A Call to Prayer – International Day of Prayer
November 10, 2002
Remember my chains. Those are Paul’s final words in Colossians – a command for the Christians to whom he writes to remember the suffering he is facing because of his sharing Jesus with others. We want to take the time today to remember the suffering of Christians in our world today, and to commit them to God’s mercy through prayer.
It is helpful as we head into this time of prayer to reflect together for a moment on what the Bible has to say about suffering and persecution.
Hebrews 13:3 – “Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.”
Here is a command to us to identify with those who are suffering, to put ourselves in their circumstances and to “remember” the sacrifices they are making. This is likely a difficult thing for us to do here in comfortable North America, where most of us have never known prison, and where for most of us the idea of being imprisoned for something one believes is completely foreign. It is hard for us to really identify.
The Bible teaches us that “If one part suffers, every part suffers with it” (1 Corinthians 12:26). It is in the passage talking about the church as a body, and it applies directly to our consideration of Christians suffering for their faith. They are suffering, and as a result we suffer with them. How? How do we suffer when Christians in Viet Nam are imprisoned; when Christians in Sudan are murdered because they believe in Jesus? Those places are a long way away – how can they impact us? They impact us because we are a part of the same body – the Body of Christ. We might not personally feel the effects, we might not personally experience the same persecution and suffering, but the larger body of Christ is hurting in parts of our world, and we need to first know about what is happening, and second we need to allow ourselves to feel a part of that pain. Remember my chains…
When we don’t realize how the suffering of others in our world affects us, we demonstrate how self-centered we really are. How selfish, how completely concerned with our own problems that often (but not always) pale in comparison to the real needs of others around us. If we remain un-moved, I believe it reveals that we aren’t really a part of God’s Kingdom.
When the four Canadian soldiers were killed by friendly fire in Afganistan earlier this year, our entire nation mourned. Their memorial service was held at the Coliseum, with top government officials from across our country. It was the lead story on every national newscast, seen every where from BC to the Maritimes. Four men in a nation of 31.5 million people died, and the whole nation felt the pain. Why? It was one of our own – we belong to the same kingdom – we recognize shared values, history, and we believe in the cause for which those men were fighting. And so the whole country mourned the deaths of those four men.
The exact same thing is happening for fellow citizens in the Kingdom of God. Brothers and sisters in Christ – soldiers in our Kingdom – people who share our spiritual history, who value what we value, who believe in the cause of Jesus Christ – these brothers and sisters are facing unthinkable torture, imprisonment, harrassment, loss of property, separation from loved ones, and even death. For no other reason than because they believe the same thing that you and I believe – that Jesus is the Son of God, that He died for our sins, and that we have been called by God to share that Good News with people everywhere.
“If one part suffers, every part suffers with it.” We suffer alongside as we remember. We share the pain, although much muted by distance, of persecuted Christians in our world as we remember and hold them up in prayer.
One of the countries we are going to pray for today is Pakistan. Militant Islamic forces in Pakistan have initiated much violence against Christians. Many Pakistani Christians have been falsely accused of breaking Law 295B and 295C (blaspheming the Qur’an, Muhammad, or the Prophets) - a crime punishable by death. Some have even been killed by mobs after being acquitted of such charges. In 1999 a proposal was made to officially adopt Muslim Sharia law as the law of the land, which would bring about even more persecution. Despite hardships, Christians continue in love and perseverance, boldly sharing Christ.
SALEEM AND RASHEED MASIH
Saleem and Rasheed Masih, two brothers from the Pakistani city of Pasrur, were jailed on 30 May 1999 on blasphemy charges arising from a dispute with a Muslim ice cream vendor. The vendor refused to serve the Christians in the same bowls used by Muslims and told local police that they had then made “bad remarks” against Islam and Muhammad. The families of the two brothers fled their homes for fear of retaliation by local Muslim extremists. Rasheed, 32, is married with five children. His brother Saleem, 28, has a wife and three children. The two men had initially been charged with violating PPC 295-C, which carries a mandatory death sentence if found guilty of insulting the prophet Muhammad. On 11 May 2000 they were sentenced to 35 years imprisonment and a 75,000 Rs (over 5 years’ wages) fine. An appeal has been launched in the Lahore High Court.
PAKISTAN – JAILED PAKISTANI CHRISTIAN ATTACKED IN HIS CELL (August 2002)
A Christian high school principal jailed 15 months ago by Pakistan authorities for alleged blasphemy against Islam has been attacked while asleep in his cell. On the night of June 17, Pervaiz Masih, 34, was struck twice in the head by another inmate before he awakened enough to wrestle with his attacker and call the jail guards, a Christian human rights advocacy group in Lahore confirmed on July 6. Masih was well-respected in the Daska prison, where the jail superintendent has allowed him some freedom of movement. “Everyone there knows the allegations against Pervaiz are false,” a visitor to the jail said. Local police finally submitted their prosecution brief on his case at the July 6 hearing. The trial was continued until July 20. Masih has been refused bail since his arrest in April 2001, when he was accused of slandering the prophet Mohammed several months earlier to three teenage Muslim boys he had been tutoring. Pray Pervaiz Masih will stand strong in his faith, knowing he is not guilty of the charges against him. Acts 26:11
Paul commands us to “Remember my chains.” Dr. Jim Cunningham, of Open Doors Canada (a mission organization which works with the persecuted church) suggests three reasons why Paul would make that command.
First, remember my chains - for my chains help advance the Gospel.
In an earlier letter Paul wrote: “Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ.” - Philippians 1:12-13
One pastor, we will call ‘Samir’ in a nameless country (ending with ‘Stan’) said, “Who wants to go to the police station and share Christ?” Originally I went to jail for being bad and doing drugs. Now when I go to church on Sunday’s to preach, I prepare two sermons: one for the people and one for the police. They come and arrest me and take me off to jail and ask me, “What are you teaching the people?” So I have a sermon all prepared that I share with the police! Now I go to jail willingly to share Jesus Christ. It has actually worked out well. We are getting to know many police and military and government officials and are able to ‘build bridges’ to them to tell them things about Jesus Christ and Christianity that they never knew before.” This brother sounds like Paul writing to the Church in Philippi. My “chains” are advancing the Gospel.
Secondly, remember my chains - for my chains make people bolder to share Christ.
“Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly.” - Philippians 1:14
A brother in Russia proved this, when he said: “The persecuted Church has more fire and energy to evangelize. It is now open in Russia to share the Gospel. But I led more people to become followers of Jesus Christ during my 18 years in the ‘underground’ church than I have in the subsequent years of ‘freedom’.”
And third, remember my chains - for my chains cause more people to pray.
Dana Cury and Heather Mercer, two of the captured Shelter Now staff members in Kabul, said, after their release from 105 days in a Taliban prison in Afghanistan (during those early days of the ‘War Against Terrorism’), “We strongly believe God had us in prison in Afghanistan to help remind Christians around the world to pray fervently for Afghanistan. Please do not stop praying for Afghanistan because we have been freed. God wants to bring ‘hope’ and love through Jesus Christ to the people of Afghanistan…keep praying.” (Queensway Cathedral Toronto, February 28, 2002).
Paul believed his chains advanced the Gospel, made people bolder in sharing their faith, and caused more people to pray for those in prison. By God’s grace this International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church can do the same three things.
This weekend is a long weekend for many of us because of Remembrance Day – a day we set aside to remember specifically those who lost their lives for the cause of freedom and democracy in two World Wars. I encourage you to remember them; to be genuinely grateful to God and to those men and their loved ones for fighting for the freedoms that we enjoy – to live and to work and to believe and to worship like we do. I encourage you to also remember prayerfully those who today are still fighting for freedom – yes for political and economic and religious freedom – but also those in the larger fight for spiritual freedom for all humanity – freedom from slavery to sin, freedom to worship God the Father through Jesus Christ the Son.
You heard the man at the end of the video asking us to pray. It is the same thing we heard Jen Holmes bring back from the people of Guatemala – “please pray for us.” You might think it isn’t much – that 120 of us sitting in a sanctuary in Edmonton can somehow influence people and events on the other side of the globe – but you would be wrong. When asked what people like you and I can do for them, the people facing persecution on a daily basis respond with the simple request that we pray for them. They have seen what happens when people pray for them, they have seen how God moves hearts and changes situations and brings miracles. And so they ask us to pray for them, and we are going to do that now. (requests on ppt; organize into small groups or invite people to pray on their own; other details…).
