Category: Old Testament

Submit Your Will to God’s Will

Pastor Hyung Jin Moon explains about “Fake News” and the battle between the forces of good and the forces of evil in this weeks sermons “Substantial Kingdom”: https://vimeo.com/195476294.

Enjoy my latest video Blog: Who Is Writing Fake News and What Should Be Done About It? https://youtu.be/5VxApSYFC_U

1 Samuel

1Then Hannah prayed and said:

“My heart rejoices in the Lord;

in the Lord my horna is lifted high.

My mouth boasts over my enemies,

for I delight in your deliverance.

2“There is no one holy like the Lord;

there is no one besides you;

there is no Rock like our God.

3“Do not keep talking so proudly

or let your mouth speak such arrogance,

for the Lord is a God who knows,

and by him deeds are weighed.

Richard:  The reference to “horn” made me think of President Elect Donald Trump.  “Horn” symbolized strength.

Zecheriah 14

16Then the survivors from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord Almighty, and to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles. 17If any of the peoples of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord Almighty, they will have no rain.

Richard:  This makes me think about Pastor Hyung Jin Moon and how he encouraged us to celebrate the festival of booths (living in a tent outside), and how he invited us to do so last Fall in Maine (stay with his family camping on the seashore in Maine). Continue reading “Submit Your Will to God’s Will”

Jesus Underwent a Path of Tears

Pastor Hyung Jin Moon explains about “Fake News” and the battle between the forces of good and the forces of evil in this weeks sermons “Substantial Kingdom”: https://vimeo.com/195476294.

Psalm 48

4When the kings joined forces,

when they advanced together,

5they saw her and were astounded;

they fled in terror.

Lamentations

44You have covered yourself with a cloud

so that no prayer can get through.

45You have made us scum and refuse

among the nations. Continue reading “Jesus Underwent a Path of Tears”

Jesus Led a Life of Tears

Ruth 3

18Then Naomi said, “Wait, my daughter, until you find out what happens. For the man will not rest until the matter is settled today.”

Leviticus

18He is to put some of the blood on the horns of the altar that is before the Lord in the tent of meeting. The rest of the blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering at the entrance to the tent of meeting.

Richard:  Blood atonement reminds us of the sacrifice of Jesus.  Because of Jesus’ atonement we are able to stand before God, since we all have sinned. Continue reading “Jesus Led a Life of Tears”

Jesus Shed Tears for Humanity

Luke 18

22When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

23When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was very wealthy.24Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! 25Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

Exekiel

1The word of the Lord came to me: 2“Son of man, speak to your people and say to them: ‘When I bring the sword against a land, and the people of the land choose one of their men and make him their watchman, 3and he sees the sword coming against the land and blows the trumpet to warn the people, 4then if anyone hears the trumpet but does not heed the warning and the sword comes and takes their life, their blood will be on their own head.

Let Us Be a Victor for God

Rev. Sun Myung Moon
June 30, 1957
Chung Pa Dong Church
Seoul, Korea

Then what kind of person is Jesus? He is the begotten son of Heaven, the prince of heaven, the savior of all humankind, and the Messiah of glory. He should have nothing to do with pain. When seeing the Messiah, it would have been only natural for God to rejoice in him. It should have been with praise that all humankind who saw him received him. Yet because the Israelites were faithless toward him and cursed him, joy turned into sorrow. Who would have to take responsibility for this? You who know the will of God should do so.

The reason worldwide Christianity was established was because of Jesus’ thirty years or more of life for the sake of humanity, during which he shed tears without letting others know. Ever since his death on the cross, there has been 2,000 years of history, a process through which God has been leading a dispensation of sorrow and grief.

Now as we are following the same path of Jesus who shed tears on earth, we should be willing to take responsibility for the failure of the Israelites who caused sorrow to Jesus. We should go on with the battles to take vengeance upon Satan.

You should not think that during the preparation period of the public ministry of Jesus, he simply led a life of meditations. While he was working as a carpenter for thirty years in Joseph’s family, Jesus shed countless tears without letting others know. His brothers did not understand Jesus’ sorrow, nor did Joseph and Mary, who should have known this more than anyone else. Thus, Jesus walked a lonely path of indescribable sorrow that could not be revealed to anyone. Jesus consummated the sinful history of 4,000 years. While carrying the burden of liquidating the sorrow of God and humanity, with a firm and unchanging conviction for the will of God, he fought Satan. Consequently, if we follow the exemplary life of Jesus, we can set a victorious standard of life.

Why did Jesus come to live such a bloody and tearful life? It is because he knew that the long process of the 4,000 years of history was a course of tears. Jesus knew that God went through a history of tears. He also knew that the many prophets and sages who had attended God’s will underwent a tearful course of life. Consequently, he came to think that for the fulfillment of God’s will, he also had to walk such a tearful course of life, and he understood that his life would have a great impact upon the future.

Therefore, Jesus felt responsible for indemnifying all the tears shed by God and the prophets and sages. To give hope to all of humankind, he voluntarily walked a path of bloody and tearful sufferings.

There is No Salvation Without Jesus

Luke 23

40But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? 41We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”

42Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.d ”

43Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

Exodus 28

9“Take two onyx stones and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel 10in the order of their birth—six names on one stone and the remaining six on the other.11Engrave the names of the sons of Israel on the two stones the way a gem cutter engraves a seal.

Let Us Be a Victor for God

Rev. Sun Myung Moon
June 30, 1957
Chung Pa Dong Church
Seoul, Korea

The topic of the speech I would like to share with you today is “Let Us Be a Victor for God.” Due to the human fall, God who created Heaven and earth has never experienced joy and glory with the creation during the long history past, through which He has been leading the dispensation of restoration. You must already know this.

In other words, God has never received a day of victory in which He could be happy. The reason does not lie with God, but with humans who were created as the masters of all things. Thus, the day of victory cannot come with the effort of God alone, but it also needs the efforts of humans, besides those of God. Otherwise, God and the creation cannot receive a day of glory with triumph.

Then what is the purpose of God’s creating all things? It is to watch all things singing with God’s love and returning glory to Him, centered on humans who have fulfilled the purpose of goodness. All should rejoice in this. Due to the human fall, God’s purpose of creation was not achieved. To restore human beings, He has been leading a long battle of 6,000 years of history.

God, who has not been able to receive a day of universal victory since the creation, desires to see the day of victory through humans on earth. Thus, unless earthly people do not restore or recover that day, we cannot defeat Satan, who violates humans on earth. Nor can we eliminate the power of Satan, who makes accusations against humans before God in heaven.

Consequently, God does not mind any toil, any sacrifice, or any battles. Until this moment, He has been a shield to restore each of you.

When viewed from this standpoint, we can understand what God’s wish is. God wants to establish each of you as an individual and separate the enemy Satan who caused the human fall from you. Thus, the evil history of Satan will be concluded. We should become people who can fulfill the wish of God, come forth in pride before God and all things, and return the victorious glory to God. Then, finally, the purpose of God’s providence, which He led through His hard work, will be realized. Humans have been trying to witness such a day of victory, but until the present, it has not been fulfilled.

However, God sent a man who could find the day of victory for humans. This was Jesus Christ. He experienced the internal heart of God, who has been leading a dispensation to restore all humankind through a long history. He experienced all the unjust circumstances of humans. Thus, he came as a representative who could bring victory out of the battles with Satan.

Therefore, being faced with Satan, who is blocking the path to attain the will of God’s dispensation and the will that humankind wishes for, you should take over the lifetime undertaking of Jesus Christ, who fought valiantly as the historical man in charge, representing all things with the heart of the Lord of creation. Also, in your own life, unless you practice the life that Jesus wished for, not only the sorrow of Jesus but also that of God and all humankind will be again embedded on the earth. You should understand this.

Then what kind of life course should we take? We should go with the responsibility to inherit the will of Jesus Christ, who came for the fulfillment of God’s will. We should fight to bring about a day in which God and humans can rejoice together. This is more important than anything else.

The life of Jesus was not to live for himself as an individual. It was a life during which, in silence, he took on the responsibility alone for heaven above and earth below, that is, for all the creation. He did this to bring about a day when God’s will would be achieved.

Jesus did not make a distinction between day and night. Also, he did not care about persecution from the visible world. He was a courageous man who fought Satan, who was blocking his path, in an invisible place that people did not recognize or see, carrying responsibility for all of humankind.

Therefore, today all of us should attend Jesus as a vanguard and uphold his will. Thus, wherever he goes, we should go with him. If he fights, we should also fight with him. That is, we should share the same joy and pain and continue to fight to accomplish the will of God in His providence of restoration, which is the wish of all humankind.

Further, Jesus lived for his people and the world, taking responsibility for 4,000 years of history and the many lives in the spirit world. He did not fight for himself alone. It does not necessarily mean that he was fighting only for his people or the world. He fought to fulfill the will of God, with the mission of upholding heavenly principles beyond history and the universe.

Such battles continued throughout his lifetime of thirty years. Even 2,000 years after his death, it is still being continued. You should understand and feel deeply in your bones that although humans can take time to rest, he has been unceasingly fighting along with the Holy Spirit only to fulfill God’s wish and thus find the day of hope for which all humankind wishes.

It was lamentable for Jesus to die on the cross due to the failure of humans when he came to earth to save them. Nonetheless, even after his death, still carrying the sins of humans, he has been walking the course of the cross to Golgotha. We should reflect upon our past, thinking about what kind of life of faith we have had toward Jesus.