Denying Myself, Following Him - Danny Kim’s Salvation Testimony

Romans 8:38-39; Matthew 16:24

Danny was born and raised in Houston, parents had a successful but busy beauty supply.  All Danny wanted was for them to just be present despite always working.  He was forced to understand their circumstances.  So, Danny found community in his homies getting into bad habits, including fighting.  As an only child, Danny had been spoiled.  And he kept on wanting more.  He couldn’t learn responsibility or accountability because his parents made up for their absence with gifts.  Danny’s father was always dependable and never late, despite him being hungover most mornings.

At 23, Danny joined the army. And even then, his parents let things slide and let him be lazy.

Then hurricane Rita hit.  This was a turning point for Danny.  This is when his family finally noticed bumps on his father’s face, and it unfortunately turned out to be stage 4 lung cancer.

So at 19, Danny had to take over the business but he ran it into the ground.

Question:  Did you ever experience a turning point like Danny describes here?  

In 2004, his father passed away. And Danny still can’t watch movies about losing parents.

And instead of turning around, Danny was caught up in his previous lifestyle and getting worse.

His friends were dying from overdoses or getting shot. There was a point where he went to 3 funerals in a month and being so coked up that he hadn’t been to sleep in 3-4 days.

He finally enlisted in the army in 2009.  He says he went in as a boy and came out as a man.

He’d been so busy living in drugs and partying that he hadn’t dated much. Even when he’d been stationed in Korea, he still partied.  During that time, his mother sold the business and moved to Dallas to get away from Houston where Danny’s old friends still probably are still doing the same things.  His mother made him come to ROCK church once he was stationed back in Texas/Fort Hood.

He was overwhelmed by the niceness of Pastor Daniel and Sunmee. He was expecting them wanting something back. But he committed to commute each week for house church.  He couldn’t believe how servantful Pastor Daniel and Sunmee were, and still are.

Baptized in 2013 at ROCK. Cried in knowing God would accept someone like him. He didn’t feel empty anymore. Always seeing his mom, coming to church, etc.  When he came down from the high of being born again, he took 10 months to come to terms with him having to change his life for Christ.  There were people he didn’t like seeing at church, but never saw that Pastor Daniel and Sunmee ever act like that.  So he hopped around to different churches trying to do this Christian thing. He never felt right as he kept comparing them to ROCK.  But Danny heard that Pastor Daniel said Danny would come back, like his gift of prophecy foretold.  Finally, Danny called to join house church one week, and without a beat Pastor Daniel welcomed him back like nothing happened.

Question:  Who else can be so patient and graceful in accepting any of us back no matter what?

2019 Danny became shepherd, he multiplied several times in several years, and Danny was feeling high on himself and relied on his own capabilities. He had it all planned out in his head, but in a short span he had about half of his house church leave.  God had then disciplined him and reminded him to rely on God.  

Danny is not a fan of Jesus, but a follower of Him.

“Get over yourself,” God said to Danny.

When Danny shared his dream when he was a youth leader in 2018, he shared that he finally had a dream to have a home with a loving family waiting for him.  And it has come true.

So it reminded him to not take anything for granted and to rely on God because He will bless him with no end.

Question:  Where in our lives do we take the things God has blessed us with for granted, and how then can we remind ourselves to give it all up to Him?