Believers from several Isaiah 19 nations share communion in historic Christ Church in the Old City Jerusalem.
In light of the highway of worship in Isaiah 19 as well as the regional shifts — including the Arab Spring — leaders from the Isaiah 19 nations decided to meet in 2012 to
- worship Yeshua/Jesus together, prophetically acting out the highway of worship
- encourage one another with testimonies of how the LORD is building the highway
- seek the LORD on how to proceed in ministering to Him and the nations in light of the Arab Spring.
The first night of the conference opened with Communion, an act of oneness with one another as well as Messiah. We were all led in worship by worshipers from Israel and Turkey in various permutations all four days of the conference.
Many of the participants are former Muslims who have accepted Jesus as their LORD and savior. Another consequence of recognizing Jesus as savior is understanding that He is the the Messiah and King of Israel and so loves Israel and the Jews very much (Mat. 25; Rom. 9, 10, 11). As you can imagine, there are Muslim extremists who would kill a Muslim-background Believer just for one of those “offenses” against Islam (case in point, the incarceration and death sentence over Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani in Iran). So organizers are being careful to protect the identities of these brothers and sisters in Christ.
However, there were some there who have shared their testimonies with the world already through books or film. One is Ali Petkash.
Pastor Ali grew up Muslim but not religious. Once married and with children, he found that he was in a cycle of alcoholism and rage. He beat his wife every day, he says. He was ashamed but couldn’t help himself.
He was so ashamed that he would go find construction work in other cities so that he wouldn’t stay home and beat his family. Drunkenness continued to be a problem.
Eventually his friends advised him to go seek Allah’s help by going on hajj, pilgrimage to Mecca.
There, in Mecca, Ali dreamed Jesus. Jesus said, “You are mine. Leave this place.” Incredulous, his friends watched him leave. Ali hasn’t turned back since.
He described a very angry, depressed man enslaved by alcohol. Those at the conference saw a very joyous man full of the Holy Spirit.
Ali’s story was dramatized in the “More than Dreams” films chronicling the stories of Muslims who trusted Jesus after the Savior appeared to them in a dream. (You can watch the “More than Dreams” films on Netflix, Amazon Instant Video
I have embedded Ali’s story below.