First in the Natural, Then in the Spirit — John Follette

Thinking about anything that you want me to talk about tonight in connection with this morning's message. The missionary touch. Missionary way down underneath. And I love the way I like to go back tomorrow.

I would. I Don't know there's something about that material that oh. We have so much here. It's typical Certificate and They are so needy and appreciates. Oh just a little thing that you can give or do they love it.

Anything in this morning's lesson that was with the we working on might help you. Well, he didn't want them to. It took the he they are the immortal spirit lives forever but it has the what we say a privilege of living in the realm of light or dark and He didn't want them to to live forever in this realm of darkness and therefore he institutes right away An escape through the slain creature.

The Natural Comes Before the Spiritual

He was introducing right away a remedy for but he had to do that after Flesh had had its flake. Now there is a principle again that we have to contend with and see it all the way through. Paul sums it up this way in the realm of spirit.

He says listen. That is not born of the spirit first. That which is natural is first afterward that of the spirit in other words God says. In this realm in which we live you'll have to get used to it.

He says it's always the man that human the flesh will take its initiative first in its rush. And so God allows them and and you remember the. The escape that they made was to make a covering. Anyway, it says.

When they partook of this forbidden fruit and they saw they were naked that doesn't mean they looked at their bodies. They didn't have any clothes out. It's not talking about that. Do they became conscious of a nakedness in a spiritual and moral sense?

You get that? It is a spiritual and moral sense that they found. They were naked. Because the covering which had made possible their access to God and a communion have been Torn off of them through this disobedience.

Well, they want to get back again to God. There is a desire. So what do they do? They say we will make this moral and spiritual difficulty. But they go to a natural resource for it and they take the leaves you see from the earth which God curses.

He curses the earth. The earth curse cannot produce any kind of a material such as as they call it in type leaves for their covering. But God allows them to do this. He says all right now to have your flame and go ahead have your flame.

Your flesh will have to perform first. For that is not spiritual which is first but natural afterward that which is spiritual. Paul sums it up with that one little verse it is the principle in this realm.

So after they've had this and they find that they get nowhere by. Jesus says this is the covering you need. God says and he slays an animal and Covers them with his skin. Well, that is the paschal lamb again it's it's the story of redemption in his first simple picture the shedding of blood and the little animal shed its blood and it took the covering of the animal.

That's all that that's all our inheritance in Christ, you see and they he covers them with these skins and. But he shows them a way back again to God through a law of sacrifice. Something is sacrificed to do this so when you read in your Old Testament all these things don't just be occupied with the Material sense of it because you lose a lot.

Those are wonderful things but they bear out a Profound spiritual reality veiled with these actions and conduct they get so literal with that garden and those skins and the. And all I don't want to hurt them then I say well, where did he get all the instruments to address the garden?

In Sears Roebuck or Montgomery in war. Look, well now these people who are so literal. I always want to say well you you want to be a literalist. Well, then if you are where will you end? How many know you will end in some ridiculous thing?

Because it isn't just the literal thing that he's talking about. There was an Adam. That's all right. We're not talking about that. We're talking about this idea of pushing the literal idea of the Word of God into grotesque things.

When it is given to us to teach first of all a deep underlying spiritual philosophy of life. That's what it's teaching and so when they were naked that meant the first awakening of a consciousness sin and failure and They found themselves naked.

Well, of course before God that that whole thing that had known Because of the glory and the light and the clothing which covered them their acceptance was gone and they were Unclothed that is undone.

Then God has to come so he's he has to do that from the very beginning from the Garden of Eden until this day right today and Probably many in this room are going through it. Unknowing it haunts all. Now remember this if you don't get anything more when God gives a word a Revelation to you or to me or Speaks or intimates a promise to us which we are to embrace a Promise of something which is not yet tangible.

It's not seen. But we we sense it in spirit. This is of God. This is what God wants or this is what God will do. Because he has intimated it now don't always be too quick with your A Sense of time in those things.

He may speak a word and we think well that that means now or that will be a mere. No, he may speak things which Finds its fruition years down your line. That we take a long time as I call it cradle within the breast within the heart that word that intimation.

That's cradle in me. Now I can't force it. I can't make an abortion. An artificial false birth to the unknown flesh wants to do that. They always do it and he knows it all I found it to is it beware. Says that which is first.

That's natural, but afterward give it time if you learn your lesson. The spiritual reality will come. Now that's demonstrated all through the Old Testament. It's everywhere you turn. I Think of right with.

Abraham, Sarah, and the Birth of Ishmael

Remember, I remember that wonderful promise that God gives to Abraham. He will give him a son. Who will be the heir and through this son? We're going to have great blessing. Now that is a precious wonderful covenant and promise to Abraham.

That is God born. Any word any promise any indication which is spirit born Has to be executed in the same method as That which gives it its birth. If it is spoken in spirit and it is of God spoken to you.

You must wait if it's a thousand years. You must wait until the Holy Spirit which has breathed it executes it and carries it out. But it's very hard to learn that because good flesh is always assisting the Lord.

It can't keep still it cannot retire so Abraham Waits this reasonable time. He says well God promised us this son. No, he doesn't seem to be giving us any son. Where's the promise? God holds back. He says go on Abraham.

Well, Abraham says I know about getting children. Sure, and I see the impossibility in the natural here and that's all we have to deal with. Said so Sarah she says she's agreed to this plot too. She says well.

We'll take this made my mate you go in unto her and we'll get the son. How many can see flesh having its fling first you get it right away or don't you get that. That's nothing but the natural the flesh that the human is Producing it's pushing its way in first.

It cannot wait until this lovely promise can be executed in the spirit even by way of miracle. Now if you do that, you will always get an Isaac on your hands. Yeah, I mean an Ishmael, thank you, you're always getting Ishmael.

You can't help it because that's where Ishmael comes. Now. You have produced your Ishmael and Then Ishmael gets crying around tormenting everything. He said well you got him yeah, you got him. God's very merciful, of course.

But don't say oh why why why it says just look in your heart dear. I don't like to look in the air. Hallelujah. You see you got your own Ishmael. Why how did you do it? You took a promise a word which is spirit born.

It is of God. It is genuine. It is really God but you take it into your own clumsy fumbling hands of the natural a religious fashion the religious Natural and you think that by this mechanism you'll produce a lovely Isaac over here you never can.

Now you're bucking up against another law and I'm going to hammer it in. Jesus teaches it to that which is born of the flesh is flesh and that which is born of the spirit is spirit. He did not restrict that to personality.

We always say the natural man, of course is born of the flesh, but it must be born again to be spiritual. That's all true. But that's only one part of the question. He said what so ever is born of flesh.

Can you see this mechanism that Abraham produces how many can see is born of flesh or can't you? Of course, it's it's it's birthed in flesh. It can never produce anything spiritual. It has no power for it.

It will always rest upon a flesh level and produce nothing but flesh and. Sometimes those things aren't are interesting and wonderful. It doesn't mean that they're all vulgar and bad. I hope that you think I'm too terrifying but don't you know a lot of things that pass today as Wonderful in.

God has a terrific lot of Ishmael in it or don't you? Don't you know that or don't you know, oh you said God's got everything that meows and scowls. Well, where are you living? I used to say my students for heaven's sake ask the Lord for just a little discernment to tell something.

I said there are people though and he was telling the classroom. I said if a crocodile came down this aisle just now saying hallelujah. Well, you'd say oh, it's a cherubim. They would they take a cherubim had arrived.

The wife I said hallelujah. Well, I said there are a lot of crocodiles that can say hallelujah and they get wonderful results. But it doesn't make him a cherubim. You it doesn't mean that Ishmael was always a wicked bad terrifying thing.

I suppose there were times when Ishmael was was quite welcome in the household. He was loved of his mother and all but he was an Ishmael. He was not an Isaac. But he came in under. The promise of God perverted you get it or don't you.

How many can see that it's the promise of God, but it's perverted through flesh. What does it say he did he did nothing but mock Isaac after he got there and if you if you want to know the truth if you've ever produced an Ishmael.

It'll torment you. It will torment the Isaac that God has for you and you wait finally God says this is the way. In the proper season you will conceive and bring forth and here is as Sarah laughed, but she laughed twice, you know.

She laughed once in scorn Me having a baby. But after she laughed for joy. That's good. Always get the he laughs best who laughs last and she laughs with the joy of the great deliverance. But you see they were illustrating this this principle that I'm telling you about.

That is not spiritual, which is first, but natural. Afterward that which is spiritual. But if you can't learn that because you see it demonstrated in life and you have to learn it your way. Well, then don't be amazed just say Lord I couldn't take it when I saw it in the Bible.

I can't seem to take it when I see it demonstrated in lives all about me. I guess I'll have to have my own. So not careful you get a fish meal on your hands, but Ishmael is always tormenting the Isaac.

Moses and the Difference Between Human Justice and God's Deliverance

I'll take another one. Let's look at Moses. You see, how do you know the story of Moses? He is destined he's a man of destiny is he has the call upon him that he's going to deliver These people that that's his vocation.

That's his call. Now he has a sense of what is right and what is just. But that doesn't excuse the matter. You hear people say well that ought to be so so because that's right for so-and-so now listen, listen, listen.

We're not here for justice or for the things being done right for us. Not here not here. Not as Christians Accept the spoiling of your goods. Cheerfully that takes grace of God. To do that. Otherwise you turn around say this is not fair.

This is not just. Well, it isn't Saturday night. The bills have all come in. It's not closing hour. You're about in the middle of the week you wait till Saturday night and the Lord will check up and you'll see where it comes Out but not now be quiet.

How many of you have had had to suffer injustice like that when you know as a Christian you I think I spoke of it in one of my tracks where what belonged to me. I Refused to demand it but two others caught in the same Difficulty they said well the law will do it.

I said well then you can go. I'm not going. I said that's not scriptural. God will take care of it. Well, it wasn't pleasant to see 25 or $30 ,000 walk out of you and see the next one walking with it.

That that is you never say No, you don't you just say Lord. This is strange isn't it? And that very person Got a Packard car and rode around the street in front of me. And I want you I could have said that isn't your car.

But you see he silenced me on well $30 ,000 would be nice. I can use it. You just learn to and this isn't the day when we get all of our justice. We learned you have to learn that so here is Moses now.

He has a sense of justice of what is right and he goes out into the in the countryside there and he sees this Egyptians Tormenting the poor Hebrews making them work thus and so and all it was all wrong.

It was wrong. None of us can say that was right. It was wrong. But you see he's not appointed as judge to make a decision over and tell him what to do. We aren't judges on that we see it, but he can't hold still you see and so That which is it's not spiritual.

It's natural. So he makes a fling. What does he do? This is all wrong. These are God's people. These are my people and he up and slays this Egyptian. Then when you get him slain, what are you going to do with them?

Well, then you have to bury him and it's always fortunate if there's enough sand to cover your dead man because by and by it's very terrifying when he's not covered and So he covers him in the sand and God came down said oh what a noble thing at last you see your calling.

No, we didn't this is come here Moses come here I'm talking and poor Moses has to go on the backside of the desert for all those years for adjustment adjustment adjustment until the deliverance can come God's way and not Moses Flesh Moses wisdom Moses idea of justice.

God doesn't care to sense about that. He says come on by and by when God gets ready the deliverance which he has spoken Will move under the impact and power of the Spirit of God who spoken has to be. Now remember this in your philosophy remember this.

If there is a vision Which God has made clear to you of something to come. The means are the method by which that is Attained or obtained either one the method by which it is. The method must partake of the same essence of the thing that you are dealing in it has to Now you take the essence of that down here and put it into its proper place and the thing moves.

That is born of the spirit. This must be executed in the spirit and by the spirit. Otherwise it You'll get a temporary flare and quite a lot of excitement about the thing, but it isn't the reality so Moses says What is it?

Well, God says come out this way and I'll show you then do you remember how what a magnificent display God gives of the power of God and Moses is used and Instead of having something to slay this Egyptian.

He has a wand a staff this Like a magic thing it's the power of God. And he will now you go through your testament and you'll find that over and over all the way through all the time because it's a it's a fixed established principle that works and God says these are for our Admonition to admonish us so we won't fall into the same trap.

Or be beguiled or deceived. We'll say no, I see how that goes. I Can't do that if that that would be possible it could be done to that. I can't do that because I must wait until The same spirit that gave it birth will give it its power for its forthcoming.

Learning to Live by the Spirit

Oh, there's so many of those places in the word. So many and by and by you begin to see in the word God teaching us how to live as I said the other day Jesus came to save us and to give us life. That's right that his whole teaching is To teach us how to live.

It's one thing to be born of the spirit and filled with the spirit, but it's quite another to be taught how to live to adjust ourselves and That's why we're here and that's why the spirit is given and why the word is there it's the great book of instruction Teaching us how mr. Vera was asking us just at the class closed and arouse a little thought in my mind.

Humanity's Dominion and the Effects of Sin

We were talking about This first Adam having intuitive gifts and powers which of course which he had. Now, how do we know that because of the command which God gave him to have power over To reign to rule and have power over.

God couldn't say that to a man who didn't have the abilities with which to do it. You get that or don't you? Well, if he says have dominion over the fishes have dominion here reign and rule. God couldn't say that to admit with he has to say that to a man who has The potential gifts and powers To do that and that's what he did.

Now when sin and distress and trouble comes all of that lovely thing is is all broken to pieces. The death that is spoken strikes those threefold personality spirit soul body every department of the human is is wrecked and ruined through the power of Of sin through its disobedience every department.

That's why we feel first in the very highest level the spirit. He said that absolutely dies out that that's canceled. So that man is born today is always born subnormal. That's a dreadful thing to say to a person isn't it who has not been brought to God.

They are subnormal. Why are they subnormal they are under the the normal pattern and plan which was spiritual power and spiritual life and light in him. The natural the psychic and the intellectual and all these gifts that are moving this other realm my soulish Deposits and then the physical he is a Trinity.

Well when sin strikes It blots the spirit right out that leaves man subnormal. He is still conscious and he has a body but that's all broken and the body he says is now not only broken, but it starts to die when you get born and It's consummated finally in the act of death.

He that is born you have to die unless the Lord translates us. Well now in that shattering What Vera was saying and I teach it to there are Shattered pieces of this deposit left in in the people's makeup.

It's still left those little deposits. Now that's what we find in these people who are parabolic and all sorts of spiritual psychic things in them that is a shattered bit a Deposit left of the original wonderful thing that was in Adam.

But you see it's all broken to pieces and we only get shattered bits of it shining here and there. Well now if a person is not careful there are always two forces working. And if a person is not taught not to discern this He is easily sidetracked by the power of the enemy who is already working with demons and just in that field exactly and it's very simple easy thing for the demon to have access and First thing, you know, you have a fine medium.

Some of them are too Tremendous. Well, people say it's all hocus-pocus. It is not hocus-pocus. It is devilish. But it's real. Well, some of that is in there, too. Some of that's in there, too. But it's such a weird field that I always feel you'd have to be very much in God to touch very much of it.

But it is a field and they are real they do real absolutely real things people say all it's hocus-pocus. Well, of course, there's a lot of chicanery mixed up with it. These 10-cent mediums have a lot of that that there are people who've had and know these experiences was reality.

Sense Perception and the Subconscious

Now that brought us to this question of sensing things. You know, I'm speaking of every once in a while every one of us have had little touches. How many of you had little touches at times as though there was something way past back there that you were connected with our new?

Something about but you can't touch it. Yeah, I'm just for this for the sake of knowledge. How many have had the little touches of that? Come on, it's nothing to be ashamed of. Let that nothing be ashamed of many have had that.

It's just a flash a sort of a consciousness of something past back here. It's not articulate, but you have a consciousness of a touch with it, but it's evasive but very haunting and You're conscious of this great expanse ahead now, you don't know anything about that either.

But how many of you know as we spoke of last night the drawing power of the Holy Spirit into that realm and yet you don't anything about it. But you venture into. You venture in so do I we venture in fearless because that is a realm now.

I'm glad when I hear people Give a little testimony about those things because I know them. I know it's truth. You don't dare to talk too much about it because somebody wants to get blessed just about then and then I always go home.

I always say everybody wants to get blessed now come forward and get blessed good and plenty then sit down. We'll talk. I always feel like doing that because There they get diverted. No. There there is that reality.

It's in the it's in the Testament. It's present with us now right right now and We become conscious of it that fact. I'm glad to know because of this reason didn't I speak to you once before? About this the the only great living psychiatrist that we have today is Dr. Jung he's a Swiss Psychiatrist is it's the only great living one we had we had it three of them.

We had Froude then we had Adler and and this last one is Jung and he's a Christian which is quite unusual and He has in his theory a truth. I Think I can show you just a job for a minute. We have this teaching and of course we are all familiar with it.

Of this level of what we call our conscious Mind, how many you get this? This is our conscious mind. We're all conscious Of this field we wouldn't be here if we were not we are also all conscious of a subconscious mind.

You don't have to be a psychiatrist or psychologist know that you can be a housewife and know that a man plows corn. How many you know we have a subconscious? Realm all right. Now this is what we would call the subconscious level.

This we only hold for the time being because it's quite impossible to hold at a a conscious point. All that we have. I'm not now conscious of the multiplication table, but I know I have it stored. So do you?

We hold very little at what we call the present point of consciousness. You get me or don't you. I'm conscious now immediate right now. But I know about my home and all that past but that's not in my Conscious state.

I have a conscious state that embraces this immediate. All right. Here we have all sorts of experiences all kinds of experiences. We see we do now these experiences are all brought to us who are a sense perceptions.

God gave us five. And there's a reason for it. Those are the five avenues the only natural five avenues I have To reach out as messengers to touch my external things the word I touched it with my five messengers, then they come back and report to me.

I Can't go down by the seashore or lakeshore in a minute to detect what I discern there. I send my I messenger down and he goes down he comes back. He says that's a boat. These are our messengers and they keep reporting to us.

There are five and there's a reason why there are five and that's why in the word every little while we find five mentioned now those are my natural resources. They come and report. No, I that all that touches me very little of it remains, but I'll tell you something.

Much of that is deposited here, isn't it? We call it the subconscious deposit is deposited here. Then occasionally how many know how to rise and come up to the surface again, but it's coming out of this subconscious department my being.

The Bible is full of this. I can show you some scriptures that are just just like one two, three four. Because it's in the word since that's true. This is it That We have to be very careful. Do you know why Paul tells us about thinking?

How many ever notice what he told us about thinking why that's one of our means. He says think on the thing. Because it doesn't pay to think of everything and many things. Hope you say I'm thinks that please know you can't my dear.

No, you can't because all of that thought process is doing something here all the time. That's down on the ocean floor. You is the only one who has this theory and I'm inclined to Feel rather one with him in some other.

I can't help it because I find it in the word. Now under here, he says there is what he calls the social conscious Realm in which the social conscious embraces many features which keep Deposit in the human race.

Do you see going over? It's called collected but he calls it a social one because it is not only a collection of this but it is a consciousness of things that we find in different groups of people and races.

Which have a unity in it. Now for instance, we'll take we're talking tonight about these these heathen people. Why is it that so many many many of them these heathen people. In their urge and desire for God and in their worship.

It's common with them. They always have a sense of a law of sacrifice in their approach and a sense of some kind of a sacrifice a mediator or medium some kind of a thing which will join them to this and There knows there's a barrier, but they have to have that between.

There's been discovered a tribe in Africa that in their ceremonies in that they sacrifice a rooster and shed its blood and The shedding of the blood of this rooster makes a kind of an atonement and a way back again to God now.

How many you see any significance of anything. Now I'll help you with that in a minute. Well, when I see all those little indications Perking up I say I see something. Well now that's only just one little illustration because The people who have made a study in the religiously in this field have discovered it.

That there are features here. That pop up in a race here a group of people there somebody in America someone over in India. They will have touches of exactly this thing you go to their. To people who've never heard of the Bible don't know anything about it and yet handed down by tradition in these tribes handed down.

I don't know how many of them have a shadowed story of Noah's Ark. They certainly do and they tell you the story of a great time when water was over the world and they've never heard of the Bible. You see what I'm getting at.

There are deposits. Deposits of things which have happened in the social order generations back pushing themselves up some of them have come in a very strange way and we have records of it by dreams and Sometimes a person who doesn't know anything about that will in his dream.

Tell the dream and it will be a repetition of a thing that's happened way back in the in the social plan. But it has found its way back again now into this individual and his dream will be it. We have some illustrations of it.

They're most amazing. This is the thing that I like about it. Do you know what it is? When I find all this heterogeneous mass. Having a collective a general conception. Repeated and repeated and repeated it goes back to the fact of what a one origin.

There's been a one origin. There's been you get it or don't you there has been a one origin. Some now some of our leading Anthropologists have come to face it. I live next to dr Link who is a professor in the Teachers College at home?

And when he goes on a trip, he had go to India for a year. He's just gone this last week and his wife and I'm going to miss them dreadfully because there's such good people to be with. And when he went away his house was taken over by dr. Ruth and you probably have seen her books.

She's one of America's finest archaea Anthropologist and while she was there she was writing another book and. And oh, did we ever have some good talks? Oh My and talk about she was intelligent woman.

I've won no spiritual things and she was Drawing at me question. She sensed that I had something about her and she would ask and I remember one evening I live alone and I do my own housework keeping and all.

I said, well, dr. We call a doctor. She's dr. Ruth and I said I'm getting the supper on and if you want it, would you like? Oh shit, I just love to stay. I'll stay for supper with you. I said we'll come ahead and we're having so-and-so and I remember we had sliced peaches.

That was one thing that she liked them. I have made a lovely little supper at the table and we ate together. But we were doing a lot of talking beside and I was pushing out all these spiritual things that I possibly could for her grasping.

Do you get me? And it was time to close our meal get up. She's oh, no, not yet, and I can remember her. Yes, she put her hand over like that on my she says I wish you would talk more. This is doing something for me that I want and she took my own hand like that.

Of course, she's much older than I am. So it was very safe. But I thought it was very sweet and very simple and very human of that culture educated Woman to do that. She put her hand over put down and she said don't don't don't do it.

Let's not do that. She said or she says I need just this you talk. Well, we didn't talk about anthropology dear. But I couldn't help but think now she is wonder are several who come to this conclusion they think this tells us something.

It isn't evolution. We don't come from a bunch of monkeys. They're discarding it and they say there has to be a unity here and a beginning and. The shattered bits of that early beginning is now being repeated and repeated and repeated all the way down broken but it points back to a Central one is how many see that or don't you get that and up that is very indicative of it.

I didn't mean to talk about that, but You'll take it won't you I'm still Pentecostal. Some people can't take this because they think man, you know, this is just common, isn't it? This is not it's just the way things are.

Yes. How much is this sub-self? Yes. Is tradition which is passed orally from. Well. From an original source. How much is this what they call a collective memory?

Well, it is a racial memory, but it had to have a beginning and all of this points toward a.

A oneness in it. Yes, I understand, but I mean how much is this substrata of knowledge?

Some of it is handed down by a tradition others of it is things that they have never heard of before which come to them. As I said through those dream things. Some collective the absolute and it pushed down into these graces the dreams some of them are.

It is wonderful a person who has never heard never known of the thing at all. This will come up. It just like comes up to its surface. Comes up on here now, this is good for us to remember because all the time we are building this.

That's therefore people can't say well I can do as I please I can think as I please. No you can I Can read this or I can look at that? No you can. Everything we read everything we look at everything that strikes us is registered.

It is it's registered whether we like it or not. And it has its effect in us in this region. We don't delve too much here, but I I'm glad to know because I can see it. I can see that it goes back to an origin.

Which is simple and has a oneness in it. Now We're going to go now. It's almost 10, but I want to read you something. It borders a little on this idea of Your past. I mean something that is haunting this if it is past I Don't know that's the way it is with me, and I don't expect everybody to be like I am.

Heavens, I hope not Lord's got enough to do because I want too many of them run around you got a job on hand. I Don't want that, but I have these things. I was born with them. They're a part of my my makeup.

I knew that. But for instance my reactions are my feeling to sound and color and smell my senses. They report things to me at times and stir me very deeply. Because they don't seem to be on the surface of my being.

Now for instance I've told it some other ones I can remember as a child, and I was perhaps free. My earliest memories are two and a half. I remember things when I was two and a half so that I was perhaps three maybe a little over.