The Heavy Soul

(S1) —

Sick and tired of snow!

“10 minutes of heavy shoveling can push the heart to about 97% of its maximum rate. Over 45...especially those over 65...what can you do to reduce your risk of heart attack when shoveling snow?

(S2) — What winter should be!

Its easy to think we can handle the weight of this world and end up not physically crushed, but crushed with the weight of the world in our souls.

SERIES—SOUL DETOX—BOOK (C. G.)—’The Restless Soul...

(S3) — Theme/Key thought

WE ARE NOT A BODY WITH A SOUL.

WE ARE A SOUL WITH A BODY.

The difference in those two thoughts, it's really very, very important— our bodies are really a house, a temporary dwelling for who we are. When our bodies die we don't die, we continue to live eternally.

2 Corinthians 5:1 “For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands.”

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The need for a physical detox (bodies)...but I believe most of us neglect caring for our souls...

A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE SMILING ON THE OUTSIDE, BUT HEAVY ON THE INSIDE

U.S. Depression Rate, Historically High—10% in 2015 to over 18% in 2025)—low-grade constant depression, not deep clinical...Under the age of 30, doubling from 13.0% in 2017 to 26.7% in 2025.

We have so much... yet there is a longing that weighs us down. So many are feeling a HEAVINESS of the soul

NOTHINGS REALLY WRONG—BUT SOMETHING IS JUST NOT RIGHT

— Soul dissatisfaction...lack of hope, faith...and optimism...

(S4) — (42:5a)

NOTHING NEW UNDER THE SUN (David)

{Psalm 42:1-5a}

At the heart of it all is this question to himself...why are you so discouraged, dejected, downcast, upset, worried...disturbed, in such despair—why are you so heavy, Oh my soul?

(S5) —

Eeyore’s Gloomy Place

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WHY DO SO MANY PEOPLE LIVE WITH A HEAVINESS OF THE SOUL?

Three main reasons...they have heavy souls because of...

(S6)

I. HEAVY WITH HURTS FROM THE PAST

— the weight of unforgiveness can be overwhelming

You ever notice how easy it is to hold onto hurt? We carry it around like some sort of security blanket, thinking it’ll protect us from getting hurt again. But in reality, it’s more like a chain that keeps us bound, weighed down by the past.  Forgiveness isn’t about forgetting the wrongs done to us — it’s about healing the wounds those wrongs created (1)

Jeremiah illustrated this well...as he reflected on the pain from the past

(S7) —{Lamentations 3:19-20}

...I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me.

Someone is dealing with a PRESENT heaviness based on a PAST hurt

— friend lied to you or let you down, spouse betrayed you, lost job unfairly, hurt by someone, made a bad decision, missed opportunity— even felt God let you down...unable to forgive?

Story of Tom (1)

How we process pain from the past?

It wasn’t God who brought pain and hurt into the world and your life?

Confess and receive His Forgiveness

Invite Jesus into the place where the heaviness was

Are you weighed down with a PRESENT heaviness because of a PAST hurt? — Be honest...

(S8) — {1 Peter 2:24}

Carrying the weight of a hurt from the past? God wants to heal you; LIFT the HEAVENISS from your soul...

WHY DO SO MANY PEOPLE LIVE WITH A HEAVINESS OF THE SOUL?

(S9)

II. HEAVY WITH TROUBLE IN THE PRESENT.

{Job 4:1-5}

Something going on right now!

— My be something you didn’t see coming. It wasn’t on your 5 year plan.

— it may be a CONSTANT DISSATISFACTION; didn’t think life turn out this way, stuck marriage, job, financially, not where I thought I would be at this age

How many have something that is giving you a heaviness in the soul right now?

Proverbs 4:25 “Look straight ahead, and fix your eyes on what lies before you.”

Hebrews 12:2 “We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.

Not just a spiritual detox but a detox from the troubles in the world...

2. Do something for someone else who is heavy with trouble in the present

WHY DO SO MANY PEOPLE LIVE WITH A HEAVINESS OF THE SOUL?

(S10)

III. HEAVY WITH ANXIETY ABOUT THE FUTURE.

The sky is falling...how are we going to make it...what if...how am i going to raise my kids/grandchildren...what if...money runs out...car breaks down

Debt/Good Place/Staying Healthy

Church Budget/Burden of treasure/finance

Losing our Freedom

When Jesus looked ahead to the pain he would endure...the anguish of his soul

…(Jesus) began to be deeply distressed and troubled. 34 "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death…" {Mark 14:33-34}

(NLT) crushed with grief...about what was coming

Anxiety about the future can cause us to give up or give in—JUST THE WAY IT IS— nothing is really really wrong but SOMEHTING IS JUST NOT RIGHT. You live with this CONSTANT FEAR, That a shoe is going to drop...

— Every way you turn—past, present, future—something weighing you down.

YOU DON’T HAVE TO LIVE THAT WAY! But you do have to address it!

Rotator Cuff/Pain/Surgery/amazing

David address his HEAVY SOUL by PREACHING TO HIS SOUL. Having learned some things about God and his need to trust Him, he ask and answers his own question...

(S11)

Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. Ps. 42:5b

David preaches to his soul...when someone is dying, the best thing I can do for them is to help them give Jesus their heavy soul...

Man on his death bed

Don’t wait till your dying! Preach to your soul...

Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.”

Heavy with...hurt from the past...trouble in the present...anxiety about the future

TELL YOUR SOUL TO...

I. REMEMBER GOD’S FAITHFULNESS IN THE PAST.

(S12)

I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lam 3:19-23

Since the beginning the human soul has had a tendency towards FORGETFULNESS. Its why God often pointed his past faihtfulness

Joshua 1:13 ““Remember...The Lord your God is giving you a place of rest. He has given you this land.’”

Psalm 77:11 “I recall all you have done, O Lord; I remember your wonderful deeds of long ago.”

Psalm 78:35 “They remembered that God was their rock, that God Most High was their redeemer.”

We have a choice to look back and think about the bad...or remember God’s faithfulness!

Remember, if your hurting....remember, if you are struggling...remember, if your weighted with worry

— Answered your prayer/Provided for you/Read a verse or heard a song /Message just for you

You can look back and see all the bad; all the reasons to have a heaviness of soul...or you can look back and remember...God’s faithfulness in the past

— “Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again— my Savior and my God!”

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When you have a heaviness of soul...

II. CRY OUT TO GOD IN THE PRESENT.

David did this hiding in a cave on the run from Saul

(S13,14) — {Psalm 142:2, 5-6}

Be honest...don’t hold back...God can handle your honesty

1 Peter 5:7 “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.”

Cry out to God from the Depths of your soul. Cast your cares on him!

Facing the Giants/Prayer Scene/{Psalm 18:2}

— “Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again— my Savior and my God!”

When you have a heaviness of soul...

III. TRUST IN GOD’S POWER FOR YOUR FUTURE.

Hezekiah, king of Judah said,

(S15)

7 "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged because of the king of Assyria and the vast army with him, for there is a greater power with us than with him. 8 With him is only the arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles." 2 Chron 32:7-8

THEY JUST HAVE WHAT THEY HAVE...BUT WE HAVE GOD!

Romans 8:11 “The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.”

Trust God’s power IN YOU, for your future! No matter what I will trust and praise Him

“Praise the Lord Situation”

if your a beleiver, remind your soul—Greater is he who is in me...same power that raised Jesus from the dead is living in me. My God is for me—who can be against me.

TRUST IN GOD’S POWER FOR YOUR FUTURE.

“Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad?

WHY DO SO MANY PEOPLE LIVE WITH A HEAVINESS OF THE SOUL?

I. HEAVY WITH HURTS FROM THE PAST

II. HEAVY WITH TROUBLE IN THE PRESENT.

III. HEAVY WITH ANXIETY ABOUT THE FUTURE.

Good News—We don’t have to live that way...

(S16)

REMEMBER...CRY OUT...TRUST...

Remember His FAITHFULNESS in the past—Cry out TO GOD in the present—Trust in GOD’S POWER for the future.

“Although the world is full of suffering, it’s also full of overcoming it.” Helen Keller

You don’t have to live with a heaviness in your soul when you know the one who forgives you of the past...wants to walk with you today...holds you tomorrow.

Why so downcast o my soul...David gives us the answer...preaches to himself

(S17)

— last week...be still before God...right now be still before God

(Song) Great is thy faithfulness

PRAY

Resources

By Tony Martin, Editor of The Baptist Record