We come into one accord, and this Spirit that is God — that we call the Holy Spirit (because it’s the whole Spirit) — touches to us and we feel it. We know it and we’re convicted in it. – John-Roger
This article by John-Roger was originally published in the Movement Newspaper, 1990.
I was charged with Spirit many years ago. I don’t remember the exact words or instance, but I’ll give you the idea. It was, “We want you to deliver the message of the Spirit–how people can move and live in the Spirit. You’re going to have some difficulties. First, the subject is invisible. People won’t be able to see what you’re talking about. They won’t understand it, and they may not even hear it. They might sense it, but everything you say about it won’t be what it is. So no matter what you say, you’re going to lie. But we want you to take this job anyway.”
From 1957 until 1963, I said no to doing this when it was presented to me. Finally, in December 1963, I went into the hospital to have a kidney stone removed. While I was put out for the operation, I was presented to the Lord. When you’re in that presence, the slightest wish of the Lord Jesus Christ becomes your perfect commandment. He said to me, “The way you’re doing it now, it won’t work. We’re going to give you a high consciousness that will come in and live with you, and one day you will be that, or you will be dead.” It was “an offer I couldn’t refuse,” so I accepted, and the consciousness that called itself John the Beloved came in to help with this work.
It took me a long time–at least two years–to get used to this, and I remember asking, “How will I prove this to people?”
And the John voice inside said, “You don’t know how. You will not be able to do it. But when you speak, the Holy Spirit will speak through us. You don’t have to teach people anything. The Holy Spirit will convict them in their spirit of the truth. And when their spirit opens, I will fill them with my beingness. And I want you to see people.”
I said, “Okay,” and, folks, that’s why we’re here tonight.
From 1963 to 1990, I’ve told you to listen carefully to what I say. Do not believe it. Check it out for yourself. Maybe this path of Soul transcendence is not for you. There may be many other paths that you have to undergo. We have many strange karmas to fulfill. The Spirit moves people in and out of this Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness. That’s why when new people come in, I say, “Hello.” When people leave, I say, “Good-bye.” It’s equally the same. It makes no difference to me who’s here and who’s not here. Personally, do you know what’s important to me? That the Holy Spirit is here. And if it leaves, I stop talking. I get up and walk out. It’s over. And I also know that when it comes in, it moves on the group. Then there’s no more for me to say, so I shut up and walk out–because the Holy Spirit will teach you what I know nothing about, and it teaches your heart.
While I’m here physically and you’re here physically, those physical things are points of Spirit. We come into One Accord, and this Spirit that is God, that we call the Holy Spirit (because it’s the whole Spirit), touches to us and we feel it. We know it and we’re convicted in it. And when we’re not following the path of rightfulness, it convicts us of our “sins.” It points out our errors. But do you know what it does not do? It does not punish you, because it loves you. And it says, “Here’s another opportunity.”
Why on earth do you think we’re allowed so many mistakes? Because God loves us. Why did you allow your children so many mistakes? Because you knew they had to make them. Why did you show them how to do it better? Because you knew how to correct their mistakes so they didn’t have to do them over and over. If you do that to your children, then would not God do that to us? He does do it to us. We’re allowed the choices of mistakes until hell won’t have it, and since hell won’t have it, heaven will. And what we start here, going toward perfection, the Holy Spirit will finish with us in the Spirit world.
We’re so blessed. In the Spirit world, there’s such joy that when I’m talking, it just busts through. I can’t stop it. And when I’m laughing with you, I’m also laughing at me. It’s like I’m standing over there and looking back at “me,” and I say, “He’s funny. This guy’s got some great timing.” Then when I try to do that myself, when I’m not working with a full Spirit, what a bomb. I’ve had to tell people, “That was a joke,” because there’s no way they could tell otherwise.
Yet there are people out there who say we’re a cult, we’re terrible, we’re evil, we’re false (all the things they are). Thank God they’re picking on us, because with God on our side, who do we care is against us? But more important, if you’re on God’s side, what do you care about others? You care everything. And even those who would curse us today may show up a year or two from now and say, “I lied. I was hurt. I made things up that weren’t true.” When they do all of that, do you know what they’ll hear from me? They won’t hear, “Go to hell.” They’ll hear, “Forget it. Come on. There’s a place for you. Can you be as good for us as you’ve been against us? Can you put your talents to spiritual use instead of to evil use? Can you speak the truth as sincerely as you spoke the lie? And welcome home, prodigal son.”
Would we not want God to say this to all of us? Therefore, we say that to everyone. But what do we do in the meantime while they’re doing evil things? Just what the father did with his other son who stayed home. They took care of their business, and they let the one son go out and do all of the bad he wanted to do. And one day while eating of the worst there was, he said, “In my father’s house, the lowest servant has it much better than I have. Oh, my God.” And he turned into the Spirit. As that son was returning home, the father saw him coming and sent out his other son (whom we now know as portraying Jesus Christ), who said to his brother, “Come on. Dad’s waiting.” The father said, “Kill the best calf. Prepare the best oils and clothing, because he was lost and now he’s home. All is forgiven.” And that’s the way the Spirit works.
It’s a challenge for us to do that here because there’s so many who say, “I know the truth. I am the way.” But let me tell you: the truth is the way–not somebody’s experience, not somebody’s hurt feelings, not somebody’s joy, not somebody’s witness to the Spirit. Those are not the ways. It’s when you open inside, to the Lord of your heart, to the Beloved. Then you’re in the way of truth. That’s a sure path, and you’re going to see a lot of us on it.
To stay on that path, we need to keep choosing the Lord’s way over and over, if not a hundred times a day, at least every day. Every day, you must stand up inside, point your heart towards the Lord, and keep your eyes there. If you keep your eyes on me, physically, that’s not right. That’s a wrong thing to do. We can love and respect each other physically; that’s good to do. And if someone would speak against you in my presence, my answer is what Jesus said to Peter: “Get behind me, Satan.” That person is not going to turn my mind from love to listen to what they think is so, because that can’t last.
Spiritual warriors are trained in the heat of adversity. You are also tempered by the Spirit of God. So once you come through the adversity, instead of you hitting at the adversary, a sweetness comes inside of you because you know they failed. You also know that part of their failure affects you and that you could rightfully turn and hit them and be karmically free. But when you turn and, instead, offer them the hand of peace, the karma that you could have used freely is counted to you as righteousness. In that moment, God occupies more of you, and you start to feel the godliness of that nature. Then it isn’t long until you start to behold God in all things. Do not forget to look in the mirror, too, because you want to see it in you as well. If someone won’t see it, find somebody else who is acting God-like and use that person as your guiding model. Also know full well that they probably can get bad breath, so don’t look for the perfection in them physically.
We have a wonderful teaching from the Spirit. This isn’t the teaching of John-Roger; I wish I could say it is, but it isn’t. I only say, “Thank God I’m part of it.” We have teachings that go out in front of every one of us as the guiding light to go for, something that shows us that we’re heading in the right direction. I’m still reaching for the very teachings that I tell to people. (Don’t let that surprise you; I said these are not my teachings.) I’m still teaching what I need to learn and know. When you see me fall short, just pick me up and point to the teaching because I’m heading in that direction.
That’s my love for everyone, that I keep heading in that direction. If you’re heading for the direction of love and God, you may not even be behind me. You may find yourself in front of me, and I’m following you. But if you turn around, I’ll bump into you, because I’m not watching you;’ I’m watching for God. And when you’re behind me, if you stray, I don’t look back because if I look back, I might turn into the darkness, also. I’m not going to do that. That’s my love for you.
I’ve got people around me now who love me so much that they show me the straight and narrow, and I’ve got people who are adversaries to me and who, God bless them, push me onto the straight and narrow. (They’re going to ensure my salvation, because I won’t want to live with them.)
There’s only one way out and that’s into God. It’s going to be fun though, because when they get to the rope to climb up, I’m going to be holding the other end, and we’re going to have a lot of fun because I may pull the rope up and down–just enough. But where I might have to climb up hand-over-hand, I wouldn’t accept that others would do it the same way. So we throw down the rope and have you tie it around your waist, and you’re hauled up. And if you want to help pull, that’s just fine. That’s called initiations in the Sound Current. That’s called the Light of God. That’s called who you really are. If nothing else, welcome to yourself.
Baruch Bashan.
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