“Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel!” 1 Corinthians 9:16
“Lord, if you truly exist, please heal me. I offer my life to you and will serve you,” Trung prayed one night as he knelt in his room. The message he had heard in church that day about Jesus healing miraculously turned over in his mind, giving him a glimmer of hope. In 1985 Trung was conscripted into the Vietnamese army and sent to Cambodia for two years. He caught malaria and became extremely ill, but medicine seemed to have no effect and he was eventually sent home. Trung’s health continued to deteriorate and he thought he would soon die.
One day, childhood memories of hearing about Jesus resurfaced and Trung felt compelled to find a church. “The Lord had answered my prayer and I have remained malaria-free to this day.” After he prayed for healing, Trung lay down and went to sleep. At about midnight, Trung heard the Lord call his name. He was startled and as he sat up in bed, he felt God’s peace come over him. “It seemed to bring healing and in the morning I felt well,” Trung said. “The Lord had answered my prayer and I have remained malaria-free to this day.”
Trung’s life has never been the same. He had a hunger to know God and loved to read the Word. At first Trung didn’t understand a lot of what he read in the Bible, but he persisted in reading and listened attentively at church each week. His faith grew and it wasn’t long before Trung was sharing his testimony in the neighbouring villages. Some of these villages used to have house churches, but many believers scattered and church meetings ceased when the Communist government came into power.
We will cut your head!
Trung evangelised and preached freely for three years following his conversion without any opposition. His ministry flourished – many of the scattered believers returned to Christ and churches were re-established. In 1991, Trung began witnessing to the mountain tribes of Vietnam and leading them to faith in Christ, but the local police heard of his activities and arrested him. Trung spent 12 days in prison, and was brought before the “People’s Court” and fined one million Vietnamese Dong ($US100).
Trung said, “Why do I have to pay this fine? I have not done anything illegal.” The police replied, “This is to cover the cost of investigating who the preacher to the mountain tribes is and tracking you down.” Trung had been preaching to the Hre tribe and those who rejected the Gospel message told Trung that he must pay the money as well as buy them a buffalo to sacrifice to their gods. If he refused, they said, “We will cut off your head!” The police decided to relocate Trung to another prison where he was interrogated and beaten for half an hour until he was unconscious. Trung was then dumped in a prison cell to wait for the next day when the beatings and interrogation would begin all over again. He was released after 30 days. Most of the injuries Trung sustained were on his torso, damaging his internal organs.
Today, Trung still suffers from pain in his chest due to the beatings he received.
“I have dedicated my life to Christ,” Trung answered. “He is the Lord I worship and I am determined to follow Him. Nothing will hinder me.” In 1992 Trung joined an underground Bible school. Together with the local pastor, Trung continued preaching the Gospel until 1996 when he was once again arrested for evangelising the tribal people. The police said, “If you renounce your faith and tell the believers to renounce their faith, we will release you straight away. If not, you will be in prison for three years.”
Trung decided, “Today, I will die for Christ.” No longer worried about his life, like the Apostle Paul, he entrusted himself to God and determined that he would share the Gospel with every person he met in prison whatever the cost, for “to live is Christ and to die is gain” Philippians 1:21. Of the 200 inmates, 40 became believers through Trung’s bold witness. The authorities were so infuriated that Trung’s prison sentence was doubled to six years. When this didn’t stop Trung preaching, the authorities denied Trung visits from his wife and children.
In Vietnam, prisoners rely on their family to provide food and medicine because prison food is so poor it is barely sufficient to keep a person alive. Prisoners were forbidden to have any contact with Trung and when one of the prisoners refused to comply, he was shackled and placed into stocks for 14 days. Despite the risk, some prisoners shared food from their families with Trung, including the occasional candy.
The Candy Evangelist
Whenever Trung received a candy, he used the candy wrapper to write a Bible verse on it such as John 3:16 and John 3:36. He returned the wrapper to the prisoner, hoping they would question its meaning, giving Trung the opportunity to share the message of God’s love. The candy wrappers were circulated and inquisitive prisoners became believers. The prison had a small pool that prisoners would use to wash their clothes in and Trung used it to baptise the new believers. One convert who was serving an eight- year sentence for robbery, now serves as secretary at Trung’s church. During his third year in prison, the chief of police summoned Trung and said, “I really need to ask you, what is it about your faith that makes you crazy? You are prepared to go to prison, you are repeatedly beaten and at times are more dead than alive, and yet you will not renounce your faith.” “I have dedicated my life to Christ,” Trung answered. “He is the Lord I worship and I am determined to follow him. Nothing will hinder me. I know that my physical body dies in Jesus Christ every day. I only want to please my Lord.” After this conversation, the chief of police called a meeting with other government authorities in the district telling them, “Keep away from this man, he is too dangerous to our government.”
Stop Preaching!
Trung completed his prison sentence and when he was released, he went straight back to ministry! For a while, the authorities watched him from a distance, then in early May 2009, 40 police from the province stormed into Trung’s church during a service and ordered him to stop preaching. Since leaving prison, Trung has trained 20 believers to become evangelists. The police view this as a threat to their authority and are once again exerting pressure on Trung to stop his ministry. Refusing to be intimidated, Trung addressed the officer in charge, “In 2006 I filled out my application for permission to preach, but so far you have not replied.” The officer had no answer and the police left. On 19 May 2009, the police came again and arrested Trung and his 20 evangelists. Trung told the police, “I take full responsibility, take me only.” The police released the 20 evangelists and took Trung to the police station where they accused him of wrong doing. Trung asked them to give him a full report of what he had done wrong and said if it was true, he would gladly sign it. There was no such report and eventually they let Trung return home.
Trung continues to preach the Gospel even though the local authorities constantly threaten and harass him. Sometimes at Sunday services there are more police than Christians, but Trung rejoices in the opportunity to witness to the authorities and he is willing to endure all things to finish the race and keep the faith.
Spiritual Lessons:
⦁ You can only suffer for Christ when you know Him personally. The revelation of Jesus is essential to endure suffering for Him, as Paul said: “That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet this is no cause for shame because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day.” (2 Timothy 1:12)
⦁ Forgiving those who persecute you and praying for them is the only way to heal your heart.
⦁ Never retreat, never give up, and decide to follow Jesus.
⦁ Remember that those who love and follow God’s will endure forever.
⦁ God is always faithful. His grace is greater than the persecution we face.
⦁ Learn to rejoice in suffering. That is the secret to enduring trials. Your attitude determines everything.
⦁ Heaven is not only a place beyond—it is also in your heart, even in prison, in difficult situations because the Lord of heaven is within you.
⦁ Serve the Lord and preach the Gospel wherever you are. Do it today, in any way, no matter the circumstance. Don’t hesitate. Don’t wait.
⦁ The greatest legacy you can leave for your children is your faith in God, your love for Him, and your dedication to the mission of the Gospel.
⦁ 1 John 5:4-5 is very true, “For everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.”
⦁ You cannot follow Jesus and walk in faith while being defeated. You are a conqueror.
