Soul Care- Protect

Recap:

Connect

Nourish

Rest

The Scripture:

Matthew 4:1–11 NIV

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: “ ‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’” Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.

Matthew 16:21–23 NIV

From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!” Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”

Mark 1:20–39 NIV

Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him. They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law. Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an impure spirit cried out, “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!” “Be quiet!” said Jesus sternly. “Come out of him!” The impure spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek. The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, “What is this? A new teaching—and with authority! He even gives orders to impure spirits and they obey him.” News about him spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee. As soon as they left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they immediately told Jesus about her. So he went to her, took her hand and helped her up. The fever left her and she began to wait on them. That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. The whole town gathered at the door, and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was. Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. Simon and his companions went to look for him, and when they found him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking for you!” Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.” So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.

John 6:14–15 NIV

After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.” Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.

John 11:1–7 NIV

Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.) So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.” When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days, and then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.”

The Message:

Jesus knew how and when and what to say no to.

When we talk about protecting our souls what we are evaluating are our boundaries, or the lack there of

Boundaries are put in place to guard what is ours, guard rails keep us from plunging off the side of a cliff

We are going to be talking about the ability to say no, but the opposite of no is yes. So, as we evaluate ourselves here this morning it may be more helpful to consider things from the perspective of “what have I been saying yes to” versus “what might I need to say no too”

When was the last time you said no to something? What was it? How did that make you feel? Why did you say no? Was there some kind of benefit experienced in saying no?

What is a 2 year old’s favorite word? NO!

How is it that me move from children who predominately use the word no to adults who always say yes?

We have all been there- Have you ever said yes to something that realized you should have said no to?- We know how that feels- and its not life giving

Again the inverse of this may be true also- that you said no to something you should have said yes to but we‘ll maybe address that briefly at the end

Tell my Tori Mills story

Why is it hard to say no?

Saying no is unloving- by default saying yes is loving

We don’t want to hurt people or their feelings- or let them down

We want people to think well of us

We think if I don’t do it no one else will- or no one else can do it as good as I can

These things are not true

The rhythm of protection is about setting up boundaries- boundaries are good for us- boundaries are intended to guard what is ours- to protect us from harm

These are boundaries around our time, our finances, our emotions and our energy

Proverbs 4:23 NIV

Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.

Healthy boundaries are formed/shaped by a healthy understanding of who we are and what we are created to do.

Jesus knew who he was and the work was to be about

John 6:39–40 NIV

And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”

The Application:

Some need to say no to the bad-

No to alcohol

No to pornography

No to your phone, tablet, computer, TV

For some of us there are just “bad” things in our lives that we have been saying yes to.

The power to say no to these things does not come from ourselves- “Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted”- it is Holy Spirit power

2. Some need to say no to the good-

a. The extracurriculars- sports

b. The trip

c. The job or overtime

d. The position or work that you are doing at church- some kind of ministry

The power to say no to these things does not come from ourselves- it is Holy Spirit power- how did Jesus know to move on from that place in Mark 1 he had been praying

3. We say no to the bad and the good so the we can say yes to that which is aligned with the purpose God has for us- how are those things discerned?

John 5:19 NIV

Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.

a.Let us consider the example that we are settings, people who lack the ability to set healthy boundaries not only potentially harm themselves but those around them

If you don’t understand your God given and directed purpose you’re not going to respect or recognize it in someone else

As parents what are we modeling to our children

Saying no will cost you something

b. Saying yes will cost you something don’t think that saying yes to God is always going to be easy

The yes that results from saying no it’s always going to be easy

Jesus said yes to the cross when He had plenty of opportunity to say no

He knew his purpose- John 6:39-40

John 6:39–40 NIV

And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”

This doesn’t happen without the cross

Can you envision living with such purpose and intention that every yes and no decision is made based on your purpose? Not made based on preference or desire or lack there of- but on God given purpose.