Picture: The Elijah Challenge that changed my ministry - Left circle: Rev William and Lucille Lau; Right circle: Rev Albert and Grace Kang |
On that hot day of 8th December 2005, Grace drove me to the healing seminar. I was not in the most amiable mood. I had work to do and my nerve was also not accommodating. The pain caused by the disease, Ankylosing Spontylitis, had often caused chronic pain in my part and also down both my legs.
When we could not find a parking space, I was elated. Now, I could miss the seminar and give a great excuse to Dr. Thiagan. However, God had other plan and He opened up a nice parking space for us. Still mumbling under my breath, I decided not to take my walking stick with me. With Grace helping me, I walked slowly to the training location at Bangsar.
That day was to become a defining moment of my life and ministry. Pastor William Lau, an American-Chinese, with a gentle Christ-like spirit, was systematic in his teaching. In his Elijah Challenge teaching, there were no strange doctrines or scary testimonies of being caught to heaven. This founder of the Elijah Challenge was not there to impress us with his theology but simply allowing the scriptural verses to speak for themselves.
Verse upon verse, precept upon precept, line upon line, my eyes were opened. Suddenly everything made sense. Why didn’t they teach me this in the Bible seminary? Even after earning a Master in Divinity, this truth in the Bible had completely eluded me.
Why wasn’t I told that there is a difference between the gift of healing and the authority to heal? Why didn’t the professors teach us how to use the kingly authority to do spiritual warfare and heal the sick in the context of preaching the Gospel?
The most fascinating part was when Pastor Lau said that he would demonstrate this God-given power and authority by healing some of the participants in the name of Jesus. He did exactly that. A few participants were healed of the back pain, leg pain and other infirmities.
Then he invited some of us to try. I remember feeling the pain in my own back and facing an Indian pastor who claimed to have three numb toes. With a fellow participant, I laid my hand on the toes and commanded the feeling to return in the name of Jesus. To my great surprise, the pastor claimed that feeling had returned to his toes and he quickly testified to the other participants. That was my first experience in having immediate healing result after ministering.
Grace and I were to attend the same seminar another three more times and subsequently took an advance training with Pastor Lau. Since then, our ministry has been completely transformed. It is filled with power and miracles which is line with what the Bible says about the kingdom of God as not being a matter of talk but of power (1 Corinthians 4:20).
Grace and I had personally healed many in the name of Jesus with the God-given authority and power. In the last eight years, we have trained Christians from both the mainline and Pentecostal/Charismatic churches in seminars and training sessions. We have the joy of seeing our trainees healing the infirm in the name of Jesus and literally thousands are being miraculously healed.
Rev Albert Kang
Coordinator
Elijah Challenge Asia