The Father's Presence
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 meaning of the Father's presence.
And now, sit back and listen to today's message.
The Father's Presence
"And you shall seek me and find me when you shall search for me with all your heart."
Jeremiah, Chapter 29, Verse 14.
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." This Word is none other than Jesus Christ. When we seek the Father, we find the Son, who is the personal revelation of the Father. The Father and His Son are One. The Father is present in the Son, and they are both present in the Spirit. Whosoever has seen the Son has seen the Father. The Spirit of the Son, the spirit of truth, lives in our souls.
How do we recognize this Spirit and thus recognize the Father's presence? Jeremiah has instructed us that we shall find the Heavenly Father when we search for Him with all our hearts. When the Son lived on earth, he instructed us that if we love one another as he loves us then would He and his Father live in our hearts. This spirit, then, is manifested as love, and when we submit our will to this spirit, it causes us to strive to become like the Father. Evidence that we are seeking the Father is indicated by how consistently we express the fruits of the spirit: love, faith, goodness, gentleness, temperance, meekness, long suffering, peace and joy. When we embrace and display these spiritual fruits, we experience the Father's presence.
The greatest expression that the Father can make of Himself is in the form of love. This love is best represented in the love that Jesus expressed while here. The more we are able to understand the ideals that Jesus lived, the better the Father is able to mold our souls. At first the Father's impression on our souls is slight and faint but grows stronger as we continue to strive to do the Father's will. The key is we must never lose our desire to live the Father's will. The Father's purpose is to--slowly but surely- -make us spiritually perfect as He is perfect.
As we pour out love for our brothers and sisters, even if they don't recognize the love or understand their true relationship to us, our faith-spiritualized minds begin to recognize more truth, beauty, and goodness of the Father's love. From our soul's perspective, always will we know God because we trust Him. As we look back on our past, we will see the stamp of the indelible ink of His love. As we wonder just how we were able to love our brothers and sisters, some of whom were very difficult to love, we'll be convinced that Jesus helped us. We'll be inspired to look towards the future for even greater spiritual achievements of loving our brothers and sisters (and accepting their love) with Jesus' help. For now, we continue to live justly, show mercy, forgive others and ourselves, and practice patience.
Gradually we develop a sublime consciousness of the Father's presence. No matter how difficult our trials and tribulations or our hardships may be, the hope of the Father's presence is always with us,walking beside us and propelling us deeper and deeper into his magnificent love. Gradually worry and anxiety begin to fade, and the temptation to flee from a disagreeable experience decreases as we realize that we are actually living in the presence of the Father and perceiving more and more of his glorious presence everyday. The Father is living love.
This concludes today's message on the Father's presence. 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.
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By Dr. James Perry
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The Father's Presence
