This is what is wrong with us.

I am so excited.

Brother Yun is coming to Sydney this Sunday!
He is behind "The Heavenly Man".

I wanted to type out an excerpt from his autobiography explaining the iron bar non-surrender of the Western world. I don't care how harsh this is. You and I both need to hear this.

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From page 296:

Many pastors in Europe and America have told me they want to see great revival. I'm frequently asked why China is experiencing revival but most places in the West are not. This is a big question to answer, but some reasons are very apparent to me.

When I'm in the West I see all the mighty church buildings and all the expensive equipment, plush carpets and state-of-the-art sound systems. I can assure the Western church with absolute certainty that you don't need any more church buildings. Church buildings will never bring the revival you seek. The pursuit of more possessions will never bring revival. Jesus truly stated, "A man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." Luke 12:15.

The first thing needed to return to your churches is the Word of the Lord. God's Word is missing. Sure, there are many preachers and tapes and videos of Bible teaching, but so little contains that sharp truth of God's Word. It's the truth that will set you free.

Not only is knowledge of God's Word missing, but obedience to that Word. There's not much action taking place.

When revival came to believers in China, the result was thousands of evangelists being sent out to all corners of the nation, carrying fire from the altar of God with them. When God moves in the West, it seems you want to stop and enjoy His presence and blessings too long, and build an altar to your experiences.

You can never really know the Scriptures until you're willing to be changed by them.

All genuine revivals of the Lord result in believers responding with action and soul winning. When God truly moves in your heart you cannot remain silent. There will be a fire in your bones, like Jeremiah, who said, "His word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in, indeed I cannot." Jeremiah 20:9.

Furthermore, it's only when we step out in obedience and share the gospel with people that we come to know God's blessing in every are of our lives. That is why the Apostle Paul wrote to his co-worker Philemon, "I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ." Philemon 6.

I've seen people in Western churches worshipping as if they're already in heaven. Then someone invariably brings a comforting message like "My children, I love you. Don't be afraid, I am with you." I'm not opposed to such words, but why is it that nobody seems to hear a Word from the Lord like "My child, I want to send you to the slums of Asia or the darkness of Africa to be my messenger to people dying of their sin"?

Multitudes of church members in the West are satisfied with giving their minimum to God, not their maximum. I've watched men and women during offering time in church. They open their fat wallets and search for the smallest amount they can give. This type of attitude will never do! Jesus gave his whole life for us, and we give as little of our lives, time and money as we can back to God. What a disgrace! Repent!

This may sound strange, but I even miss the offerings we used to give in China. On numerous occasions the leader of a meeting would announce, "We have a new worker who is leaving tomorrow to serve the Lord." Immediately every single person would completely empty their pockets of everything they had. With that money the worker would buy a train or bus ticket and leave the next day.

Often this money was not just everything we had in our pockets at the time, but everything we owned in the whole world.

Just because you have a church building doesn't necessarily mean Jesus is with you. He is not welcome in many churches today. In Revelation 3:20 Jesus said "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me."

To be continued.

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