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 Sermon > Official Service |
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Title |
Testimonies of Faith : Prayer is the only way to the blessings. |
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Speaker |
Deacon Seung-hong Ji |
Bible |
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Date |
2006-11-24 |
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Deacon Seung-hong Ji (President, Donghwa Foods; 1-4 Parish, 2-1 Men's Mission)
 Living in anguish with over $800,000 in debt
I'd been working at a robot automation instrument company but quit in 1997. Because of the financial crisis that swept through Asia in the late 1990s, however, it was difficult to find a new job and my heart was in agony from knowing that I could not provide for my family. After hearing that the instant coffee-manufacturing industry was to be a hit, I got involved in it in 1999 with the help of an acquaintance. But the company failed in three years after a few sales employees made an error that cost the company about US $150,000. I was able to set up another factory in Hwasung, Kyongi Province, but when one of the company's main clients one-sidedly abrogated a contract, I was left with a debt of over $800,000 in debt and began my life in anguish.
Beginning to be transformed at wife's prayer and deeds of love
Despite all this, my wife Deaconess Jeehee Kang never became angry even though I hadn't brought her a single paycheck in a year but had actually been fasting and praying for me in tears. Since she was not able to give a Thanksgiving Offering to God, my wife would write out a certain amount on the offering envelope, vowing to give Him the offering one day, and frequently went before Senior Pastor Rev. Dr. Jaerock Lee to receive his prayer of blessings.
I had been a Christian since the time I was in my mother's womb and joined Manmin in 1997 but as I had long befriended the world, I increasingly began to find my life in Christ difficult and even thought how now it'd be to live my life on my own terms.
On Sunday, December 14, 2003, I was home, apparently not even bothering to get myself to go to church. That was the day when I felt a gush of a sense of emptiness and failure in life, which no one would understand without experience such sensations for himself. I didn't want to waste my life in such a manner and challenged myself to go before God and cling to Him one last time.
As I attended "The Daniel Prayer Meeting" the following evening, something finally clicked in my head as I asked myself, 'What have I done for God?' and the grace of repentance began to fill my heart. I started to rend my heart in repentance, remembering the times I had befriended the world, failed to be at peace with my wife, and others.
From that day onward, I was filled with zeal and thirst for life and counted down to the moment "The Daniel Prayer Meeting" would commence. As I began praying day in and day out, I no longer felt burdened about the debt and my heart was at peace even though I didn't have daily expenses to live each day.
 Experiencing firsthand the works of God while praying every evening
There were times when I just could not get myself to pray and the only thing I wanted was rest. But I could not afford to rest as I remembered my days of anguish, my days without prayer. Sometimes, I couldn't squeeze out an ounce of energy to pray. But when I clasped my hands in prayer, knelt down, and sweated profusely in 30, 40 minutes of prayer every day, I could feel how God was filling me with the Holy Spirit.
As I kept this up for about half a year, I could tell my prayer life had been empowered, my faith grown, and that the circumstances in and around my life were beginning to change. Incessant calls from creditors ended. Unexpected clients called, asking me to do business with them. Funds I needed were somehow always prepared for use. Rays of hope began to pierce my heart one by one and I could gather strength to stand up on my feet again.
Then in the summer of 2004, I had a dream in which the Senior Pastor was pointing to the fruit on an oak tree and was about to tell me something unforgettable.
"This is the blessing," he said. "What should you do gather fruit from this tree? Wouldn't you need to shake it? Praying is shaking this tree. The fruit will fall only when you shake the tree with everything you've got."
 Committing everything to God by faith and in prayer
I took this dream to my heart as a sign of blessings to come and prayed even more fervently. At times I felt like I'd only prayed for 10 minutes, only to notice that an hour had gone by. There were times when my whole body became drenched in my sweat while praying for the church and the Senior Pastor.
Sometimes, according to my own judgment, there seemed to be a 99% chance of success in signing an agreement with a client but then the deal would fall through. As I experienced such events time and again, I only prayed for everything to be fulfilled according to God's will and to march on by faith.
I also remembered to go before Senior Pastor Rev. Dr. Jaerock Lee to seek his advice and receive his prayer of blessings.
"Lead him to meet with good people and bless him as much as he has sown!"
 Receiving blessings at home and work as I follow God's ways
Blessings came about right away. One day, a manager of a large discount retailer, which was notorious for the difficulty small business owners faced in opening their own stores, contacted me to ask if I wanted to open up my store there. It turned out that he'd heard the news about my store and asked me.
In such a manner, God led me to meet with the managers or even the heads of other businesses and opened the way for me supply products to many places at once. He also blessed me in a way that the clients would pay me in cash, not on credit so that I could be of strength to the church and the Senior Pastor's ministry through "Mission Offerings" and look after those in financial troubles.
My tithes began to balloon as well. As the tithes reached approximately $5,000 a month I've been able to pay back most of the debt. The biggest blessings, however, was how gladness and gratitude have filled my home and my business as my soul has prospered.
I give all thanks and glory to God and I would also like to express my sincere gratitude to Senior Pastor Rev. Dr. Jaerock Lee for his earnest prayer. |
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