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THE GREATER WORLD CHRISTIAN SPIRITUALIST CHURCH
THE ZODIAC MESSAGES
"OTHER GODS"
An address given at the Zodiac Circle, 15 Nightingale
Square, London.
(First published on 4th August, 1928)
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"My children, you are known to me by many things. During
the sleep state by that emotion which you call love,
so you and those who have passed on a space, all gather
together, and directed by the Holy One I seek to train
your minds, to prepare you for the next step in front;
for forget not that by choice you have allied yourselves
to Christ, which means that you are willing to carry
that which represents the cross, knowing that through
the cross revelation can be made your own.
-
"I want you all to realise that this meeting was
arranged in the far, far past, and oft we have spoken
together of that time when you, from the physical standpoint,
should be drawn into this work. Remember that the invitation
is extended but free-will is man's own gift, and it
is for you to decide aye or nay. Yet, if you turn from
the test, if you hesitate over the path in front, then,
my little ones, I must tell you, because it is God's
truth, that the next span ahead will find you disconsolate,
full of grief over the opportunity which came and which
you cast away through the ignorance which held your
mind.
-
"Oh, there are many when they are free, when self-realisation
is made their own, who stand aghast over that little
more which they were unwilling to give, for they see
that they themselves hewed down the bridge between
them and power and peace and love, the last bridge
which lay between them and their spirit's desire.
-
"Tonight, dear children, I speak to many, yet
you by coming in this way, by giving up yourselves
in the measure that you understand, you are contributing
to that missionary work which has been entrusted to
me by the Saviour Christ. I speak to many, to those
of your little world and to the vast numbers who have
laid aside the garment of flesh; for, alas, there are
many who sought other gods than the One true God, and
they still seek these other gods and know not what
holds them, how the shadows have tricked them and betrayed
them again and again.
-
"So this night my subject is 'OTHER GODS', and
I want you to take the broad view, to keep your minds
off the so-called heathen, off those who have different
religions from your own; for I have said, instructed
by Love, that whatever man believes, that is of second
importance in comparison to man's life, man's attitude
towards others. There are many who have been brought
up in an environment which is charged with superstition,
who since their early years have been taught to worship
gods of wood and gods of stone. Yet many of these live
in a measure a Christ life, in a measure they have
taken the hard road, and when they pass into the Light,
lo, they shall find to their exceeding amazement that
all unknowingly they worshipped the One true God; they
worshipped God in their kindly acts, in their compassion
for the poor, in their care for the aged.
-
"Oh, take the wide view! Let not those of the
earth sway you; realise that what man does is of greater
importance than the manner in which man worships God.
For look you, how many of the 'heathen' have had the
advantages which have come to you in this corner of
that which you name the earth? How many of these primitive
children have learned anything concerning the compassionate
Christ, the tender Companion? Nay, the gods they worship
mean to be obeyed, and in the measure that the culprit
fails in this obedience, so punishment is meted out
to that one, and in order to conciliate, from their
little they have to give much. What know they of the
Mother and Father God?
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"So, my children, I would speak this night rather
upon the many gods which those who have had the advantages
of 'civilisation' have erected in the home, in the
palace, and even in the church. Think you as to this.
There are those who enter a body of flesh, bringing
with them many gifts - the tools of the mind, the strength
of the physical garment; and as the boy emerges into
manhood, so ambition calls with a loud and insistent
voice; and that one, although he recognises it not,
has built up in his surroundings many gods, but the
One true God finds no place. First, it may be power;
then, perchance, it is the acquirement of the possessions
of the earth; then it is worldly fame. Obscurity finds
no favour with such as these, and there are many, rising
out of that which once was their environment, who can
say with truth: 'I am a power in the land'; and those
around, bound in turn, look with envy upon such a one.
They think: 'If I had his ability, if I had his opportunity,
if I had his wealth, what I could do!', and discontent
seizes the mind.
-
"Poor blind children, they have not learned that
by going without they are drawing to them the treasures
of heaven. For mark you this: No man who rises to so
great an eminence does so without exacting much from
others. No man acquires many possessions without directly
or indirectly robbing the weak. These things must be
faced. When such a one lays aside the physical garment
he is stripped of all that which he prizes. Think you
as to his thoughts when, as he stands among others,
he is forced to recognise that the first is even as
the last, that the one he despised takes the place
of prominence by the fact that sacrifice was exacted;
and that one has a power no one can wrest from him.
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"Then, my children, I would have you think of
those many who by their very exclusiveness are veiling
the beauty of a tender Christ. Yes, these gods are
of a different character. Think of the student, the
man who is absorbed in the subject under consideration,
so anxious to tear out of the earth the so-called secrets
of science, so determined to be the one to discover
that which shall alter the viewpoint of his world.
Think not that these things are wrong, yet I am bound
to give out that which is the truth. In the measure
that man is absorbed in his own interests, forgetful
of the plight of others, in the measure that that man
puts the things of the earth before the things of God,
so - alas and alas - he is binding himself to that
which it will take years to forget and cast away.
-
"Think of the man who claims that which you name
the artistic temperament and, in his desire to satisfy
the craving for beauty that is within, wanders far
and collects from this country and that illustrations
of the beauty it has to give. That, dear children,
is not wrong as we regard things when a measure of
wisdom is made our own, but again I am controlled by
Truth and I say when that man passes into reality the
picture which once held his attention and filled him
with delight will appear as ugliness itself. The bowls
and the plates and the beaten brass in which he revelled,
and of which he never grew tired, indeed these things
seem of the earth, earthy; and he will stand apart
and see another with the power to create beauty in
a form hitherto unimagined by him - aye, by will to
bring out of the conditions that which is exquisite
in form, in colour and workmanship - while he has no
tools, and the remembrance of that which he craved
while in the body representing a travesty of the real.
-
"Again, I speak of the man absorbed in music in
the bringing out of instruments sweet sounds, melody
- the man who uses his talent to amuse the idle crowd,
to arouse the worst passions in his fellows, and excuses
himself by the thought: 'I must live'. That man when
he passes into the realms of melody and sweet sounds
- for, mark you, to see reality is part of his education
- that man will be anguished, for the power is gone
to give forth that which is the truth. The man or the
woman who puts together a few simple lines, breathing
purity, telling of God - these things may be sneered
at by those of the earth, by the criticisers, by those
with the mental tools - but I say that such as these,
when they pass into God's home, shall - according to
the effort put forth - shall have something of creative
power, and they, under guidance, shall build up in
their conditions sweet flowers, the melody, the charm,
the glory that does not fade.
-
"Other gods! Oh, how many, although they will
face it not, have other gods! And that is why if Christ
came in His humble guise, from an obscure home, few
would recognise Him or bid Him welcome. A God of power
may be honoured and worshipped, but a Christ with no
earthly power is ignored; for those of the earth, keyed
to the earth vibrations, recognise not that the greatest
power that any man or woman can have is the humble
heart, the obedient will.
-
"Other gods, aye, even in that which you name
the churches and temples - other gods. The splendour
of raiment, the costly plate, the rich ornament - all
that which is display; ah, there the One Who had not
a roof over His head finds little place. A God of power,
of might and of splendour those of the world demand.
They demand that Christ shall come with His legion
of angels to force the rebellious to bend the knee;
they forget that God's way is not man's way, that God's
way is the Christ way; and that Christ chose poverty,
chose hardship, chose the contempt of others, rather
than betray His Godhead and pander to the weakness
of men's minds.
-
"Oh, little ones, serious must be my words, for
with sight I look beyond this little earth, beyond
this little plane, and I see gathered in on all sides
men and women who worshipped faithfully and regularly
at the shrine of those gods built up by the world in
which they lived. They forgot the One true God, the
One Who promised that the pure in heart should see
God as God is.
-
"So, my little ones, I come back to you, and my
love is drawing you into the vibrations of the One
Who has fought and struggled for you over time unthinkable.
I draw you by the grace of God back to the Saviour,
the Beloved, the One Who understands the hardships
of your lives, your hopes, your disappointments, the
heartaches and deep sorrows. I draw you back to the
One true God, our Saviour Christ, and I bid you for
the sake of that greater self within to cast from you
anything that bears resemblance to another god, anything
that comes between you and the One Who loves you best.
-
"With the tools of the mind, with the gifts of
the hands, beware, take care! If that which you can
produce has beauty, has the power to draw out admiration
from others, oh believe that only in the measure that
God is in that which you have built can that beauty
remain. Yes, only in the measure that you worked for
others, that you did that which went against the inclination
of the physical mind, that you put weariness aside,
that you tried to forget the pangs of the body.
-
"Oh, my little ones, all these things create a
loveliness impossible for your minds to grasp. They
are charged with God-power, and when you are free,
when the sadness and the disappointments are forgotten,
you will stand as sons and daughters of the Most High,
with something of Divine power, released by what has
been. And then, at will you can draw out of the vibrations
beauty in sound and form, charged with life; and that
beauty, that melody, the power shall pass far from
you into conditions where beauty and light and sweetness
are unknown. In degree you are demonstrating the God
within, the gifts bestowed when created by the one
God in His own image in the far, far past; you are
demonstrating that you are part of that Being.
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"But the only way to have that which is of God
is to take the God-way, the Christ-way, the way of
patience, the way of work, the way of helping others.
Let not others deceive you, let not ambition call to
any man, any woman - the ambition which is of the earth.
Let the ambition be of the Spirit, to rise above the
troubles, above the difficulties, to conquer the obstacles,
and to manifest to those around that there is that
within stronger, more powerful than anything the earth
can show, and that is God.
-
"And when you reach that stage, your gifts, purchased
by what you were willing to endure, then, my children,
as disciples of the Master indeed the promise of the
Christ shall be fulfilled. You shall pass among your
fellows and you shall heal the blind, straighten the
limbs of the crippled, release the spirits in prison;
but, again I say, the only way is the Christ-way. In
the measure that others gods force back the One true
God, in that measure are you binding yourselves, are
you thwarting the powers, the gifts which God meant
should be your own; but if the gods of the earth are
banished out of your environment and you turn to the
Christ, entreating that the Christ shall use you as
His tool, then, my children, although the eyes may
be bound, although the ears may not be trained to the
finer sounds of Spirit, around you in your daily life,
beauty in a thousand forms is there for ever, and sheds
among the drab grey ugliness of materialism something
of the glory which is of God.
-
"Thus I pass from you, yet forget not that in
time of need, or that which you name trouble, should
you call upon me, then, borrowing the grace of Christ,
it shall be my privilege to help, to steady in the
hour of temptation, to recharge with power; and - oh,
remember this - that you too can have this same gift,
this same honour. Let those in your surroundings come
to you for help, for guidance. Cast aside the viewpoint
of those of the earth. Turn to the Christ, ask for
His grace, borrow His power, and you can have that
same joy which is mine so often; for God understands
the longings of His children and He delights to give
and give again.
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"Little ones, remember that by gathering together
with the wish to learn, you pass out of these conditions
with something gathered to you which no one can wrest
away. I, in turn, through the blessing of God, have
that added gift, added joy which you have given unto
me, for without that which you provide, without the
instrument which I use, lo, I might be in your presence
but I must be dumb, you would know me not. I might
scatter my love amongst you but because you were bound
by the physical you would not think to gather it up.
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"These things are symbols of what takes place
with the Lord God of all. Think you! Christ passes
among you, gathers close to you in your toil, in your
sorrow, in your disappointments, but those who turn
not to Him are unaware of His sweet presence. He gives
but you cannot take, and therein lies the tragedy which
for ever touches God. Other gods have their worshippers
in plenty. The Christ, Love personified, draws close
to His children seeking their love, for only through
their love can He help them as He desires; but they
know Him not. Christ walks through the cities and the
towns, through the humble homes, through the churches,
through the palaces, out amongst the players in open
spaces, but few know of Him, know of Him as He is -
the One so kind, the One so understanding, the One
so humble, the One who delights to serve.
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"So then, my little ones, as you go your separate
ways take the thought of the sweet companionship of
Christ with you, and hold fast to the One Who can raise
you up above your troubles and place you on that high
plateau of peace where the enemies of the earth can
touch you not, where those out to destroy dare not
venture. Then let Christ come close in the trivial
things as well as those which seem so important to
you, turn to the Saviour in the little things that
appear to go wrong, however mundane they may be; think
of the Great Consoler, the Great Constructor, and be
certain that Christ is near, comforting, recharging,
healing, calling to you ever: 'My child!' Yes, and
when the Master places upon our shoulder the yoke which
has been blessed by Him, with lightened hearts, with
unwearied limbs we pass on our way, conscious that
through that which we bear so we are linked to the
One Who bore so much.
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"Other gods? - we want them not. We have the one
God, our Saviour Christ, the One Who never fails, the
One whose love for us is illimitable. Oh, take of Love
and let that which seems as sorrow be transformed by
His love into the joy which fades not, into the peace
which nothing can destroy.
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"I bless you reassurance, with renewed determination
to take of the best; aye, I bless you with spiritual
ambition. Oh, forget not that within there is perfection,
and around you here are those with the gifts of strength
and patience and endurance. Why then, little ones,
should apprehension approach you? You are centred in
love, and the blessing of the Christ rests upon you.
Take and make it your own. Farewell."
©GWCSA
GIFT
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