Luke 16
19 There was once a rich man who wore expensive clothes and every day ate the best food. 20 But a poor beggar named Lazarus was brought to the gate of the rich man’s house. 21 He was happy just to eat the scraps that fell from the rich man’s table. His body was covered with sores, and dogs kept coming up to lick them. 22 The poor man died, and angels took him to the place of honor next to Abraham.[d]
The rich man also died and was buried. 23 He went to hell[e] and was suffering terribly. When he looked up and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side, 24 he said to Abraham, “Have pity on me! Send Lazarus to dip his finger in water and touch my tongue. I’m suffering terribly in this fire.”
25 Abraham answered, “My friend, remember that while you lived, you had everything good, and Lazarus had everything bad. Now he is happy, and you are in pain. 26 And besides, there is a deep ditch between us, and no one from either side can cross over.”
27 But the rich man said, “Abraham, then please send Lazarus to my father’s home. 28 Let him warn my five brothers, so they won’t come to this horrible place.”
29 Abraham answered, “Your brothers can read what Moses and the prophets[f] wrote. They should pay attention to that.”
30 Then the rich man said, “No, that’s not enough! If only someone from the dead would go to them, they would listen and turn to God.”
31 So Abraham said, “If they won’t pay attention to Moses and the prophets, they won’t listen even to someone who comes back from the dead.”
Richard: This story is playing out again today in the Completed Testament Age. Many hear the New Truth, but do not listen and change their life track accordingly.
Isaiah 50
My protector is nearby;
no one can stand here
to accuse me of wrong.
9 The Lord God will help me
and prove I am innocent.
My accusers will wear out
like moth-eaten clothes.
10 None of you respect the Lord
or obey his servant.
You walk in the dark
instead of the light;
you don’t trust the name
of the Lord your God.[a]
11 Go ahead and walk in the light
of the fires you have set.[b]
But with his own hand,
the Lord will punish you
and make you suffer.
I Am Relating with Two Worlds
Rev. Sun Myung Moon
September 20, 1959
15 In fact, I don’t understand why I act the way I do. I don’t do what I know is right. I do the things I hate. 16 Although I don’t do what I know is right, I agree that the Law is good. 17 So I am not the one doing these evil things. The sin that lives in me is what does them.
18 I know that my selfish desires won’t let me do anything that is good. Even when I want to do right, I cannot. 19 Instead of doing what I know is right, I do wrong. 20 And so, if I don’t do what I know is right, I am no longer the one doing these evil things. The sin that lives in me is what does them.
21 The Law has shown me that something in me keeps me from doing what I know is right. 22 With my whole heart I agree with the Law of God. 23 But in every part of me I discover something fighting against my mind, and it makes me a prisoner of sin that controls everything I do. 24 What a miserable person I am. Who will rescue me from this body that is doomed to die? 25 Thank God! Jesus Christ will rescue me.
So with my mind I serve the Law of God, although my selfish desires make me serve the law of sin.
Prayer
Father! Please help us realize in this hour that we are not walking the path we should walk in our lives, even though we know we must.
There are those who live centering on their bodies, those who live centering on their minds, and those who live centering on Heaven. Please help those of us who have come to participate in this occasion to understand which category we belong in.
We feel deep in our hearts that we must become the central figures who can bring joy and alleviate sorrow in all crucial affairs. Father, we long in our hearts for the self we can be truly proud of; the self who can critique all affairs accurately. Even if our bodies must be brought into submission, please help us recover that self. Please help us understand that although we have been struggling and fighting to restore that self, the battle still is not over, and we face the fate to put our lives on the line and continue our struggles.
Father! Please come to us in tranquility. Father, please command us. Please let us understand that the central purpose of our lives is to seek the moment when we are captured by Your voice, the moment when we move in unison with You, and the moment when we can rejoice with You. As we reflect how in the course of history our ancestors never had a moment when You could share joy with them and with other faithful believers, we cannot help but deeply lament.
Father, we lie prostrated before You on our knees with our hands clasped. Please allow us to penetrate into Your subtle heart. Please let this be an hour when You can hold our hands and say, “My beloved sons and daughters.”
All that we believe in and experience in the world is transient. That which we believe and fight for in our minds, that which we sing of in our minds, and the world where we connect with You in our minds is infinite and eternal. When we are asked how and when we are going to become people who can be proud of themselves, if we show no confidence, how sad will God be?
We are miserable ones who cannot show ourselves before Heaven and earth. Please let this be the moment when we sever ourselves from our purposeless, unfeeling past; when our minds can become one with the Father’s mind, and when our hearts become connected to the heart of the Father.
Although we have experienced everything in the world, we have never lived centering on the Father. This is what we desire, so please take us into Your hands and perform the works of re-creation. Beloved Father, this is what we desire from the bottom of our hearts.
We know that we cannot understand Your situation without the words of truth. Before understanding this situation, we cannot fathom Your heart. Please give us the one truth which will allow us to connect to Your situation and heart. Please allow us to become one based on the truth.
We pray with utmost sincerity that this hour will be a moment when we can hear Your tranquil words in peace and offer bows to You in joy. Let it be an hour when we can feel our hearts surge as we listen to the words of truth.
Please be with everyone who honors You with sincerity. Extend Your grace equally to the lonely members who are bowing before You in the countryside.
We entrust this entire occasion from the beginning to the end to You. Please govern it. Allow the hearts of the listeners to be one with the heart of the speaker. Praying that this will be a moment when we can be in complete harmony with Heaven, we pray in the name of the Lord. Amen.