A Biblical outlook on persecution, featuring a story from India | E22
As he tells the story, he concludes it by saying, if you find yourself in this position, if you find yourself in prison, then glorify God there. As he tells the story, he has this you can hear the smile in his voice. He is so excited to be able to tell others that he has gone through this for the cause of Christ.
Leanne:Welcome to On the Move, a podcast about missions, international ministry, and how God is changing lives around the world. I'm your host, Leighann White. And today, we're going to just take some time to talk about the issue that is facing so many Christians around the world, and that is persecution. I think many of us have had times in our lives where we felt the sting of persecution for our faith in God. It might have been teasing for our beliefs, maybe being overlooked for a role in a high school play or passed over for a promotion or even disconnection with family because of being seen as too radical for living a life that pursues a relationship with God above all else.
Leanne:And Jesus warned us that this would happen. In his most famous sermon, the sermon he gave on a mountainside near Galilee, Matthew chapter 5 records Jesus' words and in verses 10 through 12, Jesus said this, blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. But what does it mean to be persecuted?
Leanne:Well, a dictionary definition says that persecute is a verb which means to harass or punish in a manner designed to injure, grieve or afflict. Specifically, to cause someone to suffer because of their beliefs. In his second letter to Timothy, Paul warns Timothy about the last days in chapter 3. And Paul says this from 2nd Timothy chapter 3 verses 10 through 12. You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, persecutions, sufferings.
Leanne:What kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra? The persecutions I endured, yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. Jesus told us we would be blessed when we are persecuted for His sake. Paul says that everyone who wants to live a godly life will be persecuted.
Leanne:It's been estimated that 1 in 7 Christians in the world today face some level of persecution for their faith. And as we're seeing instances of persecution rise in the US, we're nowhere near the levels of persecution that some of our brothers and sisters in Christ are facing around the world. It's been humbling for us to see this firsthand as we have met fellow believers in India. This began with our 1st introductory Zoom call with our new Indian Partners Network of Key Leaders. When several pastors from that network shared stories with us of being beaten for their faith in Christ.
Leanne:This firsthand experience for us continued when representatives from 21C International entered India this month and the first group of pastors traveled to the training without their Bibles for their own security in case they were stopped and searched along the way. And then it was made that much more real as we began to hear stories of what specific pastors have faced in India. Pastors like Rohan, whose name we're changing for his security. Rohan had been delayed reaching the training this month with 21c's training team because he was in court dealing with charges of his attempts to convert people to Christ. Steve is here to tell us more about what Rohan has faced for the sake of Christ.
Steve:Pastor Rohan is a pastor who does his ministry in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. That's up in the northeast side of India. And it's it's significant because that is the state that is sort of considered the home of Hinduism. It has some of Hindu the Hindu's most important, temples and places like that. Hindu nationalistic fervor in Uttar Pradesh is really, really profound.
Steve:This is a state where they have passed anti conversion laws, that technically allow people to change their faith, but practically leave almost no way for them to do that. The idea is they're trying to push everything except Hinduism out of the state. And pastor Rohan is one of the people that has been caught up in, in that level of persecution. The story of Rohan is just is just a staggering story that brings all of that persecution and makes it a personal story in a way that just I found profound. Rohan tells of being arrested for sharing his faith, and it's not just a simple arrest.
Steve:What happens as he tells it is that the police came to his house. They they dragged him away. They emptied his house of all of his possessions. And one of the things apparently that happens is that the police will take all of your possessions as one way of deterring you from sharing your faith because you don't get your possessions back later. So he lost all of his possessions in the, in this arrest.
Steve:He was in jail for several months, and it was a little bit unclear how many times he was in jail. It was more than once, but the time he was specifically talking about it was it was for several months, slept on a bare concrete floor. He had his food and water withheld, from him as a way to degrade him personally. He would have to beg in order to be fed and have something to drink. He was beaten.
Steve:At one point, he was beaten to the point of paralysis. Once they released him at after one arrest, he was in bed for 3 months because he couldn't move. The beating was just so severe. And it was amazing to hear as he's telling of all of this while he's obviously moving around. His recovery and his joy and his zeal for the faith is just just amazing.
Steve:One of the things that they did, as he described it with his possessions was they told him that, he could have his possessions back if he would turn in the names of additional Christians who were sharing their faith. And when he refused to do that, they kept his possessions. And so this is a man who has been arrested multiple times for sharing his faith. He's been beaten multiple times, including to the point of physical paralysis and being bedridden. He'd had his property confiscated as a way of extortion.
Steve:He'd had his food and water withheld. He had slept on the concrete floor. And as he tells the story, he has this you can hear the smile in his voice. You can hear the twinkle in his eye. He is so excited to be able to tell others that he has gone through this for the cause of Christ.
Steve:And as he tells this story, he he said, this this is what's happened to him, and he knows of others where it's been worse, people who have been executed. Apparently, there are some places where crowds will simply gather, and they'll burn a Christian alive. And then as he tells the story, he concludes it by saying, if you find yourself in this position, if you find yourself in prison, then glorify God there, and then his testimony is done. It's just this incredible statement of faith and joy and persistence in the face of the kind of persecution I can scarcely imagine.
Leanne:On the Move is a podcast created by 21c International. We're on a mission to encourage, equip, and empower Christian pastors and church leaders in the majority world by providing free in person training and print resources. If you want to learn how you can help thousands of pastors receive biblical and pastoral training, stay to the end of the episode to hear our latest ministry updates or visit our website at 21cinternational.org. The reality is that it is dangerous to be a Christian in India today. The current prime minister of India, Modi, is currently seeking reelection.
Leanne:During Modi's first two terms in office, his government has stated it will not tolerate religious discrimination. However, the reality has been that there's been an increase of Hindu nationalistic fervor during Modi's first two terms, and this current election has fanned those flames even more. India is the world's largest democracy, along with being the world's most populous country. With over 1,400,000,000 people, 970,000,000 are eligible to vote in the national elections, which began last week. These elections are a 6 week process with votes continuing now until they will be counted on June 4.
Leanne:While India's constitution provides for freedom of all individuals to freely profess, practice, and propagate religion, the reality in India today is that many of India's 28 States have passed anti conversion laws, which has made it illegal for a Christian to share their faith with others without being accused of a crime. Our partner in India has faced this reality firsthand, in that there are some areas of the country where they no longer can freely travel even as Indians to do ministry work without being turned in by neighbors in that area to the police and then investigated for criminal activity. Hindu extremists in India believe that Indians should be Hindu. Essentially, their belief is that any faith under other than Hinduism is no longer welcome in India. As we've heard already, this mindset has led to violence and persecution of believers in India.
Leanne:Another pastor friend from India, we'll call him Amir, had a church with about 300 members. His church was banned from meeting. So now Amir travels to small home churches rather than gathering in one place together. And yet, what we have seen in India is that these believers really have taken Jesus' words to heart to rejoice and be glad when they face persecution. These humble believers have counted the cost and they have realized that they are willing to give up their own personal possessions, they're willing to give up personal relationships.
Leanne:They're willing to give up their security and their physical well-being for the cause of Christ. To them, the most important thing is to know Jesus and to make Him known. And as I've really reflected on this, and as I've reflected on both Jesus instructions to rejoice and be glad when we face persecution and and Paul's statement that everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. I've had to ask myself the question and I think it's a question that all of us can ask. What am I willing to give up for Christ?
Leanne:What am I willing to lay down in order that I can make Jesus known and that I can know Him better, that I can live a Godly life in Christ Jesus. Thanks for joining us for this episode of On The Move as we've considered this reality of persecution around the world, specifically in the country of India. As we heard in our episode today, the reality of persecution is something that believers in India are facing. And as we entered into India as a ministry this month, here at 21c International, we have realized more than ever how prayer is a vital part of our ministry. Since we began, we have believed in the power of prayer.
Leanne:We have seen the power of prayer in our ministry and through our ministry, but with the rise of persecution against believers in India, we are feeling more compelled than ever to pray earnestly for not just our ministry, but for all of the pastors and churches in the country of India. And so we are asking you to join us. In the show notes, there is an opportunity for you to click a link to join our prayer team. We send prayer updates every 2 weeks that just give you some specific ways that you can pray. So please click the link in the show notes today to join us in prayer.
Leanne:You can also visit our website at 21cinternational.org. That's 21cinternational.org. And you can also click on there to join the prayer team, and we will add you to that list so that you can begin to receive updates and join us in praying for pastors and church leaders in India and around the world.
