The Words of Hyung Jin Moon
|
|
The Words of Hyung Jin Moon |
Good afternoon brothers and sisters. We are honored and happy to have you all here in this sanctuary, and for those who are joining with us via internet, we are also welcoming you. Welcome brothers and welcome sisters.
Welcome brothers and sisters. I want to share with you on this very summery spring day something from Father’s words. We are here on page 1023 and Father says, “If you love the members who have just joined, then they can quickly set the conditions for indemnity. The reason the church is not able to make progress is because this is not being done. This is the reason why God said to love each other and live in harmony.” True Father really hit it right on the point.
I really do believe that it’s so important that if we are to be mighty in this land, if our church is really to thrive and if we are to shine before the world as proud blessed families, then it is so important that we learn to live and to have an atmosphere of love, and truly when people come into the movement they can feel the love of True Parents, the love of God in this resting place.
Brothers and sisters when you are out here, and when we come out to service, I really do feel, really do feel the love of God. It’s in each and every one of your smiles, it’s on your aura of victory that you have about you, right?
We are so happy to see you guys out here today. You know when we gather out here for service, we come out, we take time to honor God,then He always, always will recognize and give us credit. He will help us attain those victories that He is setting up for us to attain. So it’s so important that we come together and see each other. Your brother and sisters are here with you. Brothers and sisters we want to invite you and welcome you to service and let’s have a great celebration and worship service today. Thanks so much!
Once I heard a testimony about one sister, about when she got blessed. In the beginning she had many conditions about her future spouse, something like, “at least he has to be taller than me” or “I don’t expect him to come out of a great college but you know at least he has to come out of a decent level so that I can introduce him to my parents” or “you know he has to have a good character” etc..etc.. However after hearing True Father speaking for 12 hours, not eating 2 meals and not drinking any water, and kneeling down many, many hours with many other candidates, in sweaty rooms, she had one thing in her mind, she said, “True Father please pick anybody; anybody will do.” (Laughter) 30 plus years later she is a happily married blessed couple.
Brothers and sisters, in life, let us know that God wants to bless us. So He always loves us and He wants to bless us. But not necessarily in our lifetime when we want, but in His timetable when He thinks we are ready to receive it. So let us believe in His timetable and be our best. Brothers and sisters we love you so much and we believe in you. Aju!
Brothers and sisters once again, give it up for Tworivers Choir. Oh my goodness! Boy, O Boy! You may be seated if you can. If you can be seated please be seated! Oh my goodness! It's always exciting to praise the Lord like that! Oh my God!
Before each service I like to start with something a little interesting! In the divinity school we liked to look at the funnier side of religion.
I heard a very interesting story about a wonderful mother. She was inviting a lot of friends over for dinner. And so all the friends came, she welcomed them so warmly, and they sat before the table, they all sat down for dinner and it was a beautiful feast that was prepared. She leaned out to her six year old daughter and she said, "Honey would you like to give the blessing?" And the six year old daughter looked up to mom and said, "Mom I don't know how to pray, I don't know what to say". The mom said, "Don't worry, just say what mommy says, you'll do fine." And the child bowed down her head. She began to pray, "Dear Lord! Why did I invite all these people?" The mommy got up and said, "Honey, God is calling you in the kitchen. Get over here!"
Brothers and sisters, I'd like to talk to you today about the fact that God is holding our time.
In order to live the blessed life it is so important to know that God is in control of our time, and we have to understand that time always flows constantly, just as our lives do. Our lives constantly flow, they constantly move. And it's so important to understand that our lives don't necessarily flow on OUR timetable, but our lives will flow on the timetable that God has set forth.
Of course, our actions can alter the timetable, of course our actions can have an impact, but in the end God will decide when we arrive where we are supposed to be.
Sometimes we want to fight time, we want to say, "Why don't I have more time? Why don't I have more time to do this work or get this relationship in order or more time to live?" Or maybe sometimes we want to lose time, "I want to get through this circumstance quickly, this is a very tough obstacle. I want to move through it quickly. God, let me lose time." But we have to understand that God is in control of time. God is holding the clock of time, and He decides when we are ready for the next step. Our responsibility is to keep at being our best, knowing that we are going to move forward through these obstacles, knowing we are going to move through any types of situations that are holding us back, through any thinking in our minds that is holding us back, and that we will come to new levels of victory, new levels of illumination, new levels of peace.
It's so important to understand this principle. When my brother Young Jin Hyung passed away, I began a 21 year course and I didn't expect anything at that time. I began, and every day I was getting up at 2:30 in the morning and doing meditation practice, prayer practice, really trying to train my mind, my body etc... And I never advertised that I was doing it. Nobody knew I was doing it. It took about 3-4 years for word to get out that I was doing this kind of training. I did it day after day, and I remember, so many days it was so hard to just continue on, "Why am I doing this?" I had so many doubts in my mind, "What's the purpose of all this?" But I knew that it was a promise that I made to my brother, and I needed to discipline myself spiritually.
And when I received criticism for becoming a Buddhist monk, or for "leaving" the tradition or "separating" from Father, I realized, "This is a great opportunity for me to practice, it's a great opportunity to train my mind even more." When I received those criticisms it was important to see those criticism as an opportunity for me to practice my patience, my discipline, my concentration that I was training in my meditation practice etc.. forbearance, forgiveness, etc..
All of a sudden, many years later, in 2005 Father said, "I want you to oversee the religious side of the movement" and a lot of people were shocked, including myself. I had no idea. Father just announced this in Korea. And if you recall, at that time I was still bald, I was still in my 7 year course, I still looked like a Buddhist monk, but Father asked me, he put this thought out, he put this declaration out.
And so many people at that time, I remember so clearly, came to me and told me that I need to start getting involved more, I need to get into the organizations, and I have to sit everybody down and say, "Hey! I want you to report to me because I am now going to oversee the religious side, so I want your organizations to report to me." And then I had even people say to me, "Hyung Jin Nim, Father wants you to ask, he is waiting for you to ask him for a position, for a title. He just can't sleep because he is just anticipating you're going to come and ask him." Or people would say to me, "Without a position, the proclamation is nothing, it's going to go up into smoke."
But in my heart I knew I wasn't ready. In my heart, I followed my conscience. I never asked Father for a position, I never asked him for a title. I knew that if Father wants to do that, he'll decide when that's appropriate. I'm not going to be the one to decide that. So in my heart I said, "Let me just be the best person I can be, let me continue to train myself. Let me live a life that is authentic, that is worthwhile." And that is more important than any title that I can hold. And this is more precious than any position that I can hold.
And this is why I believe True Parents did ask me, in the end, a couple of years later, even three years after that declaration, to then take responsibility for overseeing the church side, the religious side. And eventually it was on Father's timetable that he gave me some title. But I know in my heart of hearts, that my title is not my victory nor is it my destiny. My victory and my destiny will be being my best, being the person that God created me to be, and to understand that I need to do that constantly, to continue to develop, to continue to grow, however big or however small God wants to use me. That's what I need to do.
And we met very many families doing my ministry. We met families whose blessed children have left the church, who have even married outside. We met blessed children who don't want to get blessed etc.. and the parents exhibit a lot of concern. The parents really are worried, and I see so many parents blaming themselves, saying, "I couldn't fulfill my responsibility. I really was a terrible parent. I really cannot actualize the four position foundation."
And they also ask us, "What shall I do?" And I tell them, "I don't have a simple answer for that question, but I do believe that God has a plan for your children's lives. I do believe that God is working in their lives and that He has a timetable that He works on. It may not necessarily be our timetable, it may not necessarily be when we want it to happen but God works on His time line. He knows when the time is right to have that person come into maturity."
And I personally met many 2nd Generation who have left the church. They are successful and have accomplished many things. But they told me that for many different reasons they feel in their heart of hearts, "My identity, my purpose is 'Unification church member'. I am a Unification Church member. I can't deny it. This is my church. I have children here, I need them to understand their value. I need them to understand their identity, and I need them to understand their purpose. And now I see the value of the church community, of the church support network, of the church support groups."
And just like True Parents never gave up on the True Family, never gave up on each and everyone of their children, it's so important that we don't give up on our children. It's so important that we know that even though we may not have all the solutions, even though we may not have it all planned out, even though we may not even know how it's going to happen, that that is OK. Because in God's own time, He will allow things to match up so that our children, so that we, can actualize the full destinies that we have planned for us.
I really do believe God is in control of time. He really is controlling our timetables and it is on His timetables that our destinies will become actualized with our proper effort. And I really felt this kind of thing. This morning, actually when I was preparing this service, I was walking by a guitar that was in the hallway, and I asked, "Whose guitar is this?" and one of the staff member said, "This guitar is this and this person's, this ajoshi's (uncle's) guitar. And I said, "Oh it's that ajoshi's guitar!" and my wife turned to me and said, "You can't call him 'ajoshi', YOU are an ajoshi!" See, in Korea, if you call someone ajoshi, you're much younger than him, but I'm actually around his age.
And I realized, "Yobo, I think you're right, you're absolutely right. God is in control of time, and it is now my time to become an ajoshi." I was a little depressed, I have to admit (laughter), but I do accept the fact that God is in control of that timetable. And maybe it is the right time for me to become an ajoshi, and I don't see that as a negative thing. There are many great ajoshis in this world (laughter) and I do believe that I can continue to actualize God's dream and vision in my own life as an ajoshi. No problem!
When I think about timetables and about time, I also think about the story of Samson in the Bible. For many many years the Philistines ruled over the Israelites and one day a mother was out in the fields and she was visited by a holy angel, a man who was brilliant. His whole body was shining. And the angel told her that she was going to have a son, and this son was to be a Nazarite.
Now for anybody who knows what that means, it basically means that it's a person who will be set aside for God, that will do great things and that will save the people of Israel from the Philistines. But there was one condition. One of the main conditions was that you were not supposed to cut his hair. The hair was supposed to be left in its purity.
Many, many years later Samson was growing, he was doing many mighty deeds in the land. He was conquering enemies etc.. He was very successful. And the five Philistine kings -- they were the ones that were really oppressing the Israelites -- they sent 300,000 men to the town of Lehi to kill him, to accuse Samson and to capture him. And he was in a cave all by himself, and with the jawbone of a donkey he overcame 1,000 of those enemies, and for 20 years, he led the Israelites against the Philistines, for 20 years! 20 long years he fought against them!
And how frustrated the Philistine kings must have been! They wanted him out of their picture, they wanted him to get out of their way, they wanted him to move out so they could continue to oppress the Israelite people. But Samson stayed strong. He knew that every day, for 20 years, was a battle. He knew that every day he had to get up and muster up his strength to say, "I'm going to go on, and I'm going to defeat this day, I'm going to return it back unto God." He had to stand to up every day with that victorious spirit, not with a defeat mentality, "I can't do this, it's taking too long. It's been over 10 years now, there's no chance for it to happen now. The prophecy is not true." Instead of doing that, he controlled his mind; he knew that he had to control the war in his mind, the battle in his mind, and he continued to press on, to press forward.
The five Philistine kings were very devastated. They couldn't defeat him. He was their main enemy. So they went to his wife Delilah, and they asked Delilah, "Hey, Delilah, we really wish to see Samson. Please figure our his weakness for us. We'll give you 1100 pieces of silver if you tell us his weakness. And Delilah, she loved Samson, but for some reason or another she ended up betraying him.
Every day she would ask him, "Samson, what is the key? What is the secret to your strength?" She'd ask him, "How do I make you weak?" And he would say for example, "If you tie me up in bowstrings you'll make me weak." She tied him up in bowstrings and the next morning, he snapped them off, like thread. And she said, "OK". He said, "No, you actually have to tie me up in new rope", and so she tied him up in new rope, and the next morning he got up and it snapped like thread. This continued on and on until one day she said, "Samson, don't you love me? Why do you keep telling me one thing and it's not true? Why do you keep telling me these things? Please tell me the secret to your strength."
And a little frustrated, Samson eventually ended up telling her, "It's actually from my hair that I have this super power". And so, one day, that night, she gathered his 7 locks and she cut them, and in the morning they bound him and he was totally weak. The Philistine kings finally got him and they were celebrating in the temple of Dagon to one of their gods, in the Philistine tradition. And Samson was there; he was being paraded around like a trophy. All the Philistine kings were so happy, "Look at Samson! 20 years we fought this evil man, and finally we captured him. Finally we now overcame him." They even pocked out his eyes, so he couldn't see. Samson was blind and he was totally weakened. They were laughing at him, mocking him and they were parading him around.
Samson asked a little boy, "I'm so tired, let me lean on one of these pillars." And as you all know he stood next to one pillar, grabbed another pillar and pulled it down with all his strength. His hair had grown back by then, and his strength had come back, God had come back into him, and that temple came collapsing down. All the oppressive kings and lords, those five Philistine kings were destroyed in that setting and one day the prophesy that was told when he was born, that he would free the Israelites, he would free them from their oppression, finally came true.
But when you look at that story of Samson, we have to realize that in our own life we also have a secret power, we have secret abilities, we have secret talents that God has placed within us. It may not be a super power, or superman Herculean strength, but it may be your wit, it may be your smile, it may be the love that you share to another person. It may be your empathy, your ability to be patient with people. It may be your warmth, your benevolence, etc... It may be those kinds of things that may be your special divine abilities. And you have to know in your heart of hearts that you will be mighty in this land, that we will be successful in whatever we put our hands to. It may not happen in one night, it may not happen the instant we'll begin a task but if we are consistent, if we are persevering and allow these traits to come out, God will let us and He will decide when it's our time to shine.
Samson was very strong; he was very powerful, but look at the story. He was betrayed by one of his most trusted individuals, the person he loved most, Delilah. And in our lives, just as Samson, when we are also betrayed, it is so easy for us to fall into anger. Samson could have been so frustrated. I am sure he was frustrated. I can see him totally angry, totally betrayed, totally humiliated. He could have said in his mind, with a defeat mentality, "There's no future for me. I lost everything. I lost my wife, I lost my family, I lost my strength; even my eyes, my sight, my precious vision, I've lost."
And he could have blamed everything on God, saying, "God why have You betrayed me? Why did You promise me one thing and not let it come to pass? Why did You prophesy such a great prophecy and never let it occur?" He could have done that, he could have fallen into that mentality. But what did Samson do? He knew that he had to fight that battle in his mind. He knew that he couldn't let himself lose in his mind. He knew that when he looked in his future, even though he couldn't see with his own eyes, he had to see with his eyes of faith in his future. He had to know that God and His prophecy would come true through him and that that promise would come to pass.
There are so many times in our own lives where the archangels like the five Philistine kings will sap you of your strength; they will steal your strength. You'll be working so hard at work, or at school and all of a sudden you'll have somebody totally betray you, "What happened? How can I trust him?" And that will totally take out your strength.
It may be five co-workers that are ganging up against you, maybe talking behind your back at work. When you look at your life, you may see those "Philistines". Those could be things that are trapping you in a certain place in your life, it could be a situation, it could be a circumstance. It could be a particular relationship that is really trapping you. It could be your finances, a sickness that the doctor said you have. It could be a limited mindset when you look into your future. It could be negative thoughts. It could be anything, any one of these things could be "Philistines" in our lives.
We have to know that God wants us to succeed, but not necessarily the people around us want us to succeed, especially small-minded people. When you start looking into the future with hope, they start telling you, "That's impossible, you can't do that. You don't have that ability." Many times those archangels will start coming out of the woodwork to try to get you down, to stop you believing in the future, "You have no hope, you have no potential."
It's so important that we defend ourselves from those kinds of "Philistines" in our lives, from any of those limiting concepts, from any of those strongholds that can hold us back from where God is trying to take us. It's so important that we free ourselves from those chains.
It is important to know that if we stay on the course, if we don't give up on our dreams, our desires, on the promises that God has put in us, He will bring them to pass. It may not be on our time line, it may not be tomorrow. We want it done next week, but it may not be next week, it may not even be in 10 years, but like Samson, 20 years later. But in the end, as long as we keep working at it, as long as we be people of excellence, as long as we put forth our best stride our best foot so to speak, as long as we put in our effort and really work with our abilities, God will bring our time to pass.
It is important to know that as we press through life, we are pressing through those "Philistines", those archangels that are all around us, and one day the prophecy will come true just like Samson. We will be in a position where we'll bring that temple down and we'll be victorious for God. Even if we are blinded or weakened in our energy, sapped of our strength, we need to know that God is not over with us . He is still working a miracle through us. He is still working a miracle through your children, He is still working on them, on them, on us in His own way, in His own time.
And it's so important that we understand this and don't say, "I need it done now, I need this dream to come to pass now or I won't be happy." We need to say, "I'm going to work and be my best. I'm going to move forward with hope, and I know that dream is going to come to pass. It may not be on my timetable. I know it's on God's timetable but I know it will come to pass"
So what lessons can we learn today, brothers and sisters?
We all have a secret ability just like Samson. You all have super power strength in some aspect of your life. You may not have physical super power strength, you may not be a huge titan like he was, that could bring down a stone temple with your bicep curl but you have something within you, an ability within you. It is something that is so divine, special, that you have to hold true to that. If you know what that is, if you develop that, if you continue to nurture that, and you move forward with strength, God will bring each and every one of your promises, one dream by one dream, He will bring them to pass.
But remember, the dreams that come to pass are not necessarily done on the times that we may set. It's important to set plans, it's important to make goals, it's very important to do that, to direct our lives and have a purpose, but we have to, in the end, stay flexible, "It may not happen 3 months later, as I plan on my goal page in my planner. It will happen on God's time."
If we can remain diligent, patient with our dreams, and also stay hopeful for our futures, hopeful in our potential, hopeful in our identity, hopeful in our values and in our purposes, God will start to bring each and every one of those visions, those dreams, and those hopes to pass. If we live like this, if we come into new levels of strengths in our heart, keep the battle in check in our mind, and move forward with this kind of understanding, knowing that God is in control of our time, and that He will bring us to the proper point of destiny, to the proper point of victory, then I do believe our lives will be more victorious, will be more illuminated and will be more filled with peace, and we will live that blessed life that True Parents have blessed us to live.
Brothers and sisters if you can receive this message, let's give a big round of applause to God and True Parents (Applause)
Thank you so much. We always like to make the end of this service the time when we can return back into True Parents' family, into True Parents' home. So I'd like to all invite you and all of you across the world who are joining here with us in Headquarters Church in Korea. So let's take this time for just a brief prayer.
Heavenly Father we thank You for this day that You have blessed us with. We know that You are here in our presence, directing our lives and You are guiding our steps. Father we know that is it not necessarily on our own timetable that things will come to pass, but we know that You will have a time frame that is operating, Father. We know that You will bring each and every one of the dreams that You have placed in our hearts to fruition. Father let us hold true to those dreams, let us not let anyone or anybody steal those dreams from our hearts. Let us hold true, move forward with hope and become all that You have wished us to become.
Heavenly Father thank You for this day. If now there is anything that we have done wrong, we wish to repent before You. Let us take this time to truly, Father, apologize for such wrong doings. Father we pray that You will bless us with Your forgiveness, with Your love, Father, that You will make us the palace of your life, Your love, and Your lineage.
Father bless each and everyone of the families here gathered with us throughout the world. We pray these things in all of our names, in unison as blessed central families, Aju!
Brothers and sisters if we keep True Parents enthroned in our heart of glory, always every day that we get up, we know that this will be a great day, it will be a victorious day, a VIP day. We will have more Victory, more Illumination and more Peace than we can possibly imagine.