november 2009

sargon daniali - reaching the silk road with the gospel by rebuilding the ancient ruins

XXXXXWe have introduced Sargon Daniali and his ministry to you. For newer readers, he is Assyrian, born and raised in Iran. In 1980, right out of high school, while Khomeini's cultural revolution was raging, Sargon was born again. Due to the pressures and persecution of being a believer in Christ in Iran, upon graduation at the university, he was denied a Diploma in spite of excellent grades, and told he would not be permitted to hold a teaching position in any public school. XXXXXIn 1989, he left Iran and fled to Turkey to start a new life. In Istanbul, he worked among Iranian refugees; later among the thousands of Iraqis who, in 1990, fled the first Gulf War; then the Russians who came after the Iron Curtain fell. Sargon is today fluent in Assyrian, Persian, Russian, Turkish, English, and some Arabic.

X“Then — one day, while I was resting after hard work, I heard a voice tell me to open up the Bible and read.  I opened up to Ezekiel 36, and as I began reading, I knew it was a word from the Lord to me concerning my country and other countries in the grip of Islam – v.2:  ‘The enemy has said of you, ‘aha!’ The ancient heights have become my possession …’ vs. 33—35: ‘this is what the Sovereign Lord says, ’On the day that I cleanse you from all your sins, I will resettle your towns, and the ruins will be rebuilt.  The desolate land will be cultivated instead of lying desolate in the sight of all who pass though it.  They will say, ’That land that was laid waste has become like the garden of Eden, the cities that were lying in ruins, desolate and destroyed, are now fortified and inhabited’.

              “As I was reading, the presence of God filled my room.  I knelt down and received revelation in my heart that God would be taking back the territories that once belonged to the ancient Christians in the first century A.D., but are now inhabited by Muslims.  Those ancient lands which are now under the heavy rule of Islam, from China to Morocco, will be receiving the Gospel again, and I will be partaking in this renewal. The oldest church in China was established in 86 A.D.; the first official church in Iran was established in 180 A.D.. There is a tomb in my home village that states, “This man died when Jesus was six years old.‟ Ezekiel prophesied this to Israel and God’s people – likewise I am to prophesize this to the ancient lands.“

                Shortly thereafter, a ministry team from The Bridge conducting a conference in Istanbul, Turkey, met Sargon. We came to know him and felt led to send him to minister to the Turkish-speaking ethnic groups in Kazakhstan. During his twelve years there, he married a wonderful woman, Nadia (graduate of Agape Bibleschool), has fathered four children, worked among the Afghan refugees there, served as Pastor, helped establish a rehab center and a women’s shelter, assisted in improving the life of handicapped orphans in a state run orphanage, and shared the Gospel with many Muslims.  All of these things are good and  have provided invaluable experience, and furthered the Kingdom of God; however, I have sensed that his involvement in these projects was not his ultimate call in life.

XXXXXXIn the last three years, Sargon’s vision has been revitalized. In 2006, leaders from an inter-denominational group of churches — Methodist, Presbyterian, and Pentecostal — established, and are helping finance, a two year missionary training school in Almaty. Sargon was asked to join as Director and part time teacher. His goal is to equip and send out 100 missionaries along the Silk Road.  Sargon’s vision is to go and find the ancient ruins of the Christian communities in Iraq, Iran, Syria, Turkey, India, China, etc. where the prayers of the old saints and the blood of the martyrs are crying from the ground; then commission the missionaries to those places, bringing a fresh revival of the Gospel!  The Muslim governments have laws that protect the ancient churches, as they are regarded part of their national heritage.  By coming under the covering of these churches, the missionaries will have a freedom to live and work there as Christians, a privilege denied believers from the West who openly share their faith.

XXXXXXAs the doors are closing on missionaries from the West, the doors are opening wide toward for the Eastern believers to again conquer the lands for Christ! Let us stand and proclaim with them, “Lift up your heads, o you gates, lift them up you ancient doors, that the King of Glory many come in!” (Psalm 24:9).