THE WHOLE SOUL IV

THE WHOLE SOUL IV

“Emotional Health”

Psalm 23:1-6

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He

leads me beside the still waters. 3 He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of

righteousness For His name’s sake. 4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of

death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. 5 You

prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup

runs over. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in

the house of the LORD Forever.

1 Thessalonians 5:23

Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul,

and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Spirit - God Consciousness

Body - World Consciousness

Soul - (Emotions, mind and will) Bridge the Two

I. THE IMPORTANCE OF THE SOUL TO JESUS

Luke 4:18

“The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel

to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the

captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed;

Proverbs 4:23

Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.

Psalm 42:5-6

Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in

God, for I shall yet praise Him For the help of His countenance. O my God, my soul is

cast down within me; Therefore I will remember You from the land of the Jordan, And

from the heights of Hermon, From the Hill Mizar.

Matthew 22:37

Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your

soul, and with all your mind.

3 John 1:2

Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul

prospers.

II. FEELINGS, THOUGHTS, AND INWARD CONDITION MATTERS

Our feelings are important.

1. It is image of God stuff

Genesis 1:27

So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male

and female He created them.

2. We must learn to express and acknowledge them

When we deny our pain, losses, and feelings year after year, we become less and

less human. We transform slowly into empty shells with smiley faces painted on

them.

3. Eight Categories

a. Anger (fury, hostility, irritability, annoyance)

b. Sadness (grief, self-pity, despair, dejection, loneliness)

c. Fear (anxiety, edginess, nervousness, fright, terror, apprehension)

d. Enjoyment (joy, relief, contentment, delight, thrill, euphoria, ecstasy)

e. Love (acceptance, trust, devotion, adoration)

f. Surprise (shock, amazement, wonder)

g. Disgust (contempt, scorn, aversion, distaste, revulsion)

h. Shame (guilt, remorse, humiliation, embarrassment, chagrin)

III. EIGHT WAYS WE EXPRESS SPIRITUALITY WITH EMOTIONAL BROKENESS

People can substitute spiritual experience for internal wholeness.

1. Using spirituality to ignore our inner issues

2. Ignoring “negative emotions” like anger, sadness, and fear

The Bible is filled with commands to “not be anxious about anything” and “do

not fear” (Philippians 4:6 and Isaiah 41:10).

We are to bring our emotions under the control of the Holy Spirit. We cannot be

controlled by them but at the same time we are not to ignore them. We must

use them as a signpost to hear from God and become more whole.

3. Denying the impact that the past has on the present

We must balance.

2 Corinthians 5:17

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed

away; behold, all things have become new.

Romans 12:1-2

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your

bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable

service. 2  And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the

renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable

and perfect will of God.

The New Birth does not mean that our past will not continue to influence us in

different ways.

Renewing of mind demands we deal with old ways and make them new.

4. Dividing life into “secular” and “sacred” compartments

Church behavior then regular life

5. Doing for God instead of being with God

Mark 3:14

Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send

them out to preach.

6. Spiritualizing away conflict

When you seek to avoid conflict, by all means, please know that some of the

following will happen.

 Say one thing to a person’s face, and then another behind their backs.

 Make promises we have no intention of keeping.

 Blame, attack, give people the silent treatment.

 Become sarcastic.

 Give in because we are afraid of not being liked.

 Tell only half the truth because we cannot bear to hurt a friend’s feelings.

 Say yes when we mean no.

 Avoid, withdraw, and cut off.

 Find an outside person with whom we can share in order to ease our

anxiety.

7. Covering over brokenness, weakness, and failure

We have to put on a facade/face to appear ok.

Psalm 51:17. David trumpeted his weaknesses in a hymn book

2 Corinthians 12:7-10. Paul’s thorn in the flesh

8. Living without limits

The core spiritual issue here relates to our limits and our humanity. We are not

God. We cannot serve everyone in need. We are human. When Paul said, “I can

do all this through him who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:13), the context

was that of learning to be content in all circumstances. The strength he received

from Christ was not the strength to change, deny, or defy his circumstances; it

was the strength to be content in the midst of them, to surrender to God’s loving

will for him (Philippians 4:11–13).

Jesus did not heal every sick person.

Jesus did not raise every dead person.

Jesus did not feed all the hungry beggars.

IV. STEPS TO DEVELOPING EMOTIONAL MATURITY

1. Allow yourself to feel

God Feels:

 “God saw that it was good … very good” (Genesis 1:25, 31).

 “The LORD regretted that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was

grieved” (Genesis 6:6).

 “I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God” (Exodus 20:5).

 “For a long time I have kept silent, I have been quiet and held myself back.

But now, like a woman in childbirth, I cry out, I gasp and pant” (Isaiah 42:14).

 “The fierce anger of the LORD will not turn back until he fully accomplishes

the purposes of his heart” (Jeremiah 30:24).

 “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with kindness”

(Jeremiah 31:3).

 “How can I hand you over, Israel? … My heart is changed within me; all my

compassion is aroused” (Hosea 11:8).

 The problem is that when we neglect our most intense emotions, we are false to

ourselves and close off an open door through which to know God.

2. Resist a false self

a. I am what I do (Performance)

b. I am what I have (Possessions)

c. I am what others think (Popularity)

3. Beware of the fig leaves…Come to God for the skins

Genesis 3:6-7

And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was

pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the

fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did

eat. 7  And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were

naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

Genesis 3:21

Also for Adam and his wife the LORD God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.