Recently, the China Christian Daily interviewed Rev. Yi Shaohua from a church in Xuzhou, Jiangsu, to talk about his newly released book, Glorious Salvation(《荣耀救赎》). The book consists of serial Sunday sermons concerning the second part of the book of Isaiah (Chapter 40-66) with around three hundred thousand words.
China Christian Daily: Rev. Yi. Can you briefly share the writing process and theme of your new book?
Rev. Yi Shaohua: About a decade ago, I started to preach a series of sermons named "Learn to Understand God's Will" in the Sunday service held in Nanguan Church of Xuzhou where I serve. I divided the theme into four parts: the Old Testament and the New Testament, which accounted for two parts each. The sermons on the Old Testament teach people to learn how to understand God's will from the message of the law and the prophets, and the ones on the New Testament share the ideas on how to understand His will from the teachings of the Lord and the Apostles.
I chose three prophets, Samuel, Elijah and Isaiah. When it came to Isaiah, I began with Chapter 6 (the book of Isaiah), which narrates his calling and the vision he saw. During that period, believers asked me for the sermons after preaching every time, saying that the sermons could help them a lot. Then, an idea began to take root in my mind and I would write down the full content of my sermon when preparing for them in the future.
So that explains why the second part of Isaiah has been out first, because there are no detailed sermons for the first part. However, I have the whole sermons for the second part when I preach about that part.
I have to rewrite and rearrange the content regarding "Powerful Judgement" which concerns about the first part containing Chapter 1-39 and the book will be published later. This book features serial sermons for Isaiah and very different from dull Bible studies. It both explains the verses and shares insights according to the spiritual needs of believers and their faith life.
China Christian Daily: What reflection and edification do you hope this book bring into today's church and believers?
Rev. Yi Shaohua: The content of Isaiah contains judgment and salvation. Through the declaration of judgment, we know God's justice and man's sins and that we will go punished if we disobey His word. The second part tells that God prepared salvation for us even though we are sinners. People don't have to perish because His salvation gives us hope. The example of the Israelites, the chosen people, is very alarming for this age because they had a tragic ending and were punished and disciplined by God for not obeying His will. Through God's salvation can we receive the promise God gave to Abraham in the Old Testament, the hope for the ultimate glory; including the promise to enter the eternal kingdom. We possess those in Jesus Christ and we can also see the Gospel in the Old Testament.
China Christian Daily: You mention a lot of times about God's kingdom in the book. What is its significance to the church and believers at present?
Rev. Yi Shaohua: Sermons can cover much content and spiritual food can be given at the proper time based on the church's needs. But it should not be ignored that an essential part in God's will and plan lies in God's Kingdom. Everything, including the beginning of creation, is for the establishment of His kingdom. One thing above all marks out His kingdom: total obedience to God's authority.
God sent Jesus Christ into the world, who learned obedience in sufferings, and he obeyed His will and was totally obedient to God's authority. In that way, His kingdom was built on the Lord Jesus and Christ brought the kingdom to the church. Jesus became the model subjecting to divine authority and the church should imitate Christ. His kingdom will be set up in the church and then expanded to the world. In the end, the kingdom will be built over all the earth.
The key to whether the world can become the kingdom belonging to the Lord and the Lord Christ is that God's kingdom should be established in the church. The church undertakes a divine grand yet difficult mission since the Israelites took the mission. If the church can't complete the mission God gives, the fulfillment of God's kingdom will be delayed. The church should let believers discern the mission and their responsibility. Jesus also taught us to pray for God's kingdom and righteousness first. This is the goal of Christians in the world, to establish God's kingdom.
A large percentage of believers lose the sense of mission and responsibility, lacking in many ways to receive missions from God. Pastors and preachers need to awaken their consciousness to the extent that they can realize that it's not enough to feed themselves, attend a Sunday service and offer tithe. Instead, they have their own responsibilities and mission. Every people chosen by God, who are precious and living stones, is being built into a spiritual house. Every member in the church is a participator and builder rather than a person standing and doing nothing by being a bystander. Everyone should be committed to the establishment and expansion of God's kingdom.
China Christain Daily: Few pastors can contribute to the ministry of writing since Chinese preachers are always busy. What is your view towards the ministry of writing?
Rev. Yi Shaohua: Pastors and preachers have to manage many church affairs and social things since there are fewer full-time workers in the local church, where much needs to be done. Unlike seminary teachers who have enough time for thought and access to many resources, it is hard for pastors in local churches to write books.
The first draft of my first book "The History of the Christian Church" was written during the days when I taught the course regarding church history in Jiangsu Theological Seminary. Later, the draft was slightly revised and published after I came to serve in the church of Xuzhou. It was uneasy for me to finish the book "Glorious Salvation" as a result of a long-term accumulation for preaching.
The main reason is that they don't have time. Relatively speaking, some pastors who don't pastor any church and hold crucial positions in the CCC&TSPM at all levels have the time. They can try to write when there is time. Of course, this requires a gift of writing. Pastors with the gift should write more if conditions permit it.
China Christain Daily: What is your exhortation on encouraging Christians to read books?
Rev. Yi Shaohua: It is a challenge to read because many believers suffer from work and family pressure, low energy and certainly they also have to deal with the social impact. Consequently, a large percentage of people fail to read quietly. But it is the most basic thing for believers to read the Bible every day as part of their routine. However, I'm afraid that few young believers can insist on the Bible readings each day. Most people find it uninteresting and feel sleepy when reading the Bible, or quit reading it since they can't understand it. This needs the church's help. Take the example of my Nanguan Church of Xuzhou. Many attempts have been made to inspire believers to read the Bible, for instance. The responsive reading part is arranged before a sermon in the Sunday service: we used to choose some Psalms, and later pick Ketuvim (The Writings) and the New Testament. Reading one chapter of the Old Testament and one of the New Testament each time, we often read the New Testament for several times. In addition, a Bible reading class is held, where believers gather in the church to read the Bible. What's more, we encourage young believers to transcribe the Bible and recite verses.
Concerning other spiritual books, everyone has his own taste. Some prefer devotional books while some like church history books. Some love hermeneutics books, some serial sermons and some personal biographies. You can read according to your taste and develop a reading habit, but many people don't have one. The Israelis love reading the best compared to many countries. The average number of books read by a Chinese adult is pretty low and the main cause is that people with busy work don't time for reading. Maybe, many people don't read because they don't form a reading habit. The habit needs to be developed. We need to figure out ways to encourage believers to read a lot. My wish is that a church would have a small library with thousands of books as a public environment, where believers can gradually develop good reading books.
Translated by Karen Luo
