ACCEPTING CHRISTIANITY

I grew up in a household with parents who believed in traditional ancestor worship, although they did not impose these beliefs on me. They sent me to Christian missionary schools as a child, and it was through this channel that I was exposed to Christian doctrines from a young age.

In high school, I even chose Bible study as my religious study subject. When I attended college, I joined Christian youth mission activities and accepted Christianity.

I went on to pursue higher education in England, and it was there that I was baptized into the BaptistChurch in 1980. I was quite active in youth fellowships and church activities.

I believed in the Lord’s salvation for mankind as it was spelled out in the Bible; however, at times I still doubted my own salvation. Before I received baptism, I was taught that, to accept Christ, I simply had to pray to Jesus and tell Him that I believed in Him and ask for Him to forgive my sins. Saying these words meant that I had accepted Christ and the Holy Spirit would then dwell in me.

However, after receiving baptism, I didn’t feel the presence of the Holy Spirit within me. I didn’t speak in other tongues as the early believers did when they received the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:4). The churches I worshipped in also did not experience many signs and miracles, as the early church had (Acts 5:12, 16).

But since I accepted Christ in the BaptistChurch, I did not think to look for a different church that prayed in tongues and performed signs and miracles. After completing my studies and returning to Malaysia in 1982, I continued to worship in the BaptistChurch.

RESISTING MY WIFE’S CHURCH

In 1986, I married a member of the True Jesus Church, and she tried to bring me to her church. However, I tried to convince her that my church doctrines were in accordance with the teachings of the Bible and that her church was wrong.

My wife prayed and tried very hard to share the gospel with me, but I was adamant in my resistance. I had been taught at my church to believe that the True Jesus Church doctrine was a deviation from the truth. I did not want to give in to my wife because I felt that I was correct.

However, because the nearest True Jesus Church congregation was two hours away, I usually drove my wife to church and attended service with her despite my reservations about the doctrines and beliefs. Over time, I observed many positive qualities of the church. I noticed that the believers were fervent in their prayers, many signs and miracles occurred, and the church grew in size.

Yet these observations were not enough to change my view. I still insisted that my church was the right one and that the True Jesus Church was wrong. I continued to worship at the BaptistChurch whenever I had the opportunity.

THE TRUECHURCH OF GOD

In August 1992, I had a very bad bout of the flu. I was concerned that I might pass this on to my wife and our young daughter so I decided to sleep in another bedroom. That night, I had a vivid dream.

In the dream, I saw two churches. On the left side, I saw my church and recognized many church members who were standing in front of the entrance. On the right side, I saw a chapel with the name “True Jesus Church” on it and a large group of its members standing in front of it. I didn’t recognize anyone there.

The two churches were separated by a road. It looked straight and extended all the way back until it disappeared into the horizon. Above the churches, the sky was bright and a cloudless blue.

The members of both churches were engaged in a debate over which church was the true church. They were shouting across the road to emphasize their points. This went on for quite some time and seemed very real to me.

All of a sudden, a loud voice from above said, “The True Jesus Church is the true church of God.” At that moment, I realized that I had been wrong in my opinions and judgments on which church was the true church. Even though I was still asleep, I had a strong compulsion to submit to God, ask for forgiveness, and worship Him.

When I opened my eyes, I saw bright rays of light shining on me from one corner of the ceiling before they quickly disappeared.

CONFIRMED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT

I was wide awake. I felt compelled to kneel down and pray, so I did. To my surprise, I was praying in tongues. After the prayer, I noticed the time was 1:34 am.

Even though I initially believed that the voice I heard was God, I started to have doubts. Over the next few months, I frequently pondered what the dream meant and why I had it. I wasn’t sure that the dream was from God and wondered why He would reveal things to me in this way.

I continued to pray and attended service a few times at True Jesus Church, but there was no progress in overcoming my doubts or in speaking in tongues. Therefore, I kept the dream to myself and didn’t tell my wife about it.

In December 1992, I brought my family to Australia for a holiday. On the last leg of our trip we stayed with my wife’s relatives, who were members of the True Jesus Church. We went to church with them on the Sabbath, and I decided that I would ask God to reveal to me whether the dream was really from Him.

During the first prayer session, I asked God to give me the Holy Spirit to prove that the revelation I received was true. To my surprise, I was able to pray in tongues again. I felt a warm stream flowing from my shoulder to my legs and there was inexpressible joy inside me.

My heart was overwhelmed with joy and gratitude to our Lord Jesus that He would reveal Himself to me in such a meaningful way. I had received the Holy Spirit and believed with my whole heart that the True Jesus Church was indeed God’s true church.

Receiving the Holy Spirit as confirmation of my dream dispelled all of my lingering doubts and allowed me to fully believe in the doctrines of the church. I was baptized three months later.

I am very grateful to the Lord for speaking to me and bringing me to His fold in such a wonderful way. He knew my hard and stubborn nature and helped me come to my senses and realize which church was His. Otherwise, I would still be a lost sheep wondering in the wilderness, unable to recognize the voice of the good shepherd, our Lord Jesus.

May all glory be given unto our Lord God almighty, Jesus Christ.

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