My name is Akbar, son of Mohammed Khaja Mohinuddin and Navanbee.
Before I could share my testimony, I would like to quote Romans 10:20 from the Epistle written by Apostle Paul where the Lord says: “I was found by those who did not seek Me; I became manifest to those who did not ask for Me” (NASB). Apostle Paul quoted this Scripture from Chapter 65:1 in The Book of Isaiah.
The reason why I quoted this verse is to testify to the gracious, loving-kindness God showed according to this Scripture in my life and in the lives of my whole family members. His Word has been proved to be true and it has been fulfilled in our lives. Though we did not seek Him, though we did not ask for Him, He found us and manifested Himself to us. Oh, I wish that each and every breath of mine be praise to Him and a sweet song for my Lord Jesus Christ.
Here Is My Testimony:
I am the sixth child to my parents following three oldest daughters and two sons. Our family was very religious and particular in following the traditions and beliefs of Islam.
My father was an engine driver working for South Central Railways and my mother is a house maker. My father was an active member in the Mosque and my mother, a teacher of Koran, was very passionate towards Islam and serious about following its traditions, rituals, beliefs and teachings. My parents had brought us up in the same fear and faith of Islam.
God Manifested:
It all started with my eldest brother, his name is Musthafa, who was born after my three elder sisters. One day as he was walking on the road, suddenly he heard a voice calling him by his name: “Musthafa, Musthafa, look at Me. I am the Lord your God.” He looked all around to find the one who was calling him but he could not find anyone except himself in that place. It was a strange experience to him which had never before happened in his life. When the voice came again the second time, Musthafa recognized that it was coming from above.
Though he came to know that the voice was coming from above, he didn’t know whose voice it was. Before he could think about anything else, immediately he was surrounded by Power which was like an electric power that led him to a small Christian tent meeting where a preacher was preaching about Jesus Christ. The Power which was all around him said, “The One who spoke to you on the way is the same One this man is preaching.” There as that preacher was preaching about Jesus Christ, Musthafa understood that the One who spoke to him was Jesus Christ. There he accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior with a strong conviction as the Holy Spirit of the Lord dealt with him in his heart. As soon as my brother accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior, he saw Jesus for seven days continously. Since then he was changed. He was no more reading the Quran or going with us to the mosque to offer prayer. He was not doing what he used to do along with us every day. My parents found out about his faith in Jesus Christ.
When my mother, father, and all of my family members came to know about Musthafa’s new faith in Jesus Christ, they were very upset. We being Muslims did not believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. According to the Quran, He is just one of the prophets among many other prophets. Allah does not have sons or daughters and we did not believe in the crucifixion of Jesus Christ because we believed that before the crucifixion of Jesus Christ Allah took Him up into the Heavens. Christians thought that Jesus was crucified on the cross and even Jews thought that they have crucified Jesus Christ, whereas we believed they crucified someone else whose face was changed by Allah into the likeness of the face of Jesus Christ. We were also believing the Bible has been changed by the Christians, Jesus Christ came only for the Jews, and He promised about Mohammed in the Bible, who then came as a messenger of Allah for the entire world and we have to follow only Mohammed now.
My parents were very unhappy and they were very angry with Musthafa. For many days arguments and discussions between Koran and Bible were going on but none of the other party got convinced. However, my parents noticed that whenever my brother prayed in the Name of Jesus healings were taking place. The sick people suffering with cancer tumors, the blind, the lame, and demon possessed people were getting healed when he prayed for them in the Name of Jesus and these things were under observation of my mother and father.
One day my mother’s cousin’s sister, my aunt, came to visit us. She was suffering with the disease of blood hemorrhage (The Issue of Blood) since many days and became very weak because of continuous flow of blood. She expected my mother to take her to a good doctor. Meanwhile, my mother asked my brother to pray for her and my brother agreed to pray for her. We all accepted and we were watching as he laid his hands on her and began to pray. As Musthafa started praying for her, suddenly she fell down on the floor and a screaming voice came out of her saying, “I will not leave her, I will not leave her!” and we understood that she was possessed by an evil spirit. As I was observing, whenever my brother took the Name of Jesus that demon which was inside of my aunt was shivering out of terror and closing its ears. My brother questioned that spirit, “Who are you?” The demon spirit said, “I am a spirit sent by a person who was this women’s enemy and wanted to kill her with this disease.” When Musthafa said, “In the Name of Jesus Christ leave her!” that evil spirit was shivering and left her saying, “Because of you I am leaving her or else I would have killed her.” After some time she got up and asked us, “What happened to me, and why was I on the floor?”
I asked her, “Do you know what all you spoke?” She said she didn’t know anything about what had happened to her and what all she spoke. All she knew was she is healed! She could feel that healing and comfort and strength in her body; there was no pain, no flow of blood. She was full of joy and a great glow of happiness was on her face.
As this whole thing happened in front of my eyes I started reasoning, “Why evil spirit left in the Name of Jesus Christ? Why not in any other prophet’s name? Why the evil spirit obeyed the command which was given in the Name of Jesus Christ? What is there in the Name of Jesus Christ that even evil spirit had obeyed to that Name? Why not the name of Mohammed? What Power or Authority does the Name of Jesus contain?” My mind was filled with all these kinds of thoughts and reasonings.
My search for Truth:
I decided to read the Bible to know about Jesus Christ who is claimed to be the Son of God by Christians. With an open heart in search of Truth I started reading the Bible. As I was reading, I came across Scripture in the Gospel according to Mark 16:16-18 where in the 17th verse Jesus Christ said, “These signs will accompany those who have believed; in My Name they will cast out demons...” (NASB). This verse of Scripture almost knocked me down and it opened my spiritual eyes. When I read this verse which was spoken by Jesus Christ approximately 2000 years ago, I was amazed to see that the Word of Jesus Christ is true and still alive and that Word is working. It had manifested in front of my eyes and it is containing Life even now; still there is Life in those words. According to this Scripture, when my brother commanded the evil spirit in the Name of Jesus Christ, the evil spirit left. I could not deny the fact that the words of Jesus Christ are true and had manifested in front of my eyes.
This incident brought faith in me in the Word of Jesus Christ. My Muslim spiritual leaders had taught me that even if Jesus was given the Gospel, it is only for that time and for those people. If that was true, how come the words of Jesus Christ are working now? With this incident I understood that the words of Jesus Christ are not just for that time and for those people but for all the people for all generations till the end. I understood that, “If this Word of Jesus Christ has proved itself to be true, then all the words of Jesus Christ in the Bible, whatever He said about Himself and who He is, must be true.” As I continued to read the Bible, each and every doubt and misconception about Jesus Christ and His Word (Bible) was answered. I have got all the answers for all the allegations made by Muslims about Jesus Christ and the Christian Doctrine. When I read the Word of God in the Bible, it corrected me and made me understand all of the wrong teachings against Christian Theology which I was taught by Muslim Theologians.
By the words of Jesus Christ, for the first time in my whole life I was introduced to God as a loving Father to whom I could go closer and speak to Him personally and fellowship with Him. For the first time the emptiness in my spirit was filled with God’s Love and His Presence. I understood the Love of God and the purpose and plan of God which manifested through Jesus Christ by sending Him into the world to die on the cross to take away the sins of the world. And also the Judgment of the world as we see in the words of Jesus Christ in the Gospel according to John 3:16-17 which says: “For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved” (KJV).
I understood that salvation is a free gift to all humankind through Jesus Christ from God, which man cannot achieve it by his good works. I realized God the Father had imputed Power in the Name of Jesus Christ for his Glory when I read the Epistle written by Apostle Paul to the Philippians Chapter 2:8-11: “And being found in fashion (appearance) as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a Name which is above every name: that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven and things in earth, and things under the earth: and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the Glory of the Father” (KJV).
On December 24th of 1998 I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior and took baptism. Since then the call of God and the strong passionate urge in me to preach His Gospel and His Word of Truth to the dying world has been very strong like a burning fire in my heart. I resigned my job from a multinational company and I dedicated my life to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ and His Word of Truth all over the world till my last breath.
Ministry:
My brother Musthafa and I started preaching the Gospel. As the days were going on, this news of our conversion spread all over the town and it was very embarrassing to my parents as, being an example to our whole Muslim community in our town and among all of our relatives, my father and mother felt very ashamed because they felt that it’s a shameful act on our family’s name that my brother and I were following Christianity and preaching the Gospel. But as the days passed, one after the other of my family members accepted the Gospel and came to Jesus Christ miraculously as the Lord opened their hearts like He opened the heart of Lydia (Acts 16:14).
My Mother And Father Accepted Jesus Christ:
One day my mother questioned God, “If what my sons are preaching is the Truth, I want to know about it.” As she prayed she saw a vision in that she saw Jesus Christ. His whole body was wounded and blood was flowing from all over His body. When my mother saw this she could not bear it and she accepted Jesus Christ.
Though my mother accepted Jesus Christ, she was a secret believer because of my father. One day as my father was driving his train, he got down to check the engine. After checking it, he was getting back inside the engine and suddenly he felt something bite him on his leg. But he ignored it and by the time he came home his leg was swollen. When he consulted the doctor the doctor said, “It is elephantiasis and there is no cure or medication for this disease.” My father was upset, feeling sad and thinking, “Why has this disease come to me since in my whole genealogy no one has gotten such a kind of a disease?”
We took the opportunity to share about Jesus Christ and we told him that Jesus Christ is all capable to heal him. Immediately my father said, “If He heals me I will believe in Him and accept Him as my Lord and Savior.” We prayed for him and we gave him a bottle of oil. We told him, “This oil represents the blood of Christ which He shed for you on the cross and by faith apply it.” My father took the oil bottle and whenever he got the time in his working hours he applied it. When he returned from his work after two days, all the peels fell from his leg and his leg became normal. He was amazed at this miracle and this miracle brought faith in him and he accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior and also he took baptism.
One by one in our family everyone accepted Jesus Christ. My sisters, their husbands, all of their children. Even my second brother, who was against us and used to criticize us, accepted Jesus Christ. Of course everyone had experienced miracles in their lives when we prayed for them so all of them accepted Jesus Christ.
Excommunicated:
We have been excommunicated by Muslims from our religion and from our relatives, and all who were near and dear had forsaken us. Being reproached for the Name of Christ we esteemed ourselves to be blessed because He made us worthy to suffer shame for His Name. Many times being threatened to be killed we never looked back. Whatever we have suffered and are still suffering, it is nothing before Our Lord’s Love and Crucifixion for us.
In our same town we started the Church Ministry by the call of God and we went on preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the villages which are all around the town and district. I have worked with Campus Crusade for Christ. I took The Jesus Film projector and went on doing Evangelism all around the villages and even into deep forests where tribal people lived, showing The Jesus Film and preaching the Gospel. Many came to Jesus Christ and accepted Him as Lord and Savior. The Church was increasing day by day; many people were joining the Church as the Ministry expanded all around.
I have done Master of Divinity in Theological Studies (M.Div), Master of Theology in Christian Apologetics (M.Th), and now I am doing Doctor of Theology in Apologetics (D.Th).
The Lord led me to Mumbai to minister in a new mission field, especially among the Muslims. I shifted to Mumbai in June 2005 along with my wife Susan to start the Ministry called “Winning Muslims for Christ.”
Winning Muslims For Christ Ministry:
This Ministry is working among Muslims, having committed to the Great Commission of the Lord Jesus Christ: “Go into all the World, and preach the Gospel to all creation” (Mark 16:15). Jesus Christ commanded us to preach the Gospel to all creation. All will not be all without Muslims.
If we see throughout the history of the Church and even now, the only people who were not being evangelized are Muslims. We find very few people from the Muslim background who have come to the Lord all over the world. If the Lord questions the Church, “Have you preached the gospel to all creation?” the Church may respond, “Except to Muslims, Oh Lord!”
In Matthew 8:5-13, we see a centurion coming to Jesus and asking Him to heal his servant who is sick and suffering with palsy. Jesus said in verse 7, “I will come and heal him,” but the centurion said in verse 8, “Lord, I am not worthy for you to come under my roof: but just say the word, and my servant will be healed.” Verse 10 says that when Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those who were following, “Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel.” He continues in verse 11, “I say to you that many will come from EAST and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the Kingdom of Heaven” (NASB).
Jesus said, “Many will come from EAST and west.” Who are there in the EAST? In the EAST we see all Muslim nations. I believe that this is the time for them to come to Christ.
Two Reasons Why Muslims Are Not Evangelized:
When I was praying to God He spoke to my heart and gave me the two reasons why Muslims are not being evangelized:
(1) The Church is neglecting the Muslims and thinking that it is someone else’s work.
(2) Though some Churches want to evangelize Muslims, they do not know how to do so.
The Vision And Mission:
The Vision and Mission of this Ministry is to impart the vision and burden for Muslims in the Churches and to train and equip the Churches for Muslim Evangelism. This Ministry conducts Training Programs, Conferences and Seminars to train and equip the Churches and the individuals for Muslim evangelism.
By this I can once again say that the Word of God according to Romans 10:20 has been fulfilled in my life and in the lives of my family members: “I was found by those who did not seek Me; I became manifest to those who did not ask for Me.”
Let all the Glory and Honor be unto God Almighty who is rich in His Mercy and Grace. Amen.
Please pray for me and for the Muslim ministry that I am doing.
Yours in Christ’s Service,
Rev. Peter Akbar
Mumbai, India
For further information please contact me at: wmfc@rediffmail.com / peterakbar@rediffmail.com
No comments:
Post a Comment