MY CALL TO SALVATION AND SERVICE

Zhu Jian Wei

Call to Salvation

“Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee” (Jer 1:5). The greatest blessing that a human being can ever receive is to be known by God, and to be chosen as His child. I am very grateful to God for the tremendous blessing of salvation granted to me. Therefore, I am delighted to testify of the saving grace and goodness of the Lord shown towards me.

I was born in a non-Christian family. One of my childhood memories is the many quarrels at home between my father and my mother. However, when I was seven years old, God’s grace of salvation came upon my mother. After she was saved, her life completely changed. She became a woman of faith, who truly gave her everything to God, and willing to suffer whatever loss for Christ. She spent most of her time praying and reading the Bible. She has no other interest but to serve God. Her spiritual life greatly impacted me. Through my mother’s influence, I began to know about Jesus and Church.

In the following year, something happened to me. In my hometown, we grew a lot of sweet potatoes in the field. In order to preserve them after the harvest (we had no refrigerator in those days), we would put them into a cellar which we dug (it is as deep as a well). One day, my brother and I went to the cellar. We, as usual, opened the cover of the cellar, and my brother let me down with a rope. Because the cellar was covered tightly for a long time, there was not much oxygen. I fainted as soon as my feet touched the ground. My brother got very worried, so he quickly went down himself in order to bring me up, he also fainted inside. No one knew that both of us were there.

By God’s providence, one neighbour happened to walk past, and felt something was wrong. He went to check the cellar, and saw both of us unconscious inside. He alerted the other neighbours for help. Some of them went to tell my parents. My dad was not at home, and my mother was so shocked by the news. She knelt down immediately to pray and pleaded with the Lord to deliver us. After about half an hour of trying, one of our neighbours finally got us out. I was inside the cellar for about half an hour without sufficient oxygen; yet I survived miraculously without any brain damage. Thank God for answering my mother’s prayer. It was really by the powerful hand of God. Since then, my mother offered me to the Lord, and required me to read the Bible and pray every day.

God has shown His great love towards me. He not only spared my physical life, but also saved my spiritual life from the curse of sin and eternal destruction. In the year 2004 when I finished my Secondary School studies, I attended a youth meeting in the church near my hometown, where the truth of the Gospel was clearly and powerfully preached. My heart was pierced by the power of the truth, and I acknowledged how sinful I am. The Spirit worked in my heart, and compelled me to receive the Lord Jesus as my personal Lord and Saviour. The preacher encouraged us to give our life to serve God. One verse in particular spoke to my heart, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service” (Rom 12:1). Even though this verse speaks of the reasonable service that every believer ought to do, yet it has a special impact in my heart. Since then, I decided to give my life to God.

Call to Study in FEBC

After I was saved, my spiritual life was not all the way growing without any trials or testings. The influence of the world and temptations of the devil did cause my faith to waver. When I studied in my Junior High School, I was away from home, and away from the church. My unbelieving friends influenced me to love the world more than God. I studied very hard in order to enter into a good university, but the result was not as good as I expected. When I looked back now, I know it was not God’s will for me to go to the university. Otherwise, I might be completely lost in pursuing after worldliness.

God is merciful to me, and He did not give up on me. He redirected my path to a Christian school (Ark School). It was not a Bible college, but rather a school which teaches basic Bible knowledge, Christian principles, and other subjects which will help people find a job in society (and share the gospel to the people around them). Many of my classmates went to work after graduation, but I desired to serve God, not willing to go out to work. The principal Miss Wang introduced me and a few others to a Christian International School in Guangzhou to teach the children God’s Word. Over there, we could not find a good church to worship on Sunday. Therefore, we gathered together to listen to sermons downloaded from the internet. But there were contradictions in the sermons we heard. We were starving spiritually. I felt a great need to study God’s Word. I prayed constantly for the Lord’s guidance to study the Bible systematically, so that I could rightly divide the Word of truth (2 Tim 2:15).

Thank God for answering my prayer. Through the principal of Ark School, I heard about the Far Eastern Bible College (FEBC). After knowing that it is an English Bible college, where all the classes are conducted in English, and all the textbooks are in English as well, I was very worried. This was because I was rather poor in the English language. I once got less than twenty marks upon a hundred in my school days. I had always desired to study God’s Word full time, but I never imagined that I would be studying God’s Word in an English Bible college. It was unthinkable.

However, God was the one who put the strong desire and burden in my heart. He was the One who heard my prayers, and opened the door for me to study at FEBC. The mixed feelings of gratitude and fear were in my heart. The Lord knew that I was not able to face the huge challenge alone, so He sent four friends with me to study in FEBC. Without their company, encouragement, and prayers, I would have given up in the first semester. Thanks be to God for the good Christian friends.

When I began my studies in FEBC, I was so amazed and enlightened through the systematic study of God’s Word under knowledgeable and faithful lecturers. The difficulty of studies often made me kneel in prayer. I have truly tasted the goodness of God in helping me through the years. Many times, I told the Lord that “I cannot do it, and I am insufficient for it.” The Lord replied, “My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor 12:9). When I look back, I cannot help but to say “Yes” and “Amen.”

Call to Serve in TLBPC

The Lord is so good and faithful to me. He not only provided me with the finest theological Bible College to study His Word, but also sent me to a Bible-believing Church, i.e. True Life Bible-Presbyterian Church (TLBPC) to learn to serve during my studies. I am thankful to God for all the opportunities to preach His Word in the Chinese service, Chinese Sunday School, Chinese Fellowship, and to serve in other areas. Through these years of service, the Lord taught me many spiritual lessons, and kept me growing in Him.

I must not forget to thank God for my dear wife, Katharine. While I was serving in the English Choir, the Lord opened our eyes, and brought us together in love. Thank God that she is a woman of faith, love, and willing to submit. She is thankful and joyful to serve God with me.

I have been praying for a specific place to serve. I always thought I would go back to China. Man proposes, God disposes (cf Prov 19:21). As the years went by, there were more and more open-doors for me to serve Him in Singapore. The more I am involved in the ministry, the more I am burdened for the souls, especially those in the Chinese Service. In one of the Chinese Fellowship meetings, Elder Tai Mern Yee asked me whether I have the burden to be a preacher in the Chinese Service. I did not want to rush to give an answer. I wanted to seek the Lord’s will. My constant prayer to the Lord was “not my will, but thine, be done” (Luke 22:42).

God used one hymn that our Chinese Choir sang to speak to me, namely, “I’ll Go Where You Want Me to Go”. The first stanza says,

It may not be on the mountain height or over the stormy sea,
It may not be at the battle’s front my Lord will have need of me.
But if, by a still small voice He calls to paths that I do not know,
I’ll answer, dear Lord, with my hand in thine; I’ll go where you want to go.

To serve God is not to go where I want to go, but to go where He wants me to go. I was very concerned that my parents back in China would not allow me. But, the Lord rebuked me in one of my daily devotions through Matthew 10:37, “He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me.” After much prayer, I surrendered to the Lord, and replied Elder Tai that I would obey the Lord to serve Him here. I was further assured after the conversation with Pastor.

In order to serve in TLBPC, I must have a valid pass to stay in Singapore. I was advised to apply for the Long Term Visit Pass (LTVP) since I have a Singaporean spouse. To apply, my wife must present certain documents, but she lacked the following: (1) Income Tax Notice of Assessment for the last three years, (2) CPF Statement showing monthly CPF contributions for the last 12 months, and (3) letter of employment (which means she must have a job). Since my wife was an FEBC student the last two years, she did not have any of those documents. Nevertheless, God is gracious and provided a job for her.

We submitted our application on 11 July 2018. One week after we submitted our application, we received an email that our application was being considered, and we were required to submit our documents on July 23^rd. On that day, we prepared all the relevant documents, and went to the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA). After checking our documents, the officer told us to withdraw our application. This was because on my wife’s part, she did not meet any of those requirements, except her payslip for 10 days. As for me, the officer said that I needed to complete my TB medication first. It seemed like both of us were not qualified to apply for the LTVP.

We were rather discouraged when we heard that. But the Lord granted Katharine wisdom to speak to the officer about our situation. Finally, the officer accepted our application, but said that it would most likely be rejected. Hence, we just committed it to the Lord. Surprisingly, on July 31^st, we received an email from ICA that our application has been approved. It was really amazing to me. Both Katharine and I were not able to meet the requirements, yet God granted me the approval in exactly 20 days. From what is stated in ICA’s policy, the shortest processing time for the LTVP is 4-6 weeks, and the longest 4-6 months. For our case, despite our shortcomings, the Pass was approved within such a short time. I am very convinced that it is indeed God who has miraculously helped us. As the Psalmist says, “The LORD hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad” (Ps 126:3).

The Lord has evidently shown His will for me through this whole experience (Isa 55:9). I pray that God may keep me strong and courageous in His work, and to serve Him effectively and faithfully for His glory and honour alone.