 "How can I understand unless someone helps me?" (Acts 8:31 CEV) |
Exodus from Darkness Daniel Shayesteh |
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'Searching for Truth Together' |
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in Jesus Christ' |
July 2006 |
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Biography of Daniel Shayesteh July /September 05 June / July 2005 March / May 2005 Feb 2006 April 2006 July 2006 Sept 2006 December 2006 April 2007 August 2007 December 2007 Feb 2008 March 2008 April 2008 |
Latest news on the ministry of Daniel and
Mary Shayesteh: July 2006
We thank you for your interest in and prayers for the ministry of Daniel and Mary Shayesteh and ‘Exodus from Darkness’. Daniel and Mary’s middle-eastern cultural and religious background has helped many of us to understand our faith in Jesus and the uniqueness of our Lord in fresh and vibrant ways. We have been helped through seeing things from a different place and through different eyes. Daniel and Mary would appreciate your prayers for Daniel’s mission trip to Columbus and Dayton, Ohio in the USA from July 7 – 23. Columbus is the capital of the U.S. state of Ohio, while Dayton is the birthplace of aviation - once home to powered flight inventors Wilbur and Orville Wright. Our lead article continues Daniel’s series on the topic – ‘The West has not seen the worst of Jihad yet’. In this latest article Daniel wrestles with what he knows about radical Islam’s agenda, from firsthand experience, and the West’s passive secular response. He longs for Muslim people and western people (Christian people in the eyes of Muslims) to search for truth together. ‘Ask, and you will receive. Search, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened for you. Everyone who asks will receive. Everyone who searches will find. And the door will be opened for everyone who knocks.’ Matthew 7:7,8 Contents: 1. The West has not seen the worst of Jihad yet – Part 2 (Part 1 was in our 11/05 Update) 2. A special need – subsidizing the cost of supplying Daniel’s books to Africans 3. Upcoming Events – Australia, USA and South Africa 4. Participating financially and practically in the ministry of Daniel and Mary Shayesteh 5. Daniel’s ministry during May/June – mission events stretching from Perth through to Auckland! 6. Exodus from Darkness Prayer Requests 7. Daniel's Books 1. The West has not seen the worst of Jihad yet – Part 2 Our lives begin to end when we become silent about the things that matter (Martin Luther King) We are not fighting against humans. We are fighting against forces and authorities and against rulers of darkness and powers in the spiritual world (Ephesians 6:12) In Part 1 of this series, I commented about those people who refuse to learn from history and who put themselves in a position that is very unpleasant to say the least. Let me continue along this line of thought by drawing your attention to the conscience awakening philosophy of the Bible which teaches that lack of knowledge is the greatest destroyer of life (Hos.4:6). Lack of knowledge not only destroys people spiritually, but also socially, politically and morally ……. Indeed, if a person’s knowledge is not built on a firm spiritual foundation, the other areas of his life will also be unstable. For example; it will be impossible for such a person to have a long lasting peaceful relationship with others without peace in his or her own heart and life. God has created man in such a way that he will perish unless he discovers the best relational values. Lack of knowledge is the gate way for evil to enter and occupy a person or nation. Unfortunately, this is the direction the West has chosen (both now and at times in the past). At the current time, the West says, “All cultures are good”, and therefore there is no need for the best. As a result there is no rallying point for integration with each other. This has opened the door for those cultural groups who want to assert their authority and drive others out of their territories. As a result of this, some radical Muslim leaders in the West reject integration and demand segregated schools and self-governing ghettos ruled by Shari’a (the Law of Islam). Some Western authorities opened the door for such an authoritarian belief when they quietly abandoned their suburbs to immigrants decades ago. The violence in France is a result of this. The French government has failed in the basic task of government - securing safety for its citizen’s lives and livelihoods. Why has the West allowed so much tolerance for violence and hatred that then undermines the freedom of the majority? Why has the West forgotten its heroes who gave up their lives for the sake of freedom decades and centuries ago? What has caused the West to betray it heroes? Why has radical Islam, which is under an obligation to slaughter and gain power over other nations, been given more space in the West than any other religious group? When a country is rebellious, it has many rulers, but a man of understanding and knowledge maintains order (Prov.28:2). See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of the world rather than on Christ (Col.2:8). Daniel and Mary Shayesteh (Editor’s note: Daniel and Mary are from Iran. Daniel was a teacher of Islamic philosophy, a member of the Iranian Revolutionary Army and a leading Muslim fundamentalist political leader during the Iranian Islamic Fundamentalist Revolution that began in 1979. He is now an evangelist for Jesus Christ.) 2. A Special Need - subsidizing the cost of supplying Daniel’s books to Africans Daniel is participating as a speaker in the ‘Mosques and Miracles’ Conferences to be held around South Africa during August 3 - 21. He is seeking assistance regarding the 200 copies of his books that he has sent to South Africa – around $5000 value (this includes $1000 in postage). A $25 book in Australia is equivalent to $100 value in South Africa when you take into account their cost of living. Because many people in South Africa will not be able to afford the price of his books, Daniel will be supplying his books to people on a donation basis in line with what they can afford. So, the cost of the books needs to subsidized by others if possible. We invite you to send your donation to the EFD address at the end of this email if you are able to help. Some have already mentioned to Daniel that they could help in this regard and now is the opportunity. 3. Some of Daniel's upcoming ministry events Daniel has many opportunities in 2006 to be 'salt and light' around Australia and overseas. Please remember him and the Shayesteh family in prayer as they respond to these opportunities to testify to Jesus. July 7 – 23: Ministering in churches in Columbus and Dayton, Ohio, USA July 29: Men’s outreach dinner, St. Thomas’Anglican Church, Cranebrook, Sydney August 3-21: Participating as a speaker in 'Mosques and Miracles' Conferences to be held around South Africa August 28 – September 1: Teaching at YWAM Perth September 2: Australian Christian Nation Association with Rev Hon Fred Nile MLC, Eastwood Baptist Church, Sydney September 3: Nowra Church of Christ, NSW September 7: Speaking at CCC Bible College, Oxford Falls, Sydney September 10: St. Paul’s Anglican Church Oatley, Sydney September 17: Asquith Church of Christ, Sydney September 22 – October 16: CMA, New Zealand October 21/22: Epping Church of Christ, Sydney November: A further trip to the USA is being planned May 26, 27 2007: Mosques and Miracles, Crossways Baptist Church, Melbourne 4. Invitations to participate Participating financially in the ministry of Daniel and Mary Shayesteh We invite you to give generously to the ministry of Exodus from Darkness so that Daniel and Mary's transformational message about Christ can continue to bear fruit around Australia and overseas. Full details for contributing to their ministry are at the end of this email. Participating practically in the ministry of Daniel and Mary Shayesteh The above list (section 3) shows that Daniel has a regular stream of events throughout the year. We would like to invite you (young or old) to consider coming along with Exodus from Darkness on one of these events. This is a great way to support Daniel practically while at the same gaining practical skills and experience in walking the bridge between East and West in Jesus’ Name. You would need to cover any personal travel and accommodation expenses and we’d need to explore with you which events are suitable for Daniel to have extra people with him. Taking part in an ‘Exodus from Darkness’ mission trip is an experience that’s just like ‘walking through the pages of the book of Acts’; so please give this invitation your prayerful consideration. 5. Daniel’s ministry during May/June – mission events stretching from Perth through to Auckland! The months of May and June have been busy and exciting months for Daniel and Exodus from Darkness. During this period our ministry stretched from Auckland (NZ) to Perth (WA) together with events in Sydney, Nowra (NSW), Cairns (QLD), Toowoomba (QLD), Finley (NSW, near Vic border), Adelaide (SA) and Ulverstone, Tasmania. “My visit to Aberfoyle Uniting Church in Adelaide, South Australia on May 5 – 7 was so encouraging. I found them to be a very mission and evangelistically minded church, reaching out to Muslims and other ethnicities. On the evening of Friday 5th May, I talked at a large youth event attended by high school students, university students and young adults. Some non-Christians were invited by their friends and were present in the meeting. The subject I spoke on was, “The Place of Young People in the Plan of Jesus” as well as sharing some of my testimony with them. Many were highly influenced through the message. I spoke at a Men’s Breakfast on Saturday morning and in their normal church services (Saturday evening and two services on Sunday morning) sharing about my life story on each occasion. On Sunday evening, it was a more informal evening with questions and responses about Islam and sharing about ways of reaching out to Muslims. I also had opportunity to meet with some Muslims and ex-Muslims in the church. It was a very special time of sharing the good news of Jesus and I look forward to working with them again in the future.” “On 9th May, I visited the Aglow, Christian Women’s Community in Frenchs Forest, Sydney speaking about my life story. Some of the women there had heard me speak before and they had invited me so that more of their community could hear me. Their desire was for more people to understand the urgency for Christians to have a multidimensional love and care for Australia.” “On 13th May, I gave my testimony in the Bethany Gate/All Pacific Prayer Assembly (Cairns, Queensland) to 2000 people from Pacific Countries and Australia, most of who were Islander and Aboriginal Christians. It was a very moving time of fellowship with repentance, reconciliation and ‘washing of feet’. Believers repented on behalf of their nations and asked Jesus for revival to come.” “On 20th May, Margaret Court (main speaker), Kongkin (Open Doors Indonesia) and I were the speakers at the ‘Open Doors’ Conference in Sydney. I gave my testimony at mid-day. The meetings were full of blessings. Margaret, a world famous tennis player who won five Wimbledon titles and collected 62 grand slam titles in all during her playing career, encouraged me regarding the necessity of my message for Australia and we hope to minister together again in the future.” “On 21st May, I spoke four times in Gymea Anglican Church; two Sunday services (sharing my testimony), followed by a Question-Response time around mid-day. In the evening I spoke to a large group of young people. I gave my testimony in a way relevant to their age and ministry and encouraged them to prepare themselves to fulfill the words about young people said by the prophet Joel and preached by the Apostle Peter at Pentecost. As always, blessings and the presence of Jesus were very obvious.” “On 22-24th May, I gave my testimony to the international pastors and leaders (from six African and Asian countries) at a Revival Ministries Australia event in Toowoomba, Queensland and lectured four times about “Certainty and Intellectual Ability in Evangelism” and “The Work of Allah and Yahweh”. Everybody was blessed, and leaders expressed the urgency of the need for my visit to their countries.” “On 27th May, I gave two public lectures about “Islam” and “Buddhism” in St Stephen’s Anglican Church, Nowra and answered attendees’ questions. People were moved as to how an ex-Muslim could become so eager to wake people up to the seriousness of the threat of Islam to the world and especially to the West. Many came to me and expressed their sincere gratitude. Mary was with me, and we visited an ex-Muslim Iranian family and had lunch with them.” “From Monday 29th May to Friday 2nd June I taught again at YWAM in Perth to an international group of students and gave my testimony in a combined YWAM event. From Perth I flew to Auckland for nine days of mission with local churches. On Saturday evening 3rd June I gave my testimony to an Indian Christian fellowship and gave my testimony on Sunday morning at Lincoln Christian Life Centre. In the evening I shared my testimony with a largely Solomon Islander congregation at Tamaki “His International Mission” AOG church.” “On Tuesday I visited Open Doors NZ and met with some Iranian Christians. On Wednesday I gave two lectures in the morning to a gathering of AOG Pastors and others at Lincoln CLC. I spoke on understanding Islam and how to reach out to Muslims. At lunchtime I shared my testimony at the Bible College of NZ and that evening at Royal Oak Baptist Church, followed by a time of questions-answers and prayer.” “On Thursday I was interviewed for the AOG magazine and that evening I spoke at Faith Worx AOG Bible College giving 2 sessions on Islam and 1 session on Apologetics and Evangelism. On Friday I was interviewed by Radio Rhema for 30 minutes and many people heard my interview and some were prompted to come to hear me at my remaining meetings in Auckland. That evening I spoke at Fusion Church sharing my testimony and then taking part in a time of prayer till midnight.” “On the Saturday I spent time with a Southern Indians’ Home Fellowship group. This was followed by a meeting with an Iranian Fellowship who, like me, had come out of Iran via Turkey or other countries. A significant and encouraging aspect of this group was the presence of some older people who had left Islam late in life to become Christians. I was encouraged by this group’s evangelistic zeal and they were encouraged by my boldness.” “On Sunday morning I spoke at Royal Oaks Baptist Church and preached on ‘Influential Evangelism’ and shared my testimony that evening at New Lynn Baptist Church.” “My next event during this period of ministry was a trip to Finley in southern NSW. On Sunday morning 18th June, I gave my testimony at a Uniting Church, and on the following evening I preached at my host church, Finley Presbyterian about influential evangelism. On Monday evening, I shared my testimony at a Men’s evangelistic event. Over 250 men from all over this region, around half who were not Christians, came to hear me speak. It was a powerful time of witness to Jesus and many people were influenced strongly by my life story’s testimony to the saving power of Christ.” “Over the period June 29 to July 2, I was invited to Ulverstone Uniting Church on the Northern Coast of Tasmania by Rev. Trevor Faggotter. I was encouraged by these people are willing to sacrifice a lot for the Lord for the sake of truth and Christian values.” “On Friday morning I gave my testimony to a group of 260 high school Christian students at a Christian school in Ulverstone and responded to their questions. This made a huge impact on the students and teachers. On Saturday, there was a combined men’s and women’s breakfast where I shared my testimony, and then a conference till 2.30pm at Ulverstone Uniting Church, my host Church. There were two speakers. I spoke about “Is Islam the Religion of Peace?” The other speaker was Bill Muehlenberg from CultureWatch (a co-worker with the Christian Lobby Group). His ministry is to warn Australia about the enemies of Judeo-Christian values. On Saturday evening I spoke to a Brethren Christian group in Devonport.” “On Sunday morning I gave my testimony in a Baptist church in Burnie called, Coastlands Community of Hope. On Sunday evening, I again gave my testimony in Ulverstone Uniting Church. On Monday afternoon, I flew back home. My travel to this part of Tasmania was full of blessings, and Christians were highly encouraged about the need to stand for Christ courageously. Many came to me and expressed their thanks to me for changing their hearts and minds for the sake of Christ.” “I would like to say “thank you” to all my brothers and sisters for the opportunities to visit with them and for all the arrangement they made so that this could happen. I praise Jesus and thank him for all these opportunities to share His perfect love with so many people! Please pray for the work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of all the people who have heard me speak and please pray for the churches, Pastors and spiritual leaders who are caring for these people.” 6. Exodus from Darkness Prayer Requests Please praise the Lord with us for all that has been achieved through the ministry of Exodus from Darkness. Exodus from Darkness is a ‘Specialised Apologetics and Evangelism Ministry’ with three major goals: Raising up Middle- Eastern evangelists, awakening Christians to the uniqueness of Christ and caring for our societies. It is nearly four years since Daniel, Mary and Michael, supported by their families and many other people, started working together in ‘Exodus from Darkness’. Since the early 1990’s hundreds of thousands of people have heard Daniel speak in person around the world in English, Azerbaijani, Turkish or Farsi and we estimate that millions have now heard Daniel through books, CD, DVD, radio and television. Please pray for Daniel and Michael as we fellowship with the Lord Jesus and look to him regarding the following goals: 1. Raising funds so that Daniel and Mary can minister together in places that desperately want his help but who can not afford to fund Daniel’s time with them and his travelling expenses e.g., Africa and Pacific Islands 2. Development of our website over the next few months 3. Realising our capacity to influence the world, particularly through more co-workers, through opportunities to minister both in Australia and overseas and through education of children and young people. Development of educational resources that deliver world’s best practice learning outcomes will be part of this. We speak in Jesus' Name to many hearts across the world, that they will be challenged in this era of globalisation to search for the Truth with all their heart. Please pray for the Lord’s guidance and creativity to be poured out upon us so that we can work together with churches to share the gospel persuasively with local communities. Please pray for all the people who hear Daniel’s testimony to Jesus. Please pray that these people, and all the people they influence, will grow in their courage to walk the bridge between east and west in Jesus’ Name. Please pray for the continuing provision of all Daniel and Mary's financial needs. They have sacrificed much to ensure Daniel could lecture and share his testimony across Australia and overseas. A donation to help them would be a blessing for them. We thank God for a group of people who are supporting Daniel and Mary's ministry spiritually and intellectually as we consider the most effective ways for their ministry to grow in the years ahead. Please pray that the Shayesteh's ministry will be guided along the path of greatest fruitfulness for the kingdom of God. 7. Daniel's books Many people have been blessed through the special insights into Islam and other religions that are provided by Daniel's books. Always accompanying these insights is Daniel's testimony to the uniqueness of Christ our Lord in every dimension of life. Please make use of Daniel's books listed below and share them with your churches, bible colleges and friends. 'The Difference is the Son' compares the Qur'an and the Bible against the backdrop of Islam's early history and Islam's contemporary message. Daniel concludes that the difference between these two books in all dimensions of life is the 'Son' - our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, the only source of eternal confidence. "A Journey from 'gods' to Christ" looks at the nature of 'god', sin and salvation in all the world's major religions, while at the same time challenging the conscience (God given!) of every human being to search for the Truth. 'The Difference is the Son' - suggested donation $20 + $5 for postage "A Journey from 'gods' to Christ" - suggested donation $15 + $5 for postage. For contact details for ordering these books, please see the end of this email. I close with the words of Jesus. "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field." Matthew 9:37,38 (CEV) Shalom! Michael York |
