Dr. Pak gives spiritual guidance and inspiration to the members following the first night of the Celebration of Life tour in the Minnesota region. He reminds them that their unique purpose as Unification members is to comfort the grieving heart of God and challenges each person to strive daily for spiritual rebirth and perfection through practicing honesty, purity, and selfless dedication.

Last night, about 400 people attended the Celebration of Life, not including our members. Of this number, 41 people signed up for the workshop. This is about 10 percent of all those who attended. This is a remarkable figure. In America, many direct mail campaigns are conducted to get a certain response. Usually, only 1 percent of the people contacted respond positively. But here, the ratio is now 10 percent. That means that if we can get 1,000 people to attend the Celebration of Life in one night, then we can expect 100 people to sign up for the workshop.

This auditorium has a capacity of approximately 3,000 people. If we have a capacity audience, then we could have 300 people sign up for the workshop. This is not a dream. This is within the realm of possibility. This is a goal that can be reached.

In other words, I am saying that a new era has arrived for our movement. For the last 10 years we have been having difficulty to get 10 people, five people, or even one person, to come to a workshop. Now we can expect 100 people to come to our workshop. And once people come to a workshop, there is a good chance that as many as 50 percent will join and become solid members like you are.

This new era did not come about by chance or coincidence. In order to reach this great moment that is now dawning, so many brothers and sisters have gone ahead of us, shedding their tears and their blood and their sweat here in America.

But long before this work started in America, many members shed tears, sweat, and blood in other places-Korea, Japan, and so forth. And long before any Korean or Japanese brothers and sisters shed their tears and sweat, our True Parents were already shedding their tears, sweat, and blood for decades, when absolutely no one on the face of this earth understood their tribulation.

And we must realize that before the True Parents, our Heavenly Father has been working in tears, sweat, and blood for the last 6,000 years to make this day possible.

What is it that makes our movement different? What is truly the focal point of our movement? Why are we all here? We are here to take over the burden of our Heavenly Father. We are here to comfort our Heavenly Father's grieving heart.

Humanity has never known our suffering God, until our True Parents came upon this earth and introduced us to the suffering heart of our Father. We are the first group upon the face of this earth who has even begun to glimpse this. Every day we understand more deeply the Father's suffering heart.

Our God has not been happy. Our Father has been crying tears, because he is the bereaved Father who lost His beloved children 6,000 years ago. He has been like any parent who has witnessed the tragic death of his child. That has been the Father's heart. And no man here on earth ever even glimpsed the grieving heart of our Father.

The Divine Principle introduces to us our Father's suffering heart and makes us commit ourselves to become God's soldiers, to relieve and liberate God's broken heart. We are the troops gathered here together to mend the broken heart of the Father. Therefore, we have not come for our own glory. We want to heal Father's heart first. Then the ills of mankind will be cured. This is the order of business.

Everybody in this world is trying to be happy every day. But there can be no happiness in this world until the Father's broken heart is mended. That comes first. Then the crises of this world will see hope and will begin to be solved in a most fundamental way.

This is what we are. We are here, chosen by God, as His liberation army, to liberate the suffering heart of the Father, so that we can truly bring the first joy to our Father. And we are also here to alleviate the suffering and anguish of Jesus Christ. All the Christian world thinks we are not taking Jesus Christ seriously. That is absolutely wrong. We are the only ones who are truly taking Jesus Christ seriously. We believe all that the Christian world has believed, that Jesus Christ is the son of God, the Savior, and the messiah-and more.

We are the first people upon the face of the earth who truly understand the suffering heart of Jesus Christ. For the first time, we understand why Jesus said, "My heart is very sorrowful, even to death," in the Garden of Gethsemane. The best interpretation that the Christian world could offer for this passage has been this: Even though Jesus came to die on the cross, he was also a human being, as well as God; he prayed in the garden this way because at that moment he was tempted by his human weakness to avoid his mission. But as I said the other night, Jesus taught all of his disciples, "Do not fear those who can kill your body but not your soul. Do not fear those who can kill only the flesh."

And Stephen, Peter, and Paul -- the great Christians of the early Church as well as many great men in the modern church, have certainly lived up to Jesus' commandment. Do you think that Jesus Christ would violate his own code, his own commandment?

You know, Terry Walton, our workshop teacher, said in his lecture that it is the greatest insult to Jesus Christ to believe this of him. And we are the ones, the first ones who truly understand the anguish and suffering of Jesus Christ. Once we know and understand, we must make ourselves ready to liberate the suffering heart of Jesus Christ. So we are truly the ones who take Jesus Christ most seriously. We do believe everything that the Christian world believes, and more! Much more! This is where we are.

Last night, six people in that audience of 400 said that they would like to join the Unification Church movement!

When our Father spoke in Washington, D.C., John Dolan, the brother who is now our state representative from Iowa was there. The very next morning, he packed up his sleeping bag and knocked on the door of the Unification Church in Washington. And nobody in the Washington Center took him seriously. We thought he had something wrong up here. I understand that our brothers and sisters there asked him, "Did you come to a workshop, or did you learn the Divine Principle?" John said, "What is the Divine Principle? All I heard was Reverend Sun Myung Moon." Then our members said, "Well, that's better than the Divine Principle. Come in!"

So you can see that there are many people out there like John, who are ready to respond to the first touch of the spirit of God. There were six people last night. In other words, a new era has come to us, in which people will join the movement first, then begin to learn the Divine Principle!

Last night, I had a report from Seattle, Washington, from the regional commander, Reverend Reiner Vincent. He told us that he had very happy news. He said that every night since the Sun Myung Moon Christian Crusade brought the Celebration of Life to Seattle, 20 to 30 people were coming to the center to study the Principle. Many people are anxious to learn more, and many people want to move in. He almost has to say, "Wait. Learn more first!"

So we can see that something is happening. A spiritual baby boom is taking place. After World War II, America had a baby boom. The Sun Myung Moon Christian Crusade is like a heavenly whirlwind, bringing a spiritual World War II all around America. So after the victory of this spiritual World War II, a spiritual baby boom will follow. And here in the state of Minnesota, and throughout this five-state region, I hope and I know that you will have that spiritual baby boom after the Celebration of Life.

I am very glad that the state of Nebraska brought more than 25 people -- a busload-from Omaha. All our members and prospective members came together. We welcome them, because this is the way this Crusade has to be conducted. Even though the Crusade comes to only one place in a particular region, all the states of that region must take advantage of it to bring in as many people as possible. This can be one week of wonderful spiritual experiences, having a great impact on people, bringing about conversions.

In a way, we have to be born again every day. I've been a member of the Unification Church for 17 years. But I must make a new beginning every morning. I must try every day to become a better person. Rebirth must take place every morning. We must not stagnate. We have to make a new beginning, a new determination, until we reach our goal, the state of perfection, complete oneness with Heavenly Father. Until we reach that goal, we cannot relax. Therefore, each day is a new day. Each day is a new conversion.

For that matter, this Crusade is not only good for the people living in St. Paul. It is good for all of us. It's good for me, because by doing this each day, I am becoming a better person in the sight of God.

I would like to conclude by giving you three important words that we have to keep in our prayers and in our minds every day and every night.

The first is honesty. The entire mix-up of human history, brought by the fall of man, started with dishonesty. The Archangel Lucifer was a master liar. Jesus said, "You are of your father the devil . ... He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him . ... He is a liar and the father of lies." [John 8:44] This was the motivation of the fall of man, where the mix-up of human history originated, in dishonesty. This brought the fall.

So in order to restore this world into the original world of truth, we must live up to honesty in an absolute degree. We must first of all be honest with ourselves. We must be absolutely honest with our Heavenly Father. In many cases, people are very foolish, trying to hide something from our Father which He already knows. We might make a mistake honestly. This is just beautiful in the sight of God, to tell Him everything. Let Him know a second time. God will smile at you.

This world in which we live is a dishonest world. There is no trust. Therefore, this world has to change. So Jesus said, when he first came, "Repent." What does it mean to repent? Repentance means getting it out, placing everything out on the table and showing God what we are. We must show God what naked persons we are. Show Him. This is repentance. The kingdom of heaven starts right there.

We must be honest with ourselves and honest with God. Then we must be honest with our brothers and sisters. When you are weak, tell your leader you are weak. When you are troubled, tell your leader you are spiritually troubled, that you need help. This is honesty.

When you do not repent, when you try to hide, you will find that this cannot work in the movement of truth. Be like a child. Why did Jesus say we must become like little children? Because children are the same inside and outside. That is beautiful in the sight of God.

Each day we have to take off the shackles of our hiding, so that each day we become more naked in the sight of God, so that one day we will truly become the same person inside and outside. This is honesty.

The second word is purity. Tonight, I'm going to preach on the subject of the fall of man. The fall of man, this chapter of the Divine Principle, is truly a formidable weapon, a great truth. It reveals how human history began in the wrong way, through the misuse of love. Love is supreme in this universe. Therefore, God made love supreme so that through love God's ideal of creation could be fulfilled. God intended this to be a world of love. However, Satan twisted this love from unselfish giving into selfish taking. He twisted love, making lawful love into illicit love. That was the fall of man. That was the beginning of the wrong doings of all humanity.

So we ourselves are the children born in the Garden of Eden. All men must think, "I am Adam, 16 years old." All women must think, "I am Eve, 16 years old."

While we are fulfilling the work of God, it is our duty to keep our minds, spirits, and bodies in absolute purity. On the day that the realization of the truth of the Divine Principle comes to you, that is the day of your birth. Then you don't have to worry about your past. You don't have a past! Your past is mere dust. From that day on, we all are to do our absolute best to keep our mind, spirit, and body in absolute purity. We must be pure, so that we can truly give our first love to God, our first love to the True Parents.

This is our lifeline. Then God will certainly give us the Blessing, heavenly matrimony, so that we shall truly have the magnificent power of love in all its great value. Then we shall have joy and happiness in a heavenly way. This is the Divine Principle.

The third word is dedication. If I could add one more word, it would be selfless-selfless dedication.

What is perfection? The perfection that the Bible and Jesus Christ speak of, and the perfection spoken of in the Divine Principle, is not the type of perfection where we become supermen, like Astro Boy, flying from one place to another, from England to here. It does not mean having superpowers like being able to jump across canyons or bending steel railroad tracks. That is not the type of perfection God is speaking about.

Perfection is a state of mind. Perfect man will not be a couple of feet taller. No, you will not change. You will look just like you are. But perfection comes in a state of mind. Perfection comes in selflessness.

In other words, when you truly forget yourself, so that only our Heavenly Father and our True Parents dwell in you, that is perfection. When you look at the grass, you would not be seeing with your own eyes. Unconsciously, automatically, you would be seeing from the Father's point of view.

Look at the trees. Appreciate those trees, the breeze, the clean air, and the blue sky not from your standpoint, not being conscious of yourself. You are not there. Rather, see from Father's point of view. Glorify His name.

This is our Father's creation. All this beauty comes from the Creator's point of view. Our life is to appreciate the Creator's beauty, the Creator's love, day in and day out, 24 hours a day. When you really live every moment from the Father's point of view, when you live Father's life instead of your own, then we are partaking of the life of God. This is ultimate perfection.

Reread the Bible. Jesus never said, "I believe in my Father." Jesus said, "I am in the Father." He did not say, "I believe Heavenly Father sent me." Instead, he said, "Don't you know that I am in the Father, and the Father in me?"

In other words, to Jesus Christ God is not the subject of belief. As long as you believe something, there is always room for disbelief. As long as we believe in God, the communists can say, "We don't believe in God," and there is nothing you can do about it. God was not supposed to be the subject of belief. God was supposed to be a matter of fact. We say there is a moon. The communists say there is a moon. They don't say, "We believe there is a moon," and we don't say, "We believe there is a moon." The moon is a matter of undeniable fact. There can be no dispute about it. Even communists cannot deny the facts.

By the same token, God was supposed to be a matter of fact, with no room for dispute. That the situation could occur, that one person could say, "I believe in God," and another person could answer, "I don't believe in God," shows that this is the fallen world. God is not yet made real to us. When we read about Jesus Christ, we know that to him God was not a subject of belief. God was a fact. His presence was real. And to our True Parents, I can see every day that for them God is not the subject of belief. God is a matter of fact, present in their lives. The Father's heart is with them.

This is our job. This is our perfection, to make God a matter of fact in our lives, so that the presence of God is so real that it is undeniable. Then we will partake in the whole universe from the point of view of God, so that we shall truly become selfless people. We will be living as a part of God. It will not be Bo Hi Pak's life, not Hugh Spurgin's life. We will all be living one life, the life of God. We will feel it, and feel as Father feels. This is the goal of perfection.

And this will come when we obtain selflessness. When that state is reached, we are no longer ourselves. We have the universe within us. And this will manifest externally as dedication.

We do have dedication. Nobody here in America can dispute the dedication of our membership. But we still have a long way to go to reach perfection. Good deeds and dedicated work alone are not enough. We must have as our spiritual motivation the realization of a selfless heart.

That has to come first. Otherwise, no good deed will be truly good in the sight of God.

Honesty, purity, selflessness or dedication-when we combine all these things together, this becomes love. If we practice honesty, purity, and selflessness, we are practicing love. We are becoming the fruit of love. We are becoming the culmination of the seed of love. Then we can disseminate the love of God all over the world.

This is my conclusion after learning the Divine Principle. One way or another, all of us who learn the Divine Principle will come to this conclusion. There is a tireless effort we must make to attain this perfection.

The human spirit has been stained and rusting for 6,000 years. Every day we must polish it up into its original shininess. And this 6,000-year stain cannot be taken off in one day or one year, or a few years. It's a lifetime job. But it is a joyful thing to do.

So here we are this morning. Sometimes we get so busy and caught up with our outside tasks and responsibilities that we forget where we are. We must restore peace in the depths of our hearts. You must have a burning coal inside your heart. That is your engine. Your spiritual engine must be burning every day. This is your energy, your source of power.

This morning we have this chunk of spiritual food. Now let's go enjoy this good food for our bodies.

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