Spiritual Gravity
Greetings, 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. In today’’s broadcast, we examine the nature and effect of spiritual gravity.
And now, sit back and listen to today's message.
Spiritual Gravity
Jesus said, "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me." John, Chapter 12, Verse 32
Brothers and sisters, spiritual gravity is a concept that some may be unaware of. To assist our minds in grasping this vital concept, we will review material gravity.
Gravity is a force with which we are all familiar. It is the force that keeps us from falling off the earth into space. It is the force that pulls all things towards the center of the earth. Without this force, life as we know it could not exist.
And so it is with spiritual gravity: there must be a force that draws all souls to God. Jesus said, "No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him." This drawing man’’s soul is by the force of spiritual gravity. All souls are drawn to God by way of his Son, Jesus, so that all who believe in Jesus are drawn towards him and to one another. This spiritual gravity is all powerful; no soul can escape from it and herein lies out safety: spiritual gravity keeps us attached to him. As Jesus said, ““the Father gave them to me, and no man is able to pluck them out of my hands.”” All spiritual values are drawn toward the Father and held in his grasp.
Spiritual gravity is the secret of believers being drawn together. It is the force that attracts them, one to another. But as we observe the effects of this spiritual gravity, we find that believers are not being drawn together. What is the reason for this lack of spiritual unity? We have many religious sects that profess faith in Jesus. But each of these sects maintain that their approach is the only approach to him or is at least the right approach. Each group maintains that other sects are in error. How did this come to be? How is that all of these groups professing that Jesus is Lord and Savior are not drawn together?
Well, intellectual interpretation of spiritual experience varies from individual to individual and from group to group. And this is because no two minds are alike and no two groups are alike. Secondly, loyalty towards doctrine has replaced loyalty towards Jesus. We should remember that Jesus said if he were lifted up, he would draw all men to him. He did not say he would draw doctrine to him. Living the spiritual reality of Jesus draws all men towards him.
And herein is disclosed the reason why spiritual gravity is not effective in drawing all men to Jesus. He simply is not being lifted up. To better understand why, let us explore what it means to lift Jesus up. To lift Jesus us means to afford him a position of supreme honor, even worship. And to worship Jesus carries certain spiritual implications. When we worship Jesus, we identify with him and seek to become like him. We know that Jesus must be worshiped in truth and in spirit. He has already proclaimed that he is the way, the truth, and the life and that no one comes to the Father except through him. Now we know that Jesus has not become the supreme object of worship in most believers’’ lives because they fail to love one another as he loves them. They have substituted a doctrine in the place of the living worship of Jesus. As this doctrine is intellectual, it lacks the transforming power of worshiping God in truth and in spirit. In short, doctrine--being intellectual--is resistant to spiritual gravity. No matter how much intellectual truth it contains, doctrine cannot take the place of the living spiritual reality of Jesus. Intellectual fruits, even social fruits, can be realized but not spiritual fruits. Spiritual fruits appear only as the result of worshipping God. Intellectual and social fruits have no power to satisfy the hunger and thirst of the soul.
This explains why spiritual gravity appears weak or ineffective in drawing all believers. Spiritual gravity like material gravity is only effective on the object of its attraction. As material gravity acts on matter, quantity, so does spiritual gravity act only on quality, values. And since God is love, we must display the values of love in our lives. Jesus said that if we love one another as he loves us, then all men will know that we are his disciples. If we love one another, we will be drawn towards one another and towards the source--the Father in heaven.
We must become spiritually perfect even as the heavenly Father is perfect. There is only one way that spiritual gravity can become more effective in our lives and that is for us to become more spiritual. And the only way we can become more spiritual is by doing the Father’’s will as demonstrated by Jesus——by loving one another as Jesus loves us. We must submit our wills to the Father’’s will and cease to exercise our will for the purpose of selfish aggrandizement. We must follow Jesus, who is the way, the truth, and the life; he went about doing good. If all believers dedicated themselves to doing the Father’’s will, the effects of spirit gravity would be seen to be as powerful in the spiritual realm as material gravity is in the material realm.
This concludes today's message on understanding the nature of spiritual gravity. 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
Spiritual Gravity
