Not a Problem to Solve, But People to Serve: Helping Persecuted Christians in Israel and Gaza

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The Voice of the Martyrs

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

4.9 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 13 July 2024

⏱️ 25 minutes

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Summary

October 7^th, 2023 is one of those dates that will always be remembered.

On that terrible morning, Ben Barrett was working for VOM with persecuted Christians in the Middle East and leading the ministry’s work in Israel, including Gaza and the West Bank. His phone began to light up with messages from both Messianic Jewish believers and Arab Christians—even before the terrible attacks were announced in international news. The messages had a consistent request: “Please pray for us!”

Families and individuals like Pauline Ayyad, a previous guest on VOM Radio, asked for prayer as contact with relatives in Gaza was cut off. A messianic Rabbi asked prayers for his daughter who was ordered back to her military base, not knowing when she might return home. Video footage from a pastor in Sderot, the closest settlement to the Gaza Strip, showed him barricaded and lying flat on the floor as trucks full of terrorists shouting “Allahu Akbar!” passed by his home.

Listen as Ben shares about his last trip to the Middle East, where he met with pastors from both Jewish and Muslim backgrounds who are taking the gospel to radical areas despite the risk. He’ll also tell the stories of Jewish-background believers in Orthodox or Ethiopian communities who face Christian persecution through shame, excommunication, and job loss.

Pray for unity amongst believers in the Middle East. Pray for boldness in the spread of the gospel in spite of the risks.

Never miss an episode of VOM Radio! Subscribe to the podcast. Or listen each week—and receive daily reminders and specific ways to pray for persecuted Christians—in the VOM App for your smartphone or tablet.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Ben Barrett has spent a lot of time in the Middle East. He's worked to support and
0:05.8	encourage persecuted Christians from both Arab Muslim and Jewish backgrounds.
0:12.0	He was troubled by the never-ending conflict in the region and the fact
0:17.5	that no one could seem to solve it. Then God gave Ben a different perspective.
0:24.0	This is not your problem to solve. These are my people for you to serve.
0:29.0	And I think that's where we need to stand is be less keyed in on the political developments and to say these are brothers and sisters or seekers that we have an opportunity to show and share the
0:45.5	love of Christ. Jesus never promised his followers an easy path. In fact he
0:51.9	told his disciples that the world would hate them. He sent them out as sheep
0:56.4	among wolves. Jesus's words came true in the life of the Apostles and they're still coming
1:01.6	true today in the lives of his followers around the world.
1:05.0	Join host Todd Nettleton as we hear their inspiring stories and learn how we can help.
1:10.0	Right now on the Voice of the Martyrs radio network.
1:12.0	Welcome again to the Voice of the Martyrs Radio. Welcome again to the Voice of the Martyrs Radio.
1:15.0	My name is Todd Nettleton.
1:16.0	We're in the studio in Bartlesville, Oklahoma this week with Ben Barrett.
1:20.0	Ben is the newly appointed leader of Vioam's work in South Asia.
1:25.0	So we're going to get to that a little bit later,
1:28.0	but in the last couple of years, Ben has been working in our work in the Middle East,
1:32.0	and especially in the nation of
1:35.2	Israel and I know that is a nation that is on many of our hearts and minds as we
1:40.0	see what is happening in the world so that's where we're going to start today.
1:43.2	Ben, welcome to Voice of the Martyrs radio. Thank you, Todd. It's good to be here.
	...

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