Sir Godfrey Gregg ROMC, OHPM

Grand Commanding Officer (Mystical Court)

Principal Commander (Mystical Brotherhood)

• “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. ³¹ And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:30-31)
• “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,¹⁹ To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.” (Luke 4:18-19)
• Jesus said, “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. ³⁵ By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” (John 13:34-35)

“I wish the ring had never come to me… I wish none of this had happened.”

“So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.” 

• “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.” (Proverbs 4:23)
• Jesus says, “For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother.” (Mark 3:35)
• “But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.” (Galatians 6:14)

Every being has a purpose or mission. Even Satan has a purpose: “The thief’s purpose is to kill and steal and destroy.” (John 10:10) So what is God’s, purpose/mission statement? “All things happen for good for those who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28) What is God’s purpose stated in the very next verse? “God chose us to become like His Son so that His Son would be the firstborn with many brothers.” (Romans 8:29) God is in the process of transforming our hearts so that we become more like Christ – yes even brothers of Christ – sharing the same Father. Wow – What an identity! What heritage! What a legacy! We are being invited to enjoy the same Father-Son relationship that Christ has. Yet this is a process of becoming holy – a saint … becoming who we were created to be through a process called sanctification. And the good news is that He orchestrates this process if we let God have His way with us. “So now Jesus and the ones he makes holy have the same Father. That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them his brothers.” (Hebrews 2:11) As we become more like Christ, our hearts thereby will desire to fulfil Christ’s mission statement: Jesus said, “He has sent me to proclaim that the captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the downtrodden will be freed from their oppressors, and that the time of the Lord’s favour has come!” (Luke 4:18-19)

Further, Christ said his “purpose is to give life in all its fullness” (John 10:10) and that his purpose was to be “a King.” (John 18:37) As we become brothers of Christ – joining Him in the Royal Family – our hearts’ desire will be to help “set the captives free” and to offer “abundant life” by demonstrating and sharing the Good News about the love of God. So we will be taking on the identity and purpose of Christ. Yes, we will want to fight for the hearts of our brothers, our wives, our children, and those persons God brings in our paths. No, this is not the easy road, but it is the glorious road for the few, the chosen – the ones who answer “Yes” to the “no matter the cost” call of Christ.”

Now the whole offer which Christianity makes is this: That we can if we let God have His way, come to share in the life of Christ. If we do, we shall then be sharing a life which was begotten, not made, which always has existed and always will exist. Christ is the Son of God. If we share in this kind of life, we
also shall be Sons of God. We shall love the Father as He does and the Holy Ghost will arise in us. He came into this world and became a man in order to spread to other men the kind of life He has – by what I call ‘good infection.’

Every Christian is to become a little Christ. The whole purpose of becoming a Christian is simply nothing else.

• “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. ³¹ And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:30-31)
• “That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.” (John 17:21)

Our primary mission is to know, love and glorify God. God’s purpose is for us to become like Jesus Christ his Son. So what would it be like to relate to God the Father the way Christ does – to share in the same Father-Son relationship?

What does it mean to love God and to know God – to have a real relationship with the Creator? How do we even approach God? Do we approach Him as a powerful King, a friend, a daddy, or all of the above?

Do we enter His presence with trembling because of His power, or do we approach His throne like a small child would feel safe in drawing near to his loving father – to “Abba” – to “Papa?” God has characteristics of both the lamb and the lion. By following Christ unconditionally and becoming more like Him, we can have a relationship with God the Father and make it the first and most important thing.

Everything else flows out of this primary relationship with God the Father.

Although blessings, health, and success in our ministry or vocational calling can be good desires of our heart, they are not the central focus of the mission. They are secondary to the mission.
We then are asked to love others out of our love for God – to be a reflection of God’s love to others just as Christ did. It’s easy to recognize a “noble cause” – it is a cause that is about loving God or others. Stated quite simply, our core mission is to love God and others well. Demonstrating the love of God from the core of our hearts to others is what it means to advance the Kingdom of God. To accomplish this, we must “escape the decadence” in our lives, live a life of “moral excellence,” become more holy, and thus learns to “know God better.” If we do this, we will receive the “glory and goodness” of Jesus Christ our King! … What a legacy we can cultivate for our family, children, grandchildren, followers, our church and community.

As we know Jesus better, his divine power gives us everything we need for living a godly life. He has called us to receive his own glory and goodness!
And by that same mighty power, he has given us all of his rich and wonderful promises. He has promised that you will escape the decadence all around you caused by evil desires and that you will share in his divine nature.

So make every effort to apply the benefits of these promises to your life.

Then your faith will produce a life of moral excellence. A life of moral excellence leads to knowing God better. Knowing God leads to self-control.

Self-control leads to patient endurance, and patient endurance leads to godliness. Godliness leads to love for other Christians, and finally, you will grow to have a genuine love for everyone…
So, my fellow ministers, dear brothers and sisters, work hard to prove that you really are among those God has called and chosen.

(2 Peter 1:3-10) According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: ⁴ Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. ⁵ And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; ⁶ And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; ⁷ And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. ⁸ For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. ¹⁰ Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:

The Bible teaches that there is only one way to prove to the world that we are true disciples of Christ – that sanctification is taking place in our lives: by our love for one another. (John 13:35) We are then commanded by our King to go and tell and demonstrate the Good News about the freedom, love, and salvation offered by Christ into the entire world – to everyone, everywhere. (Mark 16:15) In other words, we are to “offer the brotherhood of Christ.” So we are here on earth to allow God to have His way with us regarding His mission: to transform us to become more like Christ – to love God and others like Christ. Here is the good news: showing true love for God or others is not something we can “make happen.” Here is the difficult news: demonstrating Christ-like love requires death to self-obsession – which is the great battle of this Great War – and this will be painful. As we die to our flesh and become more like Christ, we will be amazed by our capacity to love. Hang on, God is up to something really good – it’s what we were created for!

Don’t be impatient for the Lord to act!

• “Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass. ³⁴ Wait on the Lord, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it.” Psalm 37: 7, 34
• “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” (Isaiah 40: 31)

Be Faithful with the Small Assignments while Waiting on God. Within the context of our “first things,” Christ does have specific assignments for his disciples – his warriors. But there will be seasons of drudgery, pain, and tremendous waiting on the fulfilment of the specific vision God has given us. “Does God really have a noble and unique purpose for my life that truly matters?” we question. “Yes, I thought God gave me a vision for my life’s calling, but why is it taking so long?” During these seasons of waiting, we are taught the importance of patience, humility, and trust. This is an essential part of our sanctification.

Moses waited for 40 years to complete his assignment after receiving a vision to free the Israelites from bondage in Egypt.

Abraham and Sarah waited twenty-five years before Isaac was born. We may think, “But I can’t wait that long!”

However long it takes, we will learn that God’s timing is perfect and that He has so much to teach us as we are being transformed into brothers and sisters of Christ and are being prepared for our specific assignments. We are being asked to be faithful with the small assignments so that we can be trusted with the larger ones. For example, how can God entrust us with impacting our community, our city, or our world if we are not impacting our wives and kids in a Godly manner?

In the Parable of the Talents, the master asked three men to invest his money. He gave five bags of gold to one, two bags to another, and one bag to the third, “dividing it in proportion to their abilities.” The master was pleased with the first two servants who doubled his money. He celebrated them by saying,
“Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!” (Matthew 25:21)
To the third servant, who lived in fear and didn’t utilize the investment the master had made in him, the master was furious: “You wicked and lazy servant!

For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. ³⁰ And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 25:29-30)

If we are part of our King’s ORDER OF THE MYSTICAL BROTHERHOOD, the Spirit of God will ordain and anoint us to accomplish specific assignments for Him. But we must be faithful with the smaller assignments before He will entrust us with more.

“The true test of a person’s spiritual life and character is not what he does in the extraordinary moments of life, but what he does during the ordinary times when there is nothing tremendous or exciting happening.”

As we are obedient to God’s will for our lives, we will be given special assignments that we were uniquely created and gifted to accomplish. But to give us hope and perseverance during the seasons of waiting and drudgery.
God will give us special names or visions which reveal our identity and His heroic purposes for us. Have you ever asked God your name? Or have you ever asked God, “What do you think of me, and what are the plans you have for me if I totally surrender to your will – no matter the cost?” (Jeremiah 29:11  For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.)

• God gives us a vision, and then He takes us down to the valley to batter us into the shape of that vision. It is in the valley that so many of us give up and faint. Every God-given vision will become real if we will only have patience.
• God has to take us into the valley and put us through fires and floods to batter us into shape until we get to the point where He can trust us with the reality of the vision. Ever since God gave us the vision, He has been at work.

He is getting us into the shape of the goal He has for us, and yet over and over again we try to escape from the Sculptor’s hand in an effort to batter ourselves into the shape of our own goal.”

Our “Compelling” Assignments; The Temptation of Pride

Every brother and sister will be given a unique assignment in this Great War. And it’s not for us to decide. Our King knows the unique gifts he has given to us and how he wants to utilize them in the war. “As it is, we see that God has carefully placed each part of the body right where he wanted it.” (1 Corinthians 12)

Once you truly surrender to our King, God will not allow you to just sit back and be comfortable. As you grow in Christ, you will want to engage in this War – tasks that do not fall within God’s priorities will begin to feel more meaningless. At times, we will try to run, but there is one thing with which you can be sure – our King’s pursuit of His chosen children is relentless! He has been described as the “hound of heaven.” You will feel compelled to follow his purposes, because “you do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price.” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

Paul understood this when he said, “For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!” (1 Corinthians 9:16)

Even Jesus felt compelled to prepare for his mission. After Jesus was baptized and he heard his Father’s affirmation, “immediately the Holy Spirit compelled Jesus to go into the wilderness.” (Mark 1:12) Feeling compelled is really a wonderful thing – it’s purposeful. It’s something you want to do, but often will feel very difficult, crazy, and almost always overwhelming. If you are curious about God’s will or direction for your life or vocation, ask the question, “Do I feel compelled?” But even as we feel compelled, there will be much waiting on God’s perfect timing.
As stated by His Eminence Adrian, “All of God’s people are ordinary people who have been made extraordinary by the purpose He has given them.” Any brother or sister of our King certainly has a grand, noble, and royal call that is orchestrated by our good and powerful Saviour. At times, the deeds God will accomplish through us will make us feel incredibly anointed and powerful – which is true. As Jesus said, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.” (John 14:12)

Wow! Doesn’t that seem amazing? While our King walked the earth, he healed the sick, multiplied fish and bread in baskets, cast out demons, and even raised the dead. Other disciples also were used to accomplishing some miraculous feats. Jesus once sent out his twelve disciples with this mission: “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cure those with leprosy, and cast out demons. Give as freely as you have received!” (Matthew 10:8) In this generation, as God allows us to be a part of some amazing works, we must remember that our powerful gifts “all originate in God’s Spirit.” (1 Corinthians 12) God is the one doing these powerful miracles. He is using us His instruments.

Needless to say, Jesus will use His brothers and sisters in this generation of this Great War to accomplish amazing works. This is hard to comprehend, but that’s His plan. During those moments when God uses us for great victories, our greatest adversary will be the temptation of pride. As we witness some amazing works accomplished through us – of course we will get excited. Our response should be to fall on our knees. But the sin of pride is the great nuclear warhead in this battle. It’s the last great assault of the Enemy – it is all Satan has left, but it is his greatest weapon. Pride took out the most powerful angel
Lucifer; it took out Adam and Eve, and it can take us out. “The Devil will use that pride to make him fall.” (1 Timothy 3:6) Pride in ourselves can quickly render us useless to our King – for “the Lord despises pride. Pride goes before destruction and haughtiness before a fall.” (Proverbs 16:5, and verse 18)

So how does God keep us from falling into pride? By examining the lives of His disciples in scripture – we learn that often times God uses suffering! That’s why Paul finally accepted his thorn and considered suffering “pure joy.”

Without the “wounds and scars,” the heroic stories of the early disciples would not be told today. Without the revelations and insights and the resulting humility one embraces through suffering, the disciples would have attempted to honour themselves rather than our King. Scripture teaches that the life of a true disciple is a life of suffering. Although the heroes of the faith suffered, not one of them who finished well would trade their legacy with anyone. No one can demand or take their own true glory – which is the goal of pride. But for those who finish well, God chooses to bestow it!

At times God will need to work on our pride, but at other times we will feel trampled, unworthy, and defeated. The assignments from our King at times will feel like a great burden. No one in the middle of the ravages of war wants “the burden of the Ring.” Even Jesus lamented, “I am under a heavy burden
until [my mission] is accomplished.” (Luke 13:49) He pleaded with God to take away his “cup of suffering” – his burden. During these times we will need to embrace the power that resides in us, because “now we are united with [Jesus] who was raised from the dead.” (Romans 7:4) We can always approach God as a child and rest in His arms. Faith and hope will be our greatest allies. We will want our brothers and sisters during these moments to pick us up, wipe off the sweat and blood, mend our wounds, and remind us of our Christ-like identity and purpose.

As Paul stated, “That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day.” (2 Corinthians 4:19) During these intense battles, it will do us well to trust in our King’s goodness and to dream about the great celebration that is waiting for us. Don’t quit, because “I am sure that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished…” (Philippians 1:6)

Doesn’t it feel like walking a razor-thin tightrope between recognizing our name and identity, being obedient to our mission, desiring rewards and honour for faithful service – without falling into the death-grip of pride? It is!

However, these two realities are designed to co-exist: “So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and in His good time He will honour you.” (1 Peter 5:6) So we must rely on “the mighty power of God” to rescue us from this seemingly “mission impossible.” But remember, this seemingly “foolish plan of God is far wiser than the wisest of human plans.” (1 Corinthians 1:25)

Humility for the Mission:

One of the paradoxes we will find in the War against evil is that some of the seemingly “less important” or “weaker” people from a human and worldly perspective may have the most important roles in this war. All middle earth rallied behind the success of his specific assignment in the war. It took such a pure and humble heart to have a chance to resist the evil temptations of the ring. In our War, we all represent parts of the overall body. But “some of the parts that seem weakest and least important are really the most necessary.” (1 Corinthians 12:22) In our war “it makes no difference whether the [role] is
… higher or lower. You give it dignity and honour just as it is, without comparisons.” (1 Corinthians 12) All of our missions also are intrinsically linked together in this War. So “if one part hurts, every other part is involved in the hurt, and in the healing. If one part flourishes, every other part enters into the exuberance.” (1 Corinthians 12)
“No matter how significant you are, it is only because of what you are part of. I want you to think about how this keeps your significance from getting blown up into self-importance.” (1 Corinthians 12)
Peace in the Midst of Hard Circumstances. Like Paul, even though we are not yet home to our final destination of heaven, we have hope that even here on earth we can learn to “live happily whatever the circumstances.” (Philippians 4:11) As we give up control of our lives and trust in God’s purpose for us – even during seasons of pain and drudgery – we learn that we can experience peace and rest from the Holy Spirit in the midst of difficult circumstances. As stated by His Eminence Eric, “The things that happen do not happen by chance – they happen entirely by the decree of God. God is sovereignly working out his own purposes… If we have a purpose of our own, it destroys the simplicity and the calm, relaxed pace which should be characteristic of the children of God.”
So this war does not have to feel hopeless during our trials and tribulations. In fact, we can rest in peace knowing that our loving God is in control.

We are here for an important mission – God’s mission for us – and the ORDER OF THE MYSTICAL BROTHERHOOD will not miss out! After all the battles are fought and all of our assignments, both big and small, are completed – all of us long to hear, “Well done my good and faithful servant.”

Humility vs. Pride

• “Humility precedes honour.” (Proverbs 15:33; 18:12)
• “The Lord despises pride.” (Proverbs 16:5)
• “Pride ends in humiliation, while humility brings honour.” (Proverbs 29:23)
• “Pride goes before destruction.” (Proverbs 16:18)
• So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and in His good time He will honour you.” (1 Peter 5:6)
• “The greatest curse in our spiritual life is pride.”