Back To Jerusalem… Through China!
THANK YOU for sending us to China! We are very grateful to all of you and can honestly report that the ministry time there was above and beyond our expectation. The Chinese believers are full of the Spirit and are on the move – seeing souls come to faith in record numbers! This faith movement was birthed in 20th century China and matured under Communist persecution. These heroes of God are sending missionaries throughout the Muslim world and the entire “10/40 window” [the latitudes encompassing the most numerous unreached people groups on the planet]. The Chinese have been praying and sending believers into Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Tibet and Pakistan… on the way back to Jerusalem.We have been praying for years in San Francisco, “from Golden Gate to Golden Gate”. We know that God desires to connect the Western church with our Hebraic roots and also support the Messianic Jews in Israel. So it should be no surprise that we find ourselves in the midst of their movement as God connects His Body around the world. We prayed, worshipped and studied the Word together. We taught the Bible from a Jewish perspective and saw God touch people with healing and revelation.
China Is Extraordinarily Complex
The deprivations of Communism marked the people here with a kind of innocence that is very endearing. The phenomenal growth of Christianity provided the background for blessing that is fueling this massive economic juggernaut. Yet the dull, mind-numbing effects of systematic repression produce a culture full of contradictions. Huge futuristically festive, multi-lit skyscrapers are invisible at times due to the oppressive pollution. High tech malls, super-trains, designer styles and even robots to deliver room service [!] form an impression of a progressive society. The hustle and bustle of modernity is everywhere in Shanghai… but there is a concurrent sense of unreality.Indulge me in a cinematic observation: many areas have a “Blade Runner” meets “The Book of Eli” vibe and the countryside that we saw had an ominous emptiness. Workers’ bungalows surrounded rural factory-based hamlets. Walls were constructed to keep intruders out and workers in… no doubt for their own “safety”. Complicated…God is SO gracious that He confirmed our arrival here with humor and love. We “happened” to visit the iconic tower in Shanghai during an exhibition on “Israel/China” economic cooperation!
Flags of Israel and China were everywhere. Our hosts were shocked and VERY encouraged.We visited the Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum. Our host and our translator had never been there. We learned of Shanghai’s mercy towards the Jews of Nazi-era Europe. Our host tied this to our message from Genesis 12:1-3, noting that God had blessed Shanghai as the New York City [financial center] of China after they rescued Jews from the holocaust. We “happened” to be there when a visiting Israeli group sang their national anthem, “Ha Tikvah” [The Hope] in the synagogue! Listen! The believers were uniformly gracious, honoring and receptive to our presentation of the Word. We taught in sophisticated circles and preached to simple farmers who love the Lord. We ate with key leaders who carry Pastoral responsibility for millions of Christians. We ministered to both the “ninety nine” and “the one." This included some deep times of inner healing for the ministers and house church leaders.
I recounted the vision that came to the Body in Israel about “living water” from the East. The NEXT day, on my way to teach, my translator and I passed a large group of government officials in black suits presiding over a hydrant/hose connecting ceremony. When the water was turned on, the men holding the giant hose could not control it, and it blasted water to the WEST, as the men in black anxiously consulted with each other. It was a Word to me and a sign for our friends… the repressive structures of men cannot control the living water that is flowing Back To Jerusalem.Please pray for us as we pursue this divine connection with the family of God in China. The ministry was so fruitful that they have asked us to return to minister to leadership gatherings in the very near future.They cannot compensate us for our time there so we will need your participation when we go again.Your prayers and financial partnership made this possible and a reward in heaven awaits you.