this is taken from 'the heavenly man' (2003) the story of brother yun of china as told by himself and paul hattaway.
born liu lao zhuang in nanyang county in the southern part of china's henan province in 1958, he is known today throughout china as the heavenly man. this name came from an 'incident in 1984 when he refused to tell his real name to the authorities. divulging his true identity would hav endangered local christians. in reply to the threats and beatings of the public security bureau (PSB) to reveal his name and home address, yun shouted, 'i am a heavenly man! my home is in heaven'. the local believers, who were still gathered in a nearby house, heard his shouting and knew he was warning them of danger. they all fled and avoided arrest.
before the account of the fast i note several things that made an impression:
-yun, one of 5 house church leaders united for the Lord in china, practices 'fleeing evangelism'. many times he has eluded arrest and escaped after being detained. he believes that this is ideal for continually fanning the Gospel evangelism flame and for keeping the Church holy and focused on what God has for us to do here.
-yun regularly refuses to answer questions, proclaims God's truth to his persecutors as they are torturing him and openly sings hymns and shout passages of scripture whenever and wherever he is...
on my first day in nanyang prison i concluded that God wanted me to fast and pray for the advance of the gospel, that thousands of souls would experience salvation, and that the house churches throughout china would be victorious.
i started to fast in my cell on the evening of 25 january 1984. immediately the sense of hunger attacked me more and more temptation came. i was so hungry i could hardly stand it.
immediately my commitment was sorely tested. that night the chief prison warden wanted to show his compassionate side in celebration of the upcoming new year, so he allowed the prisoners to have better food than their usual rancid meals. each man was given one mantou along with some pork soup and a stick of celery.
to the starving prisoners this was truly a lavish feast. the smell of the food floated down the hallways before we saw it. when it arrived the prisoners gobbled it up like ravenous wolves...
the devil reasoned with me, 'there's only one new year's holiday each year. you should eat a little bit of good food now while you have the chance'. i very nearly surrendered..
from the time of my capture in northeast henan i'd eaten very little, and had lost weight. i was hungry bruised and battered. i decided i would eat, but immediately a word from the Lord came to me, 'submit yourselves..to God. resist the devil and he will flee from you'. james 4.7 i prayed, 'spirit of hunger, leave me now in the name of jesus Christ'. i gave my soup, mantou and celery back to the prison warden and told him, 'please share my portion with all the men in this cell.
the hunger pains immediately left me.
food was the god of the criminals in that prison. because i'd surrendered my portion they began to think well of me..they asked, 'why is a nice person like you in this place?' i told them it was because i was a chosen vessel of the Lord. they asked me if i could sing them a song. i began..all my fellow prisoners loved to listen..some understood the words and some didn't. they all believed in fate-that we can't change what will happen to us during our lives. i told them that god controlled all things..and that our lives were determined by Him and by the choices we make to obey or disobey His word. i used this opportunity to tell them what the bible says, just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take awy the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him. hebrews 9.27-8i urged the prisoners to repent and accept Jesus as their savior.
after speaking for about half an hour i had great pain in my head and chest because of the beatings i'd received. even while i wqas sharing, my head throbbed and by chest felt it would collapse.
i knew the Lord wanted me to rests, so i told my cell mates,
i'm willing to share more with you about Jesus, but i can't speak now...my God has told me i need to rest and be still. from this day on, therefore, i won't eat any food or drink andy water. instead, i will give my portion to all of you..everyone was overjoyed with my offer..
on 29 january 1984, i was taken for interrogation again. the presiding judge said,
we've already given you some days to think. we want you to speak now...i told him, i've been involved in so many activities that i haven't been able to think..please give me some more time..
the two main judges looked at each other and told me..after the new year festival you'll have to give us a ..clear confession..
after i returned to my cell the Lord gently told me, 'you shall rest. do not be afraid. just submit to Me. do not look upon circumstances, do not look upon yourself, and do not look to others. pray more and you shall see My glory..
day and night i meditated on the word of God, on all that is holy and edifying. i thought of the great men and women of the bible who had suffered for their faith. i considered how Jesus had willingly submitted Himself to God's will and had endured the wrath of sinful men. i thought about joseph and his experiences in egypt, Daniel in the lion's den and bout stephen as he was being stoned to death. i meditated on what paul had written during his times of incarceration and of peter's imprisonment and miraculous escape in acts 12. ..their example cast away the fears and burdens from my heart.
in those days i was just like a baby sleeping in the arms of his mother, peacefully suckling at his mother's bosom. God purified my heart. i held no hatred or malice against those who had treated me so cruelly. i lived in close fellowship with the Lord. i realized that everything that had happened to me was the result of god's will alone. this enabled me to genuinely love the souls of those..men who had attacked and tried to destroy me. i felt very meek and gentle. my spirit was full of joy and thanksgiving as i magnified the Lord.
i told the Lord i would not speak a single word to anyone until the day i saw my family again. i didn't want to speak because the Lord had told me i should rest and trust only in Him.
for day after day, week after week, i didn't eat or drink a thing. the Lord Himself was my sustenance. i know that it's medically impossible to live more than a few days without any water, but what is impossible with men is possible with ?God. luke 18.27. i never stopped to think that the fast was a miracle, and i never knew it would go on so long. all i knew was that God had told me to rest and to meditate on Jesus. this is what my mind and heart was wholly focused on during the fast. after the first few days i didn't think about food or water again. day by day my spirit communed closer with Jesus. my own sinfulness diminished as the presence and light of the Lord was magnified..i learned the literal truth of..man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. matthew 4.4. for His glory, God had instructed me to fast. it was not merely my idea..i was able to fast like this...only because God wanted me to. ..
time quickly passed. on 11 february i was interrogated again. i'd become so weak that i had to be carried into the interrogation room by a fellow prisoner. my eyes were tightly shut and i ..lay on the floor motionless. the officers asked me several questions by i didn't open my mouth. they thought i w was pretending so started whipping me...the prisoner who had carried me there jumped to his feet and protested, 'from the day yun entered prison he has suffered severe pains..he hasn't eaten anything for more than ten days. there was nothing my persecutors could do except order me to be carried back..
all the other prisoners in my cell witnessed these events. they saw that i didn't eat..most of the time i just lay down in the corner of the cell and said nothing. my hands were tightly manacled for much of the time. the prisoners started to wonder who i could continue to live...as the days and weeks passed my fellow prisoners started to discuss among themselves. 'wht does this man's life stand for?
my body was getting smaller and weaker, but my spirit was enlarged and strong. from 25 january to 2 march i hadn't eaten anything. on the evening of the 38th day..the devil tempted me, 'yun, Jesus fasted 40 days. how can you as a servant do more than the master? are you going to fast longer than Jesus? will you try to outdo your master? suddenly dark clouds filled my heart. i had never experienced such desperation. i was in an intense spiritual battle. it was as if thousands of demons surrounded me and attacked me with all their strength. i felt discouraged and hopeless. i was so weak in my body and mind that i even contemplated suicide. i hadn't spoken for so long that when i tried to pray out loud i discovered my voice had become a faint whisper. i asked, 'God what shall i do? at that time the Lord didn't say anything to me, but i knew He was watching over me. i asked, 'Lord Jesus, why are You allowing me to be buffeted like this? please receive my spirit.
after a long night of struggle i again came before the Lord. He told me, 'I know your deeds. see, i have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. i know that you have little strength, yet you have kept My word and have not denied My name. revelation 3.8 when i heard these words my heart was filled with joy! i felt like a little boy whose father has taken a stand for him against bullies. .
God's voice impacted me like thunder from heaven. my tears burst forth. that moment i had a powerful vision. i saw a series of iron gates open, one after another. a multitude of men and women from various nationalities, arrayed in beautiful colourful clothing, were worshipping together before the Lord...i saw my life as a boy flash in front of me. it was like a curtain being pulled back and i clearly saw that from birth God had called me to Himself.
in the vision i exclaimed, 'Lord, i don't have any chance to go out and preach the gospel..but the Lord revealed His will to me through two scriptures that i hadn't paid special notice to before this time, 'for God's gifts and His call are irrevocable, romans 11.29 and 'I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in Me will do what i have been doing. he will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. john 14.12.
the Lord released the pain..dispelled the darkness..i continued to fast.the devil continued to put many bad thoughts into my mind. he asked me, 'who will take care of your family when you die? where is your God? has He forsaken you and left you to die? i meditated on..such as michah 7.8,9..to counteract these attacks..
during the fast i was very weak in my body, yet my spirit was alert and i continued to trust in the Lord. i knew that His grace was sufficient for me. because of what God had told me, i kept fasting longer than 40 days. i continued to pray constantly and sought God's forgiveness and mercy for my family, our church, our country and for myself. ..in this way, God accepted my heart's desire to continue to fast and pray. i entered into a very intense spiritual war, the kind of which i'd never experienced before.
let me take a moment to explain what it's like when i receive a dream or vison from the Lord. these don't happen frequently, but usually only when there is something important or urgent God wants to impress on me. all the visions i've received are very short, often lasting just a second or two. often a picture or scene flashes into my spirit and mind, yet it is so vivid and real i know it's from the Lord.
as christians we are not to live by any vision or dream, nor should we seek after them. we must only live by the word of God and seek the face of Jesus. but we should also be open to allow the Lord to speak to us in these ways if this is how He wants to. any vision or dream we receive needs to be carefully weighed against the scriptures, as nothing from God will ever contradict His word. God spoke to people through dreams and visions all the way through both the old and new testaments. in these end times the bible declares, 'iI will pour out My Spirit on all people. your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams; your young men will see visions. joel 2.28.
out of the various dreams and visions the Lord has given me..only once or twice have i received a vision that i saw with my eyes open..one such vison happened on the 40th night of my fast. i say a great yellow sandstorm that had been whipped up from the desert. i carried a swarm of millions of poisonous hornets, vipers, scorpions and centipedes. the wind lifted the roof off my house. the foundations of my home stood firm, even though the roof was lifted off and the walls cracked. the poisonous creatures started to attack me.
at that moment, in my vi son, i turned around and saw a naked prostitute. she opened her shirt to expose herself and called out for me to come to her for refuge. i was confused. on one hand i longed to flee from the painful creatures that were stinging me, yet i didn't want to run into the arms of a prostitute. i wondered what i should do. suddenly, in my vision , by mother appeared in front of me. her face was shining and peaceful. she lovingly said, 'my son, lie down quickly. she gave me a large loaf of bread and instructed, 'son, eat it immediately. those thousands and thousands of hornets, snakes, scorpions and centipedes continued to attack my body. i couldn't stand the pain any longer and shouted, 'Lord, help me! my own voice awakened me from the vision. i found it was already midnight and i was still in the prison cell. the experience was so real to me that i could hardly believe it had only been a vision.
later that night after i had gone to sleep i received another dream from the Lord. this one was brief and i didn' comprehend its meaning. i saw myself carried away to a white walled room. white sheets surrounded me. a man dressed in white clothes told me, 'stretch your hand out on the sheet. when i did so, a red bloody handprint appeared on the sheet. i didn't understand how it got there because there was no ink or anything else on my hand. when i woke i couldn't figure out what this dream meant, but i knew the Lord would show me in due time.
i put my hand on brother le, who was next to me in the cell. i whispered, 'tomorrow i'm going to have another trial and i will suffer more for Jesus. pleease pray for me'.
at about 9 am. the next morning i heard a voice calling, 'bring yun out! the steel hinges on our cell door creaked open. brother li carried me to the interrogation room because i was to weak to walk. li was a new christian. before hecame to the Lord he was known as a violent man and a ruthless robber. he was assigned to watch me closely and to report everything i did to the grards. i knew the government had placed li in my cell as an informant. after living with me for some time he realized i was just a christian pastor. he saw the consistency of my life and witnessed god's sustaining power during my fast. he waw that i lived what i taught and was not a criminal. one day as li carried me back to the cell he leaned forward and whispered, 'i now believe in your Jesus. he became my very dear brother.
before the interrogation began i sensed the Lord was standing beside me and was my strength and joy, as the psalmist wrote, 'i have set the Lord always before me. because He is at my right hand, i shall not be shaken. therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure. 16.8-9 the more i meditated on God's grace the more faith i received.
as brother li carried me he prayed under his breath, for i had told him a great trial awaited me. the officers directed him to place me on the ground. they told brother li to sit down and wait. that day two new officers came to interogate me. i refused to talk. i just closed my eyes and lay down. one of the men kicked me and shouted, 'yun, you will speak today! the other officer forced my eyelids open and said, 'look around, yun! we have methods to deal with people like you. if you don't want to speak we'll make you! this time they had brought various instruments of torture with them, including whips and chains.
another officer approached me with an electric baton. he turned the voltage up to the highest level and struck my face, head and various parts of my body with it. immediately my body was filled with ovewhelming agony, as if a thousand arrows had pierced my heart.
the Holy Spirit encouraged me with three scriptures from the bible:
-He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; He was led like a lamb to the slaughter and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so He did not open His mouth. isaiah 53.7
-to this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in His steps. I peter 2.21
-blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him. james 1.12
by meditating on the word of God, the Lord strengthened me to endure. i realized any suffering i was to go through was nothing compared to what Jesus had suffered for me, and that no pain i could ever experience was beyond the understanding and compassion of the Lord Jesus.
-for we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are-yet was without sin. hebrews 4.15
the Lord didn't allow me to feel as much pain as i should have. the officers stood on my hands and my feet, electrocuting me again and again. they pulled my eyelids, lips ears and other body parts to humiliate me. i still refused to speak. i was a half-dead pile of skin and bones lying motionless on the cold cement floor. realizing their approach wasn't working, one officer suddenly changecd his attitude and adopted a 'silk glove' method. he said,
'stop!
wait a minute!
yun, i'll give you another chance. this day, if you admit your crimes against the government, we'll release you if you agree to attend a three-self church.
we can even let you become the chairman of the regional branch of the three-self patriotic movement!
we'll stop investigating your previous crimes and will forgive you.
he kicked me again and asked,
'yun, did you hear what i said?
do you accept my offer?
answer me immediately!
before i opened my mouth to answer, i was reminded of the vision of the prostitute trying to lure me to safety. suddenly my spirit was taken away from my body and i saw the vision again of the snakes, scorpions, hornets and centipedes that had attaced and almost killed me as i lay on the ground. i realized why God had shown me the vision the previous night. the officers tried brutality, then seduction, in an attempt to conquer me, but the Lord enabled me to repel their efforts.
seeing their methods were not producing the desired results, they instructed brother li to carry me to the prison's medical clinic. a short, fat man dressed in white entered the room and told the four guards who had accompanied me, 'please leave me alone as i examine yun. after they left the room the doctor told me, 'yun, if you won't talk, i can make you talk. he smiled with an evil grin. 'this needle will help cure you of your problem. it will make you talk.
the guards were called back in. they spread my hands and feet and held me down on the bed. then they separated my fingers and held them palm down on a wooden board. the doctor took a large needle..from his bag. starting with my left thumb, he jabbed the needle under my fingernails one at a time. i can't describe how i felt. it was the most excruciating agony i've ever experienced. intense pain shot through my entire body. i couldn't help but cry out. lapsing between consciousness and unconsciousness, i couldn't tell if i was in my body or separate from my body.
by the time the doctor reached my middle finger the Lord mercifully allowed me to faint and not feel the pain being inflicted on me. when i awoke i had no feeling in either of my hands or fingers. i felt a terrible surging pain running through my entire body. despite the cold weather i was covered in sweat from head to toe. i understood the dream i'd received from God of my red handprints on the white sheets.
later on brother li told me he didn't know what had happened. forced to wait outside at the other end of the corridor, he'd heard the doctor shout, as he started to torture me,
'yun, take your stubborn mind and go and see your God!
when brother li heard me scream like a wounded animal he could do nothing but pray for me, so he bowed his head and asked God to preserve my life.
after i returned to the cell the other prisoners asked what was wrong with me. brother li fell on his face and sobed uncontrollabley. when he managed to compose himself he explained what had taken place...even those haredned criminals had tears in their eyes when they heard what had happened.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment