Home Church |
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The Words Of Rev. Sun Myung Moon |
Our Attitude
I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of my mouth. For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing; not knowing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. Therefore I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, that you may be rich, and white garments to clothe you and to keep the shame of your nakedness from being seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and chasten; so be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any one hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. He who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I myself conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne . . .
Revelation 3:15-21
When you go to home church, your utmost desire, hope and prayer should be for True Parents to visit your home church and stay overnight at your home. I would visit either the most controversial home church or the most successful home church, the one where you have won over every home and are welcome in every house. The book of Revelation clearly states how I feel: don't be lukewarm; be either hot or cold. Cold means controversy and hot signifies complete welcome. Don't be greedy and want your home church to be hot from the beginning; start out cold and make your home church hot. When people despise you and try to tear you apart, you should rejoice and dance. When someone says, "Don't come here, don't show up," you should appear every day. When people demand service, do it willingly. If a negative person still opposes you, God will mobilize all the neighbors and they will protest to him, "I have never seen such a man as that home church person; how come you persecute him? You are unrighteous. If you doff t like him, you go away." They will kick him out, not you.
Blessed Family
6.20.82, Belvedere
This morning the two central words are gratitude and home church. Once the home church providence is begun there is no room for complaint. When I came to America I never complained at all, even though it has been hostile here. I will always be grateful to God instead. Even though I have been persecuted constantly, no one can beat me. My territory is constantly growing.
Reflection Upon Life
6.1.79, Belvedere
I created the home church system to give you an arena in which to be persecuted and to realize what your position is, to feel gratitude and really live the heart of God. You must have a grateful heart and really understand the life we are living at this time in history. We know the most precious truth under the sun so now we have a great responsibility. The entire world is like a rag that we must mend, and even though our hands are roughened and hardened by mending this dirty rag, we will be grateful.
Thanksgiving to God's Will
7.8.79, Belvedere
Imagine that one day the New Yorker kitchen prepared breakfast as usual but no one came to eat because they had already gone out for home church witnessing. Would that be a very annoying phenomenon or a happy phenomenon? Usually everyone gets home at a certain time each night but suddenly none of them are returning because they're still at their home churches. Is that good or bad? You must set a condition that will be superior to the past, present and future. If you come in so late that the dining room is closed already and there is no more dinner, do you feel, "I worked late and came back hungry and they didn't save anything for me. What kind of church is this?" or would you say, "Thank you Father. I'm making history now."
The Birth of Jesus and the Consummation of God's Will
12.24.78, Belvedere
If a bird chirps in your area, you can realize that he came out to welcome you, and that God feels the same way toward you. If you go to bed very tired but there is a noisy party going on next door, think that people are making all that noise in preparation for welcoming you. If you have a loving mind, you automatically come to interpret things that way.
Life of Experience in the Realm of Heart
3.15.81, Belvedere
This morning I want you to learn that we must simply be aware of being grateful for what we are bestowed with. When you wake up in the morning and see the sun shining you must be confident that the sun shines for you and not only for someone else. You can even think that if you did not exist the sun would have no more use. The birds sing and even the insects buzz to please you rather than anyone else. You have to feel, "The stars twinkle and the moon shines just for me." We each have to feel like that.
Each person should make it a custom with himself to be grateful for the many things that he has been taking for granted. "That exists solely for me and if I don't appreciate it then it is all wasted, which is just not right." Wherever you go, feel grateful that these things exist for you. Even if it takes much conscious effort to understand, we have to learn this lesson of being grateful for every situation. . . .
Many good people have been sent to prison who did nothing evil. If you find yourself in prison even though you may not have done anything wrong, it will be a totally new and broadening experience. That should serve as a source of gratitude too. When you go door to door and witness you cannot just start out and expect to be welcomed by the people. You have to be really content within yourself, and before you set out, think, "What kind of people am I going to meet today? Definitely I'll be meeting all different kinds of people -- short, tall, people with smiles on their faces, people who leave a bad taste in my mouth." Just think that they are there for your own enjoyment. First of all you have to be contented; then as you visit them you will be able to receive all their different sentiments.
Let Us Be Grateful
6.18.78, London
You should be very grateful for this home church providence for this is where you can unite with the entire spirit world and physical world and become perfected Adam and Eve.
Historical View of the Dispensation
9.18.79. Belvedere
Do you understand what a welcome word "home church is, and how much indemnity was paid in order to make home church possible at this time? If you truly know the value of home church through learning the depth of Divine Principle then you will come to the point where even if you just see the words "home church," tears of gratitude will roll down your face. You will bow down to those words, saying, "Thank you, Father, that I can read 'home church' and have home church."
Now home church is available for all mankind. I have done everything on a global scale to pay for the past 6,000 years and now I am asking you to take care of one little corner of the land with 360 homes. Can you say you cannot do it? if you say you refuse this task then you are entitled to the worst hell, not heaven. That is true because it is so obvious that home church can easily be done.
Home Church Is the Base of the Kingdom of Heaven
1.1.80, World Mission Center
Those 360 homes will almost be your resting place. They will be like your reservoir of tears. I want you to know absolutely that New York is the front line. You are like a savior to your 360 families. I am asking you to represent me and go door to door since I cannot go myself to each of those people. You have so much to talk about and so much to tell them. The media has spread all kinds of misunderstandings about me, particularly in New York City, so you have much to straighten out. You are not the only ones assigned to your particular area; God has assigned spiritual assistance there also. You have spiritual counterparts working together with you. Without fulfilling your responsibility, how can you come back and lie down and sleep at night? America is lying dead and the world is going downhill. You young people of America who have learned the truth, how can you be so complacent? How can you say that you are members of the Unification Church and that you are the sons and daughters of God? God is not resting. You must repent today.
When your head gets tired, accuse your own head, "You have been working for Satan for so long and now for the first time you are exerting yourself for the sake of God!" That's the determination to have. Go out today with the same feeling with which Jesus Christ prayed in the garden of Gethsemane. it was a most serious, heart-rending prayer that Jesus offered. From today on you are going to pray with the same seriousness for your 360 homes. You may falter at some point but because of your prayer those 360 homes will have a chance to see salvation.
If I were in your position and hadn't fulfilled my responsibility to those 360 homes I couldn't possibly lift up my face or eat and sleep. Have you done well or poorly? How can you lift up your face in the sight of God? Don't you feel these words as reality? Why should you feel repentant? By living like that you are becoming the possessors of the love of God which is big enough to share with 360 homes and more. You are becoming the hosts of the love of God and that shall bring resurrection to your 360 homes. People accuse you but that's all right. Let them persecute you. Persecution is your blessing in a way.
You American people know the truth and have been given the opportunity and materials to do the job but you haven't used your blessings. if God had poured this much effort into Africa the whole continent might have been turned around by now. All kinds of miracles can happen right now if you lay the foundation. if you had laid the foundation of tears, the people in your 360 homes would be embracing you and saying that they hadn't understood before what you were doing. If your responsibility had been fulfilled then the adversaries of our Church and the negative parents would have already started to learn the truth about what we are doing. Will you do the job or not? Even if you must give up eating and sleeping? Which is more precious for your life? You must make up for the failures of the past by keeping this high standard in the future.
Once again you have heard that we must do it with tears. I have trusted you but now you are shaking my confidence. Get up early in the morning to pray because you are the messiah to 360 homes. You must pray for those people and have mercy upon them in tears. You can become a close friend to them and if they have a problem they can come to you for help. Then New York shall become our home and be dominated by the truth and love of God and He can work a tremendous dispensation through this system. New York is the worst type of evil city but that is why we made the front line right here. If we can overcome this city and turn it around the impact will be gigantic. Your shoes may wear out and your clothes may be worn and soaked with sweat; your eyes will be swollen with tears as you travel about but if you are to save this city you must be single-minded and not think about anything else. Before you eat and before you sleep, think about the mission.
The Return to Tears
10.16.77, Belvedere
Anyone who scoffs and says that home church is not necessary is very wrong. If Americans don't fulfill this work, I will give it to the Africans.
Total Completion of the Ideal
2.28.82, Belvedere
When worldly law is broken a person goes to jail, and when a person violates God's words he is punished to prevent him from violating them again. Home church is a heavenly law. Are we free to follow it or not as we please?
Unification Church and Heavenly Law
3.1.79, Belvedere
Should I just say nice things and make you happy or should I let you know how important this is, even though it makes you unhappy? I must force you to understand how important it is to achieve this number of 84. If you do your 5% then you will inherit many things, such as the 95% which I did for you. it can all become yours. How can you complain, "Father, this work is too hard"? Are you doing it for me or God or for yourselves? Am I saying these things just because they are convenient or because they are based on the laws of history and restoration through indemnity? This is all true, down to the smallest historical detail.
This is why I am so furious at hearing that some people have only brought two spiritual children after five years in the Church. How can a leader who is responsible for members say that? How can we have such low standards? Everyone has violated this law. . . but now we must enforce it. This is why we haven't much time to eat or sleep or even die, because if you die now you are in serious trouble! How could you finish what you need to do if you die now? Could you come back again? I know very well that you are not thinking seriously enough. What I had to do was unbearably difficult but I finished it after 20 years, in 1976. I was even able to shorten the time period because of my seriousness. Even now if I go to spirit world I can say I have accomplished everything that I needed to do. The dispensation will never suffer because I left anything undone; there will be no postponement or lengthening of restoration now.
You can be grateful that this is not impossible or even very difficult because now there is less persecution. Once you go back to your homes you can do everything in three years or even three months. The world is already in an accepting mood. Already persecution is lessening and when you go back to your own home and country people will welcome you because you are a member of the Unification Church. They will listen very carefully; then they will understand and accept you and in a few weeks they will all follow you.
Now you are going back and forth between two countries, one where you feel confident and another where you are not so confident. You are not appreciated very much now, but later when the work becomes easier it will not be so valuable. The spirit world will be very grateful to you for what you can do now. Also, what you do now is helping to fight the same war I am fighting. If I am the general then you are all soldiers and we will fight together. Later when there is no persecution and the work is much easier you will not be a participant with the True Parents.
What is the privilege of fighting the same war with the True Parents? It means that this is the one time in history when you can eat in the same place and live in the same place with me, but later you cannot have this privilege. We are standing right on top of the hill. You must really understand what a glorious campaign this is to be participating in. Spirit world and your children will applaud you because of what you can do.
The Start of the 40-Day Witnessing Condition
7.4.78, London
History will record your tearful trips from house to house and town to town and God will keep a record of where you have shed tears. if you must leave your area without seeing result there, you should not blame the people. Instead you should shed tears on the last day of witnessing there and say, "Father, do not blame them; please give them your blessing." If they do not receive God's blessing then it is not wasted but comes right back to you permanently. Spiritual law governs these matters. Jesus said to love ones enemy and this is the same principle we are following now.
The Age of Repentance
9.1.78, London
I want to warn you that the second stage is always the most difficult. You are in the second 21-year course. Abel, the second son, died, and Abraham's second son, Isaac, was almost killed. Adam was the first stage, and Noah the second stage. Of Noah's three children, the second son, Ham, made the mistake. Jesus was the second Adam, and he was crucified on the cross. That's why I warn you that it is not going to be easy, but it can be done. It is relatively easy for you because you have removed yourself from where Satan can accuse you individually. Until just recently you had to wander all around to find just one person. Now you don't have to do that because you know where to go.
For over sixty years I have gone this path. You can do it in six years. In the Unification Church, home church is your lifeline. This is where life or death is made, where victory or failure is going to be made. I'm sure from time to time you will have lots of difficulties and sometimes you will become despondent, but all these things will blow over.
History of the Providence Through Restoration by Indemnity
2.10.81, World Mission Center
When I was beginning the movement in Korea and persecution was coming to us, I never thought to ask God to stop it because we had had enough. Instead, I told God that I knew we would get the same persecution in Japan, America and Moscow but it would never stop me. Even if God gives me the cross, I would do it for you and your children. When you see me and realize that I have gone through incredible suffering, do you think I look sixty? Even though I suffered, my mind is still young because there is more to be done. if you do home church with this spirit it won't take even three years, but maybe only three months.
To the MFT
1.2.80, World Mission Center
You should feel that God has been preparing this area for many years for you, that nothing is there accidentally or haphazardly, and that this is the most significant activity in all history. Think of how far history had to come so that finally this area would be waiting for you there, to be connected to True Parents and God. If you think that way then you will have a completely new outlook.
Life of Experience in the Realm of Heart
3.15.81, Belvedere
It is not very easy to win at home church. You need to do three things: think differently, plan differently and act differently. Your way of life must become different. Instead of walking the normal way at a normal speed you need to be shouting out and running down the highway. If you have that kind of stamina then I can see some hope in you to win the home church championship here in America.
Home Church Is the Base of the Kingdom of Heaven
1.1.80, World Mission Center
Spring is the time when everything lives again. Like the spring season in nature, I want you to have life welling up in you again. I want you to start a new life from now on. You may have an old idea of home church, but throw it away like winter clothing and have a bright, new home church idea, knowing the relationship of yourself, God and the dispensation.
The Dispensation of Restoration and Myself
4.6.80, Belvedere
This time is like the moment before the sun rises. The dawn is gathering, and the sun is just about to show itself. With this confidence you can do home church. That sun will never be hidden by the clouds, but will shine over all the world. This is what I have worked for throughout my life, and what God has wanted to see throughout thousands of years of history, and what all mankind has waited to see. Unification Church has gone through much suffering just to see this one day. We will focus on uniting and on doing home church.
Where would you like to view the sun rise? In home church you will see the sun rise.
Declaration of the Ceremony of Unity Between Spirit World and Physical World
3.28.82, Belvedere
You must have the attitude that you will accomplish a total victory in your home church area, leaving nothing for others to finish later. Don't expect True Parents to assist you; instead, have the attitude that you will invite the True Parents to come and receive joy and glory at the successful completion of your home church work. With such confidence, you can call upon the spirit world and receive their direct help. Since you are in the subject position, you must work hard and feel responsible for your area; only then will the spirit world be able to assist you.
Total Completion of the Ideal
2.28.82, Belvedere
Would you choose to be the Moonie who is dragged but still won't do it, or the one who will insist that God come to help him 24 hours a day since there is so much to do? Are you that second way? You always say yes! I have never seen Unification Church members come to complain that home church work takes too much of their time and is so difficult. But neither have I seen the member who thinks I should start nation church instead of puny little home church. Now you say "Amen" because I said this, but why didn't you say it first? . . .
. . . Should we start world home church or universe home church? Absolute God church! We can visualize many steps ahead of us now and think of universal church. Will the person who thinks home church is already too difficult prosper or sink? If he is huffing and puffing over home church then he will really struggle when he has nation and world church ahead of him.
You are destined either to rise or fall centering on your home church. Will you be on the side of prosperity or decline? Our future and destiny lie on the way to God's home, so the secret is to observe all 360 homes at one time and then digest them. Forget about liking or disliking a certain home and just observe everything and then digest it all. If you cannot do that then they will digest you, so go and let them like you instead.
Are you in a position to prosper or decline? Wouldn't it have been better for you if you had never heard of home church? Isn't it true that though you think of home church all the time, your feet are heavy when you are actually walking in your area? Do you have home church always in your mind and no room for anything else? Haven't you older sisters worried instead about when you will get married?
If you are completely full of the home church idea then your feet will be walking even without your knowing it. Have you ever experienced that?
Then your standard can be approved by God and He can begin to help you. Have you been to your area once or twice and then felt you had to think about it more, or did you have confidence that you wanted to keep on doing it?
The Way of Prosperity and Defeat
3.11.79, Belvedere
From now on, be like pool balls for seven years; when you hit a ball with the stick, it dashes straight toward the goal without deviation. There's no taking a moment to think about it. For the next seven years we will dash toward the goal. in heavenly pool the ball has a different route: when you strike a ball in heavenly pool, the ball will go first to 360 homes, round and round. Then it will ultimately go to the final goal: the Kingdom of Heaven. It starts out from hell, and goes to the Kingdom of Heaven.
Would you be a ball which hits several homes and gets tired, and doesn't want to go any more? Do you want to go to 360 homes? Raise your hands if you want to go.
History of the Providence Through Restoration by Indemnity
2.10.81, World Mission Center
The stony path of death must be overcome. Your world is 360 homes, but in finishing that dispensation you will receive recognition just as if you had done it for the whole world. If you don't like to shed tears or don't want to go to home church, then you have rejected your chance for blessing and you must inevitably decline. You want to go over the hill, don't you?
Stony Path of Death
4.27.80, Belvedere
At some point there won't be enough home churches to go around because so many people will want to be involved. You are early-comers so you have this privilege now, but in the future there will be many more people of better quality, and many of you won't qualify to get an area. The newcomers in the future will be more anxious than you are to do home church. When you are going up a hill in a heavy truck it is hard going, but once the truck reaches the top and starts down, no effort at all is needed to drive forward.
Our Duty, Our Mission
10.5.80, Belvedere
Is it natural for home church to be difficult in the beginning? Would you prefer a difficult or an easy course? You should prefer hardship because that is what will polish you and strengthen you. Once I completed the individual level, the family level awaited me, and then the more difficult tribal level. But you can do all this at one time and as you become more experienced in dealing with people, it becomes easier and easier. As your dispensation progresses it will become easier, because I already have indemnified the reverse way where every step became more difficult.
You must give your 5%; otherwise, Satan will never leave you or God alone, but will constantly be blaming you. If there is one house that strongly opposes you, go after it and solve that. Don't think, "I wish I didn't have to go back there." Be joyful to go. This is the best way to win over them. When I have completed 359 degrees. I expect the last degree to be the most difficult.
You must come completely into unity with home church and after that you will shoot up like a rocket. Where will you land? In the heart of God. You can do in six months what has taken God 6,000 years to accomplish and what has taken me sixty years to accomplish. Then the only question left is how hard you must work to do this. Can you work as casually as you have done in the past? If your love of home church is slightly more than your deepest desire to see your parents or your fiancée or children, then you have a passing grade. But as long as you don't feel that longing, you wont be successful. You can't go to home church after you have eaten well, or slept or loved someone. You must go before doing all those things. It takes first priority. You are not losing anything this way; by postponing these things they will acquire a much higher standard later.
The second three seven-year courses are your era. Should that be cause for crying or rejoicing? You can go everywhere with rejoicing and jumping.
Home Church and Myself
12.14.80, Belvedere
The purpose of doing home church is to send the people there to Heaven first, and in that way to go to Heaven yourself. Only an attitude of true love can enable you to do this. You must feel the desire to pass along all the blessings you have received. With such a heart -- of sacrifice, service and true love -- you will be able to accomplish victory in home church. This is the Principle. We must be welcomed on earth before we can expect to be welcomed in the spirit world. So far, the Unification Church and Reverend Moon have not been welcomed in this country; we must turn that tide.
Total Completion of the Ideal
2.28.82, Belvedere
Father is now proclaiming the conclusion, the consummation of the three seven-year courses, and is now announcing the beginning of your three seven-year courses. Do you feel this is a happy and momentous occasion or a gloomy, miserable one? Of course it is happy, but there is one reservation. He is still worried because of you. Would you like to take that worry from Father's heart? Do you want Father to trust you?
If you promise Father today that you will accomplish, then he wouldn't have to stay in the United States. He would just pack up and go away, perhaps never coming back to America, if he could trust you to fulfill and bring the Kingdom of Heaven on earth for sure. Are you ready? Can you do it?
If you have the complete Principle and an undying spirit, you can do it. Father asked that our film crew make sure to record everyone's face during this conference. Everyone should later be able to recognize his own face in the movie to be made about this day. Later on, what will happen? This is the children's era. Another generation will come. Everyone will want to be filmed. People will look at this movie in years to come and find that certain ancestors succeeded and certain others disappeared. Some people will be proclaimed as heroes and so forth. Your children and that generation will feel all kinds of mixed emotions. it is an extremely important day and conference. So lift up your face and look dignified! Smile and show your happiness! Make up your mind that you will stay that way for eternity.
Conference
4.16.80, World Mission Center