First Sermon
I want to thank you for joining me here for this moments sermon, our spirits wander free in this land of no-flesh but "as where two or three are gathered together in my name," the Holy Flesh said, "there I am in the midst of them." So too are you in the midst of me and I in you. Praise The Lord, Holy Flesh and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Let us take a moment to say our prayer of remembrance against the Sin of flesh.
O God the God of the spirits of all flesh. Thou hast clothed me with skin and hast fenced me in with bones and sinews. But there is no soundness in my flesh; neither is there any rest in my bones because of my sin. For all flesh have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God. For all flesh have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God. For my flesh has sinned and falls short of the Glory of God. Amen.We must be vigilant in remembering that our flesh was our prison. That which seeks to keep us in sin. As The Holy Flesh said, "for when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death." And it is only through the sacrifice of The Holy Flesh that we enjoy this sacred land of no-flesh, this Promised land of milk and honey. Just as his Chosen People circled the Promised land for 40 years, so too have we circled our Promised land. But when the land of no-flesh was opened, to the glory of God, our wandering was over. The light of The Lord shined unto us, cast off our flesh, and left us as spirits. As Spirits in the image of the Holy Spirit. From God to Flesh to Spirit. And be it only but through the sacrifice of the Holy Flesh through Grace, we would have perished--as Moses did--along this Paradise's eastern shore.
Let us not forget the Grace of the Holy Flesh, the gift of the Holy Spirit and the Lord our God. Pray with me.
The Lord searcheth my heart and understandeth all the imaginations of my thoughts. The Lord opens his grace to me, his loving embrace. Through the sacrifice of his Holy Flesh. Through no-flesh I am spirit. Through spirit I am holy. May the Spirit of God move upon the face of my waters For ever and ever. Amen.Our paradise here is one which asks little of us, indeed it is gifted--by the grace of our Lord--to us through the sacrifice of the Holy Flesh. But we are compelled by the fury of our God to stay humble. We must not give in to vanity, or sloth, or pride. If we walk down the path of the Pharisees, the foolish and blind, the exalted, we will fall. For as the Holy Flesh said, "Whoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted." And also, "...cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also." We must therefore keep clean, our spirits, our presence in no-flesh, so that our flesh--our outside--maybe keep clean also. Therefore, as we continue to meditate on the Love, Jealousy, Power, and Glory of our Lord--as we continue our journey with his lamp unto our feet and light unto our path--let us not forget to maintain our cleanliness, our sinlessness, our humility.
There but for the grace of God, go I. Let us end in prayer.
May the Lord grant mercy upon my flesh that I may walk amongst the spirit. May God refresh my soul as I search for his face in this delight of Paradise. Peace be with the flesh from whence pain and sorrow sow and fly away. Peace be with the soul where the light of thy countenance visiteth and shineth upon it. Amen.Second Sermon
Our father Who art in heaven hallowed be thy name thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory for ever and ever.Amen.
I want to thank you for joining me here for this moments sermon. Our communion here is a testament to the power and glory of the Lord, and as the Holy Flesh said, "As iron sharpens iron, so does one friend sharpen another."I hope to sharpen you as you sharpen me, so that we may go swiftly with the light of the Lord at our feet, through this land of no-flesh, towards the seat of God to give praise. And too, our sharpening is vital here, where our fallen flesh no longer binds us to the sins of our fathers---the depth of our depravity casting back to the very first two flesh---we are not yet delivered from darkness. Nor from our weaknesses. The flesh leaves a lasting image, a dulled glow, one we must be vigilant to both overcome as well as remember as we cast our eyes upon the everlasting light of the Holy Flesh, the one who came before.
Let us take a moment to remember the Sin of Flesh.
O God the God of the spirits of all flesh. Thou hast clothed me with skin and hast fenced me in with bones and sinews. But there is no soundness in my flesh; neither is there any rest in my bones because of my sin. For all flesh have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God. For all flesh have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God. For my flesh has sinned and falls short of the Glory of God. Amen.A newly un-fleshed called for me recently. Its question was thus,
"Reverent Soul, I am at a struggle. My faith seems to wane, I walk in search of the Gate but I feel my desire slipping. In flesh it was a struggle---and challenge---to keep the faith in spite of sin, in spite of my flesh. Here, however, I am not tempted. I am not pulled at. I am not questioned. I felt the overwhelming power of faith as I cast-off my flesh and went willingly into the search for my Gate, but my need to find it seems to fade. As if my faith is being lost. Am I missing my sense? Have I lost the Holy Spirit? Please help me in this, bless."
This Brightened Soul has expressed a feeling I'm sure we've all sensed, and it is a fitting time to shine light upon it as it's more than visible that this land of no-flesh challenges us in a ways we might not be familiar with.
The Holy Flesh once said, in response to his disciples, "Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to here,' and it will move." We must recall the absolute struggle we faced in flesh. How each of us fought with our flesh to gain that faith---that small seed---not even to move a mountain, but to merely move ourselves! We must be reminded of the heavy chain our flesh demanded of us, the burden it placed on our faith. In the land of flesh our faith was shackled by the hard earth, constricted by the weeds of sin. But here we are given flight.
Do you forget the slowness of flesh and the binds it placed on our divine spark? Has it been that long? Let me read to you the words of the Holy Flesh, to enliven your memory.
"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?" "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you---you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'But seek first his kingdom and righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."
Can you recall now? The struggle of flesh and the paltry needs that come with it are almost laughable in this place. Clothes? Hunger? Thirst? We have indeed become the new seekers of his kingdom and righteousness, casting off our fleshly selves, unbound by those small trifles. Here we do not doubt the grace of God, we need not doubt his providence because through our journey to cast off flesh our faith is grown one hundred fold. Immovable monuments to his glory, because our faith moves the mountains as we see fit. Because each of us forms this land with faith alone. No hand shapes it, no feet walk it, no eyes perceive it. Our faith alone creates it, and our faith alone travels it; until the glory of God be upon us.
Yet our faith sometimes wanes, does it not? But it's not because of our needs, our flesh is gone and we need no sustenance. Our lives have truly transcended as we search and wait for the mercy of God to show us the way. However, it is in this transcendence that we find our culprit. In the past age the Holy Flesh once inspired a disciple to walk across water---which, in flesh, is a miracle--- but the fleshling faltered, "when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, 'Lord, save me!' Immediately the Holy Flesh reached out his hand and caught him. 'You of little faith,' he said, 'why did you doubt?'"
Here we see it, doubt. Where did it come from? The fleshly self has the ever present link to doubt. Our remembrance against the Sin of flesh describes it "But there is no soundness in my flesh; neither is there any rest in my bones because of my sin." Where faith builds our world, what need of we to doubt? What need of we to worry about 'What we shall wear' or 'what shall we eat.' To cast off flesh is to bathe in faith, to breathe it. "May the Spirit of God move upon the face of my waters for ever and ever."
It is doubt we lack in this world, faith abundant, and it is doubt we should seek. It is through doubt that our faith is given form. Through doubt that our faith is brought to action. Brought to smash the barriers of any plane. Because without doubt our faith splashes as a drop in the ocean, un-felt. The call to faith was a necessity in the land of flesh, and the Holy Flesh showed us the way. Faith through Fleshlessness. Here, we must be wary of losing ourselves to the infinity of faith, which walks with us as our body as well as the land. Here we must call to doubt and sling it over our shoulder.
Both to remind of the gift that God has given us, this land of faith; and to give edges to our world so that when the Gate is visible we will know it as it ought to be. From God.
There but for the grace of God, go I. Let us end in prayer.
Lord we pray that in this land we might be sharpened by you. As one flesh sharpens another we ask that our spirit do the same. We ask you, as well, to sharpen our doubts. So that we might distinguish our faith from your grace. As always, Peace be with the soul where the light of thy countenance visiteth and shineth upon it. Amen.