Are We Ready

Many serious Christians have been praying earnestly for God to do a great work among the Muslims around the world and bring them to faith in Christ. When (not if) God answers and multitudes are saved, are we ready for such a harvest? Is your Church prepared to assimilate these new converts into its conventional congregation and accept the social and cultural changes that will bring?

“What changes?” you may ask. “Won’t they all be just like us and we’ll all live happily ever after without those nasty car bombs and unsociable suicide-killers?”

Well, not exactly. As increasing numbers of Muslims repent of their sins and come to faith in Jesus Christ they will put some contemporary Christians to shame. They are pro-life and repulsed by the West’s concept of abortion on demand. They have certain moral standards that the Bible endorses – especially in the area of female modesty and sexual purity – to which many of them already adhere. Sadly, too many Christians have long since abandoned those standards as ‘old fashioned’ or ‘being legalistic.’ Absorbing significant numbers of moral ex-Muslims into our midst might make lukewarm backslidden Christians chronically uncomfortable.

It’s also doubtful that they will change their dress habits overnight. Their styles have altered little since the 7th Century AD, so don’t expect them to rush out and buy a whole new wardrobe before coming to Church on Sunday. We must be ready to receive them gladly, thankfully and joyfully when they come at the invitation of “Just as I am” – burkas, veils, scarves, fez caps and jalabas.

Annually over 20,000 Muslims turn to Christ in the US. In his book Epicenter, Joel C. Rosenberg quotes a live TV interview with a leading Saudi cleric Sheikh Ahmad Al Qataani, lamenting the fact that “Every year, 6 million Muslims convert to Christianity” – that’s 16,000 every day.

ITMI works in restricted-access countries – communist and Islamic. We have seen the Berlin Wall come down and Eastern Europe open its doors. We believe that we are on the threshold of a tremendous awakening among the Muslim nations, and it’s already underway, especially in Africa, from north to south.

Are we really ready for God to answer our prayers?

Early Christians, meeting in the home of John Mark, were praying for Peter’s release from prison. The situation was desperate. He was scheduled to die the next day. God heard and answered prayer: chains fell off, the iron gates yielded and Peter walked out a free man. (Acts 12:1-10) He went straight to the prayer meeting to encourage them with the reality of God’s answer, but the door was shut and locked. They couldn’t believe that the Lord had actually answered their prayers. If they’d been ready, they would have had a cup of tea waiting for Peter when he arrived.

Muslims will soon be coming to Christ in even greater numbers for every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is LORD to the glory of God.

The question is: Are we ready?

Bill Bathman – Cape Town, South Africa