Fill My Cup

Good morning… Brad welcomed us with a warm greeting and a few comments to introduce his theme. He made the observation that we are accustomed to saying things like “How’s the weather?” or “How’s your health?” But today his aim was to talk about not the condition of the weather or your health, but of your soul.

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Darlene ushered us into worship with a tender and delicate rendition of "Be Still My Soul."
This was followed by worship, offering and a time of prayer.

Fill My Cup

Pastor Brad began by reading us the opening to the Third Letter of John:
1 The elder, To my dear friend Gaius, whom I love in the truth. 2 Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.

It’s hard to talk about our souls. We’re not typically asking people this question "How's your soul?" And the answer is not a matter of quantifying our devotional lives or the emotional intensity of our feelings when worshipping.

Our selves are comprised of a body, mind, volition and emotions. The soul integrates all these parts of us. Brad illustrated Biblical references to the soul with a pair of verses from the Psalms.

Psalm 42: “Bless the Lord, oh my soul.”
Psalm 43: “Why are you downcast, oh my soul?”

Your soul is deep. There’s a depth to you that you can’t fully grasp.

Job 7:11 states,
“Therefore I will not keep silent; 
 I will speak out in the anguish of my spirit, 
 I will complain in the bitterness of my soul."

In other places the soul is described as hungry, thirsty, never satisfied. As stated in Ecclesiastes:
Better what the eye sees than the roving of the appetite. 
This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. ~Eccles. 6:9

Ultimately, the reality behind human dissatisfaction is a sinful soul. This, our sinfulness, is why we are dissatisfied.

All of us have known longing, craving, and dissatisfaction. The message this morning offered three actions for us to take.

The first thing we need to do is practice confession. And that first thing we should confess is our chronic dissatisfaction. How many of you have ever been dissatisfied with your work? How many have ever been dissatisfied because you’re not married? Or because you are? Your lack of money? Your hairline? Your waistline? Your neighbors? Your relatives?

So we must confess our chronic and constant dissatisfaction… Our soul will never find rest till it finds rest in God. (Psalm 65)

Here’s a thought for you as you go through your week. We all talk to ourselves, but Brad suggested that when (or if) we talk to our soul it's different. Our soul lives in the presence of God. When we talk to our soul, it turns into prayer.

Second: Surrender to God. Stop living simply to satisfy your own desires. You will never be satisfied. We need to surrender our perceived need to always get what we want. Does everything always have to be about me?

Third: Practice less self-preoccupation. When I die to myself my soul is made more alive. And we become more aware of the needs of others. Every person you meet has a soul.

Last observation: I want us to remember that the ultimate aim in our universe is not my satisfaction. It’s God’s satisfaction, not mine or yours.

Brad then cited the Lord's parable of the rich fool, as recorded in both Mark and Matthew.

"But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your soul will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?' 

Scripture uses an accounting metaphor to describe our lives.  Your soul is ours on loan. They were made for God. And at some point a final payment is due.

Brad then described what happened to Jesus at the cross. It's sometimes called the Doctrine of Satisfaction. We can’t satisfy our need for this final payment. Bt Jesus made that payment for us.

As the Scripture says, "He (God) will see the light of life and be satisfied." (Isaiah 53:11) At the cross the Gospel writers describe our Lord's agony. “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.” Jesus didn’t suffer just in his body but in his entire being.

When Jesus comes back He will make everything right. And, the Bible says, God will look on His creation and will be satisfied. On that day will you have trusted your soul to God, and not to everything else that leaves us dissatisfied. Are you ready for that day?

The service closed with It Is Well With My Soul sung by Chuck, Darlene, Gwen and Brad.