that time when we placed our faith and trust in him and were passed from death unto life as Jesus told us there in John chapter 5 and verse 24. Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that heareth my word and believeth on him that sent me hath everlasting life and shall not come into condemnation but is passed from death unto life. I want to take us this morning to the book of Exodus chapter 6 Exodus chapter 6 and we'll read verses 2 and 3. I'll read them to you in Exodus chapter 6 verses 2 and 3 and you can follow along. Here it says, and God spake unto Moses and said unto him, I am the Lord. And of course we know that Lord in all capitals, capital L, capital O, capital R, capital D, is the same word that's translated Jehovah in the Hebrew and the Old Testament. And verse 3 says, And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob by the name of God Almighty, but by my name Jehovah Was I not known to them? Jehovah is the personal name of God and as we study through the scripture we know that Jehovah is Jesus. The book of Isaiah gives us a report about Jehovah and who Jehovah is and he tells us that he's the one, he's the first and the last, he's the one that is the alpha, the omega, he's the one that is, we will stand before and every knee shall bow to, and that's the same thing that's spoken of Jesus in Philippians chapter two, and so we know that Jehovah is Jesus, and that's what he tells us in Isaiah 53, he is the one who gave his life for us there on the cross. So what I want to speak to you about this morning is the God of the Bible versus the God of Islam. the God of the Bible versus the God of Islam. There are many today who are telling us and saying that the God of Islam and the God of Christianity is the same. And but first of all, we need to understand that much of Christianity today does not follow the God of the Bible. And that's a sad thing, but that's where we've come to in our country. So the question then is, is the God of Islam and the God of the Bible, one and the same. Well, the God of Islam is called Allah, and Allah simply means the deity or the God. Islam means submission. It means submission to the will of Allah. And in the ancient times, it had the meaning of, they would use the word that, the idea that Jesus died on the cross He was obedient unto death, that this Islam is submission unto death. And that's the ultimate, that's the greatest achievement of Islam, is to die a martyr. Christianity, the word Christian means Christ-like, Christ-like, or one who lives for Christ. I'm not a child of God because of my willingness to die for Christ. I'm a child of God because of his willingness to die for me. And there's a great difference there in the idea of submission unto death. Now, Islam teaches that there is only one God, and we agree with them there. We can come to terms to agree that monotheistic. And he alone created the earth. We also agree with that. So does Christianity believe that God is the creator and that there's only one God. But the difference is, as the Bible teaches, that our God is three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, where Islam denies that there are three persons. They are very emphatic that there is only one God and he's only one person. So let's look at some scripture just quickly in Psalm Psalm 83 and verse 18. Psalm 83 and verse 18. That men may know that thou whose name alone is Jehovah art the most high over all the earth. Most high, Jehovah is the most high over all the earth. Islam would have no problem with that because they believe that their God is the most high over all the earth. But if we go back to Genesis chapter 1 and verse 1, Genesis chapter 1 and verse 1, in the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. Notice the word God here is Elohim, which is plural. It's a plural word. It's actually saying, in the beginning, God's, plural, but the translators didn't translate it that way because they understand and understood from the rest of scripture that our God, although three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, is one God. And verse 26 of Genesis chapter 1 says, and God said, let us make man in our image after our likeness and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the fowl of the air, over the cattle, over all the earth, over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. Let us make man in our image. We jump down to chapter 2 and it says, Thus the heavens and the earth were finished and all the host of them and on the seventh day God, Elohim, ended his work which he had made and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made. These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created in the day that the Lord God, that's Jehovah God, made the earth and the heavens. And so the Bible tells us that our God is three persons. There's many other scriptures that we could look at. You remember John chapter 10 and verse 30 where Jesus said, I and my Father are one. We are one God. Now, they are, according to the scripture, three persons. But they form one God. Say, well, I don't understand that. Well, neither do I. But how can we understand a God who is just able to speak and the earth comes into existence? His knowledge is far above ours. His ways are not our ways. His thoughts are not our thoughts. And our God, according to the scripture, is three persons. Father, Son, and Spirit. Three separate persons, but they form one God. Now, this God that the Muslims basically refer to as the God or the deity does not have a personal name. Our God does. God's personal name is Jehovah. The Bible tells us that. We read the scripture there in Exodus 6. Muslim scholars, they tend to describe their God in a very impersonal manner. Abdul Saleeb, after much study of the Quran, described the God of the Quran in six points. And his final point was this, quote, Allah is absolutely unknowable. Allah is ultimately beyond human comprehension in any meaningful way. So that's totally different from the God of the Bible. You cannot say they are one and the same because our God is a personal God and Allah is not according to their own teachings. So, here's another question that we need to consider. Does God love sinners? Of course, we know our God does, John 3, 16, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. And if you look in the book of Ephesians, chapter 2, let me read you here in Ephesians, chapter 2, what the Bible says about our God, Ephesians chapter 2. Now remember, I'm not attacking the Muslims, I'm just simply answering a question that they tell us. They say that your God and our God are the same God. Well, we have to disagree with that. Because we see here in Ephesians chapter 2, and you hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins, wherein in time past you walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience, among whom also we all had our conversation. Conversation here is an old English word meaning the way we lived, our manner of life. In times past, in the lust of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and the mind, were by nature the children of wrath even as others. In other words, he's saying we were all sinners. We are all sinners. But God, who is rich in mercy for his great love, wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with grace, with Christ, by grace ye are saved, and hath raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. And so our Bible is very clear that God is a God that loves us, and he loves sinners. Let's look in Romans chapter 5, and beginning in verse 5. It says, and hope maketh not ashamed, because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. For when we were yet without strength in due time, Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die. Yet peradventure for a good man, some would even dare to die. But God commended his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more than being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. Now, our Bible is very clear that our God, which the Muslims tell us that they believe that their God is the same God that's in this Bible. They have no problem with that. They say that this is the same God. They worship the same God that we do. Well, our God in the Bible, the Bible teaches that our God loves us. He loves sinners. He gave himself. He sent his son to die. for us, that we might have everlasting life. Well, in Surah 2, verse 190 in the Qur'an, it ends with these words, Surah 2, verse 190, For Allah loveth not transgressors. In Surah 3, verse 57, As to those who believe and work righteousness, Allah will pay them in full their rewards. But Allah loveth not those who do wrong. So the Quran makes it very clear that their God does not love sinners. But the God of the Bible does love sinners. So we have to admit that there's a vast difference between the two as we begin to compare. And they declare that not only is it mentioned in the Quran many times, but it's emphatically repeated that Allah is without offspring. In Surah 518, it says both the Jews and the Christians say, we are the sons of Allah and his beloved. Say, when then doth he punish you for your sins. In other words, they're saying, if you claim that you are the sons of God and that God had a son, and that when we put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ, we become the children of God, born into the family of God as Jesus taught in John chapter three marvel not that I send you you must be born again that we actually become children of God we are not the son of God where we do not take on deity but we are born into the family of God and we have a new life we become God's child we're no longer as Jesus said in John eight forty four we're no longer children of the devil we're children of God well The God of Islam disagrees with that. And they ask the question, why then does he punish you for your sins? Well, the Bible tells us why he does in Hebrews chapter 12. He chastises every son that he receives, just like a father does his children. He uses the example in Hebrews 12. Just like a father does his children when they get out of line, he disciplines them. That's what God does with us. He disciplines us because he loves us. That's what the Bible teaches us, that God loves us and he does discipline us and he does bring things into our life to chastise us and to get us on the right track when the need is there. Proverbs 34 says, Who hath ascended up into heaven or descended? Who hath gathered the wind in his fist? Who hath bound the waters in a garment? Who hath established all the ends of the earth? Well, we know the answer to those questions is God has. And then it says, what is his name, and what is his son's name, if thou canst tell? In John chapter 1, verses 10 through 12, here's what the Bible says very clearly. He that was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not, He came unto his own and his own received him not but as many as received him to them gave you power to become the sons of God even to them that believe on his name which were born not of blood nor the will of the flesh nor the will of man but of God. So the Bible tells us that we become sons of God in the sense that we are the children of God born into the family of God we have a new life in Christ Jesus in 1 John chapter 3 and verse 2. I'm simply trying to show you this morning that the God of the Bible and the God of Islam are not the same and that's very clear in these scriptures and in the teachings of Islam itself. Let's go to 1 John chapter 3 verse 2. Beloved now we are we the sons of God and it does not appear what we shall be. But we know that when he shall appear we shall be like him or we shall see him as he is. Now are we the sons of God born into the family of God become children of God. The God of Islam changes his mind throughout the current Quran and even his very nature. changes in the Quran. But the God of the Bible never changes. He is immutable. In Malachi 3.6, he says, I am God, I change not. I am the Lord, I change not. The God of Islam has no son. They make this very clear. But the God of the Bible has an incarnate son. And so considering all of this, it's very clear they are not the same. The God of Islam and the God of the Bible is not the same. Jehovah, as we study it through the Bible, is Jesus, and in Isaiah chapter 53, if you look in Isaiah chapter 53, it says, who had believed our report, and throughout the book of Isaiah is a book of 66 chapters. It is actually kind of a miniature Bible within the Bible. It's an amazing thing about the Bible. Isaiah the prophet gives us a miniature Bible within the Bible. 66 chapters or 66 books in the Bible. And when you get to chapter 40, which is the 40th book of the Bible, is Matthew, the start of the New Testament. He's introducing the Savior that is to come and the voice crying in the wilderness, which was John the Baptist who would introduce the Savior. And then he begins this report through those chapters to tell us about who this Jehovah is and how he is the first and the last and how he is the only Savior. And before we read here in 53, let's just jump back to 43. And look at verse 10. He says, Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, or Jehovah, and my servant, whom I have chosen, that ye may know, and believe, and understand that I am he. Before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. I, even I, am the Lord, and beside me there is no Savior. I have declared, and have saved, and I have showed, when there was no strange God among you, therefore ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, that I am God. Yea, before the day was, I am he, and there is none that can deliver out of my hand. I will work, and who shall let it, or who shall stop it? And so here in Isaiah 53, after Isaiah has gone through these chapters that coincide with the New Testament chapters to show us who the Savior is, who Jehovah is, this personal name of our God, he says in verse 1, who hath believed our report and to whom is the arm or the power of the Lord revealed. For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant And as a root out of a dry ground, he hath no form nor commonness. And when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from him. He was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. Yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon him. And with his stripes, we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way. And the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all." And so it's clearly speaking about Jesus, our Savior. That's who Jehovah is. Now the Bible tells us in the book of John chapter 1, According to Islam, Jesus is just a messenger. He's just a messenger that came with a mission. He didn't really die on the cross. But the Bible disagrees with that. The Bible tells us in John chapter 1 and verse 1, in the beginning was the word. We know that the word is referring to Jesus because of verse 14 the word was made flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory as the glory of the only begotten the father full of grace and truth So in the beginning was the word or Jesus and the word was made was with God and the word was God the same was in the beginning with God all things were made by him and And without him was not anything made that was made. And then if you look in the book of Colossians chapter 1 and verse 16, Colossians 1, 16. For by him, who's the by him here? It's Jesus in the context. For by him were all things created that are in heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created by him. and for him and he is before all things and by him all things consist or held together or keeps it working. Jesus, the creator himself, he's the spokesperson of the Godhead in creation according to the Bible, the one who said let there be life, the one who walked with Adam and Eve in the garden before Adam fell into sin. Jesus is the creator according to the Bible. God the Father, the Son, the Spirit, as we read in Genesis chapter one, let us make man in our image. We're all three involved, but Jesus was the spokesperson of creation according to the Bible. And so the creator himself is willing to come to this earth and die in our place. He is called the Prince of Peace in Isaiah chapter nine. Jesus is the Prince of Peace, Isaiah chapter 9 and verse 6. Here in Isaiah chapter 9 verse 6, For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father. The Prince of Peace. Do you see that? He said, I and my Father are one. God the Father, God the Son, God the Spirit. One God. Three persons, but one God. And here the Bible refers to Jesus, the Child that is born, as the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Here in Isaiah 9, 6. He is the Good Shepherd. If you look in Isaiah chapter 40, Isaiah chapter 40, Jesus is the good shepherd. Chapter 40 of Isaiah and verse 10. Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand and his arm shall rule for him. Behold, his reward is with him and his work before him. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd. He shall gather the lambs with his arm and carry them in his bosom and shall gently lead those that are with young. And of course we know Psalm 23 very clearly expresses about our Lord. The Lord, capital L, capital O, capital R, capital D, in the Hebrew that's the same word that's translated Jehovah. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul. He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his namesake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies. Thou anointest my head with oil. My cup runneth over. Surely, goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. That's our God. He's a good shepherd. And in John chapter 10 and verse 11, he said, I am the good shepherd. Jehovah is gracious. In Isaiah chapter 30, Isaiah chapter 30, our God, personal God, not a God that's unknowable. In Isaiah chapter 30, verse 18, and therefore will the Lord wait that he may be gracious unto you. And therefore will he be exalted that he may have mercy upon you. For the Lord is a God of judgment. Blessed are they that wait for him. He is a God of mercy. There are many verses that teach about his mercy. He's also a God of love in 1 John chapter 4. 1 John chapter 4. These things do not line up with the God of Islam. And so it behooves every Muslim to really check this out, really consider this, that the God of the Bible and the God of Islam are not the same. They are not the same. And here we find in Isaiah chapter, or pardon me, 1 John chapter 4, verse 7, Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God. And everyone that loveth is born of God and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God, for God is love. God is love. He does love the sinner. And then he is forgiven. We read Isaiah chapter 43 in verses 10 through 13 where he's the savior, and if you drop down to Isaiah chapter 43 and down to verse 25 and 26 he says this, I even I am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake and will not remember thy sins. Put me in remembrance, let us plead together, declare thou that thou mayest be justified. God is a witness. God who will forgive transgressions. He's the way, the truth, and the life. John 14 and verse 6, Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me. In John chapter 8, verse 24, he said, if you believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins. And in verse 58, he says, before Abraham was, I am. Before Abraham was, I am. He is the Jehovah, which means the self-existent one. He has always existed. The Lord Jesus Christ is an eternal God. He's the Son of God, the eternal God. Very clear in the scripture. He's good. Psalm 34 and verse 8. Psalm 34 and verse 8. I just want to run you through a few of these scriptures of the many. Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good. Blessed is the man that trusteth in Him. See, the God of the Bible doesn't ask us to die for Him. He died for us. He paid the price for our sin. He is just in Genesis chapter 18 and verse 25. He is a just God. He's our friend in John chapter 15 verses 14 through 15. And he is merciful. We'll look at this one in the book of Micah. There are so many things about our God that conflict with the God of Islam. You hear in Micah, chapter 7, in verse 18. Book of Micah, chapter 7, verse 18. Here's what it says. Who is a God like unto thee that pardoneth iniquity and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? He retaineth not his anger forever, because he delighteth in mercy. He delighteth in mercy. The Bible tells us that when Adam sinned, the whole human race was plunged into sin. We all became sinners. And the Bible tells us very clearly in Romans 6.23 that the wages of sin is death. And that because God is a just God and He is a holy God, when God created the angels. He created them with choice. It's very clear in the scripture. And Satan, the anointed cherub, the highest of the angelic beings, one of the protectors of the throne of God, and in charge of the worship in the throne of God as we read the scripture about him, he got in his heart that he was going to take God's place. And while the thought was in his heart, He was cast out of his position, became Satan, and he took one third of the angels with him in rebellion. And of course, they became demons. And the Bible teaches that God created his angels with choice. And the punishment that was meted out, according to the book of Matthew, chapter 25, the punishment that was meted out for Satan was the lake of fire. He would end up in the lake of fire. Well, later God created man, placed him in the garden, beautiful garden to dress and keep it. And God placed in the garden, in the middle of the garden, he placed the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and the tree of life. They could eat freely of the tree of life, but they were not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Some people say, well, why did God put that tree there? Why didn't he just leave it out? Well, God didn't want robots. He created man with a choice, created Adam and Eve with a choice. They could choose to obey God or they could choose to disobey. Eve was deceived by the devil into thinking that God was hiding something from them and he seduced her into partaking of the fruit. She gave to Adam and he just did, willingly Eve, he willingly disobeyed God. And the Bible tells us in Romans 5, 12, wherefore, as by one man sin in his world and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned. We all became sinners. And we didn't sin to become a sinner. Somebody might say, well, the first time you sin, that's when you're a sinner. No. We sin because we are sinners. It's our nature. We have a sin nature. And because God is just, We are headed for a lake of fire, the second death recorded in Revelation chapter 20, verses 11 through 15. But God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. In Romans 6.23, the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. And God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. And so God gave his son to die on the cross, to pay the price for our sin, and Jesus took all of our sins upon himself and paid the price there on the cross. And the Bible tells us very clearly in Romans 10, 9, and 10, that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. So the Bible is very clear that all we have to do is believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. They came to Jesus in John chapter 6 and verse 28 and 29, and they said to him, what must we do to work the works of God? Well, they put it right to him very straight. What do we have to do? What are the works that we have to do? Jesus, verse 29, answered and said unto them, this is the work of God, that you believe on him whom he has sent. And so when we come to that place in our life that we agree with God, wherefore is by one man sin in the world, and death by sin. So death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned. Romans 5, 12. And we agree with God that we are a sinner. We are lost. who are headed for a devil's hell, and God who is a just God cannot go against his word, then when we come to agree with God that we are a sinner deserving of hell, and we call upon Jesus to forgive us of our sin and save us, we ask him to forgive us of our sin. In John chapter 4, in verse 10, The woman at the well, you remember the Samaritan woman there at the well? Jesus must needs go through Samaria. That was the hard way to go. That was the rough road. That was where there were the thieves and the robbers. And the Jews had no dealings with the Samaritans. And so she was curious as to why Jesus would even ask her to get him a drink of water. Well, Jesus is concerned that all men And all women come to the knowledge of the truth and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. So Jesus answered and said unto her in verse 10, if thou knewest the gift of God. Well, we know what the gift of God is. It's eternal life. That's what the Bible says. The gift of God is eternal life in Romans chapter 6. And who it is that saith unto thee, give me to drink. Well, we know who it was who was talking to her. It's Jesus, the one who came to die for our sins. He said, if thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, give me to drink, thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. So the Bible's very clear that if we want to be saved from our sin, we have to believe that Jesus Christ is the Savior, that he did come, that he died, he was buried, and he arose again. to pay the price for our sin and we have to be willing personally to ask him to forgive us and save us. You know we can't trust the church we belong to. This Baptist church here can't save anybody. Baptist church didn't die on the cross. We can't trust our works. All of our righteousnesses the Bible says are as filthy rags. All the good deeds we do mean nothing to a just God. I mean you can take a sinner and have him try to do all the good he can do, but he's still a sinner. And our heritage? Well, my mom and dad were Christians. We can't trust our mom and dad. It has to be personal faith. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. And we have to come to that place where we personally ask the Lord to forgive us of our sin and save us and believe that he died, he was buried, and rose again. The Bible teaches we are passed from death unto life. Acts 4.12 says there's none in name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. The God of Islam did not die. The God of Islam asked his followers to die. The God of the Bible died for our sins. But he didn't stay dead. He arose a victor. He paid the price. He said on the cross it is finished. He paid the price for our sin. And the Bible tells us in 1 Peter 5, 7, casting all your care upon him, for he careth for you. We have a personal God who loves us and who cares for us. We have a God who is worth serving and giving our lives in service for him. 2 Corinthians 5, 17, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things are passed away. Behold, all things become new. We have a new life in Christ, children of God, born into the family of God. And so the question that we'd like to pose, and our messages go out over the internet, and it's my hope that the Muslims will take this message and at least consider, consider the fact that the God of the Bible and the God of Islam are not the same. And the God of the Bible gave his life so that we could have life. And without putting our faith and trust in him, we have no escape from our sin. Let's pray. Father, we do thank you for the word of God that's so clear and plain to guide us. Thank you for giving us your son. Thank you that Jesus came, died, was buried, and rose again. And thank you that he is coming again. The same Jesus shall so come in like manner as you have seen him go into heaven. And our Savior himself gave us the promise that let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me and my Father's house and many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again. and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there you may be also. We look forward to the coming of our Lord. But if he doesn't come in our lifetime, help us just to stay faithful and keep trusting and serving the one who gave us all that we might have life. We thank you for it. Work on our hearts and draw us closer to you. We ask it in Jesus' name. Let's stand together, we're going to sing an invitation song.