The Heavenly Man by Brother Yun is a biography of the miraculous life of Brother Yun, a Chinese church planter. Yun's stories focus on the persecutions he faced as a Chinese believer and on God's provision during these seemingly impossible times. Some excerpts:
About evangelism
God poured out his Spirit out to many desperate souls. Like thirsty men in the desert, they gleefully drank in the water of God's Word. Even though I was just a teenager, the Lord enabled me to lead more than 2,000 people to Jesus in my first year as a Christian. (p 40)
About visions and dreams (of which Brother Yun has many)
As Christians we are not to live by any vision or dream, nor should we seek after them. We must only live by the Word of God and seek the face of Jesus. But we should also be open to allow the Lord to speak to us in these ways if this is how he wants to. Any vision or dream we receive needs to be carefully weighed against the Scriptures, as nothing from God will ever contradict his Word. (p 108)
About family stress
I've suffered many tortures and torments in my life. I've had electric batons placed inside my mouth. I've been kicked and beaten until I longed to die. I've fasted 74 days without food or water. But I tell you from my heart that the most difficult thing I've ever experienced was seeing the condition of my family when they came to visit me [while I was in prison]. They were all skin and bones from lack of food, were dressed in rags, and I could see they were all struggling terribly. (p 209)
About revival in the West
The first thing needed for revival to return to your churches is the Word of the Lord. God's Word is missing. Sure, there are many preachers and thousands of tapes and videos of Bible teaching, but so little contains the sharp truth of God's Word. (p 296)
It is worth noting that Brother Yun has detractors, but most of the accusations leveled against him seem somewhat baseless. For example, Yun's critics claim that he isn't a large house church leader, but the book never makes such a claim. What is more curious is that some of the more miraculous aspects of this book are not in question.
This is a very readable and convicting volume. Many of the episodes have a short retelling by either Yun's wife or by a fellow pastor which add a unique dimension to the accounts. This is reminiscent of Safely Home, only not fiction.
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