Dear Friend, How are you? Hope you had or are having a good day, today? In February this year, I read a CBN news article about Watchman Nee: The Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C. is honoring the life and legacy of world-changing church leader Watchman Nee to commemorate the 50th anniversary since his death. And it also mentioned his book, The Normal Christian Life. When I read that, I was reminded of the days back in 2020 or 2021. While I was listening to the late Pastor Neville Johnson’s teaching, I heard him endorse Watchman Nee’s book, The Normal Christian Life to the audience. It was the first time that I heard of him so that I googled him and his books at that time. And I’m sharing a little bit of his background written on the back cover of the book, The Normal Christian Life: Watchman Nee (1903-1972) is remembered for his leadership of an indigenous church movement in China, as well as for his books, which continue to enrich Christians throughout the world. Beginning in the 1930’s, Nee helped establish local churches in China that were independent of foreign missionary organizations and were used to bring many into the Kingdom of God. From these roots sprang many of the house churches that continued to meet after Western missionaries were forced to leave the country during the Culture Revolution. Arrested in 1952 and found guilty of a large number of false charges, Watchman Nee was imprisoned until his death in 1972. Until I happened to read the CBN news on Watchman Nee this February, I didn’t really think about buying his books. This year, I wanted to re-read the books I read rather than read new books. But after reading the news, I read a few books of his. The first book I chose was “Changed into His Likeness”, which gave me an interesting insight on Abraham, Issac and Jacob. Then, I read “Sit, Walk, Stand” and it’s about the book of Ephesians. And finally, I read “The Normal Christian Life”, which is about the book of Romans. Actually, after reading my first choice, “Changed into His Likeness,” I became kind of a fan of Watchman Nee. And after reading through his books, I think I've found out a precious gem. When I read Watchman Nee’s books, I realized that his teaching is very much in line with Pastor John Fenn’s. Both of them emphasized that we already have everything in Christ, quoting Ephesians 1:17~21. Pastor John always prays with Ephesians 1:17~18 before he starts his teachings and I started to pray that for others and myself. From the teachings of the two, I got to learn how important it is to have the revelation from the Lord that we already have everything in Christ and Christ is in us. I’m grateful that He let me realize the truth Paul wrote, through them. In all honesty, I do not fully live up to the Word in Ephesians 1~2 in every area yet, but I know I got hold of it and I have peace from the Lord. And I also think that due to this truth and revelation in the book of Ephesians, both Watchman Nee and Pastor John Fenn was and is able to teach people to gather together in home and do house church, as God is in us, not in the building. We already have open heaven in us. Friend, I don’t know about you, but I once longed for open heaven over me. But now I realize I already have it in me. Christ is in me. And the Father God already made you and me sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:6). I think I would share more on this later, but for now I would like to close my writing, sharing part of Pastor John’s weekly thought “The Way the Father & Lord Think 3.” I actually searched his teachings on Ephesians 1~2 while reading Watchman Nee’s book and found it posted back in 2014. I hope this would give you revelation and bless you more. Have a bliss! Yunee “Believing His Word and Spirit instead of popular church culture And so it was I was telling a class at the World Prayer Center in Colorado Springs they already have an open heaven, and the then-current fad teaching was error and not what the Father thinks about it. At first they sat in stunned silence when I told them the Father says we already have an open heaven. I told them – You have peace with God the Father! He is at peace with you. He not only loves you, He likes you. He recreated you, birthed you, then adopted you all in one motion. He thinks He is at peace with you and you have full access to Him, why do you think otherwise? I quoted this passage: “Therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ…by whom we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand.” Romans 5:1-2 … I insisted they follow me through the pages of the New Testament, and as we read verse after verse one lady got angry as if the B-1 had just flown by and she got blind sided by the shock wave. She took it personally, saying, “Are you telling me I’m wrong!?” as she stood up with a ‘You want to fight?’ stance and all the finger pointing you would expect. “That I’ve spent thousands of dollars going to conferences and airfare and hotel bills and offerings and cd’s and you are saying you are right and all of them are wrong? No offense, but who are you?” I told her it wasn’t that I was right and they were wrong: “I am telling you what your Father thinks on the subject, and you are unknowingly committing idolatry by elevating man’s teaching above His thoughts and His ways as revealed in balance of the Word.” That didn’t go over real well with her. I can’t imagine why. What He thinks As long as I was offending religious spirits masquerading as cutting edge charismatic revelation, I thought why not continue. “You think you have to yell and scream and gather thousands to convince God to open the heavens for you because that’s what you’ve been taught, making Him your adversary. Imagine His surprise that He has been wrong this whole time and ____ _____ is right.” “Funny Father God! He thinks He has blessed you with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. He thinks He has adopted you by Jesus so that you are His kids and part of a royal family, having full access to all that is His. He thinks He has seated you together with Him in heavenly places in Christ. He thinks you are a new creation in Christ and you now have access into this grace.” (Ephesians 1:3-6, 2:6, I Peter 2:9, II Corinthians 5:17, Romans 5:1-2) “All you have to do is just turn a thought towards ‘Father’ and you have His ear. He is in you. So who do you believe, your favorite teacher and church culture, or what our Father thinks and says on the subject?” What really bothered her After a coffee break she calmed down and returned to class. She told me what bothered her is that I was speaking with authority, as if I really knew what I was talking about. She said I wasn’t talking about Him like the others, I was talking from Him. She felt fooled by the hype, but now she could see the truth in the verses. She ‘got it’ – A light dawned, and for the first time she knew she had been believing doctrines of demons and/or man, and now she had great peace and joy, “The Father really likes me, not just loves me, but likes me, and He lives in me as proof…wow. I can rest in what I have in Him. I know now I live in an open heaven.” Lighten up – the art of knowing In the same way Jesus turned water into wine but said nothing about it to draw attention to Himself, so too is He working today, humbly, meekly, with a lowly heart – but people’s flesh want the spectacular so they tune out His thoughts as they run for the spectacular. His thoughts are just that – thoughts – unseen, quiet, revealed to us personally in our spirit – so that is where we must look for them. Hebrews 4:6 lists several elements of Christian life, the first 2 being: – “…enlightened (Had the revelation from the Father that Jesus is Lord), have tasted the heavenly gift (born again)…” Enlightened. Also translated as illuminate, in Greek this is ‘photizo’, from ‘phos’, meaning “light”. It means down inside a person ‘a light goes on’ to shine revelation into their spirit and soul. This happens before we are born again and leads us to Christ, and it should be a way of life after we are in Christ. My life revolves around enlightenment – this is where communion with the Holy Spirit is found. Peter’s exclamation in Matthew 16:16 that “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God”, was the result Jesus said, of the Father showing Him that fact. Revelation came first, then the act of confessing it. Jesus spoke of ‘enlightenment’ in John 6:40: “And this is the will of Him who sent me; That all who (1) sees the Son and (2) believes on Him, will have eternal life.” First you see Him inside, then you act on it, believing. That ‘seeing’ takes place in your spirit & soul, and we all went through that time of enlightenment. Jesus continued in verse 45 saying, “Everyone (1) who has heard, and learned of the Father (2) comes to me.” The Father first starts dealing with you inside – enlightenment – and THEN you believe. I live for and in illumination – revelation. It is the single most important element in my walk with the Father. I want to know His thoughts on all things. Paul prayed for ‘enlightenment’ for the Ephesians and Colossians: “For this cause I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, that He would grant you the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation in the knowledge of Him, that the eyes of your understanding would be enlightened to know…” and “That you be filled with spiritual wisdom and spiritual knowledge…” (Ephesians 1:15-18, Colossians 1:9) These are the 2nd most common prayers I pray for myself, the 1st being: “Who or what do you want me to pray for Father?” and “What do you think about it (anything in my life) Father?” and/or “What are your thoughts Father?” (When someone expresses an opinion). These are by far the most common ‘thing’ I pray. Forsaking our ways and thoughts and accepting His invitation to come up to His higher ways and thoughts in Isaiah 55, means enlightenment and then taking that revelation and changing our thoughts to His. It means change, rearrangement of what we believed and why. It means going against the grain of popular church culture if that culture thinks contrary to His thoughts. This cannot happen as a matter of just book knowledge. Knowing His ways and thoughts comes from personal revelation – actually knowing Him, letting His Life change us from the inside out…” But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:4~10) Dear Friend, How are you? I’m well. This week, I was planning to finalize a draft and post it, but thought I would rather share part of July newsletter that Pastor John Fenn posted on July 20th on Church Without Walls International (CWOWI) website. I hope his prophetic words from Jesus’ visitation would help you understand things to come and have no fear. “But specifically in this recent visitation, He spoke of me and cwowi having a larger national and international influence as it pertains to church in the home. He said: “During the pandemic when churches were shut down, many had their first revelation with understanding about church in the home. Now you are in a more relaxed time and many have not acted on what they learned. But another wave is coming, of a different kind, and many who have been thinking about house church will then be motivated to follow through on it. They will be prompted to move on it and cwowi will see a new influx of people.” “A different kind of motivation is coming, in the fall and November through March, but especially the holidays and January and February. And then steadily through next year you will see momentum growing towards church in the home, small groups, and true growth in relationships in Me.” “Some will be moved with fear. Some will be moved by need. Some will be moved because they are ready to act upon what has been stirring in their hearts since their churches were shut down during the pandemic. The days I spoke to you about house churches becoming the place where believers see prayers answered, healings and miracles, is soon coming upon you and the earth. Many people will know who they can turn to in time of need. Others on the outside will suffer.” “In days ahead the US will no longer be the focus of world attention and economy. With the war in Ukraine the attention of much of the world turned to Europe, and that will only increase in the days to come; focus will shift to the economies of Europe and Asia. There will be turmoil in Europe but I will increase and my body need not fear. You’ve pondered and inquired why the US isn’t mentioned in end times prophecy, this is the start of why. There is an opportunity to delay these things for a few years, but they will happen, for so it must be to fulfill all that has been written about.” Interesting days ahead! And once again, He was more excited about what He is doing, about increase in the body of Christ, than He was about the world – that was a sort of ‘for your information I’m sharing this but don’t focus on it’ – focus on Me and how you must be about the Father’s business.” I think the Anti-Christ government will be based in Europe so it’s inevitable that the USA would lose its position as the superpower in the very last days. I also got to know from Pastor John Fenn’s teachings on the Bible prophecy that East countries would invade Israel in the last days and the numbers of them would be fitting, if we include the population of China, India and some other Asian countries. So I think Pastor John’s latest words on the US, Europe and Asia would imply the stages will be set, as we are living in the very last days. I recall the late Pastor and Prophet Neville Johnson from the UK shared what the Lord said to America in Shekinah Worship Center in California. Pastor Neville wanted to encourage American churches, being invited by them for a conference and asked Him. I can’t recall the first part exactly so that I would paraphrase it: Though America went haywire, it would end as My country. Amen! I believe that many will humble themselves and many will turn to the Lord. If the USA would lose its power, how much more the small countries like Korea and so on? Yet I think ending as His country, returning to Him would be more important. Speaking of which, I’m also sharing part of March 2021 Newsletter that Pastor John posted. “About the VP taking over – I don’t know if that is officially or just the power behind the throne, I don’t know enough to share here as He didn’t elaborate, though I have my suspicions. And then a year or so adjustment, and the last 2 years of the administration with massive changes, especially years 2-3. And in all these things there has been an overwhelming and unusually strong peace in my spirit about everything. Stay in that peace. “There will be a transition between the waves which is why you see blurred lines between – each will have some of both elements in the transitions and the success of their efforts will vary by year. Then in the last half the administration will seek to implement the full force of (their) attempted changes. Yet I will be merciful and gracious to this nation, and frustrate those efforts lest the nation experience the depths of darkness.” So in the natural I don’t know if He is going to limit their power by mid-term elections or courts ruling against new laws or policies, or if the people will rise up or something else – He didn’t say. Just that the last 2 years He would be merciful and gracious to this nation and not allow us to sink into the full depths of darkness. I shared in January the key words ‘merciful’ and ‘gracious’. Mercy is when you don’t get what you deserve, and gracious is when you get what you don’t deserve. In other words, He will protect His people and empower through grace those who will walk with Him. He continued: “It will be this nation’s last chance to change direction before heavier things come upon the world. With change the US will be able to stand strong, influence the world and lead many, and without it, it will fall into deep darkness. 2024 will be an interesting year.“ At this point I asked if any of these things could be changed through prayer, and He responded: “Even if the timing of these waves and transitions coming upon this nation would be changed, the core truth of what I’m saying to you will happen. Remember what the Father told you; ‘That spirit can be delayed, but it won’t be stopped.’ This reference to the Father’s statement is familiar to many of you who have been with us awhile, for I’ve shared it many times over the years. It came during the Kerry/Bush campaigns of 2004. I told the Father I discerned a different spirit in the Democratic party but I didn’t know what it was, so I asked. He said: “It is the spirit of socialism (some want to bring to this nation).” I asked it could be stopped and He said: “That spirit can be delayed, but it won’t be stopped.” I then asked where it came from. He said: “It came from Europe, for there are those in this nation who think the US should be like Europe, but that’s not what I’ve called this nation to.” Friend, I’m sharing these, hoping we have an eagle vision on things to come, without fear. And I would like to encourage us to focus on what He is doing in the body of Christ and do Father’s business. Whether 10 talents, 5 talents or 1 talent is given to us, we will be rewarded according to our works till His return. Have a bliss! Yunee “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ (Matthew 25:31~36) Dear Friend, How are you? I’m well. I think it was February this year. My pastor in Singapore encouraged our monthly meeting members to pray for one another, setting aside one hour per month especially in this season. So after we prayed for one another, we met via zoom. And my pastor said to me, “Yunee, your mother will have a breakthrough and she will have a great time with her children this year.” When I heard him sharing what the Holy Spirit spoke to him about my mom, I was very amazed. I knew my sister and brother-in-law in California planned to visit Korea this summer, but they had not finalized their plan yet, seeing the high pandemic cases in Korea at that time. Right after the meeting, I shared what my pastor said with her and she immediately booked the airline tickets. It was an assurance to us that God would certainly bless our family time and our mom would have a great time with her children. So in mid May, my sister and brother-in-law visited us and we spent a great time together. In June, I booked two nights getaway in a nearby city. At that time, my niece in Seoul was able to join us and I thought our mom would have a great time indeed with her children including her granddaughter. Then, I got to know that my niece actually arranged a zoom meeting with her mother, mom’s oldest daughter in South America and her younger brother, mom’s grandson in Middle East. Though it was an online meeting, we did enjoy the family reunion. It has been years since all the members met. The last time we all met was 2014 when my sister and brother-in-law had a wedding in California. I was simply in awe to see His Words come to pass in front of my eyes. How faithful and How kind He is! He gave my mom a great family time, as He promised. Not only that, but we also shared some testimonies in the zoom meeting and we were all thankful to the Lord for His goodness and faithfulness. Later when we were about to go back home in Seoul, my niece gave my sister and me gifts. She gave each one of us a book written by one of her pastors back in Washington D.C. Then, I saw a small envelope inside my book, while my sister didn’t receive any envelope in it. And my niece said it was kind of a belated birthday gift for me. When I got home, I opened the envelope and found it was her own hand-written letter. She made an apology again for the incident that happened in my new house in a suburb of Seoul in 2018 and left me a bitter memory. We didn’t talk to one another for almost three years since then. But in 2020, when she wrote me a long text message, breaking the long silence, she already made an apology for that. But this time she handwrote it again: “I have the opportunity to handwrite this rather than expressing it via digital communications. I’d like to apologize for all that happened in xxx for my words, but also my tone and also the overall drama of making such a scene in open view of your then new neighbors. There’s no justification for such aggression or eliminating fundamental respect for any human, but especially a family member who had been so loving toward me since birth. Also, I recognize what a tremendous duty you’re so willingly accepted to care for sweet Grandma. I’m confident our Abba Father treasures and cherishes you, and it’s a huge privilege for me to know my Aunts and Grandma and Uncle.” While I was reading her letter, I felt the Lord want me to let it go. In all honesty, I still had some reservation toward my niece, though I said to her in 2020 I had forgiven her. But, when I read her handwritten letter, I thought she would have listened to the Lord and He wants me to completely forgive her. And her letter was heart-warming. So, I texted her and said, “I think the Lord wants us to close the chapter and move on and I do not want you to feel sorry about that any more, as I forgave you.” After reading her letter and the first few pages of the book she gave me, I felt I was being healed and blessed. And with a thankful heart, I went to bed. Then, in the middle of the night, probably 1am I think, I woke up due to the noise my mom made in the living room. Out of the blue, she tried to open a big box and plastic papers around it. A vendor mistakenly shipped it so that he was supposed to pick it up. But for some reasons, the pick-up had been delayed and the big box had been outside our main door for a week. Mom had been asking what it was and I said to her it didn’t belong to me and the vendor would pick it up. But somehow, at that night, she brought it into our living room and tried to open it, making such a noise at midnight. Being awake and annoyed, I said to her, “Mom, what are you doing? It’s not ours. Go back to sleep!” Then, she said, “It had been there for a month! OK! I will go out and kill myself!!!” I was surprised at her words and even more surprised at her tone and facial expression. She had been so sweet and cute over the past couple of years. But her tone and facial expression were just the same as when the enemy tortured her with severe delusion a few years back. Immediately, I felt it’s the enemy’s attack, using her, as I was being healed from the bad memory associated with my niece. When both of us came back to the bedroom, she was panting on her bed. I said to the Lord, “Lord, what prayer should I say?” Immediately, the word, “Prince of Peace” came into my mind. And I prayed in my heart, not saying it out loud, “Father, I pray that Prince of Peace may lay His hands on us and His peace may rest upon on us.” After that prayer, to my amazement I saw her calm down, not panting any more and both of us went back to sleep. Later in the morning, I woke up earlier than mom and I thought to myself that she would not remember what she did last night. After taping the plastic bags she tried to tear, I sit down on the sofa and prayed to the Lord, “Father, please give me Your Supernatural love toward Your Son and I would love mom with Your love.” Then, I recalled John 10:10 that my niece wrote on her letter, talking about living abundantly. So, I thought I would look up the verse in person. When I opened my Bible to read the verse, I was surprised. The first sentence of the verse started with “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.” And it went on to say “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” The verse gave me the confirmation that the overnight incident was really the enemy’s trying to steal my joy and my healing and my love. Not only mine, but he also tried to steal and destroy mom's joy, after her having so great a time with her children. But Praise God, as He gave me the discernment and made me realize it’s the Spiritual Warfare and it’s not against flesh and blood. Soon enough, mom woke up and I gave her a hug. Of course, she didn’t remember at all what she had done. She was simply back to herself like a sweet baby. Looking back what I went through 5~6 years ago, I realized the enemy used my family members to steal and to kill and to destroy. Often times, it seemed to be wars against flesh and blood. But, I’m thankful that I am more than conquerors, as He has won the battle for us. Friend, I pray that you and I don’t let our guards down but put on the whole armor of God. The Spiritual Warfare is real, but we are more than victorious and have life more abundantly in Christ Jesus. Amen! Have a bliss! Yunee The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. (John 10:10) Dear Friend, How are you? I’m well. Earlier this year, my pastor in Singapore endorsed a Richard Foster’s book, Streams of Living Water: Celebrating the Great Traditions of Christ. It introduces many traditions or streams such as the contemplative tradition, the holiness tradition, the charismatic tradition and so on. I enjoyed reading the chapter on the contemplative tradition, as I really wanted to practice the presence of the Lord like Brother Lawrence. In that chapter, the author introduced Frank C. Laubach. The name seemed to be familiar to me and I was able to recall that a sister in my Singapore church gave me one of his books, Letters by a Modern Mystic. Richard Foster wrote about Frank C. Laubach: This led Laubach into many experiments in prayer. His “Game with Minutes” is the delightful spiritual exercise of forming a habit of having God in mind each minute we are awake. “Impossible,” you may say. Laubach himself wondered about its feasibility: “Can I bring God back in my mind-flow every few seconds so that God shall always be in my mind as an after image, shall always be one of the elements in every concept and percept? I choose to make the rest of my life an experiment in answering this question.” While going through busy days filled with literacy development, he was constantly “learning the vocabulary of God” (a phrase that he later used as a book title). On 1 January 1937, from Nagpur, India, he wrote, “God, I want to give You every minute of this year. … I shall try to learn Your language as it was taught by Jesus and all others through whom You speak — in beauty and singing birds and cool breezes, in radiant Christlike faces, in sacrifices and in tears.” After I read through the chapter on the contemplative tradition, I really wanted to read the books of Frank C. Laubach and I read his booklet, The Game with Minutes. Today, I would like to share some from the book: How can a man or a woman take the course of being with Christ today? The answer is so simple a child can understand it. Indeed unless we “turn and become like children” we shall not succeed. What is meant by winning? You win your minute if, during that minute you either:
We never attempt to keep a minute-by-minute record (excepting perhaps occasionally for an hour), since such a record would interfere with normal life. We are practicing a new freedom, not a new bondage. We must not get so tied down to score keeping that we lose the glory of it, and its spontaneity. We fix our eyes upon Jesus, not upon a clock. Friend, I don’t agree with some of the methods he suggested in the book such as looking at a picture or a symbol of Christ, as I’m afraid it can be an idol. Yet I’m sharing the methods he wrote, as I don’t want us to throw the baby out with the bath water. And I don’t always win in this game of minutes, but I will continue to play this game and would like to encourage you to join the club. And I like Frank Laubach’s encouragement: “This game is not a grim duty. Nobody need play it unless he seeks richer life. It is a delightful privilege. If you forget to play it for minutes or hours of days, do not groan or repent, but begin anew with a smile.” He shared many examples as to how we can play this game, while we are at work, in meetings with someone, at home and so on. And one thing he shared in the book was what I already started to do, practicing the Presence of God: If you lean back and think about some problem deeply, how can you remember God? You can do it by forming a new habit. All thought employs silent words and is really conversation with your inner self. Instead of talking to yourself, you will now form the habit of talking to Christ. Friend, I’m not always successful in this, but I’ve been trying to talk to the Lord instead of talking to myself. And I would like to share some of my talks to Him. “Father, she (my mom) is so sweet, Isn’t she? Thank You, Father.” “……” “Father, I don’t like that man (a politician). But I know You want him to be saved? I will pray for him.” “……” “Father, I think I will clean the toilet tomorrow. Sorry…” “……” Friend, Do you like to play the game with minutes, too? I hope you and I would enjoy it like a child and enjoy talking to our Father and thinking of Him. For now, I don’t recall who wrote that, but it was like “We don’t seek His answers, but we seek Him.” I have freedom so that I don’t get discouraged by having no answer from Him in my conversation with Him. I simply want to seek Him, not the answer. Hope this encourages and blesses you. Have a bliss! Yunee As the deer pants for the water brooks, |
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