Faith is born and fulfilled out of the impossible. Only the impossible gives a meaning and a reason to the stupendous principle and power of faith.
Paul gave the admonition: "Lay hold of the best gifts!" The best gifts are the spiritual powers and gifts of God.
One can have all the wealth possible to possess and only fulfill the words given in the third chapter of Revelations, which states: "Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable and poor and blind and naked; 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 eye-salve, that thou mayest see."
"The gold tried in the fire" is the spiritual gold. This priceless, golden treasure of unspeakable worth is situated at the place of contact with God and with His marvelous, unlimited source of creation. It is situated at the very center of each man's soul. It is a spiritual substance, liquid, molten and super-sensitive. Every doubt and every negatious vibration, every evil desire or uncontrolled, mortal reaction keeps it in a state of storm-tossed turbulence. As this turbulence reflects out its confusion that distorted image is brought back into an individual's life as evils, dismays, illness, poverty or troubles of one sort or another. The great power of this priceless gift of gold is bestowed when one learns to become "still," when his emotions are controlled by love and when his doubts are conquered by the exerted principle of learning to "believe." When this is accomplished then one purchases the "gold that has been tried in the fire" of his own testings.
Or, as James gave it in his first chapter: "Know that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing." The man who has perfected that hallowed gift of patience can easily obtain "The gold that has been tried in the fire." In his soul is the quieted peace that can hold that spiritual gold in a perfection of equilibrium or "stillness" that will bring forth his completion and the fulfilment of all his righteous desires so that "he will lack for nothing."
James goes on to describe the storm-tossed turbulence that comes when one wavers or doubts, thus failing to "lay hold of the gifts and blessing" he most desires.
"If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to ALL men liberally and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering (no changing or doubting). For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven by the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord."
Here James has given a description of the great gift God has offered, the "gold tried in the fire," that must be "stilled" by patience, by love and by a constant awareness of the deepest desires one holds in his heart. He even describes the turbulence of that storm-tossed sea and the impossibility of God granting any blessing to the person who fails to fulfill the great law of purchasing that precious gold, the molten gold of eternal glory in which the powers of creation are held.
As one holds his mind, unwaveringly and without doubts upon any great desire or "best gift" that gold solidifies and holds the pattern or design of one’s request out to reflect its commands upon the very "atoms waiting to become."
It is in this "stilled" mirror of molten gold, at the center of one's soul, that all wants and all desires are reflected out into the universal "substance of things hoped for." This is the method by which the "things hoped for" are brought forth into tangible form or fulfilment. This pool, or mirror of molten gold, when not "tried in the fire" reflects out quite as readily all the evil emotions, doubts, fears and negatious evils in a mass of contorted reflections that bring back nothing but ills. "For let not that man think he shall receive anything of the Lord." Not that the Lord is not willing and anxious to bestow all gifts and blessings upon him, but he has refused to use the law of their coming forth and of his own powers to use his divine heritage of creation correctly. Each man is fully equipped with the powers of creation, few have learned to use them "RIGHTEOUSLY" for they are the laws of righteousness. "All that the Father has is yours."
To comprehend and to use these great powers of creation or that "Kingdom of Heaven" righteously is power indeed. And within it is contained the eternal promise of God that one will receive all else, and the fulfilment of every need, even before he asks. This is wealth indeed. And with this source of supply opened there can be no want. Neither can any cares nor fears nor worries over the rust, the moths, the thieves and the adverse conditions of failures in business, or banks, or professional deals, or what-have-you be able to destroy the supply of eternal good.
This place of high, spiritual "gold that has been tried in the fires" of one's own soul and in his own testings, is situated at the very center of man's own being. It is located before the throne of that "inner Kingdom," of which Christ spoke. And he who seeks this inner contact and establishes that contact is rich indeed. For then only can one receive the gold that has been tried in the fire and which holds the power to fulfill every righteous desire and every worthy request. "Thus all things will be added unto him, both in heaven and on earth." "He will never again need to labor for the things that perish." Neither will he ever again "hunger or thirst."
Within this great source of creation is contained the material blessings that can never be lost or withdrawn. But even more important are the great spiritual powers and blessings that have been ignored because they have not been apparent to the mortal, dense, physical senses.
Such are the gifts which Paul admonished men to lay hold of. The best gifts are always intangible to the physical mind until they are completely established. And it is because they are not at first visible or apparent to the earthly senses that one must learn to "lay hold of them," not with his hands, but with his mind, then with his heart and with his soul. Then they become his own.
Any individual who can lift his mind to "lay hold" of any spiritual gift until he no longer doubts in his heart, but believes that he receives he shall have whatsoever he asks. The gift is given spiritually first. And his soul will KNOW that he has received it. All things were created spiritually first, even the earth itself -- and every herb before it grew.
As one holds his mind unwaveringly and without doubting upon any gift or desire that sea of molten gold solidifies and the pattern of his request is established as it is reflected out for those celestial rays of living light to fulfill. These illimitable rays are turned upon themselves as they are drawn into the mold or pattern reflected out from that molten gold, or mirror. Thus are they formed into atoms and are gathered to fulfill the need, the request or the desire held out to them, unwaveringly. These rays of living light are "the substance of things hoped for” as they are formed into atoms and congealed into material form. This is the spiritual process and power of creation. And it is man's to use. "All that the Father has is yours!" Even the power of creation.
James was not permitted, in his time, to reveal the full truth of the law of asking without wavering. Christ only pointed the way to its fulfilling by giving the information that if one lived the laws he would know of their truth and of their power. But only now has the veil been completely removed that each man might be left without excuse. The way is his own.
This undoubting condition of the heart, that is required for fulfillment, may not be an easy condition to achieve at first. But there is no man living who cannot achieve this condition of complete fulfilment if he has not destroyed his ability to believe by his continual effort to "disprove all things."
First, it is necessary to "lay hold of these best gifts" with the mind, by thinking of them, desiring them and beginning to live worthy of them. These gifts are spiritual and as one develops the desire for them, by holding them in his thoughts, then goes on to the point where he can ask God for them, he is on the path of fulfilment. If he continues to "ask, to seek and to knock," the law of heaven is fulfilled and therefore must bring the fulfilling of such requests into complete consumation.
Again, let me quote a portion of the ninth Command, given to Hermas, by the angel, which is as follows: "Again he said unto me; remove from thee all doubting; and question (or doubt) nothing at all, when thou asketh anything of the Lord; saying within thyself: how shall I be able to ask anything of the Lord and receive it, seeing I have so greatly sinned against him?
"Do not think thus, but turn unto the Lord with all thy heart, and ask of him without doubting, and thou shalt know the mercy of the Lord; how that he will not forsake thee, but will fulfill the request of thy soul.
". . . Do not leave off to ask, and then thou shalt receive. Else if thou shalt cease to ask, thou must complain of thyself, and not of God, that he has not given unto thee what thou didst desire." (Lost Books of the Bible. II Hermas: Command IX: 1-2 & 7).
To "lay hold of" anything demands that one reach for it and then cling to it until he establishes his right of ownership or possession. To "lay hold of the best gifts" or the great spiritual blessings one must lay hold of them with his thoughts until he establishes a desire for them in his heart. This will establish his claims and imprint his desires upon that mirror of pure gold -- "the gold that has been tried in the fire."
This pool of pure, spiritual gold is contained in the great glory of that divine, inner stillness as one closes the door of his attention, or closet, to all outside turmoil and confusion and distractions. In the divine stillness of supreme quietude one will find the contact with God. In this inner quieting and stillness one learns to hear the voice of God as he begins to receive personal instruction from the Almighty. In this divine center "The Holy Spirit of Promise" reveals the great possibilities ahead, waiting fulfilment. As one learns to enter into and abide in this center of great peace, "The peace that passeth understanding," he is abiding in God, or in that divine contact with him.
As one learns to enter into and to abide in this great stillness, the point of peace and power, that divine pool of pure, molten glory is held in perfect tranquility so that no ripple of disquietude or unbelieving doubts can mar its surface to shatter the reflection one places into it by his own inspired desiring. Only through this great treasure of inner, molten gold, that has been tried in the fire, can one possibly receive back the perfect answer to his inner longings. As the pool of pure, spiritual gold is held in stillness, it reflects out into the universal "substance of things hoped for", the exact pattern of one's desires. In the great stillness the desires of the heart are held forth in such vivid clarity their very power draws back the divine elements of complete fulfilling.
As long as doubts or discords or any negative condition or traits are permitted to exist there is only a crazy, broken pattern sent out upon the disturbed ripples or turbulent surface of that pool. And thus one receives only the most skimped, mediocre returns for his longings. He perhaps receives back only his own shattered dreams, his broken health and a life of drab, purposeless living -- a mere existence.
"Buy of me the gold that is tried in the fire that thou mayest be rich."
How do you buy it?
By learning to "be still -- and know God." "Be Still" and become acquainted with His great, dynamic power of creation and the method of using it -- for this is the "Kingdom of heaven, that is within." Seek this Kingdom and its righteousness and all else will be added unto you."
To those who fulfill the laws of this great righteousness there is no power in existence which can withhold the fulfilling of their requests, no matter how seemingly impossible they may appear to be.
Only in righteousness can this law of creation be used. But when one becomes proficient in the knowledge and the virtues of using these dynamic powers his requests will be answered instantly, for, "Before they ask I will answer." At the beginning time is required to perfect the individual and his faith. After one learns how to use the law in righteousness he will have the power to move mountains, raise the dead, and do all that Christ did, then go on to the greater works.
The power of prayer is dynamically potent with the eternal forces of Almighty God. But to use the power of prayer one must send it out from the very depths of his heart with the strength of his soul carrying it forth on the wings of love and praise and gratitude. This method opens the inner realm of one's being and stills that pool of molten gold.
It is most assuredly true that any one who learns to "lay hold of any gift" or blessing or desire and continues to "ask and seek" for its fulfilment, will receive, "for everyone who asks receives and he who seeks finds and unto him who knocks it shall be opened,” even that inner realm of his own soul in which the powers of contact with Almighty God are held. This is the "Secret place of the Most High," the center of a man's own soul, the "Kingdom of heaven within."
And it is true that prayer can and will change the pray-er. As one "lays hold" of any gift or desire and continues to pray for it, first with his mind, the energies of his heart and soul will finally take up that petition and it will become an established reality. First it is established in the spiritual realm from which all material things are originally formed, then, by the law of its own fulfilment it will become a fact and a true reality in the tangible realm of material existence.
"There is nothing impossible to God!" There is nothing impossible to the person who aligns himself with God. As one gets in contact with that inner realm, or "Kingdom of heaven within," he gets in contact with the spiritual realm out of which all existing things are formed -- the things both in heaven and on earth.
It is impossible to reach too high or to desire too much as long as one wishes these exquisite, dynamic powers and blessings to help benefit a world, or wishes them to use for the service of man. Only in righteousness can these powers be used. Never in selfishness nor for evil. He who seeks to use them thus will himself be destroyed.
However, no one can follow this inner road of prayer without himself being purified and changed into "a new being" worthy and prepared to be entrusted with such divine gifts and powers. This road of prayer is not performed in the telling of beads nor in habitual mutterings. This road of prayer must come from the soul with all the energies of the heart sending it out. And this method of prayer will open the heart and reveal fully the great glories contained within the soul.
"Lay hold of the best gifts" and begin to "ask, to seek and to knock" and never cease to lay claim or to hold to the desire of your heart and it will be fulfilled unto you. This is the law -- and it is irrevocable.
This liquid, molten pool of gold, in which one's sincere requests or heart desires are reflected and mirrored out into the universal realm holds the entire method of creation. Again I am instructed to stress the information that in the reflected vision held out onto the surface of that pure gold the atoms or elements of "the substance of things hoped for," is gathered into tangible form. Those living rays of pure, spiritual light are drawn to it, turned upon themselves to form atoms and those atoms will be solidified into the physical or tangible substance of that which is held out to them to fulfill.
This is the law of creation. It is as eternal as eternity and as unfailing and unchangeable as God. The law is that the spiritual substance of "things hoped for" must obey the law of existence as it is gathered and molded into the form or pattern held forth for fulfilment. This is the working method of the law of creation and the method of applying it in one's daily life. This is the kingdom of righteousness, in which all needed things are added.
When it states in Genesis that God formed this, or that, or the other, then saw that it was good it is stating that He held His mental vision upon the idea until it was completely formed or fulfilled. This is the law of the inner working of faith. And it is the law God used in creating this world and the planets and all existing things thereof. It is the only method of creation. And never before on this earth has the fulness of this breathtaking, dynamic law of fulfilment been revealed. It has been "one of those great, unspeakable truths that was hidden up from the foundation of the world, because of the great wickedness of unbelief!" It was not even known in the Estate of Eden.
It is now revealed because the promise is: "When men would rend that veil of unbelief, which has caused the world to remain in its awful state of wickedness" this knowledge would be revealed.
There are those, in this day and age, who have so desired to KNOW truth and to KNOW GOD for themselves that the veil of darkness is being rent to the extent that some of these stupendous truths of eternity are beginning to come forth. See that you mock them not, for God will not be mocked!
Fulfill these laws of faith and of creation and prove them for yourself. Cast your doubting and your unbelief from you. And as you love and praise and give thanks with ever increasing power you will be given the full knowledge of the working of these unspeakable laws. You will be "clothed in the white raiment" or in the glorious Light of Christ so that your mortal nakedness of impotency will never appear.
"Anoint your eyes with eye salve that you might see" "with eyes single to the glory of God" and you will begin to take upon you that glory, or to reflect it. The law of reflecting, or of mirroring out is a dynamic law. It is the method by which atoms are formed from the universal substance of vibrant, spiritual light. It is the only method that can be used to work with atoms, either for creation or for the releasing of the energy contained within them. The scientists use mirrors to an almost incomprehensible extent as they explode the atoms in a series of chain reactions.
"All that the Father has is yours," even the dynamic power of creation as you seek for the Kingdom of God and its righteousness, where all else will be added unto you. These higher laws of creation can only be used by those who have begun to evolve from the man kingdom of greed and grabbing and selfishness and evils and lusts into the God Kingdom.
The law of the angels has been partially explained. This added information is the law of Gods, the dynamic law of creation.
At the beginning of creation God's first command, in the process of bringing forth, was: "LET THERE BE LIGHT!" And it was from those living rays of Light that all tangible things were created or formed. James proclaimed it in his first chapter as he designated God, "The Father of Lights!" It is from God that the rays of living light are sent out in a fathomless stream of unending, dynamic, eternal flowing.