Counsel which Gives Purpose

Welcome to Sharper Sword, the publication ministry of White House Baptist Church in Lemon Grove, California.

White House believes that individuals can reach their potential for the Lord as they grow in Christ.

We want to hear our Lord say, Well done, thou good and faithful servant.

Let's join Pastor Doug Fisher as he preaches another important biblical message from the Word of God.

Take your Bible, turn to Proverbs 27, please.

Proverbs chapter number 27.

There's so much in the book of Proverbs.

It's a lifetime of study.

Proverbs chapter 27, I'll say that again.

Proverbs 27 · chapter mention

In the book of Proverbs, it's a lifetime of study.

It doesn't matter how smart we think we are, the Proverbs always shows us something about ourselves or about a situation or about someone else or about how our Lord thinks.

It's a lifetime of study.

Would you say amen?

Proverbs 27.

I hope you're in your Proverbs at least once a week, and I would even suggest every day read just a little bit because there's so much.

In Proverbs 27, it's so meaty, and each verse has something that is worth pondering.

And I mean that with all my heart.

And we're going to look at one verse in Proverbs chapter 27 and try to break it down a little bit and analyze it.

Proverbs 27 · chapter mention

And then we're going to cross-reference that and just study a little bit this morning.

Proverbs chapter number 27.

Thanks for your attention.

Look at verse number nine.

Verse number nine.

And here's what the Bible says Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart.

So doth the sweetness of a man's friend by hearty counsel.

I want to stop there for a moment.

I want you to know something right off the bat.

I'm not an ointment and a perfume guy.

What do you mean?

I'm not, I'm not like I sprayed a little perfume on this morning, a little cologne, but it wasn't for me.

It was for those around me.

But I want you to know something.

There's something about perfume as you get a little bit older.

The white kind of cologne, the right kind of odor, the right kind of smell has a certain impact on our persona, our minds.

Why would the perfume industry be so, or the uh, if you would, the the, it's not perfume for men.

What do they call it?

The cologne for the men.

Why would it be such a heavy industry?

I want to tell you something.

There's something about odors that affect us.

And God knew that.

He said, ointment, that which is comforting, and then the perfume, the smell, the odor, it rejoices the heart.

Biblical heart is often the mind.

And it says, ointment and perfume rejoice the heart.

Rejoices exhilarates, invigorates, enlivens.

Smells do something for us.

You say, not for me.

Oh, don't tell me when you're hungry, a smell doesn't do something for you.

When I fast and pray for over a week, I can smell Burger King three miles away.

I'm not just saying that.

That flame-broiled stuff, you may normally not eat there, but you fast for a week, you can smell it coming.

All of a sudden it just smells really, really good, and you just want a whopper, amen.

And that's not an advertisement.

The idea is ointment and perfume, it affects our heart, our minds.

So does the sweetness of a man's friend by hearty counsel, hearty, so you understand the word.

Sincere, warm, hearty, nourishing.

There's something about when someone gives us counsel and advice, instructions, directions towards our judgment that has a sincerity about it, a warmness to us that's led by the Lord, and it's a friend that does something to our mind like oil, an ointment, and perfume, it invigorates, it enlivens.

Words can be such a more powerful tool to our spirit.

Would you agree with that?

When someone gives you some advice, instruction, guidance, counsel, and they they give it to you and it comes from the Lord, and you go, oh, oh, it lifts the mind.

It invigorates the spirit, it gives us momentum, and we appreciate hearty, sincere, warm counsel that comes from God through the mind and the heart of a friend.

I want to say something to the men.

We can get warm, hearty, friendly counsel from good women also.

I'm serious about that.

My wife has given me so good counsel at times, and she's my friend.

It has come like an ointment and a perfume, and I go, yeah, that's how I should look at that.

That's how I should envision that.

That's how I should plan.

The idea about counsel, if you would, is encouraging instruction that affects our decisions, our judgments, and hearty counsel is warm, sincere, nourishing.

It feeds us.

Sometimes we don't want just someone's opinion.

We want to hear from the Lord.

And so it's so important that we have the kind of friends that walk with the Lord that can sweeten our attitudes also.

I want you to look, if you would, now, in Proverbs chapter 20, please.

Proverbs 20 · chapter mention

Follow along with us in our scriptures today, Proverbs chapter 20.

Proverbs 20 · chapter mention

And we're heading down a path today that's important to us.

Proverbs chapter 20.

Proverbs 20 · chapter mention

And notice now we're speaking a little bit about advice and counsel and the right kind of influence that affects our decisions, our judgments.

And notice what it says in Proverbs 20.

Look at verse number 18, please.

Verse number 18.

Every purpose is established by counsel.

And with good advice, make war.

Now I want you to know somebody says, I don't make war.

The definition of war is contentions that oppose direction.

A war is when you have a vision, when you have a plan, when you have something that you're planning on doing, and there's contentions that come up along the way, that's the definition of war.

It's something that opposes what we're trying to advance and accomplish.

It's something that opposes purpose.

Because purpose is the concept of an idea that is going to accomplish something.

In purpose, it's not like there's a difference, and I and I I've been studying this a little bit.

There's a purpose, there's a difference between purpose and intention.

Intention is what we plan on doing, but it intention doesn't necessarily know the outcome.

Purpose has an outcome to it.

Purpose has a, here's what, here's what we're going to end up being and doing when we're done with this.

It's not just intentions, it's actions that we're going to plan on doing.

It's vision.

Vision has an end result to it.

Now, sometimes we don't know exactly specifically, but let me give you this illustration.

My wife and I have, God has given us eight children.

And we purposed for those children how to raise them, but we didn't know specifically how they would come out.

But we wanted to follow biblical principles.

Are you still with me?

Our vision was to train them up in the way they should walk.

Our vision was to put scripture into them.

You say you're brainwashing them.

You're exactly right.

We wanted to wash their brain as much as possible.

I still am washing my brain.

I don't know about you.

This book cleanses our brain.

The concept of brainwashing, I know how it's used, but the book influences our thoughts and the patterns of our thoughts.

And the world calls it brainwashing, we call it walking with God.

And God cleanses the carnal mind.

Come on, is that right?

Our carnal mind tells us something.

The Holy Ghost says, that's not of God.

Wash that away.

Our carnal mind influences us, and the Holy Ghost says, nope, don't take that in.

Don't grab on to that.

That's not right.

Sometimes you watch the news and the Holy Ghost says, Turn that thing off.

I'm not saying all the time, but sometimes the Holy Ghost says, Don't listen to that.

I started listening to a broadcast yesterday.

In the first 30 seconds, the Holy Ghost said, Turn that off.

You're supposed to be studying today.

And I don't want that infecting your brain.

Come on, you still listen to me.

The idea is the Holy Ghost stopped me from listening anymore because it was going to have an impact that he did not want it to have, and he wanted my brain washed yesterday.

So the concept is what goes in affects what we think.

That's why he says, when you seek counsel, seek wise counsel.

Notice what he says again in verse number 18.

Every purpose, what we intend to do and to accomplish, is established by counsel, good advice, instruction, and with good advice, not just advice, but good advice, make war.

The idea is the war is going, we're going to overcome the contentions that come up that's going to accomplish our purpose.

And there's going to be purposes that we intend to do that are more than just intentions, they are purposeful, they're action, and we don't know exactly how it's going to come out, but we know if we do it right and have the right principles, that it will come out well.

My wife and I wanted to raise children right.

We're not perfect parents.

If you've never been a parent before, you can't go to school for that.

What do you mean?

Well, you can study, you can read books, you can do all kinds of things, but I want to tell you, the books don't tell you everything that's going to happen.

Come on, are you still with me or not?

The books didn't tell you about how rebellious they could be.

And my children are in here, I apologize.

Kind of.

Because when we were children, we were the same.

You know, the first word we learned was mama or dad died, and the second word was no.

Come on, is that right?

And some of us, I mean, I mean, the sweetish young little girls can say with a lip, no.

With emphasis.

And they're only three years old.

No.

Especially if they have drama in their personality.

I know it's funny sometimes, but not to a mother.

I laugh now as a grandparent going, yeah, yeah.

But I don't laugh around mom.

My daughter's mom, I don't laugh around her, but in the background, one.

Yeah, that girl's gonna be something right there, yeah.

Yeah, she's got a personality.

But brethren, God can work everything out.

So when we have a purpose, like mom and I, my wife and I, we we prayed with purpose to to know, if you would, to raise children and the nurture and the admonition of the Lord.

And we had a we had a purpose, we had a cause, we had a reason, and there was going to be opposition.

I'll tell you something.

You correct your children out in public and the world doesn't like it.

Even if you even if you tell them no, I said no.

I really said no.

And then if you mention correction, oh my goodness.

Oh, see, it got quiet in here.

Years ago, year, years ago it was okay.

Now it's like, be careful, and I understand that, but we still have to, children still need some correction.

Would you agree with that?

So the idea is we sought advice.

We sought counsel, we sought hearty counsel, solid, proven, experienced counsel from friends.

Back in the late 80s and early 90s, we met a family, not from our church, and they were raising multiple children, and we watched those children, we really liked the principles.

We really liked what was being taught.

And so my wife and I set an appointment with them.

We sat down for two or three hours with that mother and that father, who were more experienced than we were, and asked them how they did what.

Now, we didn't copy everything, but we learned a lot.

It caused my wife and I to go home and talk and to think about things that we wanted to do.

Their children were already in teenage years and close to being marrying years, and they had certain principles that we weren't even close to yet.

But we began to talk about it and we tried to choose wise counsel to make war.

What do you mean, war?

We were gonna be opposed in the raising of our children in multiple ways.

Come on, is that right?

Whether it's the world or family influence or whatever it was, even Christian influence can oppose.

Come on, is that right?

Yeah, and we know there's gonna be contention, so we want to know what we were supposed to do, and we wanted to discuss it among ourselves because we knew we're gonna face the judgment seat of Christ for our efforts and our purpose and what we were seeking to accomplish.

We did not know how our children would come out and what they would become, but we knew if we tried to follow the Lord, then the Lord could guide and direct that.

We weren't perfect, but brethren, we did not have the experience that that couple had.

They told us things where we looked at each other and said, Wow.

Never thought about that.

Well, didn't you read books?

Yeah, my wife read a lot of books, and she highlighted for me what she wanted me to read.

She still does, amen.

Especially when it comes to being a good husband, amen.

Here, I want you to read this book and let me highlight a few things in there.

Come on.

Hey, uh, friends sharpen the countenance of friends.

Friends wound friends.

And the idea, brethren, is we wanted to do what verse 18 says.

Every purpose is established.

Established, firmly fixed, established by counsel, advice, direction, uh, opinions that are from the Lord.

And with good advice, make war.

Overcome those contentions that can come up, leading to that purpose, if you would.

Look at chapter 24, please.

Chapter number 24.

In chapter number 24, it goes on a little bit more.

Chapter 24, you're doing great this morning.

Chapter number 24, notice verse 6.

Verse number 6.

For by wise counsel, oh, isn't it good that God put wise in there?

Verse number 6, wise.

Uh wise is an important word.

Wise, uh, someone who has wisdom, obviously.

But may I say to you, wise counsel is somebody who has a walk with God.

Because wisdom comes from above.

Come on, every good thing that has wisdom comes from above.

Wisdom does not come from the carnal mind.

And the and the world is not gonna give us good counsel and it's not gonna be wise counsels to us.

We need the wise counsel of a person walking with the Lord, where wisdom is being infused in by God, for by wise counsel thou shalt make thy war.

You're gonna overcome those contentions.

And in a multitude of counselors, there is safety.

What's safety?

Uh freedom from the danger that our mind puts on us.

Safety is freedom.

Safety is convincing that this is the best way for us.

And the idea is we need to seek once in a while someone's good advice who's walking with the Lord, realizing this, and I'm gonna give you an opinion now.

This is just an opinion.

I believe that in my life, sometimes God withheld from me what to do.

What do you mean?

I knew the purpose, I knew the cause, but I didn't know the specifics and decisions, and I think sometimes God withheld them from me so I would go to someone else.

So I would need someone else.

So I wouldn't be full of myself.

So I wouldn't think I did it all.

I think sometimes God withholds from us certain things to say, oh, I can give it to you.

But I'm not gonna give it to you, I'm gonna give it to someone else to give it to you.

And it's gonna go through them, and you're gonna have to humble yourself and go seek them.

Come on, are you still with me or not?

Therefore, you won't boast and brag that you knew it.

I'm gonna tell you, that couple who counseled my wife and I and gave us advice, we met with them a couple of times, and to this day, to this day, just two months ago, I saw two of their children who are now adults with family, and those children are still walking with the Lord and raising families now for the Lord.

I mean, I was with one place and I didn't even know one of their children was there.

And I walked in, and there that mother was who had six children, and I looked at her and I watched her for a, she didn't know I was watching her, I watched her for two days while I was there, and I thought, yep, it stuck.

It works.

And then I was just with another one not too long ago, and it's a true story, I'm not making this up, and I knew them growing up and everything, and I knew their parents, and their parents, who are now in their late 80s, early 90s, counseled us.

They were farther down the trail than we were.

They told us things about courtship and marriage and purity and how they did different things.

Now you may not agree with this, but one of the things that we really liked, my wife and I, they had one of their daughters that was thinking about a certain guy.

And they said, here's what we do.

If a guy writes a letter to our daughter, who was 19 at the time, it must be read in front of the family.

Huh?

The letter has to be read in front of the entire family, and then the family gets to comment on it.

You say, huh?

I don't think I'd do that.

I'm not saying you should, I'm just saying that's what they did, and I want to tell you, that puts good peer pressure.

I mean, can't you hear the comments?

I don't like that guy.

He's a slug, man.

I wouldn't marry that guy if you asked me to.

He's a fake, he's a hypocrite.

He doesn't mean that.

Come on, can't you hear the comments?

And can't you know that the guy knows his letter's gonna be read?

That'll change these private texts and these private communications, that'll fix things a little bit.

And back in those days, we didn't have text and email and all that stuff.

It was, you know, carrier pigeon and that kind of deal.

Little notes and little, you know how it goes.

And the idea was it had to be read in front of the family.

We I I thought, what a great idea.

Nobody can sneak away then.

And I want to tell you, one of the wonderful things about family is peer pressure, positive peer pressure can be a wonderful thing.

Positive peer pressure, godly peer pressure can be a wonderful thing.

You still with me?

Did I lose you there?

The idea is here's what it says.

Look at it again, verse number six.

For by wise counsel thou shalt make thy war.

You'll overcome the contentions leading to the advancements of the purpose.

And in a multitude of counselors, there is safety.

There's a freedom from that danger in our mind when you choose the right ones.

One more scripture, please.

Uh look if you would at Proverbs chapter 15.

Proverbs 15 · chapter mention

Proverbs chapter 15.

Proverbs 15 · chapter mention

And I don't know if you have decisions to make in your life, although I I imagine you do.

For God to give you a friend who provides hearty, God-centered counsel is a wonderful thing.

Proverbs chapter 15.

Proverbs 15 · chapter mention

Notice what he says, and remember this is God speaking to us.

Verse 22.

Without counsel, purposes are disappointed.

Now God says that without counsel, without good advice, without good direction, without good thoughts, purposes, uh, plans, advancement, things that you want to accomplish are disappointed.

Disappointed, like defeated, like uh frustrated hope, like they don't come about.

And the idea is without counsel, purposes are disappointed.

But in a multitude of counselors, They, those purposes, are established.

They're firmly fixed.

They're enacted permanently.

Brethren, I hope you don't see this as self-centered conversation from the pulpit, but I think there's a certain advantageous principle to being part of a church.

Where people walk with God.

They say, I don't like church because everybody's got an opinion.

May I say to you, I hope we have a kind of church that people don't go on around saying, you ought to ask me, you ought to ask me.

You ought to ask me.

You ought to ask me.

That's the person not to ask.

If they're carrying a sign around saying, I know everything, I know everything.

I know everything.

Please ask me.

I'm important.

That's the person you don't want to talk to.

Because they don't have humility.

Humility is important to get wisdom.

God resisteth the proud.

Give us grace to the who say it?

In fact, those that have some wisdom are careful not to just throw it out.

They're careful not to just barge in on somebody's life.

It should be the Holy Spirit that orchestrates it.

Why?

Because timing is so essential.

Timing.

The difference between a good message at church and a great message often is timing.

What do you mean?

It could be a good message, but if it's the right timing, God turns it into a great message, and it has nothing to do with the speaker.

It has everything to do with the content.

It has everything to do with what's on the page.

Please.

Please just turn to a scripture.

Because what?

We want you familiar with the book.

Come on, is that right?

And you may be turning it to your on your iPad or your iPhone, whatever.

It doesn't matter as long as you're in the book.

In the scriptures.

Now, so I was asking them to turn to a certain scripture, and they were turned there.

And after the church service, so the man came out, this was a while back, and he said, Well, you were close, Pastor.

That was unusual.

I said, Well, explain.

What do you mean I was close?

He said, Well, you ask us to turn to a scripture and you were on this side of the page, and I looked over on the other side of the page and I got what I needed.

It's good to be close.

So we're in Proverbs chapter 15.

Proverbs 15 · chapter mention

If you're in Proverbs 16, I hope you find it right now.

It's probably in there.

The idea, brethren, is counsel and timing by the Lord go hand in hand.

A word fitly spoken.

The right answer.

Good reason in the right season goes such a long way.

Especially when you go away and ponder it and the Holy Ghost starts giving you meditations and musings.

And you start thinking about it.

It was just a comment.

It was just something you heard.

And boy, the Lord took that and you begin to go, wow, that just really opened my mind to something that I haven't seen before, that I didn't realize before.

I'll say this to you again, please.

That sometimes I don't know if God gives it all to us to direct, or he says, seek somebody on this one.

Ask someone on this one.

Seek someone that's a wise counselor that has a walk with me, that seems to have wisdom on this one.

And may I say to you, I think different people have expertise by God.

I'll say it again.

I think different people have expertise given by God.

And I don't have an expertise in an area, but maybe someone else does.

Brother, now some of our ministries have been formed in this church by wise counsel that came through individuals by the Holy Ghost.

We just celebrated 10 years of our Friday night ministry called R You.

I call it Friday Night Church.

It was many years ago, not just 10 years ago, but actually almost 12 years ago, that two ladies in our church came to me and had an appointment with me in my office and said, We heard about a program, Pastor, that we're really, we're really, we really think it could be good for our church.

And I listened.

And they told me about the program and what it was and everything.

And I took the information and I sat on it for about three or four months and looked at it a couple times, and they made another appointment with me.

Came in very humbly and said, Pastor, have you considered that?

I said, you know, I have.

I've looked at it.

Here's my question: who?

Who?

And they knew what I was meaning because I knew I wasn't going to run it.

Who?

Because ministry takes leadership.

And usually that leadership has a passion and a gift for that calling to that ministry.

A name was mentioned to me, and it wasn't much later that I approached Brother Cheney.

And I said, Brother Cheney, uh, we're looking at this, and I don't know if you'd be interested.

Brother Cheney took probably 10 months to research it, think about it, pray about it, consider it.

And then God spoke to him along that way, and he came back and he said, I'll do it.

To me, I viewed it as a calling to Pastor Friday Night Church.

What do you mean?

It wasn't just we're going to do this once in a while, it was a calling for a group of people that he was going to shepherd.

Are you still with me or not?

And you don't do that overnight.

And he committed to that, and then we have Spanish now with Brother Garza.

The idea is that was formed by wise counsel.

Good, godly counsel that God spoke to somebody about that approached me, and God was in the whole thing, and it's been a blessing.

And we gave that testimony just the other night.

Look at verse 22 again.

Without counsel, purposes, that's which we are supposed to accomplish, are disappointed, they're frustrated, they're defeated, they can lose hope.

But in a multitude of counselors, they, those purposes are established.

They're firmly fixed, they're they're enacted permanently.

And remember, brethren, we started out that good counsel is like ointment, an odor, something that lifts the spirit, something that causes to be able to go to war and contend and stay at it, to the advancement of that which is to be accomplished.

That's why God said, I'm gonna send you two and two.

In the New Testament, when he sent out the preachers, he sent them two and two.

He says, Woe to him that is alone.

Why?

Because if you fall, you don't have another one to help you back up.

Ecclesiastes.

Come on, is that right?

I'm saying we need the Lord, but sometimes we need each other.

Sometimes we need someone in our life that can lift us back up as a human because there's nothing like once in a while the human touch.

Like you're doing okay.

I think you're doing well.

I think you're right on track.

But there's a lot of war to this, I know, but I think you're on track.

But there's a lot of opposition, I know, but I really think you're on track.

I think God spoke to you.

What do you think I should do next?

I don't know, but I'm praying for you, and I mean that.

Sometimes just someone coming alongside to encourage goes a long way.

I want to give you just a couple thoughts, please.

And and I hope you're thinking about counsel because here's what the point of the message is: who do you have in your life?

That's a wise counselor.

Secondarily, are we wise counselors to those around us when asked for?

Do we have a walk with the Lord where God can give us something maybe that we've never thought of before?

Because we're in the book, we're thinking of scriptures, we're walking with the Holy Ghost, we're not trying to grieve him, and God might give us something that we've never even thought of before, and it comes through us for them.

Brethren, everybody benefits.

And nobody gets lifted up thinking they're somebody because we know where it came from.

But I wonder if you have wise counselors in your life, and I wonder if they have a walk with the Lord.

One of the things about wise counsel, you ought to kind of look and say, I wonder if they have a walk with the Lord.

I wonder what their devotional life is like.

I don't want to just hear some because they think they're intelligent.

I've nothing, I have nothing against intelligence.

But how do you measure intelligence?

And please don't say the IQ test.

The IQ test tells you in relationship to the world how smart you are, but it does not tell you how spiritual you are.

I'm not against the IQ test.

I mean, I took the SATs to get an appointment to the Naval Academy and all that stuff.

I didn't go to the Naval Academy because I didn't think I could handle the sciences.

But I did the SATs and I did all that and I scored high.

And when I went to college, I found out how dumb I was.

And I'm so glad I didn't go to the Naval Academy because I would have washed out.

I barely made it through Oregon State University, begging the organic chemistry professor to pass me.

There's certain courses that can really humble you.

I went into the second class at calculus, took the first test, we were in a big gymnasium, walked in, looked at the test, and said, Nope, I don't know anything on here.

I didn't need calculus, that level of calculus.

I walked over, there was a line where you were resigning the class.

I stood in that line.

Gave my paper, and they said, What's your name?

It was like a process.

My name's Douglas Fisher, Social Security number.

They said, Okay, you're out, that's good.

I said, Thank you very much, walked away going, ah.

I don't need that.

If you're a if you're a math genius, God bless you.

I hope you use it.

I'm not putting down math, I'm not putting down science, I'm not putting down intelligence, but may I say to you that uh tutoring in that is important.

But tutoring spiritually is important also.

Getting someone that says, I don't know, let me think about it.

I'm not sure.

Let me see if God gives me a scripture.

Let me see if God can draw from some experience somewhere that I had that I've learned.

Because I'm not sure right now what to tell you, and I don't want to tell you something that's going to influence you away, that's away from that purpose that you have.

Come on, are you still with me?

We ought to be careful just passing it out like we're holding up our sign saying, Look what I know.

But we ought to be willing to listen and once in a while provide a little advice if God gives it to us to provide.

And then there's nothing wrong with seeking somebody.

In fact, uh, I'll give you one or two little illustrations and I want to read them.

I'm not going to ask you to turn there.

You're doing great this morning.

And by the way, there's nothing wrong with saying to the Lord, Lord, would you provide some good counsel?

I need that.

I'll give you one.

Uh, there was a guy named Naaman.

He was a general.

He was uh he was in charge of a huge, huge army, hundreds of thousands, but he had leprosy.

He came to try to get that leprosy cleansed, and the prophet came out and told him what to do.

And Naaman did not like what the prophet told him to do.

It was not what he expected.

And he went and he was in a rage.

He was so angry at the thing of what the prophet told him to do.

The prophet simply did not come out, sent his servant out, and the servant said, Here's what the prophet said: go down to the river Jordan and dip yourself seven times and you'll be cleansed.

And he didn't like that.

Number one, he said, That river Jordan's a dirty river.

See, he had a prejudice already.

It wasn't the dirty part, it was where it was coming from and who was associated with.

And my point was he wouldn't do it.

And then someone said this to him listen what was said.

And his servants came near and spake unto him and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it?

How much rather than when he saith to thee, Wash and be clean?

What they were saying is, what's it gonna hurt?

For you to go down and humble yourself and do that.

Because please listen, uh, he was supposed to dip himself seven times, and seven has a specific connotation in the Bible, but he was supposed to dip himself seven times, and it was an act of humility.

But it was an act of submission and obedience.

And he wasn't used to being submittive in obedience to humility, he was used to people obeying him, he was using to commanding large, large units, and he was often victorious for him to have to wash in the river, and God knew that was totally against his personality, he knew what would affect him.

That's why he told the prophet, tell him to go dip in the river seven times, the Jordan River.

And make sure it's he tells him where.

And they reasoned with him, and you know what he did?

He went and he did what they reasoned with him.

Someone gave him advice, someone gave him counsel.

Like, what's it gonna hurt?

Why don't you just do it?

And he did, and he came up cleansed, and he believed in God.

Come on, is that right?

But somebody was there at the right time saying, Why don't you just do it?

What's it gonna hurt?

At most, you get dirty river water on you, but if it works and you come up clean from your leprosy, come on.

Don't let your anger and your rage that's warring against you stop you because that wasn't the world warring against him, that was himself warring against him.

And sometimes our biggest opposition is right up here in our own minds.

Come on, is that right?

And we need counsel against ourselves, we need counsel to overcome the war that our carnal nature is bringing up.

Do you all hear voices once in a while?

No, no, I don't hear voices.

No.

No, no, do you hear, do you get a voice up there once in a while?

No, no, I don't hear voices.

I take medication for that.

I don't take no one.

Brethren, the truth of the matter is we all hear a whisper once in a while.

You ever have weird dreams?

Two years ago, I had a bunny rabbit chase me.

It had huge teeth.

I woke up just before it caught me.

But I was like nervous, like you say, what did that mean?

I have no idea.

Oh, let me interpret it for you.

No, I don't need to know.

No, I don't need to know.

Don't you have weird stuff once in a while?

You go, where'd that come from?

Brother, some of the times we need to war against our own minds, and good counsel can be like ointment, like hearty, sincere, warm, nourishing words that give us a thought that advance the purpose, that overcome the war, that give us hope.

And it comes from wise counsel that comes from God.

I'm not sure exactly what we're all supposed to do with this.

You say, then why'd you preach it?

It's what I'm supposed to preach.

But I'm not getting anything yet.

Go back and look at the four scriptures and let God work with you.

Maybe I didn't say it the way it's supposed to be said, but these are the right scriptures for us this morning.

These four scriptures are the right scriptures, and they they they lead into each other and they edify one another and they give depth to the thought.

And there's so many more.

He talks about uh kiss the one that has gives you the pleasant words.

I mean, there's so many things in here that talks about how impactful the right words can be at the right time when they come from above.

We may not see him, but he's real.

We may not with our naked eyes see God, but he's real.

And we know in the eyes of our understanding, when they're enlightened, what do you mean?

Ephesians 1.

When the eyes of our understanding are enlightened, we go, oh that makes perfect sense.

Or, oh, no one would think I should do that, but sometimes God's counsel is so unusual, and it works.

I was warring for years, two years, over depressed thoughts, and God used my wife, and the counsel she gave me after patiently watching and comforting for months.

God used my wife to give me some words at the right time that helped to turn the mind that was in prison.

Are you still with me or not?

Well, you said you should have just thought that.

Sometimes when you're in prison, you can't see.

Don't you think I respect her so much more?

Because God used her to help turn that captivity.

Say amen.

Oh yeah.

So, so I actually listened to her now.

What do you mean?

I gotta tell you, my first year of marriage, I thought I thought I knew all the answers, buddy.

Yeah, just ask me.

I know what we're supposed to do.

What do you mean, my first year of marriage?

She might have said something, bit it one one ear and out the other.

Once we walked down and said I do, I knew what to do.

Just ask me.

And she stayed quiet.

Kinda.

I appreciate her patience with me.

Because when a man thinks he knows what he's supposed to do, he's probably pretty stupid.

Come on, you still with me?

Because I was still in a pretty strong pride.

I didn't want to admit I didn't know what I was doing.

And she tolerated it.

Years and years later, I want to tell you, I respect her so very, very much.

I've become much softer.

And in the right way, she's become spiritually stronger.

Meekness is strength.

Come on, you stay with me?

And and and my wife does not run this church.

Please, please be assured of that.

Please be assured that my my wife doesn't even want to get involved in contention.

And don't think she's telling me what to do and how to do it and everything like that.

I'm talking about for me personally.

Now I want to tell you, if she brings something up about the church, I'm all ears.

Because she very rarely does it.

And I know she's thought about it a long time.

And then she'll say, I'll leave it with you, Doug.

I'll leave it with you, Doug.

And I'm like, thanks.

But sometimes we have blind spots that we cannot see.

And we need somebody that we trust with hearty counsel because it says a man's friend.

And a friend loveth at all times.

Even when they wound us, it's love.

Come on, is that right?

Jesus loved a guy in the New Testament, and he told him what he needed to do, and it wounded him.

Love sometimes wounds.

And when it wounds to our benefit, it's wonderful counselor and counsel if we're received.

Jethro one day told Moses the thing you're doing is not good, and gave him a solution for his leadership and what to do, and Moses followed that.

Abigail one day told David what he was going to do that was wrong, and she did it very humbly.

And David said, Blessed be thou and your advice.

One day Jonathan went to David.

He was entangled.

In some heavy, thick woods, and there was a battle going on.

And Jonathan sought David out and strengthened him, and strengthened his hand in the woods with the words that Jonathan told him.

Jonathan said, You'll be king one day, and I'll be next to you.

And that gave David some comfort.

Please listen.

Good intentions, good purpose.

It never happened.

But they were both willing for that to happen.

Why was that important?

Jonathan was the heir apparent, and he was telling David, You'll be king one day, and I'll be next to you.

You're the anointed one, David.

Don't forget that.

God's already anointed you.

You already killed Goliath.

You're already favored with all the people.

And he strengthened his hand when he needed to be strengthened.

The right timing with the right words can give hope, but the wrong counsel or no counsel.

Purposes can be disappointed.

Look what it says again.

We're to the end.

It says, and that's in uh, I want you to turn back.

You're in Proverbs 15 still.

I left my place, took off my glasses, but I'm supposed to read it again, and it's all already 1222, so I'm done.

Proverbs chapter 15 and verse 22.

Proverbs 15 · chapter mention

And it's an important negative thing that said, but it has so much positive in it.

Without counsel, purposes are disappointed.

But in the multitude of counselors, they, those purposes, are established.

If you've not received Christ as your Savior yet, that would be God's purpose for you today.

Please listen to wise counsel.

Wise counsel is that God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son for everybody in here that they could be saved.

He loves everybody in this room.

And God so loved the world that he gave his son for you.

And my point being today, counsel would say to you, if you've not yet received Christ as Savior, please, please, don't put it off.

Please receive the advice and the counsel.

I don't say that like I like I'm some authority, but I will say this God's not willing that any should perish.

That's his counsel.

Is that what the book says?

Say amen.

He's not willing that any should perish.

He was willing that all might come to eternal life.

That's what the Bible says.

He's willing for that.

Now listen, if you haven't received Christ as Savior today, there's a reason for your being here.

In this room this morning, please.

Take good counsel.

Ask Jesus to become your Savior through the blood of his son.

It'll change your life on this world and your life in eternity.

To be with God forever is the greatest promise.

Thank you for listening to this message by Pastor Doug Fisher of Lighthouse Baptist Church in Lemon Grove, California.

To learn more about Lighthouse Baptist Church, visit our website at www.lighthousebaptist.com or call 619-461-5561.