Hyung Jin Moon
August 1, 2010
Cheon Bok Gung, Seoul Korea
Welcoming Remarks By Hyung Jin Nim (Video Message):
Good afternoon, brothers and sisters! We are sending our greetings from Hannam dong. We are leaving in just a couple minutes to go to the airport. We just came back from the United States where we could attend our True Parents and see our brothers and sisters in America. It was very inspirational. Father shared many hours of Hoon Dok Hae every morning and a time singing and dancing. It was really wonderful. Brothers and sisters really missed that kind of spirit, being with Parents so close. It was such an inspirational time that we were able to share while we were there.
We are now leaving for the airport to make our way to Nepal, Thailand and Philippines to visit our brothers and sisters in that part of Asia. As you know, we have many many central blessed families all around in each one of these countries. We will be visiting them and encouraging our brothers and sisters there.
We realize and feel, as Paul said, that we are one in the body of Christ, in the love of True Parents; that we are one with them and one with the Unification family. Brothers and sisters, today let us offer glory and joy to True Parents during our worship service. Let us remember that True Parents are the substantial representative and manifestation of God on earth and that they can, in this age of Chung Il Guk, be able to be present with us during the service even though we are apart from them physically. Let us offer our joy and glory to them on this day. Let us and praise God and remember His goodness on this day and let us give joy to God this day.
Today Mr. In-Young Song will be speaking to us. He is a second generation Unificationist and a wonderful man we have been working with for about two and a half years. He is a very exemplary minister -- a young minister. We are very pleased that he can speak to you all about witnessing during this 40-day witnessing time period. Let us truly become one with True Parents word today so that we can once again find eternal life, spiritual life and move forward towards bringing the kingdom of Chon Il Guk substantially here on earth.
Brothers and sisters we are so grateful to be able to have this time to go to these countries. We will be seeing you again next week. We thank you for all your prayers and encouragement. Until then, God Bless! In True Parents' Names! Aju! Kamsahamnida.
Rev. Michael Brazil
As you heard, our senior pastor couple is on their way to Nepal. Today we are very blessed to have a very special brother share with us today and I genuinely mean that. He is a wonderful brother who has invested an incredible amount here in the church. Rev. Song is a second generation and he has four children. Recently he and his wife just had another daughter which was a tremendous surprise. There is quite a big gap in between their children but it is amazing. I want you to join me in welcoming our special brother Rev. Song In-Young.
Main Sermon by Rev. In-Young Song:
Good afternoon. Let us read God's word. John 14:7-14
If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him." Philip said: "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us." Jesus answered: "Don't you know me Philip, even after I have been among you for such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'?
Don't you believe that I am in the Father and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather. it is the Father, living in me, who is doing His work.
Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves.
I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.
And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.
Aju!
Let us read from True Parents words, Blessed Family, Page 1062:
Human beings are not born based on their own choice. Then, are they born due to their parents' wishes? No. They are born due to God's desire. They are born through the love of their parents, which represents God's love.
The person, who is born as a new life through parental love, representing God's love, is I. Love has the power to create everything. The one who is born as the center of the whole universe by receiving all the love of the universe is none other than I.
The highest purpose of life is to be born through love, be raised in love, live by love, and to leave love behind. The most valuable thing to do is to fulfill, in the family, the rules of love that lie at the center of the universe.
Aju!
Are we doing well in the midst of God's love? It is rather hot in Korea now, isn't it? This is the hot season. The fall will bear the fruits, so please endure the summer well.
We are in the 40-day witnessing period. We will talk about this today; if God resides in me, we will accomplish this and if God and True Parents reside in me than everything can be accomplished through that.
I was not born by my own desire, not even by my parents' desire or hope. When we get married, we want to have children. We have a certain desire about the baby's nose or mouth. We want them to be at least six feet tall. When they grow up we want them to play soccer better then Park Chu Young, the Korean soccer player. We want them to have an IQ of at least 150. We like to have that kind of children when we get married. Are the children born the way we like them to be born? No, because we are not born according to our own desire or even God's desire but through our parents by the desire of God.
Our ultimate origin is in God. We inherit God's True Love and we are the center of the universe. That is what I am. That is what each of us is. That is how precious we are. When we touch ourselves and put your hand on your chest, you feel how precious you are. I am precious. You are receiving God's true love and the people next to you are also receiving God's love and they are very precious as well. Let's look at each other and say: "You are truly a very precious person." Please say this to each other. Turn to the person besides and behind you.
Everyone who is here is very precious. We are all the living bodies of God and we are creating the ideal of Cheon Bok Gung together. This ideal first is to accomplish the temple of the third Israel. The second is to liberate God and True Parents who have been living their lives to liberate God. Third, by our faith; it will not be a faith out of duty but a faith that will truly create God's world.
These days our minister is giving lectures to a person who is a Seventh-Day Adventist. I asked the person, "Don't people tell you that you as a Seventh-Day Adventist, that you are a heretic?" But his answer was very clear. He said, "That's something that can be resolved if we have enough numbers." That is how he answered that question. That is true.
In the Cheon Bok Gung, as well, if we have a lot of people and other people are saying that we are heretics, then that would be resolved very quickly. This is a church that is accomplishing God's dream. It is a church where we are trained to live in the Kingdom of Heaven. It is not just a 21,000 or 210,000 congregation. We are not just about that. Together with the success of the congregation, we also want to have a change in each person's life and in your families, so you can inherit God's dream. That is the kind of church we are trying to build here.
The International President said that in 2007 he began his pastoral work in Mapo. It has been three years since that time and he is beginning his fourth year in his pastoral work. As he began that work, he built a foundation of Jeong Seong and love. The foundation of Jeong Seong and love is the rock of our church that cannot be shaken. He offers Jeong Seong at 3:00 in the morning and he created the system of Hoonsa and Hunyo and he created the chung bok chi. When he does that, again, we were very worried about what he was doing as he was getting up so early in the morning. We were afraid that his lack of sleep would affect his health. Sometimes it seemed what he was doing was Buddhist, sometimes Catholic. People were saying this is not our culture. Is this really Father's will? Many people were concerned about that but encouraged him in that way. However, now all those things have become our asset in this church.
Many religious leaders have come to Cheon Bok Gung and visited us here and they are very moved by what they see in terms of Hoonsa and Hunyo assistance. During the 120 day workshop all the pastors of our church participated in the early morning spiritual training and they inherited that and that is now spread across the world.
The International President has been doing and offering Seunghwa Festivals to the veterans of the Korean War and to those who died during the Korean War. The most beautiful Festivals have come about as a result. The Jeong Seong never ends. Centering on the Cheon Bok Gung, however, the culture of Jeong Seong and love is now taking root.
The International President trusts you and he is going out now to the world and representing the True Parents and tour the world and inherit to them God's love. Today as well. He left and left the church in your care and he is touring the three countries in Asia. The International President says that the role of the church first of all is to offer Jeong Seong. He said we have to focus on witnessing. He said he wanted to meet members who are working hard and witness with them. Sometimes he reduces the amount of time of meetings and conferences so he can meet those people who are out and witnessing and to witness on the street with them.
He has said also that he will open up the Hannam dong public residence of True Parents so it can be used for people who are praying and for witnessing. That is how earnestly he wants for witnessing to take place and for us to do witnessing. So members right now our Cheon Bok Gung must become a church for everyone witnessing. Right now we are truly crazy with witnessing for people to describe it that way. Don't you think so? Would that be alright with you? In order to do that, we need to confess ourselves in three ways. First there has to be a heartfelt confession of faith -- our search for God. In the beginning of our Korean church and also in each of the countries in the early days, I am sure you remember there were great spiritual phenomena. We need to, again, have this desperate and earnest desire to search for God. That is how the work of the Holy Spirit can happen. I believe that. We have to receive God in ourselves. We say it is difficult or how shall we do it, maybe you can think that way. However, God is not some place vague or very distant.
Let's look at the words of Cheon Seong Gyeong (194-42, 1989.10.15) Let's read this together in English:
No matter how exalted God is, if you should call for Him with a heart of love saying, "God!", He will immediately answer inside your heart saying, "Yes?" If you should ask, "God, where are You?" He will answer, "Where? Why do you ask where I am? I'm at the source of your heart." Isn't God originally the source? He is at the root and source of our hearts. That is how it is.
Aju
True Parents have taught us how to receive God into ourselves. If you call out to God, True Parents say God will answer. Let us try this right now; call out to God. God, please Father, come into me. Come to me! Call out to God that way. Let us do that often! Let us chant that! God! God! God! God! as if you are chanting God's name. Please try this now! If God hears you calling out so often, He will have to answer you. Sometimes you call quickly, sometimes slow, sometimes in the daytime and even in the middle of the night, loudly or very quietly. Let us try that. Close your eyes! Call out to God quietly within yourself! God, please come to me. God. God, please come to me. Do you feel God? Let us open our eyes.
If we call to God constantly then God said that He will be inside us. He will be with us. Until now we have not been calling God. We have not been looking for God very much. If we call God and call out for Him, then God will be with us. He will enjoy the joys with us and He will share the pain with us and He will also help us to recover from all these pains. He will comfort us in our sorrows and He will encourage us if we call out to God with our love and our whole heart. We are this kind of a church where everyone does that.
The second kind of confession we also need to have the confession of our True Parent. In the Book of John, Jesus talked to his disciples about death because he knew he was about to die and the disciples said: "We don't know where we are going."
"We don't know where you are going so how can we know where you are going?" the disciples say. Then Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life, and no one can come to the Father except by me. If you know who I am then you also know my Father. So from now on, you know God and you have seen God."
So if we see in the Cheon Seong Gyeong what Father says "What we believe in is far from fact and what we know conforms to facts." We need to go beyond just believing in True Parents to know True Parents and to lead the way with True Parents. As we attend our International President, we have been able to understand much more deeply about our True Parents. One year from Hyo-jin nim's ascension, our International President had a very deep realization about True Father, about the Messiah whom we can believe in just out of duty, but together with the spiritual phenomenon to understand the seven deaths and resurrections and the completion of the eight stages. The International President explained his experience about that.
On the second anniversary of Hyo-jin nim's ascension, he had a very deep realization of True Mother's role and gave us the impression of that not just knowing True Parents with our mind and head, but for God and for humanity, forgiving humanity. Our International President received this very deep spiritual experience about True Parents so now he had told us again and again that we must view our True Parents with our spiritual eyes at every worship service. When we read the True Parents Declaration, I am always trying to feel the heart that is in that declaration. So I put my hands together and I close my eyes in order to do that.
Even though still we all are very far from being able to feel True Parent's heart, we must confess that. So, loving members, you are truly great people. When you were blessed by True Parents directly, we offered our physical bodies and even our eternal souls; we dedicated those to True Parents, not just this life on Earth but even our eternal lives. We dedicated all that to our True Parents and when we received the blessing of marriage with only God, True Parents and me, we thought, "not my will" but, as an offering that was placed on the altar. We offered up our entire selves. This is why no one in the world can understand the way that the marriage ceremony was conducted.
Why is that? Because we know True Parents. That is why we have offered our entire beings to True Parents. When we offer our entire selves, that is when the Korean church revived and that is when the church of the entire world revived. But now let us again confess our True Parents from the bottom of our hearts so that we can again have that kind of revival with the work of the spirit of revival in the Cheon Buk Gung. Aju!
In 200 countries around the world, members are offering Kyung-bae to True Parents and are praying and are longing to see True Parents. A little while ago, our minister went to the Guma church in Japan. This is a church where the International President has not visited and the Japanese woman who went out witnessing with him was 35 years old and she had three children and she had not yet been in the church even three years. Her husband was not yet a member and yet still she was going to the church every day to participate in street witnessing. She has never seen True Parents and she has never been to Korea and, of course, she has never been to the Cheon Bok Gung. But just through the word, she has faith in True Parents so she is working every day like that.
So because a minister came from Korea, from Cheon Bok Gung, she was deeply moved because the International President had come himself as if the True Parents had come. She was so moved to be able to work with him, she was so grateful to be able to work with him in witnessing. So I felt very sorry and very ashamed to meet this kind of a member in Japan. Just because he came from True Parents' country, just by that fact, he was being treated so well by the Japanese members and he felt very ashamed for that. The absolute confession of True Parents is in Japan. That is why a church in Japan even now is accomplishing great things in terms of witnessing. Many people are joining. Even 10, 20, 30, 40 years after the beginning of the Japanese church was started, they are still every day doing witnessing and they are working for the victory of our True Parents there.
In terms of the physical space, it is difficult for them to meet True Parents, but they still confess True Parents very faithfully, very strongly. They have a deep yearning for True Parents, so they do not grow tired and they are continuously witnessing. The Japanese church is continuously growing as a result, not just in terms of the words, but from the bottom of their hearts they confess True Parents as the Messiah, the Savior and as the True Parents for all mankind. When they make that confession and when we do that as well in Cheon Bok Gung, then the witnessing wind will also blow here. Aju!
The third confession that we must make is to confess that God and True Parents are one. That is when the Holy Spirit can work and there can be a great witnessing. Phillip said to Jesus, "Lord, show us the Father, then we'll be satisfied". The disciples asked Jesus to show God to them. Jesus said to them, he was very frustrated and he said, "Phillip, I've been with you for such a long time, don't you know who I am? He who has seen me has seen the Father, so why do you ask me to show you the Father?" The disciples only understood Jesus as someone who had special powers and could do a lot of miracles. But Jesus said, "I am in the Father and the Father is in me, don't you believe that? These words that I speak to you are not words that I'm speaking on my own but these are words that God is speaking from within me and that He is doing these works."
In the same way, we cannot just look at all the accomplishments that our True Parents have done. True Parents are in God and we must understand that God is in True Parents and that is how this ideal is being accomplished. So wherever True Parents are, they are always searching for God whether True Parents are in prison, or whether they are sending their disciples out, they pray to God in tears and ask God to protect their disciples who are going out witnessing. So when True Parents met Kim Il Sung, he also taught Kim Il Sung about God. Even if he had to put his own life in danger, he still wanted to teach people about God and even to sacrifice his own children. He only worked for God and for humanity. He has been shedding blood, sweat and tears all these years. If you were God, where would you go? What person would you go to? Wouldn't you go to the person who is seeking so desperately for God and speaking for God? Wouldn't you go to True Parents if you were God? That is exactly how God is. God has gone into True Parents. Now True Parents are in God and God is in True Parents. We need to confess that, that they are the True Parents of heaven and earth and humanity.
Recently there is a great deal of confusion in our church. There is some content that is going around. However, when we confess that True Parents and God are one, then we can understand very clearly where we must stand. The minister receives many telephone calls. "There's no hope in our church", people say. Some people say that way to him; in Christianity. Sometimes they are people who are opposed to our church, or sometimes in the media our church may be criticized. So when we see that, what are you going to do when you actually come into contact with that kind of thing? There is no more hope for our church! Are you going to give up?
Our church has a very amazing history. Father began the Unification Church in the 1950s and things were going well for a few years after the beginning and a lot of people were joining from Yongsae and Ewha University and a lot of members were joining. But then in 1955 on July 4th, the police came to the church and took Father away and he was placed in the prison at Sa Dae Mun. True Father, who was the center of the church, was taken away to prison on that day. We thought that would be the end but actually True Father was exonerated. The court found him not guilty. He was released from the prison and then after his release, the work of the Holy Spirit was such that there was a great revival around the country and a great witnessing movement around the country.
Right now the things that are going on as the Last Days, the people will be divided from one side and another. The decisions of True Parents are not just the thoughts of our True Parents; that is God within True Parents. These are the words of God and the work of God that True Parents are doing; that is, God's work. Do you believe that? After the crucifixion of Jesus on the cross, He resurrected. Then after that resurrection, the disciples were not afraid of death. They witnessed without any fear of death. In the same way, this is a time of trial for us. There will be a blessing.
At the instruction of the International President, the pastors and Hoonsa of Cheon Bok Gung went to Japan to see how the Japanese church does its witnessing so that the new way of witnessing can be incorporated into Cheong Bok Gung. But when we looked at it carefully, what Japan is doing now had been done in the past in the Korean church. But not just in the Korean church but probably in each country. This is how witnessing was done in the beginning when the church was developing in the early days, to confess God, to confess True Parents through the word of God, by going from one person to another, witnessing to people and then embrace people with love. That is still going on in Japan. Now it is done more systematically in Japan and that is why they are succeeding so well in Japan.
Those of you who are from the English-speaking world centering on Rev. Brazil and centering on Rev. Toffey, if you become one like that and witness, that would be wonderful. So how many foreign members do we have? Who is witnessing? That kind of thinking: who is coming to church and who is not able to come to church. If we could find out this kind of information for each other -- if there is someone in difficulty, then help that person -- and to take interest in each other, then I am sure these seats will be completely filled. Do you believe that? Just with the Philippine sisters, there would be so many people who would come here. We could fill this sanctuary. Do you believe that?
Finally, each of us has our own dreams. We have our dreams for our family, dreams of the nation, dreams of the world, dreams of the cosmos! The International President wants to complete the altar of the Cheon Bok Gung and to liberate our True Parents who are liberating God. That is his dream and we who have been attending our True Parents. He wants to be able to relieve us of our han so our children can go to any place in the world and to be able to say proudly that they are members of the Unification Church. Wouldn't you like to make that kind of a church?
We have God and True Parents with us. We have the leader of true love. That is our International President. Now centering on the Cheon Bok Gung, we have this beautiful environment, this beautiful setting that we have. So now what we need to do is to create a culture where we are witnessing every day. Even if we cannot come together every day and witness together, still in our daily lives we can begin the day with prayer and say, "Heavenly Father, today I will do my best to save at least one person's life." Even five minutes to actually witness to someone, even five minutes every day. Each of you, you have your place of work and still, internally though, your first primary job is to be an evangelist for the Unification Church. Each of us should have that attitude and think of ourselves primarily as a Unification Church evangelist. Shall we do that? I am a Unification Church evangelist. Let us say that loudly. Thank you. I have my job but, internally, my first job is to be a Unification Church evangelist. Let us have that heart in our daily lives.
The International President has said that he also will witness himself and he does. So when we go to our school or when we go to our jobs or even if we go shopping, wherever we are, we can go out to each person that we meet in our daily lives. We can think of those people as people we should be witnessing to. Even if we cannot have time that is separate for witnessing, just in our daily lives we can become evangelists for the Unification Church.
Witnessing is not done by someone who is able to speak well. If we decide to do that and we overcome the spiritual barriers, then we can witness well. If I believe in God and if I confess in True Parents, then God will reside in me and True Parents will come within me. Then when I speak to the people that I meet, then God and True Parents will be speaking to that person and they will be moving the heart of that person. Just as God caused me to come into being, into existence through my physical parents, in the same way, through me God is witnessing to that person that I am speaking to. So now I am in the Father and the Father is in me. If you believe in that, then within God and within True Parents you should all also be there. Then when that happens, when you can be within God and True Parents, then anything can be accomplished. That is the blessing we can be given. In verse 12 Jesus says we can also do that. In fact, we can do even greater things than He has done. Do you believe that?
This will be the new life of God, to inherit God's true love. Through the witnessing activity, witnessing can become our way of life and it can become our daily habit. If we live within God and True Parents, then things will be accomplished in the way that we want. If we believe that God will accomplish anything through us, then God will bless us and He will accomplish those things through us.
Now we are at the beginning of a week and the beginning of a month of August. The International President is also beginning his fourth year as a pastor in Seoul. Let us all have victory ourselves. Let us believe in God and to attend True Parents and to confess these things. Then God and True Parents will be within me. All the things that you desire will be accomplished. I believe that. Aju!
Thank you very much!