God's Word in 2 Timothy chapter 3.
From time to time, we take breaks from our verse-by-verse exposition of the Scripture to help you understand why we do what we do as a church.
In fact, if you go on our website, you can find the category, why we do what we do, found there.
So we've been going through the book of James.
We're at the end of chapter 2, purpose to start into chapter 3 in the coming weeks and looking forward to doing that.
It is most often that we open up to a text and we get right to reading it and we just spend our time in that text.
I often say to the younger guys learning to preach, your goal ought to be to keep people's nose in the book, right?
Keep them focused on the text itself.
However, it's a little difficult to do that when we do these types of sermons because they're a little more survey-oriented.
It's a bit of a step back to try to understand conceptually why we might do what we do.
So I just had you turn to 2 Timothy chapter 3 and it's just going to sit there in your laps for a little while as we set up a case.
We are going to look at this passage, but we look at some other passages first before we land in this one as well.
So I want you to know it pains me a little to preach sermons like this.
It's not my favorite way of preaching.
And I also want to give you warning.
It is especially important to be discerning when this type of preaching happens, right?
When the scripture is being used to proof the point rather than the scripture itself and forming the point in its presentation.
So I just want to say that to you.
I'm aware of what is happening, that it's got its danger.
So be discerning this morning as we open up God's word together.
The practice, the why we do what we do that we're going to cover today is the practice of biblical counseling.
And we find this to be of particular importance for us to think together about today for three reasons.
First and most importantly, you will likely need some extra help for a particular reason at some point in your life.
Perhaps more often than you even realize.
And it's important that you know where and how to get the counsel that you need.
Who should be helping you?
How do you know when somebody is giving you information worth listening to?
We live in an age of lots of information.
What should you and shouldn't you listen to?
Second, we are committed to biblical counseling as a church.
We are already committed to this.
We were committed to this in the founding of the church 13 years ago.
It is already practiced here.
It's already a thing that we do in some measure.
Some of you have been beneficiaries of biblical counseling in the life of our church.
But we also hope to see it practiced more.
Thirdly, we have determined as a church to press our efforts forward this year to start a biblical counseling center.
To more formalize that ministry of our church.
This endeavor is going to take a bunch of effort on a number of different fronts.
But the primary one, the primary effort, the thing we're going to need to work the most at is equipping members of our church to provide biblical counseling.
So we're going to be leading a cohort of people through the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors training.
So ACBC, if you're here, let's use that term.
ACBC's training.
And we would like for you to prayerfully consider being part of this work.
Prayerfully consider.
Might the Lord use me in this way as I'm laying out this case for you today?
We are hoping to see at least 12 people through the training this year.
If you're at all interested, if you think, sign me up, or you think, maybe I'd like to learn more,
we're going to have an information session following today's gathering in the large meeting room downstairs.
It's going to be short.
We're going to kind of lay out for you what that process looks like and how you can get involved in being trained to be a biblical counselor.
So as you're listening to this, as you're thinking about the case that the Bible makes for biblical counseling,
I want you to think in those terms.
So why do we practice and believe that God would have us further practice biblical counseling?
I hope to sufficiently answer that question for you with three points.
This is one of those sermons that's very difficult to condense.
There's so much I'd like to say and so many ideas I'd like to explore,
but I'm going to try to sufficiently answer that question.
Why?
Why biblical counseling?
Why should we do it?
Why should we do more of it?
The first point is this.
Number one, humans are troubled as a result of sin.
I don't think that anybody would say that we're not,
that there isn't some trouble in the world because of the sinfulness of man.
We have reason to be troubled generally.
There has been a curse placed on the world.
The brokenness of the place in which we live goes back to the fall.
Genesis chapter 3.
We can read in verse 16 and following.
God says to the woman,
And to Adam he said,
Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree which I commanded you,
you shall not eat of it.
Cursed is the ground because of you.
In pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life.
Thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you,
and you shall eat the plants of the field.
By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground.
For out of it you were taken, for you are dust.
And to dust you shall return.
So we can see in these few verses,
outward trouble, pain in childbearing,
pain in provision,
work became labor.
And we see in this text,
death.
Death is now part.
And all of the aches and pains and things that happen taking us to that place
is generally part of the fall.
We also see in that curse,
inward trouble.
Relational turmoil that's rooted in desire.
It's going to be problems in our relationship because of original sin.
But we also have specific troubles because of sin.
We are part of that sin nature.
We received it.
We are also willingly sinful.
And it causes trouble in our world.
A single Bible example of this,
James chapter 4, verse 1 and following.
James writes,
What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you?
Is it not this,
that your passions are at war within you?
You desire and do not have,
so you murder.
You covet and cannot obtain,
so you fight and quarrel.
You do not have,
because you do not ask.
You ask and do not receive,
because you ask wrongly to spend it on your passions.
You adulterous people,
do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God?
Therefore,
whoever wishes to be a friend of the world
makes himself an enemy of God.
So we are naturally idolatrous people.
We are naturally seeking satisfaction in a place that it cannot be found.
We are trading our God for something paltry,
something not worthy of our worship.
And this causes all kinds of trouble,
relational trouble and otherwise.
We feel it.
We have felt it this week.
We have likely felt it this morning.
If it doesn't hurt for you to roll out of bed yet,
brace yourself.
It's coming.
Young people,
on the morning of your 30th birthday.
It's coming.
Our bodies are falling apart.
We are,
apart from the grace of God,
wretched inside.
And all people,
rightly,
wish to be freed
from their troubles.
We all want ease.
We all want to be carefree.
We want to be set free
from the troubles of this life.
God's people know.
We have a theology for this.
We understand
the nature of the world in which we live.
And
we also know that one day
we will be fully and finally
freed
from our troubles.
Wonderful
truth.
A wonderful thing
to reflect on
together.
We sing often
a song together
on the Lord's Day
called
On Jordan's Stormy Banks
I Stand.
Which picks up
that typology
of God's people,
Israel,
waiting to cross over
into the promised land.
And it applies it rightly
to
the future reality
that will be delivered
from this world.
Verse 3 says,
No chilling winds
or poisonous breath
can reach that healthful shore
where sickness,
sorrow,
pain,
and death
are felt
and feared.
No more.
And then the chorus goes,
I am bound,
I am bound
for the promised land
and repeats.
Right?
We look forward
to that great day.
But while we await
that day,
is there any
temporal relief
for our troubles?
Right?
Are there instructions?
Is there help
given
to us?
And the answer
is absolutely
yes.
But first,
to understand
where to look
for this relief,
we need to understand
the nature
of our being.
How is it that God
made us,
which brings me
to our next point.
So number two,
humans
are
embodied
souls.
We are
embodied
souls.
We are
dichotomous
creatures.
And dichotomous
actually means
that we can be
divided in two,
which is really
not the best term.
That's why I like
to say instead
embodied souls.
Right?
Because our humanity
is both
our soul
and our body.
We will be
separated from
this body
upon death.
But our final
eternal state,
if we're in Christ,
will be in a
resurrected body.
Right?
Bodily
dwelling
is part of
being
human.
So you've got
the two things,
both body
and soul.
Both important.
Both
God-bearing,
image-bearing
parts of who
we are
as
people.
And I'm going
to juxtapose
that to
trichotomous
being
momentarily.
But I want
to make the
case to you
that we are
two-part
in a whole.
Right?
We are
embodied
souls.
Genesis
chapter 2,
verse 7.
The Lord God
formed the man
of dust
from the ground,
body,
and breathed
into his nostrils
the breath
of life,
soul,
and the man
became a
living creature.
Right?
This is something
that the rest
of the creative
world does not
have a soul.
God-breathed
life.
Right?
So we're both
parts,
body and soul,
and both parts
are affected
by the curse
of sin.
The body,
right?
There are a
myriad number
of ailments
affecting our
bodies.
Right?
Viruses.
Here's a wonderful
example.
Have we all
felt the curse
of viruses
over this
past couple
of years?
You guys know
that just a
couple of weeks
ago,
I was up here
with a sling
on my arm
because I had
an accident
and I,
turns out,
bruised ribs.
So I'm feeling
much better
now,
wonderfully.
Right?
I think
pre-fall,
I just wouldn't
have been stupid
enough to have
the accident.
We would have
avoided it
altogether.
I think my
brain would
have been
sharper than
it was.
Or some
super cool
regenerative
property would
have made
it not painful.
I don't know.
I'm a type
one diabetic.
Right?
My immune
system killed
the part of
my pancreas
that makes
insulin.
So I have
to do it
synthetically.
Right?
I have a
pump and I
do all this
stuff to put
insulin into
my body.
There are
mental disorders.
extreme
examples.
Schizophrenia.
Right?
These are
ailments of
the body.
However,
one day
these bodies
will be no
more and
we will
have new
resurrected
bodies that
will be
devoid of
the corruption
of sin.
In the
meantime,
God has
extended to
us many
common
graces.
Ways that
we can care
for our
failing bodies.
We don't
give up on
our bodies.
We can
exercise.
It's
helpful to
maintaining
health.
We can
eat healthy
food.
Right?
We can
help each
other think
about that,
what that
looks like.
There's
lots of
good natural
things still
that are
good for
our bodies.
There are
also
synthesized
medicines.
Right?
Praise God
for some
of the
discoveries
and the
things that
have happened
and ways
in which
we can
be cared
for.
Our
lives,
by the
grace of
God,
extended.
There's
wisdom to
apply these
types of
remedies.
Just think
of the
grace that
people have
knowledge to
be able to
do the
things that
they are
doing.
This morning,
Jacob Kelly and
David Mewson,
who are physical
therapists,
I've got a
little ache in
my finger that
will not go
away.
And they
gave me some
advice about
my finger.
Right?
Don't need an
MRI.
I just need to do
some things to
my finger to
help it be
better.
Speaking of
fingers,
Sam lopped off a
good portion of
the tip of her
finger a couple
of weeks ago.
And praise
God for the
wisdom to
put antibiotic
on it.
Like we
understand germs
and what
happens with
bacteria in
a cut.
So her
finger's healing
quite nicely.
Right?
So there are
remedies.
Right?
We have ways
in which we
can care for
the troubles
of our body.
But they
don't go away.
Right?
We're just
seeing ourselves
right through
this temporal
dwelling toward
an eternal
dwelling.
But we also
have souls.
Right?
And this
term soul
is referred to
in a bunch
of different
ways in the
scripture.
Genesis 2
calls this
the breath
of life.
Elsewhere
in the
scripture,
this part
of our
being is
called our
spirit.
You can
see 1 Samuel
chapter 1
and verse 15.
It's called
our hidden
person.
1 Peter 3
and verse 4.
Our inner
self, 2
Corinthians 4,
verse 16.
In other
places, this
part of our
being is
described by
its functioning.
The function
of volition
is called
our will.
John chapter
7 and
verse 17.
Cognition
is called
our mind.
Colossians 1
and verse 21.
This should
be distinguished
from our
brain, the
gray matter,
actual physical
gray matter
that resides
between our
ears.
consciousness.
It's the
functioning
that's happening
inside, the
cognition that's
happening between
our brains.
Our moral
sense of
right and
wrong is
called our
conscience.
1 Corinthians 8
and verse 12.
And the
center, like the
seat of our
emotions, is
most often
called our
heart.
John chapter
14 and
verse 1.
For our
time frame, this
is a very
brief survey of
these terms.
And I would
gladly talk with
you more about
this, but be
warned, I'm
probably going to
give you
something weighty
to read if
you want to
talk about
this more, but
happy to do
it.
I hope this
morning for
you to see
that these
terms are used
interchangeably
and that there
are so many
terms because
while we are
only two-part
beings, we are
still rather
complex creations.
The Bible uses
so much
different language
to label and
describe our
soul because
it is complex
enough that it
needs to be
observed through
different perspectives
or lenses.
So we're to
love the Lord
our God with
all our heart,
soul,
might,
strength,
all of that.
It's compounding
every ounce of
your being.
It's what's being
communicated there.
Not that we're
made of all
these varied
parts.
We are embodied
souls.
So why would I
spend all this
time, briefly
anyway, making
this case to
you this
morning?
It is because
so many
well-meaning
Christians
consider us to
be trichotomous
three parts.
And they don't
all agree on
what those
trichotomous
three parts
are.
But what it
does is it
regularly opens
the door for
secular psychology
to be an
active part
of the
ministry
of the
church.
The reasoning
goes something
like you
have a body
which should be
cared for by
medical professionals.
You have a
soul that should
be cared for
by pastors,
other Christians.
And you have
a spirit,
sometimes mind,
that should be
cared for by a
psychologist.
Beloved,
this should not
be so.
And I hope to
show you why
with our
concluding point.
So this
point
assumes
that we are
dichotomous
and proves
that we are.
Third point,
the Bible
is sufficient
for the task
of solving
the problems
of our soul.
The Bible
is sufficient
for the task
of solving
the problems
of our soul.
Now hear me
carefully.
It's not
sufficient for
the task
of solving
the problems
of our body
temporally.
Fully and
finally,
yes,
we'll have
new bodies.
But not
temporally.
I would not
make the case
to you this
morning that
I should
stop using
insulin
and just
have faith.
I use
insulin
by faith.
God has
provided it
for me
that I might
have my
being.
I might
do good
works that
he prepared
beforehand
for me
to walk
in.
We're not
making that
case.
And it gets
a little more
complex when
we're talking
about issues
of the mind.
That gets
hard.
It gets
hard to
navigate.
I'm not
saying that
we are
anti-medication.
I would say
we're cautious
when it comes
to psychotropic
medication.
But beloved,
if you have
schizophrenia,
I would
strongly encourage
you to
proceed.
Medical help
is a good
important thing
for that
type of
ailment.
An ailment
of the
body,
which
connects
to a
soul and
also needs
the care
of the
scripture.
So the
Bible is
sufficient for
the task
of solving
the problems
of our
soul.
And this
is the
text.
2 Timothy
chapter 3
verse 14
and 17
through 17.
2 Timothy
3, 14
to 17.
17.
Paul
writing to
Timothy,
talking about
people who
have abandoned
the truth,
and then he
says,
but as for
you,
continue in
what you
have learned
and have
firmly
believed,
knowing from
whom you
learned it,
and how from
childhood you
have been
acquainted with
the sacred
writings which
are able to
make you wise
for salvation
through faith
in Christ
Jesus.
all scripture
is breathed
out by God
and profitable
for teaching,
for reproof,
for correction,
and for training
in righteousness
that the man
of God
may be
complete,
equipped
for every
good
work.
This is our
classic
sufficiency
of scripture
text.
And here it
applies to
the life
of the
follower of
Jesus.
It is
sufficient
for this
task.
Paul says
some striking
things here.
He says
that the
Bible teaches
us what we
need to know
to be
saved.
It makes
us wise
for salvation
through faith
in Christ
Jesus.
Paul says
that elsewhere,
Romans chapter
10 and
verse 17.
So faith
comes from
hearing and
hearing through
the word
of Christ.
If you
are in
Christ,
if it's
true of
you this
morning that
you have
been justified
before God,
that you've
placed believing
faith in the
person and
work of
Jesus Christ,
you have
done that
because God
worked that
in you by
his word,
power of
the spirit
and his
word.
Faith comes
from hearing
and hearing
random
philosophy,
pop
psychology,
no,
the word
of
Christ.
Paul also
says in
this text
that the
Bible has
God as
its
author.
Carried
along men,
men's pins,
wrote the
text,
but he is
its source.
It was
exhaled by
him.
And because
of this,
it makes
it authoritative.
If God
has spoken
to the
world,
he has a
right to
speak over
his creation.
it's
authoritative.
And because
he is
God,
he cannot
lie.
Therefore,
it's
inerrant,
which means
it does
not
err,
and it's
infallible,
which means
it cannot
err,
praise be
to God.
And because
of all
these things,
then it
is sufficient.
It is
enough.
Life
and godliness,
what we
need to
know to
be in
right
relationship
with our
God,
and to
live lives
that are
honoring to
him,
can be
found in
the Bible,
and it
needs not
be found
anywhere
else.
What a
comfort,
and such
a day
of turmoil.
I have
been reminded
as the
information's
coming at
me,
as fast
as it's
coming at
you,
maybe faster
because some
of you
send information
to me,
I go,
what do we
do?
What do we
do in
such an
age?
And I've
just been
reminded
again,
and again,
preach the
word.
Just keep
bringing people
back to
the word.
The Bible
is sufficient.
The man
of God
will be
complete,
equipped for
every good
work.
So we
don't need
secular
psychology to
remedy our
spiritual
conditions.
We need
to look
to the
word.
And we
need to
help one
another look
to the
word.
And we
need to
help others,
we need to
help those
outside the
church look
to the
word.
Secular
psychology,
which I have
to talk about
very broadly
right now,
but it's
insufficient for
the task of
helping people.
Secular
psychology is
insufficient for
the task of
helping people.
Did you know
that there are
more than
250 competing
views of
human behavior?
Researchers vying
for their
position to
explain how it
is that man
works.
Secular
psychology,
as practiced
in many
places,
has
unscriptural
presuppositions.
Now,
you might
know somebody
who's a
licensed
counselor,
who's a
Christian.
Don't be
offended by
everything I'm
about to
say.
I have to
speak in
broad
generalities
to have
a conversation
about this.
If they
counsel well,
they do so
because they're
really being
biblical
counselors.
It has
nothing to
do with
the secular
psychology that
they may have
learned in
school.
You could
be a
biblical
counselor in
spite of
your training.
This is a
very possible
thing to
do.
But generally
speaking, it
has unscriptural
presuppositions.
First, it has
an incorrect
view of
man.
Broadly
speaking,
secular
psychology
believes that
man is only
an advanced
animal.
It has
evolved to
be the
most advanced
of creatures.
It's so
complex in
us.
But man
is so much
more than
a cosmic
accident.
We have a
creator and
therefore a
design granted
to us by
this creator.
Way more
than advanced
animals.
Some point
of process
in evolutionary
theory.
Another
incorrect
view of
man,
secular
psychology
holds,
is that
man is
basically
good or
possibly at
worst a
blank slate.
evil.
This is not
what the
Bible teaches.
The Bible teaches
us that man
is evil.
Altogether
evil.
I wrote in my
notes man is
basically evil and
realized that's an
insufficient term,
right?
Altogether evil
apart from the
saving work of
Christ.
So we have a
great problem and
we need a
great helper.
Psalm 51
and verse 5,
Behold,
I was brought
forth in
iniquity and
in sin did
my mother
conceive me,
right?
We are born
with a
sinful nature.
How are we
ever going to
find the right
solution to our
problem if we
don't understand
the problem?
Secular
psychology also
believes that
man is
autonomous,
can change
themselves.
This is not
true.
We need
God's
help.
We need an
outside agent
to work
upon us.
For those of
us in Christ,
that outside
agent becomes
an inside
agent as the
Holy Spirit
indwells us.
Our catechism
question was
about that
this morning.
Jesus said
in John
chapter 15
and verse 5,
I am the
vine,
you are the
branches.
Whoever
abides in
me and I
in him,
he it is
that bears
much fruit
for a part
for me,
you can
do
nothing.
Secular
psychology
also
excuses
sin
and denies
personal
responsibility.
There is a
lot of
blame
shifting
that happens
in secular
psychology.
You are a
product of
something.
Your parents,
your teachers,
your society,
a given
circumstance.
Of course you are
acting the way
you are because
again and
again that
blame gets
shifted away.
John writes
in 1 John 1
verse 8,
if we say we
have no sin,
we deceive
ourselves and
the truth
is not in
us.
The Bible
never justifies
our sin
as people
who are
victims.
People are
victims of
sin.
This is a
very true
thing,
but sinful
responses to
sin are not
justified in the
scripture.
They never
are,
and we
ought not
counsel people
as if they
are.
Second,
psychology
calls sin
sickness in
this attempt to
excuse it and
to deny personal
responsibility.
There certainly
is such a
thing as
physical brain
illness.
I don't want to
minimize that
point,
but the Bible
does not allow
for these maladies
to become
excusers of
sinful activity.
right?
When you
think about
the logic
of it,
every time I
get angry at
somebody,
I can simply
say,
well,
that's my
personality.
I've got a
propensity for
that kind of
thing,
right?
The scripture
would say,
well,
of course you
do,
because you're
sinful,
and you're
in need of
grace,
and you
deny that
impulse in
you and
respond
righteously.
So it
tends to
call sin
sickness,
and secular
psychology has
no fixed
moral values,
right?
a system
that largely
denies a
creator,
therefore leaves
morality to
our own
definition.
As long as
we feel
positive,
we're feeling
good about the
things we're
doing,
the decisions
that we're
making,
then our
behavior,
whatever it
may be,
becomes
justifiable.
There's no
standard that
we're meant
to aim at
for our
high and
ultimate
good.
So secular
psychology is
not sufficient
to the
task to
help people
change.
It is
possible for
a secular
psychologist to
treat symptoms.
It's possible.
Perhaps for a
counselee to
receive some
temporary relief,
but the
primary problem
will still
persist.
It's a sin
nature that
needs the
changing power
of the gospel
of Jesus
Christ.
real change
happens in
relation to
God,
which is why
God's word
must be brought
to bear if
we want to
really help
people with
their spiritual,
with their
soul problems.
2 Timothy
chapter 3,
again, all
scripture breathed
out by God,
and it is
profitable,
it's good for
the task,
teaching and
reproof and
correction and
training in
a standard
morality,
in righteousness,
that the man
of God may
be complete,
equipped for
every good
work.
So what is
biblical
counseling?
Biblical
counseling is
discipling from
the Bible for
a particular
problem, for
a particular
amount of
time, so
that a
counselee can
honor God
in their
life.
Biblical
counseling is
discipling from
the Bible for
a particular
problem, for
a particular
amount of
time, so
that a
counselee can
honor God
in their
life, right?
It's taking
up the
scripture, and
it's helping
people to
believe it in
a way, it's
empowered by
the Spirit,
that they
actually change.
Romans 12,
2, you may
be familiar
with this
text.
Paul says,
do not be
conformed to
this world, but
be transformed
by your
feelings,
the renewal
of your
mind.
The
things that
you believe
to be
true are
transforming
to who
we are.
So it's
that careful
application,
particular
problem for
a particular
period of
time, but
what does
the scripture
say about
this issue
in your
life, and
how can you
bring it
to bear?
What's the
practical ways
we're going
to work
out these
truths in
your life?
So if you
have a
bulletin,
real quick
on the
back, I
sort of
drew a
river.
This is
what the
scribble is
on the
back of
your page.
This is
an analogy
I picked
up from
Joel Teague
from Faith
Community
Church,
which is
kind of a
sister church
to us,
and a lot
of people
that we
love and
care about
that are
part or
have been
part of
Faith
Community
Church.
This
example
really
resonated
with me
because I
used to
teach
whitewater
kayaking,
so you
kind of
catch that
as we
talk about
this.
So you
have a
river,
and here
in the
river flow,
number one,
what you
would label
this,
whether you
have a pen
or not,
you can
just mentally
think about
it,
the general
activity in
this analogy
of the
church is
discipleship,
right?
Helping
people to
follow Jesus
faithfully,
to look more
like Jesus.
Be disciples
of Jesus
Christ.
Discipleship is
the noun,
and so I
always like
the verb
form of
discipling,
right?
It's the
activity of
helping people
faithfully
follow Jesus,
which should
be everything
a church
does,
what we
exist for.
Everything we
do ought to
be trying to
aim people
at faithfully
following
Jesus.
Just as a
river is
fed by
a tributary,
so that's
the little
thing going
off to
the side
there,
sometimes
this is
going to
happen
preemptively.
So you
could write
in that
blank number
two,
preemptive
discipling,
also most
regularly
called
evangelism,
helping people
see from
the scripture
their great
need of
God.
Therefore,
the solution
to their
problem is
the Lord
Jesus Christ,
bringing about
faith in
them.
So preemptive
discipling
would be
one of the
things we
would do
as a
church,
working to
do biblical
counseling,
evangelizing
people with
problems,
showing them
their greater
need than
temporal
fixes,
their need
of eternal
fixes,
and empowering
for temporal
fixes.
That's
preemptive
discipling.
People come
into the
flow of the
life of a
church,
a healthy
church is
going to
be about
discipling
people in
many,
many varied
ways.
But from
time to
time,
people need
to be
drawn to
quiet
water for
a particular
problem for
a particular
amount of
time.
So that's
a rock in
the middle
of the
river with
some calm
water behind
it,
or a dip
in the
bank with
some calm
water there.
These are
called eddies.
The flow of
the water
slows down.
And as a
whitewater kayak
instructor,
these are the
places that
we taught
skills.
If somebody
wasn't doing
well on
the river,
you've got a
group going
down the
river,
you would
pull somebody
aside and
say,
hey,
come over
here with
me,
and you
would teach
them a
particular
skill before
you return
them back
into the
regular flow
of the
discipling of
the church.
I think
understanding it
this way ought
to help us
destigmatize
counseling,
right?
Because we
all need
good counsel,
right?
I need to
be reminded
of the
wonderful truths
of the
Bible,
right?
It's just
discipleship.
It's just
taking a
particular form.
It's taking a
specific problem
for a specific
amount of time
and addressing
that before
being turned
back out into
the regular
discipling
practices of
a church,
right?
So we have
discipling,
we have
preemptive
discipling,
and then we
have particular
discipling.
That's biblical
counseling.
Particular
discipling.
So,
who can
provide
biblical
counseling?
I think
you may
rightly
be thinking,
alright,
good luck,
y'all.
Like,
have fun
with that.
Honestly,
if you're
sitting here
hearing me
and you're
thinking,
I got that,
then you
need some
biblical
counseling.
We need
to preach
the gospel
to you.
We should
be saying,
who is
worthy
for such
things,
right?
Paul says
in Romans
chapter 15
and verse
14,
I myself
am satisfied
about you,
my brothers,
that you
yourselves
are full
of goodness,
filled with
all knowledge
and able
to instruct
one another.
So,
the answer
is,
you.
Now,
if you're
in Christ,
none of us
are perfect
Christians,
but we ought
to be growing
in our
Christ-likeness,
which means
we can
and should
share
what we're
learning,
how we're
growing,
with others.
We ought
to be bringing
others along
with us
in this
process of
following
Jesus,
right?
As we,
by faith,
follow the
Lord,
Jesus Christ,
right?
And these
should be
people,
right?
We should
be filled
with all
knowledge,
right?
We should
be working
at being
equipped
because what
we need
to work
at doing
is having
our
counseling
Bibles
be this
thick,
and picks
up the
Bible
off his
podium,
right?
The Bible
speaks to
the everyday
problems of
our life.
The gospel
has application
for today,
and we want
to be equipped
to know
and how to
apply and how
to help
others believe
these things
to be true.
So,
because of the
great love
that God
has shown
us,
Christ Family
Church,
we want
to love
others with
the truth
of God's
word,
and this
is why
we want
to press
into
biblical
counseling
and start
a biblical
counseling
center.
You can
and should
play a part
in this.
First,
pray.
Just pray.
If we
go through
all of the
trouble,
get everybody
trained,
get them
certified,
set up
spaces to
meet in,
let the
community know
that it
exists,
we go through
all the
effort,
and God
doesn't
empower the
effort,
it will
be fruitless.
It will
be absolutely
pointless.
So,
pray for
wisdom,
the process
of getting
things set
up,
pray for
people as
they work
to be
trained,
pray about
whether or
not you
should be
trained,
be part of
praying for
this effort
of our
church.
Be a good
church member,
recognized as
a member of
our church,
speaking to
members,
you have a
responsibility to
care for
one another,
right?
You ought to
be giving
each other
counsel in
some measure,
so please be
doing that
faithfully from
God's word.
And consider
getting equipped,
getting equipped to
a higher level,
being certified to
provide this
particular discipling
through the
biblical counseling
center of our
church.
Let's pray to
that end.
Amen.