Category: New Testament

If We Have a Lonely Heart, We Should Confess and Transform It Into Your Heart

Isaiah 40

40 Our God has said:

“Encourage my people!
Give them comfort.
2 Speak kindly to Jerusalem
and announce:
Your slavery is past;
your punishment is over.
I, the Lord, made you pay
double for your sins.”

Habbukuk 1

I am sending the Babylonians.
They are fierce and cruel—
marching across the land,
conquering cities and towns.

7 How fearsome and frightening.
Their only laws and rules
are the ones they make up.
8 Their cavalry troops are faster
than leopards,
more ferocious than wolves
hunting at sunset,
and swifter than hungry eagles
suddenly swooping down.

9 They are eager to destroy,[b]
and they gather captives
like handfuls of sand.
10 They make fun of rulers
and laugh at fortresses,
while building dirt mounds
so they can capture cities.[c]
11 Then suddenly they disappear

My New Self and the Heaven Where My New Self Can Dwell

Sun Myung Moon
June 14, 1959

John 3: 1-15

Prayer

Please allow us to check where our minds dwell. We know that our minds are moving around in all directions, although our bodies are gathered in one place. Just as Adam was shaped by the lump of soil moving according to Your hands, we know that our minds also should be moved according to Your desire.

Our sacred Father, please allow us to long for You at this time with a concerned mind that checks whether the original form and essence of our minds have become the holy of holies. Let us check if our minds can connect to Your heart, even as our bodies settle into one altar now.

We feel that we should not be without the sensitivity of mind by which an earnest heart toward Your gentle and holy presence can fill us, even without our being conscious of it. You wished to reveal our mission by discussing from the hidden depths and showing Your presence in the distant quietness. We cannot help hoping for such intervention on Your part.

When we did not attend You in the midst of Your distant quietness, when we were not able to connect with Your hidden situation, You were sorrowful, lonely and miserable. Knowing that You face such a situation, we should feel in our hearts the necessity of attending You as our real Father; we should feel the necessity of forming one, united, inseparable relationship centering on eternal life and eternal love. If such a heart does not emerge from within us, how can we call ourselves Your sons and daughters? How can we say that we have an inseparable relationship with You? If we are so, please allow us to know that we have nothing to do with the ideal of heaven You wish to grant us, we have nothing to do with the foundation for Your comfort for which You have toiled throughout history. Continue reading “If We Have a Lonely Heart, We Should Confess and Transform It Into Your Heart”

We Now Desire to Live the Rest of Our Lives According to Your Will

Cheon Seong Gyeong 1294

God’s ideal, which was to be achieved
through the human ancestors, was to
have a man and woman come together
in union and form an ideal family. In
this regard, the center of an ideal fam-
ily is neither man nor woman. A family
is a group formed by the union between
the husband and wife, the parents and
children. At the center is the love of
God. Therefore, we reach the conclu-
sion that the will of God is to perfect
a family, centering on the love of God.
(Blessed Family – 301)What can we conclude after clearly
understanding the term True Parents?
We can conclude that the Fall of our first
ancestors occurred through an illicit sex-
ual relationship. The Fall has resulted in
a connection of blood that has nothing
to do with God or with the True Parents
who were to be established as the ideal
of creation. In other words, we came to
inherit the wrong bloodline.

Cheon Seong Gyeong  171

What can we conclude after clearly
understanding the term True Parents?
We can conclude that the Fall of our first
ancestors occurred through an illicit sex-
ual relationship. The Fall has resulted in
a connection of blood that has nothing
to do with God or with the True Parents
who were to be established as the ideal
of creation. In other words, we came to
inherit the wrong bloodline.

My New Self and the Heaven Where My New Self Can Dwell

Sun Myung Moon
June 14, 1959

John 3: 1-15

3 There was a man named Nicodemus who was a Pharisee and a Jewish leader. 2 One night he went to Jesus and said, “Sir, we know that God has sent you to teach us. You could not work these miracles, unless God were with you.”

3 Jesus replied, “I tell you for certain that you must be born from above[a] before you can see God’s kingdom!”

4 Nicodemus asked, “How can a grown man ever be born a second time?”

5 Jesus answered:

I tell you for certain that before you can get into God’s kingdom, you must be born not only by water, but by the Spirit. 6 Humans give life to their children. Yet only God’s Spirit can change you into a child of God. 7 Don’t be surprised when I say that you must be born from above. 8 Only God’s Spirit gives new life. The Spirit is like the wind that blows wherever it wants to. You can hear the wind, but you don’t know where it comes from or where it is going.

9 “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.

10 Jesus replied:

How can you be a teacher of Israel and not know these things? 11 I tell you for certain that we know what we are talking about because we have seen it ourselves. But none of you will accept what we say. 12 If you don’t believe when I talk to you about things on earth, how can you possibly believe if I talk to you about things in heaven?

13 No one has gone up to heaven except the Son of Man, who came down from there. 14 And the Son of Man must be lifted up, just as that metal snake was lifted up by Moses in the desert.[b] 15 Then everyone who has faith in the Son of Man will have eternal life.

Prayer

As we persevere on the difficult path of life, we know well that we are immersed in a sorrowful situation. We know that many painful circumstances lie ahead of us. We know that we have not the heart which can sing in sheer happiness when we face Heavenly Father, this land, and humanity. Father! Please have mercy on us. We have been worn out by sorrow and hardships. We have struggled without even knowing in what direction to go. Please hold onto those of us who have wandered, not knowing on whom to lean. Father, we feel how wonderful and great is Your amazing grace, yet we are unable to return glory to You. Please forgive us.

Father, You have suggested to us the path by which to avoid sorrow in this sorrowful world. However, we ask for Your forgiveness since we were inadequate in upholding Your predestined will. We know that You have prepared a path by which we may avoid hardships, even though we deserve a suffering course. We are so grateful. However, we ask for Your forgiveness since we were unable to walk that path.

We now desire to live the rest of our lives according to Your will, for Your joy and glory only. Nevertheless, the power of death and the influence of sin in this world powerfully encircle us. You know how difficult it is to escape from them. Therefore, benevolent Father, please be present at this time.

Father, please forgive us. We have not yet become people who return glory and joy to You from a liberated position. Please subjugate the power of darkness by spreading new power and Your mighty hand. Father, we sincerely hope that You will raise the history of re-creation in order that we may sing of the glory of resurrection as victorious people.

Since the power of death is sweeping over us, we need to overcome the decision of life and death. We must gain the automatic and spontaneous power that can push this away and march forward. Loving Father, if there are children of Yours who yearn for such power, please personally grant them the ability and allow the authority of resurrection that they may become heavenly soldiers who pioneer their daily life with the hope of the future. Continue reading “We Now Desire to Live the Rest of Our Lives According to Your Will”

We Are Not to Follow a Certain Leader or Serve a Certain Founder of a Religion

John 19

25 Jesus’ mother stood beside his cross with her sister and Mary the wife of Clopas. Mary Magdalene was standing there too.[c] 26 When Jesus saw his mother and his favorite disciple with her, he said to his mother, “This man is now your son.” 27 Then he said to the disciple, “She is now your mother.” From then on, that disciple took her into his own home.

Ezekiel 3

6 Seven days after I had seen the brightness of the Lord’s glory, the Lord said:

17 Ezekiel, son of man, I have appointed you to stand watch for the people of Israel. So listen to what I say, then warn them for me. 18 When I tell wicked people they will die because of their sins, you must warn them to turn from their sinful ways so they won’t be punished. If you refuse, you are responsible for their death. 19 However, if you do warn them, and they keep on sinning, they will die because of their sins, and you will be innocent.

20 Now suppose faithful people start sinning, and I decide to put stumbling blocks in their paths to make them fall. They deserve to die because of their sins. So if you refuse to warn them, I will forget about the times they were faithful, and I will hold you responsible for their death. 21 But if you do warn them, and they listen to you and stop sinning, I will let them live. And you will be innocent.

Richard:  Why do I speak out to say what is true?  See the above reading from Ezekiel.

The Person Who Will Serve the Grieving Father

Sun Myung Moon
May 24, 1959

Matthew 23: 1-39

Prayer

Father! Sorrowful history today is moving forward as it swirls around us. Facing the sorrowful environment of life, we realize that ours is the great task of ridding history of pain and resolving Heavenly Father’s torn heart. As we have taken on such a task, we have to become sons and daughters who can bear the heart of Heaven and earth, experience the sorrow, feel the pain, and be willing to die for You thousands and thousands of times to comfort You.

During Jesus’ advent in this world, many religious groups and believers were awaiting the Messiah. They were all expecting the Messiah to come as someone even greater than their expectations. The Messiah who came was not a Messiah of happiness. Rather, he was a Messiah who embodied the sadness of humanity. He was a Messiah of pain in whom all the pain of human history culminated. We know that no one in that time ever thought that the Messiah, who came as the representative of Heaven, would come so.

We understand that history is realized based on what has gone before. We are learning the principle which tells that all events occurring in history have to reappear to be restored through indemnity. We also know of the responsibilities of the disciples in the last days to horizontally put to rest all the sorrowful remembrances of the Garden of Eden, the sorrows of the course of history that came down vertically, to return to our Father the joy of the horizontal perspective.

Father! We now desire to be loyal for the sake of the world. Do we not want to establish the heavenly promised land for humankind? We can only then become people who inherit Heavenly Father’s deeply engraved sorrow and pain. We have already realized that only those who digest pain and sorrow can appear as the inheritors of heavenly joy. Please allow us to see that those who struggle only for their peace of mind will surely perish and be defeated.

Father! We know that one cannot claim the achievement of victory if he struggles and fights for his happiness. I sincerely pray, Father, that You allow us to become those individuals who persevere in spite of sadness and pain and who say, “I will live for the lives of the whole.” Let us become those who have raised high the altar of the historic offerings and lead history. Let such people lead this perishing race and world.

To whom are we going to entrust our faith when we look at the sad and sorrowful churches, when we look at humanity, and when we look at heaven and earth in this time of sorrow? We are not to follow a certain leader or serve a certain founder of a religion. The final moment of judgment is coming in which we have no choice but to live for and attend the Father and to fight to resolve the Father’s han. Is there anyone among us who lives in shadows which our mind cannot comprehend? Please break down such shadows, and allow us to realize that those who die today struggling to fight against new sorrows will live again tomorrow. Continue reading “We Are Not to Follow a Certain Leader or Serve a Certain Founder of a Religion”

A True Individual Has Come to Liberate Heavenly Father’s Sorrow

Luke 11

37 When Jesus finished speaking, a Pharisee invited him home for a meal. Jesus went and sat down to eat.[e] 38 The Pharisee was surprised that he did not wash his hands[f] before eating. 39 So the Lord said to him:

You Pharisees clean the outside of cups and dishes, but on the inside you are greedy and evil. 40 You fools! Didn’t God make both the outside and the inside?[g] 41 If you would only give what you have to the poor, everything you do would please God.

42 You Pharisees are in for trouble! You give God a tenth of the spices from your gardens, such as mint and rue. But you cheat people, and you don’t love God. You should be fair and kind to others and still give a tenth to God.

43 You Pharisees are in for trouble! You love the front seats in the meeting places, and you like to be greeted with honor in the market. 44 But you are in for trouble! You are like unmarked graves[h] that people walk on without even knowing it.

45 A teacher of the Law of Moses spoke up, “Teacher, you said cruel things about us.”

46 Jesus replied:

You teachers are also in for trouble! You load people down with heavy burdens, but you won’t lift a finger to help them carry the loads. 47 Yes, you are really in for trouble. You build monuments to honor the prophets your own people murdered long ago. 48 You must think that was the right thing for your people to do, or else you would not have built monuments for the prophets they murdered.

49 Because of your evil deeds, the Wisdom of God said, “I will send prophets and apostles to you. But you will murder some and mistreat others.” 50 You people living today will be punished for all the prophets who have been murdered since the beginning of the world. 51 This includes every prophet from the time of Abel to the time of Zechariah,[i] who was murdered between the altar and the temple. You people will certainly be punished for all of this.

52 You teachers of the Law of Moses are really in for trouble! You carry the keys to the door of knowledge about God. But you never go in, and you keep others from going in.

53 Jesus was about to leave, but the teachers and the Pharisees wanted to get even with him. They tried to make him say what he thought about other things, 54 so that they could catch him saying something wrong.

Richard:  Wow, this is the first time that I got the exact reading from the speech of Rev. Moon that we are studying.  God and Father in heaven are emphasizing that they are very unhappy with the current situation of “leaders” in the Unification Movement.  Especially, the Rod of Iron ministry is grieving Father, because it is not at all what he has taught in his word.  Yet, people at the Sanctuary Church are thinking that Pastor Hyung Jin is uplifting Father’s teaching, which is obviously not true:  https://youtu.be/s9zmyZbEDhE.

Ecclesiastes 11

11 Be generous, and someday
    you will be rewarded.[a]
2 Share what you have
    with seven or eight others,
because you never know
    when disaster may strike.
3 Rain clouds always bring rain;
trees always stay
    wherever they fall.
4 If you worry about the weather
and don’t plant seeds,
    you won’t harvest a crop.

The Person Who Will Serve the Grieving Father

Sun Myung Moon
May 24, 1959

Matthew 23: 1-39

The passages read were the words of a final curse that flowed out of Jesus’ sorrowful heart. He soon was to pass away on the path he had chosen, yet he was unable to establish the will in front of the Israelites, of whom he had so many expectations, dreams and hopes.

Centering on these words, I will speak to you on the topic of “The Person Who Will Serve the Grieving Father.”

People today are longing for a happy life. They also long for a world of freedom in their hearts. Yet the reality is such that what is expected and longed for in the heart is in discord with the actual aspects of our lives.

Because we cannot possess something in our hearts that will allow us to take dominion over and rid ourselves of the things that are in discord, even for a day, we cannot go where our hearts long for in spite of our desire to do so. We also feel and have felt in our lives our inability to carry out the things for which our hearts long.

Amid this reality, we see that we do not have any ideology with which to overcome ourselves, nor any means to take control over our environment. While we embrace hope and sing aloud in our lives, we always feel sorrow within our hearts. Today and yesterday, every day, we lead a life of such sorrow. Continue reading “A True Individual Has Come to Liberate Heavenly Father’s Sorrow”

True Father is Grieving in the Spirit World

Mark 15

33 About noon the sky turned dark and stayed that way until around three o’clock. 34 Then about that time Jesus shouted, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?”[f] which means, “My God, my God, why have you deserted me?”

Luke 1

1 Many people have tried to tell the story of what God has done among us. 2 They wrote what we had been told by the ones who were there in the beginning and saw what happened. 3 So I made a careful study[a] of everything and then decided to write and tell you exactly what took place. Honorable Theophilus, 4 I have done this to let you know the truth about what you have heard.

Richard:  Rev. Sun Myung Moon, True Father, is grieved in spirit world that his legacy and tradition and words are not being carried forth boldly to build a world of lasting peace.  Rather, tribal messiahs are lukewarm or inactive, and Mrs. Hak Ja Han, Rev. Moon’s (former?) wife is proclaiming herself as the messiah and the Sanctuary Church is proclaiming a new doctrine of the rod of iron that is contradictory to the words of Rev. Moon.  Furthermore, Sanctuary Church Pastor Hyung Jin Moon does not preach on the word of his Father (since he has made up a new contradictory message) and does not share about the life of Rev. Moon.

The Person Who Will Serve the Grieving Father

Sun Myung Moon
May 24, 1959

Matthew 23: 1-39

Prayer

At this time, we want our hearts to be where the Father’s heart is and our bodies to be where the Father’s holy body is by reflecting upon our whereabouts. We are longing for the day when we can live together with the Father. Please let those of us who are running to the Father with longing hearts become sons and daughters who will bring forth the glorious day in which we can live together with the Father and return recitations of thanks and joy to Him. Let us harmonize all of Your creation. Since our minds and bodies are created to resemble Your image, Father, we earnestly ask and hope that we will become the sons and daughters who perfectly resemble You.

Father! Human beings do not know that Your sorrowful heart is embedded in the soil, and traces of the grievous tears of Heaven soak the footsteps of human history. We cannot help acknowledging that we are the descendants of traitorous human beings and do not know that Heaven’s grief hovers around our minds and bodies. We cannot restore Heaven’s honor; thus we cannot receive Heaven’s trust.

Father, there is no one on earth who can dry Your tears, who can comfort Your sorrowful heart, or who can safeguard the way You are walking. Therefore, if there is anxiety on earth, it is Heaven’s anxiety embedded on earth. If there is sorrow on earth, it is Heaven’s sorrow embedded on the earth. If there is rancor, it is Heaven’s rancor embedded on this earth. Therefore, people living on this earth are destined to become offerings of sorrow and to go the path of sorrow. Continue reading “True Father is Grieving in the Spirit World”