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THE GREATER WORLD CHRISTIAN SPIRITUALIST CHURCH
THE ZODIAC MESSAGES
"THE PREPARATION OF GOD'S INSTRUMENTS"
An address by the celestial messenger 'Zodiac' (the
unnamed scribe of the Bible and a teacher in the Temple
of Jerusalem at the time of Christ), through the mediumship
of Miss Winifred Moyes in the earlier part of the twentieth
century
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"MY children, all so dear to me, how can I portray
to you why I must for ever turn your eyes to the Cross,
to the steep hill, away from the valley, away from
those things which represent the inclination of the
lesser self? Why, dear children, do I tell you to take
the hard road? Because I know - for I have travelled
that road myself - that the hard road holds the joy,
the peace and the revelation which is of God. Aye,
when I come into your presence and speak thus, I am
conscious of the lot of every one, and could you see
things as they are, you would glory in your difficulties,
in those things which seem impossible to be surmounted;
for in the measure that pain is exacted, in that measure
you can be certain that the road you have taken leads
safe home to your Father and Mother God.
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"To-night, my little ones, speaking under the
direction of the One Who suffered so much, I would
talk awhile on the preparation of God's instruments
for His holy work. Now think you as to this. Once again
I send you back over the Holy Record. There you find
that which I name direction; you see that there were
some, only a few, but some who were willing to lay
aside all and obey the Voice within. You stand, as
it were, far from them, and by the fact that such as
these lived in a long past day, so you can get a picture
in true perspective of their lives and of the lives
of those who surrounded them; and you feel with an
intense relief that in the hour of test, in the time
of trial, although they faltered and although perchance
they seemed to fail, yet they arose after what had
been, and in their little way fulfilled God's will
on earth.
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"Children, again and again I call to your mind
symbol and illustration. Why? Because only so can I
teach you, can I warn you, can I prepare you; for I
say that in God's sight each and everyone is wanted
for His most holy work; but the only way to fit yourselves,
the only way to be a useful tool for Christ, is the
hard way, the way that the Master took Himself.
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"In my own time there was that around us which
was an hourly challenge; aye, mark you this: in those
days the Law which should have governed our lives was
put aside, ignored, circumvented by those who wished
to follow that which was the desire within.
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"In my own time there was much to draw the mind
hither and thither. True, there was the prophet John,
but that which he gave forth was for the mind of very
few, for John, coming to grips with himself, decided
to take the hardest road of all. He departed out of
that which brought comfort to the physical garment
and delight to the physical mind, and in the silence
and the loneliness of the wilderness amassed that power
which, my children, prepared the way for the Master,
and indeed was used by the Holy One to arouse the slumbering
heart of man.
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"Now think you as to the preparation of John,
aye, and of what John worked in for Love's sweet sake.
Those of my day having heard of John, having listened
and having passed on, they were sufficiently aroused
to be caught for a second or two by the sweetness of
the Master. In such a way John prepared the road for
the followers of the Saviour Christ, for had it not
been for the seeds that he had sown, then those who
had to endure so great a test would have been unprepared,
unwilling to do that which the Spirit within directed.
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"Little children, why do I speak thus? Because
I see that which must come to pass. Little children,
why do I, when the beauty of this little earth calls
to you all, turn your attention from that which is
the earth beauty to the beauty of the Spirit? Because,
little ones, I see that which must come to pass, and
my part it is to prepare the instruments which God
desires to use. Oh, think not that I would bring a
sense of dismay; I am holding out to you the greatest
gift, the highest honour that can come to anyone. I
say that with your faults and failings, with the bondage
which still holds you, God has called you nevertheless
to arise and demonstrate the power of the Holy Spirit
in your daily life.
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"And now I would take your thoughts to another
aspect concerning the preparation of instruments.
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"Children, in regard to that which you name Nature,
I would for your instruction take as simile, as symbol,
that which has happened so recently in your midst.
Oh, think you of this. When the spring in all its glory
banished the thought of the barrenness and the chill
of winter, lo, one and all rejoiced in the coming of
new life, in the beauty that slowly but surely was
unfolded before your gaze, and many made plans for
this and for that.
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"Forget not that those of the earth, keyed to
the earth vibrations, regard Nature and its produce
entirely in a material sense. They fail to see the
lesson, the purpose, the meaning of the coming of fresh
life, of the new blossoms, of the passing away of the
waiting time and the blessing of beauty in its many
forms. Nature to such as these is their tool; but when
they pass hence they will find that in their midst
was an instructor, one who could have taught them much;
one - because the life belonging to it was culled from
God - who had the power to express God in a thousand
forms. But they, so bound, gathered the flowers, took
of the fruits, and only in the measure that these satisfied
the requirements of the mind of the body were they
content.
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"Think you, my children, as to this: The sweet
days of spring gave place to summer. The sun, the life-giver,
the life-bringer shone down upon the earth; and then,
so the worldly thought, Nature betrayed. The sweet
soft rains were not forthcoming to do their part, and
that which once was beauty slowly passed from beauty
into well-nigh wreckage.
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"In this, my little ones, there is a symbol of
spiritual life, but think not I speak in tones other
than of hope. In time, lo, the clouds descended in
the form of the rain that refreshed and replenished
the soil, and in a few days Nature readjusted itself;
and so those around have the peace, the benediction,
the glory and the fragrance of this sweet gift of God.
Cannot you see where I am leading your thoughts? Those
who choose the harder path, they, each one, illustrate
this again and again.
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"And so I speak to the trained instrument, to
the one who has sorrowed, to the one who has withstood
the enemies in the past: Not only take hope for yourself,
but give forth the good news to the others; go to the
one who is weaker than you are, go to the one who cannot
find the strength within to withstand the tests of
daily life, and cheer, encourage and comfort; bid them
turn to the illustration of Nature, its pangs. How
few consider the pangs of Nature, of the little seedling
which struggles so bravely to the surface and then,
as its glory is put forth, perishes so far as earth
life is concerned. Some, a few, send compassion to
the little seedling for so much effort cast away, as
it seems, to doubting man.
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"Oh, I would take you in thought out to the countryside,
to the hedges, where the wild flowers, the weeds and
the thistles struggle for life. Here once more is a
symbol of the way man has to go. By the hedges, exposed
to the dust, growing amongst the tangled grass, a little
flower symbolises the mind of God. What is the fate
of the little flower? What has been the history of
that which is so weak and frail? You know it not and
it is not mine this night to teach as to the long past
of the little flower which struggles for life in the
dusty, matted wayside; but I say to you that each one
who indeed would be a child of God by desire, must
go through the same experiences as the little flower.
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"Think you as to this: The instruments of the
Most High are called to place themselves where the
warfare is fiercest, where the struggle is hardest.
The instruments of the Christ must be prepared at times
to be overwhelmed by the coarser vibrations of physical
life. And forget not there may be those with careless
hands to wound, but only for a while; these things
are governed by God. Never forget that the flower that
grows amongst the tangled weeds not only demonstrates
God but indeed has the power, when the mind of man
is sufficiently released, to inspire. My children,
I know that there are some who have not yet taken the
hard road, but I say, because I see what lies in front,
that when the call comes from Christ to give up that
which is the desire of the lesser self, so through
the strength now being put in, they shall rise and
claim their divine inheritance, the privilege of taking
the hard road for Christ's sake.
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"Little ones, again I bring you back to Nature
with its many meanings, its symbols, its revelation.
Oh, look you in mind out upon the green; how many shades,
how many colours. Ah, you exclaim, how wonderful is
the Mind of the Creator. What does it teach you? -
the universality of God. Now consider this. As I stand
in your presence, gifted by a gracious God with spiritual
sight, I am looking far beyond this little room and
I see there a multitude; it is uncountable yet not
one in the multitude is alike. They stand listening
to my voice and I send out my love to them all. I say
to them: 'Even as the shading colours of Nature in
this little world, so is each one expressing some portion
of the road of the greater Life; each one is demonstrating
the mighty Mind of God, for God understands each one.'
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"And the message of the Christ is this: 'You are
Mine; within you is all-power, all-wisdom, loveliness
itself. Seek, and you shall find.'
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"So the Master teaches us and we seek to understand.
So the mighty God has prepared that in the surroundings
of each and every one, there shall be symbol of praise,
illustration of illimitable hope; yet, underlining
all is the keynote of pain. The little flower has suffered
and must suffer; the weeds around it have suffered
and must suffer; aye, and the animals in the field
and the man who holds the plough.
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"Oh, little children, how plain it is. Only through
the pangs of the lesser self can the greater come into
its own, only through the pangs can the bondage of
the past be cast aside. I seem to speak in tones that
are over-anxious. It is because I know that not only
do you shrink from pain yourselves, but, because of
the release within, perchance you shrink more over
the suffering of those around. Yet I must remind you
that should you be led by compassion to say to anyone:
'The road is too steep, too difficult,' then remember
that if they listen to you, then when you pass out
of these things intangible, so, alas, as you go back
over the past you will find to your exceeding anguish
that the road, the steep road, still lies in front
of them, but through you they are shackled, chained
to the past.
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"The preparation of God's instruments must not
be hindered. I say not to you that if temptation comes
you prove yourselves an imperfect instrument; but I
say, because it is God's truth, that only through the
temptation and the trials can you ever become an instrument
which Christ can use for His most holy work. Then shrink
not for yourselves or another, but when your hour of
darkness comes, be certain that God will send the light,
that in your surroundings there shall be one who has
courage for a space. And thank God that when their
hour of trial overtakes them, you, through the sufferings
of the past, shall - again for a space - have the courage
to cheer them on, to inspire them to higher and better
things for the sake of the God within.
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"Oh, my children, would I could show you the joy
that comes from suffering, the sweet compensation for
tears; would that I had the power to portray what earthly
disappointment builds up in your next home, what self-denial,
what patience, what the effort to disregard the call
of self - oh, could I portray what these things create
for yourselves and others - then as pilgrims of the
Christ you would rejoice in that which goes so hard.
The voice of the tempter would stay you not, the voice
of the friend who fears for you would have no power
to make you hesitate. It would be upward and onward,
through the days and through the nights; upward and
onward with joy within over the pangs, and not that
deep sorrow which for a space obscures the radiance
of the love of God.
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"Think you like this. As the preparation of the
instrument becomes sterner, so, my little ones, by
a mighty provision of the One Who understands us best,
strength is built up around; nearer and nearer comes
the Christ. Remember that in your dark days so Christ
draws close; in those hours when that which you name
injustice flogs and wounds, there is Christ, healing,
reviving, a perfect Companion, One Who never turns
from the least of His little ones, One Who understands
so well the steepness of the road. Christ in the dark
hours, Christ in the hours of failure, Christ when
the individual feels certain that God has forsaken
or forgotten his plight.
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"Little ones, again I draw your thoughts above
the clouds to the sunshine of God's love, and I bid
you pass on to others this message of reassurance and
I bid you stand fast by those others in their hour
of trial. When the hopes of the earth seem as the tender
seedling, withered under the rays of the earthly sun,
oh then, my children, do your part, give out of yourselves
for Christ's sake; for remember that your hour of trial
and test must come in turn, and in the measure that
you failed the greater part, so then, though the comforters
may be around, by your act you have sent them a pace
from you and they cannot minister to you direct.
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"The prepared instrument for Christ's use must
recognise that the way is difficult and long; the instrument,
the tool of the Holy Spirit, must be prepared, according
to the strength within, to fight the enemies of the
Christ. How else can the instrument be found trustworthy?
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"The vessel is taken and placed within the oven;
before the process of the fire the vessel is unfit
to carry that which takes the refreshing waters to
others. So plain it is, my children, when you look
at life and what life holds under the radiance of the
love of God. And forget not that by your holy desire,
by the dedication and the wish to serve, so from time
to time those with the sight, those with the wisdom
bestowed by God, they shall come to you and give you
explanation, dress your wounds, pass on the courage
won by similar experiences, and all will be as God
has planned.
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"So, my children, read and re-read the narratives
concerning those of old, and out of that legacy which
they have left for you, let illumination enrich the
mind. And take comfort in the thought that in the far
future so others, in hearing of the road you travelled,
shall be recharged with power, shall gather from that
which has been your lot their slipping endurance; and
again God's will on earth shall be done in His sweet
way.
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"Over the past the children of the earth have
wandered hither and thither, piling up around them
the rocks of torture which must be scaled ere peace
is made their own. Had there been those who had taken
the hard road, those who had listened to the voice
of the Spirit, such as these out of that purchased,
could have sent their voices among the careless ones
to forewarn and warn. And they, aroused to a sense
of what the present must produce, would have left their
toys even out of that most childish instinct of getting
what they might need in time to come.
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"Yes, my children, speak to the masses and warn,
bid them ponder on the law of consequences, bid them
heed that the reaping must follow that which even they
have sown. For forget not that each one in turn must
be an instrument of the Most High, each wayward child;
and in the degree that preparation, minute though it
may be, is put in, so you have done your part. Christ
has used you and in the future can use and use again.
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"Thus my message is one of cheer, is one of confidence,
is one of perfect understanding. I say to each and
every one: 'When the enemy attacks, though suffering
must be your lot, by the thought of Christ safety is
secured.' And I bid you never forget that in your efforts
to help another, to save another, to protect another,
yea, according to your striving you are demonstrating
God, and God has claimed for you and preserved for
you that which is His own.
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"So, little ones, I bid you, in the name of Christ,
take your troubles and temptations to your God; and,
in the measure that the provision is there, to your
Friend, to your Companion; for it is God's will that
His children shall help each other, that His little
ones should not judge each other, that His beloved
should, according to their release, draw each other
out of the darkness of misunderstanding into the realms
of light.
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"This is God's truth; oh, take and make your own!
Cast aside all exclusiveness and spiritual aloofness.
Train yourselves so that you may go to the weakest
and the frailest and say and mean: 'I understand,'
for only in this wise can you be tools used by Christ;
for that is the Christ-way, the Christ-manner, the
only direction illustrated by the Master when upon
the earth plane.
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"The Master passed among those of His children
in a bondage terrible to behold. Their hate beat upon
His tender heart, their venom pierced beneath the outward
and struck the vital self: but when those in bondage
turned to Him a shower of His mighty love fell over
them and raised them up. For think you again of the
gentle rain from heaven with its power to release the
blossoms of the earth. Aye, as a shower over us, as
I am speaking, is the love of the tender Christ, and
the sweet blossoms of the Spirit within shall through
this evening have gained still more life.
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"So I pass from you, but I entreat you all - those
who have taken the rough road and those who when the
call comes will arise and take their stand by Christ
- I appeal to all to spread that which I teach through
the power of the Holy Spirit, to spread it far and
wide, for only through the Truth, the Christ, can wayward
humanity be drawn back into the safety of the Father's
love.
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"God holds out to each one of His children the
greatest gift of all - communion with the Holy Spirit.
How many attempt to make this gift their own? How many
are there willing to be tested in order to be so blessed?
How many are there who will lay aside the things of
the earth to grasp the things of the Spirit?
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"Little ones, you cannot bargain over these matters.
There are those who say 'I will do so much but no more.'
There are others who think they have found the easier
path, the shorter way to attach to themselves the gifts
which are Holy. What do they find? For a little while
all seems well; for a little while there are those
who proclaim their gifts to others; for a little while
approval and appreciation are their own; and then,
because the preparation was not put in, so the enemy
strikes and this Truth is hindered so far as others
are concerned. You cannot make a bargain with God,
God is so generous; God says to you and to me 'All
that I have is thine'; and because His gifts are so
manifold there are many, like children, who seek to
grasp them all and in taking too much drop those which
are most valuable.
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"So the way, the only way, to fit ourselves for
His use is by plodding on, by praying on, and, above
all, by working on. Oh, think of this. At times the
enemy is so close that you cannot pray, the words pass
from your lips but they seem as a mockery to yourself;
yes, at times you feel entombed in that which you have
experienced. The only way in which to break down the
walls of your tomb is by work, God's work, by helping
this one and that, when presently, lo, the gift of
praying has returned.
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"Never forget that whatever may be your mental
or physical condition, that by work and through work
you can make the past almost as nought. God has provided
this wonderful outlet so that no one need despair.
And remember in that which you do, that which you give
out of yourself so, through the effort, you are making
it possible for God to use you. Even when the darkness
and the density of material conditions hold you fast
you can demonstrate God in your dungeon. If you remain
in that dungeon over long, still you can open the prison
doors for others and at last - again through God's
most merciful provision - at last you emerge yourself
and give thanks for the brightness which awaits you.
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"So, my children, I bless you, bless you with
consciousness as to the why and the wherefore, as to
the purpose and the plan; bless you with hope, bless
you with love. Oh, forget not this: Love each other,
for only in that way can you express something of the
God-love which is caged within. Farewell!"
©GWCSA
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