Peter Xu — Brother Yun

I understand that you all were expecting to have one speaker here tonight, but I just have to warn you, watch out, the Chinese are coming and already two came tonight. The other brother who is here, how many of you have read the book Heavenly Man?

How many of you felt that my faith is challenged when I read that book? Oh, there are more honest people here than yesterday in Brentwood or wherever we were last night. There is a man mentioned in this book, Brother Peter Hsu.

The Persecuted Chinese House Church

Brother Peter Hsu is 64 years old and he is a fourth generation Christian, persecuted during the early years of the revolution in China, because they had been Christians already long time before that.

And he became the father of the evangelical house church families in China. There are something between 25 to 30 million people in his church in China. You never have to speak like that in this church before.

And he is also a spiritual father to Brother Yun. And according to Chinese custom, the son will never open his mouth before the father has said what is in his heart. So let us welcome Brother Peter Hsu to start to share from his heart first.

I greet all the brothers and sisters in the name of Lord Jesus. Thank you Jesus and thank you Brother Gordon and all the people who have arranged this meeting. And you brought me to be among these brothers and sisters tonight to bring me to my spiritual mother's home.

As I was kneeling here and receiving your blessing upon my life, the great presence of the Holy Spirit come upon me. And I was so blessed and so filled with joy because I received all that love which was pouring from you to me.

And I was almost melting under this heat of the warm. And I was so grateful because in the past generations God challenged so many people to come to my nation as missionaries. They brought the gospel of Jesus to my nation.

We Chinese believers, we are descendants, we are your spiritual sons and daughters. So I want to, on behalf of the believers in China, and I want to say this to brothers and sisters here today and to all the churches in this nation.

And I just want to express my gratitude and thankfulness to all of you. And because of your faithfulness, God has glorified His presence. And He is going to even give more glory upon your country. And may the Lord open His heaven and pour out His greatest blessing upon this nation and upon every church in this nation.

When you came to China, you were sharing the seed of life. And that seed has brought a hundredfold harvest into the kingdom of God. And all glory and honor for this belong to our Lord Jesus. In 1949, there were 800 ,000 baptized believers in China.

But today the most conservative figures are saying there are more than 80 million believers in China. It's more than 100 fold. And this is all because of the quality of that seed of life which was shared by the missionaries in China.

Persecution, Revival, and the Growth of the Gospel

Even though the church had to go into 50 years of heavy persecution. And in the beginning of revolution, all the missionaries were kicked out from China. And all the believers in China were also hunted and they were persecuting them.

And some of these believers died for the gospel. And some of them were thrown to prisons for tens of years. Some of them were able to escape and go to other countries. And even some people they lost their faith upon Jesus.

And even some of them they betrayed Jesus and betrayed the other believers. God allowed this trial and testing to come upon His church in China. When this storm hit the church in China, all the church buildings were destroyed.

But the seed of life which has been shared by the missionaries, during this dark, cold winter years, they were getting even more rooted into the soil of the Chinese nation. And one day in darkness underground, this seed started to grow.

Because the word of God cannot be imprisoned. There was nobody publicly going to Christian meetings in China anymore. People started secretly, after midnight, in darkness, come together in prayer. In the middle of their distress, they were crying out to the living God.

And as they were praying for the sick, the sick were healed. And as they were praying, the demons possessed were released and peace came into people's hearts. And people started to see that the risen Lord is alive today.

So people were encouraged and they started to share the gospel and their own experience to their friends and their relatives. And the expansion of the kingdom of God started again. And from these new believers, started up an army of believers who were willing to become soldiers for God's army.

And these believers were willing to carry the cross of persecution and pain and follow in the footsteps of Jesus. And they wanted to follow the footsteps of and be like the western missionaries of a previous generation.

They were walking on the blood stained footsteps of those missionaries. And they scattered all over China and filled China with the gospel of Jesus. Satan tried by using persecution to stop the fire of revival.

And he wanted to use water to extinguish the fire of revival. But the Holy Spirit was with us and he was pouring the oil of heaven into that fire. And so this fire was just growing and expanding. These brothers and sisters, they have come to an understanding.

Laying Down Our Lives for the Gospel

Lord Jesus gave his life for us. And because of his great love, we understand the depth of his love. And we have to also be ready to lay down our lives for salvation to our brothers and sisters. To proclaim the gospel and save the souls of people.

When they throw us to prison, in the prison we continue to share the gospel. And when they released us from the prison, we did not even return back to our homes, we continued to share the gospel. And in this way, very quickly, the gospel was available again all over China.

Brother Yun and I, we are only just two simple representatives of these tens of thousands of Lord's disciples in China. I was born to a Christian family. And we are all the fruit of the labor of the missionaries of the past.

I have been in prison five times in China. And Brother Yun has been four times in prison in China. So when they throw me into prison, and then when I came out, they threw Brother Yun into prison. I was first thrown to prison in 1965.

And the second time they threw me to prison in 1971. And the third time I was thrown to prison in 1982. And as I was just released from the third time in prison, in 1984, they threw Brother Yun the first time into prison.

So Brother Yun was in prison four years, he came out in 1988. And after he was released, he came to visit me. After two months, in April 1988, they threw me into prison. And then in 1991, I was released from prison.

A few weeks later, they threw Brother Yun into prison. And in 1993, Brother Yun was released from prison. And then finally in 1997, early 1997, they finally caught us both together and we ended up in the same prison together.

And as they threw us together into that prison, and we were heavy criminals from their point of view. And they said we are totally unrepentable people, we never repent. And we have committed the most heaviest crime and we are anti-everything.

Brother Yun’s Miraculous Escape from Prison

And the brothers and sisters around the world were praying for us. The church in Europe and in USA were praying for us because they said they are going to execute us. And as we were in prison, as brothers, we were praying constantly every day.

And one day as I was praying, the Holy Spirit started to speak to me. The Holy Spirit said to me, Today I am going to set Brother Yun free. And I said to the Lord, Lord, this is a top security person.

There are many iron gates and doors. And I was in my solitary cell and I was walking back and forth and I was praying, What in the world are you saying, Lord? And slowly I moved towards my cell door. And my hand took hold of the handle of my door inside.

And as I moved my hand, I was able to open my cell door from inside. And when I saw it, I became so frightened, I just pushed back the door and lost it again. And after a few seconds, I got the second thought, Lord, are you just about to do a miracle?

And I said, Lord, what am I supposed to do with this? And then I took hold of the door and I was again able to open the door from inside. And I looked to the corridor from both sides and there was nobody there.

And I headed towards the toilet. But I didn't have any call of nature that morning. I just wanted to find out whether there are policemen around the corner in other parts of the prison. And I came out from the toilet and I saw there was nobody anywhere.

So very quickly I moved to the door of Brother Yun's cell. And from outside I opened his door. I tell you a secret, it's no miracle, you can always open the door from outside to a cell. And as I looked inside the cell, Brother Yun was there lying on the ground of his cell.

So with my two eyes, I fixed into his eyes. And I told the command I have received from the Lord. The Lord is going to allow you to walk out today. And then I locked his door and I rushed back to my own cell.

And very quickly I lost my own cell door. And I was praying, Lord, move in his heart, get the man moving in Jesus' name. And after one or two minutes, I became worried whether he had missed the opportunity.

Missed the window of opportunity. And he's going to miss this miracle just about to happen. So I opened my own door and went out again to the toilet. And I looked, there was nobody. And I walked to his cell door.

And then I saw that the door was already open this much. So I pushed the door open. And I discovered there was nobody in that cell anymore. And my heart started to jump like a rapid in my chest. I knew that God is about to do a great miracle this morning.

And I closed his door and I rushed back to my own cell and I locked my own door. And I kneeled by my bed. And I lifted the mattress of my bed and I covered and I hide under my mattress. And the rapid was jumping in my chest and I was praying to the Lord.

Lord, protect my brother, he's on the way. Lord, protect my brother. Give him your peace. I knew that every minute is very important if you want to escape from prison. So maybe three minutes passed by.

Under my mattress, I heard that somebody opened my cell door and looked into my cell. And I knew that it's a policeman and he was looking for somebody. Because he had discovered that Brother Yun was not in his cell anymore.

And he was thinking maybe he has gone to somebody else's cell. And after he saw Brother Yun was not in my cell, he opened all those cells in that floor. And he saw that he was nowhere. And I heard his footsteps, he was running to the next floor of the prison.

And by this way about five minutes went by. And finally he came to understanding that this man has truly escaped and he has to report this to the authority. He has to tell this truth to the director of the prison.

We were the most precious criminals in that prison. So the prison director had his apartment in our department. He was living in our midst. And this policeman knocked the door of the apartment of the director of the prison.

And when the man came to the door, he reported, the crippled man has escaped. And I took that as a proclamation about the miracle what has just happened. How in the world can a crippled man escape anywhere?

Because we all knew that both of legs of Brother Yun had been crushed in torture. And the reason they did because he insisted if there is a chance he will continue to share the gospel. Every time they brought him to questioning and torture, another brother had to carry Brother Yun on his back.

How in the world can a crippled man escape? This is a miracle, brothers and sisters. I was waiting that this prison director is going to be really, really angry and mad. But he did not say a word. He was totally speedless.

I knew that they are going to announce an alarm and they are going to go look for after Brother Yun. And I was continuing, I was praying and crying out to the Lord. And as I was praying in my cell, the windows of heaven were open and the heaviest rain ever happening in that city hit that very prison and place.

And they could not go, leave the house. They have to start to look for raincoats and boots in order to be able to go outside to look for the crippled man. And I was comforted by the Holy Spirit. And that time one word of the Bible came to me.

I will make the rain clouds to my servants. I was saying, Lord, protect my brother, protect your co-worker. I was comforted because of what God has been doing. I stayed in that same prison for additional three years.

Release, Mission, and the Back to Jerusalem Vision

Year 2001, 23rd May, I was released from that very same prison. I was praying for Brother Yun every day as I was those three years in prison. But I did not receive any reports where had he escaped, where is he living.

I was in complete isolation. They did not allow anybody to visit me and to speak to me. So for the last three years, I did not know anything what has been happening in my church or outside. Then when I was released, the brothers and sisters who came to meet me outside.

And they started to report all what has been happening in the church in past years when I have been in prison. And they started to share that there is this Brother Liu, he has escaped and he is now living in Germany.

And he is sending greetings, he is calling back to China and sending greetings to you. But I did not understand who Brother Liu has gone to Germany. And I thought it was a British English teacher with name Liu living in Xi 'an.

It is only after two days I came to understand it is Brother Yun who has another name Liu who had gone to Germany. And I was just filled with grace and thanksgiving to the Lord. Because my brother became like that little flat stone in the hands of David and God just threw him out.

Out not only from that prison that day but few months later also to overseas to Europe. To be proclaimed what God is doing in China today. And to proclaim back to Jerusalem vision. So that all those who have been called into kingdom of God will come up to full number.

So that the pride of Jesus will be fully ready to receive the coming bridegroom. And the day when the kingdom of our world will become the kingdom of our Lord Jesus. And he will be the eternal king and ruler on this earth.

God has given this commission to his church. That we are called to lay down our lives for this calling to bring the gospel back to Jerusalem. And to bring fulfillment to the great commission of Jesus.

And to connect together the church in west and east for this challenge. And to go for mission work and to make all the nations to become disciples of Jesus. And fulfill the salvation plan of our God. There is still persecution going on in China.

But in the middle of the persecution the revival is the message of hope. In January 24th this happened in China. My younger sister Deborah was arrested in China. My younger sister is 58 years old. She was born again when she was 17 years old.

Deborah’s Arrest and the Church’s Intercessory Prayer

And she got the calling for ministry right there. And she was praying before the Lord and she said to Lord.

Lord, you love me so much. How can I repay your grace? I am willing to serve you with all my life.

And the Lord listened to her prayers. And the Lord listened to her prayers. She never got married. Forty-five years she has been serving the Lord all over China. And has been training the new generation of workers for the church.

Proclaiming about the vision of back to Jerusalem. And the authorities have always hated her. And because of their hatred they finally were able to catch her. We don't know where they have put my sister.

We have no information. And when some of the brothers and sisters went to the authorities and they were asking about this. The bullies just said don't ask anything about that person. And they said we don't give any information about her case.

I have been so touched in my heart for last month. I have that pain what is said in the Bible. When one part of the body is suffering the whole body is in pain. When one part of the body is glorified the whole body will be glorified.

Jesus said to those who were standing on the right hand side. When I was hungry you gave me something to eat. When I was thirsty you gave me something to drink. And when I was naked you came and clothed me.

When I was in prison you came to visit me. When I was sick you came and visited me. And these people on the right hand said Lord when have we done this to you? And Jesus replied whatever you have done to these least of my brothers you have surely done to me.

There are still multitudes of Chinese believers in Chinese labor camps and prisons. God wants to challenge the global church to go in intercessory prayer on their behalf. And the purpose of our prayers are not that they will be immediately released from prison.

But the prayer is that the God's presence and miracles will be with them. So that the Lord himself will stand on the right hand side of them, besides them. So that they can have a victorious life in the middle of their suffering.

So that the name of the Lord will be glorified in their suffering. So that those who are persecuting and torturing their lives may be changed. So that their souls will be saved from eternal destruction.

Sister Yin’s Life of Sacrificial Service

May the Lord be with every one of these suffering brothers and sisters. When I came to this point I remembered the testimony of one widow sister. And this happened in 1995. And this sister, her name was Sister Yin and she was a widow.

And because she was always busy for the gospel that means that she was always arrested for the gospel. Every time she ended up in the prison she wanted to demonstrate the love of Jesus by washing all the clothes of the inmates and the wardens.

And whenever there was a possibility she was sharing about the love of Jesus. And she was always in prayer. And one day when she was praying the Spirit of God came upon her. And the Lord gave her a new song.

And these are the words of this song. The Lord gave his life for me, he died for me. What can I give back to him? I can only give him a loving heart. A heart filled with love. And I have a feeling in my heart to sing this simple song to you tonight.

The Lord gave his life for me. What can I give back to him? I only have one loving heart. A heart filled with love. This loving heart brought this sister to share the gospel to everybody. And this loving heart brought her into all this suffering and pain for the gospel.

This loving heart brought her to be laboring for salvation for those who are lost. And this loving heart brought to the place where he surrendered her life and laid it at the feet of Jesus. And the Lord answered to her cry and prayer.

And took her home to heaven. And she finished her earthly walking. But she left a wonderful testimony after she was executed. And she's only one of these tens of thousands of missionaries in China. And the wheat of seed, if it does not die in the soil, it's only after the day it can give a big harvest.

The Gospel’s Global Mission

So her testimony has become a great witness to challenging many other believers in China. To bring the gospel and fill the whole China with the gospel. And to bring it to all people all over the world.

All the way back to Jerusalem. To bring the gospel to the Buddhist nations, to India and to the entire Islamic world. To use the fire water of the gospel. To extinguish the fire of evil which is burning in our world.

And to use the sword of truth and destroy the presence of principalities. So that all the principalities who are hindering people to come into kingdom of God will be destroyed. So that the hearts of the people will be open for the gospel.

It's only Jesus who can save China. It's only Jesus who can save mankind. And let us all kneel and worship this Lord Jesus. And may all proclaim Him as the Lord of Lords and King of Kings. And may the whole world be filled with glory and knowledge of our God.

This is all the seed that you have planted in our hearts. And may the Lord give a heart for mission back to His church in UK. So that you are willing to partner with your spiritual sons and daughters in China.

To bring fulfillment to the great commission of Jesus. So that the heaven and earth will be filled with God's glory. May the Lord richly bless each one of you. Bless the church of Jesus in England. And bless all the people of UK.

I still have one feeling. And also bless the Queen of England. May the Lord bless you all. Amen.