Deny Yourself: Be Submissive to God’s Guidance

I grew up in an ordinary family with four members. My mother is a Filipino catholic and I have been exposed to the Christian faith since my early childhood. However, my faith did not fully take root and grow until I became a student at a Baptist secondary school. I started to serve God and experience His molding along with my brothers and sisters at church.

God Knows Your Heart

In August 2018, I participated in the Hong Kong and Kowloon Bible Study, and God spoke to me through the messages over the past few days. The speaker mentioned the message in Chapter 6 of Isaiah that God called Isaiah to be a prophet. I was deeply impressed. When Isaiah saw God, he said, “Woe to me! I am destroyed! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and because my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. ” (Isaiah 6:5, revised Union Version) At that time, like Isaiah, I felt deeply that I was an unclean, sinful person, living in sin, and had no face to come before God, let alone be worthy of Him. Used. But God did not give up on me because of this. Instead, he responded to my inner struggles and doubts through the messages of different speakers. For example, the speaker discussed the ups and downs of David's life, which made me understand that what God values is not a person's ability, but a heart that is willing to obey and respond to Him. At that time, I just prayed silently in response to God, but in the end, this feeling still remained in my heart.

The Power of the Gospel

After the Bailing Bible Study, I went on a missionary trip to Cebu, Philippines, which gave me the opportunity to see my hometown from another perspective. During this mission trip, we visited local mission fields and visited local people living in cemeteries, streets and slums. God allowed me to truly experience and see the greatness and wonder of His work during that trip. In a place full of hardship, sorrow, death, and darkness, there is a group full of joy, warmth, and hope because of God's love. During this period, the missionary said something that deeply touched me: "We don't have much funds, so we can only help a few families improve their lives. In fact, no amount of money can help everyone in need. Only one thing can really help." They, change them, that is the gospel.” God showed me the real needs of people, and that troubled and sad spirits can gain hope of life by listening to the gospel and believing in Christ.

During my missionary journey, God spoke to me many times through this missionary’s sharing. The missionary recounted the lessons of obedience she learned during her missionary service. For example, she didn’t know anything about this ministry field at first and had no idea about it. But when God called her, she obeyed, responded firmly, and resolutely started the local ministry work. She encouraged me and said, "God does not use people based on their ability. If He is willing to use you, He will definitely give you enough ability. As long as you are willing to let go of yourself and obey God's leading, you will be able to experience the provision that is beyond human imagination. .” God responded to my inner doubts through these words, and I was deeply moved. During that journey, I kept thinking about what the missionaries shared and what I saw. After sharing my thoughts with fellow pastors, I prayed with them to respond to God, determined to obey His leading and serve Him, and asked Him to give me a clearer direction in the future.

Being Submissive to God’s Guidance

In October 2018, I participated in the full-time ministry exploration camp organized by Hong Kong Baptist Theological Seminary. At the camp, I had the opportunity to experience the life of a seminarian, participate in classes, and share my inner feelings with seminarians and teachers. What touched me the most during the whole camp was the information Dr. Shum Siu-lin shared about the Book of Deuteronomy; he pointed out that the Levites did not seem to be assigned any land for inheritance, but in fact they were given the most precious position, which was to serve God. Because of God’s saving grace for Israel, the Levites learned to be obedient and serve God on behalf of the people of Israel. I immediately recalled the rich grace and guidance of God that I had experienced in my life, and thought to myself: If God calls me to work for Him, what reason do I have to refuse? I knew my own shortcomings, so I longed to study theology to equip myself so that I could follow the footsteps of the Lord.

From 2019 to 2021, after social events and the epidemic, I saw many people's lives experiencing troughs and despair; during the epidemic, I also faced the death of many relatives, and I became even more aware of the shortness and impermanence of life. I realized that I need to equip myself to serve others, bring the gospel that gives people hope of life to people, and in the process learn to obey God, let go of myself, respond to His call on me, and serve Him and people faithfully.