Question: Why do Christians in the west generally not display the same kind of passion and vision that the Chinese Christians do?
brother Paul: Well I’m a western Christian, so I speak for myself. To be honest, I don’t believe we display that kind of passion because we don’t have to. It is as simple as that. Being a Christian in the West does not carry the same threat of persecution. We might be discriminated against if we’re a genuine believer in our workplace or at school but we’re not physically persecuted. If we can have a more comfortable life we tend to take it because it’s nice to the flesh. Usually, when someone is forced out on the edge through their circumstances and surroundings, it pushes and drives them to be more zealous for God and for the kingdom. Before the arrival of Communism and the subsequent persecution, the Church in China was much like the Church in other parts of the world now. The pressure Christians were forced to live under resulted in a sifting. Many believers abandoned their faith, but many more became serious, wholehearted disciples of Christ. Revival has resulted. So it’s not a cultural or ethnic thing, it’s more about the circumstances.
Question: How can we develop the same kind of passion?
brother Paul: You won’t get a fire and passion for God’s kingdom by sitting around waiting for it. If you start preaching the gospel around your own country, proclaiming the truth, you too will soon experience real persecution. Passion for Christ comes to those who have taken up the cross and followed Him. The Bible promises that those who live a Godly life for Christ Jesus will be persecuted. It doesn’t say in one particular country or time. So if we’re not persecuted we have to ask are we really living a Godly life in Christ Jesus? Are we really preaching the Gospel? I believe that in England if you really started preaching the Gospel, you would get persecuted pretty quickly. That’s the difference. Conversely in China, the believers don’t necessarily have to experience persecution – it’s a choice. If they want to, they could just relax, go to a government church and have no persecution. They would probably still go to heaven. The Chinese housechurch Christians are persecuted by choice. They choose to be persecuted because they wake up every morning and decide to carry the cross and take the hard road and not sit back, relax and take it easy. There are millions in China who have no persecution but there are millions more who choose to preach the gospel zealously and obey the Great Commission and they are hunted like animals. You too, regardless of where you live, also face a daily choice of whether you will live as God commands, or whether you will take it easy and accept the status quo.
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“Christianity was birthed in the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and will only continue as we have this empowering from above. God is always looking for the willing vessels that will trust Him afresh for the impossible.” from: Principles for the gathering of Believers under the Headship of Jesus Christ.Since 2012, a growing group of believers in North America started to warn of coming persecution to western countries. This message was shared in a variety of ways. One of the responses to this was to compile a book taking principles from underground Churches around the world of how they thrived under pressure and persecution. The volume, Principles for the Gathering of Believers, had in a short time over 50,000 downloads in ebook format and much interest was shown. Some new house churches started through this and other existing groups were encouraged.