John 14:1-19
Former Church Headquarters
Seoul, Korea
Prayer
Father! The arrogance of the Jews about being the chosen people, an arrogance Jesus faced all the thirty years of his life, was mitigated in Jesus' heart by the desire to realize peace and freedom for the Israelites. The painful four thousand years of history it took to send the true son to the Israelites and the blood spilled in the process are deeply embedded in the history of the Israelites. It is eternally tragic that the Israelites of that time could not create a relationship with God in spite of God's sufferings, blood and sweat.
Today we know and believe in Jesus. Yet there is no one who realizes the misery of Jesus' heart as he was driven from one village to another, hounded out of one place after another, struggling. No one in history has known Jesus, who appeared representing the heart of Heaven.
As they waited for the Messiah, the Israelites fought and endured for thousands of years with the hope of receiving him. They were longing and wondering when the Messiah would appear. But they were so involved with their own interests and overcome by their environment that even when the object of their dreams did appear, it was as if they were deep asleep, unaware of God's heart. We have the responsibility to liberate the pained sorrow that is deeply embedded in the Father's heart. As we recollect such a sorrowful history, allow us to take on and liberate the sins of Israel who did not recognize Jesus. Allow us to repent and be responsible for the mistakes of Israel which brought sadness to Jesus.
Jesus spent thirty sorrowful years of life. Even though he gave everything in the three years of his public life, who has ever understood his heart and his many untold stories? No one. Even the disciples, who shared every aspect of their lives with Jesus, who shared sadness in times of sorrow and loneliness in times of desolation and who called Jesus their teacher, did not know. Sadness and a sense of futility came to the heart of Jesus when he looked at the disciples, who still wondered and questioned who he was after three years of his endeavors. They should have been pleading to God with desperate hearts and worrying about the teacher who was going to walk the path of death. What greater sorrow is there than this? What is more painful than this?
There may be Christians who revere and serve Jesus in his revealed authority, but there is no Christian who wants to cling to the footsteps of Jesus as he was trodden down and pushed around. Father, we cannot help but plead to You with blood and tears that many sons and daughters may appear who can hold onto the miserable heart of Jesus and go forward.
Father, You are alive and steering the course of the history. We know that You are mysteriously showing us the way. Father, do not let us long for the Jesus of the past. We sincerely pray that You will allow us to strive to testify to the Jesus of the era.
Please allow us now to comfort the heart of Jesus, who had to be called back to You. Let us bow our heads to such a heart. Please allow us to fulfill the dream Jesus desired. Father, we sincerely pray that we can be filled with the heart of Jesus, who had to take responsibility for all of humanity two thousand years ago. Let us be the sons and daughters who establish a relationship with his heart.
Please allow these sons and daughters to repent. They have struggled on with lonely hearts in the world of death. Father, I sincerely pray that You may whip them on with the force of life so that all the wrongs of the past will be renounced and this may be a time when a new relationship is created with Heavenly Father.
Father, how desperate is Your heart in wanting to talk to mankind? How much have You desired to restore humanity and to find joy? Allow them to open their hearts at this hour and revitalize all their senses so that everything of Your world can be felt and they may long for Your heart. I sincerely pray, my Father, that this may be a joyful hour when they can be immersed in the will of goodness, to call to You and be remolded and reborn with the words.
Father! Please do not allow this time to be spent in vain. As Your words are shared, I pray that there will be no gap between the giver of the words and the receivers. Please allow penitence and humility to be felt now. Many have gathered here, but I sincerely pray that they may become one, one altar and one living offering.
Please bless the many other altars that have gathered this day, representing humanity. Your sons and daughters are sincerely beseeching, unrecognized and in miserable situations. Please be the counsel of their deepest heart. I pray that You will create a relationship of blessing with them so that their lives may be resolved. Please guide the remaining hours. We leave everything up to the Father. Please let this hour never be invaded by Satan. I pray these things in the name of the Lord. Amen.
The title of the words that I would like to reflect upon together with you is "The Father and I." On a greater scale, this becomes "The Father and Us, God and Humanity." I will speak briefly upon this topic.
Out of all the sadness in this world, there is probably none greater than that of children losing their beloved parents. Likewise, there is probably no greater sadness than parents losing their beloved children.
The Problem of Fallen Mankind
Christianity tells us that mankind fell. This is a fact that cannot be denied when we look at or speculate upon society. It can be conjectured that the society we see today resulted from a sinful cause. We are standing on the course of history, which is the result of that cause. Furthermore, we cannot deny that we are struggling because we ourselves are also results of it.
What can be the problem of all problems? It is the agony of losing our parents, who should never have been lost; it is the agony of trying to find the lost parents, the agony of not having parents in spite of one's right to have them, and the agony of not having children in spite of one's full right. These are the greatest problems.
We say there was a Fall, but this involves both mankind and Heavenly Father. We cannot help but accept the fact that it involves us, too. We are certainly not ideal. When we accept that mankind has fallen, we cannot deny that a Fall cannot occur without a reciprocal relationship. When we do not feel good, it is because we have the inner potential to be better. When we desire to be greater, it is because we have that potential within us. Such a relationship interconnects each person to everyone else.
We may have a lot of confusing problems, but there is only one fundamental problem in our hearts. It is the fact that we have lost our parents. Mankind's loss of the parents and Heavenly Father's loss of His children has to be recovered. It is our foremost priority to reestablish that lost relationship, to regain the lost happiness, to repossess the lost joy.
What will solve all these problems for us? We acknowledge the evil history, we acknowledge that we are living in a sinful world, and we are struggling due to the conflict between our mind and body. This cannot be solved by any systematic philosophy, ideology or conceptual faith. The only way is through the heart. The world of the heart has no before or after, no highness or lowliness. It has no beginning or end. The situation can only be solved through heart.
What is mankind's sorrow? The sorrow is that, due to the Fall, the true master was lost from Eden. Mankind could not sing and live with eternal happiness in the ideal of creation of all things of Heaven and earth. Mankind could not sing along with the heart and life force of all created things.
The Relationship of God and Man
What kind of being is the Creator? He is certainly the owner of our bodies and minds. He is also a being who can stand as the subject or master of our ideals and emotions. Furthermore, He is the subject or master of our hearts. Such a God is absolutely necessary for us. We absolutely need Him. It is not a conceptual need based on consciousness or human relationships. The sorrow is that we have lost such a master.
Besides being an owner and the Creator of all things, God is furthermore in the position of the Father of humankind. He has elucidated the relationship, saying, "I am your Father, and you are my sons and daughters." He wants to find joy in such a relationship. We have to realize that this is the focus of Heavenly Father's life, the focus of His ideal, and the purpose for which He created humankind.
Christians call God the Father. Although we were created to stand as sons and daughters in front of the Father, humankind lives miserably due to the Fall. What is the reality of Heavenly Father, who wants to call mankind His sons and daughters? What is the situation of mankind, created to be God's children? The reality is that they cannot call each other "Father" or "son." The Fall is the fact that they are placed under the dominion where the father cannot respond to the call of the son and the son cannot respond to the call of the father. The course of history has been passed down in order to rid us of this sorrowful reality. If Heavenly Father exists, it is His work to fight to destroy this sad reality and get rid of it.
It is easy to call Him a father, but it is difficult to experience Him substantially as a father. It is possible to sense that He is the Father through our understanding, but it is difficult to attend Him in a substantial way.
Why is this? It is due to the Fall. Reality sank to this level because of the Fall. We will feel how distant we are from such a Father when we acknowledge that we are struggling in this environment, trying to fight, not wanting to die in such a situation. We long for a guide to appear in this world who will lessen this gap. We long for a world leader to appear who can bridge the gap and pave a smooth path. That guide will guide not only our minds and bodies but our hearts as well. He should not change periodically or possess only revolutionary contents. He would have to be an eternal and absolute guide.
Since you have not even imagined such a guide, you should repent today and criticize yourselves for being caught up in mere concepts. You have to realize where you stand. You should re-evaluate your self-worth and critique your position in relation to the grand course of Heaven.
If there is something that fallen mankind can be grateful for, it to be reintroduced to the Father we lost. If there is something Heaven can rejoice over, it is in finding the lost children. If an individual appears who can reestablish these lost relationships, he could liberate God's historical effort.
Something Fallen Mankind Should Long For
God does not will that humanity perish. Instead, He has gone forward with the will of the providence to show us the way to live. Thus, a figure who can restore the relationship of father and son, which both God and humanity desire, absolutely must appear. In looking back through history, this is undeniable.
We should criticize our sinful, struggling selves. We have to be indignant over this reality as well indignant over the Fall. Then what should we long for? We should long for our original parents who were lost. A lonely path of sacrifice will open up for those who are sincerely longing to find the original father who was lost. If such an individual, such a group, and such a movement exists in this world, then Heavenly Father, who is searching for His children, will work with such people. Wanting to regain the father and son relationship, He will hold on to such people.
If we have not heard of this from people throughout the thousands of years of history, they are to be blamed. If holy sages throughout the course of history have not introduced such facts, they also should be blamed. If such contents could not be found in the words of the sages who have lived to fulfill the will of God, it would be permissible to deny that God exists.
God, who works the providence to restore mankind, wants to live within us and wants us to reside within Him. Thus, Jesus told his disciples, "I am God's begotten son and you are my brethren." He also said, "Where I am going is not of my own will but of the will of the Father. The nation that I want is not my nation but the nation of the Father. The people I am looking for are not my people but the people of the Father. The place I want to live in is not with my family but with the family of the Father. The nation that I can be proud of is not my nation but the nation of the Father." He also said, "God is the Father and earth is the Mother." Toward mankind, he said, "I am the bridegroom and you are the bride."
We can acknowledge God's existence if these valuable propositions remain within heavenly law. Religions have been established to usher mankind in the right direction. From this perspective, the religion that can reveal the proper relationship between father and son, husband and wife, and between siblings would be the final religion. We cannot deny that Christianity possesses these qualities. We have to be grateful for this.
Although numerous sages have come and gone throughout history, they have only revealed God conceptually and vaguely. They did not bring the answers as to how to substantially experience God. Jesus called the invisible God "Father" in spite of the mockery of the Jews. He overcame hardships and showed concern for God in spite of heavy persecution. This shows that Jesus had experience and knowledge like no one had ever had before. He stood in a position to clarify the universal frame of mind and the frame of mind for life, which no one had ever known.
Jesus illuminated this through his heart rather than through his circumstances. Since he illuminated it with his substantial self, he was the Messiah. If someone like that appears, even if God did not send him, that person should be acknowledged as the Messiah. Heavenly law works in such a way.
Jesus was sent by Heavenly Father. Jesus did not come to this world to work beneath sin and evil. He came as the central person who could liberate all the sorrows and resentments of history caused by the Fall and sin. He came to solve all problems, starting from where God's heart could still abide to where it could no longer flow. Jesus wanted to connect the love of Heaven to this world. He said, "I am the bridegroom and you are the bride." We should then acquire the position of children, bear the heart of a bridegroom and bride, and ultimately reach the position of the parent, which is what Jesus called Heavenly Father.
The Relationship between the Father and I Which Must Be Reestablished
It seems as though all the world's Christians call Christ the bridegroom and assume they are the bride and can stand boldly in front of him. But this does not happen so easily. This does not happen through circumstances. It is only possible with an unchanging heart. Such a heart is not only one's own heart; it has to be the historic heart of God as He strove for six thousand years, the heart that can transcend the present reality into the future. Heaven will only respond when we become the bride of such a heart, when we will live for Heaven, acknowledge the value of the subject and proclaim, "Oh, Lord, our bridegroom!"
We only treasure the words they left behind; we do not treasure those individuals who kept and live by the words. It is an historic sadness that people valued the promised, expected Messiah, but could not treasure him when he came as the embodiment of the word. The word seemed acceptable to them, but as a person, he was no different from any other person.
Unless we rethink such historical incidents, clear up our own sorrowful situations and elucidate the relationship of father and son which is supposed to be reestablished, neither hope, nor the Kingdom of Heaven, nor the ideal world will exist for us.
How can we explain the relationship between the Father and I when we are individuals who have received the blood lineage of sin? We cannot escape the bridle of sinful history. We live within the realm of sinfulness, unable to overcome it. Because we cannot accomplish these things even with effort, it is said that we are to believe in our hearts. This is the Gospel Christ passed on. He said to believe in our hearts, not through conditions.
Instead of being well-versed in the words of the sixty-six books of the Bible, you have to understand the heart of the Father behind it and what He wanted to reveal. You also have to understand the heart of the Father who did not want the Fall to take place. Instead of the bitterness due to the Fall, you have to understand the heart that desires to regain the lost Father and the heart that wants to restore humanity so that people no longer remain in such a situation. That will be your assignment. You have to transcend the gap if you wish to call God "Father" and become His sons and daughters.
God never told mankind to read the Bible at all times. Jesus did not even say to listen to his words all the time. He said to pray ceaselessly. During the three years of his public ministry, Jesus spoke many words. But until now, he has not said to live only by his words; he longed for us be concerned about his substantial self.
Because the world of the heart has no limits of distance, we can call even the greatest and most holy God "Father." When He is called "Father" and sought after with a heart that is filled with the love between father and son, He would not be able to shun you. He would not say, "Your hands are not of Me, your body is not of Me, and your heart is not of Me." When the heart is brought into oneness with Him, we become the Father's extension. We are the extension and the Father's second self. That is why the Bible said our body is a temple of God.
Then the question is: how do we go about unifying the heavenly nature of Jesus as he called God "Father" and our own nature? The unification of heart is more important than the question of similarities or differences of our natures. Thus, the words of Jesus, "In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you" (John 14:20) are precious words indeed.
The world of heart transcends time and space. Here, there cannot be such a word as revolution. That is why we can attend Jesus who passed away two thousand years ago as the Jesus of today. We can establish a relationship with him today. What should this relationship be based upon? It is not just words, and it is not just for a conceptual notion that Jesus carried the cross and died for me. It is possible only with heart.
The World of Jesus' Heart
From this perspective of heart, Jesus was an eternally sorrowful person. Nobody knew that his tears were shed representing mankind's tears; his grief represented Heavenly Father's grief. No one understood that the tribulations of his three years of public life were suffered for mankind and for Heaven. No one knew that he died in humanity's stead to erase the bloody stain left in the heart of Heavenly Father.
When Jesus made his final prayer to God, he said, "My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt." (Matthew 26:39) This was a prayer that transcended all circumstances. This was a prayer that overcame the world. Jesus thought that since he belonged to Heavenly Father and Heavenly Father belonged to him, his sorrow was the Father's sorrow. Thus, he did not feel wronged by his own death. Instead, he felt oneness of heart with God who had striven even more than he had, who was more pained than he, and whose wrongs were even greater. Jesus could overcome his difficult path so confidently because he knew that God maintained the will of saving all people in spite of such pain. Jesus united in heart with God, centering on the will of saving humanity in spite of his imminent death on the cross. He died trying to fulfill that will.
It is easy to say we believe. The question is can we fathom the essence of and reach the position where we can relate through heart? If God does not search for someone to connect with in heart, there would be no such thing as true love.
The voice of Jesus calling on the Father, and his words toward the miserable children, all originated from the heart of God. They were spoken through Jesus. Have you felt a desire to call on him as the Lord and cling to him as if he were in front of you as you read the Bible? Have you experienced a heart of wanting to say, "Father, I belong to you; my body is Yours, my mind is Yours. Even my longing heart is Yours. There is absolutely nothing that belongs to me except that which belongs to You"? If not, you have not yet stood in the position of children.
When Jesus prayed through the nights, forgetting about sleep, he prayed with a heart of gratitude, knowing that the Father was with him. Throughout his thirty years of life, he lived with a heart which could overcome everything in spite of persecution and the difficult course of the cross which lay before him. That is why Satan could not invade him.
The world of the heart cannot remain divided. The world of reality has room for many exceptions, but the world of the heart cannot become two. In the heart of the four thousand years of history, there cannot be anything other than the relationship of father and children. There cannot be any other argument. We should realize that Jesus' word is the word of the Father and his desires are the Father's desires.
The Most Precious Thing for Jesus
You should not be boastful that you go to church and live a life of faith. I have felt and seen that the people who can connect in heart and be grateful to Heaven and earth are in a higher position when they go to the spiritual world than the people who take joy in thinking they have a faithful character just because they have lived decades of a life of faith. This is true even if the people of heart do not know the word.
Thus, the way to Heaven is to lose everything. It is a path that entails losing everything of this world. You have to throw away everything, including the sinful world and your sinful self. What is the only thing that should be kept? It is the heart that allows you to call Heavenly Father "Father." Only with such a heart can you meet the Lord, the bridegroom. This is a universal truth that can encompass even the cosmos. In this day, there is absolutely no need for any ideology. God could be with Jesus because he had such a heart. That is what we need.
Jesus owned almost nothing. His only clothes were the ones he wore. The only thing he had was probably the staff he used. Even if he did possess many things, what would have been most precious? If there is anything so precious that it cannot be exchanged even for the whole universe, it is the desperate heart which can call on God as the Father. We should realize that this is the total value of Jesus.
Where Is the Resting Place For Humanity?
Paul said even the words would pass. He said that out of the three things, faith, hope and love, that the greatest was love. Paul felt Heavenly Father's desperate heart of love for mankind, torn and saddened while trying to find the lost ones throughout the tribulations of history. Paul realized Heavenly Father's loving heart as God sincerely hoped that he would overcome the environment of severe persecution on the left and on the right and where the hostile arrows of the enemy flew at him.
Thus, Paul said, "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?" (Rom. 8:35) What he said is correct. All of Jesus' words and life testified to this. Because God had dominion over Jesus, who had such a heart, He could resurrect Jesus from death. History brought about revolutions in society amidst various tribulations. Heaven went through those tribulations, too. The only thing that can engulf this sorrowful history, stained with sin, is heart.
That is why history today is leading into the realm of the ideology of Jesus. This cannot be denied. If there is an individual who can transcend the present history to remain until the time of the new ideal world, that person will be the person who has the heart to call Heavenly Father "Father." Furthermore, that person would be able to call Jesus the bridegroom and older brother. Jesus said, "You are my friends and brethren." We should feel like this.
If there is a gift that can be given to mankind in the last days of history, it is for all of humanity to be able to call Heavenly Father "Father." It is not only to understand God's historical character with our hearts, but to feel it and make it our own. If that happens, humanity will receive the new world.
The heart of mankind belongs to Heaven. Jesus brought the Gospel and said to love him more than anyone else. He also said he was the son of God, the bridegroom, and that we are the bride. Does this sound contradictory? Yet we must be grateful for such words. Doesn't his saying so mean everything when we have to walk the sorrowful path of restoration, that God is our father and that we are the bride? Jesus lived with such a heart from birth; he spoke with such a heart, and he fought with Satan for decades with such a heart.
The True Relationship between Parent and Child
The resting place of mankind is not a private world. It is where the heart flows. It is the world of heart that transcends national boundaries, where one feels just right. If today's humankind cannot transcend the historical realities with the consciousness of such a world of heart, God's ideology of unification cannot be accomplished. Then the advent of Jesus would have been in vain. Then the relationships of the bride and the father are meaningless. When the heart is truly felt, race is not a problem. Ideology is not a problem. When such a heart is felt, all these can be overcome and we will be joyful. In the last days of history, that will be inherited.
Jesus said that the kingdom of Heaven is within us. What does this mean? The fact that eternal Heaven is in my mind means that Heaven starts from my heart. That is why we should have a connection of heart when we relate to Heavenly Father.
When God becomes our Father and we become His children, His body and our bodies are one. The Father's flesh and blood are my flesh and blood. Even the world acknowledges that. Why does a parent love his child? It is because the child is an extension of the parent. It is as if one is loving oneself. Parenthood means the blood line is connected.
From the perspective of heart, God and Jesus were one. When God's artery moved, Jesus' artery moved. Their hearts beat as one. Isn't that so? Is there any parent who says, "I love you" first and then goes on to love the child? Is there a child who says, "I love you" first and then loves the parent? The movement of love is automatic because the blood is connected. Such a world transcends logic as we know it.
Paul said in Romans 8 that we are adopted children because of the Fall. You should not be so proud. Fallen mankind is in the position of adopted children. Adopted children have a different blood lineage.
Therefore, Heavenly Father is longing for a child who can get rid of the adopted blood lineage and receive the blood lineage that originates from His heart. Then the child will be naturally loving in His eyes. The Father should love me even if I do not say that I love the Father. I should have the heart to admire Heavenly Father without having to speak it. I would fight for the Father without having to say so. Such a heart is not felt in the fallen mind.
Jesus was different in this respect. If he called on the Father, Heavenly Father would reply even if He was in sadness. In Jesus' calling "Father," God felt such a heart that it transcended the prayers of millions of people. Such a call and reply exist within the natural relationship that transcends the sorrowful history, centering on God's purpose of creation. This is a situation in which nothing else matters, where no one can deny it, and no condition can prevent it. Have you been in such a situation?
When you are in such a situation, even your cells can feel it. You may say, "This young man is speaking nonsense," but I don't mind what anyone says. The heart and touch of love are the essence of the existing world and have the quality of the whole. That is why you long for Heavenly Father.
When you pray in such circumstances, the deepening of night is no problem. You transcend consciousness of hunger or weariness. The world of love is such that its internal emotion surpasses thousands of times what people perceive with their physical bodies. Would that not be the case? The hour in which Jesus was praying quietly to Heavenly Father on the Mount of Olives, dragging himself in after being persecuted, was an hour of happiness no one else knew. The moment he called out "Father," his whole self was absorbed into the world of the heart. He could wish blessing upon his enemy because in communion with the heart of God even death on the cross could be forgotten.
This world should witness people calling upon the Father with such a heart and Him loving those people as His children. Jesus was like this, but he could not get across the lifestyle of the world of the heart. Although he introduced it, he must come again because the content of heart was not made into a reality.
If you want to reach the unifying point of heart where you can call Heavenly Father "Father," your body has to be the body of Heavenly Father. Your blood has to be the blood of Heavenly Father. When you have reached such a state, you will be a holy temple. When you become a holy temple, your mind and body are not yours. They belong to Heavenly Father. You are not your own origin. Because everything began from Heavenly Father, it has to end with Heavenly Father. Therefore, your existence is not yours but the Father's.
When you have entered the realm of heart where your flesh and blood take the place of God's flesh and blood, you will unconsciously shed tears when Heavenly Father is grieving. Those of you who have come here for the first time may ask how in the world such a thing is possible, but it is. The world of the heart surpasses by thousands of times the value of all existence. We will transcend awareness when we connect with such a world.
What Should You Do after Becoming Sons and Daughters of the Father?
To reach such a state, you should have the same blood lineage. You should feel as if your own flesh and blood are the Father's flesh and blood. As you become the Father's son or daughter, you should share the common will. What is that will? It is to restore the fallen world. It is to create a world in which a good person who has liquidated the sinful history of mankind can live within the bosom of the Father. Therefore, our body should inherit the Father's flesh and blood, and our mind should bear the Father's will to establish His nation. We should feel the Father's heart in our life. If not, you cannot stand as a child of Heavenly Father. Isn't that so?
When a father grieves, his son should grieve. When a father suffers, his son should suffer. When a parent lives a difficult life, the child should go through the same thing. Isn't that so? If one is truly a filial child, that person would live according to the will of the parent. You have to realize that only when you are connected in flesh and blood with the Father, only when the will is shared, only when the heart is prepared for one's daily life can you call Heavenly Father "Father." Heavenly Father is still working in order to show this to humankind.
You should not forget that Heavenly Father has striven greatly to fulfill such a relationship, even if mankind was not aware of it. God is struggling in the extreme to pull us from the position of adopted children to real children whose hearts are connected to His. We may have many wrongs done to us and may possess much sadness and indignation. But such sadness, indignation and wrongs are not comparable to those of Heavenly Father. No matter what kind of wound may have been inflicted upon us, it is not to be compared to Heavenly Father's. Heavenly Father has experienced greater pain throughout history than any of us. He has grieved along with history more than any of us. He has borne a thousand times more than our indignation. He has been wounded more than any of us. We should realize that such is Heavenly Father.
The Reason Satan Could Not Accuse Jesus
Jesus knew God as his father, but what kind of father did he know Him to be? When Jesus wore the crown of thorns, he felt that God was wearing a crown of thorns that was a thousand times more painful than his. When he was being nailed to the cross, he realized that God was experiencing his pain thousands of times over. Even when the spear pierced his side, he accepted it as if it were deserved since he knew that Heavenly Father had continued to struggle for His children in spite of pain much greater than his.
That is why he could not hold a grudge and sorrow in his heart. He was determined not to leave a grudge and sorrow in his heart in front of humanity in spite of his pain. Although he was in a position to hold unimaginable rage and vengeance toward his enemy, he could not do so when thinking about what Heavenly Father had endured. Jesus had to overcome his own sorrow because he had come to save sorrowful humanity. He had to overcome his own pain and death because he had come to resolve the pain and death of mankind. Because he was like this, Jesus was the Savior. Because mankind had already lost its life, he had to be in a position never to condemn God even if he lost his life or had to give up all desires. We should realize that Jesus was able to become the savior of life who had taken on God's heart because he accepted this.
Satan was unable to accuse Jesus because he had no heart of vengeance, no indignation, and was not dominated by the historical sorrow. What kind of being is Satan? He accuses you by putting forth the historical sorrow and blocks you when you are caught up in private matters. Yet Satan still could not accuse Jesus because Jesus had nothing to do with the sorrows of this fallen world and the universe. Satan, who even accused God, threw up both hands and gave up.
It was not empty talk when Jesus said to love your enemy. Satan cannot accuse the one who cries and worries about the eternal death of humanity more than about his own death. If he does, Satan's own being will be destroyed. Satan cannot have dominion over such a person. Only God can have dominion over such a person. Although Satan may at any time accuse within the realm of faith and hope, he cannot touch one iota of the realm of an unchanging, sincere heart. Because the Kingdom of Heaven transcends everything connected with Satan, it has nothing to do with him.
We call God our Father and Lord upon Jesus' merit. We are unworthy to do so. Even now we are struggling within the realm of sin, and we cry over the small sorrows in our life. When we look at today's society and this world, the trends bear out the historical sorrow and are surrounded by fear. What controls my emotions in such a world? Fear. What overwhelms my life? It is justice that is in tatters. God wants to establish the new world and uphold true justice, yet there is no one to accomplish this. We have to realize that God, as always, is still searching for such a person.
The Position of the People of Korea from the Providential Perspective and Their Path to Life
Although the people of Korea may not know God, we have to realize that He was always there in the history of this people. Whenever there was a righteous-minded, loyal subject who was sacrificed in order to uphold righteousness, we have to understand that God remembered him and walked on the foundation and heart of such a person and his race.
We are an indebted people. This race is the most indebted among all the indebted races. Heavenly Father desires to save the miserable people and has the heart of a parent who laments over the fallen children. He would feel more sympathy in looking at an unfortunate race than a race that is well-off.
Our people have nothing special to be proud of. The people had nothing. They were all robbed and lost everything. If we have hope of having anything back, what I desire is for the young people to possess the desperate heart of Jesus. Let the desire that burned inside of him as he wandered, the desire to call Heaven "Father" burn within them. When they become such people, no other race will be able to dominate them.
This world deserves to be forsaken and many ideologies are bound for destruction. Yet when many sons and daughters who have become such people appear in front of Heavenly Father's heart, who looks on with sympathy, this world will be rejuvenated. If such young people, such a group and such a race exist, then they would be able to rule the world. It was the same in the age of Jesus. There was a great deal of confusion in the trend of faith under the Roman oppression, and everything was shaky. The people's spirit had been crushed. God sent Jesus during such a time of sorrow.
The sorrowful and painful fact is that Korea became the object of sacrifice, the focus of conflict between the two great opposing camps of democracy and communism. This is the sad reality. We have no friends. Both camps are standing face to face with our race as the sacrifice in the middle. This race, which was supposed to establish the blessed nation, is going through a life of danger and risk as a sorrowful race. One thing that we have to keep in mind is that we have to be sons and daughters who can unite with the heavenly direction, knowing that Heaven has provided for the environment and has supported this race. This race will survive if we can establish a relationship with Heaven. Jesus, who had nothing externally, was able to introduce the world of hope which overcame this world and drove this world toward the realm of his ideology. Something must have been there to establish the heartistic bond with Heavenly Father. It must have been the one absolute standard which mankind has no choice but to submit to in search of the heart and the mind. Today the people of Korea are undergoing a confusion of faith. At this time, when there is no value to one's character, when people live in fear, and when this whole race is being pushed out in confusion, what can we hold onto?
The Path Korea Must Take
Jesus came to this world as the son of God, but he had to go through thirty miserable years of life. He walked the path of three painful and tumultuous years of public ministry. Yet he was a brave warrior who demonstrated a confident spirit which could overcome anything that stood in the way. He possessed a burning heart that would have easily restored the whole race of Israel at that time. Such a warrior is needed in today's age. Instead of fighting against the people every time they drove him into difficulties, Jesus prayed for them through long nights on the mountain of Gethsemane. Such a big-minded character is admirable.
Jesus took the path of solitude and went into quiet places in order to call on the Father during times when the nation faced persecution. The path to life for this race is the same. There has to be the heart. You should be able to forget all human conditions, even forgetting about eating or clothing, and call on the Father as His sons and daughters. When there are such sons and daughters, this race will be closest to Heavenly Father in the world of heart, even if the people are sacrificed and trampled on. Do you think God will then treat you badly? No parent would ever not accept a child with a heart that connects the past, the present, and the future. If people are like that, God is even more so. Is there a human being who does not embody God's attributes? God is like that. Therefore, mankind is the same.
This miserable race is searching for the heart of God to find the path to life. Even in this situation, one should be able to show gratitude to Heavenly Father. There is a world of difference between people who denounce Heavenly Father even in a free situation and people who show gratitude to Heavenly Father with tears even in a difficult situation.
Now that we have a father and son relationship with Heavenly Father, no matter how challenging and manifold the difficulties and persecutions that block our path, they are not even comparable to the course that Heavenly Father walked for six thousand years. So when you are injured while working for the will of God, do not look at your own injury and cry. Rather, comfort Heavenly Father who has had greater pain inflicted on Him. The Father is someone who will come to you with tears when you are injured, forgetting about His own pain. We are truly unworthy of this.
Now we should really accomplish something. This race is losing its national spirit. What can this race be proud of in front of Heaven? There is nothing that it can put forth before the world and this age. The heart of God has never been attained. Who has ever deeply felt this world of the heart? It is someone who experiences difficulty. It is someone who calls on the Father, enduring his own difficulties. We have to realize that we need to have conditions with which we can be close to the Father who has borne historic sorrows.
That is why we have this difficult environment. After all, this race need not feel sorrowful. We should be sorrowful if Heavenly Father did not exist. But He does, and there is no need to feel sad. Even if this nation is the most miserable nation in the six thousand years of history, it would have moved Heavenly Father deep down to His bones, more than any other nation, if it had remembered Him. If there is a movement that will establish the relationship of father and son in this nation, the new world will open up. As Heavenly Father has firmly promised us, and as Jesus' great purpose was to teach us, where would God go without us? We have to start out with such a conviction.
The One Life that is Greater than the Universe
God is not a God for America, nor a God for England. He is not a God merely for the democratic world. He is our God and my God.
Heavenly Father longs for believers, the brides who can be a part of the world of the heart of the historic Father and sing of its value. Wouldn't that be so? Such an individual cannot be bought even with billions of dollars. Such a person cannot be bought with earth or Heaven. Jesus has said that such a person has value greater than that of the cosmos.
Fortunately, today we were given a talk on the relationship between father and son from Heavenly Father. But the question is: how much have I attended the Father? How filial have I been? We have to relate to Heavenly Father as a filial child on the individual level and as a loyal subject on the national level. Isn't that true? The traditional three bonds and the five moral disciplines in human relations in Asia all make sense. They are to teach this concept. Filial piety and loyalty towards Heavenly Father is the same thing. One cannot be filial to Heavenly Father if one does not first become filial toward one's parents. One cannot be a loyal subject toward Heavenly Father if one does not first demonstrate loyalty to the nation. This world is the same toward Heavenly Father. The content is different, but the world of the heart is the same.
Unification members! For us, denomination means nothing. Our name means nothing. This church building and our houses mean nothing. People are the issue. The people with heart are the real issue. There are billions of people in the world, but only one person draws your heart. Isn't that so? It is the same for God. What is the first thing that God, who moves all things of the cosmos and dominates the great universe and the created world, still desires? More than a multitude of people, He longs for one individual who can give all his heart and then forget about his giving. Wouldn't that be true? Heavenly Father dreams of one such person more than He dreams of a mere multitude. Therefore, Jesus was sent after four thousand years. And after six thousand years, the Second Coming is one who comes in place of Jesus.
Where are the sons and daughters who long for and call to Heavenly Father as "Father", who wander in search of the other children? The day God finds such sons and daughters is the day of hope and the day of liberation. In religious terms, such a day is called the feast day of the lamb.
The True Christian of the Last Days
What kind of person is a true Christian? It is not someone who dances with joy. It would be someone who prays with concern for God. He or she would not pray for themselves but would pray for the sake of God. That person would not worry whether he or she would become the bride or not, but would worry about whether Jesus, the bridegroom, is happy or not. The person would not pray asking God to send him or her to Heaven, but instead would pray, asking to free God of His sorrow. The person would not ask for his or her value to be acknowledged in Heaven, but would hope that God's value may be acknowledged in this world, even through his or her own death.
We have to totally change today's understanding of faith. It has to be changed fundamentally. Do people want to go to Heaven by believing? What are they going to do in Heaven? Are they going to steal from God again when they are there? That is like being joyful after losing the heavenly essence. The essence is the heart of giving. Even fallen minds can perceive such a nature of love. The pit of death awaits those who are striving to receive. The realm of resurrection of life awaits those who are struggling to give. Jesus was someone who struggled for thirty years of his life to give. Jesus endeavored to give during his three years of public ministry. In the end he even gave himself. You have to realize that the Messiah was the prince who strove to give and give again.
Those who are following such an example must repent and see how much of an offering you have made yourself in order to liberate God's sorrow in your lives. Such a person has no concept of Heaven or hell. Such a person would say, "Who cares if I go to Heaven or if I go to hell?" When God wants to resurrect such a person, even Satan has to agree. Here the historic standard of life gets established.
Today's Unificationists need the words of the Bible in order to console the Father who is filled with sadness. You also need a teacher. But I do not want you to go forth just looking at the teacher. I hope that you yourselves will establish the bond of relationship with Heavenly Father's heart, with the teacher as the center. God will never desert you when you pray for this nation with heartfelt pleas, when you strive to introduce God's heart to it, and when you become the offering. God will not give up on us.
When we think about God, we know that He is the master of all things. But have you seen His deeds? As the subject of love, was He ever able to say "I love you" to mankind? Never. Although He was in a position to own everything, He was never able to claim mankind as His own. And although there are numerous people in this world, and although there were the Israelites who were prepared for four thousand years, Heavenly Father was never able to raise them up as His own sons and daughters or as warriors who could defeat Satan.
There are many Christians in the democratic camp today, but God has not been able to place them as generals in command of an offensive attack against Satan. He also wanted to have Jesus command the angelic world to establish a relationship with this world, but that could not be achieved. God gave mankind the ideal of the bride, and He sought to find such brides. But He could not find one person who could stand as the proud bride in front of Satan. We are truly sorry in front of Heavenly Father.
The world calls the leader of the Unification Church the ringleader of a cult. That's fine. I just want them to receive all the blessing. I don't want to give excuses or explanations. This is not the time to fight over such things. Our lives are busy, and what is more urgent is how we are to be recognized by Heavenly Father.
We are all miserable, we are all the same. There were times when we called on the Father and all pledged to die together if we had to. There were times when we called on our Father with tears. We had to stand in such a position representing this nation. Although there may have been times of sorrow, we have to go this path as the Father has led us. We should be grateful and feel unworthy if we can't feel this historical sorrow. We should be grateful that we can feel the traces of our ancestors' tears and blood, to tread together down this sorrowful valley. Even if this body may be ripped to pieces or fall down, we have nothing to feel sad about. We have to realize we are the Christians of the last days who have to find and walk this path of heart again.
It is fine to be called a cult or to be misunderstood. None of that can be an obstacle for me. I am here to clarify the heavenly concept. I am telling you now that God will by all means pull us forward along with history if I can share that heart, kneel down in understanding of such a heart, and speak with the heart to raise up the people who will cry with that heart.
The Faith of Mary Magdalene toward Jesus
Judas Iscariot chastised Mary Magdalene, who was a prostitute, as she knelt and poured three hundred denarii worth of oil on the feet of Jesus and washed them with her hair. When he did so, Jesus defended her. Mary was not acting unreasonably. Because she was concerned for the heart of Jesus, who was to be killed, an aspect of God's pained and indignant heart was reflected through her. Therefore, Jesus predicted that her name would remain wherever the words of the Gospel spread.
When Mary wanted to hold Jesus, who had resurrected from the grave, Jesus prevented her out of concern that the resurrected self might be stained. In other words, Jesus stopped her because he wanted her to be more joyous in meeting the Father than in meeting him. He wanted her to be more glad for the Father than for him, and more glad for the hope that humanity might again be reborn than happy to see him. It is sad that the Jesus we believe in today came and went with such a regret-filled heart. That is a sad thing.
We have to let this be known to the Christians of the world today. What is needed is not someone who takes pride in his own faith, based on Jesus who was glorified by history. There is a need for people like the woman who searched for Jesus on the mountainside of Calvary, who can take pride in Jesus even if they themselves are trampled on and pushed out by history. There is a greater need for people like Mary Magdalene than for the twelve disciples who walked their own separate ways, denying their knowledge of Jesus.
To Become the Sons and Daughters the Father Desires
In believing in Jesus, have you ever made God cry? Have you ever made Jesus cry? Have you ever shivered, holding onto the crying Father who said, "How difficult it must have been for you to walk this path that I have gone through. How difficult it must have been to find Me in My sorrow"? Have you held the hands of Jesus who cried as he called out for you? If not, don't say anything. Do not be proud of anything.
The people who were ridiculed and cast out will be the princes and princesses of the Kingdom of Heaven. Even if everything is lost, we should long for the heart and will of the Father. When you are able to find meaning in your life, meaning in the church, and meaning in society, while you long for those, God will not send you to hell even if you try to go. God will claim such people.
The topic of today's talk was "The Father and I," but we are unworthy to use the word "Father." We should experience the times when even saying the word "Father" makes us feel unworthy. We should have the attitude that says, "Father, how can a lowly person like me call you Father?" There is no need to say anything else. The right of ownership of the cosmos will be decided as you call out "Father" with your body and mind united and a desperate heart. Heavenly Father is longing for such Unificationists.
It is fine to follow the path of a teacher, but that will all pass. One thing that I want to convey to you, even if I die or disappear, is that you should transcend race, humanity, and the world to cry with the heart of God. I want to die seeing such a sight. You should realize that only then do you have the authority to oversee the cosmos and the realm of hell.
From now on, we should be proud of our Father. What kind of Father is He? We have to introduce the Father who has labored in historic endeavors. We have to boast of our Father. We have to introduce the Father who has fought, holding onto this age. We are to introduce the Father who has longed for us and who had to fight for us. But if the heart is not laid as a foundation in conveying this, everything is just wild fancy and rash acts.
We should exalt the Father. We have to exalt the historic Father, the Father of the age, and the future-oriented Father with our heart connected to His. Thus, you should be able to exclaim, "Father, is this not Your will? Your will is my will. Oh, Father, You who have found us like a parent who could not forget his own blood, You are my Father!"
Heavenly Father longed to live with us for six thousand years, but Satan came in front of Him. Heavenly Father longs for the brides, the figures who will understand His heart, and speak out, "Hey, you Satan, you have no place to rest your foot in this world. Hey, you and all the forces of evil, just look at my Father," and get recognition from him. He would have to say, "You are right. What you are saying is true for eternity." Wouldn't that be so?
Jesus' body was killed, but his heart was never killed. His body was invaded by Satan, yet the world of heart was not invaded. That is why Heavenly Father brought forth the ideal of the bride, and He is looking for the bride who possesses the loyalty of the world of the heart. Thus, you should be able to call on the Father and the Lord with the heart of the bride.
We should be grateful that the saints of the past strove and that Heavenly Father and the world have endeavored to find the sons and daughters of the direct lineage to create the relationship of father and children. Furthermore, you should say a word of apology to the ancestors, to numerous spirits, and even to Satan, and become figures who can protect this land. Only then will you become God's sons and daughters. God wants to hear such sons and daughters call Him "Father." Aren't you also like that? When there are sons and daughters whom God truly loves, He does not want to hear the physical father say to such children, "Hey, So and So, you are my sons and daughters." Wouldn't that be true? He doesn't even want to hear that they belong to a certain nation. "They are My own sons and daughters and they belong to My nation." He doesn't want them to be called the people of Korea or America. Such a thing is ridiculous to Heavenly Father, who has the ideal of the heavenly world. God is searching for us from such a standpoint.
God was unable to live with the individual, with the family, with society, with the nation, and with the world. How much must He have endeavored to work backwards from finding the world to finding us today? Not only does He have to find us, He has to take us along with Him. It is difficult enough to find us, but it is more difficult to drag us along. The Lord comes in order to take even the historic last days along with him.
I urge you to clearly understand this and become God's proud sons and daughters, the brides and bridegrooms who will stand heart to heart with Jesus. He professed that we are not of this nation, the heavenly family is not of this nation. His society, nation, and the created world are not of this fallen world.
