This transcript is organized from YouTube’s automatic captions. Names, Bible references, and specialized terms may contain recognition or translation errors.

I love You, Lord. You all love praise, don't you? Yes. When these cancer patients sing this praise, cancer cells disappear. Do you know why? This praise is 'My God.' When God becomes my God, all diseases in our bodies are destined to vanish. Amen. Do you believe it? Amen. Yes. When God becomes one with us, amazing changes occur in our bodies. You are my strength, chord, chord A, A. A, O Lord, my strength. I love You, Lord. You are my rock and my fortress. You are my deliverer, my Lord, my God, my refuge, my shield, my God, my God, my God, the horn of my salvation, the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. Lift your hands toward our God, my God, my God. He is my Jehovah, He is my Jehovah, my fortress. Ladies, O Jehovah, my life, I praise You. Wait a moment. You are my love and my reliance.

Men, lead me, Lord. Guide me in Your way, guide me in Your way. You are the Shepherd of my life, You are the Shepherd of my life. I will follow, I will follow. My God, my God, my God. Crown me with the crown of life, crown me with the crown of life. Lift your hands toward God. My God, my God, He is my Jehovah, He is my Jehovah, my Savior, my Savior. Place your hands on your hearts. My God, my God, He is my Jehovah, He is my Jehovah, my Savior, my Savior. Amen, amen, hallelujah. Um, we do a lot of healing ministry worship for cancer patients. But even when I prayed earnestly for patients in pain, the pain wouldn't go away. Is it that God cannot answer, or is there a problem on our end? Yes. One day, I realized it. I realized that our spirits were so blocked that it was very difficult for us to be one with God.

If we can only become one with God, all the diseases in our bodies have no choice but to leave. Because we and God become one. Amen. That place is heaven. Is that right? Amen. Amen. But that is not happening. We have been oppressed by this Satan for so long that it is in a very difficult state for our spirits to become completely one with God. What is the best way to become passionately one with God? It is praise. Amen. When we praise with all our hearts with power, we can become passionately one with God. Amen. Once again, lift your hands and sing with me. My God, my God, He is my Jehovah, He is my Jehovah, my Savior, my Savior, Jehovah who is my life, Jehovah who is my life, I praise You, Lord. I praise You. You are my love and my strength. My strength. You lead me. You lead me, guide me on Your path, and become the shepherd of my life, so I will follow You. Lift your hands, my God [scream], my God, crown me with the crown of life, crown me with the crown of life.

My God, my God [screaming], my God, He is my Jehovah, He is my Jehovah, my Savior, my Savior, Amen, Amen. Hallelujah. Amen. Sometimes when I am praising, I experience tears pouring out and my heart becoming hot. In that moment, terminal cancer also disappears. Amen. I expect exactly this kind of thing to happen in our church. Amen. So, in the Seventh-day Adventist Church, yes, when cancer patients enter our church, they are all healed. Yes. Diabetes, blood pressure, everything returns to normal. Amen. Everyone, let us try to change our church's praise to be fervent. Amen. Like the sun during the day, like the moon at night, I want to live like that. Amen. We have changed the lyrics of this praise. Is this PowerPoint not working well? Oh, time, is that so? Our PowerPoint is not showing up. Instead, our couple will sing a song of praise. Yes. It is fine. It is fine. Oh, this is not changing. Yes. It is fine. The response is very slow.

Yes. Do you know? My wife and I will sing this song about the meaning of love, and then we will pray. Do you know how much I love you? Do you know how much I like you? Do you know how much I have waited for you? Do you know? Do you know? Do you know how much I love you? Do you know how much I like you? [snort] Do you know how much I have waited for you? Do you know? Do you know? I gave my life to save you, and do you [scream] know that I gave my life to wash away your shame? Do you know how much of my grace you know, and do you know the song of my love? Amen. O my dove, in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the cliff, let me see your face, let me hear your voice. For your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely. I gave my life to save you, and do you know that I gave my life to wash away your shame? Do you know how much of my grace you know, and do you know my song of love? Do you [scream] know my song of love?

Amen. Amen. Holy and merciful Father God. Thank You for waking us up today and helping us to attend this beautiful gathering. Amen. At this time, may the Holy Spirit come upon every gathering taking place throughout the P.U.C. campus. Amen. Please bless us so that this may be a day that renews our hearts and zeal, and a day overflowing with praise and thanksgiving. Amen. If there is anything we have thought of as too distant, been lazy about, or neglected regarding the day our Lord will come, please forgive us all. Amen. Please bless the P.U.C. administration that has provided us with such a beautiful campus, help it to be reborn as a school of the prophets, and assist it in becoming an even more excellent university. Amen. Please bless the president, the steering committee chair, and all the executive staff who have prepared for the 43rd Western Camp Meeting, and help Elder Seo Ik-min and his wife, who are working hard to feed over a thousand saints, as well as the loving volunteers who are serving with zeal, and all of us, to have a day with the Lord today and a day of thanksgiving.

Amen. Please help us to be those who prepare well today for tomorrow, and help us to do mission work for tomorrow starting today. May Your grace and protection be with our Adventist missionaries scattered all over the world, and please bestow Your grace upon every home, every family, and every member of the Korean Seventh-day Adventist Church in America who supports us with generous offerings, so that they may be helped to serve even more. Amen. Now, please clothe Your servant, Pastor Sung-Geun Geon, whom You have established for the Word, with the special power of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Please open our hearts to receive the heavenly message, and help this beautiful time to be guided by the Lord. We pray in the name of Jesus, who loves us. Amen. Amen. Hello. Hello. Did you sleep well? Yes. Yes, I greet you in the name of the Lord. Ah, I am currently wearing this nice microphone. Yes, because I use this iPad and need both hands to give this presentation, I cannot hold a microphone, so I am using this one. I am very sorry and grateful to all of you who purchased such a good one for me.

As Elder Oh prayed, I think we often forget about those who work behind the scenes. Especially those who work so hard to provide our breakfast, lunch, and dinner—everyone should say amen to that, amen. Honestly, I don't really feel jealous or have much of a desire to compare myself to what others have, but when it comes to those who sing praise so beautifully and spiritually, I truly cannot help but feel envious. Yes. The two elders who lead us every morning, and was it Professor Shin Sun-mi last night? Yes. I actually thought of the name Jin Sun-mi. Yes. Don't tell her I said that. Yes. It was just so moving, and that trio, those three people—even though one of them is in poor health, they still came out to sing, and I was truly blessed. It was amazing. Elder, right? Yes. It was amazing.

Yes. So today, we will continue with our series. The first day was the innovation of salvation, yesterday was the innovation of practice, and today I would like to speak about the innovation of values. We will be talking about social change through the Kingdom of God. Let us begin with Matthew 6:33 as our background. God is good all the time, all the time. We are, we are. Yes. Let us pray briefly before we begin. God, thank you for granting us new life and allowing us to dwell in Your eternal life. Amen. May we become people who love and resemble God more and more in every moment. I have prayed all these words in the name of the Lord Jesus. Amen. Now, let us shout it out loud together. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. I believe we exist precisely to do this work. So, this morning's topic is the innovation of values. Yes. It is called the transformation of the Kingdom of God. What do you, the saints, think the church is? What do you consider the church to be? Today at the airport, I saw some church members having a meeting as they walked by, and I happened to be wearing our church's emblem at the time. Then they said to me, 'You should move the microphone to the front.'

Yes. Yes. Yes. Ah, I sometimes can't tell what comes before or after, so... Oh, this is a high-level joke, and you all understood it. Oh, thank you. Yes. That... that person asked me, 'Do you attend church?' But I hesitated for a long time after hearing that question. Am I a person who attends church? I don't think I am a person who attends church. I am not a person who attends church; I am a person who believes in Jesus. Amen. I am a person who belongs to Jesus. So, when someone asks me, 'Do you attend church?', I think that question is wrong. Yes. I don't think we are people who attend a church building, a church. And we don't exist just for the fellowship of the saints, nor do we exist to operate, control, and manage some kind of organization. I believe that the church is a member of a community that lives in union with Jesus Christ and with one another. Amen. Amen.

So, depending on what our theology—what the church is—our life of faith and our ethics are bound to change. That is why I tell Americans this. This is my 'Kimchi Theology.' I call it Kimchi Theology. Pastor Kwon Jung uses 'Chopstick Theology,' right? Well, I think mine is a bit better than that, isn't it? Don't tell him I said that. Anyway, that is what my Kimchi Theology is. This theology and faith we have is practice; as I mentioned, I think of faith as a 'love ethic.' So, it should be developed as an ethic of love, right? Our theology and faith should be integrated, but sometimes it seems like theology is off on its own, and our life of faith doesn't exist. Therefore, a theology that lacks our faith—our love—is bound to fall into mere idealism.

So we keep approaching things only conceptually and try to talk about something theoretically. As a result, what has become of this idealism? It has become an empty sound. It just makes an empty noise. We say we love God, but people cannot see, feel, or touch what that love looks like; it has become a conceptual love of God. So, yesterday evening—no, it was this morning—about the video I showed you, ah, many of you spoke to me about that video. Since Pastor Kim Hee-sang produced all of this, please don't ask me, but go to Pastor Kim Hee-sang and ask him to share that video with you, and he will gladly oblige. Yes, so those who need it, please speak to Pastor Kim. So, this church started as a small church of around 50 people, but over this 25-year journey, it has become a church where over 800 people attend on the Sabbath. And when they built the church, there was no place in that village where they could hold any kind of performance. There was no place to put on plays or religious dramas. There was no place for people like this to come and perform. So, when they built the church, they built it so that such things could be done.

So, let's make the church not just a place for worship, but a place that the local community needs. So, we created a system like a movie theater where people can come and participate in or watch plays, and this is the church stage. Isn't it wonderful? Yes. So, we built it like this. We built it, but there was no library in that neighborhood. Since there was no library, we decided to run our own library and bookstore at the church. So, we let people come and borrow books. And one time, someone who runs a fitness center asked if it would be okay to donate some equipment, and the pastor, not knowing how much there was, just said, 'Sure, bring it over.' Then they brought the entire gym. As they were completely replacing their own equipment, they just donated all of it to the church. And another person who does rock climbing—you know, rock climbing—said they were changing theirs and wanted to donate their rock climbing wall to the church. The pastor thought it was just some small thing for kids to play on, but yes, they installed it in the church. And they also have a kitchen for the homeless and the poor, which has been turned into a full-scale facility with incredible equipment for preparing food.

As you know, one of our church members I met this morning mentioned that in BC, British Columbia, Canada, it snows a lot, so there are limited outdoor activities you can do in the winter. So, this church built an indoor sports facility, a basketball court. They built this basketball court and opened it up to the community to host basketball tournaments. People from the community come to play basketball and hold tournaments, and while they are there, the church members mingle with them, and the pastor serves as a spiritual leader to them. Isn't that wonderful? Amen. That church isn't just open on the Sabbath; it's open all week long. And in the summer, they receive funding from the government because, in this neighborhood, the biggest problem is that when school is out—this is true in the U.S. and Canada as well—students rely on school for their meals. They get free lunches, you see. But during summer break, they don't go to school, so they end up in a situation where they can't get a meal. Do you understand?

So, it ended up that the church in that country made a contract, and the one-week Vacation Bible School we usually do was extended to run all summer long. The country provided the funding so that the students could receive those benefits. Now, Pastor James, who has since become the president of the Upper Columbia Conference, always used to tell me this. He said he didn't do this work to grow the church. He said, 'I didn't do this to make the church big or to baptize many people; I did this to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.' Because he focused on God's kingdom and His righteousness first in his ministry, a large church and many members naturally followed as a byproduct. Amen. Isn't that wonderful? Amen. So, we need to change the question. He told me that whenever he holds staff meetings, he asks these three questions. Let's read the first one together. The question is, 'How much are we trusted by society?' So, they discuss this. Are the promises we made regarding social service and social ministry not just empty declarations, but actually being implemented? They discuss this. Second, 'How deep is our empathy?' Are we truly listening to the needs of the local community and collaborating with them? They discuss and talk about this as well.

The visible evidence of our ministry is visual. Are we showing concrete and clear results so that the local community can clearly recognize that their needs are actually being met? Isn't that wonderful? If we start having these conversations among our staff, and if we start having these conversations in the times and places we gather and in these small groups, I believe we will truly look like a different kind of church. Amen. Amen. So, as I have said, if you want to know how excellent a faith community's theology is, you can tell by looking at how its members put that theology into practice through faith. Amen. So now, we must stop asking the question, 'What must I do to be saved?' I believe we must start over with the question, 'What have we been saved for?' When we change our questions like this, our thinking changes, and when our thinking changes, our methods change, and when our methods change, these results are bound to change. Do you say amen? Amen.

Shall we shout it out once? If I say 'change the question,' please respond with 'the world changes.' If you change the question, the world changes. If you change the question, the world changes. We must change the question, right? But we have a problem. To change this question, we need to think innovatively. Innovation is called 'innovate,' and people usually say 'think outside the box.' We call that innovation. But sometimes, innovation alone is not enough. So, we must have creativity. To put it simply, we have reached a state where we can no longer exist inside the box we have. We've outgrown it, so we don't need a box; we need to create a different kind of space. Therefore, what we need is both innovation and creativity. We call this creative power.

So, creativity is the ability to generate new and useful ideas and solutions for everyday problems and challenges. So, in the church—ah, I'm going to give you more detailed content today—doing discipleship training completely ignores this value. I need to speak a bit more carefully here. Yes, it's ignoring the value. Yes, you understand, right? Yes. We are not an institution that provides training. The church is not a place where people who provide training gather, but a place that cultivates people. So, for disciples to develop this creativity—we call it analytical skill set or critical thinking skill set in English—but because we focus on training, we just say one plus one equals two, and that's it. If someone says something else while we're doing one plus one equals two, we tell them they are wrong. We suppress them. But one plus one cannot always be two. One plus one can also be zero.

This is some kind of chemical reaction. It exploded. Everything blew away. One plus one can be one. This is physical. If you add one water droplet to another, it becomes one water droplet. It just increased in volume, right? And one plus one can be greater than three. When a man and a woman get married and stay together for a long time, a baby is born. Yes. Then what happens? Yes. It can become four or five, right? Yes. And also, one plus one can be forty-one. One plus one is forty-one. Right? Yes. Yes. You know that very famous person who made Apple, Steve, right? Steve Jobs. Yes. I was checking to see if you knew him or if you were listening, and this person was looking for a director to set up a new innovation department, and during the interview process, he asked a question. He asked the interviewees, 'What is one plus one?' He asked exactly that question.

Many people answered that one plus one is two, but one person answered that one plus one is Windows. A window. Windows. Now look. One plus one is two, and that's how Windows came to be. Those of you who use a PC use Windows, right? Yes. That's why it's Windows. That is one plus one. We need to intentionally and consistently take an interest in and develop this kind of creativity in the church. That's the only way the church will develop, right? Society can only be enlightened when people are enlightened. Now, there are nine dots here, and you have to connect them all by drawing four straight lines. You cannot lift the pen, and you cannot use curves. You must connect all these dots by drawing four lines. Some of you might already know this. If you go one, two, three, four, this part inside doesn't work. Or if you go one, two, three, four, this part here won't work.

Well, for various methods, one, two, three, four, like this, so it's not working here either, what should we do about this? Ah, I know, right. There are always these smart people. You have to be careful wherever you go. Ah, now, where is the answer? It's on the outside. Now, this, it's on the outside. Do you understand? But why haven't we been able to solve this problem? It's because of this box we've created. Since we're trying to find the answer inside this box we've made, there's no way the answer could come out. This is exactly what we call 'one plus one equals two' education. We need to have the creativity to solve things outside of this box. So, when looking at the Bible, this thing called deductive reasoning—it's not necessarily bad. But when we look at the Bible, we almost always use this deductive reasoning. To put it simply, the conclusion is already set according to the perspective the church has, the values the church has, and the direction the church has. We look at the Bible with the conclusion already set, and then we start. To make people understand this principle or development. Do you understand? That's called deductive reasoning, and honestly, while I think that's necessary too, I believe we should prefer inductive reasoning to develop our creativity. This is called inductive reasoning, so to put it simply, it means don't start by setting the conclusion.

When looking at the Bible, don't start with a predetermined conclusion. Instead, I believe the conclusion should naturally emerge as we study and contemplate the background of the Old Testament, the background of the New Testament, the historical context of that era, what kind of God's covenantal word is contained here, and what God intends to accomplish. Do you understand? It means you shouldn't look at the Bible with a conclusion already set. So, deductive reasoning is like this: All men are mortal. Socrates is a man. Therefore, Socrates is mortal. That's very easy, right? Yes. This is at a very elementary level. But inductive reasoning is: Swan A is white. Swan B is white. Swan C is white. Therefore, all swans are likely white. However, a new swan appears. A black swan is born. If a black swan is discovered, what happens to that conclusion? It has to change.

Amen. You leave that margin. Don't just set a conclusion like this and make it concrete, like one plus one equals two. Now, I think you have understood deductive reasoning and inductive reasoning. Let me give you an example. I will give you an easy example. At first, it is like this. It is the passage in Matthew 18:1-5. Here, the disciples come and ask who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. When they do, Jesus calls a child, stands him among them, and says this: Unless you become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. So, people who look at the Bible using this deductive reasoning say, 'That's right. We must have a change in character like little children. We must have a character that is obedient, listens well, is kind, and submissive like little children.' I don't know whose kids they are talking about. Our kids? My kids are submissive and obedient, and we have to be like them? I don't understand that. Kids always think only of themselves. Feed me, clothe me, that's how they are. But to be like these crying little children? That doesn't make sense. What is Jesus saying here? He is talking about the lowly position of little children.

Lori Portion. At that time, the status of children was nothing. Five thousand people were fed with these fish and bread, and that number only included adult men. It did not include women, nor did it include young children. That shows how much women and young children were treated with contempt in society at that time. They were a class that was not recognized by society. But why is Jesus—I don't know how to say this 'dissociate'—anyway, God is now lifting up these people who are treated with contempt and despised in society to a high place in heaven. Do you understand? Yes. So what Jesus is saying right now is about those who humble themselves like these little children, those who understand the state of children who are despised, treated with contempt, and ignored in society. What kind of character change would you have like little children? Do you understand? Yes. That is why in Matthew 25:40, the King answers and says to them, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.' That is exactly what 'the least of these' means.

We are called to approach those who are despised and marginalized in society, those who live without recognition, and those who are treated as less than human, and treat them as noble souls loved by God. Amen. Do you say amen? Amen. Yes. It's interesting, right? Yes. Shall we try one more thing? Yes. A lecture should have the fun of learning something new, right? It is fun, because you are learning something new. Yes. This is the wedding at Cana. It's a wedding, and it's quite interesting. Since everyone knows the story, I won't read it. But as I looked at this wedding at Cana, I got stuck on a certain point. Where did I get stuck? It was at the very end. What does it say at the end here? It says that the disciples believed in Jesus. So, Jesus is performing his first miracle here. It is his first miracle. This event in Cana of Galilee is the first thing he did.

So it says that He did it to reveal His glory, and it says that the disciples believed in Jesus. As I listened to this story and this scripture, I began to ask myself, what exactly did these disciples believe about Jesus? Why did the disciples decide to believe in and follow Jesus? What was it that made these disciples who they were? This is what we call an inductive approach. Do you understand? It’s not about starting with a conclusion and working toward it. But those who take a deductive approach start like this: 'Ah, this is a story about the relationship between Jesus and His mother. Jesus' mother made a request to Jesus, and Jesus granted His mother's request.' That’s how they approach it. And I think to myself, does the fact that the disciples believed mean they believed in the relationship between Jesus and His mother? Others say, 'Ah, this wine, the water that turned into wine, symbolizes Jesus' blood, and it is demonstrating the power of Jesus' blood.' That is how these people approach it. But for me, I ask, where does it say here that the wine was red wine?

Wine isn't just red wine. There is white wine. It doesn't even say it's red, but we think it's red. We think it's red and immediately say, 'This is the blood of the covenant.' So, Jesus made this wine, and because it's the blood of the covenant, but those people at that time hadn't yet acknowledged Jesus as a prophet or the Messiah, right? No, even after Jesus resurrected, there were some disciples who still hadn't resolved their issues. So, the idea that the disciples believed Jesus was the Messiah—I don't think that's the case. Right? And do you know what some people say? That this isn't wine, but 'grape juice.' Have you heard that? That it's grape juice. I've even read a paper written by someone. Yes, they wrote a paper saying this isn't wine, but grape juice. So, they are saying the disciples believed this wasn't wine, but grape juice. That doesn't make sense. Yes. Now, let me tell you my thoughts.

At that time, Galilee was an agrarian society. It was a place where farmers lived. Back then, farmers had to pay taxes, and they had to pay nearly 40% of their income in taxes. They had to pay a half-shekel amount to the temple, a 10% tithe to the priests, a 12% tribute to Rome, and 15% to 20% in taxes to the landowners, the Herodians. This is what Dr. Peter Richardson, an archaeologist, sociologist, and scholar who holds a doctorate and has studied biblical history, says. He explains it this way: Do you remember how I mentioned that the second cause of poverty was social influence? He says that when there was a famine or a disaster in the land and there was no abundant harvest, they couldn't pay the money, so what happened to them? They became contractual slaves. So, they had to serve as slaves for three to five years until they could pay off their taxes.

So, one of the reasons they waited for the Messiah was because they wanted to be liberated from their servitude. They believed that when the Messiah came, they would be freed from that bondage. You remember the Year of Jubilee system, right? That is exactly why it existed. People had to enter into servitude because they couldn't pay their taxes for three or five years. Now, there were three main trade items at that time. Galilee was a city that generated a huge profit from these three items. The Herodians had olive oil, right? Gethsemane is actually where the oil press was located. That is why Jesus always went there to pray and stay with His disciples in that olive grove. Then there was wine, and grain. These were the three most abundant commodities in that society, in that city. But they sold over 90 percent of these three items to Rome. They were trade goods. They sold over 90 percent of them, and with that money, the Herodians built their palaces, their vacation villas, constructed aqueducts, and paved roads. Where else do you think they got the money to build all of that?

They needed money, right? Do you think Rome just gave them money for free while building roads and doing things there? No. Rome took these three trade items and gave them money in exchange for their value. So, these people used that money to change this village. Now, we consider these people in Galilee—the priests, the Romans, and the Herodians—to be about 13% of the population. I'm talking about roughly 13% right now. But to make it easier to understand, I'll say 10%. You understand, right? Yes. I became a pastor because I'm not good at math. Well, that was a very high-level joke. Yes. You all understand, right? So, this 10% upper class was in control of 90% of the resources at that time, to put it simply. Therefore, the 90% of commoners could barely use about 10% of the olive oil, wine, or wheat. But what just happened? Jesus turned water into wine. He turned water into wine. How did the people who could only access that 10% feel when they saw that?

A sense of awe was created. Right now, God, Jesus, has turned the world upside down. He has created an opportunity for us to access 90% of the resources and goods that 90% of the people now have. What everyone calls 'equality' in English—He has made this world flat so that everyone can access all conditions. Do you understand? Yes. So, what has happened to the disciples now? They started to believe in Jesus. They began to believe in Him not as a prophet, but as a social reformer. They started to believe that He is the one who will change this society, the one who will turn this society upside down, our social reformer. But what do we keep talking about? The relationship between Jesus and His mother. It's not even red wine, just the blood of the covenant. And on top of that, even grape juice. The answer is not in here, but out there. Do you understand?

Yes. Seeing as you only said Amen once, it seems like you don't quite understand this. Amen. Ah, I'm currently debating whether or not to move on to the next part. Ah. One of the things I enjoy most while being at school is that the specific space and time called school allows for unlimited discussion. So, parables appear a lot in the Bible, right? A parable is a conversation about parts we don't know. Back then, rabbis used to have conversations with their disciples. So, what we call a case study today—that parable is a case study. A rabbi would throw out a topic for debate, and then Jesus, or a rabbi, would ask the disciples, 'What do you think?' Then the disciples would talk about it, and the rabbi would respond to that. The parts we don't read in the Bible are exactly those conversations. Yes. That's why it says in the Gospel of John that if everything were written down, the whole world wouldn't be enough to contain it. It's because those contents are missing. So, I do that with my students.

I give them an assignment, I give them an assignment and ask, 'What do you think?' Then they give me all sorts of answers. We then have a very heated debate, and this might not be difficult for the congregation members, but it could be uncomfortable. It's just because it's unfamiliar. But since I'm not someone who will be here forever, I thought, 'Since I'm here anyway, I'll show you that this kind of thing can be done.' Is that okay? Yes. I'm not saying that what I do is the only right way. I'm not saying others are wrong. I'm doing this to show that the approaches of deduction and induction can be different, the way we look at the Bible, and that both are necessary. So, please don't call me later and say, 'You shouldn't interpret the Bible that way.' Yes, there are people who do that to me. Yes. Please don't do that. Yes. Um, I can't even change my phone number.

Now, the words in John chapters 13 through 17 are what we can call the disciples' charter, where Jesus emphasizes his final teachings left to his disciples before the cross, covering love and service, the presence of the Holy Spirit, the unity of the community, and a missional life toward the world. So, before Jesus headed toward the cross for the final Passover, he was in the upper room with his disciples from John chapter 13 through 17, talking about the cross that Jesus Christ was heading toward. Do you understand? And it says there that Jesus spoke about love. He told them to love one another and showed them the servant leadership of washing their feet. He also told them to be united, explaining the relationship between the vine and the branches, and he spoke about the promise of the Holy Spirit, saying that the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, would come. And he spoke about the importance of the community, describing what a unified church should look like.

And as I mentioned yesterday, Monday, regarding our God's mission, He was reminding us again of the three things that all disciples sent into the world must do: proclaim the Gospel, show God's love to everyone, and realize this restorative justice. And finally, He was speaking about the appearance of God's glory through the cross. You all understand, right? Up to this point, yes. So far so good. Yes. Yes. Now, it's like this. Peter asks Jesus, 'Where are you going?' So Jesus says, 'Where I am going, you cannot follow me now, but you will follow later.' Now, you just need to focus on this 'place.' When we think of 'place' in the Gospel of John, what do we think of? A mansion. Yes. A dwelling place. Yes. We think, 'I will go and prepare many mansions.' But if you look at the Bible with that conclusion already set, you will inevitably be drawn in that direction. So, being inductive means not deciding beforehand. Therefore, you must first think about where this 'place I am going,' where Jesus is going, actually is. Yes.

Where is Jesus trying to go? So, when He says He is going to prepare a place, they think of it as many mansions. 'You know the way to where I am going.' Then the disciple Thomas says, 'Lord, we do not know where You are going, so how can we know the way?' So, what does Jesus say here? 'I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.' Now, within this conversation, there is a sudden, out-of-place remark. Honestly, while reading the Bible, I have always wondered why this verse suddenly appears here. It is this: the part right before this is Peter saying, 'Lord, where are You going?' and saying he would follow Him to the end. So Jesus says, 'Will you lay down your life for My sake? Most assuredly, I say to you, the rooster shall not crow till you have denied Me three times.' And then, 'Let not your heart be troubled.'

Believe in God, believe also in me. Well, that part is fine. And then, as it continues, Thomas asks, 'Lord, where are you going?' This is a question that follows up on Peter's previous question. That part is all understandable. But why is this long passage in the middle so out of the blue? 'In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?' That's how it starts. 'And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going.' Doesn't that seem out of place? He suddenly says these things. He was speaking well, and things were going along, so when I see a structure like this, I think, 'Ah, this isn't the mansion we think of, it's not some room in the New Jerusalem with many rooms like we imagine, it's not the image of heaven we have in our minds, but rather, I am going to the place that has been prepared for you.'

We do this. When we translate the Greek of this biblical structure, we often think of it like an apartment with many rooms, but it is a place. Place and time and place. Where was the place Jesus was going? It was the cross. I believe it was the cross. Jesus was saying, 'The place I am going is the cross. The place you must follow me to is the cross. The dwelling place I am going to prepare for you in advance is the cross.' All salvation and eternal life are found in this cross. So, 'I go to prepare a place for you' means that I will go to this cross and open the way for you to come to God. Therefore, the cross becomes the way to the dwelling place, the cross reconciles God and humanity, and through the cross, a place to dwell in God's presence has been prepared. 'I will go and I will prepare a place for you.' The cross. Jesus prepared the eternal dwelling place for the saints through the cross. We can talk about it this way. Isn't it interesting?

It seems like there is a lot of confusion. Amen doesn't come out easily, does it? You might be thinking, 'Wait, that's not it, I was taught that it was this way, but this doesn't seem right.' Oh, that's perfectly fine. Yes, there is no need to be confused. As I give this lecture, it seems I am giving many challenges to the saints, but this is how I feel. The relationship is very important; it is the vertical relationship between God and me, right? Yes. But some people think that we don't need social responsibility. They think that we only need to serve God. They think that only the relationship with God is enough. So, while emphasizing this vertical spirituality—the relationship with God—they are very negligent about this horizontal spirituality, which is loving and serving the world and our neighbors, and they don't even pay attention to it at all. But I am calling what Jesus is talking about in the Bible right now the 'place of the cross,' or the spirituality of the cross.

This, these two things must be integrated. That is why it is the cross. Right? Yes. When the two dimensions—the relationship with God from above and the relationship with our neighbors from the side—are integrated, the right path for us as Christians is established. We cannot just say we will follow God and then not approach people. Some people are the opposite. They approach people but do not try to establish a relationship with God. Both are nonsensical. Do you understand? Amen. Now, shall we all read 1 John together? Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. Because of God's love, because of the God's love that we possess, we [possess] God's love,

You must reach a state where you cannot help but love people. Amen. Therefore, that love must be clear, it must be substantial, and it must be visible. Just saying, 'God loves you' or 'Dear members, we love you'—what can't you say with words? Yes, right? Now, after our church's General Conference ended in 2001, there was a task we carried out, which was a global survey. We conducted this survey among our church members to ask how many of the Seventh-day Adventist members were participating in community service. There were many other questions, such as whether they were vegetarian, how often they attended church, how often they prayed, and how much they read the Bible, but for me, the most important issue was this: participation in community service. We did that, and oh, 90% of the people—it was almost 9 out of 10, right?

29% of people said, 'I am participating in service.' Oh, this is good news, right? Oh, 13 is a good number. But the next question was the problem. How many times? How many times? How many times have you done it? Out of these 29% of people, 80% do it once or twice a year. To put it simply, what Americans do on Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Easter—doing it once or twice a year—this is a serious problem. This is a serious problem. How can 80% of those 29% say, 'I am serving society' just because they volunteer once or twice a year? Does this make any sense? So what have we become? We have become 'Seventh-day Events.' Not Seventh-day Adventists, but Seventh-day Events. Just go out once or twice a year and that's enough, what more could you want? It's self-satisfaction. Dr. Litfin wrote a book called 'Which Church Is Yours?' and he says there are three types of churches.

The first thing is, there is a salt shaker inside. It is a salt shaker, but they made the bread without putting the salt in it. This makes no sense, right? But this is what our church looks like. It has become just a lump of a building that exists in the local community, having no influence on society and no connection to it at all. Just a lump of a building. Another type of church is one that finishes making the bread and then sprinkles salt on top. Have you ever baked bread? You have, right? Would that work? It wouldn't, right? No one sprinkles salt after the bread is already baked. But that is what we do. The church has no relationship with society, and then just at times like Easter, Thanksgiving, or Christmas, we go out and say, 'God loves you.' It is so frustrating that it makes me sigh. The bread and the salt should be mixed together, right? Yes. We have to become not a church in the community or to the community, but with the community—a church that collaborates with this society. That is how we become a true church. So, as I said, we should stop asking, 'How can we become the best church in this local community?' We are not people who exist for the sake of maintaining a church.

We are people who exist for the kingdom of God. Therefore, we must ask the question, 'How can we become the best church that participates with society for the sake of this local community?' Amen. Do you say amen? Amen. So, I mentioned yesterday that we will only achieve true success in reaching people by using Christ's method alone. The Savior mingled with people as one who desired their good. He showed His sympathy for them, ministered to their needs, and won their confidence. Only after doing all this, after winning their confidence, did He say, 'Follow Me.' However, we do not serve or make an effort to win their confidence. After Sister White wrote these words and wrote 'Evangelism,' 'The Ministry of Healing,' and 'The Gospel Worker,' the person who was shocked was Dr. Kellogg. Dr. Kellogg, upon hearing these inspired words of Sister White and reading the books, realized, 'Yes, we shouldn't just be like Sabbath zombies, going to church and coming back, going and coming back. This is not right; we need to wake up.' So, what he started was the Chicago Mission. Yes. That is why he also started the sanitarium and free clinics.

They provided free food, ran visiting nursing programs, and helped the homeless—or should I say, the unhoused? Yes, they also provided emergency housing and lifeboat work, which involved rescuing people on the streets. Because of this work, I believe the church's growth rate in Chicago at that time was truly the steepest in history. But what happened with this movement? We call this the San Francisco Beehive, and its influence even reached this area where the PIUS is located. So, what we call the 'beehive' involved caring for the sick, finding homes for orphans, creating jobs for the unemployed, training caregivers for the sick, teaching biblical truths from house to house, distributing literature, offering various courses on healthy living and caring for the sick, and running after-school programs in the basement of the Laguna Street meeting hall. After that, we did home visits, and the St. Helena Hospital actually started back then as the St. Helena Sanitarium. We also started a vegetarian restaurant at that time. We began evangelizing to people at the docks and piers, and we also started renting large halls in the city to hold evangelistic meetings. Our church grew rapidly during that time.

Does that make sense? Yes. For us, the church is about raising disciples, transforming the local community, and doing world missions. That is why we exist. However, as we became institutionalized in this will of God, we gradually stopped raising disciples and started doing something else. What did we start doing? We started doing disciple training. Yes. Yes. We started doing training. As I mentioned, the church is not an institution for training, but an organization that does the work of changing this world. We are the people who change people through enlightenment, change systems through reform, and change social culture through modernization. God called us for this very work. 'Thy kingdom come on earth,' yes. So, we have a leadership department at Andrews University, and this leadership department has already been around for 30 years. We have a branch in Brazil. So, we go there once a year to give lectures and study together with the people. Besides that, in other years, I... so this is like the KEPCO of the Mobik country.

The Korea Electric Power Corporation in South Korea invited us, so we went there and conducted this leadership course. Yes. This has absolutely nothing to do with our church members, but it shows that our university's leadership program is recognized that much around the world. Yes. Do you understand? Yes. And also, people from the Nigerian Ministry of Labor came here—they are not church members at all, not a single one of them, they are all followers of other religions—and they came to study and learn about our course on social innovation. So, at our Andrews University, this leadership department has everything from master's degrees to doctoral degrees. There is a handsome person here, yes, he looks like someone I know. Well, I feel a bit awkward saying this myself. I teach leadership and social innovation, and I teach this thing called social innovation. Would you like to take five minutes, saints, to see what we teach in leadership?

So people ask me that. What does the department of leadership teach? Some people say, what do you even use a degree in leadership for? They ask questions like that. Ah, whenever I get those questions, I am very grateful. Yes. I should enlighten the ignorant. Now, leadership refers to these three things. Leadership isn't just one word; it's a combination of three things: guidance, leader, and leadership ability. So, the term 'leader development' is a concept applied to individuals to expand their own capacity to be effective within leadership roles and processes. And 'leadership development' is the expansion of an organization's capacity to perform the fundamental leadership tasks necessary to carry out collective goals. So, it is divided into two parts: the expansion of one's personal capacity and the expansion of organizational capacity.

Oh, you're doing okay, right? Yes, I'm actually quite good at teaching. Oh, yes. No matter how easy the assignment is, if I explain it, it becomes so difficult that no one can understand it. Yes. God gave me that talent. Uh, that was a very high-level joke. So, this thing called 'lead' is actually academic awareness. So, what is it that we need to learn? And our value of existence, 'be'. And leadership is this action, this practice. 'Doing', how to do it—these are the three things we teach extensively. But as I mentioned earlier, this 'what' and 'who'—this academic awareness, identity of existence, and conduct—this is what we call humanities cultivation. So, this humanities cultivation is not something that can be done just by going to a weekend discipleship training. This is something that continues throughout life. A curriculum that fosters talent to lead an educational community based on humanistic education and insight is a lifelong endeavor. So, here, the first thing we asked was 'what'.

What is academic awareness? This is the part. We do three things here. First, we teach academic leadership theories. There are about 40 leadership theories right now. So, we teach various theories to people. As the world changes, the importance and values of various types of leadership are shifting. So, in the 21st century, authenticity, adaptability, distributed sharing, inclusivity, and emotional intelligence have become very important. So, we teach these leaders, and second, we teach models. A leadership model is about how to apply the theory. So, there are various models as well. And then, what we teach next is styles. Styles. So, whether it is democratic, authoritarian, charismatic, or situational bureaucratic, there are many. So, by combining these theories, models, and styles, we achieve academic awareness, or 'knowing.' Easy, right? Yes. It is easy. It is not difficult.

For those of you among the saints who would like to learn, please contact me. Yes. You don't have to move; you can just do it online. The world has really gotten better. Yes. You can just study online. I wake up at 5 a.m. every morning to teach the students. Yes. They aren't children, but adults, but anyway, this 'middle-tier leader being' is about character formation. That's why I said that if you don't trust the messenger, you won't trust the message they deliver either. So, I am teaching what kind of appearance this messenger should have. To put it simply, we have various virtues, and they appear differently depending on whether they are in a state of deficiency or excess. To put it simply, it's like this: there is this virtue, and this side is excess, and this side is deficiency. So, what is the result when love is in excess? Obsession or indulgence. What happens when there is a deficiency? Indifference and hatred. That's why couples fight all the time.

Oh, I'm not talking about our family. We have a very good balance here. What is honesty? What happens when honesty becomes excessive? It becomes self-righteousness and legalism. But what happens when it is lacking? It leads to hypocrisy, deceit, and corruption. Yes, that's how it is. So, all of this needs to be well-balanced. That is why when we talk about character transformation like Jesus, we focus on this as we study. We shouldn't lean too far to one side or the other. Yes, so we study this process. Isn't it interesting? Why is that? Yes, it's interesting, right? Yes, one of the things in the middle is power. We all possess this kind of power. We have a lot of power, but when we misuse this power, it can kill people, and when we use it well, it can save them. To put it simply, it's like this.

Personal power, when misused, leads to the reckless use of resources. However, when used well, it allows for the wise utilization of resources. Coercive power, too, when misused, leads to the indiscriminate punishment of people. But when used well, it leads to discipline aimed at restoration and growth. Do you understand? Yes. So, we also study how we should use this power. Isn't it very interesting? Yes. And we also learn about various performance capabilities; it is precisely because of this. In 2 Peter, it says, 'For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love.' That is why we do leadership development—for the sake of character development and personality formation. Why? Because if a leader's credibility collapses, their message also loses its power.

So, that is how we feel. Talent is a gift. Character is a choice. Yes. Do you understand? Amen. As I look at you two elders, God has truly given you a jackpot of a gift. Amen. Yes, and you two have also chosen your character well. Amen. Yes, Hallelujah. It is so wonderful. Yes. This is not a rigged game. So, yes. Yes. Please do not misunderstand. Now, this is the third point: leadership. This is the final one. So, we have academic awareness, identity of existence, and finally, leadership—how to put all this into practice. That is why we teach planning and budget establishment, vision setting, resource allocation, strategy formulation, and organization. What is all this? This is organizational influence. The last part of the SHP leadership program teaches what kind of discretion is needed to strengthen organizational influence. That way, people can actually do something, right? So, the interesting thing is that our Christian leadership today does not use these methods, but rather prefers popular, social, or military leadership theories over the influence of Jesus. That is why people keep saying things like that inside the church. 'Just do as you're told.' Oh, is this the military?

"Just do as you're told." This makes no sense. Why is it like this? Our Korean pastors have all served in the military. Since they've all been to the military, what is their favorite word? It's "training." So, in the church, everything becomes training and a chain of command; it can't be any other way. Because of this, the true image of the Christian church is gradually disappearing. Is it a military organization? No, it isn't. On top of that, we are obsessed with the "great man theory." We love things like great figures, and what do we say? "Heroes are born in troubled times." "The position makes the man." "Leaders are born, not made." Oh my, I was about to say something ridiculous. Yes, yes. That's right. Yes. Our Christian leadership must be established through the influence of Jesus Christ. Do you understand? Amen. What was Jesus' leadership? It was service. Amen. We are people who serve. That is why at our school, we teach that while you should become a leader, we must also focus on "leading" through service.

So we are people who serve. The work we must do is to serve God and serve God's people. But we just try to rule over others. So we try to control and restrict people. As a result, we have ended up in a world that provides training far from God's will and does not cultivate human development. Therefore, to change the world, we must foster creativity. Would you like to see what they did here at Sunbridge Church? It is a church in Walla Walla, Washington. They did a wonderful thing. Take a look. Serving means joyfully meeting people's needs and having the opportunity to introduce them to Jesus. In Walla Walla, Washington, eight local Seventh-day Adventist churches joined forces to establish the Sunbridge Community Center to care for the needs of the local community. This Seventh-day Adventist Community Service Center provides educational courses, medical clinics, relief services, food and medical assistance, and a beautiful gift and thrift shop ministry. Recognizing that the greatest need in the local community was dental care, Sunbridge expanded its services and opened the Sunbridge Dental Clinic.

For a long time, I had many medical issues due to my disability. Because of the medication and the illness, I truly lost my smile, and it was terrible. Heidi came to the Sunbridge Dental Clinic and received the treatment she desperately needed. Thanks to this program, I can look in the mirror and feel like myself again. This experience has restored my faith in everything. Various people living in this town are finding relief from their suffering. This is truly a miracle. This is the Lord's miracle. Just like at Sunbridge, we must identify the greatest needs within our own communities and step forward to intentionally meet those needs. The Seventh-day Adventist Church in Vancouver, Washington, also discovered a significant need in their community and took action to address it. A few years ago, while we were holding Vacation Bible School at our church, we noticed a young girl who wore the same clothes every day. So, my friend and I each went home, found clothes in good condition that our daughters no longer wore, and brought them to her. And the change in that young girl was truly amazing.

So we thought, there must be other children in this area who need to be loved and cared for, so what can we do? They came across a ministry called 'God's Closet' that started at the Spokane Central Seventh-day Adventist Church, which provided clothes and shoes to children. The Vancouver church started an independent chapter, receiving donations of new and like-new clothes, and invited local residents to the church four times a year to pick out clothes for their children for an admission fee of just one dollar. For many people, God's Closet is the only way they can dress their children in beautiful clothes they have chosen themselves each season. Since its inception, God's Closet has grown to ten chapters across North America and one in Australia, all operated at the local church level. If your church disappeared today, who besides the members would notice? The reason I like God's Closet is that this ministry naturally makes our church visible in the minds of the people.

This is our neighborhood. Can you understand this? Yes. That is not a big problem. We can certainly do it. Amen. Yes. I heard that just in the Roman region, in just one church, there are over 200 doctors and dentists, right? Yes. With so many people as resources in one church, while we certainly must do overseas missions, we should also exist as salt and light in our local community. What is the problem? This chicken and this pig decided to have breakfast together. They decided to have breakfast together, and this chicken said to the pig, 'I will make fried eggs. You prepare the bacon.' The chicken, this fried egg, is just participating. It is just participating, right? Because eggs come out again, they come out the next day too. So it is participating. But for this pig to make bacon, it has to sacrifice itself. Do you understand? It is a state where bacon only comes out when you sacrifice yourself. In other words, there are too many chickens in the church.

We just don't do it. It means we are not being devoted. I feel so sorry for the appearance of the Lord's disciples who are not being devoted. Well, I myself could be one of them, but we must become Seventh-day Adventists who are devoted members, not just participating members. Amen. When we become devoted members, shall we read together about the Kingdom of God? Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. When we do that, we can continue to train disciples, change the local community, and do world mission. God is good all the time. We are, we are. Thank you. Heavenly Father, thank you. You have given us a great mission, and as we look at the Bible, please help us not to look at the Bible with the decisions we want already made, and please help our congregation members to listen to what God is telling us and what He is trying to say.

Amen. And may we not just be church members or mere participants, but devoted disciples who change this world into the kingdom of God for the sake of God and His people. I have prayed all these things in the name of the Lord Jesus. Amen. Thank you for your hard work. Oh, yes. Yes. I have a brief announcement. Everyone, the Adventist Book Center will be closing its operations at 2:00 PM this Friday. Do you understand what that means? Yes, so please use any gift certificates you may have received through various events before that time. The reason is that you will not be able to use them afterward. I earnestly hope that you will use all the gift certificates you have received before 2:00 PM on Friday. Also, the registration office will be closed from 12:00 PM on Friday until 8:00 PM on Sabbath evening. Therefore, if anyone needs to purchase additional meal tickets, please do so before 12:00 PM on Friday. You will not be able to purchase them after 12:00 PM. So, I earnestly hope that you will remember these times and act accordingly so that you do not experience any inconvenience.

Let's take a short break and then begin the second session. Yes, I understand that many of you are experiencing some inconvenience due to the restroom situation. The building right in front is the Andrew building. There are restrooms inside the Andrew building as well, so please feel free to use them. Although it is a bit further, there is also a side door behind the registration desk here at the Raf building. If you go through there, there are two more restrooms, and there are also restrooms on the second and third floors. Let's pray. Our loving Father God, we thank You for Your love, as You always provide us with the very best. You have been with us through every twist and turn of our lives and have filled us with Your love. You have also invited us here to comfort us with Your good Word. Please help us to never forget Your love. Especially at this time, through the testimony of our speaker, may we hear of the love of God revealed in their life, and help us to realize that this is the same God we know and who is with us. Through this testimony, may we be comforted and encouraged so that we may do our best in the lives given to us, and please bless us so that we may move forward powerfully with the faith that believes in God. Amen.

I pray earnestly in the name of Jesus who loved me. Amen. You called me, the one who sought You, to this place, and You endured the cross so that my earnest prayers and hopes would not be put to shame. I will go anywhere. I have decided to follow the Lord, and that cross is engraved upon my body. I will live for the Lord, and I will die for the Lord; whether I live or die, I am the Lord's. The power of the cross, the hope of the cross, the Lord living within me—I will live for the Lord, and I will die for the Lord; whether I live or die, I am the Lord's. The power of the cross, the hope of the cross, the Lord living within me—I will live for the Lord, and I will die for the Lord; whether I live or die, I am the Lord's. The power of the cross, the hope of the cross, the Lord living within me. I am the most insignificant sinner, yet the Lord called us so that our earnest prayers and hopes would not be put to shame, and He endured the cross. The cross of love, my love, my cross, I love the cross. Hello? Yes. Hello? Yes. Did you have a good breakfast? Yes. Yes. Compared to the first day, I think I have really improved a lot. Yes. Yes. Yes. The trembling has subsided a lot, and the reason is that every time you, the saints, see me, you encourage me and tell me not to be nervous, asking why I am trembling so much. Yes. Um, I think my tension is being relieved a lot. Oh, I'm sorry. Oh, I'm sorry. Yes, yes.

Actually, when I was in Korea, I had a personal concern. I had promised God that I would dedicate my youth to Him, and—you might laugh at this—I was starting to think that my youth was coming to an end. I felt like my contract with God was nearing its expiration. I was born in early '80 and started college in '98, so I'm already approaching 50 in Korean age. But since coming to the U.S., I've received so much encouragement, and one person's words hit me with such a huge impact. They looked straight at me to encourage me, telling me not to be discouraged. I was staring at their face, wondering what they would say, and they said, 'You're so cute.' I had been contemplating retiring from youth ministry because I'm almost 50, but it felt like God was telling me not to talk nonsense, so I'm leaving the U.S. with a great realization.

You are still at a cute age. Also, I really work hard, I really work hard to prepare the message. Because I really don't want it to be my own, I look at it again, look at it again, and read the message again. Actually, I barely slept yesterday, but I read through a book of prophetic poetry that I like before I went to sleep. I was worried there might be something growing wrong within the message. Yes. I ask you once again, since I am not a pastor nor a scholar who studies the Bible professionally, I would be very grateful if you could understand the words or Bible verses I share as only the words of God that I have encountered. Amen. Also, yesterday, many people were comforting me, and there was something that many people said exactly the same. I'm sorry. After they said everything, they said, 'But tell me.' What happened to that youngest sister? They asked me that. I knew that father would end up like that. But what on earth happened to that daughter who followed her mother? Everyone was asking me that.

I hadn't prepared for that, but then I thought, if the congregation wants it, I should prepare it, so I revised everything yesterday and I think I need to share the story of my youngest sister. Yes. It's the family tree I mentioned briefly yesterday. There's my eldest sister and second sister who follow my father, and me, and then there's my youngest sister who only follows my mother. I'm sorry. Not much is going according to my plan, so just... yes. My father persecuted and tormented my youngest sister so much that he wouldn't even give her pocket money. He wouldn't give money to a child who followed the mother, saying she wasn't his child, and he oppressed her with words that I really can't even repeat. Yes, he lived with the words 'you're not my child' on his lips. He told her not to call him father because she wasn't his child. My mother only wanted my sister to know God, and only God. My mother really... um, I sometimes don't understand my parents' will. Yes. Everyone goes through a great period of wandering at those times. Ah, when you don't know your parents' will. Yes. That gets expressed as great sadness. I once read a book that said it's a great sadness when your parents get old and you no longer know their will. But I could never not know my parents' will.

From the time I was born until now, my mother has had only one wish. 'Sagi, if you only know God, Mom has nothing else to ask for.' Yes. It was the same for my older sister. Since she followed Mom everywhere, you can imagine how often she heard that. My sister only attended SDA schools. Yes. No matter how far away our house was, she went to SDA schools. We lived in a place called Sosa-dong in Bucheon, and to get from there to the SDA middle and high school, she had to walk about 20 minutes from our house to Sosa Station. It takes about an hour by subway from Sosa Station to Hoegi Station. Then, she had to take a car for another 30 to 40 minutes to get to the SDA school. So, the travel time alone was about two hours, and if the car didn't come right away, it took about three hours. She always commuted there. All by herself. But once, when my sister was in school, [clears throat] there was big news that a train had derailed at Yeongdeungpo. It was chaos. My sister hadn't come home, and the train she took was the one that had derailed. My father didn't go to look for her. He just waited, thinking she would find her own way home.

Yes. Only my mother was anxious. We were so tough that we even walked in the rain back then. We walked all the way from Yeongdeungpo to Sosa Station while soaking wet. Yes. The persecution was that severe. Hmm. But one day, ah, let me just, wait a second. Yes. One day, the time was when I had become a pharmacist and my father started to get sick, when he was very ill and his bad attitude was still the same. So, it was around the time when he was wavering back and forth, seemingly getting to know God a little bit, but still a person whose violence and cruelty could be felt just the same. It was a time when it was very burdensome to talk about God in front of my father unless he brought it up himself. My mother, my father, and I were having a meal, and my mother was speaking very cautiously. 'Honey, I have something to tell you.' 'What is it?' 'That Mijin passed the exam.' At that moment, his expression hardened. 'Why, why did Mijin pass?' he asked.

Hmm. Yes, yes. My older sister went to a three-year elementary school, a three-year middle school, and a three-year high school, so there was no way she could do well in her studies. It took her two or three hours just to get there every day; how could she study while commuting like that? It was impossible for her to do well. My father would always nag her when she got home, but even in that situation, my mother only wanted her to know God. My sister ended up getting into the biology department at Sahmyook University, and she said that getting into the Sahmyook biology department was a miracle. Yes, really. People had said she wouldn't be able to get into any university. It was truly by God's grace that she got into the biology department at Sahmyook University, and when my sister first enrolled, she told my mother, 'Mom, I want to go to a cram school.' She was nearly at the bottom of her class, so it was like a miracle that she even got into the biology department, but the problem was that our family wouldn't provide the money. However, my mother would secretly stash away living expenses behind my father's back to pay for my sister's tuition. Even though my father told her not to, she did it secretly. But my sister, worried, asked my mother, 'Mom, do you think I can do it?' What do you think my mother said to her?

Yes, yes. Mijin, Jesus will surely make a way wherever you go as you believe in Him and obey. Amen. Even though we can't see it with our eyes, let's try walking that path. Uh, I'm going to try my best. So, at that time, I was a pharmacist, and I was still on my father's side, and I'm sorry to say, but I looked down on my older sister a lot. But [snort] my sister always did her best in that situation. I didn't know my sister was studying that hard. Yes. In the Department of Life Sciences at a three-year university, she was truly doing the best she could. And back then, transferring was extremely difficult, so she was taking time out to attend a transfer prep academy to study. And if my father had known she was studying like that, he wouldn't have left her alone. So, my mother, who actually had no money, asked my father, 'Mijin wants to go to college, could you please pay for her academy fees?' and he threw a fit. 'Why should I pay money for a child who isn't even my own?' Yes. But that daughter, while all the children who stood by my father's side and followed his will were doing what they wanted and doing well in their own ways, none of them became the kind of person who would ignore and persecute my mother as my father intended. But my father, in his worldly greed, wanted his child to become a doctor, and that doctor ended up being the daughter who followed my mother.

Yes. But what shocked me even more was that when my father was sick, I didn't know anything as a pharmacist, but my older sister understood the whole situation. So, the person who understood my father and coached him was my youngest sister. The person who took care of my father was my mother. That was God's providence. Yes. I remembered my mother's prayer. God. Yes. That she would follow You. Yes. Please let this daughter who chose You, Lord, know that following You is absolutely not wrong, even though her father persecutes and mistreats her like that. That prayer was answered. And my sister graduated from Sunnam University College of Pharmacy, met a good husband, and is now living well, running a hospital in Jeju Island. [Snort] And a while ago, I was asked to give a testimony at the Waldensian School, so I went there, and my youngest sister's daughter was attending that Waldensian School. Yes. I heard her testify to me that she met God there.

I am confident that God will protect even the children, and the children's children, of those who obey Him. Amen. Yes. [Clears throat] Yes. I know you are listening well, but when I keep talking about other things, I start to think that I have a mountain of things to talk about from now on. Yes. Oh, excuse me, let me have some water. I couldn't sleep last night, so I feel a bit dazed. Yes, as I mentioned yesterday, I graduated from Pusan National University with excellent grades. But on the day of graduation, I felt a huge sense of emptiness in my heart. I looked back on those four years, and although I had worked hard in my own way, I didn't have a single friend. Yes. I only focused on my studies. Looking back, there wasn't a single thing I could proudly say I did for God. That's how it felt when I looked back. And I remembered all the harsh words and actions I had directed toward my friends. Looking back, I realized that although I thought I was working really hard, all I had done was study for my own success. Once we finish university, grades come out, and we move forward to choose the schools and hospitals we want.

Everyone's worry is once again about competition. What should I do with what I have now? Can I go to a better place than them? Can I beat them? People are worrying about things like that, and without realizing it, I'm worrying about those things too. I feel so skeptical about it. Ah, so I'm getting depressed, and I called my mom. Ring, ring. Mom, please pick up the phone. Mom, I have a worry, and my mom is always so happy when I open up about my worries. What is it? Tell Mom. Ah, Mom, I graduated from college, and I really studied hard. But I don't have a single friend. Looking back, I realized I was too cold-hearted. I came here saying I would live for God, but honestly, I'm the only one who's gaining anything from this. I'm only worrying about which hospital to go to or what to do. How can this be? Ah, it feels so empty. But because I felt so empty, I prayed and worried every single day, and I realized one thing during these four years.

But even that realization feels so futile. Because back then, my father kept getting sicker, and he couldn't earn any money. God had humbled us, so we were poor, and my mother was always by my father's side, nursing him. But I, a son with the financial means, had left home for Busan and couldn't even show my face for four years. So I said, 'Mom, I'm so sorry. I couldn't even go home for four years. You had to take care of Dad all by yourself and suffered so much.' That was the thing, but there was one thing I realized. 'What is it? Tell me quickly. What is it?' she asked. I said, 'I felt that God is truly alive. Yes. Every moment, truly every moment, He is alive right beside me. Yes. But is these four years worth it if that's the only thing I realized?' That's what I asked my mother on my graduation day. But my mother couldn't say anything. She just said, 'Sang-i, that has been my prayer for my whole life.'

Oh, well, Mom has been praying for you your whole life for that very reason. It is more valuable for you to believe in God than to gain everything in the world. Even if it takes 40 years, not just 4 years, it is worth it, and that is how I ended up graduating from this university. After that, I looked back on my faith once again. I asked myself, 'How should I believe in God?' As a result, I decided never to compete again. I decided never to fight with anyone again. I thought I didn't need to try to win, and I didn't need to be first. No, not just first, I thought I didn't need anything at all. Yes. God will prepare my place. Yes. So, when I was choosing a hospital, instead of thinking about what I could do, I was reading the Spirit of Prophecy and came across the verse about enlarging my borders, so I decided to go to the largest hospital in South Korea. Since a Christian should enlarge their borders, I just decided to go to a big hospital, and that place was Asan Medical Center in Seoul. It was the largest hospital in Korea.

But back then, [snort] because I had prayed and received many answers to my prayers while in medical school, I was really struggling with my faith. You really connected with God. I usually overcome things well and plan things out properly, but when I can't sleep, I really get dazed. But I really wanted to finish reading the Word before going to sleep, so I pushed myself a bit, and I think I'm feeling a bit dazed now. [snort] Hmm. The verses I held onto during college and the verses I held onto when I went to medical school were about faith. Since I knew God, I was most curious about what kind of faith I should have. The verse that came to me at that time was, 'Whoever says to this mountain, "Be lifted up and thrown into the sea," and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him.' My first principle of faith was to read the Word and do exactly as it says, and my second habit of faith was to believe that whatever I believe in God, it will happen just as I believe.

When I ended up going to the hospital, other students were worried about what they needed to do to get good grades, how to win, or what they should do to get into the favor of the professor in the department they wanted to go to, but I never worried about those things even once. When I opened my eyes in the morning, my mission for the day was to read the Word and the devotional, and then put into practice the word that seemed to be telling me what to do. If the Bible said to be kind, then my goal for that day was to be kind. I would challenge myself to see how kind I could be. Yes. If it said to be diligent, my goal was to challenge myself to see just how diligent I could be. Yes. So, while other interns were trying to get close to the nurses, the nurses would often ask me, 'Doctor, how can you be so kind? How can you be so diligent?' The nurses would have a pile of paperwork that we interns had to do, but I would go around the ward before they even posted it to ask what needed to be done. I would organize everything, finish all the work, and even do the things that other interns didn't do. So, instead of focusing on what I had to do, I would look ahead to see what needed to be done in the ward and take care of everything before I left.

And, uh, I received a prayer call, but usually interns are so busy that they barely have time to finish the tasks listed on their duty logs. I told them that regardless of that, I would go and pray for anyone who requested prayer from me, so I did that. Uh, in the midst of that, the first place I went to was the internal medicine ward, and there's this, uh, Asan Medical Center internal medicine ward that has a specific section. It's incredibly expensive to stay there even for a day, and it's really huge. But then a call came in, and the call was to draw blood in the VIP ward. So I went to draw blood. I was actually one of the three interns who were best at drawing blood. Yes. So when others couldn't draw blood, they would ask for help, and when they asked me for help, I would spin the tourniquet and say, 'You shall see the power of God,' and then I would go. So, when I was told to go to that hospital room to draw blood, I went with confidence.

I went there, and the atmosphere was strange. There was a woman who looked to be in her early to mid-60s lying there, and there were so many family members in the VIP ward. What really stood out were two young men who looked like her sons. Two young men who looked like college students were watching me very carefully. [Snort] So, when people stare like that, it's hard to draw blood. I thought, 'This is strange,' and tried not to be self-conscious while drawing the blood, but as soon as I pricked her with the needle, she screamed. She went, 'Ahhh!' I was so startled that I instinctively hugged the female patient. Yes. I was so surprised and said, 'I'm so sorry. Did I hurt you that much? Oh, I'm sorry. I tried to prick you gently, but I guess it must have been very painful. If it hurts this much, you don't have to get your blood drawn.' But usually, if you don't do what you're told to do at the hospital, you're in big trouble.

Doing that is what counts. Since it wasn't mandatory, I asked, 'I'll explain it well, so shall we skip the blood draw?' Then she just stayed still. Her husband then said, [snorts] 'Doctor, you were surprised, right? My wife has a rare disease, so she's in a lot of pain.' That's what he said. The illness his wife had was liver cancer, but it was a very rare type of liver cancer that caused her to feel excessive neuralgia. She had been receiving treatment at Seoul National University Hospital for a long time, but after being diagnosed as incurable, she had transferred to our hospital for her final days. She complained of unbearable pain even if someone just touched her. I said, 'In that case, I won't draw blood.' Then they said, 'Doctor, if it's something that must be done, we will help you.' Then their two sons came in, and they looked like angels; I had never seen anyone treat their parents like that before. They were so careful, even lifting the blanket cautiously for fear of hurting their mom. Yes, and their words were the most affectionate things I've ever heard. 'Mom, are you okay? Does it hurt? It'll be okay if we do it like this.' Even when they moved her body, they moved her so, so carefully.

Are you going to be okay? I nod my head. While doing so, I support my arm with a towel. Since it hurts even if I move it a little, I get everything ready and tell the nurse, 'You can draw it now.' Oh, I'm so nervous. I pray. 'God, please let it not hurt. Yes. Please let this blood come out all at once.' So, she tied the rubber band and poked the needle in, and the blood came out all at once. Sweat was pouring down. Oh, I don't have the confidence to do it again. A long time had passed. So, after the blood came out, I put it in a container and came out. I gave it to the nurse and said, 'I've drawn the blood,' and she was surprised. 'You drew the blood? Oh, yes. You told me to draw it.' 'Why? Is something wrong?' 'No. You're the first patient to draw their own blood in this ward,' she said. That I was the first. What does that mean? And then I went back to my work. [Clears throat] [Snorts] A few days passed, and that nurse spoke to me again. 'Sir, you need an enema,' and well, an enema isn't the small one you might know, but they use a large hose to inject a lot of medicine, so it's a large-volume enema.

They told me to do it. I was thinking, 'I'll let you feel God's grace,' and went to the enema equipment, but it was that same hospital room again. I just couldn't bring myself to go in. It took several dozen minutes just to draw blood, so how was I supposed to do an enema? That takes a long time. I cleared my throat and went in, and it felt like there were even more people there than on the first day. As soon as I walked in, they said, 'Oh, Doctor, you're here.' They welcomed me. Even though my son hadn't said anything, he came right up and said, 'Mom can't pass stool, so we need to do an enema,' and honestly, it felt like a glimpse of heaven. He was taking such good care of his mother. I snorted, and then I got everything ready and performed the enema. While I was doing it, I prayed, 'God, please, let this enema work on the first try.' As I was doing the procedure, I cleared my throat, and the husband asked me, 'Oh, are you a doctor?' I replied, 'Yes. I've only been an intern for a month, so it's a bit embarrassing to call myself a doctor, but I'm a fledgling doctor. I just became a doctor.' Then the grandfather who was there—the husband—said to his father, 'Dad, what did I tell you? I told you she was a doctor, didn't I?'

[Clears throat] I heard the reason; this person came to Asan Medical Center with an incurable disease, and they were deeply hurt because the doctors at Asan Medical Center were so unkind. But I had been reading the Word and was told to be kind, so I was being kind, and they said, 'How can there be such a kind doctor in this world?' It was a huge comfort to them. So, the grandfather—the husband's father—said, 'No, there's no way that person is a doctor.' And the husband said, 'No, it was written that they are a doctor.' So the two of them made a bet. Yes, asking if that person wasn't a doctor. So the grandfather, amazed, asked, 'Young man, how did you become a doctor?' So, while giving an enema, I told him the story I had shared a day or two ago. I told him, 'I became a doctor for this reason and that reason,' and so on. I told him that I am a doctor who believes in God, and that I am praying to become a Christian doctor. But I said, 'Sir, I am really nothing. I feel embarrassed when you ask me things like that. I haven't even been here for a month.' I kept saying that. But they kept saying, 'Thank you, thank you,' even when I was drawing blood or giving an enema. So I said, 'This is nothing, sir. Drawing blood and giving enemas is something anyone can do.'

It's nothing. I feel so embarrassed when you say that. Then, the grandfather came up behind me and hugged me. He hugged me tightly and said, 'Yes, young man, what are you saying? God uses those who are nothing. If that's the case, why wouldn't God use a precious young man like you who has offered his youth to Him?' I was giving him an enema and just started crying. I never imagined I would hear something like that. Tears were streaming down my face while I was giving the enema to the patient. I had to clear his bowels, but I couldn't because I was crying. I was just sobbing. I had to finish the enema, I couldn't just stop. Then, the husband [snorts] asked me, 'Doctor, will my wife be able to recover?' How would I know? It hadn't even been a month. I replied, 'Sir, they say it's an incurable disease that even Seoul National University Hospital can't treat, so I cannot give you an answer to that.' Also, there is an unwritten rule: a doctor must not provide incorrect information. The professor has the most authority, followed by the attending physician, while an intern just does what they are told; they don't have the expertise regarding the disease. So, if you speak carelessly about the illness, the trust in the treatment is broken.

I couldn't speak. I said, 'I can't speak. I'm just an intern.' They replied, 'No, doctor. We want to hear what you have to say. Please, you must tell us.' They kept asking, 'Doctor, can you please tell us if we can get better?' I didn't know how to answer because I was crying, and they were asking me that. [Snort] So, I was struggling with what to do, and then the grandfather said, 'Doctor, it's okay. Please, go ahead and speak.' But the specialists supervising me had all said it wouldn't be treatable. They said, 'This patient won't be treatable. Ah, thank you. Yes. Yes, thank you. It won't be treatable, but we'll do what we can, and eventually, they'll go to another hospital.' How could I say that to the patient? While I was agonizing over that, my prayer just came to mind. So I said, 'Patient, actually, a doctor shouldn't talk about uncertain beliefs they don't really know. As long as I'm wearing this gown with the Seoul Asan Hospital logo on it, I have to speak as a team member of this hospital. But if you give me the chance to take off this gown and speak as a Christian doctor, I don't know why I said it, but I said, 'I want to talk about Jesus Christ.''

I couldn't even say I was sure she would get better, so I told him that the only thing I could offer was to talk about Jesus Christ. And then, the husband just collapsed right there and started sobbing uncontrollably. Yes, he was really wailing. I was so surprised and asked, 'Sir, why are you doing this? What's wrong?' As he was crying, he said, 'I'm a pastor.' He explained that he had been pastoring in the U.S., but when his wife fell seriously ill, he felt like it was his fault and felt so sorry. They couldn't find a cure in the U.S., so he spent all their savings to bring her to Korea, hoping she could at least feel some warmth in her homeland for her final days. But he said Korea was even more unkind and cold, which hurt them so much. Then he told me, 'But thank you so much for talking to us about Jesus Christ.' After that, my struggle deepened. I asked, 'God, why do people with such faith and good hearts have to suffer from these kinds of illnesses?'

God, don't these people have even greater faith than I do? But why do people who have more faith than me and are so good have to suffer more and be so unhappy than I am? So I prayed every day. God, please heal them; isn't it enough for You to just say the word? Why are You so merciless? Just command them to be healed right now. Or maybe it's because I lack faith, God. I started to argue with Him. If I had faith like Peter, You would heal them. Then fine. If You are testing me because I lack faith, I will go to the hospital ward and shout. I will shout, 'In the name of Jesus Christ, get up and walk,' so please make them walk. So I prayed, and [snort] it felt like You were testing my faith, so I went early in the morning and visited that ward. I opened the door and stood in front of it, feeling like they weren't getting better because I really lacked faith. If I shout, they can be healed, right? If I have faith, they can be healed, right?

So I opened the door wide, and with all the ward nurses there, I intended to command in the name of Jesus Christ, 'Get up and walk,' but I just couldn't bring myself to say it. I felt like if I did that, they would really think there was a crazy person here for generations to come, so I opened the door and said, 'Oh, sir, why are you like this?' and he replied, 'Oh, hello,' so I just closed the door and left. I thought, 'Oh, I absolutely can't do it.' [Snort] 'God, my faith is lacking. You are the one who can do it, but it's not working because my faith is lacking.' Every morning I would go and open the door, intending to shout it, but then I would just say, 'Hello,' close the door, and come back out. [Snort] While I was praying like that, God answered me. This had always been my prayer. 'If you can? What do you mean? Everything is possible for one who believes.' 'Oh, my faith is lacking.' This was my prayer. God said this to me: [Snort] 'We all hope that our prayers will be answered immediately and according to our wishes, and we are tested by losing heart if the answer is delayed or comes in a form we did not desire. However, because God is truly wise and good, He does not always answer our prayers at the very time we wish or in the exact form we desire.'

[Snort] He will give us something far richer and better than fulfilling all our vows. Amen. And because we can trust in His wisdom and love, we must not demand that He yield to our will, but rather we should be absorbed into His purpose and strive to fulfill it. Our desires and interests must be lost in His will. [Snort] Yes. I used to think that faith meant making what I wanted come true. I thought faith was asking God for what I desired and having it realized. That was not the faith God spoke of. The faith God speaks of is the belief that God created the entire universe and possesses infinite power. It is also the belief that He is good and is love itself. [Snort] We receive God's grace through faith. However, faith is not our Savior. It earns no merit. Faith is the hand by which we take hold of Christ and rely on His merits, which are the remedy for sin.

You will resolve many problems that seem mysterious by constantly trusting in God. So, the faith I came to realize was trusting in God. It was trusting in His goodness. It was the faith that hoped for God's will to be done, even if things did not go my way. He is saying, 'He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all good things?' So, I never again went ahead of God, nor did I dream of or command in God's name, saying, 'Rise and walk.' I only sought to show Him words and actions that resembled God's love. But [snort] one day, this person said that since the treatment really wasn't working at Asan Medical Center, they were going to go to Seoul National University Hospital instead. However, when a patient is transferred to Seoul National University Hospital, a doctor must accompany them.

But the friend who was supposed to be in the passenger seat that day said they couldn't make it and ran off. There was no one willing to go with me. I got a call. They said, 'Teacher, I'm sorry, I know you're not the doctor in charge and it's not your shift, but there's no one else to go, could you please take one patient to Seoul National University Hospital?' I said, 'Of course, I'll go for you.' I went there, and it was that person. Yes. When I got into the ambulance, they were so happy to see me. They said, 'I'm so glad I get to go with you, Doctor.' [Snort] We sang hymns and prayed together inside that ambulance all the way to Seoul National University Hospital. Since I still didn't know God's will, I prayed as we went to Seoul National University Hospital, asking God to please let there be a good purpose for this person that I didn't know about. When we arrived at Seoul National University Hospital [Snort] [Clears throat], her two sons came out to greet me. After we had pushed the cart in and I was about to head back, the two sons came out to say hello. I heard that those two sons were very elite in the U.S. I remember one was into music and the other into science, and they were very elite, but because their mother was sick, I heard they had given up those paths and were studying to become doctors.

They look so much like me. Yes. So I felt so sorry for those two sons. Yes. So when those children saw me and greeted me, I prayed and told them this. You probably really won't understand. Yes. You probably really won't understand why your mom has to be this sick and why she can't be cured. It's because we cannot know God's will. But if a day comes when we can fully understand God's will, maybe then you will understand. So, be prepared. Through this pain, God might use your two sons to serve others. Yes. It might feel unfair, it might be painful, but there must be a purpose of God in this pain. So, be prepared. How could God not use the life of a young person who has been offered to Him? After sending those sons off like that, I returned to the hospital and was doing my work. Yes, yes. [Snort] Like that, [clears throat] I was just busy doing hospital work, and then another wave of pain came. That was when I was working in the most hectic ward, called the surgical intermediate care unit.

It has gotten a lot better there now. By today's standards, they couldn't have legally made us work the way we did back then. We worked without sleeping. The blood drawing work was just incredibly busy. It took one or two hours just to draw blood from all those patients. But since that happened every few hours, the whole day would go by just drawing blood. We couldn't sleep, and there were no weekdays or weekends. Those were liver transplant ward patients, intensive care patients, and when they received liver transplants or surgeries, critically ill patients kept pouring in, so how could I take a day off? As an intern there, I was drawing blood constantly, following patients wherever they went, and changing dressings if there was any discharge; I was literally trapped in that ward for a whole month. I couldn't even go to church on the Sabbath, and I felt so confused and skeptical. I thought, 'God, what kind of Christian doctor is this? [Snort] What kind of Adventist young doctor is this?' All I was getting out of this was just doing well for myself. Just getting good training and getting into the specialty I wanted. I wasn't doing anything for God at all. If it's going to be like this, wouldn't it be better to just quit? I was complaining like that when I got a phone call. A close younger friend of mine said, 'Hyung, you said you were at Asan Hospital, right? A church member I know went there and received a liver transplant, but it seems like their condition isn't very good right now.'

Can't you just go and pray for him? Sure, I'll do it. What's his name? They said it was Jang Eun-seong. Okay, but which ward is he in? They said he had a liver transplant, so he must be in the surgical intensive care unit. But I work in the surgical intensive care unit. There was someone whose dressing I changed and whose blood I drew every day while I was complaining, and that person was Jang Eun-seong. While I was complaining and saying, 'God isn't the one doing this,' the person I was caring for every day turned out to be the person our church members were praying for. I was so surprised. Oh God, You are always working behind my back. Thank you. After that, I went to pray for him again, and his wife was so worried, so they asked me to pray for her as well. When I came out of the intensive care unit to the cafeteria, there was this very delicate-looking deaconess standing there. I asked if she was Jang Eun-seong's guardian, and she said yes. Jang Eun-seong had received a liver transplant, and although the surgery went well, he was still unconscious.

It was time for his consciousness to return, but it just wouldn't come back. As he recovered from the surgery, the tubes inserted into him needed to be removed one by one because fluid kept draining from the surgical site, but we couldn't remove them. Since the fluid kept draining, he remained unconscious, and even though we told his wife the surgery went well, she really couldn't bear it. While he was unconscious and time was passing, I would bring his wife to my intern room every day to pray and ask for God's will. At that time, I shared with her the story of how God saved Peter. When I went to his hospital room—only doctors could enter the surgical intensive care unit; nurses and guardians couldn't—he was tied up by his hands and feet. Also, there is something called delirium that intensive care patients get, where they act like they are mentally ill, shaking their bodies and screaming. He had fallen into that delirium, screaming, unconscious, and unable to breathe on his own, so he had a tube inserted. He had over ten tubes stuck in his body, and because he couldn't be cleaned, he was truly a mess, covered in stubble.

Why wouldn't He save this person? Why wouldn't He heal them right now, right this instant? Why would He make them go through such a difficult process after surgery? But I have a conviction. Deacon, if God were going to get Peter out of prison, with His power, He could have just teleported him out. But He didn't do that; He opened the prison doors, made the guards fall asleep, and then had Peter walk out. I think that was to make Peter feel God's presence. Because He is such a holy and great being, if He just did everything according to His power, we wouldn't be able to feel it. So, although it seems slow to us, God will heal them slowly. In a way that they won't be able to deny God's presence. Now, liver cirrhosis is a disease that comes from an undisciplined lifestyle. I heard that this person didn't attend church well, lived an undisciplined life, and made things very difficult for you, Deacon.

I'm not sure if my memory is accurate. I apologize if I'm wrong. Yes. Yes. That's what I heard. They didn't attend church well either. After that, I started praying for that person. It's truly amazing that I was the only person who could meet them. There's a small patient room inside the intensive care unit. They were confined there. But the person who could open that door at will was the intern in charge. I had to draw blood from them three to five times every day. Every time I drew blood, I would place my hand on their transplanted liver and pray. Yes. God, You created this person. Please restore them according to Your providence. And now, my faith has changed. If it is Your will. Yes. I prayed that prayer every time I went, and I prayed every single moment, even when they weren't there. But they weren't getting better. So one day, I prayed into their ear. Mr. Jeong, can you hear me? If you can hear me, I am a doctor who serves God, and yes, God exists. God is the One who created the entire universe, and He created you, Mr. Jeong Eun-seong, as well. You must believe that.

Yes. You must believe that there is someone who created you. Only He can restore and save you, Mr. Jung Eun-sung. I kept telling him that, repeating it every day. But I felt self-conscious because the nurses would watch me and wonder what I was doing, so I would finish quickly and come out. Then, feeling self-conscious again, I would pretend to be changing his dressing while praying. While I was dressing his wounds, one day, amazingly, I walked in and he was gesturing at me with his finger like this. I asked, 'What is this? Nurse, he's moving!' She replied, 'Oh, sir, he's been moving a little since yesterday.' It seemed like his consciousness was returning. 'Does he understand what I'm saying?' I asked. 'Yes, yes,' she said. But since he couldn't speak, she said I had to write on a whiteboard. I was so amazed that I went in, wrote on the whiteboard, and asked, 'Mr. Jung Eun-sung, do you remember me?' And he nodded.

So, do you remember all the prayers I said? You're nodding. And then he would move his fingers like this. That meant he wanted a whiteboard. He wanted the nurse to give him a whiteboard. When she gave it to him, his hand wouldn't move well. He would write with a marker, 'Please keep praying for me,' over and over. Yes. Yes. It would be so wonderful if he recovered just like that, but [snort] I remember he had sepsis, which is very dangerous for patients who have had surgery, and I recall he had a bacterial infection that caused a fever and things like that. It’s been a very long time, so I don't remember the exact details of that dangerous moment, but I remember there was a brief, very critical moment because of the bacterial infection and fever. At that time, a senior doctor who was at the hospital before me contacted me. He said, 'Hey, have you heard anything about a patient named Jung Eun-sung? We need to pray for him.' I had already been praying for him for a few days, and he called me and insisted, 'We have to pray for him, why aren't you praying when you're right there?'

So I couldn't even speak, and I just said, 'Okay, let's pray. You come too.' So, the senior female doctor, the deacon, and I, the three of us, prayed together. Yes. As we were praying, a lot of time had passed, and I only had three days left in the surgical intensive care unit. After that, I had to move to another surgical ward. With only three days left, I was so anxious. Because the patient kept going back and forth between getting better and worse. Then that female doctor said, 'Deacon, let's pray.' Oh, but I had never seen such a bright person. I mean, the patient's consciousness kept fading in and out, and they kept having delirium—they said there was no delirium, but they were delirious—so they were drifting in and out of delirium, running a fever, and sepsis is dangerous, right? Sepsis was setting in, and I thought, 'How can she be so bright? Isn't the deacon worried at all?' Whenever I went, I would be like, 'Deacon, are you okay?' but she would just say, 'Deacon, let's pray.'

Do I lack compassion? I was just so worried. While we were praying, she said, 'Deacon, let's take turns praying.' The deacon prayed, and then this woman prayed, saying, 'God, this and that...' and then she said, 'God, please just heal this person within three days.' I had been agonizing and praying about faith for months. You shouldn't pray like that. I was shocked, too, and prayed, 'God, this unfaithful woman is praying incorrectly. Please don't rebuke this lack of faith. Please don't misunderstand me, Lord; I don't want to pray like this.' I was just praying, 'God, if it is Your will, let it be done, and if it is not Your will, do not let it be done; I just hope it is Your good will.' I was trembling while praying separately. I thought she would ask why the deacon was praying such a vain prayer, but she was so happy, saying, 'Thank you for praying like that.'

So I was so surprised that I asked, 'How? You're a doctor too, how can you pray for it to just be healed in three days?' And she looked so bright and cheerful. She said, 'My brother can only stay here for three days, so I have to be out by then.' I thought, 'How can the reason be so simple?' I had been reading the Word for months and days, crying and praying, agonizing over what faith really is, and then... After three days passed, I moved to a different ward and was just so incredibly busy. I was working without even being able to sleep, and I briefly forgot about her. Then, while I was working, she suddenly came to mind, so I opened the chart to see where she was and what was happening. I checked the list for the surgical ward, but her name wasn't there. Usually, that means the patient has passed away. My heart sank. So I ran to the surgical ward. I ran over and asked the nurse what happened to her, and she said that on the third day, she had fully recovered and moved to a general ward.

Wait, God, isn't this too unfair? Aren't You being too biased? How could You do this to me? And He said, 'Is that so?' I looked at the name, and although it wasn't in the surgical intensive care unit, when I looked at the whole list, the name was actually in the general ward. Wow, Hallelujah! Then, because I was so busy, I forgot about it. But the surgical intensive care unit here was so busy that drawing blood was no small task. We worked during the day and also at dawn, and that time between dawn and day—what do you call it? That very late dawn when the sun is just starting to rise. We had to draw blood then, too. It was truly grueling. We had to go out at three or four in the morning to draw blood, and just when we finished our work and tried to get some sleep, we had to go draw blood again. We had to draw blood for all the patients in the ward, but there were only two or three staff members assigned to it. So, we had to pull all-nighters. That's why we helped each other out. 'If you help me, I'll go with you when you draw blood.' If we could shorten the time, we could get some sleep, right? Yes. I was the intern that my friends preferred the most.

They drew blood really well. Yes. But brother, when I said brother, I'll help you, can you come out once? Oh, of course I'll help you. You too will see the grace of God, I said, and then I went out while spinning the test paper. Asan Hospital is very long. But that friend was at that end and I was at this end, both of us getting our blood drawn. But when I opened the door to the recovery room to get my blood drawn, he was right there. Mr. Jung Eun-sung and his wife had really taken a bath, shaved, and were just lying there in a clean state, having gone through those few days. I thought it was someone else. But that deacon recognized me and said, 'Teacher.' Wow, I couldn't even recognize you, Mr. Jung. Oh, the teacher started shaking my hand. He came over, and the first thing I wanted to ask was, I was so curious, Mr. Jung, really, wow, this is truly, wow, it's the grace of God, and we prayed together. We offered a prayer of thanksgiving, and I asked, 'By any chance, could you hear me praying?'

Oh, of course. Yes. Every prayer was heard. My consciousness was a bit hazy, but a young doctor came in. He kept telling me that there is a God who created me and that I should believe in Him whenever I had the chance. I can't tell you how much strength that gave me. So, that day, as I recovered, I was so grateful to that person for holding onto God for me that I prayed to thank him, and he thanked me for praying for him, so we prayed together. That is the photo I took with that doctor back then. This is Jung Eun-sung. It has been quite a while since then. He has recovered, and I hear he attends church better than anyone else now, along with his wife. He even sends me photos saying he is healthy and has recovered. And back then, when I was praying, I actually prayed separately, saying, 'Oh God, there is a doctor who misunderstands faith like that. I will teach him properly someday.' Oh, to think I prayed such a ridiculous prayer.

That Yeoyu-sa, oh, wait a minute. Before that, I, uh, I'll show you this later. I have to move on quickly. Yes. Yes, yes, yes. That person is now my wife. Yes. I don't know how hard it is because she still prays like that even now. But God always favors that prayer. I don't know how well He listens to that prayer. Perhaps it's because of a pure heart. Yes. It seems He listens well to prayers that are for others and in line with God's will. Amen. Yes. And God covered my pain, and as I said on the first day, He allowed me to build a family. I only talked about my studies after knowing God, but I had a second prayer. That is, I have many testimonies, but, uh, God, please, uh, I was a man and a young person, so of course, the opposite sex caught my eye. But the work I had to do, God kept teaching me His word, and that word and [snort] the opposite sex I saw were not on the same path. That was very difficult. So, the prayer I made was, 'God, please, I beg of you, I won't covet anything else, so please let my spouse be on the path I am supposed to take.'

I wanted to obey God and walk the path of obedience that He told me to go, so I prayed, 'God, I don't want to be an old bachelor. Please, let me meet the spouse You have permitted for me on that path of obedience.' And God answered my prayer and allowed me to meet my spouse on the path of obedience I was meant to walk. But as it turns out, it wasn't actually because of my prayer. Um, this is my mother's book. My mother writes her name, Min-ja Kim, in her books. She doesn't do it for just any book, but she writes her name in the books she cherishes. Yes, she wrote 'Min-ja Kim' in it. My mother read this book, 'The Color of Healthy Life,' a very long time ago. I didn't even hear this story from my mother. I heard it from my wife; she couldn't tell me because she was afraid I would get angry, so she told my wife secretly last year or the year before, and I heard about it separately. I found out about things like this later on, too. In this book, there is a story about Pastor Eun-woo Jo's family.

Yes. It's a story about a pastor's family that enjoys healthy food. They live a vegan lifestyle consisting of balanced, whole foods, and the whole family is healthy. That's what it says here. And their meals consist of whole wheat bread, roasted sweet potatoes, boiled foods, and whole soybean milk ground with nuts, as well as plenty of fruits and vegetables that are simply prepared. Unlike meals that are complexly cooked with many different types of food, these are healthy meals that are easy on both the body and mind. My father-in-law and mother-in-law's lives, their family, and their philosophy of education were all contained in this book. When my mother was being persecuted, that was when I was drifting away. She read this book back then and said she was so envious of this family. 'Oh, how could such a family exist? How could such a young woman exist?' If you look here, it says that the daughters also practice this healthy lifestyle. She prayed, 'God, I can't even handle a healthy life myself. My son is in such poor shape, doesn't know God, his life is a mess, and he doesn't even live a healthy lifestyle, so he doesn't deserve to even covet such a woman, but please, I pray that you at least grant him a spouse who resembles her.'

My mother used to pray for my future spouse every day with this book, and she would write names in it, saying she wanted a spouse who resembled this family. She was so afraid of losing this book that she wrote names in it and prayed with it. Oh, I really couldn't even covet this young woman. 'Oh, please, God, grant my son a woman who knows You.' That was the only thing she wished for, nothing else. Whenever my mother would talk to me about meeting someone, she never once mentioned worldly conditions. My mother's only wish, her truly only wish, was for me to meet a Christian woman. And that Christian woman turned out to be a woman who had truly encountered God. And amazingly, God granted that very person to me as my spouse. My parents-in-law are sitting right there behind me. Yes. Really [snort] Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. My parents-in-law gave me a truly prepared woman, but I think they often have a hard time because I wasn't prepared. But my wife couldn't have liked me from the beginning. I was really, really rough and unrefined.

When I first liked my wife and confessed my feelings to her, she didn't like me back. When I asked her why she wasn't pursuing me, she said, 'Do I really have to tell you everything?' It wasn't just one thing. She first told me, 'There are too many things, and you'll get hurt.' But [snort] much later—it actually took several months—when my now-wife finally accepted my heart, she told me why she decided that I was okay. She said it was because of my direction in life. She said, 'Looking at who you are right now, there isn't anything I like about you.' But I always carried a Bible in my gown pocket because I wanted to know what God's word was. It was a small Bible that fit right in my pocket. So, whenever I had spare time while meeting my wife, I would sit on a bench and read that Bible. One day, she saw me doing that, and she thought that if that was the direction that man was heading, it would be okay to date him.

So that Bible saved me. Everyone, this is my final story. Wait a second. Ah, [clears throat] But my, my wife was, uh, truly excellent. She graduated from medical school with outstanding grades, and she was also a very renowned doctor at the hospital. People said she was so excellent. If I say this as a joke, I wonder if it's right for me to give this testimony, but because there have been constant callings, I've ended up giving many testimonies without even realizing it. But among the testimonies I give, although it's very embarrassing and shameful, there's the one where I say I got first place. [snorts] But my wife is actually very proud of that. She says, 'Oh, you're amazing. You worked so hard.' But one day, I was curious. My wife was really good at studying. And at Asan Medical Center, where I saw her, she was a doctor everyone knew. She was so diligent and so good that I was just curious. 'You were so good at studying, have you never gotten first place?' Then she said, 'I have.' Oh, you did get first place? When you were in medical school? Then how many times? Once? No, twice?

No, I think I was first in almost everything, but he said that. I only did it once. I was so surprised. I asked, 'Why didn't you tell me? Don't you usually talk about things like that?' I go out and give testimonies, crying and everything. 'So what does that make me? Hey, I'm out there giving testimonies and crying about it.' But I told him, 'Oppa, you're different. You weren't good at first and then you got better, so it's moving. I've always been good at it, so there's no emotional impact.' Ah, he's really bright and thoughtless. Yes, yes, yes. Even though I'm saying it in a funny way, the truth is I wouldn't be here right now without my spouse's prayers. Yes, he's probably praying for me right now. And then, I became a family medicine doctor, but before that, through God's guidance, I spent about three or four months in the rehabilitation medicine department. I was a second-year intern there, and it was the first time I was meeting my own patients.

I met a patient of mine, and this young man had taken a nasal spray while in the military, but something went wrong, and his liver was ruined. When the liver is damaged, it can't detoxify the body, so the toxins go straight to the brain. This leads to what's called hepatic encephalopathy, and he was rushed to the hospital as his brain was failing. He came to Asan Medical Center to get a liver transplant because he had to survive, and his brain was already too damaged, leaving him with a disability. But after we prepared everything for the transplant, he miraculously recovered. His liver returned to normal, but the brain, once damaged, couldn't recover. This young man was left with a disability, and he's only in his early twenties. It happened while he was in the military. First, he couldn't see properly; he could see, but his field of vision was impaired. Second, he had what's called ataxia, meaning he had strength, but no coordination. Our bodies rely on coordination.

When one hand goes up, the other must come down, and when the left foot goes up, the opposite foot must move in the opposite way to walk—there is that harmony, right? All of this coordination was broken, and he really couldn't control his own body, like a squid. He was my first patient. Yes. And every report and the professor's opinion was that he couldn't be treated. That he wouldn't be cured. So, since Sang-i had gone through such a difficult process after doing rehab here for a few months, our goal wasn't a full recovery, but just for him to adapt and go out into the world, because it would be hard if he went out immediately. [Snort] But when I met this friend, wow, I had never seen such a kind person in my life. You know, when you meet patients with severe conditions, they can be so vicious, stubborn, self-pitying, unkind, and incredibly rough. And when you're so young and suddenly end up like this just from taking one pill, how resentful and annoyed would you be? I have never once seen this friend get annoyed or resentful. How are 20-somethings usually? They get so annoyed at their moms who are there as caregivers. But he treats his mom with such extreme care. Yes.

His mom was taking care of him because her son was sick, and she was sleeping in snatches on a really low bed right next to him. But he was always worried about his mom. He would ask, 'Mom, aren't you uncomfortable?' Even though he couldn't walk or see, he was worried about his mom. And when I was working late at night, this friend would come walking out. But since he couldn't walk on his own, he would come out in a wheelchair or lean against the wall. When he leaned against the wall, he would go 'clatter, clatter, clatter' as he moved along it. Then he would sit where I was working. Do you know what he would say? 'Teacher, is there anything I can help you with?' I'd say, 'Hey, what are you going to help with? You can't even move your hands. Hey, you'll get hurt if you move. You helping me is just you lying in your bed. Go back in quickly.' I kept saying things like that. He would say, 'No, Teacher. I can help you.' 'I said forget it. Why are you like this?' 'I'm an administrative officer, I'm good with computers. You're not very good at it, Teacher.' 'I'm better than you. Go back in.' Then he would go over to the nurses' station and ask the nurses for things too.

Nurse, is there anything I can help you with? Then the nurses would make name tags, and they needed to be cut out. So they would give me that to do, just to give me something to do. So I would cut the bottom parts like this, and then they would cut them again, and I kept coming to the station to help out. Then this friend asked me, 'Why did you become a doctor?' Since the nights were long and we had a lot of time together, I would tell them stories I had told the day before or the day before that. 'Well, I became a doctor for this reason, and this is the dream I have. I want to be a Christian doctor.' There are so many doctors in this world, and it would be too selfish to pray for God to make me a doctor when there are already so many. Does God really need another doctor? So, I prayed to God to make me a Christian doctor. There are many doctors in the world, but aren't there a shortage of Christian doctors?

Then wouldn't there be a reason for God to make me a doctor? That was my prayer. So I told him that. But then one day, when I went to visit him, his mother asked me, 'Will my child be able to get better?' Oh, I couldn't say anything there. Everyone had said he wouldn't be cured. I couldn't say, 'Your son won't get better,' and I couldn't talk about my faith either; it was a situation where I couldn't do anything. Since I couldn't speak, the mother said, 'Oh, it's okay, Doctor. Yes, it's okay.' I have never seen such a kind and good family. But then, what about it? 'God, why does such a kind and good child have to suffer?' I started praying again. I prayed while crying. 'God, why does this child have to go through this pain?' And time kept passing, and I was praying with this friend, and time was just going by like that. But I felt that I had to do my best for this friend, so I looked up books and papers. But no matter which book or paper I looked at, there was no clear answer. Oh, my heart aches.

Right. And as I was praying, I started to feel resentful toward God. God, why did You entrust such a precious child to me, someone who has only just become a doctor, a resident? Why didn't You send this child to Harvard? Or to Oxford? Or why didn't You assign the most famous professors to this case? Someone out there must know, right? There must be truth in the world that God created; we just don't know it yet, right? Please, solve this. I prayed like that, asking why someone as incompetent as me had to be this child's doctor. I couldn't even look at their face. When they asked if it was mine, what was I supposed to say? My faith is only in obeying God, but what can I actually do? I want this child to get better. I believe this child can get better. But why aren't You answering my faith? I cried and prayed every day. The closer I got to the child, the more my heart ached. But while I was praying, it suddenly dawned on me why God made me the one in charge of this child. The nights in that ward were very early. By 9 o'clock, they would already be getting ready for bed. At 9, [snort], by 10 o'clock, I just ran over there.

Yong-i, my dear. 'Yes, doctor, why?' 'I have something to tell you.' 'What is it?' 'Mother, I have something to tell you.' 'What is it?' 'I am sorry to say this, but the truth is, our doctors believe that Yong-i will not recover.' At that moment, the mother said, 'Doctor, I actually already suspected as much.' Yong-i also comforts me. 'It's okay, doctor. I knew that was the case, too.' Where else would you find a patient like that? Yes, he comforts me. 'It's okay. Don't try too hard. Don't be too heartbroken.' That's what he says. It just breaks my heart. But Yong-i, everyone in the world says you won't be cured. I am so sorry. But while I was praying, I realized there is exactly one person in this world who believes you will get better. That person is me. So, it seems God chose me to be your doctor, even though I am incompetent and lack knowledge. I will not give up; I will keep praying and studying.

I thought I might get to know him, so I talked with this friend, prayed with him, and stayed in isolation with him. [Snort] Then, as time passed, the day for this friend to be discharged drew near. I was in the ward, and he came to find me, saying he was being discharged. He started telling me his story. This friend was a reserve member of the national ski team. Yes. He was an incredibly healthy and smart friend. And he was a liberal arts student at K University, doing quite well in his studies. [Snort] As we were talking, he said, 'Teacher, I'm being discharged.' But I felt so sorry. He hadn't gotten any better at all. 'I'm sorry. But please, take good care of your health from now on.' He said, 'Teacher, I have something to tell you.' I asked, 'What is it?' So, I had given him a Bible as a gift, and I also took off the watch I was wearing and said, 'This is all I have to give you,' and gave it to him wrapped up as a gift. Ah, he gave that to me back then. He looked straight at me and said, 'Teacher, I want to become a doctor, too.'

Hey, you know, deep down, this feeling of frustration just wells up. I'm like, 'Please, just don't get sick. Please, just don't get sick.' I mean, it's all good that you can do things like rehabilitation, but the most important thing is not getting sick. As long as you're healthy, that's all that matters. You're doing fine right now. And you should prioritize your health above all else. And if you really want to become a doctor, you can do that too. Whatever we set as our goal, we can definitely achieve it. It might just take a little longer. As long as the direction we're heading in is right, even if it's slow or delayed, don't give up. I told him, 'You can definitely do it,' prayed for him, and sent him off. Then, after being in the ward, I came to the outpatient clinic to assist the professor. But when I'm doing outpatient consultations, I have to write down everything the professor says, so I'm really busy. If I miss anything the professor says, it's a disaster. I have to write down everything said to the patient by hand, like a secretary. I have to type or write it down incredibly fast. I was just writing away, focused, when I got a phone call. To be honest, I'm really sorry, but I have a bit of face blindness, so I don't recognize people well, and I'm not good at saving phone numbers.

That's just my personality. I had such a deep, warm friendship with that friend, but his number wasn't even saved in my phone. I was incredibly busy when the phone rang, so I just picked it up and said, 'Hello?' He said, 'Oh, hello, Doctor,' and since I had so many patients, I replied, 'Yes, but who is this?' He asked, 'Do you not recognize me?' I said, 'Why, who is this? I'm just so busy right now.' Then he said, 'It's your beloved patient, Yong.' I said, 'Yong? Yong, I'm really busy right now. I'm even busier than I was in the ward back then. Hang up quickly.' He replied, 'Oh, Doctor, that's hurtful,' and kept going on. I was feeling flustered, and the professor was staring at me, so I was saying, 'Oh, I'm sorry,' and trying to manage the situation. Doctors are allowed to take calls because urgent ones can come in at any time—you know, emergency calls from the ward. The professor was giving me looks because it sounded like a personal chat, and he was signaling me to hang up. I couldn't take a call while the professor was writing things down in the outpatient clinic, but then he said, 'Doctor, can't you just step out for a moment?'

I said, 'How can I leave? Come back later.' But he said, 'It will only take a moment.' The professor was scolding Dr. Jo about something. I said, 'Oh, I'm sorry. I have something urgent to attend to.' He said, 'No, no, no, come back later.' But he insisted, 'Doctor, I really can't leave.' Our outpatient clinic is long. It's like a long hallway with departments like Ophthalmology and ENT lined up one by one. Our Rehabilitation clinic is here, and if you go all the way to the end and turn the corner, the Ophthalmology clinic is tucked away there. He was at the Ophthalmology clinic and said, 'Please, just come for a moment. It will only take a second.' I said, 'Brother, Doctor, I really can't go.' Then he said, 'Doctor, I will show you a miracle.' I was suddenly shocked. I asked, 'What?' He said, 'Doctor, I'll show you a miracle, so please just come for a moment.' I was so surprised. 'God, surely not? Could there really be a miracle?' I was so startled that I looked at the professor, and it was chaos. I said, 'Professor, I'll be right back, I need to use the restroom.'

What? Patients were flooding in, and I was handling it all by myself. I told them, 'It'll only take a moment,' and the head doctor just ran off. The hallway was so long, and since I had to get back quickly, I just sprinted, thinking, 'God, could it be? What kind of miracle could it be? Even a small miracle, any miracle would be fine. What kind of miracle will it be?' I turned the corner, and at the end was the ophthalmology clinic. That's where the end of the hallway was, where that friend was. I stood there and looked toward the ophthalmology clinic, and there he was, standing. Oh, yes. He wasn't even holding onto the wall; he was standing right in the middle. He was looking at me. Wow, from that moment on, tears just started streaming down. So, I ran over. 'Yong-i, what happened?' But he ran toward me. Like a scene from a movie, he was in the middle of the hallway. Do you know what he said? I hugged him. 'What happened?' 'Doctor, they said I'm all better. Yes. I can see, my head is all healed, and now I can walk on my own. I don't have to hold onto the wall anymore.' Wow, thank you, God. I was just shouting, 'Hallelujah, thank you, God.'

Oh, thank you, God. I was going to keep talking, but I thought, let's save the rest for later. I told myself, 'If I don't go now, I'll die,' so I pushed through and rushed into the hospital room, into the medical ward. I got scolded so much, but even while being scolded, I was happy. I was just saying, 'Thank you, God,' and even while getting yelled at, I was just saying, 'Yes, Hallelujah,' and doing my work. [Snort] I still hadn't saved this friend's number. [Snort] After that, I got married and went through so many things, and a long time, several years, had passed when I got a phone call. It was from an unknown number. I answered it. 'Hello, teacher.' 'Who is this?' 'Oh, I'm so hurt,' they said, sounding really upset. 'I'm so hurt. You still haven't saved my number? It's Yong, the patient who loves you.' [Snort] 'Oh, Yong, are you doing well? What's going on?' I asked, and this friend told me they had started working as a sales representative for a pharmaceutical company. Oh, thank you, God. They're healthy. 'Yong, you absolutely cannot drink. You know that as a sales rep, you have to drink, but you absolutely cannot, right?'

Oh, of course. Brother, I mean, Teacher, I absolutely don't drink. 'Health is the most important thing. Don't overdo it. There's nothing special in this world. Don't be greedy.' You nagged me just like a parent. Now, [snort] what are you doing? 'Oh, I quit my job.' Oh. My heart sank at your words. You're not sick again, are you? Oh, of course not. I'm not sick. Then what are you doing now? Yes. Teacher, I passed the exam. Then, yes. [snort] Hmm. I joined the company, but the conversations I had with you never left my mind. I see. [snort] 'You only live once, so I want to be someone who can offer comfort to people who are hurting like I was.' I studied while hoping that even if it wasn't for a lifetime, even if it was just for a single moment, I could fulfill that role, even if it took a long time. [snort] Teacher, there were countless moments, not just one, where it was so incredibly hard that I wanted to give up. I was an athlete. I had studied liberal arts. Since I had to prepare for science studies, I had to start everything from scratch, so it took me several years.

But I couldn't give up. Every time I wanted to give up, I remembered what that teacher told me back then. I really wanted to succeed and make him proud. That's why I called that day. Oh, I was so grateful, but then [snort] it was a KakaoTalk message, but it was like, 'Are you doing well, Teacher Jo Sang-ki?' 'Who is this?' Oh my, I lost all my contacts. He wasn't even sincere. [snort] I lost my phone twice. 'I'm Park Yong, your former patient who was desperate.' Wow, my wife was with me, and she just burst into tears because of the story. My wife cried before I did. She just kept crying. I cried, and my wife cried too. 'Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you for being healthy, thank you for not giving up even when it was hard, and thank you for moving forward for a more meaningful value in life. I thank God for letting me meet you, for restoring you, for guiding you, and for protecting you.' He told me how difficult things were for him. [snort] And this friend studied again, yes, this is that friend. Yes.

He did his internship at Seoul National University Hospital, and yes, [snort] he is now working as a doctor at Asan Medical Center, where he himself was once hospitalized. Yes. [snort] Everyone, our faith is lacking and weak. But everyone, faith can be the arm that holds onto Jesus Christ, who is infinite power. Sometimes we are afraid because that faith is small. What if I let go of this arm? Oh, that person's faith looks strong, why can't I be like that? But we have Jesus Christ. Do not fear, for I am with you. Do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. I will surely help you. I will surely uphold you with my righteous right hand. [snort] So, while seeking faith, hope arose in me. Now my hope is not in myself. My prayer is not in the creatures God created. My prayer and hope are only in God. God, please do not do as I wish, but let it be done as You wish.

Please keep my weak faith and my weak greed from coveting the things of this world. As I live in this world, please help me choose God's things over the things of this world at every moment. I beg of You. Please do not let go of me. Obedience is better than sacrifice, and listening is better than the fat of rams, so I have developed a desire to obey. God, I have offered my entire life, so it is not a matter of whether I should obey, but God, please, I do not want to leave You. Please help me to obey. [Snort] Just like that, our God continued to meet with my father, and although he looked like a wild man and continued to grow ill, his faith and his painful wounds were being healed within the fence of love provided by the church and the saints. I will tell you the rest of this story tomorrow. [Snort] Everyone, are there times when you are hurt because it feels like your prayers have not been answered? Are there times when you are upset because your health is not going the way you want it to?

Everyone, please align your prayers with God's voice. I believe that a great grace, beyond what you can imagine, will be with you. Thank you. Yes. Let us pray. [Snort] Our Father in heaven, although we are weak and lack faith, please do not let go of the arm that holds onto You. May the prayers of our congregation and myself be in complete alignment with God's will. And so, may we hope only for obedience. May Your kingdom alone come to this nation. I pray earnestly in the name of Jesus Christ, who is love. Amen. Thank you.