How to Be Your Own Counselor

This message is one of the Times Square pulpit series. It was recorded in the sanctuary of Times Square Church in Manhattan, New York City. Other tapes are available by writing to World Challenge P.O. Box 260, Lindale, Texas, 75771 or calling 214-963-8626.

None of these messages are copyrighted and you are welcome to make copies for free distribution to your friends. Psalms chapter 42. I'll read just a few verses from it, but I ask you just to keep your Bibles open because I will be spending a lot of time in these two, chapter 42 and chapter 43.

Really, our parallels should be taken together and let's look at a few verses. Verse 5, it says, Why are you in despair, O my soul, and why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise him for the help of his presence. Verse 9, I will say to God my rock, why hast thou forgotten me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy? As a shattering of my bones, my adversaries revile me while they say to me all day long, where is your God? Why are you in despair, O my soul, and why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise him.

The help of my countenance and my God. And then look down at verse 5 of Psalms 43. I'll read it, but it's really a repeat of that 11th verse.

Why are you in despair, O my soul, and why are you disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise him. The help, or what does the King James says, I think the health. The health of my countenance and my God.

I want to speak to you tonight about how to be your own counselor. How to be your own counselor. And as we ask the Lord to bless his word, I'm going to ask you to join in me with prayer for a brother, a gentleman that I've known for some time.

And a young man who was saved out of the ministry of Teen Challenge. Was a staff member for a period of time and is in the hospital and he's in real, real dire need at this very moment. And join with me in prayer as we ask the Lord to bless the word and lift this young man up to the Lord at the same time.

Our Father, we thank you tonight for your presence and the praises of your people. Lord, we thank you tonight that we have the freedom to come here in this land yet to worship you. And to praise you.

We thank you that we have the freedom in the spirit, that we have the knowledge of you. That we can enter into your courts with thanksgiving and praise. Lord, tonight I ask that you would bless the word to our hearts.

But I take this moment also to lift up this young man, Willie, to you. Oh God, reach down right now in that hospital. Lord, he's in dire need.

Lord, we just pray that by your miracle working power that you would reach into his mind right now. Reach into his soul. Touch his body as he is suffering mental anguish at this very moment, Lord.

Heal him and raise him up for your glory. We thank you, Lord. We thank you for already those that we've prayed for here tonight.

But we add to it this young man. We just thank you, Lord. We thank you for the preciousness of your word now as it goes forth in Jesus' name.

Amen. Now the scriptures make it very, very clear that we are to help one another. We are to love one another.

We are to bear one another's burdens. In fact, you can look in the scripture in the concordance. Look at the word another and follow it and you'll see how many times it says one another, one another.

Ecclesiastes 4, 9, and 10 says, Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. We need each other in the body of Christ.

And I think we're getting at a point in our Times Square Church as we've been here six months or more, we're getting to know some of you more and appreciate you. And the Lord is developing a love among the people of God as we continue to grow closer to the Lord and one another as well. And we need each other in the body of Christ.

And all of us are in need at specific times and for specific situations. We're in need for others to reach out to us in loving counsel and comfort. Some people have the ministry of counseling.

I don't just mean necessarily in a ecclesiastical sense or in a professional sense or in a full-time ministry. But I think of those who are laymen, who have the ministry of counseling. They are what I would call Barnabases.

You know, Barnabas means, his very name means son of encouragement. And his name is taken from the same root word that we get the word paraclete, from which we get the word comfort, from which we also get the word Holy Spirit. Barnabas was a comforter.

It was he who introduced Saul to the church when the Christians were still afraid of him. It was Barnabas who gave Paul his first opportunity for ministry. He invited him to Antioch and they ministered there.

And thank God for the Barnabases that we have in the church. Hebrews 3.13 says what a Barnabas should do, what all of us should do. It says, but exhort or but encourage one another day after day as long as it is still today.

And then in fact it adds something to that scripture which is also important. It says the reason that we are to comfort one another and to exhort one another lest any one of you be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. And so the role of the counselor and the ministry of counseling in the church is vital and necessary.

Any one of us at times ought to be exercising that role of a comforter, an encourager, an exhorter. Especially according to the scripture I just read, Hebrews 3.13, it says if we see a brother who is going off the pathway, we see a brother or sister who is growing cold or is falling into sin and is being deceived by that, it says we ought to love them enough to exhort them and bring it to their attention. In other words, biblical counseling is a dual role.

At times it is to encourage and lift up. At other times we ought to admonish or beseech people when we see them going astray. You see, a lot of counseling today, it only comforts but it does not warn.

Somebody has said Christians are sent into the world to comfort the afflicted and to afflict the comfortable. Now, I've taken on the... All of us as pastors are involved in counseling and I know what it's like to have to be in that role. I enjoy more comforting people.

I don't like to have to point out and warn people. And I've had already in this church, I know it's probably happened to a few of the other pastors, I haven't discussed it with them, but I've counseled some people and after I counseled them, they haven't been back to church since. Well, I like to think that it's because I put my finger on something.

The Lord put His finger on something. All counseling, however, even when it warns, should be done with a motive not just to get the other party to see their error, but that they might change and might reform and walk in holiness. Hebrews 10, 24 says, Let us provoke one another to love and to good works.

God also has placed the ministry of counseling in the church by providing a spiritual gift to certain people. Romans 12, 6 says, We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us. And then it lists a few of them.

It lists prophecy. It lists the gift of faith. It talks about service.

It talks about the gift of teaching. And it says, Or he who exhorts. This is a gift that the God has given to the body.

There are certain people that just have that God-given gift. Now, everybody ought to be an encourager at times. But some people are gifted with it.

And this gift is especially important in helping or counseling a new convert or somebody who's young in the Lord or somebody who's weak in their faith or somebody who's gone into error. 1 Thessalonians 5, verses 11 and 14 says, Therefore, encourage one another and build up one another just as you are also doing. And we urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, and be patient with all men.

Now, I trust I've made it clear that the ministry of counseling, it's biblical, it's necessary, it's important in the church. We do it, our pastoral staff, we do it on a regular basis. We have done it, and we're going to continue to do it because we believe in the ministry of counseling.

Now, having said all that, I also believe that there are times and there are situations in our lives when no human, no biblical, no Christian counselor, be it friend or be it pastor, there are situations that we face when nobody can provide us the comfort we need to get us through a problem or to help us to find answers to some of our problems. You see, the ministry of counseling can easily produce the ministry of the Holy Spirit. The church has moved into a dangerous period.

It's like the contractor who puts up a scaffolding to build or repair a building but he never takes it down. And dependency upon somebody else, a dependency upon one's counselor or teacher or teaching or meetings or friends or fellowship or whatever must never be a substitute for standing on the foundation of Jesus Christ. Paul refused to baptize anybody for this reason.

He said, lest they should say, well, I was baptized in Paul's name. He said, lest they say they were baptized in my name. He said, I don't baptize anybody except, he said, one person and maybe there is somebody else.

But as a general principle, he said, I didn't do it. He says also that I planted. Apollos watered or he taught you, he counseled you as it were.

But God was causing the growth. He goes on, he said, you are God's field. You're God's building.

You're not my counseling. You're God's property. I remember one day I took a minister out on the streets and a young man approached me who had met me the week before or sometime before and I introduced him to my minister friend and the fellow was a little bit inebriated and but he turned to my minister friend and he pointed at me and he said, he saved me last week.

He converted me last week. And I looked at him and I said, you sure look like my convert. You sure don't look like the Lord's.

You weren't baptized in my name. You know, one of the key words in the church today is relationships. That's a big word in some circles.

There are Christian counselors who talk a lot about our need for healthy interpersonal relationships with significant others in our lives. And I agree with that. There are small group interaction fellowships that are started to promote these interpersonal relationships and there's nothing wrong with that.

In some churches also they assign sort of a big brother to a new convert to try to counsel them and help them and disciple them in their initial walk with the Lord and there's nothing wrong with that. However, anything or anyone that becomes a substitute or replacement or attachment to us in the place of Jesus Christ ends up being a hindrance no matter how well intentioned the relationship was to begin with. John 15.5 says I am the vine ye are the branches he who abides in me and I in him he bears much fruit for apart from me you can do nothing.

And I'm convinced that the reason that some Christians don't bear fruit the reason some don't bear fruit sooner is that today the church has devised all kinds of artificial life support systems intended to help people but often they create a dependency upon a man or a system or a teaching or a program and they do not bring people to the true vine. Now my friend we've got some plants up here and when we bring you to the altar we're not going to glue you into one of these plants as nice as they look on the stage but they're artificial we're going to put you into the eternal life support system of the Lord Jesus Christ hallelujah and if we do any counseling we're going to counsel you to Jesus so that you can learn how to be your own counselor hallelujah Consider a man who became his own counselor these two Psalms are based upon the words of David and here we find David conducting a very interesting counseling session with himself if you read it carefully in Psalms 42 and 43 you find David questioning himself he has a dialogue between a counselor David and his counselee David no he did not have a split personality no he was not crazy but David speaks to his own condition he speaks to his own need and he comes out and he puts it into proper perspective and he comes out in his counseling session having given himself some good advice based upon what he knew of God and he ends up in the Psalm and he said you are the help of my countenance you are my mental health you are the help of my countenance I hope in God the help of my countenance and my God and when you consider that David was a very tough case to counsel we're going to look at it there are a few verses that indicate to us what David was going through at this particular time look at verse seven David says deep calls to deep in the sound of thy waterfalls all thy breakers and thy ways have rolled over me now throughout the Psalms and especially David as well as other Psalmists they use words like water and waves and breakers and floods they use those words to refer to troubles sorrows things that people go through that come up against them and also these are things that cause discouragement and distress and cause one to go through spiritual testing and emotional traumas listen to Psalm 69 you don't need to turn to it David says save me O God for the waters have threatened my life I have sunk in deep mire and there is no foothold I have come into deep waters and the floods overflow me do you know what it's like sometimes to go through deep waters 2 Samuel 22 and 5 he said the waves of death come past me I think he was probably talking about the time when Saul was chasing him and he didn't know from one day to the next if he'd be alive he called it waves of death and then Psalms 88 and 7 says thy wrath has rested upon me and thou hast afflicted me with thy waves now as with David those waves and floods are unavoidable in our lives the Bible said it rains on the just and on the unjust now remember that David was a man of God he was a man after God's own heart he was a good man he was a holy man he was a man who said in Psalms 42 and 1 as the deer pants after the water broke so my soul pants for thee O God and yet this does not exempt David from having the waves beat against him as a ship faces a rough storm at sea and in fact David's situation his troubles and sorrows were so bad look at verse 3 he said my tears have been my food day and night he said I can't sleep I can't eat because of the situation that I'm going through my friend that describes a man going through depression it was so bad that others looked upon him also in verse 3 it says and when they say to me and this is the thing that really I think got to David others looked upon him and saw what he was going through they saw the waves going against him they saw the troubles he was in and said ah come on David where's your God now where is your God and I'm sure that must have pierced him like an arrow in his heart in such questioning of the love of mercy of God even caused David to sink so low in his feelings look at verse 9 he says why has thou forgotten me chapter the next chapter second verse he said for thou art the God of my strength why has thou rejected you've forgotten me and you've rejected me Lord now it's no wonder that in the midst of the troubled waters David is going through you know what happened to him he sprung a leak he sprung a leak Psalm 69 and 1 King James version says the waters have come into my soul in other words things finally got to him overwhelmed him and caused him emotional depression now you see a sailor a sailor doesn't care if the waves with crested curls and crested heads curl over and dash against the vessel shaking it from stem to stern a sailor doesn't mind that he doesn't mind if the waters wash up upon the deck he's a sailor he's prepared for that he's trained for that but David's trouble was that of the sailor who whispers to another fellow sailor and he says we have sprung a leak we have sprung a leak you see the water in the hold is more dangerous than all the water in the ocean and such was the case with David he said the waters have come into my soul and he used words in this psalm like disturbed mourning despair and disquieted now we're not told the reason for his despondency I have my own feeling it is supposed that this was during the time when his own son Absalom had led a revolt against him had turned against him had turned the hearts of the people away from him and led a military and a political coup and David had to flee from the palace and went into exile off into a mountain retreat somewhere in fact here's what it says in 2 Samuel 15 30 it says and David went up the crescent of the mount of olives and he wept as he went and his head was covered and he walked barefoot then all the people who were with him each covered their head and wept and went up weeping as they went and Psalms 42 and 43 may describe the time when the waters came into his soul but let me ask you friend tonight have you known the kind of storm that David is talking about maybe there's some of you that are sitting here tonight and you know and can identify with David because tonight you sit here and the waters have touched your soul there is a despondency within you and if so you probably are in need of counsel and comfort and prayer Friday night we prayed for a gentleman who came to our attention that that very day a machine had fallen on him and it severed his spine and he was in the hospital Sunday night his brother was here I prayed for him I believe Victor you prayed for him as well what a trauma I want to tell you that young man 29 years of age engaged to be married went to work that day didn't know that his world would crush in on him and now he lays in a hospital bed knowing not knowing if he'll ever walk again in his life that's a storm my friend we all know the storms those kind of storms but I want you to note David's cry in the midst of this where and who David turned to for counsel during his period of depression David did not look outward for counsel he looked inward realizing that to turn to others might have been more of a hindrance than a help it's not that others were unwilling to help but he realized that nobody could remove his sorrows or lift his despair or adequately soothe his soul except God alone God alone and he realized that he had faced the situation as it says in Isaiah 63 and 3 Jesus said I have trod the wine press alone and with the peoples there was no man with me such was a time for David a time that comes to us all you see every man every woman knows and has to face his own garden of Gethsemane the disciples accompanied Jesus to the garden but they could only go so far they couldn't go with him through it they couldn't go through the anguish all they could do was watch and even that they failed in doing that's all he asked of them but they couldn't do it but they couldn't all they could do Job was in such a state of suffering and he said to he had some comforters that he wished weren't comforting him and this is what he said to them Job 7 18 he said wilt thou never turn thy gaze away from me in other words quit looking at me your looks give me no comfort he said wilt thou never turn thy gaze away from me let me alone I've told my children I've told them I as your father and as the priest in this home I said there'll be many times when I'll be able to walk through you I'll be able to help you and counsel you and I'll be able to take your hand and take you through many experiences but I said there's always going to come a time in your life when you're going to come to a mountain and there's going to be a tunnel that goes through that mountain but it's a tunnel only for one and when we come to that tunnel I'm going to have to let your hand go and you're going to have to go through your own garden of Gethsemane just you and the Lord now I can remember I remember my daughter calling me one time about a tunnel situation and I said honey I said remember the tunnel I said this is it and in fact she said to me and before I said it to her she said dad is this a tunnel I said yeah this is a tunnel I can't go through you with it David realized that he was going through a period when he might have been ill advised by the counsel of others so he did not seek it out one might have said David you don't have enough faith another would have said David your confession is not positive enough another might have said God does not want you to suffer just rebuke the devil and remember it was Bob that preached one morning he said how do you rebuke the devil if God is the author of your trouble there are times when it comes that God is the author of your trouble and you try to rebuke the devil and you try to rebuke the devil and you try to rebuke the and you try to rebuke the devil and you try to rebuke and you try to the devil and you rebuke and you may for their trouble in help them in the long run. It may not lay the axe to the root of their problem.

Job also said, how painful are honest words, but what does your argument prove? Remember Moses. He told God he needed a helper. God says, no you don't.

And Moses said, I can't speak well. I need help. I need an aid.

I need a counselor. And the Lord said, no you don't. He said, God said, go and even I will be with thy mouth.

But still Moses prayed. He said, give me a helper. And the anger of the Lord burned against Moses and he said, all right, you can have Aaron.

And you know what happened when he got Aaron. When Moses was off on the mountain, Aaron is down there aiding the people and building the golden calf. And when Moses comes along, what does Aaron say? He said, I don't know what happened.

We just threw all this stuff together and out come this calf. Aaron was Moses' substitute in lieu of the Lord or the one he turned to for a lack of faith. And let this be a warning.

Watch and examine every offer of help that you get in times of difficulty. Anyone or anything that turns you from faith, however appealing or enterprising it might be, is really a hindrance, my friend. When Peter was told of Jesus' death, he said, far be it from you, Lord, to have to go through that.

Far be it from you, Lord, this shall never, this shall not be unto thee. Sounds like a lot of the teaching today. My goodness, you know, if the prosperity teachers were in that day, Jesus would never went to the cross.

Far be it from thee. You see, natural affection will suggest any easy path instead of the path of righteousness and suffering. If you find a path with no obstacles, it probably does not lead anywhere.

So David, what happened? David became his own counselor. Now, I don't know about you, but I've learned from David that I do something. I don't know if you do it.

I talk to myself. David did it. Look what he said in verse 11.

He said, here's David talking to himself, and he says, why are you in despair, O my soul? He said, why are you cast down? Why have you, David, become disturbed within me? This is David talking to his emotions. He's talking to his soul. He's talking to that part of him that is going through and feeling the reaction of all of these waves come against it.

And I don't know if you ever talk to yourself, but you should. David did. He sets himself down, as it were, as if he was his own patient, his own counselee, and he says to David, David, why are you? He speaks to that condition in him, and he starts talking to David, and he starts talking God talk, and he starts talking faith talk, and he says, David, why are you, David, why is your soul cast down? Why are you in such an emotional state of depression? You see, David takes personal responsibility for the state of his soul.

He realizes that he is responsible and accountable for his resentments, for his poor attitudes, for his lack of faith, and he also realizes that under God, he is capable of instructing himself. He is capable of looking to the Lord. He is capable under God of bringing himself up out of it.

Hallelujah. First Samuel, the 30th chapter, David gets through a report. I think it was at Ziglag.

Was it Ziglag? He gets the report the enemy has taken all of his his wives, his children. They're all captive, and what did David do? He didn't do what I see a lot of people do. They have a party, and they only invite one person, and that's themselves.

It's called a pity party, and that's the most boring party you'll ever go because you're the only one there, and you're not very good company when you're feeling sorry for yourself. David didn't throw himself a party. The Bible says that David talked to himself.

David encouraged himself in the Lord, strengthened himself in the Lord. Now I can identify with David. I've learned how to talk to myself, to hold counseling sessions with myself.

There are times when I'm cast down. There are times when my spirit's low, or my feelings are hurt, and my emotions are drained, and I have to get Don Wilkerson by the nap of the neck, and I have to say, all right, Don, listen up. Why are you, Don, in despair? I have to speak out of my spirit to my emotions and say, all right, why are you disturbed within you? God is on the throne.

Hallelujah. Now I'm not always a good client. Sometimes I don't listen to myself, and the situation gets worse, and I end up saying to myself, you should have listened to me.

Most of the time I do listen and encourage myself in the Lord. Hallelujah. Job 20 and 21.

You know, a sister came to me Sunday, began to describe, I didn't know why she was talking to me, what counseling she wanted. She wanted prayer. She had lost her job, had to leave her job, going through a husband, leaving her, taking her to court over a situation.

She was going through all of this, and I was getting ready to pray for her, and before I could do anything, she started talking faith talk. She started talking God talk. I didn't say a word.

I didn't say a word. Sister, if you're here tonight, you blessed me. You came to me for help.

I was blessed because you were your own counselor. You said, all these things are against me, but God's holding me up. Hallelujah.

She encouraged herself in the Lord, and I like that kind of counseling. I like to have those kind of people come. Jude 20, 21 says, but you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit.

Keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life. You see, when David asked, why are you disturbed within me? He's rebuking himself. He's saying, David, you ought to know better.

What right have you as a child of the living God, knowing what you know and knowing who you know? What right do you have to stay? Now, it doesn't say that it was against God's will for him to feel like he did. My friend, we are in this treasure. We're in this earthen vessel, and we do have feelings, and we do have hurts, and they're going to come, but it's what you do with them, and David talks to himself and says, you have no business operating out of your hurts or out of your feelings.

You're a child of God. Now, what counsel did David offer himself? Let me just very quickly give you three things that David counseled himself. First of all, David had been going to the altar of God.

He had not forsaken the practice of seeking after God. I'm not going to spend any time on this because David gave the powerful message Sunday night about prayer, and listen to me. If you don't have an altar, if you don't have a place of seeking God, then I don't recommend that you be your own counselor, because you've got no wisdom.

You have nothing to draw upon, but David could become his own counselor because he had not forsaken the altar of the Lord. People come to me, how many times? Almost invariably, every time they come, and they talk about a problem, they talk about they've fallen to sin, and I ask them one simple question that every pastor, every counselor ought to ask somebody. I ask them, are you praying, are you in the Word? Invariably, of course, the answer is no.

David said, I used to go along with a throng. Look at verse 4. He said, I used to go along with a throng and lead them in the procession to the house of God. You see, David was like the wise virgin who took oil with them, and David had oil to give him light in the hour of his darkness because he had not forsaken the altar of the Lord.

David's spirit was strong, and so when David talked to himself, he talked out of the spirit of God that was in him to the other spirit of his emotions, and that's why he was able to bring himself out. Hallelujah. And then David also did something else.

He had a good memory. He had a good memory. Look at verse 6. He said, Oh my God, my soul is in despair within me.

Therefore, I will remember thee from the land of Jordan. Now remember, David was in exile. He was on the other side of Jordan.

He had to leave his home. He had to seek refuge in a mountain retreat, but in spite of his troubles, he realized that what he was going through was going to pass. I like what one pastor said.

He said, I get a great blessing out of the New Testament, it says, and it came to pass. Everything that happens to me comes to pass. It comes to go by me, and David recognized that.

He said, Better days are ahead of me because God, I can remember the blessing of the Lord, and a good way to talk to yourself during times of trouble is to remember the past mercies of the Lord. In fact, if you look through the Psalms, how many times God goes through the historical record of his people. There are entire Psalms, and all it does is record the acts of God, the love of God to his people, and my friend, whenever you get low, begin to think about the mercy of God, what he's done for you.

And I remember one time I was going through something, and the Lord just spoke to me and said, I know you're going through a lot, but you're saved, aren't you? And I got so blessed. Yeah, of course I'm saved. It doesn't matter what else has come against me.

I'm saved. Hallelujah. Lamentations 320 says, Surely my soul remembers.

This I recall to mind. Therefore I have hope. The Lord's loving kindness indeed never ceases, for his compassion never fails.

Psalms 414 says, Stand in awe and sin no more. Commune in your heart upon your bed and be still. Commune in your bed.

You know what that means? Talk to yourself about what God has done in your life. Turn with me to Psalm 77. Psalm 77.

Psalm 77, verses 5. It says, I have considered the days of old, the days of long ago. I will remember my song in the night. I will meditate with my heart, and my spirit ponders.

Will the Lord reject forever? And will he never be favorable again? Has his loving kindness, these are good questions to ask, you see, your spirit, I mean your soul, your emotions. When you're counseling yourself, David is doing, has his loving kindness ceased forever? Has his promise come to an end forever? Has God forgotten to be gracious? Or has he in anger withdrew his compassions? Then I said, it is my grief that the right hand of the Most High has changed. I shall remember the deeds of the Lord.

Surely I will remember thy wonders of old. I will meditate on all thy work and muse on thy deeds. Hallelujah.

Chew on that for a while, my friend, and you'll come up out of whatever you're in. And then finally, and I close with this, David expected a good outcome from his counsel of himself. Look what he says, 43 and 5. Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why are you disturbed within me? In other words, what right do you have to be disturbed? Why? Because my hope is in God, for I shall again praise him, the help or the health of my countenance and my God.

Now, I just want to close with this one last thought. I'm going to take you to Luke the 8th chapter. You can start turning there.

And let me tell you that one of the reasons that David expected to come out of the troubled waters is that he knew that God was the God of the rough ride to the other side. Now, that's just not a little cute little phrase that I came up with. That's right out of the Scripture.

Let me show you something here. God is the God of the rough ride to the other side. If you're in a storm, this is what God's going to do.

And here's the disciples. Look at it. Verse 22.

I'm reading from the New American Standard. I don't know what the exact words are in the King James, but here's what it says in the New American Standard. It says, now it came about on one of those days.

It came about on one of those days. How many of you have had one of those days? I mean, probably today, if we ask how many for you, you know, is it...you know, New York, they rate the weather or the top 10 days of the weather into, you know, good days. Well, if you rate your bad days, maybe this would be one of your top 10 bad days.

I don't know. But this was going to be for the disciples one of those days. He, Jesus, and his disciples got into a boat.

And were they ever going to go for a ride? If the Lord told them what they were about to go through, they would have never accepted his invitation to go. They were not threatened by a boat, they were fishermen. But look at verse 23.

And as they were sailing along, he fell asleep. And notice also that a fierce gale of wind descended upon the lake, and they began to be swamped. Ever been swamped? And to be in danger.

And they came to him and woke him up, saying, Master, we're perishing and being aroused. He rebuked the wind and the surging waves. Again, this is a type of the spiritual and emotional storm such as David went through.

And what was the disciple's counselor doing when they were going through their storm? He fell asleep. Now, you tell me, my friend, how many references are there in the New Testament about Jesus falling asleep? This is the only one as far as I could find. Only time, only reference of Jesus falling asleep, and he does it on one of those days.

This is the end of side one. You may now turn the tape over to... ...and praiseworthy or can describe something evil and contemptible. Let me tell you, my friend, a good counselor knows how to go to sleep on you.

A good counselor, I tell you, the Lord had to show me. The Lord had to shut my mouth many a time when I realized that somebody was going through a rough ride that God was putting them through. And here, I'm trying to ease their pain.

I'm trying to stay as awake and alert as possible. I'm trying to give them every scripture. I'm trying to be their savior.

And God has to say to me, just be quiet. You see, a good parent knows when to step aside and let the winds and the waters beat against the child, so the child will learn the lessons of the storm. And the lesson of the storm is at the right moment, Jesus stands up in the midst of the winds and the waves, and he reveals himself as a master of the storm.

But the disciples were fearful. Here is the most simple, basic truth. They forgot something when Jesus was asleep.

They forgot when he said, let us go get into the boat. What did he say? Let us go over to the other side of the lake. He didn't say, let's go out in the middle and have some fun.

He didn't say, let's go out into a storm. He said, we're going on to the other side. Listen, my friend, the devil takes you for a ride, but Jesus always takes you to the other side.

Hallelujah. And the other side of that thing that you're going through is always better than this side. Hallelujah.

We're always better off on the other side. We're a better person once we've gotten into the boat and we've entered into the journey. And remember that God is the God of the other side.

Hallelujah. The rough ride that leads to the other side. What happened when they came to the other side? They said in verse 25 or verse 24, he rebuked the wind and the surging waves and they stopped and it became calm.

And he said to them, where is your faith? And they were fearful and amazed saying to one another, who is this? Who is this? Who then is this? He commands even the winds and the waters and they obey him. You see, that's what God is trying to do. And if you'll just counsel yourself, if you'll just see that and you will be reminded of yourself that all the disciples had to say is, hey, wait a minute.

We're all in the tither here. We're all concerned about it. Remember he said when we got into the boat, let's go to the other side.

And all they had to say was, we haven't gotten there yet and it's a little rough. But he promised us that we would get to the other side. And that's how you need to counsel and talk to yourself.

God is the God of the rough ride through to the other side. Hallelujah. Shall we pray? Oh Lord, thank you, Jesus.

Thank you, Jesus. Hallelujah. Thank you, Lord.

Hallelujah. Lord God, we pray tonight you would give us a vision of yourself. You're the one who can stand in the midst of our storms.

Lord, forgive us when we've been frantic. Forgive us, Lord, when we've given in to our emotions instead of being controlled by faith. Oh Lord, forgive us.

We've been looking to some other people. Lord, some here tonight, they've so looked to other people to be their solution and those people ended up disappointing them. But it's no wonder they were disappointed because they were looking to a man, they were looking to a counselor, they were looking to somebody, they were looking to something rather than looking to you.

And Lord, we pray for some tonight who are ruled by their emotions. They're ruled by feelings. Lord, teach them.

Give them a vision of you tonight. May they not always be controlled by their emotions. May they know the Jesus.

May they know the God who is the God of the rough ride to the other side. Lord minister, we pray to those that you want to speak to tonight. As I prayed about the conclusion of this message, this is what I felt the Lord wanted me to say.

He wanted me to give an opportunity for some of you to come to this altar and you say, Brother Don, I am a person who is mostly ruled by my emotions, not by my faith. When the storm comes, I become an emotional person. I'm ruled by my emotions.

I'm ruled by my moods. I'm ruled by my feelings. I'm ruled by my hurts.

And God is showing you that tonight and he wants you to learn to do what David did when you go through that. That you can counsel yourself under God. I'm not saying that you won't need other people, but I want you to, first of all, before you go running to somebody or something, may you learn to run to God.

And if you're here tonight, you'd say, that's me. I'm that person that's ruled by my emotions and I know it. And I don't want to be that way anymore.

I don't want to be ruled by my emotions. I want to be ruled by the spirit of God. I want you to step out of your seat and come to this altar and say, Oh God, make me strong where I am weak.

Help me to be like David. Help me to be able to trust you, to turn to you in that moment that I will operate out of faith. I will operate out of the word.

I will operate out of the truth, rather out of my emotions. If that's you tonight and you need to get to this altar, come. We're going to pray for you around this altar tonight that God would strengthen you in your spirit.

Yes. Amen. Steve, sing something as we, as they come.

Oh Lord Jesus. Yes. Amen.

Hallelujah. Yes. Learning to lean on Jesus.

I'm getting blessed by the word of God. I'm almost, I don't want to quit. I'm ready to quit, but I don't want to.

Well, this is it. This is the last one. Psalms 91.

Here it is. Brother Victor prayed this in our meeting today when we prayed about all the things that might be.