(August 30, 2024) Robert McQuillan shares a memory… and encouragingly challenges.

Out-of-the-blue the Holy Spirit recently enabled me to lead a young person to Christ… in an office! He’d mentioned having back pain and, not mentioning that I was a minister, I simply said that I’d like to pray about the discomfort… and was asked to do so.

So I laid hands on that sore back and prayed in Jesus’ name. A short simple prayer resulting in a big smile and acknowledgement that the pain was going, then ‘It’s gone!’

No, I didn’t work a wonder, the Spirit did! I just stood on scriptures such as Psalm 30:2 and my personal favourite, 1Peter 2:24! Praise God that my follow-up challenge about acknowledging Jesus as Saviour was accepted and another soul is in the kingdom!

Yes, forget that I’m a credentialed minister — the reality is that ‘plain ordinary Christians’ can help extend the kingdom by sharing Jesus when the Spirit gives us opportunity, and not be expecting a pastor to be on hand!

Recollection
The above encounter reminds me of something I wrote about years ago…

I was requested to meet Chang Wong (not real name), a visiting Chinese pastor unknown to me. It was to be an appointment I will never forgot!

Putting it simply, I was ‘blown away!’ With deep humility he quietly recalled his  incredible story of faith, ministry, imprisonment, pain, humiliation… ever trusting God’s supernational power. What he shared with me touched my heart so deeply that I almost cried.

Chang’s testimony: Decades ago pastors were very few in China, not only in general but also because of the prosecutions of PSB (China’s Public Security Bureau).

Pastor Wong had been the only minister way, way up in a mountainous area: no transport, one trudged everywhere. A young married man, he’d been led by God to live in that forsaken area, to plant and pastor a small secret house church — no worship team, no assistants. He was on his own.

Souls were converted and Chang taught them from God’s word — no available Bibles, no books, no human philosophies. They listened intently as he spoke of his Lord and the miraculous activities of the Holy Spirit. Chang encouraged them that while it was important to live out the Christian life and share with others. How they loved God’s word! But to get even a New Testament, some of those poor people would save for a whole year and on receipt tore pages out to give to others who couldn’t afford to order! 

Chang would spend long hours arduously trekking over mountains to reach homes for other secret meetings.

‘My listeners would believe in the Holy Spirit I taught about, and we would have many prophecies, see many signs and wonders, miracles, and salvations’ he recalled.

Removal
Unfortunately some years later, when his little son was only four, the PSB arrived investigating and Chang was taken many miles away to be imprisoned for 18 years.

I sat in that tiny office, thinking it was cramped. But it was nothing compared to what Chang shared — being alone in a tiny cramped, foul-smelling cell where he could hardly stand, let alone walk. 

My eyes popped open when he shared how one day he deliberately requested that the guards allow him to ‘be a good Christian’ and clean the stinking human excrement slop buckets!

The guards had laughed at him, thinking he was a fool for his Jesus. But regularly they dropped stinking slop buckets from other cells into his small one not outside, instantly pulling back from his stinking enclosure.

And so the years went by and due to the foul stink Chang was left alone with no guards nearby. This ingenious little pastor could freely praise God out loud without harassment or beatings, recalling scripture after scripture… and praying for his little house churches and his family so far away!

I must have looked shocked; thinking not only of Chang freely praising God but the humiliation of the stench around him in that little cell. He smiled and quoted from 1Corinthians 3:18 (NKJV), ‘Didn’t Paul say, “If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise.”’ 

Weakly I smiled too, and foolishly said to this great servant who’d been left alone in that stinking cell for so many years, ‘It must have been rough, keeping your faith, and having no Bible.’

Without hesitation, this little Chinese man of God quietly said, ‘It was good to have opportunity to worship our Lord alone in private.’ I blinked, thinking of the spacious comfortable church with great facilities that I was based in back then and, turning away, I gulped.

Reunion
Then Chang told me how very mysteriously, one day he was mistakenly released! Journeying mile after mile trekking up mountains, he finally arrived home, reuniting with his delighted wife and son… now 22.

What a happy reunion it was and oh what joy embracing his wife and son, both of whom he hadn’t seen for 18 years. More was to happen that had him speechless. Somehow people Chang had spent those long years praying for ‘just knew’ he would be coming home, and had gathered to hear him preach.

Taken to a clearing to meet up with what he expected to be that ‘old’ small group, Chang was taken aback, indeed startled, to discover thousands had gathered to meet and hear him.

Amazed, he had asked ‘Who are all these people?’

‘Why, your church, Pastor; they have travelled many miles and many days through the mountains, to greet you’ he was told.

Incredulous, he had asked: ‘My… my church? But I’ve been away for years. How is this possible? We were only a few when I was removed. Who are your pastors to have achieved so much?’ 

The response stunned him. ‘Brother Chang, you are our pastor. We have only you to pastor us.’

‘Me? But… I’ve been imprisoned for 18 years, I haven’t been here’ he reminded them, astonished.

‘But we did what you taught us… reach the lost, teach what you taught us. To trust the Holy Spirit and believe for His help and pray for miracles. We are your church, Pastor… please teach us more. We do not fear the authorities, only that we might miss following God’s directions.’ 

Chang shared more, challenging me in various ways. A tear fell from my eye, a lump rose in my throat and I had to turn my head away. 

This was a case of church attenders having been encouraged by a wise minister, himself a dedicated worshipper of Jesus despite harsh difficulties. Faithfully they had followed their pastor’s scriptural teachings, believing for signs and wonders whatever the challenges! Souls had been led to Christ locally and around that mountainous region and the church — the kingdom — had grown.

Recognition
We must recognise our responsibility and take every opportunity God gives us to share Jesus wherever, however… shopping plazas, neighbours, supermarkets checkouts, sales assistants, postal deliverers, medical staff, tradies and others.

I confess that I haven’t ‘made it’ in all this… but I’m open to whatever opportunity the Lord gives me. A conversation can lead to an encouraging word, even when expressing a genuine ‘Thank you.’ Many times I add a simple, ‘God bless you’ and many times that had led to sharing about Jesus.

Often various articles in this E-Mag remind readers that whatever we’re into, church leadership or just ‘plain ordinary Christians’ we have an obligation to embrace the great commission. That —

• We shouldn’t just pray for but financially support missionaries.
• It starts in our local Jerusalem… our home territory; our local church and missionary vision.
• Pastors should teach their folk how to witness!
• We must not expect them to do all the work!
• ‘Plain ordinary Christians’ can help extend the kingdom by sharing Jesus at every opportunity.

 

As the title above highlights — Jesus’ Matthew 28:18-20 command was the great commission, not great suggestion!

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Dr Robert and Pastor Maureen McQuillan’s links are OnlinerConnect@gmail.com and Facebook  
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