Expect “signs following” when following Christ Jesus — Applications ideas for us to follow…
Sunday, February 20th, 2022
By Warren Huff (with insights from Cobbey Crisler)
Expect “signs following” when following Christ Jesus — Applications ideas for us to follow to make MODERN-DAY DEMONSTRATIONS of the Christ power!
Let God Expressed Meekly/Mightily in you sparkle brightly with insights from Cobbey Crisler & others as found in The Christian Science Quarterly Bible Lesson on
“Christ Jesus”
for February 27, 2022
(sorry for late transcriptions & a full plate)
(Cobbey’s insights are shared with the blessing of Janet Crisler janetcrisler7@gmail.com)
by Warren Huff, CedarS Executive Director Emeritus, warren@cedarscamps.org
APPRECIATE & DEMONSTRATE THE REALITY OF “SIGNS FOLLOWING”— ESPECIALLY IN TODAY’S TOXIC MENTAL AND PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT! Cobbey Crisler on Mark 16:17 (Golden Text) +18:
“Verse 17. The gospel of Mark ends with deeds, not words. “These signs shall follow them that believe.” There’s one of our foundational points again (Mark 1:15). Those who believe will have signs that follow. Otherwise we’re not believers. We can say all we want, “We’re believers in Jesus Christ,” but we’re not unless signs are following. That is Jesus’ own definition of a believer.
“All of these signs are fulfilled in the Book of Acts except the sign regarding poison. This was accomplished in an early Christian tradition by Barsebus. He was forced to drink poison and recovered without any problem. So, we have “the new tongues.”
Verse 18. The ”taking up of serpents, the drinking any deadly thing,” even a poisonous chemical! Look at that in the environment today. “And be healed.” It’s a sign that follows those that believe.
Why are we leaving our environment untouched by the Holy Spirit?
Why aren’t we seeing the Spirit there, and therefore, liberty?”
“What Mark Recorded,” by B. Cobbey Crisler**
CHERISH UNIVERSAL HUMANITY—DO GOOD FOR ALL MANKIND WITH A “WALK TO EMMAUS” KNOWLEDGE AND SPIRIT! Cobbey Crisler on part of Responsive Reading/Acts 10:38 (+ relevant verses 34-42)
“Acts 10, verse 34, begins a lecture or sermon to the first group of Gentiles…
…in Acts 10, verse 35, Peter begins to explain to Cornelius and the friends and acquaintances of Cornelius, the history of early Christianity. “The beginning of Christianity is traced from Galilee after John’s baptism, how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth.” … Of course, that word “anointed” immediately identifies Jesus as the Messiah. This is a point that Peter is obviously going to get across to this Gentile audience that would need some instruction in this.
Acts 10:38 How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.
…As soon as Peter gets into this “Walked to Emmaus” approach, in other words the comprehension of Jesus’ role in the earlier scripture, we find in Acts 10, verse 44 that “the Holy Ghost falls on all the listeners.” …
It wasn’t Peter’s idea that this should happen; it’s at the Holy Ghost’s initiative. This is disturbing to some of those that came with Peter: Jewish Christians.
And we will find it becomes even more disturbing to other elements in the church later on, for this is a departure. The question underlying this event is “Should the church be parochial or universal?” Is it simply a sect of Judaism or an outcome of Judaism, or is it the fulfillment of God’s will as expressed in prophecy with its ultimate mission to embrace universal humanity?”
“After the Master What? – The Book of Acts” by B. Cobbey Crisler**
JESUS’ BAPTISM OF “THE HOLY GHOST & FIRE” ENDS MIXED-UP MESSES & PLEASES GOD:
Cobbey Crisler on the baptism of Jesus as recorded in Matthew 3:11-17/Responsive Reading
[Warren:] Here are some application ideas that will hopefully be helpful to you as they were to me that were sparkled by insights from Cobbey Crisler on the baptism of Jesus. May they help you lift up to the Spirit of God any and all humanly-unsolvable situations to separate out the mess and to permanently eliminate it!
[Cobbey on Matthew 3: 11-17, bonus of verses 12-15 not in the Responsive Reading:]
“In Verses 11 and 12, John the Baptist said “I am just baptizing you with water: but the one who is following me (Jesus)… He is going to baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire.”… Let me just suggest something… I think it does help to clarify how we can learn from these illustrations by going beneath the surface as much as possible. For instance, in the separation of the chaff from the wheat there are innumerable things that are required for the thresher to do before the results can be successful… We want to get rid of the chaff and get to the useful wheat. Why must we separate them? They’re all mixed. Take that symbolically. If this is all to be happening within us, this kind of baptism, Holy Ghost and fire, is there anything mixed up in us? Of course not, we’re not mixed up. We’re never confused. We never have arrived at a point where we can’t tell the difference between right and wrong. If some of us, a few of us, have that problem of being mixed up on occasion, then the chaff and wheat are together. Is there a way you and I can get out of that mixed-up state? Is this the baptism then that is required as far as our thinking is concerned? In order to begin to sort this process of separation, the thresher must first locate a threshing floor. The threshing floor has certain requirements to it for maximum results. What are they? It has to be high, and certainly as level as possible. Why high? Because it needs to be unobstructed. You can’t have structures around it. It would have to be open with minimum obstruction. Hopefully none at all. Open to the wind. “Here we are on our threshing floor with all the mixture at our feet. Our first responsibility was to get it up to the highest point [God] where there are no obstructions. That’s very interesting because for anyone who is at some mixed-up point in his life, the first requirement is to get up to that point.
“Second, what must be done? What’s the next thing the thresher does? Now he’s up there. It’s a beautiful wind. Is he going to put up a hammock and swing in it? He’s got to do something about the mess at his feet. It’s very exact this illustration. What does he do? He uses a fan. What is termed a fan in the King James Version is not the Madame Butterfly variety, but is like a fork, a pitchfork. He goes right into the mixture of the chaff and wheat and throws it into the air. But the actual separation occurs by the wind. Not ours. Do you see the difference in the responsibility? The Divine takes care of the separation after the human had gotten to the level where it is willing to work for the Divine and yield to it. The wind, or pneuma, or Holy Ghost, has that defined responsibility of separating the chaff from the wheat in our own thinking. “Where does the fire come in? If you want to get rid of the chaff, it will be very important to destroy it completely. Because the chaff could, with a change of wind, be mixed back into the wheat. To eliminate that possibility, a thresher will build a fire downwind, the chaff will blow right into the fire and be consumed simultaneously… “It is through this process of baptism, the meeting of the Holy Ghost and fire, that this deep spiritual cleansing goes on within us. This baptism of thought which requires the fan…
(Verse 13) “At this point, John the Baptist having announced this, Jesus appears and come to be baptized.”
(Verse 14) ‘But John says, No, it should be the other way around. I’ve just been talking about this new baptism.’
(Verse 15) ‘Jesus said, permit it for the moment.’ Implying that the human mind has to swallow things piecemeal… the progress of man’s spirituality is a step at a time. Jesus, therefore, receives the water baptism.
(Verse 16) But almost immediately we are told that water-baptism is to be superseded, we find that “the Spirit of God descends like a dove upon Jesus…[In an attached Download online, you can see Warren’s January 2020 picture of a ceramic representation of the dove above Jesus and John at the place on the Jordan River where tradition has it that he was baptizing.] “Perhaps that dove was indicating… that the water-baptism is past. Spirit’s baptism must take over in this radical change of thought being required by this new era.
(Verse 17) “In the middle of this great event, ‘A voice is heard that says, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’”
“Book of Matthew, Auditing the Master, A Tax Collector’s Report,” by B. Cobbey Crisler**
[Warren: Here are a couple ideas to consider adapting to try in your situation:]
1. Consider the lifelong gift of spiritual confidence we can give our children (or even ourselves) by saying to them each night: “You are God’s beloved child in whom we and God are well pleased! “
- Consider doing as hundreds of visitors to CedarS Bible Lands Park have done in order to go home with longstanding burdens lifted. We take up to an unobstructed high point (our Mt. Nebo) a mixed-up mess of chaff and wheat. With a fan in hand (like the Christ in Matthew 3:12) we lifting them up together for the wind (Holy Spirit) to do the separating – not only of the wheat and chaff —but also the facts from the fables (written inside a folded-up scrap of paper). They are blown or thrown into the fire as never-true fables to be left behind forever.
BE AN ANSWER TO JESUS’ PRAYER FOR HEALERS, SOLVING PROBLEMS & BRINGING IN THE HARVEST!
Cobbey Crisler on Matthew 10:7, 8/Responsive Reading (RR)
[Cobbey:] “Matthew 10, Verse 7/(RR). “Look at the first words there to say. Is that a coincidence, or is that essential? Where have we run into that statement before? “… go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Who has said that already? It was Jesus’ first statement (Matthew 4:17) after “Repent.”
The assignments given to the disciples would not be assignments they were incapable of doing, or Jesus would have been unwise.
Matthew 10, Verse 8 /(RR). He said, “Heal the sick.” What do you expect them to do? He said, “Cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, and cast out devils.” Notice the sequence. The things he did. Even putting casting-out-devils at a higher level of what was required of prayer than raising the dead. Then stating, “Freely ye have received, freely give.”
Did the disciples do that? Even after Jesus was no longer with them personally? They certainly did.
(Verse 10). He also tells them that they are to earn their living by healing because he says, “The workman is worthy of his meat.” “Don’t even take gold or silver with you” (Verse 9), “Neither extra clothing, nor suitcases. The workman is worthy of his meat.”
“Book of Matthew, Auditing the Master: A Tax Collector’s Report,” by B. Cobbey Crisler**
ACT LIKE YOU KNOW THAT PROPHESY’S FULFILLED NOW & INCURABILITY IS HEALED BY CHANGING YOUR CONCEPT & BELIEVING! Cobbey Crisler on 4 foundational points in Mark 1:14-27/citations B3 and B6:
[Cobbey:] Mark 1, Verse 14. We have “John put in prison.” He has already disappeared from the scene.
And, ‘‘Jesus comes into Galilee, and his work begins.”
“Verse 15. There are four foundational aspects to the gospel we need to study. Normally, an architect might refer to just one cornerstone in a building. But let’s remember that all four of the corners have cornerstones. To that degree, let’s ask ourselves if this is not a clue to understanding Mark. We have a foursquare gospel, and at each corner we have a particular point. If this is true, you should be able to compile the information that follows in the gospel under one of the following four headings.
(1) The announcement that, “the time is fulfilled.” What does this mean? Prophecy. The time for the fulfillment of prophesy has arrived. So, everything is just brimming in the gospel of Mark with this great news. All of the expectation is over for the Messianic prophecy: We have a fulfillment now. ‘What could be more exciting than to be living in an era of fulfilled prophecy? Nothing, apparently, because this is what impels the gospel writers to pick up their pens….
Study Mark as if it were a textbook, filled with data that Jesus needed us to know in order to follow him. It is a handbook, so to speak, a textbook where we can find data that can be applied. Those four foundational points, under “the time is fulfilled,” you will see over and over again, explicit or implicit, in the text.
(2) The second one, “the kingdom of God is at no distance.” It is right here. Even that idea is radical to Christendom today often because the kingdom of God, or often heaven, is considered to be so far away from any of us now. It is out of reach, and we’re not really behaving ourselves sufficiently to get there. It takes Palomar’s 200 inch reflecting telescope to even get a glimpse of it. But we find the founder of Christianity saying, ”Not so.” His theology is based on the fact that “the kingdom of God is at hand.”
“Do we act like it is? We moan and we groan most of the time. We wouldn’t if our state of mind was the “kingdom-of-God-is-at-hand” and the “prophecies-are-fulfilled.” But those are only two of the cornerstones.
(3) The third one is “Repent!” That means to change your concept. Now, we’re going very deeply to the roots of what is required of us to get anywhere spiritually. The problem is mental or he never would have stated it in this way.
“It would be cruelly misleading if he laid down as one of the four important aspects of his theology the fact that we had to change our concepts of things. The implication is that every human ill, physical, moral, mental, all can be changed mentally. Otherwise, repenting wouldn’t make any. Changing one’s concept wouldn’t make any difference.
“This might be where maybe we temporarily get off the train leading to Jesus’ theology. We may say to ourselves, if our bodies are riddled with cancer, of what avail would it be to change our concept? How would that affect the body? The implication is that this is the panacea. Repent ye. Change your concept about things.
“Do you realize what kind of a religion that suggests? It’s very revolutionary in this respect: nothing is incurable from the point of view of Jesus’ theology. If you can change your concept, then everything is curable. That’s some good news of victory that has yet to hit the human race with any impact like Mark, the hammer.
(4) The fourth and final cornerstone is to “believe the gospel,” That “believe” is not just to hold an opinion that waves in the breeze. This is a conviction and a trust in the pronouncements of the gospel of the kingdom of God, and that “kingdom of God is at hand.”
“With that structure of the gospel in mind, we can do this kind of work together. As a matter of fact, the reward comes from doing this work individually and meeting each other that way. It affects the world’s climate by doing this kind of deep research. In your own individual study, try those four columns.
The time is fulfilled,
The kingdom of God is at hand,
Repent ye,
Believe the gospel,
and see how you can outline the whole gospel in that way.
(Citation B6/Mark 1: “Let’s look at the gospel from above. Let’s see the divine structure here that is motivating what we are being told. Aside from simply gathering the first disciples and paying tribute to John the Baptist’s fulfillment of his mission, a greater sense of baptism, the fact that Jesus is defining things in Mark for us. He’s defining things like church, and baptism, and man, and repentance, and relationship. All of these things are major definitions. But we have to move from the day-to-day approach into the narrative and see this happening in an over-all tenor behind the text.
Verse 21, “Straightway on the sabbath day.”
“The Sabbath day is an important thing, because what we’re supposed to do on the Sabbath day had already been defined by a commandment (Exodus 20:8). We’re to keep it holy. Is he going to be consistent or inconsistent – with this commandment? We test his every move. “He enters into the synagogue,” where worship is going on, “and he teaches.”
“Mark 1, Verse 22. What he is teaching is so radical that his hearers acted as if they’ll never heard this before. How wonderful! That means it’s inspired. They didn’t recognize in his method anything they were used to in the scribal method the Bible experts, the teachers of that period. In Jesus’ remarks they heard more authority coming across than they had ever heard from the local ecclesiastics.
“Now we’re going to really see part of Jesus’ definition of church. He begins with this preaching that we have heard him do. But his preaching is never separate from his practice of what he’s preaching.
“(Verse 23-31 Jesus introduces healing as an appropriate if not mandatory church activity there in that synagogue when he heals a man with an unclean spirit.] “Is the church of that period prepared for healing? Is it ready to be regarded as a place to remedy health and other problems?
Verse 27. “Authority” is the point that’s raised. It’s almost as if religion, as defined by human kind, has come across to us with splendor, with robes, with grandeur, spectacle, but without authority. “The authority Jesus proves is illustrated by the results.” This is what spreads Christianity. Not knocking on doors, not even one-to-one that we so reverence, but healing. There’s a one-to-one. That news, the good news, the gospel of healing, spreads by itself. Who can hold it in? It’s bigger than all of us. It’s God’s word applied, and capable of being applied.
BONUS “REST of the STORY”—Verse 28. So, we find that “his fame spread abroad all-around Galilee.”
Mark 1.32-41 Then “at even,” Verse 32. What that tells you is that it’s now after sunset and other people can come and be healed. It was a Sabbath day we find out from another gospel. They all come and the Sabbath is over and he heals a great multitude. In fact, in Verse 34, “He [even] healed many who were sick of divers diseases.” That’s not the bends. That’s simply “diverse diseases and casts out many devils;”
“What Mark Recorded,” by B. Cobbey Crisler**
TAKE COMMERCIALISM OUT OF CHURCH AND
PUT INTO CHURCH THE HEALING OF THOSE IN NEED.
Cobbey Crisler on citation B8, Matt. 21:8-14:
(W: See why “all the city was moved” and what Jesus did next as a proclaimed Messiah to take the commercialism out of church and put into it the healing of those in need.)
“Chapter 21 begins… Jesus’ final week.
Dr. Bull… said, “There is no real record that Jesus ever rode anywhere except here in this specific instance, implying that he mostly walked. But here there was a special reason.”… When he gets near Jerusalem, Bethphage… he didn’t really have to ride, in other words, it was a short distance. But he does. When he gets there, we have the incident which has since been called Palm Sunday. (Verse 8). “Branches cut down.” (Verse 9). “And multitudes saying, Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.”
In searching the Old Testament, when Solomon was crowned king, he rode into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey and was greeted by the people almost exactly by the same language. I introduce this point in this book because it’s the first time I’ve seen it suggested in print. My question is, was Jesus aware that this very simple exercise would have brought to the minds of the people that here was another son of David, perhaps the Messiah, entering Jerusalem? Because Solomon was the son of David and was greeted in that same way. It may have been the simplest way to convey to the general populace the concept of the Messiah.
[W: Citation B-7, (Verses 10, 11). “And when he entered in all the city was moved, saying, Who is this? And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee.”]
“(Verse 12). “Throws the money changers out of the temple.” Notice that what he does redefines religion, takes the commercialism out of church.
(Verse 13). Quoting the Old Testament (Isaiah 56:7), “My house shall be called a house of prayer.”
(Verse 14). Once crass commercialism has been ejected, “he welcomes in those in need of healing.” It is almost the first major declaration that the church would have a large portion of its mission healing those in need. Not the turning away and just simply social service identifying Christianity. Not those sitting outside the temple at the gates and begging for alms and people contributing to an income that would just help sustain their injury. But rather welcoming that one into the church and solving his physical problem through healing.”]
Book of Matthew, Auditing the Master: A Tax Collector’s Report , by B. Cobbey Crisler**
When YOUR “BACK’S AGAINST the WALL,” PRAY a W.A.L.L. TREATMENT! —or C.A.L.L. treatment to know “who you gonna call?” (SH, 495:20, cit. S20)
On page 495, lines 14-24 Mary Baker Eddy gives you (and the whole world) four powerful (and memoizable) sentences to guide your thoughts to healing when you are tempted to believe in the reality of some illusion or ghost of fear or doubt that seems to be in your face.
W.A.L.L. Treatment (SH 495:14) These four sentences begin with the letters W, A, L, L—hence the W.A.L.L. treatment. This was a memory devise that came to me and has made it easier for me to remember the whole paragraph and use it often as a cornerstone for healings.
- “When the illusion…
- Allow nothing but his likeness to abide in your thought.
- Let neither fear nor doubt overshadow your clear sense and…
- Let Christian Science, instead of corporeal sense, support your understanding…” (cit. S16)
Or it could be called the C.A.L.L. Treatment (SH 495:14) A different acronym/memory device can be made by using the first letters of the directive verbs in each of these same four sentences. They are Cling, Allow, Let and Let again—hence the C.A.L.L. treatment. This alternate memory devise came to me when tempted to be afraid of some illusion or lingering “ghostly” belief from the past, present or future (like Scrooge was in “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens). Mary Baker Eddy unknowingly answered in-advance and brilliantly the question “Who you Gonna Call?” (from the 1984 movie “Ghostbusters” soundtrack song by Ray Parker Jr.). She treated all such “ghosts” as illusions in her ultimate, metaphysical “Ghostbuster” treatment that has served as a cornerstone for thousands of healings. –“When the illusion… tempts you,
- Cling Steadfastly to God and His idea.
- Allow nothing but his likeness to abide in your thought.
- Let neither fear nor doubt overshadow your Clear Sense and calm trust…
- Let Christian Science instead of Corporeal Sense, support your understanding of being and…” (cit. S16)
(Reread carefully and consider memorizing the FULL, 10-line Christian Science treatment in Science and Health, page 495:14-24. Note the four pairs of consecutive words (which I capitalized, highlighted and bolded above) all begin with C and S!
We’re faced with the barrage of news about a global pandemic, aggressive militarism and other forms of lawlessness – as well as with the hopefulness of peaceful protests which attempt to transform and uplift mankind out of hateful habits. To stay with the allness of God in the midst of this seeming somethingness of this evil we can always spiritualize thought as we C.A.L.L. on God and:
- C. Cling steadfastly to God and His idea [Christ]
- A. Allow nothing but His likeness to abide in your thought.
- L. Let neither fear nor doubt overshadow your clear sense and calm trust, that the recognition of life harmonious — as Life eternally is — can destroy any painful sense of, or belief in, that which Life is not.
- L. Let Christian Science, instead of corporeal sense, support your understanding of being, and this understanding will supplant error with Truth, replace mortality with immortality, and silence discord with harmony.” (SH 495:14-16, 20)
Such CALL-ing on God gives us something certain to “cling steadfastly to,” and overturns what appears to be a worldwide fixation on fear. The C.A.L.L. treatment is a sure defense. It protects us as we follow the Wayshower, to find comfort and healing for our whole global family. “Jesus marked out the way. Citizens of the world, accept the ‘glorious liberty of the children of God,’ and be free! This is your divine right.” (SH 227:23-26)
PROVE NOTHING’S IMPOSSIBLE WHEN YOU SAY NO to EVERY LIE & YES to AFFIRM EVERY TRUTH OF THE CASE. Cobbey Crisler on Jesus healing epilepsy (Matt. 17:14-21/cit. B13) –in the Mark 9:17-29 & Luke 9:38-43 Jesus addresses the parent’s thought first):
[Cobbey:] “We have healings throughout Mark which require your study. We have an epileptic child healed in the next few verses, 17 through 29.
Verse 21. Jesus recognizes that the first patient is the father and his thinking. [“and he asked his father, how long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child.”… ]
Verse 23. He turns and deals with the father, his parental thought. [“Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. 24 And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe: help thou mine unbelief.”]
Verse 25-27. Jesus then deals with the young man.
Verse 29 says, “This kind of healing.” Because the disciples had failed, this healing required two things, “prayer and fasting.” You can say this in another way using two other words: “No” and “Yes” [as Mary Baker Eddy titled one of her works on scientific, mental healing.] Fasting is what we say “no” to and prayer is what we’re affirming. Once again, we see that we are given the rules of healing.”
“What Mark Recorded” by B. Cobbey Crisler**
