Wednesday, July 24th, 2024 Testimony Meeting

Isaiah 44 : 1, 3 (to 1st ,), 3 (I will pour)

1 Yet now hear, O Jacob my servant; and Israel, whom I have chosen:
3 For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring:

Genesis 32 : 24-28, 30

24 And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.
25 And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him.
26 And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.
27 And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob.
28 And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.
30 And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.

Genesis 35 : 9-12

9 And God appeared unto Jacob again, when he came out of Padan-aram, and blessed him.
10 And God said unto him, Thy name is Jacob: thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name: and he called his name Israel.
11 And God said unto him, I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins;
12 And the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, to thee I will give it, and to thy seed after thee will I give the land.

Exodus 17 : 1-7

1  And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, after their journeys, according to the commandment of the Lord, and pitched in Rephidim: and there was no water for the people to drink.
2 Wherefore the people did chide with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why chide ye with me? wherefore do ye tempt the Lord?
3 And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?
4 And Moses cried unto the Lord, saying, What shall I do unto this people? they be almost ready to stone me.
5 And the Lord said unto Moses, Go on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel; and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thine hand, and go.
6 Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.
7 And he called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the Lord, saying, Is the Lord among us, or not?

I Corinthians 10 : 1-6, 12, 13

1  Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea;
2 And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea;
3 And did all eat the same spiritual meat;
4 And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.
5 But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness.
6 Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.
12 Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.
13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

Ezekiel 39 : 29

29 Neither will I hide my face any more from them: for I have poured out my spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord GOD.

583 : 5-9

CHILDREN OF ISRAEL. The representatives of Soul, not corporeal sense; the offspring of Spirit, who, having wrestled with error, sin, and sense, are governed by divine Science; some of the ideas of God beheld as men, casting out error and healing the sick; Christ’s offspring.

308 : 16-20 (to him)

Jacob was alone, wrestling with error, — struggling with a mortal sense of life, substance, and intelligence as existent in matter with its false pleasures and pains, — when an angel, a message from Truth and Love, appeared to him

309 : 7-23

The result of Jacob’s struggle thus appeared. He had conquered material error with the understanding of Spirit and of spiritual power. This changed the man. He was no longer called Jacob, but Israel, — a prince of God, or a soldier of God, who had fought a good fight. He was to become the father of those, who through earnest striving followed his demonstration of the power of Spirit over the material senses; and the children of earth who followed his example were to be called the children of Israel, until the Messiah should rename them. If these children should go astray, and forget that Life is God, good, and that good is not in elements which are not spiritual, — thus losing the divine power which heals the sick and sinning, — they were to be brought back through great tribulation, to be renamed in Christian Science and led to deny material sense, or mind in matter, even as the gospel teaches.

152 : 3-22 next page

“As in water face answereth to face,” and in love continents clasp hands, so the oneness of God includes also His presence with those whose hearts unite in the purposes of goodness. Of this we may be sure: that thoughts winged with peace and love breathe a silent benediction over all the earth, cooperate with the divine power, and brood unconsciously o’er the work of His hand.

I, as a corporeal person, am not in your midst: I, as a dictator, arbiter, or ruler, am not present; but I, as a mother whose heart pulsates with every throb of theirs for the welfare of her children, am present, and rejoice with them that rejoice.

May meekness, mercy, and love dwell forever in the hearts of those who worship in this tabernacle: then will they receive the heritage that God has prepared for His people, — made ready for the pure in affection, the meek in spirit, the worshipper in truth, the follower of good.

Thus founded upon the rock of Christ, when storm and tempest beat against this sure foundation, you, safely sheltered in the strong tower of hope, faith, and Love, are God’s nestlings; and He will hide you in His feathers till the storm has passed. Into His haven of Soul there enters no element of earth to cast out angels, to silence the right intuition which guides you safely home.

Exercise more faith in God and His spiritual means and methods, than in man and his material ways and means, of establishing the Cause of Christian Science. If right yourself, God will confirm His inheritance. “Be not weary in well doing.” Truth is restful, and Love is triumphant.

When God went forth before His people, they were fed with manna: they marched through the wilderness: they passed through the Red Sea, untouched by the billows. At His command, the rock became a fountain; and the land of promise, green isles of refreshment. In the words of the Psalmist, when “the Lord gave the word: great was the company of those that published it.”

God is good to Israel, — washed in the waters of Meribah, cleansed of the flesh, — good to His Israel encompassed not with pride, hatred, self-will, and self-justification; wherein violence covereth men as a garment, and as captives are they enchained.

Christian Scientists bring forth the fruits of Spirit, not flesh; and God giveth this “new name” to no man who honors Him not by positive proof of trustworthiness. May you be able to say, “I have not cleansed my heart in vain.”

360 : 16-23

When Christian Science has melted away the cloud of false witnesses; and the dews of divine grace, falling upon the blighted flowers of fleeting joys, shall lift every thought-leaflet Spiritward; and “Israel after the flesh,” who partaketh of its own altars, shall be no more,—then, “the Israel according to Spirit” shall fill earth with the divine energies, understanding, and ever-flowing tides of spiritual sensation and consciousness.