Editor’s note: Shenzhen pastors share the Bible verses they feel exemplify their city.
CP: What passage of Scripture do you feel is representative of Shenzhen?
Wang Yijian: Shenzhen is quite blessed. In terms of the gospel, it is more prosperous than inland cities. The verse I have in mind is,
“God crowns the year with his bounty; his paths drip with abundance.” (Ps. 65:11)
Shenzhen is quite blessed. In terms of the gospel, it is more prosperous than inland cities.
Pan Raiqi: 1 Corinthians 1:10-31 comes to mind, especially verse 12:
“I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name. 16 (I did baptize also the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written,
“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”
Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, ‘Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.’”
Never miss a story
Shu Jing: Ephesians 4:1-3:
“I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”
It always comes back to money. Shenzhen is the city with the strongest smell of money in the whole country.
Elder Wu Yang: Many churches are quite stingy with pastors’ financial support. They think a few thousand yuan is enough, that pastors should live by faith. It always comes back to money. Shenzhen is the city with the strongest smell of money in the whole country. I thought of James 5:1-8. The first six verses say:
“Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you.”
The last two verses are about the attitude we pastors need:
“Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.”
Pastor Huang: I thought of Isaiah 5:8-13. It’s quite fitting for Shenzhen:
“Woe to those who join house to house, who join field to field, until there is no more room, and you are made to dwell alone in the midst of the land. The Lord of hosts has sworn in my hearing: ‘Surely many houses shall be desolate, large and beautiful houses, without inhabitant. For ten acres of vineyard shall yield but one bath, and a homer of seed shall yield but an ephah.’
Woe to those who rise early in the morning, that they may run after strong drink, who tarry late into the evening as wine inflames them! They have lyre and harp, tambourine and flute and wine at their fiests, but they do not regard the deeds of the Lord, or see the work of his hands.
Therefore my people go into exile for lack of knowledge; their honored men go hungry, and their multitude is parched with thirst.”
Li En: What came to mind was Matthew 9:35-38. It says:
“And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”
Last year, I lived in a certain part of town. If I went to catch the subway during rush hour, there would already be a long line outside the station. Where I moved to now, it feels like there are fewer people. Although there I don’t see lines outside, the last few times I’ve had to catch the subway during peak hours, sometimes two trains come and go and I still can’t squeeze on. No matter how early I leave each day, there are always people working earlier than me. No matter how late I come back, there are always people still busy later than me, whether it’s for entertainment, leisure, or still working to make money.
Shenzhen is a city with many people, so many people. But they truly are harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
Shenzhen is a city with many people, so many people. But they truly are harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
Pray that God will enable more churches to see the needs of these first-tier cities. May he move the churches to send workers to Shenzhen to harvest the crops.
Yang Xi, Du Panhe, and Tan Yexuan are all pseudonyms for Guilin house church pastors.
Pray that other Chinese churches will send pastors and church workers to Shenzhen to serve and lead the churches there.
