 |
| |
 |
 |
| Calling
all Doctors and Medical personnel who are willing to be part
of a Medical Missions resources pool. Please contact us at :
admin@cmdf.org.sg |
|
|
Dental Prayer Fellowship Newsletter
–
January 2008
Our Dental Prayer Fellowship emphasizes the gathering
of Christians of our dental fraternity for prayer. Prayer is right
in the centre of DPF and should be the primary reason why we gather.
The following letter, written on 9 October 1941 and reproduced here
in part, is taken from The Journal Once Lost – extracts from the
diary of John Sung pages 500 to 501. May it help us to focus on
the central purpose of our monthly gathering through this year,
2008.
It is my hope that every evangelistic band will eventually develop
into a prayer band whereupon the Nanyang region will turn to Christ
in the foreseeable future. Each band should comprise five to seven
members who will go down on their knees in the presence of the Throne
as they meet weekly. They will "open the coffin", be cleansed
in the Blood, read a chapter of the Bible together. Thereafter,
the Holy Spirit shall guide them in their meditation as they take
turns to read the Bible. According to their respective enlightenment,
members should wash one another's feet, encourage and love each
other. In addition, they are to comfort and share one another's
sufferings, and burdens. The more they love one another, the more
they will be one in the Lord, even unto death.
Once we have savoured what prayer is like, it should be increased
to a daily affair. Three hours for each prayer meeting is not too
long. Praying in the spirit is sweeter than anything you can ever
imagine. Those who have tasted this sweetness will certainly not
engage in mahjong, small talk, reading novels or gambling. If one
hundred evangelistic bands in Nanyang were to taste such sweetness,
the whole of Nanyang would turn to the Lord for sure. This is not
a figment of my imagination, but it is a fact from my own experience
on the hill. I have had the experience of praying together with
my brothers and sisters for 98 days. At times we prayed for five
to six hours and did not think that this was too long.
The more we pray, the more we love God and the more we become one.
The more we pray, the more we get to know the will of the Heavenly
father. The more we pray, the more joy we have, the more we have
peace, and the more we look up to the Lord – we will then lengthen
our prayers. The more we pray, the more our hearts will shine and
we will also understand and love each other better. We will also
be able to appreciate our prayers better and die to ourselves as
well as to the world. We will see our weaknesses more clearly and
become more humble. You can execute such a life of prayer. If each
evangelistic band can pray in the spirit, you will be preserved
right up to that very day. If there is such an evangelistic band
in every church, the church will experience a greater revival.
From the Mount of Olives, the Lord saw what Satan was out to do
in the Last Days and told His disciples: "You must pray in
vigilance so that you do not fall into delusion." Even the
chosen people will be led astray if they do not pray hard. At the
peak of the rule by the forces of Darkness, the Lord asked three
of His disciples to pray with Him in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus
was praying with deep fervour and drops of perspiration dripped
down like beads of blood. An angel appeared on High and gave Him
strength.
I have seen many evangelistic bands falling apart after some years,
and the reason is that they emphasize only on the work itself, at
the expense of prayer. As a result, their work in the past was not
accepted of God. Because of such failures, God has used my illness
to bring me to the hills so that I can see the importance of prayer
and the sweetness of spiritual communion. It is of utmost importance
that we are in close communion with God.
My health is getting better everyday, but there is still a wound.
It seems that God intends to leave a thorn within me so that I will
enter more deeply into His presence.
About John Sung:
Dr John Sung, considered by many as one of the greatest Chinese
evangelists who ever lived, had fought valiantly for the Lord Jesus
Christ in China and Southeast Asia during the first half of the
twentieth century. He brought powerful revival to the Chinese Church
as no one has ever done before. His influence is felt even to this
day.
Below are local newspaper reports of December 1935 (pages 316-17
of Journal) 700 Chinese Weep on Wharf
Dynamic Evangelist Goes Home
The farewell given yesterday and on Friday night to Dr John Sung,
one of China's greatest evangelists, by thousands of Chinese Christians
was one of the most extraordinary ever seen in Singapore.
When Dr Sung boarded the Corfu yesterday to return home, about 700
Chinese were weeping on the wharf, and Chinese of all ages marched
through the streets carrying banners of the Cross.
Dr Sung preached his farewell sermon to Singapore's Chinatown last
night. Outside the Chinese Methodist Church at the corner of Telok
Ayer and Cecil Streets, a vast concourse listened in the open air
to Dr Sung's oratory which came to them through the loud speakers.
Inside the building, a congregation of some 1,300 filled every seat.
It is estimated that Dr Sung, who arrived here at the end of August,
has made 2000 converts in Singapore. Assuming that he had the same
success upcountry, where he visited Malacca, Penang and Sitiawan,
and Medan in Sumatra, the total for the whole region would be about
4,000.
Powerful Preacher
Dr Sung's ministrations in Singapore were not
confined to one denomination. He attracted followers from the Chinese
community to various Protestant churches.Dr Sung is a preacher of
rare power. He had been described as a prophet of God, a John the
Baptist calling his people to repentance, an Oriental Savonarola
converting a whole city by his preaching against the sin of society,
and as a John Wesley translating the Gospel into terms the Chinese
people can understand.Dr Sung, who is still in his thirties, comes
from Hinghua where his father and grandfather were preachers before
him.At the age of 18, John worked his way to America, where he arrived
with US$6 in his pocket. He not only earned his living but worked
his way through college and university to take high degrees.
Scoffers Converted
In preaching, Dr Sung dramatizes Bible stories
with chalk and blackboard. At any point of his sermon, he may stop
to break forth into song. In the best manner of a Chinese actor,
he seems able to imitate any voice and play the part of any character.
In Singapore, he inspired thousands of Chinese to buy Bibles and
turned scoffers into converts.
|
