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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. Pop up service Wednesday. My name is Jacob, and I'm on the team here at City Lights, and I'm so glad I can pop up into your living room or wherever you are right now. So last week we started a series called Hauser Soul. What? We've been looking that way. What does it mean to have a healthy slow and what is the soul? And is that weird, or is it not weird? See, last week you discover that the soul needs to be at home and needs to find a place of peace and rest. And the best way for our soul to be at home is when we return to Jesus when we return to our creator and find peace in him. Now, the second topic, Foot's for this series, is we're gonna talk about how is it to have a healthy, happy and successful inside? How is it? Would be? How can everything all around you be falling apart. Things going crazy uncertainty fear all the stuff happening all around you. But on the inside, you have joy. You have peace, and you have success in the way that God sees it. So, like I said, our souls need to find rest at home. But today we're gonna explore this question. What makes my soul healthy? What makes your soul healthy. And I want to give you some practical ways that you can invest in the health of your soul. Okay, so check this out. This is a pretty cool thing. Say, when guy created Adam and Eve, he placed them in, like, the best living situation possible. You mean you can't beat this like that? The weather was always good, you know, the food was delicious, you know, watermelon all the time. Come on. Somebody like he put them in the best spot possible that he put him in the perfect setting for a human soul. T thrive to succeed. So But when we look at the original context of the human soul, we see four things that guy gave Adam and Eve that I believe he gives us now. Okay, so check this out. And this is how you can have a healthy soul. The 1st 1 is this is rest Guy gave them rest. The second thing was, guy gave them restrictions. The third thing is, guy gave them responsibility in the fourth thing. Guy gave them relationships. So these four things is what we see in the Garden of Eden. And these four things We sat access now. Okay, so I want to look at these four things a little bit more and Ito, so check this out. Jensen's to describes the original environment God created for the human soul. But but a big butt came around in it like these big old butts man to keep messing things up. Sin entered the world. Okay, Someone send enter the world that separated us from from God that separated humankind from God. Now this is the problem. This is a problem because God made a perfect spot for the soul for the soul. But but sin came in and disrupted that. And here's the truth. That's why we have Jesus. That's why Jesus came. God so loved the world. Got so loves you that he did whatever it took to get you close to him. That separation from him to you was not all right with God. And so he sent Jesus. And now that when Jesus he lived the life we could it he died a death re deserve. But three days later, he rose from the grave. He covers our sin. And now he bridges that gap between us and God. And we can have a full relationship with our creator God. And that's why we have rest for our souls. And that's why we can have healthy source because of what Jesus did. So with all that in mind, I do want to look at the garden. I want to look at the garden in the of eating and see what they had that we can do in orderto have a healthy soul. Now with the grace and the love in the power of Jesus on our side. Okay. So, like I said, the Garden of Eden was beautiful. It was flawless. It was sinless. It was this perfect utopia. It was pleasing to the senses. Rest ful for the soul. No, you know, this is the best way you can get in. This also illustrates the first element of having a healthy soul is rest. You've gotta have rest now. Your quarantine house right now probably doesn't look like like a sinless flawless utopia, like even. You know, you're just trying not to strangle someone too close to him. Right? Uh, but you could still have rest for yourself. You could still have restorations. So your environment may not be the most restaurant place, but your soul could be full of rest in that chaos. Now, rest isn't always a nap. Even though sometimes you need that. Get that napping when you can. Jesus says, come to me and I will give you rest. Jesus is the rest. We confined rest by taking moments to rethink, refocus, re energized, lean in on the heart of God and in focus on him. That's another reason why we encourage small groups were doing these online groups right now so you can jump in and have a time that have some rest. Talk to some people, hang out with some people, just dialogue a little bit and get some community. You have to make rest priority. Don't let don't let anxiety be the priority in your life right now. let recipe check this out. The second thing is this. In the garden, in the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve could eat from all the trees except one except one tree. Besides showing us how gracious God is, this also shows is the second element of how to have a healthy soul. And that's restriction. Now, a lot of times we don't think restriction as something good, you know, we think of restriction, is they? Don't tell me what do I do? What I want to do, you know? But the word no is one of most powerful worries that you can use in your life. I mean it surely, as Jesus even says lets you Yes. Yes. So you know, be know. Anything besides that comes from from an evil heart comes from the evil one. Whatever you say yes to you. You see, this is why I want you to see whatever you're saying Yes to You are saying no to something else. So what are you saying? Yes to you. And what are you saying no to? And is that thing you're saying yes to healthy for your soul? Or is the thing you're saying? No to the thing that you actually need. They have a healthy soul. Some restrictions are great. And that's the reason why we can live a life in victory. Even though we still face sin, we still face bad habits. We still have different problems that come at us. We can now have victory over the things that try to get us down. Because of Jesus. We have access to Jesus and we can place healthy restrictions on our lives and in order to live the life that God has for us. Third thing, once you see this, God gave Adam a job 2 10 and to keep the garden. This shows us the third element to having a healthy soul. And that is responsibility. Responsibility will give you a healthy soul. Work is a gift from God, and God wants to stay. Enjoy our labors in our jobs. Now I want to speak to a couple people with this. You may be listening right now. You actually lost your job. You may you may be dealing with some. Some stress that's coming from finances and how it builds Gonna get paid. What do I get a job back when all Whatever the case may be, this is a reality for you right now. And it is hard in his discouraging. And your soul is not at ease because of it. Now, I'm gonna encourage you right now that God is in control even though it doesn't feel like it. God is in control. He's for you. He's with you, and he will not leave you. So in this season of maybe having a lost job, I suspended job. I'm gonna encourage you with this. Your family, your friends, your kids, your health. That's your job. That's your job. Start making some goals for yourself. What are some things that she wanted to do? This. You haven't been able to do that. You can do now. How can you work on yourself? And for those who are at home, you're working from home. You got your kids running all around you. It's so it's so funny. My my two year old, almost two year old daughter. She's at home with Isis Aaron and I work it. And I mean, she just wants all the attention all the time. And my wife is just so amazing. She balanced. It's continuing to work from home while still loving her. And and then you know what? We trade off. Make a schedule C, take responsibility, take responsibility. And you can make the most of this. I'm telling you, because you really got two options. Let's be honest. You really got two options. You can complain and be upset and angry, and that's fine. And that's why don't we understand that? Or you could take the cards have been dealt and you could make it the best thing possible. I mean, just the only two decisions I vote for making the best thing possible. See what God can do in this time in your life. Okay, do everything you do with excellence. And in the fourth thing, the most important element of a healthy soul is seen in God's creation. We see that God made Adam and Eve to be in a relationship. Relationships are important for a healthy so guys that it was not good for a man to be alone. So he was intentional about giving God the perfect companion. Now this is not just a picture for marriage, but it's also the importance of having healthy friendships, say, I believe, real life change happens in the context of healthy relationships. So I think if you want to see real life change, who are the people around you? One of my favorite things to say it's Show me your five best friends and I'll show you where you'll be in five years. So I challenged you. Dig deeper what friendships get, didn't know someone a little bit more. And maybe you're a parent and you're kind of chat with your kids for a while. Started conversations started family conversations. Share a little bit about yourself to them. Maybe they have some questions that they've been wondering about you. Maybe you got some friendships that she's kind of having some issues with. Make those right talk to people, dig deeper and these friendships. One thing that I would say all of this is teaching us is how important community really ISS. We need to be in community. So last week I put it, I put a weekly challenge on your on the feet of this of video. But today I'm actually gonna talk about this weekly challenge, and I think it's so important for you. Okay, so check this out. Weekly challenge rest. I want you to take a minute. Thio, evaluate your sleep patterns, your stress levels. And I want you to take one practical thing you do this week and really find true rest. I want you. I want you to find true rest. The second thing is restriction. What is one thing? What is one thing you can decide to say no to this week? That isn't really necessary for you. What? This is one thing that she said. Maybe it's that maybe it's that sin problem. Maybe it's that habit that you have this you know, you don't want to do any more. Say no. Say no to it on watch and watch All the things you're gonna be saying yes to that are way better. Responsibility. Maybe you're just You're balancing a lot of things right now. Hey, I want you right now. Check is that I give you permission. If you need my permission, only think you do. But I give you permission of right now two things that you hate about the responsibilities that you have right now. Two things. I'm just driving you crazy while I'm on the one in charge of this and then I watched it right down to things I should absolutely love that you're doing. Then the two things that you hate. I want you to be attentional about seeing improvement and given those to God and the two things that you love. I want to see you increase in those and thrive on the things that you're good at and the last thing relationships. Now, this wasn't important. Who are the people that are most had the most influence on your life? And who are the people that you need to stop kind of listening to you because they're actually hurt in your soul. Take this time they're lean into the people who are uplifting you and making you a better version of you and those people that are there that would calm bring you down. Hey, let's take some time to move away from that. So those that's my weekly challenge for you on how to have a healthy soul. So I'm gonna encourage you right now that God is for you. He's with you and you can have a healthy so you can be in a tough season. But but be filled with complete joy. Pray with me. God we thank you. We thank you that we can have a healthy soul that are inside life could be made, right, So we can see you all that you're doing on the outside. So, God, I pray for people right now who are having a hard time finding rest. Give them rest. I pray for people that don't know how this set up proper restrictions to keep caving into things that they know. They shouldn't be caving into saying yes to things, even though they're tired and worn out. God give people the ability to say yes to the right things and no to the things they don't need. God, I pray for the people who have lost jobs or people who aren't sure how finances are gonna work and their responsibility there feeling less than the feeling like they don't have purpose. God bring purpose in the season bank purpose. Give him something even right now, they can say I got purpose in this. And finally, Lord, after you bless relationships, blessed relationships. Lord, do something that only you can do that we love you. And we need you in Jesus name. Amen. Amen. Amen. And amen. Like a sound so glad could pop up on your screen right now and encourage you. Hey, you got this? You got this. You are gonna make it out of this. Better than what you started. Okay, so, Hey, look at the comments. We got some things you can pray about this week. Pray these things over your life. That weekly challenge will also be there. Make that something that you'd do this week and watch what God would do. Okay, The best is still yet to come. Thank you so much. 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.