Untitled lecture

When you say “coming down,” “desending,” x “below,” what do you mean? .n13597 ¶1

Well, these are just figures of speech. Certainly not from heaven, because heaven is within you, as we are told in the 17th Chapter of the Book of Luke: “The Kingdom of Heaven is within you” . In Scripture, “above” and “within” are the same, and “be- low” and “without” are the same. If I point there [indicating], that’s without: and that is, in Scripture, “below.” He said: “I am from above,” -- therefore, I am-within you, -- “you are from below,” therefore, you are “without.” So, wherever I point in the world outside, that is below where He stands. He stands “within.” God is within you. His name forever and forever is “I AM.” When I speak of “coming down,” I mean descending in conscious- ness to lower and lower and lower levels of awareness to the level called, in Scripture, “death”; because God is infinite in power and can overcome even death. And to become man, the limit of contraction, God assumes the grave to prove the infinite Power that is God, because there is no limit to His expansion. He set a limit to His contraction, to his opacity, but no limit to His expansion or translucency. So, when you reach the limit of con- traction, then you start to expand. _ If God could not expand beyond what He is, there would be eternal failure; but God is forever expanding, and .in His own plan. He creates the plan, fulfills His own plan, and expands. That’s the joy of creation. God is a Creator. So, I do not mean “coming down” in the sense of coming from the stars, -- for all the stars, infinite as they are, and tril- lions of light years away, -- they are still “without”; therefore, they are “below.” God is “within. *n13597 ¶2

[inaudible on the tape, but having to do with the “linen clothes.”]”n13597 ¶3

The “linen clothes” are the physical body in Scrip- ture. He ran away and he was still naked. He had not yet been clothed with the Divine Body of the Lord Jesus Christ. They can take from you your body, and you will be naked as far as that world goes. You must be clothed. To be really clothed in the “wedding garment” in order to enter the Kingdom og Heaven, you must be clothed with the Body of the Lord Jesus «Ghrist. ~In the end, there is only “one body, one spirit, . . . one Lord, .« « » one God and Father of all” , So, today many people suffer for the Word of God, and they me, will take from them their physical bodies, like many of our mis- ; Sionaries who have been martyred. They took from them the “linen clothes” that the mother wove for them, and left them, in a way, naked, because they are not yet clothed with the Body of Jesus Christ; but they will be. They will be.n13597 ¶4

[inaudible on my tape, but referring to the angels, witnesses, et cetera, present at the birth oftthe Christ Child]: vomn13597 ¶5

This is all beautiful imagery. When I rose from the skull and came out from the “linen clothes,” -- and when I came out, the three brothers appeared, and there were the angels; they came from afar. If you took it literally, they were five thousand miles from here. If you took the story literally in the Bible, it would be almost impossible for the shepherds to have made the journey in the short interval between the appearance of the angel and the discovery of the child; so they came “in spirit,” as told in the 2a chapter of the Book of Luke when Simeon ““eame in the Spirit to the temple” , for it all takes place in the Temple of God. You are the Temple of God, because all things exist in the human imagination. So, they came -- humanly -- “from afar”; but they are always in you anyway. When the drama is ready to erupt within you, they will come; and the story will re-enact itself within you. So, do not give credit to this one or that one or the other; the whole story is within you.n13597 ¶6

[...] about Repentance:n13597 ¶7

My Dear, you are invited in Scripture, -- the very first word put into the mouth of the Lord Jesus Christ in the % earliest Gospel, which is the Book of Mark, -- In the canonical setup, Matthew comes first, but in the actual, chronological or- der, Mark is the earliest of the Gospels. So, the first word put into the mouth of Jesus in the Book of Mark is, “Repent.” The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. “The time is fulfilled, the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Repent, and believe the gospel” . Well, the word “repent” does not mean to feel renorseful. It hasn’t a thing to do with regret. The word is “metanoia,” which means, by literal translation, a radical, radical change of attitude; a radical change of mind, which tests the individual’s ability to enter into the very opposite of what he sees with his senses. Now, do it, for you are invited. The very first words of the Lord are to get the individual to use the talent which is in himself, which is his imagination; therefore, use your imagination to bring about a radical change of attitude towards effects -- towards the world in which you live. And to the degree that you are successful in changing this attitude of mind, the world will change to confirm it. That is “repentance” as known by the mystics. It has not a thing to do with regret or remorse. He never demands penance:of “es any one. The whole secret of Christ is ‘forgiveness. That is re- pentance. He conquers by repentance. He conquers by forgive- ness. That is the secret of Christianity. You see some one and they are not well. You don’t blame then. You don’t bawl them out because of a former state which has re- sulted now in their illness. You simply represent them to your- self in your mind’s eye as you would like them to be. Suppose that individual who is now a total stranger were your mother; you wouldn’t criticize her, because you love your mother, and you would do for your mother what maybe you would not do for a stranger. Well, learn to do for the stranger what you would do for your mother. If Mother asked anything of me, she would not ask anything that would not come within the Golden Rule, -- she wouldn’t! Why, she couldn’t conceive of asking of her son that she loved to do anything that would embarrass her, or in some way bring shame to the name. So, it would always come within the Golden Rules “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Well, then, is it a stranger or your mother? Do it; and to the degree that you are self-persuaded of the reality of what you’ve done in your imagination, to that degree they are changed, and the environment in which they live will be changed to conform to the change in them. You do it, and you will bring it about by your imagination —_ and faith. Faith is the subjective » appropriation of the objective hope. What do I want? What do I hope for, for my mother? Well, then, let me subjectively appropriate it; and that is practicing “re- —~ pentance.” He tells the whole vast world, “Repent”; but believe : the story -- the Good News, which is called the Gospel. Believe the good news of salvation, for it has come to the world. “The rm is fulfilled, and the kingdom of heaven is at hand”. So, the climax has been reached. You can‘forget what the world is talking about. The climax -- redemption -- is upon us. It has been done. God has completed the act of redemption, and therefore there is no possibility of failure for any one in the world, because He became all.n13597 ¶8

[...] -- I want very much to do whatever is necessary for my son to overcome his ‘ :n13597 ¶9

Well, my Dear, causation is mental. People do not realize it. He teaches that causation is mental. Listen to His words; it is the Sermon on the Mount: “You have heard it said by men of old” -- He’s telling you what came down through the ages -- “You have heard it said by men of old, You shall not commit adultery.” You have heard that -- “But I say unto you,” -- this is something entirely different now; He now. speaks with authority, -- this is the Lord speaking: “But I say unto you, Any man who looks lustfully upon a woman has already com- mitted the act of adultery in his heart with her.” He puts the whole thing on an en- tively different level. It’s .mental. I may not have the courage to go forward and perform+khe act that I long to do. I may have many reasons for not doing it: I may contemplate the consequences along with the act, and re- strain the impulse; but He tells me restraining the impulse isn’t good enough. I am told it isn’t good enough if I restrain the impulse becauee I am a coward, or restrain the impulse because I am afraid of the consequences that would bring shame to my fam- ily or to myself. Well, then, that is still not good enough, if I look lustfully on another. Therefore all men have committed sin. There isn’t a man in this world who can tell me he is not guilty of that act; but’ we are told in the 11th chapter of Romans: “God has ponsigned all ~ men to disobedience, that He may have mercy upon all”. God is merciful. He has consigned all men to disobedience, that He may have mercy; therefore, no one earns the Kingdom. It is Grace -- Grace -- Grace, and still more Grace! Our fitness for the Kingdom is the consequence, and not the condition, of this choice of ours. ; So, I know, as a man, -~ I’ve been married twice; I have two children (one 46, one 38) and I know as a man that I am not unique. I am guilty of that act. If a man stood before me and told me that he is not guilty of that, I wouldn’t even argue with him. Why call him a liar? It’s such an obvious fact that he is a liar -- stupid! And by “man,” I mean generic man. I mean: “Male fe- male made he them, and called their name Man”, as told us in the 5th chapter of Genesis; so I mean generic man. So, “He has consigned all men to disobedience, that He may have mercy upon all”. “For Mercy, Pity, Peace and Love Is God, our Father dear, And Mercy, Pity, Peace and Love Is Man, his child and care.”n13597 ¶10

One more thing: When you say this is your last night, I hope you are planning to return to this City. -n13597 ¶11

Well, my Dear, thank you. I say it is the last ; night for this year. But do you know? no ene knows when the . Father will call him. I feel, really, I have finished the work that my Father gave me to do. I have accomplished the story. He did it in me. I take no credit, because He gave me Himself. He who started a good work in me has brought_it to completien , and therefore He could call me now; the work has been completed in me. Now, if I am needed to still tell it to others who are coming who must hear it before I depart from me, then I will be here un- til they come. I will not go one second before or one second later. But, as I said last night, it would make no difference to me if I went now. I felt, when I had a little child, uneducated, that I had unfinished business, because she wanted college. Well, now, she has had her college training. She has gone to a lovely college, graduated, and has a lovely job, and she is well equipped for life. I feel that I have left my wife provided for in the world of Caesar. That was my one concern. So, I know today I have left her a sufficient -investment in the world of Caesar to live gra- ciously without having to go out and ask for alms. Well, now, that has comforted me, for that was my only concern. My son pulls his own weight. My daughter pulls her own weight. And when my wife r~ éventualy g0es8, -- I left it all to her; then I have left a condi- s2on upon my will that she cannot dispose of it, save to give it to my two children. So, I feel satisfied that I am qualified to go now. I am not saying I want to. I am enjoying life; I’m enjoying every moment of time. But if tonight was my moment to go -- and I am not going to make a conscious effort to go; but if I slept to- night and did not wake here, I know that I will awake in the Body of the Lord Jesus Christ, for I have finished the work. I will not be restored to--continue the journey. I will awake in the One Body, with the*one Lord, with the one Spirit. That I know; there- fore, what could concern me? But to come back to your question, if it is in the sphere of my Father’s wish that I be here to tell it once more to those who are not now hearing me, I will be here. For, He has used me under compulsion; and yet, He and I are one.n13597 ¶12

[...] about some people having more imagination than others. “an13597 ¶13

Well, first of all, “God is One?” We may not exer- cise our imagination; but, may I tell you? when we think that one has more imagination than another, it could not be, because “God is One” -- undivided. But one misuses imagina- tion. Who knows if some one tonight inca dungeon feeling them- selves wrongfully confined could be using that imagination to start a world conflict? If you know the power of imagination, it could be some woman treading the wine press who starts the conflict in men’s minds. If a man does not use his own imagination, it may be used for him by some one else. And if I confine .my imagination to my senses and only what reason allows, -- well, I would never exercise it. Some one quoted from a book the other night from some very prominent speaker, who also has written many books, and they are all popular books and very successful books; and he said, “The credulous mind is a weak mind that must be strengthened.” Of all the nonsense in the world! In almost every particular is the world about us different from what we think. Why, then, should we be thought incredulous? Life calls upon us to believe, not less, but more. The most in- credulous story in the world is the Christian story. It’s the most incredulous thing in the world, the story of Christ. And ~ may I tell you from experience? it is the only really true story! All the others are “played,” and that will be forever and forever. It is forever extant in the depths of the soul of man.n13597 ¶14