Discerning “Ungodly Counsel” in the End Times
Nathan Leal - March 18, 2012

“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly…"
Psalms 1:1a

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Note* - In the last devotional that I sent out, we visited Psalms 1:1.  Today, I would like to elaborate on the topic even further. I am sharing these things because there is a great need among today’s end time remnant community to have Godly discernment, in particular when it comes to “ungodly counsel.”

“Ungodly Counsel” - What is it? - It can be a dangerous thing and I want to visit how it can lead to wrong choices, burn out and bitterness. There are several categories of “ungodly counsel.” In this article, I will talk about two of them:

• Babylon’s “Ungodly Counsel” - the philosophies of this world.
  
  
• “Ungodly Counsel” from those who are “well meaning” - This category is awkward to talk about because some of those who are involved in the giving of this “advice” have good intentions. Nevertheless, it must still be addressed.
  

Babylon’s “Ungodly Counsel”
According to Psalms 1:1, “ungodly counsel” is to be avoided in our lives. But here is the challenge, as residents of Babylon America; we are swimming in “ungodly counsel” everyday.
It can be found in heart of today’s entertainment. It is the message that cloaks Hollywood movies. It is buoyed in the news media. It is printed on billboards and featured in magazines.

The world’s ungodly counsel is the gospel of Babylon that is shoved down our throats and desires to indoctrinate us into submission by the powers of darkness and their human minions.

It is the sermon that is preached to America’s children in public school;

1. “We came from monkeys.”
2. “We are merely an animal species that has evolved”
3. “There are no rules about your gender. Feel free to experiment with one another.”
4.  “Procreation is for recreation! So have at it!”  

It is found everywhere and is freely available to all of us. This is why God warns us against this “ungodly counsel.”

In fact, this warning is one of the vigilant highlights of scripture.

If we could illustrate our lives as a journey, “ungodly counsel” could be likened to a “pot hole” that would be found in our journey’s infrastructure. Following the world’s “bad counsel” will result in us falling into a slippery sinkhole of pain and sorrow.

If we are seeking to walk in the light of God’s truth, we should be able to discern when we are being exposed to Babylon’s “ungodly counsel.”  In spite of its tempting nature, this “false counsel” will most of the time, be obvious to most of us.

In our last devotional, we went into detail about this false counsel.

“Ungodly Counsel” that is “well meaning”

I would like to now talk about another area of ungodly counsel. This area is more challenging to recognize. For some people, it can even be difficult to address.

This area of “wrong counsel” can be found in the strategy of “well meaning” individuals.

My friends, please allow me the latitude to visit this topic. I do not bring it up to be mean or harsh. I bring it up because God instructs us to seek “holy godly counsel” and not “false” or “ungodly counsel.”

It is important that we do this because in today’s end time landscape, the “remnant community” is trying to prepare for what is coming!

Hopefully, you are in this group. You are trying to get yourself ready. You are trying to warn your friends and family. In the midst of this task, you may be facing a tirade of internet resources that talk about end time topics like:

• The Coming Dollar Crash.
• The Coming War with Iran and its implications.
• The Coming Greater Depression.
• The Coming Tyranny and Police State, etc.

As we listen to the many Alternative News Sources that are freely available in “internet land,” we are also exposing ourselves to some information that may or may not be “filtered” through the Holy Spirit of God.

Some of the information out there may actually include preparation information or advice that could be “ungodly counsel!”

Now please do not get me wrong, I fully support getting prepared and getting equipped for what is coming. But I also believe that God’s remnant needs to be “particularly” cautious about the counsel or advice that they hear.

Why? Because many of the people who are trying to prepare for the future are searching for answers; and some of the counsel that is out there is becoming the influential catalyst for the plans of these people.

Some of the counsel out there is becoming the recommendation that people are following. Folks, the advice that guides us needs to be the counsel of God and not the earthly opinion of men.

Some preppers out there are preparing for the lights to go out and some are preparing for a show down and cannot wait to start firing their weapons in every direction!

Some preppers are hearing counsel that when doom happens, they should absolutely help no one!

But in the light of this advice, should we as Christians just rip the Parable of the Good Samaritan out of our Bible? Or the Parable of the Sheep and Goats?

What if your son or daughter happens to be driving in their car after a supposed EMP attack? What if they are trying to get home by walking?

I have heard preppers say that if this happens …too bad! They will not help a soul. We saw what the anarchists did to the innocent during Katrina. They were raped and murdered!

I have heard internet radio hosts say, “Help no one, trust no one!”

Folks, I understand the need for vigilance, shrewdness and safety, but is this counsel, the mind of Christ?

God will not be mocked, we will reap what we sow!

Again, I know that this topic is touchy, but based on the sampling of sound bytes out there. I am concerned that some of the voices are giving out “ungodly counsel!”

As we are all aware, there are reports out there. Some of them are warnings that include impending events.

These reports can be scary and disturbing:

1. The New Madrid Fault is about to go…!
2. The Iran War is going to begin next week, next month etc…
3. The powers that be are getting the guillotines ready for the people!
4. The powers that be are storing coffins in anticipation of a coming event!

Many of you know what is looming. The big challenge for all of us is to possess the Holy Ghost’s filter so that we can sift through all of the information and determine if it has validity.
 
As of this writing, the economic meltdown of America has been occurring in slow motion. The big tipping point has thus far, not occurred.

Friends, I do believe that eventually, the big one will happen. But at present, I myself am limited and handicapped by only knowing in part.  As the scriptures say, we all look through the glass darkly.

Burn Out and Doubt

Most of us will agree that it is very exhausting to stay on a level of, high emergency alert when nothing of major consequence seems to be happening.

I have witnessed that the lifestyle of waiting for crisis can wear people out. I have seen friends get burned out while waiting for doom; and succumb to the desire to unplug and go back into the sleepy existence of “the Matrix.”

I have seen that after several false alarms, some people seem to react with frustration, embarrassment and anger. And because of this, they resort to a new attitude of scorn towards the warning message.

Sadly, some of these people began to view the preparation and vigilance message as a waste of time and energy.

I have seen that some, who experienced these things, had a decline into doubt and after a time, became bitter towards all of the Watchmen. And worse, some of them began attacking and denouncing God’s Watchmen as false prophets of “doom and gloom.”

The end result is an unfortunate display of burn out, bitterness and betrayal!

Why do things end up this way?  It is because some of our “well meaning comrades” who are out there were either misinterpreted by others or they themselves misinterpreted some of the data. In a nutshell, the information may have been wrong counsel! …Wrong counsel that was given and/or received!

To the one that received it, they did not process it correctly and it became too burdensome!

My friends, these things should not be!

Unfortunately, from time to time, we, the remnant, will hear a wrong report. But does an erroneous report nullify the warning message? Does it change the reality of the present season?

The published warning is still valid, my friends! The season of duress is still very much upon us!

So this is our challenge; it is the duty of all of us who seek to be prepared and ready, to maintain our marching orders of vigilance.

Folks, we are living in a late hour. Trying to navigate this time period is going to require that we obtain, “God’s counsel.” We must also be able to do this in the midst of the “wrong counsel” that is out there!

During war, it is always necessary to sift through the rumors, in order to find the valid Intel. Over the years, we have all witnessed reports that turned out to be false rumors. But in spite of them, our future still remains in the “cross hairs!”

This also reveals that we must obtain and hone our skill of discernment.

Ungodly counsel and false information

Is it possible that there are elements in high places that are purposely manufacturing lies and rumors just to confuse us? I think so. 

There is a large pool of information out there. Some of the information is true and some of it is false. False rumors may be intentional in order to confuse the seekers of truth. 

In Psalms 1:1, we are told not to walk in ungodly counsel. So how does one know the difference?

What is true and what is not true? What is Godly advice and what is not?

Figuring these things out will only be accomplished by the Holy Spirit who resides within. Or at least….Who is supposed to be within!

A question my friend, “Is the Holy Spirit within you?”

“Can you hear His voice?”

Hearing His voice is an absolute must! Because by hearing His voice, we will then have the Divine Filter to ignore the false and the Witness to be prompted by the real.

So how do we obtain this skill?  It can only happen through a relationship with Jehovah God. Jesus said, “My sheep know my voice and a stranger’s they will not follow.”

This is our assignment folks. If you hear a report; ask God if it is true. Ask Him to confirm it. Don’t just believe it because it is on a web-site or because you are listening to the message on your IPod.

No one gets a “free pass….not even me, Nathan Leal! The Holy Spirit must confirm the message and bear witness within your spirit.

Ladies and gentlemen, I know that this is a touchy subject but if we are God’s people we need to allow the truth to be our shield. And from time to time, the “ouch factor” needs to be a part of the equation.

Today’s Remnant community has a lot of questions on what they should do. Some are trying to figure out if they should relocate to another area.

Here is a warning! It could be very expensive to listen to the wrong counsel. So my friends, save your money and listen to the Holy Spirit.

God wants you to have peace. He also wants to offer you instruction on what to do. The well meaning counsel that is out there is freely available. Your duty is to find out if this counsel is God’s will for your life.

God bless you,

Nathan Leal
Watchman’s Cry Ministries

March 18, 2012