Sid: We want everyone to be red hot for the Messiah like my guest is. His name is Akef Tayem, but Akef was raised in the Islamic faith. A Palestinian, Arab and he saw a genuine miracle. He had never seen miracles within Islam; he knew that Jesus was real. He accepted the Lord but then his family totally disowned him. Literally spit in his face and he was confused; he didn’t know what to do. He didn’t go on a fast; he just plain had no desire to eat. He went over 40 days without eating. And he was so dehydrated his body started to crack. And he thought his only hope; he was out in a field was if it would rain. So he said “God please rain.” And at that he felt himself leave his body and he could see his body; he didn’t even know that it was his body. And he couldn’t believe how emaciated this person was. And then he started going higher and higher and he found himself in the 3rd heaven. And he had an encounter with Jesus. And he came back to his body and God answered his payer, it started raining. Did you realize that God had answered your prayer at that moment Akef?
Akef: I was so bewildered I was so excited; I know that I danced, I literally danced my way back to the road. I mean I don’t know where this strength; I know…
Sid: I was just going to ask you “Remember the guy you saw when you were above your body you couldn’t believe you looked so awful.”
Akef: Yes, yes and so depleted and then but it was more than water I received Sid. Strength, I had this strength to walk back to the road which was about maybe 2 and 3 miles away. And there was a gentleman he was a barber, his name was Cornelius, matter a fact, and he saw me. He was very concerned he got out of his car and told me “What happened? I told him and so he took me to his pastor, a Southern Baptist in Trussville, Alabama. And I related to him what happened, and they wanted me to… they insisted that they call 911 and they take me to the hospital. And I begged them…
Sid: To the mental department. (Laughing)
Akef: (Laughing) Yeah. And I begged them, I said “Please, just give me 2 days and if I don’t… if you think by then I need to go to the hospital take me.” And I told him “If you could see how I was just 2 hours ago and how I am now, you will see how I’ll be alright, I promise you I’ll be alright.” So I told them… they tried to give me some food and of course I couldn’t eat, I got a little soup down. And then they asked me to stay in their guest house. These are the pastor and his wife of the First Baptist Church in Trussville, Alabama. And I stayed with them a few days and the second day, the third day they saw that I was doing great and they asked me to give my testimony at their church at their congregation. And of course, I didn’t know that you don’t do that in a Baptist Church, I mean you don’t pray for people to be healed; I don’t know and I didn’t know that. That part of too much about the denomination. And so I just told them what my experience and there was this gentleman on a wheelchair. And he just I guess he initiated, he walked towards me and I felt it’s amazing…
Sid: He rolled his wheelchair towards you?
Akef: Yeah, he wanted to come close to me for some reason.
Sid: Okay.
Akef: And what I felt and I told the pastor and they did too, is my right hand stayed warm, warmer than the other one. And I mean they would touch it and it was warmer than the other one. And the pastor, as a matter of fact, he told the people before he introduced me he said “At the end you can come and touch his hand and you will see that his right hand is much warmer and redder; warmer and redder than the other hand.”
Sid: Could you see that it was redder?
Akef: Oh yes! Oh, I felt it I felt like it was on fire.
Sid: Really?
Akef: I felt like it was on fire.
Sid: Was it a bad or good feeling?
Akef: Good, good. It’s good I felt it’s the hand that touched Jesus.
Sid: Oh, oh oh. I can’t wait to do my television show with you because I want you to lay hands on me. But go ahead.
Akef: Praise God, and I think that’s what that gentleman wanted.
Sid: That’s why he rolled forward in his wheelchair.
Akef: I believe so but I didn’t know because I didn’t know that God could use me in that sense. I mean I’d seen the minister pray for people. The last thing I thought is that I would pray for someone you know. So he came close and he was looking at my hand and I let him see my hand, and it’s amazing. And he touched me and when he did I said “Father, in the name of Jesus.” I mean, just like that and the gentleman just got up; got up out of the wheelchair.
Sid: Now that was like what you thought was fake when you first became a believer when someone got out of a wheelchair, now it’s happening for you.
Akef: It’s happening, and even just as puzzling even though I believe it it’s just as puzzling to see it. And he was a deacon, he was from what the pastor told me later he’s been a member of the church for about like 20 – 25 years. Everyone in the community knew that he’s crippled and he gets out of the wheelchair and it’s amazing. And it looks like his wife’s trying to sit him back down or something. And the gentleman just walks around the church, he walks inside of the church and then he just walks out of the door. Just walks I mean he just… and I mean it’s just amazing; it’s amazing. And of course…
Sid: Was that a small town that you were in?
Akef: Yes, Trussville.
Sid: So I’d imagine that the word spread about the miracle.
Akef: Yes it has. And the Assembly of God, Methodist Church, Church of God. I was getting invitations.
Sid: Now did you see other people getting healed when you prayed for them?
Akef: Well, here’s something interesting and the gentleman’s name. I believe if there is a saint, this gentleman is a saint his name if Norris. He owned a dairy farm, he was a member of the Assembly of God and they told me to preach for 3 nights. I went there the first night and I was just giving my testimony; that’s all I knew to do of course. I was giving my testimony and at the end of the service he came up to me he and his wife tears, I mean very sad. And he told me he said “I have a son, he said just about your age perhaps” and I was 20, maybe 22 at the time he’s a little bit younger than you. And he said “He left about a year ago and he went to California we haven’t heard from him. And we don’t know what’s happening to him, we’ve been praying for him.” It’s amazing Sid, out of nowhere and of course I thought about this later, and I said “Oh my God how did I do this?” Out of nowhere, I tell him “Sir, your son will be in this meeting before this is over.”
Sid: My goodness, you’re really putting yourself on the spot there.
Akef: I couldn’t believe it; I couldn’t believe that I said that idea.
Sid: Where did that come from?
Akef: I don’t know but God reveals.
Sid: (Laughing)
Akef: You know something, it fascinated me; I told. And you know what’s amazing though?
Sid: What’s that?
Akef: What’s amazing is it didn’t even cross my mind Sid even that it wouldn’t happen, it didn’t cross my mind.
Sid: It just came out, you had what I call a mind by pass, it came right out of your spirit and avoided your mind. Is that right?
Akef: Yeah, something like that.
Sid: (Laughing)
Akef: I knew that it was going to happen, I knew; I knew that it was going to happen and all I had was 3 days for it to happen in.
Sid: Okay, I can hardly wait; did it happen?
Akef: Sid, the next day he gets a phone call from his son in California. He puts him on a plane and the third day his son is in the service.
Sid: What did you think? I mean I can imagine what he thought, but what did you think when this happened?
Akef: I could not, I could not stop praising God, and looking back and wondering; wondering what if I didn’t have the opportunity to know this Christ. How sad it would have been not knowing this Jesus, this Messiah, who died for me. More than the miracles Sid, more than the miracles was that my heart, my hatred was no longer there.
Sid: Ah, what about your hatred for the Jew?
Akef: It was gone Sid, it was…
Sid: For the Jew? I mean you were taught your whole life they were your enemies!
Akef: Sid, I would have loved to have seen a Jew and I would have run and kissed his neck if I could. It left, there was no hatred. To me that was perhaps the greatest thing because I had to carry this, I had to carry this pain. And I didn’t know that it was pain until after it was gone.
Sid: You must have a great great desire for all people to know this Jesus but especially people from the Islamic faith.
Akef: True.
Sid: I would imagine it must almost break your heart when you see so many people that don’t see Jesus for who He is.
Akef: And that is perhaps; that is perhaps the saddest thing for a Muslim and the greatest thing for a Christian. Because I see after my experience when I started going to churches now I would see the Christians there praising God and in my mind it would always occur to me I would say “Do you really appreciate, do you really know the opportunity that you have? Do you really know what a great, what a great privilege?
Sid: You know coming from a traditional Jewish background I understand what you’re saying we just don’t take our belief for Jesus for granted. And that’s what you’re saying the way that so many people here in America they call themselves Christians.
Akef: Yes.
Sid: Listen we’re out of time I have so much more to talk to you about. God has given you… I absolutely believe Akef that God has given you the same supernatural wisdom where you knew this young man was going to come from California in 3 days. You have that supernatural wisdom to present the gospel to Muslims. And we’ll talk a little bit about it tomorrow.
