Iranian Imam receives Christ via sattelite tv

[*Paul*]

ASSIST News Service (ANS) - [FONT=arial,helvetica]PO Box 609, Lake Forest, CA 92609-0609 USA
Visit our web site at: www.assistnews.net -- E-mail: [email protected]​

Monday, March 5, 2007

Iranian Imam Receives Christ Via Satellite TV, Escapes Country
Four More Imams Are Underground Believers

By Mark Ellis
Senior Correspondent, ASSIST News Service

WOODLAND HILLS, CALIFORNIA (ANS) -- One of the top Islamic leaders in Iran accepted Christ and left the country after facing death threats and imprisonment, according to an Iranian pastor living in the U.S.

“This man has been watching Christian TV programs for the past two years,” said Pastor Elnathan Baghestani, founder of Iran for Christ Ministries. (www.iranforchrist.com) Pastor Baghestani and his wife provide Christian programming to the Mohabat Network satellite, which broadcasts 24/7 into Iran and other Middle Eastern countries.
The imam called one of the phone counselors connected to Iran for Christ Ministries and prayed to receive Christ in early February. “The man has been watching Christian TV programs for the past two years,” Baghestani said. “He said he has believed since he began watching the programs but his salvation was sealed through his confession.”
“This man knows all the verses of the Qur’an by heart,” he added. “After he began watching, doubt began in his heart about the Islamic faith.” The man spent nine months in prison after he questioned the violence of radical Islam. Following his release from prison, he faced numerous death threats and escaped the country.
Several other religious leaders may follow suit. “He knows four other high-ranking imams that are in the same condition and want to leave Iran,” Baghestani said.
While it is illegal to own satellite dishes in Iran, many hide them on their roofs or other locations on their property. “They arrest people for having satellite dishes because they know the Christian programming is effective,” Baghestani noted.
The imam who fled left everything behind. “His salary was 700,000 of their monetary units every month,” Baghestani said. “He was honored and respected, but when the gospel came to him he lost everything,” he noted. “Now he is a poor refugee in a foreign country.” “God is shaking the foundation of Islam in Iran,” Baghestani said. “We have been praying for some of the main government officials to come to Christ and God is answering us,” he reports. “I pray God will open more doors for us to send the gospel to the Middle East.”
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[Sola*5]

ASSIST News Service (ANS) - [FONT=arial,helvetica]PO Box 609, Lake Forest, CA 92609-0609 USA ​

​

[FONT=arial,helvetica]

Visit our web site at: www.assistnews.net -- E-mail: [email protected]​

Monday, March 5, 2007

Iranian Imam Receives Christ Via Satellite TV, Escapes Country
Four More Imams Are Underground Believers

By Mark Ellis
Senior Correspondent, ASSIST News Service

WOODLAND HILLS, CALIFORNIA (ANS) -- One of the top Islamic leaders in Iran accepted Christ and left the country after facing death threats and imprisonment, according to an Iranian pastor living in the U.S.

“This man has been watching Christian TV programs for the past two years,” said Pastor Elnathan Baghestani, founder of Iran for Christ Ministries. (www.iranforchrist.com) Pastor Baghestani and his wife provide Christian programming to the Mohabat Network satellite, which broadcasts 24/7 into Iran and other Middle Eastern countries.
The imam called one of the phone counselors connected to Iran for Christ Ministries and prayed to receive Christ in early February. “The man has been watching Christian TV programs for the past two years,” Baghestani said. “He said he has believed since he began watching the programs but his salvation was sealed through his confession.”
“This man knows all the verses of the Qur’an by heart,” he added. “After he began watching, doubt began in his heart about the Islamic faith.” The man spent nine months in prison after he questioned the violence of radical Islam. Following his release from prison, he faced numerous death threats and escaped the country.
Several other religious leaders may follow suit. “He knows four other high-ranking imams that are in the same condition and want to leave Iran,” Baghestani said.
While it is illegal to own satellite dishes in Iran, many hide them on their roofs or other locations on their property. “They arrest people for having satellite dishes because they know the Christian programming is effective,” Baghestani noted.
The imam who fled left everything behind. “His salary was 700,000 of their monetary units every month,” Baghestani said. “He was honored and respected, but when the gospel came to him he lost everything,” he noted. “Now he is a poor refugee in a foreign country.” “God is shaking the foundation of Islam in Iran,” Baghestani said. “We have been praying for some of the main government officials to come to Christ and God is answering us,” he reports. “I pray God will open more doors for us to send the gospel to the Middle East.”
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Well this is certainly excellent news, I hope this is the beginning of a real turn towards God in the middle east through His son Jesus the Christ. What power the gospel has to even reach such a man as this man seemed to be. It is the gospel of God and not of mens invention that it why there is such power in those words to make men want to forsake all they have for the excellency of what has been revealed to them.

 

[angellous_evangellous]

I'm sorry, Paul, but I just don't believe it. The story has all the trimmings of propaganda, and if it is true, the "conversion" is highly embellished and propagandized.

Why are they calling this guy an "imam"? Plenty of conservative Muslims have memorized the entire Koran, just as there are many Jews who have memorized the Hebrew bible, and many Christians have memorized the New Testament - more historically perhaps than contemporary. Frankly, it's not impressive - all three "books" were written with built-in mneunomic devices - they were intended to be memorized.

It looks to me like the writers of the article wanted to demonstrate that an important and committed religious leader - unnamed - converted to Christ after watching TBN.

 

[RevOxley_501]

i smell propoganda too angellous


dont buy it.




next this immam will be boycotting proctor and gamble for worshipping SHAITAN!

 

[porkchop]

i smell propoganda too angellous


dont buy it.




next this immam will be boycotting proctor and gamble for worshipping SHAITAN!

And i smell cynicism!!

 

[angellous_evangellous]

next this immam will be boycotting proctor and gamble for worshipping SHAITAN!

:biglaugh:

... and wearing crazy hair and singing Gaither songs...

 

[angellous_evangellous]

IMHO, fundamentalist Christianity is the last thing that the Middle East needs. Fortunately, I suppose, one would not last very long in Iran touting a variety of TBN slogans.

 

[*Paul*]

IMHO, fundamentalist Christianity is the last thing that the Middle East needs. Fortunately, I suppose, one would not last very long in Iran touting a variety of TBN slogans.

The whole world needs the gospel of God from the smallest jungle village to Saudi Arabia. I don't like TBN, I dislike most of the speakers but they only funded this iranian ministry: http://www.nejattv.org/ here is the founders testimony:

Pastor Reza F. Safa

Pastor Reza was born and raised a devout Shiite Muslim in the country of Iran. He heard the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ for the first time in the country of Sweden from Swedish missionaries. After months of struggle and fear of leaving Islam, Reza committed his life to Jesus Christ and accepted Him as his Lord and Savior.
His conversion to Christ was costly. Pastor Reza’s father disowned him, and his mother tried to have him admitted to a mental hospital through the Iranian Embassy in Stockholm. “The first three years of my faith in Christ was Hell on the earth for me,” Pastor Reza admits. “I lost most everything dear to me, but God’s grace was more than sufficient.”
Pastor Reza is the founder and president of the Harvesters World Outreach, a worldwide evangelistic and healing ministry. For almost 20 years, Reza has held crusades and pastors’ conferences in nearly 50 countries. People of all religions, especially from Muslim and Hindu backgrounds, have turned to Christ through these outreaches.
In May of 2003, after 5 years of continual prayer for broadcasts into the Middle East, HWO began to air programming in Persian via satellite TV into Iran and around the world. Since then, a steady flood of calls and e-mails come in to the ministry on a daily basis from Persian-speaking people who want to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
Pastor Reza has authored several books, including the best seller, Inside Islam (Creation House, Orlando, FL), Blood of the Sword, Blood of the Cross (Sovereign World, STL Books, Bromley, England), and the Islam Awareness Seminar study guide.
http://www.nejattv.org/founder.html

An email from Iran:
E-mail from Iran

“I am 23 years old but I am on the edge of committing suicide, even though I am afraid to do so. My life is a total dead end; no hope, no self esteem…but most of the time I think about Jesus because I think there is no lie in him!
I watched one of your TV programs, and I make a vow: If Jesus brings Light into my life then I will thank Him forever and will bow on my knees for Him. But please tell me what type of prayers I should pray to get rid of fear and hopelessness… Oh Jesus I take refuge in you so I can live victorious!"
http://www.nejattv.org/testimonies.html

Here is their mission:

Mission​

The mission of the Nejat Project is three-fold:
Proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ, through the power of God’s Holy Spirit, to Muslims throughout the Middle East in the people’s native languages (Persian, Arabic, and Turkish). The initial phase is to Persian-speaking people.

Establish, encourage, and build up new believers through the teaching and preaching of the uncompromised Word of God.

Plant and establish underground churches throughout the Middle East.

Satellite television is the most effective tool for evangelizing and discipling the people of the Middle East, many of whom have little or no access to the Gospel message. Currently, we are reaching thousands with a single program called Rouze Nejat (Persian for Day of Salvation), which airs three times weekly. “Nejat TV” is the first all-Christian network in the Persian language and is being expanded in a phased approach to eventually broadcast 24 hours a day.

Call it propaganda if you will but they are doing a fantastic work for the Lord and TBN have done good in funding this ministry despite their problems.


There is no salvation outside of Jesus Christ the message must be spread.​

 

[michel]

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Moved, at the request of *Paul* to Christianity DIR Forum