The Temple of God is now being rebuilt
At the dedication of the Temple, Solomon prayed that the Lord’s eyes would be open toward the Temple day and night and that He would hear the prayers that His people prayed toward it.
2 Chronicles 6:18 “But will God really dwell on earth with men? The heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built! 19 Yet give attention to your servant’s prayer and his plea for mercy, O LORD my God. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying in your presence. 20 May your eyes be open toward this temple day and night, this place of which you said you would put your Name there. May you hear the prayer your servant prays toward this place. 21 Hear the supplications of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray toward this place. Hear from heaven, your dwelling place; and when you hear, forgive.
The Lord answered Solomon’s prayer affirmatively. He would see and hear the prayers offered in the Temple by His repentant people. The Temple would be God’s footstool where His presence on earth would dwell. There was something special and unique about the Temple inasmuch as people would pray toward it or go to it to lift up prayer to God.
2 Chronicles 7:12 the LORD appeared to him at night and said: “I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a temple for sacrifices. 13 “When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, 14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 15 Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place. 16 I have chosen and consecrated this temple so that my Name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there.
What is the New Testament equivalent of the Temple? Before Jesus was crucified on the cross, his body was the Temple of God. He and the Father were one.
John 2:19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” 20 The Jews replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” 21 But the temple he had spoken of was his body.
After Jesus rose from the dead, ascended on high, and sent the Holy Spirit, the world-wide Church of Jesus Christ became the Temple of God and His dwelling place on earth.
1 Corinthians 3:16 Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?
Just as the Old Testament Temple was very special, so the body of Christ is also. Just as people sought the Lord by praying toward the Temple or in it, the Living God is to be found by the world in and through the Church.
Ephesians 3:9 and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. 10 His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, 11 according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Undoubtedly here on earth we shall be unable to fathom the full import of Paul’s grand declaration about the Church. But let’s attempt to have some understanding of how the manifold wisdom of God should be made known through the Church.
Ephesians 4:11 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12 to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
The Lord has raised up the five-fold ministry to equip His Church for works of service and to attain to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. The Church is to be like Jesus and to do the works that He did. This is at least in part how the manifold wisdom of God should be made known through the Church. So far the five-fold ministry has failed to complete the task. We are not yet like Jesus or doing the works that He did.
However, we are in the end times, and we personally are beginning to see the Church do the works that Jesus did: proclaiming the Kingdom of God, healing the sick, casting out demons, and making disciples. When believers come together in unity and exercise their authority over demons and disease corporately, we have seen powerful miraculous healings occur without the presence of a specially anointed or gifted or celebrated preacher. These miracles are resulting in the salvation of gospel-resistant peoples like Muslims and Buddhists.
We as a body are becoming mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. It is God’s will that the lost should find Him only in and through us, His Temple on earth. He has provided no other way. He is rebuilding His Temple in this present time.The word of the Lord from Zechariah 4 is being fulfilled....
6 So he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty.
7 “What are you, O mighty mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become level ground. Then he will bring out the capstone to shouts of ‘God bless it! God bless it!’”
8 Then the word of the LORD came to me: 9 “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this temple; his hands will also complete it. Then you will know that the LORD Almighty has sent me to you.
10 “Who despises the day of small things? Men will rejoice when they see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel.
” (These seven are the eyes of the LORD, which range throughout the earth.)”
11 Then I asked the angel, “What are these two olive trees on the right and the left of the lampstand?”
12 Again I asked him, “What are these two olive branches beside the two gold pipes that pour out golden oil?”
13 He replied, “Do you not know what these are?”
“No, my lord,” I said.
14 So he said, “These are the two who are anointed to serve the Lord of all the earth.”
The Age of the Body of Christ
During these end times, our culture of Hollywood celebrity-worship and mass media has enabled some gifted full-time servants of the Lord to become very famous world-wide and financially prosperous. However, the Lord might not mean for His “unworthy servants” to enjoy excessively opulent lifestyles that are reserved for the rich and famous of the world. The kind of mentality that justifies such a lifestyle for a highly visible, full-time minister of the gospel does not come from following Scripture. Rather it may be the consequence, among other things, of being the subject of adulation that is meant for the Lord alone. Lavish praise upon a human being results in an irresistible temptation to pride. “Since God has blessed my ministry so much, it’s alright for me to enjoy living at the same high level. I deserve it.” Prosperity teaching can become imbalanced in the hearts and hands of human beings and result in a stumbling block to many.
This is not quite following in the footsteps of Jesus Christ of Nazareth who had no place to lay His head.
God’s blessings upon a ministry do not necessarily indicate His approval of that ministry, for His gifts and calling are irrevocable. The miracles that occur in a ministry do not necessarily prove that God is pleased with that ministry, but may be simply the result of the evangelist operating in the irrevocable gifting the Lord has given him. The miracles do not even necessarily indicate that the evangelist is known by the Lord.
Matthew 7:22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
I believe the Lord is grieved with such pride of life in a full-time minister of the gospel. It can be a stumbling block to many both within and without the Church. And He is doing a new thing in these last days. Since we human beings are designed neither to give to man nor to receive from man the praise which is meant for God alone, He is removing the focus of man’s attention away from individual superstar ministers and re-focusing it upon the Body of Christ---who alone is His representative on earth.
The “age” of the Body of Christ is at hand. God’s promise in John 14:12 is being fulfilled and those who believe in Him will do the works---including the miracles---that He did. As they preach the gospel to the lost, believers will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover. Jesus sent the Twelve and then the Seventy out to proclaim the Kingdom of God, to heal the sick, and to cast out demons. “So they set out and went from village to village, preaching the gospel and healing people everywhere.” (Luke 9:6)
In these last days as it was in the gospels, those who are sent out to proclaim the Kingdom of God to the lost have been given this authority. Who has been sent out as a witness but every believer, the entire Body of Christ? In such a way, our miracle-working God will be found in and through His “Temple” on earth, not simply in the ministries of a handful of world-class evangelists.
We have witnessed this with our own eyes as by the Lord’s grace we equip the Body of Christ to do the works of ministry.
How this is being accomplished: a more complete understanding of ministering healing
Typically when we think about healing, the gift of healing as taught in I Corinthians 12 comes to mind. We desire to see every believer involved in ministering healing as promised in John 14:12 and Mark 16:18. However, 1 Corinthians 12:30 tells us clearly that not all have gifts of healing. We have tried to resolve this by positing that while not all believers have spectacular gifts of healing, all believers can minister healing at some time and to some degree. For example, one can prophesy without being a prophet or having the gift of prophesy. This is all well and good. It is clear also from the context of 1 Corinthians 12 and in particular verse 7 that the purpose of the gifts is to build up the body of Christ. Thus the gifts of healing are primarily for ministering healing to infirm believers.
There is another approach which is well-documented in the gospels and Acts which can complete our understanding of healing. Before the day of Pentecost and his death and resurrection, Jesus had given authority to his disciples to heal the sick and cast out demons as he sent them out to proclaim the Kingdom of God to the lost (Luke 9 and 10). This authority differed sharply from the gifts of healing in four different ways:
• Since it pre-dated the coming of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, it was not a gift of the Holy Spirit. (This, however, is not meant depreciate the importance of the role of the Holy Spirit.)
• It was not for ministering healing to infirm believers inasmuch as the body of Christ did not yet exist at that time in its present form; it was rather for confirming the truth of the gospel to the lost as the gospel was being proclaimed.
• It was given to every disciple whom Jesus sent out to proclaim the gospel; in contrast, not all believers had gifts of healing.
• Unlike gifts of healing, the authority was to be exercised not by prayer but instead by issuing mountain-moving commands directly to infirmities and demons under the believer's authority. (In contrast, prayer is asking the One with all authority to do it directly by Himself.)With this understanding we can easily comprehend how all believers have some measure of this authority since every believer is called and sent out as a witness of Jesus Christ to the lost. And since the context of exercising this authority is the proclamation of the Kingdom of God to the lost, believers are emboldened to step out from the security of the church to bring the gospel to the world outside its walls.
This understanding helps deliver the Church from its unbalanced overemphasis on ministering healing primarily to infirm believers. Rather, it is arguable that the Lord’s higher priority is the fulfillment of the Great Commission. Part of this Commission is to bring all nations into submission to Christ the King. This can be accomplished with gospel-resistant Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, and animistic people groups only when the gospel is preached with irrefutable miraculous signs proving that the LORD is God and that Jesus Christ is indeed the only way to God. These miracles can be performed when believers exercise their authority over infirmities and demons in Christ’s name. This is usually different from the exercise of gifts of healing.
We have witnessed this in operation with our own eyes, seeing gospel-resistant people come to Christ after they hear the gospel preached and see the miraculous healings done by His disciples in His name. The restoration of the Church is at hand, not simply for the sake of having a healthy Church, but to equip her to complete the Great Commission before the return of Christ, the King of kings.
What you sit under is what you will get
There are various gifts and supernatural manifestations from the Lord available to the body of Christ. Some are found liberally in Scripture; others have relatively weak support in the Word of God. But God can be behind both. Those more strongly supported in Scripture can generally be more accepted by the Church, while those weakly supported are less accepted. For example, it is abundantly clear from the gospels and Acts that Jesus and His disciples did not pray for the sick. Instead they healed the sick by exercising their authority in issuing authoritative commands to infirmities and unclean spirits. In the spirit of John 14:12, those who believe in Jesus in this age will do these same works. They will be able to minister to the infirm in the same way that Jesus and His disciples did. Thus if a believer ministers to the sick in this way, it should be generally acceptable to the body of Christ.
However, there are supernatural manifestations from God that occur within the body of Christ which are not found in Scripture. For example, the manifestation commonly known as “being slain in the Spirit” is not seen anywhere in Scripture in the context of a supernatural healing. Yet undoubtedly people have been physically healed in such a way. (We are not including in this discussion instances of people being pushed down or falling down by themselves during “courtesy drops.”) Such manifestations have caused controversy and division in the body of Christ. Some believers and churches accept them without reservation; other more conservative ones from the other side of the doctrinal spectrum either reject them or urge extreme caution. I would conclude that such a manifestation has been a mixed blessing for the body of Christ as a whole even though some individual believers have been powerfully touched by the Holy Spirit in this way. One of its unintended aftereffects has been disunity in the body of Christ.
One can reasonably ask how a genuine manifestation from God can have negative consequences for the Church. To answer this question we should look at God’s people instead of questioning the manifestation. In the ministry of the Apostle Paul, handkerchiefs that had come into contact with his body could bring healing when applied to the infirm (Acts 19.12). I personally would advise against such a practice on a widespread scale today because ultimately uncomprehending people will buy and sell the cloths and misuse them in other ways as well. If a practice or manifestation---even though it is originally from the hand of the Lord---cannot be received by the body of Christ in such a way so as to build it up but rather tends to tear it down or divide it instead, it would be better not to have such a manifestation on any regular basis.
We would do better to follow the Apostle Paul’s strategy: “To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some” (1 Corinthians 9:22). Perhaps the same wisdom should be applied also to building up the body of Christ as well. There is also another point to be considered here as well. Unity in the body of Christ can only be based upon Holy Scripture, which along with the Lord Jesus Himself is the basis for our unity. If a manifestation or practice is not soundly supported in Scripture, it may be wise not to pursue it actively in one's ministry. It should not become the manifestation that we are known for.
Then what should one pursue? I believe it would ultimately be more fruitful to pursue giftings (and their resulting manifestations) that are strongly supported in Scripture. Such a gifting would have a far greater likelihood of being a blessing to the overall body of Christ. God has given us sound minds. With that sound mind we should exercise wisdom regarding under whom we will sit and be taught.
Luke 6:40 A student is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher.
A believer will to some measure receive the “spirit” or “anointing” or “gifting” of the one whom he chooses to be his earthly teacher. Thus it is not necessarily and completely up to God’s sovereign will what kind of gifting we will receive. We have a measure of freedom---and dare I say the responsibility as well---to choose with wisdom and good judgment.
1 Corinthians 12:31 But eagerly desire the greater gifts…
1 Corinthians 14:5 …so that the church may be edified.
We are commanded here to desire and seek the greater gifts. Therefore we have some say in what we may receive from the Lord. The implication is that we can also choose not to desire gifts that turn out not to edify the Church as a whole.
"Quick & easy" miracles to demonstrate publicly that Jesus is the Son of God
(...and not only for "the mission field" but for the West as well)
There are some miracles that we have found are not difficult to perform when in the context of proclaiming the Kingdom of God to the lost, for example, in an evangelistic meeting. One need not have the gift of healing or limit oneself to meetings in primitive Third-World countries to witness such miracles. To learn how, we can look at three outstanding miracles done by the apostles Peter and Paul in Acts.
Acts 3:6 Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” 7 Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. 8 He jumped to his feet and began to walk.
Acts 9:33 There he found a man named Aeneas, a paralytic who had been bedridden for eight years. 34 “Aeneas,” Peter said to him, “Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and take care of your mat.” Immediately Aeneas got up. 35 All those who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.
Acts 14:8 In Lystra there sat a man crippled in his feet, who was lame from birth and had never walked. 9 He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed 10 and called out, “Stand up on your feet!” At that, the man jumped up and began to walk.
In the first two of these cases, the miracles were a deciding factor in souls receiving Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Although such miracles certainly cannot guarantee that people will turn to Him---as in Paul’s miracle---they do draw attention to Him and multiply the likelihood that they will believe on Him.
Even though it is not a simple matter to do miracles of such great magnitude, there are similar miracles of “lesser” magnitude that are not difficult. We have witnessed them in our meetings. We have found that there are many people with difficulty getting up and walking because of arthritis, knee and joint pain, hip problems and various pain in their legs. They can be elderly and when they limp forward to be healed their infirmity is obvious to everyone.
The purpose of the healing done in the name of Jesus Christ is to prove to the lost that He is the only way to the Father in heaven.
The very first step is not present in the above three miracles done through Peter and Paul, but may be appropriate for believers who are new to healing the sick. This step involves laying hands directly on the infirmity, for example, on arthritic knees. Then with utmost authority and mountain-moving faith rebuke the infirmity or arthritis in the name of Jesus. Authoritatively command the knees to be healed in Jesus’ name.
The second step involves commanding the person to get up or to walk in Jesus’ name, as did Peter and Paul. You can even help the person up as did Peter in Acts 3 and lead them forward by the hand. Usually the person will experience immediate improvement and walk much better than before. Often I will tell the person to run, and people who were previously unable to run will run in a way that they have not done in a long time. In this way the name of Jesus is exalted, believers are encouraged in their faith, and unbelievers are drawn to Christ. (If after the first time of ministry the person senses improvement but their healing is not yet complete, lay hands on them again and minister as before.)
Perhaps such miracles are “easy” to perform because the Lord is very willing to do them. With such infirmities in particular, the healing is very visible and obvious to all, and no one can deny the power of the name of Jesus Christ after having witnessed the miracle firsthand.
The Age of the Nameless & Faceless Believer: the “one-man-show” is fading away
The Lord is now restoring to the body of Christ something vital for fulfilling the Great Commission during these end times. It is something that has been missing for most of the history of the Church. Two millennia ago Jesus Christ gave the Church the Great Commission. Still we have not yet completed it. One of the primary reasons for the delay is the inability of the Church to prove to the lost that our God is the true God through miraculous signs. In stark contrast, the early church of Acts understood how to heal the sick and cast out demons as the gospel was proclaimed. As a result the gospel spread throughout much of the known world at that time. But as the Church became an institutionalized religion, this understanding was lost. I am convinced this is why billions of Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, and adherents of witchcraft refuse to take the gospel seriously. As Jesus told the royal official whose son lay sick in Capernaum, "Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders, you will never believe."
But during these last days the Lord has shown us how to restore these miraculous signs to the Church in accordance with John 14:12...
"I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father."
This will not happen overnight; it will likely take many years for the Church to be equipped in this way. But it has begun...
I was in a certain city equipping believers in End Time Evangelism. After the training, we held an evangelistic meeting to provide the trained people with actual “battlefield” experience. This is what happened at the meeting….
I preached the gospel and asked the Lord to confirm it through miraculous healings as the trained believers laid hands on the sick. Many miracles took place as they exercised their authority over diseases and demons in Christ. Among them: a boy born with a hole in his heart could no longer hear the telltale "swishing" sound of his heartbeat. A woman had come to the meeting with a large hard cancerous tumor in her stomach and pain in different parts of her body because of the tumor and the chemotherapy. Through tears of joy she testified that her stomach had become soft and all the pain had disappeared. A woman had come with several growths in her breast and because of them, debilitating fear. She could no longer find any of the growths and her fear had vanished in the name of Christ.
Christ's authority to free the people from the prison of infirmity proved that he also had the legal authority to forgive the sin that had put them in prison. When I gave the invitation for people to receive Jesus Christ, precious souls responded. It was most glorious. The saints rejoiced at what the Lord had done through them.Some time later an anointed evangelist from another country came to hold a Healing Service in a local church in that area. Some of the believers we had trained were members of that local church and attended the Service. One of them wrote me the following about the meeting…
The Service was so similar to your teaching except that it was a one-man-show. The first night of the meetings, we (those who had attended your training) felt so frustrated because we had to restrain the burning desire to minister to the sick. The second night we just went ahead doing just as you taught us, like the evangelist [on the platform] but we had to stop before getting the job done because a pastor stopped us. In fact by that time some had already been healed as we ministered. What an impact it could have made if the whole body of Christ in that big hall had ministered with authority and commanded healing together with the evangelist just as you did with us…what a pity and a waste! I could not help noticing the disapproving way the pastors and some elders looked at us while we were ministering to the sick---that very disapproving look---you know our church has a kind of mentality that allows only certain people to pray or minister and we happened to be not those 'certain people.' It is not that we wanted to show off, but the need was there. So many sick people were queuing up waiting to be prayed for. Maybe the way we ministered with authority opened their eyes. Anyway all praises and glory be to God for all the miracles, the fruit and the harvest from those two nights. The evangelist is indeed a man of God and has an apostolic and prophetic anointing.
Just like Moses was unable to take the Israelites into the Promised Land, the current generation of specially-anointed evangelists has failed to lead the Church to fulfill the Great Commission. Their meetings focus on the anointed ministry of one man or one woman. Of course they have brought much glory to God in their time. I believe they have now fulfilled their purpose. An army of nameless and faceless Joshuas is now being raised up to invade and take possession of Canaan. The Lord has begun to fulfill Jesus’ promise in John 14:12…”Those who believe in Me will do the works that I have done.”
It will be the Body of Christ consisting of multiplied millions of trained believers who will preach the gospel, heal the sick, and cast out demons like Christ did, who will fulfill the Great Commission. Where a handful of world-class evangelists failed in this particular regard, this huge army of nameless and faceless little ones will get the job done.
What is the primary work of the five-fold ministry?
Ephesians 4:11 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12 to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up… (NIV)
Their work is to prepare God’s people for works of service. “One-man-show” ministries do not generally do this, although there may be exceptions. They usually draw much attention to themselves and pay relatively little to equipping the body of Christ. Now is the time for the five-fold-ministry to fulfill the primary purpose of its existence: equipping us to do the works that Jesus did.
"What has God done for me lately?"
An excerpt from Brother William's book, "The End Time Model of Evangelism: the restoration of the spirit and power of Elijah to the Church"
In the West the focus of most believers is on “what God can do for me.” If we listen to the lyrics of most contemporary Christian songs, we hear about God saving us, healing us, restoring us, delivering us from our trials; about God’s mercy and grace upon us in the time of our need. The same can be said of most of the preaching that we hear from our pulpits. The focus is on God’s help and blessings in this life on earth. This is all well and good, but it should only be for starters.
Much of the Church, especially in the West, has forgotten that we are “blessed to be a blessing” (Genesis 12:2-3). We focus on the blessings of God and how to secure them for ourselves and loved ones. But we pay mostly lip service to the purpose of God’s blessings in our lives. In terms of our "being a blessing" we usually do not go much beyond tithing and for the more serious, doing whatever we can to help out at church in our spare time. Sadly, this is not a serious problem for many churches. Our “being a blessing,” however, must go far beyond simply doing what is convenient for us. It is said that we are saved to serve.
According to Scripture the Church is to be the instrument of the fulfilment of the Great Commission. We are to preach the gospel, heal the sick, cast out demons, and make disciples of all nations. As an unstoppable army we are commanded to declare war on the kingdom of darkness (Matthew 28:18-20). But the Church spends most of its time learning to secure God’s blessings in this life, whether material or spiritual. Currently there are positive emphases on being true worshippers, on intimacy with God, and on restoration. But these also can dead end in just another self-indulgent spiritual high for the Church if they do not result in obedience to the command of God---carrying out the Great Commission. Soldiers do not stay in boot camp forever; their goal is victory on the battlefield. When is the Church going to graduate from boot camp and actually begin to take ground from the enemy? It’s been two thousand years since we were given our marching orders.
We focus on having faith in God and receiving blessings from him. This should only be the beginning. We must then advance to doing the works that Jesus did. We must exercise our faith and take the battle for souls to the enemy in the spirit and power of Elijah. It is better to give than to receive. And by that we are not simply referring to the giving of our finances, but to giving our bodies as living sacrifices to the Lord.
“Discipleship” should not simply be a class that a believer attends. Rather it is equipping that should ultimately result in the believer not only becoming like Jesus, but actually doing the works that Jesus did---preaching the gospel, healing the sick, casting out demons, and making disciples.
Toward a Mass Movement of
Muslims to Christ
An excerpt from Brother William's book, "The End Time Model of Evangelism: the restoration of the spirit and power of Elijah to the Church"
In some Muslim countries, it is either very difficult or outright illegal to preach the gospel to Muslims. It may be illegal as well for Muslims to change their religion and formally become Christians. How can we bring Muslims to Christ under such circumstances? Even more ambitiously, how can bring about a mass movement of Muslims to Jesus Christ? Clearly the Church will not complete the Great Commission to the Muslim world if we continue our present methods by which we see but painfully small numbers of Muslims enter the Kingdom of God. For the fulfillment of the Church’s mandate from the Lord Jesus Christ, we must have a mass movement of large numbers of the followers of Mohammed to Christ.
In areas where it is forbidden to preach the gospel in a direct way to Muslims, it may be permissible to do works of compassion for them---to feed or clothe them, to provide free medical treatment for them. It is hoped that these works of compassion done in Christ’s name will open their hearts to him. However, there is one work of compassion which Christ did in his time which the Church has not dared to attempt.
Matthew 14:14 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.
Rarely if ever has Church healed infirm Muslims to demonstrate the compassion of Christ to them. Now is the time to do these works that Jesus did. For example, in additional to holding a medical clinic we will hold a “healing clinic.” Infirm Muslims will come to the clinic and trained disciples of Jesus Christ will lay hands on them in the name of “Isa” (Jesus in Arabic) and heal them as he commanded us. But in accordance with local law, the gospel will not be preached to them in the usual manner.
Those Muslims who are healed in the name of Isa---and there will be many---will wonder how they were so wondrously set free from their infirmities. They may wonder who is this Isa whose name is so powerful that their infirmities have completely vanished. They may be told exactly who this Isa is according to Scripture. But they will not be asked to repent and believe on him, since that will be contrary to law.
But since Isa is mentioned and honored in their holy book the Koran, these Muslims will not be adverse to seek to know more about him. The Lord will graciously reveal himself to them in his own way as they seek him. Perhaps the Lord will give them dreams (as has already been reported), or they will read the Bible on their own to learn more about him.
However, they will not be invited to attend a Christian Church. Neither will they be invited to renounce Islam and to formally become Christians. That will invite persecution and prosecution and imprisonment. However, did Jesus ever command his disciples to “go to church?” No. Did Jesus ever command his disciples to become “Christians?” No. He simply commanded us to follow him and to be discipled. There are ways in which they can hear, believe the gospel and be discipled without being “Christianized” or without necessarily having direct contact with "Christians" or "the Christian Church." But this is not the proper forum to discuss this.
As more and more Muslims are healed of infirmities and set free from unclean spirits in the name of Isa, that name will gain increasing currency and favor within the Muslim community. It is important during this time that Muslims are not renouncing Islam and converting to Christianity, for that will result in backlash and setback to the advance of the gospel. Eventually Muslims will have a measure of freedom to become followers or disciples of Isa, the one honored in their holy book. After all, they are still Muslims outwardly; they have broken no law. But in their hearts they are now Muslim disciples of Isa. As a precedent, within the Jewish community there are already “Jews for Jesus.” The most important thing is not their religious label or their outward bearing.
Unquestionably, some of their beliefs and practices must be renounced if they are truly to follow Isa. But the Holy Spirit through specially prepared vessels---not directly through those known to be Christians---will gradually teach them and convict them of these things as they study Scripture. Yes, there may be false teachings in such a Muslim “denomination” for Isa. But are there not some questionable teachings in existing Christian denominations as well? The point is that the situation will certainly be better than it is at present, with Islam overtly hostile against the Church of Jesus Christ and very few willing to convert to "Christianity."
Romans 2:28 A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. 29 No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man’s praise is not from men, but from God.
For there to be a mass movement of Muslims to Isa, the gospel must be contextualized. Western cultural considerations and other non-essentials must be stripped away and the gospel expressed in only its essential components: follow Isa alone as Lord and Savior. The compassion work of healing the sick must be done to demonstrate to them His authority to forgive their sins and take them to the Father.
For a more theological and scholarly understanding of contextualizing the gospel to fit the culture, please read the article by John and Anna Travis, “Contextualization among Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists: a Focus on Insider Movements.” It appeared in the September-October 2005 issue of the journal Mission Frontiers. See also “Pursuing Faith, not Religion,” excerpted from Chapters 5 and 6 of Appropriate Christianity (William Carey Library Publishers, 2005) by Charles Kraft.