Hyung Jin Moon
May 16, 2010
Cheon Bok Gung
Yongsan, Seoul Korea
Guest Speakers:
Cheon Bok Gung East Region Pastor -- Rev. Man Woong Cho and
Cheon Bok Gung West Region Pastor -- Hoonsa Yong Ha Kim
Welcoming Remarks:
Yeon Ah Nim:
Welcome to our international service!
Before we say anything, could we give a warm applause to our beautiful Japanese sisters for their beautiful song? (Applause)
Last week we were with True Parents in America for the world level ascension ceremony. We were so glad to attend True Parents, and it was so nice to see In-jin nim and In-jin nim's family and American members. Today we sincerely hope and pray that through this worship service we can become better sons and daughters of True Parents and Heavenly Father. Aju!
Hyung Jin Nim:
Good evening brothers and sisters. Let us begin by manifesting the Principle: give and receive action, four position foundation; may I inherit the true love of God! Aju!
"You can reach the kingdom of heaven through the church," Father says, "the family must pass through the church, so the church is a foundation for families to bring victories. It is a place where family laws emerge, a place where the nobility of character is recognized and it is a training ground for the kingdom of heaven." This is from "The way of the spiritual leader" p 238 number 10, 12 and 13.
Brothers and sisters, we are really so blessed to be able to be in a community, to have people around us who share the same faith, who are walking with us on the path towards heaven. It is in that community that we can find so many riches and such wisdom.
Once a week we are meeting some of our wonderful Unificationists families who are in the background. These families are not necessarily in any leadership role in the church but they contribute so greatly to the community and they stand as examples within the community; so we love to highlight these beautiful families.
This week we are going to have the chance to meet Mr. Kim Tae-son and his family. He is a Korean husband and his wife is Japanese. They have 5 wonderful children and through this video we are going to have the chance to meet them. Let's go meet one of our Unificationists!
Video:
This is a copy of Mr. Kim's Cheong Seong Gyeong. God's words gave me a great shock. It's not something that we take lightly. This is our weapon, a weapon among weapons so we need to be very bold and proud of this.
This is in Kyung Gi province, Go-Yang city and this is some award. This is a massage center. He is 46 years old, he was blessed in 1992 and he operates a massage center. He was a body guard for True Parents for a number of years and he has been copying the Cheong Seong Gyeong.
"I was very serious about the word of God because I had been living in a world that had nothing to do with God's word. I was really in a position where I might die, but with the word I could live again. It made me very excited to think that way. It gave me a deep shock and stimulus. So I read the word all through the night. This kind of precious word -- once I heard it I didn't want to be the end of it, but I wanted to make it a part of me; I wanted to write it down with my own hand. That is how I began. Later I began working at Han Nam Dong, and after I worked in the day attending True Parents then I would always do this.
When we look at the words of our international president, he says that in the place where we are, we are far from God's love, and I felt that very much, very deeply in myself. So what I can do is be close to God's word and write God's word, really delve into it and immerse myself in God's word. These are words that we could continuously read for tens of thousands of years like that.
"True love and true family".
I have 5 children. I intended to have five children and I had to convince my wife to do that. She is Japanese and she listened to my word and decided to do it.
Mrs. Kim:
He said that he wanted to do it that way so we did it that way. We had the first and the second. Till we had the third I was wanting but…
Mr. Kim:
She is very grateful; she is very wonderful, very straight. The way we were able to endure is because of the word, because we have the word. In that sense she is much greater than I am.
We are a true love family. Before, the mayor of Seoul, Lee Myung-bak, who is now president of Korea, invited multicultural families. We went there as a multicultural family, and as a man and woman who have good character. These kinds of families were invited by the major's office. We wanted to say that we had to be true parents and have true children. Parents have to be the model for everything and teach the children by being a model. The mayor said that he wished us well and said that all the parents gathered there that day should be models to their family. And he said, "Let us establish true love together." So everyone stood up and applauded.
We also had a chance to take a photograph with him. At that time he was mayor and he realized, "Oh this is the kind of people that are in the Unification church!" He used the word "true family" in his remarks that day and I was very happy about that.
Words are weapon among weapons.
Some people ask me, "How did you come to join the Unification church?" I would say, "Well it's a good place. Why do you say that? It's not just a heresy." A heresy in Korea means the second level, third level, or fourth level. I testify to our Father, "You can tell what kind of person he is. He liberated the Soviet Union and he also went to North Korea. They say, "Oh! Is that what has been going on? Is that what happened?" They understand why I am a Unification church member.
When we go outside and when we talk about the Unification church, we have to be very proud because everyone knows. I don't give a massage to a person who does not like the Unification church.
Please be reborn in the word. We love all members of the Unification church! (Applause)
My son asked me, "Why do you do this?" I said, "Because the word is precious and important". My son told me that he is very proud of me for doing this.
Hyung-Jin Nim:
Let's give it up for Mr. Kim Tae Son and Mrs. Kim. Mrs. Kim is up here. She is part of the choir today. (Applause)
It was not mentioned in the video but after he left Han Nam Dong where he was attending True Parents as a bodyguard, he felt so empty in his heart, so when he started his business and created his massage clinic he started writing all of True Parents' words. He did Cheong Seong Gyeong; this huge text, he wrote it by hand. He wrote the Divine Principle four times by hand, the Peace Messages, -- a very big text -- he also did that by hand. He has really had his own spiritual practice all centered on True Parents' words. We are so thankful for Mr. Kim's family.
Hyung-Jin Nim's introduction of guest speakers:
Brothers and sisters, today we have a special service. As you know the organization at Cheon Bok Gung is now four districts from the previous seven districts. We are organized now by East, West, North, and South. Seoul is now divided up into four regions. It's divided up into these regions according to how True Parents divided up the four regions in the past; it also coincides with the education centers that they have in each district. For example, the police centers also separate the four districts in the same way that we have. It is very easy for somebody who is a new member or for somebody who is entering into the church to know which region they are in within the four districts.
So we have now four districts and today we are going to hear from the Hoonsa Nims, the people who are the head ministers of the East region and the West region. First we'll be hearing from Cho Man-woong Moksa Nim. He has done ministry for over thirty- three years out of a total of being in the church 43 years; 43 years of working as a teacher and also a minister.
He retired last year. He was our regional director for Gangnam region which is a very important region here in Seoul, and he was the regional director there for many years. He has shown exceptional leadership amongst the ministers. When he retired, I was very saddened by that, so I asked him to please come and walk with us on the Hoonsa Nim training, on the Hoonsa track. "Even though you are done with ministry, please walk together with us on the Hoonsa track" which is of course as you may know 33 years of ministry, and then after that they have to walk 400 day training. And if you miss 3 days you go back to day one, so you can't miss out any day. And it is every day at 2:30 in the morning that we start and train!
Moksa Nim has been walking with us, training with us for 307 days now and he is walking on the Hoonsa track.
He will come as the representative of East Seoul and of our brothers and sisters who reside there. He will speak to us for about fifteen minutes with some words of encouragement, particularly for the Eastern region, and in the next fifteen minutes we are going to have Kim Yong-ha Hoonsa Nim who is the regional pastor for the Western region of Seoul.
He has done over 33 years of ministry. He has completed the 400 day Hoonsa training so he was ordained as a Hoonsa Nim last year. He will then speak as the representative of the Western region for fifteen minutes.
So let's take time now to now invite Mr. Cho Man-woong Moksa Nim. When he comes up, let's give him a big round of applause! (Applause) Eastern region!
Cho Man-Woong Moksa Nim -East Region:
Hallelujah! I am glad to see you! I would like for Tim Elder here to convey to you all the content that I want to communicate to you today. First I will read to you quotes from True Father's words and from the Bible.
True Father's words:
"We have now entered a new age. What kind of attitude should we have? The conviction to restore independence to our homeland more than anything else should be burning in our chest. In other words you should become the standard bearers for building the homeland that God has been impatiently waiting for since the past six thousand years. You should take pride in being a pioneer in being the Special Forces sent into battle as the advance guard to reclaim the land and take responsibility for this incredible mission. Aju!"
Bible:
Genesis 18:26:
The LORD said, "If I find 50 righteous people inside the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake." Then he said, "Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak only this once; suppose ten are found there?" And He said, "I will not destroy it on account of the ten."
Aju!
I entered the Unification church in 1963 in April in Chungnam province. I am working now as a pastor for 43 years. There are three points to the words that I would like to convey to you today. I have been called by our international president to train here as a Hoonsa and to work here in that capacity. There are a number of miracles that are happening here and I would like to introduce some of those to you.
Back in 1977 I went through a period where working as a public official was so difficult that I wanted to leave that position. I wanted to go to work in a company outside the church. But when I went to receive some counseling regarding that and I stood up, God struck me in the waist. For the next month I had to stay lying down. I could not get up. I was just lying down for a month.
Again in 2008 on February 26th I had another trial. That was the time of our True Parents' birthday, and we were conducting education sessions around the country. On the morning of the 26th of February I tried to get out of bed but I had such pain in my waist! I went to the hospital, and received the diagnosis that I had a disc that was out of place. And it was even not in the primary stage but it was in the middle stage of my becoming crippled, and it was not easy to cure that.
That was also the time when Hyo-jin nim passed into the spiritual world but I could not go to the Seunghwa ceremony because of that pain. Finally I did find a hospital that was able to treat my condition, to some extent, but not fully, so always there was a chance for it to recur. My doctor said," Don't walk a lot! Don't stay seated in a chair for a long time!" He gave me a lot of limitations on my daily activities.
When I was living like that, on May 1st of last year, I went into convulsions. It was right then that the International President told me that I should go the way of Hoonsa. I could not answer him right away at that point but I was struggling in my heart how to answer. How could I give one hundred and twenty bows in my condition? Also my wife had a problem with her knee, and she was having an operation. Hoonsa involves husband and wife doing it together, and both of us, husband and wife had situations that would prevent us from going the way of Hoonsa. So we struggled a lot with that issue.
During the service, the International President spoke out from the stage, "I want to meet you after the service", and after the service, he took me by the hand and took me to his office. The first thing he said to me then was, "My meeting you is fate". [Fate means that it is not a way that I could go because I did not want to or not go if I didn't want to.] So my wife and I decided right then and there that we would go ahead and do this.
We had attended True Parents all the time and we decided that we would attend the second generation of True Parents' family and go the way of Hoonsa. Beginning July 1st we offered a hundred and twenty bows. We thought that we would never be able to offer one hundred and twenty bows but we were able to do it. And even as we were doing our training I was able to be in a situation where I was sitting down and leaning back and bend my joints in ways that I thought I would never be able to do. This was truly God's miraculous healing of our condition.
Right now in Cheon Bok Gung many miracles are happening like this. So I want to tell you about those miracles during my time with you today. Right now in Cheon Bok Gung, the miracle of Cheong Seong is giving the spirit of salvation to all of humanity. We are attending the International President every morning and after the bows the International President strikes the gong, and he strikes the drum and another instrument that you bang. These are God's sounds. These sounds resonate from here in the Cheon Bok Gung to the city of Seoul and to the people all around Korea and all throughout the world like a wave.
If there are any among you who have physical illness, come to the Cheon Bok Gung and pray and I am sure that you will be cured like a miracle. And if you are struggling over some problem come to the Cheon Bok Gung, offer your Cheong Seong, and that issue will be resolved.
So the first message that I want to give you today is that this Cheon Bok Gung is where miracles are born. And the second message that I want to give to you is that you are righteous people chosen by God for this time.
God established Noah, and he had Noah build an ark at the top of the mountain. Many people at that time did not believe in God and they made fun of Noah, "If you are going to build a boat, you should build it by the sea. Why do you build a boat on a mountain?" But God gave the flood judgment with rain for 40 days, and the water rose till it reached the top of the mountain. Then the ark began to float on the water. The rain was there and then the waves were calmed. And God saved the eight members of Noah's family.
Abraham was also a righteous man. God told Abraham to leave his homeland. How can we so easily leave our homeland where we were born and raised? But Abraham left his homeland just after hearing that one word from God.
Lot was another righteous man. When God judged Sodom, He first told Lot and his family to leave Sodom before He passed judgment on that city. There were many people living in Sodom but there were no righteous people. Not even ten righteous men could be found. Ten is not a large number. Among the hundreds who are gathered here today, ten would be a very small proportion. A "Righteous Person" means a person who is able to follow God's Will and follows God's Word, but not even ten righteous men could be found in Sodom. And before God had to pass judgment on Sodom He first brought the family of Lot out of that city.
Unification church members, you who are gathered here today, you truly are the righteous people of this day! We have the responsibility to save this world in this era. We have the responsibility to build Cheon Il Guk. When Lot came out with his wife, God told them, "Do not look back!" I am sure that as they left Sodom they could hear their friends, their neighbors, and their relatives crying to them from behind. They could hear the city being destroyed, but they still had a feeling of attachment to the city. Finally, when Lot's wife turned around to look at the city, she was turned into a pillar of salt.
As for us also today, we are often tempted to look back and to feel attachment to the world around us. We may want to have that honor, or power and authority, or to feel yearning for money and material. But it is more important for us to place God's Word at the center of our heart rather than those secular things. So in that sense we can say that you who are here today are the righteous people of this age who are chosen for this age. We have a mission that is given to us. This is an incredible mission which is to build Cheon Il Guk.
My 3rd message is about our goal to first build a congregation of 21,000 members, which will be the foundation to receive 210,000 new members. Our new organization in dividing Korea into 4 districts is a principled way to have God work with us. Similarly, in the Tongil symbol, 4 positions are also represented. So according to where you live in Korea, please find out which district you belong and join the team! True Father says that in the east, we see the sun rise first. The sun represents God and hope. So this will be our motto. Our first goal is to witness. In order to make the goal of 21,000 new members, we must witness continually without resting. All unification members must do this. True Father says we are in a new era. We are pioneers. Pioneers must continue to move forward no matter what difficulties they face. With this attitude, let us claim victory! Mansei!"
Kim Yong-ha Hoonsa Nim -- West Region:
I'd like to tell you my story in my early years in the church, while I was a missionary in Japan. First, I'd like to read from Ephesians:
"As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit -- just as you were called to one hope when you were called -- one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all."
Aju
I joined in 1964 while I was a senior in high school. I had seen True Father in a vision. I experienced the Holy Spirit spiritually. When I heard the Divine Principle conclusion for the first time, I was very certain that True Father was the Lord of the Second Advent. Writing in my journal, I made a promise to God that I would testify to this fact. So after I graduated high school, I started missionary work in the villages of Japan. I thought I would be welcomed in sharing this exciting news of a savior, but I was mocked. The villagers would not let me drink clean water. They threw rocks at me and stole my clothes. Yet I continued to serve them by teaching and tutoring the farm children who were not allowed to go to school. I would also work in the fields for free. I was able to bring in many new members, but my health declined due to malnutrition. I thought the only way I could survive was to eventually leave my mission and the church. So I packed my bags.
But that very night of my packing, True Father came to me in a dream and spoke to me, giving me his love and guidance. He reminded me that when you take on the responsibility of being a missionary, you cannot abandon it. The region of your work is spiritually depending on you. Therefore, if you are still alive, you must never give up. You must die trying to help and witness to the people. Then when you die, they will erect a tombstone in your honor. After this dream, I awoke and unpacked my bags and renewed by determination. But instead of improving, the persecution increased. My health continued to decline. So I packed my bags again! When I tried to return to my own home where my parents were, I was turned away. I ended up sleeping at a temple where I cried all night. This time, True Mother appeared to me in a vision to comfort me, embracing me by nursing me at her breast.
After that vision, I never thought of leaving. I realized that True Parents sacrificed not only physically but also spiritually for me. In my 45 years of public service, I have received many special graces from them. So I offered to help our international president by making 3000 bows while he was resting from his 21,000 bows. Each of our bows was a commitment to bring in 21,000 new members. By the way, Satan did not sit by and give us an easy time of it. He tried every way to stop us! But in the end, we had victory and won over him! In the same way, True Parents have had victory over Satan in their 7 resurrections. During our continuous commitments of service, we came to realize how True Parents sacrificed in this spiritual and physical way to pave the path for us members and for all of humanity. They passed thru 8 stages of indemnity from the individual to the cosmic level, each level requiring more sacrifice than the one before. So in order to receive peace and joy in my life, I have determined to support them in this endeavor.
As representatives of our True Parents, we wear the Hoonsa clothing. This is very humble attire, which reminds us to become more humble and serving as we come close to True Parents. As model members, we should keep our heads low and bow to others. To train our bodies and minds, we do 210 bows every morning. I may be sleepy, but after our bows I feel energized and ready to work. To train our minds, we immerse ourselves in True Fathers words. The affect is that all our personal troubles then take care of themselves. Would you like to join us?
At our World Headquarters Center here in Korea, this is the place where God's blessing is shared. You can receive God's salvation in a substantial way. We also can return glory and joy to True Parents by visiting here.
As Unification members, we must first become unified ourselves. If we can't unite, then we will never bring new members. We must resolve to serve more than any other church. That's why we have started a bowing condition at 2:00 am. Every time I offer bows in the presence of the 4 saints (Buddha, Mohammed, Confucius, and Jesus) I think I have to go beyond what they did. I have to serve more than they did. If I can accomplish this, then the saints will help me. People will start to join like waves of clouds!
God has called us to work to unite all religions. We have to join together and offer our unique abilities. Let us make a solid determination right now to make our 21,000 member congregation!"
Hyung-jin nim:
"I want to remind everyone that this effort is not about one person or one leader. It will require everyone's participation to move this nation. So let's pray now for our True Parents and give glory to them! Today we heard from the East and West leaders. Here in Seoul, let us make a foundation for our goal to establish 21,000 new members to expand to 210,000. This will grow to become the largest sect of a religion in the world. We want to build a holy United Nations as well. Thank you, Heavenly Father, for speaking thru our leaders today. Help us to see how we are all connected, especially while True Parents are still on this earth. We pray for the victory and safety of all members around the world. AJU."