What is My Soul? | Ps. Chris Brooks

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Summer school here at in uh Orlando at Celebration Church.

I just love this church so much.

Man, I was at the launch service here seven years ago.

And so it's always it does feel like home.

I've known Lindsay and I said I wasn't gonna make a comment about Pastor Nate's hair, but I just can't help myself.

I'm just jealous.

I'm struggling with jealousy on the front row during worship.

If I could just have Pastor Nate's hair, my life would be so much better.

But anyway, oh the fresh start, guys.

You guys were here last time I was here as well.

Come on, put your put your hands together for this.

Thank you for being with us.

It's an honor to have you guys worship with us this morning.

Well, I'm gonna talk to you about uh what is my soul?

What is my soul and the the role I'm in these days?

I've been teaching a lot about soul care, keeping our souls healthy.

And uh it's a little different than self-care.

To me, self-care is like when you go to the spa, which is nothing wrong with that.

Amen.

Get a massage.

Soul care is talking about, come on now.

Soul care is talking about your soul, that deep part of you.

And so I want to talk to you a little bit about what is my soul here in this summer school series.

Let's come on, let's say a quick prayer.

Father, thank you for your word.

Thank you for uh this Father's Day and your house.

We open our hearts to you, Lord, that we could leave our time together changed and closer to you.

And everybody said, Amen.

What is your soul?

What do you think about when you think about your soul?

Soul food?

Come on now.

I'm from Louisiana, man.

We got some good soul food.

Up in Jacksonville, Pastor Keith and I used to go to the soul food bistro.

Come on, somebody.

Come on, y'all.

What about soul music?

What comes to your mind?

Maybe y'all are too young for soul music.

I don't know.

I don't know.

A lot of you uh you know, so we've heard this.

Maybe you've heard body, soul, spirit.

You know, we are a spirit, we have a soul, we live in a body.

I feel like a little bit too simplistic.

I feel like it's a little deeper.

The word spirit means uh pneuma.

And here the the word uh soul is nefesh.

And this the scripture says in Genesis 2, 7, it says, And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living Nefesh, a living soul.

And that just means a breathing creature, and soul nefesh.

In the Shema, in Deuteronomy 6, 5, it says, You shall love the Lord your God with all of your heart, with all of your soul, and with all of your might, the scripture says.

And so love the Lord God with all of your soul, the Bible says.

And so, what is our soul?

I want to start in Matthew chapter 16.

Matthew 16 · chapter mention

And in this chapter, Jesus told the disciples, he said, If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself.

Take up his cross and follow me.

For forever would save his life will lose it, but for whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul?

Or what shall man give in return for his soul, or give in exchange for his soul?

And so Jesus said, What if you gain the whole world but you lose your soul?

Or what can you exchange?

What will you exchange for your soul?

And like many of you always thought this meant Jesus talking about, you know, lose your soul, you lose eternal life, you go to hell.

I always thought that's what it meant.

All these years reading this, one of the first scriptures I read when I got saved.

However, if we look a little deeper, we think Jesus is asking a rhetorical question regarding our eternal destiny, but what he's really asking is a little deeper.

He's talking to his disciples.

He's not talking about those who are trying to find eternal life, who are gonna try to follow him.

He's talking to his disciples.

And this Greek word for uh life or soul, suke, it's the same word as soul for life in this passage.

So, what Jesus is really saying here, what if you accomplish great things in life or ministry, but you're disconnected from me?

Jesus is saying, I'm the only one who gives life.

He said, I am the vine, you are the branches.

John, uh, 1 John 5.

Whoever abides in me and I in him is he that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

John 15, 5.

The scripture says, He who has the Son has life.

And so, what is Jesus saying here in these passages?

He's saying that your soul, the state of your soul, it's not just a destination, it's a state of being.

It's a journey.

Let me ask you this morning on Father's Day, how is your soul this morning?

And our soul, it doesn't thrive in accomplishments, but our soul thrives in being with God.

Accomplishments are fleeting, and we're responsible to keep our souls healthy.

And so, what Jesus is saying, we have to stay connected to the vine.

We draw life from him, staying connected.

That's healthy.

No one's gonna do it for us.

We have to stay connected.

And so, uh, an integrated life.

You know the word integrity.

Think about what that means.

It means an integrated life.

And so sin disintegrates.

Sin disintegrates, sin eventually destroys my capacity even for enjoyment, let alone meaning.

It distorts my perceptions, alienates my relationships, inflames my desires, and enslaves my will.

This is what it means to lose your soul.

And so the soul was not made to live on empty.

But the soul doesn't come with a gauge.

The indicators of soul fatigue are more subtle.

Things seem to bother you more than they should.

Your spouse's gum chewing suddenly reveals to you a massive character flaw.

It's hard to make up your mind, even about the most simple decision.

Impulses to eat or drink or spend or crave are harder to resist than they otherwise would be.

You're more likely to favor short-term gains than the high long-term cost.

I call these quick hits overeating, overspending, over-drinking, trying to fill our soul.

And so here this morning in the summer school uh series, I want to give you six thoughts about your soul.

Come on, if you're with me, say amen.

All right, that's pretty good on Father's Day.

And so, the number one is your soul needs to be with God.

Come on, if you're taking notes.

Be with God.

I am a terrible writer.

This is gonna be fun.

Okay.

Your son needs to be your soul needs to be with God.

And so the scripture says this be still and know that I am God.

Psalm 46, 10.

So anxiety, what I when I think about this scripture, Psalm 46.10, anxiety comes from thinking about the future or dwelling on the past.

So the scripture says, be still and know that I am God.

There's another scripture that has been on my heart for uh the last several months, even back into last year.

It says this repentance and rest is your salvation, quietness and trust is your strength.

Isaiah 30.

Quietness and trust is your strength.

Another translation says, stillness and confidence is your strength.

Repentance and rest is your salvation, quietness and trust is your strength.

And so hurry is the great enemy of spiritual life.

You must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life.

The last few months I've been thinking about this uh scripture.

Quietness and trust is your strength.

Stillness and silence is your strength.

There was a book that came out about 10 years ago.

It's called Soulkeeping by John Ortberg.

And it was one of the first books that I really read about uh taking care of your soul.

And so there was a guy named Dallas Willard.

Anybody ever heard of Dallas Willard?

A few of you.

And so Dallas Willard passed away a few years ago, but he was at USC, he was a philosopher, an educator.

And so he said this: He says, Hurry is the enemy of your spiritual life.

He says, you must ruthless, ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life.

Dallas Willard was kind of the father of spiritual disciplines.

And this is what he said was the secret to having a healthy soul, eliminate hurry from your life.

It doesn't mean being uh you know lazy or unproductive.

But when we think of Jesus, we don't think of him racing around in a hurry.

He got a lot done in only three years.

But how do you know he had a rhythm with the Father?

And so uh Jesus was intentional, but he wasn't in a hurry.

Have you ever been so rushed and in a hurry?

One time I was so frantic and so, you know, in hurry in my life that I was looking for my cell phone while talking on it.

Come on, anybody else?

I said, I need to get checked in trembling hills today.

This is too much, man.

When you're looking for your cell phone when you're talking on it, you need a break, friend.

Okay.

So the danger of getting so busy, and especially those of you who do a lot of ministry and serve others, is we equate working for God with being with God.

And so our soul needs to be with God.

And so the spiritual disciplines.

What are the spiritual disciplines?

Prayer, Bible reading, Sunday worship, solitude, giving, all of these things that we do, they position us for our soul health.

And so when we do these things, do they fill our lives with grace?

Do they give us grace for more life?

Do they position us to be healthy with our souls?

When we read the scripture, is it just for head knowledge?

There's a part of that, learning, but do we enjoy being with a person and feeling his delight in us?

That's filling your soul.

And so the goal is that we would arrange our days so that we're experiencing deep contentment and joy and confidence in our life with God.

That's a full soul.

But it takes some discipline, doesn't it?

Just have you ever just tried to take a couple of minutes and sit in silence?

I started doing this last year.

In the mornings, I'd read a few scriptures and then the mornings and just sit with the Lord.

Don't ask him for anything and just be with him.

Have you ever tried it?

It's hard.

Take two minutes and just sit before the Lord.

Hopefully it'll turn into a little more than that.

Try it again in the afternoon.

Read a few scriptures and just sit before the Lord.

You know, they say you don't master silence, silence masters you.

And so what happened is your soul will start to long for silence.

Because the scripture says, what does Isaiah say?

He says that stillness and silence, it's your strength.

And you start to, your soul starts to get full when you just sit before the Lord.

You say, What am I supposed to think about?

Just be with him.

One of the things that I like to think about is the Luke 15, the sword of the progal son.

And that, you know, so remember the story?

So the son is lost, but the the father, can you picture a Jewish man with a robe running across a field, embracing his son, hugging him?

He was lost, but now he's found.

Put the ring on his finger, put the robe on him, put the sandals on his feet, kill the fatted calf.

We're gonna have a party.

My son is back.

Can you see him running, embracing?

Just there's so many layers to that story.

You know, on Father's Day, you know, I've been the son, I've been the father.

I am the father.

You know, I've got a son.

I can I can I can dwell on that.

You can dwell on that for a lifetime.

I've been the older brother.

You know, another thing to think about, you know, the scripture says God is love.

Sometimes I'll just dwell on his love.

You know, you can meditate on the love of God for a lifetime.

Sometimes I'll just think of being in an ocean with his love just covering me, flowing into my heart, into my soul.

Amen.

And so spending time with God, prayer and meditation, confession, they have the power to rewire our brain in a way that can make us feel less self-focused and more aware of how God sees us.

It's so valuable.

I'm telling you guys, it's a lot harder than it sounds.

How many of you know if God's people would just spend more time with him?

Just being with him.

The scripture says, deep calls unto deep.

Just being with the Lord, getting to know him, hearing his voice.

Boy, it does something in our souls.

The second thought about our soul is this our soul needs rest.

Okay.

Number two, our soul needs rest.

All the fathers that are gonna take a nap.

Say amen.

Come on, somebody.

The older I get, the more I love Sunday naps.

Okay.

So your soul needs rest.

Repentance and rest is your salvation.

Quietness and trust is your strength.

Jesus said, Come unto me, all you labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest for your souls, he said.

Rest for your souls.

And so we can't give what we don't have.

We've got to rest.

We can run on empty.

And so your soul was made to rest in God the way a tree rests in soil.

And so I love Psalm 1.

Remember Psalm 1?

It says this blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful, but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law he meditates day and night.

He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, whose bring forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither, and whatever he does shall prosper.

It says, He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water.

It's bringing forth fruit.

It won't ever wither.

Why?

Because it's connected to the vine.

Jesus said, I am the vine.

You're the branches.

He who abides in me, and I in him bears much fruit.

And so resting in the Lord, our soul can get tired.

Our soul can get empty.

Our soul can get wounded in life.

Our soul can get disconnected from the Lord.

And I'm not talking about salvation.

How many of you know when you repent of your sins and believe the gospel and you're born again?

You believe in Jesus, you're his son, you're his daughter.

Amen.

All it takes is repenting and believing in Jesus, trusting in Jesus, the atonement.

He who we were once dead in our trespasses and sins.

Aren't you thankful for the gospel of Christ?

Amen.

So I'm not talking about salvation.

But David said this in Psalm 23, He restores my soul.

I was going through a difficult time a couple years ago.

I felt like my soul was tired, even wounded, for sure.

And I just began to pray this psalm that King David wrote.

He restores my soul.

And I began to pray, Jesus, restore my soul.

My soul needs healing.

My soul needs healing.

My soul needs restoration.

And so, how does our soul get restored?

I'm gonna give you three ways.

The first way our soul is restored is in God's presence.

In his presence is fullness of joy.

At his right hand are pleasures forevermore.

And so his soul, his something there's something significant about the manifest presence of God.

When he inhabits the praises of his people, it doesn't necessarily have to be on a Sunday, but there's something significant about the corporate.

I mean, I I was thinking this morning, so uh Lindsay, the girl on the guitar, so I remember her when she learned to play the guitar.

She was just a young little college girl.

So and she she led worship at a campus I was at for uh almost seven years, and and that was a long time ago.

That was 10 years ago.

And so I th I told Ashley, I said, boy, this reminds me of just being, it was in uh Jacksonville, and and as Lindsay and and Vinny, man, how awesome is he, and this team leading us into the presence of God.

There's nothing like the presence, there's something about it, it does something in our souls.

God's presence, another thing that restores our soul is nature.

Remember, Jesus, he got up.

The scripture says before the sun came up, while it was still dark, Jesus got up and he went to a solitary place where there he prayed, and he would go to a mountain.

He would go uh by the water, he would go into the desert.

And there's something about nature that restores and heals our soul.

There's something about it, it's how we're made.

It does something deep in our soul.

Getting away and getting in nature does something in us.

And here in Florida, I get I'm guessing it's the same way in Orlando.

Whatever they, whenever we build something, there has to be a retention pond, right?

Retention ponds are everywhere, right?

In every neighborhood, right?

It's a thing, it's a law, right?

So uh my neighborhood has a few retention ponds.

Got some uh mutant-looking ducks that come around there.

Things look disease-ridden to me.

I don't know.

But anyway, I get past the mutant ducks, and then when I see the the retention ponds, I always pray this.

I've been doing this the last year or so.

He restores my soul, he leads me by the still retention pond.

Come on, somebody.

He restores my soul.

But water's water, right?

He restores my soul.

A third way that our soul is restored is community.

Community.

You may want to write this in your phone.

I've been thinking about this the last three or four years, okay?

Processing our pain dissipates our emotions.

Processing our pain dissipates our emotions.

How is our pain processed?

In community.

When you are full of anger, which means you feel threatened.

When you're full of fear, anger, anger, you feel threatened.

You feel fear, you you you when you're afraid, when you're when you're when you are abnormally sad, you've suffered loss.

You're grieving.

Okay?

When you have these emotions and you talk to a friend, processing your pain dissipates the emotions.

And that's how your soul is restored and healed in community.

Confess your trespasses one to another that you may be healed.

Could there be some sins that aren't truly healed?

And I'm not saying they're not forgiven, I'm saying they're not truly healed until you bring them to the light with a friend.

And so community heals, it restores our soul.

The third thought about our soul.

Come on, are y'all still with me?

All right, the third thought about our soul is our soul needs satisfaction.

Satisfaction.

Isaiah 55.

I've been I've been in this scripture a little bit.

I love this scripture.

So if your Bibles, you can turn to Isaiah 55.

It says this come everyone who thirsts.

You can circle the word thirst.

Because thirst is a metaphor for desiring what satisfies a person's soul.

Thirst.

I like David when he wrote this, as the deer pants for the water, so my soul longs for you, O God.

Can you those David said this, or Jesus said this, he who hunger and thirsts for righteousness shall be filled.

I love uh Psalm 63.

It says this, O God, you are my God.

Early I will seek you.

My soul thirsts for you, my flesh longs for you in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water.

So I have looked for you in the sanctuary to see your Power and your glory.

He says, I will seek you.

My soul thirsts for you.

My flesh longs for you in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water.

You know?

And I, this, here's the thing: there's nothing in this world that's going to satisfy.

It's like drinking giant glasses of sand.

It's not going to do it.

You're just, and how many of you know the world is looking for what's going to satisfy them?

They're drinking glasses of sand all over Orlando.

This afternoon in Father's Day, there's going to be people just drinking glasses of sand.

How many of you know they need the living water?

That's what's going to satisfy your soul.

And Jesus said, Come unto me, all you labored, and you'll find what?

Rest for your soul.

And so Psalm 63 says, So I have looked for you in the sanctuary to see your power and your glory.

He says, This, because your loving kindness is better than life.

My lips shall praise you.

Thus I will bless while I live.

I will lift up my hands in your name.

My soul shall be satisfied with marrow and fatness, and my mouth shall praise you with joyful lips.

Man, that's a full soul right there.

King David.

Anyone have kids?

Raise your hand.

Come on.

Who's got kids?

I mean, I love this.

This is, if you want to write this down, this is Psalm 44.

Here's a promise for your kids.

I got two.

One of them's here in college in Orlando.

It says this, Psalm 44, for I will I will pour water on him who is thirsty and floods on the dry ground.

I will pour my spirit out on your descendants.

Come on, somebody.

Who receives that one?

I will pour my water out on your descendants.

And my blessing on your offspring.

Psalm 44.

So we're talking, Isaiah, he says this.

Come.

Everyone who thirsts, come.

Come to the waters.

Water is a metaphor for the Holy Spirit.

And one of my favorite verses is this.

It's Psalm, uh, excuse me, John, in John chapter 7.

John 7 · chapter mention

It's a feast day.

It's a great day of the feast.

And Jesus said, the scripture says it's on that day of the feast.

Jesus stood and he cried out.

If anyone thirst, let him come to me and drink.

Can you see Jesus like up on a feast day?

It's packed with people.

Jesus, the scripture says, he stood and he cried out, If any man thirst, let him come to me and drink.

And out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.

He who believes in me, as the scriptures has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water, and he'll never thirst again.

Wow.

Man, that's powerful.

Let him come to me and drink if you're thirsty.

Isaiah 55 says this come, everyone who thirsts.

Come to the waters.

It says, and he who has no money, come buy and eat.

Come by wine and milk.

Wine could represent joy.

Milk represents life.

He says, without money and without price, how many of you know you can't buy satisfaction?

You can't buy salvation.

He says, why do you spend your money for that which is not bread?

And your labor for that which does not satisfy.

He says, listen diligently diligently to me and eat what is good.

Delight yourself in rich food.

All the fathers said, Amen.

That's what I'm going to do.

But he's not talking about that kind of food, is he?

He says, Delight yourself in rich food.

Incline your ear and come to me.

That what?

Your soul may live.

And I will make with you an everlasting covenant.

My steadfast sure love for David.

So the wrong approach to soul satisfaction is through accomplishment and wealth.

Satisfaction doesn't come through acquiring the right things, but the right soul.

And so our soul craves to be secure.

Our soul craves to be loved.

It's only found in being with him.

He's the answer.

The book of Ecclesiastes.

King Solomon had everything that he could ever want.

He said, anything my heart's desire I could have.

You can read it.

It's amazing.

He said, anything, he said, anything my heart's desire I could have.

But what does he say?

It's meaningless.

It's vanity.

It's like chasing the wind.

He had it all.

He said it's empty.

And then the last verse of Ecclesiastes says this this is the whole duty of man to fear God and keep his commandments.

The answer is found in a relationship with Jesus.

And so our soul searches for a father.

Our soul searches for a father.

What does that mean?

It's how we're made.

The scripture says in Galatians 4, 6, God has sent forth the Spirit of a Son into your hearts crying out, Abba Father.

Our soul is searching for a Father.

Some of you had awesome, incredible earthly fathers that filled that gap, but they came up short because we all do.

And that points us to a heavenly father.

Some of you didn't.

And you feel that in your soul, the need for a father.

Some of you have spiritual mothers and fathers that fill that gap, and all those things are amazing.

But the soul searches for a father.

And it's only found.

The scripture says, God sent forth the spirit of his son into your hearts, crying out, Ah, but Father, that's that connection with Father God that brings satisfaction to your soul.

And so we don't, listen, we don't chase experiences and feelings, do we?

We're saved by faith.

However, we can chase the love of God.

We can chase the love of a father.

And so we can pray this.

Let me feel your affections towards me, O Lord.

It's a good prayer.

You know who prayed it?

King David.

He said this: Cause me to hear your loving kindness in the morning, for in you do I trust.

That's exactly what he said.

Cause me to hear your loving kindness in the morning.

You know what David is praying?

Lord, I want to hear.

I want to hear from you how much you love me as my father.

Speak to me, Lord.

Show me how much you care for me.

Show me how much and the scripture says our heart cries out, Ah, the Father.

And David says, I want to hear from you in this morning.

How many of you know when you pray like that, God's going to answer?

He's going to bring revelation into your soul that you're his son, that you're his daughter, and how much he loves you.

And so Jesus said, This I no longer call you servants, but what?

Friends.

Think of do you see Jesus like that?

A friend that sticks closer than a brother, the scripture says.

What's a friend?

Loyal, worthy, available, encouraging, honest, trustworthy.

That's Jesus.

And so the fourth thought about our soul, come on, y'all still with me?

Say amen.

Alright.

And so the fourth thought about our soul is our our soul needs freedom.

Freedom.

Here's the thing.

We think Christianity, young people think Christianity is all about restricting.

Restriction.

You can't do this, you can't do that, you can't do that.

They think it limits your freedom.

But the scripture says he who the Son sets free is free indeed.

The scripture in Galatians says, stand fast, therefore, in the freedom by which Christ has set you free and don't be entangled again in a yoke of bondage.

And Paul's saying you're not and you're not bound to the to the law.

And so there's no uh you're not slaves to sin any longer.

The scripture says you are therefore now no longer slaves to sin.

There's so you're no longer slaves to sin, you're no longer slaves to the to the law, you're free.

So our soul needs freedom.

Do you know how this freedom is found?

In surrender.

Freedom is found in surrender.

And so David said this I will walk about in freedom, for I've sought your precepts.

And so we have, you know how, how can you tell if you're surrendered?

You're in your trusting God.

And here's the thing: you you don't have all the answers in your life, but your soul is free.

Why?

Because you say this.

I believe that you're a loving father.

You see the end from the beginning of my life, and you're fathering me.

He's the perfect father.

You can trust him.

He's fathering you.

If you don't remember anything else on Father's Day about what is my soul, remember this.

God is fathering you.

He knows exactly where you are, and you can surrender your life into his hands because he's the perfect father.

The last couple of these as we close here is this.

Your soul needs blessing.

Your soul needs blessing.

What's blessing?

It's the projection of good into the life of another.

Receiving blessing is as much an art as giving them.

And so the scripture says this.

The first blessing in the scripture says this.

The priestly blessing says this.

May the Lord bless you and keep you.

May the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you.

May the Lord lift up his countenance, lift up his face upon you and give you peace.

Man, what a blessing.

And so your soul needs blessing from the Lord.

Are you able to receive the Lord's blessings in your life?

Are you able to receive his goodness in your life?

The scripture says this you crown your year with goodness, and your paths drip with abundance.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

How many of you know we're blessed?

And your soul needs blessing, and you have to receive the Lord's blessing, be a blessing to others.

Let me ask you this.

Who has the Lord put in your life to bless you?

He's put some folks in our lives.

Amen.

Who is are you receiving the blessing that the Lord has through them?

And the last one, our soul needs gratitude.

I think that gratitude, gratitude is the it is the number one thing for a healthy soul.

Gratitude is the number one practice for a healthy soul.

And so the scripture says this in everything give thanks.

Right?

So the problem with gratitude, the challenge with gratitude is this it has a short shelf life.

You can get up and be so thankful, and by lunch, you've forgotten how to be thankful.

You've forgotten all the good things in your life.

It's true, isn't it?

And so gratitude.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and to his courts with praise.

What happens when we're thankful?

It opens our heart up to the Lord.

It opens, aren't you thankful when your kids are?

Aren't you?

What happens to your heart when your kids are grateful?

It opens your heart to the Lord.

It opens, enter his gates with thank it, it opens up, it connects.

God does something deep in our souls when we're grateful.

And so what here's what I like to do is I like to just go before the Lord.

In fact, why don't we do it right now?

Why don't we just take a moment?

Just take a deep breath.

Come on, everybody.

And let's go before the Lord.

Let's enter his gates with Thanksgiving.

And I like to break them up into three categories: spiritual, relational, and physical, material, whatever.

That's what I like to do.

And I'll just begin to thank the Lord for spiritual blessings.

Thank him for Jesus.

He's our life.

Where would we be without Jesus?

Amen.

Just thank him for Jesus.

Thank him for the Holy Spirit.

The love of the Father.

Thank him for the scriptures.

That breathe wisdom and guidance and life into our hearts.

Thank him for the body of Christ.

Thank him for your pastors, your friends.

They just begin to thank him for spiritual things.

Come on, when was the last time you just thanked him?

For don't take him for granted for spiritual life, the goodness, the things that he's brought into our life, his faithfulness in our lives, his promises.

And then I began to thank him for relational blessings and just begin to thank him for your wife, your husband, your kids, your family, the friends, the people that he's put into your life.

Come on, it starts to do something in your soul.

And then I just thank God for material things, man.

Even little things.

I thank God for my truck.

My dog.

Come on, somebody.

Just begin to thank him that we live in Florida.

It's not a bad spot, y'all.

It's not a bad place to live.

Thank him for just uh the material, good health, things that he's blessed us with.

It does something in our hearts, it opens our soul to him.

And so why don't we stand quickly and I'm just gonna say a prayer for us.

And here's what we're gonna say.

Here's how we're gonna pray.

Come on, maybe you want to lift your hands up for as a prayer.

Pastor Nate's gonna come close us out.

Come on, let's pray together.

Father, we just thank you so much for your goodness in our lives.

Come on, let's just thank him for these areas that are that fills our soul.

God, we want to be with you.

We want to rest in you, God.

We thank you that you bring, you're the only person, you're the only one that brings satisfaction in our lives, God.

And we feel that, God.

We thank you for the freedom that comes from surrender in you, that our souls can be free, God.

We're no longer bound by sin or the law or desires, God, but we can be free to live for you as your sons and daughters.

God, we thank you for the blessing of the Lord.

And we receive that blessing today.

And we look for those and receive the blessings of others and look for others to be a blessing too, God.

And we we are just so grateful this morning.

We're so thankful for all of your blessings, God.

The Lord Jesus, your word, the people you put in our life, help in so many innumerable things, God.

We know that every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father of lights with whom there's no variation or shadow of turning, Lord.

It all comes from you.

And we thank you so much for filling our souls this morning.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

Thank you for joining us to learn more about Celebration Orlando, a church devoted to reaching the lost, equipping the fountain, and helping the hurting.

Follow us on social media using the handle at celebrationorl or visit our website, celebrationorl.org.