Feature Friday: Pastor Faces Execution

This is Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani.  He is a Christian pastor in Iran.  Schools in Iran are required to educate students on the religion of Islam.  Pastor Youcef protested this forced religious education and was arrested in 2009.  Since then, the charges against him have been ramped up to apostasy and evangelizing Muslims.

He was brought before a judge and ordered to repent of his actions and of Christianity.  His response?

"Repent means to return. What should I return to?  To the blasphemy that I had before my faith in Christ?"


The judge answered him, "To the religion of your ancestors, Islam." 

Pastor Youcef simply but bravely replied, "I cannot."

He has been sentenced to death for refusing to recant Christianity.  According to the American Center for Law and Justice, he recently received his final execution order.  What this means is that he will likely be executed very soon.




Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  --  Matthew 5:10
 
First, I'm asking you to pray for Pastor Youcef specifically and all persecuted Christians worldwide in general.  Pray that God would protect and rescue His children.  Pray that God would give them comfort and peace.  Pray that God would give them boldness and conviction to obey Him, share Christ, and love those who persecute them.  Pray that, if it is God's will for them to die a martyr's death, God would give them the courage and strength to represent Christ well until the end and the hope and joy that come from fixing their eyes on their eternal reward.


Remember the words I spoke to you: 'No servant is greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also.  --  John 15:20


Second, its stories like these that really convict and challenge me and I'd encourage you to let it convict and challenge you as well.  This man is willing to look prison and death in the face bravely for Christ.  If I'm perfectly honest, I'm rarely, if ever, that brave.  Sometimes, I've shied away from sharing the Gospel with my family and friends because I was afraid of an awkward and embarrassing situation.  I've felt like inviting my neighbors over and talking to them about God but let excuses like being busy sneak my way out of it.  I've passed up perfect opportunities to jump into conversations with strangers while waiting in line.  Sometimes, its like I wouldn't even suffer a paper cut for Jesus. 

Pastor Youcef's story inspires me to do more.  If he can face death for Christ, then surely I can breach the awkward moment of silence after bringing up Jesus with friends, families, neighbors, and strangers.  If he can endure prison for Christ, then surely I can man up and endure a little rejection to share the gospel.  Jesus told us that when we are truly following Him, we would sometimes face persecution.  So let's take a lesson from Pastor Youcef and stop being ashamed of the Gospel.  Let's be willing to face the persecution for His name and the furtherance of the Gospel, whether its the tiny persecution we might face in America or the very scary persecution faced in Iran and closed countries around the world.     

 I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.  --  Romans 1:16