NAMES AND TITLES OF CHRIST
COUNSELOR
DR. JIM DIXON
ISAIAH9:6
MARCH 8, 1998
In the year 1886, Coca Cola was introduced in this nation, and it was marketed in drug stores all across this country as a headache remedy. The cola was called Coca because it contained cocaine. Of course, in the years that followed, Coca Cola became far more than a headache remedy. It became the “pause that refreshes.” By the year 1909, there were 69 different imitations of Coca Cola, all containing cocaine. The American medical community began to notice problems. All across this nation, people were becoming addicted. Masses of people were becoming addicted, and people were beginning to experience hallucinations. People were beginning to imagine that they had snakes and worms crawling under their skin. Some people began to experience full-blown cocaine psychoses.
In the year 1914, the Harrison Narcotics Act was passed, making cocaine illegal in this nation. We might ask the question, “How did that all begin and how did cocaine get such a grip on this nation in the year 1886?” It really all began in 1884 when a paper was published in Europe, a paper that was written by a medical doctor. This paper was highly influential. The paper was entitled “Uh Ber Coca” and this paper claimed that cocaine was a cure for arthritis. It claimed that cocaine was a cure for asthma and allergies. It claimed that cocaine was a cure for alcohol and drug addiction. It claimed that cocaine was a cure for digestive disorders and stomach problems. It was a cure for lethargy, and it was a cure for clinical depression. It was to be desired so as to give you rosy, red cheeks. It was to make you robust and to make you healthy. It could make the cowardly courageous and it could make the silent and the quiet and the timid eloquent. It was this miracle drug according to this paper published in Europe.
The doctor who wrote that paper, he himself used cocaine. He took it orally. He took it intravenously. It is also true that this doctor gave cocaine to his patients. That doctor’s name was Freud and his full name, of course, was Sigmund Freud. Whatever you think of the theory of psychoanalysis, whatever you think of Freud’s theory of the id and the ego and the superego, whatever you think of Freud’s view of the unconscious and repressed memories, whatever you think of his view of human sexuality, there’s no denying this… Sigmund Freud had a few problems.
You see, we live in a fallen world. Even counselors are fallen. I mean how ironic that the man who, perhaps, is the most famous counselor and therapist in world history not only used and abused cocaine but recommended it to the world. But, you see, it’s a fallen world with fallen counselors. It’s a flawed world with flawed counselors and with flawed people. At best, all counselors in this world are unhealed healers save one. That one is our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Great Counselor. He is the Wonderful Counselor. This morning we examine this great title of Christ.
The Great Counselor has three qualities, and I would like us to examine these three qualities as our three teachings this morning. First of all, a great counselor listens. The Bible says this is the confidence we have in Him, that if we ask anything in His name, He hears us. What an amazing promise. If we ask anything in His name, He hears us. Jesus Christ listens to you. Whatever you’re going through, when you pray, He hears you.
Some years ago, I shared a story out of the USA Today newspaper. It was in the Life section of that newspaper. It was entitled “Shrinks on Video.” According to that article, video cassettes were and still are available. You can rent them, you can purchase them, you can bring them home, you can put them in your TV sets. If you cannot afford a therapist, if you cannot afford a counselor, you can have counseling through video cassette.
In the USA Today, it mentioned one video which sold for $9.95 called “Talk to Me.” You put this video cassette in your VCR and there’s this kind looking face of the therapist there. He says, “How do you feel?” You’re supposed to respond to that. Then occasionally he says things like, “Go with that” or “Do you have anything else to add” or something like that. The whole thing is absolutely ridiculous because nobody’s listening.
Today there is computer software that’s a little more sophisticated. You can buy this software and you can use it in your computer, and you can receive counseling through this software in your computer. You just type in what your problem is, and this software will access its memory banks and give you an appropriate response. But, of course, it is still true that nobody is actually listening to you when you use that software.
It may surprise you that even when you go to a therapist and you go to a counselor, they’re not always listening. I know most counselors are pretty good at listening, but I know that in the early days of our church I wore many hats in addition to preaching and teaching and various administrative responsibilities. In those days I did all of our hospital calls, and I did all of our counseling. I was oftentimes operating and ministering in areas outside of my giftedness. I found those to be vast areas outside of my giftedness. I felt like I had some measure of giftedness with regard to counseling, but I often grew weary, and I could only do so much counseling and I would begin to just kind of “fog out.” I had some days where I would do five or six or seven counseling appointments back-to-back and I would tend, by the end of the day, to just fog out. I’ve got so much respect for counselors and therapists who are able to focus all day long when talking to people and hearing their problems.
I can remember a few occasions when I was sitting in my office late in the day and I was in the midst of a counseling appointment. Suddenly I would realize I didn’t know what they’d been saying. It didn’t happen that often, but it did happen a few times. Then I would be in a horrible mess. I can remember the occasions when somebody would say, “What do you think I ought to do about this?” I didn’t even know what the problem was, and I would say something like, “Well, what do you think God would have you do,” trying to pick it up after the fact. But it is true.
After the first service, I had a number of counselors and therapists who came up to me and said, “Yes, that’s happened to me too,” because, you know, we’re human too and do not always listen. But, you see, Jesus Christ always listens. He always pays attention. He hears you. This is the confidence we have in Him, that if we ask anything in His name, He hears us. The amazing thing is it doesn’t matter what time of the day it is. It doesn’t matter where we are. Jesus said, “I am with you always.” The Bible says, “Where shall I go from His Spirit? Where shall I flee from His presence? If I ascend to the highest heaven, He is there. If I make my bed in the depths of shoal, even there He is with me. If I take the wings of the morning and dwell on the uttermost parts of the sea, even there He is with me.” So, you see, He hears us whenever and wherever He listens. He not only listens but He cares.
This is the second quality of a great counselor. A great counselor must care. Jesus Christ cares for you. Nobody ever cared for you like Jesus. Whatever you’re going through today, He wants you to know how much He cares. The Bible says in 1 Peter, chapter 5, “Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares about you.”
One of my favorite stories concerns Franklin D. Roosevelt who was, of course, the 32nd President of the United States. Roosevelt was an introvert. Like many introverts, he could feign an extroverted personality when he needed to. Like many introverts, he could put on a big smile and a hearty handshake when he had to, but it always drained him because by nature he was an introvert and he recharged in solitude.
As the President of the United States, he had to be the host of many White House parties and many White House gatherings. There was a lot of small talk. He was expected to be winsome and to give that big smile and that great handshake. He did that but it always drained him. One day he had had enough. He was tired of it. There was a party at the White House that night and the President just didn’t want to do it. He was kind of in a rebellious mood. I know this is hard to believe but it is true. Historians tell us it is true. That night at the party, he decided to just go around… He hated small talk anyway and he never really believed that people cared. He decided just to go around and as an experiment, when he would give that big smile and shake somebody’s hand, he decided to say, “I killed my grandmother this morning.”
He was amazed at the response. Some people laughed and they took it as the joke it was. Other people looked at least mildly shocked. Other people obviously didn’t even hear what he was saying, and they responded with something like, “How lovely” or “Keep up the good work” because it was just small talk anyway. There was one foreign diplomat who really was diplomatic. He hesitated a moment and said, “Well, I’m sure that she had it coming to her!”
Out of all of that, Franklin D. Roosevelt concluded that most people really don’t listen and many of those who do listen don’t care. They don’t really care. I can tell you for a fact, most people in this world don’t care about you. They don’t care about you. They don’t care what you’re going through, and they don’t want to hear about it. Even people who say to you, “How’s it going?” They don’t want to know how it’s going. They don’t really care about you but Jesus cares about you. He loves you desperately. Nobody ever cared about you like Jesus.
Maybe you’ve heard of Vladimir Ulyanov. He was born in 1870 on April 22 in Russia, born in a quiet little town called Simbirsk. That town today, which is on the Volga River, is called Ulyanov, named after Vladimir Ulyanov, who was to become famous. Vladimir had two brothers and three sisters, but he was not close to any of them. As he grew up, he loved to swim, and he loved to fish. He loved to hunt. He loved to play chess, but he really did not enjoy people. He did not like being with people and he did not really care about people. He loved solitude. He was passionate about ideas, passionate about ideology and concept but he had very little compassion for people. He was brilliant. He graduated from St. Petersburg University with the Doctorate of Law, outstanding student.
He was married in 1898 at the age of 28 but really was never close to his wife. His wife’s mother came to live with them, and he had no feelings for his mother-in-law though she was very, very sick, very, very ill. On one occasion, as his wife was taking care of her mother… His wife was very tired. She came to him, and she said, “Vladimir, I’m going to bed. I’ve got to get some sleep. Mom is really ill. If she needs me in any way, would you wake me?”
He was working in his study at the desk. She went to bed. The next morning, she rose, and she went into her mother’s bedroom and was shocked to see that her mother was dead. She began to weep. She just cried profusely. She came to her husband, and she said, “Mom’s dead.” He said, “I know.” She said, “I told you to wake me if she needed anything.” He said, “Well, she’s dead. She doesn’t need you” and he went right on with his work. Hard to imagine a colder man than Vladimir Ulyanov.
Well, it’s not really a surprise that he went on to lead the Bolshevik Revolution and Ulyanov went on to found Communism in Russia. Of course, you do not know him by Vladimir Ulyanov but by his pen name which was V.I. Lenin, and I can tell you there are a lot of Lenin’s in this world, a lot of people who are passionate about ideology, about philosophies, about concepts and ideas but have almost no passion for human beings, almost no genuine compassion for people.
It was our Lord Jesus who told the story of the Good Samaritan and how the priest and the Levite went right by the wounded man. They were probably passionate people. That priest and Levite probably had great passion for ideology, even theological and doctrinal and dogmatic ideologies but they didn’t have compassion for people, didn’t really care. It was the Good Samaritan who Jesus said was “moved with compassion.”
You can’t go through the gospels without seeing the love of Christ. You cannot go through the gospels without seeing the compassion of Christ. The word “splanchnos,” which is the Greek word for compassion and the word “sumpathos” which is another Greek word for compassion. These words are used over and over again to describe the ministry of Jesus Christ. He cares. He feels what you feel. He loves you and He is deeply moved by your needs. So, He listens, and He really cares.
Finally, a great counselor heals. It’s not enough to listen and care. I mean, in the final analysis, it’s all about healing. Jesus Christ, the Bible tells us, is Jehovah Rofphi, the Lord who healeth thee. He heals. It is true that not all counseling is healing. Sometimes counseling just doesn’t work and that can frustrate us.
I know Barb and I are between houses right now. We sold our house and we’re waiting to move into another house. We’re living in an apartment right now. The apartment has a problem with the carpeting. We did not know this when we moved into the apartment. When we first moved in, the carpet had just been shampooed. It was a little bit wet. It was a couple of days later when we began to notice that there was all kinds of fine white dust all through our carpet. As the carpet dried, this dust just began to… Everywhere you walked, it would get on your shoes. As we walk around our apartment, it just creates little puff clouds everywhere you go. We had to put a towel, a wet towel, by the door so before leaving we could wipe our shoes off because our shoes would tum white. We had to wipe the bottom of our pants off because they would get all white.
We’ve complained and we’ve had building maintenance come. They’ve brought in various carpet cleaning companies. They have tried and tried and tried and tried again to get rid of this powder and they cannot do it. We’ve still got the towel by the door. We’ve still got white little clouds everywhere. I know that’s hard to believe, and in fact, the head of building maintenance said to us, in his twelve years of working with apartments, he’s never seen anything like this. That is very comforting. But it is frustrating isn’t it? I mean it’s frustrating when things don’t work. It’s frustrating when you try again and again and again, and things don’t work. That’s true in counseling too, when you don’t feel like you’re finding healing.
Jesus Christ really has power to heal us, and He heals us, as we conclude this morning, He heals us in three simple ways. First of all, He heals us through the cross. There’s healing in the cross. All of His counsel begins with the cross. All of humanity is riddled with this problem called sin. As we come in confession and repentance, as we come to the foot of the cross, there is forgiveness and there is healing there, and it is so powerful.
You know, there’s an article in the recent issue of U.S. News and World Report. It concerns all of the sexual allegations with regard to President Clinton. This article is written by a prominent psychiatrist at an ivy league university, an author, a counselor and a therapist. The article is entitled “Why Someone Would Risk It All” and it’s about the President’s allegedly risky sexual behavior.
In this article, this psychiatrist discusses behavioral endocrinology, discusses Freud, discusses what he calls ‘narcissistic grandiosity,’ discusses what he has entitled ‘hyperthymic personalities.’ He discusses the biology of risk taking. He discusses ‘Darwinian male conquest patterns of behavior.’ In the midst of all this psychobabble, there’s not one mention of sin, not one mention of sin. This has really not to do with the President but to do with our culture. We live in a culture that’s in denial. We live in a culture that really doesn’t want to deal with sin. I tell you, it’s a neurotic culture and in ways a psychotic culture. We’ll never find healing until we deal with sin and only Jesus Christ who is the Wonderful Counselor can provide that healing if we would come to the cross.
He heals us not only through His cross, but He heals us by His word. He heals us through holy scripture, and it says in 2 Timothy, chapter 3, verse 16, “All scripture is inspired of God and is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness that the man or woman of God might be perfect, equipped for every good work.” The word perfect there is the Greek word “teleiotes” and that word means “complete.” That word, “teleiotes,” means whole. You see, His counsel is given that we might be complete. His counsel is given that we might be whole. He heals us through His word. When we come to the cross, that’s the beginning of healing. Then we need to immerse ourselves in His counsel, in His word, which is designed to make us whole, designed to make us complete.
You know, 80 million people have written Ann Landers. Ten thousand people a month. The letters just keep coming. Why is that? Part of the reason is she gives advice. You know, believe ii or not, in some branches of counseling that’s kind of rare. There are some therapists out there who are deeply into non-directive therapy and they really don’t want to give you advice. Perhaps they’re afraid of litigation in a society and culture where so many are sued. It’s a lot safer to not give advice but, you see, you can’t sue God and Jesus Christ gives advice. He gives counsel. It’s highly directive and it will lead to healing, to wholeness, to completion. He’s Wonderful Counselor so come to Him and come to His word.
He heals us not only through the cross and through His word but finally He heals us by His presence. He heals us by His presence. You know, in the book of 1 Kings in the Old Testament, in the 19th chapter, we’re told how Elijah, after his contest with the 450 prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel, Elijah fled. He was afraid for his life. We’re told that he fled to the region of Beersheba in southern Israel. He left his servant there in Beersheba. He took a day’s journey out into the desert and everything around Beersheba, if you’ve ever been there, everything is desert. Elijah went a day’s journey from Beersheba into the desert where he fell down exhausted under a broom tree. The Bible says an angel came and ministered to him. An angel came and encouraged him. An angel came and comforted him. An angel came and healed him.
I do believe that sometimes Christ is present with us through angels, and I believe that sometimes he ministers to us through the angelic realm. I believe that this takes place normally on a deeply spiritual level. As the Bible says, “Many have entertained angels unaware.” Sometimes He is present with us through angels but more frequently His healing presence takes the form of another Christian. You see, Christ is present with us through His people. Christ is present with us through the body of Christ in which He dwells.
Have you ever been comforted, encouraged, rebuked, strengthened, healed by a brother or sister in Christ in whom Christ dwells? Have you ever felt Christ’s presence through a Christian friend? It’s powerful. That’s why we have small group ministries in this church, to encourage you to experience that. That’s why we have caring ministries in this church. We want you to be blessed by those but also to volunteer and participate in those. That’s why we have a pastoral care department. John, Ron and Roxanne listen, and they care but they also heal. They heal by the power of Christ in them because Christ is present in His people and His presence can have healing power.
That’s why I love Christian counseling so much. I mean I love Christian counseling because, you see, psychology deals with the psyche. Psychology deals with the Greek word is “psyche.” It is sometimes rendered “mind” but it’s normative meaning is “soul.” Psychology is all about the soul. A psychologist is working with the human soul. That’s why Jesus Christ is the Wonderful Counselor. Who is better equipped to deal with the human soul than Jesus Christ? That’s why Christian counseling is, I believe, so effectual and that is because Christ is in that counselor or therapist and there with His healing presence for you. Christ is also present with us in a healing way through His Holy Spirit who indwells us, each one of us who believes in Him. When you accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior, He came into you. When you asked Jesus to forgive your sin and when you embraced Him as Lord, He came into you, and He’ll never let you go. You are His and He is yours. He dwells in you by His Holy Spirit. There are times of need and times of hurt and times of pain when He makes His presence real in a special way. I know many of you have sensed it and felt it because He is the Counselor, the Wonderful Counselor.
You know, the American Psychological Association tells us that there are 25 million Americans who are suffering from neuroses. The American Psychological Association tells us there are 60 million Americans suffering from chronic anxiety syndrome. The American Psychological Association tells us that every single American, and indeed every single human being on the face of the earth, sometimes needs counseling, if only from a friend, but you’ll never find a friend like Jesus. He listens. Whenever you pray, He hears you and He cares. No one ever cared for you like Jesus. Your needs move Him with compassion, and He has the power to heal if you’d come to the cross in confession and repentance and if you’d bask in His word which is designed to make you whole and if you would begin to walk in His presence by His Holy Spirit and by His people who care for you and through whom He cares for you. Let’s look to the Lord with a closing word of prayer.