The Ground Zero Mosque Controversy in New York City
(or Why did God put such huge oil reserves in the Middle East?)
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It is apparent that the end-time enemy of the Church of Jesus Christ is the spirit of Islam. The antichrist, legalistic spirit which blinded the Pharisees to the messiahship of Jesus and drove them to crucify Him reappeared in the 7th Century as the antichrist, legalistic spirit of Islam. Now in the 21st Century it is beginning to exert its power worldwide.Confronted with the threat from Islam, the Church in America is beginning to awake from her slumber. Alarmed Christians are now being mobilized to pray, to speak out, to demonstrate, and if possible even to take political and legal action against the spread of Islam.
The Ground Zero Mosque Controversy in New YorkThe rallying point now is the $100 million ($150 million according to some reports), 13-story mosque being planned for Ground Zero in Lower Manhattan. We are told that it is perfectly legal according to United States law. It has been said that historically Muslims have erected mosques on the sites of their victories over their enemies. If the mosque is built, therefore, it would more than add insult to the injury of the single greatest attack on American soil---it would represent the brazen challenge of Islam to “Christian” America right in our own house. (However, the planners offer the thoughtful explanation that the mosque will be a "tribute" to the victims of 911.)
And this will be only the beginning of the attempted Islamization of America for the foreseeable future, at least until their money runs out.
It is interesting that the incredible financial might to fund the spread of Islam with such endeavors around the world comes from oil imported from the Middle East. The income from this oil is drained primarily from the west and especially from “Christian” America, the world’s biggest consumer and importer of oil. What did God have in mind when He put those vast oil reserves in the Middle East?
Let’s take a look at this puzzling question.
"Why did you allow them so much wealth, God?"Most Christians, including myself, are disgusted at the prospect of a huge mosque erected at Ground Zero. Conservative radio shows are abuzz with talk about this mosque. We listen to the talk shows and get angry, indignant, and fearful at what is happening to our country. But is the Lord pleased with this reaction?
God in His unfathomable wisdom has allowed Middle Eastern countries great oil wealth. Using that wealth along with their geometric population growth, Muslims are now threatening some of the very western countries which once conquered and colonized them. And they plan to do it quite legally without the use of the sword. If Muslims succeed in building their mosque at Ground Zero, and after that spread their religion relentlessly throughout America with the help of their wealth, it will likely be done peacefully in accordance with American law. The reaction of Christians is usually to speak out, fanning the flames of fear, hate, revulsion, and anger toward Islam within the body of Christ. There is even a church in Florida holding a public Quran-burning. There is of course also prayer being lifted up to God for our country.
What is wrong with this picture as a whole? In our fear and alarm, we have forgotten the final command Christ gave to his disciples before ascending to heaven. This along with prayer should take precedence before any other actions, especially those based on fear or anger.
The Church is to make disciples of Muslims in our midstMatthew 28:19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.
Mark 16:15 He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. …17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name …they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”
But the Church is afraidChristians are apprehensive of “competing” with Islam in the “free market economy of religion” which exists in America. We have seen how quickly it has spread in other countries. We seem to be afraid that when the playing field is leveled and mosques are free to spread throughout the land like a plague, we will lose our advantage of having been here first and America being our country. The Islamic juggernaut will be irresistible.
Again, what’s wrong with this picture?
The Church was very different in ActsIn the Book of Acts when the church was very powerful, Peter performed a great miracle by healing a lame beggar just outside the Temple Gate. This eventually resulted in a great harvest of souls for the kingdom of God. How did Peter perform this miracle?
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.”
When the Church today learns to proclaim the gospel and heal the sick as did the disciples in Acts, we will not need to fear Islam. We do not have the silver and gold which they have from their oil wealth to purchase souls for their religion, but instead we have the authority to heal the sick and cast out demons in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Let the Muslims see the miracles, and then let them choose either their dead works religion or the living Savior who heals and can save them from their sins.
When the Church learns how to use this untapped power and authority to heal the sick in obedience to the Great Commission, we will no longer need to fear or hate the Muslims in our midst. We will love them and be able to reach many of them for the gospel of Jesus Christ. They are conveniently already in our backyards and living next door to us. We don’t have to relocate far away to the foreign mission field to reach them. Could this be God's wisdom?
It’s already being doneThe gospel-resistant Muslims of the world’s largest unreached people group which reside in Indonesia are already being reached (click on Reaching the Unreachable). Indonesia of course boasts more Muslims than any other country on earth. But God has graciously shown us an effective way to reach them.
Could this be why God has allowed Muslims in the Middle East such great wealth, much of it ironically coming from our own pockets? Could it be that the Church in America has become complacent and powerless because we have we taken God’s abundant blessings for granted? When God's people come to trust in their wealth instead of God, they set themselves up for disappointment. The idol of wealth will fail us. Is this happening now? Our national debt now stands at $13,300,000,000,000 (13.3 trillion) and is increasing by the second. And according to the Congressional Budget Office the 2010 federal deficit will be over $1,300,000,000,000.
Is the “hedge” around us now being taken away for our own good?
Is this God’s way of waking up the Church in America?Revelation 3:15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16 So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 17 You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. 18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. 19 Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent.
Revelation 3:1 I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. 2 Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God. 3 Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it, and repent.
Will pastors and church leaders in America heed this rebuke from the Lord? Or will they continue to sleep or to entertain fear and anger as their primary reaction to the encroaching spirit of Islam?
Will they wake up and train and mobilize the Church to preach the gospel to the Muslims in our midst in the spirit and power of Elijah? Or will they simply gather Christians to pray, which is a good start but alone by itself cannot stop the advance of Islam?
The restoration of the spirit and power of ElijahI used to pastor a church in New York City, and one of our daughters was in college just several blocks away from Ground Zero during the 911 attacks. Make no mistake about it, I am personally very much against the construction of the mosque at Ground Zero. (And neither do I want to see a mosque go up in my neighborhood.) Stopping the project---while a very worthwhile endeavor---may however end up being little more than putting a band-aid over a spreading cancerous lesion and simply postpone the inevitable.
Only when the spirit and power of Elijah is restored to the Church can we effectively reach the Muslims for the gospel and fulfill the Great Commission. It is our obligation before God to proclaim the kingdom of God to them with power.
Luke 10:9 Heal the sick, and tell them, “the kingdom of God is near you.”
Click here to read a very instructive testimony in response to this article.
Other articles | Featured essays
Articles: Reaching Muslims for the Kingdom of GodThe Kingdom of God comes from within, not from without
http://www.theelijahchallenge.org/Teachings/Kingdom_of_God_comes_from_within.htmChristianity or Jesus Christ?
http://www.theelijahchallenge.org/Teachings/5-Christianity-or-Jesus-Christ.htmA new paradigm for fulfilling the Great Commission to the Unreachable
http://www.theelijahchallenge.org/Teachings/A_New_Paradigm_for_Fulfilling_the_Great_Commission.htmThe inexorable advance of Isl--m in America & the West
http://www.theelijahchallenge.org/Teachings/4%20The%20Inexorable%20Advance%20of%20Isl-m%20in%20America.htmTravis on Contextualization
http://www.theelijahchallenge.org/Contextualization%20-%20Travis.pdfReaching the unreachable---the world's largest unreached people group
http://www.theelijahchallenge.org/Reaching%20the%20Unreachable.htm
