Do you want to help God’s work in one of the most crucial places that is essential to completing the Gospel Commission? SDA teachers are needed in China to help teach English in Sichuan Province and other areas as a way to contact people who are open to truth (similar to how we have used our health ministry as a witness) in March, 2018 and after that too. Due to many factors listed below, including visions to many Chinese Christians that they and Asian Christians will play a major role in evangelizing the Middle East and taking the gospel back to Jerusalem, completing the circuit of the gospel around the globe, this is a key gigantic step forward in completing the gospel commission(more details and website links with more information on this is below).
Due to Chinese government laws, only people from countries with English as the official language can get English teaching visas for mission schools unfortunately (America, England, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, etc.). But for those who qualify, salaries range from $500- $2,300/month depending on location plus free housing, roundtrip airfare and assistance in touring China while here (tax is also very low). The information below can also help others though in witnessing in various ways for God. You can see pictures of the school and contact information to apply here:
website: www.sgg.com.sg/career/jobs.htm
email: Pastor Wong kok boonwww@yahoo.com or
Bryan Bissell bryan@truth-is-life.org
For 1000s of years, God has given evidence of His truths through the Chinese culture, history and language (some documentaries on this are in the last section of this post: “EVIDENCE OF GOD FROM CHINESE HISTORY AND LANGUAGE”) as well as to other nations around the world that complement the Bible. In recent times, many Chinese Christians have been given visions from God or impressions that Chinese and Asian Christians will be the main soldiers taking the message of the cross through the Middle East (and the notoriously difficult 10/40 window) and Back to Jerusalem”. With a few notable exceptions, the gospel has gone from Israel to Europe and Africa, then to North/Central/South America, then to East Asia and now Chinese Christian churches have a vision to train over 1,000,000 missionaries to send throughout the Middle East in the next 2-3 decades. Many Chinese Christians have been brought to faith by Christian teachers in China who taught them English or other subjects. Teaching English is one of the best ways to help strengthen the church here. But prayers for our work, financial funding of missionaries/mission schools, helping develop witnessing/educational materials, witnessing to the over 50,000 Chinese students in America who are the future leaders of China, witnessing through media and more can also help. Ellen White has something quite important to say about the connections between local churches and foreign missions and how when churches support foreign missions, it will be very beneficial for the spiritual life and prosperity of the home church as well.
“The home missionary work will be farther advanced in every way when a more liberal, self-denying, self-sacrificing spirit is manifested for the prosperity of foreign missions; for the prosperity of the home work depends largely, under God, upon the reflex influence of the evangelical work in countries afar off. It is in working actively to supply the necessities of the cause of God that we bring our souls in touch with the Source of all power.” 6T p. 27
David Livingstone spoke of his experience as a missionary at Cambridge on December 4, 1857 (and after ~22 years as a Christian/mission teacher abroad myself, I 100% concur) and said:
“People talk of the sacrifice I have made in spending so much of my life in Africa. Can that be called a sacrifice which is simply paid back as a small part of a great debt owing to our God, which we can never repay? Is that a sacrifice which brings its own blest reward in healthful activity, the consciousness of doing good, peace of mind, and a bright hope of a glorious destiny hereafter? Away with the word in such a view and with such a thought! It is emphatically no sacrifice. Say rather it is a privilege. Anxiety, sickness, suffering, or danger now and then with a foregoing of the common conveniences and charities of this life, may make us pause and cause the spirit to waver and the soul to sink; but let this only be for a moment. All these are nothing when compared with the glory which shall be revealed in and for us. I never made a sacrifice.”
Mission work has often been quite a life changing experience for those who go abroad ranging from experiencing changing lives in very practical ways to learning new languages and ways of viewing the world to learning valuable ideas and insights from other cultures. One of the most important is to learn a deeper level of trusting God when familiar friends and family are far away. Because of reasons like these and others, many SDA missionaries after experiencing mission service, have said, “Once a missionary, always a missionary.” There’s almost nothing that can have a deeper impact in this life or for eternity.
If western teachers can help evangelize China/Asia, Asian Christians have many advantages to reaching the Middle East with God’s truths, especially if they accept the Bible doctrines that SDAs emphasize. Chinese/Asian Christians also have some important lessons to teach western Christians. Here are a few important facts to consider (more details are here: http://blog.truth-is-life.org/mission-projects/mission-for-god-in-china/finishthecommission/)
1) POPULATION: China will soon have the largest number of Christians of any country in the world according to experts (they have ~100 million now and Christianity is growing at 10% a year) China along with India makes up ~1/3 of the world’s population. Adding other Asian/Middle East countries means they easily have the majority of the world’s population. It’s just impossible for the Gospel Commission can’t be finished without a major focus on Asia/the Middle East. Xi Jinping has started a gigantic “Belt and Road Initiative” to build a massive new silk road to connect Asia and the Middle East. This will facilitate the spread of Christianity if we take advantage of these opportunities similar to how the Roman roads greatly aided the spread of Christianity. http://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2094248/xi-jinping-pledges-us113-billion-he-woos-world-board
2) NATIONAL SIMILARITIES: Asia is close to the Middle East geographically, but Asia also shares many similarities in culture, language and food with these countries. There are many Muslims and Buddhists in China and Asian countries. These help Asian Christians relate and communicate with those in the majority religions in the 10/40 window more effectively.
3) THRIVING IN PERSECUTION: Chinese and some other Asian Christians have gone through severe persecution and grew from ~3-4 million Christians to ~100 million today. They know how to thrive when governments are hostile to Christianity. These skills can help them in working in the Middle East where many governments are hostile to Christianity. Westerners can also learn from them, since many western governments have also become more unfriendly and hostile to Christianity.
4) INDEPENDENT TESTIMONY OF GOD: Many documentaries show that Chinese history and classics going back up to 5,000 years, testify of the same God spoken of in the Bible. He isn’t just a western God. He is the God of the eastern peoples as well.
5) GODLINESS MAKES NATIONS FREE. 5,000 years of Chinese history shows that nations can choose God or greed. When they follow God, they have peace and safety. When they follow greed, there is crime and war. This fulfills Proverbs 14:34, “Godliness makes a nation great, but sin is a disgrace to any people.”
6) AVOID PREJUDICE AGAINST USA/EUROPE: Asian Christians don’t have to deal with the prejudice that some in the Middle East have towards the west because of centuries of colonization/exploitation by some western governments and/or some corporations.
7) SDA ADVANTAGES: We can point the way to the full balanced biblical gospel of the incredible gift of salvation by faith alone that also empowers us to break free from sins and have true freedom in all sorts of practical areas.
“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. John 8:36 (Romans 6:16)
Many in Asia and the Middle East have made good health a very serious priority for millennia (although sometimes their habits aren’t always actually healthy). UN studies show that 40 million people die every year due to not following NEWSTART principles. Many studies also show that NEWSTART doesn’t only improve health, but also makes huge improvements in grades too (see the “Cognitive Genesis” research) too. Since many Chinese/Asians place an intense priority on grades (mothers here are sometimes called“tiger moms”, we have an inside track to attracting them to the gospel that way.
Asians/Middle Eastern people usually have a better understanding that freedom, progress, stability and peace of communities comes from following wise laws (Psalms 119:44-5, James 1:25, Lev. 25:18, 1 Kings 4:25), not just doing what we feel like as Hollywood wrongly suggests. The message of “do what thou wilt” that permeates 1000s of movies and songs is actually the core principle of Satanists as the documentary Hells Bells, Media on the brain and others point out and has ruined millions of marriages, families and lives. Hollywood and much media are doing all they can to break families apart. But one purpose of the Sabbath commandment is specifically to keep families health and happy and others contribute to strong families too.
The Sabbath points to creation, which is the root foundation of all major doctrines, most human rights and the concept of equality of all people, the foundational principles of science and a great deal more. We SDAs have more members than believe in creation than almost any other church because of the Sabbath. Many throughout Asia and the Middle East also believe in creation. They see its scientific flaws and some realize that the main point of Darwinism is largely an excuse to treat people in certain groups as inferior, which justifies exploiting them.
The Bible and EGW say very clearly that Bible economics are crucial for national stability. In 1 Kings 4:25, there was no poverty when Israel followed Bible economics. In Acts 2:42-27;4:32-35, the early church beat poverty by following Bible economics. Jer. 12:14-17 indicates they are for all nations. Ellen White tells us in Mount of Blessing, p. 138-9 that we will have the success of the early church when we follow the economic principles that they did since their following of Bible economics was a key indication of their love (see 1 John 3:17, 2 Cor. 8:1-15). We are about the only church that speaks of biblical economics as being relevant today in a time when the Bible says that greed/hoarding will be one of the main deceptions in churches and by skeptics (1 Tim. 6:10, James 5:1-5, 2 Peter 2,2 Tim. 3:1-5, Rev. 18, etc.)
SDAs are the only church that correctly predicted that the US is the 2nd beast of Revelation 13. As Dr. Ben Baker，SDA historian, has shown, our pioneers said that this was already true in the 1800s due to the US’s treatment of Indians and slaves (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UsVDq7GTyU digitalcommons.andrews.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1022&context=church-history-pubs). While many American/western missionaries/churches have done incredible good, many scholars have also shown that American/western corporations/militaries have often engaged in economic warfare causing high levels of debt, exploitation and wars for corporate greed and to control natural resources around the world. This has forced many families to break up and many refugees to flee their homes (see the documentaries “The Rise of the World’s Largest Empire (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZLLpgsK_pg) or “The Power Principle”(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5If2YaLtX4). What we predicted is now a reality and no one else predicted this. For people in the 3rd world, this has special relevance.
Jesus told us about these things saying:
“In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”John 16:33
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EVIDENCE OF GOD FROM CHINESE HISTORY AND LANGUAGE
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For 1000s of years, God has sent messages of His grace and truth to the Chinese. They can be a special witness of the truths of God. These documentaries show some of this evidence.
1) This is a very short 14 minute summary that combines a survey of China’s history with some of the more interesting Chinese character similarities to the Bible with really nice graphics for westerners.
The Heavenly King of The Chinese: 上帝 Shang Di. Who is He? (English version)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PV5_qS0SwiE
The Heavenly King, who is He! (Chinese version, using part of the clip above from creation to resurrection.)
华人与犹太人共同的根源。
2) Pastor Kong Hee of the City Harvest Church, Singapore preaches about Chinese history and characters. He shows from Chinese classic records that the Chinese new of Jesus’ coming to the earth as the Messiah and Savior for sin when Jesus was alive on earth, long before any Christians came to China (see esp. part 2 from ~30:00-~43:00).
God in Ancient China 古代中國人的神 – Part 1 (English & Chinese) 第1部分 (中文 / 英文)
God in Ancient China 古代中國人的神 – Part 2 (English & Chinese) 第2部分 (中文 / 英文) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kkxUyMAMXQ
See also:
Genesis Code Hidden Within the Ancient Chinese Language
3) The Cross — Jesus in China 十字架 — 耶稣在中国 (English audio) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Cd15YgxzPU or
This is a brilliant documentary on the history of Christianity in China in the 1900s and how God changed many lives in positive ways. It also shows how the Chinese church didn’t just survive, but thrived when foreign missionaries were forced out of the country and there was a terrible persecution by communist/atheist government authorities. It has many helpful lessons for Christians in other countries who are going through difficult times or will have them in the future.
4) China’s Confession
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jh5cBIZscSA
While trying to learn some about China’s more ancient history, I came across an amazing documentary about the 5,000 year history of the Chinese and their relation to the God of creation and the Bible. It talks about how the ancient Chinese were familiar with Shangdi, the Chinese term for the supreme deity. If you read the Chinese classics, the descriptions of Shangdi are beautiful and amazing in how they consistently parallel the descriptions of God in the Bible. It’s like reading the prophets or apostles many times, but with a little different cultural flavor.
The Chinese were given many valuable principles by God in their ancient times, principles that were important for stable nations, justice and peace. In the first 2,000 years of China’s history, there were many kings and emperors who honored the God of heaven. When emperors followed the principles of love, peace, fairness and mutual sharing that God gave them and many others, they thrived and peace and prosperity spread everywhere. Some kings and emperors during this period chose their heirs not by blood, but by character, a much better practice. Confucius spoke about this “Great Way” saying,
“When the Great Way prevailed, the world community was equally shared by all. The worthy and able were chosen as office-holders. Mutual confidence was fostered and good neighborliness cultivated. Therefore people did not regard as parents only their own parents, nor did they treat children only their own children. Provision was made for the aged till their death, the adults were given employment, and the young enabled to grow up. Old widows and widowers, the orphaned, the old and childless, as well as the sick and the disabled were all well taken care of.
…While they hated to see wealth lying about on the ground, they did not necessarily keep it for their own use. While they hated not to exert their effort, they did not necessarily devote it to their own ends. Thus evil schemings were repressed, and robbers, thieves and other lawless elements failed to arise, so that outer doors did not have to be shut. This was called the age of Great Harmony (Ta Tung).” Excerpt only of his full reply. Hsiao, Kung-chuan (trans. F. W. Mote). A History of Chinese Political Thought. Vol. 1: From the Beginnings to the Sixth Century A.D. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey, 1979, p. 125.
Unfortunately, in later times, greed, pride and a desire for dictatorial power came to dominate the lives of the emperors and they promoted false religions, materialism and/or atheism/godlessness. Then the nation fell into greed, pride, factions, mistrust and inequality and this brought in a tide of crime, immorality and bloodshed for hundreds and thousands of years. Sometimes there were reformers who returned to God’s way and there was peace for a short time. But often people ignored or forgot God’s way.
A key thought is from minute 36 and is true of all nations:
“Oh China! This is where your misery resides. The one who sits on the central throne is not God, but an earthly man….men who did not know God became gods of men. Is not this the source of all China’s tragedies? Chinese butchered their fellow Chinese and Chinese conspired against their fellow Chinese. They abused each other…until…they became prey for foreign invaders…Oh China, because you firmly believe there is no God, you give full reign to sinful men to carry our their self abuse in hopelessness. Since you firmly believe mankind does not share a common holy nature, you then let human reason negate your God given conscience. Since you believe there is no Savior except yourself, you are left to drown again and again in an ocean of bitterness, a sea of fire and a pool of blood, of your own making”
There is so much insight in this film for all nations about why nations rise and fall and what is the core problem that we all face and the root causes of injustice. It shows how all other philosophies have failed China and caused much harm and disasters. It’s a great illustration of the verse:
“Godliness makes nations great. But sin is a disgrace to any people.” Prov. 14:34.
Thankfully times are changing, many are learning from the mistakes of history and many are interested in the gospel of Christ. Christianity is growing by 10% a year and by 2025, China will probably have more Christians than any other country on the planet!
It’s hard to get precise numbers in China for several reasons, but these are the best estimates of what’s happening now:
“In 2010 there were more than 58 million Protestants in China compared to 40 million in Brazil and 36 million in South Africa, according to the Pew Research Centre’s Forum on Religion and Public Life.
Dr. Fenggang Yang, a leading expert on religion in China, believes that number will swell to around 160 million by 2025. That would likely put China ahead even of the United States, which had around 159 million Protestants in 2010…[Dr. Yang] is professor of sociology at Purdue University and author of Religion in China: Survival and Revival under Communist Rule [and says],
“‘By my calculations China is destined to become the largest Christian country in the world very soon,” said …It is going to be less than a generation. Not many people are prepared for this dramatic change.’”
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/10776023/China-on-course-to-become-worlds-most-Christian-nation-within-15-years.html
But when God moves, Satan tries to cripple it as well. He has tried to make many Chinese believe the deceptions of materialism and influenced the Chinese govt. to make more restrictions on Christianity. But as Christians we must obey God rather than man.
We Christians and especially SDAs have a great opportunity to make a giant step forward for the Great Commission if we take advantage of our opportunities that God has opened up. Will you be one of His pioneers?
God bless,
Bryan Bissell