Ephesians 5
3But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people.4Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. 5For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.a 6Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. 7Therefore do not be partners with them.
Richard: Paul gives a clear expression of the need for sexual purity. This means no sex before marriage (and of course, no other kinds of sex outside of marriage), and being faithful to you spouse within Blessed marriage, that is ordained by God. I hope that you can attend our Relationship Intelligence Training Seminar on March 18th: http://urbanlifetraining.org/programs/relationship-intelligence-training/
Matthew 25
14“Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. 15To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag,a each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. 16The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. 17So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. 18But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.
19“After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. 20The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’
21“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’
22“The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’
23“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’
24“Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’
26“His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? 27Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.
28“ ‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. 29For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. 30And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
Richard: We need to be about building the Kingdom of God with the resources God has given us. According to our efforts God’s Kingdom will blossom.
Let Us Become a True Member of Jesus’ Family
Rev. Sun Myung Moon
October 18, 1957
Chung Pa Dong Church
Seoul, Korea
Matthew 10: 16-42
16“I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. 17Be on your guard; you will be handed over to the local councils and be flogged in the synagogues. 18On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles.19But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, 20for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
21“Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. 22You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. 23When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. Truly I tell you, you will not finish going through the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.
24“The student is not above the teacher, nor a servant above his master. 25It is enough for students to be like their teachers, and servants like their masters. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebul, how much more the members of his household!
26“So do not be afraid of them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. 27What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. 28Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 29Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care.b30And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
32“Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. 33But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.
34“Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35For I have come to turn
“ ‘a man against his father,
a daughter against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—
36a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’c
37“Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.38Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.
40“Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. 41Whoever welcomes a prophet as a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever welcomes a righteous person as a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. 42And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward.”
Prayer
Father, You toiled to awaken us even when You were subject to the power of Satan spread throughout this troubled earth. First, I would first like to offer my gratitude that You allowed us to seek You, and then bow down before You.
Please guide us to realize once more that we exist today, thanks to Your toil. The fact that we can claim ourselves to be Your children is due to Your infinite love.
Father, this evening as we are gathered to listen to Your words, I sincerely wish and desire for You to speak to Your beloved sons and daughters.
Today, this land is in a similar position to the 600,000 Israelites, who even after they had passed through the struggles against darkness in the forty-year wilderness course and the land of Canaan was before their very eyes, they could not follow Joshua and Caleb who came forth with strong determination to enter the land. Father, please speak to the people of this land, and let them realize this. As Heaven emphasized to Joshua and Caleb at that time to “be bold and strong,” please allow us to keep the same message in our hearts. Beloved Father, I sincerely wish and desire for this to be done.
Billions of satans are blocking our way with cruel tribulations, persecutions and paths of the cross to sweep us away and violate us. Please allow us to become sons and daughters with hearts of unchanging will, loyal subjects toward You of whom You can be proud. One step further, please guide us to become children who can pray, “The only living sacrifices we can offer You are our bodies and minds. Please accept these.” Beloved Father, I earnestly wish and desire for this to be done.
Father, we know You are concerned about us even now. Father, do not let even one life be dragged into darkness. We understand that the time when a song of glory sung for Your joy has drawn near. Please guide us so that none of us will be derailed from the right track due to a personal situation. Let us not be too inadequate to experience Your heart and the hearts of the many prophets and sages who have already passed away. Beloved Father, I sincerely wish and desire for this to be done.
Father, although we are not good enough before You, as we have gathered at this hour to repent of our past life and we aspire to come forth with a new determination and a new commitment, please allow us to become the children who can grope for the bosom of Your infinite love. Beloved Father, I sincerely wish and desire for this to be done.
You alone have dominion over the remaining hours of the service. Do not allow Satan to invade these hours. I also wish for You to protect us with Your glorious grace, and embrace us with Your hands of love. I pray all of this in the name of the Lord. Amen.
The words in Matthew 10 were given to the beloved disciples, who were about to leave and bear witness to Jesus for the first time. They were guided by Jesus, who had the final determination, with an important mission to lead battles against Satan on earth.
Through these words, we can understand that Jesus had infinite love and attachment toward his disciples, despite extremely sorrowful circumstances in his heart. On the other hand, when Jesus sent out his chosen disciples to spread the new words of blessing to the Israelites, we should understand that the situations and hearts of the disciples were pitiful. Yet, so were the anointed Jesus’ heart and situation.
You should understand also that these words were spoken by Jesus out of concern for his disciples. Although he wished for their victories in the battles against the billions of satans so that they could sing a song of glory to God, they could make a mistake during the process and thus cause Heaven to worry.