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

Hey, hey. [Bell] [Bell] The next song is 'Prayer of Empty Hands.' It contains a message of spiritual emptying and devotion, resolving to lay down worldly greed and rely solely on God for true prayer. It is a prayer that asks for the presence of the Holy Spirit, offering to God a heart that cannot be filled by human greed or worldly things. [Singing] I have discarded everything I possessed to gather my two hands. [Singing] Closing my eyes to the world, blocking out temptations, I look only to the Lord. [Singing] You are the owner of all my love. [Singing] You are the owner of all my hopes. I offer myself to You, to my heart that cannot be filled. Come, oh come. [Singing] Lord, to my heart that cannot be filled, [Singing] You have come. [Singing] Lord. [Singing] [Singing] Amen. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul and leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me. Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Ja. Hey. [Bell] [Bell] [Bell] [Bell] [Bell] [Bell] [Bell] [Bell] [Bell] [Bell] [Bell] Without faith, it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. For everyone who is born of God overcomes the world. This is our faith. [Singing] Gathered here, you who have received the Lord's grace. Believe that the Lord is with us in this place. [Singing] I will always praise and follow only the Lord. [Singing] I believe He is with me even when I face trials. This faith is kept even more by the Lord.

[Singing] Even in the dark night, He guides me on the Lord's bright path. [Singing] Since the Lord wills it, even if it is hard to understand, I always [Singing] follow the Lord's will. I know that I am [Singing] with the Lord. His words of love [Singing] make me even newer. Even when I fall, I believe He is with me. [Singing] This faith is kept even more firmly by the Lord. [Singing] Even in the dark night, He guides me on the Lord's bright path. [Singing] Until the day I follow the Lord's will, [Singing] faith is firm. [Singing] [Singing] Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth. Serve the Lord with gladness and come before Him with singing. For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations. He will send His angels with a great trumpet sound, and He will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other, and they shall reign forever and ever. The final song to be performed will be a medley of 'Chiron Paetun' and 'Lift Up the Glory of Zion Trumpet.'

[Bell] [Bell] [Bell] Everyone, please stand and we will sing the theme song. I have now received the Lord's new life. I have now received the Lord's [Singing] new life; the old has passed away, I am a new person. [Singing] That life flows in me [Singing] like a river, and His love shines upon me like the sun. If I taste eternal life, I will live with the Lord. Today and tomorrow, I will live with the Lord. Having received the new life hidden in the Lord, the things that were good before are now worthless. I will taste the grace and peace of heaven. I will live with the Lord through hymns and prayer. I will taste eternal life and live in the Lord. Today and tomorrow, [Singing] I will live with the Lord. The mountains and the vegetation have become new, and sinners and enemies turn into friends. [Singing] He who has received life tastes eternal life, and the night I have the Lord is heaven. If I taste eternal life, I will live in the Lord. Today and tomorrow, I will live with the Lord. Ah, Father in heaven, I love You. Thank You. Amen. Father, the signs of the world are strongly telling us that Jesus is coming again, so thank You for calling us here to wake up and prepare.

Father, thank You for allowing us to be in a place where Your word pours down like a waterfall. Amen. Father, I have lived as a descendant who realized the truth and remained here for a long time. I really thought I knew Jesus. The disciples followed Jesus, and though they thought they knew Him, they all ran away before the cross. They truly did not know Jesus. Father, I want to know Jesus. I truly want to know Him. I want to live in Jesus. Father, I came here with a spiritually thirsty and poor heart. May the Holy Spirit dwell in us, enlighten us, and help us live holding onto only Jesus. Amen. Therefore, please guide us so that on the day Jesus comes, we can welcome Him as those who are truly joyfully prepared. Father, thank You for letting us experience the taste of heaven by coming here. Father, may all people speak humbly, be truly joyful and happy, show tolerance, and when we go down from this mountain, may we live changed lives in our respective churches with that heart, that likeness of Jesus.

Father, when Pastor Kim Sang-rye delivers the prepared word as the Holy Spirit dwells in him, may the Holy Spirit guide our hearts to be burning. Father, please guide us so that we can go down with changed hearts and live as little Jesuses. Father, thank You, and I pray all these words in the name of Jesus Christ, who loved us, died for us, and did not spare His life for us. Amen. Broadcasting, yes. This microphone is good, but it's not going out on the broadcast. Ah, I felt very comfortable today, and I thought, 'Wow, it's finally working properly from today,' but they are taking it away. Since I was talking, I felt comfortable, and I thought, 'Wow, I can really do this comfortably today.' Now, but, what if you end up not acknowledging Jesus? How old are you? Adults are asked that way, and to young people, I ask, 'What year were you born?' and then, for example, if they said, 'I was born in 1960,' or, well, since it's these days, 'I was born in 2002,' then I would say, 'You denied Jesus like that, but you just said Jesus came 2,000 years ago.'

Yes, that's right. The moment you use your birth year as BC or AD, the moment you use it based on the Gregorian calendar, you are expressing it based on the birth of Jesus. Actually, they hate that so much that they say, 'Sir, if you really want to deny Jesus that much, use the Dangun calendar. Or use the Buddhist calendar.' Because I think such expressions themselves are not fair, in academia, the expression BC is expressed as BCE, and instead of AD, they use CE. CE is Common Era, and instead of BCE, Before Common Era. When we write academic articles in English, it has become an era where the very expression of BC and AD is a burden and feels like pressure. It has been like that for a long time. So, they even change it to 'Before Common Era' and 'Common Era.' So, it is an era that even denies the first coming. In simple terms, I did not specifically mention the name of a denomination. Because one must always be careful when talking about other people's religions, a global Christian denomination resolved through an official resolution of the denomination on July 29, 1944, that there is no need to believe in the visible second coming of Jesus Christ.

Yes. However, all the promises of the Bible point to the second coming in their entirety. There is no logical conflict as great as believing in the Bible but not believing in the second coming. As I mentioned on the first day, the Bible calls the second coming a blessed, glorious, and hopeful hope. Furthermore, even people who do not believe in the Bible at all seem to clearly see that if the earth we are standing on and breathing on continues in this state, it will not last forever. So, they also prepare for how to survive when the earth is not eternal and meets its end. The 'Prepper' group is a representative example. There are people who are trying to survive the so-called apocalypse. However, these Adventist believers, who believe in the promise of the second coming as the word of God, look at and cherish the promise of the second coming as their ultimate hope. However, as I mentioned over the past two hours, it is easy to make the mistake of thinking of the hope of the second coming at the level of eschatology and downgrading it to the level of eschatology.

The apocalypse and the second coming are different. The apocalypse has no promise, but the second coming has a promise. The apocalypse looks at the end, and the second coming looks at the beginning. The fundamental motive for people trying to survive the apocalypse is fear because they have to survive a disaster. But for those waiting for the second coming, the fundamental motive is hope because it is about seeing the Lord who is coming back, whom they have missed. Everyone, I often tell the story of Chunhyang to explain this difference. Was what Chunhyang waited for coming out of prison, or was it Lee Doryeong? If Chunhyang did not love Lee Doryeong and her purpose was just to get out of prison, she would have left even if someone other than Lee Doryeong came and told her to come out. But because Chunhyang's purpose was not to get out of prison but to meet Lee Doryeong, she was looking at Lee Doryeong. What is our purpose? Naturally, the motive and content of preparation must be different. Today for our tomorrow as Adventist believers must be different from that of the Preppers who are just trying to survive a disaster.

The Bible calls those who participated in the Exodus community just to avoid disaster 'the mixed multitude' in the Catholic Bible translation. Everyone, we who live holding onto the promise of the second coming must not become 'religious mixed multitudes.' It is important to know about economic crises or political conspiracies. But if I look into those things and have no interest in what the Bible says about how to prepare, perhaps we are just curious 'mixed multitudes.' If such things are happening, and such things are happening, and you make yourself tense and make those around you tense, but you have no interest in what the Bible says—'Watch,' 'Be awake,' 'Put on the armor of light'—and you think it's an obvious story and don't pay attention, perhaps we are typical 'mixed multitudes.' As Adventist believers who have the hope of meeting the Lord within the Lord's promise, we are clearly different from them and must be different. It will be necessary to have a clear biblical understanding of the signs of the second coming that the Bible speaks of. The disciples asked Jesus.

'What will be the sign of Your coming and of the end of the age?' The Lord answers. 'Watch out for wars, earthquakes, famines, and false prophets.' But if you look closely at the Bible, after the Lord mentions these things, He says, 'Such things must happen, but the end is not yet.' He says this, and then He continues, 'All these are the beginning of sorrows.' Everyone, if so, wars, earthquakes, famines—these things we commonly refer to as signs of the second coming—are, to express it as the text says, signs that announce the beginning of sorrows. And He said the end is not yet. He just said it is the beginning of sorrows. Then the Lord says this: 'But he who endures to the end shall be saved.' When will that end come? 'This gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world... and then the end will come.' Everyone, the word 'end' is the same in Korean, but the 'end' included in the disciples' question and the 'end' mentioned by Jesus in His answer are different if you look at the Greek, the original language of the New Testament.

The 'end' mentioned in the disciples' question is called 'synteleia,' and the 'end' mentioned when Jesus answered is called 'telos.' Why, what is it? The DNA sequence, the very end of a cell is called 'telomere,' and the word 'telos' all came from here. In other words, 'synteleia' is a somewhat long end. 'Telos' is the end of that long end. I always explain what the disciples asked in my own terms. I express it as: 'The disciples were interested in the end of the world, and Jesus answered about the end of the age.' When does the end of the world begin? Wars, earthquakes, famines, and so on. And Jesus said, 'There are things like this, but it is not the end immediately. These are the beginning of sorrows.' When will these sorrows end? It ends only when there is a 'telos.' That 'telos' is the moment of the second coming. But what is the sign of this 'telos'? 'This gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world, and then the end will come.'

To summarize, there are two types of ends. The long end, 'synteleia,' and the 'telos' where it ends. If you look at the bottom row of mine, this is the end of the world. 'Telos' is the end of the age. [Snort] Wars, earthquakes, famines, these are all signs that 'synteleia' has begun. They are so-called signs of the end of the world. But the sign of the end of the age is the preaching of the gospel of the kingdom. What does it mean? No matter how many wars happen, no matter how many earthquakes happen, no matter how many typhoons blow, if I sit still and say, 'A war has broken out and an earthquake has happened, so the time for me to go to heaven is near,' and sit still, it doesn't end. Only the disaster has begun. Because the 'telos' comes only when the gospel of the kingdom is preached to all, when we hear about wars, earthquakes, and winds blowing, it is not the time to be happy, clap, and laugh because we think the time to go to heaven is near, but it is a sign that we should feel a deep spiritual challenge and burden: 'How can I share the gospel of the kingdom? How can I share this gospel to end all this and reach the Lord's kingdom together?'

Yes. So I say there are signs to watch for and signs to fulfill. Wars, earthquakes, and famines are all signs to watch for, and sharing the gospel of the kingdom is a sign we must fulfill. In fact, after Matthew 24, the Lord's parable of the ten virgins, then the parable of the talents, then the parable of the least of these to whom we share—I understand all these contents as passages about how we must preach this gospel. If you look at the Bible, it mentions two attitudes of heart before the second coming message. The Apostle Paul says in 2 Thessalonians 2: 'Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him'—in other words, a story about the second coming—'not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come.' Saying, 'The second coming is not far off. Only 5 years left. Only 10 years left.' Talking about economic crises, what Trump's political conspiracy is, what Rome is, and so on, and then easily being shaken in mind—I translated it as 'shaken in mind' in the Revised Korean Version. I like the old Revised Korean Version better. It says not to be easily shaken in mind or afraid. Because of wrong

messages, hearts are shaken, and hearts are swayed. On the other hand, what did Jesus say? 'Watch and pray always that you may be counted worthy to stand before the Son of Man.' If you summarize these two concerns, you must not be shaken before the second coming message, but you must be awakened. In summary, to properly understand the second coming message in the Bible, you must prepare not with motives of being shaken and anxious, but with a calm and determined heart of spiritual awakening. Everyone, the sanctuary-based second coming message is a biblical message that brings about spiritual awakening, not one that shakes the heart. We must not be easily shaken in mind by the second coming message, but must be spiritually awakened by the sanctuary-based second coming message. Those messages are very clearly revealed in the text, in the Bible. There are six passages in the New Testament that mention the imminent second coming. This time, the moment I received a call from Pastor Kim Sang-rye asking me to serve the word at the 2026 Western Union Camp Meeting with the theme 'Today for Tomorrow,' the theme 'Today for Tomorrow' was a theme I had considered a lifelong challenge. Thank you for inviting me. I didn't even yield and say, 'Humbly invite someone better.' I grabbed the phone. It was because it was a message I really wanted to share. I think the time I spend testifying hour by hour on this message, which I have been meditating on and preparing for day by day for several hours, is something I have been waiting for, and you have been waiting for as well.

One by one, as the third session today, I will try to examine the word with the title 'Let us gather more as the day approaches' from Hebrews 10:25. Today's text. 'And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.' When we understand the Bible, it is necessary to examine it within the closest context, a little context, a little more context, within that literary text paragraph, and then expand it within that range, within the book, then for example, if it is Genesis, within the Pentateuch, then within the Old Testament, then within the New Testament. This time, while reading this text, I am deeply examining what each meaning message is within the range of the closest text. The exhortation of the text here is the exhortation not to forsake the assembling, which is the closest exhortation.

As it approaches [Gasp], this era is truly an era of forsaking the assembling. When the writer of Hebrews in the era when this book was written used this expression, it was an era facing the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. We experienced a situation where church gatherings became illegal during the COVID-19 era, the COVID-19 era. I was personally very disappointed at that time. Well, it's an era where we can't keep gathering. So our Korean Union also resolved not to gather, but the moment I heard that news, I was very disappointed. Personally. 'Wow, it's natural that all religious groups and denominations can't gather because we can't do it like in the Middle Ages, but how good would it have been if we had done it a little differently?' Yes. 'Official gathering worship is suspended, but Adventist pastors, please conduct the same worship order alone in front of the pulpit in the empty pulpit at the scheduled time. Pray at the scheduled time, preach at the scheduled time, and although the saints do not gather together, please know that the pastor is keeping the pulpit at the same time, and please worship and pray at your home just as if you were gathering at church.'

We will pray for this society and for this nation at this time. If such content had been included in our resolution, wouldn't we have been on a different level? I have such regrets. We experienced an era where it was difficult to gather. Also, it has become an era where people actually enjoy not gathering. I took this program part from a magazine in society. So, the terms popular in the world are 'Honsul' (drinking alone), 'Honyoung' (watching movies alone), 'Honbap' (eating alone). 'Honyoung' (watching movies alone). 'Hongok' (singing alone). This is the trend of the world these days. It's an era where being alone is not lonely, but enjoying being alone. When it says 'forsake the assembling,' the word 'forsake' is called 'enkatalipo' in Greek. This word means to forsake, give up, abandon. They say it's the era of 'Canaan saints' these days. You all know, right, what a Canaan saint is? They are church members who don't go to church, but they don't give up their faith. So, they reversed 'don't go' (annaga) to 'Canaan.' You didn't know that? Oh, there are some who don't know. Yes.

America is America, indeed. Yes. So, in Korea, this term 'Canaan saint' has already become a universal Christian term. 'Don't go' church members, reversed to 'Canaan saints.' They call them Christians who left the church, church members who don't come to church. It's like that. The era of Canaan saints has become an increasingly serious problem, and if you look at the Kookmin Ilbo here, 'Canaan saints tripled in 5 years.' This is a trend of all Christian denominations in Korea. 'Canaan youth saints increasing again.' So, look at the ratio of Canaan saints increasing. It is skyrocketing. In other words, they are not gathering. It says, 'not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some,' but the era has become [Snort] an era of not gathering. Yes. Even for your Union Camp Meeting, it's different from before, right? They are not showing up. Usually, those who hear the words 'attend on time' are only those who attend on time. Right? Those who came are the ones who hear that they are not coming. Let's examine this text one by one from the more distant text. First, in Hebrews 10:23, 'For He who promised is faithful.' For those who are not familiar with the Korean word 'mippeuda' (faithful), have you heard the word 'yeppeuda' (pretty), but what is 'mippeuda'?

'For He who promised is faithful.' We must hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering. Why? As the day approaches, it comes like this. When it says 'He who promised is faithful,' the word 'faithful' means truly faithful, trustworthy, 'faithful'—He is truly a faithful person. Yes, God is a faithful person. Hebrews repeats this fact in several places in the Pauline epistles. 1 Thessalonians 5:24: 'He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.' God is a person who does it if He says He will. If He says He will come again, He is a person who will come. That's what it means. 2 Timothy 2:13: 'If we are faithless, He remains faithful.' It means our Lord is a person who is truly trustworthy. Yes. 'Mippeuda' is a pure Korean word that means having faith. If you express it as God's faithfulness, it refers to God's character of always fulfilling His promises. Ah, yesterday, after our meeting ended, Pastor Kim Sang-rye came and said that since the PPT I made is black text on a white background, it is tiring for the eyes of those looking at it.

So, when he asked me what that meant, he suggested that I change the background and try again, and while saying that, he said, 'Ah, but this is a task that takes a lot of time, so it would be difficult, right?' and left, but that's it. Wow, that's more burdensome than telling me to change it, so I spent all day today working on this, and it took a lot of time. Everyone, I changed all the backgrounds and text of what I had been preparing all along, but even after doing that, I couldn't finish it all. Even if it changes, please know that. Is it easier to see now that there is white text on a black background? Are you less tired? If you do more, I have to do the rest for tomorrow, and well, even if I can't do it, the Lord should be a bit easier. Romans 3:3: 'For what if some did not believe? Will their unbelief make the faithfulness of God without effect?' It means that God is not a person who changes His mind just because we don't believe.

God is such a person. In other words, even if people change, God always loves His people the same and faithfully keeps His promise of salvation. The basis of our conviction is God's faithfulness. After saying that, 'For He who promised is faithful, let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering as the day approaches.' The word translated here as 'confession of our hope' is a word we need to pay attention to. It is a very precious and important word called 'homologia,' and this word translated as 'confession' is repeatedly concentrated in Hebrews. Going back from chapter 10, in 4:14, it says, 'Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.' After saying Jesus ascended, 'hold fast our confession (homologia).' What is this confession? Going back a little more, it is 3:1.

'Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus.' Wow. So, if you summarize the word 'homologia' (confession) in one word, it is Jesus. In 3:1, it is already defined like that, and coming down, in 4:1, in 4:14, and in 10:23, when it says, 'For He who promised is faithful, let us hold fast the confession of our hope,' who is the one who promised? Who? Who is it? Jesus. Jesus. It is Jesus. Jesus is trustworthy, so He is truly faithful, so the hope of our confession, that is, holding onto Him. It is the same word. The hope of our confession. Often, this word 'homologia' is translated as 'basic doctrine.' Literally, it is not wrong. But within the text of Hebrews, this word translated as 'confession' or 'doctrine,' as we just examined in 3:1, is an expression referring to Jesus.

Selected Messages, Book 2, page 87: 'All the doctrines are connected by a golden chain, and they form one complete whole with Christ as the living center.' It is not because the doctrine is correct, and it is not because the doctrine is logically correct. It is the truth because the doctrine points to Jesus Christ. In 2009, a famous professor at Harvard Divinity School retired. He is a person whose thoughts are very different from ours. I will introduce two of his famous books. In 1988, he was selected as one of the most influential theologians by the New York Times. As he retired, he wrote a retirement commemorative book. The name of that book is 'The Future of Faith.' This has been translated. It was translated into our language as 'The Future of Religion,' but if you translate it directly, that translation expression 'The Future of Religion' does not seem to convey that concept accurately. In this book, Professor Harvey distinguishes and defines the word 'believe' and the word 'faith.' The author who translated this book into Korean translated 'faith' as 'faith' (sinang) and then 'belief' as 'belief' (sinyang), but in my opinion, it seems more correct to translate it like this.

The word 'faith' can be translated as 'faith' (sinang) in our language, and if you properly understand Harvey's argument and logic, the word 'belief' can be translated as 'conviction' (sinyang) in our Korean language. Everyone, when patriot Ahn Jung-geun was doing the independence movement, his conviction was firm. Yes. It means that Christians can have firm convictions. But conviction is self-assurance about some ideology. It is self-assurance about some ideology. It is self-assurance about thought. But faith is trust in a person. Christianity is a personal relationship toward Jesus Christ, who is a person, not an ideological assurance about some thought. We cannot accept all the theories, but at least in this part, there is a lot for us to think about. Are we just intellectually and ideologically convinced and aware that the Sabbath is right, so it is right? Do we truly personally love Jesus Christ, who is the Lord of the Sabbath? Am I a firm Adventist?

Am I a believer who truly loves Jesus, the Lord of the Sabbath? There is a reason for us to reflect deeply. If you summarize the history of this book, translated as 'The Future of Religion' by adopting Professor Harvey's theory, until the 4th century AD, before Christian history began, after the 4th century AD, strangely, when teaching theology, they don't call it the era of the gospel, they don't call it gospel history, they call it 'History of Christian Thought.' So, it is an era of following Christian thought, not an era of learning the gospel. Everyone, if we are to say it is the truth, we must be aware of ourselves and reflect on ourselves so that the personal truth, Jesus Christ, is embodied in each and every content that goes to the center of the truth, and that life of looking at the Lord must become our life. If a firm Adventist looks hardened, isn't that a person with firm ideology? Is it a person captured by the gospel? When returning from the 'belief' era to the 'faith' era, perhaps, I have a lifelong hope that the brand image of this church, to which I have dedicated my life, would be, when people think of the Adventist Church, the first image that comes to mind is a group of people who love Jesus, a group of people who truly want to resemble Jesus. Doesn't the Bible itself say? This gospel was promised beforehand by God through His prophets concerning His Son in the Bible.

'For He who promised is faithful, let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering' means that as the second coming approaches, we must truly live in Jesus, who is the body of all faith. It must be a life where all life's values are determined and lived in Jesus, because of Jesus, with Jesus, and toward Jesus. That is what it is saying here. If you examine Matthew 24 and 25, after the Lord gives the promise of the second coming, the contents of how to live are continuously divided into two groups by parables. Those who succeeded in welcoming Him and those who failed. If you synthesize all those stories that divide them into two groups, the dimension of preparation is divided into two. There is a vertical dimension and a horizontal dimension. Yes. Listening to Pastor Kwon's lecture yesterday and today, it seems the Holy Spirit helped. Wow, while sharing many inspirations from Pastor Kwon's lecture, I was surprised to find that the Lord worked together like this to help us prepare the same word, and there were similar terms. If I say the second, the parable of the ten virgins is the vertical dimension in preparing for the second coming. How to have a relationship with God. Then, the parable of the talents and the words about caring for the least of these are stories about the horizontal dimension in preparing for the second coming. Here in Hebrews 10, in this text, 'hold fast the Apostle of our confession, Jesus Christ, as the day approaches' is talking about the vertical

dimension in preparing for the second coming. And the next text that follows immediately talks about the horizontal dimension in preparing for the second coming. It is the text. Verse 24. 'Consider one another.' After saying in verse 23 to look at and hold fast the hope of our confession, that is, Jesus Christ, in verse 24, it immediately changes the dimension and says, 'consider one another to stir up love and good works,' and immediately moves the dimension of our preparation as the day approaches to the horizontal dimension. However, everyone, if you read this word 'consider one another' in verse 24 in the original Greek, you will be surprised. Because when it says 'consider one another' here, this word 'consider' is called 'katanoeo,' and this word 'katanoeo' is the same word in Greek as the word translated as 'consider' in Hebrews 3:1, which we know well, which we read just a moment ago: 'Consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Jesus.' 'Consider' (katanoeo). 'Consider one another' (katanoeo). In other words, the preparation of the vertical dimension where we must deeply think about Jesus to prepare for the second coming of Jesus, and the command to 'consider one another' in the horizontal dimension, are the same word.

As much as the spiritual challenge to consider how to live my life before God, it is a command to consider each other as deeply as we think about Jesus regarding the fellow human beings and neighbors who have allowed us to live together around us. According to the translation of Hebrews 3:1, this is a huge challenge. It is a spiritual dimension that needs to be thought about deeply. Furthermore, if you look at this era, you feel how much more necessary it is to consider. Because isn't this era truly an era of isolation? As I said earlier, it is an era where people not only forsake gathering but also like to be alone. In Japan, they call the social phenomenon that has already become universal 'Hikikomori.' Are there any people here who are good at Japanese? By any chance, is there no one? Yes. Hikikomori, right? In England, they call it the 'lonely wolf' phenomenon in the West. So, England appointed the world's first Minister for Loneliness.

Everyone, just last week before I came here, I was surprised while looking at this internet news. This is an article that appeared in the JoongAng Ilbo on July 11th. The Hikikomori phenomenon in Korea is becoming a reality in Korea. They say 'diving' for a while. These days, young people in their 20s and 30s don't meet anyone and stay cooped up in their rooms; they call it 'diving.' But they say they are 'diving' for a while, but they have been in their rooms for 8 years. It says there are 540,000 young people in Korea in their 20s, 30s, and 40s who are trapped in their rooms and have not come out for several years, trapped in their rooms like caves. [Snort] Everyone, '540,000 youth trapped in rooms, is it chosen seclusion or driven isolation?' Ah, it seems to be an era where the things we need to consider are too urgent. Especially, as you can see in this chart, the iPhone came out in 2007, based on 2005. As the iPhone came out, this black line is the feeling of isolation, 'feeling left out.'

I feel isolated like this, and 'feeling lonely,' I feel lonely. So, the ratio of feeling isolated and the ratio of feeling lonely skyrocketed starting from 2007, between 2005 and 2010, as the iPhone came out. Everyone, 'consider one another,' 'katanoeo.' 'Consider Jesus deeply.' Why do you only look at the verse that says 'consider Jesus'? The same verb is used for 'consider one another,' it's the same word that can be translated as 'consider each other deeply.' We must feel a spiritual burden here. I am a person from Baekil-ri, the largest village in Wangsan-myeon, the largest township in Myeongju-gun, the largest county in Gangwon-do, the largest province in South Korea. Until I took the middle school entrance exam, I had never seen an electric light, I had never seen a car, and until I graduated, I lived like that, with female students wearing books around their waists and male students wearing them like this.

I lived in Gangwon-do without knowing anything, but after leaving Gangwon-do, I lived in Seoul for a long time, and then here and there, I want to go to my hometown so much. So, even before I retired, after I was released from the administration responsibility, after I was freed, I thought, 'Going all the way to my hometown is too far,' so I settled in Hoengseong, Wonju, between my hometown and Seoul, and started living in the countryside. It's so good. I built a house, and a small stream flows next to it, and when I went in the winter, it was swarming with crayfish. So, while I was turning over stones in the stream, my hand was bitten by a crayfish, and the moment I was bitten by that crayfish, the pain of catching crayfish in the valley when I was a child 50 years ago came back to life, and I was bitten by a crayfish. It's so good. I live in the countryside now, and the disciple pastor I officiated for, and I also did matchmaking and officiated, the church he serves is close by, so I go to that church and serve together, and so, after living in the countryside for a while, wow, I was surprised.

More than 80% of elementary school students are from grandparent-grandchild families. Everyone, the words are difficult, so you don't understand what it means, right? Grandparent-grandchild families, what does it mean? It means children living under their grandparents. Most of them are multicultural families, and the mothers are from Southeast Asia, and most of those mothers have left home, so the children live with their grandparents, so the children are rough. So, there is a children's center at the small rural church I was at, and the children who come there are very rough. My wife applied for volunteer work driving the bus that takes the children home after they play at the church. My wife went to the countryside and had two dreams. The biggest dream was to drive an excavator, and the second was to drive the village city bus, that was the second, and that woman who looked so weak talked about those two dreams and asked if those people were so cool, and if I could do it? [Snort] No, why should she tell me to become a heavy equipment operator when she should just have dreams herself? [Sigh] Yes, I went with her to look around, and looking at those children, they are very, truly pitiful. Also, looking around, there are too many elderly people living alone.

Ah, looking at it, even the elderly who come to church, some live alone, the grandmother lives alone, and the grandfather lives alone, and I visited once, and one grandmother had been spreading her bedding for 10 years, going in and out, going in and out, she never folded it, and she cooks rice, but in that thin aluminum pot, she cooks rice and looks at the water, and cooks rice, and cooks rice, she never rested, so the aluminum pot is black. Wow. I was so heartbroken, so I told our young deacons and church members, 'Let's not do anything else, let's all find all the grandfathers and grandmothers we can mobilize and just go and clean it up.' Yes. With a few young deacons and some elderly people who volunteered, we went to the grandmother's house. We went and pulled out the bedding that had been there for 10 years, the deacons cleaned the room, the men cleaned the yard outside, and we cleaned everything, and we took the bedding and dried it in the sun, and then we polished the kitchen dishes until they were sparkling, and with over ten people sticking to it, the house changed in an instant. This grandmother deaconess, after it was over, said, 'How about eating before you go?' How can we eat at that house? We should be the ones bringing it to her. [Sigh] [Gasp] Ah, no. Deaconess, it's okay. Grandmother, it's okay.

So, 'No, then if you go, I'll buy you a meal.' 'No. What are you saying, everyone?' But it seems like this grandmother is going to cry because we are really leaving. Oh, so, 'Okay. Let's get treated by the grandmother.' We got treated, and yes, so we went to a restaurant, a village restaurant, and the grandmother bought us lunch, and we ate the stew deliciously, and of course, we thought about helping her more, and we did that. Wow, everyone, while helping the grandmother once and coming back, I was like that, and the deacons who participated were like that too. 'Wow, we lived well. This is how you live life.' My heart was full of joy, and it was rewarding, and I was so happy to be a believer. Still, 'Let's keep doing this' came out of our mouths automatically. So, 'Okay. Then let's go to the township office and find other grandmothers and grandfathers, not just our church members.' It became like that, and then a week later, we met again, and 'Professor, since we're doing this, let's make a name for this group.' 'Ah, I thought about it too.'

Yes. 'Ah, you already made it?' 'I made it.' 'What is it?' 'Halbongdan.' What is Halbongdan? Yes. 'Service group for grandfathers and grandmothers.' Ah, this is cool. [Snort] It wasn't 'Hwalbongdan,' it was 'Halbongdan.' Halbongdan. Then who will be the leader? Ah, you are so oblivious. The person who made the name should do it. I wanted to do it. Everyone, so I have been a leader of this and that in my life, but being the leader of Halbongdan made me happy. But I went one step further. Everyone, as you know, I started running while I was briefly serving in university administration. But when I started running, I thought I would die if I did it once. But thinking I might die, I risked my life to do it, and I did a marathon, and before I knew it, I had done a full marathon, 5km, 10km, 25km, I don't know how many times, and I did the full course 22 times. This, this was done risking my life. But I went to the countryside.

Wow, the rural people, they just, they just, 'Let's run,' everyone. So, during the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, about 40 people, including the 80-year-old grandmother deaconesses of the Dunnae Church, participated in the naked marathon competition. The men took off their shirts, and the women, of course, covered what needed to be covered, and yes, on that cold day when even the Young Ski Competition was canceled, we ran the naked marathon together, high-fived, and it was chaos. It was so good, but a few people from the village participated in that meeting. These people liked it so much. They looked at their pastor and said, 'Let's not end it with this, let's keep doing it.' 'Then what should we name this meeting?' 'I'll name it.' So, 'Mama Geondal.' What is 'Mama Geondal'? When I asked, 'Professor,' 'Running for a healthy mind and healthy village.' So, 'Mama Geondal,' running for a healthy mind and healthy village. So, if you participate here, the church will pay for the participation fee. Yes, we did that, and the Tuesday evening worship, instead of gathering at the church, we gather at the village playground and replace the evening worship with a running worship. Everyone, this is innovation.

Yes. Literally, at first, 'Try it once.' So, 'Ah, Professor, did the church elders see it all?' Yes, they will oppose it. They are people who keep their eyes open until the praise starts when they come, and then start sleeping when the praise and sermon start, and then when the sermon ends, they open their eyes and think that worship must be held at the church. 'When you do it one more time, try saying you proposed it.' Then, 'Ah, the professor must have had a reason.' So, we did it on Tuesday evening. Everyone, we gathered at the playground on Tuesday evening and ran, and worshiped for about 5 minutes, and ran, so village people came, one joined, two joined, three joined, and they started to join, and one day, someone came and said, 'Do you do this at church?' 'We do this while eating dinner here and giving out gimbap.' Then they gave 100,000 won and said, 'You are doing such a good thing. Use this to buy gimbap.' Uh, everyone, a survey was conducted in Korea. 'Institutions that must be in our village.' Naturally, police station, school, post office, bank, then Nonghyup Hanaro Mart, would the church be included or not?

It's not that the church is unnecessary, but it would be better if it didn't exist. Everyone, today, while watching the video Pastor Kwon showed yesterday and today, that last AI, I really thought it was real at first, not lip-syncing, but later when Pastor Kim came, he said it was AI. That church in our village, I don't know how much I was hooked on that one word. A church that the village people need. 'Consider one another.' This is preparation for the second coming. What is preparation for the second coming, everyone? Preparation for the second coming. What are you doing that is preparation for the second coming? The text says it. 'Consider one another.' 'Consider Jesus deeply.' It means care is needed. Everyone, I went to the countryside, and I happened to walk on the embankment with an elder. But while walking on the embankment comfortably, walking on that rural road, a van came from behind on the embankment. So, we stepped aside, and as the car passed, it was a car from a church in the area.

But as it passed, the car stopped, and 'Elder,' he said. So, looking at our elder, 'Elder,' he said, and 'Oh, Pastor,' he said, and 'Oh,' the two of them stood there and talked about how they were doing so closely and happily, and I was watching from the side, feeling ashamed, and 'When did you become so close to the pastor of a certain denomination?' 'There is a story.' Yes. It snows a lot in Gangwon-do. When it snows, cars can't move unless they are four-wheel drive. But that elder was driving a four-wheel drive. He is a person who moved to Gangwon-do from outside. But one Sunday morning, I woke up and it was full of snow. So, he drove his four-wheel drive, and the elder had a four-wheel drive. That elder suddenly thought, 'Oh my, how will our deaconesses go to church?' That elder drove his four-wheel drive car out and took the deaconesses of that village, and he took those grandmother deaconesses to the church yard they used to attend, and because it snowed, the pastor was standing outside waiting for the church members, and seeing his church members getting off, and seeing an Adventist elder dropping off the grandmother deaconesses on Sunday, this pastor was challenged.

Everyone, when I went to that village, this elder is called just 'Elder' without his surname. Regardless of the denomination, when you say 'Elder,' it is this person. Not Elder Hong, Elder Park, Elder Kim, but when you say 'Elder,' it is that person. After hearing his story, I thought, 'His level is high. His level is higher than mine.' Wow, everyone, an Adventist elder who has a four-wheel drive car, worrying that the Methodist grandmother deaconesses might not be able to go to church on Sunday because of the snow, driving his car to take the grandmother deaconesses to church—isn't that a spiritual challenge? Shouldn't we be raised to that level, everyone? Ah, isn't that cool? Amen. 'Consider one another to stir up love and good works.' Love [Snort] is the mindset of the saints, and good works are the life of the saints. It is action. They say the end times are loving oneself and loving money. The word 'stir up' here is 'paroxysmos.' To know the exact concept, please tolerate and listen to me quoting Greek occasionally. The same word 'stir up' is used here: 'paroxysmos,' which is the word translated as 'contended sharply' in Acts 15:39, when the famous Paul and Barnabas contended sharply and parted ways.

What does it mean? The same word is translated as 'stir up' when it is positive, and translated as 'contended sharply' when it is negative. We shouldn't just get heated and contend sharply when we contend, but we should stir up at the level of that 'paroxysmos.' We shouldn't just end it by contending sharply and splitting up, but 'consider one another' (katanoeo) while 'paroxysmos.' 'Stir up love and good works,' and this is the content of preparation for those who are preparing for the second coming. It doesn't work well. It doesn't work well for me either. [Snort] I don't know why that person comes to church. There were people who were a burden to the point where I thought, 'Are they coming to torment me?' when I was young. If you don't want to see them, even during prayer, you must wrestle and fight before the Lord to check your spiritual level before God, saying, 'God, please let that person do well.' What are you going to prepare? Are you going to prepare a survival backpack? Are you going to realize all kinds of political conspiracies, know all the secrets, satisfy only your curiosity, and then lay down all the things you should realize and prepare for spiritually before God? Are you going to pass by thinking, 'That's obvious'?

What should you prepare? You should prepare for things that don't work like this. Make it a spiritual challenge. 'Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all.' It means to stir up. Everyone, because I have lived as a teacher for over 30 years, please tolerate me testifying about how I live as a teacher. I have two charts like this. This chart is a list of students who entered our theology department for 10 years from 1999 until just before I took on administrative responsibility in 2012. Since I became a theology teacher, it was possible because I was the secretary professor in the early days, and later it was possible because I was the department head. I made a chart of the list of these students, and because I thought I was leaving the countryside as I went to be the president, I made this chart, and this paper records the list of students who entered from the class of '99 to the class of '11. Looking here, Park Seong-sup of the class of '00, Jeon Hyeon-wook of the class of '99, and so on, and I think the friends who are doing ministry will live well on their own, so the friends who are doing local ministry, but just because you graduated from the theology department doesn't mean you all do ministry.

There are friends who left the church, and there are even friends who I don't even know where they are. I look at this list about once a week. I put it up in front of the bookshelf like this, and if I wonder how this friend is living, I think of them and pray for that brother, and if I know their contact information, I call them. When I call, I say this. When I was in charge of administration, I called a brother because I couldn't reach him at all. Look. 'Who is this?' he says. 'Have you been well?' 'Who is this?' 'It's disappointing.' 'It's Professor Kim Sang-rye.' 'Have you lived well?' 'I'm sorry.' 'What is there to be sorry about? You person.' And there is something I always say when I do that. 'You person, even if you live leaving God, you shouldn't live leaving your teacher.' 'I'm sorry.' 'If you're sorry, buy me a meal.' 'Yes. I will buy it.' 'When will you buy it?' 'Please make time.' 'Well, let's buy it next week. Let's meet.' Yes, I go and [Snort] take my wife and the two of us go and meet.

Then we met later, everyone, truly, one of those brothers had completely left the church and faith, and we met, and he was in a state where his mouth smelled, but he brushed his teeth for several hours to meet me, and then we met. When that brother had his wedding, he asked us to come, so we went and watched quietly from the back. When he restored his faith, he naturally contacted me first. As a teacher, I look at and pray for my disciples and students who received my teaching and left, when their hearts have become very weak, and I try to encourage them even like that. Although I am lacking, everyone, shouldn't we consciously practice it repeatedly? 'Encourage each brother to stand by his side and do interesting service diligently as a co-worker in a great work. Two or three people can pray together, praise God together, and grow until they reach the full measure of God's co-worker.'

So, if I can meet other brothers, if I meet them, I always carry it in my pocket, and I always carry it around, and I open it and look at it again. 'The grace of Christ refines the crude, softens the rough, and makes the selfish generous, changing people. Its outward history is shown in the politeness and gentle interest shown through the brother's kind words of encouragement and polite actions to his brother.' Time has passed, so I am a little in a hurry, but is it okay if I speak slowly? Well, there is no other order in the evening, right, Pastor Kim? Yes. Yesterday, as the time got a little long, I kept getting in a hurry, thinking, 'Are they wondering when they will finish?', but yes, I have a prepared word, so if you go early, there is nothing to do but sleep, so it's okay, right? Yes. I will finish quickly. I really like the word 'salimsari' (living/housekeeping). I don't know if this word appears in the 9th verse. But it is my interpretation based on my own sense of language.

Pure Korean word, 'salimsari.' Ah, one day, while meditating on this word—I say meditation with the instinct of a pastor. While thinking, 'Ah, this word is a compound word of the noun form of two verbs. 'Salim' is the noun form of the transitive verb 'salida' (to save/keep alive), and 'sari' is the noun form of the intransitive verb 'salda' (to live).' Therefore, the word 'salimsari' means 'living while saving.' Wow, thinking about it, it is so correct to express the life of housewives as 'salimsari.' Housewives feed their families for their whole lives while cooking. Someone is living while saving their family members. Everyone, during COVID-19, the following year, I went because a church asked me to come for evangelism, and on Friday evening, I had a cold. After the meeting, I called the senior pastor, and 'I'm sorry. Actually, at lunchtime today, you ate with two elders who had COVID-19.' 'What were you thinking, you person?' We ate the kimchi stew together.

Then [Snort] 'Well, don't say anything, please finish the meeting.' I said I would. Still, it's strange. I did that, and preached the next day, and ate lunch, and said, 'I have something big to do, so please let me go quickly,' and left. So, I said I would, and [Snort] I brought the lunch they gave me, and that evening, my wife and I both caught COVID-19, and we started suffering, wandering around the room. I, once I catch something, I catch it properly. Ah, the next morning came, and I woke up, and my wife was cooking breakfast. Wow, I was deeply moved while watching her back as she cooked breakfast. We both caught COVID-19, but with what strength is that woman waking up before me and cooking? The spirit that she must cook for her husband even though she has COVID-19 is what makes her cook. I have lived for 40 years because of that woman. That woman is living while saving me. That woman is truly 'salim.' She is living while saving Kim Sang-rye. Everyone, the most meaningful life in life is 'salimsari.' No matter how well you live, it's all a life lived for yourself. No matter what cool job you have, it's all a life lived for yourself. Through that, you must live while saving someone. This is preparation for the second coming. 'Consider one another' (katanoeo). 'Stir up love and good works.' 'Salimsari.' That is preparation for the second coming.

Lastly, the text of verse 25. 'Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some.' This text is the opposite of Acts 2. 'Continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house.' This was the appearance of the early church. It says 'forsake.' That is truly a Canaan saint. The text here says the apostle said not to do it like the manner of some who forsake the assembling. Habit. A very important word 'habit' appeared here. In 'Christ's Object Lessons,' page 356, there is a famous word by E.G. White. 'When actions are repeated, they become habits, and habits form character, and through that character, our worldly or eternal destiny is determined.' Gathering must become a habit, and forsaking the assembling also becomes a habit. It means don't form such habits. So, habit is repeated action. Action is the fruit of interest. It eventually determines destiny. However, psychologists say there is value before that interest. Human action is the fruit of interest, and interest is the fruit of value. What do you value? Eventually, all our habits are the crystallization of the values of what I value, which is habit.

I have a resource I made. Named by me, it is the 'Kim Sang Resource.' This resource is also a lecture I introduced at the lower pulpit during the previous camp meeting. One day, I promised to meet with students, but I was busy with work, so I canceled the appointment. I was running back to my office, and the phone rang. I picked it up. Panting, 'It's Kim Sang-rye.' I picked it up, and when my child was in elementary school, the homeroom teacher called. 'Is this Seong-i's father? Are you the pastor?' 'Yes, it's Kim Sang-rye.' 'Please come to school quickly. Seong-i has severe vomiting and diarrhea, and it's a big deal.' Everyone, the moment I received that call, I jumped down from the 3rd floor from the office I was in, and from the office I was in, to Taegang 36 Elementary School, it's not a long distance, but I was in a hurry, so I couldn't just run. I drove the car.

I went and saw the child, and the child was collapsed. I washed the child, took the child out, put the child in the car, and was just coming out of the main gate when I suddenly came to my senses and thought, 'Where are you now? You canceled the appointment with the student a little while ago because you were busy. But now you've forgotten all that and where are you now?' As that thought came, I came to my senses. Ah, then [Snort] I had many thoughts. And I made the life lesson I realized at that time into a proverb. That is my Proverb 1:1. The sentence I made at that time is this. 'No matter how busy you are, there is always time for what you value.' This [Snort] is Kim Sang Proverb 1:1. 'No matter how busy you are, there is always time for what you value.' It's a matter of values. It's not that you are too busy to pray for 5 minutes, and it's not that you have a lot of work; it's because it's not the most precious thing to me yet. It's not because you have a lot of work that you can't worship at church and can't go to church; it's because it's not the most precious thing to me yet. No matter how busy you are, there is always time where your values that you value are staying.

A matter of value. What do you value? Because of value, action is determined, and as action is repeated, it becomes a habit. Jesus had beautiful habits. 'Jesus went out, as was His custom, to the Mount of Olives, and prayed.' It means prayer must become a habit. What are you going to prepare, everyone? What kind of information are you trying to find more? It would be necessary. Knowing is important. Since it is 'not a but b,' you also know, and you have to do this too, so it would be necessary. But if you only know that and have no habits to prepare, 'So what?' So what are you going to do? 'And so much the more as you see the Day approaching.' In the Hebrews text, what kind of day is that day? When you say 'that day,' it is the Day of Atonement. We often add 'great.' It is atonement. 'Ha-yom.' But in the Bible, 'the book' is the Bible. 'Ha-sefer.' 'The king,' 'Ha-melech,' that king is the Messiah. Likewise, 'that day' is the Day of Atonement. It is the meaning of seeing that day approaching.

The second is historically the day of the destruction of Jerusalem. However, the text itself says what kind of day that day is. In verse 25, it says 'as you see the Day approaching,' and in verse 27, 'but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries.' 'For yet a little while, and He who is coming will come and will not tarry.' Doesn't the text itself clearly show that that day is the day of the second coming? 'As you see the Day approaching, let us gather more.' It is not personal spirituality, but the fact that gathering together is preparation for the second coming, in this era where forsaking gathering has become a habit, how precious a value it is to make gathering a habit, and that it is preparation for the second coming, I have to think about it again.

Gathering is the essence of Judeo-Christian faith. The era of Moses was called the Tabernacle. After the Babylonian captivity, it is called the Synagogue. The New Testament is called the Church. The character 'gather' (hoe) is included in all these words. Tabernacle, Synagogue, Church. In the Tabernacle era, they gathered as a holy assembly, and in the Synagogue era, Jews gathered in the synagogue, and in the Church era, they devoted themselves to gathering, and they gathered to hear the word of God, so when you gather at church, you must gather. They say there are three functions when the church gathers. Worshiping God, serving the world, and mission, and fellowship among saints. That is it. These three are the essential functions of the church. This triangular relationship of worship, service, mission, and fellowship must not be tilted in any one direction. Where do worship, fellowship, and service all take place? The early church performed all three of these functions. 'Breaking bread from house to house' is fellowship, 'praising God' is worship, and 'many people were saved' is mission, which took place together. All of this is work that is accomplished when we gather. I sincerely thank you all for being here. Nice to meet those who are watching together via video. I hope that next year's 44th Western Union Camp Meeting will be a camp meeting where we gather more and pray more together with a heart to prepare for the second coming. One day in winter, Pastor Moody was staying at his residence, and a church member came to find him. 'Pastor, I cannot go to church.'

Because of this and that problem, I will live my faith life alone. While listening to that story, Pastor Moody was listening to the story at the fireplace, at the stove, and he took out the firewood one by one. As he took out the firewood, the fire in the stove went out. 'Pastor, it's cold, why are you turning off the fire?' 'Brother, even to burn the fire in the stove, the firewood must be gathered together.' 'I understand.' That was the answer. Everyone, to keep the Sabbath warm, the firewood must be gathered together for the fire to catch. I wish we could gather. Not just gathering as a place to worship, you saw it earlier, right? You heard the story of the church where 800 saints gather in Canada in the morning. In a theology school in Korea, they started the 300-church movement 30 years ago. What is that 300-church movement? It is a theory brought from Gideon 300, and it is a church growth theory, but when I was a secretary professor, it was content I examined with Pastor Shin Ki-hoon to understand the theological education situation of other universities.

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If you combine the father, mother, and one child, that makes 300 people, which is the power a church needs to be capable of overseas missions. So, 300 is the minimum number for a church to be truly church-like, a place where people can say, 'I wish there was a church like this in our village,' and it is also the number that allows a pastor to maintain personal, shepherd-like relationships with all the members. Wouldn't it be wonderful if, instead of just naturally fading away as 30-member churches in their respective regions, Seventh-day Adventist churches could unite into healthy 300-member units before God, with specialized pastors serving together to handle various functions? Let us encourage one another as we see the day approaching, with a heart that longs for that day. For in a very little while, He who is coming will come. It was September 28, 1985. That day was a Sabbath. September 29, 1985, was Chuseok. I couldn't go home until the afternoon of the 28th, the Sabbath, because of church work. I called my father.

I said, 'Father, I don't think I can make it home this time.' When my father in Gangneung received the call, he said, 'Well, if you're busy, it can't be helped.' That last phrase, 'it can't be helped,' sounded so disappointed that after I hung up, his voice kept ringing in my heart. I spent the whole Sabbath afternoon feeling that way, and his voice kept echoing in my mind, making me feel like I really had to go. So, I tried to buy a ticket, but as you might expect, there were no tickets left. Back then, everyone went home for Chuseok, so it was impossible to get a seat. Since I couldn't go directly from the terminal to Gangneung, I somehow managed to get a ticket to Wonju. So, I headed toward my hometown. Well, home is a good place, isn't it? I rushed toward home, went to Wonju, and from there, I got off in Gangneung. Late at night, I arrived in Gangneung and called my father.

I said, 'Father, I've arrived in Gangneung.' He replied, 'You're here? How did you get here?' I told him I had just caught a bus and was on my way home. I searched hard for a bus similar to the one from that time, even though it's not the exact one. So, this is a city bus that was in Gangneung on September 28, 1985, the day before Chuseok. If you look, it probably says 'Gangwon Passenger' or something like that. Yes, it says 'Gangwon Passenger' right there. I rode this Gangwon Passenger bus and got off at the pine grove near the Gyeongpo and Songjeong beach, and it was nearly 11 or 12 o'clock at night. There was no one around because I had taken the last bus. I got off at the pine grove, and the bus turned around. I had to walk about 10 minutes to get home from there. As I was about to start walking, my father, who had come out to wait for me, said, 'Is that you, son?' He was so happy to see me. That voice of my father at the Songjeong pine grove bus terminal, just past midnight on the Sabbath of September 28, 1985, saying, 'Is that you, son?' is one of the sounds that will ring in my ears for the rest of my life.

Not long after that, my father passed away while I was serving in ministry. I realized something very precious then. What parents enjoy most is not gifts—I had already sent gifts and money for Chuseok—but simply having their child right in front of them. The best way we can repay our Heavenly Father is by being right there in His presence. There is no better reward than going to Him on that day. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, and let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, and let us gather together all the more as we see the day approaching. I hope that our gathering together becomes a practice here on earth, a habit of going directly to our Father. With the heart that going to the Father ourselves is what pleases Him most, preparing for the Second Coming means making it a habit to gather before Him.

I sincerely hope you will all prepare beautifully, and I will conclude the message. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, thank You for the word given today. We have reflected on the heart of the Lord by looking at the words the apostle gave to the believers at that time with a desperate heart, facing the imminent destruction of Jerusalem, saying, 'Let us gather together all the more as we see the day approaching.' May You make the Lord's message our own, and may You inspire us all to take it as a spiritual challenge and apply it to our lives one by one. May Your grace be with us throughout the remaining schedule of this camp meeting. I pray this earnestly in the name of Jesus. Amen. Thank you. Have a happy evening.