Fuelled Week 3: Love the Lord with all your SOUL | 3 May 2026 | 8am

Believers receive an invitation to worship, to bring burdens before God, and to inquire of him about life’s choices. Emotions enter the picture as part of the soul, the inner life that holds memory, imagination, conviction, desire, and affection. Emotions function as signals, like dashboard lights, revealing what lies beneath, but they must not drive decisions. A simple framework presents four tanks to fill, including emotional energy, and warns against two unhealthy patterns: the rhinoceros who reacts loudly to every feeling, and the hedgehog who withdraws and buries emotion.

The teaching defines the soul using JR Packer’s language as the identity that makes a person who they are, then emphasizes that emotions are God-given but must answer to the will of the Father. Jesus in Gethsemane models honest feeling paired with surrendered will, praying his sorrow and then submitting to the Father’s plan. The Psalms provide a blueprint for candid prayer, showing how David names anger, sorrow, abandonment, and grief, brings those feelings to God, and later testifies to God’s faithfulness.

Three practical questions guide emotional discipleship. First, name the feeling honestly. Second, trace the trigger and ask why the feeling arose, remembering that feelings can be real but not always reliable. Third, choose a response: pray the feeling to God and enter a processing journey rather than letting emotion dictate action. Processing resembles passing through a valley while God walks alongside, not setting up camp in the valley. The practice of prayer plus processing aims for long-term formation rather than quick fixes.

The teaching closes with an offer of pastoral prayer for those who carry long-standing burdens, especially men who often conceal inner struggles. The final encouragement asks believers to surrender emotions to God, to seek supernatural transformation, and to rely on community for prayer and steady growth.

Key Takeaways

• 1. Bring decisions to God first Name the specific choice and present it to God before lean ing solely on spreadsheets or human advice. Seeking God first reorients the will, aligns desires, and invites divine wisdom into the decision process. Practically offering the decision to God reduces frantic self-reliance and opens space for supernatural guidance. [45:15]
• 2. Name and admit true feelings Honest naming disarms confusion and starts the work of healing. When grief, anger, or disappointment receive a clear label, the interior life stops hiding behind vague restlessness. Naming a feeling creates a manageable object for prayer and reflection instead of an undefined weight. [73:13]
• 3. Emotions are indicators, not drivers Treat feelings as signals that point to deeper needs or wounds rather than commands to act. Allowing emotions to steer choices produces reactive patterns and relationship damage. Training the will to submit feelings to God and reason cultivates steadier, fruit-bearing spiritual maturity. [67:16]
• 4. Pray and process emotional pain Take feelings to God in honest prayer and then journey through them with God’s help rather than avoiding them. Processing involves time, community, and theological framing, learning that valleys refine rather than finalize identity. Persistent prayer plus patient processing invites transformation over mere symptom management. [83:38]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [22:06] - Opening prayer and worship
• [44:10] - Inquire of the Lord emphasis
• [45:15] - Bring decisions before God
• [58:34] - Field series verse and focus
• [60:48] - Defining the soul and emotions
• [62:53] - Rhino and hedgehog analogy
• [67:16] - Emotions as indicators not drivers
• [70:52] - Jesus in Gethsemane example
• [73:13] - Three questions to ask
• [83:38] - Pray, process, and walk through valleys
• [86:36] - Invitation for personal prayer and closing

1. In Matthew 26:36-39, how did Jesus express his emotions to God, and what did he ultimately choose to do despite his feelings?
2. What does David ask himself in Psalm 42:5 when he feels emotionally overwhelmed, and what action does he take in response?
3. The sermon compared emotions to "dashboard lights" ([01:06:02]). What does this analogy suggest about the purpose of emotions?

1. Why do you think Jesus openly expressed his sorrow and fear in Gethsemane instead of suppressing those emotions? What does this reveal about how God views human emotions?
2. The sermon emphasized that "emotions are indicators, not drivers" ([01:07:16]). How might ignoring this principle lead to unhealthy patterns (like the rhino or hedgehog examples)?
3. Psalm 42:5 shows David questioning his own soul but then redirecting his focus. Why is this combination of honesty and intentional refocusing crucial for emotional health?

1. When have you recently felt a strong emotion (anger, disappointment, etc.) that acted like a "dashboard light" ([01:06:02])? What deeper need or concern might it have been signaling?
2. The sermon encouraged "naming feelings" as a first step ([01:13:13]). Try naming one emotion you’ve struggled with this week. How might labeling it honestly change how you approach it?
3. Jesus prayed, “Not as I will, but as you will” after expressing his pain ([45:15]). What current decision or situation do you need to bring to God with that same surrendered prayer?
4. The Psalms model bringing raw emotions to God ([01:14:25]). What would it look like for you to pray more openly about your struggles instead of defaulting to “I’m fine”?
5. The sermon warned against “camping in the valley” of emotional pain ([01:23:38]). What practical step could you take this week to process a lingering emotion with God instead of avoiding it?
6. Men were specifically encouraged to seek prayer for hidden burdens ([01:27:22]). How can your group create safer spaces for honest sharing about emotional struggles?