We might think of ourselves in this way:
SOUL [unseen]
MIND [bridge between the seen and unseen]
BODY [seen]

When Swedenborg speaks of internal and external, he is talking only about the MIND [or Spirit]:
"The inner and outer parts I am talking about are the inner and outer parts of our spirit. The body is just an extra outer part added on, in which the other two exist. The body does not do anything by itself; everything it does comes from the spirit inside it." (New Jerusale, and Its Heavenly Doctrine, 46)

Body = interface with the physical world
Soul = recipient of life

He has much more to say about THE MIND or SPIRIT.
Heavenly Secrets, 8443.2 - specifically, on Truth
Divine
Proceeding directly from the Divine 
“Celestial” - Highest heaven.
Spiritual” - Middle heaven
“Natural” - Lowest heaven:
“this may to some small extent be perceived by man, but only if he is enlightened, though even then it is such that human language is incapable of expressing a large part of it.”
“Ultimate” level:
“the sixth level of God's truth is as it exists with man; it is adjusted to his discernment, thus it is the sense of the letter of the Word.”

Swedenborg also refers to
an “interior natural” and an “exterior natural” (Heavenly Secrets 5094, below)
“Internal memory”, and “External memory” (Heavenly Secrets 9922)

IT IS EASIER TO THINK OF THESE AS COMPARATIVE TERMS, rather than as defining levels of being.

What can I understand? What can I use?

If we think about the MIND - there is clearly:
* What I am conscious of
* What I am NOT conscious of (dreams, where do my thoughts come from?)

Genesis 40 - PHARAOH, BUTLER and the BAKER
“Interior natural” - PHARAOH
And “Exterior natural” - BUTLER and the BAKER - whose role is to serve what is higher, although they don’t always (which is why they’ve been thrown in prison)

PHARAOH - the “ruler”, decision maker, executive function  [THE OBSERVING SELF?]
BUTLER - serves the understanding, thinks from learned principles, rational things (from HIGHER)
BAKER - serves the will, thinks from conclusions of the senses (from LOWER)
JOSEPH - brings Divine INSIGHT revealing the proper ORDER of the mind: that lower should serve what is higher.

EVENTUALLY … Joseph comes to rule.

HOW DOES THIS APPLY TO ME?
In every situation, I can make decisions - and bring these into action - based on one of two things:
Externals -
* Conclusions from sensory information
* The way things appear to be
* My bodily impulses (e.g. fight or flight)
Internals -
* Learned principles, rational things
* Love to the Lord and the neighbour
* Obedience to order

If you think you don’t have this problem … examine your habitual responses to events and circumstances
* Do you jump to conclusions about people?
* How do you handle stressful situations?
* How do you react to disagreements? Or to things you don’t want to hear?

YOUR TASK - See where each of these paths leads
One leads to destruction - if it is allowed to rule - more often than not.

Recorded Sunday 26 May 2024

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What You Don't Want To Do Is What You Probably Should

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
For they shall be filled.” (Matthew 5:6)

“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33)

Rev Ian Arnold on the Beatitudes
: “... no one reaches out for righteousness, for the Lord's order in their lives, unless they are dissatisfied with the way things are at present.” (https://static.swedenborg.com.au/pdf/transcripts/136TheBeatitudes4.pdf)

What is “righteousness”? Living according to the ten commandments - obeying the rules?
Dictionary meaning: “the quality of being morally right or justifiable.”

HOWEVER, you can behave yourself perfectly well, but still be dissatisfied with the outcome of your life. Is this an EMPTY PROMISE?

dikaiosuné: righteousness, justice [Gk 1343] - justice, justness, righteousness, righteousness of which God is the source or author, but practically: a divine righteousness.

What is the difference between God’s Righteousness - and human righteousness?
“The righteous in the Word mean those who have lived in accordance with Divine order, since Divine order is righteousness.” (True Christian Religion, 96)”

When I think of Divine Order, I think of three laws:
“... all the statutes commanded to the sons of Israel were laws of order in the external form, but those things which they represented and signified were laws of order in the internal form.” (Heavenly Secrets, 7995)

Just as there are natural laws - conservation of energy, momentum - there are spiritual laws.

What are those “laws of order in internal form”?
* Spiritual Attraction
“Judge not, that you be not judged.” (Matthew 7:1)
“Like are drawn spontaneously as it were to their like.” (Heaven and Hell, 44)

* Spiritual Influx 
“As in heaven, so upon the earth” (Matthew 6:10)
“... it is a law of order that exterior things should be subject to interior things, or what is the same, lower things to higher ones, and should serve them as servants” (AC 5127)

* Equilibrium
“No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13)
NATURALLY, NOT TRUE!
“... it is in accordance with the laws of order that no one should become convinced of the truth instantaneously, that is, should instantaneously be made so sure of the truth that he is left in no doubt at all about it.” (AC 7298.2)

How do these laws work out, in real life? Recent FACEBOOK conversation:
1. Why wouldn’t a “perfect” God create a “perfect” world? 
What do WE mean by a “perfect” world? A world without suffering.
What does GOD mean by a “perfect world”? Perhaps, "fit for purpose": a world which achieves what God intends for it. A world in which we can learn the meaning and practice of love.

2. The desire for freedom.
What is freedom? 
Freedom is an illusion as is free will. Free will is not free will when it comes with punishment and reward. It is coercion. Freedom implies no responsibilities no consequences and we know that is untrue.

“Few know what freedom is and what non-freedom is. Freedom seems to entail everything that is in keeping with any love and associated delight, and non-freedom to entail everything that is at variance with these. That which is in keeping with self-love and love of the world, and with the desires belonging to those loves, seems to man to be freedom; but that is the freedom of hell. That however which is in keeping with love to the Lord and love towards the neighbour, consequently with the love of what is good and true, is true freedom, being the freedom that exists in heaven.” (AC 2870)

We are blessed:
By the acknowledgement that we lack what is Divinely, spiritually, good and true.
When we recognise that our perspective has been too outwardly and naturally focussed.

Recorded on Sunday 2 June 2024

Hunger And Thirst For Righteousness

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A new series looking at the Messianic Psalms

WHY “Messianic” Psalms?
“… where there is a reference to the Messiah in a psalm, and it is applied to Christ and expounded in the New Testament. Sometimes a whole psalm applies to Christ, e.g., Psalm 22. Sometimes a paragraph, e.g., Psalm 40:6-10. … Sometimes a single verse, e.g., Psalm 41:9.” (https://plymouthbrethren.org/article/11672)

"It is obvious that some of the psalms are occupied entirely with the Person and the thoughts and feelings of our Lord while others clearly refer to the experience of the psalmist, … [In Psalm 69] … When David exclaims: “O God, thou knowest my foolishness, and my sins are not hid from Thee,” he obviously is referring to himself (v. 5)." (https://plymouthbrethren.org/article/11672)

“... let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher (or originator and perfector) of our faith …” (Hebrews 12:1,2)

"Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may [i]obtain it. 25 And everyone who competes for the prize [j]is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. 26 Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. 27 But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified." (1 Corinthians 9:24-27)

Waiting On The Lord - Psalm 40

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God." (Matthew 5:9)

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What does it mean to be a "Son of God"?
A focus of the Gospel of John
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but [of the will] of God. (John 1:12,13)

If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me. Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word. You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. (John 8:42-44)

Paul on adoption (Romans)
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, "Abba, Father." (Romans 8:14,15, also Galatians 4; Ephesians 1)

BUT WHAT IS A PEACEMAKER?
The only occurrence in the Bible
From … GK 1515 eirḗnē
Name, Irene.
From eirō, "to join, tie together into a whole" – properly, wholeness, i.e. when all essential parts are joined together; peace.

For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross. (Colossians 1:19,20)

But whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace to this house.' And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest on it; if not, it will return to you. … But I say to you that it will be more tolerable in that Day for Sodom than for that city. (Luke 10:5,6,12 [Matthew 10:13-15])

What we learn from Jesus' saying:
"And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." (Matthew 10:28)

Daryl Davis's question: Why do they hate me when they do not know me?
https://youtu.be/ORp3q1Oaezw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=waVrJEIfahc

https://www.npr.org/2017/08/20/544861933/how-one-man-convinced-200-ku-klux-klan-members-to-give-up-their-robes

PEACE ONLY BEGINS WHEN WE ARE REFORMED INWARDLY
"The outer self is reformed by means of the inner self when the outer self refrains from the evils that the inner self intends to avoid because they are from hell. We are more completely reformed when for that reason we abstain from [evils] and fight against them. In this way, what is within is intending and what is outside is acting; for unless we do what we intend, there is a lack of real intention inside that eventually becomes unwillingness." (Divine Providence 151)

Recorded on Sunday 6 October 2024

Blessed Are The Peacemakers

Our Mission is to promote and facilitate personal and community growth by developing lives of useful service to towards God, the Divine Creator, and others in accordance with biblical teaching as understood through the spiritual writings of Emanuel Swedenborg (1688 – 1772).
Our Vision is to be part of a growing community in Victoria of spiritual believers seeking to serve God, the Divine Creator, through a deepening understanding of God’s love and care for everyone and by sharing spiritual principles in an open and non-judgmental way to foster a supportive environment to facilitate the spiritual journey.

New tracks tagged #cityofmonash,