Faith Consciousness
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 the nature
of faith consciousness.
And now, sit back and listen to today's message.
Faith Consciousness
"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 dilgently seek him." Hebrews, Chapter 11, Verse
6.
Brothers and sisters, what is the nature of faith? What is the nature of spirit, and what is the nature
of this relationship? Faith is a real quality, and has tremendous power, the power to cause a person
to give up his life in the pursuit of its cause. Faith is a quality that has the power to create a sense of
reality out of that which one believes. But the object of faith may be false or true. Who can instruct
and correct our faith? Faith being a spiritual quality can only be instructed by spirit. God gives us
faith so that through it we may know Him.
The true object of faith can only be spiritual. Faith tends to grow, to grow towards supreme heights.
And this faith is manifested in the outward world depending on the object and intensity of the faith.
Faith can only raise the object of devotion only to the degree that it is spiritual. And this fact can
cause a person to drive on to fanaticism. When the object of faith does not respond, the person who
is sincere and dedicated though in error can only increase his efforts, even to the point where it
distorts and disrupts his life.
All faith has this in common: when exercised in sincerity and trust, it eventually dominates the whole
person, holding them tighter than any ball and chain ever could. Even when the object of this faith
is material, the same thing happens. A believer who defines the object of his faith as material can
only express this faith in a materialistic manner. And since the laws of the material world are
controlled by physical laws, and not spiritual ones, more and more effort brings only failure followed
by even greater effort, until the person reaches some supreme material test in his life where he tries
with all his power to faith achieve some material goal with disastrous results.
The basic error of fanaticism is to shift the relationship from the spirit Father to some material goal,
even a material goal for an alleged spirit purpose. The Father is in control of all reality, and his
divine will prevails. No amount of material force can bring about spiritual goals. Only spiritual
forces can bring about spiritual victories. The best way to change the world in which we are living
is for each person to change himself and to refrain from material efforts to change others. Objects
of change can never hear what one is saying because what one is doing is utterly drowning out what
one is saying.
Spirit is a quality that is the proper object of faith. The faith adventure is the recognition that God
is our Father, and the resultant fact that we are all spiritual brothers and sisters, since we all have the
same spiritual Father. The whole faith adventure has to do with our perfecting this relationship. God
is our Father, and we are his sons and daughters. There are certain values that are associated with this
fact. The fact and truth of God being our spiritual Father bring into existence a relationship of Father
and son. This relationship is one of parent and child, not one of wielding material power, or changing
the laws of cause and effect.
A relationship is described as being connected in some vital way, some moral obligation between
the two parties of the relationship. In the spiritual relationship, this relationship is named Truth.
Truth is the reality of the relationship between the heavenly Father and us. It is a relationship
characterized by divine love and endless mercy, by grace and growth. And while the child may grow
in this relationship there is nothing he can do to earn this status. It is bestowed on him by the love
of the heavenly Father.
The proper object of faith is spirit. Faith stands for the relationship that exists between the Father and
his sons and daughters. And this faith tends to grow to supreme levels where the sons and daughters
recognize their status of divine sonship. They boldly grasp that they and the Father are one. This
advanced stand of faith does not deliver us from the difficulties and handicaps of a material
existence. It does not give us power to alter the laws of cause and effect though it does give us power
to alter our decisions under the ever increasing discernment of divine wisdom.
As we deepen our relationship with the Father, the consciousness of the divine presence grows, and
this is unfailingly manifested in our outer lives as loving service to our brothers and sisters. In fact
the sign of whether our faith has grasped the spiritual object (God the Father) is revealed by the
extent that we have helped our brothers and sisters and whether we recognize this great truth. The
recognition of the object of true faith is whether we treat our neighbors as ourselves.
As long as our object of faith is spiritual, purely spiritual, there can be no danger of driving on to
fanaticism because spiritual energy can only have an effect on spiritual matters. The Spirit of Truth
instructs us in the progressive relationship with the Father, and with our brothers and sisters. True
faith never disregards the morals of the time in which it is working, but it is true that true faith uplifts
and enlightens the morals of the time.
True faith never excludes but is always inclusive of all brothers and sisters. And when we recognize
someone as being our spiritual brothers or sisters, and loves him like we love ourselves, we are
unlikely to do them any harm. True faith makes us true, beautiful, and good.
When we are one with his Father through His Son, Jesus, we are equipped to reveal the Father to our
brothers and sisters. And what is revealed is the love and mercy of an all loving and all merciful
Father. As true sons and daughters, we are aware of advancing in our relationship with the Father,
of growing in the grace and mercy of the Father. We assume more and more spiritual responsibility.
The greater the growth, the greater is the ability to bear more responsibility, to discharge more sacred
trusts.
This concludes today's message on understanding the meaning of the nature of faith consciousness.
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 Consciousness
