Edna Lister’s Sermons 1955, Part II.
Edna Lister outline, July 31, 1955, Cleveland, Ohio. Scripture: John 4:5-14.
Then cometh he [Jesus] to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour. There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink. (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.) Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water? Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
–John 4:5-14.
This episode illustrates the difference between life and no life. Jews normally had no contact with Samaritans, whom they regarded as unclean according to the laws of purification. Thus, Jesus startled the woman by asking her for a drink, and further with his mystical statement. She did not understand him. Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
–John 4:13-14.
You are reborn from above, when Light descends to the sacrum, at the base of the spine, awakening it and causing it to bubble up as does an artesian well, 1 to everlasting life. Why do people die? Death is the absence of life. You begin to die when you quit growing. An acorn makes an oak because it continues growing.
Your desires set the keynote of how you grow during your life. You inhale eternal life constantly. Some seeds never grow beyond the sprouting stage, but die and other seeds, often weeds, take their places. Some are watered every day, and others never have a chance to receive the joy that bubbles up in the living water. You miss the joy in life when you subject yourself to the enemy idea. All it takes is a suggestion, one thought and down you go in consciousness.
You create adversaries by growing down, not up, a tendency that you must overcome. You know that you can create with Light from the size of the darkness, the messes, the adversaries you create for yourself. Yet you can learn and grow mentally every day, if you let Power use you and cleanse subconscious mind.
One boss entered his office, looked at an employee and said, Are you happy?
She said, Yes.
He replied, Then why don’t you tell your face about it?
Your conscious mind is perfect. Why do you not tell your subconscious about it? Let it in on your love, your joy and your high vows.
Today’s let-down is tomorrow’s set-down. Today’s glory fashions tomorrow’s ascension growth. Today’s rejoicing brings your tomorrow’s miracles. Today’s living waters water tomorrow’s success.
Edna Lister transcript; July 31, 1955, Cleveland, Ohio. Scribe: Ruth Johnson. Scripture: John 4:5-14.
Then cometh he [Jesus] to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour. There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink. (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.) Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water? Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
–John 4:5-14.
Jesus met this Samaritan woman in the sixth hour of the Mother for a mystical reason. The orthodox Jews scorned the Samaritan Jews because they had married non-Jews, and were ritually unclean according to Hebrew Law. Jesus was unconventional. He broke many traditional barriers because he knew that Light had to win over darkness, and condemning others does not help Light win.
“Living water” is Christ consciousness born of inner Light, and you are reborn every time you look up toward the Source. The pure Light of life functions through the endocrine system, so lift your hands and head when you pray. Light descends the spine to the sacrum plexus center, and becomes a bubbling well of life within you. The creative fire floods upward gloriously when Light touches those nerves. Yet you constrict your thyroid if you look down or drop your head while reading or praying.
Soul ascension is the secret of all success, inner or outer, which unfolds just as an acorn becomes an oak tree. An acorn is no better than any other seed; it can sprout shoots that die, but eventually an oak grows from some of those shoots. People are like seeds. They sprout a shoot when a new teacher comes to town, but their shoot dries out and dies when the teacher leaves. They continue to sprout shoots, teacher after teacher. You can see the dried up shoots as lines in their faces. Those who sprout vital shoots drink deeply of spiritual waters, and their vitality is visible.
“Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.”–John 4:13-14. Drink of the bubbling well-spring of eternal life, which is the source of enthusiasm, to water your Tree of Life. Ascend in surrender, love, acceptance and sacrifice in the love of God.
You die a little each time you fail to finish a project, or to fulfill your vows or promises. The mental body atoms collapse and cause stiffness, mental fuzziness, depression and paralysis in body or affairs. Jesus taught the Samaritan woman these truths that day. You subject yourself to the idea of outer enemies, but you are your greatest enemy, and each must conquer the enemy called self. You create the adversary who rides you with a whip and spurs. No power on earth can be an enemy if you refuse to accept the enemy-idea or give it form and substance. Another may tell you that you have an enemy, but you create it.
Your heart’s desires set your keynote of life. Evil is impotent until someone names it My. Just saying, “I am a metaphysician,” or, “I follow truth work,” takes you nowhere. Most people have buried so much in the subconscious mind that their misused soul substance acts as an anchor, which they must lift and repay. The son of a possessive mother spent his life in bitterness because his subconscious promoted the idea of “I’ve been cheated.” He constantly sought worldly power, not God, and his arrogance regularly offended others. Tell your subconscious that you are through with its nonsense. Never visualize yourself in a position of authority to aggrandize the self. If you are happy, tell your face about it.
Picture a great pipe organ being played: The world hears the underlying bass, which is the subconscious rumbling. Clean it up or subconscious negativity will arise to drown the high tones and bar success at the psychologically critical moment. Stay in your room of Light in the Lord’s house, and maintain your contact with the living waters.
Your subconscious is running you if you pay attention to negative words instead of lifting, and you are in the basement coal bin when you criticize another. Turn your imagination up to lift your consciousness from the basement. “What is that to thee? Follow thou me.” – John 21:22. Keep your nose out of other people’s business.
If your vision is high and you have surrendered, your bubbling well-spring waters your shoots into growth. As evil intentions leave the other fellow’s mind, Light absorbs darkness and brings peace. Picture a high altar, a throne, a beneficent Father. When you are there, declare, “I am the child of a wealthy King. I am wealthy before you, Father.” Power and glory will move through you to do the work when you see only Light.
Edna Lister transcript; August 7, 1955, Cleveland, Ohio. Scribes: Margaret Pratt Doan, Ruth Johnson. Scriptures: John 6:35, 47-51, Acts 15:23-33.
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. I am that bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”–John 6:47-51.
“I am the bread of life. He who comes to me shall never hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst.”–John 6:35.
These are among the most mystical statements Jesus ever uttered, and he said this to prepare his disciples for the Last Supper. If the Gospel writers had recorded everything Jesus said, it would fill the world’s libraries. The Gospels contain the keys to every possible combination of personality characteristics, and to every situation that could arise on earth. Jesus taught divine laws to cover every contingency.
The bread of life symbolizes Light as Mind, Substance and Power combined as one trinity of principle. When Substance is uppermost, Mind and Power uphold it as the principle from which form is built. When Mind is uppermost, the planner builds the mold, and Substance fills it. The bread of life is Light as Substance, ready to manifest in the world. Mind, Substance and Power are inseparable, and you create force, the source of your difficulties in life, when you try to separate them.
“That” is an impersonal name of God as principle, and “I am that bread of life” means that Jesus is the first Begotten Son of God, whom we call the Holy Breath. Your share of the Holy Breath is “that bread” you consciously accept and express. Life represents activity, while death is static. “Bread of life” implies light, fluffy, expansive, porous and open substance. “Living bread” is the divine Substance of God, the only substance that will lighten you to ascend.
You can apply five approaches to everything in the Bible, and you need them all to form a balanced whole—psychology, metaphysics, science, philosophy, and mysticism. Psychology studies personality relationships. Metaphysics includes statements of truth modified from primary principles. Scientific law, from our viewpoint, deals with the principle of nonresistance as the ultimate control of atomic power. Jesus taught a perfected philosophy of principle and personality. Mysticism deals with the personality behind principle. For instance, Jesus mentions his Father as a personality eleven times in one chapter of John. The Bible is all about personality and principle.
The 15th chapter of Acts is a history of Paul’s difficulties with his groups. This text begins with letters from apostles, elders and brethren in Judea and Jerusalem. Their letters symbolized the agreeing and adjusting that tied the lines of vibration between the groups, carried messages of praise, understanding and friendship, so the letters were ascending in quality:
“Then pleased it the apostles and elders with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company…chief men among the brethren. They wrote letters by them…So when they were dismissed, they came to Antioch, and when they had gathered the multitude together, they delivered the epistle. When they had read it, they rejoiced for the consolation. Judas and Silas, themselves being prophets also, exhorted and strengthened the brethren with many words. And after they had tarried there for a time, they were let go in peace from the brethren to the apostles.”–Acts 15:22-23, 30-33.
Apostles symbolize the super-conscious mind, great spiritual faculties and metaphysical principles. The disciples who slept in Gethsemane while Jesus prayed represent these faculties: James is imagination, John is intuition, and Peter is faith that illumines. Yet imagination, intuition and illumination could not remain awake for three hours to watch with the Master.
The elders represent the conscious mind’s pure intellectual faculties, logic, reason, discernment, discrimination and discretion, which sustain the elders and the brethren when you nourish them. The elders’ conscious soul mental faculties stand between the super-conscious and subconscious, and they can sink until the subconscious submerges them.
The brethren represent the subconscious mind’s instinctive intelligence, actions, and urges. Subconscious mind cannot reason, but it does make things seem plausible. Subconscious brethren misuse the faculties as bitterness, criticism, blame, pride and self-pity. The faculties fall asleep if the super-conscious apostles fail to nourish them, and the subconscious brethren rule.
How can you ascend unless you eat the Bread of Life? You have only one Crown of Life to earn, but we each have several personalities in the running: I want, I hope, I wish, I try, I seek, and I wait. The I-wishers sit and wish and wait. Dear little seekers, once you have found the Christ principle, what more is left to seek? You want the easy way, to sit and make statements instead of reaching for the Bread of Life.
Making metaphysical statements from a low point of consciousness is like shooting bullets that blast holes in your molds. They mean that you are trying to escape responsibility for lifting others to a cloud continent of Light. What would happen if you just stared at the food on the table and said, “I’m trying to eat”? Saying, “I am trying to obey law,” is just as foolish. You must hear, accept and obey.
The elders, the conscious mental faculties of logic, reason, discretion, discrimination and discernment, lack good common sense if they are undernourished. Subconscious mind agrees with the brethren who bow to old adversaries and create new ones, not the apostles who worship at the throne of God.
Your last waking thought directs your subconscious mind to worship, no matter what positive or negative thoughts, words or deeds you’ve done during the day. Oversoul apostles nourish and sustain soul and self. The Bread of Life moves through imagination, intuition and illumination. The elders bow to the brethren when they are full of the Bread of Life, saying, “Follow me” with a fiery voice.
Do you want to go home to God or to negative imaginings? What are you doing to your brethren and elders? You can redeem or convert only the subconscious mind, so purify it, do not let it limit you. You may approach the throne and say, “Father, I am pure,” if you have never been hurt or blamed another. You may not just look pure and sweet and get away with it. Become goodness until you are unconscious of your goodness. Everything responds to life and joy, as to a song.
You refuse responsibility when you dislike your share of the spiritual debts God gives you to lift. Is paying your fair share a terrible task? When your apostles accept responsibility and remain aware in the garden to release the Bread of Ascension, when your elders are observant, obedient and active, you do not ask, “Why should this happen to me?” Take it as an honor when you are chosen to lift. Be a strong one, reach with arms of Light and say, “Let it come, Father. I’ll lift.” Does it matter whose darkness you are lifting? Subconscious mind can become an obedient servant to law, without whining.
Let the brethren be joyous, which is the Bread of Life, of Ascension. The apostles, imagination, intuition and illumination, watch and wait with the Master. All answers flow with the River of Life as Christ consciousness when the apostles are awake. The greater the surface area of brain cells awakened and developed, the more the apostles can pour through illumination.
As the elders bow with the apostles for the Bread of Life, they wait upon them in the high place, singing, “I rejoice. This is good.” Then you may approach the throne of God and say, “I am that Bread of Life, nourishing and sustaining all Thou hast created.”
Edna Lister outline; August 14, 1955, Cleveland, Ohio. Scripture: Hebrews 11:1-11.
“Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and through it he being dead still speaks. By faith Enoch was taken away [translated] so that he did not see death; and was not found, because God had taken him: for before he was taken, he had this testimony, that he pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a reader of those that diligently seek Him. By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household; by which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith. By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he should receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he dwelt in the land of promise, as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; for he looked for a city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God. By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised.”–Hebrews 11:1-11.
Faith is the outer expression of an inner joyousness of soul because you love God enough. Hebrews 11 is a great summary of all the miracles the children of Israel had experienced. You need the heavenly manna to feed your miracles. When you love God enough, better than life, you create your own joy vibration. When you are joyous, you move under the protection of the great law of nonresistance. When you are no longer resisting, faith moves forth to conquer for you.
If faith is the substance of things hoped for, it becomes heavenly manna to feed you. You cannot understand faith that works miracles unless you also understand the promises that come before the miracles.
“I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”–Matthew 16:19. What is this kingdom? Where is it? To have any kingdom, you first decide what kind of kingdom it will be. You have your own kingdom, one that you have selected. Is it a kingdom of ease and comfort? No! It is a kingdom you earn. This all means that you need a life plan to create your kingdom. If it is a little plan for a kingdom in miniature, remember that what you bind on earth, you also bind in heaven. If you plan a large kingdom, why so it is!
“A man’s gift maketh room for him, and bringeth him before great men.”–Proverbs 18:16. Many gifts come to you from the outside, but talents are also gifts, which grow from within, like peaches from a tree, according to your desire. “What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.”–Mark 11:24.
Without training, your gift may remain useless. Exercise and practice using your gifts. Learn to use what you have, where you are. Every day, do something toward fulfilling your life plan. “By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches, and honour, and life.”–Proverbs 22:4. The Lord is a synonym for law. Humility loves the law. You have to be open-minded to see and to accept the gifts that the Lord bestows.
Humility dares to listen, to change, to declare everything good. Humility sees Light moving into the dark places, dares to incorporate any darkness in its plan—not to repudiate it—by declaring it good. Humility dares to live in the Light, to let go of the past and to push into higher Light, not dragging the past along, but making it a footstool.
To have the manna of faith feed you, you may use no willfulness or force in asking, make no half-demands, set no time limits. Instead, in the consciousness of the eternal now, declare, “Now is good.” All time is good time, but the best time is now. You lose the proper timing when you mentally jump from wanting it yesterday to thinking the miracle will never arrive. The greatest confusion comes from this. Climb steadily, rhythmically in time with your own chord of life, your life’s plan.
“He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.”–John 14:12. Do you honestly believe in this law? “With God, all things are possible.”–Matthew 19:26. Do you go just this far, then think that you are doing it?
What do you expect? Creature consciousness fears, doubts and expects lack. The creator believes and expects that “All Power, Light and Love work through me and as me.” What do you truly want? Do you want to walk with God, to be Christed? Do you desire to love God enough? Let joy express itself in you as faith. Dare to live, to love and to stand with God. Dare to be beautiful, as the woman clothed with the sun. The Mount of Transfiguration is just one step up from where you stand now. The only “greater work” you can do is to step up to your Mount of Transfiguration. Are you ready?
“This all sounds good,” you say, “but what can I do with it beyond planning my manna-fed kingdom? What will standing on my Mount of Transfiguration do for me?” In all practical everyday tasks, the subconscious mind of the creature soul works like a clock for you, according to the size of your plan and what you bind or loose on earth. Before bed, visualize your home, office, transportation, all the places you must go, people you must contact, and see them each in a sphere of Light. Before leaving for work, send a sphere of Light to fill your office. When you are ready to leave again for home, send a sphere of Light to fill your home.
Always see a sphere of Light on the steps into and leaving your house. Put one in your car and sit in it. Put another in your office door so that you and everyone else must step into it. Have a sphere of Light waiting for you everywhere. Light and the ability to visualize are among your gifts from God, so use them. Then your life plan will always be fed with heavenly manna. You will remain excited, thrilled and expectant.
Your plan will pursue you. It will transform your life because this plan is your Mount of Transfiguration, and fills you with the love of God and faith unconquerable.
Top ↑Edna Lister transcript; August 14, 1955, Cleveland, Ohio. Scribe: Ruth Johnson. Scripture: Hebrews 11:1-11.
“Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and through it he being dead still speaks. By faith Enoch was taken away {translated} so that he did not see death; and was not found, because God had taken him: for before he was taken, he had this testimony, that he pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a reader of those that diligently seek Him. By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household; by which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith. By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he should receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he dwelt in the land of promise, as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; for he looked for a city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God. By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised.”–Hebrews 11:1-11.
Faith is the outer expression of the candle of joy lighted in the heart, a sure sign that you have mated desire to will to become I AM consciousness. A marriage of the Lamb joins desire and Love to open the pituitary gland of intuition. Will and Wisdom unite to open the pineal body of illumination, and your faith is then unconquerable.
You cannot express joy permanently until you balance desire as love, and will as wisdom. Love and wisdom endure a series of trial marriages when you express wobbly faith. You have touched a marriage of the Lamb whenever you experience even the slightest joy. Many divorces are due to vacillating up- and down-ness of will and desire in husband and wife. You cannot mismate or divorce outer personal desire and will when Light balances you.
Love is not sentimental or puerile. So never stoop to argue with self-willed belligerents, just let them enjoy their vacation from joy to wallow in darkness. You stop doing what you do not enjoy. Willfulness fills the world and people run from what they abhor. If you can run from Light, you can ascend from darkness. Use no force. Live by “I am. I can. I do,” and ascend!
Oversoul descends on a joy vibration, under the full Power of nonresistance, and unconquerable faith becomes your expression. Tuned to your personal “chord of life” vibration, you establish lines of Light at the Source. Faith, love and wisdom are all substance in varying degrees. Unconquerable faith creates form, yet you cannot understand faith as substance without studying the miracle stories in the Bible. Sarah, Hannah and Elizabeth, who conceived in “old age,” prove that the creative powers never cease when you have experienced a marriage of the Lamb, when desire and will, Love and Wisdom become I AM consciousness.
“I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”–Matthew 16:19. This verse is the foundation of your life of faith.
You have created the lack or abundance you enjoy on the outer. Your face shows what you have declared good and the darkness you have created. Lift your lost Shangri-La and sordid memories from past experiences. You fashion your own kingdom of heaven on earth according to your plan of life. You cannot stand pure white as a lily before God if you live according to a plan dictated by any outer environment. Yet, if you live by divine laws, the principle of nonresistance sheathes your body so that nothing can touch it. Joy and manna pour from heaven to expand you to the full image and likeness of God.
You cannot expand in heaven if you squinch yourself here on earth. What you have bound on earth, you bind in heaven, what you loose on earth, you loose in heaven. Your body is the chalice of the Almighty, and this is lost wisdom. Most people curse their bodies when they should bless them from morning till night. Light descends as Love and Wisdom from your crown to the sacrum plexus when you live by Christed I AM consciousness. Love causes it to ascend the spine like a bubbling fountain of joy that overflows into your life, and faith descends like manna from heaven straight into your affairs to become substance. A rigid body cannot take the influx of such atomic energy, but without it, you cannot be a good ensample.
What you bind on earth, you bind in heaven. Those who admire their own beauty hated to come to earth. Their vanity of self is hatred inverted, but cursing an unlovely or sick body is just as wrong. Each has created his own physical defects in past lives. Balance is honoring what God has given you so that your body expresses joy. You dishonor your temple as the image and likeness of God unless you care for it and give it the proper fuel.
“A man’s gift makes room for him, and brings him before great men.”–Proverbs 18:16. Your dream-desire plan is part of your gift, a vision of what you would become, and what those close to you may seek to prevent you from getting. Yet you will express your gift if you ascend to God, who feeds your heart’s desire with heavenly manna. If you set afire the torch of your desires, you will be drawn to the right place and people. Yet you could also wrap your talents in self-pity and bury them in a field of self. You are always signing yourself away as you make treaties with life.
Will a child’s gift bring him before great men if he wants to play piano, but never practices? So it is with every pursuit. Do the next thing next. Cleanse all blame from your heart and mind for those whom you have thought held you back. You could go to any library to study. You are what you wanted to be. If you wanted to be lazy, you got nowhere, which is your own fault.
“By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches and honor and life.”–Proverbs 22:4 A “fear of the Lord” is reverence for God. Humility adds to reverence a devotion to law, and it honors integrity. You can attend with interest to those who bore you as easily as you can to the most brilliant persons. They all bring you beautiful gifts, if you look for them and find the soul that responds to your touch of interest.
Humility is that soul quality that causes you to lift a person and put him on a pedestal so his soul shines. The love of God so absorbs and enfolds one who expresses humility that no self remains. Humility is the Master’s compassion, the badge of royal family membership, the hallmark of the Elect on earth. Would you have time to descend and cater to hurts and resentments if you lived life this way?
Humility is forever flexible. Should you face delay, expand your plan, because what you free on earth, you free in heaven. Free your life on earth to expand it in heaven; free your talent for joy, then tell your face about it. You may have to sell something to raise the money, but you need not feel loss. Heaven is more abundant, and your riches are the gifts of joy. Jesus said to ask anything in his name, believing, and you already have it. Ascend higher and increase your love for and gratitude toward God. Thank Him for His ever-present abundance now, for now is the right time.
“He that believes on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.”–John 14:12. The greatest work you can do is to climb your Mount of Transfiguration. God does the rest of the work by using you. You cannot do much to remain free of worldly troubles except to ascend your Mount of Transfiguration, and make your marriage of the Lamb in heaven. An abyss lies beyond the Mount of Transfiguration, so think well, for it means rising to the top or falling to the bottom.
“I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.”–John 12:32. Never drag the past with you, but put negative people and situations high on a cloud continent of Light. Lift those who pester you beyond endurance, and call on fire from heaven to consume the irritation. Those on your lines of Light have no option but to ascend with you when you eat of the manna, because your lines of responsibility pull them upward. They no longer drag on you when you have put them on that cloud of Light. Put your worst favorites, your house, office, hospital rooms in a sphere of Light before you go to bed. See the sphere of Light at your front door as you return home from work. See the angry person step into a sphere of Light, and watch his anger disappear.
You can transfigure your life when you ascend to joy, harmony and abundance. Transform your mind, heart, body and soul into the love of God until nonresistance creates rays of repulsion that fend off darkness. Surround your loved ones in spheres of golden-white Light. Love God enough to become unconquerable faith. Let your joy, love and wisdom spill over to feed the world with heavenly manna.
Edna Lister outline; August 21, 1955, Truth Temple, Tacoma, Washington. Scriptures: Hebrews 1:1-11, Mark 11:24.
“Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks. By faith Enoch was translated so that he did not see death, and was not found, because God had taken him; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a reader of those who diligently seek Him. By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith. By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God. By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised.”–Hebrews 11:1-11.
“Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.”–Mark 11:24.
Hebrews 11 is a great summary of all miracles. Faith is an outer expression of an inner joyousness of soul because you know God and love Him enough. When you love God enough, better than life, you create your joy vibration. When you are joyous “just because,” you ascend in consciousness under the protection of the great law of nonresistance. When you no longer resist life, faith moves through you to conquer for you.
If faith is the substance of things hoped for, it must become the heavenly manna, which feeds your miracles. You cannot understand faith that works miracles unless you also understand some of the promises that were made before the miracles. The Master promised us, “I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”–Matthew 16:19.
What is this kingdom? Where is it? It is the great city of your heart, the fortress of your mind, the garden of your soul. It is a kingdom that you earn. To have any kingdom, you first decide what kind of kingdom you want. Is your selected kingdom one built of comfort and ease? If you want only a little kingdom, remember that what you bind on earth, you also bind in heaven. To have a great kingdom means that you need a life plan, and to declare a large “So it is.”
If it were not for the second promise, you might just sit down and dream a kingdom. Proverbs 18:16 promises that “A man’s gift makes room for him, and brings him before great men.” Do you get this gift from the outside? No, your gifts are your desires, your talents, which you must exercise and use right where you are. A true gift needs no training to fulfill itself, for you never spend a moment separate from it. Exercise your talents to do something toward your large life plan. People are discouraged because they do not want to appear awkward before the world. To dare to be wrong takes great courage, but not as much as to dare to be happy!
“By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches, and honor, and life.”–Proverbs 22:4. Riches, honor and life are the rewards of humility and fear of the Lord. Open your mind to see and to accept everything as a new gift, and never spend any time being bored or weary. Humility loves the law, and dares to listen, to change and to declare everything good. Humility forgets itself in service, and sees Light moving into dark places. Steadfast humility dares to add any dark appearance to its desire plan by declaring everything good. It dares to live up in the Light, to let go of the past, to push up hard enough without dragging the past along, too.
“Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.”–Mark 11:24. To be fed by the manna of faith, you may indulge in no willfulness or force in asking, no half demands, no setting time limits. Use the eternal now, declaring, “Now is the good time!” All times are good times, but now is the best time of all. Your greatest confusion comes from jumping around on your life chord. Your timing become discordant when you jump, so steadily, rhythmically moving up sets a perfect pace and will keep you tuned to your proper tonal chord in life.
The Master promises, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.”–John 14:12-14. Do you honestly believe in this promise? All things are possible, but do you go just this far then think you have done it? What do you truly want?
The Mount of Transfiguration is one step up in consciousness. Are you ready? Do you want to walk with God in Christed consciousness? Is your love of God enough? Do you let joy express as your faith? Do you dare to live, love, stand, to be beautiful, glorious, divine, clothed with the sun, now? The only “greater work” you can do is to step up in consciousness to your Mount of Transfiguration, love God enough and let joy carve a channel for faith to use you. Faith unconquerable does the greater works.
This all sounds good, but what can you do with it beyond planning your manna-fed kingdom? What will standing on your Mount of Transfiguration do for you? The creature fears, doubts and expects lacks. The creator expects all Power, Light and love to work “as me and though me.” It all depends on the size of your plan. You need a practical, everyday plan. Self works like a clock for you, according to the size of your plan, and what you bind or loose on earth.
Before bedtime, picture your home, office or destination and everyone in it within a sphere of Light. Before work or the day’s travels, send a sphere of Light before you to fill your destination. When you are ready to leave for home, send a sphere of Light to fill your house. Yet most important of all, picture everyone you meet at home, the office, in cars, or buses, as walking or sitting in spheres of Light. Put one at your office door for every visitor, and have a sphere of Light waiting for you everywhere.
Imagination is a gift from God to use. When you do, your life plan will be fed with manna; you will remain excited, thrilled and expectant. Your plan will pursue you. It will transform your life because it is your Mount of Transfiguration, where you become the love of God, joy in God and unconquerable faith.
Edna Lister transcript; August 21, 1955, Truth Temple, Tacoma, Washington. Scribe: Ruth Bender Collord. Scriptures: Hebrews 1:1-11. Mark 11:24.
“Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks. By faith Enoch was translated so that he did not see death, and was not found, because God had taken him; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a reader of those who diligently seek Him. By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith. By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God. By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised.”–Hebrews 11:1-11.
“Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.”–Mark 11:24.
Jesus said, “Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it, and not die.” This bread that Jesus describes is the heavenly manna. Hebrews 11 sums up all the outstanding miracles of the Old Testament. It opens with “Faith is the substance of things hoped for.” Here is a God in whom you may abide, stable and serene. When you have found God, you discover your joy, and from your toes up, it must express itself.
You cannot fall passionately in love with principle. Having found a God as One whom you love, you have the joy of a personality. Also, you must admit that His personality exists at the Source, for were this not so, you could not know Him here below. If you have this joy, it is because you love God so.
Automatically the power of nonresistance moves forth from this great love of God for God. Faith rides forth on this love, as a carrier wave. Then those rays of repulsion, protective rays of the love of God, mesh with the rays from other people. Therefore, being resistant to others is impossible. These rays are stronger than the world vibration and hold you securely protected. So take advantage of the whole armor of God! The power of nonresistance is the greatest of all powers. The name of Jesus the Christ releases more Power all the time, a constantly growing Power.
Unconquerable faith is your ability to be immovable. Faith must be this manna from heaven. It is your manna from heaven. Faith is a process that opens when you find God as personality and principle, and are joyous because you have found Him. You can approach God through His promises. First is “I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”–Matthew 16:19.
Your prayer molds determine what you receive. Do not bind them to small-minded plans. You cannot have any more Light-as-miracles pour through than you prepare for on earth. Your salvation is your work here below, which you continue to do. Your kingdom is your citadel of God, the city of your heart, the fortress for your mind, and the garden of your soul. “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”–Matthew 5:16.
When the city of your heart is full of love, you are as “perfect as your Father in heaven.” It can be done. You have seen it. Do you want the kingdom of your heart to be love? Who can make you think, or think you into a different position? Your mind is a great fortress. You may have the keys to success in your hand, but you must still find the lock. You hid it in your garden of soul. One day your garden will be great, but you cannot find it by meditating on your solar plexus, which is not large enough to hold your big toe.
Do not declare that your surroundings are your kingdom, for even that is too binding. Your garden is up above and beyond all earthly vibrations. So you can stretch up and reach for a vast kingdom. Organization is so necessary. You cannot have a city of the heart unless you have planned for it. It must hold a place for everything.
You find the second promise in the law, “A man’s gift makes room for him, and brings him before great men.”–Proverbs 18:15. Get busy. Practice and study. Use what you have. The gifts you can bring before great men are your talents. Yet the greatest gift is that hidden in your heart, which brings you before great men in the outer world.
You can eventually do anything you want, if you waste no time. Read during that extra fifteen minutes between one task and another. If you read for fifteen minutes a day, as dedicated study, you could earn a Bachelor’s Degree. How much misspent time have you redeemed? Live your life fully, now, and see what you can do. Just start doing it.
The third promise is “By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches and honor and life.”–Proverbs 22:4. How simple. The rewards for humility are riches, honor and life. Study this. Look at your position in life. First, make a budget, and do not spend income that you do not have. Yet you need not budget your heart, mind or soul. Loose your imagination. Pay unto Caesar what is Caesar’s, but loose yourself in heaven. Do not bind yourself to a tiny budget in heaven, but see all that you desire. Obey outer law, and loose the way in heaven. God has His way. Your way is obedience to outer law and inner divine law.
To pray, turn your eyes up to God. Humility is to pray up, to look up and to extend imagination to see God’s face. Humility is the ability to dare to be wrong, and to take the blame. If everyone did this in the world, there would be no wars. “I’m so discouraged” means that you lack courage. If you are disheartened, you are a coward. To say, “I’m wrong,” is true humility, facing that fact that you cannot always be right. It includes taking the blame, as the Master did on the cross. Humility is also the ability to say, “I am beauty. I am Light. I am becoming divine.”
The fourth promise is, “Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.”–Mark 11:24. Plan for it. Know it. Or do you plan for what you will do if God does not come through? Be organized in your planning, and clearly picture how you will use the things you ask. This is how you provide God with an organized proof and plan for your desire-goal.
The fifth promise is, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to my Father.”–John 14:12. Doing the greater works is letting Light, joy and faith move through you. Stand on your own Mount of Transfiguration. Step up in consciousness and make up your mind to stand on law. Let your faith fulfill your plan. Success will chase you, pursue you everywhere when you ascend into Christ consciousness for ideas waiting in divine Mind. Glory will fill your heart with thrilling joy.
It’s time to take your mind off lesser fund-raising ideas like rummage sales. Love changes everything that goes through your mind into love itself. Anyone with a rummaged, ravaged mind will be healed by that love. What can be dishonorable about honorable work? Love cleanses whatever was once dirty.
What you bind on earth is bound in heaven. Do not be bound by any thought or deed on earth, washing dishes, scrubbing floors—whatever it is, loose it in prayer. You are free and the glory of God moves through you, and uses your hands. All souls among the Elect are healed and new positions are open to them.
Edna Lister outline; August 28, 1955, Truth Temple, Tacoma, Washington. Scriptures: Hebrews 11:17-19, Hebrews 11:23-30.
“By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.”–Hebrews 11:17-19.
“By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king’s commandment. By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward. By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible. Through faith he kept the Passover, and the sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the firstborn should touch them. By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry land: which the Egyptians assaying to do were drowned. By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days.”–Hebrews 11:23-30.
The Old Testament is filled with variations of the announcement, “It shall come to pass, thus saith the Lord” of a prophecy or promise. Later you always read, “and it came to pass.” Obedience requires faith to hold your resolve, and travel toward a goal, conquering step by step. “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.
This is the way of the soul’s progress upward. Like an airplane shadow, the little self below is always falling into ditches and holes, wandering in dark valleys, lost in fog or storms, while soul is skimming the heights. Self is forever trying and finally does come to rest as part of soul. Faith is the substance for which you struggle and the evidence that you will eventually win, if you keep your soul free, wings spread and throw out the ballast of self.
If you run into clouds, you fly higher into the sunlight. Darkness is a sign that you are too low, and need to seek and find your high vision again. You never stop, never give up until you are enfolded in Light to express your original image and the brightness of His glory.
“By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.”–Hebrews 11:17-19. Abraham knew that God meant what He said, Isaac’s descendants would multiply as the stars of heaven. His knowing was a definite, positive, active faith, even when God asked him to sacrifice his son.
“By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king’s commandment.”–Hebrews 11:23. Moses’ parents knew that God would save their son from Pharaoh’s death decree against Hebrew children. His sister Miriam knew just where to launch Moses’ ark of bulrushes so that Pharaoh’s childless daughter would find him, love him and save him. She raised and trained Moses as a prince of Egypt, with all that wealth and worldly position could provide.
“By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.”–Hebrews 11:24-26. Moses sacrificed self, fame and riches for the honor of serving God. He knew that being a man of truth was greater than all the riches and treasures of Egypt. “Moses endured, as seeing Him who is invisible.” His faith in God led Moses through the plagues and forty years in the wilderness.
“By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they were encircled for seven days.”–Hebrews 11:30. The legacy of unconquerable faith caused Jericho’s walls to fall. Will unconquerable faith work for you? Yes. Money, property, houses, cars, relationships, “it shall come to pass” anytime, all the time.
Ask yourself, “Where am I headed, up, down or horizontally? How can I know? I shall surrender to be a servant of all God’s Power, waiting on the Lord while working out my salvation here on earth. I agree with God, adjust to men, and never give up the goal, my principles or my heart and soul convictions, but I love enough!” Abraham loved God enough. Moses loved God enough. They knew that God cannot fail. It shall come to pass for you, divine, glorious and free, full of unconquerable faith. You shall dwell in the House of the Lord forever.
Top ↑Edna Lister transcript; August 28, 1955, Truth Temple, Tacoma, Washington; see December 4, 1955, Cleveland, Ohio. Scribe: Ruth Bender Collord. Scripture: 1 Kings 17:1.
“Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word. And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there. So he went and did according unto the word of the Lord: for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook. And it came to pass after a while, that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land. And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee. So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks: and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink. And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand. And she said, As the Lord thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die. And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son. For thus saith the Lord God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth. And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days. And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by Elijah. And it came to pass after these things, that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick; and his sickness was so sore, that there was no breath left in him. And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? Art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son? And he said unto her, Give me thy son. And he took him out of her bosom, and carried him up into a loft, where he abode, and laid him upon his own bed. And he cried unto the Lord, and said, O Lord my God, hast thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son? And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the Lord, and said, O Lord my God, I pray thee, let this child’s soul come into him again. And the Lord heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived. And Elijah took the child, and brought him down out of the chamber into the house, and delivered him unto his mother: and Elijah said, See, thy son liveth. And the woman said to Elijah, Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in thy mouth is truth.”–1 Kings 17:1.
Elijah prophesied that there was to be no rain for three years because of evil in Ahab’s kingdom. Ahab had married Jezebel, a Phoenician priestess of Baal, who worshiped in the Black Mass with human sacrifice and sexual perversion. The Lord commanded Elijah to go to a widow in Zarephath who would sustain him during the drought and famine. When Elijah asked for food, the widow said, “I am going to mix this little meal and oil for me and my son, we shall eat and then die.”
Then Elijah prophesied that the barrel of meal would not waste, nor would the cruse of oil fail until it rained. Against the widow’s expectations of hunger and lack, the supply was sufficient. When you listen to the God-side, the up-side, you never need to swayed by or give in to propaganda. You stand steadfastly on truth. It is better to have one little bit of truth and live it than to have much knowledge but no truth.
The widow believed to see, and every day she had enough. God did not fill her barrel full, but provided each day. You shall have what you need if you work out your salvation every day. You can practice concentration for a lump of gold or a plate of food, and it may be there eventually, but so what? I want to serve, so I say, “Father, You’ll have to take care of this,” and go about serving. My purse is filled when I need to pay my hotel bill.
If you say, “This is all I have,” you may as well say, “This is all I need.” Say instead, “I am giving this dime, and it is the beginning of $1,000.” You cannot hold or contain mind. You must think with it and use it, or mind stagnates. Some people say, “If I just didn’t have to pay this bill, I could afford to do that.” Say instead, “Thank You, Father, for this bill to pay. This payment is the beginning of $10,000 for everyone concerned.” The addition of the $10,000 is an excellent expansion treatment for the subconscious mind.
Do not subtract from your large consciousness. Do not subtract from your statements of truth. Be thankful for paying sales tax and income tax. A healing prosperity treatment is “For every penny I spend in state sales tax, I am saving $100 for myself.” The scripture says, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”–Matthew 6:33. Seeking God first gives, adds eternal youth and atomic power. Griping, being hurt, blaming or excusing the self subtracts from eternal youth and atomic power.
“From him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.”–Matthew 25:29 describes someone who has no desire to know, apply or practice law. The application of what you know to what you do brings multiplication and success. You are always practicing the presence of God in what you do. When you praise anyone, you increase the love in your own heart. You can change your life through praise. Praising God multiplies the atomic substance in your body and brings health. To avoid division, do not waste energy on unnecessary pursuits, such as dramatizing a situation or using force. Take that one step up to the Mount of Transfiguration.
Your message is ascension and the increase of all good! Apply these laws. Subtract from your life whatever is binding and limiting. People say, “I’m down to my last dollar,” or, “This is the last chance.” This is utterly false. God’s tomorrow is filled with wonderful new chances.
Edna Lister outline; September 4, 1955, Truth Temple, Tacoma, Washington. Scripture: John 4:5-14.
“Then cometh [Jesus] to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour. There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink. (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.) Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water? Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.”–John 4:5-14.
Water is a symbol of emotions, but the living waters of eternal life represent love, which sustains life. This story draws the distinction between life that is just an existence and life in God, which is vital, lively, joyous and exciting. Just existing means boredom, but living means being interested in today while waiting eagerly for tomorrow.
Jesus was traveling through Samaria to Galilee and came to Sychar, where Jacob’s well was, on a parcel of land that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jesus rested there while his disciples went into town for food. A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus asked for a drink. He shocked her for two reasons. First, Jewish men never spoke to strange women, and Jews never dealt with Samaritans.
The “well of water springing up into everlasting life” refers to breathing from above, from the life of the Father of all Lights. Light from above awakens the sacrum plexus nerves and the magnetic currents flow upward to water the Garden of Eden in the higher creative center of the head.
We all know that darkness is the absence of Light, and death is the absence of life. Yet death begins when you stop growing, and have no hope in or desire for the future. Statements such as, “I can’t remember,” or, “I’m so dumb,” kill a few brain cells every time you speak them. Every time you say, “I’ve done my work. I’ve worked too hard. I want to rest,” the subconscious begins to work out a way to take you off your feet. If you must lie down, rest up.
Your desires set the keynote of your life, yet you may let self twist your words, to betray you. Words are the expressions of your desires. Ideas are seeds that you plant. A seed’s roots must be nourished by loving hands with a green thumb, and pruned as needed. Yet if you talk about your seed ideas, you may allow others to uproot them or wither them with scorn. You subject yourself to enemy ideas, too.
No one can ever create your adversary from the outside, yet they may suggest them with a look, a word, or an action that tempts you to mistrust. If you go down in consciousness, eventually you must overcome and come up again. Another’s meanness just gives you his disposition “yarn end” to wind into a ball, so just put it on the altar until it is enough for the Father to weave a new soul robe for him.
You can grow every day, if your conscious thinking is perfect. Are you happy now? Does that little self-pity fellow below your real heart know exactly how happy you are? Can you tell your subconscious about it? It’s your servant. Let your “little self” in on the secret of your “bubbling well spring of life.” Just as it has dragged you down, it will bubble up with joy when life gets tough, and lift as high as it went low. Today’s “let down” is tomorrow’s “set down,” and the “bed down” the day after.
Today’s glory is tomorrow’s ascension growth, the bubbling well spring of living waters. Today’s rejoicing creates tomorrow’s miracles. Today’s living waters are tomorrow’s success, new position, salary increases, new ideas, new joys. Joy is being thrilled with enough life, expectant of miracles after miracle around the corner. Joy forms “bubbles” on your daily living, nothing flat or boring. Put your body’s cells to work for you so that you can do everything you would love to do. The body uses atomic power, so breathe deeply to fill the body, and feel the Power rush in to fill you.
Edna Lister outline; September 4, 1955, Truth Temple, Tacoma, Washington. Scripture: Acts 19:11-20.
“God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul: so that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them. Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth. And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so. And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye? And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. And this was known to all the Jews and Greeks also dwelling at Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified. And many that believed came, and confessed, and showed their deeds. Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men: and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver. So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed.”–Acts 19:11-19.
To demonstrate means “to show, to make clear,” but “monster” is in the root of the word. Common usage has made it part of metaphysical speech, but despite its common usage, it still gathers after its root kind. Every word has a numerical vibration and tunes in on its own degree and kind, which is the basis of all cyclic laws, such as the law of action and reaction. You send forth a vibration of quality on every breath, and it gets added to as it goes around the earth, and returns to you increased in quantity.
The evil spirit knew Jesus’ name, but asked the sons of Sceva, Who are you?
They imitated what they’d heard Paul say, but words spoken without consciousness of their meaning are weak, lacking the power of truth and so they seldom work. A miracle is the reverse. Tune into the miracle station of unconquerable faith and all power, and every time you use Jesus’ name, another vast wave will flow over you and through you. It goes forth and collects its own and greater power to what you release.
Stay tuned in on the vibration of miracle after miracle, miracle upon miracle.
Idle words betray you, but they cannot change by themselves. Your words follow a certain vibration and have no way of knowing that you do not mean them. They go out there, busy creating, gathering after their degree and kind, while you go on fooling yourself with more excuses. Stop such nonsense. Be responsible and make certain that your words do follow the meditation of your heart.
Edna Lister outline; September 11, 1955, Truth Temple, Tacoma, Washington. Scripture: Matthew 26:36-44.
“Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy. And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words.”–Matthew 26:36-44.
This text is a perfect example of giving up personal will. We are supposed to follow his ensample. His soul was weary, heavy because the disciples had accomplished so little, understood so little, and he had to leave them to carry on, sink or swim. He could do no more, and he must have wanted to stay.
The first time Jesus prayed, he took the first step in giving up personal will. “O my Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as Thou wilt.” He talked all his soul agony out and up to the Father in his prayer. Since the disciples were sleeping, he went back to pray again in the second step of surrender. “O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, Thy will be done.”
This time he accepted that he could lift only the blackness of earth, open the Gates of Light for us and show the way by drinking the cup. He took on enough of earth’s debts to relieve us so that we could pay the rest. He never tried to awaken them the third time, but left and prayed again, “Father, they are but children and cannot accept. Father, I am now ready. Let Thy perfect will, planned from the beginning, be done in me, through me and for Thy world.”
Such a world controversy rages about personal will, and “giving up” will is seen as passive, negative and useless. Child educators preach, “Let them express themselves,” when all they can express is self. The world is afraid that nonresistance will lead them to become a nonentity because advocates of nonresistance act passively and inactively. The same sort of doctrine cult has arisen concerning desire. Some preach that you have to kill desire. Yet desire is the expression of the Creative Impulse, the creative fire moving through you as God’s life! You cannot kill desire. You can repress desire, which only atrophies the endocrine glands through which it functions.
The whole process of civilization teaches that you must ascend desire and mate it with free will to become the Oversoul’s I AM consciousness, the Christ Mind, which is the only true ascension. You can never know what a glorious free will is until you know love, until desire and will become intuition and illumination. Desire lifted becomes a flame that purifies will and burns out selfish dross and the self-exaltation of the personal will, which is always bumping along on a flat tire. Self-will is just another way of saying, “I’m determined to learn all my earth lessons the hard way.”
The free will of God functions smoothly and rhythmically. The question is not “Do I have free will” or “Can I use free will,” but “What can free will do for me? How do I want to use my God-given free will?” Free will is untouchable and really is all-knowing illumination. After you first realize your responsibility, complete with “if it’s possible” and “nevertheless,” you take that first step in surrender. Then you look down and find your disciples, faith, love and joy are all sound asleep. You “try” to awaken them.
Then you take the second step, to go up in consciousness to pray again because you must lift the little self that asks, “What cup?” before it says, “Well, if I must drink it.” You review your life, taking responsibility for your thoughts, emotions and imagination. You know that you must accept all blame, but little self says, “Don’t blame me. Don’t tell me I’m wrong. It hurts me. I can’t bear it. Pet me. Love me as I am. I need understanding. Praise me for being noble. Love me in spite of.”
Faith is nodding, love is napping and joy is fast asleep. You cannot wake ’em up, so you go back for the third step. You now assume full responsibility to be the Master of your own house. “Father, I become the servant of all Power. I surrender to Thy free will through me and as me because Thy free will is perfect illumination, untouchable, glorious, divine, and now adds itself to my love of God, my faith of God and my joy in life.”
Edna Lister transcript; September 11, 1955, Truth Temple, Tacoma, Washington. Scribes: Dorothy Allen and Ruth Bender Collord. Scripture: Matthew 26:36-44.
“Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy. And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words.”–Matthew 26:36-44.
This text outlines the surrender of self. The Master was sent as the Son of God to suffer all travails as a son of man, and to sacrifice all self. His ministry included every law and emotional attitude toward life, and applied them to everyone. The four Gospels contain all laws of life.
Only the three who had gone to the Mount of Transfiguration with him were there to understand. It comforted him to have them with him in Gethsemane. For a year, before his arrest, they had traveled with him from city to city. He knew that all he had given and taught would be so misunderstood, more so that any other teacher ever. Why?
Jesus taught the heavy parts of truth, all about giving up the self. He knew—he looked ahead and saw that his disciples would suffer in his name. “And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.”–Matthew 26:39. Jesus had to let go of his disciples to carry his message forward. He turned them loose, but he had to lift from his heart the heaviness that he felt for leaving them. Otherwise, he could not have the joy of knowing that he had done all that he could, which carried him through the Crucifixion.
“He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.”–Matthew 26:42. In drinking this cup, Jesus would remain with the world to be responsible, even if his disciples would fail. To drink the cup drew the whole world into his being, and he took on the full responsibility. He had vowed responsibility, and had released his disciples to pay their debts.
His third prayer in Gethsemane did not need to be written. “Father, I put them into Your hands, and give them freely unto Thee. I know that Your great arms of Light hold them closely.” He put his loved ones in the Father’s hands, then returned to them and said, “Rise, let us be going: behold, he is at hand that doth betray me.”–Matthew 26:46. Two schools of thought deal with the subject of surrender. One believes that you must actively give your will up to God. The other believes that you only need to sit and let the fire go out, saying, “I’ll wait for God.”
On the subject of free will, one school says that everyone has “free expression.” Another school says you must kill your desire, but to do so also kills cells and endocrine glands in your head. Will is born of wisdom. In truth, you must mate desire with will by lifting desire to know “free” will. Selfish will says, “Go away, God. I’ll learn my lessons the hard way.” Free will is God’s plan for your learning that the will is His and the choice is yours. Selfish will runs like a flat tire, bumping along.
The first step is “Thy will be done,” which is to look and see whether God has a plan for you. You say, “If it is possible, please take this from me.” Then you grudgingly say, “Nevertheless, Thy will be done” and make the sacrifice. You return to the disciples a third time. Faith is nodding, love is napping and joy is sound asleep. You shake them, and this time determine not to let them fall asleep. This time, joy reigns and faith leads.
At the second step, you pray, saying, “If I must drink the cup,” but descend in consciousness. You decide this is the right thing to do, and accept. At the third step, you say, “I’m ready to continue on from here into the Light.” Free will is divine illumination and acceptance of that original plan for you.
Each morning, say, “Father, I am ready for Your plan for me today, and willing to step put and to do what You want me to do, Your way.” This is free will. Wisdom comes from this. You have the right answers and grow in wisdom. Free will is not license to do as you please. Let free will use you. The little self says, “Do not scold me,” and interferes, taking you out into the fields, picking flowers. Self says, “Leave me alone. Let me work this out my way, alone.” It slams the door, shouting, “I’m never coming back!”
Yet it does return, tail between its legs, and accepts. You must accept. You can do nothing else. The self way is the way of delay and takes you further and further from free will. Free will is a divine glory that opens your great life plan. Take the blame for family squabbles, idle words, etc. All you need do is to say, “Here they are, Father. Take them with no blame. Let them be Thine and on their way, fulfilling Thy life plan for them.”
The third step of responsibility is, “I’m lifting the lines of all these loved ones. Let Your great Mind, Substance and Power pour through them so that they may live Thy life for them.” You are responsible for surrendering, to let illumination rule your life, to let Light express to do the work. This is how to have the right answers all the time. Unconsciously, your spirit accepts Spirit. Never try to hide, but be open and in the open. To run away and hide under a rock is to crawl on your belly instead of standing upright.
Edna Lister outline; September 11, 1955, Truth Temple, Tacoma, Washington. Scripture: Ephesians 3:20-21.
“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.”–Ephesians 3:20-21.
Osiris and Isis brought the doctrine of the immortality of the soul to the Egyptian civilization. As with all mysteries unveiled through the ages, it finally degenerated into worship of the body, and its preservation. The idea of physical immortality, which is that the very bodies that are buried will “rise up at the last trump” to be used again, promulgated today in some cults, stems directly from the original doctrine of the soul’s immortality.
In the beginning, the Egyptian messiahs simply taught the masses that “all was of God.“ The truth that the life of God, which is everywhere evenly available and present in all things, retrogressed into the deification of thousands of animals and objects that became sacred, among them, the cat. The cat is not sacred, but because of its qualities, it symbolizes the triple trinity of nine eternal virtues. Any multiple of nine folds into a single nine, therefore we call it the universal number. The nine lives of a cat symbolize eternal life.
The cat as a symbol embodies six creative ideas, the first being perfect independence. You can never take away a cat’s individuality or independence. It never “knuckles down” or loses itself, but is always the one that commands respect. Second, the cat symbolizes perfect adjustment, since it never worries or carries a burden because it knows how to accept. It hunts alone and always rustles up a meal, which represents perfect adjustment to life. Thirdly, the cat represents determination because of its ability to concentrate perfectly on one idea. A cat will single-mindedly howl at the door until you either let it in or let it out, and it will wait for a mouse by the hour in complete stillness and silence.
Fourth, the cat symbolizes relaxation. It works, then rests, plays, then rests again in perfect relaxation. And it has sense enough to breathe itself into its body after sleep with a good, long stretch. Fifth, the cat represents perfect freedom in balance and always lands on its feet. Finally, because the cat has a perfect sense of direction and control, it never gets lost, but always finds its way home. So the cat represents immortality in nine universal lives: Perfect independence, perfect adjustment to life, perfect determination, perfect relaxation, perfect balance, and a perfect sense of direction and control.
If you find that you are not the perfect embodiment of these principles, do not worry. You can open a new account in God’s Reserve Bank, and wait at the door until you receive. “I open this account with enlarged ideas and huge declarations. I deposit what I desire to draw out, and must make my deposits every day. If I deposit fear, doubt, delay ideas, irritation or criticism, that’s what I will draw out.” Deposit all cat virtues, and let go of all cat detriments, such as laziness, selfishness, and fault-finding words that scratch like claws. Always preen before your mirror to see if your joy-face is on straight, if you are wearing your crown of love.
Edna Lister outline; September 18, 1955, Truth Temple, Tacoma, Washington; November 20, 1955, Cleveland, Ohio. Scriptures: Revelation 3:8, Revelation 3:11, Revelation 3:18-20.
“I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.”–Revelation 3:8.
“Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.”–Revelation 3:11.
“I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.”–Revelation 3:18-20.
These verses are beautiful, glorious words of assurance and comfort, something to count on. Which of the many outer doors to health, home, business, success, friends and companionship do you knock on? The Master cannot mean a small door, so it must be a key door, which once entered, causes all other doors to swing wide. It represents the door to your own soul, through which pours the Light of your Oversoul Star as all Mind, all Power and all Substance to fill your creations, the door to your House of the Lord and room of Light.
Your room of Light is foursquare, north, south, east and west, which you build by the way in which you live the Golden Rule. It has four walls, four doors and large windows on either side of the doors. You can enter from any point, position or place where you are, and no one can shut the doors. You can turn away and wander in the dark, with your back to the Light, crying, “Where is God? Where am I? Why can’t I see?” Yet if you close the door, God always knocks again.
Many have misunderstood one statement, “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten.” Read it as “As many as surrender to be the servant of all the Power to love God with all mind, heart, soul and body, I rebuke and chasten. As many as sing ‘Holy, Holy, Holy’ night and day before the high throne, as many as are helpers, teachers and healers by choice, through whom I can pour an ever greater Power, I rebuke and chasten.”
Being rebuked and chastened is a privilege, a sign that you are growing and being used. Should you lose your way in the world, something sends you back to Christ, who has knocked at the door of your mind. If pride holds you back, a blow will come that forces you to give it up in sacrifice. Some are too eager to show their “good works,” and their words reveal that they “know” too much, a know-it-all! Family, friends and the world pin their ears back.
You are always surprised when you are rebuked, saying, “Who, me?” Surrender self, and give it up to make room for love enough to do the work. If you are caught out on your words and must eat them, you are being chastened. This means you have been sifted and found worthy!
“I went to the angel and said to him, Give me the little book. And he said to me, Take and eat it; and it will make your stomach bitter, but it will be sweet as honey in your mouth.”–Revelation 10:9. This describes idle words. They may taste sweet as you say them, but your stomach rebels when you have to say, “Excuse me! I didn’t mean it.” Appetitive soul rules from the solar plexus, and when you let it indulge in idle words, they cause heartburn when you have to eat them. The words don’t know you didn’t mean them, but work on their own vibration according to the degree and kind you gave them.
You can hold the doors to your room of Light open in three ways: First, by anointing your eyes with “eye salve.” Second, by buying “white clothing,” and finally, by buying “gold refined in the fire.” First, use the eye salve, which is love. You can reach up and see Christ in everyone when you wear your rose-colored glasses. Give them the benefit of the doubt, without blaming. Live life as though the spotlight is on you and the world is watching every action and hearing every word.
The “white clothing” represents the purity of a heart of all love, the Christ mind, and your purpose, which is standing in the Light. Your desire for perfection holds the door open, not because you are perfect. You no longer worry. Like Scarlett O’Hara in “Gone With the Wind,” you say, “I’ll worry about that tomorrow!” As a king hires a court jester to make him laugh, hire someone else to do your worrying.
You have earned your eye salve for spiritual vision and white clothing to be clothed in Light, now, but you need gold refined in the fire to be rich. Your exchange must be equal and balanced, for only steadfastness of purpose will buy the gold. At last you see the great vision, the horizon expands and begin climbing toward it. You pass tests and overcome temptations and ascend higher.
Finally, you reach your goal, and success is yours. Right away you begin to be bored, cramped and shut in until nothing seems worthwhile. You want to break down the wall and run away. Fear enters, you feel lost and alone and try to crawl back into your cast off shell, only to find that you cannot. You hear a Voice again, saying, “Behold, I stand at your door and knock.” You look up and see another higher vision, and remember your vows of purity of heart, mind and purpose.
The horizon expands again, the door opens, and again you hear a Voice crying, “Buy from me gold refined in the fire, new white garments, and more eye salve.” And you do buy the gold of Spirit in the golden silence. Again you hear a Voice, saying, “I come quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown,” the “halo” of your crown lotus petals open to the Light.
You know God’s Voice will always say, “Behold” Place yourself in the Divine Alchemist’s crucible until the dross of self is burned away. You become pure gold, refined in the fires of love until the face you turn to God shines with His golden Light.
Edna Lister outline, September 18, 1955, Truth Temple, Tacoma, Washington. Scriptures: James 1:17, Isaiah 30:21.
“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness or shadow of turning.”–James 1:17.
“Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, This is the way, walk in it, whenever you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn to the left.”–Isaiah 30:21.
Intuition is “a quick perception of truth, without conscious attention or reasoning, truth attained through apprehension, also instinctive knowledge or feeling,” which you induct from the five senses. Perception is “the act or power of perceiving intuitively, to become aware through the faculties, or instinctively through the five senses.” The term “hunch” came into expression from the old superstition that good luck attends the touching of the hump of a hunchback. A hunch is “a premonition, meaning to admonish in advance of actual warning, instinctive foreboding or a prediction.”
From these definitions, it’s easy enough to see where misunderstandings can occur, because their very definitions seat intuition and hunches in two different places. A hunch arises from the subconscious mind. Intuition is part of super-conscious I AM. The I AM center in the head, ruled by the Christ mind, holds the centers of intuition and illumination in the pituitary gland and pineal body. Hunches belong to the solar plexus, the seat of the instinctive “brain,” ruled by that part of mind called the subconscious. Since subconscious means below the conscious level, it’s no wonder that confusion results.
Apperception is the kind of perception in which the conscious mind is active during the process of perceiving. Apperception includes the addition of recognition and interpretation, all powers of the intellect used in acquisition and elaboration of that which is perceived. “Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, This is the way, walk in it, whenever you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn to the left.”–Isaiah 30:21. Intuition is the result of desire and will become one as the I AM consciousness in the tower room of the higher creative center.
Hunches operate from the solar plexus, which is the seat of all past superstition. Predictions, for instance those based on studying the cycles of astrology, can come true, but prayer, which releases God’s Power, moves the white Light of the Christ through those stars and planets to set predictions and hunches aside. “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness or shadow of turning.”–James 1:17. Intuition is the Voice of God speaking when it comes from above with no variableness or turning as miracles.
You can become a genius or expert through intuition. An expert is a job holder. You cannot be an expert job hunter and job holder at the same time. Let go of the job you do not have, and declare “I am in my right place.” Then apply until a new position opens. However, you cannot be an expert at avoiding work and making excuses for not finding it, and a job receiver. Some people are experts in weakness, disease, pain and lack, but they cannot also be experts in gain, open doors and the strength of shining Light.
A man, who was down on his luck, failed to pay his rent. The landlady turned off his heat, and finally threatened to evict him during sub-zero weather. He went into the freezing night hunting for a doorway or corner in which to freeze, while his little self kept whispering, “Death is the only way out for me.” He finally heard the voice of intuition saying, “I AM,” and he wonderingly repeated, “I AM. I AM. I AM” until Power surged in him, possessing him with unearthly strength that warmed him. He returned to his room, which seemed warm enough to him, and slept.
The next day he returned to a business where they had refused him the day before, to find that an employee had failed to show up, and they put him to work. Intuition solved his problem when he became still enough to hear the Voice of God. He nearly died, but the Power did the work when intuition overpowered the “hunch” realm in his mind.
Edna Lister outline, September 21, 1955, Truth Temple, Tacoma, Washington. Scriptures: Matthew 6:33, Matthew 12:36.
In all your prayers and in every need for healing treatment, begin with “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”–Matthew 6:33. When you seek the Father, you will inevitably reach Him when your desire and love burn hot enough to bridge the abyss in consciousness.
“Thy will be done.”–Matthew 26:42. In praying for yourself and for others, you must get self out of the way. You can do so easily by declaring, “Thy will is done in me and in all my affairs.” To conquer self’s laziness in discipline, use rhythmic declarations, such as “I rejoice and am glad,” in three groups of three, in other words, repeated nine times. Raise your hands high above your head when declaring the first set.
Hold your hands palms up, cupped to repeat the second set. This fills you with Light. Finally, hold your hands, palms turned inward, level with your ears. This consecrates you, body and soul, to healing prayer. To declare, “I AM THAT I AM,” without sufficient preparation, would release more Power than you could direct and control. The resultant force would knock you down on its return.
Other I AM declarations will help to build up your rate of vibration to undertake healing work. You may wish to recite the following declaration three times each: “I AM that Wisdom, I AM. I AM that Love, I AM. I AM that Word, I AM. I AM that Harmony, I AM. I AM that Joy, I AM. I AM that Strength, I AM. I AM that Health, I AM. I AM that Good, I AM.”
I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.–Matthew 12:36.
Watch your words. To say, “don’t forget,” is idle, but to say, “Please remember,” is acceptable. Wait until the right time to tell anyone anything. Speak gently. Walk softly. Use wise silence and golden speech.
This Edna Lister outline is dated September 25, 1955, Truth Temple, Tacoma, Washington. Scripture: Luke 17:1-4.
“Then said he to the disciples, It is impossible that no offences will come, but woe to him through whom they do come! It would be better for him that a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones. Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, I repent, you shall forgive him.”–Luke 17:1-4.
Offenses will come inevitably because as many paths back to God exist as there are individuals. Every member of a family is different in his or her degree and kind of self desires and soul desires. We must all obey some basic laws, to eat and sleep, for example. We agree that love and knowledge exist, but differ in our interpretation and application of what we know. We agree on most basic needs, such as houses, stores, cars, clothes, eating, sleeping and marrying. Yet, we disagree on the kind of house, stores, cars, clothes. Two women may agree on a table and disagree about which tablecloth to use. Empires can be split over which cover to use.
The offenses that cause most family quarrels arise from petty differences. If the conflicts become too extreme, it may be better to leave the situation than to leave the body, without charging debts of blame to pay or misusing all your soul substance in offenses. Offenses can spoil an entire life; an incarnation can be cut short, but the soul would return debt-free. Often those who choose suicide do so to escape spiritual debts. People all have opinions and prejudices about what selfishness is. We call another selfish if they make demands and “stubborn” is a favored epithet when they disagree. We call another unforgiving when he disagrees with “little me.”
“Millstone” has a fearsome, destructive sound. A millstone is a heavy weight used to grind grains. You are cast into the sea of your own condemnation. Any misuse of Light as Mind, Substance and Power a grinding between the upper and nether (lower) millstones of the gods. The upper millstone symbolizes principle or law. The lower millstone represents your subconscious knowledge of misuse. Woe unto him who knows truth, but repudiates his responsibility.
Jesus distinctly mentions offending “one of these little ones.” A “little one” is anyone who knows nothing of truth. Woe unto you when you offend such a one, then dare to charge a debt of blame to him. “ It is impossible that no offenses will come” because all too often you see no need to correct your own offensive ways. When you know that you are offensive on any count, you are supposed to sacrifice it. Otherwise, you not only charge a debt of blame to your own account, you also push the “little one” down. Then you are due a rebuke. You dare not rebuke another until you are incapable of offering the same offense or charging a debt of blame, to anyone, anywhere at anytime. You cast the first stone when you blame or unjustly rebuke.
You do need to integrate all laws for clear soul vision. You can use many laws to make yourself feel good. The safe way to rebuke is to let Light do its own rebuking. This is wise and best, if only to make certain that you will not have to eat your words. To repent means to reform, not to promise to do better or “I’m sorry. I’ll try,” or “Help me.” These are the sort of soul vows that you make when the subconscious is at work. St. Paul said, “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” To forgive usually means that you want to arbitrate. Ideally, you are supposed to forgive up to seven times seventy times per day. To forgive is to pour love on the offender until he is healed and strong enough to pay his soul vows.
When you obey these laws, you no longer offend, but correct self when you know that you have offended. Correct your own offenses without blaming another, not even yourself. Rebuke self by letting Light shine. Repent by reforming your ideas, thoughts and pictures in imagination. Forgive everyone, “me” most of all. This is how you make the soul triumphant over the self. The method is free. Life is exciting, thrilling and wonderful with soul ascendant over self!
Edna Lister outline, September 25, 1955, Truth Temple, Tacoma, Washington. Scriptures: 1 John 5:14, 2 Peter 3:8, Philippians 4:19.
What is defeat? As a man thinketh in his heart, so he is.
[See Proverbs 23:7, For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.
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To feel a sense of defeat causes you to begin thinking of failure. The instant you consider defeat, you begin to slow down for repeated failures, quitting, sitting down to wait before success arrives, all ending in total defeat. Success is confidence, expectancy, eagerness and accepting now. Your first confidence is that God’s will is good. This is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he hears us.
–1 John 5:14.
Beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
–2 Peter 3:8. Your second confidence is that you do have the time now. It’s never too late, just too soon. It is not even delay because it is finished in divine Mind the instant you ask, and manifests under law at the right time. You may not push or force, but just accept now.
God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory.
–Philippians 4:19. Success is eternal expectancy, and eternal eagerness. Defeat expects the bad. Success expects the good. Be eager for more life and experiences, more tempering by life’s experiences. You may not pray to kill temper, but to accept life’s experiences eagerly as tempering for the soul, as steel must be tempered.
Take your place in line and hold it without martyrdom. If you need to give place to a needier one, never quit or go to the end of the line on the defeat idea. Step back, one pace, then stand expectantly, eager to receive, with hats off to your past and coats off for your future while you stand, work and serve.
Edna Lister outline, October 2, 1955, Truth Temple, Tacoma, Washington. Scripture: Acts 12:7-16.
And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison: and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands. And the angel said unto him, Gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals. And so he did. And he saith unto him, Cast thy garment about thee, and follow me. And he went out, and followed him; and wist not that it was true which was done by the angel; but thought he saw a vision. When they were past the first and the second ward, they came unto the iron gate that leadeth unto the city; which opened to them of his own accord: and they went out, and passed on through one street; and forthwith the angel departed from him. And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know of a surety, that the Lord hath sent his angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews. And when he had considered the thing, he came to the house of Mary the mother of John, whose surname was Mark; where many were gathered together praying. And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a damsel came to hearken, named Rhoda. And when she knew Peter’s voice, she opened not the gate for gladness, but ran in, and told how Peter stood before the gate. And they said unto her, Thou art mad. But she constantly affirmed that it was even so. Then said they, It is his angel. But Peter continued knocking: and when they had opened the door, and saw him, they were astonished.
–Acts 12:7-16.
King Herod had killed James, the brother of John, and had arrested Peter to please the temple priesthood in Jerusalem. Peter was in prison, sleeping, bound in chains between two soldiers who were guarding him. An angel appeared to him in prison, saying, “Arise quickly,” and the chains fell from him. The angel led him to the iron gates to the city and they opened by themselves.
You also are bound between two soldiers, opinions and prejudices. They represent so many things of the world that work to ensnare you, to entice. Artificial beauty and forced happiness through the entertainment industry, for example.
What results is joy in chains, love on crutches, faith crucified, and hope buried under pride, lukewarmness and indifference. An angel of the Lord is always calling to you to break away from the world’s bondage.
How do you break free from bondage? An Eastern potentate possessed vast wealth, too great to be counted. He had three sons. When he died, each of his sons had to choose one portion and all the responsibility that went with it. The remainder of his estate would go to Yusef, his vizier and favorite, whom he had raised and a man trusted and feared.
The oldest son chose the palace, throne and province that included the capital city and its wealth, enough to maintain it. The second son chose the summer palace, second in size only to the capital. It included a province to rule, orchards, farms, servants and enough wealth to maintain it.
The youngest son was a stripling of sixteen years, untried and naive. Everyone expected him to choose a horse or something trivial that required little or no effort to maintain. The youth shocked them all when he said, “I choose Yusef.” His choice encompassed the bulk of his father’s kingdom. What relationship has this story to you? When you say, “I choose God,” you have sought first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and everything else is added to you.
I choose I AM THAT I AM, which includes the whole, all, everything. This is the way of the creator, to have all else added. The way of the creature is to fight and struggle, earning everything the hard way. Some choose worldly wealth, fame and honors. Some choose martyrdom, invalidism and poverty. Yet every soul must choose, consciously or unconsciously.
Some choose God and the pathway of the soul by conquering self, becoming law and ascending in consciousness. When you choose God, the chains fall away, the indifference and lukewarmness, the opinions and prejudices. You always face a choice. An angel of the Lord is always telling you to “Rise up quickly.” No longer is your joy in chains, or your love on crutches. You are a crucified martyr no more, your faith is revived, and your hope is resurrected.
Joyfully, you declare, I AM that life, I AM. I AM in love with God. Life is my challenge and my strength. Love is my answer. I AM in love with God.
I AM lifts you up and sends you forth to conquer. Faith upholds you. Hope is your foundation. Love is your creative substance. I AM leads you into majestic, splendid, glorious life.
Endnote
1^An artesian well is one in which water rises under its own pressure, without pumping. If the pressure is great enough, the water will rise all the way to the surface and flow freely from the well. The name artesian
is derived from Artois, France, where such wells were sunk as early as 1126.
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Edna Miriam Lister1884–1971
The original Pioneering Mystic,
Christian 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 vols. E.S.C. Weiner, ed., Oxford University Press, 1971.
Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 3rd ed. Springfield, MA., G. & C. Merriam Co., 1929.