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Standing in the Counsel of God | Mark Estes

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  1. Good morning, North.

  2. Wow. So good to see each of you. Today I

  3. had the opportunity to uh attend the

  4. Levites and Media Vites tribal wars

  5. yesterday.

  6. And I'd like to just give a testimony

  7. that I think they all still left with

  8. their salvation.

  9. Most of them were still sanctified. So

  10. God is good and he is on the throne

  11. today. I want to talk to you this

  12. morning though about a very serious

  13. subject and that is standing in the

  14. council of God. Standing in the council

  15. of God. There's a passage of scripture.

  16. You've heard it a lot because we are a

  17. prophetic community. We're an apostolic

  18. community. We believe in all of the

  19. five-fold. And as a matter of fact, the

  20. way we do ministry as a church is

  21. through the five-fold. But in Amos

    Amos 3 chapter mention

  22. chapter 3

  23. verse number 7, I want you to turn with

  24. me quickly in your Bible and then we're

  25. going to pray. Amos chapter 3 verse

    Amos 3 chapter mention

  26. number 7. The word says, "Surely the

  27. Lord does nothing

  28. unless he reveals his secret to his

  29. servants, the prophets."

  30. Look at that. Surely the Lord does

  31. nothing

  32. unless he reveals his secret

  33. to his servants, the prophets. So take a

  34. moment, lift your hands with me. Come

  35. on, everybody, lift your hands. Pray

  36. this prayer with me. Holy Spirit,

  37. >> open my ears that I can hear what you

  38. have to say. Open my heart. Make it

  39. receptive. I give you permission to move

  40. deep in my life to form my heart to form

  41. my character. Jesus have your way in me

  42. today.

  43. >> Amen.

  44. There's another passage of scripture in

  45. Psalm 25:14

    Psalms 25:14

  46. where David said, "The secret of the

  47. Lord is with those who fear him and he

  48. will show them his covenant." I I love

  49. that. The secret of the Lord is with

  50. those who fear him, and he will show

  51. them his covenant. One of the greatest

  52. privileges that we have as servants of

  53. God is to access the counsel of God. You

  54. see, God doesn't operate in secrecy

  55. toward his covenant people. No,

  56. scripture reveals a consistent pattern.

  57. God reveals his counsel before he

  58. releases his action. There's revelation

  59. before what happens. And so Amos

  60. declares this clearly in Amos 3:17.

  61. Before the judgment fell upon Israel,

  62. God revealed his intentions to his

  63. prophets. Now, the tragedy of Amos's

  64. generation is not unlike a lot in our

  65. generation. It wasn't the absence of

  66. revelation. It was the rejection

  67. of revelation. And so you if you read

  68. the book of Amos, you see this vision as

  69. it becomes visible when you compare Amos

    Amos 3:7

  70. 3:7 to Amos chapter 7 verse 10-17 where

    Amos 7:10–17

  71. the prophet Amos and the priest Amziah

  72. are having a confrontation at the altar

  73. at Bethl. Amaziah was the priest at

  74. Bethl during the reign of Jeroboam II.

  75. And Amosiah complains to the king that

  76. Amos is a troublemaker. He's causing

  77. problems in the kingdom with his promise

  78. with his prophecies. And he and and

  79. Amosiah tells Amos, he says, "You just

  80. need to leave Israel and go back to

  81. Judah and just preach there." But Amos

  82. replies to him. He says, "I'm not a

  83. professional prophet. I was a shepherd

  84. and I was content.

  85. I was a farmer, but God called me to

  86. deliver this message to Israel.

  87. But Amaziah tried to silence God's word.

  88. And then Amos began to declare judgment

  89. that would come upon Amziah's family.

  90. And Israel would eventually be taken

  91. into exile. And so this conflict wasn't

  92. just a personal clash. It wasn't a

  93. conflict of personalities or, you know,

  94. you get with some folks and and and they

  95. just rub you the wrong way. No, no, this

  96. wasn't that at all. This was the clash

  97. between two spiritual positions.

  98. One standing in the council of God and

  99. the other protecting institutional

  100. religion.

  101. So what is the council of God? Let's

  102. look at the Hebrew word counsel. It's

  103. actually used here in Amos 3:7 where

    Amos 3:7

  104. where he says surely the Lord does

  105. nothing unless he reveals his secret.

  106. The Hebrew word sod

  107. unless he reveals his secret to his

  108. servants, the prophets. Now that word

  109. that is translated secrets here is the

  110. Hebrew word sowed and and it literally

  111. means confidential counsel. It means

  112. secret deliberation. It means an inner

  113. conver inner circle conversation. It's

  114. like you've entered into the council

  115. chamber. And so in in ancient

  116. neareastern language, this word referred

  117. to a king's private council meeting.

  118. This is where strategies were made,

  119. where decisions were discussed before

  120. the king would carry them out. And so,

  121. it's kind of like what happens in the

  122. situation room at the White House.

  123. There's counsel, there's deliberation,

  124. there's talk, and then the president

  125. makes a decision and the joint chiefs of

  126. staff and the generals take that, the

  127. secretary of war, they take that and

  128. they carry out what was deliberated in

  129. the situation room. And so Amos chapter

  130. 3:7 literally says, "God does nothing

  131. without first revealing his counsel

  132. decisions to his prophets." And so the

  133. concept here is of a divine council. And

  134. scripture repeatedly describes God

  135. inviting prophets into his

  136. deliberations.

  137. In Exodus chapter 33, you see God

    Exodus 33 chapter mention

  138. inviting Moses in. In Exodus 33:11, so

    Exodus 33:11

  139. the Lord spoke to Moses face to face as

  140. a man speaks with his friend. You see

  141. this in Jeremiah in Jeremiah chapter 23

    Jeremiah 23:18

  142. verse 18. For who has stood in the

  143. counsel of the Lord and who has

  144. perceived and heard his word and who has

  145. marked his word and heard it. You see

  146. this in the psalmist David in Psalm

    Psalms 25:14

  147. 25:14.

  148. He said, "The secret of the Lord is with

  149. those who fear him, and he will show

  150. them his covenant." That's the same word

  151. in Psalm 25:14.

    Psalms 25:14

  152. The secret of the Lord is with those who

  153. fear him is the same word that's used in

  154. Amos 3:7. Sowed. The secret of the Lord.

    Amos 3:7

  155. Same word. And so this reveals a really

  156. important principle that you need to get

  157. down into your spirit. And that is this.

  158. God shares his plans with those who walk

  159. closely with him.

  160. God shares his plans with those who walk

  161. closely with him. And so you see this

  162. pattern of revelation before God takes

  163. action. God brings revelation and then

  164. God works. And so Amos establishes this

  165. principle, this sequence in chapter 3.

  166. And and he and how does he do it? He

  167. does it through rhetorical questions.

  168. And he explains the that the events that

  169. are going to take place, these are not

  170. just some random happen of coincidence.

  171. This is not something that's just

  172. random. He said if a lion roars,

  173. there's prey.

  174. He said if a trap springs, there is

  175. something that has triggered it. If

  176. calamity comes to a city, it doesn't

  177. happen without a cause. And then he

  178. delivers this key principle. Surely the

  179. Lord does nothing unless he reveals his

  180. secret to his servants, the prophets.

  181. This means that God speaks before he

  182. acts. And then you have the biblical

  183. example of the flood. When the flood

  184. took place, God revealed the judgment to

  185. Noah before the before the flood came.

  186. In Genesis 6:22, Noah did. The Bible

    Genesis 6:22

  187. said, "According to all that God had

  188. commanded him, so he did." Sodom and

  189. Gomorrah, God disclosed his intentions

  190. to Abraham in Genesis chapter 18.

    Genesis 18 chapter mention

  191. An incredible passage of scripture. It

  192. says that the Lord spoke to Abraham or

  193. let me I'm sorry, got the wrong

  194. verse here. Genesis chapter 3:1 17, the

  195. Lord said, "Shall I hide from Abraham

  196. what I'm doing?" He disclosed it to

  197. Abraham before. And then you had the the

  198. debate and the the negotiation between

  199. Abraham and God about how many righteous

  200. people would need to be there for the

  201. city to be spared. And then God revealed

  202. his plan to Moses before the plagues

  203. took place. He revealed his plan to

  204. Judah. God warned Judah through the

  205. prophet Jeremiah before they were taken

  206. into exile. And so you see this pattern

  207. throughout the Bible. Revelation

  208. precedes intervention.

  209. Now I want you to notice the prophet who

  210. stood in God's counsel. Amos exemplifies

  211. a person who had access to the counsel

  212. of God. He wasn't a professional

  213. prophet. He described himself in this

  214. way in Amos chapter 3

    Amos 3 chapter mention

  215. verse number 14 or Amos 7 rather 14. He

  216. said I was not a prophet. I was no

  217. prophet. He said nor was I the son of a

  218. prophet. I wasn't born into this. But he

  219. said, "I was a sheepreeder

  220. and I was a tender of syc a farmer. I

  221. raised sheep and I took care of sycamore

  222. trees.

  223. >> I was a farmer." He didn't have

  224. institutional authority. What he had was

  225. divine revelation.

  226. Now when a person stands in the council

  227. of God, positions become secondary to

  228. obedience.

  229. You don't have to have a title to bring

  230. a word from God.

  231. >> You don't need something hanging on the

  232. wall recognizing who you are or what

  233. you've accomplished. What you have to

  234. have is intimacy with the Lord. you need

  235. and when you when God reveals to you,

  236. all you need then is obedience.

  237. >> And so there's a clash that took place

  238. at Bethl. There was a real showdown that

  239. happened at Bethl in Amos chapter 7

    Amos 7 chapter mention

  240. beginning with verse 10.

  241. Amos chapter 7 verse 10. Amziah the

    Amos 7:10

  242. priest of Bethl sent to Jeroboam the

  243. king saying, "Amos conspired against you

  244. in the midst of the house of Israel. The

  245. land is not able to bear the land is not

  246. able to bear his words." And then thus

  247. Amos said, "Jeroboam, listen to this.

  248. This is a word to the king. Jeroboam

  249. shall die by the sword, and Israel shall

  250. surely be led away captive from their

  251. own land." Then Amziah said to Amos,

  252. "Go, you sear, flee to the land of

  253. Judah, eat bread, and there prophesy,

  254. but never again prophesy at Bethl, for

  255. it's the king's sanctuary, and it's the

  256. royal residence." Then Amos answered and

  257. said to Amziah, "I'm no prophet. I was

  258. uh nor was I a son of a prophet, but I

  259. was a sheepreeder and a tender of

  260. sycamore trees." Then the Lord took me

  261. as I followed the flock, and the Lord

  262. said to me, "Go prophesy to my people

  263. Israel." Now therefore hear the word of

  264. the Lord. You say do not prophesy

  265. against Israel and do not spout against

  266. the house of Isaac. Therefore says the

  267. Lord, your wife shall be a harlot in the

  268. city. Your sons and your daughters shall

  269. fall by the sword. Your land shall be

  270. divided by survey line. And you shall

  271. die in a defiled land. and Israel shall

  272. surely be led away captive from his own

  273. land. So you see this incredible

  274. confrontation Isaiah or Amos chapter 7,

    Amos 7 chapter mention

  275. it reveals what happens when God count

  276. God's counsel confronts corrupt

  277. religion.

  278. So the altar at Bethl was a mixture.

  279. There was a mixture of political

  280. control, a mixture of religious ritual

  281. with no substance to it and then a

  282. mixture of national. They put their

  283. identity on an altar that had been

  284. corrupted by idolatry and perversion.

  285. And so Amaziah brings an accusation in

  286. verse 10 and he says that Amos has

  287. conspired against you against the king

  288. in the midst of the house of Israel. And

  289. so Amziah interpreted the prophecy that

  290. Amos gave as political rebellion and not

  291. divine revelation.

  292. And so this happens

  293. when institutional

  294. leaders lose spiritual

  295. sensitivity.

  296. This church can never be so big that we

  297. don't hear the voice of the Lord. You

  298. can never be so prosperous and so

  299. wealthy that you don't hear the voice of

  300. the Lord. YOU CAN NEVER BE SO POWERFUL

  301. THAT YOU DON'T HEAR AND VALUE THE VOICE

  302. OF THE LORD. And so AMAZIAH TELLS AMOS,

  303. "GO, GET OUT, FLEE. Go home and eat your

  304. FOOD THERE. PROPHESY IN YOUR OWN LAND,

  305. BUT NEVER AGAIN prophesy at Bethl."

  306. Oh, how corrupt Bethl had gotten. This

  307. was an altar at Bethl that was

  308. established by Jacob. This is where he

  309. saw the gate of heaven and angels were

  310. ascending and descending and and he he

  311. recognized this is the house of God. But

  312. that altar had gotten corrupted.

  313. JEROBOAM BROUGHT IDOLATRY and perversion

  314. in and corrupted the altar.

  315. And Messiah just said, "Take your

  316. message somewhere else. We don't want

  317. what you've got here."

  318. Why?

  319. Because the prophetic truth

  320. threatened the religious political

  321. system.

  322. And so Amos responded

  323. with such clarity. He said, "I didn't

  324. ask for this. I didn't call myself to

  325. this. I was minding my own business,

  326. tending my own sheep, growing my own

  327. sycamore trees when the Lord spoke to

  328. me. And you can almost like hear the

  329. echo of Jeremiah's sentiment where he

  330. said, "I can't speak any longer in his

  331. name because every time I speak, I I

  332. just get insults and and they want to

  333. kill me." But he said, "His word is shut

  334. up in my bones like a burning fire."

  335. Jeremiah said, "I cannot hold it back. I

  336. have to release what what God has given

  337. me. And so Amos is saying, I'm not here

  338. by appointment. I'm here by assignment.

  339. >> THAT'S WHAT THIS WORLD IS NEEDING.

  340. THAT'S WHAT THIS CITY IS NEEDING. THAT'S

  341. WHAT THIS NATION IS NEEDING. SOME MEN

  342. AND WOMEN OF GOD WHO ARE NOT GONE

  343. THROUGH THE INSTITUTIONALIZED RELIGIOUS

  344. FORM, BUT THEY HAVE AN ASSIGNMENT FROM

  345. THE LORD. I'VE GOT TO RELEASE THE WORD

  346. OF THE LORD.

  347. So there's a danger

  348. in rejecting God's counsel.

  349. >> Amziah rejected the word of the Lord.

  350. And as a result, Amos pronounced

  351. judgment on him. He pronounced judgment

  352. on his family. Said, "Your family is

  353. going to suffer.

  354. Your family is going to suffer." He

  355. said, "The whole nation of Israel,

  356. BECAUSE YOU REJECTED THE WORD of the

  357. Lord, the whole nation is going into

  358. exile."

  359. And sure enough, in 7:22 BC, the

  360. Assyrian Empire conquered the northern

  361. kingdom of Israel. And the tragedy was

  362. not just that they were conquered, but

  363. that God warned them. God warned them,

  364. but they rejected the voice that stood

  365. in his counsel.

  366. Listen, friend, who are you listening

  367. to?

  368. >> Who are you paying attention to?

  369. You're not going to get this on your

  370. favorite radio preacher or television

  371. preacher. You're not going to get this

  372. in institutionalized religion. If you

  373. want to be prepared for the calamity

  374. that comes to this world, you need TO

  375. HAVE SOMEONE WHO YOU'RE LISTENING TO

  376. THAT STANDS IN THE COUNSEL OF GOD.

  377. >> And then you see this this pattern

  378. continued in the New Testament. And so

  379. the concept of of sharing that divine

  380. counsel is just continued in John chap

  381. 15

  382. verse 15. Jesus said, "No longer do I

  383. call you servants, for a servant doesn't

  384. know what his master is doing, but I've

  385. called you friends. For all things that

  386. I heard from my father, I've made known

  387. to you." Do you get that? You get in the

  388. presence of Jesus. You get in the divine

  389. counsel of the Lord. Everything that the

  390. father tells the son, he imparts it to

  391. you through the holy spirit. The holy

  392. spirit reveals the deep things of God.

  393. In 1 Corinthians chap 2:10, but God has

  394. revealed them to us through his spirit.

  395. For the spirit SEARCHES ALL THINGS, YES,

  396. THE DEEP THINGS OF GOD.

  397. Just before that, he said, "Eye hasn't

  398. seen, ear hasn't heard, neither has it

  399. been revealed to THE HEART OF MAN WHAT

  400. GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE THAT LOVE

  401. HIM." BUT WHEN YOU GET IN THE DIVINE

  402. COUNSEL, HE SHOWS YOU WHAT'S GOING TO

  403. COME.

  404. So standing in God's divine counsel

  405. isn't limited to prophets.

  406. You don't have to be recognized as a

  407. national prophet. You don't have to be

  408. recognized as a regional prophet. You

  409. don't have to be recognized as A CITY

  410. PROPHET. YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE RECOGNIZED

  411. AS A LOCAL PROPHET. WHAT YOU NEED TO DO

  412. IS WALK SO CLOSELY WITH THE LORD THAT

  413. YOU HEAR THE VOICE OF THE LORD.

  414. >> That's it.

  415. It's his presence.

  416. So how

  417. how

  418. pastor can I stand

  419. in the counsel of God today? How can I

  420. stand in God's counsel? Well, number

  421. one, you need to have intimacy with God.

  422. Psalm 25:14, "The secret of the Lord is

    Psalms 25:14

  423. with those who fear him, and he will

  424. show them his covenant." So, revelation

  425. flows out of relationship.

  426. God shares deeper insight with those who

  427. honor him, with those who listen to him,

  428. and with those who walk with him. So,

  429. get this in your spirit. You can't live

  430. like the world and stand in the counsel

  431. of the most high God.

  432. >> You stand in the counsel of God through

  433. the word of God. Do you understand that

  434. the word of God is the primary way that

  435. God reveals his counsel today? It's

  436. through his word. It's through the

  437. scripture. Psalm 119 verse 105, David

    Psalms 119:105

  438. said, "Your word is a lamp unto my feet

  439. and a light unto my path." So the more

  440. that you as a believer saturate your

  441. lives with the word of God, the clearer

  442. God's direction is going to come in your

  443. life.

  444. How do you stand in the counsel of God?

  445. Through the Holy Spirit.

  446. Jesus said in John 16:13,

    John 16:13

  447. he said, "However, when he, the Spirit

  448. of truth, has come, he will guide you

  449. into all truth, FOR HE WILL NOT speak of

  450. his own authority, but whatever he

  451. hears, he will speak, and he will tell

  452. you things to come."

  453. He didn't say, "I'm reserving this for

  454. the five-fold prophets." He said, "The

  455. spirit of truth, the Holy Ghost will

  456. give you the counsel of God." The spirit

  457. reveals the heart of God, the timing of

  458. God, and the strategy of God. So, let me

  459. give you a simple plan of action. First

  460. of all, how about seeking God's counsel

  461. before you make major decisions?

  462. You know what grieves me as as a pastor?

  463. And Patricia and I have been doing this

  464. since 1982. I've been credentialed since

  465. 1979. That's I'm old. I don't look it,

  466. but I'm old.

  467. But what grieves me as a pastor is when

  468. someone comes in my office. Well, I got

  469. to say at least they come in because a

  470. lot of folk just disappear.

  471. But what grieves me is when they come in

  472. my office and they inform me of a

  473. decision that they've already made that

  474. affects their life, that affects their

  475. family, that affects their eternity

  476. without asking for prayer.

  477. >> Hello

  478. Mhm.

  479. Yeah.

  480. Oh, now I now that gets uncomfortable.

  481. But Proverbs 3 verse 5 and 6 says, and I

    Proverbs 3:5

  482. think you probably could quote it with

  483. me, trust in the Lord with all your

  484. heart. Lean not to your own

  485. understanding. In all your ways

  486. acknowledge him and he will direct your

  487. path. He will direct your path. So I

  488. want I want you to ask some questions.

  489. Ask yourself some questions. What is God

  490. saying? Number two, what is the spirit

  491. revealing? Number three, what does the

  492. scripture confirm? What does If God

  493. tells you something that doesn't measure

  494. up to the book, honey, that's not the

  495. word of God.

  496. >> He's not going to tell you something

  497. that's not validated right here in the

  498. word.

  499. >> That is your measuring rod. That's how

  500. you CAN KNOW IS THIS GOD OR NOT. GOD

  501. WILL CONFIRM IT THROUGH HIS PEOPLE AND

  502. HE'LL CONFIRM IT THROUGH HIS WORD.

  503. >> AMEN, PASTOR. BOY, that's good preaching

  504. today.

  505. And then number two, you need to

  506. cultivate sensitivity, spiritual

  507. sensitivity.

  508. Israel rejected Amos because they had

  509. become spiritually dull. They allowed

  510. their altar to be corrupt. How can you

  511. corrupt your altar? Have you corrupted

  512. your altar?

  513. That means if an altar is corrupted,

  514. you're allowing things there that not

  515. God.

  516. You're taking into your temple things

  517. that are unholy. Your body is a temple

  518. of the HOLY SPIRIT.

  519. >> SO WHAT you watch, what you read, what

  520. you listen to, WHO YOU HANG AROUND HAS

  521. EFFECT ON YOUR TEMPLE. OH MY LORD, help

  522. me. Jesus,

  523. >> YOU WANT TO DEFILE THE temple of God and

  524. then complain cuz you don't hear the

  525. voice of God.

  526. >> Come on.

  527. >> What is it Sam says all? Give me a

  528. continental break.

  529. We have to remain sensitive to the voice

  530. of God.

  531. Matthew 11:15

    Matthew 11:15

  532. and then in Revelation 2 and 3, he who

  533. has ears to hear, let him hear what the

  534. spirit says to the church.

  535. So, some practical ways that you can do

  536. this. How about having a definite,

  537. specific, measurable time in prayer?

  538. Just don't talk to God when you're

  539. eating and when you're going to sleep.

  540. How about setting aside some time to

  541. fast?

  542. >> You really want to hear God? Push the

  543. plate back.

  544. >> Pray. Spend that time praying. Humble

  545. yourself before the Lord. How about

  546. meditate on his word. Get in the book.

  547. Let the book fill your mind. Meditate on

  548. the word of God. How about say, "Holy

  549. Spirit, give me some spiritual

  550. discernment.

  551. >> Help me to discern what's going on.

  552. Another way you can get in the council

  553. of God is to value prophetic voices.

  554. You know, throughout history, God has

  555. raised up voices. Prophetic voices warn.

  556. Prophetic voices correct. Prophetic

  557. voices guide the people of God.

  558. But prophetic voices are often rejected

  559. because they challenge comfort.

  560. The word of God warns us in 1

    1 Thessalonians 5:20

  561. Thessalonians 5:20, "Do not despise

  562. prophecies."

  563. If God gives what would be perceived as

  564. a negative word, do don't you

  565. understand? He doesn't do anything till

  566. he reveals his secrets to his servants,

  567. the prophets. He's telling you in

  568. advance, you need to pray. You need to

  569. humble yourself. You need to seek his

  570. face. If my people which are called by

  571. th by my my name will humble themselves

  572. and pray turn from their wicked ways.

  573. Then I will hear from heaven. I will

  574. forgive their sin and I will heal their

  575. land. God's giving you a warning that if

  576. you don't straighten up, if you don't

  577. get serious with me, something bad is

  578. going to happen. And so we want a

  579. healthy church. And so as a healthy

  580. church, we will learn to discern

  581. prophetic truth rather than suppress it.

  582. We want to hear the counsel of God. And

  583. every word is not a real positive word.

  584. There was a point that I just I didn't

  585. want to hang around the prophets.

  586. They kept talking about the calamity and

  587. all the junk that was going to happen. I

  588. said, "Man, I don't need that. I'm

  589. depressed enough."

  590. But it's a warning.

  591. And then I had to embrace it. God, why

  592. are you telling me all this? It's not to

  593. make me depressed. It's It's not to rob

  594. me of my joy. No, it's to prepare me so

  595. that when it comes, I'M READY TO STAND

  596. SO THAT WHEN THE FINANCIAL trial comes,

  597. I don't care. I'M LIVING IN GAN. WHEN

  598. THE PROBLEM COMES, I KNOW THE HEALER.

  599. HE'S JEHOVAH RAFA. I KNOW JEHOVAH GYRA.

  600. I KNOW JEHOVAH NI. AND HIS BANNER OVER

  601. ME IS LOVE. AND WHEN I embrace his love,

  602. he leads ME FROM VICTORY TO VICTORY to

  603. victory. I'M THE HEAD AND NOT THE TAIL.

  604. I KNOW WHO I AM. I KNOW WHO'S I AM.

  605. >> So Amos

  606. chose obedience over acceptance.

  607. If you want the counsel of God, choose

  608. obedience over acceptance.

  609. Even when it's unpopular.

  610. Standing in ca in God's counsel may mean

  611. rejection. It may mean misunderstanding

  612. and it may mean opposition

  613. but obedience to God has to take

  614. priority.

  615. Acts 5 verse 29

    Acts 5:29

  616. Peter said and the other apostles

  617. answered and said we ought to obey God

  618. rather than men.

  619. Few months ago, I had the opportunity to

  620. meet with a missionary to Iran,

  621. but he wasn't in Iran.

  622. He had to stay in one of the border

  623. countries

  624. and minister to Iranian believers and

  625. pastors that would travel across the

  626. border because he couldn't go into Iran.

  627. There is such a strong underground

  628. church in Iran.

  629. There's an incredibly strong underground

  630. church in China,

  631. the most oppressed places.

  632. There is there is a group of believers

  633. that have an iron backbone and they

  634. stand on the word of God and they live

  635. from the presence of God. Could you do

  636. that?

  637. Oh, we're Americans. We have THE FIRST

  638. AMENDMENT. FREEDOM OF RELIGION.

  639. Let me tell you something. That freedom

  640. can go quickly by the wayside. It can

  641. turn on a dime.

  642. Could you stand

  643. when it becomes illegal to do this?

  644. Does your religion

  645. go deeper than your politics?

  646. Just asking.

  647. Don't stone me yet.

  648. The tragedy of Israel wasn't the absence

  649. of God's voice. It was the rejection of

  650. God's voice. the rejection of those who

  651. carried it. So the challenge that we

  652. have today is will we stand in the

  653. council or will we silence the voices

  654. that do stand in the council? Because

  655. history

  656. repeats this truth over and over and

  657. over that God discloses his plans before

  658. he executes his purpose.

  659. He always does.

  660. He is a God that is the same yesterday,

  661. today,

  662. and forever.

  663. Are you in

  664. the counsel of God?

  665. Are you listening to those who are in

  666. the counsel of God?

  667. There are a lot of voices around,

  668. but I'm going to tell you how I how I do

  669. it.

  670. Number one, I'm not going to get excited

  671. or depressed at one word. The first

  672. thing I'm going to do is I'm going to

  673. look at the word and see, does this

  674. measure up? And then I'm going to look

  675. at the man that gives thee word and I'm

  676. going to say, is there fruit?

  677. >> Is there fruit in that life?

  678. And if there's not fruit,

  679. akuna matata.

  680. Listen,

  681. I love you,

  682. but you got to get selective on what

  683. table you sit down and eat from.

  684. Quit eating up all the junk food

  685. >> of a bloated, obese, dying church

  686. >> and start getting the lean meat of the

  687. word of God, the nutrition that you need

  688. from the presence and the spirit of God.

  689. Eat the bread of life and throw the junk

  690. that processed, overprocessed religion

  691. away.

  692. What you're doing in the physical

  693. should reflect what's happening in the

  694. spirit.

  695. >> There are a lot of people in America

  696. that are getting away from processed

  697. food, but they suck down processed

  698. religion every day.

  699. >> We take better care of our temporary

  700. body that's going to pass away and turn

  701. to dust than we do our spirit man that's

  702. going to live forever.

  703. >> And the message of the Lord is get your

  704. house in order.

  705. Get your house in order. Get your house

  706. in order because this the day of the

  707. Lord is approaching quickly.

  708. >> I am telling you, you need to listen

  709. with your spirit and take heed to what

  710. pastor is telling you this morning. The

  711. day of the Lord is near. He is coming

  712. like a thief in the night. The day of

  713. the Lord is near. Sound the alarm on my

  714. holy mountain. Call a sacred fast and a

  715. solemn assembly. The day of the Lord is

  716. near. It is a day of judgment AND IT IS

  717. A day of blessing. BUT IT DEPENDS ON HOW

  718. YOU LISTEN IN THE COUNCIL OF THE LORD,

  719. WHICH BATTLE, WHICH WHICH ground you

  720. fall in.

  721. >> So, if you're here this morning, you're

  722. not sure if you were to die tonight that

  723. you'd go to heaven. I want to give you

  724. an opportunity.

  725. Quit playing religion.

  726. >> Quit it.

  727. >> It's time for you to start seeking God.

  728. Don't pacify your conscience by coming

  729. to church once a week or watching

  730. online.

  731. Determine that you're going to actually

  732. be a believer Monday through Sunday.

  733. >> There not any off days. You might take

  734. an off day on your diet. You might take

  735. an off day from the gym, but you can't

  736. take an off day from God. Either you are

  737. or you're not. And if you've been

  738. playing with religion, you need to pray

  739. this prayer with me right now. I feel a

  740. conviction of the Holy Ghost this

  741. morning that goes to the depth of my

  742. soul. God in his mercy is giving some of

  743. you a chance. Some of you who've been

  744. playing with him. Some of you who have

  745. who have not taken seriously what God's

  746. spoken to you and you've KEPT DOING JUNK

  747. THAT GOD TOLD YOU NOT to do.

  748. >> YOU'VE MADE A DELIBERATE DECISION OF

  749. YOUR WILL. YOU KNOW WHAT THAT'S CALLED?

  750. IT'S CALLED SIN. I DON'T CARE HOW YOU

  751. DRESS it up. I don't care what you make

  752. it look like. IF GOD SAID DON'T DO IT

  753. AND YOU DO it to him who knows TO DO

  754. RIGHT AND DOESN'T DO IT, IT'S A SIN.

  755. And this is your chance.

  756. You have an opportunity right now to get

  757. right with God.

  758. Don't waste that opportunity. Don't

  759. throw it away because you're not

  760. promised another one. It doesn't matter

  761. if you're here or you're watching

  762. online. If God's speaking to you and

  763. dealing with matters of your heart, lay

  764. it on the altar.

  765. >> So, if you don't know Jesus or if you've

  766. been playing with him,

  767. pray this prayer with me.

  768. But I beg you, mean it from your heart.

  769. Get serious with the Lord.

  770. If you will, I promise you, you will see

  771. God do exceeding abundantly above all

  772. that you ask or think

  773. by the power,

  774. the spirit that is resident inside of