FATHER and MOTHER DIVINE
There are many ways to appreciate the Love of GOD, FATHER
DIVINE.
Proving it through service is one of them. This point is
emphasized in the following article
adapted from a dissertation
with readings given by a staff member
during Holy Communion at
Woodmont November 23, 1964.
FATHER DIVINE has explained that many refuse to suffer mentally and spiritually by expressing the servantship degree, so they must suffer physically through disease and the like.
In a Sermon titled, "The Practicality of True Spirituality and Significance of Complete Surrender", given by FATHER April 7, 1936 and reprinted in the December 5, 1964 issue of The New Day, pages 12-14, the brief introduction by the transcriber is read into the dissertation before the reading of FATHER DIVINE'S Words.
"Everyone will anxiously desire to read this Message that they might be able to climb a round higher on the Ladder of Heaven.
Thank YOU, precious Savior for this Love that no man hath e'er known."
The song below was sung by the congregation, led by one of the angels and FATHER'S sweet and beautiful voice was carefully listened to with great delight by all.
'FATHER, I love YOU with all of my heart, FATHER, I love YOU with all of my heart,
FATHER, I love YOU with all of my heart, FATHER, I love YOU with all of my heart.'
(The Sermon by FATHER DIVINE followed. HE said in part:)
"PEACE EVERYBODY! ("Peace, FATHER dear!" greeted the enthusiastic throng.) Everybody happy? ("Yes, FATHER dear!" came the response.) Don't say it unless you mean it! If you say it and mean it, it will be made Real within you. Positive words will bring positive results when we speak them in consciousness and with the spirit of sincerity.
"I was thinking at that time,
'He who suffers with ME, shall reign with ME,'
but as a matter of course, I had looked around and beheld as
though there were those who did suffer with ME mentally,
spiritually and otherwise for Righteousness' sake unselfishly,
and by so doing they have come into possession of an inheritance,
the reign of CHRIST in peace forever; while on the other hand
there are those among you from time to time who will not and
would not suffer for Righteousness' sake; those who would not
deny themselves, those who would rather suffer physically with
physical affliction, sickness and diseases than to suffer
mentally and spiritually by denying themselves whole-heartedly to
live an Evangelical Life.
"You bring afflictions upon yourselves, your physical bodies at times. After you claim to know ME, you become to be afflicted and sickly and at times, you become to be somewhat maimed and lame, because you are not willing to deny yourselves whole-heartedly and suffer with ME mentally and spiritually, by a complete self-denial of the mortal, according to the Gospel.
"If you deny yourself whole-heartedly by putting off mortal and putting on Immortality, your physical bodies will remain healthy, vigorous and filled with enthusiasm, with joy and with happiness, but if you are not willing to deny yourself, if you are not willing to put off the old man with all of his deeds and surrender your bodies as Living Sacrifices wholly to GOD and become to be physical servants by living evangelically whole-heartedly, you may bring afflictions upon your bodies and cause your bodies to suffer as an abstract expression of the suffering you should have undergone mentally and spiritually, by denying yourselves whole-heartedly.
"I know there is a suffering within you when you see and consider yourselves as humbling yourselves to be abased in the sight of man, denying your professional duties and your professions, etc. for Righteousness' sake, by coming in the spirit of meekness to be willing to be as Jesus was, the Servant of servants, in reality. By the willingness to do so, it is a mental and a spiritual suffering, apparently, but
'he who will suffer for Righteousness' sake shall reign with Me in My glory";
nevertheless, your thoughts should not be in that direction. Your
thoughts should be as a living sacrifice. You should surrender
your whole spirit, soul and your body, without any thoughts of
return, for the least of the sacrifices of the expressions you
are making. "Oh, it is indeed a privilege to realize as Jesus,
the great Love Master said:
'No man has forsaken these things, lest he don't gain", or "lest he will gain,'
whichever in short,
'an hundredfold more in this present time, and in the world to come, (which is in the spiritual realm wherein we stand) Life Everlasting".
'He who suffers with Me shall also reign with Me",
but by those of you who refuse to be willing to present your
bodies as Living Sacrifices wholly as Servants of GOD and to
mankind, you may bring afflictions upon your bodies, and cause
yourself to suffer in that way of expression, when you could have
merely suffered mentally, by going to the opposite direction to
your physical feeling and to your mortal version.
"Unless you learn the mystery of true practical service and the true practicality of putting your spirit and your energy and your mentality into practical service in whatsoever way of expression is possible to and for the Glory and the Honor of the Almighty, for the common good of humanity, until you do this, it will be a matter impossibility for you to have the Victory continually over afflictions, sickness and diseases; but when you do, then and there, your physical bodies will be preserved. They will be preserved by Power Divine.
"Why should you go around with afflictions in your physical bodies? You bring those conditions upon yourselves at times, because you are trying to get around suffering, contrary to your physical or your conscious desires in giving practical service to GOD and to mankind, and such negative and backsliding thoughts will cause the physical condition to be an expression of affliction whereby you can get the sympathy and the pity and the mercy of mortality.
"Live in this Spirit and this Mind, and your physical bodies will be vigorous, healthy and happy, and you will be physically fit to give practical service; that is, if you are willing and will give it. But if you visualize prohibiting yourselves, or refusing to give practical service for your existence, you may visualize it so vividly, the reaction of your visualization may bring an affliction on your physical body, that you might have the chance not to give practical service, justifiable, according to your version.
"These are hard sayings but yet they are true. Your physical afflictions after coming into this recognition, they are caused by some of your slothfulness, your desires, or some such expression which causes the reaction of your mind to bring afflictions upon your physical structure, to prohibit you from giving practical service and doing what you should do for the common good of humanity and for your own individual existence.
"The time cometh and now is, when a person is sick and afflicted, it will be a disgrace for him. It is not an honor to be sick and afflicted. It is an outward expression of your desires, it is an outward expression of your failing to serve GOD whole-heartedly; therefore, your desire to have an alibi will cause your physical body to produce the alibi or the excuse, so you will not have to do it.
"These are hard sayings, but yet they are true. I AM giving you a clean Bill of Health. It is wonderful! Your mental fitness will keep you physically fit, will keep your physical fitness into expression. You will be active with your physical fitness, for your mental fitness will adjust it. Now isn't that wonderful? Hereafter we shall know you are disgracing your own profession, your own testimony, when you are physically unfit, by not producing and expressing the fitness in your physical system.
"If you desire to be physically fit personally, fit yourselves, qualify yourselves mentally to meet the issues of life. When you shall have qualified yourselves mentally, automatically your physical bodies will also be qualified by the Adjuster, which is the mentality, to adjust matters satisfactorily. Now isn't that wonderful? ("Truly wonderful!" assured the hearers.)
"That old mind will tell you,
'You should not do this, and you should not do that.'
By that old mortal mind, it will suggest all sorts of things to
you naturally, you will give in to that old mortal tendency,
rather be sick than to give service to serve GOD and man. That
old mind came from "the other place" and must return from whence
it came.
"This morning or this afternoon whichever, I AM destroying every mortal version. I AM destroying the mortal ideas and opinions which have been defiling the Temples of GOD. Now isn't that wonderful?
'What shall the Lord of the Vineyard do? He shall come Himself, and destroy those husbandmen, and give the vineyard to others.'
Now, isn't that wonderful? ("Truly wonderful!" confirmed the
hearers.)
"I came to destroy every mortal version, all of them which have been your controllers; all of them which you have been under the jurisdiction of, and give your body to the Spirit of the Living GOD, to His Mind, to His Understanding, to His Aim and to His Purpose. You have no more business to be sick than you have business to be out there swearing and to be cursing, as you call it.
"When you are sick, you are mentally and spiritually or physically committing adultery with another expression other than GOD Almighty. You are dissipating your life's energy and your enthusiasm and the Spirit of My Presence and My Love and My Devotion to some mortal expression and undesirable tendency, which is not according to My Version. Why dissipate your life and your energy, your mentality, with those old detestable and undesirable tendencies?
"From henceforth, now and forever, you will be ashamed to be a sick person. If you sin, you need someone or something to forgive you for your sin. If you get sick you need a physician. Going around here committing adultery with sickness, with sorrow and misery and all such expressions, when you are married to CHRIST never more to depart.
"It is wonderful! They who are joined to a harlot are one flesh, but what says the Spirit:
'They who are joined to the Lord, are one Spirit.'
If you join yourselves to mortality and the mortal versions,
after you have been married to the Lamb once and forever, you are
going after strange gods; you are committing adultery with them
mentally and spiritually, for your bodies and your minds are the
expressions through which GOD Himself should function therein.
'Your bodies are the temples of the living GOD", and GOD has said, "I will walk in them and dwell in them.'
"When this shall have been established in your consideration,
your physical bodies will become to be illuminated will be
illuminated with the Consciousness of GOD'S Presence and the
Spirit of it. Wheresoever the Spirit of the Consciousness of the
Presence of GOD is exhibited, there will be a-full and a-plenty
of all desirable blessings, including Health, Peace, Happiness,
Success and all Prosperity. I thank you."
In essence, FATHER DIVINE said, if you are serving GOD you are not thinking about self, you do not want anything for self, you want to give service to GOD.
On February 4, 1940, FATHER explained this point in detail. The Sermon has been reprinted in The New Day June 7, 1958 on page 10. HE said:
"Now Love in service! When you speak of loving GOD, you serve HIM. As one of the speakers said a little while ago; he loved ME he wanted to serve ME! That is the expression of the Love of GOD and the love for GOD in man to HIM. When you love GOD, you want to serve HIM. But when you love self, you want to serve self. You want to indulge in self, you want to compromise with self. You want GOD to love you, but you do not want to love GOD. You want GOD to serve you and worship you and give you all of His Blessings, but you do not wish to give any service!
"But oh, how glorious it is when you can find one who is willing to make such a sacrifice as required by the Son, JESUS the CHRIST! HE requires everyone, if you are followers of HIM, to make the same sacrifice as HE made; that you might be ONE with HIM by doing exactly what HE says. That is what I AM talking about!
"Love is the Keynote to Salvation. But the love of the children of men for GOD is Service in all simplicity, in all sincerity and all conscientiousness whole-hearted. That is the way you love the Almighty.
"Now these thoughts are well worth considering. I AM telling you and telling others, so they can see the mystery and know definitely whether you love GOD or love HIM not; whether you are serving GOD or serving HIM not. If you are not serving GOD, you will look for something for self; but if you are serving GOD, you are not thinking about self. You do not want anything for self; you want to give your service to GOD, to the very best of your understanding, through consecration, through a whole-hearted sacrifice of your spirit, body, soul and mind; all you have, even all your means and all things you can acquire. These thoughts are well worth considering.
"Now I say, build upon this foundation and get selfishness completely out of the picture. GOD then and only then will be with you, but not until then in reality. You have been playing along with GOD long enough!
'Thou shalt love the LORD your GOD (or in other words by interpretation, thou shalt serve the LORD your GOD) with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength. This is the first and the great commandment, and the second is like unto it: thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.'
"You do not love GOD unless you are willing to serve HIM
whole-heartedly, spirit, soul, mind and body; yea, I say, serve
HIM both physically, mentally and spiritually. Every particle
part of your spirit, soul, mind and body should be a living
sacrifice, a consecration to His service, to His will and to His
wishes! Then and only then are you a servant of your LORD and
your Savior.
"Upon this foundation if you will build, you will be so united together and will be so consolidated upon the Righteous Government Platform, you will be building a foundation that cannot be shaken, for it will be under the jurisdiction of your LORD and your Savior. The government of Heaven will be your portion and it will control you in all you say and in all you do.
'Let Thy Kingdom come, let Thy Will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.'
"How can GOD'S Kingdom come and GOD'S Will in you be done until
GOD'S Mind in you has free access and your mind and your will are
done away with completely? Until then you are not of ME in
reality!
'Thou shalt love the LORD your GOD with all your heart,'
but the real interpretation of the mystery, as GOD is His own
interpreter, I tell you: Thou shalt serve the LORD your GOD with
all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with
all your strength, spirit, soul and body, and every particle part
of you! That is the only way you can tell ME you love ME!
"Many of us today consider ourselves angels, but first of all we were disciples. We were about to become, and then we became apostles and as we learned Who GOD is we became angels. The next step is servant, then friend and with the next step we reach Heaven, the Sonship Degree."
FATHER DIVINE explained this, that the degrees of unfoldment of a disciple until he reaches the full degree of the Son's inheritance, which is the Kingdom of Heaven, are disciple, apostle, angel, servant, friend and Son. The Sermon was given by FATHER on January 21-22, 1939, Part II. It has been reprinted in The New Day, January 4, 1958, page 8.
(The transcriber's remarks are included here and are followed by FATHER'S Sermon in part:) This Message was apparently inspired by the testimony of a visitor which touched the Keynote of Wisdom and brought forth this instructive Message which deals with the significance of loving GOD in Truth and sincerity, whole-heartedly and yet unselfishly, with a Love that is proven by deeds and by actions and not by mere words alone.
(FATHER speaks as follows:)
"Peace Everyone! Here we are again, and when I say we, I mean the life substance and the reality of all of the children of men. Aren't you glad? But there are thousands and thousands and thousands and millions and millions who do not know the Truth concerning the mystery, and a good many of My true and faithful followers who are true as far as they know; but it is a matter of impossibility, as I thought just a moment ago, for any person to love GOD whole-heartedly, matters not who he or she is, if he or she loves anybody else!
"Whilst the last speaker was speaking, of course there was a thought reacted in My consideration to convey to you each of you: weigh your love and devotion for GOD, whether in a Body or out of a Body in your consideration, on the scale of justice that will weigh your love accurately and judge you with the spirit of equity. The spirit of equity will weigh accurately and will cause you and others to see and know definitely, do you love the Almighty!
"The one that loves GOD most is the one who is the most self denied! The one who is the most consecrated and sacrificed to GOD, that is the one who loves GOD. How can you love GOD most or much when you have so many others things to love? The pressure of the water through your radiation in this in other words, through your plumbing system in this building, may be high. If the pressure is high and you turn on a thousand different faucets at the same time, it is evidently known, some of the pressure would go in the different directions. It is a matter of impossibility for you to have the full pressure in one direction. Can you not see the mystery?
"Now judge for yourselves concerning the mystery and weigh yourselves and your love and devotion for GOD on the scale of justice with the spirit of equity; you will be honest, you will be true and you will be expressing real Truth and Justice in the act of your duty.
"Whilst the speaker was speaking I could hardly refrain from expression, for I brought it into a vibrated expression of emotion in My consideration so vividly, I felt as if though I should stop and tell you the mystery that you might know for yourselves individually, severally and collectively, and if necessary nationally and universally, the reality of the Allness of GOD and the nothingness of matter; the reality of loving GOD whole-heartedly with or without a Body! Wheresoever GOD is, just leave the consideration of His destination out of your consideration, and of His location out of your consideration. But wheresoever GOD is, if you love GOD with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength, how can you have relatives, friends, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers and kin, and how can you have races, creeds and colors and any other cursed expression? For what said Jesus concerning the mystery?
'If you hear any man inquiring after Me, tell him I said, first deny himself!'
Not only so, but a hard saying, very hard seemingly, but yet it
is true Luke wrote the mystery for your consideration:
'Except you hate your mother, your father, your sister and your brethren and all you have, you cannot be My disciple!'
"A disciple is not an apostle and an apostle is not an angel
altogether, but it is a degree of unfoldment of Truth in
individuals, being developed from one degree of grace to another
until the Sonship Degree is considered and reckoned as a Living
Reality among them, for what said Jesus concerning the mystery as
they grew in grace and knowledge of our LORD and Savior, Jesus?
'I shall no longer call you servants but friends, for the servant knows not what his LORD doeth," or "is doing!'
Can you not see the mystery?
"There were degrees of unfoldment for the disciples. As you advance scientifically you individually will feel GOD'S Presence unfolding Itself in you and you will get closely connected by being more free and no longer merely as servants. Aren't you glad? But a friend getting closer connected in expression is not the full degree of the Son's inheritance; but there is room for improvement continually until you enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Aren't you glad?
"Then I say, it is a hard saying, but yet it is true! If the peoples of the earth under Christendom are going to preach CHRIST on earth among men, why is it they do not preach CHRIST evangelically and prove to the world conclusively according to the Gospel and the exact nature and the characteristics of Jesus as a sample and an example for others? This, of course, will bring persecution! This, of course, will bring criticism! This, of course, will bring ridiculism! Nevertheless, if you are true and faithful to you it will be immaterial, for as with Jesus as a person so with you when you love Him!
"When Jesus was called in question concerning the mystery, as a forecaster of His Spirit, of His Life and of His Teaching
'Your mother and brethren want Thee out there,'
what said He? Question your own minds for consideration and weigh
yourselves on the scale of justice and come up to the full
measure and choose you this day whom you are serving! Now say
whether you love ME or not! Prove it by the emotion of your
heart! Put forth your every act into expression and direct your
love and devotion, your mind and attention, your ideas and
opinions in the one direction if you expect to follow Him and be
His real, faithful children!
"Take these thoughts to consideration! I know whether you love ME or not! I said, I know whether you love ME or not! If you do not consider ME in Person, from whatsoever angle of expression you are claiming GOD as the Infinite One, I know whether you love HIM or not! Whatsoever GOD is to you, you are telling ME how much you love HIM by what you are doing for HIM! What said I in this last dispensation through My Own Tabernacle in which I AM now living?
'MINDS and ATTENTION, LOVE and DEVOTION, IDEAS and OPINIONS, all concentrated on the FUNDAMENTAL!'
"You say you know where and Who the Fundamental is! Then let your
Ideas and your Opinions, your Love and your Devotion, your Mind
and your Attention be concentrated or centered on the
Fundamental! When this is done, then and only then can you prove
ME you love ME!
"Wheresoever the Fundamental is, all your Mind, all of your Attention, all of your Love and all of your Devotion, all of your Ideas and all of your Opinions and all of your human or Divine or mortal or any sort of a connection must be concentrated on the Fundamental that is, if you love HIM."
Supplementary excerpts from FATHER DIVINE'S Words relative to the subject of service, can be found in The New Day of April 21, 1938, page 15. FATHER speaks on the overcoming power of love in service. HE said:
"It has been said in places, in business places, for years back, signs have been on the walls and on the posts of such business places and doors, "KEEP SMILING!" What said I through the mouth of Solomon, by My condescension, as being termed "Wisdom"?
'A kind word turns away wrath, but grievous words stir up anger.'
"Anger may be there, but unless you stir it up at times, it has
no manner of expression. You must exercise some way in expression
to stir it up. It has long since been said, "Still water runs
deep, but the (other fellow) lies at the bottom."
"If you stir him up, he will come to the top, and naturally he will poison the water for drinking, that is the mystery will cause the water of your Salvation to be insufficient; will cause the water not to be good, but to be contagious with the germs of his contagion; of negation, of anger, of wrath, of resentment and other contagious characteristics, such as the other fellow' is the representative of. "Kind words turn away wrath, but grievous words stir up anger."
"Anger in mortality is a reality, if you will allow it to be; but if you do not allow it to be , it cannot be a reality, only as you allow it to be; if you do not allow anger to be stirred up, as anger is inculcated and prenataled in mortality. It will stir up if you allow it to, by speaking rudely and speaking angrily and resentfully to individuals; naturally you will stir up that anger in all mortality, for there is the creation and the foundation of the other fellow'.
"Then, if you keep smiling, even if you be obliged to handle an individual in the act of your duty, of placing a violator under arrest, you should keep smiling, for My Holy Eternal Spirit can accomplish much more than that of resentment and anger within. Then I say, keep smiling, if you are of ME.
"What says the composition concerning the mystery? "You laugh at the (other fellow's) rage, and face a frowning world."
"It is a privilege to live in such a recognition where you can sincerely smile at the "other fellow's" rage, and yet accomplish all of your endeavors and carry out My Plans and Purpose accurately. I need not place signs on the wall, nor on the doors, nor on the door post, neither above the door of the office to tell you nor the public to keep smiling; for if you will accept of My Message and live accordingly, My Spirit and Mind will teach you and tell you, and you will reciprocate to My Expressions, such as you are desiring ME to express to you. To others you will gladly do even as you desire ME to do to you.
"Then I say, keep smiling, for smiles will turn away anger. Smiles will bind the "other fellow" if there is such a thing as the "other fellow"! The mortal concept and the expression of mortality will be bound by the recognition of My Presence, by you living accordingly, and by you bringing your bodies into subjection whole-heartedly . . .
"Then I say, keep smiling and let your smiles be with the spirit of sincerity. I will be with you and give you victory over every difficulty . . . Then I say, keep smiling, and the very Spirit of My Presence, as My Words are Spirit and they are Life, will give you power to overcome all oppositions; for Jesus declared the mystery when He said,
'All power to Me is given.'
"The power that transcends all human understanding, the power
that transcends the languages of humanity has been freely given
to you. All you must needs do is to live according to My
Teaching, and such power will be exerted among you."
The only real happiness you can acquire, FATHER DIVINE continues to stress, is the happiness that comes by giving service to others.
In an excerpt found in the January 31, 1959 issue of The New Day on page 8, FATHER'S own Words given on April 28, 1942 explain this. HE said:
"I need not say more, but I had thought to say once before as one spoke and mentioned how happy they were. It is a blessing to be happy if your happiness is motivated with absolute unselfishness; if you are happy supernaturally, it is because of your unselfishness and consecration, because of your service to GOD and to humanity, for the only real happiness you can acquire is the happiness that comes by giving service to others, by trying to make others happy, trying to serve others, by being true and faithful, or else your happiness will not be lasting. Your happiness will fail you if your happiness is motivated by selfish tendencies, fancies and pleasures for self-indulgence and for a selfish purpose.
"But oh, how glorious it is when your happiness is created by conscientious and sincere service to GOD and to man; for
'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'
It is plain to see and to know: that is the way you can tell ME
what kind of happiness you have. If it is the happiness through
the servitude of yourself to GOD and to man, by serving GOD and
serving your fellowmen with all of your heart, with all your mind
and with all your strength combined, by loving your neighbor as
yourself and by denying yourself completely and living soberly,
righteously and godly then your happiness you express will be
lasting for it will be the happiness of the Almighty!
"But selfish happiness and self-exalted happiness motivated by self-exaltation, by graft for happiness and graft for pleasure, by graft for anything else you may seek selfishly and dishonestly; that kind of happiness will not be lasting; that kind of happiness will fail you.
"Then I say,
'Rejoice in the LORD always, and again I say, rejoice, and let your moderation be made known to all men, the LORD is at hand.'
Not only in words but in the actuated words of expression; in
whatsoever you do and are doing, let it be GOD doing it and no
longer you, and look not upon your finite wisdom or
understanding; look not upon your finite, limited mortal ability
to do anything; for
'What hast thou that thou didst not receive, and if thou didst receive it, why is it thou glorieth as though thou didst not receive it?'
and as though it was always yours?
"Take these thoughts to consideration and live in this recognition; then you will have something to rejoice for, and when you rejoice your rejoicing will be enthusing to others because you will be so enthusiastic from the heart and from the mind it will reach all mankind and convert them to the ways of GOD. I thank you."
*************