FREELY YOU HAVE RECEIVED
Is there anything, in this Illusion we call life, that is free?
Scripture says: "freely you have received, freely give." But is what you have received truly that which if free or did it cost the giver something? Certainly, you may have received it for free, but was it free for the giver?
It is believed that the gift of life and salvation is a free gift, but was not the so-called gift paid for by Christ? Was there not a price to pay for your so-called free gift? You can bet your bottom dollar, there was! And a great price it was!
Everything, that you may think of, is paid for in some fashion and in some way, by everyone. Be it by the sweat of their brow, the time on their hands or the financial elimination of funds from their pocket. If someone gives you a gift, of any kind, they have paid for it in some way, though it be free to you.
In the Scriptures below, we have the meaning given for the term freely in the bible. It means "undeservedly". Undeservedly, you have received. What does that mean? It means that all that you have received of God, you did not deserve, but God gave it to you anyway. You received of God, that which you did not earn, neither deserved, but for the grace of God, you received. Now because He loves you and has given to you ALL that you have, you too can give to others freely!
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So how does the freely undeservedly given gift relate to the understanding that all that which we receive is paid, for or bought, in some way?
We are Spiritual Beings dwelling in a natural realm. Scripture says first that which is natural and after, that which is spiritual. In reality it is the opposite, however, in the realm of Illusion, it is the natural we first look to that gives us a picture or teaches us of the spiritual realm. There comes a time, when we realize that it is the spiritual realm that comes first and the Illusion of the natural realm is but our experience. Until that realization comes to fullness, we look to the natural, to often understand the spiritual, like the wind to describe the Spirit, etc.
In the natural, Scripture tells us that if we do not work, neither shall we eat. In regards to being fed our natural food, God says we are to work for it. We can either barter our work for our food or we can be paid for our work and buy the sustenance we need to live on. Either way, God requires us to work for that which we get. And we know that in the natural, all that we received comes from the work that we do, to get it. We may receive something for which we do not work for, but someone, somewhere did. You were but the recipient of their work. That which you receive, be it the roof over your head, the clothes on your back or the food in your belly, was, in some way or another, paid for by someone. And even though some of it may have been freely and undeservedly received, there was still a price attached to it somewhere.
So how does the price paid for those things in the natural relate to a price paid for Spiritual things?
All your spiritual food and clothing, were bought and paid for by Christ. Every revelation and all your understanding received, has come from the Christ in you, because the natural realm was crucified and buried. When you begin to Re-member, BE Re-newed, BE Re-surrected, BE Re-generated into Christ consciousness, you pay a price for it. The price is the releasing of your natural realm of understanding of this Illusionary state into a higher state of Reality. You Re-move the Illusion of separation to Re-member your true Identity of Spirit. And the price is expensive to the natural egoistic realm your mind would have you BE in. Your mind requires a large payment for its giving up this realm. sometimes, even most often, you are unwilling to pay to Be relieved of your natural egoistic realm, even though you know the payoff will Be great.
We are unwilling to pay this great price, to walk on water, to move in and out of time and space at the blink of an eye, to BE who we really are, because our mind says it is too great a price and we believe it over the Spirit which tells us that the price has been paid. So the natural mind tells us that he will accept payments a bit at a time, like payments on a credit card, except the interest is never paid off and the payments continue to exist for us. If we were ever to realize that there is no payment to be made by us, we would be able to walk in any realm we chose. So as in the natural realm, where we must pay for the food we eat, thus it is in the Spiritual realm, where we pay in order to walk in the realm of Spirit. We don't NEED to, we just do, because we believe we need to. We will stop paying when we stop believing we need to pay.
Every time you go to the store to buy your food, you must purchase it with the money you have in your wallet, that you worked hard to receive. You will not be able to walk out of the grocery store without paying for the food in your cart. If you do, you are stealing the food. If you are caught, you could be charged, convicted and fines for the theft. When God gives to you, your Spiritual food, most of us are very thankful for it. We feed off it and receive the nourishment we need. We digest it and sometimes we eat it over and over again, so that we can receives all that is there for us. We do not deserve it, we say, but we do enjoy it and we grow by it. It is at those times when, unexpectedly, the gift drops in on our laps. When we are hungry and thirsty for just a small portion of food from God and suddenly, there it is and we eat from the table of plenty. But most often it does not come that way!
Most often we try to steal it from others. Others who have placed the food on the shelf for us to pick and chose and place in our grocery carts, to bring home and eat of. Others who have labored before God, to be able to feed the hungry heart with a different menu each day or week. Others, who have purchased the food of Life, by the sweat of their brows and the time on their hands. Who have spent hours in prayer, in order to get just the right plate for the customer. They have spent all their natural self, in order to purchase the Spiritual food that they place on the grocery shelves for you to receive. And we take from the store of plenty and walk out without paying for it. We steal from the supplier of our spiritual food that we grow by, and friend, most often we don't even say thanks, never mind giving back to the owner of the store. And next week we return to receive more from the owner, expecting that the shelves will be full again for our choosing, picking and stealing.
We have ALL been, and perhaps some still are, guilty of stealing from the store. When will we stop being thieves of our brothers who have fed us so much from their shelves? When will we stop walking past the owner without thanking him for all that he has provided us and given, for us? Ever thought of the price he has paid for our provision, in order that we may grow thereby? Ever thought of the time, effort and sacrifices he gave, so you could be nourished in a healthy Body? No, we just fill our carts and grocery bags up to the brim, walk out the door and expect that the food will be there when we return for more tomorrow or next week.
Oh, there are some who stop and give back to the owner, that for which they receive, but they are few and far between. They are the ones who value the food on their tables and the bringer of Life. Those that walk out, most often complain because there just was not enough to steal, or it was not the right flavor for the month and they expect the owner to bring to them a better menu tomorrow to eat. They that complain the loudest are usually the ones who steal the most, for in the complaining, hides the theft. But if we want to eat, in the natural, do we not pay for the food we receive? Or are we foolish enough to believe that we can go to the store and walk out with anything and everything we want and not pay for it? In the spiritual realm, it is often the latter. We seldom want to pay for the Spiritual food we receive and many - a - time we complain at the taste the food leaves in our mouths. The greatest and loudest complainers are the ones who pay nothing for what they have received, and expect to receive more for the price they have not paid.
I have been in the grocery business, but for a short time. I have fed but not a few, yet have received from only two customers. Now because I am new to the business, I have capitol behind me and am not worried at all about the stealing that goes on. I give thanks to those that have given back and have placed a value on the product I bring. And I do not worry much, for I have another business that brings me dividends as well. So if I do not get a return on my investment in the grocery business, and it goes belly-up, no big deal. I will survive, live and continue on in life. Those that shop at my store will find another to get their food from, many of whom would not miss the store much anyway. However, there are other grocery store owners who have been in the business for a long time and have supplied their customers the sustenance they have needed, who now are coming close to bankruptcy. They are losing all that they have, in order to bring to their clientele the necessary items for them to continue to live on and still the customers steal from them. And when there is no more food in the store, to steal from, they will move on to another store and another owner, expecting him to feed them, until they too are bankrupt and can no longer supply the thieves the things they desire.
My friends, I am aware that this message will not be accepted by all and many a store owner will not support this owners policy, but every store has its own policies he must be directed by. I, in the past, have shopped at other stores and frankly, I am tired of stealing from my fellow brethren who have paid so dearly a price for what I have received from them. I refuse to shop anywhere, unless I can give back to them, for the food they have supplied me. Many an owner may wish to give, but I need not take that which is given.
So shopper, if you are receiving from a store of plenty, if you are being fed food of Life from a store of bountiful supply, give back to the owner in your giving. It matters not whether the store's name is Eby's Edibles, Roaches' Restaurant, Sigler's Supply Depot, or yes, even Sirius' Star Emporium, the point of the matter is that you are being fed from a supplier who has given much and paid greatly for the food you eat on a daily basis. If you will not pay, do not shop. You say you do not have the funds to pay for your food. Try telling that to your natural grocer and see if he will give you free food for your natural growth. You say that what I am saying is that we must give of the natural, in order to receive of the spiritual and I must say, that is somewhat correct. The store supplies you with a natural product that gives you spiritual enlightenment and understanding. He brings you a word, a letter, an article, written in the natural realm, so that you can see into and live from the spiritual realm and without that natural realm of giving, you cannot receive the spiritual realm of life, neither can he sustain his natural realm. If you could receive of the spiritual realm without the natural realm, you would not need, nor be shopping at the grocers store. And if the store goes under, you do not get fed. So just as you rely upon the store to feed you, so the owner relies upon you to keep the ability of him to stay in business in supplying and getting the needed food out to you. There is a cost in getting the product out on the shelves in both the natural and the spiritual, and if we cannot go directly to the Supplier, we must deal with the middleman, who stocks the shelves. We must stop stealing from our local store owner who supplies our food. You would not begin to even think about ripping off your local grocery store, why then from your spiritual supplier? We do so because we do not value our supplies and our supplier.
Wherever you shop at, be it in one store or in several, do not walk out with your bag full, without giving in return for that which you have. Stop off at the teller and place something in the till, for the owner, so that he can continue to bring you the supplies you long for. We Christians and Sons of God, have been notorious at not giving to the store owner and supplier of our food. We have, for so long, been used to just going to the well and expecting the well to be full and without end and never considering that the well may someday go dry. We expect the grocer to always supply and that our table will always have food on it and we have never given thought at the value of the food and the price paid for it. We look upon it, no longer as Prime Rib Roast, but as a MacDonald's Big Mac and even then we complain at the price of the burger. We are thieves and robbers for we do not wish to pay for what we eat, yet we do not want to starve either. So we steal from the grocery owner and wonder why the food does not last long or why there is a bad taste in our palette after the meal. Yet we come back for more.
Friend we will have to continue to go back to the store owner for our supplies, until we realize we can go directly to the Supplier. When we stop asking Eby's Edibles to supply our steaks, when we stop Sigler's Supplies from bringing us our Prime Rib or Sirius Star Emporium from sharing with us the elixir of the God's, and we begin to realize and understand that the middleman is no longer needed, then we will Be able to receive directly from the Wholesaler Himself. When you can sit and receive from Father, when you can walk and talk and glean ALL from Father, you will not need to shop at the corner store for your food. When you can do that, you will Be receiving Freely from the Master Giver. Until then, one must continue to stock up from the shelves of the middleman and if you shop there, you must continue to pay for the delivery charges or continue to steal from him.
Ever wonder why most store owners do not have a price on the items you receive? Ever wonder why, they do not stop you from leaving the store without paying for the food you take with you? Probably not. Oh yes, there are some who do place a price tag on their product and when there is that tag on it, many pay the asking price without flinching a bit, for there is a value placed on the item being bought. And because there is a price, we look at it and if we want that item, if we believe it is worth the asking value, we have no hesitation in paying. But if there is no price tag, we believe it is free and thus we place no value upon it. We do not ask the owner what it cost him. We do not ask if we can reimburse him for the goods. We just simply believe we have the right to take it for nothing, because we have done it for so long. The sign on many a store front is "Freely You Have Received" but the latter part of the same sign has been removed by thieves and robbers. It is time for us to put it back, before more store owners go out of business. Let us keep them in business until they retire and we no longer need their supplies, for we will have come to rely and receive directly from Father. I am sure the owners will be more than happy to retire then, knowing that you will always be taken care of. Going out of business then, would bring them great joy.
This message has weighed heavily upon my heart for a long time and I was not sure what was going to be said, until I sat down and began to write in the Spirit. I may get flack by other owners, but I am doubtful of that. I may get letters of concern from my customers, but if they do not like the food, I am also sure they will go somewhere else. There are tables a plenty that bring a large assortment of food for consumption. And there are some owners who are bound by their customers, for if they do not receive from them, it is certain they would go out of business, so they must cater to the customer base. I know, also, that we ALL have been used to not giving back to those that have fed us from our beginnings to the present. We have gotten used to being fed freely and have taken for granted that our food would always be there and be supplied by the grocer. We need to stop and look around at what we have been given by him and give back to him. The burden, upon the grocer, to supply all the needs of the shopper grows every day and the demands of the shopper continues to grow as well. When, in the natural, a thief is caught, he most often must return what has been stolen. We steal and seldom return and not being caught, we continue being thieves.
Ever wonder why you value something that you have paid a great price for, over something that you have been freely given? It's because you have worked hard and saved diligently for a long time, in order for you to buy it. It cost you a great deal to get it, and so you have placed a great value upon it. The man, in the Bible, new what it cost him to buy the field and he paid the asking price. The field was of great value to Him. We take for granted, the food we receive because we have been used to getting it for nothing and so it is worth nothing. And how can one steal nothing or even consider it stealing? We place no value on the food from the grocer and if there is no value, there can be no theft. Yet whenever we come back for more of nothing, we want to pay less and less for the nothing we steal.
But the store owner knows the value of the product and it is he who pays for ALL the nothing we steal from him. But the less return he receives from his investment, the closer to bankruptcy he gets. Yet he still keeps giving and we keep stealing. I often wonder who is the dumber of the two?
Give and it will be given unto you, pressed down and shaken together, thy cup running over. We have all been given so much and have taken even more. Perhaps it is time we either stop shopping or begin giving. If we cannot give to all our suppliers, give to the one who is supplying your needs now. Shop at the store that is presently feeding you the nourishment you are desiring NOW and give to that store. Others will shop elsewhere and receive what is needed for them. If you have been receiving from many grocery stores and have not been giving to them, stop receiving from them and ask them to save their product for those that shop with them. Don't allow the owner to continue to send his product to you and get nothing in return. Perhaps you will be robbing that product from those who truly need it, but the store has run out of the item you presently now have and are not using. One way or another, we are stealing from those who supply or from those who may need the supply.
Ministers are to feed the flock, but often it is the flock that fleeces the feeder. Without the feed, there is no flock and soon the flock becomes malnourished, withers and dies. Until you can feed yourself, don't fleece the feeder that feeds the flock.
We will pay for our natural food, because we value our natural life. Will we begin to pay for our spiritual food, because we value our Spiritual Life, or is our natural Illusion more valuable than our Spiritual Reality?
There is much more that could be said about receiving and giving, perhaps in the realm of tithing, which this store does not believe in, but I am sure that you have received that which has bee given here. The food may not BE palatable to you and perhaps you have decided to not digest it, or perhaps even throw it away in the garbage or to not share it with others. The choice is yours to make, but you cannot return it to the store as much as you would like to. The grocer has placed it on the shelf and you have taken opened the box. You can call and complain to the grocer that the food he supplies, is not to your liking, and many do, but I have found that the loudest complainers are usually the greatest thieves.
Now allow me to make this clear, we ALL shop at different grocery stores for our natural supplies and we will ALL receive from a Spiritual supplier at some point in our Spiritual walk. Until we do not need to receive from any middleman and can receive directly from God, then let us help the local grocer so that they may give to us that which we are looking for and that which gives us LIFE and LIFE more abundantly. If there is no LIFE in the food you are receiving, shop around until you find a place, or places, that brings you that Life.
Freely (undeservedly) we have received, Freely let us give back.
PS: After this article was placed online, I received an e-mail from a dear heart who was somewhat offended by the article. She explained her position, in a caring and loving fashion, that she felt the article placed condemnation upon the reader and in all honesty, could not support the article, nor the ministry, in sharing the site with others. She asked to be removed from our mailing list. A request that was granted.
We certainly understand and appreciate her concerns, but it would seem that, perhaps, she missed the last paragraph of the article and the point of the message. We glean from many souls, that which God would have us to Know. If the workman is worthy of his hire and the Ministries are doing God's work, in the Kingdom, then should they not be helped, by us, in their natural sustenance? There are many Ministers, in the Kingdom, who bring Spiritual Life to us. To bless those individuals, with a small portion of what God has blessed us in the natural, is not asking much in return. A blessing, need not be from your pocket book. When was the last time we took the time out to send a letter of blessing to that Minister, to say thank you for such a wonderful article. It so richly blessed me. I appreciate your ministry and your messages. But we don't. We take for granted that the Minister is supposed to do what God has called him to do and we ask that he continue to do that. That's his calling and his job. That may be so, but if we are blessed by his calling, can we not return the blessing.
If you have been offended by this article and felt there was condemnation within, then perhaps you did not get the real intention of it. There was no condemnation placed within, only what was taken out. It is written: "Great peace have they that love thy law (written within) and NOTHING (NO -THING) shall offend them".
I pray you have great peace within, in ALL things.
Namaste
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