Emotions - Week 2

Well, good morning. While I get myself settled in here, if you will take your copy of God's Word and turn to Proverbs 4 and verse 23.

In doing so, though, I want to make some introductory comments. First, I just want to take a brief moment to talk about our plans for Sunday morning preaching.

It may not feel this way to you. I can't say how you might feel, but it feels to me like we are kind of off to a herky-jerky start this year.

We do have plans, though, and I want you to know that initially our plan was to press through, kind of a hop-skip-jump through the life of David that Clay was presenting for us.

You know, two weeks ago that Clay was sick with flu A, and so I picked up a little piece of this plan that I'm doing now because Clay was going to be out of town last week and then had a surgery.

This week, he was hoping to be back this Sunday. Turned out that he wasn't able to be back this Sunday.

So we've just been trying to figure it out as we've been stepping along, and I'm in the process of preparing to start us through a verse-by-verse exposition of the Gospel of John.

So we're headed there. I feel like too often lately I've been saying that the regular habit of our church is verse-by-verse exposition.

It just feels like we haven't been doing that much lately.

We want to be so careful as God's people that we don't spend a lot of time isageting a text, pulling out of it what we want to see in it,

and therefore we think it's really helpful that we simply go verse-by-verse, careful, word-for-word, through a text together.

But at times, plans change. The Lord knows better than we do. We do the best that we can.

And it's good for us to pick up topics occasionally and think more broadly about what the Bible may have to say about any given things.

And so that's where we find ourselves. Please know that we haven't abandoned our love of verse-by-verse exposition, and I do hope we'll get back there here very soon.

Second, I want to remind you of a little that we considered two weeks ago when I was with you and then had intended to get into it more last week,

and then I was home sick, and boy, what a 10-day stint it has been.

And Jordan prayed, as I'm recovering from a cold, I think it was actually the bird flu that I had and I'm recovering from,

and I'm grateful for God's grace in the recovery of that.

But, ugh, stay away from people with the flu. It's not a good one at all.

But what we talked about two weeks ago was the divine attribute of impassibility.

And when we speak of God's impassibility, in the simplest of terms we are saying that He does not suffer.

He doesn't have passions. He does not suffer.

But in broader terms we mean that God's emotions are not acted upon by outside forces.

He is never overwhelmed, controlled, or altered by anything outside of Himself.

Impassibility is a necessary implication of God's immutability, His unchangeable nature.

If God were subject to emotional turmoil, He would be less than God.

This is not a denial that God loves, rejoices, expresses wrath.

He has emotions, but rather a declaration that these are not reactions forced upon Him.

They are the perfect, eternal expressions of His unchanging nature.

God is not becoming, He is being.

You want to be very careful when anybody seems to be describing God

as a thing that is becoming what it is meant to be,

rather than it already being what it is.

God is being.

I mentioned that this is a good place for us to begin thinking about our own emotions.

To be clear, we are not God in this way.

This is not a communicable attribute.

We are becoming.

In the one sense, if you have repented of your sin,

fled to the perfect work and sacrificial death

and third day resurrection of Christ for the salvation of your soul,

then you have, in one sense, already been made perfect.

You are in Christ.

You're found in Him.

All that He is, is granted to you.

Your old self has died with Him.

You have been raised new.

However, in another sense, you are being made perfect.

This is the doctrine of sanctification.

You are becoming perfect.

A work that will only be completed when you leave your mortal flesh.

So, why do I say all of this?

Because it is important for us to recognize that

while it is not wrong to have passions categorically,

we will be affected by the circumstances in which we live,

we're going to respond to the place in which we are,

those passions can be sinful

or they can be brought under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

Our emotions can be sinful

or our emotions can serve God.

Thirdly, we need to define some terms,

as I did for you just a couple of weeks ago.

Historically, careful distinctions have been made

between the words emotions, passions, and affections.

I really hope that you'll take up and read historical books.

We have so much to glean from Christians who have gone before us.

You'll be very confused if you use the words

that I'm about to define for you synonymously.

They should not be seen as synonymous.

There's distinctions made.

We tend to just lump them all together

and use them without distinction in our day.

In fact, I want to be careful this morning,

but I just kind of doubt that I will.

I probably will use a word in one place

and I shouldn't have used it.

We mix these words together to talk about our feelings.

However, it's important to draw from the Bible

a more nuanced understanding

of how the soul interacts with truth and experience.

So, just briefly in distinctions.

Emotions, or I want to use feelings

in the place of emotions at times,

but I'm not talking about physical feeling.

Like, this morning I feel low energy

because I'm still recovering a bit from a sickness.

I'm not talking about that kind of feeling.

I'm talking about emotional feelings,

if I say feelings.

Emotions are the broadest category

encompassing all of those human feelings,

both the rational and the irrational,

the fleeting and the enduring.

They can either be governed by truth and grace

or led astray by sin and the flesh.

I think that we do well to use this term

in this broad sense

and to note that our emotions include

our passions and our affections.

So, our passions are the most instinctual, bodily,

and can tend to be the most uncontrollable aspects

of emotion.

Passions are reactionary most often,

often tied to the flesh

and can easily lead to sin

when not disciplined by the truth and grace.

This is the knee-jerk reaction

that we often feel to something happening to us,

a word spoken, a thing witnessed.

The word passion comes from the Latin word passio,

which means to suffer.

So, this is what we're talking about

when God's impassibility.

We are passible.

That means we walk in a world

in which things are happening to us

and we respond emotionally to those things,

those inputs into us.

But again, not limited to the emotional association

with grief or pain.

We can have positive passions as well.

So, affections are emotions of the will.

They are rooted in the soul

and directed by the truth and grace.

The word affection comes from the Latin word afficere,

which means to influence.

So, influence from the will.

Affections are the highest form of human feeling.

Not mere reactions,

but deliberate inclinations of the heart.

So, it's good for me to say

that I am affectionate toward my wife.

To find this way,

I have made a decision,

an intention of my will

to care for Sam's highest good.

And my passions follow my affections.

That I have set myself to love her in this way

means often, not always,

but often that I feel impulsively,

like I'm compulsive towards her

in my passions.

I care for her in that way.

Sometimes Sam and I say,

I don't always like you,

but I'll always love you.

But isn't it good when we both love and like

the person that we're married to?

All right.

So, those distinctions,

I'm not going to walk through those distinctions a lot.

I'm just going to speak this morning

in terms of emotions broadly.

But I think we need to determine

and distinguish these things

as Christian thinkers

about our emotions moving forward.

So, with the groundwork in mind,

let's spend a few minutes

looking at the verse

that I had you turn to

and then I'll give you an outline

and we'll press on this morning.

So, this is Proverbs chapter 4

Proverbs 4 · chapter mention

and verse 23 where we read,

Keep your heart with all vigilance,

for from it flows the springs of life.

The heart in this text refers

to the inner self,

that immaterial part of us.

We believe that mankind,

man is made up of two parts.

We are body or we are soul, spirit, heart.

Words are used interchangeably

in the Scripture.

So, not the flesh physical part of us,

but that part that is immaterial in us.

This includes our mind,

our will,

and our emotions.

Proverbs 4 verse 23 teaches us

Proverbs 4:23

that the way of wisdom

is to vigilantly guard our hearts

because our lives issue from our hearts.

Who we are,

the immaterial who we are,

produces our thinking

and our activity

and the things we say

comes out of us.

Matthew Henry in his commentary

on this verse wrote,

In general,

all the actions of the life

flow from the heart

and therefore keeping that

is making the tree good

and healing the springs.

Our lives will be regular or irregular,

comfortable or uncomfortable,

according as our hearts

are kept or neglected.

So we should be diligent

in this work of keeping our hearts,

protecting our hearts.

lest we think this is a task

that doesn't require diligence.

Jeremiah 17 verse 9 tells us

Jeremiah 17:9

that the heart is deceitful

above all things.

We are complicated creatures.

I wish we were much more simple

than we often are.

Image bearers of an infinite God

granted much,

certainly not all,

but much of his capacity

for thought and feeling,

but living in a cursed world

are complicated.

As people who have been saved by God,

we desire to please him

and to walk according to his ways.

But if we are not careful,

we may miss

that this desire should extend

into our emotional lives.

God will have every bit of us.

All of us is to be ordered by God.

Emotions are a gift from God.

Nobody this morning is making a case

for us to not be emotional.

We will necessarily be emotional.

Emotions enable us to love,

to grieve,

to rejoice,

and to respond appropriately

to the world around us.

However, our emotions

can easily become disordered,

leading us away from faithfulness

to God's Word.

You may not realize

the great pressure

that you are under every day

to let your emotions

rule the day.

This is happening to you constantly.

Our world is presently ruled

by emotions.

Epistemology is the theory of knowledge,

and we have been

on an epistemological slippery slope

of great decline

in these past decades.

The modernists wanted to understand truth

by empirical data.

They say an objective truth

should be established

by repeatable experimentation.

The postmodernists

want to define the truth

by their own experiences.

They say,

my truth is just as valid

as your truth

because I experience it

to be true.

The post-postmodernists

isn't confident

that any truth

can exist.

exist.

How can we possibly know

that anything

is

true?

Therefore,

they say,

if I feel something

to be good,

then it must be good.

And if I feel something

to be bad,

then it must be

bad.

More of you

tend to process

the world

this final way

than you realize.

And I don't think

any of us

are immune

to it.

Beloved,

this is not

the way

of the Christian.

The Christian,

by the grace

of God,

through the truth

of God,

is

becoming

all of our lives,

including our

emotional lives,

are to be brought

under

the full authority

of God's

Word.

God's

emotions

have a place

in our life,

but not the

ruling

place

in our life.

So here's our

quick outline

for this morning.

I've got four points,

and these are going

to be short,

so if you're already

thinking,

oh man,

here we go.

Number one,

our emotions

must not define

the truth.

Number two,

our emotions

must not

control

our decisions.

Number three,

our emotions

must not

direct

our worship.

And number four,

our emotions

must not

excuse

our sin.

Number one,

our emotions

must not

define

the truth.

And here I want

to think in

two categories.

Number one,

just doctrine,

Bible truth.

Our emotions

must not

define

doctrine.

Paul writes

to Timothy

in 2 Timothy

2 Timothy 4:3

chapter 4,

verse 3 and 4,

for the time

is coming

when people

will not

endure

sound teaching,

but having

itching ears,

they will accumulate

for themselves

teachers

to suit

their own

passions

and will

turn away

from listening

to the truth

and wander

off

into myths.

One of the

greatest dangers

in contemporary

Christianity

is allowing

emotions

to shape

our theology

rather than

submitting

our emotions

to

biblical

truth.

Many reject

difficult doctrines

simply because

they feel

uncomfortable.

They say,

that can't

be true.

It doesn't

feel good

for it

to be

true.

Some examples

of emotionally

driven

theology.

Many people

want to

compromise

on sin,

deny clear

biblical

teachings because

it makes them

at odds

with others,

makes them

feel judged

or judgmental.

So many

churches

churches

these days

don't

practice

church

discipline

because

they would

say,

oh,

how could

we possibly,

well,

the Bible

commands you

to.

Redefining

God's

love,

many embrace

a sentimental

view of

God's

love

that ignores

His holiness

and His

justice,

makes

tiny

God's

wrath,

maximizes

God's

love,

and He

is both

things

fully

at all

times.

Many

people will

elevate their

experience

over the

Bible.

Seeing

something to

be true

makes it

necessarily

true.

Some

prioritize

spiritual

experiences

and feelings

over the

authority

of God's

Word.

And this

should not

be true.

Our

feelings

do not

define

the truth

of the

Bible.

The right

response,

Proverbs 3,

5 says,

trust the

Lord.

We must

let

Scripture,

the black

and white

on the

page,

not

emotions

define

what we

believe.

The

wrestle

with

difficult

things

in the

text

and bring

all of

ourselves

in

submission

to it.

The second

truth that

our emotions

must not

define is

situational

perspective.

And church,

it is at

this point,

if you don't

hear anything

else said

this morning,

that I want

your full

attention.

some of

you allow

your emotions

to define

others'

intentions.

Something

happens

or

doesn't

happen

and your

emotions

get running

out ahead.

And rather

than stopping,

honestly

assessing

what can

be known,

you back

fill your

emotions to

justify

them,

and you

impute

intentions

onto others

that are

just

unfair.

You

assume

the worst

of others

because you

have feelings

and your

feelings must

be true.

And so

you make

them true

by filling

in

the blanks.

If there

is a

single

identifiable

issue that

most tears

at the

seams of

unity,

in a

church,

I think

it is

found

here.

We all

feel,

every one

of us,

at some

point,

negative

emotions,

relational,

whether real

or just

felt.

Let me

give you a

really simple

example in

my own

life.

Every year,

for some

years,

members of

our church

have

coordinated

together a

daddy-daughter

dance.

I think it

is a precious

thing.

On the

front end,

let me

say I'm

so glad

for all

of the

effort that

goes into

that.

I'm not

being negative

about it

for a

moment.

I think

it's so

good that

you all

do this

together.

It's good

for the

dads to

get their

daughters

out,

to dress

up,

and to

dance

with them.

What a

wonderful

thing that

you all

do.

I don't

have a

daughter,

and I

wish I

did.

That's a

blessing that

God has

not seen

fit to

give to

our

family.

Three

precious

sons,

right?

This does

not minimize

my thankfulness

for them

at all,

but I

do wish

that I

had a

daughter,

and God

has not

given me

one.

And every

year,

when it's

announced,

and it

happens,

and the

adorable

pictures

are posted,

I feel

a twinge

of sadness.

Man,

I wish I

was going

to the

daddy-daughter

dance,

and had

a daughter,

to be

clear,

and had

a daughter

to bring.

I know

some of

you are

going to

invite me

after this

to come,

and brought

my own

daughter to

the daddy-daughter

dance,

and what

I could do

with that

emotion,

is I

could allow

myself to

feel excluded.

Is everybody

doing a

thing for

me that

doesn't apply

to me?

They get

to all

have fun,

and I

don't get

to have

fun.

I could

begin to

think that

no one

is sensitive

to the

fact that

I don't

have a

daughter,

and I

could go,

well,

most of

them don't

know,

but I

have told

some of

you,

we've

had

conversations,

I have

shared and

expressed that

I would

like to

have a

daughter,

have they

just

forgotten

about my

feelings about

this?

Why has

nobody

reached out

and told

me they're

sorry I

don't have

a daughter,

even though

we're having

the daddy-daughter

dance?

I could go

through that

whole process

and I

could justify

that feeling,

you guys are

making me feel

this way,

or I could

just stop

for a moment

and go,

why is it

that I feel

sad?

Oh,

it's just a

reminder of

a good thing

that I've

desired in my

life that God

has decided

not to

give me.

God is

sovereign over

our children,

and I'm

grateful for

what he has

given me,

and if I

take the

time,

I just

find myself

rejoicing in

the fact that

I have three

wonderful,

beautiful boys.

I love them,

and I love

our house,

and the

dynamic of

it,

and the

crazy that

we get

into together.

I could

assume the

best of

everybody.

You're not

doing this

thing to

hurt me,

you're doing

it to

have fun,

and rejoice,

and enjoy

your daughters,

and then I

can join you

in that.

I can rejoice

with you in

the process

of doing

that.

You see?

Bring those

emotions under

control.

Get some

clear situational

perspective.

Perhaps

somebody says

something to

you that

feels offensive,

you're suffering

a loss,

and they

say something

that seems

unkind.

You could

assume the

worst of

what they

mean,

or you

could instead

assume the

best of

them.

I find when

I assume the

best,

I'm never

disappointed

because often

it's true,

and if it's

not,

then at

very least,

I hoped

that the

best was

true in a

given situation.

God's

chosen ones,

holy and

beloved,

compassionate

hearts,

kindness,

humility,

meekness,

and patience,

bearing with

one another.

Hear him

there.

He's saying

people are

going to make

mistakes.

If we're

going to live

in relationship

with other

people,

it is

inevitable

that it's

going to

happen.

And we're

to bear

with one

another

through that.

If one

has a

complaint

against

another,

forgiving

each other,

as the

Lord has

forgiven

you,

so you

also

must

forgive.

forgive.

So rather

than feeling

something and

then back

filling it to

justify the

feeling,

stop for a

minute and

know what's

actually true

and then

think,

do I need

to go get

the real

information

for the

situation?

And if I

do,

then go to

the brother

or sister

and talk

to them.

Ask them

what they

meant.

did they

mean to

exclude you?

Assume the

best of

them in

the process

and forgive

them when

they

apologize.

If not,

just bear

with them.

We're all

going to say

stupid things

and make

mistakes and

misinviting

somebody to

something when

we should

have invited

them and

we would

have wanted

to if we

just didn't

have so much

going on.

Right?

Our emotions

must not

define

the truth.

The truth,

the truth

needs to

stand

on its

own.

Secondly,

our emotions

must not

control

our decisions.

Proverbs 29

and verse

11 says,

a fool

gives full

vent

to a spirit,

but a wise

man

quietly

holds

it back.

A fool

when he

has emotions

rushes off,

right?

Blows up,

but a wise

man is

restraining.

Many

people

make

massive

life-altering

choices

based on

temporary

emotions

rather than

on

biblical

wisdom.

This is so

dangerous

because

emotions

fluctuate

and easily

mislead.

I can

feel

one way

about

something

one day

and an

entirely

different

way

about

it

the next.

You'll

often hear

things like,

I just

don't feel

a piece

about this

or the

opposite.

I just

feel

a piece

about it.

Nowhere

in the

Bible

are we

told to

make

decisions

based

on

our

emotions.

some

examples

of

emotionally

driven

decisions.

We can

often

react

in

anger.

Moses

struck

the

rock

in

frustration

rather

than

obeying

God's

commands.

Numbers

Numbers 20 · chapter mention

chapter

20

and oh

the

trouble

that

ensued

as a

result.

We do

things

often out

of fear

of man

over

the fear

of God.

King

Saul

disobeyed

God

because

he

feared

people's

opinions

more than

he feared

the Lord.

1 Samuel

1 Samuel 15 · chapter mention

chapter

15

Anxiety

leading

to

unbelief

instead

of

trusting

God's

provision.

Many

worry

and make

rash

decisions.

The

right

response

to

our

emotions

is that

we must

rule

over

them

rather

than

allowing

them

to

rule

over

us.

We

ourselves

are not

the

authority

by which

we

rule.

We

bring it

under

God's

word.

We

say in

our

home

all the

time

with a

mantra

in our

house,

do not

let your

emotions

control

you.

2 Corinthians

2 Corinthians 10:5

chapter

10

verse 5

calls us

to take

every

thought

captive

to

obey

Christ.

So

making

decisions

we

should

seek

wise

counsel.

Proverbs

Proverbs 24:6

24

verse 6

tells us

by wise

guidance

you can

wage

your

war

and

in

abundance

of

counselors

there

is

victory.

And

if

you

seek

counsel

you

should

actually

receive

the

counsel.

Don't

go to

enough

people

and

then

one

of

them

agrees

with

you

the

thing

you

already

wanted

to

do

and

do

!

that

thing

right?

What

do

many

counselors

have

to

say

about

the

situation

you're

in?

We

should

be

sure

to

persist

in

the

clear

commands

of

God

as

we

navigate

the

particulars

of

our

lives.

Our

emotions

must

not

control

our

decisions.

Thirdly

our

emotions

must

not

direct

our

corporate

worship.

Jesus

says in

John

John 4:23

chapter 4

verse

23

and 24

but

the

hour

is

coming

and

is

now

here

when

the

true

worshipers

will

worship

the

father

in

spirit

and

truth.

For

the

father

is

seeking

such

people

to

worship

him.

God

is

spirit

and

those

who

worship

him

must

worship

in

spirit

and

truth.

And

he's

not

there

saying

in

emotions

and

truth

but

he's

saying

in

the

inner

man

like

all

that

is

included

in

the

inner

man

which

is

in

part

our

equate

true

worship

with

emotional

experience

rather

than

a

heart

directed

by

truth.

We

want

the

truth

to

lead

the

charge

in

our

gathered

times

together.

So

we will

speak

and

pray

and

sing

and

preach

and

see

and

hear

the

truth

and

we

will

hope

that

our

emotions

catch

up

to

the

truth.

This

is

what

we're

attempting

to do

together.

This

is

why

when

we

sing

songs

together

they

are

wordy

songs.

True

deep

songs

because

we

have

a

limited

amount

of

time

together

and

we

want

those

songs

to

be

true.

We

want

it

to

be

clear.

Just

last

year

I

went

to

a

large

megachurch

in

our

area

when

I

was

on

sabbatical

and

they

sang

and

there

was

a

lot

of

emotion

and

the

songs

said

nothing

of

any

substance.

The

general

theme

of the

songs

is that

we

are

victorious,

that

we

are

set

free

and

that

we

are

overcomers

but

never

defined

what

we're

victorious

over,

what

we're

set

free

from

or

what

we

have

overcome.

Never

defined

it.

at

all.

Lots

of

emotion

about

this,

but

what

were

people

filling

in

the

blanks

with

as

they

were

being

so

emotional?

I

couldn't

tell you.

I have

no

idea

what

was

going

on

in

that

gathering.

We

are

okay

with

emotional

expressions

during

our

time

together.

We

tend

to

not

be

that

kind

of

people.

But

we

are

okay

with

it.

Your

emotions

can

catch up

to

the

truth.

And we

hope

that it

does.

Examples

of

emotionally

driven

worship.

I mentioned

it already,

but the

idolatry

of

experience.

Some

seek an

emotional

high

rather

than

deep

engagement

with

God's

truth.

And

emotional

highs

feel good.

They'll

carry you

for a

little

while,

love.

But

what you

need

across

your

life

is

substantive

worship.

We need

to be

together

and we

need

to be

reminded

together

of who

God

is

and what

he has

promised

for

his

people.

The

older

you

get,

I

promise,

I'm

speaking

to a

largely

young

group,

the

older

you

get,

the

more

you

will

appreciate

the

week

in

and

week

out,

gathering

of

God's

people,

opening

his

word,

and being

reminded

of

who

he

is

and

what

he

has

promised

to

us.

I

guarantee

this

will

be

the

case.

Regular

repetition,

in and

out of

the

truth

together.

I need

this

every

single

week.

When

I'm

not

here,

I

most

deeply

miss

not

being

here,

not

because

I

love

you

guys,

which

I

do,

I

like

seeing

your

faces,

I

love

seeing

the

kids

running

around,

I

miss

all

of

the

entrapments

that

are

so

wonderful

about

us

together.

What

I

most

miss

is

opening

the

word

with

you

guys.

Declaring

the

truth

together.

I

need

quiet

rooms

of

people

with

Bibles

open

in

their

laps.

I

get

reminded

of

this

when

we

gather

together

on

Sunday

morning.

I

need

the

word

faithfully

taught.

Whether

I'm

in the

role

doing

it

or

I'm

sitting

and

listening

to

somebody

else

do it.

I

need

to

hear

you

sing

and

rejoice

in

God's

truth

for

you.

So

important.

So

important.

Drives

us

on.

We

also

can be

tempted

towards

empty

formalism,

a suppression

of emotion

when we

gather

together,

so much

that we're

just

lifeless.

we see

a high

church

formality

at

places

in

American