Nik Ripken > Quotes

“Don’t ever give up in freedom what we would never have given up in persecution! That is our witness to the power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ!”
― Nik Ripken, The Insanity of God: A True Story of Faith Resurrected

“Serving God is not a matter of location, but a matter of obedience.”
― Nik Ripken, The Insanity of God: A True Story of Faith Resurrected

“It is a simply matter of obedience. If He is our Lord, then we will obey Him. If we do not obey Him, then He is not our Lord.”
― Nik Ripken, The Insanity of God: A True Story of Faith Resurrected

“Suffering is one of God’s ordained means for the growth of his church. He brought salvation to the world through Christ, our suffering Savior, and he now spreads salvation in the world through Christians as suffering saints. In the words of Paul, “All who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Tim. 3:12). Clearly, there is a sense in which the danger of our lives increases in proportion to the depth of our relationship with Christ.”
― Nik Ripken, The Insanity of God: A True Story of Faith Resurrected

“Then he raised his voice in a prophet-like challenge that I knew would live with me forever: "Don't ever give up in freedom what we would never give up in persecution!”
― Nik Ripkin

“I cannot forget the words of my friend, Stoyan..."I took great joy that I was suffering in my country so that you could be free to witness in your country." And then he raised his voice to say: "Don't you ever give up in freedom what we would never give up in persecution - and that is our witness to the power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ!”
― Nik Ripken The Insanity of God

“we can grasp the full meaning of the Resurrection, we first have to witness or experience crucifixion. If we spend our lives so afraid of suffering, so averse to sacrifice, that we avoid even the risk of persecution or crucifixion, then we might never discover the true wonder, joy and power of a resurrection faith. Ironically, avoiding suffering could be the very thing that prevents us from partnering deeply with the Risen Jesus.”
― Nik Ripken, The Insanity of God: A True Story of Faith Resurrected

“Jesus is better than all the pleasures, possessions, and pursuits of this world put together.”
― Nik Ripkin

“Your fear is the greatest tool you will ever give to Satan. Overcoming your fear is your greatest tool against Satan.”
― Nik Ripken, The Insanity of Obedience: Walking with Jesus in Tough Places

“Those of us who have grown comfortable with the teachings of Christ have allowed His teachings to lose their edge.”
― Nik Ripkin

“How is it, I wondered, that so many people are willing to die for financial or humanitarian reasons while many Christian groups insist on waiting until it is safe to obey Jesus' command to "Go" into all the world?”
― Nik Ripkin

“Those who number themselves among the followers of Jesus—but don’t witness for Him—are actually siding with the Taliban, the brutal regime that rules North Korea, the secret police in communist China, and the Somalis and Saudi Arabias of the world. Believers who do not share their faith aid and abet Satan’s ultimate goal of denying others access to Jesus. Our silence makes us accomplices.”
― Nik Ripken, The Insanity of God: A True Story of Faith Resurrected

“The reason for persecution, then, is that people keep finding Jesus—and, then, they refuse to keep Him to themselves.”
― Nik Ripken, The Insanity of God: A True Story of Faith Resurrected

“I was captivated by the thought: what if persecution is the normal, expected situation for a believer? And what if persecution is, in fact, soil in which faith can grow?”
― Nik Ripkin

“...one of the most accurate ways to detect and measure the activity of God is to note the amount of opposition that is present.”
― Nik Ripkin

“It is crucial to understand that God values our help. But it is more crucial to remember that our all-powerful God is able to work with our without us, that our all-knowing God is not blind to the evil in His world, and that our ever-present God is there...whether we are or not.”
― Nik Ripkin

“church and real life seemed to have little in common.”
― Nik Ripken, The Insanity of God: A True Story of Faith Resurrected

“one of the most accurate ways to detect and measure the activity of God is to note the amount of opposition that is present.”
― Nik Ripken, The Insanity of God: A True Story of Faith Resurrected

“But the deacon said that the Holy Spirit told him, 'You don't have to come back. You just have to go.' So he did. . . . Long after I heard that story, I kept thinking about God's final instruction to the deacon: 'You just have do go.' You don't have to come back. You just have to go. As it turns out, he did come back. Even so, the instruction is so clear. You just have to go. You just have to go. Even if there is no clarity about your return, you just have to go.”
― Nik Ripken, The Insanity of God: A True Story of Faith Resurrected

“...we should all read and forever remember Revelation 2:10 - here's what I require of you, that you should 'be faithful unto death.”
― Nik Ripkin

“He said, "Son, when did you stop reading your Bible? All of our stories are in the Bible. God has already written them down. Why would we bother writing books to tell our stories when God has already told His story. If you would just read the Bible, you would see that our stories are there.”
― Nik Ripkin

“I cannot believe this! I cannot believe that I have lived long enough to see people being baptized in public. An entire family together! No one is shooting at them, no one is threatening them, no one will go to prison, no one will be tortured, and no one will be killed. And they are being openly and freely baptized as a family! I never dreamed that God could do such things! I never believed that I would live to see a miracle like this.”
― Nik Ripken, The Insanity of God: A True Story of Faith Resurrected

“You can only grow in jail what you take to jail with you. You can only grow in persecution what you take into it.”
― Nik Ripkin

“Perhaps the question should not be: "Why are other persecuted?" Perhaps the better question is: "Why are we not?”
― Nik Ripkin

“The stronger the persecution, the more significant the spiritual vitality of the believers.”
― Nik Ripkin

“Our problem is not simply a lack of concern. And our problem is not that we are unaware or disinterested. We know what is happening around the world. Certainly, in light of what we have encountered in this book, we know about sacrifices that are made for the faith. We know more about the health and whereabouts of other members of the body of Christ today than at any other time in history. It's not enough to feel grateful for the blessed circumstances in which we live. It's not enough to do a better job remembering and praying for the suffering believers around the world. It's not even enough to identify with the other parts of Christ's Body around the world. Ultimately, the problem is one of emphasis and focus. Instead of recognizing, thinking about, remembering, praying about, identifying with and focusing on the suffering of fellow believers around the world, we would do well to shift our focus. Quite simply, we would do well to ask ourselves whether or not we are being obedient to Jesus. He is asking us - He is expecting us - He is commanding us to share Him wherever we go. He is commanding us to do that wherever we are today. It is simply a matter of obedience. If He is our Lord, then we will obey Him. If we do not obey Him, then He is not our Lord. Perhaps the question should not be: 'Why are others persecuted?' Perhaps the better question is: 'Why are we not?”
― Nik Ripken, The Insanity of God: A True Story of Faith Resurrected

“...the Russian church had lost in its first decade of 'freedom' what Soviet believers had managed to hold on to under communisn for most of a century.”
― Nik Ripkin

“Let us be clear; the will of God is not always the safest place to be, but it is the only place to be.”
― Nik Ripken, The Insanity of Obedience: Walking with Jesus in Tough Places

“...persecution is normal for millions of believers around the world.”
― Nik Ripkin

“We desperately want our western brothers and sisters in Christ to realize that the greatest enemy of our faith today is not communism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Atheism, or even Islam. Our greatest enemy is lostness. Lostness is the terrible enemy that Jesus commissioned His followers to vanquish with the battle strategy that He spelled out for them in Matthew 28:18–20. He was addressing this same enemy when He plainly clarified His purpose in coming: “I have come to seek and to save those who are lost.”
― Nik Ripken, The Insanity of God: A True Story of Faith Resurrected