Who Shall Carry The Signs? I want to talk with you today about some extremely fundamental things in Christianity, which I think need to have a little light shed upon them. First of all, let’s read: “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to the whole creation. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that disbelieveth shall be condemned. And these signs shall accompany them that believe: in my name shall they cast out demons; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall in no wise hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.” [Mark 16:15-18] “And they went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word by the signs that followed.” [Mark 16:20] I want us to think, this morning, about this most controversial part of the entire New Testament, “Signs [and wonders] shall accompany them that believe.” So, we are asking the question, “Who is carrying the signs?” Now, the point is, who is Jesus talking to? Who is to go into all the world and preach? Who shall be accompanied by signs? Who shall preach everywhere and have the Word confirmed by the signs that follow? Obviously, at the moment, Jesus was speaking to the eleven disciples as he appeared to them following the resurrection. And on the surface, it would appear to be a final commission to these men, whom he had organized to carry on his work. Now, the Christian church has always believed that this was, through the disciples, the commission for the church, and so, it is seeing the entire gospel, primarily, as directed toward the church. It’s institution-centered, clergy-centered, ritual-centered, rather than people-centered. So the Bible has often become little more than a set of church by-laws and organizational ideals, rather than as Universal Truth for application in the lives of all people. Now, an enlightened minority within Christianity, and certain mystics and thinkers without the organized church, have always believed that Jesus’ commission is really a universal challenge to all person, everywhere. Jesus was not giving instructions for a church to follow. I don’t believe Jesus organized a church at all. As a matter of fact, many of the accepted practices and organized ideals of the churches today are the very things that Jesus condemned in the institution of his day. Jesus organized a little band of disciples to convey his message of Truth, to carry on the teaching of people—the Truth that would make them free and to help them to find abundant life. His was not a church organization, but the organization of concepts and ideas and practices that could be used. When Jesus said, “Go ye into all the world and, preach the Gospel to the whole creation,” I believe he refers to the world within [you]. We can never be any great influence in the world without, until we have converted the world within. So, man’s first job is to discipline his own thoughts, to bring every errant thought into captivity of the Divine Process, to preach the Gospel to every cell and organ and function of his body. And, when he says, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that disbelieveth shall be condemned,” [Mark 16:16] this is more a statement of fact (“The Law of Cause and Effect”). It is not telling the saved they should condemn others, but it is simply saying that if you do not keep yourself in the Flow, you are going to experience the difficulty of being out of the Flow. If you cut off the circulation of your body, you are going to have a disruption of the system. How the idea of baptism has been labored over in Christianity! We recall that John baptized people in the River Jordan, as did some of the disciples. This was an outward symbol of a spiritual idea that Jesus simply tolerated. He said, “Suffer it to be so now.” [Matthew 3:15] But, Jesus didn’t baptize with outer symbols. The only form of baptism that Jesus used was when, as they put it, he breathed on his disciples the breath of the Holy Spirit. [John 20:22] The word, “baptism,” comes from the Greek word, “baptisma,” which is a wonderful, powerful word. And, the real meaning is “to become overwhelmed completely by an element to the point of saturation.” Jesus had in mind an immersion into a Cosmic Awareness, which Paul later realized in his words, “For in him we live, and move, and have our being.” [Acts 17:28] This is the immersion. The baptism of repentance under the remission of sins (which the church has belabored and has made an outward form) represents an inner mystery and is, in fact, a very beautiful and simple matter of thought training. The Greek word from which we receive our word “repentance” is “metanoia.” It has been interpreted to mean “an admission to God of sorrow for past sins,” but actually, this is not what it means. It has always been assumed that goodness has only to do with conduct. The whole Christian world has, in a measure, failed at this point, failed to discern that Jesus’ teaching is about Mental Laws and the true meaning of “metanoia”: just to change one’s mind, not to join a church, to change one’s mind, to alter his state of consciousness. And, when Jesus said, “he that disbelieveth shall be condemned,” he didn’t mean that we should go out criticizing or condemning people who don’t believe. He was stating a Law of Truth…simply: “As he thinketh within himself, so is he.” [Proverbs 23:7] To “believe in God” is to make contact with the Source of Life, Substance and Intelligence. It is the very key to living abundantly. To “disbelieve,” to “close the mind,” is to open the way to want, to suffering. This person, veritably, condemns himself—as a person who refuses to turn on a light switch is condemned to walk in darkness. It’s that simple. And, then we read, “And, these signs shall accompany them that believe.” And again, this is not a command of something to do, to go out and carry signs or to demonstrate all sorts of magic. It’s an indication of the Law of Cause and Effect. The person who keeps conscious contact with God, with the Divine Process, in faith, will experience great blessings. “In my name shall they cast out demons.” [Mark 16:17] The word, “demon,” refers to a multitude of inner conflicts and complexes—states of consciousness that have been developed because the creative power of man has been used in an unwise or ignorant way. There are “demons” in all of our consciousnesses, and they, usually, simply represent complexes—an inferiority complex is a demon, or a complex that we have more problems in life than we have power to deal with. In human consciousness, we become confused and filled with obsessions and mental aberrations of all kinds. But, when we lift our consciousness and work in the Divine Flow, we find that we can speak with authority and Truth, and the demon states are cast out, as the darkness is eliminated when you turn on the light. And, to “speak with tongues,” actually means to have the spiritual ability to speak in harmony and understanding with people in all different states of consciousness. Jesus had that ability to translate himself into the language of every person. And, this is one of the “signs” we carry, when we truly believe. And, oh how this thing has been taken out of context. And then we read, “They shall take up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall in no wise hurt them.” We must remember that Jesus did not hold deadly serpents in hands just to prove his power. He wouldn’t even turn stones into bread to prove his power. The “serpent” in the Scriptures always refers to “elemental life.” Jesus said, “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the son of man be lifted up.” [John 3:14] This refers to lifting up the individual above the sense consciousness, into the consciousness of his own Divine Nature. “Taking up serpents” represents lifting up sense awareness without being hurt by its reaction. It’s all symbolical language, you see. And, it says, “They shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.” Now, we must remember that all these things are the signs that accompany those who believe, who are baptized, or immersed, in Spiritual Consciousness. You are the one that the signs must accompany! You must carry the signs! You must believe! You must be immersed in Spiritual Consciousness, within yourself! And…you must go forth into your world to “preach the Gospel,” to “heal the sick,” to “cast out demons,” to “raise the dead”! The idea of “laying on hands” is a figure of speech. We often say, “He didn’t even lay a hand on me.” This isn’t necessarily talking about physical contact. It means, rather, to take the sick person into consciousness, to hold the person, as it were, in your consciousness of the All-Pervading Life and Love of God, in which there can be no imperfection. This is to “lay hands on the sick,” to take him into your consciousness. We find a vital key to all this in the final phrase of the Gospel of Mark, where it says, “And they went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word by the signs that followed.” Remember, always, in the Scriptures, the word “Lord” means “Law.” The Law worked with them—Divine Law. It’s like the law of gravity being with you wherever you go—it’s there because it is an omnipresent force. So, the Lord is with them…the Law is with them. It’s obvious, isn’t it? But, it is a good thing to remember. We forget it sometimes. The Law is always working. We do not work alone. When we are on the right side of the Law, the Law becomes our servant. In the right consciousness, speaking the positive Word of Truth, the Law works with us, and confirms the Word by the “signs” that inevitably follow—by health, by overcoming, by great demonstrations of good. And remember, the promise is that all things are possible to them that believe. [Mark 9:23] Miraculous signs always accompany the person who is in the Flow, who is in tune, who has his circuits unbroken, who has the lights turned on. And remember: It is you who carries the signs. You make the difference! © Eric Butterworth
Posted on: Mon, 24 Nov 2014 04:55:44 +0000
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