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Brother Yun is Sent to Preach

After Brother Yun received his Bible, he memorized the book of Matthew and Acts 1-12. He laid down on the bed and suddenly felt someone tap him on the shoulder. A voice said, "Yun, I am going to send you to the west and south to be my witness."

He jumped up and ran to his parents' room. "Did you call my name? Who tapped me on my shoulder?" he asked.

They knew nothing about it and soon became concerned that he was losing his mind. Yun finally figured out that it was the Lord who was speaking to him. So he knelt down and expressed his willingness to hear and obey the call on his life.

About 4:00 a.m. that next morning, Yun dreamed of an old man at a large gathering of people, who told him, "You shall be my witness to them." Then a young man came out of the crowd and asked, "Are you brother Yun? Our brothers and sisters have been fasting and praying for you for three days. We hope you will come to our midst and preach the gospel to us. We desperately need you to come to our village."

When Yun awoke, he told his parents of the dream and determined to go west to preach the gospel.

"I told my mother, 'After I leave today there will be a young man come from the south. He is 24 years old. He will be wearing a white shirt and grey trousers with patches over both knees. Christians in his village have been praying and fasting for three days. They need me to come and witness for the Lord. This morning I met this man in my dream. I promised I would go with him to the west and south'." (The Heavenly Man, p. 36).

Then Yun set out to the west to respond to the old man he had seen first in his dream. As he crossed a bridge, he met the old man, a Christian, who said his name was Yang. He told Yang about the dream.

"Yang's heart was deeply moved. He said, 'Right now I was on my way to see you. I was given the job to come and take you to the west, to Gao Village, so that you can share the gospel. The brothers and sisters there have heard how you prayed and received a heavenly book. We want you to come and share its words with us. We've been fasting and praying for you for three days. They sent me to come and take you to our midst'." (The Heavenly Man, p. 36)

When they arrived at the village, about 30 or 40 people threw down their farming tools and rushed to hear the Word. He held the Bible over his head, and they looked at it with great astonishment. He did not know how to preach, so he simply recited the book of Matthew to them. When finished, the Holy Spirit filled him, and he began to sing songs to them that he had never learned before. When he opened his eyes, he found them all on their knees repenting and crying out to the Lord. Thus, at the age of 16, Yun learned how powerful was the Word.

He then told them that he must leave to go south. A young woman came to him and asked, "Where exactly are you going?"

"There is a man in the south named Yu Jing Chai. I promised him this morning I would go with him to his village."

The woman asked Yun if he knew the man. He replied, "Yes, I know him. I met him in a dream this morning." The woman began to cry. "Yu Jing Chai is my brother," she said. The woman explained that she had been the first Christian in her family and had led her mother and brother to the Lord. They had been praying and fasting for three days, and now their prayers were being answered.

The way back to Yun's village was about 6 kilometers, most of it by narrow trails. He decided to run as far as he could in order not to keep Yu waiting. But as he ran, he suddenly found himself entering his home village without any time passing. It only took a few moments to run home, and he then remembered the story in Acts 8 which he had previously memorized.

His mother told him that the young man, Yu Jing Chai, had indeed come, dressed as Yun had described, but he had already left. When Yun's mother told Yu that he had been expected, and that Yun was planning to return with him to preach the gospel, he became so excited that he ran home, promising that he would return by sunset.

Just as the sun set, Yu Jing Chai entered their yard, covered in sweat from running the whole distance. They set out in the darkness toward brother Yu's village.

Meanwhile, back at Gao Village, because so many people were converted at once, the police arrested many. They questioned the people, wanting to know who had brought this superstition to the village. The believers refused to betray brother Yun, saying, "We won't be like Judas! We won't betray our Lord Jesus!"

When the officers began to beat them, they rejoiced even more, saying, "Please, sir, hit us on the other side of the face as well!" The Christians were laughing and rejoicing at the opportunity to put into practice what they had heard from Matthew's gospel. Finally, the officer got tired of beating them and said, "You Christians are all crazy!" Giving them a warning, he sent them home.

In 1980 the Holy Spirit moved in a mighty way, and the Church in Henan Province saw phenomenal growth. Yun writes, "We remember it as the year when God constantly did outstanding miracles and divine healing, and the words of Jesus came supernaturally to many people." (The Heavenly Man, p. 49)

So often it happens that an outpouring of the Holy Spirit occurs just before a major persecution which tests the hearts of the believers and allows them opportunity to share in the sufferings of Christ. That persecution would come in mid-1983 and last for a full year. The authorities had not learned the lesson of Rome that persecution only spawns more Christians. "Our blood is seed," Tertullian said in the third century. Persecution destroys denominations and religious organizations, and it weeds out nominal and lukewarm Christians, but it increases the number of real Christians, for it cannot stop the Holy Spirit from changing the hearts of men.

In a remote mountain village called Fen Shuiling, an unbeliever was dying of disease. He had never heard the gospel. But one evening, Jesus appeared and said, "My name is Jesus. I have come to save you."

When Yun arrived there some time later to preach the Gospel, he was surprised to find that dozens of families had already become Christians, all without a church or pastor. Jesus had already preached the gospel to them, and the people were eager and ready to hear more.

It does not take long to convert a nation when the Lord intervenes directly. It is my prayer that God will do so here in America and throughout the world. I believe that the time is coming shortly when He will do so. I have seen it by the Spirit, and it is only a matter of time before this is manifested in the world.