Grateful God's Day

This year we are celebrating the thirteenth God's Day. This is also the year I will welcome my sixtieth birthday. Do I look old? No? Thank you. But no matter what you say, time is marching on and you cannot negotiate with it. Time doesn't listen to you.

Eighty per cent of the congregation this morning is more or less the age of my sons and daughters. I will celebrate my sixtieth birthday soon, but do you think that I once had a youthful time in the past, just like you, or was I born sixty years old?

In Oriental philosophy the sixtieth birthday has a special meaning. According to the Oriental concept, sixty years makes one complete circle, so that when you reach your sixtieth birthday you complete one full circle and start a new one in the other direction.

The number six has a very important meaning in biblical history. Heavenly Father created everything in six separate days and on the seventh day He took Sabbath. The Sabbath is like the beginning of a new circle, so six makes one complete circle or creation.

In communist history the Bolshevik revolution came to Russia in 1917 and in 1978 they celebrated their complete sixty year circle. Now they have to start a new turn. Since communism is sixty years old it now has to go around in a different direction. The new circle they are starting will be smaller and more feeble.

The puzzle in contemporary world history is how the communists could come to dominate so much of the world in just sixty years. Satan has been arguing with God all this time, saying, "God, I took over the world and took care of the world for 6,000 years, so isn't it only fair that I should have some brief period of time when 1, as Satan, can govern the world?" That has been Satan's claim all this time. God cannot help but allow Satan to take over the world briefly if Satan's children demonstrate a more arduous and hard-working standard than God's own children. If that is the case then God has to allow even Satan to take over the world for some time. God cannot say, "No, you can never take over the world at all." God is a God of logic, and He sees that Satan has a point.

Communism is a very low level ideology, and therefore, when communists took over each nation they started with the laborers and uneducated people. But God is at the highest possible level, with the highest possible standard, so there are two different worlds-the physical world and the spirit world. The spirit world is much higher than the physical world. The communists cannot deal with the reality of the spirit world, so their philosophy has focused on materialism. Matter forms the essence of the communist ideology. Satan has been taking the world over piece by piece with this ideology and trying to make matter almighty.

Why would God allow Satan even a brief time to take over the world? Because God knew that ultimately His own children would come forward and say, "God, when we are loyal and work harder for your kingdom than Satan works for his own kingdom, would You want us to run the world?" What do you think God's answer will be? There is one condition, however. God's children must be superior to the satanic standard.

First of all, the heavenly ideology must be better than Satan's ideology. Satan came up with a convincing, though imperfect, ideology, and when Satan's side worked harder than the people on God's side, he took over the world. If that is how Satan took dominion then there must come a time when a godly man will develop a better ideology than the satanic one. There are many scholars and researchers developing materialistic and atheistic philosophies. Communism is the most highly developed of this kind of philosophy. To counteract it, godly people will search more intently to find the truth about the spirit world and physical world together, not just the physical world alone. That is the logical process, don't you think?

Good men and evil men have been fighting ever since the fall, so what do you think God will do when good men want to research the highest truth and philosophy? He will be excited and say, "Go ahead. Do more!" There have been two distinct camps since the fall of man. Evil men have fallen prey to Satan, who became their master. On the other side, there are good men and always behind them God is giving His support. God certainly wants to win the battle over evil by working through the good man.

In the satanic world men focus all their activity on accumulating material. They seek knowledge in order to get money, and they seek power to hold their material. They even use love to keep material. Everything is motivated by their desire for material. That is the ideology on the satanic side.

On the other side, everything should be for the purpose of finding God. That is the complete opposite of the satanic philosophy. On the heavenly side people seek knowledge for the sake of God. They seek power for the sake of God. They seek money for the sake of God. They even seek to possess love to fulfill God's will.

Consider the students at Harvard University. They are brilliant people who are working very hard. What motivates them ? Do they want to gather knowledge in order to earn money and fame or to find God and work for His purpose? When a person's motivation is centered upon money, knowledge and power, he is centered on material things and has a self-centered purpose. Which side is he standing on, Satan's side or God's side?

Let us coolly analyze American society today. Is America today more centered on money and prestige, or is America seeking God and disregarding everything else? By your own analysis, is America as a whole more on the side of God or on the side of material and Satan?

Since Satan strove very hard, God had to say to him, "All right, go ahead. Take over the world." But God knew very clearly that according to Principle satanic dominion could not last beyond one full cycle of sixty years. Satan can have from number three to six, or thirty to sixty years. In other words, one complete cycle in the history of communism is finished, and in the next thirty to sixty years it will go in a different direction, forming a smaller cycle. The communists' power will decline in thirty to sixty years' time, but it would happen in an even shorter time if the free world really united together.

When Satan told God he wanted to have the world, God gave him permission because Satan's side was working very hard. Do you think that God became totally helpless, or did God know that Satan's prosperity would last only sixty years ? God prepared to send someone who could truly represent God's side sixty years later. In the Divine Principle a preparatory period normally lasts three years. From 1917, when the Bolshevik revolution took place, Heavenly Father very quietly prepared for another great day sixty years later. Who was born in 1920, three years after that?

Reverend Moon. Now Reverend Moon is a giant name, but in 1920 he was just a little baby in a cradle, crying for mommy's milk. I will not go into detail here, but the important thing is that God in heaven has planned out history. When God allowed satanic people to take over the world, He was already preparing heavenly fortune.

When God's champion was born, would He want to see him being lazy, living a relaxed and mediocre life? Is that how he would become God's champion ? Would God want him to work harder and more meticulously than Satan, tasting the worst possible hardship and tribulation and yet still become a winner and champion? God wanted His man to be the deepest thinker and find the solution to the most incredibly complicated problems. His son should have the sharpest eyes of all, eyes that can penetrate the spirit world and see the truth there. Satan cannot do that, but God's man should be able to.

If God's champion has ears then how much would God want those ears to be superior to Satan's, so sensitive that he can hear the incredible beauty of sounds that even Satan cannot hear? God would want His son to have a nose which is the best, one which can detect all odors, whether unpleasant or fragrant. Satan wouldn't be able to compete with the nose of the heavenly man. A champion has a mouth too. Should his mouth shout, "Good, good, wonderful!" or "This is unbearable. I cannot take it"? Which kind of laughter should he have-a mousy, crying laugh, or laughter as loud as possible? The mouth of God's champion was used instead for crying in heavenly sadness, in such broken-heartedness that even his tongue could not move.

God also wants His son to be a champion of self-denial in all kinds of feelings-for example, in withstanding hunger, in denying the feelings of loneliness or greediness, the pull of sleepiness, the desire for physical love. God wanted His son to do so well in these things that no one could surpass him.

I am the foremost champion in the physical world. I have gone the worst possible route, where not even a single person could follow. The entire satanic world should say, "Reverend Moon, I cannot go that way. It is impossible." That's the kind of criterion God wants to establish here on earth.

Is it logical that a person has to make himself superior in order to become God's champion? When Satan looks at me, what do you think he'll say? Will he say, "That is incredible, but actually, my children can do better than that. No problem"? Or will he say, "How in the world could God make a man like that?" Even compared to the toughest satanic standard, what I have done is incredible. Not one of Satan's children can compete with me.

Do you think that I ever had fights when I was young? Once I decided to fight I would go on with the fight twenty four hours a day. No matter how strong my opponent was, he had to surrender because I would go on and on and on until the other side surrendered. In my village I had a reputation for being a fearful young man. However, with superior thinking, superior vision, superior hearing and superior taste I penetrated deep into the heart of God, discovering the incredible truth about God and man. That is the Divine Principle. Finally God knew that the hidden truth of the universe, the truth about God and His grief was unlocked.

When I returned to the physical world after unlocking that incredible truth, I wanted to implement what I had discovered. Then the whole environment came completely against me and circumstances tried to knock me down. I started my fight in communist territory, and the entire communist system came down on me, trying to stop me. Everything you can imagine threw its whole weight upon me, trying to knock me down. But what is the difference between the world and me? The world is desperate in trying to stop me, hitting and kicking with all its force. But I always have room for smiles, for loving and room for tolerance. That is the difference. Do I look very desperate today?

If there is truly a living God existing in this cosmos, how will He feel if He sees a man come out who is prepared and determined to fulfill God's will and challenge the satanic world? Will He be happy to allow him a chance to do so? If I were in God's position, I would say I needed a man just like me. I would say, "My son, it's all yours. Go ahead and do anything you want to handle it." In God's eyes I may not be the most handsome or the tallest person; I look like a stump. Yet with my sharp reasoning, deep philosophy, and penetrating vision and dream for the sake of the world, don't you think God will get

excited about me? Would that kind of man, motivated and trained and going through such hardships, be classified as a good or evil man? I think that kind of man would be an evil man! (No!) Yes! (No!) Yes! (No!) I surrender. Thank you very much.

When I began my tough march toward the goal, I determined that I would go over the hill of sixty years of age successfully. Why sixty years? Because I already knew God's plan and knew that in Divine Principle Satan's reign could not go beyond sixty years, and that his second cycle would begin his decline. Then at that moment I would climb up for the sake of God and humanity. I knew that the glorious, victorious day was coming, so in order to be ready when that day came I wanted to get all kinds of qualifications ahead of time.

I described earlier this morning how a rocket that is taking off should not have any negative forces pulling it down, but only supporting forces pushing it up. When my rocket was lifting off, however, none of the forces supported me. The Korean government and the Korean people were trying to bring me down. Japan tried to bring me down. Now America is trying to bring me down. And of course the communists are trying to bring me down. Even the Christian churches and Jews are trying to bring me down. All the powers were trying to ground me and make the rocket explode before liftoff. But was I grounded or did I take off?

Now the completion of one giant cycle of sixty years has finally come. Now I am beginning a new circle, and that circle has no limitation. I can make it as big a circle as possible. It is going in another. direction, but instead of stopping it is going to make many big circles, one after another.

When we observe the phenomena of our world we see that everything has certain limits. Everything in life has a saturation point after which nothing more can be added. There is always a limit. Everything makes a circle, soaring up high, and then accelerating downward, but unless new power is added as the first circle is completed, the next circle becomes smaller, and the circle after that becomes even smaller. However, if you have pushing power that thrusts you up further than the first circle, you can go on and on and on. Always the problem has been that once you go up it's easy to go down, but once you come down it's very difficult to go back up higher than before.

Material is the lowest level thing that God created. If material things are at the center of your life, you will be weighted down and be unable to go back up. But Unification ideology is not based on material. Our base is spiritual and our real boss is God. Therefore, as we swing around the limitless energy of God will pull us up higher and higher. With the pulling power up in heaven you can go way up instead of winding down.

You joined with me and we are completing the circle of sixty years together. Where are we going down to? We are going down to home church and there we will find even more thrust and firepower. What you will find is that home church is the base for the Kingdom of Heaven. Home church is like a gasoline tank and you are going down to the home church like a fireball. What do you think will happen? The explosion will lift you all the way up, and give you the speed you need to go all the way to heaven in one stroke.

My very special, secret weapon that Satan couldn't find was home church. I prepared it like a secret bomb and now it is complete. The time has come to ignite it. The time has come for the fireball to land. Then home church will become a launching pad to the Kingdom of Heaven. That is why this year's motto is "Home Church is the Base of the Kingdom of Heaven."

Once you land, home church will all of a sudden become a launching pad and you will lift up together with me. Then everyone will be looking up with their mouths wide open. Communists, Christians and Jews will all be gaping with their mouths hanging open, exclaiming, "That's Reverend Moon! " When you fly up in the sky and look down, all the powers that opposed us will look like peanuts. How great you will feel! Hallelujah! In preparation for that moment my entire body was used in hardship and in test after test. But this time all my senses will be excited and happy, exploding with joy.

You may be so excited and jubilant up in the air that you get exhausted from dancing around and maybe doze a little bit, but still your rocket will be flying further and further, and when you open your eyes you will find yourself in the bosom of Heavenly Father. God will take care of you like a doctor taking

care of a patient and give every cell an injection of His love. Soon you will wake up and find yourself completely drunk in the love of God. That will be the first time God would ever taste love. Then God would be discovering for the first time the true taste of love, true smell of love, true feeling of love, true vision of love.

God will be like a hungry person eating up the intoxicating fragrance and taste and touch of love. Then God Himself will be intoxicated in love, the love of man. Do you think God can get drunk? At this time God will get intoxicated and fall asleep. As he is lying there, momentarily unconscious, He begins to sense something all around Him, a whispering, a presence, and the sound of breathing. That feeling is so good that He will want it to go on and on. Then God would open His eyes wide and see His children all around, His sons and daughters touching Him. Would He say, "I'm terribly unhappy"? Just the opposite. There is no adequate word to describe how He would feel. It's so mystic and incredible that no human language can possibly describe what God feels at that moment.

In the meantime, He feels deeply grateful. God has gone through so much sadness and tragedy after all His suffering that He will feel thankful happiness. Today the topic is "Grateful God's Day". Which is going to be the happiest day for God? God's Day falls on January 1. Why does that day make God happy? Whom does He meet on that day? His true sons and daughters.

Satan's number is 666, because Satan took the number six in the garden of Eden. Therefore, God always consummates His dispensation with the number seven. Since number six is over, we are moving into number seven now. Satan has gotten the glory so far, but from now on Satan's side will get the hardship. God's side, the heavenly side of Unification, is moving on to heavenly prosperity in the decade of the 1980's. When you do right, every conceivable idea and dream in the dispensation of God will be completed before the year 2000.

Are you lucky to be in the Unification Church? My testimony this morning was so vivid. Do you think I made it up, or did l live through it with every ounce of my energy? Every cell of my body is speaking out for it. No one in history has received criticism and hardship and accusation like I have. But what did I do? Did I rob someone? Did I kill someone? The job that Jesus came to fulfill 2000 years ago was so tough that after three years he was crucified.

Why is the year 2000 so important? I was born in 1920 and twenty plus sixty equals eighty. When you add eighty to 1920 what year do you come up with? This year I have been battling forward for forty years. These forty years were equivalent to the Exodus of Hebrews from Egypt and their wandering in the wilderness. These forty years I have been working for the dispensation on the global scale. Now this forty-year period is consummated, so what is next? Entering the land of Canaan on the worldwide basis is next. When you look at my testimony, then at the background of history and the work I have fulfilled, then you know that what I told you is correct and based on the truth.

I already mentioned that Satan operates from number three to six. During this period Satan will try his best, but when we do a superior job then during this time we can finish the task. In other words, we can only be persecuted for a maximum of sixty years. We can turn the tide around during this time. You just wait and see. In 1960, when the True Parents were installed, there was only a handful of members in Korea and Japan, a very small number. When they gathered, I spoke about the world future, with visions of the 1980's, 1990's and the year 2000, of the global dispensation and having members in 130 different countries, and of how communism would decline. Then even the members who truly loved me and believed in me 100% would say, "Father is a pretty good liar! That cannot be done. It is impossible that Father could be in America at that time." They really thought inside that I was doing it to comfort the members. But today there's not just a handful of people. We have a worldwide movement, yet when I give you the vision of the year 2000 some of you look skeptical. Would you believe it? You'd better!

I want you to trust me. That's one simple thing you can do. And live up to the criteria of being superior to the highest satanic standard. Be better than all the loyal subjects of the past and the most filial sons and daughters; whatever service they rendered and love they gave, we shall be superior to their standard. That's the only criterion we go by. Then everything shall be done.

Don't you want to go visit your sweetheart? You want to eat delicious food, and I'm sure you want to get a little more sleep, particularly after hearing a long speech last night. Last Sunday I spoke almost twelve hours. Have you ever heard of a preacher or pastor delivering a Sunday sermon lasting twelve hours? I must be dumb to preach that long, right?

That may be my record in America, but it's not my longest sermon. My record is a fourteen and a half hour sermon, speaking to the congregation. But when I was teaching Principle to the early members fourteen hours was nothing. I went on and on for two days, three days, a week, ten days.

Indeed I am a record breaker. If the world's beauty queen says, "Reverend Moon, you think you are like a rock and no one can move you. But I'll entice you. I'll move you," do you think I would fall into that kind of trap? Certainly not. Even though people come in line after line, begging and begging, it won't make any difference. Many beautiful women came and tried to win me with money and gifts, or tried to serve me, even breaking into my bedroom. All kinds of incredible things occurred. Many people think that the Western woman is strong, but I tell you a secret. Watch out for the Oriental woman. They are small and look shy, but they are hot peppers. They really go after you! Not only the women tried to tempt me, but their parents would do everything possible to make me their son-in-law. I certainly hold the world record for being offered temptation.

If I wrote down all the episodes that have occurred to me it would make a very interesting book! I have one reason not to write that book-you will never read the Divine Principle because you will be reading that book instead. I don't know how handsome or how great or ugly you think I am, but one thing is sure-I am the tastiest and sweetest man! All right, laugh. Go ahead. I want you to explode with laughter the first day of 1980.

Already much time has passed. The ideal speech is only fourteen minutes. That's true. That's the American way. I have violated that rule completely already. Shall I go on?

I am a Moonie and I love it! And I am proud. You have a proud name. No matter how much you have, millions of eyes. millions of arms, millions of legs, millions of bodies, it doesn't make any difference. "Moonie" shall be the proudest name under the sun.

I am intoxicated by the charm of all your beautiful faces. Why do you all look alike? Because you all have one True Parent. That means you are all capable of receiving the love of God. The channel has been opened now, the channel which was closed for 6,000 years. Now it's open to you. Let's open the door of our mind. You say to the world, "Everyone, please come into my mind and swim, and enjoy it. My mind is wider than space so any plane can come into my mind and fly. The pilot of the Concorde doesn't even need to open his eyes. Even if he flies blind, he'll never hit the wall. Even if you fly over the wall of my mind you won't need to worry because my mind will expand ahead of you wherever you go."

Many people say all kinds of incredible things about me, but let them do it. As far as I'm concerned I'm feeling wonderful. I'm feeling truly grateful to life, and grateful to God. Glory to God! Hosanna!

If ever I had the chance to grab a microphone and speak to the American people for many hours in fluent English, in the native tongue of the American people, in a few hours I could make 240 million Americans cry in front of their television sets. All I have to do is expose them to my experiences, nothing more. It wouldn't even take a week; overnight is good enough to turn the nation upside down. Do you think I have the content and ability to do it? Do you think that Reverend Moon, who is not an American, who is not a black man or a white man, who is just a Korean man from the Orient with a yellow face, could still do it? That's the puzzle. That's why people just don't understand us. But don't you think it's a dramatic way of proceeding with God's plan? God is a very dramatic person, really.

It can be said that God is very fair. Look at Korea. For 5,000 years it had nothing but tears, nothing but tribulations and hardship. But in the end, by giving Reverend Moon to the country, God balanced out all that suffering. He gave hardship to Korea, but also extraordinary blessing. Don't you think so? You can say that God is very fair. If a man of my caliber and mission was born in America as a white man then we could accuse God of being unfair.

Many of you have blue eyes. Some of you have black eyes. Did God create blue eyes or black eyes first? Did blue become black or black become blue? I really enjoy that question because you cannot answer it. What about those of you with blond hair-were you born blond, or with darker hair that later turned blond? The latter is true. God made the black model on His drawing board; He painted eyes black first and then made variations later. When you look at a person with blue eyes and another with black eyes, which eyes look deeper? Oriental people generally have dark eyes and when you look at them their eyes look deeper. You cannot really see the eyeball, it seems so deep. Because Westerners have blue eyes you can see everything.

Your eyes reveal the depth of your mind. Western philosophy, therefore, is rather shallow and on the surface. You cannot absorb anything deep inside, but want to get it all out front. The Oriental attitude goes deeper and is more sustaining, but neither is ideal. The Oriental is too internal and mysterious, while the Westerner is too open and shallow, so I had to find the happy medium. Therefore, Oriental people are admiring Western civilization. On the other hand, Westerners are longing for the mystery in Oriental civilization. Is that true? When such a craving comes from both worlds it is one indication that the day of fulfillment is at hand.

When you pursue the religious way of life you have to deny yourself and deny more of the material world. That's the only way you can get deeper in a religious sense. In the material world, however, when you know more and have more experience you can always reach out and gather more. When the Orientals pursue only religious, spiritual perfection then they have to deny the material world. Then someone else has to harvest it, and that's what the Westerners have been doing. This has been expressed through Western colonialism. That was not completely bad actually because God needed someone to develop the world He created, the world which religious people were seeking to deny. Therefore, the major Oriental countries like China and India were overtaken by the Western powers, who controlled those nations for many years. That was a sign that a new religious awakening was close at hand. Do you know why? Since Oriental people were focused on finding spiritual perfection, they needed the Westerners to come and help them develop the other way of life as well. That's what God had planned.

After World War 11 a new age of equality began. The Western influence started democratic winds blowing all over Asia, bringing an influence that would make the people free and equal. We know that the Westerners who developed the material world were usually greedy and wanted to keep all the wealth themselves. But actually all material belongs to God and He wants it developed for the use of all humanity. Therefore, God used the cold, brutal power of communism to shatter the wealthy capitalist nations. Marxism teaches that economic wealth belongs to the government, and that it shall be used for the benefit of all the people. God is even taking advantage of communism for His heavenly purpose.

America today is at a very important stage. God has given an incredible amount of material blessing to this nation, but it is not just for the sake of America. God's assets should be divided up by the American people and used for good, for the sake of the world and humanity. God wants America to be a steward and develop its wealth for the sake of godly people. Since America has not done that, only Satan can claim it and it will benefit communism. That was not God's original intention. Do you think America is totally immune from communist infiltration?

This is a very philosophical analysis of the final days of the world. America should know what her timetable is and where she is. The only way that America can survive and prevent a communist takeover is for a man like Reverend Moon to come and tell the American people that their wealth doesn't belong to them alone. The only way America can ultimately survive is by giving that wealth for the sake of the people of the world. This is exactly why we develop our fund raising-we ask Americans to give their money and then we use it for the sake of the world. Since Americans haven't given it to the world, we are going to give it to the world in their place. The MFT fund raising effort is important in the sight of the heavenly dispensation. This is not just arbitrary rationalizing. Not at all.

My topic is Grateful God's Day. It doesn't matter how many people are gathered in this auditorium or how many thousands come to hear me. The question is how many people come who truly love God and are thankful to God. God needs men and women to come for His God's Day celebration and God feels so close to you who are here. God cannot resist the urge to touch you. That's the kind of God's Day we must make.

You thought you knew a lot about this, but today you realize how little you know. Now you will say, "God, I know you are anxious and this time is urgent, but could You give me a little bit more time? I want to finish my task for You in the next three or four years. Divine Principle says we can take up to six years. Can You be patient with me? I will become the kind of person You cannot let go of. In six years when You come, I'll be transformed. I'll be as sweet as honey and You will want to swallow me whole, from top to bottom. I will become that kind of child." God will reply, "All right, my son. I will wait. I will give you that time so we can make a thankful God's Day."

If you really make yourself that kind of men and women then your relation with God will be so close and intimate that God will long for you as you long for Him. You and God will be inseparable. Then you are already liberated and there is nowhere you cannot go. Whether here on earth or up in heaven, you will have no limitation. The entire universe will be yours. That is going to be the privilege God grants you. We have that privilege in our hands and all we have to do is use it. You have a special right or special authority granted by God. It is more than a privilege.

Did you know that when you achieve that goal your level is equal to God's? You are truly the top of the world. This is not an evil desire to want to become greater than anyone as long as you use it the right way. You can climb to the highest point. That desire is in everyone's heart because God planted it there. I am asking you to become men and women who will exercise your special given authority. You should claim it and exercise it. That is the kind of men and women God is wanting to have today because only they can save the world.

Actually, your toughest competition is not the communists; your toughest competition is me, and God is an even tougher competitor. You don't have to worry about communism because while you are trying to meet God's expectation you will have surpassed any communist ten times over. The difference between the communists, myself and God is that though we are all competing with you, I am not hating you or wanting you to be crushed. No, I want you to win. I want to push and support you. Behind me God is pushing too because God would rather be defeated by you. God is a cheerleader for you now, urging you on.

You can think today, "Father, you have given me absolutely everything I need. You have spoken everything I wanted to know and I don't need any more. All I want now is action. If you speak to us anymore, it will only complicate my mind. Father, I'm going to do it." Those who say so, raise your hands, please.

Thank you. God bless you.

Today you can have as much Deli steak as you want. Also, today you can celebrate in an unprecedented manner, such that the New Yorker has never seen such joyful people. Today, all day, eat and sing and dance and play Yut. I called all the state leaders together, but I don't want to start the conference today. We are going to celebrate. Tomorrow, you can stand before heaven and earth and say, "Look at what a proud Moonie I am! Look how I will plunge into my mission like a bullet." Will you do it?