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Letter from Home 1/19/2019: New Understanding of Christianity

Understanding God is a progressive journey, this is true in two thousand years of church history, and also true of my 49 years of Christian life. From being an atheist to becoming a believer and then a pastor; from being an extreme conservative to becoming a charismatic, I have diligently pursued God all along and my mindsets have been changed. The Kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. I kept searching, like a blind person feeling his way across the river, stumbling from time to time. It is also like making donuts, being knead, baked, deep fried, and then having syrup poured on and fillings added, until suddenly the fragrance breaks forth. The process is not easy, I myself do not comprehend, but at long last I have come out of the tunnel, shaken off the mud, joy welled up from the depths of my being, and others cannot understand… I am grateful that I am alive today and I still have a chance to run after the will of God according to the drumbeat of heaven (Heb 10:36). Any price is worth it. When the American west was being developed, on average, one person died every 16 miles, but look at how prosperous the west is today! Years ago when the cross island highway in northern Taiwan was being built, quite a number of those involved also lost their lives or injured, but today tour buses are going through one after another! Anything God desires to have, is worth dying for, do you agree?

What is the progressive revelation of God for this generation? It is “the family’. For 20 years, “Homecoming”(or called Family Journey) has been impacting nations, and the most noticeable was first the “Convergence” at IHOP Kansas City in September and then “Onething”in December, 2018. Mike Bickle has announced that this“Onething”would be the last after 19 years. Also in many other countries, churches are no longer holding big conference, because they heard God say, “I don’t want conferences, I want a family.” 1982 in Cairo, Egypt, with an audible voice God said to Mike Bickle, “I am going to change the understanding of Christianity on the whole earth in one generation.” and Mike acknowledges that today is that generation! The church is no longer an organization, it is a family; no longer membership, but sons and daughters. What’s important is not doing, but being, it is clearer in English—not doing a son, but being a son. Sons and daughters are to receive inheritance because God is our Father! What Jesus accomplished for us on the cross is much more than just being saved and going to heaven, it is family and the Kingdom! It is all God’s doing, I did not choose Him, it is He who chose me. It is He who merged me into a body and adopted me into His royal family! Father is the King, that makes you and I princes and princesses! After the process of being made into fragrant donuts, we get to sit on the throne with the Father and reign with Him! It is unimaginable! The understanding of Christianity has truly become clearer, black and white turns to color, flat now changes to 3D, and today is that generation.

Actually, these understandings and revelations are already in the Bible, but we are too slow to understand. As early as (Isaiah 66:1) God is mourning, “Heaven is my throne, earth is my footstool, where is the house you will build for me? Where will my resting place be?” For two thousand years, we sincerely listen to this and listen to that, earnestly build this and build that, but in the end, it is only what men think, not necessarily what God wants. God’s desire is actually simple: not an organization, not an institution, not membership, but a family. In a family there are parents, children, love, order, peace and joy. The enemy knows what God wants, so he does everything he can to destroy families, relationships, create church divisions, and even try to confuse the gender and distort one’s identity on children. We must build the family to demolish the work of the devil. Turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers so to remove the curse of the land (Mal. 4:6). But as we look about us, for two thousand years, many pastors are still orphans, how can we build a family? Pastor Grace Chiang of California had a sudden insight one day and said, “I myself am a big orphan and function as the director of an orphanage!” What is an orphan? It is one without parents. Without a farther and mother one becomes an orphan. Church lacks no teachers, Paul said, “Even though you have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers.” (1 Cor. 4:15) However, we think, who is qualified to be a father? It is true, no parents are perfect, but as long as there are parents, the children feel secure, and each morning the parents do not choose whether they want to be parents for that day. It is a matter of heart (Mal. 4:6).

The enemy is desperately wanting to destroy the family, but the moment man lost in the Garden, God began His mission. God appeared to the forefathers and on Mount Sinai appeared to His chosen people. After the tabernacle was established God spoke from the tabernacle. In the New Testament, Jesus came and made His dwelling among us, His name is Immanuel, God with us. And at the end of Revelation He still says, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and He will live with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God.” (Rev 21:3) This is the heart of our Dad. There are two aspects to the entire redemptive plan: (1) You and I are saved and become living stones; (2) living stones are being built into a temple, a spiritual house where God can dwell (1 Peter 2:5; Ephesians 2:2). David Demian said, “God’s end time army is not generals, but parents; not soldiers, but sons and daughters, not weapons, but the presence of God.” The most important thing is the family, the relationship, and that is why the Lord repeatedly said, “A new command I give you: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:34-35) And He said, “That all of them may be one, Father, just as You are in me and I am in You. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that You have sent me” (John 17:21)

Our church has taken Bill Johnson’s Leader Development Program online, the very first lesson was “the Kingdom of God is a family.” In recent years more people are talking about the five-fold ministries. Although that is right, I believe the end time church not only needs to restore the five-fold ministry, but more fundamentally, restore the family. The five-fold ministry is not a new organization nor new titles in the church, but mature fathers, mothers, brothers, and sisters in the family. We need to be parents first then become apostles and prophets; be parents first, then be evangelists, pastors and teachers. This is the right order so the family will be healthy, and church will be what God desires.

God’s new wine need to be put in the new wineskin. The new wine is to become a family, a dwelling place for God; it is no longer just ministry, organization or institution. The new wineskin is having God’s perspective, willing to be stretched, letting go of the past pride, inferiority, injuries, offenses, orphan mentality, disobedience, temper, wanting things my way, disunity with others, and even be willing to put down titles and degrees. Although there is nothing wrong with titles, they just are not necessary when you are in a family. I love to visit my son’s home. When he comes back from work, I never hear his wife or children calling him, “Doctor Hsu”. When a CEO of a company returns home, he takes off his office clothes, rolls up his sleeves, helps to take care of the children, dumps the garbage, changes the light bulbs, and cooks a meal…, because he is a father at home! As children get older, they also learn to help, set up the table, wash dishes, vacuum the floor… Everyone plays a part. This is a home. Now we are the mature children of Father God, we have grown up, so shall we come build together a happy and glorious family of our Heavenly Father? This New Year I wanted to give Dad a gift. A few days ago while sharing with Molica, I told her with excitement: “I got an idea!” I used to give myself a nick name “Abbalove”, but this new year I will take another one, “Family builder.” I used to be pleased to know I am the Father’s beloved; but now I am determined to build the family for God. I believe this is God’s destiny for me and the church. Pastor Anton Cruz prayed for us in 2013, “Many fathers and mothers will be raised from this church.” I believe this is also God’s calling for many churches which are maturing.

Pastor Peter Smith from Philadelphia shared an analogy: There are several lanes on the highway, most of the churches are on the “church” lane, a few moved to the “church and Kingdom” lane, and fewer people moved to the “Kingdom and church” lane. This has to do with the leaders’ heart and their understanding of the Father. I can see clearly that I am changing lanes. I also encourage aboriginal leaders to move from the “tribal” lane to the Kingdom lane, and encourage the Taiwanese pastors to shift from the “Taiwanese” lane to the Kingdom lane. The “Chinese” lane, “my needs” lane, and “child-centered” lane…, all need to shift, because only God’s desire is really our pursuit.

It is time to rise up, “for the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed.” (Romans 8:19). I can almost feel the tremor of the ground, the creation can’t wait to see us grow up! Today’s battle between the darkness and the light are turning white-hot. The church must engage in the battle, no longer slumber. We can’t be like the frog stay complacently in a kettle and get slowly cooked alive. The end time army is the parents, children and the presence of God. The spiritual United Nations is taking shape. It’s time we enter our destiny, stand in the position and begin to see His Kingdom come and His will be done on earth as it is in heaven, now!

There is a price to pay. As a forerunner one can be mocked and criticized, but do not be afraid, there are plenty revolutionary martyrs that paid the price for their ideals. It is normal to have casualties in battles. Like Gideon chose the 300, those who were afraid were let go. To be an overcomer one must die to his old self. The Lord had made it clear, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple.And anyone who does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:26-27) When you join the army, you need to shave your head, change into uniform, obey orders, are you willing?

However, the Holy Spirit is encouraging us. We are the Kingdom people, the spiritual house being built with the living stones to become a dwelling in which God lives by His Spirit. We are also a river of the living water, full of love, joy, childlike purity, simplicity, vitality and the power of the Holy Spirit. Wherever this river flows the Kingdom of God is brought there also— to our loved ones, friends, neighbors, to the Chinese, non-Chinese and to the aborigines. In the desert of the church the oasis is appearing, and one is connecting to the other. The oasis is the family that God desires to have. We are saved! And the world also rejoices with us!

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Jesus Healing Room Testimony 1/12/19

By Sharon B.:

I am always blessed by the Jesus Healing Room. I have been coming on and off for the past at least 2.5 years.
The intercessors who give me prophetic prayers are true vessels of the Holy Spirit. I always received encouragement, revelation and guidance that helps me to elevate my Christian lifestyle.
The Lord wants us to move forward and develop so that we can edify His Kingdom. This Jesus Healing Room always helps me to grow spiritually and be enlightened to continue in God given destiny for His kingdom.

By: Angela J.:

I came no understanding a dream that I had after sharing with the prophetic team. They interpreted to the root cause conflict with my neighbor. I’m at peace and know that God is faithful. In Him I put my trust. I thank the team for their faithfulness and thank God for their obedience. Amen.

By Jessica C.:

Thank the Lord, through the prophetic prayer ministry to encourage me! The brother who prayed for me saw a vision where a butterfly broke out of its cocoon. It gave me a lot of comfort and encouragement. The prayers of Molica and church sisters also supports me. Thank God!

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Egg Harbor Homecoming, December 2018

Egg Harbor Homecoming, December 2018

12/6-8/18 “Egg Harbor Homecoming” there was a total of more than 400 people registered, and about 40 First Nation people who came from all over the country, some flew, some drove. The Praise Tabernacle church in Egg Harbour, New Jersey was fully engaged in registration, meal preparations, and together with the neighboring churches also coordinated with pickups for so many from Philadelphia and other airports, they also arranged accommodations, and lead worship… None of us knew how to run a Homecoming meeting, we could only let God do it. As a result, God truly has done a great thing among us. We are full of cheers and joy:

(1) One of the First Nation sisters said with tears in her eyes that she had waited for this day for many decades.

(2) Another man told me that he had been to hundreds of meetings that the First Nation people were invited to, but most of the time the honoring was done superficially, but this time was different… Although he didn’t have enough money to come he came anyway, and it was totally worth it, he had no regrets.

(3) The cost to help the First Nation people to come had already exceeded $10,000 before the meeting, most of them had limited resources. There were four sisters of a prayer team from Oklahoma, their combined offering was only $75. I was sincerely touched. 

(4) An elderly Caucasian missionary couple who have served in the First Nation reserves for more than 20 years said that they themselves were greatly transformed this weekend. Many First Nation people and non-indigenous people all said that they had never seen a meeting like this…

(5) The repentance and asking for forgiveness among the tribal conflicts displayed before us on the stage moved us greatly… In this safe family of God the young people also voiced their deep longing for breakthrough, expressed their repentance of their arrogance toward the older generation, and two brothers sang a song asking the Holy Spirit to come, God’s anointing was so thick, they cried and we all cried with them…

(6) At the last session, a totally unexpected big event happened. A lady publicly knelt down and apologized to the Frist Nations. She is a descendant of President William Henry Harrison who was a well-known general that killed the first nation leader and prophet Tecumseh who was uniting all the First Nation groups at that time. There was a prophesy saying that when the descendants of Harrison appeared and publicly apologized to the First Nation, it would be the time that the First Nation peoples could be united and their hidden prophets would come out of hiding. The lady said that God moved her to come to this Homecoming, and at the meeting moved her to publicly apologize.

Still so much to share… Thanks be to all who participated in much labors and intercessions behind the scene, and many who gave monetary offerings sacrificially to make this gathering possible… Our good Dad knows and He will bless each one of us. 

Glory be to God and joy be to all of us that He loves so much…

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Letter from Home:  Homecoming starts with me

Letter from home 11/21/2018:   Homecoming starts with me

Several members of our church went to IHOPKC Homecoming, including my second son Kiley. I asked a few of them to share two Sundays in the roll. Many shared that they were very moved by how closely the Homecoming people engaged with one another, and were hoping that the same could happen in our church. That day I also asked my son to share, and we engaged in a very deep conversation… 

He said, “I saw many couples in Homecoming are quite intimate with one another, but you and mom are not. Most of the time you are downstairs concentrating on your work and mom is upstairs playing with the game on her Ipad, you don’t talk to each other much, sometimes even confrontational. Your tone of voice is not very nice, I believe there must be some deeper root issues….”

I said, “May be mom has a higher expectation of me, she feels I am not capable enough, I did not clean the garage for a long time, roof needs repairs for a while…, so I am not good enough as a husband.”

He said, “No, no, no, that’s not it, it is your heart. Mom does not feel you cherish her enough. You are very focused on your own thing, didn’t spend time with mom intentionally. Mom actually is quite accommodating to you. I feel you should treat mom better, loving mom is your responsibility as a husband, Homecoming must starts with you.”

We talked for a long time that day, finally he said, “To share about Homecoming, I actually don’t know what to say. “

I said, “Why don’t you just share what we talked about today on Sunday, just be honest, it will be okay. What you are sharing is exactly right – for the church to become a home, it needs to start with me. Luckily I am still alive and there is chance for me to change. “

He said, “Once I shared it in public, you need to start working on it, right?!” I said, “I will, I promise. “

After our conversation he asked me, “Was it too heavy for you? ” I said, “No, I accept it 100%, I am willing to change.”

I told him, before I went aboard after graduation from university, I can’t recall exactly what happened, my father admonished me and I was not very happy. Then my father said, “You are an adult now, ready to go aboard, there will not be many people in the society that will speak truth to you, they will criticize you behind your back, for those who does speak truth to you, you need to treat them as friends.”

We chatted about something else, I said, actually I have made progress, many people in the church had made improvement also… Then he asked me, “Have I made progress?” I said, “Yes! You have matured a lot. You are bold and have wisdom, able to speak the truth to your dad, that is not easy, but you spoke well and I didn’t feel offended, I can accept it completely.” After that, I embraced him and said, “Based on what my dad told me, you are the one that spoke the truth to me, I will treat you as my friend.” He smiled and said, “That was better than I thought.”

The purpose of sharing this story is to tell you that I am still in the process, but I am willing to continue to take the steps forward, not to disappoint the Lord, nor disappoint Kiley. The real Homecoming starts with me, it is not acting superficially, but come from the heart, this is what Kiley tried to point out. 

It is not easy to be a family, intimacy between husband and wife is not easy, but for Kiley’s sake I want to be a good husband. Someone said, “The best gift a father can give to the children is to love their mother.” Agree? Love comes from the heart. It is not only presence in the body but absence in heart, only obligations and function as husband and wife, but no engagement in the hearts. Homecoming starts with oneself, are you willing? This is Abba Father ‘s heart desire, and the longing of our children. 

I remember many years ago, Papa Gideon and Papa Demian’s church taught on relationship between husband and wife in adult Sunday school. They told me, they traveled away from church so much, so when they returned home they had to take the makeup classes on husband and wife relationship, because that is the foundation!

So, how do I love? What did Kiley point out? What is love? 

I thought I had love, but my son reminded me, love is for me to come out of my boxes, to think on other’s behalf, to show tenderness, to be tender to the other is to be considerate for the other. What is love? Love is not selfish, not boast, not self-seeking, not easily angered, is patient, kind…. (1Corinthians 13:4-7) talks about this. Can I ask you, how many did you fail? I failed in almost everyone, I am ashamed! 

I thought I did pretty well, and didn’t expect, to receive a failing grade from my son! Are we willing to improve toward that? Your wife is waiting, your husband is waiting, your children are waiting – hoping and waiting for the parents to change. Some couples fought most of their lives and ended up in divorce, the children not only were disappointed at the parents, they became disappointed at God…. 

I know we can’t be perfect, but we can improve – today will be better than yesterday, and tomorrow will be better than today. I also hope we can be friends, tell me what is wrong with me in front of me, not behind me. I want to listen, I am willing to change. I believe what is impossible with man, is possible with God… 

When we can be like that for each other, our children will be comforted and our Heavenly Father will say to the angels and all the saints, “See, that is my boy! My girl! “

 

 

 

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Letter from Home: Four lanes on the highway

Letter from Home 11/23/18:         Four lanes on the highway
A few weeks ago, we had lunch with some leaders and intercessors in a Chinese restaurant, Pastor Peter Smith from Philadelphia said, our ministries are like riding on the highway. There are four lanes, with different levels of glory which has to do with our hearts and our mindsets: (1) The first lane is the church lane (2) The second lane is the church and Kingdom lane (3) The third lane is the Kingdom and church lane (4) And the fourth lane is the break down lane.

(1)  Most churches are driving on the first lane  focusing on their own needs – preaching, home visitations, children and youth programs, even  evangelism and community services are for the purpose of church growth, not having much to the Kingdom of God. I think 99% of the churches are on this lane, not to say there is anything wrong with this, except we are still children, only able to focus on our own needs,  and not quite ready to know the heart of Abba Father.

(2) A few churches slowly grow in maturity, understand more, begin to care about the Kingdom of God, and they gradually begin to shift to the church/kingdom lane.

(3) There are some churches which are mature  fathers and mothers, who really understand Daddy’s heart. They no longer care only about their own business, but care about the Kingdom of God. God’s desire becomes their pursuit. I think this is what the five fold ministries is about – The five fold ministries is not another church structure, or about titles, the difference is their heart and mindset – pastors focus more on caring for people, and the apostles and the prophets connect more with heaven and the things of the Kingdom.

(4) Finally, the break down lane is where the orphans are. They have yet to understand the Father’s love and don’t know how to be sons and daughters, or they may be those who are severely wounded and paralyzed, waiting for others to rescue and help.

Which lane is your church on? Ours is a family being united in the heart of God, moving from the church lane to the church/kingdom lane. As we drive toward the horizon, we realized our perspectives are broadened, our vision is changing, all of a sudden we can see the world like we have never seen it before, while we were in the first lane… ! I am free, I rejoice, I am so excited that I want to embrace the heavens and the earth…! Who can understand, how happy I am !!!

During the prayer meeting in the evening before Thanksgiving, Brother Mingway gave an excellent illustration! He said, “What I am thankful for this year is, in the past we were in a box, but now the box is open and spread out flat. We are still a church, but have entered into the Kingdom of God. This year, I have seen the process of this box being opened, I see Lisa, Angela, Bo Yan, Yanna, Yi Jiang… come out of the box one by one, even our children are growing, experiencing many things, and their attitude towards God is almost as mature as that of the adults … Like the cloud of witnesses, the church is a family maturing together in the Lord…

Sister Tina added, “We are a house of bread growing together, hand in hand, old and young, entering into Canaan the promise land… ” Sister Xiuduan said, “Jumping out of the box and entering into the Kingdom, now I not only love our own church but also love other churches. Churches need to open up the box in order to accomplish what God desires.” Sister Lini said, “After coming out of the box God has taken me to a higher ground to see things from a new perspective. I realize that trials and difficulties are part of His process for me to grow, so I no longer fear! People that I used to want to stay away from, now I am able to love… “

In the past year the church has been through a lot, but what we ended up with is peace, unity, love and simplicity, my heart is filled with gratitude. Everyone is changing and maturing,  including myself. Believe it or not, right now is my happiest moment in my 37 years as a pastor…

Everything is nice and calm outside. It is Thanksgiving, no one goes to work,  hardly any car on the road, I just saw the morning sun rising behind the trees and through the leaves, beaming into my eyes. I can hear the geese calling outside, while inside, the heater is making a little quiet sound. I lit a candle on the desk, the tiny flame flickering, a little green grass in a glass cup standing next to a piece of brown fossil rock by the window, bringing out the color of the green bushes right outside the window. I love candles, especially when Molica is not with me, the candle accompanies me. One thing special about candles is that it’s flame moves, alive, it keeps talking to me. I am also talking to the Lord, “Today is Thanksgiving, Lord, what gift can I bring to You? Ah, only a heart which is full of gratitude and love to You…. “

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Letter from Home: Dialogue with God


11/24/18 Letter from home:  Dialogue with God

At the prayer meeting, Brother Jacob’s prayer was one of the most sincere prayers I have ever heard. Right after his first sentence, I couldn’t help but to quickly jot it down:

Sometimes I feel like sleeping, but I also want to speak to You. It is getting cold… Sometimes I am reckless, but You are guiding me behind the scene. Thank You for enabling me to continue to go forward passionately. I don’t know if I am pleasing You with what I have done. You are the Creator, though we are so minute, we can still enjoy Your love and wonder. You give us breath of life, how precious is that…

Many friends and relatives are gone, yet we are still alive, what is there left that is worth for us to do? Hope to receive more revelation during our conversation…

All I can say is to be thankful. Looking into the past, and facing the future, this world is becoming more and more complicated, that is because we understand much more than before, if we can turn our focus on You, then it will become much simpler…

The above is Jacob’s prayer, the following is my diary in the last few days, most of them are also talking to myself and sometimes dialoguing with God:

Monday:

Because of jetlag, I woke up early with these words ringing in mind: A unified, loving and generational family, a culture of honor, a heart which pursues Father’s desire – let’s run towards these goals. Live a life like Jesus, finish the work He entrusted us and then one day receive a rich welcome into His eternal Kingdom. This is my encouragement to myself and my fellow pilgrims.

Tuesday:

It has been 4 days since I came back from Taiwan, still going through jetlag I woke up in the middle of the night. As I lay back down to sleep I wept in my prayer, “Father God, I love You, I love You, I love You, O, how I love You, I love You, I love you… ”

Over and over I called out to Him, love flooded up from the depth of my heart like spring, continuously telling Heavenly Father I love Him… And I continued, “Let Your love flow out of me without blockage, with no leak…”

On my bed, I curled up, laying sideways, pillowed my head on my hands putting together. I am not lonely, I am Daddy’s precious child, I can sense that Father God was also laying there, holding me in His arms….

Molica is still in Taiwan I am home alone. Raining on the outside, I could hear the “tic-tac” sound of the water dripping from the second floor gutter to the first floor roof, sometimes fast, sometimes slow. The light is dim, the room is peaceful and quiet, I closed my eyes, but reluctant to fall asleep now – only allow my overwhelmed waves of emotions to upsurge in the vast ocean of God’s love…

I went downstairs, picked up the pen to write, after finished writing I went back upstairs. The moment I went to bed, I couldn’t help but cry again, Heavenly Father never departed, He was in my room the whole time…

Thursday:

All these years as a believer and as a pastor, at this point of my life the greatest burden in my heart is to build a home for Heavenly Dad. Since when did I change…?! What has “Homecoming” brought to me? From an orphan I have become a son, and only a son can become a father…

My heart is filled with gratitude, I am grateful to Papa and Mama Gideon Chiu, Papa and Mama David Demian, and every parents, brothers and sisters all over the world that has the same heart desire. You have testified your life by living it out in maturity, focusing not on title, position, performance, not even on ministries…, but a life that is sweet, beautiful and fragrant, easy to be with…, and a heart that only wants to attend to Father God’s heart….

Thank You, Heavenly Dad, You are so awesome, You are able to reach down from heaven to touch the lost and hardened heart like Adam and Eve that hid behind the fig tree in the bushes… I love You, Dad, O, how I love You… I am totally satisfied, whom have I in heaven but You? And earth has nothing I desire besides You… (Psalm 73:25) As I wrote, beautiful words began to flow out of my mouth, I wept as I wrote, love of God overflowing and overwhelmed me….

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East Coast Homecoming Gathering – Right time, right place and right people

East Coast Homecoming Gathering – 
Right time, right place and right people

This East Coast Egg Harbor Gathering (12/7-8) in NJ is happening at the right time, right place and with the right people specially arranged by God.

1. Right time: 
This Gathering falls on Hanukkah, the Jewish feast (12/2-9), this year. We didn’t realize that at the beginning until much later. Hanukkah celebrates God’s intervention, supernatual provision and the turning of defeat into victory. 

2. Right place: 
The meeting place will be in Egg Harbor, NJ. Right after the Montreal Gathering 6/29-7/4,2017, God asked us to host an East Coast Gathering in Egg Harbor, NJ. We said, Montreal was like the womb, the Gathering In Egg Harbor on 7/15 would be like the “Egg” that was birthed, it was also like a “Harbor” where the boat was set to sail.

When we chose this place to gather, we were not aware of (1) The wonderful revival God had done in this place. In fact nearby Vineland is the original place of the holiness revival 150 years ago (1867) which  later moved westward and eventually ignited the famous Asuza revival of the west coast. (2) That this is the place where William Penn, the first governor of Pennsylvania, had signed a treaty with the First Nation people in America. (3) God used a group of Chinese from China who couldn’t make it to Montreal and ended up coming to the United States to open the first page for the Chinese on the East Coast to care about the First Nation of USA. (4) In addition, next year, 2019, will be the 400th year of African slavery in this land. In 1860 along the underground railroad routs from NY to Delaware, Egg Harbor happened to be one of the areas where these escaping slavery had a direct path to go into Pennsylvania, in which slavery had been outlawed.

Many prophets prophesied that 2019 (Jewish calendar 5779) will be the year of the greatest harvest of souls. The Hebrew letter nine [ ט] looks like the sky is bursting open, like the window of heaven is open and the water is coming down. Like the breaking of water, new life is about to be birthed! The egg is coming out, and revival is about to set sail from the East Coast!   
3. Right people: What is so touching for us is that many First Nation people have already said that they wish to attend this Gathering. The revival in America must start with the First    Nation, otherwise the curses of the land cannot be removed. The family on the East Coast is facing a huge challenge, but we believe that in this Hanukkah season God has a plan. As long as the family walk in faith and obedience, and participate, we believe God will bring about a great breakthrough just like He did in the West Coast and IHOPKC which were beyond what we could imagine.

Thinking back to April of this year, when a few Chinese families in North America went to Papa Gideon Chiu’s home in Vancouver in spite of the winter storm, we came together to discern what God has for North America. By God’s grace we responded believing God will use us to have a part in changing this beautiful land of America. We decided, like in the chamber of prophet Elisha, to strike the ground with the arrows many times. It is also like having three fingers, the west, the south and the east, to hold this land of America. We had the gatherings in the West and South and now what we need is the East. Do pray about it, ask if God wants you to participate to accomplish the vision we received in the beginning of the year. We need God, we also need the family! 

God is on the move, it is the right time, right place and we have the right people. May the Lord personally touch your heart and speak to you. We are looking forward to seeing you there !

PS, because we have quite a number of First Nation coming from all over USA, they desperately need our financial support, it is not a small amount, if God led you to help, please send the check address to Kingdom Alive, and send to 12 Lilac Lane, Someret, NJ 08873. Thank you 

Love,
Fred Hsu and the team, 10/20/2018 

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East Coast Home Coming 9/14-9/15

Dear Family,

As God gathers His family around the world in “Homecoming”, North America also is catching up with His step. Last month we had a Chinese Gathering in Fremont, CA. And another one, called “Convergence” , will happen on September 20-22 with both Chinese and non-Chinese, at IHOP in Kansas City. We believe that there should be one in the East Coast also. So after a period of praying and seeking and sharing with pastor Gary of IHOPEG, we feel it would be great to have a smaller gathering at IHOPEG this time.

The purpose is to: (1) Connect with one
another because that’s God’s heart. God’s greatest desire is that His children be one just as Jesus and the Father are one (John 17:11). (2) When the church is no longer passive but takes up the responsibility to connect and walk corporately, we will have spiritual authority to affect the spiritual realm and see the society transformed.

Let’s rise up and respond to Father’s plan. God is looking for the critical mass,10 righteous can save a city from being destroyed. It is a critical time that we are in, let’s shift our focus from caring for our own churches and ministries to more on His Kingdom and His will.

Please pray and see if God led you to participate. Please mark your calendar the following date: 9/14 (Friday) 7:00-9:30 pm, 9/15 (Saturday) 9:30 AM-9:00 PM. The location is:

IHOPEG, 950 Raritan Road, Cranford, NJ 07016.

You may start the registration now to help us estimate how many are coming and prepare the name tags. Here is the web page and registration link to HIC web site:

Love,
Fred Hsu and the team.

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Letter from Home 6/22/2018:   North America Chinese Homecoming

 

 

From Pastor Fred Hsu

Letter from Home 6/22/2018: North America Chinese Homecoming

I did a little recounting; since the Chinese Gathering in Vancouver in 2009 until
today, I have participated in “Homecoming” related gatherings and pre-gatherings, both domestic and international, at least 55 times – I was shocked! Every time I learn so much and this time what I have received is even more profound. From knowing to truly understanding is the accumulation of many events. Certain things took me many times to fully comprehend. The more I understand the Kingdom of God, the less abstract it becomes. It moves from two dimensions to three dimensions, from black and white to color, and it even turns into animation before my eyes, entered into my spirit, and becomes a molecule of my cell, changing my life. Like a caterpillar transforming into a butterfly— it is in changing that things find purpose! God’s purpose for me is more fundamental than what I set my mind to do.

We are human beings, not human doings — being is more important than doing. I did not fully understand this before, but now I can certainly say that the most fundamental human need is to know God, be cherished by Him, and truly understand His heart, so we can change from being an orphan to being a son, from being lost to being secure in His love. Jesus said, I am the way, I came to take you to my Father—Jesus is not the end, the Father is (John 14:6)! I have flown out of the cage of religion and tradition, and now am returning to the Father’s home and entering the Father’s heart.

At the last gathering, there were 700 adults and 200 children in the evening and 500 adults during the day. Most of them were Chinese, and the majority of them were from California. Non-Chinese and people from out of town were the minority.

Pastor Gideon Chiu loves to share the heritage he and David Demian received from Pastor Bob Birch, their spiritual father. One important message Pastor Bob had in his life is “Those who have ears, let them hear what the Spirit has to say.” He repeatedly shared this to a point that many were tired of hearing it, but Gideon and David were eternally grateful. They not only received the message but also walked in it. It has become their lifetime practice and has also become a secret ingredient of “Homecoming”. Pastor Gideon said that if Pastor Bob stopped preaching on it because no one wanted to listen at that time, there would be no “Homecoming” today.

The three most important keys of “Homecoming” are: (1) Seek God’s presence and His face. We do not initiate except when we hear His voice. God is enthroned on the praises of Israel (Ps 22:3), so our worship is not to prepare for the message – we simply worship till God comes. It’s like what Moses said, if God’s presence is not with us, though angels can lead us into Canaan, we will not go (Ex. 33:1-15). Our pursuit is not the success but His presence. (2) The outcome of the battle is not determined in the battlefield nor by the sophistication of our weapons but is determined in the prophet’s chamber (2 Kings 13:15-19). So every gathering is another strike until victory comes and we have already witnessed its effect on many nations: Canada, Malaysia, North Korea … Heaven is impacting the earth, even the political situation is shifted! (3) God’s strategy is establishing a family.

The unity of the family brings authority to accomplish God’s commission.
“Homecoming” is not meetings but a journey, not a movement but a restoration.
Unity is not a mere agreement of opinion but a commitment to God and each
other, even to the point of death. Gradually, the global leaders came together as one. Last year in Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macao and overseas
Chinese made a covenant to become one family. And today, we who are in NorthAmerica are willing to follow suit and not fall behind.

On the second night, we watched a short video of Chuck Pierce at the
“Homecoming” in Hong Kong in 2012 where God told Chuck to make a key and
present it to the Chinese on his knees, saying, “You take the lead, we will follow.”
David Demian heard God saying: I have waited for a long time, I want to respond to my children. The Chinese in North America, like Joseph, was sent from all nations. Now is the time to rise and take your place! I am mobilizing the Chinese in wave after wave. You are no longer immigrants – you are ambassadors of the unshakable Kingdom of God. I have prepared you for such a time as this. Arise, arise, arise! Let the fire of God burn in your spirit, no more blindness, sleepiness, and laziness. No threat can hinder my will. David Demian did not say anything else but declared that today is time for the Chinese in North America to enter into God’s destiny. We began to sing the song in spirit: Now is the time that the Chinese will enter their destiny, open up the ancient gates! The dance team also began to affirm: Go, go, go! Chinese arise! May God glorify Your son, and Your son glorifies You. David continued to declare: Gate of heaven is open, God said, come up here!
God is equipping you. If you believe then you will be moved to a new level in your work, family, church, and ministry. Angels are touching each one and marking on your foreheads “Holy unto the Lord”. Those who have been marked by God are willing to offer themselves up to the Lord so at home, in the office, in the market, or on the street, people will know that the hand of the Lord is on you. Don’t reason, just believe, don’t try to understand, no more wasting time. This is the hour!

David Demian also pointed out that Chinese people are afraid to make mistakes, and if they do, they are very hard on themselves, so they would rather get good at copying and take orders from others. It is both their strength and weakness. They are therefore less likely to listen to God’s voice and take the risk of doing what God wants.

It is indeed safer to do what others have done, not having to pay too high a price of waiting upon the Lord, but we also would lose the originality of God because God never does things the same way. If we want to listen to God’s voice, we must dare take risks and not be afraid of making mistakes! But now all these must change. When we hear people say we have never done this before, or it is absolutely impossible, we should be excited because it is another opportunity to experience God and not to look at ourselves, and to boldly go forth with the authority that comes from the unity of family!

Pastor Grace, Fred, Nicole, Joy Lynn, Daniel Cheung and Caleb Chiu shared how their lives were impacted by “Homecoming”. All their testimonies were good and touching. People were moved and lives changed because no one was preaching, they just shared lives, and they themselves were the message and not any written sermons. What the hearers received were not information but Impartation.
Unknowingly, the messages were internalized, lives transformed, and they were molded into God’s workmanship — orphans become children and children become parents. Like homemade brewing, it’s totally genuine and authentic and this is another secret ingredient of “Homecoming”!

Many of the testimonies were lovely: Pastor Grace said that at the end of the first evening of worship, a coworker said that the core leaders should go up and dance with the dance team. While going up to the stage hand-in-hand, Pastor Fred asked her, what are we doing up here? She said, I don’t know. She further shared: as long as we are of one heart, even just going up the stage as we were told is fulfilling the heart of the Father. Nobody says: Go up? Why didn’t you tell me sooner! We were like children and say, OK, if I need to go up, I will go up. It is the childlike humble ones that can enter into the kingdom of heaven. The core leadership team needs to be like this—laying down ourselves and just wanting to please God. Yet most churches often focus on pleasing people. But the core team of “Homecoming” have learned that the secret is not that we know what to do but to listen to God, know each other heart to heart, and be willing to be a committed family. Only by this can we destroy the enemy.

Pastor Fred shared: He can preach about many truth but the real change comes as he sees the life examples of mature fathers and mothers in the journey.
“Homecoming” helped him to turn from self-centered to God-centered, and he
began to realize that the Heavenly Dad is also lonely, He is looking for a resting
place. Understanding Abba Father’s longing sometimes moves him to tears when reading Malachi, Deuteronomy and even Leviticus.

Nicole and Joy Lynn shared in the same afternoon. Nicole said that we can learn how not to be offended when we make a covenant to be family. We will not easily break up because of offense. Because of the covenant, Nicole can feel the change and the enemy can no longer bring division into the relationship. Joy Lynn shared that when she was pushed to the end of her love as peers, God lifted her to a higher
level and she became a mother and was able to love more. When her spiritual
father has more spiritual sons and daughters and has less time for her, she was
jealous. One day God lifted her to another level. The Lord said to her, you asked
for too much and are not grateful. Your heart is distanced from the heart of your
spiritual father. He is so busy yet you still maintain as a child. Joy Lynn was then
changed from being a daughter to a mother and she would eventually bring many
children into glory. She said to us: let’s stop being small minded but grow to be fathers and mothers!

Caleb is the most special one. He is Pastor Gideon’s son and he carries the
anointing of two generations: His anointing of relationship is like his father, the
anointing of worship is like his mother and his preaching is like David Demian. In the last session, he was asked to share and he said: God is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God’s core value is generational inheritance. Bible says that God hated Esau because Esau despised his birthright. For the son to despise what the father treasures it is truly displeasing to God and it makes God angrier than about any other sins (Mal 1:2-3, Rom. 9:13). Jesus is a good example – He only does what He sees the Father do (John 5:19). Joel 2:28 said that the old men will dream dreams and the young men will see visions and Caleb said, as a son, my vision is to fulfill my father’s dream. Pastor Gideon added that one time when Caleb was sitting beside him someone was complaining about that person’s own father. When Caleb heard that, he said to the man that it’s never a son’s place to correct his father. Caleb once said that although my father’s armor was old and dented, it is an honor to wear it. When Caleb was a teen Pastor Gideon told him that ever since Caleb’s great Grandfather they have been carrying the next generation. Pastor Gideon said I am carrying you on my back until one day we will come to a wall and I will not be able to get over that wall. I have served this generation but you will not stop there, you must climb over and continue to fulfill God’s mission. Caleb said that won’t happen! After I climb over, I will bring all my friends to carry you over and together we will continue to run!

For “Homecoming” to have such a strong foundation there is another very
significant person – Pastor Daniel Cheung, Gideon’s best friend in high school.
Daniel was the captain of the basketball team and Gideon was a teammate. As a captain, Daniel always passed the ball to his teammate can score. Later when they built the Zion church he said the same thing to Pastor Gideon: you have the calling from God, and I am here to support you. That was their dream. For 50 years since high school, the two had never quarreled. He acknowledged that Pastor Gideon is the head and he is willing to submit to him. As a result, Pastor Gideon had complete trust in him. He consulted Pastor Gideon in all matters but Pastor Gideon gave him full authority to handle all things. He said that Gideon is like David and he is like Jonathan, the two become one. The important thing is not who gets the credit but the whole team wins! The safest place is where God puts us. In the body of Christ, everyone has his own place. One Cantonese saying says, if you don’t have a big head, don’t wear such a big hat. The most precious thing is the family and in the family, all positions fit together. We can walk together, do things together, cry together and laugh together. When we are fighting the enemy together, we are no longer using single bullets but the combined power of dynamite! The time we live in today is an extraordinary period, the fight between light and darkness is fierce and the persecution is approaching. It is no longer time to just serve our own denomination or to build one’s own ministry or invest in big buildings. Joining our hearts together and walking as one is the only way to face the power of darkness.

One last secret I would share: You and I are the two-ounce explosives needed for the critical explosion. When we combine forces it will be powerful and missing your two-ounce may be critical. We are all part of the body. If God wants you to come, you come. If God wants you to stay, you stay. Through our obedience, the body of Christ can accomplish God’s work. Heavenly Dad will rejoice in our obedience. The important thing is to seek Him together, listen and obey. This is “Homecoming” and it is the Heavenly Father’s dream. Ah! As long as Dad is happy our hearts are satisfied!

Fremont華人回家聚集现場直播
Live stream Fremont Chinese Homecoming
https://goo.gl/ivJKzu

 

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HIC is a five fold ministry, spirit filled bilingual church, english and chinese in nj somerset

If you are looking for a church to call home in Somerset or central NJ, we, the people at HIC would like to be that home for you.

There has been such a need for a place to belong, to find the village of people who can support each other, that is our aim.

We started out as a Chinese church in March 8, 1998, and merged with an international church at 2001, so we have English and Chinese church members and pastors. It is not separated by generation however. Every generation has the access to English speaking sermons, lessons, and also Chinese. We do bilingual translation for every service, Sundays and healing room Saturdays.

If you stumbled upon us using searches, we welcome you to learn more from our home page. 

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如果你在新澤西中部找一個主裡的大家庭加入, 我們HIC希望能成為你的家人.

人最基本的需求就是要找一個可以歸屬的地方, 找到屬於自己的村莊, 可以彼此扶持那是我們的目標.

我們在1998年3月8號從華人教會開始, 2001年和多族裔的教會合併, 之後就是多族裔但是中英同步的服事. 我們也不分中英文堂, 星期天和星期六各種服事上都是雙語. 網上也是雙語講道.
如果你在這漫長的網路收尋裡找到我們, 歡迎來觀看我們主頁和聯絡我們.