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INSANITY UNLEASHED: Persecuted Christians Show How to Live as Sheep Among Wolves

VOMRadio

The Voice of the Martyrs

Christianity, Martyr, Vom, Persecution, Gospel, Pastor, Persecutedchurch, Apologetics, Islam, Christian, Church, Missions, Missionaries, Religion & Spirituality

4.91.3K Ratings

🗓️ 24 May 2025

⏱️ 25 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Nik Ripken and his wife, Ruth, spent decades sitting down with hundreds of persecuted Christians in restricted nations and hostile areas around the world. They didn’t go to instruct these bold believers. They went to learn from them.

The lessons they learned were published in The Insanity of God, Nik’s book, and now he and Ruth have created a video series called Insanity Unleashed. In this series, they share lessons from believers in persecution to help Christians everywhere know how to live as sheep among wolves (Matthew 10:16). The lessons come from more than 650 interviews with persecuted Christians in more than 70 countries.

Listen this week to hear stories from Nik and Ruth about their travels and what they’ve learned from persecuted Christians. They’ll share how meeting believers in other countries gave them a better understanding of the Biblical truth that we are all part of one global Body of Christ. Nik and Ruth have been humbled by the fervent prayers of brothers and sisters around the world as they pray for Christians in free nations.

Nik will explain how this video series has the aim of raising up evangelists and church planters who will go to the unreached, rather than only pastors and teachers who are trained to minister to those who’ve already heard the gospel.

“[Many American seminaries and Bible colleges] train you up to be sheep among sheep,” Nik says. “We are teaching [Christians] how to be sheep among wolves.”

Ruth and Nik also share advice on succeeding in the marathon of ministry, including the importance of daily time in God’s Word and memorizing scripture—just as our persecuted family does as they prepare for persecution.

The VOM App for your smartphone or tablet will help you pray daily for persecuted Christians throughout the year, as well as providing free access to e-books, audiobooks, video content and feature films. Download the VOM App for your iOS or Android device today.

Transcript

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0:00.0

Nick and Ruth Ripkin have encouraged persecuted believers in many restricted nations and hostile areas.

0:06.0

As Ruth has talked with these believers, she's discovered something surprising about the way they pray.

0:13.0

We've heard the believers say, as we leave them, we're praying for the church in America.

0:20.0

And that humbled me when I thought, do I pray for

0:25.2

them to the same extent that they're praying for me? And when you hear them pray for us,

0:32.1

it calls you to the throne and says, all right, it's your turn to pray and lift them up.

0:40.5

Jesus never promised his followers an easy path. In fact, he told his disciples that the world

0:46.2

would hate them. He sent them out as sheep among wolves. Jesus' words came true in the life

0:52.3

of the apostles, and they're still coming true today in the lives of his followers around the world.

0:57.7

Join host Todd Nettleton as we hear their inspiring stories and learn how we can help.

1:02.4

Right now on the Voice of the Martyrs Radio Network.

1:05.1

Welcome again to the Voice of the Martyrs Radio.

1:07.1

My name is Todd Nettleton, and we have an extra special privilege this week. We're going to

1:12.4

meet with Nick and Ruth Ripkin. Nick is the author of The Insanity of God, which has also been made

1:18.3

into a film. He is now, he and Ruth, the creators of insanity unleashed. And we will talk about

1:24.7

what that is, really an attempt to dive deeply into the truths

1:29.7

of the insanity of God, the truths that our persecuted brothers and sisters have to share with us.

1:35.0

And we're going to give you a link to those resources at vomradio.net, our website.

1:39.5

Thank you, Nick and Ruth, for sharing with us.

1:43.2

I'm so glad this time we're in the studio. Last time we

1:45.9

talked, we've been kind of out on the road, but it's so great to have you at VOM this week.

1:49.9

We consider this a great honor to be with partners at VOM. Well, it is certainly our honor to

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