In Unshackled and Growing Nabil Jabbour gives an illustration of "What is the Gospel?" It is written with a Muslim audience in mind.
"I...wrapped a tangerine with paper. I taped it and wrote on the paper, “Change my name from a Muslim name to a Christian name.” Then I wrapped another paper around it and wrote on it, “Abandon my Muslim family and join Christianity.” Then on another paper I wrote, “I need to be ready to attack Islam,” and I continued with another one and another one. By the time I finished, the tangerine became almost the size of a volleyball...I went back to the group telling them there was something inside that symbolized the Gospel. I showed them what I had written on the outer sheet and asked, “Is this the Gospel?” They said, “No.”...I kept unwrapping the layers one after the another until there was only one wrapping sheet left. By then, they could see that there was a tangerine inside, and they started laughing. When I got to the last sheet, I asked them, “Is this the Gospel?” and they shouted, “No!” Finally, I unwrapped the last sheet, leaving only the tangerine, and asked, “Is this the Gospel?” They screamed “Yes!” I surprised them by saying, “No.” Then I peeled the tangerine, threw the peelings away, and said, “This is the Gospel.”
Yes, Jesus is at the core of our message from God. He demonstrated perfectly what God is like. Leaving the political, cultural and even religious wrappings, Muslims can get a better glimpse of what the Gospel is all about.
"One summer, D.L. Moody invited a young English preacher, Henry Moorhouse, to preach at his Chicago church. The young preacher spent the entire week preaching on just one verse--John 3:16:
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life."
Each night, the auditorium was filled to capacity, and many were saved. D.L. Moody was initially puzzled by the incredible response to Moorhouse's sermons but later confided to a friend, "I never knew up to that time that God loved us so much. This heart of mine began to thaw out; I could not keep back the tears. I just drank it in. So did the crowded congregation. I tell you, there is one thing that draws above everything else in the world, and that is love."
At 11 years old, I responded to a message on this very passage. I said 'yes' to Jesus and He began to change my life!
My friend Samir was trying to be polite. He didn't want to say anything negative about my faith. I helped him understand terms he knew about Jesus from the Qur'an--Word of God, Messiah, and Jesus had the Spirit of God. I think God used my testimony to help him understand Jesus in a new way. I continue to pray that he and many of my Muslim friends would long for the Jesus we as believers know.
Dear God, help me to communicate the 'heart of the Gospel message'. Amen.
