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Hey there. And welcome to the city Lights. Podcast City Lights is a church located in the northwestern part of Richmond, Virginia. For more information about city lights you can visit us at we are city lights dot com Now enjoy today's message. Hey, welcome to pop up Wednesday. My name is Jacob. I'm on the team here at City Lights, and I'm so glad I could pop up right on your screen right now on this Wednesday. So what we're gonna do for the next few weeks is we're gonna talk about your soul. We're gonna do a Siri's called How's your soul? Who thinks about the song? So we want to focus on the inside of us. We want to see what's going on in here. You got so much stuff going on all around us. I think this is a good time to have some reflection and consider how is my sole? How's my soul? So for the next few weeks, like I said, we're gonna explore. What is it? What does it mean to have a healthy soul? So check this out. The Apostle John he wrote Beloved. I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, but check out this last part as it goes well with your soul. Your soul is so important. So we want to explore. What does it mean to have a healthy and whole inside? How can our minds be alert? How can our wills our emotions be connected to God especially, and some difficult times before we begin? I think it's helpful to define what it means by the term. So what is it? You know what we want to keep defining because it can kind of feel out there a little bit. David Rosen sounds 103 He said, Bless the Lord O my soul and all that is within me Bless his holy name. In this verse, David compares his soul to his inner self. His inner life is hard. His mind All that is with end me your soul is all that is within you just always not your eye color. Your soul is not your height. Your soul is not your skin tone. Your soul is not your waists. I Come on, you're so is what's inside of you. Check this out. Your soul is not your education. Your soul is not your job. Your your soul is not not the size of your family. The soul is personal. It's inside. You're so is invisible but incredibly significant part that feel that that is all about the way you think you feel and decide. So I want to ask you this question. I want to ask you this. When is my soul at home? When is my soul at home? So I want to look at the origin of of the soul where it kind of comes from. Where do we see this? In creation and humankind. And I think when we look at this but we will see is that God desires for our soul to be at peace that God desires for our soul to be at rest at ease. I check this out in the Genesis account. God makes all creation. He makes the heavens and the earth. And it's this beautiful scene of creation. And then check out what the Bible says When God created human kind. Genesis to seven says this. Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathe the spirit of God breathed into the nostrils, the breath of life. And the man became a living being. C'mon, Guy created Adam. Adam was just afore. He was just a figure. He was just a body. And it wasn't until God breathed his spirit inside of him that he became a living, breathing soul. So are outside. I want you to get this or outside is not the determining factor of our worth. Are formed is not determined how worthy we are, how good we are, how great we are on the outside. That's not what determines what makes us truly alive. This was going on on the inside that matters. See, I think God is far more interested in the conditions of our hearts than anything else going on around us. She is it possible that she could have everything on the outside? Everything can look, Go. You could be driving the right car. Living in the right house. Have the right looking spouse. You get your kids could be looking perfect on the outside. Is it possible to have everything looked good on the outside? But on the inside, you feel empty. See, I think God wants us to have a good insight to our lives, not talking about our vision of what we see but what we feel on the inside. See, I think God wants your insight to be connected to him. So I think most of us we strive and re strive to have things on the outside and we forget about the inside. And I'm gonna tell you this with all that's going on in the world right now, who knows that things on the outside are very uncertain. Things going on can change in one moment. But what's on the inside your soul, your heart? That's what really matters. Something. This is perfectly illustrated and a story in the Gospel. We see two sisters, Mary and Martha, and they get into an argument because of the positions that both of them were out. What we're Check this out. Luke, 10 says this. As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. Now this is very important. Okay, so here you go, Martha, Let's Jesus into the house that then? Then Mary sits at Jesus feet and she listens to his teacher. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that she had that had to be made. She came to him and asked Lord, don't you care that my sister hasn't left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me now. A few things I want to highlight about this story. Don't be misguided by the story at all. Okay, So Mary wasn't just sitting down watching Netflix and just enjoying her time. What? Martha was doing the dishes in the kitchen that wasn't what was happening here. Seeing that time in that culture. It was unheard off for a woman to be invited to sit at the feet of a rabbi and listen to his teacher. I mean, it was unheard of. And that that kind of personal setting, where Jesus has given kind of this one on one almost connection with his followers for Mary, a woman to be invited there. This was her preparing for the mission that God had on her life. So she wasn't just do. She wasn't missing out on the mission and not doing what what Martha was doing. Jesus was invited her as a woman to be a part off God's plan to save the world. This is what's happening here. This is This is This is scandalous. This is crazy. And here is Martha running out. And she sees Mary sitting there. Thinking isn't in a woman's place to be serving in the kitchen and Jesus And no, no, that's not the only place from a woman that's not a woman's place. A woman's place is to be connected to the heart of God. That's what's going on here. So Jesus is including Mary and his mission for the Earth checked out with Jesus. Response, he says, Martha, Martha, the Lord answer. You are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed. But few things I needed are indeed on Lee Won. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her. What was better? What was the better thing that Jesus was talking about? In this story, the better thing is the soul talking about his soul talking about her soul. Your soul is at home. Your soul is at peace. Your soul its position on the things of God. See, I'm gonna tell you this the enemy's gonna try to come and make you distract it. Make you make you anxious, stressed out worry consumed with with fear and anxiety and problems and what ifs and what ifs. And maybe this and maybe that's gonna happen. I'm gonna tell you this. You cannot get yourself worked up about things that you have no idea how it's gonna turn out. You cannot be anxious in the kitchen worried about things that you have no control over. Instead, you have to sit at the feet of Jesus, sit at the feet of Jesus, have a healthy soul. How do we come out of this whole thing Better than what we started is by focusing on Jesus and in this moment saying, God, I'm gonna let you have control of my soul of my life of what's going on? See, Mary and Martha illustrated two different approaches to God. Martha was worried in trouble because of what she had to do. Her soul was on well, but Mary married, did what God wants us all to do to be at a place sitting at his feet consumed in his love, overwhelmed by his acceptance and empowered with his mission to be a light to this world. Our souls find their homes when we return to our creator. How do you stop that anxiety? How do you take a positive step forward? It's returning to your creator saying, God, I don't have the answers. I'm confused. I'm hurt. I'm disillusioned. But I'm gonna come to you. Jesus says this come to me. Oh, who were you? All who are brought in and I will give you rest. See, Matthew 58 And the message paraphrase puts it like this You're blessed when you're inside World your mind in heart or put right Then you can see God in the outside world You can see God all around You pray with me right where you are. Say God. Come right now Put my soul at he's I need your piece I need your love Where were you? Are you can say this out loud and you can say it in your heart Just say God bring me peace It's a god. I focus on you. You are in charge so God, we love you. We need you and Jesus. Name a man. Amen. Amen. And amen. Well, thank you so much for listening to part one of how's your soul? A couple of things I want you to see right now that's popping up right on your right. On. Right. On the comments is a weekly challenge. Okay, so we're gonna do a weekly challenge and some prayer. It's, um something's to pray about. So I encouraged you to go look at those copy paste on whatever you need to do. And these are some things that I would encourage you to pray about for this next week as we begin to tackle this thought. Well, how do I have a healthy soul? How can I make sure that my heart, in my mind, is a lines and things of God? And then look at this weekly challenge. I think God will do a lot in your life if you go after it. OK, so, hey, I cannot wait to see all hear about all the awesome stories that God is gonna do in your life. We're here for you. I want you to know that Aaron and I are in your corner. So wherever you need don't hesitate to reach out goddess for you. And God has a plan for your life. Thank you. Thanks for checking out the city lights podcast. If you'd like to partner with us financially, you can go toe. We're city lights dot com slash give or you can text any dollar amount to 84321 Thanks for joining us today.