“STUNNING UPSET IN SABAH!” So read the headline of an article in Asiaweek magazine, after the Lord answered the prayers of many Christians during my second of two visits to the Island of Borneo in 1985.
In November of that year, a sovereign outpouring of the Spirit of God on 300 believers took place in a church in Sabah, East Malaysia, and then swept down into Sarawak. The revival lasted for about eight years, during which time a Christian government was in power. The spiritual events that took place during those years are now fading, but to those who were privileged to be there, and to witness the miracles that took place, they are indelible.
Such spiritual awakenings last for short periods, and even though the effects of them continue, the initial impact gradually weakens. Jesus said, “The night comes, in which no one can work.” I have seen many outpourings of the Spirit of God over the years, but none of such intensity that those present at the time were so deeply touched. They remain so to this day.
Such memories are unforgettable, and are the touchstones by which later events are judged. Mine are the two ministry visits I made in 1985 to Sabah. They were the first of fifty such visits, which included the Philippines, the United Kingdom, Europe, the USA, and Japan, and Papua New Guinea. My focus is now on Australia, and more on training than on teaching.
The amazing things that I was not only blessed to witness around the world but also to participate in, are all of them memorable, but the outpouring of the Spirit of God on my last evening in Sabah — which began with a entry into that church of the cyclonic sounding wind that brought all 300 Christians present to their knees to mourn their sins and those of their people, is (second, of course, to the night when I first gave my life to the Lord Jesus Christ) the most memorable, and so remains my spiritual touchstone.