“I Wonder What
God Is Up To?”
By Larry
Spargimino Ph.D
“…praying also
for us, that God
would open unto
us a door of
utterance, to
speak the
mystery of
Christ, for
which I am also
in bonds: That I
may make it
manifest, as I
ought to speak.
Walk in wisdom
toward them that
are without,
redeeming the
time. Let your
speech be alway
with grace,
seasoned with
salt, that you
may know how ye
ought to answer
every man”
(Col. 4:3-6).
Missions
is one of the
long-declared
burdens of God’s
heart. Going
back to the
original promise
to Abraham,
“…and in thee
shall all
families of the
earth be
blessed” (Gen.
12:3). This
theme continues
in the
Old Testament:
“Look unto me,
and be ye saved,
all the ends of
the earth: For I
am God, and
there is none
else” (Isa.
45:22). “I will
also give thee
for a light to
the Gentiles,
That thou mayest
be my salvation
unto the end of
the earth” (Is.
49:6).
God really means
it. In
the past,
Assyria
moved
troops down a
highway to wage
war on Israel,
but the time is
coming when this
highway will be
one of peace and
redemption. “In
that day shall
there be a
highway out of
Egypt to
Assyria, and the
Assyrian shall
come into Egypt,
and the Egyptian
into Assyria,
and the
Egyptians shall
serve with the
Assyrians. In
that day shall
Israel be the
third with Egypt
and with
Assyria, even a
blessing in the
midst of the
land: Whom the
Lord of hosts
shall bless,
saying, Blessed
be Egypt my
people, And
Assyria the work
of my hands, And
Israel mine
inheritance
(Isa. 19:23-25).
And God still
means it.
“But ye shall
receive power,
after that the
Holy Ghost is
come upon you:
and ye shall be
witnesses unto
me both in
Jerusalem, and
in all Judea,
and in Samaria,
and unto the
uttermost part
of the earth”
(Acts 1:8).
This
prophecy tells
us that the
growth of
Christianity
worldwide would
come about
through the
witness of
Christ’s
obedient
followers. From
the very
beginning, the
body of Christ
is presented as
a witnessing
community. The
result of this
witness would be
measurable
geographical
expansion, and
would extend to
the ends of the
earth. At the
time of the Book
of Acts “the
ends of the
earth” was
coextensive with
the farthest
reaches of the
Roman
Empire. As new
lands and
peoples were
discovered in
the following
centuries,
Christians
understood this
to mean that the
scope of their
witness must
continue to
expand
worldwide.
Foreign Missions
Is Here
At one
time religion
was limited by
geography.
Certain tribes
and people
groups had
certain
religious
beliefs in
common. Parts of
Asia were
Buddhist, others
were Hindu,
Shinto,
and what have
you. Anglicanism
was the
religious
preference of
the British,
Lutheranism that
of the
Scandanavian
countries,
Presbyterianism
that of
Scotland.
All of
this has changed
drastically.
According to Bob
Roberts, Jr., in
Bold As Love: What Can Happen When We See People the Way God Does
(Nelson, pp.
6-7), today, in
Dallas, Texas,
44% of the
population was
born in a
non-English
speaking nation.
Some 238
languages are
spoken in the
Dallas/Ft. Worth
Metroplex. While
there are large
numbers of
Hispanics in the
DFW area, there
are also 40,000
Arabs, 90,000
Chinese, 25,000
Columbians,
5,000 Egyptians,
80,000 El
Salvadorans,
7,500
Cambodians,
8,000
Bangladeshis and
many others. In
1975 there was
one Islamic
mosque in the
entire DFW
Metroplex, today
there are 43,
some of them
quite large and
prosperous.
America
is an
increasingly
pluralistic
society—ethnically
and religiously.
At one time the
phrase
“religious
pluralism in
America” meant
that there were
two Baptist
Churches
downtown and one
Catholic Church
in the Italian
section. This is
nothing compared
to what we might
find today: an
atheist
publishing house
next door, a
factory down the
street making
hijabs for
Muslim women,
and a same-sex
adoption agency
next to the
sheriff’s
office.
These are
the facts. The
trends are not
surprising. The
question is:
will we adjust
or
self-destruct?
Will we be
obedient to the
Lord and reflect
the Lord’s heart
in our witness,
or will we dance
to the doleful
tune of our own
pity parties?
America has
changed, and it
is continuing to
change
exponentially.
Should we build
a bunker, or
should we
ask: “I wonder
what God is up
to?”
The Nearness of
“The End”
The
nearness of “the
end” is
something that
weighed heavily
on the
minds of
the New
Testament
writers. Peter
writes, “But the
end of all
things is at
hand” (1 Pet.
4:7). What does
this mean for
Christians
living in the 21st
century?
Surrender?
Hopeless
resignation? No,
Peter continues
and says, “The
end of all
things is at
hand: be ye
therefore sober,
and watch unto
prayer. And
above all
things have
fervent charity
among
yourselves: for
charity shall
cover the
multitude of
sins. Use
hospitality one
to another
without
grudging” (vss.
7-9).
Do these
words challenge,
perhaps, some
preconceived
notions, notions
that may lead to
paralysis and
fear, terror and
dread? Rather
than giving up,
Peter tells us
that we should
be serious,
prayerful and
show love for
one another. And
even beyond
that, we should
be
exercising our
gifts for
ministry:
“As every man
hath received
the gift, even
so minister the
same one to
another, as good
stewards of the
manifold grace
of God” (vs.
10). It doesn’t
sound like the
nearness of the
end should
stiffen us up.
Rather, it
should fire us
up. But can we
be “fired up” in
such an hostile
environment?
When Paul
wrote 2 Timothy
he was in
prison. This was
his second
imprisonment,
and he was
awaiting
execution.
During this
final
imprisonment
Paul wrote 2
Timothy to
request another
visit from his
“son in the
faith.” The
Apostle wanted
to give final
exhortations as
he anticipated
his martyrdom
(chapter 4).
Paul is
under no
illusion that
the world will
get better and
better, but he
believed that
eyes would be
opened and false
teachers would
be recognized.
“This know also,
that in the last
days perilous
times shall
come” (2 Tim.
3:1). In the
verses that
follow the
Apostle details
many of the
conditions that
we see today:
“For men shall
be lovers of
their own
selves,
covetous,
boasters, proud,
blasphemers,
disobedient to
parents,
unthankful,
unholy, Without
natural
affection…”
But when
we come to
verses 8 and 9,
we read
something that
seems almost out
of place: “Now
as Jannes and
Jambres
withstood Moses,
so do these also
resist the
truth: men of
corrupt minds,
reprobate
concerning the
faith.
But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest
unto all men, as
theirs also
was.”
Jannes and
Jambres are not
referenced in
the Scriptures,
but ancient
Jewish
tradition, which
Paul obviously
knew, states
that they were
the Egyptian
court magicians
who spoke
against Moses
and did likewise
perform miracles
(Ex. 7:11).
Pharaoh’s
magicians “cast
down every one
his rod, and
they became
serpents:
but Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods” (vs. 12). This left no
doubt regarding
who was speaking
for God: “their
folly shall be
manifest unto
all men, as
theirs also
was.” Paul had
no erroneous
notions about
the world
becoming
pro-Christian,
but he knew that
God is opening
eyes, and
calling people
into service,
even as Timothy
was learning,
and growing in
the faith so
that he would
have an
effective
ministry.
Might
this mean that
bold, Christian
outreach is
still in the
plan of God, and
has not been
eclipsed by the
lateness of the
hour?
In the
Foreword to
Once An Arafat
Man – The True
Story of how A
PLO Sniper Found
A New Life
(Tyndale), Joel Rosenberg, author of
Epicenter
and
Inside The
Revolution,
writes:
Let me be brutally
honest. Tass
Saada was a
killer. That’s
why the first
section of this
book was
incredibly
difficult for me
to read…Tass and
his closet
friends murdered
Jews in Israel.
They murdered
civilians and
soldiers alike.
They attacked
Christians in
Jordan.
Sometimes they
tossed hand
grenades at
their homes…they
did so eagerly.
Tass certainly
did. His
nickname was
once
Jazzar –
“butcher.” It
was a moniker he
relished…What
follows, then,
is the
unforgettable
story of a
jihadist who
found Jesus, of
a violent
revolutionary
who was
radically
transformed one
day by the power
of the Holy
Spirit and
became a man of
peace…
I had been invited to
preach at a
Messianic Jewish
congregation in
Jerusalem that
night. My sermon
title was “What
God is Doing
Among The
Muslims.” This
is not a typical
message for a
Jewish audience.
But after much
prayer, I felt
the
Lord
wanted me to
share with my
Israeli friends
what he had told
me to share with
my
Jordanian
friends when I
had preached in
Amman not long
before: We need
to get serious
about obeying
Jesus’
command
to love our
neighbors and
our enemies…
That was the message I
came to share in
Jerusalem, and
who was the
first couple I
was introduced
to that night as
I came to the
front of the
door of the
congregation?
Tass and Karen
Saada (ix-xi).
Uncharted
Territory or
Forbidden
Territory?
On
January 26, 2010
ministrytodaymag.com
published the
following
article under
the title
Texas Church
Worships With
Muslims, Jews.
Bob Roberts Jr.,
pastor of
NorthWood Church
in Keller,
Texas, isn’t
afraid of
venturing into
unfamiliar
territories. In
the mid-1990’s,
Roberts began
making trips to
Vietnam with
teams from his
church to
pioneer medical,
educational and
orphanage-related
work. After
9/11, he
traveled to
Afghanistan, the
Palestinian
territories and
other
Muslim-dominated
regions to
establish
similar works.
Now the 51-year old
megachurch
pastor is
blazing a new
trail back in
his home state:
a “triologue”
between three
vastly different
congregations.
This past
weekend,
Keller’s
Baptist-leaning
congregation
combined with
those from
Dallas’ Temple
Shalom and the
Islamic Center
of Irving for
“multifaith”
worship services
dedicated to
highlighting and
discussing the
similarities and
differences
among the three
represented
faiths.
On Thursday, the
congregations
met for a
“typical” Jewish
worship service
at Temple
Shalom; on
Saturday, the
Christians and
Jews visited the
Dallas-area
mosque; and on
Sunday, both
the
Jewish and
Muslim
congregations
attended
NorthWood.
After
each service,
the leaders of
the three
congregations—who
have become
friends in
recent
months—answered
questions about
their unique
faiths.
[Roberts stated] “The
old conversation
of Interfaith
basically said
if we all agree
on everything
then we can get
along…But
there’s a
problem with
that…If I’m
going to
be a committed
Muslim I can’t
pick and choose
which parts of
the Quran I
believe. Or a
Jew, for the
Torah. Because
truth is truth.
Truth is not
relative.
Multifaith says
‘we have
differences.’
What Multifaith
says is ‘I don’t
want to be
politically
correct; I want
to be honest
about what I
believe; I want
to hold true to
my faith…I want
to build
relationship on
honesty.’”
Has
Roberts stepped
into uncharted
territory or is
he now in
forbidden
territory?
FrontPage
Magazine
(6/11/13) thinks
it’s the latter
and claims that
Roberts has
partnered with a
Muslim
Brotherhood
Front. The
article states
that Roberts is
“the most
high-profile
interfaith
speaker at the
ISNA regional
conference
…Roberts’
NorthWood Church
is holding its
own
Islamist-stocked
interfaith
event.” One
must
wonder, however,
if the author of
this critique
has read
Roberts’ book
Bold as Love
(BAL). In it
Roberts goes to
great lengths to
show why he
abhors
“interfaith” and
finds
“multifaith” a
better term to
describe his
meetings. When
Roberts met with
Rabbi Schneider
of Temple Shalom
in North Dallas
and Imam Zia of
the Irving
Islamic Center
and spoke about
future joint
services Roberts
said to them:
I made it clear that I
was an
evangelical, a
conservative
Christian, and
that I didn’t
like interfaith
gatherings: I
saw interfaith
as
loosey-goosey,
let’s all just
hug one
another
and ignore core
truth. I wanted
nothing to do
with that. I
liked the
concept of
multifaith better, which says we have fundamental differences, but
the best of our
faiths teach us
we should get
along (BAL, p.
19).
Roberts’ multifaith
services were
unique. On a
Thursday, a few
years ago, three
groups of
people—Jewish,
Muslim and
Christian—met at
their respective
places of
worship. Does it
sound
suspicious, like
a little
ecumenical
hanky-panky?
Roberts further
describes his
abhorrence of
the term
“interfaith”: “I
don’t like the
term
interfaith.
It’s the
nebulous, fuzzy
feeling, it’s a
we’re-all-going-to-the-same-place-just-different-roads-religion,
a kind of
Kum-by-ya
experience. I
don’t know of a
single imam who
believes I can
go to heaven
rejecting the
divinity of the
prophet
Mohammed’s
message. Neither
do I know a
single
Bible-believing
evangelical
pastor who
believes a
person can go to
heaven denying
the divinity of
Jesus or the
exclusivity of
the cross” (BAL,
pp. 131-132).
By Roberts’ own
definition
“multifaith”
means what the
word implies:
honesty about
your beliefs,
not a tempering
of one’s beliefs
in the stew of
political
correctness.
Roberts is bold,
but also
gracious.
I must tell it like it
is. When I am
asked hard
questions about
my faith that
can be
controversial or
seem politically
incorrect, I do
my best to stay
calm, smile, and
answer the
question
honestly.
During one meeting of
Christian
and Muslim
leaders at our
church, the
conversation
turned to the
uniqueness of
Christ, and I
said, “As a
Christian, I
really do
believe Jesus is
the only way—not
because I feel I
am better than
others, but
because Jesus
himself said, ‘I
am the way, and
the truth, and
the life, No one
comes to the
Father except
through me’”
(John 14:6).
A Muslim participant
asked me if that
meant I believe
everyone who
doesn’t believe
in Jesus goes to
hell.
I responded, “Anyone
of any
religion—Christianity
included—who
does not accept
Jesus as the
way, the
sacrifice and
the one who
brings
forgiveness of
sin according to
the Bible, goes
to hell.” I said
it as pleasantly
as I could, took
a deep breath,
and braced for
whatever would
come. A Muslim
man said, “I
like this guy.
You know what?
My faith teaches
me that you’re
going to hell
too. I can work
with you. You
are at least
honest about
what you
believe” (BAL,
p. 114).
Since we
are on the
topic of
honesty, this
author must
admit that
Roberts’
associations
raise many
questions and
concerns. He has
been featured as
a speaker in
Christ At The
Checkpoint
meetings. In my
view Roberts
surrenders too
much to the
Palestinians. I
prefer Joel
Rosenberg’s
approach. He has
a sincere love
for both
Israelis and
Palestinians,
but also
maintains the
integrity
of God’s
promises to
Israel regarding
the land and the
people. These
are
non-negotiable.
Yet as we
chart new
territories we
shouldn’t be
surprised that
these issues and
differences come
up. For those
who make a
blanket
condemnation of
Roberts I must
ask: “What are
you doing to
reach Muslims in
America other
than throwing
stones at those
who are making
some costly
efforts to do
so?”
What
About Ishmael
And His
Descendants?
One of
the sticking
points in
discussions
between Muslims
and Christians
focuses on Isaac
and Ishmael. Who
has inherited
the promises?
At the
outset let this
author state
that the
Biblical account
is correct and
has not been
“doctored” as is
often claimed.
However, do
Christians
really
understand what
Scripture says
about Ishmael?
Does God have a
special hatred
for Ishmael and
his kin, and if
we share our
faith with them
are we therefore
going against
God’s will and
purpose?
Recently
Israel National
News reported
that Arab
Christians in
Israel have
launched a new
political party.
Sons of the New
Covenant (Brit Hahadashah) is planning to take part in future Knesset
elections. “Arab
Christians”?
Isn’t that an
oxymoron? Aren’t
all Arabs
against the God
of the Bible?
As
always, the
Bible helps to
dispel notions
that are less
than true, but
that are often
accepted as
“Gospel truth.”
We are
familiar with
the account of
friction between
Sarai and Hagar.
Because the
former had not
yet had any
children, she
devised a plan
whereby Abram
would father a
child with
Hagar, her
Egyptian slave
(Gen. 16:1-5).
The plan worked
but led Sarai to
despise Hagar
who was driven
out of the house
with her son,
Ishmael. Though
Hagar could run
away from Sarai
she couldn’t run
away from the
Angel of the
Lord.
Later in
the Biblical
narrative,
following the
birth of
Ishmael, Isaac
was born and
both Hagar and
her son were
driven from the
household. Hagar
and Ishmael
wandered around
in the desert.
Hagar hid her
child under a
shrub and the
Bible twice
states that God
heard the cry of
the child,
Ishmael: “God
heard the voice
of the lad; and
the angel of God
called to Hagar
out of heaven,
and said unto
her, What alieth
thee, Hagar?
Fear not;
for God hath
heard the voice
of the lad
where he is”
(Gen. 21:17).
The
rescue of Hagar
and Ishmael is a
record of Divine
intervention.
God “sees” and
“hears” the
progenitors of
the Arab people.
In Genesis 16:13
Hagar calls God
El Roi, “the
one who sees.”
In the next
verse Hagar
calls the well
Beer Lahai Roi,
“the well of
the living one
who sees.” Hagar
is the only one
in the Bible who
renames Almighty
God. To name, or
rename, someone
implies special
favor with, or
even authority
over, the person
so named.
Genesis 21:20 is
a striking
testimony to
God’s
faithfulness to
Ishmael: “God
was with the
lad; and he grew
and dwelt in the
wilderness and
became an
archer.”
A few
years ago two
Christian
authors, one a
Jew and one an
Egyptian, wrote
a book titled
Making Our Peace
With The
Warriors Of The
Sand: What the
Bible says
positively about
our estranged
Arab
cousins
(Defender). We know that God’s covenant was made with Abraham and Isaac, but
what about
Ishmael, the son
whom Abraham
loved dearly?
The authors,
Jeffrey L. Seif
and Ihab Griess
explain:
The promise Hagar
[Abraham’s
Egyptian wife
and mother of
Arab peoples]
received in
Genesis
16:10—that God
would greatly
increase her
offspring, and
they would be
too many to
count—is similar
to that received
by Abraham in
Genesis 13:16,
where the text
says: “I will
make thy seed as
the dust of the
earth, so that
if a man can
number the dust
of the earth,
then shall thy
seed also be
numbered.” In
this regard,
Hagar—as with
Sarah, Rachel,
and
others—stands in
the circle of
the few women in
biblical history
promised the
multiplication
of offspring,
and some special
offspring at
that.
“Kings shall come out
of thee
[Ishmael]” is
the promise
noted in Genesis
17:6. This
forceful
biblical promise
elevates Ishmael
and his children
to a higher
plane. Abraham’s
saying, “Oh,
that Ishmael
might live
before thee!” in
Genesis 17:18
similarly lends
credence to the
notion that the
father of the
Arabs was loved
with an abiding
love. In Genesis
17:20, God says
to Abraham, “As
for Ishmael, I
have heard thee:
behold, I have
blessed him, and
will make him
fruitful, and
will multiply
him exceedingly;
twelve princes
shall he beget,
and I will make
him a great
nation” (p. 32).
Are these
days of doom, or
are they days of
opportunity? Are
the immigrants
flooding our
borders the
judgment of God
or are they the
opportunities from
God? How you and
I react to the
situation will
determine, in
large measure,
which of the
above is true.
More
importantly, how
does God want us
to react?