Brother Yun is a Chinese Christian who came to know Christ at a young age when his father was sick and they were too poor for the doctor or any help. His father was told he would die, but there was nothing the family could do because they were so poor. His mom had been taught about Jesus a long time ago and had forgotten about Him until there was no where else to look. She taught her family to pray for their dad and to be healed. God chose to heal him and he lived for several more years after that. Once the family saw how miraculous God had worked, they all accepted Christ. Brother Yun had told his mom that he wanted a Bible. They only knew one person that had a Bible because of how illegal it is there. He went to see the man and Brother Yun just asked to see it. He said, "I don't even have to touch it, just look at it." The man told Brother Yun to pray for a Bible and God would make sure he got one. After several weeks of praying and no Bible, Brother Yun had a vision. It was one of someone coming to his door in the morning and giving him a Bible. He woke up and sure enough, someone was at the door with the Bible. He had prayed and God had answered. This book is full of these stories. Visions from the Lord, the consequences that happened when he was worn out from the ministry, what happened when he disobeyed God and thought he could do things on his own power, and how the Lord changed his marriage and his views on the people that tortured him.
He spent so much time in the jails. He was beaten, urinated on (in his mouth and his head by different prisoners), electric shocked, had his legs broken so he wouldn't escape (but God healed those and made his escape another miraculous story), and so many other things that are beyond imagination. Several times he prayed for death because of how awful he felt. He had parasites among other things. However, he praised the Lord. He led everyone in his cell to the Lord, several guards, the higher ups in the Communist party, and countless other people. He led one man to Christ who was about to be executed for murder. Right before the man died, he asked that Brother Yun go talk to his parents when he got out to let them know that his son had accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior before he died. He did and his whole family accepted Christ.
Brother Yun refused to join the Three-Self Patriotic Church (TSPC). These are legal churches with registered Christians. However, they are ruled by the government and are only allowed to do things within their rules and laws. The PSB (Public Security Bureau) is the group that looks for the Christians and those causing "political unrest," which is what they view Christians as. Brother Yun is part of the House Church movement. It is illegal because they are worshipping God as they please and are telling others about Jesus, something you can't do in the TSPC.
A lot of Americans and other countries help out China by giving them Bibles and other things. He talks about how these other countries are also causing more problems. In China, there aren't all of these different denominations that are there. There is Christianity among other religions...but NOT other denominations. He talks about how the Western churches were actually creating divisions among the churches in China because they would only offer money to people that would believe like them. That is not what it should be. I've talked a lot about denominations and how I believe that they don't mean a thing. God doesn't say if you're Baptist, you'll go to Heaven. Nor does He say if you're Methodist, Lutheran, Catholic, Presbyterian, Seventh-Day Adventist, etc., then you are guaranteed a spot in Heaven. No. He says if you are a Christian and accept Him, then you will enter into Heaven. So much confusion comes into play when you add denominations and sadly, it only creates more division among friends, family, and acquaintances. That is not what God intended.
One such instant occurred when he came to the Western church to speak. People started saying how things he experienced were untrue and a lot of other mean things.
"I complained to my Christian friends, 'Why don't these people call us and read the
documents? I don't understand! Why don't they find the truth out for themselves? It's right
here for them to see!'" My translator told me, "Brother Yun, these people don't want to
know the truth. That's why they're not calling you or wanting to meet you. In
China, Christians are persecuted with beatings and imprisonments. In the West,
Christians are persecuted by the words of other Christians." Sad, but true.
I love the parts where he contrasts the differences between the Chinese house churches and the Western churches. From an outsiders view, who has only visited these churches as he now lives in Germany (read the book to find out why and his plans for going back), it is very eye-opening.
In response to why there is such a huge revival in China and not in the West, he says,
"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 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. 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 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 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! Just because you have a church building doesn't necessarily mean Jesus is with you. He is not welcome in many churches today. Of course, not all Western churches are asleep! 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."
"Many Christians have also asked me why miracles and signs and wonders are so prevalent in China, but no so evident in the West. In the West, you have so much. 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 saw Him mercifully answer our prayers and heal 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 us when the gospel is preached. We don't keep our eyes on the signs and wonders; we keep our eyes on Jesus."
I'll leave you with the last part of the book. He said that many times the Western churches will tell them they are praying for their government to fall or that they will allow Christians to worship freely. He states, "We don't pray against our government. We pray for them. We want the persecution because then we will never get comfortable where we are and grow complacent." Amazing. I'm not so sure I could say that.
"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 Devotions 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.' Christians who are in prison for the sake of the Lord are not the ones who are suffering. 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."
Check out his website and you should definitely read his book. Very challenging! The website keeps you updated on their mission to travel the three roads leading out of China into Jerusalem (through Iran, and all of the other hostile countries that tend to hate Christians) and lead as many to Christ. It was done once, and all but one person was killed for the sake of Christ. They are sending out thousands of Chinese missionaries to reach these people.
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