An address given by the Christ messenger Zodiac through the deep trance mediumship of Miss Winifred Moyes, at the Horninglow Christian Spiritualist Church, William Street, Burton-on-Trent, on Sunday, August 14th, 1949
(Note: This message was edited for a more general readership)
"SAVIOUR CHRIST, into Thy hands I commend the Spirit of this thy Child...
..."What happiness is mine to come to you in an earthly body, to exchange those confidences which it is God's Will should take place between a teacher and those who are going through their earthly experiences. I know that in many parts of the world there are those who are asking for my help, in the Name of Christ, and although they may not have heard me speaking to them, indeed I am there to answer in action and in love. Those who come back from Spirit Life, their one desire is to serve, and even if it be in a mundane way or a material way, still there is the joy of serving.
"But today I have been directed to speak to you upon: 'The Harvest of Spirit Communion'. As you look out upon the earth, it seems to you at this time of the year a very fair world, that God has been generous to you through Nature. The beauty satisfies your mind and something of gratitude wells up from your heart, quite apart from the contributions to the material succour for the body and its needs. Yes, harvest time in this happy island of yours is something to be remembered, and if I say to you it is a happy island, I want you to remember that deep down beneath the sorrows there is still happiness to be found, there is still a sense of freedom, that which you love so well still belongs to you. You are not captive to any foreign power, and when I use that word 'foreign' I mean foreign to the Will of God, for you are all children of the one Father. You have your own land and your home. Some are displaced, I know, but all this is as nothing in comparison with what is going on in other lands, and deep down beneath the sorrow and anxiety and bad health, there is something of joy, the joy of being free men and free women.
"So let us think today for a little while upon: 'The Harvest of Spirit Communion'. There are many kinds of harvests, as you know. There are those which disappoint and those which seem to fulfil the desires of the heart and mind; but as you think of Spirit Communion in the quietness of your own room, go through what it has done for you, and also widen your thoughts and consider what it has done for others.
"The point is, dear children, that you may have to take into consideration that Spirit Communion has not been used always in a wise way. Now why is this? It is simply because free-will is man's own gift, and there are those who want Spirit Communion entirely to pander to the physical mind and those desires of the heart. They think that Spirit Communion should do something to give them what they long to make their own, and they are impatient with the Spirit people because they do not do more for them, because they seem deaf to their many entreaties.
"Yes, there are many in this same position, but we must not be too sad about it. Your own little children are full of wants, they desire this and they must have that; they are only young, they are not developed in character. Therefore cannot you see that those who abuse the gift of Spirit Communion in this way also are as little children and they have not learnt the chief lessons of physical life.
"Then we think what influence it has had upon the earth. You go back over ancient history and you find that Spirit Communion has had a very great influence. It may not have occurred very often because there were not many suitable to receive or to hear the Spirit messages which could be given. But when those were found who wanted to do God's Will - who were in tune with holy things in the sense that they were not wedded to material things - then the Voice came, and the prophets and the martyrs and the re-formers right back over past ages show to all those who will study these things, that the influence of Spirit Communion was far-reaching. Indeed it changed history, it changed the trend of events, and made it possible for God's Will in a measure to be done upon the earth plane.
"Have you ever thought of your boys in connection with Spirit Communion and their war service? Some of you, I know, feel that the one so dear might have been spared. You do not always remember that it meant promotion when they were taken, having striven to do their best for their country and for their kind. I know it is so hard when you have brought up a young child, cherished him, made many sacrifices for his education, and then to have to relinquish him for service, which you fear may mean separation so far as the physical side is concerned.
"But again and again those boys responded to Spirit Communion. They could not explain to you why they did a certain heroic deed; as a matter of fact, very few of them thought about it: it was an instinct. But what was that instinct? It was inspiration from the World of Spirit which made them go on without considering the consequences, or even being able to think of the sacrifice of safety to save a comrade, or to turn the tide of misfortune. And although many now seem to be forgotten by the majority who are still in the flesh, you remember them and those in the Spirit World remember them, and surely their Father remembers them in a wonderful way. That is one aspect of the Harvest of Spirit Communion.
"And how about the mothers who, when danger threatens their young, dash into a fire or any other great danger, to save their young. Some of you have marvelled at what has been done; yes, and also over what has been done in regard to animals. When there is one in danger, someone always seems to come forward and to make those sacrifices, which are essential for rescue. They would not be able to give an explanation as to why they did it, except that they could not stand by and do nothing. Without putting anything into words, such acts show something of the Harvest of Spirit Communion.
"And remember this: you would know nothing about religion in any shape or form or about our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, had it not been for those instruments in the flesh who were able to be inspired by the unseen helpers, inspired to make great sacrifices, inspired to give up their physical life, inspired to put down in the words they could remember those Spirit messages which had come to them.
"Think of John Bunyan, for instance, and the wonderful influence of this simple working man, a man of the people - you would say - think of the wonderful influence of this man. When punishment fell upon him, he used his punishment to enlighten his little world. I wonder if you can visualise what went on in that cell - his home - very different from that provided in prisons in these comfortable times. Can you imagine the beauty and power and radiance of those Spirit visitors who kept him company, who gradually built up around him the power, in spite of himself, for he says quite frankly he did not know why he put pen to paper; he was urged to do it by something he did not understand. But he started to write, and as he started to write, the inspiration came; and so you today can follow the path of 'Christian' through the earth plane, how he withstood the suffering entailed and the temptations upon his path.
"Bunyan wrote in a plain, ungarnished form because he knew that his generation were very ignorant of such things. He could not give a veiled truth; it had to be in the simplest English possible, to underline what he sought to impart. And so he chose those names which today may bring a smile of amusement to your face. Yet they served their purpose in a marvellous way, and there are many men and women as they traverse the earthly pathway who in times of test and trial remember Christian, and they are warned in time, warned of idleness, warned of flattery, warned of those subtle temptations which may come to them in such an alluring form, warned of self-pride, warned of despondency, warned against giving way and remaining in a position where misfortune may have placed them.
"You see, dear children, all these things are showing to you something of the Harvest of Spirit Communion, the harvest which is far greater than you can grasp because you only see the physical or the material side; you only see, perchance, your disappointment when you tried to bring this one and that one on, and they seemed so promising, and then something happened and they fell away. The world called, or something more advantageous, to their own mind. You are conscious of a sense of loss and despair, and sometimes you say to yourself: 'What is the use of trying? I do not seem to have any success!'
"But you have only the limited sight of the physical eyes; you cannot see what is going on in your conditions during that time when you sought to educate, spiritually, someone younger than yourself in mentality or in advancement. You do not know the influence that you exercised upon the unseen wayward spirits, for not only were the ones in the body listening: there was a host gathered around you, and perhaps with those you were more successful.
"I want to expand your consciousness in regard to these things because while on the physical plane there is a sense of frustration, of barriers; but if you had Spirit vision released, you would find that you had done far better than you had dared to hope.
"Then we turn to that vast subject of the Harvest of Spirit Communion on physical health. Now you may say to me: 'I know many mediums who are sick, who seem to suffer greatly from the ills of the body.' Do you not know also many who have very little interest in God who have bad bodies? What about the asylums, what about the hospitals, what about those dreadful complaints that seem to seize people so unexpectedly while enjoying life to the full? You call to mind, perhaps, Paul and the agonies of the physical body which he endured so bravely. But some of you argue: 'If the Spirit healers are there, why is it they do not cure the mediums, why is it they do not exercise their power upon the prophets and reformers who are so anxious to do God's work, but seem to be hampered by the pains and weakness of the flesh?'
"Dear children, this is a question that has to be faced. I always emphasise that it is unwise to judge by earthly standards. There are many, although they do not realise that they are a servant of the Christ, who take on by the spirit's choice those grievous illnesses in order to purify the aura. Now some of these may be worldly while the body holds, they may have no vital interest in religion. But when they pass through the change called death, by their sufferings in the flesh, life upon the earth plane is not all loss; there is a great deal of gain. How did the gain come? It came from the discipline, perhaps, of pain. Therefore do not regard pain and the weakness of the flesh as your worst enemy, but say to yourselves: 'Perhaps after all it is my best friend!' Many of you will find that indeed this is so as you count up the gains and the losses Hereafter.
"I have said before that many a materialist takes nothing with him into the Spirit World but the anguish of his last illness; and oh how gladly he goes back upon that experience, for he finds that he is not entirely bankrupt, he has something that is worth while to help him to retrieve all that which, in his folly, he had cast aside.
"Then, dear children, let us consider what represents your harvest in regard to Spirit Communion. You have had your troubles, you have had your losses. Some of you wonder how those people who have had troubles and losses and know nothing about Spirit Communion - how they are able to get through their trials at all. And many crumple up under them, and there are those who become mentally afflicted because they cannot face up to the troubles of life, knowing naught of Christ as their loving Companion, and having no reassurance from this great gift of Spirit Communion.
"You, therefore, are in a very favourable position in comparison with such as these. Think of those millions of people in other climes, the displaced persons, the people who have been brought up to forget that there is a God at all. Their sufferings indeed are great, their despair is overwhelming.
"So I want you to think about the Harvest of Spirit Communion. There are those who abuse their mediumship, those who feel that they are on the stage of life; they want the applause of the people who listen, and they want their favour, too, and very often they desecrate their gifts in order to become a popular medium. But the time is not far off when such as these will have to face the responsibility of mediumship, and they will see then that their harvest is a black harvest, and they find that the words in the Holy Book - 'Whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap' - are true in substance and in detail.
"But there are many mediums who are disconsolate because they cannot give all they want to give to comfort the people. They pray and they concentrate, they reserve their quiet time, yet sometimes the power does not come, and they feel humiliated as well as distressed. And there are others - the ignorant ones - who criticise them; they do not realise that Spirit power is not something that can be drawn upon by the individual will. They forget, also, that those who come to Services like these are largely responsible for the failure of the full operation of Spirit power. They come with a desire for self, or to criticise, or to see whether the one who speaks to them deserves the praise he or she has been given.
"Can you imagine what the unseen have to do in regard to conditions such as these? In a short time it is often impossible to cleanse them sufficiently so that the Power of the Holy Spirit can vibrate through a sensitive; and a sensitive must be sensitive not only to good vibrations but to enemy vibrations as well. I ask you to remember this fact and to pass it on; and to give out love to those who minister unto you.
"And I want to reassure the mediums, to say that if they have done their best, if they have prepared their hearts and minds to be used as vehicles through which the words of the Spirit can be passed, they have no cause to grieve. Again, the spirits drawn in have witnessed the struggle that has gone on, have watched the vibrations of a congregation which has been unsympathetic, and it has aroused something of good in them; they like fair play. And I can assure you that many mediums who have seemed to fail utterly to themselves and the ones who were listening, that there has been a harvest, a really wonderful harvest, among the unseen.
"So I ask you to think on these lines. When next things appear to go wrong, when there are endless irritations to try your patience, remember my words. You are disappointed with yourself because you cannot do better; you want to rise above the material, but the material seems to drag you down.
"Fight on, pilgrims of the Light! Be not disconcerted or down-hearted; your struggles are witnessed by many, and if it seems that you have failed utterly, that you are out of touch with God and dissatisfied and disappointed with yourself, wait a little while, peace will return, the healing balm of those unseen dear ones gathered close, will be laid upon your hot and fevered brow, the nerves will become calm, and as time passes you will look back and you will say to yourself: 'Why did I worry so much?'
"You will see it was only a passing phase. And there is a little sentence I want you to keep in your mind, if you will - it is only a passing phase in regard to temptation, in regard to weariness, to irritability and the critical faculty exercised unkindly upon others. Say to yourselves: 'That is not my real self; it is only a passing phase.' You will find that soon the mood will change because you are then responding to those bright and glorious ones who are trying to save you from taking the long way round to your Father's Home.
"I ask you to allow your imagination to roam; to put down on paper, as that will remind you further, the different forms of harvest which have come from Spirit Communion. For instance, a farmer is inspired to change his seed from one field to another, and sometimes he is very gratified with the result; he is given a material harvest, but a spiritual harvest as well. Sometimes you are impressed to go and visit a neighbour; you know not why but you feel you want to go, and you find sickness or trouble there. Do you remember to thank God that you were sufficiently sensitive to receive that Spirit message and to act upon it? It is no use to receive Spirit messages and not to act upon them; that is far worse than not receiving a message at all.
"Then, dear children, I want to comfort and to reassure you who have been ill, whether it be the affliction of the mind or the body or the soul. You have to face these tests. If you feel that God seems far away and that you are losing something of interest in your own religion, remember it is but a passing phase. If your body is causing you great trouble, and with some they do not see any chance of improvement while the earthly life remains, this, too, is a passing phase. Your soul body in that next stage will be strong and beautiful to behold, it will surpass your highest hopes, and opportunity will lie on either side. Is your mind troubled? Do you take the sorrows of life too deeply? Do you find it hard to forgive those people who offended you? Do you demand apologies from this one and that to lay balm upon your wounded feelings?
"Remember that that, too, is but a passing phase; you can rise above it, you can stem those thoughts of worry by concentrating upon the sorrows of others, by allowing your sympathies to escape the narrow channel of your own life to flow out in little rivulets here and there amongst those who are so hard pressed, those who seem to have no inner resource within themselves, like you have, to which to turn.
"Dear children, I speak on these homely lines because life is full of complications for the majority, and it is no use to give to such as these some fine treatise, either scientific or mystical. What they want is bread for today, the bread which will feed their hungry souls, and the water which will quench their thirst and bring to them strength and refreshment. And the only way, dear children, that you can give bread and water to such as these, again, is by understanding, by trying to enter into the lot of those you know. Then you will see gradually unfolding before you a marvellous harvest, the result of Spirit Communion, for there is not one thing you can do which has good in its folds that is not the result of inspiration, and inspiration comes from the Spirit World.
"Then when you pass over you will look out, perchance, upon the golden fields which you loved so well here, but you will see more than that: you will see your own spiritual harvest and how, by struggling on, by seeking to be brave when it seemed that everything was against you, by stifling the word of complaint, you have something not only for your own use, but because it is an everlasting store, you can be called a missionary and set to work anew, this time on the Master's Service.
"And as you toil amongst those who have lost their way and have bartered their own soul, as it were, for a mess of pottage, you will find that the power will come. No longer will those you try to help turn aside from you, no longer will you feel that your efforts have been in vain. No! You will have the power to hold them by the life you have lived on the earth plane. The losses, the misunderstandings and the irritations no longer will dim your sky; and the mere fact that they were influenced by you means that, in time, they will be inspired to help others, in turn, to try to draw them out of the Slough of Despond towards the City Beautiful, where peace and joy and power are all around.
"I came with a sense of anticipation amongst you because I knew there would be many here who remember me with love. If I have not spoken to them in this way over the years which have passed, I have been with them, and my love is ever linked with the love of my children who are engaged upon difficult missionary work upon the earth plane.
"Dear children, when they were disappointed by those who failed them in their time of need, what think you? Did they say: 'It is useless to go on?' No, they simply widened their horizon, and sought their friends and prepared their minds that perhaps there might be those who would fail them, too. But, also, there were many who did not fail them, who learnt to love them and to love the work they are doing. And now today they represent a great band of workers linked to the higher things in the spheres. There everything is done by united effort, by a common purpose by the elimination of self by vying with each other to make the greatest sacrifice and to give the best conditions, so that the Master's work can be done in a way that shall fill their hearts and minds with gratitude to Him.
"And now I take my leave. I bless the workers here for they have striven and have overcome much, and I say unto them that it was the spirit's choice, because the spirit wanted to gain understanding and to be able to enter into the tests that come so freely to those upon the earth plane.
"So in the Name of the One Who loves you best, Jesu the Christ, I bless you all, and I know that there are many here who can feel the touch of the hem of His garment as He passes among them to reassure and to uphold.
"Farewell dear children, but when sleep holds the body this night we can meet again and you shall see for your comfort something of the Harvest of Spirit Communion. Peace, and again peace! Farewell!
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