As-Salaam-Alaikum to our
Muslim brothers and sisters,
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shalom to our Hebrew cousins,
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and peace be upon you
our Christian friends.
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Welcome once again to
"The Descendants of Abraham."
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We are blessed by your
presence with us today.
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Today we have a special guest,
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his name is brother Shahbaz
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and I've heard his story
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and I'd like him to
share that story with you.
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I'd like you to welcome
Brother Shahbaz with me today.
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Salaam, brother
Shahbaz. Ma-Salaam.
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You know when I heard your story
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and thank you, thank
you for being with us today.
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I really appreciate it.
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When I heard your
story I was so impressed.
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Why don't you
start with telling us
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a little bit about yourself?
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Well, I was born in Iran
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and grew up in a Muslim family
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and I was always, as a young boy
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I remember, may be
about 3 or 4 years old,
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I was always a
very spiritual child.
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I was pretty religious
and I was not fanatical
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or anything, you know, I
was too young for all that,
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but I was just so,
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the concept of God
was so important to me
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and I wanted to know this God.
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And this is the God of
Abraham, right? Absolutely.
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Because when we are young,
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we know the God of
Abraham. Absolutely.
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Well, tell us a little
bit about that journey?
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Well, you know, this
desire continued with me.
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And I recalled even
when I was 7 years old
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we were staying in my father's--
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he had a summer, he
had build a summer home
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in north of Iran,
in the Caspian coast.
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And one night we
were there for a vacation
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and one night we were going
to watch a television program,
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a movie called 'The Robe.'
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It's an American production.
Yes, I've heard of that, yes.
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And you know, this is back
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before the
revolution of in Iran in 1979,
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at that time
you know you watched
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a lot of American
films on television.
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And in that film, in
one particular scene,
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they showed Jesus
hanging on the cross.
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Of course the movie
wasn't about Christ,
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the movie was about the
soldiers that crucified Jesus,
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there's the whole
movie was about them.
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And one of the
soldiers turned and said
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this man had died for the world,
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and those words were
the most precious words
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I've ever heard
in my whole life.
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Seven years in this
world and I was 7 years old
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and when I heard those words,
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I fell in love with Jesus.
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How can it be
that this great prophet
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would die for the world.
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I've never heard
about that before
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that He had died for the world.
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And as Muslims we
didn't believed that
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Jesus had died for the world,
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but I was not prejudiced
against that at 7 years of age.
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The concept was so precious,
I fell in love with Him.
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Oh, amen.
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You know, so you
watch and like you said,
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you just see the
feet at that time.
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So when you heard
this, did you even know
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who He was, we're
brought up to think of Him
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as a prophet as you said,
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but did you know
anything else about Him
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and what was it in your heart,
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in your mind that
impressed you to search it out.
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Well, I only
knew what I was told
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that He was one of
the great prophets,
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one of the five great prophets
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and that was it,
that He was the one,
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the prophet that
was very kind prophet
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and I knew that,
but not much more,
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now He was just great.
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And--but this
particular knowledge of Him
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dying for the world,
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although the
movie never did say,
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why He died for the world,
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they just said this
man died for the world
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and I didn't know, I
would not find that out
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for another 11
years. Oh, really.
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You know, it's amazing
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because the more of
our people that I talk to,
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I find that it takes
years of knowledge of learning,
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you know, and the
same thing happened to you.
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Now I remember you told me that
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you've
experienced a lot of miracles
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and one of the many
miracles that you've experienced
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was with your brother. Yeah.
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Can you tell us a
little bit about that?
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Well, of course,
in passing of time
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and by 1979 I am
about 13 years old
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and we left Iran, we
came to United States
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because of the 1979 revolution,
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my parents decided to
move to United States.
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Things were getting really bad
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and they felt that even
our lives may be in danger,
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although we were not politically
involved in anything,
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it's just things were dangerous,
so we moved to United States.
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We were fortunate
enough to be able to do that.
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and I recall when
I was 17 years old,
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we were living at
that time in California
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and one day we
were in my living room.
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At the time one of my brothers,
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unfortunately became
sick, he became schizophrenic.
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And as you know
schizophrenia is a very complex,
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mental illness
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and he had to take
very heavy medication
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to control him and he wouldn't
take his medication then
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and I knew if he
doesn't take his medication,
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we're going to have a whole
lot of problem on our hand,
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and he's going to
possibly become even violent,
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and then we have
to call the police.
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My mother was begging
him, my brother has begged him,
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my sister and
myself, he would not listen.
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For almost two hours he would
not listen to anyone of us.
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And he wouldn't even
talk to us, he ignored us.
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Finally in desperation I decided
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that I needed to do
something, so I wanted to pray.
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I prayed as a Muslim would pray.
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And at this time
you were still a Muslim?
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Absolutely, yeah,
I am still a Muslim,
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I am 17 now at this point
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and I was sitting and I
went to the dining room table
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and sat there and I prayed
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and I prayed for I
think 15, 20 minutes.
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I was so desperate that
I wanted him to take it,
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so I prayed that
Lord would intervene
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that my brother
would take his medication
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and we don't have to go through
all that trouble with him.
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And nothing happened
and I was so desperate,
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I was about to give up
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and I put my head down
and I didn't know what to do
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and suddenly this
thought came to my mind.
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I had never thought of
that ever before that time,
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it was a foreign thought to me,
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but the thought was,
pray to Jesus. Really?
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Why would that
thought come to my mind?
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Because I had
never prayed to Jesus,
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and why would I
now pray to Jesus
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but the thought
had so much force to it
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that I had to obey it
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because and I
was also desperate,
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so I prayed a
very simple prayer,
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I didn't know how to pray.
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How did you feel when that
thought came to your mind that,
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like 'what pray to Jesus?'
You know how do you feel?
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Yeah, I remember that
question come to my mind,
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pray to Jesus?
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But the thought
was so powerfully
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put in into my
mind that I obeyed it.
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And I quickly
prayed, yeah, abololutely.
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And I said, well, I'm not going
to go wrong praying to Jesus,
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obviously He's in heaven
so and so I prayed and I said,
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Jesus please make my
brother take his medication
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and I looked to over
to my right shoulder,
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because that's
where my brother was
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from my position
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and I immediately looked,
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it was like, when
I said that prayer,
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I was also telling,
now look to your brother
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and I looked,
instantly he got up
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and he went to the quick kitchen
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and I tip toed around
the corner and I followed him
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and then I looked
around the corner,
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and sure enough,
he took his medication
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out of the refrigerator,
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poured it in
the cup and took it.
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Just like that. Just like that.
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And I was saying,
wow. Jesus is powerful.
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One prayer to Jesus
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and immediately my
prayer was answered.
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And that also was a significant
experience that I had.
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Well thank you for
sharing that. Praise be to God.
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What was your mom
around your anyone,
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any of the other family
members were around the corner?
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Everybody was
around and I didn't say
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a word about it to anyone.
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And they didn't
see what was going on.
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No, they didn't know
that I had prayed to Him.
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I kept that bottom
level of my own heart,
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I didn't know
how to talk about it.
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Right. Praise be to God.
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Now you told me also
that you had an experience
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shortly after that.
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When was that, in your bedroom
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when you went and lock
yourself in your bedroom.
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Yes, well, by this
time I am 18 years old,
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as a year has passed
since I've experienced.
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My mother, because my parents
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basically went
bankrupt in United States,
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everything that
they had, they lost.
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So my father went back to Iran,
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my mother joined him
and actually took my brother
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who was sick, with her
and they moved back to Iran
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and myself and my
siblings we stayed here,
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because there was a
war in Iran with Iraq
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and it was
dangerous for us to go back,
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we'll be drafted so we
decided we are going to stay
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and we were living in
Walnut Creek at that time
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and we were all
working, we had different jobs
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and it was first time
really working anywhere,
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up to that point my
parents paid for everything.
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Now I was working in a
restaurant and I remember
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one night, friends from work
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told me, you want to go out?
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You know, I had been
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a very good boy
up to that point.
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You know, my mother
said, come home at 10 o'clock,
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I would come at 10 o'clock.
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I didn't argue and I didn't
go and stayed late and stuff
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and I chose my
friends carefully,
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but now my
friends say, let's go out.
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And one of the things you
know, being brought up Muslims,
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we--that is
something that we are taught,
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right, you be obedient,
be obedient to your parents.
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You're never
disobedient to the parents,
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whatever they say, you do it.
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It's part of our-
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You don't cross
them. You don't cross them.
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You obey them, you honor them
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and you respect them and
it is part of your culture
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and you must do that.
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It's a sin. Right. Yes, it is.
00:11:01.52\00:11:03.68
And so I went
out and I had no idea
00:11:03.71\00:11:09.05
what was going to happen.
00:11:09.08\00:11:10.35
I went out I thought
it's just a simple go out and,
00:11:10.38\00:11:13.25
boy I was in for some awful
stuff I've never experienced
00:11:13.28\00:11:16.73
in my life before
and I participated
00:11:16.76\00:11:18.84
in some things that I
had never participated
00:11:18.87\00:11:22.81
in and I didn't come
home till 6 in the morning.
00:11:22.84\00:11:26.65
And when I got
home, nobody was there,
00:11:26.68\00:11:28.32
my other brother was
spending time with his friends,
00:11:28.35\00:11:31.78
my sister spent the
night at her friend's house
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and my other
brother was out as well
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and I came home
really down and depressed.
00:11:35.88\00:11:38.44
I went to my bedroom,
went to laid in my bed,
00:11:38.47\00:11:41.39
and I couldn't sleep.
00:11:41.42\00:11:43.15
And just a guilt of my
sins of that previous evening
00:11:43.18\00:11:46.23
was just bothering me
so much and I just prayed
00:11:46.26\00:11:49.52
and I decided I am going
to ask God to forgive me,
00:11:49.55\00:11:52.08
and I prayed
and I said the word,
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the Arabic word for 'I repent'
00:11:55.34\00:11:57.28
which is 'astagfirullah'
and I said that repeatedly.
00:11:57.31\00:12:01.39
And as a Shia
Muslim when you sin,
00:12:01.42\00:12:04.55
you say the word
astagfirullah repeatedly
00:12:04.58\00:12:07.21
and often you inflict pain
upon your body in order to gain
00:12:07.24\00:12:11.81
the forgiveness of God,
so I began to bite my hand,
00:12:11.84\00:12:14.68
like this and I
was biting my hand
00:12:14.71\00:12:17.73
with every 'astagfirullah'
I had one bite afterward,
00:12:17.76\00:12:20.83
and I did that may
be 30, 40 or 50 times.
00:12:20.86\00:12:24.15
My hand was hurting
but I felt no relief.
00:12:24.18\00:12:27.32
Then I began to do the
same thing to my tongue,
00:12:27.35\00:12:29.83
every time I
said 'astagfirullah'
00:12:29.86\00:12:31.89
I would bite my tongue,
00:12:31.92\00:12:33.36
and I did that for
another 30, 40 times.
00:12:33.39\00:12:35.56
My tongue was
swollen and it was red
00:12:35.59\00:12:37.63
and I could feel the
pain, but I found no relief.
00:12:37.66\00:12:40.77
I felt that I
needed forgiveness,
00:12:40.80\00:12:43.39
I felt that this burden
of this sin was crushing me
00:12:43.42\00:12:46.53
and I just threw down everything
that I knew up to that point
00:12:46.56\00:12:50.48
as a Muslim and I began to pray
00:12:50.51\00:12:53.03
from my heart
for the first time.
00:12:53.06\00:12:55.36
I never prayed that well before.
00:12:55.39\00:12:56.92
And I plead with God that
He would forgive me and I wept
00:12:56.95\00:13:00.63
and I wept for, I
think in space of 10 minutes
00:13:00.66\00:13:05.44
and suddenly as I was praying,
00:13:05.47\00:13:08.96
crying and
asking for forgiveness,
00:13:08.99\00:13:11.00
it felt like
somebody appeared in my room,
00:13:11.03\00:13:13.74
you know somebody was
present in my room with me,
00:13:13.77\00:13:17.10
I could not see the presence,
but I felt the presence
00:13:17.13\00:13:20.17
it was so
powerful, it was so intense.
00:13:20.20\00:13:23.14
It was filled with
so much love and peace,
00:13:23.17\00:13:25.93
the atmosphere was thick
with the presence of this person
00:13:25.96\00:13:29.80
that I could not
see, and a living person
00:13:29.83\00:13:33.43
that I felt there is not
enough room for both of us,
00:13:33.46\00:13:36.22
somebody got to
leave, and you know who left?
00:13:36.25\00:13:38.64
I did. I ran out of the
room went into the bathroom.
00:13:38.67\00:13:41.26
I thought I am hallucinating
and I threw some water
00:13:41.29\00:13:45.17
on my face, tip it toed back
to the bedroom and sure enough
00:13:45.20\00:13:49.18
the atmosphere was
still thick with that presence
00:13:49.21\00:13:51.61
and I couldn't go in and
I went back to the bathroom
00:13:51.64\00:13:54.26
another series of
splashing my face with water.
00:13:54.29\00:13:58.05
Went back into the
bedroom and he was gone.
00:13:58.08\00:14:00.59
And then when I
realized my guilt has gone,
00:14:00.62\00:14:06.25
the burden has fallen off.
00:14:06.28\00:14:08.30
I don't feel the
guilt of sin anymore,
00:14:08.33\00:14:11.64
for that particular sin.
00:14:11.67\00:14:13.68
You know, there's often people
00:14:13.71\00:14:15.62
would ask me, well
who do you think that was?
00:14:15.65\00:14:17.62
I believe it was
Lord Jesus Christ.
00:14:17.65\00:14:20.33
And I believe that He
didn't come to forgive my sins
00:14:20.36\00:14:24.73
of the past, He
simply came to give me
00:14:24.76\00:14:28.81
a sample of what sin-forgiving
when we truly repent means.
00:14:28.84\00:14:33.75
Though I did not
pray in the name of Jesus,
00:14:33.78\00:14:36.14
I really I am convinced that God
will hear the prayer of anyone,
00:14:36.17\00:14:42.75
anyone who comes to Him,
they may not know better.
00:14:42.78\00:14:46.23
Remember the Bible says,
in the times of ignorance God
00:14:46.26\00:14:49.05
winks at our sins
and I was ignorant,
00:14:49.08\00:14:52.80
I didn't know in the name
of Jesus Christ I must pray.
00:14:52.83\00:14:56.37
But God honored me,
because I was desperate
00:14:56.40\00:14:59.68
and from that point,
moment on my experience changed
00:14:59.71\00:15:02.93
because now I had
experience something
00:15:02.96\00:15:03.99
I had never experienced before.
00:15:04.02\00:15:05.35
Anything before that
suddenly became meaningless.
00:15:05.38\00:15:09.04
Now it's
interesting because being
00:15:09.07\00:15:12.28
from the same
background as such,
00:15:12.31\00:15:15.98
you were asking for
forgiveness of sin but really
00:15:16.01\00:15:20.50
it was a sin of disobedience
to your parents and so on.
00:15:20.53\00:15:28.39
At that point
probably not even realizing
00:15:28.42\00:15:30.94
the full extent of what sin is.
00:15:30.97\00:15:32.90
But asking for the forgiveness
00:15:32.93\00:15:37.85
that you disobeyed your parents.
00:15:37.88\00:15:41.47
At that time did you become
00:15:41.50\00:15:45.71
a follower of
the God of Abraham?
00:15:45.74\00:15:47.88
No not quite, I had some more.
00:15:47.91\00:15:53.14
God had to take me through
a few more bends and twists
00:15:53.17\00:15:56.43
and stuff to really bring
me to the foot of the cross.
00:15:56.46\00:15:59.72
And these were series
of experiences that God
00:15:59.75\00:16:03.39
was working in my
life and bringing me closer
00:16:03.42\00:16:05.78
to that experience and
well, after this experience
00:16:05.81\00:16:10.04
I realized that my
prayers had become meaningless.
00:16:10.07\00:16:13.44
I would pray and my
prayers would go no higher
00:16:13.47\00:16:15.23
than the ceiling over
my head and I didn't know
00:16:15.26\00:16:18.17
what to do and I began to
in desperation, seek after God.
00:16:18.20\00:16:22.33
And you were still praying
the way we learned how to pray.
00:16:22.36\00:16:24.40
Absolutely. I
had my Salat prayer,
00:16:24.43\00:16:26.45
my Muslim prayer and
then after my Muslim prayer
00:16:26.48\00:16:29.17
I would have my heart prayer,
because my mother always said,
00:16:29.20\00:16:32.71
after you have your
Salat, which is the name
00:16:32.74\00:16:35.88
for the Muslim
traditional prayer,
00:16:35.91\00:16:38.07
offer a heart felt prayer from
your heart in your mother tongue
00:16:38.10\00:16:41.33
and not in Arabic
because we speak Persian. Right.
00:16:41.36\00:16:44.03
And I would do that
and none of that worked,
00:16:44.06\00:16:47.52
I felt that God
is not there anymore
00:16:47.55\00:16:50.09
and I didn't know what
to do, and I was desperate
00:16:50.12\00:16:52.82
and I wanted to find Him
and I didn't know where to go,
00:16:52.85\00:16:55.75
therefore I felt
the best place I can go,
00:16:55.78\00:16:58.36
there were no
mosques, no priests
00:16:58.39\00:17:00.68
that I could go
to talk to, so I went
00:17:00.71\00:17:02.72
to my Christian
friends and I said,
00:17:02.75\00:17:04.49
can I talk to your pastor,
can I talk to your priest?
00:17:04.52\00:17:09.26
That's impressive- Yeah
and my Christian friends
00:17:09.29\00:17:10.79
were secular and their parents
went to church they didn't,
00:17:10.82\00:17:13.76
so they never really
cared about what I said.
00:17:13.79\00:17:16.40
Right. And you actually
are going to them and saying,
00:17:16.43\00:17:18.91
take me to your
pastor, take me to your priest
00:17:18.94\00:17:21.14
or whoever it
is, your imam. Right.
00:17:21.17\00:17:23.75
Absolutely. I
need to talk to them.
00:17:23.78\00:17:25.64
What happened at that point?
00:17:25.67\00:17:27.09
Well, that never come
to fruition and suddenly
00:17:27.12\00:17:31.48
I tell you this, the same time
00:17:31.51\00:17:33.45
with all my siblings and myself
00:17:33.48\00:17:35.37
we all lost our
jobs in one week.
00:17:35.40\00:17:38.19
God allowed that to happen. Yes.
00:17:38.22\00:17:40.41
And then within a
month we lost our apartment,
00:17:40.44\00:17:43.66
and we were homeless.
00:17:43.69\00:17:45.37
And now we are
out on the streets.
00:17:45.40\00:17:47.82
I can't call my mom and
dad in Iran and tell them
00:17:47.85\00:17:50.05
that I am homeless because
my mom would have probably
00:17:50.08\00:17:51.78
had a heart attack
and now I am homeless,
00:17:51.81\00:17:55.76
I have no money but
more than anything else
00:17:55.79\00:17:57.77
I've lost God in my
life, so now I am desperate
00:17:57.80\00:18:01.20
to find God until one
day my brother calls me,
00:18:01.23\00:18:04.26
I was staying at a
friend's home and said,
00:18:04.29\00:18:08.14
Shahbaz, we met a Christian guy
out in the street saying things
00:18:08.17\00:18:12.07
that we've never heard before,
00:18:12.10\00:18:13.20
may be you want
to talk with him,
00:18:13.23\00:18:14.26
may be he can help you with
your depression and your search.
00:18:14.29\00:18:17.98
So the ext day I went and
met with him and he came over
00:18:18.01\00:18:22.18
to me and I was expecting
an angel to come to me,
00:18:22.21\00:18:24.88
I didn't know
who was I expecting,
00:18:24.91\00:18:26.46
but there's a very average
looking guy with plaid shirt
00:18:26.49\00:18:29.65
and blue jeans, walked up to me
00:18:29.68\00:18:31.54
and I greeted him
and he greeted me.
00:18:31.57\00:18:33.88
And I began to tell him
what was happening to me.
00:18:33.91\00:18:36.36
At this point I saw
myself trapped in an iron box,
00:18:36.39\00:18:43.23
or a concrete box of some
sort, no windows, no doors,
00:18:43.26\00:18:47.90
absolute darkness in
my mind and depression.
00:18:47.93\00:18:51.10
I am not a
depressed person. Right.
00:18:51.13\00:18:53.39
And he began to break
the bread of life to me.
00:18:53.42\00:18:56.75
He spoke of no denominations.
00:18:56.78\00:18:58.77
He simply talked to me about
Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
00:18:58.80\00:19:03.50
And he began to tell me
why the blood of Jesus Christ,
00:19:03.53\00:19:07.07
the Lamb of God is the blood
that is needed to cover my sins
00:19:07.10\00:19:11.25
and forgiveness that
I need is in Him only.
00:19:11.28\00:19:13.75
And as he began to speak
to me and as we walked down
00:19:13.78\00:19:17.11
main street, Walnut Creek,
the walls began to crumble
00:19:17.14\00:19:20.83
and come down in this box.
00:19:20.86\00:19:22.40
It was like somebody
had this sledge hammer
00:19:22.43\00:19:24.94
and he was breaking it all down.
00:19:24.97\00:19:26.41
Light began to flood my
soul and within 10 minutes
00:19:26.44\00:19:30.56
he knew I'm a Muslim,
10 minutes down the road,
00:19:30.59\00:19:34.18
he stopped and I stopped,
I still know where that spot
00:19:34.21\00:19:37.78
is and it's precious to me.
00:19:37.81\00:19:39.53
And he said to me and I
get emotional about this,
00:19:39.56\00:19:42.40
I am sorry but he said to me,
00:19:42.43\00:19:44.78
"Will you give
your heart to Jesus?"
00:19:44.81\00:19:48.02
He knew I am a Muslim
and he knew just about
00:19:48.05\00:19:50.39
the quarter mile up the
road, seven other Muslims,
00:19:50.42\00:19:54.60
my friends are sitting
in a café waiting for me,
00:19:54.63\00:19:57.30
he had no fear of any of that.
00:19:57.33\00:19:59.37
And He said, "Will you
give your heart to Jesus?"
00:19:59.40\00:20:01.70
And I said, "What do I do?"
00:20:01.73\00:20:04.19
You know, check it out to
that point the evening before
00:20:04.22\00:20:07.59
I had decided, I will meet
him, he will bless me and then
00:20:07.62\00:20:11.23
I will do him the greatest
favor that he can ever have,
00:20:11.26\00:20:14.40
I would turn him into a Muslim,
00:20:14.43\00:20:16.29
that was my plan,
that I will convert him.
00:20:16.32\00:20:19.48
Yes. You thanking him,
you're going to thank him.
00:20:19.51\00:20:21.42
Yes, thank you
for your blessing.
00:20:21.45\00:20:23.58
Now you need to
know about Islam. Right.
00:20:23.61\00:20:27.46
But that never came
to fruition and he said,
00:20:27.49\00:20:29.45
will you give your heart to
Jesus and I had no other option,
00:20:29.48\00:20:32.94
I was fully
surrounded by the power of God.
00:20:32.97\00:20:37.07
How can you deny, how can
you say anything at that point,
00:20:37.10\00:20:40.62
I had found complete redemption
and he said let's pray,
00:20:40.65\00:20:46.70
he took me to
discern his prayer.
00:20:46.73\00:20:48.36
He read a verse in the
Bible and I opened up my eyes
00:20:48.39\00:20:51.77
and he opened up
his eyes and he said,
00:20:51.80\00:20:53.51
congratulations you
are a Christian now.
00:20:53.54\00:20:55.65
I am! He said, and
I looked all around me
00:20:55.68\00:20:58.89
and I looked at the
trees, the trees were greener
00:20:58.92\00:21:00.97
than they had ever been before
and I looked at the blue sky,
00:21:01.00\00:21:02.98
it was bluer than ever before.
00:21:03.01\00:21:04.21
Everything came
alive. Everything came alive.
00:21:04.24\00:21:06.06
Even ugly people
were beautiful now.
00:21:06.09\00:21:08.80
And I ran to the café
all the way to the café
00:21:08.83\00:21:11.81
and I said, friends, I
told all my Muslim friends,
00:21:11.84\00:21:14.04
guess what, I
am a Christian now.
00:21:14.07\00:21:16.18
I thought that
they all would be happy.
00:21:16.21\00:21:17.87
They said what? What
are you talking about
00:21:17.90\00:21:19.74
your Muslim now, but you know
00:21:19.77\00:21:21.44
it was an
experience I can never forget.
00:21:21.47\00:21:24.65
We can't. We can never expect,
00:21:24.68\00:21:26.71
we can' forget
those experiences.
00:21:26.74\00:21:29.06
Now one of the other
things that I do want to ask you
00:21:29.09\00:21:34.73
about is this shaking
experience that you had,
00:21:34.76\00:21:39.32
you know because I
have something very similar
00:21:39.35\00:21:41.07
as we were discussing, you know,
00:21:41.10\00:21:43.09
our journey to
the God of Abraham,
00:21:43.12\00:21:45.32
the true God of
Abraham, not many Muslims
00:21:45.35\00:21:50.07
had that
experience but you had it,
00:21:50.10\00:21:51.88
can you tell us
a little about it?
00:21:51.91\00:21:53.60
Absolutely. I
was-- this is few months
00:21:53.63\00:21:56.51
after that experience,
finally the Lord blessed
00:21:56.54\00:21:58.93
us with an apartment in Oakland
and so my siblings and I,
00:21:58.96\00:22:02.37
we moved into that apartment
and this particular evening
00:22:02.40\00:22:04.87
we had a--we had a friend, I
was over there and they began
00:22:04.90\00:22:08.84
to mock me for my conversion
and they began to attack me
00:22:08.87\00:22:12.63
and literally it was terrible.
00:22:12.66\00:22:15.89
I went through a
horrible experience with them
00:22:15.92\00:22:17.91
and they did not
stop mocking me for almost
00:22:17.94\00:22:21.26
a space of 45 minutes or so.
00:22:21.29\00:22:23.99
Finally my
brother fame over to me
00:22:24.02\00:22:26.15
and he grabbed
me from the collar,
00:22:26.18\00:22:27.45
he lift me up from
the ground and shook me,
00:22:27.48\00:22:29.71
so you are now,
you have become crazy,
00:22:29.74\00:22:32.31
you are like our other brother,
you have lost your mind,
00:22:32.34\00:22:35.10
what's this talk about
Christianity, you are a Muslim.
00:22:35.13\00:22:38.30
And he threw me on the
ground and I turned my face
00:22:38.33\00:22:41.61
from them and I wept,
I have no feeling of hate
00:22:41.64\00:22:44.71
or anger or revenge in my heart.
00:22:44.74\00:22:46.50
All I wanted was
for them to experience
00:22:46.53\00:22:48.45
what I had experienced.
00:22:48.48\00:22:49.75
And then I left, and
I went to the bedroom
00:22:49.78\00:22:52.33
to pray and I prayed
my prayer, simple prayer,
00:22:52.36\00:22:54.66
Lord takes this feeling from me.
00:22:54.69\00:22:57.00
I am trying to tell
them about your love.
00:22:57.03\00:22:58.66
Please save them and
take this pain from my heart.
00:22:58.69\00:23:01.81
I went to the bathroom, because
the bathroom was the only room
00:23:01.84\00:23:04.34
that had the lock and I
locked the door to be delivered
00:23:04.37\00:23:07.14
from their sneering and making
fun of me and I leaned my elbow
00:23:07.17\00:23:11.36
on the counter in the
bathroom just so I can relax
00:23:11.39\00:23:14.43
for a few minutes
and then it happened.
00:23:14.46\00:23:17.71
This it was, as
though the hand of God
00:23:17.75\00:23:20.15
went through my whole being,
the shaking that took place
00:23:20.18\00:23:23.12
from the top of my head
and went right through me,
00:23:23.15\00:23:25.51
and though it exited
from my feet and suddenly
00:23:25.54\00:23:30.21
this absolute amount of peace,
joy, love and the power of God
00:23:30.24\00:23:35.68
just took over me to the degree,
00:23:35.71\00:23:38.20
I did not fall to the ground,
I did not start doing thing,
00:23:38.23\00:23:40.81
but I was just
filled with this awe,
00:23:40.84\00:23:44.10
reverence and I
began to weep like a baby.
00:23:44.13\00:23:47.80
I came out of the bathroom.
00:23:47.83\00:23:49.90
My sister said
what's wrong with you?
00:23:49.93\00:23:51.80
And I just, I couldn't speak,
00:23:51.83\00:23:53.33
I did not speak
till the next day.
00:23:53.36\00:23:54.94
I had no words to say.
00:23:54.97\00:23:56.24
And I went to sleep and I
had the best sleep of my life.
00:23:56.27\00:23:59.65
And today do you
know what that was?
00:23:59.68\00:24:04.43
Well what do you think?
00:24:04.46\00:24:05.95
I believe that the
Lord gave me His anointing
00:24:05.98\00:24:08.99
and He took away my pain.
00:24:09.02\00:24:10.79
And instead God
wants to bless us.
00:24:10.82\00:24:13.46
He wants us to have a
brand new experience everyday
00:24:13.49\00:24:15.76
and He gave me a
deeper experience
00:24:15.79\00:24:18.60
of His spirit than ever before.
00:24:18.63\00:24:21.10
And I tell you,
you know, my brother
00:24:21.13\00:24:24.13
who shook me from the
collar, I am glad to say
00:24:24.16\00:24:26.91
that he is now a pastor.
00:24:26.94\00:24:29.31
Now he serves the Lord.
00:24:29.34\00:24:30.49
My sister is
baptized, serves the Lord.
00:24:30.52\00:24:34.98
My other brother is
baptized, so the Lord
00:24:35.01\00:24:37.50
has touched my whole family.
00:24:37.53\00:24:39.20
Your whole family now
has taken that holy journey.
00:24:39.23\00:24:42.27
All my siblings
in the United States
00:24:42.30\00:24:43.68
have made that
decision to follow the Lord.
00:24:43.71\00:24:45.95
Oh, praise God.
00:24:45.98\00:24:48.47
Praise God and
it started with you?
00:24:48.50\00:24:52.28
Absolutely. It
started with you. Praise God.
00:24:52.31\00:24:55.27
That is wonderful, Shahbaz.
00:24:55.30\00:24:58.73
You know, I
would like you to take
00:24:58.76\00:25:03.41
just a couple of minutes
and say something to the people
00:25:03.44\00:25:07.82
who are watching this
and listening to your story.
00:25:07.85\00:25:12.16
What would you
like to say to them,
00:25:12.20\00:25:13.98
just look into the camera.
00:25:14.01\00:25:17.87
If I had anything to say
00:25:17.90\00:25:19.26
to all my brothers and
sisters, all around the world.
00:25:19.29\00:25:22.20
I consider all my
Muslim brothers and sisters
00:25:22.23\00:25:26.21
as my brothers and
sisters, all my Jewish friends
00:25:26.24\00:25:29.34
are also my brothers and sisters
00:25:29.37\00:25:31.42
and all of the
Christians out there.
00:25:31.45\00:25:32.63
Anyone that has not come
to know the Lord Jesus Christ,
00:25:32.66\00:25:35.45
in a meaningful way, I
want you to invite you to make
00:25:35.48\00:25:39.17
that decision,
the Lord Jesus Christ
00:25:39.20\00:25:41.21
who touched my heart, and
my life and who changed me,
00:25:41.24\00:25:45.09
I never- I was
never in a position,
00:25:45.12\00:25:48.06
I never even thought that I
would one day be a Christian.
00:25:48.09\00:25:51.62
That was not my-I never
thought that would be my path,
00:25:51.65\00:25:54.60
but when the Lord Jesus Christ
00:25:54.63\00:25:56.18
called me to the
higher experience
00:25:56.21\00:25:58.36
and He called me
and I could not resist.
00:25:58.39\00:26:01.08
He is calling you today
and you may be right now
00:26:01.11\00:26:03.24
experiencing
what I've experienced.
00:26:03.27\00:26:04.39
May be you are
in that depression,
00:26:04.42\00:26:05.70
may be you are
in that dark space.
00:26:05.73\00:26:07.73
May be you are seeking for
a greater experience with God.
00:26:07.76\00:26:12.20
And I want to invite you to come
00:26:12.23\00:26:14.10
and follow Jesus
Christ even right now.
00:26:14.13\00:26:19.20
Thank you Brother Shahbaz.
00:26:19.23\00:26:20.49
My pleasure. And, you know,
00:26:20.52\00:26:23.75
brothers and
sisters he, Brother Shahbaz
00:26:23.78\00:26:26.79
had a wonderful
experiences, most of us have
00:26:26.82\00:26:29.47
and as you've heard his plead,
00:26:29.50\00:26:31.67
if you have any questions,
00:26:31.70\00:26:33.22
do please email us
00:26:33.25\00:26:38.07
and we will answer
your questions. Thank you.
00:26:38.10\00:26:41.75
When you get to the
Descendants of Abraham,
00:26:41.78\00:26:44.93
you can be sure that
you're lighting the way
00:26:44.96\00:26:47.12
for all in search
of the Creator God
00:26:47.15\00:26:49.96
and His message of love
and forgiveness to all nations.
00:26:49.99\00:26:53.28
Thank you for your
support and for your prayers.
00:26:53.31\00:26:57.27
All contributions
are tax deductible.
00:26:57.30\00:26:59.75
Please visit us online today
at www.descendantsofabraham.org
00:26:59.78\00:27:05.04
or write to us at the address
you see listed on your screen.
00:27:05.07\00:27:08.31
All correspondence
will be kept confidential.
00:27:08.34\00:27:12.13
Friends, Brother Shahbaz will
be joining us again next week
00:27:12.16\00:27:15.94
as we discussed the subject
of sin which is something
00:27:15.97\00:27:19.94
that he experienced
and that as you heard
00:27:19.97\00:27:24.61
before the forgiveness of sin.
00:27:24.64\00:27:27.57
And we talked about, you
know, not many people know
00:27:27.60\00:27:29.99
what sin is, so
join us next week
00:27:30.02\00:27:32.53
as we together
discuss that subject of sin.
00:27:32.56\00:27:36.24
And don't forget
write to us, email us,
00:27:36.27\00:27:39.22
go to our website,
www.descendantsofabraham.org.
00:27:39.25\00:27:44.31
And we would
love to hear from you.
00:27:44.34\00:27:46.50
Tell us what you
think of the program.
00:27:46.53\00:27:48.69
Tell us what subjects you would
like to like us to discuss,
00:27:48.72\00:27:52.71
anything like that, okay.
00:27:52.74\00:27:54.38
So we would love
to hear from you.
00:27:54.41\00:27:55.89
Sent your prayer
request and we thank you
00:27:55.92\00:27:58.57
so much for joining us.
00:27:58.60\00:28:01.08
May God be with you
the rest of this week.
00:28:01.11\00:28:04.32