Inspirational Messages
By Dr. James Perry
Confessions of a Sinner
Your Kingdom Come, Your Will Be Done!
Greetings and good morning, brothers and sisters. My name is Dr. James Perry. Over the years the Heavenly Father has revealed many revelations of spiritual truth to me, and I want to share them with you. Today, we want to introduce you to the messages that will be forthcoming during the life of this series. We want to present to you the higher meanings of the Scriptures. We know that you are hungry and thirsty for these higher meanings, especially during this time of great stress and uncertainty. During this series, we will explore the deeper meanings of our relationship with Jesus Christ. We will explore the values and meanings of truth. After all, Jesus said that He is the way, the truth, and the life, and we believe him.
When Jesus told Pilate that he bore witness to the truth, Pilate responded with a question: "What is truth and who can tell?" We know that Jesus left us with the comforter, the Spirit of Truth, to guide us into all truth. We'll take a more penetrating look into topics, like faith, goodness, beauty, love, mercy, grace, forgiveness. sin, evil, and inequity. We'll also explore the deeper meanings of salvation, the values and meanings of trials and tribulations, and many other topics of spiritual value will be explored. We will select verses from the Scriptures to introduce the topic. As these revelations of truth have been a blessing for me, it is my sincere hope that they will bless you also.
And now, sit back and listen to today's message.
Confessions of a Sinner
"You have heard that it was said, `Do not commit adultery.' But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart."--Matthew, Chapter 5,
Verse 27.
Too often we judge others, but Jesus says: "Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."-- Matthew, Chapter 7, Verse 1.
And Isaiah, speaking for the Heavenly Father, utters these merciful words: "'Come now, let us reason together'," says the Lord "'Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.'" Isaiah, Chapter 1, Verse 18.
I am an adulterer, and so are you. I am a liar, and are you. I am a murderer, and so are you. I am a thief, but then so are you. Yes! I am guilty of all these sins, and so are you. This confession is not for the benefit of the pure and the righteous, nor is it directed towards those who are not guilty of these sins. This confession is directed towards my brothers and sisters who live in sin.
I know that some of my brothers and sisters will protest, saying they are guilty of some of these sins but certainly not all of them. And some will say that their sins are lesser than mine. But my heart is heavy, and my sorrows are deep. I fear for my soul. Yet in spite of my best efforts, I go right on sinning. I know, brothers and sisters, the pure and the righteous will judge me rather harshly and say that I do not seem to have learned very much from my experiences, as I go right on making the same errors over and over again. All day long, truth and wisdom evade my grasp, and when I think I have found them, they vanish before my eyes like fleeting shadows, suddenly exposed to the light.
Brothers and sisters, I know that this is a bitter cup for us to drink, and a very puzzling paradox, for though we are the living, we are as dead as can be, and I fear we may never find our way out of this dilemma. Every way seems right, and every way seems wrong. If I go to the right, I offend my body. If I go to the left, I offend the pure and the righteous. If I go forward, I offend you, and if I go backwards, I offend my spirit.
But let us ask the pure and the righteous, for it appears that they have found the way, and if they
have, surely they can and will direct us. Let us ask them to share their wisdom and truth with us.
Perhaps they will be kind enough to enlighten us with a light brighter than the one that we have been able to find. Let's begin by asking them a few questions: Who was the first man and woman created by God? Why did Cain slay Abel? Simple questions, right? Where did the people come from that Cain went to live with in the land of Nod?
Which sons of God came down from heaven to marry with the daughters of men? How did Enoch
learn what we do not know? Why was it all right for the Hebrews to wage war in God's name, killing men, women, and children, but wrong to fornicate and commit adultery? Who was Melchizedek, and where did he come from, and where did he go? I know by now some of you are wondering at the audacity of some of these questions--that these unanswered questions must be tolerated by faith. But faith is the essence of things hoped for and the substance of the unseen. But though the answers to these questions can be accepted by faith, faith can never literally answer these questions.
Let's try another line of questioning.
I am born with desires of the flesh that are never really satisfied, and yet these same desires cause me to commit sin. Why is that? You say that I must exercise restraint and deny my desires, but denial only makes them stronger. And so then you say, wait until you get older and then the fires of youth will die down. And you are right. The fires of youth will die down, but then the fires of maturity are lit with its own brand of evil.
My problem is not one of showing restraint where the desires of the flesh are concerned. My problem is that I cannot stop thinking about my desires. Why does God judge my thoughts rather than my deeds, for has He not said that if I think about committing an act, then as far as He is concerned, I have already committed that act? God judges the intent of a person, while man judges the actual deed. And yet we pay more attention to what is done rather than to what is thought.
Should we be more concerned with what we do rather than what we think? Should we be more
concerned with what man thinks or what God thinks? Should we be upset when man judges us or should we be more upset when God judges us? I believe it says somewhere judge not least you are judged, and condemned. Somewhere else it says that whosoever falls on the Stone of Mercy shall be broken, but whosoever the Stone of Justice falls on shall be crushed. Is there really a difference between the person who thinks an evil deed, and the one who does the evil deed? You who are pure and righteous, please tell me how to stop thinking sinful deeds. I know how to stop doing sinful deeds.
I know that these questions are numerous and baffling, but please bear with me, for I have just one more question: How can I obey that awesome command "Be you perfect even as your heavenly Father is perfect?" I know that the pure and the righteous have solved these problems, but please take pity and share your wisdom with a sinner who would really like to stop sinning. A soul is at stake.
This concludes today's message on confessions of a sinner. 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
Confessions of a Sinner
