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    Saturday, November 15, 2008

    SPIRIT OF COUNSEL

    And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel...”

    The spirit of counsel is the fourth of the seven spirits of God listed in Isaiah 11:2. He is the one who guides you. The psalmist, speaking of counsel, says,
    “I will bless the LORD, who hath given me counsel: my reins also instruct me in the night seasons” (Psalm 16:7).
    David talks about his “rein,” that is, his inward man, instructing him in the night seasons. The Spirit of counsel instructs you and guides you from within. That’s the spirit by which the Lord guides your life.
    Let’s see something else about counsel in Acts 16:6
    “Now when they (Paul, Silas and Timothy) had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia.”

    Notice it says they were forbidden of the Holy Ghost. Paul and his company wanted to go preach in Asia, but the Holy Ghost forbade them. Then again in Acts 16:7-9, we read that
    “After they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia: but the spirit suffered them not. And they passing by Mysia came down to Troas.”

    This Spirit that dissuaded them from going into Bithynia was the spirit of counsel. Also, in Acts 11, Peter recounted how the Spirit of counsel ministered to him while he was praying in the house of Simon the tanner:
    “And, behold, immediately there were three men already come unto the house where I was, sent from Caesarea unto me. And the spirit bade me go with them...”
    The spirit of counsel instructed Peter to go with these men and preach the gospel to them in Caesarea.
    Remember the words of David in Psalm 16:7: “I will bless the Lord who has given me counsel. My reins (inward guide) also instruct me in the night seasons.” That’s the spirit of counsel. He instructs you and tells you what to do and what not to do. He directs you in all your affairs.
    You may have been headed in the wrong direction, but when the spirit of counsel ministries to you, “you will hear a voice behind you say, “No, this is the way; walk here” (Isaiah 30:21 TLB).

    “...and his name shall be called wonderful, counsellor, the might God, the everlasting father, the prince of peace” (Isaiah 9:6)

    The original Hebrew rendering of this portion of the Bible doesn’t say, “Wonderful, Counsellor,” two different names, as indicated here in the King James Version. It actually reads as one compound name: “Wonderful Counsellor.” You’ll observe that the other names, “Mighty God,” Everlasting prophet describes the Lord, are also dualized.
    The name “Wonderful Counsellor” means” Extraordinary Strategist.” The spirit of counsel is the Extraordinary Strategist. That means He’s beyond the ordinary mind or senses. He’s supernatural. He cannot be confused. He knows the way out of every crisis you face. He knows how you can come out of the darkness; He knows how to make you a success. He’s your Extraordinary Strategist and He lives inside you.
    Let’s look at one of His extraordinary strategies: Moses had just led the children of Israel out of captivity in Egypt. But Pharaoh wasn't about to let them go that easily, and he sent his entire army in hot pursuit of the “defenceless” Israelites. They were in a fix. Before them spread out the wide expanse of the Red sea. Right behind them, they could hear the thundering hoofs of horses and ominous clatter of chariots as the Egyptian army bore down on them.
    Humanly speaking, there was no way of escape. But as far as the Extraordinary Strategist was concerned, there was nothing like “no way out.” That’s why I tell people: “The walls in front of you don’t exist; the barriers are not real. Close your eyes; keep walking in the Name of Jesus, and they’ll get out of your way!”
    When the people cried out to Moses, he in turn cried out to God, but God’s response was simply amazing. He said, “...Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward. “But lift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it. And the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea” (Exodus 14:15-16 NKJV).
    The Extraordinary Strategist told Moses to stretch his rod over the water and divide it. Moses did as he was told and the children of Israel were miraculously delivered. The Red sea parted and they went through on dry ground, but the entire Egyptian army was destroyed in the same sea.
    Now if you were Moses or the children of Israel, you wouldn’t want to go forward if just anybody told you to do that, but because it was coming from the Extraordinary Strategist, it worked.

    There’s another instance of the Extraordinary Strategist’s superb counselling prowess in 2Chro. 20:1,3-4:
    “It came to pass after this also, that the children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with them other beside the Ammonites, came against Jehoshaphat to battle... and Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. And Judah gathered themselves together, to ask help of the Lord: even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord”
    The small nation of Judah was completely surrounded and outnumbered by the armies of three enemy nations – Moab, Ammon, and Mount Seir. So King Jehoshaphat proclaimed a fast throughout the land, and the entire nation, as one, sought the face of the Lord.
    While they prayed and fasted, there was a word of Prophecy. The Spirit of the Lord (the Extraordinary Strategist) came upon Jahaziel, a Levite, and He gave the king and the people the strategy they required to win the battle. He told them: “You don’t have to fight in this battle, for the battle is not yours but the Lord’s. Tomorrow, you go out against the enemy; they’re camping by the cliff of Ziz. Put twenty singers ahead of your army. They’re not to carry any weapons of war but just sing into the war front” (2Chronicles 20: 15-17.)
    And that’s exactly what Judah did. They marched to the camp of the enemy with twenty singers ahead of them, singing, “Praise the Lord for His mercy endureth forever!”

    As they sang, the angels of God were activated; they entered the enemy’s camp and began to slay them. Pandemonium broke out and the enemy soldiers, not knowing what hit them, turned their swords on one another and started killing one another. By the time God’s people got into their enemies’ camp, they were all dead! (2Chro. 20:22-24).
    No wonder Paul said, “the weapon of our warfare are not carnal, but might through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God’ and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” (2Corin. 10:4-5) hallelujah!
    It doesn’t matter what you’re going through or how hopeless the situation looks, you can still shout, “Praise the Lord!” because your Extraordinary Strategist will show you what to do and you’ll come victoriously!

    The term “Wonderful Counsellor” in Isaiah 9:6 also refers to the counsel of a king. In Micah 4:9, the prophet asks, “Now why dost thou cry out aloud? Is there no king in thee? Is thy counsellor perished? For pangs have taken thee as a woman in travail,” thus equating the king with the counsellor. He’s dealing here with the wise counsel of a king, counsel backed up with power.
    The Hebrew word translated “wonderful” here actually means “mighty acts and deeds, miraculous works.” So he’s talking about miracle-producing counsel that comes from a king, and that can only be the Lord, Who gives you counsel within that produces miracles without.
    I’ll give you a simple example: Only the Lord could have told Moses, “Take your shepherd’s rod, go to Pharaoh and wield that rod before him and there would be miracles.” Only the counsel of the Lord could have instructed him, “Hold that rod in your hand, stand before the rock, strike it, and water will come out.”
    Ordinary, this counsel doesn’t seem to make any sense, but the Bible says where the word of a king is there is power (Ecclesiastes 8:4), and we’re talking about the counsel of not just any king, but the King of kings!

    At a certain time, there was a prolonged dry season all over the land of Canaan. Famine had set in and many people were leaving for Egypt. Then God told Isaac, “Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father; and I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;” (Genesis 26:3-4).
    True to His words, every time Isaac went somewhere and dug the ground, he struck water, and the people couldn’t understand it. Nobody else found water; even though they dug deep, they still couldn’t get water. But when Isaac came and dug right beside them, water came out!
    During this period, everyone lost his crop as the famine was severe. But Isaac had counsel from within. He had been told by the Lord, “Stay in this land... and I will be with you and bless you” (Gen. 26:2-3a TEV). So in the midst of severe famine and drought, “Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the Lord blessed him. And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great: (Gen. 26:12-13). Isaac had a miracle-producing Counsellor!
    Counsel such as those illustrated in this chapter all had to have come from the month of God; otherwise, they would have failed woefully and resulted in utter disaster! However, this is the Spirit of counsellor. He is your miracle-Strategist. When he tells you to do something, it may sound illogical, but it’s miracle-producing counsel. That’s what makes it wonderful; that’s why it’s a miracle when such counsel brings forth outstanding results.
    Do you have the spirit of counsel? Has He ever instructed you? Are you acquainted with Him or do you find yourself always getting advice from people? Let the Extraordinary Strategist function in you, and He’ll instruct you on the right steps to take in your every endeavour. Take advantage of Him today. Receive His counsel and you will have direction.
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