The Perfection of the Desire
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 meaning of the perfection of the desire to be perfect even as the
heavenly Father is perfect.
And now, sit back and listen to today's message.
The Perfection of the Desire
"Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." Matthews,
Chapter 5, Verse 48.
Brothers and sisters, today we shall consider the process whereby the desire to do the Father's will
is perfected. While it is difficult to quantify a desire, except to say that the desire may be weak,
moderate or strong, we shall try to give it a quantitative feel by linking it to the three stages of doing
the Father's will: the will to believe; the will that believes; and the will that is.
Stage One: In this stage, under the urging of faith, desire fosters the will to believe. When the spirit
of the Father comes to live in our minds and souls, the human mind under the instruction of the spirit
of the Father starts to seek after God, expressing the urge to worship the true God. It enters the first
stage of the perfection of the desire to do the Father's will. In this stage there are competing desires,
far more against than for the single desire to do the Father's will. This is manifested by doubt
effectively holding faith in check. Faith has just begun its vaunted career in our minds and souls.
In this stage, our souls which have come into existence have not gained the balance of the power in
our material minds. It is almost like an irritant in our minds, manifesting a certain restlessness
emanating from the divine spirit, coupled with an unconscious desire for truth. This stage initiates
the prayer practice. When we consciously pray to the heavenly Father, we are consciously
establishing our relationship Him. During this stage our desire grows, becoming larger and slowly
contemplates excluding some competing desires; however, the material sway usually holds this
desire in check--material desires keep spiritual desire submerged. There is a faint longing to know
more about the Father, but he seems remote and is not a very large influence in our conscious decisions.
At this stage, the emphasis is on actualization of material goals. And it is during this stage, that our
souls begins to experience the consequences of making temporal and material desires supreme. In
fact, it is the disappointments we sustain that empowers our desire for something more permanent,
more lasting, and more satisfying. Many souls have broken the leash of doubt under some life
changing disappointment. But still all this time our souls have been growing, and so has the desire
and the faith of the will to believe. However it happens--gradually or with a sudden crisis--the will
to believe is transmuted to the will that believes.
Stage two: During this stage, desire grows to the point where it wins some of its battles with doubt.
Doubt is still there but has lost much of its restraining power to retard reaching for spiritual values
and meanings. Usually during this stage, material goals and their disappointing efforts to satisfy the
deep longings of our souls have been realized, and our souls are further liberated to pursue the
Father's will.
It is also during this stage that the nature of our prayers change from a selfish and materialistic nature
to an unselfish and spiritual one. Here our souls definitely pray for spiritual values and meanings.
Here may be seen our souls seeking spiritual values and meanings, seeking to master the values and
meanings of experiences, and subsequently the mortal life. It is definitely a reach for supreme values.
It is a desire that is well on its way to eliminating all competing desires. And faith is in full blossom,
displaying the beautiful flowers of hope, trust, and truth and goodness. Worship more fully enters
this stage, as the soul seeks to become consciously Godlike, like Jesus. It seeks to identify with the
Father through His Son, Jesus.
Stage three: Finally the desire enters the supreme arena. In this stage, our souls have eliminated all
competing desires. All the battles have been fought and the war has been won. There is now only one
supreme desire and that is the desire to wholeheartedly do the Father's will through His Son, Jesus.
Here the worship by our souls is exquisite. It is the one quality that becomes the supreme occupation
of the soul. Our prayer has ascended the hills of thanksgiving and risen to the peak of true worship.
This stage brings about joy and liberty of the realization of divine sonship. This is the stage where
desire has imparted to the soul the power to be a revelation of the Heavenly Father through Jesus,
the Spirit of Truth.
This is the acme of the spiritual growth while still in the flesh. Faith has won the victory for our souls
and won the perfection of the desire to do the Father's will. And our souls' supreme delight is to do
the Father's will, to worship the Father and to simultaneously serve others. It is true that the Father's
love has actualized another true son and has set his eyes on the eternal view where love is all he sees;
and all he sees is love. Glory! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah.
This concludes today's message on understanding the meaning of the perfection of the desire to be
perfect even as the heavenly Father is perfect through His Son, Jesus. 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 Perfection of the Desire
