Sermon Tone Analysis

Soul Care!

If you’ve seen the Lord of the Rings trilogy, you probably remember one of the last scenes:

Frodo has to go through Mordor to destroy the "ring to rule them all."

When he gets inside the heart of the volcano, standing on the appropriately named "crack of doom," he is captured by the allure of the ring again.

Just at the point where he has a chance to destroy the ring, he cannot let it go.

Suddenly Gollum jumps on him, a fight ensues, the ring flies into the air and Gollum falls into the abyss of the flames, unwilling to let go of the ring even though it means his own destruction.

The ring has possessed him.

His “precious” had gained control of his soul.

It demanded all of him; it became his idol He finally gained his “whole world” but lost “his soul”!(Mark 8:36-37).

The soul is YOU in ESSENCE!

I.

If we take care of our souls, we take care of our lives!

When God created man in the garden we read, "The LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul."

The Hebrew term nephesh in the Old Testament and the Greek psuche in the New Testament are sometimes translated “soul,” but they both mean “life, person.”

In Isaiah 5:14 the word nephesh is translated “appetite,” but it really means “throat” (see also Ps. 107:9, where “the thirsty” is literally “the dried-out throat” (nephesh).

The throat is also the instrument of breathing (Jer.

15:9).

So nephesh expresses the idea of life and desire, in this case for food and water.

The other uses of “soul” appear to be derived from this more concrete one.

This is expressed clearly in Psalm 63: O God, You are my God; Early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You In a dry and thirsty land Where there is no water.

So I have looked for You in the sanctuary, to see Your power and Your glory.

You're a soul made by God, made for God, and made to need God, which means you were not made to be self-sufficient or seek to satisfy your life without God – Psalm 42:1,2 “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God.

My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.

When can I go and meet with God?

To neglect God is to neglect the soul!

And to neglect God is foolish!

“The fool has said in his heart, there is no God” Why so foolish?

Because, whether you chose to neglect God or not, yor soul depends on God!

This is why Jesus said, “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body… Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell."

Gordon MacDonald said that in a sense we have two worlds to manage:

an outer world of career and possessions and social networks; and an inner world that is more spiritual in nature, where values are selected and character is formed — a place where worship and confession and humility can be practiced.

Because our outer worlds are visible and measurable and expandable they are easier to deal with.

They demand our attention.

“The result is that our private world is often cheated, neglected because it does not shout quite so loudly.

It can be effectively ignored for large periods of time before it gives way to a sinkhole-like cave-in.”

The psalmist says that the person who can live in God’s presence is the one who has not lifted their soul up to an idol (Psalm 24).

When my soul is not centered in God, when I define myself by my accomplishments, my riches or by my physical appearance, or my role in life or my important friends, I forget that my true identity in Jesus.

This is why Jesus warns us: “What shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world, but loses His soul.

What can a man give in exchange for His soul?”(Matthew 16:26).

Think of people who have GAINED everything that the WORLD has to offer but are LOST SOULS!

People who have poured all their energy into gaining power, money, status symbols, etc but neglect their souls!

Dallas Willard said: "What is running your life at any given moment is your soul.

Not external circumstances, not your thoughts, not your intentions, not even your feelings, but your soul.

The soul is that aspect of your whole being that correlates, integrates, and enlivens everything going on in the various dimensions of the self.

The soul is the life center of human beings."

Your soul is what integrates your will, your mind, thoughts and feelings; your values, your conscience, and your body into a single life.

When there is harmony between your will, your mind, thoughts and feelings; your values, your conscience, and your body then you are living the life God intended you to live!

You are a WHOLE person!

You are happy in God, connected to Him and other people in life.

That's a healthy soul.

Sin always causes the disintegration of the soul.

The Apostle Paul says: "People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—having a form of godliness but denying its power."(Romans 1)

Sin robs us of wholeness.

Sin is the great enemy of the soul.

Think about it!

However happy or prosperous I may appear on the outside is undermined by selfish desires; judgmental thoughts, etc, When I am angry or resentful or bitter on the inside it works its way out in terms of agitation; complaining; resentments.

So Peter appeals, "Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul."(1

Pet 2:11)

If sin is dominating my life, my soul is UNHEALTHY and I am not happy nor satisfied!

Sin is damaging my soul!

On the other hand if I can say: "Bless the LORD, O my soul and all that is within me, bless his holy name."

Then my soul is connected and in harmony with the God who created it for himself!

So my soul cries out to Him!

“The elder, To my dear friend Gaius, whom I love in the truth.

Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.”

(3 John 1,2).

II.

We need to KEEP our souls Healthy!

Are YOU watching out for your soul?

Is your soul “well”?

How healthy is your soul today?

It is the job of Church leaders to “watch out for your souls”(Hebrews 13:17) - “Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account.”

What a fascinating phrase “watch out for your souls” !

Church leaders are not simply interested in your lives – how healthy and wealthy you are.

It’s your SOUL that MATTERS MOST!

Watch out for your souls!

If the soul is not centred in God then it is restless!

Tired.

FATIGUED!! - “One of the challenges of soul-fatigue is that it does not have the same obvious signs as physical fatigue.

If you’ve run a marathon, your body lets you know it’s finished.

Our souls were not made to run on empty.

But the soul doesn’t come with a gauge.

The indicators of soul-fatigue are more subtle - Things seem to bother you more than they should.

It’s hard to make your mind up about even simple decisions.

Impulses to eat or drink or spend or crave will be harder to resist than they otherwise would.

You are more likely to favour short-term gains in ways that will leave you with long-term costs.

Your judgment suffers.

You have less courage.”

(John Ortberg “soul keeping”)

Ortberg says:

“There is a kind of fatigue that attacks the body.”

- This may arise from not enough sleep; not taking care of our diet; fitness levels or overwork.

“There is a kind of fatigue that attacks the mind.”

– This can arise from the massive information overload through work; exposure to the news media or social media.

The incessant busyness that calls forth To-Do lists; worry and anxiety!

This is what Martha experienced when she was “worried about many things” and needed to be reminded that “one thing was needful”, to “sit” at the feet of Jesus!

“There is a kind of fatigue that attacks the will.”

– This can come when we have so many decisions to make but find ourselves overwhelmed by indecision.

This is maximised if those decisions involve others for whom we feel responsible!

So once the body, mind and will are under attack in this way, soul-fatigue sets in: “these categories of fatigue…combine to make us feel separated from God, separated from ourselves, and distanced from what we love most about life and creation.

This is soul-fatigue.”