Unity Church of Castro Valley
Sunday Message for February 24, 2008
The Bible
Today we are going to talk about The Bible, since we are a Bible based church. And if you like to study the Bible, I teach a class on Tuesdays at 12:30pm at the San Leandro Unity Church. We are going through the Bible from beginning to end and I teach a chapter a week. Just to give you an over-view of the Bible, I'll give you the Bible in 50 words:
God made,
Adam bit,
Noah arked,
Abraham split,
Joseph ruled,
Jacob fooled,
bush talked,
Moses balked,
Pharaoh plagued,
people walked,
sea divided,
tablets guided,
promise landed,
Saul freaked,
David peeked,
prophets warned,
Jesus born,
God walked,
love talked,
anger crucified,
hope died,
Love rose,
Spirit flamed,
Word spread,
God remained.
There's the Bible. Cute, huh? But the sad thing is - most people read the Bible at this level. They don't take the time to look deeper into the many levels of meanings in these wonderful stories. And very few churches teach the Bible's meaning and how to get to the deeper meanings.
In the days when the Bible was created it was assumed that everyone knew the names and places were not just words - but had meaning. Adam represents the generic man, or the whole human race. Noah signifies the strength of youth and rest. Abraham was told that he was to be the father of a multitude. This means that one is to express faith.
The Bible is a wonderful piece of literature and can be appreciated as that. There are also many wonderful historical references for history buffs. The Bible contains drama, murder, romance, war, and humor. All of that is there, and it can be read for the wonderful stories.
But, the Bible has so many levels of meaning. There is the obvious moral to most stories, but when studied, you will find many lessons in each story. Then if you look further you will find deeper spiritual meaning to the stories. AND, if you take the time to meditate on the story you will find even deeper meaning for you in your life now. AND because these stories are created to span the ages - as you grow spiritually you will find that you can go back to the stories and glean new meaning out of them.
Or, you can read the Bible in 50 words.
JABEZ
A good example of getting message after message from a story is the story of Jabez. The whole story is told in two verses. How much meaning could that have? And yet, there have been books written on those two verses.
It says in (1 Chronicles 4:9-10) "Jabez was honored more than his brothers; and his mother named him Jabez, saying, "Because I bore him in pain."
Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, "Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my border, and that your hand might be with me, and that you would keep me from hurt and harm!"
And God granted what he asked."
So how much meaning could there be in two verses? Well Bruce Wilkinson wrote a 100 page book that was the #1 New York Times bestseller about these two verses. And we did a seven week study in this church on these two verses. The people who really studied and meditated on what was being presented about Jabez are still seeing results in their lives.
One of the lessons in these two verses is that Jabez said, "Oh that you would bless me, indeed." We often pray for others, but we need to learn to pray for ourselves first. Until we are blessed abundantly how will we ever believe that ours is a God of miracles and new beginnings?
This one line is asking God to do for us more than we could ever do for ourselves. It says in (Proverbs 10:22) "The blessing of the Lord makes rich, and he adds no sorrow with it."
Then Jabez said, ""Oh that you would enlarge my border." Jabez was born and given the name "pain." But Jabez thought that surely a loving God brought him into this world for more than pain. So he asked God to take everything that was under his care and enlarge it.
We can ask God to expand our opportunities and our impact in such a way that we touch more lives for good. We can ask God to challenge us and to help us grow. Now this might be scary but God knows how to do bigger things with our lives. It says in (Zechariah 4:6) "Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord of hosts."
Which leads us to the next phrase, "Oh that your hand might be with me," When we ask for more in our lives we are likely to get it and it may feel overwhelming. We need to know that God is ready to step in when we are standing on that ledge ready to take flight. Taking flight will teach us to become dependent on the strong hand of God.
Paul knew this when he said in (2 Corinthians 3:5) "Not that we are competent of ourselves to claim anything as coming from us; our competence is from God,"
So you can see that when we look for the deeper meaning in the Bible we will find it. Is it any wonder that people spend their whole lives just studying this book?
When you open yourselves to it and take the time to meditate on these wonderful stories, you will be more than rewarded. The Bible will give you insight into your own life and your own spiritual growth.
TOWER OF BABEL
Or you can look at the story of the Tower of Babel:
(Genesis 11:1-9)
Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. And as they migrated from the east, they came upon a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there.
And they said to one another, "Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly." And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves; otherwise we shall be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth."
The Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which mortals had built. And the Lord said, "Look, they are one people, and they have all one language; and this is only the beginning of what they will do; nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. Come, let us go down, and confuse their language there, so that they will not understand one another's speech."
So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. Therefore it was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth."
It's a funny little allegory and it may not be immediately apparent what the point of it is. God doesn't want us to all speak the same language? Maybe God doesn't like tall buildings?
This is a story about the descendants of Noah. They became very ambitious and built a city and then began to build a tower that they hoped would reach to heaven.
But we can't reach heaven on the physical plane. It is like trying to find God through our intellect instead of through our heart.
Their idea was a material one. They built with bricks and mortar which are symbols of the material. Therefore their project was doomed to failure. We don't reach heaven by material means, no matter how clever we are.
There is a connection between heaven and earth. The ladder that Jacob saw symbolizes the relation between the inner spiritual realm and the outer plane of manifestation.
The Tower of Babel, however, is symbolic of man's effort to work without God. The name Babel, itself, means "confusion." It "represents the mental chaos that is the result of thinking from a wholly material standpoint." Mysteries of Genesis
The Lord (or the law) confused the speech of the people so that they no longer understood one another. He scattered them abroad on the face of the earth.
Men fight because they do not understand one another, they have diverse interests, and each pursues his own selfish ends. The Tower of Babel stands for self-service. But Jesus told us, (Matthew 20:28) "The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve."
Self-service leads to confusion and the scattering of our forces. Service to God and to others enables us to speak in the tongue all know as their own. The apostles did this after being given power from on high at Pentecost. And everyone, no matter what their language, understood them.
FILLMORE'S INSIGHTS
Fillmore writes that, "Unity claims that the Bible teaches evolution." It is the evolution of our spiritual side which was demonstrated by Jesus. The evolution of Jesus was a combination of mind and body unfoldment. Those who read between the lines have discovered that the Bible veils evolution in rites, ceremonies, and acts of personalities.
And of course, the Bible tells us about man's beliefs of who God is. Not only our Bible, but the scriptures of all peoples, show the existence of an invisible force moving men and nature in their activities.
Our Bible plainly teaches that God implanted in man His perfect image and likeness and gave us executive ability to carry out all His creative plans. The Bible is an account of man growing in spiritual understanding so that he can cooperate with the God principle in creation.
When you read the Bible you will also discover states of consciousness that are out of harmony with the God principle and how they can't last. They are to show us how to adjust our thoughts to that of God's.
The fact is that the entire theme of the Bible is man and his various states of mind, represented as persons, tents, tabernacles, and temples. It says in (Exodus 25:8) "Have them make me a sanctuary, so that I may dwell among them." This is the I AM, the Christ, or the supermind. And where else would this be than within our own mind and body. That is the sanctuary for God.
A great deal is said in the Bible about man's body. In fact, the Bible is a mystical record of the various bodies in which the souls of men have lived. Bodies show the different states of mind of those who inhabit them. This goes all the way from the Adam consciousness and environment up to the Christ body and its freedom from environment. We might say that the Bible is the allegorical record of man under many aliases, in many bodies.
The resurrection of the body is the major theme of the New Testament and in fact the all-embracing yet veiled subject of the entire Bible. Many scriptures from the Bible illustrate what our body potential is and how it should be controlled and governed so as to gain the greatest amount of harmony in life.
As we are threefold beings, spirit, soul, and body, so the Bible is a trinity in unity. It is body as a book of history; soul as a teacher of morals; and spirit as a teacher of the mysteries of being. Some of these are obvious as you read through the Bible, but some take a bit of work. Usually you will have to meditate on the passages that you have read to see the mysteries of being that are hidden there and that relate to you in your life now.
The Bible is a very wonderful book; as we develop in spiritual understanding it reveals itself to us, and we see why it has been reverenced and called holy by people. It is an explanation of mental laws, and it is also a clarification of the true physiological state of the body. It shows us that we are mind in action, rather than purely material functions.
But above all, the Bible explains our spiritual character and the laws governing our relation to God. These are symbolically set forth as states of consciousness, illustrated by parables and allegories. Jesus' life was a allegory of the experiences that we pass through in developing from natural to spiritual consciousness. The Bible and the prophets can be understood only by those who arrive at that place in consciousness where the writers were when they wrote the messages. It requires the same inspiration to read the Scriptures with understanding that it required originally to receive and write them.
So don't overlook the Bible as reading material. Probably the best version to read and understand is the New Revised Version of the Bible. I believe we have some in our bookstore.
If you take the time to read, meditate, and understand the Bible you will grow in your connection to God. You will become the spiritual being that God intended you to be. And you will live a happier and more fulfilling life.
SCRIPTURE: 1 Chronicles 4:9-10; Genesis 11:1-9; Matthew 20:28; Proverbs 10:22; Zechariah 4:6; 2 Corinthians 3:5; Exodus 25:8
REFERENCE: Metaphysical Bible Dictionary Charles Fillmore; Mysteries of Genesis Charles Billmore; Let There Be Light Elizabeth Sand Turner; The Prayer of Jabez Bruce Wilkinson; Teach Us To Pray Bharles & Cora Fillmore; Atom-Smashing Power of Mind Charles Fillmore; Mysteries of Genesis Charles Fillmore; Christian Healing Charles Fillmore
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Last updated
February 25, 2008
