Martin Wickens

I just received a prayer letter from a friend in the UK. He is sharing
the Gospel with Muslims in Birmingham. I’ll remove any specific
references to the area and individuals, not because anyone is afraid,
but it is not my story to tell and they are not my details to reveal.
But this is a real situation that occured in February (emphasis mine):

The Muslims: I wrote last time: — — have been visiting in three
different Muslim neighborhoods, — Road, –, –. The Lord has opened
the door here to these Muslims. Rev. 3:8 I know thy works: behold, I
have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: I guess I
should add: 1 Corinthians 16:9 For a great door and effectual is opened
unto me, and there are many adversaries.

On Tuesday 19 February, — I
were doing outreach on — Rd., talking with four Pakistani teens. A
police officer approached, and in a very short while he was calling in
a report that we were perpetrating a hate crime against these youth and
that he would have to arrest us. He said that this area (indicating the
— neighborhood) was a Muslim area and hence off limits to Christian
evangelism.

Eventually two other police officers joined in, and they
strongly advised that we should not come into this area. I told them
that this whole area had been claimed by Jesus Christ and that we would
continue to come back here. The three officers turned to leave, and
then one turned back and told me that I had been warned, and that if I
took a beating, it would be my own fault.

It needs little commentary.

It is interesting that this Muslim Area (so called) is a British
street, with a very British name in a Christian country. But somehow
other religions can take roads from within our Christian country and
make them their religion and hence off limits to the Christians in the
country!

I am a Christian first and the British part is secondary and ultimately
unimportant. And I realise that although we call ourselves a Christian
nation very few actually are Christians. But, all that aside, I think
you can see the severity of this situation. It really is shocking.

However, though some within the British authorities have little common
sense, or dare I say, intelligence, at least God is still blessing. In
another part of the same letter the Christian reported,

Most of the
class are Muslims trying to learn to read Urdu, and they were very
surprised that we go into these Islamic neighbourhoods. One lady asked,
Don’t you find the Muslims very closed? I had to be truthful and say
that they are the most open to the gospel of any of the people we
witness to. She was very surprised and the Lord used it as an open door
to share the gospel with the whole class.

Pray for more labourers to go
into the harvest, and pray that God would deliver our country.