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e-Sunday Service (Be Safe in God's Plan)

July 6, 2008

Sunday Service Online

Community Singing : Trading My Sorrows

You Raise Me Up

Song of the Garden

A Moment of Silence

Opening Prayer : Mrs. Gloria Maletsabisa Saraiva

FFWPU - Brazil

Our most beloved and gracious Heavenly Father,

We are grateful for the preciousness of life. Father you are the owner of life. At the beginning of the creation You poured your heart into the creation reserving nothing at all, when You created man and woman You poured your essence of love, life and lineage. All the things that are most precious to You are embodied in us. Father all these were supposed to be expressed naturally in the lasting relationship of parents and children with You.

You surely wanted to see Yourself in billions of us. Oh God, You wanted to see Your unique nature expressed in each one of us in the most unique way. Even though You are a God of multitudes.. . Almighty God you are also a God of each individual. You know us so well, Father, and You care so much for each one of us according to our unique personality and You want to make that personality be perfected so that You may see Your own new self in your perfected sons and daughters.

Although Father history has frustrated and disappointed Your plan, bringing about suffering in the place of lasting joy and happiness, that what You implanted in mankind and the entire creation, that is, the purpose of creation had already been mapped up in the heart of man and the creation and it could not be wiped away or erased entirely because Father, You have made us as part of You, loosing us forever would be loosing Yourself. Father that's how precious we are. Therefore, You started a long course of restoration or recreation. Oh, what a long and tedious course. Yet, the path of victory was paved through sweat, tears and blood of all Your chosen central figures.

And we have the privilege to live and breath the same air, to bear witness to the most intense restoration warfare fought and won by our True Parents. Only God knows the immensity of how they struggled in this battle. If there's anyone who knows what suffering for heavenly course is, are our True Parents. I know how often we wondered, how can they go through this... being True Parents of mankind? Father said more than the suffering that came from outside through media persecution, he suffered most from our betrayal. The betrayals of his followers. Yet, despite all that, they continued striving to set all the cornerstones for the establishment of the Kingdom of Heaven, Cheon Il Guk.

Yes Father, True Parents said if we held on and never give up we will inherit the merit of this age, not only for ourselves but for our entire lineage, our ancestors and descendants.

For some of us all this might be still bleak, obstructed by the reality of so much suffering around us, our own limitations which make us feel so disheartened, sins which we haven't yet overcome, struggles, conflicts and our imperfections. .. Father, we repent sincerely and pray that You may illuminate our thoughts, feelings, minds and actions so that we may always make the right decisions when we find ourselves on the crossroads of life.

We are grateful that in this age of Cheon Il Guk the True Children are lifting us up to the standard of the True Family. I pray we may believe in the good godly nature that You have implanted in each one of us and has been reborn through the grace of the blessing of our True Parents which has given us the right to be called the children of God.

Father please give us the discerning heart so that we may perceive You in small things. In the smile of my brother and sister, in the opportunity You give us to express Your love to others and receive love ourselves. Teach us to be grateful for little things and soon we will realize that You never leave us alone. Even when we stray, You are there to guide us to the right path through the circumstances around us, we really want to know how to read Your footprints.. . Almighty God whether You come personally or through the spirit world, our ancestors. Let us therefore live in Your presence even when we face difficulties. When we have learned to count Your blessings from small and little things... God, we will realize that our account of our blessings is always higher than that of our pains and suffering. Thus Father, we have so much to be grateful for.

Thank you Father for You have come to save my life with this prayer.

I humbly offer this prayer in the Name of Christ,

Aju.

Words from the the Holy Bible : 1 Corinthians 12:4-31; Mark 16:15

4There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.

7Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. 11All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.

12The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. 13For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body --- whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free --- and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.

14Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. 15If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 16And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 17If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20As it is, there are many parts, but one body.

21The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" And the head cannot say to the feet, "I don't need you!" 22On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.
27Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. 28And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues. 29Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? 31But eagerly desire the greater gifts. And now I will show you the most excellent way. (1 Corinthians 12)

And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. (Mark 16:15)

Words of Rev. Sun Myung Moon : Blessed Family and the Ideal Kingdom

Vol. 1, Page 161

"Sleeping, waking up, going, coming, giving and receiving: Do all these with God without reservation and with a peaceful mind."

Sermon Online : Be Safe in God's Plan

Rev. Hyung Jin Moon

Chungpa Dong HQ Church

Seoul, Korea

Today I want to talk to you about "Being Safe in God's Plan." In order to live the blessed life, it's so important to be able to be safe and rest in God's plan. It's so important that we know that God has a plan for our lives, that He is directing our footsteps, that He is making a way for us in our lives. And remember, while we are proceeding through our life, the purpose of our life is not to try to impress everyone, or even try to have everyone love us, or to have no one criticize us. Actually, when we look from the Principle perspective, the purpose of creation is for us to return joy to God. Many times when we do that - if in fact we are doing that - we can elicit some criticism. We can elicit people not loving us. But let's keep in mind that it's important to move forward in building that joyful relationship with God, building those beautiful relationships in the four position foundation with our spouse and our children and really creating a house in which He can dwell.

When we look at our own life, when we assess our own life, it's important to realize that we have a purpose. We have a real value in our existence. It may be something as simple as being a teacher, an educator, or maybe something as important as being a parent etc. But let us remember that the calling to which God has called us is not always this huge saintly activity. It may not be saving the world by tomorrow, but it maybe saving a child's life, it maybe educating somebody in our classroom that will go on to do great things. You see, it may be something very small that we encounter in our day-to-day life, in our day-to-day activities or in our work, that will contribute to creating miraculous people, miraculous moments for those people.

I was talking to one sister who is a financial planner, and she really finds it her calling. She feels that God is really calling her to be a financial planner. You know, sometimes we make the very strong divide between the spiritual and secular. But she really feels that God is working through her to help plan people's finances. Because she does this work, she is able to make very educated decisions for herself and for her own family, and also, at the same time, she is able to help other blessed families to make such good decisions for themselves. She went on to tell me how, from a very young age ?she did not know why ?but she always liked math. She always excelled in maths.

She always excelled in wanting to use numbers and help people through those means, and - interesting enough - by keeping true to herself and doing her best, she kind of matched up with what God planned for her. When we see her doing that work, I'm so proud of her. She's really working hard doing her thing. Also, instead of forcing her kids to go and get a job, by her example the children are inspired. They want to become professional people. They want to contribute in that way. They want to use their talents to help other people in their community, in their families, etc. Even in our own family, and we have a huge family - we have lots of cousins, I have a lot of siblings, all in different fields - and in no way can I say, "I'm doing God's work because I'm in ministry." I can't say that.

Because all my family members, I believe, are doing different things that God is utilizing them in, and I believe that's all part of the plan that He has for us. In the same way, in our own life, it doesn't have to be something like meditation or prayer that is exclusively doing God's work. But we can see in our day-to-day life and how we treat people and how we respect ourselves and what kind of example we are for our children, (in all this) we can see that God is using us to be a miracle in this world.

It's so important that when God is guiding us, to know and to be open to His guidance. So many times people wait until they are hundred percent certain, a hundred percent sure before they take that step of faith or take the next action step.

For example, if we were to wait until we were hundred percent sure before we drove a car, we would never be able to drive, because simply there is always risk, there's always the chance of us getting into an accident, but what do we do? We take that step of faith. We get into the car, we obey traffic rules; we try our best to pay attention to the traffic lights and all those kinds of things. Then we will have a higher chance of succeeding at that kind of activity.

It's the same in our life. If we wait to be a hundred percent certain before we take that step, before we make the next decision we need to make, many times the decision is too late. Many times we have lost the opportunity. Too many people have so much talent, so much potential residing within them. But because of that hesitation sometimes, maybe the person that God has prepared for them is right in front of them, and they don't take that chance to really connect with that person. Or the opportunity that God has prepared for many years for them is right in front of them, but they are waiting for a hundred percent certainty in their lives until they make the decision.

We have to learn how to move in a more educated fashion. In the leadership field, there's a rule called the "70/30 Rule." I would like to share that rule with you today. That's the rule that many CEOs use, many people in the leadership field use. That 70/30 Rule is a very simple rule. It simply says that we can never wait until a hundred percent certainty before we take our action step. If we do that, the chance is usually lost. Instead of doing that, when we have about seventy percent certainty, through research, through searching our heart whether this is the right path or not or the right place that God is leading us, when we have seventy percent certainty, then it is now appropriate to take that action step. It's now appropriate to move forward and take that leap of faith. Of course, many times it's hard to say. "I have sixty four percent, so I'm going to wait until I have seventy percent." It's a rounded number. You have to feel AROUND the seventy percent, ok? It's a feeling. It does not gonna be exactly all the time, but you have to feel, "Okay, I'm about seventy percent sure that God is leading me in this direction; I want to take that leap of faith."

I heard a wonderful statement: "It is better to have tried and failed than to have never tried at all." Too many people in their lives have so much potential, they have so much God-given talent and innate ability. But because of the waiting, because they are waiting until they are hundred percent sure, many times those chances can be lost. Instead of that, let's take initiative. If we are seventy percent sure that God is leading us, that this is the right path for us, let's take that action step. Let's move forward to the victory that God is planning for us. When we do that, when we take that step, then, as we proceed along the way, that is the time to modify, that is the time to adjust.

There are so many things and circumstances that we cannot plan for on the outset. We cannot plan everything; we don't know what's going to happen in the future. So as we are moving forward with that decision, as we are moving forward with God's purpose, then it is important that along the way we adjust ourselves. Let me ask you: Is there something in our lives today; is there something in our heart today that maybe requires a decision? Is there something in our lives that we are maybe postponing or procrastinating a little bit? Something that really requires attention or decision making? Let's use this time today to search our hearts to see whether or not NOW is the time to make that step, to take that next action step into the purpose and plan that God has created for us.

Let's remember that God is going to use us for a certain purpose. He's going to give us that purpose, but we have to do our part and expect that God will do good things through us. If we are always expecting when we get up that, "Oh my goodness, today is a horrible day, nobody will listen to me, people will just mistreat me, my boss is going to look me over, my children will not listen to me or probably yell at me, or curse at me again," if we say such things, then we are almost preparing or setting the condition for such things to occur. Instead of that, we have to get in the habit that, as we get up, we say, "You know, something great is going to happen to me today. Something good will happen to my children. I'm going to be on the lookout for something that God will provide me with today."

Whatever we are looking out for we tend to find. So it's important that in our lives we keep our minds focused on the good things that God is giving to us, keep our mind focused on the simple pleasures that God is affording us. It may be as simple as being able to breath, or it may be as simple as my children are healthy. But let's find something each day - because it may be our last - find something that is enriching, find something that is good.

There is really a difference between enjoying life and enduring life. When we are able to find what God is giving even though sometimes the day may not be great, or maybe our kids are not all that perfect today, but still if we look deeper, we may be able to find something that God is trying to communicate to us. He may be telling us, "Have more patience." He may be telling us, "Have more perseverance." He may be telling us, "Take that leap of faith and believe in that child or believe in you." He may be saying those kinds of things, so let's be on the lookout for such things.

A sister told me that whenever she went out to witness, she would pray. She would do a three-day condition before she would witness. Interesting enough, when she made that condition, when she set the right focus in her mind and she started praying to meet that right person, when she started preparing her heart, when she went out she was enthused, she was strong. And interestingly and almost coincidently, she would meet somebody that was prepared for her. Many times she would recount how the person she met said, "I had a dream that someone is going to come to me today." In other words, when we prepare, when we focus our mind on something, God can allow that, He can use that as a condition to help us to bring that to pass.

When we do our work through our good actions, through our good deeds and all the good works you all are doing, many times not everybody will be pleased. In medieval times there was a big kind of catapult that was called a "trebuchet". This was a very interesting type of catapult, a more advanced type of catapult, and it was not used necessarily to throw rocks or to throw other types of projectile items. It was actually used to throw -- I don't know how to say this nicely -- dead bodies, rotting carcasses. So it was actually an early form of biological warfare. What they would do, if there was a fortified city, they would throw dead animals in there, and then allow disease to spread inside the castle or inside the fortified walls. The purpose was to destroy that city or fortified area from the inside out. So essentially they would go down and try to make an unhealthy environment within.

It's just like that in our lives. Many times in our lives when we are trying to do good things, when we try to excel in our work, when we try to put in our best at work, in educational institutions or whatever, there will be those archangels that will try to use "trebuchets" on you. There will be those people that will try to put into you not such healthy things. They may tell you bad things, they may speak behind your back, and they may spread rumors about you.

But it is so important to not lose your energy on such static. It's so important that if we are going to be blessed, to know how to focus, to not let such weapons affect our inside. Whenever those things come to us, we should be in the habit of letting them go, letting them pass right by. Whenever you hear something about you, don't call your friend and try to find out what it's about, don't call five friends and tell them, "Did you hear that what this person just said about me?" The more you dwell on it, the more it's going to take root, the more it goes into your system, just like this weapon. It's going to affect your internal mind. The better things to do, whenever we hear such static, are to just simply change the channel, let that static pass. Don't let those things affect you.

In the Biblical tradition, there was the figure of Nehemiah who was a cupbearer to King Artaxerxes. He was working very hard with the king; and God gave him a plan. He gave him a purpose. He said, "Nehemiah, I want you to go back to Jerusalem and build the walls back up." But Nehemiah could not see how he could do that. He did not have the resources, he did not have the ability; he was confined within the work that he was doing for the king.

There was no way possible that he would be able to go back and build Jerusalem. But interesting enough, the scriptures said that because of the favor of God he was able to get favor with the king; and somehow the king agreed to give him permission to safely travel to Jerusalem. But not only that, but he could use the king's timber to build those walls.

When he went back to the walls, all the people in area began to oppose him. Sanbal'lat, Tobi'ah, the Ammonites, the men of Arshad, they all started to oppose him. They all said, "Nehemiah, you're crazy. We'll never let you build back the walls of Jerusalem, you're only ONE person. You will never be able to defeat us." They even plotted to attack and destroy Nehemiah. In Nehemiah 4:16, we see that half of his men had to defend, while half of them worked. Even more specifically, the men who carried materials had to carry a weapon in the other hand.

The builders also wore their swords on their belt. What is the meaning here? It is that when we are doing good things in our life, many times there will be those who will not like to acknowledge that. They want to prevent you, to stop you doing such things, maybe even harboring a jealous heart towards you. It's so important that we stay away from that, to know that we are doing good work and to continue to do our work.

Interesting enough, Nehemiah eventually became the governor of Jerusalem, and even he was able to bring peace to that very unstable area. So let's remember that Nehemiah's people, his men and the people that where working with him, stayed true to God's purpose. They knew that they had to rebuild and raise the dignity of the Israelite people. They knew that, although it was tough and although they would face opposition, (they knew) that they were involved in a very holy work.

And so even in our lives, let us remember that we are involved in a very holy work. All of you are involved in such precious work with whatever you're doing. In your own respective field, in your own respective profession, you are contributing to helping people, and God, I believe, is using each one of you in those respective purposes.

I often asked myself, "Why is it that I have chosen to be a Unificationist?" I've studied other world religions. I've studied Buddhism; I've studied Christianity; I've studied a little bit of Islam; I've studied other traditions. Then, why is it I chose to become Unificationist? Of course the answer is very complex. But in my own view, I feel that our theology is quite compelling. One of the things that I really enjoy about our tradition is that we believe that God is in the other religions as well. We acknowledge the other religions as being sacred and holy. We believe, for example from the Principle perspective, that Christianity does provide spiritual salvation to those who are believers of Christ. At the same time we believe that True Parents, through their blessings, are able not only to help us individually, but they are able to actually bring us closer as families to God.

I like that because I'm part of a family. My children and my spouse, we are all part of this tradition. This is the legacy, this is the tradition that they all are going to live in, that they are going to have to be proud of. I believe and I feel that there's an important work to contribute in this field. I feel that there's too much that has been sacrificed, too much that has been invested in terms of heartistic qualities or spiritual qualities. It's such a waste if we just simply let it all go. When I look at this tradition, as we move forward, we will become more blessed, as we move forward we will become more prosperous, as we move forward we will shine more in this world.

We are really teaching that True Parents are trying to save families and, in that sense, bring families back to God, not only our individual selves or individual salvation, but also our descendants, our ancestry that we are all one family, a tribe that is trying to connect back to God. I believe that is theologically compelling. Father said that each one of you, each one of our family members who have received the Blessing, stand in the position of the original ancestor, that you are the beginning of your tribe. You are the original ancestor. That position is so precious.

I believe that as we move forward, we will rise to better heights. I believe that we are maturing as a movement, and our families are becoming stronger. Of course we have obstacles; we have challenges like any other traditions, like any other institution. But I believe that we are overcoming such things with maturity, with strength and with wisdom.

It's interesting, once I visited a Christian church out here in Korea, a big church. They were handing out these wonderful books, very nicely wrapped and with a nice cover design. But the title was "A List of Heretical Movements." I happened to pick one up and I said, "Thank you for the book of the List of Heretical Movements." I looked through and there we were in one of the sections, a very prominent section, Unification Movement. And of course, I saw True Father's face and True Mother's face. I read, "Be very wary of this tradition. Do not get involved with this tradition, etc, etc." But when I saw it, I said "You know what, the biggest Church in Korea, the Yoeido Full Gospel Church, when that began they were also called heretics. But now they have over 180,000 members and no one calls them heretics anymore." In the same way, I said, "You know what; I want to take True Parents' out of this book. And I don't want to get into this book. I know I'm going to be in there soon (laugh). I don't want to be in there for long."

So in terms of our own tradition, I really believe this tradition has so much value. We have so much resource, we have so much talent, we have so much potential that God has prepared. From a scholarly perspective - I've studied other religions, I've seen the new movements: the Ba'hai tradition, the Hare Krishna tradition, and the Mormon tradition - in the time of their founder, no other religion has come to our level of success. None other. There is no other new religion, and also ancient religion, that has come to our level of success.

What I'm saying is that we have come enormously far and enormously fast. I believe that as we progress forward we will rise to new heights. We will become even more influential in a good way. We will spread the message of family, of marriage, of fidelity, of respect, of True Parents' Blessing. I believe that such things are important to people, and they are very much important to me. So if there any lessons that we can learn today, let's remember that God has given us a purpose. He has designed a specific plan for us. Of course, He has done His 95%. With our 5%, if we stay true to ourselves, if we continue to believe in the person that God made us to be, that we have the capabilities and talents to fulfill that purpose, I believe (that) God will bring us to that goal and to that achievement.

As we are progressing along the way, let's remember: don't heed the archangels that are trying to bring you down, that are trying to make you disbelieve or doubt yourself. Don't listen to that static. Keep focused on your purpose, keep focused on your good works. Just like Nehemiah, stay true to what God is calling you to do. One hand can be building the walls of the kingdom, one hand can be fending off the enemies. But do it nicely, do it nicely, keep yourself protected, ok?

In the same way, with our purpose, when God is leading us in our purpose, let's remember we can't always be 100% sure. Let's remember the 70/30 rule: When we are 70% sure, around 70% sure, let's take that action step, let's make that decision. Let's not procrastinate. Let's make the right decision to do. It can be something as simple as, "I can start treating my wife better. I'm going to start to drive a friend to work." It can be something as simple as that. But let's remember to continue to make good decisions in our life.

As we are doing that let's adjust, let's modify along the way and lets expect good things. Don't walk around your life and saying, "Oh, nothing good happens to me; oh, it's always raining for me, there's always a cloud chasing me." Don't live like that. That's not the way to live.

Know that you have brightness in your future. Know that you have sunshine on your face. Your smile is radiant; use it! You have a great gift inside of you. You have a champion inside of you. God has placed all that you need within your heart.

So as you move forward, let us remember to stay true to God's purpose, in our church, in our families and in our hearts. Let's continue to spread that message. Let's continue to spread our message not through force, but through our examples, that message of love, of hope, that message of diligence, that message of friendship and strong relationships, of maturity; let's spread those things.

If we can do that, I do believe (that) not only ourselves but also our church will rise to more victory, more illumination and more peace.

Brothers and sisters, can you accept this message today?

Yes (answered by audience).

Thank you so much.

Simple Prayer to True Parents:

"True Parents, thank you for this day. We are repenting for our wrong actions that we have done. We pray that you can come into our midst, and make us the holy palace of your peace. Make our families the holy palace of your love, of your lineage, Father. Thank you so much for this. I pray all of these things. AJU!

Family, if you pray these simple prayers we believe that you are now spiritually connected back to True Parents and God, and we believe that you are now in your home, welcomed to your rightful place. Let's keep True Parents in our hearts, and if we do that, we know they will raise us to more victory, more illumination and more peace than we can ever possibly imagine.

Video Clip: Be Safe in God's Plan (Kindly click the title. Thank you.)

Closing Song : Light of Grace

Individual Prayer

A Moment of Personal Reflection

Recessional Song : Grace of the Holy Garden

ANNOUNCEMENT

1.) Special thanks to Rev. Hyung Jin Moon for the sermon today, to Mrs. Gloria Maletsabisa Saraiva for the opening prayer and to the Chungpa Dong HQ Church.

2.) Two Rivers VIP Website

3.) UM-Philippines Family Times Online Website

BULLETIN

1.) The Life of Rev. and Mrs. Sun Myun Moon

2.) Divine Principle Lecture

Email me for any clarifications or questions. Thank you.

3.) BFD-Korea Counseling Department

Direct Han-Fil Lines: 02 - 713 - 0283, 02 - 3271 -0532 to 33

4.) KTI-Journey e-Sunday Service Archives, Holy Songs and Fellowship Webpage

IMPORTANT NOTES

This e-Sunday Service is only a support facility for our spiritual needs. Everyone SHOULD attend the service at your respective church/center. I thank you for all your appreciation and support for this work, however, PLEASE let us fulfill our utmost attendance to our church/center. Thank you.

Please click the title of the songs and all the links for you to read, hear and sing them all.

Kindly e-mail me immediately for any technical problem you may encounter at this e-Sunday Service. Thank You.

Special thanks to Unification Home Page, Yahoo.Com, Pat's Webgraphics, Bible Gateway, Songs of Praise, Higher Praise.Com, Cyber Hymnal.Org, and Everyone supporting this SS online.

That ends today's Sunday Service Online. Thank you for your precious presence. May God bless you and your family. Till next Sunday. A Blessed VIP New Week to All.

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