–Pastor Ward Clinton
In the Al kitab ul muqaddas it says, “By their fruit you shall know them.” This truth is often repeated because our eternal interests depend so much upon it. My Muslim friends should already know where to find those words I have quoted; they are found in the Injil and to refuse to read the Injil is to be a disbeliever.
Not to have good fruit is to have bad; there can be no innocent sterility in the invisible tree of the heart. He that brings forth bad fruit and he that brings forth no fruit are both fit only for the fire.
Messiah Jesus said, “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth… Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I, [Messiah Jesus, the holy one of God,] profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
–Pastor Ward Clinton
2:23 And it came to pass, that he went through the corn fields on the sabbath day; and his disciples began, as they went, to pluck the ears of corn.
2:24 And the Pharisees said unto him, Behold, why do they on the sabbath day that which is not lawful?
Deuteronomy 23:25 allowed the disciples and the people to do this. Tradition established by that time and the Mishnah said they could not do this on the Sabbath as though their tradition were greater than the Law given to them by Moses. This is quite similar to claiming the Hadith is greater than the Koran by certain Muslim teaching for if it is then, the Quran, is diminished in value beyond measure and perhaps an admission that the present day Koran has been corrupted.
The Pharisees had quickly pounced and pointed out the multiple transgressions they believed the disciples had committed. It was obvious they expected Jesus to reprimand His disciples and command them to stop. Instead He spoke to these “Imams” in their own language and chastised them in His own way which may be a wee bit hard for us to see because we are, fortunately, not under their traditions and rules although we must remember that we are not at liberty to do as we please because we ought to obey the one who is Lord of the Sabbath which is the kalimat Allah, Isa. The one true God made the day of prayer to make our lives better and fuller.
2:27 And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:
2:28 Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.
Religious tradition had so multiplied and twisted the restrictions, rules, and requirements for keeping the Sabbath that the burden became almost unbearable. However living a holy life is not simply the keeping of requirements but the seeking of the One who set the requirements in order that He might be found. The requirements set forth in the first covenant were not intended to drive us from Him but to make us understand our need for Him. Likewise the first six chapters of Romans in the New Covenant are intended for the same purpose.
3:1 And he entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there which had a withered hand.
3:2 And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the sabbath day; that they might accuse him.
3:3 And he saith unto the man which had the withered hand, Stand forth.
3:4 And he saith unto them, Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill? But they held their peace.
3:5 And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other.
3:6 And the Pharisees went forth, and straightway took counsel with the Herodians against him, how they might destroy him.
This, 3:1-6, is a demonstration of the truth proclaimed in 2:28. The Pharisees were plotting evil against Jesus while Jesus was ready to do good, therefore it is obvious who was guilty of breaking the Sabbath although the people probably did not realize it at the time because of the erroneous teaching they had long listened to. (What if Abu Bakr did not teach accurately?) What if the one who compiled and created the Quran was a friend of the djinn and was sent to deceive and empower himself under the guise of preserving truth? We are told he faithfully re-produced the accurate words but where is the proof? Why is there more than one version, in Arabic, of the Koran?
3:7 But Jesus withdrew himself with his disciples to the sea: and a great multitude from Galilee followed him, and from Judaea,
3:8 And from Jerusalem, and from Idumaea, and from beyond Jordan; and they about Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they had heard what great things he did, came unto him.
The geographical list shows that people were traveling great distances, for that day and age, to see and hear the holy one from God. Will that generation rise up and condemn this generation at the last day for its lack of effort to seek out and learn Isa’s teaching? Many Muslims claim they respect and honor Isa but they are actually guilty of insulting Isa because they do not read or pay any attention to what he taught when he was healing and teaching the people. Mohammad said the Injil is not corrupt. The Quran says the Injil is not corrupt. Abdullah Ibn ‘Abbas said the Al-kitab (Holy Bible) is not corrupt. Muhammad Abduh Sayyid Ahmad Khan (died 1905) said “As far as the text of the [Holy] Bible is concerned, it has not been altered.” Furthermore, Muhammad Abduh said the “charge of corruption of the Biblical texts makes no sense at all.” The problem with “the Al-kitab (Holy Bible) has been corrupted” argument is that those who make that claim are ignorant of first century history and/or the whole text of the Injil (New Testament portion of the Holy Bible).
It is not wise to insult Isa. He has the words of life from the one true God. It is true that many who claim to be his followers (Christians) are corrupted but that is only because they do not truly follow his teaching as revealed in the Holy Bible but that is no excuse, it does not excuse you, for not knowing and studying the words of Isa as preserved in the Injil.
The reason some of those who call themselves “Christian” do not seem to know much about the Holy Bible or genuine Christianity is because they actually are not Christians as is proven by their lives. As a Muslim, almost all of what you have been told by the Imams about Christianity is taqiyya. But do not be angry at your Imam, because they lied to him to. Even among those who actually regularly attend a Bible-believing Church one must look carefully to see how their life matches up to the teachings of Isa in the Injil. So how can one know? First pray to the God of Father Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and then become familiar with the New Testament portion of the Holy Bible and then request, in prayer, to the one true God of Father Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob for assistance in knowing the truth; this is not done by simply using a memorized prayer. He’s listening because He does care about you. Because God cares about you the Injil is not corrupt, it may be hard to understand, at first, but ask Him to help you and to direct you. Ask the one true God to help you find real followers of Jesus.
Know Jesus, Know Heaven
No Jesus, no Heaven
–Pastor Ward Clinton
Whenever He was in Capernaum, Jesus probably routinely resided at Peter’s house.
Having completed His preaching tour of the Galilean Synagogues Jesus now returns to Capernaum and probably to the house of Peter. The news of His return spread quickly so that in practically no time at all a crowd had filled the house to capacity and spilled out into the street.
To the western mindset this thing about digging through the roof sounds like major vandalism to the house but in all actuality it wasn’t. The house had a flat roof and there was a stairway leading up to the roof. A family could relax up there in the cool of the evening. After the four had let their friend down through the hole they had made and Jesus had done His thing the five probably repaired the roof, perhaps leaving it in better shape than before their arrival. The four friends had encountered a major obstacle and could have given up and said, “Well we’ll try again another day,” but they didn’t let the problems overwhelm them, they looked for and found a solution.
Injil Markus 2:2 And straightway many were gathered together, insomuch that there was no room to receive them, no, not so much as about the door: and he preached the word unto them.
2:3 And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four.
2:4 And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay.
2:5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.
2:6 But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts,
2:7 Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God only?
In Jewish theology even the Messiah could not forgive sins and therefore they were sure that Jesus was committing shirk. However if He really is who He claimed to be then disbelieving in Messiah Jesus is the worst type of shirk of all. Al-Masihu-Isa (Jesus) is kalimat Allah and wadjih (worthy of esteem in this world and the next) according to the Quran.
2:8 And immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts?
2:9 Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk?
Since they believed and were quite certain that a person’s sins had to be forgiven before they could be healed Jesus has chosen to force them to engage their brains. One of the purposes of the miracles Jesus did was to prove to the people precisely who this holy one of God, Jesus, truly is. He is the promised Messiah. There is no other like Him.
2:10 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,)
2:11 “I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house.”
2:12 And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion.
Jesus saw their faith, He may have smiled as he looked at a faith strong enough to overcome the obstacles and then He looked at the Scribes – the ones who should have had faith and He couldn’t help but be annoyed by those Scribes. Now, in part, these fellows were doing their job; they were scrutinizing this itinerant Rabbi to make sure his teaching was okay. But these were sitting there watching for what they considered to be the slightest mistake so they could blow it all out of proportion rather than allowing themselves to be moved by the working of God which they were privileged to see happening right before their very eyes.
The religious leadership made a connection between sin and disease, not entirely unfounded, but they were a bit misguided. To them a sick man was a man who had sinned. They had already heard Jesus preach; they had already seen Jesus heal. Still they seemed quite unmoved by all that they had seen and heard. Now, understand this, Jesus won’t allow anyone to remain neutral towards Him. You will be either for Him or against Him, your choice. If you choose wrongly, you will ultimately pay dearly for your choice. Know Jesus, Know Heaven.
He has decided to up the ante, therefore he said, “Child your sins are forgiven.” He has just challenged them head on with that phrase. They were of the belief that the sin had to be forgiven before one could be healed. But anyone is capable of saying “your sins are forgiven” and how can it be proven whether the statement was effective or not? Now on the other hand, to tell the man to get up and walk would demonstrate then and there the authority, effectiveness, and reliability of His word. Therefore in the tenth verse Jesus lets them know they have to make a choice to either believe in Him or disbelieve. He has hoisted these experts in the law on their own petard. It is on their own traditions and stated beliefs this man could not be cured unless he was forgiven.
In effect Jesus has said, “you say I have no right to forgive sins? You believe that if this man is sick, he is a sinner and cannot be cured until he is forgiven? Okay, then, watch this!” Jesus spoke the word and the man was cured, therefore he must be forgiven and Jesus’ claim to be able to forgive sin must be true. And a lot of eyewitnesses were there who couldn’t help but to laugh at their dilemma and to praise the God of Father Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He loves you and wants you to know who He is, and He asks you to live for Him.
–Pastor Ward Clinton
1:34 And he healed many that were sick of divers diseases, and cast out many devils; and suffered not the devils to speak, because they knew him.
The demons knew and understood Him to be the Messiah, the one true and holy Messiah; Isa, Al-Masih, is kalimat-Allah and wadjih according to the Quran and for that reason they were powerless against Isa.
Many that were possessed with devils – Dr. Lightfoot gives two sound reasons why Judea, in our Lord’s time, abounded with demoniacs. First, Because they were then advanced to the very height of impiety. See what Josephus, their own historian, says of them: There was not (said he) a nation under heaven more wicked than they were. See on Rom_1:1 (note). Secondly, Because they were then strongly addicted to magic, and so, as it were, invited evil spirits to be familiar with them. It seems strange to find men at this distance of time questioning the truth of that which neither scribes nor Pharisees then doubted; nor did they ever object against the pretensions of Christ and his apostles to cast them out. And, if the whole business of demonism had been only a vulgar error, (as “wise” men now tell us), what a fine opportunity had the “wise” men then, to unmask the whole matter, and thus pour contempt on the pretensions of our blessed Lord and his followers, who held it to be one proof of their Divine mission, that demons were subject to them! – Adam Clarke
It has been said, “Build a better mousetrap and the public will beat a path to your doorstep even if you live in the wilderness.” Unfortunately the crowds were only coming because they wanted something; unfortunately the crowds only thought they were coming to see a wondrous physician; fortunately the crowds were coming.
Sadly, for one prayer that goes up to the God of Father Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in days of prosperity ten thousand go up in times of adversity. Only prayers to the God of Father Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are of any value, prayers to any other god are useless.
Try Jesus, if you don’t like Him, the devil will always take you back.
Many a man who has never prayed when the sun was shining begins to pray when the cold winds come. So many people regard religion as belonging “to the ambulance corps and not to the firing-line of life.” Therefore religion, to them, is merely a crisis affair. Only when life has gotten into a mess do they begin to remember God, but it is in the sunshine times that we need to polish the communication lines so that when the darkness settles over us we don’t suddenly find ourselves trying to figure out how to establish a connection. God is not someone to be sought only in the day of misfortune; He is someone to be loved and remembered every day of our lives.
The god of Ishmael does not love you; The God of Father Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob loves you.
Although the recognition of one’s failure to come to Him during the sunny time should not be allowed to hinder the seeking of Him in the dark time – it is just so much better, so much wiser, and so much safer to remember Him in the sunny time when one may be assured of finding Him.
And healed all that were sick – Not a soul did the Lord Jesus ever reject, who came to him soliciting his aid. Need any sinner despair who comes to him, conscious of his spiritual malady, to be healed by his merciful hand? – Adam Clarke
Need any Muslim despair who comes to the God of Father Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? He loves you and wants you to know who Jesus really is; Jesus is the holy one of God who knows the true path to eternal life.
Injil Markus 1:35 And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.
Away from the disciples and other distractions, He started His day in private communication with the one true God.
Injil Markus 1:36 And Simon and they that were with him followed after him.
1:37 And when they had found him, they said unto him, All men seek for thee.
1:38 And he said unto them, Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also: for therefore came I forth.
Simon Peter, upon finding Him, tells Jesus that people are starting to gather at his house again. Jesus informs Simon Peter that the gospel message must be taken to other towns also. His message is not to be confined to a single area, no matter how well received in that place. This would also give the people a chance to more carefully consider the gracious words they have already heard Al-Masihu-Isa speak unto them. As regards prayer; prayer doesn’t do our work for us; prayer strengthens us for the work that must be done.
–Pastor Ward Clinton
Jesus preached the good news of peace (Ephesians 6:15) The penalty of being a fallen human being is to have a split personality. In fallen human nature the beast and the angel are strangely intermingled. Man’s trouble has always been that he is haunted both by sin and saintliness. Robert Burns said, regarding himself, “My life reminded me of a ruined Temple. What strength, what proportion in some parts! What unsightly gaps, what prostrate ruins in others.” The coming of Messiah Jesus brings forth the cure for that disintegrated personality and enables victory over the warring self through being conquered and completely consecrated by The Christ.
Jesus preached the good news of God’s promise (Ephesians 3:6). It is true that men have always tended to think of God as a God of threats rather than a God of promises. Look at the way some say the God of the Old Testament was mean – it demonstrates they still fail to understand who God is. If you have eyes to see and understand, the God of Father Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob shows His mercy and loving-kindness even in the Torah. God’s grace (i.e. unmerited divine favor) is demonstrated in that portion of The Book, it is just much harder to see than it is in the latter portion which begins with the Gospel (Injil) accounts.
Jesus preached the good news of immortality (2nd Timothy 1:10). To the pagan and the Sadducees alike, life was the road to death; man was characteristically a dying man; but Jesus came with the good news that through Him we are on the way to life. Interestingly enough, the pagans that did believe in an afterlife had a rather dark view of what it amounts to. I have to admit that I am not too impressed with what the followers of Mohammad believe regarding the afterlife either. That is primarily because the god of the Koran doesn’t seem very trustworthy. But, of course, disbelievers in Messiah Jesus, as revealed in the Holy Bible, should have a dark view of what the afterlife will be like for them. The fact of the matter is that there was a time when you were not, but now there will never be a time will you will no longer be. Therefore, embrace, make friends with, the holy one of the God of Father Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob because, if you do not, this earth is as close as you will ever get to Heaven.
Jesus preached the good news (Ephesians 1:13) of salvation. Salvation is not simply liberation from penalty and escape from the consequences of past sin; it is the power to live life victoriously and to conquer sin. That makes the message of Messiah good news indeed. It is a shame that most followers of Jesus do not live and walk in the full victory of life available to them.
Jesus preached the good news of Repentance. Unfortunately, repentance is not as easy as we tend to think. The Greek word metanoia literally means a change of mind. That is part of the reason a new follower of Isa has such a difficult time trying to walk in holiness of heart and life; he knows he is a new creature, but he still has the old habits and needs help. Of course, it does not help when the tradition of certain men gets in the way by suggesting that it cannot be done. As for traditions, the earliest hadiths are only the result of traditions, nothing more, and created by men over a hundred years after Muhammad.
For the follower of Jesus, the Messiah, the trial that may lay ahead is never as strong as the power behind. The children of the world (disbelievers in the holy one of God) have no such guarantee. He, Jesus, is “wadjih” (worthy of esteem in this world and the next), according to the Quran. The Quran also says Isa is kalimat Allah.
Pray to the God of Father Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who sees, hears, and still speaks to us today and longs to demonstrate His great love.
–Pastor Ward Clinton
Purely evil cowards reflecting and demonstrating exactly who and what their god really is.
–Pastor Ward Clinton
–Pastor Ward Clinton
John had quite likely lost track of his cousin during his own scholarly and Godly pursuits. On the other hand he may even have tried to recruit Him into the Essenes because he had always known there was something very special about his younger cousin although he did not know precisely what it was. Perhaps he was still hoping that his cousin would leave the carpenter shop and join him in preparing the path for the mighty Messiah who would manifest miracles and whom he knew was due to arrive at almost at any time now. Perhaps Jesus (Isa) had even gone out to hear John preach a time or two.
John’s message of preparation also pointed to something much better than mere water baptism because the Messiah was coming and the Messiah has the ability to baptize people with the Spirit of God. Water can cleanse the outside only but the Spirit of the one true God of Father Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob can cleanse our innermost being. John’s goal was to get people turned around from the path they were on and redirected towards the one who was greater than he; the one whom all men, without exception, need. Remember this, the teachings that Isa will return show that we really need to know who Isa is and what He taught and expects from each one of us according to the Holy Bible.
Injil Markus 1:9 And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan.
Jesus probably began His public ministry 27AD, when He was approximately 30 years of age. As far as we know, he had spent most of his life in Nazareth. Jesus approached the water where John was preaching and baptizing and perhaps John thought for a brief moment “Cool, here comes my cousin, perhaps he’ll consent to being part of my ministry preparing everyone for the arrival of The Messiah.” Mark does not relate the brief exchange that took place between the two, which is something which was left to another gospel writer to tell us more about. But suddenly John recognizes who Jesus really is because the God revealed the truth to him and he exclaims “I need to be baptized by You.” And John begins telling his own followers, “Follow Jesus, He is the one I have been prophesying and preaching about. Jesus is the Holy One of God.”
1:10 And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him:
1:11 And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
For those who have eyes to see something very important has been revealed.
John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance intended for those who were sorry for their sins and desired to express their determination to be completely done with them. What did such a baptism have to do with Jesus? Wasn’t He the sinless one and therefore such a baptism would be irrelevant and unnecessary in His case? Short answer, yes.
Jesus took upon Himself the likeness of sinful flesh in that although He was perfectly pure and unspotted, He chose to be washed as if He had been polluted. Therefore for our sake He sanctified Himself so that we also might be sanctified and be baptized with Him. Jesus was and is the holy one from the one true God and He gave us the pattern of living the one true God desires to see reflected in each one of us.
1:12 And immediately the Spirit driveth him into the wilderness.
1:13 And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him.
“As soon as” He was baptized there was a voice from Heaven affirming Him and then He went into the wilderness for a period of time. Matthew and Luke expand upon that wilderness experience but the Gospel of Jesus according to Mark marches on without even pausing for a breath.
John’s heraldic ministry was now wrapping up and it had accomplished much of that which it was supposed to. Better results would have been nice but there was a resistance to his message. Unfortunately that is the old, old story in that so many oppose God and His true messengers. Fortunately, however, some do pay attention and obey. So John exits the stage and the main feature begins because the long-awaited mighty messiah who manifests miracles is taking center stage.
1:14 Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,
1:15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.
The good news from, as well as about the one true God, the God of Father Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He was calling for a change of heart and lifestyle. He also had the message that the one true God actually cares about and loves us enough to send Isa (PBUH) to us to demonstrate that fact. He is still trying to communicate that message to any who will stop and listen today.
–Pastor Ward Clinton
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