Where Spiritual Growth and Physical Suffering Intertwine
On March 20, Iranians celebrated a new year, 1391, in accordance to the Persian calendar. For many Iranian Christians, the date means nothing more than another year spent behind bars. Yet, at the same time, ICC is reminded that the Gospel is being heard throughout the country in a way the Iranian church has never seen before.
“On the ground, we’re moving forward and talking to people daily. This month alone, we had over twenty people come to Christ,” an Iranian church leader told ICC. “Persecution is also on the rise daily and inside has become more and more volatile.”
Despite growth, the year was also defined by the church as a period of immense persecution. More than 44 Christians had been arrested and another five Christians – who had been arrested in previous years – remained behind bars, including Youcef Nadarkhani, a pastor on death row for apostasy.
Throughout history, the growth of the church and the suffering of Christians often occur simultaneously. It reminds us that the Gospel’s ability to redeem the hearts of mankind is not of our own doing but is the work of God. As much as we sometimes try – and fail – to rely on our own strength, it is in our weakness that He is made strong:
“But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.” – 2 Corinthians 4:7-10
Clinging to these promises in Scripture, many within the Iranian church exemplify this message today. Rather than fleeing persecution, they endure it by running the race set before them and fixing their eyes on Jesus (Heb. 12:1-2).
“[We] have accepted persecution and are using it to our advantage,” said an Iranian pastor. “In fact, the church is thriving under persecution.”
One of the primary goals of ICC is to be used by the Lord to reach the lost with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. One tool we use to do so is radio and internet ministry. The Lord is using this ministry to touch the lives of Muslims in several countries where evangelism and proselytizing is a life-threatening activity. A Muslim writer told us, “…now I am in contact with your broadcast’s website… the Bible is still next to my bed, and before I sleep, I read it. It is necessary that I follow what benefits me, but—sorry—I am still not a Christian.”
Another individual who came to Christ said:
“For a very long time I was one whose conscience was always questioning, ‘Will I have the good luck to go to heaven, or will I go to hell?’ Today I am not worrying… I am now following the path of light…having left the path of darkness, I am feeling joy… this evening I finished the first lesson that you told me to start. I am a free man now…in the past…my conscience was in eternal punishment, but this year I felt a change. …I accept and follow the Messiah…that is the only right path…I cannot figure out what sort of gift to give you, today I love you as part of the one family sharing the same religion.”
Praise God for lives that are being touched with the gospel of Christ!
Note: over the past few days we have informed you about the 35 Christians imprisoned in Saudi Arabia for praying at a private home. Here is the latest update about their situation:
Our brothers and sisters continue suffering under harsh conditions in Saudi Arabian prisons. I recently talked to one of the prisoners who recounted to me that the Saudis are endangering their lives by placing convicted murderers in their prison cells. The Christian prisoner said, “The convicted murders could hurt us and we are concerned about our safety. Please continue pressuring the Saudis to release us.” The prisoner also said that two of the female Christians are still in pain due to the forceful strip search when they were jailed three months ago.
Please continue praying for the release of the prisoners and for God to give them grace to endure the hardship during this trying time.
“When they put me in the prison and shut the door, I just fell on my knees and kissed the ground. I said to God, you have got a purpose that we are here.”
Rahim, whose name has been changed for security reasons, ran away from home at an early age following his father’s death. Living on a meager income and often sleeping on the streets, Rahim’s single mission soon became to get out of Iran.
Rahim resented God for his hardships and began experimenting with witchcraft.
“I knew that God was there, but God was doing nothing for me so I went to Satan instead,” Rahim told ICC.
By God’s grace, Rahim met a Christian who gave him a Bible. An inner-struggle consumed Rahim’s thoughts and conscience while he was reading the Word of God.
“I have lived so long with you, and I have done everything with you, but I am still in a bad situation and always in a bad mood,” Rahim said in opposition to the demonic thoughts within him. “I just want to see what the Bible is saying.”
Rahim began asking God why he felt ignored during his most difficult trials. Scriptures revealed to Rahim that God had not deserted him and that Rahim had to surrender his life completely to Christ by walking away from his sin. Still, the demonic influence over Rahim’s life continued to torment him.
During a prayer gathering that Rahim attended with his new Christian friend, a group of Christians laid their hands on Rahim and began praying for him. Rahim found himself weeping and aching.
“I became free. It was suddenly like my eyes were open,” Rahim said. “I did not even have the strength to think about anything. It was like I was seeing everything for the first time.”
Rahim’s newfound freedom changed every aspect of his life. He no longer wanted to flee Iran, but longed to grow in the Christian faith. He soon met Farrin, his wife, at a Christian gathering and was introduced to her friends who had been instrumental in Farrin’s conversion to Christianity (click here to read Farrin’s testimony). Together, they began serving in the church and evangelizing.
On September 4, 2010, Iranian security forces raided a house fellowship in Hamadan. Rahim, Farrin, and other Christians were arrested. Rahim was immediately put in solitary confinement and would stay there for 43 days.
“When they put me in the prison and shut the door, I just fell on my knees and kissed the ground. I said to God, you have got a purpose that we are here.”
Interrogations were intense that first month, Rahim recalls. “The whole goal was to get me to confess that [a certain pastor] had forced me to become a Christian.”
The hardest part for Rahim, however, was not the interrogations, but hearing his wife crying in a nearby cell. “I heard the crying and weeping of Farrin… It was very hard; very heavy… I was not able to do anything. The only thing I could do was to find refuge in God.”
After his time in solitary confinement, Rahim was moved to another prison where he was able to interact with other inmates. Rahim remembered praying before his arrest to be sent “where suffering is, even if it is a prison.” Several people gave their lives to Christ during Rahim’s ministry during the next seven months in prison.
However, circumstances in prison never improved. Rahim witnessed the brutal killing of a fellow inmate by a guard and heard the screams from countless suicides. Even so, Rahim did all he could to help ease the suffering of prisoners and learned how to smuggle blankets and clothes into the prison to give to those who were freezing in cells with open windows in the snowy winter.
“I knew that some of these people were killers and thieves and dealers, but Jesus was a friend of sinners. So, I started to disciple these people,” Rahim explained.
The only place Rahim was not being watched was in the prison mosque. Every week, he would gather the new believers to worship together and proclaim the name of Christ in the mosque. Rahim also witnessed miraculous healings of the sick.
Rahim and Farrin were finally released after eight months in prison. “The fact is that they had no excuse to detain us in the first place,” Rahim said. “My wife and I are both from dysfunctional families and backgrounds. We have been directly touched and saved by our Lord Jesus Christ, who turned our lives around. For this reason and to thank God for his deliverance, we only spoke of our own personal experiences with Jesus Christ to people and especially other social victims. After eight months I guess they realized they were wrong about us, and caught on to the fact that we are but simple witnesses to Christ.”
Rahim and Farrin continue their ministry today among Iranians living abroad.
Please continue to pray for the Iranian church. In recent months, the Iranian government has raided numerous house churches and arrested many believers. Additionally, Youcef Nadarkhani, a pastor from Rasht, Iran, is scheduled to be executed any day now for his Christian faith. Click here to read about the current persecution of Christians in Iran.
Note: In our recent blog post we informed you about thirty-five Christians imprisoned in Saudi Arabia for their faith in Christ. The believers, twenty-nine women and six men, have been in prison since December 15, 2011 for holding a private prayer meeting. This article gives you some updates on their situation and how God is using the lives of the prisoners to reach non-believers in the prison.
We have been closely following the situation of our imprisoned Christian brothers and sisters in Saudi Arabia. These past two months of imprisonment have not been easy for them. Some of the prisoners are missing the spouses and children they left behind. They are suffering from the inhumane prison conditions, are not given clean water or healthy food, and are crammed together in small prison rooms with convicted murderers, thieves and other criminals.
Despite the challenges, our brothers and sisters see God’s hand working through their presence in the prison. They have continued to rely on God and seek out His presence in spite of the conditions they face. The women continued to pray together in their cells, gaining the attention of their fellow inmates; this is especially true for some of the prisoners with evil spirits. The prayers of the women have caused evil spirits to scream and eventually depart from the prisoners’ bodies. The prison guards have acknowledged this event and split the women up into separate cells to keep them from praying together. The faith of these Christians is evident of God’s presence in the prison.
The imprisonment of the prisoners reminds us of John 12:24 which says, “Unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.”
“We are glad that the word of God has been fulfilled in our lives. The Lord has told us that, as his followers, we would be persecuted,” one prisoner said. “Please pray for us that we will be able to accomplish the will of God while we are here in prison.”
Details about the situation of the prisoners and efforts to release them are one of the topics in our upcoming newsletter. Please sign up to receive the newsletter.
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