British Pakistani Afsar Ahmed Shares His Testimony. Very Touching Testimony Of How Muslim Became A Christian Minister - Afsar Ahmed. Shalom, this is the story:
Presenter:
Afsar Ahmed is with us today former Muslim who now is a minister for Jesus Christ and you have an amazing story.
Afsar Ahmed:
Thank you thank you for having me
Presenter:
Now I read the whole thing and it just kind of really captivated me but tell us about the steps and how difficult it was with your own family along the way.
Afsar Ahmed:
Well I was born and bred in England. my mother is an English Christian my father is from Pakistan. he's a Muslim when they got married my father forced my mother to become a Muslim. but in response to this she prayed that one of her sons would become a Christian. so I always start my testimony there because I really believe that God answered that prayer. As was growing up my father always made sure he took us out of primary school especially east of time and Christmastime. Because he didn't want us to hear the messages connected with these events, you see.
In a secondary school I made a cross a metal workshop, painted it silver kept it in my handkerchief, if you would ask me why I did this ? I have no idea why I did it. nd then the other recollection I have of Christianity was that they gave us, the school, gave us a small little New Testament, a Gideon New Testament. I didn't read it but I just simply carved a cross on the front of it and I kept it in my bedroom.
Now a couple of years later that became an issue, because my parents wanted to emigrate to Canada and my father was going through my things to see what I could take with me and he came across this little Bible, you see. And he became very angry and I saw fear in his eyes and I wondered why. So he asked me where I got this little New Testament. And I said well they gave it to us at school. And he told me to throw it away. So I said no I want to take that with me to Canada and he was very angry. And I saw a lot of fear in his eyes and if I run it ... because his fear and his anger became the trigger for my search into Christianity.
And when we came over here, I began meeting Christians. I had got into trouble in England and for the first time in my life I looked upwards towards God. And I asked him to get me out of trouble. And I did get out of trouble, and to thank the god, I began saying the Lord's Prayer as they taught us in school.
And when I came over here I began meeting Christians. Now this was when I was 15 years old in the 1970s and in those days the Christians used to wear badges ... I found ... I don't know if you remember that.
Presenter:
yeah ... Campus Crusade
Afsar Ahmed:
Okay all right, I didn't know that. But I think the idea was that unsuspecting people would ask these Christians what they found and they would come scooting over and share the gospel. So the Christians shared with me that I could have a personal relationship with God through Jesus. Now when I heard that I was shocked because as a Muslim I was always taught that Allah is unique and distant. He has no associates. He has no partners.
Presenter:
And there's no assurance for that you go to heaven ?
Afsar Ahmed:
In the main ... In the main .. no no
Presenter:
Only Allah SWT know.
Afsar Ahmed:
Those exactly. He's the one that decides who goes to heaven and who goes to hell. So um when they shared the message of Jesus with me I rejected it. Because I could not believe that somebody could have a personal relationship with God through Jesus. I mean you couldn't even, you know, have a very distant relationship with Allah SWT never mind a relationship ... never mind a personal relationship. So I rejected it. And my brother and I applied to a like a government-sponsored farming program we were accepted along with about 40 others. And ....
Presenter:
This was where you met the young lady ?
Afsar Ahmed:
Yes yes exactly. A part of the requirement of this program was that we were supposed to go to this farming weekend, is a weekend seminar, to teach us the thing or two about farming so that we would be helpful to our farmers. It was a summer program so we were to live on the farms for the summer. And at this weekend farming seminar, I met this very zealous lady. She ... I mean she was very zealous for the Lord. And she shared the gospel with me and I said I'm sorry, but I cannot believe that, and she kept on sharing even during the lessons. And I said at one point, I said we're not going to learn much about our lessons, but she didn't take a blind bit knows it simply carried on sharing with me the gospel.
So it got to a point where she said all right. She said I'm going to prove to you that my God is a real God. Now I don't say that and I would have to say, I was intrigued by what she said, so I said - I said how are you going to do this. And she said well ... I'm going to demonstrate for you and answer prayer based on my personal relationship with God. So I said ... what prayer. And she said I'm going to pray that you go on a farm where they're all born-again Christians. And she actually said this, she said, and ... where you get the gospel ran down your throat in a solid month.
I said Allah SWT is not going to answer that prayer. I was angry because I said to her ... I said ... I said ... if we do not tell Allah SWT what to do. He tells us what to do. It's the other way around. So she said, I believe that God will answer that prayer.
And we were arguing all the way until we left this that the seminar. So I went home and I packed a little suitcase, my father dropped me off of this farm, I went to the door, I knocked on the door in this tall thin Dutch Canadian gentleman named Jerry. A lovely man who answered the door. He was just about to introduce himself when I noticed behind him, what I thought was a painting of Jesus, because the man in the painting had a halo on his head. So as he was just about to introduce himself, I said hold it. I said is that a painting of Jesus behind you ? And he said yes. My heart began to be a little faster.
And so I said are you a Christian full of light or something. And he said I'm a born-again Christian. So I said do you have a family. And he said I have a wife and three daughters. And I said is your wife born-again ? And he said yes. And I said daughter number one ? And he said, she's a born-again Christian. I said daughter number two ? And he said, she's a born-again Christian. And then he said ... daughter ... and I said ... don't tell me daughter number three is a born-again Christian. And he said we're all born-again Christians in this house.
And I mean ... I cannot ... you know. I was overwhelmed, it's hard to explain how I felt, because I was overwhelmed, I was humbled. And at the same time I couldn't work out how this young 16 year old girl could pray to Allah and Allah answer a prayer. I'd never ... I've never heard of this before in Islam. So the net effect of this was that it opened my heart to what Jerry had to share with me the message that he had. The message that he believed. the message that he lived. And I think over the course of the summer, he won me over by two things. First of all, his love, he had a love which I'd never seen in Islam before. It was gentle. It was patient. He was forgiving. He was kind and over the course of the summer his love ... the love of the Lord just shined through his heart ... through his eyes .... through his speech ... through his behavior. It was wonderful. I can honestly say that he's a lovely man, an absolutely lovely man is. He still alone. He's still alive. I just saw him a week ago. He lives in Danville. How wonderful a lovely man named Gerald Bruce Emma. I regard him as my spiritual father in the faith and then I think he also won me over by his consistency. He practiced what he preached.
He was what we call the genuine article in England. He was consistent, you know, he was almost a walking example of Scripture. You know a living example of the word. He really ... was ... he really ... he was to put it in, in what ... in terms of what James says, he was a doer of the word, and not just to hear only, you know. I told my wife about your story. I was so impressed by it and it reminds me how we have to be a witness. Yes but I want to talk about what really bothers me is that it seems like too many Christians don't show love toward Muslims. And they ... they miss caricature many Muslim ... yes as we know that jihadis element is a ... is a small sliver.
Presenter:
Tell us how to witness to Muslims and love them.
Afsar Ahmed:
Yeah, I mean ... my mind goes to Matthew chapter 9 where Jesus saw the crowds and He had compassion for them because they were harassed and helpless like sheep without a shepherd. I think ... I would suggest that we first of all need to see the way that Jesus sees that they are harassed and helpless. They may fear God. They may worship God. They may be completely devoted to God. But that the huge difference is as they do not know God personally. They do not have Jesus and that it ... that makes all the difference in the world. So I would say first of all for us to see the way that Jesus sees. That he sees a people that He loves in the Old Testament. We see that God had compassion upon a brutal people call the Assyrians and yet Jonah was commissioned to go to them. That's true and now in days gone by missionaries have gone to Asian countries and African countries. But now Muslims are here and we have week ... we have a harvest, we can actually have a harvest. If we see the way that Jesus is. If we have compassion the way that Jesus has compassion. And if we pray for them the way that Jesus wants us to pray for them. And if we take part in that harvest that the Lord wants among Muslims ...
Presenter:
Well ... we only have a minute left. Your dad ? Where is he now ?
Afsar Ahmed:
He lives in the United States.
Presenter:
And how about your family ? Have they any of them come ?
Afsar Ahmed:
No, no. My mother has some sort of faith but my father is a Muslim. My ... I have a twin brother, who is also a Muslim.
Presenter:
And you're praying for them ?
Afsar Ahmed:
I am praying for them. yes ... yes ...
Presenter:
I'm sorry your testimony ... Is a it just .. really touches me to the core.
Afsar Ahmed:
I thank God for His grace in my life. I give him a hundred percent of the credit. A hundred percent of the glory because He's the one that has come down to me.
Presenter:
And you're a minister now in England ?
Afsar Ahmed:
I'm an outreach lay worker, so for a Methodist circuit in Buckinghamshire. And I tried to help two churches on the circuit grow in the Lord.
Source:
This is Why a Muslim Became a Christian Minister - Afsar Ahmed.
Presenter:
Well, we're thankful that you came today and we're going to continue to pray for you and for your entire family.
Afsar Ahmed:
Thank you very much for having me.
- Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. - (John 14:6).
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