Sun Myung Moon
February 27, 1977
Belvedere, New York
Translator-Bo Hi Pak
The topic of the message this morning is "The Will of God and Individual Perfection." Men fundamentally desire to know what the will of God is, and actually the answer is quite simple. The will of God is to consummate the purpose of creation.
Then where is the will of God consummated and who will do it? God Himself? No. When we talk about the consummation of the will of God some object is required. God's will cannot be consummated just within Himself, but rather in relation to others. If this is true, who will play the major role? At the time of creation Adam and Eve were supposed to be in the object position to God to consummate the purpose of creation.
Actually their perfection would have accomplished this. The purpose of creation is fulfilled by the establishment of the heavenly four position foundation. Therefore the will of God requires not just God Himself, but more particularly requires man for its consummation. The problem remaining today is to perfect Adam and Eve, which will finally consummate the purpose of creation. Consequently, individual perfection and the will of God are one and the same and cannot be separated.
Let us focus on "I," the individual. Have you ever thought about your position relative to perfection? How far are you from perfection? The center of a circle, which is equally distant from the edge in any direction, represents the original perfected position. Then where are you in relation to it? How far are you off from this ideal central position?
How far was man brought away from that central point by the fall of man? Billions of people have been born since the fall, and human history has developed in a circular pattern away from the central point. Consequently a wandering life with men trying to come back to the center from all different directions has been the characteristic of man's history. One person may think that one point is his destination, while other people may circle around another particular point. They all misunderstand where the true center is.
Our ancestors all have different characteristics; one branch of our family may have developed in one direction, while another ancestral line may have gone in another direction, but we are the fruit of that entire ancestry. Since our ancestral origins are so different, our positions as their fruit cannot be identical. Not only does everyone have different individual characteristics, but we all have varied spiritual heritages. God is a God of justice, equality and fairness. From God's point of view, since each individual has different ancestry, can God really say, "All men are equal. In my sight everyone is absolutely equal"? Is that a correct concept?
If there had been no fall of man, then certainly the value of every person would have been equal. The precious value of man would not have changed from one person to another, but because of the fall every man has gone through an entirely different course in his life of wandering. As a result of man's widely varied behavior, two drastic consequences came into being: one is called heaven, and the other hell. Between heaven and hell there are thousands and thousands of different levels of accomplishment, like different ranks.
The accumulated goodness of a particular ancestral line places a person here on earth somewhere between heaven and hell. The consequences of your own life as well as your ancestors' lives accumulate good or evil. We have thousands of different levels of accomplishment here on earth which will be reflected in the spirit world. There are as many levels or different ranks existing in spirit world as there are here on earth.
You do not know much about spirit world now, but when you understand its makeup you will recognize the thousands of different levels of accomplishment, from the worst kind of evil existence to the highest, most divine existence of spiritual perfection. If a person is standing at the bottom, knowing that he has a millennium ahead of him to reach just a mediocre level, do you think he will have much incentive to strive toward the goal? No, human desire is created when a person can see both his own position and the most glorious goal clearly. Then that person will have a desire to progress toward that goal.
Once a person sees the goal he wants to reach it, but first he must realize why he is at his present point instead of at the goal. A person standing apart from God's ideal central point has fallen to a position far, far distant from God; then where will his solution originate, from his present position or from God's central point?
This state of being far from God came as a result of man's behavior during his physical life and reflects what his character was on earth. Therefore, the solution must come through men here on earth. In the spirit world it is too late; once a person goes over to the spirit world his most fundamental problem is that he can no longer work freely here on earth, and yet he cannot expect to make spiritual progress without working through this earthly world.
In order to progress, the entire spirit world must make a certain relationship with the physical world; however, it is not easy for the two worlds to intermingle and for spirits to come down. The thousands of different levels in spirit world came into being as a result of fallen history. The fall of Adam and Eve here on earth brought this reality to the spirit world.
Who then, is ultimately responsible for this tragic situation? This situation came into being because of the fall of Adam and Eve. All mankind came into suffering because of the misbehavior of Adam, so one man is responsible for the suffering of mankind, both on earth and in the spirit world. Who is the next person responsible for this situation? There is no question about it: Satan.
Furthermore, since a parent is responsible for the behavior of his child, God as the father, the creator of Adam also has to take responsibility for Adam's actions. Mortal, fallen Adam is incapable of bringing himself or mankind back to perfection; only God has that power. Therefore, God must lead the way and guide Adam and the people into perfection. God has to take that responsibility.
God's throne is in the highest possible heaven. However, God gave up His throne and came all the way down to the bottom of hell. There God Himself pioneered each step toward the accomplishment of perfection; and He has been pulling and pushing mankind through each step. By whom is God's will fulfilled? By man.
When God comes down to the lowest part of this world, can He say, "I don't care about you; I don't need you. I can fulfill My will alone"? No, that is impossible because man is the most important component in fulfilling the will of God. Therefore God has to embrace man. God will instruct man, but only in accordance with the possibility of his acceptance or his level of understanding. In other words, God cannot teach the highest possible truth to men with inadequate awareness.
God's methods of teaching and guidance differ according to each man's perception. When God first came down to this earth, he saw nothing but primitive tribes who did not know anything about the world or the universe. Their understanding of the universe was so small and trivial that they were only aware of themselves, but God still had a method for teaching them. In Shamanism, for example, God only asked the people to worship the creation-the trees, the sun, the moon-things they could relate to. Would God tell simple people to come to a classroom to hear a lecture at a blackboard?
God also has all the knowledge and wisdom necessary to teach a person who could perceive the universe; however there are certain limitations which prevent God from teaching man all the time. This universe and this earth are turning every moment of the day. Similarly, the human mind is also turning so that there are both days and nights in our consciousness. God can reveal His teachings only when a person's mind is in the daylight-in other words when a person's mind is uplifted. Only in those moments can God capture and teach him.
Your mind is the same. No individual's mind travels in a straight line. Instead, your mind progresses in waves, up and down. Do you feel it? Some days you wake up and feel like a million dollars and you are almost flying, but some days you are so gloomy that you can hardly make yourself wake up completely.
When your spirit is uplifted and shining, you are ready to contact the spirit world and God, and a spark can jump between God's spirit and your spirit. That is why we have to strive very hard to be bright and happy all the time. When you keep your spirit uplifted all the time you can meet God, for which you can be truly thankful. This is the most basic and important mode of life of men who reach God. If you have something troubling you then somehow take care of it right away.
Why should you make efforts concerning your own behavior or way of life? By doing so, you are opening yourself more to God, prolonging the length of time in which you can meet God. In that way there is more chance that God can approach you. For this reason religious life is very important in our spiritual progress. Following a religious life is your effort to make yourself more readily available to receive God's revelations. In religious life we always pursue hope for the future in God, always seeing a grandiose future ahead even though the present has only suffering. In this way you can create an environment, an atmosphere where you can meet God.
When you are deeply troubled in your heart, don't you want to go to a good friend and talk about it to get it off your chest? Religion stresses communication with God; it stresses trusting Him with our problems and forgetting about them. You can say, "God, I have a problem here. Let me get it out, and let You see it so I can get rid of it." That is best, really. Your best friend may not be capable of helping you and may eventually forget your situation, but God is capable and will never forget.
Spirit world and God will always approach you when your awareness is high. Then the spirit and God can touch you and teach you, not with a blackboard in a lecture room, but in dreams, visions and revelations. Also a spirit guide may take you on a guided tour and open the reality of the spirit world to you. Since dreams are one medium that God uses to reveal Himself, some dreams may give important revelations.
There is only one way that a higher spirit can contact you. Why is that? Because of the fall of man we belong to the satanic lineage or bloodline. When we move, that satanic blood circulates through our bodies. This stained or fallen blood is not pure. However, when you sleep at night your body is not in motion so your blood does not circulate as rapidly. It can be compared to muddy water which is sitting still, allowing the dirt to settle to the bottom and pure water to come to the top. This same kind of phenomenon happens when we sleep; our bodies quiet down and in that way our spirit is in a position to be touched, which is why revelations usually come at night. This is common sense; it may be new to you, but in religious life these experiences are very important.
If you have many different dreams, do you know how to distinguish whether they are from god or from Satan? A satanic dream does not have a clear picture, direction, or central theme. In Korean slang we call these "dog dreams." They are jumbled and when you get up you easily forget them. In contrast, a heavenly dream has a system and a clear theme or message. Heavenly dreams may continue a message from one dream to the next. When you have an uplifting dream three times or more, with the same theme or atmosphere, then you must receive it as a revelation. A heavenly dream will be so clear in your mind that when you get up you will recall it vividly. Do you know why?
To begin with, God and men were supposed to be completely united for eternity. In that true atmosphere, if God gave you something you would not soon forget it. Because satanic relationships are illicit and unprincipled, however, they are quickly forgotten. Those who are in constant contact with the spirit of God and the good spirit world cannot be swayed by the temptation of Satan. Such people have an unforgettable relationship with God. Even though they may go down to the dungeons of hell, Satan could not claim them because they would still be deeply meditating on God's revelation. Over 70% of the revelations recorded in the Bible came through the medium of dreams. Did you know that?
A most important revelation came in the New Testament. After Mary conceived the baby Jesus, an angel appeared one night to Joseph, saying, "Joseph, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit." In the Old Testament Jacob's eleventh son, Joseph, once told his parents about a dream, in which the sun, the moon and eleven stars came and bowed down to him. This little boy vividly recalled his dream. Later on Joseph became the Prime Minister of Egypt and his father and mother, who were represented by the sun and moon in the dream, and his eleven brothers, the stars, came and bowed down to him.
There is no one completely without dreams, but usually people forget them. If there is some vivid, unusual dream that you remembered for more than three years, however, I want you to know that such a dream is a revelation, the work of God. Many people have had revelations about coming to the Unification Church far before they ever heard about me. Maybe some Oriental man in white robes appeared and sprinkled water on them, and three years later they found out that he was Reverend Moon.
Why do these phenomena have to occur? The spirit world is descending and trying to teach you, and as a result there are many distinct types of messages; sometimes God Himself comes, or the spirit of Jesus, or a noble spirit. Sometimes your ancestors will appear, or even some evil spirit. Therefore, it is not always easy for you to determine how true their messages are.
We need the help of the spirit world, but unless we know the principles governing it we can be misled and confused by it. Today many people are suffering from psychological disturbances. These phenomena are very prevalent in today's world because the lower realms of spirit world are also assaulting the physical world, trying to affect people on earth in one way or another, and lower realm spirits always have an adverse effect on people. These spirits from unprincipled realms are trying to assist you with good intentions, but in reality they can destroy you, or at least disturb you. Conversely, good spirits from higher realms can guide and assist you since they bring divine truth and power.
That is going on right now in our world. Today many psychologists and professors are extensively studying dreams, but they cannot determine their cause. Some people insist that all dreams are a manifestation of our subconscious, but those kinds of dreams are not from God and therefore are quickly forgotten. The significant, vivid dreams from God are never expected, and often are not even related to familiar things. All of a sudden some dramatic event will occur in a dream, something that cannot be forgotten. That is the intervention of the spirit world.
Sometimes we pray all night or we make an effort to quietly meditate. In that effort to make ourselves calm, to concentrate on the spirit world and God, our pure spiritual nature can surface, and our foreign, dirty elements will settle to the bottom. This is similar to a state of sleep, yet we are wide awake. For instance, when we are really tired, almost on the verge of sleep but still awake, we can still hear sounds and see things, but not clearly. That is similar to meditation. In that moment when we are half asleep and half awake, a vision can come. It is a wonderful opportunity for God to reveal a clear vision to us.
We emphasize the discipline of prayer, particularly night vigils for long hours, to quiet our bodies down and to increase our spiritual alertness, allowing God to speak to us very clearly and to manifest Himself in visions. Later on, when you are disciplined in that practice you will be able to see visions with your eyes open. When you sit down to pray, suddenly you will see visions and hear voices. With your ears you will hear two kinds of sounds from two different worlds.
We call this practice religious discipline. When the fund raisers get tired from working so hard, heaven can open up and show them astonishing things as they are momentarily dozing in the van. Even in one second God can reveal to them ten years of history or give some forewarning. In the Unification Church this is almost an everyday diet.
We have dual systems within our bodies; one deals with the physical world, another with the spirit world. I could go on talking like this about the spirit world for days and nights but it is so fascinating that you would not come back down to earth, and this service would never end. We still have to talk about the main topic of individual perfection, but it is important to have a basic understanding of the spirit world, too.
In the lower realms there are many multitudes of spirit men that God has been working to bring up to a higher level. In order to do that God will raise up one prophet or one central figure to open the path. That is the pattern God follows. The person selected by God is a pathfinder who can lay a superhighway for all the people dwelling in those lower realms and thereby free them to go to a higher level. We call that person a prophet.
God's prophet, however, is not a spirit man; God always picks a pioneer here on earth. That person works first in the lowest, most primitive realms here so that when he opens the path, everybody will be benefited and become recipients of his accomplishment. When people elevate themselves to a higher level on earth they can live in a higher realm of spirit world.
Spirit men from all the realms of the spirit world will come down to earth to assist and inspire individuals here to follow God's central person and thus be able to benefit from his spiritual accomplishment. By assisting in that way spirit men can reap the same benefit. The key to man's situation is here on earth; whatever we loose here on earth shall be loosed in heaven. In spirit world there is no solution; spirit men have to work through this physical world to receive salvation.
At the time of the Second Advent all spirit men must manifest themselves once again here on earth and assist people with the same level of life as they have. By helping people on earth to progress to a higher level they too can reap the same result. Some religions, such as Buddhism, have a theory of reincarnation. However, in Divine Principle we know that a person has no way to reincarnate. Buddha cannot become another Buddha here on earth, but that Buddha can appear in spirit and assist people of the same spiritual level. Some people mistake this phenomenon for reincarnation, but reincarnation itself is not possible.
Sometimes a spirit man influences an individual so much that he even behaves like that spirit manlike Buddha or Confucius, for example. People may think that the individual is the reincarnation of Buddha, but actually it is only the spirit of Buddha assisting him. In order to further develop man's spiritual progress, God handpicked numerous prophets to extend the highway. That is how God has made spiritual progress possible for all mankind.
When God looks down He sees only one world. In God's eyes then, His prophets come for the entire world. Whether the prophet happens to be an Oriental, an Indian or a black does not make any difference. When God picks one champion to pioneer one stage of progress, that person is sent to assist the whole world. God considers it unnecessary to choose dozens of champions for different places because God sees only one world.
Eventually, therefore, one central figure will come who can organize one world religion having the power to unite all the religions with lesser degrees of accomplishment. Their dimmer lights will blend in with the one higher, brighter light. Ultimately, God will choose one great pioneer who can finish the superhighway all the way from the bottom to the top, and through that all the world religions can be united.
God calls that pioneer the Messiah. The Messiah is the central prophet who is needed by everyone; he is what you call in English a "panacea," a cure-all. The Messiah comes as a religious leader, but as a universal religious leader, not representing just one particular religion. He has the capacity to embrace all the religions of the universe. The Messiah has a clear purpose in coming to this earth; He is to fulfill the will of God which was broken by the failure of Adam. He knows that once Adam's mission is completed here on earth, then the will of God will also be consummated.
Who is Adam then? Adam is the ancestor of mankind. Because of the fall of man we have had only evil, Satan-centered ancestors. The Messiah is coming to indemnity all the failures of the world and to eliminate man's satanic origin. Without compromising he will just wipe it away and start the first central family of God. The Messiah has a very clear-cut mission: He is to liquidate the world of the fall and bring back the world without sin. He is coming as the true ancestor of God-centered mankind. When the Messiah is installed here on earth, then mankind will reach its greatest fulfillment. All the levels of the spirit world will come down, wanting to reap the benefit of that time. This is why the entire spirit world will descend at the time of the Messiah.
The vertical differences between men will manifest on the horizontal level as the most devoted people gather closest to the Messiah, and level after level of people will surround him. No matter how low you are in spirit world, if you happen to recognize the Messiah and assist in his crusade, when the Messiah consummates his mission you will have the privilege of being elevated all the way to the top of heaven. The coming of the Messiah provides a gigantic gold mine of opportunity.
Even though spirit men may be in the dungeons of hell, there is room for them to be rescued and to receive the Messiah's light in that world of darkness. The power of the Messiah can penetrate everywhere. Once they perceive it and cooperate, then even the very lowest spirit in hell will have his chance to reach perfection.
The ideology of the Messiah is an ideology of equality. It is fair to everyone. The Messiah does not say, "You are not qualified; do not come to me." Since God does not discriminate, the Messiah, too, will embrace everyone, but everything depends on how people receive him. That makes the difference. The Messiah himself does not discriminate but the Principle clearly indicates that only the person who unites with the Messiah can be restored.
The Messiah lays a highway from the very bottom of hell all the way to the top of heaven, in order that any person who takes advantage of that highway can go from the lowest hell all the way to the top of heaven. The Messiah, therefore, comes first to the lowest realm of human misery. He gives his entire life to the accomplishment of his mission, and if we are united with him there is nothing that is impossible. Many Christians teach that the Messiah is returning in glory in the air, to uplift only a handful of Christians and start the millennium somewhere. That is a fantasy and only those who do not know the spirit world would believe something like that. That will not happen. You will understand clearly what I am teaching when we are all in spirit world some day.
If you ask spirit men why they want to come down and bother you, they will not have a reason. Do you know why they come down or not? They are descending to earth because they want to progress to perfection, and it is impossible unless they come down to assist physical people. Whether they were well-known persons or just good men, whatever their level may have been, they still have to act within this law. There are no exceptions.
The Messiah is the greatest pioneer of all. He has the power to unite the spirit world, yet he must work here on earth and create a parallel situation because the earth has priority, The Messiah's role must first be accomplished here on earth in order to have effect in the spirit world. The Messiah's pioneering task starts with his individual perfection here on earth and then continues on the level of the family, the tribe, the nation, the world and the universe. While the Messiah is fulfilling each level, parallel events happen in the spirit world. His same pioneering task clears up the past confusion and brings unity and harmony there too.
The ultimate fulfillment comes right in the center of the cosmos; however, mankind cannot go there instantly. History has been a course of struggle, always circling the central point but coming closer and closer. Finally the Messiah will establish the cosmic center on the individual, family, tribal, national and worldwide levels. God's ultimate world is one world, yet right now two ideological worlds are confronting each other: the communist world, and the democratic world. One accepts God while the other denies Him. In the future the world will not be either communist or democratic, but one world under God. Having these two worlds is only one step away from having one world, and these two will eventually become one.
When you think of individual perfection, do not think of it in a selfish way. If a person is just standing here claiming individual perfection, it is irrelevant; perfection has to begin with the central point of the universe and be connected with the rest of the world as well as with God. When standing in that center you are perfected, but without relationships with the universe and God, do not even think about perfection.
We are the center of the universe; therefore, by being perfected ourselves we will perfect the universe. Universal perfection and our own perfection come simultaneously. Everyone has an ambition to become a world-renowned person, the center of the world, isn't that true? We have this desire because each one of us can fulfill it. When we become one with God then we indeed become the center of the universe.
All human desire and ambition is fulfilled by reaching this ultimate target of unity with God; the search for Him has been the constant effort of humanity throughout history. God is absolute; therefore, universal unity is possible. As people unite with God, each one will stand in the position of God.
When you see the entire spirit world and physical world together they look like one human being, one man. God also is like an invisible man. When these two men, God and the spirit world and physical world, really embrace each other, that is heaven. They embrace each other in harmony, breathing, dancing, and jumping around together. That is God's world, God's ideal.
In the sight of God each individual is like a cell of that giant human. Each one of you is a cell, yet however small you are, every other cell is still connected to your life. When you look at a little cell on the tip of your finger you are a giant in comparison to it, yet you still deal with that one cell on a one-to-one basis. Each cell has a right to claim, "However small I may be, I have one vote, and you, big man, you have only one vote too." You are like one tiny cell, only one portion of the entire universal body, yet when you deal with the universe you are on a one-to-one basis and you can claim your rightful vote.
Blood is circulating throughout your whole body, going down to the very tip of your foot, which is normally in a dark, sweaty, smelly area. When that blood comes to the brain, will the brain say to those blood cells, "You went down to those smelly feet; don't come near me"? In the same way we circulate through the entire universe. Race is disregarded; whether you are black, or yellow or white does not make any difference when you are circulating through the entire universe of God, from top to bottom.
Can the parts of the body be prejudiced about color? Can red blood dislike black hair, or white nails dislike yellow skin? There is no way the body can be segregated. The entire spirit world and entire physical world together are like one giant human. Every one is an important component in making up that giant. The holy men or saints of history have been in the roles of the eyeball or the brain and so forth, but even though they have had important roles, they are still only components of that one giant human.
Hell in the spirit world is like an infected wound which is corrupted and decaying in the physical body, Do you think God wants hell to exist for eternity? If you had a wound what would you do? You would mend it, clean it up, and bring it back to its original shape. In the same way God wants to clean up hell and get rid of it by purifying it. That is the will of God.
When the Messiah comes those in the highest realm of spirit world come down to earth first, followed by successively lower realms. When the spirit and physical worlds work together to expand the ideal of God to all four corners of the earth, then the will of God will be consummated here on earth. That will be the Kingdom of God.
Once this spiritual door is completely open and the highway to the top of the spirit world is finished, then Satan will have no power to accuse man before God ever again. This is why I made such a momentous declaration at the celebration of the True Parents' birthday. I knew that all these things had been consummated in spirit world, and now all that remains is to copy my success there and bring it to the earth. When you come to the Unification Church ideology, you become a giant in your thinking and your goal becomes big. You say, "We must liberate heaven and earth." We must have that kind of feeling to become part of God and to liberate heaven and earth.
Who are all the people of humanity? You are one cell and every human being is another cell, another "you," all parts of the same body. How then can you fight with another "you?" Your perfection is important, but what about your other "you?" It must be perfected, too. The most noble desire is to want to give up your own individual perfection, your own cell, in order to have the rest of the cells live. That attitude is the quickest way to bring the Kingdom of God on earth.
For whom are you working? For whom are you trying so hard? Are you employed by the Unification Church and working for Reverend Moon? Are you working for God? Most important, are you working for your own perfection? It is for your own perfection that you are trying to reach down into hell and to reach out to the entire world. Because your own perfection is also the perfection of God's will, you have no way to complain.
In the Unification Church we work hard, no question about it, but we are not enslaved. Outside people think I am enslaving you young people, but in reality this is the only opportunity you have to work for your own perfection and the perfection of the universe. While there have been 6,000 Biblical years of fallen history, you can hope to live not more than 70 to 100 years. Compared to eternity, or even to those 6,000 years, your life is but a brief spark.
Adam and Eve were like the seed of the universe which contained the ideal of one family, one tribe, one nation, and one world. But because of the fall of man, the entire world has been contaminated. Now it is a very difficult job to cleanse the world. Not only one man, but billions of men are infected,
Our job is enormous because we are not dealing with that original seed; we are dealing with the contaminated world and isolating the contamination is not easy. One by one we must change everyone into the form of the original cell, the original seed of Adam. We must individually become a seed with that original, God-centered core, and then that core shall multiply in a chain reaction.
In order for us to embody truth or perfection, we must reach out and draw vitality from all over the world, just like fruit on a tree. To be perfected that little fruit at the end of a branch draws energy not only from that little branch, but from the entire tree. Like that fruit we are the fruit of the end of the world and our energy must come from the entire world, We are not just dealing with one area of the universe; our view is that we must draw energy from the entire universe in order to become perfected. Then out of our own core, our own seed, we can regenerate or recreate our own family, society, nation and world, having nothing to do with sin.
In the Unification Church we are dealing with the world. We will tackle the world's problems and make them ours. We must have the pride to say, "The world will be perfected because of me since I am a branch of the Messiah; I am one important component of the Messiah's work." Do you have that kind of conviction and pride?
You can be like God. You can look at God's will as your will, God's work as your work, God's anxiety as your anxiety, and God's ambition as your ambition. When God looks at this world, is it small or big in His eyes? For God this world is even smaller than a ping-pong ball. He can toss it, grab it, put it in His pocket; He can do anything He wants with it. That is the way you can feel. You can look at this world and say, " I can put this world in my pocket. I can claim it; I can cleanse it; I can toss it around."
Since you are looking at the world from God's point of view, you are perceiving God's will and God's ideal as your own. You can say, "This world will move because of me. I will move the universe. Our adversaries take certain sentences from my speeches out of context and they tell people, "Reverend Moon says he will conquer the universe." What they have not realized is that not only I but every member of the Unification Church is saying that!
Without this kind of gigantic conviction we cannot move this world. Suppose there were no God. Even if there were no God, we would still need the idea of God because this is the only way we can unite the world. If only in hypothesis, we would have to create some concept like God in order to unify the world. Since we are sure that there is God, however, we can be even more sure that unity is going to be fulfilled. Our real joy is that there is a God. If we are really feeling that way and perceiving His ideal on earth, then there is no way to fail.
When you realize that there is a real God, then you do not have to wait for instructions to do certain things. If God is real then you just go ahead because what needs to be done is obvious. Our MFT works very hard, but nobody tells them to do so. They could leave any time, but they do not run away because this work is very real, because God is really there and they do not want to be separated from Him. They do not want to lose this wonderful opportunity.
Think of it. You can productively employ your life here on earth for only 60 years. How can you waste even one second out of those 60 years? This is your only opportunity. The world is wide and billions of people are waiting. How can you waste even one split second? This is precisely how I feel and why I came to America to try to push this country. My time is so precious because I must do everything now.
At least one thing is sure: whether for good or bad, I have shaken America. Everybody knows about me. You can go out to the streets of New York and grab one little boy and even he will know about me. However, most people know very little. They know my name, Reverend Moon, but they have absolutely no idea what I am all about. Those adversaries who spread rumors and allegations and press stories really know nothing abut me. If they really knew me they would be the first group to come at 3 o'clock in the morning, trying to take your seats.
They oppose me because they are greedy, and in another way they are ambitious. Ambitious people are all right; we need ambitious people but they have to know the right thing to do. Actually it is God's strategy to spread negative rumors and allegations. He wants only those people who are genuinely determined to give their lives for the sake of God to come to Belvedere. You are that group.
When outside people say, "Don't go to the Unification Church. Reverend Moon is evil and the Unification Church is a terrible place, you will ruin your life," they are actually advertising for us. Good people have been so deeply disappointed by things in this world after hearing such good publicity about them, that when they hear bad things about me they may think, "There must be something there; otherwise these people would not oppose him so fanatically. I must investigate for myself." When our adversaries try to discredit us God feels challenged too, "All right, since you're making Reverend Moon look so bad, I'll prove to the world that Reverend Moon is good." Then God will make an extra effort to polish His own commodity and show it to the world.
We can conclude that the person who is honestly searching for the truth of God should knock at the door of a group that is being persecuted. From that point of view, have you ended up in the right place or the wrong place?
If I said that because of you people I am being persecuted and cursed, and I chased you out the front door, you would just come back in through the rear door. I feel the same way. My life here on earth is very limited, and in this short span of time I have tremendous work to do so I do not want to waste even a split second. I just run, run, run. I am responsible not only for America, but also for Europe, Africa, South America, the Middle East, and Asia. I am worrying about the whole communist world. I have the whole world to worry about in the short span of one lifetime, so I am always running.
Because my physical body is limited I sent out missionaries to 120 nations. The people in the physical world and the spirit world have a right to protest or complain to me if I do not visit their countries for at least three months. They can say to me, "You have the mission to bring salvation to us and to the universe. Why did you stay in America for so long? Why didn't you come to visit my country just once?"
However, here on earth I have physical limitations. If I were to visit 120 nations of the world for three months each, it would take 360 months to come back to the United States. Just to make one visit around the world with three months in each country would take 30 years! Is it realistically possible?
I had to tell spirit world, "You know it would take 30 years to visit each country, and I have to finish an important ministry in certain places." Then spirit world said, "You are right. You cannot make such a tour, but then at least send your representatives." I accepted that offer from spirit world and sent the missionaries out to 127 nations. However, some of these nations instead of welcoming them, persecuted our missionaries and put them in jail. But the fact remains that my representatives have been sent. If those nations did not accept them that is their responsibility. Now no one can accuse me of being unconcerned about those nations.
Furthermore, I am well-known, not only here in America, but all over the world. Even though I was not physically in every nation to proclaim the truth, my name and work has still been spread all over the world, fulfilling the necessary condition. Now I am in a position to accuse those nations. I sent my ambassadors, my representative,,, to those countries, and they have heard about me. If those people never even listened to us, how can they say that we have not done our part? They must not judge us without investigating the situation, listening only to allegations and rumors. They must draw their own conclusions. If people just accept rumors without investigating us, they are in the wrong.
Whether as good or bad, whether as controversial or not, I am known all over the world. Now I can say that I have done my job, and I am free from any accusation of the people. Now I am putting responsibility into their hands. They cannot complain to God that I did not declare the truth to them. There is no condition for accusation existing. Satan has no way to accuse and the people have no way to accuse. If they come to oppose me even more, the condition exits for God to let us reap more and more blessings. They must pay the penalty. I am in a position to bring a libel suit against Satan, "What you have done is character assassination, and now you must pay the penalty."
The amazing thing is that the people who oppose me, including the media, are actually helping the Unification Church to receive greater blessing. If 1 had not been opposed in the most horrendous way by the Washington Post and the New York Times, we would not have created our own newspaper, the news World. We would not have needed it. Therefore, they brought us the blessing of the News World.
Accusation coming from the white community in America gives a chance to all the minority groups to come, which is a blessing. Any accusation or opposition is matched by equal blessing. Because most of the white community is opposing me, the black people are coming to take my side in indignation at my being mistreated. But actually, as far as I am concerned, white and black are the same in the sight of God.
Now you understand the will of God and individual perfection. Then who is your enemy? Satan is not your enemy; you are your own enemy. Are your mind and body one in serving God? Which is more difficult, unification of the entire universe or of your own mind and body? First you must have unification between your mind and body and then with this principle you can certainly unify the rest of the world. The key to the unification of the entire universe is not the universe itself, but you. Then who is your enemy? Your own eyes and ears, your nose, mouth, your thoughts, those are your enemies.
You must recreate your eyes, ears, nose and mouth, and your arms and legs so that you can live entirely for God and His will. That is your revolution. Within yourself is the borderline between the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Hell; those two worlds meet in you. If you move to the left, you end up in hell; if you move to the right, you end up in the Kingdom of God. Many people start out on this borderline but shift to the left, all the way down to the dungeons of hell. However, some people keep pushing themselves to the right until they are entirely dwelling on the side of God. But a third type of people cannot make up their own minds and just wander along the line, always with one foot on either side. In the Unification Church there are these three types of members. Your conscience knows well which type you are.
Which would you like to be? It is not easy to become the right type. You have to change yourself 180 degrees. Your eyes have to be revolutionized. Your eyes have been seeing something beautiful and have been lustful, always wandering around. Your new eyes will see straight to the will of God. Your ears have to be revolutionized, and your mouth, nose, hands-your whole body must become entirely different. This is the reason why any true religious teaching will be ruthless in disciplining your body. In a way it is ruthless and cruel. Religion always teaches the value of an ascetic, self-sacrificial way of life because Satan can only be separated when you are cruel to your own self. The important question is: Can you do it?
If you really want to go to the Kingdom of God you must start by going down to the dungeon of human misery, to hell, and there create you own spring, your own heaven. Then your heaven is guaranteed. Is this world in which we live a world of paradise or a world of misery? In order to change the miserable confusion of this chaotic world into the Kingdom of God, do you only have to sing and have a good time, to go on picnics with good drinks and laugh, to having an easy life? Will that make the world less miserable?
To bring some hope and happiness to this unhappy, chaotic world, you have to conquer misery and unhappiness. That means you have to taste the bottom of human misery; you have to lead an even more miserable life for the sake of happiness, for the sake of God. That is the only way you can liberate the misery of the world. If that does not work, then you do not have to worry any more-in that case there is no God, no future, no hope, no spirit world, no nothing.
I came to this conclusion a long time ago and I determined to liberate this unhappy world. In order to do that I determined to bring myself down to the most miserable life, and to bring about the liberation there. What can bring hope and light and some promise for the future down to that miserable world? The person who can live a real life down on the bottom himself is the person who can bring real happiness that people can rely on. People can trust that kind of life.
The saints, holy men, and the pious people of history all struggled under miserable circumstances. They are not famous or historical for their relaxed, fun lives. The patriots remembered in American history are those who tasted the misery of the nation's tragedy, who tried to solve the tragedy by putting themselves at the very bottom of the nation's misery. God's children are the ones who are trying to bring light to the very bottom of human misery.
What would be gained by doing so? Such people become magnets who pull their surroundings into unity; they create harmony and unification around themselves. Jesus was crucified on the cross, but even on the cross he blessed his own enemies; he asked forgiveness for them and was concerned with their well-being even when he was in terrible pain. It was there that he left the greatest hope for humanity.
I am in the same position. This world, particularly the United States, is not kind to me, but that has never mattered. I have my own course to go, mapped out by God, and I am busy fulfilling it. If I pay too much attention to happenings outside I will lose my chance and this precious time will be lost. Instead of trying to avoid suffering, I just confront it and stand face to face with God, even when more suffering is given. I think that there is nothing I cannot do in order to accomplish the will of God. I can go on, no matter what.
This is how I have been able to accomplish so much in just a few years. If you can have courage even at the very bottom of human suffering, if you can lift up your chin and present yourself to God as His son or daughter, then you have made your foundation for individual perfection. The person who can conquer the misery of the world shall be raised up and receive the key to open the storehouse of God's blessing and God's love. That is my ideology and that is God's ideology.
God is sending His champion to the satanic world. There is human opposition everywhere but God wants His champion to fight the most bold and courageous battle and to win in a dramatic way. God's champion should not be engaged in a trivial or pitiful battle, but should win a dramatic victory. I have already given up my life for this.
To achieve your individual perfection you have to go over that hill and engage in this battle. I do not want older Unification members to think that younger members should be doing most of the hard work, like privates in the army, so that older members can rest. I never think of myself as a general. When I look at those older members I sometimes think that I would have a different attitude than theirs. Parental love is such that no matter how old the parent is, he wants to give his children everything, letting them rejoice over the things that they have. Parents want to rejoice over the happiness of their children. That is the heart and love of the True Parents.
Now I am sure you know who your enemy is. Do not ever think that Rabbi Davis or the New York Times is your enemy. You yourself are your worst enemy. All these negative forces surrounding you are helping you to remove your fallen nature. In that way they are assisting in your ministry. If you are strong, bold, and faithful, then anyone who opposes you will be a loser. The greater the intensity of their opposition, the greater will be your victory.
When you fund raisers put out your hand to receive money from the people, have you ever contemplated whose hand it is -- God's or Satan's? When you ask someone to contribute, you must bring the heart of God to him and think, "Heavenly Father, this person deserves some assistance from You. Let him give a contribution to me as Your representative so that he can participate in Your work." That is the way God feels.
When you experience rejection after rejection, all of a sudden you start to weep. But those are not your tears; rather God is crying through you. When the people are sympathetic to you and truly understand your mission, you inwardly feel uplifting joy, but that joy deep inside your heart is not your joy; that is God's joy. Even though you work until two o'clock in the morning, when you come back to the center you feel like flying because you feel the deep joy of God inside your heart. Unless I had tasted such depths of joy in the love of God, I would not have been able to continue my ministry.
You yourself are your worst enemy; always check yourself, your own eyes, your ears, your mouth, your idle body. You need strong self-discipline for three years and then a godly way of life will become your habit.
In the Unification Church we always emphasize the first three years' ministry as a very important regeneration period for remaking yourself. I know you fund raisers are very lonely people. You are out on the street with nobody to communicate with you. The people reject you, misunderstand you, curse you, and wound your hearts with harsh words. When You are lonely, all your memories of the past come alive and seem doubly precious; memories of your parents and home, friends, and wonderful experiences all come. You may recall such beautiful memories but the harsh reality of the world is standing in front of you and you feel caught in between. Particularly when your birthday or Christmas comes, I am sure that you question why you have to go through all that.
For most of my life I observed my birthday by fasting. For a long time I did not have a table to eat from and just ate whatever food was around; if there was no food to eat, then I just did not eat. A fork and spoon were a God-given luxury. When we think of emergencies that God is facing, then we realize that everything we have is a luxury. In my younger days I dressed in rags and literally lived at the bottom of hell.
All through my life my motto has been to ask for the conquest of myself before requesting the conquest or perfection of the universe. Before you can request dominion over the universe you must have dominion over yourself. I have even trained myself to not laugh if someone tickles me. Even such a detail is part of my discipline.
Unless you can conquer yourself there will be no perfection of the universe. If someone speaks harshly to you, do not try to fight back but fight yourself instead. Do not point a finger at anyone but yourself. Satan does not think about the wrongs he commits but he always accuses loudly when other people make mistakes. Satan always looks for the shortcomings of others, but when God sees shortcomings in His own people He cannot even open His eyes or His mouth.
It is fallen nature to criticize or point a finger at someone else instead of taking personal responsibility. If you have the urge to blame someone else, then check it and turn your finger back to yourself instead. This year of 1977 is going to see a revolution of self-discipline in the Unification Church.
At our birthday celebration four days ago I announced that now Satan has no way to accuse you; however, you must control and discipline yourselves. Then as much as you discipline yourself, that same amount of grace will come from God. When your mind and body are united as plus and minus then they automatically become one. Because of the fall of man, however, your mind is plus and your body is also a plus; thus there can be no harmony between them. Two pluses always repel each other.
You must change your body to a minus and let your mind become a wider and wider plus. Our process of restoration is the elimination of the plus of our body. When you change the body's plus into minus then your mind and body become one. When you work with another person he is also a plus, but if he changes his personality and becomes a minus in order to unite with you, together you become an even bigger plus. Then you can find another, even bigger minus to unite with.
I stand in the center as a plus and you want to become one with me because you want to receive some benefit. In order to unite with me you must become a minus, but in uniting with me you become part of a giant plus with me. We can expand that plus even further by winning another area, and having it unite with us.
God is the king of wisdom and through this wise strategy of plus and minus uniting, God is going to eventually conquer and dominate the world. If the mind is plus and the body is also plus then the mind and body clash. That is truly the borderline between God and Satan. Satan's strongest fortress is not even your own family. Your body is Satan's most secure foothold.
Every satanic weapon is there in your body, while every heavenly weapon is in your mind. The borderline between the mind and body is the line of the confrontation between God and Satan. Therefore the mind must become aggressive and take the initiative to conquer the body. That is the work of religion. If you are brought down to the dungeons of hell, it is your body-not Satan-that did that. Your body could drag your eternal life down to hell. You would have your body to blame because of the fall of man. Mind and body were supposed to be one, with no contradiction and no disharmony between them. This year let us pledge to God that we will make our bodies become complete minuses, and one with our minds and with God.
Since a complete and perfected plus can always create a perfected minus, when you find one perfected plus you can also expect to find a perfected minus. If you become a perfected plus, then you will find that other people want to become minus to you. When you become a perfected plus, peoples' hearts and minds will be drawn to you and you will be unforgettable for them. That is the way perfection comes. Let us pray.