The Supreme Desire
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 meaning of the supreme
desire.
And now, sit back and listen to today's message.
The Supreme Desire
"Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and
where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where
neither moth nor rust corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal." Matthew,
Chapter 6, Verses 19 and 20. "Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the
desires of thine heart." Psalms, Chapter 37, Verse 4.
We think we know ourselves but we don't. Our searchlight of self righteousness that we use to view
ourselves is much too dim. Our supreme desire is only revealed in a supreme crisis, requiring a
supreme decision. In a supreme crisis, the desires and longings of our souls are revealed. Only a
supreme crisis reveals the true character of our souls. Only a supreme crisis strips away our
superficial layers of confidence and reveals the underlying insecurity. Only a supreme crisis bores
through our steel of superficial love and reveals the underlying rock of hate. Only a supreme crisis
reveals our cowardice of fear that lies just under the surface of assumed bravery. After the supreme
crisis has done its work, then we may behold our true selves. How do we arrive at a truly supreme
desire, one that will survive the storms of life?
The growth of a true supreme desire is inseparable from experiencing and reflecting upon our
experiences. As we develop, our object of supreme loyalty varies. During most of our lives, we are
supremely occupied with the material and the earthly, while playing lip service to the spiritual and
the eternal. In the fullness of time, this relationship reverses itself. It is not so much that we are
hypocritical as it is that we are only dimly conscious of spiritual reality. The growth of our spiritual
nature is a slow and gradual process.
We must of our own choosing recognize the inferiority of one temporary value for the superiority
of the higher and lasting value. As we reflect, we must voluntary choose the superior value. We must
cease to cling to the old, which has served its purpose. We must whole heartily embrace the new,
which carries us to the next level of choice. In this way, we come to recognize the relative value and
transient nature of all material and earthly realities. As we survey our lives of material insignificance,
we discern that all has failed, is failing, or will fail us.
Arriving at this conclusion produces conflict in our minds and more than a little unrest in our souls.
We desperately search our lives to find something or someone to stabilize us. We try to take comfort
in our material possessions, but find little comfort in them as we discern their possible destruction
and their inability to quiet our clamoring souls. Sometimes we may go on a binge of acquiring new
things to replace the old, but the end result is always the same, utter failure. Sometimes we try to take
comfort in our human relationships--family, friends and social groups--but the relief is only partial
and temporary. We may even try to intensify these relationships with increased dedication, but the
end result may still the same.
Each misplaced loyalty carries a penalty that is inherent. Long after the object of the misplaced value
has vanished, we still crave that which has been lost. Once our human loyalties are mobilized and
committed, it is very difficult for us to change them. Despite our best efforts not to have this happen,
we find the now vanished object of our loyalty unconsciously appearing in our thoughts, even in our
dream life. The only effective solution to this problem is for us to pursue a far more attractive and
superior object of loyalty, and even this new pursuit requires the passing of time to accomplish.
When we think about love, patience, joy, and happiness, for example, we recognize that we
experience the positivity of these values as long as the object of our devotion returns these same
feelings. As we observe this, we either force ourselves to endure the worst no matter what or refuse to love
or be loved at all. Both of these reactions represent error and lack of spiritual insight. The correct
response is to recognize that once the selfish content is removed from these values, they begin to take
on divine aspects, even the aspects of the divine One--the Heavenly Father. As we begin to identify
with the Heavenly Father, we find that we have identified with the spiritual and the eternal. No
longer do we overly concern ourselves with temporal and material losses, as we have found the
Father of supreme values that reveals more and more of Himself to us as we pursue Him.
This concludes today's message on understanding the meaning of the supreme desire. 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 Supreme Desire
