Romans 8:35-37 – Praying for the Persecuted
(This was a sermon for the International day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church, November 14, 2004. I got most of the source material from the book Jesus Freaks, by DC Talk. I found other stuff from the websites like Open Doors and The Voice of the Martyrs. There are tons of quotes and stats.)
Andronicus was a citizen in the Roman Empire in 303AD, shortly before Christianity was legalized. He had been thrown into prison because he was unwilling to deny his faith. Then he was whipped and his bleeding wounds were rubbed with salt. He was brought out from prison and tortured again, thrown to the wild beasts, and finally killed with a sword. Here’s what he said before it began:
“Do your worst, I am a Christian. Christ is my help and supporter, and thus armed I will never serve your gods nor do I fear your authority or that of your master, the Emperor. Commence your torments as soon as you please, and make use of every means that your malignity can invent, and you shall find in the end that I am not to be shaken from my resolution.” And he wasn’t. Andronicus was a brave martyr who stood steadfast to the end.
Today, November 14, 2004, has been set aside as the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. It’s hard to believe, especially from over here in North America, that there would be persecution in today’s so-called modern age. But in fact, there were close to 100 million martyrs in the 20th century. More people were martyred for their faith in Jesus Christ in the 20th century than in all the previous nineteen combined. More people died in circumstances related to their faith in the 20th century than in all the 20th century wars combined. More than estimated 160,000 believers were martyred in 1996, and countless others were subjected to unimaginable horrors. According to a study done by Regent University in Vancouver, there were close to 164,000 Christians martyred around the world in 1999. And according to an organization called The Voice of the Martyrs, based in Bartlesville, OK, in the year 2000, over 425 people a day lost their lives, and the number is actually increasing as we go through the 21st century.
We have been going through Romans 8, and have been watching how it applies to us. Today we are looking at how it applies to others, who have experienced suffering and persecution that we may never see. Let’s read Romans 8:35-37.
Now, we can see that persecution is not new to this generation. Over the years, many godly men and women have died for their faith in Jesus. People since the time of Christ have chosen to be tortured and put to death because of their beliefs in the Savior. And many did it with a surprising peace.
Ignatius, a disciple of John, was devoured by wild animals in Rome in the year 111AD. He said this: “My dear Jesus, my Savior, is so deeply written in my heart, that I feel confident that if my heart were to be cut open and chopped into pieces, the name of Jesus would be found on every piece.”
And the confidence they had is impressive. Justin, who became known as Justin Martyr, who was killed in Rome in 165AD, said this: “You can kill us but you cannot do us any real harm.”
Maurice Blanc, who was martyred in 1547, said, “Lord God, these men take away my life full of misery, but You will give me life everlasting.”
These Christians were absolutely convinced that there was something far superior waiting them afterwards, as long as they remained faithful in this life. “We shall not end our lives in the fire, but make a change for a better life.” These words were spoken by Julius Palmer, who was burned at the stake in England, 1556.
You see, ultimately this life is not really ours. We try to cling to it, to milk it for all its worth, but really, we can never keep what it has to offer. You have likely heard these words: “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” These were spoken by Jim Eliot, who was speared by headhunters in Ecuador while serving there as a missionary in 1956.
It’s not that these folks had a death-wish. I’m sure they didn’t really want to die. Pastor Li De Xian, of the horribly persecuted Mainland China, just in the last decade said, “Humanly speaking, we know that no one likes to suffer physically. But I know that if the Lord leads me into it, He will give me the strength to survive it.”
And today, a day set aside to pray for those being persecuted, I want us to remember Li Ying. Li is a journalist in China, and is currently serving a 15-year prison sentence for her role in the publication of an underground church magazine in China. She was arrested April 2001 along with 16 others from the South China Church and condemned to death December 2001. Her current sentence was handed down during a retrial ordered by the Hubei Provincial Supreme Court in October 2002. Unfortunately, even in her early thirties, she’s used to being arrested and imprisoned. She’s been arrested many times and spent a year in prison in 1996. She can’t have a Bible and is forced to work 15 hours each day on materials to be exported out of China. Let’s pray for this woman to remain faithful to our Lord.
But China isn’t even the worst country out there. The organization Open Doors publishes a list called the World Watch List. It compiles the world’s worst offenders of religious liberty, in particular against Christians. A specially-designed questionnaire is used to compile the World Watch List. The questionnaire contains 49 questions, which cover various aspects of religious freedom. These are some of the questions: Does the constitution and/or national laws provide for freedom of religion? Are individuals allowed to convert to Christianity by law? Are Christians being killed because of their faith? Are Christians being sentenced to jail, labor camp or sent to a psychiatric hospital, etc. because of their faith? Do Christians have the freedom to print and distribute Christian literature? Are Christian publications censured or prohibited in this country? Are Christian meeting places and/or Christian homes attacked because of anti-Christian motives?
And the most recent survey gave this as the top ten worst offenders: 1 – North Korea, 2 – Saudi Arabia, 3 – Laos, 4 – Vietnam, 5 – Iran, 6 – Turkmenistan, 7 – Maldives, 8 – Bhutan, 9 – Myanmar, and 10 – China.
In the last 6 months, Iran climbed five places, to number five, due to massive arrests of Christian converts, which took place last year. Islam is the majority religion in four of the top 10 countries: Saudi Arabia, Turkmenistan, Maldives and Iran. Four countries have communist governments: North Korea, Laos, Vietnam and China. Two countries, Bhutan and Myanmar, are Buddhist.
So what can we do about these kinds of situations? Well, we can pray. It may seem like a small thing, but in fact, it is not. Look what the Scriptures tell us…
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.” Also, Paul writes in Colossians 4:18: “Remember my chains.”
The concept of being a body, of helping one another, is impossible to get away from, too. Galatians 6:2 – “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” Romans 12:15 – “Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.” And 1 Corinthians 12:26 – “If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.”
Paul says in Colossians 4:3-4 – “And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should.” Paul wanted to be able to be a witness of God’s love while he was in prison.
So we can pray for Thong Chan, a Christian pastor in Laos, west of Vietnam. Today, he’s in prison. He had been a District Governor... until he was saved. After his conversion he was first arrested in 1999 and convicted of preaching the gospel, being a traitor to the nation and speaking badly about the nation. He faces another 11 years in prison. Pray for Thong.
You see, prayers matter. They work. They worked for Rev. Rinaldy Damanik of Indonesia. He was arrested in September 11, 2002, charged with the possession of homemade firearms that were allegedly confiscated when his vehicle was searched. But really, he was just a pawn in the ongoing conflict between Christians and Muslims in Poso, that has claimed over 2000 lives during the three years of violence. On June 16, 2003 Reverend Damanik was sentenced to three years imprisonment for illegal weapons possession.
But praise the Lord! On November 9, just this week, Rev. Rinaldy Damanik was released from prison after 791 days there. This is an answer to prayer. While in prison he received over 26,000 letters from Christians around the world. That’s the body of Christ in action, supporting the persecuted, lifting up the prisoners.
This, in case you hadn’t noticed yet, is real life. What we have here in Canada is great, but it isn’t really typical. We like it, but it isn’t ordinary. What is ordinary for so many is the threat of hard times, simply because they believe in Jesus. And what’s ironic, is that believers in persecuted countries have a more vibrant faith than most North American Christians have. It was CS Lewis who said, “You never know how much you really believe anything until its truth or falsehood becomes a matter of life and death to you.” And since we have never been pushed to that limit, we don’t usually rise to any occasion.
So although we pray for them, maybe we’re the ones who are lacking. Maybe we haven’t come to the conclusion of one Catholic missionary lady who said, “Jesus is everything.” Her name was Mother Teresa, and she gave her life to the poor of India. Remember that as we pray.
Here are some tips about how to pray…
1. Prayerfully choose a country or a situation to pray for.
2. Pray that the Holy Spirit would give you special things and people to pray for in a country.
3. Study your country – use the library, the internet, and a globe, and watch for it in the news.
4. Share those requests with others around you.
5. Say a short prayer for that country whenever you think of it during the week.
