Jesus' Instruction for Teachers and Believers

Source: The Urantia Book, Part 4, "The Life and Teachings of Jesus", Paper 159, "The Decapolis Tour", Section 3: Instruction for Teachers and Believers http://www.urantiabook.org/newbook/papers/p159.htm#P159_3_0 
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3. Instruction for Teachers and Believers

^159:3.1 At Edrei, where Thomas and his associates labored, Jesus spent a day and a night and, in the course of the evening’s discussion, gave expression to the principles which should guide those who preach truth, and which should activate all who teach the gospel of the kingdom. Summarized and restated in modern phraseology, Jesus taught: 

^159:3.2 Always respect the personality of man. Never should a righteous cause be promoted by force; spiritual victories can be won only by spiritual power. This injunction against the employment of material influences refers to psychic force as well as to physical force. Overpowering arguments and mental superiority are not to be employed to coerce men and women into the kingdom. Man’s mind is not to be crushed by the mere weight of logic or overawed by shrewd eloquence. While emotion as a factor in human decisions cannot be wholly eliminated, it should not be directly appealed to in the teachings of those who would advance the cause of the kingdom. Make your appeals directly to the divine spirit that dwells within the minds of men. Do not appeal to fear, pity, or mere sentiment. In appealing to men, be fair; exercise self-control and exhibit due restraint; show proper respect for the personalities of your pupils. Remember that I have said: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock, and if any man will open, I will come in.” 

^159:3.3 In bringing men into the kingdom, do not lessen or destroy their self-respect. While overmuch self-respect may destroy proper humility and end in pride, conceit, and arrogance, the loss of self-respect often ends in paralysis of the will. It is the purpose of this gospel to restore self-respect to those who have lost it and to restrain it in those who have it. Make not the mistake of only condemning the wrongs in the lives of your pupils; remember also to accord generous recognition for the most praiseworthy things in their lives. Forget not that I will stop at nothing to restore self-respect to those who have lost it, and who really desire to regain it. 

^159:3.4 Take care that you do not wound the self-respect of timid and fearful souls. Do not indulge in sarcasm at the expense of my simple-minded brethren. Be not cynical with my fear-ridden children. Idleness is destructive of self-respect; therefore, admonish your brethren ever to keep busy at their chosen tasks, and put forth every effort to secure work for those who find themselves without employment. 

^159:3.5 Never be guilty of such unworthy tactics as endeavoring to frighten men and women into the kingdom. A loving father does not frighten his children into yielding obedience to his just requirements. 

^159:3.6 Sometime the children of the kingdom will realize that strong feelings of emotion are not equivalent to the leadings of the divine spirit. To be strongly and strangely impressed to do something or to go to a certain place, does not necessarily mean that such impulses are the leadings of the indwelling spirit. 

^159:3.7 Forewarn all believers regarding the fringe of conflict which must be traversed by all who pass from the life as it is lived in the flesh to the higher life as it is lived in the spirit. To those who live quite wholly within either realm, there is little conflict or confusion, but all are doomed to experience more or less uncertainty during the times of transition between the two levels of living. In entering the kingdom, you cannot escape its responsibilities or avoid its obligations, but remember: The gospel yoke is easy and the burden of truth is light. 

^159:3.8 The world is filled with hungry souls who famish in the very presence of the bread of life; men die searching for the very God who lives within them. Men seek for the treasures of the kingdom with yearning hearts and weary feet when they are all within the immediate grasp of living faith. Faith is to religion what sails are to a ship; it is an addition of power, not an added burden of life. There is but one struggle for those who enter the kingdom, and that is to fight the good fight of faith. The believer has only one battle, and that is against doubt — unbelief. 

^159:3.9 In preaching the gospel of the kingdom, you are simply teaching friendship with God. And this fellowship will appeal alike to men and women in that both will find that which most truly satisfies their characteristic longings and ideals. Tell my children that I am not only tender of their feelings and patient with their frailties, but that I am also ruthless with sin and intolerant of iniquity. I am indeed meek and humble in the presence of my Father, but I am equally and relentlessly inexorable where there is deliberate evil-doing and sinful rebellion against the will of my Father in heaven.

^159:3.10 You shall not portray your teacher as a man of sorrows. Future generations shall know also the radiance of our joy, the buoyance of our good will, and the inspiration of our good humor. We proclaim a message of good news which is infectious in its transforming power. Our religion is throbbing with new life and new meanings. Those who accept this teaching are filled with joy and in their hearts are constrained to rejoice evermore. Increasing happiness is always the experience of all who are certain about God. 

^159:3.11 Teach all believers to avoid leaning upon the insecure props of false sympathy. You cannot develop strong characters out of the indulgence of self-pity; honestly endeavor to avoid the deceptive influence of mere fellowship in misery. Extend sympathy to the brave and courageous while you withhold overmuch pity from those cowardly souls who only halfheartedly stand up before the trials of living. Offer not consolation to those who lie down before their troubles without a struggle. Sympathize not with your fellows merely that they may sympathize with you in return. 

^159:3.12 When my children once become self-conscious of the assurance of the divine presence, such a faith will expand the mind, ennoble the soul, reinforce the personality, augment the happiness, deepen the spirit perception, and enhance the power to love and be loved. 

^159:3.13 Teach all believers that those who enter the kingdom are not thereby rendered immune to the accidents of time or to the ordinary catastrophes of nature. Believing the gospel will not prevent getting into trouble, but it will insure that you shall be unafraid when trouble does overtake you. If you dare to believe in me and wholeheartedly proceed to follow after me, you shall most certainly by so doing enter upon the sure pathway to trouble. I do not promise to deliver you from the waters of adversity, but I do promise to go with you through all of them. 

^159:3.14 And much more did Jesus teach this group of believers before they made ready for the night’s sleep. And they who heard these sayings treasured them in their hearts and did often recite them for the edification of the apostles and disciples who were not present when they were spoken.

Spiritual Assault

Spiritual assault is spiritual force. Spiritual assault requires spiritual valor. It requires prayers and meditations. It also requires action! Spiritual assault involves desiring a certain Kingdom-oriented outcome with all of your heart; and putting all efforts or great efforts to get it. You focus your mind on it - use the power of your mind, your thoughts and prayers.

Spiritual assault involves spiritual warfare prayers. You pray with boldness and confidence and faith. You stand strong and declare and decree prophetically. With spiritual clarity, you speak things into existence in line with the divine will.

Spiritual assault involves exercising your divinely endowed powers and authority as a faith-liberated son or daughter of God. With spiritual assault, you make things happen, in partnership with divinity. You don't sit on the sidelines... You don't ‘chicken out’. You put up a good fight - a good fight of faith! Hallelujah!

“Jesus continued to teach the twenty-four, saying: “...The heathen strike directly for their objectives; you are guilty of too much chronic yearning. If you desire to enter the kingdom, why do you not take it by spiritual assault even as the heathen take a city they lay siege to? ...Cease your useless yearning and go forth bravely doing that which concerns the establishment of the kingdom.” - Urantia Book 155:1.3

You have to strike directly for your goals and objectives. Go for it forcefully in the power of the Holy Spirit. You have to be hungry to get it or achieve it.

“And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force." - Jesus, Matthew 11:12. The violent ones take it by force - by spiritual assault! Glory!

One has to be 'violent' against evil, sin, iniquity, hindrances, obstacles, evil machinations from Lucifer and his minions.... One also has to be 'violent' - forcefully determined to ascend the progressive steps of righteousness....

A simple way to understand spiritual assault is to take a close look at these words of Jesus in the Urantia Book quote [in UB155:1.3]: "The heathen strike directly for their objectives..." We have to learn to strike directly for our spiritual goals. When you spend time reading spiritual books with an objective to feed your soul; to grow spiritually; to equip yourself with wisdom, knowledge and understanding, you are engaging in spiritual assault! When you take out time to meditate and pray, with a desire to understand who you truly are and who God really is and your place and role in the Universe, you are engaging in spiritual assault! The other day, a brother talked about proactively doing gospel outreach work. That is a goal or an objective. If he decides to actually give it a go, to do something about it - practically, and to make efforts to sustain the momentum, that is spiritual assault!

You go for it; you enter the Kingdom; you seek to have a better understanding of the Kingdom (or the Father's Fold); you make direct efforts to help others to understand as well; you boldly acknowledge all your rights and privileges as a faith-liberated son or daughter of God; you walk in the reality of your divine heritage as a member of the family of God; you allow love to flow in your heart as you bask in the fellowship of believers; you sustain the momentum... You back it all up with loving prayers and meditations. That is spiritual assault. You, “Take the Kingdom by force” - without apologies; without fear or favor; with zeal, coupled with knowledge! ...Spiritual Assault!

Go in the strength of God’s love!

Peace & goodwill to you!
The Christ Michael Center
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What is Salvation?

“The sufferings of Jesus were not confined to the crucifixion. In reality, Jesus of Nazareth spent upward of twenty-five years on the cross of a real and intense mortal existence. The real value of the cross consists in the fact that it was the supreme and final expression of his love, the completed revelation of his mercy.” - The Urantia Book 188:5.4

There is power in the cross to bring salvation to an individual. Why is it so? The answer is simple: In UB 188:5.4, we read, "The real value of the cross consists in the fact that it was the supreme and final expression of his love, the completed revelation of his mercy." The expression of Jesus' love and mercy, seen at the cross, is so powerful, that it pulls people to acknowledge the love of God towards them. This makes them to "surrender all" to God; to see God as a Father that loves them and would keep them in His Kingdom forever - in love, joy, peace, service, etc. This is why someone can experience salvation through the cross. The mistake some people make is this: they believe that salvation cannot happen outside the cross. 

The spiritual technique of SALVATION takes place when an individual understands and accepts the expression of God's love and mercy. Salvation is yours when you get a revelation of God's love and mercy: a revelation or understanding experience that causes you to open your heart to God, to trust Him, to welcome Him into your life; to surrender all to Him as your Father. These acts bring you to a place where you begin to see others as your brothers and sisters and you develop FAITH in your eternal salvation - that you will exist in and with God forever. Your heart becomes totally committed to doing His will. This is possible because of the GRACE of God. Herein is your salvation. And all these can occur at the cross. They can also occur without the cross or outside the cross - because the revelation of the divine love and mercy is not restricted to the cross and cross alone. 

When you understand what we are saying, you will agree that there are people, here on Earth who do not carry the tag-name, “Christian”, who are saved. Also, there are people in other planets - billions upon billions of them, who have no cross to relate to - who are also saved as well. Some of them may not even be aware that the Creator, Christ came to Earth, as Jesus. They may not know of his death on a cross. But they have the love and mercy of God to relate to. Therein is their salvation. Regardless of planet of origin, we are saved by grace, through faith, not of works - the work of sacrificing an animal, a human being or even Jesus or any other "works".

But someone may ask: Is there power in the blood of Jesus? Yes, there is power in the blood of anyone. The blood speaks. There's life in the blood. Our blood speaks everyday. It even speaks more powerfully when we die or leave our mortal bodies behind - be it a natural death or murder. When Martin Luther King Jr was killed, his blood continued to speak, even at a higher level. This led to more breakthroughs for blacks and other minorities in America. So, how much more powerful would Jesus' blood speak! So much more and more and more powerful!! Glory to God! We can understand these things if we allow Jesus' Spirit, The Spirit of Truth to teach us. Amen.