The Eternal Good

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 eternal good.

And now, sit back and listen to today's message. 

The Eternal Good 

““Jesus said, ‘‘. . Men ought always to pray, and not faint.’’”” Luke, Chapter 18, Verse 1

Brothers and sisters, in today’’s broadcast we share some insights into the eternal good. We know brothers and sisters as we trudge our way through this life through the sludge of evil, we sometimes become discouraged and become weary of well doing, but Jesus has shown us the way: we are to go forth with the great work that he has entrusted to us. What greater news can there be than the news that we are the sons and daughters of God, and by believing in Jesus we receive eternal life? We should not become weary in well doing. Remember Jesus says to us, I always stand near, and my invitation-call is, and ever shall be, Come to me all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am true and loyal, and you shall find spiritual rest for your souls."

We are the sons and daughters of God, who have accepted the status of divine sonship and consequently are in the grand and awesome process of revealing to our brothers and sisters that they too are indeed the sons and daughters of God. And in so doing, we are helping to actualize the sovereignty of Jesus on this earth. "What manner of love hath the Father bestowed upon us that we should be called the sons of God.”” We have been entrusted with the task of plowing up the weeds of evil, so that the fertile crops of the spirit can take root. But often we forget such a grand and glorious task with which we have been entrusted. Too often we fail to realize that those who do not know the heavenly Father cannot be expected to respond to us with eager acceptance, cannot be expected to respond to the good news that man is a son of God. As long as our brothers and sisters feel that they are self sufficient, or feel they have the means to become self sufficient, we can only expect evil from them, for the very definition of evil is the unconscious unthinking violation of the Father’’s will, the law of unselfish love. We must allow time to ripen them for the harvest of divine sonship. We must allow the truth of life to do its work. When the supreme goals of living are material, there can be no lasting satisfaction in a soul that is literally starving to death in the midst of the freely offered bread of life.


"You cannot reveal God to those who do not seek for him; you cannot lead unwilling souls into the joys of salvation. Man must become hungry for truth as a result of the experiences of living, or he must desire to know God as the result of contact with the lives of those who are acquainted with the divine Father before another human being can act as the means of leading such a fellow mortal to the Father in heaven. If we know God, our real business on earth is so to live as to permit the Father to reveal himself in our lives, and thus will all God-seeking persons see the Father and ask for our help in finding out more about the God who in this manner finds expression in our lives."

So we see that as sons and daughters of the heavenly Father, there are two ways that the sovereignty of Jesus, the Kingdom of heaven, can be expanded on earth: One way is to allow the process of life to make the evildoer hungry for truth and thirsty for righteousness. And remember, brothers and sisters, all souls of survival status will eventually become hungry for truth and thirsty for righteousness as a result of the experience of living. This is one of the provision of the Son’’s mercy, that life be constructed in such a way that the soul of man comes to realize the futility of the supreme search for material values, while at the same time revealing to him the allure of the supreme search for spiritual values. Now this period of discovery may be short or long, but regardless, the soul is given time for its true intent to emerge. "A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench." He would have all come into a saving knowledge of the truth.

The second way that we can increase the sovereignty of Jesus is to be in intimate contact with others who are not hungry for truth or thirsty for righteousness. This contact never fails to stimulate the thirst and hunger in their souls. But this contact must be constant and consistent. Behold the analogy of the pearl. The pearl of great beauty that we place such material value on comes about only as the result of a constant irritant in the oyster’’s shell. And just as the irritant causes the oyster to produce the great pearl, so will our righteous contact with our brothers and sisters stimulate the hunger for truth and thirst for righteousness in their souls. And it is at such times that we can rejoice over the salvation of another lost soul. Remember the words of Jesus: "I declare that there is more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety and nine righteous persons who need no repentance."’’

So we should remember there are two forces at work in trying to save the souls of our free will brothers and sisters. And these forces work in harmony with each other. And since no man is an island, there is likely to be a son or daughter in contact with the unrighteous soul while the forces of life bring this soul to its knees in recognition of a greater power, a greater value, and a greater destiny than the one it has been pursuing. While the forces of life reveal to the evil soul the truth of life, we, the sons and daughters of the Father, should maintain our contact with the evildoer, constantly revealing the goodness of the Father to him.

Remember it is the goodness of the heavenly Father that causes the soul to repent from the paths of unrighteousness and pursue the paths of righteousness. We should not allow our emotional reactions to the darts of evils that are thrown at us to cause us to retreat from the battlefield of good over evil but rather should recognize that though the darts of evil cause temporary emotional pain and suffering, they are of no lasting consequences to our souls. Our souls are indestructible.

If we withdraw from the battlefield whenever we suffer a wound to our emotions, we are not going to be very effective soldiers of light and consequently we delay the final victory of good over evil. Whenever we withdraw from the battlefield, we leave the forces of life to labor alone in battling to save some evil soul. Rather than withdraw, we should recognize the transient nature of evil darts and intensify our portrayal of the Father’’s goodness: love, patience, mercy, and forgiveness. Every emotional wound by the darts of evil should be used by us, the sons and daughters of the heavenly Father, to further perfect our relationship with Him. We should remember Jesus’’ admonition not to become weary in well doing but to look to him to renew our minds and our spirits and rest for our souls. We should remember that everything that happens to us in our battles with evil can only redound to our eternal good. The values that we embrace as a part of our status as sons and daughters of the heavenly Father become solidified and actualized in our battles with evil. And this is so because the values of goodness, the values of truth, and the values of beauty of the Father’’s love only become real to us when we display these values. The display of the Father’’s values in the face of evil is the test to ourselves that proves to ourselves that these values are indeed a part of our character.

In our contest with the evil soul, we should consistently pray for the evil doer. This has a two-fold effect. First it takes our mind off of our temporary wounded emotions so that they can repair themselves and allows for the unobstructed flow of the Father’’s goodness through us. Self-concern blocks or obstructs the flow of the Father’’s goodness in its battle with evil. Secondly, when we pray for the evildoer, we not only discern which value of goodness is required for this particular battle, but we also receive the moral and spiritual power to vanquish it. Remember, as sons and daughters of the heavenly Father, this is our function: to allow the fruits of the spirit to flow freely through us without obstruction. We must not allow the emotional logjams of hurt feelings, pity parties, moral cowardice, and spiritual fear to block the flow of the Father’’s love through us.

This concludes today's message on understanding the eternal good. 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
The Eternal Good