A Powerful Conversion!

Hi, this is Joanne Vigner with the podcast It's Storytime Meemaw, an answered prayer for stories that point children to God. Your chosen Truth Network Podcast is starting in just a few seconds. Enjoy it, share it, but most of all, thank you for listening to the Truth Podcast Network. This is the Truth Network. Millions around the world who don't even have a Bible have a cell phone, they have a social media account. I'm sitting in front of two heavy weights in this area that I can't wait to learn from.

I just did Instagram Live with this guy and I just met you yesterday. Not a meme. Not a meme.

Not a meme. Rashawn Copeland. Unbelievable.

So I'll ask you two quick questions to set this up. Folks, you're going to be blown away by these two guests, their stories. From suicide to reaching people for Christ. Rashawn, your story is amazing. But real quick, who is Rashawn Copeland?

Man, I would like to say a minister who writes, but a writer who preaches. But before all that, I'm a son being fathered by a good father, fathering a lot of crazy little babies. Unbelievable. I think I saw a couple of those babies yesterday in the room.

Oh yeah. So cool. I love seeing young people at NRB. The noise, the commotion, the clamor is from the Religious Broadcasters Convention, Dallas, Texas.

NRB. It's huge. We've got videos about it. You'll see. Look at my social. Look at his social. He actually has followers.

I've had a few compared to him. I'm like, look at his again. Whoa, whoa. But you're reaching people. But a lot of folks are here learning about Jesus, learning about how they can get the message of Christ out. We're here representing Lantern Rescue, who's helping getting the message out about saving youngsters out of human trafficking, which is such a horrible thing in our world. We've got the Standing for Freedom, the new program. We've got all kinds of wonderful partners with us. We've got you guys here.

We've got guests like you coming in. Not a meme. Who is not a meme? Narmeen is a humble servant of a mighty king. She's an artist, and she's privileged to serve him in this kingdom. She's also a wife. She's also a mother and, believe it or not, grandmother.

Praise the Lord. And she's celebrating her birthday. Today is my birthday, yes. Okay. Everybody say happy birthday, Narmeen, on three.

One, two, three. Happy birthday, Narmeen. Thank you. Praise God.

But Rashan, he can carry a tune better than me. But I'm going to reach in my little briefcase here, Narmeen, and I'm going to bless you with a gift for your birthday, a special day. This is an authentic, official, fresh-off-the-box truth network. Come on.

Come on. I'll let you open it. It's a brand new tchotchke.

Please, let me open it. You Bluetooth it with your phone, and you can play great lullabies for your grandkids. You can play the Truth Network app on there. Thank you. That's fun.

This interview can be heard on that, blasting everywhere. Okay. Thanks a lot. I appreciate that. So I got mine, and before I could even open it, my daughter and my wife stole it, and then they went outside on the patio, and they started playing their stuff, so I've got to go try to find another one. They know good stuff.

Exactly. But that's your birthday present. Thank you very much, sir. So happy birthday. Rashan and Copeland, I want to talk about both of you, what God's doing, how you came to know Christ as your Savior. So let's start with you, Narmeen, because today may be your biological, physical birthday, but I want to hear about your spiritual birthday. How did you come to Christ?

Say as much as you would like, but obviously you minister in some areas of the world that are sensitive, but share as God would lead you right now. I was born in the Soviet Union, so it's a republic of the Soviet Union, which tells you that I was born in an atheistic world, deprived of God, of light, of hope. And then when the Soviet Union fell apart in the 90s, I was plunged into the Islamic world because the country I come from is a Muslim, predominantly Muslim country. So two things happened. Life began making sense because search for God was finished. I knew that there was a Creator and Darwinism was wrong, to say the least. But the light and the hope of Christ was not there yet in my life. So yes, I knew the Creator and I knew that I did not come from monkey and evolution was emptiness.

That was good news. But at the same time, though I found God and Creator, I could not understand why I did not feel peace and why did I not feel joy. So the God of love was not the God I knew. And so as I started to understand my identity for Muslims, even if you are a nominal Muslim, your identity is in Islam. You are born Muslim, you're going to die Muslim. You can't imagine changing your religion because that would be considered, not just wrong, but a betrayal to your family, to your culture, and your identity is wrapped up in that.

I'm going to skip a little bit forward. The 90s brought a lot of strife and war because the country was at war with Armenia. Karabakh war hit us. People were dying. There was chaos politically, emotionally, spiritually. At that time, I lost my brother. At the same time, we lost our home in fire.

And all that pushed me to ask why, why this is what's happening. I could not find comfort. I could not find hope. I could not find where was God if He was the Creator.

Why wasn't He not doing anything about that? Not only people were dying and political unrest, also my personal life was in shambles. And I started to search. I did search and I wanted to ask questions when I was a child, but nobody could answer me. The biology teacher couldn't tell me anything except amoeba. My parents couldn't tell me about great God, even though they were loving parents. They only did what they knew best at the time.

And amoeba was still making me wonder, but who put the amoeba on the earth? There has to be a beginning somewhere and nobody could tell me that. In Islam, like I said, a little bit they gave me an understanding, but not a lot. So all of that time in the 90s, country was kind of coming up to life again.

Oil industry was booming, oil and gas industry. I found a job in one of the oil companies because I spoke some English. My mom taught me at school and as a result of that, I met my husband, Ken, awesome guy, Christian guy. So I like to say this, I fell in love with the man who led me to the man and the king of the world. He was instrumental in leading me to Jesus, which is interesting. You met him right there when you were kind of knocking at the door, thinking there's something more here, I'm not some victim of chance or pond scum, like the atheistic evolution teaches God's at work and God started tugging on your heart and then he used the man you married.

Yes, he used the man. I have to say something, you know how we need to preach the word and I am all for preaching, I am preaching it now, but because we were at work and everything has to be a little bit different and respected, he was the only American in the organization, it was a British company, and he really stood out. The air of freedom that he brought with himself, the air of confidence, but love and respect was just there. I fell in love with Americans right then and there, not just with the man.

We are glad you did, because there's a bunch of us over here that are glad you're here. But he... He acted. What I wanted to tell you, before his book, he lived the faith out. He didn't force it down your throat, or hit you up the side of the head with a King James Bible, which I'm really good at doing.

That's awesome. And so you came to know Christ. I came to Christ, but there is one moment that, you know how man tested?

Man tested by God sometimes. When he told me that he loved me and he wanted to go and meet my parents, because there's a whole tradition of how things are done in that culture, he asked me what he can do and how he can marry me. I told him, we need to go and talk to my parents. He did. And on the way to my parents, he suddenly stopped.

I will never forget that. And he said, you're a Muslim, right? I said, yes. Your whole family is Muslim, right?

I said, yes. Well, what if they asked me to convert? I said, what if they ask you to convert?

You'll just convert. He said, I can never do that. And not until that moment he ever told me about Jesus.

And I said, why would you not convert? And he said, I will never convert and leave Jesus even for you. And that really made me both nervous and at the same time… Rashan, that's a mic drop in it, bud.

Yeah, that is a mic drop. And I looked at him and I thought, I hope they won't. They didn't ask him that question. They asked him many other questions as parents care for their children and they gave us blessing. And with that blessing, I married him. And we went to England. Nobody ever witnessed to me about Christ in Europe, in England.

I lived there for a few years. But when I came to America, of course, things changed because we went to church. We got to meet his parents who are Christian people. And then when I was sitting in the church, all I heard, God is love, love is God, Jesus is God.

And all of that started to come together. And then we started to fight because I started to ask questions and he challenged me. He told me that heaven is not what I think and that we ain't going to be in heaven together.

That really did not sit well with me at all. And I asked many questions. He answered and showed Bible and he knew Bible. So some people in my family thought he was pastor, hidden pastor, because he knew the word so well. And then Passion of Christ came out at the film and everything that I had understood and read. And at some point he told me, I've told you everything I knew.

And for you to understand better, you need to read the word of God. And then he gave me Bible and Gospel of John. And by reading, as soon as I started to read, everything started to break and shake inside me because my fear was that I am betraying my family. I am betraying my culture.

I'm betraying my identity. And so I asked, Lord, I said, you have, at some point when I came to the crushing moment, you have to show me, are you Christian God or are you God of Muslims? Are you Christ?

Do I follow Christ or do I follow Muhammad? And next morning, and I cannot tell you any other ways to, a miracle happened. I woke up a different person as if a heaviness just lifted off my shoulders. And I simply, I don't know how else to tell you. There was just freedom.

There was freedom in my mind, freedom, shackles fell off completely. I felt, and I wanted to tell the whole world. I picked up the phone and I started to call people.

That's before WhatsApp, you know, before Telegram, before Instagram. I did it a bit wrongly. You're talking like a digital guru here. So we've got to take a break. We come back, this is probably the most diverse and rich interview maybe I've ever done. I've got an African American digital genius who reaches people for Christ, was on the brink of suicide, got radically saved. We're going to hear that story next. Naderim has just told us her journey from being atheistic, Soviet Union, communistic, Islamic, to being saved, and what God did in her life. Now she's on the phone calling all her friends and who knows what happens.

And you know, in many parts of the world, if you convert to Christ from that, you're done. Coming back, we'll talk to both of you some more. Your life after Christ and what God did and then your life, how you met the Lord, right here on Truth Talk. Don't go away. Thank you to all of our awesome affiliates that are brave enough to carry this crazy program. God bless you more after this. I'm Stu Epperson. Follow me on all the social channels and I will have pictures of these dear brothers and sisters of Christ there. There you are.

The gun is loaded and you are at the end of your rope and you're going to take your life. What in the world do you do? And how does someone go from that to being a fiery evangelist leading thousands, millions to Jesus through social media? Well he's with me right now.

Where's Sean Copeland? I met you yesterday. You're beautiful children. You're a father.

Wow. And you're sitting next to a woman of God, Nareem, who is your sister from another mother but your sister in Christ. I can't think of two more polar opposites, an African-American man who lives in Oklahoma and a product of the Soviet Union with Islamic background who got radically saved. You shared your testimony in the first segment so if you just jumped in here, get the podcast and you'll meet Nareem and you want to hear her story and wait until you hear Rashan's story. Rashan, what happened to you?

Oh man. Well, you take me back. As I reflect my life, I don't deserve to be where I am, but God, you know? And I think about that moment when I had that pistol in my mouth getting ready to take my life and I remember being in a moment where like literally it took me back to the corridors of history when I was in that miserable moment when I had just got shot and left for dead as a 17-year-old in a parking lot with this young lady who I was dating that boyfriend found out we were at that place through MySpace, through social media. So it was a great tragedy that happened in the context of social media earlier in my life. Where did you grow up? Where are you from? So military family.

I was born in Oklahoma on a military base but lived in Miami, Baltimore, Kansas with Toto, The Wizard of Oz, so yeah. But I'm in this dark moment and I'm thinking through two things as I'm getting ready to take my life. One, if I were to pull this trigger, I've heard of this God who's omnipotent, he's a mission, all-knowing, all-powerful, who's infinite in wisdom and knowledge and understanding.

He's loving, yes, but he's also just and holy and I'm going to have to stand before him one day. So I was nervous out of my mind about that but the second thing is if I were to shoot myself and I were to live, I don't want to go through that agonizing pain that I went through as a 17-year-old boy when I was out there leaking on the pavement, cold pavement with warm blood all over my body. I don't want to go through that again. So those were the two things I was thinking. I'm in this dark, chaotic moment and here's what happened and this is why I devote my life to social media, reaching people with the gospel online because God used this young lady who was at Baylor University, a Christian school, to reach out to me in my darkest moment with a message that will continue to echo throughout my soul for all eternity. A digital platform at work again.

Exactly, exactly. And it said this, dude, oh how wide, how deep, how vast the love of God is and nothing in all creation can separate us from this love that's found in Christ Jesus. And I kept reading and reading and I started weeping and weeping and for some reason the Lord revealed to me how I was a great sinner that night in need of a great savior and I was in need of this great love that was poured out for me and demonstrated for me all while I was a sinner. Christ died for me. In that moment I just gave my life, I unloaded my heavy soul that night to the God, yeah, my Creator, the God of the universe, our almighty great, yeah, powerful Father. So everything changed.

Yeah. I remember an angry boyfriend or ex-boyfriend finds you on MySpace through a digital channel to try to kill you. You're shot, you're bleeding, fortunately the Lord had more in store for you.

And then fast forward a little bit of time and you're about to take your own life. You're in despair, you're just down in a pit, so many people get in that pit, and a random, another social media message comes from a young lady who you really hadn't connected with, and she sends that, and you trust Christ, and now God's using you. What all are you doing now? So now I've devoted my life to digital mission, the great commission, that's my mission to spread the love and hope and the truth found in Christ, and that's my heart behind everything I do, everything I post, and everything the world needs to know is found in Him. So for all the old fuddy duds out there that are like, man, this social media is bad, these kids are on their phone all the time, you're saying there's a way to leverage something that the enemy could mean for bad, for pornography, for salacious evil things, hate things, gossip things, attack pieces, angry vitriolic political shots, you're saying God can use that to reach folks for Christ, and you're doing that on Facebook, Instagram, and where else? Currently, TikTok. You're on TikTok?

Like, by the grace of God, I'm like everywhere you've found a lot. So you're the person that, okay, parents, if your kids are on there anyway, quit complaining and tell them to follow Rashawn. What are you under? Follow me as I follow Christ, but I'm under Rashawn Copeland. Rashawn Copeland.

Anywhere, and then- Oklahoma. Yup. The best smile of anyone I think I've ever met. Come on, dude. Come on, man. Tell me. Tell me. Look at that guy. How about this guy right here?

Oh! We got to get a selfie here, Benjamin. Benjamin, here. Smile big. Smile big.

Benjamin, get a selfie. Here you go. Smile. Lean in here. Lean in here. Awesome. Look at that. Awesome.

Hey, you can crash the park anytime. Hey, Benjamin. So we're interviewing Rashawn about his testimony, right? Come on, bro.

And then Naderim got radically saved out of Islam and out of communism. Yes. Yeah.

And so unbelievable. Big ratings, Benjamin. I mean, we might have room for you. I mean, there's a hundred in front of you. We might have room. I mean, this guy's got – he brings the heat. God will make room for you. Unbelievable.

And there's Uncle Ted, movie guy. He's here. Look at the lines. It's unbelievable. Unbelievable.

Feet away. Naderim, now tell us. A little bit. A little bit. Naderim, now tell us. What are you doing out with Christ?

You got saved out of my man right there. Yes. Uh-oh. He's going to lunch. This is crazy.

It's unstoppable. Perfect timing. Well, Naderim, tell us what you're doing in Christ. Well, I asked the Lord to use me and use the abilities he gave me because I'm an artist. And I said, Lord, I want to serve you. I want to serve my people.

How can I do that? And so he directed me to Global Heart Ministries. I met Steve Sharp at a Muslim Background Believers Conference where I was speaking and participating. And he asked me to be a host of a TV show called Sweet Conversations that was on five, I believe, networks.

And we were in Iran broadcasting in Azerbaijan, in Turkey and places like that. Beautiful. Just speaking the Word of God. But I would paint a painting and then we would discuss that painting. It was a Biblical painting.

Wow. And we would share the Gospel through the means of art and culture. So you're also an artist. I'm an artist. We have so much talent here.

I feel like… La-la. Come on. She's got artists on her badge there.

We're at NRB, by the way, which is why I've been watching. And Uncle Ted Baer, the Christian movie guide guru. Yeah. There's Eric Metaxas walking around. All these amazing people are here. But I'm honored to sit down with Naderim and hear your story. Yes.

Praise God. But pandemic actually was bad and also good things came out of pandemic. So we were planning to do sixth season of the TV show, but it struck us unexpectedly, every one of us. And so we decided to go exclusively to social media. And that's how I decided to start social media. So I am not on as many platforms as you are yet.

Come on now. We're working together. But I am on some platforms. I may need your help to tell me, Rops. But I do have platforms and they are Azerbaijani and some of them bilingual.

Azerbaijani, my native language, and also English. And so it's still similar idea of sharing gospel through the means of prophetic art, what it's called. Amen.

I love it. And then as we share the gospel, so we are with Omid Life. Of course, Unite Life.

Pardon me. Unite Life. Unite Life. UniteLife.org I think is the website.

Yes, yes. Global Heart Ministry both are working together. Praise God. But the biggest success I think we found on Facebook because through the ads that they push and using the art and the videos that I put together, we grab the audience. Otherwise, we wouldn't be able to get hold of. Well, thank you guys for both for what you're doing.

Thank you. I mean, who would have thought in 2021, if the Religious Broadcasters Commission, with all these folks from TV, there's Ben Watson again, all this star power, I'd be sitting with an African American man of God who was on a brink of suicide, got radically saved. Now you're reaching millions through Christ through digital, social media, and this woman of God, Nadarim, who married a Christian man. And he said, I will not marry you if it means I'm leaving Jesus. And you left Islam to follow Jesus and to marry him. Yes. And now you're here sharing Christ. Now you're a grandmom, so you have generations impacted by your godly legacy.

Totally. Nadarim, I'm going to put your name up, and you're a missionary. I'm going to put your picture up.

It's a selfie we took here a little bit ago. We got all kinds of shots. But now you're leveraging all your talents. There's like a whole nuclear power plant of talents right here.

I don't even know what to do with myself. And there's the Christian car guy here. Well, no, look, I'm just here to be, we're just a platform.

Truth Network, Truth Talk is a platform to get your message out to all of our wonderful affiliates too. Thank you for what you're doing. We're servants. Praise the Lord. If you don't know Jesus, and you're listening right now, quick, what do you say in 10 seconds to someone out there? I say, no matter where you are, you're not too far to be fixed, you're not too unworthy to be loved. God is trying to call out to you where you are through His Son, Jesus, who was crushed on the cross for you.

And if you believe you'll never perish, but I've everlasting life. Jesus transcends race and religious beliefs and understanding. He's the truth.

Talk to Him. Talk to God. Don't be afraid to call upon the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ, and you will never regret and never look back onto your life. Praise the Lord. And I need to add, Jesus is my King and the Lord, but can't back us was the way that He used my husband to lead me to Jesus Christ. Wow, come on. And I'm very grateful.

Come on, man. And that reminds everyone, everyone listening, who knows how God will use you to introduce someone to Jesus. All we're here to do is make introductions. That's it. Right. But you know, if you just introduce someone to me, I can't get you to heaven.

Yeah. So what am I going to do? I want to point you to Jesus. He can take you there. He can heal you.

Heal the broken hearted. Hallelujah. Amen. Yes.

And He can set the captive free. Amen. Come on, He preaches. Wow.

He can turn that mission field into the missionary. Yeah. Come on, brother. God bless you guys. Praise the Lord. Thank you. This is the Truth Network.