Aldy Fam Fanous recounts his personal testimony of coming to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior in September 1930. While under conviction and unhappy, he opened his Arabic Bible to Colossians 2:14, understanding that Christ's death on the cross paid the debt of his sins. This realization brought him immense peace and assurance of his new creation in Christ. Despite initial rejection from church leaders, he found solace and growth in God's Word and began a small home meeting, eventually leading his family to faith. The sermon emphasizes that God's will includes giving thanks in all circumstances, drawing parallels to Paul's thorn in the flesh and the believer's journey through trials, transforming valleys of tears into wells of joy by appearing before God.
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It's my joy and my privilege again to be with you tonight. I was asked by more than one person to give a word of testimony as to how I became a Christian. So I'll just take one or two minutes or rather just a few minutes to tell you of how I came to know Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. This is ancient history. Goes back to nineteen thirty. I was just a boy from high school. Age in nineteen, I know some people now are busy adding and subtracting, but never mind. It was just after high school, I was not in university yet. And I remember the month and the year, but not the day.
It was in September, nineteen thirty. Must have been early in the month. I must hurry to say that for several months I was under conviction. I was most unhappy. I didn't know what I lacked, but I knew I lacked something. As far as remember, there were two churches in my hometown. One a ritualistic church, the other supposedly an evangelistic church. But in neither of these two did I hear the way of salvation explained to people. So one day in September I was on my own in my room.
I was born and lived in a place called Fayyum in Egypt, about seventy miles south-west of Cairo, right in the middle of the desert. In my home, there was an Arabic Bible, a big, huge family Bible. in which were recorded the marriages and the deaths and the births and the dates and so on and so forth. But it was a dilapidated, worn out Bible not through use, but through lack of use. I opened it at random one day. I remembered the room, the place, I can close my eyes and picture what happened at that time.
I say at random, but I know God's hand was in it. The place was Colossians chapter two. And I began to read. I didn't understand very much of what I read. It was Arabic, but it was Greek to me. Until I came to verse fourteen. Now chapter two and verse fourteen tells me that Christ, when he died on the cross, he took away the handwriting, which was against us, and nailed it to his cross. Now the word handwriting in Arabic means or a promissory note. Suk in Arabic. S-A-K or S-A-Q could be both.
An Arabic word which means promissory note. If you borrow some money from someone and you write a statement to this effect, you are in debt to him. This is the word. I know what it means now. It refers to the law. But at that time I didn't understand it. I took it differently and asked myself, was Ryan dead to anybody? Did I owe any money to anyone? Not to my knowledge. And I thought and thought and thought of it. At last, to make a long story short, while I was there, as thought came into my mind, could it be that that death from which Christ freed me by his death upon the cross?
With my sins, which I sinned against God, I knew what kind of life I was leading. I was not a Christian. And I thought of it that this means that Christ died on the cross to take those sins away. Very simply. And friends, I couldn't contain myself. I literally burst into tears. And I know this poor man cried, and the Lord heard him. As simple as that, I know beyond the shadow of a doubt I was made a new creation in Christ Jesus. The peace of God came to my heart. Well, this is a newfound experience.
I went to the pastor or the priest of the ritualistic church and I asked him, told him what happened to me. He very gravely shook his head and said that was heresy. The only way to heaven was the church. And that was heresy. So I got no comfort there. I went to the pastor of the other church and told him of my found experience. He looked at me and he said, that was apostasy. So I was a heretic and apostate. There was no help to me. I went home, went to the Bible again. God's Word told me I was on the right way.
And God's Word took care of me. It was summer vacation and schools and universities in that part of the world, taught in October. So I had a lot of time in my hands. I was not working, waiting for college. So I would spend sometimes about ten hours a day just devouring the Word of God. And let me say something to you. The best commentary on the Bible is the Bible itself. I had no money to buy books, but I had the Bible. And I praised God for those weeks and days with the Word of God and with Christ. Well, there was no place to fellowship with, fellowship at, with believers.
So I started a little meeting of my own, in my own home. First, I must say that it was not easy for me with my parents and my children, with my brothers and sisters. I'm a member of a big family. I have four brothers, three sisters. At that time a father and a mother. So we were ten people in the family. And I was the first one to come to an experience like this. And I couldn't keep quiet. I couldn't keep quiet at all. And I told them about what happened to me. And it was not easy at all. But the Lord took care of me. And I started to pray for them. One sister came through. And praise God. She and I was a tremendous help. The one to the other. And to make a long story short. Again.
The Lord gave them to me one by one. The last to come through was my dad. He's in glory now. But he was singing an Arabic hymn, which is a literal translation of the English hymn, Jesus, lover of my soul. Let me to thy bosom fly, period. And he flew. Period. It was just as a prayer. And the prayer was answered. I was about seventy miles away from where he was. I got the news. Naturally, I felt sad as my father went, but I knew, absent from the body, present with the Lord. And I know that my dad, my mother, are with the Lord now, and I am glad to tell you that my brothers and sisters are keen Christians, and my brothers are very active in the Lord's work.
Thank God for what he did. To God be the glory. Great things he has done. Please turn with me to Colossians chapter one. Colossians chapter one. We were speaking about the sole sufficiency of Jesus Christ. And we touched on the revelation of that sufficiency in the knowledge of his person and his work. And we reached till verse eight. particularly a prayer of the Apostle for the believers at Colossae that they may increase in the knowledge of the will of God.
And we pointed out one phase of the will of God for you and for me, as is mentioned in the first epistle to the Thessalonians in chapter four and verse three. is the will of God even your sanctification. I just want to point out one other phase of the will of God and you and I should know it because it is your duty, responsibility and privilege to know this phase of the will of God for you and for me and for every Christian. It's mentioned in First Thessalonians chapter five and verse eighteen.
In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Let me repeat. In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Now we might stop here and ask ourselves, I'm not a prophet or a mind reader. But let me tell you something. There isn't one single person here tonight who does not have some kind of a problem or a difficulty of one description or another.
Right? That's right. What must we do? Complain. Give thanks. Give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Are you passing through a difficult situation? What is your problem? Sickness? Problem at home? Problem in the office? Problem with your friends? What is it? The Apostle Paul had an experience like this. He was shown wonderful revelations.
And lest he be puffed up with these revelations, he was given a thorn in the flesh. What this thorn in the flesh is not the topic tonight. Was it poor eyesight? Was it a sore in his body? What it was is not the important thing. But the important thing is that he had a thorn in the flesh. And he had prayed many times for sick people and the sick people were healed. Sometimes they were healed instantly. He prayed for himself. And the soul of flesh did not depart.
He prayed a second time. It must have been very painful. Painful to him. He prayed a second time. But it did not depart. He prayed a third time. But it did not depart. Instead, we read, He said unto me. He had a personal message from Christ. A personal message from Christ. He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee. For my strength is made perfect in weakness. What was that grace? Do you know?
Strange. That thorn in the flesh was the grace of God given to him. That thorn in the flesh was the grace of God given to him for a special purpose. For my strength is made perfect in weakness. Paul, you have a thorn in the flesh. I'm going to use that thorn in the flesh for the glory of God. What was Paul's answer? Therefore, I glory in infirmities. I glory in infirmities. Why? For when I am weak, then am I strong.
Are you sad about the soul and the flesh that you have? Are you tired? Are you complaining? Can you say thank you, Lord, for the disease that you have given me? Can you say thank you, Lord, for the temptation I'm passing through? Can you say thank you, Lord, for this difficulty? Please turn with me to Psalm forty-nine. I beg your pardon, eighty-four. Psalm eighty-four. And let us read something there. You will be very surprised. The eighty-fourth Psalm And I'm going to read to you just a few verses.
Verse five, Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee, in whose heart are the ways of them who passing through the valley of Baker make it a well. The rain also filleth the pools. They go from strength to strength. Every one of them is Zain Zain appears before God. This is the English version. Let me please translate to you almost literally how it reads in my Arabic Bible. Verse five, Blessed are the men in whose heart are the ways of thy tabernacle or thy house, who passing through the valley of tears.
Beka is an Arabic word which means weeping or tears. Make it into a will of joy because they appear before thee in Zion. Passing through the valley of tears. They make it into a will of joy. How can this be? Can I make the valley of tears? into a will of joy? Yes. Why? How? Appeared before God in Zion. On your knees. Are you weak and heavy laden? Coupled with a load of care? Precious saviors till our refuge.
Take it to the Lord in prayer. I'm sure you have many experiences. How will this happen to you in your life? I'm sure those of us who know Jesus Christ as their Savior have experienced with his power, how he answers prayer, you will pardon a personal experience. I've referred to it more than once. I had many, many experiences, but this one stands very vividly in my mind. It was my privilege to serve the Lord in two assemblies in particular, one in Cairo and the other in Beirut, Lebanon. The assembly in Beirut, Lebanon owns the chapel in which they meet.
But the assembly in Cairo rents the place in which they meet. And the rent is paid monthly. On the first of the month, the first day, at nine o'clock sharp, I would hear a rat-a-tat at the door. And I know who it is. The landlord coming to collect the rent. And months after months, year after year, the Lord on our face, we never take a collection or ask for money, we make the need known to the Lord. And months after months, year after year, the Lord never failed us. He never failed. He never failed. But one particular month, there was no money.
On the fifteenth of the month, no money. Sixteenth, no money. Seventeen, eighteenth, twenty-fifth, twenty-sixth, You can imagine what we felt like. But we were very busy at the throne of grace, I tell you, on our knees. We are told never to worry, but I must admit I was at that time. All right. The thirties of the month, no rent. Thirty-first, nothing. Nothing at all. Lord, what shall I say to this man when he comes tomorrow? The Lord has no money? He wouldn't understand it. And what a testimony to a Muslim. But we very, I don't know.
I knew God will do something. But I didn't know what. To make a long story short, on the following day, the first of the month, at a quarter to nine, if you please. I heard the knock at the door and I said, uh-uh. Every time he comes at nine o'clock when there is money. Now when there is no money, he comes at a quarter to nine. What shall I say to him? I went with very heavy steps. My heart was in my boots. And I opened the door. It was not the landlord. It was somebody else. He delivered unto me a green form on which were printed the words.
The landlord was behind with his taxes. This was a man from the state, or the government is equivalent to the state here. The landlord was behind with his taxes. Please do not pay the rent to him, but be good enough to wait until we send someone to collect it. Well, you may be sure we are good enough to wait. Right. Does God answer prayer? He does. How? In his own way. In his own time. He never fails. Passing through the valley of Baker. Passing through the valley of tears.
They make it into a well of joy. Why? Because they appear before God in Zion. Before God. All power is given unto me. Ye fearful saints. Fresh courage takes. The clouds ye so much dread are rich in mercy and will break in blessing over your head. Yes indeed, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. Yesterday we read two verses from John chapter twelve. Jesus, six days before the Passover, came to Bethany. Bethany is a Hebrew word and an Arabic word too.
Bait, Anya. Bait is house and Ania means affliction. My apologies to people who worship at Bethany Chapel. Right, it's the house of affliction. Bethany means the house of affliction. But we read that there they made him a feast. A feast in the house of affliction. Why? Because Jesus was there. Take him to the house of your affliction and he will turn that house of affliction into a feast passing through the valley of Baker. They make it into a will of joy.
Write in everything. Give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Write. Knowing, therefore, the will of God, what must we do? I've been asked by many people, especially the young folks, how would I know the will of God concerning particular matters? I suppose they mean to ask me, how would they know the Lord's leading? Because the will of God, as I told you, is expressed to us in two phases, your sanctification and your giving thanks to God.
There is, by the way, a slight difference between thanksgiving and praise. You praise God for what He is. You thank Him for what He does. Yes, you thank Him for what He does. But how would I know God's leading in certain circumstances? And there are many times that we are faced with a problem and we don't know which way we take. How would we know the Lord's leading? I said there is only one place where you are happy, where you can experience the blessing of the Lord. And that place is the center of God's will, God's leading for you. But how would we know God's leading?
Well, I have jotted down seven guidelines or principles from my experience and the Word of God that will help you to know God's leading in any particular situation that confronts you. And we will go through them hurriedly one by one. Principle or guideline number one. God never leads contrary to His Word. Right. Don't ask the leading of God contrary to his word. Let me give you an example. He is a young man or a young lady.
They are faced with a very, very big problem, the partner of their life. What should they do? He is interested or she is interested in someone who is not a Christian, but he or she is a Christian. What should they do? Shall we pray that the Lord will lead me? Shall I marry him or marry her or not? I wouldn't pray for that. God's word is very clear there. Be not unequally yoked with non-believers. And I say it another course and stress it. The result can be disastrous. Be not unequally yoked with unbelievers.
What fellowship has light with darkness? Listen, every believer is a child of God. and every non-believer is a child of the devil. Ye are of your father the devil. Right? If a child of God marries a child of the devil, I'm sure he will have trouble with his father-in-law. And you know who the father-in-law would be? Right. What must we do? Pray? No. Be sure that the other partner know the Lord. Don't date him or date her if he is not the Lord's.
Well, you have a system here of dating. We don't have it in Egypt in the part of the world I lived in. You might ask me how I chose my wife. That's a very personal question. But I will just go into it very shortly, very briefly. When the time came for me to choose my wife or to get married, I saw the Lord's face. In the assembly there was a girl in whom I was interested. But how would I talk to her? We don't mix freely as you do here. And she and I would never do something that would be offending to other people. Very fortunately she had a brother who was teaching He was in the faculty of the college I was in the faculty on, so he and I were colleagues.
So, in theory, I went to visit him. But in practice, there was something else in mind. And while you cannot say much, you can say a lot with your eyes. And I knew she was interested in me, and she knew I was interested in her. She knew that I knew, and I knew that she knew that I knew that we were interested in each other. And after much prayer, I was convinced this was God's will for me. And I knew that it was God's will for her too. So I took a friend of mine and went, plugged up courage, and went and asked her hand from her parents. The answer was something like this. You are a very wonderful young man.
We love you very much. But, uh-uh. She had an older sister who was not married. It was not customary to give the younger marriage before the older. So I started to pray and you know what that brother was praying for. I was praying for a husband for the other one. And sure enough, three months later, only three months later, the other one was engaged. So the way was open. So I went and asked for her hand again and the answer was yes. God led and God directed. Don't pray for guidance or something contrary to God's will.
Secondly, second principle or guideline, God does not lead all his people in the same way. To Moses at the Red Sea, he said, Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. To Joshua at the River Jordan, he said, Advance. As soon as the feet of the priests that carry the Ark of the Covenant touch the water, the river Jordan will split, will be divided. He does not guide all his people in the same way. So be in touch with the throne personally for leading and guidance there.
Thirdly, God does not lead each person in the same way all the time. There is a special leading for a special circumstance. So keep in touch with the throne of grace at all times. Number four, seek the advice of a neutral Christian friend of yours. Sometimes the Lord speaks to his people through his people or through circumstances. Guideline number five, beware of your emotions. They can be subtle. and deceptive. Don't depend upon your emotions.
Seek God's mind and be careful about your emotions. Number six, there will be a deep peace when God's leading is given. You will feel it. You will know it that this is God's leading. And number seven, when that peace is given, shut the door and act upon it. To doubt God's word and God's leading is an insult to God. When He has given His peace, shut the door, take it from the Lord and act upon it. I think that these will help you in knowing God's mind in various situations.
Right. We have dealt with God's will in its two phases in general for God's people and with guidelines for God's leading and guidance in certain circumstances. What is the result? The result is in verse ten that ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing. That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing. Your creed should be interpreted in your behavior. What you believe inside would be shown outside.
In the Old Testament, there were clean animals and unclean animals. An animal that had a split hoof and a split lip was clean. Otherwise, it was not clean. Take, for example, a rabbit. Has it got a split upper lip? Yes. Next time you see a rabbit examine it. You'll find the upper lip is split. I thought about the hoof. No split hoof. Clean? No. Unclean. How about a sheep? Next time you see the head of a sheep, examine the upper lip. It is split.
How about the hoof? It is split. Clean animals. What does the Holy Spirit say here? He was teaching the people with an object lesson. There are people who talk, but their walk does not tally with their talk. Not acceptable in God's sight. Your creed should be translated in your behavior. You must walk according to your talk and talk according to your walk. They must be the same. Yes, indeed, that ye may walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing.
In Genesis chapter seventeen and verse one, we have a very important statement. The Lord appeared unto Abraham and said something very, very important to him. Abraham, walk before me and be thou perfect. Now the word perfect literally means mature. Walk before me and be thou mature. Why? What happened in chapter sixteen? The Lord had promised Abraham that he would have a child or children by Sarah. And he lived to an old age and the child never arrived.
Until Sarah, humanly speaking, lost all hope that it was impossible for her to beget children anymore. So what did she do? She advised Abraham to take Hagar the Egyptian maid as a wife or rather marry her and the Lord would give them an offspring a child by Hagar and that probably would be helping the Lord to fulfill his plan what an immature thought and Abraham that man of faith accepted the advice That was not a sign of maturity.
And how many times, how many times we act immaculately. One of the most difficult lessons to learn is patience, waiting, very especially in this part of the world. Things move very rapidly here. Hurry, hurry, hurry. Right. If I am asked to summarize life in the USA in one word, I would say hurry. And if I am to summarize it in two words, I would say hurry, hurry. Things move very fast. Very fast. We talk fast, walk fast, eat fast.
Very often die fast too. Right. I should never forget my first drive on the subway in New York City. I would. coming over from that part of the world to New York City. Things move very slowly over there. Why do today what you can do tomorrow? But things here are different. And I took my first ride on the subway. I couldn't believe my eyes. I couldn't believe my eyes. The subway just went like a thunderbolt. And when we came to the one hundred sixteen states and stepped out to go to Columbia University where I was studying, everybody was rushing. I literally, literally stood up. on the steps and looked down and saw those few faces.
I said, there is something wrong with everybody here. The way they were rushing. Well, later on I thought there was something wrong with me too. I was rushing the same way they were rushing too. However, but learn to wait for the Lord. I waited patiently for the Lord. What happened? He heard. He inclined his dear unto me. One of the most difficult lessons to learn is patience. Waiting for the Lord. Take time for the Lord with the Lord. Take time with the Lord. And wait patiently for him. And those who wait upon the Lord shall never be put to shame. Yes indeed.
Well, walk thou before me. And be thou perfect. What is the result? of walking before the Lord. Look at verse ten again please. That he might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful. The first sign of a worthy walk before the Lord is being fruitful. This is a topic that really needs careful consideration. What is the part?
of works, fruits in the Christian life. We read that we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works. We are created in Christ Jesus unto good works. I thought we were created in Adam. How can we be created in Christ Jesus? Yes, every believer in Christ is a new creation. Second Corinthians five seventeen. If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation. Therefore there is a link between creation and fruit or creation and good worth.
Look, God follows an order. His material creation is very orderly. There is order in creation. There is also order in the spiritual creation. And fruit has a place in that order. This order is reflected from one creation to the other. To know its place, please go back to a very important chapter in God's word. I don't think I have time to go to every step, but let us see how far we can get. Go to Genesis chapter one, please. God created the material world in six days.
What did God create on the first day? On the first day of the six days of creation. Look at verse three, please. And God said, Let there be light. And there was light. And God saw the light. It was good. God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light day and the darkness He called night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. Must follow that light is a very important factor in creation. It was created on the very first day.
It came first in order. And so it is in the spiritual realm. For God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, shined in your heart to see the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Let there be light. It is not works. It is light. I am the light of the world. And if there is anyone here tonight who has not seen the light of God in the face of Jesus Christ, who has not been made new creation in Christ, this is your time. It is not through works you have done or you can do.
It's all done. Listen to Christ on the cross. It is finished. In Him we have a finished salvation, completed salvation. Nothing that you can do. Nobody can add to it or take away from it. It is perfect and complete. Come to Jesus Christ now. Friends, don't delay one minute. You don't know how much you will live. Someone has said that if each drop of water in the oceans, in the seas, in the rivers, in all the waterways of the world, if each drop of water represented one billion years, if every grain of sand in the sea, in the seashore, in the mountains, deserts of the world, if every grain of sand represented one billion years, If every green blade of grass in the whole world represented one billion years, if all these billions of years were taken away from eternity, eternity would not lose anything.
How long is eternity? Where would he spend it? Where would he spend eternity? Christ is calling unto you today, come unto me, take him as your Savior. Now is the acceptable time. Now is the day of salvation. How long is your life? Let me say, with the full authority of God's word, after one hundred years at the very most, if Christ tells not one of us, young or not so young, will be on this earth, right? I'm being very generous with you and with myself. Hundred years, only a hundred years compared to eternity.
Will you barter away an eternity that long? There's no end to it. With one hundred years at the very most, come to Christ now and take Him as your Savior. Well, the very first day it was light. What happened on the second day? What is God's order for creation? For the new creation, for the spiritual creation. Look at verse six, please. And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the firmament and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament. And it was so. And God called the firmament heaven.
And the evening and the morning were the second day. What does firmament mean? My Arabic word and the Hebrew word too means simply expanse. Expanse. That atmosphere you think. that surrounds you. It divides the waters below, in the seas, in the waters, in the waterways, from the waters above. There are billions of tons of water sailing in the sky, in the form of clouds. But what is the main characteristic of the firmament? It's very helpful. I cannot smell without the atmosphere around me. I cannot hear sounds without the atmosphere around me.
I cannot see things without the atmosphere around me. But this is not the most important function of the atmosphere. The most important function of the atmosphere is mentioned here three times. Let it divide. In other words, God created division on the second day. And this is the second step in your Christian life. There must be a division. There is no unity between darkness and light. Be not unequally yoked. There must be separation. There must be a division between the old life and the new life.
It is very important. We hear a lot about salvation through grace of God. We praise God because so it is. But I would like to hear more about separation. A separated life unto Christ. I am saved to live a separate life unto Christ. I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, and be ye not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed. It's a transformation. How can it happen? It happens when I have fellowship with the Lord moment by moment in my life. I am changed from glory to glory unto the same image, Jesus Christ himself.
How much time is spent with the Lord in prayer today? How much time is spent with the Lord in the meditation on His word today? Yes, there must be separation, division. Now we come to step number three. What happened on the third day? Look please at verse nine. And God said, let the waters, etc., until it comes to verse eleven. And God said, let the earth bring forth grass. The herbs yielding seed and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind whose seed is itself upon the earth. And it was so.
Other words, on the third day there was fruit. Fruit of the earth. Let the earth bring forth fruit. Grass. Earth. This is the order of God. Light. Separation, fruit, inevitable. When there is light of the new life and the separated life unto Christ, there is inevitably going to be fruit of the glory of God. You cannot bring fruit acceptable to God unless you live a clean, separated life unto God.
And you are a new creation in Christ Jesus. Change the order and it will not be acceptable to God. Are you living a separated life unto Christ? Are you a new creation in Christ Jesus our Lord? Because you have known him as your Savior, my time is gone. And I am only through the third day. I want to avoid the very, very bad consequences and the grievous results. Therefore, I stop here and take up next time God willing. Let's pray. Our loving Heavenly Father, we pray before the opening of thy word because of giving