The Stifled and Abashed Jesus: The Hidden Cross of Mind and Heart

Among the people living upon this earth, many know that God exists. Although they do not know precisely what kind of being God is, in their hearts, everyone acknowledges that God exists.

Among them, those of faith are firmly convinced that God exists. They believe that all things were created by God and that the entire history of humanity moves, by God's dispensation, toward some world of purpose. They believe that this God has bound Himself in a direct bond with humanity and, going further, with me; and they have always supposed that He is in a position of joy. That is, they have supposed that within the heart of God there is no suffering, no worry, and no sorrow whatsoever.

But from the very day human beings fell, God has held han within Himself in His dealings with human beings. Because the God who holds the truly loving heart cannot abandon the ideal of creation by which He created human beings, nor abandon the principle and ideal which He looked upon and dispensed through that ideal, He cannot but hold han in His dealings with human beings.

For this reason, God grieved that He had made human beings and was sorrowful in His heart.

When we ask whether human history began with happiness or with misfortune, no one can say it began with happiness. This is a fact proven by history.

Furthermore, when we look at the bodily and mental anguish in our individual selves, we cannot deny that our human ancestors did not set out upon a path of happiness, but set out upon a path of misfortune.

Today, human beings claim to be the lords of all things. Yet when we ask whether those who so claim themselves to be the lord of all things have indeed become the lord of all things in a joyful manner, no one can say so.

When all things that God created for the sake of human beings are governed by human beings, what would be their wish?

That is, what kind of protagonist would all things wish to receive?

They would wish to receive a protagonist equipped with a figure of infinite happiness, infinite freedom, and infinite glory.

All things long for human beings to appear as such protagonists who can embrace them. Yet the human beings now living upon this earth are human beings who, from the very beginning, set out centered not upon the noun “happiness” or “freedom” or “peace,” but upon the noun “misfortune.”

For this reason, however boldly one may speak, when one comes forth before all things, one must come to know that one stands in a position of han, having to attest by oneself that one is in a shameful figure.

First, we must come to know that we are shameful ones who cannot stand before the heavenly principle of relationship by which God sought to put us forth as the representatives of all things; and going further, we must come to know that we are shameful ones who, although there must undoubtedly be the earnest mind of God, who in heart wishes to bind us in a bond and put us forth and boast of us before all the created things, cannot stand even before that Heart-bond of the Father.

Because human beings set out in misfortune, they ought to come to an end in misfortune, but God, who must take hold of such human beings and lead them to the place of happiness, can have no occasion for happiness whatsoever.

And we must come to know that God, who up to this day for thousands of years has not been able to lead humanity out of such an unhappy position, undoubtedly feels boundless suffering.

The misfortune, the suffering, or the sorrow that some individual feels is an individual misfortune, an individual sorrow. Through the long course of history, God has been leading such human beings toward the garden of happiness. Yet up to now, He has not fully attained that purpose. It is an inevitable fact that, unless God leads human beings out of the place of suffering, human beings cannot become happy.

Because God is the One who bears such responsibility, we must come to know that God is the One who, more than anyone, feels misfortune piercing through to the bone, and the One who, more than anyone, undergoes suffering and sorrow piercing through to the bone; and the One who has not been able to escape from such circumstances.

Among the many who up to this point have come walking the path of the Way, who have come following God's command, many have appealed at every occasion of suffering, “God, take this suffering upon Yourself.”

Whenever there was sorrow, they would say to Heaven, “Take this sorrow into Your governance and move me to a place of peace.” Up to this day, many religious people have done so.

If God is in such a position, He cannot but be a truly pitiful One. Yet, although He holds pitiful circumstances, a pitiful heart, and a pitiful mind, you must come to know that He is a God who does not wish to show His pitiful figure before fallen human beings, a God who does not wish to reveal His han before fallen human beings.

Why? Because Satan governs this world. God does not wish to show His wretched figure before Satan. Therefore, up to this day, God has been carrying out the providence without revealing His suffering and wretched circumstances before the multitudes of humanity who lie within the sovereignty of Satan. This is something we can perceive even by inference. We must come to know such a God.

Now, when, with earnest longing, you pray before the Father, what you must come to know is that you are praying before a God who is in such a suffering and wretched position. And when you go forth following the Will out of some longing, you must consider that, before such a Heaven, you yourself bear responsibility for the Will.

Had there been any among the many prophets and forerunners who came and went upon the past course of history, who knew that he was praying before such a God and who, burning with a sense of duty to bear the responsibility and mission entrusted to him, cried out to the people, that one, even though the people might betray him and falsely accuse him, would not have betrayed Heaven.

Yet many of the prophets who came and went in the past forgot the time and the season, and there were many cases of betraying Heaven.

Where lay the motive and cause of this?

It lay in supposing that God was always in the position of joy, and in the position of having to fulfill all our wishes. We must come to know that, for that very reason, the prophets betrayed Heaven and walked counter to the path of Heaven.

Had our forefathers known that Heaven was in a position more pitiful than themselves, more vexed than themselves, more lonely than themselves, and more suffering than themselves; had they held such a heart and so taken hold of the atmosphere of life and governed the feelings of life, the words “betrayal” and “rejection” could not have entered their thoughts. But the prophets who came and went in the past did not know such a fact. They always knew God only as the source of happiness and peace. So they left such a stain upon history. Through such facts, we must once again grasp, in measure, the heart of God.

We who are gathered here today have spoken of God's circumstances. We have spoken of God's Will. Furthermore, having learned, we know what God's Will is, what God's circumstances are, and, going further, what God's heart is.

Now the time has come when we must protest before our forefathers, who did not know God's heart and did not know God's circumstances.

We who have come to know God's circumstances must burn with the sense of duty to take up a new beacon and stand forth before humanity upon this earth that is walking the path opposite to God.

Now the time has come to recall once more the figure of Jesus Christ, who came bearing responsibility for the entire historical course.

When God sent His only-begotten Son to this earth to save all peoples, why did He not send him into the royal house of the Jewish nation or into the house of the High Priest?

From the standpoint of the Will, God surely would have wished to set Jesus up in such a place.

Yet why did He not set him up in such an environment?

Because, for Jesus to become the Savior who saves all peoples, there was something he had first to set up upon this earth. Then what was that? It was to introduce the sorrow of God to human beings. This was the mission of Jesus.

We must come to know that Jesus came bearing the loneliness and the woes of God, and came to proclaim before all peoples the loneliness and woes of God, which for four thousand years had not been proclaimed to human beings.

What was the purpose for which God chose the Israelite people, promised to send the Messiah, and for four thousand years sent many prophets to prepare for sending the Messiah?

It was to make ready an environment in which, when Jesus came bearing the heart of God, his heart could communicate with theirs; and going further, it was to seek out and set up a multitude that, when Jesus lived centered upon such a heart, could consult him in the same heart and could fight for God's sake in the same heart. But when Jesus actually came to this earth, was there a multitude that could communicate with the circumstances of Jesus and the heart of Jesus? There was none. Were there priests devoted to sincerity for God?

Was there a true Israelite people?

We must come to know that the more Jesus held the Heavenly heart in his mind, the more he grasped in measure all the principles of the world; the more he felt the responsibility of bearing the heavenly principle of relationship within his person, the more deeply within his gaze and within his sense of touch was pierced the heart that he must stand in place of God.

The God who, even to His chosen Israelite people, had not been able to proclaim what His heart was, after four thousand years, sent one representative who could proclaim His heart; that One was none other than the Messiah, Jesus.

Therefore, the Israelite people who had been waiting for the Messiah ought to have come before that Jesus and, as an entire people, appealed and demanded, “Jesus, what is the heart of God which you have grasped through experience deep in your mind? What are God's circumstances, and what is God's Will?" Yet, on the contrary, they made it their business to oppose Jesus.

God, who established the Israelite people and labored for four thousand years, sent Jesus to lead the Israelite people, and although the Israelite people were a people who could not be trusted, He sent Jesus with the heart of trying to trust them.

Although the Israelite people were a people who said they believed in God and a people who said they were loyal to God, they did not become a people that God could trust. We cannot but regard it with the bitterest sorrow that this han has reached down even to us today.

Although Jesus came bearing the heart and circumstances of God, from the very day of his birth, he had no environment in which he could speak the heart and circumstances of Heaven and bring about that Will.

God wished, holding human beings, to speak in a free position what His circumstances and heart were. He wished to put human beings forth before all under Heaven in a free position and bless them. That was God's longing. Yet we know that the God who chose the Israelite people and carried out the providence for four thousand years had at no single time freely appeared before that people and acted, and had never freely spoken all the secrets of Heaven.

When we consider this, God surely had countless woes regarding human beings, but was undoubtedly unable to speak from one to ten of all those woes. Therefore, to resolve the sorrow of God, who had carried out the providence of salvation for four thousand years, and to resolve all historical sorrows, He sent Jesus. He sought to resolve through this one Jesus all the woes of sorrow by which human beings had betrayed and forsaken Heaven. Had Jesus stood in a position to lay open and speak the circumstances of Heaven before those people, the Israelite people would not have become a people scattered throughout the world.

The thirty-some years of life of Jesus, who alone came upon this earth bearing the entire Heavenly bond and had to set up a single relationship, were a grim life.

From beginning to end, thoroughly grim. His heart turned toward Heaven and grew thicker as time and seasons passed; the more he grasped in measure the affairs of earth and the affairs of Heaven, the more not for a single moment could he forget the heart of God, and not for a single moment could he forget the circumstances and the Will of the Father.

Beloved, did Jesus, having come upon this earth, ever act freely?

Did he ever say, “I am the Son of God”?

Even within Joseph's family, he could not lead a free life. He could not lead a happy life.

He could not lead a life of joy. Because the environment was such, because the people he dealt with were such, and because the national situation was such, even though within his heart Jesus himself wished to be infinitely free, wished to lead all peoples, and wished to bow before God in a position of infinite glory and grace, he could not do so.

Although Jesus came as the true man standing in place of God, because he too was human, he knew sorrow, he knew loneliness, and he felt suffering.

Apart from the Will of God, even Jesus would have had human feelings and human longings. But from the very day he attended God alone, with grim resolve he was determined to consign no thought to his will, to his feelings, or to his circumstances; whatever the people of the world might say, he would, taking hold of the responsibility he bore, the Will of God, the circumstances of God, and the heart of God, devote his entire life. Looking upon such a figure of Jesus, what must God's heart have been? You must come to know that Jesus was infinitely pitiful.

Jesus, who came upon this earth to bring about the Will, made a grim resolve when he came forth before the people. He resolved that, having once set out, there would be no retreat by even one step; that even if the path of death lay barred before him, he could not turn back. He set out resolved upon death.

Among today's biblical words that we have read, what you must come to know is the fact that Jesus was hungry. Jesus was the Savior of all peoples, the substantial fulfillment of the longing for which the chosen people had waited for four thousand years, the One who came bearing the Heavenly circumstances and the Heavenly heart. Therefore, unless he rejoices, no being upon this earth can rejoice; unless he is happy, no one upon this earth can be happy; unless he receives glory, no one upon this earth can receive glory. And yet, the people of that age desired to be glad before he was glad, and longed to take pleasure in the place of glory before he received glory. Before Jesus held authority and uttered command, the sovereigns who had been moving the age uttered command before him.

Heaven is going forth to find one day of true freedom. He is going forth to set up one true person and boast of him. He is going forth to set up one true One and make him into a figure who can receive the highest glory since history began. He is going forth to set up one true One to govern the entire Cosmos. Should it not be so?

Whoever exercises sovereignty before that One has exercised it is wholly a traitor. Whoever stands in the place of glory before that One has rejoiced will at some time be smitten by Heaven. Why? Because freedom, peace, happiness, and the ideal begin from Heaven. They do not begin from human beings; they begin from God. They do not begin from evil Satan; the principle is that they begin from the good God.

If there be that which Jesus longed for and desired in his heart, what would it be? He longed for and desired freedom centered upon God. He longed for happiness centered upon God, peace centered upon God, the world of sovereignty centered upon God. Should it not be so?

Yet from the day history began until today, although thousands of years of history have passed, has there been any historical figure of whom God could joyfully say, “Yes, you are undoubtedly the king of freedom; you are one fit to live bearing My ideal of freedom, one fit to live centered upon the ideal of happiness and goodness, one over whom the entire Cosmos can rejoice”? There has been none.

Unless there appears within Heaven and earth a single protagonist who, if there be a longing of God, can fulfill that longing of God; a single protagonist who, if there be circumstances of God, can stand in the place of those circumstances of God; a single protagonist who, if there be a heart of God, can stand in the place of that heart of God — human beings cannot be happy.

Without such a protagonist appearing, even should one be called happy, that is not happiness which God can acknowledge; even should this earth seem peaceful, that is not the true peace which God can acknowledge.

Who has come to know such things?

Did the Israelite people who awaited the Messiah know?

They did not. The High Priest who was preparing to receive the Messiah did not know, and the rabbis who led the Jewish people did not know. The One who knew this fact was Jesus, Jesus alone. Only the Messiah, the Messiah, I say.

Then what kind of things are the original freedom, longing, circumstances, and heart that we should feel? In order to come to know this, we must study the Bible.

Without coming to know this, we cannot understand the view of Jesus' personhood and the feelings of Jesus' life.

Where have the longing that God sought to set up and the heart that God sought to set up gone?

Christianity today boasts that it has many believers, but what Christians around the world must now come to know is that this earth is yet in the process of pioneering the world of peace, that it has not become a place of peace publicly acknowledged by Heaven and earth, and that it has not received the One.

However many doctrines and thoughts there may be upon this earth, those things are merely fulfilling the mission of a staff in the course.

Now we have come to know that even God has suffered. We have come to know that even God has more sorrow than that of human beings. We have come to know that God has carried the cross upon His back and led humanity along. That God, too, is, undoubtedly, awaiting the day when He can be free. It is needless to ask whether God Himself wishes to lead all peoples within the garden of happiness. As God surely longs for the garden of freedom in which His longing, circumstances, and heart can be communicated, so must it also be for the multitude that follows God.

God comes down seeking the earth, and human beings go up seeking God. The One who came in place of Heaven and as the representative of human beings to connect these two is the Messiah. The Savior, I say, the Savior.

Had such a one not come forth in the historical course, the history of restoration would still be far off.

Yet, gratefully, although time and season had passed, two thousand years ago, Jesus came upon this earth as the Son of God, as the Son who represented the human beings of the earth. It is a truly grateful thing. Within his bosom, there must have been the world of peace. Within his mind, the ideal of freedom must have sprouted.

Undoubtedly, he must have held the contents by which all the circumstances of all human beings could be resolved and the bond by which he could communicate with the heart of God.

And yet, since Jesus came and went, have you heard the songs of joy that sing of the freedom God invokes? Have you heard that Jesus danced for joy?

Did Jesus ever say, “Heaven, earth, and all things, rejoice with me”?

In ancient times, kings such as David and Solomon, when they stood in the place of glory, recited poems.

But Jesus was unable to do so. This is not because Jesus had no poetic sentiment, nor because he had no feelings. If he were to sing a song, he had to sing a sorrowful song; if he were to speak words, he had to speak sorrowful words. So how pitiful a Messiah was he? Is it not so?

Setting out under the mission of preaching the gospel, Jesus entered the temple in Jerusalem and overturned the tables.

Did he do it because he was pleased to?

Had the Israelite people believed in Jesus and thus opened forth the ideal of freedom that lay within the deep places of his mind, this earth would not have become as it is today.

You must come to know that Jesus was the supreme idealist. He was the supreme bearer of an ideal. Even if you sum up all the doctrines and thoughts there are, they cannot surpass Jesus' doctrine and thought. Therefore, had he rejoiced, all those who communed with that doctrine and thought could have rejoiced.

Yet Jesus was a sorrowful figure from the moment of his birth. We must come to know this. That Jesus' clothing was tattered — what kind of word is that? Had any one of the Israelite people offered Jesus the highest food, finer than what they themselves ate; had they made him receive glory greater than the many kings who, for four thousand years, enjoyed glory and prosperity and departed — would God have punished the Israelite people?

Jesus was the King of kings. And Jesus came bearing an ideal that no one else possessed. He came bearing a heart and circumstances that no one else possessed. He came bearing not only human circumstances, the human heart, and the human ideal, but also the heart of God, the circumstances of God, and the longing of God. How grateful a thing this is!

Jesus came and prayed. Beloved, look at the Bible. Jesus wept. He sought a lonely place by himself and wept.

The place Jesus sought when he was lonely was the quiet mountains. Had the Israelite people believed in Jesus and become one with him, from that very day, Jesus would have done the work he wished to do.

Jesus was the one who held even the plans and the methods of practice. But he could not put those plans into practice. You must remember this. The Messiah, sent by Heaven, who ought to have taken the people in his palm, set the people in the vanguard, and made a new march for the pioneering of the world, was thus pitiful.

Today's believers believe that Jesus came to die. But it is not so. It is not. Jesus was the One who came to speak of God's work, to speak of God's circumstances, to speak of the destiny of the people, and to lead the way the people ought to walk. But the entire people rejected him.

Was it so or not?

They wholly rejected him. He was rejected when he went into this town, and rejected when he went into that village. Such was the figure of the Savior who came for the sake of all peoples. Not only that. Jesus was unable to dress better than you, and unable to eat better than we eat.

Jesus, setting out upon the path of three years of public ministry, made a grim resolve. Jesus knew well that the path that lay before him was not a path of glory but a path of suffering.

Although he was sent into a position where he could receive infinite glory and blessing, Jesus felt that he had to walk the path opposite to glory. We must come to know the heart of Jesus.

He sought to gather the Israelite people with a heart of glory; he sought to gather the Israelite people through God's freedom and God's ideal, and to nestle Israel into the bosom of God.

Holding such a heart, he set out, but as the people rejected him, he had no choice but to walk the opposite path. Thus, Jesus had to walk not the path of glory but the path of the cross.

Jesus, who ought to have walked upon level ground, had no choice but to cross the high mountain ridges where there was no road. The road that God had paved through four thousand years and the road that Israel had paved have vanished. As the chosen Israel drove Jesus out, where did Jesus go? Where did he go?

Wherever he went, he was driven; wherever he went, he was chased; therefore, resolved to die, we must come to know that he had no choice but to cross the Mount of Gethsemane and walk to the height of Calvary.

As Jesus, who ought to have ruled with a heart of freedom and peace, was placed in the pitiful position of being driven and chased, could he speak of such an ideal? He could not.

Even if the Messiah were to live eating food offered with hearts of sincerity by all people, Heaven would still feel it insufficient — what kind of word is hunger for the Messiah? You must come to know that Jesus was hungry.

Even Jesus, who had set out raising the banner of the gospel, like us, had a heart that wished to eat, a heart that wished to dress, and a heart that wished for peace.

Today's believers say, “Since Jesus was the Son of God, a forty-day fast would have been no problem for him,” but far from it. Even the Messiah, if he does not eat, becomes hungry. But Jesus did not show the appearance of hunger.

Why did he have to do so?

Because you, being the descendants of the Fall, can fast in any manner without affecting the providence, but for Jesus, because the dignity of God was upon him, he could not act in any manner. Within the heart of Jesus, who came as the King of kings, standing in place of four thousand years of human history, the Crown Prince of Heaven, the only-begotten Son of Heaven, was the dignity of God.

Even when he himself was wearing tattered clothing, he said, “Father, please bear with this.” He said, “Since the Father walked such a path, how can I not walk it?” Whenever he was hungry, he would say, “Father, I know that You walked such a path while leading the forefathers.

As I, Your Son, follow Your footsteps and walk this path, please bear with this.” It was because of this that the Israelite people of that time escaped being placed under a curse.

Jesus, who ought to have gathered all peoples in a free place and held a feast in joy and rejoiced, became desolate. He fell from the highest place to the lowest place.

Looking through the heart of God, Jesus was undoubtedly the King of kings, and even when, to set up the dignity of God before all under Heaven, he fell from the place of glory more than anyone, he did not lose heart and did not resent. The more so, the more he felt his responsibility, and was abashed before Heaven. He was abashed.

When God sent Jesus, He sent him looking toward one day of glory. The purpose for which He chose the Israelite people and labored for four thousand years was to receive that one day of glory by sending the Messiah. He sent Jesus, undoubtedly, hoping that, by pioneering the environment of freedom, He would have all peoples sing to Him the song of freedom and the song of liberation.

But what kind of path did Jesus walk?

Yet Jesus, although his position fell and his situation fell, was concerned for God's Will and was abashed before Heaven. He said, “Father, I am ashamed; Father, I am ashamed.” Even in his lonely position, he did not grieve over himself.

Considering the labors of God, who, for four thousand years, fought while embracing the people; considering the han pierced through the heart of the Father, even though he was persecuted and falling, Jesus could not think of striking the people down all at once because of it. Why? Because he knew that the Israelite people had been set up by God through a bond bound to His very marrow. Therefore, even while falling, he prayed, embracing the Israelite people. You must come to know that Jesus was such a one.

Jesus, going to the place of prayer, was desolate. He was abashed. Undoubtedly, God sent Jesus to find one day of freedom, to send him to resolve the han of the Will, to send him to bind the bond of heart; and yet, receiving rejection from the people and driven, entering a lonely mountain depth to pray, Jesus was an abashed Jesus. Should it not be so?

Had Jesus brought about the Will, God would have received one day of freedom; had Jesus accomplished the Will, the bond of the heart would have been bound between God and human beings.

Furthermore, heavenly dignity would have been set up upon earth. And God would have set up Jesus, who stood in the place of glory, before Satan and boasted, “Hey, Satan, behold the personhood of Jesus, the dignity of Jesus, the majesty of Jesus.”

But you must come to know what God's heart must have been, looking upon a Jesus who had not been equipped with any contents of which to boast.

From the very day the people rejected him, Jesus made a resolve. Looking upon the Israelite people whom Heaven had chosen and set up with four thousand years of labor placed in extremity, Jesus, feeling the hunger of the people, walked of his own will the path of hunger; feeling the bareness of the people, he walked of his own will the path of being bare.

Jesus determined upon the Mount of Gethsemane that he would bear the cross and walk the path of death. Of course, he had thought such things even in the course of his three-year public ministry, but the final determination was made there.

What must Jesus' heart have been?

He was stifled. He was abashed. He was a stifled Jesus. He was an abashed Jesus. Looking up at Heaven, he was abashed; looking out at the world, he was stifled. Beloved, you must come to know this.

He came as the King of kings, and yet was a Jesus who could not feel the joy of the King of kings for even a single moment. He could not become a Jesus who could uphold his standing. We believe in such a Jesus.

The Jesus we believe in could not uphold his standing, could not meet one day of freedom, and could not have one hour of glory; therefore, we who believe in Jesus must all walk such a path.

If you would follow Jesus, you must take after the hungry Jesus.

If you would follow Jesus, you must come to know his stifled circumstances. If you would follow Jesus, you must hold an abashed heart before Heaven. This is the heart that one of faith must hold.

What is it that today's Christian believers must hold?

It is the heart abashed before Heaven. And this heart abashed before Heaven must be able to seize all of one's feelings. Only when one holds such a heart can one stand before Jesus.

Furthermore, when one deals with the earth, one must be stymied. The one who lives a life holding stiflement when dealing with the earth and abashment when dealing with Heaven — eating is no question, dressing is no question, and being reviled becomes no question.

If there be a way to resolve this stifled and abashed heart, one must be able to walk even the path of death. Beloved, in believing in Jesus, have you felt such things?

Look. People have come forth bearing great desires. Within us, there is a body that bears great desires. There is a mind. Going further, there is a heart. Yet, although countless people are living today, almost no one lives centered upon the mind. Many live centered upon the body, but those who live centered upon the mind are not many.

Even among those who live centered upon this body, some feel stifled. Is it not so? Things do not go as this body wishes. To carry on a life with this single body alone is, even for ordinary people, to feel suffering.

If even the life of an ordinary person is so, Jesus knew the circumstances of God. He knew the heart of God. He knew the longing of God. His body, mind, and heart were one. His body was seized by his mind, and his mind was seized by his heart, so that whether he died or lived, he was single-minded. His mind was wholly one mind.

Yet when he sought to set out bearing the Will of God, the world barred his way. When he sought to act as he pleased, his body was restricted.

Although Jesus, whose mind, body, and heart were one, ought to have lived as the subject who connects the heart of God to humanity, you must come to know the position of Jesus, who had to walk the three branches of the path — the mind separately, the body separately, and the heart of God separately.

What had Jesus, placed in such circumstances, to take in hand?

Since he could not take the body in hand, he had to take in hand the ideal by which God could draw near, and had to take the heart in hand. Having taken these things in hand, what was he to do? He had to set them up upon the earth. And thereafter, what was he to do? He had to drive them once again into the mind.

So how great must Jesus' suffering have been? He was a stifled Jesus. Looking up at Heaven, he was abashed before the Father, who had labored for four thousand years.

Today, in what kind of environment are you living?

You yourselves know it well. When someone asks you, “Are you living centered upon the body, or centered upon the mind, or centered upon some doctrine or thought or ideal or heart?” what would you answer?

You must come to know in what kind of position you stand. Even one who, holding the body alone, seeks to live, has suffering; but for one who is determined to live with the mind as the chief, the anguish is several times greater.

Jesus came bearing a historical heart, historical circumstances, and a historical longing. And he came bearing not only the heart, circumstances, and longing of his age, but also the heart, circumstances, and longing of the future.

Jesus' heart, circumstances, and longing not only stood in place of the heart, circumstances, and longing of human beings, but also in place of the heart, circumstances, and longing of God. And Jesus came to bring about God's longing and to become one in circumstances with God and so resolve His heart.

When we ask centered upon what and for the sake of taking what in hand, the Bible is a scripture; it is a scripture for taking the body in hand centered upon the mind. Therefore, it tells us, “Strike the body, strike the body.” Thus, we must take the body in hand, take the mind in hand, take the heart in hand.

The ethics and morality up to this day are a system for governing the body. They are not a system for governing the conscience. They are a system fulfilling the intermediate mission of forming a personality that, by restricting the actions of the body, can follow the command of the conscience. This is what morality has been up to now.

Coming upon such an earth, what did Jesus seek to take in hand first?

Before Jesus came, the mind and body of the Israelite people ought to have been taken in hand and made one.

Only thus could Jesus, having come, perform the work of the Messiah. But the Israelite people were divided, body separately, mind separately. Therefore, Jesus could not deal with the Israelite people.

The body, mind, and heart of Jesus stood in place of Heaven. Jesus came upon this earth as such a representative. And in moving Heaven and earth, this representative did not move with his body, but moved with the heart of God. Even human beings, through human affection, deepen social bonds; how could God, who created human beings, not have Heavenly affection?

Undoubtedly, God wished to make Jesus appear as one supreme model who had completed personhood, bearing not the temporary human affection that changes within the bounds of time, but human affection that does not change together with the destiny of Heaven and earth, and Heavenly affection that can communicate with the ideal principle of Heaven.

Have you seen one such whom Jesus, hanging his heart upon him, supremely loved? You have not. Beloved, have you seen such a one?

Mary Magdalene — who, holding han to the death of her teacher, wandered seeking Jesus' tomb in the darkness — sought to take hold of the longed-for Jesus, who had appeared suddenly before her in glory through resurrection. But Jesus said, “Do not touch me.” It is a word of han.

What is it that today's believing saints must come to know?

It is who one is that Jesus could truly love, who stands in place of the tens of billions of humanity upon the earth. That one is the blessed one.

We have not seen one whom Jesus could love with one hundred percent of the heart, standing in place of the heart of God; we have not seen one whom Jesus could rejoice over with his mind by standing in such a position that, however greatly Jesus longed in mind for some ideal world or for some longing to be fulfilled, he could fulfill it.

Of course, we have not seen one over whom Jesus could rejoice in heart and rejoice in mind; we are those who have not even seen one over whom he could rejoice with his body. How did Jesus live and depart? He was a driven one, a weeper.

Now what we, in this earthly life, must pray before Heaven is, “We have come to know that the Lord departed, leaving han; please send to this earth one son or daughter over whom You can rejoice in mind.”

We must also wish to be set up before all peoples as figures who, bearing one hundred percent of the heart of God, can rejoice together with God and all things.

If we cannot become such selves, we must hold at least the heart of giving thanks before God upon seeing such a one. The one who does not hold even such a heart has nothing whatsoever to do with God's kingdom of glory.

We must pray. We must devote ourselves. Even at the cost of sacrificing all things, we must devote sincerity.

We are those called to resolve Jesus' han and God's han. Although our bodies are small, we must become those whose minds, crossing and crossing the Cosmos, can pierce the path of the Heavenly fortress and link with the heart of God.

If it cannot be done with the body, then with the mind we must attend to the Jesus of the heart, and then attend him again with the body. The one who cannot do so, even when the Lord comes again, has nothing to do with him.

What was the content of Jesus' final prayer for his beloved disciples before his arrest? He said, “As the Father and I are one, may they also be one.” What is being done? It is that my body is the Father's, and my mind is the Father's. Going further, even my heart is the Father's.

Beloved, let us not consider only the Jesus who fell in body and grieve. Jesus had nails driven not only into his body. Nails were also driven into his mind.

Rather than weeping in pity at Jesus, who shed blood with his body pierced by nails, we must regard with greater grief the Jesus who, with nails driven into his mind, shed blood from the mind.

Furthermore, we must come to know that the heart of love, which embraced God's love and wished to live together with humanity, was in pain. We must come to know that he was a Jesus who was filled with han, a stifled Jesus, an abashed Jesus.

Today's saints know how to take hold of the cross, and know how to look upon the bleeding Jesus and weep in pity, but they do not know the cross of the heart that Jesus had to bear until that blood overflowed. They do not know the cross of circumstances. They do not know the cross of longing.

When Jesus was nailed, nails were driven into his mind together with his body; what is that cross of mind?

What is the cross of the heart?

How vexing and indignant was it that even with two thousand years of history passing, he could not teach humanity the cross of his mind, and could not teach humanity the cross of his heart? He is a Jesus who departed, unable to speak even what he wished to speak.

Jesus said,

"I have many things yet to say to you, but you cannot bear them now" (John 16:12),

"I came to cast fire upon the earth; and would that it were already kindled! I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how I am stifled till it is accomplished!" (Luke 12:49–50).

Was he stifled because his body was hungry?

If so, what kind of word is a forty-day fast, and what kind of word are sufferings and persecution? You must come to know that Jesus walked the path of the cross, the path of suffering, because he knew that God was undergoing suffering greater than his own, and that God was bearing a cross greater than the cross he himself had to bear.

Up to this day, we have awaited the Lord of glory. Within the notion of a magnificent ideal of resurrection — seven years of great tribulation upon the earth, the Marriage Supper of the Lamb in the air — we have only said, “Jesus, please help me.” Such a believer is a robber, a robber. The one whose heart differs from the Lord's is wholly an enemy.

Now we must hold a heart that surpasses Jesus' path of suffering on the cross — a heart resolved to walk a path even more difficult than that.

At the Mount of Gethsemane, Jesus, while being concerned for the path he had to walk, prayed to God, “Not as I will, but as You will.” He was a Jesus who felt abashment before he prayed, and felt abashment after he prayed.

How abashed must he have been when he saw a multitude opposing him and rebuked his disciples for cursing them?

From the standpoint of the mission given by God, his own person ought not to have been so; yet, since he stood in a position of departing without fulfilling his responsibility, you must come to know that he was a Jesus who felt that he ought to be struck with the whip.

Today, we are awaiting the Lord of glory. We have supposed that, when the Lord comes, the gate of happiness will open, and when the Lord comes, the garden of peace will be built, and we shall live happily for tens of thousands of years together with the Lord. But this is wholly improper thinking. To become one who can live together with Jesus, you must pass through the cross of the body, pass through the cross of the mind, and pass through the cross of the heart. Should it not be so?

Jesus, who left behind the cross of body in his departure, who taught us to follow the fidelity of the cross of body, comes again to teach the fidelity of the cross of mind and the fidelity of the cross of heart.

Do you suppose that you will meet the returning Jesus and receive glory and receive blessings and live?

It is wholly improper thinking. Wait and watch — whether the words of the one speaking here are lies or true.

If you wish to meet the coming Lord in glory, if you wish to become a figure most beloved in the Lord's sight, if you wish to behold the figure that the Lord rejoices over, you yourselves must, having passed through the cross of body, come to know what the cross of mind is and what the cross of heart is, and become those who pray for the path that the Lord longs for. Otherwise, you cannot meet the Lord.

Look at this world. Our body is the symbol of the earth, our mind is the symbol of the air, and our heart and spirit are the symbol of Heaven. Therefore, just as when clouds gather in your mind, tears come; when clouds gather in the air, rain falls.

The human being was made as a miniature of all the forms of Heaven and earth. If the human being is a miniature of Heaven and Earth, all things must enter into the human being. Because the human being is a microcosmic substantial being, our mind is bound to Heaven, and our body is bound to the earth. Centered upon the mind, all things of the world must enter into the human being. So too with thought and doctrine.

He set up Jesus-ism, Jesus-ism. Through this Jesus-ism, the gate of the world of mind must be opened. After the gate of the world of mind has been opened, the gate of the world of heart must be opened. And finally, as bridegroom and bride, the garden of love must be built.

Then what kind of person is the one who can pioneer the gate of the mind?

It is the one who, believing in the Lord, cannot sleep upon seeing him persecuted. It is the one whose blood boils upon seeing good people unable to eat, unable to dress, persecuted. So it is with God. Beloved, has your mind become so?

Before Jesus prayed at the Mount of Gethsemane, he said to his disciples, “My soul is sorrowful even unto death.” Beloved, think of it. When a person living suddenly dies, the spirit passes over to the Heavenly world.

Currently of dying, when the spirit crosses one ridge, countless saints in the spirit world look upon him. God wishes to welcome the spirit thus coming, with the celebration of the Heavenly hosts and angels surrounding him. You must come to know that this is God's heart.

Although they are descendants of the Fall who ought duly to die, when one person is saved upon the earth and opens the gate of the spirit world and enters the garden of life, it is the Father's heart to mobilize even the tens of millions of saints surrounding Him and to welcome that one person. You, too, know the parable of the prodigal son, do you not?

At death, the angels of Heaven come without fail. At the same time, Satan also comes. This is not idle talk. Once one enters a certain realm, one always feels it.

The angels, holding the mission of Heaven's special envoys, find good conditions and fight with Satan to lead the soul to God's side.

Satan is like a prosecutor, and the angels are like defense counsel; when the soul is dragged off by Satan, an unspeakably great sorrow occurs in Heaven. Jesus knew this.

Beloved, think upon the path that Jesus walked.

Why was Jesus abashed?

Jesus knew that for four thousand years many prophets and forerunners had come upon this earth and, with infinite suffering and infinite sacrifice, had laid the ground for receiving one Messiah; and although he himself had come upon such a ground as the Messiah sent by Heaven, he was departing without having resolved the han of all peoples — how abashed must he have been? Think — was he abashed or not? Jesus could not lift his face even as he was dying. For this reason, he is praying in paradise.

Even if Jesus were seated upon the Heavenly throne, he could not bear it because of abashment. He is truly One who has the qualifications of the Messiah.

Beloved, do you suppose that the countless spirit people in the spirit world are now dancing and playing? It is not so. They are cooperating for the sake of the earth. The more you cause the spirit individuals to run errands upon the earth, the requital of that is to go to hell. It is to go to prison.

When Jesus was upon the earth, as the King of kings in Heaven, he had organized to move the tens of millions of saints centered upon the gates of the twelve pearls and the twenty-four elders; he ought to have set up such an organization upon the earth as well and so departed.

Although he was a Jesus who had come bearing such a mission, did he so depart, having set it up?

The twelve disciples?

Beloved, you have heard that on the foundation stones of the new Jerusalem the names of the disciples are written, have you not? (Rev. 21:14)

Do you know what kind of people they all are?

They are the people who, in their lifetime, betrayed Jesus. Because Jesus was a Jesus who could not be welcomed even by the twelve disciples, when he went to that other land, he was abashed before Heaven. Do you understand? Now you have come to know that Jesus was a Jesus who departed in such a manner.

Since the Last Days have come for the Lord, who departed thus, he will now come again. Since with his body trampled, he set up countless Christian believers upon this earth, now he must come bearing a mind that will not be trampled. Now he must come bearing a mind that will not again be trampled by human beings.

Now he must come bearing a mind that will not again be trampled by human beings, I say. What does this word mean? It is a word that Jesus did not speak. You do not know this, do you? Do you know what Jesus' heart is, what Jesus' mind was? Jesus knew, but we did not know.

Jesus, having completed his thirty-some years of life, had nails driven into not only his body but also his mind and heart upon bearing the cross; therefore, he must come again to liberate the cross of the heart, liberate the cross of the mind, and liberate even the cross of the body.

The One who comes to liberate the cross of the heart, the cross of the mind, and the cross of the body is the Returning Lord.

Why has Jesus, unable to come upon this earth, labored for two thousand years up to now?

It is to resolve the cross of mind before God. He could not speak of it to the human beings upon the earth; would it be possible to speak of it to them just like that? The condition for resolving it must be set up.

The condition for resolving the cross of the heart must be set up. This is the question that, before Jesus comes, must be settled with Heaven in the Heavenly world. For Jesus is the One who must come upon this earth as the Savior of body, the Savior of mind, and the Savior of heart.

It is fortunate that the human beings upon this earth do not know Jesus' mind and do not know Jesus' heart. Even if Jesus departed having taught them all of it, human beings would have had no way to resolve Jesus' heart.

Now the time has come. The Last Days have come. Jesus will come upon this earth. When he comes, will he appear suddenly in glory? No. He does not come like that. He does not come like that. Beloved, whether the words of the one speaking here are lies or not, when you go to the spirit world later on, you will naturally come to know.

At that time, you will not say that you did not hear such words, will you? He does not come like that. Inquire a thousand times or ten thousand times; he does not come like that.

How will the coming Lord come? When Jesus, who left the cross of the body and departed, comes upon this earth, he will come bearing the cross of the mind. He comes bearing the cross of hurt again, I say.

So, taking hold of the descendants of those who betrayed him upon the earth, he will say, “Long ago your forefathers gasped under the cross of body, but they did not know the cross of mind. They did not know the cross of the heart. Because they did not know, they may be forgiven.”

Now the coming Lord comes bearing mind, heart, and circumstances; when you, with heart pierced through, cry, “O Lord!” rather than saying, “Do not touch me,” as he did to Mary Magdalene when she sought to take hold of the resurrected Jesus, he must be able to say, “Yes, my child!” — and we must make it so.

Up to this day, countless people, with their fallen bodies, have longed for and awaited Heaven, but not one among them has received God's love and received the all-authoritative blessing of God.

Now, when the Lord comes upon this earth, he comes bearing a mind that can stand in place of God's heart, God's circumstances, and God's ideal — things that have not appeared in the human world up to now.

By whom were the stiflement and abashment buried deep within Jesus' mind caused?

They were caused by the descendants of the Fall. It is not because Jesus was inadequate, nor is it because God was without ability. Jesus, who came to stand in the position of a parent who has wrongly placed a child, paid indemnity, in the place of the parent, for the sin that the child had committed; this is the path of the cross. We knew that Jesus suffered in body, but we did not know his mind.

It was our minds that, in dealing with the Lord, changed thousands and ten thousands of times; it was our minds that, even while loving the Lord, changed thousands and ten thousands of times. But the mind that can stand in place of Heaven, the mind that Jesus seeks, is a mind that, having once resolved before God, before Jesus, will not change even should ten million sufferings come surging in. This standard must be grasped.

The standard of the mind that does not change according to current trends, that does not change according to the Lord's thought, must be grasped. To meet the coming Lord, one must hold a heart greater than that of the Israelite people, and one must hold a heart and resolve greater than that of Peter, who, having met the resurrected Jesus, came to his senses and gladly received even being hung upside down on the cross. One must feel, in this age, the stiflement and abashment of Jesus.

Then what was the stiflement of Jesus?

Jesus sought to draw the people into his bosom, sought to draw the world into his bosom. But the Jesus of that time was not a Jesus with much money. He was not a Jesus who held authority. He was a solitary Jesus who walked the path of tears.

It was not that there was no power of Heaven. It was not that there was no glory in Heaven. It was not that there was no blessing of Heaven.

But before all those things, Jesus had to resolve the earth. Such a Jesus, having come upon this earth, longed for many things. At the very first, do you know what he longed for?

Do you know what he longed for in his mind?

He longed for the true human being. The true human being! Jesus was the One who sought a person who, even when split and split again in body, mind, and heart, did not change.

Jesus longed for a human being. What kind of human being?

He longed for a human being of mind, a human being of heart. And besides this, what did he long for? He longed for a nation. A nation! And what besides? He longed for a world. And what besides? The Father, the Father. He longed for the Father. While longing for the Father, he longed at the same time for the Father's nation, and longed for the Father's world. Beloved, this much at least you must come to know.

Have you indeed felt that such a human being is needed, and gone through the streets to find such a human being? Have you said, “The nation I demand is such a nation,” and fought to find such a nation?

Have you said, “The world we long for is such a world,” and fought to find such a world?

Although there are countless people today, there has been no one who has fought to find such a human being who is the object of longing publicly acknowledged by Heaven, publicly acknowledged by Jesus, and publicly acknowledged from the very root of my heart; nor such a nation as the object of longing, nor such a world as the object of longing. There have been those who fought for a single people, those who fought for a single doctrine, and those who fought for some single thought; but there has been no one who fought to find the world of Heaven's heart, the world of Heaven's mind, or the world of Heaven's body — the joyful nest in which Heaven and earth can rest, the place that all beings wish and long to be bound to. There has been none.

Jesus fought for thirty-some years. He fought without words, in silence, and so departed. Although there were many words he wished to speak, knowing that he could not gather them up by speaking them, he closed his mouth from the start.

Jesus, to find the longed-for one, set out upon the course of three years of public ministry, sharing joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure. When there was something to eat, he fed his disciples first; when there was something to wear, he clothed them first; when there was a comfortable place, he gave up his resting place to them, and so led them about. And yet at the end of the three years of public ministry, the disciples became betrayers — were the betrayers the kind of people Jesus longed for? They were not.

After his resurrection, Jesus asked Peter three times, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” (John 21:15–17) — how desolate this is! Jesus went and asked the betrayer to bind the bond again — how vexing!

Had there been, in that age, people who regarded Jesus' death with indignation, people more outstanding than Peter and more fervent than Peter, Jesus would have resolved his han. That Peter was martyred is not the question.

Jesus is one who walked the path of the defeated, who came and went bearing a desolate heart. He departed without speaking of what kind of personhood he longed for. He departed without speaking about what kind of nation, governed by people equipped with such personhood, would be. He departed without speaking about what kind of restored world, governed by God through the ideal of that nation, would be. It is vexing. Vexing.

So how could he not be stifled?

You must come to know that, according to Jesus, looking upon the distant mountains, were seen the hundreds of millions of humanity moving, and the tens of millions of saints laboring in Heaven gazing upon him; before them, he could not lift his head.

The older he grew, the less he could lift his head; the more time passed, the more he was rejected, the more he could think of nothing but death. Rather, the path of dying could only be a comfortable position.

Yet he did not bring it to a close with that and depart; he said he would come again. When he comes again, what does he come to find? He comes to find the human being he longed for in mind throughout the course of his thirty-some years of life. He comes to find the nation he longed for in his mind throughout the course of his thirty-some years of life. He comes to find the world he longed for in his mind during his thirty-some years of life. He comes to find the people of the nation he longed for in his mind, to bring about that world.

In what kind of position do we stand today?

Beloved, what do you long for? Do you have a longing heart? Are there saints upon this earth who, struggling and crying, “Father, where are Your beloved sons and daughters?” forget eating, forget dressing, do not know whether their person is being ruined or their situation is collapsing, and seek such sons and daughters? If there are no such saints among these people, these people will perish. If there is no such multitude in this world, this world will perish.

Today, as members of the Unification Church, we must regard with gratitude that we have been rejected, driven, and placed in an utterly lonely position. We have no money and no power. This, too, we must regard with gratitude.

Jesus had his entire body trampled. We are those who know that heart, that mind, those circumstances of Jesus, who, while collapsing his body upon the cross, embraced and departed. Although my body may not know the circumstances of Jesus, who departed embracing the cross of the heart, my mind knows and my heart knows.

Therefore, for the sake of this earth, we must become those who long for the human being of mind and the human being of heart, who, even as we look at food, think of them, and even as our clothing is tattered, think of them — those who hold the heart of a parent who has a prodigal son.

We have come to know the heart of Jesus, who, even while bearing a stifled heart and walking the path of the cross, did not resent.

We have come to know the circumstances of Jesus. We have come to know the destiny of Jesus, who had to walk bearing an abashed heart.

We have come to know that Jesus was one whose precious body had to bear hunger, whose precious body had to wear tattered clothing, who finally, wearing a scarlet robe, walked bearing the cross without tears, and said to the lamenting women, “Do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.”

Now we must open our minds and gird our bodies and long for the human being of mind. We must long for the human being of the heart. We who long for that nation made up of such people must unite and cross the cross-path of hunger; we must cross the cross-path of unjust rejection.

Even if we, in the end, cross even the path of death wherein we collapse and die, we must become a multitude that, through the circumstances and heart of Jesus, who wished to leave such a thing behind, stands forth saying we shall stand in place of his abashment and stiflement.

Forgetting our own personal situation, we must become victorious figures who can stand in place of Jesus, who, on the height of the cross, on the height of Calvary, on the height of Gethsemane, betrayed even by the multitude that followed him, scattered tears of blood.

We must become a multitude who, crossing over the path of the betrayer Peter, knows how to weep ahead of Jesus, who knows how to walk forward into the path of death of his accord, ahead of Jesus.

Young men and women who have come from various places, your mission is great. The cry of this single young man crying out here today is not a cry made by hanging upon individual circumstances.

Beloved, when you go hungry for the sake of Heaven, looking at the figure of others eating, with tears, the voice that says, “Father” is more precious than a fasting prayer of dozens of days. You must come to know that the single voice that, longing for the true person of goodness, and unable to find such a person, with tears says, “Father,” is a voice that melts the very inmost of God.

In the footsteps that, holding the heart of a parent, gasping for breath to become a guardian who watches over the one God loves, hungry in heart, gasp this way and gasp that way and follow the heart, even should one bear the reputation of a betrayer from human beings, it is well.

Even if some denomination calls one a betrayer, it is well; even should some people call one a betrayer, it is well; even should some teacher call one a betrayer, it is well.

If there be a multitude that, even being driven thus, cries out, “I cannot bear to be called a betrayer in respect to the heart turned toward Heaven,” and wanders single-mindedly seeking the blessed land of the heart, their footsteps shall not be in vain.

Now we have come to know. We have come to know the Father's longing, we have come to know the Father's circumstances, we have come to know the Father's heart.

What is it that fills your minds?

What has seized your minds? You must hold the heart that, even should this body fall, you would fall fighting for the Father's Will.

Even if we fall shedding blood, so long as the living blood within this body throbs and the pulse of this life beats, we must fall holding the conviction that we can set up the Father's banner of life.

“I have nothing; I have neither parents nor wife and children, and I have no lingering attachment to nation or world” — this was the doctrine and thought that Jesus held single-mindedly. To him, there was only the Father. There was only the Father's heart, only the Father's mind, only the one true human being for whom the Father longed. Therefore, every time he looked upon the world, what he held was only stiflement; what he had was only abashment.

Although Jesus lived in such a manner in this sinful world and so departed, if there be that by which his stiflement may be resolved and his abashment may be resolved, let us decide. Clenching our two fists, we must pour out even our final passion toward the three-thousand-li peninsula.

Even if we fall, we must go saying, “Father.” This will be the victorious condition that the descendants of the Fall must hold.

We must pray. We must pray, “May the stifled heart of Jesus and the abashed heart of Jesus be resolved upon my own person.”

Jesus departed, having received the betrayal of the people. He departed, having received rejection from the twelve apostles. He also departed, having received rejection from the Israelite people.

Therefore, the coming Lord must be welcomed before the twelve disciples; he must be welcomed before the Christians, the Second Israel; he must be welcomed before the 2.7 billion of humanity. If the circumstances are not yet such that he can be welcomed, even should we fall fighting, we must pioneer the environment in which he can be welcomed.

For that, we must seek and gather, upon this three-thousand-li peninsula, a multitude filled with the resolve and conviction to scatter their blood and flesh and pour out their passion.

To seek such a multitude, we must go forth toward the 2.7 billion of humanity who are sleeping and the countless religious people who are sleeping.

Let us not eat a single meal for ourselves alone, not wear a single garment for ourselves alone, not live a single day for ourselves alone. There must be such a multitude.

We have more material possessions than Jesus. We are more comfortable than Jesus. We live better than Jesus.

Since the path the Lord walked was such, and we sent him off in such pity, we — who must become his disciples and his children — must hold the heart that, even when we eat, we cannot eat better than that; that, even when we dress, we cannot wear better clothes than that; that, even when we sleep, we cannot sleep more than that.

If we are placed in difficult circumstances, we must become those who eat with tears, dress with tears, and live with tears. Such a multitude must become the leaders of today's religious world.

When we look at Korean Christianity, we must be indignant. Since our blood has not yet cooled and our heart has not yet cooled, we must become such a multitude before Heaven, which is anxious because there is no such multitude.

You must come to know that Heaven seeks a multitude that says, “Although I have no learning and possess nothing, my single-minded heart and mind I will at least show before these people.”

We know that the time is drawing near. We know that the world is gasping at the final crossroads of life and death. Beloved, where must we go?

The Jesus who departed, the Jesus who, leaving behind the world of the ideal, bore the cross and departed, is now proclaiming to us. He says to walk not the path of glory but the path of the cross.

We must now make a grim resolve. We must put past life in order. We must take in hand the surrounding environment. We must take it in hand again. Do you have a beloved wife? Make her into a wife whom the Lord can embrace and love.

Do you have beloved children?

Certainly, make them into children whom the Lord, wishing to seat upon his knee and embrace in his bosom, can call by name and say, “Come here.” Is the place where you now live such a place? It is not.

Since the departed Lord so departed, the coming Lord too will come by the cross; therefore, today we must make a grim resolve. Arming our minds and hearts, we must go forth to a place where the body is struck. We must go forth to a place where the body is stifled and abashed.

So one who goes to evangelize a farming village must first shoulder the pickaxe. One who goes to evangelize a labor field must first know how to shoulder a load.

One who goes before those who labor must stand before them and labor more than they. One who goes before scholars must learn with effort surpassing theirs and so lead them.

You must come to know that only when such things take place upon the earth shall the stiflement of Heaven be resolved, and only by passing through such a course shall the abashment of Heaven be resolved; therefore, you must make a grim resolve.

You know that the body is precious. I, who take responsibility for you and lead you, also do not wish to make you suffer. To make you suffer is not my wish.

It is because there is upon us the responsibility to lay an iron-strong foundation for the people, for the world.

Now, ere long, we must go forth for the sake of the Will, and we must forsake all things and go. Even if our position becomes worse than that of refugees, we must walk this path.

At the beginning of this year, I declared before you. I said, “In this one year, do the greatest work, such that you shall not forget it throughout your lifetime.”

Do you now have money in your hands?

Have you ever held tens of millions or billions of won in your hands? In the course of your life, have you ever struggled to earn money for the sake of your person, for the sake of your person's happiness? Lament.

If you have such money, you must use it for the sake of life, for the sake of the Heavenly Kingdom. Have you struggled up to now, holding fast to a luxurious dwelling? You must know how to forget such things to give rest to the people of Heaven. We must, without fail, make such a grim resolve.

If you have eaten well in the past, you must now repent. If you have dressed well, you must repent. Why? Because you have lived better than the Lord.

If today's humanity of the world were to stand in such a position, it would become a world of peace. The Prince of Peace walks such a path. The one who can build peace is such a one.

Now when we go forth toward the place where the thirty million people are crying out, I wish to emphasize before you to leave behind a bond of being a tear-shedder calling upon the Father from such a place — biting the teeth and saying, “If there be a place where blood and sweat are shed, let me go; if there be a place where one is reviled, let me go.”

The one speaking here has walked such a path. Even now, he has a heart pierced through more than your hearts. He is resolved to do whatever for the sake of Heaven. I cherish you infinitely. I wish to bless you to my heart's content. I wish to go in your stead to any place of suffering. But because there is Heaven, you must come to know that there are woes and circumstances that prevent me from doing this or that.

The Lord's footsteps are awaited not only by the multitudes who pray, digging caves in mountain depths, but also by those who, breaking ground for slash-and-burn fields, plant potatoes and so make a livelihood. The Father places His heart upon even such ones. Therefore, we must go. We must go.

Rather than gathering to celebrate some commemorative day because such a day has come — though we may not be able to do that — you must become those who can grasp in measure the heart of Jesus, who said, “Weep not for me, but for the remaining Israel.”

Beloved, the heart of the one speaking here is to vouch infinitely for your standing. I also know that some family member in America said, “I shall do whatever the Teacher requires; please only command me.” But because I have been one unable to command before you, I do not wish to command before them. If there be blessing, I wish to give it to you; if there be a Heavenly bond, I wish to set it up before you — such is the heart of this man, born of the blood of this people.

Our people have a worldwide mission. During the war of June 25, dozens of nations shed blood and sweat for the sake of these people; you must come to know that it is upon us the responsibility of repaying with blood and sweat the grace of those who shed blood and sweat for the sake of these people and fell.

If there be a heart that considers and is concerned for such a mission, we must become those who are concerned with infinitely stifled and infinitely abashed hearts.

From today, if it be that the Lord, who was so sorrowful, can stretch his arms wide and dance in an environment of freedom — if we can attend such a Lord — what han will there be?

If, loving the One we wished to love, we die, what han will there be? If we receive the day when the Lord, who underwent countless sufferings, can in a peaceful place say before Heaven the single word, “It is finished,” what han will there be?

We must fight for that. We must lament that. All must move for that. I ask each one of you to make a grim determination for this.

At times, we have lamented being born into the Korean people. Although knowing that, in place of these pitiful and lonely people, we must stand in a position of being persecuted as betrayers, there were times when, looking upon the people, we wished to resent them. But every time we looked up at Heaven, knowing that this is the path we must walk, even if struck and undergoing, we have come to this very day.

The world today and the situation within the country are complex. It is a time when, at the crossroads of life and death, the verdict for left or right must be given.

We know that the worldwide destiny and the Heavenly destiny are taking one Heavenly life as the scale and me as the weight, and so making them move like the weight of the scale; in what kind of position must we be placed? We earnestly entreat and desire that all may incline to the side of Heaven.

Today, we have grasped in measure the stifled heart of Jesus and the abashed circumstances of Jesus; therefore, we cannot but make the firm resolve to resolve, in place of this people, that stifled heart and abashed circumstances of Jesus, and to resolve them in place of the humanity of the world.

Take this responsibility and mission of ours into Your keeping, Father, and through the heart we have felt today, allow us to make a new resolve and determination.

Allow each one of us to pledge, allow each one to make a promise before the Father, and allow us to be ones who can say, “The me of tomorrow is an unchanging figure, an iron-strong figure.

I offer myself as a living sacrifice; please receive me.” When we earnestly entreat thus, we have prayed all these words in the name of the Lord. Amen.