The Nature of Spiritual Insight
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. This
morning we seek to understand the nature of spiritual insight.
And now, sit back and listen to today's message.
The Nature of Spiritual Insight
"But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding.
" Job, Chapter 32, Verse 8.
Brothers and sisters, we know that insight is the ability to see inside things. This ability allows us to
be successful, materially, intellectually and spiritually. Just as material sight allows us to materially
see the outside world and to negotiate among its reality, material insight allows us to discern the
nature of material reality. Material insight refers to the ability to comprehend the true nature of
material problems. In the complex interactions of daily living, as we struggle with material ups and
downs trying to find solutions, we are bombarded with material stimuli. There must be some way of
making sense of all of these problems of the material world. There must be someway by which
patterns are recognized. And there is. This sense maker is material insight, a property of the material
self. It allows the self to organize and comprehend the material world in which we live. Material
insight is necessary for the progressive mastery of the material world in which we live. Apparently
this material insight operates automatically
Intellectual insight allows us to manipulate logic, reasoning, and the factual aspects of life. It allows
us to see the relationship between facts, observations, the ends of logic and reasoning to safely
discover the laws governing reality, using these laws to discover more of how our world and universe
works. This is the intellectual pursuit of truth and is also a function of the intellectual self. Our
greatest intellectual problems have often been solved by a sudden realization of insight, the apparent
projection into our consciousness the relationship between the factors of a problem. We are all
familiar with the "Ah-ah" moments. It brings with it a sense of discovery, satisfaction, and pleasure.
We know that when we begin to choose the Father's will, we begin to develop spiritual insight. Our
souls are able to see, to comprehend, the Father's will. This comprehension, this extraction of divine
values and meanings from everyday experiences, is spiritual insight. To look and see as it were as
God sees in a given situation is the function of spiritual insight. Finally spiritual insight is the
recognition of truth--the ability to discern true relationships between things, meanings, and values
regardless of what the present situation presents. This is the ability to choose truth over error and good
over evil.
Now we know that the Father is spirit, and that our growth has spirit as its final goal. But while
intellectual meanings can be taught, spiritual meanings have to be grasped by faith through the
operation of spiritual insight. An example comes to mind. Yesterday, my wife and I were talking as
we walked through the mall. We were discussing the problem of providing service, and what areas
of service were more suitable for a given individual. In our discussion, we arrived at the
understanding that this whole idea of service is God's way of making sure that all of his children are
cared for, that he loves the poor child just as much as he loves the rich child. The Father is no
respecter of persons. He loves all and each equally. The only limitation to this law is the capacity of
the individual to receive and appreciate the divine affection.
We know that the Father has a plan for each moral individual who enters this level of functioning.
Each individual has a certain gift that is to be used in the furtherance of mastery of this world. But
as we observe the world, we immediately notice, that this plan in the aggregate is not functioning the
way that it is supposed to. I am not referring to the natural handicaps that are inherent in serving in
a world like ours; I refer to the free will choices that individuals make based on selfishness and self
aggrandizement. Even though the principle of self maintenance requires that most of us receive some
sort of material compensation for our work, this has nothing to do with the motive for service. If our
supreme stimulus for performing the service is money, then we have deviated from the principles of
true service. True service recognizes the need and honestly and truthfully tries to meet that need with
the handicaps of existence. The troubling thing is that so many are deliberately pursuing selfish goals
and personal aggrandizement. And even many of those who desire to serve choose to serve where they
are really not needed.
Where to serve and what kind of service can an individual best provide? We suggest that the
individual "cast down" his "bucket." This phrase comes from an experience of Booker T.
Washington's. He had sailed on a ship for many months and had exhausted the supply of drinkable
water. Unknown to the captain of the ship, they just sailed into the mouth of the Mississippi River.
Spotting a ship on that great river he cried out for water. The request was answered by admonishing
the captain of the ship to cast down his bucket. The very thing the captain needed was right within
his reach. We would apply a similar but spiritual meaning to the question of where and what kind of
service an individual should provide.
We suggest that the most effective kind of service is service that is derived from natural talent, after
this talent is developed and trained. And we would suggest that one serve just where he is. This
avenue of approach to service solves two important barriers to effective service. If an individual
service is based upon his natural talents, he is not likely to be bored with the service, nor he is likely
to be incompetent or mediocre. Next the individual who serves where he is may likely avoid the
problem of credibility since he will be familiar with the environment and people that he serves.
Knowing that this approach to service is right is spiritual insight, the ability to know the rightness and
truth of a given relationship. But we observe the greatest spiritual insight exercised by mortals in the
flesh is the recognition that "when the Father's will is your law, you are hardly in the kingdom. But
when the Father's will becomes truly your will, then are you in very truth in the kingdom because the
kingdom has thereby become an established experience in you. When God's will is your law, you are
noble slave subjects; but when you believe in this new gospel of divine sonship, my Father's will
becomes your will, and you are elevated to the high position of the free children of God, liberated
sons of the kingdom." Here is a corollary of this spiritual insight: When the Fathers' values and
meanings become your values and meanings, and when these same values and meanings actuate and
dictate your attitude and your decisions, then have you achieved divine spiritual perfection in the
flesh.
This concludes today's message on understanding the nature of spiritual insight. 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 Nature of Spiritual Insight
