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New Hope CE Notes
May 2000

Dr. Bill Gaultiere
(714) 971-4213
drbill@CrystalCathedral.org

This is the complete notes from class for your review and study. Remember to complete the attached exam, either for the fun and challenge of it or to get New Hope CE credit.

1. Jesus is the Perfect Personality
   
   

   Holy: Jesus was tempted by sin just as we are, but he never sinned.

   Holiness and wholeness are inseparable. Grow in holiness and you grow in wholeness.

Take your sins seriously and seek God’s forgiveness.

1. Attached: Jesus was bonded with God the Father, himself, and others (Peter, James, John, Mary, Martha, Lazarus, and his mother were apparently his closest friends).

• This three way loving bond to God, self, and others is key to emotional health. All three sides of this triangle are linked. Grow closer in one relationship and the other two are positively impacted. This is the "triangle of emotional health."

• Receive care from others as from the Lord, give care as unto the Lord, and invite God into your personal reflections and your communications.

1. Purpose driven: Jesus said, "My food is to accomplish what I was sent to do, which was to reveal God to mankind."

• Having a clear sense of purpose and calling from God gives our lives focus and meaning.

• Live by your life mission statement. If you don’t have a sense of what that is then pray and ask people who know you well.

• Example: Affirming others feelings, personality, and gifts is an important theme in my own life.

1. Self-Controlled: Jesus didn’t lose control of his emotions. He didn’t react to his feelings. Instead he felt his feelings, thought about them, and then spoke or acted accordingly. I call this the "feel, think, do triangle."

• Self-control is essential to mature, productive living.

• Before you speak or do feel and think.

• Example: Alcoholics, compulsive overeaters, and others tend to react to unpleasant feelings by using their compulsion as a tranquilizer.

1. Emotionally alive: Jesus felt the full spectrum of human emotions, both pleasant and unpleasant. Because of these five reasons above Jesus did not have emotional problems, though he took these on for us at the cross.

• Self-awareness or feeling our feelings is what brings color and flavor to life. Deny unpleasant feelings and you blunt pleasant feelings as well.

• Stay in tune with what you feel. Seek out and appreciate pleasant feelings. Accept and seek comfort when unpleasant feelings arise.

• Example: At New Hope we are focused on actively listening to callers feelings. This helps callers to tune in, feel cared for, and make changes. We too are blessed, as we feel connected to God, the caller, and ourselves.

1. Jesus Felt Pleasant and Unpleasant Feelings, but did not have emotional problems until he bore our sins and our pains on the cross.
   
   

   1. Reflect on the table below. Note that Jesus felt and responded well to the extremes of the basic human emotions and, therefore, he did not have emotional problems. He did experience these problems for us on the cross.

      Jesus Felt Positive Feelings	Jesus Felt Negative Feelings	Jesus Took on Our Emotional Problems
      Love	Rejected	Isolated
      Joy	Sad	Depressed
      Peace	Stressed	Defeated
      Wonder	Grieved	Despair
      Forgiving	Angry	Resentment
      Confident	Afraid	Anxiety
      Self-esteem	Ridicule	Ashamed
      Hopeful	Pain	Unconsciousness
      Purity	Temptation	Guilt

      
      

   2. Reflect on the following Bible verses in the table below that illustrate Jesus feeling and responding well to unpleasant feelings.

    

Examples of Jesus Dealing with Negative Feelings

Rejected:

• "And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, `Only in his home town and in his own house is a prophet without honor.’" (Matthew 13:57)

• "They went into a Samaritan village… but the people there did not welcome him, because he was heading for Jerusalem." (Luke 9:52,53)

• "But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. (Luke 5:16)

• "Jesus asked, `Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?’" (Luke 17:17,18)

• "Then all the disciples deserted him and fled." (Matthew 26:56)

• "Peter followed at a distance… A servant girl saw him seated there in the firelight… and said, `This man was with him.’ But he denied it. `Woman, I don’t know him,’ he said… The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter." (Luke 22:54,56,57,61)

• "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:45)

Sad:

• "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me." (Matthew 26:38)

Stressed:

• "As Jesus was on his way, the crowds almost crushed him… `Who touched me?’ Jesus asked… I know that power has gone out from me.’" (Luke 8:42,45,46)

• "When Jesus heard what had happened [that John the Baptist had been beheaded by Herod], he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place… When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd he had compassion on them and healed their sick… the disciples came to him [they wanted to talk with Jesus about their first mission trip (Luke 9:10)]… he gave thanks and broke the loaves… The number of those who ate was about five thousand men…" (Matthew 14:13-21)

• "I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is completed!" (Luke 12:50)

Grieved:

• "Jesus wept." (When Lazarus died, John 11:35)

Angry:

• "People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, `Let the little children come to me…’" (Mark 10:13,14)

• "Jesus turned and said to Peter, `Out of my sight, Satan!" (Matthew 16:23)

• "Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves." (Matthew 21:12)

• "Some of them [from the synagogue] were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him [the man with a shriveled hand] on the Sabbath… He looked at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, `Stretch out your hand.’ …his hand was completely restored." (Mark 3:2,5)

• "Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him… But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, `You hypocrites…’" (Matthew 22:15,18)

Afraid:

• "`Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.’ An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.’" (Luke 22:42-44)

Ridiculed:

• "All the people saw this [Jesus going with Zacchaeus, chief tax collector] and began to mutter, `He has gone to be the guest of a "sinner."’" (Luke 19:7)

• "Then the whole assembly rose and led him off to Pilate." (Luke 23:1)

• "Then Herod and his soldiers ridiculed and mocked him. Dressing him in an elegant robe, they sent him back to Pilate." (Luke 23:11)

• "Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and then wove a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand and knelt in front of him and mocked him. `Hail, King of the Jews!’ they said. They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again." (Matthew 25:27-31)

• "There they crucified him, along with the criminals… The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, `He saved others; let him save himself… The soldiers also came up and mocked him… `if you are the King of the Jews, save yourself." (Luke 23:33,35-37)

Pain:

• "Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry." (Matthew 4:1,2)

• "Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well… A Samaritan woman came to draw water…" (John 4:6,7)

• "But he had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified." (Matthew 27:26)

Tempted:

• "Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil." (Matthew 4:1)

• "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us." (2 Corinthians 5:21)

1. Jesus is the Wonderful Counselor

   1. He sympathizes with our feelings in life and in helping (Hebrews 4:15)

   2. He shows us how to manage our feelings and our lives

   3. He shows us how to respond to others’ needs with compassion, kindness, and truth
      
      
      

2. Connecting with Jesus
   
   

   1. Revisit the five practical bullet points under "Jesus is the Perfect Personality" above. Which one do you most need to work on? Talk to a friend about this.

   2. Consider the 3 column chart on Jesus’ feelings.

• Which positive feeling(s) do you most need more of?
• Which negative feeling(s) are you denying and need to accept?
  
  
• Which emotional problem(s) are you struggling with? Check the other two columns for that row(s) and consider how you can get more of the positive feeling and how you can get comfort for the negative feeling.
  
  
• Example: At times I struggle with anxiety. One reason is because I tend to lack confidence/assertiveness and deny my feelings of fear by avoiding conflicts with others. I took a step forward the other day when I confronted a teenage neighbor boy who was driving too fast when my kids were playing near the street.

1. Meditate on the Bible verses under "Examples of Jesus Dealing with Negative Feelings," especially in the area(s) where you struggle. Pray that God would help you to be more emotionally aware and responsive like Jesus was. Look for opportunities to share these feelings with people you trust, seeking the comfort you need. Receive that comfort from God at the same time.
   
   
   
   Jesus Feels Our Pain CE Exam