Brother Yun:
walking out of prison
By Paul Hattaway
The Lord encouraged me with a promise from Hebrews 10:35, "So do
not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded." I awoke
with these words in my mind.
The Heavenly Man is the intensely dramatic story of how God took a
young, half-starved boy from a poor village in Henan Province and used
him mightily to preach the gospel despite horrific opposition.
Brother Yun is one of China's house church leaders, a man who
despite his relative youth has suffered prolonged torture and
imprisionment for his faith. Instead of focusing on the many miracles or
experiences of suffering, however, Yun prefers to emphasize the
character and beauty of Jesus.
Here is an excerpt from the book:
It was during my third imprisonment that I experienced the lowest
point of my life and bitterly complained to the Lord.
I was 39 years old but saw no hope or future for me. I told the Lord,
"When I was young you called me to preach your gospel in the west and
south. How can I do that now? I'm sitting here in this prison with
crushed legs and I'm resigned to rot in this place until the day I die.
I'll never see my family again. You have cheated me!"
Rumors abounded as to what would happen to us. Even outside the
prison, believers knew our arrest was extremely serious because the
order had come from the central government.
And now, Brother Xu was suggesting to me that I should try to escape!
I know Xu is a man of God who listens closely to God's voice, so I
politely told him, "My legs are smashed and I am locked in my own cell
with an iron door. I can [barely] even walk! How can I escape? Your legs
are fine. Why don't you escape?"
On the evening of 4 May 1997, like every evening for the previous six
weeks, I reached down and took hold of my limp legs. Pain raced through
my body as I propped them up against the wall. I found this was the best
way to minimize the agony. By diverting the blood flow away from my legs
they became numb and I could sleep fitfully throughout the night.
The very next morning, in my depressed and hopeless condition, the
Lord encouraged me with a promise from Hebrews 10:35, "So do not throw
away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded." I awoke with these
words in my mind.
As the prison slowly stirred to life, I started to read the Book of
Jeremiah. The Lord related it to my injuries and my situation in a very
powerful and personal way. It was as if the Holy Spirit was speaking to
me directly through his Word: "Let my eyes overflow with tears night and
day without ceasing; for my virgin daughter-my people-has suffered a
grievous wound, a crushing blow. . . . Have you rejected Judah
completely? Do you despise Zion? Why have you afflicted us so that we
cannot be healed? We hoped for peace but no good has come, for a time of
healing but there is only terror. . . . For the sake of your name do not
despise us; do not dishonour your glorious throne. Remember your
covenant with us and do not break it." Jeremiah 14:17, 19, 21.
I felt just like Jeremiah . . . I cried out to the Lord, echoing
Jeremiah's words, "Please Lord, do not despise me."
God's Word came again to me with both a severe warning and a promise,
"Therefore this is what the Lord says: 'If you repent, I will restore
you that you may serve me; if you utter worthy, not worthless, words,
you will be my spokesman. . . . I will save you from the hands of the
wicked and redeem you from the grasp of the cruel.'" Jeremiah 15:19-21.
The Lord spoke to me, "This is the hour of your salvation."
Immediately I knew this was . . . from the Lord, and that I was meant to
try to escape.
It was just before eight o'clock in the morning of 5 May 1997. To the
natural mind, this time of day was the worst possible time to try to
escape! [But] I shuffled out of my cell and walked towards the locked
iron gate in the hallway. My mind was solely focused on obeying God. I
looked straight ahead and prayed beneath my breath with every step I
took.
I continued past [the guards] and didn't look back. I knew I could be
shot in the back at any moment. I continued to silently ask the Lord to
be ready to receive my spirit, thinking these moments were to be my last
in this world.
I continued walking down the stairs, but nobody stopped me and none
of the guards said a word to me!
When I arrived at the main iron gate leading out to the courtyard I
discovered it was already open! This was strange, as it was usually the
most secure gate of all.
The bright morning light made me wince. I walked past several guards
in the yard but nobody said a word to me. I then strolled through the
main gate of the prison, which for some strange reason was also standing
ajar!
My heart was pounding! I was now standing on the street outside the
Zhengzhou Number One Maximum Security Prison! I was told later nobody
had ever escaped from that prison before.
Immediately a small yellow taxi-van pulled up next to me, and the
driver . . . opened the passenger door. He asked, "Where are you
heading?"
I got in and replied, "I need to go to my office as quickly as
possible, so please drive fast." I gave the driver the address of a
Christian family I knew in Zhengzhou and we drove away from the prison.
I told him that if we came to a traffic jam to drive around it, and not
to stop for any reason.
All of these events seemed to happen in just a few moments. It was
like a daydream. I was unsure if the whole thing had really happened or
if I was dreaming. I don't know how the Lord did it or why all those
iron gates, usually so tightly locked, were standing open for me. All I
knew was I was sitting in a taxi and we were heading to the home of my
friends.
Brother Yun now travels across the world telling the world his
experiences and pointing all he encounters to a God powerful enough to
save anyone.
(Excerpted from
The Heavenly Man by Brother Yun with
Paul Hattaway. Published by Monarch Books, U.K. Distributed in North
America by
Kregel Publications.)
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