Sunday  May 27, 2012

SUBJECT — ANCIENT AND MODERN NECROMANCY,

ALIAS MESMERISM AND HYPNOTISM,

DENOUNCED

GOLDEN TEXT:  II CORINTHIANS 4 : 6 (God, who)

“God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts,

to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

 

Responsive Reading: Hebrews 2 : 1 (we) (to ,), 2 (to ,), 3 (to 1st ;)

                                     Hebrews 4 : 12 (to 2nd ,), 12 (and is), 13, 16

1. We ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard.

2. For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast,

3. How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation.

12. For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

13. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in His sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.

16. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

 

 

LESSON SERMON

The Bible

1.  Isaiah 40 : 5 (the glory)

⁵ The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.

2.  Proverbs 28 : 12, 13

¹² When righteous men do rejoice, there is great glory: but when the wicked rise, a man is hidden.

¹³ He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.

3.  Jeremiah 23 : 23, 24

²³ Am I a God at hand, saith the Lord, and not a God afar off?

²⁴ Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the Lord. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord.

4.  Deuteronomy 29 : 29

²⁹ The secret things belong unto the Lord our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.

5.  Deuteronomy 30 : 9 (to 1st ,), 10 (to 1st ,), 11, 14, 17, 18 (ye shall not) (to ,), 19, 20 (to 2nd :)

⁹ And the Lord thy God will make thee plenteous in every work of thine hand,

¹⁰ If thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God.

¹¹ For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off.

¹⁴ But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it.

¹⁷ But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them;

¹⁸ Ye shall not prolong your days upon the land.

¹⁹ I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:

²⁰ That thou mayest love the Lord thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days.

6.  Matthew 24 : 1 (to :), 4 (and said), 5, 11-14 (to ;), 42, 43

¹ And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple:

⁴ And said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.

⁵ For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.

¹¹ And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.

¹² And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.

¹³ But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

¹⁴ And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations;

⁴² Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.

⁴³ But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.

7.  Matthew 25 : 1-13

¹ Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.

² And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.

³ They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:

⁴ But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.

⁵ While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.

⁶ And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.

⁷ Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.

⁸ And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.

⁹ But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.

¹⁰ And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.

¹¹ Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.

¹² But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.

¹³ Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.

8.  Luke 12 : 1-3

¹ In the mean time, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon another, he began to say unto his disciples first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.

² For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known.

³ Therefore whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops.

9.  Colossians 4 : 2, 17 (Take)

² Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving.

¹⁷ Take heed to the ministry which thou hast received in the Lord, that thou fulfil it.

10. II Corinthians 4 : 1-5

¹ Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not;

² But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.

³ But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:

⁴ In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

⁵ For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake.

 

Science and Health

1.  200 : 16-19

The great truth in the Science of being, that the real man was, is, and ever shall be perfect, is incontrovertible; for if man is the image, reflection, of God, he is neither inverted nor subverted, but upright and Godlike.

2.  104 : 13-22

Christian Science goes to the bottom of mental action, and reveals the theodicy which indicates the rightness of all divine action, as the emanation of divine Mind, and the consequent wrongness of the opposite so-called action, — evil, occultism, necromancy, mesmerism, animal magnetism, hypnotism.

The medicine of Science is divine Mind; and dishonesty, sensuality, falsehood, revenge, malice, are animal propensities and by no means the mental qualities which heal the sick.

3.  103 : 12 (Mind-science)-15

Mind-science is wholly separate from any half-way impertinent knowledge, because Mind-science is of God and demonstrates the divine Principle, working out the purposes of good only.

4.  570 : 26-21

When God heals the sick or the sinning, they should know the great benefit which Mind has wrought. They should also know the great delusion of mortal mind, when it makes them sick or sinful. Many are willing to open the eyes of the people to the power of good resident in divine Mind, but they are not so willing to point out the evil in human thought, and expose evil’s hidden mental ways of accomplishing iniquity.

Why this backwardness, since exposure is necessary to ensure the avoidance of the evil? Because people like you better when you tell them their virtues than when you tell them their vices. It requires the spirit of our blessed Master to tell a man his faults, and so risk human displeasure for the sake of doing right and benefiting our race. Who is telling mankind of the foe in ambush? Is the informer one who sees the foe? If so, listen and be wise. Escape from evil, and designate those as unfaithful stewards who have seen the danger and yet have given no warning.

At all times and under all circumstances, overcome evil with good. Know thyself, and God will supply the wisdom and the occasion for a victory over evil. Clad in the panoply of Love, human hatred cannot reach you. The cement of a higher humanity will unite all interests in the one divinity.

5.  102 : 30-2

Mankind must learn that evil is not power. Its so-called despotism is but a phase of nothingness. Christian Science despoils the kingdom of evil, and pre-eminently promotes affection and virtue in families and therefore in the community.

6.  91 : 5-15

Let us rid ourselves of the belief that man is separated from God, and obey only the divine Principle, Life and Love. Here is the great point of departure for all true spiritual growth.

It is difficult for the sinner to accept divine Science, because Science exposes his nothingness; but the sooner error is reduced to its native nothingness, the sooner man’s great reality will appear and his genuine being will be understood. The destruction of error is by no means the destruction of Truth or Life, but is the acknowledgment of them.

7.  542 : 1 only, 5-13

The belief of life in matter sins at every step. . . . Though error hides behind a lie and excuses guilt, error cannot forever be concealed. Truth, through her eternal laws, unveils error. Truth causes sin to betray itself, and sets upon error the mark of the beast. Even the disposition to excuse guilt or to conceal it is punished. The avoidance of justice and the denial of truth tend to perpetuate sin, invoke crime, jeopardize self-control, and mock divine mercy.

8.  298 : 2-7

Life, Truth, and Love are the realities of divine Science. They dawn in faith and glow full-orbed in spiritual understanding. As a cloud hides the sun it cannot extinguish, so false belief silences for a while the voice of immutable harmony, but false belief cannot destroy Science armed with faith, hope, and fruition.

9.  447 : 16-22

When sin or sickness — the reverse of harmony — seems true to material sense, impart without frightening or discouraging the patient the truth and spiritual understanding, which destroy disease. Expose and denounce the claims of evil and disease in all their forms, but realize no reality in them.

10. 448 : 12-19

Christian Science rises above the evidence of the corporeal senses; but if you have not risen above sin yourself, do not congratulate yourself upon your blindness to evil or upon the good you know and do not. A dishonest position is far from Christianly scientific. “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.”

11. 234 : 9-12

We should become more familiar with good than with evil, and guard against false beliefs as watchfully as we bar our doors against the approach of thieves and murderers.

12. 324 : 4-15

The purification of sense and self is a proof of progress. “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.”

Unless the harmony and immortality of man are becoming more apparent, we are not gaining the true idea of God; and the body will reflect what governs it, whether it be Truth or error, understanding or belief, Spirit or matter. Therefore “acquaint now thyself with Him, and be at peace.” Be watchful, sober, and vigilant. The way is straight and narrow, which leads to the understanding that God is the only Life.

13. 120 : 17-24

The Science of Mind-healing shows it to be impossible for aught but Mind to testify truly or to exhibit the real status of man. Therefore the divine Principle of Science, reversing the testimony of the physical senses, reveals man as harmoniously existent in Truth, which is the only basis of health; and thus Science denies all disease, heals the sick, overthrows false evidence, and refutes materialistic logic.

 

THE DAILY DUTIES 

by Mary Baker Eddy

Daily Prayer

It shall be the duty of every member of this Church to pray each day: “Thy kingdom come;” let the reign of divine Truth, Life, and Love be established in me, and rule out of me all sin; and may Thy Word enrich the affections of all mankind, and govern them!

A Rule for Motives and Acts

Neither animosity nor mere personal attachment should impel the motives or acts of the members of The Mother Church. In Science, divine Love alone governs man; and a Christian Scientist reflects the sweet amenities of Love, in rebuking sin, in true brotherliness, charitableness, and forgiveness. The members of this Church should daily watch and pray to be delivered from all evil, from prophesying, judging, condemning, counseling, influencing or being influenced erroneously.

Alertness to Duty

It shall be the duty of every member of this Church to defend himself daily against aggressive mental suggestion, and not be made to forget nor to neglect his duty to God, to his Leader, and to mankind. By his works he shall be judged, — and justified or condemned.