| The Cross – Jesus In China
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Episode 2 (Narration) In
China, the story of the “Cross” once seemed as strange and far away as the
other side of the universe. But today its message is here, right in our midst. 1900，during
the Boxer Rebellion, 188 western missionaries, and 20,000 Chinese Christians
were killed. In
the following fifty years, more western missionaries came to China. They
established 13 universities, over 6,000 elementary schools and high schools,
and more than 900 hospitals. The number of Chinese Christians grew to 700,000. The Chinese Communist Party believed this success was the result
of imperialist cultural invasion. They
expelled all western missionaries, forced Chinese missionaries to
renounce their religion, and mandated a secular education for all Chinese. Fifty more years have passed and today there are approximately 70
million Christians in China, an increase of 100 fold! (Title
sequence: The Cross – Jesus In China) (Narration) Three missionary leaders
were born around the time the blood of Christian martyrs was shed in the Boxer
Rebellion, Mingdao Wang, John Sung, and Watchman Nee. (Narration) Mingdao
Wang was born in Beijing in 1900. At age twenty he began his work as an
evangelist. At twenty-seven, he established Spiritual
Food Quarterly. In 1955 he was imprisoned for refusing to
renounce his faith. While in prison, weakened by intense interrogation and
torture, he was forced to sign a statement renouncing his faith. After his release, Mingdao Wang could not
find inner peace. He gave himself up to
the authorities and went back to jail with his wife, this time for life. Twenty
years later, in 1977, Mrs. Wang was released.
Mingdao Wang would rather die than accept his release. But two years
later the government tricked him into leaving. Mingdao Wang: “Although I live in darkness, The Lord is my light. I want
to endure His wrath because I offended Him.” (Narration) Mingdao Wang and his wife passed away in 1991 and 1992. (Narration) John
Sung was born in 1901. In 1926, he studied in America and received his Ph.D. in
chemistry, and then went to the Union Theological Seminary of New York. The
president of the seminary thought Song was crazy. He was locked up for 193
days. In the asylum, Song read the Bible forty times. Later, on his way back to
China, Song threw a golden key into the Pacific Ocean; it was the symbol of his
Ph.D. In the following seventeen years, John Sung, known as Crazy Song, spread
the gospel like wildfire across China and Southeast Asia. In 1944, when he was
43 years old, Song passed away. (Narration) Watchman
Nee was born in 1902. From the time he was twenty-eight, he wrote a great deal
in both Chinese and English. In Shanghai, he established a church known as the
Local Small-Group church, and soon this form of church spread across the
country. In 1952, he was convicted of counterrevolutionary activities and was
imprisoned in Baimaoling Jail. He died suddenly in 1972, just before the end of
his prison term. (Narration) All
these men, who were born around the Boxer Rebellion, later became the founders
of Chinese Christian churches. (Narration) During
the late Twentieth century, no matter how fiercely the storms of persecution
raged, Christianity could no longer be uprooted from China as it was in the
Tang, Ming, and Qing Dynasties. Instead, the Faith flourished -- it had grown
too strong to be suppressed. (Narration) From
Matteo Ricci, Robert Morrison, and Hudson Taylor, to the
Boxer martyrs of 1900, the seeds planted by the life and blood of thousands of
western missionaries finally had sent down deep roots into this harsh and
ancient land. （The Cross In China / Episode 2: Bloody Seeds）
(Narration) The
Chinese Communist Party Members who took control of Mainland China in 1949 were
die-hard atheists. Although the constitution acknowledges freedom of religion,
the Communist Party’s covert goal is to limit, transform and eventually
eliminate religions. (Narration) From
1949 to 1953, at least several thousand Christians were killed. Tens of
thousands were imprisoned. (Narration) While
these horrors were happening, Premier Zhou Enlai invited Wu Yaozong to a number
of meetings. They launched The Three-Self Patriotic Movement. It urged Christians
to join the government-controlled Three-Self church,
which advocated self-governance, self-support, and self-propagation. Its aim
was to put Christians under the complete control of the Communist Party. Allen
Yuan: I was imprisoned because I refused to join the
Three-Self Patriotic Movement. Yang
Xinfei: I love my country very much. My students are
the best pianists in China. Some even went abroad to perform and they were well
received everywhere. I didn’t break any laws, but the government wanted to
denounce me anyway. The real reason was that I spread the Gospel and refused to join the Three-Self church. Moses
Xie: I was a good friend of Wu Yaozong, the leader of the Three-Self movement, but I was surprised when he asked me to be part of the leadership. I refused, even though I knew my refusal would lead me to
prison and labor camp. I considered all the consequences. Sure enough, on the
evening of May 28, 1956, people from the police and public security came to take me away. Samuel
Lamb: On September 14, 1955, I was sent to prison for the first time. Sixteen months I spent there. In 1958, I
was sentenced to twenty years. I wasn’t released until 1978. Joseph Li:
The first time I was sent to jail was in 1960. The main charge was my refusal to join the
Three-Self movement. (Narration) Why
would these evangelists rather be imprisoned than join the
government-controlled Three-Self church? Allen
Yuan: We believe that Jesus is the head of the church,
not any person or organization. Politics and religion should be separate. When
you try to integrate them, the church deteriorates, and can become a political tool. (Narration) They also had serious questions about the faith of
Wu Yaozong and other leaders of the Three-Self churches. Moses
Xie: One day, during a dinner conversation, I asked Wu
Yaozong what he thought about the miracles performed by Jesus. He said he had rejected those long ago. Allen
Yuan: Wu Yaozong and Ding Guangxun, they both belonged
to a faction, which we called the “Nonbelievers’ group”. We
refused to join them because we felt they did not have faith. (Narration) Within
ten years, almost all the evangelists who refused to join the Three-Self church
were imprisoned or put into labor camps. Madame Yang Xinfei was one of them.
She graduated from the Shanghai Music Academy in 1957, and was twenty-seven
when arrested. She spent twenty years in jail. The night she was arrested, her
father was very ill. Yang Xinfei: My Dad was already in bed. I went to say goodbye to him. I
also asked for my Mother. We always
pray before leaving home. There was one policeman standing guard beside her and
another one beside me. My mother prayed to the Lord, begging him to take care
of me: “Have mercy on my daughter, let her leave peacefully and bring her back
safe and sound. May the Lord be with her” Then I left home and went to the
labor camp. (Narration) During this harsh winter of
faith, the land was frozen and bleak—but the wheat did not die. Underneath the
ice and snow, seeds were struggling to take root, waiting for spring to come. Allen Yuan: I was in jail for twenty-one years and eight months in
Heilongjiang Province near the former Soviet Union. It was extremely cold there
and a lot of people died. But, you know, all those years I never got sick. Not
only did I survive, I wasn’t sick a single day. So I know God still has work
for me to do. Yang Xinfei: The hardest part was that all the women criminals were
locked up in one room and it was too noisy to sleep. I also need to pray every
day, or I can’t sleep. So I waited until they all fell asleep and I crept out
of bed and knelt and prayed to God. Every night was like this until I left the
labor camp. Allen Yuan: I had to pull the blankets over my head and pray. There was
no Bible, but a hymn stayed with me. You know the one? “The Old Rugged Cross” So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross, I sang it over and over to keep my spirits up (Narration) The path of the cross was paved with humiliation and
suffering. For those who chose to walk this path, every step was taken with
blood and tears. Moses Xie: I was in jail for
twenty-three years. If they’d told me it would last twenty-three years, I don’t
think I’d have made it. When they held a public meeting to criticize and
denounce me, they asked: “Do you still believe in God? Do you still believe in
Jesus?” They pulled my hair and my ears. They punched me, knocked me to the
ground and kicked me. They jerked my handcuffs and asked: “Do you believe? Do
you still believe?” The handcuffs had made deep gouges in my flesh, which had
started to fester. They hauled me like this, back and forth, back and forth.
But I prayed to the Lord: “I have followed you as far as I can. Surely you are
not glorified when they denounce and torture me each day. I am your servant and
your child. Are you glorified in Heaven when I am suffering like this?” In
prayer I entrusted my whole family to the Lord, and then I was ready to kill
myself. But how could I do it with handcuffs on? When the two guards went for
lunch, I jumped onto the bed and unscrewed the light bulb. I planned to kill
myself with an electric shock. But the electricity wasn’t strong enough. Later,
people told me it was because I had handcuffs on. The handcuffs diverted the
electricity and saved me. While I was in the middle of doing this, people from
outside noticed and shouted, Moses Xie wants to kill himself!” The government
officials called me out and lectured me: “You want to threaten the government!
You want to make the government look bad by killing yourself?” At night, I
confessed to God. I said, “Heavenly Father, I have fallen short of your glory.
I have made it through twelve years of labor camp, and endured a lot of
suffering. Why couldn’t I rely on you till the very end? I am not worthy of
your glory. Please forgive me, oh Lord.” Then I heard the Lord speak to me:
“Dear child, my grace is sufficient for you. Dear child, my grace is sufficient
for you.” And a third time, he spoke so very gently, “My grace is sufficient
for you.” The Lord comforted me and by his grace, I survived. (Narration) While thousands of
Christians suffered in prison for the sake of the cross, the storm outside the
jails grew even stronger. After 1958, the government closed down many churches
in the name of unifying them. Of the
sixty-six churches in Beijing, only four remained open. In Shanghai, 8 of 204
were left open. And in Guangzhou, only one of the original fifty-two was left.
All of a sudden, it seemed that the Chinese church was withering. (Narration) In 1966, when the Cultural
Revolution started, the Chinese Christian church faced extermination: priests
were denounced, churches were destroyed, believers’ homes were confiscated, and
Bibles were burned. Even the Three-Self churches did not escape. Madame Jiang
Qing, Chairmen Mao’s wife, claimed that Chinese Christianity was finished and
belonged in the History Museum. Xu Yongze: Everywhere you went, there were Red Guards; everywhere you
went, there were armed radicals; everywhere they interrogated you. Many
faithful believers shed tears in secret, while they waited and waited for light
to come. Zhang Yupei: I remember clearly, on June 16, 1966, the largest poster
they put out read: “Down with the imperialist running dog, missionary Zhang
Yupei.” I said, “I cannot change my belief in Jesus.” They replied: “You
stubborn idiot. Go see your God!” All
the students came to the meeting to criticize and denounce me. From then on,
they locked me in the cowshed. A brother from Wenzhou: I remember watching a Christian standing on a platform. They
denounced him and called him a ringleader of superstitious people. There was an elderly sister in our area. And
when she got on the platform, she called out: “Believe in Jesus. Do not fear
death!” Uncle Feng: I was convicted of counterrevolutionary activities because
of my faith in Jesus. I was forced to parade through the streets. They often
held public meetings to denounce me. My whole family suffered the same thing,
just because they were related to me. Zhang Rongliang: Many churches were shut down. Missionaries were arrested or
forced to wear tall dunce hats, their hands were painted black, and they were
forced to parade through the streets. Church life was destroyed completely. (Narration) At the same time, an idol
landed on God’s altar. When Mao Zedong stood overlooking Tiananmen Square and
waved to the fanatic masses below, it seemed that he had captured the heart and
soul of everyone in China. Red Guard’s speech
(Off screen): Dear Chairman Mao, we promise you we will be the successors
of the working-class revolutionary mission. We will follow you and carry
out revolution all our lives. We will smash the old world and build a new world
for the working-class. The imperialists and revisionists hoped in vain to
transform us and future generations peacefully, but that will never happen! We
will take the great thoughts of Mao Zedong and carry them to the next
generation and spread them all over China and the world. (Narration) But underneath the overpowering waves stirred up by
this mighty hurricane, real Christians remained clear-minded and held on to
their faith. Yang Xinfei: Chairman Mao’s portrait was larger than life. We were forced
to kneel and confess before it. I refused to kneel and stood there wobbling
from one side to the other. People shouted and the dogs kept barking and biting
us. Officials brought out scissors and cut off my hair. I lay on the ground,
but did not kneel before them. Epaphras: Whether we studied current affairs or the quotations of
Chairman Mao, I kept silent. I refused to sing revolutionary songs—not a single
line. I refused to salute “Long live Chairman Mao!” I refused to raise my fist
to show my loyalty. I refused to write statements that promised obedience. Moses Xie: They interrogated me: “Moses
Xie, answer this question!
Can Chairman Mao go to heaven?” This was a tough question. If I said Chairman
Mao couldn’t go to heaven, they would beat me to death on the spot. It was a
life-or-death moment. During that time, I’d been praying day and night. I spent
all my time in prayer and got very little sleep. So I stood up, handcuffed, and
said: “The door to heaven is wide open, everyone can enter as long as he
acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, was crucified on the cross, that his
blood can cleanse all our sins, and admits he is a sinner and is willing to
receive Jesus as Savior. Then he
can enter the gates of heaven. The gate of grace is wide open. Now is the time
for salvation. I am only too anxious to see you all repent and receive Jesus
and his grace.” The government commissar stepped down from the platform, and
hit me angrily: “Moses Xie, you’re preaching again!” I said, “You
all asked me to speak. Could I have refused to answer your question?” (Narration) This elderly man Mr. Cai was put in jail during the
Cultural Revolution. He was accused of opposing Chairman Mao. Mr. Cai: I didn’t put up
Chairman Mao posters because at that time, Chinese people worshipped Mao as
their god, and I believe Jesus is the only true God. The government held a
public meeting. About ten thousand people were gathered to denounce me. When
they asked me to confess, the first words out of my mouth were, “For God so
loved the world….” (Narration) With the death of Chairman
Mao in 1976, the nation-wide movement to deify him, which had been disastrous
for the Chinese nation, finally came to an end. (Narration) In 1977, house-church
services, conducted in the homes of the faithful, started to spring up in
cities and throughout the countryside.
Chorus: People are no longer asleep They’ve
opened their spiritual eyes The
mute are no longer silent They
want to talk The
paralyzed stand up They
begin to walk God
is with us …….
Every day, people used to gather in this
empty square in Shanghai People’s Park to pray together. Soon, a number of
Three–Self churches also opened up (Narration) People quickly discovered
that Christianity had not died in China. In fact, even during those traumatic
times, faith in Christ had been spreading in miraculous ways. (Narration) Liu Yuanbo was a village
teacher from Henan province and as a young man traveled to Beijing to attend
Chairman Mao’s review of Red Guards. Liu Yuanbo: Those of us who went to Beijing were excellent students.
After returning home from Beijing, I was appointed Red Guard Commander. During
that time we were so ignorant, all we wanted was to live and die for Chairman
Mao. Until the day I die, I will never forget what happened when an old
missionary was denounced. In fact, I was directly involved in organizing the
public meeting, and scheming how to accuse and punish him. But when the Red
Guards beat her up, she responded kindly: “Oh God, forgive these children, for
they don’t know what they are doing.” In 1978, I
repented and my wife and I started a house-church in our home. At first only a
few old ladies attended, now we have over 3,000 believers. The first training
school began at my house. Today there are between forty and fifty training
schools like this. Wang Xincai (off screen): We
are the children of God, but they say we are the descendents of Dragon. (Narration) Wang Xingcai, who is now a house church leader, was
once a Red Guard commander. In order to show his
loyalty to Chairman Mao, he persecuted his own mother because of her belief in
Jesus. Wang Xincai: Because I was an activist in the Cultural Revolution, I put
up a big poster to criticize my mother publicly. I didn’t want to have anything
to do with her, especially politically. It didn’t matter that she was my
mother. In spite of what I did, she prayed for me, and fasted for twenty days.
This made me think: if something were definitely bad for them, a mother would
not want her children to have anything to do with it. Why did she pray and fast
for twenty days for my salvation? I had to think about that. She would risk her
own life so that her child might come to believe in Jesus, while this same
Jesus was denounced, convicted, and labeled as evil by our country. I was
wondering, but couldn’t figure out why. One day my second sister came home and
asked me if I’d like to read a book. Yes, I said. In those days I welcomed any
books. Later, she gave me a book that had no cover and no back. It was worn out
all the way to the seventh chapter of Matthew. The moment I started reading it,
I was moved. In chapter seven it said: “Do not judge or you will be judged.
Whatever measure you use to give to others, the same measure will be given to
you.” This is so true, I thought. When I asked my sister who wrote it, and told
her it was so well written, she thought I had already accepted Jesus. She said
they were Jesus’ words. I was furious! I threw the book out into the yard. That
hurt my sister so much -- worse than a wound. She rushed outside and picked up
the Bible. Then she told me that a sister in Christ had died during the
Cultural Revolution in order to save this Bible. (Narration) Wang Xincai’s sister brought a Christian to see him. Later, this brother died in jail. Wang Xincai: I invited him into my room. When he saw all the books on my
desk he asked me if I had read them all.
I said that I had. Then he said, “You must be a seeker of truth.” I said
yes. He told me that I wouldn’t be able
to find truth on earth; real truth comes from above. He gave me an example: There was an apricot tree laden with ripe,
yellow fruit that fell to the ground. A pig came by, and ate the apricot.
Afterwards the pig dug at the earth with his snout to try to find more. It
didn’t know to look up and see that the apricot had come from above. I thought
the story was very philosophical. He didn’t mention Jesus at all or anything
about the Bible. Later on, I felt
an explosive force within me and said: “I believe!” After I said that, I felt
my face turn red; the blush was hotter than being caught stealing. (Narration) After becoming a
believer, Wang Xincai was eager to find the Bible he had thrown away, and he
did manage to track down the Bible’s owner. Wang Xincai: I said I’d like to trade my bicycle for your old Bible. I
offered my new Pigeon Brand bicycle, but he said no. (Narration) In those years, a brand new bicycle cost as much as a
car does today. However, a Bible was an invaluable
treasure for a Christian. Miao Zhitong: The church was shut down, and from 1958 on, there were no
gatherings. But an elderly sister fasted, prayed and cried out to the Lord
every day. She cried for the future of the Chinese church. During the Cultural
Revolution, they found a Bible in her house and took her away. They beat her
and broke one of her feet. Brother Xin: There was only one torn apart Bible that survived the
Cultural Revolution within fifty miles of our home. It had the New Testament,
but only from Romans chapter 12 to Revelation chapter 11. We wanted to study
it, but the owners wouldn’t lend it out. It was their treasure. So we had to go
over there to copy it. Every week we had to make two or three trips. Zhang Rongliang: The first Bible I received was from a sister. Someone from
Hong Kong had given it to her. During our meeting, we passed it around so that
everyone could touch and feel it for a while. Everybody held it to their cheeks
and kissed it. After being kissed by thirty people, the Bible was soaked with
tears and the red color became faded. (Narration) During the Cultural
Revolution, Chinese Christians risked their lives to preserve a few Bibles, but
towards the end, a lot of hand-copied Bibles became available and overseas
believers began to smuggle Bibles to house churches across the country. It was
not until 1985, sponsored by a western foundation, that Bibles were printed in
China in large quantities. But even today, public distribution is not
permitted. People who want to own a Bible must buy one at a Three-Self church. (Narration) Mountains cannot stop Rivers
that flow to the ocean. Today, the Bible has entered millions of Chinese
families. It is a stream in the desert, moistening every thirsty soul. (Narration) By the end of 1970’s, Christians began to be released
from jail. Allen Yuan: I was so anxious to go home. I wasted no time and took the
express train. It was after eleven o’clock at night when the train arrived in
Beijing. Mrs. Yuan (Lily Liang): Our eldest daughter and her husband, our third son and I,
the four of us quickly ate some porridge, then hurried to the train station.
The light was red and dim. You could hardly see anything. Our eyes got very
tired. The four of us were spread out along the platform. We couldn’t see each
other. We kept looking around the train station until no one was left. We
didn’t find him. Allen Yuan: I’d been gone over twenty years, and I was wearing a black,
cotton-padded jacket and pants and a big fur hat and a pair of boots. They
couldn’t see me. (Narration) Allen Yuan took the bus to Baitasi, to the home he
had left, but he couldn’t find his home. Allen Yuan: I looked here and there. Where should I go? I started to
call my wife’s name “Lily Liang!” I didn’t know where she had moved. In 1958,
we were at Fuyintang. Their new address I had no idea. My third daughter-in-law
answered my call: “Lily Liang went to the train station to pick someone up.” I
replied that it was me. Remember, I had never met any of these
daughters-in-law. My oldest son was only seventeen when I left. (Narration): Mrs. Yuan,
along with her children, came back from the train station very disappointed. Mrs. Yuan (Lily Liang): I saw a light in my room. Was it possible? I hurried up the
steps and opened the door: there he was washing his feet. His head was shaven,
and he was quite happy. I was speechless. He told me they gave him sixty yuan for traveling. I still couldn’t say
a word. He was so thin; I didn’t know what to say, yet I was full of joy and
gratitude. Allen Yuan: Usually, if it was a life sentence, you could never go home.
People who don’t believe in Jesus said a strong fate must have helped me return
home. It wasn’t my fate. I am God’s child. Mrs. Yuan (Lily Liang): The first thing we did was to thank God. It was beyond every
hope I ever had that he might come home. It turned out that prison was a safe
place to be during the Cultural Revolution, otherwise, he would have been
beaten to death. I was so full of gratitude when I thought of this. After he
washed his feet, he didn’t eat. He went right to sleep. I cleaned up and got
ready to go to work the next day. (Narration) Twenty years of imprisonment were over, but Allen Yuan knew that his
wife had had a harder life outside prison during those long years. Allen Yuan: All those twenty years, when I was gone, my wife suffered a
lot while she raised our children. Mrs. Yuan (Lily Liang): After he left, we had eight people in the family, my
mother-in-law and six children. I had no job. Later when I got a job, I made
eighty fens a day, which is
twenty-four Yuan a month. After the
three Yuan tithe, I had twenty-one Yuan left. How could the eight of us
live on so little money? All I could do was pray: “Lord, yes, this is from you,
so I won’t say anything about it. I just want to ask you to protect my children
and me from dishonoring you.” None of my six children complained. I often told them that their father went to jail not because
of any crime. But my children did suffer a lot. One of my sons was nicknamed
“corn bread head” because that was the lunch he brought to school everyday. He
said: “Mother, could you buy me a wheat roll just once to shut them up?” I said
I couldn’t. If I just bought one roll, it was not fair for the other kids and I
couldn’t afford to buy six. (Narration) One day, this family of eight hit rock bottom: there
was absolutely nothing left to eat. Mrs. Yuan (Lily Liang): It was late, about eleven o’clock. And I prayed: “Oh Lord,
we have nothing for tomorrow, no rice, no flour, no money. Lord, if you don’t
provide, all we have is water.” But early next morning, someone knocked on the
door. I had just finished my prayers, so I opened the door right away. It was
an elderly woman in her 60’s. I didn’t know her so I asked her name. She said:
“Please don’t ask my name. The Holy Spirit brought me here,” she said. “Here is
something for you.” It was a package. I opened it after she left. It was fifty Yuan, which was a lot of money then. So
I was able to buy flour, coal and food.” (Narration) One day a girl came to the Yuan family with three
packages. Mrs. Yuan (Lily Liang): She said, “The big bag you can send to Uncle Yuan. The
middle-sized bag is for you to give to others in need. And the little bag is to
be used for your expenses.” “My child,
what is your name?” I asked. She said: “Please don’t ask. Mother didn’t want me
to tell you.” (Narration) During those difficult twenty years, it was this
great love that came from above and from those around her, that sustained this
gentle woman and her family in body and heart. Mrs.Yuan, Lily Liang: It was amazing. Each time the money came in the mail with
the code name 1078 or 1056. I would write back: I have received the money and
hope to meet you soon. I don’t know you, but thank you for your gift of love.
Two days later, my letter was returned, the post office noting that there was
no such person. Money was sent every month for over twenty years. Some people,
like my neighbors, said: “How come you are still joyful after going through so
much suffering?” They don’t understand,
but I do. My Lord strengthened me. (SONG: “O Lord, I
praise you!”) O Lord, I praise you Because you have chosen me In the midst of the crowd It was you who found me O Lord, I praise you Because you love me Your love fills the whole universe And overwhelms mountains and rivers Your love has saved many people. Your love has inspired us to live on. Who would not bow before you Who would not sing praises to you Our God Almighty Our God Almighty It was you who raises us from the dust You raise us from the dust It’s never enough to speak of your love It’s never enough to sing of your righteousness On this vast land Who would not thank and praise you (Narration) In 1978, pastor
Samuel Lamb was released from prison. Samuel Lamb:
When I got out of the jail, I found out that my wife
had died two years earlier. My father died seven years earlier. Moses Xie: When I returned from labor camp, I had nothing left. They
didn’t return any of my assets or my house. They came to our home three times
to confiscate things. Finally, they kicked us out. We had to live in a little
dark room, about 7 square meters. There
was no daylight, no fresh air. (Narration) Perhaps they didn’t
anticipate that the pressures that they had to face after leaving jail hadn’t
changed: they still had to register to join the Three-Self church. But the
government also had an unanticipated situation to deal with. The answers from
all these Christians remain the same as before. Samuel Lamb:
I refused to register. That’s what I said, Go ahead
and arrest me again. First, I was 75 in 1999. I am an old man. I’m used to
jail. The first time I was imprisoned for sixteen months; the second time,
twenty years. I’m used to it. Allen Yuan: When I returned home in October 1979, people came to my
house every day. Some came to read the Bible; some came to pray. Later we
started the house church service. And we continue to this day. My faith is more
important than everything else. If the laws of the government are against my
faith, I will never submit to man. I submit to God. Samuel Lamb:
I was not against the government. The government
misunderstood me. According to the Bible, we submit to the authorities. But in
terms of faith, I submit to God, not man. That’s all. (Narration) They continue holding on to their faith and continue to carry their own
cross. Moses Xie: Between October 10, 1985 to January 10, 1986, they locked me
up for three months. And again, between April 24 and July 23, 1992, they put me
behind bars for three months, accusing me of spreading the Gospel outside the
preassigned area. Allen Yuan: The plainclothes policeman came on Sunday and declared there
was no service on that day. They claimed Yuan was sick. Samuel Lamb:
In the middle of the gathering, seven public security
personnel entered in uniform. Three of them went upstairs and four stood at the
stairway. One of them interrupted our preaching and asked who reported to the
police that there had been a suicide. One of the brothers said no one had
reported any suicides; we didn’t have any suicides here. Then we started to
sing, “The cross, the cross ….” We were singing as they left. Chorus: In the cross, in the cross Be my glory ever
(Narration) These elderly men who had been deprived of their youth, who were even
considered strange in the modern world, showed neither bitterness nor regret. Moses Xie: The first time they asked me if I was going to appeal, I
said “No”. I thought to myself: why appeal to man? All I need is pray to God. Samuel Lamb:
We shouldn’t resent anybody, because nothing happened
that came from man. God allowed us to suffer this way. Jesus suffered as well,
but was not resentful. He prayed for his persecutors. Yang Xinfei: After I was released, I didn’t appeal. The policeman said:
“We’re not going to redress your case, because you’ll keep doing the same
thing”. Of course I’ll keep doing the same thing! I have been put on this earth
to witness for the Lord, what else is important? Epaphras: Didn’t the Lord tell me from the beginning to give up
everything and carry the cross to follow him? This is the Lord’s way. I am
following him on the same path. Why should I be upset? Why should I complain?
This is my biggest blessing. (Narration) This elderly man, Epaphras, was originally sentenced
to life imprisonment, but they released him in 1987. It
was very important to him not to leave the Yinchuan jail, so he stayed in a
little house nearby. Epaphras: The court cheated me and changed my situation from
“non-repentant” to “repentant” in order to release me. I protested in two ways:
first, I refused to leave the jail; then, after I was released, I chose to live
as a life-sentence prisoner in a place just outside the gates. (Narration): Not only did he live next to the jail, Epaphras insisted on fasting
five days a week. Epaphras: If I keep on fasting like this, they will know I’ve not
repented, that I don’t accept their accusations in the first place. If I continue to fast like this until I die,
it will mean that I refuse repentance, even until death. (Narration) After fifteen years of
fasting, Epaphras came to the end of his seventy-eight years on this earth, and
rested in the Lord. Some churches in Yinchuan wanted to have some of his ashes,
but they were quietly spread on the Yellow river. In his last letter to his
relatives, Epaphras wrote: “I died as an unrepentant criminal, just like my
Lord Jesus.” Epaphras: For many years, I have believed in Jesus and followed him.
The Lord Jesus has always listened to my prayers; he has been with me wherever
I go. I will never deny him. (Narration) The way of the cross
surpasses all human understanding. The way of the cross is the way of
humiliation and glory; the way of suffering and joy; the way of sacrifice and
victory. (Narration): In Xiamen, Madam Yang Xinfei
leads a house-church that consists mainly of college students. She also
preaches in the nearby cities and villages. In Shanghai and Beijing,
Pastor Moses Xie devotes his advanced years to reaching out to the increasing
number of younger people who have thirsty souls. In Guangzhou, Pastor Samuel
Lamb and his Da-ma-zhan house church stand firm and with grace in all their
trials and hardships. Samuel Lamb: Before I went to jail, we had 400 people. After I came back,
we had 900. They confiscated the house in 1990. After that, we grew to 2,000.
The third floor was not big enough, so we had to use closed circuit TV on the
second floor. Finally we had to use the basement as well. The more they
persecuted, the more blessed we became. (Narration) Today, the church has moved
to Rong-gui-li, where every day is like a holiday and groups of Christians
gather together in joy. In Beijing, pastor Allen
Yuan’s house church is like a lighthouse, beaming out the hope of Chinese
Christians into the dark night. Allen Yuan: I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son and
of the Holy Spirit, to join him in his death. Amen. (Narration) Every summer, Allen Yuan,
who is now 90, baptizes hundreds of people. Allen Yuan: God called me to
spread the Gospel and serve the Lord. In my heart, I accept the vision from
above. Even though we are limited in many ways, the devil will never conquer
the church. Battles like this raged in the past. Today the Lord’s work marches forward in China just like the time
of Acts. (End) |
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