A Renewed Soul
(This Weekly Prayer was written by Devi Susanto, from the CBC English Prayer Ministry Core Team, and edited by Brigitta Tedja)
Watch Ps Dion’s preaching here
Pastor Dion closed the sermon series of “A Prosperous Soul.” What is promised in John 16? “In Jesus, you will have perfect peace, but in the world, you will have tribulation, distress, and suffering but be courageous, be confident, undoubted, be filled with joy because He has overcome the world and his conquest is accomplished and his victory is abiding.” This is the thing; with life, you will have challenges. We were born on earth and live in a broken world, but we are to bring the kingdom of God on earth, to manifest His kingdom to the world. You will have challenges in your life, but if you do not get renewed or if you do not change what you are doing wrong, it will make you vulnerable and susceptible to become defeated when challenges come. This is important because you must learn to change so that you can understand victory in Jesus. God made a promise that you can overcome the world. One of the keys to renew your mind and become victorious is to take notes during sermons and meetings. In contrast to what was stated before, if you forget the Word of God, it is useless and you will not be able to change.
A Renewed Soul
“Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health just as your soul prospers.”
3 John 1:2 NKJV
God wants us to prosper in our soul because it will dictate on whether or not the other aspects of our lives become prosperous. As James stated, “Your soul is not a good leader, it cannot lead your life.” Proverbs 13:12 states, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life” How can we consistently have a prosperous soul that can impact the rest of our lives? Maybe your soul does not feel prosperous due to health issues, family issues, career issues, or financial issues but God wants us to be blessed, prosper, and be in health, even as our soul prospers.
Pastor Dion reviewed the human soul as seen in 1 Thessalonians 5:23 (KJ21), “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly, and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our lord Jesus Christ.” Jesus is coming back for a second time so it is likened to someone you love who is returning soon. Usually we say, “body-soul-spirit” but that is not the case. In the Bible, it is in reverse, it is “spirit-soul-body.” It is very important to know the order because you cannot go by what you feel and have your soul dictate your spirit. It is the opposite; it is your spirit that drives your soul.
Bill Johnson stated, “Everything we will ever need was purchased at the cross.” There was a heavenly exchange that occurred. A person’s spirit is perfect and blameless to God if he/she received Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:21 NIV states, “God made him who had no sin to be sin, for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” When you received salvation, your soul and body remained the same but your spirit changed. God is spirit so He communicates to us through our spirits. God bypasses the logic and speaks directly to your spirit. The soul is like a mediator and nothing goes directly to action. At times, you may receive an unction through your spirit but sometimes your mind decides that what you received is wrong and you become afraid to speak up. Often times, the soul is “in the way” and part of the next process.
Remember, “Everything we will ever need was purchased at the cross” functions in the spiritual realm. The question is, “Have you received the fullness of what Jesus has paid for on the cross?” We often battle in our minds regarding many things because our soul is not yet renewed. Once you have a renewed mind, will, and emotion, you will more consistently see miracles, signs. wonders, hear God clearly, and become a blessing to many. God created all three; spirit, soul, and body, and said “It was good.” The enemy often times “tweaks” our minds. God does speak through your imagination which is part of the spirit realm, but your soul first needs to be renewed so that what you receive is pure. We need to reset it back to the original purpose of God, get it renewed, and back to the original condition.
5 Keys for a Renewed Soul
“Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years, and had suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment. For she said, “If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.” Mark 5:25-34 NIV
The above passage is the only time Jesus did not actively participate in a healing.
Trust in the Nature of God (God is Good)
You may not have all the answers to your trials/tribulations, but you will receive a revelation. As the woman touched Him, the goodness of God automatically flowed out. She accessed Him due to a revelation she received. Flushing out accusations against God is not a key factor to obtaining a renewed soul. Faith is not “on-demand.” Spiritually, everything that is good has a process. If God is not answering your prayers, it may be because your journey is part of your process, like what Joseph went through. God did not answer Joseph’s prayer to return home in order to prepare him for what was coming. It may be a part of God’s discipline and getting you ready for “the call.” It may be part of the process to renew your mind and experience a breakthrough. You must change your wrong habits to become undefeated. Trials and tribulations are promised but God loves you, will remain with you, and you will see miracles if you believe.
“They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way; they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!” Then the Lord sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died.” Numbers 21:4-9 NIV
“The Lord said to Moses, ‘Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live . . . So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, they lived.” Philippians 4:4-7 NIVFocus on Jesus, Not Your Problems
John 3:14-15 stated, “Just as Moses lifted the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of man must be lifted up so that all who believe may have life in Him.” We as Christians have a journey in our lives and we may stumble here and there, but where is our focus? If you want to obtain a prosperous soul, you must focus on Jesus. If we have a problem, our tendency is to process the problem some more and “sprinkle emotional things” on the fact of the problem and keep doing it over and over again. A problem that started small, is amplified due to overthinking, causing mental health issues like anxiety. Being overworked in fear, bitterness, and unbelief does not allow for a renewed soul.
The Soul (Psuche/Psyche) is the Greek word for the soul (mind, emotion, will). Psuche is the feminine form in Greek. Females are created by God to be an incubator or a super-factory. God created all three parts of the soul, each part is important, each part is good. First you hear something from the spiritual realm, and it then affects your mind and emotion, and then it goes to the will, and then to what you decide to do (action). The soul is not a bad thing. It is what makes us humans, but how you renew your soul is what determines you to walk like Jesus on earth or not. Your soul is like a factory and the ingredients that comes into your factory are the keys to what you will produce in your life. We are eternal beings, but if we do not fill ourselves with spiritual things, how do you expect to live in the spirit? Whatever you put in is what governs your mind. To have a prosperous soul, you must fill the parts of the soul with God-things. Meditate on God’s word and do not feed on negativity. Focus on God and allow the Holy Spirit to process you.
“Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a female slave who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. ,, She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the highest God, who are telling you the way to be saved.”,, When her owners realized that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face authorities. About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose.” Acts 16:16-40 NIVA Grateful Heart/Heart of Worship
The “why’s” of your life can cause your soul to spiral down. Be grateful for what you have. Yes, things can go wrong and the enemy wants you to focus on your sadness and problems. In order to have a prosperous soul, you need to have a grateful heart. In the Bible, Paul struggled and had a challenging life, but was grateful and was happy to work for God. Learn to be grateful and become a “magnet” of blessings. Negative thinking deflects blessings. If you want to experience miracles, learn to be grateful.
“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near…” Philippians 4:4-7 NIV
“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NIVFill Your SOUL with Spiritual Truth
You can be led of the Spirit. Jesus’ words are Spirit and life. If you want to hear God’s Spirit speak to you, open the Bible, read it, meditate on it, let it become the ingredients to your factory, and make declarations. Like David, fill yourself, your factory, change your heart, and get your soul adjusted to access what Jesus has already given you.
“Finally, brothers and sisters, what is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.” Philippians 4:8 NIV
“Keep and guard your heart with all vigilance and above all that you guard. For out of it flow the springs of life.” Proverbs 4:23 AMPCBe Selective on What You Allow to Enter into Your SOUL
We are so educated by the world but less educated by the Spirit because we do not have the time. Make the time.
Prayer Points:
Pray to trust in God, for He is good
Jeremiah 29:11 “’For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’”
Accept the process
Pray for renewal of our souls (mind, emotion, will)
To have a positive and teachable attitude
Pray to be strong in our faith
Pray to overcome our fears, bitterness, and unbelief
Pray to fill our soul with God’s truth
Increase reading our Bibles
Meditate on God’s truth
Make declarations of who we are in God
Be selective on what you feed your soul
Pray for our minds to focus on God
Break anxiety/stress/problems
Break torment/anguish/despair
Break negative cycles
Pray to have grateful hearts/hearts of worship
Let our hearts be grateful for what we have and not take things for granted
Rejoice in God
Pray for prosperity of our souls
Pray for destinies to be realized
Be the Salt & Light:
Pray for California:
Sacramento has produced more and more unGodly bills. Some of those bills will go through committee hearing in the next 2 weeks.
Pray for believers to rise up, take a stand and courageously oppose those unGodly bills.
Pray for all the unGodly bills to be defeated!
Pray for more Godly candidates to run for office.
Pray for believers to rise up and support Godly candidates currently running for office.
Pray for America:
Pray for God to raise up Godly candidate for SCOTUS justice to replace Justice Stephen.
Russia - Ukraine war is still raging, pray that America can lead all the other world leaders to find solutions to end this war. Pray that America will be the city on the hill where other nations look up to for leadership and solution.
Pray that God will pour out His wisdom upon our leaders to craft our domestic energy policy that will benefit the American people and bring down the inflation.
Pray for our southern border. Our porous southern border has become an entry point for human traffickers, drugs and violent criminals. Pray for wisdom upon our leaders to enact and enforce a just and lawful immigration policy.
Pray for Ukraine:
Declare peace upon this region.
Pray for God to soften President Putin’s heart and make him willing to sit on the discussion table to bring peace back into this region.
Pray for safety upon all the churches in the region.
Pray for all the people that displaced by this war and loss their loved ones.
Pray for the children displaced by this war.
May we allow the Holy Spirit to process us so that our souls are renewed!