You Should Live According to Your Conscience

Genesis 9

God said to Noah and his sons:

I am giving you my blessing. Have a lot of children and grandchildren, so people will live everywhere on this earth. All animals, birds, reptiles, and fish will be afraid of you. I have placed them under your control, and I have given them to you for food. From now on, you may eat them, as well as the green plants that you have always eaten. But life is in the blood, and you must not eat any meat that still has blood in it. 5-6 I created humans to be like me, and I will punish any animal or person that takes a human life. If an animal kills someone, that animal must die. And if a person takes the life of another, that person must be put to death.

I want you and your descendants to have many children, so people will live everywhere on earth.

2 Chronicles 36

During Jehoiakim’s rule, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia invaded Judah. He arrested Jehoiakim and put him in chains, and he sent him to the capital city of Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar also carried off many of the valuable things in the Lord’s temple, and he put them in his palace in Babylon.

Everything else Jehoiakim did while he was king, including all the disgusting and evil things, is written in The History of the Kings of Israel and Judah. His son Jehoiachin then became king.


Let Us Fathom the Heart of Heaven
Rev. Sun Myung Moon
September 13, 1959

Matthew 10:24-39



There may be some people among you who are proud of themselves, but you should reflect upon yourselves and criticize yourselves objectively. Those who are proud will be defeated. Because this world is evil, those who are proud of themselves will meet such a fate. You should live according to your conscience. Those who try to lead their lives according to their consciences will rise up one day, after the era of evil people’s influence passes. Although this is a little-known fact, there will be living historical proof of this. The moment such an event takes place in Heaven and earth on the world scale, evil will recede and goodness will come.

Heaven sought us out. We human beings have been seeking for God for the last six thousand years. We thought that the desires God established were the true desires, that the salvation Jesus gave us was a complete salvation, and that the love that Jesus demonstrated was the love which could connect us to the true heart.

Even then we were not able to say from the moment we began believing in Jesus, “Desires of the world, be gone from me; situations of the world, be gone from me; the heart of the world, be gone from me.” We have not been able to transcend that limitation. Jesus was to bring a revolution to this sinful world. He should have built a world of new desires, new situations and a new heart. This was Jesus’ mission.

Fallen Human Beings Want the Original World

Cheon Seong Gyeong 1352

The 430 Couples are the representa-
tives of the Korean people; they include
all kinds of surnames. As such, they can
stand in Adam’s position and connect to
the citizens of Korea, the Adam nation
which stands on the global foundation.
They also include a representative couple
from the Eve nation. Otherwise, the two
nations could not be connected. Hence,
Kuboki’s couple from Japan was includ-
ed in the 430 Couples Blessing. Every
other nation could be connected from
that point on. (164-269, 1987.5.17)

Cheong Seong Gyeong 1191

Without love, you cannot subjugate
Satan. Therefore even God has to stand
in the position where He can say that
He has loved the fallen archangel, so, in
order to become a family who can enter
the heavenly kingdom, you as the family
of God’s sons and daughters, must also
set the condition enabling you to say that
you have loved Satan. So, go out and fight
and subjugate the satanic world with
love. You must stand upon the founda-
tion made by such a condition. You must
be able to claim, “I did not crush all my
enemies, but instead I had them surren-
der with love and I restored the right of
the eldest son.” (141-202, 1986.2.22)

Sun Myung Moon
September 13, 1959

Matthew 10:24-39

Heaven revealed to fallen humanity that what human beings desire and hope for is not the earth, nor any great saint on the earth; it is God. God rejects humans living on the earth in a chaotic situation. Why? It is because they are false. Hence, God has been devising a solution. Historically, religions have shouldered the mission to turn this situation around and create a heavenly situation on God’s behalf. The lives of religious people have pioneered the path of conscience centering on these religions.

Have you returned your desires, situations and hearts to God? You have not. Jesus, who understood this, looked at this world and tried to bring all of humanity to God’s side: to new desires, new situations, and a new world of heart. Because he came to the earth with such a responsibility, we may call him the center of hope, the center of situations and the center of heart or love.

This is the reason that no one can boast proudly about his own desires and heart before Jesus. Are they the desires that God wants him to have? Is he in the situation God wanted him to be in? Does he have the heart that came from God? The answers to these questions will be negative.

What is the crucial issue for us? What is the desire of human beings? You can understand yourselves only when you have answers to these questions. We have to understand the situations of people living today; we have to understand the problems concerning heart. To understand them we need to find some reciprocal standard. Religions have presented this standard, no matter how unclear it may be. What kind of people are we, the descendants of fallen people? We are the people who betrayed Heaven. We frustrated God’s desires, undermined God’s situation, blocked God’s heart and betrayed Him over and over again. Because humanity stands in such a position, although they may be living in a world of some desire, situation and heart, other thoughts enter into their minds. Those who feel the intense pain arising from this conflict choose between death and God. The intelligent, the wise and the serious have sought this path even at the risk of their lives.

What feelings should we have? How should we understand God and ourselves? We are the descendants of those who betrayed God. Who would ever contest this? We are the descendants of the traitors who betrayed Heaven. However, our minds are communicating with the original world. We do not communicate frequently, but at certain times we do. Your bodies are made up of the flesh and blood of traitors against Heaven. What are we going to do about that?

Heaven does not judge us because He hates us. The purpose of God’s dispensation is to strike Satan, who caused all of this, the one who reigns in evil and betrayed God. God’s intention is not to throw us into the kiln of death; His purpose is to vanquish Satan, who has been trampling upon human beings and who brought great confusion to this land.

Therefore, God has been warning you through your minds and telling you to embark upon this path; to avoid certain paths and go forward to fight against your enemies. For those who have strong consciences, the more they go, the more they will be warned to leave the place. It is not the original purpose of human beings born on this earth to become the prisoners of enemy devils.

What is the original purpose of God’s creating human beings? It is so that they may be the true sons and daughters of God. The original relationship between God and us is the inseparable relationship of parent and child. Human beings, who should build this relationship, are enslaved in a death-like despair and do not realize this fact. They have no idea how they should act under these circumstances.

If someone comes before these human beings with original desires, situations and a worldview based on the heart and instructs us how to return to our original homeland, he is certainly the savior of hope, the savior of the situation, and the savior of heart. Isn’t that so? To live we need three elements: desire, situation and heart. You have a certain situation, certain desires, and a certain heart. In one sense the lives of human beings are a game in which our lives depend on our desire, situation and heart.

For this reason, since their present life is painful, what human beings want is to find the world of new hope, a new situation and new heart. Fallen human beings want the original world.

We are the Descendants Propagated from the point of Origin with different desires

1 Peter 3

Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. 10 For,

“Whoever would love life
    and see good days
must keep their tongue from evil
    and their lips from deceitful speech.
11 They must turn from evil and do good;
    they must seek peace and pursue it.
12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous
    and his ears are attentive to their prayer,
but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”[a]

13 Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? 14 But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear their threats[b]; do not be frightened.”[c] 15 But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 16 keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. 17 For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. 18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit. 19 After being made alive,[d] he went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits— 20 to those who were disobedient long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all,were saved through water, 21 and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God.[e] It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.

Amos 7

12 Then Amaziah said to Amos, “Get out, you seer! Go back to the land of Judah. Earn your bread there and do your prophesying there. 13 Don’t prophesy anymore at Bethel, because this is the king’s sanctuary and the temple of the kingdom.”

14 Amos answered Amaziah, “I was neither a prophet nor the son of a prophet, but I was a shepherd, and I also took care of sycamore-fig trees. 15 But the Lord took me from tending the flock and said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’ 16 Now then, hear the word of the Lord. You say,

“‘Do not prophesy against Israel,
    and stop preaching against the descendants of Isaac.’

17 “Therefore this is what the Lord says:

“‘Your wife will become a prostitute in the city,
    and your sons and daughters will fall by the sword.
Your land will be measured and divided up,
    and you yourself will die in a pagan[c] country.
And Israel will surely go into exile,
    away from their native land.’”

Sun Myung Moon
September 13, 1959

Matthew 10:24-39

To understand ourselves, we have to understand the value of those we are in relationship with. Our minds do not create the truths and ideologies that our actions are based upon. First, we have to put ourselves in a position where we can feel that we are in a relationship with someone or something.

When God comes to us, He always comes in front of us. That which is good will not come from the side, but from the front.

Then where are we going to set the standard of knowledge? If what comes in front of us can connect everything, all knowledge, and can move the world of the conscience, then we have to understand that this is the one standard which can explain us. When you understand this, you will see people in a different light.

Many believers today boast of their faith: “I understand God, I believe in God, I rely on God.” Yet if we were to ask what the origin of their knowledge is, in what environment they uphold their faith, and what situation their life of faith in God is in, we find that unless they are in an eternal relationship with their minds, none of them will be recognized by God, trusted by God or blessed with God’s intervention.

God chose the Israelites as His chosen people. God raised them up out of many peoples to love only Him. How do you think God raised them up? He related to them head on. God shortens the distance of the relationship and drives history into an environment where He can have an intimate relationship with people.

Jesus said when he came to the earth, “I am in you, you are in me, the Father is in me and I am in the Father, so the Father is also in you.” For what purpose did God choose the Israelites and guide them? It was to bring them into a straight linear line and make the condition upon which He could say, “You are Me and I am you.” We have to understand that this is the relationship of knowledge God has sought.

Due to the Fall, human beings deviated from the position where God can relate with them head on. Human beings who relate with God head on with respect to their desires, situations and hearts are people of original value.

Due to the Fall, human beings’ desires, situations and hearts went awry, so they were chased out of Heaven. All the countless people who ever lived, from the first human ancestors to now, did not have the right desires, situations and hearts. In other words there was no one in history who said, “I can move Heaven and earth.” Your desires are twisted, your situations are wrong, and your hearts are facing the wrong direction.

What kind of descendants are we? Fundamentally, we are the descendants propagated from the point of origin with different desires, different situations and different hearts. In other words we have not become people who can stand in front of God with the desires, situations and hearts that God wants to see. If we do not know what state our desires, situations and hearts are in, then we do not understand ourselves.

The Absolute Being is the Ultimate Goal

Cheon Seong Gyeong 259

Which do you think is easier to
accept: my referring to God as the Par-
ent, or your referring to me as the Parent?
You do not know how much I have suf-
fered. You do not know how many walls
there have been and how complicated it
has been. Until now, myriads of people
have struggled on that path and all have
fallen into the pit. When you joined the
Unification Church and began to under-
stand me from the perspective of theory,
it must have been easy for you to say, “Ah,
he is the True Parent.” Then, which do
you think is greater, the joy I felt when I
realized that God is the True Parent or the
joy you felt when you realized it? I could
utter the word “Father” only after having
gone through life-threatening suffering,
but you were taught everything without
suffering. This is why you can say, “Okay,
I have come to know the True Parents; so
what?” Who would rejoice more? Which
do you think should be greater, the joy I
felt when I met God in the parent-child
relationship or the joy you feel when you
meet me? Although my encounter came
only after suffering, your encounter took
place without suffering, so you should be
more joyful. If I had paid hundreds of
billions of dollars, wouldn’t you be you
happy that you paid nothing? What have
you paid? When you come and listen to
the Principle you can understand every-
thing. So, when you hear “True Parents,”
you merely say “So that’s how it is!” and
understand everything. (116-121, 1981.12.27)

Cheong Seong Gyeong 706

God knows that the way of the Prin-
ciple cannot be walked without loving
one’s enemies. Would God let humanity
perish in the judgment of the Last Days?
No. He is the Parent of humankind. The
so-called judgment by fire spoken of in
Christianity today is not a literal one. (31-
165, 1970.5.24)

Let Us Fathom the Heart of Heaven

Sun Myung Moon
September 13, 1959

Matthew 10:24-39

The title of the sermon I am about to give is “Let Us Fathom the Heart of Heaven.” I will speak briefly upon this topic.

The most lonely person in the world is someone who has no one who recognizes or understands him. There is nothing more lonely and sad than to have no one who understands you. You may think that you fully understand yourself, but if you examine yourself objectively, you probably must admit that you do not.

We all have minds. Our mind is driving us toward a certain direction and toward a greater truth every minute of the day, transcendent of time and space. It is probably difficult to explain why this internal action has not taken root in us, although we sense that it has continued throughout history.

You may want to ask others to understand you and believe in you. You probably cannot deny that all your thoughts and convictions have been for the sake of connecting to a certain reality. If you then ask others to believe in you and trust you, you should ask whether or not you have first gained control over yourself and secured a position that is connected to the great purpose of Heaven. The answer is probably no.

Given this, how can we determine our own value today? We cannot accomplish a great purpose unless we first have the desire to become the subject partner who can move all things. We must examine ourselves as we put this desire into action and criticize ourselves with cold objectivity. If there is a God who seeks to fulfill the purpose of Heaven, then we cannot come before Him proudly without having done these things. Based on our own rational reasoning, we cannot deny that we cannot have pride in front of Heaven.

Who are our faith, desires and ideals for? Although they may seem to be for our own selves, in truth they do not have any relationship with us. Because human beings are in such a sad situation, although we may possess ideals and desires in our hearts, they clash with the sad reality of ourselves. We know through our reading of the Bible that this is why prophets and saints in the past advocated that we seek to embody ideals in our lives and be in harmony with them. They struggled bitterly to realize this goal, yet they could not accomplish it. We are awaiting the day this goal can be reached.

Everything in the universe, including human beings, was created to be in reciprocal relationships. If there is Heaven, then there is also earth. If there is a mind, then there is also a body. When we ponder things from this worldview, we find that if there is a movement of the heart, there must also be some subject partner who can move the mind. Whether you call this absolute being God, the Creator, or a deity is not important. At the very least, no one can deny that such a being must exist. If there is an absolute being, that absolute being has to have some connection to our minds in our daily lives as history flows. This is why human beings are capable of wishing for truer and better things.

Before we criticize or make a judgment based upon some reality, we first have to make some reciprocal condition based upon which to make the comparison. To make a logical argument, we need some basis of assumption first.

For this reason, in order to understand ourselves and explain ourselves fully, we need some reciprocal condition upon which to criticize and judge. This is the absolute being who is the object of worship in our faith. When we enter into a relationship with Him and compare ourselves and evaluate ourselves based on Him, we can understand where we stand. Thus, if we have minds, we have first to feel that there is some absolute being or some subject partner who governs our minds and moves us.

The absolute being is the ultimate goal which religions and philosophies should reach. The countless sages and saints sought longingly for the absolute being with whom they could build an eternal relationship of heart and with whom they could live, on whom they could base all their thoughts, worldviews and ideologies. Such are the numerous people who seek religion. That is what they are looking for.

Your Worst Enemies Will Be in Your Own Family

Exodus 32

When Aaron saw what was happening, he built an altar in front of the idol and said, “Tomorrow we will celebrate in honor of the Lord.” The people got up early the next morning and killed some animals to be used for sacrifices and others to be eaten. Then everyone ate and drank so much that they began to carry on like wild people.

The Lord said to Moses:

Hurry back down! Those people you led out of Egypt are acting like fools. They have already stopped obeying me and have made themselves an idol in the shape of a young bull. They have bowed down to it, offered sacrifices, and said that it is the god who brought them out of Egypt. Moses, I have seen how stubborn these people are, 10 and I’m angry enough to destroy them, so don’t try to stop me. But I will make your descendants into a great nation.

Matthew 4

12 When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he went to Galilee. 13 But instead of staying in Nazareth, Jesus moved to Capernaum. This town was beside Lake Galilee in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali.[b] 14 So God’s promise came true, just as the prophet Isaiah had said,

15 “Listen, lands of Zebulun
    and Naphtali,
lands along the road
to the sea
and east
    of the Jordan!
Listen Galilee,
    land of the Gentiles!
16 Although your people
    live in darkness,
they will see
    a bright light.
Although they live
    in the shadow of death,
a light will shine
    on them.”

17 Then Jesus started preaching, “Turn back to God! The kingdom of heaven will soon be here.”[c]

Let Us Fathom the Heart of Heaven

Sun Myung Moon
September 13, 1959

Matthew 10:24-39

24 Disciples are not better than their teacher, and slaves are not better than their master. 25 It is enough for disciples to be like their teacher and for slaves to be like their master. If people call the head of the family Satan, what will they say about the rest of the family?

26 Don’t be afraid of anyone! Everything that is hidden will be found out, and every secret will be known. 27 Whatever I say to you in the dark, you must tell in the light. And you must announce from the housetops whatever I have whispered to you. 28 Don’t be afraid of people. They can kill you, but they cannot harm your soul. Instead, you should fear God who can destroy both your body and your soul in hell. 29 Aren’t two sparrows sold for only a penny? But your Father knows when any one of them falls to the ground. 30 Even the hairs on your head are counted. 31 So don’t be afraid! You are worth much more than many sparrows.

32 If you tell others that you belong to me, I will tell my Father in heaven that you are my followers. 33 But if you reject me, I will tell my Father in heaven that you don’t belong to me.

34 Don’t think that I came to bring peace to the earth! I came to bring trouble, not peace. 35 I came to turn sons against their fathers, daughters against their mothers, and daughters-in-law against their mothers-in-law. 36 Your worst enemies will be in your own family.

37 If you love your father or mother or even your sons and daughters more than me, you are not fit to be my disciples. 38 And unless you are willing to take up your cross and come with me, you are not fit to be my disciples. 39 If you try to save your life, you will lose it. But if you give it up for me, you will surely find it.

Prayer

We know that the verses just read revealed the things that Jesus kept deep in his heart.

Father, Jesus was to bring an end to the four-thousand-year providential history. He was to lead the many Israelites, build the altar of victory before the Father, and restore everything on that altar of glory as the chief priest. Yet we know that he died without fulfilling this historic mission.

Father, although two thousand years have passed since Jesus, please allow us to picture Jesus’ situation at that time. It is said that these are the Last Days. We know through the phenomena unfolding in our lives that the time is near when we can eliminate all sinful elements.

Looking at this and at all the phenomena of the world, we conclude that these are the Last Days. At this moment, when all unfolding signs are foretelling the Last Days, what should we possess? What should we feel? What should we be proud of? We should not pursue any power of this world, anything material, nor anything that has to do with people’s character. The only thing is to resemble Jesus Christ who lived two thousand years ago. Please allow us to reflect upon how we have to make his heart, desires and situation our own and lay the foundation for the fulfillment of his wishes.

In his time, Jesus appeared to be a humble man. He appeared to be inferior to John the Baptist. John the Baptist came before the Israelite people who were gathering to be baptized in accordance with the new law and appeared to be a great personality. The Israelites honored him as a prophet.

When Jesus emerged as someone who seemed inferior to John the Baptist, the people could not believe him. He was opposed wherever he went. Those who followed Jesus were a lowly group of women and tax collectors. When we think about this, we can sense the most sorrowful historical reality, that there was no true son or daughter of Heaven who could honor Jesus as the Lord.

Heaven needed those who could believe in Jesus as God’s only begotten son and the Savior, lowly in social status and unpolished though he might be. Please allow us to be in tune with the heart of that time and bow our heads humbly before Jesus. Let us receive Heaven’s instructions in the midst of God’s love.

I am about to convey the truth of the Father. If there is a gap between the mind of the speaker and the minds of the listeners, that will be the basis for Satan’s action and a condition which will block the gates of our life. We know that if that is to be the outcome, it is better not to listen to the words at all.

Please allow us to open our hearts wide, to cleanse ourselves of our own thoughts and concepts, and to entrust our minds and bodies to the Father’s movement of life. Let us be in harmony with the Father’s will.

I sincerely pray that with the power of the words of re-creation You will let us experience the center of life and rise up as the life itself before the Father’s will during this hour.

We entrust everything to You. Please govern us. Please let all the beloved members dwell in the same state of grace. We prayed in the name of the Lord. Amen.