Generation of Righteousness

The following message was delivered by Dr. Ki Hoon Kim at the Seattle Family Church on Sunday, January 31, 2016.

Good morning, everyone. Crescentia, thank you so much for the wonderful sermon. I enjoyed it very much. I’d like to invite Crescentia up one more time. Not only giving a sermon now but also leading the song “Generation of Righteousness.” Does anybody know “Generation of Righteousness”? I hadn’t realized that many younger Unificationists know this song, and I was surprised that Crescentia remembered this song.

Today my sermon’s title is “Generation of Righteousness.” On New Year’s Day True Mother explained about one Old Testament passage. You’ve heard about Joshua and Caleb. After Moses’ course, God prepared Joshua and Caleb, who were very good friends. They went to where Heavenly Parent had prepared the blessed land that we call Canaan. Joshua and Caleb settled down in the land that God had prepared for 40 more years. Even though God had prepared the blessed land of Canaan, the 12 tribes of Israelites were fighting each other. “My tribe must get this land. This land is wet and we can plant so many things.” “Oh, no, my tribe must get this land.” Then Caleb stood and said, “Okay, nobody take this land and my tribe will take this land that God prepared for our tribes.” This Caleb was a very righteous elder among 12 tribes. Without Caleb’s support, Joshua could not have fulfilled his mission.

Caleb was over 80 years old, but still he was in the elder’s position with his tribe. He never feared anything. He said, “My tribe will support me 100 percent. I have no problem. Even though nobody wanted the land, we will take care of it because God has given this blessed land for the sake of all of us.” He tried to unify these 12 tribes. Earlier this year True Mother spoke about Joshua and Caleb again. This story I heard two years ago from True Mother. Maybe I told it to you when I came last time. I wondered that True Mother once again referred to this story about Joshua and Caleb. Think about it. Joshua and Caleb were united together and they supported one another; they fully understood about the mission of the Israelites, and they knew about God’s program for His tribe and His people. But what happened? After the Israelites settled down in Canaan, they betrayed God and they betrayed God’s message and God’s direction again, and God had to start a new providence after this generation.

True Mother explained how crucial education will be for the coming generations. Because the generation after Joshua and Caleb didn’t know about God’s plan for the Israelites and God’s plan for the land, they treated one another not as members of the same family or the same tribe. They fought one another, and then God’s Providence had to move on to a new central figure for the Providence of Restoration. True Mother brought out this issue and then spoke about what we have to do in the year 2016 and what is our main goal for Vision 2020.

We really need to think about how we will take care of coming generations, how they will understand about God and True Parents. What is our goal? Yes, the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth and in Heaven. Yes, Cheon Il Guk is our destination. As Crescentia mentioned, how many people will believe. Right after we celebrated Foundation Day three years ago, according to True Parents, that was the first day of Cheon Il Guk, but not many people really feel that they’re in the God-blessed land, like the Israelites. We still are struggling and suffering. We still don’t know where we are or where we are heading.

As it states in True Father’s message here from Cham Bumo Gyeong: How can we call ourselves family members, what kind of relationship of brothers and sisters do we have? If Unificationism has no connection with True Parents and Heavenly Parent and there are no brothers and sisters connected to True Parents and Heavenly Parent, we cannot establish the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth and in Heaven. We cannot build the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth.

So, more than anything else, the greatest teaching for future generations is knowing and understanding the mission of True Parents as the Second Coming of the Messiah. The main focus in our community in this year 2016 must be testifying to True Parents. This is the best education in our community as well. We must testify about True Parents to others and to our neighbors and to our tribe as the mission of Tribal Messiah. Another Bible Scripture from the Old Testament is about Jonah. True Mother mentioned this Bible Scripture once again.

Jonah was a very well respected man and he was called by God: “Jonah, I am asking you to fulfill one of My directions and this mission. Go to Nineveh and tell them if the king and people there do not listen to My direction and do not follow Heavenly Parent, they will be destroyed and no one in history will remember their nation and their people.” Even though Jonah got this direction from Heavenly Parent, he was stuck. “Shall I follow God’s direction?” He felt fear to go and tell God’s message to this king and this city, even though God had told him to tell them, “I will destroy them if they do not repent, if they do not follow Me.” Because of his fear, he escaped from his position as God’s messenger. “Oh no, I don’t have any confidence going forward to tell them to awake and repent. God’s judgment will be here in the next 40 days.” So he turned back from God’s mission. We know the story very well. He went to the ocean and took a boat together with others, and then God sent stormy weather and wind, and this boat was almost sinking, and the people on the boat were accusing Jonah. “Because of you, God is upset!” So they tried to kill him, and he was just thrown into the water and he spent three days inside a whale! No one can survive three days in a whale’s stomach. Why did this scripture say that Jonah survived three days in a whale’s stomach?

This is God’s power. These three days meant that God re-created the person of Jonah, who came out from the whale and then made up his mind. “I must go tell this city’s king and citizens to repent. This is God’s message. Otherwise, no one in human history will remember their city, their king or their people.” He went to the city and told the king and the citizens about God’s message. The first time, he escaped his God-given mission. The second time, he went through this life-or-death course and himself repented and he went to the city without any fear. God already had prepared this city, and when Jonah talked to the king of Nineveh and the people, everybody repented, they changed into white clothes, including the king, and they came out from the palace and from their houses, and everybody knelt down and said, “Father, we are very sorry for what we have done! We listen to Your messenger, Jonah, and we will unite with You.”

With this, God saved Nineveh and the king and the people. However, these people again rejected and betrayed God and did all kinds of evil things. At last, this city was gone from God’s Providence of Restoration. We have many occasions or situations in which we are confused about what to do and where we have to go and try to bring our foundation for the sake of Heavenly Parent and True Parents and our own Blessed Central Family.

Knowing God’s Providence, knowing God’s Will, knowing God’s direction and God’s message  is key to how we must set up our self. Why do we have this kind of story and why are we facing the same kind of situation so many times? Jonah, the first time, even though he talked with Heavenly Parent, he couldn’t understand who He was. The second time, he understood to whom he was talking. How can we resolve all kinds of confusion and struggling and suffering? It’s through our mindset, how we understand True Parents’ position. These days we are missing so many points in the Divine Principle. What was the goal of the Divine Principle lectures? Nothing less than testifying to True Parents as the Second Coming of the Messiah.

When True Parents came to America in 1965, True Father was very clear: “God has given this message to me: ‘Awake this nation that God prepared.’” True Father in the same way told this nation and this people, “Repent today; tomorrow will be too late.” How many times did he say it, but still this country remained very far away from God’s viewpoint. Do you remember True Father gave us his last will? What was True Father’s will? In the very last 40 days of his life what was True Father’s will for the sake of our church community and for the sake of Blessed Central Families? Two things: understanding the Divine Principle, understanding the message from True Parents, and practicing the way of life of all Blessed Central Family members. “You, I prepared you as Tribal Messiah. After me, you must care and you must carry on the mission of Messiah.” That is our mission today.

How many times do we feel we are the Messiah? We need self-awareness. If we don’t know “myself,” what kind of blessing we have, what kind of mission we have from True Parents, from Heavenly Parent, how can we do our portion of responsibility? What if somebody told me what to do, but somebody else told me, “You are going the wrong way, and you must awake and you must come to me.” We have to understand, “I am in the position of Tribal Messiah.” A messiah never listens to others. A messiah listens only to God. Today we are faced with many unwanted situations. We must understand that True Parents put each one of us as a Tribal Messiah and a Blessed Central Family. God selected this nation, America, 2,000 years ago. History says that 245 years ago this country was founded by the Founding Fathers, but True Father said, no, that is not true. God has prepared this nation over the last 2,000 years.

This country, America, is the outcome of the 2,000-year history of Christianity. With that foundation, Heavenly Parent prepared and sent True Parents to this country to save the God-centered nation, America, for the sake of Heavenly Parent, for the sake of Cheon Il Guk, for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth. Crescentia mentioned this Bible scripture, “The Kingdom of Heaven starts from yourself. The Kingdom of Heaven starts from your family.” In the same way, we must understand. Do we feel that we are already in the Cheon Il Guk era and we are already in the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth? Even though officially True Parents announced that Cheon Il Guk started three years ago, even I myself find it very hard to understand that. However, I found out that Cheon Il Guk and the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth start from myself. If you believe it, you believe and you feel about this culture of Cheon Il Guk. If you don’t, it will take a long, long time to understand about the Kingdom of Heaven centering on Heavenly Parent and True Parents.

What is Heavenly Parent really looking for? A place where He can have a heartistic relationship with His children. Where can He have this relationship with His children? Nowhere else than the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth. This country and all Blessed Central Families were chosen by God and True Parents. However, even though God chose this nation, even though God sent the Second Coming of the Messiah for the sake of this country, America, still this country has turned back toward wrong directions. How can we bring this nation back to being a God-centered nation? When we look around, where can we find any hope? Nowhere. Even some Republican presidential candidate may say, “I will make a new, great America,” but no one believes that.

This is our situation. We are too far away, so True Mother said, can you have a spirit like Jonah’s? Once we didn’t believe True Parents, even though we are the Blessed Central Families. Centering on True Mother, we have another chance to tell people, and to bring this nation that God prepared back to God’s side. We have a second chance. Once we didn’t really have 100 percent clear ideas, but now after True Father’s ascension, centering on True Mother, we should have the spirit of Jonah and tell the people what is God’s message and True Parents’ message.

This is our portion of responsibility as Blessed Central Families. True Mother’s message earlier this year was very clear about 2016 and Vision 2020. Once again True Mother really wants to focus on educating the coming generations and bringing the God-blessed land of America back to God. Without this spirit of Joshua and Caleb and Jonah, we cannot love God and love one another and we cannot build the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth. As this passage of Cham Bumo Gyeong mentioned, how can we call one another family members? Without this connection as brothers and sisters, we cannot build a church or a nation and family. This is the mission of Unificationism, to connect all people. This means let us cultivate that witnessing and let us testify about True Parents, and let us testify about the God-centered nation, America. The God-chosen nation and God-blessed land is right here, America.

Many people understood that Korea is a chosen nation, but True Parents believe that America is a God-chosen nation as well. Why? This is the reason that True Parents came to America and spent and sacrificed their lives here for 43 years. Brothers and sisters, I really want to let you understand about True Parents’ heart. We must carry on the mission of True Parents and what True Parents really want to ask today. I remembered True Father’s last will: Be a teacher of Divine Principle and be a Heavenly Tribal Messiah. These two directions are True Father’s will, and we can carry on and we can build this country, America, and reawaken this country to bring it back to True Parents and Heavenly Parent. Let us be aware who our God is, and let us be aware who True Parents are, and let us be aware who I am. Only in this way can we inherit the spirit of true love and the spirit of True Parents and the spirit of God and practice it with one another and see the Kingdom of Heaven around us. Thank you, and God bless you.