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by
Brother Yun
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January 31 - February 7, 2017
He wishes the whole world to know Jesus as he does, not as an historical, distant figure, but as an ever-present, love-filled, all-powerful Almighty God.
The true church is not an organization controlled by the rules of men but a holy collection of living stones with Jesus Christ as the cornerstone.
These leaders have severely restricted what Three-Self Church pastors and members are allowed to do. Ministry is not allowed without their permission. Evangelism is discouraged. All outreach to children is strictly banned. They even decree that certain parts of the Bible cannot be preached, such as the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus. They are not allowed to teach on divine healing, or the deliverance of demons. The entire Book of Revelation is banned!
We must submit ourselves to God and embrace whatever he allows to happen. Sometimes there are times of peace, other times struggle and persecution. But both are from the Lord, to mould us into the vessels he wants us to be.
Suffering, persecution and imprisonment made his gospel rapidly spread throughout China. If our lives had been more comfortable we’d probably have stayed in our home villages. But because we were always fleeing to new places the gospel spread to many areas that had never heard it.
The Bibles we received were all wet and we had to dry them in the sun and separate the pages, but we didn’t care. These gifts were more precious than gold!
Despite the hardships – or rather because of them – the church experienced rapid growth. Revival fires from the Lord ignited all across China.
from the mouth of God.” Matthew 4:4. For his glory, God had instructed me to fast. It was not merely my idea or something that man could plan. I was able to fast like this, without a crumb of food or a drop of liquid, only because God wanted me to. It was undertaken out of obedience to his command, not as a sacrifice in a bid to please him. “To obey is better than sacrifice.” 1 Samuel 15:22.
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.
He saw that I lived what I taught and was not a criminal.
I had experienced so much in those four years, but God had been faithful. I’d suffered some horrible tortures, but God had been faithful. I’d been dragged in front of judges and courts, but God had been faithful. I’d been hungry, thirsty, and had fainted from exhaustion, but God had been faithful. Through it all, God was always faithful and loving to me. He had never left me nor forsaken me. His grace was always sufficient and he provided for my every need.
In a way, even though I was now free, I found it difficult to leave the prison. Inside, the spiritual fellowship with my fellow Christians had been very deep and sweet. The bonds we made were very strong. We served one another in love, and shared our whole lives with each other. In the outside world people are busy and have many things to do. Most of our relationships are little more than skin-deep.
The authorities knew many people were being saved and great miracles were taking place at this time, but they decided to stay in their police stations instead of persecuting the house churches. They were afraid to touch us because they knew a mighty power was in operation. They knew it would be foolish and dangerous to oppose God’s people.
We learned a lesson that morning. When we arrive at the end of our own strength it is not defeat, but the start of tapping into God’s boundless resources. It is when we are weak that we are strong in God.
Ministry had become an idol. Working for God had taken the place of loving God.
I was still getting up every morning at five o’clock and praying with other church leaders, and I was still reading my Bible every day, but I was doing these things out of obligation and habit, and not from a willing heart flowing from my relationship with Jesus.
The Lord God jealously desires us for himself. He is the lover of our souls. If we ever put anything before our relationship with Jesus – even our work for Jesus – then we will be ensnared. If you are burned out, stop! Rest! Your lamp needs a constant infilling of the Lord’s oil or your light will be snuffed out.
I have a problem with the “prosperity” teaching prevalent today, which tells us if we follow the Lord we’ll be safe and comfortable. This is completely contrary to Scripture as well as to our experiences in China.
I started to put my love for God first in my life, my love for my family second, and my love for ministry third.
He later told me, “The Lord has sent us to help you in the vision of unity among the house churches. We haven’t come to China to dominate your work or control anything. We haven’t come to impose our own agenda or to build beautiful church buildings. We submit ourselves to the vision God has given the house churches and we want to serve you in any way we can to see that happen.”
The new workers responded in one voice, “We are not afraid of going hungry or of being beaten. We are willing to die for the gospel! We are only afraid of going without God’s presence. Please pray he will be with us every day.”
However, after a few years these same mission organizations started putting other books at the top of the bags of Bibles. These were books about one particular denomination’s theology, or teaching that focused on certain aspects of God’s Word. This, I believe, was the start of disunity among many of China’s house churches. These booklets told us we must worship in a certain way, or that we must speak in tongues to be a true believer, or that only if we were baptized in Jesus’ name (instead of in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit) could we be saved. Other teachings focused on extreme
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It was easy for a house church to split. Sometimes an outsider would come and spend time with a group of second or third-level leaders. They would hand out “support” money and their contact cards. Within a short time a new movement would be established. In their zeal to help, our foreign brothers were actually causing the house churches to split and be weakened. “For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge.” Romans 10:2.
But the motive in giving and receiving must be pure, and these gifts should only be given through the existing church leadership, so that younger leaders are not tempted to use these gifts to usurp the authority of the leaders above them.
At a special meeting in January 2000, the leaders for the first time estimated the number of believers in their networks. The combined total was 58 million.
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.
More 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 for their sins and is the only way to heaven!
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. This is true freedom!
world. When believers focus on serving the Lord and reaching the lost, God blesses them and the church remains sharp. When we become self-centred and critical of each other, Satan has won already and the church will become a blunt, useless instrument.
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. 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.
Multitudes of church members in the West are satisfied with giving their minimum to God, 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!
This may sound strange, but I even miss the offerings we used to give in China. On numerous occasions the leader of a meeting would announce, “We have a new 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.
Of all the strong churches I have visited in the West I’ve noticed one thing they all have in common: a strong and sacrificial commitment to missions among unreached nations. I’m not talking just about local outreach, or even attempts to start churches in other cities in your nation. I’m talking about a heart to establish God’s kingdom in the most gospel-starved and spiritually dark areas of the world, where nobody has ever heard the name of Jesus. When you start putting your time, prayers and finances there you will soon experience God’s blessing on the work of your hands.
If you truly want to see God move, the two main things you must do is learn the Word of God and have the obedience to do what God tells you to do.
Tears always come first before the Lord truly moves. He will never pour his blessing out on unsanctified and selfish flesh. The cross of Jesus must be at the centre of everything we do.
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.
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 5:11–12.
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!
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.
Christians in China appreciate whenever believers around the world try to help them during times of imprisonment or persecution, but all efforts to help need to be bathed in prayer and rooted in God’s will, otherwise it only seems to make things worse.
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.
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!”
Some people go through their whole life free on the outside but prisoners in their hearts, enslaved to sin and bondage. These men face the most miserable existence possible inside prison, but on the inside they are as free as birds gliding over the mountain tops! They love Jesus with all their hearts. “Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven – for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.” Luke 7:47.
I feel so sorry that many Christians live in bondage even though Jesus has signed their release form with his own blood. When you’ve been set free, you should act like it!
If God says go, we’ll go. If he says stay, we’ll stay. When we are in his will, we are in the safest place in the world.
If you hear I have been called home to heaven, please go on in my place with the gospel, preaching and discipling the people groups of the world until Jesus comes again.
