The Realization of Jesus
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 realization of Jesus.
And now, sit back and listen to today's message.
The Realization of Jesus
"Phillip saith unto him, Lord show us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him,
have I been so long with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Phillip? He that hath seen me
hath seen the Father; how sayest thou then, show us the Father?" John, Chapter 14, Verses
8 and 9.
Brothers and sisters, a spirit person can be known and loved just as a material person, and especially
is this true when the spirit person is God. But in order for two persons to know each other, there must
be an exchange of knowledge for each. To "know" literally means "knowledge of". Jesus being our
Father-Creator knows us. He has intimate knowledge of us, but being spiritual children we must
grow in the knowledge of Him, just as an earthly child must grow in the knowledge of their earthly
parents.
Acquiring knowledge of anything or anyone requires time, and so it is true with persons, human or
divine. When we seek knowledge of the heavenly Father, we seek knowledge of his character. And
this knowledge can be acquired with increasing satisfaction by the technique of doing the Father's
will.
The initiation of this relationship whereby we begin the process of acquiring knowledge of the
heavenly Father only requires faith. The deepening of this relationship requires a great deal more.
Even when trying to relate to a human person, effort must be spent in communicating and in
sincerely trying to understand the individual. There must be a willingness to share ourselves with the
person that we are trying to know.
How much so is this true with Jesus? How can we hope to know him when so little time and effort
are utilized in communicating and communing with him? There can hardly be a true relationship
when the sum and substance of our relationship consists of speaking to him only when we are in
trouble. Even in human relationships, true friendship cannot be developed when one partner only
communicates when it wants something.
Jesus is the best friend that we can have, though very few realize that friendship. Essential to a
friendship is the revelation of one to the other. But the truest friendship comes about when there is
mutual understanding and the sharing of a common purpose between two friends. So to deepen our
friendship with Jesus, we must arrive at a mutual understanding and share a common purpose with
him. But Jesus is perfect, and we are imperfect. This means that we must become more like him for
mutual understanding. He understands us completely, but we understand him very little or not at all.
To understand Jesus is to understand his purpose.
We must be willing to communicate with Jesus on a regular basis. The degree to which we do
determines the degree to which he is real to us. We must be willing to share our consciousness with
him, to cultivate the habit of being conscious of him at all times and under all circumstances. And
then must we be willing to act according to the dictates of that joint consciousness.
We must be willing to commune with Jesus. Communion is simply sharing--sharing of our life with
him. This involves being willing to reveal our deepest longings, weaknesses, and faults. And even
though Jesus already knows about them, he cannot really change us unless we submit ourselves to
him unconditionally. This involves a process of admission, repentance, and forgiveness, and in the
process, we receive a demonstration of divine love and mercy.
It requires a certain amount of trust in an individual to admit our faults and to share our deepest
hopes and aspirations, but something inside of us tells us that it is right to do this with Jesus. This
something inside us is the spirit of Jesus, the Spirit of Truth. And when we take that initial step of
faith by trusting him, he validates our trust in him. As we continue to share our faults and desires
with him, we arrive at the understanding that he truly loves us. We realize that he is so patient with
our shortcomings and our immature desires. He sees us as perfect, as undoubtedly we will be
someday.
As we continue to spend more time with him in communion and communication, we develop a
desire to be more like he is and less like what we are. And as time continues, our continuous
subjugation of our will to the Father's will changes us into the image of his Son, Jesus, and we show
forth the spiritual and moral character of Jesus, who is the personal revelation of the spirit Father.
This concludes today's message on understanding the realization of Jesus. 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!
The Realization of Jesus
