Hyung Jin Moon Gives Advice for Parents and Families in France

Jean-Francois Moulinet
August 27, 2010
UPF-France

Paris, France -- Rev. and Mrs. Hyung Jin Moon and their party arrived in Paris from Italy on August 26. They went first to visit the family of Tony Yuen, who died in a bus accident while returning home with a group of young people from a spiritual training program the Netherlands.

In the home of Jacky and Emiko Yuen, Hyung Jin Moon described how the passing to the spiritual world of his elder brother Young Jin changed his life completely. He asked Jacky and Emiko to list three good points about each other and about each of their children.

He explained that the moments a child will remember the most are the moments that spent individually with his or her parents. So he asked the parents to spend at least one hour per the week personally with each child. Among the suggested topics of discussion are what the child wants his or her parents to pray for, and what the parents want the child to pray for.

After a quick lunch, they went by train to Lille in the north of France to visit Tiffony Maldonado, who is still hospitalized from her injuries in the bus accident. Hyung Jin and Yeon Ah Moon held her hands and prayed with her and afterwards spoke in depth with her parents in the waiting room. Returning to Paris, they prayed near the Eiffel Tower.

The following morning, Hyung Jin Moon guided the morning meditation and exercises at 3:00 am and addressed the 120 people who gathered for 5:00 devotions. After speaking about the importance of prayer life, he and his wife had photos taken with each family present. Then he drew a beautiful calligraphy to be hung on the wall of the UPF headquarters. On the way to the airport, we passed by historic sites such as the Invalides, the Champs-Elysées, the Arc de Triomphe, and the Palais des Congrès, where the Little Angels Korean Folk Ballet will perform on September 10. 

Hyung Jin Nims Visit To France

Betsy Orman and Edy Iversen
August 27, 2010

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Dear all,

Below is a note from Edy Iversen in France but I also wanted to personally thank everyone, In Jin Nim, Dr. Yang, Michael Jenkins and all our wonderful members for your prayers and support during this difficult time in France. They were so powerful they moved Hyung Jin to leave Italy a day early to visit Tony's family and Tiffany in the hospital. Then they came and spoke to all the French members who were so heartbroken after what had happened. Edy said also that Hyung Jin's speech was exactly what the French family needed and she felt angles surrounding the event.

I truly felt our prayer and compassion showed the true heart of the elder brother and sister reaching out to the world and sending True Parents spirit of love to those in need. Thank you so much everyone. Tiffony is doing so much better. The doctor said when she arrived at the hospital they had no hope for her survival and yesterday she was up talking to her family and Hyung Jin asking to go to the workshop in Italy!!!!!

Let us continue to pray for the True Family as they travel throughout the world to bring True Parents love to Europe. Let us pray for their protection, strength, energy and wisdom as they reach out to each country.

In parents heart,

Betsy Orman

Short Report on Hyung Jin Nims visit to France
Edy Iversen

Words can not express the joy of our members to finally be able to see Hyung Jin Nim, his lovely wife and also to be able to see Hyo Jin Nim's wife as well and it was such a comfort for all the members.

We have a small training center but the 2 floors were packed full of members, bumper to bumper and many 2nd generation came to see our dear brother speak. Even when Father visited France last year, after over 12 years of not coming here, he heartbreakingly did not visit with the members, so I felt this was really a healing for many of them. Also, after the recent events in France with the terrible accident, our members were so heartbroken, this is truly what they needed.

Hyung Jin Nim spoke primarily about why Father is the Messiah and the need for prayer and the way to pray, as in the Lords Prayer, and elaborated on this very much; He also spoke about the reason that Islam is taking over France, because the Moslems are very up front about God and in France the Christians and Catholics do not speak about God and you cannot talk or express your religious sentiments in public. That is why God is blessing the Islamic faith here because they are so devout and not afraid to speak openly about their faith and this is something we must do as well.

He said in order to witness to them we have to become more devout and as they pray 5 times a day, he asked the National leader and his wife to do a condition to pray 8 times a day. He said the only way to win them is to become more spiritually serious and prayerful than they are.

After a wonderful meeting full of his warmth, humor and funny stories about "Praying on planes for God to save our lives" and teasing Jacky Yuen and telling him he is like Jackie Chan, he invited each family to take a picture with all the True Family. Their were over 200 people there.

We would like to add special thanks to all those who have been praying for the Yuen Family and the Maldonado family. The True Family visited and lovingly took care of both families yesterday, even driving to the hospital in Lille to see Tiffony and spending the morning with the Yuen Family.

Also a special thanks to Taj Hamad and Dr. Walsh for their added support and love here as well.

We will never forget the heart of the True Family and the love they left in France.

Thank you all for your prayers

Edy Iversen
Paris France 

Hyung Jin Moon Connecting with the Christian Legacy in Rome

Giuseppi Cali
August 26, 2010
UPF-Italy

Rome, Italy -- During their time in the Eternal City, UPF International Chair Rev. Hyung Jin Moon and his wife Yeon Ah visited the churches of St. Peter, St. Paul, and St. John to connect with the 2,000-year legacy of Christianity.

After praying at the Vatican, Hyung Jin Moon addressed a gathering of 400 people at the "Better World" Catholic Center. In simple but effective terms, he talked about inheriting the true love of God and testified to the example of his father, Rev. Sun Myung Moon. Afterwards, he and his wife had their photos taken with each of the families present.

Also addressing the audience were Dr. Joon Ho Seuk, Vice President of UPF-Korea, and Dr. and Yong Cheol Song, Chair of UPF-Europe.

In visiting the sacred sites in Rome one is struck by the way painting, sculpture, and architecture are used to bring glory to God. To connect with the faith and love of Jesus, Hyung Jin Moon led a small group in climbing the Santa Scala, or "Holy Staircase," on their knees, a traditional way to express repentance for one's sins and seek God's forgiveness. It is said that these 28 marble stairs led to the prætorium of Pilate at Jerusalem and thus were sanctified by the footsteps of Jesus on his way to his trial. They were brought to Rome by Helena, mother of Constantine.

"When we feel pain," Hyung Jin Moon commented afterwards, "we understand what Jesus and people such as our parents gone through. So we understand that we cannot complain or stop because of this. If we don't focus on the internal meaning, our body easily becomes the subject and we cannot continue. This a good training for mind and body unity and a test of the strength of our faith."

During informal gatherings on August 24 and 25, he challenged Ambassadors for Peace to absorb the wisdom and learn from the highest standards of the religions of the world in order to bring the diverse peoples of the world together as one family under God.

Traveling with the group were Mrs. Yeon Ah Moon, widow of Hyung Jin's elder brother Hyo Jin; Dr. Thomas Walsh, President of UPF-International; and Mr. Taj Hamad, Secretary General of UPF-International. The previous days had been spent in Israel, visiting holy sites and leading a "Rally for Substantial Peace."

On the last evening the international guests visited the home of the Natale family and spent a very meaningful and joyful time together. As in other countries he has been visiting, Hyung Jin Moon wrote a calligraphy for the family.

From Rome, the party continued to other countries of Europe. 

Sacred Blood of the Lamb

Hyung Jin Moon
August 22, 2010
Cheon Bok Gung, Yongsan Seoul Korea

Good afternoon, brothers and sisters, good to see you today. Today we will be talking about the "Sacred Blood of the Lamb." But first I would like to give my thanks to Han Maeum Hyeolekwon, which is 'One Heart. Donation Foundation' that has come out today to help us with the Seven Deaths and Resurrections Blood Drive Training. Training that we're doing today, and what's very exciting about this is that, as Unificationists we are going to be participating in this kind of training.

Just as our True Parents shed their blood for the salvation of humankind, even for us and our families, to bless us with families and spouse, etc., in the same way, we inherit that kind of true love. And now we shed blood for the world. We give our blood to save the lives of people who are sick and dying. So it is great training to be able to not only donate blood, but to substantialize the type of heart and nature of True Parents and of God. To inherit the true love of God.

As you know, we are doing this in the name of the Unification Church, the Unification Movement, Unificationism. We are doing it in our name. Not as in the past where we did it in different names, but we are doing it very up front with our name. This is, actually in different countries, it wasn't a big problem, but here in Korea, we used to not do these kinds of activities in Tongilgyo's name. So it is such an exciting day because we can do this wonderful training, this incredible service to save people's lives in the name of the Unification Church. It is not HSA-UWC where we were the Holy Spirit Assn for the Unification of World Christianity, the foundation level where True Father had the mission to unite the Christian world, and upon that foundation to establish the kingdom of heaven. But because of the failure of the people's not becoming one with True Parents, we know that the long indemnity course had to be walked by our True Parents. We know the great suffering and the 6 imprisonments and tortures and the walk the path toward deaths had to be walked. And that indemnity had to be paid.

At the growth stage, we were able to move to the Family Federation for World Peace, not only working with the Christian realm or to try to become one with the Christian realm, but to now go beyond into different aspects of humanity and the world: politics, society, business and education. We were able to create many Peace Ambassadors around the world. But as you know, although many PAs and many education programs were done, many people could not come to True Parents, and see True Parents in their true identity as the returning Christ, as the one who comes to fulfill the mission of Jesus as the Son of God. They were only able to see him as an international educator, or a peace activist, or someone who does social work, and not come into the presence of this true reality.

But after the Coronation Ceremony of God's Kingship, and True Parents now liberate God, and now can become one and God can dwell and work in them, that is when True Father also blessed us with 'Tongilgyo,' which is different from HSA-UWC and different from Family Federation and is at the perfection stage, where now all the world transcending race and religion and creed, can become one. The word for Tongilgyo, the Unification Church, gyo is used for all other religions and faiths. The 'gyo' is the character for 'filial piety' next to the character of 'father.' And so True Father explained, there must be many filial sons and daughters around the father, for there to be true unification. And that is the incredible age that we are blessed to be in. Now we can proudly be 'Tongilgyo-indul ' Unificationists, without hiding our identity. Without diminishing our stature and to be able to be honorable, and to be able to be proud of who we are.

Here as you know, we did many activities using different names and titles. Of course as you know, we also had many different situations that occurred. We had situations in colleges where people were doing peace groups or social activities, education for peace. We did not tell people that we were the Unification Church. And when they found out, they were very disappointed and they left. They felt we were dishonest because we were hiding our identity.

We encountered many of these problems. So when we are not clear about our identity, as Unification Church members or Unificationists, then, we not only, number one, seem to lack confidence and faith in our belief as serving True Parents as the Lord of Lords, and the one whom God has sent to fulfill the mission of the Messiah, the Savior -- we not only seem like we have no confidence, but we also come into a situation where the other parties feel betrayed. As if they did not have a choice, because we didn't tell them or reveal to them that we are Unification Church, they did not have the up-front choice to say, "I want to work with you, or I don't want to work with you."

But after working together, they find out and then they somehow feel their trust has been betrayed. But it's such a happy that we can now proclaim ourselves clearly and proudly as Unificationists; tell people very straight what we believe, stand up for our human rights and religious freedom! Know our rights and move into the Age of Cheon Il Guk, where we are proud Unificationists.

We're so grateful that Han Maeum Hyeolekwon, the One Heart Blood Drive Foundation is working with us. We've been in conversation with them for the last three months, and there have been many challenges but without any religious discrimination, they have decided to work with us. Today they've sent two buses to serve our congregation, so we can donate and practice our faith. They sent four buses, two extra buses as to facilitate the process. Let's give it up one more time for Han Maeum Hyeolekwon, let's give them a big round of applause, everyone. Thank you for your services.

Brothers and sisters, today I'd like to talk about the "Sacred Blood of the Lamb." Recently I've been studying Islam, and the story of the prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. I saw an incredible story. As you know the prophet Muhammad was born into a very unstable Arabian land, where the Bedouin tribes existed. There was an extreme sense of tribalism. Because in that harsh environment, where one does not know where water is, or one does not know what kind of predicament may come the next day, it is such a harsh desert environment that literally survival depends upon tribalism, depends on being loyal to your tribe.

Accepting without question the traditions of the past, because it is through the past experience of your ancestors that you know where the waterholes are, where the oases are, where you can get water for your camels, etc. You must not question the tribe's traditions. And it was in this incredible tribalism that there was also incredible warfare. The competing tribes would do honor killings, the competing tribes would protect one another, but killing other people of other tribes was not morally equivalent or reprehensible as dishonoring one of your own tribe.

There was an intense tribalism, there were no universal human rights that we see and experience in the world today as an international community. The prophet Muhammad was born into this kind of a land, into this chaotic tribal warfare situation. He grew up with without a father, his father passed away before he was born, his mother passed away when he was six years of age, so he grew up as an orphan, under the care of his uncle. He was a merchant, a trader who led caravans out into different trade routes. He worked as a very diligent man. The Quraysh tribe was now the powerhouse of Mecca. Mecca was now one of the central cities of Arabia, it controlled many of the trade routes between various countries and was now a central resting area, a place where all pilgrims could come.

As you know in the modern-day Haj where pilgrims go to Mecca and they circumambulate the black box, the Kaaba, that box would predate the Islamic tradition. And it was a place where all of the different tribes' Gods were worshipped. All different religions, all different tribes were allowed to come into Mecca and to have peace there, to trade, and to pray, to cross the desert and come into Mecca and see something familiar, their God that they also worshipped in their homeland, to see that familiarity. The feeling of homecoming that they would experience. So Mecca was a real gathering place. But Mecca was changing, because now Mecca was growing economically in strength. It was not as impoverished as it was generations ago. And it was now involved in economic success and a growing secularism. They were able to invite different tours and caravans in to worship their Gods. And that was a source of income for the Meccan land, for Mecca as a city. It was their survival, their life stream from where it got its sustainability.

But at the age of 41, the prophet Muhammad who was then just a merchant was resting in one of the surrounding steppes and mountains around Mecca. And he was overcome with incredible terror as he saw an incredible vision of the angel Gabriel. At the time he didn't say it was Gabriel but he was overwhelmed by the incredible spiritual experience where he was filled with terror. He saw the whole heavens fill with an incredible presence and he was told to recite, recite, and recite. And that is when the words of the Koran come into existence.

He did not want to walk the path of the prophet. He was just a merchant, making his living working hard. But now he had this new path that he had to take. He went down, and you can imagine, just one second ago he was a merchant, and now he says that he has a revelation from almighty God, how people would persecute him. And that is exactly what they did. They persecuted, everybody disbelieved, his wife Kadija of course consoled him. Her cousin, Wadaka, who knew about Christianity, said that he was a prophet now. And so he garnered strength from that and continued to go forth.

But the Meccan people and the successful merchants of the town began to worry because he was preaching that there was only one God. That we cannot have all these gods. There was only one God. And they would see that there was a threat to their economic success because if you can only worship one God, that it was a threat to their economic sustainability, for if we only can worship one God, then all the tribes are not invited into Mecca to worship their many, many Gods or the tribal gods that they had and that they had built their economic foundation on. So the prophet Muhammad was vehemently attacked.

They went to his uncle and said, "Stop your nephew from doing such things". He talked to his nephew, and he said, "I cannot stop." That he had to be loyal and obedient and he surrendered completely to the will of God. His uncle decided to support him, but because of the overwhelming opposition, their tribe weakened tremendously. The uncle lost his whole fortune and eventually they had to flee Mecca because they were under attack, under the threat of death. They left Mecca into the dark Arabian night, into the harsh deserts with many assassins and Bedouins, violence rampant, and they came upon the town of Medina, where there was tribal warfare.

By the willing grace of God, they were invited into become the middle tribe, the middle people between the tribes that were fighting. And they began to gain the trust of those tribes there. The prophet Muhammad did something that was so amazing at the time: he said, we must go beyond the tribalism of our own tribes and he went around the different tribes of Medina and made a contract with them.

He said the Meccans will come to try to kill us. So we must make a contract, regardless of the tribes that we belong to, regardless of the tribal gods that we worship, if the Meccans attack, let us fight as one. He elevated them from the close-minded tribalism to now protecting each other as a community. And when the Meccans did attack Medina, at the Battle of the Trench, they were able to fend off the Meccans and be victorious. Through that many converts came, many came to believe in him as the prophet. But then, Muhammad decided to do something absolutely bold and audacious. He decided now that he would make a peace pilgrimage, taking all the Muslims to Mecca, with no weapons, under the threat of death that he would go. That is why the Muslims even today wear the white robes when they go into Mecca, in remembrance of the trek from Medina once again.

Because Mecca allowed all the different tribes to worship their gods, even though he was under the threat of death, he was able to enter Mecca to worship God and to peacefully come out and go back to Medina. But this infuriated the Meccans who had to sit and watch him do this -- the person whom they felt was destroying Mecca. One year later they attacked Medina again. And there was a battle and many Muslims died and many people in Medina and Mecca died. It was through this battle that they had to now go forth and take Mecca.

When they arrived at Mecca, because they arrived in so much force, they were able to make Mecca surrender without total destruction of the city, taking it peacefully. From that point on, the prophet Muhammad did not engage in warfare. Many people in the West don't understand; they think that he was just a warmonger, a religious fanatic. But in the area and time of all this tribal warfare, Muhammad brought peace to Arabia. By taking Mecca, he did something that was totally unthinkable at the time, even gave amnesty to his enemies. He forgave them. If the punishment was to be execution, he forgave them and gave them amnesty. At the time, this was unthinkable. And he was acting in a compassionate way.

As Muslims they worked, and did their activities. When I studied this, of course, we know that God sent Jesus not to go the path of the cross, but to build the Kingdom of God. If that is the case then Jesus would also have to be a leader of politics and a social leader, a religious and political leader and even have a military that would protect his nation, just like the prophet Muhammad. We would see in the Principle that the Kingdom of Heaven would be the balance between politics and economy, all those would work in synergy centered on God's goodness. But because of the failure of the people in Jesus' time, we know that Jesus walked the path of the cross. And that his blood was spilled, provided the way, if by through faith to provide mankind with spiritual salvation. That Jesus and the Holy Spirit could provide a four position foundation centered on God. And the believers could find spiritual salvation.

It was by that sacrificial blood that Jesus talked about in John 15:13 where he said, "No greater love there is than this than he who lays down his life for his friends." That type of Agape love has changed the world for the last 2000 years. But because Jesus went the path of the cross, we know that is why he said, that he would have to come again. And God sent the Second Advent. He sent the True Parents to come to the earth and True Parents had to walk the path of indemnity, of indemnifying all the individual, family, tribal, societal, nation, world sin, even the spiritual world sin.

They had to walk the path of even liberating God -- his anger, his anxiety, his pain, his entire internal angst. His disappointment that True Parents had to walk the path of indemnity to liberate them. They had to go through the 6 tortures of the prisons, unjustly imprisoned, walking the path of death, sacrificing their soul in the bitterest of hells, for the salvation of us. They had to shed their sacred blood so that we could find eternal life. And we could become central blessed families and have children, etc., centered on God, absolute love, life and lineage.

Brothers and sisters, we donate and participate in this training, not as just donating blood, but we do it as a religious training practice. We are donating blood today, as proud Unificationists who know our faith, who believe in True Parents, who believe that True Parents have inherited the true love of God and now we are trying to inherit that incredible type of sacrificial love. The love of the parent that can die and die and die, and forget and die and die again for their children, if the children can find eternal life. And through that heart we are donating blood today and practicing offering our prayers today.

Because each person who donates blood today will be able to save three people's lives. Every pint of blood that is donated will save three people's lives. We will substantially be working in shedding blood for the world and saving lives, healing the sick, bringing life to those who are dying. This is not just cleaning up the street, or doing service activity. We are sacrificing our blood that God has given us, that is not ours, God has given us life, and we are giving a portion to save others' lives. This is not a testament to our greatness, but is a testament to us as Unificationists in our faith, as those who want to inherit the true love of God. Let's give it up for God and True Parents! Yes! It is through their example and the blood that they have shed for us, that we have learned through that faith and example, to want to contribute to the world as a parent, from a parental perspective.

And as Unificationists, we will now be saving lives, as a religious practice and training. We will be saving lives as proud believers in True Parents as the Lord of the Second Advent. And we'll be returning glory to heaven, not on our own power but on the sacrificial, incredible true love that we have received from True Parents. By this, not only people's physical lives would be saved, but they will come to know the Unification Church, they will come to know what we believe in -- True Parents and God, whom they have served tirelessly. And through that they will find faith, they will know the one true God, they will know the Son whom He has sent, and we believe that they will have a transformational experience, where they too will be called, to inherit the true love of God.

Brothers and sisters on this day, I would like to thank the Han Maeum Hyeolek Foundation, coming out and helping us participate in this training, and let us all make this a glorious day where we can validate and acknowledge and uplift, glorify the name of the one true God, and the Son whom he has sent, the True Parents of Heaven and Earth. Let us give them glory on this day. Brothers and sisters, let's give them a big round of applause! We offer all the glory to God this day, and let us finish with our final prayer.

Final Prayer:

"Heavenly Father, thank You so much for this day. Victorious True Parents, we thank you for the life that you have lived to save us, to make us your children, to make us the children of God. Father, we thank You so much because today we have the opportunity to practice and substantialize our teaching.

Father, the blood that was shed by the sacred Lamb, the Son of God that You had sent, that had gone through the seven deaths and resurrections and tortures, and the paths of death going to hell to sacrifice even their soul for the salvation of man, Father, we pray that we may inherit this love. We know that Jesus died and even went to hell to redeem the souls and was resurrected from the grave.

But we know that True Parents had gone even through the seven deaths and had been resurrected seven times through the miraculous blessing of your true love. Father, we want to inherit that parental heart. We want to be able to be those who can live our teachings. And today, as the blood donation teams are here, let us participate so we can be those who practice our faith, who inherit the true love of God and save lives in the world. Father, we pray that You will do miracles; Father, allow people to come closer to You and to come to know You.

Father, we are so grateful that we can participate on this day. Father, we thank You so much that You allow us to become one on this day, to really offer glory to heaven and True Parents today. And Father, let this day be Yours fully and truly.

We pray these things be with us today as we donate our blood for the sake of others. And we are always remembering as we meditate and pray on the test that True Parents had to overcome in order to save us. Let us do this in the heart of humility and gratitude. We pray all of these things with great humility and an everlasting love. In our own names as blessed central families, we pray bowing before You, in our own names, Aju!" 

The Power of Trusting God

Hyung Jin Moon
August 15, 2010
Cheon Bok Gung, Yongsan Seoul Korea

Welcoming Remarks:
Yeon-ah nim:

Good afternoon, brothers and sisters! Welcome to the Headquarters of the Unification Church. Today I heard that a lot of our Japanese Sung Hwa students came to our Cheon Bok Gung. Can you wave your hands and make a big noise? (They do) Thank you. Welcome, welcome brothers and sisters!

Today we sincerely hope and pray that we always remember the greatness and goodness of our Heavenly Father. No matter what obstacles we are facing, we are always in God's hands. 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 and word of God! Aju!

Today we read from Cheon Seong Gyeong 1:44, and Father says:

"What lies within the sermons, core teachings and the words you hear from the Unification Church? Its teachings can liberate God, whose heart is in confinement."

I have been studying a little bit on Islam recently and looking at the Prophet Muhammad's life. Such an amazing and rich tradition! Muhammad is seen as the perfect human being, the perfect servant of God, the slave of God -- as it is put -- and seen as having complete obedience to God's will. It is of course a very deeply inspiring way of life, and no one can deny that our Muslim brothers and sisters live a very devout prayer life.

One thing I felt when I saw that was that, of course True Father has also lived the servant of servants' life, followed every will and direction of God as a servant of servants. But also True Father, as the son seeing God as the eternal parent, sought to do something unfathomable which is to liberate God. That can be seen as very audacious and almost incomprehensible. How can one liberate the Creator?

But if we see God as an intelligence who has an intelligent ability to feel also emotions then we can see that God, when his children fall away from him will feel sadness. He will ponder why the children did such things, and He will feel pain. If we ever had anger or anxiety in our minds or in our hearts we know that it can overwhelm us, even cripple us completely. But when we are cured of that internal anger or anxiety we can feel a tremendous peace and joy. When we talk about True Parents who liberate the heart of God, it is not as if God were in a physical prison. Because God is of the mind beyond material and matter, then we are talking about the world of heart, mind and emotion. And our True Parents have liberated God from that kind of pain, disappointment, even from the anger that is welling up inside when He sees humanity. And thus we speak of True Parents not only as the slave or the servant of God, but also as the son who has liberated our Father in Heaven. Let's give it up for True Parents and Almighty God because it is time! It is time!

As we have many guests at our service today we are going to do a little bit of practice. You know, one thing I love about the Muslim tradition is that they have a real appreciation for the original language of the Prophet. So whenever they speak anything they always try to speak in Arabic, which is really an amazing tradition. So, when we hear them speak about the Prophet and say 'Peace be unto him', they'll say it in Arabic, even though their native language may be English or Chinese. They always go back to the original language of the Prophet.

For us, this is also very important because we also have an original language for scripture which is of course Korean. So, when we usually say 'Hallelujah' and 'Amen' -- let's try that: 'Hallelujah' -- 'Amen'; that is how we usually do it in the West. In Hebrew Hallelujah means 'Praise be unto God' and Amen means 'Truth', "I agree, yes!"

When we do it in our original language we can feel the spirit of Aju. The first character 'A' means 'me' or 'my' and then 'ju' means 'Lord'. So when I say 'Aju' I am saying 'my Lord!', I am praising God. When I say 'Na-e junim'' that means 'my Lord' -- "ju" that is an explanation of 'Aju' -- you all say 'Aju!' OK, let's try! Are you ready? So let's try: 'Na-e junim' -- 'Aju!' Wonderful, shall we try it one more time? 'Na-e junim' -- 'Aju!" OK good! Or let's try 'Hana Nim, gamsa hamnida' which means 'thank you God'. We can also say "Aju" there too. Let's do it! "Hana Nim, gamsa hamnida" -- "Aju!" And in this way we are returning back to praising God, returning Him all glory.

Now let's meet one of our brothers and sisters, the beautiful Yoriguchi family today. This is such an amazing family! We had a chance to meet them when we did a family visit. They have never left our hearts or minds. They are such a wonderful, beautiful family, and we have the privilege today of meeting them here via video. Let's see and meet them today!

Video:

Three generations living together with a total of 18 family members headed by Toru Yoriguchi and Kyoko Yoriguchi These are excerpts:

"I am a proud Unificationist".

The greatest blessing is that many grandchildren were born. I think, there is no greater blessing than grandchildren. The oldest grandchild is in the 8th grade. He says," This is a good place to live because there is no war, there is no conflict." The father of my third daughter's husband recently passed away. When he visited us here for the first time, he said that this place always feels like spring.

One of this family's motto is, "Don't put too much emphasis on worldly success, since fallen people do not have the internal content to deserve it." My in-laws always said, "We should become fools to live." We shouldn't seek only external achievement but live like simpletons. People should not pursue only worldly success but live like fools in the world. Being foolish actually means to live with confidence and overcome things without conflict; whatever situation we are in, not to be shaken but to have confidence centered on our relationship with True Father. If we have a solid faith that is not shaken easily then I believe that we will be guided to have a wonderful life.

There is something we felt after moving to Korea. I do not know how Korean-Japanese families will do, and wives may get older but there is definitely hope for the future. So these families can go forward, hand in hand with their children and they will be alright. When we see families with hardships, that is what we feel.

This is the third daughter and her husband. I wish my in-laws would rest more. My mother-in-law is in the last stage of rheumatism and cannot walk well. They are so grateful that there is even an elevator in Cheon Bok Gung. Once or twice a month they go there to discuss the situation of their spiritual children. Also there are opposition groups that have the wrong view of us. My in-laws visit members who were kidnapped and explain and testify to them about True Parents. They straighten out the wrong understanding people may have. I received so much from them and I like to return more.

Next week Monday I'm going to Japan. The situation in Japan is so serious that I visited the spiritual children every month. I conveyed to them the words of our International President, saying, "Let's go this way until the end." To spread the grassroots movement I visit every month.

I heard this from my spiritual child that is in Hiroshima. The police tried to investigate our church about the finances, but because of the kidnappings and confinement issues many orders to the police became postponed or discontinued. I think that the results of our protests are beginning to appear. The police tried to enter the church because of the spiritual sales method. But as there are many kidnappings and confinement cases in Hiroshima I heard that the police don't have time to investigate the financial issues.

Now I am going to make yakisoba, Japanese fried noodles. This is the grandfather's and grandmother's wish. We hope, that not only our grandsons and granddaughters, but the next generation of great grandchildren can also receive the marriage blessing. We wish for and hope for our great grandchildren to go beyond nations and borders and to become helpful somewhere in the world, and that that kind of true children will be born. We are proud Unificationists and to everyone, "We love you! Thank you."

Hyung-jin nim's Main Sermon

Brothers and sisters, you'll notice today that we moved the podium up to the front and one level down, so we can have the eight text curriculum open here as we have service. And, as you can see, we prepared water and other offerings as if True Parents were truly here. We moved the podium down so now I can see you a little more closely. We hope that it works out today.

Today I want to talk about the power of trusting God. We usually start with our World Scriptures but today we will read them at the end of the sermon. But first let us start with our core scriptures from Isaiah 26, and let's start with verse 1 and 2. Let's read together:

A Song of Praise

1 In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah:
We have a strong city;
God makes salvation
its walls and ramparts.

2 Open the gates
that the righteous nation may enter,
the nation that keeps faith.

Aju!

So here we have the Prophet Isaiah speaking of the Land of Judah which was the Southern Kingdom, south of Israel, and he is speaking of the strong city, of the song that will be sung when we enter the strong city. And the city will get its strength from the pieces and the parts that work together and then its purpose which is to preserve the tradition of God. It says that God makes salvation the walls and the ramparts, that God protects the righteous people from the enemies from outside and gives them safety with the walls of salvation. It says that the righteous nation may enter, the nation that keeps faith. And here we see what kind of nation can enter into the land of promise, the salvific land. The righteous nation may enter that land. But the core, the center, the key of the righteous nation as the nation that keeps faith, is the faith of the nation.

We can see this metaphorically in our own lives. In order to be in the land of God's safety and under God's protection and strength we must first be a righteous people, that is people who know what is right and wrong, and who behave as such. Of course that doesn't mean we are perfect at it, but we know and we behave in that direction constantly.

In our life, whether it be in our normal daily life, in our business or career, education, work, home, etc… behaving with maturity and honesty, patience, justice and sacrifice, these are key practices, key life paths for God's blessing.

But the key to these practices is what Prophet Isaiah says; it is keeping faith. It's faith. It is our faith that prevents these things from just becoming worldly principles, good behavior and makes them a pathway into resembling God's nature.

When we are practicing these traits we are moving into a realm closer to God's internal nature and resembling Him. Believing in such a God, believing in a God of goodness, patience, compassion and justice calls us to move forward in those actions and cause us to resemble Him.

These are not just simply actions or commands that are put upon us to burden us and make our life difficult just simply as laws, but these are gifts of God because we have the gift to resemble his internal nature.

The Prophet Isaiah, in the third verse, says a very important thing. Let's look at the third verse! Let's read together!

3 You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast,
because he trusts in you.

4 Trust in the LORD forever,
for the LORD, the LORD, is the Rock eternal.

Here we see the key to perfect peace. The key to the peace of mind that everybody is seeking, the key to perfect peace, says the prophet, is a mind which is focused and steadfast and which is full of trust in God. See, when we focus our life on the things in our life, then we are not focusing or trusting in God.

So, we are left to face the uncertainty of life and the future by ourselves. When we face such things, we are filled with fear, because that is the inevitable nature of life that it is uncertain, that there is fear involved when we cannot see into the future. I have a personal example of this. We are on plane rides quite often nowadays, and we are flying around different countries. I understand of course that riding a plane is safer than riding a car but when you are up twenty thousand feet in the air, and you hit turbulence, and you hit big clouds, and you start shaking, and the whole plane begins to shake, and everybody is being lifted out of their seats, and everybody is tightening their seat belts, you cannot but feel fear. You feel fear very, very powerfully, especially when the plane suddenly makes a big drop. As soon as it makes a big drop, you can even hear yourself praying, "Oh my God! Save me, God! Don't let this thing go down!" And then, as it comes back up, "Oh! thank You, thank You, God; that's better!" Then it goes down again, boom, "Oh my God! We're going to die!" And then it goes back again, "Oh! Thank You, thank You, thank You!"

When we examine our mind in such a state, which can actually resemble our life, we can see that we are at the control and at the dominion of the situation. Whenever the plane goes down, we feel fear; whenever it comes back up, we feel safety. It goes back down, we feel fear. It goes back up, we feel safety. We are completely at the mercy; we are slaves to the situation.

When we see this in our own lives, we can see how important understanding this dynamic is. Because it feels like you are in a raging sea, and that you are at the complete mercy of this ocean, the ocean which has tremendous waves, and winds that hits you, and beats you down in life.

But in that situation whenever we are flying, we make a practice -- when we start feeling fear, and saying, "Oh my God, we are going to die!" and start praying for God -- we make a practice to change our mind, and start focusing, to keep the mind focused, and steadfast, and trusting in God. So instead of saying "Oh, my God! We're going to die," we say, "God, You are GREAT! You are the creator of the universe; You created the planets, and the Heavens and the earth, this little rain cloud is nothing for You. You are leading us through. You are guiding us in Your providence!" etc.

And we see that as soon as we shift our mind's focus, then what Isaiah says is completely true. We see that no more fear is in our mind, and we have perfect peace. Whenever the instant moments of fear comes back, we combat it with trust in God; and again, peace comes in our minds and in our hearts.

See this is why Isaiah refers to God as the Rock, the Rock of salvation, the Lord is our Rock; because whenever we are facing a difficulty, or an obstacle, or a challenge, it feels like we are in that ocean, where the waves are beating at us. And if we have no rock to hold on to, we must try to grasp at the waves, or even try to grasp at the winds; but we cannot hold onto those things. So we will be at the mercy, we will be tired, we will be made weary, and we will drown in that circumstance…at the total mercy and dominion of the circumstance.

But when we have the Rock to hold onto, we have something that can lift us out of that. We have a power that is beyond us that lifts us, and allows us to stand on the solid Rock that is the Lord. "Na-e junim!" Aju! One more time, "Na-e junim!" "Aju!"

I remember when we were young; we used to go fishing with True Parents up in Gloucester. At the time we were too young to go tuna fishing. So True Father would do tuna fishing. That was quite rigorous, that was all day tuna fishing. And some of you may remember, if you caught the tuna, you would have to fight it for hours and hours, until it wore out. Since we were young, we were able to go to the beach; instead of staying on the boat, and fishing and spending days on the boat we were given the permission to go and play on the beach.

So I remember that we used to bring up the New Hope boats, as close to the beach as the boat could get, because it can't go right up on the beach. So we would be maybe twenty meters away from the beach, twenty yards, or thirty, or maybe fifty yards away from the beach; and we would have to swim in from the boat. We would have to jump into the water, and swim in.

But I remember that whenever I looked into the water -- because the water where the boat was, where the anchor was down, it was still deep, it was twenty-thirty feet deep -- it was very dark water. So I remember that before we jumped into the water, we would always feel fear. At least I did. I would always hear the theme song of Jaws playing as soon as I was right about to jump into the water, "I know that there is a shark in there. I know it. We have been catching them all day. There's a shark in that water!"

But everybody's jumping and everybody's going, so you would jump in and go. As soon as you hit the water, I swear, there were sharks swimming around my feet. I could feel them moving by my feet. I could see them watching us, like little seals swimming up at the surface, and there was right next to us a great big white shark like Jaws that was going to come up and bite us in half.

And I remember feeling so much fear as we were swimming in the ocean, and our other brothers are teasing us saying, "The shark is coming; it's coming." Just to make life a little more interesting! And we were going and going, swimming and swimming… And I remember the moment that our foot touched the sand -- when it got shallow enough that we could put our foot down and touch the sand -- we would feel this incredible relief, incredible peace. Swimming in that ocean, nothing below us and then you get close enough that you can touch the sand! How much peace filled your mind! Then you would say, "Jaws is not going to get me now!" and run back onto the beach.

You see, in the ocean of life, it's the same thing. Even though it may be a clear day, no winds, no waves, still we are floating in life. But when we are able to stand on the sand, or even better, on the Rock, when we can stand on the solid Rock, there is a tremendous peace that arises, a tremendous sense of safety that we can feel. We know that when we climb up on the Rock, when we are on the Rock, we have the strength of the Rock to rely on, not just our strength, and we know that the Rock cannot be defeated by the winds and the waves. We know that the ocean's beasts cannot come and get us, and steal us away into the dark ocean.

So as we center our mind, and train every day to focus and remain steadfast on trusting God, thanking God, having faith in God, in God's plans for us, this Rock in our life becomes bigger. The Rock that we can stand on becomes more prominent. And then it becomes bigger, until it can even become a mountain. When we can be standing on such a solid foundation of faith, then no wind, or no wave can even touch us. And this is where we can feel and see the great power of God in our life.

But the Prophet Isaiah gives us a warning, in the fifth and sixth verse. Let's continue to read! Isaiah 26:5, let's read together,

"He humbles those who dwell on high; He lays the lofty city low. He levels it to the ground, and casts it down to the dust."

Verse 6:

"Feet trample it down, the feet of the oppressed, the footsteps of the poor."

Aju!

See, one of the things that the Prophet Isaiah is reminding us of, is that when we are able to stand on the Rock of God, when we are at the strength of the foundation of faith, where even the waves and winds can't reach us, and we receive a level of success and victory in our life, there is always the temptation that comes. The temptation that says to us, "Oh, we have created this success on our own. We are stronger than the winds and the waves, because of our own power, because of our own ability, because of our own greatness."

And we can start to become deluded, just as Lucifer was. And so if that situation happens, as soon as those thoughts come into the mind, and we let our mind focus and remain steadfast on those things, "I am the great one. I am the one that can beat the winds and the waves; they can't touch me," when we start focusing on those things, then the Rock begins to shrink. It may even totally disappear from beneath our feet.

We may have created cities, or businesses, or successes and riches, but if we forget the God who gave us the fortune, who gave us the networks, the right people, all the situations that were set up, we will quickly lose our blessing. This is the secret that Isaiah is talking about today.

So many people pray to God, trust in God when they are moving up, when they are trying to find success, when they are trying to make it. And they rely on God, they hold on to the Rock, they pray and say, "God You are great!" But as soon as they reach success -they may not do it instantly at the moment -- but over time they may feel, "Hey, I am doing this actually on my own. I am putting in all of the work. I am putting in all of the sweat, I'm putting in all of the tears. I'm putting in all of the effort. My team is following my leadership", and we can start forgetting the great heavenly fortune that God has bestowed upon us.

As soon as we start falling into this path, then God will tear down the city, as Isaiah says. He will bring the success down, the business down, your work down; not out of spite, but He will do it out of love. Why would He take it away if He truly loved us?

See we forget that in this world everyone works very hard. Everybody works hard. It is not a matter of working hard that is the key to success, or happiness in our life. It is always a combination of hard work and sacrifice, and Heavenly fortune that brings success. If we are working for ourselves and our family only, then no matter how hard we work we will never reach the level of blessing that God wishes for us to reach, or even has prepared for us because we are not moving with heavenly fortune, with God's anointing and blessing.

So, no matter how much we work in that circumstance, we are doing it on our own power and effort, which cannot reap the result that we can reap when God is in the picture. So the Prophet Isaiah reminds us that if we fall into that mindset and remain steadfast on that, the successes that we created, the cities that we have built will be torn down. And that even the most low of society, even the ones that we shun, even the ones that maybe we have even mocked on our way up, will trample on the city that has now been leveled to dust, if we forget God.

Thus the higher you go, the lower and smaller you must become. The higher we go, the more we have to reject praise. When people send us praise, when they say "You are great, fantastic; you changed my life." You must immediately send that away, and say, "No! God changed your life. God made it good in your life. I have nothing to do with that" or, "I'm not the sole one responsible for that."

There is a great saying that we must treat persecution and praise the same way. When we receive persecution, we must deflect it. When we receive praise, we must also deflect it away; deflect it up to God. You see, if we are working for God's kingdom, and God's will first, before our kingdom and our will, if we set up our trajectory and our mind remains steadfast on that focus, then our life has divine purpose.

Then our life moves from the individual's contentment that we seek, into the larger picture of the cosmos, and the universe beyond that. And when we take that step, and when we move our entire frame of mind, our frame of reference into that step of "God's will first, God's kingdom first", then our life is used and made in a different way, and we are created into new beings.

You see, it is only through this kind of thing that the Prophet Isaiah reminds us that heavenly fortune will come. When we focus and trust and have steadfast focus on God, when even in times of great difficulty, -- of course we focus -- but even in times of great success, we continue to focus on God, continue to give Him praise, continue to send all of the goodness towards Him; and that is when God blesses us in the ways beyond what we can even imagine.

Let's give it up one time for God and True Parents who give us this kind of incredible insight! (Applause)

We know of course our True Father always has guided us to live a life that is not only for my will, or my kingdom, but first always for the kingdom of God; always for God's kingdom and God's will first. Then also, Father has told us to pray for the nations and the world, etc. Not saying that our prayers or our personal lives are unimportant, but that we must see them in the context of all things. We must see our personal struggles in the context of larger and larger pictures.

Brothers and sisters, as we are now in this forty day period of witnessing, and giving sincerity and Jeong Seong, let us truly remember who brings us success and victory. Our effort and our work are essential. They complete the picture that makes the hundred percent of God's ninety five percent and our five percent. But we must not forget that, even though we have done the five percent, which requires tremendous effort, and work, we must not forget who has prepared the ninety five percent.

When we meet the person that is prepared during this period of prayer, witnessing and sharing our faith, let us remember who is truly doing the bulk of the work. Of course we must do our part in loving that person, sharing with that person, studying Principle with that person, being honest with that person, living our prayer life and our life honestly; but we must also trust in the Rock that is holding all of us up. We must also keep our mind steadfast on the God that is doing all the things in our life.

When we do that, then as the Prophet Isaiah promises, we will find true peace. We will find perfect peace, and despite the waves and the winds that try to take away that peace, we will have the Rock of our salvation to stand upon, a Rock which no wave, or no wind can ever destroy.

Let's give it up for God, the Almighty God, who gives us that strength! (Applause) And today, let's end these words with the World Scriptures. Let's start with Christianity Mathew 5:5, chapter 5 verse 5. Let's read together,

"Blessed are the meek or the humble for they shall inherit the earth."

Aju.

Let's look at Islam today, from the Koran, the 23rd Sura 1-5. Let's read together,

"Successful indeed are the believers who are humble in their prayers, and who shun vain conversation, and who are payers of the poor due and who guard their modesty."

Aju!

Here's Hinduism, the Bhagavad Gita. Let's read this 13th chapter together,

"Be humble. Be harmless. Have no pretension. Be upright, forbearing, aware of the weakness of mortal nature."

Let's end with True Parents' words. This is from the Collection of Speeches 3, 187:

"Satan's basic nature is arrogance and wrath. Jesus on the other hand, came before the people with meekness and humility. Satan ultimately acknowledged Jesus, because he knew that humility is in accord with the heavenly law. Examine yourself. Are you living Jesus' teachings of gentleness and humility, meekness and obedience, and sacrifice and service. If you are not practicing these teachings in your daily life, know that you still belong to Satan's tribe."

Aju!

Brothers and sisters, let's all rise now, and end in our final prayer, reflecting on the powerful words that True Parents have given us. Let's lift our hands up towards the Heavens. Let us end with our prayer.

Prayer:

Dearest, most beloved Heavenly True Parent,

Father, for us, You created the entire universe. For humanity, You created this world. You created time and space and all of matter. Father, it is for us that You prepared all things. But Father, we have failed You many times. And Father, You have been at the point where You surely must have lost hope in humanity, in the selfishness that drives humanity, in the self-centered perspective that drives our nature. But Father, when You sent Your only son, and he was crucified, and two thousand years later You sent the next anointed one that was to fulfill the mission of Jesus, Father, now You can have hope in humanity again.

Father, You can see through the life of True Parents, the total inheritance of Your true love, that is the total inheritance of Your sacrificial heart, the heart and the love that will seek, even give its life away, its spirit and soul away for the salvation of the children who are far away from You.

Father, we pray that today we can understand that Satan's basic nature is arrogance and that Jesus and True Parents came before the people with this correct mindset, their minds focused on You. Their minds are always giving You glory; [focused] on the One True God that all of us bow to.

Father, we thank You so much; and next week Father, we pray that You may bless our brothers and sisters because next week we will be donating our blood in a blood drive that will be at this church. We will do it to inherit the seven deaths and resurrections of True Parents, the heart of True Parents that even bled for the world, so that the world may enter into Cheon Il Guk. We want to inherit that. Father next week, when we donate our blood, we want to remember that that donation will serve to save the lives of three people.

Father, we want to do this in Your name, and for Your glory. We want to elevate You and praise You; not so that we can get some reward. Father, You give us life. You allow blood to flow through our veins, and when we share it, Father, let us do it in the spirit of Your nature. We thank You so much, Father, and we pray that You may accept these offerings today, spiritual and material; that You may multiply them and bring them to abundance; and Father that You may guide us through every wave, and every wind that comes against us. Father, may You let us hold on to Your grace, and Your mercy, as You are the Rock of our salvation!

We thank You so much, and pray all of these things with gratitude, in our own names, as Central Blessed Families. We pray these things before You and True Parents, Aju!

Notes:

Isaiah, chapter 26

1: In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: "We have a strong city;
he sets up salvation
as walls and bulwarks.

2: Open the gates,
that the righteous nation which keeps faith
may enter in.

3: Thou dost keep him in perfect peace,
whose mind is stayed on thee,
because he trusts in thee.

4: Trust in the LORD for ever,
for the LORD GOD
is an everlasting rock.

5: For he has brought low
the inhabitants of the height,
the lofty city.
He lays it low, lays it low to the ground,
casts it to the dust.

6: The foot tramples it,
the feet of the poor,
the steps of the needy."

7: The way of the righteous is level;
thou dost make smooth the path of the righteous.

8: In the path of thy judgments,
O LORD, we wait for thee;
thy memorial name
is the desire of our soul.

9: My soul yearns for thee in the night,
my spirit within me earnestly seeks thee.
For when thy judgments are in the earth,
the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.

10: If favor is shown to the wicked,
he does not learn righteousness;
in the land of uprightness he deals perversely
and does not see the majesty of the LORD.

11: O LORD, thy hand is lifted up,
but they see it not.
Let them see thy zeal for thy people, and be ashamed.
Let the fire for thy adversaries consume them.

12: O LORD, thou wilt ordain peace for us,
thou hast wrought for us all our works.

13: O LORD our God,
other lords besides thee have ruled over us,
but thy name alone we acknowledge.

14: They are dead, they will not live;
they are shades, they will not arise;
to that end thou hast visited them with destruction
and wiped out all remembrance of them.

15: But thou hast increased the nation, O LORD,
thou hast increased the nation; thou art glorified;
thou hast enlarged all the borders of the land.

16: O LORD, in distress they sought thee,
they poured out a prayer
when thy chastening was upon them.

17: Like a woman with child,
who writhes and cries out in her pangs,
when she is near her time,
so were we because of thee, O LORD;

18: we were with child, we writhed,
we have as it were brought forth wind.
We have wrought no deliverance in the earth,
and the inhabitants of the world have not fallen.

19: Thy dead shall live, their bodies shall rise.
O dwellers in the dust, awake and sing for joy!
For thy dew is a dew of light,
and on the land of the shades thou wilt let it fall.

20: Come, my people, enter your chambers,
and shut your doors behind you;
hide yourselves for a little while
until the wrath is past.

21: For behold, the LORD is coming forth out of his place
to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity,
and the earth will disclose the blood shed upon her,
and will no more cover her slain.