ORLANDO CHINESE CHURCH MONTHLY NEWSLETTER
JULY, 2000

Year 2000 Florida Chinese Christian
Summer Retreat Sharing

Jason : This year the youth got to play a new game called water battle during the retreat, it's fun. At the same time, I learned:

  1. Morning Devotion: we were divided into two groups: boys and girls. The topic for the boys was "How to be a real man?" Everyone wrote down on a piece of paper what he thought of the attributes of a real man. Some said athletic abilities, strong and healthy body, great socializing skills etc. God's view of a real man is really quite different from the world's view. Take Gideon as an example: when God asked Gideon to "save the Israel out of Midian's hand." Gideon felt he was inadequate. He said, "... My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family. ..." But God promised to be with him. Gideon defeated the enemy and became the Israel's judge. God will make a real man out of a person when he totally surrenders himself to Him.
  2. Message: This year the youth speaker was Pastor Peter Wang. He often used life stories to show how to grow in Christ. Andy was one of the stories. Young Andy was actively involved in his youth fellowship at church. Unfortunately one day he had a car accident and he was so severely injured that he became a vegetable. Andy was pushed around in a wheel chair by his father whose face was marked with great sorrow due to the tragedy. Andy used to have great potential but now because of the car accident, his whole life was ruined. Pastor Wang used this as an example to illustrate our relationships with Christ - even though we could have great potential but if we do not use it, we are just a vegetable in the eyes of our Lord and make Him sad.

Lisa : I have been going to my church for 10 years. I was also baptized here. Today I am going to share something young sisters learned from the retreat.

  1. Morning Devotion: (1) The first discussion was about what attributes an ideal woman should have in God's view and the world's. We all wrote down what we thought are the desirable attributes of an ideal woman and the list was compared to God's list based upon Proverb 31:10-30. The conclusion was Proverb 31:30, "Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised." The key is "to fear the LORD". (2) Friendship: Ecclesiastes 4:9-12. Verse 9 tells us that it is better to have two friends looking out for each other than just being alone. Verse 12 tells us that "a cord of three strands is not quickly broken"; with friends, God's presence, and ourselves we share the same faith and it will not be overpowered by enemy.
  2. Message: how to grow our spiritual life?
    1. Andy's example.
    2. Bible reading:
      1. Be close to God via Bible reading. God's spirit will help us to be more holy.
      2. The objective of Bible reading should not be enhancing our knowledge but to understand God's will.
      3. To think "What Would Jesus Do (WWJD) "
  3. The growth based on sufferings and communication with God: When we face sufferings, we need to ask God the reasons and purposes of them. By doing so constantly, these sufferings can greatly help us grow our spiritual life.
  4. The hunger for growth: Just as we need food for the growth of our physical body, Bible reading and studying is necessary for spiritual growth. May we all have this hunger for growth before God.
Jeannie Hu : This was the first time I attended the Lake Yale retreat, and served as a youth counselor. One of my biggest fears was leading others who were older than me; most of the other counselors were in college. But while reading 1Timothy the Lord brought to me verse 4:12, "Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith, and in purity." I really felt that the Lord worked through me. Through the youth Pastor Peter Wong I learned many things about spiritual maturity. Most importantly he shared with us that we must also grow through pain and suffering. Pain and suffering help us learn and grow in Christ. James 1:2-3 states, "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance." Hebrews 12:1-2 also tells us to fix our eyes upon Jesus, who endured the cross, scorning it's shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

David Wong : It was also the first time for me to participate in the retreat. I was assigned to be one of the counselors. I was very scared at the beginning. However, later I realized that though I am not able, God is. He helped me through the whole event.

During this retreat, I had a chance to watch a movie. This movie was about four people driving alone in a car. Accident occurred and the car crashed. All these four people died, and now they were facing the Judgment. Only one among the four was a Christian. After watching the movie, I felt very blessed to be a Christian. I thank God that ever since my brother brought me to the church I have grown spiritually. Sadly, my parents have not yet believed and be involved in the church life. This has not been easy for me. It is such a blessing for those of you to be raised in a Christian home.

I am getting ready to go the University of Michigan to further my education. I am very thankful as this church family has given me love, care and support.

Brian Rasmassen : I praise the Lord that I had an opportunity to participate in this year's retreat, and to take some non-believers to witness the baptismal ceremony. They asked a lot of questions. They wanted to know why baptism was necessary? What was the purpose and the reason behind? They even asked me about creation and about the Word of God. They were very interested in knowing how could people base their belief upon the Bible? Because of this, I had a chance to share with them that the Holy Bible is the Word of God. If our lives are indeed contradicting the scriptures, we ought to change our lifestyle. I also told them that the purpose and reason of baptism is to be baptized into Christ's death, be buried with Him; as we come out from the water, we are indeed resurrected with Christ and living with Him. In other words, we consider ourselves dead in sin, thus no longer live in sin. As to God, we consider ourselves alive in Christ. I pray that the Lord will further reveal His love so that more may respond to His calling.

Su-Ying Liao : Though not a Chinese, Dr. Taylor speaks fluent Chinese. Not only did he preach in Chinese, but also properly used many Chinese idioms. He even asked his grandchildren in Hong Kong to learn Mandarin and Cantonese. Being Chinese, we need to be more conscious in training our children to speak our native language. Furthermore, from his messages:

  1. He emphasized that the Gospel should not only be preached just with our mouth, but more importantly with our life.
  2. He pointed out in Acts chapters 10, 11 that Cornelius as well as Peter were guided by God because they were men of prayers. Peter saw the vision from God and through prayerful Cornelius his vision was confirmed.
  3. To vision and confirmation God added testing.
    1. Peter on the roof spoke to the Lord: "Surely not, Lord!…I have never…"(Acts 10:14). Though he said "Lord", his heart was not submissive because it was a total new challenge. Not until the Lord had spoken three times did he obey. This reminded me of myself. The Lord wanted me to teach the Sunday school for some time. Though I called Him Lord, I refused to submit to Him. When I finally submitted, He gave me this new challenge for my spiritual growth.
    2. When Cornelius bowed down to Peter, he refused and said, "I am only a man myself."(Acts 10:26) He knew he was only the Lord's servant and did not think of himself greater than others.
    3. When Peter returned to Jerusalem and the other disciples criticized him, he was not angry but calmly explained everything to them precisely as it had happened. As a result the church at Jerusalem was able to receive this new revelation. "When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God…"(Acts 11:18)
  4. Timothy's mother, because Paul needed Timothy in the ministry, was willing to offer her son to the Lord. How willing are we mothers today to offer our children? May the Lord touch us so that we too are willing to offer in this manner.

Brother Lee : Pastor Taylor spoke about a conference he attended with twenty-four other people from all over the world during which he discovered many different customs. For example, an Englishman would say "How do you like that?" as an indirect way to ask for something at the dinning table. An American would ask in a more direct way: "Please pass that over." A Chinese would be even more direct; he would simply reach out for it.

In the church life, we should note that we are from different places with different cultures. As much as we cherish our own culture, custom, and language, we need to recognize that none is perfect. We must put our culture through the working of the Cross so that it will not be a hindrance to our faith and the work of the Gospel.

Praise the Lord that brothers and sisters gathered from different places to worship in His name. How good and precious this is! Though we differ in many ways, let us submit ourselves and all our differences to the Cross. We should treat one another with love and respect, and allow Him to be God of all. Only when we learn to be completely submissive under the Cross, can we worship and serve our Lord together.

Phyllis Dai : Having attended two days of the retreat, I'd like to share the following:

  1. The theme of the retreat was: Commission and Challenge.
    God's great commission and His will is for us to preach the Gospel to the end of the world--- to every place. Too often the emphasis was on sharing with our mouth rather than witnessing with our life---the way we live. The new life we have received ought to make a difference in the way we live. One place where witnessing is especially important is our home. It is most difficult to witness to people who know us best, and to live, in their eyes, a life that is pleasing to the Lord.
  2. Willing to adjust our course.
    Through prayers the early church at Jerusalem gradually realized that the Gospel was not only for the Jews but also for the gentiles. Because of their willingness to submit to God and adjust their course, we the gentiles can hear the Gospel.
  3. Serving together: In Col. 1:3-8, Paul wrote concerning serving God:
    1. Together with God---Apart from Him we can do nothing.
    2. Together with the church.
    3. Together with a group through which one receives prayer, support, and learns to work with others.
Joshua Wong :
  1. Pastor Taylor is an American, yet he delivered his message in Chinese. When I chatted with him after one session, he encouraged me: "God will use you." He probably said this to many others. He himself is a living example of someone being used by God. He was able to clearly explain the Word of God to a group of people in their own language. His Chinese was much better than mine, which really put me to shame.
  2. He mentioned that serving God is entirely a matter of God's grace. It has nothing to do with our own worth, ability, or education. The most important thing is this:
    1. First seek His kingdom and His righteousness, all else will be given to us.
    2. Always be mindful of God's affairs, and He will be mindful of ours.
    3. Serving God is not a matter of convenience, rather it is a continuous day-to- day effort with Christ as our example.
  3. His daughter as an example: His daughter originally lived in an upscale area in Pennsylvania and her children went to good school. His son-in-law was a pastor in a church in a less desirable area. One day his daughter called, saying they were moving to near where the church was. Pastor Taylor advised his daughter to pray carefully because that school district was rather bad. In the end, his daughter's family submitted to God's leading and moved. We see that to serve God one must rely completely on His grace and His will. There should not be anything that is of our own will.
I have been thinking since the retreat knowing that God's words will not be spoken in vain. I know through prayers God will make known His will to me. Please pray for me.

Morey Wong : It has been three to four months since I had this question: "How do we do God's work in our daily life?" I had discussed this with my college professor. He recommended a book "Your work matters to God". Just before the retreat, Brother Ting gave me another book "To live a different life.". Both books strongly suggest that we need to know the importance of our work, through which God will display His power.

Pastor Taylor talked about Acts 16:6-10 when the Holy Spirit kept Paul from going to the province of Asia and led him to Macedonia. I was wrong to think that whatever the Holy Spirit prevented, that was the end of it. In Acts 18 however, God did eventually lead Paul to the province of Asia. While God led him through a detour, He gathered for him a group of people to go with him---Timothy, Lydia, Aquila and Pricilla. All our professional trainings can be turned to use by God. At the appointed time, God will lead us to where He intended to take us. May there be many among us who would respond to God's calling. If we merely watch others serve, we will have little to gain. To be truly blessed by God we need to give ourselves totally to serve Him. Let's begin today. Rise up to serve Him now!