Persecution in India
Francis Chan's sermon emphasizes the urgent need for prayer and support for persecuted Christians in India, highlighting the true heroes of faith amidst suffering.
This sermon addresses the intense persecution faced by pastors, missionaries, and Christians in India, particularly in the Orissa area. The speaker shares a personal experience of being deeply impacted by witnessing the brutal persecution through a video, leading to a profound questioning of faith and priorities. The focus shifts to the contrast between elevating popular figures in Christianity versus honoring martyrs who have sacrificed their lives for the gospel, urging listeners to consider the true heroes of faith. The plea from those enduring persecution is not for material support but for fervent prayer for courage amidst threats and fear-induced conversions out of Christianity.
Full Transcript
For the last year I've been hearing about the persecution of the pastors and the missionaries and just the Christians in general in India, in the Orissa area, and my heart's been stirred toward it, but just recently I saw a video of some of the persecution and I just wasn't ready for it. I thought I understood what was going on over there and then I saw the video and I wanted to throw up when I was done watching it. It caused me to question everything in my life, I mean literally everything, everything about me, everything about church.
When I saw these men of God literally being beaten, I've never seen someone being beaten to death. I've never seen people getting mobbed and literally, I'm not sure that I've even seen death in a violent manner and when it's the real thing it just makes you sick. You knew it was going on but to see it, it just, I can't explain it.
It made me really sick to think of people that may lift me up because I have a gift of communication or some other Christian who has an ability to sing or play an instrument and how we lift these people up as our heroes or great writers. These are the ones that and their lives look like Christ and see when we make a popular author or speaker our hero then it's easy to go, oh yeah I want to become like him, but then when we look at these martyrs and these people who really have died for the gospel, if we lift them up to be heroes we have to constantly ask ourselves, do I want to be that? When I talk to the people in India that are going through it, they're not asking for money, they're just asking that we remember them, that we would pray for them because they're saying many people are converting out of Christianity out of fear because people are saying, look if you get out of Christianity we won't do this to you and so people are scared and so they're saying, would you just pray for us, for courage and I don't know what emotions go through your mind when you see some of these images but what they're asking for is, would you channel that toward prayer for us? I mean you've listened to me speak for three or four minutes, could you spend the next three or four minutes praying for our brothers and sisters in India, seriously praying for them?
Sermon Outline
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I
- Introduction to persecution in India
- Personal reaction to witnessing persecution
- The impact of visual evidence on understanding suffering
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II
- The contrast between popular Christian figures and true martyrs
- The importance of recognizing true heroes of faith
- The challenge of aspiring to their level of commitment
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III
- The requests of persecuted Christians in India
- The significance of prayer over material support
- Encouragement to actively pray for those suffering
Key Quotes
“I wanted to throw up when I was done watching it.” — Francis Chan
“When we look at these martyrs and these people who really have died for the gospel, if we lift them up to be heroes we have to constantly ask ourselves, do I want to be that?” — Francis Chan
“Would you just pray for us, for courage?” — Francis Chan
Application Points
- Take time to pray for persecuted Christians, focusing on their courage and faith.
- Reflect on the true heroes of faith and consider what it means to live a committed Christian life.
- Challenge yourself to support those in need through prayer rather than just material means.