Category: James

If there Is a Way that God’s Will Can Be Accomplished, You Should Pursue it Obediently

James 1

1 From James, a servant of God and of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Greetings to the twelve tribes scattered all over the world.[a]

2 My friends, be glad, even if you have a lot of trouble. 3 You know that you learn to endure by having your faith tested. 4 But you must learn to endure everything, so that you will be completely mature and not lacking in anything.

Jeremiah 22

4 If you obey me, the kings from David’s family will continue to rule Judah from this palace. They and their officials will ride in and out on their horses or in their chariots. 5 But if you ignore me, I promise in my own name that this palace will lie in ruins. 6 Listen to what I think about it:

The palace of Judah’s king
is as glorious as Gilead
    or Lebanon’s highest peaks.
But it will be as empty
as a ghost-town
    when I’m through with it.
7 I’ll send troops to tear it apart,
and its beautiful cedar beams
    will be used for firewood.

8 People from different nations will pass by and ask, “Why did the Lord do this to such a great city as Jerusalem?” 9 Others will answer, “It’s because the people worshiped foreign gods and broke the agreement that the Lord their God had made with them.”

The Toil of God as He Tries to Raise up His Beloved Children

Rev. Sun Myung Moon
October 11, 1959

John 3: 11-21

1 Corinthians 7:28-29

Ladies and gentlemen, do you sincerely want to become God’s sons and daughters? Does unquenchable sorrow shake your heart? Does unstoppable sorrow move your minds and bodies? You should feel something similar to this.

You cannot become sons and daughters, no matter what you have to offer in this human world. Only when you never forget to think solely of the Father, only when you fight and run forward in your daily life do you have a possibility of becoming His sons and daughters.

You have to have this mind-set and be able to shed tears even over a simple branch. You should be able to say that you have finally come to know that all existing things are mourning and longing for the day of liberation. Bowing your head, you should apologize for human ignorance. This is not some abstract concept. When we see a colleague struggling to find the path, we should hold him and cry, “You are my brother.”

No matter how sad and lonely you may be, you have to understand that it is nothing compared to what God is experiencing. When you look at nature, you should see traces of God’s tears there. When you see water flowing, you should see God’s tears. When you are lying down, you should see that where you are lying down is a river of God’s tears and has traces of the cross of Golgotha. God is looking for sons and daughters who can cry out, “Father, who had to let the Lord bear the cross on Golgotha!” You should declare, “Although Jesus left grief on the earth when he died, I will not die but will alleviate Your sorrow as a living person.”

The six thousand years have been a history of God’s efforts to find His beloved sons and daughters. Therefore, we have to become people who feel that we are indebted to God, who has toiled for six thousand years. We have to feel the culmination of God’s tears of six thousand years and pay for the sacrifice at Golgotha.

When we then repent of our past sins, pay indemnity for our present sins, and cherish hope for the future, calling upon our Father and going to Him with open arms, the Father can say, “Oh, my son, my daughter.” Forgetting about His dignity, He will shed tears of joy and sorrow. Only those who can achieve this will become sons and daughters of the Father. Only when you understand that God and Jesus are like that can you become God’s sons and daughters.

God can elevate these sons and daughters before Satan’s world and all things of the universe, saying that they are the lords and sons and daughters He has been looking for. Only when these sons and daughters appear can God finally forget the labors of the six thousand years. He can entrust Heaven and earth to them and rest in peace.

Just as Jesus cried over this history of sorrow and died, if there is a way that God’s will can be accomplished, you should pursue it obediently. You have to remember that you must live such a life of devotion.

Richard: The way that we can do God’s will and establish His kingdom is through Home Church (tong ban) activities in our neighborhoods.

Prayer

Father! We are so ashamed. We have learned that this path is an awesome path, a path of inextinguishable sorrow.

Father, You sought these children out not for one day or for several years, but for six thousand years! Please let us understand now how much trouble we have caused for You, how much we have angered You, and how much we have wronged You. Before we entered this relationship, we fought over the things of the world. Please allow us to understand how sinful we are.

Father, Your sons and daughters who are gathered here do not have to know everything. Please let them at least understand the God that we believe in, the Jesus we should attend, and the sons and daughters we must become.

What is our hope? We did not come seeking for well-dressed people or people with power or to satisfy some desire. We came only because we long for the Father’s love and a relationship with Him. Father, if the Father has tears, please let us possess those tears. If the Father is experiencing pain, please let us feel the pain.

Please let us understand that we should not become princes who are seeking joy but princes who bear responsibility for sorrowful and painful history, and let us pay indemnity for it. We have learned that You yearn for sons and daughters who are victorious under such circumstances, sons and daughters worthy of God’s pride before Heaven and earth. We have also learned that Your labors for the six thousand years have been to elevate Your beloved sons and daughters.

We pray sincerely that You will allow us to fulfill all the responsibilities entrusted to us and to fully cope with the missions given to us. Please guide us to become the most exemplary children of filial piety, and patriots.

Until the day that the Father of history, the Father of the present era and the Father of the future becomes our Father and mobilizes the entire universe to sing songs of joy, please protect these people. We prayed in the name of the Lord. Amen. 

Abraham Believed that a Glorious and Proud Day Would Come

James 1

5 If any of you need wisdom, you should ask God, and it will be given to you. God is generous and won’t correct you for asking. 6 But when you ask for something, you must have faith and not doubt. Anyone who doubts is like an ocean wave tossed around in a storm. 7-8 If you are that kind of person, you can’t make up your mind, and you surely can’t be trusted. So don’t expect the Lord to give you anything at all.

2 Chronicles 7

2 Some time later, the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream and said:

I heard your prayer, and I have chosen this temple as the place where sacrifices will be offered to me.

13 Suppose I hold back the rain or send locusts[c] to eat the crops or make my people suffer with deadly diseases. 14 If my own people will humbly pray and turn back to me and stop sinning, then I will answer them from heaven. I will forgive them and make their land fertile once again. 15 I will hear the prayers made in this temple, 16 because it belongs to me, and this is where I will be worshiped forever. I will never stop watching over it.

Richard:  Have you sinned?  We all have.  Cry out to God and ask His forgiveness.  Also cry out for the sins of our nation.  For example, over 60,000,000 babies have been aborted since Roe v. Wade in 1973.  This does not include chemically induced abortions.

Let Us Understand God, Who Wanted to be Proud

Rev. Sun Myung Moon
February 8, 1959

Genesis 1: 24-31

Because Noah’s course was like that, even when God judged the people with the flood, there was no condition upon which the faithless and rebellious people could protest against Heaven. Noah was someone of which God could be proud. The judgment of Noah was the process through which the value of heavenly pride and practical value were established. The sons and daughters of Noah should have become connected to the heart of pride that God wanted to establish, but they disregarded Noah’s devotion and had self-centered thoughts. Heaven was turned upside down.

The same was true for Abraham. It was not easy for him to leave everything behind in Ur of the Chaldeans. Abraham could have led a more joyful life than anyone in the satanic world. His wife was extremely beautiful, and he had abundant wealth.

God called Abraham and drove him the opposite way, toward tribulation. You have to understand that God ordered Abraham to leave Ur of the Chaldeans and drove him into tribulations that his relatives, family and people dared not attempt. Continue reading “Abraham Believed that a Glorious and Proud Day Would Come”

The Goal of God and Jesus is the Building of the Kingdom of Heaven

James 1

5If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. 6But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.

Jeremiah 36

20After they put the scroll in the room of Elishama the secretary, they went to the king in the courtyard and reported everything to him.

Let Us Become the Citizens Who Take Possession of the Kingdom of Heaven

Rev. Sun Myung Moon
June 2, 1957

The topic of the sermon that I want to reflect upon with you is “Let Us Become the Citizens Who Take Possession of the Kingdom of Heaven.” I will speak briefly on this topic. Continue reading “The Goal of God and Jesus is the Building of the Kingdom of Heaven”