Testimony 2/2

OT Lesson: Psalm 66:16-19 (NIV)

Come and hear, all you who fear God;
    Let me tell you what He has done for me.
I cried out to Him with my mouth;
    His praise was on my tongue.
If I had cherished sin in my heart,
    The Lord would not have listened;
But God has surely listened
    and has heard my prayer.

NT Lesson: 2 Timothy 1:8-9 (CEB)

So don’t be ashamed of the testimony about the Lord or of me, his prisoner. Instead, share the suffering for the good news, depending on God’s power. God is the one who saved and called us with a holy calling. This wasn’t based on what we have done, but it was based on his own purpose and grace that he gave us in Christ Jesus before time began.

Sermon

Introduction

Good morning and Happy New Year! Today is the New Year’s Day in lunar calendar, or Korean New Year’s Day. In Korea, instead of saying ‘Happy New Year,’ we say 새해 복많이 받으세요 (Se-he bog mani badseyo) which means ‘Receive lots of blessings in the new year.’ As you may know, each year is assigned to an animal in China and Korea, which actually originated from Buddhism in India. This year is a bunny. I wish you all have an energetic and lively year like bunnies jumping around in the springtime. Today’s sermon is the continuation from last Sunday. When you watch TV shows, they summarise the previous episodes like ‘Previously on Chicago Fire…’ So let me do the same. Previously on the Testimony, ‘Je was born and raised as a Buddhist. In the middle of the college, he served the Korean army where he suffered many violence. A few days before his death, he was rescued and later encountered Jesus after painful repentance.’ Basically this is what happened so far. And I am continuing from here.

Spiritual Ecstasy

After Jesus came into my heart, I was in some kind of unusual state. You may call it trance or you can call it some sort of spiritual ecstasy. I don’t know if it has some kind of name or not. So what happened was that I felt like I was walking on the clouds for a while. And when I came back to my mind, it was seven days after. And I don’t have any memory about those seven days except I was walking on the clouds. I assume that I lived and worked in normal way because nobody around me noticed anything on me. So I was really high for seven days without having any drugs. This was one time thing, and never happened again after that. Apostle Paul testifies that he was raised up to heaven three times. Well, I was not that high because I was up to the half way upon the clouds.

Divine Hands 1

I felt the divine hands twice. One day, the president of South Korea was visiting the Army HQ, and each department prepared nice presentations. I was preparing couple hundred pages of report which the president didn’t even open, and thorough PowerPoint presentations which was aborted half way because the president was busy. Nonetheless the preparation had to be very perfect. And for the whole week, I was not able to go to the bedroom, but working in the office and slept only about ten hours for the seven days. A few days before the visit, I was in the office working at night, and then I fainted and fell on the floor from the lack of sleep and exhaustion. I lost my consciousness. Several minutes later, somebody touched my neck and massaged my neck-shoulder area. I felt the two hands and fingers clearly. And I was so refreshed as if I had several hours of sleep. But the thing is that nobody was there in the office as well as in the entire basement bunker. I was along in the whole bunker floor. The intelligence office was located in the basement, and to come down to the bunker floor, you have to go through the locked door with armed guards by signing in and out on the log. According to the log, nobody came in or out. And the guards said the same thing that I was by myself for the entire time. I believe that was the touch of the Master’s hand. Or at least He sent me an angel.

Divine Hands 2

A few months after my conversion, North Korea sent a submarine with armed spies on it. I believe I told you this story, but this is other part of the story that I felt the divine hands the second time. One night we got a report that some area is suspicious. We went out with a special army unit platoon something similar to army rangers in American army. At night we were walking along the roads on the mountain area in two rows, on each side of the road. I was on left front with almost 90 pounds military backpack, a rifle and a pistol, and a gas mask. Then I felt two hands on my back just under my shoulders. I sensed the hands so clearly, and I still remember the feeling. And I wondered like ‘what the…’ Because the guy behind me was about twelve feet away unless he is the Inspector Gadget, there is no way he can touch my back. Even if he were the Inspector Gadget, he can touch my backpack, not my back shoulder. So when I was thinking like ‘what the…’ and then the two hands pushed me very hard that I fell forward on the ground and ground my cheek on the ground. I was about the spit out the f word, but right then there was a bang sound and the soldier behind was shot. Again, I believe that was the touch of the Master’s hand. Or at least He sent me an angel. And for sure God saved me yet another time.

Sensing the calling

Those were the Hallelujah moments. But not everything went on as I wished for. The problem began. That is, I began to sense God’s calling. That was especially problematic to me because I had my own life plan. Becoming a pastor is actually ruining my entire plan. My plan was simple—to be rich. Growing up in a poor family, the goal of my life was to be rich. Of course, there are some pastors who are millionaires or billionaires in America and in South Korea. But that didn’t look right to me. So I came up with a simple solution—Just ignoring and denying it. I thought, and tried to think, “That cannot be right. I am a newbie Christian. And I am a bad person. For sure God will not make someone like me a pastor. I must be overestimating myself.” But every time, I close my eyes to pray, the feeling was getting stronger and stronger.

Strangers on the Streets in Korea

After I finished my military duty, one day, I was walking on a street in Korea. It was before I moved to Canada. And a stranger came up to me and said, “Hello, brother. My name is so-and-so, and I am the pastor of such-and-such church. God just told me that you must go to a seminary and be a pastor.” But I was in a strong denial, and did not accept it. I answered like, “No, He didn’t. Go your way.” That thing happened like twice more at different places from different guys.

Three dreams in Canada

And again, time flew and I flew to Canada and settled in Winnipeg. Let me tell you one thing about me. In my dream, I always—I mean ALWAYS—know it is a dream. Couple weeks ago, I saw flowers in my dream, and the colour was so vivid. And I thought to myself while dreaming, “Wow, I see vivid colours in the dream, and those flowers look more beautiful than real ones.” And I don’t really have nightmares because when you know it’s a dream, nothing is really scary. Sometimes I have a dream that I don’t like, then I just say to myself like, ‘Oh this dream is shitty. I am going to get out of here.’ Then I just wake up and go asleep again for another dream. I don’t know since when I began to tell that I am in a dream, but as far as I remember, I always did. But there were only three dreams that I did not realise I was in a dream.

One night in Winnipeg, I had a dream. And in my dream, I was in Seoul. Well, it looks different but I thought it was Seoul in my dream. I was in down-town wondering around to find a door. There was a seminary and it was surrounded by huge and high walls. And there was no door. I was just wondering around. And an elderly gentleman with all grey hair in nice white suit came to me and I assure you it was NOT colonel Sanders. He said to me, “Hey, young man. Are you looking for the door to the seminary?” I said yes, and he led me to the nearby airport. He made a lot of crazy turns in the airport and finally there, inside the airport, was one tiny small door to the seminary. You have to stoop down to go through. I went to the admission office and asked some questions. Then I woke up, not realising it was a dream. I just thought and wondered why I was in Seoul the day before. It was like a half day later that I realised it was a dream. And I couldn’t believe myself because as far as I remember that was the very first time not realising that it was a dream.

Several weeks later, I had another dream. I was at the same place, doing same thing. I was wondering around the wall to find a door to the seminary. And the same elderly gentleman—still NOT colonel Sanders—came to me and we had the identical conversation. He led me to the nearby airport, making lots of crazy turns and took me to the same tiny small door. I also went to the admission office, and this time, I applied in my dream. So basically the same dream with a small progress. Again, I did not realise it was a dream after I woke up.

Another several weeks later, I had my third and last dream, the same place again. Even at my dreams, I was there twice before, so this time, I knew how to get there. So I went to the airport and made lots of turns by myself without the gentleman. And it was my first day at the seminary in my dream, and I was late for the class. So I hurried to the classroom. And I found that the elderly gentleman was teaching in the class. He saw me and said to me, “I will lead you and I will teach you. So don’t be afraid. Just go.”

Test Drive

After these three dreams, I realised that I can no longer deny God’s calling. But I thought to myself that I need to double check it. How do I know these are just dreams? What a shame if I overturn my life plan and become a pastor just because of a silly dream. Gideon tested God and I guess I can do that as well. Then I said to God in my prayer, “God, if you are really calling me, then let me know it for sure. So I will drive on TransCanada highway for six hours. If I get involved in any accident or pulled over by an officer, then you are not calling me and these are just dreams.”

Just for your information, TransCanada highway is something like the Interstate which runs from the East Coast all the way to the West Coast, and is the busiest highway in Canada, connecting most major cities in Canada because most major cities in Canada are all located near the US board. So I drove on the highway for six hours, with the speed of 100 MPH where the speed limit was and still is 55MPH. To tell you the result only, I was not involved in an accident nor pulled over. I was very angry and I was kicking my car shouting f word many times. Later, I told this to one of my cop friends. He told me that there are several places that they are ambushing all the time and that there is no way all of them missed a car running 100MPH. Well, I also didn’t want to believe what happened. But what happened is what happened.

A month’s prayer – Jeremiah

Unwillingly I surrendered to God. I was very not happy. And I talked to couple pastors in Canada, and searched for Presbyterian seminaries there. There are three in Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal. I almost decided to go to Montreal because Montreal seminary is most conservative. And that is who I am. I was a member of Conservative Party of Canada.

Many of you know the story how I met Hannah but let me repeat that again for some people who hasn’t heard. By that time, I met Hannah at eHarmony, which was online dating website. She came over to see me in December. The problem was that Winnipeg is quite famous for being freezing cold even among Canadians. Winnipeggers call it Windy-peg. Sometimes it is colder than the North Pole. The day before she came, it was -45 degree, and the day she came, the temperature went up by 20 degrees, which made it -25. People in Winnipeg were happy about it, and they said how cozy, warm, and nice it was. They said that they had a heat wave. Hannah was freaked out not because it was -25, but because of what people were saying about -25. So she refused to come up and live in Canada, which means I had to come down to America.

I was quite happy in Canada. I didn’t want to leave Canada. For this, I pray to God for thirty days with tears, “I am happy here. Why should I move out? Don’t make me leave here.” And after a month, I heard God’s voice for the first time and probably last time as well. [Slide] “Go and pray for the welfare and prosperity of the country where you are going as an exile.” Later I found it from Jeremiah 29:7. Then I realised that God wants me to be in America and pray for this country.

Conclusion

Friends in Christ, God led me here from Korea via Canada. God made us meet together and be together. It is not only me that God called. Today’s NT Lesson says “God is the one who saved and called US with a holy calling.”1 God called us together. And God joined us together as one body in Christ. Jesus our Lord said in Matthew 19:6, “Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”2 We are all different. I have different cultural background, different ethnicity, different mother language, different theology, different understanding, and many more. In fact, each one of us are all different, but God joined all of us together, and called us together to love. So, together, let us love the Lord God and let us love each other in Jesus Christ our Lord who rescued us, saved us, and joined us together in harmony and love. Amen.