As you marvel over these higher truths, questioning within yourself the possibility of them being fulfilled in you, turn to the true Witness and ask that It reveal the actuality of these things fully to your soul. As you do this humbly and sincerely the "holy Spirit of Promise" will bear witness to your intellect concerning the truth and the power of this work so that you need never doubt.
Whenever questions of doubt arise, seeking to undermine your hope of fulfilment, turn anew to that "Holy Spirit of Promise" and accept Its unfailing testimony. As you do this Its voice of promise and power will increase within you until all will be made clear and so be fulfilled in you. This "Holy Spirit of Promise" truly "promises all things -- and fulfills all things!" This "Holy Spirit of Promise" is the very voice of God as it bears witness, through that glorified Light of Christ within, that every divine promise can be fulfilled in YOU.
That "Holy Spirit of Promise" is God's voice of faith echoing its unfailing, pledged assurance into your own open heart. As you listen to Its voice you will receive the hope-filled promise of full accomplishment. The gifts are already yours. But you must lay claim to them. As you be and live according to the vibrant Life force within you, you will receive the fulness of LIFE -- or the "Fulness of the Father!" Then it will be that all things will be fulfilled in you.
As one learns to cast out the doubts and the darkness and the fears, that seek ever to thwart his progress, he will find he is truly "exercising the great and mighty faith," enjoined by the scriptures.
This "exercising of faith" is no more or less than using one's power to believe as he eliminates doubting and darkness and negation from his mind under the guidance and power of that "Holy Spirit of Promise," yielding himself fully to Its virtue of completion and fulfilment.
Such are your gifts and powers. And such is God's "Holy Spirit of Promise" inviting you to partake of all the unutterable promises of Life and Eternity -- that all might be fulfilled in you.
God bless and sustain you until you have proved these things in your own divine fulfilment. Yes. "Prove all things" is God's urgent request to all men. And God's laws can only be proved by the living of them. "Live the laws and you will KNOW of their truth." And the reward and the power will be your own forever and forever!
To KNOW the truth one must LIVE it! One may know about truth even as he knows about God. But to actually know truth or know God, one must go beyond the initial, kindergarten stage of belief into the pathway of fulfilment. One must step out beyond the voice of "hear-say" held forth by mortal teachers as they display their feeble "arm of flesh" in their powerless, unfulfilled ideas and precepts.
The Path Christ trod is the path of complete fulfilment for everyone who will travel it. It is the Way which He IS. This is the Way of Life. It is the Way which is your own, eternally lighted by the glory of the Savior of men as you follow Him in triumphant, victorious overcoming.
Rejoice evermore! Rejoice as you clothe yourself in Light Eternal! Even the Life more abundant!
Every note of ecstasy, every glimmer of hope, every thought of joy, every song of praise and gratitude are the powers of His Light being released from within your own being. As you keep that song of gratitude and thanks vibrating forth from within you will become glorious. This is the law. It cannot fail.
The darkness can be overcome by that vibrating song of thanksgiving originating in your own mind and heart as you send it forth on the wings of your loving appreciation. You hold the key! And you are the door! And yours is the power of the fulfilment of every divine promise ever given unto the children of men.
Begin consciously to express Life in joyous gratitude for every gift and blessing, no matter how seemingly insignificant, and Life will flow to you in ever increasing abundance until "you overcome the evils of your life and lose every desire for sin and are wrapped in the power and glory of your Maker and are caught up to dwell with Him."
If one considers for but a moment the effort and the time required to gather up the treasures of earth, that are subject to thieves and moths and termites and rust and decay and destruction, and begins to share just a portion of that time and energy to fulfill the things of the Spirit he will begin to grow into the powers of eternity.
This time and energy used in fulfilling the higher laws of God has been mistakenly spent, if one assumes he is righteous, in trying to convert others to his own way of thinking. Christianity has fought and squabbled and failed because of this erroneous idea. Any individual who will use his strength in perfecting himself, as he learns to travel that sacred, inner Way of "overcoming," will draw others to him. He will not need to go out to find them. Neither will he need to seek to hold their minds by the force of his wordy haranguements. They, "seeing his Light" will come to him as they glorify God by seeking to bring that same Light forth within themselves. As this Light becomes manifest within any individual it brings forth an automatic "chain reaction" for others will seek for the fulfilling power of Its glory.
As one learns to perfect himself, instead of trying painfully to perfect everyone else, he will grow into the unspeakable powers of heaven naturally, beautifully and gloriously.
"The Great Brotherhood of Light," even the members of the "Church of the Firstborn" are awaiting those who bring forth Christ's holy Light within themselves. To such is given the "Life more abundant!" And that "Life more abundant" is but the beginning of the "Life which is Eternal!" The "Life Eternal" follows the "Life more abundant" as naturally as maturity follows youth, as summer follows spring or as the harvest follows the planting. Each is the full completion of the other.
"Nothing is impossible to him who believes." He who believes will be and live according to the precepts his open heart accepts and his enlightened mind comprehends.
In following belief one steps into the power of faith! Faith goes beyond belief. As one lives the "Holy Spirit of Promise" begins to make all things more clear. The soul of man is thus quickened and the principle of faith develops until that inner "seat of knowing" begins to voice the eternal truths of God and one steps beyond the boundaries of mortal established facts and procedures.
Faith however must be exercised in order to develop into power. An infant must develop its lungs and muscles through activity in order to grow. A youth must develop his mind through schooling, and an adult his skills and talents through performance. But all who would reach that point of power must "exercise great and mighty faith" simply by keeping the doubts and fears out.
"And Christ truly said unto our Fathers, if ye have faith ye can do all things which are expedient unto me.
"And now I speak unto all the ends of the earth -- that if the day cometh that the power and gifts of God shall be done away among you, it shall be because of unbelief.
"And woe be unto the children of men if this be the case, for there shall be none that doeth good among you, no, not one. For if there be one among you that doeth good, he shall work by the power and gifts of God.
"And woe unto them who shall do these things away and die, for they shall die in their sins, and they cannot be saved in the kingdom of God; and I speak it according to the words of Christ; and I lie not."
What has become of the gifts and the powers of God and the faith that brought them forth?
"For who shall say that Jesus Christ did not do many mighty miracles? And there were mighty miracles wrought by the hands of his apostles.
"And if there were miracles wrought then, why has God ceased to be a God of miracles and yet be an unchangeable Being? And behold I say unto you he changeth not; if so he would cease to be God; and he ceaseth not to be God, and is a God of miracles.
"And the reason why he ceaseth to do miracles among the children of men is because that they dwindled in unbelief, and depart from the right WAY, and know not the God in whom they should trust.
"Behold, I say unto you that whoso believeth in Christ, DOUBTING NOTHING, whatsoever he shall ask the Father in the Name of Christ, it shall be granted him; and this promise is unto all, even to the ends of the earth!"
". . . . . And now, my beloved brethren, if this be the case that these things are true which I have spoken unto you, and God will show unto you, with power and great glory at the last day, that they are true, and if they are true has the day of miracles ceased?
"Or have angels ceased to appear unto the children of men? Or has he withheld the power of the Holy Ghost from them? Or will he so long as time shall last, or the earth shall stand, or there shall be one man upon the face thereof to be saved? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; for it is by faith that miracles are wrought; and it is by faith that angels appear and minister unto men; wherefore, if these things have ceased woe be unto the children of men, for it is because of unbelief, AND ALL IS VAIN."
Now to explain what faith is and how it works.
Thoughts, or desires, or hopes form the pattern or mold that faith or the spiritual substance or material of creative power must fill. The mold must be filled even as a bucket is filled with water when it is dipped into the sea. The water is literally drawn into the container. It has no other course but to enter and fill full -- or fulfill the open vessel.
As this divine substance is drawn into the form, or pattern of one's ardent hopes, and held until it is congealed or completely established it becomes tangible to the physical senses of man. In other words, "as one goes into his secret closet to hold communion with God he will be rewarded openly." The very desires he holds within his heart will become manifest in concrete, tangible form. They become realities.
Faith, in action, is an ordinance of functioning that reaches beyond mortal senses and physical laws to fulfill whatsoever man can lift his spiritual eyes or vision to behold or desire.
Whatsoever one "hopes for" must be fulfilled unless man's own perverse thinking destroys the pattern by his entertained fears and doubts. Doubts and fears are punctures in the bucket or mold and through these holes the sacred fluid of creation escapes. This creative substance is faith.
"And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief; for verily I say unto you, if ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you." (Matt. 17:20) Or as it is given in Mark 11:23: "For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass: He shall have whatsoever he saith. Wherefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire when ye pray, believe that ye receive them and ye shall have them."
"If one has FAITH as a grain of mustard seed" all things become possible unto him.
A mustard seed is a living thing that will grow without attention or care. The life force exists within it. It only needs to be planted. The seed of faith, like the mustard seed needs only to be established and left to grow. A seed's very nature endows it with the power to draw to itself all that is required to fulfill the pattern or plan of its own being. The only things that can destroy or uproot it after it is planted are the fears and doubts and negative attitudes of man's own mortal, contrary thinking.
Faith is truly a living seed that can gather to itself the fulness of anything man can imagine. Faith is a substance that is alive. It is an essence, a material, a divine element that will gather to itself all that is required to fulfill the idea, the plan or the pattern or the hope held forth for its fulfilling.
Faith is a power. It is not a dead belief or a mortal reliance upon some creed or doctrine. Faith is a living power. It definitely is a substance of unutterable potency. It carries with it the full potentiality of all that it embraces, even the complete fulfilling to bring forth any ideal or plan held forth by man's true thinking.
Faith is always man's to use. It holds within it joy and fulfilment and glorious completion. It is the power of creation. It is the building material of Gods -- and men. Even the worlds were created by Faith, or of Faith. Man himself was made out of its ethereal substance gathered into his own material form.
God's holy edict or command, "LET THERE BE --" is the expression of His own divine plan held forth to be filled with that creative essence or "substance of things hoped for."
"Behold, when ye shall rend the veil of unbelief which doth cause you to remain in your awful state of wickedness, and hardness of heart, and blindness of mind, then shall the great and marvelous things that have been hid up from the foundation of the world from you begin to be made manifest through your own fulfilling.
Hold to the "hope of your desires, without doubting in your heart" and the law is that your hopes must be fulfilled. This law is irrevocable and eternal. It cannot fail. This is faith in action. "And according to your faith it will be done unto you." Your own degree of faith will be according to your own activity of mind and heart in exercising it.
Remember, you are the container for the mold or pattern into which the creative substance of fulfilment must flow. If you are filled with doubts and fears the pattern or mold is made useless and of no worth. It becomes an open sieve through which the divine essence is lost and wasted.
Your degree of faith will be according to your own activity of mind and heart in exercising it.
Faith is a spiritual substance. It is an essence, shall we say, because of its intangibility to mortal sense. Nevertheless it is a completing ingredient of unutterable power which all men can use who desire to accomplish anything. It must be used also by those who bring to pass the fulfilling of their own destiny in its completed glory.
"Without faith it is impossible to please God." Only negation, doubts and fears and dismays and man's own evils can possibly keep faith from fulfilling and perfecting all things. Therefore God cannot possibly be pleased with those who have no degree of faith. Theirs' is only the power to destroy, not fulfill. Faith is the spiritual substance, the divine element that must be used if man is to fulfill the measure of his own creation and accomplish anything of lasting good.
As one lives the laws of the kingdom he is interested in, or concerns himself with, he becomes a member of that kingdom. If he lives the higher laws then he must advance into the higher kingdom where faith becomes the substance of fulfilment. Faith is by far a greater force or power than electricity. It is the essence or material as well as the compelling force out of which all things are formed. "Faith is the substance of things hoped for!" It is the material out of which they are created and established and completed. Instead of splitting atoms and dispersing them in adverse, contrary, fantastic explosions of destruction, faith gathers these same spiritual atoms into form to fill the mold or the pattern his mind holds forth.
Indeed, "Faith promises all things and fulfills all things!" "The Holy Spirit of Promise" and the principle or element of Faith are inseparable. One holds forth the pattern the other will fulfill.
It must also be understood that faith is only beautiful and of lasting value when it is allied with love. It is quite possible to use a degree of faith without the gift of love being present. But without love faith is a cold, bleak, soulless process of inglorious selfishness.
"For though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not love, I am become as sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.
"And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not love, I am nothing.
"And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not love, it profiteth me nothing."
Only as this precious gift of faith is aligned with love can it become glorious and eternal. Use the powers of faith. But use them with love and your Light shall so shine that others seeing your good works will glorify God forever.
Beloved, Be Come all that you can possibly imagine or hope for. The Way is now your own! Come! Step into the "Life more abundant!" It has been promised to you from the very beginning. Only your own doubts and fears and ignorance, as you have permitted the traditions of your fathers to defile you, have kept it from you. As this abundant Life becomes your own you will have the power to take the next step -- the step into that divine "Eternal Life!"
"All that the Father has is yours!"
Leave the inglorious way of death for those who worship the road their ancestors and predecessors have trod -- the way of the flesh.
When the majority first read these books they wait expectantly for someone to come along who will lift them into the great perfection. Others wait idly inactive expecting God to do it for them. Most seem to lack the initiative to face the fact that they must throw aside their apathy and make that great transition for God -- not God for them.
This great step into the higher spiritual realm must be taken by man. As one exerts himself to take hold of the higher laws and fulfills them he begins to achieve the "impossible," for that which appeared to be "impossible" becomes "possible." Yes. "All things are possible to him who believes!" As one begins to live the higher laws he most assuredly proves them. In doing so his belief grows into faith and faith becomes power as it fulfills, or fills full, the pattern of his own perfect design and his own hopes.
There is no mystery about the principle of faith and the law upon which it works. It is as exact and as perfect and unfailing as any chemical law in the laboratory of the most exacting science. Anyone who desires can prove it. He needs only to exert himself to begin the experiment and then to follow it through. In so doing he requires no expensive equipment for he himself is the sacred crucible.
There is one more thing that must be placed in this record before it is sealed and sent forth to encompass the earth.
The key of complete mastery and divine accomplishment is a simple task that unfolds out of the ordinary, as well as the intense, moments of living.
This is truly "a lone and dreary world" because the vibrations arising from it are so filled with despair, anguish, suffering, greed, jealousies, defiance and rebellion, they are overwhelming in their intensity. When one is relaxed and unaware of their bombarding impact of detrimental fury, these destructive vibrations usually make their attacks. These devastating vibrations of negation and evil seize upon the individual in full force whenever an opportunity arises in which to shatter his peace of mind and bring havoc into his life. However, the most dismal vibrations of dismay can never touch the man who keeps his own vibrations high in a song of inner glory that arises in joyous ecstasies of living love and gratitude out of the devotion of his own heart. It is only when one's own vibrations are lowered that the darkness and dismays can enter. And it is always in those moments of darkness that one's misfortunes are born and released. The disasters and calamities can never touch the man who is aware of Christ's great Light contained within himself. Man always has the power to consciously hold himself within Its glow. As he abides in that vibration of living Light, It truly abides in him. This is "the armor of Christ" which the Saints are counseled to clothe themselves in.
This is a "lone and dreary world" because it is so completely enfolded in the destructive, disastrous vibrations of darkness. They are always seething and struggling to gain access to one's mind and heart -- and life. And it is always when these strident powers of evil gain control that one's disasters and misfortunes are bred and hurled into existence.
In those violent moments, or hours of dismay and desolation, one has but to call upon that inner Light, as he sends forth that silent prayer of love and thanks and glory to disperse the darkness and all that it contains. With such a released vibration of loving prayer, the seeming disasters or evils dissolve into nothingness, as they return to the shadows from which they come forth. They have no power to withstand the living rays of that magnified Christ Light as it is released through a man's own open soul.
It is most assuredly true that "All things work together for good to them that love the Lord."
Whatever dismal, overwhelming condition may appear to exist, it can be transmuted into a blessing as soon as one stands up in his divine right to exercise his mastery over his own thoughts and vibrations regarding that adversity. As one becomes the Master of his own thoughts and vibrations, he becomes the master of the conditions that come into his life by aligning himself with God. Then it is that "The Father within can do the works" of perfecting all conditions and all things, as He brings to pass the things of heaven on the earthly plane.
At first the individual will not have the power to choose what every condition in his life will be, but as he struggles against the darkness, for mastery over himself, the outcome of those conditions will be transformed into good. One may not be able to control every happening immediately but, as he exerts himself to bring forth only the glory of Christ's Light, in a prayer of love and gratitude and gracious obedience, the results of those happenings will become the shining wonder of his own existence. All evils will be transmuted into blessings as the Father is permitted to accomplish His works of glory, through man.
Soon the results of such control in thoughts and vibrations become so powerful, only the most beautiful things can possibly happen in that individual's life. As the individual exerts his power of control over himself he becomes the master. And that mastery expands to include conditions and things and the man's entire life. His hands become filled with blessings and goodness and infinite love. Then it is, he permits "the Father within" to express His perfection as His Kingdom and power of Heaven is brought forth in the material world.
He who develops the ability to control those anguished moments of dismay and those dismal tumultuous periods of disaster, as he brings forth that inner vibration of living Light released through peace and prayer, will soon be lifted high in consciousness so that he will have the power to "overcome all the evils of his life." As this Light is magnified and increased within one, he will soon be prepared to behold the face of God, which has been promised from the beginning.
To behold the face of God is the eternal, living invitation to every man. Yes, "seek me diligently and ye shall find me!" Or accept the promise as it stands forth in these words: "This is life eternal, to know Thee, the only true and living God; and Jesus Christ whom He has sent."
Hold your vibrations in loving, tender confidence and peace, as you worship and adore in every seeming calamity and every dire distress, and watch those evils melt away.
Hold your vibrations in love and kindness when hate and discords are hurled at you by another and behold the daggers of his wrath fall impotently at your feet, as you gather up the Light, multiplied and increased.
These are the keys of Mastery and of glory and Eternal Life. They are yours to use. They have always been yours.
Live these higher laws of love and gratitude and power and you will know of their truth -- "And the truth will make you free!"
"The Spirit and the bride say, Come! And let him that heareth say, Come! And let him that is athirst come! And whosoever will, let him take of the waters of life freely!"
So have I been commanded to write. And so it is written -- Amen!