Preliminary

How I Have Come to Know the Living God: Testifying to God’s Reality and Goodness by Eric H.H. Chang

Copyright © 2000, 2007, 2017
Eric H.H. Chang, Bentley C.F. Chan
Christian Disciples Church Publishers

The text of this e‑book is identical to that of the print book available from Amazon.com (2017, CreateSpace, ISBN 978-1534995772)
Print edition available from Amazon.com and other online stores
Kindle e-book available at Kindle and online stores

Permission is required for translating this book. To inquire about translating it, please write us at [email protected].

Cover and interior design: Bentley C.F. Chan
Photo credits: Shutterstock/Smileus, Wikimedia Commons, Helen Chang, Tung Lau

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system—without written permission from the copyright holders.

Scripture quotations marked ESV are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copy­right © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked NIV are from The Holy Bible: New International Version. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Interna­tional Bible Society. All rights reserved worldwide.

The six chapters in this book correspond to six public sharings given by Eric H.H. Chang on his experiences of the living God. The first three sharings were given in Melbourne in 1985, and edited in 1992 by me for publi­cation in the Oasis news­letter. The latter three were given in Kua­la Lumpur on separate occas­ions between 1998 and 2001. In 2000, Raymond Suen edited and published the first four of the sharings; in 2007, he published a larger volume of six chapters.

This 2017 edition includes photographs, and was further edited by me for uniform­ity in writing style across the chapters. In all the editing that has been done for the book over the years, no content of sub­stance has been added or deleted except by Rev. Chang himself, who added a few supplementary comments to the original sharings.

In this 2017 edition, when we quote from the Hebrew Bible (or what is commonly known as the “Old Testa­ment”), we preserve God’s personal name Yahweh where it is found in the Hebrew text; this is for the sake of biblical and linguistic accuracy.

Personal note: On Nov 13, 2012, I spoke with Pastor Eric by phone two months be­fore he departed to be with the Lord, and asked him if I could republish­ his test­imony. He said I can do whatever I want with it. He paused for a few seconds, and in a soft voice remarked that the testimony hardly tells the whole story of all the things that God had done in his life. After a brief silence, we went on to other things.

Bentley C.F. Chan
Montreal, Canada
April 27, 2017
[email protected]

Life in the 21st century often finds us chasing after much triviality in the fast lane. Seldom can one afford the time and leisure to slow down to ponder upon life: where are we going and where should we go? Though it is true for many people that “man’s limitation is the begin­ning of God’s working in one’s life,” yet I hope that none of us will procrastin­ate before it is too late to know and experience God first hand.

It is my privilege to introduce the author and his biography to you. I have known him since my student days. In the past twenty-some years, Reverend Eric Chang has been my spiritual guide and mentor. It is a joy to see the working of the Lord through His faithful servant over all these years.

How I Have Come to Know God consists of six chapters. Chapters 1, 2 and 3 were transcribed from Reverend Chang’s testimony given in Melbourne, Australia, in 1985. The testimonies in Chapters 4, 5 and 6 were given in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, at different times between 1998 and 2001. As we read about God’s doing in a person’s life, we ought to pray to God, pleading with Him to move likewise in our lives. The Oasis Literature Ministry counts it a privilege to be a chan­nel of God’s blessings.

May the name of God be praised!

Raymond Suen
Hong Kong, 2000

I wish to put on record my heartfelt thanks and appreciation to Pastor Raymond Suen for his work in preparing this testimony for publicat­ion, and to his dear wife Rosablanca for transcribing a major part of the original tapes. Thanks also to the others who transcribed the earlier recordings, but whose names are not known to me though they are certainly known to God. All their labors have made the publi­cation of this testimony possible, and certainly its only purpose is that through it all men may come to “know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ” (1 John 5:20).

Eric H.H. Chang (2000)

It is my honor and privilege to say thank-you to Helen Chang, Auntie Tung Lau, Pastor Joe and Olive, Albert and Grace, and Winston, for your help in this new publication and for your participation in Pastor Eric’s desire that this book may draw people to a knowledge of God and His Son Jesus Christ.

B.C. (2017)