I was fortunate enough to be able to speak in all three services in my home church this morning, Williams Memorial United Methodist Church. I left the first service fully funded for my trip, and was able to preach a message in front of my friends and family before I leave in 11 days. I decided I would post the loose script that I used to my blog so that people who missed could check it out.
December 31st loose script..
I wanted to start today by talking a little about my mission trip, because I believe it will lead in well to todays topic of “Jesus is Lord.” In 11 days I am going to be headed for Atlanta, Georgia and from here I will leave for my journey. The mission trip is called the World Race, it is an 11 month trip that will lead me to a different country each month. In that country I will be connected to ministry hosts and will be helping them in whatever way I can. My route will go through what is called the 10/40 window. It is an area between 10 deg north lat and 40 deg north lat from Africa across Asia. It contains some of the largest populations in the world, but where some of the fewest have ever heard the gospel and if they have it was in a bad light. The predominant religion throughout this area is Islam.
I decided to do this about 7 months ago. At the time I was about to graduate college with my bachelors in accounting from Ole Miss. I had signed on to work with a public accounting firm doing Tax Consulting in Houston, Texas starting in September of 2018 upon finishing my masters in accounting. Something was pulling me away from grad school so I began looking into more short term mission trips, and then one day came across a friends FB post where they were going to go on this thing called the World Race. I immediately went to there website and was overwhelmed with excitement as I began reading every bit of information I could. I reached out to my firm and asked if I could forgo grad school and if they would move my start date back four months to January of 2018. When I asked them I remember thinking, “alright God if you can make this one work Ill know for sure” the next day they agreed. I applied that day, interviewed the next, and was signed up to go a week later.
Since May when this all happened I have been fundraising and preparing! I have to raise $18,700 to go on the mission trip. I am now fully funded! In October I went to a 10 day intensive training camp where I met the squad of 30 people I will be traveling / living with. We were exposed to so many things and one break out session I went to was on preaching. The girl teaching this was telling us that sometimes we may be asked on the spot or with very little prep time if we can give a sermons for their people. When I got back I told Courtney Waldrep this, and she was like “Oh just go ask Pastor Brad if you can preach one day.” So here we are!
I was given the topic of “Jesus is Lord,” and for several weeks I would read the scripture versus and would think on what I could possibly say. Finally I had a book come to mind that I had read a while back. The book is called “Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus” and was about a man named Nabeel Qureshi’s journey from the Islamic faith to Christianity. The story ultimately reminds me that regardless of what we believe Jesus is Lord and that does not change. So I am going to use Nabeel’s story today to help me teach this and explain why this book has helped me in my own walk.
At training camp in Atlanta this past October there was a speaker in one of our sessions who was discussing the other major world religions we would come into contact with. She was telling us when you study their texts you will learn we all share a lot of the same teachings. For instance we all have the golden rule “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” So what makes Jesus Lord if we are all so similar in the end? Why is he the way, the truth, and the light? Because in Christianity, unlike any other world religion, the word becomes flesh. While he was fully God as it says in our verses for today, he gave up that divine privilege and became fully man.
Of course the statement she made is one that has been picked apart, argued against, and debated ever since it happened. In this book I read Nabeel presents these arguments to the reader, and begins to break them down to us to reveal his truth. The book truly gives you a look into the Muslim community and lifestyle and is a big reason I believe I have been given a heart for the people within the 10/40 window.
So the first thing you need to know is that Nabeel was a first generation American Muslim. He was a devout and practicing Muslim of a peaceful sect of the Islamic faith. In his book he describes growing up and he tells us about learning to read the Quran, the daily prayer rituals, and the many other traditions that practicing Muslims do on a daily basis. What you learn is that a lot of the Islamic faith is based on disproving Christianity. Muslims who are truly learned and devout to their faith will tell you that Jesus existed, but they will deny that he was the Son of God.
Nabeel tells us what it is like growing up in his home. His family all had a deep love for one another, and they were well respected within their Muslim community. We learn that in the Muslim culture to even question an elder is a direct insult, so it was never a problem accepting the things he had been told, until he met a Christian in college whom he became really close with. This friend challenged him, and caused him to set out on a path to disprove Jesus and Christianity. What he found out was that this task can absolutely not be done.
Growing up Nabeel was taught that the bible cannot be trusted because it has been translated into so many different languages that some scripture meaning has changed over the course of its history as a result. He was also told that Jesus never actually died on the cross. Finally he was raised to believe Jesus was simply a favored prophet rather than the Son of God. What he finds in his research of these things is nothing short of amazing. He discovered over several years that there is virtually no scholar or historian that will tell you that Jesus did not exist, and based on the historical evidence and documentation it unanimously accepted that he would have died on the cross. He discovers these things over a several year period and finally concludes that he cannot disprove Jesus as Lord and accepts him into his life.
This resonated with me so well because at the time that I was reading Nabeel’s story of how Jesus was Lord in his life through this tough time as he sought the truth. I was experiencing trials of my own in school and had begun to wonder if the path I had laid out was different from the one God had.
But I also couldn’t help but wonder, why is it that we are not being taught these arguments to be able to defend Christianity? Well the answer is simple While it might be nice to research the Muslim culture and these arguments to be able to appropriately reach out to a friend or colleague, the Gospel simply does not need to be defended. Read it, and then read it again because it speaks for itself. There is nothing about it that relies on other things to hold true or false, and if there were some small detail within found to be inaccurate by human error over years of translating it could not possibly damage the truth it holds. There is a reality to this Lordship. One that if you seek, you will find. Are you seeking that reality?
So I began to dig deeper seek the truth in my life and realized I did not have to change my education or career path, because I did like accounting and loved my internship (not many people will say that about doing taxes) and there was no doubt a reason that I find my passions lie there. Rather what I found was that I was being called to an adventure and an opportunity to grow my faith, it was just going to require me putting things on hold.
In our scripture versus today Paul tells us that we should have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. He humbled himself and gave up his divinity. From there he associated with the lowest of the low, spread the message of the fathers love, and served others while continually seeking out and growing his relationship with God his father. Because of this he was raised to the highest place of honor.
So my point in all this is to tell you we should seeking. Seeking to deepen our relationship with God, our friends and family, and the world abroad. Nabeel only found Jesus because someone cared enough about him to learn his culture and intercede in a caring way, challenging him at every turn until he came to know the truth. Now Nabeel serves others and seeks to continually grow his relationships while spreading the message. Are you seeking the attitude that Paul describes? Are you taking the time to learn about the different cultures around you and around the world? When I sought these things I discovered the World Race, and I am excited to tell you all about it when I return.
