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Eden Valley SDA Church

Frank Fournier

Intensity Of Desire

We were introduced to a fellow by the name of Gao Hongzhi.

Now, you probably haven't heard of Gao Hongzhi, because he was a very poor, illiterate Chinese peasant.

And in spite of being poor and a laborer, he discovered the power that exists in the science of prayer.

He felt an overwhelming desire to serve God.

His faith laid hold on God and what God could do, and God can do anything.

And he prayed with an intensity of purpose that was proportionate to the value of the object that he was seeking.

It was all to glorify God and it was all to save souls.

Now I'm going to repeat the story because quite a few of you were not here on Wednesday morning.

But this man Gao did not know how to read.

He had been baptized, and he couldn't read his Bible.

Now it's really hard to serve God if you can't read and if you can't remember anything you're told.

I think you can sympathize with that, I suppose.

So 1 day on a Sabbath after church, he was so burdened with wanting to serve God, that he went home and he didn't eat, and he knelt down in his living room or somewhere in his house, and he told God that he would not leave him, that he would not stop praying, that he would plead with him until God did something for him so he could serve too.

And he pled and he pled and we're not told how long he pled, but at a certain time during the day, probably some hours later, because God is never quick about this sort of stuff, you understand.

Some time later God said to him, go get your Bible and read Psalms 62.

Well, you know, he argued with God, what's the point of going to get a Bible?

I can't read and I can't find Psalm 62 and I can't read it, there's no point.

And God argued back and said, Go get your Bible and read Psalm 62.

And it was back and forth, back and forth, until the man decided, OK, OK, already.

He went and got his Bible, probably still in the wrapper, maybe not in the wrapper, we don't know, because he couldn't read, you understand.

And He opened it up to Psalm 62 and he read the whole Psalm.

Well, he was so excited that he ran clear across town to the head elder's place and he told the head elder that he had read Psalm 62.

The problem was he'd forgotten his Bible at home.

But that was okay because he recited Psalm 62 by memory.

God had worked a tremendous miracle for him.

And this man, Gao Hongzhe, is credited with 180 souls the first year he started to minister to people.

If you had the power, would you use it this way?

And if God can give this man that kind of power, is it anything for Him to give us the same thing?

The promise of the Holy Spirit belongs to us.

We are living in the time of the Holy Spirit.

Why do we not have amazing experiences like that?

Or maybe I should say, why do we not have more amazing experiences like that?

I've had the opportunity of sharing with people what God has done for me.

But I can't tell you even where I stand right now that God has done that much for me, that I was able to be so empowered that within 1 year I brought 180 people to Christ.

He may have done something like that for you.

If he has come on over, tell us about it.

You know, You can just come up when you're ready.

Now, why does God not move more in this direction than he does?

And do you know that the main reason, as far as I'm concerned, is that we are not like Gao Heng Tse.

I doubt that there's anyone here that can't read.

I had you turn to 1 Corinthians 1, a beautiful passage.

I've used it many, many times and I'm sure you have.

1 Corinthians 1, we're looking at verse 26.

The Apostle Paul speaking says, for you see, your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh and not many mighty, not many noble are called.

There's a tendency in us to think ourselves wiser than this man Gao.

You and I are wiser in the sense that we have had the opportunity of gathering far more knowledge probably than he has.

We are mightier because we have, by opportunity, the privilege of accomplishing greater things in this world.

We are more noble, at least in our minds, we think we are.

And if you don't think you are, I would like to send you to Africa.

You know, I grew up in Canada, and in Canada we have this crazy idea that we are not racial, racist, we are not prejudiced, we get along with everyone.

I'm telling you, you start to learn things about yourself that you didn't know existed.

Oh, but I have never been so impatient in my life as when I was sent to Africa, because they don't do things the way I do them.

And I start to think, well, they don't do them right.

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Intensity Of Desire

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