The Steps to True Worship
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 steps to true worship.
And now, sit back and listen to today's message.
The Steps to True Worship
Jesus said, "But the hour cometh and now is when the true worshipers shall worship the
Father in spirit and in truth: For the Father seeketh such to worship him." John, Chapter 4,
Verses 23.
Brothers and sisters, true worship is that exalted state whereby the true believer achieves oneness
with the Father. This process has three stages: the will to believe Jesus, the will that believes Jesus,
and the will that is a revelation of the Father through Jesus.
The potential true believer embarks on the faith journey when he has a desire to believe in the Father.
There must exist a reason to believe in the Father, and thus does time and space eventually provide
the reason while the Father Himself provides the stimulus. The experience of life invariably creates
a crisis in purpose, meaning, and value. No matter what material goal is set, the satisfaction of that
goal is transient. And while it is true each goal provides a temporary satisfaction, the nature of goals
tends to move toward the supreme goal. Eventually the potential believer defines a set of goals which
has supreme meaning and value for himself. Eventually a material goal is set that the goal setter
defines as the achievement of happiness.
Either one of two things will happen concerning the achievement of a purely human goal. Either the
goal will be achieved or it will not. And since religion is one's supreme goal, the attainment of this
goal represents the attainment of God for the goal setter, but since this goal is devoid of truth, beauty,
and goodness, and is devoid of divine love, no further satisfaction is forthcoming at the achievement
of this purely material and finite goal. The attainment of a supreme material goal spells the death of
the human in terms of meaning and value, as life henceforth becomes meaningless and valueless, and
therefore not worth living. Through a similar mechanism the same thing happens when a supreme
finite material goal is not achieved.
At such a point in human experience, there will certainly exist a need for the will to believe in Jesus.
Life has achieved the first step of spiritual development: A consciousness of needing God, a God
who can satisfy the deepest longings of the soul, who can provide ever increasing meanings, values,
and ever increasing goals. Never will the will to believe Jesus find itself in that predicament where
it has come to the end of the line because the object of its loyalty is infinite, eternal and spiritual.
But the will to believe in Jesus is not the will that believes Jesus, and so begins the great contest
between the faith assurances of the soul and the doubting skepticism of the material mind. This
phenomenon is displayed by the persistence of the prayer effort while the doubting is disclosed by
the nature of the prayers. The prayers are likely to be of a selfish and material nature. In
unrecognized form, this is the clamor of the material mind to be shown.
The will to believe Jesus is primarily concerned with getting what it wants from the Father. Its
primary focus is to receive help from the Father. It is not concerned with helping the Father to reveal
Himself through Jesus. Thus the will to believe Jesus seeks the Father to actualize its will rather than
seeking the Father to do His will. But the Father knows what the spiritual child needs and continues
to furnish the spiritual needs of truth, beauty, and goodness which go unrecognized by the material
mind. But still this ministry continues until that day the praying soul becomes secure enough to trust
the Father to meet its spiritual needs. When that happens, the will to believe is delivered to the next
stage--the will that believes Jesus (goodness).
The will that believes Jesus has managed to achieve a measure of trust and faith in the Father. It feels
secure enough about its relationship with the Father to seek to help the Father reveal Himself. The
will that believes seeks to do the Father's will rather than its own. It recognizes the moral obligation
between the Father and himself and chooses to honor that obligation. It seeks to actualize in its life
a revelation of the Father through Jesus.
It understands the nature of forgiveness. It understands the relationship between a child and its
Father. It recognizes that the relationship is characterized by growth. Forgiveness then becomes the
recognition of imperfection followed by the desire for perfection. It displays a growing soul that
constantly recognizes a better way, the knowledge having been made possible by the preceding
experience. Forgiveness is the faith cry of the spiritual child to his spiritual Father after recognizing
a better way for the achievement of the better way (mercy).
Prayers made by the will that believes Jesus are characterized by their unselfish and spiritual content.
It seeks power for helping others wisely. Its prayers are increasingly dominated by thanksgiving. It
is truly experiencing the satisfaction of divine meanings and values in ever increasing success.
Eventually the will that believes Jesus gives way to the will that is a revelation of the Father through
Jesus (beauty).
The will that is a revelation of the Father, is conscious that it is the revelation of the Father-true
worship. It seeks to reveal the Father in ever increasing revelations. The will that is a revelation of
the Father, is characterized by divine oneness. The will that is a revelation of the Father perfectly
follows the instructions of the Father. Gone are childish mistakes, for the child has become a true
son of the Father. Such a partnership represents the first stage of achieving divine perfection and the
actual beginning of eternal life (truth).
This concludes today's message on understanding the steps to true worship. 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 Steps to True Worship
