Yesterday, I read this account of the heavenly man.
"Brother Yun was born in 1958 in the Southern part of Henan Province among the simple farmers and pheasants of Liu Lao Zhuang, Nanyang County. Brother Yun’s mother had believed in Jesus years before through missionary witness, but after the missionaries were expelled and churches shut down in the Communist take-over, she had grown cold towards the Lord through lack of fellowship. There were no Bibles to help the Christians grow.
In 1974, Yun’s father lay dying of cancer. Such a loss would have left the family in dire straights, and things were so hopeless that Yun’s mother even contemplated suicide. One evening as she lay in bed, she heard a voice say, “Jesus loves you.” In tearful repentance, she rededicated herself to Jesus Christ. She gathered her family around and they all prayed, “Jesus, heal father!” The very next morning, Yun’s father began to get better. Everyone in the family believed on Jesus, and they all began to experience revival.
Brother Yun was 16 at the time. The family did not have a Bible, and it had been many years since Yun’s mother had heard any teaching about Jesus. Yun began to ask his mother who Jesus truly was. She would reply, “Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross for us, taking all our sins and sicknesses. He recorded all his teachings in the Bible.” Yun would ask if there were any way he could learn of the teachings of Jesus for himself. His mother would say, “No. All his words are gone. There is nothing left of his teaching.” Imagine a family hungering and thirsting for some knowledge of the words of God, and no way to find out what they were!
Yun’s mother took him on a long walk to see a man in another village who she remembered had a Bible. The man was too afraid to show Yun his Bible, but he told him, “The Bible is a heavenly book. If you want one, you’ll need to pray to the God of heaven. Only He can provide you a heavenly book. God is faithful. He always answers those who seek Him with all of their heart.”
Yun decided to fast and pray for a Bible, and for the next 100 days ate only one bowl of steamed rice every day. He cried out to the Lord for a Bible. His parents thought he was losing his mind. One morning, there was a knock at the door. Two men had brought a Bible to Yun.
Three months before, an evangelist in another town had been instructed by the Lord in a vision to give his Bible to Brother Yun. Although he did not know this young boy, the Lord had showed him the village and house where Yun lived in a vision. It had taken him three months to decide to obey the Lord."
After reading this account, I was quite bothered by it ... bothered by the fact that Brother Yun had to fast for 100 days for an answer to prayer because the person God instructed to be the answer to prayer took 3 months to obey.
It set me thinking: How often do I not obey immediately?
And when that happens, what are the repercussions on the person for whom God had intended for me to bless through my obedience?
God sometimes does not tarry. However, He uses human instruments, and sometimes it is us who tarry. Would it be that we are like the men and women of God in the Bible, who respond immediately when God calls.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Prayer that moves mountains
It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. When he saw that this pleased the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. After arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover.
Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.
The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance. Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. "Quick, get up!" he said, and the chains fell off Peter's wrists.
Then the angel said to him, "Put on your clothes and sandals." And Peter did so. "Wrap your cloak around you and follow me," the angel told him. Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision. They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself, and they went through it. When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left him. (Acts 12)
A few years ago, as I was studying the book of Acts in a bible study class, our teacher told us about Brother Yun - the Heavenly Man. He told us the book of the same name was Acts for the modern day.
In Brother Yun's autobiography, he recounts the persecutions he went through preaching the gospel in China. During his third imprisonment, he endured many beatings and scourgings. One day in May 1997, he heard the voice of the Holy Spirit, telling him to simply walk out the heavily guarded prison gate. Risking being shot to death on the spot, he obeyed the voice, and walked straight through several prison doors that were somehow left open in front of many prison guards, across the prison yard and finally out of the main gate. Brother Yun stated that it was as if he had become invisible to the guards who stared straight through him.
A little known fact is that Brother Yun's escape tallies completely time-wise with an intercessory meeting taking place miles away in far-flung Sweden. In a church in Sweden, a group of 30 were in a small room interceding for Brother Yun and other Chinese people who had been imprisoned for Christ. During a meeting, a Swedish lady, who usually prayed silently to herself, suddenly exclaimed aloud that she had seen a vision of a man walking out of prison to freedom. The group praised the Lord! This was recorded in the annals of the church... many years later, the lady's vision was verified by Brother Yun as having taken place at the very hour he was freed.
I was so inspired when I heard this. Yes, Brother Yun is a giant of a man. But the Holy Spirit intervened in a supernatural way in his life, as He did in the life of Peter, in response to the prayer of the saints.
It was so during the time of the Apostles. It is so today.
Prayer moves the hand of God, to free those in physical and spiritual bondage. Prayer is a powerful force on earth because it is plugged into the Most High God!
Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.
The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance. Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. "Quick, get up!" he said, and the chains fell off Peter's wrists.
Then the angel said to him, "Put on your clothes and sandals." And Peter did so. "Wrap your cloak around you and follow me," the angel told him. Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision. They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself, and they went through it. When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left him. (Acts 12)
A few years ago, as I was studying the book of Acts in a bible study class, our teacher told us about Brother Yun - the Heavenly Man. He told us the book of the same name was Acts for the modern day.
In Brother Yun's autobiography, he recounts the persecutions he went through preaching the gospel in China. During his third imprisonment, he endured many beatings and scourgings. One day in May 1997, he heard the voice of the Holy Spirit, telling him to simply walk out the heavily guarded prison gate. Risking being shot to death on the spot, he obeyed the voice, and walked straight through several prison doors that were somehow left open in front of many prison guards, across the prison yard and finally out of the main gate. Brother Yun stated that it was as if he had become invisible to the guards who stared straight through him.
A little known fact is that Brother Yun's escape tallies completely time-wise with an intercessory meeting taking place miles away in far-flung Sweden. In a church in Sweden, a group of 30 were in a small room interceding for Brother Yun and other Chinese people who had been imprisoned for Christ. During a meeting, a Swedish lady, who usually prayed silently to herself, suddenly exclaimed aloud that she had seen a vision of a man walking out of prison to freedom. The group praised the Lord! This was recorded in the annals of the church... many years later, the lady's vision was verified by Brother Yun as having taken place at the very hour he was freed.
I was so inspired when I heard this. Yes, Brother Yun is a giant of a man. But the Holy Spirit intervened in a supernatural way in his life, as He did in the life of Peter, in response to the prayer of the saints.
It was so during the time of the Apostles. It is so today.
Prayer moves the hand of God, to free those in physical and spiritual bondage. Prayer is a powerful force on earth because it is plugged into the Most High God!
Saturday, May 15, 2010
God's gifts to Singapore
While in Israel last year, we were reminded of how blessed Singapore is ...
Though a little red dot nation, with no natural resources and hinterland, we were punching above our weight politically and economically.
In our group of 70 at the Mt Carmel School of Ministry was an African couple (a pastor and his wife). They were in Israel on the sponsorship of a Singaporean.
Then, we visited an Arab Christian church, and the pastor shared that when God called him to build a bigger church, some of the funds he needed came in by divine providence - on the generosity of an annonymous Singaporean.
Those of us Singaporeans in the school realised then at that time what impact our little nation was making ... many many miles away in Israel (And possibly around the globe). We realised just how blessed we are ... that we have materially more than we need, such that we can give unto others ... That God prospered us not so we could spend lavishly on ourselves, but so we could partner with Him in Kingdom work.
Yesterday, one of Singapore's founding fathers Dr Goh Keng Swee passed away. He was 91. Watching a documentary which paid tribute to him, I realised we are blessed because God gave us incredible leaders and politicians. Men like Lee Kuan Yew and Goh Keng Swee - who had great vision, top-rate minds, incredible executional ability, and who put country before self. The policies they implemented set us on a course of development that transformed our land into a first-world country in one generation.
"The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD; he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases." (Proverbs 21:1)
So we are blessed because of the leaders we have. We are blessed because the people God set in authority above us were men (and women) who governed and governed well. While we mourn today the passing of Dr Goh, I can only think how thankful we should be that God gave him to us when our little nation was being built. We owe the high quality of life, and our material wealth and creature comforts, to him. For which I am very grateful to God indeed!
Though a little red dot nation, with no natural resources and hinterland, we were punching above our weight politically and economically.
In our group of 70 at the Mt Carmel School of Ministry was an African couple (a pastor and his wife). They were in Israel on the sponsorship of a Singaporean.
Then, we visited an Arab Christian church, and the pastor shared that when God called him to build a bigger church, some of the funds he needed came in by divine providence - on the generosity of an annonymous Singaporean.
Those of us Singaporeans in the school realised then at that time what impact our little nation was making ... many many miles away in Israel (And possibly around the globe). We realised just how blessed we are ... that we have materially more than we need, such that we can give unto others ... That God prospered us not so we could spend lavishly on ourselves, but so we could partner with Him in Kingdom work.
Yesterday, one of Singapore's founding fathers Dr Goh Keng Swee passed away. He was 91. Watching a documentary which paid tribute to him, I realised we are blessed because God gave us incredible leaders and politicians. Men like Lee Kuan Yew and Goh Keng Swee - who had great vision, top-rate minds, incredible executional ability, and who put country before self. The policies they implemented set us on a course of development that transformed our land into a first-world country in one generation.
"The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD; he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases." (Proverbs 21:1)
So we are blessed because of the leaders we have. We are blessed because the people God set in authority above us were men (and women) who governed and governed well. While we mourn today the passing of Dr Goh, I can only think how thankful we should be that God gave him to us when our little nation was being built. We owe the high quality of life, and our material wealth and creature comforts, to him. For which I am very grateful to God indeed!
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
