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.Plymire stayed to continue his ministry to the Chinese.By 1949 the church had grown, opened their own building, led by Plymire and a national pastor; but the Communist revolution forced him to flee the country, never to return.In the following years, the national pastor was martyred, the land and property confiscated, the church forced underground.Plymire died in 1956 without ever seeing the fruit of his labour.In 1992, the church wanted to officially reopen.Permission was denied on the grounds there was no proof the property purchased and buildings erected by Plymire had ever been used as a church.The town officials knew the buildings had been used as a church but also knew all records from that era had been destroyed.The Chinese pastor contacted missions headquarters in the USA to enquire if they held any deeds to the property.Searching their records they found a deed, not to a church but to a grave on a hillside.The deed was forwarded to the Chinese pastor and then presented to the local authorities.They accepted it as incontrovertible evidence that the church had indeed existed.All property was returned and the buildings repossessed.Today the church is officially open again.Had the town cemetery been available to Plymire, there would have been no deed of proof.In fact in the years in between, the cemetery had been levelled and apartments built on the site.But the Plymires' grave still rests undisturbed on the hillside.God did not cause the deaths of Plymire's wife and son, but He used the tragic circumstances to bring about His greater purposes.There is coming a day of resurrection when Victor, Grace and John Plymire will receive their reward from the hands of Jesus.That reward will eclipse all sorrow.181.Remember Your VictoriesOn the eve of a battle, Napoleon would address his troops.On these occasions he would remind the soldiers of past victories.“Remember Marengo, remember the victory at Friedland.We stand on the eve of another day which will shape the destiny of Europe.” Blood would tingle and courage would be fired.When challenged by Saul as to why he was qualified to fight Goliath, David replied that in the past God had enabled him to overcome a lion and a bear.As we recall the victories of yesterday, our faith grows strong for the challenges of today.182.Messiah!1741 was a depressing year for George Frederick Handel.His latest opera had failed, his opera company had disbanded, his royal commissions had all but ceased, a stroke he had suffered some years before began to affect both his health and music.It seemed he had lost the genius that made his music so popular.Later that same year, a poet named Charles Jennens sent Handel a manuscript with the request that Handel set it to music.As Handel read the copy, the words gripped him.Suddenly he came alive.Immediately he began to put the words to music.He laboured all through that night and much of the following day.In fact, he worked day and night for 22 more days, barely stopping to eat or sleep.When his composition was finished, he sensed it would be a masterpiece.When “The Messiah” was performed in the following year, it was an immediate success.The words that Jennens wrote inspiring Handel and lifting him out of the pit of despair were about the Saviour.“He was despised and rejected of men.He looked to someone to have pity on him, but there was no man.He trusted in God.God did not leave his soul in Hell.I know that my Redeemer liveth.Rejoice.Hallelujah!” It may be that the period of disappointment and despair prepared Handel in heart and spirit to write the masterpiece.As he focussed on the Messiah, his burden was lifted.183.Never Despise the Day of Small ThingsWhen the evangelist Mordecai Ham made the invitation for salvation, two 13 year-old boys responded.Many would have considered, not much happened tonight, just two kids `went down the front'.The two `kids' were Billy Graham and his life long evangelism partner, Grady Wilson.God used that small response to bring the gospel to multiplied millions.Eileen Spence spent many years as a missionary in Papua New Guinea.One morning in her Sunday School a 10 year-old boy gave his heart to Jesus.Many would think “so what”.The little boy's name was Joseph Maru, who went on to become the General Superintendent of the Assemblies of God in Papua New Guinea and one of the great national leaders of that country.When the young Korean girl witnessed to a medical student dying from tuberculosis, the young man cursed and told her not to return.Many would have said, “it is not worth the effort” but the girl persisted.For several weeks she returned, telling the young Buddhist about the true God who answers prayer and works miracles
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