Syria (MNN) — Last week, rebels
in Aleppo launched a new series of attacks against Syrian forces to
retake control over parts of the city. http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=55447#.WBlVE_kr LIW - Neither sides are following humanitarian guides , and more than 30 civilians were killed over the weekend, including ten children.
For believers who stay in Syria, if you aren’t killed by the
shrapnel of war, you could be targeted as a religious minority by ISIS
militants. Open Doors USA ranks Syria on their https://www.opendoorsusa.org/christian-persecution/worl d-watch-list/syria/ - World Watch List as the fifth most volatile country to live in as a Christian.
On the World Watch List fact sheet for Syria, Open Doors describes the situation for Christians there:
The Syrian opposition is
increasingly “Islamizing” and the civil war continues to take the form
of a jihad against the Syrian government. In the conflict, all Syrians
are suffering greatly, but some groups are in a more vulnerable position
than others. One of the main features of Syria’s Christian population
is its combined ethnic and religious identity. The geographical
concentration of Christians in strategic areas of the country that are
vital to both the government and the opposition’s war efforts is an
important factor in their vulnerability, as is their alleged support for
the government.
An Insider’s Perspective
The
Aleppo citadel before Syria’s civil war. (Photo courtesy of Varun Shiv
Kapur via Flickr under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License:
https://goo.gl/QXlFrO)
Today, we’re highlighting Syria as we
approach the International Day of Prayer for the persecuted Church
coming up this Sunday, November 6th.
We spoke with Brother John, a Syrian Christian and ministry partner with https://www.mnnonline.org/mission_groups/voice-of- the-martyrs-usa/ - The Voice of the Martyrs, USA . He
shared with us the humbling perspective of believers in Syria who stay,
literally, in the cross-hairs of danger and persecution.
“I was talking to one of the pastors,
leaders in that nation,” says Brother John. “His son was attacked, a
bullet flew right threw his neck; his other son is under threat, he has a
young daughter. And I told him, ‘Why are you still there in Aleppo and
serving among this? Why don’t you take your family and rescue them?’
“And he said, ‘If I say Jesus is the
ultimate example and He died for me, I’m willing to put my life on the
line — like my ultimate example, Christ — for others to know Christ.’…
Of course there is death, but [there is] also the beautiful image of the
resurrection of people to know Jesus Christ. That’s why they stay and
that’s why they remain inside Syria.”
The Example of Ananias
Ultimately, it comes down to the
Great Commission being carried out in Syria. And the Syrian believers
who stay to reach their neighbors with the Gospel don’t see themselves
as heroes of the faith. They simply see themselves as being obedient to
their Savior.
Brother John shares the biblical example of the Apostle Paul’s
conversion from his previous life as Saul, a harsh persecutor of
Christians, in https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=acts+9&vers ion=NIV - Acts 9 .
When you think about it, Saul was similar to extremist Muslims today in
his abuse of believers. This account in God’s Word has become the
inspiration for many Syrian Christians in ministry as well.
“Damascus, Syria is the place where
the first mission journey came out, it started from Damascus and went
all over the world. That’s where Saul was heading on the road to
Damascus and he was blinded and saw Jesus in a vision,” says Brother
John.
“What’s so unique about the story is
the local Christian [in Damascus]. When the Lord came to Ananias, an
elder of the church, he was hiding from this radical terrorist, [Saul]. The Lord came to him and said, ‘I want you to go find Saul and go lay your hands on him.’…”
“Ananias first said no, but then the
Lord said to him, ‘Saul will suffer for my name.’ Out of obedience,
Ananias went and he laid hands on Saul, and the scales fell out of his
eyes and that’s when Paul was able to see again.”
(Photo courtesy of Vision Beyond Borders)
Brother John says Syria is full of many ‘Ananaias’ individuals, committed to sharing the hope of Christ. Because the worst that could happen is their own physical death. But the best that could happen? Another person’s eternal life.
“It’s so powerful how God is using
His people today inside Syria. There are Christians inside Syria and
they are committed Ananias’s to go in finding those people and laying
their hands and the scales are falling from the eyes of people and they
are coming to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. This
is really the story of Syria. It’s not the death story. Is there
suffering? Yes, there is suffering. But there are also the dead
spiritually who are rising to life.”
Former al-Qaeda Fighter Finds Christ
One testimonial Brother John shares features an unlikely Syrian convert:
“In a new church plant, this woman
had been coming to the church for a couple months and she was always
covered and she’s obviously Muslim, Sunni. After a couple months, she came to one of the leaders in that church and she told him her story.
“She said, ‘I used to be an al-Qaeda fighter. I had an AK-47
and I used to go fight with them and then nurse the injured as well. But
I came and I heard the Gospel and I started coming and came to know
Christ. I was afraid to tell you because I was afraid you would report me and then I would be arrested.’
Brother John remarks, “This is just a beautiful image of what God is doing.”
God in the Muslim Tent
He continues with another miraculous report from the Syrian mission field:
“I was in a camp [in Syria] and I
went to visit one of the workers during the holidays last month. As we
visited this tent, I went with the worker and I saw he had his Bible
with him, and I was afraid because there was a big gathering of men
sitting during the holiday and they’re kind of celebrating, visiting
each other.
“He sat and I was praying, ‘I
hope he doesn’t share the Gospel,’ because we are in a tent, we are
among Muslims — Sunni and Shiite — an intense moment. All these men sitting and gathering, there were women as well sitting.
“All of a sudden, he began to share
the Gospel. There was talk, a question, an answer, and he was just
strategically answering and answering. One angry man walked out, and as
soon as this angry man walked out, the Lord began to move,” Brother John
recounts.
(Photo courtesy of VBB)
“One woman stood up and she said, ‘I
saw Jesus in a dream,’ in the midst of that group, and then another
woman, and a new woman came into that gathering and she said she saw
also Jesus. So we began just in two hours period of time hearing about
three different stories of people seeing Jesus in dreams and visions.
“It was just a moment where we opened the Gospel and people right there confessed Christ.”
The Great Commission in Action
Bottom line: the Church in Syria is
blossoming and growing through the power of the Holy Spirit and the bold
witness of God’s people. Despite persecution, despite physical
displacement or fear, despite even the threat of death, the purpose of
God cannot be stamped out in this country whose very roots are embedded
deep in the history of Scripture and the story of Salvation.
As you pray today for and with Syria, Brother John asks us to pray as the believers in Syria do.
“We used to pray, ‘Lord, when is this
war going to end? Hasn’t enough blood been sacrificed? Haven’t enough
Christians been killed? Haven’t enough churches been destroyed?’
“But after we begin to see people are coming to know Christ in
huge numbers, we begin to realize our prayer, our heart…the Church began
to pray, ‘Lord, let your will be done.’
The Lord has begun even to convict us to see He is showing in the midst
of hardship, and he’s bringing our people to know Him. This is the
beautiful image of today of the Church in Syria.”
Brother John offers three more specific prayer points as well:
- Protection
— “One of the things, we need to pray for the protection of the
Church. They’re under attack from all different perspectives. We need to
pray for the Christian leaders inside Syria. They’re faithful, they’re
loyal to their nation as well, and they love their people. But people
attack them. People accuse them of things, false accusations, even
within governments. But they are loyal to the Kingdom of God and they
are loyal to their nation.”
- Biblical Foundation
— “The few who remain have to deal with the multitude coming, so how
do you disciple the multitude with only a few of you? One of the things
is to [pray for] how God can equip, because we want a biblical Church.
We don’t want heresies. We want to try to wrap our arms around the
growing Church before heresy comes in and destroys it, especially from
other religions coming in, false teachings.”
- Healing
— “Pray as well for protection for our women and children,
specifically the children. We think about counseling sometimes, but this
is impossible. You can bring all the counselors from all around the
world trying to help in Syria, but they cannot do the job because it is
impossible. But God can, and through the Church. So pray that God can
use the Church to bring healing into the lives of the people of Syria
too.”
Source: http://www.mnnonline.org/ -