Move of God - Part 4

Climbing the stairs to our meeting place
Saints singing on the bus on our way to our destination

At the beach after the meeting Teaching in our little clearing

Vietnam Mission Trip - Part 4

While we were praying and praising God the leader of the church movement in Vietnam was called downstairs. As we finished praying for the people he came in and announced that the secret police were downstairs. They had come in and ordered them to stop the meeting. They threatened the hotel owners as well. The interpreter quickly took Pastor Robin and myself into another room in case they were coming upstairs. We had to remain in this other room for about half an hour behind a locked door. Another believer came in and said that the police wanted all the names of the people staying in this hotel. They had told them that they cannot gather and hold any meetings and then left.

Speaking to some of the leaders, I found out that this is what happens to them all the time. The secret police show up and close down their meetings. They used to just barge in the rooms and disrupt the meetings yelling and shouting. The saints would just sit there remaining calm and let them carry on. They would try to frighten and intimidate them. The saints just say we are not causing a disruption and sit there.

The police have learnt that they cannot intimidate the church, because the saints of God would just move to a new location and have church there. So the police have changed their tactics: They now show up at the hotel or hall where the meetings are held and threaten the owners or managers with harm if they don’t kick the saints out of their hotel or harm.

After 30 minutes we quickly went downstairs, a pickup truck drove up from the back and we were rushed in and driven quickly back to our hotel. The rest of the meeting for the day was cancelled.

Early the next morning the church boarded a bus and drove out to a Catholic Church compound. It is a tourist attraction as it has beautiful gardens and the Stations of the Cross on a hill, as you climb the stairs you come to each station. We climbed up the stairs until we got to a clearing and platform on the climb and we sat down in the leafy shade of the tress and started to have church. The weather was quite warm and the sun was beating down quite hard. Some sat on benches and some on the steps. We began to sing songs to the Lord. We were joined by hundreds of cicadas that filled the trees around us. After that we started our first teaching session with Pastor Robin. After a short break I started to teach. About 20 mins in, Pastor Robin whispered in my ear, finish in 5minutes. I finished and was wondering what was wrong. Did I say something wrong? Offend someone?

After we concluded Pastor Robin said: The police have found us! The senior pastor was down the hill talking to them. Apparently they now even know he was there too.” Let me go talk to them” : he joked. But we were both nervous> the saints split up. Some went up some down. We stood around chatting nervously for another 30 minutes. The rest of the sessions were cancelled and we were all going to leave.

We were invited to have lunch with the rest of the group and after a short drive we had a great lunch of fish, rice and cabbage. After that we were told the church is going to the beach in the afternoon, for some fun. I think they all need it!

Move of God - Part 3

Vietnam Mission Trip Part 3

In this room I was walking through the pages of the books of Acts, literally. The church was being persecuted just like in Acts, they had to keep moving from house to house, just as these saints have to do. But there was so much power there and so it was here. It’s like God rushed down when they started to worship, their cry just drew Him down so quickly! I began to see it was their desire for Him because of the situation, they needed Him more, they longed for him more. It’s like Solomon speaking about his beloved, his longing for her. So it was with these saints, their desperate longing for Him, drew Him so quickly.

I began to think of home and the freedoms we enjoyed. Freedoms our Christian forefathers had got for us, the privileges we enjoy. The freedom to gather and worship where and when we want. It was for freedom Jesus set us free! To be able to lift our hands in a public place and say the name of Jesus. But yet inspite of all of this we have lost the deep desire for God! The hunger these saints exhibited is not matched by the church in Australia. But here and now in Vietnam God was flooding this room with His presence to a people who were hungry for him.

Pastor Robin began to teach on the Holy Spirit and the people were really captivated, taking notes and listening intently. Pastor Robin spoke through an interpreter. After the teaching he invited people who had not been filled with the Holy Ghost to stand and asked them if they would like to be filled with the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in tongues. He prayed and we lay hands on them and prayed. About 15 to 18 people were filled with the Holy Ghost and began to speak in tongues. We were really in the middle of a powerful tarry service.

to be continued...

continued...

Vietnam Mission Trip Part 2

The presence of God was almost visible. As I sang the song in English I began to cry. It’s so hard to describe the thick presence of God. It was full of joy, a sense of holiness and power and peace. God had truly stepped into the small little room in an out of the way hotel in Vietnam.

Tears were streaming down my eyes. I tried to stop crying when I was lifting my hands in worship but I could not. A strange thing happened: God allowed me to connect in the spirit with the saints in the room and in the spirit I began to sense their cry to God and their love for Him! Their desperation for the freedom to worship and their desire to be free! The desire of their heart to cast of the yoke of oppression. More and more tears began to flow down my cheeks as I tried to understand what was happening. The anointing was flooding the room as their voices joined in harmony and the praise went up! From my belly I felt a river of worship and longing for God from the people in the room. I just joined in their worship of an awesome God! Others in the room were crying and worshipping our savoir, their love for Him quite apparent.

I began to comprehend why God wants His people to be free, oppression is from the enemy and it puts such a stronghold on the people of God. Just as in Egypt when God wanted to set His people free, men have always tried to oppress them. There is a demonic domination that comes from oppressing people, not letting them free. It is a spirit of demonic power and rulership to remove the rights of an individual.

to be continued...

Move of God

Vietnam Mission Trip Part 1

They had gathered together in an upstairs hotel room, not unlike the disciples of Jesus who did during the Pentecost week. They were 40 to 50 men and women gathered in the two bed room. Some were sitting on the bed, some on the floor crossed legged in front of the bed and others all around the two beds, others still were sitting up against the wall. The small room was packed full of people. One man was sitting against the far wall playing a guitar softly. Everyone in the room was facing him. This was the scene into which we were ushered, in a hotel room in Vietnam.
It was the underground church and they had gathered together for a meeting. The curtains had been drawn and a couple of clothes clips held them tightly closed. They had squashed into a tiny room to have church. They are not allowed to have church like you and I do. They have to hide in case the police arrive and shut them down or worse.

As we walked in we were directed to the two chairs in the room that were reserved for Pastor Robin and myself next to the song leader. Most of the people in the room were praying or singing softly. I sat on the chair and started to join them in prayer. The atmosphere was so thick with the presence of God. The song leader started to sing and the saints joined in. The song was sung in Vietnamese but I recognized the tune, it was “As the deer pants for the water”. The worship of the saints in Vietnam had begun and God was near!

part 2 next...

Thought for Today

There are no coincidences in God, there are only appointments!