Sunday Message for February 26, 2023

Your Highest Intent

I would like to talk about seeing God in everything. When you look around at your friends, your family, your employment situation, even your world, do you see them only from the surface level or do you see God in them? This week, in a variety of ways, take the opportunities to see God in everything as we deepen into the profound Truth - we really are all one.

I called today's talk "Your Highest Intent." What is the highest intent any of us can ever have? And did you know that when you align with it, the Universe aligns with you? This morning, we will unwrap this intent and will pose a series of questions to help us stay aligned with it 24/7.

A little girl was once drawing a picture and her teacher said, "That's an interesting picture. Tell me about it." "It's a picture of God." "But nobody knows what God looks like," said the teacher. "Well, they will when I get done."

Would you join me in this same level of certainty as that little girl - that whatever we are looking it, it's a picture of God! That whatever we see, we realize we are seeing God; said another way, that we see God in everything!

Let's set our intent. We know the power of intent for setting up the creation of our experiences, right? My desire for us today is that we get so clear about our highest inner intent in this now moment that our outer experiences the next moment and then the next and then the next can do nothing but align with it.

It has been said that if you want to know what someone was thinking yesterday, look at her experience today. And if you want to know what someone's experience will be tomorrow, look at what he is thinking today.

THE CRITICAL QUESTION - WHAT IS THE HIGHEST INTENT WE CAN HAVE?
Today, we will lay the groundwork for our highest intent. . .

First by asking (and answering) a critical question,

Second by raising 3 questions that can aid you in living the answer to the first; and

Finally by seeing what happens when you do.

First, the critical question. What is the highest intent any of us can ever have? What is the summum bonum (Latin for "highest of highest"), of intents?

And since you are such sharp bunch, you have probably already figured it out, but I want to refine it a bit. Let me read the Scripture at Luke 12:31, which offers us the answer simply and directly:

Strive for the Kingdom of God, and all of these things will be given to you as well.^a

And the "all of these things" to which Jesus refers are the things necessary to live this earthly experience. In fact, the previous verses read:

And do not keep striving for what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not keep worrying. For it is the nations of the world that strive after all these things, and your Father knows that you need them.^b

Instead, strive for God's kingdom, and all of these things will be given to you as well

And in the next verse comes Jesus' great abundance promise:

"Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.^c

I'm quoting the New Revised Standard version. The King James Version, which is more well known, reads:

Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

We in Unity love, love, love that verse. We get so excited about the "good pleasure to give you the Kingdom" part that we gloss over or forget the critical statement 3 verses above.

Seek the Kingdom of God first and then everything else will fall into place. (my version!)

First, seek to know God, not as some external force or presence from which you are separate, but as the very essence of who and what you are - and your life will have meaning.

Seek to realize and align with the idea that you are the manifestation of Essence Itself - and you will be on purpose.

Seek to experience yourself as the leading edge extension of Source Energy (to use a phrase coined by Abraham) - and you will experience love.

Seek to live as a distribution center for God - with your double doors wide open - and you will have abundance!

The highest intention you can have, the summum bonum of all intentions, is the intention to live and move and have your being in God.

Let's turn that into an affirmation:

"My highest intention is to live and move and have my being in God!"

OK, even though I've said that's the highest intention you can have, I want to take it a rung on the ladder higher by changing one little word. Listen for it:

"My highest intention is to live and move and have my being AS God!"

Say that with me.

"My highest intention is to live and move and have my being AS God!"

And , of course, if that is our highest intention, if we have an intention to live and move and have our being AS God, then what do you suppose we will see wherever we look - of course, we will see God in everything!

If that's our intention, then here are three questions we can ask ourselves to help us stay aligned with that intention moment by moment.

THREE QUESTIONS THAT WILL KEEP US ALIGNED WITH OUR HIGHEST INTENT
These questions^d are inspired - yet modified -- from a book entitled The Right Questions: Ten Essential Questions to Guide You to an Extraordinary Life by Debbie Ford. The entire premise of the book is that at every moment we are at choice. Agreed! And in every moment the choice we make, directs where our lives will go.

Tony Robbins once said: "Quality questions create a quality life."^e

Are you ready for three quality questions?

Question 1: Will this choice help me see God in the present or will it keep me stuck in the past?

Debbie Ford writes: "Every choice we make leads us in one of two directions. We are either headed toward the future that inspires us or we are holding on to a past that limits us."

The Toltec tradition tells us that we surrender a portion of our life force when we dwell on any unhealed wounding event from our past. Resentment, it tells us, robs us of our life force.

Anytime you unearth the old unhealed wounds it is like digging up the dead - and you can imagine how that smells. Jesus told us, "Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead."^f

Past limitations just might be the biggest killer of the human spirit that exists today. We have the power to choose to give up the past, move forward and create our future now!

In the Science of Mind text, Ernest Holmes writes,

"We should erase all thoughts of yesterday that would rob us of today's happiness. There is nothing arising out of the past that can disturb me. The past, the present and the future are one unbroken stream of Good. I loose all thoughts that in the past have caused anxiety. The Spirit knows no past and is not affected by the belief in any. The past is swallowed up in the victory of a perfect present, which is filled with love and protection. I see that the future is bright with promise. It beckons me forward into a more complete realization of my own worth and my rightful place in the Universe. There is no future to be afraid of and no past to bring discord into the present."^g

Will this choice help me see God right here and right now or will it keep me stuck in the past?

Question 2: Am I looking for What's Right or Am I Looking for What's Wrong?

Abraham Lincoln reminds us that we are only has happy as we make up our minds to be. Looking for what's wrong prevents us from seeing the perfection that exists in our lives right now. What would happen if we changed the lens through which we viewed the world?

How would your life be altered if every time you looked in the mirror, you appreciated what you saw instead of picked it apart?

What might shift if you saw your co-workers as divine beings who are here to impart essential wisdom to you rather than see how they are not doing their jobs properly?

What would happen if we listened to our spouses or partners as though they were the most special people in the world?

I used to love to watch reruns of the TV show Frazier. There is one where Frazier is dating two women, Cassandra and Kay, and he simply cannot choose between them. He thinks he's made his choice and then he sees the other and makes a new choice. But finally, finally, he decides - it's Kay. He's clear. He's absolutely sure she's the one. So he runs over to her house, unannounced, to tell her he wants to be exclusive with her. She's not expecting him, so she's a bit of a mess. They sit down on the sofa, and he tells her he wants to be exclusive. Oh, they are both so happy, and they make goo-goo eyes at each other.

She begins to talk, and we hear him thinking, "Sweet Kay. Wonderful Kay," which lasts for about a nanosecond and then his thoughts turn to "But what is up with that outfit what could she be thinking and that hair - has it seen a brush today? Boy she does just go on and on, doesn't she?" And we know that another one of his relationships is doomed!

What would happen if we listened to our spouses or partners as though they were the most special people in the world?

Looking for what is right is a choice that allows us to see God in the situation!

Question 3. Do I Use Challenging Situations As Catalysts to Grow and Evolve or Do I Allow Myself to Stay in Smallness?

When we get our buttons pushed (the buttons of fear or resentment or hurt or jealousy or anger), it is just an opportunity to evolve to a higher level of consciousness. It's not about the situation or the other person - it's about something inside of us that is wanting to be revealed or transformed.

The spiritual truth is that we can only soar as high as we are willing to go deep -- this question deepens and then elevates us!

Environmentalist Van Jones said that major change has never been preceded by a good day! What happens on good days? Nothing!

But bad days, wow, they cause us to take stock, to hit the reset button, to begin anew. A breakdown is often required before a breakthrough.

When you choose to see the events of your life as opportunities for growth, you automatically transform painful moments into enlightened ones.

The great spiritual teacher Muktananda once said: "Use everything to your advantage."

This is the hallmark of spiritual mastery. To move to your empowered, God-filled future, choose to see your triumphs and tragedies as invitations to grow and evolve.

Those are the three questions to ask yourself on a regular basis to help you live your intention to be this powerful distribution center for God.

* Question 1. Will this choice help me see God in the present or will it keep me stuck in the past?

* Question 2: Am I looking for What's Right or Am I Looking for What's Wrong?

* Question 3: Do I Use Challenging Situations As Catalysts to Grow and Evolve or Do I Allow Myself to Stay in Smallness?

WHAT HAPPENS IN OUR LIVES WHEN WE LIVE FROM PURE INTENTION?
Many of us have IDD - Intention Deficient Disorder. But, did you know that when you align with your highest intent, using these questions and other ways to keep you in alignment as much as possible, the Universe aligns with you even if you get it wrong!?

So, you don't need to fear mistakes because when your intention is pure, all things work together for good or as it says in the Book of Romans:

We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.^h

Interesting, the Lamsa translation is quite a bit different. It reads:

"And we know that those who love God are helped by him in everything for good."

Let me give an example of how things work together for good when you come from your highest intent - even if you get it wrong!

This example is a story of an amazing mystic from Africa, Brother Ishmael Tetteh. Have you ever heard him? He truly is a modern-day mystic, a beautiful, beautiful soul. If you have heard him, you know that he has a fairly heavy African accent - so you need to listen to him pretty carefully to understand him. But he is definitely worth listening to carefully.

Well, he was at Agape doing a talk one Sunday when Dr. Michael Beckwith was gone. He spoke brilliantly to the congregation about discovering and living from their inner purpose.

A few weeks later, Dr. Michael was back and at the end of one of their services, a woman came through the line and said she wanted to tell him about a profound experience she had as a result of Brother Tetteh's talk. She said when he was at their church, she was going through a really, really rough patch. There were some conditions in her life that seemed almost impossible, but then she heard him speak, and while in the moment, what he was saying didn't make any sense to her at all, she went home and meditated on it and it became clear and once it became clear, she became clearer, and things in her life started to shift.

You see, she did not hear him say "find and live from your inner purpose." Because of his African accent, she heard him say "find and live from your inner porpoise."

She didn't get that at first, but then she started meditating on the life of a porpoise - free, alive, playful, provided for by the ocean, etc., etc. And as she meditated, she started feeling freer and more alive and more playful and provided for! And once she started to feel that way, she began showing up in her life differently and, lo and behold, her life situation started to shift.

She wanted to thank Dr. Michael for bringing Brother Ishmael to Agape. He had changed her life!

Michael said he didn't have the heart to tell her she heard Tetteh's words incorrectly!!

So, you see, my friends, even when you get it "wrong," you get it "right" when you come from the highest intention.

And so, set your intention to know God, not as some external force or presence from which you are separate, but as the very essence of who and what you are.

Set your intention to realize that you are the manifestation of Essence Itself.

Set your intention to realize that you are the leading edge extension of Source Energy.

Set your intention to be a distribution center for God - with double wide doors.

Ask yourself quality questions as you go about making the myriad of choices you face every day.

And then even if you miss the mark, even if you don't quite get it right, all things will work together to create a life in which you see the goodness, the glory and the magnificence of God in everything! Let it be your way...