Spiritual powers can only be safely entrusted to those who have grown into their use by proper degrees as they master the laws which govern them. The great powers of heaven must be earned by one's living the higher laws until those laws become a very part of his being. He must reach the point where nothing can influence him to use them amiss, as Moses did in bringing forth water from the stone, then taking credit unto himself. One must first reach the point where his eyes are truly "single to the glory of God." This is not an idle phrase. It is a condition those must reach who desire to be entrusted with power.
There have been and are those who are so desirous of being chosen and endowed with power before they have grown into the measure of their own development they would rend it from the very throne of God. And such, though their intentions are of the best, would perhaps destroy themselves. These impatient ones, desirous of proving their own greatness, go rushing out to take hold of anyone and everyone whom they assume has any power. They work on the patience of others instead of upon themselves. These misguided ones are totally unprepared to use the powers of heaven rightly even if they were thus endowed. The powers of heaven can only be handled by those who, through the overcoming of themselves and the perfecting of love, are prepared to use them correctly or "righteously."
They are like children demanding a thunderbolt to play with.
And there are those misguided ones, or over-ambitious individuals who are concentrating their efforts on trying to flag down a flying saucer, instead of working upon themselves. Anyone who is prepared will be acknowledged and given his assignment of service. And the first assignment for every individual is to prepare himself. The futile efforts to take hold of that which is not yet earned only proves their unworthiness and unpreparedness.
These blessed, misinformed, misguided individuals must be brought to realize that no such outward strivings and clamorous demands are of any help, but only retard their progress to true attainment. This demand for power that one might awe the minds of men as he stands upon the pinnacle of the temple is but a human trait. But such human traits and cravings for show and acknowledgement must be overcome as one evolves from the man, or human, kingdom into the divine kingdom. And there are no shortcuts. Only by constant prayer and true humility can the path of perfection be trod.
The following chapter contains the first laws of true service. They are pure and beautiful and exquisitely divine. And every aspiring individual who is truly seeking for "righteousness" can use them from now on to heal and bless and to help restore.
The "hungering and thirsting after righteousness: is always the first step of attainment. This hungering and thirsting opens the whole soul wide to receive. The physical seals are gradually removed and his spiritual faculties are awakened to true service. As the seal is removed from the heart it too is opened in a melting, humble tenderness as the love of God begins to be poured forth through the center of his being with an increasing power to bless and to love and so to heal and to renew.
One whose soul is thus opened wide to comprehend and to receive the appeasement of his hunger and his thirst, will be prepared to begin to comprehend the great TRUTH and the law which governs it. He will be rewarded by the attunement of his whole soul being opened to hear the voice and the minute, individual instructions of God -- for God will become his instructor.
In this holy process of growth one learns to "listen and to be still." His moments of intense, high devotion increase in frequency and duration. This "listening" is not done with one's physical ears but with the spiritual ears as one begins to receive his answers and his instructions through the ears of his soul and direct from God, instead of from man. This will be the only method of instruction in the years to come "for they will need no man to teach them, for God Himself will be their teacher." And none of His instructions nor His wisdom nor His knowledge is foolishness nor wasted. Any who prepare themselves to be taught of God will advance into the powers of eternity speedily and surely.
This method of inner instruction is the only method that cannot be duplicated, contaminated nor bring deception with it. This inner method of receiving knowledge, as one hungers and thirsts, is the only one that can fulfill the laws of righteousness as one searches for His Kingdom and its eternal truths.
Righteousness is something that cannot be put on from without, like a mantle or a robe. Righteousness must be brought forth from within. Neither can it be found on the outside. Nor can it be borrowed nor taken from another. Righteousness is a degree of development that one grows into by deep devotion, pure humility and constant prayer. It is reached by a constant searching or hungering and thirsting of the mind and heart to know and serve God, and God only.
As one places himself in tune with God he learns the deeper lessons of eternity. He begins to comprehend that the "learning of the world is indeed foolishness to the Lord." It is as one's whole soul seeks to know TRUTH and the will of God that the appeasement of his inward hungering and thirsting begins to find a holy satisfaction as he feasts with the Lord.
One of the essential requisites to be prepared to receive this inner instruction is the cultivation and development of that glorious, beautiful, divine gift of humility. This gift is most stupendously exquisite as it is brought forth in the full unfolding of its breathtaking glory. No gift so clothes an individual in shining radiance except, of course, the fully developed Christ Light as it is brought forth in its fulness.
And this gift of humility is perhaps the most elusive of all virtues because it cannot be seen by mortal eyes. And it can so often be duplicated or counterfeited by a sham, even groveling meekness that is completely repellent when comprehended. Humility is a splendor of the soul that is developed by an adoration of God and a love so complete it opens the deep, inner core of one's being to the divine Will of God in an utter surrender. In this love the proud, pompous, vain, little mortal-self, that is always reaching for credit and rewards and attention, is lifted up and exalted into the true, divine self in which no boasting is necessary, nor indeed is it permissible.
Personal pride and the little mortal-self must be left behind before one can possibly be entrusted with the divine powers of heaven. It is as one grows humble and learns to "listen" in true reverence that he begins to move forward into the rhythmed wonder of his own spiritual growth. And it is in this inward growth that the mortal weaknesses are outgrown and eliminated.
When Reason and I had been married for a year, and had had no time in which to enjoy or even get acquainted, we had our first vacation. We spent it down in the Pennsylvania hills in fasting and prayer. At the end of the first week I beheld, written in flame, over my head these words: "Dear Lord, give us eyes single to thy glory, WITH THE GIFT OF HUMILITY! Let every thought be in control and every word be for your honor!"
It was out beyond our reach, but in hungering and desiring to fulfill it became a continual unfolding of the will of God. And only now have I been permitted to share this sacred experience with those of you who wish to fulfill all righteousness.
When the impelling splendor of loving humility is attained then can the great, everlasting powers of Almighty God begin to be placed in one's hands. And only then will one be truly prepared to possess such powers, otherwise he could not possibly use the laws of righteousness righteously. It is only in love and deep reverence that such unspeakable powers can be placed within the grasp of those who are still in mortality. One must have begun "to evolve from the man kingdom into the God Kingdom" as his soul grows and develops according to the degree of the "hungering and the thirsting" that he has developed. The law of God is that anyone who truly "hungers and thirsts after righteousness" must be fed or filled. And this food is a spiritual food "That the world knows not of." And the drink is the outflowing Spirit of Almighty God as it is shed forth through the hearts of the children of men.
When the divine powers of heaven are entrusted, even in a lesser degree, to any person who is not purified and cleansed from all sin he will begin to use them unrighteously in most instances. He will undertake his work in all righteousness and without realizing it he begins to work in self-righteousness as he assumes that he cannot possibly err. He begins to believe that no matter what he does it is correct and that he has the power to sway heaven and that it will obey his voice. Thus, without realizing it, he may begin to use his knowledge to take away the free-agency of his fellowmen, to bring them under his control, to issue unworthy decrees and unrighteous dominion. He may not even be aware that he is seeking to use the authority of God unworthily as he seeks to block the door of heaven to those who would enter. In his blindness he may even become a dictator who has no esteem nor feelings for the rights of others. Such will soon begin to use under-handed, "gestapo" methods to justify his actions or to prove his infallibility. He will subtly begin to bear false witness to humiliate and disprove the integrity of those who resist his decrees. And before he is aware of it he is no longer one divinely chosen. He actually begins to fight against God instead of to serve him. The very heavens weep over such who have corrupted the very term and meaning of "righteousness" to glorify their evil, selfish, self-righteousness. They have become fallen angels and realize it not.
In such the human weaknesses will become continually more manifest than the sacred powers of heaven as such a one seeks to use the divine powers for self-glory and for show as he begins to take credit and honors to himself.
This is the natural law of the flesh and he who has not overcome the flesh will fulfill the mortal law of his own vanity and pride as his physical desire for acclaim takes over.
To be entrusted with divine, holy powers, while still subject to human weaknesses, is dangerous beyond ordinary man's comprehension. One must have stepped out beyond the measure of his own personal desires if he will fulfill the full measure of his own glorious possibilities and use the divine powers and gifts of God righteously.
Only those who have, in a measure, earned such rights of power are given them, even in a minor degree, lest they do untold damage and eventually destroy themselves -- and others. Even those who have earned the right to authority, perhaps before ever they came to earth, are very apt to lose it through misuse. These special ones usually come with an inner knowing of importance and wishing to impress others with that importance they begin to use the powers of God unrighteously in order to put across the little mortal-self. In their search for approval and honors and worldly acclaim they relinquish their right to the honors and powers of heaven.
This unholy desecration and misuse of the divine powers of God is Black Magic! And within it is contained all the evils of darkness and mystery and deceits.
Such a man was Hitler.
And there are many more. Such, in their pride, begin to yearn so ardently for powers and attention they have not yet been fully endowed with they will make such a great show and a startling pretense to the authority of heaven they may, "if possible, deceive the very elect." If such arrogant ones are challenged or rebuked, or even gently warned, they will receive no criticism. To them it is God who has erred and with all their rebellion exercised they make it their duty to set Him aright, along with His whole heavenly kingdom and its divine laws.
There are those today, in high places, who are dangerous men. And though some of them believe they are serving God in their proud, self-righteousness they are unjust in their dealings, deficient in their wisdom, lacking in humility and are committing great evils. They are dangerous both to themselves and to the world as they use their power, and their authority to put across themselves and their opinions and beliefs. Such seek ever to gain the hearts of men, even as they subtlely blind the eyes of their followers to truth. They ignore the everlasting decree that: "God will not be mocked!" Nor will He sanction the selfish, unrighteous use of any of His laws or powers for selfish adulation or personal glory. Those who seek to use His divine powers unrighteously, in any degree whatsoever, will soon be left unto themselves, bleak and desolate and forsaken and utterly rejected.
So do not be impatient if the holy powers, you so earnestly desire, are not yet placed in your hands. It is only for your own protection and your own safety that they are still withheld.
But you may be sure, oh noble aspirant for truth and for righteousness, that the powers will be placed in your possession as soon as you have proved yourself ready for the responsibility they entail. Such holy, almost unspeakable authority of might and power is entirely too sacred and too dynamic to be flaunted before the eyes of men to awe their minds with YOU.
Remember, that from the moment these dynamic powers are entrusted to you you will be held doubly accountable, before God, for your every thought and word and act and for your every released vibration. Whereas now, you are only held accountable for your intentions.
If you are still desirous of receiving the divine powers of God that you might use them for the good of man then begin to pray for those who despitefully use you and persecute you. This is a way in which the good you accomplish can be immeasurable.
Such good is done without ostentation or fan-fare. It is done silently, and in secret. "And the Father, who seeth in secret shall reward you openly." In this use of God's power there is no way to tempt one to boast of his accomplishments, for only heaven knows of the infinite, wonderful good that such a method can achieve. This is power which cannot be used to be seen of men. And as one uses this silent method of love and blessing he is growing into his own stature of fulfilment.
This subtle, inner obedience of out-pouring love, as one prays for his enemies, is the beginning of the works which Christ Himself did. The first works must be accomplished through the fullest obedience to the sacred laws of "righteousness" or "right-use-ness." These sacred laws of the Kingdom, which is within, are the inner laws of a man's own being that can not lay claim to awards and honors and credits. To fulfill these divine, inner laws truly and honorably and lovingly, for love will automatically develop their intensity and power, speedily prepares one to accomplish the "works which Christ accomplished."
In the fulfilling of this sacred, divine, power of praying for your enemies will give you the power of forgiveness. And in your forgiving you will be forgiven for all your mistakes, errors and transgressions so that you will not need to drag them along to hold you back from your own divine fulfilment.
Pray for the pure privilege of praying! Pray! Pray for those you love and especially for those whom you have hated -- and for those who have, or do, hate you! Pray out of the fulness of your heart and love will begin to flow out through you to help heal and bless a world. Pray always and you will grow into a dynamic person as you learn to "walk with God." In doing this you will be fulfilling one of the earliest laws given to man: "Do all that you do in the name of the Lord; and call upon the name of the Son forevermore!"
And as you pray let your heart be opened wide to appreciate the privilege and power of prayer. Let this gift of appreciation grow and expand as it reaches out to enfold your surroundings and your every gift of abundance.
Thank God for every minute blessing. Thank Him for your daily bread. Thank Him for your physical blessing, though they may not be perfect at the present time. Continue to thank Him for the degree of health you do have and that spark of life will expand and increase until you are endowed with the "Life more abundant!"
Never take any blessing for granted. "For he who is thankful in all things will be made glorious! And the things of this earth will be added unto him a hundred-fold; Yea, more!" Remember, the law of gratitude is the spiritual law of increase and multiplication. If you have but three loaves of bread and two small fishes and no more good in sight or any way of earning more, then bless and give thanks and watch that small supply multiply to fulfill your needs.
In loving silence pray the Lord's prayer, often. And, if you are in need or in doubt as to where your daily bread is coming from, stress the words in love and gratitude as you lovingly repeat the phrase, "Give us this day our daily bread."
As you bless and give thanks continually for every blessing, asking God to supply your daily bread, the gifts and power of increase, and finally of divine creation will be placed in your hands. These are sacred keys. They are powerful keys, which man has ignored as he has struggled along his mortal road seeking ever to "earn his bread by the sweat of his brow." And often, when his sweat has worn out or dried up, he has stood bleak and hungry, even while the keys of plenty and of abundance were right in his hand.
Any man from his hovel of the past could be placed in one of the modern mansions of today, and unknowingly live in ignorance and in darkness, unless he understood the simple method of turning a tiny switch, perhaps concealed within the wall.
Man has brought forth many magical things. But the great and dynamic powers of eternity have been just beyond his comprehension. They have never been beyond his reach. They have always been right at hand, and the method of using them. But man has not believed in the magic wonder of God's power to fulfill every word and every promise, so he has ignored them. The blue-prints to power and to attainment have been uselessly held in his hands because he refused to exert the necessary faith to LIVE the laws that he might KNOW of their power.
Any individual can begin to work miracles. The first and greatest of all miracles will be those accomplished right within himself as he begins to fulfill the laws that he might know of their truth and of their power. And as one seeks to prove them he will advance from his mortal estate into a person of eager, anticipating adventure. He will change from a drab, perhaps uninteresting individual into one alive and filled with an eagerness and a zest for life -- and that gift of life will become ever more abundant.
Living the divine laws of fulfilment, and using them constantly will set in motion a revolutionary, exhilarating power of inner change. It will not be discernible at first to mortal man. It will be felt. And neither can it be boasted of for it is the sacred unfolding of a man's own soul as it commences its journey of complete fulfilment.
Noble aspirant for power and recognition, these divine powers of Almighty God are but awaiting your own fulfillment. They will be brought forth by your own fulfilling as you increase in virtue and in understanding and in light.
It takes effort, at first to lay down one's hates and his small habits of character, that he has so condoned and accepted he has failed to notice their evil. He may not gossip or speak evil of his neighbor or bear false witness. He may only lend an ear to gossip and thus encourage the repeater of scandal to carry the tale out to injure and to destroy, perhaps a life.
One may not commit adultery. But he may tell vile stories which increase and excite the lusts of his neighbor so that he will lose that divine control of his manhood.
One may speak no evil, he may only think it and feel it as he sends out his smoldering, wicked vibrations of resentment and hate.
One may not steal, yet in his proud, sabbatical self-righteousness he may cheat in his every dealing with his fellowmen.
The laws of righteousness are subtle and so easily ignored. One can "be a hearer of the word, but not a doer, and thus completely deceive himself."
Righteousness is not just a word. It is a way of life. It is a road of such dynamic power none has even begun to comprehend it. The human race has been a race of unawakened, self-satisfied mortals as they have moved slowly down their journey of life, impotent, dull and unprogressive.
Only in this day are men sufficiently awakened to throw off the swaddling clothes that have bound them and to rebel against the impotent diet of milk and soothing syrups that has satisfied them in a small measure. In this day the awakening is beyond anything that has happened in past ages. Men are not only demanding to know the truth but to KNOW God for themselves.
This awakened generation is a generation of scientists and explorers who are willing to exert their powers to check every method and every avenue, to test and to try and to PROVE the things that God has revealed, by LIVING them. This is a new age and a new generation, such as the world has never known. These dynamic ones, reserved from the beginning to take their places in this day and age, will not only span space and explore it, they will fathom the atom and eventually its most intricate parts. And in the center of the atom they will discover the dynamic power of God, for even the atom is filled with spirit and with intelligence and it too is being awakened to fulfill a greater role in the plan of creation.
Man is now ready and prepared to explore the great spiritual realm -- and this divine exploration must begin right within himself and in testing and proving the promises which were revealed centuries ago. And before this generation has passed away, "A knowledge of the Lord will cover the earth even as the waters cover the sea."
This age belongs to a generation such as has never before been upon the earth. Oh, noble aspirants for truth, I greet you in welcome as my soul yearns over you in rapturous joy.