SOUTH ASIA: Holding On To What We Know
VOMRadio
The Voice of the Martyrs
4.9 • 1.4K Ratings
🗓️ 9 July 2022
⏱️ 25 minutes
🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS
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Summary
An imam (Muslim leader) in Bangladesh was reading the Quran when he came across the name of a person he didn't know much about: Isa (Jesus). As a local mosque leader, he felt he should learn more about this person mentioned in the Quran, so he asked around his village for a book about Jesus. He was given a New Testament and began to read—and soon recognized that Isa is far more than a prophet. He's the Son of God and the only way of salvation! But following Jesus can be dangerous in a place where Christians are persecuted, as this now-former imam learned.
That's just one of the stories you'll hear this week from Matthew Hanson, VOM's regional leader for South and Central Asia.
Matthew will also share what Christians in India are facing in the face of a Hindu nationalist government and a nationwide network of radical Hindus infiltrating churches, persecuting pastors or instilling fear in the local people to persecute their own neighbors because of their faith. In spite of that persecution, though, he says Indian Christians—including children—are responding with grace and boldness to their persecutors.
You'll also hear the story of a Nepali missionary working in a difficult place—and how God miraculously helped her learn the language in only six months!
Matthew will equip listeners to pray for our brothers and sisters in South Asia who are being disowned and threatened by family members because of the gospel. One Christian woman whose entire family rejected her said, "Jesus has given me life. He is real. He is the only God." Pray believers in South Asia will continue to hold their confidence in Christ.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | God can choose to use all kinds of ways to draw people to Himself in Bangladesh and Islamic |
| 0:07.1 | Imam read about Jesus in the Quran. That made him curious to read the Gospels, Matthew, |
| 0:13.5 | Mark, Luke and John. Matthew Hanson picks up the story and he came to understand Jesus as the |
| 0:20.8 | Savior and the only way to salvation is through Jesus. So he began to teach more and more about Jesus |
| 0:27.6 | in his mosque. And people begin to accuse him, you're now, you're a Christian, you've converted |
| 0:34.0 | to Christianity. And he would have said, no, I'm not, I'm just following Jesus. So I'm just, |
| 0:40.0 | so if his mind in the Quran, yes, yes, and he didn't know any Christians, he was just simply |
| 0:48.9 | sharing what he has learned. Jesus never promised his followers an easy path. In fact, he told his |
| 0:56.9 | disciples that the world would hate them. He sent them out as sheep among wolves. Jesus' words |
| 1:03.2 | came true in the life of the Apostles and they're still coming true today in the lives of his |
| 1:07.8 | followers around the world. Join host Todd Nettleton. We hear their inspiring stories and learn |
| 1:13.1 | how we can help right now on the Voice of the Martyrs Radio Network. Welcome again to the Voice of |
| 1:18.9 | the Martyrs Radio. My name is Todd Nettleton. We're in the studio today in Bartlesville, Oklahoma |
| 1:23.5 | with Matthew Hansen. He is Voice of the Martyrs Regional Leader for South and Central Asia. And |
| 1:30.4 | we will talk about some of the countries in his region, some of the ways that God is moving in those |
| 1:37.0 | parts of the world. Matthew, welcome to Voice of the Martyrs Radio. Thank you. It's great to be |
| 1:41.6 | here, Todd. I know that you have been serving in this role for about two years. What's been the |
| 1:48.4 | biggest learning curve for you in that time? Well, I think one of the biggest adjustments |
| 1:55.5 | is just realizing the diversity of India and just this country is so huge. But then in that, |
| 2:04.4 | just I mean, since Modi has been elected, just the incredible change, the switch to the amount |
| 2:11.6 | of persecution that's happening. And I know not long ago you were in India. And so talk to me |
| 2:18.6 | about the trip and kind of some of the people you met, some of the persecution stories you heard, |
... |
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