The Faith of the Father's Love
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 faith of the Father's
love.
And now, sit back and listen to today's message.
The Faith of the Father's Love
"And Jesus saith unto them, . . . 'If ye have faith as a grain or mustard seed, ye shall say unto
this mountain, remove hence to yonder place' and it shall remove; and nothing shall be
impossible unto you.'" Matthew, Chapter 17, Verse 20.
Brothers and sisters, self consciousness is the awareness of self. Divine consciousness is the
awareness that characterizes the spirit reborn sons and daughters of the Father. From the material
mind's point of view, it is impossible to be conscious of the Heavenly Father's presence. But if we
exercise the faith of a mustard seed, nothing spiritual shall be impossible for us, and we can become
conscious of the divine presence.
As we grow in faith, we move from self consciousness to divine consciousness. This is a spiritual
growth process. At the very center of spirit consciousness resides the Father's spirit, and the Father's
spirit is the secret of our transformation to spirit consciousness. Self consciousness lays the
foundation for moral consciousness while moral consciousness creates the potential for spirit
consciousness. These two together make possible soul consciousness.
Upon making our first moral decision, choosing right over wrong and thus demonstrating the birth
of our moral consciousness, the soul is created. The Father's spirit responds by the creation of faith
in our moral self consciousness. This faith is the unchallengeable reality of God in our souls and
minds. This eruption of spiritual faith in our minds and souls is from the Father, and is of the Father.
This signifies that the Father has found us. The only thing that remains is for us, the sons and
daughters of the Father, to find Him in spirit. This is done with the Spirit of Truth. Since this faith
comes from the Father, if we follow it, it will lead us back to the Father. Thus faith becomes the
leading of the spirit.
But initially our faith is underdeveloped and almost wholly unrealized at the beginning of the
spiritual experience, not even the size of a mustard seed. But through effort, persistence, and
struggle, our faith yields its vast potential. First begins the realization of self consciousness. This
confidence in the ability of the self is a manifestation of this faith. Next begins the realization of
moral consciousness, which consists in the recognition of, and loyalty to, duty. Next dawns the
realization of soul consciousness with its superhuman insight for perceiving the truth, beauty, and
goodness of the Father's love. Finally there is the realization of spirit consciousness, the supreme
spiritual effort of our mortal life, the supreme desire and realization of doing the Father's will. Such
a one has advanced his consciousness to the very center of reality. He has found the Father in spirit.
But the growth in faith is in reality the purification of the living faith from all material
contamination, even though this very faith has a sure consequence--the uplifting of all moral
consciousness. Pure faith is a pure quality, and it has solely to do with the relationship of the
spiritualizing self, our souls to the Father of spirits. Pure faith is in reality wholehearted trust in the
Father's overcare. The experiences of life are designed to purify our faith, and our faith remains intact
after any and all experiences. It is strange how faith in the Father grows in the face of suffering,
sorrow, and disappointment. The willingness to go through the trials and tribulations selected by the
Father's spirit makes us more than conquerors, for we master an experience spiritually by going
through it and emerging even more dedicated to doing the Father's will. We emerge from the ashes
of material meanings and values with the resurrected victory of spiritual values and meanings. Our
consciousness of the spirit Father intensifies.
And as the gardener prunes the vine of dead branches and digs around the root to make the vine more
fruitful, so does our heavenly Father remove the dead branches of selfish pleasure and joys and digs
around the soul with the fertilizer of disappointment. And as he continues to remove the dead
branches of selfish pleasure and joys and to fertilize the soul with disappointment, the vine that is
the soul grows stronger and stronger in the faith of love. This unfailingly increases the desire for
spiritual and eternal realities. It is the increased desire for spiritual realities that supplies the power
for conquering the spirit.
These activities of trials and tribulations unfailingly purifies our faith, removing impurities by
demonstrating absolutely that spiritual faith in God has nothing whatsoever to do with the temporal
and material upheavals in our lives; but trials and tribulations do vindicate pure faith in the Father
by increasing our trust and unswerving loyalty in Him. The attitude of such a one whose faith has
been purified might be: "Even though He slay me, ye will I serve Him." Such a statement creates an
insurmountable philosophical problem for the material mind but is not difficult at all for the soul,
for despite the trials and tribulations, souls have basked, continues to bask, and will bask in the
Father's love forever. It knows that in liaison with the Father, it is indestructible. It knows that
subject to the Father's will, absolutely nothing is impossible.
This concludes today's message on understanding the faith of the Father's Love. 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!
The Faith of the Father's Love
