I was recently reading a series of articles, published by various media outlets, on the growing Persecution of Christians in China. This persecution, according to reports, has been driven by “Sinicisation“, where the Church is being forced to adhere to the political ideology of the ruling Chinese Communist Party (“Sinicisation” refers to the process of making Non-Chinese societies or groups fall under the influence of Chinese ideologies and culture). There have even been reports of Church buildings being destroyed, underground Church groups being uprooted, Pastors being imprisoned, and Scripture, itself, being tampered with and even rewritten by Chinese authorities.
Who is Wang Yi?
I then began reading the story of Pastor Wang Yi, a prominent Chinese pastor of an underground (and therefore unregistered) Church called “Early Rain Covenant Church“, in Chengdu, China. Pastor Yi, a lawyer by profession, became a professing Christian in 2005 and, some time after, started the Church. With a membership of about 500, his Church was one of the largest underground Churches in the Chengdu area, which gave him room in becoming a prominent, non-registered Pastor of a non-registered Church. Pastor Yi, since his pre-pastoral days, had always been vocal, being an advocate against many politically-sensitive topics, most notably his stance against forced abortions and the massacre of the Tiananmen Square Democracy movement in 1989, and, recently, his stance against the attempt of the ruling Chinese Communist Party to “sinicise” the Chinese Church.
Since 2018, China began using military force and cyber tactics in infiltration underground Churches with large memberships, occupying Church buildings and reformatting them for other uses, and imprisoning Pastors and Parishioners throughout the country. In late 2018, Wang Yi, his wife, and 100 other members of the Church were arrested and detained by authorities. Some time after, his wife and most of the members were released but Yi was kept in detention. In December 2019, Yi was handed a 9 year prison sentence for what the Chinese government described as “inciting subversion of power“.
Wang Yi’s Message and Questions
While I continued reading news stories and updates on the situation in China, I came across an account of a message that Pastor Yi shared with his congregation in October, 2018; just a few months before his arrest. In the message Pastor Yi asked a series of quite sobering questions. He firstly asked this question:
“Have we been successful in spreading the Gospel throughout our city?”
Which was followed by this question:
“If tomorrow morning the Early Rain Covenant Church suddenly disappeared from the city of Chengdu, if each of us vanished into thin air, would this city be any different? Would anyone miss us?”
After allowing his congregants to ponder on the questions asked, he gave a response that honestly sums up the reality of it all:
“I don’t know.”
One of the most sobering moments in life is when you come to the realisation that you will not live in this life forever; death is inevitable. Another sobering moment is when you come to the understanding of what your true purpose in life is. The way in which we allow ourselves to be impacted echoes only within our own lives. The way in which we impact others, on the other hand, echoes within our lives, theirs, this world, and eternity itself. This can be seen in St. Matthew 5:13-16, where Jesus said:
“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”
St. Matthew 5:13-16 (ESV)
Understanding that we are salt and light gives us a deep sense of purpose; purpose that echoes within us and satisfies our need for clarity and direction. Being the salt and the light of this world also shows how such a realisation is meant to impact people and our society around us. We were not meant to be transformed and then hide in the shadows in isolation. We were meant to declare the Gospel, not just declaring, or saying, to people that “Jesus saves“, but actually being salt with so much taste and light with so much brightness to actually show others that Jesus indeed saves. Our impact on others also echoes in eternity itself where God the Father, who is in heaven, is glorified.
Would Anyone Really Miss Us?
As Pastor Yi stated, consider your own life and the impact of your Church. If, by some reason, you or your Church disappears at this very moment, how would your community feel about it? Would your absence be celebrated or mourned? Would there be individuals within your community who can truly say that they felt your impact and knew for certain that you were a follower of Jesus Christ?
Pondering upon whether or not we will be missed is important, as it opens the door that is frequently closed in our ever-busy Church settings today; the door of self-introspection. Congregants are continually encouraged, in the modern Church, to get what is theirs and to get busy. “Blessing”, “Prosperity”, “Overflow”, and “Abundance” are used frequently, all of which do correctly summarise what Christ can and will do in our lives. However, our busyness and lack of focus on what is truly pertinent in the Kingdom of God leads us to having worldly, contorted views on what true Blessing, Prosperity, Overflow, and Abundance really is. We automatically adopt and, in some cases, are given from the pulpit, a view that is purely material when it comes to Blessings or Prosperity. We are somehow encouraged to believe that the building of faith can come by simply “believing”, holy living can simply come by “doing more”, and Blessing means that you will absolutely never struggle, even once, ever in your life again.
In the life of a believer, building Faith, living a holy life, and being blessed are governed by the Will of God and the principles of His Word. It is not governed by some contorted reality that every Christian would become a millionaire in their life time. It is governed by God’s plan to redeem the hearts of all mankind, whether rich or poor. This is what we call the Kingdom mentality. It is having a mentality of impact, rather than acquisition, so that the true effects and presence of the Kingdom of God can be felt in this physical realm, as it is experienced and felt in heaven.
You must therefore observe your life, motives, and goals. Are they centred around you only or do they involve genuinely seeing your society around you come to know Christ and flourish in Him? We can even look at the example of the Apostles, in Acts 5:41. It says:
“And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name.”
Acts 5:41 (KJV)
It was not said of the disciples that they were wealthy or well-off materially in the scripture. It was seen, however, that their impact was global and has lasted throughout the ages, even to this very second. They took immense joy in suffering, not because they love pain, but because what the suffering they went through represented. It represented them being true partakes in Christ, both in His sufferings and in His precious promises. It was not a “let me get mine now” attitude that caused the Church to flourish, it was a “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done” attitude.
Becoming the True Church of Impact
The Church’s aim should be to actually be and live as representatives, or ambassadors, for Christ Jesus. After all, we are part of the Kingdom in the sight of God. His focus is on building His Kingdom, not a denomination. For example, although I am a Pastor of a Full-Gospel Pentecostal Church, I must come to the realisation that myself and my congregants being labelled as “Full-Gospel Pentecostals” does not mean we have automatic access into heaven with some mystical curry favour from God and others don’t. In fact, God does not have favourites. It therefore does not signify that God is a Pentecostal, Evangelical, Adventist, Methodist, Anglican or Roman Catholic. God is not a denomination or member of one; Jehovah God is King, and that is what the True Church needs to recognise.
As King, He desires that His Kingdom be spread and be present and felt. In order for His Kingdom to be felt in today’s setting, it must be declared, recognised and accepted in the hearts of men. Declaring the Kingdom of God, through the Gospel of Jesus Christ, involves living and declaring the Gospel as Jesus’ immediate representatives; guided by the Word of God and totally under the power and direction of the Holy Spirit of God. The Holy Spirit will always help us to understand, to teach, and will manifest fruit in us that would make us have a God-guided and God-focused impact on others around us. Jesus intends that His Church’s impact be felt so heavily to the point where, if we do cease to exist at any point in time, the impact would be so evident. It would be so evident to the point where people will realised that they encountered God Himself who was, all the time, living in the hearts of mere mortal men.
Its time to Wake-Up
The Church has never truly thrived in an extended period of comfort and prosperity as it has in persecution. The Church has always thrived and grown, tremendously, in times of Persecution and Turmoil, seeing true revival and witnessing the effects of the manifestation of the Kingdom of God. Despite the negative words, the arrests, the Church buildings being destroyed, or even the imprisonment or execution of Believers, the Church has grown and will continue to grow. If, as is the case with Pastor Yi, we are asked “would anyone miss us”, we can confidently say “we will be missed”. It would not be because of who we are but, in truth, because we were mere mortal men in whom the Immortal, Eternal God dwelt and worked.
Sources
The Guardian Newspaper Website
Beacon Of Flavor 