DivineLove.F

<body background="images/bbackground.jpg"> <basefont SIZE="4"><font FACE="times" Helvetica"> <h1 align="center"><a name="DIVINE_LOVE_TOP"></a><img src="images/bdl.border.gif" alt="BDLborder.jpg (13595 bytes)" WIDTH="472" HEIGHT="75"></h1> <p align="center"><a href="index.htm" TARGET="_parent"><font size="2"><b>ANGELIC MESSAGES TO ALL</b></font></a></p> <p align="center"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"><b>Jesus says his original teachings about God's Divine Love were virtually lost, and many of his other teachings are misunderstood by those who claim to be teaching <em>his truths</em>. He is very eager to have humans and spirits know about God's Great Love and many other high spiritual Truths. </b></font></p> </font> <hr> <h3 align="left"><font helvetica="Helvetica" face="Times New Roman, Times, serif"><b><a name="DIVINE_LOVE"><font color="#660066">DIVINE LOVE</font>: What It Is and What It Is Not, and How It Can Be Obtained. </a></b></font></h3> <font FACE="times" Helvetica"> <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"><b>I am here, John, apostle of Jesus. </b></font></p> <p><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">I come tonight to say only a few words, and these in reference to Love--the Divine Love of the Father [<a href="intro.htm#NAMES_FOR_GOD">God</a>] which He rebestowed upon mankind at the coming of the Master. </font></b></p> <p><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">This Love is the greatest thing in all the world, and the only thing that can make <a href="intro.htm#SEXIST_LANGUAGE">man</a> at-one with the Father and change the soul of man, as it has existed since his creation, into a Divine Substance filled with the Essence of the Father. There is nothing else in all the Universe of God that can cause man to become a new creature and an inhabitant of the Father's Kingdom. When men possess this Love, they possess everything that will make them -- not only the perfect man but also -- the divine angel. They will understand the moral precepts of brotherly love and the Father's Oneness. When they possess this Love, they will not have to seek for other help in order to bring the qualities of the Love into the life of the human race. For this Love in the souls of humans will bring peace and good will to the human race. Then will each man know that every other man is his brother; and he will be able to do unto each as he would have the other do unto him, and this without effort or sacrifice on his part. For, Love worketh its own fulfillment, and all its beneficence floweth towards the fellowman as falls the dews from heaven. Envy and hatred and strife and jealousy, and all the other evil qualities of a man, will disappear, and only peace and joy and happiness will remain. </font></b></p> <p><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">The Divine Love is so abundant that it may be possessed by all men by the mere seeking and the sincere longing for its inflowing. Man must understand that it is not his by matter of right, nor is it ever forced upon him, but comes only in response to the sincere, earnest prayer of a soul that is filled with longings for its coming. </font></b></p> <p><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">This Love comes not with observation of the mere moral rules, or with good deeds and the exercise of the natural love of a man towards his fellows, because no man can possibly merit it by any deeds or acts or kindness of heart that he may have. All these things are desirable and they work out their own rewards, and they bring the happiness and peace that result from good thoughts and kind deeds; but all these do not bring this Great Love into the soul of man. The Father, Alone, brings this Love, and only when the soul is opened up to its reception can this Love possibly find its home in that soul. It is greater than faith or hope because it is the real Substance of the Father, while faith and hope are the qualities which a man may possess by his own efforts, and which are given to him that he may realize the possibility of obtaining this Love. However, they are merely means - It (the Divine Love) is the end and fullness of their exercise. </font></b></p> <p><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Men must not believe that all love is the Divine Love, for it is very different in its Substance and Qualities from all other loves. </font></b></p> <p><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">All men have the natural love as a part of their possessions, and they need not pray for a bestowal of that; although, since it has become defiled by sin, it needs to be purified and freed from this blight. The Father is ever willing and ready to help men obtain this purification. </font></b></p> <p><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">This Divine Love is not a part of man's nature, nor can he obtain or possess It except he seek for It. It comes from without and is not developed from within. </font></b></p> <p><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">It is the result of individual acquirement, and not the object of universal possession. It may be possessed by all; It can be possessed by only a few; and each man must determine for himself whether or not it shall be his. With God, there is no respect of persons; neither is there any royal road to the obtaining of this Love. All must pursue the same Way, and that Way is the one that Jesus taught: the opening up of the soul so that this Love may find a lodgment therein, which can be brought about only by sincere prayer and longing for its inflowing. </font></b></p> <p><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">This Love is the life of the Celestial Heavens and the only key that will unlock the gates; and, when the mortal enters therein, all other Love is absorbed by it. It has no substitute, and is, of Itself, a thing apart. It is of the Essence of the Divine, and the spirit which possesses it is divine, himself. It may be yours; It may be all men's, and It may not. You must decide that question for yourself. Not even the Father can make the decision for you. In closing, let me repeat that It is the greatest thing in all God's universe; and not only the greatest but also the sum of all things. For from It flows every other thing that brings peace and happiness. </font></b></p> <p><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">I will not write more tonight and, with my love to you and the Blessings of the Father, will say good night. </font></b></p> <p><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Your brother in Christ, </font></b></p> <p><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">John</font></b></p> </font> <p><font face="times" helvetica"><font size="1" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>(The above Angelic Message was received by James Padgett and taken from Ch. 7, "The Divine Love of the Father and the New Birth of the Soul", pp. 136-138, <u>Angelic Revelations of Divine Truth</u>,<u> Volume I</u>. <a href="http://www.truths.com" target="_blank">An electronic copy of Volume I can be found at www.truths.com</a>)</b></font></font></p> <p></p> <p align="center"> <b><font color="#000099" face="Times New Roman, Times, serif" size="2">[</font><font face="Times New Roman, Times, serif" size="2"><a href="fcdtprayer.htm" target="_self">Jesus' Prayer for Divine Love</a><font color="#000099">]</font></font> <font color="#000099" face="Times New Roman, Times, serif" size="2">[</font><font face="Times New Roman, Times, serif" size="2"><a href="divinelove.htm#DIVINE_LOVE_TOP">Top of Page</a><font color="#000099">]</font></font> <font color="#000099" face="Times New Roman, Times, serif" size="2">[</font><font face="Times New Roman, Times, serif" size="2"><a href="index.htm" target="_top">Home</a><font color="#000099">]</font></font></b></p> <hr> <h3 align="left"><font helvetica="Helvetica" face="Times New Roman, Times, serif"><b><a name="GREAT_GIFT">DIVINE LOVE IS A GREAT GIFT</a></b></font></h3> <p><i><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"><b>This message was directed toward our children, but it has just as much value to others. </b></font></i></p> <p><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">I am here, Jesus. </font></b></p> <p><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">You must remember this. Seeking the Love of the Father is never something that is imposed upon you. It is a Great Gift, a gift that has changed the world. It has changed the plight of spirits in the spirit world, as well as humanity. I say it is a gift because it is a gift. For there was a time when it was not available, a time when there was much darkness on the earth, as well as the spirit world. </font></b></p> <p><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">This opportunity to become at-one with the Father, and this opportunity to know our Creator, was a Great Gift that the first parents turned their back on. If they had not, you would be living in the Celestial Kingdom right now. Think about that. The sorrow, the worry, the pain, the suffering, you would never know it. Yes, you do have a purpose in incarnating on this earth -- for the individualization of the soul. You also have a responsibility to come to know who you really are. You and you alone are responsible for the relationship you have with the Father, your Creator. </font></b></p> <p><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Yes, you have people and those whom you know as parents, who are helping to assist you, in coming to know this. <font color="#000000">However, there will be a time when they will not be in your lives.</font> You will be completely on your own. You will be completely on your own, in the sense that there will not be someone to instruct you as to what to do and what not to do, in terms of what you do with your body. <font color="#000000">Nor try to guide you in what you do, in terms of knowing who you really are, the real you, in nurturing your soul.</font></font> </b></p> <p><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">This is a time to lay the groundwork. This is a time to build. This is a time for you and you alone, with the gift of your free will, to have the responsibility of nurturing yourself. Understand that you have a dual nature -- a physical, as well as a spiritual self. It is your spiritual nature that will prevail long after that physical body has turned to dust. <font color="#000000">Do you</font></font><font color="#FF0000" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"> </font><font color="#000000" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">think </font><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">it is time you learned how to feed it, nurture it and guide it? The responsibility is yours, for you will enter the Celestial Kingdom or you will not. The choice is yours. </font></b></p> <p><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">You, yourselves need to understand, no priest, minister or parent will save you from yourselves. You and you alone, need to humble yourself enough to ask for help from God. In God's Mercy, in His Great Love, seeing the repentant soul, seeing that soul that longs to know the truth, and that hungers for the truth, yes, that soul's prayers will be answered in receiving the Great Gift of the Divine Love. The nourishment that makes you immortal, that transforms you from a mere mortal to an immortal angel. </font></b></p> <p><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">This does not happen at once. This happens in a progressive state. The more you pray to receive the Love, the more it rids you of those things that are not in harmony with the Father. The more it protects you and strengthens you to be able to face the adversities that are in this world. More peace and joy will come to you. More happiness will come to you. The more you will be in rapport with like souls who wish to know more of the Father's Love. The more you will experience the Celestial Kingdom here on earth, the greater your joy will be. The more you will come to understand who you really are and get to know us, as well. We are your brothers and sisters, who have just happened to be born before you, who had the great privilege or being nourished and redeemed in the Love. As you pray to receive the Love, we pray with you for a stronger faith, for a stronger rebestowal of the Love, for a stronger hunger and commitment to be in you to know and experience the great joy that we speak of. </font></b></p> <p><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">This is not a mere lesson. This is not a mere lecture. What I am telling you is the truth. You will come to know it yourself. You have experienced what life has been here when you have not prayed to receive the Love. You have experienced disharmony, pain and suffering. What I am offering to you is a greater inflowing and acceleration of the Love, if you would but take advantage of it. </font></b></p> <p><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">So, I have presented this experiment for you to pray during those times that you have said. Hence, in the three days, see the difference and the atmosphere that is here. See the difference in the so-called sanctuary. See more light and Love in your lives. See more happiness and joy. See how well you get along with each other, as well as with others. So, I pose it to you. It is your choice. This is but a small, minute, fraction, instant of the joy that is awaiting you. </font></b></p> <p><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">I hope you will see the wisdom in following my words. May the Father's blessings be with you. </font></b></p> <p><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">I am your brother, Jesus.</font></b></p> <p><font face="times" helvetica"><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="1">(01/14/96 - Jesus - CRS)</font></b></font> </p> <div align="center"> <p>  </p> </div> <p></p> <p align="center"> <b><font color="#000099" face="Times New Roman, Times, serif" size="2">[</font><font face="Times New Roman, Times, serif" size="2"><a href="fcdtprayer.htm" target="_self">Jesus' Prayer for Divine Love</a><font color="#000099">]</font></font> <font color="#000099" face="Times New Roman, Times, serif" size="2">[</font><font face="Times New Roman, Times, serif" size="2"><a href="divinelove.htm#DIVINE_LOVE_TOP">Top of Page</a><font color="#000099">]</font></font> <font color="#000099" face="Times New Roman, Times, serif" size="2">[</font><font face="Times New Roman, Times, serif" size="2"><a href="index.htm" target="_top">Home</a><font color="#000099">]</font></font></b></p> <hr> <h3 align="left"><font helvetica="Helvetica" face="Times New Roman, Times, serif"><b><a name="HOW_TO_RECEIVE_DIVINE_LOVE">How the Soul of a Mortal Receives the Divine Love, and What Its Effect is. Also, What is a Lost Soul?</a></b></font></h3> <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"><b>I am here, Jesus </b></font></p> <p><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">I come tonight to tell you that you are in a better condition than you were last night and, in fact, have been for some nights past. I desire to write to you a message on the question of how the soul of a mortal receives the Divine Love, and what Its effect is, even though the mind may indulge subsequently in those beliefs that may tend to prevent the growth of the soul. Also, what is a lost soul? </font></b></p> <p><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">As you know, the inflowing of this Love is caused by the <a href="divinelove.htm#HOLY_SPIRIT">Holy Spirit's</a> bestowal in response to sincere prayer and longings. I mean prayer and longings for the Love Itself, and not prayers for the material benefits that men more often and more naturally ask for and desire. The prayers of mortals for those things that may tend to make them successful and happy in their natural love are answered also, if it is best that they should be. But these are not the prayers that bring the Divine Love or cause the Holy Spirit to work with men. </font></b></p> <p><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">As the prayers of the sincere, earnest soul ascend to the Father, that soul becomes opened up to the inflowing of this Love. The soul's perceptions then enlarge and come more in rapport with the conditions or influence that always accompanies the presence of this Love. Accordingly, Its entrance into the soul becomes easier and, in Its reception, more perceptible to the soul sense. The more earnest the prayer and sincere the longings, the sooner faith comes. And with this faith comes the realization that the Divine Love is permeating the soul. </font></b></p> <p><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">When the Divine Love once finds a lodgment in the soul, it (the soul) becomes, as it were, a changed substance (to the extent that it receives the Love and partakes of the essence of that Love). And as water may become colored by an ingredient foreign to itself, which changes not only its appearance but also its qualities, so this Divine Love changes the appearance and qualities of the soul. And this change of qualities continues ever thereafter. The natural qualities of the soul, and the essence of the Love become one and united,and the soul is made altogether different in its constituency from what it was before the inflowing of the Love - but this only to the extent of the Love received. </font></b></p> <p><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">As this Love increases in quantity, the change and transformation become correspondingly greater. Finally, the transformation may and will become so great that the whole soul becomes a thing of this Divine Essence - a being of Divinity - and partakes of Its very nature and substance. </font></b></p> <p><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">When this Love once enters and truly possesses the soul, and works the change mentioned, the Love never leaves nor disassociates Itself from the soul. Its character of Divine Essence never changes back to that of the mere natural Love. And to the extent that It is present, sin and error have no existence. This is so because it is just as impossible for this Essence, and sin and error to occupy the same parts of the soul at the same time as it is for two material objects to occupy the same space at the same time, as your philosophers say. </font></b></p> <p><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Divinity never gives place to that which is not of the Divine. Man is working towards the attainment of the Divine when he pursues the Way provided for obtaining the Divine Nature. And as he advances and obtains a portion of this Divine, no matter how small, he can never retrace his steps to the extent of ridding himself of the presence of this Transforming Essence. </font></b></p> <p><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">But this does not mean that a man may not lose the consciousness of the existence of this Essence within his soul, for he frequently does. The indulgence of his carnal appetites and evil desires will place him in a condition where he may cease to have a consciousness of the existence of the Divine Love in his soul. And to himself, he will be as if he had never had any experience of the change that I speak of. </font></b></p> <p><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">And while this Love can never be eradicated by the evils that man may indulge in, or by the mental beliefs that he may acquire, yet the progress of this Love in his soul may be checked and become stagnant, as if it no longer existed. And sin and error may appear again to be the only dominant elements of his life and being. But yet, when once possessed, the Love cannot be crowded out of his soul by sin and error, no matter how deep and intense these two may be. </font></b></p> <p><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">I know that this may seem strange and impossible to man's intellectual thinking, and that it is not in accordance with what has been attributed to me in my teaching that a soul may be lost. Nevertheless, a soul that has once received this Divine Essence cannot be lost, even though its awakening from its dormant condition and its realization of the presence and life of this Love may be greatly delayed by sin and error and misdirected beliefs. And much suffering and darkness may have to be endured by the soul that is plagued by such conditions. </font></b></p> <p><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">But I must not be understood to mean by this that a soul cannot be lost, for it can. Many souls have been and will be lost, and many will realize this fact when it is too late. </font></b></p> <p><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Now, what is a lost soul? It is not one that a man may actually lose in the sense of being deprived of it or being separated from it, or its even being lost as regards his possible lost consciousness of it. For while he may believe that he has lost his soul at times, in the sense of not having any, yet he is mistaken in such a belief. The soul, which is the man, can never be separated from himself. And as long as he lives in the physical body or in the spiritual body, his soul will be with him. And yet, he may have a soul, consciously or not, and at the same time, he may have lost it. This may seem to be a paradox to the mortal intellect or to the intellect of a spirit, but it is true. </font></b></p> <p><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Then what is a lost soul? When God gave to man a soul, that soul was made in the image, but not in the Substance, of its Maker. And at the same time, there was bestowed on him the privilege of having that soul become of the Substance of the Father and, to an extent, Divine, and entitled to and capable of living in the Celestial Kingdom of the Father, where everything is of His Divine Essence and Nature. </font></b></p> <p><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">When the first parents forfeited that privilege by their act of disobedience, their souls lost the possibility of becoming of the Divine Nature, and at-one with the Father in His Kingdom. They lost not the natural soul thereby, which was a part of their creation, but that part of their soul having the possibility of obtaining the Essence of Divinity and Immortality that the Father has. </font></b></p> <p><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">As I have said heretofore, this great privilege was restored to mankind with my coming, and the lost soul became again the object of man's recovery; and now he has that privilege that the first parents had before their fall. But men may also lose it as they did. As the first parents' souls were lost until they received the Divine Essence of the Father into them, so with men now. Their souls are lost until and unless they receive this Divine Essence therein. And as the first parents forfeited their privilege of having their souls become a living, Divine substance by their disobedience and refusal, so now will men forfeit their privilege to save their souls from separation from the Divine unity with the Father by the same disobedience and refusal. </font></b></p> <p><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">The lost soul is as real as the verities of the Father's immutable laws. And only by the operation of the Divine Love can the lost soul become the found soul. </font></b></p> <p><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Men may believe and teach that there is a part of the Divine within them that will cause their souls to progress and develop until they reach the condition of Divinity that will make them a part of the Divinity of the Father. But they are all wrong in such thinking. For while man was the highest creation of God, the most perfect, and made in His image, yet there is no part of the Divine in man. And having no part of the Divine, it is wholly impossible for him to progress to a possession of the Divine. He of himself, no matter what his development may be, can never become greater or more perfect, or of a higher nature, than he was at his creation. </font></b></p> <p><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">The Divine comes from above. And when once planted in a man's soul, there can be no limit to Its expansion and development, even in the Celestial Heavens. Let all men seek this Love and there will be no lost souls. But alas, many will not do so, and the spiritual heavens will be filled with lost souls who lack the Divine Essence of the Father. </font></b></p> <p><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">I have written enough for tonight, and I am pleased at the way in which you received my message. Continue to pray to the Father for more and more of His Divine Love, and your prayers will be answered. You will soon realize, with the certainty that comes from the conscious possession of the Divine Essence, that your soul is not lost and never will be. </font></b></p> <p><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">So, with my Love and blessings, I will say good night and God bless you. </font></b></p> <p><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"><br> Your brother and friend, <br> Jesus </font></b></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p><font face="times" helvetica"><font size="1" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>(The above Angelic Message was received by James Padgett and taken from Ch. 7, "The Divine Love of the Father and the New Birth of the Soul", pp. 132-136, <u>Angelic Revelations of Divine Truth</u>,<u> Volume I</u>. <a href="http://www.truths.com" target="_blank">An electronic copy of Volume I can be found at www.truths.com</a>)</b></font></font></p> <p> </p> <p></p> <p align="center"> <b><font color="#000099" face="Times New Roman, Times, serif" size="2">[</font><font face="Times New Roman, Times, serif" size="2"><a href="fcdtprayer.htm" target="_self">Jesus' Prayer for Divine Love</a><font color="#000099">]</font></font> <font color="#000099" face="Times New Roman, Times, serif" size="2">[</font><font face="Times New Roman, Times, serif" size="2"><a href="divinelove.htm#DIVINE_LOVE_TOP">Top of Page</a><font color="#000099">]</font></font> <font color="#000099" face="Times New Roman, Times, serif" size="2">[</font><font face="Times New Roman, Times, serif" size="2"><a href="index.htm" target="_top">Home</a><font color="#000099">]</font></font></b></p> <hr> <h3 align="left"><font helvetica="Helvetica" face="Times New Roman, Times, serif"><b> <a name="HOLY_SPIRIT">Jesus' explanation of the Holy Spirit</a></b></font></h3> <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"><b>I am here, Jesus</b></font></p> <p><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"> Let me write for a short time upon a subject that will be of interest to you and to those who may read my messages. </font></b></p> <p><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">What I desire to write upon tonight is the condition of those who think they have received the inflowing or baptism of the Holy Spirit when the fact is that they have received only that advancement in the purification of their natural love, and toward a harmony with the laws of their creation, that has caused them to believe that what they experience must be the result of a bestowal of the Love which the Holy Spirit brings to mortals. So many humans indulge in this mistake; and in the happiness which their experience brings to them, growing out of such an increase in the harmony, they fully believe that the Holy Spirit has taken possession of their souls and caused the happiness. But in thus concluding, they are deceiving themselves, and will realize their mistake when they come to an awakening in the spirit life. </font></b></p> <p><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">The Holy Spirit is that part of God's spirit that manifests His presence and care in conveying His Divine Love into men's souls. This Love is the highest and greatest and most holy of His possessions, and can be conveyed to men only by the Holy Spirit; and this appellation is used in contradistinction to the mere spirit which demonstrates the operation of God's Soul to men in other directions and for other purposes. His creative spirit and His caring spirit and the spirit that makes His laws and designs effective in the governing of the universe are not the Holy Spirit, though they are equally part of God's Soul, and equally necessary for the manifestations of His Powers and the exercise of the energies of His Soul. These spirit energies deal with the things of the universe that do not have interrelationship with the Soul of God and the souls of men. But whenever the Holy Spirit is spoken of, it should mean only that part of God's spirit which transforms the souls of men into the substance of the Soul of God in its quality of love. </font></b></p> <p><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">I heard the preacher discourse Sunday night on the work of the Holy Spirit as portrayed in the contents of the New Testament, and saw that his conclusions from these contents were wholly erroneous and apart from the truth. As he said, the effects of the workings of the Holy Spirit are shown in more ways than one, and not everyone upon whom It is bestowed is filled with the same powers of displaying Its presence and possession. Now in all these evidences of Its existence in the experiences given, it must be understood that It is limited in Its operations to those conditions and manifestations that have their source in the Divine Love of the Father bestowed upon mankind at my coming in the flesh; and that those evidences of spirit that have no relationship to this Love are not evidences of the presence of the Holy Spirit. As mentioned in the New Testament, when the Holy Spirit was bestowed upon my disciples at Pentecost, It came as "with the sound of a mighty rushing wind" (which has been explained to you before) that "shook the room" in which the disciples were assembled, and filled them with Its powers. This only means that this Divine Love came into their souls in such abundance that they were shaken in their souls to such an extent that they thought the building in which they were assembled was disturbed. But they were mistaken in this, for the effect of the presence of the Holy Spirit is not to affect the things of inanimate nature, but is confined to the souls of men. </font></b></p> <p><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">And the preacher must know that because men are possessed with powers to accomplish the mental or material things of their living, they are not necessarily possessed with the Holy Spirit. Much of the physical healing of mortals is caused by spirit powers that are not connected with, or proceed from, the Holy Spirit. That there is evidence of this, men will recollect that the Old Testament is full of instances where men were healed of their diseases, and other wonderful things performed, at the time when the Holy Spirit was excluded from man's possession. Yet these marvels (as then considered) were performed by men claiming to be endowed with the spirit of God. This spirit of God is still working for the good and happiness of mankind, and it will continue to work until men shall become in harmony with themselves as first created. </font></b></p> <p><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">I understand the object of the preacher in attempting to show and convince his hearers that because they have not those powers that the Bible describes as having been possessed by my disciples after the bestowal of the Holy Spirit, they must not believe and conclude from that that they (his hearers) have not this blessing. His intentions and efforts were commendable, and arose from the desire that his hearers should not become disheartened and disappointed in their efforts to obtain the inflowing of the Love that the Holy Spirit brings to men. But on the other hand, his teachings were dangerous and misleading to these hearers. For the natural consequence of such teaching is to lead men into the belief or persuasion that they possess this Power and Comforter, when they do not, thus preventing them from seeking for and obtaining this Comforter in the only Way in which It can be obtained. </font></b></p> <p><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">The Holy Spirit primarily has nothing to do with great mental or physical achievements. To say that because a man is a great inventor or philosopher or surgeon, who does things without knowing where the inspiration or suggestion to do these things comes from, and therefore he is possessed of the Holy Spirit, is all wrong and misleading. </font></b></p> <p><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">All things, mediately or immediately, have their existence and operation and growth in the spirit of God, and only in that spirit. And this spirit is evidenced in many and varied ways in men's experience. Hence men say that they live and move and have their being in God, meaning only that they live and move and have their being in God's spirit. This spirit is the source of life and light and health and numerous other blessings that men possess and enjoy - the sinner as well as the saint, the poor man as well as the rich, the ignorant as well as the enlightened and educated - and each and all are dependent on this spirit for their being and comfort. This is the spirit that all men possess to a greater or lesser degree. And the brilliant preacher or teacher or orator, possessing this spirit to a greater degree than his less favored brother, depends upon the same spirit. It is universal in its existence and workings, is omnipresent, and may be acquired by all men in this sense: to the degree that their mental receptivity permits. And this further demonstrates the fact that God, through and by this spirit, is with men always - in the lowest hells as well as in the highest heavens of the perfect man. It is working continuously, ceaselessly, and always at the call of men, be that call mental or spiritual. It is the thing that controls the universe, of which man's earth is an infinitesimal part. This is the Spirit of God. </font></b></p> <p><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">But the Holy Spirit, while a part of the spirit of God, is as distinctive as is the soul of man distinctive from all other creations of God. It is that part of God's spirit that has to do with the relationship of God's Soul and man's soul exclusively. The subject of Its operation is the Divine Love of the Father's Soul, and the object of Its workings is the soul of man; and the great goal to be reached by Its operations is the transforming of the soul of man into the substance of the Father's Love, with Immortality as a necessary accompaniment. This is the Great Miracle of the universe; and so high and sacred and merciful is the Transformation, that we call that part of God's spirit that so works, the Holy Spirit. </font></b></p> <p><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">So let not teachers or preachers teach, or their hearers believe that every part of God's spirit that operates upon the hearts and thoughts and feelings of man is the Holy Spirit, for it is not true. Its mission is the salvation of men in the sense of bringing them into that harmony with God whereby the very souls of men will become a part of the Soul of God in substance, and not merely in image. And without this working of the Holy Spirit, men cannot achieve such union. </font></b></p> <p><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">I have written to you before as to how this Holy Spirit works, the Way in which It can bring men the Divine Love of the Father, and what is necessary for Its inflowing. The Way described is the only Way, and men must not believe and rest in the security of the belief that every working of the spirit of God is the working of the Holy Spirit. </font></b></p> <p><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Except a man be born again, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God. And such attainment is only possible by the working of the Holy Spirit. </font></b></p> <p><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Oh preacher, upon whom a great responsibility rests, learn the Truth and then lead men into the Way of salvation! </font></b></p> <p><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">I will not write more now, but will come again and deliver another message. </font></b></p> <p><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Believe that I love you and am, </font></b></p> <p><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"><br> Your friend and brother,<br> Jesus</font></b></p> <p> </p> <p></p> <p><font face="times" helvetica"><font size="1" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>(The above Angelic Message was received by James Padgett and taken from Ch. 6, "The Holy Spirit", pp. 119-122, <u>Angelic Revelations of Divine Truth</u>,<u> Volume I</u>. <a href="http://www.truths.com" target="_blank">An electronic copy of Volume I can be found at www.truths.com</a>)</b></font></font></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p align="center"> <b><font color="#000099" face="Times New Roman, Times, serif" size="2">[</font><font face="Times New Roman, Times, serif" size="2"><a href="fcdtprayer.htm" target="_self">Jesus' Prayer for Divine Love</a><font color="#000099">]</font></font> <font color="#000099" face="Times New Roman, Times, serif" size="2">[</font><font face="Times New Roman, Times, serif" size="2"><a href="divinelove.htm#DIVINE_LOVE_TOP">Top of Page</a><font color="#000099">]</font></font> <font color="#000099" face="Times New Roman, Times, serif" size="2">[</font><font face="Times New Roman, Times, serif" size="2"><a href="index.htm" target="_top">Home</a><font color="#000099">]</font></font></b></p> <hr color="#0F76CA"> <p align="center"><font size="3"><b><a href="growth.htm">Click here for More Messages about</a> <br> <a href="growth.htm" target="_self">Spiritual Growth and Progression of the Soul</a> </b></font></p> <p><font FACE="times" Helvetica"><font face="times,times new roman" size="-2"><a href="mailto:angels@angelicmessages.org">Questions?</a><br> Technical Problems:</font> </font> <font face="times,times new roman" size="-2" helvetica"> </font><font FACE="times" Helvetica"><font face="times,times new roman" size="-2"><a href="mailto:webmaster@angelicmessages.org">Webmaster</a><br> Updated Sunday, July 9, 2000<br> <a href="amtadata.htm" target="_self">� 1997 - 2000  DLM, PO Box 844,</a><br> <a href="amtadata.htm" target="_self">Maple Valley, WA 98038. 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