below are recorded the testimonies on deling and of yun which end the last chapter which is entitled 'a future as bright as God's promises..
deling
after 20 years of marriage,
i know my husband's heart.
his heart and his faith are solid.
he's very open and forward.
he has no fear of man.
everything he has in his heart he just speaks out.
so that way i never have to second guess him.
what you see with him is exactly what you get, no more, no less.
i respect him for his love and commitment to God. i know him very well in this way, but yes, there are other ways i don't know him so well because circumstances have meant we've been apart for most of our married life. the worst thing is that he has seldom been around so i've basically raised the children by myself.
it hasn't been all bad news however!
our lives have been filled with
hardship
great suffering, and
long periods away from each other, but also with great victories and experience of God's deep love and grace for us.
i haven't been very lonely because of the children. they've been with me and have been a great comfort to me. the biggest cross and most pain i've had to endure is not from poverty or persecution from unbelievers, or from loneliness...(deleted a judgment on the church...i do it all the time myself..)
yun often tells me,
we are absolutely nothing.
we have nothing to be proud about.
we have no abilities and nothing to offer God.
the fact that He chooses to use us is only due to His grace.
it has nothing to do with us.
if God should choose to raise up others for His purpose and never use us again we would have nothing to complain about.
when i was younger i saw god as a mighty healer who did something for me, but after all these years of valleys and painful trials Jesus has become an ever-present friend who is with me all the time. He has gone from being an historical God to being a living God to me today. i've fallen short many times during these trials and testings, but he has always been faithful. whenever i've asked Him to help me He always has.
Jesus is everything and we are nothing.
yun
when i think of what the Lord has for me in the future i'm excited!
these are great times to be alive for Jesus!
the Holy Spirit is moving mightily throughout the earth and
it's a great privilege for us to be involved with reaping the harvest in these last days.
i believe the main focus of my ministry will continue to be the back to jerusalem movement...soon i believe a mighty torrent of workers will leave china's borders with the gospel.
i continue to have opportunity to speak..around the world.
my message to the western church is ..get back to basics in order to hear again the voice of Jesus speaking to you.
then..challenge..believers all around the world, to join hands..to train and equip workers for this mighty harvest..
a new church era has begun...
my Lord Jesus is the most wonderful friend...
Friday, September 14, 2012
9.14.2012 YUN VII - DON'T TRUST ANYTHING BUT THE LORD
the events recounted below happened in the course of yun and his family secretly leaving china for burma from which they were to fly to germany where they hoped, finally, to make a home together.
.my wife, whom i thank God for giving an honest and wise heart, warned me,
you shouldn't be so positive about this. God has warned you (in a dream) and you must heed it. make sure you leave your id card with me. if you take it you'll surely find trouble.
i rejected my wife's advice and ignored the dream..the previous few months had been a hectic time of ministry. i'd travelled to many nations and spoken in hundreds of meetings. my mother had recently died and i was still dealing with the grief and pain of her departure. i was burned out and needed a time of rest ..
in my sorry state, i had great confidence in my own 'strength' and 'abilities'. the Lord needed to teach me a lesson and humble me. he taught me that if we trust in any kind of resource except Him. I HAD PLACED TOO MUCH TRUST IN MY GERMAN PASSPORT.
(note: so true to life how i WILL NOT rely completely upon Him but run to trust in worthless, inane things. 'My people have committed two evils. they have forsaken Me the fountain of living waters to hew out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water. jer.2.13)
deep down in my heart i womehow believed my passport would protect me from harm and help me overcome problems.
when i look back on what happened in myanmar i fully realize one thing:
GOD WILL NEVER CHANGE HIS PRINCIPLES FOR ANY PERSON. if you disobey His principles then you will surely fall into trouble
because i disobeyed the lord, i fell into trouble.
the next morning i entered the customs hall at the yangon (rangoon) international airport, before boarding my flight to thailand. immediately i started to feel uneasy. the scene before me was exactly the same as in my dream. the very same officer as in my dream looked at my passport and told me to open my bags. he saw my burmese ID card and immediately his countenance grew serious. he took me into a side room and ordered me to wait. straight away i realized i was in the same run down interrogation room that the Lord had shown me in the dream.
because of the outbreak of war in shan state the airport authorities were on high alert for anything suspicious. when they found my false identity card, and realized i couldn't speak burmese or even english, they presumed i was somehow connected to the shan fighters. they paid no attention to my german passport because they were certain it was counterfeit.
as i waited in that lonely room my hear filled with grief and remorse and i began to repent to the Lord for my pride and disobedience. i cried out and sobbed great tears and prayed,
Lord, i'm sorry i paid no attention to Your warning.
i now accept whatever punishment You have in store for me.
this was the second time i'd been arrested because i was burned out and my ears were closed to hearing the Lord's warning, my second imprisonment in china in 1991 also came about because i was burned out and trusted in my own strength. i didn't learn my lesson well.
if you are a worker in god's kingdom, or ever hope to serve the Lord, let me warn you from the words i wrote down in my notebook that day while i was waiting in the airport interrogation room.
in large letters i wrote,
BEWARE! BEWARE! BEWARE! GOD'S WORKER MUST NEVER, EVER DISOBEY GOD'S PRINCIPLES!
those christians who have a public ministry are most in danger of falling into trouble, because they can easily be tempted to listen to the applause and praise of men. if you are a preacher, beware! you must cry out and ask god to help you listen only to His voice, not to the crowds of people who pat you on the back and place you on a pedestal. God's principles are often the opposite of our own. while we hope people will like and accept us, Jesus taught,
woe to you when all men speak well of you. luke 6.26
.my wife, whom i thank God for giving an honest and wise heart, warned me,
you shouldn't be so positive about this. God has warned you (in a dream) and you must heed it. make sure you leave your id card with me. if you take it you'll surely find trouble.
i rejected my wife's advice and ignored the dream..the previous few months had been a hectic time of ministry. i'd travelled to many nations and spoken in hundreds of meetings. my mother had recently died and i was still dealing with the grief and pain of her departure. i was burned out and needed a time of rest ..
in my sorry state, i had great confidence in my own 'strength' and 'abilities'. the Lord needed to teach me a lesson and humble me. he taught me that if we trust in any kind of resource except Him. I HAD PLACED TOO MUCH TRUST IN MY GERMAN PASSPORT.
(note: so true to life how i WILL NOT rely completely upon Him but run to trust in worthless, inane things. 'My people have committed two evils. they have forsaken Me the fountain of living waters to hew out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water. jer.2.13)
deep down in my heart i womehow believed my passport would protect me from harm and help me overcome problems.
when i look back on what happened in myanmar i fully realize one thing:
GOD WILL NEVER CHANGE HIS PRINCIPLES FOR ANY PERSON. if you disobey His principles then you will surely fall into trouble
because i disobeyed the lord, i fell into trouble.
the next morning i entered the customs hall at the yangon (rangoon) international airport, before boarding my flight to thailand. immediately i started to feel uneasy. the scene before me was exactly the same as in my dream. the very same officer as in my dream looked at my passport and told me to open my bags. he saw my burmese ID card and immediately his countenance grew serious. he took me into a side room and ordered me to wait. straight away i realized i was in the same run down interrogation room that the Lord had shown me in the dream.
because of the outbreak of war in shan state the airport authorities were on high alert for anything suspicious. when they found my false identity card, and realized i couldn't speak burmese or even english, they presumed i was somehow connected to the shan fighters. they paid no attention to my german passport because they were certain it was counterfeit.
as i waited in that lonely room my hear filled with grief and remorse and i began to repent to the Lord for my pride and disobedience. i cried out and sobbed great tears and prayed,
Lord, i'm sorry i paid no attention to Your warning.
i now accept whatever punishment You have in store for me.
this was the second time i'd been arrested because i was burned out and my ears were closed to hearing the Lord's warning, my second imprisonment in china in 1991 also came about because i was burned out and trusted in my own strength. i didn't learn my lesson well.
if you are a worker in god's kingdom, or ever hope to serve the Lord, let me warn you from the words i wrote down in my notebook that day while i was waiting in the airport interrogation room.
in large letters i wrote,
BEWARE! BEWARE! BEWARE! GOD'S WORKER MUST NEVER, EVER DISOBEY GOD'S PRINCIPLES!
those christians who have a public ministry are most in danger of falling into trouble, because they can easily be tempted to listen to the applause and praise of men. if you are a preacher, beware! you must cry out and ask god to help you listen only to His voice, not to the crowds of people who pat you on the back and place you on a pedestal. God's principles are often the opposite of our own. while we hope people will like and accept us, Jesus taught,
woe to you when all men speak well of you. luke 6.26
Thursday, September 13, 2012
9.13.2012 YUN VI - SUFFERING
there are many ways the Lord may lead a christian during his or her life, but i'm convinced that the path of every believer will sooner or later include suffering. the Lord gives us these trials to keep us humble and dependent on Him for our sustenance.
the bible says in I peter 4.1
therefore, since Christ suffered in His body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin.
i believe when suffering and pain increases, sinning decreases.
i've certainly not yet reached the point of being 'done with sin'.
i still complain to the Lord when i suffer.
how we mature as a christian largely depends on the attitude we have when we're faced with suffering.
some try to avoid it or imagine it doesn't exist, but that will only make the situation worse.
others try to endure it grimly, hoping for relief. this is better, but falls short of the full victory God wants to give each of His children.
THE LORD WANTS US TO EMBRACE SUFFERING AS A FRIEND.
we need a deep realization that when we're persecuted for Jesus' sake it is an act of God's blessing to us. this might sound impossible, but it is attainable with God's help. that is why Jesus said,
blessed are you when people
insult you,
persecute you and
falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.
rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven. matthew 5.11-2
we can grow to such a place in Christ where we laugh and rejoice when people slander us, because we know we are not of this world, but our security is in heaven. the more we are persecuted for His sake, the more reward we will receive in heaven.
when people malign you, rejoice and be glad.
when they curse you, bless them in return.
WHEN YOU WALK THROUGH A PAINFUL EXPERIENCE, EMBRACE IT AND YOU WILL BE FREE!
when you learn these lessons, there is nothing left that the world can do to you.
God is my witness that through all the tortures and beatings i've received i have never hated my persecutors. never. i saw them as God's instruments of blessing and His chosen vessels to purify me and make me more like Jesus.
sometimes western visitors come to china and ask the house church leaders what seminary they attended. we reply, jokingly yet with underlying seriousness, that we have been trained in the Holy Spirit Personal Devotion Bible School (prison) for many years.
sometimes our western friends don't understand what we mean because they then ask,
what materials do you use in this bible school?
we reply,
our only materials are the foot chains that bind us and the leather whips that bruise us.
in this prison seminary we have learned many valuable lessons about the Lord that we could never have learned from a book. we've come to know God in a deeper way. we know His goodness and His loving faithfulness to us.
christians who are in prison for the sake of the Lord are not the ones who are suffering. when people hear my testimony they often say,
you must have had a terrible time when you were in prison.
i respond,
what are you talking about? i was with Jesus and had overwhelming joy and peace in His intimate presence.
the people who really suffer are those who never experience God's presence. the way to have God's presence is by walking through hardship and suffering-the way of the cross. you may not be beaten or imprisoned for your faith, but i am convinced each christian will still have a cross to bear in his or her life. in the west it may be ridicule, slander, or rejection. when you're faced with such trials, the key is not to run from them or fight them, but to embrace them as friends. when you do this you'll not fail to experience God's presence and help.
...i'm often asked about the rights of pastors in china.
a pastor (note: christian, every human being) has no rights,
except the rights of a slave.
they're either slaves to sin, or slaves of Christ.
our 'rights' are in the hands of Jesus.
we must fall on our knees in complete dependence on Him.
...the world can do nothing to a christian who has no fear of man.
the bible says in I peter 4.1
therefore, since Christ suffered in His body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin.
i believe when suffering and pain increases, sinning decreases.
i've certainly not yet reached the point of being 'done with sin'.
i still complain to the Lord when i suffer.
how we mature as a christian largely depends on the attitude we have when we're faced with suffering.
some try to avoid it or imagine it doesn't exist, but that will only make the situation worse.
others try to endure it grimly, hoping for relief. this is better, but falls short of the full victory God wants to give each of His children.
THE LORD WANTS US TO EMBRACE SUFFERING AS A FRIEND.
we need a deep realization that when we're persecuted for Jesus' sake it is an act of God's blessing to us. this might sound impossible, but it is attainable with God's help. that is why Jesus said,
blessed are you when people
insult you,
persecute you and
falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.
rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven. matthew 5.11-2
we can grow to such a place in Christ where we laugh and rejoice when people slander us, because we know we are not of this world, but our security is in heaven. the more we are persecuted for His sake, the more reward we will receive in heaven.
when people malign you, rejoice and be glad.
when they curse you, bless them in return.
WHEN YOU WALK THROUGH A PAINFUL EXPERIENCE, EMBRACE IT AND YOU WILL BE FREE!
when you learn these lessons, there is nothing left that the world can do to you.
God is my witness that through all the tortures and beatings i've received i have never hated my persecutors. never. i saw them as God's instruments of blessing and His chosen vessels to purify me and make me more like Jesus.
sometimes western visitors come to china and ask the house church leaders what seminary they attended. we reply, jokingly yet with underlying seriousness, that we have been trained in the Holy Spirit Personal Devotion Bible School (prison) for many years.
sometimes our western friends don't understand what we mean because they then ask,
what materials do you use in this bible school?
we reply,
our only materials are the foot chains that bind us and the leather whips that bruise us.
in this prison seminary we have learned many valuable lessons about the Lord that we could never have learned from a book. we've come to know God in a deeper way. we know His goodness and His loving faithfulness to us.
christians who are in prison for the sake of the Lord are not the ones who are suffering. when people hear my testimony they often say,
you must have had a terrible time when you were in prison.
i respond,
what are you talking about? i was with Jesus and had overwhelming joy and peace in His intimate presence.
the people who really suffer are those who never experience God's presence. the way to have God's presence is by walking through hardship and suffering-the way of the cross. you may not be beaten or imprisoned for your faith, but i am convinced each christian will still have a cross to bear in his or her life. in the west it may be ridicule, slander, or rejection. when you're faced with such trials, the key is not to run from them or fight them, but to embrace them as friends. when you do this you'll not fail to experience God's presence and help.
...i'm often asked about the rights of pastors in china.
a pastor (note: christian, every human being) has no rights,
except the rights of a slave.
they're either slaves to sin, or slaves of Christ.
our 'rights' are in the hands of Jesus.
we must fall on our knees in complete dependence on Him.
...the world can do nothing to a christian who has no fear of man.
9.12.2012 YUN V - THE CHURCH IN THE WEST
yun after escape from prison, like the apostle paul and others, 'having no more place in these parts', was moved to seek asylum in the west so that he and his family might, for the first time, have a period of normal family life (they were rarely together in china). he had been commissioned by the house church fellowship of which he was one of five leaders, to be the spokesman for the back to jerusalem evangelism/discipleship endeavour among the nations. after a stint in jail in myanmar he was finally united with his family in germany. here follows some of his observations after having been exposed to the church in the west firsthand.
...'before i travelled to the west i had absolutely no idea that so many churches were spiritually asleep.
(note: this, in my understanding is a euphemism for 'spiritually dead' as was true at the church of sardis in asia when the apostle john wrote to them, 'and unto the angel (literally, 'messanger'..which i take to mean the presiding elder or spiritual overseer of that church) of the church in sardis write;
these things saith He that hath the seven spirits of God and the seven stars;
I KNOW THY WORDS, THAT THOU HAST A NAME THAT THOU LIVEST AND ART DEAD.
...if the leader of a group of believers is dead spiritually, the people tend to follow. is there any other way for a spiritually alive believer to function in the midst of deadness than to
1. to be committed to obeying matthew 18.15f no matter who the second party is.
2. to be committed to speaking the truth in love, ephesians 4.15, no matter who the second party is.
3. to be committed to following Jesus' ethic to
love your enemies
do good to those who hate you
bless those who curse you
pray for those who spitefully abuse you
not judge anyone
not condemn anyone
pardon everything that is done against you
give to everyone..good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over
4. to refuse to leave...unless cast out officially? i guess the more common to start over in another 'mess'...)
...'i presumed the western church was strong and vibrant because it had brought the gospel to my country with such incredible faith and tenacity. many missionaries had shown a powerful example to us by laying down their lives for the sake of Jesus.
on some occasions i've struggled while speaking in western churches. there seems to be something missing that leaves e feeling terrible inside. many meetings are cold and lack the fire and presence of God that we have in china.
in the west many christians have an abundance of material possessions, yet they live in a backslidden state. they have silver and gold, but they don't rise up and walk in Jesus' name. in china we have no possessions to hold us down, so there's nothing preventing us from moving out for the Lord...
..in a similar way, i pray that god might use the chinese church to help the western church rise up and walk in the power of the Holy Spirit. it's almost impossible for the church in china to go to sleep in its present situation. there's always something to keep us on the run and it's very difficult to sleep while you're running. if persecution stops, i fear we'll become complacent and fall asleep
(note: this is reminiscent of one out of the 1967 revival in indonesia who said this principle: IF THE CHURCH DOES NOT CONTINUALLY GO OUT (NOT SEND OUT, BUT GO OUT) TO THE WORLD..THE WORLD WILL COME INTO THE CHURCH)
many pastors in europe and america have told me they want to see great revival. i'm frequently asked why china is experiencing revival but most places in the west are not. this is a big question to answer, but some reasons are very apparent to me.
when i'm in the west i see
all the mighty church buildings and
all the expensive equipment,
plush carpets and
state of the art sound systems.
i can assure the western church with absolute certainty that you don't need any more church buildings. church buildings will never bring the revival you seek.
the pursuit of more possessions will never bring revival.
Jesus truly stated,
a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions. luke 12.15.
(note: if the bible says that
greed (lit. the desire for just a little more) is idolatry.. ephesians 5.5, and that
a person cannot serve both God and mammon (lit. valued possessions) matthew 6.24..and that
we are to be content with food and raiment (and anything more brings a trail that leads to destruction I timothy 6.8-9....
is there any member of the western church including myself who can be used of God...who is not even in danger of being under the condemnation of God?)
..the first thing needed for revival to return to your churches is the word of the Lord.
(note: starting with evangelical poverty being first practiced by the elders..and then preached to the people?)
God's word is missing. sure, there are many preachers and thousands of tapes and videos of bible teaching, but SO LITTLE CONTAINS THE SHARP TRUTH OF GOD'S WORD. IT IS THE TRUTH THAT WILL SET YOU FREE. not only is knowledge (note: more..'obedience to') of God's word missing, but obedience to that word. there's NOT MUCH ACTION taking place.
when revival came to believers in china, the result was thousands of evangelists being sent out to all corners of the nation, carrying fire from the altar of God with them. when God moves in the west, it seems you want to stop and enjoy His presence and blessings too long and build an altar to your experiences.
YOU CAN NEVER REALLY KNOW THE SCRIPTURES UNTIL YOU'RE WILLING TO BE CHANGED (note: OBEY..DO) BY THEM.
all genuine revivals of the Lord result in believers responding with action and soul winning.
WHEN GOD TRULY MOVES IN YOUR HEART YOU CANNOT REMAIN SILENT. (oh Lord help me! have mercy upon me!)
there will be a fire in your bones, like jeremiah, who said,
His word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. i am weary of holding it in; indeed,
I CANNOT. JEREMIAH 20.9
furthermore, it's only when we step out in obedience and share the gospel with people that we come to know God's blessing in every area of our lives. that is why the apostle paul wrote to his co-worker philemon,
i pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ. v6
i've seen people in western churches worshipping as if they're already in heaven. then someone invariably brings a comforting message like,
'My children, I love you.
don't be afraid, I'm with you.
i'm not opposed to such words, but why is it that nobody seems to hear a word from the Lord like,
'My child, I want to send you to the slums of asia or the darkness of africa to be My messenger to people dying in their sin?
multitudes of church members in the west are satisfied with giving their minimum to Go, not their maximum. i've watched men and women during offering time in church. they open their fat wallets and search for the smallest amount they can give. this type of attitude will never do! Jesus gave His whole life for us and we give as little of our lives, time and money as we can back to God. what a disgrace! repent! (help me, o God!)
this may sound strange, but i even miss the offering we used to give in china. on numerous occasions the leader of a meeting would announce,
we have anew worker who is leaving tomorrow to serve the Lord.
immediately every single person would completely empty their pockets of everything they had. with that money the worker would buy a train or bus ticket and leave the next day. often this money was not just everything we had in our pockets at the time, but everything we owned in the whole world.
just because you have a church building doesn't necessarily mean Jesus is with you. He is not welcome in many churches today. in revelation 3.20 Jesus said,
here I am!
I stand at the door and knock
if anyone hears My voice and opens the door,
I will come in and eat with him and he with me.
often this verse is used as an invitation for salvation, but actually the context Jesus was speaking in was very different. he was standing outside the door of the church in laodicea, knocking to get in!
of course not all western churches are asleep! (note:?)
..if you do these things you will see revival.
are you willing to give your ALL to God and to His service?
those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens and
those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever. daniel 12.3
in the west you have so much.
you have insurance for everything.
in a way, you don't need God
when my father was dying of stomach cancer, we sold everything we had to try to cure him.
when everything was gone we had no hope but God.
we turned to Him in desperation and so Him mercifully answered our prayers and healed my father.
we reasoned that if god could do that then He could do anything,
so our faith grew and
we've seen many miracles.
in China, the greatest miracles we see are not the healings or other things,
but lives transformed by the gospel.\we believe we're not called to follow signs and wonders but instead
the signs and wonders follow us when the gospel is preached.
we don't keep our eyes on the signs and wonders;
we keep our eyes on Jesus.
every house church pastor in china is ready to lay down his life for the gospel.
when we live this way, we'll see God do great things by His grace.
...'before i travelled to the west i had absolutely no idea that so many churches were spiritually asleep.
(note: this, in my understanding is a euphemism for 'spiritually dead' as was true at the church of sardis in asia when the apostle john wrote to them, 'and unto the angel (literally, 'messanger'..which i take to mean the presiding elder or spiritual overseer of that church) of the church in sardis write;
these things saith He that hath the seven spirits of God and the seven stars;
I KNOW THY WORDS, THAT THOU HAST A NAME THAT THOU LIVEST AND ART DEAD.
...if the leader of a group of believers is dead spiritually, the people tend to follow. is there any other way for a spiritually alive believer to function in the midst of deadness than to
1. to be committed to obeying matthew 18.15f no matter who the second party is.
2. to be committed to speaking the truth in love, ephesians 4.15, no matter who the second party is.
3. to be committed to following Jesus' ethic to
love your enemies
do good to those who hate you
bless those who curse you
pray for those who spitefully abuse you
not judge anyone
not condemn anyone
pardon everything that is done against you
give to everyone..good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over
4. to refuse to leave...unless cast out officially? i guess the more common to start over in another 'mess'...)
...'i presumed the western church was strong and vibrant because it had brought the gospel to my country with such incredible faith and tenacity. many missionaries had shown a powerful example to us by laying down their lives for the sake of Jesus.
on some occasions i've struggled while speaking in western churches. there seems to be something missing that leaves e feeling terrible inside. many meetings are cold and lack the fire and presence of God that we have in china.
in the west many christians have an abundance of material possessions, yet they live in a backslidden state. they have silver and gold, but they don't rise up and walk in Jesus' name. in china we have no possessions to hold us down, so there's nothing preventing us from moving out for the Lord...
..in a similar way, i pray that god might use the chinese church to help the western church rise up and walk in the power of the Holy Spirit. it's almost impossible for the church in china to go to sleep in its present situation. there's always something to keep us on the run and it's very difficult to sleep while you're running. if persecution stops, i fear we'll become complacent and fall asleep
(note: this is reminiscent of one out of the 1967 revival in indonesia who said this principle: IF THE CHURCH DOES NOT CONTINUALLY GO OUT (NOT SEND OUT, BUT GO OUT) TO THE WORLD..THE WORLD WILL COME INTO THE CHURCH)
many pastors in europe and america have told me they want to see great revival. i'm frequently asked why china is experiencing revival but most places in the west are not. this is a big question to answer, but some reasons are very apparent to me.
when i'm in the west i see
all the mighty church buildings and
all the expensive equipment,
plush carpets and
state of the art sound systems.
i can assure the western church with absolute certainty that you don't need any more church buildings. church buildings will never bring the revival you seek.
the pursuit of more possessions will never bring revival.
Jesus truly stated,
a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions. luke 12.15.
(note: if the bible says that
greed (lit. the desire for just a little more) is idolatry.. ephesians 5.5, and that
a person cannot serve both God and mammon (lit. valued possessions) matthew 6.24..and that
we are to be content with food and raiment (and anything more brings a trail that leads to destruction I timothy 6.8-9....
is there any member of the western church including myself who can be used of God...who is not even in danger of being under the condemnation of God?)
..the first thing needed for revival to return to your churches is the word of the Lord.
(note: starting with evangelical poverty being first practiced by the elders..and then preached to the people?)
God's word is missing. sure, there are many preachers and thousands of tapes and videos of bible teaching, but SO LITTLE CONTAINS THE SHARP TRUTH OF GOD'S WORD. IT IS THE TRUTH THAT WILL SET YOU FREE. not only is knowledge (note: more..'obedience to') of God's word missing, but obedience to that word. there's NOT MUCH ACTION taking place.
when revival came to believers in china, the result was thousands of evangelists being sent out to all corners of the nation, carrying fire from the altar of God with them. when God moves in the west, it seems you want to stop and enjoy His presence and blessings too long and build an altar to your experiences.
YOU CAN NEVER REALLY KNOW THE SCRIPTURES UNTIL YOU'RE WILLING TO BE CHANGED (note: OBEY..DO) BY THEM.
all genuine revivals of the Lord result in believers responding with action and soul winning.
WHEN GOD TRULY MOVES IN YOUR HEART YOU CANNOT REMAIN SILENT. (oh Lord help me! have mercy upon me!)
there will be a fire in your bones, like jeremiah, who said,
His word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. i am weary of holding it in; indeed,
I CANNOT. JEREMIAH 20.9
furthermore, it's only when we step out in obedience and share the gospel with people that we come to know God's blessing in every area of our lives. that is why the apostle paul wrote to his co-worker philemon,
i pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ. v6
i've seen people in western churches worshipping as if they're already in heaven. then someone invariably brings a comforting message like,
'My children, I love you.
don't be afraid, I'm with you.
i'm not opposed to such words, but why is it that nobody seems to hear a word from the Lord like,
'My child, I want to send you to the slums of asia or the darkness of africa to be My messenger to people dying in their sin?
multitudes of church members in the west are satisfied with giving their minimum to Go, not their maximum. i've watched men and women during offering time in church. they open their fat wallets and search for the smallest amount they can give. this type of attitude will never do! Jesus gave His whole life for us and we give as little of our lives, time and money as we can back to God. what a disgrace! repent! (help me, o God!)
this may sound strange, but i even miss the offering we used to give in china. on numerous occasions the leader of a meeting would announce,
we have anew worker who is leaving tomorrow to serve the Lord.
immediately every single person would completely empty their pockets of everything they had. with that money the worker would buy a train or bus ticket and leave the next day. often this money was not just everything we had in our pockets at the time, but everything we owned in the whole world.
just because you have a church building doesn't necessarily mean Jesus is with you. He is not welcome in many churches today. in revelation 3.20 Jesus said,
here I am!
I stand at the door and knock
if anyone hears My voice and opens the door,
I will come in and eat with him and he with me.
often this verse is used as an invitation for salvation, but actually the context Jesus was speaking in was very different. he was standing outside the door of the church in laodicea, knocking to get in!
of course not all western churches are asleep! (note:?)
..if you do these things you will see revival.
are you willing to give your ALL to God and to His service?
those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens and
those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever. daniel 12.3
in the west you have so much.
you have insurance for everything.
in a way, you don't need God
when my father was dying of stomach cancer, we sold everything we had to try to cure him.
when everything was gone we had no hope but God.
we turned to Him in desperation and so Him mercifully answered our prayers and healed my father.
we reasoned that if god could do that then He could do anything,
so our faith grew and
we've seen many miracles.
in China, the greatest miracles we see are not the healings or other things,
but lives transformed by the gospel.\we believe we're not called to follow signs and wonders but instead
the signs and wonders follow us when the gospel is preached.
we don't keep our eyes on the signs and wonders;
we keep our eyes on Jesus.
every house church pastor in china is ready to lay down his life for the gospel.
when we live this way, we'll see God do great things by His grace.
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
9.11.2012 YUN IV - BACK TO JERUSALEM
although china is a long, long way from jerusalem, it's one of history's remarkable facts that the holy land has been connected to china by road for more than two millennia.
some old accounts even suggest the gospel may have first entered china down this road just a few decades after Jesus' death and resurrection. seven centuries ago the famous explorer marco polo came to china along the same highway. this key trading route allowed herbs and spices, treasures, new religions and invading armies to flow in and out of china. at the other end, jerusalem acted as a hub from where products dispersed into europe, north africa and the middle east.
the european aristocracy was amazed when they first imported a most remarkable creature from china-the silkworm. it lent its name to this rugged route-popularly known as the Silk Road.
today, the nations along the ancient silk road are the most unevangelized in the whole world. the three biggest religious strongholds that have refused to yield to the advance of the gospel-islam, buddhism, and hinduism-have their heart here. mor than 90% of the remaining unreached people groups in the world live along the silk road and in the nations surrounding china. two billion of the earth's inhabitants live and die in this area, completely oblivious to the Good News that Jesus died fro their sins and is the only way to heaven!
in the 1920s God first led a group called the 'Jesus family' to take the gospel on foot all the way from china to jerusalem. they called the initiative 'back to jerusalem'. other chinese church groups received similar visions to start missionary movements that would impact many nations in asia and the middle east. founded in 1921 in shandong province by a christian named jing dianying, the Jesus family believed members should sell all their possessions and distribute their wealth among the other family members. the five word slogan of the Jesus family encapsulated their commitment to Christ and their pattern of frugal living:
SACRIFICE, ABANDONMENT, POVERTY, SUFFERING, DEATH.
they targeted towns and villages, preaching the gospel as they walked from one place to another. their example of communal living and the Jesus family's deep christian love amazed many onlookers. it attracted those searching for answers to life as well as those who were homeless, destitute and despised. many blind people and beggars joined the Jesus family and found eternal life in Christ.
as they continued to grow, the Jesus family suffered terrible hardships. often when this mobile community entered a new town the entire population came out to beat, scorn and humiliate them. the opposition didn't deter them, however, and when they preached the gospel there always seemed to be a few people who were willing to forsake all that they had to follow Jesus.
by the late 1940s there were some 20,000 chinese believers enlisted in more than 100 different Jesus family groups throughout china.
several groups believed God had called them to take the gospel back to jerusalem on foot, preaching and establishing the kingdom of God in all the territories along the way. after thousands of miles and many years of travel, a band of faithful preachers reached the border town of kashgar in the xinjiang region of northwest china.
in the autumn of 1995 i was speaking at a house church gathering in central china. the Lord had given me a deep desire to be part of His plan to send many chinese christians as missionaries into hindu, buddhist and muslim lands. i encouraged the believers to seek God for a worldwide vision. i challenged them not only to continue in their present ministries, but to expand their horizons to include the unreached nations surrounding china.
with tears in my eyes i sang a song i had learned from an old book about the back to jerusalem movement:
lift up your eyes toward the west
there are no labourers for the great harvest
my Lord's heart is grieving every day
He asks, 'who will go forth for Me?
with eyes filled with tears
and blood spattered across our chests
we lift up the banner of Christ
and will rescue the perishing sheep!
in these last days the battle is drawing near
and the trumpet is sounding aloud
let's quickly put on the full armour of God
and break through satan's snares!
death is knocking at the door of many
and the world is overcome with sin
we must faithfully work as we march onward
fighting even unto death!
with hope and faith we will march on
dedicating our family and all that we have
as we take up our heavy crosses
we march on toward jerusalem!
while i was singing, i noticed an old man in the congregation who was visibly moved. he was weeping and could hardly contain himself. i had no idea who he was and thought my preaching must have been really powerful to cause such a response! the old brother, crowned with white hair and a whit beard, slowly walked to the front of the room and asked to speak. a respectful hush fell over the audience.
he said,
i am simon zao, a servant of the Lord.
forty eight years ago my co-workers and i wrote the words you just sang. all my co-workers were martyred for the name of Jesus.
i was one of the leaders of the back to jerusalem band. we marched across china on foot, proclaiming the gospel in every town and village we passed through. finally in 1948, after many years of hardship, we reached the border town of kashgar..we stopped for a while and applied for visas to enter the soviet union. we were nervous and excited at the same time at what lay ahead!
before we ever had a chance to leave china, the communist armies under chairman mao took control of xinjiang. they immediately sealed the borders and implemented their strong armed style of rule.
all the leaders of our movement were arrested. five of us were sentenced to 45 years in prison with hard labour. all the other leaders died in prison long ago. i'm the only one who survived. in 1988 i was released five years early. for the sake of the vision to take the gospel back to jerusalem, i spent 40 years in prison for the Lord.
we were all stunned. we sat there with our mouths wide open and tears running down our cheeks, dripping onto the floor.
i asked simon zao, the man of God,
uncle, will you please tell us more?
when the Lord called us to this vision, i'd been married just 4 months. my beautiful bride had just found out she was pregnant. we were both arrested and imprisoned. life in prison was difficult and my wife suffered a miscarriage.
he wiped away his tears before continuing.
at that time the communists killed many missionaries and their chinese converts. in the early months of my imprisonment in 1948 i saw my beloved wife twice from afar, through the iron bars on my window. then i never saw her again. by the time i was released 40 years later my precious bride was already long dead.
we all wept loudly. we felt that we were standing on holy ground in the presence of the Lord. i asked uncle simon,
when you were released from prison in 1988, did you still have this back to jerusalem vision in your heart?
he responded to my question by singing for us.
how many years have bitter winds blown?
how many times have the storm clouds gathered?
through the icy rain we couldn't see God's altar
the altar of God where He accepts our sacrifices.
God's leaders are crying with broken hearts
Jehovah's sheep are scattered far and wide
tears of sadness well up in the chilly wind
where have You gone, Good Shepherd?
where have you gone, soldiers of God?
where have you gone?
oh, where have you gone?
after uncle zao rested for a while, i asked him again,
uncle, do you still have this vision in your heart?
he continued to sing,
jerusalem is in my dreams
jerusalem is in my tears
l looked for you and found you in the fire of the altar
i looked for you and found you in Jesus' nail scarred hands
we wandered through the valley of tears
we wandered towards our heavenly home
after walking through the valley of death for 40 years
my tears dried up.
Jesus came to destroy the chains of death
He came to open the path to glory!
the early missionaries shed their blood and tears for us
let's hurry to fulfill the promise of God1
he spoke in a faltering voice,
every evening for 40 years in the labour camp i faced toward the west, in the direction of jerusalem, and cried out to the Lord,
o God, i'll never be able to reach jerusalem on foot. our vision has perished. heavenly Father, i pray You will raise up a new generation of christians in china who are willing to lay down their lives to take the gospel all the way back to where it started in jerusalem.
i held his hand and assured him,
the vision God gave you has not died! we will carry on the vision!
we brought comfort to the heart of uncle zao. he stood up, blessed us with his holy hands, and encouraged us from luke 24.46-8,
this is what is written:
the Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at jerusalem. you are witnesses of these things.
he exhorted us,
YOU MUST RECOGNIZE THE WAY OF THE CROSS IS THE CALL TO SHED BLOOD.
YOU MUST TAKE THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST TO THE MUSLIM COUNTRIES,
THEN ALL THE WAY BACK TO JERUSALEM.
TURN YOUR EYES TO THE WEST!
that meeting was a pivotal point in my life. i felt as if God passed a flaming baton from this dear old man of god to the house churches, giving us the responsibility to complete the vision.
the Lord had already placed the back to jerusalem vision in my heart, but after meeting simon zao it became the primary focus of my life. i came to understand clearly that the destiny for the house churches of china is to pull down the world's last remaining spiritual giants:
the house of buddha,
the house of mohammed, and
the house of hinduism, and
to proclaim the glorious gospel to all nations before the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ!
you need to understand that when we speak about 'back to jerusalem
we're not saying that jerusalem is the main goal.
we are not planning to rush there for a big conference!
jerusalem was the starting point for the gospel two thousand years ago and we believe it will circle the whole world and return to its starting point.
our aim is not merely to evangelize the city of jerusalem,
but the thousands of unreached people groups, towns and villages located between china and jeruaslem.
the vision for back to jerusalem is now the primary goal of all the house church leaders in the sinim fellowship. this is not one project we have among many. this is the main thrust and focus of all our activities. we talk about it over breakfast, lunch and dinner. we pray unceasingly, asking God to raise up labourers and remove all obstacles. we dream about it in our sleep.
a few years ago the sinim leaders prayed about their involvement in the back to jerusalem mission. we then came together and each house church network revealed the number of missionaries they were committed to train and send overseas. when we added the number of workers together it totalled 100,000. that means we intend to send 100,000 missionaries outside china in the coming years!
a closer examination of history reveals there were actually 3 MAIN 'SILK ROADS leaving china.
1. the ONE STARTING IN XIAN AND HEADING THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA AND THE HEART OF THE ISLAMIC WORLD is the best known one.
2. the second MAJOR TRADING ROUT WENT
THROUGH TIBET
ACROSS THE HIMALAYAS TO BHUTAN AND NEPAL,
THEN TOWARDS PAKISTAN, AFGHANISTAN AND IRAN connecting up with the main highway to jerusalem
3.the third silk road went THROUGH SOUTHWEST CHINA, where the majority of unreached minority groups live today. it
HEADED SOUTH INTO VIETNAM AND THEN
WESTWARD INTO COUNTRIES LIKE LAOS, CAMBODIA, THAILAND, MYANMAR (BURMA) AND INDIA. this route went deep into the heart of today's buddhist and hindu worlds.
after we considered these facts the church leaders decided God was calling us to follow these three main directions with the gospel. the Holy spirit had already called certain networks to focus on specific areas. for example, one network had many missionary families already working in tibetan areas. it was natural for them to lead the thrust into the tibetan buddhist world. another network for years had the burden to reach the minority groups in south west china. most of these tribes spill across borders into countries like vietnam, laos, thailand and myanmar. that network assumed the responsibility of taking the gospel back to jerusalem via the southern route.
we are not ignorant of the fact that these nations don't welcome the gospel! we're well aware that countries like afghanistan, iran and saudi arabia will not take kindly to preachers in their land!we also understand that in order to send missionaries they will need to be equipped, trained with language and cultural sills and supported so they can fight for the Lord with maximum effectiveness. today there are hundreds of christians inside china learning foreign languages such as arabic and english, in preparation for missionary service outside china. we have also come to understand that the past thirty years of suffering, persecution and torture for the house churches in china were all part of God's training for us. the Lord has perfectly fitted us to go as missionaries to the muslim, buddhist and hindu worlds.
once i spoke IN THE WEST and a christian told me,
i've been PRAYING for years THAT THE COMMUNIST GOVERNMENT IN CHINA WILL COLLAPSE, SO CHRISTIANS CAN LIVE IN FREEDOM.
...THIS IS NOT WHAT WE PRAY!
WE NEVER PRAY AGAINST OUR GOVERNMENT or call down curses on them.
instead, we have learned that GOD IS IN CONTROL OF BOTH OUR OWN LIVES AND THE GOVERNMENT WE LIVE UNDER.
isaiah prophesied about Jesus,
THE GOVERNMENT WILL BE ON HIS SHOULDERS.
God has used china's government for His own purposes, moulding and shaping His children as He sees fit.
INSTEAD OF FOCUSING OUR PRAYERS AGAINST ANY POLITICAL SYSTEM,
WE PRAY THAT REGARDLESS OF WHAT HAPPENS TO US,
WE WILL BE PLEASING TO GOD.
DON'T PRAY FOR THE PERSECUTION TO STOP!
WE SHOULDN'T PRAY FOR A LIGHTER LOAD TO CARRY,
BUT A STRONGER BACK TO ENDURE!
THEN THE WORLD WILL SEE THAT GOD IS WITH US,
EMPOWERING US TO LIVE IN A WAY THAT REFLECTS HIS LOVE AND POWER.
T-H-I-S I-S T-R-U-E F-R-E-E-D-O-M!
there is little that any of the muslim, buddhist or hindu countries can do to us that we haven't already experienced in china.
THE WORST THEY CAN DO IS KILL US,
but all that means is that
WE WILL BE PROMOTED INTO THE GLORIOUS PRESENCE OF OUR LORD FOR ALL ETERNITY!
the BACK TO JERUSALEM MISSIONARY MOVEMENT is not an army with guns or human weapons.
it isn't a group of well dressed, slick professionals.
IT'S AN ARMY OF BROKEN HEARTED CHINESE men and women
WHOM GOD HAS CLEANSE WITH A MIGHTY FIRE,
and who have already been through years of hardship and deprivation for the sake of the gospel.
in worldly terms THEY HAVE NOTHING AND APPEAR UNIMPRESSIVE,
but in the spiritual realm THEY ARE MIGHTY WARRIORS FOR JESUS CHRIST!
we thank God that He
chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise;
God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.
He chose the lowly things of this world
and the despised thing
and the things that are not
to nullify the things that are,
so that no one may boast before him. I corinthians 1.27-9
God is calling thousands of house church warriors to write their testimonies with their own blood. we will walk across the borders of china, carrying the word of God into the muslim, buddhist and hindu worlds. thousands will be saved, as well as awaken many sleeping churches in the west.
hundreds of western missionaries spilled their blood on chinese soil in the past. their example has inspired us to be willing also to die for the Lord wherever He leads us with His message. many of our missionaries will be captured, tortured and martyred for the sake of the gospel, but that will not stop us.
God has not only refined us in the fire of affliction for the past 30 years, He has also refined our methods. for example, WE[RE TOTALLY COMMITTED TO PLANTING GROUPS OF LOCAL BELIEVERS WHO MEET IN HOMES. WE HAVE NO DESIRE TO BUILD A SINGLE CHURCH BUILDING ANYWHERE! (note: AMEN!!)
THIS ALLOWS THE GOSPEL TO SPREAD RAPIDLY,
IS HARDER FOR THE AUTHORITIES TO DETECT and
ALLOWS US TO CHANNEL A-L-L OUR RESOURCES DIRECTLY INTO GOSPEL MINISTRY...
the best way for the chinese (note: or any) church to remain (or become) strong is to keep it motivated to reach out to the nations of the world. when believers focus on serving the Lord and reaching the lost, God blesses them and the church remains sharp. when we become self-centered and critical of each other, satan has won already and the church will become a blunt, useless instrument.
...when the first batch or 39 missionaries left china in march 2000, 36 of them were arrested...they went home, prayed and found another way to get across the border.little more than a year later, the number of chinese house church missionaries outside china already exceeded four hundred,serving in more than ten countries..
each back to jerusalem missionary receives training in several main subjects. these include:
1. how to suffer and die for the Lord. we examine what the bible says about suffering and look at how the Lord's people have laid down their lives for the advance of the gospel throughout history.
2. how to witness for the Lord. we teach how to witness for the Lord under any circumstance, on trains or buses, or even in the back of a police van on our way to the execution ground.
3. how to escape for the Lord. we know that sometimes it is the Lord who sends us to prison to witness for Him, but we also believe the devil sometimes wants us to go to prison to stop the ministry God has called us to do. we teach the missionaries special skills such as how to free themselves from handcuffs, and how to jump from second storey windows without injuring themselves....
some old accounts even suggest the gospel may have first entered china down this road just a few decades after Jesus' death and resurrection. seven centuries ago the famous explorer marco polo came to china along the same highway. this key trading route allowed herbs and spices, treasures, new religions and invading armies to flow in and out of china. at the other end, jerusalem acted as a hub from where products dispersed into europe, north africa and the middle east.
the european aristocracy was amazed when they first imported a most remarkable creature from china-the silkworm. it lent its name to this rugged route-popularly known as the Silk Road.
today, the nations along the ancient silk road are the most unevangelized in the whole world. the three biggest religious strongholds that have refused to yield to the advance of the gospel-islam, buddhism, and hinduism-have their heart here. mor than 90% of the remaining unreached people groups in the world live along the silk road and in the nations surrounding china. two billion of the earth's inhabitants live and die in this area, completely oblivious to the Good News that Jesus died fro their sins and is the only way to heaven!
in the 1920s God first led a group called the 'Jesus family' to take the gospel on foot all the way from china to jerusalem. they called the initiative 'back to jerusalem'. other chinese church groups received similar visions to start missionary movements that would impact many nations in asia and the middle east. founded in 1921 in shandong province by a christian named jing dianying, the Jesus family believed members should sell all their possessions and distribute their wealth among the other family members. the five word slogan of the Jesus family encapsulated their commitment to Christ and their pattern of frugal living:
SACRIFICE, ABANDONMENT, POVERTY, SUFFERING, DEATH.
they targeted towns and villages, preaching the gospel as they walked from one place to another. their example of communal living and the Jesus family's deep christian love amazed many onlookers. it attracted those searching for answers to life as well as those who were homeless, destitute and despised. many blind people and beggars joined the Jesus family and found eternal life in Christ.
as they continued to grow, the Jesus family suffered terrible hardships. often when this mobile community entered a new town the entire population came out to beat, scorn and humiliate them. the opposition didn't deter them, however, and when they preached the gospel there always seemed to be a few people who were willing to forsake all that they had to follow Jesus.
by the late 1940s there were some 20,000 chinese believers enlisted in more than 100 different Jesus family groups throughout china.
several groups believed God had called them to take the gospel back to jerusalem on foot, preaching and establishing the kingdom of God in all the territories along the way. after thousands of miles and many years of travel, a band of faithful preachers reached the border town of kashgar in the xinjiang region of northwest china.
in the autumn of 1995 i was speaking at a house church gathering in central china. the Lord had given me a deep desire to be part of His plan to send many chinese christians as missionaries into hindu, buddhist and muslim lands. i encouraged the believers to seek God for a worldwide vision. i challenged them not only to continue in their present ministries, but to expand their horizons to include the unreached nations surrounding china.
with tears in my eyes i sang a song i had learned from an old book about the back to jerusalem movement:
lift up your eyes toward the west
there are no labourers for the great harvest
my Lord's heart is grieving every day
He asks, 'who will go forth for Me?
with eyes filled with tears
and blood spattered across our chests
we lift up the banner of Christ
and will rescue the perishing sheep!
in these last days the battle is drawing near
and the trumpet is sounding aloud
let's quickly put on the full armour of God
and break through satan's snares!
death is knocking at the door of many
and the world is overcome with sin
we must faithfully work as we march onward
fighting even unto death!
with hope and faith we will march on
dedicating our family and all that we have
as we take up our heavy crosses
we march on toward jerusalem!
while i was singing, i noticed an old man in the congregation who was visibly moved. he was weeping and could hardly contain himself. i had no idea who he was and thought my preaching must have been really powerful to cause such a response! the old brother, crowned with white hair and a whit beard, slowly walked to the front of the room and asked to speak. a respectful hush fell over the audience.
he said,
i am simon zao, a servant of the Lord.
forty eight years ago my co-workers and i wrote the words you just sang. all my co-workers were martyred for the name of Jesus.
i was one of the leaders of the back to jerusalem band. we marched across china on foot, proclaiming the gospel in every town and village we passed through. finally in 1948, after many years of hardship, we reached the border town of kashgar..we stopped for a while and applied for visas to enter the soviet union. we were nervous and excited at the same time at what lay ahead!
before we ever had a chance to leave china, the communist armies under chairman mao took control of xinjiang. they immediately sealed the borders and implemented their strong armed style of rule.
all the leaders of our movement were arrested. five of us were sentenced to 45 years in prison with hard labour. all the other leaders died in prison long ago. i'm the only one who survived. in 1988 i was released five years early. for the sake of the vision to take the gospel back to jerusalem, i spent 40 years in prison for the Lord.
we were all stunned. we sat there with our mouths wide open and tears running down our cheeks, dripping onto the floor.
i asked simon zao, the man of God,
uncle, will you please tell us more?
when the Lord called us to this vision, i'd been married just 4 months. my beautiful bride had just found out she was pregnant. we were both arrested and imprisoned. life in prison was difficult and my wife suffered a miscarriage.
he wiped away his tears before continuing.
at that time the communists killed many missionaries and their chinese converts. in the early months of my imprisonment in 1948 i saw my beloved wife twice from afar, through the iron bars on my window. then i never saw her again. by the time i was released 40 years later my precious bride was already long dead.
we all wept loudly. we felt that we were standing on holy ground in the presence of the Lord. i asked uncle simon,
when you were released from prison in 1988, did you still have this back to jerusalem vision in your heart?
he responded to my question by singing for us.
how many years have bitter winds blown?
how many times have the storm clouds gathered?
through the icy rain we couldn't see God's altar
the altar of God where He accepts our sacrifices.
God's leaders are crying with broken hearts
Jehovah's sheep are scattered far and wide
tears of sadness well up in the chilly wind
where have You gone, Good Shepherd?
where have you gone, soldiers of God?
where have you gone?
oh, where have you gone?
after uncle zao rested for a while, i asked him again,
uncle, do you still have this vision in your heart?
he continued to sing,
jerusalem is in my dreams
jerusalem is in my tears
l looked for you and found you in the fire of the altar
i looked for you and found you in Jesus' nail scarred hands
we wandered through the valley of tears
we wandered towards our heavenly home
after walking through the valley of death for 40 years
my tears dried up.
Jesus came to destroy the chains of death
He came to open the path to glory!
the early missionaries shed their blood and tears for us
let's hurry to fulfill the promise of God1
he spoke in a faltering voice,
every evening for 40 years in the labour camp i faced toward the west, in the direction of jerusalem, and cried out to the Lord,
o God, i'll never be able to reach jerusalem on foot. our vision has perished. heavenly Father, i pray You will raise up a new generation of christians in china who are willing to lay down their lives to take the gospel all the way back to where it started in jerusalem.
i held his hand and assured him,
the vision God gave you has not died! we will carry on the vision!
we brought comfort to the heart of uncle zao. he stood up, blessed us with his holy hands, and encouraged us from luke 24.46-8,
this is what is written:
the Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at jerusalem. you are witnesses of these things.
he exhorted us,
YOU MUST RECOGNIZE THE WAY OF THE CROSS IS THE CALL TO SHED BLOOD.
YOU MUST TAKE THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST TO THE MUSLIM COUNTRIES,
THEN ALL THE WAY BACK TO JERUSALEM.
TURN YOUR EYES TO THE WEST!
that meeting was a pivotal point in my life. i felt as if God passed a flaming baton from this dear old man of god to the house churches, giving us the responsibility to complete the vision.
the Lord had already placed the back to jerusalem vision in my heart, but after meeting simon zao it became the primary focus of my life. i came to understand clearly that the destiny for the house churches of china is to pull down the world's last remaining spiritual giants:
the house of buddha,
the house of mohammed, and
the house of hinduism, and
to proclaim the glorious gospel to all nations before the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ!
you need to understand that when we speak about 'back to jerusalem
we're not saying that jerusalem is the main goal.
we are not planning to rush there for a big conference!
jerusalem was the starting point for the gospel two thousand years ago and we believe it will circle the whole world and return to its starting point.
our aim is not merely to evangelize the city of jerusalem,
but the thousands of unreached people groups, towns and villages located between china and jeruaslem.
the vision for back to jerusalem is now the primary goal of all the house church leaders in the sinim fellowship. this is not one project we have among many. this is the main thrust and focus of all our activities. we talk about it over breakfast, lunch and dinner. we pray unceasingly, asking God to raise up labourers and remove all obstacles. we dream about it in our sleep.
a few years ago the sinim leaders prayed about their involvement in the back to jerusalem mission. we then came together and each house church network revealed the number of missionaries they were committed to train and send overseas. when we added the number of workers together it totalled 100,000. that means we intend to send 100,000 missionaries outside china in the coming years!
a closer examination of history reveals there were actually 3 MAIN 'SILK ROADS leaving china.
1. the ONE STARTING IN XIAN AND HEADING THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA AND THE HEART OF THE ISLAMIC WORLD is the best known one.
2. the second MAJOR TRADING ROUT WENT
THROUGH TIBET
ACROSS THE HIMALAYAS TO BHUTAN AND NEPAL,
THEN TOWARDS PAKISTAN, AFGHANISTAN AND IRAN connecting up with the main highway to jerusalem
3.the third silk road went THROUGH SOUTHWEST CHINA, where the majority of unreached minority groups live today. it
HEADED SOUTH INTO VIETNAM AND THEN
WESTWARD INTO COUNTRIES LIKE LAOS, CAMBODIA, THAILAND, MYANMAR (BURMA) AND INDIA. this route went deep into the heart of today's buddhist and hindu worlds.
after we considered these facts the church leaders decided God was calling us to follow these three main directions with the gospel. the Holy spirit had already called certain networks to focus on specific areas. for example, one network had many missionary families already working in tibetan areas. it was natural for them to lead the thrust into the tibetan buddhist world. another network for years had the burden to reach the minority groups in south west china. most of these tribes spill across borders into countries like vietnam, laos, thailand and myanmar. that network assumed the responsibility of taking the gospel back to jerusalem via the southern route.
we are not ignorant of the fact that these nations don't welcome the gospel! we're well aware that countries like afghanistan, iran and saudi arabia will not take kindly to preachers in their land!we also understand that in order to send missionaries they will need to be equipped, trained with language and cultural sills and supported so they can fight for the Lord with maximum effectiveness. today there are hundreds of christians inside china learning foreign languages such as arabic and english, in preparation for missionary service outside china. we have also come to understand that the past thirty years of suffering, persecution and torture for the house churches in china were all part of God's training for us. the Lord has perfectly fitted us to go as missionaries to the muslim, buddhist and hindu worlds.
once i spoke IN THE WEST and a christian told me,
i've been PRAYING for years THAT THE COMMUNIST GOVERNMENT IN CHINA WILL COLLAPSE, SO CHRISTIANS CAN LIVE IN FREEDOM.
...THIS IS NOT WHAT WE PRAY!
WE NEVER PRAY AGAINST OUR GOVERNMENT or call down curses on them.
instead, we have learned that GOD IS IN CONTROL OF BOTH OUR OWN LIVES AND THE GOVERNMENT WE LIVE UNDER.
isaiah prophesied about Jesus,
THE GOVERNMENT WILL BE ON HIS SHOULDERS.
God has used china's government for His own purposes, moulding and shaping His children as He sees fit.
INSTEAD OF FOCUSING OUR PRAYERS AGAINST ANY POLITICAL SYSTEM,
WE PRAY THAT REGARDLESS OF WHAT HAPPENS TO US,
WE WILL BE PLEASING TO GOD.
DON'T PRAY FOR THE PERSECUTION TO STOP!
WE SHOULDN'T PRAY FOR A LIGHTER LOAD TO CARRY,
BUT A STRONGER BACK TO ENDURE!
THEN THE WORLD WILL SEE THAT GOD IS WITH US,
EMPOWERING US TO LIVE IN A WAY THAT REFLECTS HIS LOVE AND POWER.
T-H-I-S I-S T-R-U-E F-R-E-E-D-O-M!
there is little that any of the muslim, buddhist or hindu countries can do to us that we haven't already experienced in china.
THE WORST THEY CAN DO IS KILL US,
but all that means is that
WE WILL BE PROMOTED INTO THE GLORIOUS PRESENCE OF OUR LORD FOR ALL ETERNITY!
the BACK TO JERUSALEM MISSIONARY MOVEMENT is not an army with guns or human weapons.
it isn't a group of well dressed, slick professionals.
IT'S AN ARMY OF BROKEN HEARTED CHINESE men and women
WHOM GOD HAS CLEANSE WITH A MIGHTY FIRE,
and who have already been through years of hardship and deprivation for the sake of the gospel.
in worldly terms THEY HAVE NOTHING AND APPEAR UNIMPRESSIVE,
but in the spiritual realm THEY ARE MIGHTY WARRIORS FOR JESUS CHRIST!
we thank God that He
chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise;
God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.
He chose the lowly things of this world
and the despised thing
and the things that are not
to nullify the things that are,
so that no one may boast before him. I corinthians 1.27-9
God is calling thousands of house church warriors to write their testimonies with their own blood. we will walk across the borders of china, carrying the word of God into the muslim, buddhist and hindu worlds. thousands will be saved, as well as awaken many sleeping churches in the west.
hundreds of western missionaries spilled their blood on chinese soil in the past. their example has inspired us to be willing also to die for the Lord wherever He leads us with His message. many of our missionaries will be captured, tortured and martyred for the sake of the gospel, but that will not stop us.
God has not only refined us in the fire of affliction for the past 30 years, He has also refined our methods. for example, WE[RE TOTALLY COMMITTED TO PLANTING GROUPS OF LOCAL BELIEVERS WHO MEET IN HOMES. WE HAVE NO DESIRE TO BUILD A SINGLE CHURCH BUILDING ANYWHERE! (note: AMEN!!)
THIS ALLOWS THE GOSPEL TO SPREAD RAPIDLY,
IS HARDER FOR THE AUTHORITIES TO DETECT and
ALLOWS US TO CHANNEL A-L-L OUR RESOURCES DIRECTLY INTO GOSPEL MINISTRY...
the best way for the chinese (note: or any) church to remain (or become) strong is to keep it motivated to reach out to the nations of the world. when believers focus on serving the Lord and reaching the lost, God blesses them and the church remains sharp. when we become self-centered and critical of each other, satan has won already and the church will become a blunt, useless instrument.
...when the first batch or 39 missionaries left china in march 2000, 36 of them were arrested...they went home, prayed and found another way to get across the border.little more than a year later, the number of chinese house church missionaries outside china already exceeded four hundred,serving in more than ten countries..
each back to jerusalem missionary receives training in several main subjects. these include:
1. how to suffer and die for the Lord. we examine what the bible says about suffering and look at how the Lord's people have laid down their lives for the advance of the gospel throughout history.
2. how to witness for the Lord. we teach how to witness for the Lord under any circumstance, on trains or buses, or even in the back of a police van on our way to the execution ground.
3. how to escape for the Lord. we know that sometimes it is the Lord who sends us to prison to witness for Him, but we also believe the devil sometimes wants us to go to prison to stop the ministry God has called us to do. we teach the missionaries special skills such as how to free themselves from handcuffs, and how to jump from second storey windows without injuring themselves....
Sunday, September 9, 2012
9.10.2012 YUN III - ESCAPE!
it was at this lowest point of my life that i bitterly complained to the Lord. i was 39 years old but saw no hope or future for me. i told the Lord,
when i was young You called me to preach Your gospel in the west and south.
how can i do that now?
i'm sitting here in this prison with crushed legs and i'm resigned to rot in this place until the day i die.
i'll never see my family again.
You have cheated me!
rumors abounded as to what would happen to us. even outside the prison, believers knew our arrest was extremely serious because the order had come from the central government. and now brother xu was suggesting to me that i should try to escape! i know xu is a man of God who listens closely to God's voice, so i politely told him,
my legs are smashed and i am locked in my own cell with an iron door.
i cannot even walk!
how can i escape?
your legs are fine.
why don't you escape?
on the evening of 4 may 1997, like every evening for the previous six weeks, i reached down and took hold of my limp legs. pain raced through my body as i propped them up against the wall. i found this was the best way to minimize the agony. by diverting the blood flow away from my legs they became numb and i could sleep fitfully throughout the night.
the very next morning, in my depressed and hopeless condition, the Lord encouraged me with a promise from hebrews 10.35
so do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.
i awoke with these words in my mind.
as the prison slowly stirred to life, i started to read the book of jeremiah. the Lord related it to my injuries and my situation in a very powerful and personal way. it was as if the Holy Spirit was speaking to me directly through His word
let my eyes overflow with tears night and day without ceasing; for My virgin daughter-My people-has suffered a grievous wound, a crushing blow...
have you rejected judah completely?
do you despise zion?
why have you afflicted us so that we cannot be healed?
we hoped for peace but no good has come,
for a time of healing but there is only terror...
for the sake of Your name
do not despise us;
do not dishonour Your glorious throne.
remember Your covenant with us and do not break it. jeremiah 14.17,19,21
i felt just like jeremiah. i was overwhelmed and it seemed as if the Lord had abandoned me to rot in prison forever. i cried out to the Lord, echoing jeremiah's words,
o God, why have You afflicted me so that i cannot be healed?
i hoped for peace, but no good has come.
please Lord, do not despise me.
i continued reading,
alas, my mother, that You gave me birth, a man with whom the whole land strives and contends! i have neither lent nor borrowed, yet everyone curses me. jeremiah 15.10
once again the words seemed to leap off the paper and into my spirit. it was a very holy time, as though God Almighty Himself had descended into my cell and was dealing with me face to face.
i had so much grief stored up inside me and it all started to gush out before the Lord.
i sobbed,
Lord Jesus, just like jeremiah said,
everyone strives against me and curses me.
i can't take any more.
i've reached the end of myself
i wept so had that my eyes became swollen from all my tears.
the lord comforted me like a loving father holding His little boy. He reassured me with the next verse,
the Lord said,
surely I will deliver you for a good purpose:
surely i will make your enemies plead with you in times of disaster and times of distress. jeremiah 15.11
from my inmost being i cried out to the Lord from jeremiah 15.16-18,
when Your words came,
i ate them;
they were my joy and my heart's delight,
for i bear Your name, o Lord God Almighty.
i never sat in the company of revellers,
never made merry with them;
i sat alone because Your hand was on me and
You had filled me with indignation.
why is my pain unending and my wound grievous and incurable?
will You be to me like a deceptive brook,
like a spring that fails?
many times i asked Him why i was in such pain.
i could bear it no more.
my heart was downcast and
i was ready to give up.
God's word came again to me with both a severe warning and a promise,
therefore this is what the Lord says:
if you repent,
i will restore you that you may serve me;
if you utter worthy, not worthless, words,
you will be My spokesman.
let this people turn to you,
but you must not turn to them.
I will make you a wall to this people,
a fortified wall of bronze;
they will fight against you but will not overcome you,
for I am with you to rescue and save you, declares the Lord.
i will save you from the hands of the wicked and
redeem you from the grasp of the cruel. jeremiah 15.19-21
as soon as i read these verses, a powerful vision suddenly came to me even though i was wide awake. i saw my wife deling sitting beside me. she had just been released from prison and was preparing some medicine. she lovingly treated my wounds. i felt greatly encouraged and asked her,
have you been released?
she replied,
why don't you open the iron door?
before i could answer she walked out of the room and the vision ended.
THE LORD SPOKE TO ME,
THIS IS THE HOUR OF YOUR SALVATION.
immediately i knew this was a vision from the Lord and
that i was meant to try to escape.
my solitary cell shared a wall with the cell containing brother xu and some of the other believers. we had a prearranged signal that if any of us were in trouble and needed urgent prayer we would knock twice on the wall.
brother xu heard my knock.
i called to the guard.
he came to my door and asked me what i wanted.
i told him,
i need to go tho the toilet right now.
because it was brother xu's job to carry me around, the guard opened his door and ordered him to carry me to the bathroom.
whenever prisoners were allowed outside their cells, an iron gate in the corridor was locked, so there would be no chance of escape. a stairwell leading down to the floors below was on the other side of the gate. we were still completely closed in. the gate opened for people on the outside coming back in, but could not be opened from the inside. each floor of the prison was protected by an iron gate. normally two guards were stationed on either side of every gate, so to make it to the prison courtyard i would have to go through tree iron gates on three floors and pass six armed guards.
brother xu came to my door. as soon as he saw me he commanded me,
you must escape!
he then went back to his own cell and collected his toothbrush and towel so the guards would think he was about to use the bathroom.
when brother xu returned, he again solemnly ordered me,
yun, you must escape!
i was dressed only in my underwear, so as quickly as i could i pulled my trousers up. i had written scriptures from the gospel of john and I peter on a long piece of toilet paper. i fashioned it into a belt of truth, fastening the word of God around my waist.
i prayed,
Lord, You have shown me that i must try to leave this prison.
i will obey You now and will try to escape.
but when the guards shoot me, please receive my soul into Your heavenly dwelling.
it was now more than six weeks since my legs had been smashed. even putting a little weight on them caused tremendous agony. but i believed God had told me in three different ways that i was to try to escape:
through His word,
through the vision i'd received that morning and
through brother xu.
i have learned that when the Lord tells us to do something there is no time for discussion or rationale, regardless of the situation we face. when we are sure God has told us to act, as i was on this occasion, BLIND OBEDIENCE IS CALLED FOR. not to obey God implies that we are wiser than Him and that we know better how to run our lives than He does.
it was just before eight oclock in the morning of 5 may 1997. to the natural mind, this time of day was the worst possible time to try to escape! there was normally so much activity throughout the prison, with all the guards at their posts.i shuffled out of my cell and walked towards the locked iron gate in the hallway.
my mind was solely focused on obeying God.
i looked straight ahead and prayed beneath my breath with every step i took.
a guard who pushed a button when he wanted the gate to open and close sat at the top of the third floor stairwell. it was impossible to see to the other side because the gate was made of iron and the small windows were covered with black cloth. at the exact moment i reached the gate, another servant of the Lord, brother musheng, was returning to his cell and the gate was opened for him. that morning he had been ordered to sweep the prison courtyard as musheng passed me i told him,
wait!
don't close the gate.
i walked through without even breaking my stride.
the Lord's timing was perfect!
as we passed, musheng asked in a whisper,
are you leaving, brother yun?
are you not afraid to die?
then, with an astonished look on his face, he returned to his cell.
there had been a guard accompanying musheng back to his cell, but at the exact moment he opened the gate for musheng, a telephone rang in an office down the hall way and the guard turned and ran to answer it.
i noticed a broom leaning against the wall in the stairwell. i picked it up and continued walking with it down the stairs to the second floor. an armed guard was positioned at his desk facing the second iron gate. that gate was sometimes left open. because an on duty guard was assigned to watch the gate day and night, it wasn't considered a risk to leave it unlocked. at that moment the Holy Spirit spoke to me,
go now!
the God of peter is your God!
somehow the Lord seemed to blind that guard. he was staring directly at me, yet his eyes didn't acknowledge my presence at all. i expected him to say something, but he just looked through me as if i was invisible!
he didn't say a word.
i continued past him and didn't look back. i knew i could be shot in the back at any moment. i continued to silently ask the Lord to be ready to receive my spirit, thinking these moments were to be my last in this world. i continued walking down the stairs, but
nobody stopped me and
none of the guards said a word to me!
when i arrived at the at the main iron gate leading out to the courtyard i discovered it was already open! this was strange, as it was usually the most secure gate of all. there were normally two guards stationed at the first floor gate, one on the inside and one on the outside, but for some reason neither of the guards was present and the gate was open!
i discarded the broom i had carried with me from the third floor and walked out into the courtyard. the bright morning light made me wince. i walked past several guards in the yard by nobody said a word to me. i then strolled through the main gate of the prison, which for some strange reason was also standing ajar!
my heart was pounding!
i was now standing on the street outside the zhengzhou number one maximum security prison. i was told late nobody had ever escaped from that prison before.
immediately a small yellow taxi-van pulled up next to me, and the driver-a man in his late 20s-opened the driver the address of a christian family i knew in zhengzhou and we drove away from the prison. i told him that if we came to a traffic jam to drive around it and not to stop for any reason.
all of these events seemed to happen in just a few moments. it was like a daydream. i was unsure if the whole thing had really happened or if i was dreaming. i don't know how the Lord did it or why all those iron gates, usually so tightly locked, were standing open for me. all i knew was i was sitting in a taxi and we were heading to the home of my friends.
when we arrived i asked the driver to wait while i went to borrow some money to pay the fare. i climbed the stairs to the third floor apartment and rang the doorbell twice. one of the daughters of the family looked through the security hole in the door and immediately recognized me. she excitedly said,
o brother yun, you have been released from the hospital (meaning prison)!
i told her,
yes, i've left the hospital, but i didn't do so by the normal procedure. can you please lend me some money so i can pay my taxi fare?
she was so excited to see me that she forgot to open the door! finally she returned and gave me the amount. i quickly ran downstairs to the waiting driver and paid him.
the precious christian family warmly welcomed me inside their home. one of the daughters told me,
the whole church has been fasting and praying for you and your co-workers for more than a week. yesterday the Holy Spirit told my mother,
"i will release yun and the first place he will stop will be your home. he will stay for a short time and will pray with you.
my parents told us to expect your arrival and we have organized a secret place for you to hide. nobody else knows about the place except us. my mother has already prepared some food and clothes for you. com, change your clothes and we'll take you there.
after we prayed together, i was given a bicycle and one of the family members rode on the back, directing me to my hiding place, wisely travelling down small alleyways to avoid the roadblocks being set up on the main streets because of my escape.
the moment i started to pedal the bicycle was the first time i realized the Lord had healed my feet and legs! my mind had been so focused on obeying the Lord and preparing to be shot that i never even noticed that God had healed me. i never felt any healing power. from the time my legs were smashed with a baton until the day i escaped, my legs had remained completely black and unusable. i couldn't even stand up, let alone walk. the most i could do was crawl a short distance by grabbing hold of the wall.
brother musheng told me later that when he passed me on the third floor i was walking normally, so it seems the Lord must have healed my legs while i was still in the prison cell. as i rode along on the bicycle i was reminded of god's word,
make level paths for your feet, so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed. hebrews 12.3
as soon as we arrived at the hiding place the heavens opened. torrential rain blanketed the whole of zhengzhou city and a howling wind rattled windows and blew bicycles over. it was a huge storm although it was still morning time, the sky turned black.
i entered the hiding place and was left alone. this dear family treated me like an angel from heaven. they placed a family member outside my door day and night to guard me.
later, christian friends told me they had seen a report on the television news on the evening of my escape. the security police, the public security bureau and soldiers from the people's liberation army had been mobilized to find me. they searched every house in zhengzhou from door to door. they set up roadblocks at all the major intersections and searched every vehicle. officers were dispatched to every bus station, train station and to the airport. i was told trained police sniffer dogs were used in a bid to pick up my scent, but their efforts were all in vain. i was safe in the secret hiding place of the Lord. the storm had hampered the authorities and washed away all traces of me.
god reminded me how 13 years earlier, during my 74 day fast in prison, He had given me a powerful vision of a series of iron gates opening, one after another.
now, all these years later, His promise had come true. i marvelled at god's goodness and faithfulness to me. to this day i consider my escape from prison the most amazing experience of my life.
that night i slept like a content newborn baby in the arms of my Lord.
when i was young You called me to preach Your gospel in the west and south.
how can i do that now?
i'm sitting here in this prison with crushed legs and i'm resigned to rot in this place until the day i die.
i'll never see my family again.
You have cheated me!
rumors abounded as to what would happen to us. even outside the prison, believers knew our arrest was extremely serious because the order had come from the central government. and now brother xu was suggesting to me that i should try to escape! i know xu is a man of God who listens closely to God's voice, so i politely told him,
my legs are smashed and i am locked in my own cell with an iron door.
i cannot even walk!
how can i escape?
your legs are fine.
why don't you escape?
on the evening of 4 may 1997, like every evening for the previous six weeks, i reached down and took hold of my limp legs. pain raced through my body as i propped them up against the wall. i found this was the best way to minimize the agony. by diverting the blood flow away from my legs they became numb and i could sleep fitfully throughout the night.
the very next morning, in my depressed and hopeless condition, the Lord encouraged me with a promise from hebrews 10.35
so do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.
i awoke with these words in my mind.
as the prison slowly stirred to life, i started to read the book of jeremiah. the Lord related it to my injuries and my situation in a very powerful and personal way. it was as if the Holy Spirit was speaking to me directly through His word
let my eyes overflow with tears night and day without ceasing; for My virgin daughter-My people-has suffered a grievous wound, a crushing blow...
have you rejected judah completely?
do you despise zion?
why have you afflicted us so that we cannot be healed?
we hoped for peace but no good has come,
for a time of healing but there is only terror...
for the sake of Your name
do not despise us;
do not dishonour Your glorious throne.
remember Your covenant with us and do not break it. jeremiah 14.17,19,21
i felt just like jeremiah. i was overwhelmed and it seemed as if the Lord had abandoned me to rot in prison forever. i cried out to the Lord, echoing jeremiah's words,
o God, why have You afflicted me so that i cannot be healed?
i hoped for peace, but no good has come.
please Lord, do not despise me.
i continued reading,
alas, my mother, that You gave me birth, a man with whom the whole land strives and contends! i have neither lent nor borrowed, yet everyone curses me. jeremiah 15.10
once again the words seemed to leap off the paper and into my spirit. it was a very holy time, as though God Almighty Himself had descended into my cell and was dealing with me face to face.
i had so much grief stored up inside me and it all started to gush out before the Lord.
i sobbed,
Lord Jesus, just like jeremiah said,
everyone strives against me and curses me.
i can't take any more.
i've reached the end of myself
i wept so had that my eyes became swollen from all my tears.
the lord comforted me like a loving father holding His little boy. He reassured me with the next verse,
the Lord said,
surely I will deliver you for a good purpose:
surely i will make your enemies plead with you in times of disaster and times of distress. jeremiah 15.11
from my inmost being i cried out to the Lord from jeremiah 15.16-18,
when Your words came,
i ate them;
they were my joy and my heart's delight,
for i bear Your name, o Lord God Almighty.
i never sat in the company of revellers,
never made merry with them;
i sat alone because Your hand was on me and
You had filled me with indignation.
why is my pain unending and my wound grievous and incurable?
will You be to me like a deceptive brook,
like a spring that fails?
many times i asked Him why i was in such pain.
i could bear it no more.
my heart was downcast and
i was ready to give up.
God's word came again to me with both a severe warning and a promise,
therefore this is what the Lord says:
if you repent,
i will restore you that you may serve me;
if you utter worthy, not worthless, words,
you will be My spokesman.
let this people turn to you,
but you must not turn to them.
I will make you a wall to this people,
a fortified wall of bronze;
they will fight against you but will not overcome you,
for I am with you to rescue and save you, declares the Lord.
i will save you from the hands of the wicked and
redeem you from the grasp of the cruel. jeremiah 15.19-21
as soon as i read these verses, a powerful vision suddenly came to me even though i was wide awake. i saw my wife deling sitting beside me. she had just been released from prison and was preparing some medicine. she lovingly treated my wounds. i felt greatly encouraged and asked her,
have you been released?
she replied,
why don't you open the iron door?
before i could answer she walked out of the room and the vision ended.
THE LORD SPOKE TO ME,
THIS IS THE HOUR OF YOUR SALVATION.
immediately i knew this was a vision from the Lord and
that i was meant to try to escape.
my solitary cell shared a wall with the cell containing brother xu and some of the other believers. we had a prearranged signal that if any of us were in trouble and needed urgent prayer we would knock twice on the wall.
brother xu heard my knock.
i called to the guard.
he came to my door and asked me what i wanted.
i told him,
i need to go tho the toilet right now.
because it was brother xu's job to carry me around, the guard opened his door and ordered him to carry me to the bathroom.
whenever prisoners were allowed outside their cells, an iron gate in the corridor was locked, so there would be no chance of escape. a stairwell leading down to the floors below was on the other side of the gate. we were still completely closed in. the gate opened for people on the outside coming back in, but could not be opened from the inside. each floor of the prison was protected by an iron gate. normally two guards were stationed on either side of every gate, so to make it to the prison courtyard i would have to go through tree iron gates on three floors and pass six armed guards.
brother xu came to my door. as soon as he saw me he commanded me,
you must escape!
he then went back to his own cell and collected his toothbrush and towel so the guards would think he was about to use the bathroom.
when brother xu returned, he again solemnly ordered me,
yun, you must escape!
i was dressed only in my underwear, so as quickly as i could i pulled my trousers up. i had written scriptures from the gospel of john and I peter on a long piece of toilet paper. i fashioned it into a belt of truth, fastening the word of God around my waist.
i prayed,
Lord, You have shown me that i must try to leave this prison.
i will obey You now and will try to escape.
but when the guards shoot me, please receive my soul into Your heavenly dwelling.
it was now more than six weeks since my legs had been smashed. even putting a little weight on them caused tremendous agony. but i believed God had told me in three different ways that i was to try to escape:
through His word,
through the vision i'd received that morning and
through brother xu.
i have learned that when the Lord tells us to do something there is no time for discussion or rationale, regardless of the situation we face. when we are sure God has told us to act, as i was on this occasion, BLIND OBEDIENCE IS CALLED FOR. not to obey God implies that we are wiser than Him and that we know better how to run our lives than He does.
it was just before eight oclock in the morning of 5 may 1997. to the natural mind, this time of day was the worst possible time to try to escape! there was normally so much activity throughout the prison, with all the guards at their posts.i shuffled out of my cell and walked towards the locked iron gate in the hallway.
my mind was solely focused on obeying God.
i looked straight ahead and prayed beneath my breath with every step i took.
a guard who pushed a button when he wanted the gate to open and close sat at the top of the third floor stairwell. it was impossible to see to the other side because the gate was made of iron and the small windows were covered with black cloth. at the exact moment i reached the gate, another servant of the Lord, brother musheng, was returning to his cell and the gate was opened for him. that morning he had been ordered to sweep the prison courtyard as musheng passed me i told him,
wait!
don't close the gate.
i walked through without even breaking my stride.
the Lord's timing was perfect!
as we passed, musheng asked in a whisper,
are you leaving, brother yun?
are you not afraid to die?
then, with an astonished look on his face, he returned to his cell.
there had been a guard accompanying musheng back to his cell, but at the exact moment he opened the gate for musheng, a telephone rang in an office down the hall way and the guard turned and ran to answer it.
i noticed a broom leaning against the wall in the stairwell. i picked it up and continued walking with it down the stairs to the second floor. an armed guard was positioned at his desk facing the second iron gate. that gate was sometimes left open. because an on duty guard was assigned to watch the gate day and night, it wasn't considered a risk to leave it unlocked. at that moment the Holy Spirit spoke to me,
go now!
the God of peter is your God!
somehow the Lord seemed to blind that guard. he was staring directly at me, yet his eyes didn't acknowledge my presence at all. i expected him to say something, but he just looked through me as if i was invisible!
he didn't say a word.
i continued past him and didn't look back. i knew i could be shot in the back at any moment. i continued to silently ask the Lord to be ready to receive my spirit, thinking these moments were to be my last in this world. i continued walking down the stairs, but
nobody stopped me and
none of the guards said a word to me!
when i arrived at the at the main iron gate leading out to the courtyard i discovered it was already open! this was strange, as it was usually the most secure gate of all. there were normally two guards stationed at the first floor gate, one on the inside and one on the outside, but for some reason neither of the guards was present and the gate was open!
i discarded the broom i had carried with me from the third floor and walked out into the courtyard. the bright morning light made me wince. i walked past several guards in the yard by nobody said a word to me. i then strolled through the main gate of the prison, which for some strange reason was also standing ajar!
my heart was pounding!
i was now standing on the street outside the zhengzhou number one maximum security prison. i was told late nobody had ever escaped from that prison before.
immediately a small yellow taxi-van pulled up next to me, and the driver-a man in his late 20s-opened the driver the address of a christian family i knew in zhengzhou and we drove away from the prison. i told him that if we came to a traffic jam to drive around it and not to stop for any reason.
all of these events seemed to happen in just a few moments. it was like a daydream. i was unsure if the whole thing had really happened or if i was dreaming. i don't know how the Lord did it or why all those iron gates, usually so tightly locked, were standing open for me. all i knew was i was sitting in a taxi and we were heading to the home of my friends.
when we arrived i asked the driver to wait while i went to borrow some money to pay the fare. i climbed the stairs to the third floor apartment and rang the doorbell twice. one of the daughters of the family looked through the security hole in the door and immediately recognized me. she excitedly said,
o brother yun, you have been released from the hospital (meaning prison)!
i told her,
yes, i've left the hospital, but i didn't do so by the normal procedure. can you please lend me some money so i can pay my taxi fare?
she was so excited to see me that she forgot to open the door! finally she returned and gave me the amount. i quickly ran downstairs to the waiting driver and paid him.
the precious christian family warmly welcomed me inside their home. one of the daughters told me,
the whole church has been fasting and praying for you and your co-workers for more than a week. yesterday the Holy Spirit told my mother,
"i will release yun and the first place he will stop will be your home. he will stay for a short time and will pray with you.
my parents told us to expect your arrival and we have organized a secret place for you to hide. nobody else knows about the place except us. my mother has already prepared some food and clothes for you. com, change your clothes and we'll take you there.
after we prayed together, i was given a bicycle and one of the family members rode on the back, directing me to my hiding place, wisely travelling down small alleyways to avoid the roadblocks being set up on the main streets because of my escape.
the moment i started to pedal the bicycle was the first time i realized the Lord had healed my feet and legs! my mind had been so focused on obeying the Lord and preparing to be shot that i never even noticed that God had healed me. i never felt any healing power. from the time my legs were smashed with a baton until the day i escaped, my legs had remained completely black and unusable. i couldn't even stand up, let alone walk. the most i could do was crawl a short distance by grabbing hold of the wall.
brother musheng told me later that when he passed me on the third floor i was walking normally, so it seems the Lord must have healed my legs while i was still in the prison cell. as i rode along on the bicycle i was reminded of god's word,
make level paths for your feet, so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed. hebrews 12.3
as soon as we arrived at the hiding place the heavens opened. torrential rain blanketed the whole of zhengzhou city and a howling wind rattled windows and blew bicycles over. it was a huge storm although it was still morning time, the sky turned black.
i entered the hiding place and was left alone. this dear family treated me like an angel from heaven. they placed a family member outside my door day and night to guard me.
later, christian friends told me they had seen a report on the television news on the evening of my escape. the security police, the public security bureau and soldiers from the people's liberation army had been mobilized to find me. they searched every house in zhengzhou from door to door. they set up roadblocks at all the major intersections and searched every vehicle. officers were dispatched to every bus station, train station and to the airport. i was told trained police sniffer dogs were used in a bid to pick up my scent, but their efforts were all in vain. i was safe in the secret hiding place of the Lord. the storm had hampered the authorities and washed away all traces of me.
god reminded me how 13 years earlier, during my 74 day fast in prison, He had given me a powerful vision of a series of iron gates opening, one after another.
now, all these years later, His promise had come true. i marvelled at god's goodness and faithfulness to me. to this day i consider my escape from prison the most amazing experience of my life.
that night i slept like a content newborn baby in the arms of my Lord.
9.9.2012 HEBREWS 3.10- THIS A.M. IN SUNDAY SCHOOL
this a.m. in men's class at mision evangelica we were studying hebrews 3. when we came to verse 10 it seemed God spoke to me in a special way (although the whole time was very good).
verse 10 in the kjv says,'wherefore I was grieved with that generation and said,
"THEY DO ALWAYS ERR IN THEIR HEART; AND THEY HAVE NOT KNOWN MY WAYS".
the spanish for the highlighted words,
siempre andan vagando en su corazon; y no han conicido mis caminos
literally
always WANDERING ABOUT in their heart and they have not known My ways.
so 'err' in english is rendered 'vangando', the present participle of vagar-to wander about
i hope to check the greek word but for right now i am spoken to by the use of the spanish verb...because (this spoken of the israelites who were wandering in the desert wilderness for 40 years because they had not obeyed God's command to go up into palestine, the promised land, because there were giants there)...if the greek bears out the spanish over the english...
their aimless wandering about in total barrenness was simply an external reflection of the inner wandering of their heart.
it struck me so much that their horrible circumstances were a mirror of 'where' their hearts were and 'what' their hearts were doing
why this spoke so to me is that it impressed me that that is an exact description of my outward circumstances...and of my heart. through fear and vacillation i am stuck. OH MAY GOD GRANT REPENTANCE that i might follow His word boldly. MAY GOD HAVE MERCY ON MY WAYWARD, WICKED SOUL and rescue me from this desert!
verse 10 in the kjv says,'wherefore I was grieved with that generation and said,
"THEY DO ALWAYS ERR IN THEIR HEART; AND THEY HAVE NOT KNOWN MY WAYS".
the spanish for the highlighted words,
siempre andan vagando en su corazon; y no han conicido mis caminos
literally
always WANDERING ABOUT in their heart and they have not known My ways.
so 'err' in english is rendered 'vangando', the present participle of vagar-to wander about
i hope to check the greek word but for right now i am spoken to by the use of the spanish verb...because (this spoken of the israelites who were wandering in the desert wilderness for 40 years because they had not obeyed God's command to go up into palestine, the promised land, because there were giants there)...if the greek bears out the spanish over the english...
their aimless wandering about in total barrenness was simply an external reflection of the inner wandering of their heart.
it struck me so much that their horrible circumstances were a mirror of 'where' their hearts were and 'what' their hearts were doing
why this spoke so to me is that it impressed me that that is an exact description of my outward circumstances...and of my heart. through fear and vacillation i am stuck. OH MAY GOD GRANT REPENTANCE that i might follow His word boldly. MAY GOD HAVE MERCY ON MY WAYWARD, WICKED SOUL and rescue me from this desert!
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