Sheep Among Wolves - Chronicles of the Persecuted Church, Volume 1

Sheep Among Wolves is now available to view online in its entirety for free on Vimeo, YouTube & FAI Studios' website. This is a 65 minute powerful documentary on the persecuted church worldwide, but particularly right now in the Middle East in light of the Islamic "(anti) revival", the rise of ISIS, etc. It also interviews the imbedded, anonymous, underground church in these nations, & particularly the ministry of GCM (Global Catylytic Ministries) & the explosive growth of the church there among Muslims. This is not a light, happy go lucky film. This explores & provokes serious attention & thought to the real struggles of the church there, the call to missions/evangelism, prayer, presence &/or financial support for the church, & really makes one evaluate "the cost" being counted & paid by our brethren in these lands at this time. Although I watched in its entirety with my family after pre-viewing it myself, I do not recommend letting small children watch this before you have viewed it & made your decisions in that area - FYI. I have seen a lot of documentaries on the persecuted church, but I'd have to say this is by far the best one I have seen. It high kites reality, the cost, & the sacrifice, hope, faith & joy in seeing God move & save people in the hardest harvest fields in the world, the Islamic nations of the Middle East inside the "10/40 window". There also will be a special silva at next month on March 13th you can sign up for to play at your home, congregation/fellowship through "Spirit of Martydom Ministry" as well, but you can watch now online for free yourself if you like. The YouTube video link is: http://youtu.be/Ndf8RqgNVEY

Sorry for the typos. Apple spell corrector at its finest thinking it knows better than me what I'm trying to say! 😁

Jeff thanks for posting. Particularly the Youtube version. I'm aware of that renting or buying the actual video supports the work of the persecuted church. But unfortunately my budget is limited. But I pray watching this video will help me pray more effectively for the Persecuted Church. As right now prayers are most effective powerful weapon to help our brothers and sisters in persecution.

I would encourage all to view this film. I have seen other videos put out by Dalton Thomas. And again they are excellent. One such video I would come in this Better Friends than Mountains. It is a story of how God is moving in northern Iraq and the Kurdistan Autonomous Region. Dalton Thomas who made these videos has actually moved with his family to northern Iraq to minister. One who is truky laying it down for Christ.

Blaine

Forum I would not recommend you watch this video. I say again I would not recommend you watch this video. I say again I do not recommend you watch this video UNLESS, UNLESS, UNKESS.......

You are orepared to weep.
You are prepared to be broken.
You are prepared to be challenged.
And you are prepared to go to the lost in restricted nations.

If you are comfortable in your Christianity. Then do not watch this video. Because it will disturb you very greatly.

But if you are prepared to be challenged. And if you are prepared to be used by Christ. Then watch this video. I say again watch this video. But I do not recommended for the faint of heart in this forum. But I recommend it for those who have a heart of courage for the Lord Jesus Christ.

The question that I am asking myself. Is not should I go. But why should I NOT go. By far this is one of the most powerful videos I have seen regarding the persecuted church and the global harvest. I encourage all to watch it. But again not for the faint of heart.

Blaine Scogin
Perercution Watch

Blaine, the answer is easy. You go if the Lord is telling you to go. You stay if the Lord is telling you to stay. We cannot be led by emotions and good intentions. 1 Cor. 13.

Matthew 28:18-20

All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you, and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.

Julius we were commanded to go into all of the nation's 2000 years ago. And that command still holds today. The command is GO. Brother Andrew in commenting on these verses tells us jesus said to GO. He did not say come back.

But the particulars of the command to go . Will be realized in the calling God has on one's life. One person may be called to go minister in Iraq. Wheress another person may be called to go minister to the neighbor across the street.

Simply my thiughts.

Blaine

by bearmaster on 2016/2/4 18:13:00

But the particulars of the command to go . Will be realized in the calling God has on one's life. One person may be called to go minister in Iraq. Wheress another person may be called to go minister to the neighbor across the street.

Thank you!

Brethren like Jeff I have seen many videos regarding the persecuted church. And they have been excellent. But by far this is the best video I have seen regarding the persecuted church and the global harvest. If you have not seen this video. I would urge you to watch it. It is on YouTube. I have seen it twice today. Abd I believe I will be watching it several more times.

As I watched the video I was gripped by the paradigm our brothers and sisters have in persecuted lands. One of the most powerful statements was made by a Christian sister who was converted out of Islam. She was asked by a brother. What would should I do if you are being raped by ISIS. The response of the sister will blow one's mind. I don't remember her exact answer. But it went something like this. I am dead to Christ. I renounced all of my rights when I chose to follow Him. If I am being raped. I will say Lord Jesus. I surrender my body to you. Again this will blow one's mind.

In the video a brother commented when I think of persecution. When I think of the possibility of martyrdom. I think of the age to come. In essence this temporal life pales in comparison to the eternal life that one will have with Jesus. This is the strength of the persecuted church.

Again I urge you to please watch this video that are brother Jeff has posted. For I believe it will challenge you. And yes convict you. But I believe that we will challenged to live for something far greater. But something far greater than our temporal lives here on earth. We will be challenged to live for the Lord Jesus Christ.

Blaine Scogin
Persecution Watch

Yeah, and I think about Jesus' & the apostles' words about loving the brethren. Much of the western church doesn't want to see/think about these things. But this is a self-centered (& unBiblical, in light of passages like Hebrews 13:3 & others) egocentric "ME-ism" flaw. If people don't think about these brethren & face head on what they're going through leading to prayer (& support for some & going for some), then the reasons are not justified. Some may have "fear" that's unbiblical & it needs to be dealt with head on. Some may think since it doesn't affect them directly, what does it matter to them (em which they may not say overtly that way, but their attitude & actions speak this loudly) & the problem is apathy & self-centeredness. Not trying to put anyone in the bondage of condemnation, but it's just true. If "they will know we are Christians by our love", but we don't even love our foreign brethren under this kind of pressure enough to face/see their plight & let Christ move us to prayer & or support, what kind of love is that? Many People say that a sign of someone's spiritual birth & life is their desire to be with brethren. I agree with that. But I'd add someone's willingness/heart towards our most pressured brethren (who can't do anything for us, so there's no hint of self-motive - although I have corresponded with the brother who leads Global Catalytic Ministries & shared things & he has/is praying for me too) really shows something about our love or apathy too. Without question. Think of the sheep & goats judgement: "what you have (or haven't) done TO THE LEAST OF THESE MY BRETHREN, you have (or haven't) done unto me." That's red letters too. Anyways, I exhort you all to step out of what "feels good" & really consider these things. These aren't movies of actors. These are your brothers & sisters real lives! They are just as much your/Christ's brethren as much as sister Sally you see at church on Sunday. I think that often doesn't really get thought about the way Christ sees it, the way the scriptures speak to these things, etc. Lord bid that we, in the west especially, have our theological study & mediation (which is a good thing), & our fellowship in relatively complete freedom (which is a good thing), etc. but let us also have the heart of God by the Spirit for our brethren in these conditions. On that day, The first shall be last & the last first. The weak are the strong in God. Let us be true spiritual prayer intercessors, supporters as we are able, & wiling to go & do wherever the Lamb leadeth.

Certainly curious anyone else's thoughts/comments/impact after watching the (now free to view) movie as well.

Did no one else watch the film? Curious if anyone is planning on watching it or planning on tuning into the simulcast on March 13 through SpiritofMartyrdom ministries' website?

Jeff I have seen this excellent video twice. And intend to watch it again today. I will be sending out the link to my distribution list. Also will encourage them to participate in the Spirit of Martyrdom viewing. One of my intercessors is involved in that Ministry.

Saints if you have not seen this video I would encourage you to watch it. Very well done. Challenging and convicting. But also edifying.

Blaine

Greg/Paul/others,
You should definitely check this out. A bit telling (& sad) to me so much of the church will spend hours, days, weeks, months & years in studying certain theological/doctrinal/theoretical/hypothetical/disputable matters, but shys away so often from what's clearly Biblical & spiritual (& tal before us) concerning our brethren in the world right now. It will be comin to a greater degree to our shores in the days ahead too. Bank on it. And that's not fear lingering either because by the Spirit of Christ I am not afraid. I am aquatinted with biblical, historical, & foreign land reality NOW, & though I do not fear what the Lord has shown is coming, I will not be caught unaware & offended either. More important than that, it's that our brothers & sisters RIGHT NOW are being beaten, raped, crucified, chased, hunted, & killed & yet much of the western church yawns, looks the other way, & returns to endless hypothetical, theoretical, theological discussions (which aren't a bad thing, but knowledge ALONE puffs up, while love builds up). The degree we care about the least of these our brethren is the degree to which we care about Christ Himself. That's biblical spiritual fact. That's theology actually affecting doxology (practice). I'm not on some high horse either, but believe this burden to share these things to be 100% of the Lord's Spirit's leading.
God Bless,
Jeff

Greg/Paul/others,
You should definitely check this out. A bit telling (& sad) to me so much of the church will spend hours, days, weeks, months & years in studying certain theological/doctrinal/theoretical/hypothetical/disputable matters, but shys away so often from what's clearly Biblical & spiritual (& tal before us) concerning our brethren in the world right now

Amen dear brother. I was able to watch the video and share it on SI during the first week it came out I believe. Also dalton Thomas's last video.

I am sure if you know I have been involved in encouraging house churches and warning the body of Christ of coming persecution: http://gfel.org/principlesbook-2/ Many brothers and sisters are meeting in this way and seeking to bear fruit now while it is easy to witness compared to times of pressure coming on North America.

We are indebted to our brothers and sisters in Iran, they have learnt much, suffered much, they have made the Bride "more beautiful."

May God allow us to learn from them and stand the test when it comes to us here.

I remember reading this report in a VOM magazine. The brother who was writing it was a medical doctor who served the persecuted church in Nigeria. He recounted this obersation. The simple saints in Nigeria cannot articulate the finer points of Calvinism vs Arminianism. But when faced with a jihadist swinging a machete demand that the Nigerian believers renounce Christ and say the Islamic creed. The precious saints will say NO. JESUS ID LORD. Then suddenly their theology becomes very deep.

Something worth meditating on.

Blaine

Most of The church's response (or apathetic non-response & just looking the other way) actually reminds me of much of the church's response to the holocaust & the genocide of the Jewish race at the hands of the Nazis. Think "just sing louder" & stay self-absorbed while ignoring their plight. Only I believe this is FAR WORSE! In that, regardless of what race it is, it is genocide, & you may think this or that about Israel & eschatological considerations. HOWEVER, we are talking now about the specific genocidal extermination here of believers who confess Christ by the tens & tens of thousands & the apathy seems just as bad overall, if not more so? Crazy to me! As someone once said in the Nazi era, "to do nothing in the face of evil, is evil itself". And I'm not even talking about "taking up arms", but just being willing to look what's happening to the bride squarely in the face AND AT THE VERY LEAST, allow your heart be moved to compassion, to pray & intercede on their behalf & ask the Lord what else He might want you to do? I am speechless at the church's wholesale response (or lack of response) overall to this.

I'm not trying to condemn or exalt myself or anyone else in pride. This observation to me is heart-breaking. If I am only interested in brethren that I can interact with on Sunday & that my relationship to them benefits both of us, but can't put my heart out there for our brethren who are under these tremendous pressures, I think maybe we should look at if our "love has grown cold" & if we truly understand the Body, prayer/intercession, missions & evangelism, etc. I just can't get past it no matter how much I try to see it from different Angles. I think I know how the early church saw it, how the Apostle Paul's missionary & apostolic heart saw it, & how the Lord sees it, by the Word of God & the Spirit of God. This is a prophetic cry for this generation. A wake up call to where we are as the church on God's timeline, etc. Even Spurgeon, who was a theological doctrinal giant in many areas, said that if people mistook his theological positions in God's sovereignty to be an apathetic sit back & just wait & watch attitude, they missed it. Theological study is good & commanded. But Doxology (practice) should be the result, not just head knowledge & further teaching that never affects the heart & the actions.

Jeff regarding the church's response to the Nazi Holocaust. I believe a French historian said those that fail to learn the lessons of history are doomed to repeat its mistakes. The fact that the American church is not responding to the current genocide of a Christians in the Middle East shows that we are repeating the same cycle of history. All I can say is tragic.

I find it interesting that very few have commented on this thread regarding the video. Also very few have commented on what Sandra posted regarding the Ken Millar imprisonment. But take a look at those theology threads. One wonders.......

Blaine

HeyDave,
Yeah, amen. That's a good way to put it. It definitely compels me to look at where I may be giving less than my all & putting it in light of those called to give all & doing it. And this is a Biblical principle too. Often we can read Hebrews 11 which was put there for good reason, but maybe not so quickly connect these historical Biblical examples with real current day brethren right now at this time. But it's called "The Hall of Faith" & it's in there, & it's the same scenario for many of our brethren in the Middle East right now. It makes one consider so many eternal things down deep that the heart is moved in so many ways, & it makes us think & consider these things deeply. And again, it's even more about "them" than it is "us", & our response towards them should be the Lord's heart too. But the effect on our own personal walk/lives/thinking is undeniable as well, as it well should be. Thanks for sharing!
God Bless,
Jeff

It also compels us to think about things we might say at times but never really think deeply about in a personal way like:
1.) Fear vs trusting God in ALL things
2.) truly loving our enemies
3.) Counting the cost & carrying our cross
4.) Eternal rewards vs temporal comforts
5.) True Prayer/Intercession for those on the front lines in the hardest harvest fields

Etc., etc., etc.