Spiritual Achievement
Greetings and good morning 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 will ponder our lives as we seek to understand the meaning of spiritual
achievement.
And now, sit back and listen to today's message.
Spiritual Achievement
"Be Ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." Matthew,
Chapter 5, Verse 48.
"Beloved, now are we the sons or God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: But we know
that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is." Since Jesus the Son
of God has returned to glory and has clothed himself with spirit, in order to see Jesus when he returns
we must be like he is. That is, we must be spiritual. We must become perfect even as he is perfect.
This is the supreme spiritual achievement. And we accomplish this spiritual achievement by
dedicating our lives to doing the Father's will. If this dedication is our whole-hearted desired, nothing
can stand in the way of our desire to find the Father through his son, Jesus, and become like Him in
the process. There exists no force, no person either in heaven or on earth that can stand in the face
of that awesome command: Be you perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.
When we have the supreme desire to do the Father's will, that desire is all-compelling. Ill will, evil
habits, unspiritualized behavior, and materialistic tendencies all fall before the ever increasing march
of spiritual progress. We must subordinate all material loyalties, be they things, meanings, or values,
to our growing spiritual nature--our souls. As our souls become increasingly conscious of divine
truth, there is nothing in the material world that can match this ever increasing spiritual delight.
And even though our minds may not be able to fathom the material upheavals that we must
experience prior to ascending from the life in the flesh to the supernal life in the spirit, our
spiritualized minds always cry, "Not my will, but Your will be done." We undergo a constant process
of testing, ever increasing in intensity until we finally meet the supreme test. This final spiritual test
shows us whether we love spiritual realities over material realities. We must love the realities of the
spirit by faith in order to know them. We must love divinely unselfishly. But it requires time before
we become convinced of the inherent weakness and temporal nature of material reality. We require
time before we become convinced of the superiority of spiritual reality.
It is only through the passing of time and the circumstances of ever changing material reality that
increases our desire for spiritual reality--the desire for permanence in the very face of change. The
disappointments, confusions, adjustments, and readjustments that we experience are all apart of the
growth process. But in the very face of these perplexing situations and out of the very substance of
these trying situations, our souls are stimulated to grow.
As we lovingly and unselfishly react to these experiences, we discover the spiritual meanings of
these spiritual values as they are revealed by the Heavenly Father through His Son, the Spirit of
Truth.
And even though sometimes we may fail to live up to the light of truth that we possess, and even
though we may feel terrible about this fact, if we acknowledge our failures, in effect seek
forgiveness, we can rest assuredly that we are moving in the direction of progress and divine
perfection. We should never doubt the power of the love of the Father or the mercy of his Son. We
should never doubt the power of the Spirit which is ever able to keep us from failing in our effort
to achieve divine perfection, and to present us on high to our heavenly Father.
Our supreme desire to do the Father's will, will carry us through crisis after crisis, through the
supreme crisis when all earthly things fail. Our supreme desire will continue to manifest itself in our
lives in ever increasing demonstrations of love, patience, mercy, and forgiveness. The light which
our supreme desire has seen will propel our souls forward in ever heightening appreciation for the
truth, beauty, and goodness of the Father's love. And we shall accomplish the Supreme spiritual
achievement. We shall be perfect even as the Heavenly Father is perfect, and will recognize Him
through His Son Jesus because we shall be like him.
This concludes today's message on understanding the meaning of spiritual achievement. 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!
Spiritual Achievement
