8/24 You Do Not Accept Our Testimony

8/24/25: "You Do Not Accept Our Testimony"

Scripture: John 3:14-15

3:14 As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of man be lifted.

3:15 That whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

My husband and I went on a mission for about 9 days in a rural town called Izamal on the Yucatan Peninsula, about 4 hours away from Cancun, Mexico. Mission is to lift Jesus up so that people can see, believe, and witness to eternal life. This was our first overseas mission, and before continuing our talk, I’d like to invite Jiang to share his testimony.

Izamal, Mexico, is an important site of the ancient Mayan civilization, known as the "City of Hills," where the Mayan language is as widely spoken as Spanish. After the Spanish conquest in the 16th century, the city was built on the ruins of a huge Mayan settlement. The most famous ruin here is the Kinich Kak Mo pyramid, the largest pyramid in the state of Yucatan.

It's also a place where the sad history of Korean immigrants is buried. The Yucatan region once thrived with an agricultural industry based on the henequén plant. 120 years ago, in 1905, 1,033 Korean workers arrived here, having been promised a new life in a paradise land.

They worked alongside local Mayans in conditions comparable to slavery, and many lived on vast henequén farms, learning the Mayan language instead of Spanish. In 1910, when their contract ended, Korea had already been annexed to the Japanese Empire, leaving them no homeland to return to, so they settled there.

Over time, Korean men began to accept the Mayan way of life, with intermarriage becoming commonplace and unique cultural fusions occurring. The descendants of these first Korean immigrants call themselves AENIKKAENG, a word derived from the Korean pronunciation of 'henequén' that contains both the hardships our ancestors endured and the legacy they left behind.

This mission to Mexico was to bring AWANA, a non-profit missions organization, to the Izamal area. Founded in the United States, its mission is to spread the hope of the gospel to children through weekly Bible memorization and games. It’s a very beneficial weekly Bible club that raises children and youth as disciples, but small churches often lack the facilities and manpower to run it.

Fortunately, in Bergen County, NJ, a mission organization called Love NJ supports the Awana Club for children in small immigrant churches. Seven years ago, I met a pastor dedicated to this ministry and joined as a volunteer this spring semester. When he shared his vision of taking youth on an overseas mission, I felt led to go, even though I had doubts.

I told my husband that he had to go there and teach computer classes, and that is how we joined the mission. Through one church, a conversation between Pastor Lee and Missionary Lee, Cheol-nam, began. In 2017, this missionary established a Christian school called Bethel International Christian Academy (BICA).

Missionary Cheol-nam Lee, currently 82 years old, has been a missionary in Mexico for 27 years. He is fluent in Korean, English, and Spanish. He was born in Shanghai, China, and met my husband, who is from the same hometown, in Mexico.

Seven years ago, he underwent brain surgery due to a virus from improper dental treatment, which caused him to lose the proper use of one leg and suffer from speech impairment. Now, he is able to walk with a cane and communicate well, though he speaks slowly.

When the missionary was a college student in Korea, he taught at a Sunday school. After moving to the U.S. and then to Mexico as a missionary, his sponsorship was cut off, but he had a vague vision of establishing a school and building up disciples. Then, one day, he received an email from a former Sunday school student from 40 years ago.

The former student heard about the missionary’s vision and sent him a donation of $350,000, which he used to start building the school. When unexpected costs arose, the student sent another $150,000. After so many twists and turns, the BICA School was completed in four years.

This story shows that the small dedication you make now doesn't end as a small one. The school, which was built with the donation from the Sunday School disciple from 40 years ago, currently has 90 local students, and disciples of Jesus are being raised. Our team stayed in the school dormitory, classrooms, and chapel.

A total of 12 people, including 7 teenagers and 5 adults, departed. We were told we could get support from 15-20 bilingual staff, but only about 5 local students helped. Even in the midst of such shortcomings, we were able to serve the children and preach the gospel well with God’s help.

Before going on the mission, our team prepared thoroughly for 12 weeks. The youth spent a lot of time preparing, making games, ordering items, writing letters, and fundraising. They also created and used the curriculum for the afternoon program. We arrived in Izamal on the evening of August 4th, and from August 5th, we went door to door to distribute leaflets.

I remember that the two-hour street evangelism from 9 to 11 o'clock was the most difficult part of the mission trip due to the scorching sun and heat. Even in such adverse conditions, the children were gathered by the street evangelism, and parents on motorcycles brought their children every morning. For 5 days from August 6th to 10th, I served an average of 60 children every day from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

I learned that mission work is not about overcoming the heat but about learning to live with it. The routine started with QT at 6:30 every day and didn't finish until after 11 p.m. Every night, I worried if I could wake up the next morning, but I experienced God who gave me the strength to.

On Monday, August 11th, we went to a Mayan village 30 minutes away from Izamal to preach the gospel. The missionary said that more than 100 children would gather, and it truly seemed like everyone in the neighborhood had come. The Mayans caught 200 chickens and served chicken tacos to us.

It was a schedule that was not originally on our plan, but it seems that it was God's plan. Among them were descendants of the Koreans. We have no way of knowing how many Mayans saw Jesus lifted high in that short period of time, believed, and entered the kingdom of God. But God sent us to that place, and the name of Jesus was held high among them.

Jesus was lifted up so high in the mission field. Exalting the name of Jesus is what our team did there. Jesus must be lifted up not only in the Izamal mission field but in all parts of the world.

Today's text begins with a conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus, a Pharisee. Nicodemus, a spiritual leader, came to Jesus in the middle of the night. His religious superiority must have been a great obstacle to freely coming before Jesus, yet he longed for the truth.

He shows a hesitant attitude in his faith that Jesus is the Savior. Nicodemus’s situation shows how people who live with pride treat the fact that Jesus is the Christ. He asks questions because he does not believe how Jesus can be the Savior.

Jesus tells him he must be born again of the Holy Spirit to enter the kingdom of God. Believing and being believed in Jesus happens to those who are born again of the Holy Spirit.

I shared my mission testimony with a few people, and their reactions varied. One acquaintance asked why Koreans are so obsessed with buildings, saying we need to focus on “software” not “hardware.” There is nothing wrong with his response, but it made me wonder why he couldn't believe and praise what God had done. Jesus was lifted up there, and people believed and were saved, but the evidence did not seem to be accepted.

Many people do not accept the gospel, and even if they hear it, they cannot believe it without being born again with water and the Holy Spirit. But we believers must be bold. Just because people don't believe in the gospel doesn't devalue its authority. Jesus said, "You do not receive our testimony."

I found myself wondering why we try to diminish the work of the gospel by viewing it only from our limited perspective. Like how people say we need more 'software' than 'hardware,' Nicodemus too did not believe that faith in Jesus was the way to enter the kingdom of God. The conflict of Nicodemus is the conflict of many people: not believing in Jesus.

In Numbers 21:1-9, there is a story of the bronze serpent. The Israelites complained against God, and He sent venomous snakes that bit and killed many people. When the people repented, God commanded Moses to make a bronze serpent and lift it high on a pole. Anyone who was bitten could look at it and live.

Those who believed and looked were healed, but those who thought, 'Surely not,' and refused to look, all died. Without believing in the way of salvation God provided, there was no way for them to be saved. In the same way, Jesus refers to the story of the fiery serpents when speaking of those who do not believe, no matter how much evidence they are shown.

Jesus, the Savior sent by God, was clearly shown to everyone. It is absolutely clear. God’s plan was for people to see Jesus, believe in Him, and be saved. The bronze serpent was clearly raised up, yet those who died chose not to look. They hesitated, questioning if looking at a serpent could really save them, and therefore did not believe.

It is the work of the Holy Spirit that makes you believe. But my job is to declare that Jesus is the Son of God and the Savior. The reason you believe in Jesus, who is lifted up so high, is because you have been born again by the Holy Spirit.

The proof that the Holy Spirit has worked is that we believe in the work of the kingdom of God. This act of faith reveals what God wants to do in people. Because of Jesus, Nicodemus and we have been put in a crisis. This is because we keep avoiding and hesitating with various questions about believing in the Jesus who has been lifted up by God for you to see and be saved.

The reason you can’t come close to Jesus is that you fear your dark deeds will be exposed if you come into the light. However, those who believe in Jesus are the ones who accept the light, and that very act is an expression of faith. At the mission field, children and volunteers raise their hands and confess that they believe in the Jesus who is lifted high.

They do not hesitate to come into the light. Their belief is the work of the Holy Spirit. God desires that all people hear the gospel, be saved, and enter the kingdom of God. For that to happen, Jesus must be lifted high. Only then can people have true life and live forever with the Lord.

God loves Izamal, Mexico, and its people—a rocky and barren land where the heat makes people and even dogs listless. Into such a land, God sent one person who obeyed the calling and lived with the people. The vision of building a school to raise disciples of Jesus there matched God’s vision of loving that land.

God’s vision for that place is for Jesus to be lifted high so that people will believe and be saved. The missionary, his disciples, and the disciples currently being raised are the ones who will continue to spread God’s vision. No matter where the land is, those who believe in the Jesus who is lifted high will be saved.

Living as disciples who lift Jesus up for others to see is God’s will for you. Are you still not receiving the evidence? Are you hesitating because you don’t believe? I pray that the work of the Holy Spirit—through which all who believe in the lifted-up Jesus are saved—will continue to take place in your own context.