FaithAgent DevoDecks — Study Guide
Unbreakable: Brother Yun
"The Heavenly Man" — 30+ Arrests. A 74-Day Fast. A Miraculous Escape. The Faith That
Shook China.
Based on the DevoDeck at faithagentai.com | For personal study, small groups, and
discipleship
📋 Study Guide Overview
Subject: Brother Yun (Liu Zhenying),
Chinese house church leader
Theme: Radical faith, persecution,
miraculous deliverance, love for enemies
Audience: Men's groups, couples,
discipleship, mission teams
Sessions: 10 sections (multi-week study)
Born into poverty in Henan Province, China, Brother Yun was arrested over 30 times for preaching the gospel.
He endured a 74-day fast in prison without food or water, was brutally tortured, led death-row inmates to
Christ, and in 1997 walked out of a maximum-security prison on broken legs while guards were supernaturally
blinded. His life is a living rebuke to comfortable Christianity and a blazing testimony that the God of
Acts is still alive.
Born in the 1950s in rural Henan Province during the Cultural Revolution, Yun grew up in extreme
poverty. His family had nothing — no money, no status, no Bible. When his mother became a Christian, Yun
begged God for a Bible for months. God spoke to him in a dream, told him where to go, and a man he'd
never met handed him one. He memorized entire books of the New Testament. The Word became his foundation
when everything else was taken away.
Psalm 119:105"Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on
my path."
Matthew 4:4"Man shall not live by bread alone, but on every
word that comes from the mouth of God."
Jeremiah 15:16"When your words came, I ate them; they were
my joy and my heart's delight, for I bear your name, LORD God Almighty."
🙏 Pray
"Lord, I confess I have treated Your Word as optional reading instead of the bread I need to survive.
I renounce the lie that says I'm 'too busy' for Scripture. Give me the desperation Yun had — the
hunger that begged for a Bible when he had nothing (Jeremiah 15:16)."
🪞 Reflect
"I own multiple Bibles but how many chapters have I memorized? When was the last time I opened
Scripture out of desperation rather than obligation? What am I feeding on more — social media or the
Word?"
⚡ Act
"Pick one chapter and memorize it this month — not a verse, a chapter. Read it aloud every morning
for 30 days until it lives in you (Psalm 119:11)."
During one of his earliest arrests, the police demanded his name. Yun answered: "I am a heavenly man."
Not out of defiance — out of identity. He understood that his citizenship was in heaven, not in any
nation on earth. The officers mocked him, beat him, and the name stuck — not as an insult, but as a
testimony. His identity was anchored in Christ, not in his circumstances.
Philippians 3:20"But our citizenship is in heaven. And we
eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ."
Colossians 3:3"For you died, and your life is now hidden
with Christ in God."
2 Corinthians 5:20"We are therefore Christ's ambassadors,
as though God were making his appeal through us."
🙏 Pray
"Father, I confess I have built my identity on my job title, reputation, and possessions instead of
on You. I renounce the lie that says I am what the world says I am. I declare: my citizenship is in
heaven (Philippians 3:20). I am Yours before I am anything else."
🪞 Reflect
"If everything was stripped away tomorrow — career, status, platform — would you still know who you
are? What identity label are you most afraid to lose? That's the one God is asking you to
surrender."
⚡ Act
"Write this down and read it aloud daily: 'I am a citizen of heaven before I am _____.' Fill in the
blank with your strongest earthly identity. Pray Colossians 3:3 over it."
In prison, Brother Yun went on a hunger strike that became a supernatural fast — 74 days without food or
water. Medical science says this is impossible. His guards were shocked. His body wasted away, but his
spirit was fiercer than ever. He didn't fast to prove a point. He fasted because he knew there are
battles that "do not come out except by prayer and fasting." God sustained him supernaturally, and his
captors were terrified.
Matthew 17:21"This kind does not go out except by prayer
and fasting."
Isaiah 58:6"Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and
break every yoke?"
Deuteronomy 8:3"He humbled you, causing you to hunger and
then feeding you with manna… to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word
that comes from the mouth of the LORD."
🙏 Pray
"Lord, I confess that I feed my flesh more than I starve it. I renounce the lie that says fasting is
extreme or unnecessary. I break every chain of appetite — physical and spiritual — that keeps me
from pressing into Your supernatural power (Matthew 17:21)."
🪞 Reflect
"What stronghold in your life has resisted prayer alone? What are you feeding daily — your flesh or
your spirit? When was the last time you denied your body anything for the sake of pursuing God?"
⚡ Act
"Commit to a 24-hour fast this week. Replace every meal with prayer for one specific breakthrough.
Journal what the Holy Spirit reveals during the hunger (Isaiah 58:6)."
Yun was beaten with bamboo rods until his legs shattered. He was hung by handcuffs for hours. He had his
teeth knocked out. Electric shock. Solitary confinement. And through all of it, he sang hymns. His
guards heard worship coming from a man they were destroying, and some of them broke. They couldn't
understand a joy that torture couldn't kill. Acts 5:41 came alive in that cell.
Acts 5:41"The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing
because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name."
2 Corinthians 12:9–10"My grace is sufficient for you, for
my power is made perfect in weakness. … For when I am weak, then I am strong."
Philippians 1:29"For it has been granted to you on behalf
of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him."
Romans 8:18"I consider that our present sufferings are not
worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us."
🙏 Pray
"Jesus, I confess I have chosen comfort over obedience and feared man's opinion more than Yours. I
renounce the lie that my safety matters more than Your gospel. Give me the spirit of power, love,
and a sound mind — not fear (2 Timothy 1:7)."
🪞 Reflect
"Where are you shrinking back from boldness because of social cost? Is there a person or environment
where you silence your faith? When was the last time following Jesus cost you something tangible?"
⚡ Act
"Share your faith this week in a 'costly' context — at work, with family, or with a friend who might
reject you. Pray 2 Timothy 1:7 every morning as you do it."
"The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of
suffering disgrace for the Name."
— Acts 5:41
Yun didn't waste his prison time waiting for release. He saw the cell block as his mission field. He
preached the gospel to the worst criminals China had — murderers, death-row inmates, gang leaders. One
man, Brother Huang, was on death row and gave his life to Christ through Yun's ministry. He was baptized
with shared water rations and went to his execution with peace on his face. The prison became a church.
The chains became a pulpit.
Philippians 1:12–14"Now I want you to know, brothers and
sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has
become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for
Christ."
Acts 16:25–26"About midnight Paul and Silas were praying
and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a
violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken."
🙏 Pray
"Lord, I confess I have wasted seasons of suffering in self-pity instead of using them for Your
kingdom. I renounce the lie that says my limitations disqualify me. Open my eyes to see every hard
place as a harvest field (Philippians 1:12-14)."
🪞 Reflect
"What is your 'prison' right now — a hard job, health crisis, difficult relationship, or season of
waiting? Have you been enduring it or leveraging it? Who in that hard place has never heard the
gospel from you?"
⚡ Act
"Name one person in your hard situation who needs Jesus. Commit to praying for them daily and sharing
the gospel or genuine encouragement with them this week. Write their name down."
In 1997, Brother Yun's legs had been shattered by torture. He couldn't walk. He was in a
maximum-security prison. Then God spoke: "Get up and walk." Yun stood on broken legs, walked past
multiple armed security checkpoints, and guards looked directly at him without seeing him — they were
supernaturally blinded. He walked out the front gate. The escape was recorded on security cameras, later
verified by investigators. It's an Acts 12 jailbreak in the modern era.
Acts 12:6–10"Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound
with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance. Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared…
'Quick, get up!' he said, and the chains fell off Peter's wrists."
Acts 5:19–20"But during the night an angel of the Lord
opened the doors of the jail and brought them out. 'Go, stand in the temple courts,' he said, 'and
tell the people all about this new life.'"
Psalm 107:14"He brought them out of darkness, the utter
darkness, and broke away their chains."
🙏 Pray
"God of Acts 12, I confess I have prayed 'safe' prayers because I'm afraid You might not answer. I
renounce the spirit of unbelief that has capped my faith. You are the God who opened prison gates
and blinded guards. Open doors that no man can shut (Psalm 107:14)."
🪞 Reflect
"Do you actually believe God still does miracles — or have you quietly decided He stopped? Where has
unbelief limited your prayers? What 'impossible' situation have you stopped praying about?"
⚡ Act
"Pray one 'impossible' prayer this week — write it down with today's date. Pray it every day for 30
days. Keep the journal and watch God move (Mark 11:24)."
Perhaps the most staggering part of Yun's story isn't the miracles — it's the forgiveness. Yun has
publicly stated that he bears no bitterness toward the men who tortured him. He prays for them. He has
met former guards and prayed with them, hands on their shoulders. He says the same Christ who saved him
can save them. This is the supernatural mark of the Holy Spirit — the ability to love the people who
destroyed your body.
Matthew 5:44"But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for
those who persecute you."
Luke 23:34"Jesus said, 'Father, forgive them, for they do
not know what they are doing.'"
Romans 12:20–21"If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is
thirsty, give him something to drink… Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with
good."
🙏 Pray
"Father, I confess I have held bitterness as protection and played judge over someone You died for. I
renounce every vow of 'I will never forgive.' I release them from the prison of my judgment and
receive Your grace to forgive from the cross (Matthew 6:14-15)."
🪞 Reflect
"Is there someone whose name still triggers anger in your body? Have you said 'I forgive them' but
still carry the weight? Have you built a wall around your heart and called it wisdom?"
⚡ Act
"Write their name. Say out loud: 'I release you to God.' Then pray Romans 12:14 over them — 'Bless
and do not curse' — every day for 7 days. If the wound involves trauma, reach out to a pastor."
Brother Yun is not an isolated hero — he's part of the largest underground church movement in human
history. The Chinese house church has grown from roughly 1 million Christians at the end of the Cultural
Revolution to an estimated 80–130 million today. No budgets. No buildings. No seminary degrees. Just
prayer, Scripture, the Holy Spirit, and a willingness to die. They meet in homes, factories, and fields
— and they are shaking the earth.
Acts 2:46–47"Every day they continued to meet together in
the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts,
praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number
daily."
Matthew 16:18"On this rock I will build my church, and the
gates of Hades will not overcome it."
🙏 Pray
"Lord, I confess I have reduced 'church' to a building I attend rather than a movement I am. I
renounce consumer Christianity that sits in rows and watches. Make me the church — a people who
pray, risk, sacrifice, and disciple (Acts 2:46-47)."
🪞 Reflect
"Have you confused church attendance with church participation? If your Sunday service was cancelled
for 6 months, would your faith survive? What would 'house church' faith look like in your living
room?"
⚡ Act
"Invite 2–3 friends for prayer, worship, and Scripture this week — no program, no agenda. Open your
Bible, pray aloud, and let the Holy Spirit lead. This is church (Matthew 18:20)."
Brother Yun champions the "Back to Jerusalem" vision — a massive Chinese missionary movement to send
100,000 missionaries westward along the ancient Silk Road, through the most unreached and persecuted
nations on earth (Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist), carrying the gospel all the way back to Jerusalem. The
gospel started in Jerusalem, moved west, and now the Chinese church believes God is completing the
circle. This is the Great Commission in its most audacious modern expression.
Matthew 28:19–20"Therefore go and make disciples of all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and
teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you."
Acts 1:8"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit
comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the
ends of the earth."
Romans 15:20"It has always been my ambition to preach the
gospel where Christ was not known."
🙏 Pray
"Father, I confess my faith has been self-centered — more about my comfort than Your commission. I
renounce the apathy that ignores 3 billion unreached people. Break my heart for the nations and make
me part of Your global harvest (Matthew 28:19)."
🪞 Reflect
"What percentage of your prayers are about your own needs vs. the unreached world? How much of your
giving goes toward reaching people who have never heard the name of Jesus? Does your faith have a
global dimension or is it purely personal?"
⚡ Act
"Research one unreached people group at joshuaproject.net. Learn their name, population, and primary
religion. Pray for them by name daily for one month. Give one sacrificial gift to a missions
organization this week."
Brother Yun has said that when he came to the West, he was shocked — not by the wealth, but by the
weakness. He saw comfortable churches with empty pews, Christians afraid to share their faith, prayer
meetings with more complaints than intercession, and a gospel focused on personal comfort rather than
the cross. He wept. The Western church has resources the persecuted church can only dream of —
buildings, money, technology, freedom. But the Chinese church has something the West has largely lost:
desperation for God.
Revelation 3:15–17"I know your deeds, that you are neither
cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm — neither hot
nor cold — I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and
do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and
naked."
Luke 9:23"Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny
themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me."
James 4:4"You adulterous people, don't you know that
friendship with the world means enmity against God?"
🙏 Pray
"Lord, I confess I have become the Laodicean church — lukewarm and convinced I need nothing (Rev
3:17). I renounce the consumer mentality that treats church as entertainment and God as a vending
machine. I renounce spiritual apathy. Holy Spirit, set me ablaze."
🪞 Reflect
"When was the last time you felt genuine desperation for God — not just routine devotion? What in
your life would change if it became illegal to be a Christian tomorrow? If the persecuted church
could see your prayer life, would they recognize you?"
⚡ Act
"Fast one meal this week and use that time to pray. Give away something you've been hoarding — money,
time, or comfort. Ask a trusted friend: 'Am I living radical or comfortable faith?' — and mean it."
My Heavenly Man Commitment
After studying the life of Brother Yun, I commit to:
📖 Hunger for the Word — I will treat Scripture as
treasure, not duty.
⛓️ Identity in Christ — I am a heavenly citizen
before anything else.
🔥 Fasting & Prayer — I will use the weapon of
fasting against strongholds.
🩸 Counting the Cost — I will stop avoiding
discomfort for the gospel.
🌱 Mission Everywhere — I will see every situation as
a mission field.
❤️ Forgiving Enemies — I will pray for those who hurt
me, not against them.
🌍 Global Vision — I will pray for the unreached and
support global missions.
⚠️ No More Lukewarm — I refuse comfortable, complacent Christianity.
The one area of comfortable Christianity I'm disrupting
starting today:
Father, forgive me for treating my faith like a hobby instead of a war. Forgive me for the comfortable
Christianity that insulates me from the cost of following You.
Like Brother Yun, I want to know You — not just know about You. I want to be desperate for Your Word,
willing to fast, ready to suffer, quick to forgive, and bold to tell the world about Jesus.
Break my addiction to comfort. Shatter my fear of man. Set my heart on fire for the unreached. Make me
dangerous to the kingdom of darkness.
I don't want to be lukewarm. I don't want the safe version of Christianity. I want the Book of Acts. I
want the faith that Brother Yun carried into prison and walked out with on broken legs.
I am a heavenly man. I am a heavenly woman. My citizenship is not here.
"I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be
revealed in us." — Romans 8:18. Amen.
📝 Additional Notes & Reflections