The first question I would like to take up today is whether or not these words have any relevance

or whether or not society has become so tolerant that talk of persecution is really beside the point.

And the answer I want to give is yes, they are relevant,

and they're not outdated, and two reasons for why I think that.

First from a global perspective and then a personal one.

Globally.

Let's just take a couple of countries, for example, Peru.

Just read yesterday when my new Christianity today came that the National Evangelical

Council has documented the killing of 90 Evangelical Christians since 1983 in Peru. The Cendero Lumbino people on the side of the guerrillas and the state police are against the evangelicals because sometimes they treat the wounds of the guerrillas.

And so they get it from both sides and besides the 90 who have been killed in the last two years, three years,

there are another 20 documented missing now after being detained for questioning by the police.

Another country, Romania.

I got a letter last week from John Swanson,

the pastor of Elam Baptist up in Anoka, one of our conference churches, and

he just wanted me to know that he had had lunch that week with a businessman in his church who

had returned from Romania, and they just cried together he said

over lunch because of the stories that this man had confirmed about the persecution

of Baptists in Romania in fact he said would you send some of your people to my church Sunday

evening April 6 to hear this man so they could bring back reports so I throw that

out any of you wants to go we won't be old bad that you're not here on

Sunday evening April 6th you go there to Elem and in Anoka and hear what this man

has to say and then come come tell us.

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