Belvedere
Translator - Bo Hi Pak
I'm sure all of you realize by now that the cultural barrier between East and West is very difficult to cross. Spoken language, writing and customs must be understood in order to communicate. To those without some reason to be interested, the East seems far away and unreachable. When seen in God's providence East and West are like twins, but the roots of Oriental culture developed and a spiritual heritage emerged sooner than in the West. What we call Hellenic culture is part of the heritage of the eastern part of the world, and the origins of all other ancient cultures as well are to be found in the eastern part of the world. If Jesus had not been crucified, then Christian culture would have started in Asia Minor and spread toward the Orient, but because of the crucifixion Christianity spread in the other direction, toward Rome and Europe.
God intended Christianity to stand on the foundation of Buddhism and Confucianism as the religion of perfection in the Orient. Christianity was intended to be a great unifying force embracing Hebrew, Egyptian and Hellenic cultures, unifying them into one world culture. But because of the crucifixion Jesus' disciples traveled toward Rome and Britain, and later to the United States. Since coming to America, Christianity has spread across the Pacific and come full circle to unite with Eastern culture.
At the present time there is much friction between East and West, but actually it is to be welcomed; that friction indicates they are confronting each other, and only through confrontation will certain differences be worked out or eliminated. Eventually the two will emerge as one harmonious unit, and in that sense friction is not necessarily bad.
The Korean peninsula is divided in half by the 38th parallel, and the United States is linked to the southern half as an ally. President Carter wanted to withdraw America's military support, but some power is preventing him from doing so. Carter is not the first president who wanted to withdraw militarily from Korea; President Nixon was the first. The American political mood is such that America wants to abandon Korea, but instead of allowing that to happen, God is sending Reverend Moon to. America; the Korean arm is holding America very tightly!
Present trends are leading America to give up different traditions and systems in its culture, such as the family unit. A dangerous situation is developing here in which people find no value in family life or in the church, and finally no value even in themselves. Young people feel they don't need their parents or education or culture, and say they are going back to nature, which really means they are living like animals. Some influence is pushing them to deny their old surroundings, preparing them to welcome the new culture. If they hold on to the old ways then there is no room for the new when it comes.
When you are hungry you don't care what kind of food you eat; you just grab anything and eat it. Right now God is allowing the American people to feel very hungry culturally, so as soon as something good comes they will grab it. Young people are interested in the mysticism of the Orient and many are moving to California, the place closest to the Orient.
We can see that there is a will in history which is not moving randomly. This age is being prepared for the new age to come in the future. Learning new ways and adopting a new culture is not easy and cannot be achieved by ordinary means. It is not easy for Americans to come sit on a concrete floor to worship God because you are accustomed to having nice carpets and chairs. Usually people go to church at 11 a.m. after eating a leisurely breakfast and reading the newspaper, but in the new culture we get up at 3:00 to come to Belvedere at 6 a.m. Have you heard the rooster crow in the morning? Why does he shout out so early like that? He is in the role of alarm clock, and those who are alerted spiritually know it is time to awaken.
There is a saying that history is made at night, but actually it begins in the early dawn; important things always start early in the morning before the sun rises. The persecution we receive from people is like the dark midnight in a deep valley, but we are climbing up out of that valley. We have come quite far, and historically speaking we are in the hour just before the dawn. Until now people have seen me in the worst possible light, even believing evil things about me that are completely untrue. But now the dawn is coming, and when they see the sunlight they will realize that what they thought was evil is actually the most precious and important of all. When the dawn comes they will see the true colors.
My topic this morning is Restored Family. It is not an easy topic because restoration of the family is not easy. It is not easy to read what I have written here on the board because it is very high-level writing. Handwriting is an important aspect of a culture, and without knowing the meaning and beauty of' this writing you cannot understand its depth.
There are four Chinese characters in this title and one Korean letter. Each Chinese character has meaning. The first means "two persons." This one refers to another person. This one means "day," and this one means "repeat." Each component here has a meaning. The East and West have different ways of' observing the same object.
This Chinese character means " heaven." Literally it means "two persons," in the sense that you cannot see heaven without at least two persons together. This next character means `'virtue:' which in its literal translation is very philosophical: Again, goodness cannot be achieved by one person alone; there must be subject and object in reciprocal relationship for goodness to emerge.
Future historians must record that one of my accomplishments was to bring the culture of East and West together in unity, not just on the level of' older people or scholars, but in particular among young people. That contribution alone is really an extraordinary one. Also, I am the one who created the movement in which Western and Oriental young people longed to have husbands and wives from other parts of the world. That in itself is a revolutionary movement. I never forced you to go that way, but somehow you feel that you would find joy in doing so.
A sense of mystery always derives from unknown factors. Why does man yearn after woman? Because she is a mystery; once she is known completely, however, there is no more mystery and attraction. Why is woman longing for man? Because of this mystic element. American women today are making a great mistake by exposing themselves too much, and because men know all about them their attraction is very much decreased.
Oriental women are very secretive, which is a great weapon. American women are all open and straightforward like machine guns, but if you make everything known then you lose your attractiveness. You know about Western culture and its limitations so it is losing interest for you. Now the Oriental culture is intriguing because there is much there you don't understand. This is why you want to study and taste some portion of it. You want to conquer your ignorance about it and really see what is there.
God is a mystery because no one really knows Him entirely. If you could see God from all angles then you would lose all interest in Him. The same is true of the Unification Church; the world is saying many things about us, but they certainly don't yet know all there is to know. Because of this mystery the interest of' people outside our Church is mounting. They want to find out what 1 am all about so they come to investigate, and in the meantime they are convinced by the truth and love here.
It is an extraordinary thing that in this day and age all five colors of skins have gathered together with one common goal and truth, with a tremendous hope to move the world. Joining the Unification Church is just the beginning, and then all kinds of things happen after that. Unification members are a new breed; you are American citizens but there is something different about you. The Korean and Japanese members are not quite 100 percent Korean and Japanese, but have some special element which makes them Moonies.
The Unification Church can be compared to a magnet made out of five different components, which are the five races. Together they have tremendous pulling power. The black component of the magnet pulls black people, the white component pulls white people, and so forth. Everyone is pulled by that one magnet. The important thing is how big this magnet will grow. We are gathered together to become the heavenly magnet, growing even under adverse conditions, with the rest of the world accusing. If we can grow under adverse conditions, what will happen when the entire world wants to welcome us? The communist movements have grown quickly, but it will seem very slow compared to the changes that come when the atmosphere is set to receive the Unification Church. This atmosphere will be created all over the world, and exciting days are coming with the approaching dawn.
If you lose a few hours of sleep, it is a small sacrifice to give. Driving today with the cold rain and slippery roads, didn't you feel excitement? Usually I drive over here in one of the bigger cars, but today the roads were so slippery that 1 came in a jeep with a snowplow. I was in the front seat instead of the back, and with the jeep jumping along it was a much more exciting ride. I thought for sure that there would be one-third as many of you here today because of the bad weather, but today attendance looks greater than usual.
Let's go back to the original topic. The Korean words for "great universe" mean literally "great home." This great world has been under Satan's domain instead of God's, and history began in conflict, with tears and suffering as the trademark. History has been full of disappointment, with people being born and searching for the meaning of life, suffering and wandering without direction. They all died without being able to find the answers, and no one has been able to conquer death.
Much evil has been done in war, but it also brought a fringe benefit because through war people have become advanced in knowledge and cultures have been spread quite quickly. People of advanced nations have to be physically present in order to conquer another land and in the meantime their cultures mingle. Defeated monarchs and armies have fled to remote areas and there continued their culture, trying to make a new life There are many stories in movies of criminals who had to flee their old life and start over in a new country, working on the most lowly level to regain some reputation. War has often been Satan's tool, but God has not lost because of war. Criminals and sinners have made an historical contribution by fleeing to primitive territory and beginning a new culture. God never loses in history, but even pushes evil elements to make some contribution to human history.
Why are there many languages in the world today? Because people have been pushed away from their countries and started over. In anger and resentment peoples have determined not to speak the old language and made a new one instead. Criminals often use their own code to communicate and sometimes it becomes so sophisticated that it is another language altogether. Here in America there are many different uses of' English, with special slang used by young people as well as different words in different regions.
The fallen world has become very confused and chaotic, and in that circumstance the work of restoration was begun. From God's standpoint there is not even one man in this desert-like world He can call His own.
In searching for His representatives on earth God is not looking at famous people or men with great power because such people are only interested in their own power and in enjoying life. He has always looked to the people who suffered under oppression to find those who can understand Him . God always finds His champions in the lower level. Another reason is that Satan is interested mostly in power and prestige so he pays most attention to upper-level people.
It is the communist strategy to infiltrate on all different levels and gradually gain control, and in the same way God seeks to infiltrate one by one and establish his beachhead. God may be telling different groups that they are important in His work, nurturing them in their role. As a result of this spiritual reinforcement and belief that they are unique, these people don't listen to anyone else. They do not know the overall point of view themselves, but all these groups are linked in a certain heavenly plan. They may not leave behind much physical achievement before they go to spirit world, but spiritually speaking they have a certain accomplishment. God is training and nurturing these champions, moving them up from the lowliest position to assume higher and higher positions.
There were many mystic or superstitious religions in ancient times and the idea of worship was very simple: people worshipped their many gods simply for their own benefit. In such religions the individual himself is the center, seeking simply to have good crops or to regain health. What blessing is that person receiving by worshipping God? God is guiding him out of this fallen world, leading him to become God's champion.
How do we know these people are receiving blessing? By the fact that they are being persecuted; persecution is always a sign of blessing being given somehow. Those who try to live up to some higher spiritual will or direction always receive persecution. There are many degrees of faith among all these people summoned by God. One would want to receive blessing himself; another would want his family to benefit, while yet another would pray for benefit for his society or nation. People have different spiritual aspirations. The person who seeks the well-being of his family will be master of that family, and the person seeking the well-being of his tribe will be a tribal leader, and so forth.
Ultimately the person who seeks to bring God's blessing to the world would be an international man, a leader who can see beyond race and nationality. Each religious leader's sphere of influence is determined by his own desire. If he seeks universal well-being then he can be installed as a leader in the largest possible sphere, while the others will be led and influenced by him. What would be the highest possible religious aspiration is God's sight? God has been waiting for the man who wants to liberate God, to bring Him rest and heal His heart of sadness. There is no higher religion than that.
What was Jesus philosophy? He said, "Not my will but Thy will be done." Jesus wanted to bring glory to God and felt that he himself was nothing, that he could sacrifice everything for God. What is a Messiah? He come as a heavenly mediator between God and mankind's desires, trying to reconcile them and bring harmony. Christians have faith in Jesus, but Jesus has faith in God. Therefore, if Christians truly want to advance they must not only believe in Jesus as a savior but believe in God and yearn to be His liberator.
Christians must fulfill both the wishes of the Messiah and the wishes of God. In order to do so they must elevate themselves to the position of messiahs and literally save the world. Their attitude must be: "For the sake of the world I must be a sacrifice. For the sake of God I can sacrifice my Christian church." Because they did not do this, such a church is still needed.
There are many nations in the fallen world. God will raise up the people who truly want to live up to His and the Messiah's wishes and pull them out of their countries. When all those champions are gathered will you find that they are all white? They must be of all five colors of skin because otherwise they could not be worldwide in influence.
Satan always knew that God was working to pull champions out of this world and create His own group or power, so naturally every time God tries to pull someone Satan tries to block his way. Satan doesn't want to let even one person escape from behind his wall so he creates strong bonds of family and society to prevent the person from moving freely. But God is wiser than Satan-he pulls them one by one to a single destination and unites them into a group. This is done in the form of a religious movement which undertakes exactly this operation; some such movement must be born to do it on earth. The first. champions shall be chosen in one nation of this fallen world, so God will choose one territory to assemble His champions.
Israel was that territory initially, the staging area for God's operation. After the crucifixion, Christianity had to have one place to assemble, and that nation was America. America was born for the sake of Christianity in the will of God, so people gathered in America from all around the world. Slavery is evil, but God worked even through slavery to bring some of His champions to America. God knew that in the end He would raise up representatives in the name of all people to be His champions, so He needed people from all continents, even though initially they didn't want to come.
All colors of skin are gathered in the United States, as well as people of all different areas of knowledge and material power, but the basic reason this nation prospers is because of Christianity. America has drawn the great minds from all over the world, bringing a wealth of knowledge to this country, but the foundation to do this was Christianity, which is worldwide. There is a common goal among Christians, so drawing all that talent was easy because Christianity has a worldwide foundation.
This country is a microcosm of today's world so the United States is the stage for the final messianic endeavor. No wonder God called me to come to America to begin the worldwide dispensation; it was most logical from God's standpoint. America has a link with all different races and nations, so once we have an impact on this nation we will be linked to all countries. God prepared for many years in order to make this nation possible and to utilize it for this one critical time in history. If America fails to respond to this messianic movement then America's mission is failed and thereafter America will be devastated.
Think of how God is working. Christianity flourished for many years in America, and then the Unification Church was born. Do you think the Unification Church would easily prosper? Until I came to America Christianity here was prosperous and rich, sending missionaries around the world. But once our activities became worldwide, American Christianity gradually began to decline. Young people knew that this was happening, and, being clever, they left first. But older people who move more slowly still remain. The interesting thing is that even as Christian leaders are telling the people to stay, they themselves are leaving!
This has been going on for ten years, and now churches are often empty, so that this is the perfect stage for Reverend Moon to emerge upon. While other churches have been crumbling I have been pushing through opposition and persecution. I won the battle in Asia and came to America to secure a beachhead. Here I proclaimed one movement for the liberation of God, of mankind and of Jesus. Furthermore, Reverend Moon and the Unification Church must be liberated. I issued a recruiting order for whoever was interested in kingdom-building, calling for champions from all races to step forward.
Each of you represents your nation and its leadership. This room represents the world, with all nationalities represented here, and even the nations that were enemies in the past now have their representatives sitting here together. Since God assembled the essence of the world in this place, the world here can be called the Abel world, and the everyday world can be called the Cain world. The Cain world is far bigger, but do you think the Abel world will be pulled or do the pulling? In the morning do you have confidence that you can pull the world? At lunchtime? At suppertime? Even in your dreams? That is true. We are going to pull this Cain world. The mark of my work is not only that I pulled the champions out of the Cain world, but that primarily they are bright young people. In twenty years you will be the key leaders of this nation. The time will come when America will welcome the Moon movement because there is no other workable solution for the world. What will your position be then? Right now the government and its agencies are chasing after the Unification Church, but we are fighting back and proving that we are innocent. We have 120 lawsuits underway right now, and one by one we are winning each of them as we are proven innocent.
We are not sitting idle while people try to destroy us, but are creating all kinds of weapons with truth and proof of innocence, documenting that our work is righteous. The record shows that the media and communist-influenced opposition have been trying to smear my reputation, but ultimately they will find that they have only helped by making me famous.
This is analogous to two wrestlers in a ring, one the world and the other the Unification Church. Even though the fighter for the world is being defeated and knocked down, he is discovering the strengths and weaknesses of the Unification Church fighter, realizing that he is not evil but righteous. After this loser comes out of the ring he begins to study the winner to see how he won and what his philosophy is. The popular trend now is to research Reverend Moon. Americans think they have the best national slogan-One Nation Under God-but I have come to proclaim a bigger slogan-One World Under God. America has found that next to my thinking and concept America's own thinking is small.
Christians feel superior and think that other people will not come as near to God as they. There are over 400 denominations bickering among themselves, but I have come saying that all religions must unite under one God; you can see how entirely different these concepts are. Our members come from all kinds of religious backgrounds, including non-Christian. The Unification Seminary is unique among seminaries because the faculty comes from all denominations- Creek Orthodox, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Islamic, and soon a Buddhist.
Hundreds of professors have come to visit Barrytown, and they can't imagine how a seminary can survive if it employs scholars from different backgrounds. A Methodist seminary has only Methodist scholars, and Catholics have only Catholics, and so forth. But the Unification Seminary has teachers of all religions. Many observers feel I must be either completely stupid or else a genius.
I am not only pulling champions from different nations but from all religions of the world. You are those representatives. If you are American, you represent America, and if you are Christian you represent Christianity as well. The time will come when the leaders of, say, Presbyterianism will come to the Unification Church, and then they will proudly point out how many Presbyterian champions have already been in the Unification Church for a long time. Where can Jews go today? They are destined to join the Unification Church if they want to survive. Even though they are extremely negative now, the time will come when Jewish rabbis will come and be proud of how many Jewish pioneers already came to Unification Church.
Blacks will exclaim at how many early members were black and be proud, and you black members will be known as champions of their cause in days to come. We need representatives from all fields, all walks of life, all academic persuasions, so that later on everyone will have a channel into Unification Church. We are gathered into one circle, but we are not sitting idle there. We are engaged in many activities, rounding off all the sharp corners to become the rounded shape that can harmonize with everything.
You Westerners have eyes that are basically round, while the Orientals' eyes are more angular, particularly mine. God made the human body round and smooth, and now your mind must be round and big as well. Is your mind like a penny, flat and small, or like a big round ball? If you are like a ball, you can roll any time in any direction, going everywhere possible. The Unification Church is round enough to roll in any direction, so it means you are ready for any mission. Today you fund raise with peanuts, next with ginseng, next with industrial machines-anything is possible for you. Today you can witness, tomorrow fund raise. We are flexible, not rigid.
I am truly round because there is no experience I have not tasted. I go to the sea, to the mountains, work in the factories, on the docks, in the mines. In school I can teach, or discuss deeply with philosophers, or come to Belvedere and be a father.
I have been extracting the essence of America into our movement. When people look at Moonies they see you are different-that you are capable, intelligent, charming and attractive. When eminent scholars come to the Science Conference and meet the Moonies, many remark that they wish their son or daughter could marry such a person. Many parents oppose the Unification Church because they envy my position; they see you becoming new young people, putting aside your old bad habits and drug life. Now they want to keep you to themselves, but you tell them you have to work for the mission because God needs you more than they do. They don't like that; they would rather have you all cleaned up and sent back to them.
What would you do then? Are you working hard in desperation to keep food on the table? No, we are concentrating our efforts to liberate God and the, world. We are pulling the world each day, and since we are getting stronger, Satan is getting desperate and our opponents are working harder to defame our movement. Our opponents are astounded that even in the face of all this we are still getting stronger.
Have I already done great work? Compare the two individuals that you have been-one before and one after joining. Have you become a different person? A small peanut or a giant? You have grown and changed so much that your own parents must make an effort to recognize you. With this philosophy we can discipline ourselves, so if you have grown this much in just a few years, what kind of person will you be twenty years from now?
In the years before I started the 21-year course in 1960, hardly anyone welcomed me In later years even the members said they didn't envy my position and found it hard to go on. I was talking about working on the worldwide level at that time, but none of our members could dream that the things I talked about would happen; I pushed through that doubt and hesitation and now what I am doing shines before the whole world. In 1960 I was older than you are now. In twenty years I have created much accomplishment, but you can do much more in twenty years because you are starting on an entirely different foundation. Eventually there will be no more opposition, and when you are welcomed by the people what kind of giant will you become?
Do we have hope or despair? Does the Unification Church belong to me or God? What kind of God is He? The universe is limitless, with many other solar systems and galaxies besides this one. God controls all these heavenly bodies. People think Neil Armstrong's moon-walk was an impressive accomplishment, but in God's point of view one man traveling from the earth to the moon is a minuscule accomplishment. Of all the many planets, don't you think that perhaps there is one made of only gold? Or one that is a huge diamond? God's jewel box is the universe, with planets of ruby and emerald. Wouldn't you want to go there?
What would you do with a diamond planet? You would be shocked, wouldn't you? What I want to say is that Almighty God long ago prepared everything for His children and nothing is lacking. The planet earth is a very small accomplishment in God's sight. The movie about Superman shows him taking time to fly around New York and taking several minutes for him to fly to California. But to God that is very slow-He couldn't run the universe is He moved that slowly. Don't you think God is capable of moving faster than light?
God has children here on earth, and as a parent He has ideas for who will receive the planets in His jewel box when His children are restored. Already He has plans for giving all these to you. In all the galaxies that God created do you think there are more stars than humans on earth, or fewer? There are 4 billion people on earth now, and the number of people in spirit world must total many more than that, but there are more stars than all those people put together.
If God gave you one planet, how could you manage it? Your clumsy physical body is too inconvenient to move around, so God gave you a spirit man; your spirit man can move faster than electricity or light. Your spirit man can really move like Superman and even electric waves cannot keep up with it. Don't you think God would create His own son and daughter to be faster than anything in creation" I look forward to entering into that vast space; I will be a grandfather by then so I look forward to visiting one son at one planet and a daughter at another. Don't you suppose God thinks in that fashion?
God's children are the princes and princesses of the creation, so don't you think He imagined the nicest possible place for them to live? The Versailles in France is supposed to be the most glittering and elegant palace ever made by man, but it is pale in comparison to a bathroom in the Kingdom of Heaven. Here on earth we have to wear clumsy clothes, but in spirit world your clothes are always sparkling and dazzling. This is not a fantasy. God is capable of anything.
The communists teach that this world came about by accident or by chance. Do you think so? Even the smallest gadget requires man's sweat and effort to conceive and repair, but man's spiritual body continues living for millions of years and never needs fixing. God's creations function as precisely as clockwork. Compared to the whole of the universe which God created, our existence here on earth is like a piece of dust, but in God's mind He cannot trade the value of His son and daughter for the whole universe. Are you these precious children of God?
There is nothing impossible for our Almighty Father in heaven, and you are His sons and daughters. There is a whole incredible realm waiting for you which you have not seen but where you will live eternally. In that world you will travel faster than light and visit all these different planets made of precious stones. You won't have to go shopping because everything you need will be ready. How much higher spiritually must you become to be entitled to that world? Is your body 100 percent conductive of God's spiritual electricity, or is it a non-conductor like wood and soil?
Does wood or metal conduct electricity better? God has the best conductability. Are you 100 percent conductive of God's energy, just like gold conducts electricity? Am I greedy for that or not? I picked you up when you were like driftwood on the side of the road, and I am trying to turn you into genuine gold. In order to do that I have to put you in the furnace and turn the heat up to melt out the impurities. How could you be pure otherwise? Do you complain at the discomfort of it?
Why does God seem to be helpless and subjected to ridicule by so many people? When people say there is no God it is the worst humiliation for Him, yet He submits to it because He wants to fulfill love. Those of you who were in love with several different people before you became members, which experience was the most memorable, the first love or your later loves? If your first love was an ugly man, but your next love was a Hollywood star, which impression would be the strongest for you? The first one. Love has such power that even an ugly person's features become beautiful.
What about God, then? God wanted to give His first love to man and receive man's first love, but was that love given? Ever since Adam and Eve became fallen, has anyone better than they were come forward to give God their love? The moment God lost man's love He was deeply wounded. How do you think we can heal His heart? Man was the one who failed, so do you think God can heal His heart by Himself? No? Who should be able to do it then? Can you do it simply by saying that you love God? Our loving Heavenly Father has been deceived by man millions of times in history.
What shall man do to prove worthy of God's trust? We have to be put in a position to receive hardship from God, to be chased out by God and yet still receive it humbly. God has one standard by which man can prove himself worthy-if fallen man can receive so much rejection that even unfallen Adam and Eve would have complained, and yet still love God and be willing to receive still more rejection, then he can be vindicated and heal God's broken heart.
In order to prove ourselves worthy we must be pushed into suffering by God. God wants to be able to declare to Satan that His children are better than the original Adam and Eve. If they demonstrate utmost loyalty under intense suffering then God can tell Satan that he can never accuse these children of whom God is proud. History has never seen that kind of man, and for this reason God's heart has not been liberated. But now God is seeing His first day of vindication through the Unification Church.
After knowing this secret, the man who volunteers to liberate God's heart must be able to say that God can allow all the satanic forces to attack him and still he will remain as His son. Even if God Himself rejects such a person, he will still remain. That is why I asked God to let the entire satanic world come against me, and I am receiving that opposition now. Is it unfortunate to be persecuted, or does it need to be done? It is the secret method to bring the true love of God to man's dwelling on earth.
Now the entire world is coming against you because you have united with me. At the same time I push you hard as well, but will you complain? What I am teaching you this morning is completely logical. If someone you dearly love betrays you, that person must show his love over and over under difficult circumstances for your heart to be healed. God has emotion of far greater depth than you do, so God has felt that hurt much more than you do. The man who could completely comfort God has never appeared on earth, and history has brought only continual grief and pain to God. But finally that man has come on earth; do you think God will take interest enough to visit him? Even if that man tells God to wait and watch for heaven, God cannot bring Himself to remain there but is anxious to come down and help. His throne would be a dull place while this man is busy on earth. Whenever I went through overwhelming suffering, even to the point of death, God always provided people or money to help, or an open door to a new start. In every difficulty God was always ahead of me, preparing. This is the only way God's will could be fulfilled.
Do you think the barriers and persecution we face now are necessary or not? When you are blessed would you women prefer to have a good or bad husband? You can tell God you want the worst possible husband so that you prove your love for Him. If you have a good husband then you have no chance like that to prove your love. This is absolutely true! If you are truly a daughter of God, you can ask God for the worst man as your husband and tell Him that you will make that man the most outstanding and heroic husband of all.
The husband of such a wife could spend the rest of his life talking about her devotion and commitment and sacrificial love. A wife should be the one who testifies about the greatness of her husband and a husband about the greatness of his wife. I always testify to Mother's beauty and charm and love, and she testifies to me.
As a loving Father, God will always use His best son in the worst possible circumstances, knowing that he will win. Isn't that true? Since I have proved to be so tough, God trusts me enough to send me anywhere, even to the dungeons of hell, knowing that I will be successful. That is the kind of men and women God wants to represent Him. I am looking forward to see who shall become that kind of son and daughter among my own children, so I am always looking at you.
In the end it can be said that my life looked tragic and miserable, but I made up my mind a long time ago that I wanted to live through the worst suffering and indignation at the hands of man and God, and still I would love God and never change. That's the way I volunteered. 1 never asked God for blessing or assistance, but He heaped blessing upon me nevertheless. I never prayed to God for things I needed, but always felt that I had not done enough. Apparently God likes that attitude better. for He always blesses the person who feels he should be doing more. In that position alone you can liberate God of His sorrow and mankind of their suffering.
God's handpicked champions will be those who follow this way of life. God will have all the great prophets and saints of history come before those people to hear what they have done, and those saints will all say that those people have exceeded their standard and will pay their respects. That is the kind of men and women I am asking you to become. There is no day and night for God, and He will be with you 100 percent of the time. If there is a difficult task, you should be the one to ask God for it. Each day you will go one step further and break the record of the day before. There is always room to improve and you can never reach your maximum.
We are climbing up and crossing over every hill, but I want you to know that there is an end to all the obstacles. Once you reach the top of Mt. Everest then everything is spread out beneath you. You have a golden road ahead of you. At the pinnacle of that mountain you can feel that finally you can see why God pushed you so hard and in that realization you will be grateful to Him. That kind of man is essential if God is to be liberated.
So far God has always done everything He could do and it was always man who failed. Do you want to volunteer to be a champion in this world? Don't you feel tired if you have already been in the Unification Church 3 years? How long can you go on? Forever? Your suffering on earth is limited. This opportunity will never come again, so grab it. Eternity will not contain this kind of suffering, so you must seize the time now.
The problem is that man stained his first love. God is seeking for a man who can restore more than the first love and who can truly liberate His heart. Until God installs such a man here on earth as master of the universe, His dignity will never be truly restored.
When God looks down He sees two churches, one trying its utmost to vindicate His heart, and another whose members believe in Jesus so they can have their safe little niche in heaven. God pays no attention to them; He has met countless people like that over 2,000 years and they were never concerned about God's heart. Instead of giving them blessing, God is watching them decline. In the meantime He has drawn you away to become new champions with a new concept of faith to set a new tradition for the fulfillment of Christianity. Who will reject you in the end if you live that way of life? .,
Why do you follow me? You like me because God loves me. If God didn't like me then you would never stay here. Are you ready for rejection and persecution? You might have had some lover from the "good old days," but the value of what you are pursuing now is immeasurable compared to what you had before.
We are trying desperately hard to fill our cups now. A great vacuum and emptiness has been created throughout history and each of us is trying now to fill it up. No one can say they deserve the blessing; if it comes suddenly to you then that is a surprise blessing. Are you a patriotic person in this small, compact Abel world? Are there candidates for historical sainthood among you? Is it easy to achieve that goal?
There are examinations to be passed on the family, society, nation and world levels. How many levels have you passed? Unless you pass on each level how can you restore the family? When you restore the family it means you have achieved the original ideal of creation, and if you reach that level then no matter what persecution and opposition come, you will not be affected Your family should be like Adam's in the garden of Eden. There was no opposition or rejection in Eden because there were no other people, and as long as Adam and Eve obeyed God they could have had the easiest way of fulfilling home church. Today you should fulfill that role of Adam's family. Even though you may falter, you can regain strength because your Father and Mother have done it-they are strong and have met God's standard and you are their children. You can think that even though you have your weaknesses, you will pick yourself up and go on ultimately to be like the True Parents.
You will need witnesses to testify about you, and God and the True Parents will be your witnesses. The True Parents will say, "This is my son. This is my daughter. We can send them anywhere in the satanic world and they will not be defeated." You must be children whom the True Parents can testify to like this. You can realize that you are superior to anyone in history because you are children of True Parents and God. You must become exemplary for everyone in the Old Testament, New Testament and Completed Testament eras. Among the three generations of Roman Catholicism, Protestantism and Unificationism you should be superior. Each of you is passing through the formation, growth and perfection levels. Therefore, the number three is important in the Unification Church. When a husband and wife come together they form six, plus the True Parents makes eight, the family unit. Even if the other seven oppose you, nothing can make you recant your faith that you are a child of the True Parents.
There are three brothers as sons of God: the elder son is the yellow race, the second son is the black race, and the third son is the white race. The Unification Church is the movement in which these three sons can become one. In the future we will have a trinity system in the Unification Church, with one black, one yellow, and one white family living in one house so you can fulfill that expectation of God. Then you can go on to a higher level.
If there is a disabled person among the eight, would he receive less love" On the contrary, that would bring him added love, for the person who has a handicap receives greater love. Historically black people have been in a more desolate position of suffering so God will push white brothers more to help them. Would you welcome it? A few days ago President Carter made a statement which received a great deal of criticism-he said today's Christianity is becoming a roadblock to racial unity, that American Christians are not living up to what the Bible says. At least he had done one thing right!
In order to win the title of restored family you have to set the record of loving all societies and nations. When you go beyond that level you can come back to declare that your family is a restored one. The center of the restored family is God. If you suffer for your own people then your record does not have as much meaning. If Americans suffer for America it means less. But if white people go to Africa to suffer for black people, it has great meaning. If black people suffer for white people that has great meaning, for that is the only way we can unite the wood into one.
There is no way we can become one until we realize that God, the master of all humanity and the universe, has been suffering. Until it is realized that God is suffering, mankind can never really become one. Further, man must realize that God is a miserable, suffering parent because He loves man and refrains from cursing man for his sin. God put Himself in such, a position of misery because he had hope for man.
Why is it you cannot complain to me? Because you know that I have suffered more than you for the sake of' the world, nation, and family, and there is no one who has suffered more. No matter how hard 1 push you in fundraising and witnessing, you still feel you want to do more instead of thinking you are entitled to complain.
Only if man can love God with a love exceeding the love of unfallen man, which God never received, can the world become one. No other power can make people come. We in the Unification Church must be united around this concept and ideology. There is no way you can prove yourself worthy until you come under much pressure. Once you are ignited in that love you will be like yeast to make good bread. Then a revolution will take place.
If you have five members living in your center, who will be the host or master? Not the person who gives directions and then sleeps, or the one who tells someone else to cook and then only eats. If a person is always looking for a way out of work then he is the most foolish of all, losing the battle and defeating his own purpose. We are here to serve more than anyone, and we should compete with each other to serve more.
Those in the everyday world who try to advance themselves and show off seem to go farther, but in God's world it is different. Here we try to lower ourselves in humility and meekness, realizing that this is the way to be raised up. The Unification Church has a practical way of life. Instead of putting on makeup, our sisters would rather do the cleaning or cooking. Even if their faces are pale God sees them as more beautiful. Those who serve only themselves, no matter how well they talk, will go in only one direction-powerlessness and smallness.
I am sure I have set the all-time record of receiving more beatings and persecution than anyone. When the Watergate publicity began, Nixon was berated every day by the media, and within 1 1/2 years he gave up and resigned. Those Americans who attacked me predicted that I would collapse in six months, but now after six years I am going stronger than ever! The New York Times and Washington Post made such predictions, but they realize now that they can't compete with me. Even the U.S. Congress was defeated. Who made you winners'! Was it me? America God brought that victory. How great God is!
Twenty-four hours a day the earth makes one revolution, without variation. If it lost even one second every day, what do you think would happen? After millions of' years, one second each day would mean a loss of many hours, but God made the universe in such a way that even after millions of' years the earth does not lose one second. God is that precise and meticulous. When God promises that He will be with you, He will do so without even one second's variation. That is the Unification Church God. If that is the God you believe in then your faith can be precise and continuous, just as the earth never loses even one second. Even if the task is a million years long, the Unification Church faith shall never deviate from it.
Are you always vacillating in your faith, or always firm and consistent? If you are always faithful then you shall be serving God and restoring your family. You can become a husband or wife in that restored family, and raise great children there. Is that difficult or easy to do? I want you to make your mind very straight right now. For the fulfillment of God you are going to marry and have a home, not for your sake, but for the fulfillment of God's will. Therefore if God gives you the worst possible mate, that person is the one you deserve, and anything better is a fringe benefit. Whatever God wills, you will. It you lower your expectation to the lowest possible level, how can you be disappointed?
It is as though each person wears a mask, and the person you thought was incredibly ugly turns out to be the most handsome in the heavenly way. But the person who expects to get a wonderful person will not have that kind of fortune. It is not to be worried about. Just be ready for God's will and ready to rejoice over anything. If you are like that then there is no way Satan can dominate you.
Do you really love God? In order to test you, that God whom you say you love will show Himself as a deformed baby who can do nothing for himself, and who needs care his whole life long. If God is testing you, He will be saying through that child, "Why is my laundry always so smelly and my supper so late?" Will you still love that God? Then love your fellow man as you say you love this God; that is how you express your love for God.
Many American young people want nothing to do with their old parents and put them away in institutions. Is that the heavenly way? Is it the heavenly way to have to wait on them every day for all their needs, even taking them to the bathroom? If a charming young lady takes care of parents in such a loving sacrificial way, will the townspeople complain that she is taking business away from the senior citizens' homes" Even in America today would that deed by praised as virtuous? Will we in the Unification Church put our parents in senior citizens' homes?
When I am very old and need someone to take care of me, if I come to your home will you say you don't have the resources to take me in and ask why my own children don't take me in? 1 wanted to do that for my own parents, but they passed away before 1 had completed my responsibility for the world dispensation. You can be better than me in that respect because your parents are still living. The highest virtue is a burning family love and desire to help each other in a sacrificial way. Centered upon such love you can create the warmth of a true home. The tradition we are going to create is the restored family.
Today American families are going in the opposite direction, so inevitably American homes will crumble. The age-old family system is no longer honored because individuals are looking out for their own welfare instead. Is a new family system needed here in America? At one time you were like today's young people, concerned solely with your own well-being, but since coming here and being taught and disciplined, you have become different men and women. This new ideology has been implanted in your heart and no one can take it away-even if you are dragged away from the Church. You will be comforting God for eternity, without end. That is our determination.
Today you may look like a miserable person, but I want you to have pride in it because the time of suffering will soon be coming to a close, and even if you go out seeking suffering in the future it will be hard to come by. My own life is a good example of this. There was a very lonely time when I longed for people to come, even just one person, but now there are too many people and I cannot see everyone. What a change! There is no question that by any standard I have succeeded on he worldwide scale-by American, Korean or any nation's standard. The same God guarantees that if you pursue this way of life you will have the same success.
The final destination is the restored family, and in order to accomplish it you have to struggle in two worlds and overcome many barriers. The Cain and Abel struggle within the free world and within the nation and church, even in the Unification Church. The barriers are always there, even in the Unification Church, and you must overcome them.
Our goal is to do home church-first Cain home church, then Abel home church. Only then will you enter this restored family. In your home church put into practice what you have been taught this morning. Don't worry whether other people love you or not. If no one loves you, don't complain, but realize it is because your own love has not been sufficient. You must love more and give more service. God gave love first, He never asked to be loved first. No, God's way is to love first.
You will become a victorious person who can enter the restored family by overcoming the barriers and living the principle you have been taught. That shall be your secret to succeed. Once you enter the restored family and look back at the road you have come, you will marvel at the incredible path you walked. Then you will feel much, much happier that you have already arrived at the destination, and exclaim, "It was all worth struggling through in order to meet my heavenly family, and I want to fill my family with the song of love. Just as God loves, I will love. I love my family and the world as God loves them and see them from His viewpoint." You will reach the position where restoration is finally consummated.
You can put up a barrier of love which will be greater than that built by unfallen Adam and Even, and there is no way Satan will be able to overcome that fortress once you do so. In this sense home church is really wall-building for your own protection. I struggled in the satanic world to win this weapon, and now I am passing the secret to you so you can do just the same on a limited scale, which is home church. It is your world, and when you use this method to win there, God will acknowledge that your victory equals that over the whole satanic world.
You might wonder why God can't freely give, you His blessing without home church, but without it you have not erected that barrier against Satan. There is no guarantee of eternal stability without it. Home church work is like building your castle which Satan has no power to destroy. The more difficult home church is to create, the greater your wall of love will be. Actually, difficulty is all to your benefit. It is a great revolution that Unification Church can do home church, at the same time transcending national barriers, racial or cultural barriers. We can do home church as one unit on the worldwide scale. You and I pass away from earth, but we will not have to finish the unfinished task later by coming back to earth. Once you finish the task here victoriously, you will go to the Kingdom of Heaven in heaven, where you can enjoy life eternally with God.
Later on when we gather in spirit world won't you come to see me? Then when I invite everyone to go visit the planets, wouldn't you like to come? It will be a traveling banquet for eternity. God created beautiful homes out of each planet but there have been no masters living there yet, so when we are traveling I will give them to you. If you worry about being left behind on one planet I want to reassure you. There is no time or distance in the spirit world, so wherever you are you are always with me. This is no dream or fantasy, but reality.
I am not dumb. I am smart enough to succeed spectacularly in any other field, even politics or business, but I gave it all up to stick to this job because I wanted to reserve this world for you. You are smart too, because otherwise you would not follow me. You know that I am keeping the best in reserve, and since you have tasted a sample you have decided to stay.
We have to be victorious, and our goal is the restored family because the Kingdom of Heaven shall be built in units of families. When you pass the test on that level then the entire universe will be yours for the asking. If I ask you what kind of husband or wife you would like to enter into heaven with, what would you answer? The worst? You know how you should live here on earth and you will accumulate your assets. By knowing this secret and working hard to reach the goal you will never lose.
The greater the love and sacrifice you demonstrate, the lighter you will be and the higher you will go. The amount of universe you can conquer is determined by the level of your love, and the spirit world computer is so accurate that there is no miscalculation or deviation. Sometimes you should be longing for God so much that you close your eyes and ears and nose, concentrating your senses to see God. "God, I want to see your face before I sleep, but I didn't see you today," and if you cry out, day after day, then suddenly God will appear face to face. That is why God is precious.
Are you confident to be a champion to build a restored home? What kind of barrier will you build? Where will that love be? Home church on the worldwide level. America is a wonderful place for that reason because here you can find all races and peoples. When you white members knock on the door of other white people they will reject you simply because you are Moonies. Sometimes black people will welcome you, though, just because you are Moonies.
Instead of visiting homes of other white people, whites would rather go to Spanish homes, black homes, Oriental homes. That's restoration. How much history has been moving upward! It is difficult to keep visiting 360 homes every day, but in the meantime keep knocking and being rejected. While you are doing that the dawn is breaking. You are home church messiahs. You are going to be a messiah to 360 homes, but then will be elevated to be tribal messiahs, then national messiahs. That's where you will find the restored family, and finally return to your home town.
Do you always have to live in the New Yorker? What is the goal? Do you live in home church now? Go to your home church and serve them spiritually and physically and be the contractor for re-creation in every way. How much you sweat and cry for your home church and how much persecution you receive there is the important thing. If you still come back to serve the people after three angry rejections, the people will say you Moonies are impossible and there is no one else like you anywhere in America.
There is no barrier you cannot break through in order to be a host and hostess in home church. Have the barriers of opposition started to crumble here in America? It is an exciting task, and they will inevitably break down. No matter how gigantic they are, our opponents will crumble eventually, so just go forward fearlessly. Initially Col. Pak felt he could hardly overcome the fierce opposition from the U.S. Congress, but that barrier broke also. What I have been saying sounds like a dream now, but it will happen.
The barriers in spirit world have been broken already, and all the barriers in the physical world will crumble also, even though many people are opposing us now. The communists have great power, but already their power is being eroded within communist nations. The communists' worst enemies will be their own children, who will revolt and denounce their own parents' ideology. This is the power of spirit world moving in every direction.
It takes time for this to become known, but the dam has already broken. To average people living far away it seems impossible until the water reaches them and then it is too late. Ten years ago I was saying that the dam had broken. You are accepting me at face value and believing in something that seems impossible-that is faith. Twenty years ago I spoke to a small group of members in Korea and said that in time people from England and America and the whole world would join with them to fight for world restoration. They were not only astonished but doubtful, and said among themselves that I was only trying to make them feel better. But what has happened now? Today I am saying extraordinary things and do you think I am only trying to make you feel better? No? Then you are better than the Koreans!
Home church is our destiny, so pack up to leave the New Yorker. Would you accept my challenge to be victorious champions in home church so we can all rejoice over restored families? All right. Thank you.
Let us pray.
