Further Insight Into Faith
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 seek further insight into faith.
And now, sit back and listen to today's message.
Further Insight into Faith
"By faith, Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for inheritance, obeyed; and went out, not knowing whiter he went." Hebrews, Chapter 11, Verse 8
Brothers and sisters, in today’’s broadcast we examine some further insights of faith. We know we live by faith and die from a lack of faith. The old saying comes to mind: "He who lives by the sword shall die by the sword." There are two insights that we want to share this morning.
A few days ago, the question was raised as to the difference between faith and hope. To help clarify the difference, we will use a material analogy. In the Wizard of Oz, Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the cowardly Lion have just entered onto a great plane. Off in the distance they can see the Emerald City, the home of the Wizard of Oz. It is a magnificent city, with its towering towers and its beautiful green color. Though this city is still quite a distance away, it is so large that a lot of details can be seen. As they journey closer and closer, the beauty of the city and the details of the city become greatly magnified. They have traveled a long way in search of the Wizard of Oz, whom they have been instructed has great wisdom and power. Dorothy wants to meet with him to obtain instructions on how to get back to Kansas. The Scarecrow wants the Wizard to give him a brain. The Tin Man wants a heart, and the cowardly Lion wants the Wizard to give him courage.
And on and on they travel, never stopping until they enter those precious gates. And as they get closer and closer, their hope and faith gets stronger and stronger. The expectation that their intense desires will be satisfied increases as they approach the Emerald City. Their hope and faith peak just as they enter the city. And just as they are able to make out greater and greater details of the Emerald City, and more fully appreciate its beauty as they get closer and closer to it, so does their expectation that their desires will be fulfilled until they actually enter the Emerald City and behold its marvelous beauty and meet face to face with the Wizard, who will reveal the secret to obtaining their supreme desires.
Faith operates in the spiritual arena, where it is very effective in converting potential spiritual realities into actual spiritual realities. Faith is released when the soul embraces it wholeheartedly. It may take some time to actually bring about the transformation, but it is the nature of faith to project the image of this goal so that the spirit of the transformation can be experienced at once. For example, the fruits of the spirit that fill our souls are really associated with the next stage of existence. But because of the faith-knowledge imparted to us when the divine Son took on human form, when we accept this Son, immediately we begin to experience the fruits of the spirit in our lives. Thus, we can live the spirit of the heavenly life while we still live the earthly life.
As we travel this spiritual journey in search of the heavenly Father, who will impart spiritual perfection to our souls, we have seen His magnificent kingdom of righteousness and the glory of His character. Now even though we are a long way from actually standing in His magnificent presence and His abode, we can make out the details of His magnificent character. In the spiritual world, it is our faith that gives us this vision of His magnificent Kingdom of righteousness and His glorious character. Faith allows us to see this Kingdom by presenting a picture of it to our souls, and as we continue on this journey, faith presents the picture in ever-increasing glory and detail.
And as we view this magnificent Kingdom of righteousness and His glorious character, hope arises in our souls. This hope propels us towards the magnificent Kingdom of righteousness and His glorious character. And as we get closer and closer, our desires for His spiritual perfection intensify. And as we travel towards this Kingdom of righteousness and His glorious character, we are changed. We become increasingly like Him. We are changed into the image of his Son, Jesus. And it is this change into the image of His Son that allows us to recognize Him. Faith and hope have allowed us to achieve the desire of the ages--spiritual perfection in the embrace of the Father.
And now let us personify these analogies so that they will enlighten us once again in the never-ending pursuit of truth. Armed with faith and hope, Dorothy represents those of us who are seeking knowledge to find our way to our eternal home and become perfect in the process. The Scarecrow represents the knowledge needed to successfully complete the journey. This would be the Spirit of Truth, who is the way, the truth, and the life. The Tin Man represents the purified soul that is required to recognize the Father. Only the pure in heart shall see God. The Lion represents the courage required to be any and all things required to complete this supreme spiritual journey.
The Wizard represents faith and hope personified and instructs us on how to get to our eternal home and become perfect in the process. Without faith and hope, we can’’t get there from here. The Wizard instructs us that everything that is required is within. And like desire, heart (soul), knowledge, and courage are all within and only require activation by an act of our individual wills, the will to submit to the Father’’s will. This faith-knowledge will forthwith become activated. All we need to do is point our hearts towards our heavenly home, muster our courage for the rigorous but satisfying journey, and follow faith and hope until we arrive at the Emerald City of Paradise, where we will at last meet the true Wizard, the Heavenly Father.
This concludes today's message on a further insight into faith. 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.
Your Kingdom Come; Your Will Be Done!
Further Insight Into Faith
Inspirational Messages
By Dr. James Perry.
