SOUL - Is It Well? (2) - Logos Sermons

Ill: One night when Dieter was in his late forties, he began to shake violently. He suffered a massive stroke in the left hemisphere of his brain. When he awoke six days later, he was no longer able to communicate as he had; he had to learn to say his wife’s name, to say his sons’ names. He could no longer use his right hand and therefore he could no longer lead worship. The music and words that flowed out of him were now mostly trapped in his brain. He used to work on a stage, before thousands of people who applauded his every move. Now he works in a windowless room in the back of a Trader Joe’s grocery store. He breaks down boxes. When fruit is bruised, if a pear falls on the floor — when any product is no longer regarded as perfect, it is brought to Dieter. From him it will go to feed the hungry, who do not care if their apple is lopsided. Dieter once wrote in a letter: It is good that I work there. I am like that fruit. I am imperfect. Inside I am the same person, the same sense of humor, the same thoughts. But my words betray me. What should take three minutes to say is an hour of frustration. People lose patience with me. Aphasia means aloneness. But God hears me. My world is small, and quiet, and slow and simple. No stage. No performance. More real. Good. A year or so after Dieter’s stroke, he and his wife, Val, visited Nancy and me. He used a small whiteboard to help him communicate. Toward the end of our time together, he began to write a Bible verse. I knew which one it would be even before he scribbled it on the board: : “When you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” Then below that verse, Dieter wrote: “Good.” “Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say, ‘It is well, it is well with my soul.’ ”

I’m not sure I would be OK. I’m not sure I could say, “It is well with my soul.” I have tears from my soul turning the wrong way. I have holes that circumstances and my sinfulness have punched through my soul.

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. - Dallas Willard

My soul is made up of my WILL - choices / my MIND - thoughts / my BODY - appetites. An unhealthy soul is DISORGANIZED & DISCONNECTED.

I have a hard time satisfying my soul. My natural drift is to focus on the outside and neglect the inside. To devalue the most important part of me and value things that really don’t matter. I have a vacuum that needs to be filled. Most times a feel it with things that do not satisfy my soul.

At a time in my life when my soul was screaming at me, “I’m dying.” I read these words...

“What matters is not the accomplishments you achieve; what matters is the person you become.” - Dallas Willard

We: Rejection causes our souls to be sick. We are tired. Life is difficult and demanding. Marriage, work, relationships - when is this going to end? Is there a finish line? This leads to a life of exhausted and overwhelmed.

Ortberg, John. Soul Keeping: Caring For the Most Important Part of You (p. 49). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.

Ortberg, John. Soul Keeping: Caring For the Most Important Part of You (p. 39). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.

We are tired. Life is difficult and demanding. Marriage, work, relationships - when is this going to end? Is there a finish line? This leads to a life of exhausted and overwhelmed.

Life equals loss. Grief, job and dreams. We are exposed to injustice and sin… this drains us. Looking around the world and trying to understand it all at the pace we run is not good for our souls.

Our souls crave rest & they are crying out.

We don’t no how to get it. It seems like no one is equipped to deal with our struggling souls. BTW no one should take more responsibly for your soul than you do. The kinds of rest our souls need only God can give.

God: This is not a new problem -

Psalm 142:4 ESV

4 Look to the right and see: there is none who takes notice of me; no refuge remains to me; no one cares for my soul.

Ex: NO ONE CARES

Psalms

Psalm 62:1 ESV

1 For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation.

Ex: GOD ALONE

Trans: A satisfied soul is a RESTORED SOUL, a SOUL IN RHYTHM So, a NON-RESISTANT SOUL - let’s make three repairs to the tears in our souls.

Jesus had more demands on him than anyone… He saw people that were helpless and hopeless. It was in this context that Jesus gives us a way to have SOUL SATISFACTION.

Matthew 11:28 NLT

28 Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.

Matt

Matthew 11:28–30 The Message

28 “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. 29 Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. 30 Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

1. A SOUL RESTORED

Our souls are restored through salvation.

11:28 Come. To come means to believe (); to receive (); to eat (); to drink (); to look (); to confess (); to hear (, ); to enter a door (); to open a door (); to touch the hem of His garment (, ); and to accept the gift of eternal life through Christ our Lord ().

Ex: 11:28 Come. To come means to believe (); to receive (); to eat (); to drink (); to look (); to confess (); to hear (, ); to enter a door (); to open a door (); to touch the hem of His garment (, ); and to accept the gift of eternal life through Christ our Lord ().

At BCC we are called to be a movement of God. God desires for us to move others to Him. That is why we want to build people not building. PROJECT 6/4, is a vision to plant 6 churches in 4 years (April 2018 – April 2022) in communities west of BCC on Hwy 64.

to Me. The object of faith is not a church, a creed, or a clergyman, but the living Christ. Salvation is in a Person. Those who have Jesus are as saved as God can make them.

These churches would be a network of like-minded, community churches moving people into a more dynamic relationship with Jesus Christ. The benefit of a network is that we can reach more communities without having to reproduce the entire church. We feel this is the most efficient and cost effective way to accomplish our mission to move people into a more dynamic relationship with Jesus Christ.

all you who labor and are heavy laden. In order to truly come to Jesus, a person must admit that he is burdened with the weight of sin. Only those who acknowledge they are lost can be saved. Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is preceded by repentance toward God.

PROJECT 6/4 is not a vision to be a bigger church. It’s more about impact and reach. We believe that the local church is the hope of the world and that communities at their worst deserve a church at its best. Our desire is to make this movement of God more local and accessible to people throughout our region and have a greater impact in Western North Carolina.

and I will give you rest. Notice that rest here is a gift; it is unearned and unmerited. This is the rest of salvation that comes from realizing that Christ finished the work of redemption on Calvary’s cross. It is the rest of conscience that follows the realization that the penalty of one’s sins has been paid once for all and that God will not demand payment twice.

Ex: BURNED OUT ON RELIGION

We know this effort will require countless volunteers and the financial sacrifice multiple people. But as a church, we will give up things we love, for things we love most.

Ex: BURNED OUT ON RELIGION

William MacDonald, Believer’s Bible Commentary: Old and New Testaments, ed. Arthur Farstad (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1995), 1246.

Indicators That Your Soul Needs Restored

Fearful

Irritable

Decisions

Temptation

Judgement

Courage

Matthew 11:29–30 NLT

29 Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”

Matthew 11:

Matthew 11:29 NLT

29 Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

The Soul Rest In Service

Our souls are restored through service.

The Soul Rest In Service

Ex: 11:29 In verses 29 and 30, the invitation changes from salvation to service.

Take My yoke upon you. This means to enter into submission to His will, to turn over control of one’s life to Him (, ).

and learn from Me. As we acknowledge His lordship in every area of our lives, He trains us in His ways.

for I am gentle and lowly in heart. In contrast to the Pharisees who were harsh and proud, the true Teacher is meek and lowly. Those who take His yoke will learn to take the lowest place.

and you will find rest for your souls. Here it is not the rest of conscience but the rest of heart that is found by taking the lowest place before God and man. It is also the rest that one experiences in the service of Christ when he stops trying to be great.

Believer’s Bible Commentary C. The Savior’s Reaction to Rejection (11:25–30)

11:30 “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Again there is a striking contrast with the Pharisees. Jesus said of them, “For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers” (Matt. 23:4). Jesus’ yoke is easy; it does not chafe. Someone has suggested that if Jesus had had a sign outside His carpenter’s shop, it would have read, “My yokes fit well.”

His burden is light. This does not mean that there are no problems, trials, labor, or heartaches in the Christian life. But it does mean that we do not have to bear them alone. We are yoked with One who gives sufficient grace for every time of need. To serve Him is not bondage but perfect freedom. J. H. Jowett says:

The fatal mistake for the believer is to seek to bear life’s load in a single collar. God never intended a man to carry his burden alone. Christ therefore deals only in yokes! A yoke is a neck harness for two, and the Lord himself pleads to be One of the two. He wants to share the labor of any galling task. The secret of peace and victory in the Christian life is found in putting off the taxing collar of “self” and accepting the Master’s relaxing “yoke.”

Believer’s Bible Commentary C. The Savior’s Reaction to Rejection (11:25–30)

11:30 “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Again there is a striking contrast with the Pharisees. Jesus said of them, “For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers” (Matt. 23:4). Jesus’ yoke is easy; it does not chafe. Someone has suggested that if Jesus had had a sign outside His carpenter’s shop, it would have read, “My yokes fit well.”

His burden is light. This does not mean that there are no problems, trials, labor, or heartaches in the Christian life. But it does mean that we do not have to bear them alone. We are yoked with One who gives sufficient grace for every time of need. To serve Him is not bondage but perfect freedom. J. H. Jowett says:

The fatal mistake for the believer is to seek to bear life’s load in a single collar. God never intended a man to carry his burden alone. Christ therefore deals only in yokes! A yoke is a neck harness for two, and the Lord himself pleads to be One of the two. He wants to share the labor of any galling task. The secret of peace and victory in the Christian life is found in putting off the taxing collar of “self” and accepting the Master’s relaxing “yoke.”

Believer’s Bible Commentary C. The Savior’s Reaction to Rejection (11:25–30)

11:30 “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Again there is a striking contrast with the Pharisees. Jesus said of them, “For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers” (Matt. 23:4). Jesus’ yoke is easy; it does not chafe. Someone has suggested that if Jesus had had a sign outside His carpenter’s shop, it would have read, “My yokes fit well.”

His burden is light. This does not mean that there are no problems, trials, labor, or heartaches in the Christian life. But it does mean that we do not have to bear them alone. We are yoked with One who gives sufficient grace for every time of need. To serve Him is not bondage but perfect freedom. J. H. Jowett says:

11:30 “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Again there is a striking contrast with the Pharisees. Jesus said of them, “For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers” (). Jesus’ yoke is easy; it does not chafe. Someone has suggested that if Jesus had had a sign outside His carpenter’s shop, it would have read, “My yokes fit well.”

His burden is light. This does not mean that there are no problems, trials, labor, or heartaches in the Christian life. But it does mean that we do not have to bear them alone. We are yoked with One who gives sufficient grace for every time of need. To serve Him is not bondage but perfect freedom.

Believer’s Bible Commentary C. The Savior’s Reaction to Rejection (11:25–30)

The fatal mistake for the believer is to seek to bear life’s load in a single collar. God never intended a man to carry his burden alone. Christ therefore deals only in yokes! A yoke is a neck harness for two, and the Lord himself pleads to be One of the two. He wants to share the labor of any galling task. The secret of peace and victory in the Christian life is found in putting off the taxing collar of “self” and accepting the Master’s relaxing “yoke.”

The soul was not made for an easy life. The soul was made for an easy yoke.

The Bible uses the word easy once. It’s right here in v.30

William MacDonald, Believer’s Bible Commentary: Old and New Testaments, ed. Arthur Farstad (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1995), 1246.

If you aim at easy circumstances your life will be difficult. If you aim at having an easy yoke it is good for your soul. God never promised us an easy life but he did promise an easy yoke.

In the Bible God never gives anyone an easy job.

God never comes to Abraham, or Moses, or Esther and says, “I’d like you to do me a favor, but it really shouldn’t take much time. I wouldn’t want to inconvenience you.” God does not recruit like someone from the PTA. He is always intrusive, demanding, exhausting. He says we should expect that the world will be hard, and that our assignments will be hard.

Trans: A satisfied soul is a RESTORED SOUL, a RHYTMED Soul, a NON-RESISTANT SOUL - let’s make three repairs to the tears in our souls.

2. A SOUL IN RHYTHM

Matthew 11:

Matthew 11:28–30 The Message

28 “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. 29 Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. 30 Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

Ortberg, John. Soul Keeping: Caring For the Most Important Part of You (p. 126). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.

LEARN THE UNFORCED RHYTHMS OF GRACE

Ill: Psychiatrist Frank Lake - Discovered that people serving causes soon became bitter, cynical and discouraged… When they looked at Jesus life - He never got sarcastic or cynical or unloving or burnt out. No one took away his joy. They noticed a pattern to Jesus life that was opposite. Jesus lived in greater demands but had a divine rhythm where grace constantly flowed into him and flowed out of him.

What are the rhythms of grace?

ACCEPTANCE

Ex: Jesus was accepted by His Father.

Matthew 3:17 NLT

17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.”

DEARLY LOVED GREAT JOY

Jesus experience God’s acceptance. No one experienced rejection more than Jesus. What empowered Him to live life?

God’s acceptance is greater than any human rejection.

Our souls are torn because we are trying to win the acceptance of people. This will exhaust you. It will throw the soul out of rhythm.

Romans 8:1 NLT

1 So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.

NO CONDEMNATION

God treated Jesus as Mark so He could treat Mark as Jesus. IOW - I accept Mark. God says that He accepts me. The one who knows me best loves me most. When that transfers from head to heart your soul begins to repair...

SUSTENANCE

How do you sustain your soul? Jesus was with people that rejected Him...

Spiritual Habits (DISCOVER)

Prayer

Group

Gave

Scripture

Solitude

Kids

Sinners

Proverbs 11:25 NLT

25 The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.

When I don’t sustain my soul I’m out of rhythm. I’m irritable, discouraged. My relationships are damaged. A hurried soul is out of rhythm.

SIGNIFICANCE

How? We know who we are and why we are here. (Highlight SIGN in significance) We are a SIGN that points people to Jesus.

Jesus I AM statements

We are to have a soul that points people to God -

Matthew 5:13 NLT

13 “You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless.

Matthew 5:14 NLT

14 “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden.

When we are who God created us to be we find SIGNIFICANCE = soul repair.

ACHIEVEMENT

When our souls are in the right rhythm - we are accepted, we sustain and are significant that propels us to achieving great things.

Jesus - is the greatest achiever that has ever lived. He launched the greatest movement ever.

Jesus COME - I’ll teach you the unforced rhythms of grace, acceptance, sustenance, significance and achievements.

Trans: A satisfied soul is a RESTORED SOUL, a SOUL IN RHYTHM So, a NON-RESISTANT SOUL - let’s make three repairs to the tears in our souls.

3. NON-RESISTANT SOUL

Acts 9:5 NKJV

5 And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” Then the Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.”

Acts 9:5–6 NKJV

5 And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” Then the Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” 6 So he, trembling and astonished, said, “Lord, what do You want me to do?” Then the Lord said to him, “Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

Ex: Paul’s story - going against the grain.

Acts 9:5 NLT

5 “Who are you, lord?” Saul asked. And the voice replied, “I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting!

(Insert cycle pic here)

Like Paul we get it backwards - ACHIEVEMENT, SIGNIFICANT, SUSTAIN, ACCEPTANCE

Conc:

Jesus wants to walk and work with you in the UNFORCED RHYTHM OF GRACE. It will be well with your soul! Is your soul satisfied or sick?

Ill:

William MacDonald, Believer’s Bible Commentary: Old and New Testaments, ed. Arthur Farstad (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1995), 1246–1247.

I come home from a party. When we pull into the driveway, my wife puts her hand on my arm and says gently, “I noticed when we were with other people today, you didn’t look them in the eye very much. People love it when you look at them; it’s what made me begin to love you in the first place. I think you should work at it.” My first thought is: who died and made you body language queen? I am Swedish, my people are Swedish — we never look anyone in the eyes. Not even the eye doctor. I withdraw from her. I lean more toward my side of the car. I get quiet, polite, distant. You learn, when you are married, how to send signals that will register deep in the soul yet are subtle enough to offer plausible deniability. Then I think of how I told God I would like to be in training to love people better. I think of how I want to be remembered when I reach the end of my life. I would like to have looked deeply into many eyes; to connect deeply with many souls; to have people know that I noticed them and cared about them and actually loved them. Something in my heart turns and melts a little. And I say to my wife, “Thank you for telling me that. Thank you for having the courage to love me that much.” And somewhere in the universe something heals — and that something is a tiny little tear in my soul.

“What matters is not the accomplishments you achieve; what matters is the person you become.” - Dallas Willard

Ortberg, John. Soul Keeping: Caring For the Most Important Part of You (pp. 53-54). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.

Ill: One night when Dieter was in his late forties, he began to shake violently. He suffered a massive stroke in the left hemisphere of his brain. When he awoke six days later, he was no longer able to communicate as he had; he had to learn to say his wife’s name, to say his sons’ names. He could no longer use his right hand and therefore he could no longer lead worship. The music and words that flowed out of him were now mostly trapped in his brain. He used to work on a stage, before thousands of people who applauded his every move. Now he works in a windowless room in the back of a Trader Joe’s grocery store. He breaks down boxes. When fruit is bruised, if a pear falls on the floor — when any product is no longer regarded as perfect, it is brought to Dieter. From him it will go to feed the hungry, who do not care if their apple is lopsided. Dieter once wrote in a letter: It is good that I work there. I am like that fruit. I am imperfect. Inside I am the same person, the same sense of humor, the same thoughts. But my words betray me. What should take three minutes to say is an hour of frustration. People lose patience with me. Aphasia means aloneness. But God hears me. My world is small, and quiet, and slow and simple. No stage. No performance. More real. Good. A year or so after Dieter’s stroke, he and his wife, Val, visited Nancy and me. He used a small whiteboard to help him communicate. Toward the end of our time together, he began to write a Bible verse. I knew which one it would be even before he scribbled it on the board: : “When you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” Then below that verse, Dieter wrote: “Good.” “Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say, ‘It is well, it is well with my soul.’ ”

Ortberg, John. Soul Keeping: Caring For the Most Important Part of You (p. 48). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.

Ortberg, John. Soul Keeping: Caring For the Most Important Part of You (pp. 186-187). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.

Ortberg, John. Soul Keeping: Caring For the Most Important Part of You (p. 53). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.

Ortberg, John. Soul Keeping: Caring For the Most Important Part of You (p. 187). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.

SOUL - Is It Well? (2)

Intro: (Me) VIDEO