Truth is My Sword, Volume II

by Bo Hi Pak

Chapter 28 Acts of the Apostles

Belvedere Estate
Tarrytown, New York
June 6, 1978

Before delivering this holiday speech, Bo Hi Pak asked True Mother for her guidance as to its content, and she instructed him to explain to the members the Principle meaning of World Day, or Day of All Things. She also asked him to tell the members to pray for and accomplish victory in Father's absence, and Dr. Pak does his usual good job of embellishing these and other points in an inspiring sermon.

Let's face in the direction of East Garden and the sun and give a big greeting. Happy World Day, Father. Happy World Day, Mother. Look up at the sky and say Happy World Day, God. Happy World Day, sun. Now face front. How about greeting the trees and birds. Happy World Day, Mr. Tree. Happy World Day, Mr. Bird. Let's sit down.

One more Happy World Day. Now say it with a whisper, don't shout it. Say, Happy World Day, my dear grass. Happy World Day to you. And Happy World Day to our great New Hope Singers.

My dear brothers and sisters, World Day 1978 is very special. We are truly celebrating this day on a global scale, having our True Mother here and True Father on the other side of the Atlantic in London. This morning we had our World Day Pledge service and Mother presided over that ceremony and gave a profound prayer. After that we talked to London and learned that this morning Father also celebrated with 7:00 a.m. Pledge service. I asked what message Father gave to the European members this morning and I received a brief summary, which I am going to share with you this morning.

Shortly before we came out here I went to Mother and asked, "Mother, won't you give us a World Day message and let me have the honor to translate for you?" Mother said, "I will delegate the job to you." Then I said, "The members really want to hear you, so what would you like me to talk about?" Then Mother gave me beautiful guidelines. Mother said, "Just as Father this morning explained about the meaning of World Day in London, you go ahead, give our brothers and sisters the Principle meaning of World Day, the Day of All Things. That is number one." Yes, Mother, what else?

Mother said, "Tell our members let's appreciate Father while he is away and let us be grown-up children of God. We have been like little children. We have been a little bit spoiled having Father in New York all the time. Sometimes we do not really appreciate having Father in New York all the time."

What else should I say? Then Mother said, "Pray hard and tell the members this is the time for victory. This is the ripened opportunity for victory. Let us win the victory before Father's return so that we can present that victory as a homecoming gift to Father."

So these are the three main messages that came from Mother this morning, and I am going to dwell on each in a little more detail. But before I go into that, I would like to say that in a few days Mother will deliver another prince or princess. Let me ask you, how many of you want to have a prince? How about a beautiful princess? Well, you are quite spoiled in the Korean tradition. So far we have five princes and four princesses. If another prince comes, it will make it six to four, and if this is a princess, it will be five to five, making it even, then we have to wait for another opportunity. In either case, it is going to be a great joy for all of us and that is the reason Mother cannot be here with you this morning physically, but she told me her spirit is with you and she asked me to tell you that she loves you all.

In Father's Own Words

I would like to read from Father's World Day message last year because that will set the tone for this World Day very well. Father said this:

All of creation, including man, was made by God for a specific purpose. He did not create all things just to look at. The specific purpose was the fulfillment of His love. Even though God exists, without his Love His very existence is meaningless. In order to be a true God, He must be a God of love, and for this reason God wants to fulfill His love in His creation.
What is a true man? He is a man who is able to receive God's true love. The desire of all things surrounding mankind is to see the day when they can receive true love from true man, a recipient of God's true love. All things of creation exist to receive true love from man, while man exists to receive true love from God.
Due to man's fall, his perfection never came about. Since fallen man was never able to receive God's love, God could never fully give His love and thus fulfill perfection Himself. Man was never perfected, and as a result all nature has been unable to receive perfect love from man. God wanted to have a reciprocal relationship between Himself and all things and men. Even though His creation was completed, no relationship of true love ever emerged. In that respect, neither God nor man has been perfected.

This explains the meaning of World Day very clearly. First of all, God created all things with a capacity to feel. We humans can be happy, we can be joyful, we can be sad, we can be excited. These are what we call emotions, feelings. But do you know that all of nature has similar perceptions and feelings? For example, to a certain degree, a tree has feeling. So does a rock to a lesser degree. You know the Holy Ground rock has feeling, emotion.

Modern science has developed a certain technique to prove this. One scientist's experiment showed that nature can respond to music. He made two separate areas in a greenhouse and played music for the plants in one area. All other conditions were exactly the same: the moisture, the fertilizer, the soil condition, the seeds. Everything was precisely the same except one room had music and the other room had no music. The scientist found that the plants with music grew much faster. Apparently plants are stimulated by music. It is an amazing experiment. Then the scientist expanded the scope of the experiment. He played beautiful Beethoven in one room and in the other very noisy rock music. The amazing thing he discovered was that the plants that were exposed to Beethoven grew very rich, full, and straight. The leaves were perfectly shaped. But there were astonishing consequences in the room with rock music. The plants were very ragged, all kinds of shapes. The plants themselves looked like rock music.

I am going to write to this scientist suggesting one more experiment. Let the scientist make one more situation: play the music of the New Hope Singers International Chorale for the plants. This would introduce one more kind of music, heavenly music. We call it heartistic music. Father introduced a new word, heartal. The Korean word is shimjung. We couldn't find such a word in English, so Father made a new one. He said shimjung is heart plus love, so heartal, and as an adjective we say heartalistic or heartistic. Heartistic relationships, heartistic fellowship, heartistic workshop. Then the rest of America will say, what did you say, and you will have a chance to explain that this is a new word made by Reverend Moon meaning heart plus love. This will lead to a new area of witnessing. So I will say to the scientists, let's introduce one more kind of music, heartistic New Hope Singers. Then we will see if that has a different effect on the plants.

Hungry for the Love of God

What I am trying to say here is that all things have a heart and can appreciate love. But ever since the fall of man, all of nature, all things, never truly tasted the love of God. This morning we said Happy World Day to everything. Why? There is a meaning. All things are heart-hungry or love-hungry. Romans 8:19 says, "For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God." Nature has been waiting for so long, waiting for the true sons of God so they can love them, so they can channel the love of God. Romans 8:20 says, "for the creation was subjected to futility." And Romans 8:21 says, "because the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the glorious liberty of the children of God." It shows nature is not only love-hungry, but all things in creation need liberation. They have been in the bondage of Satan. That liberation can be brought only by the true sons of God.

Romans 8:22-23 says, "We know that the whole creation has been groaning in travail until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the spirit, groan inwardly as we wait for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies." After the fall, Adam and Eve, who were supposed to be lords and masters of all creation, came under the bondage of Satan. How could nature accept love that came from fallen man?

Yes, I tell you, for many thousands of years we have looked at nature with satanic eyes. Yes, that is so true. We look at nature, at all material things, from the satanic viewpoint. How many people think of God when they see something beautiful in nature? Our fallen nature makes us, when we see something beautiful like a flower, think, I want it, I wish it was mine. When we look at a delicious-looking piece of fruit, we think, I wish I could eat it. When we look at land, we think, how can I make this land into a shopping center. When we look at the beautiful rivers, how can I capitalize on the rivers for my own benefit. When we drive through the Texas farmland and see the beautiful fat cows, we see juicy Texas steaks out there. People see in that fashion. Whenever we see a beautiful fish in the pond, we think it might make a good dinner.

But you know God created all things as a masterpiece of His art. God is waiting for His children to say: how beautiful nature is. How glorious my God is. It is my Father's creation. Look at things from the Father's point of view, God's point of view, and appreciate His art, His creation. That is the way it should be. We look at the tree. Oh, God created the tree. When you look at the bird and hear the sound of the bird, you hear God singing through the bird.

I read a book called Life in the World Unseen. A man who died and went to spirit world communicated with someone here on earth and asked him to write down the message from the spirit world. It is an incredible book. We can see that spirit communication is certainly powerful. I am sure this book is telling the truth. Imagination cannot create a book like that. In it, there is a vivid description of how beautiful the spirit world is, particularly Paradise. There are flowers, trees, rivers, mountains, and sky. Everything you see here on earth is there. But one thing is different. There we can communicate with nature. You can understand the tree, and the tree rejoices and embraces you. The rivers and streams give you loving care. They embrace you. You can understand the trees, the flowers, and the grass. There is communication.

That is the way God created this world as well. This world is nothing more than a mirror of spirit world. What we see here is a reflection of the spirit world. Spirit world is subject and physical world is object. Once we truly become sons of God and daughters of God, we can communicate freely with nature. We can communicate with all things God created. We can extend to them the love of God. That was the original intention.

In order to do that, what is the first requirement? What shall we do first? You and I must first become sons and daughters of God. Without transforming into sons and daughters of God, we will never be the lord over all things. We have no capacity to communicate with and appreciate and share love with nature. God has been working for this dispensation all along. Once man fell, man became deceitful and wicked, lower than nature. Therefore, in the Old Testament we can see that fallen man had to come through nature to reach God. This is why he made offerings. All things of creation became the mediators between God and man. That was the dispensation of the Old Testament.

In the New Testament era, after Jesus Christ, we were elevated into a new phase. We were given the right to become adopted sons of God. We did not have the power to be born as sons and daughters of God, but we were adopted as God's children. That is the power of the New Testament. That is why Romans 8:22 says we wait for adoption as sons and the redemption of our bodies.

More than Adoption

But being adopted is not the perfection of man. It is not the design and blueprint that God originally intended for man. Mankind has been looking forward to one more gigantic leap. Now, dear brothers and sisters, I tell you, you and I, whether you accept it or not, whether you feel it in your bones, have been making that gigantic historical dispensational jump with the True Parents. With the True Parents, we are opening up a new era, the Completed Testament era. The time has come for the perfection of man. And that perfection of man was pioneered by the coming of the True Parents.

I don't really know why I have been picked for this great honor. You have no idea how great a privilege it is to be included in this celebration, talking about True Parents, greeting World Day with True Parents. This is a historical day. We should be like pioneers of the old West. We should be bold because we have no way to understand the true implications of our status here this morning. None of us comprehends the gigantic meaning of this day. So, I urge you, my dear brothers and sisters, let's have faith. Let's have commitment. Let us be bold and once we are committed, let us hang on and persevere.

What is the messiah? Father has explained the meaning of the messiah. People think of the messiah as some kind of magician, some kind of superman. But actually the messiah is an ordinary human being. I will tell you why God sends the messiah as an ordinary human being. Ordinary at least in appearance, expression, and his human way of life. The messiah has to lead the world, save all of mankind, as a guide, a champion. That is the messiah. So if God sends some superman, we will know that we can't do what he does because we are not supermen. The messiah has to come as a man and give the living example of how to become perfected. Otherwise it has no meaning to ordinary fallen humans.

Suppose Jesus died on the cross as a superman who didn't feel pain. Would the shedding of his blood be so meaningful to us? Would his pain choke our hearts?

It is very difficult for many Christians to understand Jesus. For 2,000 years a great deal of harm has been done in the Christian world by elevating Jesus to God, leaving man way down in the dungeons of hell. They are satisfied to worship and look up at God and look up at the savior. They never even imagine that this gap between God and man can be closed. This makes it very difficult for this world to accept our Father, because Father did not come as a superman or a mechanical giant. Father came as a man.

Father mentions sometimes that many people today think that Jesus Christ was such a superman. Since he is God, he doesn't need a toilet, he doesn't have biological functions, he doesn't need a staircase. Why would he need to walk up to the second floor when he can fly up if he wants to or an angel can lift him up? Why does Jesus Christ need food? He is a superman. Could he walk on water? Why certainly he can; he is a superman, the angel is lifting him, and so forth. That is the concept of the messiah.

Meaningful Suffering

Today, you and I must realize Jesus was so great and his suffering was so meaningful because he suffered as a man, a human just like you and me. His 40-day fast was meaningful because he did it as a human. He did it as God's true human son. His blood is so precious, and he shed it for us when he died on the cross. He suffered incredible pain without complaint, and he gave himself for the sake of the sins of the world.

So when the messiah comes again, it also has to be as a human. But I tell you, in another respect he is a superman. He became a superman in spirit. He brought to earth the way to become a perfected human, which God originally intended Adam and Eve to be. Unless the messiah comes as a perfected man here on earth, we have no hope. All these years in all of America and all over the world, we have declared the day of hope. We have had the Day of Hope Crusade all over the world. But have you ever really thought about what is hope? That hope is him. He is the one. He is the messiah. The man whom God sees as one with God. The man who has no separation between God and himself. The man who perfected God's love here on earth, so for the first time here on earth, all of nature can sing. Finally, the Lord has come. Finally the Master has come. Finally the Master who can share the love of God with us has come here on earth.

I want you to know that before you and I ever realized that Father had come in that capacity, nature knew him first. When he came to America, America misunderstood Father. America mistreated him, but I tell you, the American land, sky, water, trees, and grass welcomed our Father in the truest sense. Many times Father told me when he opens his spiritual eyes, he sees the trees rejoicing. Flowers are dancing. The birds are really singing the joy of God. Even the rocks want to embrace Father. This Father sees. For the first time, nature throughout the whole world is experiencing liberation. They see the master has come.

We are not talking about some theory or philosophy. If the Unification Church is just talking about philosophy, some kind of beautiful theory, we have no power. We are talking about a most vivid reality. Unfortunately, the reality is hidden from our eyes. It takes the truth and bold faith and commitment to understand. But this is in a way our fortune. If everybody could understand like nature does, then you and I have no place. We have no chance to show how good we are. It takes energy. We have to remove the veil between truth and reality. That is where we come in. We come in as the champions of God. There is a need for us. That is also a great blessing. Truly we are all here to understand that we are becoming the children of God through this simple Principle.

Father Is the Magnet

You know if you take a magnet and run a small piece of metal into it, then that little piece of metal becomes a magnet. That is what the Bible describes as the grafting procedure. Grafting into the true olive tree. How can you and I graft into the true olive tree, which is True Parents, so that you and I can become another messiah? We can become the True Parents of our tribe, our nation, of all people. The grafting process is simple, and we can understand it through the theory of the magnet.

We rub into Father. Yes. That is what we are doing every day. We are rubbing into Father. More and more every day. When we say rubbing into Father, it doesn't necessarily mean physical rubbing. Then Father would disappear, be rubbed away. If everybody rubs into Father, then Father will vanish. But sometimes our brothers and sisters do want to physically rub into Father. I saw that in Europe. This time when Father went to Europe, I was there. After four years the European brothers and sisters were absolutely on cloud nine. They really didn't need a staircase to go up to the second floor. They could fly up.

When Father gave a speech, there was a massive congregation assembled from all over Europe, and Father was walking down the aisle. Everybody was sitting very close together. The brothers and sisters who were within reach of Father's path stretched out their arms hoping Father would touch their hands. Father, touch me. Touch me. So Father couldn't walk too fast. It was absolutely so beautiful to behold. It reminded me of the story of Jesus and the woman who was suffering from a long illness who had no hope to be cured, but she heard about the power of Jesus. She had faith in him. She was shy, very ill and pale, and she was sitting in Jesus' path. She quietly touched the garment of Jesus when he passed by. Jesus knew someone had touched him because he felt some power and energy go out from him. So he turned around and said, who touched me? This lady had to confess; she thought she made a big mistake or did something really wrong. She was practically trembling when she said to Jesus, yes, Lord, I touched you. Jesus knew then precisely why she touched him. What a beautiful faith she had. You know what Jesus said: "My daughter, your faith has made you well." Jesus didn't say, I will heal you, or you shall have a miracle, or why did you touch me without permission. He didn't say that. He said, my daughter, your faith has made you well. The moment he made that pronouncement, her disease was gone and she was healed. Completely healed. Yes, a beautiful miracle happened. Her faith led her to touch Jesus, to rub into him.

So today it is the job of all us Moonies to rub into Father. Like small pieces of metal, let us shine ourselves vigorously on Father. Through this process, we shall become shining sons and daughters of God when we receive the Blessing from heaven, which this time occurred in Europe. As I mentioned on Sunday morning, 118 couples were given the Blessing in Europe, out of which only 12 couples were married with someone of their own nationality. One hundred six couples were married internationally. The French were shocked to marry Germans, and the Germans were shocked to marry French people. Throughout history, they don't even like to look at each other too much. But quietly, quietly, quietly, Father on May 21 helped start the greatest revolution of all in Europe. That day, by giving the Blessing to over 100 couples in international marriage all over Europe, Father literally broke down the barrier of nationality and national boundaries. There will be no more Germans, no more Frenchmen, no more Englishmen. There will be Europeans.

The other day one of our missionaries came from Zaire, Africa. You heard his report last Sunday. He talked about a spiritual group that is prepared to accept the coming of the Lord of the Second Advent. They have almost five million members in nine nations in Africa. The founder received a revelation. His son, who is succeeding him, is also spiritually open and ready to receive the revelation from God. And they were in contact with the Unification Church. They felt they had at last found the ultimate church of the universe. So they are making a tremendous overture in trying to come to New York to meet with Father. This exciting thing is coming. But other Christian missionaries in Africa-Presbyterian, Catholic, Methodist, whatever-began making accusations against Reverend Moon and the Unification Church, spreading all kinds of rumors and slanderous remarks.

One Family of Man

That is what happens to all righteous men in history. Jesus was crucified because of that kind of criticism. Moses and Abraham were attacked and criticized. All the righteous men in history know how to persevere with the truth of God. All the prophets of God have been persecuted. This African spiritual group leader listened to all the accusations, trying to convince him that the Unification Church is not the one. Finally he pulled out one picture and showed the accusers. Look, that is a picture of the 1,800 couples married in Seoul, Korea. He said, these 1,800 couples are from dozens of nations all over the world, all six continents. They came to this man and they received the Blessing. Unless Reverend Moon is a man of God, why would they come? This is the most historic thing I have ever seen. All the revelations are pointing to this one family of man and this is the way to create one family of man. There is no other way, he said.

We do not know how significant all these things are, but even those people who communicate with the spirit world know what we are, what Father is, and how great the new world is that we are bringing to this earth. Many of you have received that Blessing. But my brothers and sisters, it is our path here today to become true sons and daughters of God. Not adopted sons. Not servants anymore. Christians are calling themselves servants of God. God does not want to hear that any more. God wants to hear: my Father. God has been lonely. No companionship. God is Almighty, and He can do everything by himself except enjoy the fellowship and give and take of love.

God made the Principle in such a way that even He needs someone to have give and take with. He needs someone to love. He needs someone to love Him. The day Adam and Eve fell, God fell in a way because the hope of perfected man was not in sight. God would not find for a long time the give and take relationship with His children. God really wants to hear His sons and daughters saying, my Father. You think it is humble to say, I am your servant. Is it very arrogant to say, I am your child? It is not arrogant at all. God has been waiting, lonely, longing to hear someone say, my daddy, you are my daddy. So intimate a word, daddy.

God is really a living God. Who is God? God is just like you. God feels as you feel. God looks as you look. When we look at nature and all the animals, we see beauty. Then look at the beauty of man. Among all of creation, man is supreme.

When we were in Europe, Father made a tour of a wild animal farm with Mr. Dennis Orme. We drove through and saw many, many animals. That particular animal farm has more monkeys than anywhere else I have seen. Boy, I really enjoyed it. I didn't know much about monkeys, but I really had a chance to appreciate monkeys in two ways: how closely they resemble human beings, but on the other hand how ugly they are. Boy, they look so proud. They walk so tall, their chins up, so much like human beings. But they are also so ugly. Particularly their rear ends are so red, I don't know why that is. And they have a tail. At that moment I appreciated the beauty of man compared to monkeys, which is the closest animal to man. Even though many biological functions are the same in monkeys and man, still monkeys are in the field of animal and we are in the field of human beings, entirely different. We are created with a spirit and the monkey is not, so there is a gigantic gap.

Incidentally, this African missionary told me that in Zaire they eat monkeys. That is hard for people to accept. One of our Japanese members visited Zaire and told the cook not to show him the monkey, otherwise he would not be able to eat it after it was cooked. Incredible, isn't it? There are many stories from our missionaries and some day they will all become part of the Acts of the Apostles. Entwined with humor is the beautiful power of faith they demonstrate. Anyway, one day the Japanese missionary went to the grocery store. Something he saw there made him run out. He ran home, all pale, and he went right into his room and locked the door and started to pray: Father, Father, an awful thing is happening in Africa. God, please save these people. Gregory and his wife asked him what happened. He kept crying and praying to God, saying something awful was happening in Africa, what can we do. Here in the grocery store they are selling human meat-little babies!-they are selling babies! Actually, what the brother saw was a little monkey.

God's Masterpiece

Anyway, my main subject is to show how beautiful we are as a masterpiece of God's creation. Recently the Royal Ballet came to Korea for the opening of a big theater, and we went to see them. I really was intoxicated with the beauty of the human form of man and woman. It is so beautiful. Divine beauty. Compare that to the monkey figures I saw at the animal farm in London. It is absolutely a contrast. We need to see each other as the most perfected part of God's creation. But how many times do we appreciate it? How many times do we say to God, thank you, God, you made me this beautiful. You made me this perfect. When you look at each other, when you look at your brothers and sisters, how many times do you think, this is God's creation? My Father created her. My Father created him. Thank God we have a chance to appreciate such beauty.

Yes, this is the concept of the heavenly Blessing. Your husband is a representative of God, man's world. When you look at your husband you are supposed to see God manifested in him. The male form of God, the plus energy of the universe, is manifested as a microcosm in your husband. At the same time, the female energy of God is manifested in the form of your wife. So husband and wife together make up the total harmonized universe, total unified form of God. How many of us really appreciate each other, particularly when we get married? When husband and wife look at each other, they can see the most beautiful manifestation of the work of God, the art of God.

I said God was lonely. At the same time, God needs to receive a compliment. You need petting, don't you? You need encouragement and praise, don't you? Isn't that true? All humans are thirsty for some kind of recognition, some kind of compliment and praise. Don't we? So does God. Why? Because we are the manifestation of God. What we feel, God feels. It is very true. So God needs a compliment. So why don't you talk to God? God, my Father, how wonderful you are to create the beautiful flowers. How wonderful you are to bring us to this beautiful Belvedere today. All of you say, God, my Father, how wonderful is your creation. Everything I see here is your creation. Perfect. Your masterpiece. But the most praise goes to God when we appreciate each other. So precious. Look at your brother as the image of God. Look at your sister as the image of God. This is the heavenly concept of the Blessing, so that we can discipline ourselves and practice and experience all kinds of love here on earth. Then we will be eligible to be admitted into the kingdom of God in heaven.

You know, even though the heavenly kingdom comes here on earth, there will be pain. There will be suffering. There will be a certain amount of agony. Sadness. Joy. Excitement. As long as we live in this physical world, we cannot avoid all these things. This earth is the training ground, God's workshop, for heaven. We live here on earth to be disciplined, trained, and experience the love of God so we can truly appreciate Him. So we can mature and be admitted to the Kingdom of God in Heaven. This is the whole purpose. Otherwise we would not need this world.

It is almost like an obstacle race. God allows certain sadness, certain pain, certain accidents, and certain unfortunate things like obstacles. Each time we race over the obstacle we experience a new feeling of God. Also, we experience all kinds of love. Love of the parents, love of the mate, love of the children. We have to get experience here on earth so that we are not crippled in the Kingdom of God in heaven.

Three Stages of Life

It is an amazing thing. I want you to know that we all are supposed to live three segments of life. One segment of life is inside the mother's womb for nine months. We live in water. We survive in the mother's womb in the bag of water. We are surrounded by water. Our universe is water, like a fish. Then we are born to this world, and we breathe air. Our atmosphere is air. So the time spent in our mother's womb is training for the next world. The baby attends a workshop inside the mother's womb to prepare to be able to breathe air in this stage of life. But this is not all. Suppose we live 100 years. After 100 years, we are going to live one more segment of life. The real world. Eternal world. Spirit world. There we breathe, not air, not water. We breathe love. Love. If you have no capacity to breathe love, if you flunk your course and your mark is "F" here on earth, if you fail to practice the art of giving and receiving love, then in the next world you are going to choke. You can't breathe that atmosphere of love. The choking people go to that place known as hell. No light. No love. They didn't live the truth. They didn't learn to love. They cannot breathe love at all.

So, my dear brothers and sisters. It is not how many citations or how much recognition you receive from the movement, from the leaders, even from True Parents. Actually, it is up to you what grade you receive in love-breathing, how prepared you are to breathe the love of God in the spirit world. We must begin to practice breathing love here on earth. The quickest way to be able to breathe the perfect love of God is to meet the True Parents. It is like a super highway. Without the Divine Principle, you would never comprehend the truth of God, the concept of the purpose of this creation. But after meeting True Parents, we have to practice the love of God.

As our True Parents keep emphasizing, the best way to understand and know God and face His love is in the circumstances of suffering. God is coming to the jungle of Zaire. Yes. Our missionaries have met God out there. The missionaries' zeal and excitement and fervor for God is so great. They indeed met God. One time I went to the MFT captains and leaders meeting with Father. Those MFT leaders are pressed and pushed all the time, and I really expected to see a tired bunch of young people who needed Father to lift them up. But as soon as I walked into the room where about 50 captains and team leaders were waiting to see Father, as soon as I stepped into that door, powerful energy came to me with the beautiful sound of singing. Of course, our Unification singing is different. We sing from the soul. This is one thing that has always impressed me, the first thing that convinced me that the Principle is the truth. I first joined the Unification Church because of the singing of the hymns in Korea. On a cold winter day a bunch of young people were gathered together on a Wednesday night and they were singing the hymns and I saw their souls living.

Plug into the Source

So, brothers and sisters, we are not going to have a long time to suffer for our True Parents. The heavenly world is closer to the physical world. Amazing things are happening. I want you to know the victory has been won in the entire spirit world. The spirit world is united into one with the power of the True Parents. All we have to do is translate that victory into this world. Every day the spirit world is pushing down, and down, and down. The power of the spirit world is available to us. All we have to do is plug into it. Like an electric wire, you can plug into the source of the power: God.

That is happening in Japan. I have heard reports so many times, particularly recently with the True Parents in London. Japan is beginning a second 40-day campaign for membership. The first campaign at the outset of this year was the fund-raising campaign like you are going through now. Normally Father's goal is very high for Japan. I have never seen in history any nation or group of people break the records even beyond Father's expectation. But this year, 1978, Japan in 40 days broke the record. Father set a goal, but Japan's record went far beyond that accomplishment. That is what the Japanese brothers and sisters did.

How can they do that? The reason is very simple. The Japanese brothers and sisters, the entire movement from the president of the church down to every member of the church, honestly accept Father 100 percent. They are not wishy-washy. They take Father's direction at face value, no discounts. There is 100 percent obedience to True Parents. Just like in the time of Noah, when Noah demonstrated absolute faith in God, God used that faith as a handle to pull the world and gave the flood judgment. It is not the number. What we are talking about is the quality. Noah's family had only eight members, but they were united through the undaunted faith of Noah. For more than 100 years nobody believed him, and they laughed at him all the time saying, what kind of flood is coming. You are building an ark on top of Mount Ararat. Incredible. People laughed at him for 100 years. But Noah's faith persevered. The Day of judgment came. Noah received the revelation and he believed it blindly, without compromise.

So it is with the Japanese members. Father gives a mandate and they take it at 100 percent face value. No compromise. All kinds of spiritual phenomena happened. Many brothers and sisters were led to make special sales, and tens of thousands of dollars were coming in every day. Then after that Father ordered the Japanese movement to work for the restoration of man, to witness. In the first 40 days of witnessing, the Japanese membership grew by 2,500 solid members. There were hundreds and hundreds of associate members.

During that time, spirit world was pushing further down everywhere. Incredible spiritual phenomena occurred. Just as we have here in America, parents were deprogramming their children, in many cases incited by the communists. One set of agitated parents who had two children in the movement, one son and one daughter, came to our church for a showdown. The mother publicly announced, I will go to the Unification Church and talk to the leader and to my son and daughter and I am going to brainwash them out of the church.

They came, and our leader listened to her, along with her son and daughter. All were listening very sincerely. This lady was giving all kinds of abuse, making slanderous remarks and accusations. And we didn't say a word. She gave her all; then all of a sudden, she faltered, foam came from her mouth, and she fell down on the ground and that was the end of her life. Think of the shock of our people. We didn't say a word to her. We never responded to her. We listened to her. Her children were just listening. She collapsed dead. Judgment, end of the world, came to her.

It would have been even worse if the son and daughter hadn't been there. We might have been charged with murder. It was that kind of situation. But there was a most beautiful witness. Her son. Her daughter. In the Bible, Acts 5:1-11 describes how Ananias and his wife, Sapphira, both lied to Peter about money they were donating from the sale of a piece of property. First the husband and then the wife collapsed and died when Peter confronted them. That happened in the first century, why couldn't it happen in the 20th century? It makes us fearful.

My dear brothers and sisters, God wants to love you. As soon as you become the sons and daughters of God, you will become the recipients of the love of God. You love God and you love the universe. So there are three stages of love. Father, mankind, and all things of creation. Ever since the fall of man, the connection to the three elements was broken. There was no channel of communication. It was like a body crippled. The leg and arm don't listen to the brain. The leg and arm don't even know there is a brain. It is a sad situation. But once the mediator between God and all things and between God and man appears, all communication will be restored. All the communication shall harmonize, bringing unity with the love of God.

It is our privilege. We shall become the sons and daughters. Not because we are great or smart or have Ph.D.s, but because we met the True Parents. It is our fortune. Do you understand that?

Ask God for Controversy

Every day it is the reality of Moonies here in America and all over the world that we are hit with all kinds of negativity. Our press is not that friendly. We could sue the New York Times for $45 million in damages, but the damage the New York Times caused cannot be translated into money. They have really done an incredible historical crime. We are practically numb from the avalanche of negative news. So I tell you today, do not ask God for an easy life. Ask God for controversy. Troublesome situations. Crises. Crises will give you a chance to prove yourself. Missionaries suffer one crisis after another in Africa, South America, the Middle East, everywhere. If there was no crisis of the War of Independence, there would not be a George Washington. If there was no crisis of the division of the country, the Civil War, there would be no Abraham Lincoln. If the Roman Empire was not attacking the Christians with persecution, there would be very little to write about in the Acts of the Apostles. That is why God is now allowing you to take the heat. It is our chance to not complain, but thank God we have this opportunity.

Crises with communists will really prove that Father is the savior of the world. You will see. Communists will bring one crisis after another. We can translate every one into our victory because we have conviction, we have faith, we have God on our side.

So today in Washington, the Fraser subcommittee is meeting right now. They have been meeting since 10:00 a.m. I don't know what they are saying but undoubtedly Fraser is saying something negative about us. About Father. About me. He was very mad at me, and I was very mad at him too. But I want you to know I never asked God to take care of Congressman Fraser. No, I didn't say that. I said, God, you gave us the opportunity to really prove how tough Moonies are. Fraser's plan is very clear. He is trying to make Reverend Moon and the Unification Church a mockery with scornful laughter in front of the American people. He wants to cash in on that particular situation for his political advantage. I can be the subject in this fight. I told God, let me handle Fraser. You just wait awhile and sit there and listen and look at how we are doing. I told Father, "Father, don't worry about Fraser. Let me take care of it."

I am sure he is going to say the nastiest things about Father. You may read all those things in the New York Times again, but don't worry about it. I tell you, this is an opportunity. This is really the first century of the Completed Testament Age. We are going to write this dramatic story into the Acts of the Apostles. In order to do that, we need crises. Let us take care of the crises.

You and I, with our True Parents and God in heaven, shall be an invincible force. No force under the sun can dampen or deter or even slow down our movement. Impossible. We can turn every crisis into a great victory. I want you to know that. Every crisis we can translate into God's victory and victory for our True Parents. Why? Because, as I said last Sunday, there are no forces that have power over us. We can give our life for the sake of True Parents. Young Nathan Hale in the Revolutionary War gave his life for the sake of his country. He said before he was executed, "I have but one regret, that I have only one life to give for my country." This is precisely what we Americans feel. We Koreans feel. We Japanese feel. Every time it comes to give our life on the altar of God, all we can say is we regret that there is only one life to give our True Parents.

With that kind of commitment, without guns, without cannons, without the atomic bomb, we shall become an invincible heavenly force. You know that. We don't need an atomic bomb because each one of us is becoming a spiritual atomic bomb that can shake the entire world. Let's think big. Let's look for the big goal and ruthlessly attack that goal. We shall attain it in the name of God and in the name of True Parents.

I conclude this World Day message with the 23rd Psalm, which I recite over and over. Even at the Fraser committee, it was so appropriate. Father said in London he is opening up another frontline. We are the frontline soldiers. I want to emphasize something I said last Sunday. Some of you may not have been here. Father was in Europe, but not because America failed the mission. As Mother said this morning, Father went to Europe to open up another frontline. Father trusts the American movement, trusts you and me. He knows that we are no longer children and that we can take care of this frontline. That is why he is now ready to open up another frontline in Europe with the European brothers and sisters.

The European situation is very severe. The communist takeover is imminent in many countries. Father's presence is absolutely necessary in Europe, and it is long overdue, after four years. Father spoke until 2:30 in the morning, 5:00 in the morning. Father is acting like a young man. I was really ashamed. I am 10 years younger than Father, but I could not keep up with his energy. Father is working just like a teenager. He doesn't think about the time. He forgets meals. He is really applying himself to open up another frontline. Meanwhile his attention is always on America. America is the Abel nation. Europe is the Cain nation. Father wants to help the Cain nation while the Abel nation is standing on its own feet. Father wants you to stand on your own feet. You must show Father maturity. And when Father comes back, we don't want to greet him with empty hands. We want to offer him our achievement in terms of fund-raising and membership.

College campuses in Japan used to be rampant with communist forces, but now Japan's campuses are completely occupied by our CARP students. In Tokyo alone, 50 or more Tokyo University students were coming to our center. They are working day and night trying to increase our membership in CARP in the Tokyo center. Think of it. Tokyo University is like Harvard or Yale here. The most intellectual, in a way the most selfish, young men and women are joining our movement and moving into the CARP center. It is happening all over Japan. Why not here in America? Why not?

Our brother said that in Zaire there is no room for all the new members to move in anymore. They are fund-raising, but no matter how hard they work all month, the salary is only about $50 or $60. Eighty dollars is what a well-paid executive receives in Zaire. Think of it. How fortunate you are. Now, we can translate this fortunate circumstance into a victory. We must do that now. We cannot wait. While Father is away this is a great opportunity. When Moses went away, the Jewish people created the golden calf to worship. We learned the lesson. We are mature. We are each becoming another Sun Myung Moon. Miss Sun Myung Moon. Mr. Sun Myung Moon. So when Father leaves, many more Sun Myung Moons are coming up. Wonderful. Each one of you must act as Father. When you go and play today, look at yourself as Sun Myung Moon. Greet the trees. Greet the grass. Talk to nature like Father does.

Every opportunity Father gets he goes out to sea. He likes to go to flower gardens, parks, and mountains. Why? Because Father is welcomed by nature more than he is by mankind. Man still does not know him. Nature knows him. Father would rather go to a friend, that is nature. We must make people welcome Father here in America.

So I want to close this sermon shouting out the 23rd Psalm together with you. David said that Psalm a long time ago, but even though he was close to God, he called God "Lord" and himself "subject." Those are more distant terms than "Father" and "Son," aren't they? So I want to change "Lord" into "Father" in the 23rd Psalm. Let's do it, you follow after me.

Father is my shepherd, I shall not want; he makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of my enemies; thou anointect my head with oil, my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the house of the Father for ever.

Thank you, brothers and sisters.

Prayer by Bo Hi Pak:

Our Heavenly Father. Such a great day of joy celebrating the Day of All Things. Father, my words and knowledge and power are not adequate to truly express your feeling and the feeling of our True Parents, but You forgive me and You substitute all the shortcomings with Your own power, Your own spirit to touch every heart of our members and brothers and sisters here in this congregation and throughout the country and throughout the world. Father, thank You very much for this privilege to know You. To know True Parents, to become true sons and daughters of God. Father, we shall never let You down. We shall accomplish Your goal. Father, our life is Yours and we are at Your disposal. Father, give us any amount of crises; we shall show ourselves that we are able to overcome not only the crises, but win the greatest victory of all. Thank You, Father. Thank You for the Day of All Things celebration. As we go through the celebration, be with us all the way. All these things we pray in the name of our most beloved True Parents. Amen.

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