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Edna Lister’s Sermons, 1970
Moving Mountains
Edna Lister outline, March 3, 1970, Tacoma, WA. Matthew 17:14-18, 21:18-21, Luke 24:50-53.
"There came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying, Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatic, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water. And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him. Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I suffer you? Bring him hither to me. And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour. Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out? 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. Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting."–Matthew 17:14-17.
"Now in the morning as [Jesus] returned into the city, he hungered. And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away. And when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, How soon is the fig tree withered away! Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, if ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done."–Matthew 21:18-21.
"He led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them. And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven. And they worshiped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. Amen."–Luke 24:50-53.
A mountain symbolizes a high place, a place to which you may ascend. The first verse in today's scripture summarizes Jesus' answer to his disciples, who had asked why they were unable to exorcize the demon from a boy: "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."–Matthew 17:20.
A grain of mustard seed is tiny, almost invisible, yet it holds one untouchable, invincible idea inside, to grow into a mighty tree. This is absolute faith. Nothing is impossible to faith. To a mountain of despair or darkness, you can say, "Let there be Light. Light fills you," and the love in the Light can absorb the darkness until the mountain disappears.
In the verse from the twenty-first chapter of Matthew, Jesus had just withered the barren fig tree, and his disciples had marveled. Jesus said, "Verily I say unto you, if ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done."–Matthew 21:21. Water, as represented by the sea, symbolizes emotion. Under your declarations of Light, love absorbs the emotions that hamper you.
What is your mountain? What have you asked to have removed? Instead of questioning whether God will send you a miracle, which is doubting that you can trust Him, ask yourself, "Can God trust me? Do I trust myself?"
Where are you headed?–into the world, or upward to see your soul, to see God? You can put every trouble in the world on a cloud of Light for lifting. You may fill as many clouds as you want or need. You only need to keep them clear and uncluttered in the eye of your mind.
Redeem your time. Remit enough love. Retain your own soul and give up the darkness of self. Then, "It shall come to pass," those sweet words of promise, which are always followed by "And it came to pass."
Moving Mountains
Edna Lister outline, May 10, 1970, Cleveland, OH. Matthew 17:14-18, 21:18-21, Luke 24:50-53.
"There came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying, Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatic, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water. And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him. Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I suffer you? Bring him hither to me. And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour. Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out? 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. Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting."–Matthew 17:14-17.
"Now in the morning as [Jesus] returned into the city, he hungered. And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away. And when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, How soon is the fig tree withered away! Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, if ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done."–Matthew 21:18-21.
"He led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them. And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven. And they worshiped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. Amen."–Luke 24:50-53.
Today's scriptures have multiple meanings. What does ascension mean to you? What does a mountain symbolize? A mountain represents both beauty and a barrier. It can stir up either desire or fear. You may desire to approach its beauty, but you also may fear it as an obstacle, too steep, too hard to climb, too far to go around. A mountain also symbolizes a high place of worship. Climbing a mountain is a metaphor for conquering through faith.
First, you can approach faith in two ways, as the power that shrinks evil, or as the power that causes you to grow much larger than what you face. Jesus rebuked the devil that was preventing the healing. You must rebuke your devils of self, because you are supposed to be ready to work for God at all times.
A grain of mustard seed is complete within itself. It represents the unwavering resolution of soul that nothing is impossible to God. This kind of faith stands untouchable, abiding in a stillness above stillness, waiting, letting, giving Light a chance to do its work. A day with God is as a thousand years, yet time is also enfolded in the now as a miracle. Eventually, Light absorbs everything.
You can raise your sword of faith and its flash will move to separate the darkness from Light, to shrink it to nothing. Like the barren fig tree, what is useless withers away. Faith can also say to a mountain, "Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done." You will have ample opportunity to test this because you will meet mountains everywhere in life.
From birth to ascension, you are growing and expanding. The first stage in life is the creature level of instinctive desire and intelligence. The child grows into a son of man as he gain education and knowledge that develops this intellect. When the youth awakens into the religious life and spiritual awareness, he becomes a son of God.
Ask yourself these questions: Have I made up my mind to ascend? Do I trust God? Do I trust myself? Do I know how many times I have said, "Let there be Light" each day? How many cloud continents of Light have I filled with situations, people, and desires waiting to be completed?
How many mountains—tumors, cataracts, hernias, diseases—have you removed into the sea of Light? Do you belittle your life? Your position? Or do you ascend above what the world thinks until you comprehend? Today is Mothers Day. Mother love includes compassion. Never belittle the darkness you find in life, but exalt it into Light to make it into Light.
Moving Mountains
Edna Lister transcript, May 10, 1970, Cleveland, OH. Elizabeth Barnes, Ruth Johnson, Florence Waldorf, Ross Whitehead, scribes. Matthew 17:14-21, 21:21, Luke 24:50-53.
"There came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying, Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatic, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water. And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him. Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I suffer you? Bring him hither to me. And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour. Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out? 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. Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting."–Matthew 17:14-17.
"Now in the morning as [Jesus] returned into the city, he hungered. And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away. And when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, How soon is the fig tree withered away! Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, if ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done."–Matthew 21:18-21.
"He led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them. And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven. And they worshiped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. Amen."–Luke 24:50-53.
Jesus healed a child, whom the disciples could not heal, and they asked why they had failed. "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."–Matthew 17:20. Jesus used a tiny mustard seed as an example because it starts small but grows into a tall, spreading tree under the principles of expansion and growth. Wisdom will expand in proportion to the completeness of your faith. You can pray for a miracle, but if you wonder if it will happen, you delay it or block it completely. For example, say that you ask for money to pay the bills. Thank God that He is supplying it, and leave your request on the altar at that higher level, even if you do not remain there as you go about your day. Do not cut the vibration with the scissors of doubt or anxiety.
If a loved one is near transition, you may not pray for him to die, but you can pray, "Father, remove Name to his rightful place as a child of God. Let Light consume any and all darkness that may still anchor him to earth." In regard to a difficult situation or person say, "Father, remove Name into the Light of God. Remove this mountain of bedevilment," which can include your own misunderstanding, resentment or hurt feelings. Do not run away or close out any situation or person emotionally or mentally. You can declare, "Let Your Light, Father, remove evil from my eyes and ears. Let Your Light remove this mountain of criticism, resentment, and judgment. Please, remove my unbelief. Father, move in and possess me until I cannot hear Name's voice."
The key to removing mountains is to stand on the perfect principle of faith and say, "You are good. Let there be Light." A tiny grain of mustard seed is perfectly capable of growing into complete faith. "Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done."–Matthew 21:21. The barren fig tree illustrates the opposite pole of contraction, for it illustrates the process of shrinking something by faith. This applies to illness, such as a tumor, gallstones, kidney stones or arthritis. Ask the Father to remove the condition into a sea of Light, for evil starves to death in Light when nothing and no one feeds it.
Light will also shrink a bad disposition. Say, "This is good. Let there be Light. Let me stand in a shaft of Light," and ask that the Father gives you the knowingness of the full faith of God. You must move beyond believing it into knowing it, but do not question the miracle. You resurrect self by your belief. No more evil infests the world than before—it's just come to the surface and our task is to thin out the darkness and lighten the load. The whole earth is ascending. You will hear the nastiest atheists change their tune, saying that there must be a God. Stand and know this, without turning back.
Today is Mother's Day. Let us strive to live by the Mother Love of God, which is complete compassion. Miracles are coming faster. More and more proof of your faith in God shall be made manifest. Ninety percent of the delay in answer to prayer that people experience is because the person praying does not really want what they have prayed about! Many pray for healing, yet are not ready or are unwilling to give up their unbelief or to live as descended creators of the good. Pentecost will bring an untold release of Power, greater than that released at Twelfth Night. The Elect and the whole world will be ascended into the new Magna Carta of Law.
Mind Integrated with Power
Edna Lister outline, May 17, 1970, Cleveland, OH. Acts 1:1-15, 2:1-8.
"The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, 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 showed 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 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. And while they looked steadfastly 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… (the number of names together were about an hundred and twenty)."–Acts 1:1-15.
"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. And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language. And they were all amazed and marveled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans? And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?"–Acts 2:1-8.
Ascension Day is forty days after Easter. The Pentecost follows fifty days after Easter, on the seventh Sunday following the Resurrection. This text tells us that a mere 120 people founded modern Christianity. Jesus appeared at least seventeen times between Easter morning and Ascension Day. The disciples remained in Jerusalem and talked with him for the forty days after his Resurrection. He appeared to them on Ascension Day, took them from the city to the Mount of Olives, and ascended before their eyes. Then for ten days they met in the upper chamber in Jerusalem. (Explain how they added Matthias to replace Judas. They appointed bishops, admitted women to their gatherings and planned their travel.) Finally the flames of the Pentecost fire descended.
The Pentecost furnished us with a fixed point for our religion, in which God was revealed as seeking man. Until then, man had been seeking a God. Pentecost opened a new date in time and space. In ancient days, the old religions taught giving up things. Pentecost taught giving up self and revealed the Christ-centered religion, to be possessed by the Holy Spirit. Those tongues of fire sent forth a vibration into every nation, and its fire is still is burning today. Declare “I accept! I repent! I ascend!” Your faith may burn higher today because more Light and more Power are being released today.
Jesus came to save the world. Evil had closed the Gates of Light, but his vibration of Ascension lifted the pall of clouds and smoke. It has taken all these years to pass that blockage and lift it to be made into Light. With our landing on the Moon and returning, every Gate to every inner temple is opened wide. The population explosion has brought every evil son of Cain, Ishmael, every fallen god into earth expression so that we may prove that Light, God, and love lifts and conquers. You have wings! Ascend!
Mind Integrated with Power
Edna Lister transcript, May 17, 1970, Cleveland, OH. Ruth Johnson, Florence Waldorf, Virginia Whitehead, scribes. Acts 1:1-15, 2:1-8.
A little more than two thousand years ago, one hundred-twenty loyal followers of Jesus met as one. That devoted consecrated group founded our Christian religion. They had been a loosely knit group, but drew closer together, seeking to strengthen the bond they had with him through knowing one another. Jesus had given them new laws and interpretations of law, in contrast to their past beliefs and religious life. They had received the mysteries before, based on the sacrifice of Abraham, and had various types of training in the faith of Moses. Jesus taught them to sacrifice self, not animals, and to repay trespasses not as an eye for an eye, but by covering the transgressions of others with Light and love.
Forty days is always a mystical period signifying the completion of some great spiritual process. Twelfth Night opens the forty days of soul inventory. Ash Wednesday begins forty days of sacrifice of things you have left undone, of vows you have not yet paid—so much more important thhan giving up sweets. Jesus had told his disciples what would come to pass, but they were shocked when it all really did happen. After his Resurrection, he spent forty days visiting groups and people on earth and from the inner. He appeared and disappeared at least seventeen times that were recorded. According to certain apocryphal books, he also appeared in Egypt, India, and Britain. Apocrypha means "hidden things" in Greek. Many apocryphal texts never made it into the official canon, yet do shed light on Scripture, the Bible's history. "I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high."
"And he led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them. And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven. And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy: and were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. Amen."–Luke 24:49-53. Ascension Day occurs forty days after Easter. Pentecost is the seventh Sunday after Easter. The disciples were frightened by Jesus' appearances but excited, too. He gave them orders to return from Mt. Olivet to Jerusalem, where they remained in the upper chamber for ten days.
Jesus had promised them that Holy Ghost would descend, so one hundred twenty of the most devoted followers gathered together to witness its descent. They were told which persons were to bear witness to his ascension and to send for certain people. These men became the first messengers of Christianity. Men from that original group of one hundred-twenty had traveled to each of the seven churches of antiquity, the churches mentioned in the Revelation, and had given them a new interpretations of law as well as orders and instructions as to how to conduct themselves. I see my own picture of this in my mind's eye. People were going and coming constantly, talking and praying, waiting for the Holy Spirit to descend. They knew they had to choose twelve bishops, and one to replace Judas. They decided when the twelve would carry the message, how to do it, and what to emphasize first.
During the ten days between the Ascension and Pentecost, they drew closer to each other and to the core, the heart of Jesus' Messianic Message. Ten is the number of the spiritualized individual standing upright in the Garden of Eden, one who lives according to law and on the fruit of the Tree of Life. When the day came, they were fully of one accord. There came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind. It filled all the house. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit. The evil on earth was as great then as it is now. Many charlatans had posed as false messiahs before and after Jesus' Ascension. Jesus, the First Begotten Son need not be reborn to earth, but shall appear for men to see.
Jesus gathered the evil of the world to himself while he was being crucified and took it with him as his body died on the cross. It took that Power he released, which manifested as thunder and earthquakes, to break through the darkened substance to lift the evil hidden beneath earth's crust. Evil can form an invisible cloud of darkness. Fallen creators have an invisible thick and dark aura around them. It has taken the Elect two thousand years to lift these evil clouds.
Easter brings a shock! Jesus and his message gave us a point joyful glory, of soul inspiration in time and space that we can count on. Pentecost always brings the Power of the Holy Spirit in greater degrees than we can otherwise count on. As the devoted believers in an all-powerful God, we may count on this proof of glorious ascension Jesus embodied as one of us. Yet, we must have periods and seasons to remind us to recognize God's will as Mind, Substance and Power and to give Him time to work His miracles though us. Christianity has taught us to sacrifice self. This makes us untouchable and immovable when we trust in Him.
The early Christian fathers spoke with tongues on Pentecost, so they used every language to include all men. Peter then told them of God and of what the Power of the Holy Spirit consists. The Holy Spirit is a shaft of Light, and it cleanses. If you once are touched, it vitalizes and quickens the vows you have made or will make. Three hundred people were baptized after Peter's speech that day. We, as leaders among the Elect, are still trying to comprehend what we think we know; no wonder the world is confused! The same Power goes forth now as came forth during Pentecost and Ascension. The share of prayer you offer can do a mighty work, depending on your faith and desire to lift the effects of evil. God can lift the evil only when you speak the WOrd. Let a shaft of Shekinah glory now touch every church altar! Let us rededicate Pentecost to God!
Your Magic Wand of Victory
Edna Lister outline, May 24, 1970, Cleveland, OH. John 1:1-9, 1 Peter 4:1, 4:10-11.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.”–John 1:1-9.
“Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin.”–1 Peter 4:1.
“As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.”–1 Peter 4:10-11.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”–John 1:1. Every word is a vibration. You give a word Power through your tone of voice and inflection, which reveal the magic in the vibration of a word. You are a word made flesh. How? Light is condensed and lowered in its rate of vibration, its number and name to form the souk that is you. You may may select your own magic word to say, and may choose to speak that word indifferently or fervently. Is your word the embodiments of faith, love or joy? No matter which word you choose, the foundation of the vibration must be obedient to law. Before selecting a magic word, you must stand on a firm foundation, a conviction of what the Source is, what God is, of your identity with that Source and God. Then you must have the desire to obey, and to live in obedience to the laws governing that Source.
Jesus is the master Word, a magic Word. The tone in which you speak the Word makes the magic particular to you. From creature to creator, embodied aouls are always learning and practicing obedience to their own magic word. As the Elect, our word must be great enough to cover the world with life! Spring calls, appropriating life as Light, and opens a symphony of expressions of Light. The maple tree sings its leaves open at night. Life is an expansion, an explosion and expression of song. An oracle, male or female, is one who lets the magic word sing through him. Like a tree in obedience to law, he waits until the right moment, and lets go. Obedience is nonresistance, and faith that works in quiet confidence. Jesus is the master Word and the master key that gives us wings, the rapture of love, untouched ecstasy of soul, and the glory of the Holy Breath!
Your Magic Wand of Victory
Edna Lister transcript, May 24, 1970, Cleveland, OH. Elizabeth Barnes, Ruth Johnson, Ross and Virginia Whitehead, scribes. John 1:1-9, 1 Peter 4:1, 4:10-11.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.”–John 1:1-9.
“Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin.”–1 Peter 4:1.
“As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.”–1 Peter 4:10-11.
A philosopher once said that the Bible is written under the principle of tone and expresses the music of the spheres in words. The one who reads it with that in mind will hear the music of the spheres. All begotten creators come to earth with gland-like parathalamus structures developed in the brain. At your first ascent in consciousness, often called a conversion if you have followed Jesus the Christ, these structures begin to awaken the pineal body and pituitary gland to vitalize and spiritualize your physical equipment as commanders of the endocrine system. When intuition moves into the parathalamus, it vitalizes the physical and spiritual phases of your life. You ascend in consciousness to the Source of God, and when you say, “Let there be Light,” you begin to awaken the gland-like parathalamus structures. They extend “antennae” to become five petals on either side of the crown lotus atop your head.
In a Biblical sense, the parathalamus structures symbolize the ten virgins. They receive truth and wisdom beyond comprehension from the River of Life. When you say, “Let there be Light,” you set in action events beyond our comprehension. Every word is a holy vibration—a holy word is one handed down through transmission of the mysteries. Language, how we use the word creatively, is our most common method of communication. English has twenty-six letters, and nine digits. Hebrew has twenty-two letters, each of which is a digit. Just a spoken word is not enough to be magical. A firm tone of loving-kindness vitalizes the spoken word into the Word, but a whispered word is weak.
The left parathalamus gland functions the color principle, and the right functions the tone principle. When tone colors your voice, you have laid the groundwork for the magic. Their color and tone make your words magical. When you say, “Let there be Light!” you tune in on all the posibilities God has in store for you; you have this right and can tune in and exercise all that the Source is. Are you claiming your share of this magic? If not, you don't appreciate your God-given privileges. Some choose joy, faith, love, wisdom, and spend their lives meditating on one or two of these gifts. They sit at the first gate of illusion like a beggar waiting for a handout, waiting for someone already in the Light to push something out to them.
Ponder from above, in the Light, not from intellect under your skull. Most would-be mediators lack fervor. Without enthusiasm, nothing colors their tone. When you draw Light in through your breath, it contains the whole of the Word above. Light spreads itself out as all other things. You must found your magic word on soul vision, the conviction that the God of all Light is your Source of direction and control. You must also have a fervent desire to discover God’s laws. You may blunder, but you know how to pay your debts if you fail: prostrate your soul before an inner altar. Do not feel you must pay the debts for everyone’s past failures. Pay your debts if you fail. Never carry a grudge for an insult. The other fellow may have gone up asking for forgiveness and received it while you sat in the mud stewing in resentment. You cannot know how often God has forgiven him. “Agree with your adversary quickly.”–Matthew 5:25. Cover his blame, or take the blame and so keep the magic Word pure and undefiled.
Your magic word must be great enough to cover all walks of life. Jesus’ name covers everything, and he said, “use my name.” Let the music of the spheres sing through you when you use the magic Word in the name “Jesus,” and in his name declare, “This is good! Let there be Light!” His name has filled the earth and despite being trampled, it remains the greatest bridge over the abyss from appearance to reality. The full Power of the universe goes forth with the Word, Jesus. Are you afraid to sing his name? Let the whole world (and especially the ministers) chant “Jesus.” The magic is in the tone of love you use, and how you color it with love for speaking his name.
“If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God.”–1 Peter 4:11. Through the ages, oracles have appeared among us. The first oracles were the creators who were too bright to show themselves, or they could have blinded people, as Moses did after he had received the Law on Mt. Sinai. Later, the oracle stood behind a pillar or an image and spoke to the petitioner. Today the oracles are agnostic ministers who are really afraid of that word, oracle. They have only superficial, intellectual college educations—fear is their trouble. We all are oracles! Peter says that we all have the gift. God has sent you here with a golden bowl, your brain, and glands that you can develop if you stay up in consciousness and live according to Jesus’ laws. Most of teh Elect have a hard time living right, beinf afraid to do it twenty-four hours a day.
All that God has is yours to draw upon. Most of you have had money materialize when you needed it, finding it in a book, a coat pocket or an unused wallet. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it
–John 14:14. Ask in words filled with color and tone and you shall be answered. One woman waited fifty years to see the leaves open in spring. She remembered, “Call upon me and I will hear you,” and she believed that she would see it. As the leaves opened, she heard the symphony of the stars, the music of the spheres. As a great Tree of Life unfolding its leave in Spring, the Magna Carta has opened! The Gates of Light have opened wide! Jesus’ name opens magic songs of things and people. The rapture with which you pray the magic Word reveals the color and tone of your love. Love God lavishly!
Your Scepter of Power
Edna Lister outline, May 31, 1970, Cleveland, OH. Hebrews 1:1-8, Psalm 45:6.
“God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the Word of His power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high: Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. For unto which of the angels said He at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son? And again, when he bringeth in the first begotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him. And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire. But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of thy kingdom.”–Hebrews 1:1-8.
“Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the scepter of thy kingdom is a right scepter.”–Psalm 45:6.
Tell the story of Queen Esther. A scepter is a carved symbol of sovereignty and authority. They place a scepter in the hand of a newly crown prince or princess, king or queen at the same time they place the crown on their head, and speak the word of their ascension to the throne. A strict protocol governs the use of a scepter, and this is especially true in heaven.
The first story of the Esther legend: During three days she had many visions of preparing herself for presentation before Ahasuerus. A father is the equivalent of a king among the Hebrews. At the time of Esther, the Jews were mostly wanderers with no homeland, but lived among the nations and strangers. Mordecai, who had adopted Esther, was a leader among the Jews living in Shushan, the capital or throne city of the powerful king, Ahasuerus, who ruled the land from India to Ethiopia.
Tell the story of Vashti, who did not obey him and was deposed. He sent forth to every province for young virgins, who were then purified, tutored and trained in court protocol for a year before being shown to the king. They were taught how to wear their robes and jewels, and were given wardrobes and gifts. Some remained as concubines, and all the rest made good marriages because they were desirable.
Esther was shown to Ahasuerus last, and was chosen as his wife. “The king loved Esther above all the women, and she obtained grace and favor in his sight more than all the virgins; so that he set the royal crown upon her head, and made her queen instead of Vashti.”–Esther 2:17. She had not told anyone that she was a Jewess.
Haman’s edict story: Haman was proud and hated Mordecai, who would not bow to him, so he plotted to revenge himself. Finish the story after reading Esther.
Mordecai told Esther, “Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king's palace any more than all the other Jews. For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish, Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”–Esther 4:13-14.
A golden scepter wields most Power. Jesus was Begotten to bear the scepter of Power. He was the only heavenly being granted the scepter; all others were titled, “angels, spirits” or “ministers of flame and fire.” This is why he is the Only Begotten Son, because he holds the scepter. The rest receive grace. What does grace include?
Grace is first “good manners.” For instance, you never take attention from another or draw attention to him that will embarrass him. When the Begotten Son was incarnated as Moses, he was spoken of as being “full of grace and truth.”
At some point in your initiation career, you receive a scepter, usually when an illumination of rapture touches you. When I hold this scepter high, I never use it for self, but when I am needed and I am touched, a flash goes forth from me to the needing one. I become a “minister of flame and fire.” Every breath becomes a compelling expectancy, a dimension of overwhelming glory to my soul. Every breath opens a new incarnation, a miracle of Power.
You have no time to keep taking your temperature to see if you burn hot enough. You must become angel spirit, bringing Shekinah glory back to the altars of earth. You wear wings of Light, making your soul soar, spreading the miracle of life all over earth. You become time and space overlapped into eternity.
A scepter is holding humility in your hand. It is enough to know that it is there. Never use it, save in love. It is too fragile to handle roughly or casually. Lay it before the altar and pray. With every step up in consciousness, kneel and lay prostrate self before the Father’s throne. The Power is God’s. The scepter is His, not yours. Nothing can compare with the joy of being a perfect instrument to be used.
Your Scepter of Power
Edna Lister transcript, May 31, 1970, Cleveland, OH. Elizabeth Barnes, Ruth Johnson, Florence Waldorf, Irene White, Virginia Whitehead, scribes. Hebrews 1:1-8, Psalm 45:6.
“God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the Word of His power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high: Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. For unto which of the angels said He at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son? And again, when he bringeth in the first begotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him. And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire. But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of thy kingdom.”–Hebrews 1:1-8.
“Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the scepter of thy kingdom is a right scepter.”–Psalm 45:6.
The scepter gives authority, and a definite background of command goes with the scepter. It symbolizes a certain place that one holds. It may be one of several shapes, but is usually a small staff or a rod, crowned with a symbol or an orb. In heaven, scepters carry the name of the Realm, level or place to which one has earned title, or from which one has been ordained. They give a scepter on the inner to show when they call one to sit with a Council, so it displays the wisdom that can be expected of that one, like a diploma.
The Bible has a story about a scepter. The Book of Esther tells of Ahasuerus (Xerxes the Great), whose Persian empire extended from India to Ethiopia. He was rigid, proud, and authoritative. Vashti, his queen, was also haughty, and when he called her to entertain the heads of his provinces by dancing, she dared to defy him. Ahasuerus banished her on the advice of his chamberlains and the seven princes of Medea and Persia.
They called for beautiful virgins to be interviewed by the king. They had a contest for a new replacement queen! Maidens came from all over, and submitted to a year of training in protocol. Each was called before the king. Some remained as concubines, others left for noble marriages, but were wealthy with clothes and jewels when they left.
Esther won. No one knew that she was a Jewess from a high-ranking family. She was chosen under Persian law, and as queen, had her own palace, her own feminine administration. Her uncle Mordecai, who had raised her, sat at the palace gate, representing his people.
Haman, who came from a princely family, was promoted, and insisted that everyone of lesser rank must bow before him, which was his right. Mordecai refused. Haman hated Jews, and especially Mordecai. He twisted the truth and got the king to establish a law that sentenced the Jews to death and confiscated their belongings, clinching the deal with 10,000 silver talents, a huge sum of money.
Mordecai sent word to Esther to save them. She was to go to the throne room and risk death by asking for an audience. She feared to do so, and Mordecai sent her this message: “Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king’s palace any more than all the other Jews. For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”
Esther asked all the Jews of Shushan to fast and pray for three days. She approached the king uninvited, and stretched forth her hands in supplication to him. He raised his scepter, granting her permission to speak, and she invited him and Haman to a feast set for three days later.
She bathed in different oils daily for three days in preparation, and had a new robe made to enhance her loveliness. The king extended his scepter again when she appeared in great beauty. On the second day of the feast, Esther confessed that she was a Jewess and what Haman’s plans were. The king hanged him on the gallows he had built for Mordecai.
When God called Esther, He placed a scepter from the inner in her hand. Remember the importance of her three days of preparation.
When Jesus came to earth, he was the Head of the Seven Mystery Schools, the only one who was ever given the scepter from the inner, giving him his Father’s full authority.
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”–John 3:16. Do you realize what this means? Jesus was destined to bring the world back from evil’s plan of destruction.
Paul, in Hebrews 1:3, summed up the whole of the Plan of Salvation: A son in the image and likeness of God, named before he came, “Whom He has appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.”
The Elect are named Sons and Daughters of God and of men. God named His angels “spirits.” Spirit is the primary, unformed substance of God, waiting to be made into form. “And of the angels He says, Who makes His angels spirits, and His ministers a flame of fire.”–Hebrews 1:7. Paul is speaking of those who worship the Begotten Son of God. As individuals returning to the Source, we are again facing new and important initiations before August 10. Power is being built to a pinnacle. All are being tried and tested under the Law of God as to how we apply His Light as power.
The Power of God runs the universes and hold planets in their orbits; the overall Mind of God runs the world. The world does not believe in the Power of God; not every minister, priest or rabbi believes in the Power of God. Jesus, who incarnated as Hermes, Abraham, Moses, won’t take on flesh again. He is a Creator god whom we adore. He walks earth today and still rules above, holding us under management by his golden Scepter of Power.
We are now gathered in a state of grace, which is a state of good manners, the first protocol and the initiation of ascension. As you cover others’ transgressions you create a state of grace. You do not mention that the other fellow has stumbled, just cover his transgression. Grace manifests in odd ways. It was in operation when you went shopping, searching for something particular, and “accidentally” found yourself at the right counter. Do you thank and praise God for the miracle, or do you even recognize it?
Leave your bondage to the world and raise your scepter and stand. When you begin to feel the presence of the Master, offer your devotion to the Source of Power; raise your scepter high. When you receive the benefit of greater quantity and quality of love for the release of Power, hold your scepter high. When people feel the vibration about you, you have become a “spirit of Power and minister of flame and fire.”
Jesus stands and releases the Power we have asked for ourselves and other for whom we’ve prayed. Know this glory uses you now. Raise your scepter and say, “I am grateful for the glory and knowledge that the Power is using me. Father, I have prepared myself by my devotion, and I speak the Word for a miracle. Let the Power take charge,” and you have the miracle. A time comes when every breath takes you higher and you ascend on every breath. The Power is always there to draw on, to express, and to release to others. “I prostrate myself before thee in glory.” Then I raise my scepter and say, “Let it be so.” This is the Power and glory of His angels and spirits and His ministers, who are a flame of fire!
Seeing Beyond the Veil
Edna Lister transcript, June 7, 1970, Cleveland, OH. Elizabeth Barnes, Irene White, scribes. Acts 9:1-9.
“And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, and desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem. And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do. And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man. And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus. And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink.”–Acts 9:1-9.
The Power being released has been increasing so gradually it would be hard to stand and know that it has increased at all. Ascension is the process of drawing the life sparks of soul substance in from the cellular physical to the molecular desire body, to the atomic mental, and finally to the electronic fire body.
A similar ascension is taking place in the world of mind with the reopening of the Magna Carta, the Great Charter of Law, as it was opened in the beginning before Belial, the Father of Lies, covered the truth in the blackness he had created in trying to destroy the world. Belial has failed because Jesus lifted that veil of darkness with his sacrifice in the Crucifixion. The end of the Armageddon was declared in Heaven June 1, 1970, leaving only small portions of blackness to be brought forth into the Light. The Elect must lift the last of this darkness from earth, using their bodies to absorb its force so the roving Legions of Christ can sack and funnel it into the Sun’s corona.
In ascending the physical body, the change must occur first in the heart and the corresponding heart centers of the vehicles that are higher in their rate of vibration (molecular, atomic and electronic). This physical ascension has caused a peculiar heart condition that results from the inner conflict between Light and darkness within the individual embodied souls. In seeking to raise the vibration of the physical through the desire and mental degrees, many truth teachers have lost their physical bodies because the Power being released is too great for their bodes to withstand.
Meanwhile, those who are devoted to evil have taken no vacation, but have continued creating darkness. The Father of Lies left sealed orders, which have now been opened. Three political powers (the internationalists, the Soviet Union, and Communist China) are urgently trying to start another Armageddon.
This worldwide politicking dovetails with the story of Saul's conversion on the road to Damascus. Saul had been raised hating anything less than full religious orthodoxy. He had especially special targeted the Jews who had become followers of Jesus Christ. He had treated them brutally and persecuted the, but under the surface, he had a terribly guilty conscience.
And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and to him said The Lord appeared to Ananias in a vision, and said, “Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and enquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth, and hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight.” Ananias protested, saying, “Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem: and here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name.
But the Lord explained to Ananias, “He is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake.” Thus Saul, who was destined to become the great apostle Paul, was salvaged from the grip of evil and made to serve the Lord. First he was struck blind, symbolic of the darkness that he has permitted evil to create through his hatred of Jesus’ teachings of the love of God for His children. Then the Lord caused Saul to see a vision of Ananias, whose name means “God has given,” to heal him by the laying on of hands.
Paul was made blind to the world as he had known it and seen it in order to lift the veil and truly see the truth of reality that lies above and beyond the world of appearances. This is happening to the Elect today as the high degree of Power coming through today is lifting us above the violent elements that seek to strike us and destroy our civilization.
Perfectly Glorious Ascension
Edna Lister outline, June 14, 1970, Cleveland, OH. Ephesians 4:1-24.
“I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Wherefore he saith, when he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.) And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; but speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love. This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. But ye have not so learned Christ; if so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; and be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.”–Ephesians 4:1-24.
This is a chapter of initiation. Ascension comes only through initiations on the seven great Degrees: Rebirth, Baptism by Water, Baptism by Fire, Transfiguration, Crucifixion, Resurrection and Ascension. Ascension initiations always involve growth and expansion, unfolding the begotten powers that are ours because God has made us in His image and likeness. You are always opening and developing your glands and brain cells. As we approach August 10, which is a great initiatory period in our cycle of Ascension, we know that it is time to put off the old worldly ideas and put on the new. The time is now, with the opening of the new Magna Carta, for us to become Masters of law, which is a great set of initiations.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.” John 1:1-3. The Word vibration contains all Mind, Substance and Power, which is new because evil is wiped out; Belial is conquered and the Armageddon is closed. To speak this, we have used the same Word, the same vibration as in the Genesis. (Explain how we are made Light again.)
“Speaking the truth in love, [we] may grow up into him in all things, who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplies, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, makes increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.”–Ephesians 4:15-16. Your whole body can be made new, “compacted,” if you follow the laws Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount. The Light will renew you at night while your body sleeps. Each of us must be a “prisoner of the Lord” and walk daily in His law, knowing that “There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all.”–Ephesians 4:4-6. God is the One Light of which we are made.
When Jesus “Ascended up on high, he led captivity captive.”–Ephesians 4:8. (Explain lifting desire and will for the first marriage of the Lamb.) The Master descended so “that he might fill all things.”–Ephesians 4:10. He left missions to all the begotten sons and daughters, to be apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers “for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry,” so that we might become the “measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ”–Ephesians 4:12-13.
The Golden Chalice of Life
Edna Lister outline, June 21, 1970, Cleveland, OH. Romans 8:28-39.
“We know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”–Romans 8:28-39.
The Golden Chalice is Light. The first chalice recorded in the Bible, was in the tabernacle in the wilderness, placed in the Ark of the Covenant, with Miriam’s sistrum, by Moses, Aaron and Joshua. Later, the Ark was housed in thre Holy of Holies in the Temple in Jerusalem. The chalice used at the Lord’s Supper is now in the Supreme Temple of the Sun. Communion on earth is a symbol of the chalice above.
To bring our ascension to pass, just one factor is involved—our identity with our Source. God made us in His image and likeness. We are begotten creators and we must more than believe this—we must know it. Knowledge of our identity is above thinking or meditating. Predestined means foreordained; the prefix “pre” means before, and “destine” is a destiny or mission. Predestination places you in the mission you were pre-designed to fulfill. It describes what you are, and what you are to do.
Jesus pointed to the way of Ascension, to be like him, to follow him, to do his works. We are his sheep, who hear his voice when he calls us to “Come up!” When we answer the call, all promises fulfill themselves around us. We must “wait upon the Lord.” Our lines of Light are tangled with all the other contacts of our lives. Everything depends on the length, breadth, depth and height of our love.
Your first need is the power to surrender self to be used by soul. Second, you need the strength to endure. Third, you need to love enough. You must give God enough time to work it together for good. To justify means to make it right before the world. Set your soul straight on the Path of Destiny prepared before you. To glorify means undergoing Transfiguration until you shine like the sun, white hot. The only way is to hold fast to your identity as a begotten creator. To stand blameless before the world represents God’s eternal grace.
“What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth.”–Romans 8:31, 33. Praise God and rejoice! No one can take your identity from you. We, the Elect, are called, justified and glorified!
The Sword of the Lord
Edna Lister transcript, June 28, 1970, Cleveland, OH. Elizabeth Barnes, Ruth Johnson, Florence Waldorf, Irene White, scribes. Judges 6:37-40, Judges 7:1-18.
“Behold, I will put a fleece of wool in the floor; and if the dew be on the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the earth beside, then shall I know that Thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as Thou hast said. And it was so: for he rose up early on the morrow, and thrust the fleece together, and wringed the dew out of the fleece, a bowl full of water. And Gideon said unto God, Let not Thine anger be hot against me, and I will speak but this once: let me prove, I pray Thee, but this once with the fleece; let it now be dry only upon the fleece, and upon all the ground let there be dew. And God did so that night: for it was dry upon the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground.”–Judges 6:37-40.
“Then Jerubbaal, who is Gideon, and all the people that were with him, rose up early, and pitched beside the well of Harod: so that the host of the Midianites were on the north side of them, by the hill of Moreh, in the valley. And the Lord said unto Gideon, The people that are with thee are too many for Me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me. Now therefore go to, proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, Whosoever is fearful and afraid, let him return and depart early from mount Gilead. And there returned of the people twenty and two thousand; and there remained ten thousand. And the Lord said unto Gideon, The people are yet too many; bring them down unto the water, and I will try them for thee there: and it shall be, that of whom I say unto thee, This shall go with thee, the same shall go with thee; and of whomsoever I say unto thee, This shall not go with thee, the same shall not go. So he brought down the people unto the water: and the Lord said unto Gideon, Every one that lappeth of the water with his tongue, as a dog lappeth, him shalt thou set by himself; likewise every one that boweth down upon his knees to drink. And the number of them that lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, were three hundred men: but all the rest of the people bowed down upon their knees to drink water. And the Lord said unto Gideon, By the three hundred men that lapped will I save you, and deliver the Midianites into thine hand: and let all the other people go every man unto his place. So the people took victuals in their hand, and their trumpets: and he sent all the rest of Israel every man unto his tent, and retained those three hundred men: and the host of Midian was beneath him in the valley. And it came to pass the same night, that the Lord said unto him, Arise, get thee down unto the host; for I have delivered it into thine hand. But if thou fear to go down, go thou with Phurah thy servant down to the host: And thou shalt hear what they say; and afterward shall thine hands be strengthened to go down unto the host. Then went he down with Phurah his servant unto the outside of the armed men that were in the host. And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the children of the east lay along in the valley like grasshoppers for multitude; and their camels were without number, as the sand by the sea side for multitude. And when Gideon was come, behold, there was a man that told a dream unto his fellow, and said, Behold, I dreamed a dream, and, lo, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the host of Midian, and came unto a tent, and smote it that it fell, and overturned it, that the tent lay along. And his fellow answered and said, This is nothing else save the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel: for into his hand hath God delivered Midian, and all the host. And it was so, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream, and the interpretation thereof, that he worshiped, and returned into the host of Israel, and said, Arise; for the Lord hath delivered into your hand the host of Midian. And he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put a trumpet in every man's hand, with empty pitchers, and lamps within the pitchers. And he said unto them, Look on me, and do likewise: and, behold, when I come to the outside of the camp, it shall be that, as I do, so shall ye do. When I blow with a trumpet, I and all that are with me, then blow ye the trumpets also on every side of all the camp, and say, The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon.”–Judges 7:1-18.
Chapters 6 and 7 of the Book of Judges contain one episode of the history of the children of Israel, the story of Gideon the judge. The verses of this text contain law.
Israel had been overrun by the Midianites and Amalekites, and were dwelling with these worshipers of Baal. The time came when the Lord decided to remove Israel from their midst. God selected Gideon, son of Joash, from the tribe of Manasseh to throw down the altars of Baal. Gideon himself was astonished that the Lord spoke to him through an angel. God speaks to us now and we are surprised, doubting that we are worthy.
Then Gideon said, “If now I have found favor in Your sight, then show me a sign that it is You who talk with me.” A cautious mediator needs “proof” that prophecy is not imagination, and God always gives us time to prove whether it is Him speaking. The story of Gideon epitomizes three different phases in soul development. The events of the sixth chapter deal with outer materialistic affairs. Gideon brought an offering of a kid, unleavened cakes, and broth in a pot. The angel told Gideon to lay the offering on a rock and pour the broth over it, thus wetting it and rendering it hard to set afire. When the angel touched the offering with his staff, fire rose from the rock and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes. An electronic fire consumed darkness. This was the first step that proved to Gideon that God’s communication was not mere self-delusion.
“Then Gideon gathered the tribes of Manasseh, Asher, Zebulun and Naphtali to fight the Amalekites and Midianites. Gideon said unto God, If thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said, behold, I will put a fleece of wool in the floor; and if the dew be on the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the earth beside, then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said. And it was so: for he rose up early on the morrow, and thrust the fleece together, and wringer the dew out of the fleece, a bowl full of water. And Gideon said unto God, Let me prove, I pray thee, but this once with the fleece; let it now be dry only upon the fleece, and upon all the ground let there be dew. And God did so that night: for it was dry upon the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground.”–Judges 6:36-40.
Then Gideon was ready. The Lord spoke to him again and said to send the doubters away; 10,000 stayed. The Lord said that 10,000 were too many. He only needed a small, responsible group who would stand, the few people who knew the better way. He took the multitude to the water to drink. God and Gideon needed those alive, alert ones. At the end, three hundred could stand and release Power. Three is the number of perfected personal expression at the physical, mental and spiritual levels. Three hundred indicates that you have lifted the emotional life and the mental life to become I AM. When you proclaim, “Let there be Light!” you become condensed Light. You are as immortal today as you will ever be. When you shake off the heavy sheath, you can align the emotional and mental with your Oversoul.
The Elect are now cleaning out the symbolic Midianites, to be free of anchors to the land of Egypt. When you place Ovrsoul I AM in charge and yourself in the subsidiary position, you have one-third imagination, one-third thinking, and one-third desire to equal your three hundred. When you have harnessed our three hundred, you have something glorious—you are shouting, “By the sword of God and of Gideon!” You hold the trumpet. You hold the lamp. The lamp shines on Gideon and his sword of surrender. With the trumpet you proclaim, “Let there be Light!” Yet when you hold the lamp above the pitcher of self, you slip back. Let the pitcher break for the Light to shine through.
For every disappointment in life, the angel with the flaming sword stands in the way. Ever since you left the garden of Eden, the angel with the flaming sword has stood there, barring your way of return to your lost paradise. Do not allow your pitcher of self to bring you down in consciousness. Stand and accept that the angel has barred you from your old lost paradise. Build a new paradise on a higher level using your great creative tools of desire, thinking and imagination. Invoke your angel with the flaming sword, to protect your home, your car, etc. Keep saying, “Let them release the Light!”
You are the Light of the world burning brightly. Your Light is burning! Your trumpet is ready to blow. Release your Light to the world. What can today’s youth do to build a new paradise in the world unless you stand and say, “By the sword of the Lord”? Raise it and know that you are drawing imagination, thinking and desire to the one goal. The youth will follow. They have no pattern for building; they are confused. But if you stand as a builder with the sword of the Lord before you, they will stand with you. Accept your place as a releaser of Light and Power. Pay no attention to the false gods of earth. Stand on your truth with the Lord’s banner over you, holding the sword of the Lord.
This story takes the soul from the creature realm to the Son of God stage. Gideon took all the worshipers of Baal to the altar and they went away filled with the Light of the living God. God delivered all the Midianite host into Israel’s hand. Hold your lamp high. When you proclaim, “Let there be Light!” the ungodlike are smashed. Let us be a challenge to this new generation. Often your prayers are not answered, if the answer would not be best for you. Be a challenge to the world and find yourself conquering!
Ascension is Renewal
Edna Lister outline, International New Thought Alliance 55th Congress, July 5, 1970, Del Coronado, CA. John 1:1-2.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God.”–John 1:1-2. The Word is all that is in the Mind of God, the vibration containing all that is. The Word is the Magna Carta for a whole, very long Day of Manifestation, a day of activity, with God as personality, creating, while half the Godhead remains as Wisdom, as divine Mind directing and controlling.
Originally, we knew who we were, for we knew that God had created us in His image and likeness. We spoke as Christed Ones, knowing that He had created us for Light to use. We knew that every Word we spoke was Light. Gradually, with the passing millennia, we forgot our heritage, remembering only that we worshiped God. Then the Lord Jesus the Christ renewed our identity with our Source, the name, Jesus, became our magic word.
The tone of my voice determines the Power that goes forth when I use my magic word. The depth of my belief in and devotion to the magic name of Jesus raises my vibration, ascends all my affairs and makes everything new. Two thousand years ago the darkness of evil was so great that all Gates of Light to heavenly realms were closed. Jesus came to earth to lift the weight of evil and open them. While he was here, he renewed our identity with God as our Father. Since he could not remain here long enough to finish his mission, he left his trained disciples. Paul challenged the world to follow Jesus’ mission. We have spent nearly two thousand years doing so through prayer. From the inner, it is being declared that we have finished the Armageddon. The Light of our prayers has lifted all but the aftermath of evil, which we are now cleaning up.
From the creature, who lives by instinctive desire and intelligence, through the son of man learning stage, we reached the son of God becoming stage. Paul’s challenge to the world has worked. As creators, we must lift our time and space into eternity now. The measure of my love and devotion is the measure of the eternity in which I live daily. What are its length, breadth, depth and height? Do I know that I am now Light condensed into form? Do I know that God has made me from the same Light of which all other things are made? Do I know that I am immortal now? Do I act as an immortal? Do I smile and lift the darkness, while ignoring its efforts to distract me from my goal? Do I know that every breath that I draw lifts me into a new dimension of glory? As a creator, I speak in Jesus’ magic name, saying, “Let this mountain be cast into the sea. Let there be Light!” As a creator in Jesus’ magic name, I say, “Let this lump or growth be withered and consumed now. Let there be Light!”
Do you know that our immortal living today is the only challenge to live in the Light that the youth of today must follow? Today we are the challenge to youth. They have no other. Read chapter eight of Romans, verses 28 to 39: “We know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” “In Jesus’ magic name, ‘Let there be Light now!’”
Jesus’ Miracles: Water Turned to Wine
Edna Lister outline, November 1, 1970, Cleveland, OH. John 2:1-11.
“And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there: And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage. And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come. His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it. And there were set there six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece. Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim. And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare it. When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the water knew;) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom, and saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now. This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him.”–John 2:1-11.
All miracles recorded in the Bible unfold some inner mystery. Jesus’ whole life had been but a preparation for his mission. The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ outlines another view of his work, which he pursued behind the public scenes. It gave the priests of the temple and the Elect, the descended creators, information about what his mission was to accomplish. We are only now bringing the real reason into the open. Only now do a few accept. The skies are often filled with clouds of glory, substance condensing to be used for healing, rays of power for for the Elect to use mind to speak the Word. How many millions, even of those in the first life wave, accept? Do you attempt to see the unseen? Do you have the idea of “seeing” the mysteries? Just listening to the words makes us feel good, but our service must mean more than that.
Mary and her cousin Elizabeth came to earth knowing exactly who they were, who their sons were and what they had to do. They trained them in readiness for their great mission. John the Baptist knew that he must be ready when the Orders came from the great Council to open Jesus’ mission. Each of the twelve souls who were to become the disciples had been sent and had to be ready for Jesus’ call. We, too, are in the right place and ready to hear the call.
The first chapter of the Gospel of John sets the keynote for Jesus’ mission. John the Baptist opens the first day of Jesus’ mission to renew our knowledge of the Source and our identity with that Source. All else was but a preparation. Study the verses 12 to 28, for they give you the story of that first day. The second day is revealed in verses 29-51. The Holy Spirit descended on Jesus and he chose the first of his disciples.
The second chapter opens with the third day, when Mary initiates the public portion of Jesus’ ministry. Love must be the opener for every new day. Only Love can send forth the rays that Mind knows must be the next step. Love, as Power, speaks the Word. When you speak the Word, you must say “Let” to absorb and consume all evil to make way for the miracle. The six waterpots of stone represent our firm prayer molds. They must be constant and unwavering and filled to the brim until the mold is complete. Yet even then we must keep the Light as power flowing and send the substance forth from the brimming molds.
Water represents pure substance from the Source, which we must use. The blood-red wine represents energy and movement. The pure invisible substance must be turned into energy to become visible as a miracle. You must know that the substance is waiting there, condensed to become visible on our spoken Word of Mother Love. To speak the Word includes knowing the right time to act. The third day represents the right time. Six is the creative number you use to start the flow by “acting as if” you already have the miracle! Knowing is standing unwaveringly, Now, rejoice! for this spreads the flow!
Jesus’ Miracles: The Centurion’s Servant Healed
Edna Lister outline, November 8, 1970, Cleveland, OH. Matthew 8:5-13.
“And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him, and saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him. The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.”–Matthew 8:5-13. Jesus had been in Syria, where he had been healing the multitudes. Many people followed him everywhere, from Galilee to Jerusalem. He set the keynote of his whole teaching in a brief textbook, which we call the Sermon on the Mount. It contains everything we need to know for complete Ascension.
Jesus came down from the Mount and entered Capernaum, where Rome based a Century. Now a centurion was an officer, an educated leader among the Roman Legions. Although he is unnamed, he was a follower of Jesus the Christ. Before he came to Jesus, he had given the Jews of Capernaum the gift of a new synagogue, near the shore of Galilee. Thus, history records that he had made a gift before he asked. This highlight the difference between “believing to see” and waiting, and “see and then believe” and making a gift. His declaration to Jesus was “I say do” and it is done. You do not need to come, Just speak the Word; your authority is absolute.” This is a marvelous lesson in timeless infinity. The centurion had moved up from the outer appearances of time and space of earth into eternity.
“The children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”–Matthew 8:12. Those who cannot accept the oneness now are left in the outer darkness for another Day of Manifestation. Jesus did not make a great “to do” about the healing; he outlined the truth and said, “Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee.” In the magic name of Jesus, we must use this formula: “Let it be so!”
What is the difference between our world today compared with the time of Jesus’ mission? Today people curse in the open, whereas then they cursed while hidden from the public view. However, they were just as evil. Instead of one man cursing another, today we see many cursing many others. Can we conquer this evil? Yes. A thousand times, yes. Ten thousand ministers are without churches because their congregations have put them out. Is this a sign?
Last Sunday a bomb was planted in a bakery next to a church. One of our people witnessed a nun running into police station to report a time bomb, which later was discovered of have been powerful enough to blow up a city block. Is this a sign of evil being conquered? We, the Elect, are love unquenchable, and must ascend in consciousness to blossom as a water lily rises from the muck of earth. We must move past time and space into eternity, where all is timeless and infinite now. We must ascend to our high point of glory, which is Light, our place of worshipful receptivity. Glory looks through all darkness and sees only Light. In this place of glory, the Christed humility of Ascension enfolds us in a simplicity of Godlike expression that is all-powerful.
What do you consider your account with God is worth today? When I feel that I cannot love God enough and seek to love Him more, the Christ vibration of unconquerable faith takes charge. I become a challenge to evil. What can I do? I declare that every illegal drug, every pill manufactured becomes a pure spiritual substance the instant it touches any person. Do you believe this is possible? God conquers as me and through me. I am become His challenge to all evil. All Mind uses me as creative thinking, all power moves through me as energy, and all substance becomes spiritual sustenance now. I accept my place. I stand unconquerable. I hold my high point of glory now!
Jesus’ Miracles: Faith Heals You
Edna Lister outline, November 15, 1970, Cleveland, OH. Matthew 9:18-25, Hebrews 11:1-3.
“While he spake these things unto them, behold, there came a certain ruler, and worshipped him, saying, My daughter is even now dead: but come and lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live. And Jesus arose, and followed him, and so did his disciples. And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment: For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole. But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour. And when Jesus came into the ruler's house, and saw the minstrels and the people making a noise, he said unto them, Give place: for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn. But when the people were put forth, he went in, and took her by the hand, and the maid arose.”–Matthew 9:18-25.
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report. Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.”–Hebrews 11:1-3.
What is faith? Faith is a substance, and a Power vibration. When we say, “Let,” in complete faith, the vibration flows through our breath. How do we contact this? It depends on what we believe. The Gospel accounts of Jesus provide a descriptive, constructive and historical picture of him. The Gospels also give us an insight into the minds and hearts of the disciples and other characters.
The Gospels also reveal divine identity, Fatherhood, Son-ship, Brotherhood and Motherhood, which is hidden, yet revealed in many ways. The miracle of wine and Jesus’ last words to John and his mother from the cross are outstanding revelations of the feminine. Jesus made Capernaum his headquarters, since it was the disciples’ home, and where he first called Peter and Andrew. The eighth chapter of Matthew records miracle after miracle and leads up to the ninth, which also contains a full history of miracles and Power. Jesus rebuked the storm winds on the Sea of Galilee. Speaking with strong words and with authority, he cast out devils, entities and snoopers. He spoke with a strong, authoritative voice, nothing about him was weak.
Jesus sent his disciples out sent them to the places where they were being trained. They were to eat with sinners, and not off alone by themselves. When you mingle with a lesser vibration, your higher vibration will lift evil. To want to go off alone is avoidance of responsibility of lifting your share of evil. Putting wine in new bottles symbolizes being ready for expansion and the expression of new ideas.
“While he spake these things unto them, behold, there came a certain ruler, and worshipped him, saying, My daughter is even now dead: but come and lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live. And Jesus arose, and followed him, and so did his disciples. And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment: For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole. But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour. And when Jesus came into the ruler's house, and saw the minstrels and the people making a noise, he said unto them, Give place: for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn. But when the people were put forth, he went in, and took her by the hand, and the maid arose.”–Matthew 9:18-25.
As Jesus responded to the ruler’s request, he was interrupted by the woman with a flow of blood. Her complete faith tapped the Power moving through him; he felt it and she was healed. So, the lesson is to never resent the delay or interruption because frustration is repudiation, which closes the Gates and shuts off the Power. To accept the delay releases Power from the Source through you to heal. It draws life and Light through you. Pay no attention to criticism or to the world. You can raise the “dead” by saying, “Come back. Move into your body.”
You can declare, "Let Your Light, Father, remove evil from my eyes and ears. Let Your Light remove this mountain of criticism, resentment, and judgment. Please, remove my unbelief. Father, move in and possess me until I cannot hear Name's voice."
“As they went out, behold, they brought to him a dumb man possessed with a devil. And when the devil was cast out, the dumb spake: and the multitudes marvelled, saying, It was never so seen in Israel.”–Matthew 9:32-33. Do you believe this? Is the world worse than ever? Hopeless? Today’s choice is a challenge. First, we ascend through praise and devotion, telling the Father of our love and His greatness until we feel surrounded by Light, soft, tender and safe. Then we bring this soul exaltation with us, back to earth-consciousness and hold it by rejoicing and loving in the stillness of devotion. “Let” expands the Power of faith, sending the full Substance for healing. Use strong words to make our declarations, assume responsibility for the triumph of Light, and the Power does the work.
Jesus’ Miracles: When is Healing Lawful?
Edna Lister outline, November 22, 1970, Cleveland, OH. Scripture: Matthew 12:1-13.
“At that time Jesus went on the Sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungered, and began to pluck the ears of corn and to eat. But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the Sabbath day. But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungered, and they that were with him; how he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests? Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the Sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless? But I say unto you, that in this place is one greater than the temple. But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice,’ ye would not have condemned the guiltless. And when he was departed thence, he went into their synagogue: and, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath days? that they might accuse him. And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the Sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out? How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the Sabbath days. Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other.”–Matthew 12:1-13.
Jesus came after a hundred years rife with rumors, and men setting themselves up as prophets, some even calling themselves “the Messiah.” Many were captured and put to death by the Romans, and their followers scattered. Jesus taught self-sacrifice, the Way of the Cross. He was accepted because the cross was a sign of the imperishable good, the symbol from which he reigned. The cross is a symbol of law, and the Bible’s mission is to bring the cross and its central figure to the minds and hearts of humanity. Viewed from the perspective of time and history, the cross is supposed to symbolize God in action, to transcend time and interpret history. Unless Jesus had been and is a historical figure, he and our religion become mythical, only a story told 'round a campfire. The Bible assigns a universal significance to Jesus the Christ.
What is healing? Healing deals with us as individuals, it resurrects, redeems and saves us. Healing transforms, recreates and remakes us. Is it lawful to do these things? The Bible, which is our textbook, gives us full authority and examples for our enlightenment. Jesus’ whole ministry was based on these principles. His hungry disciples plucked the corn and ate. Two schools of thought interpret this differently: One group says that you have the right to eat or right to starve. Choice. First is the choice to eat or to starve in the mundane world. The second choice is holy: Each must choose whether to eat of the Temple showbread. Third was Jesus’ choice to transform the withered hand, to do well on the Sabbath day.
Faith is action as resurrection, redemption and transformation. This chapter illustrates faith’s action as it moves through the physical, emotional and mental life. Our practice of faith can be active or inactive. From creature to creator, we are faith as the Substance of the One God, with no separation. In the first dimension, we demonstrate the creature’s instinctive intelligence and desire. As we enter the second dimension, we receive the son of man bestowal of Spirit and soul through assimilating experiences. In the third dimension, we become a son or daughter of God. Finally, in the fourth dimension, we act as a creator, knowing the adage, “As above, so below.” From here, nothing is impossible.
Tell the story of David Wilkerson, author of The Cross and the Switchblade. {Wilkerson was a pastor who answered the call to minister to violent New York City street gangs.} He had faith that he was one with God, walked into a basement filled with dope-addicted souls and converted them. God does the work. Do you believe this? Are you one with Him? No “there” exists, just “here” and “now.” Praise and rejoice that you are At One with The One.
Stand, Endure and Hold
Edna Lister Prayer Circle outline, November 30, 1970, Washington, D.C. Hebrews 11:1.
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”–Hebrews 11:1.
“Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin.”–1 Peter 4:1.
All miracles recorded in the Bible unfold some inner mystery. The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ outlines the Master’s whole work leading up to his mission. His life, from birth to his Ascension, forms our pattern for doing the greater works of Ascension. Jesus did everything, and more than anything that the creators, who had descended, had previously done on earth. We must stand on and hold fast to this one principle: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”–Hebrews 11:1. This is the faith, as substance, which moves into action to fulfill the miracle when we say, “Let there be Light.” We must know two things to become the Light: Our Source of Being, and our identity with that Source.
To stand as faith, you must know that God is everywhere evenly present and available as the principles of Light, number, color, tone and form. Nothing can be left out since God has created everything from the one substance. So, we have one foundation, the Source of All Life, and breath, the Holy Breath, is our contact with our Source. Our breath is our identity with God, who has made us in His image and likeness.
To endure means to know. Do we believe that we can overcome and cure, to heal evil, to recreate it into good? To endure also means to be aware and alert, to say, “Let there be Light.” We must endure to hold the magic Power in the name of Jesus Christ. To endure, we must declare, “Let there be Light,” first and always. We are lifting evil from earth with every prayer.
We stand on our identity with our Source and endure all that earth life bring by declaring, “Let there be Light,” and holding fast to this truth without wavering. From October 20 to January 12, in my Society, we know it as and call it the Master’s period of joy. Joy is our keynote, which sponsors our devotion to God as our Father, our Guardian Angels and as our Source. When we begin to make earth into our heaven, we release the Power that lifts us into knowing that God is everywhere evenly present and available. We know our Source and our identity with our Source.
In 1967, a graduate student, Jocelyn Bell Burnell, discovered the pulsar star, a neutron star that emits extremely bright pulses of light through its north and south poles, like a lighthouse among the stars. Our devotion lifts us above the dense vibrations of earth into the realm of pulsar light, which in turn lifts us even higher. Our earth becomes our heaven of Light, which is all Mind, all Substance and all Power. Thus, we know that God is everywhere evenly present and available. Our God consciousness collapses space and time into eternity now. We know that no “there” exists, only “here” and “now.”
Jesus’ Miracles: The Blind Man at Siloam
Edna Lister outline, December 6, 1970, Cleveland, OH. John 8:48-59, John 9:1-15.
“Then answered the Jews, and said unto him, Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil? Jesus answered, I have not a devil; but I honor my Father, and ye do dishonor me. And I seek not mine own glory: there is one that seeks and judges. Verily, verily, I say unto you, if a man keep my saying, he shall never see death. Then said the Jews unto him, Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou sayest, If a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death. Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? And the prophets are dead: whom makest thou thyself? Jesus answered, If I honor myself, my honor is nothing: it is my Father that honors me; of whom ye say, that he is your God: Yet ye have not known him; but I know him: and if I should say, I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you: but I know him, and keep his saying. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad. Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.”–John 8:48-59.
“As Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him. I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay, and said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam (which is by interpretation, Sent). He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing. The neighbors therefore, and they which before had seen him that he was blind, said, Is not this he that sat and begged? Some said, This is he: others said, He is like him: but he said, I am he. Therefore said they unto him, How were thine eyes opened? He answered and said, A man that is called Jesus made clay, and anointed mine eyes, and said unto me, Go to the pool of Siloam, and wash: and I went and washed, and I received sight. Then said they unto him, Where is he? He said, I know not. They brought to the Pharisees him that aforetime was blind. And it was the Sabbath day when Jesus made the clay, and opened his eyes. Then again the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. He said unto them, He put clay upon mine eyes, and I washed, and do see.”–John 9:1-15.
Jesus spoke of Abraham. How could these ignorant people honor Jesus when they were full believers in death? “Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? And the prophets are dead: whom makest thou thyself? Jesus answered, If I honor myself, my honor is nothing: it is my Father that honoureth me; of whom ye say, that He is your God.”–John 8:53-54. his is one of the most wonderful chapters of the New Testament. “Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.”–John 8:59. This verse serves as proof that Jesus practiced the power of invisibility. Jesus was a healer, but he practiced healing according to the laws pertaining to five categories of expression, psychology, metaphysics, science, philosophy and mysticism.
The young blind man could not have held onto his healing unless he was cured of the old. Judea was a hot country, so the clay dried quickly. It was hard to soak off, so the whole time he must have been thinking and saying to himself, “I will see.”
“As Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him. I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.”–John 9:1-5. These verses seem to set aside the laws of spiritual debt. No wonder there was so much confusion. Jesus knew and told his disciples that this was not personal debt; the young man had been sent by God to serve as an ensample for Jesus. This scripture even mentions that the Pool of Siloam means “Sent.”
The temple officials questioned the man and his parents repeatedly. He and his parents provided a perfect ensample of faith. “Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, ‘We see’; therefore your sin remains.”–John 9:41. This verse is both a miracle and a parable of responsibility. We are responsible for our debts. Lifting just our own personal debts is not enough; we must lift all. Further, we must live by three great principles–fidelity, tolerance and fortitude. Fidelity means being faithful. Tolerance does not see evil. Fortitude is the ability to lift all and everything. Obedience to divine laws forms rays of repulsion, which admit only the River of Life. Disobedience shuts off our access to its life-giving flow.
“I renew my vows. I am become.” Wait upon the Lord, praise a thousand times an hour saying, “Thank You, Father, thank You,” every second. Our souls vibrate with the pulsars, and we orbit higher than linear light. Hold up your sword of faith and evil shrinks away. How many mountains have you removed into the “Sea of Light?” Complete those unfinished miracles, now!
Jesus’ Miracles: Increasing the Loaves and Fishes
Edna Lister outline, December 13, 1970, Cleveland, OH. Mark 6:31-46.
“And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat. And they departed into a desert place by ship privately. And the people saw them departing, and many knew him, and ran afoot thither out of all cities, and outwent them, and came together unto him. And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things. And when the day was now far spent, his disciples came unto him, and said, This is a desert place, and now the time is far passed: Send them away, that they may go into the country round about, and into the villages, and buy themselves bread: for they have nothing to eat. He answered and said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they say unto him, Shall we go and buy two hundred pennyworth of bread, and give them to eat? He saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? go and see. And when they knew, they say, Five, and two fishes. And he commanded them to make all sit down by companies upon the green grass. And they sat down in ranks, by hundreds, and by fifties. And when he had taken the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and brake the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before them; and the two fishes divided he among them all. And they did all eat, and were filled. And they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments, and of the fishes. And they that did eat of the loaves were about five thousand men. And straightway he constrained his disciples to get into the ship, and to go to the other side before unto Bethsaida, while he sent away the people. And when he had sent them away, he departed into a mountain to pray.”–Mark 6:31-46.
We need some background to understand this miracle. In the first part of chapter six, Herod had married his brother Philip’s wife Herodias, while his brother was still alive. John the Baptist publicly chastised her wickedness. She knew she dare not kill him while he was in prison, so she had her daughter Salome work her wiles on Herod, to trap him into killing John. Just before this miracle, the disciples had buried John the Baptist. They were still grieving his loss. Jesus was busy, and had no time to eat. “Come ye apart.” The disciples told him to send the people away. He asked how loaves and fish they had, and was told, “Five, and two fish.” Then Jesus had them sit in ranks fifties and by hundreds. There must be order to have a miracle, and this created an expectant attitude. They became quiet. Jesus must have been speaking to them about obedience.
“And when he had taken the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and brake the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before them; and the two fishes divided he among them all. 6:42 And they did all eat, and were filled.”–Mark 6:41-42. What happened? Power and Substance obeyed Mind, condensing Substance as it descended. We all do this at night; we draw down the next grade of Substance above the visible from our Oversoul Star when we pray for forgiveness. Our effort of love, the quality of our belief in love governs our giving. We cannot hold any past idea, but must forgive first. We must be cleansed to the point of being unable to remember the past. The whole New Testament is a living recital of the fourth dimension of glory, where every breath is a new incarnation of Mind and Substance as our very cells.
We must discard the statement “I’ll ever do that again” for a new declaration of intention: “I repent. I accept. I ascend.” Now we can say, “My measuring rod is that I make myself good so everyone else can be happy. I have my new plan, my new code of life, and am all ready to face it. I plan to give of myself lavishly, to forget self control, to live by soul conquering. My orbit is now unconquerable faith. I compare myself with the Christ only. I have no past, for this triumph over darkness, ecstasy of soul and rapture of love blots it out. My faith dares to say, “It shall come to pass.” I share my five loaves and two fish with the five thousand varieties of world darkness. I always have twelve baskets left over to share, one for each zodiacal sign! I praise and I rejoice!”
The Prodigal Son
Edna Lister outline, December 20, 1970, Cleveland, OH. Luke 15:11-32.
“A certain man had two sons: And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want. And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him. And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry. Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant. And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound. And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and entreated him. And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends: But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf. And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine. It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.”–Luke 15:11-32.
The story of a wealthy father who had two sons, one driven by a sense of duty. No gift exists without the giver, no love without one who loves; otherwise, all giving is all for self. The younger son was like his mother, blithe, no greed, no hoarding, just an innocent selfishness. His brother always made him look wrong. He thought, “I’ll rid them of me.” He believed all that his friends told him, spent his inheritance and found out what false gods are, which is nothing. His repentance, when it came, was of a high dimension of soul, not from the teeth out. The older brother lived on an earthbound three-dimensional self-centered plan; subconscious soul piled up and added to.
The younger son loved, but knew he would meet the same jealousy from his brother, and that he was everything his brother had accused him of being. When he gave up his sin, he knew he would must pay. He returned to accept the place of a servant and must have been greatly surprised at his reception and his reward, a robe, ring and new shoes. When you give up self, you must make your plan, not just float or slip down. The elder brother heard the music and laughter, and must have experienced the same old jealousy and wanting credit for doing what he wanted to do. His father told him that everything he had was already his.
What does the world see when it looks at you? What do you see when you look at God? His glory on me and through me can dazzle the world. The robe, the shoes and the ring represent the dimension of depth. The robe is the garment of the oracle, which is Light, with no idle words. You must accept your inheritance and make your plan to ascend in consciousness into the vibration of nonresistance. The shoes represent understanding that must climb to comprehension. An oracle gives of their gift of prophecy, and is able to set aside all evil, darkness and destruction by declaring that “It is good.”
Tomorrow is good, if you have the burning desire and vivid imagination that it shall be so. To do this, you must become Light as the principle of tone, which serves as the tuning fork for physical glands, spine and nerves, your desire body vital centers, mental body lotus centers and soul sun centers. Living by soul, not self, will keep them properly timed, adjusted to one another, so that you may walk tall without sagging. Then shall you be brilliant, triumphant and victorious!
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Edna Miriam Lister
1884–1971
The original Christian Pioneering Mystic,
Platonist philosopher, American Idealist, Founder, Society of the Universal Living Christ, minister, teacher, author, wife, and mother.
References
The Holy Bible. King James Version (KJV).
The Oxford English Dictionary, Compact Ed. 2 volumes. Oxford University Press, 1971.
Wilkerson, David. The Cross and the Switchblade.