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

Did you have a good meal? Yes. Uh, I have an urgent announcement for you. The building with the registration office is Grafo Hall, and there are a few cars parked behind it. Uh, they are listed here. Cars from California, Nevada, and Oregon—there are three of them, and one more besides those. We have received a request to move these cars. The school says they might be towed if they are not moved, and since many of you are not here right now, yes, I am making this announcement. If you know the owners of these cars, please let them know. Please help so that no one gets towed. We will continue with the program now. Jesus, Lamb of God, You poured out all Your water and blood. Jesus, Lamb of God, You bore all the sins of the world. Because of my sins, You suffered, and because of my ignorance, You were hung on the cross. Without a word, You endured mockery and insults. Because of Your love for me, You headed to the cross.

Because of my sins, You suffered, and because of my ignorance, You were hung on the cross. Without a word, You endured mockery and insults. Because of Your love for me, You headed to the cross. Jesus, Lamb of God, You poured out all Your water and blood. Jesus, Lamb of God, You bore all the sins of the world. You bore all the sins of the world. Amen. How great was it? Those nailed hands and feet, Jesus hung on the cross without sin. The heavens, the earth, and the trees all weep, and even the sun hides its light. Endless is the Lord's love, forever flowing as a river of salvation. My sins, your sins, all our sins, He forgave them all, the Lord hung on the cross. That precious blood flowing from His face, hands, and feet, stained red by the heat. Endless is the Lord's love, forever flowing as a river of salvation. Ah, endless is the Lord's love, forever flowing as a river of salvation. River of salvation... Now, [clears throat] two Hallelujah, two... Hallelujah, Lord together, Hallelujah, Amen. Praise Him, Hallelujah, Amen. Praise all the grace chosen before the Lord.

Hallelujah. Amen. Open your hearts. Hallelujah. Amen. Open all the heavens. Hallelujah. Amen. Praise the Lord who is our guide and friend. Hallelujah. Amen. Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah. Praise the Lord, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, praise, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah. In the holy house, praising the Lord, everyone praise Him, Hallelujah, Amen. Saints, all together, Hallelujah. Amen. Praise the Lord. Hallelujah. Amen. Praise all the grace chosen before the Lord. Hallelujah. Amen. The Lord's love, that Hallelujah. Amen. He lifts us up, who were once lowly. Hallelujah. Amen. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Amen. [Cheers] [Cheers] I will exalt You, my God, O King, and I will bless Your name forever. I will exalt You, my God, O King, and I will bless Your name forever. I will bless You every day, and I will praise Your name forever. I will praise Your name. I will exalt You, my God, O King, and I will bless Your name forever.

The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love. My God, I will exalt You and bless Your name forever. I will exalt You, my God, O King, and I will bless Your name forever. Looking back on the path I have lived, my short life was only by the Lord's grace. Looking back on the path I have lived, my short life was only by the Lord's grace. The Lord's grace. The Lord's grace. My life is the Lord's grace. The Lord's grace. Boundless love. After finishing the race, when I see the Lord's face, I have no merit at all. Only the Lord's grace. Everything I have gone through until now is the Lord's great grace. How can I express the Lord's boundless love? I will return to the home prepared for me and live forever in the Father's embrace. The Lord's grace. My life is the Lord's grace. The Lord's grace is love. The Lord's grace. My life is the Lord's grace. After finishing the race, when I see the Lord's face, I have no merit at all. Only by the Lord's grace, I have no merit at all. Only the Lord's [scream] grace.

[Scream] Let us all stand and sing the theme song. Now the new life of the Lord has passed the old, and I am a new person. That life touches my heart, and that love is like the sun to me. I will live for the Lord, tasting eternal life. Today and tomorrow, I will live with the Lord. The new life hidden in the Lord, where is it? The things that were good before, now I taste the grace and peace of gratitude. I will live with the Lord through praise and prayer. I will live for the Lord, tasting eternal life. Today and tomorrow, I will live with the Lord. The mountains, rivers, and trees have become mine, and the enemy who was a sinner turns into a friend. My life, tasting life, I will serve the Lord. I will live for the Lord, tasting eternal life. Today and tomorrow, I will live with the Lord. Holy Jehovah, our Father, we offer ourselves to You now through praise, prayer, and the Word. May You, Heavenly Father, receive the glory. Amen. Thank You for calling us to this holy mountain today to prepare to welcome Jesus who will come tomorrow. May You grant us the grace of true repentance to gain life every day and every hour in this mountain, wash away all our sins with the blood of Christ, and renew us with the power of the Holy Spirit so that we may live as holy people who please God.

Amen. At this time, please grant Pastor Kim Sang-rae, who delivers the living Word of God, the full power of the Holy Spirit and heavenly wisdom, so that all of us who listen may be changed and become one in faith. Amen. Especially, may You clothe us in the armor of light so that we may all cherish the hope of the second coming of Jesus Christ, resemble the character of Jesus in our daily lives, speak gently, control our anger, do good works, and proclaim the message of the three angels. Amen. Bless each home and the church so that heavenly peace and a great revival of the Holy Spirit may come. We pray in the precious name of Jesus Christ, who saved us from death and gave us eternal life. Amen. Yes. Thank you very much for the prayer that our deacon prepared so earnestly and sensibly, compressing yesterday's message. Because she lived as a teacher her whole life, it is lovely to see students compress and understand lecture content like this. It was a very sensible performance.

Thank you. Today, for the second session of 'Today for Tomorrow,' I will speak on the title, 'The Lord is Near, So Be Forbearing.' The end of the world and the Second Coming are different. The end of the world has no promise, but the Second Coming has a promise. The end of the world looks at the end, but the Second Coming looks at the beginning. The motivation for those trying to survive the end of the world is basically fear, but for those preparing for the Second Coming, it is hope. The goal for those preparing for the end of the world is to survive a disaster, but for those preparing for the Second Coming, it is to welcome the Lord who is coming again. Those who prepare for the end of the world are called 'doomsdayers,' and those who prepare for the Second Coming are called 'Adventists.' Adventists are not doomsdayers. We must not degrade the beautiful hope of the Second Coming to the level of 'preppers,' who are the modern-day doomsdayers. We must not stop at the level of inciting fear to survive a disaster, like the story of the boy who cried wolf about the countless signs. Preparing to become even a little more like the Lord we love and miss today than we were yesterday—that should be the fundamental content and motivation for Adventists.

Our 'today for tomorrow' as Adventists must be different from that of preppers who are just trying to survive a disaster. The Bible calls those who joined the Exodus community just to avoid disaster 'the rabble.' We must never become people like that. To meet the Lord, to look only to Jesus, to be conscious and try to become like Jesus—there isn't much difference between a pastor and you. It's the same. But I notice it a bit more. 'Ah, I made a mistake again.' I do that and think, 'I must become like Jesus.' It's not because a pastor has no mistakes that I can give you this sermon. I get angry when I'm hungry, too. However, I deliver the message with the heart of looking to Jesus, thinking, 'I must become a little more like the Lord than yesterday.' We are Adventists living today. There were six expressions in the New Testament regarding the imminent Second Coming. After this camp meeting ends, even if you forget all the sermon content, remember that Pastor Kim Sang-rae talked about the six Bible verses in the New Testament that express that the Second Coming is near, near, near. In the New Testament, the Second Coming is near. The adjective 'engus'...

There are six such verses composed of words derived from the verb 'engizo,' meaning 'has come near,' and so on. Ah, it's written like that in the Bible. After saying it is near, there are verses in the Bible itself that say, 'If it is near, live like this.' If you think the Second Coming is near, you must keep meditating on these verses, make them a challenge, pray, and live accordingly. Since there is a word in the Bible on how to live if it is near, yesterday we examined the text of Romans 13:11-14 with the message, 'Salvation is near, so put on the armor of light,' and today I intend to examine Philippians 4:5 together under the title, 'The Lord is near, so let your forbearance be known.' Although I have retired, I continue to lecture as an honorary professor for five years, so now I only have one year left. Because of that, I meet students, and pastors who have been in ministry for 20 or 30 years come to our graduate school. To those brothers, I mainly lecture on Old Testament commentary, and I give exam questions like this. A while ago, it was an Old Testament commentary class, and in the midterm exam, there is a sentence in Genesis 7:16: 'And the Lord shut him in.' I gave this one Bible verse as an exam question and said, 'Write 100 pages using this verse.' I'm sorry, ten pages.

Write it down, and fill ten pages with answers for a single Bible verse—that's what they asked. For the final exam, summarize the entire book of Deuteronomy on half an A4 sheet. Yes, those were the two exam questions I set. God's word is something that can be explained in five minutes, yet it is also something you can preach on for a whole year using just one verse. That is because it contains the heart of God. Today, I want to hold onto that short verse, Philippians 4:5, and examine the various messages contained within it together. Let's read the text once more: 'Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.' This phrase in verse 5, 'The Lord is at hand,' was on the very first business card I ever made in my life when I was a senior in college, which I created for document evangelism: 'Let your gentleness be known.'

I intentionally included this verse as the motto on my business card, and it is a verse I love. Yes, this verse is simple. If the Lord is at hand, do two things: 1. Rejoice. 2. Be gentle. Prepare these two things. That's it. The sermon is over. This, this, this is the content of today's verse. First, rejoice. As you know, Philippians is a book about rejoicing. The Greek word 'chara' for joy appears as a noun in 1:4, 1:25, 2:4, 2:29, 4:1, etc., and the verb 'rejoice' appears in 1:18, 2:17, 2:18, 2:28, 3:1, 4:4, 4:10, etc. There are many stories about joy in Philippians. As you all know, Philippians is a letter written by the Apostle Paul from prison. It is called a prison epistle. Usually, when someone is imprisoned, people from outside the prison visit to comfort the person inside. But here, the person inside the prison is writing a letter to those outside, telling them to rejoice. What kind of dimension is this? It's a different dimension of life, isn't it?

Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. You are all familiar with Revelation 21:1-4. It describes the new heaven and the new earth, where the New Jerusalem comes down like a bride adorned for her husband. When that world approaches, all tears will be wiped away, and there will be no more death, sorrow, or crying. It will be a place of happiness and joy. That is how we look toward the new heaven and the new earth. However, there is a book of the Bible called the 'small Bible' because it compresses all 66 books of the Bible, and the description of the new heaven and new earth at the end of the 66th book, Revelation, has a parallel. Just as the Bible has 66 books and 66 chapters in total, and just as the Old Testament has 39 books and its first part has 39 chapters, and the New Testament has 27 books and its second part has 27 chapters, there is the book of Isaiah. Specifically, Isaiah chapters 61 through 66 correspond to the book of Revelation in the New Testament. So, if we examine Isaiah 61, which can be considered the source of the content in Revelation 21, wow, Isaiah describes the new heaven and new earth like this.

I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. The story of the bridegroom and the bride, the story of Revelation, already appears in Isaiah 61, saying, 'Rejoice and be glad.' Again, in Isaiah 65, the original story of the new heaven and new earth found in Revelation 21 appears here. Revelation 21 says He will wipe away every tear, but how does Isaiah 65 describe it? 'For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former shall not be remembered or come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem as a rejoicing, and her people a joy. I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in My people.' That is it. This is the essence of the new heaven and new earth that Isaiah speaks of. What kind of place is the new heaven and new earth?

It is a place of joy and gladness. Therefore, in the last chapter of Isaiah, chapter 66, which corresponds to Revelation 21 and 22, verse 10 says, 'Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad with her, all you who love her; rejoice for joy with her, all you who mourn for her.' Pastor Kim, please bring me a bottle of water. Yes. I have spent my life as a pastor and a Bible teacher, always teaching the Bible to students and reading various books, but I think I am reading the Bible more now after my retirement than I ever did before. Even though my Bible classes are still ongoing, before I teach, say, John chapter 3, I tell those who participate in my classes—and I say this confessionally—that even though I know the text so well, I think I read it at least 20 times before I lecture on it.

When I made that confession, I had just come from leading a joint camp meeting in Jeju Island, a Thursday-Friday-Saturday series of meetings, right before coming here. When I shared this, one of the attendees sent me a handwritten letter. 'Professor, you say you still read the Bible more than 20 times, but why do you read such familiar content so much?' Then, they wrote a sentence I had never thought of in my life: 'Are you reading it competitively to make your sermon impact stronger?' They asked me that. Wow, that was something I had never even imagined. I wrote a polite letter back. Thinking about it now, my mother passed away at 43, so she died when she was barely half my current age, and my father passed away when he was younger than I am now. Even now, when I think of my mother and father, I understand the things my mother told me when she was in her late 30s, and at some point, I remember the words my father said to me, and I think, 'So that's why Mom said that,' or 'So that's why Dad did that.' As time passes, I understand the heart of a parent, so how much more so the heart of our Heavenly Father?

The Bible is—this is my own expression—what is the Bible? Because it is a book that records God's heart and God's will, the more mature you become, the more you understand His heart. 'Ah,' [sigh] 'so this is it. That's how it is.' Discovering, feeling, and sharing such things is truly happy, everyone. So, recently, while teaching the Bible, there is a book called the Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary (SDABC). After I retired, I saw the additional explanation in Leviticus chapter 3 for the first time. It contained this content: 'Many Christians'—it was explaining the peace offering—'do not understand that it is their privilege to be happy in their religious life. They point to the fact that there is no record of Christ ever laughing or even smiling.' There is no mention in the Bible that Jesus laughed. That is a fact. However, there is also no record that He combed His hair or took a bath. Because there is no record of Him laughing, some people think that since Jesus didn't laugh, we shouldn't either. If you think that way, why do you take a bath? There is no mention in the Bible that Jesus took a bath. Such people try to carry the burdens of the world on their shoulders, and they feel that all time used for recreation is not only a waste of time but must be ungodly. They are good Christians, but they are not happy people. If seriousness and calmness must characterize the lives of those who follow Christ,

now is the time. That's right. Now we must live seriously. Looking at the coming crisis, we must live in holy conduct and godliness. That is all correct. Leaving all frivolity behind, solemnity must seize all believers. This is a message for us who are trying to prepare for today for the sake of tomorrow. Great and momentous events are imminent. There is no time for foolish and meaningless things. The King of Kings is at the door. However, through these facts, we must not forget that we are children of the King, that our sins have been forgiven, and therefore we have the right to be happy and to rejoice. The last sentence for Christians: 'Even if Christians are in the midst of the most solemn events,' what is next? 'They must rejoice.' I really love this last sentence of the additional explanation for the peace offering in Leviticus chapter 3 of our church's Bible commentary. Honestly, after reading this sentence, someone came to mind. Who could it have been?

Yes. The pastor who was always pulling his cheeks and smiling. I thought of Pastor Park Joon-young then. I really envy Pastor Park Joon-young. Yes, he would laugh until his back bent while talking, and it is truly a life of preparing for the Second Coming in a Christian life. Everyone, after learning this teaching, I summarized it like this: The new heaven and new earth are joyful, glad, and happy places. Amen. So, our Adventist believers are so serious that they are beyond just being serious on this earth. But the word 'serious' can be translated into Korean as both 'earnest' and 'grave.' But most of our Adventist believers are too grave in their earnestness. Amen. Yes. Especially the talk about preparing for the Second Coming is too grave. They keep trying to argue. They try to point fingers. I don't know why they do that. After I first came to church in my sophomore year of college, the Sarah Hotel or something collapsed, and a ship carrying over 300 people on the east coast sank.

In such a serious time, I went to church on a Sabbath afternoon and was shocked to see the members talking about that scene. It was a look of, 'Is it okay to be like that?' in their expressions. Then, seeing someone else's disaster, they would say, 'Now the Second Coming is near. It's really time to go to heaven.' They were saying this while smiling when they should have been sad. And when they came to the Sabbath, their faces were all serious. I was confused at that time because when we should have been crying together over someone else's disaster, they were smiling, saying the time to go to heaven was near, and when we should have been rejoicing together, they were serious, wondering if someone was dressed wrong or what was going on. I didn't understand it. The Bible clearly says that heaven is joyful and happy. So, those who lived seriously on this earth will not be able to adapt when they go to heaven. Yes, because heaven is said to be like that. Faith should be serious but joyful and glad; we must prepare for this. Amen. Yes, rejoice always.

Pray without ceasing. Give thanks in all circumstances. Everyone, if you look at the Bible, there are many repeated expressions for the same fact. As a very good comparative example, in the book of Genesis, Noah is described as a righteous man of his time and a blameless man. He walked with God. It explains Noah in three ways, and it explains Job in three ways as well. When it is repeated to point out one fact, and repeated in a threefold manner, it means it is not different concepts, but a repetition to clarify one thing. Noah is a righteous man. What is a righteous man? He is blameless. What is blameless? He walks with God. It explains it like that. Rejoice always. What is rejoicing? It is praying without ceasing. What is praying without ceasing? It is giving thanks in all circumstances. This is not different aspects, but emphasizing the same aspect from different perspectives. It says, 'for you in Christ Jesus,' and this preposition 'for' is 'eis' in Greek. The word 'eis' means it demands of us, so 'for you' means it demands of us. But as the Contemporary English Version translates it, what does it mean for us? If we rejoice, pray, and give thanks, it is for our own sake. That is the meaning. It is not that God demands it of us, but that if we do so, it becomes our happiness.

It is the meaning of, 'How can I always rejoice? Just pray.' 'How can I pray without ceasing? Just give thanks in all circumstances.' If you give thanks in all circumstances, you will pray without ceasing, and if you pray without ceasing, you will always rejoice. It is explaining that concept. Our country is surrounded by the sea on three sides. So, before the children grew up and left our side, we took them—since our country is surrounded by the sea on three sides, it's called a peninsula, the Korean Peninsula—so we took the two children when they were in their sophomore and junior years of college, took a very special vacation, and went down to the West Coast to take pictures at the sunset. Then we went down to the south, to the end of the land in the Honam region, and if you take a boat, there is a place called Mang-kkeut Village. We took pictures there at the fishing village of Gosan Yun Seon-do, then came back out to the Yeongnam side, went to Admiral Yi Sun-sin's Hansan Island to take pictures, and went to Busan to climb Taejongdae to take pictures. And while coming up the East Coast, we took pictures where the Uljin snow crab is carved on the beach. There is a reason I am suddenly showing you these pictures.

We were going up the East Coast like that, and when we passed Samcheok, I heard something about the Seventh-day, and I saw the words 'Seventh-day.' So I stopped and went back in, and it was our church. Since it said 'Seventh-day Adventist' on the church, those words catch our eyes even when we are passing by. We went in, and a couple was standing there, welcoming us very gladly. They were parents of our students. They said, 'Welcome, please sleep over for a night and go.' They told us to go out to the sea and see them pulling up the nets. I was excited too and said, 'Yes, Elder, let's do that.' But when I looked back at the children, both of them had their lips pouted out. Adults are happy, but it's not fun for kids. 'Let's sleep over. Let's just sleep one night. Let's come next time. Next time.' No matter how many times I persuaded them, the kids wouldn't listen. I was upset. I had no choice but to leave late at night around 10:30. I was angry too, so I drove the car slowly on purpose, at about 20 or 30 km/h, and was going up. There was a hill. Not long after we started, we were going here, and my wife was asleep next to me, my son was asleep in the back, and only my daughter, who was diagonal to me, was calling a senior in the dormitory, saying, 'Oppa, we went to our oppa's house and are on our way now,' and things like that.

While she was talking on the phone, I saw a car coming from the opposite side. I saw it. I was watching, and that car rushed in at the same speed it was coming down, without even stepping on the brake once. I saw everything. [Clears throat] Yes. So this happened. The left end is a cliff on the East Coast that is almost 100 meters high. We were pushed to the very edge of the boundary line. I still don't know who called 119, or 911 if you're in the US. Two vehicles came. Yes. The door fell off, and I jumped out, jumped out, and shouted, 'Are you okay?' My son's face was covered in blood. He was clutching his chest, and the child was hit, and my wife had her seatbelt on, but because the car was hit and the brakes weren't even pressed, two cars came and we were transported to the Samcheok Medical Center emergency room. But truly, I am a Seventh-day Adventist who really can't be stopped, even in my own opinion. In that situation, I said, 'We must go to the Seventh-day Adventist Hospital in Seoul.'

We got back on the 119 ambulance and went to the Seventh-day Adventist Hospital. So, our family trip that summer was spent hospitalized at the Seventh-day Adventist Hospital for over 40 days. And now, this is the conclusion of our family trip. Oh, everyone, this was a really big accident. Oh, but my wife's chest hurt a lot, but this happened in 2009, and thankfully, my wife has no aftereffects, and my daughter had a hard time because she hit her front teeth, but she has no aftereffects, and my son hit his head, and it broke and bled, but he recovered without any internal injuries, so the whole family is living perfectly fine. I go somewhere and tell this story, and the audience claps so little. Well, nothing happened, so I'm alive like this. Everyone, after this accident, I forgot now, but after this accident, how much [sigh] of a surprising truth did I realize? [Snort] I am grateful. A big accident happened, but my family is living like this without anything happening. It's 2009, so a lot of time has passed, right? But the car coming from the opposite side, the grandfather and grandmother were driving a German Audi, went to the beach, fell asleep at the wheel, and hit our car. Since they just came and hit us, I was clearly watching, and no matter how slowly I was going, defensive driving or whatever was useless. They just came and hit us, and the car was hit at an angle.

If it had passed by just a little bit, it would have hit me, the driver. If 0.something seconds had passed, wow, and after that, when I drive, cars just pass by in the opposite lane, right? Wow, it's not a miracle that nothing happened when an accident occurred; it's a more important miracle that an accident didn't happen and they just passed by. So, every time a car passes by, miracle, miracle, miracle, miracle, it's a continuous miracle, miracle, miracle, miracle. Wow, how many miracles are piled up to be a gift given to us in this day of living normally without anything happening? Amen. Ah, after thinking about that, the dimension of life seems to change. I am grateful. Amen. I am grateful in all circumstances. I am so grateful for the fact that I am alive. Everyone, while serving at the camp meeting, I met you when we were young, and even after 10, 20, 30 years have passed, we still meet together and see each other's faces again, so these are all stories of the living.

A monk who is popular these days said this: If you think you have to live your life too well, your current life becomes shabby. Life is just like a blade of grass growing on the roadside. Because there is no faith in God, he speaks like this. When you open your eyes in the morning, shout once, 'I lived today too.' There is no better energy for a human than the feeling of being alive. Don't put too much meaning into life. You must always live in the present. The most important thing in the present is that you are alive right now. Who shouldn't say Amen? Listening to what the monk said, Amen. Amen. Everyone, the monk says it like this, but what do we say? 'The Lord has kept me in the bundle of life.' We confess. So what do we sing? 'That I am living now is the Lord's great grace. And that I have come to believe in the Lord is an even greater grace.' Amen. Rejoice. It is an essential requirement. What are you preparing? Are you going to prepare a bunker? Are you going to prepare a survival backpack? What are you going to prepare?

Let us rejoice. Rejoice always. The Lord is near. Since the place we are going is a city of joy and a city of gladness, shouldn't we already be experiencing, enjoying, and living out that joy and gladness here on earth through God's grace, so that we won't feel awkward when we arrive there? Shouldn't we practice so that the apostle's exhortation—how to give thanks in all circumstances, how to pray always, and how to rejoice always—can be experienced as a reality in our lives? Amen. Shouldn't we prepare for it? However, the most frequent core factor that steals this joy is human relationships. The most critical element that robs us of our joy is broken human relationships. Conversely, what is the key factor that protects joy in the midst of broken human relationships? The following passage in the text explains it: it is forbearance. Rejoice always. Again I say, rejoice. The Lord is near. Let your forbearance be known to all people. The Lord is near. Forbearance. What does the word forbearance mean?

It is pronounced 'epieikes' in Greek. According to the Korean dictionary, forbearance means to accept or forgive another's faults generously, to be benevolent, magnanimous, merciful, and inclusive, and not to be fussy for one's own rights or interests. Everyone, the word 'forbearance' is found in Philippians 4:5, right after the phrase 'The Lord is near' and 'Rejoice.' Within that single verse, what is required of us is: 'Let your forbearance be known to all people. The Lord is near.' According to Philippians 4:5, the virtue closest to preparing for the Second Coming is forbearance. We must prepare for forbearance. Forbearance is an important faith virtue that those waiting for the imminent Second Coming must possess. When I was a senior in the theology department, while preparing business cards for literature evangelism, I encountered this verse around that time and was greatly challenged. This was because, in my eyes, most of the Adventists who believed in the imminent Second Coming were characterized by a lack of forbearance.

The more people thought the Second Coming was near, the more they showed traits that made life difficult for others. They would say, 'The Lord is coming soon,' and suppress their children's will, persecute those around them, and furthermore, they did not show forbearance. 'Let your forbearance be known to all people. The Lord is near.' The Lord is near. In the words of 1 Corinthians 16:22, it is 'Maranatha.' The word 'forbearance' is what we call 'tolerance' in modern terms. I believe Philippians 4:5 is an expression where 'tolerance' and 'Maranatha' are compressed and summarized in one verse. What is forbearance? If you look it up in the Bible, the first thing is that it is an attribute of our Lord. In Psalm 86:5, it says, 'For you, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive.' In the Septuagint, which translated the Hebrew Bible into Greek, the word used for 'ready to forgive' is the exact same Greek word used for 'forbearance' in Philippians 4:5. Therefore, if we translate the concept of forbearance in Philippians 4:5 into the expression in Psalm 86:5, it means 'the Lord is good and delights in forgiving,' and that finding joy in forgiving is what forbearance is. That is why the Good News Translation translates this verse as, 'You are good and ready to forgive.'

In Romans 9:22-23, Paul confesses that God endured with great patience, showing forbearance. 2 Peter 3:9 says that the Lord is patient with us in order to save us. 3:15 also says that the Lord's patience becomes our salvation. 1 Timothy 1:16 is where Paul confesses that Jesus was patient with him. Unlike in the past, my heart keeps aching when I read these verses. 'That's right. The Lord has been patient with me for a long time.' I think to myself that if the Lord, who knows me through and through, had treated me exactly as I am, I wouldn't be here today. In 2 Corinthians 10:1, an expression mentioned like a twin to this forbearance is gentleness. The gentleness and forbearance of Christ. Matthew 11:29 says, 'I am gentle and humble in heart.' This is from The Desire of Ages, page 204: 'Jesus revealed the image of God reflected within Himself, saying that Jesus is not a vengeful judge of God, but a gentle Father.'

Jesus, through His words and merciful deeds, broke the harsh power of old traditions and man-made commandments, and presented God's love in its fullness. Everyone, because of this, in any case—having lived a life of faith and church life for over half a century, more than 50 years—I think there are people in our church who have a gift for introducing God as a stern person. Yes. Even when they speak or set the atmosphere, they keep making things difficult in the name of God. And they do it at a level that is almost a gift. Everyone, in any case, making people perceive God as a vengeful judge is not the teaching of the Bible. It really needs to be a warm community. As I said yesterday, if the attitude and atmosphere we show to prove the truth are untruthful, what is the point? It's like what kids say, 'So what do you want me to do?' Yes. Our Lord tried to teach us that it is not like that, didn't He?

If the Lord hadn't been patient with us, how could we have the audacity to gather together like this and smile and meet again? Before the Lord who knows everything, right? Yes. Forbearance is the character of the Lord we serve. What is faith? It is not about memorizing, understanding, and keeping one more clause; what is Christian faith? It is becoming similar to Jesus. I really wish the basic brand image of the Seventh-day Adventist Church would be people who love Jesus immensely, people who do their best to become similar to Jesus. That would be our basic brand image. People who talk a lot about Jesus. People who love Jesus immensely. Yes. What else does the Bible say about forbearance? It says it is the basic requirement for a church leader. 1 Timothy 3:1-2: 'An overseer must be above reproach... gentle, not quarrelsome.' Titus 3:2: 'To slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and always to be gentle toward everyone.'

As I mentioned briefly yesterday, as time passes, I think I am maturing too. When I was younger, I had the heart of a father who wanted to raise his children well, so I would try to make our theology students into proper pastors no matter what. So, when some of our church members would come and say, 'I don't know why today's theology students are like this,' I would feel something rising up inside me, and it would sound like someone saying, 'Your children are no good,' and I would feel like crying, so I would call them in morning and evening, telling them to study English, memorize Bible verses, and I would pester them like that. There are students from those years who went through that. When I meet those brothers here, I feel a bit proud. But it's strange. I left the theology department for a while to take on administrative responsibilities at the school, and when I returned and saw the theology students, I had changed. Even I think I have completely developed the heart of a grandfather.

After I had two grandchildren, I am completely disarmed whenever I see them. But even just seeing the theology students passing by, I watch them for a long time. I feel such love, preciousness, gratitude, and beauty for them. Hey, have I matured? Have I grown up? Or is it just getting old? A leader must be forbearing by all means. Especially, the Bible itself says so about leaders of the Christian community. Paul says again in 1 Peter 2:18, 'Slaves, in reverent fear of God submit yourselves to your masters, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh.' If you examine this verse in parallel, the opposite of a considerate person is a harsh person. Therefore, our church must not be harsh. Because the virtue of Jesus, the attribute of the Lord, is forbearance. You know that, right? You know that everyone does it with a good heart, right? They are good people, but they are not enjoying the attributes of God's salvation.

Forbearance is understanding other people's actions positively. It is a mindset of understanding others and making them feel comfortable. It is a mindset of choosing the best interpretation among various interpretations of their actions. Preparing for the Second Coming. When the Lord is near, what should we prepare? We must prepare forbearance. What is forbearance? White says this in The Acts of the Apostles, 319: 'Christlike love puts the best construction on the motives and acts of others.' 'Deacon Kim, why are you smiling like that?' 'Oh, I guess his son has started living by faith.' You can just say that. 'He became a class president.' Why did you belittle him like that? You should be happy because he became something. You're just talking behind his back. But how should we interpret it? 'Put the best construction on it.' This does not needlessly expose their faults, nor does it eagerly listen to unfavorable reports, but rather strives to remember the good qualities of others. Amen. Everyone, this is what forbearance is.

Let us not engage in backbiting as we live our life of faith and prepare for the Second Coming. If we have nothing good to say about others, let us rather keep our mouths shut. Amen. We must interpret things in the best possible way. This is something we must prepare for and practice. In psychology, there is a theory called evolutionary psychology. The core theory of evolutionary psychology is that 'the bad is stronger than the good.' I have actually visited the office of Professor Baumeister at the University of Queensland to meet him and discuss this. 'The bad is stronger than the good.' What does this mean? It means it is because we have evolved. Why do people pay much more attention and listen to the bad things about others rather than the good? Yes, the reason is that the attribute of trying to survive in the struggle for existence has become our DNA. This is evidence that we have evolved. So, after attending Sabbath worship and listening to God's word, if you sit down and gossip about others over lunch, you are proving your own evolution.

We must practice this. We must prepare to be forbearing. 'Let your forbearance be known to all men. The Lord is at hand,' it says. Forbearance is not a compromise where you change your attitude because you are pressured by the other person's strength. Forbearance is also a self-control that regulates one's clear convictions. James 3:17 says, 'But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits.' If you look at the history of the Reformation, there is a very deep debate between Luther and Calvin. That debate is called the Adiaphora debate. This is something worth remembering as common knowledge. The term 'diaphora' refers to normative commands of God that are explicitly mentioned in the Bible regarding worship, stating that things must be done in a certain way. So, adding the 'a-' prefix makes it negative. 'Adiaphora' refers to matters that God has neither commanded nor forbidden—things that can be done either way, issues that are not essentially related to good and evil or salvation, and are not decisively important. Calvin and Luther fought tooth and nail over these things. However, these Adiaphora issues appear just the same in the modern church. Shall we think about worship styles? The church experiences great turmoil over what style of praise to use. What instruments to use is no small issue. How to dress is another.

As you can see, I do not wear a tie. I haven't worn a tie for about 15 years, and there is a reason for this. I had atopic dermatitis on my neck, and it was very difficult. If I wore a tie, my neck would get sore, and I had to apply something to it at night to sleep. I suffered for a long time, but about three months after I moved to Gangwon-do, I touched my neck and it felt smooth. Wow, within six months of moving to Gangwon-do, the atopic dermatitis I had for 15 years disappeared. It is clean. But since then, I have lost the habit of wearing a tie, so I cannot wear one again. But because I do the lesson study without a tie, some people don't even listen to the content and only notice that Kim Sang-rae isn't wearing a tie, and they even send me emails from overseas. 'Why don't you wear a tie while doing the lesson study?' Please forgive me. I try to prepare to be as formal as possible. Clothing becomes an issue.

Some people argue about whether to kneel or stand during prayer. I went to a local church for a series of meetings, and as I was about to have a meal after the service, an elder sitting in front of me said, 'Pastor, I saw you kneeling on the platform, but you rested your buttocks on your calves.' I asked, 'What does that mean?' Then the elder said, '[Snort] Pastor, you don't seem to understand the spirit of our Seventh-day Adventist Church.' I asked, 'Elder, what do you mean?' 'Look at all the photos from the early days of the Advent movement. When everyone prayed, they did not rest their buttocks on their calves. You see, don't you? Our Adventist pioneers are all shown in photos praying like this. But why do you rest your buttocks on your calves?' He was telling me that this was a problem while we were eating. I said, 'Elder, those people couldn't rest their buttocks on their calves even if they wanted to.'

Not only is it impossible for them, but they also cannot sit cross-legged. None of them were Korean. Westerners cannot do this. They cannot fold their knees or sit cross-legged. Don't bother people by saying that prayer on the platform must always be done with the buttocks off the calves just by looking at those photos. That is not it. They won't accept it. There is no answer for such people. To them, that is the highest concern. It is not just that. There are issues like whether to place chairs on the pulpit, which has been lowered a lot these days. Whether to wear shoes inside the main sanctuary or take them off. I saw a lecturer at a weekend meeting being scolded by someone asking why people were entering the church with their shoes on. I have also seen colleagues arguing intensely over whether to put the piano on this side or that side. They even argue over whether to write only the pastor's name in the bulletin or include the elders and the treasurer as well.

This is something I received a call about just before coming here. Someone who made the program for a camp meeting wrote 'Thursday, Friday, Sabbath' and was asked why they didn't write 'Thursday, Friday, Saturday.' They said the church had begun to corrupt. Why did you write 'Thursday, Friday, Sabbath' instead of 'Thursday, Friday, Saturday'? They insisted it shouldn't have been 'Sabbath.' Even for Sabbath meetings, they argue about whether the term of office should be one year or two years. How long must we carry on with these issues where the church is not generous or forbearing? [Clears throat] Can't we have broader hearts as a world church, the body of the Lord? My heart is narrow too. I am frustrated with myself. 'All things are lawful, but not all things are helpful; all things are lawful, but not all things edify. Let no one seek his own, but each one the other’s well-being.' Amen. Can't you think like this? When the love of God disappears from the heart, love for fellow human beings also vanishes.

But look at what is said when there is no love. 'The systems devised by men with many unjust requirements lead the initiator to criticize all who fall short of the standards of the fallen human being.' An atmosphere of selfish and convenient criticism suppresses noble and generous hearts, making people self-centered judges and narrow-minded spies. Listen carefully. When they say something is wrong, if you actually listen, it means 'I don't like it.' But they express 'I don't like it' as 'it is wrong.' You must calmly examine before the Lord whether it is truly wrong or if it is just that I don't like it. 'Let your forbearance be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.' The Pharisees belonged to such a group. All they thought about was myself, my feelings, my knowledge, my methods. There are people in the Bible whose only interest was themselves. 'The king spoke, saying, "Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty?"' Me, me, I—my only interest. When I am invited to a local church, I say what I want to say when I don't know what the corners of the church are like or what the state of the church is. Is there anyone here who thinks, 'This church is a church I built? I established this church? This church is my church'?

The church belongs to the Lord, not to any person. Do not think that the Exodus happened because of Moses. It is merely that God used Moses because He had to carry out the Exodus. Where is 'my church'? It is all the Lord's body, the church. The moment you say 'my city, my majesty, my glory,' it is all about 'me.' There are two words derived from the word 'self': egoist and egotist. An egoist is someone who lives only for their own benefit. An egotist is someone who thinks everything was achieved by their own merit. When someone who thinks of themselves like that had those words in their mouth, what voice came from heaven? 'You shall be driven from men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field; you shall eat grass like oxen.' What does this mean? The moment God sees a person like a beast is the moment that person thinks only of themselves; in heaven's view, they have reached a beastly level. Beasts only know themselves. So when they become beast-like people, they have a human face but a beastly heart. 'Some have introduced false tests, made their own personal ideas and intentions the standard, and magnified trivial matters related to Christian fellowship, placing heavy burdens on others.' In this age, some make an issue of clothing, some make an issue of taking pictures, and they make it difficult for others.

Whether in the past or now, this is something we must move away from. How can we be forbearing? I am sharing this message with a reflective heart, preparing the message while examining myself and asking, 'How about you?' I want to confess this to myself. I am sharing this message. Please forgive me, you elderly folks, if I speak after a few months. I will be 70 in a few months. After living for 70 years, looking back, I realize my heart is very narrow. I am reflecting a lot. My heart is narrow enough to ache. When I embrace someone, I can only do so when my heart is wide. To embrace someone, my heart must be warm and generous. The Seventh-day Adventist Church is an amazing church. There is no other Christian community where 20 million members study the same word of God during the same period. We, the world church, really need to have broad hearts. How does the text express it? 'Let your forbearance be known to all men.'

How generous are you? How generous are you to your spouse and family? In the moment when you feel the heat of the Second Coming being near, you drag your children who are attending middle or high school without even asking them. You don't let them make any choices, and the past mistakes parents made by choosing based on their own faith—the parents may have been sincere, but they couldn't be welcoming. Aren't those fruits appearing one by one in history? There are parts we didn't know or missed. There are many factors for church conflict; they all put forward plausible justifications and logic, but if you look deep inside, there is 'like' and 'this'. You should become like a child, but you shouldn't become childish. Paul says to put away childish things. Jesus said to become like a child, but Paul said to put away childish things. When he said to become, it is 'like', and what should be put away is 'this'. You should put away childish things. But in fact, if you look deep inside, we all know we are having very childish, small ego battles. You know, I know, we all know.

The heart is not warm. I look for two people in the Bible, in the Old Testament, who had broad hearts. In fact, they were lonely people. Looking at Acts 13, God saved Egypt through Joseph and saved Babylon through Daniel. As living lessons of salvation, Joseph and Daniel prefigure the spiritual blessings given to the world by establishing a relationship with God. How? You know well. Later, when his brothers came, Joseph looked down at them while sitting on the throne, shaking his legs, thinking, 'It turned out like a dream.' 'Older brothers, please lift your heads. It is I, Joseph. The shade has become the sunny spot, and the sunny spot has become the shade.' Did he scold them while taking revenge? You shed tears when you see parts like this. 'Do not be distressed or angry that you sold me here.' [Sniffle] 'God sent me ahead of you to save lives.' This freedom, this dimension of being able to express the brothers who were the shadows of his life that troubled him the most as tools to fulfill God's providence, right?

It is high. What do you call such people? 'Hae-bul-yang-su' (The sea does not reject any water). The sea becomes the sea by not choosing or rejecting any single stream of water. Is the capacity of 'Hae-bul-yang-su' something we cannot see in our community or in our own appearance? Daniel knew that the king's seal was on the decree, and look closely at what happened next. The Medo-Persian people made a law to trap Daniel. After the king signed it, Daniel knew the king's seal was on the decree, and look at what he did next. He went home, went up to his upper room, opened the windows toward Jerusalem, and knelt and prayed three times a day as he had done before. We all read up to here. But Daniel prayed three times a day, and I think the most meaningful phrase in this book of Daniel is that last part. It doesn't say he prayed three times a day, but that he prayed three times a day and then what did he do to his God? He gave thanks.

Everyone, he didn't give a prayer of thanks after being released from the lion's den; he already offered a prayer of thanks when he prayed three times a day while the law was in effect. What did he see? He saw God's providence. His perspective of faith was broad and spread wide. The photo you are seeing now is a photo of my hometown. My hometown is Daegi-ri, Wangsan-myeon, Myeongju-gun, Gangwon-do. As the eldest son of the family, I was sent to middle school in Gangneung to study abroad. In our country home, where we farmed a little with one cow and a few chickens, my mother went to Gangneung for my younger brother's birthday party when I was in my third year of middle school. On the mountain road that takes two or three hours to walk, she happened to get a ride on a logging truck, and the truck driver was a drunk driver without insurance. When we heard the news and ran to the winding road, the villagers were all collapsed, and in particular, the car hit a pine tree above my mother, and the tree slowly fell, pouring onto my mother's thighs, so her legs were not just broken but shattered, and she was unconscious. From then on, she lived in the hospital and passed away six months later, and her funeral was on the day of my high school entrance ceremony. So, I was driven into a situation of extreme poverty.

After entering high school, it became a situation where I couldn't pay tuition at all. Nevertheless, throughout high school, whenever I was asked what my hope was, without exception—in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade—my dream was to become a teacher. Educator, educator, educator. I look at my high school record. But if you look at my actual school record, in the 2nd year, it says 'Family circumstances (absence due to unpaid tuition)', and in the 3rd year, 'Family circumstances (many absences due to suspension from school due to unpaid tuition)'. Because it wasn't an era of compulsory education like it is now, I was suspended for not paying tuition. Even though I dreamed of becoming a teacher, my homeroom teacher wrote: 'What will he do after graduation? Post-graduation situation: Household assistance.' He must help with housework. Everyone, this is the record of my life left by my eternal senior year homeroom teacher in my high school record. He must do household assistance after graduating high school. There was one thing the teacher didn't know. Even though I was suspended in my senior year for unpaid tuition and couldn't attend school normally, the teacher didn't know that May 12, 1974, was the day that changed my life. That Sunday morning, while I was still sitting on the porch without having eaten breakfast, the older brother from the next house, where three families lived together, was washing his face and had laundry soap on his face.

He lifted his head, looked at me, and said, 'Sang-hye, we are going on a bicycle hike to Gyeongpo Beach from our church today, do you want to come?' Everyone, I was sitting there without even having breakfast, living in a rented house in Naegok-dong, Gangneung, and what kind of bicycle hike? This brother looked at me and said they would give us gimbap for lunch. My ears perked up at the word gimbap. He also said students were going too. Yes. Those two things were pulling factors that I couldn't possibly resist at the time. When I confessed this, a theology student who heard my confession said while doing evangelism somewhere, 'Everyone, you know Professor Kim Sang-hye, Pastor Kim Sang-hye, right? He started coming to church because of his interest in food and the opposite sex.' Everyone, if you put it like that, the story becomes completely different. Anyway, I followed them that day. I followed them, and I was completely captivated by the atmosphere of high school students sitting around at the beach playing 'pass the towel'.

That was Sunday, May 12, 1974. I asked, 'Which day should I go to church?' A friend sitting next to me said I should come on Tuesday and Friday evenings. The next day, I went to school and told the teacher. 'Teacher, I can't attend night classes starting tomorrow.' He asked, 'Why can't you?' 'I'm going to church.' 'Which church?' 'Gangneung Church.' 'No, this person, all churches in Gangneung are Gangneung churches. Which church in Gangneung?' 'Yes.' I didn't know. A thought flashed through my mind: 'Sabbath Church.' 'What is the Sabbath?' How would I know what the Sabbath is? 'Yes.' I had to answer. I gave an answer that I think was truly amazing. 'It's the Earth's birthday.' Even I think I had the talent to be a Bible teacher. 'Yes.' 'How long have you been attending?' 'I went yesterday.' I thought that wouldn't make sense, so I said, 'I've been attending for a year.' I did that. And so I started my church life.

I felt burdened in my heart for lying to my teacher for a long time. But as I started attending church, one day the pastor called the students and taught the Bible. While teaching the Book of Daniel, 'a time, times, and half a time' came up. If you convert this to numbers, it's 42 months, and if you convert it to days, it's 1260 days. If you find Ezekiel 4:6, it says one day is one year. The moment I heard that, I lifted the burden of conscience I had been carrying for a year. 'Ah, I didn't lie. I gave an answer based on prophetic hermeneutics.' Yes. I was completely immersed in my life of faith. I was really immersed in church life for that year, and as you can see in the photo, I went to play at a place called Obong—the very dam that they said dried up due to the drought last year—and took a picture with my student friends.

It was Friday evening, July 11, 1975, a year later. After the service, someone called me to the parsonage staff meeting. They told me to come, so I went. It was a dark room. I don't know who it was at the time, but someone asked me, 'Sang-hye, there is a baptism ceremony tomorrow. Have you decided to keep the Sabbath in any situation in the future?' Wow. It was the question I had been waiting for. To stand in the position of the greatest scholar with the joy of Bible study and church life, I didn't know what kind of person I would become, but I had to go to college. It came to this young man's heart as a vision, a vision of ambition. Everyone, when you are in high school, all your friends have gone to school, and you, a friend who couldn't pay tuition and was suspended, walk through the empty playground with your bag—try walking through that empty playground. It's such a difficult thing. As I walked through that empty playground and entered the classroom, I wondered, 'What if the teacher cleared away my desk and chair?' I opened the door and went in, and the teacher was doing the morning assembly, and my desk was there. I sat down. My friends were all watching. What would the teacher say? I was as sharp as a hedgehog, but the teacher said, 'Sang-hye, you're here.'

I never asked about the registration fee again. Everyone, I do not have a high school graduation album. Because I attended school without paying tuition—since it was a private high school, Hwang Young-jo is my junior by seven years—I did receive my diploma. But even now, I do not have a high school album. That is how I graduated from high school. After I was baptized, the church became the first lifeline of my life. During the season when I was taking the preliminary college entrance exam in my senior year of high school, as you can see, I planned a ten-day evangelistic meeting with a friend, and that is me in my senior uniform, operating the meeting and preaching. At that time, Pastor Shin Gae-hoon came, saw us, and strongly advised me to go to the Department of Theology, leading me there. Yes. And as I entered university, even before our school had a graduate school, the dream I had read about—to become a scholar—became the lifeline of my life. Because I had no money and couldn't think of studying abroad, I was preparing to go to a graduate school in Korea. In October of my senior year, I heard the news that a graduate school had been established at our university. Everyone, I became the first graduate student in the history of Sahmyook University.

It is truly a miracle. Later, after I went into ministry and lived in the United States, due to various circumstances, my wife fell ill. I left her with her family in the U.S. and returned to Korea alone. Thinking I had no choice but to study in Korea, I called Professor Nam Dae-geuk. As he was hanging up, he said, 'Pastor Kim, the doctoral program at our university has been approved.' Because of those words, I became the first doctoral student at Sahmyook University. That became the opportunity for me to become a professor at Sahmyook University. Later, through amazing providence, I became the first Korean Seventh-day Adventist to receive a doctoral degree in theology in Europe. And some time ago, in August 2023, upon my retirement, I received a doctorate in Peace Studies from Kangwon National University. I am by no means the greatest scholar. I am hungry. I still have a thirst for knowledge. However, because of the amazing power of the light I received while reading 'Testimonies to the Church' at the church when I couldn't go to school during my senior year after being told to leave, I have been able to reach this point today, live happily with a good wife, and dare to share these words before you honorable people.

However, the reason I am telling you this is not to talk about these contents. It is because, after much time had passed, I came to hear a surprising story intertwined with my baptism. When I became a teacher at Sahmyook University and came to this Western Camp Meeting to share the word, after one sermon, the wife of a spiritual pastor—whose hands I had held, though the pastor himself was not there as he had passed away in the U.S.—caught my hand after the meeting and wept, saying, 'Pastor Kim, if only our pastor were alive to hear your sermon, how wonderful it would be.' Everyone, I could not tell this story before I retired. Now that I have retired, I am revealing this whole story for the first time. 'If only our pastor were alive, how good it would be. At that time, our pastor had such a hard time because of Pastor Kim's baptism.' Yes. Seeing the pastor's wife holding my feet and weeping, I was startled. 'Ma'am, why did the pastor have such a hard time because of my baptism?'

Why did he do that? What do you mean by that? 'At that time, Pastor Kim, you said you would come to church on Friday evening no matter what, but you went to school the next day.' Yes. Ah, everyone, when he called me that Friday evening and asked if I would keep the Sabbath and live according to my faith no matter what, I didn't know that meant I shouldn't go to school the next day. I had been living at the church all week no matter what, so the concept of not going to school didn't even exist in my mind. Naturally, I went to school the next day, and naturally, I came to the Sabbath school and was pouring all my energy into church life, so I understood it as a question of whether I would do that, and I naturally answered that I would. They couldn't literally tell me not to go to school the next day. So, because I went to school that morning instead of going to church, and then went to the baptismal site with a fluttering heart, the pastor had a very hard time with the elders because he baptized me. I heard this from his wife later.

If, everyone, that pastor had pushed me away then, saying, 'Sang-rye, you cannot be baptized today,' what would have happened to me? I think it would have been as painful as the amount I had expected and loved it. Thinking of that pastor, who remains in my memory only as a pastor who embraced me, accepted me, and loved me without saying a word of reproach—that is what tolerance is. That is what forbearance is. Later, when I read the Bible, I realized that was the teaching of the Bible. The Lord commanded, 'Make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and then teach them to observe all things.' It does not say 'teach them to observe and then baptize,' but 'if they want to be disciples, baptize them and teach them to observe.' It is the Lord's command in the Bible. In the Bible, Acts 2:41 says, 'Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.' They clearly heard Peter's sermon and were baptized. But in verse 47, regarding the fact that they heard Peter's sermon and were baptized, what does the Bible say? 'And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.' This means it wasn't given by humans. Baptism is God's work. In that sense, there is something I really want to appeal to our church members who are currently serving. I don't think the number of baptisms should be the evaluation index for ministry and church growth.

Baptism is something God does. We should change the church growth index to the number of visible attendees. Then, even if you baptize, there will be no misunderstanding that the pastor is baptizing for his own sake. The expectation, tolerance, and acceptance that the pastor showed me at that time became the flow that governed my life. 'Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!' Second, 'Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.' To prepare for the Second Coming, let us live a joyful and happy life of faith. Let us have a faith of tolerance that looks to the future and believes in others. Because it is a certain hope, let us rejoice, and because it is imminent, let us have a tolerant heart. I earnestly hope that this community will be a warm community, a community of the Second Coming, and that the Seventh-day Adventist community will become that community. I will conclude the second day's message. Let us pray. Father God, thank you for allowing us time to reflect on ourselves while meditating on the message given through the Apostle Paul today.

We are more selfish and narrow-minded than we think. Since this does not happen by our own will, please let the Holy Spirit dwell in us so that we may have broad hearts, and at the same time, help us all to become people who warmly uphold God's truth. Thanking You, I pray earnestly in the name of Jesus. Amen.