The Realization of Spiritual 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 seek to understand the realization of spiritual truth.
And now, sit back and listen to today's message.
The Realization of Spiritual Truth
"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man come unto the Father, but
by me." John, Chapter 14, Verse 6.
Brothers and sisters, in a previous discussion, we have examined the perception of truth, but we
know that to perceive something is one thing but to realize something is entirely different. We know
that realization is a state where something has become not only factually but emotionally real in our
experience. It is quite possible and is often the case that we may not be aware of (the meaning of)
a particular experience that we are having or may not be self conscious of the actual experience. It
is always something that happens that triggers the realization. Some realizations appear to the five
senses immediately. An example of this is extreme heat or extreme cold. The moment that we are
exposed to extreme heat or cold, we immediately realize it. Some situations may require more time
for the senses to grasp. It has been said that if you slowly raise the temperature of a pan of water with
a frog in it, you can boil it without the frog becoming aware that it is being boiled.
What happens when we realize truth? Let us look at the greatest truth that we can experience: God
is our Father and we are His sons and daughters. Now this is a spiritual truth and reflects the
relationship of God to us and of us to God. God is our spiritual Father, and we are his mortal sons.
In short we are sons of God. Now this is a definite relationship that carries with it eternal
consequences. One such consequence is that because the Father is eternal, we may become eternal
by choosing the Father's will. We would all like to realize this truth for it at once embodies our
greatest hope and joy, which is to survive this mortal life. Imagine being a son of the great God. Now
we know that this particular experience is continuous and can never be fully realized since there is
no end to the relationship with the Father. Eternity has no end. But we can experience the truth of
sonship with God immediately and continuously.
In the flesh, this experience can be faith-realized. This is so because only one factual reality can exist
at a time in the consciousness of man. The other consciousness must be a faith consciousness. It is
the consciousness of a spiritual existence. We know that as mortals we are restricted by the laws of
the material world in our factual experiences. But there is another world, a world of values and
meanings, of truth. By a simple act of wholehearted acceptance of the Fatherhood of God, we make
real in our spiritual experiences the truth that we are indeed the sons of God. Now this realization
does not change the fact of our mortal existence, but it does change the quality of our mortal
existence. Rather than despair we have hope; instead of turmoil, peace; instead of sadness, we have
joy; instead of guilt, we have forgiveness; and instead of being moral slaves, we have freedom. Now
this spiritual experience may not be significant to someone who is steeped in material difficulty and
whose supreme desire is to be delivered from it.
Such a one may think the truth-seeker is deluded when he claims that he has peace and joy under
such dire circumstances. Is he deluded? We know that spirit is different from material, one is quality
and the other is quantity. We have such difficulty identifying the values of the spirit because we are
almost wholly material (or quantity). But we do have an evolving spiritual nature, our souls, that can
grasp the joy and peace that we refer to. When we deal with the material state, we must contend with
the problems of the material state. Thus physical suffering gives rise to material unhappiness and
turmoil. We cannot truly say we feel joyful or peaceful in the material state under such material
tribulation.
But the joy and peace that we refer to is the joy and the peace of the spirit. When the spirit of man
is troubled and unhappy, then he cannot experience the joy and peace of the spirit. This troubled and
unhappy spirit of man comes about because of its identification with the material ups and downs of
life. This cleansing can be accomplished by identifying with the true spiritual goal of man: God the
Father. When identifying with the God the Father, thereby submitting to his divine will, the spirit
of man has peace and joy. There are no ups and down in his spiritual life. There is a steady progress
in the growth of the spirit and an ever-increasing realization of the joy and the peace of the spirit.
When you are in right relationship with God, you have real peace and joy, for your spirit realizes
then that you are a son of God.
The faith acceptance of divine sonship immediately causes the flow of the qualities of divine spirit--
peace and joy are among them. By their fruits shall you know them. These qualities now infiltrate
the entire life reactions of the mortal. "The consciousness of the spirit domination of a human life
is presently attended by an increasing exhibition of the characteristics of the Spirit in the life
reactions of such a spirit-led mortal, 'for the fruits of the spirit are love, joy, peace, long-suffering,
gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance.' Such spirit-guided and divinely illuminated
mortals, while they yet tread the lowly paths of toil and in human faithfulness perform the duties of
their earthly assignments, have already begun to discern the lights of eternal life as they glimmer on
the faraway shores of another world; already have they begun to comprehend the reality of that
inspiring and comforting truth, 'The kingdom of God is not meat and drink but righteousness, peace,
and joy in the Holy Spirit.' And throughout every trial and in the presence of every hardship, spirit-
born souls are sustained by that hope which transcends all fear because the love of God is shed
abroad in all hearts by the presence of the divine Spirit."
To realize truth, to realize the meanings of the values of truth, we must set apart the material aspects
for though they carry the names that we identify with the material state, they are entirely different
and apply to a different aspect of human experience-the spiritual experience. But when these fruits
begin to manifest themselves in our lives in the midst of the trials of material existence, and we
remain hopeful, and loving and kind in the very midst of them, then are we indeed realizing the truth
of God--the observation of divine love made real in our experience by duplicating it with our
brothers and sisters. This realization of truth is grasped by the spiritualized mind that has become
that way by allowing the fruits of the spirit to pass through it. It recognizes the change, the something
that happens. When we share these divine observations with another brother or sister, when we relate
to them in a divine loving way, we right there and then realize truth.
This concludes today's message on understanding the realization of spiritual 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 Realizati9on of Spiritual Truth
