One of the biggest challenges to our spiritual growth is our unwillingness to let go of our pre-conceptions, our prejudices, and our grudges.

He Must Increase
by the Rev. Don Jennings - Past Minister

Bible Verses: Jesus and John the Baptist

22) After this Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean countryside, and he spent some time there with them and baptized. 23) John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim because water was abundant there; and people kept coming and were being baptized 24) John, of course, had not yet been thrown into prison. 25) Now a discussion about purification arose between John's disciples and a Jew. 26) They came to John and said to him, "Rabbi, the one who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you testified, here he is baptizing, and all are going to him." 27) John answered, "No one can receive anything except what has been given from heaven. 28) You yourselves are my witnesses that I said, 'I am not the Messiah, but I have been sent ahead of him.' 29) He who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice. For this reason my joy has been fulfilled. 30) He must increase, but I must decrease." 31) The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks about earthly things. The one who comes from heaven is above all. 32) He testifies to what he has seen and heard, yet no one accepts his testimony. 33) Whoever has accepted his testimony has certified this, that God is true. 34) He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure. 35) The Father loves the Son and has placed all things in his hands. 36) Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but must endure God's wrath.

It is interesting that we are not told who Jesus was baptizing, or how he baptized, whether by water, as John did, or in another way. As we saw last week in the passage immediately before this one, Jesus was saying that one had to be born of, or baptized by both water and spirit. In Unity the form of baptism we use is prayer, our way of baptizing with the Whole Spirit of God. We believe that this might better emulate Jesus form of baptism than John's.

Scripture tells us that John was baptizing where he was because there was abundant water there. Very logical. And in that lies one of the differences between what Jesus was doing and what John was doing. I'm not talking about baptism, I am talking about logic. John represents the very best and highest of logic and intellect.

Jesus even said as much: "Of men born of woman, none is greater than John, but even the least in the kingdom is greater than John". How can this be? Jesus is speaking in metaphor again. "Men born of woman" is an allusion to what he had said to Nicodemus: "You must be born of flesh (water) and of spirit". Born of flesh is not just born physically (of a woman) but baptized (cleansed) of sin. This is water baptism. This is repentance. This is giving up our stinkin' thinkin' in favor of something cleaner, purer, loftier. And there is another birth too.

Now, John gets into a discussion with a Jew, representing the debate that goes on within us all, when logic is our ruler. Jews in this case represent our legal tendencies: what can we get away with by following the letter of the law? But John, even though he is less than the least in the kingdom (we will get back to that) he still is that in us that is illumined. He understands. He knows. We all know. We all get it at some deep level, that we are more than what resides between our hats and our boots.

John knows that he is "not from heaven". Your illumined thoughts know that they are not the brightest bulbs around. Oh, they are bright, but they pale in comparison to the Light of the Christ! John's comment, "No one can receive anything except what has been given from heaven" Is filled with wisdom. Everything we 'get' originates in the Christ consciousness, or is from God. The problem with the illumined intellect is it is intellect. That means we have filtered the information through our thought processes, and mucked it up!

We have agendas, prejudices, petty differences, long-standing judgments, etc., that cloud the issue every time we get guidance, unless we are born anew. Now, what does that mean? It means that our goal is to be so transparent to the movement of spirit in our lives that we act, speak, and even think based upon guidance and only after we get the guidance and have acted upon it do we assess whether it was what we wanted to do, or even if it was right!

Preconceptions, prejudice, & grudges

One of the biggest challenges to our spiritual growth is our unwillingness to let go of our pre-conceptions, our prejudices, and our grudges. Most Republicans hold them about Democrats, and vice-versa. Independents think nasty thoughts about both. Americans don't understand Iraqis, and think it is ok to hate them because that is what we are being taught. And it is taking literally hundreds of years for white folks to get past the idea that it is alright, or even appropriate, to look down on anyone who has a different shade of skin or talks differently.

All of this kind of "emotion based thinking" stands squarely between our own good and us. To be born again is to wipe that slate clean, become conscious of what we are doing to our self, and consciously choose a different path. This is not necessarily easy, but neither is being born the first time, but you made it, right? John spoke of the Groom and the bride, a wonderful metaphor for The Christ and each of us. (The idea of a nun "marrying Jesus" is not that far from what I am saying.)

The union of each of us with our Christ spirit creates a new life in Christ, our life. John, the illuminated intellect see this, and rejoices, but knows that he must decrease for this union to succeed. Right now our tendency is to be married to our humanness (our mind and emotions). The real marriage, the lasting, eternal marriage is to the Christ.

How do we make the switch from Intellect to The Christ? There are several things we can do. But they all begin with the conscious decision to change. Everything in the world of Spirit is about choice. The truth is, we don't
have to do anything that is good for us, and that is why we get used to doing things that are fun at the moment that have long term uncomfortable consequences. Also, in Unity we teach that there is an infinite amount of time to make those positive changes, that we are not destined to eternal hell if we don't change today.

That teaching is really a double-edged sword. On the one hand, there is the comfort of knowing that we don't have a spiritual gun to our head, unlike some of our religious brethren. So fear of the future is not an issue. On the other, it means that if we mess up this time around, we know that we can just keep messing up until we decide to stop messing up. We are not being forced to be good, so why be good when doing other things can feel so good for the moment, like being really condemnatory toward someone with whom we are at odds, so we don't have to look at our own stuff! Because fear is not an issue!!!

So first we have to make the choice to be present to that guidance that is always there, that we have been, for the most part, denying all our life! And the next thing is to accept the idea that you are being directed from within even though you have chosen to not believe before! It is called "acting as if" or in a more earthy fashion, "fake it til you make it"! In other words, begin pretending that everything you do is under the guidance of spirit. Stop thinking that the options before you are partly yours, and partly spirits. Every choice is from God, and no matter how seemingly bad it is, it has the seeds of learning in it.

Choice

If I choose to trip at the top of a hill, and fall, scraping my knees and elbows, I have another choice to make: do I get angry at myself, at God, or someone else for not telling me I was going to fall? Or do I learn something about life from it? Learning is one of the ways we acknowledge that God is in everything, not just the stuff we like. Choosing to not learn puts us in the position of falling again, somewhere else. And doing something over and over again, expecting different results, is a good definition for insanity, or the misuse of our intellect!

Another part of our process of being born again is to surround our self with things and people that support our goal. Reading and praying with the ideas in Daily Word each day is a good way. Reading inspirational magazines and books that support us is another. Regular prayer with others of like mind (not the prayer for winning a war at someone else's expense, but the prayer that helps visualize peace for every land), Studying together, attending classes, all of these things help us establish a new habit in consciousness.

Please do not hear me saying that you should forsake your intellect, your brain, your reason. We would not get very far that way. I am saying, as John did, that the intellect, no matter how wise, or cleaver, is going to eventually lead us astray if it is not under the direct guidance of Spirit.

Neither am I saying that we can and will make the switch over night, just by giving lip service to making the choice. We will try, sometimes fail, and sometimes succeed, and sometimes not even know which we have done. It's ok, we are going back to school, and this time it is graduate level work, and whether you believe it or not, you are ready, and capable, and bright enough to ace these courses. But it is going to take a little time and a little study, and a lot of practice. But the benefits are far greater than anything you have ever done before. The gift is life at a level you have never experienced, and it is the gift that just keeps giving.

The activity of God will have one more way of shining through into the world that cannot be ignored, and people will wonder, and want to experience what you have in their life. And we will all be one step closer to the new Jerusalem, and city on the hill whose light can never be hid.

Is there even one thing in your life you would like to experience differently? Is there a challenge, or even an opportunity that you want to take advantage of, learn from, and grow through? Then make the choice to be born again! In the way of the first century Christ, by repenting, or returning again to the source for everything, trusting in yourself and your God, focusing only on that which is yours to do, surrounding yourself with those people and things that support your goal.

You are a child of the universe; you have a right to be here, and to experience the glory of universal good in your life. But only you can make the choice. Only you can make it happen. Make the commitment to fake it til you make it, by acting as if it is already yours. Because the truth is, it has always been so.

Let us pray.

Prayer

We move into the sacred consciousness of being born again: holding to the truth that there is nothing in our life but good, no one to judge, except righteously, nothing to fear, avoid, or shun as not of God. Let these words and ideas come through you as your own.

My world is filled to overflowing with opportunities to see, express, and rejoice in Truth, opportunities to look beyond the appearances into the center of the reality that God is all there is. My focus is on God, and on guidance that is instant, constant, and abundantly spiritual, always showing me my best and clearest choice...the path that most directly serves the needs of my growth and of spirit.

Whenever I find myself falling into old habits of judgment, condemnation, or fear, I catch my thoughts before they are fully formed, and change them under that perfect guidance of spirit.

I commit myself to this path, for this is my path to prosperity, wholeness, and all the gifts of spirit. I know I am blessed, and I accept my blessings every day, knowing that whether I understand or not why I am at this place in my life, I have absolute trust in the activity of spirit to use me, to show me, to guide me along the way of good. Nothing can disturb the calm peace of my soul, for I am now born again, as the Christ increases in every way in my life. I give thanks, I am grateful, in the name and nature of that which is Christ in me, my hope of glory, today, and every day, amen and amen.