Opening a New Way to Understand True Parents

Bishop Ki-Hoon Kim enumerated a few steps toward better understanding True Parents and following in their footsteps, during a sermon he gave at the Virginia Family Church Sunday Service on August 31, 2014. For inspiration on True Parents’ mission, the blessings we have received and how we can live a life that can bring others to God, read Dr. Kim’s full speech below.

We need to study True Parents’ teachings.

When we study True Father’s and True Mother’s messages, it is very clear why and what True Father’s mission in America was. He came as a doctor and a firefighter, to overcome communism through many activities, and to establish The Washington Times, Godism and the unification of interreligious activities.

I was in Kona, Hawaii, with True Father and True Mother who were investing everything for the coming generations. What is True Mother’s biggest concern? It is that Unificationists—including leaders—don’t know what True Parents have done. We must be concerned about this point.

We need to open a new way to understand True Parents. We are confused and suffer because we don’t understand who True Parents are and what they have been doing and are doing. We need a relationship to—and understanding of—True Parents as the Second Coming and the savior. We don’t have to be confused. There are many details concerning how to understand True Parents and see what they have done.

After the 2013 Foundation Day celebration, they are the Living representation of God. We cannot see this concept with our secular understanding and our physical eyes. This is the point in our community and individual life of faith. After 6,000 years, the only begotten son of God is True Father and after 6,000 years the only begotten daughter of God is True Mother. More than 4,000 times, True Father mentioned that True Mother is God’s only begotten daughter. We must understand True Mother’s position clearly. After Jesus, True Parents came in the position of the only begotten son and daughter.

We need to recognize our blessings.

True Mother is explaining that we have received four blessings from True Parents. How can we be fruitful, true individuals? How do we create individuals who live centrally to the teachings of the Divine Principle? Without a relationship with our Heavenly Parent and a relationship with True Parents today, we cannot become true individuals. We must inherit True Parents’ legacy and have an absolute, life-or-death commitment to the legacy of True Parents and live life for the sake of others. That is the first blessing.

The second blessing is families who can inherit true love, true life and true lineage; the third, sharing this foundation with others; and fourth is True Parents’ situation. In 6,000 years this is the first time we have True Parents and True Parents’ family. We must create a true family culture. We must come together and create True Parents’ culture.

With these four conditions we can see the true Cheon Il Guk, God’s Kingdom, after Foundation Day. There will be no miracles without investment.

We need to learn from each other.

True Mother is encouraging us to “forgive, love and unite.” She is very inspired by the young people who are taking up leadership positions throughout our movement. At the second anniversary of True Father’s Seonghwa (ascension), True Mother’s message stemmed from 40 years of life in America: Forgive, Love and Unite. This three-word message means a lot.

We need an elders’ group to advise the young people. Also, the elders need to listen to the younger generation. Listening to people is critical.

We need to create a real family spirit through dining together and listening. We need to bring the family spirit back to our community. We must come together in unity—this is the teaching of True Parents. We have to bring people together to make unity for True Parents around the world. It is the mission of the young generation as well.

Last night I saw that the greatest hope is this family spirit. I asked a group of young Unificationists, “How can we start a new way in Cheon Il Guk?” The answer: Love your spouse!

We need to share our faith with others.

America has the greatest foundation for the sake of the world. True Parents’ foundation in America is for the sake of the world. We must become tribal messiahs—individuals with our own personal ministry among our friends and family. We must become like True Parents and have that spirit of the mission of True Parents.

What was True Father’s last will before he went to the spirit world? Tribal messiahship. You must be a living messiah centered on the Divine Principle and True Parents. True Father taught this at the last international leaders’ meeting.

How can you be a messiah? With God’s message and True Parents. We are reluctant to show our faith, but True Parents are the second coming of the Messiah and the savior—this is our identity. In our church, our life of faith is True Parents. Without True Parents we cannot have Unificationism or a Family Church.  This is the reason True Father taught us to become messiahs. The Messiah has the authority from God. The Messiah listens only to God’s message. He spoke of this one month before he ascended. Please think very deeply about this.

We need to rise up as God’s hope for America.

In 1971, True Father came to America with a clear mission for victory in the U.S. and bringing that victory back to Korea for the unification of North and South Korea. However, True Father’s idea of coming to America started long before 1954.

He had been preparing since 1950 to come to America, because God chose America and wanted to save this country as God’s chosen nation. True Father was already preparing to come to America to save this country. God had been preparing this country for 2,000 years for this time.

The 2014 Holy Ground pilgrimage was called God’s Hope for America [named after one of True Father’s main public speeches in the U.S.], but the original title of the message in Korean was “America Is God’s Hope.” Even God’s Fatherland, Korea, can’t be saved if America falls!

True Father did everything for the sake of America. We have to awaken ourselves and try to understand True Parents’ will. Through True Parents we can better understand God’s Providence for North America. That is the reason this spirit must come back to America; let us bring True Father’s spirit back to America!

In 1965, True Father visited 55 cities in 43 days to create Holy Grounds. He ate sandwiches and pickles on the way for 43 days. Father buried rocks and soil from Korea at the Holy Grounds, because this land is God’s land. He buried one more thing—Father said, “I am burying God’s love here with the rocks and the soil.” There will be an explosion of God’s love in those 55 cities; then this country, America, will be reborn for the sake of God. True Father invested his heart here because this country is God’s hope.

We need to live the Divine Principle.

We must change to enter God’s chosen land. For 400 years the Israelites suffered and finally went to the Promised Land, but they didn’t change themselves, and lost God’s blessing.

We must change ourselves. We cannot build Cheon Il Guk the same way those in the past have tried. The wilderness course is over after Foundation Day. Don’t carry on the wilderness course lifestyle. How do I change myself? This is our portion of responsibility. We need to ask ourselves, through prayer life, what is my objective as a tribal messiah and a family?

Because we haven’t understood True Parents so well, we have difficulties. We need new education. We need education about God’s Providence, being a true family and how to live the Divine Principle.

It’s not enough to just give lectures. We must live the Divine Principle. We need to create a new style of workshops, not wilderness-style, but Cheon Il Guk-style; not just in idea, but in practice and practical education. Let us bring our communities back to True Parents.