I. THE IMPORTANCE OF EMOTIONS
1. The Trichotomy of Man
1 Thessalonians 5:23
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.
The Spirit gives us God Consciousness; The body Houses World Consciousness and the Soul (Emotions) Bridges the two together.
2. Our Brains prioritize Emotions
a. We are a collection of chemical signals
Everything you see, smell, hear, taste and touch travel through your body in the form of electric signals. These signals pass from cell to cell until they reach your brain.
b. The signals pass through the feeling Center of the Brain first. Electrical Signals enter your brain at the base near the spinal cord but must travel to your frontal lobe (behind your forehead) before reaching the place where rational, logical thinking takes place. They pass the limbic system before reaching the frontal lobe (The Place where emotions are produced). You experience things emotionally before reasoning joins in (you feel before you comprehend)
c. This is automatic
The rational brain cant stops the limbic system but they work together.
II. GOD AND EMOTIONS
1. God is full of Emotions
a. Love
Jeremiah 31:3
3 The Lord has appeared of old to me, saying: “Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with loving kindness, I have drawn you.
b. Compassion
Psalms 103:13
13 As a father pities his children, So the Lord pities those who fear Him.
c. Joy
Isaiah 62:4
4 You shall no longer be termed Forsaken, Nor shall your land any more be termed Desolate; But you shall be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; For the Lord delights in you, And your land shall be married.
d. Anger
Joshua 7:1
But the children of Israel committed a trespass regarding the accursed things, for Achan the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed things; so the anger of the Lord burned against the children of Israel.
2. God made encountering Him the highest expression of our emotions.
Psalm 16:11
11 You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Psalm 36:8
8 They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of your house, And You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures.
3. The Greatest Commandment includes our Emotions
Matthew 22:37
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.
Colossian 3:1
2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
III. THREE REALMS OF EMOTIONAL ATTACK
1. Our Sin (Our Fallen Nature)
Guilt; Shame; Condemnation; Rejection etc.
2. Satan tempts us using Emotions
Genesis 3:1-6
Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; 3 but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ” 4 Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate.
3. Folks
a. Abuse by Authority Figures
b. Manipulation of Relationships
c. Violation of Trust
d. Physical Abuse
IV. SIGNS OF UNHEALTHY EMOTIONS
1. Being stuck in a repetitive cycle
2. Walls afraid to let others in
3. Consistently Unhappy relationships
4. Frequent illnesses
5. A deep sense of unworthiness
6. Perfectionism
7. Supersensitivity
8. Fear of Failure
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