Practicing the Presence of Christ Part Five
Alan Mc Savage
"Starting the flow."
John 10:30 "I and the Father are one."
Luke 15:31-32 "Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours."
James 1:17-18 Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.
All that the Father has is mine
Let these words sink into your consciousness.
"I and the Father are ONE, and all that the Father has is mine."
"Father God is the ONLY source of POWER and GOOD, All Good things come from the Father who is in us in Christ.
Once these words become reality to us we begin to find ways for that "good" to flow out from us.
"All that the Father has is mine." is the correct word of Truth, but to merely have head knowledge of this will not change our LACK into SUPPLY. This statement of TRUTH provides the basis with which to meet every limitation in our lives, but one day we will no longer say it; we will feel it, and in that moment, it becomes the law unto our experience. From then on, we no longer have to take thought for what we shall eat or drink or how we shall be clothed, because the law of divine inheritance has taken over.
Acts 20:31-35
"Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for a period of three years I did not cease to admonish each one with tears. "And now I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. " I have coveted no one's silver or gold or clothes."You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my own needs and to the men who were with me. "In everything I showed you that by working hard in this manner you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'"
NOTE
The inheritance is a joint one, of which each saint has his 'portion.' 'Light' (including knowledge, purity, love, and joy) begins in the believer here, descending from "the Father of lights" by Jesus, "the true light," and is perfected in the kingdom of light: in antithesis to "darkness" (Col 1:13). It contrasts with the "darkness" of the unconverted state (Col 1:13: cf. 1 Peter 2:9).
(from Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1997 by Biblesoft)
Our GOOD comes to us at the right time without any human scheming. It does not mean that we do not give serious, conscious thought to our work, but from now on we do this for the sake of the work and not for the purpose of making a living. Very soon we find that we are not in the type of work that satisfies our Soul, and we find ourselves being lifted out of what we are doing into something else. This will never happen, however, as long as we believe that our work is the source of our supply.
Once we realize "HAVE," and that "I and my Father are one, and all that the Father has is mine," from that moment on we find ways for that good to flow out from us.
My wife and I have practiced this divine principle for years now and know that God causes a way to open up, so that ALL our needs, hopes and desires are met, in and through our acknowledgement of the indwelling presence of Christ Jesus our Lord.
Even to opening up a parking space close to the store where we shop.
We cannot get love; we cannot get supply; we cannot get truth; we cannot get a home; we cannot get a new car; we cannot get companionship. BUT, the potential for all these things is within us. This may sound like a very bold statement and one that is "right off of the wall" but bare with me on this and let me explain.
Remember the story in part four about the little widow and the jar of oil!
1 Kings 17:9-16
"Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. See, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you." So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, indeed a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, "Please bring me a little water in a cup, that I may drink." And as she was going to get it, he called to her and said, "Please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand."
So she said, "As the LORD your God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a jar; and see, I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die."
And Elijah said to her, "Do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me; and afterward make some for yourself and your son. For thus says the LORD God of Israel: 'The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the LORD sends rain on the earth.'" So she went away and did according to the word of Elijah; and she and he and her household ate for many days. The bin of flour was not used up, nor did the jar of oil run dry, according to the word of the LORD which He spoke by Elijah.
Or the account of the loaves and fishes!
Mark 6:37-44
But He answered them, "You give them something to eat!" And they said to Him, "Shall we go and spend two hundred denarii on bread and give them something to eat?" And He said to them, "How many loaves do you have? Go look!" And when they found out, they said, "Five, and two fish." And He commanded them all to sit down by groups on the green grass... And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up toward heaven, He blessed the food and broke the loaves and He kept giving them to the disciples to set before them; and He divided up the two fish among them all. They all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up twelve full baskets of the broken pieces, and also of the fish. There were five thousand men who ate the loaves.
What have you got to give to start the flow?
We may think we only have enough for us four and no more but the words says:
"Please, bring me a morsel of bread in your hand." "Please, bring me a little water in a cup." AND "You, give them something to eat."
When cannot get the things we desire or need, we have to remember that: "All these things are resident within us."
What we have to do is lift up our jar and pour.
We need to bless the bread and fishes and give them out.
We can begin to pour; we can begin to multiply.
We MUST make a beginning. Just the recognition of this principal may open the way for us to experience all good, but on the other hand, it may be necessary for us to consciously open up to specific ways for the ALL GOOD to flow. If we need supply, we must begin expressing it, and there are many ways of doing this. People may give part of what they have to some ministry or charitable enterprise, or they may even make some unnecessary expenditure just to prove that they have.
Money is not the only way to start the flow. We can begin spending love, forgiveness, reconciliation, co-operation, and service. Anything given that is meant for God or God's children is a giving of oneself. And a service to Christ Jesus our Lord.
Matt 25:34-46
"Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 'For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.' "Then the righteous will answer Him, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? 'And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? 'When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' " The King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.' ... 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?' "Then He will answer them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me."
This is an application of the principle that no good can come to us: good must flow out from us.
Is it not clear by now that the expectation of receiving good from any source outside of our own being would be the very attitude which would separate us from that good, and that a constant seeking within for greater opportunities to release the good already established in us, to let it flow, to express it, to share it, would open up the windows of heaven?
We should give because we have - give because we have an abundance, give because we have love and gratitude to overflowing. Gratitude is the sharing or expressing of joy for the good already received. It is giving without a single sign, without a single trace or desire for return. Any form of giving, whether it is the giving of the things such as money, food, or clothing, or the giving of forgiveness, understanding, consideration, kindness, generosity, love, peace, or harmony, should be because we have an abundance. Then comes the transformation in consciousness which reveals our Christhood.
Christhood is akin to the old English practice of chivalry and knighthood.
Christhood never seeks to receive. There is no record in the entire New Testament of our Precious Lord seeking health, wealth, recognition, reward, fame payment, or gratitude.
The Light of Christ shines: It's complete activity is that of shining. That is why Christ is often referred to as the Light of the World. That is why we are also called the Light of the World. That is why our Father is named the "Father of Lights" Light cannot receive anything: Light is flowing; light is an expression; light is an outpouring. So is Christhood. It never has any desire to receive anything; it is the INFINITY OF GOD in individual expression. The moment an individual gives thought to seeking a return, he is in humanhood or selfhood again; he is not in Christhood, because Christhood is the fullness of the Godhead bodily, made individually manifest, "Christ in and among you all the manifest glory."
NOTE: From the New Advent Fathers.
He who is the Friend of man has crushed with the foot of His divinity him who is the enemy of man, and has borne up the man with the hand of His Christhood, and has made the trackless ether to be trodden by the feet of man. Then the angels were ascending and descending; but now the Angel of the great counsel neither ascendeth nor descendeth: for whence or where shall He change His position, who is present everywhere, and filleth all things, and holds in His hand the ends. of the world? Once, indeed, He descended, and once He ascended,--not, however, through any change of nature, but only in the condescension of His philanthropic Christhood; and He is seated as the Word with the Father, and as the Word He dwells in the womb, and as the Word He is found everywhere, and is never separated from the God of the universe.
From: The Puritons and Pastoral Care
A model of pastoral care drawn from the rhetoric of the Puritans, pushes beyond the "priesthood of all believers"- which is still based on the institution of "priesthood." The Puritans identified a model of "Christhood" ormicro-christus, according to which every believer "hath a Church in himself." The Puritans held that "union with Christ is not the end but the beginning of Christian life."Christian life, in any form, was an "applica-tion of Christ," not a contemplative retreat in contemptus mundi.The terms of the application varied from one person to another, but all Christians shared the same plight, all had the same calling. According to New England's Richard Mather, "by much beholding the glory of the Lord in the glass of the Gospel"- and acting out these percep-tions - "we are changed into the same Image"
Col 3:1-4
"Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory."
Col 3:10-11
" ...and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him-- a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all, and in all."
Luke 6:38
"Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure--pressed down, shaken
together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return."
2 Cor 9:6-13
Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap
bountifully. Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for
God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all
sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed; as it is written,
"HE SCATTERED ABROAD, HE GAVE TO THE POOR, HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS ENDURES FOREVER."
Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness; you will be enriched in everything for all liberality, which through us is producing thanksgiving to God. For the ministry of this service is not only fully supplying the needs of the saints, but is also overflowing through many thanksgivings to God.
To be continued.
Alan
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