Niki (not her real name) is an important partner in SAT-7 PARS’ ministry to the
people of Iran. Years before this strategic channel went on the air, Niki was
severely persecuted. The oppression came to a head when she telephoned her
non-Christian sister: “I’m exhausted. I’m tired of running. I want to come
home.” “Niki, you can’t come home. The secret police were just here and
delivered a letter. They said you had to turn yourself in. If you don’t, they
will find you and kill you.” At the time, pressures on churches to disband and
recant their faith were pervasive and unrelenting. Niki was part of a minority
of young followers of Jesus and was helping to lead a small growing church,
which was eventually closed down.Several of its leaders were arrested and imprisoned. The church then moved underground and became a house church—a secret fellowship of young, new believers. “All of us had been rejected by our families. We had nowhere to go, and no one to turn to except one another. We had no pastors or teachers to instruct us how to read the Bible, or how to be a
follower of Jesus. There were not enough Bibles for everyone. There was no SAT-7
PARS then. Several of us came to faith when Jesus appeared to us in a dream.”
With few options left, Niki went to the officials who were seeking her. When she
entered the office, she knew the risks…their reputation. “Passing through those
doors, I knew I might never get out alive.” Then, as if from the pages of a spy
novel, they bound and blindfolded her and began to threaten her: “You know who
we are? Do you know what we can do to you? Whatever we like! If you disappear,
no one will know.” Inexplicably, Niki began to laugh loudly. Befuddled, her
interrogators demanded to know why. She said, “Then you don’t know who I am. I
have nothing to lose. The only thing I have—Jesus—you cannot take from me. Your
threats won’t work on me!” For eight hours they continued. Finally, her captors
demanded, “Do you also believe Jesus is the Son of God?” Niki boldly answered,
“You can also be a child of God.” They shouted back, “What do you mean?” Then,
without any formal training, she testified to the three interrogators about
Jesus’ divinity. Eventually, they fell silent. Niki was leading the
conversation! All the while, she remembers having the sense that the Holy Spirit
was in her every word. Her memory was so sharp in remembering and sharing
everything she had read and come to understand about Jesus. There was no fear in
her heart—she was actually enjoying the conversation. “…they will lay their
hands on you and will persecute you, delivering you to the synagogues and
prisons, bringing you before kings and governors for My name’s sake. It will
lead to an opportunity for your testimony…” (Luke 21:12b-13 NASB). At last, the
interrogation was over. The Judge told Niki, “It seems you have found a faith
right for yourself. Your testimony, all you have said, has touched my heart. You
are on solid ground. We were going to keep you for three months, but I’m going
to release you tonight because of what you’ve said. Stay in your faith, for no
one here can answer your questions and you have already said that you have
nothing to lose. Keep what you have found.” Obviously, God had big plans for
Niki. Today, she is a significant influence behind the SAT-7 PARS ministry in
Iran. Many house-church leaders in Iran have no training, no theological books
and no Bible. For most, the only source of truth and power is the authority of
the Word of God, broadcast over SAT-7 PARS. Niki’s leadership and sensitivity to
the needs of those isolated believers and her passion to proclaim the Gospel in
a winsome manner are among the many reasons why SAT-7 PARS is one of the most watched satellite channels in Iran. Niki’s story is a powerful testimony to the
ministry of SAT-7 PARS and to its influence on the thousands in Iran who have
become followers of Jesus. You can help increase the reach of that influence
today by www.sat7usa.org.
Date: 1/4/2011
"God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance and have eternal life."--the Bible
