Bringing A New Blessing Into A New Era! May 28, 2006 by Pastor Mike Yakawich Ezekiel 18: 21-32 “But if a wicked man turns from all his sins which he has committed, keeps all My statutes, and does what is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die. None of the transgressions which he has committed shall be remembered against him, because of the righteousness which he has done, he shall live. Do I have any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? Say the Lord God, and not that he should turn from his ways and live? But when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and commits inquiry and does according to all the abominations that the wicked man does shall he live? All the righteousness which he has done shall not be remembered because of the unfaithfulness of which he has guilt and the sin which he has committed because of them he shall die.” The reason I choose this Bible quote is because it is a basic tenant of our faith. What you reap is what you sow. Do unto others as you will would have them do unto you. What goes around comes around. Father Moon is the founder of our church. He loves Jesus Christ deeply. He and his wife have been called by God to establish the family foundation for the kingdom of heaven on earth. They call all people to be True Parents. They have worked hard in faith, spirit and body to establish a model as True Parents. As in Genesis 1:28, the family unit is the basic building block of the world to establish true world peace. Today, we are celebrating this Blessing of all families with this Holy Wine and Juice ceremony. We are renewing our covenant with Him, Lord Jesus and each other. It is a New Era. Therefore, we bring in this New Era with the Blessing. On June 13th, we will have a special prayer and celebration for our church world wide. It is a time of great hope and expectation. We are living in the Last Days. Where many think of this time with doom and despair, I am very hopeful. The Last Days is the end to evil. It is a time when we as a human race come to genuinely love each other unconditionally. This is what God wishes. For churches, faiths, cultures, races and creeds to come to respect each other, honor each other; help each other and DO UNTO EACH OTHER AS THEY WISH OTHERS TO DO UNTO THEM. In many ways, it is very simple. The Kingdom is the change of HEART. Yesterday, many of us participated in Joe’s Eagle Project. We worked form 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. It was hard work shoveling dirt and placing water sprinkler systems in the church yard. I was deeply moved by the support Joe received. Financially he received support from Seattle to Connecticut. Our Bishop Lee called Joe one night last week before he got on the airplane to go to Korea for a mission and told Joe how proud he was of him doing this Eagle Project, especially for the church, and that he encouraged him to become a great leader. One Mom, Marguerite, and her son Jerhemy drove all the way from Great Falls to help Joe with his Eagle. Jerhemy is in the Boy Scouts in Great Falls. Other members of our church like Paul, Chad, Yukiko, Naomi and Darrell were a big help. There were many boy scouts there as well. To see my brother John helping out so much with the plumbing and Mr. Kevin Davis and his brother Rex there working so hard from the beginning to the end, it was very heart moving. I thought, in spite of our lack of patience, idiocecrencies and tiredness, it was a great testimony of people working together from different faiths, cultures and backgrounds on a common task. There was kingdom building there. The church yard is happy. Thank you all so very much! I am reflectful of how much God has blessed us. He is showing me signs that His desire for the Kingdom will occur and is occurring. Our April 29th Billings Drug conference was a testimony of over 80 people from several churches, faiths and backgrounds can work and discuss together to seek solutions to community problems. Our ACLC prayer breakfast on May 19th was very inspiring as we could share words regarding and about the Tour of Mrs. Moon, have a Blessing and fellowship. I could share about the work we did in Seattle and the successful speaking tour of Mrs. Moon and her son. These are excerpts from their speeches as they inspired all about the Kingdom on Earth. God’s Ideal Family and Peace Kingdom “I hope that you will put on new “true love armor” in this new age and be wise and brave activists in the universal peace kingdom corps, for the sake of humanity’s future.” “Please become true princes and princesses who can attend and live together with God, the eternal peace king, as the true parent of humanity. Let us each live up to the standard of a true filial child, a patriot, a saint, and a member of the family of divine sons and daughters of God, in order to create the peace kingdom for all eternity.” “The family set the pattern for all people to live together in harmony. The family where parents and children love and respect each other, where husband and wife are grounded in mutual trust and love, and brothers and sisters trust and rely on each other, and all live together as one, is the model and the ideal. This means that you need to establish a true family where in the stem of true love emerges from the roots of true love and bears the fruit of true love.” · We had a very successful Heart and Hands Service Project with the LDS and other churches. It was in the Billings Gazette and a great testimony of people working together. During our service, we will share some of these school back packs with our congregational youth. · A wedding I conducted on May 20th was also a wonderful testimony of the Blessing and our church. We reach far beyond denominational lines to welcome all people. The wedding/marriage/Blessing of this couple Zach and Lea included over 250 other farmers and ranchers in a beautifully decorated barn. God is ushering in, from my view, the New Era and all we need to do is step in. · On Saturday, May 27th, we celebrated True Day of All Things. I thought deeply about all the wonderful ways God blessed us with the creation. We wish to bless them back by being good stewards of creation. Our youth in our church have dogs, cats, birds, fish, gerbils, hamsters, rabbits and more. We will bless them all on today. I know there are many talking about the Last Days. They say how God is going to destroy the world. Some say that half will go to Him in the air and half remain behind. There are so many different versions of what will happen. So many views of the Last Days are depressing, discouraging and destructive. I do not doubt God can do this. Yet, I do not see a loving God wishing to do this. He brought the fire of His word and not the fire of the flame to burn in the hearts of His people. He comes to destroy evil and not the earth. Likewise, others talk about the doom and gloom of the financial market, Bird Flu, war, terrorism, HIV and so many other ways that the world could face death and destruction. There is no doubt that this could happen. Just to hear of the recent earthquakes in Indonesian, the famine in Somalia, the death of so many by HIV in Africa is just some examples of the pain that God must experience seeing His children suffer so much. God desires to heal the broken home and heart of the family. This is His Kingdom. Imagine if the family can be helped and healed internally, then all else will fall into place! When a society is polled and states pre-marital sex, homosexuality, promiscuity, or adultery is acceptable then this is more destructive to God’s family than any Avian Flu, earthquake, tsunami, flood, financial crash or civil war. Yet, I remain hopeful that God does not desire such things to happen. He is in fact working through men and women to find cures discover answers provide better warnings for tsunami, earthquakes or floods. He is working to inspire governments to use their money and resources for feeding the poor, clothing the naked and healing the sick. This is the direction God is going into this 21st Century. Miracles can happen when we love one another. And I encourage you all to keep this hope and faith close to your heart. Today, I ask all of you to participate in the communion of the family, The Holy Blessing. It is a time to renew your wedding vows. Rekindle your determination, especially the youth who took the Abstinence Until Marriage Program, to remain pure and from this day make a new determination. In fact, I personally liken such a Blessing to the painting of blood over the door entrance as God inspired the early saints to do found in Exodus 12:7. We will have a Holy Water Blessing first. Then, we will have a Holy Blessing for all members. I will provide a Blessing to all the animals including Sunflower, Jerhemy’s dog, and all the other pets. Finally, I wish to Holy Salt all the cars in blessing and protection as we prepare for all the special blessing coming in June. Affirmation of the Blessing We affirm that we were made for each other and dedicate our marriage to God centered on true love. I affirm that I love my spouse with all my heart and that I shall remain forever faithful. Furthermore, we shall raise our children with true love, educating them to become responsible citizens. We affirm that that our family can grow with other families into a model of peace and harmony for all people, regardless of race, culture or religion. In the end, who will determine whether you go to heaven or hell? Yes! It will be you. Your actions, your heart, your faith and especially your love determine you own heaven or hell. How you treated and loved others will be the essence and determination factor. Today, we pray for and wish the great success of Lana and her family as they travel to Cody, Wyoming. You will always be a part of our church family. Build your kingdom with our support down there. We build our own kingdom around us. How we relate to others. How we act towards others. How we live for the sake of others. These determine the New Era for each of us. Today, we wish to celebrate in the successful graduation of Holly, Mercedes and others from High school and college. We wish them all well. Some of you have concluded a long school year. You can look back and say you did your best? Certainly, your grades will reflect how much you invested. In general, there is no surprise when the grades come home. You will gain to the degree that you invested and made effort. This is the same for us when God calls us from this life on earth. There should be no surprises. Our heavenly report card will be very FAIR. Perhaps, we will even correct our own life of tests and trials and journey. You will get the grade you deserved. Please keep your prayers for all who are mentioned during church who are sick, ill or injured. Each person is very important and need our prayers. Please consider deeply your actions this week. Renew yourself. Reflect on who you are, how you treat those around you. Repent and make a new determination for the summer ahead. Build your Kingdom around you as you express kindness to your brothers and sisters, husband and wife, sons and daughters, friends, neighbors and others whom you meet daily. The Kingdom is at hand. The Era of True Parents is here. Do your best to make this time that you have precious, memorable and sacred. You will never regret this. Have a great week!