A Life Of Victory

A  Life  Of  Victory

Letter  from  Martin  to  Uranda   1941

The  Precedent  of  Victory

Martin Cecil   August 8, 1954  Evening Service

On the day of the Funeral Service for Uranda

Once again we are assembled in the Chapel on Sunrise Ranch for another evening hour of meditation, this Sunday, the eighth day of the eighth month of 1954. It has been for us a full day, a wonderful day, a day in which there has been an increased evidence of maturity made manifest through those who share in this Ministry on earth.

Many people came to be with us today, and we would recognize and acknowledge the spirit of understanding, the spirit of helpfulness, which was made manifest through them. They played their part in doing what they could, according to the best of their understanding, to bring comfort to us. But, you know, I am not sure that it didn’t work the other way round. In coming here they found that there was a Spirit made manifest which brought comfort to them. They found, at least, that there was not a group of people here looking for sympathy, but rather a group of people firmly grounded upon the Rock, standing steady, allowing the manifestation of something of that expression of true Being of which we spoke this afternoon. And it is so good to have the privilege of setting such a precedent, a precedent of Victory. There have been so few precedents of Victory brought forth in form by human beings in this fallen world.

We remember that failure so long ago, when our Master was on earth. The circumstance was different, the pressure that was brought to bear was different—but at that point in the garden, so long ago, there was established by fallen human beings, or the representatives of this fallen world, a precedent of failure. The disciples slept in the Garden. Shortly thereafter they were scattered, and left our Master alone, and there was failure. And that precedent of failure has tended to stand since that day. But in this hour we can begin to recognize a starting point, at least, for that precedent of Victory which is necessary to nullify that precedent of failure. It has to be done by human beings somewhere, somehow, and we have had the opportunity, in this particular pattern of outworking, to share in the beginning of that cycle by which the true precedent of Victory is established on earth. There have been individual precedents of Victory—our Master's precedent in that regard is, of course, outstanding—but there has never been any adequate, collective precedent of Victory. And while I do not say that the precedent has yet been entirely set, it has been initiated, and we are sharing in it now.

During the Service this afternoon I read some of our Master's Words which I would like to read to you again this evening. I left some of them out this afternoon, but I think in our meditation this evening I will put them back in. “Verily, verily, I say unto you”—and we remember that when our Master was emphasizing something important He always used those words—“verily, verily”—truly, truly—“I say unto you”—here is an important statement.

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, that ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice; and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy.”

Anything that our Master said, anything that is recorded in the Bible, may have meaning to us as it is allowed to find specific application in relationship to ourselves here and now. We might look back and see its application with respect to our Master two thousand years ago, and we might perhaps learn something from such a consideration, but the real meaning of that which is contained in the Bible is allowed to appear when it finds specific application in relationship to ourselves here and now. So, these words must be spoken to us. They were spoken to us, to all who were gathered here, to all people everywhere who would respond to them this afternoon, and they are brought to focus again this evening for us.

“Verily, verily, I say unto you that ye shall weep and lament.” Has that been somewhat true with you? “Ye shall weep and lament.” I think that this has been so. “But the world shall rejoice.” What does that mean? Well, we might recognize that there were lots of headlines in the papers, and it was good news for the papers. That sort of thing is good news for the world, isn't it, from the standpoint of the things that are published in newspapers? Thousands, hundreds of thousands, of aircraft are flying daily without any difficulties and no mention is made of them, but when there is tragedy of some kind, onto the front page it goes. And so, human beings must like that sort of thing, or presumably they would not read it, and it would not be put on the front page. That is one aspect of this matter.

But the world rejoices in such an outworking even as they rejoiced when our Master was seemingly destroyed, because it seems to give evidence of failure, it seems to give evidence that the adversary has the Victory. I think some of you might have felt that just a little bit for a moment, perhaps, in the shock of the news — “What now?” — and perhaps a little feeling that maybe the adversary did have the Victory. That is what causes the world to rejoice, the world of human beings subject to their own self-active minds and hearts, trying to direct their own course in life. The world! The world rejoices in anything that seems to be the evidence of defeat for the things of God.

We find, therefore, that these words surely have application to us, for this experience through which we are passing, even as they had application before, and we find that wherever such things happen this is the pattern. Human beings weep and lament, but they tend to accept the fact that the world is rejoicing—in other words, that the things of God have been defeated, that it is a tragedy, that it is something that reveals failure, and it is accepted as such. Human beings then gather themselves together, and doggedly keep on going, because there is not much else that they can do. Such a spirit is no good insofar as we are concerned, for we recognize that the adversary certainly does not have the Victory. He has received, in fact, a very violent initial defeat, for we have not assumed that his claim is correct. We have recognized that it is not so, and that the Victory may be, and shall be, just as surely as we ever thought before. We might say more surely because you are beginning to realize that you do actually have a part in letting it be so—and that it is not done by Uranda or by anyone else. It is done and accomplished by reason of a body established on earth, according to the Divine Design, under the control of the Spirit, composed of many members. It cannot be done any other way. So we begin to share in a deeper realization of the Spirit of Victory. The Spirit of Victory!

“And ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned to joy.” That is just as much a statement in relationship to the pattern of outworking as this: “ye shall weep and lament. “ “Ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned to joy.” That is a promise, and you are beginning to experience the reality of that promise. You are beginning to sense something within yourselves that assures you that it is so, that while there maybe lingering sadness that is perhaps natural, nevertheless there is something stirring that is strong, something stirring that gives assurance of Victory! “A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow because her hour is come, but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world.” “For joy that a man is born into the world.” God created man in the beginning, in His own Image and Likeness — man, mankind, human beings collectively.

A Man is to be born into the world. That is what we are here for. That is the Purpose of this Ministry, so that there may be a Man on earth again. There have not been Men or Women in the world for a long time, just human counterfeits built according to the human design. But Men and Women as God created them have been conspicuous by their absence. The bringing forth of a Man on earth! And, do you know, I believe that those who came here today began to see something of a fulfilment in that regard. What did they expect to find, do you think? Weeping and lamenting? — probably — that which is considered natural in human beings, and accepted as being natural: weakness, intense subjection to grief, self-pity, rebelliousness against the harsh circumstances of fate, and all the rest of it. They didn’t find that, I don't think. They began to see something of the manifestation of a Man — Men and Women, as God intended them to be, strong, functioning in the spirit of integrity, trusting God, not in a blind faith but with understanding; for while human beings have many beliefs with respect to what they call life after death, the feelings of the heart tend to contradict the beliefs of their mind. But the understanding of our minds is supported by the feelings of our hearts when we are centered in God, because the Spirit of Love which appears in the heart is of God, and the Spirit of Truth which manifests through the mind is of God, and God is not in conflict with himself but, rather, in agreement.

So, we begin to find that we have something to stand upon — two feet. Human beings walk about the surface of the earth on two feet. Animals need four. Those two feet provide the basis for movement, for accomplishing that which needs to be done, and those two feet symbolize to us that upon which we may stand — the Spirit of Love and the Spirit of Truth — the Spirit of Love in the heart and the Spirit of Truth in the mind. And when they are there, we can stand. “Who shall be able to stand?” We shall be able to stand as we stand upon Love and Truth, and we have begun to prove that it is so.

The question is asked, “Who shall be able to stand?" No answer is specifically given — at least, in the quotation which I have in mind. Why? Because it is something that has to prove itself out. Nobody can tell ahead of time who shall be able to stand. But if we prove that we are Men and Women because we are under the control of the Spirit of Truth, letting the Spirit of God's Love work in us and through us in our hearts, we find, in fact, that we are numbered among those who are able to stand, as Men and Women — the beginning manifestation of that of which our Master was speaking here, a man-child born into the world. Of course we need to recognize that that which has appeared thus far is a very little thing, but just as the babe gives promise of the mature adult into which he may grow, so does that little starting point give promise of that which is yet to be.

“A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow because her hour is come, but as soon as she is delivered of the child she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world.” We have the opportunity and the privilege of sharing in letting it be so.

“And ye now, therefore, have sorrow, but I will see you again and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you.” The things of God never appear on the basis of the finished product. What is a finished product? What would you call a finished product? If something is finished, there isn’t any more to come. It is said, of the original creation, that “God finished the work,” the six days of creation — but creation did not stop at that point. There has been continued creation, the pattern of creation which man was supposed to share. But if man has not been sharing in it, it may have been prevented from appearing as God intended, that is true, but it was not God's intention that creation should come to an end. So, while there may be a finishing of one phase of it, there is that which is yet to be, always. When the child is born into the world there is the finishing of the womb phase of it. That is finished, but the child is not yet finished. He needs to grow and develop and mature. So it is in relationship to that in which we share.

This a starting point, and it is a good starting point, based upon a firm foundation, upon that which can enable us to stand. But let us always remember that it is but a starting point, and there is so much to be done. Let us not enter into that so-common human attitude that, “Someone else can do it.” Our Master was supposed to do it, to do it all, and there was tragedy. Uranda was supposed to do it to a very high degree, in the consciousness of so many, perhaps not realizing that that was the attitude entirely, but nevertheless it was there. “Uranda can do it. As long as he is there it is all right.” And we have tragedy, because it is not a question of someone else doing it. It is a question of doing it ourselves. We are the ones, individually speaking, and, of course, all together. But we cannot act for others. We can only act for ourselves.

So, if sorrow is to be turned fully to that joy which our Master promised, it can be so only as, individually, we accept our responsibility, not just for the moment — in the current of the inspiration of the Spirit it is easy to be uplifted and to feel ourselves to be dedicated — but it is the minutes and hours, the days and the nights, the weeks and the months, that truly tell the tale, not what we may feel in this hour or in any other hour but what we feel consistently, what we know consistently, what our lives reveal consistently. It is that that counts. And it is that that permits sorrow to be turned into joy.

“But  I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you.” When joy is based upon the fulfilment of those Purposes to which your lives are now dedicated, then you have that joy that “no man taketh from you.” No man can take it from you. Nothing that occurs in relationship to the outer form of things can take it from you. And that is the joy of which our Master was speaking, not the little pleasures and happiness, fleeting things which we experience and which should be matters of rejoicing, but a depth of joy consistently made manifest. So, as we approach the conclusion of this Sunday which has carried so much meaning to all of us, let us remember that it is a starting point for that which is yet to be, for the growth in grace and stature of the Man who is born into the world.

O LORD of Lords and KING of Kings, we thank Thee for the rich Blessings of this day, for the privilege of sharing in Thy Ministry and Service, as we have let the control of Thy Spirit be made known on earth, and as we ourselves have experienced something of the reality of the provision which Thou hast made, both within us and without us; for we have had abundant evidence of the working of Thy Spirit and Thy Power in our lives, and in and through this Ministry which we share, that in the Current of Thy Spirit we may move forward in the Open Way, to accomplish that which yet needs to be done, assured that all things are provided for the days that are yet to come, even as we have found them to be provided for this day which is drawing to a close. And so, rejoicing in the Spirit of Thy Peace, with our lives dedicated in Thy Service, we move forth with assurance, In the Christ. Aumen.

© emissaries of divine light