WEBVTT 00:00:00.479 --> 00:00:01.760 My name is Russ. 00:00:01.919 --> 00:00:05.759 If I hadn't had a chance to meet you, it is great to have you with us. 00:00:05.919 --> 00:00:12.640 I've met a few new uh friends, I hope, or a few new people that um that I hope will be friends this morning. 00:00:12.800 --> 00:00:15.839 If you're a guest with us, we're so glad that you were here. 00:00:16.000 --> 00:00:21.760 And you're here on a great day as we begin a brand new series. 00:00:21.920 --> 00:00:28.160 We spent a lot of this year in what's called the Sermon of the Mount, which is Matthew 5, 6 and 7. 00:00:28.320 --> 00:00:29.760 All that stuff is online. 00:00:30.079 --> 00:00:37.920 I invite you, um, if you uh would like to, you could go back and and and and follow that along and read through that. 00:00:38.000 --> 00:00:43.359 That is a great passage of scripture just to continue to read over and over and over again. 00:00:43.679 --> 00:00:44.960 But today we're in a new series. 00:00:45.119 --> 00:00:48.399 I want to tell you a little bit of a parable uh to introduce this series. 00:00:48.560 --> 00:00:58.240 It's a parable about it's about a village up in the Alps, a beautiful village where a stream runs through the middle of the town. 00:00:58.399 --> 00:01:04.079 Uh but high up above the town, um, there is a keeper of the stream. 00:01:04.159 --> 00:01:24.959 And his job is to make sure that the stream is cleared of debris, cleared of mud, cleared of anything that would um that would keep the stream from being healthy as it flows down into the middle of the town and provides life for all the people that live in that town. 00:01:25.280 --> 00:01:28.239 Now, he he nobody sees the keeper of the stream. 00:01:28.400 --> 00:01:31.040 Nobody really notices that he's up there. 00:01:31.120 --> 00:01:32.799 He's been up there for years. 00:01:32.959 --> 00:01:40.400 And one day the council of the city decides why are we spending so much money to pay this keeper of the stream? 00:01:40.480 --> 00:01:42.079 We we don't ever even see him. 00:01:42.239 --> 00:01:45.840 Does all this money really need to go to the keeping of the stream? 00:01:46.079 --> 00:01:51.760 And so they change their budget and they fire and they get rid of the keeper of the stream. 00:01:52.000 --> 00:01:57.920 And so slowly over time, no one is there to clean out the mud from the mudslides. 00:01:58.000 --> 00:02:04.319 No one is there to keep the stream uh free from debris. 00:02:05.439 --> 00:02:11.680 And over time, the the swans and the geese and the animals begin to leave. 00:02:11.759 --> 00:02:13.439 And no longer do you see them. 00:02:13.599 --> 00:02:15.599 You can't fish out of the stream. 00:02:15.840 --> 00:02:22.879 People in the town begin to become ill from drinking the water because it's not been kept well. 00:02:24.479 --> 00:02:29.599 And so the town council gets together and they realize that we've made a mistake. 00:02:30.240 --> 00:02:35.199 And so they go find the keeper of the stream and they say, We're so sorry we took you for granted. 00:02:35.520 --> 00:02:36.800 We need you back. 00:02:38.080 --> 00:02:51.280 And so he comes back, and slowly the water becomes pure again, the town becomes well again, and the stream supports the town's people. 00:02:53.280 --> 00:03:00.319 The stream is your soul, and you are the keeper. 00:03:01.439 --> 00:03:04.319 Over the next five weeks, I'm gonna do my best. 00:03:04.560 --> 00:03:23.759 We are gonna do our best to help you understand that the most important possession that you have, the most valuable thing you possess, it's not an automobile, it's not a house, it's not even your family, it's your soul. 00:03:24.319 --> 00:03:34.080 And you are the keeper of your soul, you are the steward of your soul, you are responsible for your soul. 00:03:34.400 --> 00:03:47.120 And so it is important for you to understand that Jesus says this, and we're coming, we're looking at just a couple of verses today, and really one word out of one verse. 00:03:47.360 --> 00:03:51.280 In Mark 8, verses 36 and 37. 00:03:51.599 --> 00:04:00.080 Jesus says, and what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your soul? 00:04:00.960 --> 00:04:04.240 Is anything worth more than your soul? 00:04:04.400 --> 00:04:06.560 Is what Jesus is asking. 00:04:06.879 --> 00:04:14.240 He's not necessarily looking for an answer, but he's implying there's nothing that you possess that is more important than your soul. 00:04:14.400 --> 00:04:31.040 And if this is the case, then we need to spend time thinking about our souls, understanding our souls, seeking restoration for our souls, seeking refreshing for our souls. 00:04:31.199 --> 00:04:38.560 Some of us need to seek salvation for our souls, to talk about our soul, what damages our soul. 00:04:38.720 --> 00:04:40.560 We need to care for our souls. 00:04:40.720 --> 00:04:42.560 We need to know how to care. 00:04:43.600 --> 00:04:49.920 Matter of fact, if we when we talk about the soul, it's very um it's it's not tangible. 00:04:50.000 --> 00:05:02.639 It's not it's a bit ambiguous, it's something that is hard maybe to understand, which is why we would spend uh a few weeks or uh five weeks talking about the soul. 00:05:02.800 --> 00:05:09.360 And and we live in a culture where soul health is more important now, probably than ever before. 00:05:09.519 --> 00:05:11.759 Our souls are under attack. 00:05:12.560 --> 00:05:15.360 We're weary, we're tired. 00:05:15.839 --> 00:05:22.800 If you ask people how they're doing, the most common answers are, I'm busy or I'm tired. 00:05:23.040 --> 00:05:30.720 And so when someone says their meat be mean, you might say, have you no soul? 00:05:31.040 --> 00:05:32.560 Have you no soul? 00:05:32.879 --> 00:05:38.720 When talking about who we might marry, we would say we're seeking our soul mate. 00:05:38.959 --> 00:05:43.360 Southern cooking has often been referred to as soul food. 00:05:43.600 --> 00:05:54.000 Um, if a key employee or player on a sports team is recognized, they they're often called the soul of the team. 00:05:54.319 --> 00:05:57.839 Aretha Franklin is known as the queen of soul. 00:05:58.720 --> 00:06:14.079 And so when we bring in a spiritual component to talk about souls, we need to understand that we often think that our souls need to be converted, and that is true, and we need to win souls for Jesus, and that is true. 00:06:14.319 --> 00:06:28.079 But one of the lies of the enemy, one of the deceptions of the enemy is for us to think about salvation of our souls in a context of the life that is that is to come later. 00:06:28.240 --> 00:06:38.560 When in reality, salvation of our souls, eternal life, the eternity of our souls is something that is very present. 00:06:38.879 --> 00:06:39.839 It is now. 00:06:40.160 --> 00:06:44.000 Eternal life doesn't begin when your physical body decays and dies. 00:06:44.319 --> 00:06:54.000 Eternal life begins when you understand that you need salvation and you put your trust in Jesus, and your eternal life is in the present. 00:06:54.160 --> 00:06:55.120 It is now. 00:06:57.040 --> 00:07:01.120 We even sing songs about how the devil went down to Georgia. 00:07:01.439 --> 00:07:04.399 He was looking for a soul to steal. 00:07:05.519 --> 00:07:10.160 He was in a vine because he was way behind. 00:07:10.959 --> 00:07:14.319 He was willing to make a deal. 00:07:15.120 --> 00:07:20.639 See, the devil even has a quota for stealing souls, apparently. 00:07:21.199 --> 00:07:25.439 I prayed this prayer as a child, which is probably why I've needed counseling. 00:07:25.839 --> 00:07:27.199 Now I lay me down to sleep. 00:07:27.279 --> 00:07:28.720 I pray the Lord my soul to keep. 00:07:28.959 --> 00:07:32.480 If I should die before I wake, don't pray that with your children. 00:07:32.720 --> 00:07:38.560 If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take. 00:07:39.439 --> 00:07:42.720 Is that the best prayer to teach a child about souls? 00:07:42.879 --> 00:07:43.920 I don't know. 00:07:45.040 --> 00:07:47.600 What exactly is a child is a soul? 00:07:47.839 --> 00:07:49.279 What is a soul? 00:07:49.680 --> 00:07:50.639 What is a soul? 00:07:50.720 --> 00:07:53.040 Is it is it the Looney Tunes version? 00:07:53.279 --> 00:07:59.120 Is it when Daffy Duck gets hit on the head by the anvil in the cartoon? 00:07:59.759 --> 00:08:21.040 And and his his uh half um visible figure departs from his physical body, his translucent image floats up with wings and a harp, and he looks down at Bugs Bunny, and he's mad because he has taken his soul. 00:08:21.279 --> 00:08:25.519 I mean, is that the is that the image that our culture might impose upon? 00:08:25.680 --> 00:08:27.040 What is the soul? 00:08:27.279 --> 00:08:36.799 We tend to think of it, it's the part of us that lives on when our body dies, and I just said that is that's that's the deception the enemy wants us to buy into. 00:08:37.120 --> 00:08:43.200 The enemy doesn't want us to consider the importance of the soul now, here on earth. 00:08:43.360 --> 00:08:44.639 And here's why. 00:08:44.879 --> 00:08:50.320 Because the soul is actually the deepest part of who you are. 00:08:50.960 --> 00:08:57.759 The soul is the deepest part of who you are, it is the center of our life. 00:08:58.399 --> 00:09:02.799 There's several accounts in the Psalms and throughout scripture. 00:09:02.960 --> 00:09:11.279 We're gonna look at a few of these in the next coming weeks, but it's where the psalmist is almost talking to their own soul. 00:09:11.519 --> 00:09:24.799 Psalm 103, 1 and 2 says, Bless the Lord, oh my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name, bless the Lord, oh my soul, and forget not all his benefits. 00:09:25.279 --> 00:09:33.200 And so if our life isn't going the way that we think it should, it may not be all the circumstances in your life. 00:09:33.440 --> 00:09:37.200 The problem could be at a soul level. 00:09:37.600 --> 00:09:38.879 I've been there. 00:09:40.000 --> 00:09:45.440 I had a one of my accountability partners, best friends, lifelong pastor friend. 00:09:45.519 --> 00:09:48.240 He he texts me just several weeks ago. 00:09:48.480 --> 00:09:50.480 He said, How are you doing? 00:09:51.120 --> 00:09:54.080 I text back, man, I'm tired. 00:09:54.799 --> 00:09:56.159 At a soul level. 00:09:56.320 --> 00:09:56.960 I'm tired. 00:09:57.039 --> 00:09:59.279 Well, he, I mean, immediately my phone rings. 00:09:59.440 --> 00:10:01.039 I mean, he he cares about me. 00:10:01.120 --> 00:10:02.480 He's like, man, are you okay? 00:10:02.639 --> 00:10:03.279 I said, yes. 00:10:03.440 --> 00:10:08.080 It's not, uh, you know, I'm not uh you know, I'm not about to drive off a cliff. 00:10:08.159 --> 00:10:13.039 I'm I'm just you know, that's just how I feel right now in this season. 00:10:13.120 --> 00:10:15.919 Uh I'm okay in the midst of feeling tired. 00:10:16.000 --> 00:10:17.120 There, I have joy. 00:10:17.360 --> 00:10:18.639 I have the joy of the Lord. 00:10:18.720 --> 00:10:28.399 I I feel I know that God is sovereign, but but there's just a lot going on in my life, my family's life, and the life of our church, and the life of our community. 00:10:28.559 --> 00:10:35.519 We all know what's happening in our world, and it's easy to get caught up, and it's easy to get tired. 00:10:36.320 --> 00:10:42.159 Several years ago, a few years back, a pastor friend of mine recommended a book to me by a guy named John Ortberg. 00:10:42.240 --> 00:10:45.120 Um, and the title of the book was Soul Keeping. 00:10:45.360 --> 00:10:54.559 Caring for the Most Important Part of You, which really was a big part of the inspired inspiration to want to do a series at some point on the soul. 00:10:54.720 --> 00:11:04.080 And so Ortberg had spent his time as a pastor, pastor of a megachurch, pastor in large churches, and he knew something wasn't right at his soul level. 00:11:04.159 --> 00:11:07.600 And so he found a mentor, a mentor named Dallas Willard. 00:11:07.679 --> 00:11:13.360 And many of us don't know this, but many of us have been influenced by Dallas Willard and his writings. 00:11:14.720 --> 00:11:27.279 He spent most of his life as a philosophy professor at the University of Southern California to make his living, but he was a man devoted to spiritual formation and discipleship. 00:11:27.759 --> 00:11:32.879 And so Ortberg began to ask Willard to invest in him. 00:11:33.440 --> 00:11:38.879 And out of that investment came that book, Soul Keeping. 00:11:38.960 --> 00:11:50.559 Some of you may have heard of a young pastor by the name of John Mark Comer, and a book that has been wildly popular in the last couple of years called The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry. 00:11:51.679 --> 00:11:57.519 And much of the influence for that book comes from Ortberg and comes from Willard. 00:11:57.840 --> 00:12:03.840 And so the questions that we could ask over the next few weeks, hopefully, we'll answer is what is the soul? 00:12:04.080 --> 00:12:08.639 And hopefully that is what we do today, as we at least begin to answer that. 00:12:08.799 --> 00:12:11.120 Secondly, what does the soul need? 00:12:11.360 --> 00:12:16.000 Thirdly, what does the restored soul look like? 00:12:16.159 --> 00:12:18.799 What does a restored soul look like? 00:12:19.039 --> 00:12:21.759 And how do we move toward health? 00:12:21.919 --> 00:12:27.679 We'll finish by looking at the life of Elijah, the last couple of weeks of this series. 00:12:27.919 --> 00:12:39.519 So Jesus says, what does Jesus mean when he says, Mark 8, and what did you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? 00:12:39.840 --> 00:12:44.320 Is anything worth more than your soul? 00:12:44.720 --> 00:12:50.480 Matthew 10, 28, Jesus says, Do not be afraid of those who want to kill your body. 00:12:50.960 --> 00:12:53.200 They cannot touch your soul. 00:12:53.919 --> 00:12:55.600 They cannot touch your soul. 00:12:55.840 --> 00:13:02.480 Fear only God who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 00:13:02.960 --> 00:13:10.080 See, so nothing is worth more than your soul based on what Jesus is saying in these few verses. 00:13:10.320 --> 00:13:13.679 And I think we would say Jesus probably knew what he was talking about. 00:13:13.919 --> 00:13:15.440 Jesus is the Messiah. 00:13:15.600 --> 00:13:19.200 He is the Savior, He's the creator of the universe. 00:13:20.639 --> 00:13:22.399 He was sent to represent God. 00:13:22.639 --> 00:13:24.639 He was God in the flesh. 00:13:24.960 --> 00:13:28.559 He was the Word, the living Word. 00:13:31.039 --> 00:13:33.600 And so He speaks about the soul. 00:13:35.279 --> 00:13:40.879 In Jewish life, they boil everything down to two components. 00:13:40.960 --> 00:13:43.360 There was the inner life and the outer life. 00:13:43.840 --> 00:13:48.720 There's the physical life, and then there's the spiritual life. 00:13:48.879 --> 00:13:55.600 The outer life for us would be our careers, our accomplishments, our reputations. 00:13:56.639 --> 00:13:59.120 It's what people see when they look at us. 00:13:59.360 --> 00:14:01.360 It's me looking for the right job. 00:14:01.519 --> 00:14:07.519 It's just looking to make a living, how I can make a living and make money. 00:14:08.320 --> 00:14:11.759 We put most of our emphasis on the outer life. 00:14:11.919 --> 00:14:14.480 Let's make sure we get our kids in the right school. 00:14:14.879 --> 00:14:17.759 Let's make sure they get into the right activities. 00:14:18.000 --> 00:14:21.279 We put most of our attention on the outer life. 00:14:21.600 --> 00:14:26.000 It consumes our energy at the expense of our inner life. 00:14:26.159 --> 00:14:29.200 Our inner life is a bit more mysterious, isn't it? 00:14:30.000 --> 00:14:34.879 Our inner life is our thoughts, it's our dreams, it's our wishes. 00:14:35.360 --> 00:14:36.960 It is invisible. 00:14:37.440 --> 00:14:44.720 It's only known really by us and by God and maybe the people in our closest circle. 00:14:45.200 --> 00:14:50.159 We might have everything we want on the outer life scale. 00:14:50.399 --> 00:14:52.320 We may have the home we've dreamed of. 00:14:52.399 --> 00:14:57.440 We may have the wife or the husband that we uh dreamed about. 00:14:58.080 --> 00:15:03.039 We may have everything that we've ever wanted outwardly. 00:15:03.600 --> 00:15:07.519 But inwardly, there's still something missing. 00:15:08.480 --> 00:15:22.879 Tom Brady, in this famous interview, it's an older interview that was back when he had only won three Super Bowls, and he was on 60 minutes, and he was interviewed by Grady Croft, and here's what he says. 00:15:23.039 --> 00:15:25.039 Why do I have three Super Bowl rings? 00:15:25.200 --> 00:15:26.879 Here's the quote, it's on the screen. 00:15:27.120 --> 00:15:32.000 Why do I have three Super Bowl rings and still think there's something greater out there for me? 00:15:32.240 --> 00:15:36.320 I mean, maybe a lot of people would say, hey man, this is what life's all about. 00:15:36.480 --> 00:15:38.639 I reached my goal, my dream, my life. 00:15:38.879 --> 00:15:39.200 Me? 00:15:39.519 --> 00:15:40.559 Here's what he's saying. 00:15:40.799 --> 00:15:41.120 Me? 00:15:41.840 --> 00:15:43.919 I think it's gotta be more than this. 00:15:44.080 --> 00:15:45.200 I mean, this isn't. 00:15:45.360 --> 00:15:48.879 This can't be all it's cracked up to be. 00:15:49.120 --> 00:15:54.320 And Cross presses him, and Brady responds again, what's the answer? 00:15:54.639 --> 00:15:56.080 I wish I knew. 00:15:56.240 --> 00:15:57.519 I love playing football. 00:15:57.679 --> 00:15:59.519 I love being quarterback for this team. 00:15:59.679 --> 00:16:05.600 But at the same time, I think there are a lot of other parts about me that I'm trying to find. 00:16:06.000 --> 00:16:07.440 Now, isn't it sad? 00:16:07.600 --> 00:16:09.679 We know what the answer to that is. 00:16:09.919 --> 00:16:11.919 We know it was his soul. 00:16:12.320 --> 00:16:15.200 Everything is great in his outer life. 00:16:15.360 --> 00:16:16.720 It's flourishing. 00:16:17.120 --> 00:16:20.000 But his inner life is still left wanting. 00:16:20.080 --> 00:16:23.440 There's something missing at a soul level. 00:16:24.080 --> 00:16:26.799 And so here's what I believe he's asking for. 00:16:26.960 --> 00:16:29.200 Would somebody speak truth to me? 00:16:29.519 --> 00:16:34.000 Would somebody speak into my life at a soul level? 00:16:34.399 --> 00:16:39.600 I love what Jim Carrey, the actor Jim Carrey, says, he says this. 00:16:39.759 --> 00:16:48.720 He says, I think everyone should get rich and famous and have everything they ever dreamed of so they can see that it's not the answer. 00:16:51.600 --> 00:16:54.799 Now I read that to my kids when I came across it. 00:16:56.960 --> 00:17:08.000 Because kids have this proclivity to say things that begin with the words, I wish and I want. 00:17:10.160 --> 00:17:21.440 And they think if I can get a hold of this, I can have this car, if I can have this job, and I can have this money, it will bring meaning and happiness and hope in my life. 00:17:21.680 --> 00:17:27.759 So this is what Jesus means when he says you can gain the whole world, but you can lose your soul. 00:17:27.920 --> 00:17:35.839 Who cares if your outer world is looking great, if your inner world, your soul, and your relationship with Jesus is falling apart? 00:17:36.559 --> 00:17:39.680 Jesus is not just talking about heaven or hell. 00:17:39.920 --> 00:17:42.319 He's talking about a diagnosis. 00:17:43.039 --> 00:17:51.759 He's talking about a condition that we all deal with, and it is eternal life, but but it's a soul sickness. 00:17:52.400 --> 00:18:02.079 John Mark Comer speaks about it in his book extensively, where he says there's a disease in our culture, and it's the disease of hurry. 00:18:04.079 --> 00:18:14.720 And so Ortberg comes to Willard, who is completely the antithesis of who he is as a fast-paced megachurch pastor. 00:18:14.880 --> 00:18:21.759 He finds a man that has mastered the inner part of his life and he's drawn to him. 00:18:22.240 --> 00:18:26.799 He knew his soul needed care, and he knew that he was responsible. 00:18:27.039 --> 00:18:29.839 He was the keeper of his own soul. 00:18:30.079 --> 00:18:36.319 And so Ortberg goes to Willard and he says, Willard, I want what you have. 00:18:36.480 --> 00:18:42.480 I want this sense of peace and this sense of inner help that you have. 00:18:43.359 --> 00:18:51.279 And Willard says, you must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life. 00:18:52.319 --> 00:18:55.680 Ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life. 00:18:55.920 --> 00:18:58.640 We're going to talk more about that in the coming weeks. 00:18:59.200 --> 00:19:05.200 He taught him the soul is the life center of the human life. 00:19:05.759 --> 00:19:07.440 It is the operating system. 00:19:07.599 --> 00:19:12.799 As a computer has an operating system, your soul is the operating system. 00:19:13.119 --> 00:19:15.359 It's the steering wheel for your life. 00:19:16.240 --> 00:19:19.279 It is the control panel on your car. 00:19:19.680 --> 00:19:22.000 It drives your entire being. 00:19:22.319 --> 00:19:23.039 Here's a quote. 00:19:23.200 --> 00:19:36.240 I don't think this one's on the screen, but Dallas Willard says what is running your life at any given moment is your soul, not external circumstances, not your thoughts, not your intentions, not your feelings, but your soul. 00:19:36.400 --> 00:19:47.200 The soul is the aspect of your whole being that correlates, integrates, and enlivens everything going on in various dimensions of the self. 00:19:47.519 --> 00:19:51.519 The soul is the life center of a human being. 00:19:52.240 --> 00:19:56.240 And then he draws a picture of concentric circles. 00:19:56.400 --> 00:19:59.519 Do we have, is that picture up here? 00:19:59.680 --> 00:20:10.880 And so if you'll notice, and this is Dallas Willard's version of explaining the human components, our lives' human components. 00:20:10.960 --> 00:20:16.960 This is not necessarily out of the Bible, but it does give us some understanding. 00:20:17.200 --> 00:20:25.839 He said each part of the human being must be healthy and working as God intended it to work. 00:20:26.000 --> 00:20:30.960 And he says that produces an integrated health. 00:20:32.160 --> 00:20:34.000 The Hebrew word is shalom. 00:20:34.720 --> 00:20:37.200 The peace, the integration of all these things. 00:20:37.279 --> 00:20:41.599 And he said, the innermost circle, it is the will. 00:20:42.240 --> 00:20:46.640 And I hope those of us that are watching online are able to see this slide. 00:20:46.799 --> 00:20:48.880 The innermost circle is the human will. 00:20:49.039 --> 00:20:50.480 That's your chooser. 00:20:50.720 --> 00:20:52.960 It's the capacity for you to choose. 00:20:53.039 --> 00:20:56.559 You can say yes to some things and no to others. 00:20:57.200 --> 00:21:03.759 The will makes you a person, it separates you from being a thing, an object. 00:21:03.920 --> 00:21:09.279 The Bible speaks of the command that we have to exercise dominion. 00:21:09.519 --> 00:21:14.640 The will is very good at making simple and large decisions. 00:21:15.519 --> 00:21:24.880 We have the ability to make decisions like who are we going to marry or what is our profession or our job going to be. 00:21:25.119 --> 00:21:38.319 A lot of times, our will is not capable at a very good level of overriding habits and deeply rooted issues within us. 00:21:38.640 --> 00:21:45.279 And that's because the will is limited because it's been compromised by sin. 00:21:46.000 --> 00:21:49.920 The apostle Paul says, all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. 00:21:52.000 --> 00:21:58.559 We're broken in our capacity to choose right all the time. 00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:09.839 The apostle Paul says in Romans 7, he says, there are times that I do the things that I don't want to do, and I know I don't want to do them, but I still do what I don't want to do. 00:22:11.920 --> 00:22:14.480 The second part of the circle is the mind. 00:22:14.960 --> 00:22:19.680 In the ancient world, it was the person's thoughts and feelings. 00:22:20.559 --> 00:22:26.960 It's the way that we're conscious of emotions and our minds affect our soul. 00:22:27.119 --> 00:22:29.839 The Apostle Paul writes in Philippians 4.8. 00:22:30.000 --> 00:22:32.240 And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. 00:22:32.400 --> 00:22:40.559 Here's what he says: fix your thoughts, your minds, on what is true and honorable and right and pure and lovely and admirable. 00:22:40.720 --> 00:22:43.920 Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. 00:22:44.160 --> 00:22:53.039 The Apostle Paul in Romans 8.6 says, so letting your sinful nature control your minds leads to death. 00:22:53.279 --> 00:22:58.079 But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. 00:22:58.240 --> 00:23:01.119 And we're familiar with this verse, Romans 12, 1 and 2. 00:23:01.279 --> 00:23:08.880 So, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you, give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. 00:23:09.119 --> 00:23:14.400 Let them be a living and holy sacrifice, the kind he will find acceptable. 00:23:14.640 --> 00:23:16.480 This is truly the way to worship him. 00:23:16.640 --> 00:23:26.079 Don't copy the behavior and the customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. 00:23:27.279 --> 00:23:36.799 Another translation says, by renewing your mind, then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. 00:23:37.039 --> 00:23:38.000 So that's our mind. 00:23:38.079 --> 00:23:44.079 Here, the next concentric part of the circle, the part of our life, our body. 00:23:44.400 --> 00:23:47.039 Our body is our physical kingdom. 00:23:48.000 --> 00:23:54.559 It's how, it's the place when we exercise our will, it happens in our physical bodies. 00:23:55.359 --> 00:23:58.880 It's our power pack, it's our battery pack. 00:23:59.039 --> 00:24:01.519 We couldn't be us without our body. 00:24:01.920 --> 00:24:09.519 We're filled with all types of appetites and habits and we do things with our physical bodies. 00:24:10.960 --> 00:24:18.000 We eat, we drive, we, you know, we all the stuff that we do with our physical bodies. 00:24:18.160 --> 00:24:22.079 Our bodies are amazing, but they're only a part of us. 00:24:22.480 --> 00:24:32.319 The apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 9, he says in verse 27, I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. 00:24:32.559 --> 00:24:39.599 Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others, I myself might be disqualified. 00:24:40.960 --> 00:24:43.440 And then the next circle is the soul. 00:24:44.720 --> 00:25:09.200 And the soul on the outer circle, it represents the capacity for us to integrate our minds, our wills, and our bodies into a shalom, a peace, where everything is aligned. 00:25:10.720 --> 00:25:15.039 It's like a program, as I said, that runs a computer. 00:25:15.519 --> 00:25:23.279 You don't notice that something's wrong until you can't pull something up on a screen. 00:25:23.680 --> 00:25:26.480 Until it's not working correctly. 00:25:29.039 --> 00:25:39.839 And a lot of us using the control panel of a car as a metaphor, there's a light that is flashing on. 00:25:40.559 --> 00:25:43.920 And we do what some of us do. 00:25:44.799 --> 00:25:49.119 When our car has a light that comes on, check engine. 00:25:49.680 --> 00:25:53.119 How many of you just keep driving and hope it goes off? 00:25:57.119 --> 00:26:08.160 And we just keep pushing on, ignoring the warning lights, ignoring that there's something that is disintegrated. 00:26:08.319 --> 00:26:10.400 There is something out of place. 00:26:10.640 --> 00:26:12.480 There is something that's not right. 00:26:12.880 --> 00:26:21.039 If the soul is the healthy integration of all of these things, an unhealthy soul is the disintegration. 00:26:23.119 --> 00:26:29.599 Not working together is the soul being disintegrated, sometimes lost. 00:26:29.839 --> 00:26:38.079 Not necessarily just in a salvation type of way, but there's no shalom in our life, and we forget that we're connected. 00:26:38.319 --> 00:26:41.599 We're connected at the will and the mind and the emotions and the body. 00:26:41.680 --> 00:26:44.559 And all of this is connected. 00:26:45.359 --> 00:26:47.200 There should be harmony. 00:26:48.319 --> 00:27:00.160 That's how it's possible that you can experience pain or hurt and loss, and at the same time have peace and hope and joy. 00:27:05.039 --> 00:27:06.480 James says it this way. 00:27:06.640 --> 00:27:13.920 James 1.8 says he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. 00:27:14.160 --> 00:27:16.319 Do you know what double-minded in the Greek? 00:27:16.559 --> 00:27:18.400 The literal translation? 00:27:18.640 --> 00:27:25.200 It's double-souled, split-souled, fractured soul. 00:27:26.319 --> 00:27:35.200 And so one of the examples of a disintegrated soul, it's just it's when it's when we're we we we we get we get off track into sin. 00:27:35.279 --> 00:27:38.240 We become greedy rather than generous. 00:27:38.400 --> 00:27:47.119 Um we struggle with sometimes bodily addictions or bodily health issues. 00:27:48.880 --> 00:27:56.319 Your mind says, I want to stay awake, because Russ is preaching about something that is so interesting. 00:27:56.640 --> 00:28:04.000 But your body is so tired because you stayed up to watch Texas AM beat Alabama. 00:28:05.039 --> 00:28:09.599 Don't care about football if you're not going to worship and sing for Jesus, okay? 00:28:09.839 --> 00:28:11.279 That's my rule. 00:28:18.240 --> 00:28:19.759 So we give in to the body. 00:28:19.920 --> 00:28:26.559 The body, man, we we struggle with with sin issues, relational issues. 00:28:26.720 --> 00:28:37.200 Your mind and your will are favorable towards someone, um, and and and you your body tries to cover up. 00:28:40.640 --> 00:28:43.519 My wife's just not good at hiding things. 00:28:44.240 --> 00:28:47.119 To me, I can I can read her body language. 00:28:47.359 --> 00:28:57.440 She can say something out of her mouth, but I can look at the expression on her face or the way she's standing, and I know that there is disintegration. 00:28:57.680 --> 00:28:59.440 It's not the same. 00:29:00.319 --> 00:29:02.079 We know each other that way. 00:29:05.119 --> 00:29:07.519 Sin begets sin. 00:29:07.759 --> 00:29:09.599 Everything is connected. 00:29:10.720 --> 00:29:20.799 The singular deceit determines how far we will allow our standards to slip and still regard ourselves as basically good people. 00:29:22.240 --> 00:29:41.519 We rationalize the first sin, and then we take the next step into the next sin and the bigger sin, and then all of a sudden, it's this pathway of deeper and deeper sin that started with a single rationalization. 00:29:42.000 --> 00:30:04.640 And this is where you see scandals take place in companies and CEOs and churches and pastors, where there is disintegration, double-minded, double-souled, the leadership and the behind the scenes doesn't match the leadership on the platform. 00:30:07.119 --> 00:30:12.400 And it's because of the help of our souls. 00:30:13.920 --> 00:30:20.319 You see it in entire cultures, you can see it throughout history. 00:30:23.359 --> 00:30:38.000 The Third Reich in Germany, Stalin's Russia, North Korea today, Rwanda, the tragedy that many of us know that took place. 00:30:38.319 --> 00:30:48.319 And Jesus says this, and what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own, let's say it together, soul. 00:30:50.079 --> 00:30:54.000 Is anything worth more than your soul? 00:30:58.720 --> 00:31:00.640 Any Lord of the Ring fans? 00:31:05.200 --> 00:31:09.759 Anybody tried to be, but just couldn't sit through the whole movie or the book, read the whole book. 00:31:10.000 --> 00:31:10.319 Okay. 00:31:10.799 --> 00:31:13.680 There's a character, and you don't have to know about the movie. 00:31:13.759 --> 00:31:15.279 I'll tell you about this character. 00:31:15.519 --> 00:31:17.200 His name is Gollum. 00:31:19.519 --> 00:31:30.000 Gollum is a character in this movie, in the book, the book that uh uh Tolkien wrote, the series of books called The Lord of the Rings. 00:31:30.319 --> 00:31:40.880 Gollum is a character in the movie that's known for chasing the ring, the ring that would give the ultimate power, the ring that he referred to as My Precious. 00:31:41.359 --> 00:31:42.720 My precious. 00:31:44.559 --> 00:31:54.319 Gollum obtained the ring by killing a relative and it extended, it gave him an extension in his life, it gave him a power. 00:31:54.559 --> 00:32:01.920 But after centuries, the ring's influence twisted his mind and it twisted his body. 00:32:02.240 --> 00:32:08.880 He had a lust for the ring while at the same time he had a desire to be set free from it. 00:32:09.200 --> 00:32:16.720 In the book, Fellowship of the Ring, Tolkien writes, he loved and hated the ring as he loved and hated himself. 00:32:17.039 --> 00:32:21.920 Gollum is a great picture of what happens to a disintegrated soul. 00:32:22.480 --> 00:32:28.240 He might have gotten the thing that he wanted the most, but he was miserable at the same time. 00:32:28.400 --> 00:32:31.680 And the name Gollum is not an accident. 00:32:31.839 --> 00:32:33.680 It's not just a made-up name. 00:32:33.920 --> 00:32:44.960 The word Gollum is a Hebrew word that Tolkien picked intentionally because it literally means body without soul. 00:32:46.400 --> 00:32:54.799 Tolkien wanted us to see the picture of a disintegrated soul, a disjointed soul. 00:32:55.279 --> 00:33:03.759 And we live in a culture today that says push harder, push faster, cut corners, look out for yourself. 00:33:05.200 --> 00:33:12.799 You go after the success that the world defines for you at the expense of your own soul. 00:33:19.599 --> 00:33:21.039 There's no peace. 00:34:04.400 --> 00:34:12.480 But often we are pulled into giving more attention to our outer world than we do the inner world. 00:34:13.280 --> 00:34:16.239 Then we do give our souls. 00:34:16.880 --> 00:34:22.800 The one thing that will be with us forever. 00:34:26.800 --> 00:34:39.360 When alignment is in place, your soul can be at peace when everything else seems to fall apart. 00:34:41.119 --> 00:34:43.679 And some of you know what I'm talking about, don't you? 00:34:46.880 --> 00:34:49.360 You can experience great loss. 00:34:51.039 --> 00:34:54.800 You can experience great pain. 00:34:56.639 --> 00:35:00.159 You can be taken down the path. 00:35:00.639 --> 00:35:05.119 The psalmist caused the valley of the shadow of death. 00:35:09.119 --> 00:35:14.159 But deep in your soul, you know that God's got you. 00:35:25.119 --> 00:35:35.679 Jesus said, Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens. 00:35:36.880 --> 00:35:39.039 And I will give you rest. 00:35:40.559 --> 00:35:43.280 Take my yoke upon you. 00:35:44.159 --> 00:35:55.280 Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your soul. 00:35:59.440 --> 00:36:10.000 And so maybe, hopefully, you have a bit of a picture of what a soul is? 00:36:15.440 --> 00:36:16.719 We need rest. 00:36:18.320 --> 00:36:22.239 We need healing and we need redemption. 00:36:23.599 --> 00:36:32.719 We need to be set free from disintegration and unhealthy living and patterns. 00:36:33.599 --> 00:36:39.119 So the question is: what kind of soul have you been constructing? 00:36:39.599 --> 00:36:45.280 What kind of soul have you been keeping and taking care of? 00:36:46.559 --> 00:36:53.599 Have you dismissed yourself from the responsibility and the stewardship of your soul? 00:36:54.239 --> 00:37:00.079 And it is cluttered, it is muddy, and it is unhealthy. 00:37:04.079 --> 00:37:08.480 Jesus says, Come to me. 00:37:10.320 --> 00:37:11.280 Come to me. 00:37:11.519 --> 00:37:29.119 All of you who are disintegrated, all of you that have unhealthy souls, all of you that have that are double-minded, all of you that have that have bought in to what the world, what the enemy, what our culture says is the way of life as it should be. 00:37:29.440 --> 00:37:40.400 You come to Jesus and you begin to eliminate the things that are unhealthy for your soul. 00:37:40.880 --> 00:37:50.400 You ruthlessly eliminate the imposed busy hurriedness disease in our culture. 00:37:50.960 --> 00:37:56.320 And I will take you, and I will give you rest. 00:37:57.280 --> 00:38:01.679 I am humble and I am gentle and I am lowly in heart. 00:38:01.840 --> 00:38:06.239 And when you come to me, you'll find rest for your souls. 00:38:06.400 --> 00:38:10.400 And so we need to be anchored to something. 00:38:17.920 --> 00:38:39.280 In the Midwest, in the Midwest, the farmers would be known to attach a rope from to their back door, from their back door to their barn in the winter. 00:38:40.320 --> 00:38:41.519 Why would they do that? 00:38:41.679 --> 00:38:43.840 What's coming in the winter? 00:38:44.079 --> 00:38:45.440 What's coming in the winter? 00:38:45.519 --> 00:38:46.800 It's the blizzards. 00:38:47.039 --> 00:38:49.760 It's the danger of a storm. 00:38:50.480 --> 00:38:53.199 And a blizzard can happen in an instant. 00:38:53.440 --> 00:38:55.760 A blizzard can happen in a moment. 00:38:56.559 --> 00:39:08.159 It's been known where a farmer leaves his back door during the blizzard and never shows back up at the house. 00:39:08.400 --> 00:39:16.480 And when the blizzard is over, he'll be found just 20 feet from his back door, having died. 00:39:17.440 --> 00:39:20.880 Because he can't see one foot in front of his face. 00:39:21.119 --> 00:39:27.840 And so the farmer would tie a rope from the back door of his house to the front of the barn. 00:39:28.000 --> 00:39:28.239 Why? 00:39:28.400 --> 00:39:30.079 Because work has to get done. 00:39:30.239 --> 00:39:31.840 The animals have to be fed. 00:39:32.079 --> 00:39:34.320 Things have to be done in life. 00:39:34.559 --> 00:39:36.079 And so what would he do? 00:39:36.159 --> 00:39:43.519 Is he would follow the path of the rope from his house to the barn. 00:39:43.760 --> 00:39:49.599 He can't see five feet in front of his face, five inches in front of his face. 00:39:49.920 --> 00:39:55.280 But if he holds on to that rope, he will not lose his way. 00:39:57.679 --> 00:40:14.880 And so we all need something that we can be anchored to when this world imposes upon us a blizzard of an unhealthy taste. 00:40:25.599 --> 00:40:27.519 We need to get rid of phones. 00:40:30.480 --> 00:40:31.679 That's usually me. 00:40:38.639 --> 00:40:40.559 The anchor is Jesus. 00:40:47.679 --> 00:40:50.079 So the question is: would you be willing? 00:40:50.880 --> 00:41:02.719 Would you be willing to let go of the things that are weighing you down, the pace of life imposed upon you, and grab a hold of Jesus. 00:41:02.880 --> 00:41:03.920 Come to Jesus. 00:41:04.159 --> 00:41:05.760