Kindling For The Fire

from

Kindling  For  The  Fire

Martin Cecil  January 3, 1982

We had some music again this evening before our service. This is useful to produce something of an atmosphere. However, with all such offerings it seems necessary that what is going to be offered be prepared ahead of time. There is obvious disadvantage to this because ahead of time nobody knows just what is going to be required. What do you suppose we could do about that? It requires some rather careful thought, I think. Perchance there are some other possibilities.

It seems that when I am on hand to give the services on a Sunday everybody looks to me to do it, and I do—have done fairly consistently. This, however, tends to establish a habit, with respect to which there presumably would need to be change. Clearly I have a particular part to play, not only with respect to giving services here or on Sunrise Ranch in particular, as though those services were just for the people who were gathered in either place—but there is a more extensive reason as to why this routine has been followed over the years, and you are aware of what the reason is, I am sure. There is the provision of a central current of movement in which everybody may easily and naturally share. It is one means by which unification can be sustained, up to a certain point anyway. There is indeed a central current of the spirit at work constantly. It is not a static thing. It keeps moving, and it needs to be given expression within the range of our hearts and minds and the hearts and minds of human beings everywhere. For this reason I have continued to provide something on a regular basis, week by week. Nevertheless there is rightly the necessity for change. Some consideration might be given as to what that should be.

After our services we have had these opportunities for various ones to make comments. This has become somewhat routine too. I think something needs to emerge that has greater possibilities. It is not so much a matter of comment anymore, even after a service, but of participating more directly in the current of the spirit that is at work, so that there is a movement foreward from what had been brought to focus during the service, and others have the opportunity of giving form in expression to what continues to move, not harking back to what moved in the service. This tendency to hark back is a habit that seems a little difficult to change. I always give the service and you always sit there listening to what I have to say—so this is habitual—and when I finish the service you give comments—that is habitual. But there is the current of the spirit moving, whether specific expression is being given to this in a service or not. It is moving constantly, we are happy to say, I am sure. We wouldn’t be moving either if it wasn't! So there is something to take form in expression through each of us at any time, but I am thinking of it more particularly as it relates to these periods of service when something is coming forth that is useful at the time—it comes forth, but is also subsequently useful in giving what is needful to many others besides those who were present at the service. I don’t think I have ever received an offer from anyone—maybe it never occurred to anybody; well we need to let things occur to us occasionally—to provide something at the beginning of a service. I am looking for something of a spontaneous nature that is fitting, the right person at the right time. Probably the Sunday morning service is still properly the way we have it. But why wouldn’t it be fitting for someone to assume responsibility for giving continuing expression to the spirit, the nature of which was particularly revealed through the morning service? There might be continuity of response then brought to focus. If someone did that it wouldn’t just be response, would it? It would be radiation, alignment, attunement, with the spirit that is continuing to move. Here is a possibility. I like people to awaken to possibilities for themselves. It requires a bit of thought. You require me to think a bit, Sunday by Sunday. How would it be if I required you to think a bit, Sunday by Sunday, so that it is not quite so lopsided? Doubtless there are other possibilities.

The music that is offered before service, I recognize, needs to be brought together and presumably practiced and, as I say, this has established a limitation to its value. Improvisation is possible; we have utilized, on occasion, chant. When we sing hymns before the morning service, there are all the words, there’s the music, it’s all set up, and sometimes it tends toward a little bit of churchiness. There have been those who have objected to this; after all, they were endeavoring to come out of that sort of pattern, so they were troubled when it seemed to be present again in our own services. Well I think there are various ways of looking at that. There needs to be a connection somehow, even with the other churches of the world, besides a connection with people in every area. So perhaps that has been a link that has been sustained for a reason.

I am sure we can all sense that when there is a true unification and movement with spirit, what occurs is of a spontaneous nature; it’s not all set up ahead of time. My services are this way—not all set up ahead of time. I didn’t really know what I was going to consider with you this evening and it has turned out this way. It may be a useful consideration. Anyway I take a chance in this regard. I suppose in a sense I take a chance every time I give a service: I stick my neck out. How about you sticking yours out a bit more?

So we are here to provide accommodation for the working of the spirit of God. Many human beings have seen that there was some sort of necessity in this regard. They didn’t quite know how to go about it and some peculiar things have appeared in the religious world on this account, where people maybe feel the spirit urging them to shout, or roll on the ground, or whatever. Generally speaking, it is not the spirit of God that is doing that, because the spirit of God is, amongst other things, the spirit of intelligence and it doesn’t do foolish things or useless things, and if we are aligned with it we don’t do foolish or useless things. So there has been a careful educational process over the years for all of us to begin to become aware of what the nature of the spirit of God is, and what is fitting in the expression of that spirit. Moving into this area it has been somewhat an unknown undertaking and human beings tend to feel safer when they can establish some sort of known routine—they know what’s coming next. This has been done in the religious world, hasn’t it? You have the Book of Common Prayer in the Anglican Church, for instance. It’s all there. You know exactly what to do: when to stand, when to kneel, when to sing, when to say Amen or whatever—or give the response. And that is very satisfactory to most human beings who feel the urge toward greater spirituality in their experience but don’t quite know how to go about it. It’s safer to go about it in the routine way, according to the regulations that are set down.

This is one of the factors that disturbs some people about the Emissary ministry, because it isn’t that way, so it’s liable to upset the apple cart. From the religious standpoint, really, the minimum has been required from people. From our standpoint the maximum is required. I think that is the distinction, isn’t it? We have been concerned to become perceptive of the spirit in action in our own living as individuals. To develop that perception we have done things collectively, because there is a certain broad base which is common to all, even insofar as spiritual expression is concerned. The individual uniqueness comes a little later. It’s like learning to play a musical instrument, isn’t it? You have to go through the routine of doing that, and then when you have certain mastery in that, you can allow a greater expression of spirit to emerge through your playing; you don’t have to be thinking all the time about where to put your fingers. So we have had an educational process, in order to gain a greater familiarity with the basics, shall we say. But somewhere along the way we need to allow our individual genius to emerge. In the world usually these geniuses are few and far between. From our standpoint it relates to everyone, and particularly to oneself. There is a genius, hidden for the most part, who needs to come forth: the coming forth of the angel. Here is something of greatness to put in an appearance through anyone—distinctly unique through each person but, nevertheless, greatness or genius. So there has been a base established.

I had a very excellent letter of response after this morning’s service, where it was suggested that emissaries were the kindling for the logs of the world. It can be seen that the kindling is chopped out of the logs—it is separated from the logs. And there was the necessity of separateness to occur with respect to those who might rightly in season be called emissaries of divine light. Without the kindling there could be no fire, and so some kindling had to be chopped, in one way or another, out of the logs that were present in the body of mankind. Now even if you have a very big bonfire, not yet lit, composed of logs, even trees, it only takes rather a small pile of kindling to get it started, which I think is a fairly accurate analogy in this instance. But it won’t get started without the kindling, and so there is this necessity for those to be separated from the logs. It doesn’t require that all the logs be chopped up into kindling—that’s too much of a task—just some kindling is required. And we have it—I have emphasized the fact that we have enough. This is not to say that there may not be some more bits and pieces around that could be added. But of course the kindling is not much use until it catches fire. Just lying around as kindling it doesn’t do anyone any good.

In order to provide the initial starting point for what is needful of the greater blaze, the kindling has to be arranged in a fitting way. You don’t just take a handful, throw it down and throw a match into it; it has to be arranged. There is rather an excellent story, which we have considered many times, of another analogy relative to this when Elijah rebuilt the altar of the Lord, in his contest with the prophets of Baal—very careful: twelve stones. Presumably he didn’t just push them together with a bulldozer. He required people to carry them, put them where they belonged, to build the altar the way it should be built, and then to go through all the rest of the requirements that were needful to make a facility capable of receiving the fire, capable of accommodating the spirit of God—that’s what it is. And the arrangement was made carefully, and then water was poured over, which was part of the formula. We know something about the symbolism of water: the substance which is capable of accommodating the spirit of truth.

We know something about this ourselves. We have been aware of the responsibility of letting this substance be generated in our living, with assistance in the matter—we weren’t left entirely to our own devices in this regard. There were particular things done: the mailings were always available, latterly videos, tapes of various kinds, classes, various facilities which would be useful in allowing the essential substance to be generated through those concerned. Of course those concerned had to do something themselves. It wasn’t just a matter of closeting oneself away and doing nothing but read mailings. One had to resonate with what was being released through the mailings in some way, so that it became a part of oneself. In this fashion substance was generated and there was a good soaking with the water of truth. It has seemed to some that this wasn’t very good material for burning. Water? You use water to douse the fire! Nevertheless, in the way it really works, water is required before the fire, and we all have had opportunity to be thoroughly baptized.

The translation of what Jesus said about His church, against which the gates of hell should not prevail, and the rock upon which His church was to be built, has enhanced a misconception, because the Christian church, which originally was monolithic, was considered to be the church which Jesus was talking about. Subsequently, it has proliferated into numberless denominations and so it is assumed that He was talking about each of them. I suppose whatever word was used, it could have produced the same pattern which is now referred to in terms of “church,” but fundamentally we recognize that He was talking about His body. We are all very much aware that Jesus certainly never established a religion—human beings have done that subsequently. Obviously what He initiated was not a religion; it was simply life itself. In one sense, religion means the worship of God; so we worship God, that’s all right. But it also has come to mean specific church structures. Not all associate themselves with these structures. Nevertheless religion is one portion of the total experience of life, just a department inhabited by some, not everybody—whereas what was brought by the Master was the totality of life. But what He revealed has been compartmentalized into what are called churches. He never brought anything of the sort.

The experience of living needs to be permeated completely by the spirit of God in every conceivable way, in everything that human beings do. Spirituality is not a separate compartment; it is life itself. And life itself needs to flood through the total expression of man. So here we have had the opportunity of becoming aware of this. When I am talking about it now you, I am sure, say, “Yes, that’s right, we know that.” If I were to stand up in the pulpit of a church and say the same thing, there might be some who agreed, up to a point at least, but most would be horrified. I recall that the Master stood up one time in the synagogue and said something and was thrown out!

We have had the necessity of being cut out of the logs. This has happened, but you need mature kindling for burning; if it is too green it is not much use. So there has been a period of time when the maturing process has been going on, the substance has been generated which would allow for the receiving of the fire. The fire emerges through the true design, so the true design must be present. This relates to the water, to the substance which has been generated in living capable of accommodating the true design. As this substance is present and the true design is accommodated, we become aware of what the true design is to that extent. We do have an awareness which the majority do not have, because of this. Obviously there are others, who have not had the opportunities that we have had, who have some awareness because they have generated some substance in their own living. We are not at all exclusive in this regard. It’s open to anyone. But from our standpoint we have had a particular opportunity. So the kindling has been prepared, the altar has been built, the sacrifice has been put on it, the water has been poured, all this, and then the fire needs to come.

The fire burns the kindling first. How about that? Because it burns the kindling, sufficient heat is generated that some of the surrounding logs can begin to catch fire. Clearly it is seen, then, that the same task that was required to make the kindling is not required throughout the whole bonfire, through all the material that is going to be brought into the fire. We don’t have to anticipate that other people have to go through exactly the same experience that we have. But it was necessary that there should be those who do go through this experience; otherwise there isn’t any kindling, as we are speaking of it now, so the fire could not consequently be started. The logs around, of course, are accustomed to being logs. They look askance at the kindling: “What’s this? It doesn’t even look like a log anymore.” Yet it came out of the log. But seeing that there is a certain maturity from our standpoint now, it makes utterly no difference what the logs think. They’re going to burn! But we’re going to burn first!

So we reach a point, and I think we are coming to that, where all this nonsense that puts in an appearance round about through people, through the media, however, is simply of no concern. It doesn’t mean anything; it’s not going to change anything. The only concern we would have is with the people concerned, who, after all, are going to be burning shortly. They had better be rightly identified at that point. But for the moment we are the ones who had better be rightly identified, because here is the first evidence of the fire, the fire which rightly is the coming forth of the genius, of the angel, through the facility which is now capable of accommodating that coming forth and is of such a nature that it is not destroyed by that coming forth. When we think of fire it is often thought of as being destructive, but we recognize that it is not destructive to those who are associated with the fire. It merely makes possible a new experience, a new state. Before the fire burns we don’t know what that state is, so it is no use speculating about it.

We have to trust that the fire is safe. It is the fire that comes from heaven. We have identified it in terms of love. Should we be afraid of love? Human beings have been afraid of God. God is love, so they have been afraid of love. Of course love which is not conditioned by truth is found to be quite destructive. There are vast numbers of human beings who can testify to this fact in their own experience. But we have had the opportunity of being conditioned by the truth, and love emerging on this basis is creative. It comes forth in creative expression—the kindling is transformed thereby, and the transformation of the kindling we can see in terms of our own experience. The transformation that occurs in us is what carries the fire to the logs, into the body of mankind. It is what actually occurs in ourselves as individuals that transforms the world. We see that it isn’t magic, in the ordinary sense at least; it is a process. Most people are inclined to look for something to happen in the future; they are goal-oriented, we say; but that has nothing to do with the spirit of God. The spirit of God is operating now, initiating and maintaining a process, and it is participation in that process that allows the fire to come forth.

One evidence of that fire is that we find ourselves in position where the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune all around us don’t bother us as they used to. The ill reports that come to us, the nastiness that sometimes spills out of human beings, is their problem—not ours. This is discovered as being the truth of the matter. It hasn’t quite come home to people yet. They still go on regurgitating nastiness without realizing what they are doing to themselves, and what they are inviting other people to share with them. Fortunately there are quite a number of fairly intelligent and balanced people in the world who are not fooled or not interested in becoming saturated with bilge water. But as far as we are concerned it makes no difference. What is on the move is on the move from the standpoint of the spirit of God, and to the extent that we are aligned with that we have reached a point where we could be counted as kindling—and the kindling is for burning. Maybe while we were in the process we didn’t think of what the end result might be.

It is not so much that a match is going to be put to anyone. The burning comes forth out of heaven, and we find changes wrought by reason of its coming. There have been some remarkable changes wrought in the experience of many, you included, and it seems the days are being shortened in the sense that the changes come more quickly and more intensely. If there is any rubbish around it gets burned, and if we have an identity with that rubbish it is painful. Usually if you pick up a brand of burning wood in your hand you are careful not to hold it where it is burning. But if you do happen to hold it where it is burning, what happens? You let go of it very quickly! Well I would suggest that is good advice when we begin to experience times of painful burning—there is something to be let go of quickly, and it needs to be done quickly. So this is happening, and we may see a role in terms of kindling, right now. I think perhaps this analogy will change very shortly, but we can see it in those terms now, as the way by which the fire starts elsewhere.

There is this attitude in people which expects someone to put a match to the kindling. I have been cast in this role at times, that I am somehow going to put a fire under you. But that was what the prophets of Baal did, wasn’t it? In the contest they weren’t allowed to do that, so they had no fire. The only way they could have gotten a fire was to strike a match, but this was a no-no in that particular situation. So it is with us. The fire comes forth, and consumes all that is there, transforming it into something else. No human being is capable of doing that for anyone. Where would you start? What would be the end result of the transformation? Lots of people have tried to live other people’s lives, or make them over, but it is a useless and hopeless business. Only when there is the coming forth of the fire in the expression of living now, in each moment, does the kindling ignite, to start with. That is what needs to happen first.

So we have this opportunity. Something needs to come forth, so that one isn’t always sitting and waiting for somebody else to strike the match. We have sufficient understanding at this point to be relatively confident that we are not going to have our feet continuously in our mouths. There is a way to go. But the way to go for each individual can be gone only by that individual. We know the principles so well. Nobody else can live our lives for us; but we can live them for ourselves, and we find such a glorious experience as it happens. We have touched it heretofore sufficiently to know that.

We are here to make sure that the fire burns. The earth is reserved unto fire—this fire. Let us be very sure that this fire is available before the other kind of fire puts in an appearance. Maybe the other kind of fire will put in an appearance sometime, but we have something to do first. Let’s not speculate about that. Let’s do what we are here to do. We have this moment, after all; that’s all we need. And so the door, the way, is clear before us. Let the genius come forth. Let the Angel, who is a Flaming Fire, emerge to consume what heretofore we may have thought ourselves to be. That’s called restoration.

© Emissaries of Divine Light