Learning to Live Un-Intimidated

Hyung Jin Moon
December 13, 2008
Headquarters Church, Seoul Korea
Transcribed by: Naoko Isa Brazil
Edited by: Bruno Klotz

Welcome Remarks:
Yeon Ah Nim:

Good afternoon, brothers and sisters. I don't know if you saw the Christmas decoration outside -- is it really wonderful? We're always honored to have you here in this sanctuary, and for those who are joining us via the Internet, we are welcoming you as well. Welcome brothers, welcome sisters!

Hyung Jin Nim:

I'd like to share with you from Cheon Seong Gyeong, page 859, today. Father talks about the spirit world. He says, "The spirit world is covered with the constituents of love. The earth is covered with air, but the spirit world is wrapped in love. On earth we breathe air and breathe out carbon dioxide, but in the spirit world, we should live by breathing love."

It's very interesting that Father connects the breath to the very spirit world, to life and especially to love. And every time we breathe in and breathe out during our meditation time, it's so important that we can remember that. That time of breathing and remembering that we are alive can fill us with a new sense of chance, a new sense of possibility, that today is a new day, that God is actually blessing us with a new time, a new breath, a new life. And each time we take that new breath, even though we may still be having remnants of the past, or some circumstance or challenge, we can still breathe in new life, new strength and move forward with that kind of hope.

Brothers and sisters, it's so important that, whenever we start service, we're starting with the right mindset so that you're looking at yourself not through your own eyes, but through the eyes of Almighty God. And that is very important. We don't want to only look at ourselves from our own eyes, because when we do that, we can see someone who is inadequate, someone who is not perfect. We can see someone who's in the growth stage.

But when we look at ourselves from the eyes of God we can see ourselves as if we have reached all of our potential, we can see ourselves as God sees us. When He sees us, we're truly being able to bring that much joy to him. When we see ourselves in those eyes, we can start finding new strength, new hope in ourselves, new inspiration to move forward in our lives.

Brothers and sisters, let's always look at ourselves with those eyes. In the past week, if you had the chance to look at yourselves with those eyes of hope that give you strength, then I believe that in the coming week you'll do the same as well. Once again, brothers and sisters, let's offer the glory and the joy that we have in this service, back to True Parents and God. Welcome.

Yeon Ah Nim's Message:

I'm usually immune to colds but this week I was slightly sick; I had a fever, sore throat, headache and some things. But at the same time, while I was sick, I got so much love and care from my husband, my children and especially my second son, who kept on telling me, "You have to rest, Mommy. If I'm holding the baby I will take care of him and put him to sleep! So that you can rest, so that you won't go to spirit world!" And I said, "Oh no, no, no, Mommy won't go to spirit world because of this. I'm stronger than that!" I had to tell him that.

So I would say it was a really good time to remind myself of how precious my family was. I thought that the development of the Unification Church is very similar to this. Our church has been suffering from many sicknesses and illnesses. In order to overcome these obstacles and make it better, we not only need good medicine, but also we need love amongst each other. We need to have an attitude that we are stronger than this. And that this obstacle will not defeat us. That we will not die because of this. We need this kind of strong attitude, I think.

Brothers and sisters, let us feel the bright Unification future, together with Heavenly Father and True Parents. Aju!

Hyung Jin Nim's Prayer:

Heavenly Father, thank you for this day that you have blessed upon us. Father, today as we are near the season of Christmas and Thanksgiving, Father, we pray that we may also be participants in this holy communion. Father, we pray that we may remember the great sacrifice and tears that you have shed throughout so many thousands of years. But Father, let us not stop there. Let us wipe away your tears. Father, let us lift You up and bring You joy this season, and let us start the new year with a new hope, a new strength and new possibility, that all things will come to pass.

Heavenly Father, we pray that You may be in this sanctuary today, and You may extend Your holy hands into the lives of the brothers and sisters who are here. Father, if there are any obstacles, any hindrances, any circumstances that are holding us back today, we pray that during this time You may come down and erase, and scoop away, those hindrances.

Father, we pray that we may leave this sanctuary with a pure heart, with our minds focused on You and True Parents, that we may truly become the blessed families that You have desired from the beginning of creation. Father, thank You so much that You are allowing us to be here in this sanctuary. We pray that You may also be with the families that are joining us all around the world. Father, that we may understand that we are all connected in a worldwide family web, that You are looking after us and that You are helping us every single day.

Heavenly Father, thank You once more, we pray and offer all the glory, all the joy and all the thanksgiving that we receive today back to you altogether as one, in our own names as Central Blessed Families. Aju.

Interesting Story:

You know before we begin, we'd like to start with something a little interesting. I heard a beautiful story: There was a college student who wrote a letter home to mom and dad. It read like this: "Dear Mom and Dad, I feel miserable! Because I have to keep writing for money. I feel ashamed and unhappy. I have to ask for another $100. But every cell in my body rebels. I beg on bended knee that you forgive me. Your son, Marvin.

P.S. I felt so terrible that I ran after the mailman who picked up this letter. I wanted to take this letter from him and burn it right away. I prayed to God that I could get it back, but I was too late."

A few days later, Marvin received a letter from his father:

"Dear son, good news! Your prayers were answered. Your letter never came!"

Brothers and sisters, woooh, you got it today!

Main Sermon

Today I'd like to talk to you about, "Learning to Live Un-intimidated." You know, in order to live the blessed life, it is so important to live life un-intimidated. There will be circumstances, events, petty minds or archangels that will try to intimidate you into defeat. They know that if they scare you out of pursuing your own dreams and potentials that God has given you, they will injure God through that defeat. Knowing that God is on your side, and learning to live un-intimidated is one of the keys to living the blessed life. Let's take a look at some of these World Scriptures today.

From Christianity, let's look at Romans. Let's read it together, "If God is for us, who can be against us?" A very important one. Let's look at Islam today: "Oh, who you believe! If you help God's cause, he will help you and will make your foothold firm." Quran 477. Let's look at Buddhism today: "Men of little ability, too, by depending upon the Great, may prosper. A drop of water is a little thing, but when will it dry up, if it is united with a lake?"

Let's look at True Parents' words today. Let's read that together, "What should be the standard of the life of faith? We cannot base the standard on the things that people of this world ordinarily interact with. Because the life of faith seeks after infinite value. Since the center of infinite value is none other than God, therefore the standard for the life of faith should be placed on God."

Brothers and sisters, it is so important that we focus our minds on such statements. But many people will look at themselves and say, "You know, I have a bad past," or "I can't pursue my dreams right now, there's no way I'm going to bring them to pass in my life." But don't be intimidated by your past.

You know, Joseph was an inmate, he was a prisoner. Look at Moses. He was a murderer on the run. Even Jesus himself, he was a criminal. He was executed on the cross.

But what if I try and people make fun or people don't believe that I can do it, or they even try to bring me down, bring me to ruin? Don't be intimidated by naysayers in your life, brothers and sisters!

Nehemiah was mocked for wanting to rebuild Jerusalem, Job was mocked by his friends for having trust in God, Noah was mocked by own his family for doing what God had commanded.

"But what if I try and I fail?" Don't be intimidated by failure. It's better to risk failure than to risk your potential. It's better to risk failure than to risk the possibility of not actualizing your God-given potential and dreams.

In Zen Buddhism, there is the teaching that there are three things that are needed, that are critical along the spiritual path. It teaches that those things are, number one: Great Faith, number two: Great Doubt, and number three: Great Effort. See, having faith in God's goodness, in our ability and talents, in the possibility for ourselves and others to mature, are critical things.

But there will be moments of doubt in your life, no matter how strong your faith is. There will be moments where you will doubt God's goodness. You will doubt your ability and potential. You will doubt whether or not others can mature around you. You will doubt whether or not the dreams God has given you will ever come to pass. You will also doubt whether or not you can overcome a circumstance that you are facing.

But if you make great effort, then, according to this teaching, you will make it through that doubt and you will enter into new life and new faith. See, you will enter into a new faith and confidence in God, faith and confidence in your ability and your potential, and faith and confidence in the teachings that allow you to do that.

In our life of faith there are moments of those kinds of doubts. These doubts can become so great that they can intimidate us out of our own consistency and perseverance. Doubt, unchecked, can lead to intimidation, misery and dread of the unknown. But doubt, used well, can be helpful along the spiritual journey.

It can cause an urgency in our lives to pursue a more rigorous practice, to become better and mature, to challenge ourselves to actualize more readily. So in our lives it's very important that we don't beat ourselves up because we have doubts that come into our mind. But that we know that if we move through those doubts with effort and perseverance, we will come to a new level of faith to that God is leading us.

You know, doing ministry there are plenty of times where I myself have doubts in my own faith, or my own potential, or my ability to lead, my ability to fulfill what True Parents expect or have given me to fulfill. But I realize that if I keep at it, with humility and effort, a way emerges, a door opens up. God sends the person that I've been praying for, he sends a person I need, or He opens up the door that I just needed, or He makes an opportunity out of a crisis that seems to be so strong in front of us.

See, faith is only weakened by doubt if one gives in to that doubt and fear and gives up. People with weak faith are easy to spot, because when things don't go their way, they easily and quickly give up on themselves, their work, or their consistency and perseverance in doing that work.

But by going through the intimidation of doubt and fear, your faith is strengthened, our faith in our character, in our potential is strengthened, and we realize, "You know what, I'm not doing everything and I don't need to do everything. God is on my side, and He is helping me." Just as True Parents told me when I was inaugurated as International President, "Don't worry so much, there will be plenty of people to help you." And that is so important and that gives me so much strength when I start doubting myself.

You know, brothers and sisters, whether we realize it or not, God is doing 95% already. He's already doing it behind the scenes. We had a luncheon this week with 11 of the top newspapers here in Korea (Joongang, Donga, Chosun, Yonhap, all these big newspapers.) We had a wonderful lunch, they asked many interesting questions, they heard my story, they took pictures, etc. And I was assuming that this would just be a luncheon, a kind of an end of year formal greeting where we just kind of talk and wish each other well for the season, and I didn't think anything big would come out of it.

But the very next day, Joongang, Donga, and Yonhap, Korea's top newspapers wrote very prominent articles about the luncheon discussions. Joongang, Donga, etc. actually never published something positive about our movement, never, if anything at all. But the prominent articles were very well written, they were accurate, and had not a negative, not even a neutral tone, they had a positive tone. [Applause.] And I was told this was the first time for them to actually look at us and write for us such a thing.

I was so grateful, so thankful to them. They didn't have to do that, they went out of their way to write us a very good article. And so that night, I called up the reporters that night and personally thanked them: "Thank you so much for writing such a nice article. Really thankful, grateful that you went out of your way to do that." And they were so surprised and they told later on that no President of a religion calls them up after a good interview. So it was the first for them. But I felt very right about thanking them from my heart, because I realized that they didn't have to do it, and also that I didn't do any of it. I realized that it was God.

When I was explaining my story I realized, "Hey, you know what, I didn't live this life. God prepared this. He made me study Buddhism, Catholicism and Christianity, He made me be with those different traditions, helped me learn different languages, and study religion, meditation, and He made my story." That's something I realized.

There is no way I could have planned the decade of events that led up to my decision to begin ministry. The ten years that were my own training, I did so many things which became assets to me now in my ministry. And I realized, it wasn't me. It was all in God's hands.

As in the legend of Hanuman, in Korea his name is Sonogong, he's kind of the monkey hero. He has this amazing staff. In the more recent times you probably saw the movie "Forbidden City" with Jet Lee, and Jackie Chen. Jet Lee plays the monkey king. Pick that up, by the way, it's very good Kung Fu! And so in this legend, Sonogong has this magical staff that can help him leap 108,000 Li or 54,000 Km. He tries to escape from the Buddha and uses the power of his staff to fly away. But he realizes that he simply moved from one area of the Buddha's palm to the other.

That is when he realizes that it is futile to think that I'm doing everything, futile to think that I'm moving mountains. He realizes that no matter how great he thought he was, the Buddha was helping him and protecting him. Sonogong says, "No matter how much I traveled or how far I could go, I realize that I was still in the palm of the Buddha." It's a very famous phrase in Korea.

It's the same with our own lives. In our own lives, what we will realize is that there are so many events and circumstances that led us to be the person we are today. And that we could have never actually planned all those circumstances and events perfectly, to lead up to the person we are today. And when we realize that, we know, "Hey, I don't have to do everything. I can rely on God. God is doing the 95%, and I will fulfill my 5%."

You see, brothers and sisters, on our way to the World Temple CBG, we must acknowledge that we may sometimes feel doubt and intimidation.

What if society attacks us? What if we are not able to make the Temple? What if we fail, etc.? And these are natural questions, but whenever the archangel starts tempting me with these doubts, I just remember how much God has done up till now.

The culture of our movement is changing, it is becoming more fair, more transparent, we have elections for leadership in Korea, we are rediscovering our faith, our confidence, our belief that our tradition can make a difference in this world. Step by step, God is leading us to fulfill that destiny. So many believed that the movement had no more hope. So many proclaimed it as dead, that it's over once True Parents are not here. Nobody believed we could ever stop being persecuted by the media. Here, now that media that was negative has turned positive.

Nobody believed that we could have Presidents come to church. Then President Carazo came to church. Nobody believed there would be a change in leadership. Then True Parents appointed the True Children all around the world.

Nobody believed that the Unification Church would become mainstream and capture the imagination of nations. But you know what happened? When we met these reporters, they kept on asking me about the World Temple. Already the rumor is out all around Seoul. These people were asking me, "Oh where is it? How is it going to look?" I said, "I can't tell you, so stop trying to tempt me!" [Laughter]. They're already hearing about it, it's capturing the imagination of the people, of society. Brothers and sisters, it is time for us to know, to believe. It is happening.

You see, what can we learn today? In life there will be intimidating times, there will be circumstances, people and archangels that intimidate us in our lives. But when you do something great, there are always petty minds that come up and want you to fail. But if you give up you are letting those petty minds steal that greatness, that potential, that talent and enthusiasm for life that God has put inside your heart.

If you get intimidated along the way, then realize that it's okay. Don't beat yourself up, but push through with that effort, with hard work and perseverance, and you're going to make it through. In the end, we will be able to respect the person that God has created us to be and when we do get through, we will be stronger, braver, more confident, we will have more self-esteem and more self-respect. On our way to the World Temple let us have that faith, and if we doubt, let's use that doubt well, push through with effort and become even stronger.

Brothers and sisters, God will see us through and we will see the Unification Church bring joy, happiness and glory to God and True Parents on earth as it is in Heaven. Let's give it up for the Unification Church, come on, let's give it up!

Brothers and sisters, I do believe, that if we go forward with this kind of heart, learning to live un-intimidated in our lives, being brave and bold, then we will find ourselves with more victory, illumination and peace, and we will live that blessed life that True Parents have blessed us with. If you can receive this message, let's give it up one more time for God and True Parents! Thank you so much.

Closing Prayer by Hyung Jin Nim:

Heavenly Father, thank You for this day that You have blessed upon us. Father, we are praying for all of the brothers and sisters around the world today who are joining us here in this sanctuary. Father, we may not be present in the same room, but Father we know that our hearts are connected, and as You look down upon us You can see your blessed central families. Father, we pray that You may endow them with your strength, that You may give them and fulfill through them all the things that You wish to be actualized on this earth.

Heavenly Father, we pray that You may give us that kind of great courage and that boldness, so that we do believe in ourselves, that we believe in the people that You have created us to be, and Father, that we never give up on ourselves. Father, even if we doubt, we will use that well to bring us to a new level of strength, a new level of perseverance. Through that effort we will become stronger and we will become more wise. Father, thank You so much for this day. We pray that You may be together here with us, and we thank You that You have given us and opened up new pathways in our lives; maybe You've closed doors that needed to be closed, and we thank You for opening up new avenues in our lives.

Father, we pray that You may erase and eliminate any of the hindrances that are in our minds, that are in our bodies, and that You may bless us with divine health and protection. Father, that You may give us the strength and wisdom to help others, to mature ourselves and to be catalysts for change around. Father, we pray that You may work Your history and Your miraculous happenings through Your blessed central families, and let these blessed central families not only live victoriously, but let them shine before the world. Let them truly be the embodiment and representation of Your glory.

Father, thank You so much. We pray with an everlasting love and tremendous gratitude. Father, we thank You for this year, we are praying for 2008, 2009 to be truly blessed years, where we can find ourselves with more victory, more illumination and more peace, and become a greater blessing to this world. Thank You so much. We return all the glory to You and we pray these things together as blessed central families, Aju! 

Being Confident in being God's Child

Hyung Jin Moon
December 6, 2008
Headquarters Church, Chungpadong, Seoul Korea
Transcribed by: Annie Hapeman
Edited by: Rev. Bruno Klotz

Welcome Remarks:
Yeon Ah Nim:

Good afternoon brothers and sisters, Outside it is really cold, and we are really welcoming you with a warm, open heart in this sanctuary. We are always honored to have you here in this sanctuary, and for those who are joining us through the Internet, we also welcome you as well. Welcome brothers, and welcome sisters.

Hyung Jin Nim:

Welcome brothers and sisters, today I would like to share with you from Cheon Song Gyeong page 1298. Here Father asks, "Where is the center of the Universe?" and he answers that question. He says, "It is in the family", and then he says that the family "must expand the realm of love beyond the family. They must follow the path of patriotism, in loving the nation, and extend it to loving the world, beyond race, and the nation."

When we hear Father's words, we can remember that Father's view of our family is of course connected to our smaller unit family, as that is the building block, but it stretches beyond that to include nations, the Unification family all over the world, and really, every time we participate in service, as Pastor Kyle has told us, every time we have service here, over 10,000 brothers and sisters are joining us from all the different parts of the world.

And the reason why Kyle knows that is because he and his team manage the Internet website, which has every week over 10,000 hits. Let's give it up for that Internet team (Clapping and cheers). Over 7,000 downloads ever week. We are so grateful to Kyle. He spearheaded that. He, of course, is a professional in that field. He managed that in the armed forces, and he brought that talent and shared it with brothers and sisters in California, who also have that talent.

And they created that web site on their own talents and time, and because of that it is allowing all of the participants around the world to actually participate with us in service. And we are so grateful that Kyle was able to spearhead that and to continue to serve so many thousands of brothers and sisters around the world.

Brothers and sisters, whenever we start service it is always so important to remember who and whose we are. It is important to see that if we look at ourselves with our own plain eyes, we may see somebody that is lacking and not perfect, and that is on a process of improvement, but when we look at ourselves with God's eyes, then we can see as God sees us in our ultimate form, where we are truly bringing amazing joy to Him, when we have actualized all those amazing potentials that He has planted within our hearts, in our minds, in our talents, our abilities.

And so, it's so important to remember that, when we look at ourselves in the mirror, not to say, "Hey, I think I gained 10 pounds this week, oh, I'm falling into depression…" No, no, brothers and sisters, we've got to say, "Wait a minute, God's done me good this week, and I'm going to step up to the next level."

He's asking you to do something greater. Always let's try to look at ourselves with those eyes. Always, let's try to remember that when God sees us, He sees someone that is totally unique. He's created thousands of universes, millions of atmospheres, but you, we, each and every one of us, are completely unique. He has planted within us eternal and divine value, as we are created in His image. And when we are able to actualize those things, bring Him fulfillment and joy, then we fulfill our true divine purpose.

Brothers and sisters, welcome again to service. Let's be participants. We're going to invite you to sing with Two Rivers. They practice 4 days a week, 5 hours at a time. Let's give it up for Two Rivers Choir, brothers and sisters. Oh, my goodness. Not only that, they also do service activities. They are always donating their talents to the younger brothers and sisters here; teaching them music downstairs, and guitar classes and piano; teaching them downstairs how to make the youth choir; donating their talents and their abilities; really participating in service to the community.

And so, when we come together in celebration to remember who we are, and when we come together as a community, then it is so important for us to participate, and sing along with them. You know, it is very hard. I'm always giving speeches in Korean, and it's extremely difficult. They are not only singing songs in Korean, but they have got to do the prayers and the comments in between in English. And that's a very tough job, it's a tough job for them. But we're also very proud of them. Brothers and sisters, once again, let's participate. Pray with us, sing with us; you know, smile with us. I hope maybe not too much crying, but I hope there is a lot of smiling today, and let's really participate in service today. Thanks so much for coming. Once again, welcome.

Yeon Ah Nim's Message:

A blessed couple that was a Korean husband and a Japanese wife couple, were watching a baseball game between Korea and Japan. Actually, it was apparently a very close game, and as the game went on, they really got into it; and they ended up arguing which team should win. And the husband said, "You know what, Korea is the Father nation; Korea should win." And the Japanese wife said, "You know what? True Parents love all the nations, and you know, Korea being the Father nation, has no relevance with this baseball game."

And when their children watched them arguing, one of them said, "Appa, you are Korean, and Omma, you are Japanese, and I love both nations, and whichever team wins, I win. Either way, I win." He smiled, and everybody smiled.

Brothers and sisters, let us always remember the value of our blessed family, and the value of our True Parents. They have actualized something that nobody could imagine. Blessed families, let's always go forward with pride, as Unificationists. Aju.

Meditation:

Brothers and sisters, let us begin with unity of mind, body and breath. Let's start with our body. Let's place our hands toward the earth, breathing in the Universal Prime Energy, channeling that earth energy up towards our heart; breathing in. As we pass our beating heart, let's breathe out towards the sky, towards the Heavens; and let's receive what God wants to give to us today, His wisdom, His grace, His new understanding. Breathing in, as we pass our living hearts, let's breathe out, towards the Universe. One more time, breathe in that powerful earth energy towards our heart, breathing in, as we pass our hearts, breathing out, towards the Heavens now.

And let's let God now give us His wisdom, His strength, His confidence, His love today. Breathing in, Heavenly power and energy, as we pass our hearts, breathing out. Let's be gently seated today, and I'd like to invite you to sit up at the front of our chair, so that you can keep your back straight, and we can enter into our first visualization and meditation practice.

Let us gently close our eyes and visualize ourselves, not in this sanctuary, but let us visualize ourselves walking on a beautiful beach, a very warm, sunny day. We can see the sun is out, it's evening time. The sun is setting. We can feel the warm, warm rays of the sun basking over our bodies. And as we walk gently, we can feel the warm earth underneath, the warm sand. We can almost feel each grain of sand, as we walk gently. Each grain is lifting us up; it's supporting us. Thousands, tens of thousands of grains of sand are holding us up. As we walk gently, let us be mindful of each step; noticing the heel, being surrounded by the warm sand, noticing the ball of your foot, each toe even, supporting your body, keeping you straight.

Let us hear the beautiful ebb and flow of the ocean water; the warm sun rays above, and let us now face the sun, and feel the sun's rays come over our entire body, from our foreheads all the way down to our feet. We can feel that warm, life energy coming in, warming each one of our cells, radiating our light, illuminating our heart. In that image, let us close our eyes gently, feeling that warm sun, listening to the beautiful ocean waves, the calm and peaceful waves that sooth our hearts. And as we stand in that most glorious place, let us breathe in deeply, in our hearts let us say, "I am alive." And as we breathe out deeply and slowly, let us say, "Thank You." Second breath, as we breathe in new life in our lives, "I am alive." As we breathe out deeply, in our hearts, "Thank You." One more time, as new life soothes our hearts, breathing in, "I am alive." And as we gently breathe out, "Thank You."

Let us know that God and True Parents, throughout every course of our lives, are guiding us, just like the sun that provides illumination and direction in our lives. Let us know that they are with us; that they believe in us; that they love us; and that they truly wish for us to become a great blessing to this world.

Prayer by Hyung Jin Nim:

Heavenly Father, thank You for this day that You have blessed upon us. Father, You bring together so many hearts and so many families here in this sanctuary and abroad. From all over the world brothers and sisters are joining us from Albania, from Germany, from America, from Brazil and Asia, from the Philippines, from Russia, and so many other different nations, Father.

Father, today we are here truly as Your global community. And Father, we pray that we may understand and expand our horizon, expand our awareness, to understand that we are part of something immense and great, and that, Father, You are proud to see us as Your children. Father, You take great delight in seeing us be the best that we can be; actualizing our potentials, and bringing joy to You. Father, we thank You so much for this day that You have blessed upon us. We pray that You may be here with us from beginning to end; and, Father, that we may, from this day take a new heart and determination.

And as we leave this holy sanctuary, we pray that those blessings may continue to spread throughout the week; not only to the people around us, but to the people that we pray for in different countries. Father, we pray that You will use that miraculous power, Your supernatural grace, to be able to truly revive and allow Your promises and dreams to come true in the lives of those blessed families that are precious to You. Heavenly Father, we truly are grateful for this day that You have blessed upon us. Once again we pray that we may offer this service up to You; that we may truly bring You joy today, and that we may give You strength today through our songs, through our praises, through our prayers, and through our actions. Thank You so much Father, and we once again, dedicate this to You, in all of our names, as central blessed families, Aju. Aju. Aju.

Interesting Story:

You know, before we begin, we always like to start with something just a little interesting. I heard a story about a Grandfather that during Christmas time received a present. And that present was an MP3. Now Granddaddy was about 80 years old, so he was having difficulty trying to get the thing done, and so he sent for his little grandchild, and he said "Hey, Johnny, can you help me out a little bit?" Johnny helped him; he got on the computer and went to that download page, and said "Grandpa, this is how you do it. This is how you do it. You download here, you click here, and this and that, and this and that.”

And Grandpa went through the process a couple of times and said, "Johnny, I can't understand. Show me again." And Johnny did it again, and again. And Grandpa said, "Johnny, I can't understand. You've got to do it again." He did it again and again. Johnny ended up doing it 12 times that night. And at the end Johnny was so frustrated and flustered. He's only in elementary school, but he was so frustrated. And he said, "Grandpa, did God make you?" And Grandpa said, "Yes, He did." And he said, "Well, did God make me?" And Grandpa said, "Yes, He did." And then little Johnny said, "Well, I guess He's doing better work now then."

Today I'd like to talk to you about being confident in being God's child. You know, in order to live the blessed life, we have to be confident in who and in whose we are. We are here not only to fulfill our individual purposes. We can never, absolutely never, be truly, truly happy in life just pursuing our own purposes. We must understand that in the end we are created to fulfill the plans that bring joy to God. We are created to be that giving and receiving object that God can dwell in and share in. When we are confident in being children of God and True Parents, and we share that with pride, God is also proud.

Let's take a look at some of these World Scriptures today. We're going to look at some of the Psalms today. Let's read them together: "It is He that made us, and we are His. We are His people. Give thanks to Him. Bless His name, for the Lord is good, and His steadfast love endures forever."

Let us see the Islamic tradition, the Koran. Let's read that together: "God has promised to believers beautiful mansions and gardens of ever lasting bliss; but the greatest bliss is the good pleasure of God. That is the supreme felicity."

Let's take a look at the Confucian tradition. Confucius, our saint, let's look at him today: "To see gladness through righteous persistence is the way to accord with Heaven and to respond to men."

Let's look at Father, True Father's and True Mother's words. Let's read that together.” There is no limit to joy. Happiness has no end when you are standing in the love of God. Every cell in your body jumps for joy. You breathe in and out with the entire universe. This is how God means for us to live; intoxicated in love and joy; and through our joy, God receives His joy."

You see, we must be very clear with what our mission is as Unification Movement. We are not simply an educational organization, or a charitable foundation, or a federation of families that simply want world peace. We are a faith tradition. We have a core teaching. We have True Parents. And as a faith our mission is to spread that word and the good news of True Parents.

You see, when we joyfully and confidently spread the news of True Parents, effectively, and when we bring children to God and to True Parents, God feels great joy and pride. It's like a father who sees his son or daughter spreading the word of his father's works, his talents and efforts. There's a great sense of pride, joy, and also gratitude. That's how the father feels.

It's the same with God. When He sees us talking about True Parents with others in joy and in confidence, He's not only proud, He's not only joyful, He's not only happy, He's also grateful. Yes, the entire Almighty God of the entire Universe, who created millions of universes, can be grateful to us when we do such work.

You know, here in Korea there is a tea shop in Insa-dong, that I usually buy tea at. The owner is wonderful. She is a very exuberant lady, she's very enthusiastic. She's always bright, she's smiling; she's just an amazing lady. But as the world economy is slowing down, one day she showed her desperation. When I was in there one day, she said to me, "I don't know what I am going to do, it's so hard to sell now-a-days. I don't know how I am going to survive this."

And I could perfectly, rationally, understand that business was slow for her. And I could completely empathizes rationally; but suddenly, for some strange reason, I emotionally, I think, sub-consciously, felt a distance, and I felt a strange feeling, as if she wanted me to throw money at her, because I am Father's son. And strangely I felt, "You know, I don't want to buy tea from this place anymore. I'm feeling like she is begging for me to bail her out."

And a few weeks later I stopped by, and in a conversation I asked her and said, "Business is hard now these days, it's really tough." On that day she smiled at me with her usual bright, illuminated smile, and she said, "Everyday, happy day." She said that to me. When she said that to me, then my feeling completely turned around. And inside I said, "You know what, I'm going to continue to buy tea here; I am totally inspired by her."

What happened here? All of a sudden I changed my mind. One second I don't want to buy tea here anymore, the next second she says "Happy day, everyday," and now I want to buy tea all of a sudden. What happened here? How come I changed my decision? Why didn't she lose my business? And the answer is very simple. Her optimistic confidence in her life, in her shop, in herself was inspiring. If I am going to buy tea anyway, I want to buy tea from a lady that inspires me. And even though business is tough, she threw off her grave clothes, and she put on her praise clothes, and instead of moping around, complaining and begging for others to pay her with a defeated mentality, she bounced back. Her usual bright attitude, smiley, nobody can get me down attitude, and that was inspiring.

You see, in the end, I realized that I don't just go to buy tea from her, just because of her selection of teas, I go, subconsciously, to be inspired by her. Yes, the tea lady inspires me. She has such an optimistic, positive thinking, such a "I can't get down attitude", and that is inspiring.

It is the same with our Unification Church. If we are moping around uninspired, defeated and with no enthusiasm for our lives as blessed families then no matter how much we witness, no matter how much we talk to people, they're not going to be inspired. They are going to subconsciously say, "You know, you can't even get yourself inspired, honey, how are you going to get ME inspired?"

It is so important that we are able to see and to have that confidence in who we are, that we have something so unique to offer, that it has changed history; that it will continue to change religious history. So we have to know that God has waited 6,000 plus years for us; and that True Parents are here, and that we are blessed families are here.

And we have to know that we are the most successful religion while the founder is alive; and that we will continue to grow and to flourish throughout the generations. You know, there is no other time in Unification Church history where things are this much in our favor. Here in Korea we have been able to turn the media from against us, from negative, to now positive.

When Kook Jin Nim, myself and Sun Jin Nim, when we meet dignitaries and reporters, CEO's of major organizations, political leaders, they are interested in the Unification Church, and they want to know, "What's Father Moon up to, what's he doing nowadays?"

Kook Jin hyung has a practice of inviting these VVIP's, not to an event or a hotel conference, but to church!! Whenever he meets the KBS president, the SBS president, he goes, "Oh, you should stop by church one day; it's really fun, it's really exciting, you should come by!" And they'll say, "Oh yeah, I would love to come over, send me some sermons."

He was talking to the chairman of the Green Cross the other day. The Green Cross is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in Korea. You have probably seen the ambulances, the EMS with the Green Cross on it, and Kook Jin hyung just offered, "We have a wonderful ministry that is happening, and you know what? We'd love to invite you over." The chairman said, "Oh, I'd love to come over. Send me some sermons, and set me up so that I can come in."

See, it is truly a different age, brothers and sisters, there is no reason why we cannot succeed in witnessing, in sharing our faith. In Japan our persecutors try to link us with a terrorist organization. Our brothers and sisters in Japan are being persecuted by people that try to link us with a terrorist group.

But in spite of that incredible persecution -- they are being persecuted just by being Unification Church members -- in spite of that persecution, every year the Japanese church is able to witness to 5,000 new members every year on average. Even in that incredible, negative persecution. And this is not because those people who are being witnessed to are not capable intellectually, or because Japan has unique circumstances that allow incredible witnessing growth, while they are being tremendously persecuted, but is due in Japan to the members' confidence. They are confident in who they are. They are confident in True Parents' absolute value, they are confident in the Divine Principle to move and change lives, and they are confident in themselves as blessed families.

Whenever we go to Japan and have an opportunity to meet the top witnessers, we see that they are amazing people. They come across with confidence. They are so elegant; they have certainty in who they are; they're joyful, they're bright, they're enthusiastic in their faith. In short, they are incredibly inspiring people.

You see, I've seen women shop at Dongdaemun, you've all been there at Dongdaemun, and I've seen ladies buy handbags there, a new handbag, a brand new handbag for $5 or $10. I am sure many of you have done that, too. For 5 or 10 bucks, a new handbag. But I've also seen other ladies go shopping at Prada or Gucci or Lewi Vitant, they may pay $2,000, $5,000 for a new handbag. I know many of you have done that, too, right? (Laughter)

But when a lady buys a Dongdaemun bag for 10 bucks, see, chances are she's not going to take care of it so well. She's not going to look after it, she'll probably buy a new one in a few weeks, a few months, and for some ladies, a few days. But when she buys that quality bag, that world class quality bag, she's going to take care of it, that $2,000 bag. She's going to polish it; she's going to make a shelf for it; she's going to clean it, she's going to value it, she's going to honor it.

But rationally speaking, this is crazy; rationally this is insanity. The Dongdaemun bag and the Prada bag are made in the same manner. They are made the same, the metal and the zippers, they are the same, the materials are the same. So why would she pay thousands of times more for a Prada bag? Why would she do such an irrational activity? It's because she appreciates that Prada, the designer who made it, the value it holds as a brand that has become world famous. When she wears that bag, she feels beautiful. When she wears that bag, she feels classy. When she wears that bag, she feels glamorous. When she wears that bag she is confident; she is proud of who she is. You know, that's why she will spend, that's why she will pay that much more.

And I've seen so many people lose confidence in what we have to offer as a tradition. You know, many people will say, "We give Divine Principle lectures for free and people are not receptive. How can we win this? We give it away for free!" Because we give it away for free people are not receptive, brothers and sisters. If someone gives something away for free, people think it has no value.

If I bought 100 $4,000 Prada bags at the local shopping mall, and I ran down to the local McDonald's and I started distributing those hundreds of $4,000 bags to people and say, "This is a real Prada bag, you can have it for free!" they would not believe me. They would say, "Okay, I'll take it, but I don't believe it's real." They would not believe that it's real. They would not believe it has value. They would probably think that it came from Dongdaemun or something like that.

It's the same thing with our teachings. We have been treating Divine Principle like a Dongdaemun bag while we have something a million times more precious than a Prada bag or a Gucci bag. We have a Divine Principle bag! Give it up, give it up for Divine Principle. (Clapping)

You see, you've got to think about it like this. Think about the members that joined when Father started his ministry. Look at the people who joined! In Korea, the people were coming out of Ehwa University, Seoul National University, and in Japan from Waseda University, in America from Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Georgetown University. And many people are saying, "Due to historical circumstances, because of the war, that's why people were joining at that time. They were desperate."

Well, even though that is the case, even in the present day the economy is so slow, it is now creating a crisis for many people to actually be receptive towards religion, receptive to the good works that are helping the world. We were able to reach top students, top families across the nation. We were confident; we were proud of who we are. We were proud of getting to know, to feel, the joy of getting to know True Parents.

But as time passed our kids grew up, and they weren't perfect, and our lives had troubles, etc. And slowly we started losing that confidence. But as one of my elder, bigger sisters said, "Honey, that is life. It's normal to have ups and downs. Don't worry about it so much. Stop pulling out your hair; that's why you're bald." That's when I was bald.

So what if everything didn't go our way? We cannot let it defeat us. What if the kids are not perfect, or they don't float around with halos? That shouldn't defeat us. So what if our lives have ups and downs? Everybody has ups and downs in their lives. That should not defeat us. We are stronger than all those problems combined. We have to know that God never gives us more tribulations and difficulties than we are able to overcome.

You know, I was having lunch with a professor of Asian art, she is a professor at University, and she is a devote Buddhist practitioner, and she has become a part of our Unification Church family in recent times. She told me how one of the Korean dynasties, the dynasty that Chumong founded, began in 37 B.C. And she told me how Chumong proclaimed at that time, "I'm going to create a dynasty that will last 1,000 years." Interestingly enough, that dynasty came to a close in 926. This dynasty ended literally just about after 1,000 years.

Then she told me of the founder of the Chungsong dynasty. He moved the capital to Seoul, and he proclaimed that he would create a capital that would last 500 years; and check out the dates on this. 1392 to 1897, literally, 505 years. As they proclaimed, so it came to pass. As they proclaimed the 1,000, the dynasty ended in about 1,000 years, and when they proclaimed 500, the dynasty lasted for just about 500 years.

She then told how she is so inspired by what we are doing. She's a devout Buddhist practitioner. She's had connections with many, many people in the Buddhist world. Especially, she is so inspired by the Unification World Temple. And she says, "I believe this temple will be the hallmark, the future hallmark of Korea. It will be the symbolic representation of our nation and it's tradition. And she said, "You know what? I'm doing an art exhibition in Japan, I'm doing one in a couple of months." And she decided to donate every single cent of that exhibition to the building of our Unification Church World Temple. Brothers and sisters, give it up!

She says she's going around meeting her monk friends. She's connected to some very top Buddhist leaders, and she's saying to them, "You should be donating to the World Temple. Who is going to be supporting Buddhism? Christianity is not going to support you, you should better be donating to Unification Church which is supporting us." She said that to the monks. She says that she's confident. Why is she confident? When she heard about how these dynasties were proclaimed for 1,000 years and 500 years, she said, "You know why I'm even more confident? Because I came to church and I heard something Sunday morning; I didn't hear 1,000; I didn't hear 500, I heard Ogmansei!" Brothers and sisters, what does Ogmansei mean? Do you know how many zeros that has? That's one trillion years! Brothers and sisters, give it up for Unification Church Ogmansei. (Clapping and cheers). Ogmansei for the Unification Church! As we proclaim, so it shall pass. Thank you.

Brothers and sisters, what can we learn today? We can learn confidence in who we are, and in our identity as the Unification Church, as a Unification Church member that is attractive! It's okay that our children are not all Mother Theresa. When we regain our confidence in our faith, and in our True Parents, we will bring great joy to God. In the end, we will never be truly, truly, truly happy unless we realize that we were created not only to fulfill our own purposes, but that ultimately we were created to fulfill God's plan.

Now on our way to the World Temple, if we go forward with this kind of confidence, with this kind of joyful optimism, a smile on our face, no matter the adversity, we will be attractive and inspiring, like that tea lady that I buy tea from, who says, "Happy day, every day". We are not offering a Dongdaemun bag, brothers and sisters, we something super amazing, brilliant, tremendous, more than a million times greater than a Prada bag! We have got the Unification Church family, brothers and sisters! Give it up!

If we go forward with this great enthusiasm and pride in who we are, I do believe we will find ourselves with more victory, more illumination, and more peace; and we will live that blessed life that True Parents have blessed us to live, and be a greater blessing to this world. Brothers and sisters, if you receive this message, give it up; let's give it up for God and True Parents. Come on, let's give it up. (Clapping and cheers). Thank you so much.

Let us now enter into our homeland mediation. Let us gently close our eyes and visualize ourselves, not in this sanctuary, but walking in a beautiful meadow. I invite you to pay attention to each step that we take. And let us notice that each step that we take, there are beautiful flowers that grow right around our feet, almost magically. As we look to our left we will see a beautiful stream, that is meandering down, sparkling with the sun's rays passing through its transparent water. As you look up ahead, we will see the beautiful field that extends all the way to the horizon, and beautiful mountains way in the back. We will notice those mountains touching the beautiful sky that is completely blue.

And now we will notice that with each step the flowers bloom and expand and spread over the entire meadow; almost as if the entire meadow itself is changing colors. As you look up ahead you will see True Parents there. They are waiting for us with outstretched hands. Let us stand before them, and let us kneel down. True Father places his right hand on our head. True Mother places her left hand on our head; and they give us their blessing. They tell us, "If your burdens are heavy, give them to us, we will hold them for you. We will rid them from you."

If there is anything in our hearts that we wish to share with True Parents at this time, let us offer that report. Let us see them smiling upon us, their faces almost brilliant, shining like the sun. Let us feel that powerful energy coming through us, from the top of our heads, all the way down to the tips of our feet. We can feel that they are turning around those situations and circumstances in our hearts and in our minds, and in our lives, as a healing energy passes through our entire body from head to toe. God is beginning to work a miracle in our lives. We can see our spirit body. If there are any places that are dark, they become totally purified, become totally clean, as our spirit body is illuminated in thousands of directions, shimmering, like a brilliant star.

As we receive that blessing into our hearts, let us breathe in deeply, in our minds say, "I am alive." And as we breathe out deeply, in our hearts let us say, "thank you." Once again, as we breathe in deeply in our hearts, let us say, "I am alive." As we breathe out, in our hearts, let us say, "thank you." One more time, as we breathe in new life, "I am alive." As we breathe out old life, "thank you.” God and True Parents are always with us, no matter where we may go, no matter how our lives may change, let us always know that they believe in us, they have blessed us with the blessed life; and we will be a blessing to this world.

Final Prayer by Hyung Jin Nim:

Heavenly Father, thank You for this day that You have blessed upon us. True Parents, thank you for being with us in this sanctuary today. Father, we thank You that You are able to fill us, that You are able to lead us. And Father, as we get to know You, we will be purified, and we will be illuminated. We will become more wise, Father, we will become more compassionate.

Father, we pray that we may take off our burdens, that we may take off the things that are weighing us down; and Father, that You may fill us with new life, that You may lighten our step, that You may be able to empower us with courage in our hearts. Father, let us know that we are precious blessed central families; and that we must be confident in who we are. Father, let us know that You have waited for us for thousands of years, and we are the fruit, the fruition of what You have desired for so many decades. Heavenly Father, let us realize the tremendous value. Let us imbibe that within our hearts. Let us recite that to ourselves whenever we feel down; whenever we feel we can't overcome something, let us know that You are with us, that You are behind us, that You are leading in front of us. That You are above us, protecting us. That You are below us; that You are supporting us, and lifting us up.

Heavenly Father, we truly thank You for this time that You have blessed upon us. Let us have that confidence in ourselves, as not only children of God, of You, but also as part of the Unification tradition. Father, we have such an amazing tradition, so much to offer to this world. Let us hold that with confidence in our heart. Let us hold that with confidence in our mind. Let us hold that with confidence as we move forward and fulfill our destiny.

Heavenly Father, we thank You for this day, and we truly pray that You may bless each child that is here. That You may raise each child that is here, that You may uplift and truly be able to blossom through us Your great providence. Thank You for this day; thank You for this life, and we offer it all back to You, Father, with an everlasting joy and gratitude, in our names, as central blessed families, Aju.

Testimony by Masako Hira

Konnichiwa, Annyeong haseyo.

My name is Hira, Masako of the Suwa Church of South Nagano District. I was guided to the church through a friend in 1991. We were part of the 360,000 Blessing in 1995, and have two daughters. I feel unworthy to stand here today, but I share my testimony with gratitude.

Eight years after I joined, my husband's company went bankrupt, and he decided to start his own business. There was a large-scale donation providence in Japan at the time, and the amount needed was identical to the amount it would take for my husband to restart the company. We had no funds at home except for the loan that we'd made in order to start the company, but somehow I felt that we absolutely must make this offering, and going against my husband's wishes, I donated all of the loan that we took out. Later, we were somehow able to raise the funds to start our company.

From the year after that, our company suddenly started to develop, and now, 9 years later, we have five companies in successful operation. Looking back, I believe that God was teaching us how important it is to give priority to Heaven's situation first. Following that, we have been able to offer more, as the company developed.

My husband is from Nagasaki Prefecture of Kyushu, southern Japan, but I had never visited his hometown. Last month, we planned a visit to his birthplace, the cities of Omura and Shimabara in Nagasaki, together with church leaders. We searched around for his family grave, based on what his mother told us and finally arrived at a stately grave, which was marked with a swastika, indicating underground Christians.

We also visited the castle ruins of the first feudal Christian lord of Japan, Sumitada Omura, and his descendants' graves, as well as important sites in the Christian history of Japan. For example, the Hara Castle in Shimabara is known for its history 400 years ago, in which the 16-year old leader, Amakusa Shiro and 37,000 Christians were under siege by the Tokugawa shogun's army of 120,000 for 88 days. In the end, all of them became martyrs.

We held a Prayer Ceremony for Restoration at the Hara Castle site, and noticed after the final prayer that one Christian lady was standing behind us. She was with one Catholic man, and one Protestant man, and said, "I pray here daily, but today I did not intend to come. Then in the afternoon somehow I felt moved to come and to my surprise found your group praying, and I saw the Holy Spirit descending. I have also visited Korea several times, but from now on, I should also pray crying, 'Aboji, Aboji!' as the Korean Christians do." Even after we explained to her that we were Unificationists, she wasn't surprised but continued to talk with more interest, so that we weren't able to leave.

I couldn't help feeling even by this incident at the Hara Castle, that this was truly the time of the advent of the Messiah. I was truly grateful to our ancestors who were underground Christians at that time for guiding us here so that they could connect themselves to the Messiah.

We felt through our visit to Nagasaki, that we are here today thanks to the precious faith and sacrifice of those who offered their lives to protect the foundation of Christianity, and felt keenly the long history through which God had endured much sorrow. After returning to Nagano, we then had the opportunity to attend a special meeting at the Nagano Church, welcoming Hyung Jin Nim and Yeon Ah Nim. Hyung Jin Nim spoke to us, and there we learned of the Cheonbok Goong (World Temple) providence.

The death and regret of the Japanese Christians who were unable to establish Christianity in Japan and were sacrificed, waiting for the Messiah, overlapped within me with the desire of Heaven to build the Holy Temple.

I know that our ancestors would rejoice more than anything else that our family can take part in the providence while living in the same era as our True Parents, and that my husband's ancestors have also been waiting for this time. I'm certain that the reason why our companies developed so well lies in the sacrifice and will of many ancestors. We believe that this is the time for us to offer our utmost, and made a donation to the Cheonbok Goong Temple, full of gratitude.

Then the following day, we received word that Hyung Jin Nim would write a calligraphy for our family. Despite his busy schedule, Hyung Jin Nim took time out to write the characters "Seong Ae Cheon (Sincerity, Love, Heaven)" for us. I felt that the character for Heaven represented not only the 'Cheon' of Cheonbok Goong, but also the 'Cheon' for the Christian leader Amakusa Shiro (Ama is written as 'Cheon'). When the characters were being written by Hyung Jin Nim, I was filled with tears in spite of myself. I felt they were tears of joy and inspiration of our ancestors, who were able to contribute to the Holy Temple of God through us. I am certain that the ancestors who were underground Christians and those who were martyred were in attendance right there.

Yeon Ah Nim also told me kindly that the character for Ah in her name is the same as Masa of my name, and I felt very happy. We are truly grateful for the deep love of Hyung Jin Nim and Yeon Ah Nim. I pray that the construction of the Cheonbok Goong Temple will be realized as soon as possible. 

Blessing Activities to Bless All the People in 194 Nations

Hyung Jin Moon
December 2, 2008

Ref. No. FFWPUI 2008-42

Date: December 2, 2008
Re.: Blessing Activities to Bless All the People in 194 Nations

Special Instruction Given during Hoon Dok Hae on November 13, 2008

True Parents have blessed this year as the ssang hab (combined) jubilee years, the 7th and 8th years of Cheon Il Guk, and are walking the providential course for building Cheon Il Guk. During the ssang hab jubilee years, True Parents have talked about how our blessed families worldwide can take part in heaven’s great blessing and grace only if they receive the blessing at this providential time. Thus we should make it a priority to have our family members and relatives receive the blessing.

Furthermore, Wolli Bon-Chae Ron [A specially created version of Divine Principle emphasizing the Principle of Creation, the title of which might be translated, “The Principle in its Essential Form”] has now been introduced through the Education Sessions Proclaiming the Completion of the Liberated Realm of the Portion of Responsibility in God’s Providential History which first began from October this year. The newly introduced Wolli Bon-Chae Ron is based on absolute sexual ethics. There are two ways of allowing people to adhere to the standard of absolute sexual ethics: internally it is to educate them in Wolli Bon-Chae Ron; externally it is to give them the blessing and help them follow the path of Heaven.

On this providential background, True Parents gave special instructions during the November 13 Hoon Dok Hae session to bless all the people in the 194 nations (i.e. the number of member states of the Abel UN) which were mentioned in the declaration given at Hawaii on March 17, 2007. This should be accomplished before True Father’s Ninetieth Birthday.

SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS

Main Content: Carry out blessing activities to bless all the people in 194 nations (Those blessed should complete the three-day ceremony.)

Time Period: Until January 31 in the ninth year of Cheon Il Guk (True Father’s 90th Birthday, in 2009) 

Bowing Conditions

Hyung Jin Moon
December 2008

Question: What is the background to our tradition of doing bowing conditions?

The Divine Principle refers to the ascetic practices of Koreans as preparation while waiting for the Messiah; a lot of these were in fact bowing practices. The Divine Principle just mentions the Korean people -- that could mean shamans in the mountains, or it could mean Buddhists preparing for the Maitreya. But there is a bowing tradition in Asia -- in China for example. Yes, the Buddhist countries definitely have a very strong tradition of bowing; when you enter a temple, you offer three bows. In China, Thailand, Japan... It's very important to show humility before Divinity, or Wisdom.

In the Western world -- in Catholic ceremonies -- there is a lot of bowing in masses as there is in other traditions such as the Greek Orthodox, where they have very elaborate ceremonies; there is a lot of kneeling and bowing.

I remember it being explained that when we bow we engraft onto True Parents' foundation. That is to say that when we lower ourselves, we are connecting with True Parents. We are lowering ourselves almost to the level of their feet. We are engrafting onto them. Spiritually, we are lowering ourselves, but they are really raising us with their spiritual foundation. This process of humbling oneself is not some kind of self-hatred; it is almost a kind of self-liberation. You are transcending your own individuality and connecting it to the cosmic connection that True Parents have with God, with Divinity. There's that kind of distinction-it's not self-annihilation.

In the Western world we might interpret it as self-denial, self-oppression or annihilation, or even abuse, but I don't believe that's the right way to look at it. That would be a misunderstanding of bowing. The real element here is that we are humbling ourselves, so that we can be connected to a larger purpose and divinity. The practice when done with a sincere mind is self-liberating. It is a liberating gesture. If you understand mankind's image, or function, in eternity, we of course play a large role, but the powers of the earth are humbling. We are humbled by the size of the universe and by so much else in creation. Even though we are the owners of it, there is so much that can inspire us and bring us to higher levels of appreciation for creation. When we understand our place as owners, we can eventually understand how valuable creation is by the process of bowing to the Creator, bowing to True Parents as the Creator's representative. We are also acknowledging the greatness of creation, the greatness of their existence and purpose. In so doing, we are almost transcending our individuality, our individual purpose, our individual significance and connecting to a much larger creative process.

That's a very important aspect to understand. Through that lens, you can see it as a practice that helps us move close to perfection as opposed to something that trains us to be obedient. For example, in the Buddhist tradition, they say that when you bow to the statue of the Buddha, you are bowing to yourself, because the statue represents you, your innermost nature, your Buddha nature. Everybody is the Buddha, but we just have so much dirt -- accumulated sin and bad karma -- on top of us. Basically, we are bowing to our perfected self. From an Unificationist perspective, I think that also makes sense. Because the nature of a perfected person is that of a second God, where we stand on the same level as God, almost equal. From a Unificationist perspective, that thinking would also be appropriate -- that when we bow to True Parents we are actually bowing to our innermost perfection -- the unity of male and female within ourselves, the unity of True Father and Mother within ourselves, the dual characteristics.

Question: When you go to a Buddhist temple, and meet the Buddhist leaders who have been practicing their tradition throughout their lives, what is it about them that most impresses you, and what kind of relationship do you have with them?

I have a great deal of admiration for the monks who have lived in that tradition and pursued that very spiritual life. Different monks play different roles. There are monks who deal with administrative matters. There are monks who practice chanting. There are monks pursuing scriptural studies, monks who focus on meditation and monks who go around and witness; they specialize. The current head abbot (Jogye Order) has been a meditation master for the last thirty years, practicing meditation. He is so awakened. This is because he is very spiritually attuned. He has been training for so many years. He is very sensitive, spiritually.

The monks and I have mutual admiration. I appreciate them greatly. I have studied their tradition; I have lived with monks, and I love the Buddhist tradition; I have a great deal of appreciation for it. The monks already have an appreciation that I do so though I come from a tradition with a strongly Christian background. They think that's very special; they can't imagine a minister having a son who has a strong interest in Buddhism, who has studied Buddhism, and whose Father accepts him and has also elevated him (Father has asked me to take on responsibilities.) They see that as huge. They are amazed by that.

Whenever we meet, we talk about spiritual things, sure, but there is a great deal of friendship already that is implicit in our meetings -- because we know each other's history. I know their history as monks; they know my history as someone who has studied their tradition, coming from the family that I do. So when we do meet, it's a very happy experience. It's also very playful at times -- we joke about things.

One thing I think one learns from meditation practice is a certain humility, a certain awe of the simple things like a breath, or the sound of water; all these small things are amplified during meditation. They are used as tools to concentrate the mind. Because of those simple things, one starts to develop more appreciation of oneself and also of others. Once one understands that we are connected as human beings, through our practice, we can understand how valuable the life we are given is, and how valuable the lives of others are. In that process of adopting humility, meditation practice allows us to discover that.

When I meet the monks who practice meditation, they are very humble. They are very playful; they are not so stiff. The monks who are more scholarly want to talk about scholarly things. It's the same as with anybody else. The ones that focus more on meditation enjoy the simple things, simple conversation, good company, tea time, quiet meditation time. They focus on that. They have a very pure way, a simplicity of heart, in a good way -- they have a very enthusiastic, childlike nature. We all need it! We just share that together. They feel that with me -- I am kind of playful too; I joke a lot too. They like that. It's usually just a happy time! 

Learning to Love the Blessed Adventure

Hyung Jin Moon
November 22, 2008
Headquarters Church, Chungpadong, Seoul Korea
Transcribed by: Cathy Quebral
Edited by: Bruno Klotz

Welcome Remarks:
Yeon Ah Nim:

Good afternoon brothers and sisters.

The weather outside is getting cold but we know that with True Parents and Heavenly Father our heart is always warm. We are always honored to have you here in this sanctuary and for those who are joining with us via internet, we also welcoming you as well.

Welcome brothers and welcome sisters.

Hyung Jin Nim:

Welcome Brothers and sisters. It's cold outside but it's a little warmer here. Maybe too warm. Are you guys okay? I want to take you to True Parents words today. We will read from Chung Seung Gyung page 494, "What kind of being is God? God is a being with a heart that desires to give and give endlessly which is also why we seek Him. God is not content with what He has given so far. His heart seeks to give abundantly while also promising even better things in the future. If we are with such a being, we can be happy even in a state of poverty. When we reach the situation in which we are experiencing starvation in a shocking way we experience the stimulation of future hope within the present reality. When a mother feels sorry that she cannot give enough, if her child hugs her saying, "Mommy," will that just be a physical hug? How grateful the mom will be. It is a chance to shed tears of mutual comfort, looking to the future. It is not an occasion for despair but a place of explosive growth where they can take the hope of tomorrow as stimulation for the present, make a joint resolution together and encourage each other.

Therefore, such an experience is not a miserable one. Only within such a realm of love can we find the stimulation to look to the future and sing praise for its value within the realm of reality. Hence, we come to the conclusion that there is no misfortune for those who live within this realm of love."

Brothers and sisters, True Father's word that we heard today really encourages us to remember the beauty and power of the future. When we understand God's great love for us, then we also understand that He has great things ready and being planned for our futures and we cannot just take a look at our lives at present and say, "This is all that's going to become. This is as good as it gets." We have to remember that in the realm of love that seeks to give endlessly, there is an unending future of hope, and that is what Father is teaching us today.

Brothers and sisters, I want to welcome you to service. Let's always remember that when we start service until we end, we will be giving our dedication together. We will be giving our prayers and songs. We will be offering to God today. You know, all those things are part of the practice. All those kinds of things are what bring joy to God. When we can truly offer our hearts in fullness, in total trusting, in a trusting heart, God can feel happiness and joy. So let us remember that today. I want to invite you to participate today. Not only just a spectator but participate, sing together with the choir. They practice 4 days a week for us brothers and sisters, 5 hours a day so that they can perform and really move the Holy Spirit within all of us. Let's give it up to Two Rivers Choir, guys. Come on, let's give it up! (Applause)

So let's sing with them. Let's sing with them today and let's really praise and honor God. Brothers and sisters, I hope this service can be better than any other and we can really bring joy and happiness to God this day.

Once again, welcome!

Yeon Ah Nim:

When Hyung Jin Nim begins to reside in a certain place, the very first thing he does is to look for a place to put an altar. On the altar, of course, he puts the True Parents' picture first and he puts True Children's picture that joined the spirit world and then he puts a Holy Candle in front of them. In that process, we ask our children to bring something that is precious to them. It can be a very small thing. It can be their drawing, it can be their favorite toy or maybe it can be a small rock they found in the playground and then we place these gathered items on the altar and then the altar becomes not a separate thing from our children but it becomes a part of them because they contributed in creating it.

So whenever we have a family celebration, something like our children's birthday, we always place our piece of cake that we cut for True Parents on the altar. In our family it became really natural, so our children automatically should offer first a piece of cake to True Parents. Even they remind us sometimes. It is really fun to create an altar with our children, even with your children, I'm sure. It teaches our children that practicing and attending True Parents is not something very distant but very close to us.

Brothers and sisters, we are on this earth in a limited time and if our devotion can be passed on to our next generation, I believe the legacy of living for the sake of others, God and True Parents will last forever. Aju!

Opening prayer of Hyung Jin Nim:

Heavenly Father, thank You for bringing us to this sanctuary today. Father, we are here in this beautiful sanctuary, here in the Fatherland of Korea and, Father, we are grateful that You have brought us from all over the world to be able to come here together as one family, Father, as brothers and sisters who have traveled thousands of miles to be with us here.

Father, we pray that You may be with each and every one of the brothers and sisters here and may You bless them with Your holy hands and may You give them divine health. We pray that You may give them abundance and blessing and that through them this world may become a more blessed place.

Father, we thank You for this joy that we are able to receive. We pray that You may also receive our hearts, our minds, Father, and all that we wish to offer to You today. We pray that it may bring You joy, that it will bring You happiness and that it may bring You pride in seeing Your children.

Thank you so much Father. We pray that we may truly be the children that can lift up Your head and hands today and give us the strength that we need to go forth towards the amazing future.

Thank You so much for bringing us here and we pray offering an everlasting love and a profound gratitude in the names of all the Central Blessed Families gathered here together in one name. Aju!

Interesting Story:

We always have something interesting to start with. I saw somebody who has a very interesting observation. "Everything I need to know I learned from Noah's Ark," he wrote. And here it goes:

Don't miss the boat Remember that we are all in the same boat

Plan ahead. It wasn't raining when Noah built the Ark

Stay fit. When you're 60 years old, someone may ask you to do something really big.

Don't listen to the critics. Just get on with your job that needs to be done.

Build your future on high ground.

For safety sake, travel in pairs

Speed isn't always an advantage. The snails were on board with the cheetahs

When you are stressed, just float along

Remember, the Ark was built by amateurs, the Titanic by professionals.

Main Sermon:

Brothers and sisters, today I'd like to talk to you about Learning to Love the Blessed Adventure. In order to live the blessed life, we must learn to love this amazing adventure that God has given to us. Too many people get focused on just the goals in life and do not notice the multitude of gifts that God is providing along the way. It is so important to let the goals guide our direction like the North Star. But we must learn to look and enjoy the journey, not just endure it, and the adventures that God is giving to us. The journey of life is what makes our life rich and a blessing for ourselves and for others.

Let's take a look at some world scriptures; let's read them together. In the Islamic tradition, the Holy Koran, Surah 846 it says, "You are ever toiling on toward your Lord but you shall meet Him; you shall surely travel from stage to stage."

And in Buddhism the Buddha teaches, "Practicing step by step, when gradually fulfilling all Buddha teachings, it is like setting up a foundation (rather) than building the room. Generosity and self-control like this are basis of enlightened beings' practices."

Let us look what the Master Confucius spoke in the Analects 2-4. Let's read it together, "At 15, I set my heart upon learning. At 30, I had planted my feet upon firm ground. At 40 I no longer suffered from perplexities. At 50 I know what the biddings of heaven were. At 60 I heard them with a docile ear. At 70 I could follow the dictates of my own heart, for what I desired no longer overstepped the boundaries of right."

Paul wrote in Romans 5:3, "We rejoice in our sufferings. Knowing that suffering produces endurance and endurance produces character and character produces hope and hope does not disappoint us because God's love has been poured into our hearts."

And finally, True Father speaks in "Raising children in God's Will", "After a seed has been planted in the ground, it has to go through various stages in order for it to bear fruit. First, it has to grow roots, then the trunk, then the branches and the leaves. And then it has the flower before the fruit can come out. This is a natural process; the growth of a tree from the roots to when it bears fruit, all of these processes have to be gone through in order for the desired fruit to appear. When seen in this light, in the world of humans, for one individual or one nation to reach perfection, or for this world to reach perfection, centered on the providence for God, in this whole process, we cannot just look towards the GOOD times."

Brothers and sisters, all this is about learning to understand that life is a journey. It is not only about attaining goals although the goals are very critical in our lives, but it is also about understanding the beauty of the journey.

I heard one ice waterfall climber speaking about his experience about climbing ice water falls. He said that when climbing an ice mountain they are aiming for the peak. They are trying to get to the top of the mountain. That's of course their goal, and that's a very clear goal; it's a defined goal and it is something that they will absolutely fight and struggle for. They look to the peak for direction and purpose but they also must pay extremely close attention to each step, in each hook that they place in the ice water fall. Because if they do not pay attention to each one of those steps, it could mean tragedy. It could mean a disaster. It could mean that they can slide down in this ice waterfall and even end in a fatality.

They say that the adventure and the thrill of ice waterfall climbing is in the journey of getting up that waterfall. The danger that is at every step forces them to become completely aware of each place that they are putting their next hook in and each step that they are taking up that waterfall, to be completely aware of the process, the journey, as well as the ultimate goal of getting to the top. They notice the winter wild flowers that are hidden in those beautiful icy peaks. They see the frozen water, multi-colored, beautiful, translucent. They see the small vegetation that's unwilling to die in the freezing winters, the sunlight illuminating the crystal waterfall, the ice, the beautiful rocks and water. They say that this is the great joy of climbing the frozen waterfalls.

In Asia, there is a beautiful legend, an old ancient tale, about a monkey God named Sonogong in Korean. In the legend of Sunogong, there's a monk who must attain an ancient Buddhist scripture and bring that to China. And he must overcome 81 great disasters to attain Buddhahood and enlightenment. But he is very weak and he's always being attacked by demons who wished to eat his holy flesh to be free from their sins.

And there are many demons in these legendary ancient times. I'm sure you guys have not heard about these kinds of demons, the buffalo demon king, the nine headed bird, the great python, the spider demoness, the thousand eye demon, the nine headed lion. Did you hear about these guys?

The goal is to get the scriptures of the Buddha and bring them to China. That's the goal, the great goal. But you see, it is the magical journey and the near death tragedies and experiences that made him and his team legendary.

It is the same within our lives. In order to truly live legendary lives, we, too, must understand that life is a blessed journey. It is filled with obstacles and challenges. Sometimes our opponents look so great like the buffalo king demon or the dragon. But we must understand that it is through the journey of life that God is making us stronger and readying us for a greater blessed life. When we notice that value of the journey, when we notice that the journey is so precious, we can be filled with joy and gratitude whether we are facing the buffalo demon king or crossing the flaming mountains or simply noticing a beautiful flower on the sidewalk.

Brothers and sisters, I've noticed that women do this very well. They are so enlightened! I noticed women do this extremely well. When they do it? When they are shopping. I'll tell you why.

I have been among women when they were shopping. They were looking for the blue blouse, the new thing. They were trying everything on. They checked everything from all angles. They asked their husbands what they think, and the husbands did not give a satisfactory answer, and so they asked their friends and, of course, tried some more items, but did not buy them. They did not buy the items in the end, but they tried them all. Their shopping is an adventure and fun for them. It's fellowship. It's encouraging each other. They love the journey of shopping, not just the purchase. Women, give me some praise. Give me some encouragement. (Applause)

See, it's the journey, it's the fun of that adventure of trying to find that new blue blouse or whatever. It's an amazing journey. They can have fellowship and have fun and not just do the final purchases.

There is wisdom in here. The joy in life is not simply attaining our goals that we have or that God has given us. These are extremely important tasks and, of course, they bring great joy into our lives but it is also essential to enjoy the adventure that God puts us through so that we can attain and accomplish those great goals.

It is just like shopping. The joy is not only in the final purchase or in the finding of that perfect item that you are looking for, but in the fellowship, in the fun. The joy is in the obstacles of the young lady, trying on that exact same thing as you and laughing at you while you're trying yours on. (Laughter) Or in the torture of not finding that perfect blouse until the final closing moment, until the shop almost closes. That is exciting.

Brothers and sisters, it's kind of like that with raising children as well. Raising children is the same. It's joy in raising them through all their amazing transformations. Sometimes they do things that hurt us, they disturb us. Sometimes they frustrate us, they annoy us. But through those obstacles they are raising us into parents. They are making us into parents, and when they overcome those hurdles and when we overcome them together, we are stronger as a family.

Today at our Christian service, the minister said, "Who gave birth to your mother?" and everybody in the room said, "Who gave birth to our mother? Grandmother, right?" (Laughter) And he said, "You're all wrong! You're all wrong! Your Grandmother did not give birth to your mother. Go ask her. Go ask her, 'Grandmother, did you give birth to mommy?' She'll say, 'No, I gave birth to my daughter. Not to mom, (Laughter) not to my mom. I gave birth to my daughter.' That's what she'll say."

So who really gives birth to the mom? What he was saying is that the children do. As soon as the mom has the child, the child makes the mom. It is because of the children that the mom becomes a mom. The mom is given birth to by the children. In the same way, this raising of the children also is a journey. It is a beautiful adventure when the children are raising us; they are making us into parents and dads and moms.

The fun of raising kids is not only in the final product of the perfect child. It is in the excitement of encountering the parenting challenges, it is in the journey of raising these precious children of God.

One year before my brother passed away, we had a wonderful time. Kook Jin hyung, Young Jin hyung and I, we were able to travel cross country and we traveled from north to the south and I remembered it was such a wonderful time. I don't know how long it was. I think it was maybe one week or two weeks. I can't remember exactly the time but it was so enriching. And when I think about it, I'm so grateful! I was able to take that amazing time with my brothers.

I remember one point in the journey, when we had a big argument; we were on this big barge that was crossing a big river in North Carolina and it was night time. Kook Jin hyung and Young Jin hyung and me we were arguing about something and I can't remember what it was; we were arguing about something. It got so heated, becoming a terrible argument. Everybody said, "I want to go home. I don't want to travel anymore." We had a huge, huge argument. I don't even remember what the content of that argument was but what I do remember was that we resolved it. We resolved it until we were able to travel again, and we had a wonderful time.

The whole purpose of the trip was not to get to that destination of Louisiana or North Carolina or whatever. That was part of the purpose, of course... the incredible moments.

I remember there was this one beautiful beach in South Carolina. There was nobody on it. There was white sand for miles and nobody on it. I remember playing football there with just my two brothers. How precious those memories are! How amazing those adventures were and how much I treasured them especially after the passing of my brother.

So you see, our movement as well is on an incredible journey.

We not only had a journey that lasted for a couple of decades but we also have made an incredible strife. There's no religious tradition that has made this much foundation during the lifetime of a founder. And our journey is not yet complete. True Parents are here, and we are moving on to a new quest. We are on the journey to the world temple. We are beginning to encounter the mountains, the flaming mountains of this journey. We are facing the buffalo king demons and the nine headed demon birds who say it's impossible. They mock us, but there's this excitement in this journey.

I was speaking with our musical director here and I was telling him, "You know what? This is so exciting! We're on this an incredible journey! We're on this incredible quest!"

And yet, there's so much doubt in this quest. "It's never going to happen. We're never going to be able to build the World Temple. We're never going to be able to bring UC to the world stage. We are never going to be able to be accepted and be in the mainstream during our lifetime. It's impossible!" There are those moments of tremendous doubts, frustration, "It's never going to happen. It is impossible in our decade, in our generation, in our lifetime."

But then heaven opens up so many incredible miracles that I can't speak about now but I'll do that later. But just incredible miracles open up and then the road is shown. And then people say, "Oh my God! It may be possible! It is possible! Yes! We can bring the UC to the world stage. Yes! We can become a tradition the impacts this world. Yes! We can receive acknowledgment. Yes! All the sweat, and the blood and the tears that our first generation and True Parents have shed will not be in vain." And then a couple of days later again, "It's not going to happen!" And then again a miracle happens and again God shows us the weakness of our faith and helps us to move forward.

See, we vacillate. We walk a journey and feel so tired and feel not being able to make it through, "We're not going to make it. There's no way, the goal is way too far! It's too deep into those mountains, and there's no way we'll overcome them." We have those doubts and overcome them one by one, overcome each one, show progress, show development, show little hope, show more life. And then God opens up a new path, shows us a new path, new hope, new life. It's an incredible journey. This motion and progress forward is what is so exciting. Even though we are walking a journey with a huge goal, we should not only be looking towards the peak. We should not only be looking towards the final destination point and beyond that, but also enjoying the beautiful wild flowers that are around us, enjoying each step of the way that we are walking.

Brothers and sisters, what can we learn today? Let us just learn to enjoy and thank God along the way in our lives. That is such an important practice. We practice this every time when we do a little breathing meditation and we hope that you can take that into your life. When you walk, when you sleep, when you're studying, when you need a mental break, you just come back to your breath, you come back to the fact that you are alive and you just thank God for the fact that you're alive. In our journey in life, in our journey as the movement to the world stage, let's thank God each step of the way, in each hurdle, in each obstacle. Overcoming will make us stronger, will make us more fit and it will make us more apt to deal with incredible blessings that God is readying for us.

We will actually reach the goal of the world temple. And that will be True Parents' substantial victory that has never been seen. But while we are moving towards that goal as a community, as a movement, and even in our own lives, we'll receive this time of journey as a gift. When all this is done and the UC is at the world stage and the world witnesses the incredible sight of all religions coming together as one family centering on True Parents every week, when we show that to the world and we celebrate that unity and harmony and oneness, we will laugh and rejoice at the doubts and obstacles that we had along the way. They will actually be fun to discuss, once we have solved them. But although this is the journey to the world temple and the world stage, no doubt there will be more adventures, more excitement and more future things to look forward to, even after we reach that stage.

Brothers and sisters, we must always be able to be bold in our lives, to be able to be declare over our lives and to those around us that our lives will be the stuff that legends are made of. And then we will truly live heroic and legendary lives. This is so important in living the blessed life to acknowledge that we are walking the blessed life and to see the beautiful journey as part of the goal, to be able to recognize the beautiful path as part of the way. And brothers and sisters, I do believe that if we do go forward with this heart, we will not only achieve every single goal that we have set forth, but we will also not just endure it but we will enjoy it, when God does bring those blessings to us and lets us share these with the world.

Brothers and sisters, if you can receive this message, let's give it up for God and True Parents. (Applause)

I do believe that if we go forth with this kind of heart, we will find ourselves with more victory, more illumination and more peace and we will live that blessed life that True Parents have blessed us to live and be a blessing to others in this world.

Let us gather our hearts in our final prayer:

Heavenly Father, dearest most beloved True Parents of heaven and earth,

Father, we thank you for this day that You have blessed unto us. And, Father, this day, as we receive Your holy presence, Father, as You pour Your hearts with a new hope and joy, Father, let that not only remain in us but let us be the vessels to share that joy and hope with others.

Heavenly Father, we pray that in our lives, in this incredible blessed life that we have been blessed with, that we will know with confidence that we will attain the blessed goals that You have given to us. And, Father, at the same time, let us know that while we are achieving those beautiful dreams and those visions that You have given to us, that we may not only endure the path, but that we may we ENJOY the path.

Father, we will be truly in joy with You as we walk. Father, each step that we take, we pray that even encountering hurdles and obstacles, Father, that in our hearts we may use the power of our minds to transform them from obstacles into opportunities, from hindrances into blessings, Father, from archangels into children of God.

Father, we pray that You may give us the wisdom and the strength, the inspiration, motivation and joy that we will need to overcome and to pursue the great missions that You have given us. Let us be those actualizers and the bringers of happiness and joy to You. Father, we pray that You may use each one of us to work Your miraculous providence in history, that You may work and create new histories that can be the stuff that legends are made of.

Father please, let us understand that incredible potential that You have bestowed upon us. Let us believe in it. Let us move forward and believe in the potential of others around us, that we move together and fulfill Your dreams and desire.

Thank you so much Father. We pray with everlasting love and a tremendous gratitude that You have given us this day, another step in this incredible journey of life. We pray that this life may be a testament to Your grace and Your love.

We pray all these things in the name of Hyung Jin kajeong, a member of a Central Blessed Family, praying here together with True Parents and all the brothers and sisters here around the world, in one family, in one name. Aju! 

Created to Do the Impossible

Hyung Jin Moon
November 15, 2008
Headquarters Church
Chung Pa Dong Seoul, Korea
Transcribed by: Regina Shin
Edited by: Rev. Bruno Klotz

Welcoming Remarks:
Yeon Ah Nim:

Good afternoon brothers and sisters! It is really wonderful to have you here in this sanctuary. We are always honored to have you all here and for all those who are joining via internet we are also welcoming you as well. Welcome brothers and welcome sisters!

Hyung Jin Nim:

Welcome brothers and sisters! Today I would like to share with you from Cheon Seong Gyeong Page 795. Here Father speaks: "You are the fruit of love. All the characteristics of the central root, trunk, branch, flower and bud that have evolved throughout a thousand year history are embodied within you who are its fruit. When you as that fruit go forward, it is as if you were carrying history with you. Wherever you plant that fruit, history can continue to develop. What makes this possible? This is possible only by the power of True Love."

Brothers and sisters it is so important to see ourselves from those divine eyes, to always remember the great importance that each blessed central family has. True Father is reminding us of that important value. He is reminding us that with each step that we take, history is following our footsteps. Brothers and sisters, if we go forward knowing that each one of our steps is creating a new history, a new Heaven and a new Earth, then we will understand our purpose in the larger providential picture. It is so important that we view and remind ourselves of that value.

Once again, welcome to this service, and let's have a great service today. Let's celebrate and give back all the glory to God and True Parents as if they are here. All of you joining us from across the world - we are here together to give God praise and joy today.

Yeon Ah Nim:

Sometimes I'm truly amazed at how much True Father expresses his heart and love to True Mother. Even though True Father was born in 1920 in North Korea, he is still not shy to say "I adore you" to True Mother, or he kisses her cheeks in public as you all saw. He always puts True Mother first. True Father really practices his own teaching and teaches us that in God's eyes man and woman have equal value as sons and daughters.

Hyung Jin Nim always stresses that because True Father is married and has True Mother besides him, our church has unique things to offer to the world. We have our center as the True Parents, not just one man but parents. By True Father planting the seed for the liberation of women, he is opening the gate for women to become what God really intended them to become, the true savior and the center of creating true family culture in Cheon Il Guk.

Brothers and sisters, let us also become those couples and those families, so that we can really validate each other, just like True Father does to True Mother and just like True Mother does to True Father. Aju!

Hyung Jin Nim's prayer:

Heavenly Father! Thank You for this glorious day that You have given to us, where we are worshiping together in the beautiful Headquarters Sanctuary in Your Fatherland Korea. This is the place where our True Father shed his blood, sweat and tears for humanity and the sake of the world, when nobody believed that he could go forth and create a worldwide impact.

When True Father was starting in the old HQ church of such humble beginnings in a couple of square meters room they were praying for the world, praying for peace. So many of us may have heard stories, or even followed at that time, but we know that at that time it almost seemed impossible that one man, who was praying for the world, would actually move the world. Father, we have seen this history come to pass, we have seen our lives being impacted by that. We as Second Gen. are here because of that fruit; we would not be here otherwise.

Father, let us know that amazing value and power that is within us, that has been passed down to us by True Parents. Let us know that we have the power to even do the seemingly impossible. Maybe not on our own strength or on our own fortitude but with You, Father, all things can be made possible. We pray that You give us the strength and courage, the hindsight and the future sight, to see our lives becoming brighter and brighter, becoming greater and greater blessings to this world. We pray that You may endow us with Your physical, mental and spiritual strength, so that we can overcome adversity in a manner that is elucidating and illuminating. Let our example truly inspire those who are coming with us, before us and after us.

We thank You so much for this day that You prepared. Let this day be Your day, Father. We pray that the glory and the joy that we can experience, may be doubled and tripled one hundred times over, flowing into Your fathomless, limitless heart. We pray these things with tremendous gratitude and everlasting love in the names of the central blessed families that are gathered here today. Aju!

Interesting story:

Here's something a little interesting. I heard a scripture, it was from the Analects, and Confucius was speaking, and he said: "If you do not like your neighbor, walk a mile in his shoes. Then you will be one mile away from him and you will have his shoes!" (Laughter)

Thank you Confucius for giving us those wonderful words!

Main Sermon:

Today we want to talk about "Created to do the impossible."

In order to live the blessed life we must realize that we were created to do the impossible. Too many people get satisfied with their lives in a certain stage and don't challenge themselves to go to the next level that God is preparing for them. See, we were made to bring glory to God. We are blessed central families, made to bring joy, glory and happiness to God and to bring glory to True Parents' name. When we challenge our potential, when we commit ourselves to becoming great for God and strive for the seemingly impossible, we will be changing our destinies and make the impossible possible.

When we look at the ancient scriptures, we see this when Buddha says in the first verse of the Dhammapada: "Mind precedes all. If we believe it is impossible, it is. If we believe that it is possible then it is." The Koran says: "Put you trust in the Exalted, the Mighty, the Merciful, who sees you standing in prayer and in your movements among those who prostrate themselves." Notice that it says: "Put your trust in the Exalted. Have faith that He has might and is merciful."

Matthew 19:26 says: "With man it is not possible but with God all things are possible." And True Father always used to tell us when we were growing up that it is all in our minds, that the key to being victorious and really living the VIP life is to change our mindset.

When you were born, did you know that you did the impossible? God did the impossible with you from the very beginning. You see, the probability of you being born is 1 in 7.5 Trillion! And out of all those possible lives that could have been chosen, God chose you! And He didn't choose you because you are a random probability, a meaningless life just taking up space, filling this world. We are meant to do something great, we are meant to do something that almost seems impossible but is made possible with God's strength.

But in our hearts we could say: "I can't do the impossible. I'm just a normal person." See, Paul was a normal person but he changed the history of Christianity. "I'm nothing special. I don't have any advantages in my life." Alexander the Great had a spinal deformity but by the age of 32 he conquered the known world. "Nobody recognizes me. No one cares whether I do well or not." Nobody recognized David. He was just a simple shepherd; 16 years of age, but God recognized him and made him King of Israel. Whether or not you realize it, you are already doing something amazing, without you even being conscious of it.

Scientists say that by the fact that we live, the fact that we have this incredible body, it is impossible to duplicate us through science. You have a nervous system, a muscular, skeletal system; you have a circulatory system, a respiratory system, you have an immune system etc. And all these things are working in perfect harmony at the same time and perfect timing and coordinating all your body functions, and you don't even know that you are doing it. You have to understand that this is an amazing thing that we are looking at.

When scientists look at the human body it is absolutely incredible. The fact that we are alive is a near impossibility. The probability of life on earth, the probability of you being born here in this time, the probability of you being born in a certain nation, a certain place, to a certain family etc. is virtually impossible. It is virtually impossible to be accomplished.

When I think about this principle I think of a young man. His name is Nick Vujicic. He is an amazing individual, a very simple young man but he is doing something that is impossible. I want to show you this today. (Hyung Jin Nim shows a video of a young man who lives in LA. He enjoys playing the drums, fishing, traveling and more. He has no arms and legs. The video shows him talking at a school about hope and getting up again when you are down because it doesn't matter how many times you try but how you finish it.)

This young man describes how when he was 8 years old he wanted to commit suicide. He didn't see a point in life. He didn't see a point to continue on. He didn't see the point of trying to strive and fight every day just to do normal basic things. But he, through his adversity, is now traveling the world. He has been to Indonesia, Malaysia, South America, Africa, spreading a message of hope and encouragement. He is spreading the love of Jesus as he travels throughout the world.

And when we look at this man, it is an impossible situation. Absolutely impossible! But see, even in that impossible circumstance this man created an incredible miracle and then became a testimony for God. God brought us into existence in impossible circumstances.

We must realize that we were made to bring glory and joy to God. When we show the world our great potential, when we show the world that we are not just settling for the status quo, when we show the world that even though the world may knock us down, it can not knock us out, when we show the world that we can move forward with confidence, then God is proud, He is filled with joy.

In 1962 Kennedy announced that within the decade, by 1970, the US would have somebody walking on the moon. When he announced this everybody thought he was insane. "President Kennedy is totally crazy. There is no way that this is going to happen." NASA had not even invented some of the metals that would be necessary for space travel. They had not even invented those metals yet! But he was already making such a seemingly foolishly optimistic declaration. An impossible declaration! But something amazing happened. When he made that statement there was a power that began to rise up behind those words, creativity began to ignite, funds began to pour into NASA and within the decade Neil Armstrong, on July 20th 1969, was walking on the moon.

Thomas Edison in 1879 declared that he would display the light bulb by December 31st of that year. He said: "By the end of this year you will see light. You will see an electric bulb." But up to this point every single one of his experiments had utterly failed. Not even one had succeeded. His colleagues mocked him: "Totally unrealistic! You have no plan or prove, backing up your claim. You are growing an old, crazy man. You are now white and gray and crazy." They saw him as a deluded person. According to his past record, according to the past of his experiments, there would be no way for him to complete this promise. But he made the announcement. He gave himself a deadline and committed everything to that task. On the last day of 1879, December 31st, there was light that was seen from the first electric bulb that Thomas Edison created.

Born in 1961, now President elect Obama was born originally in Hawaii, his parents divorced when he was two, his mother remarried and moved to Indonesia at that time, and he came back to Honolulu when he was 10 years old. He was a troubled youth at that time. He admitted that in High School he had a lot of trouble, he went through a lot of difficulties and he had a lot of personal struggles. But you have to remember that during the time that President Obama was a young man, racial prejudice was so prevalent, it was so present. Nobody thought that he would see the day when a black man became President of the United States of America.

You have to understand that only in 1968 racial segregation was pronounced unconstitutional. Before that, blacks could not even walk in the same parks as whites, they could not even sit in the same restaurants as whites, and they could not even drink from the same fountains that the white people's dogs could drink from. That was the level of the segregation that was present. Just only 40 years later America now has a black President. The impossible is made possible and a dream is once again fulfilled.

When I think of these stories, I think of the story of True Mother. She told us, that when she was a young child, fleeing the oppressive regime of North Korea, how Halmoni (grandmother) was holding her when they were running towards the wall to cross over to the south. But at that time a soldier spotted them and he was chasing them and they knew that if they turn back, it was certain death. It was sure and certain death or torture. Halmoni did something amazing at that time. She grabbed her bag that she was holding, that held everything that they had kept, everything that was valuable to them, and she threw it completely over the wall. She didn't do it to lighten her load, she could have just dropped it at their feet, but she threw it over the wall. She committed herself one hundred percent, in her heart making a declaration "I'm going to get over this wall! Even if I die, whatever it takes, I'm going to get my child over this wall!" She made a one hundred percent commitment towards that goal, and what happened? True Mother did leave that regime and was able to flee into the south.

In our lives we need to be able to commit ourselves to be living our potential, to reach the goals that we have set and the dreams that God has given us. Just like True Mother's mother totally committed to getting over the fence, we, too, must commit ourselves to the goals. When we reach an obstacle, when we are moving towards our goal, are we going to drop our bag near our foot, are we going to keep it on our back and try to find a way around or are we going to completely commit and throw that bag over the fence, completely committing ourselves and being the person that God created us to be?

Psychologist Kennan Sholdman shows that having goals that are related to wealth, beauty or popularity lead, in the long run, to more depression than goals that are related to growth, connection and contribution. Right now it is time to bring our UC movement to the world stage. "It's impossible. It's ridiculous. There is no way we are going to be able to make the 210 000 member Unification Temple. There is no way that we are going to be accepted in our lifetimes. There is no way that we will enter the mainstream, we will be persecuted throughout our lives. Maybe our children, maybe our grandchildren, will see a better day." But let us remember what Matthew said in 19:26: "With God all things are possible."

Our goal that True Parents have given us is related to growth, connection and contribution. It's not related to wealth, or beauty or popularity. We want to grow our tradition to be recognized, we want to connect people to the family of True Parents. We want to contribute to creating true and everlasting peace, preserving the tradition that our Parents and our first gen. and all the Unification family has sacrificed for. And we will succeed. This is my tremendous conviction. We have thrown our bag over the fence, we are not turning back. It's already too late to turn back now because we have to move forward, we are throwing the bag over that fence, and we know that we will bring the day that True Parents and the UC tradition will get to the world stage! (Applause)

When we look at these things we can say that it is impossible, that it is never going to happen. Well, that's exactly what people were telling Edison, Kennedy and Obama when he was a young man growing up in the midst of racial segregation. "No way you are going to be a black President. Throw that dream away, you are crazy. You might as well try to be a restaurant owner or something else like that. Don't try to go for President, that's crazy! You are never going to make it."

Many people in our lives, many archangels, will come and try to tell you and try to convince you that you cannot do something that looks impossible, that you don't have the potential to make that thing come to pass or make it possible. But our task and our quest is to understand and believe that God has given us the power to do what is seemingly impossible and to make that into a reality and return that glory to God. Brothers and sisters, if we can do that, I do believe that we will find ourselves with more victory, more illumination and more peace, and we will live that blessed life; we will be a greater blessing to this world.

Hyung Jin Nim's prayer:

Heavenly Father, thank you so much for this day that you have given to us. Father, as we feel the warmth and life through our breath that you imbue us with, we feel your new and everlasting life flowing through us. As we breathe in we can feel that we are alive, as we breathe out we can utter a prayer of gratitude and thanks. Father, you have given us this incredible miracle of life to experience, and we are not here by accident or chance or probability. You have chosen us from so many others because You knew we had exactly what it would take to make this world a truly better place.

Heavenly Father, we pray that today we may understand and be enlightened to that, that we may know that You have placed within us, that You have created us from impossible circumstances and that You have given us the power and the potential to work with You and overcome the seemingly impossible. Let us truly commit to being the people that You wish for us to become, to becoming the great men and women of the new age that can shed a light of hope, unification and peace throughout the rest of this world.

Father, we pray that You may give us Your strength, Your courage, Your fortitude, Your insight, Your perseverance and Your wisdom. We truly pray that we can become those children who can return all these amazing things back to Your heart and that we may heal Your heart that has been scarred for so many thousands of years. Thank You for this opportunity, this task, this chance, this blessing of life; that we may be gathered here in this amazing fatherland at this amazing time. Father, use us, allow us to be Your hands and feet in this world. Allow us to make the miracles happen. Not by our own strength or our own power but by Your spirit shall our task be accomplished.

Father, we pray that You may give us that confidence, that we know that we truly are here for a purpose and that we are here to accomplish that task. Thank You for being with us today and we pray that we may go forth with a renewed heart, with an inspired vision and a new outlook on our own lives and our circumstances. And that we may rise above them and return to everlasting life with You. Thank You so much, and today we offer our thanks, gratitude, love and praise in this service, in this prayer, we offer them to you altogether here in the name of Moon Hyung Jin kajeong (family), member of a central blessed family, together with all central blessed families of this world. Aju! 

Third and Fourth “Education Session Proclaiming the Completion of the Liberated Realm of the Portion of Responsibility in God’s Providential History”

Hyung Jin Moon
November 13, 2008

Ref. No. FFWPUI 2008-37

To: Regional Presidents, National Messiahs, National Leaders
From: FFWPU International Headquarters
Date: November 13, 2008
Re.: Third and Fourth "Education Session Proclaiming the Completion of the Liberated Realm of the Portion of Responsibility in God’s Providential History"

Thank you for your great work in support of God’s providence so far in this jubilee year of 2008, for which True Father gave the motto, "Mansei for the ssang hab (combined) jubilee years, the 7th and 8th years of Cheon Il Guk based on the Universal Peace Federation."

This memo is to announce the Third and Fourth "Education Session Proclaiming the Completion of the Liberated Realm of the Portion of Responsibility in God’s Providential History." These education sessions will be held in accordance with True Parents’ instructions.

I. Outline

1. Event Name: "Education Session Proclaiming the Completion of the Liberated Realm of the Portion of Responsibility in God’s Providential History"

2. Dates:
1) Third Session: December 1 (Mon) - 7 (Sun), 2008
2) Fourth Session: December 10 (Wed) - 16 (Tue), 2008

3. Venue: Central Training Center, Sutaek-ri, Korea

4. Participants: Boonbongwangs (Those who have not participated yet should participate), Korean second generation members with public missions, ambassadors for peace who are members, those who ran for office in the Korean general elections (Those who have not participated yet should participate), worldwide blessed families (should be couples as a rule; however, children, sons- or daughters-in-law may participate on behalf of their parents).

5. Organizers: True Parents (Rev. Jeong Og Yu will organize the workshop on behalf of True Parents)

6. Details of Education: Special Lectures by True Children, Divine Principle Lectures (by Rev. Jeong Og Yu)

7. What to bring: Divine Principle, Holy Song Book, warm clothing, toiletries, stationery, FM radio for interpretation

II. Other matters

1. Arrivals
1) Participants for the Third Session should arrive before 12 noon, December 1 (Mon).
2) Participants for the Fourth Session should arrive before 12 noon, December 10 (Wed).
Please be sure to arrive before the start of the Opening Ceremony.

2. Opening Ceremony
1) Opening ceremony for the Third Session is scheduled to take place at 2:00 p.m., December 1 (Mon).
2) Opening ceremony for the Third Session is scheduled to take place at 2:00 p.m., December 10 (Wed).

3. Departures:
1) Participants for the Third Session may leave after 10:00 a.m. on December 6.
2) Participants for the Fourth Session may leave after 10:00 a.m. on December 16.

4. Target Number of Participants - Korea: 200; Japan: 200; Nations that took part in World War II: 100 (20 each from Britain, United States, France, Germany, and Italy ), Other regions (at least 5 each from Asia, Africa, Middle East, Oceania, South America, North America 2, Northeast) TOTAL: 535

5. Deadline for reporting participants list: Regional headquarters and national headquarters should take responsibility in identifying participants and should compile and submit the name list by e-mail by 12 noon, November 25, 2008.

6. Participation Fee:
Koreans: 200,000 KRW
Japanese: 20,000 JPY
Others: 200 USD

7. Participants will receive a certificate of graduation made in True Parents’ name.

III. Inquiries

1. Point Person: Mr. Hyung Gil Jang, Ms. Jin Sook Kim

2. Training Center Address: 437-45 Sutaek-dong, Guri City, Gyeong-gi Province, Korea (just outside Seoul)

Hyung Jin Moon
International President 

International Memo - Blessing Ceremony

Hyung Jin Moon
November 11, 2008

Family Federation for World Peace and Unification I N T E R N A T I O N A L
13F Dowon Bldg., Dohwa 2 dong Mapo-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea 121-040 //www.ffwpu.org <//www.ffwpui.org/> Tel: (82-2) 3275-4200 Fax: (82-2) 3275-4220 E-mail: mission@tongil.or.kr

Ref. No. FFWPUI 2008-35

To: Regional Presidents, National Messiahs, National Leaders
From: FFWPU International Headquarters
Date: November 11, 2008
Re.: Administrative Guidelines for Second Generation blessing candidates who will participate in the “Marriage Blessing Ceremony for the Godly Civilization in the Sacred Reign of Peace” (Special Blessing Ceremony on the Occasion of True Father’s 90th Birthday)

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 to announce the administrative guidelines for second generation blessing candidates who will participate in the “2009 Marriage Blessing Ceremony for the Godly Civilization in the Sacred Reign of Peace (Special Blessing Ceremony on the Occasion of True Father’s 90th Birthday).” Second generation blessed families are to become the central Abel figures of Cheon Il Guk centering on the values of purity, pure love, the pure bloodline and pure harmonious descendants. Therefore, special guidance and attention should be paid to the candidates so that they can take part in the blessing ceremony after submitting the relevant documents and completing all necessary educations.

1. Tentative Name of Event: “Marriage Blessing Ceremony for the Godly Civilization under the Sacred Reign of Peace” (Special Blessing Ceremony on the Occasion of True Father’s 90th Birthday)

2. Date: February 1, 2009 (Sunday)

3. Venue: Chung Pyung Heaven and Earth Training Center, Korea (to be confirmed)

4. Participants: Second generation single blessing candidates

5. True Parents may preside over a matching ceremony for second generation candidates who come in person or who submit their photos; the matching ceremony will be cross-cultural and international * Announcements regarding second generation blessing candidates who are already matched by their parents will be made at a later date. 6. Qualifications for Second Generation blessing candidates (as of October 22, 2008)

1) Single second generation members between the ages 17-24 who have maintained their purity.

2) Second generation members who meet the qualifications for being a candidate for the Cheon Il Guk Blessing

3) Documents that should be prepared by candidates are the same as the ones stipulated for the Marriage Blessing Ceremony for the Godly Civilization under the Sacred Reign of Peace.
* Any changes in the qualifications will be announced.

7. Documents to be prepared by Second Generation blessing candidates

1) Application form for second generation candidates

2) Recommendation letter from local church leader

3) Receipt of blessing donation

4) Receipt certifying the candidates parents have fully paid the Family Fees (if applicable)

5) Certificate of registration (if applicable)

6) Record of final level of schooling (copy of graduation certificate)

7) Health Certificate including test for HIV-AIDS

8) Candidate Qualification Certification to be a candidate for a matching by True Parents (if applicable)

9) Photos [For photo matching ceremony and for registration]

10) Certificate indicating completion of 7-day Divine Principle Workshop (Certificate must have been issued after 2007)

11) Completion of seven-day fast

12) Certificate issued by National Headquarters indicating completion of blessing workshop (Certificate must have been issued after 2007)

8. Administrative Matters

1) Documents should be submitted to the persons in charge of Second Generation blessing affairs in each region. (See below for details)

2) Deadline for submitting documents and schedule of education for candidates will be announced at a later date.

3) Details regarding the blessing for first generation blessing candidates will be announced at a later date.

9. Inquiries regarding Second Generation blessing candidates

1) Korea:
Point person: Mr. In Bae Hong (FFWPU Korea Family Department)
Second Generation Blessing Affairs, Family Department 6th Floor FFWPU Building Chungpa-dong 1 ga, 161 Yongsan-gu, Seoul Korea 140-869
Homepage: //www.tongil.or.kr/old/main2/member/2gencafe.html

2) Japan:
Mr. Masue Sakurai

3) USA:
Rev. In Guk Seo

4) Europe:
Mr. Geros Kunkel

Hyung Jin Moon
International President