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Miracles in the Holy Land
Muslims are family-oriented. They are often at home and have
time to chat, unlike our frenzied Western life styles when families
no longer eat meals together. Arab hospitality commands them to
take time with visitors. Often a considerable amount of time in
friendship evangelism passes before any one can be led to Jesus.
On the other hand, we must not be trapped into a mindset that
inordinate time will be necessary to develop relationships before
some can be saved. I have prayed with some Muslims to receive
Jesus after knowing them for only a short time. Sometimes they
have prayed with me to receive Jesus on the first encounter.
Again, it was because the supernatural was involved.
In Bethlehem, where we held evangelistic services, sometimes
Muslims were saved immediately through supernatural signs.
With others it took time to build a relationship of trust. But the
supernatural was involved in every case. The Holy Spirit and the
miraculous played divine roles. Otherwise, Christianity is seen to
offer no life, no vitality, and is "just another religion."
Here are some practical examples:
The Lord graciously used me to lead an Arab patriarch and three
of his sons to the Lord. A shop owner in Bethlehem, Abu Yosef
liked to bargain. (I am not a pushover, and the Arabs enjoy that.)
Abu Yosef knew I was "religious." (There is a difference, of course,
between a real relationship with Jesus and professing religion. He
didn’t know the difference—not yet anyway.)
A relationship of mutual respect developed. Abu Yosef invited us
for a meal during the fast month of Ramadan. (After dark, the
Muslims feast, but during the daylight they must not eat or drink
during Ramadan). Abu Yosef proudly presented all of his sons
while his wife served tea and sweets. Arab men are named after
their first-born son. He was called Abu (father of) Yosef. I asked,
"Where is Yosef?"
They hung their heads. Sadly, Abu Yosef said, "He's in prison.
He's serving a life sentence for having been involved in a PLO plot
in Lebanon when he was just 16 years old. He's already served 10
years. He's 26 years old now."
He didn't speak with bitterness; he just stated the facts, and I felt
the Lord's deep concern. The compassion of the Holy Spirit fell on
me for this patriarch and his family.
We must minister by the anointing. With great compassion, I
asked, "Abu Yosef, may I pray for your son to be released from
prison?"
He was very pleased. He trusted me. He said, “Of course,
please.”
This is the prayer the Holy Ghost gave me, "Father God, in the
name of Jesus Christ, I call Yosef from prison as a sign to this
family that Jesus Christ is alive, and that His tomb is empty, and
that Mohammed is still in his grave!"
That was a bold prayer, and it certainly was not premeditated.
After we left, I said to my husband, "I can't believe I prayed that
prayer."
However, when we follow the Holy Spirit, we are often led to do
bold, unexpected things. We become, as it were, another person
altogether. In the Bible, for example, the prophet Samuel
informed King Saul, “And the Spirit of the LORD will come upon
thee, and thou shalt prophesy . . . and shalt be turned into another
man.” (1 Samuel 10: 6)
One day I was visiting Bethlehem again. Abu Yosef ran out of his
shop, chasing my car. He was ecstatic to see me.
"Sister Christine!" he exclaimed. "Where have you been? I've been
waiting to tell you something wonderful.” He summoned me into
his shop.
“Do you remember when you prayed for my son Yosef?" he
shouted excitedly.
"How could I forget?" I thought to myself.
"Well, here he is!" the tall, robed father exclaimed, and pointed to
a man whom I'd never seen sitting in a chair in the back of the
shop. It was a miraculous moment to hear the story of how the
Israelis had suddenly negotiated a prisoner exchange, and Yosef
had been unexpectedly set free.
The Holy Spirit fell on me again, and I boldly said, "Now, Abu Yosef, I want to remind you that your son was brought out of
prison in the Name of Jesus!"
This answer to prayer was the beginning of Abu Yosef's salvation.
He began to believe that Jesus is alive and answers prayer today.
And as a result of that one Holy Ghost-directed prayer, another
of his sons became a believer and asked us to baptize him. We did,
along with another believer from Kuwait who had been attending
my Bethlehem Bible study.
Soon after that, a second son (Munir) followed suit and became a
believer. Munir had heard his family speaking about the miracles
in the house meetings of Sister Christine, so Munir assumed I was
a Roman Catholic nun! He knew nothing about the various
denominations within Christianity or about Christian doctrine.
As a Muslim, he had been told that Jesus did not die on the Cross.
However, one night Munir dreamed about Jesus dying on the
Cross! He also attended a Holy Spirit gathering at our house in
Jerusalem. Afterwards he prayed with me to receive Jesus.
(Munir became a very useful translator in our ministry.) Abu
Yosef attended also, in addition to a refined Arab couple from
Bethlehem (a doctor and his dentist wife).
Arabs Fall Down Under Holy Spirit Power
Abu Yosef, a hajj, (one who has completed the pilgrimage to
Mecca), came forward during the ministry time for healing
prayer. Though not yet a believer, he was beginning to see the
miracles of Jesus. He was touched by the Presence of the LORD
and fell down under the power of the Holy Spirit! The doctor and
his wife, Arab Christians, were softly laughing in the background.
I later enquired why they laughed. They said they were not being
disrespectful to the Holy Spirit, but that they were simply
incredulous. They had never seen a hajj in a Christian meeting, let
alone one coming forward for prayer for healing in the name of
Jesus, and then falling down under the power!
We Christians in the West have become almost jaded in our
attitudes when we see people fall down under the power of the
Holy Spirit. But this sign and wonder definitely affected Abu Yosef and intrigued his sons who became believers. To this day,
they still talk about it.
Many years later, our ministry held a healing service in Acre, in a
hotel in northern Israel, and Arabs who attended also fell down
under the power of the Holy Spirit when we prayed for them. We
would never attempt to force people from any culture to fall
down. But they were overcome by the presence of the Lord!
Another time when I was preaching during a healing meeting on
the summit of the Mount of Olives, the kavod (glory, heaviness)
anointing of the Holy Spirit was so powerful that many people
could not stand. Our Muslim hosts carried people out of “The
Tent” venue that we had hired. A Muslim named Mohammed
put his faith in Jesus that night as a result of the sign ministry of
people falling down under the power of God. Mohammed said he
had never seen a sign and a wonder like that in a mosque.
The Lord manifested many unusual signs in the meetings that we
held in our home in Jerusalem. The Lord always provided us
with a house with an oversized sitting room so that we could
invite more than 100 guests. Many unbelievers were always
present.
Remember, the Lord talks to us in pictures, dreams, and visions.
The Holy Spirit, in fact, opened doors for me to preach in
Bethlehem through a dream that he gave to an Arab. One day I
was passing through Bethlehem with a co-evangelist. We had not
visited Bethlehem for several weeks because of unrest that
preceded the first Intifada. We stopped in a restaurant for lunch,
and a Christian Arab named Elijah rushed in to say:
"Christine, I had a dream early this morning that you were
coming to Bethlehem and that you came to my house to minister."
This was the influence of the Holy Spirit. My friend and I went
straightway to his house and held an impromptu Gospel meeting
among the mother, sisters, brothers and neighbours--preaching
Christ and praying for the sick. That meeting took place only
because of a dream given by the Lord. A woman who had not
been able to conceive a child because of many miscarriages
received power from the Lord to have a baby. Other healings
were reported back to me, and I was greatly encouraged that the
Arabs were wide open to the move of the Holy Spirit!
We have noticed that there are certain families that are especially
favored as forerunners in the coming great Revival in Islamic
nations. God's hand was on Abu Yosef's entire family in a
remarkable way. This next story illustrates how the Holy Spirit
works, with his gifts, to draw a Muslim into the Kingdom of God.
(Every conversation, every encounter, can be a milestone in a
person’s journey to salvation.)
Another of Abu Yosef's sons, Daoud, found us holding a Bible
study in a restaurant on another occasion. Daoud was desperate.
He rushed into the restaurant and despaired, "Sister Christine, I've
got to talk to you at once. Every night for the past seven nights
I've had the same dream. It's a terrible nightmare. I awoke at
exactly 2 a.m. with the thought that someone is going to kill me
with a knife."
In a flash, the Holy Spirit gave me the key to win him for the
Lord. [We should ask the Lord to give us the key to people's
hearts.] This is what the Holy Spirit said:
"Those dreams are from the devil. You know in your heart that
you need to accept Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, like your
brothers have done, but you are afraid. [For a Muslim, conversion
can mean death--even from the hands of family members.]
"A spirit of death, a spirit of murder, is intimidating you. But we
will take authority over that spirit and bind it in the Name of
Jesus, and you will never be troubled with it again. You also need
to pray now to receive Jesus so that you will be assured of the
protection of His Name and His Blood, as a rightful Child of God."
On the spot, Daoud bowed his head and prayed the sinner's
prayer to receive Jesus into his troubled heart. We also took
authority over that spirit of death, and the nightmares ceased.
The manner in which the patriarch Abu Yosef finally gave his
heart to the Lord was dramatic, and again, it involved the
supernatural. He had, at one point, called a family council to
discuss killing Munir, who was now serving as my interpreter!
Abu Yosef was old enough to be my father, and he often told his
family that I was their adopted daughter. But now he was angry
with me. But his wife respected me and allowed me to pray with
her for various needs.
Dreams Are God’s “MO”
One night Abu Yosef experienced a troubling dream about me.
Dreams are God’s “MO” (method of operation) to speak directly
to somebody with a personal communication. In this dream Abu Yosef returned to Jordan to his former work place. I came into the
office. In his dream, I was an old woman. My hair was white. He
was shocked to see me in that condition, and he cried out, "What
has happened to you? You are like a daughter to me. Whatever it
is that you need, I will help you."
Actually, I needed no help, but the Holy Spirit used the
empathetic dream to increase my favour with Abu Yosef. In his
mind, after the dream, instead of being upset with me, he felt
somehow responsible for my welfare, like a father of a daughter.
When he heard that I was in Bethlehem, he insisted that I come to
dinner at their house. He seemed no longer upset with me for
having evangelized his family.
Fasting Required for Revival
The invitation came at the conclusion of a fast to win souls. A
prayerful friend who was also concerned for Abu Yosef’s soul
fasted to undergird my visit. I believe our fasts were instrumental
in the winning of his soul: "This kind can come forth by nothing, but
by prayer and fasting." (Mark 9:29)
Fasting therefore is a very powerful key to win the Muslims to
Jesus. For centuries, Islam’s principality has enjoyed untold
millions of Muslims fasting unto it religiously during the month
of Ramadan. (And some Christians naively think they can forfeit
chocolate for a day and watch that entrenched spirit yield to
Messiah!) The Lord is calling His people to accomplish three-day
“Esther crisis” fasts, prophet-length 40-day fasts, 21-day “Daniel
fasts,” and to all sorts of corporate “relay fasts” to believe for the
release of the captives.
During the meal, Abu Yosef could only talk about the
supernatural dream he had experienced about me. This
preparation of his heart through a dream put him in a spiritual
mood. God sends us dreams to communicate with us, just as a
kindergarten teacher instructs children with pictures and
storybooks. Never forget that God used a dream to rebuke
Abimelech for stealing Abraham’s wife. He prepared Joseph in a
childhood dream to save his people in Egypt many years later.
God sent Peter and Paul to the Gentiles through dreams and
visions.
After dinner, we sat on a balcony overlooking Bethlehem while
the womenfolk scurried about to serve Arabic coffee. It is unusual
to talk privately with anyone in an Arabic family, because the
other family members are ever-present, but, sovereignly, for ten
divine minutes everyone was distracted with clearing up dishes
and making coffee. Even the sons and grandchildren seemed
mysteriously to evaporate.
At that choice moment, Abu Yosef looked at me and said that he
had a serious heart problem that probably required an operation.
He was suffering from shortness of breath.
This patriarch exuded dignity and a certain presence. I was a
guest in his domain. The utmost politeness and deference to his
feelings were in order.
But this is the response that the Holy Spirit gave me, and I believe
it is a key to Islamic evangelism:
"I will surely pray for your heart to be healed, in Jesus' Name," I
said, "but before I do that, may I ask you a question?"
"Yes," he said emphatically.
"Abu Yosef," I ventured, "It is one thing to pray for your heart
and for you to be healed. But what good would it do if your body
is healed and yet you go to Hell without assurance of salvation?
Tell me, when you go to the mosque, you wash your hands and
your feet. But how do you wash your heart?
He was listening very carefully.
I continued, "It would be impossible for you to cleanse your heart,
because you would have to cut yourself open to remove your
heart and to clean it, just as you clean your hands and your feet
before worshipping God. It is impossible for you to wash your
own heart, isn't it?"
He said "yes" again emphatically.
"But God has made a way for your heart to be cleansed from all
sins and for us to be acceptable in God's sight. The red blood of
Jesus by faith washes our dirty hearts and makes them clean and
white as snow, acceptable to a holy God."
(That phrase is very powerful. The Muslims often speak of
somebody having a "white heart," meaning a good heart.)
"This is how we obtain a white heart, a cleansed heart: Jesus died
on the Cross to make an atonement for our sins. The Injil [the
New Testament] teaches that after Jesus ascended to heaven, He
took his own blood to heaven and sprinkled it there on the mercy
seat of God.
"Abu Yosef, can there be anything dead in heaven?"
"No," he said.
"The blood of Jesus is in heaven now and there is life in the blood
of Jesus. Today there is still power in the blood of Jesus. When you
look to Jesus by faith, his blood is able to cleanse you from all of
your sins."
There was silence as Abu Yosef pondered what I was saying. It
was as if we were enveloped in a time warp. I was amazed and
awed that nobody had interrupted us.
"Would you like to pray with me right now to receive Jesus as
your Lord and Saviour and to have his blood cleanse your heart?
"Yes," he said emphatically.
"I will also pray for the Lord to heal your heart physically, " I
added.
This is the prayer that Abu Yosef repeated:
"Dear Father in heaven, I repent of all my sins. I renounce dead
religion. I now call on the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, for you
have promised in the Bible that all who call on his name shall be
saved. I believe in my heart that you raised Jesus from the dead,
and I now say with my mouth that Jesus is Lord! Thank you that
his blood is cleansing me now, in Jesus' Name, Amen."
"Abu Yosef, do you realize what you have done, that you now
believe in Jesus Christ as your Saviour?"
"Yes!" he said.
Then I prayed for his physical healing, because healing is the
children's bread, and Abu Yosef had just become a child of God
through Jesus Christ! (His doctor confirmed that he was healed.)
After the prayer time, I asked Abu Yosef again, "Do you realize
what you have just done?"
"Yes!" he said decisively. He was a strong-willed personality who
could never be coerced to do anything.
"You now belong to Jesus?"
"Yes!" Oh, it was marvellous to hear, such an answer to my
prayers and fastings.
Suddenly, a riotous argument broke out between two neighbouring families. Abu Yosef was distracted by the shouting
and ran to the balcony rail to see what was happening. Then the
women brought out demitasse cups of sweet Arabic coffee and the
conversation was finished. Thank God, He had provided those
ten vital minutes of peace during which Abu Yosef received Jesus.
Later, I was meditating and wondering if Abu Yosef was reading
the Arabic New Testament I had given him. Early one morning, I
experienced a dream about him. It was as if the Holy Spirit was
assuring me that Abu Yosef was still standing for the Lord. I saw
him healed of the heart condition and back in his souvenir shop.
But this time, in the dream, he was selling cakes. The white icing
was decorated with the words, "Jesus is the Answer."
Years later, Abu Yosef died, having lived out a full lifespan. The
Lord gave me a poignant night vision about this pioneer out of
Islam in Heaven. He was sitting alone in a white robe and kifiyeh (headdress) at a small table drinking what looked like Arabic
coffee in Heaven. He spoke to me and said, “Well, Christine, I am
happy to be here, but I miss many of my own people. Go and
bring more of my people into the Kingdom!” I have never
forgotten this night vision, and the Lord has used it to spur me
onwards.
Jesus Dream of the Late PLO Chief Yasser Arafat
A Bible teacher, R. T. Kendall (rtkendallministries.com), met often
with Yasser Arafat. “I began praying for Arafat daily over 22
years ago,” Kendall testified, “but I never expected to meet him. I
did it because the Holy Spirit laid him on my heart and gave me a
love for him. I don't know if Yasser Arafat ever felt unconditional
love from many people, especially from the West, but I wanted
him to feel it from me. I had one goal: to be Jesus to him.”
Kendall, minister at London’s Westminster Chapel for 25 years,
said he began praying for Arafat daily after hearing the crosscarrying
evangelist Arthur Blessitt talk about his visit with the
head of the Palestinian Liberation Organization. Blessitt said he
knew for a fact that Arafat had experienced dreams about Jesus.
Arafat, in fact, told Kendall that he experienced a dream in which
“...a lamb led me to Bethlehem. There I saw the Virgin Mary
holding Jesus. I kissed Jesus. When I woke up, I was so moved
that I ordered a lamb to be slaughtered and taken to the priests at
the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem for them to have a feast."
Kendall then said to Arafat, according to a news report, "I want you to
confess that Jesus actually died on the cross for your sins.
Not that he was delivered from the cross, but that Jesus
actually died." When the Arab translator objected, "Arafat
lifted his hand
to the translator to suggest that it was all right for me to
continue.”
After he explained to Arafat the benefits of becoming a Christian,
Kendall noted that the translator objected again to Kendall’s call
for conversion. "I replied, 'I am only trying to get him to go public
with what he already believes,'" Kendall noted. "I said to Arafat,
'Nothing else has worked. Peace [in the Middle East] will not
come through a military or political solution.'" Only the Prince of
Peace, Jesus, can bring ultimate peace!
Kendall’s meetings with Arafat were arranged by the Rev.
Andrew White, a canon of the Coventry Cathedral in England and
archbishop of Canterbury's envoy to the Middle East. Before
Arafat died, Kendall made another trip to present Mel Gibson's
film The Passion of the Christ, which was made public by the
Palestinian press, who were allowed into Arafat’s Ramallah
compound and took photos. Dr. Saeb Erekat, the Palestinian
spokesman, translated the subtitles.
“Dr. Erekat asked me afterwards if I noticed that President Arafat
wept a number of times as he watched. I could hear him weeping
but did not look at him except to whisper a few comments about
the film as it proceeded. He watched the entire film along with
about 30 members of the PLO and Cabinet. At the end of the film,
I asked President Arafat if I could pray with him. After all in the
room left, except for Dr. Erekat whom I asked to remain, I prayed
with him. He made it clear he welcomed this. My sole motive in
showing the film was pastoral and evangelistic. I have stressed to
Arafat again and again that Jesus DIED ON THE CROSS – and
was not delivered from dying on the Cross. I felt that Mel
Gibson's film was therefore a potential vehicle of the Holy Spirit
to drive this fact home. In my prayer (during which he took my
hand and held it tight) I said, ‘Heavenly Father, I thank you for
the high privilege of showing this film to President Arafat. I pray
that you will apply the truth of this film by your Holy Spirit.
Make both of us thankful that Jesus died on the cross for our sins,’
among other things. We had lunch, he allowed me to pray for all
the PLO, walked me out and kissed me good-bye.”
There is no evidence on record that Mr. Arafat showed fruits of
repentance before he died, but another terrorist leader in the
Middle East, a leader of Hamas in Hebron, was reportedly
confronted by the God of Israel in a dream! This report is from a
truthful, reputable high level official who works in the Middle
East. In the dream, the God of Israel upbraided the terrorist and
said that it would not go well with his people if the Hamas leader
continued to engage in terrorism, murder and mayhem against
the restored ancient people of God. This former Hamas leader
reportedly had to be air-lifted out of his hometown as a result of
his dramatic change of heart.
Author Dreams about Saddam Hussein
In a recent dream, I was on a bus with Saddam Hussein, who was
thin, haggard and dressed in a dirty white robe. He was being
transported somewhere, and it was my responsibility to watch
him and to keep him from escaping. But he didn't want to escape!
He wanted to be comforted. He prayed the sinner's prayer with
me! I told him, "What would it have profited you, if you had
gained the whole world and lost your soul?" He agreed. He
soundly repented for his evil deeds and received Jesus – yes, even
this mass murderer and cruel tyrant was repentant, and asked
Jesus into his heart in this vivid dream. He leaned on my shoulder
and wept. Just as Saddam's cruel mentor, Nebuchadnezzar, was
debased and eventually acknowledged the God of Israel, it is not
impossible for Saddam Hussein to receive a revelation of Jesus!
When our team visited Baghdad prior to the war, the Lord led us
to remit Saddam's sins (John 20:23), just as Jesus had earlier led us
in a Jerusalem prayer meeting to remit the sins of Jordan's King
Hussein on the day that he passed away.
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