Counting The Cost by Neville Goddard (11-19-1963)

Neville Goddard, 1963 lectures November 19th. Counting the cost. Tonight's subject is counting the cost. In the Gospel of Luke, the 14th chapter, he asks a certain question. Which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether you have enough to complete it? Verse 28. So you and I are called upon to count the cost. It's not in dollars and cents. That's not the coin that you use. God counted the cost when he decided to transform us into Himself. It's a frightening cost, because God actually became us. He didn't pretend to become a slave. He. He became one. As we are told in Philippians. Jesus Christ, who, though in the form of God, emptied himself, taking upon himself the form of a slave, being born in the likeness of man 2, 5. He actually took upon himself the form of a slave. And this mightier self that is our self, who is Jesus Christ? Is your owned by wonderful human imagination, completely emptied himself and assumed the form of a slave. And now he serves us in the capacity of a slave. A slave does not question the order given by his master. He only obeys. For today he serves us as indifferently and as quickly when our will is evil as when it is good. I can conjure in a second, a split second, the most horrible picture or the most wonderful, loving picture, as he does it. I'm sorry. And he does it. He is my own wonderful human imagination who gave up his primal form, his prenatal wholeness, and took upon himself the form of a slave, which is my own wonderful human imagination that serves me in this capacity. Now, tonight, I want you to take it on this level, this level of Caesar, and show you how on this level we do the same thing. Just as he gave up everything to become me, to transform me into himself so that I may wear the form of God and wear that primal form that is eternal. So today I give up two certain things. But I must count the cost. Well, how would I go about counting the cost if I wanted to be, other than what reason tells me that I am? Well, this is how I do it. First, I must know what I want to be. And then I conjure in my mind's eye a certain imagery, which imagery implies the fulfillment of my dream. And then this is where I now count the cost. Do I have the necessary persistency, the necessary footprint, faithfulness, the necessary power that in spite of all things to the contrary, I will persist? Do I have these virtues? Am I willing to start with what I have in the hope that it really is Enough to build the tower for the word. Translated, tower means a simple watchtower, as we are told in Habakkuk. And now I will stand and watch and take my station upon the tower. And and I will look forth to see what he will say unto me and what I will answer concerning my complaint. The Lord answered me and said, write the vision, make it plain upon tablets that he may run who reads it, and then comes the promise. For the vision has its own appointed hour. It ripens, it will flower. If it be long, then wait, for it is sure and. And it will not be late. Here you find these three verses of second Habakkuk 2, 3. This is the tower spoken of in this book of Luke. I will stand upon my tower. So I will bring before my mind's eye a certain imagery. I bring you, my friend, and hear you discussing each other, and your discussion is all about my good fortune. This is imagining lovingly. Remember, you're imagining lovingly for others, and then you're also imagining lovingly for yourself. When you imagine others congratulating you on your new success, whatever that new you you want to be is, your friends are congratulating you on that. So I'm going to repeat the sentence. So I bring before my mind's eye a certain imagery. I bring you, my friend, and hear you discussing each other. And your discussion is all about my good fortune, your eavesdropping. I listen as though I actually heard you say what I want everyone to say. I listen and persuade myself I'm actually hearing it. And then have I now the courage in spite of tomorrow, when everything denies it? Have I the persistency? Have I the faithfulness? By faithfulness I mean loyalty to this unseen reality. So here it is unseen, but to me it's real. I'm seeing it vividly in my mind's eye, but it hasn't yet objectified itself upon the screen of three dimensional space so that you may share it with me. Well, can I remain faithful? Can I remain loyal to this unseen reality until it becomes something I can share with the world? Have I that coin? So the coin I use is not the coin of Caesar, it's the coin of God. He knew exactly the price he had to pay when he decided to transform me into himself. For he had to grant me all the freedom in the world to make mistakes. He had to become my slave and wait upon me just as swiftly when my will was evil as when my will is good. He couldn't discriminate and say, you shouldn't do it. He has to wait upon me and let me make all the mistakes in the world as he slowly transforms me into the. Into his form, that I too may bear the form of God. So, just as Jesus Christ, who, though he was in the form of God, emptied himself and then took upon himself the form of a slave and was born in the likeness of a man, not a man, 2,000 years ago. You are the man in which Jesus Christ is born. Every child born of woman is Jesus Christ born in the likeness of man. And now in the depth of that soul is one's own wonderful human imagination, which is Jesus Christ a slave of that man. And he takes the part of the slave in the true sense of the word. He only obeys. He doesn't suggest anything in the world, only obeys your wonderful vision. And. And he will, in the twinkle of an eye, conjure up the most horrible animalisms in the world and lust at the call of your desire. And the same one does it that will conjure to me, if I so desire, the most loving thing in the world. The same being. Not another being. There's only one God. And that God is Jesus Christ, forming us from what we are into what he was when he gave himself up to become us. And that is God himself. So here's a story. Last month in New York City, this lady came to me. She brought her husband. Nice looking chap, tall, fine, handsome looking fellow. She said, do you recall my story of last year? I was at my wit's end and I told you my husband was who I consider my very fine lawyer. He graduated from one of our greatest universities. And here at his age, he was then only 40. He was only earning $87 a week in a very large law firm. I asked you if I could apply this technique for him without his consent, without his knowledge. Because trained as he is in the legal world, he could not conceive of the rational side of this picture at all. It made no sense whatsoever to him. So could I, without his knowledge, without his consent, use this technique to increase his income. And I asked you if I could take it and double it. You said to me, Double it. Treble it. I think. I think there's a misspelled word here. It says treble as in music, but it's actually triple. Double it, you said to me. Double it. Triple it. Make it three times or make it more than that. A man trained as he is, trained years at a great university, at the age of 40, only making $18 a week. Why, that's insane. Triple it. And there it's spelled treble again. Misspelled words in a book. Oh, is there anything worse? I jest. Well, she said, now, I want you to meet my husband. So I met her husband. She said, he, he's now making $300 a week over triple. Now, this is what I want, Neville. I want him to be a judge. I said, all right, does he want to be a judge? Does he want to be. You're going to find when you imagine lovingly for others, if they want to be it, it's the fastest track you can have to. When you imagine lovingly for another, if they want that, nothing is going to stop it. Everything in the world will conspire and make it happen. I've seen so many miraculous things happen. Everything moves towards it doesn't matter as long as the person wants what you're imagining lovingly for them. It's just so powerful. I said, all right, does he want to be a judge? So I said to him, would you like to be a judge? He said, yes, I think I would be a very good judge. I have all the qualifications and I think I'd be a good judge. I said, now to her. I said, now you did it. He didn't do it. He didn't have a thing to do with this $300 a week. It simply came over the year to him and now he is earning $300 a week. But you to her, but you paid the price. You were very vigilant, you were persistent, you were faithful to the vision concerning your husband. Now I'm telling not to him. I'm telling to you now that you are making $300 a week. Don't you have someone who helps you out with cooking the meals or maybe some serving the dinner in your apartment or cleaning the house? She said, yes. I said, all right, from now on, you only think of your husband as a judge. And so now you say to your servant, take a certain product to your husband, say a glass of water, cup of tea, or whatever it is, you refer to him as the judge. If you remember that Seinfeld episode where that guy had everybody refer to him as the maestro. This is exactly the same concept. He was a genius. Whatever it is you take that the servant takes to him, make sure you refer to him as the judge. Take this to the judge. Or would you please take to the judge an ashtray. Whatever it is you want to send to your husband, he is the judge. He is not just your husband, Mr. So and so Blank Space. He's earned the right to be called Judge. And you refer to him as judge. When I come back here in May next year, I want him to be on the bench as judge. This is what I say. November. Are we still. Yeah, we're November. We're a couple days before. Before JFK's situation. This is. This is November 19, 1963. On the 112263 date. We all know what happens. But back to this. When I come back here in May of next year, which is half a year, I want him to be on the bench as judge. Now, no doubt Neville's also persuading himself, but he's giving a lesson here. And do you know he's going to be judged if she now back to us. And do you know he's going to be judged if she will pay the price, if she is persistent, if she is faithful to that vision, referring always in her mind's eye, that even in her dream, she refers to him as the judge. Period. I have a brother who is a doctor. And from the day he was married, and I give his wife 100% credit for this, she always referred to him as the Doctor. That's funny. I have a really good friend who was my best man at my wedding. He calls me the Doctor and I call him the Doctor. It's just funny. It's a funny nickname. Where did we get that? We got that in Seattle. And I forget what situation it was. Anyway, she never once spoke to anyone in her household. Let's go back. I have a brother who was. Who is a doctor. And from the day he was married, and I give his wife 100% credit for this, she always referred to him as the Doctor.