The Miraculous Guidance of God
Bro Chun Sheng He
Cardiff House of Prayer, UK
Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going, and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on, so that I come back to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God.” (Gen 28:20-21)
I was born into a non-True Jesus Church Christian family in China. I remember that the latter half of 2001, when I had just finished my schooling, was a peak period for Fujian people to go to work abroad in the West. At the time, a month’s income working abroad was the same as a year’s salary of the average office worker in China. This income disparity attracted me to become part of that trend. I still clearly remember how, at the time, I prayed to God. I said, “O Lord! Guide me so I can go abroad! If I remain in the country to do business, it will be hard for me to avoid lying in order to make a profit. This is not in my nature, nor would You be pleased with it. If I find a local job, when can I afford to wholeheartedly serve You? O Lord! Guide me so I can go abroad! Please give me five years, then I will return to serve You.” It seemed that my prayer at the time was not heard by God. I spent over five years applying for a visa to leave the country. During this period, I tried many different ways but still encountered numerous difficulties. This caused me heartbreak and stress beyond words. On 8 August 2006, I was able to obtain a student visa for Belgium even though my target was to go to the UK. This, however, provided me with an opportunity to meet my future wife Xiu Mei, and brought us to where we are today.
Nevertheless, I did not once think that I would still be living abroad nearly ten years after leaving my homeland. The prayer I had made before had now been cast aside from my mind. Not once had I revisited my promise, nor did I mention it before God. Slowly I discovered that I was more in love with the world, so deep down I felt guilty and tried to avoid God. I was in reality a deserter, and yet the Lord never forsakes such a stubborn person as I. Not only did He bless me in my physical life, but He also guided me to the true church, to receive the complete gospel and experience His salvation. I would like to share with my fellow brothers and sisters what I experienced.
I remember I first set foot in the True Jesus Church when I was invited to attend the Sabbath service held at Old Street, London. What made the deepest impression on me were their prayers. As soon as we knelt to pray in the name of the Lord Jesus, I was shocked by the strange sound they were making. At that instant, I felt like running away, but I chose to wait and stay till the service was over. During that prayer, I asked God for forgiveness, as I thought I had come to an erroneous church. In fact, when I was still in China I had heard the name True Jesus Church twice before. The first time was when a pastor was sermonising. He said that a denomination called “True Jesus Church” had appeared, and he predicted that there would be a “True True Jesus Church”, which would be followed by another one called “True True True Jesus Church”. He told us that we should therefore stand firm in our faith and not waver. The second time was from my good friend who attended the services of the same Christian denomination as me. He once went to attend a service at the True Jesus Church and when he returned he asked if I was aware of a “True Jesus Church”. He also told me that their prayers were very sincere because they would kneel to pray whereas we always stood to pray. However, neither of them had ever mentioned the unusual way of praying at the True Jesus Church. So for a very long time after that, my wife and I did not want to continue attending the true church anymore.
When we had our first child, my wife applied for social housing, which took us to a place called Swansea in Wales. It happened that we shared a house with a True Jesus Church sister. Then one day a UKGA preacher, Thien-Kiew Chin, came for a pastoral visit to Wales. He also visited the church sister, and my wife happened to be home. He asked her to join the service. Since she had seen Pr Chin before at London Church, she remained and listened to the sermon. At the time, Pr Chin was talking about the book of Revelations, and the teachings he spoke of really captivated her. When the sermon ended, he invited her to pray for the Holy Spirit, teaching her to say “Hallelujah” repeatedly. After saying “Hallelujah” a few times, she became aware that she could not control her tongue. It was moving seemingly of its own accord. She could clearly hear the sound but could not stop it. At the end of the prayer, she found out that she had received the Holy Spirit. She was full of joy, and felt like her entire being was renewed. She called me immediately to share the good news, but at the time I did not share her enthusiasm. Come to think of it now, God gave the Holy Spirit to my wife Xiu Mei to soften my stony heart, to enable our whole family to walk together on the right path.
I was baptised into the True Jesus Church in 2011. Before the baptism, I was told that the devil would lay all sorts of obstacles to obstruct the baptism. I remember thinking to myself, “Really? This all went rather smoothly.” Little did I know that the obstacles would come after the baptism. I had two strange dreams which left me in doubt of the true church. Meanwhile, I was not very familiar with the basic beliefs of the church and so this had a serious impact on my faith. The period from 2011 to late 2015 became the lukewarm phase of my faith. However, I thank God that during this time He did not forsake me. Instead He preserved me and allowed me to get up again to follow Him, to regain the enthusiasm to learn the truth, and to stand firm in my faith. May the Lord grant me the Holy Spirit soon and guide me throughout my journey of faith.
The value of one’s life is not measured through one’s own ability and achievements but through the grace of God upon us. How precious is the amazing Saviour’s love and mercy which has come upon me and my family! By the grace of God, we are at where we are today. May all glory and praise be unto our God in heaven. Amen!
