Sing his praises in the assembly of the faithful. Psalm 149:1b
Our Open Doors colleague, Ron Boyd-MacMillan, shares the following insight
from his teaching, “Why I Need to Encounter the persecuted church.”
It’s so easy to get fed up with church. For years I got very little out of
church. The sermons were boring. The music was embarrassing. The fellowship was
non-existent. The whole experience of worshipping with other people felt stale
and pointless…Going to church in my country was an endurance test. Until I
visited a persecuted church!
There were fifty of us squeezed into an upstairs room. The singing was
hushed. The neighbors were hostile to the fellowship. Then a preacher stood up.
An old man, with a wiry frame and wisps of hair springing from a mole on his
chin. No sooner had he spoken a sentence than he broke down in tears. He kept
saying, “I never thought I would have the privilege of preaching again.” Then he
would laugh, and then cry again, great wails and sobs. Soon everyone was weeping
with him. Except me. This went on for about half an hour, and I began to get
very fed up with it all. He kept speaking a line, and my translator kept saying,
“It’s the same verse, it’s the same verse.” All this man did was repeat the same
scripture phrase, burst into tears, laugh, and then speak the very same phrase
again. I thought, “What kind of hopeless service is this.”
But afterwards I met the old man, and when I heard his story I repented of my
attitude. He was a preacher, ordained in the late 1950’s in China. He pastored a
church for only six months before it was closed down. He was jailed, spending
twenty years in prison. After he got out, he was very ill for a long time, but
finally, at age 77, had the strength to speak again. I had witnessed his first
sermon in 31 years! No wonder he broke down. I tried to imagine what it must
have been like, holding the Word of God inside for 31 years, not knowing whether
you would ever again preach. Then suddenly being allowed to do so. How do you
preach a sermon after a silence of 31 years? No wonder he was overcome.
He said, “I never thought I would get the privilege of speaking the Word to a
gathered group of Christians with their Bibles open ever again. Through the long
years of prison I thought that experience would never return. And when it came,
as you saw, all I could do was choke out the verse that kept me going:
Sing his praises in the assembly of the faithful (Ps149:1b).
I returned home with a transformed attitude. I began to walk to church with
my Bible, praising Him for the opportunity. I went to the church early, walking
the aisles and praying, thanking God for the building and the freedom to hold
our service. When the preacher spoke, I thanked God that he had no fear. When
the Bible was read, I thanked God for the men who took grave risks in the past
to print and distribute this word in my language. When we sang a hymn, I sang
out loudly, thanking God that I did not have to whisper in hushed tones.
Truly, what a privilege is corporate worship. The persecuted church rescued
me from bitterness, and taught me to count my blessings I had taken for
granted.
RESPONSE: Today I will thank God for the privilege and freedom of
corporate worship in my church.
PRAYER: Thank You Lord for the freedom and blessing of praising You in my
faith community.
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