The Words of Sun Myung Moon from 1957
|
|
The Words of Sun Myung Moon from 1957 |
16 "I am sending you out like
sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent
as doves. 17 Be on your guard; you will be handed over to the local
councils and be flogged in the synagogues. 18 On my account you will
be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the
Gentiles. 19 But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say
or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, 20 for
it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking
through you. 21 "Brother will betray brother to death, and a
father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have
them put to death. 22 You will be hated by everyone because of me,
but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. 23 When you are
persecuted in one place, flee to another. Truly I tell you, you will
not finish going through the towns of Israel before the Son of Man
comes. 24 "The student is not above the teacher, nor a servant
above his master. 25 It is enough for students to be like their
teachers, and servants like their masters. If the head of the house
has been called Beelzebul, how much more the members of his
household! 26 "So do not be afraid of them, for there is nothing
concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made
known. 27 What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is
whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. 28 Do not be afraid
of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be
afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Are
not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to
the ground outside your Father's care. 30 And even the very hairs of
your head are all numbered. 31 So don't be afraid; you are worth more
than many sparrows. 32 "Whoever acknowledges me before others, I
will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. 33 But whoever
disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.
34 "Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth.
I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to
turn "'a man against his father, a daughter against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law -- 36 a man's enemies
will be the members of his own household.' 37 "Anyone who loves
their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who
loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38
Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of
me. 39 Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their
life for my sake will find it. 40 "Anyone who welcomes you
welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.
41 Whoever welcomes a prophet as a prophet will receive a prophet's
reward, and whoever welcomes a righteous person as a righteous person
will receive a righteous person's reward. 42 And if anyone gives even
a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple,
truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their
reward."
Matthew 10:16-42
Father, You toiled to awaken us even when You were subject to the power of Satan spread throughout this troubled earth. First, I would first like to offer my gratitude that You allowed us to seek You, and then bow down before You.
Please guide us to realize once more that we exist today, thanks to Your toil. The fact that we can claim ourselves to be Your children is due to Your infinite love.
Father, this evening as we are gathered to listen to Your words, I sincerely wish and desire for You to speak to Your beloved sons and daughters.
Today, this land is in a similar position to the 600,000 Israelites, who even after they had passed through the struggles against darkness in the forty-year wilderness course and the land of Canaan was before their very eyes, they could not follow Joshua and Caleb who came forth with strong determination to enter the land. Father, please speak to the people of this land, and let them realize this. As Heaven emphasized to Joshua and Caleb at that time to "be bold and strong," please allow us to keep the same message in our hearts. Beloved Father, I sincerely wish and desire for this to be done.
Billions of satans are blocking our way with cruel tribulations, persecutions and paths of the cross to sweep us away and violate us. Please allow us to become sons and daughters with hearts of unchanging will, loyal subjects toward You of whom You can be proud. One step further, please guide us to become children who can pray, "The only living sacrifices we can offer You are our bodies and minds. Please accept these." Beloved Father, I earnestly wish and desire for this to be done.
Father, we know You are concerned about us even now. Father, do not let even one life be dragged into darkness. We understand that the time when a song of glory sung for Your joy has drawn near. Please guide us so that none of us will be derailed from the right track due to a personal situation. Let us not be too inadequate to experience Your heart and the hearts of the many prophets and sages who have already passed away. Beloved Father, I sincerely wish and desire for this to be done.
Father, although we are not good enough before You, as we have gathered at this hour to repent of our past life and we aspire to come forth with a new determination and a new commitment, please allow us to become the children who can grope for the bosom of Your infinite love. Beloved Father, I sincerely wish and desire for this to be done.
You alone have dominion over the remaining hours of the service. Do not allow Satan to invade these hours. I also wish for You to protect us with Your glorious grace, and embrace us with Your hands of love. I pray all of this in the name of the Lord. Amen.
The words in Matthew 10 were given to the beloved disciples, who were about to leave and bear witness to Jesus for the first time. They were guided by Jesus, who had the final determination, with an important mission to lead battles against Satan on earth.
Through these words, we can understand that Jesus had infinite love and attachment toward his disciples, despite extremely sorrowful circumstances in his heart. On the other hand, when Jesus sent out his chosen disciples to spread the new words of blessing to the Israelites, we should understand that the situations and hearts of the disciples were pitiful. Yet, so were the anointed Jesus' heart and situation.
You should understand also that these words were spoken by Jesus out of concern for his disciples. Although he wished for their victories in the battles against the billions of satans so that they could sing a song of glory to God, they could make a mistake during the process and thus cause Heaven to worry.
These words were given to encourage his beloved disciples who were determined to win the final battle. Because Jesus knew that enemies would certainly appear to block their paths, he hoped they would win the battles, sing a song of victory and participate in a joyful moment when they could testify that they were sons and daughters of God. However, you who are living today should understand these words did not apply only to the disciples at that time. These words also imply a life course for Christians, who should fight, walking the same path of the disciples. These words are for all humankind, which has been striving to establish a victorious foundation on this earth throughout history based upon the will of Christ.
If we can glean such a heart in Jesus, we can understand that he said the words with concern for the faith of the disciples, who were to leave soon, knowing the possibility that they would soon be facing an unbelievably difficult environment. Therefore, Jesus wanted his beloved disciples to return glory to God through victories in the battles against Satan. Thus, he spoke to them with a special determination and heart. We should understand this.
In the verses we read that no one will welcome the disciples. This means that in walking a path to become a heavenly son or daughter, Satan will always try to invade. We should understand this. Furthermore, we should remember what Jesus said: The ones who will block your way will not be pagans who do not have faith, the chosen Israel nor faithful Jews, but will be your own family members. Although you do not have much in your possession and have nothing to offer Heaven, since you came to understand the meaning of the words of Jesus, you should become the kind of person who can figure out the heart, determination and pledge of Jesus when he spoke thus.
Reflecting upon the words from Jesus' viewpoint, we can understand that Jesus did not have even one friend with whom he could share his heart. If there was a nation, it did not belong to him; if there was a people, they were not his people; and if there was a church, it did not belong to him. He had a family in which he was raised, but it was not his own. He had brothers and sisters, but they were not his own.
Thus, when he spoke about this, he was actually bequeathing his own life course, walked on behalf of Heaven, to his disciples on earth. You should understand this. Another thing you should understand is that Jesus is asking you who are living today, Who can become my true family member?
There are many nations on earth, many peoples, many families and many human beings. However, no true family members of Jesus exist among them. Therefore, you should understand that God has been looking for such people until now.
What then was the purpose of Jesus sending out his own beloved disciples to the bosom of his enemies? It was not to create a religious body or organization nor to build a new nation through the Israelites. It was to find family members with whom God could rejoice, God's true family members who could live in accordance with the will of God. Therefore, the most important thing is how we can become Christ's true family members.
What then should you do? You do not have many possessions, you know little. You may not have much to be proud of, but God should be able to say that you are a true family member of Jesus. That is, you should be able to become a person with whom God can live forever, and whom God, Jesus and even you can approve of, a heavenly family member who can manifest the glory of God. Such is the person for whom God has been looking, for whom Christ has been looking, and whom you hope to become. You should understand this.
What then should we do to become a true family member of Christ? By attending Jesus in our daily life, we should become his family member, who came as a true person and the begotten son of God; that is, the first family member of Heaven.
By doing so, we should be able to prove our life to be like that of Jesus before God. Jesus was established as number one in the heavenly family realm. That is, he showed his life to be the standard through which he could live in the Father's home as the son of Father.
Jesus testified that he was the son of God who came to fulfill a mission to bring the Israelites, living in the land of faithlessness, back to the bosom of Heaven. He claimed that he was a family member of Heaven.
Whatever the opposition, Jesus was not afraid of it and spread the will of Father. He fought alone at the risk of his life. You should understand this.
Therefore, just as Jesus who came to the earth as the son of God testified to God's will during his entire life, you also should become a person who can testify to the heart of Jesus, who can fight Satan and die for the fulfillment of God's will on earth.
What then is the purpose of testifying to Jesus' heart, fighting Satan and risking our lives? It is because the power of darkness on earth attempts to block you from becoming a true family member of Jesus.
Enemies persecuted Jesus who proclaimed God's heart before all humankind. They blocked Jesus' path. That is, satans worked together to kill one person, Jesus. Thus, to evict and obliterate them from the earth, Jesus walked a course to make Satan surrender. He did not sleep or eat well. That is, to raise a shield against all the attacks of Satan, Jesus lifted a torchlight, sacrificing everything he had. Therefore, we should understand and reflect that Jesus, the son of God, went to a battleground at the risk of his life and eventually walked a path of death on the cross, to testify to the will of God.
Why then is it that we have faith and hope in Jesus? It is to become a true son or daughter of God, and thus become a true family member of Jesus, who can live attending him. Therefore, you should first become a person who can stand in pride before Jesus, who represented Heaven's heart. That is, each of you should become a true family member of Jesus. You do this by first establishing one realm of heart with God through bowing down before Him and by building a place in which Jesus can rest in peace.
The reason is that, although Jesus came to the earth, he had no one who could be his true family member, with whom he could rest in peace. This became his historical painful grievance. Thus, you today should become his true family member, comforting his heart and liberating him from such pain. In your family, living in the attendance of Jesus as your own elder brother, you should possess a heart that can take his sorrow as yours, his pain as yours, his concern as yours. Thus, you can comfort him. Unless you have such a heart, you can never become a true family member of Jesus. You should clearly understand this.
Jesus lived with his beloved brothers for thirty years in the family of Joseph, but those family members did not become Jesus' true family members. Although Jesus had a family, he did not have a true family nor did they become the kind of family member whom Jesus needed. Therefore, Jesus was evicted from village after village. Further, he was persecuted by the Jews, the Israelites, until recent human history.
Even in the midst of such persecution, what was the hope of Jesus with such a sorrowful heart? On earth Jesus wanted to live with the heart of Heavenly Father, for the sake of His sons and daughters, attending Heavenly Father as His family member. Not only did he want to live in love for his beloved family members and comfort his Father, he also wanted his family members to be able to comfort the Father. Yet he did not have such family members, and thus all of the Jewish religious body and the Israelites came to fall in the position of faithlessness.
Therefore, Jesus expressed his sorrowful heart, stating, "... Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the son of man has nowhere to lay his head." (Matthew 8:20) Therefore, you should be able to empathize with such a heart of Jesus and prepare a place where he can lay his head. If you do not have a family where you can attend Jesus, you can attend him, at least in your heart. If you do not have a place where Jesus can lay his head down, you should be willing to lay his head down on your lap. When you have such a heart, you can become a true family member of Jesus.
You might have wanted to become Jesus' true family member who could fulfill his will of salvation on this earth. Thus, you should remove all of the elements that can cause you to have an opposing desire.
Jesus said, "Your family members are enemies," in walking a path to Heaven. Jesus wanted to treat everyone as his family members and raise them up as his family members, but no one knew such a desire of Jesus. Instead, even people who were close to him, believed in and depended upon him left. Through that condition, Satan came to invade Jesus by driving him to the cross. From this you should realize how heartbroken Jesus was, who came as the tree of life for all humankind was, and how he yearned to have a true family member who could represent his situation.
What then should you who are gathered here together do to understand the situations and heart of Jesus and stand in the position of a true family member who can live with him forever? To do this, you should keep a heart that can represent the heart of Jesus. You should take after the heart and character of Jesus, whose loyalty toward Heaven never changed in any environment, anywhere. As people who have been called for a mission to pioneer a new path, what should you do? You should stand in the position of a true family member of Jesus, creating an environment where he can rest in peace and feel joy.
When Jesus stated, "Your family members are enemies," who were they? They were those who could not grieve when Jesus grieved, those who were not heartbroken. They were those who were ignorant when he "heartbrokenly" testified to Heaven's heart. You should also clearly understand that Jesus' mother and brothers could not be his true family members. Instead, they became his enemies in the path he was walking. Furthermore, you should understand that even Jesus' three disciples, who were educated with all of his heart and life, the ones who walked the three years of his public ministry with him, could not become his true family members.
When Jesus was about to climb a hill of death, a hill of the cross, you should understand that those beloved disciples did not become his true family members. They became his enemies instead. Thus, you today should understand the historical fact that your ancestors did not understand the heart of God and did not become His true family members who could follow His dispensation.
Therefore, although you are using an expression, "a family member," it is a phrase with which you should be fearful. If you commit a wrongdoing in the course of faith, you will become an enemy who will block the standpoint of Jesus, who testified to the will of God. You will also become an enemy who will block the standpoint of Jesus who fought Satan, and blocked his will to redeem the sins of all humankind through the cross. You should keep this in mind.
What kind of person then is a true family member of Jesus? He or she will be a person who resembles Jesus, who wanted to spread the word to everyone, and who can experience all of his heart that worried, concerned and lamented while Jesus was fighting Satan. Thus, the one who only followed Jesus, when he was walking the way of the cross, cannot be a true family member of Jesus, but the one who understands the heart of Jesus until the time when he had to walk a path toward the cross. You should comprehend this clearly.
When Jesus came to the earth, with a mission as a true witness in his life course of thirty years, the fact that he could not find a true family member was his greatest sorrow and pain. A true family member who could testify on his behalf, fight alongside him when he was fighting Satan, carries the cross on his behalf when he walks toward Golgotha, one who he could be proud of before Heaven and earth. You should understand this.
What then should you do today? As Jesus was desperate to testify to the will of God 2,000 years ago, you who are living today should also do your best to testify to His will, with all of your heart and mind. You should become the kind of person who can fulfill the wishes of Jesus, with the same situation of Jesus, who fought Satan, and with the heart of Jesus who was concerned about the fulfillment of the will at the risk of the opposition of Judaism and the Israelites.
Further, to eliminate all the obstructions to fulfilling the will of Heaven, you should become the kind of person who can feel the grim resolution of Jesus, who was determined to offer even his life. You should also be willing to have the spirit to become a sacrificial offering, to carry a cross on behalf of your people.
With the character of Jesus, you can communicate with the heart of Jesus, who became a sacrificial offering 2,000 years ago, on behalf of the Israelites. You should not become a dead offering, who surrenders to Satan. Penetrated with the heart of Jesus, you should not be discouraged to testify to the will of Jesus, nor should you be defeated through fighting against Satan. Therefore, you who are in the Last Days, should have a heroic resolution and the heart to climb over the hill of death, and guide even your enemy to God's bosom of love. You can then finally become a true family member of Jesus.
Who then saddened the heart of Jesus, when he was carrying out the great will of God? They are the ones who were the closest to Jesus. They were not the prepared Israelites nor were they the believers of Judaism. The greatest grief to Jesus derived from the facts that the disciples who followed him for three years, did not have faith when he needed, nor could they testify to him when needed, nor could they fight when needed, nor could they die when they had to. You should clearly understand this.
What then are the things you should do to be called a true family member of Jesus? First, you should be united in heart and act upon it.
By doing so, you should learn how to fight to achieve one goal, the will of God, and become a person who can be determined to die for its fulfillment. You should also become a person who can relieve the grievance of Jesus, caused by the failure to fulfill the will of God when he came to the earth 2,000 years ago, and comfort him. When you do all of this, you will be called a true family member of Jesus. You should remember this.
What then should you possess in your course of faith? You should become a person who can have true family members. When you return to your family, you should be able to have true family members. When you go to your church, you should have true family members. When you go to the society, you should also have true family members.
As Jesus testified to God on His behalf, fought against Satan on His behalf, and died on His behalf, you should be able to do the same.
Further, after having stood in such a position, you should become a person who can have a family member who can testify to you. As Jesus had his disciples who could testify to him, you then will become a person testified to by that person. That is, to stand in a position where you can be called a son or daughter of God, you should have a family member who can testify to you as an unchanging child of God, and can die for you.
To become such a person, what should you do? You should become a leader, who is willing to sacrifice more than anyone else. In other words, unless you become a true sung do (Christian), who is willing to carry a cross of sacrifice for many people, you shall not have anyone who will fight and die on your behalf.
For the sake of God, Jesus went a path of sacrifice, abandoning everything he had. What he testified was not for his own sake, but for God's sake, nor did he fight for his own sake, but for God's sake. Similarly, he did not carry the cross for himself, but to fulfill the whole purpose of God's providence.
Therefore, until now, many sung do testified to Jesus, fought for him and died for him. So while fulfilling God's will of restoration, you should have someone who can testify to you, fight for you and die for you. If not, you should understand that you will be in the position of an enemy before Heaven and earth, or Jesus.
What was the reason Jesus died when he had come to the earth? It is because he had no one who was willing to die for him. Why did he fight on this earth? It is because no one was willing to fight for him. Why did he testify to himself? It is because no one was willing to testify to him.
Therefore, you should become a family member of Jesus, who can represent his heart, and should have a family member who can testify to you, fight for you and die for you. Otherwise, you will carry a grievance that you could not become a living sacrificial offering before the Father, by not being able to indemnify a thirty-year life course of Christ. You should keep this in mind.
What then should you do today? As you seek a way to become a true family member, you should have a heart of the same concerns that Jesus had and God had, and should be able to pray for family members. Although Jesus prayed for his beloved disciples and people, due to their faithlessness, they caused him a grievance. You thus should be able to relieve him of this.
Consequently, to establish a church and a people centered on Jesus, you should work hard when others enjoy themselves. To fight Satan, while others do not know, you should find a person who is willing to die for you.
For whom then did Jesus die on the cross? Of course, it was for his beloved family members. Further, it was for many people and all humankind. Jesus did not pray for himself, but for all humans. He also testified, fought and lived for them. Therefore, you should do your best to become a family member of Jesus. That is, you should make your utmost effort with all of your heart and mind to become his family member, through a path of testifying, fighting and dying.
Ladies and gentlemen! Do you have a person who can testify to you before the judgment of God or Satan? Do you have a friend who can fight Satan for you? Do you also have a family member who is willing to die for you? All of this will determine your value. Thus, you should understand your current position, in pursuing this path.
Today, a person who pursues the fulfillment of God's will shall be confronted with enemies in the process. First, someone in the family will try to block the path. That is, if a wife of a family goes to church, her husband will become her enemy, and if a husband of a family does, vice versa. If children go to church, their parents will become their enemies, and if parents do, vice versa.
What position then are you in? You are in the position where you lost your family, and lost your husband or wife. Further, you could lose even your parents. That is why you should find a true family and true parents, and you yourself should become a true husband or a true wife. Further, you should become a true family member of Heaven.
What then should you do to become such a person? In your family, if your parents are sad, so should you be as their children. If your children are sad, so should you be as their parents. If your husband is sad, so should her wife be, and vice versa. In your family, if everyone is not united as one, and cannot create an environment in which they can attend God's will, no one will be more miserable than you. If so, you will be rejected from your family, society and nation. You will then need a family member centered on God's will.
Instead of being rejected by your worldly parents, you should have true parents, and instead of a conjugal relationship without trust in each other, you should find a true family member, with whom you can establish a true family. No matter what happens to the world, you should form an inseparable relationship with a family member that transcends even death.
Even in the secular world, a relationship between parents and children is such that they are willing to die for each other. If so, you should connect each other with the love of Heaven, and form a deeper relationship with love. If you cannot create such an environment, you will not be able to dwell in the same place where Jesus does, nor can God dwell with you in peace.
What then should you do at the time when the final moments of the Last Days are beginning? Even in the same church, you do not understand each other's heart and situation, but this is not acceptable. That is a relationship of enemies. Thus, you should be interested in your neighbor brothers or sisters, and consider their situations to be yours, and their sorrow to be yours. By doing so, we should build an eternal and true family member's relationship.
That is, with God's sorrowful heart, considering each individual to be your own family member, you should establish a true family relationship through which you can love each other in the position of parents and children, husband and wife, and brothers and sisters.
However, in such relationships, when you try to attend God and have Him dwell in peace, enemies who want to block your way will appear, without fail. Those who have been related to you until now will come and appear as your enemies. They are in your own family, society and nation, and even in the world in which we are now living.
Thus, you have an important mission to remove them from the levels of the family, the society, the nation, the world and even in the spirit world. That is, by attending one True Parent through the hearts of God and Jesus, you are to carry out an important mission to establish a family, a society, a nation and the world. Therefore, you should be able to build relationships with people who can testify to you, fight for you, and die for you. When you do it, you can become a true family member of Jesus. Please keep this in mind.
Beloved Father! Please establish your children gathered here today to be your true children.
If there was anything that could not be united with your heart due to their self-centeredness, through this hour, please let them realize that it could have been a condition for them to stand in the position of an enemy before You.
Father of love, today, through experiencing Heaven's heart, we should fight to testify to Your heart to our beloved (church) family members, and we should also fight Satan who is blocking us from doing this. If it is not achieved, please let us also realize that even at the risk of our life, we are to fulfill this responsibility. Beloved Father, I earnestly wish and desire for this to be done.
Before Jesus started his universal mission, the question was with his three disciples. Similarly, today also, for our church to prosper, the question is whether each of us can be united with three members next to each other. Thus, please allow them to be united as one. Please guide them to also realize that it is a way to become a true family member of Jesus. I sincerely wish and desire for this to be done. Since we are to fulfill our mission, by being united in mind and body, and with a heart of Jesus, by being able to testify against Satan, and die while fighting him, please guide us to escape from the intrusions of the enemy during the process.
Through the unity of our entire church membership, please help us to defend ourselves against the group of enemies on the level of a people, and further, through the unity of three people centered on God's will, please help them be able to defend themselves against the enemies on the worldwide level. Beloved Father, I sincerely wish and desire for this to be done.
If each of us is ready to fight for his or her people, pray for humanity and die for them, we can attend Jesus in peace as the center of our family, society, nation and the world. We are also aware of the fact that only when we become such a person can we become a true family member of Jesus. Beloved Father, please guide us to stand in such a position. As I earnestly wish and desire for this to be done, I pray in the name of the Lord. Amen.
Note: This was originally an untitled speech. The title was added in Korea.