by a Pioneer in Central Asia

Last Sunday, guests from another part of Central Asia came and shared their testimonies at our church. One man shared about what happened at his church 15 years ago.

The pastor of this local church told his assistant to go to an old section of the city (which is all Muslim) and preach the gospel. As soon as the first man he spoke to heard about Jesus, he got upset and told the evangelist to leave his house.

The pastor later told the young man to go back to the same house and preach again. So he went back and started to talk to the man about Jesus. This time, the man started shouting and cursing, threatening to beat him if he ever came back.

When the pastor heard about what happened, he told the evangelist to go back to the same house one more time. The evangelist began to refuse, saying that the man would certainly beat him, and maybe even kill him. But the pastor was stern and sent him out again. The evangelist obeyed and prayed along the way. The previous two times he had prayed for God to open the hearts of the people he'd meet; this time, he prayed for God to protect him. He was fearful for his life, but he went obediently.

When he got to the same house, he saw a five-year-old girl playing at the front gate. He began to tell her about God, about creation, and about Jesus Christ being the Savior. After a while, the father discovered what was happening, and came out with a large stick to beat the evangelist. As he was about to strike, the girl shouted, "Papa, stop. Don't hit him. You must listen to what he says and start going to church every Sunday from now on."

The father dropped the stick and started crying.

His girl had been deaf and mute all her life, and Jesus Christ had miraculously healed her. The evangelist had not known her condition. He was simply being obedient to the command to preach the gospel to the lost, even if it meant that he would be beaten and possibly killed.

The entire family of seven came to faith in Christ.

“Jesus replied, ‘The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” (John 12:23-25).

Pray for this kind of faith and obedience in us who serve as the laborers in the field. We sing, preach and pray so freely and easily about Jesus Christ having all authority in heaven and on earth, and yet we tend to live in fear when there are rumors of threat (such as persecutions and deportations). We are fearful of becoming that kernel of wheat that falls to the ground and dies. But didn't Jesus say that such a sacrifice is needed to produce much fruit?

Pray that we would trust Jesus at His every word and obediently preach the gospel, even if it means facing persecution, so that His glory and power may be revealed.