The Challenge of Shekinah

To  Set  Your  Hearts  On  Fire

from  The Challenge of Shekinah

Uranda  July 2, 1953  Class Service

It is a joy to welcome you to this hour of meditation. As we have been considering the basic theme of the Magic of Life we have been gaining an acquaintance with the reality of the Shekinah Pattern of Being; and only to the degree that this becomes a reality to our minds, our consciousness, can we begin to function effectively in relationship to it. We have through our patterns of meditation seen something of this Shekinah Pattern in relationship to creation, in relationship to the experiences of the children of Israel, and in relationship to the life and work and teaching of our Master. The greatest need, from the standpoint of our present function, is to reach a point where there is the reality of the Shekinah Kingdom and Power and Glory in our own lives here and now. We recognize that the Kingdom aspect is the Light aspect of the Shekinah Pattern; the Power aspect relates to God’s Love; and the Glory to the Shekinah Cloud.

How can we reach a point where we begin to know the reality of being with one accord in one place? I think each one here would acknowledge that God has indeed richly blessed us, that we have opportunities and privileges in the service of our King which we prize beyond life itself. In other words, we would deem life meaningless without the reality of our relationship with God. Our Ministry is reaching into the world to some degree, and there are responding ones in many places who are serving with us as effectively as they know how. But when we pause to consider the world need, when we pause to consider the length of time our King has been waiting for us to establish His Kingdom in fact on earth, we must surely feel and know the truth that we need to do more in this regard than we have yet done. We must recognize that until this Shekinah Pattern of Being is a reality in positive expression in our lives on a Unit basis, we cannot be the means by which the healing Power of God can be released in relationship to bodies and minds and hearts of those who respond—at least not in the sense that it can be and it should be. When we stop to think about it we are aware of this need in the world, and because we love and seek to serve our King, when we think about it we are aware of the fact that He should not be required to wait an unnecessarily long period of time.

In our meditations we have recognized that the Shekinah Pattern of Being began to take form in relationship to the disciples in the day of Pentecost—the Pentecostal power that began to appear. We have given meditation before to this particular aspect of the problem that confronts us, but perhaps tonight we might gain not only a deeper vision, not only a deeper realization of that which is necessary, but a deeper accord, a deeper pattern of harmony. First, let us pause to note that those things which tend to prevent true accord, true agreement on earth as touching the things of God, a true state of being with one accord in one place, are really only petty things. When they are measured in relationship to the world need and seen in the light of God’s patience and the necessity of extending our King’s Kingdom into all the parts of the earth, we acknowledge within ourselves that those things which maintain divisions, vibratory limitations which prevent the state of true agreement, are really of very small consequence. And yet they are maintained by human beings right here on Sunrise Ranch without really intending to do so, without particularly thinking about it; but these things have seemed for so long to be personal characteristics, essentials or natural phases of function and action, that there has not yet come an adequate change.

You have felt the stirrings of the Spirit of God in you in our Services and Classes and at other times, you know something of the working of that Spirit. You all know what it is to be enfolded in the Shekinah Cloud of Glory, and to some degree you have seen the Light that Glows? To some degree you have shared the reality of illumination, and to some degree you have felt the burning of the Fire of God's Love in your hearts. But you know, and I know, that it is not yet enough. Somehow we here must be inspired to a point of agreement on earth as touching the things of God, to the end that we may be with one accord in this one place. There are yet remaining those things which produce off-key patterns.

Suppose we illustrate from the standpoint of music—and if I were a director of an orchestra and if you were all musicians in that orchestra, familiar with your instruments, capable of correct function in such a pattern of endeavor, you would be very careful to tune those instruments to the proper pattern. If some insisted on playing in a different key or in not having the instruments properly tuned, or not playing the instrument properly, not having the proper fingering perhaps, whatever it might be that might produce the inharmonies, the lack of true tonal coordination, it would not be a pleasing thing to you and it would not be a pleasing thing to any hearer. In a vibrational sense—and, of course, music is a vibrational pattern in a range which we can hear with the physical ear—but transport that vibrational pattern into a range that is not heard by the physical ear, and yet it is something real, it is something that is important to our Ministry, each one producing some kind of a Vibratory Tone that goes to make up the reality of the music of our beings. There is individual music, and for those who have reached a point of considerable effectiveness solo work is very fine. There must be solo work in practice periods, and if anyone is to be a musician in a true sense there must be practice. Just so in this Heavenly orchestra. It is our responsibility to produce a Tonal Pattern where there is harmony, where there is accord, where there is the true Heavenly music that cannot be heard with the physical ear as such but which nevertheless is real. And if at first it is not real to others, it must be real to us.

That is what happened, or began to happen, in what is called the day of Pentecost, for they were with one accord in one place. They had allowed their minds to center on one basic idea, one basic concept. Even though they had been through the experiences of the trial and the crucifixion, or they knew of it, or many of them had seen at least parts of it, and they had all heard about it, talked about it, they had known the Master Himself. They had heard His instruction to tarry in Jerusalem until the day of Pentecost was fully come; and finally, after ten days of prayer and letting go to the best of their ability, ten days of centering on the basic idea, they reached a point of accord where the Pentecostal Pattern or the Shekinah Pattern began to have meaning, the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory began to manifest.

We know how human beings used and misused that beginning manifestation.

I trust sincerely that there will be no tendency to repeat those errors. But, the simple fact is that after ten days of prayer and meditation, earnest seeking—there were a hundred and twenty people gathered in this ten day meeting—they learned in that ten days to live in relationship to one idea, to let the day of Pentecost come. They did not have as clear a vision, intellectually speaking, of what was to take place as you have. Hindsight is better than foresight, it is said; and their experience is of value to you. But they did begin to let the reality appear. The very fact that it began to appear serves as concrete evidence right here on earth that it can appear, and yet, since that time there has not been the focalization of people and circumstances, ideals, devotion, necessary to the opening of that Pattern once more.

There have been various emotional sprees indulged in by those who thought they were functioning on the Pentecostal basis, but it did not produce that which is necessary. We are not interested in emotional sprees. We are not interested in anything less than the genuine manifestation of that which is needful to us and to the world. If we attempt to enter into the experience of sharing this Wonder, this Power, this Glory, for ourselves, to have it, to experience it, to gain something, it will never come. Until we forget ourselves, our individual and collective needs, and become one-pointedly centered in full devotion to our King, we do not have a starting point. And then having forgotten ourselves in that sense, so that He and His Will occupy the range of our response, we can properly have a pattern of concern for the waiting ones in the world.

In times past I have reminded you of the thousands and tens of thousands who are now ready. They do not have to become ready, they are, and they are waiting—waiting for the opportunity, waiting for the word, so that they can begin to share with us the fulfilment of God's Will on earth. Thousands and tens of thousands, yea hundreds of thousands, are ready. They are as ready as they ever will be for the beginning, the opening of the cycle. It is not because the world is not ready, or the people of the world—all the people are not, but all the people we need are, they are ready. The simple fact is that we are not ready. We are not ready—they are. They are not the ones who are preventing the larger fulfilment. It depends on what we do. They must wait. In time past I have posed the question: “Would you like to be the one waiting out there and that one who is waiting be here, sharing in this program?” And suppose that one did not function any better than you, would you not wish, hope, pray, that those here would begin to have a deeper realization of their high calling, their great responsibility? Have you stopped to truly meditate upon the fact that you here stand as the barrier at the moment between those waiting thousands and tens of thousands, and the true experience of finding the Kingdom of Heaven on earth.

We are not ready. We cannot be ready until we have had the privilege of entering into that Pentecostal cycle or day. We must let it fully come, and we must learn to live and abide in it, we must learn to let it control, we must learn to let it be real in every moment of our lives. That will not take joy or satisfaction away. You have seen that I have a certain joy in life. You have known joy by reason of the progress you have made thus far; you have known blessings. But to receive those blessings and act as if they were a special dispensation just to you—it is not right, it is not fair, it is not true. That which has been given to you is given not to be your possession but on the basis of stewardship, that you may be the channel of conveying it to others, not for you alone but for you to be a steward.

I wonder if an honest analysis of yourself, individually, is in order—and let it not be a consideration of your neighbor: How much time have you spent today, since the coming of the dawn of this day, how much time have you spent thinking of those out there? How much of the time were you consciously aware of your responsibility in the extension of the Kingdom of Heaven into the earth? How much time did you meditate upon those waiting ones, who are waiting for you to reach a point of agreement on earth as touching the things of God? I wonder. Some might have to say that such thoughts had not crossed their minds since the dawn of this day. Others might say a moment or two, a few minutes, perhaps. I wonder if I asked you to actually put it down and make a record, an honest analysis with respect to this day, how much time, all totaled up and added together, how much time was spent today in a true recognition and realization of those who are waiting in the world for us to get the job done, for us to move forward to the point where they can begin to share.

It is not being held back by them. They are waiting. It is the connecting link that is not yet ready, the Core that is not yet strong enough, has not yet moved far enough to permit the reality of the next step in our operation. Blessed ones, if we are members of the body of the Shepherd, we are mindful of the sheep. Have you been mindful today of the sheep, the waiting ones in the world? Have you been mindful of their longing? Have you been mindful of the prayers of their hearts? Have you been mindful that they are hungry and thirsty and that their soul is fainting in them? Have you been mindful of it today? Are you just the sheep nibbling on the grass here, on the bushes there, or are you a member of the body of the Shepherd? The Shepherd is mindful of the sheep. The sheep wanders here and there unless the Shepherd provides the essential care to keep it under control. Are you members of the body of the Shepherd and mindful of the sheep? Are you mindful of our King, the Center of the body of the Shepherd? In what you do through the day, in what spirit, in what attitude, do you do it? For whom?

You say, “We are here to serve the Lord.” Yes. Very, very true. And I am not suggesting in this consideration that you work harder, although perhaps it would not hurt some of you. I am suggesting that it is the vibrational pattern that is at fault—the vibrational pattern of attunement. The Master emphasized the point that when we agree on earth as touching the things of God, that the Father would begin to act through us on earth—the Father, meaning the Shekinah Pattern and the reality of the One Who Dwells. When we agree on earth as touching the things of God, in a true centering under the Law, the Shekinah Pattern of Being begins to work. “I will do it,” stated our King. But we have not yet let Him do it. We do not have to persuade Him. He is ready. He is entirely capable. He has provided all things needful—and yet we must pose the question, “When will we be ready?”

It begins to be a personal problem on my part

I am mindful of the need of accomplishing the Will of our King on earth and extending His Kingdom, and I am very mindful of those waiting ones, those hungry ones, those suffering ones—and being mindful of them, I work day by day to inspire you to that point of being with one accord in one place where we may establish agreement on earth as touching the things of God and permit the Shekinah Pattern of Being the privilege of actual function on earth, the beginning of the cycle of Pentenost, the new cycle, the New Jerusalem cycle of Pentecost. The coming of the New Jerusalem is the new Pentecostal cycle—using a different term. The Book of Revelation was written after that cycle had diminished to virtually nothing, after those of that day had failed to let the cycle of Pentecost increase and manifest until God's Will should be done and the Kingdom should truly come. The Book of Revelation was written after the failure, and it outlined the principles of Heavenly Magic, outlined the basic principles of Shekinah and the One Who Dwells, outlined the necessities with respect to our function on earth and the fact that the New Jerusalem should come down from God out of Heaven into the earth.

“Tarry in Jerusalem until the day of Pentecost is fully come.” And the Master said, “And ye shall receive power after that the Holy Spirit is come upon you.” Well now, there is a little power working through us, enough to give us assurance that the machine can work—but it is not working yet, not truly, not enough power to let it be a real and vital thing, a living, lasting thing, not the power that we are talking about. And must we put it off? We do not need to put it off.

Some day I shall surely be able, by reason of your response, to speak with enough power of inspiration to set your hearts on fire, that the Flame of Fire may appear upon each of you, the burning Fire of God's Love, the Fire that goeth not out. If it is not achieved in the very near future the fault will rest at one of two points: either with me or with you. If it is my fault, then I must bear the burden; if it be yours, then you must. It is not something that can be put off forever; it is not something that can be allowed to come at some convenient time, because it never becomes the convenient time for everyone at the same time. Your convenient time is not convenient for your neighbor. We will have to reach a point of accepting God's time, accepting some moment—this moment—if we feel that we just cannot permit it to be tonight … we can begin … perhaps tomorrow … the next day. When will it be convenient? God is ready, the waiting ones are ready, the need is there, and what can we say? If I have not yet given enough instruction, I will undertake to keep instructing, hoping that some day it will be enough. If I have not yet been sufficiently inspiring, I will seek to let the power of the Spirit work through me still more effectively to the end that your hearts may not just be touched but that you may be set on fire—the Fire that does not consume but the Fire that burns. And until you are, the waiting ones will have to wait and so will our King—insisting that our King shall wait until it is convenient for us to serve Him more effectively, more fully, more adequately.

If we truly love our King, will we keep putting off the moments of our greater service? In what moment shall we share the glorious and blessed privilege, being with one accord in one place, when with one voice, with one heart, there shall be the transmission of the message to our King, “Lord, we are ready. We have come to the convenient time; no longer do we desire to put it off. We are ready. Let Thy Will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.” I wonder. On what day shall we have that joy, that privilege? When shall it be? It will come when you simply do not or cannot hold back any longer. It will come when you are ready to say, “Now is the accepted time,” when you are ready to say, being with one accord in one place, “Lord, here am I. Use me. I establish no reservations. I will not any longer hold back. Thy work is more important than the maintenance of those things which have barred the path of progress.” When will it be?

The record here states: “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.” This Shekinah Pattern of Being which we have been studying relates to three of the four forces. The Fourth Force is the substance acted upon—the human being or the substance. The Cloud of Glory, the Light that Glows, the Fire the Burns—but into that Pattern must be projected the substance acted upon. In the beginning the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, “Let there be light.” The Spirit of God in relationship to the Truth revealed the Cloud of Glory, and the first command after the Pattern was set: “Let there be light: and there was light”— the Water and the Light, after the Pattern was set, and the Cloud of Glory established.

And then the firmament and the dry land appeared, the substance appeared which was being acted upon—the appearance of the substance which was being acted upon. And after the manifestation of the substance there was the Fire. The manifestation of the process of recreation, restoration, resurrection, whatever we wish to call it, works on the same basis. There must be the Cloud, there must be the Light that Glows, and there must be the substance to be acted upon. Now, you have been gathered from the lands, from the north and the south and the east and the west, to have the opportunity of being that substance, the substance to be acted upon, that you may lead the way for others, that they too may become the substance acted upon, the reality of the resurrection and the Life. And after the substance is acted upon there begins to be a clearing and the Fire manifests. Until the Fire manifests—“And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them”—until the Fire manifests, there is not the true working of the Shekinah Pattern. The Shekinah Pattern and the substance acted upon provide that which we speak of as the Four Forces.

Blessed Ones, is the cycle of recreation, the work of recreation, sufficiently important so that we can let it begin to be the basic pattern of the meditation of our hearts?—not that we should be recreated, not that we should be illumined, not that we should become citizens of the Kingdom, not to serve ourselves—but first to serve our King, and finally to serve our fellowman. And once we are with one accord in one place, dedicated to that proposition of service, letting the Shekinah Pattern of reality act upon the substance that is provided by this Unit, we will begin to have the coming of the day of the New Jerusalem Pattern of Pentecost—the New Jerusalem coming down from God out of Heaven. Yet a little while?

Tonight what shall our message be to our King? What shall be my report to Him? “Oh King of Heaven and earth, Almighty One, Supreme One, Lord of All, they who are Thy children have decided to wait yet a little while, to wait until they find a more convenient time, and then they shall come together, they say, with one accord in one place, in agreement, that being in agreement with Thee they may finally let Thy power manifest.” Shall we send this message to our King? “Yet a little while and, I believe, Oh Lord, that these who have been gathered from the lands, from the north and the south, the east, and the west, will reach a point of togetherness in Thy Spirit.” What shall it be?

We must let the New Jerusalem come, for the New Jerusalem is the new manifestation of the Shekinah Pattern of Being, the new manifestation for which we are responsible. Can the meditations of our hearts be upon the true purpose for our living here, our function here, our service here? Can we begin to see the petty things for what they really are? Can we begin to see the important things for what they really are? The day of our letting go in a new cycle of rebirth, a new cycle of illumination—it shall surely come when I have finally found the adequate words of inspiration, when I have finally reached the point where I can give you adequate assurance that it is perfectly safe to let go, to step from the realm of the old world patterns into the realm of the new. Some day, I have faith it shall appear, that we may be with one accord in one place, that we may come to agreement on earth about something of God—perhaps not all the aspects of mind and understanding to begin with, but we must come to one level, not having steps up and down, we must somehow come with respect to some point—and that point is with respect to the service of our King—that we may serve our brother man.

We must come to one point on one level, not many levels, saying that we agree with the idea but remaining on different levels. We need to be on one level with one accord in one place, that we may come into agreement on earth. The Master said that where two or three should agree on earth as touching these on earth things of Heaven, the Kingdom of Heaven on earth, where two or three agree on earth as touching these things it shall be done of my Father which is in Heaven. By the power of the One Who Dwells working through the Shekinah Patterns of Being it shall be done in and through those who are ready so to serve—to so agree. And, Blessed Ones, surely we can, to the Glory of our King and to the blessing of the children of men, soon reach that point of agreement, soon reach that point of accord, soon come to the day when it is convenient for all of us at the same time, and then shall we begin to know together what it is to let the New Jerusalem come down from God out of Heaven into the earth, the new cycle of Pentecost, that we may begin to so live and serve that the waiting ones may be told, “You need wait no longer. The time is come, the day is at hand. Come and share it, the Wonder and the Glory of the New Jerusalem, the New Jerusalem, the new revelation of Shekinah coming from the Father, the One Who Dwells, into the earth, to bless the children of men.

Our Gracious Lord, we give thanks that Thy mercy does indeed endure forever, else we would have long before now forfeited the right and privilege of being the substance to be acted upon, of being on earth the Mount of Olives ready to receive the New Jerusalem, that Thy Kingdom and Thy Power and Thy Glory may truly come into manifestation in blessing to the children of men. I thank Thee Father, for these Blessed Ones here gathered and for all who are with us in Spirit, all responding ones and all waiting ones whosoever, wheresoever, they may be, and yielding we may begin to let Thy prayer be answered and we may come to the day for which the world of waiting ones have waited for so long, the coming of the New Jerusalem, the new revelation of Shekinah, the new manifestation of Jehovah … Jehoovaahh … Jeehooovaahhh … Jeehhhoooovaahhh ... eehhhh ooooo aaahhhh

O Lord, I thank Thee for the Bright and Morning Star that gives promise of the new day, that the sun, the Shekinah Fire, may appear in our lives, that being with one accord in this one place we may truly let Thy Will be done on earth as it is in Heaven, that all petty and personal things may be set aside in one-pointed devotion to Thee, that the door may be opened for the Waiting Ones; for Thine is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory, for ever. Aum-en.

© Emissaries of Divine Light