When he was still a Muslim living in Iran, Shapoor did not believe God could talk to ordinary people, much less have a relationship with them or use them.
That’s why he was utterly surprised when he found out later on, when he immigrated to the U.K., that God not only talks to ordinary people but also “has a heart for sinners and everybody,” according to God Reports.
Iranian Christian convert Shapoor (far right) leads a prayer gathering.
In his first few months in Britain, Shapoor said he was depressed. But then after attending a Christmas party to meet other Iranians, he heard a song called Jesus the “Prince of Peace,” which stirred his heart.
He then prayed: “God, I am so lonely and depressed. I don’t know where I’m going or what my future is. If You don’t leave me, I will serve You with all my heart, for the rest of my days.”
Shapoor wasted no time in embracing Jesus. Now, eight years after he settled in U.K., he believes God is using him to build His kingdom among the refugees from the Middle East and Africa.
Speaking to the Pioneers Christian mission agency, Shapoor said reading the Bible for the first time immediately changed his life. He said God quickly filled him with enormous zeal to spread God’s Word.
“When I saw this unconditional love and the grace of God in my life I couldn’t keep this Good News to myself,” he told Pioneers. “Because we came from darkness to light we don’t keep this to ourselves. As you receive freely, give freely to other people.”
Shapoor began sharing the Gospel to fellow immigrants from Syria, Iraq, Iran, and Africa, many of them Muslim.
“I came here every Saturday to give them food. Also during the week we came and evangelised and talked about Jesus,” he said.
Shapoor has led more than 600 Iranians to faith in Jesus, saying he finds excitement in his mission to pass the Gospel to the next generation. “As Paul said we try to find the people who are faithful and teachable and teach them,” he said.
Shapoor’s home in U.K. is now a 24-hour house of prayer where believers come to pray for friends, family, their city and the nations. He has discipled and commissioned 20 Iranian families to move to other parts of the U.K. to live out their faith among other immigrant communities, according to Pioneers.
Shapoor finds it truly amazing that people like him could freely preach the Gospel to people who do not know Jesus yet.
“All people are made in God’s image and we should see them as human beings. We should see them with the love of Jesus. Jesus died for every person on earth. Jesus loved them unconditionally,” he said.
Ex: christiantoday
