How does this one God build a pure virgin church?
This sermon is the third in a series start with the one on Feb., 15, 2009.
A. This is the process!
Prepared a determined man. Lead him to a place. Prepared a small group of elders to help him do the following:
1. On the first Sunday of 1980 at the closing prayer
Mr. Chan suddenly prayed to the one God to buy a building for this one pure virgin church.
2. A neighborhood lady happened to visit this church for this one time.
She heard the prayer and told Mr. Chan that this building is for sale!
3. by faith Mr. Chan talked to the elders in Chatham N.J. about buying this building for this one pure virgin church!
4. By the grace of God they agree to help raise the needed money!
Normally, American elders do not buy building for Chinese Christians!
5. By faith Mr. Chan and the three elders came to talk to the selling Committee,
saying that we don’t have money but we need to buy their building for this little church!
This is really unusual!
6. A member of their selling committee know about this little church and help to lower down their selling price by a third.
But we still don’t have money! Because we did not think about this before!
7. We asked them to give us 2 weeks to see if we can raise $100,000.00 for the initial payment
which they must have to buy a new place and move their organization there!
They will put up the mortgage with half of the bank rate for the rest of the money!
8. Mr.Chan, Mr.Hemingway and Mr.Crowe went to Abilene Tex. for fundraising.
9. Mr. Fletcher who was an elder of a large church where Mr. Chan worked for a year when he was living in Abilene Texas.
Mr. Fletcher helped to find people and churches to help give us money and we need $100,000.00 in cash.
10. He said it would take a miracle to do this!
Because even rich people do not have this much cash on hand to give in 2 weeks!
11. Suddenly he thought of a man he knew and his name is Jim Frazier.
He said unless we can find him. He has to be here in Abilene at this time! He was such a busy man!
It would take another miracle to find him!
12. He said, why don’t you write an announcement so we can announce our need
while the Abilene University Lectureship is going on!
13. By faith, Mr. Hemingway, Mr. Crowe and Mr. Chan wrote this announcement
and Mr. Fletcher gave it to his Son who was vice president. Yes, praise the Lord, Mr. Broom made the announcement for us.
As a result a church come to pledge $8000.
14. At the end of the last meeting of the lectureship we still do not have cash money for the initial payment!
I felt very sad! While I was walking out of the meeting hall.
Suddenly a thought came to me! The speaker was my co-worker when I was working for the church in Abilene.
I had come this far and I don’t know when I will see him again.
I should go back into the meeting hall to say hello to him then go home!
I walked back in, stand on line and wait for my turn to meet him.
15. When I was 2nd on line to talk to him. Some one pat my shoulder, hand me an application form and said, are you John Chan?
I am Jim Frazier, take this back to your elders and get them fill up this form and send it back to us
and may be we can help you!
Mr. Fletcher was right there with me and he said to him, Jim, can we sit down and talk?
He said, my time is all booked! Then he thought a little and said, how about tomorrow 5 a.m. John,
can you wake up that early?
I said, yes, I can. O.K. then, let us meet at the Holiday Inn 5 a.m. tomorrow down high way 80.
16. Yes, by the grace of God, Mr. Jim Frazier found me and we met at the Holiday Inn down high way 80 in Abilene Texas.
He and his brother in law came to meet with us.
His brother in law was chairman that year for the Frazier foundation.
He said, the Frazier foundation can give us $5000.00 by June that year.
And he had to rush back to teach an early class.
But Jim Frazier told him to go ahead, but he wanted to talk to us some more.
After his brother in law left, he pulled out a pen and write on a napkin,
he asked me, John, how much did you raised now.
I said, the little church in Flushing can give $12,000.00 (My wife and I were prepared to sell all valuable belongings
to give to the building fund and with some other brothers’ help we were able to give $12,000.00!)
A church in Abilene will give $8000.00, a friend of Mr. Fletcher will give $10,000.00
altogether was $30,000.00 but we need $100,000.00 in cash in two weeks!
He said, John don’t worry, you need this building. I will go to my bank to borrow up to $100,000.00
to help you move into this building. I will give you a year to raise that money to pay back,
in the meantime I will put up the interest! The interest was 15%!
A man of little faith like me, I said, suppose I can’t raise this money in a year then what I do!
He said, John, don’t worry, I know you can raise that money in a year!
When he put it like that I can’t argue!
Suddenly, I was very happy! We all were very happy and we praise this one God together!
17. I called their selling committee chairman and told him, we got the money and were coming back to Flushing
to sign the buying contract! They were very surprise that we could do that!
18. A Jewish lawyer helped us to go through all those red tapes for the purchasing of this building for free!
We signed the purchasing contract on Feb., 20, 1980.
By the time we sign the closing it was October, 20, 1980. Eight months had gone by!
And we moved into this building on Nov., 15, 1980.
And in four years we paid off everything!
B. A story from the Bible. Jn. 6:53-68
1. Jesus said truly, truly, I say to you, except you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood,
you have no life in yourselves. He that eat my flesh and drink my blood has eternal life and
I will raise him up at the last day. (Jn.6:53-54)
2. Many disciples said: “This is a hard saying. Who can accept?” 6:60
3. From then on many disciples went back, and walked no more with him. 6:66
4. Jesus asked the 12 disciples: Do you want to leave too? Jn.6:67
5. Peter said: Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life!”
The one God built this pure virgin church for himself!
Once you found this church, like Peter, you will say--> Lord, here we have the words of eternal life where shall we go!
C. Conclusion:
1. Jesus declared: (John 10:27)
My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.
2. If you are a lost sheep Christ was looking for, once you found this Church, you will not go any where else!
3. Christ will not let you depart from this church!
Now that you are here, please stay, serve this one God and be blessed!
May the Lord bless you and keep you forever! Feb., 28, 2009.