The passage we read today is from Genesis, the first book in the Bible. We read from chapter 12 of Genesis. The title of the sermon is “A Covenant with the ‘God’.” Some of you were here last week, while for others, it may be your first time today. Today’s word is connected to last week’s message.

Let me give you a brief reminder of last week’s message. I said there are many gods in the world. Yet some people, even Christians, misunderstand what is meant by that. They think that “there is only one god in the world,” because the Bible says, “You shall have no other gods before Me!” But this is a misunderstanding. The reason God said that is, in fact, because there are many gods in the world.

Before I got married, I said to my soon-to-be wife, “From now on, make sure you have no other men in your life!” That was because she had many men who followed her around. I emphasized to her that she shouldn’t have any other men near her. If no one had been following her around, I wouldn’t have needed to say that, would I? Similarly, there are many gods in the world.

Each of those gods have different characteristics. Some gods are aggressive—they forcefully invade without consent, forcing their way in. Where do they come to invade? Into people’s bodies. They forcefully come in and use a person’s body like their own.

I’ll tell you about a certain experience I had. It was when I cast out a demon for the first time after going over to China as a missionary.

While I was preaching in a certain region, a young woman came forward. She requested prayer. I asked her what the problem was, and she said she was epileptic. When I asked how frequent her seizures were, she said “About once a week.” In the beginning, it was once a year at first, then it increased to once every six months, and increasingly it became frequent until it was happening  every week. So I asked, “Did you have one last week as well?” She said she had experienced one just a few days before she met me.

I asked, “So, when did this all begin?” She told me that her first seizure was when she was in middle school, around the age of 15. At the time I met her, she was in her mid-30’s. So, I asked again, “What caused it to start?” She said, one day, she was walking to school and some boys frightened her by yelling suddenly from behind. Startled by the noise, she fell to the ground and had a seizure. She hadn’t done anything wrong. If anything, those boys are the ones to blame. But the one who suffered from their act was her.

From that day on, she began having seizures for nearly twenty years. That means that a god–a demon–had entered her in that moment when was startled. For this reason, it is not a good idea to scare someone from behind. Because that’s when demons can come in.

Anyway, as I prayed for her, a demon manifested. It showed its identity—and began to cry. “Who are you?” I asked.

Now, this may be unfamiliar to some of you or may feel uncomfortable. However, these things are written in the Bible. Among the many works Jesus did on the earth, casting out demons was one of His primary works. Jesus also asked questions to demons like, “Who are you? When did you come in?” I have learned about this in our church, I experienced it and I personally have benefited from it, which is why I am now able to help others as well.

I asked the demon, “When did you come into her?” Then I asked, “How did you die?” The demon answered that it committed suicide. So I asked, “Why did you do that?” It answered, “Because I hated life.” And after becoming a demon, it had gone into this woman and caused her to have seizures.

Again, I asked the demon, “Do you know this woman?” It said it did. It told me that, before its death, it had lived in the same town as her. Keep in mind that the people who gathered there had never seen anything like this before. When I asked, “What is your name?” and it answered, “Sihong Xien Yuen!” I still remember that name to this day. The moment everyone there heard that name, they began murmuring among themselves—because they all knew that person who was from that town. I said, “Why are you harassing this woman?” The demon cried. Then I cursed the demon and cast it out.

Someone might ask, “What power do you have to be able to do that?” This is the power Jesus has already promised to every believer. If you read the Gospel of Mark, it mentions demons from the first chapter onward. It continues through the second and third chapters, all the way to the last chapter, which is chapter 16. And how does it end? Jesus said, “These signs will follow those who believe in Me.” What is the first sign? The very first sign He mentioned is, “In My name they will cast out demons!” Believers will cast out demons. Anyone can have that power.

However, plenty of churches in South Korea have not experienced this power. The reason for that is they don’t get to learn properly about it. Moreover, because many Christians consider their faith as a mere religious life, they cannot experience the realities of true spiritual lives. While many churches were in the dark about this, Pastor Ki-Dong Kim began his work from the 1960s.

At that time, he had neither a university degree nor a degree in theology. As a young man with a deeply thirsty heart, he started reading the Bible. And how fervent was he? In just one year, he read the entire Bible forty-two times. In five years, he read this thick book seventy-five times. Even so, he couldn’t grasp it. He himself spoke often about how he read the Bible seventy-five times in five years. But he didn’t say that to boast, but to emphasize even after reading it so many times, he still couldn’t understand. Though he managed to read it dozens of times and even memorize passages, he could not understand what it was about.

But one day, he was filled with the Holy Spirit and found in God’s eyes. God had seen all his service towards God, his prayers, and his dedication—over those five years, and finally called him. That day, he was suddenly moved by God’s word so powerfully, and he described the experience of that day like this: Before that day, it was as though he had been carrying the word of God like a heavy load on his head. But on that day, he experienced the word of God flow down into his soul—like sand flowing down an hourglass.

Later that same day, he was invited to someone’s house. A woman, who was a member of the church, had passed away, and the funeral was being arranged in the house, with her body laid out there. When he entered the house, he was suddenly moved in his heart by a voice which seemed to say: “You, raise her up!” He was reminded of how Jesus raised a dead person to life in the Bible. In that moment, he felt in his heart, “That woman is not dead—she’s asleep!”

So, he went up to the deceased body, removed the linen covering, and commanded, “Get up!” Immediately the dead body sat up alive. This took place a few decades ago, and in the 1990s that very woman came to visit our church—so all our church members saw her.

When the body suddenly sat up, he was startled. And he remembered an old saying in Korea: “When a cat climbs the fireplace, the dead will rise! And if you don’t knock them down, you will die!” So, he knocked down the woman. But then she started making weird noises. When he asked, “Who are you?” the answer was, “I’m a demon!” “Which demon are you?” “I am so-and-so who lived in this village.” That was his first time he had ever seen a demon manifest. He tried to cast the demon out by punching the person, but the demon wouldn’t leave. Finally, he remembered the words of Scripture where Jesus drove out the demons with a word. So he declared, “I command you in the name of Jesus! The Lord is commanding you! Leave!” And with that, the demon left.

Ever since, he cast out demons almost on a daily basis, healed the sick, and raised the dead. At that time,  there was not a single Christian in South Korea who had not heard of Ki-Dong Kim.

My grandmother, who was a Baptist since she was a young lady, lived in a distant rural town. I asked my grandmother, “Did you ever hear of Ki-Dong Kim when you were a young lady?” She said, “Of course I know him! Is there anyone who doesn’t know him?” Apparently, it was incredible back in the day because he raised the dead and healed the sick.

Personally, I went to military service three months after I came to believe in Jesus. Basically, I was a new believer, and in the army, God’s power began to work through me. How was that possible? The words I had received during those three months of my faith life here had made a huge impact on me. There were two things stayed with me: firstly, “that man is not saved by observing the Law but by faith”; and secondly, “that whoever has faith in Jesus has power—power to lay hands on the sick and see them healed, and to curse demons so that they leave. This was not Pastor Ki-Dong Kim’s own unique teaching; it was in the Bible. Yet while others failed to grasp it, he got to experience it for himself firsthand and began teaching others that anybody could do the same.

Ever since then, I was no longer afraid of demons—though I used to be. Even as adults, some people have a fear of the dark and get anxious walking alone in the dark. I used to be like that. I remember that even my mother used to have a fear of the dark too. However, that is all in the past now.

Even certain taboos like, no whistling at night because it is considered bad luck, are totally irrelevant to us. In God, no work of any demon is something to fear. Instead, they fear us, for we are able to drive them out.

Going back to the woman in China—when I said to the demon, “Who are you?” it answered, “Sihong Xien Yuen!” Just as I had been taught, everything happened exactly that way. After some time, I commanded the demon, “Get out!” and she fell backward, as if dead.

What I experienced was exactly what is written in the Bible—when Jesus cast a demon out of a child, the child looked as though dead. That’s what happened when I cast out the demon. I left her there for a while. Everyone was worried and asked, “Is she dead?” but I assured them, “No, she is fine. Leave her alone for now.” She slept like that for 2 more hours. When the meeting finished two hours later, she woke up, and her face was not the same as before. Previously, she had a dark and lifeless countenance, but when she woke up after the demon left her, her face had brightened up and was glowing—she looked beautiful. I thought to myself, “Wow, the same person can look completely different!”

About 6 months later, I visited that area again. I asked that woman, “Have you had any seizures since that day?” What do you think her answer was? “No” She never had seizures again. By driving out the demon that harassed her all her life in Jesus’ name, she was cured completely. Isn’t it wonderful?

Anybody can experience this. And it’s not only about being healed for myself—I can also help others to be healed. This is the authority given to all Christians.

We have seen how this god called Jesus is a blessing to man. But what about the god that came into the woman when she was frightened? What did it do? It harassed and tormented her. What would happen if she fell forward during one of her epileptic episodes? She could smash her teeth.

This is what those gods do to man. The problem is, there are so many of them. There are countless gods. What do they intend to do when they come into people? Always the same. They all come in to kill. I asked that demon by the name of “Sihong Xien Yuen,” “Why did you come into her?” What do you think the answer was? “I came to kill her!”

I have since driven out countless demons and witnessed others casting out demons. And whenever I ask them, “Why did you come in?” their answer is always the same: “I came to kill!” None of those demons ask for permission before they come in. They never ask, “May I come in?”—they simply break in. They come in when you are startled, when you are irritated, and also when you are provoked to anger.

Probably you’ve had arguments with your husband or wife, haven’t you? As the argument gets heated, you start raising your voice, which worsens the situation and makes you more upset. Regarding such instances the Bible says, “Do not let the sun go down on your wrath.” In other words, don’t let your anger carry over into the next day.

What’s the reason for that? One meaning could be that we need to love one another. However, there is a spiritual implication to it also. What enters a person who is in a state of anger? That god (demon) goes into the body. This is true for both believers and unbelievers. A believer may have been sanctified in his spirit, but that god (demon) can still come inside the body. If a person lets himself go to sleep while he is angry and full of wrath, what will happen the next day? He will surely wake up with a headache. His head will feel heavy and start to ache. And since that spirit came inside during the night and hasn’t left, what do you think it will do? It will begin its work. Then, what started as a headache can lead to a more severe illness.

Now, let’s say he doesn’t let go of his anger and remain angry towards the other person so that he stops talking to them altogether for a whole month. During that time, the demon continues its work inside of him. What do you think it will do? It will build its house to make sure it won’t have to leave. Imagine how solid that house will be if it spends a whole month building! Consequently, that demon will not easily get driven out. It initially thought it would be there for a short stay, but as the person remains wrathful, it will say, “I’ve hit the jackpot! He is still angry!” It will build a strong and sturdy house, and after a year, two years, three years, what is the outcome? It can become cancer or something of that sort. Even doctors discover that some cancer patients suffered severe psychological trauma about three to four years prior to being diagnosed with cancer. In other words, the patient experiences some sort of trauma that is very distressing about three to four years before they develop cancer.

In such situations, we who believe in Jesus should not let the sun go down on our wrath but let go of our anger. However, we are overcome because we are incapable of power to release it. So, how do we develop the ability? The answer is, when we have fellowship with God, we will develop the capacity.

Why is that? Because God is the One who loves us. Even if we curse ourselves or think we’re worthless, as long as we are in close fellowship with God, we will deeply understand just how much God loves us. And what is an outstanding characteristic of a person who is loved? An easy-going nature. Imagine receiving not just the love of your husband or wife, but the love of God the Creator—the Most High—who is greater than heaven! Your spirit will be rich with life. And in that abundance, whatever that provoked you to anger will suddenly seem trivial.

Without such experience of God’s love, it’s easy to get frustrated and irritated over little things—and sometimes that irritation can even lead to divorce. On the other hand, a person who receives God’s love abundantly will be able to laugh it off, even in the most distressful situations. They can laugh it off and let it pass.

A person may still have an argument, for example, with his wife, but he realizes, “God has forgiven a sinner like me—so how could I not forgive my wife?” And he forgives his wife and starts praying for her. Moreover, when he goes to his wife intending to say, “I forgive you,” what often comes out of his mouth instead is, “Please forgive me!” In these situations, God moves the heart of the other person too—so the situation is easily resolved.

Though I’m a Christian, I have had arguments with my wife too. But I never let the sun go down without the situation resolved. I don’t think I have ever let the argument carry over to the next day. If the argument seems to get heated, I step away for a while. And where do you think I go? Unbelievers would probably go to get a drink. But I go to the prayer room and pray: “God, I’ve done wrong. Now that I think about it, it was my fault. I know the problem started with me, but please help me resolve it!” Even though I apologize to my wife, if she is still upset, the situation won’t be resolved. That’s what men fear the most—when we apologize but women are still upset and keep scolding us. So, I pray, “God, soften my wife’s heart to accept my apology!” Then, I go back to see my wife. But before I even utter a word, what does my wife say? “I’m sorry!” This happens every time. I’ll tell her, “No, I’m sorry!” and give her a hug. She would look more lovely than before. That is why, as the years go by in our marriage, our love for each other deepens.

People often say, “Just wait three months after you get married and see what happens!” In fact, people around me said that when I got married. Even my Christian work colleagues said the same. But I said to myself, “That may be right for you, but it will not apply to me!” Why? Because when we are in God, our relationships can be renewed every day and grow even deeper.

The worldly gods are endlessly trying to destroy, interfere, and kill. But our God wants to bestow His love and grace on us, save, and bless us.

The question is, out of the countless gods in the world, which one are we going to receive as our God? Last time, I gave an example of a presidential election. We don’t vote for any random person as president, do we? We listen to each candidate’s election promises and decide who we want. We have to know in which direction the candidate will lead the country. We can’t vote just because he seems nice. A candidate may not be friendliest person. But the paramount factor is: “where will he take the nation?”

Similarly, it’s the same when choosing which god we will serve. The countless gods in the world are attempting to come near us—but which one will we unite ourselves with? It’s a very important question. Right now, I am introducing to you the god whom we have met. Why do I want to do that? Because, after I personally met this god, good things happened to me as I mentioned earlier —and I even know even greater things are yet to come. That is why I want you to know Him so that you can make a choice.

This God has proposed His pledge, and the first time He proposed it was to a man named Abraham, as we read in Genesis 12. What was included in His promise? We can divide it into three parts. First: “Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, and I will lead you”. Second: “I will make you a great nation.” Third: “You shall be a blessing, And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” This was God’s pledge to him. He promised to be with Abraham and all these things were to follow as a result.

If we look closely at the details of His promise, we can begin to see what kind of god this is. Normally, do the gods of the world tell someone to get out of their country, their relatives, and their father’s house—or to stay? It’s usually the latter. For this reason, many people would tie their gods (idols) to either a large rock or an old tree. To worship their god, they had to go to the tree, or the rock, or to the cemetery where the demon was believed to dwell. Traditionally in South Korea, a person was considered filial duty never to leave his village, because leaving meant abandoning his dead parents. That was why people remained in their own village and never departed from their region.

Do you know the reason why? Demons were once human. After leaving the body, where would they want to go to? Think about it—would a Korean demon feel comfortable inside an American person? Demons sponge a meal of the person it occupies. When people perform ancestral rites during the Full Moon Festival, don’t they say that the ancestral demon is coming to eat the food? That is why people prepare the foods that their ancestors enjoyed eating when they were alive. It may sound like nothing more than tradition or superstition, but they in fact have some degree of spiritual awareness. Demons do come and eat the food—if they didn’t think so, why would they prepare it in the first place? People aren’t foolish. Those demons really do come to eat.

Otherwise, why would people set up a table for them? They don’t do that for no reason. But it’s not just the food that demons are accustomed to; even the way of life is what they are used to. Hence, who do they want to occupy? Their own family, relatives, and children. For this reason, demons don’t want their children moving away from their homeland. They want to be able to go into their eldest son, then their younger son, and their daughter-in-law, and so on, so that they can get fed well in their own town. Thus, they will not allow their children to move away from their town.

What happens if someone moves to another town? The demon inside that person also has to move. For example, a demon is inside his son, but the son moves to the United States. There, his son meets and interacts with mostly non-Korean people. The demon doesn’t have a choice but to remain inside his son only—because what happens if it tries to go into another person? Other people would already be occupied by demons of different ethnicity—maybe big, rough ones—and the way of life there is different. Moreover, people there eat foods that are foreign to the demon, such as drinking whiskey when the demon likes Korean soju. In this way, being in a foreign country doesn’t suit the demon’s taste and preference. That is why demons hold back people from leaving their country.

While these gods (demons) restrain people from leaving their country, what did this other god say to Abraham? “Get out of this country and father’s house!” He is completely different to the other gods in nature. What does that imply? He was saying, “No matter how far you go, no matter what land you enter, I have the power to protect you.”

Other gods don’t have such power. Korean demons will chicken out if they go to the United States. They don’t even have fellow Korean demons to support them there. They will be all alone in a foreign place. However, the god whom we serve told Abraham, “Get out of this country and your father’s house! Go to a foreign land!” for he had the power to protect Abraham wherever he went. He was more powerful than any other god in the land. Thus, he protected Abraham and made him into a great nation. This god was capable of being with Abraham anywhere, regardless of location.

Secondly, God said to Abraham, “I will make you a great nation.” How many years does it take for a person to become a great nation? How many years would he need for him to form a great nation? At least a thousand years perhaps. If that’s the case, God was promising to be with Abraham and protect him for a thousand years. In other words, within God’s plan there is a period of a thousand years.

Can the other gods do the same? No, they can’t. Why? Demons have a limited time on earth— maximum of 120 years. All of this is found in the Bible. There was a time when demons said to Jesus, “Have You come here to torment us before the time?”

In this way, there will never be any demon that says, “I am 500 years old!” If they did, that is a lie. They cannot be more than 120 years old. They cannot surpass the natural lifespan for humans.

However, this god can take responsibility for a thousand years. He is very different from the other gods. As we can see, He is not limited by place; He is not limited by time. He is on a completely different level.

The last thing He promised was, “You shall be a blessing. And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” Normally the other gods would say, “I will bless you, but for that, you have to kill that woman!” or “I will bless you but first divorce your husband/wife!” I know a person who has experienced this. They were a couple who worked very hard together and managed to grow their business. One day, the husband decided to see a fortune teller (who is demon-possessed) who told him, “Unless you divorce your wife, your business will collapse! You must divorce your wife! I’m telling you the way to success!” He worked hard with his wife all those years, going through all the ups and downs to finally grow their business, and this god tells him to divorce her. And the foolish man listened. Can you imagine how distressed the woman would’ve been?

So, do you like these gods pulling the strings behind the scenes? Do they seem favorable? They are savage, aren’t they? One’s life will be ruined after meeting a god like that.

But what is our God like? He says, “You shall be a blessing. And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed!” He doesn’t say, “Only you will be blessed.” Rather, He says, “You will be a blessing and through you, those around you will be blessed. Whoever blesses you will be blessed. All the families of the earth will be blessed in you!”

Therefore, when believers in Jesus receive these promises of God, their lives expand both temporally and spatially. The scope of their lives will broaden both temporally and spatially. In other words, they become mindful of all the people of the world. Furthermore, it is not only about them being blessed—they pour themselves out so that all the people of the world may be blessed.

Led by such a god, Sungrak Church has spent over fifty years striving with all its might to makes others blessed. The number of people who have been blessed through Sungrak Church would probably be hundreds of thousands or even millions. I am one of them. And the number of people I know who have been blessed by Sungrak Church is tens of thousands. Many people I know have been blessed. My father and mother have been blessed, thanks to the church. Since I have received this god too, I determined myself, “Through me, many people ought to be blessed likewise.”

I have been engaged in Chinese mission without stopping for over twenty years, more than two hundred churches—churches that had never existed there before—were established. Tens of thousands, or perhaps hundreds of thousands, have been blessed through me. This is how the word of God is fulfilled.

This has been granted to all of us. Please don’t meet the wrong god and come under curses. Meet this god who appeared to Abraham and made this promise—the very god who raised Jesus Christ from the dead—so that you can also enjoy eternal life, and live a life through which all the families of the earth are blessed. I bless you in Jesus’ name.

I’ll pray.

Father God, thank You for making Yourself known to us. We give You thanks because while there are countless gods in the world, we have come to meet and have fellowship with our God who is full of love and is just and righteous. We also thank You for sending Your Son Jesus Christ through whom we have met You. Help us all to be the souls who get to experience Your promises. In Jesus’ name, we pray, Amen.