¶ Revolution in Iran: Muslims Leaving Islam
Something incredible is happening in Iran .
A revolution is underway in parts of the region , a Jesus revolution .
Over one million Muslims have left Islam and put their trust in Jesus Christ .
An unprecedented number of Muslims are fors islam and choosing to follow christ , especially in iran .
You have a country with one of the highest drug addiction rates in the world . Corruption runs rampant . People of iran are looking at this and they're saying , if this is what islam has brought us in the last 45 years , we're not interested .
Welcome back to the Equipped for Life podcast . I am your host , brandon C Ricks . I am very , very excited about today's episode . We're going to be talking about a topic that's very dear to me , and it is persecution in the church .
If you did not know , there are a lot of things happening around the world , a lot of things that you , as a follower of Christ , should be very aware of . But just for you that do not know , equipped for Life I'm rocking the Equipped for Life shirt here today . So if you want to go to EFLmencom , eflmencom , you can get all of the EFL merch .
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Texas area , that's a huge place right , texas is a whole state but we meet in the Dallas-Fort Worth area . We have meetings across the city and it's a great opportunity for you , as a man , to come and fellowship . But on the YouTube channel this is for everyone , for men and women . But Equipped for Life is what gives us the ability to do this channel .
So , with that being said , I'm so excited to hop into it . You're not going to want to miss this . So let's look at a little bit of what's going on in the church in Iran . That's right . Yes , there is the church in Iran . What's powerfully happening in Iran is that people are leaving the mosques in droves . Yeah , that's right .
I think there is somewhere like 70% of the mosques are now empty . Okay , people are leaving . Islam is what's happening Now . Since Iran
¶ Introduction to Equipped for Life
is a closed off country , you do not get to see as many reports , because it's dangerous to report these kinds of things if you're living in Iran .
But this has been going on for quite some time now , where Jesus , as they would call him , esau , is showing up in Iranians' dreams like crazy , and there's a lot of authors that are writing about this too as well . One of the authors that you can look up is Tom Doyle . I'll have to put the name of the book .
Maybe I'll put it in the video , maybe here or here in the corner as I'm speaking , so you can see it , but it's a dreams and visions book by Tom Doyle , who is a missionary to the Middle East that I have a privilege of meeting some years back , and he's got a passion for the Middle East and he preaches the gospel in these areas , from you know , in places
like Jordan and other places too as well . So let's go to see what's happening with the church in Iran .
Iranians are growing tired of the Ayatollahs and a nation led by the empty promises of their Islamic theocracy . An anonymous internal poll found that 80% now prefer a democratic government and many are leaving Islam . You have ?
a country with one of the highest drug addiction rates in the world . You have a country where corruption runs rampant . You have a country where more than half the people live below the poverty line .
I didn't know that . I didn't know that they had one of the highest drug problems in the world . That is interesting . You know , drugs are a funny thing , right ? I think that America we have a huge drug problem here too as well . Like we are addicted to all manner of things , from opioids to stimulants , to coffee , to food .
I mean , we are one of the most addicted nations you know in the world nations you know in the world . And to me , addiction is just a sign . It's a symptom of a deeper problem , and what it is is discontentment .
You know , when you are abusing substances , it's because you are escaping your reality , you're discontent with your life , you're not satisfied , there's a void , there's an emptiness , and so you run to drugs . And alcohol is also a drug . So I don't like to say drugs and alcohol , because alcohol is a drug .
Anything that's mind-altering , that alters your state of consciousness , is considered a drug .
It's an intoxicant , it's something that you're participating in , partaking in in order so that you can not think about or be removed from the reality of a situation that you're going through or circumstance , whether that be temporarily or long term , based off of your level of addiction .
But the fact that addiction is running rampant in Iran to me is a testament of the emptiness that people are filling ,
¶ Iran's Disillusionment with Islamic Theocracy
and they're trying to fill the void with something because what's happening on a day to day basis is not satisfying .
And the people of Iran are looking at this and they're saying wait a minute , if this is what Islam has brought us in the last 45 years , we're not interested . We want to know what the other options are .
According to Todd Nettleton of the Voice of the Martyrs , the faith option many are choosing is Jesus , with at least a million Muslims reportedly leaving Islam for Christianity . How's the regime reacting to this ? We've heard 50,000 of 75,000 mosques have closed and I'm sure they aren't accepting that very well 50 to 75,000 mosques closed .
That . Imagine if we replace mosques with churches , and I told you that 50,000 to 75,000 churches in America have closed . I mean , we're talking about an avalanche of apostasy here . Okay , that is a vast percentage of your population choosing to leave Islam . Okay , that is significant . That is significant .
And I believe that , in the age of the internet , that Islam is dying as people are able to translate the Quran into different languages and to understand the Quran and the Hadiths and what they teach . Islam is not attractive , it's just not . And the Iranian people ? They were not always Islamic right , they were conquered by Islam .
The Persian people have a beautiful spirit and beautiful culture and they were some of the most brilliant artists in the world until Islam . Islam has a way of stamping out all of your creativity , all of your ideas .
Just look and do a review on the places where Islam is the primary source , religious view , and show me where there's artistic growth and expression and innovation . You don't have it outside of Dubai , which they've modeled Dubai after capitalism . It's kind of a little gem within the , in the , in the desert outside of Dubai , in the Emirates .
You don't find growth in progression in Islamic states . Look all throughout northern Africa , look through Asia , places like Indonesia , places like Afghanistan , pakistan , yemen . These places are not places that people want to live and , in fact , people in those countries are moving to places like Britain , into Holland , into Sweden .
Okay , they're leaving Islamic regimes to go to places where they have the ability to express themselves and to live freely . Okay . So it's not surprising to me that in Iran , they're leaving Islam , because for centuries , before Islam came , the people that were living in Iran , in what was then called Persia , were following Zoroaster .
There was Zoroastrianism , there was Christianity , there was Judaism , there were a myriad of different beliefs , and they certainly see the growth of the church they certainly see Christian evangelism as a form of dissent .
We have heard multiple stories this year of a Bible study , a home church being raided , everyone there is photographed , everyone there is questioned , but then the leader of the meeting is held onto . They are arrested , they are detained , they're put in prison .
Moreover , Nettleton contends family members and friends are more tolerant than the government about leaving Islam .
They're
¶ Dreams, Visions, and Spiritual Hunger
kind of had the attitude of hey , if you found something that works for you , if it's Jesus or if it's atheism or if it's whatever , if it works for you . I know Islam doesn't work , so I'm happy you found something that works .
So , in other words , anything but Islam is pretty much what the Iranian people are saying , but , by the grace of God , many of them are choosing Jesus , and you know , again , that leads me to another scripture . There's so many verses that I can read about persecution of the church . One of them is 2 Timothy 3 , verse 12 and 13 .
And it reads like this In fact , everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted , while evildoers and imposters will go from bad to worse , deceiving and being deceived Right , and I think that this is again one of these points . That's to me is really sobering is that if you persist in wickedness , then you get the results of that .
You get wicked results , and I don't think like the spiritual warfare is more covert in a place like China , because there's not an acknowledgement of spiritual authority , whereas in Iran you have the worship of Allah and you know , just to be clear , allah and Yahweh are not the same , they're not the same deity , very , very different standards , practices .
And the Quran is a very different piece of literature than the Tanakh , the Torah and the , and wonders , despite an oppressive regime .
To me it's just a testament of the truth , of the gospel , and I think it's a testament to the power of the body of Christ is that when we , as Christians and as followers of Jesus , choose to make it our business to spread the good news and to live a life that's worthy of the gospel , we find the Holy Spirit really actively doing work .
Well , I think what's happening there is actually representative of what's happening in the Islamic world .
Don Schenk serves as executive director of the Tide Ministry . He explains how Muslims are experiencing dreams and visions leading many to find purpose and a different understanding of God .
We get responses from listeners who say you know , now I understand that God loves me . I always thought that God wanted to punish me and I think there's an awakening , as I said , that's taking place across the Muslim world . An awakening , as I said , that is taking place across the Muslim world .
Schenck states that Tide Ministry radio broadcasts are receiving positive responses in Afghanistan , where the Taliban pose great danger for those seeking information from secret Christians within the country , there's a lot of suspicion .
So for those of you who don't know , in Afghanistan they also speak Farsi , so this is the reason why the broadcasts are working there . I'm not sure if most people knew that , but Afghanistan is a Farsi-speaking country .
Pakistan they speak Urdu primarily , but in Afghanistan they speak Farsi , and Farsi is the language of the Iranians , of the Persians , so that's why that's working . That's amazing that that's working . One of the things that I think is interesting to me is the again , the miracles , signs and wonders , the dreams and visions .
For us that live in the West and the post-modern Western world . I think that we struggle with the idea of God speaking to us in what we would call supernatural ways , because we have the enlightenment , we have intellectualism , we have logic and reason , so we are more interested in the practical applications of scripture .
It's like it's become like a self-help program . Jesus and his teachings are how do I use the Bible to better my life ? Not how do I use the word of God to transform my life . How do I surrender my life to the Holy Spirit so that I can be transformed and made anew ?
And for people that are desperate and in dire situations and really , really need a transformation , god shows up , the miraculous happens in those places , whereas we don't see those kinds of things happening in America , because we're depending on ourselves to make things happen , even for those of us that call ourselves Christians .
Right , because if I have money , well , I can just go buy , I can go fix the problem with money , I can go get a credit card , I can go , you know , I can go get healing from a doctor . I don't have to pray for it , I don't have to pray for myself to
¶ Faith Spreading Despite Persecution Threats
be released from prison , because I can just go post bail if I need to right Like .
There's so many things that we can do in America that we don't think it requires God , which is the reason why we don't get to see some of these things that are happening that we would call supernatural , whereas in a place like Iran they need God's help they really do because they can do nothing , because the strain of Islam is around their neck so tight that
it's difficult to even breathe , to even move , and so they have to call out and seek miracles for things to occur , and that's where you see the Holy Spirit showing up , and it's a wonderful and beautiful thing .
If I'm going to meet with these people and share that I'm now a believer . Are they really true believers or are they just trying to identify me ? It's more than simply being ostracized or disowned by your family . It is actually the threat of death . So accepting new life in Christ means accepting the possibility of your life ending in this world .
Christianity is also spreading in Yemen , where the Joshua Project reports Christian growth is almost double the global average . Next door Nettleton sees the Saudi Arabian monarchy becoming a bit more tolerant of Christians and their churches .
Not necessarily welcoming , but with open arms obviously .
OK , so that's crazy , I've got a comment right . So I mentioned Yemen earlier , not necessarily welcoming , but with open arms . Obviously . Look at the , the haplogroup markers , the , the genome of a lot of yemenis . They are descendants of the 12 tribes .
But because once again islam with a sword came through and pretty much forced conversion , because in in the quran it's you know , either you uh convert to islam or you uh die , or you pay the jizya , which is a tax if you're , if you going to , and they would just tax terribly the Jews and the Christians . It's another form of humiliation and embarrassment .
And they would do this all throughout the places where they conquered , all throughout northern Africa , into the Arabian Peninsula , all throughout the Iberian Peninsula , which is Spain and Portugal peninsula , all throughout the Iberian peninsula , which is Spain and Portugal .
And then you know east going , going east into into Asia , which is where you have all the you know stands right , turkmenistan and Kazakhstan , and you know Afghanistan , pakistan , all the stands Right . So Islam spread in these places and it smashed everything out . It was in its wake . But there's a lot of ethnically Israeli well , not Israeli .
Israeli is a nation state but there are descendants of the 12 tribes . There are Yemeni Jews there , but they are Muslims , so it's interesting that you see that faith is spreading in Yemen .
There's one thing , too , that I think is interesting is that you notice that the thread of deception and how the enemy operates , how he's always participating in espionage , that there's always this fear of is somebody going to be perpetrating or or gallivanting around like they're a Christian so that they can entrap you . There's these stories that happen like this .
It's the same tactics that the enemy uses in China as in Iran .
But just the understanding that that it could happen , that there could be Christians here , and maybe that's not the worst thing in the world .
That's such a change from what we would have seen 10 or 15 or 20 years ago , a move of God's spirit bringing change that may eventually transform not only Iran but the entire Middle East . Gary Lane . Cbn News .
Wow , that's amazing . So there's another scripture that comes to my mind . It's in Revelations 2 , verse 10 . It says this Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer . I tell you , the devil will put some of you in prison to test you , and you will suffer persecution for 10 days .
Be faithful , even to the point of death , and I will give you life as your victor's crown .
¶ Closing Thoughts on Boldness in Christ
So , as we kind of close today for today's episode , the thing that I really want to communicate is that in the body of Christ , boldness is required . If you're going to follow Jesus , there has to be a courage that the Spirit gives you , no matter where you're living , no matter if it's in China or Iran or Great Britain or if you're living here in the US .
Be bold in your faith , recognize that you made the right decision , despite what's happening on around you , circumstantially in your life , how difficult things get , how hard they are , just know that the holy spirit is with you , that god is with you , that transformation is occurring , and the harder things get , and the more you lean on him , the more of his
spirit pours out and the more power you see . And that is how the gospel spreads You've been listening to Equipped for Life . I'm your host , brandon C Ricks . I hope you enjoyed this episode . God bless and be strong on your journey , peace .