Translated by China Aid Association
Editor’s note: bracketed material was added for a smoother translation
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Peace in the Lord. This [past] Sunday was the tenth Sunday of Shouwang Church’s outdoor worship. Even though we’ve been through two months of battles and are feeling tired in body and soul, but our desire to worship God is unchanged.
[The weather in] Beijing on [Sunday] June 12 was sunny and clear. By Friday, even more brothers and sisters than in previous weeks had been put under guard in their homes, and a few were taken to nearby guesthouses, leaving only a few dozen people who were able to go out this week to the designated church meeting site. Some brothers and sisters who tried to go up to the plaza or who were near the plaza were taken away by police who were waiting there. Based on our figures, 14 brothers and sisters were apprehended on Sunday morning because of the outdoor worship (not including two who were taken by local police to a guesthouse on Friday night). They [the 14] were taken to 10 different local police stations in their respective neighborhoods. By midnight of the 12th, 13 had been sent home, but one person was not released until noon of the 13th. What needs to be pointed out is this, a few police stations [behaved] lawlessly and inhumanely. For instance, the Haidian police station locked up three visiting brothers and sisters in the basement for no reason at all (the reason given for locking up two of them was that they were suspected of coming to the police station to steal; this way of doing things is very nasty; nevertheless, we continue to hope that their consciences will cause them to be somewhat more moderate.)
Our constant plea before God is, if it is in accordance with his will, to open up a path for the church at an early date, so that this battle can come to an end as soon as possible. But, up to now the battle rages on. In the past week, the members-only chatroom of the Shouwang Church website that was set up outside of China has been paralyzed by attacks from hackers from the Beijing area. This has meant that, in the midst of our dilemma of having no place to gather for worship, we have lost yet another communication platform for brothers and sisters. May God have mercy on those people in this country who do such ignorant things as this.
Also, in the past two Sundays, Three-Self church personnel showed up at many police stations to persuade, “educate” and even rebuke the imprisoned brothers and sisters in an attempt to get them to leave Shouwang Church and join one of the Three-Self churches or to ask us to unconditionally abandon our outdoor worship. Because they said they were believers, so we exhorted them in the Lord to give up this endeavor, because the Bible says, “Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand.” (Romans 14:4)
This is yet another reminder to us of where the substance of this battle lies, and that is, regardless of how the situation develops, [we must] always continue to lay hold of the foundation built on the only exalted Jesus Christ as the only Lord. We would like to reiterate here that Shouwang Church is a house church that exalts only Jesus Christ as Lord; regardless of whether it is today or some time in the future, [we will] never join any non-church government entity. “Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings. It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace, not by ceremonial foods, which are of no value to those who eat them. (Hebrews 13:7-9) A half-century ago, these attempts came to nothing with those of the older generation who chose imprisonment rather than give up their principles; we believe that today these attempts will also come to nothing with our generation of Christian believers.
Even though we get tired, but our God is a God who “neither sleeps nor slumbers” and “gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.” In this race, may we not look at our weakness and fatigue but rather keep our eyes always on the Lord Jesus Christ who is the author and finisher of our faith, believing that whatever perfect work he has begun will, at his appointed time, surely bear fruit. May God grant us faith and intentional patience to walk the path before us.
May the grace and peace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the lovingkindness and mercy of our God our Father in Heaven and the movement and guidance of the Counselor Holy Spirit be always with each brother and sister of Shouwang Church and with brothers and sisters everywhere who remember Shouwang Church and who are praying for Shouwang Church.
Beijing Shouwang Church
June 14, 2011
China Aid Contacts
Rachel Ritchie, English Media Director
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