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Frieden und Freiheit in Christus

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Dimitrina Oprenova of Bulgaria speaking during the 21st Baptist World Congress in Durban, South Africa.Menschen können Freiheit inmitten von Unruhen und Frieden inmitten von Konflikten erleben, erklärte Dimitrina Oprenova während der 21st Baptistischer Weltkongress in Durban, Südafrika.

Oprenova aus Bulgarien sagte, dass die Christen in ihrem Land sogar während der turbulenten kommunistischen Ära Frieden erlebten.

Sie erzählte vom Glauben ihres Mentors, des ehemaligen bulgarischen Baptistenpastors und -leiters Ivan Angelov, der zu acht Jahren Gefängnis verurteilt wurde, "ein Mann, der von den Kommunisten gefoltert wurde." Nach einem besonders schrecklichen Vorfall, bei dem er geschlagen wurde, beklagte Angelov, gebrochen und im Glauben, dass er sterben würde, den Zustand der Kirche und schrie in Verzweiflung zu Gott. "Gott, sie haben mich zerstört, das ist das Ende", erinnerte sie sich an seine Worte. "Gott, was wird mit der Kirche geschehen? Wir sind alle hier, es gibt keinen Pastor da draußen, was wird mit der Herde passieren?", woraufhin ein weiß gekleideter Mann zu ihm in seine Zelle kam und erklärte: "Iwan, das ist meine Kirche, ich werde mich um sie kümmern. Und ich werde mich um dich kümmern. Machen Sie sich keine Sorgen."

That vision of Christ in his prison cell gave Ivanov strength to endure and to be an inspiration to others, including Oprenova, associate minister of the First Baptist Church in Sofia, president of the Bulgarian Baptist women’s organization and a member of the board of the European Baptist Women’s Union. “The powerful became weak, but this broken, weak man, in the midst of evil circumstances, received strength,” she said. “He lived; he came out of prison and continued to serve God. He lived long enough to be an example for me too.”

Oprenova said “sometimes the Lord calms the storm. Sometimes he lets the storm rage and calms his child.” She told the gathering of Baptists from more than 80 countries that “whatever the circumstances, whatever culture we come from, wherever we are, we can be free to live without regret and fear.”

If persons give place to fear, she said, this can rob them of their freedom. “Fears of the past and of the future paralyze us and rob us of the power of serving God.” Oftentimes, the fear “stems from selfishness, from being overly concerned about our own self-preservation [and] self-image.”

The good thing, said Oprenova, is that God is always seeking us out. God searches because God “is not indifferent to the suffering of his people.” God searches “to find hearts opened for Him, who are willing to be found.” Those who allow themselves to be found by this searching God receive healing and liberty. But in order for all this to happen, “we need to be found!” or rather, be willing to be found.

God, in essence, saves us “from ourselves, from our own pride and selfishness, from our wrong decisions, from our social prejudice, from our judgment of others, from our hatred and brokenness.”

Das Video des Plenargottesdienstes kann auf der BWA-Website unter www.bwanet.org angesehen werden.

The congress, which has as its theme, “Jesus Christ, the Door,” continues from July 22 to 26 at the International Convention Center in Durban.

Baptistische Weltallianz®
© Juli 24, 2015

The Baptist World Alliance, founded in 1905, is a fellowship of 266 conventions and unions in 134 countries and territories comprising 53 million baptized believers in 178,000 churches. For more than 100 years, the Baptist World Alliance has networked the Baptist family to impact the world for Christ with a commitment to strengthen worship, fellowship and unity; lead in mission and evangelism; respond to people in need through aid, relief, and community development; defend religious freedom, human rights, and justice; and advance theological reflection and leadership development.