The Guidance of the Spirit of Truth
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 guidance of the Spirit
of Truth.
And now, sit back and listen to today's message.
The Guidance of the Spirit of Truth
Jesus said," When the Spirit of Truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak
of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak and he will show yo things to come. He
shall glorify me; for he shall receive of mind, and shall show it unto you. All things that the Father
hath are mine: therefore said I that he shall take of mine, and shall show it unto you." John, Chapter
16, Verses 14 and 15.
Brothers and sisters, in today's broadcast, we shall consider the guidance of the Spirit of Truth. We
shall see how this spirit guides and how it inspires us to move not only through this world, but
inspires us to master this world. Yesterday, we momentarily visited our daughter, who is a first-year
medical student. And though it was a very short visit since she was in the midst of her study, I
observed her and noticed that she had become consumed in this study of medicine. My mind went
back to those days and years when I was undergoing the same process.
I wanted so much to help her through this process, to guide her and to inspire her, and fill her with
assurance and confidence that she could accomplish this task without the feeling that she was locked
in a life and death battle, which robbed her of so much of the joy involved in learning. Yes, the
stakes are high, but she would never have been admitted to this program of study if she were not
academically prepared for the rigorous course of study. Those who do the selection process know
what those they select are capable of doing. But alas, the student does not realize this, he only sees
the overwhelming challenge in front of him, with no clear-cut way of meeting it except to keep
struggling and hoping that it will be enough. Of course for most of those students, their efforts will
be sufficient. And as I continued to reflect over my once being a medical student, I realized that I had
felt the same way.
But as I continued to reflect upon this challenge of becoming a physician, as a parent, I once more
begin to think about the process of guidance and inspiration. I had gone through this process myself,
and though the knowledge taught in medical school has changed in some respects, the basic process
remains the same, even as the process of living remains the same. And I remember now looking back
about the function of guidance and inspiration. I remember the physician who guided and inspired
me when I was going through the process though I did not recognize the guidance and inspiration
as such at that time. The fact that he had gone through the experience in and of itself was inspiring,
for that meant all other things being equal, if he could do it, I could do it also.
It is inspiriting when we see someone we know and admire successfully meet challenge. It helps to
mobilize our faith, our desire, and our potential to rise to the level where we can successfully meet
the challenge. And it was upon this reflection, that I realized that I was serving the same function for
my daughter even though she did not consciously realize it. The fact that I had completed the medical
school experience made her realize on some level of consciousness that she could do it also, and this
example of successfully completing this challenge served to mobilize her faith, her desire, and her
potential to successfully meet this challenge.
The guidance is provided when needed. In order words, the values of study, tenacity, and persistence,
encouragement, and a willingness to share the emotional ups and downs with her as she winds her
way through the medical school process is guidance. Her observation of how I accomplished this
challenge is guidance for her because if she follows the example she can accomplish the same. There
are similar parallels in spiritual achievements. The Son of God, Jesus, lived the human life from birth
to death, achieving all levels of perfection, from the very beginning of the faith experience to the
very end of the faith experience in human experience. He thus becomes our guide and our
inspiration. And like the material example above, when the human life of Jesus is fully appreciated,
it becomes our guide and our inspiration. We are all beholden to live this life in the flesh, and we can
become like the victorious Jesus, who mastered it spiritually. As our souls come into existence and
become bombarded with all the conflicting values that vie for attention, they need both a guide and
inspiration.
The growing soul needs a guide to sort our all of the conflicting values that it entertains in its growth
for perfection. It also needs an inspirator as it faces the overwhelming amount of divine values to
be comprehended. This is quite a task for the human-originated soul, to move away from the values
of its origin and acquire the spiritual values of the heavenly Father. The human soul can effect
spiritual responses to spiritual stimuli. As souls progress, divine values are revealed and sorted from
the purely materialistic values. All that is required for this to become a present reality in our souls
is to desire and will it. That is, in any given situation the human soul can effect a spiritual response.
Vestiges of animalistic traits can be transcended by embracing the Spirit of Truth. The Divine Son
has left his victorious Spirit of Truth behind, which is both guide and inspirator. As we watch the
human Jesus meeting the struggle of existence, and overcoming those struggles with faith, trust,
hope, determination and persistence, we are inspired to do the same thing. Because of the Spirit of
Truth, we can rest with certainty that we will have the power to be successful. Our spiritual attitudes
should always be that we can successfully meet the challenge, that spiritual victories are inexorable.
The Father is spirit and spirit is always dominant over the material.
This concludes today's message on understanding the guidance of the Spirit of Truth. 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 Guidance of the Spirit of Truth
