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Apostle in China
Contents
Preface
Chapter 1 – The Vessel Being Brought up in a Thatched Cottage
Chapter 2 – Starting the Love of God as a Young Boy and Being Called by the Lord
Chapter 3 – Earning to Serve the Old Servant
Chapter 4 – Living Sacrifice
Chapter 5 – Tribulation Days
Chapter 6 – Cultural Revolution
Chapter 7 – Being Sentenced for the First Time in the City of Zhengzhou
Chapter 8 – Being Sentenced for the Second Time in Yexian Country of Henan Province
Chapter 9 – Tribulations in Gansu
Chapter 10 – Going to the Region of Shangxi Province
Chapter 11 – Miracle Experience
Chapter 12 – Revival Fire Swept Tongchuan
Chapter 13 – Revival Fire Swept Sichuan
Chapter 14 – Meeting Troubles and Being Sentenced for a Third Time in Miyang
Chapter 15 – Meeting Troubles in Zhouzhi and Being Sentenced for a Fourth Time
Chapter 16 – The Fire of the Gospel Burning in Gansu
Chapter 17 – Arise from the Dead
Chapter 18 – Live in Dangers
Chapter 19 – Trials and Tribulations in Kunming and the Fifth Three-year Imprisonment
Chapter 20 – Getting Out of All Kinds of Dangers
Chapter 21 – Trials and Tribulations in Hangzhou and Sentenced for the Sixth Time
Chapter 22 – Toil Hands
Chapter 23 – Work for the Future
Epilogue
Preface
This book is about Xu Shuangfu (another name is Xu Sheng-guang), a servant of the Lord who serves the Lord with all his lifetime. He started to be a missionary when he was a little boy till now up to 45 years. He had similar experiences with ancient prophets and saints in the Bible. He was like King David pretending to be a fool and mad, begging like Elijah, being stuck in a well like Jeremiah, coming out of the prison miraculously like Peter, beaten down and rose like Paul, fasting 40days for several times, in the danger of being burnt, in the danger of valley of death, etc.
If we understand all of his experience, we will thank and praise God.
During his ministry work, he has experienced numerous difficulties and dangers and countless hardships, but he considers knowing Jesus as surpassing greatness, for whose sake, he has lost all things and considers them rubbish. In the Church of The Christ, he with a father’ heart feeds and takes care of the Lord’s sheep, for whom, he was in the pains of childbirth in order that the Christ can form in their hearts. On the way that God prepared for him, he was put into prison for many times, flogged severely. For the sake of the Word of God he does not consider his life at all, walking long distance for many times and meeting various kinds of dangers. He has labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep. He has known hunger and thirst and has often gone without food. He has been cold and naked. However God did not keep his miraculous signs, wonders and miracles from being shown on his servant who was in trials and tribulations and endurance. God raised many saint prophets and apostles before; likewise, God has shown his faithful and sure promise through his laborious and faithful servant “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.” (John 14:12) among his many-year experience of trials and tribulations of the cross and among his steps of the Gospel prompted and encouraged by the love from the Lord to save souls, are wonderful protections and utmost blessings from our heavenly Father. After each of his tribulations, God would accomplish the work of a place. After each persecution, the Gospel would spread in a city, Halleluiah, praise the Lord. He is blessing China through his servant’s trials and tribulations. The seed of the truth of the Gospel of the cross has been sown in the whole China, and has been rooted, shot up, in bloom, giving out aroma and has borne countless big fruits.
However the God’s servant and all the people led by him are far more not satisfied with the above. He understands Jesus’ heart, and has the same heart with the Lord, longing to preach the Gospel more widely in China and the whole world to save more lost souls. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit bearing with one another in love through the bond of peace. Therefore till now, he is still traveling around to fulfill the mission of the Gospel in spite of many diseases on him. I have been trying many times to write a book about his experience, but he kept refusing for he was afraid that this would exalt him but not glorify our God. Now in order to meet the hope of honest communications of the truth in the Bible among more body parts of the Lord, the servant allows some of his experience to be recorded, hoping that this can be witness to the truth, so that more people can understand the road of the Lord’s cross and be encouraged by it. He would rather keep silent if this is to be his witness. I summarized the fellow workers who are working with the servant all day long, and of brothers & sisters, after the servants checked it, here comes the book. The narrations in the book are just some important parts of all his trials and tribulations in his life. How much has he been suffering? Only he himself knows. But through this touching testimony, we clearly understand that God really loves his children and at the end of the age, still raises his precious vessels to his will. Hope that the readers get to know how furious Satan is and remind all of us to keep watch and have a clear mind, love each other, hands in hands, shoulder to shoulder, preaches the Gospel widely and build the Church.
Chapter 1
The Vessel Being Brought up in a Thatched Cottage
After a long time in great misery caused by the war, China finally released from suppresses of Japan in the year of 1945. After the turmoil of war, Chinese people started to benefit a little from the victory, and got back to their peaceful life little by little. Because of the long-term war, all the people were as poor as a church mouse and poverty was everywhere. So it was super hard to rejoice even if you wanted to. Especially the village people who were heavily loaded in their hearts, facing peak and pine every day.
In a country of Henan province, there was a poor village family. They only built several thatched cottage rooms, tilling on some dry field, working very hard and were living a frugal life. There were an old grandpa who was nearly 70 years old, a middle-aged couple and several grandchildren in this family. They were Xu’s family. He was born in 1945 as the first grandson Xu has several younger sisters and brothers. The whole family believed in Jesus during the war of anti-Japan, but his grandfather and father were not very mature Christians. They two sometimes went to gatherings but not very earnest so they did not have many powerful testimonies with life. However, his mother was a very faithful sister. When he was still a little boy, she always carried her son on her back to the scheduled gatherings and worship meetings on Sundays. She was very strict with herself about the worship meetings and gatherings unless some very serious events showed up at home. Xu’s mother knew the blessings of serving God. So she offered her son to God and looked forward to his growing up to work for God. She prayed that God would guard this son, choose him and make him an ideal vessel.
Oh, this poor family, they were living a life of extreme poverty. They were starving, for no food at all. So Xu’s mother has to take her children out begging for food. If only there were some other ways, who would like to be beggars? Although it was a shame to do that, they could do nothing else for the whole family to survive. Just look at the beggar Lazarus in the Bible, what else can we say? This young fellow was upright smart and decisive. Among friends of his age, he was the tallest. He was always the leader among his little fellows when they played together and when he said counted. The kids loved him and would like to obey him. The elders in the village seeing his characters and doings considered that this child was different and he must be doing something great when he grew up.
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