An hour outside the Saudi capital of Riyadh, in the rocky terrain of the desert, a Saudi family concludes a daylong outing. A full moon illuminates the black line of silhouettes in prayer. Karen House, writes of what happened next in Newsweek, “While I sit by myself on a blanket nearby, Ahmad and his father, brother, and young sister prostrate themselves in the direction of Mecca. Observing my failure to pray, Ahmad, who is 6, approaches, clearly concerned. “I need to teach you something,” he says. “What?” I ask. “Do you know what to say when the angel of death comes?” he says. Assuming I do not, the little boy then provides the answers that the dying should give if they want to transit successfully to the hereafter: “The angel asks you, ‘Who is your God?’ and you say, ‘Allah,’?” says Ahmad. “?‘Who is your prophet?’ You say, ‘Muhammad.’ ‘What is your faith?’ You say, ‘Islam.’”
It is hard to imagine a child of that age in the UK, as concerned about the hereafter for themselves—let alone for a stranger. But this 6-year-old believer, seeking to save the soul of an infidel, suggests how pervasive religion is in Saudi Arabia. And you don’t have to go as far as Saudi Arabia to witness that kind of fervour.
On Friday I visited the journalist’s watering hole, the Frontline Club near Paddington. Lapido Media, an international religious literacy charity, launched a book about Tablighi Jamaat. You may never have heard of them, but TJ, as they are nicknamed, is the world’s biggest Islamic revival movement, founded in India in 1926. What’s special about them? Every member commits to undertake a 40-day preaching tour, every year, to proselytise backslidden Muslims. 40 days each, every year…
And they are currently seeking planning permission to build the largest mosque in Europe near the Olympic Arena in Newham. Their initial proposal was to build a mosque capable of holding 12,000 people at a cost of £100 million. Because of local objections, they have toned down their proposals but you get some idea of their vision.
How does that compare with yours and with mine? Our 2020 Vision is rooted in the Word of God and the conviction that the Lord Jesus Christ is the Saviour of the world, that lost people matter to God and that the local Church is the only hope for the world. That is why we are undertaking this sermon series, Christ in all the Scriptures, to show that God has only ever had one plan to save the world, and that is through Jesus. You see, Jesus is central to every book of the Bible. After his resurrection Jesus said to his disciples,
“How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself… Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.” Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.” (Luke 24:25-27; 44-45)
In the Gospels, Jesus confounds his critics not just by quoting Scripture but by identifying himself as the one the Scriptures are speaking about.
“You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me.” (John 5:39).
Jeremiah and the New Covenant of Jesus from Stephen Sizer on Vimeo.
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