Let Us Go God’s Way

On Sunday, November 17, 2014, Dr. Ki Hoon Kim gave a message at the Dallas Family Church Sunday Service. He shared about True Parents’ heart, their vision for the Kingdom of Heaven and the potential for every person to accomplish so much. Read the full sermon below.

Many times I get asked, “What are True Mother’s ideas for going forward? What is True Mother’s driving theme these days, now that True Father is in the spirit world?” This question became important to the Las Vegas community in preparing to welcome True Mother this December. I told them, “Let us prepare a proper welcome. How can we receive True Parents, the second coming of the Messiah?”

Our Heavenly Parent prepared the world’s people to welcome Jesus 2,000 years ago, but as we all know the story goes, they made a mistake. They crucified the only begotten son, Jesus Christ. Even though they believed in God, they didn’t understand God’s plan. The leadership of the Israelites and Jews understood in a very limited way. Today when we understand that True Parents are the second coming of the Messiah and Savior, we have to be very clear.

Sometimes we feel we are in crisis and we don’t know how to resolve it. However we have great blessings and fortune to have True Parents with us. When True Mother shares about God’s heart with us, would you like to answer, “Yes, I will go with you in God’s direction”? This, of course, is our answer. Think about the world situation. Do you feel you have hope? Many people are disappointing. After President Obama said we can change years ago, did you feel any change? He changed a lot, but not in God’s way. Now Republicans took over Congress. Does that give you hope? No. Only we can bring great hope for the seven billion people on Earth by centering on True Parents. True Father showed us everything, what to do and how to do it. What are we missing? Action. We have every kind of resource. We have everything God told us. And one thing is missing: Action!

We need to understand how to change our situation, overcome and build the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth, Cheon Il Guk. We need to always remember God’s way. When we find ourselves at a crossroads, with people telling us to go this way and others telling us to go that way, we need to think about True Parents’ way, God’s way. Then we can bring this power of spirit to overcome our situation for the sake of our community.

Yes, we are concerned about witnessing and church growth. Why did True Parents come to the world? Why did Jesus come to the world 2,000 years ago? Was it to create one of big mega church for Jesus’s sake? And one for True Parents’ sake? They came to save the world. That is the goal of True Parents and that was the goal of Jesus 2,000 years ago. We need to have a broader understanding and vision. How can we expect our Heavenly Parent’s blessing in our community and family if we are not going God’s way and we have no relationship at all with God? Going God’s way and True Parents’ way is the only way we can overcome our struggles.

True Father’s motivation for having blessed central families was for the sake of God. This is amazing. This is incredible. Without True Parents, this ideal couldn’t be realized today. We are that precious God-centered family. Without being centered on God and True Parents, we cannot call ourselves a blessed central family. This is a matter of our understanding and our daily actions. That is our struggling point, even though we have the answer. True Parents brought a new vision of the Kingdom of Heaven, on how to live centering on our Heavenly Parent. We need to stand strongly and firmly act like True Parent, think like True Parents and live like True Parents. We lack that kind of action. We need daily Hoon Dok Hwe (Scripture reading) sessions within our family and community. True Father told us to take his message, the Divine Principle, and be Tribal Messiahs. This was True Father’s last will. As True Mother recently told us, don’t think you are physically old. Let us have a younger spirit, let us work together and let us move forward.

I’d like continue the story of Joshua and Caleb that I shared last time I was here. Joshua and Caleb were in the position of the second generation. Moses, though he was a great leader, was not allowed by God to cross over to the blessed land of Canaan. Joshua and Caleb took over this mission from God. They crossed over and victoriously fought the seven Canaanite tribes. Joshua and Caleb settled down in God’s blessed land, but the next generations were settled comfortably, married with the Canaanites and began to worship the Canaanites’ god. What happened here? God prepared this land and these people for thousands of years, and now they worship the other god. Why did this happen?

Joshua called all Israelite tribe leaders and community leaders to an urgent meeting. Thousands of people gathered and Joshua, over 80 now, gave last warning. “Wake up! Repent! Our God is this God, not Baal! Our God is God who led us to this blessed land.” They responded that they will repent and they will change, but at last, they didn’t. They listened but they didn’t follow by the action. God ended His Providence there and moved on to another worldwide Providence of Restoration, the coming of Jesus.

We should stand up today centering on God and align with God’s way. Why do people come to church every Sunday? A survey found out that for most, it’s for security of spiritual life. This is everybody’s desire, just like you came here this morning to hear me talk about True Mother’s direction and the vision of the American family churches. That’s the element to understanding and building up our daily life of faith.

What was the mistake of the Israelites? They rejected God and they didn’t educate the Canaanites or their own descendants. That’s why True Father focused on the next generation. You shouldn’t forget your portion of responsibility for the coming generations. We need to share about our experience centering on True Parents.

Think about the Roman Empire. Under persecution of the Roman Empire for 400 years, how did Christianity survive and finally claim victory and become national religion? Christians were always devoted. Even if they had to hide underground, they worshipped God. They never forgot their God. They carried on their mission from God. Through this suffering, they understood the suffering of God. They had same kind of spirit of Jesus’ suffering. They also educated on purity, and had a family spirit. No matter what, we are one family under God. That spirit cultivated even though they suffered for 400 years under the Roman Empire. This is another lesson we have.

Why did True Father came to America? To save this nation. In 1965 he took his first step on American land, but even a long time before that True Father had planned to come over here because God blessed this land as a Christian nation. America is the outcome of Jesus’s suffering and God’s suffering over the last 2,000 years. Our Heavenly Parent raised this country as God’s country. True Father had a very clear commitment before he founded our church. He got revelation from God telling him to go to America. When you read True Father’s last testimony in 1984 before he went to Danbury Prison, he once again clearly testified, “God sent me here to America to save this country.” This country is protected and blessed because of God, and God has a plan for the sake of this country.

Let us have a spirit like True Father did. Before he went to Danbury, he stood up and declared he still had this mission whether he went to Danbury or not, and his people will carry on this mission. I still have great hope this country. God cannot give up on America and move on to another mission, another era for Restoration. We call this nation the Elder Son. Why? Without an Elder Son’s foundations there is no foundation for Parents. So we have our mission.

We are not just one nation under God. We are one world under God. One universe under God. This is leading us to substantialize the Kingdom of God here in this country. So we witness not with books but with love. Love can inspire people. That’s the Divine Principle. God made love stronger than any message. Let us rewrite American history and our movement.