In my private devotions, I began reading the Book of Mark again this morning. In chapter 1:21-28 we find the account of Jesus setting a man in the synagogue free of an unclean spirit. Those gathered were apparently used to seeing people plagued with demon spirits, but they had never seen someone freed. The first comment made after Jesus’ teaching was that He taught as someone with authority — not as it was when the scribes taught. The second comment recorded by Mark had to do with their amazement at what they saw happen when Jesus challenged the demon spirit and commanded it to leave the man. They were so surprised by what they saw that they commented among themselves, saying:
“What is this? What new doctrine is this? For with authority He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him!” Mark 1:27
As we study the ministry of Jesus in the New Testament, we find that He not only spoke often about the Kingdom of God, but also showed them that the Kingdom of God was continually in their midst — in fact, He was standing right there in front of them! That is why His teaching was so different than the Scribes and Pharisees. They were only spouting religious jargon whereas He was a tangible demonstration of the Kingdom in real life.
At the end of the Book of Mark, Jesus left the disciples with these words:
15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 18 they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” Mark 16:15-18
That charge was carried out by the apostles and Jesus’ Great Commission is still being carried out to this very day. In today’s Mideast Update, I will share another sampling of the Great Commission as the Kingdom of God is demonstrated through the House of Blessing in the countries of the Middle East.
In one of the latest reports I received from Abdelrahem, he tells of asking some of the HOB brothers and sisters to meet with Omar and Mufida for a special meeting to arrange the distribution of Bibles and teaching booklets. The HOB men and women attending were Taher, Hisham, Shaker, Mahmoud, Hafiza, Faleh, Basem and Habeeba. Omar was also accompanied by Jaafar and Azlatimo.
While they were waiting, brother Abdulrahem met a person in Aleppo who had just lost $1,500 stolen by thieves and so was not able to pay for what he had ordered. He had no idea what he was going to do. Brother Abdelrahem told him not to worry about it, he would help him pay for the goods. The man, Shawkat, was really surprised and said that if he would come to his place today, he would repay the money. So, Abdelrahem and Zalatimo agreed to go to his house.
When they met with Shawkat, they just let him talk about anything he wanted to, even religion and they just smiled. After a little bit, he began to open his heart. He told them he had suffered much under the previous regime. His land and house were stolen, his daughters were raped, and the daughters had since been in a very fragile mental state for which there did not seem to be a cure. Shawkat had even brought other sheikhs to meet with his daughters, hoping to free them of the devils that had taken residence in them. But, they were powerless to provide a remedy. He then asked Abdelrahem, “What do you think is the solution for a son of Syria who has now been assaulted by both regimes?” Abdelrahem then told him not to worry but to bring his sheikh friends to the house. He also asked permission to have his own people present.
The sheikhs arrived in about an hour and Abdelrahem asked the sisters Hafiza, Ferial, and Labiba, to examine the girls and the mother. They found out that the girls (who are 28 and 32) had been given hallucinogenic drugs. He asked the HOB sisters to stand between him and the girls and put a white sheet on the girls. He then told the brothers to stand behind him and instructed the sheikhs to just say amen as the brethren began to pray. After about 15 minutes of prayer with the sheikhs repeatedly saying amen, amen, the Holy Spirit descended upon them. The sheikhs then suddenly knelt on the ground, cried and held their hands out, shouting, “Oh God, have mercy on us and forgive us, Jesus!” Sweat poured from the sheikhs as they cried out to the Lord. Abdulrahem, Omar, and Shaker then prayed, “Oh Savior, save them from the torment they are in. Heal them. As they were praying, the two young women began screaming, “Where are we? What happened? Who are you?” The sisters, Labiba, Hafeza, and Ferial quickly took them inside to explain what had happened and to pray with them. The sheikhs were so shaken by the touch of God on them and the healing of Shawkat’s two daughters that they grabbed onto Abdelrahem’s legs, asking his forgiveness! Abdelrahem answered and said, “I am not God! I am just His servant. Believe in Him with your whole hearts and you will be saved — by Him, not by us!
As they discussed what had happened, the realization hit the three sheikhs that they have been teaching their people a religion full of lies. They asked the Lord to forgive them and then said they would dedicate the rest of their lives to sharing the Good News about Jesus, who is the only answer. These men have now been placed with some of the mature HOB brothers and will learn the Scriptures and how to teach what they learn to others. One of the men is being taken directly north, another to the northeast, and the third to the southwest. These sheiks will reach many with the Gospel in the days ahead. In years past, these men, who are about 60 years old, had taught people the ways of Islam for decades. Now they will lead people to the feet of Jesus. Praise God!
After Shawkat and the sheikhs had accepted Jesus and prayed, Shawkat was so happy his daughters were healed he decided to donate 20 sacks of flour, 50 kilos (110 lbs) to the House of Blessing. The value of each sack is $180.00. That will go far in helping those in need.
Another report I had received a couple days earlier than Shawkat’s story was about two women, named Duaa and Samira. These two women had reached out to three of the HOB sisters, Kafaya, Jamila, and Soumia. Both women were suffering from bleeding problems, and the reason had to do with their husband Youssef’s insistence on intimate relations during the times of their menstrual cycle. This had apparently been forced upon them for quite some time. The HOB sisters then offered them some of Shakria’s natural remedies, special tea, herbs, and then had them only drink milk. While the sisters were helping the women with their health needs, they led both to a faith in Jesus. The HOB sisters then called for Shaker, Mahmoud, Bandar and Bahaa to go and bring their nine children to them.
When the brothers found the children, they had had gasoline or kerosene poured on them and were being tied up by Youssef, their father, so that he could commit suicide and have the children die with him. Youssef did not react well to the interruption of the HOB brothers but they managed to convince him to let them pray for him. The brothers prayed that the Lord would touch his mind and then shared the love of Christ with him. This was all done in front of around 300 people who had gathered because of the commotion. The onlookers were of both the Alawite and Sunni Muslim sects.
As the brothers spoke about the love of God and the sacrifice made through the blood of Jesus for the sins of the world, the people realized they needed to repent of their sins. It became clear that they had been taught wrong all their lives. They asked, “What is this religion, this religion of love?” They had no knowledge of who Jesus really was, but they learned that God’s way of love through Jesus required them to change their ways of thinking concerning the treatment of their wives and children. Living a life of Godly love was totally foreign to the way they had all been raised!
What started as a very sad and deadly situation was turned into one of joy and restoration. The nine children’s lives were saved and Youssef was kept from killing himself as well. Youssef had been suffering from madness of the mind for a long time. It was assumed it was from torture he had endured through electric shock by the former regime which had caused him to lose his mind, but no one was sure of the details. However, thanks to the Lord God, he was now visibly totally healed — right in front of 300 people! Their religious leader, sheikh Azmi was also witness to all that had transpired. He knelt on the ground and asked the brothers to pray for him also. To tell it in his words, he said he recognized the love and sincerity in this new belief system, the religion of Jesus Christ. He asked the brothers to save them from the catastrophe of the false religion they had all been raised with and the HOB missionaries would experience safety in their village. Azmi promised to make it safe for HOB to minister to the people. The miracles that heal bodies are amazing, but the greatest miracles of all are those that change people’s eternal destiny from death to life!
From the reports I am receiving, there is quite an uproar that has been caused with the Muslim sheikhs who have been led to faith in Jesus Christ. The names of three of these sheikhs are Sheikh Ballout, Sheikh Al-Heidme, Sheikh Musa, and of course, you just read about Sheikh Amzi above. These sheikhs are well known and it is causing quite a stir among the people. I have included their names in this report so that we can all pray for them. They will need our prayers.
I did receive word today that the Bibles and teaching booklets have all been delivered. Brother Nasser was able, with difficulty, to meet at a specific location on the border between Jordan and Syria and make the delivery. The Lord protected them all and the delivery was accomplished. Praise God!
The three sheiks mentioned above are with Omar, Jaafar, and Zalatimo and they have been appointed to a region, as mentioned earlier, to learn the scriptures and how to teach the word of God to others.
Thank you all for your prayers and your support. Both are desperately needed as the imminent return of Jesus draws closer every hour. Time is of the essence! Please feel free to email me at [email protected] with any questions. You can also email: [email protected]
Forever in His Service,
Jake (aka Jack)