So this is the stuff Ishmael is going through. And the mother's crying, I'm going to lose my son. He's dying. We ran out of food, ran out of water. She goes away from her son, the distance of shooting an arrow, basically. And she's crying
Starting point is 00:42:48 out to God. I don't know what's going to happen. My son's going to die. And Ishmael's weeping. He's got nothing left. They don't know what's going to happen to them. They've been rejected. They've been abandoned, wounded, scarred. And Genesis 21, 17 says something powerful. And God heard the voice of the young boy. He didn't hear the voice of the mother, but for some reason he heard the voice of Ishmael. And the reason God heard the cry and the voice of Ishmael, Ishmael actually means God hears. So when the Muslim people cry out to God, the creator of heaven and earth, he's promised to hear the deepest cry of their hearts. Even if they're not crying to him specifically?
Starting point is 00:43:28 Because there's a cry. It's something deep in them. They don't even know what the cry is. But the cry is for a father. The cry is coming from a place of abandonment, rejection, and fatherlessness. So you have Ishmael and his descendants that have this cry in them. And they can't see their father. Ishmael and his descendants that have this cry in them and they can't see their father. And the next time that Ishmael ever saw his father, Abraham, after being cast out was to bury him.
Starting point is 00:43:51 That's when he saw Isaac and they had a funeral. And that's the last time Ishmael ever had a chance of being loved and accepted and welcomed back by his father, Abraham. And that's the birthplace of Ishmael and his descendants. That's where it comes from. And Ishmael was an archer. He was a warrior. Yeah. And God was with him in the wilderness, by the way. But here's what God did for him. God actually opened the eyes of the mother and said, look, there's a well of water here.
Starting point is 00:44:17 Give it to your son to drink and he shall live. So God opened the eyes of the mother and opened the eyes of Ishmael. And that's how God saved them. And what I'm trying to say is this. Today in the world we live, you might say, how is this even relevant? Well, here's what's relevant. Today, 2 billion Muslim people around the world are in the same position where they're in a spiritual wilderness, hungry and thirsty for love and truth
Starting point is 00:44:41 and an understanding of who a father is. And while they're in that place, God is answering the cry of the Muslim people, the Ishmael heart, so to speak, because he wants to open their eyes and reveal Jesus to them so they can drink of the living water that Jesus actually is,
Starting point is 00:44:58 that can quench their spiritual thirst and give them a true revelation of our Heavenly Father so they can know this love. This is what God is doing, you know, around the world today. I, that is just so beautiful. And I know there's probably so many Muslim people watching this. And do you have any advice of what they can do of how can they, how can they come to Jesus? Do you have any advice for them? The first thing I would say to the Muslim people is they might say, where did Islam come from? Because they believe this, you know, and they were raised with it, you know,
Starting point is 00:45:29 but Islam is 1400 and change years old. But the story I'm telling of Ishmael is 4000 years old. And so when Islam came to the descendants of Ishmael, they embraced Islam because Muhammad said to them that God's not a father and he has no son. So that resonated with them. Oh, yeah, that's right. All you can do is be a servant of God. So that's where it comes in Islam to submit and serve and become a servant. So they identify with that and say, okay, I want to serve God.
Starting point is 00:45:57 That's why they're very zealous to serve God, like I was too. Wow, wow, wow. But that's where this roots back to. That's at least one of the roots where Muslims come from. But to answer your question, Ari, the bottom line is that Jesus is the big question for a Muslim today because they respect Jesus as a prophet, but they may not know that the Koran says that Jesus is the Word of God. No other prophet is called the Word of God.
Starting point is 00:46:21 Jesus is not only the Word of God, it says he was born of a virgin. No other prophet for a Muslim has ever been born of a virgin. It also says that Jesus is not only the word of God, it says he was born of a virgin. No other prophet for a Muslim has ever been born of a virgin. It also says that Jesus is coming back. No one else is coming back according to the Quran. It also says something about Jesus that is unique, that is given a title in the Quran to no other prophet, because Muslims believe that there was 124,000 prophets sent by God. And Jesus is called the Messiah or the Messiah in the Quran, a title that is not given to anyone else, which means the anointed one, which means the Messiah. The Jewish people call him the Messiah. The Hebrew is Messiah, which is we call him the Messiah, the Christ.
Starting point is 00:46:59 And so this is the depiction. Jesus is mentioned more in the Quran than Muhammad is, by the way. So Jesus is a pretty central figure here than Muhammad is, by the way. So Jesus is a pretty central figure here. You know, yeah. You know what I'm saying? So Muslims should be curious. And another thing a Muslim should consider is this.
Starting point is 00:47:18 The Quran says to have equal faith in the books that came before the Quran, as you do in the Quran. Interesting. When those three books are the Torah, the Psalms of David, and the Gospel. So if you look at the prophets and you look at the law of Moses, and you look at the New Testament, they're supposed to believe in that, which is the Bible that you have right in front of you today. They're supposed to have equal faith in this book. But then they say it's been changed. But how could God, who supposedly never changed the Quran, could tell you to have equal faith in something that does not exist for you to have faith in? Because now you're disobedient to your God, because you're have equal faith in something that does not exist for you to have faith in. Because now you're disobedient to your God because you're not putting faith in these books.
Starting point is 00:47:46 So the first thing you should do is read what the books before the Quran actually say. Because God has got a narrative of truth. And he actually preserves his narrative by history. So we have the narrative right here of what the truth is. And so that's kind of a start, I think, for possibly a Muslim. But the most important thing is for a's kind of a start, I think, for possibly a Muslim. But the most important thing is for a Muslim is to this, is to say, Jesus, I want to know who you really are. Are you who these people are saying? Are you who this Bible is saying? Because the Bible keeps
Starting point is 00:48:15 talking about Jesus being God manifest in the flesh. Jesus is the son of God. It said, if you read the first John, the whole chapter, the whole book, count how many times Jesus is called the son of God. Jesus referred to himself as the son of God, referred to himself as God. And when I was a Muslim, we used to say, oh, no, he never says that in the Bible. Not really. I read it. You read it so many times. It's all over the Bible.
Starting point is 00:48:38 And so when you read the Bible, you realize that, you know, Jesus is central. So it's very important to understand if Jesus is coming back. And by the way, as Muslims, they don't believe Jesus died on the cross. Yeah. That he was taken up and replaced is what they believe. But that's not true. We know Jesus actually died on the cross. He was a historical central figure for this. So there's a lot of differences, of course. But the most important thing is whether a Muslim believes in Jesus the way I'm talking about or not, God still loves them as much as he loves me. He loves Muslim people. He loves the Jewish people.
Starting point is 00:49:18 He loves all people. And that's the God we serve. He's the God of love. And that's what God wants to do is reach out with his love and touch Muslim hearts, open their eyes so he can show them who Jesus really is. And I would say to a Muslim, if you're unsure, I'd say, Jesus, I want to know who you really are. Would you reveal yourself to me? If you really are who you say you are and who they're saying you are, who this supposed Bible is saying you are.
Starting point is 00:49:45 I want to know who you are. And if you ask that question, some way or another, God will begin to answer your questions, even the silent questions of your heart that all of us have. Yeah. Wow. For me, I think, like if I was a viewer who hasn't, haven't already had this conversation with you, I would kind of, I want to know the history behind Muhammad, if we could touch on that a little bit. Sure. Just based who he was, when he came, what his purpose was, and kind of what he left the Muslims with.
Starting point is 00:50:19 Well, he actually, he claims that he had an encounter in a cave with an angel. Right. He thought it to be Gabriel. And so he basically started receiving what they call wahi, which is a term for revelation. And so he would get these revelations and which is what later formed the Quran. And so he thought it to be Gabriel, of course. He had a supernatural experience of some kind. I'm so sorry to interrupt you. At this point, Mohammed, what religion is he at this point?
Starting point is 00:50:48 Is Islam a religion yet? No, no, no, not yet. No, Islam has not been founded yet. He's the founder. Got it. He's the one, the original guy. Right. And so he's just, you know, doing his life and, you know, a tribal person living in tribes,
Starting point is 00:51:01 going to regions, conquering people, you know, regions and so forth. And this is a guy that gets interrupted by this experience. Got it. And that's kind of people, you know, regions and so forth. And this is a guy that gets interrupted by this experience. Got it. And that's kind of how, you know, Islam came to be. Got it. And that's kind of the history in the background. And when he went to like places like Saudi Arabia, he did bring some good. For example, they worshiped idols.
Starting point is 00:51:17 So Mecca, the place where Mecca is where Muslims travel to perform pilgrimage or should at least once in their lifetime, is one of the five pillars of Islam. This whole place in this area in Saudi Arabia, they had idols, 361 idols, because around the Middle East, they worshiped all kinds of gods and all kinds of idols. And so when he came, he kind of brought the message of a monotheistic god that you could serve, not polytheism. So he did bring about that kind of understanding a bit. of polytheism. So he did bring about that kind of understanding a bit. And so, you know, if you look across the Middle East and you look at, you know, Islam, it's spread from there, not only from like the descendants of Ishmael, but also through the marriage covenant. So like Ishmael married an Egyptian woman. And, you know, Egypt is a Muslim country today. And then through the spreading of
Starting point is 00:51:59 Islam. So not all Muslims are direct descendants of Ishmael, by the way. Some of them have married into Islam. Some of them have put their faith in Islam over the years through their families and generations and so on. And that's kind of a little bit of the history where that all kind of comes about and comes from. Okay. I could go ahead. I don't know how much time we have, so I'm just being careful how I answer your questions. No, we're good. We can go for another 15 minutes.
Starting point is 00:52:27 Does Muhammad teach that he loves all people? Yeah. Yeah, you know, the teachings of Islam are very different than Jesus. You know, what Jesus teaches is completely different. Jesus teaches us to love our enemies. Jesus is the brightness and the expression of the Father in terms of love, you know. And so Jesus is completely different and that's why when Muslims read the Bible they kind of get, they freak out, they can't believe what's being taught here. And it's just, it's
Starting point is 00:52:54 a totally different concept. There's a lot of good things like, you know, in the Quran, a lot of good truths and so forth, but they've already existed in the Bible, for example, you know, centuries and centuries before. But no, Jesus is the one who reveals and represents love. The concept of love is very difficult to find growing up as a Muslim. Most Muslims will have a hard time understanding God as love. And that's what's different about Jesus. He's all about love. And he is the ultimate expression of God's love to us.
Starting point is 00:53:23 And that's why he sacrificed himself for us. You know? Yeah. So the Muslim culture is more about law. Yes, absolutely. Well said. Yes. Okay.
Starting point is 00:53:33 Rules, regulations, trying to be obedient. And there's a genuine heart to serve God. Like for me, as a Muslim, I was trying to serve God and I was serving God the best I knew how. And I didn't have any ill motive that I know of. Like so many Muslims around the world are like that today. And I didn't have any ill motive that I know of. Like so many Muslims around the world are like that today. And we have this narrative that's unfortunate where we have this narrative about terrorism today and conflict in the world. Now, there are a very small
Starting point is 00:53:55 percentage of Muslims amongst Islam that lean towards terrorism, for example. And that comes from another root actually in Islam. So the root of terrorism doesn't come from Ishmael. It comes from another character by the name of Esau. And if you remember him, he was Jacob's brother. And when Sarah was pregnant, you know, sorry, not Sarah, when Rebecca was pregnant, you know, Isaac's wife was pregnant with Jacob and Esau. wife, was pregnant with Jacob and Esau. So Esau came out first. Jacob came out next, right? So Esau is this guy that when they grow up, he sells his birthright, remember, to Jacob.
Starting point is 00:54:35 You know, Jacob made this beautiful curry. He's a really good cook, I guess. And Esau was tired and exhausted. Remember, he sold his birthright in exchange for this curry. And I mean, I say this way, Jacob's curry house, it was so good, you'll sell your birthright, right? And so this guy sells his birthright in exchange for this curry. And I mean, I say this way, Jacob's curry house, it was so good, you'll sell your birthright. And so this guy sells his birthright. But then later on, Jacob tricks Isaac when he was kind of not able to see so well. And he was about to receive the blessing of his grandfather, Abraham,
Starting point is 00:55:01 which could only be passed on to one seed. It had to be followed. And so Jacob tricks his father and the blessing of Abraham is pronounced upon Jacob. Esau comes home. He's upset. He's angry. He says, father, what have you done? He says, I didn't know. He fooled me. He says, can you give me the blessing? He goes, I can't. I gave it already. He goes, can you give me something? And he prayed for him. And this prayer is recorded in Genesis 27, 40 to 42. and he makes the statement about Esau. He said, you shall live by the sword as part of the prophecy. What's interesting is Esau comes away and he waits and he wants to kill Jacob. He comforts himself and he wants to kill Jacob.
Starting point is 00:55:39 That's how he comforts himself. And this hatred to kill Jacob has been there for 4,000 years. Wow. Now fast forward a little bit. Jacob becomes Israel, the 12 tribes. But this hatred or this spirit of Esau is still relevant in the world today. So Esau's descendants, some of Esau's descendants, not all of them, also embraced Islam. Because Esau married one of Ishmael's daughters. And when they did, they had children, and that lineage continued.
Starting point is 00:56:11 So when Islam came, there were those that were the descendants of Ishmael that embraced Islam, as I explained earlier. But so did those that were the descendants of Isa. And guess what they thought? We shall live by the sword. So when they embraced Islam, they realized that the sword is the means of war and conflict. So this sword that you see of terrorism and beheading and violence and conflict, it comes as a spirit. I'm not saying all descendants of Isa are violent. Don't
Starting point is 00:56:37 misunderstand me. What I am saying is this spirit and this hatred followed them and is intermingled in Islam. And a small percentage of Muslims have believed this ideology primarily due to wrong teaching and propaganda and agendas where they believe you can be martyred. And just like Isa who sold his birthright, they're teaching these suicide bombers to sell your natural birthright and die and give your life up. And so all this is the same spirit.
Starting point is 00:57:04 It's a spiritual strategy, but we've got to be careful. The strategy is actually Satan working behind the scenes. And I say it this way. In the absence of God's vision, demonic vision will always prevail. This is a demonic vision. And what Satan is trying to do is through the spirit of Isa, the spirit of terrorism, he's trying to camouflage us,
Starting point is 00:57:26 the destiny of the Muslim people, that God's original plan for them. And this spirit is trying to make us deaf to the cry of the Muslim heart that is longing to know God as a father and receive an inheritance from him and be accepted and loved by him. That's what we need.
Starting point is 00:57:42 That's what this thing is doing. Look at the conflict in our world today. Look at the hatred. The enemy wants to bring confusion and hatred. So we've got to be careful we don't get distracted trying to pick sides. We need to understand God's got a bigger plan. And there's more to this vision. There's actually more to this purpose that obviously we can't get into today in the broadcast. But there's a reason, there's many reasons why God named Ishmael. And it will surprise people why he named him before birth. One was there'd be this many people, but there's many other reasons that are relevant to what's happening in our world today. And so, and that's why, you know, my book, you know, Ishmael Returns, you know, God's plan for the Muslim people. That
Starting point is 00:58:19 ebook is probably the only thing that's going to help them get the understanding of all this kind of stuff. But there's some things that God is doing to reach the Muslim people, to stir our hearts so we don't have hatred towards them. If we have prejudice and hatred toward the Muslims, we can't be a follower of Jesus and have hatred in our hearts. We have to repent. We have to change. And in fact, if someone was to ask me today, what should a follower of Jesus do regarding Muslims? How should they pray? There's a specific way they can pray. And I remember one time God said to me that if the church will weep like Ishmael's mother did when he was dying in the wilderness,
Starting point is 00:58:58 I will hear the cry of the mother, the church, this woman, And I will open the eyes of Ishmael and answer the cry of his heart. So we first need to pray. And I remember one time God said this to me as we get ready to close. He said to me, son, a whole generation of Muslims are going to come into the kingdom of God. And I'm telling you, when he said that to me,
Starting point is 00:59:22 I was standing by my fish tank. And I remember saying, how is this going to happen? I wasn't doubting it I was like I know I was a Muslim I had this supernatural experience but how the rest of my brothers and sisters ever going to know this and he spoke some things to me but the primary thing he said to me he said son I'm going to do it through dreams and visions I'm going to give dreams and visions of Jesus to the Muslim people where they'll see a man clothed in white with holes in his hands. And he will say to them, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me. And when he says that to them, he goes,
Starting point is 00:59:56 people are going to need to help them interpret those dreams. It will cause them to seek after me and will cause them to come and know who I really am. And that's what's happening today. seek after me and will cause them to come and know who I really am. And that's what's happening today. 35% of every Muslim in the world that comes to Jesus comes as a direct result of a dream or a vision of Jesus. And Muslims are having visions and dreams all over the world. And Muslim countries are experiencing this all over Iran, all over Saudi Arabia, the Middle East, Iraq, Experiencing this all over Iran, all over Saudi Arabia, the Middle East, Iraq, Indonesia. 40% of Indonesia, which used to be the number one Muslim country in the world by population, 40% of Muslims in Indonesia are all born again now.
Starting point is 01:00:40 And they're no longer publishing the census anymore. They took that question out because they don't want to. The government is embarrassed to admit how many people have become followers of Jesus. So something is happening to Muslims all over the world. And God is crying out to them and calling out to them. And his spirit is wanting to answer the thirsty longings of their heart and reveal Jesus to them and reveal the Father to them and give them visions and dreams and lead them and guide them because he's supernaturally reaching out to them. In fact, Muslims believe
Starting point is 01:01:09 that God stopped speaking to them since the prophet of Islam. Wow. So the only way God can speak to them today, they believe, is through a dream and a vision. Wow. So God's already promised us
Starting point is 01:01:21 that in these days, he's going to pour his spirit upon all mankind, all mankind, not believers, all mankind days, he's going to pour his spirit upon all mankind, all mankind, not believers, all mankind. And they're going to have visions and they're going to have dreams. And they're going to come to a realization of who he is. He's doing that right now. He's doing that's what happened to me.
Starting point is 01:01:36 I got touched by God. I know so many Muslims around the world that have been touched by Jesus and his presence and his love. And they have left what they believe to follow Jesus at extreme costs sometimes because Jesus is so real. But we love the Muslim people. God loves Muslims. And it's important to pray.
Starting point is 01:01:57 So pray that God would grant them visions and dreams. Pray that God would answer the cry of their heart, open their eyes, and reveal Jesus to them so that they would really know the Father. That's how we've got to do it. We've got to start praying and start loving. They love hospitality. They're beautiful people. A lot of us are great people.
Starting point is 01:02:13 They're hospitable. They're kind. And sometimes we've painted a picture of them, not necessarily us three, but the world is trying to frame them in the picture of terrorism. And that's not really who they are. There are some that are that. And that needs to be dealt with. That needs to be addressed. And there's some issues there. But that strategy is to take our attention off the Muslim heart and God's heart for their purpose, their destiny, and really why he named Ishmael their ancestor before birth. There's a very important key to that related to this time. And you also cannot generalize a whole group of people. And you also cannot generalize a whole group of people,
Starting point is 01:02:46 and you can't demonize a whole group of people just based on one little part. I always say it just like you can't take the bad Christians and have that represent the entire religion of Christianity. I'm just wondering if right now you could maybe look to the camera and bring people in and do a sort of salvation call and talk to whoever is on the other side of this that wants to follow Jesus right now. Okay, let's do this. It's exciting that you're joining us and you're with us today, by the way.
Starting point is 01:03:14 It's really exciting to have you with us. And I know you might have heard some things like, whoa, you may have never heard anything like this before. But this is real. You're hearing this not just from the girls. You're hearing it from me and others. Jesus is so real. And first, I want to pray a prayer for you. Then I'm going to ask you to pray a prayer with me if you choose to. And I'm just going to pray for God's presence to come upon your life. If you haven't already experienced His presence where you are right now, I'm going to pray for God to touch you because He loves you. Okay, so let me just pray for you first. Father, I just pray for our family all over the world today. And I pray,
Starting point is 01:03:49 Holy Spirit, that you would come into that room, come into that office, come into that car, come into whatever place they're in right now and begin to touch them with your love and your presence and let them know that you have a plan for their life, that you've not forgotten them. It's like God has seen you from when you were a young person. I see so many of you and I see that God's walked with you, but you didn't know he was with you. He's the one who kept you.
Starting point is 01:04:11 He's the one who protected you. It was not him that harmed you when you were abused, when you went through that trauma in your life. That wasn't God. That was the enemy. That was evil trying to destroy who you were. But look at it.
Starting point is 01:04:23 You're still here. You weren't destroyed because God has kept you and you are here because he has a plan for your life. He has a purpose for your life and he truly loves you. He loves you so much that he literally sent Jesus to die on your behalf. Take your sin, take your pain, take your shame. And he became all that on the cross. Jesus was cursed so you would be blessed. He became sin so you would be forgiven and become righteous before God.
Starting point is 01:04:50 And God wants you to know he's not mad at you. He's not angry with you. He's not looking for a way to judge you. But he's telling you, it doesn't matter how far you think you are from him, if you will just call upon him right now, he will meet you and he will grant you genuine salvation. You will leave with a peace after this prayer. I'm going to ask you to pray
Starting point is 01:05:11 and you will know on the inside of your heart who Jesus is and you will realize that you are truly now a child of God. That's what's going to happen to you. So if you're ready, I encourage you to simply repeat this prayer after me. Say, Father, I come to you in the name of Jesus. I believe in my heart by faith today that Jesus was born of a virgin. And say, Jesus, I believe you came and died on the cross. You became sin for me. You died and rose again the third day. Jesus, would you come into my heart today? Would you take away my cold, stony, and hurting heart? And would you give me a brand new heart today?
Starting point is 01:05:56 And say, Father, I love you. I want to know you. I want to make my first request today. I ask that you fill me to overflowing with your Holy Spirit right now. I pray this prayer in the name of Jesus. And listen, if you pray this prayer for the first time, contact the girls, contact us. We love to send you something to help you walk this new journey and walk with Jesus. But I tell you, he loves you so much and we love you too. And we're family. We really are.
Starting point is 01:06:30 Yeah, we are. That's what it's about. I just... I'm so happy you're a part of GGB getting that castle. I just want to thank you. You have, I know, changed so many people today from this episode. And we just love you so much. And you have truly been family to us, a friend, a mentor. And we just thank you for all that you do. And thank you too. And I love you both so much. I'm so blessed to be part of your life. And, you know, in honesty, the Spirit of God has placed His hand upon you both. He's picked you out and
Starting point is 01:07:02 chosen you. You know, there's a powerful text in Isaiah 45, 15, that God says, I hide myself, come seek me. And he was talking about hiding himself in King Cyrus, the most unlikely person to be used. It's like that God has hidden himself in you and he's chosen you. And you're just ordinary people that God's going to do extraordinary things through. And I want you to be encouraged. God is leveling you up in this season. God's going to open more doors for you in this season. He's going to enhance your platform around the world. And His presence is going to get stronger on your life.
Starting point is 01:07:33 And you're going to begin to see miracles begin to occur in your audience. You're going to hear testimonies of people experiencing His presence. And you're going to be like, what's going on? And just get ready for God's taking you. And I know you're pursuing Him. You're seeking Him. You're growing and you're changing. And don't worry about all the criticism because guess what? You know, there's never been a statue erected to a critic. Okay. Criticism is part of the deal. Jesus said, you will suffer persecution if you're godly. He says that there's always going to be persecution. That's okay. We learn from it. We grow.
Starting point is 01:08:05 It may shape our life a little bit. We're all growing. You're growing right before people's eyes. And God's hand is upon you. He's picked you. He's chosen you. He wrote a book about you before you were born. And that book is a page.
Starting point is 01:08:18 There's a chapter. There's a passage that was written that you'd be doing this. And you're on time. And God selected you. And he's chosen you. And he's ministering to you and working into your life and you are not alone. He is with you
Starting point is 01:08:30 and he's going to do something incredible for your GGB gang and your family that's out there because they're going to grow together with you as you grow.
Starting point is 01:08:38 So just stay tuned to heaven because more is coming your way and we just want to say we love you. I love you so much. I love you so much. I love you so much. God loves you. Can I say I'm proud of you, if that's okay to say?
Starting point is 01:08:49 I'm not that old. Thank you so much. But I just want to say, being in the realm of what I do and stuff, I'm so excited to see what God is doing in your lives. And I believe so is your audience around the world. So get ready. You have not even begun. You're the best ever.
Starting point is 01:09:03 Thank you. I was crying, as usual. We love you, Fais begun. You're the best ever. I was crying as usual. We love you, Faisal. Thank you so much. You guys, we hope that this episode blessed you as much as it blessed us just sitting here getting to listen. May the Lord bless you and keep you. May he make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. May he turn his face towards you and give you peace.
Starting point is 01:09:21 God bless you guys. God bless you. We love you so much. G-G-B gang. you and give you peace god bless you guys god bless you we love you so much ggp gang

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