Jeffrey T. Howard
Sermon - Iksan, South Korea
July 11, 2007
Article in the Iksan Newspaper
2nd article
As we come together in the presence of Jesus Christ this evening in worship,
you may be wondering why an American is preaching to you in English.
You may also be wondering why this American is wearing a Hanbok.
Well, I have been wondering about these things myself.
But before I attempt an answer lets start by looking at the Word of God.
Our reading tonight comes from the twelfth chapter of Genesis, verses 1-3.
Will you pray with me?
Holy Spirit, help me this day to preach your mighty Word. Help Jeong Ju as she translates it. And help this congregation to understand what you are speaking to them this evening. We pray this in the strong name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Amen.
God has made a wonderful promise to Abraham and Sarah.
God has promised to bless them, to make their lives wonderful.
But there are conditions on the promise.
Abraham and Sarah must follow God wherever he leads.
They must leave their home and family and go to a new land God will show them.
God's promises often come with difficult conditions.
God's promise to Sarah and Abraham was initiated by God.
This is the way it is suppose to be.
God promises something and we respond.
But for many of us we reverse the process.
We make a promise with God and expect God to respond to us.
Students often pray something like,
"God, if I pass this test I will read the Bible every day for a month"
Workers often pray something like,
"God, if I made just a little more money I could tithe to the church"
We really want God to do something for us.
Many years ago I prayed a prayer like this.
I said, "God if you give me a wife I will follow you wherever you lead."
Now I was not looking for just an ordinary wife.
I was looking for someone who would lead me to new experiences,
someone whom would motive me to be the kind of man I was created to be.
But this prayer remained unanswered for many years.
One Sunday, while in church, I prayed to God for a wife.
God responded with these words, "Its in the book"
I immediately opened a Bible and read this promise to Abraham.
I knew right then and there that God wanted me to dedicate my life to his Word.
Over the next three years I studied the Bible as hard as I could.
But God did not send me a wife.
Then for two years I was trained to be a Bible teacher.
But God did not send me a wife.
I taught the Bible for four years to adults in my church.
But God did not send me a wife.
Then I remembered that I had promised to follow God wherever he might lead.
So I left my family and friends in Washington DC and moved to Los Angeles CA.
There I enrolled at Fuller Theological Seminary.
And I prayed to God to send me a wife.
Then one day I was worshiping at the Pasadena Presbyterian Church.
After the service I noticed a lovely young Korean woman passing our fliers.
A few months later this same Korean woman sat down next to me in class.
I told her that I was a Bible teacher and was attending Fuller to become a pastor.
Her name was Oh Jeong Ju.
We formed a small group of international students.
These students came from many countries, but most were Korean.
Jeong Ju cooked a delicious Korean meal every week.
I helped them with English and used the Bible to help start conversations.
The group grew to nearly 20 people
A talented music leader from a church in Seoul arrived and organized a band.
We moved the group into the church and called it CrossRoads because:
The students came down many different roads that crossed in Pasadena.
And we were all on the same road to the cross of Jesus Christ.
I saw with my own eyes the revelation first seen by John on Patmos,
a great multitude from every nation, tribe, people and language standing before the throne ... worshiping God. (Rev 7:9,11)
Jeong Ju and I worked closely together on the ministry.
I found that I loved Korean culture.
I found that I loved her family.
We fell in love with each other and were married 18 months ago.
I believe that God has answered my prayer.
God has given me the wife I always wanted.
Now is my time to respond.
I had promised God that If he gave me a wife
I would follow him wherever he might lead.
There is a small church in the Eagle Rock section of Los Angeles.
It has a small and aging congregation.
The community around it is filled with new immigrants.
These new immigrants want to learn English and adapt to American culture.
God is calling Jeong Ju and I to pastor this church.
The congregation is ready to help us reach out and help the new immigrants.
The message I will have for this church is that they have been blessed.
So it is time to bless others.
Our dream is to build a multicultural church in Los Angeles.
In this church we hope to see people of all nations and cultures
worshiping Christ together.
When you come to Los Angeles please visit us and worship together.
We hope that through this church all the families of the earth will be blessed.
So why is an American preaching to you this evening in English?
Because I am ready to follow God wherever he might lead.
I never dreamed that I would come to Korea, yet here I am in Iksan.
And why am I wearing a Hanbok?
Because this is my way of thanking God and you for sending Jeong Ju to me.
Amen
