Putting Teeth in the Supreme 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 seek to understand how we put teeth in our supreme desire.

And now, sit back and listen to today's message. 

Putting Teeth in the Supreme Desire

"But without faith it is impossible to please him; for he that cometh to God must believe that
he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek." Hebrew, Chapter 11, Verse 6. 

Brothers and sisters, when Jesus lived on earth, he commanded us to be perfect even as the heavenly
Father is perfect. We are taught to have faith in the effectiveness of the supreme desire to do the will
of God, to become perfect even as the Father is perfect. We are also told that if what we seek to do
is the Father's will, then that desire will certainly come to pass. What the Father's wills and we desire,
is. We know that not only is it a possibility, or even a probability, but a certainty that we can become
perfect even as the Father is perfect. Not only that but the Son has shown us the way, has actually
displayed the perfection pattern in human experience by assuming the human estate and perfecting
that estate. 

This being the case, it becomes our exalted privilege to achieve this perfection that is ours for the
asking. It therefore behooves us to cleanse ourselves from all evils of mind and body while we seek
for perfection in the love of the heavenly Father. This perfection of our souls in the flesh starts with
divine forgiveness. Forgiveness is essential to remove all the blots and evil tendencies from our souls.
"Ask and you shall receive; knock and the door shall be opened." 

Now this forgiveness is essential to remove the anchor of evil from its moorings so that the ship of
desire for perfection can launch itself on the high seas of perfection attainment. It is impossible for
the ship to move out of the harbor of human imperfection dragging the anchor of "regretting the past,
whining over the present, and vainly hoping for the future." This perfection quest must be embraced
by the whole heart, soul, and might of mind. It is identical to the command to love God with all our
heart, soul, and all our might and to love our neighbor as ourselves. This desire when linked and fully
integrated with our faith will power the motor of our ship of desire for perfection. 

When this ship finally launches on the high sea of perfection attainment, there are two phases of
obeying the Father's eternal command: self mastery and mastery of the social environment. This self
mastery involves recognition of those qualities in us that stand in the way of our achieving divine
perfection as an experiencing present reality. All character defects, recognized and unrecognized,
must be faith realized as having been replaced by divine goodness, must be realized in the spirit as
a fait accompli. Then must the self relentlessly confront these temporal evils with willful decisions,
decisions in favor of the Father's will. Every time a situation presents itself where evil might be
chosen, we must choose good over evil. We must not flinch in our choices, nor make excuses, but
choose the truth over error, choose goodness over evil, and beauty over ugliness. We must doggedly
pursue the unification of ourselves with the Father's Spirit using the power of the Spirit of Truth. In
our social environment, we must take the high but lonely road up the mountain of perfecting
achievement, making our way to the top, as there will not be found many pilgrims seeking this divine
perfection. Instead, they will still be traveling below in the valley of " I hope I'm saved," longing for
the fish and bread of materialism and wondering why they can't find lasting satisfaction and peace. 

Let us review the spiritual influences that have been given us to assist in this magnificent conquest
of our selves and our social environment. First there is the spiritual influence of the Father, the divine
spirit. This spirit provides the perfection values-the revelation of truth, beauty, and goodness, the
urges, the desires to do good to others (divine love). Then there is the spiritual influence of the Son,
the Spirit of Truth. This spirit provides the personal unification of the manifestation of the Father.
Then finally there is the manifestation of the Holy Spirit. This spirit in addition to operating in our
minds, teaching the way of love, also operates in the social environment in the form of the angels and
other spiritual helpers. These interlocking spiritual influences assist us as we make our way up the
mountain of perfection using our faith. 

Now in addition to our liberated faith made possible by the Spirit of Truth who asserts that we have
already attained perfection in the spirit, there are three other practices that are essential to make this
perfection factual as well as spiritual. First there is the practice of worship. This essential practice has
the effect of transforming our character into the character of the Father's Son. This practice reveals
the divine ideals, divine values. The next practice is prayer. This practice teaches us how to take these
divine ideals and incorporate them into our character based upon the character pattern of the divine
Son. And last there is the practice of service. This last essential practice makes real the divine
character in the material world. It is the one essential component needed to turn the wheel of potential
spiritual perfection into actual spiritual perfection. When service is practiced, we have demonstrated
the triune relationship on high: the Thought God expressing Himself in the Word God and
manifesting themselves in the Spirit, the God of Action. 

For our part, all that remains is for us to faith-recognize the divine influences of the Father--
recognized as being true, beautiful and good--and must be unified in our character according to the
character of the divine Son. We must resist any attempt to deviate from the character of the Son in
our effort to express these divine ideals. And we must be willing to confront the social circumstances
brought about by our angels and other spiritual helpers, social circumstances arranged in such a way
that we are given the opportunity to practice our perfection in the spirit to the outer world. 

We must not shy away from these progressive but difficult social interactions. When the evil stimuli
present, masquerading in the form of social misfits and maladjusted individuals brimming over with
evil, asking to be shown the Father, we must proudly say by portraying the divine character through
Jesus, "here I am." In this way the outer display of the divine character begins to approach the inner
display of the divine character, realizing the perfection of the spirit. And when such a one is viewed
from the lofty heights of the mountain of perfection, those down in the valley who chance to look up
will see his brilliant light. 

This concludes today's message on how to put teeth into the supreme 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!
  Putting Teeth in the Suprem Desire