Christopher Yuan
June 22, 2014 - W1425

Pastor Wayne: Some time ago, a survey was done concerning high school students. The question was what is the definition of being moral? The answer checked by many was that you are liked by other people.

There is a danger to this kind of thinking because all you need to do is be and act like everyone else just so that people can accept and like you. But what happens when the very thing that everyone is doing is, in fact, immoral according to the Bible? This is the very thing that is happening in our culture today.

But some churches have compromised the Bible. The Presbyterian Church USA just gave permission for their ministers to do gay weddings. As a consequence, we’re moving away from the Bible and toward the culture rather than influencing the culture to the Bible.

So what can we do about it? It starts right here and with us. And one whose life has been radically changed is Christopher Yuan. Now, he’s come out of an alternative lifestyle, and God redeemed him and gave him a crown of glory so that now he goes around and shares about the power of God's redemption. Would you welcome him and his parents?

Father: One day my son Christopher came home from dental school and made the announcement: “I am gay. If you cannot accept me I have no other choice but to leave.” And without hesitation he picked up his bags and left. My son’s declaration affirmed my belief that we should all go our separate ways by ending my troubled marriage.

Mother: My world fell apart as my troubled marriage and now my son’s homosexuality gave me no reason to live. I had planned to end my life after I traveled to see Christopher one more time. While I was on the train I took out of my purse a pamphlet that I got after meeting with a minister, describing the plan of salvation, that all of us are sinners, and that God loves us in spite of our sins. There in the train God opened the eyes of my heart and I realized that just as God loves me, I could love Christopher in spite of him living as a gay man.

Christopher: I was different when I was young. I loved music and playing the piano and, consequently, I was viewed and ridiculed as being effeminate.

Then I got exposed to pornography at the age of 9 and the magazines gave me a distorted view of sex and would eventually become my master. One thing led to another and at age 16 I had my first encounter with the same sex. I got deeper and deeper into this lifestyle; frequenting gay clubs, going from relationship to relationship seeking intimacy and happiness, which I found temporarily, but it only left me feeling unfulfilled and unsatisfied.

So I began experimenting with drugs. Being a dental student with little money, I sold drugs so that I could support my habit. But my double life of dental student by day and promiscuous drug dealer by night would come to an end as I was expelled by the school 3 months before I would receive my doctorate.

Upset at my parents because they sided with the school I moved further away from them and ended up taking over the drug scene in the gay community. I had it all: money, fame, drugs, and sex.

Mother: I prayed for eight years, and it seemed that God was not answering them. But God required us to have patience concerning Christopher. In the meantime God was changing and transforming my husband and me into the living monuments of God’s grace.

Christopher: That miracle that my parents sought came one day with a bang on my door as Federal agents and the local police arrested me and charged me for possessing 9.1 tons of marijuana.

After trying to call my friends with no success, I reluctantly called my parents dreading the earful of scorn from them. My mother’s first words were, “Are you ok?” No condemnation, no berating words, just words of unconditional love and grace.

The apostle Paul says in Romans chapter 2 verse 4 that it's God's kindness that leads us to repentance. And even on that miserable day, God was pouring out His grace and drawing me to Himself through the words of my mother.

As I walked by one day along the cell blocks, I came across trash cans that reeked. But there on the very top I caught a glimpse of a book which turned out to be a Gideon’s New Testament book. I took it with me thinking that I had a lot of time on my hands and needed something to pass the time. It was not something that I thought would help me.

But let me tell you, as many of you know, what we have in our Bibles is not just ink on paper; it is the very breath of God, and it is living and powerful and sharper than any double?edged sword able to go through the hardest of hearts exposing my sin, my rebellion, and it wasn't a pretty sight. And I thought things couldn't get any worse. I was wrong.

Christopher: I was diagnosed HIV positive. As I lay in bed a few days later I noticed something scribbled among the graffiti. It read, “If you are bored, read Jeremiah 29:11: ‘For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’”

You see at the most hopeless point in my life God was using the words penned by a prophet thousands of years ago to a rebellious nation to tell me that regardless of whom I was and what I had done in the past, he still had a plan for me. I had no idea where this plan was going to take me, but he gave me enough faith, enough strength to get through that one day and the next and the next.

My transformation was gradual. Eventually God completely delivered me from drug addiction. But the last thing I was holding unto was my sexuality.

As I was reading the Bible, it was clear to me that God loved me unconditionally, but I also came across those passages that seemed to condemn that core part of who I thought I was---my sexuality. The prison chaplain even gave me a book that said it was okay to be homosexual. But the Holy Spirit convicted me concerning this book.

So I turned to the Bible alone and went through every verse hoping to find some kind of justification to my gay lifestyle; I never found any. It was then that I had to make a decision to continue my gay life or follow God. I chose God.

I now realize that God’s unconditional love is not the same as unconditional approval of my behavior. Moreover, my identity shouldn't be defined only by my sexuality or by my sexual attractions. My identity isn't gay, homosexual, or even heterosexual for that matter because my identity as a child of the living God must be in Jesus Christ alone. God says, “Be holy for I am holy.”  

So I realize that the opposite of homosexuality is not heterosexuality, but holiness, and God was telling me don't focus upon what you're feeling on your sexuality, on your temptation, but focus upon living a life of holiness and living a life of priority.

Change is not the absence of struggles. Change is the freedom to choose holiness in the midst of our struggles. When does God ever promise us that we won't struggle with sin? But change is the freedom to choose holiness in the midst of our struggles. The reason is that the ultimate issue is not what I'm struggling with, not my temptations and not my sexuality. The ultimate issue is that I yearn after God in total surrender and complete obedience.

As I began to live this life of surrender and obedience, God began to reveal his plan for my life, calling me to full-time ministry while I was in prison. Furthermore, God did another miracle: he shortened my sentence from six years to three years.

Upon leaving prison I enrolled in Moody Bible Institute, then to Wheaton College Graduate School, and finally to Bethel Seminary where I received my doctorate. I now teach at Moody Bible Institute.

This issue of sexuality is not something that's going to go away, and I realize that silence is no longer an option. But, our story is not just a story about one prodigal. It really is a story about a family of prodigals. And when I look at my life, most of which decades were far, far apart from Christ, I realize that I've made some bad decisions with many big consequences, one of those being HIV, but I realize that actually I'm no different than any of you. All of our days are numbered. Not one person in this room has ever been promised tomorrow, but it took getting HIV for me to realize a profound truth that as a child of God I must live with a sense of urgency.

This world is full confusion and turmoil. Some people don’t know who God is or even if there is one. So many are suffering and dying that I realize that this world doesn't need a good Christian – it needs great Christians! We need Christians who won't settle for mediocrity; Christians who know that they've been crucified with Christ and they no longer live but Christ lives in them; Christians who will make a difference one life at a time; and Christians who know that being the greatest means being the least of these.

I pray that when God sees us, He will say, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.”

Questions:

1. When we are confused about life’s issues where can we find the truth?
2. Why is it dangerous to think that being moral is to be liked by other people?
3. Why is it important not to condemn someone but to show unconditional love and grace?
4. Give examples of why the Bible is more than just ink and paper.
5. What is the difference between a good Christian and a great Christian?