Not My Will But Your Will Be Done!
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 to understand the meaning of not my will but your will be done.
And now, sit back and listen to today's message.
Not My Will But Your Will Be Done
"And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying ‘‘O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: Nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.’’" Matthew, Chapter 26, Verse 39
of the declaration of "not my will but your will be done." We know that this declaration is the passport to eternal life. The Father has given us free will, but it is important to understand that this free will is only free in the sense that we can choose it or reject it. By choosing His will, we choose to survive this life; by declining to choose His will, we decline to survive this life. There is only one divine reality in the universe, and sooner or later, we must choose to be a part of it or decline to be a part of it. In our mortal life, we are able to make material decisions, but in order for us to survive the material life, we must make moral and spiritual decisions. The ability and choice to make moral decisions lays the foundation for the Father’’s spirit to indwell our minds and create our souls in conjunction with our first moral choice. This creation of the soul makes us sons and daughters of the Father. We must increasingly yield to the Father’’s will if our souls are to grow and develop and reach the point of maturity where we can become one with the Father’’s spirit. Once this is done, survival is a reality.
(Consider this material analogy that is designed to show how the process of irreversibility works. With the advance of technology, electronic medical records have replaced the old medical records that were done by hand. These electronic records record all of the information onto a computers and stores it. Once the information is in the format that the doctor wants it, and is satisfied that this record reflects what he intended for it to reflect, and after he is satisfied that no further changes need be made, he then locks this record. After locking the record, no further changes can be made to it. This is a final decision concerning that particular encounter with the patient. Any additional information must be added to a different record.
Doing our mortal existence on earth, we are subject to the laws of a material existence. If we desire to be more than a material transient phenomenon in the universe, we must do something else. We must consider the salvation that is offered to us by Jesus. But before we can accept this salvation, we must consider the cost. Salvation is an irreversible decision, and it is not a decision that can be made lightly without considering all ramifications. Yes, we want to continue to live on a higher level when all things material fail, but salvation involves more than the decision to live. It involves a whole-hearted willingness to abide by the will of the Father in heaven. In heaven there are no disgruntled mortals who have accepted salvation. Never do we confront a situation in heaven where someone who has chosen eternal salvation regrets that he has made such a decision. Therefore is time given to the individual to contemplate this eternal decision before it becomes finalized.
The decision to survive (to eternally abide by the Father’’s will) is not made lightly. So it is not strange that once this idea to survive appears in the mind, it invokes quite a bit of thought. The original idea must be thoroughly considered before it can truly be embraced by the self, that is, before the self makes an irreversible choice. And here it must be remembered that the natural instinct to survive is not synonymous with the understanding that the decision to survive means a decision to abide by the Father’’s will eternally. The decision to survive must embrace the willingness to become God-like. This is why ordinarily mortals have the whole material life to consider this choice. Some may arise to such levels of understanding and such levels of dedication to the Father’’s will that they are able to make the survival decision while in the flesh, just as some are able to reject survival in the flesh.
There are two factors involved in the choice to abide by the Father’’s will. The first factor is the acceptance of salvation by faith. If we can be true to our faith through the trials and tribulations of the mortal life, through ups and downs, sorrows, and disappointments, such an experience reveals the individual’’s true motive. And the second factor is that the choice of the Father’’s will causes the individual to immediately begin to show forth the character traits of the Father. We will begin to show forth the fruits of the spirit in our daily lives, and these fruits will continue to increase in quality. If we reach the point whereby we not only allow these fruits to flow through us, but love them flowing through us under any and all circumstances, then we have in fact made a decision to abide by the Father’’s will.
When in time there are no deviations from this flow of the fruits of the spirit, then we have confirmed such a decision. Further, when those who are entrusted with verifying our decisions do so, then are we eternally fused with our Father’’s Spirit, demonstrating that not only have we chosen to survive but have also chosen to abide by his will eternally.
This concludes today's message on the discovery and meaning of ““not my will but your will be done.”” 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!
Inspirational Messages of Light
By Dr. James Perry
Not My Will But Your Will Be Done
