That He Might Bring Us to God

Although Turkey is the most secular of the Muslim nations, it has long been one of the most difficult countries in the world to reach for Christ. Yet despite their tiny numbers, the Christians of Turkey are coming under increasing persecution as the wave of the worldwide Islamic Jihad sweeps over that nation as well.

And yet, Christian missionaries have not given up, men and women are still struggling to bring the light of the gospel to the Turks. One such group of Christians is Zirve publishing, an Evangelical organization that prints bibles in Turkish that the Word of God might be read and heard by the Turks. Here you have Christians selflessly laboring for the gospel. Well last Wednesday, five Turkish Jihadis broke into the offices of Zirve and brutally murdered three of the men who worked there – two Turkish converts and a German Christian.

But why? I mean why did the Christians of Zirve publishing have to suffer for doing good? That is a legitimate question, something that countless Christians through the ages have wondered, and something that would have concerned the churches that Peter was writing to. Peter, do we have to suffer? Is God not in control? Did Jesus not finish the work of salvation? Do we finish it ourselves by our personal suffering? Why should we have to suffer?

This Sermon deals with the answers to those questions.