A Witness for Jesus
After many months of being held without a trial, Andrew finally got an opportunity to defend himself against all these false accusations that had been made against him.
He went through the first trial and then the second trial, but the system was so corrupt that nothing he said was taken seriously, while all the false accusers were simply believed.
Standing for Truth
By the time of the third trial date, he said this: “I decided that I would use this as an opportunity to share our faith. I couldn’t control what others did. There was no point in trying to establish logical reason in the court, but I could at least stand as a representative of Jesus Christ without apology or shame.”
And so, when he stood up on that day during the trial, he preached. This is what he said: “This is why I came to Turkey — to proclaim that there is only one way to God: Jesus.
There is only one way to have our sins forgiven: Jesus.
There is only one way to gain eternal life: Jesus.
There is only one Savior: Jesus.
I want this to echo in all of Turkey.
Many lies have been said about me in the media, but what I would like people to know about me is this: for the last 25 years I have declared Jesus as Savior. For 23 years I did it by choice, and for the last two years I have been forced to do it from prison — but my message is the same.”
Power of Forgiveness
“The Bible says to forgive one another as God in Christ forgave you. And so I’ll forgive those who have wronged me, who have lied about me, who have caused me harm, who have borne false witness against me. I’ll forgive each and every witness. I’ll hold no hatred against them in my heart, and I’ll leave them to God. May God have mercy.”
From then on, every time he had a chance to talk in court, he would preach. He would talk about how he was called to deliver the Good News of Jesus, and he would tell it out loud and without shame.
We don’t know who may have heard that message and been saved, or who may have seen this man’s courage and decided to find out more about Jesus as a result of it. We don’t know — but what a witness!
Be a Witness
Jesus said that we are to be witnesses. He even said in Matthew 5:11 that we are blessed when people persecute us and say false things against us because of Him — because of Jesus. And here’s a man who literally went through that, and yet stood up and praised the name of Jesus.
I hope that you and I can be witnesses too, friends. We may not be in a Turkish prison, but we are in our workplaces, our families, and our social groups. We’ve got all sorts of places where we can stand up for the name of Christ.
Don’t let shame get in the way. Don’t let fear get in the way. Let your faith in Jesus shine. Who knows whose life can be changed if you do?
If Andrew Brunson, surrounded by militant Muslims, could do that — what’s stopping you and I from doing it where we’ve been placed?
