Episode 240

God both has and will go to incredible lengths to reach us with the gospel. He not only declared it way back in the Garden of Eden, but He also faithfully brought His promise to fruition when He came to the earth as a babe in the manger, then was crucified and resurrected after 33 years of a perfect life lived in our stead. Even now, His work to reach the lost continues. Every tract we pass out, every gospel presentation we give, every testimony we share–all are reflective of God’s commitment to seek and save the lost. In this episode, we continue in the How Were Your Barriers Removed series with an interview of Simon Chu to hear how God saved him. Born in Hong Kong but raised in the U.S. after living in Nigeria for a year, he grew up in a nonreligious home with no Christian witness. His father was agnostic and his mother followed Buddhism. Though friends in his childhood professed to be Christians, their lives gradually suggested otherwise and provided no real witness to the saving grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. In spite of this, the Lord had already been working in his heart, and eternity was a persistent question at the back of his mind. Join us and hear how God used imperfect people using imperfect evangelism efforts to bring Simon to a saving knowledge of Christ, and how God changed him into a faithful soulwinner as well.

[Simon]

I didn’t come from a Christian home. My mom is Buddhist. But I sought God and God revealed himself to me. And I would have to start with my personal testimony of how I trusted Christ as an eighth grader. And God changed my life. And I’m looking forward to being with him.

[Jay]

Thank you for tuning in to the Removing Barriers Podcast. I’m Jay and I’m MCG. And we’re attempting to remove barriers so we can all have a clear view of the cross.

[MCG]

This is episode 240 of the Removing Barriers Podcast. And this is the 42nd in the series of How Were Your Barriers Removed? And in this episode, we’ll find out how Simon Shrew’s barriers were removed when he came to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.

[Jay]

Hi, this is Jay. MCG and I would like for you to help us remove barriers by going to removingbarriers.net and subscribing to receive all things removing barriers. If you’d like to take your efforts a bit further and help us keep the mics on, consider donating at removingbarriers.net slash donate. Removing barriers, a clear view of the cross.

[MCG]

Simon, it is indeed a pleasure. Welcome to the Removing Barriers podcast.

[Simon]

Thank you. Thank you for having me.

[MCG]

Great. Well, let’s jump into it. Tell us what state or country were you born in, Simon?

[Simon]

I was born in Hong Kong when it was still a British Commonwealth colony.

[MCG]

Cool.

[Simon]

We left as a family. We left for Nigeria, Africa in 1971.

[MCG]

So did you grow up in Hong Kong or you grew up in Nigeria? Where would you say you grew up?

[Simon]

So I was born and grew up in Hong Kong. and did kindergarten in Hong Kong, and then did first grade in Nigeria, Africa.

[MCG]

Oh, wow. So how many languages are you fluent in then? Are you fluent in Mandarin? Anything in Nigeria?

[Simon]

My first language was Cantonese.

[MCG]

Okay.

[Simon]

And then in Nigeria, it was a country that was also a British colony. Nigerians spoke English and that’s where we, my brother and I, learned to speak English.

[MCG]

Cool.

[Jay]

So what kind of family were you born into? It sounds like if your family moved from Hong Kong to Nigeria, were they missionaries or were they on business? What was your family life like growing up?

[Simon]

So my father was in textiles. He worked in a textile factory and he was able to learn his craft and assembling textile machinery. And since Nigerian companies bought the machines that were made in Hong Kong, he was also sent to Nigeria to help put the machines together and get the factories going.

[MCG]

Okay, so he was more like an engineer more.

[Simon]

Yes.

[MCG]

Okay, cool. Tell us a little bit more about your upbringing before salvation. Were your parents saved?

[Simon]

So it was not really a Buddhist family, although my mom practiced Buddhist or would be considered a Buddhist. So it was where we acknowledged Buddha as the god, but it was never really pushed on us. And so neither of us, my brother and I, neither of us really knew anything about Buddhism.

[Jay]

Would you say that your father was perhaps non-religious or was he Buddhist as well? Because you mentioned he was just not religious. Not religious at all. Okay. So when did you come to 1st hear the gospel?

[Simon]

So as a fourth grader, my neighbor across the street, we grew up playing with Eddie and Debbie Davis. They were like our best friends because they were just across the street and they went to church. They went to a church, I think most of us know is Bethlehem Baptist Church.

[MCG]

Okay, so this is in the States now.

[Simon]

Yes.

[MCG]

So when did your family actually get to the States?

[Simon]

1972.

[MCG]

Oh, wow, okay.

[Jay]

So you were only in Nigeria for a year then or so, and then you moved to the States from there?

[Simon]

Yes, we immigrated to the United States in 1972, and we came through New York, did a few months of finishing up first grade. And then we moved to Northern Virginia, where I started second grade in Fairfax City.

[MCG]

Okay. Oh, wow. So was it the job that brought your dad to the US as well?

[Simon]

He wanted to come to the States for the opportunity and for the education. And he just decided when the opportunity came, he took it and said, let’s immigrate to the United States. We had my grandparents were here. My grandparents were like housekeepers for some families in DC. And so just through connections, we were able to immigrate and they sponsored and we were able to just move to Northern Virginia and we stayed.

[MCG]

Oh, cool.

[Jay]

So across the street, you have the Davis siblings and they go to church. How do they influence you and pique your interest in the gospel and when did you first hear the gospel?

[Simon]

So I remember Debbie would try to explain that there’s an afterlife. And I remember being very curious about it. interested me. I was asking questions. My brother was blowing it off, but I was asking questions because it did seem to interest me. Like, wow, yeah, she talked about where we could possibly go after we died. And that was interesting. And I asked some questions, but she didn’t take it to the next step where this is how you become a Christian. And so as time went on, that kind of just fizzled away because Eddie and Debbie were pretty worldly, pretty just into the party scene. And so whatever influence they had that 4th grade, it was gone because they weren’t living it at all.

[MCG]

Oh wow.

Did you had any struggle reconciling your mom faith with the faith you’ve seen in the Davises? Or did you just kind of just upset it as maybe this is what Americans do and this is what Chinese may do or whatever the case may be?

[Simon]

I would say that I was probably, like you were saying, this is what Americans do, you know, and they used to go to church, but there was definitely a time when they stopped going. And so I would say at that time, we were all very unruly kids. we were just out to have fun and, just God was not even in the picture at all from when they were younger. So it was like that until it was like in 8th grade. I was watching the 700 Club during the summer. I was watching that and Pat Robertson gave a clear presentation of the gospel. And I remember him saying, giving an invitation, like, do you want to know for sure that you can go to heaven? And I asked myself, and I thought, well, yeah, I do want to know. And so he gave a clear presentation of the gospel. And I asked myself, do I want to know for sure? Yes, I do want to know. And I remember receiving Christ as my Lord and Savior as an 8th grader, well, going into 9th, so after my 8th grade. And my life changed because from 9th grade on, I was more into studying. I was more into just avoiding the worldly crowd. I was definitely, my life changed. I remember specifically kids in high school saying, yeah, there’s a big change from when you were in eighth grade to now, you know, there was a definite change.

[MCG]

All right, so in the circle of faith that you’re practicing now in terms of independent fundamental Baptist churches that you attending. You mentioned Pat Robinson and a clear presentation of the gospel. Looking back at it now, were you surprised that the Lord will use someone whom you may say, maybe it’s not doctrinally aligned with you now. Are you surprised? How do you reconcile it to when you think about it that the Lord actually used someone that maybe they might say, hey, he’s a little bit questionable?

[Simon]

So I attribute it all to God because from 9th grade and 10th grade, I was definitely a Christian, but I didn’t go to church. I generally would listen to religious programs on Sunday morning. And at that time, we had radios. And so I would just listen to any religious program. So come 11th grade. I remember saying to my brother, I need to go find a good church to go to. And so he said, no, you don’t need to do that. You can just pray at home. But I knew I was missing something, not being in a church. So I started by going to the yellow pages. At that time, we had yellow pages. And I found a church, Fairfax Baptist Temple, with this little square that talked about having an academy. And I remember thinking, well, if there’s academy there, must be other kids my age. So I just decided to call the school about coming to church or call the church about coming to a service. And Mr. Hansen invited me to come. Mr. Gil Hanson invited me to come and he said, I have a son that’s your age. And his son’s name is John. And so I met John my first Sunday. And I’ll always remember I met John Hanson and Jay Robinson were two guys that were in the academy. And they were both my age. And in the very early stages of my going to church, I looked forward to seeing like Jay and John at church as an 11th grader. And by the way, the only reason I started going to church was because I just got my license, my driver’s license at 16. It was 1981. I was a junior in high school. I just got my driver’s license. And so I was able to drive to church and I looked forward to seeing other Christian young person like myself. And so it was kind of a memorable time. I remember like, you know, the preaching was great, but I just looked forward to seeing other Christian kids.

[MCG]

Amen. What were you driving back then?

[Simon]

It was a Chevrolet celebrity.

[MCG]

Cool.

[Jay]

If I could backtrack for a few steps, Simon, you talked about your father being non-religious and your mother Buddhist. Now, I’m not 100% familiar with the Buddhist faith. So I would like to ask you, did your parents in any way have an objection to you following Christ? And did your decision to follow Christ change your family dynamic in any way?

[Simon]

That’s an interesting question, because they also noticed the difference in my life, that when I became a Christian, I was able to tell them, you know, I’m going to start trying to live a righteous life. I remember telling them that I remember telling, you know, I told him, like, we used to mess around and do a lot of stupid things. And I said, I’m not doing those anymore. I’m going to try to live a righteous life. And my brother, on the other hand, was definitely going full board into like foolishness. And so they could see a difference and say, you know, there’s nothing wrong with Simon going to church. This is probably a good thing. And so they left me alone.

[Jay]

I was going to tag onto that question and ask, what was it about your life that made you realize that you needed a savior? I know you mentioned that you were going off and just kind of playing with friends and getting into foolishness and all that. Was it that kind of lifestyle even at a young age that you were under conviction about?

[Simon]

So, I mean, I think as a young person, we all know we’re sinners and I definitely knew that I was not doing right. and so with drinking, drug use and, just stuff like that, that’s pretty prevalent, in our area. And so I knew when I got saved, I knew those were not things I wanted to be engaged in. I knew those were things I wanted to get away from. And so, yeah. Does that answer your question?

[Jay]

Yeah, I think so. Was it your friends at that time that created a barrier between you and the Lord?

[Simon]

Oh.

[Jay]

Was it just the environment that you were in? Was it the friends you had or Were there different barriers keeping you from becoming saved before you actually did get saved?

[Simon]

So I think that when I just focused on school, when I went to school, I focused on being more academic. So the type of friends I would associate with were not in that crowd. The ones that were messing around, they weren’t studious, they weren’t involved. they didn’t have any interest in school. So then I started being around people who were more aligned with academia, school. And so at least I think they weren’t involved in foolishness, right, at that point. And so I think that helped. And so nobody really prevented me. Like I didn’t have any friends that tried to drag me down because I just chose different friends. Even though they may not have been Christians, at least they were better. They were a little better quality, and they didn’t try to pull me down. And so I think I chose a different set of friends. But I still knew I wanted to be around other Christians.

[MCG]

Yeah. Curious question. What would you say drew you to the 700 Club? Because most kids, you know, in early mid teens are not watching the 700 Club, you know. So what kind of drew you to the 700 Club and give us a little bit more about the message that kept your attention to the end where you followed the call to repentance.

[Simon]

I remember people leaving religious materials at our door, which is interesting. I remember people knocking on our door and my parents weren’t home, it was just my brother and I, and they would leave stuff with us. And I just laughed it off. I just kind of blew it off. But I took it and I left the material in the house, which is interesting. I just left it there. I didn’t throw it away. I just left it there. And I remember just blowing it off and I just started reading that materials, and I went to friends’ houses, and they also had people who left materials at the door. And I started reading that too. And so it just gave me an interest, like, there’s a God, I want to know more. And so I started searching on TV, like, there’s a religious program that’s talking about God, and I’m going to find out, you know, I want to seek it out. And so, yeah, I would have to say that people leaving materials at the door, even though I blew it off at the beginning, it made its way to me.

[MCG]

Amen.

[Simon]

Isn’t that interesting?

[Jay]

Yeah, interesting.

[MCG]

It’s amazing how the laws work because in my personal testimony, I got on a conviction after I watched a movie called Jesus of Nazareth. It was a four part series from his birth all the way to his death and resurrection. And after I got saved and started reading my Bible, I rewatched that movie. And it didn’t keep in line very well with the scriptures, so to speak. But the Lord used that imperfection of men recreating their gospels, taking a bunch of poetic license and artistic liberty. And the Lord used it to convict me. And the Lord used Pat Roberson, who a lot of folks would say, hey, he may not be at least in line with doctrinally as what you are now, but the Lord used him and the imperfections of that man, the Holy Spirit draw you to him.

[Simon]

Yeah.

[MCG]

It’s almost like, you know, fishing for the rose out of the garbage. You know, there’s a lot of junk there, but you may just find something that’s beautiful and turn into Simon or turn into MCG that we heard the gospel and we got saved. So I found that to be amazing. And it’s a lesson for us because sometimes we believe, hey, he has to be perfect. He has to come from the right person, the right source, the right, you know, the right haircut, the right jest. And sometimes the Lord used the imperfection of the man and some of the.

[Simon]

Materials I read were Jehovah’s Witness, were Mormon, but it was just piquing my interest about a God. And so, looking back, I mean, I’m reading Jehovah’s Witness and Mormon stuff, and then Pat Robertson. But you know, but God used that to draw me to getting saved.

[MCG]

Yeah.

[Simon]

Interestingly.

[MCG]

A little light, more light increase. All right, well, let’s go into a little bit of break and then we’ll come back at the other end and find out some more of how the Lord saved you. You’re listening to the Removing Barriers podcast. We sit down with Simon and we’ll find out how Rahi Barriers removed. We’ll be right back.

[Jay]

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[MCG]

All right, Simon, 2 Corinthians 5.17 says, therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. All things are passed away, behold, all things are become new. After salvation, what changes were evident in your life? I know you mentioned some, but are there any more that were evident after salvation?

[Simon]

When I was in Fairfax High, I think I had like 7 people that came to church with me. So I tried to invite people I knew from Fairfax High to come to church. And I think at least two or three received Christ as their Lord and Savior. And so I tried to reach my classmates from Fairfax High. I think that was the main thing is I would try to call them and say, hey, let’s go to church. And of the seven, I think I probably asked 20 or so, right? So I try to reach my classmates.

[MCG]

Great. Curious question before Jay jump in. Where did you meet your wife? Was it after you came to the church you attended now or did you meet her at the high school Fairfax High?

[Simon]

Oh, I met Kim at Bob Jones University.

[MCG]

Oh, okay. So that’s long after you were saved. Okay.

[Simon]

Yeah. I mean, it wasn’t too long because I was 11th grade. I was saved at 8th grade, but I really just started going to church at 11th grade. And so when I went to Bob Jones University, that was just two years after I started going to church. To be honest, that was a culture shock. Going to a Christian college.

[MCG]

Yeah, I know, Tell me about it.

[Simon]

So I met her at Bob Jones University.

[Jay]

You mentioned, Simon, that you couldn’t wait to get your hands on anything to read that had anything to do with Jesus or the afterlife, anything that piqued your spiritual interest, even if it was coming from people that we know aren’t Christians like Mormons or JWs. My next question for you is that the way that your barriers were removed, I was going to ask if you feel like that would be effective in someone’s life today. Now, of course, and I don’t know how long it took after your salvation to look back on those materials and realize that they were not the truth, but Now, when you’re considering how you got saved, do you think that the passing out of materials, whether they’re sound or not, is an effective way for barriers to be removed for people to come to know the Lord?

[Simon]

I would say so. I think passing out materials, even though they’re not initially receptive, if they took it, you just never know how it could be used in that household. ultimately, right?

[Jay]

So I would say to anyone that’s listening, if you have hesitations about going from door to door and sharing the gospel, even if it’s passing out tracts, just to be reminded that Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons do not have the gospel. They do not have the truth, and they are zealous about getting their information out there. Let us, if we are professors of faith in Christ, if we are genuine believers, we should be just as zealous, if not more zealous, to get our information out there because we have the truth, we have the light of the gospel, and people like Simon Chu were able to hear the gospel and to have his interest piqued by information left at the door. I talk to people all of the time. who are believers, but they are hesitant to go and share a tract. They’re hesitant to go door to door. Perhaps they feel like they don’t want to bother people, they don’t want to be a nuisance, they don’t want to inconvenience someone, but it’s never an inconvenience to engage someone about their eternal soul. And Simon Chu was able to receive the gospel and had his interest piqued by literature left at his door, and the Lord saved him, and today he’s a faithful soul winner going door to door and sharing the gospel. And so just like MCG said, we seem to think that we have to be this perfect this or perfect that in order to share the gospel and that’s just not the case. God can and does use anyone. It’s his word that’s going out and it’s his seed that’s being planted and he will bring about fruit as he sees fit. And so I’m off my soapbox now, just a little bit of a rant there, but it’s very important for us to be sharing the gospel.

[MCG]

Of course, we know what you’re doing, but tell the audience, what are you doing personally in the area of evangelism to win? There are the Simon Shrews out there that’s growing up and seeking and curious.

[Simon]

So it’s important to be faithful, at least on a regular basis where there’s a time you’re setting aside to go on visitation. I think that’s probably one of the things that’s a good thing, good practice, because it just makes you take that time out to do something that the Bible commands us to do. And so that, and obviously there’s always opportunities with family, coworkers and neighbors that we should try to reach. But just setting aside a time where we’re trying to get God’s word out, I think that God would be happy with that. God would be pleased with that.

[MCG]

Have your mother, father, or brother, have any one of them received the Lord Jesus Christ after you did?

[Simon]

My brother and my father, they have.

[MCG]

Amen.

[Simon]

My brother’s not living for the Lord right now, unfortunately. He used to go to our church, even studied in the Missions Academy at FBT. But at this point in his life, he’s just pretty far away. My dad has received Christ.

[MCG]

Amen.

[Simon]

And he’s given testimony of being saved and he’s ready to go to be with God. He’s up there in age, so he’s ready to go and I’m still trying to reach my mom.

[MCG]

So that’s a prayer request right there.

[Jay]

Absolutely.

[MCG]

All right. Well, Simon, let’s go into a little bit of a fun section and find out some of your favorites. Let’s start with your favorite scripture verse.

[Simon]

It is Proverbs 3, 5, and 6.

[MCG]

Amen. You want to quote it for us?

[Simon]

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding in all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy paths.

[MCG]

I’m sure you have testimony of the Lord directing your part as you have trusted in him over the years.

[Simon]

Absolutely, yes. He’s definitely provided and it seems like in terms of a career, it seems like every time I was running into some issues with work, it was always somebody at church that… gave me a good lead or got me into some a program that I got into. So God always used somebody at church for me.

[MCG]

Amen.

[Simon]

Yeah. And it was definitely out of the blue. I mean, like, I mean, I’m talking about folks that have moved away and that they just happened to be visiting on a Sunday. and we talked at a restaurant and somehow I’m able to get my resume to the right program manager. And so it’s just stuff like that God used.

[MCG]

Amen.

[Jay]

What is your favorite historical account in the scriptures?

[Simon]

It’s got to be the resurrection. for me. And so it’s pretty important for us as Christians. Our Christian faith is, the apostle Paul says, it’s in vain. If it weren’t for the resurrection, it would all be in vain. So I think that I would have to say the resurrection.

[Jay]

Amen.

[MCG]

What would you say is the most convicting scripture passage for you?

[Simon]

The most convicting, I think early on, it has to be John 3.16. So that really hit home for me as a new believer. And so I think that was probably initially the most convicting. And as I do regular Bible devotions, personal devotions, I mean, different verses become important at different stages of my life.

[MCG]

Yeah, definitely.

[Simon]

Early on, I would say John 3.16.

[MCG]

Amen.

[Jay]

And I’m sure this is the case for this question as well. It depends on the situation. It depends on the scripture. But at this point in your life, what would you say is the most comforting scripture for you?

[Simon]

I would say in 1 Peter 5, 7, where God tells us not to be careful, not to be overly concerned. So yeah, I do have a tendency to worry and be anxious. And so verses like that really hit home for me.

[Jay]

In our world today, where there’s so many wars raging overseas and the economy’s not doing so hot and got a president that half of the country hates in the White House, there is a lot to be worried about or to be anxious about. Abba 1 Peter 5.7 says, casting all your care upon him, for he careth for you.

[MCG]

What would you say is your favorite hymn of the faith?

[Simon]

My favorite hymn, I think Amazing Grace would be something that stands out.

[Jay]

Yeah. And Which person in the scriptures would you describe as your favorite giant of the faith?

[Simon]

I love the account of Hezekiah and how God delivered him from the soldiers that were about to invade. And so even though you mentioned there’s a lot of concerns we have today, but are we ever even close to being like what Hezekiah is going through? I mean, that’s pretty serious. because if they come in, he’s dead, his family’s dead, I mean, tortured dead. And so I don’t know if any of us have gone through that type of serious trial. I mean, and so I do look at Hezekiah as a giant in the faith that I can look up to.

[MCG]

Amen.

All right, so tell us, how can barriers be removed in the life of others? Imagine there’s another young man out there who is curious. How would you tell him that his barriers can be removed?

[Simon]

Let’s see. I can only share my own personal testimony. I didn’t come from a Christian home. My mom is Buddhist, but I sought God and God revealed himself to me. And I would have to start with my personal testimony of how I trusted Christ as an 8th grader. And God changed my life. And I’m looking forward to being with him someday, forever.

[MCG]

Simon, it was indeed a pleasure. Thank you for joining us on the Removing Barriers podcast.

[Simon]

Thank you.

[Jay]

This is the Removing Barriers podcast. If the podcast or the blog were a blessing to you, leave us a rating and a review on your favorite podcast platform. And don’t forget to share the podcast with your friends. Removing Barriers, a clear view of the cross.

[MCG]

Thank you for listening. To get a hold of us, to support this podcast or to learn more about removing barriers, go to removingbarriers.net. This has been the Removing Barriers podcast. We attempted to remove barriers so that we all can have a clear view of the cross.