Inaugural Address of Universal Peace Federation (UPF) International Chairman

Hyung Jin Moon
November 18, 2009

First, I would like to first express my deepest gratitude to God and the True Parents of Heaven, Earth and Humankind. I would also like to sincerely thank, especially, my older brother Hyun-jin hyung and Rev. Kwak Chung-hwan for the efforts they have made in the development of UPF. I am also grateful to Dr. Thomas Walsh, secretary-general of UPF, to Mr. Taj Hamad, secretary-general of WANGO, and to the UPF staff members representing each nation who are working so hard. Please let’s offer them a warm round of applause! [Applause]

To tell the truth, Father instructing me to take responsibility and lead UPF was a shock for me. I feel sorry in front of True Parents that I am to take this position because I am still quite young, and lacking in many ways.

I am the seventh son and the eleventh child in the True Family. I had older brothers and sisters attending college while I was still a toddler. For those reasons, I had never entertained the thought that I would be given a public responsibility to fulfill. Nevertheless, one day Father began assigning me to public positions. I feel sorry and that I still lack the necessary maturity, but I will submit to God’s will. As I step into this precious position, I would like to tell you my honest thoughts from the bottom of my heart.

Up this point, UPF’s global activities and the dedicated efforts of its leaders have brought many leaders to connect with us and a network has been built. In leading the providence, True Parents have prepared such a foundation in order that we would not be like frogs in a well but so that we could go forward with glorious hearts. As you know, we began from faith. At the age of sixteen, Father received, directly from Jesus, the mission to save humanity. Since then he has endeavored to fulfill his mission as the Messiah, the Savior and the Lord at his Second Coming. With this conviction, he has marched out into the world.

I majored in religion at Harvard University, where, in introducing new religions, they also taught about Unificationism in detail, considering it relatively important. Their explanation included an introduction to Father and to our fundamental beliefs. There has never before been a religion that has grown into a worldwide faith in the lifetime of its founder. Jesus went the way of the cross, and although Buddha lived for eighty years, he was persecuted and did not spread his faith worldwide. Even when Mohammed entered Mecca, Islam had not yet spread worldwide. Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism, and Baha’u’llah, the founder of the Baha’i faith, both passed away while imprisoned. The Unification Church could not have grown to the extent it has if it had not received its mission from God, and if God had not been guiding it. It could not have come so far.

The stages of our movement

The Unification Church began as HSA-UWC. The world called us the Unification Church, but our official name was the Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity. In 1994, Father founded the Family Federation. In other words, he began the Family Federation era, wherein we can go out into the world and connect to not only the Christian realm but with all the world’s people. In that era, we carried out many activities, events and educational programs. And many people made connections with us.

However, recently True Father has instructed that we carry out our activities under the name Unificationism. We have passed through the era of HSA-UWC (formation period) and the era of the Family Federation (growth period), and have entered the era of Unificationism (completion period) during which we can establish Cheon Il Guk. Father has given us the mission of uniting all religions into one family serving God and True Parents.

Many of us here, including those who have worked in support of UPF, are Unificationists and as such have served True Parents as the Messiah, and received the blessing through them. We have given birth to our children. Such have been the lives we have led.

Father is saying to us, ":Do not forget who I am.": In the Family Federation era, we introduced Father and his activities for promoting peace, education and patriotism to many quarters. Many people have connected with us and have come to respect True Parents. However, we need to let the world know that True Parents are more than patriots, champions of world peace and religious leaders; we need to let the world know their true identity as the Messiah, Savior and True Parents. To do this, we need to look with spiritual eyes.

Those who looked at Jesus Christ merely with their physical eyes saw only another Jewish leader active in society. They did not recognize that Jesus came as the Son of God with the mission of the Messiah. They would not be able to sense the salvation and new life that came from him. Similarly, if we see True Parents with only our physical eyes, we see the founders of a widespread religion, patriots and leaders in the pursuit of world peace.

If we can see True Parents with our spiritual eyes, we can understand who they really are and why Father acts in ways some people do not understand or feel comfortable with. We would realize why Father speaks for eight, ten or even twelve hours at events, with sweat running down his face. Only when we look at them with our spiritual eyes can we perceive the hearts of True Parents, who died, died and died again for us, and who are still willing to die for us. Only then can we know them correctly, as the True Parents who have inherited the essence of the true love of God, triumphed, and completed the mission of Jesus.

True Parents have taught us how to create one family under God. It is recorded in the Peace Messages. They have taught us that the key is to serve True Parents as our parents based on faith, to receive the blessing through them, and then to form an ideal family that revolves around the true love of God. Without faith, the substantial foundation cannot be laid. As the Divine Principle tells us, only on the foundation of faith can we establish the foundation of substance. Similarly, without faith we cannot establish Cheon Il Guk. If we want to establish Cheon Il Guk while True Parents are still with us, we need faith.

Father has said, ":Make the name Unificationism grow in prominence in the new era. Everyone needs to attend the Original Divine Principle lectures.": The Divine Principle is our sacred teaching. It is not a school textbook, but scripture. Divine Principle is our scripture that declares True Parents are the Messiah. Why is Father having us listen to Divine Principle lectures again and testify to him as the Messiah? Why do we need to repent and begin anew? Father is saying, ":Do not forget who I am. I am not just a patriot, or a peace advocate, but the Son of God, the Parent of all humankind, who has come to accomplish Jesus’ unfulfilled mission.": This is what he is saying.

Our Japanese members’ lifestyle

We have carried out many activities, but how have the global providence and the church been carried out in 189 countries of the world? Who has been supporting them? It wasn’t people in society. It was people of faith. Especially our members in Japan have shed blood, sweat and tears to provide a financial foundation for all the work being carried out. This includes the work of UPF. Where does such a foundation come from? It comes from faith. Our Japanese members are serving True Parents by sacrificing themselves, working hard for True Parents and for the sake of the world. They have championed the cause of our church and all of our organizations.

For three years I have been visiting Japan almost every month. Even before I had any official position, I was going to Japan. Whenever I go there, I visit the homes of church members, to spend time personally with the Japanese members. They have all sacrificed themselves for the global providence. Many Unificationists have forgotten this. They have forgotten that the Japanese members are also human beings. We have sinned greatly.

Looking at the Japanese members giving their tears, sweat and blood, we have said that Japanese members like this kind of sacrifice. That is not the reality! They also find it difficult to sacrifice. I cannot help feeling astonished when I visit their homes. They raise three to four children in one room. They have sacrificed by selling their cars and their homes, and other basics, in order to support the providence for the entire world -- to support you! And it is not just one or two members who have done so, but thousands. We need to see the reality for what it is: because of faith such as theirs, the Unification movement has been able to come so far. The Japanese members, who have shown such faith and such heart, are truly the brave soldiers of our church.

All church-related institutions and organizations, and even the church itself, should offer them infinite gratitude and bow to them. It is time for us to sacrifice on their behalf. For more than three decades the Japanese brothers and sisters have supported the churches and the providential activities carried out in your own nations. This came from faith. In particular, from Japanese members’ faith.

If we understand this, we can realize how precious their faith is, and how great is the true standard of faith in the Unification Church, which they have demonstrated.

The truth is that the Korean church and the American church have not reached such a level. The Korean church had been relying on financial support from the Japanese church. Even the American church has been supported.

In order for the church to develop, we have had to make difficult decisions and face difficult challenges. We need to show that we are working with dignity, responsibility and a sense of mission and thus liberate the Japanese members from their burden. For the first time in its history, this year the Korean church did not receive even one cent from the Japanese church.

However, we still have a long way to go. The Korean church has yet to fulfill its duties as the father nation. Japan is still shouldering the heaviest burden. The American church is developing under the leadership of In-jin nuna and is cultivating the ability to become financially independent. No matter what circumstances we face, we need to remember this: We were able to carry out all those activities because of faith, and come this far because of the root of our faith.

The root of all branches of our movement

The Unification Church and all providential organizations share the same purpose. Our purpose is to glorify our True Parents. True Parents are not ordinary people. We need to elevate our faith to a higher level and serve them appropriately. We need to look at them through spiritual eyes and be able to sacrifice for their sake. That is how we can become the owners of the providence.

Only when the sons and daughters sacrifice themselves and work hard when their father is in need can they be called devoted. If the father is elderly, feeling weary, and in trouble, and the sons and daughters say, ":You caused this problem; you solve it,": they are not showing filial piety.

I have heard it said that we don’t need religion and that Rev. Moon did not come to create a religion. But Father did not even come for the purpose of creating organizations and educational institutions such as Sun Moon University or UPF. He has established them in their various fields only because they were necessary in creating the ideal world as envisaged by God.

Of course, religion would not be necessary in the Garden of Eden; neither would be politics or education. All we need to do is live in the realm of God’s direct dominion. However, since we are not living in the Garden of Eden at present, we need organizations such as the Unification Church, the Universal Peace Federation and Sun Moon University.

Please remember that all of these organizations are rooted in faith. People who are serving True Parents as the Christ, the Lord at his Second Coming, are working in these organizations worldwide. It would be shameful for us to say, in front of such faith, that we don’t need faith or religion. Rather we should be grateful to them, follow their way, make sacrifices ourselves through a greater faith. [Applause]

Change within the Korean church

I was greatly shocked when I came to Korea and was given the responsibility of running the Korean church. Many people thought that working in an office from nine to six was practicing a life of faith and attending True Parents They did not attend Sunday service and did not even tithe to the church or invest in the second generation. They did not do any church-related service work and did not participate in witnessing.

This was truly shameful. In contrast, the Japanese members work from nine to six wherever they work, but after that, they come to church every day and participate in witnessing and educational activities, and they make donations. They dedicate themselves every day without missing a day. That’s the reality.

After coming to know their standard of faith, I could not help feeling shocked at people who thought working from nine to five was equivalent to leading a life of faith. The Japanese members were toiling and sacrificing themselves for the Unification Church, walking such a path of hardship, but what was the standard of our faith? Weren’t we making them shoulder all the responsibility, and weren’t we living comfortably, rather than sacrificing ourselves for True Parents? This was not a life of faith.

Nowadays, however, all the church leaders and regional leaders in Korea are striving harder, carrying out activities until late at night. They are sacrificing for their members in this way. All the officials of the church are also working hard and sacrificing for the church. I am so proud to see that such changes have taken place. We still have a long way to go, even so. We have to work hard to accomplish the global providential objectives. We need to work for the Abel UN and the crucial missions of unifying all people and bringing religions together.

All of you have studied the Principle. Without the foundation of faith, the foundation of substance cannot be laid, and consequently Satan inevitably continues to get in. That is why we are continuing with the Original Divine Principle lectures centering on Rev. Yu. All of us need to return to the original faith and see True Parents with our spiritual eyes.

This is our internal aspect and our faith. As a result of expressing such faith, of being true, faithful followers, the Japanese members’ human rights have been severely violated. Protestant church ministers and leftist lawyers opposed to us systematically instigated kidnapping and they have tried to break the faith of four thousand three hundred Japanese members, violating their human rights.

The Japanese members are shedding their blood for our sakes -- struggling, even perishing for the providence -- and to support all providential organizations. If we then say that we do not need a life of faith, it is disrespectful of the Japanese members’ lives of faith. Faith holds the greatest value. Because of that faith, we came to know True Parents, we received the blessing, and we were blessed and gave birth to a second and a third generation.

Know that your faith is your right, and march forward proudly. True Parents came with such a sense of their mission, with such faith, and they have changed the world. Through their mission they have shown us that all of us can reach a higher dimension of love.

The decision-making process

Ladies and gentlemen! In this era Father, therefore, is saying, ":Don’t forget who I am.": We are not serving an ordinary person. Someone like him comes only once. He is such a precious person.

The individual missions of the children are comparatively easy. Though we may have our own individual dreams and interests, our mission is very clear. We need to live our lives for the glory of True Parents. When we go to the spiritual world, the matter of whether we have been children devoted to True Parents or not will be of great importance. To speak frankly, anything else, including what position we held in the world, is of no importance at all.

In my case, I was engaged in spiritual training even before I was given responsibilities. Even afterward, I have continued to train myself. I will continue with the training even if Father dismisses me. I believe our lives should not change based on whether we have been given responsibilities or not. If our purpose is to return glory to True Parents, we should do our best for them.

I apologize for having spoken so frankly. I’m still very young. Father is clearly telling us, ":We need to return to our faith.": We need to remember this if we desire to realize Cheon Il Guk. Cheon Il Guk cannot be established just by bringing people together. It requires faith and belief in True Parents.

I am truly grateful to be able to speak to you on this occasion on behalf of True Parents. No matter what position I am assigned to, only True Parents are the final decision makers in everything. Whether it is for the development of the church, or Kook-jin hyung’s work with the businesses, or In-jin nuna’s work for the American movement, our plans are first reported to True Parents and are carried out only with their permission.

There are missions Father wishes UPF to fulfill. UPF needs to build the Abel UN and build a substantiation foundation. In the process of fulfilling those missions, everything must be done based on what Father decides. This is the right way and the filial way.

True Parents are our eternal True Parents who come once in the course of history. When we look at them with our spiritual eyes, and elevate them, serve them, testify to them and sacrifice for their sake, Cheon Il Guk can be established substantially on that foundation of faith.

I offer infinite gratitude to True Parents.

I would like to end by expressing my deepest gratitude to all the leaders and other members -- especially the sacrificial Japanese members, the ambassadors for peace, and all those connected with us. 

50th True Children's Day Celebration

Hyung Jin Moon
November 17, 2009

The 50th True Children’s Day celebration was held in the main hall of Chung Jeong Peace Palace Museum located in Seolak, Gapyong on Nov. 17, at 8 a.m.

Dr. Joonho Seuk, the president of the Unification Church in Korea, was the Master of Ceremonies. The program began with the entrance of True Parents, Rev. Dr. Sun Myung Moon and his wife Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon. Next was the lighting of seven candles by True Parents, followed by kyung-bae bows from all representatives, the recitation of the Family Pledge, and the reporting prayer of Rev. Hyung Jin Moon, the president of the Unification Church International. Rev. Hyung Jin Moon encouraged everyone to give sincere appreciation and glory in his prayer report. True Parents then cut the True Children's day cake.

Entertainment featured Mr. Ben Lorentzen and Mr. Alistair Farrant of the Lovin’ Life Ministry Band and the International HQ choir. Dr. Chang-shik Yang then read from a collection of True Father’s speeches, which were given recently and put in the monthly journal “Tongil Sege”.

True Father then spoke for more than six hours without stopping for lunch. Father emphasized absolute sexual ethics and freedom. Without uniting mind and body, each is not qualified to claim freedom from a principle perspective.

Next, Father asked some elder members and major leaders from the audience to sing and dance. Father himself walked and danced among the audience. All participants clapped and hailed Father with great delight and joy.

After Father’s words, a special gift was offered to True Parents by the Japanese delegate. The program was finished by three cheers of Eog Mansei by Dr. Hwang, the president of UPF Korea at 3 p.m.

Written by CIGn Reporting Team of FFWPU Korea. 

Unending Grace

Hyung Jin Moon
November 14, 2009
Headquarters Church, Seoul Korea

Welcoming Remarks
Yeon Ah Nim:

Good Afternoon, brothers and sisters. Welcome to the headquarter at our Unification Church. It is really great to see you all. Today we sincerely hope and pray that as Unificationists we put our Heavenly Father and True Parents as first into our hearts, and that we love Heavenly Father and True Parents with our whole strength and with all our heart and spirit. Aju.

Hyung Jin Nim:

Good afternoon brothers and sisters. Let's first manifest the Principle: give and receive action, four position foundation, ":May I inherit the true love of God." Aju.

I almost did it in Korean! (Laughs)

Today's Cheon Seong Gyeong, Page 1666. And Father says,

"You may look at nature and say, 'Oh I don't need the four seasons. I only like spring. I hate summer, I hate autumn, and I hate winter.' However if you were to ask God, He would answer, 'I love all the four seasons.' Hence, you need to learn to like summer, autumn and winter, even though you have disliked them in the past."

Aju.

Brothers and sisters, Father talks about these beautiful seasons of our life. And as a movement, as a church, we also go through seasons. You know, it's our hope and our prayer that in seasons of change we understand that after the winter comes a spring. As long as we keep True Parents at our center and learn to truly attend them and to glorify them in our lives, then the winter will not be as bitter and cold. And when we meet the spring, we'll have all the love, and all the investment that we have made become fruitful and bloom into abundance. If you believe it, let's give it up for God and True Parents today!

Hyung Jin Nim's Main Sermon:

Brothers and sisters, today I want to talk to you about ":Unending Grace." Let's first look at the World Scriptures today. We're going to look at Christianity. This is Matthew 17:24. Let's read this together:

"And Jesus said to his disciples, 'If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.' "

Let's look at Buddhism today. This is the Lion's Roar of Queen Srimala, the 3rd chapter. Let's look at this together:

"In accepting the true Dharma, may I abandon body, life and property, and uphold the true Dharma."

This is Confucianism, the Analects 15.8. Let's read this together.

"And the Master said, 'The determined scholar and the man of virtue will not seek to live at the expense of injuring their virtue. They will even sacrifice their lives to preserve their virtue complete.' "

And let's take a look at True Father's words. This is from the collection of speeches, 57th book. Let's read that together:

"The people who believe in religion are the people who go the way to establish God's nation. Therefore you run into the obvious conclusion that the religion which doesn't have sacrifice as its essence is a fake religion. Understand? Without sacrificing as an individual, one cannot take over the family's duties; without sacrificing as a family, the family cannot take over the tribe's duties; without sacrificing as a tribe, it cannot take over the people's duties and without sacrificing as a people, it cannot take over the world's duty. Therefore religion sacrifices. Someone who will be patient until the global realm of religious nations is established will be saved." (Rev. Sun Myung Moon's Words, Chapter 50, p. 176)

Aju.

Let's look at our core scripture today. We have just one core scripture; I really want to focus on this one. And this is coming from Matthew 22:34-38. Let's read this together:

"Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the Law, tested him with this question: 'Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?' And Jesus Replied: 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.'"

To love your Parent with all your heart, soul and mind is the greatest commandment, says Jesus. Thus to be a true filial son and daughter every emotion and every part of our intellect, our spiritual dimension, has to be saturated with the love for the Parent. And in the end, this is what True Parents ask of us, just as Jesus said that this is the first and greatest commandment.

When Abraham had to offer Isaac on the altar, think how crazy that was for Isaac. Abraham had been promised by God that he would be blessed with descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky. Isaac was his only son. And think how irrational this was. Isaac could have made excuses at that time. He could have said, "You know Father, I don't think that I can do that." He could have said, -- or maybe in his heart he could have said -- "This is crazy, Father. I kind of don't think you're sane." He could have said that his mother maybe duped his father. He could have also rationalized his disobedience by saying, "You know, Father, I'm not going to do this for you, because God promised that your descendants will be as numerous as the stars in the sky. And if I don't live, you will never have those descendants." But Isaac did not do that. He didn't make excuses. He willingly got on the altar and willingly decided to sacrifice his life, if it was the will of God and his father Abraham.

We have to be very clear that the Unification Movement exists because of True Parents, because of nobody else. Every person in any position of leadership in the Unification Movement or affiliate organization exists because of True Parents. And the True Children exist because of True Parents. Not any other thing. As Unificationists, our first and most important calling is to love True Parents with all our heart and soul and mind. And even when it's tough, even when we can't understand and even when we feel hurt by them, we are still called by that greatest commandment that Jesus talked about, too love your God, to love His representative, True Parents, with all our heart, body and mind.

As True Children, as leaders in the Unification Church, as any leader in the Unification Church, we have a greater responsibility to try to live in this way. It's a very important thing that we understand that this is our job as people in positions of authority or responsibility. And every decision we make must be for the glory of True Parents, not for ourselves, not for our family. I commonly get the question when I'm interviewed, "You know, after you, then I guess one of your children will take over the religious realm?" And I tell them, "Absolutely not. It is not -- The best amongst, the best amongst us, I believe, will have to take the next step. The best, he who truly serves the public, he who truly inherits their grandparents' heart, True Parents' heart, not full of himself but empty himself, that is the person. That doesn't have to be one of my children."

I tell them that very clearly. If we were to live our lives for our own glory, then this is not for True Parents, and Unificationists must not follow us. This is very important. Very, very important. Father asked me particularly to talk about this with the community, with all the brothers and sisters this week. So this is why I am sharing this heart with you. If we deny True Parents, if we claim that we are the new center, you must not follow us. It's simply that simple. As Unificationists, our responsibility is to love and glorify True Parents, not any one of the True Children, not any one of the leaders in the Church or in any affiliate organization. Our role as Unificationists is to glorify True Parents. That has to be very clear.

And I want to go through this because -- I know it can be a little tardy or long and long winded -- but I want to go over this just for the sake of clarity. Father truly asked to be clear about this at this time. If Ye Jin nuna denies True Parents, or does not follow True Parents, Unificationists must not follow her. If Hyo Jin hyung does not follow True Parents, Unificationists are not obliged to follow. If In Jin nuna denies True Parents, Unificationists are not obliged to follow. If Heung Jin hyung does not follow True Parents, Unificationists are not obliged to follow. If Un Jin nuna does not follow True Parents, Unificationists are not obliged to follow. If Hyun Jin hyung does not follow True Parents, Unificationists are not obliged to follow. If Kook Jin hyung does not follow True Parents, Unificationists are not obliged to follow. If Kwon Jin hyung denies True Parents or does not follow True Parents, then Unificationists are not obliged to follow. If Sun Jin nuna does not follow True Parents, then Unificationists are not obliged to follow. If Young Jin hyung does not follow True Parents, Unificationists are not obliged to follow. If I deny True Parents, and do not follow them, you must not follow me. If Yeon Jin denies True Parents, Unificationists are not obliged to follow. If Jeung Jin denies True Parents, Unificationists must not follow. If any third generation, any Moon, any future descendant or relative of True Parents, denies True Parents, does not follow them, we are not obliged to follow them as Unificationists. If any leader denies True Parents, calls them senile, or says they cannot make good decisions; Unificationists are not obliged to follow.

As a world president, this is part of my duty that Father has asked me to do. This is what True Father expects from any leader in a position of responsibility. The heartistic question is this: ":Will you sacrifice yourself on the altar for me?" That is what Father asks us if we're a leader in the movement. The reason he can ask this is because he has sacrificed his life for us. He has gone to death for us; he has been tortured; he has gone to hell for us, through the seven deaths and resurrections. He does not force us -- do they? -- he cannot coerce us to do that. But he can expect that from us, especially if we are in positions of authority. We are called with that 5% responsibility to love and to trust our parents with our heart, our mind and our soul. And to trust that their heart as God's representative on earth is true, and is wise.

When we asked True Father to restructure the church, allow elections, to make leaders accountable to members and results, to manage church and businesses with assets transparently, we put our neck on the line. We had a lot of opposition from a lot of senior leadership. This was never done in the church history. So when Kook Jin hyung and I requested to Father, this was very shocking. We did not reach unanimous support. Father at that point could have told us, "This is not my desire. You kids don't know my desire -- what are you, thirty years old, forty years old? You guys don't know, you kids don't know. You don't understand me. You're fired." He could have done that. And we would have happily left, honored to have served him; for even if it was a short time, at least we tried. Till this day, if True Father says for us to quit, we will walk. We will walk and continue to love Father.

And personally, myself, I was always the youngest; I never thought that I would be in a position of responsibility, honestly speaking. I'm the youngest boy, I'm seven-eleven: I'm the seventh boy, eleventh child. There's no way I ever thought I was going to have to take on responsibility in this movement. So for me, if True Father asks me to leave, it will be very normal for me. I will be very grateful. I tell my wife all the time, "Omma, you know, if Father decides to fire (me), if he says the direction is not right, then we must follow his will. We have to leave with love. We have to leave with honor." Even if some members try to come to us and say, ":We want to follow you! You were the only hope!" etc., we must deny them, and say, ":We will not do that." And we must be obedient to Father. We talk about this very frequently.

You know, Kook Jin Hyung had to let a lot of people go in the business side of the church in 2005, four years ago -- in the NGO side -- and we had to also move people around in the church side as well. At the time, many people were very upset with that, saying that we weren't favoring Unificationists, because he was bringing in new outside talent, people who were very qualified. Many people said we also were too quickly moving into witnessing, that we need to care for our own selves before we can witness. But we did not feel that that was true. Because that was the rhetoric we had said to ourselves for about thirty years in the Unification Church.

So we pushed forward, looking at the whole, looking at our future as you see. And we realized that we needed to think differently, that a change had to be made to get us out of this negative growth rut that we were in as a Church. So we continued. We continued to push forward. We continued: Kook Jin, on the business side, continued to hire new outside talent, professionals from the top five companies. We continued to bring in new members into the Church, because we knew that as a Church in the long term it is so important to have membership care and growth. And because we knew that it is very important to raise Unificationists to feel responsible, to testify about True Parents, to witness about True Parents, and to welcome new members with open arms, to welcome new people into the community. We knew that these factors would continue to allow us to grow, even though we all pass away in this generation.

You know, for the first time in the Korean Church's history, because of the changes that Father had approved and allowed, for the first time this year, the headquarters, which used to receive $10 million of subsidies from our Japanese sister, our mother church, for the first time the headquarters has reached sustainability and does not require funding or subsidy from the Japanese church. The Japanese Church has suffered too long. They have suffered much too long for the sake of our other churches, whether it be Korea, or America or anywhere else. The Japanese church has suffered much too long. And we all knew in our heart, we know, that it could not continue in that same pattern, where the Japanese members would have to literally shed their blood and lives for the sake of all the other churches, while all the other churches just receive. We all knew that that is not a sustainable model.

These things that have changed in the church, when we talk to VIP's about this, to people who are very established in society, new people who we're sharing our faith to, it's very positive. Very positive. We get a wonderful reception. Even the media here in Korea has really turned around over the last two years. When people hear this, it improves their perception of True Parents, it improves their perception of the Unification Movement. It shows that our True Parents are not senile. They can make very lucid, rational decisions. And this brings greater glory to God, and to True Parents. It really is the responsibility of those who are serving True Parents to create the best environment and the best recommendations so that True Parents can have that glory.

This week we had a VIP lecture in Yeong Pyung: some of the top women here in Korea were there. A very small group, purposely very small. And we shared many of these changes with them. They received it so positively. One of the ladies who is a Christian lady said, ":It's amazing that your father at the age of ninety -- I mean you guys are thirty and forty -- at the age of ninety, in this kind of culture, can hear your recommendations and decide, 'Yes, we're going to move in that way.' That is amazing." She was saying this to me. And this was so refreshing for me because it showed: that when we do things that glorify True Parents, when we empty ourselves and try to do for the greater good, even though it may be painful for a time, then glory does come back to True Parents. We saw it with our own eyes. See, Father wants to see whether or not we have the heart of trust that Isaac had towards Abraham. To sacrifice ourselves as leaders on the altar for him, for our father, this is what Father requests and asks of us -- because he has already done it to save our eternal lives.

You see only when Isaac had that heart -- and he did step on the altar in loyalty, and in faith, and in courage -- only then did God save him, according to the story in the Bible. And only then did Isaac realize the true value of Abraham's faith, and the true value of his father's love for God. You see, only when we are willing to lay down our life for our Parents, especially if we have received the blessing of being able to serve them, when we are willing to live for them in that way, then, only then, will we understand the incredible sacrifice that they had gone through for us. Only then will we understand at least a little glimpse of the parental heart and the unending grace, the unending true love that even multiple deaths or the bowels of hell could not destroy. Let's give it up one time for our True Parents. They are truly always our eternal center.

And, you know I really departed from our normal service style this week because even for myself, it's a very tough week for me. You know, and I just want to be able to share my heart. Because even this week Father has asked me to take on the responsibility of UPF. And so for me this not only came as a big shock but through multiple discussions with Father. He was very strong that this was the direction he wanted to go. So for me this kind of situation not only is weird, but it's also very heartistically difficult. As you know, my brother (Hyun Jin Moon) was in that role, and for me it is clear that as children of True Parents, as leaders -- as any leader in this movement worldwide, doesn't matter where -- our service, our priority, is to glorify True Parents. It is not about ourselves. It's not about our intentions or egos. It is only about True Parents. That's the only thing that lasts and endures in time. For us that has always been our position and priority.

In 2005, when I had the chance to speak to leaders, I told them: there's no new king, no new center, there is no new True Parents, forever. There's only one True Parents that has been victorious in inheriting the true love of God. Only one True Parents that has been victorious in the victory of the seven deaths and resurrections, no other. There is no other than that. Generations will come and go. But True Parents are the eternal rock upon which this movement stands. That has to be absolutely clear.

I want to end with just this one quote from Father. Let's read this together. These are Father's words; this is Book Three. And let us read this together,

":Let us all carry in ourselves the heart of parents and the body of a servant, and let us shed sweat for the sake of earth, tears for the sake of mankind, and blood for the sake of heaven. Let us never forget that we carry on our shoulders the historical cross: the responsibility to remove the grief and heartache of our Parent, the Great Lord of all creation. Let us all move forward to the way of salvation or the world." (3-30-90, Sun Myung Moon).

Aju.

Let us now enter into our final meditation practice.

Final Meditation Practice:

Let us simply close our eyes, and let us return to that resurrected homeland, that has been brought back to life by the victory of the inheritance of true love, the seven deaths and resurrections, the victory of the parental heart.

We are no longer in this sanctuary but let us visualize ourselves now walking on a beautiful meadow. This meadow was once desert, dry parched land, which is now abundant and overflowing with hot springs and rivers and streams. As we look towards the left we will see a beautiful cool stream meandering down. We will notice that that resurrection power is present in that stream as well. Let us take time to listen to that power of resurrection, the ever-flowing life of that stream that has been reborn.

As we walk forward, let us notice our feet: besides our feet we will notice beautiful flowers that bloom, resurrected from the dry earth. As we look into the sky, we will see the dark clouds disappear and dissipate. And we will notice a beautiful sky. We will notice the beautiful midday sun, a rainbow painted across the sky.

As we look forward we will notice True Parents there, in their holy robes, waiting for us. Let us go before True Parents; let us kneel before True Parents. True Father with his right hand and True Mother with the left hand, place their hands on top of our head. They pray upon us and they anoint us. They tell us, ":May you inherit the true love of God." As we receive that blessing, we will feel from the head all the way to the tips of our feet, we will feel this powerful energy, like a wave of energy, moving through our entire body. We will notice that any sick cells or unhealthy cells in our physical body become completely resurrected. Any cells that have died also are resurrected and brought back to health. We will notice that our spirit body, any of the dark portions, dissipate, fade away, and that our spirit self illuminates in the twelve directions.

As we receive this blessing, as we breathe in, in our hearts let us say, ":I am alive." As we breathe out, in our hearts, let us say, ":Thank you." As we breathe in, in our hearts let us say, ":My family is alive." As we breathe out, in our hearts, let us say, ":Thank you." As we breathe in, in our hearts let us say, ":My nation is alive." As we breathe out, in our hearts, let us say, ":Thank you." Final inhalation: as we breathe in, ":My God is alive." As we breathe out, in our hearts, ":Thank you."

God and True Parents have blessed us with the blessed life. That is to be a greater blessing to our spouse, to our family, tribe, nation, world, cosmos, God; to be able to be a living sacrifice that can be the victory of heaven. Let us join our hands, manifest the Principle: give and receive action, four position foundation, lift it up, hands coming together, ":May I inherit the true love of God." Aju.

Altar Call Prayer:

Let us pray. Let us close our eyes and gently lift our hands up.

Heavenly Father, Heavenly Parent, dearest most beloved True Parents, we want to thank You for all that You have done; for all, Father, the miraculous things that You are doing in our lives, and the things that You will do. Father, we always have faith in You. We know that You will make a way.

Father, today we want to be able to get the resurrection power on the inside of us. We want to pray for unity. Father, we want to pray for everybody to be clear that True Parents are the only True Parents. We want to be centered, Father. We want to move forward with clarity. We do not want to shame True Parents. Father, let us be filial to True Parents. Let us actualize our five percent responsibility, to be clear that True Parents are the only True Parents. Father, we want to be able to serve them, to glorify them. Father, please give us that clarity and strength, that wisdom, the courage that comes from within.

Father, we know that no Unificationist can do another Unificationist's five percent responsibility. We know that no True Child can do another True Child's five percent responsibility. We know that no leader can do another leader's five percent responsibility, so, Father, let us do our five percent. Father let us be the example of loyalty and filial piety to True Parents. Let us be the example that the descendants will see and want to emulate, not because we are perfect, not because we are flawless, but even though we have sins and flaws. True Parents who had died for us seven times and been resurrected from death, from the grave, have given us the chance of serving You, have given us the incredible chance and blessing to be alive and participate in establishing Your kingdom.

We thank You so much, because we know, our Father, that we aren't perfect -- nobody is. But we want to ask You, Father, that we may have a greater faith, that we may have a greater loyalty, that we can increase our prayers and that we may increase our devotions so that in this time we can bring unity.

Father, we know that the outside world is watching us. We don't want to shame True Parents at this time. We want to bring glory to True Parents at the end of their life. We want the world to truly respect and to truly see the value of the Lord that has come again, to understand that he is here who has inherited and completed the mission of Jesus Christ, the lord and savior. Father, we want to have that kind of faith, the faith that has sustained this church and this movement and, Father, this whole tradition. We want to ask You to give us that kind of faith.

Father, this day we want to offer our gratitude, because we want to truly offer ourselves with the heart of Isaac at the request of Abraham, to offer ourselves on the altar, so that our father may be glorified. Let us be such children, that, if we hold any type of responsibility, we are responsible and accountable to that standard. We thank You so much.

Father, please give us more insight, more wisdom. Give us more maturity. Give us more unity. Father, give us more faith, and give us more hope. For we know that, even though we may fail in this generation, we know that still Your kingdom will come to pass because True Parents have been victorious. Let us not, Father, see ourselves in a greater way than True Parents, but let us always come to them with humility, with reverence, let us come to them as our Parents who have saved us.

Thank you so much, Father. We want to offer this heart today to You. We pray that all the brothers and sisters around the world can become one, truly that we may glorify True Parents and, Father, that we can serve them, and truly let the Unification movement shine and glorify them for You. Thank You so much.

We pray all these things, with the heart that truly wants to inherit the true love of the seven deaths and resurrections, the true love of the parental heart, we pray as Your children, in our own names and in the name of the precious True Parents, we pray these things. Aju.

Notes

Matthew, chapter 22

1: And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying,

2: "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a marriage feast for his son,

3: and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the marriage feast; but they would not come.

4: Again he sent other servants, saying, `Tell those who are invited, Behold, I have made ready my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves are killed, and everything is ready; come to the marriage feast.'

5: But they made light of it and went off, one to his farm, another to his business,

6: while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them.

7: The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.

8: Then he said to his servants, `The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy.

9: Go therefore to the thoroughfares, and invite to the marriage feast as many as you find.'

10: And those servants went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good; so the wedding hall was filled with guests.

11: "But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment;

12: and he said to him, `Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?' And he was speechless.

13: Then the king said to the attendants, `Bind him hand and foot, and cast him into the outer darkness; there men will weep and gnash their teeth.'

14: For many are called, but few are chosen."

15: Then the Pharisees went and took counsel how to entangle him in his talk.

16: And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Hero'di-ans, saying, "Teacher, we know that you are true, and teach the way of God truthfully, and care for no man; for you do not regard the position of men.

17: Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?"

18: But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, "Why put me to the test, you hypocrites?

19: Show me the money for the tax." And they brought him a coin.

20: And Jesus said to them, "Whose likeness and inscription is this?"

21: They said, "Caesar's." Then he said to them, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."

22: When they heard it, they marveled; and they left him and went away.

23: The same day Sad'ducees came to him, who say that there is no resurrection; and they asked him a question,

24: saying, "Teacher, Moses said, `If a man dies, having no children, his brother must marry the widow, and raise up children for his brother.'

25: Now there were seven brothers among us; the first married, and died, and having no children left his wife to his brother.

26: So too the second and third, down to the seventh.

27: After them all, the woman died.

28: In the resurrection, therefore, to which of the seven will she be wife? For they all had her."

29: But Jesus answered them, "You are wrong, because you know neither the scriptures nor the power of God.

30: For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.

31: And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God,

32: `I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? He is not God of the dead, but of the living."

33: And when the crowd heard it, they were astonished at his teaching.

34: But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sad'ducees, they came together.

35: And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question, to test him.

36: "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?"

37: And he said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.

38: This is the great and first commandment.

39: And a second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

40: On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets."

41: Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question,

42: saying, "What do you think of the Christ? Whose son is he?" They said to him, "The son of David."

43: He said to them, "How is it then that David, inspired by the Spirit, calls him Lord, saying,

44: `The Lord said to my Lord,
Sit at my right hand,
till I put thy enemies under thy feet'?

45: If David thus calls him Lord, how is he his son?"

46: And no one was able to answer him a word, nor from that day did any one dare to ask him any more questions.

Genesis, chapter 22

1: After these things God tested Abraham, and said to him, "Abraham!" And he said, "Here am I."

2: He said, "Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Mori'ah, and offer him there as a burnt offering upon one of the mountains of which I shall tell you."

3: So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac; and he cut the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him.

4: On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place afar off.

5: Then Abraham said to his young men, "Stay here with the ass; I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you."

6: And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it on Isaac his son; and he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together.

7: And Isaac said to his father Abraham, "My father!" And he said, "Here am I, my son." He said, "Behold, the fire and the wood; but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?"

8: Abraham said, "God will provide himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son." So they went both of them together.

9: When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar, upon the wood.

10: Then Abraham put forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.

11: But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven, and said, "Abraham, Abraham!" And he said, "Here am I."

12: He said, "Do not lay your hand on the lad or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me."

13: And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son.

14: So Abraham called the name of that place The LORD will provide; as it is said to this day, "On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided."

15: And the angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time from heaven,

16: and said, "By myself I have sworn, says the LORD, because you have done this, and have not withheld your son, your only son,

17: I will indeed bless you, and I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore. And your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies,

18: and by your descendants shall all the nations of the earth bless themselves, because you have obeyed my voice."

19: So Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went together to Beer-sheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beer-sheba.

20: Now after these things it was told Abraham, "Behold, Milcah also has borne children to your brother Nahor:

21: Uz the first-born, Buz his brother, Kemu'el the father of Aram,

22: Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethu'el."

23: Bethu'el became the father of Rebekah. These eight Milcah bore to Nahor, Abraham's brother.

24: Moreover, his concubine, whose name was Reumah, bore Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Ma'acah.  

Everlasting Liberation

Hyung Jin Moon
November 7, 2009
Headquarters Church, Seoul Korea

Welcoming Remarks:
Yeon Ah Nim

Good afternoon, brothers and sisters! Welcome to the headquarters of the Unification Church! It is really great to see you all today. We sincerely hope and pray that we become proud sons and daughters of Heavenly Father as Unificationists. Aju!

Hyung Jin Nim

Good afternoon, brothers and sisters! Let’s start by manifesting the Principle: give and receive action; four position foundation; may I inherit the true love of God. Aju!

We are going to start with Cheon Seong Gyeong p.322 today. Father speaks:

"Without love, unity cannot be attained. Words alone are not enough to unite two different people into one. Then, what is needed to unite them? There must be love."

When we understand what True Father talks about when he talks about love -- it’s not just the feeling, but it is the heart of the parent to care for that person, to even sacrifice for that person. That’s actually a very important part of being in a blessed relationship, to learn to sacrifice for your spouse.

We want to congratulate all the new spouses that are preparing to being blessed this time on November 16th. Father will be directly matching new blessed couples, particularly second and third generation. Let’s give a big round of encouragement for those new blessed couples. (Applause) We pray that those relationships may grow in that type of deep true love and that they may be a great example of hope and joy for the rest of the world.

Interesting Story:

We’d like to start with something a little interesting! I know we haven’t done this in a couple of weeks. I heard a little story. God had given the Israelites this incredible speech booming from the heavens and explaining the new covenant to Moses and the Israelites. After the incredible speech, Moses went up to the mountain and met God. He said, "God, that was an incredible speech! That was absolutely amazing. I think the Israelites are very inspired today. But God, I have one question." God said, "What’s that Moses?" Moses said," You want us to cut off what?"

Oh, you didn’t get it today, brothers and sister. Oh man! This is tough today!

I think you guys like it when it’s not funny!

Sermon by Hyung Jin Nim:

Brothers and sisters, today I want to talk to you about The Everlasting Liberation of God.

Let’s start with our world Scriptures today. We’re going to start with Christianity, II Corinthians, 3:17. Let’s read this together:

"Now the Lord is the spirit, and where the spirit of the Lord is there is freedom!"

Let’s take a look at Buddhism today, the Sutta Nipata 9:48. Let’s read this together:

"Selfish desire is a chain, shackled to the world, and it is a difficult one to break. But once that is done... the stream has been cut off and there are no more chains."

Aju!

This is from the Bhagavad-Gita 5:24. Let’s read this together:

"That disciplined man with joy and light within becomes one with God and reaches the freedom that is God’s."

Aju!

And True Parents’ words today; this is from the 329th volume. Let’s read it together. It’s a little lengthy but we’re going to read it together:

"What does it feel like to experience the being of God? The interminable struggle between your mind and body, which formally plagued your self-centered life -- when you put yourself as number one in everything you did -- will completely disappear. Instead, you will live the life that God wants you to live: living for others and giving yourself for the whole. Then true love will continue for ever, and God’s joy will be displayed in the spiritual world. You will experience such satisfaction and happiness as you have never felt before, because it will be connected to the whole. Thus, you will discover yourself in the state of liberation. "

You know even in my own studies, I could never really understand what Father was talking about here. It was only when I started really working in the ministry, and beyond that, particularly with this human rights’ violation issue in Japan. When we really stand up to fight for the whole, to fight for our faith -- then I could understand what Father was talking about here: that "you will experience such a joy and happiness as you never felt before." In my own life, I have experienced many different types of joys; but really when we can stand up for other brothers and sisters whose rights and freedoms are being stripped away from them, and we can stand up for that incredible cause, then I really can start feeling the truth and the depth of that kind of teaching.

Let’s look at the Scripture. That is John 8:12 today,

"When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.' "

See, brothers and sisters, we have to understand that the Messiah does not come as we think. We often tell VIPs when they come to meet Father and want to hear him speak, we often tell them beforehand," You probably are not going to be inspired or encouraged; you are going to be challenged! You are going to hear a very long speech probably, and you will be challenged in many different ways."

We explain to them that the Messiah does not come to bring us peace, just like Jesus said in Matthew 10:34, "I come not to bring peace, but I come to bring a sword". The sword that cuts us away from fallen lineage and fallen life and fallen love. The Messiah does not come just to just make us feel good. The Messiah comes with an incredible desperation. He comes as an incredible challenge to the world. So when we explain this to them, we say, "You know, many times you may think that Father is very shocking, that he acts in very radical ways."

I was talking to a new church member. He was a former evangelical Korean Christian, he joined through the Chedang (Unification Church business group). He said he’s been in the church for a couple of years now, about four years, and is working with the church, attending church, etc... And he said, "You know all my negative feelings towards Unificationists have disappeared. I have met the people, I have seen that they are people -- that they eat dinner too; and they do all sorts of normal things, but I am a little stuck. I still can’t understand why Father does these incredibly big weddings, or why Father does the crowning ceremony of God or why Father comes out and wears king’s robes. I can’t understand that. That looks very cultish to me. It looks very controversial." I told him, "Look, we have to understand what the Messiah is. He is not here to simply please the world or the society."

And I told him, "Look at Jesus! You are a Christian. You should look at the Bible, look at Jesus! Look how even cultish Christ acts." In John 8, this is where the quote comes from, Jesus is on the Mount of Olives, and he is preaching. He is going into the synagogues, even in the midst of the rituals. He is just walking into the synagogues and he is proclaiming before the people, the Pharisees and the different Jewish traditions there. He’s saying, "I am the light of the world, anyone who follows me will never be in darkness." This is a very strong type of teaching. The Pharisees say, "You are demon-possessed." They start chastising, condemning. "You are crazy, you are possessed by Satan," they say. "Your testimony is not valid because you are testifying on your behalf alone." And Jesus says, "It says in your law that you need two; one to testify and one as a witness. I testify on my behalf and God is my witness. "They get very upset. They start attacking him, "Jesus you are crazy." Here’s a 30 year-old man, probably no taller than I am, and he is walking around intruding in the temples and saying such things as, "I am the light of the world."

In verse 44, he goes on to say, "You are not of your father, the God of Abraham, you are of your father, the devil." He basically says, "You are Satan’s children." He is totally challenging them.

They say, "Our father is not the devil; our father is Abraham, that is our father." In verse 56, Jesus said, "Did you know that Abraham rejoiced; he rejoiced to see my day." He rejoiced, he saw it and was glad. It’s almost like a spiritual message from Abraham. "Did you know that he is rejoicing at my day?" is what Jesus is saying.

And then in verse 58, they get angry at Jesus and say, "How can a 30 year old man -- you are not even 50 yet - claim to see Abraham?" and he said, "Before Abraham was born, I am!" Now this is quite shocking for people at that time.

This is the type of figure that the Messiah is. He does not come to give everybody an inspirational message. He comes to challenge the people, to bring them to a new level of faith, to cut them from sin and the life that has entrapped them.

I explained to this Korean former evangelist, "When we understand Jesus we can actually understand True Father a lot more." There are reasons why Jesus and True Father had to proclaim themselves as the Messiah. First, of course, they had to spread the message; but as time went on, why did they have to continue to do such a thing?

When we reflect on it, we can see that even at the time of Jesus, the Apostles who followed Christ started lacking in faith. They started saying, "Jesus, you are too radical. It’s hard to present you to the public! I don’t know if I can show you to my friends. You are quite radical, Jesus." They are getting ashamed, even embarrassed about Jesus; and so they stop declaring him as the Messiah. And so Jesus had to go out; he had to go out and declare himself.

When I saw this passage in John 8, it reminded me of what happened to our own church, how we forgot to declare True Father as the Messiah. We explained him as a patriot, and a great person of peace, etc. But that’s comparing him to peace activists and comparing him to patriots of nations that we see, or politicians or people who are always very polite.

Father is not comparable to those people. When he gets on stage, he is screaming; screaming and shouting and hollering and saying, "You must cut away your fallen lineage, etc." He talks about absolute relationships and all these kinds of things that seem extremely radical.

But we have to see why Father did get into this kind of situation. And many times when I look at even my own life, we forgot as a community for about a decade how to declare True Father as the Messiah; how to explain to the world that the Messiah does not come in the way that we think. He comes to challenge us. He comes to give us a new insight, to make us at times uncomfortable with ourselves so we can come into a new dimension with God.

And we have watched him doing such things like declaring himself as the Messiah. We have seen media say negative things about him and we have felt ashamed that he had done such things, and we have even blamed him for it. "Father why do you have no politeness or etiquette? Why do you speak for hours on end? Our VIPs can’t eat, they can’t eat their dinner. Why do you do such things?"

But you know we must always look at this in context. In studying the Buddhist tradition, when I lived with a Tibetan Buddhist, I was struck by this one point. The Dalai Lama is the Incarnation in that tradition; he is the living embodiment of the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara -- that is the Buddha of Compassion. That is basically a perfected being, almost a God -- a deity -- a person that can become a full Buddha, which is a perfect being, but one that relinquishes that freedom so that he can save other sentient beings.

But never once did I hear the Dalai Lama proclaim himself as the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara. Maybe on some occasions he expressed that he has inklings towards such things or he has an appreciation for that Bodhisattva. But I have met countless Tibetan Buddhists, countless Tibetan Buddhists. Whenever they talk about the Dalai Lama, they see him as the incarnation of the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara. They are declaring that the Dalai Lama is who he says he is or he is whom they believe him to be.

And in the same way, it is our responsibility as people of faith, and as the apostles and the disciples of True Parents, to be able to have that kind of faith -- the faith that can free Father from declaring himself as the Messiah; and for us to be able to rise up in our faith and be able to declare him to the world in the way that he truly is. Let’s give it up for True Father (Applause)... and True Mother (Applause)

This is a very important point.

Let us look at John 8: 31-32. Let’s read this together. Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." We’ve heard this one.

When I was on the street witnessing, just a couple of weeks ago, we were at a bus stop terminal, and we met some wonderful people. We met some Jehovah’s witnesses, exchanged some Bible verses with them, we explained to them about our tradition. We gave them the flyers. On the flyer it declares True Parents as the Messiah. It says Rev. Moon is the Messiah. He is the returning Lord, the returning Christ.

I walked up to this group of 4 elderly women. They were probably in their 60’s; nice ladies, nice Korean young ladies, and I sat down next to them at the bus terminal. And I said, "Anyeong haseo ladies, hello ladies, how are you doing? Would you like to have this flyer? My father came up with this wonderful autobiography. It’s the best-seller in Kyobo. It was the best-seller on that day in Hyun Pung bookstore. It was the #1 best seller that day." And I explained to them about the flyer. They said, "We don’t want that flyer! We don’t want. That’s Rev Moon. We don’t want that flyer!" I said, "Why not? It’s a nice flyer!" They said, "We are Korean Christians. We don’t like. We don’t like; we don’t want that flyer" And I said, "Oh! You are Christian, that’s wonderful, because Rev Moon is the Messiah. You’ve been waiting 2,000 years for him."

Oooh! OOH! They started hollering. They started ruffling around. "Oooh, how can you say this person is the Messiah? That’s crazy!! Jesus... Jesus is Messiah! How can you say Jesus is not Messiah and Rev Moon is Messiah?" I said, "Look, how can I say, ‘this person is the Messiah’? Was Jesus not a person?" "Yes, Jesus was a person." "Was Jesus not the Messiah?" "Yes he was." "Wasn’t Jesus called a heretic and a false prophet?" "Yes he was." "Same as True Father; that is the same that is happening!" And we ended up having this wonderful energetic discussion -- incredible -- it was very fun. I think it was very good; a fantastic discussion and at the end of it, they told me to go away. (Laughter) But... but... but, I thanked them. I said, "Ladies, I had a wonderful time!" I said, ‘’Can I shake your hand?" "No! No shaking hand!" And I said, "You ladies have a wonderful day! God bless you today!"

You know what happened? Of course these people did not convert into our Unification tradition. They are not now running around declaring that True Father is the Messiah. But what happened? In my own heart I felt totally liberated, totally liberated. Why? Because I felt proud that I could proudly declare my faith. I could declare True Father as the Messiah; that this was my democratic right, that we have freedom of religion, and that we could discuss this with the Christians openly. This was a new type of experience that these people had.

You have to remember that this faith is real. It goes out and declares True Parents as the coming Lord. It is the faith that got the Apostles of Christ persecuted and stoned. This same type of faith is what Unificationists have. Particularly in Japan, we’ve heard about this issue -- we’ve brought this up many times during service about the incredible human rights violations -- the 4,300 confirmed cases of illegal kidnappings and confinements in Japan. Of course, there are even some cases of rape, and even murder. In this age of liberation, our members -- particularly our members in Japan -- are still dealing with this issue. We were in Nigata just last week; they are still dealing with this issue. It was a real issue for our brothers and sisters there.

But there is an incredible advancement. I have to report this to you, because it is so incredible. We have this incredible case where for 43 years we’ve been persecuted by Christian ministers and Communist lawyers who have created this organization. I spoke about this many times. They kidnap our Unificationists; they explain to the parents of those families that Unificationists make their children crazy, all these kind of things, and then they illegally kidnap them and confine them. Many times our members will be put in an apartment. They will rent an apartment, throw the member in there, tape up the windows and confine them within there. Every day a Christian pastor will come up, slander the Unification Church, tell them why the Unification Church is not the right church, and tell them why they should relinquish their faith. These are the kinds of faith-breaking activities.

These kinds of hate crimes have been perpetuated against us, not just once, not just twice, but 4,300 times. The Japanese members, if you talk to them, they all know about this issue. But it has been such an incredible issue for them because for the last 43 years they have tried to come to justice. There were times where actually the police came to the place in which a person was confined, and they were screaming, hollering, "Let me out, please, free me, free me!" and the police just walked away after they were told that this was the Unification Church, saying, "Oh this is a family issue. I’m leaving now."

So a new thing happened just two weeks ago, for the first time in our history, and I have to report this to you guys. Just two weeks ago, Kook Jin hyung who is now taking responsibility for Japan, for our organization there, he organized a professional team of private detectives and lawyers. We located the place of one member who was actually presently confined. She was 29 years old, she was illegally kidnapped and she was confined in Japan. This is a democratic country, Japan. The private detectives and the lawyers located her. They did not go to her directly; they went to the police. They told the police that the police must come to free this person. They escorted the police, and the spiritual mother of that sister who was confined came along with them.

They arrived at the location which was very close to this pastor’s church, the pastor that actually kidnapped them and was deprogramming them, so to speak. His name is Takayama. And they rang the bell and they said, "This is so-and-so-and-so. We know that so-and-so is in this place and we request that we be able to see her. I am her friend and I am her spiritual mother, etc..." They responded, "We are not going to do that. No, go away!" Then they put the police on the bell. The police said, "This is the police, you have to allow that person to speak on her behalf as a democratic citizen."

That sister who was confined, she then was asked by the police over the speaker phone, "Do you wish to come out and see them?" She said, "I do." The sister came out and she saw her spiritual mother who was there; and she ran to her spiritual mother. They started breaking down in tears, and she said, "I want to leave this place," in front of the policemen. And for the first time in our Japanese church history, one of our sisters who was illegally kidnapped and confined was free. She was totally free, liberated! (Applause)

Freedom... freedom of religion... freedom! (Lots of applause) First time in history! She was free! This was the first time this had happened in the history of our Japanese church. As a church, we organized a professional unit to go out and free these members whose human rights are being violated.

But then an incredible thing came out of her testimony when she explained what happened. She’s just 29 years old, and she explained the incredible kind of torture she received, the psychological beatings she received, and the confinement. They duck-taped all the windows up, so she could not open them and jump out the window. Now, this is a democratic state, this is in a democratic country, brothers and sisters; we have to remember this. She was in confinement for 67 days -- of course, that was nothing compared to some of our brothers and sisters who have been confined for 12 years and 5 months, like Goto-san; and one sister confined for over 10 years, a decade of her life gone. But this sister, in particular, was confined for 67 days, and she was having this deprogramming session where the Takayama minister -- the Christian minister -- was attacking the church and slandering the church, and saying, "You must break your faith, you must do this etc." He then got very frustrated after many days and days of trying to educate her.

One day he said to her, "I am very frustrated with you. Do you know that that fool Kook Jin is trying to put me in prison? He is sending my picture all over America. He’s trying to put me in prison." When our sister heard that from the kidnapper while she was being confined and illegally abducted, when she heard that, she thought, "Ooh! Kook Jin Nim’s trying to put you in prison!" She said she got such an incredible surge of strength and faith. She said she felt almost totally liberated, because somebody was fighting on her behalf and because - while she had no power to escape -- somebody on the outside was fighting for her freedom!

Let’s give it up for Kook Jin hyung and the brothers and sisters that worked to free her. (Applause) Hallelujah! This is an incredible day, incredible day for our church because we are fighting and we are discovering our freedom once again. This is absolutely incredible!

Let’s look at John 8: 35-36. Let’s read this together. "Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." Aju! You see, brothers and sisters, when we understand that we have been set free from Satan’s lineage and love and life by the victory of True Parents’ full inheritance of God’s essence -- His true love -- and that through the seven deaths and resurrections we also received the resurrection power that even multiple deaths cannot destroy, then we realize that the age of liberation and freedom for our members has come.

Those who perpetrated hate crimes against us -- they did it with a purpose. They did it to break our faith, to kill our faith, to kill our hope in our future; to try to teach us that we have no future: "You guys are going to be over!" But they did not know that we have the power of the seven deaths and resurrections, and that even though the Unification Church may seem like it’s dying, and even though we die and die again, we still can be resurrected -- and resurrected again -- with the power of true love, and true faith and True Parents! Let’s give it up for True Parents, brothers and sisters! (Applause)

You see, we as Unification Church, and those whom True Parents have set free, we will be free from the death of our movement and our faith. We will have faith in declaring our beliefs as our democratic right, our right to practice our religion, our democratic right to believe in our faith. Because of this small, incredible victory, now it’s beginning to happen in Japan on the ground -- the liberation’s beginning. We know now that our faith will last for ever. Let’s give it up for the Unification Church! For all our brothers and sisters around the world! (Applause) Now is a day of freedom for us! I want to end with a quote from Isaiah 49: 8-10. Let’s read this together. It’s very beautiful! Let’s read this together:

8 This is what the LORD says:
"In the time of my favor I will answer you,
and in the day of salvation I will help you;
I will keep you and will make you
to be a covenant for the people,
to restore the land…

9 to say to the captives, 'Come out,'
and to those in darkness, 'Be free!'…

10 They will neither hunger nor thirst,
nor will the desert heat or the sun beat upon them.
He who has compassion on them will guide them
and lead them beside springs of water.

Brothers and sisters, let’s give it up for True Parents who lead us to those everlasting springs of water and for the freedom that is now coming to our brothers and sisters around the world. Let’s give it up for our brothers and sisters, and True Parents once more. (Applause)

Altar Call Prayer by Hyung Jin Nim:

Let us pray. Let us close our eyes and lift up our hands towards heaven. Let’s offer our prayers as we listen to the song that sings of the Seven Deaths and Resurrections, the victory of true love, the victory of True Parents, and that we are alive.

Heavenly Father, dearest most beloved True Parents: thank you so much for leading us in our life to the point where we are today. Many times we get discouraged by how much more we have to go. In those times let us be encouraged by how much, how far we have already come. Five years ago so many were saying that the Unification Church was over, that it would not continue into the next generations, that the faith would die, that the prophecies that your son is True Parents were false. But we have walked the path of indemnity, and we as a community have served and attended the Messiah. Brothers and sisters have sacrificed their whole lives and, particularly in Japan, have been walking the path of complete attendance to True Parents, supporting our entire world providence; supporting our Korean church, the American church, the Russian church -- every single church was supported by our brothers and sisters in Japan. Heavenly Father we want to recognize that that kind of love only came through their incredible faith.

Even though we have been shaken in our own lives, the brothers and sisters who had served and who had sacrificed themselves walked that incredible path. Today we want to remember them because in this era their human rights are being violated; hate crimes are being perpetrated against them. We want to pray for them today. Not only do we want to pray but we also want to practice our faith. We want to go out and declare our democratic right to believe in True Parents as the Messiah. Just like Christians declare Jesus. We pray that we may have a stronger faith and that we may realize that it is because of this faith that they are suffering; and that only through the strengthening of their faith can people realize that their human rights have been abused.

Father, we pray that You may imbue us with a stronger heart, that we may stand up in this time for the greater purpose of having the day where we as Unificationists can freely practice our religion without fear of being kidnapped or abducted or raped. We wish to practice our faith. We want to pray for them, because for the first time in the history of our world-wide Unification movement, two weeks ago, our sister was freed from her confinement of 67 days. We know that it is because of the working of Your spirit that she saw freedom that day.

We want to remember this day because it marks the new era for us as Unificationists. It marks a new era where we can boldly declare what we believe without fear. Let us have that fearless faith to declare our True Parents as the Messiah and the Returning Christ. Let us return to that faith once more. Revive us and resurrect us in a greater way, so that in a greater way we can change this world, that we can bring justice and freedom to those who have suffered.

We want to pray for our brothers and sisters in Japan. We offer our hearts to them today because they are our family and family stands for one another. We are so grateful that we can experience this day together as a community around the world. What a great day it is! Let freedom and liberation of our faith last and endure forever. We thank You so much.

We want to offer these prayers in gratitude to True Parents and to You, for the deaths and resurrections that they have lived through and that through that victory we also are resurrected, our movement is resurrected and our freedom is resurrected. Thank You so much. We offer all these things to You in our own names as central blessed families and proud Unificationists, in the name of True Parents. Aju!

Notes:

John, chapter 8

1: but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.

2: Early in the morning he came again to the temple; all the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them.

3: The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst

4: they said to him, "Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery.

5: Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such. What do you say about her?

6: This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground.

7: And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, "Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her."

8: And once more he bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground.

9: But when they heard it, they went away, one by one, beginning with the eldest, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him.

10: Jesus looked up and said to her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?"

11: She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you; go, and do not sin again."

12: Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."

13: The Pharisees then said to him, "You are bearing witness to yourself; your testimony is not true."

14: Jesus answered, "Even if I do bear witness to myself, my testimony is true, for I know whence I have come and whither I am going, but you do not know whence I come or whither I am going.

15: You judge according to the flesh, I judge no one.

16: Yet even if I do judge, my judgment is true, for it is not I alone that judge, but I and he who sent me.

17: In your law it is written that the testimony of two men is true;

18: I bear witness to myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness to me."

19: They said to him therefore, "Where is your Father?" Jesus answered, "You know neither me nor my Father; if you knew me, you would know my Father also."

20: These words he spoke in the treasury, as he taught in the temple; but no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.

21: Again he said to them, "I go away, and you will seek me and die in your sin; where I am going, you cannot come."

22: Then said the Jews, "Will he kill himself, since he says, `Where I am going, you cannot come'?"

23: He said to them, "You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world.

24: I told you that you would die in your sins, for you will die in your sins unless you believe that I am he."

25: They said to him, "Who are you?" Jesus said to them, "Even what I have told you from the beginning.

26: I have much to say about you and much to judge; but he who sent me is true, and I declare to the world what I have heard from him."

27: They did not understand that he spoke to them of the Father.

28: So Jesus said, "When you have lifted up the Son of man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority but speak thus as the Father taught me.

29: And he who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what is pleasing to him."

30: As he spoke thus, many believed in him.

31: Jesus then said to the Jews who had believed in him, "If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples,

32: and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free."

33: They answered him, "We are descendants of Abraham, and have never been in bondage to any one. How is it that you say, `You will be made free'?"

34: Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, every one who commits sin is a slave to sin.

35: The slave does not continue in the house for ever; the son continues for ever.

36: So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.

37: I know that you are descendants of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me, because my word finds no place in you.

38: I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father."

39: They answered him, "Abraham is our father." Jesus said to them, "If you were Abraham's children, you would do what Abraham did,

40: but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth which I heard from God; this is not what Abraham did.

41: You do what your father did." They said to him, "We were not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God."

42: Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love me, for I proceeded and came forth from God; I came not of my own accord, but he sent me.

43: Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word.

44: You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

45: But, because I tell the truth, you do not believe me.

46: Which of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me?

47: He who is of God hears the words of God; the reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God."

48: The Jews answered him, "Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?"

49: Jesus answered, "I have not a demon; but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me.

50: Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it and he will be the judge.

51: Truly, truly, I say to you, if any one keeps my word, he will never see death."

52: The Jews said to him, "Now we know that you have a demon. Abraham died, as did the prophets; and you say, `If any one keeps my word, he will never taste death.'

53: Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you claim to be?"

54: Jesus answered, "If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing; it is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say that he is your God.

55: But you have not known him; I know him. If I said, I do not know him, I should be a liar like you; but I do know him and I keep his word.

56: Your father Abraham rejoiced that he was to see my day; he saw it and was glad."

57: The Jews then said to him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?"

58: Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am."

59: So they took up stones to throw at him; but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple.  

Announcement of Appointment of National Leader of Argentina

Hyung Jin Moon
November 6, 2009

Ref. No. FFWPUI 2009-52

To: Regional presidents, National messiahs, National leaders
From: FFWPU International Headquarters
Date: November 6, 2009
Re.: Announcement of Appointment of National Leader of Argentina

May God and True Parents’ blessings and love be with brothers and sisters in all regions, mission nations and providential organizations. This is to announce the appointment of the new national leader of Argentina in South America region. Mr. Carlos Alberto Varga has been appointed to the position of national leader.

We would like to thank the outgoing national leader, Mr. Gustavo Héctor Giuliano, for his hard work and dedication and wish him the best in his new mission.

The change will be effective as of November 1, 2009.

Hyung Jin Moon
International President 

Guidelines regarding important events hosted by the church or providential organizations in a mission nation

Guidelines regarding important events hosted by the church or providential organizations in a mission nation

Announcement of Personnel Change and Inauguration Ceremony of UPF International President

Hyung Jin Moon
November 4, 2009

Ref. No. FFWPUI 2009-51

To: Regional presidents, National messiahs, National leaders
From: FFWPU International Headquarters
Date: November 4, 2009
Re.: Announcement of personnel change and inauguration ceremony of UPF International President

May God and True Parents’ blessings and love be with brothers and sisters in all regions, mission nations and providential organizations.

This is to announce True Parents’ new instructions given on October 24, 2009 regarding the international president and vice-presidents of the Universal Peace Federation. These instructions come after the directions True Parents gave on October 20 (refer to official memo FFWPUI 2009-48) regarding the chairman (international president) of UPF. Along with these instructions, we must announce the holding of the inauguration ceremony of the new International President of the Universal Peace Federation and farewell ceremony of the former International President.

1. Personnel change

Location

Name

Details

Effective as of

UPF

Hyung Jin MOON

Appointed to position of chairman

10/24/09

UPF

Sun Jo HWANG

Appointed to position of executive vice-chairman

10/24/09

UPF

Chang Shik YANG

Appointed to position of vice-chairman

10/24/09

UPF

Joon Ho SEUK

Appointed to position of vice-chairman

10/24/09

UPF

Ki Hoon KIM

Appointed to position of vice-chairman

10/24/09

2. Inauguration and Farewell Ceremony

Date: 2:00 pm, November 18, 2009

Venue: 8th floor, Korea HQ Building

Participants: UPF Board of Directors, staff at UPF International Headquarters, regional presidents (in their capacity as UPF regional chairs), UPF regional secretary-generals, national messiahs (boonbongwangs), heads of providential organizations and companies in Korea, key leaders and members in Korea.

Hyung Jin Moon
International President 

Education for matching candidates for the 11.16 True Parents’ Cosmic Blessing Ceremony

Education for matching candidates for the 11.16 True Parents’ Cosmic Blessing Ceremony