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11 September marks a most strategic date in history. This day marks the 454th anniversary of a most dramatic defeat of Islamic Jihad against Europe. Face by a new threat of Islamic invasions, Europe needs to learn afresh the lessons of the Great Siege of Malta.
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The Turkish Threat
In 1565 Islam was threatening all of Europe. The Ottoman Turkish Empire had conquered the entire Middle East, sacking the greatest city in the world at that time, Constantinople (now renamed Istanbul), massacring the Christian population. In 1526, the Turks had unsuccessfully besieged Vienna, in the very heart of Europe.

The Second Sunday in November is International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted. Visit www.idop-africa.org for resources to mobilise prayer and action on behalf of those suffering for Christ.
 
Praying for the Persecuted
In the Book of Revelation, the Apostle John was given a glimpse into Heaven. He sees the martyrs and he hears their prayer. What are the martyrs who have died for Christ praying? 

The Martyr's Prayer
"When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the Word of God and for the testimony which they held. And they cried with a loud voice, saying, 'how long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?' Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed."
​Revelation 6:9-11 

The Second Sunday in November is the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted. See: www.idop-africa.org for articles, news and PowerPoints you can use to mobilise your congregation to pray for the persecuted.

​​To those of us involved in ministering to Christians suffering persecution the imprecatory Psalms are a tremendous source of comfort. Those of us who are fighting for the right to life of the preborn, or battling social evils such as pornography or crime, are beginning to appreciate what an important weapon God has entrusted to us in the imprecatory Psalms. This study will help inspire and guide the prayers of your family and congregation

To see the video on Serving the Persecuted, click here.
 
Serving the Persecuted
During more than 37 years of missionary work I have had the privilege of serving persecuted Churches in Mozambique, Angola, Romania, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Albania, Rwanda, Sudan, Northern Nigeria, the Congo and Zimbabwe. During this time I have endured aerial bombardments, ambushes, artillery and rocket barrages and I have been arrested and imprisoned for missionary work.
 
Speaking up for the Persecuted
Some of what Christians suffer in Marxist and Muslim lands has been documented in; Faith Under Fire in Sudan; Holocaust in Rwanda; In the Killing Fields of Mozambique and Slavery, Terrorism and Islam - The Historical Roots and Contemporary Threat and in documentary films that we have helped to produce such as: Sudan: The Hidden Holocaust and Terrorism and Persecution - Understanding Islamic Jihad and Behind Enemy Lines.

The Second Sunday in November is International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted. Visit www.idop-africa.org for resources to mobilise prayer and action on behalf of those suffering for Christ.
 
Refusing to Worship Caesar
Foxes Book of Martyrs records many testimonies of courageous Christians who suffered for the Faith. It is important to note that Christians were not persecuted in the Roman Empire for worshipping Jesus. The Romans were polytheists. They had an entire pantheon of gods. If the early Christians had registered their religion with the state and if they had burnt incense before an image of Caesar, they would have been left alone.

The Second Sunday in November is International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted. Visit www.idop-africa.org for resources to mobilise prayer and action on behalf of those suffering for Christ.
 
What Have You Learned?
The pastor under whom I was converted and discipled, Rev. Doc Watson, challenged me after my first cross-border Mission to Mozambique in 1982: "Many Missionaries tell us what they have done, I would be more interested to hear what they have learned." That profound challenge has continually guided me in over 36 years of ministering to the Persecuted Church.
 
Prayer and Partnership
There is so much that we can learn from the Persecuted Church. Yes, they need our prayers and support. We are commanded: "Remember the prisoners as if chained with the..." Hebrews 13:3 and "In asmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me." Matthew 25:40. But we also need to remember that these precious brothers and sisters in Christ who have gone through the fires of tribulation have much to teach us. 

A Call to Prayer
IDOP-Africa invites you to join Christians around the world in praying with, and for, the persecuted church on Sunday, 11 November. www.idop-africa.org provides you with news, articles, resources, PowerPoints, links and contacts to enable you to mobilise your friends, family, co-workers, congregation and community to prayer and action on behalf of those who are persecuted for their Faith.
 
Social Media
You can also join the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted event on the Frontline Fellowship Facebook page. Please like, link and share it with your family and friends.

To listen to this message as delivered by Dr. Peter Hammond on Remembrance Sunday in Cape Town. Find our SermonAudio.com page on www.FrontlineMissionSA.org website, or click here.
 
“Only let your conduct be worthy of the Gospel of Christ… stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the Faith of the Gospel and not in any way terrified by your adversaries, which is to them a proof of perdition, but to you of Salvation and that from God. For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake.” Philippians 1:27-28
 
The Birkenhead
On 26 February 1852, one of the worst naval disasters occurred off the coast, near Gaansbaai, of South Africa. Her Majesty's Ship Birkenhead struck a rock shelf and began to sink rapidly. The Birkenhead was carrying the 74th and the 78th Highlander Regiments. These were Scottish and Irish warriors whose regiments had distinguished themselves in every conflict from the Napoleonic Wars to the Crimea. Also on board with these troops were their wives and children. It became apparent that the foundering ship was going to sink. There were very few lifeboats aboard. Nevertheless, calm prevailed.

To listen to this message as delivered by Dr. Peter Hammond on Remembrance Sunday in Cape Town, find our SermonAudio.com page on the www.FrontlineMissionSA.org website, or click here.
 
"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind."
2 Timothy 1:7
 
In the South African Infantry we were taught: "You have never lived until you have almost died and for those who fight for it, life has a flavour the protected will never know."
 
At Milton High School, in Bulawayo, I was taught Rudyard Kipling's inspiring poem on courage and integrity. Kipling stated that this was modelled on the life and character of Rhodesia's Chief Justice and Administrator, Leander Star Jameson:
 
If
"If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, but make allowance for their doubting too.
If you can wait but not be tired by waiting, or being lied about not deal in lies,
  or being hated don't give way to hating, and yet don't look too good nor talk too wise.
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