“God said, ‘I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.’” [1]
My mission was to lead the people out of bondage to a place of worship to God.
On our first Sunday in Guangzhou, a knock came at our door. A man and his sister asked if they could visit. We were about to worship God and I told them so. The man replied, “That is why we are here.” From week one, worship began. Our mission purpose was to lead people to worship God.
Jesus taught me about commitment to the mission while attending a lecture at the San Yu Hotel. An American pastor was holding a Bible Study in a hotel meeting room under the guise of a free English class. About 80 college-aged people were in attendance.
The People’s Liberation Army owned the hotel. I was amazed and terrified at the same time. Amazed that we were talking about Jesus freely and boldly inside the Lion’s Den! Terrified that we were going to be arrested!
Then, the Holy Spirit said to me, “The God of heaven, will set-up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever.” [2] “You may or may not have to stand before earthly authorities, but everyone will stand before ME.” Knowing that every knee will bow, and tongue confess Jesus Christ as Lord, strengthened my commitment to the mission.
As I drank a soda, a dirty boy, wearing rags for clothing, came up and pointed to the can in my hand. He was mute. I poured the last drop of drink into my mouth and gave him the can. I assumed that he was collecting cans for recycling, but to my surprise, he took the can and held it above his mouth and waited for a drip. He was thirsty. He needed a drink.
Then, God spoke to my heart and said, “This is why you risk imprisonment and death. It is for children like him.” “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear.” [3] God’s love for people fueled the mission.
One day, I got off a bus too soon. Rather than wait for another bus, I walked. As I did, I saw a building boarded up. It caught my attention. I stopped and stared at it. It had been a church. Then, it came to me that while in high school I had wrote a long story about a crusader whose goal was to open a condemned church building in a city that lacked a church. Two years into our mission and seven years after writing that story, God had me doing what I wrote about. I never pictured it happening in China. God inspired me to write a story in my teens to prepare me for what happened in my twenties.
God confirmed that my mission originated with Him.
[1] Exodus 3:12
[2] Daniel 2:44
[3] 1 John 4:18
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