If a Christian is not having tribulation in the world, there's something wrong!
- Leonard Ravenhill
Set against the backdrop of the devastating impoverishment and persecution faced by believers in China, the biography of Brother Yun is the most compelling and challenging I've ever heard. In the simplest yet most profound of ways, "The Heavenly Man" recounts the dramatic heart rending story of one of the founders of the Chinese underground house church movement that in the span of a few decades has grown to between 50 to a 100 million strong.
Laced with Scripture, the profound story of suffering and commitment by such Christians to the way of the cross is utterly captivating. Every reader or listener will be deeply moved by the Spirit to deny themselves daily in ever greater ways and reexamine their willingness to give all in the service to Christ.
Brother Yun a.k.a. Liu Zhenying (born 1958) is an exiled Chinese Christian house church leader, evangelist, and proponent of the Back To Jerusalem movement. Accounts about his life and ministry in China with the underground house churches of the Born Again Movement are chronicled in his inspirational autobiography, the international bestseller The Heavenly Man. His sequel, Living Water, is an eye opening compilation of teachings based on Brother Yun's life and the dedication of the persecuted church across the globe.
Christian Book of the Year in 2003, The Heavenly Man retells the 20th century plight of Christianity in China. Planted and watered by the sweat and blood of missionaries, the Chinese church was all but extinguished by the Communist Party of China, and the murderous reign of Mao Zedong. Responsible for the deaths of 50 to 70 million of his countrymen, many of which were Christians, his government persecuted, imprisoned and tortured countless more. In their war against the Church, the communist party confiscated and destroyed nearly every Bible in China.
During this period Brother Yun was born to a desperately poor family in Hunan, a province of over 100 million. His father, an embattled soldier against communism, bore the scars of being wounded on a number of occasions. Interrogated and tortured by the communist regime, Yun learned perseverance at an early age from his father's example.
Brother Yun's dad contracted terminal cancer when he was only fifteen. Unable to attend school, he worked long hours to help his family survive. With the death of Yun's father imminent, overwhelming tragedy had taken its toll on his mother's mental and physical health. Just as she seemed to be loosing her sanity, the Lord spoke to her audibly saying "I am Jesus and I love you." Remembering her long discarded faith, she knelt and received Christ once again. Gathering her children, she explained what had happened and lead them to salvation. Desperate for a miracle, they spent the whole night praying, "Jesus, heal father."
By morning their prayers had been answered. Though being a true Christian was punishable by imprisonment and death, they quietly gathered their extended family to their home. Their relatives, thinking they were attending Hun's father's funeral were shocked when he appeared healthy and joyous before them. Behind locked doors they secretly became Christians as well.
As a teenage Christian in China, Hun longed to know God. While his mother could recall a few scriptures she had learned before the Communist Revolution, her son's desire was to see and read a real bible. Fasting 40 days he so cried out to God for His word that his parents feared for his sanity. Then, after the first of what would be many dreams and visions, Hun saw two men bringing him the Bible he prayed for. Immediately after telling his parents they appeared at his doorstep. The Lord had instructed a old Christian man to give Yun the Bible he had hidden from the Communists for 20 years.
Hun daily devoured the scriptures, memorizing whole books. Though it would mean facing persecution and imprisonment, torture and death, the teen dedicated his life to reaching China for Christ. Offering the Lord all he had, he soon found himself evangelizing the countryside with miraculous success.
Becoming a fugitive across many provinces, he wold be arrested and imprisoned many times. In object humility and faithfulness he continued ministering for the Lord, even when severely beaten and horribly mistreated by guards and inmates alike. Once he miraculously fasted 74 days without food or water. Reduced to a mere 70lbs of skin and bones, his own mother and wife would have failed to recognize him but for a birthmark.
God's power flowed from such faithfulness, keeping Brother Hun alive and often converting his fellow prisoners. On more than one occasion, when his work for God as a prisoner was completed, he would miraculously escape to continue preaching on the run and stirring up the faith of the new house church movement throughout China. As a young adult he married a courageous young Christian girl named Deling. While she rarely saw her husband and would be imprisoned herself, they had two children. As Hun's wife and children's mother, Deling's powerful and challenging testimony is thoughtfully peppered throughout this biography.
With all this and much more, The Heavenly Man is by far the most compelling personal testimony I've ever read. Hearing the hardships true soldiers of the faith daily endure should inspire every believer to reexamine their commitment level to Christ. The challenge to develop such key essentials to Christianity as extended prayer and fasting, holiness and ministry will become sharp and clear. When faced with so many constantly willing to give their all to follow Jesus and the apostles along the way of the Cross should at the very least encourage each of us to give ever more in seeking God and His power to reach the lost.
Brother Yun's second book, "Living Water" are teachings based on scripture and his personal testimony. Once having felt the impact of "The Heavenly Man" you'll be ready to hear and consider answering this clarion call to greater faithfulness, devotion and sacrifice to the cause of Christ.
Over the years some have questioned the authenticity of Brother Yun's testimony. He seems to have the support of many who have first hand knowledge of the veracity of his claims, including and elder of the Chinese church often called the "Billy Graham of China." Laced with scores of scripture, these proofs along with the gentle yet compelling tenor of both his books strongly argue for authenticity. As does the power of this testimony to help open the minds of believers to "hear what Spirit is saying to the church." I recommend reading or better yet listening to "The Heavenly Man" for yourself and drawing your own conclusions. Afterwards, should you care to investigate further, you may wish to refer to the wikipedia article on Brother Yun, his co-author Paul Hattaway's open letter and/or visit BacktoJerusalem.org.
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