The following is LONG! Several friends have asked me to share the details of a teaching I'm doing at a retreat this Thanksgiving weekend. I built this entry from my teaching notes – so if you need to fast forward or come back for more later – go ahead... it might get too long for you!
Personal Reflections:
My journey with the Lord has been typical in many ways. I became a Christian, joined a church and started SERVING the Lord. Pretty simple. However, after “being promoted” into leadership, I found I still had MANY of the same struggles I had before I became a Christian. I still battled depression and had thoughts about myself that were very negative. I continued to struggle relationally with friends and family as I was always looking for love to make me feel better. I worked too much at my job as I was continually seeking approval and affirmation from others. In reality, my life was really not that different than it was before I became a follower of Jesus.
God used these struggles to get my attention. He began to show me that there was MUCH MORE. More to LIFE than what I was experiencing. Simply believing in Him and working hard to follow Him - was not ALL that HE HAD for me.
In 2001, God began to speak to my husband and I about the MORE – or the abundant life Jesus talked about in John 10:10 when HE said: I came that they may have life, and may have [it] abundantly.
We started together on a journey of healing, deliverance, revelation and FREEDOM. A journey that revealed a lot about THE SOUL and the role each of us play in our own spiritual growth and transformation. A journey that we are still very much on – 8 years later.
I want to share some of the things the Lord taught me on this journey – some of the most life-changing teaching I received and then studied for myself regarding THE SOUL. But, before we get too much into the HOW TOs – I want to start by reviewing the basic design of the SOUL and take a look at how we as humans have been created…
This might seem basic at first, but trust me - it’s very important for us to understand how each piece fits together.
We are humans are made up of two main parts - and Christians have a third element...
1. The Body – our physical body, brain, organs, blood etc. The body is vehicle through which your soul communicates with and relates to other people. In scripture, the body is referred to as the outer man.
2. The Soul – the “spiritual” part of human beings. The soul (or the heart) is our mind, our will and our emotions. This is where our personality resides; where we think, feel and desire. This is where we are “wired.” In scripture, the soul or heart is referred to as the inner man.
Our soul is actually where sin BEGINS (in thought, feeling or desire) and our body is where sin ENDS – where the sin manifests itself (in action or when sickness sometimes results).
John 3:6 says by nature, we are descended from fallen Adam; made in his likeness (Gen. 5:3); and are partakers of his fallen nature. We are, as natural man, body + soul = “flesh” as scripture defines it.
This flesh, Jesus declares, "profits nothing" (John 6:63); and in it "dwells no good thing" (Rom. 7:18).
But, this is teaching that man rejects - for the most part, even Christians. The world says that there is IN-BORN GOODNESS in man, and that all we have to do is to discover it, improve it, and embrace it. This paradigm says that in essence, we are divine. This is a lie many end up believing.
But the truth is… IF any good thing is to be found in man, it must be first put THERE by God. We must be "born of the Spirit": and, when that "good thing" is BORN in us, then we partake or SHARE in the nature of God – who is Spirit. However, we must first acknowledge our need - admit that WE are NOT GOD and that we truly want God and His Spirit in us. This requires humility and repentance.
How then can we become “born of the Spirit?”
Being born of the Spirit happens at Salvation. This is an event resulting from a choice of our will. We must choose it and receive it. At salvation, we are born of the SPIRIT and we become new creations. Through this salvation, we receive FREEDOM from sin, death, the enemy, sickness and disease.
3. Our Spirit is born within us when we are born again. This is the same SPIRIT who is the Holy Spirit or the Spirit of God. We are ONE with GOD in Spirit. Our SPIRIT is the vehicle through which our soul communicates with- and relates to God. In scripture, the Spirit is sometimes called the innermost man.
The Christian then has THREE distinctive parts – Body, Soul and Spirit. There is no sin in the Spirit.
BUT, even after we are born of the SPIRIT… we keep on sinning. We continue to choose our own way over God’s way. We choose to remain a slave to sin even after we’ve been set free? WHY? Why do we continue to CHOOSE to sin after we’ve been set free?
Paul writes about his own struggle in ROMANS 7:14 & 15 We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.
In order to understand how to end this frustrating cycle, we need to understand HOW our Souls operate. Let’s take look at the parts of the Soul.
Parts of the Soul:
Mind – called the seat of the soul – This is where we think, reason, understand and decide. It is not the same as your brain. Your brain is a part of your body. It’s best to think of your brain as the computer that your MIND uses to process. The mind is the intangible part. In your mind, your thinking patterns, beliefs and life paradigms are established.
Will – considered the muscle of the soul – This is where we desire and want. It is the power source behind of your personality. The WILL can become very strong and competent at accomplishing its own goals and objectives. Your will motivates your actions. It powers you... unless you surrender it to GOD.
Emotions – are an indicator of the souls condition. With your emotions, you feel. Your feelings actually respond to what your mind perceives as reality and THEN influence your will choices and subsequent behaviors. – a chain reaction. Your emotions are also a very powerful part of the soul and can sometimes "feel" like the Spirit of God.
HOW THE SOUL INTERACTS WITH THE BODY & THE SPIRIT:
We were all created with a soul and body. In this relationship the soul is the driver's seat and the body is the passenger. (Imagine your favorite car!) The body responds to the soul’s desires. The soul is driving (making decisions) and the body is basically along for the ride.
Just like we mentioned earlier, the mind perceives reality – then our emotions react to what the mind perceived and we feel certain feelings as a result. THEN, our will acts on those feelings and does something in response. mind -> emotions -> will
NOW when we are born again, we add the HOLY Spirit to the mix. BUT, the soul remains in the driver’s seat. The body stays in the passenger seat, AND the Spirit moves into the back seat. Meaning the decisions and behaviors of a Christian are still being driven by the soul – (the flesh – the sinful nature).
The goal for a transformed life is to get our soul out of the driver’s seat (out of control) and to allow the SPIRIT to take the wheel. This is the process of “sanctification” or spiritual maturity where we decrease and Jesus increases in us.
Romans 7:18-23 “For I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh. For the desire to do what is good - is with me, but there is no ability to do it. 19 For I do not do the good that I want to do, but I practice the evil that I do not want to do. 20 Now if I do what I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but it is the sin that lives in me. 21 So I discover this principle: when I want to do good, evil is with me. 22 For in my inner self (soul) I joyfully agree with God's law.
If we allow our souls to drive our lives, we will end up in the constant battle Paul described – doing what we DON’T WANT to do and being enslaved to sin.
RECAP – 1st we looked at the makeup of a human being – body & soul and then the addition of the spirit (for a Christian): 2nd we looked at the makeup of the SOUL – mind, will & emotions; 3rd we looked at how the SOUL interacts with the body & the spirit.
NOW… we want to look more deeply into the SOUL and how it operates so we can better understand why it can be a such a battle to move out of the way – and into the back seat so the Spirit can DRIVE!
HOW THE SOUL OPERATES:
Our souls/hearts experience many hurts – just living in a world with other broken human beings results in a wounded heart. We have unhealed hurts, unresolved issues, unanswered questions that we deal with, and struggle with everyday. Sometimes we are very aware of these hurts - sometimes they are hidden, buried deep in our hearts.
As a result of these hurts, our souls strive to meet their own needs - to find ways to deal with their own issues. Oftentimes this involves developing beliefs that are untrue, creating paradigms to fit the pieces of a broken reality together. The soul is very creative. It can even create for us a personality that will protect us from being hurt again or make us seem unaffected by others.
Our souls attempt to meet its’ own needs - results in sin. This is us operating in our flesh to do something that only GOD can do. We are in essence trying to save ourselves – fix what is broken - instead of asking God for help. Pride and/or fear can stand in our way of truly having our hearts healed by God.
As a result, we build strongholds to protect our sinful behaviors and responses. Our souls continue to construct paradigms to defend its behavior and remain in CONTROL. The SOUL is very smart and is practiced at getting its own way. In this condition, our unhealed hurts, unmet needs and unanswered questions are unable to be addressed. We remain “protected” from others and from GOD’s healing touch.
Galatians 5:16-18 – So I say, live by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want.
WHAT NOW?
Now that we recognize our condition, what are we to do? We must choose to take the soul out of the driver’s seat. Allow the Spirit to drive. Move the soul to the passenger seat and move the body to back!
Galatians 5:24-25 – Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with all its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
HOW can we surrender our souls completely to God? Through Prayer and the Word of God!
Jesus has given us supernatural keys to enable us to bring ourselves into alignment with God’s plan for our lives.
2CORNINTHIANS 10:3-5 3 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
THIS IS A SPIRITUAL BATTLE. IT DOES NOT COME EASY OR SIMPLY. IT TAKES TIME AND EFFORT… but GREAT IS THE REWARD!!! REAL FREEDOM, PEACE and a SPIRIT-LED LIFE!
1.Ask the Lord to identify your wrong beliefs about yourself, God or others. REPENT for your SIN - for embracing lies – for embracing these WRONG BELIEFS. By doing this, you are exposing the sin and lies you believe. This is an ongoing process - not a one time deal. Ask Him to reveal the truth to you and HE will.
2.Bind your heart to the Heart of God – As we bind our soul to God, we are removing the soul from the driver’s seat and allowing the Spirit to take its rightful place. This is a daily choice of our will. ASK THE SPIRIT TO TAKE CONTROL and willfully choose to LET GO and LET GOD!
3.Through prayer - loose yourself from all wrong behaviors, feelings and patterns of thinking. – By doing this we are proactively and purposefully removing lies and the resulting sins that have come from the soul trying to meet its own needs, answer its own questions and heal its own hurts. This is where real spitiual battles take place. In prayer we take the sword of the Spirit and destory the lies of the enemy.
4.Break all ungodly soul ties. A soul tie is any ungodly binding to a person, place, thing, idea, image or memory. We all have LOTS of them! Ask the Lord to show you who you are connected to in an unhealthy, co-dependant, un-godly way. Then break that tie in prayer. You will feel different when you are with your friend the next time. Your emotions won't get yanked around and you'll be free to be who you are - without thinking habout how they will perceive you.
5.FORGIVE all those who’ve hurt you. This is a tall order and takes time and often a daily choice to forgive each and every person who has let you down, offended you, attacked you, abandoned you, rejected you, not loved you, etc, etc, etc.
6.Renew YOUR Mind - replace all wrong beliefs with the Truth of God. Proclaim these over your heart – aloud. This involves asking the Lord ot replace the lies you believe with truth. Taking each wrong, false belief to the Lord and asking Him to speak the truth to you. Write the truth down or find it in scripture and meditate on it. Read it and re-read it. Commit it to memory.
7.Fellowship with the Spirit of God – In order for your spirit to remain in the drivers seat, it will need to be continually re-filled by the Holy Spirit through ongoing worship, prayer and fellowship. Spend time with GOD. Pray in the Spirit. Practice the Presence.
8.Ask the Lord to heal the hurts of your heart, to meet your inner needs and to answer your unanswered questions or unresolved issues. HE WANTS TO & HE WILL! This is sometimes called "inner healing." When we ask the Lord to come into our hearts (souls) and heal the hurts that are there. If you invite Him in - He will come in. Remember, He stands at the door and knocks. If you open it, He will enter and show you the truth about your memory, wound or fear.
SURRENDERING OUR SOULS:
I want to focus on the outcome of a soul that is truly surrendered and a life that is transformed – because I KNOW PERSONALLY that this process is NOT a lot of fun sometimes.
Many of you know this first-hand, I am and can be a VERY strong-willed person and my SOUL was (and oftentimes still is) wanting its’ OWN WAY. First, I want to acknowledge that this can be a difficult process, second, I want to ENCOURAGE YOU TO DO IT! And third, I want to share for few minutes – WHY IT’s SO WORTH IT!!!
Abiding in Christ – The Abundant Life:
As we choose to participate in this process of surrendering our will to God’s will, we begin to experience the abundant life Jesus promised us.
Galatians 4:19 – My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you… (Paul is laboring in prayer that Jesus would be FORMED in the souls in the saints.)
The Lord said, “Abide in ME and I will abide in YOU.” This ABIDING is God’s Spirit abiding in our souls. As His Spirit abides in our soul, our souls are transformed into HIS own image. We experience a HOLINESS that can come only from HIM. As a result, God uses the aspects of our souls for HIS glory.
1Th 5:23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely. And may your spirit, soul, and body be kept sound and blameless for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
AS A RESULT, our minds are filled with God’s thoughts and we walk in His wisdom and truth. In our will, we experience Godly desires and an increase wanting for spiritual things. Through our emotions, we feel divine LOVE and the holy feelings of God.
Matthew 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
These things are at this point - no longer an act of our will – our souls trying to choose holy things – BUT ARE NOW actually coming forth from us through the power of the Spirit in the drivers seat! Holiness is a way of life. WE ARE FREE FROM SIN!
When the Spirit of God has complete authority in your soul, your very thoughts, desires and feeling are ONE with GOD. This is the FULLNESS OF LIFE – Abiding in Christ – allowing HIS Spirit to fill our souls to over flowing and transforming WHO we are. I Corn 6:17 17 But anyone joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.
Our souls are the very place where Jesus desires to express the fullness of His Life – Bearing FRUIT through us – through character, ministry, gifts etc.
Remember that Jesus said, “Apart from ME, you can do nothing.” Much of my Christian life has been “nothing” – the things I’ve attempted to DO for God or even things that I’ve tried to fix or change in me as an act of my own will were worthless! Through this process the Lord has shown me how HIS yoke is easy and His burden is light.
By purposefully taking my soul out of the driver’s seat and inviting the Spirit to take control, I have the freedom Jesus promised. I encourage you to begin and continue on this journey of transformation. I won’t promise that it will be easy or painless, but it will bring an ABUNDANT LIFE with AMAZING FRUIT.
getting me out of control so God can drive... what peace
