TABERNACLE: SOUL
INTENTION:
Our soul is where the
core of our emotions lie. Knowing that they derive from a specific location in
our being helps us to understand the why’s of them and address their needs;
also seeing the affect these emotions can have on our decisions (will) in life.
We can then embrace emotions as God-given (not fearing them); while also being
able to evaluate the ability to overcome them or to choose with them.
I.
TOPIC (PART 4 – SOUL):
In the continuation of our series “Tabernacle: Body, Mind,
Soul, Heart, Spirit” we want to focus on Soul.
For me, as I used to understand it, the word ‘soul’ and the
word ‘spirit’ were one-and-the-same. But when you study it out and look at the
meanings in the Greek, they are clearly separate. This, to me, made a huge
difference in reading scripture where a verse would use soul—I could now relate
it to what my soul is, and not confuse it with my Spirit. Now when I look at
what the soul is, I can see that it is the realm made up of our emotions and
feelings.
When I reference the soul, I purposefully use two words
here: emotions and feelings. These typically are words used interchangeably in
their meanings. However, I like to treat them different based on what
transpires in the soul.
·
Refer also: Bible
Study Lesson 042 – Soul (Emotions & Feelings).
Our Soul “room” is often the mixing place of the heart and
mind. It is not that our heart and mind meet in the soul, but that what comes
through the heart and comes through the mind that interact together—sometimes a
dance (whether like a tango, or tap, or ballet, or break, or interpretive
dance), other times a conflicting fight (maybe tense, heightened, or
unresolvable), and perhaps a joyous play (like children playing free). The Yin
Yang that are the matters of the heat and matters of the mind.
For the Matters of the Mind: we experience emotions related
to what goes on about the world around us—from the external in; through our 5
senses, through the body, through the mind, and into our soul.
Similarly, for the Matters of the Heart: we experience
emotions in relation to what transpires in and out from our Spirit through the
heart, into the soul.
What follows then, is a feeling related to the emotions
stirred from those matters of heart / mind—a “what are we feeling like doing”
in response to the emotion. Examples:
·
A loved-one that dies. I experience sadness /
grief (emotion). From that, I then can: feel like crying; feel like isolating myself;
feel like destroying something; feel like praising the Lord.
·
I’m overloaded at work. I experience stress /
anxiety (emotion). From that, I can: feel like quitting my job; feel like
drinking; feel like I should seek help; feel like I can do all things.
·
The Holy Spirit is showing His Love for someone
through me. I experience that Love (emotion). From that, I can: feel like doing
what the Holy Ghost tells me; feel like running away; feel like blocking that
emotion.
We all react to emotions differently, each with a feeling of
doing something based on that emotion. And sometimes, we get conflicting
feelings based on the pressures from the world and the gentle guidance from the
Holy Spirit in us.
With our soul being the realm of oft-conflict between the
outside (world / flesh) and inside (Spirit), the turmoil we experience can
shape our actions, reactions, and choices. And too, can feel as though we have
a dual-personality in us: one more often at war versus peace.
Our soul processes our perceived two identities: that of the
Spirit and that of the Flesh. We can be neck-deep in sin, and even continually
choose sin in our bodies, and yet still be Born-Again, Spirit-filled, and
saved. Yet, when in that dilemma of the incompatible “identities”, our soul
experiences that conflict. Sin will not affect your relationship with God in
any way! But can affect your soul. This conflict of Spirit / Flesh will never
fully subside—because there are always parts of us that require retraining and
reprogramming. Yet, we can feel a peace when the flesh gives up (dies in a
specific area) for the Spirit to manifest.
For me, in countless areas of my life, I feel an anxiety
build up when I am facing an area I need healing in—whether a part of my
people-pleasing, co-dependency, fawning response, perfectionism,
procrastination, etc…
My soul experiences anxiety when I have work to do that
is maybe new or uncomfortable doing. It seeks “rest” by avoiding the work
through procrastination. Yet, instead of me rejecting the flesh (its learned
behaviour to avoid discomfort), I get trapped into repeating the same
anxiety-avoidance techniques again and again. The anxiety is so strong, it
seeks the quickest way to eliminate it (to retreat)—hence the procrastination.
But if I retrain myself in the Spirit, pushing through the anxiety, then I gain
freedom on the other side of the anxiety (on the other side of what the anxiety
is keeping me from). So instead of retreating from the anxiety each time, when
I choose to “take the risk to be free”, I eliminate that stronghold (chip-away
at that sin) so as to not face that same area-specific anxiety again.
Likewise, if I am stressed, I go for a sweet snack. But
if I just push through that anxiety ‘driving’ me to want to eat a snack, I can
overcome it and eliminate it for good. “Resist the devil (opposition to God)
and it will flee from you” (James
4:7).
Another is that through the abuse I suffered as a child,
what was nurtured in me was an iniquity of anger—an anger / rage of injustice. So,
it’s not that the anger in me is wrong (or a sin), it is that this anger can
come out in unhealthy ways. I find that this unhealthy anger can manifest in my
relationships with others. I never asked for this kind of anger, but it is a
result of my environment as a child. In essence, something negatively-nurtured
in me from my dad. So, it is not ‘my’ sin, but that of my dad as an iniquity
passed down (Exodus
34:5-7) which the Lord sees me though.
·
Refer also: http://cbadenhorst.blogspot.com/2017/05/misunderstanding-and-misinterpretation.html
So much of our stress and anxiety in the soul results, not
from some ‘big” or “church-named” sin, but of the subtle things that define our
“identity of the flesh”: handed-down iniquities from our parents, a personality
type, a birth defect, a sickness / disease, an injury, a traumatic event, programmed
survival techniques, etc. We would not immediately call these a sin, but is in
the context that it is opposed to the Lord and His Truth—and our “Identity as
Jesus Christ” (1
John 4:17).
And as we learned in the previous lesson on renewing the
mind; I can achieve this change (HEALING) through my relationship with the Lord,
medication, deliverance, psychedelics, Psychiatrists, Psychologists, and more—removing
that which doesn’t belong in us to set us free.
II.
READING: 1
Peter 2:1-11 (TLB)
So get rid of your
feelings of hatred. Don’t just pretend to be good! Be done with dishonesty and
jealousy and talking about others behind their backs. 2-3 Now that you realize
how kind the Lord has been to you, put away all evil, deception, envy, and fraud.
Long to grow up into the fullness of your salvation; cry for this as a baby
cries for his milk.
4 Come to Christ, who is the living Foundation of Rock upon
which God builds; though men have spurned him, he is very precious to God who
has chosen him above all others.
5 And now you have become living building-stones for God’s
use in building his house. What’s more, you are his holy priests; so come to
him—you who are acceptable to him because of Jesus Christ—and offer to God
those things that please him. 6 As the Scriptures express it, “See, I am
sending Christ to be the carefully chosen, precious Cornerstone of my church,
and I will never disappoint those who trust in him.”
7 Yes, he is very
precious to you who believe; and to those who reject him, well—“The same Stone
that was rejected by the builders has become the Cornerstone, the most honoured
and important part of the building.” 8 And the Scriptures also say, “He is the
Stone that some will stumble over, and the Rock that will make them fall.” They
will stumble because they will not listen to God’s Word nor obey it, and so
this punishment must follow—that they will fall.
9 But you are not like that, for you have been chosen by God
himself—you are priests of the King, you are holy and pure, you are God’s very
own—all this so that you may show to others how God called you out of the
darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were less than nothing; now you
are God’s own. Once you knew very little of God’s kindness; now your very lives
have been changed by it.
11 Dear brothers, you are only visitors here. Since your
real home is in heaven, I beg you to keep away from the evil pleasures of this
world; they are not for you, for they fight against your very souls.
III.
RELATED VERSES AND QUESTIONS:
A. Matthew
11:28-30 (TLB)
“Come to me and I will
give you rest—all of you who work so hard beneath a heavy yoke. Wear my
yoke—for it fits perfectly—and let me teach you; for I am gentle and humble,
and you shall find rest for your souls; for I give you only light burdens.”
Question: What are ways we burden our soul with
heavy loads?
B. Mark
8:34-37 (TLB)
Then he called his
disciples and the crowds to come over and listen. “If any of you wants to be my
follower,” he told them, “you must put aside your own pleasures and shoulder
your cross, and follow me closely. 35 If you insist on saving your life, you will
lose it. Only those who throw away their lives for my sake and for the sake of
the Good News will ever know what it means to really live. 36 “And how does a
man benefit if he gains the whole world and loses his soul in the process? 37
For is anything worth more than his soul?
Question: As this is not about “losing your
life” (dying), but losing your soul; what are things that causes someone to
“lose (damage) your soul”?
C. 3
John 1:2 (TLB)
Dear friend, I am praying
that all is well with you and that your body is as healthy as I know your soul
is.
Question: Do you find that your physical health
is affected if you have unrest in your soul?
·
Refer also: https://www.besselvanderkolk.com/resources/the-body-keeps-the-score
D. Tormented
soul:
2
Peter 2:7-8 (TLB) {PoG}
But at the same time the
Lord rescued Lot out of Sodom because he was a good man, sick of the terrible
wickedness he saw everywhere around him day after day {that tormented his
righteous soul}.
James
1:21 (TLB)
So get rid of all that is
wrong in your life, both inside and outside, and humbly be glad for the
wonderful message we have received, for it is able to save our souls as it
takes hold of our hearts.
James
5:19-20 (TLB)
Dear brothers, if anyone
has slipped away from God and no longer trusts the Lord and someone helps him
understand the Truth again, 20 that person who brings him back to God will have
saved a wandering soul from death, bringing about the forgiveness of his many
sins.
E. Jesus
and Paul felt and suffered Depression:
Mark
14:32-36 (TLB) {PoG}
And now they came to an
olive grove called the Garden of Gethsemane, and he instructed his disciples,
“Sit here, while I go and pray.” 33 He took Peter, James, and John with him and
began to be filled with horror and deepest distress {the strongest form of
depression: G85}.
34 And he said to them, “My soul is crushed by sorrow to the point of death;
stay here and watch with me.” 35 He went on a little farther and fell to the
ground and prayed that if it were possible the awful hour awaiting him might
never come. 36 “Father, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take
away this cup from me. Yet I want your will, not mine.”
2
Corinthians 1:8-11 (TLB)
I think you ought to know, dear brothers, about the hard time we went
through in Asia. We were really crushed {depressed: G916}
and overwhelmed, and feared we would never live through it. 9 We felt we were
doomed to die and saw how powerless we were to help ourselves; but that was
good, for then we put everything into the hands of God, who alone could save
us, for he can even raise the dead. 10 And he did help us and saved us from a
terrible death; yes, and we expect him to do it again and again. 11 But you
must help us too by praying for us. For much thanks and praise will go to God
from you who see his wonderful answers to your prayers for our safety!
Question: Have you ever been to a point of
despair in your soul? Can Jesus relate to what you are going through?
F. The
Lampstand in our Soul is a source of light. The presence of the Lord in us (John
8:12) lights our soul.
Matthew
5:14-16 (TLB)
You are the world’s
light—a city on a hill, glowing in the night for all to see. 15-16 Don’t hide
your light! Let it shine for all; let your good deeds glow for all to see, so
that they will praise your heavenly Father.
Question: What “good deeds” draw people to you
and your soul—often like a “moth to a flame”—for healing?
G. The
Bread in our Soul is a source of nutrition and sustenance. For Jesus, what kept
Him going (the meat that sustained Him) was doing the will of the Lord.
John
4:34 (TLB)
Then Jesus explained: “My nourishment comes from doing the will of God
who sent me, and from finishing his work.
Question: Do you sometimes feel less drained
while doing something of the Lord—as it becomes “Him in you” that gives you the
strength and ability to emotionally carry through something?
H. The
Incense at the Heart doorway between the Soul and Spirit (Exodus
30:1-8 and Hebrews
9:1-5) are offerings / prayers and purging (remove: H5493 and
fumigating: G2369).
Revelation
5:8 (TLB)
And as he took the scroll,
the twenty-four Elders fell down before the Lamb, each with a harp and golden
vials filled with incense—the prayers of God’s people!
Isaiah
6:1-7 (TLB) {PoG}
The year King Uzziah died
I saw the Lord! He was sitting on a lofty throne, and the Temple was filled
with his glory. 2 Hovering about him were mighty, six-winged angels of fire.
With two of their wings they covered their faces, with two others they covered
their feet, and with two they flew. 3 In a great antiphonal chorus they sang,
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is filled with his
glory.” 4 Such singing it was! It shook the Temple to its foundations, and
suddenly the entire sanctuary was filled with smoke.
5 Then I said, “My doom is
sealed, for I am a foul-mouthed sinner, a member of a sinful, foul-mouthed
race; and I have looked upon the King, the Lord of heaven’s armies.”
6 Then one of the mighty
angels flew over to the altar and with a pair of tongs picked out a burning
coal. 7 He touched my lips with it and said, “{Behold, this has touched your
mouth—your iniquity is removed (abolished); your sins atoned for (purged)}.”
Question: Do you cry out to the Lord from the
“depth of your soul and heart”? Do you ever feel “unclean” in your soul or
heart?
IV.
FURTHER THOUGHT:
A. The
Lord looks out for our soul:
1
Thessalonians 5:23 (TLB)
May the God of peace
himself make you entirely pure and devoted to God; and may your spirit and soul
and body be kept strong and blameless until that day when our Lord Jesus Christ
comes back again.
John
14:15-18 (TLB)
“If you love me, obey me;
and I will ask the Father and he will give you another Comforter, and he will
never leave you. 17 He is the Holy Spirit, the Spirit who leads into all truth.
The world at large cannot receive him, for it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t
recognize him. But you do, for he lives with you now and someday shall be in
you. 18 No, I will not abandon you or leave you as orphans in the storm—I will
come to you.
Thoughts: It is impossible in this world to
avoid conflict in life. Jesus even said we would be persecuted for being His
follower (2
Timothy 3:12). But we have the ability to bring peace and healing into our
soul through the Holy Spirit—He is our sent Comforter. So, though trouble may
come, we can focus, not on the trouble, but on the source of peace for our
soul. And we can reign from Him in the Spirit, in the soul, and in the body.
B. Also,
we must not fear emotions, as they are genuinely created by the Lord. It’s not
a sin to have emotions! We can be sad, happy, angry, etc.—this is something
Jesus showed us. When you read through the book of John, take note of His
emotional state when speaking to the Pharisees or His disciples. It is often
that we see Jesus’s frustration come out, accusing them of not believing or
having little faith.
My favourite chapter in
John is one we read in a previous lesson—so feel free to read it again: John
8.
V. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT & SUPPORT:
A thank you to Kelly and Joshua who are inspirational in this life-journey. And to all the family, friends, sponsors, and donors who have fed into this ministry and outreach.
If you would like to support this ministry and outreach, you may do so via our website or at:
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