" ... Another man was sick, and as a Taoist, he sought help from seers. He went to one renowned fortune-teller in the city, but the man had recently become a Christian. His advice to him now was, 'You need the Lord.' Surprised and disappointed over this 'fortune,' he sought out another fortune-teller, but he too had been converted and advised the sick man, 'You need the Lord.' This man went to five fortune-tellers – all of whom had come to Christ. Upon their witness, he found that Christ was indeed his true fortune. ... "
"The hour is dark and it’s hard to see what You are doing here in the ruins, and where this will lead. Oh, but I know that down through the years I’ll look on this moment, see Your hand on it, and know You were here. And I’ll testify of the battles You’ve won, how You were my portion when there wasn’t enough. I'll sing a song of the seas that we crossed, the waters You parted, the waves that I walked. Oh, my God did not fail! Oh, it’s the story I’ll tell! ... " + The Story I'll Tell
This song above and the verse below have hit me in ways I'm still unpacking. We get to live in the story of a God who does not fail. May the Word of God be the sword of the Spirit for all of us in the midst of feeling contained, chained, and/or limited right now:
I suffer hardship, even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But the Word of God is not chained. + 2 Timothy 2:9
For encouragement in holy imagination for what King Jesus can and does do to reveal His Kingdom of heaven near and at work among us, these "Stories of Humility & Hope" are from China (the past two were from our sisters and brothers living and walking with Jesus in the former Soviet Republics and countries on the coast of West Africa).
"China" excerpts adapted from Dispatches from the Front: Stories of Gospel Advance from Around the World, published in 2014 A.D.
Wuzhou's Story in Shenyang, China
We met last night in room 603 on the backside of the Jin Jiang hotel. The room was crowded with men and women reporting from the front. One of them was Wuzhou, a house church leader in Shenyang. Last year he was copying and distributing ten thousand copies of the JESUS film. But the operation was too big, and the police caught him. Perhaps because he is the son of a Communist official, he off light – just a huge fine, the equivalent of a year's wages! Wuzhou seemed to take it in stride. In fact, he said nothing of this – I learned it from others. Rather, he is looking ahead, focused on strengthening the more than three hundred believers in the house church here in the city, which more recently broke up into numerous groups. As Uncle Zhao ("Uncle" is the common term among Chinese Christians for an older leader) reminded us, "It is easier to strike an eagle than ten sparrows."
The Yuans' Story in Somewhere West of Beijing, China
We are in search of a "secret" baptismal service of a house church in Beijing. We have vague directions – take the road west, pass the apple orchard, follow bus 727 to a bridge ... We got out at the bridge, walking down a dirt road that wound along the Ye Xi River. When we rounded a bend, we heard the singing of "Amazing Grace," and what we saw was also amazing – hundreds standing beneath the willows along the river bank. About two hundred people were in line to be baptized, and more were arriving. At least that many more were there to share in this time of witness and worship. Morning mist still clung to the river, where the pastors stood and received one believer after another from the long line. The old pastor of the church, the venerable Allen Yuan, sat with his wife, and they laid hands on and prayed for each person being baptized. Pastor Yuan is 90 years old and has spent 23 years in prison for his faith, including torture during the days of Mao.
Sister Sung and Brother Khao's Stories in Lanzhou, Gansu Province, China
For 30 years Sister Sung and Brother Khao have served the Lord and led many to the Savior. Their testimonies were told with tearful joy because, as Sister Sung put it, "the love of God gripped me" – and clearly He has not let her go. Over the years, Sister Sung and Brother Kao witnessed far and wide and started house churches in Dun Jiang, Mulan, and the Black River region, but the fires of persecution have followed them. Yet like the three Hebrew children, the fires did not consume them, and they found Christ with them in the midst. Once the police raided the church in Dun Jiang. The police chief denounced the Christians as being part of a "capitalist dog religion," and with threats of criminal charges, he and his henchman began days of interrogations. However, little did the chief know that his wife was a "lady Nicodemus," secretly meeting at night with Sister Sung to know more about Christ. She believed on the Lord Jesus – and then openly declared Him. Her witness to her husband ended the investigation – and eventually led him to the Savior. In another city, a police spy planted in a house church came under conviction after hearing testimonies of men with notorious pasts. As a police officer, he had beaten and tortured men for their crimes, but that had not stopped them from stealing or fighting. How is it that the Gospel has the power to change a person? Under deep conviction, he soon found out for himself. Another man was sick, and as a Taoist, he sought help from seers. He went to one renowned fortune-teller in the city, but the man had recently become a Christian. His advice to him now was, "You need the Lord." Surprised and disappointed over this "fortune," he sought out another fortune-teller, but he too had been converted and advised the sick man, "You need the Lord." This man went to five fortune-tellers – all of whom had come to Christ. Upon their witness, he found that Christ was indeed his true fortune.
Altantsetseg's and Wu-Wen's Stories in Baotou, Inner Mongolia, China
Met a young lady named Altantsetseg, which means "golden flower." She is working in campus evangelism and discipleship in Dalian. She made a 30-hour train ride here to accompany our little team across her homeland of Inner Mongolia and to introduce us to Christians along the way. Tonight before our prayer time, she shared how she came to faith in Christ, and with joy she sang songs of praise in the Mongolian tongue. The sound was sweet and clear. A winsome loneliness clung to its rhythms, like the companionship of the wind that only a Mongolian shepherdess could know. What a day that will be when Mongolian voices join the choir from every tribe and nation, all of us singing praise to the Lamb that was slain. ... We are traveling via bus and many are slumped over, catching rubber-neck naps. But Altantsetseg is busy talking with our tour guide, Wu-Wen, sharing Christ with her. She delights to shine for Christ and speak of Him. ... After a late supper at the end of a long day, we returned to hear that Wu-Wen accepted Christ as her Savior. She had first heard the Gospel last summer at an English camp, but Altantsetseg's faithful witnessing brought her to understanding and decision. More and more like Wu-Wen are coming into the Kingdom across Inner Mongolia, from the cities to the grasslands. In little more than a year the church in the area has grown to over one thousand. They meet in ten house churches – some in the city, some among the shepherds on the prairie.
Nashso's Story in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, China
In town, the house church meets in the home of a seamstress named Nashso. A brother named Amrad took me over to Nashso's house, where she eagerly took out from beneath her mending her treasured copy of the Mongolian Bible. Six months ago, Nashso's husband divorced her, abandoning her and their 8-year-old son. As she walked out of the court where she was given divorce notification – overwhelmed by hopelessness – she met a Christian who shared the Good News that she too had only recently heard and believed. Nashso trusted Christ right there. She said, "The worst day of my life became the best day of my life." The group of believers that gather in her cramped apartment has grown from four to forty in six months. ... These people don't even know the terms "church planting" or "soul winning," they just know that Isus Hkristus (Jesus Christ) has given them new life – and the news is too good to keep. ... The wind of the Spirit sweeps over these Mongolian plains.
Here are links to previous City Notes books: A Meal with Jesus; The Art of Neighboring; A Praying Life; Encounters with Jesus; The Rest of God; Letters to a Birmingham Jail; Notes from a Failed Missionary on Rediscovering Faith; The Pursuing God; Yawning at Tigers; Moving Towards Emmaus; Evangelical, Sacramental, and Pentecostal; Faith Without Illusions; The Eternal Current; Learning to Speak God; Tattoos on the Heart; Drop the Stones; He Speaks in the Silence; The Dusty Ones; A Beautiful Disaster; Glorious Weakness; Discovering the Freedom of Limitations; Bread for the Resistance; Dispatches from the Front Part 1; Dispatches from the Front Part 2
Soli Jesu gloria.
Christ is all,
Rev. Mike “Sully” Sullivan
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