15 – 28 february 2011
„When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about GOD. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except JESUS CHRIST and HIM crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the SPIRIT’S power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on GOD’S power.
(1 Cor. 2: 1 – 5 NIV)
I had the privilege to travel to South Korea for the fourth time to preach in a number of different churches . Among them were churches where I was invited to preach for the first time.
On this visit I was aware, as never before, that I personally could not possibly meet the righteous expectations of the people. Perhaps a contributory factor was that in all my travels I have never felt so weak and miserable as on this journey (at least at the start). I was not completely fit when I left Switzerland and during the flight to Seoul I nearly had a circulatory collapse. This physical weakness, on the one hand, and the fact that the Korean brothers and sisters were expecting a strong, brilliant, spirit-filled preacher, on the other hand, forced me as never before to rely on GOD and the words of the apostle Paul (see the verse above).
But I was once more able to experience that when GOD sends us HE is with us, in the truest sense of the word. Basically it makes no difference where we are or what circumstances we face, we can be certain that HE can cause fruit to grow., that HE gives the increase. It was fascinating to experience, how GOD’S SPIRIT worked in small churches and events, how individual believers ministered through prophetic words and pictures, and what HE did in larger meeetings with several hundred people. I was able to experience what Paul said: – that no matter what happens I can live with a lot or little, great or small as long as HE is with me. So, for example, one time I stayed in a christian guesthouse. Simple, good, clean but very poorly insulated As a result , I involuntarily enjoyed the youth group, whose accomodation was next to mine. Till three o’clock in the morning, it was as loud as when they held one of their normal meetings. Another time I was put up in a suite of a 4-star hotel by a large Methodist Church. We didn’t seek after either the one or the other, but we wanted to show GOD’S passionate love and motivate the people to trust HIM with their lives, simply because we have come to know HIM in a better and deeper way. Therefore, each of these assignments inspired me; despite being exhausting and difficult at times. It is always worth the effort when one eventually sees people motivated, excited and on fire for GOD. WW
