Pastor Wayne Cordeiro
September 25, 2011 - W1139

We will continue going through my book The Irresistible Church.  But it is not about a church that is irresistible to people. It is about a church that is so irresistible to God that He can’t help but bless our church. However, in order to become a church that is irresistible to God we need to know how to restore our souls.

As the Bible says, "And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?" (Matt. 16:26)

Today I want to speak especially to Christians. What profits a man if he has no soul? Have you ever lost your soul for your church, ministry or family? Have you found yourself only going through the motions of participating but not feeling it in your heart? Your soul allows you to be touched by God. Without a healthy soul you might get more knowledge but not wisdom.

Your emotions might get going but your soul could be left behind. Without a healthy soul, you could become conformed but not transformed.  I met a man like that on a flight I took. He told me that he used to go to church but that it felt like he was only going through the motions so he eventually stopped going. He had been going to church but had not been affected by it.

So you can look like a Christian but if you have no soul you can have a religious education but not a transformation - knowledge but not wisdom. The soul is incredibly important.  If you have no soul, then the church will have no affect on you.

So "Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life." (Prov. 4:23)

Are you tripping over the same things as last year? Do you have the same lusts and sins as before? If yes, then your soul needs to be restored. That is like that man that walked into a bar, ordered three beers and drank all three. He did that repeatedly and so the bartender asked him why 3 beers all the time.  The man replied that his two brothers were far away and he ordered 3 beers so that it would be like drinking with them. This went on for years until one day the man only ordered 2 beers. The bartender assumed that that meant that one of the brothers had died and so offered his sympathies.  The man replied, “No, both brothers are fine.  I just became a Christian so I had to give up drinking!”

Loving God with all your soul affects you on the inside not only on your outside.

Years ago, while at Bible College, as a prank I squirted water on my friend Mike. He retaliated and so I retaliated. This pattern kept escalating until we ended up in a physical brawl. Much later that night while I was sleeping Mike woke me up and said that God would not let him sleep until I forgave him. After more arguing, I finally forgave him. Later, back in bed I thought to myself that I wished Mike would have simply rolled over and gone to sleep. Suddenly God spoke to me. He said, “that’s what you do, Wayne, don’t you? When I speak to you, you simply roll over and sleep. But my words affect Mike deeply. When I speak to him, it affects him deeply because I speak to his soul.”

So how do you restore or keep your soul in good working order?

1. Focus on what will be HEALTHY for your soul.
   
   

As it is written, "Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers." (3 John 1:2)  The way you prosper is by keeping your soul healthy.  If your soul is good then your life will change for the better.  Otherwise you could become very adept at only going through the motions.  Some things that are good for the soul are church, small groups and water baptism. So conversely, you must …

2. Identify what's HARMFUL for your soul.
   
   

The Bible says, "Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul." (1 Pet. 2:11) That is the enemy waging war against your soul. Pharisees do not steal you away from church but steal your soul away from church.

It is also written, "For the enemy has persecuted my soul; he has crushed my life to the ground; he has made me dwell in dark places, like those who have long been dead." (Ps. 143:3) The enemy wants you to go to church but without a soul. I do not follow Jesus because I don’t fail or fall short. I follow Jesus because I fall all the time. It is not about not falling – but when you fall and lose your soul, you have to …

Know how to RESTORE your soul.

One way to restore to your soul is to …

• Be quick to REPENT.

Sometimes we are too slow to repent. Quick repentance will save us from a lot of damage. Holding onto the sins that have been committed against us is like holding on to a fire that is burning us just because someone else lit the fire.

God promises healing but you decide how long it takes. Our greatest weapons against the enemy are repentance and forgiveness. These are God’s greatest gifts to us. Once we are repentant, then …

• Draw NEAR to the shepherd.

The Bible promises that “Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." (Psalm 23)

So how do we get there? Consider this, sheep are not too bright.  They may not know it but sheep need a shepherd. We humans should likewise remember, "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.”(Psalm 23) David wrote this while hiding from cave to cave.  He knew that he had God so he had all that he needed.

We should remember that “He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. (Psalm 23) Sheep are ruminants which mean that they have 4 stomachs. Digestion does not start until they stop eating or they will bloat so the shepherd makes them lie down. Our spiritual digestion starts by when we lie down. We need to stop and ruminate like sheep but we never think we have enough. Like a buffet, though we can go back plenty of times – we pile on our plates. But we as humans think that we never have enough so we can suffocate too. So stop digesting other information and take time to let God’s word affect you.

Sheep stray while eating so they can be like turtles – they can roll into a wadi and not get out. So the shepherd watches the skies for buzzards so that he can find sheep in trouble. God promises that “He restores my soul, He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake.”(Psalm 23) We need our shepherd when our souls are in trouble.  God looks for us too.

Predators look for ailing and alone sheep. When we are at our weakest, we have to go to church – and not be alone because the enemy is looking for alone people.

A shepherd might actually stab a sheep’s stomach to let gas out so the sheep won’t suffocate. He then straddles the sheep and gets them walking to restart circulation. God gets us moving in church in the same way.

We should remember, “Yea, even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.”(Psalm 23) A shepherd carries 2 things – a rod (javelin) and a staff. The staff is used to keep the sheep close. The shepherd tries to prepare the feeding ground for the sheep by removing any toxic plants or dangers. As the Bible says, “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;”(Psalm 23) He might throw the javelin at the sheep to stop it from eating poison. Likewise, the disciplines of God may not be easy but they could save your life.

For myself, I pray that God kills me if I am about to hurt my family or church. So the rod and staff will comfort you when you understand them.

It is also written, “You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows.” (Psalm 23) Flies burrow into the sheep’s wool and the buzzing makes the sheep beat its head against a tree.  So the shepherd puts oil on the sheep to smother the flies and larvae.

If you want your soul restored, let the Shepherd do it. Connect everything to your soul and we will be the sheep that Jesus loves to care for.

Focus on what will be healthy for your soul and identify what will be harmful to that soul. Know how to restore that soul and be quick to repent. Draw near to the Shepherd and be sure to use God’s greatest gifts to you; repentance and forgiveness.

Study Suggestions

1. What is worth more than your soul?
2. Why should we watch over our hearts?
3. What should we focus on and why?
4. What should we identify?
5. What are God’s greatest gifts and weapons to us?