First, Look After Your Soul

By Odon Bulamba (31st May 2002)

It is a joy to meet together in the last day of May; in my experience God always does something in the month of June. In the world the month of June has significance and if you observe you’ll see it. From the beginning to the end of the Bible you’ll see that God always did something, sometimes He blessed, sometimes He cursed, sometimes He destroyed and sometimes He would announce what was going to happen. From the 6th month to the 12th month we go into the second part of the year, and it’s time for God to call His children.

The same for your body, at 12 o’clock the body will feel like something to eat, and every living spirit must think about the 6th month, it is not just about the 6th month of June but the 6th day, 6th hour or the 6th minute and all of this is very important for us Christians, so think about all the sixth things in your life.

If you wake up in the morning and do many things, try to think of the sixth thing you did so that it will be easy for to assess yourself. Why does God always talk about the sixth? It is because He wants us to look after ourselves so that we won’t be destroyed in the end.

Acts 20:28,

Keep watch over all yourselves and the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, be shepherds for the church of God, which He brought with His own blood.

When people read this verse many think it is for the Pastors, and if there is something wrong in the church the Pastor is the one who is guilty and not the Christians. We know that our bodies are Jesus’ church, so who is the Pastor of your body? If your body is the church, then who is the pastor of this body? In Corinthians it is written that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit and He tells us to look after this body, it doesn’t mean to exclude your Pastors or elders from the church, but you are called yourself to live as a good Christian.

How can Christians look after themselves? What does it mean to take care of yourself? To take care of yourself is to protect yourself from any danger that might come and destroy your spirit, and protect yourself from sin.

It is true that God has given us the power to resist the devil and after that he will flee, but us Christians we don’t want to use this power. From time to time we will say that we are weak and need God to help us, so where will our help come from? If we are not able ourselves to resist the devil and call on God to help us what is going to happen to us?

Many parents know how to look after their children and they watch over everything they do. In the church many people know how to watch over people’s lives, but are not able to watch over their own lives. This is why Jesus says that before taking the speck out of your brother’s eye; first take it out of your own eye. This will help you to grow. If you are sick it will be hard to visit someone who is sick, it will be hard for you to leave your hospital bed and see someone who is sick, you might decide in your mind to see your friend but the doctor won’t let you go, maybe the nurse will see you leave and report you because they are watching over your health and life. If someone is watching over your health and life it will be difficult for you to go and watch over someone else.

This is how many Christians give their lives to the devil and he watches over them, this is why the church is weak for we are unable to send someone to help this person. It will be hard for someone to go to a sinner and tell him you have to give up what you are doing and come to Jesus because the devil will tell you that what you are doing is the same thing. The devil will accurse you and say you want to see that person but you are sick yourself. If you watch over your own life and are completely healed and purified by Jesus’ blood you are completely free to visit others and share the message.
There was a lady in the Bible named Miriam. Miriam was given Moses’ life to watch over. At this time Moses was a baby and Pharaoh didn’t want the Hebrews to live, so Pharaoh made a decision to kill all the baby boys. Moses’ mum saw that he was handsome and she decided to keep him. The mother hid the child but didn’t go to where he lay but sent her oldest daughter to watch over the baby. This child could not breast feed the baby, this child couldn’t fight with a crocodile to protect it, and this child couldn’t fight to save her brother’s life if danger came, but she had to look over him.

Did Miriam watch over her own life? I don’t think so, she just went to look over her brother’s life and that’s it. Many Christians are like Miriam, they are there to watch over other people’s lives but don’t have any weapons to defend themselves, they have no ability to feed those who are hungry because if you watch over someone’s life you must be strong, you must have strategies, you must have some experience, but you and me watch over other’s lives but how much experience do we have.

One-day Pharaoh’s daughter took the baby, so what did Miriam do? The Bible says Miriam said, “I could go and get someone to look after the child”. Pharaoh’s daughter had a choice and by the grace of God she said, “yes, go and get one of the Hebrew woman to nurse the child”.

As Christians today we are not called to negotiate with each other, we say we want to follow the Word of God and we all say, amen, but that’s about it. If God has given Michael some abilities in his ministries for example then you must honour him, if it’s Oscar you must forget his age and honour him. As you do this you will watch over your own spiritual life. So what is our problem as Christians? Sometimes we forget who we are especially when we leave church, we just live like the world, we don’t take time to think and watch over our souls, we don’t take time to think that what I am doing now, does it please God or not?

The way that I judge Peter, does it please God or not? What is the benefit for my soul in everything I do? If there are no benefits why do we do it? The Bible says you must have your treasure in heaven where the robber cannot go. So what is the best treasure for man, your soul and my soul? Without the soul a man cannot see anything, you can have millions of dollars but if your soul is dead you have no value for God.

Jesus said what can you compare your soul with, why do you want to gain the whole world but lose your soul? This is to show us that a soul has great value in God’s eyes, but as human beings we would rather watch over valuables. If you go to a bank you’ll see cameras everywhere, do you think that if there were no money in the banks there would be any cameras? No, because the money is worth great value and man will watch over it. If you have $20 in your pocket, how many times do you check to see if it’s still there? $20 is just a piece of paper with drawings on it yet we give it so much value; if you put $20 and gold into the fire you’ll see which one is worth any value.

As human beings we don’t know what to look after, we compare the money to the body and the soul to the gold. The soul will never die but the body will die whether you like it not, but your soul will live eternally. When people are sick they try to find money so they can be healed, if you don’t want to go to hospital when you are sick those around you will help you go, but when it comes to the soul and when the soul is sick you don’t want to see your God.

When you preach the truth and people discover that they are sick they will become your enemies, but if you tell them they are physically sick and take them to the doctor they will be your friend. In Africa there was a man who wanted money so he went to a sorcerer and asked for a voodoo type doll so he could make people sick and then he could heal them. He asked for power so that when he stuck a needle into the doll the person would scream but see nothing. The person will go to the doctors and the doctor will say there is nothing wrong with you. The sorcerer then comes and tells the person, “I can heal you for $250 000 and after 3 minutes you’ll be healed”. This man did it with great authority in Africa, people who were sick were afraid because they knew death was coming so they would ask for this man, but when their souls are sick they don’t try and find a doctor.

This is the problem when we don’t watch over our souls but when we watch over our souls God also watches over us, but if we don’t the Bible says that our sins separate us from God. Once we have watched over our souls and walk as good Christians and we please our God it will be easy for us to watch over other people’s souls and the flock God has given us.

For example Joshua said me and my family will serve the Lord, in the book of Romans it says that if you are saved your family will be saved as well, but there is one condition, first watch over yourselves, if you don’t it will be difficult to watch over your family.

There was a lady who suffered for many years and prayed for years for her husband’s salvation. God said that your husband will be saved, I have seen your courage and I have seen how much you cried before me, but first watch over your soul because it is written seek first the kingdom of God and everything will be added unto you. God said that up until now you don’t know how to watch over your soul, and the day when you know this I will set your husband free. The lady experienced this for 2 days and on the 3rd day her husband was saved. I say this to remind you that everything is possible for God if you watch over your soul, and watching over your soul will make your faith grow because you’ll believe what the Word says and you’ll put it into practice.

We must take care of the church God has given us through the Holy Spirit. So do you look after your body? It is not about washing your body and combing your hair, but taking care of your body, which is the temple of the Holy Spirit; take care of it as part of the body of Christ. As we talk with friends do we respect Jesus’ body, or when we joke, where is Jesus in all of it, and when we do activities is Jesus there? Everything we do, does it please God? Miriam watched over Moses’ life but one day Moses watched over Miriam’s life and he watched over her life in a good way. Moses first met God and watched over his soul and after this he watched over his sister’s life. As Christians we must get close to Jesus so He can live in us and so He can watch over us.

We must watch over our own lives so we can watch over other people’s lives. To be a watcher you must be humble, if you are not you won’t be able to watch over your life or anybody’s life, so first humiliate yourselves. We must use our time to become good watchers, try to watch over your soul before watching over your belongings or your wife’s soul etc.

Ask God to help you know how to watch over your soul, your children’s souls and your families’ souls.