Gtcotr/ss080220
1973
was a monumental year in my life.
·
January
1973, I got married.
·
May
1973, I graduated high school.
·
June
1973, I joined the USAF.
·
August
1973, we rented our first apartment.
·
October
1973, we moved to Bossier City, Louisiana …
Halfway
around the world that same year, on June 1, 1973, a boy was born in the city of
Chengdu, China. His parents named him Wang Yi, 王怡
as it is written in Chinese. I spent 6 years in the military, went to school,
had two children, became a Pastor, and eventually moved to Southeast Texas
where I have been preaching here at Church on the Rock since August 28, 1988.
What is your story?
While
our lives were unfolding, Wang Yi grew up, graduated from Chengdu University
with a law degree, became an attorney and began writing a blog from his
hometown of Chengdu. He was considered a bit of an activist who wrote articles
on human rights. In 2004 Wang Yi was included in
the list of “The 50 Most Influential Public
Intellectuals in China”. All of that was well and good but then
something happened.
In 2005 Wang Yi received Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior, was converted to
Christianity. He was baptized in the name of Jesus, and began serving in a
House Church. This was a turning point in and for his life.
Many
House Churches operate outside of the government’s accepted practices for
public gatherings in Communist China. It is illegal to host, attend or lead a
Church which is not registered, monitored, and controlled by the government.
The Chinese Communist government prefers to monitor the messages and activities
of Churches by placing cameras in the congregation and controlling what is preached
and keeping track of all who attend. Even owning a Bible not printed in China
and not distributed by the Three-Self Patriot Government run church is
prohibited and punishable in very harsh ways. Problem is … the government of
China controls all of the printing in China and does not allow the printing of
Bibles. Problem fixed!
Wang
Yi found himself in conflict with such overt governmental intrusion and their
intimidation of Christians, so he decided to speak up. He became one of the few
pioneering Christian human-rights attorneys in all of China.
In
2006 Wang Yi was invited by President George W. Bush to the White House to
discuss religious freedom in China. He returned to Washington, DC in 2008 to
attend the Conference for Global Christians in Law and received an award for
his contribution in promoting religious freedom.
However,
the Chinese Communist Party touting their socialists ideals to build a better world
did not appreciate Wang Yi’s views nor the number of followers he had gained
from his blog posts and they moved to censor him and his writings. Wang Yi was
banned from publishing anything in China and his website was taken down. He was
told to cease sharing his thoughts about Jesus and freedom of worship under
threats of arrest … (Acts 3 & 4)
In
2008, Wang Yi founded the Chengdu Early Rain Covenant Church where he faithfully
served as a member for 3 years. In October 2011, Wang Yi was ordained and
became the Senior Pastor of the Church which grew to more than 700 members.
Wang Yi preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ which holds men and women
accountable to God for the actions they take either for or against their fellow
man. He wrote a document which included 95 points, in like kind to that of
Martin Luther in the 1500’s, detailing the responsibilities we all owe before
the One True and Living God.
On
December 9, 2018, Pastor Wang Yi and over 100
members of the Church were arrested by the Chinese authorities, who
simultaneously banned any reporting of the crackdown by media or others. After
he had been detained for 48 hours, the Early Rain
Covenant Church released a declaration he had written two months earlier
in anticipation of his arrest.
Over
a year later, on December 30, 2019, Pastor Wang was sentenced to 9 years in
prison by the People’s Court for inciting subversion of the state. The sentence
also included stripping him of his political rights and confiscation of his
personal assets. All of this was done in a secret hearing behind closed doors
for the good of society and to protect the people’s agenda from international
critical review.
Here
is a picture of Pastor Wang Yi and his wife.
Please
keep Pastor Wang, his family, the congregation members of whom we still do not
know their final outcome, the Church in China and around the world in your
prayers.
Now
let us turn our attention to the Word of God and to our text for today.
The Book of Daniel
You
know, Daniel was a good looking, very well-educated 15-year-old member of the
royal family of the Jewish Nation in the year 605BC when King Nebuchadnezzar of
Babylon besieged Jerusalem. Nebuchadnezzar’s victory resulted in Daniel being
taken as a prisoner back to Babylon as sort of a hostage, and there he was
enslaved to serve in the king’s palace for the rest of his life.
Daniel,
like so many others before and since, seemed to blossom wherever he was
planted. The Apostle Paul would later write that he too, in whatever state or
situation or condition of life he woke up to, found contentment and served
others as he would serve Christ. Daniel had a great attitude and became a great
asset to his captors and thereby became a great witness for the God in whom he
trusted with his future.
Daniel
served during the reigns of 4 kings:
1.
Nebuchadnezzar,
for whom Daniel interpreted a dream (Daniel 2:48)
2.
Belshazzar,
after Daniel read the “handwriting on the wall” (Daniel 5:29)
4.
Cyrus the Persian, who no doubt was informed by Daniel concerning his
destiny which was written by Isaiah over 150 years before Cyrus was even born.
Isaiah called Cyrus by name and left prophetic instructions as to what he would
do for the Children of Israel. (Daniel 1:21; 6:28)
It
is Daniel who introduces us for the very first time in the Bible to the angels,
Gabriel, and Michael. During his 70 plus years in slavery, Daniel racked up a
pretty good resume and a great reputation. However, Daniel was not liked or
appreciated by everyone.
You
know, you can be God’s person, right in the middle of God’s will, doing
everything with integrity and being a benefit to all you serve and still be
hated by some. Anyone who serves God is a target to
the devil and to all who serve or are controlled by him.
The
devil has historically made people afraid they are going to lose power and
control. The devil uses this fear to blind leaders of nations, organizations,
movements, political parties, religious groups, and social platforms to
manipulate and control them. Fear of the loss of power and control seems to be
the favored ploy of the devil throughout history. Such was the case against
Daniel … let me show you what is usually the last straw the devil lays on the
backs of the Children of God so that you might be on guard against the ploys the
devil is using in these days …
Daniel 6
1 ¶ It pleased Darius to
set over the kingdom one hundred and twenty satraps (mayors/administrators),
to be over the whole kingdom;
2 and over these, three
governors, of whom Daniel was one, that the satraps might give
account to them, so that the king would suffer no loss.
3 Then this Daniel
distinguished himself above the governors and satraps, because an excellent
spirit was in him; and the king gave thought to setting him over the
whole realm.
4 So the governors and
satraps sought to find some charge against Daniel concerning the
kingdom; but they could find no charge or fault, because he was
faithful; nor was there any error or fault found in him.
5 Then these men said,
“We shall not find any charge against this Daniel unless we find it
against him concerning the law of his God.”
So,
the governors and mayors and high officials decided to do whatever it took to
get a law passed that would implicate Daniel as a treat to the country. It
could have been about anything but since they knew he was very committed to
prayer, they conspired to make it about prayer.
These
government officials, leaders of the empire, all gathered together and
manipulated the system and through lies and flattery got the King to make a
statue and sign an irrevocable law that no one could petition anyone else but
the king for 30 days under penalty of being thrown into the lion’s den. They
manipulated the system to set Daniel up to fail.
Then
those same government officials requested and obtained a warrant from one of
their own judges, placed cameras in Daniel’s house and wire-tapped his phone …
no wait, that was not Daniel, that was somebody else. Oh yes, I remember now … It
was about 550 BC, Daniel was about 82 years old, and since they knew Daniel was
a praying man, they decided to stakeout his house and watched to see when
Daniel would pray to Jehovah. And of course he did … and when he did, they ran
to the King and lodged a formal investigation. The devil has no new tricks … he
is so predictable, and you would think by now we would see through these tactics
… my goodness, it is the same story over and over and over …
Daniel 6
14 And the king, when he
heard these words, was greatly displeased with himself, and set his
heart on Daniel to deliver him; and he labored till the going down of the sun
to deliver him.
15 Then these men approached
the king, and said to the king, “Know, O king, that it is the law of the
Medes and Persians that no decree or statute which the king establishes may be
changed.”
16 So the king gave the
command, and they brought Daniel and cast him into the den of lions. But
the king spoke, saying to Daniel, “Your God, whom you serve continually, He
will deliver you.”
18 ¶ Now the king went to his
palace and spent the night fasting; and no musicians were brought before him.
Also his sleep went from him.
19 Then the king arose very
early in the morning and went in haste to the den of lions.
20 And when he came to the
den, he cried out with a lamenting voice to Daniel. The king spoke, saying to
Daniel, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve
continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?”
21 Then Daniel said to the
king, “O king, live forever!
Daniel 6:22 “My God sent
His angel and shut the lions’ mouths, so that they have not hurt me, because I
was found innocent before Him; and also, O king, I have done no wrong before
you.”
You
can read the rest of the account. Basically the King was relieved, incensed,
and inspired. He threw all those who had tried to entrap Daniel and seize control
of the country for themselves into the lion’s den along with everything they
had. Then the King made a new decree …
Daniel 6:25 ¶ Then King
Darius wrote: To all peoples, nations, and languages that dwell in all the
earth: Peace be multiplied to you.
See,
that is what God wants, what God’s people want … the same thing that good
people want. Lost or saved, good people and God’s people just want peace. It is
the devil and evil people who make all the trouble.
26 I make a decree that in
every dominion of my kingdom men must tremble and fear before the God of
Daniel. For He is the living God, And steadfast forever; His kingdom is
the one which shall not be destroyed, And His dominion shall endure
to the end.
27 He delivers and rescues,
And He works signs and wonders In heaven and on earth, Who has delivered Daniel
from the power of the lions.
28 So this Daniel prospered in
the reign of Darius and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian.
Although
it may come in many forms, the biggest tool the devil has to use against people
who are serving and being used by God is to make it illegal to obey God. The devil wants to make it illegal for you to obey God.
You
might question me for a moment until I remind you that prayer was taken out of
our schools by the US Supreme Court in 1962. For over 50 years teachers and
administrators, students and school boards were intimidated, threatened, and
filed against over this issue time and again.
In
1980 the US Supreme Court’s decision effectively removed the Ten Commandments
from school classrooms. Public buildings came later …
From
the Prophet Daniel to the Apostles of Jesus; from Pastor Wang Yi to Jesus Himself
– the prince of this world is a devil and he is doing his best to sit you
down, shut you up, and take you out. Laws and ordinances are being
considered and passed right now which aim at making it illegal for Churches in
America to preach the truth of God’s Word. The devil has no new tricks. It is
always the same. But the devil does not get the last word.
On
January 16, 2020, the President of the United States issued strong new guidance
and took significance steps to guarantee and protect the right to prayer in
public schools. He said, we worship God not government. Thank you Mr. President https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvS1ShJrs6o
Do
not allow the devil or any of his minions make you feel uncomfortable sharing
your faith or speaking the truth in public or on social media. It may cost you
your reputation, your job, your assets, or your life. But what will it cost God
and the eternity of millions in generations to come if you do not?
Our
Action Items for This Week … Let’s do these three things together:
1.
Let’s read this scripture verse out loud
each day:
Daniel 6:22 “My God sent
His angel and shut the lions’ mouths, so that they have not hurt me, because I
was found innocent before Him; and also, O king, I have done no wrong before
you.”
2.
Let’s pray for Pastor Wang Yi and our
upcoming elections in the US.
3.
Let’s take every opportunity in person and
on social media this week to share our faith and to speak the truth in love.
It
can be a costly job, but it is the High Calling, and someone has to do it.
