Waging Peace on Ishmael

By John Idoko

"The author remains an inspiration to me and many others who are in constant need of new information and revelation for ministry to the children of Ishmael and Missions.

This book is fresh from the throne of grace, for me, knowledge has just been unveiled to us and when I found it, I devour

• Language: English
• Publisher: Midas Touch GEMS
• Release date: Jun 12, 2023
• ISBN: 9781088178393

Book preview

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Waging Peace on Ishmael

By John Idoko

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Endorsements

"The author remains an inspiration to me and many others who are in constant need of new information and revelation for ministry to the children of Ishmael and Missions.

This book is fresh from the throne of grace, for me, knowledge has just been unveiled to us and when I found it, I devoured it.

The book to me is first and foremost a healing balm. It exposed the hidden and silent anger and hatred in my heart towards Ishmael. It made me to understand that my responsibility is to wage warfare of peace on them, and the instrumentality of my warfare is the gospel of peace. I can wage this warfare of peace everyday and anytime with every part of my body.

I now know better that the Ishmaelites are in desperate need of peace and I am the peacemaker who has been endowed with the ability to give them peace. Whenever I wage peace on them, I am blessed in return (Matthew 5:9). I must see them as they are (perishing sinners in desperate need of what I have to offer-the gospel of peace).

I recommend this book to all believers who want to see the will of God done on earth as it is in heaven; believers who are in desperate need of solution and guidance on how best to approach evangelizing the children of Ishmael.

Let us arise and wage peace on Ishmael."

Godwin Aluge, Missionary, Nigeria.

"I have had the privilege of reading books published by the author and have been immensely blessed and spurred into actions by them and by the life and commitment he blazed. Waging Peace on Ishmael is a timely material that can bring healing to the hurts and answers to the mind-boggling questions.

This book, in my humble opinion, is an attempt to bring the church into a correct perspective of where God stands NOW as far as Ishmael is concerned and to bring the church to stand with God on this prophetic time of harvest.

I sincerely recommend that every believer in Christ read this book and take action and that churches use the material as a Bible study resource in equipping the saints for ministry among the Ishmaelites."

Engr. Innocent Areh, Zonal Coordinator, CAPRO Southeast CASTs

"I have read and also listened to the author speak in conferences about his book Ishmael in the Presence of His Brethren, which has challenged many nominal and earnest Christians alike to accommodate and evangelize the children of Ishmael in our midst. Now he is pressing further with this striking title: Waging Peace on Ishmael.

I must admit that Waging Peace on Ishmael is a reality of our faith, but it is easier in theory than practice for many of us. I remember many years ago, as I travelled to Jos shortly after one of the several religious crises there, I met a Christian girl whose entire family was slaughtered by her Ishmaelite neighbors. I know the shock and pain was so deep in her that I cannot imagine myself or John even by joke asking her to Wage Peace on Ishmael. However, if we are to present Christ and Christianity as it is, we will discover that the striking title Waging Peace on Ishmael is neither fanciful nor theoretical but the true Christianity. As such, this book is a reminder of what we have lost as Christians and a healing balm to the prevailing resentment of many Christians today towards Ishmael for his wild donkeyness. This book challenges us to evangelism and mission.

I, therefore, recommend this book to all Christian churches, ministries, fellowships and individuals who yearn to see Ishmael our brother partake in the peace which Jesus offers, and as a healing balm to countless Christians, who like the girl in my story, might have been hurt by descendants of Ishmael and have decided to resent them.

As we prayerfully read this book, may He who has saved us and given us true and eternal peace too heavenly for the world to comprehend help us to fulfill our obligation of waging peace on Ishmael."

Mu’azu Oken, Missionary, Nigeria.

This is a good and practical book on reaching out to those the author believes descended from Ishmael, the other son of Abraham, with the gospel of salvation. The best way to enjoy reading and benefitting from it is not to look at it strictly from the biblical exegesis, but from the author’s passion for winning lost souls in particular and in the context of the Great Commission in general. Read and get practical ways of evangelism to the descendants of Ishmael.

Namani J. Nharrel, Calvary Ministries (CAPRO)

Waging Peace on Ishmael is a book that really blessed me. The title is a captivating oxymoron that summarizes the focus of the book: we must be intentional, calculative, creative, strategic, serious and goal-driven in our bid to show our brothers, the Ishmaelites, the peace they can find only in Christ Jesus.

In this age of increased hostility from the camp of Ishmael, and the resultant bitterness and hatred from the Christian folk, the church needs to be reminded of what the Master Jesus desires from her.

We must learn how to wage peace on Ishmael. It is everyone’s responsibility. This book is a rare gem I’ll heartily recommend to every serious Christian living in this age and time.

Dr. Nonso Amaechi, Diaspora field worker.

This book exposes our ignorance of God’s plan for the descendants of Abraham’s other first son. Many Christians wish God would wipe out Muslims. Such an evil wish stems from the ignorance of God’s redemptive mission among them. But seeing God’s promises and plan for Ishmael from this book is a testament to the fact that the descendants of Abraham’s firstborn son are in God’s agenda.

We have used over the years the word wage only when we refer to wars. We have not fully understand the divine plan of God for the children of Ishmael.

This book, Waging Peace on Ishmael, is an eye opener for every true believer who wants to see God’s redemptive plan unfold among the Muslims.

Sheikh Abdul, Missionary Aid Fellowship (MAF)

Waging Peace on Ishmael is an amazing book that x-rays the mind of God concerning the descendants of Ishmael. It gives a blueprint of God’s expectations from us as believers, and creates a deep passion in the heart of the reader to partner with the Prince of Peace in bringing the gospel of peace to the troubled sons of Ishmael.

A simple book that gives a road map that leads to where the Ishmaelites can be found, and also, has the best possible methods of reaching them. It is a must read for every mission minded and heaven bound believer.

Amina Hassan, President, Shuwa Arabs Development Initiative (SADI)

The title is so apt that one is not in doubt as to what needs to be done. Waging peace on a violent lot is an assignment the author has clearly shown as onerous and not desirable. However, he has clearly advanced biblical reasons why it has to be pursued and not by a few but the entire body of Christ.

The book is so deep that if you love scripture you will enjoy it. It’s more of a Bible study as it throws light on very many scriptures. The understanding it conveys is needed for meaningful engagement in reaching his brothers or your cousins depending on your response to the violence unleashed on believers by these people that makes many of us see them as enemies instead of brothers as they too are descendants of Abraham our father.

Proper understanding of scripture will without doubt lead to meaningful actions that can turn the fortunes of these brothers, bringing them into the peace we enjoy as believers. So I encourage all to read the book and seek to wage peace on our brothers though they may be violent.

Dr. Sylvanus Ukafia, Pastor, Insight Bible Church, Uyo, Nigeria.

Dedication

This book is dedicated to all the ambassadors of peace involved in creating and crafting transformative peace on the seed of Ishmael in an upreach of fervent and persistent prayers and in an outreach of loving witness to the Prince of Peace among the descendants of Ishmael. They are the true peacekeepers in the conflicts between God and mankind, among whom are also the descendants of Ishmael.

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First Foreword

Waging Peace on Ishmael

I must admit, I fell in love with the title to this book before I even read the first sentence in it. There is something so moving about that image—waging peace in the midst of massive spiritual war. For about twenty-five years I have been involved in Muslim ministry, and in that time I have seen that loving them often requires the same intensity, discipline, and effort as a well-run army. I guess that means this book is for true disciples—that is, disciplined followers of Christ—rather than people who just fill a pew.

The book starts out by reminding us that God loves the sons of Ishmael. This should go without saying, but sadly it needs to be said in today's climate of conflict and antagonism. Too many in the Church have believed a satanic lie, that Muslims are our enemy. This book is sorely needed because the longer the Church buys into that lie, the longer precious people created in the image of God will be held in darkness and destruction.

This leads to another important dimension of this book. It places the mandate for reaching Muslims exactly where it belongs—on the whole Church. Too often cross-cultural mission is imagined to be the work of specialists. But the author thinks differently. Wherever Christians and Muslims live side by side, as they often do, the whole church is called to wage peace on them as an act of discipleship.

The book makes it clear that since the task is large, the whole Church is needed for it. Pastors must lead their people in the direction of waging peace. Christian professionals must put their skills to work to bring the peace of Christ into their dealings with Muslims. Or in the author's own words, Waging peace on Ishmael is an art that should be developed in every Christian. I would take it even further: it is an art that must be developed in every Christian who wants to please the Lord.

And like all battles, this one will not be fought from the comfort of our couch or veranda. To wage this battle of peace we are required to go into the streets and alleys of towns and settlements of Ishmael's descendants to proclaim to them the gospel of peace. We cannot hide in the comfort of our churches and simply invite them to come to us. No, we must enter their world and love them where they are.

The author also points out that the Lord of the harvest has done us a great favor; He is bringing these dear people closer to us all the time. There are millions of Muslims on the move across the globe today. Some have crossed long distances, such as from Africa to Europe, but even more are still living in their own countries of birth, what we call internally displaced peoples. While still in their original political country, they are suffering many of the same difficulties as people displaced much further because they have been uprooted from their communities. Such migrations are surely the hand of God—making our task of waging peace even easier. He is literally bringing them to our doorstep!

The task the book lays before us is clearly a spiritual task. It is a battle waged by spiritual men and women, no place for the arm of flesh here because it is truly a fight against spiritual darkness. At times it may appear to be a battle with human adversaries, but over and over again the author helps us see that they are only slaves of sin, blinded from the truth of the gospel. By waging peace on the people we see, we inflict a great spiritual defeat on the real enemy whom we cannot see.

Bringing the knowledge of the Prince of Peace to the sons of Ishmael requires us to fight with heavenly weapons. And the book gives very practical help by explaining what these weapons are; the Word of God, prayer, and the power of the Holy Spirit, to name only a few. These truly spiritual weapons, and these alone, are mighty through God for pulling down strongholds.

And finally, the insights in this book take on deeper meaning when one considers the context from which they grew. For those unfamiliar with the author's ministry, he and his family have served in the midst of Muslim-on- Christian violence for many years. Even now, as he wrote these words about waging peace, his home country continues to experience bloodshed. This reality makes his words all the more powerful. It would be easy for someone to call for peace from the sidelines, but when our brother does it, he calls us to wage peace from the frontlines of a very real war. May the Lord use him to speak to us all.

Dr Gene Daniels

Director, Fruitful Practice Research

http://www.fruitfulpractice.org/

Senior Editor of Fruit to Harvest: Witness of God's Great Work among Muslims

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Second Foreword

Waging Peace on Ishmael

Classroom theologians may communicate from their heads, but frontline missionaries write from their hearts. John Idoko is no classroom theologian. As a man who has spent many years in kingdom peacekeeping mission among a desert tribe, an Arab clan of the Ishmaelites, he has labored in this book using his years of field experience among the descendants of Ishmael. In a country like ours where Christians are more or less infuriated, infiltrated and incapacitated because of extreme tendencies in Islam, the writer dares to challenge us to think biblically so we may act differently. This is the mind of Christ, after all.

The goal of this book is simply to reshape the thoughts of Christians, resolve the doubt of many and ultimately restrain those whose frame of mind is revengeful towards Muslims, so that they can respond appropriately to the opportunities that abound in evangelizing this people group. Waging Peace on Ishmael advocates for a change. In this book, John is actually calling for a paradigm shift, no doubt.

Readers will have no choice but to agree with John's proposition as to the way we should see Muslims among us. We must see them the way God does, in order to participate in the ongoing harvest among them. The only solution to the world ravaged by growing insurgence, of course, is the knowledge of the Prince of Peace. The gospel is the gospel of peace. As a matter of fact, Christianity may seem threatened, but it will never be uprooted by the violence of Islam. The fury of Islam cannot withstand the faithfulness, fruitfulness and forgiveness that Christ offers. It is only Christ that can give lasting peace to our troubled world. Therefore, the family of God need not be fragmented on this matter.

Here are the words of the Prince of Peace.

'I am leaving you with a gift--peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don't be troubled or afraid. John 14:27, NLT

This book is coming at a very needful season. I believe it is time for the church to become less resentful, more responsible and responsive.

I, therefore, recommend this book as a must read to all Christians who are desirous to see Christ birthed in the hearts of the nations. So, let us strategize and all go out in synergy so as to saturate every land and people with the Good News of the Prince of Peace. This is the conclusion of the whole matter: God expects us, not to wage war but to pursue peace with all men (Psalm 34:14, Hebrew 12:14).

Oscar Enebuwa

Writer, 'Friend to Friend' Mission Director, Eastern Gate Mission(EGM),Nigeria.

Third Foreword

Waging Peace on Ishmael

John has answered my questions.

My first close contact with descendants of Ishmael was in the 1990s while I was a student at the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria – a school then famed for religious riots. It was almost a predictable annual ritual for a major fight to break out between Muslims and non- Muslim students which would lead to the paralysis of all school activities. In my second year, during one of such religious crises which turned violent with casualties, I remember standing on the top floor of one of the hostel blocks in Suleiman Hall where we had a vantage point to view the conflict ensuing over beliefs. As we watched students from both camps hurling stones, broken bottles, arrows, daggers and other weapons at each other's perceived enemy, I thought to myself, What is the real reason for this war?

A few years later, during my National Youth Service somewhere in North-eastern Nigeria where I answered God's call to missions, we were confronted by the descendants of Ishmael whenever we went out for rural rugged evangelism. The hostility was palpable. Though we came with a message of peace, we were received by an atmosphere of war. With my shallow understanding of Scripture and little knowledge of God's global mission at the time, I thought to myself, Why is there so much hostility against this gospel of peace?

Fast forward to the new millennium, the age of widespread global terrorism, as I watched the breaking news on television of the 9/11 attacks upon America, lived through multiple religiously motivated violent clashes in Jos, Nigeria, where I lived from 1999 to 2009, and several terror attacks instigated and executed by al-Shabaab in Kenya where I currently live, it has become clearer that something