"THE GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT"

"Christ, Redeemer of mankind, Consoler in trouble, Helper through all the vicissitudes of daily life, bless us and hold us now and for evermore. Father of all Love, we commend ourselves into Thy Hands, and we ask Thee to use us this night and always for Thy work making it possible that we can lay aside those things which seek to come between us and Thee, making it possible that because the desire is there, the communion may be complete.

"O God our help in ages past, give us the consciousness that that help is not only a gift which has been bestowed in general but is individual to each one, that all Thy children wherever they are, however young in understanding they may be, that each and every one can at the moment's wish, contact with their Father with nothing strong enough to intervene. Oh, help them to realise this during the daily round, in the midst of all the tiring and teasing tasks, grant that Thy little children may be able to grasp that Thou art there to succour and relieve.

"Praying then for the strengthening of our faith, and putting into practice that which we possess, we continue our work asking and receiving Thy blessing... Amen...

"...My little children, there is, in the conditions this evening, something approaching that which you long should be your own; I speak of harmony, of that wonderful drawing in of thoughts, of influences and affection which, together bound, makes that which we all love so much - the harmony which expresses as near as possible during the earth stages that which is Spirit...

"Before I commence that which you call my 'Instruction', I want to speak to each of you individually, even if I seem to address you collectively; I want to say that you can take comfort from the thought that another milestone has been passed. Each one of you present, and many of those whose thoughts are tending this way, have been subjected to that which you call a 'test'...

"By and by, my little ones, still so blind to things as they are, will view that word in quite a different light - in fact, they will drop it altogether and substitute in its place the word 'gift' - ah, when you are free from all the unrealities which surround you, you will see that in very truth each test was a gift of price. But because some of my children have suffered, so tonight I would dwell just for a second on that which has taken place. To each one I give a word of commendation, and although some of you may repudiate it as being undeserved, still I reaffirm what I have said, and I ask you to have faith in the thought that another milestone has been passed...

"To my little secretary (Dorrie) I speak direct. She knows that one big thing has been asked from her, and she knows also that in the Spirit she has given with both hands - yes, given with both hands; and in the little by and by, the physical mind, struggling now with misunderstanding, will be drawn into that consciousness which the spirit itself possesses, and all, all will be well. That which she desires is held in store (automatic writing), not lost, not mislaid, but simply awaiting the appointed time, when another branch of God's work will be commenced.

"To the others I have but one word more: Each one may feel within themselves that they would, they could have soared above the clouds and have held on to the brightness which they knew was only a span in front... Little ones, how can I tell you so that you may understand, that the seeming darkness, in itself, was part of the test? And now it is all forgotten, packed away in the past, and we have the gain held fast for evermore...

"Tonight, dear children, because the conditions are suitable by the reason of the great harmony which is here, I want to speak to you about what you call: 'The Gifts of the Spirit'.

"And I want, by God's grace, to lift your thoughts out of the aspect which has something - if only a tinge - of the earth, and to place them where pure Spirit is enthroned.

"You see, dear children, when I am teaching you thus, always before me I keep, in clear outline, the point of view as presented to you - you being subject in a large measure to the mind of the body. At the same time, a clear outline of God's side is there for me to try and express in the language of your little world; and this question of language presents a far greater obstacle than you are able to grasp. It seems to you, as you read the records, that I have made things clear, that I have turned the complicated into the simple, that I have taken that involved in the thought of many ages, and have shaken off those coils and have shown you Truth as it is...

"Well, dear children, I am bound to confess that this view of yours is simply the result again of your own limitations. We who are free look at it thus: All around us are the wonders of the Mind of God, and in faith we come amongst you, seeking to portray with the crude words at our disposal, something - a fragment of things as they are - not more are we able to give to your eager minds.

"Yet, again, dear children - and this is where the mighty understanding of the Father's Heart comes in - because your own restrictions make it impossible for you to take more than we are able to give, so all that surplus is not wasted, it is gathered together and bestowed on the mind of the spirit direct. And when you are free from that which binds, when you enter the Home which is rightly yours, you will be astounded to find how much, unconsciously to the physical mind, you have learnt and made your own.

"That is another spiritual law, a gift of the Spirit in every sense there could be, and it operates right through humanity, whatever the mental equipment, whatever the opportunities and environment of the one concerned. The Christ-like attitude, albeit in miniature, has the power to open a channel between the spirit within and the Fount of Wisdom which God represents, and through that channel so the knowledge of the things unseen, the things unspoken of - aye, the things which cannot be expressed in words - so these flow through and are held by the real self, by the self which lasts for all Eternity...

"But, dear children, before I take you up to the heights, we must consider the aspect presented on the level plane. Around you there are men and women, who, it seems to you, possess gifts of sight and of hearing which come under the heading of 'marvellous'; and watching such as these - even as our comrade, Mark, watched those around him - so the longing comes to do likewise, to have the power to heal the pains of the body, to have the gift which would enable you to describe those, who, it seemed, were divided from you by the little river called 'death'; to be able to comfort the broken-hearted by giving little details, which should strike a responsive note in the heart regarding the one who meant so much...

"Ah, and there are those other gifts as well: The capacity to hear that strange sweet music which is wafted over the vibrations from those realms which are Spirit; to be able to see the familiar and yet so curiously altered flowers and other forms of nature, growing in their real environment, showing a beauty, producing a fragrance which you had never dreamt of before...

"Yes, dear children, and again you think to yourselves: Oh, to be able to hear the voices of those I love, to hear them laugh so naturally, to catch their little jokes - the jokes they make to distract those bound in the body from the trials of daily life...

"I want you all to be quite certain that not only we who are free, but Christ Himself understands and sympathises with those longings; for, dear children, what are they after all? Memory - the remembrance of that which is your own during the sleep stage, before you come back into that little compartment in which, it seems, you are sealed.

"And yet, dear children, there is this aspect of these gifts of the Spirit which cannot be over-emphasised, and that is in regard to the possessors. How do they use them? How do they guard them? Do they revere, or do they take them as something which adds a little to their own importance?

"Yes, dear children, those who possess even the least of these gifts of the Spirit have a great responsibility. And if that responsibility is repudiated, then all I can say is: 'Woe unto them', for they will suffer that which is as fire itself when the body is laid aside. And never forget that there is no fire so fierce as that of remorse...

"Another point still: Those who are used by God for making the connection between the earth and the Spirit World, these, as a rule, find their gifts severely limited as regards themselves. I want to make this quite clear because it illustrates again the marvellous justice of God.

"Children, there are many people who so thankfully come to these instruments of God for guidance as well as comfort, and, in the main, guidance and comfort are bestowed in a lavish manner; and more than that, sometimes it is God's will that the gift of prophecy is added, and then the suppliant not only has reassurance for the present but direction for the future. But that gift never operates for the one who is used; this is often overlooked. Because those gifts are of God, because the instrument or the sensitive may not be in a more favourable position than others, so the door into illumination in regard to herself or himself, is closed.

"There are many who have not troubled to investigate these Truths, who have strange ideas upon this and upon that. They know not the laws of the Spirit, they grasp not that when God chooses an instrument for His holy work, it is absolutely essential that that gift does not operate for the instrument so used, but only and solely for the help and support of others...

"And so it is, dear children, that these tools of God, when their faith wears a little thin, sometimes go to others who also have the gifts of the Spirit, and from them learn something about the present, and, perhaps, that which concerns the future. But, little ones of my heart, I have restrained you ever from seeking that which was second best, and why was this? Because, for my children, I wanted that which was pure Spirit, that which was pure faith, that which was pure trust, so that in the by and by, they might have the gain, and in the present gather to themselves the added strength...

"Oh, to those so ignorant of the laws of God, I speak in loving admonition, because it is necessary that they should know that those used by God in this sacred work are bound and fettered; yes, by the spirit's free-will they fettered themselves while they offer, in degree, freedom to others.

"And then, dear children, getting a little away from the aspect as presented to those still bound by the body, I want you to consider the broad view and where the gifts of the Spirit begin, and to show you that they have no end.

"To so many upon this little world, it is only the so-called tangible which impresses. For example, the music-makers - ah, how some long to be able to produce the sweetness and the harmony which seems to come so easily to others; and they say with regret: 'I have no music in me'; yet, in so saying they know not of what they speak...

"The earth view and the Spirit view - cannot you see, dear children, that the mere fact that the longing is there to be able to produce that which indeed has a greater power than anything else on earth, cannot you see that the gift is there? Yet, in order to work out the purpose of their life on earth, the power to express that gift has been left behind. It is nothing more than that.

"Keep your vision clear: Those who wish to produce music in order to attract the plaudits of the crowd may do so, but the music which is theirs is something which is borrowed and was never their own. They have yet to learn that before any gift can be individual, it must be loved for itself - yes, and that 'self' in its highest, purest form. That which some call music on this little earth, is a desecration - a most terrible desecration - of that which everywhere vibrates through the spheres which are of God.

"Apply that, dear children, to all the gifts, and you will find that many of those on earth have indeed missed the spirit, the essence of what they strive to reproduce. Far, far better would it have been if that physical ability had been left behind when they entered upon the earth experience, for when they pass hence and they see what Art can rise to, what it can reflect, then they will be tortured by the memory of that distortion which they themselves thought so desirable and so worthy of praise...

"And now, my children, I want to bring you back to the heights, I want to lift your hearts and your minds out of the earthly view and to place them firmly where God means they shall rest for ever more. You see, dear children, that when the one you love so well - he who was called Paul - enumerated the gifts of the Spirit, he, again, was trying to translate into earthly language that which was Divine, and he experienced - just in the same way as we experience - the almost insurmountable difficulty of portraying the things of the Spirit in a way which should penetrate the mind of the body, and leave an impression which was allied to the real.

"Yes, and notwithstanding those difficulties, he has left for all to read, a statement clear and uncontrovertible, regarding the gifts which have been bestowed by God on those who will prepare themselves, on those who are willing to climb rather than to rest. And I want you, during the days which lie in the immediate future, to re-read that which Paul acclaimed the 'gifts of the Spirit', and while you read to allow the stronger mind, the freer mind, not only to influence, but also to teach you as well.

"And then, dear children, to pass on from that to those many truths which Paul struggled to express in words, and as you read so you will find in your hands the key. But forget not this: Paul, in turn, was severely hampered, severely restricted in regard to himself. I mean, as I explained before, that he was a servant of God, an instrument, an intermediary, and, because of that, those gifts of the Spirit were never allowed to operate to his advantage but only for the advantage of those he strove to raise.

"Ah, dear children, ponder on the gifts of the Spirit, and then think of the Love of God; think of all those gifts, those powers, which you, as His children, possess – although, so oft, the mind of the body forgets. Yes, the ones which appear so attractive, they take first place in the beginning, but as you grow up, as you understand a little more regarding the Mind of God, so you will see that within your heart and mind you have gifts so numerous that, through their very multiplicity, you have overlooked them...

"Children, understanding things as they are, I am bound to place the gifts of the Spirit in the position in which they really stand, and I tell you - and I tell all - that the faithful heart, the Christ-like spirit stands first, and that purchases for man more than all those other abilities and capacities will ever provide. But, thank God, there are those who, possessing the more attractive gifts of the Spirit, have striven also to add that which is the very best - a faithful heart, faithful to the God who controls all things - aye, and faithful to the Christ within...

"Blunders may be made, many stumbles take place, but when the spirit has been released sufficiently to see something of God's unbounded Love, then, because the spirit sees and understands what lies in front, so the mind of the body struggles and strives to attain something of that conception as well.

"Oh, my children, if you could but see it, the 'laying aside' is always the greatest part; yet, it is God's will - and it works out His holy purpose - that some must take and use, yes, use, but - and this is where the balance is kept - they use not that which they possess to bring gain to themselves, but only to those others who stand in need.

"And when each of these, the one who could not but longed to do - ah, around her will be the powers, strengthened and purified by the 'laying aside', ready for use - growing, expanding throughout the uncountable time which lies in front. And the one who had God's gifts? Well, dear children, because of the effort, because of the severity of the preparation, and because those gifts were used in service, so the Father will be able to say: 'Well done, good and faithful servant'. The talents which He had entrusted to them had not been buried but had been kept bright by use; and, through the very unconsciousness of the instrument, God was able to manifest His Love on earth...

"So, my little ones, I leave things here, and I want you not only to think of the Love of God, but to remember that real love, true love, combines in its highest form mercy and justice; and the lack of anything good which causes regret during the earth stage, well, the compensation goes on all the time, and these gifts, why, they were always your own, only for the sake of the spirit within you laid them aside and took up others in their place.

"Yes, and that is worked out throughout all creation, not only human but all those many other creations. Never forget that when God created, Perfection only was brought into being, and even the toad which hops in the dust one day will return to the beauty which was its own...

"Oh, my children, I entreat you ever and ever again to enlarge the borders of your thoughts - not to judge God by earth standards, not to impose limitations on that which is illimitable, that which passes the comprehension of man.

"And now, my little ones, I will leave you. Those who speak tonight, as always, are unexpected and unasked for, and in the little by and by, because my children laid aside their wills in this connection, so they shall look back and see that all the many threads of the pattern have been weaved in as God willed. And now I go..."

"...Friends... I am not a stranger here and my name is familiar to you and, may I say, loved by many on earth. It is Swedenborg, and it gives me a pleasure which I find it impossible to express to speak to you at last... Yes, we are old friends, and because the one linked to you (Mr. Moyes) sought to distribute that which expressed something of my thoughts, so we are bound together for ever and for ever, for the ties of the Spirit are unbreakable, and love grows as the understanding comes...

"Tonight, in this quiet atmosphere, I feel that it would be out of place to attempt to make a set speech, so, if you will allow me, I will just talk of that which is in my mind, as friends together, accustomed to each others' company and certain of sympathy.

"As I listened to your leader, my thoughts rose and rose as on wings, and as I tried to grasp something of the illimitable Love of God, I was caught up out of that which represents my outer self, caught up into a state or sphere - call it what you will - and there I found myself amongst a crowd of little children. They played - yes, but their play was producing something for others - they played at being mothers, and as their little hands moved to and fro, tidying this and patting that, from their fingers I saw a stream of golden light being poured down upon the little urchins living their lives in the dark streets of London town.

"And while I strove to understand, One passed - it was the Master - and as He passed, the children sprang from their play and gathered to Him even as in the days of old. And when the Sacred Presence was removed, I saw that not only from the hands of the children, but from their whole being, poured forth the rosy-golden light of Love... Not for themselves, for others...

"Friends, when we are on earth, so caged are we that our horizon is bounded by the earthly view, unless - unless we, rising from our worldly tasks, look up and draw towards us that which is of the Spirit of God.

"Those glints of consciousness which were granted unto me, what did they do? They did this, yet was the gate closed because that which was within me had not the strength to force it open... They gave me the power to peer through the gate, and while my longing eyes sought to tear out fragments of the glory within, my feet still clove to the earth - I was chained.

"Strange words, so they sound to you, but here in the presence of the sacred ones, so I speak of things as they were, not of things as they seemed... Thank God for the glints of the Light - I have thanked God; but oh, if only from within, the faith and the strength had come to tear open that gate and enter in.

"The children teach us ever and ever again; they, all unknowingly, demonstrate what the mind of the body, so skilled in the things which perish, cannot grasp. This night, I stand before you as a man who, understanding, understood not; as a man who, seeing, faltered on the threshold of the mighty things of God; as one hearing, yet deaf - deaf to the Voice of the Saviour, who reminds us all that only as little children in purity and in faith can we enter into these things which are of Him...

"The past - I look down the corridor of time and I see an old man - myself; and I see that which almost stops my heart: On either side of that old man walked those who were Holy, shining with the glory which we associate with God. And thus companioned, I trod the earth way, conscious, yet all unconscious; gifted, but without the power to understand the nature of the gift bestowed. I penetrated, yet I retreated; I climbed, but anon I rested; and so these are my thoughts tonight: That without those gifts of the Spirit, as a humble toiler, one who strove to do his duty, as such I could have attained to greater things... Seeing, yet blind - that is the position of man today - seeing, yet blind.

"My friends, I shall come again. We have much to do together, and I claim your friendship and your understanding as a right. So we part, but the time will come when the word 'parting' will be unknown, and then you will find the gate of revelation thrown open to you, because the strength and the will were within... Goodnight..."

"...Forgive me, friends... I am not of your country - a stranger not only to you but one whose name is associated with much sorrow. You called me the Czarina, and I am indeed that most unhappy woman.

"It is by God's mercy that I speak to you, and, again, through His mercy that the sins and weaknesses of the past have been washed away by the suffering which followed... I am most conscious as I stand here, in conditions so unlike my life on earth, that the family tie between all peoples is not only held unbroken, but the Great Father bids us show the sister and the brother spirit to each other...

"My life on earth... It passes before my eyes as a dream from which I have awakened; yet, two things stand out which stab me to the heart: One is my forgetfulness of those who were sore distressed; and not in extenuation but only in explanation, do I tell you that the customs of my country and of my house bound me as by chains. I prayed for my people, I prayed that God would give them patient hearts, and I delighted in giving my support to those who nursed the sick. But the Christ-spirit was absent.

"Can those of the world imagine our Blessed Lord enthroned in a palace, with sceptre and crown, with soft raiment, with glittering jewels? It is of the mind impossible. We think of the Saviour as walking amongst the humble people, of comforting the poor, and of cheering those whose lives were fenced by hardship...

"Yes, we have much to learn. We talk of God enthroned above, but I have questioned all who have come my way - those who on ministration have visited me in my grief, even the holy ones who have spoken to you - and they tell me they have never seen nor heard of the 'throne' of God. They remind me that the One whom we all worship lives and works and suffers amongst His creation.

"And the second point is this: That the God we worshipped was so veiled in ceremonies and in the misunderstandings of our limited outlook, that Christ - as the Shepherd who went after the lost sheep - was lost in the power, in the magnificence of the Most High.

"Terrible were my mistakes, and the punishment which fell upon me was a gift in comparison. Terrible were my inexpressible disobediences toward the Lowly Heart, yet because the Lowly Heart is God's, so He saved me from myself...

"Oh, tonight I am filled with a gratitude which I cannot put into these limited words, a gratitude to God for all He has brought me through, gratitude to God that my children were gathered into the Fold before the world and worldly things had done their damaging work.

"Peace in my soul, peace in my heart - the great peace which is of God... Farewell to strife, farewell to treacherous friends, farewell to all those hidden dangers which haunted me day by day, farewell, farewell... Into the Peace, into the Light, into the Love which is of God. My Father has gathered me in with His other children, and together - these are the sacred words - 'together we will work through to better things'.

"Goodbye - and yet it is never 'goodbye', for when we are free we search for the love-ties, and when found we never let them go, for they are life and hope and strength to us... I must go..."

"...My children, when we meet in this way, the thought always comes: Another brick laid down. And we who are free, we see it thus: That each one who speaks, yes, and more than that, each thought which is given out to you who listen, provided another brick, and on those bricks will be built that erection of God which indeed shall be as a bridge in the days to come.

"So think you like this and bid all doubts depart: That you, in lending yourselves for this work, by providing the effort, the concentration, and the dedication - you are putting together not only that which brings help and encouragement to yourselves, but something which, because it is of God, shall be used again and again for the multitude which will come after...

"Here, dear children, you get the gifts of the Spirit used in the Christ way. Had you, as you so desired, reserved these evenings for yourselves alone, kept the messages and the teachings private, so then, dear children, I could not say tonight that you had used your gifts in the way laid down by the Master.

"Therefore, in your future thinking, let this privilege appear as thus: A trust - something which has been put in your possession to harvest, yes, but only to harvest so that when others come upon a time of spiritual famine, they may be fed; to always keep your store but, because it comes from God, to give out lavishly, because it has been provided for that purpose...

"God's Truth is for all, even as His Love, and the time comes when those once cradled in the gardens of the earth find themselves wandering in the wilderness. The flowers, being of the world, faded and died away, and so they set out to find another place where the good things of the world can be found, but all that stretches before them is as a desert waste.

"Such as these - the solitary ones, and those others who deliberately have chosen the wilderness because they were told that at the other end lay the Promised Land - these need refreshment by the way, and through this channel it is God's will that the refreshment shall be given...

"And so it is that we take our little gifts of the Spirit, and by effort and by untiring energy, we free them from the weeds of the earth, and we offer them up to the Giver, cleansed as we know how, and the Creator finishes what we have begun...

"So tonight, dear children, I leave you, still in the sweet harmony which we prize so much, and I entreat you, in the Name of God, to hold on to that harmony, certain that as you make your struggle so we who are free are replenishing the store, which has been drawn upon by the circumstances of daily life...

"God bless you all with understanding and give you that which the spirit so desires - the consciousness of His Presence and the certainty of His unfailing love and protection... Amen.

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