Brothers and Sisters, you who have heard and clearly received the message of the Lord’s coming in Power and Glory in the Clouds of Heaven, come! You who are stirred by a zeal to teach and to lead, come share the good news around the world. Stay not behind. Pat each other not on the back and say “Well that we have known.” I say no! Let the gospel burn inside you! Be not ashamed! Be not afraid! Be of good courage and confess the Lord before the nations! He who is ashamed will only receive shame. He who is timid will receive timidity! Fearful and doubting spirits have no part in the New Jerusalem, but are cast alive into the lake of fire. So let us encourage one another in the strength we have from the LORD!
Jesus is LORD! In their heart of hearts, all people who are willing to set aside their own selfishness know that God is One, and they will recognize Him when they see Him! If we testify with love, our testimony will be recognized. If we testify with carefulness, timidity, persuasion, or proud infatuation, our testimony will fall to the ground. If we do not share our truth, the truth will pass out of us, because we are unprofitable managers. This process may come without warning, and the result can’t be comfortable. A light under a pot will quickly go out, and food in the stomach that is not digested for the body will begin to fester and produce nausea and may be vomited up, in which case the body would have been better off if it had not eaten in the first place! But take heart: humanity has been renewed by the Divine Human God, and though it may contract sickness, it will never die. The body is hungry for the Food of Life and the Holy Spirit is feeding every human cell!
Be patient. Though many people are eating so much junk that they are not hungry for wholesome food, it is a passing condition. Though the eyes of earthlings at this time may be drawn impulsively to junk food with synthetically titillating flavors and colors, we are gradually realizing the consequences and seeking that which is wholesome. Do not be shy to offer wholesome doctrine to your neighbors. Trust that they want it! The tongue may curl in disgust at fruit when it is used to candy, and the body may chide the stomach for passing on chewed and churned meat while it’s used to milk and honey, but in the end, we will each learn what brings us health and happiness.
If the light in us is truly enLightened, we will carry ourselves Lightly. We will hold an eternal sense of Wonder. When we are crossed, we will remember the Cross (the Lord’s Life through temptation) and will not be cross. We will wait patiently. We will have unshakable peace. Though we tremble, our feet shall remain firm. When people look at us with eyebrows raised, we will laugh together with them. You will not judge anyone, except from perfect love, knowing that our perspective is as a pixel on the screen, and all we have to do is shine our light in the color and timing given. And be bright! Like, “Hey, everybody, I’m doing hot pink! Whhooeeeee! Look at me! Ahh…now I’m a dim brown! Oh, I love this brown. What a relief, I can slip into the background!” Why bother analyzing so heavily what we do? Why consider whether to shine or not based on who might be watching? Life is not our own, but flows in from the Lord, and in His grace, we get to experience it as though it were our own.
How do we share something so Holy and close to our hearts as the Heavenly Doctrine with people who don’t seem to be receptive? Is it easy to be light-hearted when every time you breach the subject of religion and faith with your neighbor, you are met, at best, with only polite interest? Does it not bring heaviness and despondency to continually try to share and continually be mocked, corrected, or even admonished for your beliefs? No! Look at Joseph or Job or Paul. They never lost faith in the Lord through persecution! And yet the Gospel cannot be forced, so if you’ve shared with your neighbor next door, and he said, “Not interested,” all you can do is shake any dust of judgment for him or yourself off your feet, and let your peace return back to you and share again with someone new as the Lord leads. It may be that your whole town, or even your whole country, is not interested in your message. In that case, you must find a new country! It is not healthy to stay in a place where your gifts are not received, where your message is not heard. And it is not good to share the Good News with your family only, or with those who have already accepted. We must be willing to stretch, to reach out unconditionally, gathering wisdom as we go.
This is possible, for so the Lord has commanded us.
Don’t know about you, but I’m naturally introverted. Don’t know the psychology of how such modes of being begin, but when I’m alone with the Lord, I feel free and connected and get recharged. Then I can be with other people and my charge carries me through. Not to say I don’t also get a charge from being with other people, but it is a charge that comes with fatigue, and so I need to seek alone time again. Some people are naturally extroverted. When they are with other people they get charged up, and that charge carries them through alone times; and though they get perspective when they’re alone, they are very quickly ready to be with people again.
How does this relate to the gospel? If you are naturally introverted when it comes to reading and living the Word, you may have to compel yourself more fiercely than others to find a way to reach out and share beyond yourself and those very close to you who will nod and affirm you, you may have to go much farther to leave father and mother and house and lands – all your selfish comforts and pursuits – that are hindering you from the reward of truly and powerfully touching your neighbor. I testify that the reward in committing to stretch is great, so I’m asking that you take an honest inventory of yourself, of your church, and ask, “What would it take for me to become outwardly focused in my study of the Word? What would it take for my society to become an integrated member of the church mother, the communion of saints throughout the world?” On the other hand, if you are already naturally integrated with those around you, it might take some disintegration before you can become spiritually integrated.
Speaking of integration, let me highlight for a moment the United States of America. America was established before the Last Judgment1 by people who wanted to escape the religious oppression of Europe, who wanted to find new opportunity to prosper, and new land to explore and own. Though its inception may have been largely self-centered, much good has come out of the men and women who established this nation state. America has been a shining light for civil and moral freedom throughout the world, welcoming people from all walks of life, and has therefore been a haven for spiritual freedom to find expression, and worldly power and wealth to increase and multiply. The American dream has been to have one’s own safe and happy home, led according to one’s own desire; and for that, Americans have worked hard, and most of the world is following this dream in some manner. Along with the American focus on individual freedom and pursuit of happiness, the Christian church in America has developed a vast variety of denominations which have developed many styles of worship, and these denominations and their various ways have spread abroad. Surely the Lord has blessed America for its love of natural justice and freedom as a basis of spiritual freedom. Although not proud, I’m happy to be an American!
Now let me highlight Africa. Africa is a New World of energy for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Though there has been much darkness manifesting itself since the arrival of Europeans, we know that Light has conquered and is reclaiming and restoring His territory. Today, with tribalism, crime, poverty, and disease being addressed like never before, and new communication technology available, Africa is in a transitional phase of coming into the power to show forth God’s glory in a way that will inspire the whole world to look up to the clouds of heaven. The recent external developments toward peace and stability are flowing from the internal transformation being effected by the Lord’s divine mercy. As Africa is grounding in its heart the Heavenly Gospel, the spirit of covetous clinging to some European or American denomination for material support is being broken, and with it the false doctrines that have clung and persecuted Africans (and indeed all of us) in different ways since the Last Judgment and the subjugation of the dragon of faith alone.
It is the African race that has maintained the worship of one God, and so they must be leaders in crowning the Lord Jesus Christ. In Providence, the introduction of nation states and denominational zeal from America and Europe has helped to displace selfishness and the negative elements of tribalism. Rather than bickering only over land and resources, tribes began bickering over what is good and true, and nation states about what is just and fair! And now, in the growing presence of the Holy Spirit, it is becoming increasingly difficult in Africa to preach as “The Truth” some path or way of being besides Jesus Christ. Corruption of all kinds is being challenged as new initiatives for peaceful and prosperous society are taking root. Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and Africans know that we will all find our places in heaven according to how we love and obey Him. As they are learning to love and appreciate each other’s life of faith and perspective in the Word, they also are learning to honor the diversity and special contributions of their many tribes, and so, peace is imminent. In Africa, anyone who denies Jesus is not inwardly respected; and today, more than ever, they are eager for His coming.
SO, if anyone who has found the Treasure hidden in the Field, and bought It, and has a desire to invest in the Kingdom of Heaven, Wow, Wow, Wow! There is good ground around for planting. If you have been receiving the Lord in His second coming, and you are being born again in the rational degree of spiritual life with a deep love for the Word written through Emanuel Swedenborg, raise your eyes and look for a good spot to garden or feed hungry flocks with the abundance of seed and food that Jesus Christ the Lord is pouring into your bosom! The more you sow the good field and feed the lambs, the more you’ll receive! Go forth! In Africa I have witnessed pure gold lying on some mountain slopes and collecting in the valleys! But beware, my brother, and take heed, my sister, it’s not there for the taking. It belongs to the inhabitants.