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LISTEN NOW! Here in America, we are able to express our rights and feelings very freely. But, this is not true for everyone else in the world. For those living in Iran, the word ‘oppression’ is an understatement. Just for starters, a group of teenagers were arrestedfor simply being happy. As for the Church in Iran, it is a similar story. But, the Church is actually growing! CBN News was able to sit down with a few Iranian Christians who shared what life is like in Iran.
Raizail is from Iran and grew up hearing about Jesus, “Every time, His name was in my mind. And the next moment I started liking Christianity. It was really sweet to me, the feeling, the stories, everything.” This experience growing up led her to later believe in Jesus Christ when she was 15 years old. But Raizail soon learned that life would no longer be as it was. “Even if I say Jesus Christ, they kill me.” Fearing for their lives, many Christians fled to Turkey seeking safety. Another Iranian Christian, Afshin, shared what it is like now that he is in Iran, “[It’s] totally different from Iran… I can freely praise the Lord. I can easily go to church. It’s completely different.”
From the outside, some wouldn’t perceive that the Church in Iran is experiencing growth. But when we take a closer look, we can clearly see that the Holy Spirit is powerfully moving in this nation. “From 1994, there were about 100,000 believers. Right now, there are 3 million. You can see what the Holy Spirit is doing with the people.” It is vitally important that we pray for the Christians in Iran and for those experiencing persecution for their faith in Jesus Christ, just as Pastor Saeed Abedini did.
One man encountered Jesus after he had a car accident. Speaking through a translator he shared, “In the accident, I passed out and so I saw, like a dream.” He was standing outside the vehicle and looking at himself in the accident. He continues to point out exactly what he saw, “There were many black things, they were coming, and they were coming at me, and I just felt myself stressed…and then there was just one bright shiny one, and that one was coming; and when that light was coming, I felt comfortable. I felt safe.”
He continues to point out, “I got a hold of a Bible and I got a hold of a Jesus film.” He learned that the “bright shiny one” that he had seen was Jesus. The more he talked to Jesus, the more he learned. It was in this beginning dialogue with Jesus that he realized Jesus was not allah. “For 27 years, I would call out to allah, but I feel like he was never speaking to me. But when I spoke to Jesus, right away answers would come.” He would receive multiple dreams from Jesus and be shown things in order to understand what Jesus was talking to him about. “I saw the things that were in Scripture, but in my dreams.” He soon decided to give his life to Jesus Christ.
Before these encounters, he was taking marijuana and alcohol. But, after giving his life to Jesus, all of this changed. “After Jesus saved me, I didn’t even want those things.” His entire family had witnessed such a profound change in his life that eventually his brother gave his life to the Lord, as well as his entire family. Recalling his life under Islam, he points out, “There is only One Man that can save us, and that is Jesus. The Sharia Law does not save us. It cannot save us.”
Here in America, we get restless when the temperature isn’t right, when the schedule isn’t right, and a myriad of other factors that we perceive should be present in order for us to follow Jesus. When we look at what other Christians are experiencing throughout the world, potentially being whipped, beaten, or arrested for their faith, we have to remind ourselves that we will all personally stand before Jesus Christ and answer for the life that we live. What are we doing with the freedoms that we have right now?
Be encouraged and lifted up in your faith as you see and hear more about the miraculous stories of what the Holy Spirit is doing in Iran, the entire story of one Muslim’s man powerful encounter with Jesus Christ, being baptized in Iran, and so much more. Also shared in this segment: the Resurrection, refugees, revival, and dreams. Greg and Steve shared in this segment.
screen capture from CBN.com
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screen capture from CBN.com
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