Radio Interview From Sudan Eritrea Border - Part 1 — Kevin Turner

This is Sid Roth saying, I have a vision. Now is the set time to blow the trumpet in Zion. Shalom, Mishpochah. Shalom, family. Mishpochah, it's a Hebrew word. It means family. And we're the Mishpochah, the family with a Jewish heart, made up of Jewish and non-Jewish people that are one new man, Messiah Yeshua, Messiah Jesus.

Getting ready, Mishpochah, to blow the grandest shofar, the grandest trumpet in Zion. We want everyone everywhere to hear the good news. We want everyone everywhere to be red hot for the Messiah. But the truth of the matter is that most of us don't even know what red hot for the Messiah means.

The Missing Fire in American Christianity

Where are our role models? Here in this unreal moment in history called 21st century America, where the average person lives like a king of former generations, where we don't know what persecution is for the gospel, where we have more Bibles per square Christian than any country that has ever existed.

We have more tapes, more teachings, more Christian television, more Christian radio, more church buildings. But something is missing. And I have a gentleman on the telephone that knows what's missing.

His name is Kevin Turner, president of Strategic World Impact. He works in three areas, war zones, disaster areas, and where Christians are being persecuted. I've caught up with him at his base right outside of Sudan, Africa.

And he's there with his family, his wife, and his three children. His daughter, we found out yesterday, almost lost her life. And she pleaded when they wanted to get on the first plane out of there, Dad, I want to stay here.

Kevin, you were talking about a third world country that some Americans said, what can we pray for you? What did they say?

Spiritual Blessing, Suffering, and Trusting Jesus

Oh, they were actually being asked. This was actually in Vietnam with, of course, massive persecution from the Communist Party there of any type of what they would call unsanctioned church activity. In other words, where the Holy Spirit is.

It was so amazing. Everything would open up for you. And in fact, almost in horror, they said, oh, no, no. Pray instead that we have opened heavens in why the church is growing in Vietnam like wildfire and why it's stagnating in America.

Because what they realize is that it's about a spiritual blessing. In America, we have this mentality of I will have it and I will have it now. I will have heaven on earth. I will not have delayed gratification.

I will not endure hardship. I will not suffer loss. The average Christian in America, if I tell them that my daughter was attacked and we stayed, they look at me as if I am a horrible father because I would subject my family to that.

And instead, what we have is we have the blessing of the presence of Jesus comforting us. And you know what me and my wife did? And some people might almost find this unbelievable, but we gathered hands in our bedroom and we prayed.

And we said, Jesus, you've loaned these children to us and we give them back to you. And God, you know, our hearts would be utterly broken. But if you see fit that their lives be taken, then we give all glory to you.

Now to some people, that's incomprehensible. But when you meet the King of glory and the way that he's touched my heart, no price in my hand I bring simply to the cross I cling. I love him.

Ministry in a Muslim War Zone

Mishpochah, you're not listening to a man talking theory. You're listening to a man that because of his work for the gospel in these areas that are terrorist-based, there have been contracts for his life.

Tell me about one circumstance.

Well, we actually were up in an area in northeastern Sudan where Osama bin Laden had his hideout, terrorist training camp for two and a half years. We actually showed, in fact, CBN, Christian Broadcasting Network played the video.

We showed the Jesus film on the wall of bin Laden's former compound. We were sharing it there in a Muslim kolawasa, an Islamic training school, sharing the Jesus film on the wall there. It was utterly divine.

And because of our continued work in this heavily, this fundamentalist Islamic area, of course, it's aroused attention. And the Saudis, our wonderful friends, have, they backed the money, they put up half a million dollars for a jihad faction group.

Does it bother you when,.

I know you said that tongue-in-cheek, but does it bother you that the U .S. is such friends, so much to speak in bed with Saudi Arabia?

You have no idea. And working so much in the Middle East, I know, ...against America, they can't differentiate between a born-again believer and Madonna who wears a cross and then, you know, dances nude.

They don't understand the difference. And so, a target against America, in their mind, is a target against Christianity. And that was the same reason that three Yemeni terrorists came to take up this half a million dollar fatwa that was put on my head, this contract, and kill me.

Well, for five years working in this area, we have been reaching out to this other Muslim tribe that's unreached, and we've built great friendships with them. And in the midst of that, they spared my life.

Because while I was out there with my family, these three terrorists came through the desert, coming to kill us. They had our ID badges, they knew what they were, they knew my name, the whole shot. And they were captured by these other, this Muslim tribe.

Well, the two of them were interrogated and beaten so bad that I couldn't meet with them, but I did meet with one of the three. This man was in a hut with his blindfolded arms tied behind his back, and they let me meet with him way out in the desert.

Praying for Rain During a Four-Year Drought

Now, why did one Muslim tribe beat up these terrorists?

Well, because they wanted to know what they were about, and as they were trying to find out, they found out that they'd come to kill me, and I'm their friend. And to them, they're thinking, hey, wait a second, this guy has spent five years on the front lines with us, risking his life, bringing food, medicine, and help to us.

He's actually prayed for rain, and in the midst of a four-year famine, it rained in 20 minutes. I mean, we have seen incredible, miraculous things where we've joined hands, we walked outside of a Bedouin hut, they said their greatest need was rain.

And I said, look, I know the rainmaker. I said, please, we're gonna go pray. I had a small team. My wife was at my side. We walked out from this Bedouin hut after drinking a big slug of camel's milk, and we joined hands, not a cloud in the sky, it's about 120 degrees, four-year drought.

We joined hands and said, Jesus, glorify yourself. And if it be your will, send rain on these people. Within 10 minutes, the sky was clouding over, growing black. In 20 minutes, there was such a hellacious downpour, our truck got stuck several times just trying to get back out to our base.

Forgiving an Enemy and Loving Those Who Persecute

Hmm, so let's take you back to that hut, these terrorists, Muslim extremist terrorists, well, I shouldn't say extremist terrorists, the terrorist is always extremist. Uh, uh, they were sent there to kill you.

Your Muslim friends caught them, beat them up, and you now are in front of one that was sent to kill you. What happened? Well, then I'm asking him questions, and he said that he'd come to kill.

An enemy of Islam. He didn't know that it was me asking him the questions, and finally I said, do you know who's questioning you? He said, no. I said, I'm the man you were sent to kill. He immediately began to tremble, and I put my head on his hand, and I said, I want to explain to you the difference between Islam and Christianity.

In Islam, you're taught to hate and kill. In Christianity, we're taught to love and lay down our lives. And I said, I can't let you go, and I can't keep you. That's not in my power. But the power I have right now, I give.

I said, in the name of Jesus Christ, I forgive you of this sin, and I beg God to forgive you now in Jesus' name. This man began to utterly weep with his AK -47, and they began to stomp on him because he was crying, and they pushed me out of the hut.

I began to scream and holler. I said, stop beating this man. Stop. He hears me pleading on his behalf when he had been sent to kill me. When I went back into the hut, he was on his knees, and he staggered, was crawling on his knees, and his arms were tied behind his back.

When he did, he fell forward, no arms to stop him. His forehead landed on the tops of the sole of my shoe. Then immediately the Lord spoke. He said, surely the Lord will make your enemy a footstool. And then instantly I realized that Jesus loved this man so much that he allowed him to come to try and kill me so that there in a mud hut in Sudan, I could lay my head on his hand and pray the Holy Spirit touch him and share the gospel with him.

And I thought, God, this is how you set Paul the apostle free. This is how you desire to seek and save that which was lost. And I thought, Jesus, you'd send a terrorist to kill me just so he could be blessed and hear the message of good news.

Miracles Through Walking With Jesus

And over and over again for the last 15 years of my life, I've seen one miracle after another by just simply walking with Jesus. It's amazing.

You're listening to Kevin Turner, president of Strategic World Impact. I'm speaking to him at his base just outside of the Sudan area in Africa. Kevin, why did you do this special teaching? We call it Kevin's teaching that we're making available this week.

Radical Discipleship and Compliance of Principle

Well, it was a burden that was on my heart. And I believe, of course, put there by the Lord. I call it compliance of principle. And it's this that has seeped into the church. And what scares me is the fact that we've been inoculated and we can't even get the disease anymore.

And it's we're now we're blinded. It's not simply that we turn a deaf ear. We don't even hear it anymore. And basically, I just challenged the believer to say, what does discipleship truly mean? Could it be so radical as laying down your life?

And it's about compliance. Living your life in simple compliance to the letter of the law or living your life in principle through love. There's a Puritan proverb that says love binds without a cord and it rules without the sword.

We're out of time, Mishpochah. Kevin's cassette, let's call it that, is available for a donation of ten dollars or more. Do you want to be red hot, lukewarm or cold? Only red hot makes it, according to the word of God.

This teaching will put a fire in you. Available for a donation at ten dollars. If you would like to receive a complimentary copy of our bi-monthly teaching newsletter, materials catalog, or information about becoming Mishpochah or Halatzin, write to me, Sid Roth, Post Office Box 1918, Brunswick, Georgia, 31521.

Or call our order only line, 1 -800 -548 -1918. To place a credit card order, call anytime, 1 -800 -548 -1918. For all other calls, the number is 912 -265 -2500. That's 912 -265 -2500. For a cassette tape of this week's broadcast, send a donation of ten dollars or more to Sid Roth, that's S-I-D-R-O-T-H, Post Office Box 1918, Brunswick, Georgia, 31521.

To see our television show, It's Supernatural, and to listen to past radio programs, look us up on the web at www .sidroth .org, that's www .sidroth .org.