Ep 480 - Africa Part 2
Africa 115-40-12-40 - January 17, 2022 - Final Day of the 12th Forty-Day Morning Devotion Condition.
(Sharing photos) Yesterday morning, True Mother called the world's key leaders and shared a very precious time with us. The reports of Dr. Walsh, Dr. Jenkins, and Tom McDevitt brought great joy to True Mother as well as to all the attendees.
It was really beautiful, incredible, and overwhelming!
Once again, thank you to all the North American UPF staff, Taj Hammad, Tomiko, John Jackson, Dr. Franco Famularo and all the staff for their hard work for the events.
Dr. Walsh looks younger now.
True Mother was very happy, appreciating all their reports.
Dr. Jenkins was our hero yesterday. He was like an evangelist! Wow! Everyone enjoyed hearing his incredible report and behind(-the-scenes) stories. ]
The Washington Times media report by Tom McDevitt also touched many people.
Here is a group photo. Mother met with us earlier. So (afterwards) we had a group photo.♦
Today I’d like to talk about “Africa” from True Mother’s Anthology, Book 1.
I know that there are various difficulties in Tanzania. I have heard that there are domestic and juvenile problems, and also many orphaned children who have lost their parents to AIDS, though I know that this is also true of several other nations in Africa. That is why Africa is a place that desperately needs the pure love movement and the true family movement. You should carry out the work of newly purifying Africa through the New Mind, New Life Campaign and the New Community Movement.
Korea in the 1950s after the war was in a more difficult situation than this country is in today. At that time, True Father mobilized a small number of people and created the basis for national revival. Though things were difficult in the beginning time, True Father carried out a nationwide enlightenment movement centering on middle and high school students. He taught those in rural areas to read and focused on the agricultural movement. On the foundation thus laid, today's Korea was able to join the ranks of the advanced nations.
At that time, we started out in one country, Korea, but you are in a different position now. Those around you are also in the same position as you, and many countries are able to help you. There is hope for this country if you work actively, almost as if twenty-four hours a day is not enough, with the awareness that you are the owners of this country and with the resolution to renew this country with your own hands. (2006.07.21, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania)
Recently True Mother’s speeches are constantly talking about the Saemaul Undong, the New Village Movement. The Korean government at that time accepted and adopted our True Parents’ initiative of the New Village Movement. It became very famous. Because of that Korea developed so much and became an advanced country.
Let’s study more in detail about the New Village Movement.
Saemaul Undong (New Village Movement)
The Saemaul Undong, also known as the New Community Movement, New Village Movement, or Saemaul Movement, was a political initiative launched on April 22, 1970 by South Korean president Park Chung-hee to modernize the rural South Korean economy. The idea was based on the Korean traditional communalism called Hyangyak and Doorae, which provided the rules for self-governance and cooperation in traditional Korean communities.
The movement initially sought to rectify the growing disparity of the standard of living between the nation's urban centers, which were rapidly industrializing, and the small villages, which continued to be mired in poverty. Diligence, self-help and collaboration were the slogans to encourage community members to participate in the development process.
The early stage of the movement focused on improving the basic living conditions and environments, whereas later projects concentrated on building rural infrastructure and increasing community income.
The Saemaul Undong improved agricultural competitiveness and contributed to the restoration of a sense of community and voluntary participation through citizen participation. As a model for rural development around the world, it has been positively evaluated as the most groundbreaking policy of President Park Chung-hee.
The United Nations is showing great interest in promoting a poverty eradication program in Africa called the 'New Millennium Village Plan' based on the Saemaul Undong, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also recommended that UN-affiliated organizations in Africa learn about Korea's Saemaul Undong.
I think we learned what the Korean Saemaul movement was. I really appreciate our True Parents’ great contribution, not just for our movement but for the sake of the development of Korea.
LIVING DIVINE PRINCIPLE: Principle of Creation 19 - Living For The Sake Of Others
Let’s study the content of the EDP:
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.
This teaching of living for the sake of others, (let’s learn) how we can apply it to our daily lives. The core of the Universe is living for the sake of others.
Let’s study Father’s word.
Levels of Love
<57-29> Then what are the levels of love? The level of love increases the more you sacrifice for the sake of the greater good. Do you understand what I am saying? That is why, if there is a person who sacrifices his family for the sake of the nation rather than just sacrificing himself for his family, he is a patriot and that family will be a family of a patriot. That is how it works. It should not simply remain a family of a patriot. If he can lead his family and tribe and sacrifice for the sake of the nation he will not only become a patriot but part of a patriotic tribe.
What are the levels of love? The level of love increases the more you sacrifice for the sake of the greater good.
The level of love increases when sacrificing more for a tribe than for a family, more for a country than for a race, and more for the world than for a country.
In that sense, Family Pledge (No.) 2 is our goal and vision. We should become filial sons and daughters in our family, patriots in our nation, saints in the world, and divine sons and daughters in heaven and on earth.
This is the path of absolute destiny on which everyone should go.
Therefore, in order to go to a higher world, sacrifice is a prerequisite. It means that the level of love increases when sacrificing and doing things for a wider and higher world.
We should not forget that the path of true love requires sacrifice.
When I heard Father’s words, “True Love requires sacrifice. Without sacrifice, love is not love,” I had a life changing experience. I thought we could (simply) obtain true love. That was a misunderstanding. When I heard directly from Father’s words, “Without sacrifice, love is not love” …
When they raise their own children, how much parents have to sacrifice for the sake of their own children. They invest for their children day and night. The mother wakes up at 2 o’clock, early in the morning, to take care of the baby. How much parents sacrifice during their entire life for the sake of their children!
Not just for children, in order to accomplish our goal, we need to have a lot of effort and investment and, at the same time, a lot of sacrifice. True love always requires sacrifice. If we invest more sacrifice, the level of our love is upgraded.
People who sacrifice themselves for the greater good shall not perish but remain. God can plan a complete restoration through a group of such people. He cannot even dream about complete restoration with anything else.
That is why, the ideology of restoration states that I exist for your sake; I exist for the family; the family exists for the nation; the nation exists for the world; and the world exists for the sake of God. Then for what does God exist? You may say, “What do you mean ‘what does God exist for?’ God exists for God” but that is not the case. God exists for the sake of love. It is only then a world of peace can be achieved. Do you understand?
God is the subject partner and the world is His object. Both exist for the sake of each other. Who does God exist for? God exists for the sake of His partner. What do the subject and object partners exist for? They exist for love. You must clearly understand that it is from here that everything can finally reach perfection.
That is why the starting point for completion and perfection starts from one’s self. When you sacrifice yourself for the sake of the world, you have begun the way towards completion and perfection. Sacrificing yourself for the sake of God is the start of completion and perfection. You should go to the next level for the sake of God, and take off for the sake of God’s love.
Those who sacrifice for greater things will never fail and remain forever. Since God exists by such principles, the universe protects anyone who follows the principle of Creation, and God protects them.
If you don't know the principle of living for the sake of others and the law of sacrifice, you can't dream of the providence of restoration.
The ideal of God’s principle of creation is that I and my spouse exist for my family, my family exists for the country, the country exists for the sake of the world, the world exists for the sale of God, and God exists for the sake of true love.
A peaceful world cannot be achieved if we don’t know the principle of living for the sake of others and sacrificing.
TODAY’S YOUTH MINISTRY: The Difference Between Other Existing Faiths and Unification Faith
1. Our Unification faith must be different from existing religions. We must become sons and daughters who take responsibility for God's sorrow and tears. God plainly tells the sons and daughters of the Unification movement to relieve that resentment. The Unification Church is a church that seeks to save God from sorrow. God could not fulfill the purpose of creation because man fell. What do you call filial piety(孝)? Isn't it called filial piety to know the circumstances of the parents, comfort them, serve them, liberate them, and realize their will? Filial piety is doing whatever I can to relieve my parents’ Han (bitter heart). A filial child is a person who suffers for the pain, regret, and resentment of their parents.
Our Unification faith is completely different from faiths of existing religions. All existing religions focus on individual salvation and saving themselves.
However, the Unification faith is the HyoJeong faith of taking responsibility over God’s sorrow and tears.
The focus of HyoJeong faith is not on one’s own salvation but on knowing the parent’s heart, circumstances and wishes and seeking to fulfill it.
The HyoJeong faith is a faith of being born only for the parent, living for the parent, and even risking death to protect and serve the parent.
That is HyoJeong faith.
Ownership
2. Then what kind of church is the Unification Church? Today, most other religions only seek their own individual salvation. What kind of mindset do you have in your faith? What is the purpose of your faith? Did you join the Unification Church to receive the Blessing because marriage in this world is difficult? Did you join the Unification Church to advance your business? God is always looking at the motivation. If the motive is for one's own sake and one's own circumstances and wishes, then one wants to gain some benefit by using God and the Unification Church. This kind of faith is a servant’s faith. This kind of faith is still young. But even though we still have the faith of a servant, God works hard to develop our young faith.
3. Parents raise their children while serving them as servants, giving them what they want. Parents do not raise their children centered on their own circumstances and wishes. Children do not rejoice centered on their parents, but rather rejoice centered on themselves because they are immature.
The position of the servant, that is, the age of formation stage faith, grows through the ceremonies (儀式) and systems (制度) established by Heaven. In formation stage faith, you must follow the church’s ceremonies, attend Sunday Service well, and tithe well. Those who focus on their own circumstances during Sunday Service do not develop and eventually lose their faith. To act well even from the position of a servant, you have to completely cut off your own circumstances and be loyal to the Lord.
The Unification faith is the hyojeong faith of carrying the parent’s heart and wearing the body of the servant to live for God, humankind, the world, and our neighbors.
That is our HyoJeong faith.
4. In order for a servant to receive their wages, they must do what their master tells them from morning to evening. What would happen if they did whatever they wanted and went to other places without getting approval? Such a person cannot even receive salvation at the servant’s level. Therefore, all servants must be completely loyal to their master's work. Only then will they know their master’s circumstances, that is, the church‘s circumstances. They must know the circumstances of the church and be loyal to the church to enter the adopted son’s position. If they are resurrected to the adopted son’s position, their faith will rise to growth stage faith (長成級信仰). Knowing the circumstances of the church, some people think that they need to help financially, while others think that they need to help the pastor in pastoral ministry. They try to do something to help the church. Therefore, if you do well as a servant in formation stage faith, you will be upgraded to the adopted son’s level.
We must upgrade our faith. In the formation stage and on the servant level, we must be loyal to Abel and receive their trust.
In the growth stage, we must know the Master’s circumstances and rise to the level of the adopted son that even takes responsibility for the master’s circumstances.
In the completion stage, it is to rise to the faith of the filial child where the couple must become one and know God’s han, sorrow, wishes, and pain and try to liberate Him from them.
Recently I have been talking about the three stages of growth in detail, how to do them. Our True Father’s guidance is amazing. Also, I have researched Rev. Yo Han Lee’s guidance and selected very important and key content and am sharing it with you.
5. However, the growth of faith does not happen quickly. It takes a lot of time. Depending on the quality of their lineage, some people upgrade quickly and some take a long time. People who upgrade quickly are people who have good ancestors and have good relationships with their parents. Formation stage faith is a period of clearing individual sins. Therefore, individual sins can be eliminated only when you act properly from the servant’s position. You should be raised from the stage of living centered on one's circumstances and position to the level of working for the circumstances of the master. During the formation stage, the relationship with Abel is very important. There are many who commit numerous sins among people who act centered on themselves without parental guidance in their family. Therefore, when you first join the church, absolutely obey the church system, observe worship time, and listen carefully to the Words, your heart will be happy and comfortable.
In the faith of the servant in the formation stage, you should completely deny yourself. You should become clay that completely obeys and surrenders in front of the potter.
6. At first, you come to church because you like the Words and the atmosphere is good. When you first begin your faith, you don't know the circumstances of the church at all. Then, as you know the circumstances of the church, you try to participate in church work, and try to help and develop the church rather than seek your own benefit. In this way, we grow by thinking from the owner’s perspective. As you repeat such a lifestyle, it is quite natural that your faith will continue to grow if you know the owner's sorrow and God’s resentment and try to relieve them. The more you grow like this, the more tears you shed for Heaven. When you first join the church, you cry because you are a sinner. You cry because of your individual sins. Next you cry over sins in your lineage. You weep to overcome the undesirable forces of injustice and the lustful mind from your lineage. Then, you weep knowing the circumstances and heart of True Parents, who are working hard to clear this lineage of lust.
To grow from the servant’s faith to the adopted son’s faith, you must always think from Abel’s perspective, Parent’s perspective, True Parents’ perspective, God’s perspective. (You should) make an effort to become one with Abel, and gradually understand Abel’s circumstances.
As you gradually understand Abel’s circumstance, you will also understand True Parents’ pitiful circumstances. Furthermore, as you experience God’s sorrow, you must make an effort to try to relieve Him from it.
To get out of the servant level, you must shed a lot of tears. In the formation stage, you cry a lot because of your own fallen nature. You especially weep to overcome the undesirable forces of injustice and the lustful mind from your lineage.
When I joined the church, I came to understand many things from the Divine Principle. I really struggled about Chapter 2 feelings and Chapter 2 thinking. I did not want to be influenced by Chapter Two thinking. At that time I was just a high school student. The more I knew about God and God’s will, the more I struggled within myself. “Why does this kind of thinking come to me? How can I really overcome it?” I cried a lot. “Heavenly Father, what shall I do? How can I overcome? Without your help, without your support, without polishing(?) by the Holy Spirit, I cannot overcome.” I cried and cried and cried. The more I knew the Divine Principle, the more I understood God’s word, (the more) sensitive my conscience became. If I even had a small feeling about Chapter 2, I immediately felt the pangs of conscience. I wanted to be pure. I wanted to offer my pure heart to God, “What shall I do, Heavenly Parent?” I really struggled. I wanted to get rid of this kind of personal sin and Chapter 2 feelings.
In the formation stage we need a lot of tears in order to remove our own individual sin, especially our lustful mind from our own lineage which we inherited from our ancestors. I realized(?) that my father and grandfather and all of my ancestors were all like that. I could not deny that I came from a fallen lineage. That is why I seriously fought. Without tears how could I overcome it? That‘s why in the formation stage you need to shed a lot of tears to overcome this kind of situation, (namely), undesirable forces of injustice and many kinds of selfish ideas.
I don’t know; maybe you are better than me. I honestly confess to you, when I was young, I realized that you can never resolve lewdness with your own power, and you will cry and plead a lot before God. Without confessing to God, without being honest to God, you cannot overcome these kind of problems. As you struggle to clear your lewd lineage, you cry knowing the circumstances and heart of the pitiful God and TPs who went through great pains and struggled to clear the original sin.
In order to leave that kind of sin, that kind of lineage, how much our Heavenly Parent and True Parents went through! They paid incredible indemnity and invested so much effort in order to revive all humankind! That is why we need to understand more about God’s situation.
The HyoJeong faith is a faith of growing gradually as you clear your individual sins and have many Cain figures.
In the end, Hyojeong faith is a faith that lives for the liberation of the parent’s heart while experiencing how much hard work Heavenly Parents and True Parents (performed) for the salvation of humankind.
I really appreciate Father’s guidance: formation stage, growth stage and completion stage. It is very clear: 3 steps to break through and overcome. Our Father’s guidance is very detailed. He clearly spoke about what the remaining things are and how we can practice and follow True Parents’ words.♦
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.♦