Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ

Chapter 1 - from the Shallows to the Depths

page 1-5

We have all been called to the depths of Christ just as surely as we have been called to salvation.
this deep inward relationship with Jesus is the turning and yielding of your heart to the LORD; the expression of loving within your heart for him.

"Pray without Ceasing" - 1 thess 5:17

"watch and pray" Mark 13:33,37

"I counsel you to buy from me gold tried in the fire that you may be rick" Rev 3:18

Come to the living waters, not digging wells that have no water: John 7:37; Jere 2:13

The only way to be perfect is to walk in the presence of God. The only way to live in his presence in uninteruppted fellowship is by means of prayer.. a very special kind of prayer. It is a prayer that will lead you into the presence of God and keep you there, regardless of the conditions, place, time. It is not a prayer that comes from your mind, but it begins in the heart. It does not come from your understanding or you thoughts. That would not be good enough, the mind is very limited.
Paryer that comes out of the heart is not interrpted by thinking...
The only thing that can cause this type of prayer to stop is selfish desires. but even that fades, as you spend time with him you will find it impossible to have pleasure in anything except him.

How to begin? Just find out how to seek him, and then you will discover that this way to god is more natural and easy than taking a breath.

2 - Launching Out

p 7-13

Two ways to come to the Lord

Praying the Scripture - the goal is to seek to find the Lord in what you ar reading, in the very words themselves. So the content is the focal point, and the purpose is to take everything from the passage that unveils the Lord to you.
- Chose some passage of scripture that is simple and fairly practical
- come quitely and humbly to the Lord
- read a small portion of the scripture
- read slowly - take in fully, gently, and carefully what you ar reading. Taste, and digest it.
- do not move to another passage until you have sensed the very heart of what you read
- you may then want to take a portion of that which has touched you and turn it into prayer
if you read quickly you are like a bee that merely skims the surface of a flower.. instead you become the bee who penetrates not the depths of the flower to remove its deepest nectar.

Reading scripture for study and scholarship has its place, but it does not help you when it comes to matters that are divine. You must plunge into the very depths of the words you read until revelation, like sweek aroma, breaks out upon you.

In my own mind, i felt this type of studious scripture reading, which involves the human mind and not the soul, is for reaching others... for communicating with others. the mind is in the physical plane attached to the human body, therefore using it is for application in the physical plane.
Beholding the Lord, or Waiting in His presence
- Scripture here is used for focusing on our Source, not for reading or ingesting, tasting the intention of the scripture.
- the mind has a tendancy to stray from the LORD, so the mind presents the greatest difficulty in waiting on the LORD. Scripture is used here to quiet the mind.
- read a passage of scripture, sense the LORD's presence.
- begin by setting time aside to be with the Lord.
- come quietly, turn your heart to the presence of God. you do this by faith; by faith you believe you have come into the presence of God.
- while in the presence of God, begin to read some portion of scripture... gently pausing in order to set your mind on the spirit.
- you have set your mind inwardly -- on Christ
- the scripture turned your mind from outward things to the deep parts of your being
- while there before the LORD, hold your heart in his his presence.. do this by faith.
- turn all your attention toward your spirit, do not allow your mind to wander, if it does, just turn it back again to the inward parts of your being.
The LORD is found only within your spirit, in the recesses of your being, in the Holy of Holies; this is where he dwells

The Lord promised to come and make his home within you (john 14:32) and to meet there with those who worship him and who do his will.

Once your heart has been turned inwardly to the Lord, you will have an impression of his presence. you will be able to notice his presence more acutely because your outer senses have now become very calm and quiet.

when you come to this state, you must allow your mind to rest.

if you have become distracted, if your mind has wandered, don't try to deal with it by changing what you are thinking... what you pay attention to you empower.. you will only irritate your mind and stir it up more. instead, withdraw from your mind, and keep turning within to the LORD's presence.

Chapter 3 - The Depths - Even for the Unlearned

page 15-19

Even if you cannot read, Jesus is the greatest book, for he is a book that has been written on inside and outside... he will teach you all things.

The Kingdom of God is witthin you - Luke 17:21

come to him gently, with a deep sense of love, and worship. Humbly acknowledge that he is everything and confess that you are nothing.

close your eyes to everything around you; begin to open the inward eyes of your soul... turning them to your spirit.. giving full attention to the deep inward parts of your being.

you need only believe that God dwells in you.. this will bring you into his holy presence. hold your mind in submission, not letting it wander, as much as possible. Once in his presence, be still, and quiet. Simply begin to repeat the Lord's prayer.

Beginning with Father... get a feeling for the fullness of the word "father". get a feeling for yourself as a daughter or son... a child... before your father. bruised, having boo-boos... needing his healing, needing his love, needing his guidance... all the things your child comes to you for that seem so trivial.

pour out your heart ... never doubt his deep love for you or his desire to hear you. call on his name and remain before him...

while before him, occassionally utter your love.. your grief over your sin.. simply wait... you will sense when it is is time to go on.

then continue in the Lord's prayer..

Thy Kingdom come,. call upon your lord, the king of glory to reign in you. Acknowledge before him his right to rule over you. Give yourself to God.. so he may do in your heart what you have been trying so long to do in your own strength and yet failed.

at some point you will feel it is time to just be silent.. stay there as long as this sense continues with you as that is the Lord himself holding you to silence. when that has passed, move on.

Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.. ask him to accomplish his whole will in you and through you.. surrender all.. your heart, your freedom.. yield and let him do as he pleases

if you wish him to come to you as your shepherd instead of father...

come to him as a sheep looking to his shepherd for real food.

you might also come to the lord by looking to him as your physician. he can heal all your sicknesses. do not come with anxiety or restlessness.

Chapter 4 - The Second Level

page 20-25

Some refer to this level as "faith and stillness" , others as "prayer of simplicity". Madame Guyon prefers the latter.

Come into the Lord's presence by faith, keep turning inward to your spirit until your mind is collected and you are prefectly still before him.

Now, when yall your attention is finally turned within and your mind is set ont he lord, simplely remain quite t before him fo a little while.

if you begin to enjoy a sense of the lord's presence.. ramin as you are as long as the sense of his presence continues...

when it begins to decrease, utter some words of love to him or simply call on his name. ;

you shoudl not seek to move as long as he is near.

there is a fire within you that ebbs and grows. when it ebbs, if gently fanned, it can burn again.. once it is a fire.. cease all efforts or you might put out the flame.

the most imporant thing is to have a believing heart...

motives.. why do you come to the lord? is it for his sweetness? is it because it is enjoyable to sit before the lord? the higher way is pure love. .. where you seek nothing but to please him and do his will.

youfully accept whatever he desires to give... and believe that whatever happens is what he want to give you. believe by faith that whateer happens is his desire for you at the time.

this way your spiit is at peace no matter what your ocndition. then you will nto be upset if the lord withdraws himself from you.

the times of spiritual dryness will not affect you, neither with the times of spiritual abundance because you will have learned to love god just because you love him, not for his gifts or even his precious presence.

Chapter 5 - Periods of dryness

page 27-29

God's desire is to give Himself to the soul that really lovesahim and earnestly seeks him. And yet, he will also often conceal himself from that person also. The reason for this is to keep you from becoming spiritually lazy and instead to cause you to pursue him. He is looking for the christian who will remain faithful even when he withdraws.

upon his return, he comes with rewards of goodness and love. The natural tendancy of many might be to try to prove your love and through effort, get him to return to you. Instead, however, you should wait with patient love, humility and self denial. Spend time with him in worship and respectful silence. This will let him know that you want to spend time with him because you love him, not because of what he gives you or the selfish enjoyment you receive when in his presence. Waiting on him with humulity, abandonment, contentment and resignation. Accompany this with please of sorrowful expressions of yearnings for his return.

Chapter 6 - Abandonment

page 31-36

to go deeper, you must adandon your entire existance to God. You must utterly believe that every minuite of your life and the whole course of your life have come to you by His will and permission; not ony that it was from God but that it was what you neeed. Such a look of faith in the lord will allow you to be content in all circumstances.

Knowing the depths of Christ is a life-long attitude of being enveloped and possessed by God. Abandonment is they key to the inner court. Once you reach abandonment, it is important to stay there.

Abandonment is dropping all your cares, all your needs, including your spiritual needs. Gve yourself over completely to the disposal of God. True abandonment must cover two complete worlds, or realms. Think only of him, and your heart will be unattached; it will be free and at peace.

it is practiced by continually plunging your will into the will of God.

You begin by refusing any personal desire as soon as it comes to you; no matter how good it is or how helpful it appears. By wanting what he wants, no matter how it affects your life. It is forgetting your past and leaving your future in his hands and being satisfied with whatever is the present. Surrender not only what happens to you, but also your reaction to what happens to you.

Chapter 7 - Abandonment and suffering

page 37-39

If your love for god is true, you will love him just as much on Calvary (the cross) as on Mt Tabor (transfiguration).

spiritual principal: god gives you the cross and the cross gives you god.

As soon as anything comes to you in the form of suffering, the natural reaction is resistance, but instead of that, give up. Resign yourself to God and accept the matter. In that moment, give yourself up as a sacrifice.

Chapter 8 - Abandonment and Revelation

page 41-44

abandonment is the means the Lord uses for revelation. Revelation will come to you as reality rather than knowledge.

John 14:6

if you follow him as the Way, you will hear him as the truth, and it is from the lord that you will receive life.

As revelation comes to ou Jesus Christ will leave an imprint of himself on your soul. Each time he comes, he will leave a different impression of His nature upon you. It is far better for you to bear, or carry, these experiences of Jesus Christ within yourself then to merely think on them.... which is what Paul did. (Gal 6:17)

When God ends that experience of the revelation he has given you, just let it go for he wishes to give you different imprints to move you into a deeper understanding of himself. Learn to receive all things from his hand equally, whether light or dark, fruit or barrenness.

Chapter 9 - Abandonment and a Holy Life

page 45-47

The result of continued abandonment to God is holiness. if you are faithful to learn this simple way to experience your lord you will take possession fo God. and as you possess Him, you will inherit all his traits. That is godless. The more you possess God, the more you are made like him.

It must be a godliness from within, because a godliness from externals is only a mask which is as changeable as a garment. Someone completely abandonment forgets completely about himself, and actually hates his self-life.

By loving, you will never want to do anything that might offend the one you love.

Chapter 10 - Living Indoors

page 49-52

Your 5 senses receive their life and energy from your soul. And your senses are aroused, they stimulate your desires. If you were dead, your body would be disconnected from your soul, and therefore disconnected from your desires. Even severe self-denial does not conquer a persons desires. Even when it appears to have worked, it has really only changed the outward expression of those desires.

When you deal with externals, you are actually driving your soul outward, father from your spirit. The more your soul is focuse on these outward things, the farther it is removed from its center and from its resting place. The result of this is the opposite .. dwelling on the desires, paing attention to them, makes them more active. Then they gain more power, instead of becoming subdued.

The only way to conquer the 5 senses is by inward recollection. By turning your soul compltely inward to your spirit, to possess a present god. Within to Christ, insted of without to your senses. Then it becomes separated from your senses so they receive no more attention and their life supply is cut off.

The Lord will finish what he started with you.. he will put to death all that remains to be put to death in your life.

There is only one thing you ever need to do.. that is to remain steadfast in your giving your utmost attention to God.

What you see and hear continually supply yor busy imagination with new subjects. There is a place for disciplining what you see and hear; but be at peace as God will teach you all about this. You need only follow his spirit.

By withdrawing from outward objects, you will constantly draw nearer to God, which will cause you to reeive more of his nature, which will cause you to draw upon his sustaining power.

Also, the moe you will be removed from sin.

Chapter 11 - Toward the Center

page 53-57

In summary regarding the last chapter discussing dealing with outward senses, we can say that at any time you find your desires stirred up, those senses can best be deadened by a gentle retreat inward to a present God. Any other way will stimulate them future.

There is a principle you will dicover called the law of central tendancy. As you continue to hold your soul deep in your inward parts, you will discover that God has a magnetic attracting quality... He naturally draws you more and more to himself.

He also then purifies you of all things that are not of him.

Illustration: Ocean.

water evaporated, vapor moves to ward the sun. As the vapor leaves the earth it is full of impurities; as it ascends, it becomes more refined and purified. In this instance, the vapor didn't do anything. it simply remainded passive. We, however, get to cooperate voluntarily with the Lord pulling us to himself.

The closeer you are drawn to God, the more distant you are to the activities of the natural man.

My mind in this was thinking of being in the ocean... when we exert no effort and let ourselves go, we float over the water. with effort though, we can actually cause ourselves to drown.

The center of anything always exerts a more powerful force. This is even more true in the spiritual realm. the only thing that can slow this down is something that stands between the outer object (you) and your inner magnet (christ) .

When you drop a stone, it immediately returns to the ground from where it came. The same is true of fire and water... they seek to return to their centers. Once your soul is turned inward, it gradually falls to its proper center, which is God. the more passive you remain, the quicker this occurs.

Jesus Christ is the great magnet of your soul, but only your soul. Any impurities will prevent his power of attraction.

The main element of the soul is the will and hte soul must will to become passive, waiting entirely upon god.

Chapter 12 - Continual Prayer

page 59-65

If you remain faithful, you will feel theLord gruadually taking possession of your whole being. Your prayer, your whole experience, will begin to enter a new level.... i is prayer. This prayer consists of silense during which God poours a deep inward love. it will permeate your entire being.

One of the most imporatnt hings you can do is cease from any self-effort.

BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD Psalm 46:10

Your self nature cannot believe that the spirit is having experience since it cannot feel and understand, or do something. it is used to self effort.

The reason we cannot feel god's working within us is that it is in the realm of the spirit and not in the mind.

illustration: the stars shine very brightlight, but when the sun comes up, the stars gradually vanish. They are still there, and they are still shinin actually. But the sun is so much brighter that you cannot see them. Spiritually, there is a strong and universal light which absors all the smaller lights of your soul.

illustration: when breastfeeding, the baby begins moving its mouth, but shortly after the milk freely flows without any effort. If the baby exerts any effort after that, he/she might choke.

The same is truee in seeking the lord, begin gently then stop self effort. you begin by moving your mouth, stirring up the affections of your love for your lord. And just like breast feeding, when the milk slows or stop, gently suckle again for more milk to flow. then rest in the Lord. AFter a baby feeds, the baby falls asleep in peace. Be in peace.

A christian that is calm and in peaceful prayer, their soul is at rest, in a mystical sleep. Complete rest: the mind, soul are at rest. your soul will be led into this without effort, trouble or skill. The interior life is not taken by force or violence, it is a place of peace and can be gained only by love.

Isaiah 57:10

Chapter 13 - Abundance

page 67-68

Gradually the presence of God becomes a daily experience, eventually it will become a constant experience almost without intermission. Whereas before prayer led you into his presence, but now prayer is his presence. God is more present with you than you are yourself. A great awareness of the Lord comes to you. As soon as you close your eyes, you are enveloped in prayer. There is born within you an internal conversation with God. Your only purpose is to be overflowing witht he divine presence of Jesus Christ, and deep within you to be prepared to receive from him anything he desires to give you.

Chapter 14 - Silence

page 69-71

Being silent before the Lord when you first come to him is so importatnt because your fallen nature is ooposed to God's nature. Also because Jesus is the Word, to receive this word, your nature must be made to correspond to his nature. Listening is passive, you must yield a passive ear. Jesus, the Eternal Word, communicates and imparts new life to you. When he talks to you, he demands the most intense attention to his voice.

Find a place of silence and then:

Forget yourself - lay aside all self interest
listen attentively to God
Each time you are drawn away, turn within again

Chapter 15 - A New look at confession of sin

page 73-78

Lay your entire soul before God and his light will illuminate and he will allow you to see the nature of all your faults. As soon as you sin you are immediately rebuked by an inward sense. In prior stages of your journey, regret might have been felt at the confession of sin, but now it should be love.. sweet love. This is not for the christian whose soul is still active; in that case it is necessary that the soul exert itself when dealing with sin and feel remorse, be contrite. The soul of a christian exerts itself to the proportion of its spiritual advancement. The more the soul advances towards its center - (farther removed from the surface) the less the soul exerts itself.

No matter what your circumstances, begin all your comings with the lord by a very simple quite waiting before him.

Chapter 16 - The Scripture

page 79-80

Remember scripture can be a way into prayer and also can become prayer.. But here is another way:

come before the lord and begin to read
stop as soon as you feel yourself being drawn inwardly
remain in stillness a while
the proceed with reading, but only a little
stop everytime you feel a divine attraction drawing you deeper within

There is no need to speak a prayer... praying inwardly keeps you inward, praying outwardly might break the inward flow.

Try to stay away from habits, patterns... let the spirit lead you.

Chapter 17 - Prayer Requests?

page 81-82

at this level the spirit is praying for you, making intercessions for you according to the will of God. Prayer requests (prayers of petition) become evasive. So it is best to yield and let God work in you as he wills. By yielding, you are letting his prayers become center, your have detached yourself from everything, there is nothing you want.

Chapter 18 - Distractions

page 83-84

if you sin or are distracted away from within you, immediately turn within to your spirit again. But do not become anxious about turning away... everything in love. This anxiety only stirs up your soul and distracts you to outward things. Also anxiety on this is rooted in pride, loving ones own worth. ( you are upset at seeing what you really are)

In the spirit of His humility, you will not be surprised at your faults, failures and basic nature.

Chapter 19 - Temptation

page 85-86

What you focus on, you empower. Be careful not to struggle directly with your temptation, as you will only strengthen them and your soul will be drawn from its intimate relationship with the Lord.

When a child sees something that frightens him, or confuses him, he doesn't stand to fight it.. instead he runs right into the arms of his mother.

Chapter 20 - Consumed

page 87-92

Giving up of and utter abandonment of self at all times.

Paul speaks of incense being the prayer, the smoke that ascends to the Lord.

As you come to the Lord, pour out your heart (soul) to him. Payer is a warmth of love, melting, dissoving, uplifing of the soul, causes the soul to ascend to God... becoming a consuming fire of liove in our inmost being. Giving up of self is what causes this ascension. It is by your dying, the he lives.

God possesses you... nothing in you resists his dominion. Your inner being IS his kingdom.

We possess God, and then we also possess his kingdom and the fullness of joy that goes with it.

Chapter 21 - Silence - in the Depths

page 93-106

The soul can be active at the same time as being completely silent, because the soul acts in response to the moving of HIS spirit. Like Ezekiel's wheels, the soul follows the spirit where-ever it goes. The soul should wait and be faithful to act ony when the spirit moves.

When your soul is active on its own (apart from the activity of the spirit), its activity is forced and strained.. its effort in prayer is anxiety and striving). When responding to the spirit, its action is instead free, easy, natural. Once your soul has turned within and the mind is set on the spirit, the inwrd attraction is stronger than any other force. Nothing is as quick to return to its center as the soul is to return to the spirit. The soul is actually active, but it doesn't seem to be active because the actions are not forced, they are natural. The soul is at rest in God, full of peace. The more peaceful your soul is, the more quicly it moves toward its center... God.

God is drawing you to himself, and this drawing causes you to run to him.

p. 96 - Madame Guyon quotes:

"Draw me to Yourself, oh my Divine Center, by the secret springs of my existence, and all my powers and semses will follow you!"

The Lord speaks to your spirit, the rest of you follows your spirit. You do so by turning your attention and all the powers o your soul on Him.]

The humble dependance constantly on the psirit of God is necessary aove all things and it wil cause the soul to reach that unity and simplicity for which it was created.

p97-98

Ohh to return into God, the one in whose image we were originally formed. His oneness does not rule out the great variety that is the expression of his nature. Just as we enter inot his unity and made one with Him, we are able to carry out the various aspects of hi wll without having to leave that stae o union with God. At this point of union with god, then hat you do will be of value to God and to his work on this earth.

She explains the fall a little more on pag 98-99.

How is God's image to be restored in us.. our spirit restored? No image can be repaired by its own efforts, instead it must reamin passive under the hand of the workman. Your only activity should be to yeild completely to the iner workings of the spirit.

p100

any activity is only workthy of as mch praise as its ource. Whaever coes from self no matter how good it appears, is still only human.. still only self. But what comes from the spirit is more praise-worthy than any other actiity for any other source.. whatever is produced from god's spirit is divine.

The Lord has life in himself, all others have borrowed life.

p101

The activity of the spirit must take the place of your own; this exchange can only take place with man's consent. When giving consent, you must then begin to cease your own activit. Then, little by little, the activity of God can completely take the place ofthe activity of the soul.

ie. Mary and Martha. Martha was busy, restless, with the many things... the soul.

Mary was at peace and at the feet of Jesus, she ceased to live that christ might be her life.

p102 - david mentioned drawing near to god (Ps 73:28) - this is the beginning of union w/ god

prayer of silence
soul following the spirit in perfect concert
union with god

Union w/ God - 4 stages

beginning

when a desire for God is born in you, when the soul begins to turn inward to the life of the spirit and fall under the powerful magnetic atraction of the spirit.

progress

moving nearer and nearer to God.

achievement

finally the spirit is one spirit with Him, the place for which it was created.

consummation

if you freely allow the spirit to pray and intercee in place of your own prayers, thent he prayers he prays from within you will be heard - always. The spirit utters in prayer only what is the will of god.

Chapter 22 - The Constant State

page 107-115

Spiritual experiences fall into two categories

external - surface
internal - deep within your being

The only time that the external experiences have any value is when they are the result of inner workings.

To give him your whole hearts means to have all the energy of your soul always centered on him. Your soul will form a habit of turning within to God the more you do it. And the more you do it, the less you will have to do it because you will be distracted less and less on this journey.

At the beginning, you might have used outward means to be able to turn into God, but now you should not need it. But not only that, if you try to use outward means, it won't work the same way; it will likely have a reverse affect.

p113

A large ship, when trying to set off, has to go through a great deal of effort navigating at the port to get the ship to sea. But once in the open seas, it easily moves. This is much like us. In the beginning of our journey, it takes a great deal of effort and the resistance of sin, self, and outward things takes a great deal of effort, but once we set sail, much less effort is needed. To spread your sails is to lay yourself before God and be moved by His spirit. To hold the rudder is to keep the ship from sailing off course, to keep your focus on the one at your center.

Chapter 23 - To Christian Workers

page 117-124

here

Chapter 24 - The Ultimate Christian Attainment

page 125-138

p133

Stages of being drawn into the depths of god

He is conforming you to his purity
uniformity with god

p135

God alone communicates himself to the soul in proportion to the capacity of the soul to remain passive