Amazing Sunday!
Wow!!
My friend Jessica and I decided this week that we were going to travel down to Lake Forest and go to Saddleback Valley Community Church today (otherwise known as Saddleback). This church is the largest Southern Baptist church in the Western U.S. and has approx. 25,000 members. I have always been curious to see how a church that large functions, so we decided to go.
It was amazing! The speaker today was a man named Brother Yun (pronounced Yoon), and he is a Chinese man who was involved with the underground church in China for a long time. He was imprisoned over 30 times, tortured a great deal, had both of his legs shattered--yet never ceased preaching the Gospel. His story is told in this book, titled "The Heavenly Man: The Remarkable True Story of Chinese Christian Brother Yun."
The most amazing story that he told was this: during one of his times in prison, he was complaining to God about his agony (his legs had just been broken/shattered) and he was angry because he wasn't able to preach the Gospel. During this time, one of the underground churches was praying and fasting, and they all heard a voice say "Behold, I stand at the door and knock..." but no one was at the door. This happened repeatedly, and then they realized that Brother Yun was going to be set free.
Brother Yun was in his cell, when he very clearly saw/heard Jesus come into the cell and He told Brother Yun to get up and walk out of the cell. He didn't do it at first, because he didn't think he could do it. But he stood up, and walked (with broken legs), and the cell doors opened. He walked as fast as he could, and when he was outside the prison doors, there was a taxi waiting out there. As they were driving, and Brother Yun had no idea where to go, they drove by a building that he recognized--the home of the underground church that was praying for him.
While he had been complaining to God about his misery, God was preparing a safe house for him...God is able to open ANY gates, ANY doors...it just takes faith.
It was an amazing story, and I bought his book. I cannot wait to read it! When we were in Tunisia and were able to meet people who faced persecution almost daily, it was so humbling, and yet it renewed and strengthened my spirit, because I knew that they had an unshakable faith, and I want to be like that. This man has faith that can move mountains--but it didn't come easily.
Am I truly ready for what it takes to obtain faith that strong?
It was an incredible service, at an amazing church...a church totally focused on spiritual growth (more through small groups than anything) and serving Jesus.
We ended our adventure by going to Disneyland and riding the new "Pirates of the Caribbean" because we could. :) Now it's time to bake, and ponder the message from today...
[Update: At the end, he said that it is in the most impossible situations, when men cannot minister, that God works miracles far beyond our imagination...and out of all the people groups he could have mentioned, he only talked about the Muslim people...and it brought up such emotion in me! I think I'm going to Tunisia next summer, if God so wills...]
My friend Jessica and I decided this week that we were going to travel down to Lake Forest and go to Saddleback Valley Community Church today (otherwise known as Saddleback). This church is the largest Southern Baptist church in the Western U.S. and has approx. 25,000 members. I have always been curious to see how a church that large functions, so we decided to go.
It was amazing! The speaker today was a man named Brother Yun (pronounced Yoon), and he is a Chinese man who was involved with the underground church in China for a long time. He was imprisoned over 30 times, tortured a great deal, had both of his legs shattered--yet never ceased preaching the Gospel. His story is told in this book, titled "The Heavenly Man: The Remarkable True Story of Chinese Christian Brother Yun."
The most amazing story that he told was this: during one of his times in prison, he was complaining to God about his agony (his legs had just been broken/shattered) and he was angry because he wasn't able to preach the Gospel. During this time, one of the underground churches was praying and fasting, and they all heard a voice say "Behold, I stand at the door and knock..." but no one was at the door. This happened repeatedly, and then they realized that Brother Yun was going to be set free.
Brother Yun was in his cell, when he very clearly saw/heard Jesus come into the cell and He told Brother Yun to get up and walk out of the cell. He didn't do it at first, because he didn't think he could do it. But he stood up, and walked (with broken legs), and the cell doors opened. He walked as fast as he could, and when he was outside the prison doors, there was a taxi waiting out there. As they were driving, and Brother Yun had no idea where to go, they drove by a building that he recognized--the home of the underground church that was praying for him.
While he had been complaining to God about his misery, God was preparing a safe house for him...God is able to open ANY gates, ANY doors...it just takes faith.
It was an amazing story, and I bought his book. I cannot wait to read it! When we were in Tunisia and were able to meet people who faced persecution almost daily, it was so humbling, and yet it renewed and strengthened my spirit, because I knew that they had an unshakable faith, and I want to be like that. This man has faith that can move mountains--but it didn't come easily.
Am I truly ready for what it takes to obtain faith that strong?
It was an incredible service, at an amazing church...a church totally focused on spiritual growth (more through small groups than anything) and serving Jesus.
We ended our adventure by going to Disneyland and riding the new "Pirates of the Caribbean" because we could. :) Now it's time to bake, and ponder the message from today...
[Update: At the end, he said that it is in the most impossible situations, when men cannot minister, that God works miracles far beyond our imagination...and out of all the people groups he could have mentioned, he only talked about the Muslim people...and it brought up such emotion in me! I think I'm going to Tunisia next summer, if God so wills...]
posted by Lesa at 8/27/2006 01:46:00 PM
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