Pastor John Koe’s father was a poor and uneducated immigrant from China. He had come to Singapore as a teenager having lost his father at the age of 3 and worked as a coolie for a long time ago. Pastor John himself has 7 siblings. He is the youngest. They led a meagre life. Eventually, his father started a small business selling and renting pressure lamps and stoves.
He shared that he was an unwanted child and that his mother had wanted to abort him. For some reasons, the abortion failed. As a result, he had that sense of rejection as he grew up. At the age of seven, he together with his siblings helped out in his father’s shop. It was a tough and hard life. He also suffered from ill health. At the age of 15, he had severe bouts of migraine that would last for seven to eight hours per day and even months. Pastor John began to develop a mindset of poverty and lack that would enslave him through much of his adult life. He had have suicidal thoughts. At about this time, He came to know the Lord. However, he soon backslided and turned to another faith, devoting his time to understand the non-Christian scriptures and chanting almost every day. At the age of 17, Pastor John left his parents’ home to stay out on his own.
It was not until he was in his second year of his National Service that he encountered Jesus through a friend who invited him to attend a church. Since then, he started reading the Bible and served God in various ministries. Ps John began to take God’s spoken word seriously. As he memorized, meditated and journaled, God began to transform his life and brought wholeness from within.One verse that struck him was Isaiah 49:23 - “Then you will know that I am the Lord; those who hope in me will not be disappointed”. Another verse that impacted his life was Psalms 25:3 – “Indeed, none of those who wait for You will be ashamed”.
From someone who was in financial trouble, in poor health and without a career, God gave him a purpose. While waiting upon the Lord, and through God’s guidance and prompting, he eventually built up a business. His health improved tremendously and he could see a bright future ahead (Romans 10:11 - For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed”). Psalms 107:20 also spoke to Pastor John – “He sent His word and healed them, And delivered them from their destructions.”
As he got more and more involved in serving God, the church leaders approached him to be a full-time worker. Pastor John sought God but God told him it was not the right time. The direction was clear: for the moment, to stay in the workplace in the commercial world to be an effective testimony for God.
One day in 1997, a group of youth leaders prayed with him and God spoke to Pastor John that it was time to move on to the next phase in his faith journey. Pastor John was to sell away his business and be a full time missionary to China. He was very anxious and doubts crept in whether this was indeed what God wanted him to do. It was a struggle as he reluctantly came to grips as he would have to sell away his thriving business, leave a comfortable life in Singapore and to become a missionary in China. He spent time pondering about this.
Then in year 2000, a friend contacted him and shared that God told him to invite Pastor John for a mission trip to Hei Long Jiang in China. Through this revelation via his friend, Pastor John decided to do what God told him to do. He went for the mission trip and through time, set up various ministries in China. His ministry in China began to take shape. Very soon, upon his obedience and acting upon the spoken Word of God, this ministry began to take a life of its own. Without much effort or focus on fund raising, they began to generate much needed resources. God’s prophecy that Pastor John will be “a bridge for resources to flow to My people” has come into fruition. It has been a long journey but a God-led and satisfying one. Pastor John closed with this verse:
“You shall remember all the way which the LORD, your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the LORD.” (Deuteronomy 8:2-3)
Pastor John concluded by sharing that God’s Word is a seed (as in the parable of the Sower) and we are the soil that the seed fell on. If we were to act upon the Word that God has spoken to us, we will grow exponentially in His grace and enabled for mighty works. Our ultimate provision comes from God. Every time we obey, it brings about a divine outcome. So, what is God speaking to you now? Which would you be: the good soil or the barren ground?
Discussion Questions
1. What is one thing that caught your attention about Pastor John Koe’s testimony? [5 min]
2. Read Deuteronomy 8:2 to 3. These verses mentioned that God “tested” the Israelites through the 40 years in the wilderness. Why was this necessary and how is their testing relevant for us today? [15 min]
3. Pastor John shared that God speaks to us through the Bible. What other ways can we hear from God?
One of Pastor John’s confirmations on his calling to China was when God specifically prompted a friend to invite him for a mission trip to Hei Long Jiang. How can one confirm if the “spoken” Word that one received is what God wants? [15 min]
4. Connecting with God through the Bible is the single most basic and important way to hear God. What are the reasons why some Christians do not read and study the Bible despite ample resources and opportunities available. How can you and your cell group commit to read and study the Bible? [10 min]
