Today we will continue our Bible Study on Eight Ways to Hear
from God. We’ve already looked at
Preaching, the Bible, Prayer, and Visions and Dreams, so today we’re going to
look at the fifth way that we hear from God – Godly Counsel.
Let’s start with our text for the overall study:
Hebrews 1:1-2 (NKJV)
1:1 God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past
to the fathers by the prophets, 2 has in these last days spoken to
us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom
also He made the worlds;
So, in the Bible there are a number of times where God spoke
to people through a booming voice that came from Heaven. He spoke at Jesus’ baptism, “This is my Son
in whom I’m well-pleased.” He spoke to
the disciples at the Mount of Transfiguration.
He spoke to Paul on the Damascus Road.
But our text here tells us that God spoke at various times in various
ways. In other words, God speaks to us
in different ways. I made a list of
eight ways God speaks to us. So tonight,
let’s look at the fifth method – Godly Counsel.
Here’s the text for tonight’s study:
Proverbs 11:14 (NKJV)
11:14 Where there is no counsel, the people fall; But in the
multitude of counselors there is safety.
God uses men of God to speak truths to others. Pastors can often bring correction and guidance
to members of their congregation:
Through the use of scriptures; through the use of prayerful wisdom. A pastor also often has spiritual discernment
and can “rightly divide” the word of God.
We like to think that we have it all together. We like people to think that we can
understand any set of circumstances. We
have great confidence in our own abilities, sometimes too much confidence. But the truth is that we sometimes we allow
ourselves to be too emotionally involved with a situation to clearly discern
God’s will in something. That’s where
Godly counsel comes in. When we NEED to hear from God He sometimes uses someone
else to speak for Him. We need counsel:
Proverbs 12:1 (NKJV)
12:1 Whoever loves instruction loves knowledge, But he who hates
correction is stupid.
Proverbs 12:15 (NKJV)
12:15 The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, But he who
heeds counsel is wise.
Proverbs 17:10 (NKJV)
17:10 Rebuke is more effective for a wise man Than a hundred
blows on a fool.
Solomon is the wisest man who has ever lived. God has given this wisdom:
2 Chronicles 1:7-12 (NKJV)
1:10 Now give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out and come in
before this people; for who can judge this great people of Yours?" 11
And God said to Solomon: "Because this was in your heart, and you
have not asked riches or wealth or honor or the life of your enemies, nor have
you asked long life--but have asked wisdom and knowledge for yourself, that you
may judge My people over whom I have made you king-- 12 wisdom and
knowledge are granted to you; and I will give you riches and wealth and
honor, such as none of the kings have had who were before you, nor shall
any after you have the like."
God gave wisdom to Solomon who passes it to us. The entire Book of Proverbs is Godly
counsel. If we consider that to be true
then we can see a need for Godly counsel.
What I’m really talking about here today though, is counsel from godly
men and women. People that we can go to
and hear good biblical and godly advice.
Ephesians 4:11-13 (NKJV)
4:11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets,
some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the
equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body
of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the
knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of
the fullness of Christ;
So, God uses men to equip us for the work of the
ministry. That word translated as “equip”
means to thoroughly furnish what is needed for ministry. What is needed for ministry?
For one thing we need to recognize God’s calling and will
for our lives. Is this thing I WANT to
do really what God has called me to? We
may need someone else to tell us if we’re on the right track. Apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and
teachers are usually men of God. These
are people whose lives are built around God’s will. They pray, they hear from God. They RECOGNIZE the sound of God’s voice. God can use them to speak for Him. God places godly wisdom in godly men! He does
that for us.
Proverbs 22:17-21 (NKJV)
22:17 Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise, And apply
your heart to my knowledge; 18 For it is a pleasant thing if
you keep them within you; Let them all be fixed upon your lips, 19 So
that your trust may be in the Lord; I have instructed you today, even you. 20
Have I not written to you excellent things Of counsels and knowledge, 21
That I may make you know the certainty of the words of truth, That you
may answer words of truth To those who send to you?
God says, “Listen to the words of the wise and apply your
heart to MY knowledge.” (paraphrased) If
we listen to wise words we’re hearing the words of God. Men can speak wisdom and counsel and it’s
God’s words that are the ones who come through.
Does one person have all the answers? Not likely.
I know that I’m a person who prays.
I look for God to speak to me about a lot of issues in my life and
others’ lives. I can recognize the voice
of God, because I’ve heard it. Do I
always have great and abounding understanding of every issue that people face? Not by a long shot, I don’t. But I do know that God will speak to me if I
ask. The Bible tells us to seek counsel
from more than one person:
Proverbs 24:6 (NKJV)
24:6 For by wise counsel you will wage your own war, And in a
multitude of counselors there is safety.
People have talents and understandings. Some people know and understand things that
someone else may not grasp. The Bible
tells us that there is safety in a multitude of counselors.
Should we just go to anyone for advice, though? Or should we carefully choose those who
advise us? Look at this:
Psalms 1:1 (NKJV)
1:1 Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the
ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the
scornful;
Blessed is the man who walks NOT in the counsel of the
ungodly. That word blessed literally
means HAPPY. Happy is the man who
walks not in the counsel of the ungodly.
You don’t want to go to sinners for advice. If you look at someone’s life you can see
whether or not they’re living God’s Will for their lives. How can we expect them to speak the things of
God into our lives, when those things aren’t in their own. As a sinner I went to my friends for advice
sometimes and I heard a lot of strange things.
A lot of the advice I accepted and followed led to even worse
situations. But as I watched my pastor
and saw that He was living God’s will for his own life, I knew that he knew and
understood God’s will and could speak it into my life as well.
See the question that should be foremost on your mind when
you ask for and receive advice is how does their life line up with what you
know about the nature and character of God.
God speaks to people through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the liaison between man
and God. He is the one who brings
conviction. He’s the one who acts as a
conscience for us, and He is the one who guides us into the truth:
John 16:13 (NKJV)
16:13 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide
you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but
whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.
He will guide you into truth. Truth leads to discernment, because
discernment is knowing the right thing from the wrong thing.
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