Doers of the Word (DotW) Sermon

Doers of the Word (DotW) Sermon

Doers of the Word (DotW) Sermon

Doers of the Word (DotW) Sermon

‘말씀을 행하는 자들의 예배’ 설교

Doers of the Word is a sermon series based around lessons that Voice of the Martyrs has learned from the persecuted church around the world and across time.

These are countries in which children are (unwittingly) taught to report Christian behavior to officials, mothers and fathers abandon (or even assault) children who accept Christ into their hearts, and a confession of Christ’s name always has the potential to result in imprisonment—or worse.   

Yet, these are also the countries in which Christians are the least quiet about their faith. Christianity in countries where the church is persecuted (such as Iran, Eritrea, and North Korea) have a much higher rate of growth than countries in which the church is legally free to do as it pleases.  

Persecuted Christians understand certain things about their situation and also the Bible that we do not. More often than not, our inability to understand their situation and the Bible’s counsel about it makes our attempts to help them more harmful than helpful. Well-intentioned ministries have created an influx of orphans by smuggling sex-trafficked women out of China. Benevolent churches have inadvertently supported the further kidnapping of the underground North Korean church by paying the ransom for captured members. 

It is our experience—and the experience of our VOM sister ministries around the world—that the requests of the persecuted church aren’t for defection, for freedom, or for prosperity. Members of the underground church are far more interested in a Bible and the tools to understand it better.  

When a North Korean Christian was told that the church in the free world ransomed her from a concentration camp, she was more confused than thankful.  

“Why?” She asked. “Do they not know that Romans 8:28 works just as well inside a concentration camp as outside?” 

In order to help our brothers and sisters, we must learn to think in the same way they do: In a way that puts Christ and his kingdom above our own safety and comfort. Or, as Christ himself describes it, we must “deny [ourselves], take up [our] cross and follow [him]” (Matthew 16:24).  

The Doers of the Word sermon series is designed to help us think in this way. 

 This material isn’t just available to Christians in the free world. It is taken, translated, and broadcast to the underground church in several different countries. Furthermore, North Korean defectors discipled in our Underground Technology (UT) or Underground University (UU) schools also learn from and contribute to these messages. 

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