FATHER DIVINE at Rockland Palace
(FATHER speaks as follows:)
PEACE! Everybody happy? It is Wonderful! Millions and millions of blessings flowing free for everyone! We love to talk about the blessings because Jesus talked about the blessings on the Mount. The Sermon on the Mount tells you about the blessings and Jesus talked about it there, but we are conscious of having them here and now. It is wonderful! Jesus told you, you would be blessed if you would come to certain qualities and certain degrees of expression in your lives. He said,
'Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.'
There are many blessings that are for those that are living in conformity to
the Life and the Teachings of CHRIST, live in perfect accord with the life that
was in the body called Jesus as expressed nineteen hundred years ago; not merely
as we may term it to be, the life having been in that body and now in someone
else, unexpressed or expressing itself in a different way, but in the exact expression
that HE was expressing nineteen hundred years ago nearly.
It is the true way of the Wayshower, for it was declared there and then, "I AM the Way, the Truth and the Life! No man cometh to the FATHER but by ME!" Do you realize that Jesus dropped a thought there? It was left on record, "No man cometh to the FATHER but by ME." Do you realize what that thought really means to you? "No man cometh to the FATHER but by ME." That means a whole lot. It means something to you to realize that you can come to the FATHER by living an Evangelical Life! You know it is just so wonderful when you know just what you are and where you stand!
When I began to talk a little while ago, it reminded ME back years ago when I was traveling doing evangelical work, more apparently, than now, and I would get in the midst of the congregation of the people and many times I would say when I would see, feel and know that there were minds trying to bind, I would demand the spirit of the mind of them that were trying to bind, to witness ME! It is wonderful! That is the great consolation, to know that you have that commanding Spirit and to know that you can reach the hearts and the minds of the children of men. So therefore, again I say, Jesus said,
'No man cometh to the FATHER but by ME.'
He left a thought there. Jesus dropped that thought, as I afore said. He talked
like some men could come to the FATHER, did he not? He talked just as if some
men could come to the FATHER by Him.
Do you not see that every time I get up to talk, or sit down to talk, I stress that point of view of living an Evangelical Life according to the Life and Teachings of CHRIST? Conveying the thought to you that Jesus, the great Love Master was, and is, the Wayshower! Showing you that no man can come to CHRIST, can come to the FATHER, or any other high degree of expression, except by Jesus, the great Love Master!
'No Man Cometh to the FATHER But By ME!'
The same Spirit is speaking today. No man can come to the Fathership Degree of
spiritual understanding except you come through by the Sonship Degree and recognize
the CHRIST as the Way to the FATHER.
Then I wish to say, there may be those of you that have sought happiness; you have sought peace, you have sought joy, you have sought health, you have sought Love, everything else that is good to satisfy your desire. But I want to say, you have sought it, some through seeking great learning, some through acquiring many friends, some through a political party, social friends and otherwise. It is wonderful! Some have sought houses and lands, great wealth and great learning, as I say, and many of you have acquired these things, still to find yourselves unsatisfied. You are unsatisfied.
I don't care if you acquire millions and millions of dollars, you will still be unsatisfied until you sought the right source and the supply that gives satisfaction to every heart's desire. All of your wealth, all of your learning, all of your friends, all of your religions, and all of your kin will never be able to give you satisfaction unless you come through by the way of CHRIST, the great Love Master!
You cannot be satisfied. There isn't any satisfaction. There is no perfect peace for you. There isn't any. Until you recognize your GOD you will never be satisfied; and humanity has sought, they all have sought it!
You have sought satisfaction, you have sought peace, you have sought joy and you have sought rest, and you mourned because you found it not. You will never be satisfied until you make your contact with GOD, your FATHER! Then I say,
'No man cometh to the FATHER except by ME,'
says the Son of GOD.
There was left in the hearts and the consciousness of the children of men that there was a probability of coming to the FATHER, but the only way that you can come to the Fathership degree of spiritual understanding, or the Fatherhood of GOD, it is only through the Sonship degree. There is no other way.
'No man cometh to the FATHER except by ME.'
And if you desire to come that way, and will make up your mind to live an evangelical
life exactly according to the Life and Teachings of CHRIST as recorded by Matthew,
Mark, Luke and John, and let this Mind be in you that was also in Him, that will
lead you to your GOD! Not only to your GOD as the Son or as the Holy Ghost, but
it will lead you to your GOD as the FATHER of all, and then and there, and I
hear you say, here and now, "I am satisfied!"
Philip said on one occasion,
'Show us the FATHER and it sufficeth us.'
Why did he say that? It was because they had followed Jesus and they had come
through by the way of Jesus and He was acting as an individual, as a committee
of one, for the united body of CHRIST. He asked the question to,
'Show us the FATHER and it sufficeth us.'
They had followed Jesus and therefore there was a hope or a probability that
they would be satisfied, for they were not satisfied. Had they been satisfied,
would they have said, "Show us the FATHER and it sufficeth us"? It
is wonderful! Don't you feel that you have something that they did not have?
Are you not satisfied? I heard you sing and I heard you say, "I am satisfied
in GOD, Hallelujah to the Lamb! I am satisfied in GOD, Hallelujah to the Lamb,
I am satisfied in GOD." Now I believe that you are satisfied. It is wonderful!
You look to be satisfied. Coming out on what the mortal mind calls such hot nights
as tonight, sacrificing the time that you could have out at some beach; but you
found that that would not satisfy, did you not? You could have been out on the
ocean somewhere, trying to find satisfaction in some mortal human version of
its own desire, but you have found that those expressions of life could not and
would not satisfy. You have never been so satisfied before, have you?
Truly might have CHRIST said,
'My peace I give unto you; not as the world gives, give I unto you; let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.'
You know I told you the other night, the reason folks have the heart trouble.
You know I told you the other night that folks have the heart trouble because
they do not believe in ME! Because they do not believe in this message of love,
this message of peace, and this message of good will to all men. They do not
believe in it. They say YOU should not feed the hungry, they say YOU should not
clothe the naked, they say YOU should not do this and YOU should not do that.
But I will do it anyway. I will do it anyway!
I AM going forth conquering and to conquer. Your Faith is the victory that overcometh.
'This is the Victory that overcometh, even your Faith.'
Then I AM glad! So then, dear ones, as I say,
'No man cometh to the FATHER but by ME.'
some day a consolation for the hearts and minds of men.
CHRIST knew there and then that the time would come when men would think that it was impossible for a man to come to the FATHER. That the FATHER was in some far distant place, far beyond the sun, the moon and the stars! Away up beyond the sky, when I have declared unto you, that the sky is nowhere and is nothing, but is everywhere where there is nothing. And they said that heaven was above that. But we are privileged to know that heaven is here and now in this Divine Omnipresent Life in which we all live, move, and have our being.
Here and now, dear ones, not tomorrow, but here and now! Not when you go home, but here and now. They that hear My Voice, "harden not your heart!" For this cause I will again say what Jesus said,
'No man cometh to the FATHER but by ME.'
Therefore, I put before you, I set before you continually, the Life and the Teachings
of CHRIST as recorded in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, and I continue to say,
let this Mind be in you that was also in that body called Jesus, and it will
certainly bring you to your GOD! Then you will not have an occasion to say,
"Fight on, my soul, until death shall bring thee to thy God", but you
can say, or as I have said, "Fight on, my soul, until CHRIST shall bring
thee to thy GOD!" Death will not bring you to your God. Death will separate
you from your God. But CHRIST will bring you to your GOD!
'I AM the way," said Jesus, "the Truth and the Life. No man cometh to the FATHER but by ME!'CHRIST will bring you to your GOD. That is why I say continually,
'CHRIST in you and CHRIST in ME, will make you what you ought to be!'
CHRIST will bring you to your GOD, dear ones, and you will not have occasion
to sing, "Fight on, my soul, till death shall being me to my God." Death
will separate you from your GOD, for it is the dividing line.
Jesus declared through the mouth of one,
'The wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life.'
Then again He says on another occasion,
'If a man keep My saying he shall never see death.'
One writer records it, "He shall not taste of death"; but Jesus brought
it out on another occasion, according to the records given in another version,
'If a man keep My saying he shall never see death,'
will not even see it coming near him. Will not see it within a mile of you. It
will not come near your dwelling place! The only way that you will see death
is not to keep the sayings of CHRIST and not to walk worthy of your vocation
wherewith you are called. That is what will cause you to see death, to see death
by not walking worthy of your vocation wherewith you are called. It is wonderful!
I want to say to you, my dear ones, if you will only consider these thoughts and confine yourselves to this CHRIST Consciousness that has been produced from the identical CHRIST that was in the Body called Jesus, you will see that, "In perfect Peace I'll keep you." It is wonderful!
'In perfect Peace I'll keep thee, whose mind is stayed on ME!'
Take these thoughts into consideration with your mind open to the vision that
is revealed, and the very Spirit of the Consciousness of the Presence of GOD
will supply your every desire and you will not have an occasion to falter nor
fear. You will not have an occasion to go around talking about "I have nothing
to do; I have nothing to wear." What is the matter? If you have declared
that your FATHER is rich in houses and lands. Live the Life! "I have never
seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread."
Everyone of you can live an independent life. One stone does not have to be left
upon another. One person does not have to depend upon another. GOD is your FATHER,
and you never had another. You were taught to pray, "Our Father." Jesus
strove to get you to apply the Fathership Degree of GOD to Him, and the Fathership
Degree of GOD to each and everyone of your fellow brothers, that you might see
and know that GOD is your FATHER and you never had another.
I know I came treading the winepress all alone. I know that I have no one to help ME, nothing but My Own Spirit! I didn't have anything but My Own Unadulterated Spirit; for My Spirit is just as operative without the Body as it is with the Body, as you all realize too, that it is.
I shall reign in the hearts and the minds of the people as I said today. Every judge, every lawyer, every doctor. I don't care who you are, if you will not do right, I shall move you from your place. I shall move you! I shall move you! I shall move you!
I did not sacrifice My Body for nothing, but that the Will of GOD might be done on earth! Every judge, every governor, every president, every lawyer, every doctor that will not do right, we are going to move them off of their seats. That is what we are going to do. As I said before, I AM going into the journalists' field and every newspaper that will not do right, we are going to move them. That is what we are going to do. Righteousness shall reign! Righteousness shall reign! The blood has paid it all, that righteousness might have a free access on earth as in heaven. Now aren't you glad?
If you mean to go with ME all the way, GOD will reign! I don't want you to just stand with ME here in the religious world, but I want you to stand in all of the worlds in which I now live. We shall have a religious issue in every move, in every party and in every organization. Everywhere, the CHRIST Consciousness shall rule and reign! Nothing less than CHRIST and nothing more than GOD shall rule! We are five million strong and we are going to be ten million strong before Christmas.
I say, Righteousness shall reign! I say, Righteousness shall reign! Opposition, debauchery and deceitfulness, deceit and hypocrisy shall go down! Are you willing to stand for the right? Are you willing to stand for the man that will do right? All right then, say so! CHRIST shall reign, and it is written,
'He rules the world with Truth and Grace, and makes the nations prove the Glory of His Righteousness and the wonders of His Love.'
'Of the people, there were none to help.
" Every mortal mind that wanted to help, every mortal mind has been a hindrance.
Every mortal mind is a hindrance to the very Truth of GOD. CHRIST shall reign;
CHRIST shall reign! "Where GOD the Son from heaven reigns, and scatters
night away." It is wonderful! You know it is wonderful! I say, "GOD
THE SON, RIGHT NOW REIGNS KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS, AND WHO CAN HELP IT?"
Who can help it?
It is written in Isaiah, chapter 32:1,2:
'Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness and princes shall rule in judgment, and a man shall be as a hiding place.'
We are going to have a righteous judgment, that is what we are going to have;
and we are not going to allow any issue to pass that will not do right, that
will not tell the Truth, that will not be honest, that will not be reliable,
that will not be competent in all ways. Now aren't you glad? I know you are glad!
Because CHRIST is reigning! HE is reigning now! Right down here. Right down here
on this side of Jordan. Here a tree of life is blooming, here is rest for the
weary, and here is rest for you. Rest from your labors, and your good works will
follow you here and now in this Divine Omnipresent Life in which we all live,
move and have our being. Aren't you glad?
Now you act just as though you have seen the FATHER. You act like you are satisfied in GOD. Truly might have Philip said,
'Show us the Father and it sufficeth us.'
I don't care if you acquire your ill-gotten gains, millions and millions, you
shall not have any peace and you shall not have any rest, until you know the
truth. Shall not have any peace and shall not have any rest, shall not have any
health and shall not have any happiness. GOD has declared it!
'The wages of sin is death, but the gift of GOD is Eternal Life,'
says CHRIST.
Now what is the matter? If you are sick and you don't get well, it is because you are not living the Life don't believe, and you are not living the Life, living the Life of CHRIST. Live the Life and if you are sick, you will get well. If you are in poverty you will have something to supply you, for GOD declares,
'I will bless your going out and I will bless your coming in. I will bless you in your store houses, bless you in the fruits of your lands and in the fruits of your cattle, and bless you with health and long life.'
It is wonderful! Live the Life! Live the Life, do right, and you will be blessed.
You will be successful, you will be prosperous, you will be healthy, and you
will be happy.
I say you will be every desirable attribute of good, and you will manifest it to the world. I don't care if you don't believe it. If you don't want My Message, just say so. It is wonderful! Live the Life! Live the Life! Live an Evangelical Life in words, deeds and actions. Be truthful, be kind, be faithful and modest in all of your words and in all of your ways and the very GOD of Peace will be with you and you will be blessed abundantly, for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it!
Now in closing I would just like to say, I don't want to detain you. As I started to say, I want you all to realize that because I was out at My summer hotel better known as the Riverhead Jail, don't think that has discouraged ME any. It has encouraged ME a hundred percent and ten thousand percent because I have not been bound in prison. They had My Body there and I carried My Body there for a purpose. I say, I carried My Body there for a purpose. No man had power to carry My Body there, and no man had power to take it away. No man has taken ME away. Forget that misconception!
Lots of the prisoners said they were charged with misdemeanors like I was. Some of them didn't have but a hundred dollars; some of them didn't have that, and they said if they had money like ME, they could go away.
Now money did not bring ME away, even though I did spend about four or five thousand dollars in a case of misdemeanor. Money did not bring ME away. Money was not the thing that tied ME there. Legal procedures were the thing that tied ME there. Money did not bring ME away. My Spirit was what brought ME away. Now I AM willing, I AM willing and ready to go back there if it would be necessary, and be happy to stay there too, even though I did spend a lot of money for it. What do I care about the money? It is wonderful! There is a-full and a-plenty for all, and none need lack in GOD'S Abundance, for there is a-full and a-plenty for one and for all.
I want to tell you, put your trust in GOD! GOD is your only friend; GOD is your only refuge. GOD is your only son and GOD is your only help, and GOD is your only protection, and GOD is your only hope.
No man, no man will befriend you unless they are Spirit of My Spirit and Mind of My Mind. Dollars and cents is what the mortal mind says, "makes the horsey run"; but I want to tell you, I AM not dependent on dollars and cents. I have a-plenty of it and to spare, but I AM dependent upon this one eternal Life and Spirit, ever present here and now and everywhere, My only refuge and My only strength and My only protection.
Now dear ones, My way was not to try to make any defense for MYSELF, and if I had not allowed the attorneys to go in, maybe I would have been fined two hundred dollars, if they had fined ME anything. All the Glory and Honor belong to GOD! You know it is wonderful! It is just like Paul did on one occasion, not only to go there, but even to die, to be executed if I could. If My Spirit wills to see ME go there and feels that I AM justified in being there, then I AM willing to go, because whether I go or stay, I will be with you.
You know what it is all about, and you know what it is for. You know it is for your sakes and for the sake of humanity generally, and for the benefit of all of the Christian world and to bring about social equality; in other words, to bring all nations, tongues and people in one, that the Kingdom of GOD may be manifested on earth as it is in Heaven.
Now I will not detain you longer. I have apparently overstayed My time, but the "Zeal of Mine House, it Spirited ME up." So I will say to you, keep ME in your hearts, keep ME in your minds; lo, I will be with you, with or without a Body. I AM just as operative without the Body as I AM with the Body, for it is Spirit and it is Life, it is not matter, personality, or flesh! I thank you!
(On December 1st, 1952 A.D.F.D. As the Secretary finished reading this Sermon, for our edification and enjoyment, FATHER arose to say:)
PEACE EVERYONE! I would just like to say, that little manuscript that was just read a little while ago, was given in nineteen hundred and thirty-two twenty years ago. I AM the same today, yesterday and throughout all eternity! I thank you!
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