JALAN IMAN

Pemenuhan Visi Yang Terlihat pada Tahun 1999, William Lau

PENGAJARAN – JALAN IMAN

MINGGU, 18 MARET, 2012

Dengan Rev William Lau,

Direktur, Tantangan Elia

Pada hari Minggu pagi pada bulan Juni 1999 saat aku bersiap-siap untuk berkhotbah di kebaktian pagi hari Minggu di gereja kami di Houston, saya menerima sebuah penglihatan dari Tuhan.

Kami telah berada di pelayanan sepenuh waktu sejak tahun 1978 ketika kami mulai melayani sebagai misionaris untuk memberitakan Injil dan memuridkan di daerah yang belum terjangkau di Indonesia. Setelah kami kembali ke Amerika Serikat pada tahun 1987, kami menanam dan menggembalakan gereja di New York City dan Houston.Tapi pada bulan Juni 1999 saya telah membuat keputusan untuk mundur dari penggembalaan.Meskipun kami bisa menanam gereja-gereja, saya menemukan bahwa berada dalam kependetaan dengan mereka dengan cara tradisional bukanlah panggilan saya. Meskipun gaji saya di gereja kami sedang membantu kami untuk membayar tagihan kita dan memberi makan keluarga kami dari tiga anak perempuan, saya tidak bisa lagi melayani. Bisa dibilang saya sengsara.

Tapi saya tidak tahu apa yang akan saya lakukan setelah mundur dari penggembalaan. Untuk semua yang saya tahu, saya mungkin berakhir pada membalik burger di McDonald. Namun demikian saya percaya Tuhan, sama seperti yang telah saya lakukan pada tahun 1978 ketika dengan iman Lucille dan saya menyerahkan semua yang kita miliki untuk mengikuti Tuhan ujung bumi untuk melayani di daerah primitif dari bahasa Indonesia Kalimantan.

Penglihatan

Selama hari Minggu pagi pada bulan Juni 1999 kekita saya sedang berdoa di ruang tamu saya, mata saya dibuka. Saya tidak lagi di ruang tamu , saya berjalan di jalan di lingkungan yang agak bobrok. Di sebelah kiri saya, saya melihat struktur persegi panjang yang kuno dari beberapa jenis di pinggir jalan.Tampaknya dinding itu terbuat dari batako atau beton dan tidak dicat dan tidak menarik. Ada satu-satunya jendela yang terbuka dalam dinding yang aku hadapai saat saya berjalan menuju struktur. Penasaran, saya meninggalkan jalan dan berjalan menuju struktur dengan mengintip melalui jendela.

Saat saya menjulurkan kepalaku melalui jendela, seluruh struktur berubah menjadi debu di sekitar saya dan dalam sekejap mata menghilang. Tidak ada jejak lago. Tiba-tiba saya diangkat ke udara dan dibawa pergi tinggi di langit. Dalam kecepatan api klip film saya dibawa seakan-akan ke berbagai tempat di seluruh dunia, saya bisa melihat mereka dari udara atas. Akhirnya saya melihat apa yang tampak dalam pemandangan surgawi yang bukan dari dunia ini. Penglihatan itu berakhir sama mendadaknya seperti saat mulai. Penglihatan itu berlangsung beberapa menit.

Mimpi

Tak perlu dikatakan lagi bahwa saya kagum dengan apa yang saya lihat.Mengingat saya akan meninggalkan pastorat hanya dalam satu minggu lagi untuk hidup dengan iman, saya ingin tahu apa yang Tuhan telah tunjukan kepada saya. Dan saya berdoa kepada Tuhan untuk mengungkapkan kepada saya apa arti dari penglihatan itu. Saya kemudian jatuh tertidur lagi dan selama itu Dia memberiku mimpi lain. Kualitas mimpi itu identik dengan penglihatan yang saya baru saja lihat. Dalam mimpi itu saya naik kendaraan yang saya hanya bisa digambarkan sebagai mirip dengan mobil kereta. Namun, saya adalah satu-satunya orang yang berada di “kereta.”, Tidak ada lokomotif yang menarik mobil dan tidak ada kegiatan lain. Mobil itu bergerak di atas tanah dengan sendirinya berlari dengan kecepatan sangat tinggi. Ini juga bukanlah seperti perjalanan di rel kereta api sebagaimana yang normal dilakukan. Kendaraan ini tidak menyentuh tanah sama sekali. Dan saya hanyalah seorang penumpang yang tak berdaya di kereta yang saat itu melihat keluar jendela dengan keheranan yang tak tertahankan.

Kereta ini tidak memperlambat kecepatannya kemanapun ia pergi. Ketika ia naik ke sebuah gunung yang curam kecepatannya tidak berkurang sedikit pun. Saya takut ketika ia berjalan pada kurva yang tajam dan naik tinggi di gunung tapi ia terus melaju dengan kecepatan penuh. Hebatnya ia tetap di jalurnya dan tidak pergi terbang dari gunung seperti yang saya pikir akan terjadi.

Di dalam mobil saya dibawa ke semua jenis tempat yang jauh di seluruh dunia. Akhirnya saya melihat pemandangan surgawi yang mulia. Kemudian saya terbangun. Meskipun saya tidak mengerti makna penglihatan dan mimpi berikutnya, saya merasa bahwa Tuhan entah bagaimana mengatakan bahwa Dia akan menyertai saya karena saya meninggalkan penggembalaan dalam satu minggu lebih untuk hidup dengan iman di dalam Dia. Pada saat itu kami punya satu anak perempuan dan akan memulai kuliah di Universitas New York dan dua yang lebih muda akan menyusul.

Pemenuhan pangglia dan impian bagi kita secara pribadi

Tahun berikutnya pada tahun 2000 saya pergi dalam perjalanan misi ke India Utara sebagai salah satu anggota tim. Saya diberi kesempatan untuk berkhotbah di udara terbuka KKR penginjilan, dan saya menyaksikan Tuhan menyembuhkan orang sakit secara ajaib untuk mengkonfirmasi pesan Injil. Selama sembilan tahun kami sebagai misionaris di Indonesia, Tuhan telah mengajarkan kita bagaimana untuk menyembuhkan orang sakit seperti yang dilakukan Yesus dalam Injil dan sebagaiman Dia ajarkan dan perintahkan kepada para murid-Nya (Lukas 9:1-2; 10:9).Karena banyak mujizat yang terjadi melalui kami dan murid-murid ber-Bahasa Indonesia lain yang sudah kami latih, banyak yang belum pernah mendengar Injil sebelumnya datang kepada iman yang menyelamatkan di dalam Kristus.Pada perjalanan misi ke India pada tahun 2000 saya mulai melayani yang sakit dengan cara yang sama, dan banyak yang disembuhkan.

Lalu saya memutuskan untuk melatih orang-orang percaya di India, termasuk mereka yang baru saja menerima Yesus Kristus, bagaimana menyembuhkan orang sakit seperti yang saya telah belajar dari Alkitab sementara kita bertugas di Indonesia. Dan sebagaimana orang percaya menumpangkan tangannya pada orang sakit dan menerapkan otoritas mereka dalam nama Yesus Kristus, orang-orang disembuhkan. Saya sangat gembira untuk dapat memberikan apa yang Tuhan telah begitu bebas diberikan kepada saya.

Ketika saya kembali ke Amerika Serikat dari perjalanan misi singkat, saya tahu apa yang Tuhan ingin saya lakukan. Saya melatih orang percaya biasa untuk menyembuhkan orang sakit dan mengusir setan seperti yang Yesus lakukan dan sebagai Dia mengajarkan dan memerintahkan murid-muridNya untuk dilakukan ketika Dia mengutus mereka untuk memberitakan Kerajaan Allah. Tujuan akhir akan pemenuhan Amanat Agung.

Sejak itu kami telah diajarkan Tantangan Elia kepada puluhan ribu orang percaya di 37 negara, termasuk pendeta, penginjil, dan misionaris. Beberapa telah pergi untuk memiliki pelayanan yang sangat kuat dalam penyembuhan ajaib dan juga melatih orang lain sebagaimana mereka sendiri dilatih. Kami sekarang menyaksikan kesembuhan ajaib setiap kali kami mengajar dan ketika kami memberitakan Injil. Di India, gereja terkena dampak dan gereja-gereja baru ditanam mengikuti pemberitaan Injil disertai dengan penyembuhan ajaib yang dilakukan melalui hamba terlatih Allah. Sekolmpok yang yang belum terjangkau sedang dicapai oleh murid-murid kami yang terlatih. Injil dapat diberitakan jauh lebih efektif untuk ketika penyembuhan ajaib mengkonfirmasi kebenaran Injil kepada mereka.

Seperti kami melatih murid Tuhan, kami mulai melihat penggenapan Yohanes 14:12 di mana Yesus berjanji bahwa mereka yang percaya kepadaNya akan melakukan pekerjaan yang Dia lakukan, termasuk karya-karya ajaib menyembuhkan orang sakit dan mengusir setan.

Tuhan ini Tuhan memenuhi penglihatan dan mimpi yang Dia berikan kepada saya pada bulan Juni 1999. Saya sekarang mengerti artinya secara lebih lengkap.

Dinding kuno yang tidak dicat denga beton berstruktur seperti yang kulihat dalam visi diwakili pelayanan saya sebagai pendeta gereja tradisional. Sebagaimana struktur telah berubah menjadi debu di depan mataku, demikianlah pelayanan saya sebagai pendeta setempat telah menghilang. Sejak itu Tuhan telah membawa kami ke negara-negara jauh di seluruh dunia untuk mengajar dan berkhotbah. “Kereta” yang ngebut dalam mimpi saya tidak jatuh ke tanah pada rel dan tidak menyentuh tanah. Sebaliknya itu dilakukan oleh Roh dan didukung oleh Roh. Dan itulah yang telah Tuhan akukan bagi kita sejak tahun 2000. Kemana pun kita pergi musuh belum mampu untuk berdiri melawan kita dan kita melihat kemenangan.

Dia telah menggenapkan nubuat yang dibuat atas kami oleh para nabi-Nya selama bertahun-tahun, yang semuanya tetap konsisten dalam tema dengan penglihatan dan mimpi yang Dia berikan kepadaku pada tahun 1999. Satu bernubuat dipenuhi tersebut adalah:

2 Samuel 07:08 Beginilah firman TUHAN semesta alam: Aku telah mengambil engkau dari padang rumput, dari merawat domba-domba … 9 Saya telah ke manapun Anda pergi, dan aku telah memotong semua musuhmu dari hadapanmu.

Kami sangat berterima kasih kepada Tuhan.

Arti yang lebih luas dari penglihatan itu?

Tapi sekarang (Maret 2012) kami merasakan untuk pertama kalinya bahwa visi dan mimpi mungkin tidak hanya bagi diri kami sendiri secara pribadi, tapi mungkin kenabian dalam arti lebih luas.

Kami percaya bahwa ajaran dan praktek dari Nikolaus (Wahyu 2:06 & 15) yang membenci Yesus masih hidup dan baik untuk berbagai tingkat di Gereja saat ini.Ajaran ini membangkitkan dinding pemisah antara kelas khusus profesional pendeta dan “orang awam” yang selamanya tunduk pada otoritas mereka. Hanya kelas elit ulama yang berhak untuk melakukan tugas gerejawi. Gereja Katolik Roma tentu saja unggul dalam ajaran Nikolaus. Ini sebagian mengakibatkan Reformasi Protestan lebih dari 500 tahun lalu yang berusaha untuk mengembalikan “imamat semua orang percaya” menurut Wahyu 1:6, 1 Petrus 2:5 & 9, dan khususnya Yohanes 14:12.

Namun, Reformasi berlangsung singkat. Hari ini ajaran Nikolaus masih kuat tertanam dalam Gereja Yesus Kristus. Hasilnya adalah kegagalan Gereja untuk memenuhi Amanat Agung di mana Kristus memerintahkan kita untuk memuridkan semua bangsa. Umat Tuhan tidak sedang dimuridkan dalam waktu yang sangat lama, dengan ukuran agar mencapai seluruh kepenuhan Kristus (Efesus 4:13). Mereka tidak menghasilkan banyak buah — bukti dengan mana mereka perlu tunjukan diri mereka sebagai menjadi murid Yesus Kristus (Yohanes 15:8). Sebagian besar apa yang disebut orang percaya berbuah kecil sama sekali bagi Yesus.

Kami percaya ini adalah hasil dari pembentukan Nikolaus di Gereja saat ini.

Sebelum Kristus kembali, Amanat Agung harus dipenuhi. Jika kedatangan-Nya sudah dekat, maka mungkin berarti bahwa Dia akan berusaha untuk menghancurkan pembentukan Nikolaus Ia membenci yang menyebar seperti kanker melalui banyak Gereja-Nya dalam berbagai tingkattan.

Ajaran Nikolaus

Arti lebih luas struktur yang ternyata menjadi debu

Pada awal dari penglihatan yang Tuhan memberi saya pada bulan Juni 1999, saya melihat dinding kuno, tidak dicat beton struktur seperti di pinggir jalan tempat saya berjalan. Ketika saya menjulurkan kepalaku di jendela di salah satu dinding untuk melihat ke dalam struktur, tiba-tiba debu di sekitar saya menghilang. Sampai sekarang saya telah menafsirkan struktur ini melambangkan pelayanan saya sebagai pendeta lokal yang telah berubah menjadi debu, pengaturan saya bebas untuk melakukan apa yang saya lakukan sekarang di seluruh dunia. Tapi sekarang saya merasakan bahwa arti dari struktur bisa lebih luas dari itu.

Mungkinkah bahwa struktur beton seperti juga merupakan penjara — pembentukan Nikolaus — yang telah membuat orang percaya lama untuk menjadi murid yang berbuah Yesus Kristus? Korban dari sistem Nikolaus juga termasuk ribuan pendeta frustrasi di seluruh dunia yang tak terpenuhi dalam panggilan mereka untuk memperlengkapi orang kudus bagi pekerjaan pelayanan. Pendeta-pendeta ang tulus melayani dan bermaksud baik banyk jadi korban dari sistem Nikolaus sebagaimana orang percaya yang telah dipenjara olehnya. Karena sifat dari sistem, mereka “anggota gereja” tidak pernah akan mencapai sesuai dengan ukuran seluruh kepenuhan Kristus.

Tentu saja, dalam Gereja ada yang secara pribadi telah mendapat manfaat dari ajaran Nikolaus, dan akan terus memegang itu. Mereka memiliki kekuasaan dan kekayaan, dan ini tentu saja adalah menyenangkan dan adiktif. Mereka adalah orang berbicara tentang Kristus yang datang dalam nama-Nya, mengklaim, “Saya yang diurapi”, dan akan menyesatkan banyak orang (Matius 24:5). Dalam bahasa Yunani kata Mesias berarti “yang diurapi.”

Apakah mungkin bahwa selama hari-hari terakhir Tuhan sudah mengubah penjara Nikolaus ini menjadi debu, mengubah Gereja agar bebas menjadi sebagaimana Gereja sesungguhnya untuk memenuhi perkataan yang Dia sampaikan dua ribu tahun yang lalu?

Yohanes 14:12 Sesungguhnya Aku berkata kepadamu, setiap orang yang percaya kepada-Ku akan melakukan pekerjaan-perkerjaan yang telah Aku lakukan, dan mereka akan melakukan hal-hal yang lebih besar dari ini, karena Aku akan pergi kepada Bapa.

Hanya dengan demikian kita memenuhi Amanat Agung.Hanya kemudian akan Yesus Kristus kembali.

The Original Text in English

The Fulfillment of a Vision Seen in 1999

Rev William Lau

By Rev William Lau,

Director, The Elijah Challenge

On a Sunday morning in June 1999 as I was preparing to preach at the Sunday morning service in our church in Houston, I received a vision from the Lord.

We had been in full-time ministry since 1978 when we began serving as missionaries preaching the gospel and making disciples in unreached areas of Indonesia. Following our return to the United States in 1987, we planted and pastored churches in New York City and Houston. But by June 1999 I had made a decision to step down from the pastorate. Although we could plant churches, I discovered that staying on to pastor them in the traditional manner was not my calling. Although my salary at our church was helping us to pay our bills and feed our family of three daughters, I could no longer serve. You could say I was miserable.

But I had no idea what I was going to do after stepping down from the pastorate. For all I knew, I might end up flipping burgers at McDonald’s. Nevertheless I was going to trust the Lord, just as I had done in 1978 when by faith Lucille and I gave up everything we possessed to follow the Lord the ends of the earth to minister in primitive regions of Indonesian Borneo.

The vision

During that Sunday morning in June 1999 while in prayer in my living room, my eyes were opened. No longer in my living room, I was walking down the street in a somewhat dilapidated neighborhood. To my left I saw a drab rectangular structure of some kind by the side of the road. It seemed to be made of adobe or concrete and was unpainted and unattractive. There was a single window-like opening in a wall that faced me as I walked toward the structure. Curious, I left the road and walked toward the structure to peek through the window.

As I stuck my head through the opening, the entire structure turned to dust around me in the blink of an eye and disappeared. There was no trace of it. Suddenly I was lifted up into the air and whisked away high in the sky. In rapid-fire movie clips as it were I was taken to different places around the world; I could see them from the air above. Finally I saw what appeared to be heavenly sights that were not of this world. Then the vision ended as abruptly as it had started. The vision appeared to take a few minutes.

The dream

Needless to say I was amazed at what I had seen. In view of my giving up the pastorate in just another week to live by faith, I wanted to know what the Lord was showing me. And so I prayed to the Lord to reveal to me the meaning of the vision. I then fell into a sleep during which the He gave me a dream. The quality of the dream was identical to that of the vision which I had just seen. In the dream I was riding in a vehicle which I can only describe as similar to a train car. I was the only one in the “train.” However, there was no locomotive pulling the car and no one operating it. The car was moving over the ground at very high speed all by itself. Nor was it traveling on rails as normal trains do; it did not touch the ground at all. And I was simply a helpless passenger on the train looking out the windows in wonder as it powered ahead irresistibly.

The train did not slow down regardless of where it went. When it ascended a steep mountain its speed was not diminished in the slightest. I was terrified when it rounded a sharp curve high up on the mountain but kept going at full speed. Amazingly it stayed on course and did not go flying off the mountain as I thought it surely would.

In the car I was taken to all kinds of distant places around the world. Finally I saw glorious sights which appeared heavenly.

Then I woke up. Though I did not understand the meaning of the vision and the ensuing dream, I felt that the Lord was somehow telling me that He would be with me as I left the pastorate in one more week to live by faith in Him. At that time we had one daughter about to start college at New York University and two younger ones to follow.

The fulfillment of the vision and dream for us personally

The following year in 2000 I went on a mission trip to North India as one of the team members. I was given an opportunity to preach in open-air evangelistic crusades, and I witnessed the Lord heal the sick miraculously to confirm the message of the gospel. During our nine years as missionaries in Indonesia, the Lord had taught us how to heal the sick as Jesus did in the gospels and as He taught and commanded His disciples (Luke 9:1-2; 10:9). Because of the many miracles which took place through us and the Indonesian disciples we had trained, many who had never heard the gospel before came to saving faith in Christ. On that mission trip to India in 2000 I began to minister to the infirm in the same way, and many were healed.

Then I decided to train the Indian believers, including those who had just received Jesus Christ, how to heal the sick as I had learned from the Scriptures while we served in Indonesia. And as these believers laid hands on the infirm and exercised their authority in the name of Jesus Christ, people were being healed. I was so excited to be able to give away what the Lord had so freely given to me.

When I returned to the United States from this short mission trip, I knew what the Lord wanted me to do. I was to train ordinary believers to heal the sick and cast out demons as Jesus did and as He taught and commanded His disciples to do when He sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God. The ultimate purpose would be the fulfillment of the Great Commission.

Since then we have taught The Elijah Challenge to tens of thousands of believers in 37 nations, including pastors, evangelists, and missionaries. Some of these have gone on to have very powerful ministries in miraculous healing and are also training others as they themselves were trained. We now witness miraculous healings every time we teach and when we preach the gospel. In India, churches are been impacted and new churches are being planted following the preaching of the gospel accompanied by miraculous healings performed through trained servants of God. Unreached people groups are now being reached by disciples we have trained. The gospel can be preached much more effectively to the lost when miraculous healings confirm the truth of the gospel to them.

As we train the Lord’s disciples, we are beginning to see the fulfillment of John 14:12 in which Jesus promised that those who believe in Him will do the works that He did, including the miraculous works of healing the sick and casting out demons.

The Lord is graciously fulfilling the vision and dream which He gave to me in June 1999. I now understand their meaning more fully.

The drab, unpainted concrete-like structure which I saw in the vision represented my ministry as a traditional church pastor. As the structure had turned to dust before my eyes, so my ministry as a local pastor had disappeared. The Lord has since then taken us to distant nations around the globe to teach and preach. The speeding “train” in my dream was not anchored to the ground on rails and did not touch the ground. Instead it was carried by the Spirit and powered by the Spirit. And that is what the Lord has so graciously done for us since 2000. Wherever we go the enemy has not been able to stand against us and we see victory.

He has graciously fulfilled many prophecies made over us by His prophets over the years, all of which have been consistent in theme with the vision and the dream He gave me in 1999. One such fulfilled prophesy is:

2 Samuel 7:8 This is what the LORD Almighty says: I took you from the pasture, from tending the flock… 9 I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you.

We are extremely grateful to the Lord.

The wider meaning of the vision?

But now (March 2012) we are sensing for the first time that the vision and dream might not only be for ourselves personally, but perhaps prophetic in a wider sense.

We believe that the teaching and practices of the Nicolaitans (Revelation 2:6 & 15) which Jesus hates are alive and well to varying degrees in the Church today. This teaching erects a wall of separation between a special, professional class of clergymen and the “lay people” who are forever subject to their authority. Only the elite class of clergy are entitled to perform ecclesiastical duties. The Roman Catholic Church of course excelled in the teaching of the Nicolaitans. This in part resulted in the Protestant Reformation over 500 years ago which sought to reinstate the “priesthood of all believers” according Revelation 1:6, 1 Peter 2:5 & 9, and especially John 14:12.

However, the Reformation fell short. Today the Nicolaitan teaching is still firmly embedded in the Church of Jesus Christ. The result is the failure of the Church to fulfill the Great Commission in which Christ commanded us to make disciples of all nations. God’s people are not being discipled to maturity, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ (Ephesians 4:13). They are not bearing much fruit—the evidence by which they show themselves to be disciples of Jesus Christ (John 15:8). Most so-called believers bear little fruit at all for Jesus.

We believe this is the result of the Nicolaitan establishment in the Church today.

Before Christ returns, the Great Commission must be fulfilled. If His return is near, then it may mean that He will seek to destroy the Nicolaitan establishment He hates which has spread like a cancer through much of His Church in varying degrees.

The teaching of the Nicolaitans

The wider meaning of the structure which turned to dust

At the beginning of the vision which the Lord gave me in June 1999, I saw a drab-looking, unpainted concrete-like structure by the side of the road where I was walking. When I stuck my head in an opening in one of the walls to look inside the structure, it suddenly turned to dust around me and disappeared. Up until now I had interpreted this structure to symbolize my ministry as a local pastor which had turned to dust, setting me free to do what I am now doing around the world. But now I am sensing that the meaning of the structure could be much broader than that.

Could that concrete-like structure also represent the prison—the Nicolaitan establishment—which has kept believers from maturing to become fruitful disciples of Jesus Christ? The victims of the Nicolaitan system also include the many thousands of frustrated pastors around the world who are unfulfilled in their calling to equip God’s people for works of service. Well-meaning and sincere pastors and ministers are just as much victims of the Nicolaitan system as are the believers who have been imprisoned by it. Because of the very nature of the system, their “church members” will never mature to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

Of course, in the Church there are those who have personally benefited from the teaching of the Nicolaitans, and will continue to hold to it. They have power and wealth, and these of course are exhilarating and addictive. These are the ones Christ spoke of who come in His name, claiming, “I am the anointed one,” and will deceive many (Matthew 24:5). In Greek the word Messiah means “anointed one.”

Is it possible that during these last days the Lord is turning this Nicolaitan prison to dust, setting the Church free to be the Church in order to fulfill the words He spoke two thousand years ago?

John 14:12 Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.

Only then will we fulfill the Great Commission. Only then will Jesus Christ return

GOD HEART AND HEALING!

Manfaat Kegigihan dalam Penyembuhan Orang Sakit

PENGAJARAN – MELAYANI ORANG SAKIT

Kebiasaan yang lama sangat sulit untuk dihilangkan apalagi jika kita berpikir bahwa kebiasaan lama kita merupakan hal yang benar sesuai dengan ajaran kekristenan. Kita menolak perubahan karena kita curiga tingkah laku yang baru itu tidak benar.

Salah satu pandangan orang percaya di mana-mana adalah jika kita mendoakan seseorang yang sakit kita hanya perlu melakukannya sekali saja. Bagi mereka sembuh atau tidak sembuh bukan urusan kita tapi urusan Allah yang penting kita sudah melakukannya. Berbeda dengan orang yang melayani orang yang dikuasai roh jahat. Kita menengking setan-setan yang membuat dia terikat dengan melakukannya berulang-ulang.

Sebagai contoh jika ada orang yang sakit di tengah kelompok sel atau jemaat kita bisa saja diminta untuk mendoakannya. Jika orang yang sakit ada di situ kita meminta dia maju ke depan dan mendoakannya. Seandainya dia sakit magh kronis dan saat itu sedang menderita kita sering berdoa dengan cara demikian, “ Bapa, dalam nama Yesus kami berdoakan supaya engkau menyembuhkan si Anu dengan kuasaMu sehingga dia dapat pulih kembali seperti semula. Berkati obat-obatan yang dia makan atau dokter yang merawat dia. Dalam nama Yesus Amin.” Kita kemudian tersenyum dan dia juga tersenyum dan berterima kasih kepada kita sudah mendoakannya. Kita tidak berani bertanya apakah sudah ada perubahan. Dan kita melanjutkan acara. Ini seperti usaha baik yang kita sudah lakukan dan kita berharap ada kesembuhan. Tuhan sering menjawab doa kita dan menyembuhkan orang tersebut tapi lebih banyak tidak terjadi kesembuhan dalam waktu singkat. Orang tersebut sembuh setelah dia berobat dan menghabiskan waktu untuk memperbaiki cara hidupnya yang salah. Pokoknya tidak ada kesembuhan ilahi dalam cara ini. Ini kesembuhan yang terjadi biasa-biasa seperti praktek medis normal. Kita tidak juga menyalahkan hal terjadi. Kemungkinan lain orang tersebut tidak pulih bahkan lebih parah lagi.

Kami sedang diajar untuk percaya bahwa Tuhan telah memberikan tenaga dan otoritas kepada kita untuk menyembuhkan orang secara superanatural. Tuhan ingin menunjukan mujizat kesembuhan untuk membuktikan bahwa Ia adalah Tuhan dan kita adalah utusan Tuhan . Supaya orang-orang yang sakit dan yang menyaksikan kesembuhan dapat lebih percaya kepada Tuhan Yesus.

Kami juga belajar bahwa kita memerlukan kegigihan untuk mempraktekan tenaga dan kuasa kepada orang-orang yang sakit. Ini ibarat mendorong lemari perlahan demi perlahan sampai lemari itu tergeser.

Selain contoh Tuhan Yesus, kami telah melihat bahwa ketekunan unntuk mendoakan sampai 5x atau sampai kita merasa sudah cukup sering menghasilkan perubahan yang nyata kepada orang-orang sakit sehingga dia sembuh total. Kita juga tidak berhenti pada kesembuhan 50% atay 70% kita inging seseorang sembuh 100%.

Memang bisa terjadi kita hanya berhenti 50% karena waktu yang tidak memungkinkan sehingga kita dapat melanjutkan itu pada kesempatan lain.

Suatu waktu saya mendapat kabar bahwa ayah dari salah satu saudara kita dalam Kristus kena penyakit stroke sehingga ia hampir lumpuh. Karena dia tinggal di kota lain saya berkata bahwa saya akan membantu mendoakannya lewat telepon genggam. Saya mempersiapkan diri dalam doa dengan mengadakan pengakuan iman bahwa Tuhan berkuasa dan dapat melakukan mjizat saat ini sama seperti dia melakukan 2000 tahun yang lalu. Kemudian sesuai dengan kesepakatan kami bersama saya mendoakannya lewat telepon genggam. Hari itu tidak terjadi apa-apa atau bapak itu tidak mengalami perubahan walau saya sudah melakukan berulang kali. Saya merasa belum puas tapi karena waktu dan kondisi saya bilang saya akan lakukan kembali esok atau beberapa hari lagi. Kemudian esok harinya kami saya mengambil otoritas dari jarak jauh dan terjadi perubahan sehingga kondisinya lebih baik. Saya melakukan lagi pada hari berikut dan akhirnya Bapak itu sembuh dan kembali normal.

Kejadian yang mirip dengan itu sewaktu saya melayani orang buta di dekat rumah saya. Orang itu menderita kebutaan total tiba-tiba dan dokter tidak tahu penyebabnya. Saya kemudian melayaninya dalam dua atau tiga kali pertemuan di mana hari petama tidak terjadi apa-apa. Hari kedua saya dia sudah dapat melihat bayang2 dan kemudian hari berikutnya sampai saya mendengar dia sembuh total.

Orang-orang di dekat kita seperti keluarga kita, gereja ataupun rekan kerja harus diberi tahu bahwa kita melakukan dengan cara yang berbeda dengan kebiasaan lama tapi ini sangat alkitabiah. Kita butuh kegigihan untuk mempraktekan pengusiran dengan otoritas Yesus Kristus yang telah diberikan kepada kita agar penyakit-penyakit dan setan-setan yang menyebabkan penyakit pergi.

Berikut cerita dari Brother William pada KKR yang di selenggarakan di Niger , Afrika Barat pada bulan November 2002 . Cerita ini dapat menjadi inspirasi kita untuk melakukan hal yang sama di berbagaik kota atau desa di Indonesia . Kita butuh kegigihan selain iman dan keberanian. Jika Tuhan Yesus perlu melakukan hal yang sama dalam kesempatan untuk menyembuhkan orang buta, siapakah kita jika menolak untuk melakukan penyembuhan untuk kedua kalinya.

Setelah sesi pelatihan terakhir sebagai pelaksanaan KKR, saya mengirimkan laporan berikut kepada para pendoa syafat kami di negara saya:

“Saya memperhatikan bahwa orang-orang percaya yang telah saya latih sesungguhnya tidak memberikan pelayanan kesembuhan dengan keberanian dan kegigihan selama dua pertemua gereja pertama pra-KKR. Meskipun orang-orang disembuhkan, saya rasa hal tersbut dapat lebih ditingkatkan. Mereka memerlukan pelayanan yang lebih banyak lagi. Jadi pada pertemuan ketiga pra-KKR yang dilaksanakan beberapa jam lalu, saya tidak hanya memberitakan Injil kepada orang-orang belum percaya, namun saya juge memberi pelatiihan yang lebih banyak lagi kepada orang-orang percaya.

Tidaklah cukup bagi saya untuk mempelajari Alkitab mengenai cara Yesus menyembuhkan , namun saya memutuskan harus benar-benar menumpangkan tangan para orang-orang yang menderita kelemahan tubuh dan menyembuhkan mereka di hadapan setiap orang supaya mereka yang melihat hal tersebut dapat mengetahui cara melakukannya.

Biasanya saya hanya melayani dalam penyembuhan massal. Orang-orang yang disembuhkan naik ke podim untuk bersaksi dan yang belum sembuh tidak naik ke panggung. Hal tersebut relatif “bebas dari resiko”. Namun saya harus menunjukkan kepada orang-orang percaya bahwa saya bersedia melakukan tindakan berani yang beresiko bagi diri saya sendiri dengan memberi pelayanan kesembuhan secara perorangan kepada orang-orang yang menderita kelemahan tubuh. Saya harus melakukan hal tersebut dengan memulainya pada barisan terdepan jika saya mengharapkan orang-orang percaya melakukan hal yang sama.

Salah satu pemimpin gereja setempat kami mengadakan KKR malam itu adalah seorang hamba Tuhan yang sangat kreatid. Alih-alih mengadakan KKR di gerejanya, dia memutuskan untuk menyelenggarakan di tempat terbuka, tepat di tepi jalan yang sangat ramai. Dia mendirikan sebuah panggung , memasang lampu dan sound system yang berdaya besar. Ratusan orang berkumpul tidak hanya orang-orang percaya, namun juga orang-orang yang belum percaya yang terpikan dengan hiruk pikuk dan nyanyian kelompok paduan suara yang dia organisisr. Itu adalah KKR mini di tempat terbuka.

Pertama-tama saya membagikan kepada orang-orang percaya mengenai identitas Yesus sebagai terarang dunia (Yohanes 8:12). Kemudian saya mengajar dari Markus 8:22-25 mengenai cara Yesus memberikan pelayanan sampai dua kali kepada seorang buta sebelum ia sembuh total dan dari Markus 7:32-35 mengenai cara Yesus membuka telinga seorang tuli. Kami akan melakukan hal yang sama malam itu. Saya mengumumkan dengan iman dalama nama Yesus bahwa saya akan menjadi orang pertama yang akan melayani kesembuhan kepada orang-orang buta (atau orang-orang yang mengalami lemah daya penglihatannya) di atas panggung sehingga orang-orang percaya dapat mempelajari cara melakukannya.

Empat orang naik ke panggung . Pertama-tama saya melayani seorang wanita muda yang penglihatannya buruk. Dia bersasksi kepada massa bahwa dia dapat melihat dengan baik setelah sayan melayaninya sampai empat kali. Namun kesembuhan pecelikan mata yang nyata terjadi kemuda pada seorang wanita lanjut usia yang nyaris buta dan tuli total. Ketiak saya pertama-tama menienggking roh penyebab kebutahan tersebut dan memerintahkan matanya agar terbuka, tidak ada perubahan. Saya bertanay kepada massa mengenai apa yang harus saya lakukan – haruskan saya berkecil hati, malu , dan menyerah? Tidak ! Mereka menjawab sesuai dengan apa yang telah saya ajarkan pada mereka. Kemudian, saya memberikan pelayanan untuk kedua kalinya. Dia melihat ke sekeliling , namun tampaknya penglihatannya tidak mengalami peningkatan. Saya berpaling kepada massa dan bertanya kepada mereka mengenai apa yang harus saya lakukan. “ Lanjutkan. “ mereka berteriak.

Sekali lagi saya menengking kebutaan tersebut di dalam nama Yesus. Dia berkata dapat melihat sedikit lebih baik ! Massa menyatakan dukungan nya dan mengucapkan syukur kepada Tuhan. “Apa yang harus saya lakukan sekarang? Saya bertanya kepada mereka. Mereka meminta saya untuk melakukan layanan sekali lagi. Akhirnya Tuhan membuka matanya secara total dan dia dapat melihat dengan baik !

Saya memutuskan untuk tidak berpuas diri dengan keberhasilan tersebut. Saya mengatakan kepada mereka bahwa kami akan membukan telinganya, menengking roh penyeban ketulian, dan memerintahkan telingannya agar terbuka. Tidak ada sesuatupun yang terjadi sampai beberapa kali. Tidak hanya itu! Dia mulai merasakan sakit di rahangnya setelah saya mendoakan telinganya. Hal ini tentu saja menandakan keberadaan roh jahat dalam diri wanita tersebut. Roh jahat tersebut tidak suka dengan tengkingan saya dan melakukan balas dendam. Dengan kekuatan yang diperbaharui, saya menengking roh tersebut dan memerintahkannya untuk keluar. Rasa sakit tersebut tetap ada sekalipun saya telah berusaha berkali-kali. (Mungkin saya seharusnya berhenti saja ketika saya telah berada dalam posisi menguntungkan setelah mata tersebut terbuka?!) Massa menunggu.

Tiba-tiba sebuah ide terlintas di benak saya – ide tersebut pasti berasal dari Tuhan. Saya bertanya keapda wanita tersebut melalui seorang yang berkomunikasikan dalam bahasa isyarat jika dia adlah seorang pengikut Yesus, dan dia menjawa bahwa dia bukan pengikut Yesus. Kemudian saya paham. Saya berkata kepada massa bahwa Allah telah menunjukkan belas kasihan kepadanya dengan menyembuhkan pendengarannya, dia harus menanggapi belas kasihan Allah dengan menerima Kristus. Dia memberikan indikasi bahwa dia menginginkan Yesus dalam hatinya.

Saya tahu bahwa musuh sedang beroperasi dalam diri wanita tersebut .. saya memasukan jari-jari saya ke dalam telingannya untuk terakhir kali dan menengking ketulian tersebut. Seketika itu juga dia tersenyum lebar — dia dapat mendengar ! Massa bersukacita, Tanpak kendali, mereka memuji Tuhan.

Kemudian saya menyuruh orang-orang percaya — yang baru saja menyaksikan pengajaran Tuhan dari atas panggung – untuk menghampiri masssa dan memberikan pelayanan kesembuhan ekepada orang-orang yang memerlukannya. Dengan iman yang besar, keberanian, dan kegigihan, mereka menyerang pekerjaan setan ketika mereka meletakkan tangan mereka atas orang-orang yang menderita kelemahan tubuh . Banyak orang disembuhkan dari berbeagai kelemahan tubuh melalui orang-orang percaya tersebut dan naik ke panggung untuk bersaksi. KKR tersebut sungguh luar biasa. Orang-orang percaya di Niamey merasa sangat dikuatkan , dan orang-orang yang belum percaya telah menyaksikan kuasa nama Yesus dengan amta mereka sendiri! KKR mini tesebut merupakan cara yang sempurna untuk mempersiakan malam pembukaan KKR besar kami yang diadakan esok harinya.

Jangan takut untuk mengulangi jika usaha pertama kelihatan gagal. Penyakit dan setan-setan punya sifat mempertahankan diri dan mereka mau melihat apakah kita cukup berani dan serius mengusir mereka. Jika kita memaksa mereka tidak dapat bertahan. Jika kita menyerah mereka tertawa.

Kita lebih dari pada pemenang ! Taklukan musuh untuk kemuliaan Allah. Penyakit dan iblis adalah musuh-musuh yang harus dihancurkan yang melanda orang-orang belum percaya. Ketika penyakit dihancurkan dalam diri mereka dengan nama Yesus maka Tuhan Yesus dipermuliakan.

Bagi orang-orang percaya juga berlaku hal demikian. Tuhan sudah menebus kita . Oleh bilur-bilur-Nya kita disembuhkan sama seperti dosa-dosa kita sudah diampuni oleh dariah Kristus. Namun iblis dan penyakit masih tidak mau menyerah dan masih menggagalkan kehidupan orang percaya yang tidak mengetahui bahwa mereka sudah dikalahkan.~davyhermanus
Ucapkan doa yang dapat mengusir iblis yang mengikat seseorang atau anda!

contoh doa!
Yesus saya usir iblis ketulian,roh bisu,roh kesedihan,ikatan-ikatan iblis dalam diri saya dihancurkan dalam nama Yesus.Saya mengucapkan berkat atas setiap hal yang saya jamah dan lakukan dalam nama Yesus.Saya hancurkan segala kubu yang dibangunkan manusia menentang pengenalan akan Engkau dalam nama Yesus.Roh pengendali dan roh orang kuat saya hancurkan kuasanya dalam nama Yesus. Saya mengundang kekuatan keberanian dan pelepasan daripada ikatan dan kutuk-kutuk keturunan dalam nama Yesus.Dalam nama Yesus saya hancurkan segala pertahanan iblis dalam diri saya.Roh dendam,roh kelemahan,roh penyakit keluar dalam nama Yesus.

Soar High!

Isaiah 40:31
“But they that wait upon the LORD
shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings as EAGLES
they shall run, and not be weary;
and they shall walk, and not faint”

Did you know that an eagle knows when a storm is approaching long before it breaks? The eagle will fly to some high spot and wait for the winds to come.
When the storm hits, it sets its wings so that the wind will pick it up and lift it above the storm. While the storm rages, below the eagle is soaring above it. The eagle does not escape the storm, it simply uses the storm to lift it higher. It rises on the winds that bring the storm.
When the storms of life come upon us … and all of us will experience them … we can rise above them by setting our minds and our belief toward God.
The storms do not have to overcome us, we can allow God’s power to lift us above them. God enables us to ride the winds of the storm that bring sickness, tragedy, failure, and disappointment into our lives. We can soar above the storm.
Remember, it is not the burdens of life that weigh us down, it is how we handle them.

~ Author Unknown

The Message

STANDING FIRM FOR WHAT GOD PUT INTO MY HEART

In a series of prior postings I have communicated how a life threatening illness sent me to the emergency room where the doctors did not expect me to live through the night. Being close to death, my spirit left my body and I experienced the truth of our spiritual reality. I traveled to and swam in the Lake of Fire (also called the second death) where I experienced unimaginable horrors. I then went into Hell where I was confronted by Satan and experienced the incredible hatred that he has for me. Next I traveled to the Judgment Seat of Christ and heard the words from God that no one wants to hear, which were, “Why should you But I made a promise to God that I would be better if He would work with me. The next thing that I knew was that I woke up in the intensive care center. I had lived through the night but what was about to become clear was that the battle for my life was not over. My problem was an exploding pancreas was filling my body with powerful digestive enzymes capable of decomposing the internal organs of my body. So in effect, my body was disintegrating from the inside out. To slow down enzyme production I was placed on a strict fast until such time as a more definitive direction could be made. Then suddenly my vocal cords became swollen and choked off my air supply and an emergency operation was performed that saved my life. Another operation was performed to insure that I had proper levels of nutrition entering my body. Next my doctors wanted to perform an operation to repair my broken pancreas. But a second opinion told another story and set off another battle for my life. Here is the rest of the story.

The good news of the second opinion was forwarded to the hospital staff, and I was not surprised that they totally disagreed with it. Nor was I surprised when the hospital surgeon warned me that I would experience serious consequences if I did not have the operation. The use of the word “would,” was definitely deployed to strike fear and doubt into my mind. Perhaps they really believed what they were saying. Or, perhaps they just wanted to save face. The thought in my mind at that time was, “surgeons only make the big money when they operate.”
But this was a full assault and as I was soon to find out, they were my immediate family members as well. It wasn’t very long before they were also trying to persuade me to go forward with the operation as well. After all, they were fearful of losing me.
I knew in my heart from the very beginning that I would live. I must have picked up this positive attitude simply by making it through the first night. I, therefore, rejected the bad report and never, ever entertained it in my mind or heart. You see, I had believed in a good report even before there was a good report to believe. In my heart, I knew that I did not need the operation, and I told the hospital doctors and everyone else who came to see me.
This was not faith on my part but rather a knowing. I told them that I would not have the operation. Many people tried to change my mind but I told them that I would not. The doctors tried several different strategies to get me to recant. My answer was always unwavering and to the point. Unfortunately, they pressed me to the point that I had to rudely tell them that this was the end of the line and that there would be not be any more discussion about the operation.
Interestingly enough, by chance I ran into this surgeon on an airport shuttle bus several years later. I was in much better health at the time and was in very good shape and had lost a lot of weight because I had been playing quite a lot of racquetball. Because of this he must not have recognized me, so I introduced myself. Would you believe that he started preaching to me about the operation again? I guess he just did not get the message. He refused to believe the test results that showed that the pseudo-cysts had disappeared. There was nothing left on which to operate! Interesting, isn’t it.
This is how it is with the unbelieving. They see with their eyes, but their minds don’t comprehend. They hear with their ears, but they don’t understand the truth.
It has been twenty-five years since all of this happened and, thank God, there have never been any repercussions from my decision at that time. Sometimes you just have to go with the message that God has put in your heart despite all of the negatives going on around you.live?”
Joseph W.Gordon

100 Million Souls! (www.cfan.org)

Efesus 5:14

…BANGUNLAH,hai kamu yang tidur dan BANGKITLAH dari antara orang mati dan Kristus akan BERCAHAYA atas kamu.”

God Power/Healing

BENARKAH DIA (ISA/YESUS)SEORANG BOMOH?

 

Orang Farisi Yang Munafik menuduh KUASA yang Dia guna berasal dari Roh Jahat.Berhati-hati dengan orang yang mempunyai ragi/pengajaran orang farisi.

(Lihat Lukas 12:1b)…..Waspadalah terhadap ragi,yaitu KEMUNAFIKAN orang FARISI.

(SEBUAH PERTANYAAN:APAKAH KITA MEMPUNYAI ROH seperti orang farisi ini?)

 

1.Apakah Kristus Sepakat dengan Iblis?(2 Korintus 6:15)Tidak mungkin Kristus sepakat dengan iblis.Apakah persamaannya antara orang Kristen dengan orang bukan Kristen…

2.Sebuah tuduhan yang dilempar oleh orang farisi.…..”Orang ini hanya bisa mengusir roh jahat kerana Beelzebul Kepala roh-roh jahat telah memberi KUASA itu kepadaNya.”(Matius 12:24)

3.Bertahankah sebuah Kerajaan yang berpecah-pecah?Begitu juga di dalam Kerajaan Iblis,kalau satu kelompok mengusir kelompok yang lain,maka Kerajaan Iblis itu sudah terpecah-pecah dan akan runtuh.(Matius 12:26)

4.Adakah Roh Allah mengusir iblis dan melakukan MUJIZAT dengan Kuasa roh jahat?Tidak,(Tetapi Aku mengusir roh jahat dengan“KUASA ROH ALLAH”.Dan itu berarti bahwa Allah sudah mulai memerintah di tengah-tengah kalian.(Matius 12:28)

Tetapi Yesus berkata,”Jangan melarang dia sebab tidak seorangpun yang membuat keajaiban atas nama-Ku,dapat langsung menjelek-jelekkan Aku.

Sebab orang yang tidak melawan kita,berarti berpihak kepada kita.(Markus 9:39-40)Suatu ketika ,saya menghadiri sebuah kebaktian yang pengkhotbahnya diundang dari luar negara.Ketika ingin pergi,Roh Kudus cuba menahan untuk pergi,namun saya tetap pergi kerana diajak terus oleh seorang teman.

Ketika kebaktian pengkhotbah itu dengan lantang menggosipkan seorang hamba Tuhan yang diurapi dan menimbulkan kekeliruan dibenak banyak orang yang datang.Dalam perjalanan pulang Roh Kudus memberi saya ayat-ayat di atas.

Tanpa iman kita akan  menerima semua gossip tanpa usul periksa.Jadilah percaya bukan kerana apa kata orang.

 

Kesembuhan & Pelepasan

Kesembuhan & Pelepasan – bagian 1, posted with vodpod

 

Bangkit Dari Kematian

Bangkit Dari Kematian, posted with vodpod

 

Yesus Kau penyembuhku

Yesus Kau penyembuhku

Jesus  you are my healer

Yesus Kau penyembuhku
Yesus Kau yang mencukupi
Yesus Kau yang bebaskanku
Yesus Kau Tuhan

Kau bri hidupMu bagiku
Berlimpah kebaikanMu
Kini kusrahkan hidupku
BagiMu Tuhan 2x

Jesus You are my healer
Jesus You are my provider
Jesus You are my deliver
Jesus You are Lord

You gave Your love to set me free
You gave my life abundantly
And now I give You all my life
Jesus You are Lord 2x

Before the Mercy Seat of God

Before the Mercy Seat of God
(The Christine Sobiat Story)

 By: Christine Sobiat

It took us two hours to go 20 miles because the road was lined with bodies.  I was in Goma, traveling with a group of American Medical Relief Team workers, who came to respond to the need caused by the Rwanda 1994 refugees influx. This was their first day, and it seemed none of them were prepared for the sights. On the roadside, a baby was crying next to its dead mother.  Past the third roundabout, thousand of tired refugees were crossing the Rwanda/Zaire border where the noise of heavy weapons could be heard, in the last battle of 1994 war. As people fled to Zaire, the many miles they had to walk, the lack of food, water and shelter caused cholera and many more diseases to ravage through the masses of refugees fleeing their homes.  Under the eucalyptus trees, numerous bodies were lying on the ground.  The nearly dead joined the corps, where they had to wait for death!   These were my compatriots, human beings like me!  Seeing them dying like grass pushed me to think about what was happening to their souls after death.

Many people have never seen such a thing! I wish I could describe the scene so that everyone could picture it, but my words are inadequate. Abandoned and lost kids were crying, despair was on everyone’s face. There was horror and anger and finally silence. The team was so shocked! Some of them called it “the road of despair”, others “hell on earth”…

That night, I could not get sleep.  Instead, each scene of what happened to my country, Rwanda, and my family came into my memory.    I had heard of wars, I had learned and read about them but in my entire life I never thought I would live through a war.  How wrong I was! 

In 1990, a war broke out in Rwanda and many people lost their lives during the fighting. Day in and day out, the situation grew worse. I would find myself many times, in a place where I could hear nothing but the sound of shooting and bombing.  I was in places where many were killed, but not me.  WHY? WAS I A HERO?

During those hard times, I would make numerous vows to God, “If only you could protect me now, I would praise you forever.”  But, as soon I was safe, I would break my vows and take it for granted and convince myself that I was a hero. I believed there was a God but I would never turn to Him until I was in trouble. What a selfish relationship! Does it sound familiar?!

April 5, 1994: For three years now my country had been at war and this was the worst it had ever been. The afternoon of April 5th was unlike anything I had ever known.  The sky had a red tinge and the atmosphere was oppressive, something was going to happen, but what? 

I was visiting my Sister Francoise in the capital city, Kigali;  she was married a year ago. It was exciting for me to visit her and see her baby for the first time. That afternoon, did I know it was the first and the last time to hold that cute baby? Did I also know it was my last time to see Francoise?  Francoise was older than me by two years. With her, I never felt parentless even though I had been orphaned for years.

That afternoon, we snatched a few hours’ conversation, but before evening came, I changed my mind to stay over night. I felt pushed by something inside me to go to the countryside where my grandparents lived. My sister and her husband could not understand why I changed my mind so quickly. We argued without agreeing and finally I left promising to come back again. Was I really the person  making the decision?

It was a party when I got to grandma’s house but in a matter of time, this  turned out to be a tragedy. As we were listening to the evening news, we heard that the plane of Rwanda President was hijacked and brought down. At once, the President was killed with some members of the congress. I knew at once the president’s death would be followed by massacres because since the beginning of that war, an indescribable hatred had been growing between two tribes, Hutus (many on the president’s side) and Tutsis on the rebel’s side. It then happened: Killings in which more than 800,000 people lost their lives in a period of 3 months.

My first thoughts went to Francoise and her husband Vivy and their little Cindy.  They were living in the capital where ways were immediately closed and where killings took place first.  Later on, a report got to us that shortly after the incident, Francoise and her family got tortured and killed. Had I not gone to grandma, I surely should have been killed as well! Until today, I am reminded of that fact.

Lots of individual as well as mass killings took place before everyone’s eyes. I can remember those days when houses, churches were burned with thousands of people inside. Those days when kids whose parents were massacred would spend days and nights living in the parish cemetery, without any care. Those days, when before someone would get killed, he would be given only two choices: Either to dig his grave before being killed or to be killed and never be buried. I remember those days when I lost many of my family members and best friends… I remember those days when sin increased exceedingly, but what an awesome God we have! “… WHERE SIN INCREASED, GRACE ABOUNDED ALL THE MORE.”

Through sweat and tears, I came out that war safe. I ran to a neighbor country – Zaire, where I met the American relief team and started my life as a refugee. Yes, I looked back and decided to not go back to Rwanda. That country of horror, nightmares and bad memories. I was sure I will get peace in Zaire. However, a few days later, I figured I was wrong. IT DOES NOT MATTER WHERE YOU GO, IT DOES NOT MATTER HOW PERFECT YOU WOULD TRY TO BE, WITHOUT JESUS YOU WILL NEVER HAVE PEACE.

Who Am I? Where Do I come From? Why am I here? Where am I going?

As I write this, I have a picture of what took place that day when I approached my mother to ask where I came from and who made me. I remember the story very well! I was turning six and I had that question burning inside me. I could not have peace until I talked to my mother who told me that she and my dad had made me. Still, my question remained unanswered because I was wondering who made my parents. That day, when I talked to more people, I learned that my parents were made by my grandparents. I was not satisfied then either. I wanted to know that one who is at the beginning of all; the one who is the maker of all things.  “It will also come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear.” (Isaiah 65:24) 

It is after all these questions that my mother started reading for us the Bible. What a night it was when the first chapter of the first book in the Bible was read! “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth…” After the reading, I had no more questions! I was so amazed by this story that every word read was engraved into my memory and became real. Yes, there was a God who is above all and who is mighty that He created the earth and all that is in it! A God who created me and my parents and my grandparents. I understood I am on this earth for a purpose: To do His will, obey Him and have intimate relationship with Him…and that one day, I will be with Him in heaven.

At that age, I had much interest in the living word of God. However, since I did not know how to read, I would depend on my mom to hear this Word of Life again. Unfortunately, she could not read the Bible as much as I wanted her to. In my family we were ten children. Besides that, my parents adopted more children and they had therefore to work hard to raise us. We were mostly depending on my father who had a good job. My mother would be busy taking care of us.  It was not possible for her to read me the Bible anytime I wanted. Besides, that book, the Holy Bible was considered so holy in the house that she would not trust everyone to touch it.

Two years later, I was in my second grade of school. I so quickly learned and I started reaching for this Bible and read it with passion. My mother was not happy with that because most of the time, I would not know how to take care of it. However, I would steal it anyways and read in a hidden place. What a joy and hope I had as I read the book of Revelation! The word of God became so real.  Within me, I honestly made this prayer: “Master, God of the universe, let me have my name written in the book of life”. The following days, I felt God so real. I was so little, yet I had a relationship with Him.

Growing up, my mother used to take us to a Catholic Church every Sunday. There again, the word of God was read and I enjoyed it. Once back home, before we go to sleep, she would lead us in long memorized prayers. Those memorized prayers repeated over and over again did not make much sense to me compared to the relationship I had started with God. But I would stay in tune and say them anyway.

As I was turning ten years of age, my mother’s health started degrading considerably. She was most of the times taken to the hospital, very sick, and since my elder brothers and sisters were either abroad or in boarding high schools, I would spend lots of nights at the hospital watching over her. In the morning I would go to school. That was a hard time for me. Seeing my mother suffering; I was even afraid that I may lose her any time. Talking about fear! I started living fear from Monday to Sunday. Like Job, what I feared most came upon me and what I dreaded befell on me. Both parents died of sickness, first my father, then my mother (in 1984 and in 1985).

There I was an orphan, at the age of 12! I saw God taking care of everything I ever needed. My siblings were graduating and they were blessed that I never lacked of anything a Rwandese child would receive from his parents. However, because of my surroundings, my love for God grew so cold. Of course, I kept on going to church not because I loved the Lord but because I had lost my first love and had become religious. It came to the point where I could barely make a true prayer and finally I gave up. By that time I believed that by only being a good person, following the rules, I would possibly enter heaven, ignoring that Salvation is not the result of my own work. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.”

Goma-Zaire: October, 29, 1996: That horrible day, I had been so worried, sending faxes to my brother-in-law Steve, who was in Denver, Colorado. I was at the office of the Lutheran World Federation where I had been a secretary for two years. A few years before, when the American team had left Goma, I was blessed to have this incredible job, where I had received raise after raise. 

When I saw the end of my life almost coming I took the phone, I did not care how big the bill would be and I rang Steve: “The war is so bad. Shooting and bombing are heard everywhere.” Those became my last words he heard from Goma. Two weeks earlier, Rwanda had engaged into a war with Zaire to bring by force all Rwandese refugees. By that time, I was living with my sister Chantal and young brother Philbert. What a terrific thing it was to go through a war again and in a foreign country.

When this Goma war started, like in the Rwandan war, our lives were in danger. Those who are believed to be on Rwanda’s side were arrested, true or supposedly. Chantal my sister got falsely arrested. I heard it from work and rushed to those I believed were my true friends. To my surprise, one by one, they refused to hide her even for one night. I cried “Listen, that’s all I have left; her life is in danger, they want to kill her.” But none would care, none were moved. 

Today, I am glad that I found Jesus. In Him I found a true friend who remains, at all times and in all circumstances. Friends may come in your life, best friends indeed; they may walk out the same way they came in. They may even leave you at the time you needed them the most… BUT JESUS REMAINS. No trials, no situations, nothing can stop Him to be there for you – anytime.

I rushed back to the new apartment I had rented. The landlord did not want my sister to be in the house. He told me “it is better for her to die alone rather than all of us.” When I was going to give up on her, a friend I never thought may help showed up and offered to take care of her. 

Evening came so quickly. As fire exchanges between the adversaries became intense, many people left their homes to run away in the mountains. Goma became desolate! The landlord urged us also to leave his house because he did not want to be in trouble having Rwandese. I looked outside, it was pulling out, thundering, so windy. I had had many flights but I wondered if I would ever make that one! I was willing to obey but my young brother resisted because the landlord did not want to give us back the money we paid for three months. We finally stayed because this guy did not want to lose that money.

Whilst everybody in that house was hiding under their beds because of many shootings, I and Phil were forced by the same guy to climb up and stay under the roof, where not only we could hardly breathe but were also exposed to much shooting and bombing. We stayed there all night long, suffering. I could not close my eyes; instead, my spirit started wandering. I had run, over two years ago from the Rwandan war, there I was again under the same war, and worst of all, I was in a foreign country. Through that noise of heavy weapons, I remembered the Bible story about Jonah. Like him, I had run from the Lord but Where can one hide from His face?

Goma-Zaire: November 13, 1996: The war was over. Rwanda had taken the town of Goma. Also in this war, many people had lost their lives. I had no other choice but to go back to that country of bad memories. 

On my way to the border, I passed by the UNHCR’s office, that huge building where we used to have our offices, serving the refugees! We had put in over two years working hard there, but everything in those offices was looted. All the files, all the work destroyed – I looked over and over again and I realized “What a waste of time. Does not the Word of God talks about riches which are never destroyed? Have I ever invested there?” 

I kept walking and there I was at the Rwanda/Zaire border, the same border I had crossed a few years earlier! During my stay in Goma, I never thought, never thought I would go back home. That was an idea I had completely buried, NOT KNOWING WHAT WAS AWAITING FOR ME THERE! In fact if I knew, I should have come back as soon as I could! 

As my feet crossed the border and as I stepped in the Rwanda territory, I felt an unusual feeling, a vibration going through my whole body, from the top of my head to my feet. Within my heart, there arose a new song “Great and mighty is God, He is a God of possible.” I never questioned, I never doubted: This was God’s work to bring me back home. With the vow I had made to never go back home in my entire life, none else would have been able to break it but God.

When I got home, I thought I was dreaming! I went to my parents’ grave and knelt down. I felt the same feeling I had when I was crossing the border. I wanted to pray but I did not know how. Looking to what used to be our farms and houses years ago, what a difference! Those houses which used to be filled with laughter and parties; those beautiful houses in that country of a thousand hills were empty, looted! No step could be heard, it was me and God. That night, I knelt down again before I would go to sleep, I had a desire to tell God how great is His work, but I had not prayed for a long time and I did not know how.

During the following days, the world was falling apart all around me. I had attacks from every side. One of those days, I saw my sister-in-law coming, tears rolling down her cheeks. I knew what she was going to tell me: “Your brothers were killed!” Yes, I knew. That week, I had had scary dreams where I saw my brothers being murdered, and now the reality was before my eyes. Since the time I lost my parents and Francoise, I had placed my total hope in my brothers, I believed they were my answer, my everything. Where was I going to lean then, since those in whom I had put my trust were gone?! Days after this event, I lived in total darkness; I could hardly make a difference between day and night.

This is where I met God! At that place where you have nothing. At that place where the world around you looks like a desert – little did I know that it is in that desert, where a precious present was wrapped – waiting for me. I am talking about the precious present, the hidden treasure that is described in Mathew 13:44. 

This is how I discovered it: Chantal had gotten this new job as a store manager. The first night when she came back from work, she looked so different. I could tell. As I watched her before she slept, she went on her knees and started talking to God with an open heart. When I inquired, she told me she was working with born again Christians who took her to a church during lunch hour. 

That night, I was sleepless. I started having a fresh flashback of all what had happened to me all these last years. In the midst of my meditation, I heard a gentle, sweet voice: “Are you ready? Where would you go if your life is required of you tonight, like it happened to your brothers?” I never argued, I immediately understood where I would go. 

Friend, when you see the glory of God, you easily find where you belong. God is not a God of confusion, it is either white or black, heaven or hell; no questions. That moment, I had no personal relationship with God and I understood where I would go. The presence of this Mighty Being stayed and became even greater in my room. 

The same gentle voice said again “Why were you not killed? Was it because you were a special person, who knew how to protect better than others?” What a gentle, comforting voice: “Can you remember the day when you made this prayer? ‘Master, God of the universe, let me have my name written in the book of life.’ At that moment, I could not help crying!

January 15, 1997: True peace, unspeakable joy, assurance…that’s what people could read so easily on my face.   It was a new day, a new life as I was walking from the stairs from Inkuru Nziza where a few minutes earlier, I saw an “Extension of Heaven on Earth.” 

First of all when I had walked in 2 hours earlier, I had no clue of what I would see. I had gotten there on time (I did not wait for Chantal to invite me, I went by myself), they were singing the first song, raising their hands, with passion; praying with assurance and praising someone they really knew, worshiping in truth and in the Spirit. 

They had something I wanted to have: Love, radiance on their faces but I could not know how to get it. As they got into the worshipping song “How Great Thou Art”, I felt the vibration again, the same feeling I had when I was crossing the border, the same feeling I had when I got home for the first time.

As the preacher rose up to speak, a war started within me. I had to fight in me the voice which was telling me “if you become like them, you will miss fun.” I did not care what the voice was telling me, I wanted to have the relationship these people had with their God; I wanted to have the freedom they had at any cost. Immediately, I heard the gentle voice of the Holy Spirit telling me “When you become like them, you will not miss fun but you will miss sin.” 

Before the service was over, in my heart I had already given my life to Jesus. The word preached was as sharp as a sword. I felt something like a blanket wrapping me from my back to my whole body. The presence of God came on me so mightily, and for the first time I tasted heaven. All worries, fear, problems, darkness & sickness vanished. 

Friend, do you know what happened? I had been suffering from my back pain for years, but as the word was being preached, Jesus healed my back. As the service was over, I stepped in front and I accepted the Lord Jesus as my Savior, to never never be the same again; to never carry again any burden, whatsoever. Apparently, there may show up problems, but it is not me who deals with them. I saw who God is, the mistake I will never make again is to not trust Him entirely. The preacher told me “Jesus now is coming to stay within you.” In reality, I did not know what he meant! “In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me and I in you.”  (John 14:20)

I knew during the whole service I had been before the mercy seat of God. Yes, mercy triumphs over judgment. I left the mercy seat, FULLY FORGIVEN, FULLY ACCEPTED, FULLY RESTORED AND FULLY SAVED. The second I stepped outside, I was different. I could not help seeing two pictures before my eyes: the old Christine and the new Christine – That time I understood what Jesus meant “Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). Yes, I was born again! That moment, if you had asked me to give up my Jesus in exchange of all the gold in the world, I would have laughed at you.

God means what He says. Jesus came in, filled me with His Holy Spirit. Before I got home, I encountered miracles after miracles. I say He came in because I could see Him working through me. When I would meet people, I wanted to grab them and let them know about this Supreme Being I had come to know. What a peace, what a joy.

From then on, I started receiving blessings, favor and grace upon grace. There came a song of praise within my heart. I started hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit, Who also taught me the Bible and I started to commune with Him (I am not talking about religion). 

Within a short time after being saved, I had almost finished reading the entire bible and I was witnessing to people. I am glad to be part of the kingdom of God and friend, I encourage you to “Be part of it  too.” The only regret I have till today is: ‘Why did I wait so long to respond to God?’ 

The Lord wants to save everyone. He has talked to you through situations and circumstances and in many other ways, but He is a gentle person. He gives you a free choice, you can choose to accept or reject Him. He will never force anyone.

Jesus said “For apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). Philippians 4: 13 says “I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me.” Friend, let me challenge you – What will you freely choose?

Eternity is a long time, life is very short….for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions. …The land of a rich man was very productive, and he began reasoning to himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?”  Then he said, “This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, ‘soul, you have many goods, laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat , drink and be merry.’  But God said to him, “You fool! This very night your soul is required of you, who will own what you have prepared? So is the man who stores up treasures for himself and is not rich toward God.” (Luke 12:15-22)

“…Make yourselves money belts which do not wear out, and unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near nor moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Thank you for taking your time to read my story. What’s yours? Please, let me hear from you. You can email me at healingstream@anointedemail.net.   I invite you to also visit my website: www.healingstream.net

Christine