And of course, when Jesus shared that word from Deuteronomy chapter 6, this was the word that God had given to Moses to give to the children of Israel, right—to love God with everything they had. This was the next generation getting ready to enter into the land God promised them that they would enter into; because their fathers did not because of disobedience.

Deuteronomy 6:4–9 (KJV)

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:

And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:

And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.

And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.

And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.

So last week our Pastor spoke about loving God with all our hearts. And sometimes, if we really take time to examine ourselves, we come up a little short, but thank God for His mercy and His forgiveness. And he said it’s more than just the physical heart. It’s about those desires and those things that pop up within our hearts. That’s why we say, “Search me, O God, and know my heart.”

And that scripture does not define specifically what the soul is, but we are reminded that every single one of us has a soul—every single one of us. And this is every human being. Our souls live on eternally after the body experiences death.

And there’s a quote that says, “You are not a body that has a soul, but rather, you are a soul that has a body.” Your soul is far more important than the body, but how many of us put more importance on the body than we do our souls?

So we need that shift, right?

The soul is not the same as the spirit. The soul and the spirit are separate and distinct according to Hebrews 4:12. The soul will not fade away. Again, it is eternal. It is important. It is the essence of life itself—the inner being, the seat of our emotions.

Hebrews 4:12 (KJV)

For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

God sees beyond what we see. Nothing is covered that shall not be revealed, and nothing is hidden that will not eventually be known (Luke 8:17). And God knows it all anyway.

Luke 8:17 (KJV)

For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither any thing hid, that shall not be known and come abroad.

No matter where we go, no matter where we try to hide—even within ourselves—the thoughts we think, God sees it all.

Matthew 10:27–28 (KJV)

What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops.

And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

Your soul has a destination, my dear brothers and sisters. It’s either going to be heaven or hell, and it is important for us to know where our soul is going after we breathe our last breath because the soul will continue.

And again, the most important commandment is that we love the Lord our God with all our hearts, with all our souls, with all our minds, with all our strength, and do what? Love our neighbors as ourselves.

We heard that yesterday, but many times. When we hear something repeated by the Spirit of God, it means pay attention.

The soul is the essence of humanity’s being. It’s the inner person. It’s the seat of our senses, our devotions, our very life. So we need to pay attention to our soul. And when necessary, we need to shift our souls back to God.

When we feel very off course, what do we need to do? Repent. Turn.

Psalm 103:1–5 (KJV)

Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.

Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:

Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;

Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;

Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

We need to love God not just with everything, but we need to love Him, as with all of everything—everything. No aspect of who you are as God’s creation is missed out. Nothing.

Over time, some of our souls have become worn down, become corrupted, and veered off course. So sometimes our souls will become a little off course. Our Pastor gave an illustration of an automobile, and those of you that drive automobiles know exactly what he was saying. Sometimes we too need alignment.

So for us that are saved, we need to watch out for those times when we become out of alignment to the will of God. And you don’t even need the pastor to tell you when you’re out of alignment, because you have the Spirit of God, and you know it. You lose contact. Yes, you do.

Things happen to us. For some people, some things happened physically. And it is interesting that we don’t really realize it, but the physical can affect what is not physical. The tangible can affect what’s not tangible.

We look at our children that have been molested when they’re young. Sometimes it’s a teenager. Sometimes it’s even in your family. We would wish those kinds of things did not happen, but it shows up and manifests itself in behavior. Those things that happened physically can affect us mentally. They can affect our minds. And that’s why sometimes we need Holy Ghost deliverance from things that have happened to us physically that affected us mentally.

1 Peter 2:11 (KJV)

Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;

The enemy is in it for keeps, my brothers and sisters. So if we give in consistently to the passions of the flesh, and we don’t exercise self-control—no self-denial, you may not be here to tell the story a year from now.

We cannot give in to the passions of our flesh and of our minds. We cannot, because they can destroy us, and they definitely will destroy our relationship with God.

God gave the ultimate sacrifice so that we can be severed from these things. So how many of us this morning say, “God, I thank You,” not for another chance, but for many chances? How many times has God forgiven us?

But we have to come to the place where we say, “Let me stop fooling myself. I cannot fool God.” Let me surrender wholly and totally. I’m tired of sin. Tired of stumbling over the same sin over and over again.

Thank God—that’s why we come to the house of God. There is deliverance in the house of God. There’s deliverance at the altar. There’s deliverance on Friday night. Someone can anoint you with oil and pray. The fervent, effectual prayer of the righteous avails much.

Find somebody you can say to, “Look, I’ve been struggling with this too long. I want to give it up. I need help.” Have you ever been there? I may not be able to hear you say “Amen” or see you respond, but I know that what’s coming out of my mouth is for somebody this morning—not because of me, but by the Spirit of the living God.

Watch who you’re hanging around with. If you hang around with wise people, you will be wise. But if you hang with fools, you will be one too.

People can deplete your soul or they can add value.

David and Jonathan had a soul connection. Their relationship was pure. There was nothing impure about their relationship. And you have brothers with brothers, sisters with sisters, and you say, “I have a soul connection.” We think alike—why? Because we’re surrendered to the Spirit of the living God.

So we can have connections that either can be negative or positive. Which side are you on this morning? We can be connected with people that erode our souls, or those that build us up. So let’s walk with wise men so that we can be wise.

And thank God that we can confess our sins to God. He’s faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

God is a God of restoration. Go to Psalm 23 this morning. He is my Shepherd. We are His sheep, and we have one Shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the One that restores our souls.

Psalm 23 (KJV)

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

Come on, somebody. There is obedience on the part of the lamb. He allows the Shepherd to lead him to green pastures, to restore his soul—our souls. He is the One that can put us back into alignment.

We don’t have to wait for the next all-night prayer. We don’t need to wait until 6:00 a.m. for prayer tomorrow morning. We don’t need to wait. We can do it right now.

Lord, forgive me.

If your soul is in need of restoration, tell Jesus all about it. You tell Him right now. You stop right now and say, “God, please forgive me.” We don’t know if we’ll even live to get off 6:00 a.m. prayer this morning. Life happens. Come on—as you go out there this morning, life happens.

So look, let’s take good care of our souls. We need to trust and obey. We need to trust God’s direction and instruction. Trust the Holy Spirit. When He says stop, stop. Pray for grace. Stop. If He says go, go. He’ll be with you. He’ll go before you.

“I’m moving ahead because this train is not going to wait for me.” So listen—he said, “We serve a God of restoration.” It’s all about our souls.

3 John 1:2 (KJV)

Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.

It’s all about our souls prospering. Father God wants to use us, for us to be a blessing, when our souls are prospering. We are blessed to be a blessing.

Philippians 2:13 (KJV)

For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

Our God is working on you and I right now. He’s working in us, both to will and to do of His good pleasure.

Pay special attention to your soul this week in Jesus’ name. Entrust your souls into His hands. Trust and obey. There is no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.