Grace In The Eyes Of The Lord

Grace  In  The  Eyes  Of  The  Lord

Martin Cecil   June 22, 1980 pm

It is good to be together for another hour this evening. In our meditations this morning we were considering something with respect to a flood—it’s still raining, incidentally—but a different kind of flood. What a very beautiful story it is contained in the 6th chapter of Genesis concerning what is called the flood, because it has such obvious implications relative to this present time. Whatever the facts may have been in those far-distant days, the story itself provides an analogy for us which emphasizes our particular responsibility in these days. This responsibility is not restricted to us here present, but there is a question as to how many have really recognized the reality of it as this applies to their own living now.

We noted this morning [The Ark Made Flesh greatcosmicstory.blogspot.com/2020/02/the-ark-made-flesh-martin-cecil-22-1980.html] how the flood came and brought considerable changes to the earth and to those who remained in the earth. We see considerable changes occurring now in the world, changes which are occurring because of some very particular cause. The cause of old was water falling from on high and obliterating the earth as it then was. Whatever that occurrence may have been, human beings today could well learn something from it. We ourselves have seen something and have become aware of a spiritual responsibility which is capable of being accepted by those who are willing to do so. Perhaps it might be profitable to read this story of old and see how it applies, and perhaps more clearly what the responsibility is. You will recall that this was a time when men began to multiply on the face of the earth; it seems that this is such a time.

“And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.”

This story is told in a way which has tended to be translated in religious terms rather than being seen for what it is. The behavior of human beings produces effects. We have plenty of effects in these days to observe—many of them might be called shocking. They have been produced by people. The ways of human beings, their attitudes, their motivations, are all involved in this, and the world is now the way it is. As we have often noted, and had personal experience in the field also, there is a tendency for everyone to blame everybody else. This is part of the state in which human beings exist. Criticism and blame are popular attitudes. Somehow it seems to be imagined that by indulging in this, what is wrong will be corrected. But such attitudes are a part of the state in which human beings exist, bringing forth behavior of all kinds which in turn produces the world in which human beings live. That is what is being said here.

“And God saw”—anyone with any clear vision can see—“that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” Most people think of themselves as being good. The wickedness is over there somewhere and someone else is blamed. If there is anyone to blame it is the one whom each individual speaks of as “me.” Until there is that factual attitude taken no possible change on earth could come about. The state of human beings is locked into this which is described here most accurately as the wickedness of man. It was great in the earth, and every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. Here is a description of the state of human consciousness, whether the person thinks of his own state as being good or bad. This is what is being described; and it is the state just as surely today as it was then—a sorry state of affairs.

“And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.” What a sad condition: the earth being destroyed by human beings who are intent upon their own desires and designs. The effects arise. In this instance it was a flood of water, very destructive for most people apparently. “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.” It was because of Noah in this story that everything was not obliterated from the face of the earth.

“These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.” He was perfect in his generations, in what was brought forth by reason of the quality of his character and the quality of his living. He was deemed perfect, something which most human beings deny as being possible, because it is not possible if one is wicked and every imagination of the thoughts of one’s heart is only evil continually. It is a deliberate choice on the part of human beings, and the world suffers in consequence and hovers on the brink of destruction. “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord,” and it was because of Noah that the destruction was not utter. We don’t have to use much imagination these days to see the possibility of utter destruction. But there is something happening in the consciousness of human beings which is analogous to the flood—a different kind of flood. There is this which is pouring into the consciousness of human beings everywhere, mankind as a whole, impelling them to their intensified destructive endeavors. Sometimes those destructive endeavors are thought of as being constructive. “We have to do this to prevent that; we have to be destructive in this way in order that we are not totally destroyed in some other way.” There is a scramble to save this pitiful state of affairs on earth.

I think it is rather apparent that there is in motion already this flood which inevitably destroys, as the original one did, utterly, unless there is what is represented in this story by Noah: one who walks with God, one who walks in attunement with the spirit of God, so that the spirit of God may find expression in that one’s life. Noah is representative of many, rightly. Always there needs to be a starting point of some kind, and it was Noah’s generation that allowed for the ark to be built, the ark which was saved by reason of the flood. We see the same thing occurring in these days. There is a flood. Because it is not of material substance it is not generally recognized as such, but nevertheless it is there. It is a flood in the consciousness of mankind, which is destructive as long as the prior state persists—a state which is characterized by blame and criticism; resentment, hate, anger, all the qualities which characterize human nature. This is the wickedness. Human nature itself is the wickedness, and who can escape human nature? The general view is that we are stuck with it, but there is something else.

It is said of Noah that he walked with God; he didn’t walk after the dictates of his human nature. Recognizing these things, we accept the responsibility of walking with God, of being compelled by the spirit of God rather than by the usual motivations which arise in human nature. We have seen these things clearly enough, but it is not just a matter of seeing them; it is a matter of walking with God. It is a matter of permitting this right expression in our own living so that the government of the world is no longer dominant in experience. Rising up, we may recognize that there is something more to us than earthly heredity. Seeing this, we have concerned ourselves with what is illustrated by Noah. This is a portrayal that is contained in the Old Testament; there is a portrayal contained in the New Testament, many other portrayals in many places, opening the door to a new experience, so that something may be brought into the world which has not been here for a long time.

The ark needs to be built. This ark was built according to certain measurements, certain substance, of which Noah became aware. It was thought of as being foolish at the time. There is a design for the ark which is essential in these days; and by the way it is not a spaceship; it is not, certainly, a fallout shelter. Even in the days of the original ark, the design of it was first of all brought to the consciousness of Noah. What was required already existed; but it required someone to encompass an understanding of it so that what already existed could be brought forth in form. And so it is now. There is what already exists. Human beings are apparently totally oblivious of this in the general sense.

There is a design, there is a way. But how could this way be known, how could it be experienced, if one is all wrapped up in the usual human nature state based in the usual human nature motivations? Nothing else can be known but that; a person is full of that, and being full of that the results of that are reflected in the environment, and the world is the way it is. Unless a change comes in the realm of human consciousness there is no expectation of anything else but destruction: as you sow, so you reap. As humanity sows, so does humanity reap. We are all part of humanity. We all have a responsibility therefore with respect to the sowing. There is a need then for the sowing of a creative harvest, the harvest that comes down from God out of heaven, the harvest that already exists, the seed of which already exists in the invisible sense but of which human beings are unaware because of their total involvement in what is describable as the human nature state. They cannot see anything else. Everything is looked at in those terms. In that state there are sincere people no doubt who are trying to do the best they know how to prevent this awful slide into oblivion that is obviously occurring. But nothing that anyone does prevents the downward motion. How can this awful state be brought into some sort of order? Great effort is put into this by many people but the confusion only gets worse, the destructiveness becomes more widespread. It is something that every individual on the face of the earth knows something about.

But it is possible to find grace in the eyes of the Lord if anyone is interested. According to this story it only took one man and his generations to make it possible for the continued existence of life on earth—one man who assumed that responsibility. Of course one has to see this before one is likely to do anything about it, but even seeing it, there are not too many who are willing to do anything about it. The very moment one begins to see what is required one has the responsibility, whether one likes it or not, to allow what has heretofore been invisible to take visible form in expression because one lives on earth. And so the ark is built, built of human flesh. It is built according to a very particular design, a design which nobody knows. Isn’t that fortunate? Most people think they know what is required. If they gave up thinking they know what is required it would seem to be impossible to go on living—a recognition that the human nature way is utterly and absolutely futile and ends in disaster. Every generation has proved it out and now the whole of mankind is in jeopardy.

Who has what it takes to face the issue and to accept the responsibility in the quality of one’s own living, in one’s own character?—a character which begins to be a means by which the Lord, the true creative process, can bring forth the ark, which we have designated by reference to the Word, the Word which was in the beginning with God, the Word which is God. [The Word And Its Influence greatcosmicstory.blogspot.com/2017/08/the-grace-van-duzen-may-20-1987-world.html] There are those of course who say that this book is the Word, the Bible is the Word. Well some words here can have some meaning; we are looking at some this evening; but why do they have meaning? Because there is someone on hand who begins to see what they mean. You can't get the meaning out of these words simply by studying them. The meaning comes because of one’s own expression of living. If that is of the quality of the spirit of God then there is meaning, and meaning begins to be transmitted to everything in the expression of life. If the world has become a meaningless place, which it certainly has—a completely meaningless insane asylum—if it has become a meaningless place, how is it going to be restored to meaning? Because there is someone on hand who gives it meaning.

The meaning comes down from God out of heaven into the earth. That is the way it works. So we have the opportunity, as Noah did, to give meaning. The meaning that is essential now is to provide a means by which what is occurring may prove to be creative rather than totally destructive. This is done by those who walk with God, not in theory, not on the basis of some belief, but in fact, in actual experience, so that what is of God may find expression in the circumstances exactly the way they are. We all have our circumstances. They are brought to us. We don’t have to go out and find them. Circumstances are brought to us every day. What do we do with them? Become embroiled in them, struggling with them, worrying about them? Or do we offer into those circumstances what we are here to offer?

We may be aware that whatever comes to us is very similar to what is coming to millions of other people in the world. We are not so exceptional in that regard. The circumstances come, exactly the way they should come, for each one to handle that circumstance correctly. And yet judgment is usually the first thing that enters into consciousness with respect to something, isn’t it? “Oh, this shouldn’t be happening.” Well whether it should or shouldn’t, it is! It is happening. That is the thing to handle then. There is nothing else to handle rightly on the basis of the expression of the spirit of God, in that quality of character. When that begins to be done, something is being brought into the world of right cause.

Someone said that one with God is a majority. It may happen to be true, you know, that when there is that quality of living on earth so that circumstances are handled with this attitude, something is being brought into the world that wasn’t there before and it is going to have an effect. We are here to let just that happen. And something begins to be built: a flesh body of some kind, an ark, a living ark [The Stone Pyramid And The Flesh Body greatcosmicstory.blogspot.com/2016/01/a-martin-exeter-may-6-1984-those-who.html] which is lifted up by reason of what is happening in the world. Most people are trying to stop what is happening in the world—“Don’t let it happen.” Why? “Because it’s going to clobber me, because I’m going to suffer, and other people are going to suffer too. Stop what is happening in the world.” Why? Let it happen, but make very sure that a cause is provided on earth which will allow the ultimate happening to be creative, rather than utterly destructive if nothing is offered.

We have such a wonderful field in which to operate, a field of beautiful circumstances. Don’t judge them. Don’t say, “Well I don’t like that circumstance.” Who cares whether you like it or not? It’s there. How are you going to behave relative to that circumstance? In a manner that is upright and perfect or, how shall we put it, downright and imperfect?—in other words underneath the circumstance: “Oh I don’t like this circumstance. It’s pushing me around. Poor me. Help me.” What puny people! One with the Lord is a majority. Okay, in that attitude, in that spirit, with that quality of character, anything can be handled as it should be handled, but not in reaction to the circumstance. It doesn’t produce resentment, it doesn’t engender worry; it is just simply handled in the power and spirit of the living God. This is possible to anyone who accepts the challenge and is willing to let it happen. Unless there are those who are so willing it could be said that destruction is inevitable for everyone; it’s on the way.

“But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.” How about someone else? How about us, for instance? How about anyone who so chooses to let his generations in living be perfect because they are motivated by the spirit of God and not by reactionary human nature, which is always bothered about something? Peace only comes because there is a peaceful person and because that peaceful person brings peace. It doesn’t come by human nature manipulations, ever.

So we share the recognition of spiritual responsibility, which is the only kind of responsibility that bears creative fruit. Then the creative fruit is brought forth; the right seed is sown; the right harvest comes. It is absolutely sure. We should be convinced, incidentally, about all this because when the wrong thing is done the wrong harvest puts in an appearance; we don’t like it. It’s doing it all the time; the Law works. Let what is right be done, and behold, the world is re-created. This is not to say that there is not likely to be considerable destruction in the process, because so precious few people are willing to let it happen. Anyone who is struggling with his circumstances is unwilling to let happen what should happen, and there is an endeavor to grasp things so as to keep the control, keep things in order, “so that I don’t lose my health, or I don’t lose my money, or I don’t lose whatever it is.” Why not? There is a lot to be lost. At least human beings think it is a lot. It isn’t very much, really. How much more there is to be experienced of the fulness and the richness and the beauty and the glory which is already present, waiting to come forth when someone is on hand to let it happen. “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.” That is the fact of the matter. Let us let that fact be revealed because of our own quality of living moment by moment by moment.

Let us be willing to accept the responsibility which was portrayed so beautifully in this story by Noah. Then the ark begins to be built, because something is being generated; there is a generation. We know there is a generation. It has brought us and many more together because there has been a generation; not because it is a matter of going around beating the bushes and getting people out. No! Because there is a willingness on the part of some, at least, to recognize the real quality and nature of the Word which may be given expression in words. But it is also given expression in every way that we live, when we are willing to let it happen. It is there, waiting to come forth, but we have so many structured states inside ourselves which we are unwilling to relinquish, so that it can’t get out. And where there isn’t this right cause, how can there be the right effect?

So we see our responsibility, spiritually speaking, and I’m sure that if we have integrity we are willing to accept it and to use all that comes to us rightly—that is righteousness, incidentally—use it rightly to the glory of God for the fulfilment of the true purposes of being, the reason why there is an earth, the reason why there are human beings on earth. This is an unknown quantity at the moment but it is ready to be known when there are those who are willing to know it.

© emissaries of divine light