The Holy Spirit is the Ultimate Counselor

The Holy Spirit is the ultimate counselor, all others are only as good as their prayer life and as the Holy Spirit works in them. Even Christian counselors in our day are steeped in self-esteem teaching working against the Bible.

I recall many years ago when a dear friend shared with me her encounter with her sister who had been going to a "Christian" counselor for her failing marriage.

 
My friend had been crippled and in a wheelchair since her teens from polio. Her sister was having marriage problems attending counselor sessions to help her with her marriage.

The counselor convinced her that her marriage problems were due to her crippled sister's problems because she had to help that sister after polio put her in a wheelchair for life.

 
The foolish counselor encouraged the sister to confront her crippled sister telling her that having to help her when she became crippled caused her marriage problems in the present.

 
Any rational person would have to ask; "Did your sister give herself polio just to force you to help her? What good can come from making the crippled sister feel bad and guilty for the failing marriage of her sister? And, finally, is it possible the woman with the bad marriage was so foolish she would think these actions were alright showeing a lack of good sense, was the problem with her marriage?

 
Not only was the marriage ruined so too was the relationship with her sister. I am always frustrated when ungodly "Christian" counselors steeped in self-esteem are never held accountable for all the devastation they cause in relationships based on false premises without knowing everything.

 
Blaming others for our own problems never works out well for restoring and protecting loving relationships.

 
All the counselor knew was what the sister told her without her husband present. The fact that the sister bought into the lies of the counselor told me that she wanted a scapegoat to avoid her own sinful attitude and actions. The counselor was not only foolish but void of any good sense and so was the woman with the marriage problems.

 
This is why I would not trust any counselor who claims Christianity in our day because they are all indoctrinated into psychology based on Darwinism and follow principles that are against God's Word.

 
Those I have known who went to the Holy Spirit were able to learn the truth about themselves which helped with relationship problems. Anyone who has not lived in the home with the couple could ever get it right because they have to base their judgments on what the people tell them, which is almost always skewed to make themselves sound like the victim.

 
Some counselors have good discernment able to see when they are being hoodwinked but most do not.

 
God says there is safety in a multitude of counselors but only if they are those who seek Christ and will be honest, not worried about making the counseled one like them.

John 16:13 "But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come."

 
Bottom line: The only reliable counselor is the Holy Spirit in our day of apostasy. If God leads someone to a godly counselor who is not paid and invested in an income to earn a living, then we would be able to trust them.

Wisdom is from the Holy Spirit not from Men

Since seminaries were not God's idea but man's everything else that came along with them was based on man figuring out what he thought would work rather than on the word of God. Man always think he can do better and be more effective than God. Spiritual and emotional pride has driven many people to interpret the Bible according to their culture instead of what God really meant.

No one can find any command or principle in the Bible that tells us to build institutions to teach men to be leaders. It is not surprising that seminaries and Bible colleges would go bad because they began on the wrong premise, that being that man can teach men instead of the Holy Spirit Who lives in believers.

John 16:13 "But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come."

Notice this passage and nowhere else in the Bible teaches that men will lead us into all truth!!!!

When we depend on men instead of the Holy Spirit we will be led into ungodly teachings. Those who have been trained and indoctrinated in these formal institutions with their certificates depend on their degrees of elevation above others to bring about superior status into the church gathering. They expect special treatment and demand obedience to them.

Leaders according to the Bible lead by example and teaching, they have no authority over the people. Every believer in the gathering has the Holy Spirit to be able to instruct and counsel everyone else in the gathering.

When people place their trust in the "educated professionals" they are not depending on the Holy Spirit and are idolizing the men.

Idolatry is a sin against God, He alone is our Authority, no man can teach or help us better than the Holy Spirit.

"Religion" is the problem in this world, based on man's control over other men not on Christ. When we have a relationship with Christ we have all we need. We share with one another to edify and encourage in the Word, no one is superior to anyone else and everyone has gifts in the body.

1 Corinthians 12:15-26

"15 If the foot says, “Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason any less a part of the body.

16 And if the ear says, “Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason any less a part of the body.

17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But now God has arranged the parts, each one of them in the body, just as He desired.

19 If they were all one part, where would the body be?

20 But now there are many parts, but one body.

21 And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”; or again, the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.”

22 On the contrary, it is much truer that the parts of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary;

23 and those parts of the body which we consider less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor, and our less presentable parts become much more presentable,

24 whereas our more presentable parts have no need of it. But God has so composed the body, giving more abundant honor to that part which lacked,

25 so that there may be no division in the body, but that the parts may have the same care for one another.

26 And if one part of the body suffers, all the parts suffer with it; if a part is honored, all the parts rejoice with it."

Stop looking to men and begin looking to the Holy Spirit while reading His Word to obey it, then the wisdom will come flooding in.

Changing the Word is to Disrespect Christ

The change the Word of God to meet our desired cultural standards is to disrespect Christ. He is called the Word!

Paganism in the American Church

Growing up in America I was introduced and indoctrinated into many pagan practices while attending a Christian church. No one ever explained to us as children why we did the practices or worse when there was an explanation that it was for Christ, there was never any Biblical proof that this was true.

 
Bags with candy and nuts were handed out during the Christmas season while a Christmas tree was erected in the back of the church building to celebrate Christ's birth.

 
The confusing thing was that no Biblical principle commanded or endorsed the practice of the tree and the candy/nut bags. But the people loved it but didn't question why we do these things.

 
At "Easter" time, candy eggs and other goodies were handed out while the preacher proclaimed that everything was about the resurrection of Jesus Christ, failing to mention why we associate eggs, candy and gifts with Christ's sacrifice and rising from the dead.

 
No one ever explained where the name "Easter" came from so everyone accepted that it must be something to do with Christ since every called the day; "Easter."

 
By the time very few of us grew up and researched where these practices and names came from those in churches, most Christians didn't believe us, they thought we were too radical because we were concerned that these holidays were not about Christ at all but added the name of Christ to indulge in fun celebration that had their origin in paganism.

 
There was no mention of Halloween in the denomination I grew up in but most of the people in the church sent their children out to beg for candy in the dark on Halloween night. Some even dressed up as evil and frightening characters claiming it was just clean fun.

 
Satan has a very clever way of turning something evil into something fun, claiming it is innocent but in reality, distracting Christians from Christ, while appealing to the fleshly emotions.

Once a culture has accepted a tradition as normal and happy, it is impossible to reason with them to see the truth.

 
This is the reason so many people have not grown spiritually, because most of those who attend church were never born again, they were indulging in the traditions of men. Those in the church gathering were careful not to upset pretenders fearing they wouldn't come back, so they endorsed things that were ungodly to keep the ungodly attending.

 
There are other traditions of men that the American church accepts as normal while using ungodly excuses and taking scripture out of context to justify their sin and that is divorce and remarriage.

 
The leaders in the modern church will not touch this subject because they know it may split half the church, or they will be fired over it.

Many church gatherings will not deal with sins of all kinds using the excuse that they don't want to drive people off. It is better to put out a sinner than to have them infecting the entire congregation by their presence.

 
Galatians 5:9 " 9A little leaven works through the whole batch of dough."
It is not love toward the rest of the believers to allow one who is sinning to remain influencing the rest of the people. Familiarity with sinful people ruins the character of those watching his life.

 
Remember the saying; "more is caught than taught." Influences is more powerful in actions than in words.

 
Titus 3:10
"10 As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him,"

1 Corinthians 5:1-2 "5 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and sexual immorality of such a kind as does not exist even among the Gentiles, namely, that someone has his father’s wife. 2 You have become arrogant and have not mourned instead so that the one who had done this deed would be removed from your midst."

Protecting the flock is God's priority! We are not protecting the flock when we remain silent about sin in the body such as immorality, pagan practices, and pride in things that God hates.

 
Mark 7:13 "13 Thus you nullify the word of God by the tradition you have handed down. And you do so in many such matters.”"

In these last days of apostasy the authentic church, those who are born-again will be hated by the pretenders. Some of those pretenders are in the pulpits pretending to have authority over the flock negating the Holy Spirit as the Authority.
Many lovely born-again believers are leaving the institutional churches to remain at home as God originally intended for the church.

 
Those who would judge this as disobedience do not understand God's church gathering as He gave it, and are sinning by judging what they do not understand.
Romans 14:4-12 "4 Who are you to judge another man’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for God is able to make him stand.
5 One man judges one day above another; another judges every day alike. Let each one be fully persuaded in his own mind.

 
6 He who observes the day observes it for the Lord, and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and the one who does not eat, in honor of the Lord he does not eat, and gives thanks to God.

 7 For none of us lives for himself, and no one dies for himself.

 8 For if we live, we live for the Lord. And if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.

 9 For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again so that He might be Lord of both the dead and living.
10 So why do you judge your brother? Or why do you despise your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. 11 For it is written:
“As I live, says the Lord,
every knee shall bow to Me,
and every tongue shall confess to God.”
12 So then each of us shall give an account of himself to God."

The context here is about judging believers who observe Christ on different days and eat different foods, it is not about judging the brethren who are sinning or those who are pretenders.

 
Paul clearly states that we are to judge those within the church gathering but not outsiders, they are to be left to God.

1 Corinthians 5:12:
"What business of mine is it to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside?"

If we take a look at and pray about all the things that are practiced in the modern church gathering we see that there is more disobedience than obedience to the Word of God.

Changing Yourself or Changed by Christ Big Difference

If the mind is not changed through repentance, the actions will only be manipulation and temporary.

 
Those who have turned to Christ for their mind to be changed will experience a complete change of actions. If there is any drifting back into the old ways for someone who has been changed by God there will be deep regret and confession of sin to be restored to fellowship with Christ.

No one who is born-again will be comfortable with sin, they will confess to be cleaned by Christ and will not live a lifestyle of that sin ever again.

 
1 John 1:8-10 "…8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar, and His word is not in us."

Those who defend their sin, justifying it to appear superior have never been broken of their pride and will fight to defend what is sin against God.

 
Psalm 32:5
"Then I acknowledged my sin to You and did not hide my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,” and You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah"

Acts 3:19
"Repent, then, and turn back, so that your sins may be wiped away,"

Bondage to Emotions

If we are in bondage to our emotions we will act badly without rational thinking. If we think with the mind of Christ we will act as God wants us to act.

 
All our actions are generated by our mindset, if by emotions then we are controlled by them. If our actions are dictated by rational Christ-like thinking then we are controlled by Christ.

 
We are controlled by something, either Christ, our fleshly emotions or by the devil.
Romans 8:8-10 "8 Those controlled by the flesh cannot please God. 9 You, however, are controlled not by the flesh, but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. 10 But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness.…"

Anyone who tells you to follow your emotions is speaking from the lies of the devil just as the devil told Eve she should ignore God and eat the fruit because it looked good to eat.

 
The devil convinced Eve to follow her feelings and fleshly desires instead of God. This mentality thrives in the modern church systems today.

 
Our feelings lie to us, they say things are good when they are bad and that things are bad when they are good. Satan uses feelings to deceive people every day all day long, to derail the lives of those who have no power over him.

 
Momentary gratification has ruined more lives than anything else. It is the tactic of the devil to tempt people with momentary feelings and personal indulgence. Anyone who has been born again will tell you all their sin before they were changed by Christ was because of the enticements of the devil to follow their feelings.

 
Every sin happens because someone "felt" something that made their actions seem happy momentarily.

 
Luke 8:14
"14 And the seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked by worries, riches, and pleasures of this life, and they bring no fruit to maturity."

The enticements of the devil are the thorns disguised as pleasure, they appear happy and good until the consequences come to bear later.

 
Matthew 13:22
"The seed sown among the thorns is the one who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful."
This deceitful fruit is worse than unfruitful, it creates a life of dependence on temporary pleasure while bringing unpleasant consequences that are last for a lifetime.

 
God's love and grace in the born-again believer brings great joy for not only a lifetime as they navigate through trials and lessons in life with Christ Who sustains them but also for eternity when they finally go to their eternal home.

 
When Christ is our focus not too much on this earth affects us in a way that is ruinous to us as many things are for those who have not trusted Christ.

 
If only we could explain these things to unbelievers so they will see what we see, but we only share the gospel with them and they have to choose Christ for their eyes to be opened.

 
1 Corinthians 2:14 "But a natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned."

The natural man without Christ will only begin to understand these things when they have chosen to trust in Christ and He changes them into a new creation.

Self Esteem Teaches that one cannot be Loved Unless they are Special

The self-esteem teaching basically teaches children they can only be loved if they are unique and special. God teaches that no one is special but He loved us so much despite our sinful nature, that He died for us paying the price for our sinfulness.

People "say", we need to have unconditional love but act as though we have to earn love by being seen as special. I say "being seen as special" because no one is therefore it is all about appearances on the outside without inner substance and reality.

Telling a child or treating a child as though they are special, above others is creating a false narrative about self that is easily demolished in the real world where they will not always be praised as special.

 
This is the reason many if not most people in our children's generation today cannot love anyone unless they see them as accomplished in a talent or job and outwardly beautiful.

Proverbs 18:1-3 "1He who isolates himself pursues selfish desires; he rebels against all sound judgment. 2 A fool does not delight in understanding, but only in airing his opinions. 3 With a wicked man comes contempt as well, and shame is accompanied by disgrace.…"

Boasting about oneself is not only common in our day but encouraged, causing superficial relationships based on how special others make them feel.

This is a detriment to relationships, no one can love anyone else who is not seen as special.

 
It is not possible to have close endearing relationships without unconditional love. Our love drives our concern about others in difficult times. It drives concern about sin in their lives to come alongside to help them have the strength to leave sin and to grow in holiness. Love edifies others to walk in the Word of God.

 
Edification is not praise, it is using the Word of God to help, to learn, to encourage in righteousness.

Proverbs 14:7
"Stay away from a foolish man; you will gain no knowledge from his speech."

Many people who say they are Christians are playing a role to be accepted and elevated by onlookers. They have no substance, everything is forced, erratic and based on manipulating the responses of others.

 
When we are our authentic selves we will share the good, the bad, and the failures with our brothers and sisters in Christ who will share in the joy or the pain, whichever is present.

 
In our day we must be careful to discern who is a real brother or sister because many pretenders will gossip and use the events of our lives to disparage us rather than engage in helpful love according to the need.

 
Proverbs 10:8 "A wise heart will receive commandments, but foolish lips will come to ruin."

This world is growing darker and meaner, it is a blessing to know there are still some people in it who love Christ and will operate from His fruit that lives in them.

Galatians 5:22-23 "22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.…"

Seek relationships with those who have this fruit and your friendships will be quality and eternal. We can know who is from God and who is a pretender, sometimes it will be unclear but God can show us.

 
Matthew 7:15-20
You Will Know Them by Their Fruit
15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.
16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?
17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.
18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.
19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them."