Author: Richard Urban

Those Who are Willing to Die Will Live

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Cheon Seong Gyeong 259

Language is one of the most chal-
lenging problems. When Koreans are
here, those who do not know Korean
have a difficult time. They look pitiful.
How great it would be if language were
unified! When I first came to America,
I only knew “Yes” and “No,” although I
had studied English through books. Can
you imagine how stifled I felt! You need
to know how necessary the unification
of language is. Do you wish to listen to
my speeches through an interpreter or
directly from me? Of course, you want to
listen to them in Korean. Why? Because
Book 2 • True Parents 260
Korean is the original language. There-
fore, in studying the Principle, if you
do not know the original language, you
will not understand the meaning of the
words. Furthermore, when you go to
the spirit world in the future, will you
be proud if you can say, “I understood
Father’s speeches directly, without trans-
lation” or if you have to say, “I listened
to his words through an interpreter?”
Which? Moreover, they are words that
express the ideal world of love. Does it
mean anything to whisper words of love
through an interpreter? The fifth para-
graph of our former pledge says, “We are
proud of the one culture.” The question
is how that one culture can come about.
You should know that in the world of
heart you have no choice but to become
one. The one who truly desires one world
of heart cannot go without knowing
this. Now, when you reach out to some-
one because you love them so much,
your feet move first before any thoughts
about love. Your feet move first, and not
the loving thought. How foolish this is! If
you think about eating in the same way,
it is as though you enjoyed eating left-
overs. Without the tradition and spirit
of the ideal family the ideal world can-
not appear.

Cheong Seong Gyeong 779

For whom does God exist? God, the
subject of love, exists for the purpose of
seeking and raising a partner of love.
With what shall He do this? He will do
this based on true love. True love is liv-
ing and investing oneself for the sake of
others, and forgetting one’s investment.
Eternal life can be found here. The entire
world is made this way. I myself am like
this. As I know the value of eternal life,
facing the gallows is not a problem. There
is nothing to fear. That is why the Unifi-
cation Church refers to death as seung-
hwa and its ceremony as the Seunghwa
Ceremony.

Man Is an Explorer in Search of Truth

Rev. Sun Myung Moon
July 19, 1959

John 10: 1-18

10 Jesus said:

I tell you for certain that only thieves and robbers climb over the fence instead of going in through the gate to the sheep pen. 2-3 But the gatekeeper opens the gate for the shepherd, and he goes in through it. The sheep know their shepherd’s voice. He calls each of them by name and leads them out.

4 When he has led out all of his sheep, he walks in front of them, and they follow, because they know his voice. 5 The sheep will not follow strangers. They don’t recognize a stranger’s voice, and they run away.

6 Jesus told the people this story. But they did not understand what he was talking about.

7 Jesus said:

I tell you for certain that I am the gate for the sheep. 8 Everyone who came before me was a thief or a robber, and the sheep did not listen to any of them. 9 I am the gate. All who come in through me will be saved. Through me they will come and go and find pasture.

10 A thief comes only to rob, kill, and destroy. I came so that everyone would have life, and have it in its fullest. 11 I am the good shepherd, and the good shepherd gives up his life for his sheep. 12 Hired workers are not like the shepherd. They don’t own the sheep, and when they see a wolf coming, they run off and leave the sheep. Then the wolf attacks and scatters the flock. 13 Hired workers run away because they don’t care about the sheep.

14 I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep, and they know me. 15 Just as the Father knows me, I know the Father, and I give up my life for my sheep. 16 I have other sheep that are not in this sheep pen. I must bring them together too, when they hear my voice. Then there will be one flock of sheep and one shepherd.

17 The Father loves me, because I give up my life, so that I may receive it back again. 18 No one takes my life from me. I give it up willingly! I have the power to give it up and the power to receive it back again, just as my Father commanded me to do.

Prayer

We have listened to the words You have granted. Although many people in this world stand in the face of death, in reality they are preoccupied with praising themselves and boasting to the universe.

Can anyone show himself off and elevate his own value in this kind of a world? As we silently search our hearts, we cannot deny that one who does stands in a false position.

Father, what do our minds long for today? Toward what should we direct them in order to be elevated? This is the moment to realize that our minds and bodies cannot be our own. This is the moment to understand that we are in a miserable situation where we cannot be proud of ourselves.

Please allow us to realize at this moment that we are not the final arbiters of the value of our minds and bodies, that we did not make ourselves and that we are pitiable beings who cannot reach our destination. We did not cause our own lives, nor did the ideology that leads our minds in the direction of goodness originate with us either. Please allow this hour to be the moment when we realize that they originated from something other than ourselves.

Father, today is the moment when we should feel that we must disdain ourselves, we who were so busy making excuses to save face. Please allow us to realize at this hour that the true self whom Heaven and earth, the world and humanity, the society, the family, and myself are looking for is a victor who can conquer himself and who can ignore and stamp out the arrogance that makes him want to elevate himself and stand out.

Jesus said, “Forget everything and follow me.” He also said, “Those who are willing to die will live; those wanting to live will die,” and “Those who want to rise up will go lower and those willing to go lower will rise.”

When we understand the content of these words, we realize that we have to throw ourselves away. We have fallen ancestors and we cannot break away from the bondage of fallen history.

Therefore, our course of life is a pitiable one. The living environment is so chaotic that we live in a confused state, unable to distinguish good from evil. Heavenly Father has labored to pioneer the path of life in such a land. Numerous saints have come and gone in this land in order to bring the ideal of the true person, the true ideology, and the true cosmos to humanity.

Exalt the Father

Leviticus 22

22 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Tell Aaron and his sons to treat with respect the sacred offerings the Israelites consecrate to me, so they will not profane my holy name. I am the Lord.

3 “Say to them: ‘For the generations to come, if any of your descendants is ceremonially unclean and yet comes near the sacred offerings that the Israelites consecrate to the Lord, that person must be cut off from my presence. I am the Lord.

4 “‘If a descendant of Aaron has a defiling skin disease[a] or a bodily discharge, he may not eat the sacred offerings until he is cleansed. He will also be unclean if he touches something defiled by a corpse or by anyone who has an emission of semen, 5 or if he touches any crawling thing that makes him unclean, or any person who makes him unclean, whatever the uncleanness may be. 6 The one who touches any such thing will be unclean till evening. He must not eat any of the sacred offerings unless he has bathed himself with water. 7 When the sun goes down, he will be clean, and after that he may eat the sacred offerings, for they are his food. 8 He must not eat anything found dead or torn by wild animals, and so become unclean through it. I am the Lord.

9 “‘The priests are to perform my service in such a way that they do not become guilty and die for treating it with contempt. I am the Lord, who makes them holy.

Richard:  God does not deal with an offering that is tainted, i.e., we have to make a clean break with Satan for God to work, not have one foot in Satan’s camp and one foot in God’s camp.

Isaiah 56

“The Redeemer will come to Zion,
    to those in Jacob who repent of their sins,”
declares the Lord.

21 “As for me, this is my covenant with them,” says the Lord. “My Spirit,who is on you, will not depart from you, and my words that I have put in your mouth will always be on your lips, on the lips of your children and on the lips of their descendants—from this time on and forever,” says the Lord.

Richard:  God wants to bless us, but we have to be responsible for and repent for our sins.

The Father and I

Rev. Sun Myung Moon
July 12, 1959

John 14: 1-19

It is fine to follow the path of a teacher, but that will all pass. One thing that I want to convey to you, even if I die or disappear, is that you should transcend race, humanity, and the world to cry with the heart of God. I want to die seeing such a sight. You should realize that only then do you have the authority to oversee the cosmos and the realm of hell.

From now on, we should be proud of our Father. What kind of Father is He? We have to introduce the Father who has labored in historic endeavors. We have to boast of our Father. We have to introduce the Father who has fought, holding onto this age. We are to introduce the Father who has longed for us and who had to fight for us. But if the heart is not laid as a foundation in conveying this, everything is just wild fancy and rash acts.

We should exalt the Father. We have to exalt the historic Father, the Father of the age, and the future- oriented Father with our heart connected to His. Thus, you should be able to exclaim, “Father, is this not Your will? Your will is my will. Oh, Father, You who have found us like a parent who could not forget his own blood, You are my Father!”

Heavenly Father longed to live with us for six thousand years, but Satan came in front of Him. Heavenly Father longs for the brides, the figures who will understand His heart, and speak out, “Hey, you Satan, you have no place to rest your foot in this world. Hey, you and all the forces of evil, just look at my Father,” and get recognition from him. He would have to say, “You are right. What you are saying is true for eternity.” Wouldn’t that be so?

Jesus’ body was killed, but his heart was never killed. His body was invaded by Satan, yet the world of heart was not invaded. That is why Heavenly Father brought forth the ideal of the bride, and He is looking for the bride who possesses the loyalty of the world of the heart. Thus, you should be able to call on the Father and the Lord with the heart of the bride.

We should be grateful that the saints of the past strove and that Heavenly Father and the world have endeavored to find the sons and daughters of the direct lineage to create the relationship of father and children. Furthermore, you should say a word of apology to the ancestors, to numerous spirits, and even to Satan, and become figures who can protect this land. Only then will you become God’s sons and daughters. God wants to hear such sons and daughters call Him “Father.” Aren’t you also like that? When there are sons and daughters whom God truly loves, He does not want to hear the physical father say to such children, “Hey, So and So, you are my sons and daughters.” Wouldn’t that be true? He doesn’t even want to hear that they belong to a certain nation. “They are My own sons and daughters and they belong to My nation.” He doesn’t want them to be called the people of Korea or America. Such a thing is ridiculous to Heavenly Father, who has the ideal of the heavenly world. God is searching for us from such a standpoint.

God was unable to live with the individual, with the family, with society, with the nation, and with the world. How much must He have endeavored to work backwards from finding the world to finding us today? Not only does He have to find us, He has to take us along with Him. It is difficult enough to find us, but it is more difficult to drag us along. The Lord comes in order to take even the historic last days along with him.

I urge you to clearly understand this and become God’s proud sons and daughters, the brides and bridegrooms who will stand heart to heart with Jesus. He professed that we are not of this nation, the heavenly family is not of this nation. His society, nation, and the created world are not of this fallen world. 



Old People in America Are Really to be Pitied

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Cheon Seong Gyeong  2452

Once we grow old, we start to become
senile, don’t we? Once we get senile, we
become like babies. Once we become
senile, we even lose the ability to speak.
Isn’t that true? That is why grandparents
and grandchildren should come togeth-
er. Once I have become a grandfather, I
find my grandchildren even more lov-
able than my own children. And the
people I long for the most are not my
children, but my grandchildren. That’s
how it is. From this point of view, old
people in America are really to be pit-
ied. (266-147, 1994.12.22)

Cheong Seong Gyeong 1191

Instead of beating His enemy to
death God must set the condition of
having loved him. In the same way the
person standing in the position of Adam
has to set up a condition of having loved
the enemy Satan. If you endure over
and over again while being persecuted,
and prevail over all the tears, blood and
sweat, until the enemy naturally surren-
ders to you, and return embracing God’s
love, then you can receive the blessing.
That is when Satan will let you go. You
must receive this public approval; “You
can now become a child qualified to go to
the heavenly kingdom.” Who must sign
this approval? Satan must. After Satan
signs this, you will sign it, and then True
Parents must sign it. You can only stand
before God only after getting this signa-
ture from True Parents. That is the heav-
enly kingdom. (141-202, 1986.2.22)

The Father and I

Rev. Sun Myung Moon
July 12, 1959

John 14: 1-19

Judas Iscariot chastised Mary Magdalene, who was a prostitute, as she knelt and poured three hundred denarii worth of oil on the feet of Jesus and washed them with her hair. When he did so, Jesus defended her. Mary was not acting unreasonably. Because she was concerned for the heart of Jesus, who was to be killed, an aspect of God’s pained and indignant heart was reflected through her. Therefore, Jesus predicted that her name would remain wherever the words of the Gospel spread.

When Mary wanted to hold Jesus, who had resurrected from the grave, Jesus prevented her out of concern that the resurrected self might be stained. In other words, Jesus stopped her because he wanted her to be more joyous in meeting the Father than in meeting him. He wanted her to be more glad for the Father than for him, and more glad for the hope that humanity might again be reborn than happy to see him. It is sad that the Jesus we believe in today came and went with such a regret-filled heart. That is a sad thing.

We have to let this be known to the Christians of the world today. What is needed is not someone who takes pride in his own faith, based on Jesus who was glorified by history. There is a need for people like the woman who searched for Jesus on the mountainside of Calvary, who can take pride in Jesus even if they themselves are trampled on and pushed out by history. There is a greater need for people like Mary Magdalene than for the twelve disciples who walked their own separate ways, denying their knowledge of Jesus.

In believing in Jesus, have you ever made God cry? Have you ever made Jesus cry? Have you ever shivered, holding onto the crying Father who said, “How difficult it must have been for you to walk this path that I have gone through. How difficult it must have been to find Me in My sorrow”? Have you held the hands of Jesus who cried as he called out for you? If not, don’t say anything. Do not be proud of anything.

The people who were ridiculed and cast out will be the princes and princesses of the Kingdom of Heaven. Even if everything is lost, we should long for the heart and will of the Father. When you are able to find meaning in your life, meaning in the church, and meaning in society, while you long for those, God will not send you to hell even if you try to go. God will claim such people.

The topic of today’s talk was “The Father and I,” but we are unworthy to use the word “Father.” We should experience the times when even saying the word “Father” makes us feel unworthy. We should have the attitude that says, “Father, how can a lowly person like me call you Father?” There is no need to say anything else. The right of ownership of the cosmos will be decided as you call out “Father” with your body and mind united and a desperate heart. Heavenly Father is longing for such Unificationists.

We Have to Totally Change Today’s Understanding of Faith

Happy Independence Day!

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Amos 9

I saw the Lord standing by the altar, and he said:

“Strike the tops of the pillars
    so that the thresholds shake.
Bring them down on the heads of all the people;
    those who are left I will kill with the sword.
Not one will get away,
    none will escape.

Jeremiah 50

As I overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah
    along with their neighboring towns,”
declares the Lord,
“so no one will live there;
    no people will dwell in it.

Richard:  God has declared a war on lewd ungodly, immoral behavior.  Hopefully this war wil be carried out by propagating the Word of God.  As more and more people realize God’s family ideal, that will bring a world of peace.  There is no other way.

The Father and I

Rev. Sun Myung Moon
July 12, 1959

John 14: 1-19

What kind of person is a true Christian? It is not someone who dances with joy. It would be someone who prays with concern for God. He or she would not pray for themselves but would pray for the sake of God. That person would not worry whether he or she would become the bride or not, but would worry about whether Jesus, the bridegroom, is happy or not. The person would not pray asking God to send him or her to Heaven, but instead would pray, asking to free God of His sorrow. The person would not ask for his or her value to be acknowledged in Heaven, but would hope that God’s value may be acknowledged in this world, even through his or her own death.

We have to totally change today’s understanding of faith. It has to be changed fundamentally. Do people want to go to Heaven by believing? What are they going to do in Heaven? Are they going to steal from God again when they are there? That is like being joyful after losing the heavenly essence. The essence is the heart of giving. Even fallen minds can perceive such a nature of love. The pit of death awaits those who are striving to receive. The realm of resurrection of life awaits those who are struggling to give. Jesus was someone who struggled for thirty years of his life to give. Jesus endeavored to give during his three years of public ministry. In the end he even gave himself. You have to realize that the Messiah was the prince who strove to give and give again.

Those who are following such an example must repent and see how much of an offering you have made yourself in order to liberate God’s sorrow in your lives. Such a person has no concept of Heaven or hell. Such a person would say, “Who cares if I go to Heaven or if I go to hell?” When God wants to resurrect such a person, even Satan has to agree. Here the historic standard of life gets established.

Today’s Unificationists need the words of the Bible in order to console the Father who is filled with sadness. You also need a teacher. But I do not want you to go forth just looking at the teacher. I hope that you yourselves will establish the bond of relationship with Heavenly Father’s heart, with the teacher as the center. God will never desert you when you pray for this nation with heartfelt pleas, when you strive to introduce God’s heart to it, and when you become the offering. God will not give up on us.

When we think about God, we know that He is the master of all things. But have you seen His deeds? As the subject of love, was He ever able to say “I love you” to mankind? Never. Although He was in a position to own everything, He was never able to claim mankind as His own. And although there are numerous people in this world, and although there were the Israelites who were prepared for four thousand years, Heavenly Father was never able to raise them up as His own sons and daughters or as warriors who could defeat Satan.

There are many Christians in the democratic camp today, but God has not been able to place them as generals in command of an offensive attack against Satan. He also wanted to have Jesus command the angelic world to establish a relationship with this world, but that could not be achieved. God gave mankind the ideal of the bride, and He sought to find such brides. But He could not find one person who could stand as the proud bride in front of Satan. We are truly sorry in front of Heavenly Father.

The world calls the leader of the Unification Church the ringleader of a cult. That’s fine. I just want them to receive all the blessing. I don’t want to give excuses or explanations. This is not the time to fight over such things. Our lives are busy, and what is more urgent is how we are to be recognized by Heavenly Father.

We are all miserable, we are all the same. There were times when we called on the Father and all pledged to die together if we had to. There were times when we called on our Father with tears. We had to stand in such a position representing this nation. Although there may have been times of sorrow, we have to go this path as the Father has led us. We should be grateful and feel unworthy if we can’t feel this historical sorrow. We should be grateful that we can feel the traces of our ancestors’ tears and blood, to tread together down this sorrowful valley. Even if this body may be ripped to pieces or fall down, we have nothing to feel sad about. We have to realize we are the Christians of the last days who have to find and walk this path of heart again.

It is fine to be called a cult or to be misunderstood. None of that can be an obstacle for me. I am here to clarify the heavenly concept. I am telling you now that God will by all means pull us forward along with history if I can share that heart, kneel down in understanding of such a heart, and speak with the heart to raise up the people who will cry with that heart.



The Second Coming is the One Who Comes in Place of Jesus

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Cheon Seong Gyeong 1987

Britain was the Eve nation. Adam’s
family was lost due to the failures of Eve
and her two sons, Cain and Abel. Since
Cain and Abel failed to unite, they fell.
Britain, in the form of a global nation,
was the fruition of the restoration of that
incident. Britain is an island nation. The
island nation always longs for the land.
This symbolizes Eve, the mother. Amer-
ica is the country born from the Eve
nation, centering on the Anglo-Saxon
race. That is why it is Abel. France is the
archangel. Although France was the ene-
my, having opposed Britain and Amer-
ica, in the last days there will be unifi-
cation centering on the allied nations
of Britain, America and France. (277-34,
1996.3.24)

Cheon Seong Gyeong 2069

We must return to the hometown of
our origin! This is based on the Princi-
ple. How can you deny this? It’s the logi-
cal conclusion. Those who don’t think
so raise your hands. Can you deny this?
There is no way, other than the way of
obedience and submission. That’s why
we are doing that in Korea, at this time.
By returning to your hometowns, you
must complete the foundation for the
nation upon the foundation of having
completed the tong ban breakthrough
activities in you area. This is done by
starting in each family and raising them
through the formation, growth, and
completion stages.

The Father and I

Rev. Sun Myung Moon
July 12, 1959

John 14: 1-19

God is not a God for America, nor a God for England. He is not a God merely for the democratic world. He is our God and my God.

Heavenly Father longs for believers, the brides who can be a part of the world of the heart of the historic Father and sing of its value. Wouldn’t that be so? Such an individual cannot be bought even with billions of dollars. Such a person cannot be bought with earth or Heaven. Jesus has said that such a person has value greater than that of the cosmos.

Fortunately, today we were given a talk on the relationship between father and son from Heavenly Father. But the question is: how much have I attended the Father? How filial have I been? We have to relate to Heavenly Father as a filial child on the individual level and as a loyal subject on the national level. Isn’t that true? The traditional three bonds and the five moral disciplines in human relations in Asia all make sense. They are to teach this concept. Filial piety and loyalty towards Heavenly Father is the same thing. One cannot be filial to Heavenly Father if one does not first become filial toward one’s parents. One cannot be a loyal subject toward Heavenly Father if one does not first demonstrate loyalty to the nation. This world is the same toward Heavenly Father. The content is different, but the world of the heart is the same.

Unification members! For us, denomination means nothing. Our name means nothing. This church building and our houses mean nothing. People are the issue. The people with heart are the real issue. There are billions of people in the world, but only one person draws your heart. Isn’t that so? It is the same for God. What is the first thing that God, who moves all things of the cosmos and dominates the great universe and the created world, still desires? More than a multitude of people, He longs for one individual who can give all his heart and then forget about his giving. Wouldn’t that be true? Heavenly Father dreams of one such person more than He dreams of a mere multitude. Therefore, Jesus was sent after four thousand years. And after six thousand years, the Second Coming is one who comes in place of Jesus.

Where are the sons and daughters who long for and call to Heavenly Father as “Father”, who wander in search of the other children? The day God finds such sons and daughters is the day of hope and the day of liberation. In religious terms, such a day is called the feast day of the lamb.