Faith and Desire
Greetings, brothers and sisters. This is Dr. James Perry continuing with our series where we seek to
explore the deeper meanings of our relationship with Jesus Christ. Over the years, the heavenly
Father has revealed many revelations of spiritual truth to me, and I want to share them with you. This
morning we contemplate the relationship between believing (faith) and desire.
And now, sit back and listen to today's message.
Faith and Desire
"Therefore I say unto you what things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive
them and ye shall receive them." Mark, Chapter 11, Verse 24.
Brothers and sisters, today we shall take a look at the relationship between faith and desire. Using
the analogy of a train and passenger, we shall see how this relationship functions. In this analogy,
the train represents faith and the passenger, desire. Faith desires to take desire on an eternal trip. The
eternal question is whether the passenger will ride the train of faith as it winds its way through more
and more unfamiliar terrain. We shall see how desire functions as faith makes its way through many
stopping places.
The first stop on the way is the station of logic and reason. At this station, the train of faith pauses
while the discourse on the reasons of faith and the role of desire in the scheme of things are given.
Logic and reason are brilliant as they pounder and examine the reasons of faith. Logic says that faith
is useful, it adds meaning to life, and helps ease the torment associated with the criminals of chance
that surrounds the station. It only stands to reason that if there is a state of mind that will allow its
adherents to hold so that the hounds of temporal agony are held at bay, then why should the mind
not embrace it. With the problems of the material world, and the still prevailing ignorance of so
many, with so much misunderstanding of the true nature of life and destiny, a little faith is a good
thing. You don't have to follow it through, just believe it. It helps to get to the next train station.
The next stop is the station of morality. Here, desire is being challenged for the first time, as conflict
surfaces between what he naturally prefers and what he is required to do. Here on the train of faith,
the passenger of desire squirm in his seat. He wonders if this might be a bit much. After all there is
no purpose in having a desire if it can't be actualized. The train of faith rests at this station for quite
sometime, while the passenger temporarily gets off to stretch his legs of moral stamina. As he looks
around, he sees a station filled with moral duties. His reason and logic tells him that he should take
heed. He finally accepts his moral responsibilities and again climbs aboard the train of faith. He
appears somewhat troubled and uneasy but continues to ride the train of faith to the next stop. To
his surprise, the passenger has realized that whenever he surmounts an obstacle, he becomes
stronger. He was now ready for the next stop.
The train of faith slowly and laboriously pulls into the station of philosophy. Here the passenger
hears discourses on the pros and cons of trust. His mind is foggy after listening to all it, but the
question was whether he would continue. He reflected on all that he had heard. The pros and the cons
of trusting the train of faith. The big question was what was the final destination of this train of faith.
This stop was the last stop of familiarity. Beyond it lay complete ignorance, beyond the point where
logic, reason and philosophy were invalid. If he had made the choice to proceed to the next station,
he realized that these tools of the intellect would be useless in helping him to make the next decision.
Here he was confronted with the trust element. He had understood trust in a sense when he first
boarded the train of faith, but this was the first time that he was compelled to wear it like he wore
his shoes. This was the real deal; this could not be faked. Every station from now on would require
him to wear the shoes of trust. And as he peered out into the unknown, all he could see were tracks
beginning to move upward at a very steep angle, whereas before that tracks had remained level. He
could not see the end of this elevation. But even as he debated within himself, he could feel a warm
and tender feeling of compassion and mercy, even love, beckoning him onward into the unknown.
What was he to do? Here was this momentous decision before him and he intuitively sensed that the
choice that he made really mattered and would determine his destiny.
The train of faith has taken logic, reason, and philosophy as far as they could go. But now connecting
to the train of faith was his truth car, the Spirit of Truth. It was time for the soul of desire to be
educated, and the Spirit of Truth would instruct his soul. The train of faith was about to pull out of
the station. Would the passenger of desire move into his truth car and begin his spiritual education,
making the journey into the unknown realm of Truth? Something deep inside of him said yes. And
the train of faith pulled out into the unknown Truth of eternity and infinity. And the passenger of
desire glowed with spiritual glory and moral grandeur. He was on his way!
This concludes today's message on understanding the relationship between faith and desire. We hope
you find something in this message to ponder and pray about as you go about your day. Until next
time, this is Dr. James Perry.
Inspirational Messages
By Dr. James Perry
Your Kingdom Come, Your Will Be Done!
Faith and Desire
