Video Transcript: Healthy Soul – Care Through Spreading Christianity Together

So we're talking about soul care. And one of the things the monastic movement  did, which I thought was interesting is they found a way for people to get busy.  proclaiming Jesus Christ, busy doing good, alleviating poverty, busy in the  mission. And I know for myself, that I don't listen to the devil's workshop, that  busyness is good for my soul. Now, I agree with six days you shall labor and do  all your work and the seventh day rest. So I agree with rest. But the attitude is  that of being busy. Stay busy doing the work of the Lord, avoid idleness. II  Thessalonians 3:11-12. We hear that some among you are idle, they are not.  They are not busy. They're busybodies, such people we command and urge in  the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the bread they eat. This is one  truth I observed over four decades of ministry. And that is that idleness is a killer  of the soul. It creates all sorts of trouble. And I've noticed, like, various times like  here's one if someone becomes unemployed, and idleness creeps in, look out or someone retires. So they're trying to figure things out. But whatever is the  monastic booming showed, as people care deeply about the soul that they were  called to get busy. And so whatever your situation life is, many of you have come to Christian Leaders Institute, because that idleness propelled you because  what was happening to your spiritual life, you were experiencing pain, the soul  was in pain, and you knew I gotta do something, I gotta get purpose. So you  somehow you went on the internet, and somehow you found Christian Leaders  Institute, community, accountability, brothers, if someone is caught in the sin,  you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself that you also  be tempted, carry each other's burdens in such a way you will fulfill the law of  Christ. A lot of times, this passage is quoted in a church organization way like  somebody had an affair in their spouse, and now, the leaders get together and  they exercise discipline. And I believe that's one application. But another  application is just be with each other. In a sense, be gentle watchers of each  other says, do it in gentleness, if your Be careful to restore and gentleness, you  know, the temptation sometimes is to just sort of, like, you know, take the  hammer out, and you know, but the most times I think people are struggling and  in the soul is fragile. And with come to me, all who are heavy laden, and I will  give you rest, Jesus has a gentleness about how he would deal with us sinners.  And in a community, we can have that kind of a gentleness too. So instead of  just judging someone and telling them what they're doing wrong, and why are  you doing that, maybe it's about talking with them. Now, notice that Path, and  talking to them, and I actually say one more thing, talking and listening, and in  sharing the story and in ministering and that's where life coaching and  chaplaincy and you know, pastoring and prayer, you know, walking alongside of  them, but be careful which arrow which ways the arrow pointing is a pointing to  glorify God, don't get caught up. Again, as people are ministering to each other,  the accountability is ultimately a realization that temptations are everywhere,  and that the soul is fragile. And we come together to help each other limit the 

exposure of our souls to to places that can really harm us. I want to say one  thing here, too, you know, sometimes when you talk like this, it feels kind of  fresh to like, oh, no, everything is going bad and the soul can break everything.  Again, in some ways, the way the monastic leader thought about that is they just took it serious. They knew. And we know today that God has us that we are his  no one can snatch us out of his hands. I mean, even in Corinthians, the early  Corinthians one talks about how you know, let your work be, you know, finer  materials and let it not be of hay in the in the fire burns and all that remains, you  know, is that person without works, okay, in a lot of ways people can get scared  or worried about that type of description, and I've gone the other way, it's like,  wow, even in some of our most frail moments, we don't have to worry, God is  there. That is an encouragement of, let's be about the finer materials refined,  let's be refined, let's grow it. Let's help each other grow. But always know that  God knows those who are His that no one can snatch us out of God's hands. So while we're talking about all of these things, also, simultaneously be aware that  God has this God has a plan, He who began a good work in you will carry it to  completion in the day of Jesus Christ. So you know, I look at our lives. And I've  come to realize that if we are intimate, if that's who you are, it's as if back to that  Corinthians passage about we find by fire, and then having a community that's  with us that are in it to win it with us. Our minds and hearts, do get on track for  the mission and the mission carries us along so we don't get our eyes seen and  all these distractions, we have no time for this. What I find really interesting is  this passage from I Timothy 6:12, fight the good fight of the faith take hold of  eternal life from which you're called, when you made your good confession, in  the presence of many witnesses. What I like about this passage is here's the  Apostle Paul is saying to Timothy, he's mentoring him, he's challenging him, he's encouraging him that gets so caught up in the fight of the faith, that you have no  time. Again, I go back to my dear father, I just thought he was so busy working  at Camp timber Lee and building this and doing this and doing this, I got no time for all those idols and distractions. And that's the monastic movement. That was  their heart, even though we will not agree with everything, how they did it. But in  the sense, it's not the monastic movement, that you get busy going out of the  world. It's the monastic heart of getting involved. Now, I will tell you, that many of them in the monastic movement, were so into the mission, that they built  hospitals and they went out there so you don't understand. I'm not trying to  characterize all things as one thing, because we can learn many, many, some of the best hospitals in the world were made by monastic priests, and nuns who  gave theirselves 100% to Jesus Christ, and it was wonderful for their souls, as  they gave themselves to the mission. So as we think about soul care, we think  about the seriousness by which we look at our soul and how our soul stays  devoted to Jesus Christ, how our soul is limited from things that hurt it, limiting 

the wrong kind of company, how we are busy, at it for the gospel. All of these  things are powerful as we care and declutter our souls.