This morning, verse 21 of Proverbs
19. There are many devices in a man's
heart. Nevertheless, the counsel of
the Lord, that shall stand. Now, devices is thoughts, plans,
purposes. There are many thoughts and plans
and purposes in a man's heart. in all kinds of different ways,
plans and thoughts about the future, plans and thoughts about
what we're gonna do, plans and thoughts about eternity. Nevertheless, in spite of, regardless of the counsel of
the Lord, the purposes God or the purpose of God That
shall stand now there are two ways to consider The counsel
and purpose of God God's Word has been referred to as his counsel
and is in the scriptures So God's Word Will come to pass
Things are as God say they are not as man does and And also,
of course, this refers to God's divine decrees and predestination,
his providence. Man comes up with all kind of
takes, all kind of perversions and so-called interpretations
of the word of God, but what God has written is not altered,
compromised, or mitigated at all by any of that. Man's attempts to make God's
word say what they want it to are futile and vain. But God's word is also what he
does. The counsel of the Lord shall
stand. He said, I've spoken it, the word, I will also do it. Both are the counsel of God.
And so I believe that's the primary teaching here. Both are well-taught
here in the scriptures and all through the scriptures. Man comes
up with plans and purposes and intentions and ideas, but what
actually comes to pass is what God purposed. Thank God that's
true. Aren't you glad that's true?
the things that man, look at this world and the nature of
man, and you tell me how long would it take for us to utterly
destroy ourselves apart from the counsel of God,
if left to ourselves, if left to ourselves, I think in one
day we could completely destroy this world, what do you think? Turn with me to 2nd Samuel chapter
17, please and let's consider this The thoughts schemes of
men and the purpose counsel decree of God and word of God 2nd Samuel
17 1 This is kind of a long passage
of scripture, but it'll be very clear. It's very clear that without much exposition, without
much comparing other scripture with it, what it says. Second
Samuel 17, one, moreover, Ahithophel said unto Absalom, and this is
upon David, Absalom, David's son, had risen up in rebellion
against David, and David is exiled. He's dethroned and exiled by
Absalom, his son, and all the followers of Absalom. And Absalom
takes counsel. as to what to do now, as David's
on the run. He wants to know now, what do
I do? The Hittiphal said unto Absalom,
let me now choose out 12,000 men, and I will arise and pursue
David after David this night, and I will come upon him while
he is weary and weak-handed, and will make him afraid, and
all the people that are with him shall flee, and I will smite
the king only, and I will bring back all the people unto thee,
man whom thou seekest is as if all returned so all the people
shall be in peace and the saying pleased Absalom well and all
the elders of Israel so excellent counsel well received by David
I mean by Absalom he said that sounds good let's do that but
then Absalom said, call now Hushai, verse five, the archite, also,
and let us hear likewise what he saith. And when Hushai was
come to Absalom, Absalom spake unto him, saying, Ahithophel
hath spoken after this manner, shall we do after his saying?
If not, speak thou. And Hushai said unto Absalom,
the counsel that Ahithophel hath given is not good at this time.
Well, Absalom thought it was good. Ahithophel, a long-time
trusted counselor, I thought it was good. Hushah says it's
not good right now. For said Hushah, verse eight,
thou knowest thy father and his men that they be mighty men and
they be chafed in their minds as a bear robbed of her welts
in the field. And thy father is a man of war
and will not lodge with the people. Behold, he is hid now in some
pit or in some other place. And it will come to pass when
some of them be overthrown at the first that whosoever heareth
it will say there is a slaughter among the people. that follow
Absalom, and he also that is valiant, whose heart is as the
heart of a lion, shall utterly melt. For all Israel knoweth
that thy father is a mighty man, and they which be with him are
valiant men. Therefore I counsel that all
Israel be generally gathered unto thee, from Dan even to Beersheba,
as the sand that is by the sea for multitude. and that thou
go to battle in thine own person. So shall we come upon him in
some place where he shall be found, and we will light upon
him as the dew falleth on the ground, and of him and of all
the men that are with him there shall not be left so much as
one, Moreover, if he be gotten into a city, then shall all Israel
bring ropes to that city, and we will draw it into the river
until there be not one small stone found there. And Absalom
and all the men of Israel said, the council of Hushai the archite
is better than the council of Ahithophel. Not smart, not good. To give
David time to rally, time to rest, Ahithophel was right. David was weak and his men were,
they didn't expect this. They were on their heels. It
was time to do something if they were gonna do it. And how do
I know that? Look at the last part of verse
14. For the Lord had appointed to
defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel. We know whose counsel was the
right one because God tells us so. But that didn't stand. The counsel of man didn't stand. For the Lord had appointed to
defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel to the intent that the Lord might
bring evil upon Absalom. That's our text in action. Our
teaching is not just principles and theories and doctrines. It's
the way it is. in real life, this is real life. God does that now, he's doing
that this morning. Anytime that you come up with
some idea that's contrary to the teaching of God, may God
overthrow it and overrule it and overcome it and teach us
what fools we are. This is our text in action. God
overrules, He manipulates, He defeats, and He uses the purposes
of men to accomplish His divine, eternal, perfect purpose. Remember this passage. You'll
remember this, I suspect, in Acts 4.26, the kings of the earth
stood up and the rulers were gathered together against the
Lord and against His Christ. For of a truth against thy holy
child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate
with the Gentiles and the people of Israel were gathered together
for to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before
to be done. There's our word from our text,
the counsel, the counsel of the Lord stood. They were thinking,
we're going to get rid of this man. He's threatening our government.
He's threatening our religion. He's threatening everything.
He's our enemy. We'll spit on him and mock him
and beat him and nail him to a cross. In the heart of man are many
devices, all of them evil, by the way, but the counsel of the Lord,
that shall stay. It pleased sinners to murder
God's son because it pleased the Lord to crush him. God's counsel and purpose was
the cause of the devices of their heart. So he overthrows man's
counsel and he manipulates and uses man's counsel. Man's purpose
was the greatest evil and expression of evil ever perpetrated in this
world. But God's purpose was the redemption
of his elect. Aren't you glad the purpose of
the Lord, the counsel of the Lord, that shall stand. Both were accomplished by the
same event in the counsel of the Lord. Thank God that shall
stand. Remember what Joseph said in
Genesis 50, 20, as for you, talking to his brothers who had sold
him and left him for dead in a pit, as for you, you thought evil
against me, but God meant it unto good to bring to pass, as
it is this day, to save much people alive. That's the gospel. our evil and God's purpose of
good and salvation. Think of these words as the very
words of Christ himself. Not that they were, not that
you can take things from the Old Testament and say, well,
that's the exact words of Christ. Be careful about that. But just
in the interest of this being the gospel, think of this. As
for you, you thought evil against me. Herod, Pontius Pilate, the
rulers, the Jews and the Gentiles, that's kind of everybody, meant
evil, thought evil against. That very word against is in
that text we just read. In Acts chapter four, against
God and against his Christ, you thought evil against me, but
God meant it unto good. And the words thought and meant,
you thought evil, God meant good, it's the same word. It means
calculation. Your calculations were to put
an end to me, to rid yourselves of me. But the result is every
man has to deal with me. Every man will bow before me. Your thought was murder and condemnation
and wrath, but God's was mercy and life and salvation. God, you thought evil against
me, but God meant it unto good to bring to pass as it is this
day, to save much people alive. What they did to the Savior was
salvation for the people of God. And God's the one that did it.
He just used them to do it. He just used them to do it. That's
the gospel. Our evil and the Savior's blood. to devise and calculate. Bless
God, our evil is overruled by God. And whereas we were dead
murderers, he is life and the life giver. And nowhere else does man have
so many devices in his wretched heart than when it comes to the
salvation of a sinner. Walk an aisle, repeat this prayer,
make a decision, live the Christian life. The false gospel of man
is man's work and man's will. And they come up with all kinds
of inventions and devices in their heart, don't they, to promote
man's work and man's will. They pervert the gospel, they
entertain people rather than teach or glorify God. They exalt man rather than God. No group of people more calculating
and full of devices and inventions than religious man. But the immutable counsel of
God is that it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that
worketh, but of God that showeth mercy. God's purpose, God's decree,
His word, that shall stand. You can walk as many aisles as
you want to, but God's word stands. You don't need the commendation
or the manipulation of a false preacher. You need mercy. And
that's not found down here at the front of the church. That's
not found down here. That's found in Christ. That's
found by bowing to God's son and begging. Mercy for sinners is God's will
and God's work in the person of his son by the sacrifice of
himself. That's the counsel of the Lord
and that shall stand. No matter what man comes up with. Can I give you in closing my
advice again in this context? And let me say this. Anytime
any of you want to talk to me about anything privately, please
do. I want you to do that. If you
have questions, if you just are hurting or whatever it is, I
want you to do that. I haven't always been necessarily
that way, but I think Things change a little bit over
the years. In 60 years, I think that maybe God is beginning to
teach me some things. And my heart, I know he softened
my heart and I don't ever want to seem unapproachable. Please
always know that you can and that I want you to. And My standing advice to all of
you and to myself is this. I know you're like me. You devise
in your heart. You think about things until
you can't think anymore. You figure things out in your
heart, and you can do that until you never sleep again. You can
worry about things until you make yourself sick, but it is
the counsel of the Lord that we need and that shall stand. The only reason that you would
ever hear from me or talk to me is that by the rich grace
of God, I can tell you from this pulpit, and I can tell you one at a table
with chairs, What God said. What God said. That's all I've
got. But what a thing. What a thing. Don't despise the gift because
of the earthen vessel. The counsel of the Lord. There's our hearts. And the world
says, follow your heart. That's the worst advice that
anybody ever got. The counsel of the Lord, that
shall stand. And it's glorious counsel. It's
the words of eternal life, to whom shall we go? Let's pray.