WEBVTT 00:00:07.519 --> 00:00:10.960 Hey, I'm Steve Holt, the senior pastor of the Road at Chapel Hills. 00:00:11.039 --> 00:00:12.480 This is the Road Podcast. 00:00:12.640 --> 00:00:13.759 Thanks for joining us. 00:00:14.080 --> 00:00:17.039 My heart is to empower you to change the world. 00:00:17.199 --> 00:00:19.359 I hope this message impacts you. 00:00:19.600 --> 00:00:21.839 Here now is our guest speaker. 00:00:25.199 --> 00:00:30.640 So I believe with all of my heart that humanity is amazing. 00:00:30.960 --> 00:00:34.159 Literally, humanity blows my mind. 00:00:34.399 --> 00:00:39.200 People literally spend their entire life just studying one aspect of humanity. 00:00:39.359 --> 00:00:47.359 Doctors spend an entire lifetime studying the human body just to understand how it works and how God has knit that together. 00:00:47.600 --> 00:00:50.000 Humanity has incredible potential. 00:00:50.159 --> 00:00:53.119 However, humanity is not meeting that potential. 00:00:53.280 --> 00:01:08.319 In fact, we look at our world and we look at death and destruction and we look at, you know, so many people who are unmotivated, people who don't want to go get jobs, who are content to sit on their couch and receive a paycheck from who knows where and just do nothing. 00:01:08.719 --> 00:01:11.680 But God is calling us to great potential. 00:01:11.920 --> 00:01:21.599 And the thing is, I believe that this also translates into the church, where we as Christians can actually not reach our full potential in Christ. 00:01:21.840 --> 00:01:24.000 So that's what I want to talk to you guys about today. 00:01:24.079 --> 00:01:30.879 And to start off, I'd love for you to turn your Bibles to Mark chapter 12, verses 28 through 30. 00:01:32.159 --> 00:01:42.640 And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, he asked, Which commandment is most important of all? 00:01:42.879 --> 00:01:50.400 Jesus answered, The most important is, hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 00:01:50.560 --> 00:01:59.519 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. 00:01:59.840 --> 00:02:03.519 This is one of the most well-known verses throughout Scripture. 00:02:03.680 --> 00:02:08.879 In fact, in the church, it's probably considered a little cliche because we've heard it so much. 00:02:08.960 --> 00:02:18.240 And we know that the overall meaning of this passage is saying that God wants us to love him with every part of us, with every part of our being. 00:02:18.400 --> 00:02:32.800 But in the last two years, God has shown me that there is a lot of value, there's a lot of power in breaking up these different attributes of humanity to see what it really means to love God with every part of who we are. 00:02:33.120 --> 00:02:38.719 And I think it's interesting that when God is telling us, He didn't just say, Love me with everything you are. 00:02:38.879 --> 00:02:45.599 He said, Love me with all of your heart, with all of your soul, with all of your mind, and with all of your strength. 00:02:45.759 --> 00:02:47.680 He builds distinction between that. 00:02:47.759 --> 00:02:53.360 And we see that back in Deuteronomy as well, that he says, Love me with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind. 00:02:53.599 --> 00:02:57.599 So what I'd love to do is I'd like to break some of these down for us today. 00:02:57.759 --> 00:03:02.319 And I'd love to just look at what the Bible says about each of these attributes. 00:03:02.479 --> 00:03:09.439 Now, when we're approaching the attributes of humankind, you can't really approach them as individuals. 00:03:09.680 --> 00:03:12.960 Now, because they're all so interwoven. 00:03:13.120 --> 00:03:20.800 And what helps me is when I think about these different attributes, heart, soul, mind, and strength, I think of them as more of a Venn diagram. 00:03:21.039 --> 00:03:25.840 Some areas are unique to each area, but other areas are shared. 00:03:26.080 --> 00:03:28.400 So in approaching that, that kind of helps me. 00:03:28.560 --> 00:03:38.080 Another visual element that helps me think about the separate uh um parts of our being is um a actually comes from a movie. 00:03:38.240 --> 00:03:44.159 Now, if I were to say this in kids, all the kids would be like, oh, whoa, because it comes from a Marvel movie. 00:03:45.919 --> 00:03:48.080 Oh, there we go, this is good, this is good. 00:03:48.240 --> 00:03:49.120 Right, okay. 00:03:49.280 --> 00:04:13.520 Well, anyway, it comes from Doctor Strange, and you'll you might remember this part in the movie where the wizardess woman, I don't remember if she was a good guy or a bad guy, but anyway, she like stripes this epic pose with Doctor Strange, and it goes into this awesome slow-motion effect where Doctor Strange's body moves, but then his soul or his spirit exits the body as well, and you're able to see the division. 00:04:13.680 --> 00:04:19.199 Now his soul is represented by a transparent uh replica of himself. 00:04:19.439 --> 00:04:24.879 And so this helps me, believe it or not, think about us as more than just a physical person. 00:04:25.199 --> 00:04:26.399 We have a soul. 00:04:26.560 --> 00:04:33.839 We have invisible attributes about us that make us made in God's image, that make us unique from all of other creation. 00:04:34.079 --> 00:04:40.560 And when we look at the Bible, we see that we are continually referred to as souls. 00:04:40.879 --> 00:04:54.639 So now one thing that is not necessarily in Scripture, but kind of what I attribute to the soul because it helps me to kind of categorize things, is I add talents and personalities in there with our soul. 00:04:54.800 --> 00:05:06.160 Just as our physical body has attributes, whether it be our hair or our freckles or whatever facial or body features that we have, our spirit or our soul has these features as well. 00:05:06.240 --> 00:05:14.480 And I believe these features are our talents and our personalities, the parts of us, the invisible parts of us, that make us unique, that make us who we are. 00:05:14.639 --> 00:05:22.800 So the word soul is mentioned 459 times in the Bible, and we're continually referred to as souls. 00:05:22.959 --> 00:05:36.240 Genesis 2, verse 7 is the first time we hear about this, and it says, And the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul. 00:05:36.639 --> 00:05:38.879 This is really cool, and we're gonna come back to that. 00:05:39.040 --> 00:05:42.639 But that's the first mention that we have of soul in the Bible. 00:05:42.800 --> 00:05:57.360 And then through Leviticus, through Numbers, we continually see people referred to as souls with phrases such as, if a soul sins, this will happen, or a soul will be cut off, time and time again throughout those two books. 00:05:57.600 --> 00:06:05.040 In the book of Acts, uh, chapter 2, verse 41, when it talks about people being added to the church, it refers to them as souls. 00:06:05.120 --> 00:06:08.240 And 3,000 souls were added to the body of Christ. 00:06:08.399 --> 00:06:12.160 Of course, after we die, our souls are what live on. 00:06:12.319 --> 00:06:17.839 Matthew 10, verse 28 says, And do not fear those who can kill the body, but cannot kill the soul. 00:06:18.000 --> 00:06:23.519 Rather, fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 00:06:23.839 --> 00:06:25.199 This is our soul. 00:06:25.360 --> 00:06:27.120 It's our invisible man. 00:06:27.279 --> 00:06:33.279 It's the part of us that nobody sees, but it's responsible for what God breathed into us. 00:06:33.439 --> 00:06:34.879 That's what God breathes into us. 00:06:34.959 --> 00:06:39.279 In fact, the word soul actually means breath, which I think is really interesting. 00:06:39.519 --> 00:06:42.240 The soul is the breath of God within us. 00:06:42.480 --> 00:06:44.879 So now let's move on to heart. 00:06:45.199 --> 00:06:53.360 Now, um, once again, moving back to that Doctor Strange analogy, we see that invisible man exported out of the physical man. 00:06:53.600 --> 00:07:01.040 So when we talk about heart in the Bible, it continually gives the heart attributes within the Bible. 00:07:01.199 --> 00:07:04.639 And um, but it's not talking about our physical heart. 00:07:04.720 --> 00:07:11.279 We know that our physical heart is what pumps blood to every single cell in our body, which is super fascinating. 00:07:11.519 --> 00:07:16.480 Every part of us is is receiving life from our heart. 00:07:16.639 --> 00:07:27.439 So when we think about that invisible body, that invisible part of us, when I when talking about the heart in Scripture, I think of the heart as that life flow of our soul. 00:07:27.759 --> 00:07:36.560 It is what gives every part of, every fiber of our soul life and breath, and it's what provides the life flow to our souls. 00:07:36.720 --> 00:07:40.480 So, heart is mentioned a thousand times throughout the Bible. 00:07:40.560 --> 00:07:52.720 And I think that's really interesting because we know that the heart is so important to our physical bodies, it's also emphasized, our spiritual heart is emphasized, that importance in throughout Scripture. 00:07:53.040 --> 00:07:58.079 So, reading through Scripture, we see that our heart has moral capacity. 00:07:58.560 --> 00:08:03.839 Jeremiah 17, 9 says, the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. 00:08:03.920 --> 00:08:04.800 Who can know it? 00:08:04.959 --> 00:08:10.560 So our heart has moral capacity, and of course, we know that we're saved by believing in our heart. 00:08:10.720 --> 00:08:11.680 Romans 10 10. 00:08:11.839 --> 00:08:15.680 For if it is with your heart that you believe and are justified. 00:08:15.839 --> 00:08:19.199 Our heart has dreams, our heart has desires. 00:08:19.360 --> 00:08:21.519 Uh Psalms 37, verse 4. 00:08:21.759 --> 00:08:25.839 Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. 00:08:26.079 --> 00:08:27.360 Our heart has desires. 00:08:27.600 --> 00:08:30.720 David continues, it's in fact it's all throughout the Psalms. 00:08:30.879 --> 00:08:33.600 My heart yearns for you, my heart cries out for you. 00:08:33.759 --> 00:08:38.639 Our heart, the life flow of our soul, has desires, it has emotions. 00:08:38.879 --> 00:08:47.840 We can read through the Bible, sorrow of the heart, gladness of the heart, my heart rejoices, fear of the heart, discouragement of the heart. 00:08:48.320 --> 00:08:50.559 And then lastly, reasoning. 00:08:50.720 --> 00:08:55.519 Our heart has the ability, our life flow of our soul has the ability to reason. 00:08:55.840 --> 00:09:00.080 The fool has said in his heart, he's reasoned in his heart, there is no God. 00:09:00.320 --> 00:09:01.519 Psalms 14, 1. 00:09:01.679 --> 00:09:04.480 And we see this continually throughout scripture. 00:09:04.639 --> 00:09:08.399 So the heart, which is the life flow of our souls. 00:09:08.559 --> 00:09:10.720 Now we're moving into mind. 00:09:10.960 --> 00:09:20.159 The mind needs a lot less explanation because we know that it's the center focus of all of our reasoning and all of our cognitive abilities. 00:09:20.399 --> 00:09:26.799 And it's really interesting that in uh secular psychology, the all of the focus is on the mind. 00:09:26.960 --> 00:09:30.399 In fact, they believe that everything comes from the mind. 00:09:30.559 --> 00:09:41.679 Um, there was a movement several years ago that believed that our conscience was based out of our mind, that everything could be broken down to the neurological connections within our mind. 00:09:41.840 --> 00:09:52.720 So, however, your mind, whatever mind you were born with as a child, would determine what sports you like and what preferences you have in gender and what preferences you have in everything. 00:09:52.799 --> 00:09:56.240 And they tried to boil it all down to neurological things. 00:09:56.320 --> 00:09:58.879 Now, the mind is so amazing. 00:09:59.039 --> 00:10:07.679 In fact, we only use a fraction of the mind that God has given us, but our mind is not the centerplace of all of the action. 00:10:07.840 --> 00:10:13.440 God has given us other attributes as he breathed life into us that it's important to recognize. 00:10:13.600 --> 00:10:20.559 And God, but God does have a lot of things to say about our mind, and we'll go into some of those in a moment. 00:10:20.960 --> 00:10:22.799 Lastly, is strength. 00:10:22.960 --> 00:10:45.600 You know, our physical bodies don't receive a lot of attention in the church today, which I think is really, really sad because God gave us a physical body, and there's been so many times throughout like my history in church where I'll just hear people, and it does not even old people like I'm just so excited to be gone with this body, to be in my glorified body in heaven. 00:10:45.679 --> 00:10:49.360 And believe me, I'm young and I cannot wait for that day. 00:10:49.600 --> 00:10:52.399 But God has given us a physical body for a reason. 00:10:52.559 --> 00:10:59.279 In creation, he didn't create souls that walk around, he created physical bodies that he breathed life into. 00:10:59.519 --> 00:11:01.360 So our body is important to God. 00:11:01.519 --> 00:11:14.320 Furthermore, when Jesus came, he didn't come in his glorified body or in his spirit, but he actually wrapped himself in a physical body to come here to earth because he found that extremely necessary. 00:11:14.480 --> 00:11:22.240 Our bodies are very important, and scripture gives us instructions on our bodies, which we will go to in a minute. 00:11:22.480 --> 00:11:29.120 So, in review, we have the soul, which is the invisible part of ourselves, talents, giftings, our personality. 00:11:29.200 --> 00:11:34.960 We have the heart, which is the life flow of our souls, desires, dreams, emotions, and passions. 00:11:35.120 --> 00:11:40.399 We have our mind, which is the thoughts, reasoning, learning, intellect, imagination. 00:11:40.559 --> 00:11:42.080 Side note on imagination. 00:11:42.159 --> 00:11:49.600 We don't really know where it resides, heart, mind, soul, or whatever, but that is an incredible philosophical argument for the existence of God. 00:11:49.759 --> 00:11:56.879 Because the imagination has absolutely no value in an evolutionary standpoint. 00:11:57.039 --> 00:12:05.440 You don't need an imagination, but we actually have the ability to imagine things and create things that have never existed before. 00:12:05.679 --> 00:12:07.279 Which to me is so fascinating. 00:12:07.440 --> 00:12:11.039 When I was teaching art, I was like, guys, you have an incredible ability. 00:12:11.200 --> 00:12:16.879 You have the ability to imagine things and to think up things that have never existed before. 00:12:17.120 --> 00:12:18.799 It's so fascinating to me. 00:12:18.960 --> 00:12:24.720 Um, so our minds and then our strength, which is our physical bodies, muscle and physical abilities. 00:12:25.360 --> 00:12:27.679 Humanity is amazing. 00:12:27.919 --> 00:12:48.240 I am not humanistic by any stretch of the imagination, but when we examine humanity and we examine our entire being as a whole, it's easy to see that humanistic mindset because when they just compare them to just all of the other creatures in the animal kingdom, it's like, whoa, they're amazing. 00:12:48.480 --> 00:12:49.759 We must be gods. 00:12:49.919 --> 00:12:53.679 And obviously, there's a part of that because God literally breathed into us. 00:12:53.759 --> 00:12:56.799 So they're kind of getting somewhat close to the truth. 00:12:57.120 --> 00:13:00.799 But that's the thing, is humanity is amazing. 00:13:01.039 --> 00:13:06.399 We have the ability within our souls to actually connect with the spiritual world. 00:13:06.559 --> 00:13:12.639 The Holy Spirit comes and indwells our soul, and we can connect to all of the resources of heaven. 00:13:12.879 --> 00:13:14.399 This is so powerful. 00:13:14.639 --> 00:13:15.840 We have a heart. 00:13:16.000 --> 00:13:24.240 We can have strong passions and desires that drive us either down a dark road or can drive us down a really uh good road. 00:13:24.559 --> 00:13:27.600 But it there's strong, there's strength within our heart. 00:13:27.759 --> 00:13:28.960 And then we have a mind. 00:13:29.200 --> 00:13:37.600 People can dedicate their their self and discipline themselves to use their mind and and utilize every single part of it to learn. 00:13:37.759 --> 00:13:44.000 They can come up with new scientific advancements, and so many things are possible if just for people using their mind. 00:13:44.159 --> 00:13:54.960 You could literally sit in a wheelchair, not do anything in your life, only focus on just using your mind, and you could do incredible things because your mind has such potential to learn and think. 00:13:55.200 --> 00:13:56.720 And then we have our strength. 00:13:56.879 --> 00:14:03.679 Athletes will train and will dedicate themselves to disciplining their body, and they will do amazing things. 00:14:03.840 --> 00:14:14.960 I love looking at the Olympics, and you see these athletes who are just top-notch, top of the game, who have disciplined their bodies and used their bodies to accomplish unthinkable things. 00:14:15.120 --> 00:14:19.519 Like I watch it and I'm just like, that is really amazing. 00:14:19.840 --> 00:14:24.559 But this is a quote from James Peterson, who is a Christian psychologist. 00:14:24.720 --> 00:14:45.039 He says, human beings have enough caring for people, concern for the environment, curiosity to learn, desire for justice, worry over the way things are, and broad interest to right the wrongs in the world that we could take on everything that needs creating, organizing, or beautifying. 00:14:45.360 --> 00:14:47.679 We have incredible potential. 00:14:48.480 --> 00:14:53.039 And the reason we know this is because we were created in God's image. 00:14:53.279 --> 00:14:56.399 You know, so many people wonder, the humanists wonder, like, why? 00:14:56.559 --> 00:14:56.960 How? 00:14:57.120 --> 00:14:59.120 How do we become so amazing? 00:14:59.279 --> 00:15:01.840 It's because we were literally made in the image of God. 00:15:02.000 --> 00:15:19.200 Genesis chapter 1, verse 26 to 28 says, And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the fowl of the air, over the cattle, and over the earth uh over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth. 00:15:19.360 --> 00:15:24.000 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him. 00:15:24.320 --> 00:15:26.879 Male and female created he them. 00:15:27.120 --> 00:15:31.039 I think it's interesting that in this passage he mentions it four times. 00:15:31.200 --> 00:15:40.080 Technically, one of them is the likeness of God, but he says four times in three verses or two verses, that we were made in the image of God. 00:15:40.240 --> 00:15:55.840 When we were just this lump of clay on the ground, just a physical body just laying there on the ground, God breathed his soul, he breathed life into us, and now we have access to these incredible attributes that make us like God. 00:15:56.159 --> 00:16:08.320 We have an imagination, we have creativity, we have a mind like God, we have a soul, we have a heart, and we know looking in scripture how it describes each of these things of God having it, God's heart. 00:16:08.480 --> 00:16:13.600 David described as a man after God's own heart, or that we get to have the mind of Christ. 00:16:13.759 --> 00:16:17.279 We know that God has the these attributes as well. 00:16:17.519 --> 00:16:22.720 And we know that we were created to be in communion with God. 00:16:23.519 --> 00:16:32.799 He gave us a soul to be in uh fellowship with him, he gave us a heart to allow us to experience excitement and all in his presence. 00:16:33.039 --> 00:16:41.919 He gave us a mind to continually be baffled by his complexity, and he gave us a body to work and strive for him, which is another side note. 00:16:42.159 --> 00:16:43.840 We were designed to work. 00:16:44.000 --> 00:16:47.279 We're like, oh well, before the fall, everything was beautiful and awesome. 00:16:47.519 --> 00:16:52.320 It's like actually, God put Adam in the garden to work it. 00:16:53.120 --> 00:16:54.000 Work it. 00:16:54.879 --> 00:16:56.559 So yeah, side note. 00:16:57.679 --> 00:17:14.559 But anyway, um the problem is that our heads, hearts, another quote, our heads, hearts, and souls of this world have become short-circuited somehow and are not working well together. 00:17:14.880 --> 00:17:16.160 We are broken. 00:17:16.559 --> 00:17:18.240 There's a problem with humanity. 00:17:18.400 --> 00:17:35.680 The reason that we're not fulfilling our full potential is because we were designed to be in communion with God, to be in fellowship with God, and now there's a wall dividing us from God, and we are cut off from the life flow of our souls, which is God Almighty, because of sin. 00:17:36.000 --> 00:17:44.480 Because sin came into the world and completely ruined our being, completely unaligned our being. 00:17:44.960 --> 00:17:55.599 The same author talks about this in uh a concept that he calls being flat-brained, which has probably been on the screen for the last 15 minutes, and everyone's like, what on earth is flat-brained? 00:17:55.839 --> 00:18:00.960 I love this concept because it is so like it's it literally is what happened to me. 00:18:01.200 --> 00:18:11.039 But the the author talks about being flat-brained, and he paints this picture that it's just a picture for analogy or for understanding purposes. 00:18:11.200 --> 00:18:15.200 It's there is not necessarily any truth to where these things reside. 00:18:15.359 --> 00:18:21.039 But for the sake of the analogy, he puts your soul in your stomach, your heart in your chest, and your mind in your head. 00:18:21.200 --> 00:18:33.440 And he says that when your soul becomes sick, whether from emotional trauma that's never been dealt with, from sin, from bitterness, from a number of different things, it swells and it inflates. 00:18:33.759 --> 00:18:41.200 And what happens is it puts pressure on your heart, which is restricting your heart flow, and then it therefore puts pressure on your head. 00:18:41.279 --> 00:18:50.960 Now, with the with the heart as the life flow of our soul, you could say that the heart gets sick, and that would even appear more biblical because there's so much context about the heart. 00:18:51.119 --> 00:18:54.559 So, either way, if your heart inflames, it's putting pressure on your mind. 00:18:54.720 --> 00:19:03.839 And what he does is he says that what happens is your brain gets flattened against the top of your head, and it's putting pressure in all the wrong places. 00:19:04.000 --> 00:19:06.400 And that's where he gets the term flat brained. 00:19:06.559 --> 00:19:12.000 And he says it puts pressure on your eyes, so you're not able to see with perfect clarity. 00:19:12.160 --> 00:19:16.160 It puts pressure on your ears and you're not able to hear with perfect clarity. 00:19:16.319 --> 00:19:21.039 With a compressed brain, you're not able to think clearly or reason clearly. 00:19:21.200 --> 00:19:23.279 And so you become flat brained. 00:19:23.440 --> 00:19:28.240 Now, an example of short there's short-term flat braining and there's long-term flat braining. 00:19:28.480 --> 00:19:35.440 And an example of short-term would be, you know, the dentist's dad is working on people's stinky mouths all day. 00:19:35.599 --> 00:19:39.200 He's super frustrated, but he has to be calm and collected for the customer. 00:19:39.359 --> 00:19:47.440 Then he gets home after having all of these emotions inflaming within his stomach, and he gets home and his wife's like, honey, how was work? 00:19:47.519 --> 00:19:48.559 Oh, it was awful. 00:19:48.720 --> 00:19:52.720 And he like blows up at his wife, is like, Whoa, chill, what was happening? 00:19:52.960 --> 00:19:56.000 Well, according to the psychologist, he was flat braining. 00:19:56.079 --> 00:20:02.799 There was pressure built up that he couldn't see, couldn't even hear, or think clearly, because he had so many emotions that hadn't been dealt with. 00:20:03.039 --> 00:20:07.039 So, um, but the the problem, so everyone can relate to that one. 00:20:07.279 --> 00:20:19.200 But there's also long-term flat braining, which is a a lifetime of not dealing with certain emotions, of not dealing with certain sins, and allowing them to fester and to grow. 00:20:19.279 --> 00:20:22.400 And it expands your stomach, putting pressure on your heart. 00:20:22.480 --> 00:20:30.319 You're not dreaming like you used to, you don't have the desires like you used to, or maybe you never did, and then you're not thinking clearly the way you used to. 00:20:30.480 --> 00:20:38.400 And what's really ironic about putting the pressure in this visual analogy on the top of your head is that it leaves plenty of room for your mouth. 00:20:38.880 --> 00:20:48.400 So he says that our mouth never has a problem with saying things, and yet our brains somehow are not thinking clearly. 00:20:48.559 --> 00:20:52.400 But does this not describe the state of our world? 00:20:52.559 --> 00:20:58.400 Like we look around and we're like, you watch the news, and you're like, what is wrong with them? 00:20:59.279 --> 00:21:00.799 I don't understand. 00:21:00.880 --> 00:21:01.839 It's not logical. 00:21:02.000 --> 00:21:02.480 You know what? 00:21:02.640 --> 00:21:11.759 It's not logical because their brain is flattened against the top of their head and they can't think clearly anymore, but they're saying a bunch of things that they can't control. 00:21:12.720 --> 00:21:16.480 And you know, this can this can help us. 00:21:20.079 --> 00:21:23.359 This can help us a lot, even in just having compassion. 00:21:23.519 --> 00:21:32.720 At least it helps me, because when I see someone acting out like that, maybe they're in a supermarket just like yelling at the cashier or or whatever. 00:21:32.880 --> 00:21:43.359 It's like, you know, that person is probably flat braining right now, and they need to unload the emotional baggage that they have bottled up inside so that they can find healing. 00:21:43.599 --> 00:21:45.119 So, what is the answer? 00:21:45.359 --> 00:21:47.680 What is the answer to our flat braining? 00:21:47.839 --> 00:21:59.599 Now, before I get into the answer, I think it is important to note that you know, we look around the world and we see people with drive, we see people with vision, we see people with the desires of their heart passionately pursuing. 00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:02.079 After things in a bad way. 00:22:02.319 --> 00:22:17.279 And I think it's worth mentioning that when Satan gets a hold of our soul and he gets a hold of our heart and he gets a hold of our mind and he aligns those things for his purposes, it is scary what can be accomplished through that. 00:22:17.599 --> 00:22:22.319 But we know that God is stronger, and that's what we're going to be talking about today. 00:22:22.480 --> 00:22:25.200 So what is the answer? 00:22:26.160 --> 00:22:39.680 Ephesians chapter 2, verse 1 through 6 says, You were dead in your trespasses and sin, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience. 00:22:39.839 --> 00:22:51.359 Does that not sound like a spiritual flat braining where Satan has taken a hold of these different aspects, aligned them for his purposes, and they are completely blind, completely blind to the gospel. 00:22:51.440 --> 00:23:05.920 And obviously, you can read tons of passages talking about spiritual blindness, disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind. 00:23:06.079 --> 00:23:11.119 And we were put, we were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. 00:23:11.440 --> 00:23:35.519 But God, praise Jesus, but God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, even when we were flat-brained and couldn't understand, even when we were blinded by our own situations, he stepped in and raised us up. 00:23:35.599 --> 00:23:45.759 Oh, I'm sorry, rich in mercy because of his great love with which he loved us when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ. 00:23:46.079 --> 00:23:54.400 By grace you have been saved and raised up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. 00:23:54.720 --> 00:24:00.400 Jesus is the answer to the humanity issue that we see in our world. 00:24:00.720 --> 00:24:15.279 Jesus came to realign our heart, will, our emotions, our minds for his purpose, for his glory, and he can give us life that is worth living and life everlasting if we will align ourselves to him. 00:24:15.519 --> 00:24:17.920 So salvation is when that happens. 00:24:18.079 --> 00:24:26.160 Jesus said he will give us a new heart, he will save our souls, he will renew our minds, and he will renew our strength. 00:24:26.480 --> 00:24:31.200 Praise God that even when we were flat-braining, he loved us. 00:24:31.440 --> 00:24:33.519 And he came to save us. 00:24:39.359 --> 00:24:41.920 But we know that it's not the end. 00:24:42.240 --> 00:24:48.880 We know that Jesus came to save us so that we can be aligned with his will for our lives. 00:24:49.119 --> 00:24:56.559 And the thing is, is that we can get into a place where we become flat-brained as Christians. 00:24:56.799 --> 00:25:04.400 Now, the reason I'm talking about this specifically is because this has so much to do with my personal testimony. 00:25:04.720 --> 00:25:07.759 I was raised in a Christian home. 00:25:07.920 --> 00:25:16.000 I would my parents were pastors of a small church, a small country church, and um I gave my heart to the Lord when I was like six years old. 00:25:16.160 --> 00:25:25.200 It was um devotions, family devotions, and my dad was reading about hell, and me as a little six-year-old, excuse me, daddy, what does that mean? 00:25:25.440 --> 00:25:28.880 Well, it means if you die and you don't have Jesus, then you're going to hell. 00:25:29.039 --> 00:25:30.240 Well, what's hell? 00:25:30.480 --> 00:25:33.599 Well, hell is a place full of fire where you're burned forever. 00:25:34.000 --> 00:25:35.920 Daddy, I don't want to do that. 00:25:37.200 --> 00:25:41.680 So right then and there, I gave my heart to Jesus as a little six-year-old. 00:25:41.839 --> 00:25:52.960 But it was when I turned 12 that I gained this understanding where I was like, you know, I've been doing this thing and I have this knowledge, but God, I want to be all in. 00:25:53.039 --> 00:25:54.480 I want to live for you. 00:25:54.799 --> 00:26:00.400 And um, and that started a journey for me to where my heart was for Jesus. 00:26:00.720 --> 00:26:03.759 But who knows, as we grow and mature, things happen. 00:26:04.000 --> 00:26:07.359 But God calls us to continue to align ourselves with Him. 00:26:07.599 --> 00:26:11.759 He says in Proverbs, to guard your heart, for out of it are the issues of life. 00:26:11.920 --> 00:26:26.400 He tells us to renew our mind in Romans 12, verse 2, and do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. 00:26:26.640 --> 00:26:29.039 He commands us to submit our bodies to him. 00:26:29.440 --> 00:26:36.640 I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. 00:26:36.799 --> 00:26:37.920 Here's our bodies again. 00:26:38.160 --> 00:26:40.240 Holy and acceptable to God. 00:26:40.480 --> 00:26:46.160 Your body is holy and acceptable to God when you are offering it to him for his purposes. 00:26:46.400 --> 00:26:47.759 God loves your body. 00:26:48.079 --> 00:26:52.960 And this is um so important in my story. 00:26:53.200 --> 00:26:59.759 So um, as I was growing up, um, there was uh, you know, my heart was always for God. 00:26:59.920 --> 00:27:00.960 It was always for God. 00:27:01.039 --> 00:27:04.960 I would pray for an hour every morning saying, God, I want your will for my life. 00:27:05.119 --> 00:27:07.440 I want you to do incredible things for me through me. 00:27:07.599 --> 00:27:10.079 I want to be Apostle Paul, I want to do these things. 00:27:10.240 --> 00:27:16.640 But as life progressed, there was emotional trauma that happened in my life that I did not deal with. 00:27:16.880 --> 00:27:19.599 In fact, I didn't want anyone to know about it. 00:27:19.759 --> 00:27:27.680 So what happened is it festered in my soul, and it led to then sin becoming to get a foothold in my soul. 00:27:27.839 --> 00:27:32.640 Now I was living for God, and I was like, God, I want to live my entire life for you. 00:27:32.720 --> 00:27:36.559 And my heart was still, from what I thought, on fire for God. 00:27:36.799 --> 00:27:39.359 But I was beginning to lose focus. 00:27:39.599 --> 00:27:46.079 I wasn't hearing quite correctly, and I wasn't thinking in terms of how God wanted me to think. 00:27:46.319 --> 00:27:49.839 And so my wife and I got to a place where we knew we needed help. 00:27:49.920 --> 00:27:56.799 So we went to counseling and we started to unpackage some of this emotional trauma that each of us had in our lives. 00:27:56.960 --> 00:28:05.359 We unpacked some of the sins that had taken a foothold in our lives, and we started to see God do something amazing. 00:28:05.680 --> 00:28:16.720 And it started slowly, but we saw a progression, and it was so awesome for my wife and I to experience it together because God was lighting a fire in our souls together. 00:28:17.519 --> 00:28:26.960 Uh, there was one night, and it was the first time I really remember this saying, we were both lying in bed, and my heart was racing, beating out of my chest. 00:28:27.200 --> 00:28:38.480 God was filling me with an excitement, and how I describe it is it was like God gave me a rocket that was already starting to fire off, and it just had a little less velocity as my body weight. 00:28:38.559 --> 00:28:44.079 So I'm like trying to figure out what God wants me to do with this, and it was so awesome and exciting. 00:28:44.240 --> 00:28:46.799 But I thought I was like, oh, well, maybe this is for this. 00:28:46.880 --> 00:28:54.319 So I would pray it into that and be like, God, I pray that this VBS will be the most amazing VBS on the planet. 00:28:54.640 --> 00:28:57.359 I pray that you would do, and this is a worthy prayer. 00:28:57.440 --> 00:28:59.519 Let me tell you, this is a worthy prayer. 00:28:59.680 --> 00:29:04.319 But I thought that that was what it was going to be for, or I thought it was going to be for that. 00:29:04.400 --> 00:29:15.680 But God continued to open doors, he continued to renew my mind and give me his thoughts and his heart and his soul, and he began to show me a direction for my life. 00:29:15.920 --> 00:29:23.759 For the first time in 24 years at the time, I had a direction for where my life as an entirety was going to go. 00:29:23.920 --> 00:29:27.839 I was just kind of chugging along, doing my Christian thing, serving in the church. 00:29:28.000 --> 00:29:34.559 I was uh working in full-time children's ministry at the time, but God was like, This is great, but this isn't what I have for you. 00:29:34.799 --> 00:29:38.480 I have something more for you in context to your life. 00:29:38.720 --> 00:29:41.759 And so He showed me a goal that I could work towards. 00:29:41.920 --> 00:29:46.880 I had no idea how I was gonna get there, but I was like, God, now I have something to work towards. 00:29:46.960 --> 00:29:49.680 So I started to see the renewing of these different areas. 00:29:49.920 --> 00:29:50.559 My mind. 00:29:50.640 --> 00:29:53.440 I was like, God, I need to surrender my entire mind to you. 00:29:53.599 --> 00:29:56.480 If I'm gonna get there, I'm gonna have to discipline my mind. 00:29:56.559 --> 00:30:02.880 So I started a master's program in family psychology because I was like, God, you want me to use my mind for your kingdom. 00:30:02.960 --> 00:30:08.160 Don't let me be lazy on this earth and just use my mind to think about the next TV series. 00:30:08.240 --> 00:30:09.839 That's, I don't know, whatever. 00:30:10.160 --> 00:30:11.519 Bad example. 00:30:11.920 --> 00:30:16.480 But then he started to, I saw a transformation in my heart. 00:30:16.640 --> 00:30:21.119 I began to receive dreams and desires, but I had no idea where they were coming from. 00:30:21.279 --> 00:30:26.559 They definitely weren't coming from me because they were so beyond me that I had no idea how it would happen. 00:30:26.799 --> 00:30:30.640 I saw him start to transform my body. 00:30:30.799 --> 00:30:38.240 I was like, God, this body needs to be ready to be deployed in anywhere in the world and act on your will and your passion for my life. 00:30:38.400 --> 00:30:42.960 So I got in a gym and I started exercising and I started disciplining my body. 00:30:43.119 --> 00:30:48.480 I saw God begin to transform these different things and it gave me such an excitement. 00:30:48.720 --> 00:30:54.240 Church, it gave me such an uh energy to live that I hadn't had before. 00:30:54.400 --> 00:30:57.519 And I didn't even know I was missing it because I was flat-brained. 00:30:57.759 --> 00:31:00.640 I couldn't think or see God's purposes clearly. 00:31:00.799 --> 00:31:10.240 But when God started to align these different areas in my life, he began to give me a vision beyond myself, he began to give me a passion that didn't come from me. 00:31:10.400 --> 00:31:16.000 He began to give me all of these different areas, and it was so very exciting. 00:31:16.160 --> 00:31:17.759 And God gave me a vision. 00:31:18.000 --> 00:31:41.599 He said, Matt, imagine a generation being raised up that's experiencing what you're experiencing, where they are dedicating their body to the service of my kingdom, when they are dedicating their mind to the disciplined study for my kingdom, when their heart is burning with passionate desires that I have put in there. 00:31:41.920 --> 00:31:43.839 Imagine what can happen. 00:31:44.160 --> 00:31:52.240 And so that is what the goal of my entire life is going to be is going to be raising up a generation that has these areas in line. 00:31:52.400 --> 00:31:57.599 And I believe with all of my heart that it begins right downstairs in the basement with the children. 00:31:57.759 --> 00:32:09.039 If they can align their hearts, minds, and souls with God, who can stand against it? 00:32:09.359 --> 00:32:12.160 Humanity has incredible potential with God. 00:32:12.319 --> 00:32:18.559 So I urge you, and I ask you this question: are you flat braining right now? 00:32:20.799 --> 00:32:22.960 I want you to ask God that question. 00:32:23.119 --> 00:32:34.720 I don't care how old you are, I don't care how young you are, there can be emotional trauma, there can be sin that's getting a foothold in our lives, which is restricting our vision and hearing for what God has for us. 00:32:35.039 --> 00:32:39.599 So I encourage you, what do you do when you begin flat braining? 00:32:39.759 --> 00:32:48.240 As I close, we psychologically, something unlocks when you begin to vocalize your struggles, your shame. 00:32:48.640 --> 00:32:51.440 That's why uh counseling is so valuable. 00:32:51.680 --> 00:32:59.680 But I think it's also interesting that God says, if you believe in your heart and confess with your mouth that I am Lord, you will be saved. 00:32:59.920 --> 00:33:05.759 There's something about that, speaking it out, taking it out of the shadows and exposing it to the light. 00:33:05.920 --> 00:33:10.559 And then it's in Christian communion, taking it to other people. 00:33:10.720 --> 00:33:15.839 James 5, 16, confess your sins one with another and be healed. 00:33:16.079 --> 00:33:18.079 That's why I love the culture of the road. 00:33:18.240 --> 00:33:27.039 In your women's groups, in men's group on Tuesday mornings or at the advance, encouraging vulnerability, encouraging getting blood-stained allies. 00:33:27.200 --> 00:33:28.799 It's so valuable. 00:33:28.960 --> 00:33:31.359 You don't have to live flat-brained. 00:33:31.599 --> 00:33:36.880 If you confess your sins to God, confess it to others and get in that place. 00:33:37.279 --> 00:33:40.160 I've resolved with my heart for this to be my prayer. 00:33:40.400 --> 00:33:42.000 God, take all of me. 00:33:42.319 --> 00:33:45.680 Take my soul, every part that connects to you. 00:33:45.839 --> 00:33:47.839 Would you use it for your glory? 00:33:48.000 --> 00:33:50.640 Take my talents and my personality. 00:33:50.880 --> 00:33:53.279 Every part of me, God, I want it to be used for you. 00:33:53.519 --> 00:34:03.440 God, take my heart, take every dream, every desire, purify my heart and give me your dreams and your desires that I would be passionately pursuing the plan you have for me. 00:34:03.759 --> 00:34:05.039 God, take my mind. 00:34:05.200 --> 00:34:10.000 Let me study to show myself approved and continually renew my mind in you. 00:34:10.159 --> 00:34:12.239 And lastly, God, take my body. 00:34:12.559 --> 00:34:16.239 This frail lump of clay, God, use it. 00:34:16.320 --> 00:34:20.719 Let me be ready to be activated in any location, any place. 00:34:20.880 --> 00:34:25.440 Let me be ready to run towards the plan that you have for my life. 00:34:28.639 --> 00:34:31.280 Hey, thanks for listening to the Road Podcast. 00:34:31.440 --> 00:34:34.960 It's been my joy to be a part of your life today. 00:34:35.119 --> 00:34:43.119 And you know, that's part of what we do here at The Road, and this is what I do in having this Road Podcast is to empower people to change their world. 00:34:43.440 --> 00:34:52.400 My passion and desire is that you would take God's word through the power of the Holy Spirit and make that relevant for your life. 00:34:52.559 --> 00:34:58.239 You know, the reality is that God has placed your life here on this earth to make a difference. 00:34:58.320 --> 00:35:07.440 And if you'd like more information about how to grow in Christ, if you need prayer, if you want more equipping in different areas of your life, go to theroad.org. 00:35:07.599 --> 00:35:08.800 God bless you.