This is what Pastor Asif, as we call him here for security reasons, told me when I interviewed him on my visit to Pakistan. He is a mature man who has served Jesus for decades in Pakistan. One of his family members is one of the Danish European Mission's contacts in Pakistan.
- In my ministry, over the years, 80 families from Muslim backgrounds have accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior and have been baptized. My strategy is that I select one person from a family and once that person has come to faith in Jesus, they will lead the rest of their family to Jesus Christ.
- I enjoy serving Jesus, he says, lighting up in one of his many friendly smiles.
- When I start talking to Muslims, I start from the Quran and hadiths because I know these books. I tell them what the Quran says about Jesus. For example, I tell them that there are verses in the Quran that can be interpreted to mean that Jesus is God.
What does it mean to Muslims that you are based on their books?
I usually ask Muslims: Do you read the Quran? Most of them say "No". Muslims are happy to hear that a Christian reads the Quran.
In the Quran, Jesus is called Ib-ne-Mariam (son of Mary), and there Mary appears as blessed and holy (Sura 3:37; 42-44; 21:91). Therefore, I quote Luke 1:35, where it says how the angel spoke to Mary: "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born shall also be called holy, the Son of God." When I tell this, Muslims stop asking questions about whether Jesus is the Son of God.
In my ministry, 80 families from Muslim backgrounds have accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior and been baptized over the years. - Asif
What do Muslims do if they are sick or demonized?
When a Muslim is sick or plagued by demons, the mullahs can't really help. According to some hadiths, Muhammad performed miracles, including healings, but Muhammad himself, according to the Quran, denies that he could perform miracles (Sura 17:90 ff).
When people come to me, they have typically been to witch doctors first. For witch doctors, deliverance is just a business and they don't deliver people, they just move a spirit from one person to another.
What happens when you pray for the demonized?
They often start shaking. When a demon has left a person, they lose consciousness. When they wake up, they ask where they are. People feel very relaxed afterwards.
At this point, people have come to their senses and they want to believe in Jesus. But because of the blasphemy laws, it is difficult to openly profess Christianity in Pakistan. The new believers come to churches secretly to avoid the blasphemy laws.
Unfortunately, there are traditional churches that outright reject Muslims who want to become Christians because they are afraid of persecution due to blasphemy laws. That's why we work with underground churches where Muslims who convert to the Christian faith are welcome.
I see myself as a diver. I see that there is a great search for the Christian faith that you cannot see on the surface of the water. But beneath the surface, there are many Muslims who seek answers in the Christian faith, the old Pakistani evangelist concludes with another of his encouraging smiles.
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