Today is the first of September. At the last general meeting we decided to start a 40-day witnessing condition on this day. 40-day witnessing conditions first started in 1960. Father established the church in 1954 and in 1957 he ordered our members to go out witnessing in the summer. That was the first time, but it wasn't a regular witnessing period. Father wanted to find out how much our members could accomplish in forty days of pioneering. In 1958 and '59 he didn't send anyone out. Our members asked Father to have a 40 day witnessing condition, but he said, "No, until the time comes we won't go out." After Father was blessed with Mother in 1960, we started to have 40 day witnessing conditions twice a year. It all started in 1960. So this isn't anything new, but a traditional activity of our church. We want to establish the true tradition of God. Such activity is Father's tradition of doing God's work.

When did witnessing start? Actually, if mankind hadn't fallen there wouldn't have been any need for witnessing; education would have been enough. After creating man and woman, Heavenly Father started educating them. He wanted them to know that He existed and was their Parent. He also wanted to give them His heart, His love and His truth. This was God's education for man. If He had succeeded in educating man, if we knew that He was our Father and knew His heart, love and truth fully, this would be the ideal world. There would be no need for witnessing, education would be enough. Actually, witnessing is just another form of education. It is only because of the fall that witnessing became necessary.

Through the fall man was isolated from God, from His heart, His love and His truth; he was cut off from God completely. As a result witnessing became necessary to bring him back to God. God's education failed because He couldn't educate the first man and woman as much as He wanted. We must clearly understand that the purpose of witnessing is to help us understand that God exists and is our Parent and to understand our purpose in life. Without knowing this we cannot lead a proper life, therefore we have to help man understand God's truth. God is our Father and Mother, we must help people know this parental love, otherwise they cannot have an original relationship with God. We also need to understand God's heart. Witnessing involves teaching people all of these things.

We know that because of the fall man cannot connect directly to God. That's why God sends the Messiah to be the bridge between fallen man and God. The Messiah doesn't work alone though, but through his church, which must help people understand the Messiah. So the task actually became larger. If man hadn't fallen, just letting him know about God's heart, love and truth would have been sufficient. But because of the fall another thing came up. We must help man understand who the Messiah is and let them know about the Messiah's church, because man can only return to God through the Messiah and his church. In order to have true knowledge of God we must learn from the Messiah. These are the things we must let people know during our witnessing condition.

The witnesser is God's spokesman, he speaks to the people on God's behalf. God has no mouth so He asks us to speak for Him. We must realize that we are God's spokesmen, God's mouthpiece. This is the first thing. Next we are conveyors of His love; we must convey God's love to people. God wants to give His love to man, but He cannot love fallen man directly so He needs us as mediators. God has suffered so much because He lost His children through the fall. We must help mankind understand God's suffering heart. They cannot become His children otherwise. We are the ones to introduce God's suffering heart to the people. God is the source of life. Due to the fall, however, man lost original life and his claim to eternal life in the Kingdom of Heaven. So we must give God's life to the people, i.e. connect people to God's life. This is our position. We must clearly understand that when we witness we are God's spokesmen, conveyors of His love and suffering heart and peoples' connection to the source of life; these four things.

This is truly great. By witnessing we can participate in God's work and be God's co-workers, we can work together with God as His representatives. Good spirits are trying to work with us, they want to help us. When we take the position of God's representatives, they can help us. So through witnessing we can work together with God, the Messiah and good spirits. Witnessing isn't just for fallen people, but for our family as well. We must witness to our children, letting them know about God's heart, His love and His truth. As I said before, witnessing is another form of education. Originally there would have been no need for witnessing, just education; the fall made witnessing necessary. Through witnessing we can also develop our spirit and heart and become a man of love and life. When we really come to understand God and unite with Him, we can have everything, because He shares His love, His truth and His life through His education. Witnessing leads a person to that state. It is the most important of our many activities. Another point to keep in mind is that if we had many new members coming to our church, there would be no need to fund raise. By gaining members everything else comes automatically. But because we aren't gaining enough members we need to fund raise. If we succeed in witnessing, everything will be solved. We must realize that witnessing is the fundamental aspect of our work as a member of our church.

We can learn the importance of investing our heart, our prayer and our effort by seeing what kind of result comes. We can also see whether our attitude and way of doing things is right or not. When we invest our heart, effort and prayer fully, we gain good results. We reap what we sow. We cannot harvest without planting first. This is a great time for our education. We can also know the suffering heart of God through witnessing. Even though you try to give God's love and truth to the people, they often aren't open to accept it. When you encounter rejection and persecution, you can feel the suffering heart of God. This is why witnessing is the best way to understand God and deepen our relationship with Him. Through understanding God's heart and His situation, we can put ourselves in His position, thereby coming closer to Him. Witnessing isn't just for others benefit, but for ours as well. Because it is another form of education, we can educate ourselves as we educate others. When you teach others, you learn about God's heart and truth yourself as well. When you try to love others, you become a man of love. This is why witnessing is the best education possible for our members.

Father said that the worst thing a leader can do is prevent a member from witnessing. If we take away a person's right to witness, he can- not gain the spiritual children he needs nor can he learn the things necessary to become a child of God. In other words we block his path to the Kingdom of Heaven. In the past we often thought, "This is just another condition," but that's not true. This is the most important thing we can do. In this time we can become spiritual parents thereby coming closer to God and the Messiah and inheriting God's most precious possessions, His love, His heart and His personality. Witnessing is the best way to become God's true children.

When we witness we can imagine that the person to whom we are witnessing is our past self. So we can see how we were before. When you witness you meet many different types of people and can broaden your knowledge of human nature and the world. But if you don't pay attention you won't learn anything. Father can determine someone's nature just by seeing them. How is that possible? He has a special sense he developed by meeting and studying many people. You can also become a good judge of human character. This is necessary for the future when we live together with other people. We can develop this through witnessing. During this forty days we want to concentrate on witnessing. We're usually occupied with many other things and can't find the time. So even though you may have other activities, everyone should move in the same direction during this condition. So if you work during the day, find time to witness in the evening or at night. We can find out what kind of results we can bring when all members work together.

In the old days in Korea, members left their homes and went to another city or village for pioneer work. In order to fulfill God's providence we must let people know about the Messiah and God's providence. When Moses led his people out of Egypt, he let them know the day of departure. If he hadn't, he would have failed, Moses had to let the people know they were leaving Egypt. It's the same thing now. Our responsibility is to let people know that God is working now, that the Messiah is on earth and giving truth to the people. We have to let them know this; it's our portion of responsibility. Whether they accept it or not, is their responsibility. This witnessing condition is a way of fulfilling our portion of responsibility. In Korea we visited every little village, passing out leaflets and speaking to the people about our church, thereby fulfilling the condition to inform everyone about our church. We must do the same thing here in Europe, reaching out and giving God's words, so that in the future no one can say, "I didn't know. I didn't hear anything." I think the video-team is a good way to reach people. We haven't prepared any special leaflets for this condition. We can find out how good the ones we have are. If they're not effective, we should make others. It's good to have several different leaflets. They shouldn't be too wordy, but dear and to the point, so that it's easy to understand what we are saying.

Many members don't have enough spiritual children to start family life yet. Our church suffers from a lack of members as well. So we should try our best to find members in this time. If we really unite and ask Heavenly Father and good spirits to help, I think we can bring good results during this condition. Our job is to liberate fallen people from their bondage, thus liberating True Father and Heavenly Father from their bondage. This is a good time to get closer to God and True Parents. We can deeply unite with them through our work. When I see someone working hard to convey God's words, I feel he is so precious. We want to be precious to our True Parents and God. To increase our value we must invest more heart and energy in our work. Everyone of us wants to become a good member and a child of God and True Parents.

Let's pray together:

Our loving Heavenly Father, this is the first day of September, the beginning of a new month. We came before you this morning to offer our pledge, to renew our determination and to offer the work we start today. In the next forty days we want to bring your love and truth to the people. Just as Moses let the people know he had come to lead them out of Egypt, we must inform the people that our Father and Mother have come to lead them to the Kingdom of Heaven. We want to let people know that you are working very hard to save and restore them with your love and your truth. We cannot help the people understand you without your love and your truth. Thus, the first thing we must do is become the embodiment of your love and truth.

Even though we are poor in heart and knowledge, if you are with us, working through us, we can accomplish your desires. We want to empty ourselves and become your instruments so you can work through us. We ask you to work through us, so that when we speak to people we can share your words, even those we don't know. Many things like this have happened in the past through your leadership, Father. We want such things to happen at this time. When you work with us we can bring many good people back to you. We know you need many people, that without them you can't achieve your ideal. Therefore we truly want to bring many good people to you and your side.

Father, we pledge to bring 40 active members and 400 associate members in Germany during this 40-day condition. We also want to make friends with 400 ministers and priests. These are the three things we want to achieve. We pray for your help and ask you to mobilize many good spirits to work with us. When we receive help from you and the spirit world we are certain to achieve our goals, Father. We have many different missions, but we can all unite in this work. Even those members who are involved in business activities can find the time to join this effort. By witnessing we can find spiritual children and understand your heart and situation better; we can truly unite with you. This is actually another of your goals: you want to educate us as your true children. Through this witnessing condition we can educate ourselves and become your true children.

Our True Father is in prison and his activities restricted. Therefore, we must speak out on behalf of our Father, who is not free, giving his words and love to the people. We must let them know that our Father is the Messiah. When they understand this, our Father shall surely be liberated. We want to liberate our Father. We want to have him with us, leading us as our commander-in-chief. We thank you again, Father. We want to dedicate ourselves for your work.

We pray all this in the name of our True Parents. Amen.

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