Managing Your Blessed Life

Hyung Jin Moon
June 28, 2008
HQ Chungpadong, Seoul, Korea
Transcribed by: Annie (Mary) Hapeman
Edited by: Bruno Klotz

Welcoming Message: Yeon Ah Nim:

Good Afternoon! Nowadays the weather is so unpredictable. Sometimes it is very hot, sometimes it is very chilly and sometimes it is rainy like today, but even though it is so, what we are sure of is that the sun will rise tomorrow. I believe that our faith life is like that, too. Sometimes we have ups and sometimes we have downs, but what we are sure of is that when we truly devote ourselves in prayer and devote ourselves to a higher being, then our faith and our life will be better everyday.

Brothers and Sisters, we're always praying for you and your family that your life will become brighter and brighter with each and every day. Brothers and Sisters, we're always grateful and honored to have you all here in the sanctuary. And for those who are joining with us via internet, we're also welcoming you all as well. Welcome, brothers and welcome sisters!

Hyung Jin Nim:

Welcome, brothers and sisters. I want to share with you from Cheon Seong Gyeong page -- oh, very very providential -- page 2008. Amazing! I didn't recognize that when I picked it. Page 2008, "We long for the nation of God, because it is a place of love. It is a place where, instead of temporary love, eternal love that transcends time can continually exist. It is also a place where you can elevate yourself and be recognized for 100% of your value."

Brothers and Sisters, I love that because when we're seeing ourselves everyday, when we are starting a new day, we have to open page 2008. Remember, I'm going to start with an elevated view. I'm going to start with a higher perspective of myself. I'm not going to see myself like this, "I'm not able to make it" or, "I am not talented." I'm going to see myself from the highest view point. I'm going to see myself with an elevated perspective. I'm going to recognize the 100 percent value that I have.

It's so important to do that because in life we can get down. When we hit obstacles or face challenges, it is so easy to want to see our weak points, to want to see why we are inadequate, why we can't overcome those challenges.

But I want to really ask you today to look at yourself in a whole different light, to look at yourself not with your own eyes but to see yourself from the perspective of Almighty God. When we do that we will see ourselves with cosmic value, we'll see ourselves with unique value, divine value, with 100% of our value.

Please recognize this today, brothers and sisters. When we do that we come into the presence of God and come into His sphere of love, we come into His perspective. When we do that we can elevate ourselves, we can rise above any obstacle, we can overcome any challenge. It's all within us. When we begin the new day with that perspective you will have more victory on that day, more illumination and more peace.

Brothers and Sisters, every time we come to the service, we're not only here to watch service but we're here to worship. We're here to attend the service, right? This is important. So I want to invite you all to participate today especially when we are having the praise and worship songs. These are not just very cool and nice songs to listen to. They're testaments; they are declarations of our confidence. They are declarations of our pride in ourselves, in the person that God created us to be. It's so important, when we are all here together in the room, that we're able to give to God our best and really show Him that.

And then what happens? Our week starts in the right way, starts with the right perspective and right attitude, starts with us recognizing 100% of our value. When we do that I do believe your new week will be better. People will be kind to you. You will be better to the people, too.

Brothers and Sisters, when that happens it will have an effect and something will happen in your life. Day after day, day in and day out, as long as we keep that attitude, we'll be able to overcome anything that comes up in our life.

Brothers and sisters, welcome once again to our service. We're not only here to witness but to really attend and to really give worship today. I hope to include you all and invite you all to participate. Once again, welcome!

Interesting Story:

You know, before we start any kind of words here, we like to start with something a little interesting. I heard a very interesting story, it was about little Johnnie. And he went to Sunday school one day, and he heard the beautiful story about how God created Adam from the ground, and then He created Eve from a rib of Adam. Little Johnnie was fascinated by the story, and he just couldn't get it out of his mind.

One day, during the week he had baseball practice, and somehow, just by unfortunate circumstances, he got hit with the baseball in his ribs. And he ended up having to go home, and his mom picked him up, and took him back. And she said, "Honey, how are you doing? That must really hurt." And little Johnnie said, "Mommy, just like Adam, my rib is killing me. I think God is making me a wife."

True Parents Declaration

These are my True Parents, the eternal King and Queen of Peace, and Liberator of God's heart. They have saved me from my past, they have blessed my future, and they give me true love, forgiveness, and happiness today and I choose to receive it. My mind is awake, my heart is opened wide, and from this moment I change forever. In my name, Aju.

Main Sermon:

Brothers and sisters, I want to talk to you today about managing your blessed life. To live the blessed life, it is very important to understand how to manage your life. Everyone has a variety of goals, things they need to accomplish, and at the same time, everyone also has a limited amount of time to do that. Learning how to manage your life effectively, becomes one of the keys to being able to manifest your dreams that God has given to you and has planted in your heart.

But many people say "I don't have enough time to accomplish my goals. If I had more time, I could be a little more successful with my children or a little more successful with my family. I could have done better maybe on that test, or that proposal, or at that business meeting, if I had just a little more time to prepare. But the key here is not to find more time -- no one can do that -- the key here is to make more time.

I heard a beautiful lecture given by a very famous time management coach. He was giving his presentation, and he pulled out a little bucket, which he started to fill up with gravel. Then he invited one of the people to come up onto the stage. There was a lady who was a business professional. She was married, and she had children. She was very professional. She was a manager at a top firm. He asked her, "These little gravel stones in this bucket symbolize all the things in your life, all those little things that just add up, until one day you realize, 'My God, I'm really overwhelmed. I've got too many things in my life."

Then he said, "That's not enough. You also have bigger things in your life that you need to include. So here is the bucket filled with gravel, with just a little bit of space on top." Then he pulled about 20 rocks (stones) up from the bottom, big rocks. And on top of them were little stickers that said "big opportunity", "vacation", "spouse", "family", or "church and community". These were very big stones that we need to include in our life. And so he said, "I want you to put these 20 rocks into your bucket of gravel."

And so she stood there, a very professional, high achieving individual, very smart, out of business school, succeeding in her professional career. And here she is, trying to fit these big rocks into that bucket of gravel. She started doing it. She started putting in one, like "vacation", and then she had to move maybe "family" a little to the left, and she was trying to squeeze everything in. Of course, she couldn't do it. She had about 5 or 6 big rocks in there, and she said, "I can't do it." At some point, she tried to scoop up the gravel and move it to one side, so that maybe she could fit in some more rocks. But it just wasn't working.

And then he said, "Why don't you try a totally different way. Here I'll give you a new bucket." And he pulled out a new bucket, and he said "Why don't you start with a totally different paradigm, a totally different mind set? Start in the beginning with something new, something different." And she said, "I'd like to put in the big rocks first." She started putting the big rocks in: Community, faith, church, professional occupation, vacation, free time, kids, spouse. She put the big rocks in first, and then she took that bucket of gravel, and then poured it in.

What happened? It fit. Even though the big rocks were in there, the gravel fit in around them. It went all around the stones, eventually it filled it right to the top. But he wasn't done yet. He pulled out a bucket of sand. He said, "I want you to put this bucket of sand in there, too." And she poured it in, and she twisted the bucket around, making spaces between the little gravel, and the sand was squeezing in. And he said that wasn't all. He said, "I want you to do a little more." He pulled out a bucket of water. And there she is again, and then she slowly poured in the water, sifting the sand around, sifting the gravel around. She was able to put all of those things into her bucket!

What is the point here? He asked, "What am I trying to teach you today?" One student said, "The point is, that no matter how full your schedule is, if you try really hard, you can always fit some more things into your schedule." But the man said, "No, no, no, I'm not trying to teach you that, I'm not trying to tell you to pack your schedule up, to squeeze things in." He said, "The point is, that if you don't put your big rocks in first, you won't be able to get in the other stuff. The key is to learn how to identify the big rocks in your life. Whether they are work, whether they be family, whether they be spouse, whether they be getting ahead, whether they be education, whether they be dreams, or a worthy cause, like teaching, mentoring, etc., the key is to first be clear on your big rocks. And it's so important that we learn how to do this, because if we don't, we won't be able to fit inside any of the gravel, any of the sand, any of that water, just like in that illustration.

But somebody might say, "I just can't organize all the details to make space for myself." Well, that's exactly the point. We're not supposed to organize all the details first, we're supposed to first get in those big stones, get in the big rocks that you need to get done in your life. Then slowly you will sift, you will sort, so that the gravel and the sand and the water can start fitting in.

"But if I choose 'family', I can't choose 'work', or if I choose 'work' then I can't choose 'church' ". But it is not like that. You see, whatever we do, we have to realize that one of our main big rocks, the most magical rock, is to always have the rock of God and our True Parents in our lives. No matter what we do, whether or not it's happiness, whether it's getting ahead, education, whether it's any of those things, if we don't have that rock in our bucket, as a partner, we will not be able to achieve lasting fulfillment in our lives. Some void will always be following us around.

There will be something in our hearts that we know we have to do at a greater level. We have to contribute to the community; we have to contribute to God and to the True Family. And so it's so important that in our lives we include that biggest rock, that rock of God and True Parents, into our bucket. And also the bigger rocks as well, family, happiness, education, helping another person, mentoring, etc., etc.

I was talking to a minister and his wife, and she said something just so right. We were talking about getting our things in life in order, how to really use our faith life, how to really actualize our faith life in the world. How do you work and do church activities at the same time? How do you live a good life while also being able to contribute and give back to your community, help your brothers and sisters?

And she said something that clarified something in my own mind. She helped me really clarify something in my own thinking. She said that there are three basic elements of faith. She always tells the people that she counsels and that she discusses with, that the most basic part of the unification practice, the most basic investment, that we make is:

1) We offer a part of our week to God; we go and celebrate True Parents, and we celebrate God. We commune with our community. We come together for service. That's number one.

2) We invest in that community. We don't only take from that community, we invest in that community. We do our practice of tithing. We do our practice of investing in that community, investing in our brothers and sisters, investing in God's family.

3) We offer our vows. What does that mean? She explained, "We have pictures of True Parents in our homes, we carry them in our wallet, we make the connection, we make the partnership that True Parents and God are in our lives."

She explained that to me, and it really clicked in my mind. What is the first stage of really making the commitment, of starting unification practice? She explained that it is these basic things. These are the basic things, the fundamental things. Anything, for example witnessing or fasting or spiritual practices, any of these things, have to come on the foundation of these most basic practices.

When I heard that, I realized, "Yeah! These things we can do in the world. Most people in other traditions do it as well. We can do that. We can be part of our community, come to service, we can be supportive of our brothers and sisters, investing in the community, and also attending True Parents in our daily lives. And all that doesn't prevent us from succeeding, that doesn't take us out of our work place, that doesn't mean that we have to become a minister and totally sacrifice our lives for True Parents. Of course, that is a choice for some people, but not for everybody.

And so there are stages in the Unification practice, stages in our faith. And as she was explaining, the most basic stage of our faith are those three things. Whenever we think about the big rocks in our family, I also think about the family rock. Whenever we visit families during the week, we talk to the families about making a day for your children. This is such an important practice. We've been doing it for many years, every Tuesday. Since we came to Korea and started ministering, we had to do it on the weekend. Now the weekends are a little preoccupied; so we do it on Tuesday.

This Tuesday will maybe be my first boy's day; not because it is his birthday, or because of some other event; no particular reason. Just because he is special, because he is my son. And so what we'll do is we'll just take him, and we'll go out, wherever he wants to go. He loves Ramyon. So we'll go and get Ramyon. We'll invest. We'll talk with him. We'll discuss things. We listen to what he has to say, to what is on his mind. We get to know him a little more, invest in that relationship.

Then what happens next? The next week, the next Tuesday, that's my second boy's day. And my second boy, when we go out, he really likes Jajangmyeon, so we go out and get some Jajangmyeon. So we get some Jajangmyeon, we spend time with the kid, with our boy, we see what is unique in him, what kind of counseling he may need. And it's a great time. We've found to be able to share our values, share our principles, and share how they can overcome their difficulties.

The next week, as you can imagine, it's our girl's day. It's Kumi's day; and so, we go out on a Tuesday. She really likes KFC; so we go to KFC on her day. So, this is what we do, the practice that we do. It's such an easy thing to do, and I always encourage brothers and sisters, whenever we visit their families, to participate in this kind of practice, to take the child out, to take your children out for their own day; not because it's their birthday; not because it’s some special thing, not because they passed a huge exam. Just because they are who they are.

It's so important to do this, because, according to research, what are the memories that the children remember the most? Think about it, think about your parents. The memories with your parents that you remember the most, are not the memories with all your siblings around as well. You remember most the memories with your Parents -- when you were there, one on one, sharing something good, something sweet.

But unfortunately, what is the reality of people who spend time one on one with their kids? Many parents spend one on one time with their kids. They do do it, but what are they doing during that one on one time? They are getting angry, or they are nagging their kids, "Why can't you do better? Why aren't you doing this or that? You should have done better in school; what's wrong with you, son? Do you have a brain disease?" Etc.

We don't want to do that kind of one on one time with our children. If we do not watch ourselves we'll spend most of the time nagging them to death; or telling them that they are inadequate; or that in some way they have to improve at school, in their studies, etc.

It's so very important that we invest one on one with the children, in a positive way, in a way that gives them hope, that gives them confidence; so that they know that whatever the situation, their Dad and Mom are there for them. So that they know they are special. So that they know that they are created to do great things in their life. We need to fill our children up with that kind of faith. We need to fill them up with that kind of one on one attention, that one on one care, that one on one kind of love.

Whenever we share this with brothers and sisters, with the wonderful families we visit, many times they say, "Oh, you know, I would love to do that, but I'm just so busy!" As you know, we go to Japan, and you know that they are very busy over there, and they say, "We have no time; we have a totally sacrificial life. I have no time for my kids; I have no time to see the children. I come back at 2:00 in the morning, or sometimes I'm leaving in the morning at 6:00 and coming back at 1:00 am, etc."

And, it is very funny, because even when I am in Japan, I ask the crowd many times, "Oh, by the way, did you see that show Chumung? In Korea it was very popular, a top show in Korea." And all the Japanese sisters say, "Oh, I love that; it's so funny." I say, "Sisters, you have time, you have time. We have a little time. See, we've got time. We don't think we have time. We say we don't have time, but we end up watching Chumung!"

See, brothers and sisters, we have to know which rocks are important. What are the big rocks we are putting into our life? What are the rocks that you are placing into your bucket? When you really want to live the blessed life it is so important to know clearly what kind of rocks you are putting into your bucket. It's so important! We love Sung In Gok and we love Chumung, etc., etc., but it is so important that we invest in our children. They are our future.

It is so important that we do those love investments that pass on through the generations. When you do this for your children that goes down to your grandchildren. They start doing it for their children. That goes down through the generations. The tradition continues. I always tell families, "Look, take one hour per week; just one hour; all you have to make is one hour for your child."

Let's say you're so busy. Maybe you have absolutely no time to sleep, to eat or drink, or even to watch Chumung. Let's say you're totally busy. But we have appointments during the day; we meet people; so schedule it into your appointments. Make it a one hour commitment to invest in true family building. Make a one hour commitment to be more effective. You may or may not have time to spend five hours at night; but make your time effective. Make it the most effective it can be. Make an investment in each one of your children. Each of them is unique, they are valuable and they are divinely connected.

Whenever we do this, I say, "Look, when you spend time with your children, it's your time to raise their faith up, to make them believe in themselves more, to share your values, your principles, your hope and dreams, why you joined the church, your story. All these things you can share with your children on your one on one. They don't know us just because they were born from us. They need to get to know us, they need to get into a relationship with us. If they do that with their parents, they will believe in relationships, they will believe in the strength and the stability that come from the real bedrock, the real rock, which is God and True Parents.

I heard an interesting story about a home owner who hired a carpenter to help him fix his farm house. The carpenter came, ready to fix the old farm house but nothing was going his way on that day. He tried to start his car but he got a flat tire. He tried starting his electric saw but that did not work. And he tried to start his pickup truck to pick up more cement, but his pickup truck didn't start. He was so humiliated and so embarrassed. And the home owner eventually drove the carpenter back to his house.

The carpenter really felt defeated. He was really embarrassed. Here he was, trying to be professional, but he could not get any of his equipment work. Now the home owner had to drive him home. His client had to drive him home to his house! And there he was, quiet. He sat there in totally stony silence, all the way home. And right before his house -- they were both walking towards his house -- the carpenter stopped by a tiny little tree. He stopped by the tree and put both his hands up and just touched the branches of that tree. The home owner made nothing out of it. They walked up to the house and something amazing happened. When the carpenter opened his door he underwent a tremendous transformation. That stony silent man, totally humiliated, totally defeated, everything not going his way, all of a sudden, when he opened that door, he had a smile on his face. The kids came running, he embraced them and he kissed his wife, "Hey, Honey, I am at home. Kids, I love you guys!" He was so happy.

The home owner was so confused and thought, "What happened? The last 30 minutes this man did not say even one word!" Soon the carpenter was walking with the home owner back to his car to say thank you for everything. And the home owner asked the carpenter, "What is it that happened to you, how come you changed so quickly? I don't understand. What did you do with that tree? Is that some kind magical tree?" The carpenter said, "Oh, not at all. That's my troubles tree. You see, I can't help but having troubles on the job. I get troubles all the time. I get things coming my way, challenges. My tools do not work sometimes. These are my troubles in my life. But those troubles don't belong to my house, to my wife, to my children. And therefore every time when I come back at night, every time I come home, I hang up my troubles on my troubles tree, and I walk into the house with a fresh new perspective. I just hang them up at night and I pick them up in the morning. They don't run away. But the funny thing is: When I pick them up in the morning there are less troubles than I remember hanging up the night before."

See, brothers and sisters, it's so important to be able to manage our rocks well, to manage our responsibilities well. We have a variety of rocks that we need to put in our bucket to truly live the blessed life. It's not only one rock. It's many things that you have to juggle. Its many things that I need to juggle, many things that we all have to juggle to truly live a blessed life. And one key is learning how to manage these things, to be effective at the work place, to hang up your troubles, to be effective at your home. That is so important in life.

This past week we had to go to Chung Pyung one day, for Ahn Shi Il, and these days I have to pray in Korean. For me that's a huge challenge. Not only do I have to pray in Korean but I have to pray in Korean in front of True Parents. That's even more challenging! And so we went to Ahn Shi Il one day, 2:00 am in the morning. We had a relatively "short" Hoon Dok Hae that day, just for about 5 hours! And we ended up coming back about 11:00 o'clock. Then we had to run to the BFD Building for a meeting, all the decision making etc. And the meeting ended at 8:00 pm at night! And here I am, going home. I had an 18 hours day. I had lots of Hoon Dok Hae that day. I had lots of meetings that day. It was really a long day!

And so we get home, eating dinner. And my kids were so happy; so delighted to see us. They don't care whether we have 18 hours a day. They come and jump all over me and call me "Appa, Daddy, daddy!" My little boy is telling me, "Daddy, look I'm playing with my helicopter." And I said, "Son, you're doing a great job!" And he said, "Daddy, daddy, look, I'm playing with my police car." And I said, "Son, that's fantastic! You're doing a great job!" And he said, "Daddy, daddy, I'm jumping up the couch." And I said, "Son, you're doing a great job!" Then my little daughter came and she said, " Daddy, daddy, look, I'm doing ballet!" And I said, "You're doing a great job! Beautiful!" And the other boy came and said, "Daddy, daddy, I had a great adventure today with the game and I beat this monster. I defeated this lizard monster! When you were young, did you find this lizard monster?" I said, "I did in some of those games." And it went on and on. I was literally going insane!

I had a full 18 hours day. My head was about to explode. I had five kids hanging on me telling, "Daddy this, daddy that." And then I remembered, "Hey, wait a minute, this is a big rock of mine. This is my big rock in my bucket. This is a very important rock that I need to succeed with!"

And that time I remembered the story of the troubles tree that I was telling you today. Here I was, sitting on the floor with my kids, calling me daddy, daddy. And all of a sudden I just closed my eyes and I declared out loud, "I hang my troubles on my troubles tree! I hang my stress on my troubles tree!" And my kids all of a sudden were silent. Totally silent. Then they looked at me and said, "What's wrong with him?" And all of a sudden they started laughing, burst out laughing. At first they were laughing at me but I stood up and started laughing with them. We were in total joy!

I was so stressed at that time. I wanted to say, "You're crazy kids, go back to your room! Kids, could you be quiet!" All of this kind of stuff. But I was happy. I hung up my troubles on my troubles tree.

We changed something that was explosive, something that was not healthy, into something that was wonderful to laugh about. In fact, the stress not only became something that was hung up, it became one of the things we could laugh about together as a family. When we did that, I declared to my wife that day, "Omma, you know what, I 'm proud of myself. I hung my troubles on my troubles tree. And I succeeded; I was victorious with the kids!" And she said, "Appa, you were victorious and I will give you a high five!" and she said, "You go, daddy!"

Living life is such a miracle when were able to have these moments with the kids. I really invite you all to open your eyes sometimes. Look around with your kids, they're such blessings. They're so free, they're so fun. All they want to do is to spend time with you. All they want to do is to have a good time, share a laugh.

It's so important to learn to manage those rocks well. We may do our work rock well; we may do other responsibilities well. We may do the education rock and invest a lot there. We may put a lot in the community rock or service rock. But let's not forget our family rock. Let's not forget the God rock and True Parents rock.

Brothers and sisters, what we can learn today? We must learn to manage our life if we truly want to live a blessed life. And let's also remember that principle: Don't start with the gravel, don't start with the water, don't start with the sand! Start with your big rocks first! Start with the things that you need to get in order first. Those things can be the big purposes that you need to accomplish in your life. If you can put those in first, then you can add the gravel, you can swift them around. You can modify, you can push them around, fit them in well. Then you can put the sand, then the water goes in etc.

When you come home from work, let's remember our home responsibility. Our home rock is there as well. And let's use that parable. I tried it. My kids thought just for a second that I'm crazy but they really enjoyed the troubles tree. And now, whenever I go back home, I always have a little pine tree to that I put two hands and say, "I'm hanging up my troubles on you, my friend. Hold them for the next day when I come and take them back, but make sure that at night you take some of them."

Brothers and sisters, if we can manage our life, making time for yourself, making time for your purposes, making time for the big rocks in your life, you will find yourself with more victory, you will find yourself with more illumination, you will find yourself with more peace and live the blessed life that True Parents blessed you with.

Brothers and sisters, if you can receive this, please give a big round of applause to God and True Parents! 

Being One With The Truth

Hyung Jin Moon
June 21, 2008
Headquarters Church
Seoul, Korea
Transcribed by: Pamela Stein
Edited by: Bruno Klotz

Welcome Remarks
Yeon Ah Nim:

Good afternoon brothers and sisters. Today we have a wonderful and glorious day outside. It could be summer today but you chose and made an effort to come to church, so today we're extra proud of you (Laughing). And I don't know if you remember that Kook Jin Nim said that God is an accountant. So I'm sure that He's counting all those good things that we have done. So today I'm sure we're all getting A+, do you believe that? (Applause) We're always honored and happy to have you all here in this sanctuary. And for those who are joining with us via internet, we're also welcoming you as well. Brothers and Sisters may God and True Parents always bless you and your family, AJU!!

Hyung Jin Nim:

Brothers and Sisters I'd like to share with you today from Cheon Seong Gyeong, page 1040, where Father said, "You must research into the philosophy of 'a living person.' You should always be thinking how you can guide a person to me or yourselves. You should think of ways to draw people near to you. There is only one way for this task and I know that method. It is the spirit of serving others."

Father really gives us insight on how to be a truly attractive person. When we think about love attraction, what we give out is what we will see coming back to us. Father is leading us to understanding that when we lend out a hand, when we put out ourselves to help another person, then that help comes back to us, then we become people who are truly attractive. And attraction is not only physical. Father here is talking about a mind set, a heart set, how our spirit is.

And when we have that kind of spirit, we'll be there for others. When times are tough, we can be there. When somebody needs a shoulder to cry we'll be there and be their friends. When we have the spirit of serving, really living for others, that will come back to us. Then our life becomes brighter, becomes more attractive. It becomes more glorious.

Brothers and sisters every time we come to service we would like to always remind you to see yourself as God sees you. God always remembers that. It's so easy to live life and fall into thinking like this, "I can't do this anymore, I'm really inadequate. Or that guy is much better than me. She has better personality than me, there's no way I can't..." It's so easy to fall into that kind of mind set. We have to make sure that we are strong in our minds and our bodies, that in our minds we're always guarding that safe sanctuary where God is dwelling within us.

Brothers and sisters when we see ourselves it's always important that we see ourselves with that higher perspective, "I have value, I am important. I will be victorious in my life. These are the things that God promised me."

When we start seeing ourselves in that way, we start changing the way we relate to our life, relate to our circumstances and then we'll become stronger internally. We become able to overcome things more readily.

Brothers and sisters it's always a joy to see you here. Let's always remember: Whatever the circumstances, whatever the situations, whatever the obstacles, always remember who you are. You are the precious child of almighty God. He created this entire universe for us. That's how precious we are.

It's very important to remember, brothers and sisters, that when you're here, I'd like to invite you not only to observe service or observe worship but really participate. We are not only here to be observer; we are really here to participate, really let God know how great He is. When you shout His name you're starting the momentum for the new week. It's a Saturday but it's a new week for us. Start with that momentum, in that right positive action way. When you start pushing the new week in this way, then the things in your life can go more positively. You'll be able to have the strength to overcome those things that are coming against you and to get through this next wonderful week.

Brothers and sisters, today we really must have that spirit and let's really give our hearts to True Parents and God. Let's give them everything.

When you do that, I do believe that next week will be the best week yet. We will see more victory, more illumination and more peace next week.

Brothers and sisters once again welcome and we hope we can have a wonderful service. It's always a family atmosphere in here and we love to be with you guys. Let's have a great service today. Welcome!

Hyung Jin Nim’s Interesting Story:

Before we begin, we like to start with something a little interesting. I heard a story about this priest, and he was very busy with an appointment. He was trying to find a parking spot. He couldn't find one, and he circled the block over 10 times. He said, "I can't do anything about this, I have to park in a no parking zone." So he went and parked his car, and he put a note in his windshield, just in case a police officer may come by. He wrote the note, "Officer, please understand, I'm a priest, and I'm late for an appointment. I need to be here, I need to park here for just a little while. I'll be right back." Then in quotation marks he wrote, "Forgive us our trespasses." He had his appointment, he came out the building, and he noticed that on his car was a ticket. "Oh come on, I thought this police officer would be a God-fearing man, a man of faith." He looked at the little note and at what the police officer wrote, "I've been on this block for 10 years and if I don't give you a ticket, I'll get fired! 'Lead us not into temptation'!" (Laughter)

True Parents Pledge:

These are my True Parents, the eternal king and queen of peace and liberator of God's Heart. They have saved me from my past, blessed my future and they give true love, forgiveness and happiness today, and I choose to receive it. My heart is awake, my mind is open wide and from this moment I change forever. In my name, Aju.

Hyung Jin Nim’s sermon:

Today I want to talk to you about "Being one with the truth". If we are truly to live the blessed life, it is so important that we are one with the truth. That means that we are able to see things for what they are without the bias or the fear that usually accompanies our perspective. The truth is that in our lives, whether we like it or not, we will inevitably encounter obstacles, we will inevitably encounter difficulties and challenges that will come our way. But whenever we encounter such things, whether they be in the shape of situations, circumstances or even archangels, it is essential to know that we can overcome these obstacles.

With every breath we breathe out life, we also breathe in life with every inhalation. According to science every three years we have an entirely new set of organs, skin and even bones. God is giving us totally new armor every three years. The fact that we will inevitably have difficulty should not make us live in fear in our lives. It's something that should do the opposite for us, it should be something that gives us bravery, gratitude for being alive and courage to live to be our best; the courage to be our best during this miracle of life, the gratitude to have family, friends, a church community, to be alive at this historic age, to be a brave blessing to as many people as we can bless.

"If we are going to have these hardships, if one day I'm going to pass, I might as well just live for today." Yes, but when we pass, we have to meet our Maker, we'll have to stand on our own. We have to judge ourselves, as Father taught, but not on our own criteria but on His criteria. "But if I get cancer, if I have some disease, I might as well give up, not fight it, because it's inevitable that I'll find obstacles, it's inevitable that I'll have challenges in my life."

But see, it doesn't work that way. Because our life is so short, we have to do our utmost to become all that God has created us to be. We have to actualize our 5%. He never created us to give ourselves up when times get tough. He created us to be a blessing, to be persevering, to be able to overcome any challenge that comes our way.

I heard a story about a sheep in a well. It is a story about an old sheep that fell by mistake into a well. It was very old, and the farmer finally found it; it was making noise and screaming. He tried to get it out, but he couldn't. He decided, "The lamb is old anyway, it will pass away soon, and we have to close down this well anyway, so we might as well just cover the hole up and close it down." The shepherd gathered some of his friends, they gathered around and they started shoveling dirt into the well. At first the lamb cried and screamed, but then all of a sudden it became completely silent. The shepherd was so perplexed. How did this happen, why was this lamb all of a sudden quiet? He looked in while his friends were shoveling, and what was happening? Every time a whole load of dirt came onto that lamb, it just shook it off and took a step up. As more dirt came down, it shook it off and took a step up. As they shoveled in another heave of dirt, he just shook it off and took the step up. Soon after a little while, that lamb was able to come up, bit by bit, step by step, and was eventually totally set free.

Too many people in life life without the courage to overcome difficulty. Life inevitably throws dirt at you when you are coming at it, working your best, trying to be your best, to be all that God created you to be. It's so important that we don't take the victim mentality, where we receive this dirt and just let it bury us, let it just cover us, let it stunt our growth, let it take away our destiny, let it steal our joy. It's so important that whenever we start having thoughts in our mind like, "Oh, I'll never be able to overcome this, I'll never get out of debt, and this promotion... I never get blessed. I'm never going to be victorious," that we start shaking that off and taking a step up in our lives. We have to start changing the rhetoric inside; we have to start saying, "I'll forever understand this situation, I'll forever be out of debt, God said that I will live free, that I'll forever be increased and promoted, God said He loves me, I'll forever be victorious, God said I'm a VIP."

When I think of such a thing, of really overcoming that obstacle, I think of the story of Moses and Joshua. When Joshua and Moses were at Rephidim, the Amalekites, which was one of the tribes that were against the Israelites, all of a sudden attacked them. Moses instructed Joshua to battle them. He said, "Joshua go forth and battle them." Their numbers were huge, their strength was completely intimidating, and Joshua was totally scared. When he faced off with this huge swarm, he literally fell to fear. Moses said, "I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands." While they fought, whenever Moses lifted his staff, Joshua became victorious. Whenever Moses put down his hands, becoming tired, then the Amalekites would win. With the help of Aaron and Hur, Moses had to keep his hands up, with the staff of God up high. Eventually the Israelites were victorious.

But it was so easy for Joshua to doubt Moses. Joshua could have said in his mind, as soon as he got the order, "Moses what are you talking about? You are sending me to my death, while you run safely to a mountain top and hold up a stick? Give me a break!" He could have been totally sarcastic about the situation, "Moses, you're crazy! I could be so much better off with you! I don't like your leadership, etc." He could go on blaming Moses, focusing on how unfair it was, that the situation was not good for him. But Joshua, he shook off those doubts, he shook off those fears, he took a step up. He believed in himself, he knew that God would help him through this battle. So he faced the Amalekites. He was still scared and he was still a little doubting, but he kept on shaking that off in his heart and he faced them with courage. God helped him and he was victorious in that situation.

When I think of the story about the sheep and about Moses, I also think of the story of Father in 2003. A lot of members don't know this, but Father was in the hospital in NY, for major health complications. He doesn't like to talk about that, I may actually get in trouble for mentioning this. He doesn't like to talk about it, he didn't even mention it, he always said, "I don't' want the members to worry for me." Reality is, in 2003 Father was 83 years old, Korean age 84 years old, and the doctors doubted that he was going to make it through this situation. He had constant blood tests. I remember visiting him in the hospital. He had always blood tests, extreme surgeries, etc. He had to constantly be monitored very closely.

I remember him on the hospital bed. It was in the morning, we had to gather for Hoon Dok Hae. Father in the hospital bed was calling Mother and all the leaders to come in and do Hoon Dok Hae, to do worship, to pray together, to read God's words together, to then again do his spiritual practice. At this instant I knew that Father had absolutely no fear. Everyone else around him was thinking, "My God, what's going to happen? We don't know. We want to hope for the best." Father, in his mind, had no doubt; he had totally no fear. He didn't give up in the face of that obstacle, even at the age of 84. I witnessed him; I saw for myself that he made a miraculous recovery. He came back home and I remember he had to start walking again, just slowly learning how to walk like a child, he had to learn the basic things all over again at the age of 84, after building a world wide movement, etc.

How much stress he could have felt, how much burden he could have felt, how much doubt he could have felt, "My God, if something doesn't happen right, what's going to happen to this movement, what's going to happen to the foundation I built?" So many things could have mustered up fear in his heart. I remember, every day, day in and day out, we gathered at home, at East Garden, for Hoon Dok Hae with Father. It was a very close meeting. It was just family members, just True Family, and some few leaders. Father was very quiet about this. He never spoke about it. He never said, "I'm so sick, why can't you take care of me better?" He continued to live his spiritual life.

It was at that time that I remember: I saw Father, I saw him praying one day when he was in the hospital, he was just closing his eyes and in intense prayer. You could see his mouth moving, he was in intense prayer. When I saw that -- at that time I had a shaved head and I was doing my own spiritual practice, etc. -- I truly bowed down before him. Before me I saw a huge spiritual giant. I saw him there, even in the face of death, with no fear, praying for the world, praying for the nations, praying for the families that he had blessed. When I saw that, he completely won my heart over. It was during that time, during that very intense situation where I had the opportunity to be with Father very closely, and it was during those times that I took a lot of pictures of Father.

I had not studied photography intensely, but at that time, I really felt compelled to take moments of Father's life. I had to capture these moments; they are so precious. I don't know when I will be able to experience them again. It was during that time that I was able to take those pictures and publish the moment as a tribute to his undefeatable spirit. I remember doing that and I remember how annoying it must have been for Father. We were outside and he's trying to exercise, and here I was with this huge camera, about three inches from his face, taking pictures and not only one or two, I'm talking about hundreds of pictures.

I'm taking pictures of his hands, his fingers, his nose, his ears, his cheek. Father would say, "What is this boy doing? I know that his brothers and sisters said he was crazy but now I really understand what they're talking about." I remember him just enduring that situation, even in this time of recovery. He wasn't well yet; he wasn't at his best; he wasn't over this obstacle, he was still in it. Yet here I am, and when I look back on it in retrospect, I do feel apologetic about it. I do feel in one sense in my heart, "My God, it must have been very difficult for Father," but in another sense I feel so grateful, because he allowed me to do that, he allowed me to come so close to him. He allowed the closeness to be expressed within each one of those pictures. In the face of death at 83/84 years old, Father was able to shake it off and take a step up.

Some of us may be in a difficult situation right now. You may be struggling financially; you may be in a bitter relationship, or you may be even battling for your health like True Father was in 2003. You may not see a way to overcome this, and you may absolutely see that your future may be completely dark. It's so important while we are walking in this valley of the shadows, even if you're going through some kind of seemingly insurmountable circumstance, to keep walking that course, shake that doubt off, shake that fear off, keep walking, keep taking one step at a time. God will bring you up, He'll step you up to the next light, the next avenue, the next path that He has prepared for you -- just like with Father -- even if we don't see the way out of the circumstance. Surely Father didn't, he was right near death, literally on the line of going to spirit world, and doctors were totally doubting, "Father is not going to make it through!" All of us were in fear, all of us were so scared for Father, but Father was unshakable in his courage, he was unshakable in his bravery, he was able to step forth and continue to show us that we have to have faith in our future.

If we can learn anything today, brothers and sisters, I do believe it is to understand that the truth of life is unfortunately that we will have obstacles in our lives. We will encounter difficulties in our lives. But we must not live in fear because of those obstacles. None of those obstacles are there in order to take away from us. They are there to build us up. God is preparing us for a new victory that He is planning for us.

When we encounter them, we have to know what it takes to overcome, that we have what it takes to surpass these obstacles, that no obstacle is greater than the potential that God has placed in us. When you hear your mind, your inside voice, saying, "You are never going to make it through it, never going to get any better; it only gets worse, it's only downhill from here, you've reached the good part, and now you got to wait for the bad part," whenever you hear this in your mind, you have to say, "No I shake that right off, I'm going to shake that dirt right off, and I'm going to take a step up." Whenever another heave of dirt comes down, say, "I'm going to shake that off, and I take a step up."

We will be like that lamb in that story. We will be the lamb that God has sent to this world. We will be the lamb that will shine light, that will illuminate, that will bring victory into His realm. It's so important that when we look at our lives, that we will not fall into that defeat mentality, that limited mindset that says, "I have no possible way, I have no future, the future is dark for me." We have to start changing that mindset immediately, whenever we hear that, we have to start to switch that off, shake that off, step right up. You have to declare, "I'm alive, I will not live as a victim in my life, my future is bright, I am strong, persevering, brave. I shake it off, take a step up." Brothers and sisters, if we do this I believe we will find more Victory, more Illumination and more Peace in our lives everyday and truly will live that blessed life that True Parents have blessed us to live.

If you can accept this message, brothers and sisters, let's give True Parents one big round of applause. 

The Path of Church Leaders in the Era of Cheon Il Guk

Hyung Jin Moon
June 20, 2008

Hyung-jin nim spoke at a special meeting for Korean Church and CARP Leaders held on June 20. 2008. at Sun Moon University's main building. The meeting was to facilitate the reorganization of the church leadership in Korea.

Church leaders, good morning. It moves my heart to see all of you, who are working faithfully on the frontline of the providence. True Parents have taught us many things about the position of a church leader. From the providential viewpoint, the church leader stands in the position of Abel, and the members are in the position of Cain. It is up to Abel to bring Cain to voluntary submission and guide Cain to work together with him.

True Father has taught us that the only way a church leader, who is in the position of Abel, can guide and lead his members, in the position of Cain, is by lowering himself with a humble heart and serving them. This would be true for any other religion, but particularly in our church, a leader should not be autocratic. We may have thought of, or imagined, a church leader as being like a general in the military or a CEO in a company, but it would be wrong for a church leader to think, "You must follow me, because I am a leader and have the authority to make you do so." That is not the Principle way. If a leader were to think in that way, unity and harmony could not be achieved.

We have passed through an era in the wilderness, full of difficulties and episodes, and welcomed the time after the coining of heaven. We are not far from realizing God's will; and at such a time as this, we should all become one and bring to settlement all the foundations we have laid so far. Our church must become stronger and grow further. In this important time, we should inherit True Father's teachings about humble leadership. In particular, young people who hope to become church leaders in the future must remember this.

Recently, I came to know one second-generation member whose father was a famous church leader. Yet, he says he has kept his distance from the church for decades. He asked me, "Can we find passion in our church now? When I was young and we were working to support our elder brother Hyo-jin nim, our church overflowed with passion. At that time, we could have died for each other."

"Such passion can still be found in the church," I said. "If you look at the Unification Church as a whole, you can clearly see that passion. Of course, the church is different from what it was before. A few decades ago, all churches were pioneering churches, but now there are pioneering churches as well as those that have settled down and are more established. Compared to the past, the character of the church has completely changed."

Pioneering churches, for instance the churches in Mongolia and India, are really very passionate. When you are pioneering. you need to move forward with such burning passion, like that of a warrior. However, established churches are different. They are at the center of a nation. Such churches cannot be run with burning passion alone.

When a church grows to a certain level, and becomes established, the local society observes that church and its members from closer quarters. If it overflows with too much passion, they begin to wonder if it is turning into a fanatical group. That is why an established church comes to have a different nature from that of a pioneering church.

Rather than emphasizing its burning passion, an established church should be more stable spiritually. It should have leadership that permits it to receive visiting honored guests well. The church should also have an atmosphere by which it can form a good relationship with those guests and leave them well informed.

Both these kinds of churches can be found among the Unification churches around the world. For our church to develop further, we should harmonize these two different natures. One nature cannot be emphasized as being better or more important than the other, because people's characters are all different. Some people are full of passion; such people fit well with pioneering churches. Some people do better in an organization and have a higher possibility for growth in established churches. As can be seen, having two types of churches provides more opportunities to people.

In The Way of the Spiritual Leader, True Father told us about the six internal attitudes a church leader should have. He should start out from the very bottom. He should move forward with conviction. He should be a little bit simple-minded if he wishes to walk this path. He should endure to the end. He should represent the dignity of Heaven, and his desire to act should lead to actual results.

If I were to add one more to this list, it would be "He should practice sincerity and love." What this means is that a church leader should accumulate sincere efforts rooted in basic moral principles. This is attested by the fact that the Chinese character True Father holds most dear and loves the most is seong, meaning "sincerity." You should bear in mind that sincerity is the fundamental virtue of a church leader.

The Chinese character True Mother likes and loves the most is ___, meaning love. it signifies practicing true love. This, together with sincere devotion, is a basic virtue that all church leaders should possess. When we thus practice the six virtues given us by True Father and apply the philosophy of sincerity and love, which represents True Parents, I believe we will be able to inherit the tradition of True Parents and fulfill our duties as church leaders.

Church leaders, we need to bring about development in our church that we have been unable to achieve during the last twenty to thirty years. The Unification Family needs to become more mature. In the last twenty to thirty years, we have received much support from Japan, the mother nation, but now the Korean church must become sturdier, strong enough to fulfill all its responsibilities by itself. Not only that, but as the homeland of our faith, Korea should lay the foundation on which it can support the pioneering of churches in other nations, that is, world missions in general. It should play the role of a father in relation to all our churches throughout the world.

To achieve this goal, we should not follow the old ways. We need to nurture a sense of responsibility, a spirit of ownership, and professionalism. We need to improve not only ourselves but also the church. At this time, a new system is being implemented to a certain degree. However, it is not the end. The church needs to continuously grow stronger and more mature; only when it does will an increasing number of people be able to connect to it.

The path to becoming children of True Parents will become even wider than before. Making effort for the sake of changing the church is not something that can he done just once. What we are doing now is only one process. Through this process, we will be able to attain even greater success.

You may remember that I said at the time of my inauguration as regional president of the Korean church that I will guide our church in a direction in which we will have more transparency, equality and better results. We will report the results we have accomplished to True Parents.

I have said that one of the six internal attitudes in a church leader is representing the dignity of heaven. We must not bring shame to our True Parents. Instead, we need to serve them in such a way as to glorify and honor them more. We need to lower and humble ourselves when dealing with other people. In particular, the leaders who are in a higher position should be humbler. Then other people in society will say, "These people are special. They are so humble, even though they are in positions of authority."

One of the problems in the Korean church system is that the flow of information from the headquarters to all churches is very weak. We need to further strengthen our organization in many ways.

As I said at the inauguration, I will not give a person a good position just because I know him or her well. Such a tradition is absolutely bad for the development of the church. What is important is not whether I like a leader, or not. The point in question is whether he or she is the best choice for the church, or not.

Only True Parents are eternal. All of you, and I, too, are passing through. We cannot be the True Parents. No one other than True Parents can stand in that particular position. As time passes, the eras of the second generation, third generation, fourth generation, and the tenth generation will come. What is important is that as the generations come and go, the realm of True Parents' true love will widen further. This is the most important point in our church.

In the time of pioneering, we needed leadership centered on charisma. However, in order to lead the church in the age of settlement, what is required is an organization with charisma rather than a charismatic individual. When people view our church, they should be able to think, "How nice this is; it's an organization to be trusted." Only when we can show others that ours is a holy church that can render help to others can new members join it. When we look at religions with a big and organized framework, like the Catholic Church, we can see there is still a process we need to first create and then go through. When you study religions, you can see that we are now standing at a very important point in time. We need to do the most important and necessary work now not only for our generation but also for future generations. Centering on True Parents, it is important for all of us to unite and bring about sustainable success.

Such work cannot come to a successful conclusion through only one person's charisma. This is because there won't be anyone in the generations to come who can lead the organization with charisma comparable to True Father's. Now is the time for us to prepare the church for our future generations.

As you may have heard, the CARP leaders got together and selected a new overall leader by voting. They actually chose the incumbent chairman. Many people think this is the same as the democratic system, but it is not. If we had followed the democratic system, all members would have cast a vote. Instead, we had the church leaders working in the field cast votes to choose the person among them who will work best as the CARP chairman.

The basis for this lies in strengthening the organization by having the leaders cooperate to choose their own leader. After the Day of All True Things celebration in 2000 (in New York), True Parents held a leaders' meeting, at which they had national messiahs vote for the continental directors.

The leaders you are about to choose by vote are not being elected based on personal popularity. We will objectively choose leaders suitable for and capable of doing God's work.

Until now the Korean church had twenty administrative regions. We will now have just twelve regions, and we will choose the regional leaders based on all of your opinions.

We will make our church one that cares for its members and allows them to shine; if we think of our members as lambs, we will develop a culture in which these lambs can grow healthily. We will create a loving realm in which we can embrace even the newest lambs. We will develop a church tradition of truly taking care of our existing and newest members. This should begin with us, and it should begin now.

Our members have been waiting for too long. The church leaders should serve our members well, as if they were our older brothers. If we serve them well with a humble attitude and they grow to lead successful and glorious lives, we will be acknowledged as church leaders who have fulfilled our mission well. When the members am glorified, True Parents, the church and other church members are also glorified.

What position we are in and what authority we hold are not important. the most important thing for us, as leaders, is to love our members. All of us should become beautiful children of True Parents.

I always emphasize that a church leader should play the role of a bridge. No one else can be the True Parents. True Parents are unique and come down to earth just once. As church leaders, we should be bridges, helping our members come closer to True Parents.

We should be of the mind to make our members even more successful and greater, even if they step on us and climb over our backs. If the church leaders practice such a pastoral philosophy they will be able to bring more members into the realm of True Parents' love. If the church leaders can do that, a tradition of serving and attending True Parents and a tradition by which members can become closer to True Parents will take root in our church.

My beloved church leaders! Today is truly a historic day. From deep within my heart, I thank all of you participating here. 

To All Leaders in UC Korea: "You Will Now Elect Your Own Regional Leaders!" Special meeting for Korean Church and CARP Leaders

Hyung Jin Moon
June 20, 2008
Sun Moon University

The meeting was to facilitate the reorganization of the church leadership in Korea.

Church leaders, good morning! It moves my heart to see all of you, who are working faithfully on the frontline of the providence.

True Parents have taught us many things about the position of a church leader. From the providential viewpoint, the church leader stands in the position of Abel, and the members are in the position of Cain. It is up to Abel to bring Cain to voluntary submission and guide Cain to work together with him.

True Father has taught us that the only way a church leader, who is in the position of Abel, can guide and lead his members, in the position of Cain, is by lowering himself with a humble heart and serving them. This would be true for any other religion, but particularly in our church, a leader should not be autocratic. We may have thought of, or imagined, a church leader as being like a general in the military or a CEO in a company, but it would be wrong for a church leader to think, "You must follow me, because I am a leader and have the authority to make you do so." That is not the Principle way. If a leader were to think in that way, unity and harmony could not be achieved.

We have passed through an era in the wilderness, full of difficulties and episodes, and welcomed the time after the coming of heaven. We are not far from realizing God's will; and at such a time as this, we should all become one and bring to settlement all the foundations we have laid so far. Our church must become stronger and grow further. In this important time, we should inherit True Father's teachings about humble leadership. In particular, young people who hope to become church leaders in the future must remember this.

Recently, I came to know one second-generation member whose father was a famous church leader. Yet, he says he has kept his distance from the church for decades. He asked me, "Can we find passion in our church now? When I was young and we were working to support our eider brother Hyo-jin nim, our church overflowed with passion. At that time, we could have died for each other."

"Such passion can still be found in the church," I said. "If you look at the Unification Church as a whole, you can clearly see that passion. Of course, the church is different from what it was before. A few decades ago, all churches were pioneering churches, but now there are pioneering churches as well as those that have settled down and are more established. Compared to the past, the character of the church has completely changed."

Pioneering churches, for instance the churches in Mongolia and India, are really very passionate. When you are pioneering, you need to move forward with such burning passion, like that of a warrior. However, established churches are different. They are at the center of a nation. Such churches cannot be run with burning passion alone.

When a church grows to a certain level, and becomes established, the local society observes that church and its members from closer quarters. If it overflows with too much passion, they begin to wonder if it is turning into a fanatical group. That is why an established church comes to have a different nature from that of a pioneering church.

Rather than emphasizing its burning passion, an established church should be more stable spiritually. It should have leadership that permits it to receive visiting honored guests well. The church should also have an atmosphere by which it can form a good relationship with those guests and leave them well informed.

Both these kinds of churches can be found among the Unification churches around the world. For our church to develop further, we should harmonize these two different natures. One nature cannot be emphasized as being better or more important than the other, because people's characters are all different. Some people are full of passion; such people fit well with pioneering churches. Some people do better in an organization and have a higher possibility for growth in settled churches. As can be seen, having two types of churches provides more opportunities to people.

In The Way of the Spiritual Leader True Father told us about the six internal attitudes a church leader should have. He should start out from the very bottom. He should move forward with conviction. He should be a little bit simple-minded if he wishes to walk this path. He should endure to the end. He should represent the dignity of Heaven, and his desire to act should lead to actual results.

If I were to add one more to this list, it would be "He should practice sincerity and love." What this means is that a church leader should accumulate sincere efforts rooted in basic moral principles. This is attested by the fact that the Chinese character True Father holds most dear and loves the most is seong, meaning "sincerity." You should bear in mind that sincerity is the fundamental virtue of a church leader.

The Chinese character True Mother likes and loves the most is ae meaning love. It signifies practicing true love. This, together with sincere devotion, is a basic virtue that all church leaders should possess. When we thus practice the six virtues given us by True Father and apply the philosophy of sincerity and love, which represents True Parents, I believe we will be able to inherit the tradition of True Parents and fulfill our duties as church leaders.

Church leaders, we need to bring about development in our church that we have been unable to achieve during the last twenty to thirty years. The Unification Family needs to become more mature. In the last twenty to thirty years, we have received much support from Japan, the mother nation, but now the Korean church must become sturdier, strong enough to fulfill its responsibilities by itself. Not only that, but as the homeland of our faith, Korea should lay the foundation on which it can support the pioneering of churches in other nations, that is, world missions in general. It should play the role of a father in relation to all our churches throughout the world.

To achieve this goal, we should not follow the old ways. We need to nurture a sense of responsibility a spirit of ownership, and professionalism. We need to improve not only ourselves but also the church. At this time, a new system is being implemented to a certain degree. However, it is not the end. The church needs to continuously grow stronger and more mature; only when it does will an increasing number of people be able to connect to it.

The path to becoming children of True Parents will become even wider than before. Making effort for the sake of changing the church is not something that can be done just once. What we are doing now is only one process. Through this process, we will be able to attain even greater success.

You may remember that I said at the time of my inauguration as regional president of the Korean church that I will guide our church in a direction in which we will have more transparency, equality and better results. We will report the results we have accomplished to True Parents.

I have said that one of the six internal attitudes in a church leader is representing the dignity of Heaven. We must not bring shame to our True Parents. Instead, we need to serve them in such a way as to glorify and honor them more. We need to lower and humble ourselves when dealing with other people. In particular, the leaders who are in a higher position should be humbler. Then other people in society will say, "These people are special. They are so humble, even though they are in positions of authority.

One of the problems in the Korean church system is that the flow of information from the headquarters to all churches is very weak. We need to further strengthen our organization in many ways.

As I said at the inauguration, I will not give a person a good position just because I know him or her well. Such a tradition is absolutely bad for the development of the church. What is important is not whether we like a leader, or not. The point in question is whether he or she is the best choice for the church, or not.

Only True Parents are eternal. All of you, and I, too, are passing through. We cannot be the True Parents. No one other than True Parents can stand in that particular position. As time passes, the eras of the second generation, third generation, fourth generation, and the tenth generation will come. What is important is that as the generations come and go, the realm of True Parents' true love will widen further. This is the most important point in our church.

In the time of pioneering, we needed leadership centered on charisma. However, in order to lead the church in the age of settlement, what is required is an organization with charisma rather than a charismatic individual. When people view our church, they should be able to think, How nice this is; it's an organization to be trusted. Only when we can show others that ours is a holy church that can render help to others can new members join it. When we look at religions with a big and organized framework, like the Catholic Church, we can see there is still a process we need to first create and then go through.

When you study religions, you can see that we are now standing at a very important point in time. We need to do the most important and necessary work now, not only for our generation but also for future generations. Centering on True Parents, it is important for all of us to unite and bring about sustainable success.

Such work cannot come to a successful conclusion through only one person's charisma. This is because there won't be anyone in the generations to come who can lead the organization with charisma comparable to True Father's. Now is the time for us to prepare the church for our future generations.

As you may have heard, the CARP leaders got together and selected a new overall leader by voting. They actually chose the incumbent chairman. Many people think this is the same as the democratic system, but it is not. If we had followed the democratic system, all members would have cast a vote. Instead, we had the church leaders working in the field cast votes to choose the person among them who will work best as the CARP chairman. The basis for this lies in strengthening the organization by having the leaders cooperate to choose their own leader. After the Day of All True Things celebration in 2000 (in New York), True Parents held a leaders' meeting, at which they had national messiahs vote for the continental directors.

The leaders you are about to choose by vote are not being elected based on personal popularity. We will objectively choose leaders suitable for and capable of doing God's work.

Until now, the Korean church had twenty administrative regions. We will now have just twelve regions, and we will choose the regional leaders based on ail of your opinions.

We will make our church one that cares for its members and allows them to shine; if we think of our members as lambs, we will develop a culture in which these lambs can grow healthily. We will create a loving realm in which we can embrace even the newest lambs. We will develop a church tradition of truly taking care of our existing and newest members. This should begin with us, and it should begin now.

Our members have been waiting for too long. The church leaders should serve our members well, as if they were our older brothers. If we serve them well with a humble attitude and they grow to lead successful and glorious lives, we will be acknowledged as church leaders who have fulfilled our mission well. When the members are glorified, True Parents, the church and other church members are also glorified.

What position we are in and what authority we hold are not important. The most important thing for us, as leaders, is to love our members. All of us should become beautiful children of True Parents.

I always emphasize that a church leader should play the role of a bridge. No one else can be the True Parents. True Parents are unique and come down to earth just once. As church leaders, we should be bridges, helping our members come closer to True Parents.

We should be of the mind to make our members even more successful and greater, even if they step on us and climb over our backs. If the church leaders practice such a pastoral philosophy, they will be able to bring more members into the realm of True Parents' love. If the church leaders can do that, a tradition of serving and attending True Parents and a tradition by which members can become closer to True Parents will take root in our church.

My beloved church leaders! Today is truly a historic day. From deep within my heart, I thank all of you participating here. 

Your Secret Blessing

Hyung Jin Moon
June 14 2008
Headquarters Church
Chongpa Dong, Seoul, Korea
Transcribed by: Beatrice Clyburn
Edited by: Bruno Klotz

Welcoming Remarks:
Yeon Ah Nim:

Good afternoon brothers and sisters! (Good afternoon!). Outside it is a little bit hot, but we still believe that today is a beautiful day to celebrate True Parents and Heavenly Father. Do you believe that? (Yes!) We are always honored to have you here in this sanctuary, and for those who are joining us via internet, we are welcoming you as well. Welcome brothers and welcome sisters!

Hyung Jin Nim:

Welcome brothers and sisters! I want to share something from Cheon Seong Gyeong, page 629, today. Father says, "What does the Scripture about loving the Lord, your God, with all your heart, soul and with all your mind mean? The center of everything is love, so when you do nothing but concentrates all your functions and consciousness on loving the Lord your God, you will go straight up to the vertical realm, taking the elevator. It is a wondrous world."

I love that! You know I love how Father talks about loving the Lord your God, and how he talks about concentrating our minds and bodies, that is to say that when we practice the act of love, it is not only an emotional feeling. It is an act, it's a verb. It's something that requires concentration and focus, something to channel to the object that we're sending it towards.

And really in our lives, every day, let us be a great blessing to those around us. There're so many opportunities in a day, so many seconds, so many minutes, so many hours that pass by and we have so many opportunities to be a miracle to somebody. And it's so important that we take advantage of those opportunities, those chances, to see those gifts that we are able to give to those people all around us at any time of the day.

It really shows that love is something that is all-consuming. It's not only with the mind, or with the particular function of the consciousness. It's with all functions, all of our concentrated power. And really it shows that love is such a great power, a great force that is real in our lives.

Brothers and sisters, every day when we get up we always want to encourage you to stand and declare in front of that mirror, with your beautiful morning hair and everything, just tell yourself, “I am made in the image of the Almighty God. I have value, I am creative, I am intelligent; I have a will, I have emotion, I have intellect. I have all these dimensions, I have the heartistic quality, I have universal value, cosmic value, divine value."

We have to start seeing ourselves in that kind of light. We don't want to get up and say, "Oh my hair looks terrible today. It's going to look worse by noon. I am already getting fat; I'm getting 5 pounds, 10 pounds. I'm just slipping." We don't want to say that. We want to say, "You know what? Today is a great day to lose some pounds, today is a great day to look better, feel better, to know that I'm getting greater every single day." We want to always be looking at our lives with that kind of attitude, seeing our futures with hope, knowing that we're going to be a blessing to this world.

And brothers and sisters, particularly when we come to service, I want to encourage you all to not only observe service but really participate with us. When we sing with the Two Rivers Choir, I want to encourage you all to just shout it out! Don't worry, nobody is looking at you. Just God is watching you, God is hearing you. If you give Him praise, you give Him love that love is going to return to you ten fold this week. Your week already will be on a great start.

So I want to encourage you to really give God your best today. We are not only here to observe service, we are here to give service, give worship to God. So I want to encourage you today. Thank you brothers and sisters for coming. Welcome again!

Yeon Ah Nim's Words:

Yesterday was the second anniversary of Cheon Jeong Gong entrance and the 46th anniversary of the Day of All True Things. The event was very beautiful and as you can imagine, True Father spoke for four short hours. During that time my husband slept a little bit (Laughter), but it was a very beautiful event. True Father really poured out his heart, and his love for God was undeniable for those who participated in that event. Brothers and sisters let us also have that True Father's love for God in our life for our family, for our friends and people we know around us. Brothers and sisters we love you so much and we believe in you. Aju!

Interesting Story:

I heard a very interesting story. It was actually about a Jewish atheist. One day he was up on the West side of New York, and he decided to send his son to a very, very good school. The school was, "Trinity School,” so it was a Catholic school. A couple of months later the son came back and said, "Hey, dad, do you know what the Trinity is?" "I don't know what it is and don't tell me!" So the son said, "The Trinity is the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit." The dad, out of total rage, he was so angry, he grabbed the son by the shoulder and said, "Let me tell you something, son that you must never forget. There is only one God and we do not believe in Him!" (Laughter)

Hyung Jin Nim's Sermon:

Brothers and sisters, I want to talk to you today about the secret blessing in our lives. In order to live the blessed life, it is so important to know and realize that we are secret blessings. God will bring some chosen people, some prepared people into your lives. But there is a very ironic twist here. Those people are chosen for us, they are necessary for us to succeed, but not exactly how we may think of it. We may think that these people will help us, and they will promote us to become victorious in our lives. It's actually the other way around. There are certain people sent into your life so that you can help them succeed, so that you can help promote them, so that you can help them leave the life of abundance.

When you do that, when you help the person that God has chosen and sent into your life for you to help, for you to rise, for you to allow being abundant and living a life of victory, when you help them do that, your life also becomes more blessed. Your life also will become more victorious and illuminated.

So in our lives, it's so very important to keep our eyes on the look out for those very special people that God has sent into our lives, for those special people that He's prepared for us, not necessarily for them to promote us, but for us to be able to help them. But too many people live their life, thinking, "I've got to get to the top! I've got to move my way through the ranks, I've got to succeed on my own, I have no time for that. I am busy moving along in my life. It's a brutal world, it's a dog-eat-dog world and I have no room for that."

Indeed this kind of attitude may allow you to succeed in the world. It may allow you to succeed in the short run, but it certainly will not give you or gain you or grant you happiness in the long run. God asks us to become bigger than we think we are, to be greater than we think we are. God is asking us to look around in our lives. Maybe there's somebody in your life; maybe he has a very quiet personality, not so outgoing, not super social, but is a fantastic person. He is somebody that really contributes to the work that you do. Maybe that person is a great teacher, or maybe a great writer for helping you when you need help in editing. Maybe he or she is a great person in the office that really helps in creating success in the projects that you have to do for your companies or your organizations.

It's so important that we keep our eyes open, not necessarily for those who are charismatic, for those who speak so eloquently? Unlike myself -- but we have to look around, check around ourselves. Maybe sometimes there may be a very quiet person. But that person may do a lot of work, may hold up the fort, may really provide us with a great strength when we need to research something or fulfill a project. It's so important that when we find those kind of people in our lives, that we are in a mindset in our lives, that we are discerning in our lives, that we are able to promote those people, help those people succeed, recommend those people to have more and more victories in their lives.

It's so important to understand that very old statement that you've all heard, "What goes around comes around; what goes up must come down." Whatever we send out into the world, whether that be goodness or jealousy that eventually comes back to us. Let's make sure that, in our lives, as blessed people, we are sending around goodness.

I want to show you a remarkable, remarkable video, of a young man and you will not believe what he is able to do. Let's check this video out. Let me give you a little backdrop to this. This young man, his last name is Underwood; he is a remarkable young man. He's born African-American in the States. He is just a regular teenager. You would never think anything is wrong with him. But there is one amazing gift that he has.

Video:

This week's People Magazine profiles a California teenager who does some remarkable things despite his disability. This is something you just might have to see to believe! CBS News correspondent John Blackstone reports:

In a pillow fight, 14 year old Ben Underwood can deliver dead-on shots. When a video game is going, his fingers fly. On his skates he is fearless. For most teenagers, it's nothing remarkable. But Ben Underwood is blind, totally blind. Hear the clicks? That's how he finds his way around. Walking down the streets with Ben you will be amazed at what he can see with his ears.

Ben: "Well there's a fire hydrant on this side, a car on this side; that's a trash can. Hold on, let me see. Yeh, that's a trash can!"

Ben was just 2 years old when cancer claimed his eyes. Both were surgically removed.

And he woke up from that surgery and then said, "Mom I can't see any more! I can't see any more!" Then I said, "You can't use your eyes, but you've got your nose, and your ears and your mouth."

From that day on, Ben has used his hearing, his touch, his sense of smell to conquer a world of darkness. It's sometimes hard to believe how good Ben is. Just watch the way he deftly steps around a fallen trashcan.

Somehow Ben has mastered echo location. It's the same way dolphins get around, bouncing sound waves to figure out where they are. On a trip to Sea world a few weeks ago, Ben found that he and the dolphins shared an amazing talent. When he is out of the water it becomes easy to forget that Ben is blind. In this last game, Ben beat me 5 to 2. Playing video games with his brother Isaiah in "The assault of noise" Ben can figure out everything that's happening just by listening. How can he even separate the sound? Ben, "Because they've got different voices". His mom, "Nobody is going to tell him that there's impossibility for him, because there are none!"

This mom ought to be teaching a course on how to raise a kid who can't see well. Dr James Ruben says that Aquanetta has done exactly the right thing with Ben, never being overprotective, never putting limits on him. "I think the real story here is not his talents but his attitude, and I think attitude is what it's really about."

His mom,” We have to give our kids confidence. We give them pride! Empower him and be proud of him no matter what." You can see where Ben gets his extraordinary self-confidence! His mom,” There is nothing that you can do that I can't do better, and that's the attitude, you know, that's what I want to give him."

Watching him in action it seems clear that Ben really can do anything! (Loud applause)

Hyung Jin Nim again:

See, I wanted to share that with you, brothers and sisters, because we just saw a remarkable young fellow, who is growing up in the United States. When he was 2 years old he had his eyes surgically removed because of cancer, young baby with no eyes, he has to use plastic eyes so that he can look normal. But he is able to do something special; as you just saw, he is the only person in the world that has that ability. He has the ability to use echo-location to walk around, to get him around, as you saw him roller blading.

But I want to make the point that the real miracle - just like that doctor said when he saw his mother -- the real blessing in his life is his mother. When we look at his mother, she knew that God asked her to promote, to believe, in her son. What am I talking about here? I'm talking about being able to promote people in our minds as well. See, she could have so easily seen her young boy at two years old, having his eyes surgically removed, and could have said, "My God! He's going to be handicapped, he has no future. There's no way he's going to succeed. He's going to be made fun of; he's going to be mocked as a kid who has plastic eyes."

She could have seen him like that. But in her mind, she never let herself do that. She always asked herself, always challenged herself to promote him in her mind. Whenever she saw him, and when she started thinking that he had a disability, she said, "No, he doesn't". And she explained in other videos how she cried many nights. It was very tough. It was so difficult! If you have children, you can understand maybe. Start to even try to imagine the pain that you'll feel as a parent if your child has that situation.

But she raised him with a strong mindset, with tough love. She said, "You must never be a victim in your life, you must never think you can't do anything. You must always believe you can do everything. If somebody says they can do something, you've got to think you can do it better." That kind of attitude, that kind of mentality! As you saw in the video, she was never overprotective of that son. She let him roller blade, she let him play in the playground, let him fall down and scrape his knees, fall down even when he hurt his face because he couldn't see when he first tried to learn how to walk again. She was still allowing him to take those risks, allowing him to become better and better at his skill, to learn how to see the world, not necessarily with his eyes but with the other senses that he had. And because of that he is able to develop into such a tremendous young individual.

When I see that, I really do believe that our children are put into our lives so that we can promote them, we can help them succeed. It's such a blessing to have our kids in our lives! And it's so important that, in our minds, we get into the habit, just like Ben's mom does, of promoting the children all the time.

At times in our lives, when we have children, we have disappointments. The children won't listen to you at times. Maybe they'll grow up and they'll start disagreeing with what you think. Or they want to pursue this path but you really want them to be a doctor. Even though those situations arise, and even though we may be tempted as parents to want to condemn the children, still it is so important that we -- just like Ben's mom does -- always try to help promote them in our hearts, always try to elevate them in our minds, so that we always see the good in them, develop their goodness, give them encouragement, plant seeds of hope in their lives, allow them to burgeon into those one-of-a-kind children that you just saw.

It's so important that we do this because I've seen research that shows that parents who help their children by praising their effort along the way, that parents who praise their children for effort, their children perform better than the children who are only praised for results, who are only praised when they get A's, for example.

It's so important that, as blessed central families, if we have children, that we are giving our children praise along the way, when they are giving effort. Look at Ben's mom! When Ben first started to walk, he had eyes for 2 years, he could see for 2 years, so he depended on his eyes just like you and me. But after a while, when he, all of a sudden, lost his eyes, and now was walking around in a world of blackness, darkness, suddenly he had to develop whole new skills, a whole new skill set for him to succeed in his life.

And I can see him falling down here, scraping his knee here, banging his head when he tripped over a trash can there. And I can see his mom, seeing that, in so much pain. I can see his mom on the side, maybe even crying behind the window. But I can see her, as soon as he comes back into that room, wiping those tears away, saying, "Honey, how was your day?" "I fell down" "You did? Fantastic, you're learning how to use your other skills. You're learning. Don't you ever think that you're going to live like this for ever. All you're doing right now is training.” That's how she explains what she did with Ben.

She explained that many nights she cried that many nights she was in agony to see her young boy do this. But she realized that she had to instill in him the heart of strength, the heart of courage, the heart of hope in his life. "Don't give up because you think that you have a handicap, don't give up because you think that you are somehow disabled or disadvantaged, worse off than somebody else. Don't ever give up," she encouraged him. She always planted a seed of hope in his mind, in his heart. She said, "Don't you ever let anybody tell you that you are less than them, that you're unworthy, that you're untalented, that you can't do something because of your situation. You have something that nobody has; you have a talent that only you can actualize."

And because she did that along the way, not only when he succeeded, not only when he was a great roller-blader like he is now, but because she did that along the way, Ben was able to become the kind of individual that you saw.

He's able to perform such normal task with so much ease. You saw him deliver those shots with the pillow fight. I don't want to get in a pillow fight with him! He is fantastic at throwing those pillows! But he has that sense because she planted encouragement along the way. She continued to "water" him, continued to raise him with hope, never letting him get down on himself, beat himself up internally, beat himself up in his mind, say he is inadequate, say he is incompetent, say he's terrible, say he can't do anything like the other kids. She never let him take that chance. She always was very strict with him.

When we see that, we can see that she became a blessing to him. She's the greatest blessing to him. She learned, she knew, what we are talking about today; she knew that she had to promote him constantly in her mind. Only if she promoted him in her mind would that blessing return back to her. Now she is one of the proudest parents in all of America. She's been covered by CBS, NBC, all the major stations. She's one of the proudest moms.

And of course, as you saw, we have doctors and all kinds of academics saying, "This mom should be teaching a course on how to raise children!" When you see that, she's been elevated, she's become more victorious, she's become recognized because she believed in that boy, she promoted that child; she never let him get down on himself.

I heard a story that is called,"The sage and the fisherman" and it's about a fisherman that fished on a magical mountain lake, and in that lake there were tremendous fish, magical fish, beautiful, orange, and white silver fish, fish that he would go up and catch. And one day the sage was going around that mountain and he happened to look down into that lake, and there that fisherman was and he was there on his little raft catching those huge fish, fish that normal people in the village, if they saw, they would totally not believe. Those would be trophies. One of those fish would make him a totally rich man.

But one interesting thing was happening. What the sage noticed was that the fisherman, whenever he caught a big magical fish, he threw it back in the water. Maybe the first time when he saw that, the sage said, "Hey, maybe this guy is a sage, too. Maybe that's why he is practicing compassion for those fish and throwing them back into the waters." But then he saw another big fish being caught, and again the fisherman threw that fish in the water; again another huge fish, beautiful, magical, shining, sparkling, he threw it right back in the water.

And every time he caught a little bitty fish, he kept it in his boat, put it in his bag. At some point the sage was so frustrated. He could not understand what this man was thinking. If he was smart he would keep one of those fish and become a rich man. He could not keep it in any more, and so when the man was on the banks he ran to the man and said, "Fisherman, why is it that you keep throwing in the big fish? Those are huge fish, you could be rich because of one of those fish!" and the fisherman said to him very simply, "O that's very simple. Because my frying pan is too small!" And the sage, when he heard that he lifted his staff and smacked him on the head, and he said, "Buy a bigger frying pan!"

See, what's the story is trying to tell us, brothers and sisters? Too many people get stuck in life. They get stuck at a certain level of success, work hard, study hard, and do their best. But we have to realize that God is asking us to not only be successful in our own lives but also to help another person succeed. He's strategically sending people into our lives, chosen people, that you have to help in order for you to get to the next level, in order for you to rise up to the next level.

And when we're working, it's very easy to fall into the habit, "You know what? I've got to focus on myself. There is too much work here, I've got to succeed myself, I've got to get promoted, and I’ve got to increase." And that's not bad; we have to be all that God has created us to be. That's not a bad thing, that's not a sin. We want to be the best people we can be. But many people will wonder,” Why am I getting stuck? Why am I only able to succeed up to this level?" It's because you are created to be able to give and receive, to be able to give a blessing to another person. And maybe that person may be right around you. He may be right at the next desk. He may be right down the hallway in another classroom, if you are an educator. That person needs your help. That person needs your support in order for them to succeed, and in the end for you to succeed to a higher level.

See, what am I saying? Just like this man, we need to start increasing our mind, increasing our view, our perspective, getting a bigger frying pan in our mind. You see, just because I don't get the promotion and he does, some people may say, "If he gets it, I can't get it.” That's a very small frying pan. You're going to be frying small fish for the rest of your life. You've got to get a bigger frying pan. If he gets a promotion and I don't, I'm going to let that inspire me to work harder, to be more effective to help another person succeed and find myself promoted one day, too.

We've got to see all the things that are happening in our lives in a different way. We've got to increase our perspective, get that bigger frying pan, understand that when we help people on our team succeed in any organization, in any school team, in any classroom, if we help other members of our team succeed, then we all win, we all contribute to that organization more. If we're able to promote those people who may not be the most charismatic people but have talent, if we're able to bring them up, then that organization benefits through that, and then we receive the benefit of that in turn.

See, I heard a lecture given by a very famous businessman, and he talked about one story where he described a middle manager that he had in his company. This man worked very hard, worked day in and day out; really he was just a fantastic person. But every time the person above him was moved, he was hoping to get promoted. He was saying, "The team leader above me just got moved to the next company, so I'm going to get promoted this time." It did not happen the first time. That situation happened again, he didn't get promoted again. It happened again, he didn't get promoted again! He felt so defeated! His self-esteem was dropping, he was thinking, "I'm going to stay at this level. I'm stuck; I can't get higher than this. My level of success is going to stagnate right here."

And so he found himself one day at church, and he heard a sermon about being a giver in life, learning how to give in your life, learning how to be a person with a large heart, have a heartistic mind etc...And he made a decision that day to get a bigger "frying pan”, to increase his view, to increase his perspective. And he decided, "When I get back to my company, I'm not going to focus on my promotion. I'm going to focus on helping the people around me get promoted."

So he went about trying to find talented people and he did, maybe not the best personalities, maybe not the most charismatic, but very talented.

And he started recommending them to his boss, started recommending them, "Promote him, promote him beyond me. He's better." A couple of years later, one of the people that he recommended became vice-president of that company. What happened? That vice-president remembered the gesture of benevolence, the trust that this young manager had in him a couple of years back. That vice-president called him up and said, "You know what? I need you to be the director of all our teams." And he elevated him, promoted him immediately to that level. Of course he got a huge pay raise, great success! What am I saying? That if we are able to help people, not necessarily people that may be the most charismatic or the most socially skilled, but people who really contribute, people that are really working, and that are willing and able and also have the ability to contribute to the organization, if we are able to keep our eyes open, not only to the ones that shine, but also to the ones that work hard in the back, also to the ones that may not want to be up in the front all the time, if we can notice those people, if we can acknowledge their ability, and if we can be a blessing to them, God promises that He will bless us in a greater way.

God wants to promote us in our lives. He wants us to constantly improve and excel. He wants to see that we succeed, but He also wants to see that we are the type of people that help others succeed along the way. That's one of the great secrets of life! If you're able to help others succeed, allow them to be promoted, allow them to increase, while being your best at all times, trying your best, day in and day out, really contributing, then you will find yourself not only with more friends, but with much more success and with much more happiness.

But many people will say in their minds, "I can't help every one! There are too many people, there's simply too many people!" But you can help somebody. You don't have to help everybody! God is asking you to help, recognize, notice and support that one person that is maybe in the back that maybe is contributing to your projects, but maybe is not getting the recognition that he or she deserves. God is asking us to be greater in our minds. But some people will say, "I have no time, I'm focused on my own work!" But God is saying, "How much time does it take to encourage one person? How much time does it take to say to the boss,"Hey, I recommend that guy or that woman. She's really excellent. She's much more skilled than me. You need this person to be working in this manager position. How much time does it take to do that?"

"If he gets the promotion, I won't!" If we think like that, we're thinking the pie is too small, we're thinking, "I need the pie. If I take one piece, that's one less piece for them. If they take one piece, that's one less piece for me!" But one of the keys in life is to start increasing your pie, increasing your frying pan, getting a bigger picture in your mind, saying, "You know, there's plenty for everybody to succeed. If I have a larger view, if I have a larger frying pan, then I can start catching bigger fish, I can start sharing them with my team. And they may help me reel those fish in, they may help me bring those fish in if I'm able to support them."

See, it’s so important to understand this principle. And I really see this in the story of John and Jesus. When you recall the story of John the Baptist, he was very successful, very famous, very charismatic. He was baptizing everybody in that area, and as you recall, he even baptized Jesus. But John received a revelation that Jesus was the One; that Jesus was the Messiah, was the Anointed One, and that John had to promote him, he had to anoint and he had to support him . But John didn't choose to do that. See, if he had supported Jesus and promoted him, he would have been commended for his faith, he would have been commended for his benevolence, and he would have been rewarded for his goodness. See, he would be remembered through providential history as a man who stepped up and promoted Christ to attain greater victory, and in doing that he would have been so much more victorious.

But he didn't step up. He only told a few but was worried about losing his fame, and he didn't promote that young man from Nazareth, who really looked like nothing, who didn't have a great personality maybe, who wasn't maybe as charismatic as him, but was chosen by God. Because he didn't promote him, because he didn't support him, he became part of the category of people who really knew that they should have done it, but didn't.

See, it's so important that we don't do like John the Baptist, that we are the bigger person in our lives when we have the opportunity to notice the people that God is putting in our lives. He's choosing those people for us to help, to promote, to help to increase, to help to live a life of abundance. And, of course, I'm not saying to promote people that are self-centered or people who may be very charismatic, but very boastful. Those people may not be those people that God is choosing for you.

It's so important that you know in your heart, that when you see that person, that you recognize a great talent there. God is giving me the eyes to notice that person. He or she may be quiet. He or she may not be as social as that other person. He or she may not be as physically attractive or appealing. But still they have great talent. Still they are contributing greatly to this project, to this organization, to this school, as a teacher, as an educator, etc.. When we are able to use those eyes and recognize those people, we will be able to receive more victory in our own live

What lesson can we learn today, brothers and sisters? We are destined, in our lives, to be a secret blessing to somebody. Somebody is sent into your life, prepared and created for you to promote, for you to help. Other people, of course, are prepared to help promote you, but in our lives, it's our responsibility as well, to find those people that need our help, to find the people that require a miracle, that can only be given by you, to find the people that only you can support in the right way for them to succeed and live a blessed life. If you're able to do that, you will find the victory, blessings and rewards coming back to you.

It's so important that, when we understand this principle, we are more aware in our lives, that we are inspired, we are aware, like Rev Toffey was saying, that we're able to keep our eyes open to the blessings around us, to the people that may be unrecognized, that go unacknowledged. But if we have the eyes, if we have the heart to see those people, to recognize, acknowledge those people, if we're on the look out in that way today, we will find ourselves in a new level of blessings that God will be opening for us.

So. I want to ask you all today to think about your life, think about the people that are around you in your life, even in your work place, in your school, in your classroom, maybe just on the street that you pass by, the people in your life today. Who can you bless today? Who can you bless this week? Who is the person in your life that you're meant to be a secret blessing to? That person may not be in your immediate area. He or she may be in the States, in a different country. Who is the person that makes you think in your mind, "That person has great potential, great talent and I am meant to help that person, I am meant to support that person, to promote that person."

I ask you today that, if somebody comes into your mind, please remember that person. That person is not there, just appearing in your mind, in your heart, only because you have some kind of visualization, or hallucinations. Those people are meant there for a purpose. And so it's very important in our life, that we acknowledge those people that we are able to recognize them and let them be blessed as well. If we do that, we will find our lives with more blessings, more victory, more illumination and more peace.

Brothers and sisters, if you can receive this message today, please give a big round of applause to God and True Parents. (Loud applause)

You know, we always talk about the blessed life, so let us be a blessing to each other. Let us join for a final prayer:

Hyung Jin Nim's Final Prayer:

Father we thank You for this day that You have given to us. We know that You have given us a great mission, that we are truly a miracle to somebody in this world. Father we know that You have planted within us exactly what that person needs, exactly what is called for. Father we pray that we may truly live the blessed life, that we may be that blessing to those people that You have sent into our lives.

Father, up until now, if there are any wrong doings that we have done, let us offer them up to you at this point. Let us ask for Your forgiveness, Father. Let us truly, in our hearts, repent for those wrong doings. And Father we pray that You may always see us from fresh eyes, that we ourselves may move from this place to become a greater blessing to this world. Father makes us the palace of your peace, the palace of your love, the palace of your lineage. Father we pray that we may truly live the blessed life, and become that blessing for that other person. Father thank You so much. We pray these things in our names. Aju!

Brothers and sisters, if we always keep True Parents enthroned in our heart, always truly on the throne of glory in our hearts, we will find ourselves with more victory, more illumination and more peace than we can possibly imagine. 

Interview of President Hyung Jin Moon

Deborah Hanna
June 7, 2008, 5:00 pm
Chung-pa Dong Church, Seoul, Korea

Deborah: What does Two Rivers mean?

Hyung Jin Nim: Two rivers, essentially we are trying to represent True Parents; that they are the two streams that give us life, love, and lineage. We feel personally, in my own space, that it is very unique to have a religious icon not just as a man that represents God, but a man and a woman, and that in our theology we understand God to be not just masculine but also feminine. Also as mother; this is very important, the two rivers essentially just represent those two sides. Through True Parents blessings, through our lives, we can extend those blessings to others. It's kinda generally what we're trying to interpret through a more symbolic form, more artistic form -- two rivers.''

Deborah: What is your message to the British youth?

Hyung Jin Nim: Well personally I've never been to Britain, so I don't know the situation exactly, but I know that in the many churches we have worldwide there are many similar circumstances. We feel it's very important at this stage that we are investing in building communities, you know because as of now, we have been sprinting, really sprinting. We have succeeded tremendously compared to other religions in their infancy, so we have been really sprinting and doing a lot of public activity, but we haven't yet been able to really start nurturing and building communities. So its like we've been out there fighting the wars and battles and now its time to go home, and there needs to be some healing community building, we need to put down our weapons and become farmers and merchants; become people that build the nation so to speak.

So that's a big transition, and in that transition we hope that in our own churches and communities we are able to foster a more empowering environment; where in which people who come can see a new vision for their lives, and have hope in their futures and really know that they are not alone on this path, that we are walking together as a community as brothers and sisters. And you know, as I said in sermons in service many times, there are times when we feel alone in life as individuals, but it's important to know that we are never really alone in our lives, we may be lonely at times but truly to understand we are not alone, we are walking with each other; I think that brotherhood is so important. So we really hope that as we focus on our church growth and development, that we can help the church communities succeed.

We're still learning in the process, we're still improving every day, but we're hoping that the churches around the world can really start building that network; that can really spread and give a lot of encouragement to not only our own tradition, but to people who are also interested in tradition, or who want to experience another tradition.''

Deborah: Do have you any tips on Meditation; how does it work for you, and what are the benefits?

Hyung jin nim: ''One of the real keys in meditation practice is to not try too hard, not just to struggle with it, but just to specially in practice let our humanity out. So many times when we're dealing with the emotional state, when we are dealing with a sense of depression or even when we are angry in the moment, but many times we try to suppress that anger, but the result of that will be an emotion that has not been able to be expressed and so over time it can sorta build up within a person. Of course its not healthy, to express anger, to yell or curse at people, y'know that's never healthy, but to deal with it in a way that can change the nature of that emotion is the real power of training your mind.

So, one of the keys of course is not to try so hard; a lot of people get into stomach busts because really they're trying to achieve some type of supernatural state. Or even just to focus intently, real focus, real experience of the constant gifts that we are receiving in the present, you know we talked of that today; the present, the real experience of that is not to try and grasp it, but really just allowing it to come into your life, and in that change in your mindset, meditation can have a great impact on your life. Because it is the difference of 'oh I'm in a relationship and I don't feel I've been treated well, so I'm gonna try and change my wife', but through the practice of meditation you let go of that desire. You understand that there are things that you can control but also things you can't, and to learn how to accept the present moment, to accept the people and the gifts that they have around you, is a very important principle in life - especially in relationships.

And so one thing about meditation practice is that if it really doesn't work out, you really have to give yourself a break, and just say 'y'know what, I'm not gonna try so hard and enjoy, I'm just gonna try to enjoy', and then you'll see very quickly, you'll be caught up in the amazingness of that moment, and there's a real gift there; I really do believe there's a real gift in the simple blessings that we're given. So the meditative tradition is to remind us of that, to give us a tool to implement that in our lives, to find who we are; meditation gives you permission to be what God created you to be. When we start seeing our emotional states, and understand that in meditation training we allow emotions to come, develop and go. Allowing yourself to have acceptance of different emotions is I think very important, and then one can become more healthy in their action steps. As I said many times we can feel anger but expressing it on somebody, cursing, that is not appropriate use of my emotion. Meditative tradition trains us to create more gap between emotion and reaction, so in that way we can have more control over our actions, and lead a better life''

Deborah: How do you manage public mission and your family?

Hyung Jin nim: ''Well we just saw Kung-fu Panda, which is great for the kids (Hyung-jin nim and Yeon-ah nim have four boys and one girl), we rarely go to the movies unless it's something like Kung-fu, which y'know I just have to see! Our schedule is rather different as you know, the weekends are real tough for us, and during the week we have a lot of meetings and things like that. So we try to always make time for the kids, and we have days for the children every week, we have for example our first boy Shin-Pal (9), his day is Tuesday night and then we'll go out with him, to a place he chooses, so as he likes ra-myun we'll go eat ra-myun with him! Next week is Shin-won's day so we'll spend one on one time, try to y'know encourage him, listen to what issues he has, if he's going through something he can share, things like that.

You see, we don't separate our spiritual practice with family practice, it's one; it's all one. So we see this as a central practice for our own family, we try this with the kids every week as we can build one on one relationships. It is very important; research shows that children remember their one on one time with their parents, not necessarily as a whole, so this time is very critical. I can say it's a real joy for us, it's a challenges for us too, because as they grow we have to keep finding ways to make it new for them. So that's tough, but it's a great challenge, and you know we are up there!

We are victorious! (High fives Yeonah nim) So that's one practice we do with the kids, other things like before they go to sleep, Omma always reads to them a bedtime story, always, everyday. So Omma reads to them at night, and in the mornings after coming back from morning training I go with each of the kids taking in turns on the bicycle around our home, it takes only five or so minutes each but they love it! As our schedule is, sometimes we get home late, but we must make time, as parents we don't try to find times for the kids, we make time, when you become parents you will see that if you try to find time you'll never find it, you just have to make it.'' 

Knowing that You are Created for Greatness

Hyung Jin Moon
June 7 2008
Headquarters Church
Chungpa Dong, Seoul, Korea
Transcribed by: Beatrice Clyburn
Edited by: Bruno Klotz

Welcoming Remarks:
Yeon Ah Nim:

Good afternoon brothers and sisters! (Good afternoon) (Thank you)

We are always happy and honored to have you all here, especially since it's been two weeks since we last saw all of you guys.

As you know, we had Hyo Jin Nim's memorial service in Japan and 6,000 Japanese members came and did a big memorial service for Hyo Jin Nim. That's why we could not come here, and so we are apologizing once again about that, and we are also welcoming you, members who are joining with us via internet. We are welcoming you all. Thank you.

Hyung Jin Nim:

Brothers and sisters, I'd like to share with you from the Cheon Seong Gyeong, from page 1040. I was just casually reading from page 2 and I found this where Father says, "The question in loving God and people is how much we have exerted ourselves. This will transform into maturity of character in the spiritual world, and become the foundation of glory."

When I think about that, I really like that. How much in our lives are we really concerned for others. When we do that of course it's important to take care of ourselves -- when we do that, it transforms into maturity, it transforms into spiritual maturity. In our lives, in order to really truly be blessed, it is so important that we are concerned for one another, that we invest into one another, that we understand the value of our community. We are not walking alone in life, we are together with our brothers and sisters. We have support, we have help, we have a friend who can help us when we are in need, and that sense of security, of spiritual stability, I think is so important in our lives.

There are so many situations in our lives that can really get us down, and where we really can start believing, "I'm in this all alone, and I don't know why everybody's leaving." But it's so important in our lives that we remember that we are not alone. Sometimes we may feel alone, sometimes we may want to be alone, but it does not mean that we are walking alone. It's so important that when we need help that we can ask, that we have the maturity to reach out and say, "Hey! You know, brother, I need some help, I need some consoling. Could you encourage me a little bit?" And to have that in our community, I think that is so important. I am so happy to see that we are able to be at that point in our history in the Unification Church and family.

Brothers and sisters, as you know, every time when we start our service, we always try to re-frame our view, to view our lives with God's view, to see ourselves as valuable, creative, imaginative, successful, in order to be victorious in our lives, to be blessed in our lives. We determine the limits of our future by how we view our lives, by how we see our future.

It's so important that we always are refreshing our minds, reviewing our lives, seeing it with a fresh new view, a new hope, a new inspiration for the next day. And sometimes we may have things in our life that bring us down today, but let's start again and say, "Hey! Today's Saturday, on Sunday it's a new day!" Let us get up, let us say, "Hey! It's a fresh new day. It may be raining outside, but in my heart it's spring."

It's so important to have that victorious mindset. If we do that we attract victory in our hearts, we attract the right people to us, and God will really help us to bring together the people, the friends, the community, the support, that we need.

Brothers and sisters, it's so important that when we come to service that we are here together and that really we give ourselves to praising God and True Parents, remembering who we are. When we are here singing with the choir, it's so important that we participate with them. Let's really muster up our hearts, stir up our faith, and really let's try to participate with the choir. It's so important that we get up and stand and sing and offer that as a condition.

And I believe, I really truly believe, that when we do that at the beginning of our week, the rest of our week goes better. We start off with the right view, we start off with the right perspective, we start off with the right starting point. This is so important in our lives, and hopefully every Saturday we are here once again, overcoming our obstacles, being victorious step by step, accumulating merit, and really bringing a blessing to others.

Brothers and sisters, it's great to see you all here today. Let's really have a great service today. We are ready. You guys have the sparkle of victory in your eyes, I can see it. They're all sparkly right now. So let's really have a great service. Thank you so much for coming here.

Yeon Ah Nim's Message:

I was always wondering why True Father made people sing at Hoon Dok Hae. Of course it has a great effect of making people wake up from dozing, but what else is he trying to teach people, to our members? What is he trying to teach to members? He's saying that he wants us to make an atmosphere of rejoicing, rejoicing for God. Members, people at Hoon Dok Hae come with different circumstances. They might have had a good day, or they might have had a bad day, but they come as one, and they come together and celebrate and listen to Father's words together. And True Father really wants to make a warm atmosphere for everybody. That's why, I realized, Father is doing that.

When we come together and rejoice together, it gives us strength to be victorious for God. So brothers and sisters, let us also be strength to each other and be victorious true blessed family members. Aju!

Interesting Story:

You know we always like to start with something a little interesting. When we were at the divinity school we always liked to see the funnier side of religion. It's always important to be able to laugh at yourself.

I heard a very interesting story. A young boy, Tommy, went to service with his mother and after service all of a sudden he declared to mum, "Mum I'm going to be a minister when I grow up." Mum was very surprised. She said, "Honey, I thought you wanted to be an astronaut. Why do you want to be a minister all of a sudden?" And he said, "Well I figure, you know, I have to go to Sunday service anyways, but instead of sitting and listening silently I'd rather stand up and yell at the crowd!"

Hyung Jin Nim's Sermon:

I want to speak to you today about knowing that you are created for greatness. In order to live the blessed life, it is so important to know why we were made and who made us. When we think that Almighty God created us, then He also created us in His image. If we can understand that concept, we understand that we resemble Him, His creativity, His unlimited potential, His greatness, His love, His value. We have those seeds within us and it's so important in our lives that we nurture those seeds, allow those "trees" to blossom, become all that God has created us to be.

When our children fulfill their destinies and they become all that they can be, then as parents we receive so much joy, just seeing them fulfill their potential. And it's the same way in our own lives. When we live with excellence, when we're on the path to greatness, when we move in that direction, we bring great joy to God our Creator.

I know that Father knew this when he first received his messianic mission. I can see him on the holy rock praying, in North Korea, and I see him getting that revelation that he has to spread this message to the world and that he has to take on a messianic role. And you can imagine his mind at that time. There he is on a mountain, there is barren land all around, there's just farmland. He's never been out of Korea. He's just 16 years old. He can't imagine the world, he does not know how big it is but yet something within him, when God asked him to take on this mission, something stirred up inside of him.

When God asked him, Father denied Him two times. Father said, "I can't do it. The world is too large. I am not talented enough. I just don't have what it takes to do what You are asking me to do." But he continued to be asked, and on the third time he decided, he declared, "OK God, I will do this!" And in his heart, every step of the way, whenever he faced doubt, whenever he faced obstacles, he had to say in his heart, "I will become great in my life for You, God!" And it's so important that we are able to have that spirit in our lives.

Too many people go through life thinking, "I'm nothing special. I don't have the talents that are required for this occupation. He's better than me," or, "She's got a better personality than me. I'm never going to meet somebody who is really going to allow me to substantiate a blessed family. I'm just average. I really have nothing to offer."

Too many people start getting into this trap of thought and it's so important that whenever we understand, whenever we see these thoughts appear in our mind, that we get rid of them immediately. It's so important, because the thoughts that we have, projected into the future, set the limits of our life. If we have this kind of limited thoughts, thinking of ourselves as defeated or just mediocre, just plain old average, nothing special, then we will not be able to achieve, not be able to substantialize those seeds of greatness that God has planted within us. It's so important to understand this because even one persistent negative thought can steal our destiny, can steal our joy, can steal our potential.

It's so important that we know that whenever we hear even one word that says, "I don't have what it takes," that we eliminate that very quickly from our minds. It's so important that we're very quick to react to those kinds of circumstances and, that whenever those thoughts arise, we quickly move them out of the picture. When we keep our minds looking towards the future, it is so important that we see our lives getting better, that we see ourselves moving through obstacles, moving through circumstances, overcoming difficulties, succeeding on the path to victory.

I heard a very interesting story called, "The ostrich and the eagle." There was a beautiful eagle's nest, and the eagle was perched up there. Somehow one of the eagle's eggs fell down and landed in an ostrich's nest. And as you can imagine, the mother ostrich came and she saw this nice little egg, and she just thought, "It's one of my own" and she sat on it and nurtured it. Eventually the eggs hatched and all the baby ostriches came out. And of course there was this very unusual looking baby ostrich. He kind of looked like something that flies in the sky. But she didn't pay attention. She said, "They're all my children. I love this child, so I'm going to raise it just like everybody else."

They traveled though life. The ostriches ran around. They ran fast but they were always looking on the ground, searching for insects, searching for little scraps, and always, whenever there was something that scared them, they put their heads in the dirt. One day a huge shadow floated over them, and they were filled with fear. The ostriches did exactly as their instincts told and they started burying their heads in the ground. And this eagle, the eagle ostrich that was raised with this family, he started trying to bury his head in the ground. But he couldn't do it. He didn't have what it took to start burying his head in the ground.

He hit himself on a rock and he looked up all dizzy and he saw this beautiful majestic bird floating in the sky. And he heard the cry of that eagle and something on the inside of his heart rumbled, stirred up within him. He said, "Wait a minute! That sound's so familiar to me." And he let out a cry, and he realized, "Hey I can do that, I can cry like that eagle!" And he started flapping his wings. Every day, every day -- he couldn't get off the ground at first -- but every day he tried to fly. He started to get higher and higher. Once he was looking at the dirt, scraping around for his scraps and getting insects, but now he was flying in the horizons, seeing the blazing sun, looking at limitless sky.

And it's so important that in our lives we understand that God never created us to be an ostrich. He created us to be eagles, to be majestic, to be bold, to be enchanting, attractive, to be powerful, and soaring to great heights. It's so important that as blessed families we start seeing ourselves not as the ostrich, running around trying to find a little insect on the ground, but that we are seeing ourselves as eagles. We are flying and soaring in the sky. When we look into our future, we find new horizons, new lands to discover.

In our lives we may have setbacks. We may even have thoughts that are continually replaying in our minds. Then it is important that we ask the question, "Who told me that I'll never make it?" or, "Who told you that you'll never have what it takes? Who told you it will never get any better? Who told you that you would fail and come crawling back?"

When we start hearing these ostrich thoughts, such as, "You'll never make it, you don't have what it takes, you're just going to fail. You're not going to get through this difficulty, it's going to last for ever, it's never going to end," -- whenever we hear these ostrich thoughts it is so important to say, "Hey! Wait a minute! God never created me to be an ostrich!" Get rid of those ostrich thoughts, and start putting new eagle thoughts in your mind, "God made me to be an eagle. I'm supposed to fly, I'm supposed to soar!"

When I reflected on this, I remembered a story about a blessed family, a wonderful blessed family, just fantastic blessed family. They had beautiful children, and the sister here, one day she wakes up and she discovers that her husband is gone. He ran away with another woman! Not only that. To make even matters worse, she looks at her bank account and she has $500 in the bank! She saved up for over 15 years, and now only $500! All the rest is gone! She's here alone, she's in a foreign country. She has three young children to feed. She doesn't know what to do.

And I remember talking to her. She was devastated emotionally, emotionally destroyed, "How could he do that? How could he leave me like that? How could he leave our young little children? How could he do that?" And I remember her just totally, totally devastated, totally in a mindset of defeat. And anybody can understand her situation. She was thinking, "How can I succeed here? I am a foreigner, I don't have any job experience in this land. There is no way I'm going to be able to make a living to support my family. I have three young children to feed. I have rent to pay this month. There's no way, I'm going to be able to survive in this land."

Also she knew that everybody in the community was talking about her, "O my God! Her life is over! I don't want to be in her shoes." Everybody was starting to gossip about her situation, and she was getting overly stressed, thinking, "What's going to happen to my life? How am I going to feed these children? What will my future look like? It's not going to look bright." She started seeing herself with this mentality.

And she told me how one day she got up, she washed her face and she saw herself in the mirror, and she just started crying in front of the mirror. She could see the water dripping from her face, from her hair, and in the background she could hear her three little children crying. On that day she put her foot down and said, "I'm not going to be a victim in my life. I'm going to be a victorious person in my life. I'm not going to just stand there passive. I'm not going to wait for somebody to hand me something to step up. I'm going to take a stand for my children, I'm going to take a stand for my life."

What did she do? She started calling everybody that she knew. She started applying for jobs. Somehow God made a way. She couldn't see a way. Somehow He made a way. In spite of so many obstacles she eventually found herself 10 years later as the head of the bilingual department of a university. She's now successful. She now owns her own home. She has sent two of her children to the blessing. She has instilled faith within them of their blessing even though her blessing didn't work out. She sent all of her children to college and now she's financially independent, secure. She can look towards her future with confidence knowing that she succeeded in her life.

And of course, when we look at her life, we can say, "Wow! She's incredible. She really was able to actualize the strengths that God placed within her." She'll be the first one to admit, "I never thought I could do it. I thought I was totally gone, I thought my life was totally ruined." Imagine if your spouse one day leaves. You have children depending on you, and leaves you just some five hundred dollars in the bank. What can you do? She was in that situation. But she says, "Now after the years of tribulation, after the years of trial that I've endured, I am at peace. I can't say that I'm totally victorious. But I'm at peace."

God made a way for her, because of that victorious spirit, because she chose to think, "I'm not going to live as a victim in my life. I'm not going to continue to let other people poison my thoughts. I'm not going to look at my future with a bleak mindset, with a limited mindset. I'm going to believe even though it looks like there's no way. I'm going to know that there is a way." And I do believe that with her spirit she will continue to have victories in her life, she will continue to have winning circumstances.

And when we look at her situation we know that there may be obstacles. Maybe her children will have difficulties in their marriages, maybe they may struggle -- all families do, all marriages go through some type of tribulation. But in the end she was handing down this spirit to her children, she was trying to raise that independent mind in her children, saying, "Don't you ever believe that you can't do something. Don't you ever believe that there's no way. Always believe that there's a way, always move forward with confidence, God will provide you a way." She lived that life and she gave that blessing to the children.

It's so important how we think of our lives. If we think we are not special, we won't act in that special God-given way, we won't act in our unique way, we won't develop our unique traits. If we think we are not talented then we won't invest into ourselves to build ourselves up, then we won't invest to make ourselves talented. If we think that we're not going to get out of this financial difficulty, we won't be ready for God's victory, for God's abundance in our lives. If we're not thinking that we're having good personality, we're not going to meet that person that God is investing to meet us. He's preparing that person, that person that can really help us in our life, or maybe the person that we may eventually be blessed to.

But if we don't believe that we have the right personality, if we don't make that step to go out and to meet that person, if we don't go to gatherings, to church, to find the right person etc... then we will never be able to be in that situation. If we think we're average in our minds, we'll never be great. I've heard it said like this, "The greatest enemy of greatness is 'good'. The greatest enemy of greatness is 'good'."

When I was young, I was such a terrible student, I really couldn’t do so well. Here I am, in high school, and I was flunking algebra. My average score on test was 24 out of 100! That was hard work for me to get 24 in Algebra every week. It was only in college that I started turning that around. I started turning that around but it was not only because of my own help, not only because of my own talent. My brother Young Jin Hyung was really supporting me, really helping me, encouraging me through that period of time. I remember that he encouraged me and raised me up to be a more confident, academic student. I remember that I once got a 3.3 out of 4.0. I got myself from a 1.6 up to a 3.3. Hey! I was saying, "This is great, I am good, this is good, this is more than I ever expected, this is fantastic! I just want to coast from here."

And Young Jin Hyung said, "Wait a minute, I'm not going to let you be content with that. You have so much more in you than you ever can believe. You have more potential than you're giving yourself credit for. I want you to start seeing yourself in a new way. I want you to start renewing your life in a totally new way. Stop saying you're a 3.3. Don't be content with 'good', be great in your life. Show those people who don't believe in you, show those archangels who say that you're genetically born with mental deficiencies, show them that you have the capability to be academically strong." He told me that, he put words of faith into my mind. He put words of boldness into my mind; he tried to instill encouragement, hope, into my heart.

At that time I was thinking, "He's crazy. I can't do this. I am a 1.6. I'm mentally deficient. I can't get academically strong. I've been told I'm mentally handicapped for the majority of my life. How am I going to get up to this level of greatness? I'm only a 3.3. That's the best I'm going to do. It's a miracle I'm here." But Young Jin Hyung pushed me. He said, "No, I'm going to push you. I want to dare you to be bold. I'm going to dare you to see yourself in a new way."

And so what happened? I eventually took on his mindset. I started believing the words that he was planting into my heart. I started to say, "Wait a minute, maybe I am not as mentally deficient as I thought. Maybe I am partially mentally deficient, but I am on the way to becoming free from that deficiency." And I started seeing myself in a new way. What happened? I did get a 4.0. I ended up getting a 4.0, getting on dean's list, and eventually transferring to Harvard. If you told me 10 years ago that I'd go into Harvard, that I would be a 4.0 student, be on the dean's list, and that I would be graduating from Harvard University, I would have told you, "You are crazy, insane and should be immediately institutionalized." (Laughter)

But what happened? Young Jin Hyung pushed me. He pushed me to see myself not as 'good', "Don't just see yourself as good, see yourself as great. Start viewing yourself with the eyes of God. Start re-viewing yourselves with those eyes." And I want to tell you all that God's view of your life is so much greater than your own. It's so important that when we look at our lives, that we don't see with those limited mindsets, that we see it with those limitless mindsets, that we see with the eyes and the view of Almighty God. Young Jin Hyung spoke those words of faith into me. He spoke boldness into me, he spoke courage into me. He truly encouraged me at the time when I could not believe that it was possible. I thought it was impossible for me to succeed academically.

And I know that some of us are in the "storm" right now; some of you are encountering difficulties. You may not see a way that you'll get through this difficulty. You may not see a way, "How am I ever going to find a method or a procedure to get out of this? Who's going to help me? How do I know that it's going to turn out OK?" But it's so important that in our minds we're not like the ostrich, that when the storm comes our way, we do not just hide our head in the ground. That's not the way to tackle it. We've got to be like that eagle. We can't just see something and put our head in the ground. We have to spread our wings, put a smile on our face and soar above that storm.

It's so important to understand that when we are moving in the right direction in our lives, that we can start bringing our future into that direction. I heard a saying like this, "Some of us may be in a storm right now but don't let that storm get into you." What does that mean? It means this: We may go through hard circumstances, maybe something that you believe you don't have the potential to overcome; we may be in that storm now, you may be in that circumstance, you may be in suffering right now. But don't let that circumstance, don't let that storm get inside of your heart. Don't let that thing plant its seed, its roots, into your heart. Don't let it start convincing you that you're just going to be 'good', to be average, or just mediocre. Start taking out those roots. Start planting new seeds of hope in your life, start seeing your future with a new view.

And it's so important that when we see that in our lives, we say, "In my future there are going to be new horizons. Whenever the sun sets in the West, it's already rising in the East. It may be dark right now, but right around the corner is the dusk of morning." And it's so important in our life that we move with that kind of confidence, that we know that a new horizon will open for us. Even though we may not see it at this time, we know that God is going to bring it to pass.

I know it's sometimes hard to do that. Sometimes the circumstances may feel huge and mountainous, but let us remember that no mountain is bigger than the power of Almighty God. It's so important that we always remember in our lives, whenever we are encountering circumstances that want to steal our joys, steal our potential, steal our happiness, that we say, "I'm not going to let you steal it. I'm going to keep it. I'm going to put a smile on my face. I'm going to be all that God created me to be. I'm going to be successful for God. I'm going to be great for His name!"

When you see yourself as talented, as creative, as intelligent, not mentally handicapped, when you see yourself as intelligent, as sophisticated, attractive, as victorious, on your way to greatness, then you are praising the masterpiece that God has made. When we start doing that, this is not a selfish thing. All you are saying is,"God, You made me, You created me and You are proud of me. You made me out of Your creative energy, and look at what You have created! All I'm doing is praising what You've created. All I'm doing is giving You credit for the things that You have planted within me."

And maybe we can't see it right now, maybe all our talents have not blossomed at this exact point. But it's so important that even though we can't see it all in its fruition, that we keep praising, that we keep speaking words of faith over our lives, over our future, over our destinies. It's so important that we remember, "I have to rejoice. I'm a child of the Almighty God!"

I remember what the Apostle Paul said. He was writing a letter to the Romans, a different church over there, and he said, "Rejoice not because of your circumstances, rejoice despite your circumstances."

Too many times we think, "My circumstances are going pretty good right now. I'm on the mountain top, things are looking OK, now I'm going to rejoice, now I'm going to say, 'Thank you God, thank You so much!'" But everyone can rejoice when he is on the mountain top. Everybody can praise God, "Hurray God, thank You for my victories!" But it's more important to rejoice when we are in the valley, it's more important when we are walking through the desert, when we can't see our own potential. In those situations it is so important to say, "You know what? I'm not going to rejoice because of my circumstances, I'm going to rejoice in spite of them. I'm going to be happy. I'm going to put a smile on my face, I'm not going to let any archangel steal my joy. I'm going to be victorious in my life." It's so important that we have that kind of talent, that kind of creative spirit within our minds.

But don't just stop there. In our lives let us speak these words of faith to somebody else, let us encourage others, give them hope in their future. Make them believe, "Hey! There is a way! I may not see it now, but there will be a way." If we can speak those words of faith to others, if we can help somebody to get a new view of his/her life, then we will truly be living the blessed life. We won't only be blessed in our own lives, we will be blessings unto others. We will be blessed blessings in this world.

What can we learn today, brothers and sisters? Let's dare to see ourselves in a new way. Let's dare to review our life in the way that God is viewing us. And let's praise Him for His goodness, not necessarily when all things are going all right and all things are going our way, but even when things are not going our way, even when we have more archangels coming against us than we can ever assume.

Let us praise God even more in those circumstances, in those times of difficulty. Let's just say, "Hey! God, You gave me so much potential. This is too easy, God! You're sending me only three archangels, it's so easy. I have more talent than that. Thank You so much for giving me all this talent, all this ability, all this creative energy. I'm going to solve this problem."

We have to have that kind of victorious mindset. We don't want to fall into thinking, "I can't do this, it's too big, the challenges are too large. I can't see my future." If we start thinking like that, we're going to be thinking ostrich thoughts. We don't want to be thinking ostrich thoughts, we want to be thinking eagle thoughts. Fly, put a smile on your face, stand up proud, be proud of who you are, walk out with confidence, be an eagle, soar above that storm.

And some of you may not have a brother like Young Jin Hyung today. So allow me to be Young Jin Hyung for you today. I declare that every one of you will not only be good; you will not only be mediocre, you won't be just average. You'll be great. You'll be outstanding. You'll leave your mark on this generation. I declare that you will have, every day of your life, more victory, more illumination and more peace. And I declare that you will truly live the blessed life that True Parents have blessed us to live.

Brothers and sisters, if you can accept this, be a blessing, give the blessings unto True Parents. Come on! (Loud applause).

We always like to finish our service by coming back once again into True Parents' family. Just join for a brief prayer.

Hyung Jin Nim's Prayer:

Heavenly Father, True Parents, thank You for this day. You have planted within us the seeds of greatness. Father, if we have done any things that we want to tell You, Father, if we have any wrong doings, Father, let us offer them up now, Father, in our hearts, right now. We don't have to tell anybody about them at this point. We can just offer them as a condition to You, spiritually, right now, Father, allow us to do that. Father, please make us the palace of Your love, make us the palace of Your life, of Your lineage. Do great things through us, Father. Allow us to accomplish and become all that You have created us to become.

We pray these things in the power and authority of blessed central families, in the power invested in us by True Parents. Aju! (Aju!) 

Congratulations to Mrs. Erikawa - True Parents assigned to Korea

Hyung Jin Moon
June 5, 2008

Dear Family,

Attached is the memo announcing the historic transition of Mrs. Erikawa to a new mission in Korea.

We sincerely offer our heartfelt congratulations to Mrs. Yasue Erikawa who served America with a Mother's heart representing our True Parents and Japan. She always supported and uplifted the Continental Director, President of FFWPU and the brought the an understanding of the way of True Parents heart to bring victory. She opened the door for so many clergy to be blessed by True Parents. As Vice President of WFWP USA she supported the WFWP President and strengthened its providential work. She totally sacrificed her family for America.

We ask all members to offer sincere gratitude and prayers for her victory in her new area of assignment in the Fatherland.

With Love and Deepest Respect,

Dr. Michael Jenkins
President
FFWPU USA

Ref. No. FFWPUI 2008-15

To: Regional presidents, national messiahs, national leaders
From: FFWPU International Headquarters
Date: June 5, 2008
Re.: Personnel Change

We pray for God and True Parents' blessing and love to be with all regions, nations and providential organizations as we enter the era of "Mansei for the Ssang Hab (combined) jubilee years, the 7th and 8th years of Cheon Il Guk based on the Universal Peace Federation."

This is an announcement of a personnel change made in accordance with True Parents’ instructions.

1. Personnel Change

Affiliation

Name

Details

Effective as of:

International HQ

Yasue Erikawa

Change in mission area
Previous: USA
New: Korea
Position: Itinerant Worker

May 31, 2008

Hyung Jin Moon
International President