Participants: Shakeela Yasuf
Series Code: DOA
Program Code: DOA000008
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00:41 As-Salaam-Alaikum to our Muslim brothers and sisters,
00:45 shalom to our Hebrew cousins, 00:48 and peace be upon you our Christian friends. 00:51 Welcome once again to "The Descendants of Abraham." 00:55 What a blessing it is to have you here with us today. 01:00 Do you know Abraham believed in the supernatural? 01:06 He and Sarah were too old to have children, 01:10 but God told them that they will 01:13 and they did because Abraham believed. 01:18 Do you believe in the supernatural? 01:21 Many today feel that it is not civilized 01:25 to believe in these things. 01:28 That we should only believe in what we can touch 01:33 or what we can hear or what we can see. 01:36 But if we believe in the God 01:38 of the most high, in the God of Abraham, 01:42 then we must believe in the supernatural. 01:46 We cannot believe in God if we don't. 01:53 What exactly is the definition of supernatural? 01:57 Well, one of the definitions I think that fit 02:01 very well is that it is a force beyond 02:05 scientific understanding or the laws of nature. 02:12 It is a force beyond scientific understanding. 02:15 Believing in the supernatural means that you believe 02:19 in what can't be seen 02:21 but you can see its effects. 02:27 I was exposed to the supernatural 02:30 at a very young age. 02:33 I guess I should say, starting at a very young age. 02:37 I used to accompany my grandfather 02:40 who was an imam at that time. 02:45 When our neighbors or our members 02:48 in the community would call him, because someone, 02:52 some loved one was demon possessed. 02:56 At that time I really didn't understand at all, 03:00 but as I grew up, I came to understand 03:02 and now I even believe more, 03:05 but I would go with my grandfather and I would watch 03:10 as he would pray over these people 03:13 and he always had some oil, 03:17 I really don't know what the oil was but it was oil that he, 03:20 that was warmed up and he put a little bit into their ear 03:24 and he would pray over them some more 03:27 and then I would witness, I would see this person, 03:33 as they, their whole body convulsed 03:36 and they screamed and writhed as this demon 03:43 was really being exorcized out of their body. 03:50 Now I never saw the demon that left, 03:54 but I saw the effects afterwards, 03:57 after that demon left them. 04:00 The peace that was in their, 04:03 their bodies, the peace that showed 04:05 on their face, the effects 04:09 of the prayer of my grandfather. 04:16 My journey in recognizing and accepting Jesus 04:19 as the Son of God began with the supernatural. 04:24 It was a set of supernatural events that let me 04:27 to the one true God and His Son Jesus Christ. 04:32 And it all started with an explosion 04:35 in the home where I lived. 04:38 No one was home at the time, so there were no injuries, 04:44 praise the Lord, there were no injuries. 04:47 But first let me tell you, I was raised to believe that God 04:50 did not have a son and that such thinking 04:53 is blasphemy against the Almighty. 04:57 But I want to tell you that our father Abba 05:01 in heaven does have a Son. 05:04 I learned that Mary was chosen by the Creator 05:07 only to carry Jesus in her womb and be born into this world 05:14 the same way that you and I, that all of us are born. 05:18 He had to walk, this walk he had to take 05:21 that journey, like we did. 05:24 The Creator did not have any relations with Mary 05:28 as some of us are told. 05:31 His son Jesus submitted to His Father to become a baby 05:36 and to be placed into Mary's womb. 05:39 That is why she was a virgin, that is why it is said 05:43 that he was born of a virgin and it says 05:46 that in the Holy Scriptures in the Bible 05:49 and it says that in the Quran that she was a virgin. 05:54 God wants to make sure that we understand, 05:58 that this very special baby was not for man or woman, 06:03 but was sent by God to save the world. 06:08 Mary was like a surrogate mother for the baby Jesus. 06:12 She is no different from any other woman created by God 06:17 and should never- and we should never worship 06:21 her as a divine being. 06:25 You know, today with medical science 06:29 a baby can be conceived outside of the womb 06:33 in a Petri dish, in a test tube. 06:36 Now if mankind can do this, how arrogant we must be to think 06:43 that God does not have the power to transform His son 06:49 into a baby into--place Him, into the womb of a virgin 06:56 on this earth to carry Him. 06:59 Man can create that baby but God can't, 07:04 we need to rethink this. 07:08 I was committed to following the God of my father 07:11 and my culture, I wanted to learn more 07:14 about the God of the Quran. 07:16 But the harder I studied, the more questions I had. 07:21 I would attend the Islamic school and ask questions, 07:24 but as always, I was told, 07:28 we must never question the Creator. 07:34 When I left home and traveled to another land, 07:37 I did not take the Quran with me, 07:41 so I wanted my Quran. 07:44 I called my father who is in another country, 07:48 and I asked him to send me the Quran 07:51 and he did so right away. 07:54 One day there was a explosion in my home 07:58 and as I said before no one was there, 08:00 no one was injured, and everything, 08:05 everything I discovered that was around my Quran, 08:11 even the table that the Quran was sitting on. 08:14 Everything was safe nothing was destroyed except my Quran 08:21 which was burnt up. Brothers and sisters, 08:26 we know you tried to burn a hard cover like, 08:29 when I have the Quran, 08:30 you tried to burn that into ashes, 08:32 it's not easy, much as everything around it being safe, 08:37 being fine and those books that book being burned into ashes. 08:42 What was this, I was astonished that this could happen. 08:47 I did not know that it was just the beginning of a long journey, 08:53 a journey for me, a journey that was the one true God, 08:59 the God of Abraham was taking me on. 09:04 There were many other supernatural events 09:07 that took place on this journey, 09:08 but time does not allow me to go into them all. 09:12 I remember I was eating lunch one day 09:18 and I was just thinking about everything that the Creator 09:22 was doing in my life and the things that 09:24 He was teaching me, 09:27 and I was so surprised, 09:32 so astonished with some of the things I was learning. 09:36 And as I sat there and I am contemplating all of this, 09:42 I had this strange sensation, it was like, 09:47 it was like--everything around me was separated. 09:54 I was separated from everything 09:56 around me and I felt this warmth, 10:00 and this brightness, and this tingling sensation 10:05 in my body, it didn't last long, seconds may be, 10:09 but I know, and I know now actually 10:14 that it was the presence of God with me. 10:20 I couldn't wait to share this, this whole experience 10:24 with my family and all the truth that I was learning, 10:27 I wanted to share with them. 10:29 Surely, they would be interested. 10:31 Surely, they would want to share this experience with me, 10:35 and know about this God of Abraham 10:38 that I was learning about. 10:41 I called my daddy and I shared with him all the things 10:48 I've learned, that I was learning. 10:52 And to this day, brothers and sisters, 10:54 and I think I've mentioned this before, 10:56 and I am, it is still with me. 11:00 I remember, I remember that click 11:04 of the phone and I knew that my daddy 11:10 and my family will not speak to me again. 11:18 I knew that at that point, 11:21 I was being separated from them. 11:24 I was disowned, but after my father 11:31 hung up the phone, like Abraham, 11:35 like Ishmael, I felt the pain of separation 11:39 and rejection and I still do. 11:44 But although it was painful for me, 11:49 I knew I had to make a choice, 11:53 to follow God as Abraham did or to follow man. 12:00 Even if that meant that I had to be separated 12:04 from my family, as Abraham had to be separated from his kin, 12:11 from his family, from his native land. 12:20 Because I am a daughter of Abraham, 12:23 I must have faith in the supernatural 12:27 as father Abraham did. 12:31 Let me stress. 12:34 All supernatural events must be in harmony 12:39 with the word of God. 12:41 It must be in harmony with the word of God. 12:47 We like father Abraham must be able to recognize 12:51 the voice of God and to be obedient to Him only. 12:56 Make sure that you are not following strange voices. 13:01 Read the word. 13:04 These words of Jesus brought me comfort 13:07 when my family disowned me. 13:10 In the Injil, in Mathew 10:37, 13:15 here is what it says, "He who loves father 13:20 or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. 13:25 And he who loves son or daughter more 13:28 than Me is not worthy of Me." 13:35 I knew in my heart, in my soul 13:39 that like father Abraham, I had to make the choice 13:45 to follow the living God and leave 13:47 all my relatives behind. 13:50 You know there were others who recognized 13:53 Jesus as the Savior of all nations. 13:56 The Creator gave King Solomon this prophecy 14:00 about a thousand years before Jesus came to this earth. 14:05 Let's read that scripture, 14:07 it's from the Psalms 72:10, 11, 15, 14:15 "The kings of Tarshish and of the Isles will bring presents. 14:21 The kings of Sheba and Seba will offer gifts. 14:25 Yes, all kings shall fall down before Him, 14:29 all nations shall serve Him 14:31 and the gold of Sheba will be given to Him." 14:36 That was a prophecy that the Creator 14:41 gave to Solomon, King Solomon. 14:43 Let's look at the fulfillment of that prophecy 14:47 in the Injil in Mathew 2:1, 2 and 11, 14:52 "Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea 14:56 in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men 15:01 from the East come to Jerusalem, saying, 15:05 where is He who has been born King of the Jews? 15:09 For we have seen His star in the East 15:13 and have come to worship Him. 15:15 And when they had come into the house, 15:18 they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, 15:21 and fell down and worshipped him. 15:25 And when they had opened their treasures, 15:28 they presented gifts to Him, gold, 15:31 frankincense, and myrrh." 15:36 These wise men were believed to be eastern philosophers, 15:40 they were men of integrity and wisdom. 15:43 They studied the workings of the natural world. 15:47 They were not Jews, and they did not have 15:50 any formal religion but the Creator would use 15:54 these wise men to announce the birth of His 15:58 sinless Son into this sinful world. 16:05 As these men studied the heavens, 16:07 they noticed a bright star 16:09 that they had never before seen in the sky. 16:12 They wanted to know what it was and its significance, 16:16 so they searched the Hebrews scriptures to see 16:19 if there was anything written 16:21 there to explain this bright star, because they had heard 16:24 that the Hebrew scriptures foretold 16:29 of a lot of events that were coming, 16:32 so it was logical that that's 16:34 where they would go to study this. 16:36 They remembered some of the prophecies 16:38 that was told in their own land about 16:41 a divine teacher who was to come. 16:45 In studying the Torah, the wise philosophers found 16:49 the prophecy of Balaam in the Book of Numbers. 16:52 Here's what that prophecy said, 16:54 in the Book of Numbers 24:17, 17:01 "I see Him, but not now, I behold Him, but not near. 17:08 A Star shall come out of Jacob, 17:10 A Scepter shall rise out of Israel." 17:16 They wondered, could this star 17:21 be the fulfillment of the promised one? 17:25 As they continued to search for truth, 17:28 God gave them even greater light, 17:32 through dreams they were lead to search out the new born prince. 17:37 Just like Abraham, they followed the instructions 17:41 without knowing where they were going. 17:45 They believed the prophecies of the coming of the promised One 17:49 and they were excited at finding Him. 17:54 They had to travel by night, so that they could see 17:57 the star and follow it. 18:00 The journey was long but the stars finally 18:03 rested over the temple in Jerusalem. 18:07 The Magis as they are also called hurried into Jerusalemx 18:11 inquiring about the Messiah's birth. 18:15 Let us look at the record Mathew 2:2, 18:19 in the Injil again Matthew 2:2, 18:23 "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? 18:27 For we have seen His star in the East 18:30 and have come to worship Him." 18:33 Well, as they enquired, they were disappointed. 18:38 It seems that no one in that city was aware 18:41 of this blessed event, but the news of the wise men 18:46 search-- the news of the wise men 18:49 search reached King Herod. 18:53 Herod was troubled by this news. 18:55 And in order to find out where the Christ would be, 18:59 he asked the wise men to be brought, 19:03 that the wise men be brought to him. 19:05 Let's read the little of the story from the Injil again, 19:08 Mathew 2:3-6, "When Herod the king heard this, 19:15 he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 19:19 And when he had gathered all the chief priests 19:23 and scribes of the people together, 19:26 he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 19:30 And so they said to him, In Bethlehem of Judea, 19:34 for thus it is written by the prophet. 19:38 But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, 19:41 are not the least among the rulers of Judah. 19:45 For out of you shall come a ruler 19:48 who will shepherd My people Israel." 19:54 At this time Herod called the wise men from the east 19:58 and questioned what time the star appeared. 20:01 He needed to know who was this ruler 20:05 that was coming, he felt threatened. 20:08 He was scared. 20:09 Who was this new ruler, who was this king 20:12 that they were talking about that was coming to Jerusalem? 20:16 That was going to be born there, he had his own intentions, 20:21 he sent them into Bethlehem and asked them to report back 20:24 to him where the child was. 20:28 His intention was to kill the child. 20:31 But the Creator God knew Herod's intentions 20:35 and He instructed the wise men through a dream 20:38 that they were not to go back to Herod 20:42 but to return to their own country. 20:47 The Creator would never allow men to interfere in His plans. 20:54 To save His children, to save us, 20:59 He loves us and He gives a choice 21:02 to follow Him or to reject Him. 21:05 But He does not change 21:08 to accommodate our traditions. 21:13 Many, many other prophets of the Bible told the about 21:20 the birth and the treatment that Jesus would receive 21:24 from the hands of His people. 21:27 We would look at some of those prophecies in future programs 21:33 that will point to Jesus, not only as the Son of God, 21:38 not only as the Lamb of God, but also as the Son of God. 21:43 You know, Jesus said in John 21:49 and I'll read this to you. 21:51 Let me read this to you. 21:53 "I told you and you do not believe the works 21:58 that I do in my father's name, they bear witness of me, 22:02 but you do not believe because 22:06 you're not of my sheep, as I said to you. 22:10 My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me. 22:17 And I give them eternal life and they shall never perish, 22:23 neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. 22:28 My father who has given them to Me is greater 22:33 than all and no one is able to snatch them 22:38 out of my father's hand." 22:41 I and my father, and when Jesus 22:46 said those things, the people around Him 22:51 were ready to stone Him. 22:54 They did not want to hear what He had to say, 22:57 they rejected Him. 23:00 Brother and sister Ishmaelites, 23:05 don't reject Him. 23:08 Please listen for His voice. 23:13 He will, He will call you. 23:16 He will come to you, He will teach you, 23:19 if your heart is open, if you are willing, 23:24 He will bring you to the knowledge of the true God, 23:29 the one true God of Abraham. 23:35 I pray, I pray that you will, 23:43 that you will go and search, 23:46 search a heart, if you don't have the tools, 23:51 write to me, write and ask questions. 23:55 If you want to know more write to me, 23:58 I'll answer your questions, I will give you the tools 24:02 so that you can search yourselves. 24:05 Jesus the Christ is the Lamb of God. 24:09 He is the scent of God. 24:12 Don't be like the people that I read 24:15 about here, don't reject Him. 24:18 Please open your heart to Him. 24:23 I'll be right back, stay with us. 24:26 When you get to the Descendants of Abraham, 24:29 you can be sure that you're lighting the way 24:31 for all in search of the Creator God 24:34 and His message of love and forgiveness to all nations. 24:37 Thank you for your support and for your prayers. 24:41 All contributions are tax deductible. 24:43 Please visit us online today at www.descendantsofabraham.org 24:49 or write to us at the address you see listed on your screen. 24:52 All correspondence will be kept confidential. 24:57 If you would like to have a list of the many prophecies 25:00 proving that Jesus was and is God Himself, 25:04 please email or write to us and we will be glad 25:07 to send you the information. 25:09 Our website is www.descendantsofabraham.org. 25:16 Brothers and sisters, if you'll trust in the Creator 25:19 to guide you, He will show you all truth that leads to Him. 25:23 All you have to do is to ask, that is all. 25:28 Just pray and ask 25:30 the God of Abraham, what is truth. 25:33 Tell Him that you want to be lead into truth 25:37 and I promise you, He will lead you. 25:43 Next time we will look at the question. 25:46 Who does Jesus say He is? 25:48 Is He a great prophet? 25:51 Is He a liar or is He truly the Son of God? 25:57 I would like to pray with you. 26:04 Oh, God of Abraham, Isaac, 26:09 Jacob, Ishmael, Father God, 26:14 I pray that you will touch the hearts of every person 26:21 that is watching this right now, that has joined me 26:25 in this program that you will soften their hearts 26:29 and open their minds to your truth that Your Holy Spirit 26:35 will illuminate their minds with a precious truth 26:42 of the one true God, the God of Abraham, 26:46 the living God and His Son, Jesus Christ. 26:51 Father, I am just an instrument in your hand, 26:55 all I can do is give the message but it is You that drives 27:02 it into the heart and into the mind. 27:04 I pray that you will do that at this time. 27:08 In the name of Jesus Christ, 27:12 your beloved Son, amen. 27:17 Until then God willing, we pray that the Almighty 27:22 will bless you and keep you safe in your search for His truth. 27:27 And there is only one God and one truth. 27:33 See you next week. |
Revised 2014-12-17