The endocrine glands provide the outer form of manifestation of the Seven Spirits, the seven aspects of spirit in your own body in relationship to the physical functions of your own Being. We have considered something of the Seven Spirits before the Throne of God. The Focalization of the Seven Spirits through your own body provides the opportunity for a basic control pattern—attunement with the Divine Source and function. As long as the blood sugar level is not correct the endocrine system is not going to be functioning correctly, and the Life Force is not going to be manifesting correctly through you—the Seven Spirits before the Throne of God are not adequately active in the earth of your own body. Until that is taken care of, at least to a degree in relationship to yourself, you cannot inspire others to do likewise.
Until we recognize that the Seven Spirits before the Throne of God are necessary from the standpoint of the individual and from the standpoint of the group, from the standpoint of the whole Christ Body and the whole of humanity, we are not going to make very much progress, no matter how much knowledge or information one may store within oneself. We remember in the story of Moses that when Moses fled from Egypt and went to the land of Midian, through an outworking in events he became acquainted with the seven daughters of the priest of Midian and so, finally, that priest himself, Jethro. Here we have the same pattern of vibrational factors. Whether we consider the Creative Triangle in the Universe, which provides the base for our function, and provided the base for the creation of this world, from Orion to the Pleiades, or whether we consider the story here at the time of Moses—whether we see the Seven Sisters of the Pleiades or the seven sisters, the daughters of Jethro, whether we see the seven days of the week in the pattern of creation or the seven days of the week as we commemorate those factors now, wherever we turn we see evidences of this basic seven, the seven that find focalization in your own body in the endocrine system.
Every body that is to have any meaning in life, and force, must have the Seven Spirits before the Throne of God. That is true of a group as much as it is of an individual; for anyone who does not understand these basic patterns and ignores them, attempting to develop and formulate a true group on earth, will never succeed. It cannot be done. Humanity has for so long mistaken knowledge, or information, for functional realization. The individual who undertakes to achieve some great purpose by gathering information to himself, getting knowledge—he is going to accomplish something—never succeeds, because he does not share effectively and properly in the current of God's giving. It is only as we recognize the principle of the Seven Spirits before the Throne of God, the principle of Focalization of those spirits, the principle of Focalization in the whole pattern of Being, that we can begin to consider these things and develop a conscious awareness of them in a manner which will allow us to intelligently perceive the working of the spirit of God.
Getting the knowledge as such is not the goal or the purpose here, or anywhere. There has to be the establishment of a certain awareness of certain fundamental facts and truths of Being, information, but if it stops there it accomplishes nothing, whether it is information I present to you or someone else. It has to be a means by which your consciousness becomes aware in realization of the working of the spirit of God, so that you can comprehend that spirit, comprehend and correctly interpret the influences of the spirit, because impulses are going to be interpreted on the basis of the individual concepts, and when the individual concepts are not shaped to the truth, the personal response to the impulse of the spirit of God will cause that person to do the wrong thing. Once you see that you will understand why the world is in the state it is and why human beings have failed for so long to have any real outworking of the spiritual life. Until you have an awareness of the truth as such, and a consciousness which can begin to comprehend the significance and the meaning of the spirit of God, you have no way of translating the impulses of the spirit of God into the right pattern of action. So we have training periods and class periods for that purpose.There have been plenty of opportunities in the past; but we are dealing in the present now. As long as there are false beliefs in your consciousness and in your heart, no matter how sincerely held, the spirit of God working through you will cause you to do the wrong thing. And millions of earnest, sincere people are caught in that trap. That is why the Master emphasized the point, “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free,” for until your awareness, your consciousness, is patterned in truth, regardless of anything else, the impulse of the spirit cannot cause you to do the right thing, and until we do do the right thing we are not going to be accomplishing that to which we are called.
And so this point of Jethro's seven daughters has particularized significance in relationship to the endocrine system of your own body, or the Seven Spirits before the Throne of God at any level of outworking, formation or focalization, because the principles apply at every level, with respect to every formation where there is a pattern of self-consciousness. We need to remember that. Until we know that truth, we will try to ignore some aspect or other and say, “Well it doesn't make any difference.” But it does. We cannot violate the basic laws of God without paying the price, no matter who it is.
And then we recognized in our pattern of consideration that Moses was being called by God, and in that process of being called he saw what is called the burning bush—the burning bush that was not consumed. What is this burning bush? It is your own body. The burning bush is your own body. What is it that gives you the possibility of action, energy, expression? The burning of what? The energy substances in your body. Why are we concerned about blood sugar level? So that the burning of the fires in your own body will not consume your body and destroy you. Moses saw the burning bush that was not consumed and he said, “I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.” That is the opportunity that is being given to you today—to turn aside from the ordinary patterns of life and begin to see why the bush is not burnt when we function correctly, when we have so become attuned to the laws of God and the principles of life that the blood sugar level is where it should be. And if that blood sugar level is not right, the bush, the body, your body or any body, is going to be consumed and will begin to show all of the signs of weakness and decrepitude and illness, and what have you, that indicate that the body is burning up and the fires are not functioning correctly in the body.
Human beings have been afraid of the fire of God's Love for so long. In a consideration of what might be called the mystical, or the symbolical portrayals of truth, you come across the idea that the human being must reach a point where he is able to enter the fire and not be burned. We have the outstanding illustration of this in relationship to the experience of those who were working with Daniel—Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego—how they were cast, bound, into the burning fiery furnace. Well now, those who enter the fire on the basis of correct response to God are not burned, but those who try to function in relationship to the fire without that correct polarity, they are going to get burned.
That fire of God's Love is here in relationship to every human being, and we see human beings being burned up all around us, burned up in that fire. Human beings are afraid of it because their bodies are being burned up in it. In Revelation it is called “the lake of fire and brimstone which burneth for ever and ever.” And you are in it. It is not something that is going to come someday, somewhere. This lake of fire and brimstone is on earth now and you are in it, whether you know it or not, and that is the thing that is tormenting human beings all over the world. Until we learn how to walk into the flame without fear, and work in the fire, we cannot accomplish that to which we are called. I don't care what the human being tries to achieve by himself and of himself, it will not work. If we are going to achieve our purpose, accomplish our goal, we must reach a point where we turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt; for here you have the revelation of the same truth that comes out later in relationship to Daniel—in other points in the Bible too; we see it in the Book of Revelation, “the lake of fire and brimstone which burneth for ever and ever.” And it is here—that fire is the fire of God's Love, which torments those who fight against it but is cooling and soothing and gloriously beautiful for those who yield to it.
What did the Lord tell Moses? “Do not get too close; your body is not ready yet to walk into the flame. You can look at it a bit, but,” He said, “take off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the ground whereon thou standest is holy ground.” Holy Ground. When you begin to realize that the ground where the fire burns is holy ground—you realize it, you begin to know it, you recognize the sacredness—you take your shoes from off your feet. What does that signify? In preparation for the Lord's Supper the Master washed the feet of the disciples. All the way through the Biblical pattern of portrayal the feet have been utilized as signifying the individual's basic understanding. The Master washed their feet with water, water the symbol of truth, the feet made bare, removing the shoes—the mental concepts, the ideas, the beliefs, the crystallized convictions of the human mind. And the Master washed their feet with water so that their understanding might be cleansed and made pure, that they might indeed partake of the Lord's Supper with a realization of the basic principles of Being.
But it did not start there. Back here at the time of Moses we have a recognition that the Lord said to Moses, “Take off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the ground whereon thou standest is holy ground.” We have holy ground here because the fire is burning here, but some people do not realize it and they do not take their shoes from off their feet. Their pattern of understanding is covered with the fixed crystallizations of their own beliefs. But once you realize that the ground whereon thou standest is holy ground, you have no fear about taking off the shoes—the symbol of human beliefs and patterns—removing them so that you can come in direct contact with the holy ground and realize that, coming to know the truth, your understanding will be clothed with the truth and not with crystallized concepts that have insulated you from the real or true living of life from the standpoint of understanding. You begin to truly understand yourself and those round about you, so that you may serve God and man.
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You begin to see as Moses saw: “I will turn aside and see this great sight.” Why are you here? Because of that one thing. You perceived in the wilderness—you did not understand it perhaps, you did not see it in the full sense—but you began to perceive that there was a Burning Bush in the wilderness and the bush was not burned. And it was because you followed the pattern established by Moses and said, “I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt,” that is why you are here.
Since man, male and female, chose to deny the Lord and betray the purpose for their being on earth, the door to restoration has been open.When this failure first occurred those concerned were very conscious of what they were doing, although at that point they had no awareness yet of the effects of what they were doing. It may be said that there was originally a state of bliss; that is a way of describing the particular situation at that time. Subsequently, due to the increasing separation so that the consciousness of man no longer accommodated fully the consciousness of God, the condition of suffering was introduced. Bliss is a state of oneness with God; suffering occurs according to the extent of separation. There has been much of this over the ages. If originally there had been quick repentance there could have been quick restoration. This didn't happen and so it has become progressively more difficult for human beings to participate in the restoration. The difficulty is not from the standpoint of the Lord but is consequent upon a fading memory of what had occurred, and why it had occurred, and also an increase of tribulation and suffering. So all around there was more difficulty. However the door to restoration has always been open and the plan by which it might come about has always been in effect.
Within that plan of restoration there are various sub-aspects, one might say. Certainly, even though this has been in effect, advantage has not been taken of the opportunities that were provided. The result of course has been that various particular opportunities were lost; what was happening to allow for the restoration was aborted. This has been done repeatedly over the ages. We are ourselves aware of this occurring in more recent history: at the time of the Israelites, for instance, and later at the time of Jesus.
When abortion has occurred there is no way by which it could be made not to have occurred—at the point of abortion the damage can't be repaired. Always before abortion occurs there are what might be called warnings. If the warnings are taken to heart and something is done, then perhaps there will be no abortion. The point I'm stressing now is that when an abortion actually occurs then that opportunity is finished; it can't be repaired and reinstituted. As I say, there have been repeated such abortions along the way; I mentioned two of them. But always within any aspect of this creative cycle of restoration there are what might be called lesser levels of abortion—the opportunity extended by reason of the Israelites only finally came to an end because there had been countless sub-abortions within that pattern, until eventually the greater one occurred and that was that. This final step took place at the time of Solomon—about 1000 B.C. When such a major failure is finally established it is likely to take quite a little time before a new way can be developed. In the overall sense the cycle of restoration was established at the time of man's first failure. In the universal sense there are creative cycles at work that have nothing to do with the particular failure of man. This failure is within something much vaster, obviously. By reason of this vast creative movement throughout the whole universe the cycle of restoration insofar as man is concerned could easily be put into effect. What would ultimately be the experience remains unknown, but there would be restoration—whatever that might mean at the time that it occurred. In other words, there isn't anything that man could do to defeat God.
In establishing the creative cycles of restoration there were apparently a number of failures. Now, looking back on those failures, we may say, “Well it all worked out as it should. If what went before hadn't all gone before we wouldn't be here now.” However it is also true to say that the things that did occur in the past needn't have occurred that way. They did occur that way and we're here. All right. But we certainly could learn something from what has happened before. If we look at the ministry of Jesus on earth we may recognize, easily enough I'm sure, a few of the lesser abortions that occurred in that ministry before the final one. There was an occasion when it is said that He wept over Jerusalem. He saw the end of a particular creative cycle that might have worked out in a particular way. It was aborted, so it couldn't work out that way. And He said, “Your house is left unto you desolate.” Another occasion was when Jesus wept at the tomb of Lazarus; here was another point of abortion. Oh yes, Lazarus came forth from the tomb, that was fine, but there was something else of much more importance present then. We have noted that this related to His own subsequent experience of mistrial and crucifixion.
Whenever a creative cycle does abort it is a sad thing. But it is no use indulging in what-might-have-been nostalgia; nothing would be gained by that. The fact has to be accepted. Always, at any point of abortion the greatest effect falls upon the one who provides the point of focus. Usually if a person becomes aware of the fact that he or she played a particular part in bringing about the abortion it is imagined that the experience of that one is the most devastating. Oh but it isn't! The most devastating one always relates to the point of focus. We might see this particularly from the standpoint of what occurred in our Master's experience: He went through what He did; and one might say it would be difficult to top that. The one who provided a special point of failure was called Judas. He wasn't alone in this; he represented something that was certainly present in the whole body of mankind; but he did initiate what occurred in our Master's experience. When he finally saw what he had done he was devastated and took his own life. But in a sense it could be said that he had it easy. It was much more devastating insofar as the Master was concerned. In other words, always it falls on the point of focus. Usually when a person awakens to some sort of failure, and there is remorse, it is mostly self-pity. It isn't a real recognition of what had occurred.
For a creative cycle to be maintained there must be no, what one might call, ultimate failure. Even that devastating experience of Jesus on earth was not an ultimate failure. In fact it proved to be a victory. It opened a door in a more particular way for mankind. This could be so because there was a larger creative cycle at work, one which encompassed what He undertook on earth. What He undertook on earth was aborted, but because there was something larger than that in operation even that situation could be used to advantage. It could be used to advantage to allow an emergence of something new. All that had gone before, of failure, could not be put together again. The parable of Humpty-Dumpty is quite accurate. Once the eggs are scrambled you can't unscramble them.
But always there is the necessity, if one is to participate in what will now emerge, for repentance. Repentance is not just remorse. As I say, a lot of remorse that people experience is merely self-pity. Repentance requires that one honestly acknowledge what the situation was and one's own part in it, assuming responsibility in the matter. There may go with that some genuine remorse, but the remorse is not going to change anything. If something is aborted it's gone, but there is an opportunity for something else to emerge provided that there is repentance, so that forgiveness may be received. But forgiveness relates to participation in what it is that is now emerging. So many people in the depths of their remorse remove themselves entirely from what would now emerge. They're plumbing the depths of self-pity. What would now emerge isn't the same as what could have happened before if there had been no abortion. But there needs to be the acknowledgment of the fact of the abortion if there is to be the emergence of whatever it is comes next.
I suppose these things are obviously clear relative to our own experience in the unfoldment that has taken place in the Emissary ministry over the years. There was a point when a certain cycle was obviously aborted. That was the point when Uranda left this sphere of things. Clearly it couldn't work out on the basis of Uranda anymore, because he wasn't there. That's a clear-cut example and nobody would try to fool themselves—although some did for a little while—that somehow or other he could be inveigled back into the pattern again. No, it's gone—abortion—but it didn't abort everything, because there was some means of allowing the emergence of something new, something which was not a repeat of what could have been or what might have been on the basis of the previous cycle. It's not difficult to look back and see what might have been, but let us not indulge in that sort of nostalgia; it achieves nothing. We could do this with respect to any aborted cycle; even in this ministry there have been many. One of the problems that I have had over the years is to convince people—particularly those who were involved in a particular pattern of abortion—that something had been aborted. There is a great reluctance to honestly acknowledge the fact. “Surely we can repair this somehow.” No! Not once it's gone, you can't repair it. This emphasizes to us the immense care that we need to take so that these situations of abortions do not arise.
We have come in the cycles of time to the conclusion of the forty-ninth year since the inception of this ministry. We have seen this as seven cycles of seven years each. There is a conclusion here which rightly leads into what comes next. We need to be very sure that this conclusion is not an abortion. I do not anticipate that it will be. The door has remained open regardless of sundry failures along the way. There has been a continuing movement and unfoldment. But we need, individually, to see our personal responsibility in these matters; if there is some aborted cycle, why do you think it happened? Because of individual human beings—us. When we're thinking of it in terms of what is present in the Emissary ministry, what responsibility is there, then if there are points of abortion they come because of us in some way; and not just us but, ultimately, “me.” The individual lets these things occur. So obviously it is a matter of assuming individual responsibility, never looking at somebody else, so that each one may say, “This is my responsibility,” not merely our responsibility. “Our” has all too often simply been a cop-out. “Our” doesn't mean anything until “my” means something; then we have a viable “our.”
So we come to this time in the creative cycle when we move into the fiftieth year of this ministry. We may see something here relative to the working of the creative forces. Theoretically at least, you know something about this: water, air, earth, fire. The working of the earth force related particularly to this last seven-year period. But what comes after earth? Fire. The fiftieth year: the beginning of a fire cycle—I wouldn't say necessarily of seven years; it could be the days are shortened; but certainly fire.
As is customary in human consciousness, external events tend to claim precedence in human interest.
Certain
events have been indicated as likely to occur in this coming year. One of them
is the Emissary International Congress. This has stirred up a certain amount of
interest and excitement in people far and wide. Why? Because a large number of
Emissaries are going to be able to get together and rub shoulders for a few
days?—“It's so good to be together, isn't it?” But is that the point? Is the external event the thing that should loom in a position of precedence? What would be the point of a gathering of all these people, maybe ourselves included? The point might be said to be largely invisible, in a sense an unknown quantity. Something is coming to focus. Something is being brought together vibrationally speaking, by reason of individual human beings. It is this aspect of the matter that carries significance. Anybody can hold a convention or a congress. There are thousands of them in many places every year. Is this just another such occurrence? If it is, or is to be that, we might as well cancel it right now. There is something else here which is rightly of great significance, something very vital, something which relates to creativeness, and something which fortunately is largely beyond the immediate comprehension of human minds. However there can be an awareness, a vibrational awareness, which is not trying to make something out of whatever that awareness is. Let us find out what it is on the basis of the event itself.And the event doesn't stand aloof and alone, to occur for a few days. It is all part of a creative process, being drawn together vibrationally now, and now, and now, because we assume responsibility—the responsibility of honesty.
No one can repent without honesty. Human beings have been repenting, supposedly, for centuries: “Forgive us our sins”—but they don't have the faintest, foggiest notion what the sins are. They have some structured concepts that have been provided to make people imagine that these are the sins. But the sins center in the denial of the Lord to find creative expression in one's own living. That is the sin, isn't it? And where there is that failure, which has been a continuing one over the millennia, then there is at the same time a betrayal of the reason for one's own existence on earth—and so, rather naturally, we cease to exist on earth. This is all taken for granted these days because it has become such a habit.
Now
we have the opportunity of participating in the creative cycle which is at
work, as yet unaborted. I'm sure if I were to ask the question, you would all
say that you are certainly not interested in doing anything to abort this
cycle. Well we can say lots of things, which may or may not prove to be the
truth of the matter. In any case, here we come to this fiftieth year shortly,
the year of fire, a year of proving. Our concern is not rightly with respect to
external events merely; these will doubtless put in an appearance one way or
another. There is also the external event of my circling of the globe. Lots of
people have gone around the world, no big deal. So it's not the external event
of itself that carries significance. There is something related to that
external event that does carry significance. If the human mind gets busy and tries to analyze these things, and tries to fit them into some structure of concept that it has already developed, no doubt with numbers—sevens and twelves and all this—it will contribute to an abortion. Why not let things be the way they are, without human interference? Why not accept the responsibility of repenting for our prior interference? For there isn't one of us here who hasn't interfered in some way, some in major ways but all in their own individual ways. Repent! That is, acknowledge the fact. Not the fact that “Oh, everybody around me needs to repent,” but that I need to repent, to acknowledge the aborting techniques in which one has indulged.
Over the years of this ministry I have been required to handle countless abortions. It's
interesting that in these days abortion has become quite a political element in
the consciousness of people. This may represent something but it's not the real
question. The real question is the aborting of the creative cycles established
by God. If that is taken care of, all the other things will be taken care of; but if that is not taken care of nothing else will be taken care of. We are here to see that we, with our emotional states and intellectual backup of those states, cease aborting the creative cycles that are at hand, so that we may move with steady spiritual step, quick to repent as necessary. I said before that if at the time of the failure there had been quick repentance there would have been quick restoration. Once again, now is the time for quick repentance; and with quick repentance comes quick restoration. This has been described in terms of the first flush of feeling, hasn't it? What is the nature of one's own first flush of feeling in any situation? People excuse themselves for wrong first flushes of feeling, very often with the idea that, “Give me a little time and it'll all work out. One day I'll have a right first flush of feeling.” Which day is that? Next Wednesday? Or today, now, in this moment? If it is ever to happen it must happen in this moment. There is no other moment for it to happen. So there is repentance and acknowledgment of these facts relative to oneself—quick repentance.
Human beings are addicted to their emotions, as we recognize. Some of them they deem to be good, others bad. But emotions are emotions are emotions, and none of them are supposed to have dominion in human lives. The dominion of man is the dominion of God, not of human emotions, good or bad. And so as we move into the fire these things are going to prove themselves out. Everything begins to come to a fine point of focus. Where do we stand? This sort of question could be asked, and some may try to give an answer in words, but that isn't the answer that is required. It is in one's own actual experience, in what happens in oneself; not what happens in somebody else, but what happens in oneself. Oh how reluctant human beings are ever to bring it down to themselves! It's always somebody else who is to blame, somebody else that we can complain about. Well what about “me”? What is the quality of atmosphere in my own experience, in my own feeling realm, in what is moving through my mind in thought? Oh yes, people are sold on good works, very often. “Look at all the things I'm doing. I've been taking care of these responsibilities for years; look at me.” Maybe there is one thing that has been lacking. This was pointed to by the Master in connection with Mary, wasn't it? Martha was busy about many things, very efficient she was no doubt, kept the house, kept it in shape, did the cooking; but she lacked the one essential, the pure heart, the clear emotional realm.
So we have before us a year of fire, and that certainly relates to the emotional realm. The refining fire: what doesn't belong is dissolved. What doesn't belong in the heart is dissolved. If you're hooked on what doesn't belong you're dissolved. That's true of each one. Let's not fool ourselves. Let's not imagine, as it has been put so often, that we're just playing some sort of children's games. It may be said that human beings in the world are in the classification of rather naughty children. They play very dangerous games. But that's not our business. Our business is to reveal a certain level of maturity in the spiritual sense so that we can handle what comes, so that we do not become subject through our emotions to what is happening externally. Lots of things are happening externally, and more to come. But what about our hearts? What about the heaven where we are rightly dwelling? How does it stay heaven? Because someone else injects some heavenly serum into us? No! Because we assume the responsibility of maintaining it ourselves and we accept no excuse for not doing it. Then there begins to be a man or a woman, there begins to be the evidence of the creative process of restoration, of resurrection.
How beautiful to share in this because individually we know—each one says it in personal terms, “I know. This is what I'm here on earth to do and it will be done,” And so I rejoice in this hour that we have shared. I trust that there is great discomfort in the hearts, and in the present experience, of all those who have not as yet allowed the fire of God's love adequately to consume them. Oh, the more discomfort there is, the happier I am! Praise the Lord. Let us move with assurance to let His will be done in earth as it is in heaven.
Book of Acts 1:1-16 & 2:1-8“The
former treatise have I made ... of all that Jesus began both to do
and teach, Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the
Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen: To whom
also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being
seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom
of God: And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they
should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father,
which, saith he, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water; but
ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
“When
they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou
at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? And he said unto them, It is
not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his
own power. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon
you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea,
and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. And when he had
spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received
him out of their sight.
“And
while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood
by them in white apparel; Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye
gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven,
shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.
“Then
returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from
Jerusalem a sabbath day's journey. And when they were come in, they went up
into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew,
Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and
Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James. These all continued with one
accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of
Jesus, and with his brethren. And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of
the disciples, and said … (the number of names together were about an hundred
and twenty,) men and brethren …
“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. And they
were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as
the Spirit gave them utterance …”
Uranda— The closing hours of
Easter Day in this year of our LORD one thousand nine hundred forty eight, and
we gather in His Name to consider the Way, the Truth and the Life. We have, in
our studies and considerations, been keenly cognizant of the necessity of living
life in accordance with the Christ Spirit of Being. As we have considered the
Way which is open, whereby we may let ourselves be resurrected from the tomb of
this world into the Life of the Kingdom of God on earth, we have proven, individually
and collectively, the Power of the Truth to set us free, and, beginning to be
free, we begin to know the Reality of Resurrection, and we begin to live the Life. The Resurrection and the Life—today the world has commemorated the
Reality of the Master's Victory over death, His coming forth from the tomb,
little realizing the deeper significances to be found in these events, little
realizing that man is privileged now
to be resurrected from the tomb of this world into the Life of the Kingdom here
on earth.
We touched on these things
in our Morning Service, but I wish now to carry you forward somewhat in the
Current to the events that followed. For forty days after His Resurrection, our
Master continued on earth. We find the statement in the third verse of the
first chapter of the Book of Acts where, speaking of Jesus, it is stated: “To whom
also” (i.e., to the Apostles) “He showed himself alive after his passion by
many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days”, and the concluding
portion of this verse is especially significant, although so little is recorded
of it—“and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.” Here is a
mystery. Our Master, having come forth victoriously from the tomb and the
Resurrection, continued to be seen of the Apostles for forty days thereafter,
having “showed himself alive” more than once, and speaking—of what
did our Master speak?—“of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.” Yet the
record of what He said in that period is contained in a few verses.
Do you suppose that all of
the things that He said were recorded? I think not. If they were ever recorded
they were deliberately set aside and ignored. The state of mind in the
disciples themselves as a whole is revealed just prior to His Ascension,
according to the record in the sixth verse of this same chapter: “When they
therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying Lord, wilt thou at this
time restore again the kingdom to Israel?” Even those whom we know as the
Apostles were obsessed with an idea, which they did not let the Master Himself
eradicate from their minds. Back along through the period of Ministry we find
that, repeatedly, they assumed that He was going to set up an earthly kingdom.
He told them otherwise, repeatedly, and yet the majority of the Apostles, or Disciples,
failed completely to grasp His meaning and they were still under that obsession
even when the moment of His final Ascension was at hand. Is it surprising then,
that so little consideration is given to what He said when He was “speaking of
the things pertaining to the kingdom of God”?
How truly were they
earth-bound spirits, and yet in the hands of those earth-bound spirits rested
the continuity of the Ministry begun by Jesus the Christ. The Master instructed
them plainly to tarry in Jerusalem until they had received the baptism of the
Holy Spirit, and He promised that they would be imbued with the Holy Spirit.
His Promise was fulfilled, and yet even then, as they began to let themselves
find inspiration in the Current of the Holy Spirit, they, as a body, allowed themselves
to be swayed by impulsive Peter's rash self-active uses of the Holy Spirit. They
failed to acknowledge and follow the directing Head that the Lord had
established for them, and impulsive Peter's personality became dominant,
determining the course in a current of self-activity. It is not to be wondered
at, when men who had walked in the Way with Jesus Christ and shared three and a
half years of His Ministry, who had shared the hours of His trial and
Crucifixion, and who had been convinced of His Resurrection, and who, at the
moment of His Ascension could ask such a question: “Lord, wilt thou at this
time restore again the kingdom to Israel?” No. It is no wonder that they would
follow such a pattern as they did, for in that question they proved their
incapacity to comprehend the things He had been saying to them “pertaining to
the kingdom of God”.
Even in this day, nearly
two thousand years after, human beings are so materialistically minded, so
imbued with the ideas of the self-active world, that any concept of the reality
of the Christ Kingdom on earth is looked at askance, even by those who claim to
be followers of Jesus Christ. They, like impulsive Peter, prefer to twist it
around to suit their own fancies, to cause it to be what they think it ought to
be, and so few are willing to listen to the Word of Truth which reveals the Pattern
in Reality. Nevertheless, there is that which is of great significance to us in
considering what is called the Day of Pentecost, a short time after the Master
had Ascended; but first let us go back to Luke's record, here in the Acts, of
what the Master said just before His Ascension: “But ye shall receive power,
after that the Holy Spirit is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me
both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part
of the earth. And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was
taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.”
He said that when the Holy
Spirit should come upon them they would receive Power. The action of that Power
would have to be according to their perception of Truth. If they had learned to
live according to His Word, if they had recognized the Reality of His
instruction, then they would have been ready to use that Power to the Glory of
God and to the Blessing of their brother man, but, immediately upon receiving
greater Power they used it with the same shrivelled, warped state of consciousness
that had dominated them before. Yes, they received Power, and forthwith they
brought upon themselves persecutions and difficulties, and caused many ill and
terrible things to come to pass because they were not willing to let the Voice
of Truth determine the uses of that Power. Is it any wonder that, in the Third Sacred
School, such great emphasis is placed upon the necessity for correct function
in true Polarity, before the increase of Power is made manifest? The Master
could not do other than He did. The fault rested, not with Him, but with the
Disciples, and He could not tarry longer. He had given them all necessary
instruction, and He had ordained the Leadership which they should follow, but,
coming to the last moment, they could ask such a question as that—“Wilt thou”
now, “at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”
When men could live and
walk with, and listen to, our Great Master through three and a half years of
Ministry, and pass through the events of the Crucifixion and Resurrection, and
listen to His Words speaking of the things “pertaining to the kingdom” during a
period of forty days thereafter, and could come to the final moment and ask
such a question and reveal themselves as being such shrivelled, wizened, warped
souls of men as that, it is no wonder that the Dark Ages ensued. It is no wonder
that there has been two thousand years of misery, sin, suffering, sorrow and death,
of wars, turmoils and conflicts, until, in the beginning of a New Age, those threads
could be gathered together once more and the Cycles opened in the Currents of Fulfillment.
But there wasa Day of Pentecost. The Master kept His Promise nevertheless, and they received
Power when the Holy Spirit came upon them—but the very moment they began to
receive that Power, instead of holding steady and letting the Spirit bring a
true understanding of the Word of Truth, they began to use the Power according
to their own concepts, and failed. Nevertheless, the outworking of these events
on the basis of the Master's Promise leave open the threads of that Current whereby
those who are faithful and true in this day and in this hour, may share in the
outpouring of the Holy Spirit, that they may, when the Holy Spirit is come upon
them, receive Power. “But ye shall receive
power, after that the Holy Spirit is come upon you.” That is true for the Faithful
Ones in this day, but what would be done with that increased Power? Are your
thoughts, your words, your attitudes, your states of polarity, so established
in Reality that you would be willing to take the responsibility for a truly
increased Current of Power in manifestation through yourself into the world? What
would happen? We have had many moments when we have shared a glorious outpouring
of the Spirit, but never yet a moment that truly corresponds with that which
was established on the Day of Pentecost. Why? Because the Unit is not yet ready.
But, for this Unit of Faithful Ones, there is the Promise: “Ye shall receive power after
that the Holy Spirit is come upon you”, and when, for this Unit, the Day of
Pentecost shall fully come, there will be the beginning of the manifestation of
the Works and the Greater Works.
Let me read from the
second chapter of Acts, “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.” Three verses—supposed to describe that event. The rest
of it is with respect to what followed after. We look forward to our Day of
Pentecost, but I do not mean a twenty-four hour day—a Day, a Cycle, a period of
time of Ministry which shall be filled with the Holy Spirit, when the Unit,
functioning according to the Voice of Truth shall receive Power and shall Minister
in the world. This is that Ordination for the Unit as the One Christ Body, which
shall yet be. How long shall it be until that Day? How long until we shall be
with one accord in one place, in full alignment in Reality, focalized vibrationally
according to the Law, with all restive emotions under control, with the heart
fully purified, with the mind fully permeated with the Truth and the
consciousness fully dedicated in reverent Love Response to the LORD of Lords
and KING of Kings, that, when the Unit shall receive Power it may act, not as a
self-active body—there are enough such in the world—but rather, as the Body of
the Christ on earth, in Oneness with the Father, letting the Father do the Works,
letting the Father speak the Words in the Power that is not of this world? My
Ministry has had, through the years, as its first Goal in the Absolute sense,
that Day when a Unit, well and truly formed, by those who let themselves be
drawn from the East, the West, the North and the South, shaped and formed
according to the Divine Pattern, with hearts purified, obedient to the Law,
might know that Ordination that shall be not just a Day of Pentecost but a
Cycle of Ministry and Being, which shall be filled with the outpouring of the
Holy Spirit, that the Unit may receive Power according to the Promise, not
Power to be used self-actively according to human concepts, but Power that
shall be used in letting the Father do the Works and speak the Words.
This is that toward which
we are moving; this is that to which you are dedicated as Members of that Unit on
earth. In such function there is no place for the shrivelled souls of men,
where the tempests of emotional upheaval continue, or for that filthiness of
spirit and mind which must wallow ever in degradation. It is a place for those
who are pure in heart; it is a place for those who are letting themselves be
established in the fullness of that Nobility of Being, that Reality of Truth,
that fullness of Divine Love, whereby our KING may cause again His Spirit to
manifest on earth.
He spoke, just after His
Resurrection, of “My Father and your Father, my God and your God”. His Word is
recorded: “I ascend unto my Father and your Father, and to my God and your
God.” Individually, as they had been taught, they had an individual Father
within, but as a Unit, as a continued manifestation of the Vine on earth, as
the One Christ Body, they were to have the same Father, “My Father and your
Father”—and according to this Plan He had taught them to pray: “Our Father
which art in Heaven”. So, therefore, it is evident that this Unit, this Body,
is to be a means by which our KING may manifest Himself in Spirit on earth, but
that Unit is not to be a Unit of His Spirit only, but, according to the
Commission which He gave, not only on the Cross, but just before He ascended
also, and as is clearly revealed in His instruction prior to His Crucifixion—there
shall also be the Spirit of Truth, the Spirit of Love and Truth, which shall
allow the Unit, having been Resurrected, to be an expression of the Spirit of
Life on earth.
Has the world ever had
greater need that these things should be? Would it be wise for us to say within
ourselves, “The need of the world is not yet great enough; we will tarry a
little; we will delay ourselves until the need of the world is greater and thenwe shall let these things be”? Nay, let it not be so, but, rather, let the Unit
be, in its consciousness and in its mind and in its attitude, as thatUnit should have been when they saw that our LORD had truly come forth from the
tomb. He continued with them forty days, “speaking of the things pertaining to the
kingdom of God.” You have been taught much longer than forty days concerning “the
things pertaining to the Kingdom of God”, and you have had all things that He
said brought to your remembrance, that you might have all the advantages, all
the privileges of realization and understanding which were granted to those who
walked with Him in that day. Forty days after the Resurrection, after that
first Easter, He Ascended, and then a few days later they had what is called
the Day of Pentecost, and they received Power, after that the Holy Spirit had
come upon them.
Year after year, I have
looked forward to the Easter Season, trusting that surely the Unit should have
reached a point where it might begin to truly realize these things. Is this the
Easter Season, the Easter Day, the Day of Resurrection, which shall be followed
shortly by a Day of Pentecost for the Unit, or must we wait until 1949 or 1950 that such things might be? Has the Word of Truth been withheld, given
only in part? Has the Spirit of Divine Love been so little manifest that the Unit
cannot yet comprehend it? Has the Reality of the Resurrection been but a vague dream?
Has the Word concerning “the things pertaining to the kingdom of God” been too
ambiguous to let a true realization yet manifest? What more is needed? What more
is required that the Unit may let its Day of Resurrection truly manifest, and, having
come forth from the tomb, may let the Day of Pentecost truly come? Surely, there
have been delays enough, and we need delay no longer! “Blessed are the pure in
heart: for they shall see God.” Let us come together, with one accord in one
place, where the purified heart, the serene and tranquil emotional realm, and
the consciousness transformed into that Mind that was in Christ Jesus, may let
our LORD continue His Work on earth through His Unit Body, that the Branches of
the Vine may truly bring forth fruit—much fruit.
O LORD of Lords and KING
of Kings, I thank Thee for these Blessed Ones and for all who are with us in
Spirit, for all who are letting themselves be blended into Thy Body on earth,
that this Unit may, being purified and made whole as Thy Body, come truly to
that Day of Pentecost when it shall receive the Holy Spirit, and Thy Power
shall be made manifest, not to restore the kingdom to Israel, but to bring forth
into manifestation on earth the Kingdom of God, that the Christ Kingdom may be a
Reality on earth, and that it may grow and fill the whole earth, that every
knee may be caused to bow before Thee, and that every lip may be caused to
acknowledge Thee, the LORD of Lords and KING of Kings, for IN the Christ it is
so established, and shall be accomplished. Aum-en.
The Spirit of our LORD and
KING be with thee always, even as it shall be as thou shalt abide in Him, and
let Him abide in thee.
