The Same Call at the Same Place
Suddenly I found it was the end of my life as a player
I came to Christ in 2003. It was a pity that I knew so little about the salvation of Christ, like the seed fell on shallow soil. Several years later, I took up rugby and it slowly took over my life and I stopped going to church. During my university days, as I spent a lot of time receiving training and took part in competition five to six days a week, I was feeling increasingly alienated from my family and ignored their advice.
At that time, I won many awards and could have been promoted to a higher level of rugby competition. Yet, I could not see that it was because of the grace of God. Instead, I became arrogant and self-centered. In 2007, I was seriously injured on the rugby field twice. I suddenly felt that my life as a rugby player and my entire life had come to an end. The gracious Lord looked for and found me in this dark time. On a church brother’s invitation, I went back to church. In a pastor’s sermon quoting 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, the phrase “love is not self-seeking” touched my heart. The word of God is like a light that shines on my sin, prompting me to reflect upon my relationship with my family and to confess and repent for my past selfishness and pride.
To experience that only the gospel offers true hope
In 2008, I was baptized into the church and my life was renewed and transformed by the Lord, no longer was I going after the success in rugby matches and fan’s appreciation. I made an oath to abide by God’s teaching and to share with others the abundant salvation of God. I no longer took pride in my own ability and talents but hoped to take pride in the acts of God in my life.
The same year I took part in the church’s basketball ministry through which I could shepherd teenage Christian believers and share the gospel with new comers. Then I began being a mentor for teenagers and became the group leader of the fellowship for professional youth. Ministering to teenagers in the fellowship from my beginning when I learned quietly when I became a group leader, I came across teenagers facing different situations. The most profound experience was in finding that only the gospel can guide people to the right direction and offer true hope to them. They may be from a broken family, at a cross-roads not knowing which way to go, feeling desperate about life, or even coming from a happy family, an academic achiever, active and optimistic. Through the experience accumulated from such experiences, God seems to sow the seeds in my heart so that I have a soul-loving heart, looking forward to seeing many more people receive the precious gospel.
All sorts of problems made me thirst for the truth of the Bible
Being a group leader in the fellowship for professional youth, I came across many difficulties in shepherding. Whether I myself or brothers and sisters, we came across many different kinds of needs from the struggles of life and people’s weaknesses. There may also be challenges in ministry, strife in the fellowship, and schisms in society that urge us to keep reflecting on how to be Jesus’ disciples in all sorts of situations. From 2013 through 2015, while serving as a church deacon, I began to think about these problems: “What is a church? ” How should a church carry out the work of teaching, shepherding, and caring according to biblical truth? When there is a split in the faith community or a need arises concerning an individual church member, how should the pastor or a deacon handle it? How should the church distinguish and respond when the church is impacted by the charismatic movement? All sorts of problems drive me to hunger to go deeper into biblical truth.
Along the journey of faith, despite often being weak and even though I often tumble, God’s abundant grace enables me to overcome; the salvation of Jesus Christ enables me to see the love of God and a person’s restrictions; the Holy Spirit also guides me to go after God’s truth. I hope that the souls of other people will be saved and learn to seek first the kingdom of God. These experiences seem to prepare me and encourage me to step onto the road of faith, serving God all my life.
“You will regret it if you don’t respond!”
In May 2014, I attended HKBTS’s Concert of Praise with the theme “On Earth as in Heaven” to support my friend who was performing. For me, as one who was not yet familiar with traditional Christian hymns, it was the very first opportunity to appreciate and listen to such a powerful concert. Throughout the concert, every song brought me back to my past, from childhood to the moment when I came to Christ, one episode after another popped up in my mind. I was deeply touched by Christ’s salvation.
I had not thought that the speaker would make the consecration call for full-time ministry. At that time, my heart was stirred and moved and I could not help shedding tears. I began asking God, “Are you calling me?” Being nervous and confused, a thought suddenly came to me during my inner struggle, “You will regret it if you don’t respond.” At that moment, I took a look at my fiancée, Wing-mui, who made a nod. Immediately I went up to the front, feeling very nervous as if I were in a hurry to make a confession. After the speaker’s prayer, I sat aside and continued to pray. My feeling was very complicated. Thereafter I shared my resolution with Wing-mui who expressed support but with some reservation. Her worry was: If I engage in full-time ministry in the future, that will affect our future family and its finances. For the following six months, both of us discussed the matter, quarreled about it, and prayed fervently for it but we came to no consensus. Yet, actually God had silently been doing something.
At the end of the same year, with a desire to discern the truth in the Bible, Wing-mui and I set out on a journey to find another church. At that time, we did not know which way to go. We only know that we should pray and ask God. We thank God for leading us to Tai Po Christian & Missionary Alliance Church and the Chief Pastor and other pastors are concerned about our situation. After a period of praying and seeking for God’s will, we have gradually immersed into the church life there. In the beginning, because we needed to adapt to our new church life and face the impacts and struggles of faith, I had unconsciously put God’s call aside.
“If this call is really from you, please move my other half as well!”
In June 2015, God cleverly led me to attend an annual spiritual enrichment concert of another seminary. Incidentally, it was held at the same venue where I had received God’s call the previous year. I did not expect that at the same venue and almost at the same seat God issued the same call! As if God had brought me back to the same situation as it happened the year before. In my heart, there were all kinds of feelings! In the year that went by a lot of things had happened and I had needed to face many difficulties and challenges but at that moment God’s call still touched my heart. Tears rolled down my cheeks again as a thanksgiving to God’s mercy and resolutely in response to His call. This time I changed my ways. I did not actively mention this incident to my fiancée. I just silently prayed, “O Lord, if this call is really from you, please move my other half as well!”
In August this year, one month before our wedding, Wing-mui went on a short-term mission trip to Mainland China. During the trip, God wonderfully called her to support my full-time ministry. On that same evening, God not only helped Wing-mui overcome her struggle but He also moved her to respond to His call to make a resolution to step onto the consecration path as well! God answered my prayers and He truly moved my other half in a way that is more than anything I could have ever expected.
You have to seek after his kingdom and his righteousness
After that, we decided to trust God’s grace and prepared to enter the seminary to receive training for full-time ministry together in 2016. We thank God for His grace and care, during the period when we applied for seminary study, we both often received pastoral care from our church pastors, support from the Deacon Board, and finally even support from both of our own families. Now I have resigned from the Immigration Department, making myself ready to enter HKBTS for equipping. I pray to God to mold me, help me become a servant who is faithful in preaching the word of God and who does a shepherd’s work as God’s servant according to biblical truth. Although I gave up a stable job without knowing what lies ahead and knowing that my ability is insufficient, my weaknesses are many, and my finances may fall in difficulty in the future, I am convinced that the grace of God is sufficient as promised in Matthew 6:33: “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”