Inner Healing 7: Filling the Cup

1. Recapitulation of the healing process

   1. Pour out the pain (remove the pus). Jesus did Psalm 22 ,  Psalm 62:8. ; 1 Samuel 1:15 ,18 ; Lamentations 2:19
   2. Cancel the debt (forgive), (apply antiseptic) ( Matthew 6:14-15)
   3. Receive consolation (surgery: arrange it and adjust the damaged parts)
   4. Thanksgiving, Praise (you close the wound) (1 Thessalonians 5:18)
   5. * Must become a habit

2. The reality of our emptiness

   Remember it is of little good to heal your glass if we do not tackle the problem of the void —something that only God can fill.
   1. Emotional void 5 emotional needs (Session 3)
   2. My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water. (Jeremiah 2:13)
   3. Jesus answered her, ÏF you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.¨ "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life. (John 4:10-14)

3. How does God fill up the void?

   Are you not a Christian yet? Don't you have your quiet time with God yet? Don't you walk in holiness?

   1. You need to receive the Holy Spirit

      1. It is he whom God uses to make us feel his love
         1. ¨Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.¨ By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified. (John 7:37-39)
         2. God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. (Romans 5:5)
      2. You receive him when receiving the salvation (believing in the gospel)
         1. And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God´s possession- to the praise of his glory. (Ephesians 1:13-14)
         2. Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)
         3. You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. (Romans 8:9)
      3. How salvation is received? 
         Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. ¨The time has come,¨he said. ¨The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!¨ (Mark 1:14-15)
         1. You have to repent: surrender your life (your dreams, your thinking, your traditions, your speech, your actions) to His Lordship.
         2. Believe in the Gospel: God became flesh in the person of Jesus Christ, died for our sins and rose again to give us forgiveness and eternal life.

   2. You need to develop a communion, a relationship with God

      1. God's fullness must be seeked daily
         1. As the deer pants for streams of water, so pants for you, O God, my soul.  My soul thirsts for God, the living God; When shall I come and appear before God? (Psalm 42:1-2 )
         2. Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days. (Psalm 90:14)
         3. Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life. ( Psalm 143:8 )
         4. Yet the news about him spread all the more, so the crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. (Luke 5:15-16)
         5. Very early, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. (Mark 1:35)
         6. From his fullness  we have all received grace upon grace ... God no one has ever seen; the only begotten Son, who is God and lives  in intimate union with the Father , has made him known. (John 1:18)
         7. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows. (Psalm 23:5)
         8. You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you, I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water. I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory. Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods, with singing lips my mouth will praise you. (Psalm 63:1-5)
      2. How do you have fellowship with God
         1. Reading the Bible 
            ... It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the Lord his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees and not consider himself better than his fellow Isrealites and turn from the law to the right or to the left. Then he and his descendants will reign a long time over his kingdom in Israel. (Deuteronomy 17:19-20)
            1. Right now perhaps you will love Him because of a decision, but emotions will flow to love Him when you know this wonderful God we have.
         2. Prayer 
            My heart has heard you say, "Come and talk to me." And my heart responds, "Here I come,  Lord ." (Psalm 27:8)
            1. A working prayer 
               In a level with matters of work and own tasks of roles: intercessory prayer
            2. A prayer for your delight 
               At another level focuses on the two of you, in enjoying each other, in having intimacy: devotional prayer
               • One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple... My heart says of you, "Seek his face!¨ (Psalm 27:4,8)
               • Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. (Psalm 73:25)
               • Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than dwell in the tents of the wicked. (Psalm 84:10)
               • Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge. (Psalm 62:8)
               • Pour out your heart like water before the presence of the Lord (Lamentations 2:19)
         3. Worship 
            Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth. (John 4:23-24 )
            1. I have this against you : You have forsaken your first love (Revelations 2:4)
            2. He jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us? (James 4:5)
            3. The love with which you loved me may be in them (John 17:26 ; Matthew 3:17)
               
      3. What hinders communion
         1. Not to practice accountability with God, 
            1. But your iniquities have separated you from your God, your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear. (Isaiah 59:2)
            2. If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. (Psalm 66:18)
            3. Then they will cry out to the Lord, but he will not answer them. At that time he will hide his face from them because of the evil they have done. (Micah 3:4)
            4. When you spread out your hands in prayer, I hide my eyes from you, eve when you offer many prayers, I am not listening. Your hands are full of blood! (Isaiah 1:15)  
            5. Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. (Colossians 1:21)
            6. You Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers. (1 Peter 3:7)
            7. and forgive us our sins,  as we have forgiven those who sin against us ... If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you; but if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins. ( Matthew 6:12, 14-15)

4. Characteristics of an empty vessel

   1. We use wrong ways to fill it out

      If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. (1 Corinthians 13:1-3)
      1. You use things of this world to satisfy it
         Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world - the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life- comes not from the Father but from the world.  (1 John 2:15-16)
      2. Through pleasures 
         
         What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don´t they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. You adulterous people, don´t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. (James 4:1-4)
      3. Seeking human approval
         Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believes in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not openly acknowledge their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue, for they loved human praise more than praise from God. (John 12:42-43)
      4. Search for human praise 
         Be careful not to do your righteousness before men to attract attention [ for others to admire you ] . If you act this way your Father who is in heaven will not give you any reward. (Matthew 6:1, 6:5, 23:5)
      5. Position or status
         Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not openly acknowledge their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue, for they loved human praise more than praise from God. (Mark 12:38-39)
      6. Titles They love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to be called ¨Rabbi¨ by others. (Matthew 23:7)
      7. Money 
         Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. ( 1 Timothy 6:17-18)
      8. Comparisons 
         You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans? For when one says "I follow Paul" and another, "I follow Apollos,¨ are you not mere human beings? (1 Corinthians 3:3-4)
      9. Manipulation
         When you think the things you want will satisfy you: things, a lifestyle, etc. 
         The rabble with them began to crave other food, and again the Isrealites started wailing and said, Ïf only we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost -also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. But now we have lost our appetite, we never see anything but this manna! Moses heard the people of every family wailing at the entrance to their tents. The Lord became exceedingly angry, and Moses was troubled. (Numbers 11:4-6, 10)

   2. Symptoms of an empty heart

      The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft, hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy, drunkenness, orgies, and the like. (Galatians 5:19-21)
      1. Envy (jealousy)
         As you acquire your sense of value comparing yourself with others, you resent when someone else stands out or does better than you
      2. Selfishness
         As you have an emotional void, you only meet your needs without considering the needs of others.
      3. Infatuation
         Most "crushes" (when the person is stuck with another), are actually just "emotional hunger" (combined with sexual) being satisfied through the person whom they "fell in love". Therefore it is selfish and irresponsible: it focuses on the needs and desires of one and not consider the other, and leads to foolish decisions. The only important thing to consider is to meet the urgent desire (emotional hunger). You feel you can not live without the person who you "love", you fall into obsessions.
      4. The love ends
         When "the love ends" in marriage is a sign that the couple was using ti to satisfy  themselves emotionally. Love ends when your spouse inability to satisfy you comes to the surface. This "love" is not true love but infatuation mentioned above. True love is giving, not receiving and has the features of (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)
      5. Pride
         As you get your sense of worth by artificial means (position, being right, titles, money), the more you have that, you lose ground. You think you're better than those who do not have that element that gives you ¨value".
      6. Sectarianism (divisions)
         People who acquire their sense of value by "belonging" or "following" this or that group or person. You make a division and show contempt for those who are not part of your group.
      7. Grudges
         People with empty glass are like a constant dripping (Proverbs 27:15), nothing satisfies them, everything bothers them.
      8. Possessive
         this feature is developed when you are looking to satisfy your emptiness with someone.
      9. Idolatry
         When someone or something is satisfying your emotional needs, that becomes what you love most in life (idolatry: Ephesians 5:5 )
      10. Avarice
          Is a way that we use to meet our emptiness: through material things, possessions, money.
      11. Loneliness
          Loneliness is how the emotional hunger is expressed... when you feel it, you know it's time to seek God (is God calling you)
      12. Feeling inferior
          When you use comparisons to get your sense of value, it is normal to feel less than people who you "think" are more valuable or important than you because for what they have.
      13. Feeling insecure
          When the glass or vessel is empty, you can also express a sense of insecurity that seeks to compensate for one way or another.
      14. Promiscuity
          Many people fall into promiscuity for wanting to meet physical affection in the wrong way.
      15. Manipulable
          People easily manipulated most of the time is for having an empty vessel or glass: they do whatever it takes just to get some acceptance, appreciation, love.

5. Rehabilitation process

   1. takes time

      1. He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. (1 Timothy 3:6)
      2. Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly- mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans? For when one says, "I follow Paul" and another, "I follow Apollos,¨are you not mere human beings? (1Corinthians 3:1-4)

   2. Changing Habits

      1. Learning to spend time with God, quality time.
      2. Develop the habit of Bible reading and prayer.
      3. Treat others as more important than you.
      4. Congregate (go to church), serve.

   3. Change your mentality

      1. Learning how to locate your sense of worth in God, and the inheritance you have in Him
         Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. (John 13:3-4)
      2. Seeing yourself as God sees you
      3. See others as God sees them
      4. View your circumstances as God sees them

   4. Painful situations (Hebrews 12:5-6), to die to yourself (Luke 18:18-30)

      1. If you try to satisfy with friends, God could allow the rejection of them
      2. If you try to satisfy with material things, God could lead an economic calamity in your life or let bad consequences come for it, " have caused many painful wounds." (1 Timothy 6:10)
      3. If you satisfy with a relationship: He my cause a breakdown, troubles or the absence of that person
      4. If you satisfy by comparing yourself: He may cause others to prosper and you to sink
      5. If you satisfy with your ministry, he may remove it
      6. If your supply your need through the image of your self you have built: He may bring obstacles or failures.
      7. Tempted to satisfy with the approval of the people: God may cause their rejection of you.
      8. So that you may not be conceited, God may bring humiliations 
      9. If you are satisfied by how large and famous of your ministry ...
      10. If you satisfied with your job...

   5. The goal: your maturity

      1. To experience the fullness of God (not through things or circumstances)

         I have learned to be content whatever my situation. I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound; Everywhere and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.

      2. To experience God´s fullness through your relationship with Him.

         But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him. (Philippians 3:7-9) Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. (Psalm 73:25)

      3. To learn to see God's love in in any circumstances

         Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: ¨For your sake we face death all day long: we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered ¨No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. (Romans 8:35-37)

      4. To produce the fruits of the Spirit

         So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Galatians 5:16, 22-23)