Mike Chan

I was born Catholic, but Christ was never a big part in my life. When I was about 16, I was extremely depressed, and had ongoing suicidal thoughts. It got to the extent where one day I was going to act upon those thoughts, after school I was going to find the tallest building I could get into, and not have to worry about anything else.  At this time, I met someone who changed my life drastically, my Christian school principle, Jon Borden.  At the time I didn’t know, and didn’t care who he was or what he believed in.  I was brought to the psychiatric hospital and was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder type 2, I was put on psychotropic medications and attended psychotherapy.  Even though I didn’t know it back then, Jon’s actions were the first taste of Christian love, because of his actions, I am still here today.

But my story still goes on, upon entering college, I relapsed, and I feel into a place much like I was in back in my high school days.  I reached out to Jon for help, he tried, but there is only so much you can do when someone is on the other side of the world. With the help of people around me, I was able to save myself from committing suicide.  I was unhappy, I refused to believe that my life was an endless chain of ups and downs, where the ups would result in my reckless behavior hurting those around me, and the downs resulted in me wanting to take my own life.  At this time, a close friend of mine brought me to Ohana Seattle University caregroup. I was able to put my foot in the door of Christ.

I left Seattle for half a year, and decided to return to Asia. I took time to find out what I wanted out of myself, and what Christ wanted of me.  When I returned, I made sure that church became a priority for me.  And God has given me so many beautiful people to look up to, all whom live like Jesus.  Some people can hear God talk to them, in their times of trails; for me, God sent angels in the form of people to pick me up, dust me off, and draw me closer to God.

The past year and a half, I have been making Christ a part of my life, I was re-baptized during church camp, I’ve become a member of my church, I’ve assumed duties in a ministry.  And just last Wednesday, my psychotherapist told me that there was no need for me to see her. She had seen tremendous change in me and she knows that I have a huge support network in Christ.  I look back, and I can see all God has done for me, even when I didn’t know him, he has put me in places where I didn’t know I was capable of going, he has shown me what a Christian’s love is and he provides for me.

The passage James 1:12 is one that truly speaks to me “Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.”

Outpouring of The Holy Spirit

Dear Khun Mor (Pastor Lao),

I am so thankful for your kindness and love towards my family. My dad and my mom are still talking about the anointing of God in your ministry. I myself just realized that my dad really cares about your feelings. This made him show up at the River of Life Church just to see you and see if you are doing well. By the grace of God, he got touched by the presence of the Holy Spirit in that service. When I met him on Wednesday, he came to me and asked about the manifestation of the Holy Spirit. He believes that it comes from God, not from men. He asked me to open the Bible for him and tell him more about this subject. Frankly, this is the first time after nearly 10 years since he got saved, that he requested to understand more about the Bible. Normally, he always refused to read the Bible or have a Bible study. This time, I opened the Bible and told him about the Scripture talking about falling and laughing in the Spirit.

He wanted to learn more, so I gave him a lesson about the “Outpouring of the Holy Spirit,” that you wrote. He read it and he told me that it was very interesting and he enjoyed reading it very much. He also wants me to record what I explained to him on tape, so he can listen to it many times to understand more and more.

For me, I realized that what I have learned in the past didn’t help me to break through the depth of the spiritual realm at all. After I experienced the touch of the Master’s hand in your meetings, I feel like a true new believer in Christ, and the experience with God this time is different from the past. I asked myself why no one ever told me that it was so different? The Holy Spirit touch this time is a different touch from the past; it is clearer and deeper. I feel like I’m closer to God, understand more what’s from God, instead of using my own reasoning. Now, I’m going back to read the basic understanding about the Holy Spirit. Now, when I read the Scripture, it has a deeper meaning to me. The same Scripture I used to read is now more powerful and comes to life.

I now realize that it is easy to walk with God by the power of the Spirit. I used to half believe in it, but now I truly believe it, because with revival in the Holy Spirit (or the fire of God), everyone is going together. I’m not better than anyone, God is the greatest Person who delivers all of us.. Nee is helping me to hook up with the Holy Spirit and this is something so special for me,… that a new believer of River of Life Church is helping a 10 years old believer to hook up with the Holy Spirit. What a special deal! Now I’m going back to the books I used to have and start to read them again because it’s not the same, especially the Bible.

My best friend, Nong, came to our church and got touched by God on her very first visit. She told me that she got so many blessings after that day, from morning till night… everything she did. She said that things went so smoothly and well–there was a very good solution on all the difficulties in her life. She is willing to learn more and go back to church again.

I truly thank God for choosing me to be part of this revival church and to be led by a dedicated servant of God who has so much love toward people. Khun Mor (Ps Lao), I pray that the anointing of God in you will increase and that He will give you and your family many blessings! Please don’t hesitate to let me know whether I could be a blessing in any area of your ministry.

This is a testimony of how God used an ordinary member of a church that welcomes the fire of revival.
Her name is Cheng, a member of Rivers of Life Church in Bangkok, Thailand. She accepted Christ two years ago.

Dear Pastor Lao,

I would like to ask you about a supernatural situation that marvels me. My mother hired three tailors for her business. These three tailors live with us and would often go to church with us. However, last Sunday, January 22, 2006, they did not go to church with my family. I walked out during the altar call in order to receive the anointing through the laying on of hands by Pastor Noom. I asked the Lord to give me four times the anointing so that I can bring the fire of God to bless the three tailors; even though I was not sure how I would carry it to them.
Overcome with exhaustion, I went home and rested. That night, I grabbed a bag of your teaching CDs and my Bible and went up to their bedroom. As I climbed the stairs, I prayed, “In the Name of Jesus, it is not me, but the Holy Spirit who will touch them. Amen!”
When I entered their bedroom, the Holy Spirit spoke to them through me, “This is the time.” I turned off the television. The four of us sat in a circle and began to ask God for His tangible presence. Suddenly, Joy, one of the tailors, laughed and cried at the same time. We could sense the presence of God in the room. The Holy Spirit told me to lay hands on all of them. My spirit was full of boldness and steadfastness. The whole room was full of weeping, laughter and praising of the Lord. Then the Holy Spirit commanded me to cast out demons.
Out of faith and boldness, I spoke, “In the Name of Jesus, evil spirits, you must come out. You must not stay in the lives of God’s children.” One of the tailors stopped laughing and screamed with pain. The phrase, “In the Name of Jesus” kept coming out of my mouth without ceasing. After a while they all laughed and praised the Lord and I came back to myself. I could not speak with authority any more.
Later while we were talking, I sensed the authority and power of God return. I began teaching many things from the Bible. They were hungry for the Word of God and received it gladly.
Before leaving, I asked the Lord, “They cannot read. How can they receive Your Word again?” The Lord told me to give them your teaching CDs and I did. There was so much love between all of us that it felt like a movie with a happy ending.
I have some questions to ask you:

1. Is it possible for God to use an ordinary Christian like me?
Answer from Pastor Lao: God commands everyone to preach the gospel, heal the sick and cast out demons (Mark 16:15-18). Therefore, any Christian who is filled with the fire of God and walks by faith and obedience can be used by God. God can use any man or woman as His vessel as long as that person is available and yielded to Him. Because you obeyed His voice, God used you to be His vessel. Remember to remain humble all the days of your life because we are nothing without God. Just as Jesus used a donkey to ride into the city of Jerusalem, the Spirit of Jesus uses us to do His will. God gets all the glory. Amen.

2. While I was laying hand that night, I felt as if God revealed to me that one of them missed her home very much. Is it possible for God to reveal her thoughts to me?
Answer from Pastor Lao: This is a miracle of God. God gave you knowledge to know the thoughts of another person so that you can minister to her with love and compassion that comes from God’s heart. God used you as His vessel. In order for you to do His work of deliverance, He needs to fill you with His heart’s desire and passion.

3. What should I do if similar situations happen again?
Answer from Pastor Lao: Simply obey God’s Spirit and be humble. Remember that the honor and glory goes to God. We are just a vessel, and He is the One who sets the captives free. Jesus gets all the glory.

4. I am not afraid of Satan any longer; however I know that Satan has power too and he can perform counterfeit miracles in this kind of situation.
Answer from Pastor Lao: Don’t be afraid because the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. Jesus has already overcome the enemy. If you serve in the Name of Jesus and are yielding to the Holy Spirit, you can discern what is the source of miracles.
1 John 4:4 says, “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”
1 John 3:8 says, “He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.”
Colossians 2:13-15 says, “When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.”

5. I would like you to teach and give me advice. Please tell me what kind of miracles did I experience that night?
Answer from Pastor Lao: The Holy Spirit used the yielded vessel. His desire is to save souls and set the captives free. Whoever desires and is willing to be used by Him, He will use as the Spirit wills.
1 Cor. 12:11 says, “All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.”
He chose to use you that day and placed the desire in your heart. You responded to Him. It is awesome!

Thank you so much for reading my testimony.

Revival In Thailand

My mother has been selling Buddhist offerings (also called Sunk – ka – Phan in Thai) for more than 10 years. As I was growing up, she visited many Buddhist temples, donated a lot of money to help build temples, and went to many meditation classes. I used to ask her why she spent money on building temples and gave offerings to monks even though she did not have much money. She said that she believed it was the right thing to do and hoped that it would help make her life better. The truth was that giving to the monks and temples did not help her at all and she continued to have family and financial problems. I tried giving her money, but her financial woes persisted. Additionally, my younger brother fell deeper and deeper into trouble in his teenage years. My mother could not find peace in her heart. I felt sad for her and tried to help by talking to my brother. It didn’t work and I gave up. Then I learned about God’s power from P’Michele and I accepted Christ into my life. I began to pray for my family. I believed that God was the only solution for my family. I also realized that there are so many Thai people who are suffering like my family who turn to wrong spiritual guidance hoping for a better life and better relationships.

When I heard that Pastor Lao was coming to Bangkok in May 2005, I invited my mother, aunt and uncle to come to church. All of them were touched by the fire of God that worked in and through Pastor Lao. Since then my mother has accepted Christ and has decided to change her business. We are praying that God will make a way for a new job. Although we cannot see any other way of making a living for my mother, we believe that God can make a way. Pastor Noom and Anne, and P’Michele encouraged us that everything is possible for God and told us not to worry.

My mother has not found a new job yet; however, this morning my mother told me that one of her customers was interested in getting to know God. My mother shared about how her life got better after accepting Christ into her life. Can you believe that my mother shared the gospel with a customer who came to purchase Buddhist offerings? To me it was a bit strange, but I know that God’s power is beyond my imagination. All things are possible for God! Praise the Lord!!

As for me, I am so glad that God put me in River of Life Church. Everyone here sincerely cares for my mother even though they know that she makes her living selling Buddhist offerings. I am so overwhelmed by His unconditional love and holiness that work in and through Pastor Noom and Anne’s lives. I know they are very busy because they have so many people to care for, but they are still able to find time to care for my family. Thank God for Pastor Lao, Pastor Noom and Anne, P’Michele, and my loving members at River of Life Church. I am confident that Revival will happen through our church soon.

Love in Christ,

Pum

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