Ep 477 - Europe Part 5
Europe 112-37-12-40 - February 14, 2022, Valentine’s Day
(Response to sharing) Since I came to Korea many Korean and European and overseas leaders came to me to say that America is doing a great job. I have been telling you that God’s providence starts from the external, then (progresses) to internal and more internal. The external environment is like UPF outreach -- they are doing very well; we brought so many providential leaders to Korea. The internal condition is our morning devotion. Everyone has participated and had experiences of rebirth. Finally, a more internal condition has been to raise our future generations. You can see it is not just Rebecca; many of our young generation are coming back and dedicating themselves. I can see sooner or later really great things will happen in the American movement.♦
Today I’d like to talk again about “Europe ” from True Mother’s Anthology, Book 1.
True Parents' teachings are the remedy by which Slovakia can be established as a healthy nation. There is no better remedy than what they have taught. I know that many social problems including domestic and juvenile problems are on the rise, even in this country. Though the rally of July 4, 2006, was a success, it does not end there. That is only the beginning. If you can arm yourselves with the Word and practice it in your lives, Slovakia will grow more prosperous and powerful. You have no idea what a great joy it is to all humanity that national-level marriage Blessing ceremonies were held together with the Universal Peace Federation Speaking Tour to Return to the Original Fatherland and Hometown. In the Eastern European region in particular, there are countries that cannot accept the grace of the marriage Blessing due to Russian Orthodoxy. That is the same as going against God from both the viewpoint of God and the viewpoint of the original nature of humankind.
We, however, still need to save them by blessing them. The fact that you can attend an event like this in the Cheon Il Guk era under the leadership of True Parents is almost miraculous. And the fact that Slovakia took part in this historical event is nothing short of a miracle. When you consider the countries that were unable to participate in this event, you are truly happy people. You need to research ways by which you can return that grace to God. Happiness you enjoy all by yourself is not true happiness. The more happiness you share with others, the greater is the happiness that is returned to you. You need to know how happy you are to be in a position where you can give to others, instead of receiving from them, and you should try to do so. (2006.07.05, Bratislava, Slovakia)
True Mother said, “Happiness you enjoy all by yourself is not true happiness. The more happiness you share with others, the greater the happiness (that) is returned to you. You should practice it while feeling how happy it is to give rather than receive.”
As you know as you have experienced a life of faith, there is no greater happiness than the happiness you give. However, there is greater happiness than the happiness of giving. It's the happiness of giving and forgetting. God remembers me if I give without knowing. The more I give where God and I know and others don't know I have given, the more it comes back with more energy.
But there is a way to find eternal happiness. What is that? It's about saving the soul. Anyone can give to others once or twice and forget it, but saving the soul requires continuous input or investment. If you don't, you can't save even a single soul.
Saving the soul is a blessing. True mother officially mentioned it. Now anyone who blesses 43 unmarried young men and women will be recognized as fulfilling the mission of tribal messiah. I hope that young people, especially (of the) 2nd generation, will become champions of witnessing and complete the mission of tribal messiah.
Dear North American brothers and sisters, family, from now on, CARP and the Youth group, let's do HTM's mission through witnessing (to) really young people. So, let North America take the lead in saving mankind by sending out many people as world missionaries.
If we can send out 10 people per country to 200 countries for global missions, and gradually activate this and send out up to 36,000 people, the United States will undoubtedly become the center of the world.
Let’s serve the world. Let’s save all humankind. That is True Parents’ utmost desire. The role of America is to save the world, to save all humankind. … We need to remember True Parents guidance and teaching.
LIVING DIVINE PRINCIPLE: Principle of Creation 19 - Living For The Sake Of Others
Continuing from yesterday’s content, let’s study first from EDP content.
Center of the Universe
● Considering the purpose of existence of the individual embodiments of truth that make up the material universe at different levels, we can surmise: energy exists in order to form particles, particles exist to form atoms, atoms to form molecules, molecules to form matter, and matter exists for the creation of all the individual entities in the universe.
● The activity of matter is for the purpose of constructing the universe.
● What is the purpose of the universe? What is its center?
> It is none other than human beings.
> This is why God, after creating human beings, commanded them to have dominion over the universe.
Human beings have dominion over the universe.
As shown in the chart above, all beings in the universe exist for the sake of all things from one to ten.
Therefore, it is concluded that the existence of myself must also live for the sake of others according to the laws of the universe.
Based on this content, let’s study Father’s word.
For Whom Do I Exist
<11-17> Where do we find ourselves today? Even if you are in a place of death, you must know for whom you exist. God’s heart desires to teach this. God had presented the messiah and an ideology of salvation through the history of religion in order to teach this to all of humankind. Therefore, For whom do we exist? We must exist for the sake of Heaven. Even if you die, you must do so for Heaven; even if you live, you must do so for Heaven. Such a person may die, but he is not a dead person.
Yesterday, True Mother said at the Summit for the Korean Peninsula that the countries that prioritize living for heavenly parents will never fail and will be blessed with eternal peace.
What True Parents always emphasize and teach humankind is that humankind should exist, should live for Heavenly Parents. Also, True Parents say that even if we die, we must die for Heavenly Parents and live for Heavenly Parents. Father teaches that such a person is not a dead person even if he dies.
Matt. 22:37-38 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment.
So Jesus also came 2,000 years ago and said, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.”
The first thing the Messiah has to come to this earth and teach mankind is that God exists. The second is that God is the eternal parent of humankind.
The relationship between God and man is a parent and child relationship.
The third, the Messiah teaches that God is love. The Messiah teaches us how much God loves humankind. Fourth, as much as Heavenly Parent love humans, the Messiah teaches us to love God with all our heart, all our soul, and all our mind. The fifth is to love our neighbors with a heart of loving Heavenly Parent.
In this way, everyone loves God and when they become aligned with God, they can love anyone. If human love for God is the standard, it can be applied to all the horizontal worlds. Like loving God, you can love your parents, love your spouse, love your children, love your neighbors, and love all people.
Jesus' first commandment is that humans should practice filial heart to God. It means to love Heavenly parent with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This means to practice filial heart where you will die for your heavenly parent under any circumstances.
So, we can find out that the Bible is the Bible of Hyojeong, a hyojeong Bible. Even though the Bible does not mention filial heart, actually this commandment teaches us filial piety: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and all you mind. This is filial heart. Mother is always teaching about it. So, the main teaching of the Bible is what? Hyojeong. That is why the bible should be a Bible of hyojeong. The point of the Bible is to treat God with Hyojeong, and the second is to love all mankind with a love for God. This is the core of the Bible. So even though it does not mention hyojeong, the core teaching of the Bible is hyojeong.
It looks like a duty, but filial heart is different. (It is) filial piety plus devoting your utmost heart. First we must live for the sake of God because he is the one who lives for each member of humankind. Otherwise why does Jesus say we need to love the Lord, your God, with all your soul and heart and mind? He is the one who practiced (this) first. That is why he says we are the ones who really return our filial piety and joy to Heavenly Parent.
You must know “for whom do I exist.” You should not exist for your own sake. You must exist for the sake of the nation and for the world. Furthermore, based on a certain thought system or ideology, you must exist for the sake of heaven and earth. All of you must become a group of people who emerge with the pride of existing for the sake of heaven and earth.
In the Gospel of John 3:16, it says “For God so loved the world, -- not the nation or the individual or any kind of ethnic group -- that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life”
God sent the Messiah to this earth not to love any individual or religious group or country, but to love and save the world and humanity.
Therefore, just as the objects of love in the Messiah are mankind and the world, True Father always emphasizes that all people should be objects of love like the Messiah.
Those who died only for their own individual selves must be resurrected and love their families, those who died only loving their own families must be resurrected and love the country, and those who died only loving their own country must be resurrected to love the world. Our final destination is to love the world and God.
Therefore, True Father says, I was born for this world, I live for the world, and I have to live with the pride of living and dying for the world. In that sense, we should not forget that North America always thrives and becomes the center of the world when living for the sake of the world and God.
TODAY’S YOUTH MINISTRY: The Path of Faith is Training to Bear the Cross
1. The path of faith is the path of labor. I must go and overcome the path of labor in front of me according to the Principle. Since the path of faith is the path of labor, it can also be the path of the cross. Jesus also said, “Take up your cross and follow me!” As the descendants of disbelievers, we today must go and carry the cross. First, we must carry the cross of the blood lineage. I must go and carry the crosses of my parents, siblings, children and spouse. Next is the cross of reality. Through the things I see with my eyes and things I hear with my ears, the reality of injustice always tries to invade me. That's why, like crossing a single wooden bridge over a river, I have to focus my eyes on the bridge and cross it. In the path of faith, you cannot get distracted. We have to look only at Heaven, look only at the will and hope of Heaven, and transcend reality. We must look to eternity.
True father said that the path of faith is the path of the cross. Then, what kind of cross should I take?
First, you have to take the cross of your own lineage. The cross of lineage is that you take the cross of my parents instead. You have to fulfill even the responsibilities that your parents couldn't do. Next is the cross of your spouse. No matter what difficulties you have in your life, you have to carry your spouse’s cross instead and protect and be responsible for your spouse. Next, you have to take the cross of your children as a parent. You should take the cross for your children with the heart of taking responsibility, protecting, and raising them forever. Under any circumstances, the cross of this lineage cannot be given up.
You cannot give up your parents, your spouse, your own brothers and sisters, your children. This is your eternal cross. You have to willingly, happily take responsibility for that. You have to take responsibility until the end -- not just until the end, eternally.
The second is the cross of reality. This is your own cross that you have to carry. You have to fight reality to overcome the desires of the body, the environment, and trials. It is painful to overcome this cross of reality. You need to deal with this reality every second, every moment, every day. It's truly the journey of the cross.
Therefore, you cannot let go of tension for even a moment. Just like crossing a single wooden bridge over a river, you must cross with focus without thinking of anything else. In the path of faith, you cannot get distracted.
In order to carry all the reality that comes to you and all the crosses of your family, you have to look only at heaven, look only at heaven's will and wishes, only look at True Parents and transcend reality. You have to look at eternity. Otherwise, you will fall into the path of death.
Furthermore, you make up your mind to carry your race, country, world, and the cross of True Parents and God. Therefore, the path of faith is by no means an easy path. It's the way to fight between life and death. It always comes with pain.
2. The path of faith is such a difficult path. To put it bluntly, the Bible says that those who seek to die will live, and those who seek to live will die. You can only survive if you have the heart and determination to die. As stated in the Bible, we must go forward looking only at the Lord, who is the subject of hope. The Israelites should have gone along with Moses on the wilderness journey toward Canaan, looking only at Moses established by Heaven and the vision of entering Canaan. However, on the never-ending wilderness journey, when they were tired, hungry, and poverty-stricken, they disbelieved him. That's why the Bible says that we can live only if we seek to die. We, too, may get tired of going on the path of faith. Even if we go, we may get tired on the way, saying that the way of the will has no end. There are times when we do not see any hope because of external financial problems and the cross of our family. Nevertheless, with the vision of Cheon Il Guk, we must go forward looking only at True Parents with hope.
The path of faith is this difficult. The Bible says that those who want to die will live and those who want to live will die. You can barely survive when you only go with the mind and determination to barely survive. The path of faith is a fight that determines whether I die or live. If you go moderately, the world will always be swallowed up.
The only way to survive is to look at the Lord, (look at our True Parents), the owner of hope. You need to hold on to God, our True Parents, our beloved Jesus, the Lord. They are the owner of hope and vision.
In going the way of God's will, we may become tired, saying that there is no end. At times, we might not see any hope due to external financial problems or the cross of the family. Despite this, we must go on, we need to go on, with the vision of CIG and look up at True Parents as the only hope.
The only way to survive in the path of faith is to look at God and True Parents. Second, don’t always try to live. You need to prepare to die.
This is the only way you can survive.
This is why Father says the path of faith is so difficult; it is not an easy way. … I encourage all brothers and sisters to still keep absolute faith in God no matter what, absolute faith. Don’t be distracted by this group or that group, some spiritual group.
I am telling you, God is our only hope. True Parents are our only hope and vision. There is only one way. The way to enter the kingdom of heaven is not wide but very narrow. Many people give up on the way -- sometimes go sideways.
Now we are living in the golden time. Let’s unite with and support True Mother. … We can see the finish line just in front of us. (Let’s be) more patient. We can get more strength and power to go forward.
3. Even if you pass through the midst of a crowd of ferocious lions and say “If you want to eat me, go ahead and try. I'm going my way," then the lions would not touch that person. For such absolute believers, it is said that God is binding the feet of the lions. In this way, with a heart that wants to die for God, you must absolutely obey God's command and go. Since God is binding Satan's four feet, go on the path of faith with a strong and bold belief that Satan cannot invade you. Satan enters me only when the conditions for Satan to invade are established. If I follow the principled path, Satan will never invade me.
That is why we need to have absolute faith, absolute love and absolute obedience. If we have such faith, then God will bind the feet of the lion, the feet of Satan. In this way, Satan cannot do anything -- based on absolute faith, absolute love and absolute obedience.
4. Therefore, as we walk the path of faith, when trials, pains, and temptations come to us, we must overcome them well. I must bear the cross that is approaching me well. The path of faith is, in a word, training to bear the cross well. God does not give us a cross that is difficult to bear from the beginning. However, He also does not give us the way of the cross that anyone can easily cross. Step by step, God gives us a path of the cross to overcome, which requires us to use as much strength as we can, according to each’s own standard. Fallen human beings cannot be born again without going through this way of the cross. The reason there is a cross on the path I am going on is because there is still fallen nature that needs to be liquidated and the course to grow remains. Therefore, in order to atone for the injustice that has been lurking in my fallen lineage historically to this day, everyone must go through this course of the cross.
Because the path of faith is the path of the cross, I fall down when trials come, pain comes, and temptation comes.
So you have to take the cross very well. In other words, the path of faith is training on how to take the cross well.
God does not give you an unbearable cross from the beginning. Just as school teachers don't give students homework that they can't handle, God never gives humans tests that are impossible to overcome.
However, he does not give anyone an easy way to overcome the cross. God gives you a cross that you can overcome only when you do all your best according to your own standards.
The reason there are crosses on the path I go through is because I still have fallen nature that I need to clear. It is also because the process to grow remains.
That is why willingly, happily, joyfully take up your cross.
So the Bible tells us the secret of overcoming the path of the cross. Do you know how? The Bible says very clearly -- I love this Bible verse.
In 1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18, it says, “ Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
Rejoice always because God is my eternal parents. I am so happy about this. God is with me. Always be happy and rejoice!
Pray without ceasing. You need to invest a lot of Jeongseong, utmost sincerity. Without jeongseong there is no chance(?channel?) to have give and take with Heavenly Parent and Satan always can invade. So pray without ceasing.
Without jeongseong and prayer, my weakness controls my body. It becomes the subject. But when you pray, your original mind becomes subject, becomes very strong and you can go forward.
In everything give thanks. Always be grateful and thankful. Then Satan cannot invade you any more. This is the will of God: in our daily life rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks.
Today we are talking about the cross. We need to prepare. We should not run away from our own cross. Willingly, happily take (up) my own cross -- not just for me but for my family, my tribe, my nation, for the world, and for our True Parents and heavenly parent. This is our offering(?) (of) our faith.♦
NOTE: This lightly edited transcription may contain errors and omissions. Indecipherable or uncertain words and guesses are tagged with a “(?)” and indecipherable phrases, with an ellipsis “ ...”. First, second and third person pronouns have been left as spoken if the meaning is clear, and other apparently Korean English expressions have been preserved. Some repeated phrases have been eliminated. This text and the powerpoint slides from this speech are available as pdf files at the top of this text and at text.morndev.com & yong.hoondok.com. Audio only is available at anchor.morndev.com, spotify.morndev.com & audio.morndev.com.♦