The Word that came to Jonah a Second Time
(Jon 3:1)
Pastor Park Eun Seong(Ansan Jungang Church)
Jonah 3:1 is a short verse but has profound meaning full of Gods grace. It reflects perfectly the tenacious love, persistence, and the passion of God for us.
The Word came to Jonah when he got out of a great fish after his repentance. What if Jonah had moved somewhere else, disobedient to the Word again? Then another verse would have been added, like 'The Word came to Jonah a third time' because God never gives up on his people once He he chosen. If Jonah doesnt obey the third word, Jonah 3:1 would be 'The Word came to Jonah a fourth time.' Therefore, the phrase 'a second time' represents Gods tenacious love and passion for his selected people. Im sure of this because Im a witness of that persistent love of God, which I feel obliged to share, focusing on how the Word came to me.
When I saw pastor Kim in KOSTA, held in Philippine 12 years ago, where I served as a staff, I noticed that she was supposed to deliver the morning service sermon. Instilled with the theology of my synod, I had an antipathy to female pastors and especially to the loud word QT, instead of sermon. I didnt attend the morning worship service. Thats how I refused the visit of the Word. About a decade later, when I served my church as an assistant pastor, my father, the senior pastor, due to his poor health, asked my siblings to serve the church in his place. All of my brothers refused his suggestion except me, who wanted to stay a good guy. A month before I started my ministry, I visited Wooridle Church. The worship there was a shock to me. Inspired by the church members great sharing of their sins and their testimony about their application, I began to read the books that pastor Kim wrote and started my QT ministry. Then some members of my church didnt want to be their senior pastor. After I took charge of the ministry, others openly started turning their back to me. To my surprise, the leader of this group was the elder, with whom I used to share my QT with. People took his word for me it and turned against me even without asking me a question. Complaining that I was taken in by pastor Kims QT propaganda, I quit my meditation. Later I heard that the elder had used the church finance privately. I brandished the sword of vengeance, believing that it was an opportunity from God. I revealed all his evil deeds until he was expelled from the church. Then some of our church members began to leave the church, disappointed with my heartlessness. Realizing that I can do nothing on my own, I resumed my QT desperate to survive. I was struck dumb by the message of Genesis 9, which implied that I was like Ham, who revealed his fathers nakedness to his brothers.
My household is a traditional Christian family, which has a Confucian attachment to the eldest son. My father used to say 'Be sure to save to the last penny because we live by our congregations precious offering.' The only pocket money that I received from my dad was 500 won for my field trip, about which I didnt complain. Then I happened to catch my father giving a good amount of money to my brother. I began to have resentment against my fathers discrimination. I decided that Id never be like my father, ignoring him as a loser and his ministry as fruitless toil. Then God said to me, 'You are like Ham. You revealed your fathers nakedness despite your great weaknesses and faults, ignoring his love for you! The Lord drove home his instruction to me! I realized that our church members were also suffering because of my unrepentant stubbornness. Realizing that the elder was the rod of men that God raised for me, I wailed and repented of my sins on that morning.
This watershed repentance took me out of the prison of my hatred and self-pity. After apologizing to my father, I enjoyed the recovery of my relationship with him. As for the relationship with the elder, the extremely twisted one, I had no other choice but to pray. Then, thanks to a pastors help, I apologized to the elder and asked him to come back, saying that everything was my fault and he had merely taken all the trouble for God to mold me. Surprised with my confession, the elder reconciled with me and returned to our church. Later, after being reunited, our church was allowed to extend its building.
Now that I stand before you, obeying God, I give my special thanks to the members of Wooridle Church for their precious testimony, through which the Word came to me. I hope that many churches in Korea will also be awakened through Gods word. For this mission, Id like to ask another favor of Wooridle Church. I delivered my sermon for one person, now caught in despair. May Gods grace be on that person and us to stick to the Word and Gods community so that his great may be fulfilled.
'Then the word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time.'(Jon 3:1)
