THE THREE COUNSELORS OF THE CHRISTIAN
1 Cor. 10:23; 6:12
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR
1. I heard about a pastor who bought a new horse. He trained it to respond to “Praise the Lord,” meaning giddy-up, and “hallelujah,” meaning woah. Every time he said praise the lord, the horse would take off running. When he said hallelujah, it would quickly stop.
2. One day he was out riding and the horse got spooked and took off straight toward a cliff going full blast. In the panic, he couldn’t remember what he taught his horse. He said “blessed God,” “glory,” “Amen” -- nothing worked!
3. At the last second, he shouted “HALLELUJAH”, the horse came to a screeching halt inches before the edge of the cliff. He breathed a sigh of relief and said, “Praise the Lord!”
B. IDEA & TITLE
1. Thomas Jefferson, later in life, took a razor in one hand and glue in the other and cut-out and pasted the New Testament apart & back together. He cut out all the miracles and any mention of the supernatural; he removed any reference to the Second Coming, Heaven, Hell, and the resurrection. In the end was a work called the Jefferson Bible which has about 84 pages. We all would say that’s terrible.
2. How do you treat YOUR Bible? Obedience is not an option when God speaks. To most Christians the Bible is like a Luby’s Cafeteria, where you pick and choose which items you want to eat! We agree with it until the Bible doesn’t agree with us. Then we do just like Thomas Jefferson and cut out the parts we don’t like!
3. We need to read & obey ALL the Bible. Tonight we’re looking at how to be led by God and the title is, “The Three Counselors of the Christian.”
I. GOD PROMISES TO GUIDE YOU
A. WHO BETTER TO BE OUR GUIDE?
1. God is omniscient – He knows everything. He’s the only Being who knows the future and every detail about us personally. He knows what we’re designed for and what we will be successful doing.
2. God is not just an observer of events, but a mover of events. Therefore the most knowledgeable person for us to seek as a guide is God.
B. PROMISES OF GUIDANCE
1. If we seek Him, He promises to guide our decisions. Proverbs 37:23, “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delights in his way.”
2. Psalms 25:9; “He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way.” Psalms 48:14; “For this God is our God for ever and ever; He will be our guide even to the end.” Psalms 73:24, “You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory.”
3. God didn’t save you from sin to be unproductive; God didn't predestine you from the foundation of the world as His child so you could be a spiritual failure; God didn’t save, sanctify, & set you apart, for you to live a defeated life or be overwhelmed with addictions;
God made His plans for you so that you would Conquer, be victorious!
C. ILLUS.: Worry flees when you trust in God
1. James Cash Penney (who started J. C. Penney stores) made some unwise business deals and became very depressed. He was so overwhelmed he had to be admitted to a hospital. One night he was certain that he would die, so he wrote letters to his family and fell asleep.
2. He woke up the next morning and was surprised that he was still alive. He heard people singing “God Will Take Care of You” in the chapel and went in. As he listened, something happened.
3. He later said, “I realized that God, with His love, was there to help me. From that day forward my life has been free from worry -- all because I realized that God WILL take care of me!” GOD CARES ABOUT US!
II. FIVE WAYS TO KNOW THE WILL OF GOD
Here’s 5 ways you can know the will of God.
A. THE WORD OF GOD
1. First is the Bible. It’s God’s standard for you to apply to your life. It may not tell you which girl to marry, which college to attend, etc. But it will give you the correct principles to make those decisions.
2. For example, the Bible says, “Don’t be unequally yoked together with unbelievers” 2 Cor. 6:14. So, if you come to me and you say, “Pastor, I want to marry Susie. Do you think I ought to marry Susie?” “Well, is Susie a Christian, Bill?” “No.” “Then it’s not God’s will. God said, ‘Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers,’ that ought to settle it, right?” I mean, that’s the Word of God.
B. THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD
1. Never pray for guidance about what God has already commanded in His Word or what God has already forbidden. An open door doesn’t mean it’s God’s will. Paul said, “A great door and effectual is opened unto me...” 1 Cor. 16:9.
2. In my own life, I’ve seen God open doors and close doors. I’ve also seen God give me a desire, open a door before me, and then test me whether I will obey God regardless of the opportunity.
3. Just because a door opens doesn’t automatically mean it’s God’s will for you to go through it. Remember the Gibeonite deception (Josh. 9). It looked so much like a God-thing that they didn’t bother to ask God His opinion. Beware quick decisions; wait upon the Lord.
C. THE SPIRIT OF GOD
1. A third way God guides is by the Holy Spirit. Rom. 8:14, “For as many as are led by the Spirit, they are the sons of God.”
2. Now, the Holy Spirit is that still, small voice that speaks in your heart. Gal. 5:18 says, “But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.” The Holy Spirit guides, but He doesn’t shout, He doesn’t shove. You must learn to listen intuitively to the Spirit.
3. The Holy Spirit will never tell you anything contrary to the Word of God. But the Holy Spirit may tell you some things that are not specifically mentioned in the Word. What He tells you may not make sense to you. But IF it’s Him speaking, it will come to pass and He will work everything out for your good.
D. THE PEOPLE OF GOD
1. A fourth way He’s going to lead you is the people of God. God will lead you through counselors. Prov. 24:6 says, “By wise counsel you shall make war” “and in a multitude of counsellors there is safety.”
2. Don’t look to social media for your advice! Find a mature, spiritual Christian. Speak to your parents: God has gifted them with insight for you. Find a tight-lipped prayer warrior at church.
E. OUR TRUSTING RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD
1. One mistake is that some people think that the will of God is like a roadmap, that God just gives it to you, and there it is. Here’s where you start, and here’s where you’re going to finish, and here’s the way you’re going to go.
2. Thank God it’s not a roadmap; it is a relationship. I’m glad that God doesn’t show you the future all at once. I’m glad that God didn’t tell me the many difficulties I would face. God simply said, “Son, just trust Me, and follow Me.”
3. When God led the children of Israel through the wilderness, He didn’t give them a map, He gave them Himself. They didn’t have to worry about where they were going, they just had to follow Him.
4. Today, you don’t have to know the future; you just need to know the One who holds the future -- Jesus. Make sure there’s nothing between your soul and the Savior.
III. FOR THE GRAY AREAS: THE 3 COUNSELORS
A. FREEDOM NEEDS BRAKES
1. God has given believers – as free in Christ – a great deal of freedom. So how do we govern our freedom? What guardrails are there to help us not to run off the road? Is there an objective standard by which we can judge which actions are God’s BEST will or His PERMISSIVE will?
2. “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but I will not be mastered [dominated, ESV] by anything.” 1 Cor. 6:12 NIV. “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but not everything is constructive (KJV – edify). No one should seek their own good, but the good of others.” 1 Cor. 10:23-24 NIV.
3. Paul answers, “Not so fast! There’s a ‘governor’ on your throttle -- a speed control. Yes, you can drive the car, but that doesn’t mean you can drive it however you want. God didn’t give you the car (freedom) so you could hurt yourself or others. You have to drive it in such a manner as to safeguard yourself and be a blessing to others. That’s the reason God gave you the car – not for selfish reasons, but for others!”
B. PAUL’S LIST OF 3 COUNSELORS. These 3 Counselors help us see whether our decisions are right. Here’s 3 questions:
1. IS IT BENEFICIAL? Is your action profitable, beneficial, spiritually appropriate? You’re now a child of God, a servant of Christ. A certain Governor’s daughters wanted to die their hair pink like everyone else. The Governor corrected their thinking, “You don’t follow the trends, YOU SET THE TRENDS!” We have a model to pattern ourselves after. Whatever promotes godliness, people being saved, personal growth in Christ, and the Church – is God’s will.
2. WILL IT CONTROL ME? Will my action bring me under the power of anything? Will it open me up to be controlled or mastered by something? Will it lead to a sin? Social drinking, for example, has now been exposed as always detrimental to your health, even in small quantities.
3. WILL IT EDIFY? Will my actions or words edify others/build them up? Will it “encourage growth”? Will it have a positive impact on myself & others? Will it be constructive? Our influence, if correct, should always make people want to get closer to God.
4. Let the 5 sources of the Will of God and the 3 counselors lead you into paths of blessing!
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUS
1. A Finland soldier was in a three-month winter war with Russia (1939-1940). He lay wounded on the battlefield. A Russian soldier walked his way, pointing his rifle.
2. The Finnish soldier was certain he’d met his end. However, instead of shooting him, the Russian handed him a medical kit, then kept moving. God has amazing ways of working, because....
3. Remarkably, the Finnish soldier later found himself in a similar situation, only the roles were reversed – a Russian soldier lay wounded and helpless on the battlefield. When the Finnish soldier walked up to him, he showed the same mercy – and handed him a medical kit and walked on. [Daily Bread, 2-16-25]
4. May we be led by God in how we live our lives so we show obedience & mercy instead of judgment.
B. THE CALL
1. We probably all need to make new efforts in fearing God and respecting His Word. Have you ignored any passages of Scripture because it would be difficult to obey them? Have you been disobedient?
2. Let’s pray for forgiveness and grace to put the Word of God into practice. PRAYER.
[This message has input from Tim Delina & Adrian Rogers]
