Imprisoned With Isis: Faith in the Face of Evil

Hey this is Mike Zwick from if not for God podcast our show stories of hopelessness turned and I hope your chosen Truth Network podcast is starting in just seconds. Enjoy it, share it, but most of all, thank you for listening and for choosing The Truth Podcast Network. This is the Truth Network.

He spent over 400 days in a Sudanese prison. His crime loving Jesus and spreading the good news he is on with me right now this guys been one of my heroes for a long time actually caught wind that that someone gave him a copy of one of my books and I follow his story. I've shared his story with you.

In fact many of you who been with this program a long time have prayed with us for Peter's release, Peter Shah Schick, Josh Schick is with me right now. You and Peter God bless you Mantell is still the warrior colonists calling in from today.

Yet you do, brother. I'm going from the Czech Republic ethic to my home country where I have lived my whole life actually used to be called Czechoslovakia until 1992, but now since 1993.

It said Czech Republic and I'm so excited to be at home and that also. I'm so thankful for the faithful prayers for many of your listeners and that many brothers and sisters from all over the world and especially from the United States.

While God bless you Peter.

I stood in front of a group of our high schoolers at Calvary Baptist Church had me speak to all the kids in the youth group and I held your picture up and I said please pray for Peter. He is in a Sudanese in Khartoum. I believe it was in prison. You are a Christian put in prison. Now let me ask you, Peter, just to clear the record here.

Did you steal something, did you kill someone if you cheat on your taxes. What landed you in jail. Yeah, you know, I have been working for the weight of the market. As you know since the early 19th good time to go, founding member of the check was of the martyrs, but since 2000.

Driving working for. Also the voice of the martyrs in the United date and that you know that brought me to many countries in central Asia, Middle East and Africa. In the end, and in 2015 I heard about the compelling stories about persecution and Sudan. You know, of course, you know, I visited the country of Sudan when it was still one country month after the secession of the sentence again when the persecution because of the Christian faith. There you know, we focused on northern Sudan were Christians are still being persecuted, especially in the area like new. The mountains were blue Nile area where there Christian the minorities living there. There actually met majority there in that area about their minority in the country of Sudan and I heard compelling stories sell persecution at one of the conferences with the north to the meal either and I heard about one young Muslim background believers who was supposed to be killed.

You know it's again and it still applied. Now after all those you know cosmetic changes that if someone is a Muslim and that becomes a believer in Jesus as the only penalty for that is the death penalty and so I heard about this young Muslim background believers, student, and I also still pictures off completely demolished churches right in Khartoum and I could convince immediately that I need to visit the country. So I arrange meeting and meeting casino carefully through secure ways of communication with those leaders, and in December 2015 I went there and I plan to go there just for four days. You know I couldn't allowed to stay there longer because of my busy schedule because at that time I was overseeing nearly 300 projects in 27 African countries and they know I accomplish everything what I wanted to do a interviewed and documented the injuries of this young guy and I also visited the sites of the completely demolished churches. You know I couldn't.

I didn't take any photos of those sites because it was at night. I was told that I couldn't visit those places during the daylight because I would be arrested immediately in this country of Sudan. They have expelled. In January 2013. You don't do nearly all Christian and your workers and I was actually being invited. You know, I have discussed it with some of the expanse from Sudan with some of the leadership from inside the North Sudan and that they will recommended that I could go but I was probably the only person who visited you know it from Christian NGO background the country of Sudan. You know after this explosion that happened in January 2013.

So even though I used to be probably monitored. In some countries, you know, I it I was surprised you know when I was already in the airport in Khartoum holding boarding passes for my flight home and you know stop by secret police, who immediately asked me for my cell phone. You know, elective, camera, video camera, all equipment you know and they started to interrogate me, but that their English was very poor so I tried other languages they speak in fact, English is my fourth language. Okay, I tried you know, German, French, Russian. I know that some of the offices from a Sudanese you could please were trained in that in Russia and to the cold their supervisor. Then I was transferred to the headquarters office. He could police where the interrogated me for nearly 24 and after that, you know, I saw them filling some papers and I got the impression that that was probably nuts to any hotel and I was literally you know that I was right because I was put into the first out of the five different prison I went to in the coming 445 days and you will, of course, it was not easy. You know, the interrogation was not easy but I think I had good cleaning. You know from my cost you know when I grew up on the communist persecution. Then I remembered you know, one time I came home from high school where I when I realized that both of my parents that were missing. They were entered, arrested in two different places at the same time being interrogated for the question for the underground church work that my father did.

He was a pastor in the office of church, but you know, at the same time, he was rather using the underground and you know working in the underground church and that's why he got into the viewfinder of the secret police and not when I heard to my parents discussion when they were talking about the interrogation, the changing experience. I had no idea the time that was actually a preparation for me. You know full well it was supposed to come, many, many years later and you know so in one sense you know it was not easy.

I have learned a lot of lessons, you know, we can talk about it later wrote a little book about it in prison when I said yes face yeah in the face of evil Peter Shaw sick is your visa check from the Czech Republic, a man of God put in prison for over a year in the Sudan, not the most pleasant place to be, but tells about your faith.

What is Jesus teach you what did you grow closer to God while you're in prison. Peter heard you get bitter and angry and Valda to revisit have revenge knowing one thing that I have been I had this great privilege to know that I met people after I started to work for the voice of the market. People who not only lost their you thinks but I meant those in interviewed and help those who have lost beloved ones, but not even only that I have. I had the great privilege to meet people whom I consider euros of faith. One of those who have lost parts of their own bodies because they didn't want to know their faith and I have heard from them many times will the date considered the persecution for the name of Christ as a privilege.

I left exactly how they understood that late when I started to understand it as well. You know from for instance Philippians 129 were for people of our pulse asked to, you know, the Christians in Philippi that it has been granted to you as a privilege not only to believe in God but also to suffer for his name. So if you analyze this verse. Logically, you know it is a privilege to suffer for Christ in you, I remember that even when that happen in our country and Czechoslovakia. Nine. You know in the late 70s that it was interesting that I felt certain the needle despite the intimidation and that there was at least some fear, but I remember that my father brought me the book written by Richard will brand you know the owner of the voice of the market is golf on the ground and this book written in German, but that I was fluent in German at the time that my father just gave me this book when he saw me being Elizabeth, you know, frightened after the interrogation of for both of my parents and he said simply read this book.

It will encourage your faith and I can tell you honestly that this book off the Bible is my in my life. The second most important book, and through that, you know, I have learned also that the Lord is faithful to those who are going to persecution and you know I in one sense, you know, I was the teaching others that they should get ready for persecution because the Lord Jesus was teaching his followers that persecution is an essential part of the Christian life of a follower of Christ.

So how could I be surprised you know that when I have been in this situation, but of course I never asked God why God why that happened to me you know I was encouraging others with that so yeah it came in my life my life but you know when the days became weeks and weeks became month and month became the year and more. You know I even though I didn't and never spoke like that, but this somehow inside me. There was this unspoken how long Lord to the house and I will have to be here and you know I have learned a lot of spiritual lessons and of course the first one was probably the most difficult one I have learned what Paul says in second Corinthians 1210 he many said when I am weak, then I am strong in thinking I was amiss of the enemies of the gospel because they put me into this first cell with six other members of Islamic state. While I to say were in prison with ice does not tell us more about that we can take a quick break to come back, Peter Shaw, sick, and his amazing story is book is imprisoned with ices faith in the face of evil.

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But then they start asking questions. Then they take your papers that they take your cell phone. Then they throw you in the slammer for 445 days with warlords and members of Isis. What do you do what it Peter Shaw sick duties really right now and Peter, I just I love your ministries. A spokesperson for the voice of the martyrs, a global ambassador. He grew up.

His family had been persecuted for the faith in Christ.

He loves Jesus. He's got just a heart for the lost and Peter. I first met you to my involvement as a board member of the persecution project foundation with Brad Phillips and Ed Lyons and gauzy and they were getting.

As you remember reports from what God was. When I got is using you to minister Christ in a prison in Khartoum, folks.

This is in your friendly neighborhood jail. This is a prison with some violent people who blown a bunch of people up and Peter there you find yourself on a 4444 day stop unplanned in Sudan. While Christians in the West were so comfortable what your challenge to his Peter about your experience. Now you to wake up and come alive for the gospel. I found out quite soon. Who my companions in mice would be where, because you know they asked the question. You know, because the that you have no newspapers, you have no television, no radio in this prison, and they asked me to what's what's new in the world and I share the news that were still deep in my mind. You know what happened.

You a few weeks before my prison experience that would happen in Paris, you know, and I asked him. Have you heard what happened in Paris and said no, so I told him about the 129 people who got killed by Isis you know through five coordinated attacks in Paris and what when I mentioned to them.

You know that 129 people were killed.

They interrupted me and they burst into celebration. You know they started to shout aloud lumbar for several minutes how each of the jump. You know I've seen some scenes like that, you know, whenever you know some Western embassies or Israel was attacked you know in the past you know you see some of the Muslim extremists rejoicing and shooting in the area and I've seen this on television, but when you see these rejoicing about these bad things that happened to these innocent people you know it really frightening and so I was very cautious but later on I realized that they were at first trying to get some information from me and then they started to limit my freedoms of movement in this crowded cell. I know it sounds a bit silly but yeah it was what I couldn't speak.

When I wanted. I was only supposed to answer their questions and they started to slander me with bad names.

I was not called Peter anymore. I was called in Arabic, which means the filthy pig and they started late on to beat me. Let my face this to my faith. You know, use wooden stake were kicking me with their lag and they always came with you way so for how they could to you know talk to me and beat me and at the same time, you know, I lost the first three months I lost 55 pounds of my body weight and name the first month because of the internal bleeding.

I have lost that literally half of my blood. You know I was heavily anemic and that when you are physically so weak and you were also it was such a Lola you know a blood count.

It affects your emotions and I was also at the bottom of five of my emotional strength and that's was the moment when I experienced the weakness of myself and I could. The strength of the Lord, you know, I was able to and I prayed to ask the Lord to give me the right words to answer their questions about my Christian faith and I was able to share some of the stories of the courageous Christians, even though their reaction was also on that I'm on the unexplainable and absolutely frightening but the Lord gave me this the privilege to share that with them and I could even pray for them that the Lord would reveal himself to them as the Lord, Savior and God and that you know this. This was, I could tell you not only to share the gospel with my words but also with my attitude.

The Lord Jesus that you know that if someone strikes you on one cheek, turn the other one to him. I can tell you honestly, that's not my normal nature.

It was not me it was Christ in me was able to turn my other cheek to them when they were beating me to my face. Wow, what a testimony. Peter Jost six is with us right now from the Czech Republic. He loves Jesus he was in Sudan. What was he to be a four day missions trip there. Turning to be a 440 day confinement to prison with warlords who beat him and physically hit him and punched him and bludgeoned him with sticks, cut him, attacked him, but God used him to share the gospel of Jesus Christ. Of the nine beatitudes, two of them. Christ pronounces a Blessed are those who persecute you for my namesake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad great is your reward in heaven. Your reward is great in heaven. I don't understand this kind of persecution I been laughed at. I've been mocked and and I've I've I've absorbed the persecution of lot lighter level. But you're here you been beaten and imprisoned for your faith in Christ so grateful for your testimony were out of time. Want to ask you. Your challenge of another lot of folks in our culture had been beaten up had been attacked have been some suffered much lot of folks around the world Christians what he say the Christian out there about the need to wake up and be ever vigilant for the gospel of Christ. While were waiting for the king to return in our witness what you what your departing challenge Peter in a by the way 10 teller when the get a hold of his book imprisoned with Isis apparel book. It's just coming out anytime now, but pure church departing challenge there one and I would say that I would like to encourage you know everyone to think about persecution from a different perspective.

You know not to you.

It is something unusual but rather to get ready for that and consider it like an essential part of life because you know the Lord Jesus was preparing his followers that they would be persecuted. He said in John 15, they persecuted me, they were pretty persecute you, but he never promised that that he will take us out of deliverance from the persecution that he will be will be always rescued from prison. You know he and Luke 12. He says you know that that some of you will be killed and they know when you think about what apostle Paul said that that he said that everyone who wants to live godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. You know what you hear.

Nowadays it's rather than completely different you here if you become a believer and a follower of Christ, you should be what healthy will be happy and with everything with you what you ask for it you should get right now. That's not the gospel that I read that in the New Testament and you know I think the persecution is really an essential part, but many people ask me know how you get ready for persecution.

You know, II can.

It's a difficult question but I can try to simply answer that I can tell you that if you would feel ready for persecution strong enough and you will think that all my faith is so strong I can guarantee you that you will fail.

I think we have to be humble. We have to and there's one secret that I always tell people you know the Paul says in the government in first Corinthians 1013 that that there is no test or no temptation.

You know the thing working Greek being translated into different ways. There is no test that would be beyond our human strength and the Lord has promised to give us the strands we trust in him to go through it seriously, but to go through persecution victoriously. It doesn't always mean that you will get you believe you will get healed. It means as Paul says in Romans eight, for instance, he says that for your sake we are considered like sheep to be sloped.

Yes, that's the quotation from the Old Testament both says that we Christians are considered like the sheep to be sold, but he continues, but yet in all that we are more than conquerors. So if you want to be a more than a conqueror. You can be should be expected should be ready also to die for Christ, but we can be sure that the Lord will give us strength enough in the right moment, but there is one key element for us to be in this connection with the Lord in word if I would use the words from John 15 you know when the Jesus is talking about the comparing himself to the wine tree and the computer can bring us to the branches and his father to the wind dress and he said abide in me, and this abiding pedal and then Christ. That's the key to the best preparation for any situation in out in our lives, including a persecution if we abide in Christ we can be sure that he will be in us and with us in any situation and that we can happen to be in.

But you don't abide in Christ. I would simply say it has three principles, you know that we need to observe the Lord Jesus already told his disciples. You are already clean because of the words that I spoke to you. In other words, if we want abide in Christ, we have to abide in his work was without the Bible for five first five on when I got the Bible you know I started to read it.

I was insulted to my second solitary confinement and I read the Bible, standing at the window. We know during the daylight, and I had I read it from Genesis to Revelation. Within three weeks.

I was so hungry after the word of God.

We abiding on the Lord told him smooth you think if we abide in his word. We abide in Christ. The second thing is we as a branch in the tree. We have to abide in the body of Christ and his church. Every Christian living Christian believer has to be part of the living Christian Fellowship. There is no solitary Christianity that would work. We have to be in the living and fellowship and just shorten it up with the bit you know the third think most important is like the branch being in the tree you know we have to have this intimate relationship with our Lord Jesus through prayer, we have to abide in prayers with our intimate relationship with our Lord. We have these three things abiding in his work abiding in his body and abiding in prayer, you know, we could be sure that we are serving the Lord of lords and King of Kings. The sovereign Lord you know and I think that's one thing that people can immediately realize when they opened the book imprisoned with Isis from the first page of the book David realized the divine preparation would have years before my prison experience how the Lord was preparing you for that and that he was in control to all of that. Just imagine you know I had five months deepening my prayer life without the Bible in my face was tested. You know you have persecution without all kinds of attacks on his face, not eyes that you know after that I had three months of this wonderful private Bible study with Holy Spirit in my story to confinement, but that was all a preparation. What was supposed to come after eight months when our court case.if you know and we had to be transferred to different prison you are transferred to output a prison where for six months I could preach, you know, in the little cell that was no mate can only accommodate think hundred plus people prisoners they turn it into a small chapel and for six months with two Sudanese pastors we could preach to absolutely hopeless – click and forgotten people who need to Jesus, you know, I remember that the first turning point in my view on my prison time was after four months Eli was four-month and wide one-day prison being squeezed into the second cell is a cell of the second prison in the abdomen deluxe Weaver 50+ people in the simply small room 25 m² and one night they grow to 12 I returned refugees in the Holy Spirit spoke very clearly to me.

Go see beside them and share the gospel with them. When I did that, you know, they accepted Jesus you know there. Their hearts were open and touched by shirt my sharing the gospel in the next morning they were transferred to a different prison you know we spend a look at the rest of the night. You know, wait rejoicing in their new faith in sharing more about Christ, but the next morning you guys work transferred to next prison and I could not see them anymore but my spiritual eyes were opened in that moment, I am realizing I said Lord. Now I know why I had to be in prison for months and I one day these people needed to hear the gospel. I was so selfish for the first four months. I wanted to be release and to go home but the Lord Jesus a different plan for my life and you know when when me and the two Sudanese pastors were able to preach and who the chapbook, you know, I remember that we all agreed that we stop being worried about you know how much more time we will have to spend in prison because we saw clearly that the Lord was using us and we were so was sure that when he opens the door. No one can close when he closed the door. No one can open and you know I can honestly without any exaggeration tell you that these next month window during these during which showed that the number of attendees in the small chapel grew up from something like 22 more than 200 you know these six months were not only the best six months of my prison life.

They were literally the best six months of my life. So many people coming to Christ you know so and not only coming to Christ, the new forgetting about them you know we were living with those people you were witnessing the changes in their lives when their lives were transformed to you know reconciliation of the dogs with the blood of Jesus, leading souls to Christ in prison put in prison could have been moping planning a lawsuit complaining all stays so woe is me. What is Peter due amid beatings bludgeoning's being with with with closed fist punched in the face by a by radical Muslim warlords in the in a horrible prison in Sudan. Was he do he leads people to Christ. His whole story is contained in his book a brand-new book called in prison with Isis faith in the face of evil.

He is Peter Shaw sick and hold great manna got beer. Think of your work with the persecution project foundation finger work with the voice of the martyrs an amazing ministry voice the martyrs, VOM that has helped so many of the persecuted church around the world minister to those who imprison Sharon Christ love and then you actually were weapon eyes by God in a prison delete a bunch of folks are Christ. What timing. What a testimony that you taken time out of your busy schedule to share that with us.

God bless you my brother will have gone again a K for sure that you do. My back