“Kingdom Causes” Trump Silver and Gold
“Were the whole realm of nature mine,
that were a present far too small.
Love so amazing, so divine,
demands my soul, my life, my all.”
A few years ago my wife and I was privileged to hear the Rev. Billy Kim preach at our former church. His topic of discussion was “Kingdom Priorities.” In case you are unaware of Rev. Kim, he is the founding pastor of the Suwon Central Baptist Church in Seoul, Korea. He began the church in 1960 with ten people and at his retirement a few years ago, it was one of the largest churches in the world at over 15,000 members.
Rev. Kim told of how as a young man, he felt the call of God on his life to preach the Gospel. He had made friends with many of the American GI’s who were stationed in Korea after the war and came to the United States to receive his biblical education through one of these relationships. It was here he also met his future wife. Upon his return to Korea, where he felt God was leading him to reach his own country, Billy, along with the help of his American friends and his small group of church members, erected a small building in which they could have their church services. It was a sad looking structure made up of scrap lumber and discarded tin salvaged from the rubble around them. When they completed the project they had a place they could call their own.
Shortly thereafter, the ramshackle building bursting at the seams, Billy approached his growing congregation with a challenge. In so many words he told them they had to make a decision; Were they going to work on God’s agenda or their own? Were they willing to make whatever sacrifice needed for their struggling new church to go forward? It was time to look beyond their line of sight, venturing into God’s territory that only He could see.
I felt goose bumps as Pastor Kim shared with us the outcome of their offering that day. He said, “I cannot tell you the amount of money that was collected in that offering, but as long as I live I will always remember that amongst the currency, we counted 21 ladies wedding bands and 11 men had given their watches.”
Prayer focus
: Pray that God would give us a Kingdom focus like this congregation. May we see past the physical realm and into the spiritual. May we be so bold as to take God at His Word. May we grasp the opportunity God has presented to us and faithfully follow it through.
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