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FEATURE
PREACHING UNDER PERSECUTION
Lazarus Yeghnazar
Lazarus was ordained as an elder at the age of 19 in Iran, before 1979 when the Iranian revolution began. Following the clerical takeover, churches were initially given freedom and reassurance. But after several years, the Islamic government began to close churches, imprison church leaders and Christians began to go missing: then the Iran-Iraq war led to death, destruction and further suffering. He now lives in the UK and runs 222 ministries, which supports Iranian churches.
‘ When you are preaching through adversity, calamities and difficulties, the Scriptures become much more real. 2 Timothy 3:12 says anyone who wants to lead a godly life will be persecuted, and there are many other similar verses. Since the birth of the church, men and women who choose to serve God have met with adversity all along their lives. The apostle Paul’ s life is not a unique experience.
‘ In the UK there is no fear of being harmed, there is no death sentence, no car tyres punctured: but in Iran you are constantly at risk and your congregation is at risk. You know there are spies sitting there in the congregation: people from internal security there, people who have threatened to kill you if you say Jesus is the only way to God.
‘ So adversity pushes you to the throne of God to make sure you believe every word you are preaching. I have seen preaching where it’ s more debate and theology … but in Iran, do we have time to argue about things that are not directly relevant to our daily lives? Preaching becomes a precious opportunity, a“ God moment” to speak his heart through the realities of the scripture into the daily challenges of the listeners.
‘ When everything is taken away and Jesus is all that is left, then you come to the realisation that Jesus is all you needed from the beginning.
When you can portray the fact that there is nothing else that matters more than glorifying the name of Jesus Christ, because that is the eternal Word, then the“ preached Word” becomes God’ s word with all its merits. When people hear that conviction behind the pulpit, with total trust in the outworking of the Holy Spirit, it makes a powerful mixture and brings people to their knees to accept Christ.
‘ When you are in the midst of adversity it drives two areas. One is to be connected directly to heaven through worship and prayer and meditation. I have yet to see a preacher who has been hit by persecution who has not seen a flame lit in their prayer life. It’ s sad, but persecution is an ingredient that forces us to our knees.
‘ Secondly, when you are in adversity you have to have a horizontal connection with the people around who are suffering. People want to know what you are going through but also speak of what they are going through. When Jesus was speaking, he was aware of those suffering their miseries. He empathised and knew very deeply. The word of God is practical and relevant.
‘ When you preach in adversity with such conviction which results from intimacy with God, the glory of God descends and people rejoice as they see that God is very much in control and still expresses his love.’
ADVERSITY PUSHES YOU TO THE THRONE OF GOD TO MAKE SURE YOU BELIEVE EVERY WORD YOU ARE PREACHING.