| It was during these early days in Semarang, that the Lord brought young
men into our prayer fellowship, Rochani, Bo Sioe, and Gwan An, along with
other young people. After 18 months in the city of Semarang, learning the
language and customs, and also surviving the bloody communist coup of 1965,
we moved to Nongkojajar in order to be closer to the many villages needing
evangelism. Five of the young men from our fellowship group came with us.
In the months ahead, our house often had 30 or more people visiting us.
It was not unusual to have 50 for lunch. We were grateful for the spacious
quarters Ichwan Zakharia made available to us. Many would make their home
with us. One of our Javanese household members, Bu Yati, was a teacher
at the local junior high. Her nephew, Herry, came to live with us in 1968.
He was a sickly child who had asthma since early childhood. His mother
and father, an Air Force officer, had not been heard of since shortly after
the failed communist uprising of 1965. Bo Sioe prayed for Herry's asthma
and then dragged him up and down the mountains evangelizing until late
at night. Herry never had another asthma attack. Barbara and I adopted
Herry as one of our own children.
We determined not to evangelize according to any man-made system, but
to enter villages only as the Holy Spirit led us. When we entered the house
He indicated, we usually found a sick person or someone with a definite
need. We immediately commanded the sick to be healed in the Name of Jesus
or ministered to the need. Neighbors would gather to see what had happened
and we would tell them about Jesus, who had done the healing work. As a
result the family and some of the neighbors usually accepted Jesus. We
would promise to come back in a few days to tell more about Him.
One day I was in this village and a little kid said in a prophecy "Go
north two kilometers and there you will find a blind person. You are to
preach the Gospel to the family." I felt uneasy about this and said, "Not
me, Lord!" But no sooner had I said in my heart that I really didn't want
to go then I found another young girl standing in front of me who said,
"My servant, do not be afraid. I am sending you." So I went north two kilometers
with a teenage team and found about 100 tiny shacks. The Lord prompted
us which one to go into and we went in asking, "is there anyone blind here?"
There was. The Lord healed the woman of blindness and as far as I know
that whole family was led to the Lord that evening.
I began to believe that the Lord had a new and more radical plan for
me in Indonesia, and that he wanted to introduce revival less associated
with big names and large crowds, more related to the ministry of the whole
Body of Christ. I had already discovered that Bible schools and training
centers in the United States which were the most alive spiritually had
one thing in common. They did not begin with buildings, professors or curriculum,
but with a vision from the Lord and with much prayer. When they began to
put into practice the vision the Lord had given, invariably unbelievable
obstacles and frustrations arose during which they learned deep lessons
about the meaning of the Cross and its application to their lives. When
they remained faithful to the vision through all these difficulties, the
Lord's spiritual blessings began to be poured out on them. But when I studied
the Lord's own method of discipline, I found it far more radical than anything
I had seen anywhere. Jesus gathered a little group of twelve young men
to be with him. He never built a building, never scheduled a class, had
no curriculum and no courses. He simply told His disciples to follow him.
They began to walk, they saw His miracles and heard Him talk to all
sorts of people-- to the crowds the sick and demon-possessed, the seekers
and His opponents. The Pharisees, Sadducees and tax collectors. When there
was time, Jesus sat down wherever they were and talked to His disciples
about what they had seen and heard and answered their questions. He did
not pull rank on them, but rather became their friend. They ate and slept
together and were continually in the closest kind of fellowship. From time
to time He sent them out on their own to put into practice what they had
learned, but He never sent them out alone. He sent them in teams, never
smaller than two members. Jesus obviously wanted to introduce an entirely
new method and concept of teaching, because all this was in direct contradiction
to the "professional" methods of the religious leaders and teachers of
His day.
When we read in Acts 2:42 that the Christian converts in Jerusalem after
the day of Pentecost "continued steadfastly in the apostles' teaching and
fellowship" we may be sure the apostles used the same method Jesus had
used with them. They did not build buildings or schedule classes, but rather
met frequently in close, intimate fellowship, and even living together
in households. Soon those trained by the apostles were able to become leaders
in beginning similar fellowships in other places. Paul used this same method
in training Timothy, Titus, Luke and others. They became members of his
team, following him around for a few years, occasionally being sent out
to practice without Paul, and eventually going out to exercise similar
discipling ministries of their own. In the Lord's method practice came
first, followed by explanation as time and opportunity allowed.
Thus it was not surprising to me that the first Holy Way team of Rochani,
Bo Sioe, Gwan An and I, was led to begin our training in the Lord's school
by first ministering for three months on the island of Celebes. There was
time in the weeks and months that followed the mission to Celebes, to fill
in the theory and have some questions answered. Since that time the Lord
continually alternated times of travel and experiences of all kinds with
quiet periods of sitting at His feet at home to learn from Him and His
Word.
Paul said that he "fully preached the Gospel of Christ . . . through
mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Holy Spirit." We discovered
the validity of his example, that evangelism must reveal the power of the
Living Lord Jesus. If we preached forgiveness and salvation through Jesus
Christ in word only, the Indonesians remained very polite, smiled pleasantly
and said they believed us. But in their hearts nothing happened and they
still also believed in their witch doctors and charms. But when we demonstrated
the miracle-working power of Jesus Christ they realized that He is greater
than any witch doctor, full of love and compassion which witch doctors
could not demonstrate. Almost all the villages around Nongkojajar the site
of the first Holy Way team and the town itself were opened to the Gospel
through miraculous healings.
We had to learn to live in different kinds of situations and to appreciate
what Paul meant when he said, "I have learned to abound and to be abased."
In the villages we often had to wash in the stream, sleep on the floor
and eat whatever the people ate. Most of the time it was usually rice and
some greens they cooked. I believe the word of Jesus when He says, "wherever
you go, eat what they set in front of you." Sometimes this isn't something
a restaurant would advertise to win customers. But we eat it and God even
gives us the grace to enjoy it. The food hardly ever made us sick, as we
believed God to protect us when no other food was available. But people
who came as tourists often got very sick.
One time in 1966 when I stood up to preach in the church in Magelang,
I had a vision of the Holy Way. I described it to the people and the Lord
then explained it in prophecy through them: I saw a desert, very hot and
dry, and as far as the eye could see. At first the desert seemed devoid
of life, but as I looked, I saw that there were skeletons and scattered
bones. Also, I saw a few people who still had life in them. They were able
to creep and crawl around a bit. The Lord said that they were people who
had not yet found the Way. They were lost, wandering in a dry and perilous
place.
Then, to the side, I saw a road, a highway. Next to the road trees and
green plants grew, giving shade to the road. On the highway was a small
group of people with hands uplifted, praising the Lord. Their faces had
the light of great joy. After a bit they turned and saw the people struggling
in the desert.. When they called to them, the people in the desert saw
those on the road and some of them began to struggle toward the road. But
they were too weak and sick and the heat was too intense for them to reach
it. The people on the road wanted to know what to do. They asked the Lord,
Who was standing in their midst, "Shall we go out into the desert and drag
the people back to the road?" "No," the Lord answered. "If you go into
the desert to draw them in, you will also perish in the heat. Just reach
out your hands toward them and continue to praise me. I, the Lord, will
bring them to you."
So they reached out their hands toward the people in the desert and
praised the Lord. And He lifted those in the desert up in His arms and
carried them to the river that flowed beside the road. He laid them down
beside the river. They drank the life-giving water and immediately stood
up and began to thank and praise Him. The Lord explained that the river
was the River of Life, and that those who drink receive His life. The ones
who were brought in and drank of the river joined those on the road to
praise God. After a little while the Lord called them all to walk with
Him as He went before them on the road. Away in the distance ahead of them
they could see mountains. Behind the highest of them, which Jesus said
was called the Holy Mountain, was a faint glow, which grew to a bright
light as they approached. The river that was beside the road flowed from
this mountain.
At the side of the road were holes and threatening things, distracting
sights and amusements. Some of the group began to notice these distractions
and wandered aside to see them. Soon they became separated from the group,
ceased to see the Lord or praise Him, and the light and joy left their
faces. They could not walk on the road anymore. The Lord said that the
highway was the Holy Way, and could only be walked by those who were willing
to stay close to Jesus, their Master and Guide. Those who continued on
the road kept looking at the Holy Mountain, longing to be there. But the
distance was very, very great and they became so tired they were ready
to die. They cried out to Jesus to help them. In His love and compassion
for them He sat them down beside the road. He Himself went over to the
river and got water for them to drink, which fully revived them. Then in
humility, He kneeled down and washed their feet with the water.
He explained that if they looked at the mountain the distance would
seem too great and they would become discouraged. But if they looked only
at Him and just followed Him on the road, glancing only occasionally at
the mountain, they would not become tired or discouraged. They discovered
that by keeping their eyes on Jesus they approached the mountain much more
quickly. Above the mountain the light became extremely bright. As they
approached they could see that the light came from a city of great beauty,
with buildings and spires of gold, glistening streets of golden hue and
the glory of God shining all around.
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