The Persecuted Church

Why Is Christmas the Season for Persecuting Christians in Iran?

Hormoz Shariat Current Events, The Persecuted Church , , ,

Recently, and especially in the past two weeks, we have seen massive numbers of Christians arrested in Iran. This surge in persecution has occurred every Christmas for the past few years. Some people have asked me why. To help you understand what is going on in Iran, I will give three reasons:

1. More Iranian Muslims come to Christ during the Christmas season than any other time.

Muslim women shop for Christmas items.

The Islamic government of Iran knows, just as we do, that more Muslims come to Christ during the Christmas season than any other time of the year. The joyful time of Christmas stands out against the many “mourning holidays” filling the Iranian calendar and so is attractive to Iranian Muslims. Therefore, not only Christians but also many Muslims love the Christmas season and celebrate it. Many Muslims set up a Christmas tree in their homes with decorations and gifts under it, knowing well that it is a Christian celebration.

Our underground house church network (and many others) do their greatest outreach during the Christmas season. They throw Christmas parties in their homes and invite Muslim friends and family members who gladly accept, knowing they are being invited to a Christian gathering. 

Even as the meaning of Christmas is fading in the US into merely a “holiday season” concept, people of Iran—both Christians and Muslims—celebrate Christmas distinctly as the birthday of Jesus. So, when Muslims are invited by a Christian friend to go to a Christmas party, they know the theme will be a celebration of Jesus’s birthday. Therefore, they are not shocked when the gospel is shared with them in those parties and an invitation is made to trust Jesus as Savior—they expect it, are ready for it, and many times go to the party prepared to make a decision for Christ. 

Muslims accept Christ as their Savior at a Christmas party given by underground house church leaders in Iran.

We take advantage of this open season through our satellite broadcast as well. Our programs become more straight-forward evangelistic conversations as we talk about the meaning of Christmas. Every Christmas, we broadcast the Jesusfilm multiple times in various dialects of Iran. We see many Muslims respond to these Christmas broadcasts and come to Christ. 

2. The government is alarmed and reacts out of fear. 

As the situation in Iran deteriorates financially, socially, and morally, more Muslims are open to the gospel. The underground church in Iran is growing, and the government is alarmed and increasingly feels threatened. Recently, Ayatollah Boroujerdi—director of a high-profile Islamic seminary in Qum, Vatican of Shiite Islam—stated that “accurate reports indicate that the youth are becoming Christians in Qom and attending house churches.” 

Because of sanctions, the Islamic Republic of Iran is in a financial crunch. They cannot afford to put much of their limited resources into monitoring and containing the fast-growing number of Christians. Therefore, they turn to a policy of intimidation. That is, they arrest some Christians and publicize it to put fear in the hearts of others, hoping that they will not dare have Christmas parties and will cancel ones already planned. 

“Accurate reports indicate that the youth are becoming Christians in Qom and attending house churches.

—Ayatollah Boroujerdi

3. Government branches compete for limited funds through persecution. 

In Iran, several offices from various branches of government work to make sure the power will stay in the hands of the Mullahs and the Revolutionary Guard. These offices all have a mandate and authority to arrest and destroy all who might threaten the future of the government. This includes Christians. So, because of the current scarcity of finances, they must constantly compete for better funding. They win more resources for their office by showing their effectiveness in stopping Christians. Therefore, they 

  • try to arrest as many Christians as possible, and 
  • they make a big deal out of the arrests and publicize them in the news. 

Their motive is not just to intimidate Christians, but also to show their higher-ups they are worthy of funding. As Christmas approaches, I expect that these arrests will continue and intensify. So please pray for Iranian Christians to be safe, wise, and alert. Also pray that they will be bold and not be intimidated by the Islamic government and will continue to evangelize Muslims through Christmas parties. Pray that many Muslims will come to Christ this month both in our underground house churches through personal evangelism and also through our satellite broadcasts as a result of our special evangelistic Christmas programs. 

Why Are Persecuted Christians So Thankful?

Hormoz Shariat The Persecuted Church , , , , , ,

You have probably read stories of persecuted Christians who have said with all sincerity that they were “honored to be tortured for Christ.” How is it that the persecuted church can be so thankful in the face of such horror, even death?

Persecuted Christians can indeed inspire and challenge us to be thankful no matter what circumstances we are in. But how do they do it? What motivates them to have that attitude of thankfulness? Here are some reasons that they are thankful even in hard situations. Maybe we can learn something from them.

1. They have first-hand experience of the transforming power of Jesus.

You see, when you come from darkness, you appreciate the light even more.

In America and the West, we often don’t realize how many Christian values have become an expected part of the culture. Yes, Western society has many problems, but we still value kindness, mercy, love, and human dignity as a part of our framework. We notice and are even outraged when these points of spiritual light are missing because we are used to them and take them for granted.

27119899 - open hands holding cross, symbol of christian faith

“You see, when you come from darkness, you appreciate the light even more.”

In Islamic countries, there is such spiritual darkness. People live with cruelty, judgment, and death as expected norms. In Islam, individual lives do not have much value. This kind of dark environment creates such hopelessness in people that Muslims who become Christians experience major change and joy.

From hatred to love, from hopelessness to hope, from darkness to light, from bondage to freedom—many Muslim-background Christians experience change in an extreme way.

This extreme change from darkness to light creates a great appreciation—thankfulness—for the One who brought about that change. And so these believers are willing and ready to suffer for Christ and not deny him, no matter how harsh the persecution.

2. They realize their desperate need for walking with Jesus.

Persecuted Christians easily realize that Jesus is all they need, so he is all they want. Walking daily with Jesus is not an option for them but a desperate need. Being willing to suffer for Christ is tied directly to thankfulness.

For many of us in the West, we know what Jesus did for us, but we do not see our desperate need to walk with him daily. If we do not read the Bible daily, pray regularly, or go to church weekly, we often don’t notice an immediate, negative impact in any kind of major or tangible way. For us, a vibrant, deep spiritual walk with the Holy Spirit seems optional. Therefore, for us in the West, we have to be intentional about remembering what Jesus has done for us. When we do that, we will be more thankful—and as a result, make a decision to walk with him daily.

3. They see suffering as a way to say “Thank You” to Jesus.

When persecuted Christians suffer for Christ, what they are doing is actively saying “Thank You” to Jesus in the best way they can. They are replying to his sacrifice with sacrifice of their own. And they are honored to do it!

Many persecuted Christians are even willing to give their lives for Jesus. Of course, Jesus does not ask such martyrdom from every believer. But we can still welcome suffering for him out of our thankfulness. The giving of time and finances is a sacrifice that the Lord recognizes and appreciates—especially when it is a result of our thankfulness for what he has done for us. It truly blesses him! Can you imagine the joy it is to know that Jesus feels blessed by something you do? The thanks you give him by willingly choosing to sacrifice your time, talents, and treasure for him?

In this season of thanksgiving, I want to encourage you to give your time and finances—not because you should, not because of obligation—but out of thankfulness.

Consider the darkness Jesus has delivered you from with his sacrifice. If you are thankful for the light, then reply with sacrificial thanks giving.

“We have to be intentional about remembering what Jesus has done for us. When we do that, we will be more thankful.”STACKED #GT Logo

Tuesday, November 28 is #GivingTuesday, a global thanksgiving movement that is helping to spread light throughout the world. If you are thankful for Jesus, would you partner with us and give sacrificially to what he is doing for Muslims and persecuted Christians in Iran?

Imagine the joy of Jesus when you say to him, “Thanks, it is an honor to serve you.”

To receive stories about persecuted Christians in Iran and learn more about how to support them and reach other Muslims hungry for the gospel, text “Iran” to 74784.

Related Articles:

Seymore, Julia A. “Christianity Thrives in Iran Despite Severe Persecution.” ChristianHeadlines.com, April 4, 2016.

Lessons from the Persecuted Church: Do You Take Jesus for Granted?

Lessons from the Persecuted Church: Do You Value Your Freedom?

Hormoz Shariat The Persecuted Church , , , ,
This entry is part 3 of 3 in the series Lessons from the Persecuted Church

In the past several weeks, I have shared lessons of gratitude from the persecuted church: The persecuted church is thankful for the Gospel and knows its power—so they share it with others, often at great risk to themselves. The persecuted church is thankful and desperate for Jesus’s presence—so they seek Him daily, they love what He loves, and they obey His commands.

This third lesson in this series is about having gratitude for something the persecuted church has very little of: freedom.

We are free in the West. Many of us use that freedom to indulge ourselves in a self-centered life seeking pleasure, comfort, and entertainment.fake_worship But we are called to be different. We are called to be in this world but not of the world (John 17:14–18). Unfortunately, we Christians have become “one of them,” and living as “one of them” has become so normal for us that we do not even recognize it.

We are so used to our freedom that we no longer value it. We take it for granted, assuming incorrectly that the whole world is “just like us.”

We must know that much of the world does not enjoy our freedom. In addition to dictatorships in China (1.4 billion people), Russia (143 million), and North Korea (25 million), most of the world’s 1.6 billion Muslims live under the bondage of Islamic regimes and the dark spirit of Islam.

We have over 2 million brothers and sisters in Iran. Most of them have come to Christ in the past 10 years. Yet 98 percent of them have never Vector illustration of a man lock up in prisonbeen to a church of any kind (neither building churches nor house
churches) even once. They do not have freedom. They do not have our resources. Yet they are living for Jesus. They are sharing the Gospel despite the high price of persecution (losing jobs, arrest, torture, jail time).

They desperately need our support. We must stand with them and help them transform Iran into a Christian nation. They are ready to live and die for Jesus, but they need our help.

What should we do? First we must change our mind about Muslims:

  1. We must decide to love people who are Muslims. “God so loved the world…” (John 3:16). God loves Muslims. Therefore, we must love them. If we hate Muslims or fear them, we are not loving them and we are clearly out of sync with God’s heart that loves them.
  2. We must see Muslims as victims and not as terrorists. Almost all Islamic people are Muslims not because they choose it, but because they are born into a Muslim family.

They are captives. They have all the characteristics of a captive: they have no choice, they are forced to stay in captivity and do the will of their captors, and they will be shot in the back if they walk away.

We must have compassion for Muslims. Millions of Muslims are recognizing that they are in captivity and are asking, “Is there a savior?” and “Does anybody care?”

  1. We must seek God’s plan for Muslims. The world does not have an answer to Islam advancing in Europe and America. Islam is not just a religion but a political system as well, and western governments do not know how to counter this. Islam demands more than the religious goal of converting the world to Islam. It also has political and militaristic goals. By Allah’s command in Quran, Muslims are to take over the political system of the world—by force if needed.

The world does not have a workable plan, but the Lord does.

If we ask God, “What is your plan for saving Muslims?” I am sure He will not be shocked or unnerved with that question. On the contrary, He will show us His plan for saving Muslim, and He will open our eyes to see what He is doing to make that happen.

I can imagine that after explaining His plans and what He is doing, He will confront us by asking, “Will you join me? Will you have my heart and mind for Muslims? Will you obey my commandment to go?”

America is the wealthiest and most powerful country in the history of the world. We must use our freedom and power to do God’s will and not to pursue a narcissistic life style. “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked” (Luke 12:48, NIV). According to the Bible, one thing is clear, one day we shall stand before the Lord and give an account of the resources and the freedom He has given us in the U.S. (Rom. 14:12; 2 Cor. 5:10).

“You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love” (Gal. 5:13, NIV).

We live in a free and wealthy country. Let us use our freedom and wealth to do His will. Let us ask Him where He is working and invest our God-given resources to advance His Kingdom.

Christians spend 98 percent of their income on themselves. American Christians spend 95 percent of offerings on home-based ministry, 4.5 percent on cross-cultural efforts in already reached people groups, and .5 percent to reach the unreached. We can do better. Let us start today.

 

Related Articles:

Lessons from the Persecuted Church: Are You Ashamed of the Gospel?

Lessons from the Persecuted Church: Do You Take Jesus for Granted?

About Missions: Statistics

Lessons from the Persecuted Church: Do You Take Jesus for Granted?

Hormoz Shariat The Persecuted Church , , , , ,
This entry is part 2 of 3 in the series Lessons from the Persecuted Church

A couple weeks ago I asked if you were ashamed of the Gospel. Today I have another question: If you truly appreciate what Jesus has done for you, you will love what He loves. If not, you may be taking Him for granted.

 

  1. For many in the West, experiencing Jesus daily is not a desperate need but a mere option.

 

For the persecuted church, walking with Jesus and experiencing Him daily is not an option but a desperate need. Their lives are so empty of hope and joy that Jesus is the only source and strength they have.Family in front of TV 2

 

In the West, we have many resources for comfort—something that most of the world only dreams about. We live with abundance and rarely feel a desperate need to spend our waking moments in Jesus’s presence. Yes, sometimes in our troubles we cry out to Him, but this is rarely a daily thing.

 

  1. Our relationship with Jesus is often based just on need, not true love for Him.

 

The persecuted church not only has a continuous need to experience Jesus, but also it has a deep love for Him. Coming from darkness, they appreciate light. Coming from the depths of hopelessness, desperation, and loneliness, they value His constant presence. Understanding well what He has done for them, they are ready to live and even to die for Him. Someone has said, “You don’t know Jesus is all you need until He is all you have.”

 

I don’t want to put down the faith of my brothers and sisters in the West. But this is a reality we must face: The persecuted church desperately needs Him and continuously seeks His presence; we don’t think we need Him as much and continuously do not seek His presence.

 

That is why for us walking with Jesus must be intentional. We must make a conscious decision to read His word, obey Him, and walk in the Spirit. We must choose to be faithful to His Church. We must decide to love what He loves and who He loves.

 

  1. The Church in the West is experiencing Jesus less and less because it is obeying His command to “Go” less and less.

 

In Matthew 28:19–20, Jesus promises His continuous presence when we obey His commandment to go: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations…And surely I am with you always.” It is in the going that His presence goes with us. In the comfort of us staying and focusing on our lives—to make them a little more comfortable—it is hard to experience deeply the presence of Jesus. The Church in the West is experiencing Jesus less and less because it is “going” less and less. The persecuted Christians have a zeal to share their faith even when they know they may end up in jail or be killed for it.

 

We are moving toward worldwide chaos and violence. The Islamic State (ISIS) and militant Islam will not fade away. Muslims have a mandate by Quran to take over the world by violence. ISIS is actively doing it, and more and more Muslims are waking up to that call. Members of ISIS are not fanatic Muslims but committed and obedient Muslims.

 

The disturbing point is that ISIS is obeying its mandate more vigorously than most Christians do. They are commanded to “go,” and they are ready to kill and die to obey that mandate.

 

We Christians also have a “go” mandate. How are we obeying the mandate of our Lord in Matthew 28? As ISIS brings death and the bad news, we must bring life, love, and the good news. The Gospel is much more powerful than the message of the Quran (obey or die)—but only if we share it. We have the Holy Spirit and the power of God’s word. We can defeat any dark spirit and theology of death—but only if we go and get into the action.

Will you decide today to walk with Jesus? Will you love what He loves? God has prepared Iran for a major transformation. The people of Iran are ready.

“And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.” —2 Cor 5:15, NIV

 

 

Are You Ashamed of the Gospel?

Hormoz Shariat The Persecuted Church , , , , ,
This entry is part 1 of 3 in the series Lessons from the Persecuted Church

Lessons of Gratitude from the Persecuted Church

As we transition from Thanksgiving to preparing for Christmas, the birth of our Savior, let us ponder about the great things God has given us that sometimes we take for granted.romans-1-16

It is just at this time of tradition and comfort and abundance—even overabundance—that we in the West should ask ourselves:

Am I thankful for my salvation? Am I sure?

People who are thankful share their gratitude with others. When was the last time you shared the Gospel with someone?

We hear the Gospel so often in the West that we have gradually forgotten its true meaning and power. We are so familiar with it that it fails to move us anymore. We take the Gospel for granted.

Does this shock or surprise you?

When I, as a student at the University of Southern California, began comparing Christianity and Islam, I had many questions. The more I compared, the more questions I had because I came to realize that both couldn’t be true. Then when I heard the simple message of the Gospel, it changed my life dramatically.

The Gospel has power.

The simple Gospel has three simple truths:

1) God created you, and He loves you.

2) He is perfect, but you are not. To reach Him, you must be perfect because He is perfect. You can never be perfect; therefore, you can never reach Him on your own.

3) Because He loves you, He did for you what you could not do for yourself. That is what Love does. You could not reach Him so He reached out to you. He came on earth to meet you and save you.

It’s that simple.

In the persecuted church, we see how this simple Gospel has the power to transform individuals, families, and even societies and nations. We see drug addicts being set free; hopeless, desperate people at the verge of suicide change into persons with joy and love for others. They discover not just a reason to live but find a mission to live for: to love God and to share this life-changing Gospel with others.

The apostle Paul also endured beatings and imprisonment, death threats, and even martyrdom. He travelled far and wide to share the simple truth of God’s gift of salvation. Yes, he saw God’s power transforming lives! So on his third missionary journey, Paul wrote, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (Rom 1:16, ESV).

In the West, if we are honest, most of us are ashamed of the Gospel. We may not call it “ashamed,” but we are shy about it. And if we are shy and ashamed of the message we have to share, why would God show us its power? We must be confident that the Gospel is THE ANSWER to personal, family, and society problems. I am not saying we must be rude, but we must be bold.

If you are thankful for your salvation, show it by sharing the Gospel with love and humility—but also with confidence—during this Christmas season.

Over the next few weeks, I want to share with you more lessons of gratitude we can learn from the persecuted church—from the people who must live their faith on the front lines of spiritual battle.

In the meantime, give thanks for the Gospel and pray for the persecuted church everywhere, especially in Iran.