The Words of Sun Myung Moon from 1976
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The Words of Sun Myung Moon from 1976 |
Father began by explaining that his Sunday sermon would be similar to his talk given the preceding evening in Washington because the subject was very important. First, Father spoke of the results of the fall. If it were not for the fall, he said, we would not need to pay indemnity.
The result of the fall was a shift in the membership of the world. If it had not been for the fall, everything would have been under God and the creation would have been under man's dominion with the blessing of God. We would not have known Satan; God would have been our master. But since Satan has been the master, we are heading in the opposite direction from the ideal.
"Fall," explained Father, "means reverse". Due to the fall, the world has had a miserable history. We cannot get rid of Satan unless we restore ourselves. Father went on to say that we must find ourselves, but that we must strive to center ourselves on God rather than on ourselves during this search. Religions help us find ourselves because they re-establish the lost relationship between God and ourselves.
Father explained that Adam united with the archangel because he was self-centered. To go back to the original ideal, we must therefore rid ourselves of this self-centered nature. "Only through self-denial can we completely find ourselves," said Father.
He then gave three keys for restoration: self-denial, subjugation of Satan, and denial of possessions. Before being self-centered, we must center on God. We must overcome the conditions linking us to Satan. And we must deny our possessions because all things belong to God before they belong to us.
Father went on to discuss our own responsibility in this course. As Unification Church members, he said, we must deny Satan's world and recognize God and His world; we have to overcome Adam's self-centeredness.
He cautioned that, because mankind denied God for so long, we must be obedient to Him even when He appears to be rebelling against us. "If you are in the place of Adam," he said, "you must be responsible. You must be responsible for all mankind because mankind rebelled against God."
Both Jacob and Moses underwent this course, said Father. Jacob was successful in gaining the birthright from Esau, wrestling with the angel, and winning back Esau's good will because he did all these things in the name of God. Moses, he said, could have easily lived a glorious life in Pharaoh's palace but instead chose to be persecuted wherever he went in order to fulfill God's Will. Jesus denied himself because he had to win over Satan at all costs. He cried, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" on the cross yet he was obedient to God, who had seemingly abandoned him. By asking God to forgive those who harmed him, Jesus was taking responsibility for all mankind.
Father spoke more specifically of our situation as Unification Church members. Since the restoration is to be both physical and spiritual, we can expect difficulties on this course.
Without the Divine Principle it would be difficult for us to understand all of the paradoxical things which may happen to us. But, said Father, the Unification Church is significant in that it teaches the principle of many different kinds of indemnity.
Father reminded the members of the value of paying indemnity: "We will enter Canaan in our time... The greater the indemnity, the greater height we attain. You will reach heaven in the proportion to the depth of hell you go through... If you knew that you were going to lose by going this way you would not go... Reverend Moon is the champion of the course of indemnity. You are trainees in the arena.
"You must not let go of God," continued Father. "You must willingly go through rejection." He then told of his suffering in prison, relating times when his feet bled so much that he was barely able to walk. At such times he offered strong prayers and rededicated himself to God.
He then told us that just before he spoke at Yankee Stadium, he saw someone tear down his picture from a poster. "I then prayed to win victory," he said. "We were all under the pall of death and then came the resurrection... At Yankee Stadium we went through the cross and got the victory of resurrection. We have final victory.
He spoke more of his feelings, saying that he is often lonely, having to go over the hill of indemnity himself as God watches. "I will risk indemnity." He explained that we must set conditions level-by-level in paying indemnity.
Father then inspired the members to willingly pay indemnity. "Look for the strongest Satan to fight, and win over him." He warned that money, position, etc. may be obstacles on the way, saying that we have to be willing to go the path of indemnity despite difficulty and temptation. He said that fundraising is the best way for us to deny ourselves, with witnessing in next place. "The more you are persecuted, the more indemnity you go through," he said.
The United States he added, provides an arena for my whole life to go over the hill of indemnity," he said. He concluded that the Washington rally would represent crossing Golgotha on a worldwide level. "Let us go over the hill of indemnity at all cost. No one has gone through our battle. You are carrying out the great mission endowed by God. God has never seen such a breathtaking moment. If we can win victory, God will be so elated.