Day 1, Sunday - Arrival at Seoul

7 AM - AIRPORT

As we took off from Singapore the night before, this would soon prove to be an eventful trip right from Day 1.

After a smooth overnight flight which was a non event, we were greeted with a big surprise when we found ourselves to be the last couple standing at the conveyor belt, still waiting for our second luggage. It never turned up (until the next day, Monday midnight).

I really felt that there was something spiritual to it, as exactly 12 years ago I took the same flight to Seoul on the same airline, and that exact same piece of luggage also did not arrived on the same flight. Maybe God was trying to tell me something ... that He had had this planned out for me, that this was going to be a very special trip for me. And it would soon prove to be.



9 AM - YOIDO FULL GOSPEL CHURCH

The first thing we did was to attend the 9am Sunday Service at Yoido Full Gospel Church, pastored by Dr. David Cho Yonggi. This is the largest church in the world, with 800,000 members. We sat at the foreigners' section, with translation headsets on. Pastor Cho acknowledged visitors from several countries around the world, and somehow this trip, he specifically mentioned visitors from Singapore! He knew we were there!

Pastor Cho preached an anointed sermon, calling us to be under the yoke of Jesus. His yoke is easy, and light, as compared to the yoke of this world. To do that we need to be humble, and let our lives be filled with the word of God. Satan will temp us with the same things he tempted the Lord - money, honour, authority, material things etc. We must not give in to the temptation. We must carry the yoke as our Lord did. We must watch out for GREED, and to do that we must remain humble. We must not crave for sinful men's praises.

Look at Jesus, He died on the cross, naked and humiliated. He was rejected by the world, suffered much pain and blood. He had the command of angels who would rescue Him at his word. He could have anything He wanted, but did not choose to do as He liked. Instead He CHOSE the path of humiliation and suffering, for our sake. By His OBEDIENCE to the Father, we are saved from hell. He committed EVERYTHING to God, and His last words are, "Father, into your hand I commit my spirit".

In these last days, God is building His Kingdom. He chooses the humble, and not men of capability. We must commit everything to God. When we are able to do that, God will work mightily in our lives. Do not carry the yoke of the world any longer. You cannot carry your burdens on your own. Call out to Jesus to help you. When you are able to do that, you will indeed find that His yolk is easy, and His burden is light.


HOW TO FIND GOD?
WE CAN NEVER APPROACH GOD FROM A POSITION OF STRENGTH. WE MUST COME TO GOD WITH HUMILITY. 2 CHRON 7:14 SAYS:
"IF MY PEOPLE, WHO ARE CALLED BY MY NAME, WILL HUMBLE THEMSELVES AND PRAY AND SEEK MY FACE AND TURN FROM THEIR WICKED WAYS, THEN WILL I HEAR FROM HEAVEN AND WILL FORGIVE THEIR SIN AND WILL HEAL THEIR LAND." (4 keys for seeking God)


11 AM - FOREIGNERS BRIEFING

All foreign visitors are treated with this very special and anointed briefing after the Sunday service. You will catch a very special spirit from this briefing.

We were given a very good brief on the history of Yoido Full Gospel Church. But the most important questions we try to get answers for are: How did the revival in Korea happen? What triggered and maintained the church growth over a span of 45 years? To this, the briefing pastor (more affectionately known as Pastor "Dunnit") explained:

When Pastor Cho Yonggi began his ministry in 1958..."I used all kinds of gimmicks to bring in new members. They did not work. For the first six months I did not lead even one soul to Jesus Christ."

"In less than three months my sermons ran out, and after three months I had nothing to preach...I almost felt I was not called into the ministry."

Thus God began to show Pastor Cho the first of the 4 keys for seeking God. The HUMBLING process became critical. He told God, "Yonggi Cho is a nobody."

1ST KEY - HUMBLE OF SELF

Eight times he decided to quit the ministry but was talked out of leaving by his mentor Jashil Choi (also his mother in-law, who played a very critical role in his ministry, the prayer mountain is named after her).

"When I entered the ministry, in my heart there was a hidden goal to become a famous and successful preacher...God had to destroy all that; otherwise the church would have been my work, not HIS."

"It has become clear to me that an arrogant man pays a very high price - a hardened heart is very hard to break...it took ten years to break 'the Great Cho'."

As did the mother in-law, he soon turned to the second key, PRAYER.

For more info, you can also visit www.fgtv.com