(Back) The Fourteenth Chapter of John The Sixteenth Chapter of John (Next)
This is a series of lectures given by Mr. Edward Rabel, member of the faculty of S.M.R.S.
Winter semester 1976 - 2nd. Yr. Class. Lecture given on June 4, 1976
15:12This is my commandment, that ye love one another, even as I have loved you. 15:13Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.15:14Ye are my friends, if ye do the things which I command you. 15:15No longer do I call you servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I heard from my Father, I have made known unto you. 15:16Ye did not choose me, but I chose you, and appointed you, that ye should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should abide: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. 15:17These things I command you, that ye may love one another.
We have a couple more excerpts that I have chosen from the discourse. In Chapter 15, verses 17 and 18, He says, "Whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father through my name, He may give it you." This statement by Jesus is a little bit misleading if you do not approach it from metaphysical understanding. It sounds as though He is saying that any object, anything that you want or need, you will get if you ask for it in the name of Jesus Christ. It is not quite that cut and dried, folks, because actually the Father does not give you anything. If though Jesus says this, remember that the only thing we can ask of the Father are things of the Spirit, not objects of materiality.
Let's say that you need a dwelling place. Now, you will pray for the right housing, and you will get it; but it is not that God will give you a house or an apartment. God will give you that which you willed to produce your house or apartment. God will respond to your asking by a quickening of your awareness of your connection with certain good: divine ideas. Divine ideas, then, are transformed into guidance, inspiration, vibration, into anything you will need; but you and your environment will determine the finalized product.
Q. Is that the same thing as whatever we give our attention to, we put into our consciousness and we draw that to us?
A. Anything you give your attention to does not immediately become a creative part of your consciousness. What you then have established is a connection with the thing. Then you must go on from there. You see, all things you give your attention to enter into your awareness, your field of awareness, but not necessarily into your reproductive consciousness. In other words, you can be aware of a murder going on, if you are a witness to it; but it is only then a part of your field of an awareness. It does not become a part of what you will claim to be "my consciousness". It is just like you go on hospital visitation. Sick people, pain, and dying will only be in your field of awareness. It need not go any further than that. It need not then become a part of "me", "I AM". There is the fine line of distinction. Nothing that you come in contact with can hurt you or defile you, no matter how negative, how false, how untrue it is. Merely by coming in contact with it will not defile you, you see; this is why you do not have to worry about what you see or what you hear, but what you do about what you come in contact with is the point. Do you then identify with it or allow it entry into your consciousness as a part of "I AM", of your belief of "I AM", or do you keep it distant and remain objective toward it? Then it cannot defile you, but that is for bad things. The things that you want to not only have come into your field of awareness but immediately enter into your "I AM" consciousness are divine ideas. Remember that we need to reconnect ourselves with divine ideas constantly. There is no such thing as "I have it made". There must be a constant re-commitment.
The Father does not give things per se. The Father responds to our asking by imparting more of His qualities into us that result in our connection and acceptance of His divine ideas. Then these will take myriad channels or modes of expression to finalize at what we call the right answer, the desired blessing; and to ask in the name of Jesus Christ is to ask with understanding of what I have just said. Jesus was the supreme master of understanding connection with divine ideas, the source of which is the Father within. You see how Jesus was such a master that he could telescope even the time element into instantaneousness. I wish we could all do that, but we cannot. We have not yet learned how, but we are learning; we still have to cope with the time factor and with necessary limitations at this point, but we are growing. We are hastening the day.
Another meaning of asking in the name of Jesus Christ would be to align yourself with the givingness part of God's nature. Remember that God is givingness itself, or let us say that givingness itself is one of the divine ideas in God-Mind. It is a beautiful idea, givingness. It even sounds nice. Do not worry so much about the object of your givingness. It is the givingness itself which is the divine idea, just as devotion itself is a soul enabler.
Q. I was just thinking that whatever you ask in the name of Jesus Christ has to be because you are operating under the higher of giving and receiving, and the law works.
A. Yes, you are right.
Text of the original transcript at the 3rd paragraph of p.295 through the 4th paragraph of p.296.
Transcribed by Margaret Garvin on 04-14-2014
