from
No Kingdom Without The King
Martin Exeter June 29, 1986
It is the delight of all of us gathered here in the Chapel at 100 Mile House to welcome all of you who are assembled at Still Meadow in Oregon. We would share an hour of unified service, to be with one accord in one place. This unified experience is made possible because there is a point of focus represented, in this instance, by me. There can never be a unified state in the body of mankind without the essential true point of focus.
There is some idea these days of permitting a unification to occur by some sort of a world government. Such unification could never happen except on an imposed basis as long as the true point of focus, in the spiritual sense, is denied. I am sure that good Christians would be inclined to say that they do not deny this true point of focus—seeing it in Jesus. It is quite evident that whoever is thought of as Jesus is not present in person to provide a point of focus which would allow for the unification of mankind. If He was present in person it would seem that the vast majority of the population of the earth (including Christians) would not be inclined to accept Him. I say including Christians, because what is present in the consciousness of those concerned might be described as a human production.
Nevertheless, there must be a point of unifying focus if there is to be participation in a unified state. There is no other way by which such a unified state could put in an appearance. There always have been those who have projected themselves as points of focus, both from the secular standpoint and from the religious standpoint. There have been multitudes of human beings who have gone along with this, but it has always produced conflict, because while some might go along with this one, others wouldn’t; and while some might go along with that one, others wouldn’t. So conflict has always been generated on the basis of attempting to establish a point of focus to which all human beings could subscribe.
The unified state has been looked upon as something in which everybody could participate because they got along together. This is an idea sometimes defined as the brotherhood of man, which presumably includes women too. It has never happened; it never could happen—it’s a pipe dream. This is the approach that has been generally made in the world as we know it by all concerned, to try to establish the kingdom of heaven—a wonderful state in which everybody got along so well together—but trying to do it without the King. There can’t be a kingdom unless there is a King—the fact of the kingdom is established because of the King. It can’t be put together by human beings, so that this beautiful state of getting along together is present on earth, lacking the King. This has been the attempt. One might say that here is original sin: the endeavor by man to build a marvelous state on earth, a beautiful kingdom of heaven, while denying the King, refusing admittance to the King.
I am sure good Christians would say, “Well we are not refusing admittance to the King; we are just waiting for Him to show up. When He comes we will welcome Him with open arms.” I wonder how they would know Him, if He did come? Would He come equipped with a halo to make sure that everybody knew, or dressed in some particular kind of robes? What foolishness! Human beings have made all kinds of images and likenesses of things in heaven above, and the earth beneath, and the water under the earth, and then worshipped them—tried to identify themselves with whatever was conjured up in their imagination. But it’s fantasy. It isn’t real! Consequently we have a very unreal state on earth, described sometimes as being a very irrational state. How pathetic! What arrogant self-centeredness! But it’s the human state, isn’t it?
There are those who believe this; there are those who believe that; there are those who believe the other thing. The very fact of belief is an indication that nobody knows. If you have to believe something, you don’t know. Knowing is impossible without the acceptance of the way things really are—in others words of the truth. If we have opinions still about this and about that and about the other thing, and therefore we align ourselves with this and we are against that, we don’t know the truth—which is a unified state, a harmonious state, a universal state, already established, already there. And there is this stupid projection on the part of human beings into this orderly condition, of what human beings would like, what they want, what they think would be pleasing to themselves—of course if you do it collectively, what is pleasing to all mankind, and that’s supposed to be all right. It isn’t! It’s still self-centeredness, arrogant self-centeredness, which ignores the fact that all things are in an orderly creative process, which is there whether human beings like it or not. And if they buck it, which they do, then it is a fatal business.
The one thing lacking, in the human attitude in general, is the acceptance of that spiritual point of focus in a personal sense. This is exactly what someone called Jesus apparently did—He accepted it for Himself. Who else has done that? No, the idea is somehow to set Him up on a pedestal and say, “Ah yes, we will worship our image, the image that we have set up, having been made like something that we imagine is in heaven.” Everybody goes along with this, one way or another. Of course not everybody is a Christian, but others have their own methods of denying that focus point of spirit.
It’s easy to deny when you can put it in some invisible realm which is only known by imagination. If it comes out on earth in form, in expression, it is more difficult to deny. It was done, in the person of Jesus— “Get rid of Him as quickly as possible”—because it shows up all human beings and their rottenness, their self-centeredness, their arrogance, trying to make the world conform to human wants, as though there was no other purpose in the whole universe than human wants. "Let’s take this little planet out of the universe and make it something that is suitable to human beings and then we will be satisfied.” It didn’t work, did it? And we see what is strangely defined as civilization on the skids. Of course. It must be! You can’t defy the way things work and get away with it forever.
For a while space has been given to repent, to stop this arrogant attitude on the part of human beings to try to get their own way. This business of eating of the forbidden fruit produces exactly what was described in the first place: it brings tribulation, suffering and death. Of course. Life moves through the whole universe according to the true design of it. Finally there must be those, if the whole state of affairs is not entirely to go down the drain, who will acknowledge the truth in their own living, the way things really are. This is acknowledged by accepting the focus of spirit. That focus has been defined by the word Love. Here is an acknowledgment of the fact that there is a design, that things work the way they do throughout the whole universe, that we may, accepting this, participate in the process in the particular way for which man was designed. He wasn’t designed to try to have his own way.
How shall this point of spiritual focus be discerned, accepted and experienced? We have seen something of the way the creative process works, and we have aligned ourselves in some measure with it, so that we have a somewhat changed experience. But I don’t think there is anyone around who would claim that all of the compulsions of human nature have been personally dissolved. They will never be personally dissolved until there is an acceptance of the truth, of the character, of the focus, of spirit.
This was described by using the word Father. The question arises as to what it is that fathers our thoughts, our words, and our deeds. What are the compulsions that cause us to act and behave the way we do? The word Father in the context which I have just used indicates Love. What love would bring forth is something that can only be discovered when we are willing to let love bring it forth. That requires the dissolution of our own personal human nature.
Everybody is aware of a sense of void and nakedness, and even futility at times, with respect to whatever it is that they are doing. For a while there may be enthusiasm, and that blots out what it is that is really happening; and if one can keep that enthusiasm generated then one will keep going and going until he is dead. But it’s not very enlightening; it doesn’t actually give the person meaning. Because of this lack of a sense of meaning, insofar as all human beings are concerned, we have these methods to try to hype ourselves up, to be convinced that there really is some meaning there. But it’s all nonsense, futility—human beings trying to have their own way and destroying themselves in the process. They have destroyed themselves as individuals generation after generation, and now we are about to do it collectively, unless there are those who will wake up from this nightmare, this fantastic nightmare, and begin to recognize, acknowledge, accept and express the truth. Here is the truth of love, waiting in the wings, so to speak, to be expressed. But human beings are grubbing around after their own affairs, totally unaware. So let’s pause a minute, continue to look up, and to accept the fact that as human entities we mean nothing. That fact is proven out in every generation. The human entity passes away; it didn’t mean anything. There was no more value even in a potential sense.
So we may see these things, if we are willing to look, if we have ears to hear and hearts to understand. “Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name,” whole be thy name, let it be all that we are in expression—nothing else, no human idiosyncrasies thrown into the pot. Love. We don’t know what love is until we express it. There are all sorts of theories about it. The truth cannot be known until it’s expressed; and it won’t be expressed as long as we are expressing lies.
But the Father is present, waiting for those who will say, “This shall bring forth through me what rightly should be brought forth through me in this moment and this moment and this moment. I will not be dictated to by externals. I will not be told to behave by my earthly heredity. Hallowed be thy name. Let that be the wholeness of my expression.” Then “Thy kingdom come”—not before. But it still seems that most human beings imagine that they are going to build something worthwhile on earth, in their own image and likeness. And if they can call upon some imaginary deity to support them, well so much the better. Self-centered arrogance! “God, do what I want you to do!” Isn’t that the genie in the bottle? Uncork the bottle, a genie comes out and says, “Master, I will do whatever you want.” That sounds like antispirit.
So it is that human beings are subject to this state of affairs, worship at this shrine, and are moved by all this compulsion of antispirit: lacking the spirit of love finding expression under control according to the design of truth. Something is already happening everywhere else but in human experience. And of course human experience affects other forms of life round about, because man was created to provide a point of focus, of dominion, insofar as what occurred here on earth was concerned. And so we have inherited all this stuff—the mess of pottage—while rejecting the birthright, because there was no recognition of its value. So human beings grab each other or grab everything around them in order to try to satisfy themselves.
The birthright is accepted individually. There can be no change until that is done individually. There is no mass change to occur; it happens because one person lets it happen. It happened insofar as the One called Jesus was concerned apparently, but just one person! Isn’t that amazing that out of all the population of the earth so far, there has been just one person who would let it happen. He said, “Follow me.”
“The works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do,” because I am not around anymore to do them. What is happening in that regard? We awaken to responsibility and we begin to accept it and to let love be the expression of our living in the design of truth, to do what it will do in the design of truth. And we don’t know what it will do until it does it, and it can’t do it if we don’t accept it. The kingdom can’t come. It’s been waiting to come when there is some means by which it can come. And that involves people. That’s very fortunate, because if it didn’t involve people, people would have been swept from the face of the earth long ago as being utterly useless. They have stood as a barrier—but now maybe the door can open, maybe there is a rent in the veil. Certainly it was established by one man. “You can come on through; anybody may,” was said. No one believed it; no one accepted it for themselves—“Oh yes, for Him. He came through the veil; there is a rent over there somewhere.” But how about what happens in oneself, in one’s own experience?
No one anywhere on the face of the earth can prevent the experience of the expression of love through oneself. No one can stop it. There is no one to blame. Therefore if this expression does not radiate forth it is because one has prevented it entirely oneself. Finally, no more judgment! Judge not. No one else can prevent the experience of the truth of love in radiant expression through oneself except one’s own intransigence. That’s all! We have become so accustomed to finding scapegoats round about to blame, because we didn’t let it happen in our own experience. There isn’t anyone anywhere to blame; it’s even futile to blame oneself. But one has established and maintained any barriers that may be present to the expression of love.
So here we are, offering ourselves by reason of a unified experience—if we have been willing to accept it—because there is a focus of spirit present, articulating these things which we may all articulate together. And, behold, all things are made new on this basis. There isn’t any other way. Let us be willing to be moved by love, through the spirit of truth, in the way that life goes—the way that Life goes. And, behold the miracles that consequently occur; miracles are not always that pleasing to people in general; but miracles must occur if all things are indeed to be made new.
So I would offer the opportunity to Don Hynes in Still Meadow to say a word to us from that particular location, and the focus of spirit which he provides there.
Don Hynes — It’s good to be with you this morning, Martin. There is a unified body present here, certainly welcoming the focus of spirit that you provide and that we are so privileged to receive. There is a deep current of repentance that is present in our hearts for all of the silly schemes and designs that we have each individually allowed to be present in the earth. And in this way we could represent and focus this current of repentance for the whole body of humanity, for all the absurdity that we have allowed to come, dishonoring the name of our Lord and King. In this current of repentance our hearts are easily opened, with love for the King and for the beauty of His kingdom. It’s what we love; it’s what we are.
We are so privileged, Martin, to be with you and to let the waters of our consciousness be turned to you, and to the focus of spirit that you provide. We would acknowledge this with every fiber of our being, that it would come into the earth of our own living, so that the King may return in this day. Where the King is welcome He does return. Each of us can say that individually; and that’s a miracle, but it’s an everyday miracle that we know. We certainly are thankful for this opportunity to share in the miracle of truth and life with you in this hour this morning. So, thank you.
Lord Exeter — Let us continue to share the miracle in the hours and days to come.
Each individual is designed to bring to focus the spirit of love, of truth, and of life. And when this one spirit activates the bodies, the minds and the hearts of all concerned, there is a consequent unified state. That is an unknown state to human beings the way they now are. It has seemed that even when it was suggested that there was such a state—the kingdom of heaven is at hand, after all—they prefer what they would think of perhaps as the devil they know, to the one they don’t. But of course the one they don’t isn’t the devil.
There is only one devil, and that is human nature, which directs and controls the behavior of human beings on earth and plays into the hands of those particular people who have some designs of their own in this regard, relative to some sort of world government, for instance. It is useless to fight against human nature. As along as people are fighting against human nature, which they do, human nature thrives. Life force is being poured into it; you increase what you fight against.
It is not that human nature is condoned in any sense of the word, but it isn’t disposed of by fighting against it. That which fights against human nature is another aspect of human nature. You remember, the dragon had many heads. The dragon which has been in the heaven of human control, controlling human beings everywhere, must be cast out, cast out because there are human beings who are not controlled by the dragon, whose Father is love, truth and life—every thought and every word and every deed being brought forth by this spirit to handle whatever is present in the environment, but never to be dictated to by the environment, never to be dictated to by human nature.
So we share the beauty of the truth, and the growing wonder of the experience of love radiating forth without concern for results, that all may be transformed in whatever way is necessary by that creative radiation which fills and governs the whole of the universe, except in this little spot where human minds and hearts have blocked it. Let the barriers dissolve, that all may be made new by the power, the creative power, of the spirit of the living God which is present and in operation throughout all that is.
© Emissaries of Divine Light
