Praying for the Persecuted Church

This is good Truth Network ways last time you were beaten, persecuted, put in prison because of your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. We have a special podcast today sitting down. My friend from the voice of the martyrs you hear about what God is doing in the church abroad and how there is much suffering but much growth and there's a special event celebrating the anniversary of the martyrdom of the apostle Paul that will talk about in today's podcast. Stay tuned.

Thank you to my pillow.com for being great sponsors of this podcast, the my pillow. I love my pillow and you get one too and you get a special discount if you go to my pillow.com and enter the promo code truth. Stay tuned. Be encouraged and please share this podcast with other family and friends and remember to pray for the persecuted church, your brothers and sisters abroad who have suffered much and are suffering right now for the cause of Christ.

Imagine being persecuted.

Imagine being tortured, locked up in jail, beaten, flogged for simply loving and following Jesus Christ. That is the plight of thousands of believers around the world.

I'm Stu Epperson and I'm so excited to welcome to this podcast. This broadcast this interview a man of God is traveled all over the world is good tells about a very significant day coming up Todd Nettleton with the voice of the martyrs.

Todd is so good to have you with us today. My friend, thank you very much. It's great to be with you.

We want to hear all about the voice of the martyrs is the name of that ministry gets me excited. I followed you guys for many years. This is truth talk weekend heard all over the country on terrestrial radio stations and we give one can download this program on iTunes all different places where you can find wonderful podcast but this is something we've got to give more attention to Todd this is your passion and you travel all over the world first hotel and who the voice of the martyrs is this wonderful ministry while avoiding the martyrs is a ministry to persecuted Christians around the world. There are more than 70 countries where Christians are persecuted for doing what we do in America without really thinking about gathering with other believers to worship. I reading the Bible, sharing our faith with people around us. Those are things that other countries will get you out of a job. Maybe get you thrown into jail. Maybe even get you killed the voice of the martyrs for the last 52 years has worked to stand with Christians who are going through that persecution. Our founders were persecuted Christians themselves.

Pastor Richard were brand spent 14 years in prison in Romania.

His wife, Sabina spent three years in prison and so when they came to the West.

They were a first-hand account of what goes on in a prison what goes on with God's people, but they also were a first-hand account of what God does in those situations and how God is faithful God sustains his servants as they go through trials and so that was a great message for the American church and really inviting American Christians to know what's going on to pray for our brothers and sisters around the world and to learn the lessons that they offer us about God's faithfulness Todd in the early church.

It was normal to be persecuted. We read about in the book of acts the church in Jerusalem under under the ironic is where a talk about the apostle Paul here little bit in a in a significant date in his life, but under his oppression in all this brutal attacks by the Jews, the Romans you you the early church was what was not foreign to them to be persecuted in all of through the Middle Ages and you know even into the last couple centuries, but today were so comfortable in our Western Christianity. A lot of folks listing right now is just an alien concept. The thought of the dark new year. This phrase first world problems or Third World problems first world problems at work were upset because our phones die and writer batteries go on low were upset because because we can't get Wi-Fi all these little challenges but crew continued to give us perspective of the what's it like for Christians say in the Middle East there's country. You can even name movie because the UniFirst security reasons. But what's it like for believers who get up, knowing that if they carry that Bible. This may be the last time their loved ones ever see them why you say that this is a biblical Christianity and one of my coworkers at our Canadian office talks about the New Testament as being a series of books written by persecuted Christians for other persecuted Christians to read that that was their experience that was what they knew and even though it is foreign to us here in the United States.

It is still true that in a place like the Middle East in a place like China. When someone chooses to follow Jesus Christ out of Islam or out of atheism out of communism.

They know there's going to be a price to be paid for this. The way the gospel is presented often in the United States in the in Western countries is come to Jesus and he is going to make your life better.

Whatever's going on. That's bad. He is going to fix that in your life is good to be golden.

From here on out in the hostile and restricted nations. The message is a little different. It is come to Jesus.

He will forgive your sins. And he will provide you with eternity in heaven with him. But here on earth. Your life is probably going to get worse and so you think about that when you start out your walk of faith, knowing hey there can be a price to be paid for this, there's gonna be some sacrifices involved in this, that it's just a different mindset from the very beginning and so just like the writers of the New Testament.

These believers understand. While this is going to make my life hard, but you is worth it. Whatever I have to suffer whatever I have to endure. Jesus is totally worth that.

And so they can see that is a good trade-off, yes I'm in have to suffer, but I get Jesus here on earth with me to walk through it with me and I get eternity with him in heaven. That's a great trade-off. I'm to do that and so that there's an excitement level and there's a blessing and I literally have talked to Christians who have been imprisoned and they will sometimes say Annapurna more than once. They will sometimes say I miss being in prison because Jesus was so close to me in that cell.

Jesus was right there with me and I kinda miss that closeness with him. So that's that. Pretty awe-inspiring for me as a comfortable American Christian to hear someone say I miss being in prison is so encouraging and so humbling. Todd Nettleton is the voice your hearing, my friends, he's the chief of media relations and message integration for the voice of the martyrs and also ministry your easy also host a radio show himself podcast the voice of martyrs radio. Todd is been serving the Lord with voice martyrs 20+ years he's been in 70+ nations with a they service of A+ nations.

Christians facing persecution bring encouragement bring hope. Todd at you is so such an honor to have you on in.

There's a huge date coming up by web Stu Epperson. The host of this wonderful broadcast so glad everyone's with us, please tell your friends about the share this message everywhere you go. Because we need to be praying for our brothers and sisters in Christ who persecuted leaders a there's a little admonishment little word in Hebrews chapter 13 Todd that your ministry quotes quite a bit. Tell us what that word is and tell us about the big event coming up we please. While the word is Hebrews 13. Three.

Remember those in bonds. Remember those in prison as if you were in prison with them and if you think about okay if I was in prison and say you know Egypt or Saudi Arabia or another country, what would I want people to do well, I'd want to know that they were praying for me I would want to know that that somebody was making sure that my wife had food on the table and had a roof over her head. I would want to know that they were banging the drama and calling their government officials and saying hey you got a get Todd out of prison that exactly what the Bible tells us to do. If we were in the cell. What would we want people to do. That's what our call is according to Hebrews 13. Three. That's what were supposed to do. You mention the data coming up June 29, the day of the Christian martyr and we are really trying to help American Christians honor and learn from, and be inspired by the example of Christians throughout history who have laid down their lives for Christ in their some of the stories we know you know I think of Jim Elliott a story that that most of us know of June 29 is actually the day. The apostle Paul according to church historians was beheaded outside the walls of the city of Rome. And so that's the day that were offering. People were offering the stories of those who have laid down their lives for Christ and hopefully we we honor their memory. We honor the legacy that they left but hopefully we also ask ourselves, okay, what would I sacrifice what would I lay down to to follow Christ and to build his kingdom and that's a great question for us as American Christians to ask so convicting. While the Bible is illegal and 57+ countries, the voice of the martyrs is on the front lines of ministering to encouraging reminding us as you get cozy, comfortable Western believers in particular that hey, there are Christian suffering today. A Christian will die because they loved Jesus what a crime. What an honor. Sleaze Christians are so bold and there's so looking forward to heaven, they will talk a lot about heaven and hell in the Western church.

We like the cozy get your blessing that your breakthrough message, but this is really Jesus is really he's coming back guys this is such good news. So celebrate the apostle Paul celebrate these wonderful saints for like Hebrews 11 the great Hall of faith, with the voice of martyrs.

June 29 it's the day of Christian martyrdom there. Try to spread the word on that. Give us one parting challenge will you Todd I Todd Nettleton with a voice martyrs great to have you on this week's program give us one challenge going away to everyone out there how we can pray for you and how we can wake up in these last days in in in grow closer to Jesus and make him known to this world, let me give me two challenges. The first is pray for persecuted Christians, that is their number one request, pray for us and it's not a request. Hey, pray that we won't be persecuted anymore. It's a request.

Pray that will be faithful to Christ. In spite of the persecution, in spite of the suffering so pray for persecuted Christians. The other thing I would encourage people I know we have the Christian radio and Christian podcast listeners that are listening right now. Sign up and listen to voice of the martyrs radio. I get the chance to sit down and interview some of these Christians who have gone through persecution and so you can hear their story firsthand.

You could hear how God works in the midst of that so pray for persecuted Christians, and that sign up or subscribe to the view on radio podcast and hear firsthand the stories of the people that you're praying for what Todd thinks of us what you do in the welcome mat is always open here in the Truth Network Jesus daily to talk weekend. We love having these messages on we got a wake up we get to share the good news and we have you know so many of us, we did maybe don't be so consumed with dying for Jesus.

How much is living for Jesus, right Todd right now the Daimon time is now.

Now is the day of salvation. And if you don't know Christ calling to him and trust him and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. Publisher Todd. We were grave overview of the great ministry of the of the voice of the martyrs. Thank you for having me. It's been great